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Students dance to 'Thriller'
Chef Chang's Momofuku: A Romance With Ramen
A hip New York chef makes food inspired by his love for fresh, simple ingredients and classic Asian dishes. David Chang has four restaurants in his Momofuku empire and has just published a cookbook.
Daniel Battsek, head of Disney's specialty movie label Miramax Films, is being forced out of his job after a series of flops failed to turn around the struggling company whose brighter moments included such prestige titles as "No Country For Old Men," "The Queen" and "Doubt."
Earlier this month, Disney slashed 70% of Miramax's workforce, to 20 people, reduced the number of movies it will now release to just three a year and folded much of its key marketing and distribution operations into its own studio. Battsek was noticeably absent attending the London Flm Festival while most of his team was being pink-slipped.
Now, by the end of January, Disney will shut down Miramax's New York headquarters and its Los Angeles office and maintain a small dedicated staff at its Burbank lot.
Battsek, who was hand-picked to run Miramax four years ago by then-Disney Studios Chairman Dick Cook (who also recently was ousted) had a weak track record as of late with such misses as "The Boys Are Back," Mike Judge's "Extract" and "Cheri" starring Michelle Pfeiffer.
"With the change in direction at Miramax, we have reached a mutual agreement with Daniel Battsek that he will leave his post as president, effective January 2010," Disney's new movie chairman Rich Ross said in a statement.Battsek had worked for the Disney organization for 18 years, mostly in the studio's international operation in London.
Disney did not name a replacement for Battsek.
-- Claudia Eller
Photo: Exiting Miramax President Daniel Battsek, left, with former Disney Studios Chairman Dick Cook in 2007. Credit: Kevin Winters/Getty Images.
Related posts:Â
Battsek absent while ax swings at Miramax
Can Miramax survive
The Halloween season has an extra chill factor in Baltimore, the adopted city of writer Edgar Allan Poe. This year, an exhibit at the city's art museum features work inspired by some of the author's scariest stories.
Call him Media Czar! Or, maybe, new media czar. Oh heck, we don't know what to call him.
Steve Waldman, the co-founder of News Corp.'s Beliefnet.com and a former national editor at US News & World Report, has been tapped by the Federal Communications Commission to oversee the regulatory agency's "initiative to assess the state of media in these challenging economic times and make recommendations designed to ensure a vibrant media landscape."Â
In announcing the appointment, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said:
"It is important to ensure that our policiespromote a vibrant media landscape that furthers long-standing goals ofserving the information needs of communities. The initiative isintended to identify the best ideas for achieving those goals, whilerecognizing that government must be scrupulous in abiding by the FirstAmendment and never dictating or controlling the content of the news orother communications protected by the First Amendment.â€
That all sounds kind of vague and lofty, so we checked in with Waldman tosee if we could get the inside track on his role in this initiative.
Asked just that, Waldman, 47, joked, "I don't know until I get there."
Actually, he's not completely kidding. Citing the dramatic changes in the media industry, including the closing of newspapers, the shrinking of local TV news and the growth of digital media, Waldman said, "the FCC as the lead agency on communications and media matters can't just be blind to this dramatic shift that is happening."
At the same time though, Waldman knows that many of these issues are "outside the jurisdiction of the FCC and problems the government is not going to solve."
So what exactly can he do?Â
"The FCC is involved in all sorts of policy, so we need to make sure the policies on the books are wise and first do no harm," he said, adding that it is important that there are no current regulations that are "exasperating the problems."Â
Waldman said he is most concerned about the "evaporation of journalism and shrinking of journalistic resources and what that means for society." (Hey, so are we.) He thinks much of his focus will be on that and not entertainment-related issues. Too bad because it would be very interesting if the commission, which used to have a much bigger say about the programming business, decided to look at how that industry has changed since Washington got rid of some of its regulations regarding program ownership.
Genachowski and Waldman have known each other for over 20 years, going back to their days at Columbia University. Genachowski also served on the board of Beliefnet.
Waldman is not just taking a leave of absence for this gig but is also severing all his ties to Beliefnet, a spiritual website and online community that News Corp. bought in 2007.
"I realized I'd have to make a clean break," he said, as he couldn't very well be working on a project that could recommend policies that would affect major media companies if he still had ties to News Corp.
But Waldman swears he's not becoming a bureaucrat. He'll commute to D.C. but is keeping his home in Brooklyn.
-- Joe Flint
Photo: Steve Waldman. Credit: Christine Austin.
The noted cinematographer has shaped the visual vocabulary of films including The Shawshank Redemption and every Coen Brothers picture since 1991's Barton Fink. He talks to Melissa Block about the joys of the simple image — and takes us through two of his favorite scenes.
Former NBC Universal CEO Bob Wright said he doesn't think Vivendi, the French conglomerate that owns 20% of the media giant will look to unload that stake in a public offering.
What Vivendi will do with its chunk of NBC Universal has become everyone's favorite guessing game, especially now that NBC Universal parent General Electric Co. is in negotiations to sell a controlling stake in its entertainment unit cable goliath Comcast Corp.
In an interview with News Corp.'s Fox Business Network, Wright said, "I don't think an IPO is such an attractive proposition right in this market." He said he thinks Vivendi will negotiate an exit deal.
Wright did not shed much light on why he thinks GE is looking to sell. He said "this is a depressed time for media. NBC Universal value is lower today than three or four years ago." Asked why then is GE looking to deal, he responded "maybe they worry it won't get much better."
Ever the politician, Wright did not criticize he successor Jeff Zucker's big bet on Jay Leno in prime time. Asked about the move to run the show in the 10 p.m. time slot five nights a week, Wright said, "it's a decision with a long point of view ... they'll have to wait awhile."
-- Joe Flint
Photo: Bob Wright. Credit: NBC
Coach Eric Taylor of “Friday Night Lights†(8 p.m. Central Wednesday, DirecTV's 101 Network; three and a half stars) has had his share of ups and downs, but Season 4 of the show finds him as down as he has ever been, professionally speaking.
Even when things weren’t going well for the Dillon Panthers, the high school football team he led with sternness and compassion, Taylor (Kyle Chandler) still had excellent facilities and an extensive staff at his disposal. Money wasn’t really a problem for the Panthers, a perennial powerhouse in Texas football.
Of course, “Friday Night Lights†has always been about much more than football: This fine ensemble drama has used sports as a vehicle for telling nuanced stories about race, class and family. Though the Panthers, occasionally get their moments in the sun, Dillon is usually a place of reduced expectations and limited options.
So it comes as no surprise that the new season of “FNL†sees Taylor going through the kind of involuntary retrenching that many Americans are experiencing. The nice stadium, the lavish equipment budget and the extensive staff are gone. Thanks to redistricting and some maneuvering by his detractors, this season Taylor is coaching the East Dillon Lions, a poorly equipped and unskilled squad.
You can judge Taylor's contentment level by how much he stalks around with his jaw clenched, and there's a lot of sideline stomping as the season begins. But as usual, Kyle Chandler makes the charismatic Taylor's frustration compelling. And the question of the season, as always, isn't limited to whether Taylor can make the team competitive. It's also about whether he can turn undisciplined boys into men. Dramatically speaking, it's all to the good that the coach has his work cut out for him.
Taylor's wife, Tami (Connie Britton), has her own set of challenges -- as principal of Dillon High School, she receives an avalanche of criticism about the redistricting (parents see East Dillon as a second-rate high school). As if that's not enough to deal with, prominent Panther boosters think they run the Panther football program. Despite her down-home friendliness, the shrewd Tami isn't about to allow that.
It'll be interesting to see how "FNL" manages the post high-school era for several of its characters -- a transition that has often led to choppy, disjointed stories on other shows that have featured characters navigating those years. This season, both Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch) and Matt Saracen (Evanston's Zach Gilford) are still kicking around Dillon, where their prospects seem less than exciting. "How does it feel to be the guy who used to be Tim Riggins?" a high schooler asks the former Panther star, who seems unmooored without Taylor's guidance.
Saracen decided to stay in Dillon and care for his grandmother rather than attend art school in Chicago, and dealing with the outcome that choice is proving difficult. But then Saracen's life, especially, has consisted of tough choices and a narrow range of options. Four seasons in, I still find myself wanting the world to give this hangdog kid a break.
Julie Taylor (Aimee Teegarden) and Landry (Jesse Plemons) are still in high school, and a new roster of young characters joins the cast this season. If a few of them prove as memorable as Riggins or Saracen, "FNL" will be in good shape.
The show certainly has a lot of ground to cover in its 13-episode fourth season (which is set to air next summer on NBC). This year, the challenge is to create fresh, interesting story lines for new and returning high school characters, integrate the post-high school crowd into the show and mix the stories of the East Dillon team with those of the Panther players. It’s a tall order, but in the early going, the show seems up to it.
Besides, haven’t we learned that “Friday Night Lights†is usually pretty good at pulling off the underdog win?
Photos: Kyle Chandler as Coach Eric Taylor; Taylor Kitsch as Tim Riggins; Panther fans.
Sponsored Link: Amazon's Friday Night Lights StoreBetween trysts with various women and men, the British poet Lord Byron maintained a lifelong, spirited correspondence with a clergyman named Francis Hodgson. Now, a collection of their revealing letters is up for auction at Sotheby's.
Monday night's "Jay Leno Show" on NBC matched its series low in the 18-49 demographic and hit its second-smallest audience ever, attracting just 4.62 million viewers
This is noteworthy because last night CBS was in reruns at 10 p.m. against Leno and ESPN had a particularly weak (and dull) Monday Night Football game in the Eagles-Redskins matchup. In other words, Leno wasn't exactly going up against top-notch competition. Part of NBC's pitch in making the Leno move was that he would perform well against reruns. Of course, if your big guest is Dr. Phil, a big audience might be hard to come by.
To be fair, it's not as if we are in rerun season yet and audiences are looking for alternatives. Networks don't exactly publicize when a show is in repeats, and in fact even TV listings rarely say anymore whether a show is a rerun or not. December, when most shows are in repeats, will be more revealing regarding the Leno move.
For those wondering when Leno had his smallest audience ever, that was on Oct. 5, when he drew 4.45 million viewers going against the Packers-Vikings game on ESPN.
-- Joe Flint
The software giant has decided not to sponsor a special live-action variety show featuring Seth MacFarlane, creator of the uproarious and relentlessly off-color animated series. Fox says it will air the special as planned with an as-yet-unnamed sponsor.
The Angels weren't the only ones who had a bad Sunday.
In a rarity for the movie industry, every movie in the top 10 ended up selling fewer tickets for the weekend than the studios that released them predicted on Sunday morning."Paranormal Activity" ended up grossing $21.1 million, down from Paramount's estimate of $22 million. "Saw VI" collected $14.1 million compared with Lionsgate's $14.8 million call. Warner Bros. thought on Sunday that "Where the Wild Things Are" would sell $14.4 million worth of tickets for the weekend, but it ended up at $14 million.
Projected grosses issued Sunday morning, which are based on Friday and Saturday ticket sales compared with similar films that played on similar dates, are often off by a few hundred thousand dollars. It's unusual, however, that every estimate is too high; typically some are too low.
That means fewer people went to the movies than studio distribution executives predicted Sunday morning. While there's no way to know for sure, one possible reason is that people stayed home to watch what turned out to be the final game of the American League Championship Series between the Angels and Yankees and a few high-profile NFL games including the Steelers' big win over the previously undefeated Vikings.
Total weekend receipts were $116 million, according to Hollywood.com. Sunday morning, the box office analysis firm pegged the number at $121 million. That means actual ticket sales fell a substantial 13% from the same period a year ago.
That's bad news Hollywood didn't need after a weekend on which every new movie -- "Saw VI," "Astro Boy," "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant" and "Amelia" -- opened poorly.
--Ben Fritz
The following post discusses "The Gypsy and the Hobo," Sunday's episode of "Mad Men."
"I'm not saying a new name is easy to find." Don to Annabelle.
"I'm not going anywhere." Don/Dick to Betty.
"And who are you supposed to be?" Carlton to Don.
I find myself without a huge array of things to say about "The Gypsy and the Hobo." Not because it was uneventful -- far from it -- but because what happened in this terrific episode was so straightforward and unambiguous.
It centered on the truth. We saw Don finally telling Betty the truth (and what an enormous WOW those scenes were), Roger trying to get an old flame to see some hard truths, Joan soldiering on (literally) as she realizes the truth about what it means to be married to her nitwit of a husband.
As much as I love Joan and Roger, and as I was glad to see those characters get a good amount of screen time, not a lot can compete with Jon Hamm's performance as Don Draper in this episode. Someone give this man an Emmy. Now.
I got to this point with Mary McDonnell and Edward James Olmos on "Battlestar Galactica," with Edie Falco and James Gandolfini on "The Sopranos" and with Michael Chiklis and C.C.H. Pounder on "The Shield." At some point you just run out of adjectives to describe their superlative acting. As was the case on those shows, the entire ensemble is so great every week that over time, I stopped commenting on their phenomenal skills. We just come to expect that they will be impressive every time. We get spoiled.
Though we've come to expect great things from Hamm, the range of emotional states he nailed in this episode was extraordinary and worthy of the highest praise. Let's just go through the list of emotions that washed over Don as he entered his house and discovered his family unexpectedly there: Shock at their presence, a scrambling (and unsuccessful) attempt to go back to the car and get rid of Suzanne, wariness as he followed Betty into the den, anger as realized she was determined to confront him and fear as he realized what Betty knew.
Then, as he's often done in these heated situations, he tried to physically loom over her in order to intimidate her, and he tried defiance as one last attempt to preserve the Don facade (even though he knew by then his attempts to browbeat Betty would be futile).
And then you see something new breaking over his features: He becomes Dick Whitman -- a frightened boy who is petrified of being rejected once again. "You didn't have to look at my things," he breathed. He sounded like the frightened, abused kid some part of him still is.
That sequence of scenes between Don and Betty is one of the best pieces of writing in the history of "Mad Men." And it almost functioned as a meta-commentary on the show, given that Betty asked every question that viewers have asked since she found the box (Why did he even keep this stuff in the house? Who's Anna? Who are those people in the pictures? And so on.)
This wasn't the kind of elliptical writing that the show sometimes employs, but it was no less effective. Seeing these two people finally drop all their pretenses was as fascinating as it was unexpected. Last week's episode contained the bombshell of Betty finding the box. And rather than hanging on to that knowledge for weeks, she confronted him with it almost immediately. I honestly didn't see that coming, not this week anyway. I enjoy "Mad Men" most when it zigs when I expect it to zag.
Full praise to January Jones for holding her own in those scenes, which is no small feat. But let's face it, those scenes belonged to Hamm. As is the case with the actors mentioned above, Hamm can communicate his character's internal state eloquently even when there is no dialogue.
After the initial confrontation, we saw Don move into the kitchen. He was a gutted man. At this point, Don doesn't know if the safe, suburban life he worked so hard to create is over forever. (And it's an interesting side note the Don begins revealing his real truths to Betty in that kitchen -- just a few feet from where the first scene of the first episode of Season 3 began. Remember how, in that season premiere, we saw Don heating up milk for Betty and then, in a reverie, recalling his own birth?)
Betty was not cutting him any slack; she was waiting for him to pull his usual trick and leave. But now that Don/Dick has been discovered, he doesn't need to. Perhaps part of the reason Don staggered into the kitchen was because a weight had been lifted off him. He no longer has to keep all those secrets. Much of "Mad Men" has depicted Don as trapped and hemmed in, but at that moment, when he finally begins telling Betty the truth, in some ways he seems freer than he's ever been. And thanks to Hamm's subtle work, there's an intriguing emotional core to Don in those scenes. There's a quality of sincerity in him we've rarely seen when those two characters are together.
He tells Betty his name is Donald Draper, but, in that moment, he seems more like Dick Whitman than he ever has -- around her, anyway. He's stopped playing a role. When he tells her he's surprised she ever loved him, that is Dick speaking. It's utterly poignant when he recalls Abigail's boyfriend, Uncle Mac. "He was nice to me," Don/Dick said. For some reason, I found that line so sad. He probably liked Uncle Mac because he didn't beat him or call him "whore child."
When Don/Dick recalled Adam's death, it was heartbreaking. Three years later, the guilt he feels about Adam's death finally comes pouring out, and it's devastating. Don's done some terrible things, but we see that he's also been carrying around an incredible amount of pain.
It's worth noting that, in his profession, Don Draper is the master of eliciting sympathy and using nostalgia to rather cynical ends, but in that bedroom, Dick wasn't playing on Betty's emotions. He was just telling her the truth about what he'd done and why he'd done it. He wasn't asking her to feel bad about his brother's suicide -- Don/Dick felt that was his fault -- but he couldn't let Adam disrupt what he had built for himself.
Despite all that Don had done to Betty over the years, how could she not feel compassion regarding what he'd gone through and what he'd given up?
The actors and the director used some kind of alchemy on those morning-after scenes; you could tell something was different between Don and Betty. They looked at each other with new eyes. They were solicitous of each other in a way they never had been. Perhaps it was just odd to see them look each other in the eye so frequently. You got the sense that they finally saw each other -- the other person was no longer just some prop in a facade. Don and Betty had been married 10 years earlier, but their marriage truly began on Halloween, 1963. They finally began to know each other as people, warts and all. Don may not know about Betty's extramarital forays and she may not know about the teacher -- but I hope neither party does find out. Does it really matter, at this point? I'd honestly like to see these two try to make a go of it.
Given that the Sixties are about to begin in earnest, perhaps I was expecting to see them explore new paths for themselves -- alone. But wouldn't it be interesting to see these two damaged people begin anew and forge a real relationship, even as society begins going through a series of upheavals and revolutions?
Question time: Given the Don and Roger we met in Season 1, who expected both men to be in functional marriages at the end of Season 3? Not me.
But both men had accepted what their lives were. And the theme, if there was one in the episode, was acceptance of the truth.
Roger's old flame, Annabelle, doesn't want to accept that her opportunity with him is gone. She doesn't want to accept that the name of her dog food is never going to be viable again (interestingly, she was told to give up that name, just as Don finally reclaimed Dick Whitman, a name he's spent years trying to escape).
Some truths can't be escaped, some names can't be redeemed, some mistakes can't be unmade. Joan's CreepRapistHusband can't simply undo all of his bad life choices by sticking "Captain" in front of his name. Annabelle can't simply pick things up with Roger more than two decades after breaking his heart. And she can't get consumers to buy her dog food by simply ignoring the fact that people react in revulsion to that brand.
"The Gypsy and the Hobo" explored who will accept the truth and why. Betty accepted Don's explanations, because he had no option at that point but to level with her. He had run out of other options (and he seemed glad to finally be able to unburden himself).
Annabelle finally had to accept that Roger loved his new wife and that she had missed her chance with him, but only after he repeatedly turned her down.
Joan. Oh Joanie. We still don't know where she stands regarding Captain Idiot. It was absolutely delightful to see her finally hit him in the head, but too bad it was only with a vase and not with tire iron. When will she finally tire of his towering narcissism and realize that she still has a chance at happiness, as long as she ditches him and his crazy schemes?
We still don't know quite where Joan is on the acceptance scale. She may still be making a go of it with Captain Idiot in future seasons. Or she may realize that he is dead weight who will only drag her down. She's still in the role-playing stage that Roger and Don were for so many years -- as they were, she is married to someone to whom she doesn't reveal her true self. Why would she bother? CreepRapistHusband will never know what a gem he has in Joan. Sigh.
We actually saw that role-playing begin with Don and Suzanne, as she looked at his face and told him how unhappy she thought he was. He closed up and gave her a line: "I'm happy now." And as she moved off, irritated at his inability to be honest with her, the magic started to dissipate. This was no longer as scorching affair but a relationship in which Don had begun guarding his real self and the other person had begun to find that tiresome.
Who knew that we'd end up feeling sorry for Miss Farrell? She'd been written so many ways all season that it was hard to get a handle on her. But her vulnerability in that final scene in which Don broke things off with her was beautifully played and heartbreaking. For some reason I felt awful for her that she feared for her job -- I suppose she didn't know if Betty would try to make trouble for her.
Poor girl. She really got crushed. In the end, she wasn't Miss Kookoo Stalkerpants, she was just a sweet, somewhat naive, somewhat unconventional girl who got emotionally crushed by an affair that was more intensely emotional than she expected it to be.
And she accepted the truth with dignity. There's nobility in that.
A few stray thoughts:
Michelle Huneven's new novel — featuring a repeat-offender drunk driver who kills a mother and daughter — raises questions about self determination and fate.
Four movies with combined production budgets of more than $100 million opened this weekend, but none of them managed to beat a movie that cost $15,000.
Paramount's "Paranormal Activity" expanded from 863 theaters to 1,945 this weekend and sold a studio-estimated $22 million, making it No. 1 for the first time since it opened more than four weeks ago. The horror flick, which was produced for $15,000 and Paramount acquired for $300,000, has grossed an astounding total of $62.5 million.
Paramount plans to add as many as 500 locations Friday. In theaters where it played last weekend, "Paranormal Activity" was down a mild 33%. If current trends continue, the movie will almost certainly end up collecting more than $100 million.
Perhaps more impressive, it vanquished one of Hollywood's most successful horror series. "Saw VI" opened to a disappointing $14.8 million, obviously damaged in large part by "Paranormal." That's the lowest debut for any film in the annual series, even the original in 2004, which started with $18.3 million. All the other "Saw" films have debuted to more than $30 million.
The movie was better received by horror fans than "Saw V," however. Last year's poorly regarded entry got an average grade of C from moviegoers, according to market research firm CinemaScore, but the new movie got a B. Although "Saw VI" will almost certainly end up as the lowest-grossing entry in the series, Lionsgate is hopeful that it will benefit from solid word of mouth, particularly among horror fans who chose "Paranormal" this weekend.
The good news for Lionsgate is that "Saw VI" cost a modest $11 million to produce, meaning it shouldn't be a big money loser and could even eke out a profit.
The same can't be said for the weekend's other new movies, all of which cost more and opened far worse.
"Astro Boy," which animation studio Imagi Entertainment produced at a cost of $65 million, opened to a dismal $7 million. Summit Entertainment distributed the movie, which drew a very modest family crowd and will be a tough blow for Hong Kong-based Imagi, which was financing its own movie for the first time.
The news was equally bad for lead financier Ted Waitt, co-founder of computer company Gateway Inc., and Fox Searchlight: Their "Amelia" opened to a very weak $4 million. The movie cost $40 million and received largely negative reviews, which probably turned off its target adult audience.
"Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant" was aimed at tween girls and boys, but didn't do much better, opening to just $6.3 million. Universal Pictures and Relativity Media split the $40-million production budget.
There was some good news among holdovers. "Law Abiding Citizen" fell only 40% on its second weekend, and "Couples Retreat" continues to play well, dropping only 36% on its third weekend. But "Where the Wild Things Are" played more like a big-budget event film and less like a family movie with good buzz on its second weekend, dropping a sizable 56%.
Total box-office receipts fell more than 9% this weekend, according to Hollywood.com. They will probably be soft next weekend as well, because Halloween is on a Saturday and the only new movie will be the Michael Jackson flick "This Is It," which debuts Tuesday night.
Overseas, Fox opened "The Fantastic Mr. Fox" in author Roald Dahl's native land of Britain to a disappointing $2.5 million.
In limited release, IFC opened the new Lars von Trier film "Antichrist" to a decent $70,000 at six locations.
The well-reviewed "An Education" continues to play well as Sony Pictures Classics expanded it to 31 theaters. It grossed a solid $408,002, bringing its total to almost $1 million.
Here are the top 10 films at the domestic box office, according to studio estimates and Hollywood.com:
1. "Paranormal Activity" (Paramount): $22 million on its fifth weekend, bringing its total to $62.5 million.
2. "Saw VI" (Lionsgate): Opened to $14.8 million.
3. "Where the Wild Things Are" (Warner Bros./Village Roadshow/Legendary): Dropped 56% on its second weekend to $14.4 million. Total U.S. and Canadian ticket sales: $54 million.
4. "Law Abiding Citizen" (Overture/Film Department): Declined 40% to $12.7 million on its second weekend. Domestic total: $40.3 million.
5. "Couples Retreat" (Universal/Relativity): Down a modest 36% on its third weekend to $11.1 million, bringing cumulative domestic ticket sales to $78.2 million. Overseas it has grossed $17.2 million in seven countries.
6. "Astro Boy" (Summit/Imagi): Debuted to $7 million.
7. "The Stepfather" (Sony Screen Gems): Fell 44% on its second weekend to $6.5 million. Domestic total: $20.4 million.
8. "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant" (Universal/Relativity): Launched to $6.3 million.
9. "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" (Sony): $5.6 million, down 30% on its sixth weekend, bringing its total ticket sales to $115.2 million.
10. "Zombieland" (Sony/Relativity): Declined 44% to $4.3 million. Domestic total: $67.3 million.
-- Ben Fritz
Top photo: Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat in "Paranormal Activity." Credit: Paramount Pictures.
Bottom photo: John C. Reilly and Chris Massoglia in "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant." Credit: David Lee / Universal Pictures.
Last fall, journalist, literary critic and proud atheist Christopher Hitchens went on a debating tour with Pastor Douglas Wilson. The topic: "Is religion good for the world?" They filmed their debates and edited them for a new documentary, Collision, which opens next week in selected cities.
In the battle of the horror movies, "Paranormal Activity" has taken an early lead over "Saw VI" on a weekend that looks to be disappointing for every studio with a new film.
Paramount's indie horror sensation "Paranormal" sold $7.6 million worth of tickets Friday, putting it on track to collect just over $20 million for the weekend. "Saw VI," meanwhile, took in a little less than $7 million Friday and will probably gross $15 million to $20 million for the weekend.
It was an open question going into the weekend which of the two movies would attract bigger crowds. The more meaningful result, however, is that "Saw VI" is on track to significantly underperform every movie in Lionsgate's horror series, from 2005's "Saw II" through 2008's "Saw V," all of which debuted to more than $30 million. That's a sign not only that "Saw VI" was hurt by "Paranormal," but also that audience interest in the franchise may be waning.
Outside of the matchup of scary flicks, it's looking like a very soft weekend for three new pictures. Universal's "Cirque du Freak," which it co-financed with Relativity Media, opened to a weak $2.2 million on Friday and will probably take in $6 million to $7 million this weekend. Imagi Studios' animated feature "Astro Boy," which is being distributed by Summit Entertainment, and Fox Searchlight's "Amelia" both sold under $2 million worth of tickets in the U.S. and Canada on Friday, meaning they will probably gross about $7 million and $5 million, respectively, for the full weekend.
Official estimates of weekend domestic ticket sales will be released by studios Sunday morning.
-- Ben Fritz
Photo: Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat in "Paranormal Activity." Credit: Paramount Pictures
Williams joins Wait Wait at New York City's Carnegie Hall to play a game called "You are the very worst act ever to play this stage": three questions about music legend(?) Florence Foster Jenkins.
Since it's Friday, we thought we'd take a look at Friday night television.
For years, Friday has been a tough night for the broadcast networks. If a show starts to do well on Friday, the first instinct is to move it to another night where the potential audience is bigger. CBS' "CSI" and "Everybody Loves Raymond" both started on Friday.
Conversely, when a show starts to fade it often ends up on Friday (ABC's "Ugly Betty") before disappearing entirely.
Over the past five years, the combined audience for ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox on Friday nights has fallen about 15% to 22.2 million, and in the 18-49 demographic the drop is over 20% to about 8.2 million people.Â
"We have consistently allowed our audience to leave us on Friday nightjust like we did on Saturday night," said Jeff Gaspin, chairman of NBC Universal Entertainment. "This is where cable took advantage of our weakness of not having as many hit shows."
Fortunately, for Gaspin, one of the cable networks that has managed to take the most advantage of Friday night is NBC Universal's USA Network, first with "Monk" and then with "Psych." Tonight USA will go for the threepeat with the premiere of its well-reviewed offbeat crime drama "White Collar."
"Friday is one great opportunity; broadcast networks don't put much effort into it," said Ted Linhart, USA's vice president of program research. It's his job to crunch numbers and figure out where the best chances for success lie. While it's true that the households using television (HUTs in industry lingo) is lower on Friday night, Linhart said, "There are still 100 million people watching TV."
And while USA tends to attract an adult crowd, there is youth to he had on the night too, as Disney Channel has proven with "High School Musical 2," "Hannah Montana" and "Wizards of Waverly Place."
Besides cable, video game play is on the rise on Fridays, and more people use the night to catch up on what they have recorded throughout the week.
Interestingly, this season Friday has not been a total disaster for the broadcast networks. CBS is flat in viewers while NBC and ABC are each up. But all three are down in adults 18-49, and Fox is completely tanking.
Not to get all field of dreams on the broadcast networks, but if you build it, they just might come.
-- Joe Flint
Photos: Top: USA's "White Collar." Credit: USA Network. Bottom: "Ugly Betty." Credit: David Giesbrecht / ABC
HBO announced Friday that it has ordered a third season of the drama "In Treatment," which stars Gabriel Byrne as therapist Paul Weston.
A third season had been in some doubt, as Byrne has said in interviews that he finds the role (which he plays very well) quite challenging. That's understandable; his character is in almost every scene and much of his work involves reacting to and working through thorny issues with the sometimes challenging patients in his care.
The show is changing head writers again, as it has done every season so far. Anya Epstein of HBO’s “Tell Me You Love Me†and Danny Futterman (“Capoteâ€) will take over from Season 2 showrunner Warren Leight.
The show goes into production early next year in New York.
HBO's press release on the renewal is below.
IN TREATMENT FOR THIRD SEASON, WITH PRODUCTION
TO START IN NEW YORK NEXT YEAR; GABRIEL BYRNE STARS
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 23, 2009 â€" HBO has renewed the Emmy®-winning half-hour drama series IN TREATMENT, which will begin production on its third season in New York in early 2010, with debut scheduled for later in the year, it was announced today by Michael Lombardo, president, Programming Group and West Coast Operations, HBO.
“IN TREATMENT is synonymous with inspired writing and brilliant acting,†noted Lombardo. “This is the kind of show that could only flourish on HBO, and we’re proud to bring it back.â€
Gabriel Byrne (Emmy® nominee and Golden Globe winner for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series â€" Drama) stars in the series as Dr. Paul Weston, with additional cast members to be announced as they are confirmed.
The second season of IN TREATMENT inspired resounding critical praise, with the New York Times hailing the show for “powerful acting and well-wrought dialogue,†while the Los Angeles Times said the “well-drawn and compelling performances are uniformly terrific.†The Chicago Sun-Times called the series “fascinating†and Newsday termed it a “fine and absorbing show.â€
Joining the show as executive producers are Anya Epstein (HBO’s “Tell Me You Love Meâ€) and Danny Futterman (“Capoteâ€). Returning executive producers on the show include Stephen Levinson, Mark Wahlberg and Hagai Levi. It is expected that Paris Barclay will return as an executive producer/director.
IN TREATMENT is produced by HBO Entertainment; executive producers, Stephen Levinson, Mark Wahlberg, Hagai Levi, Anya Epstein and Danny Futterman; co-executive producers, Noa Tishby and Gabriel Byrne; producer, Sarah Lum. IN TREATMENT is produced by HBO Entertainment in association with Leverage, Closest to the Hole Productions and Sheleg.
If business as usual at the theaters is getting you down, how about a hot new martial-arts adventure from Thailand? Film critic Kenneth Turan says Tony Jaa's astonishing physicality is the signal attraction in Ong Bak 2.
It used to be Hollywood that was recession-proof. Now it's Netflix.
Continuing its huge growth in the midst of a brutal recession, the DVD-by-mail subscription company increased its revenue by 24% last quarter and added a net 510,000 subscribers, 95% more than it did in the same three months last year.
Netflix's big gains underscore that it is one of the key drivers, along with $1-a-night DVD kiosk company Redbox, in the 9.9% growth in total rental revenue for the home entertainment industry in the third quarter.
The Los Gatos, Calif., company reported net income of $30.1 million, up 48% from a year earlier, on revenue of $423.1 million. The total number of subscribers as of Sept. 30 was 11.1 million, up from 8.7 million a year earlier.
All three numbers were on the upper edge or slightly over the guidance Netflix provided to its investors three months ago.
Most significant for those who own Netflix stock, the company modestly increased its financial projections for the end of the year from those it provided in its last earnings report. The company expects to have 12 million to 12.3 million subscribers, up from previous guidance of 11.6 million to 12 million. Revenue is projected to be $1.666 billion to $1.672 billion, up from $1.65 billion to $1.67 billion, and net income guidance is $106 million to $111 million, compared with its previous prediction of $99 million to $109 million.
Netflix stock was up 4% before earnings were announced but is down slightly in after-hours trading.
-- Ben Fritz
Photo: Netflix Chief Executive Reed Hastings. Credit: Randi Lynn Beach / For The Times.
There are several good reasons to watch “White Collar†(9 p.m. Central Friday, USA; three stars). Two of them reside on either side of Matthew Bomer’s nose, just below his forehead.
USA apparently thinks so much of Bomer’s arresting blue eyes that it has designed this likable cop-caper’s ad campaign â€" and maybe even the show’s palette â€" around his peepers. “White Collar’s†visuals are full of cool blues, grays, whites and blacks, and the director of photography never wastes a chance to focus on those cornflower-blue orbs.
The good news is that there are more than two reasons to like “White Collar,†a crime-caper show with a “Catch Me If You Can†vibe. Bomer, who played a similarly resourceful character on NBC’s “Chuck,†supplies suave charm as Neal Caffrey, a counterfeiter who has the skills and the dazzling smile to get away with almost every scam he attempts.
Tim DeKay (“Tell Me You Love Me,†“Carnivaleâ€) plays by-the-book FBI agent Peter Burke, who investigates white-collar crimes and finds himself in need of Caffrey’s specialized knowledge. In DeKay’s hands, Burke’s hangdog perseverance is entertaining, and the square FBI agent’s intelligence is quietly convincing. After all, Burke is the only man to have sent the slippery Caffrey to prison.
The uptight cop with the loosey-goosey partner â€" it’s a familiar mismatch not only in the TV realm but in countless action movies. But cable networks â€" and USA in particular â€" have been adept at churning out capable variations on classic television genres. “White Collar†should be no exception to USA’s successful string of original series, which are mildly quirky but aimed squarely at the mainstream.
The best thing about “White Collar†is DeKay and Bomer’s chemistry; DeKay in particular is able to wring subtle comedy from Burke’s irritation at Caffrey’s ability to get something for nothing. Caffrey’s apparently effortless approach to life could be grating, but Bomer imbues him with an element of a sweetness and even longing (a missing girlfriend will be an ongoing story thread). And the lessons Caffrey teaches the slightly nervous Burke about enjoying life may be more or less expected, but they’re delivered with a relatively light touch.
Much of Caffrey’s advice for Burke concerns Burke’s marriage, and that’s where the show falters. Tiffani Thiessen is miscast as Burke’s wife; the actors have a distracting lack of chemistry, and those two just don’t seem like a believable couple.
But the rest of the supporting cast is extremely capable. Natalie Morales ("The Middleman") turns up in the second episode as a junior FBI agent assisting Burke, and she fits right into the show's unforced vibe. Willie Garson ("Sex and the City") does his usual great work as Mozzie, a skittish fellow scammer Caffrey knows.
For now, “White Collar†can skate by on charm and humor, but so far the show’s stories tend to rely on the characters’ good luck and Caffrey having just the right underworld contacts. Perhaps over time, the slight but enjoyable “White Collar†will develop the deeper appeal of USA’s “Burn Notice,†which at its best has both tight plotting and an undeniable emotional pull.
And by the way...
A couple of notes about “Monk,†which airs immediately before “White Collarâ€: Fans of Adrian Monk’s original companion should tune in to Friday’s episode, which features the return of Sharona (Bitty Schram). Also, USA has announced that the long-running “Monk†will end its run Dec. 4. Virginia Madsen and Melora Harden (“The Officeâ€) will guest star in the series finale.
Photos: Bomer; Morales and DeKay.
The story of a pioneering, iconoclastic aviator is presented predictably and without risk in Mira Nair's biographical drama — a handsome studio picture that keeps insisting its heroine is a boundary pusher, even as it curls up cozily within the familiar limits of big-budget Hollywood hagiography.
Big heels to fill. ABC News is starting to narrow the search for Diane Sawyer's replacement on "Good Morning America." The newscast will again go coed, with the network eyeing several male candidates to share the set with Robin Roberts. The leading contender appears to be George Stephanopoulos. Analysis from the Los Angeles Times and Broadcasting & Cable.Â
Disney's DVD solution. Walt Disney Co. is working on a one-size-fits-all technology to allow consumers to buy content across multiple platforms. Code-named "Keychest," the technology is, among other things, seen as a way to combat the eroding DVD market. How it works is very complicated, so you'll just have to read the article in today's Wall Street Journal, then explain it to me.
Fighting dirty? TV writer Jonathan Prince is taking on the Writers Guild over how it investigated member misconduct during the 2007-08 strike. Prince was accused of being a scab but ultimately was found to have done nothing in violation of guild rules. WGA, meanwhile, used a secret informant and broke into his e-mail account to try to dig up dirt on Prince, the writer and his lawyer say. Details from Richard Verrier in the Los Angeles Times.
Oprah to make nice with Palin. Daytime talk show queen Oprah Winfrey will have former vice presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on to plug her new book next month. The Washington Post's TV columnist Lisa de Moraes notes that last year Winfrey's ratings took a tumble perhaps tied to her political activism and endorsement of Barack Obama. Maybe that is also why Winfrey has been less spiritual/aspirational and more, uh, well, we won't say sleazy, so let's go with down to earth in her subject matter on this year's shows.
Early report card. USA Today takes a look at the new TV season so far and notes that although there are few breakout hits, there are also not so many total disasters. That said, the paper warns viewers not to get too attached to ABC's "Eastwick" and "Hank," CBS' "Three Rivers" and NBC's "Trauma." So far that doesn't appear to have been a problem.
Was that in his flash forward? Marc Guggenheim is leaving as co-show runner and executive producer of ABC's new drama "FlashForward," which is about the aftermath of everyone in the world (well, almost everyone) suffering a two-minute blackout at the same time and getting a glimpse of his or her future. David Goyer will now become sole show runner, says the Hollywood Reporter.
Ferriter's war. Agent John Ferriter, who specializes in realty TV, apparently doesn't like the new reality of working at the combined William Morris Endeavor agency. Deadline reports on Ferriter's battles with his new bosses at WME.
Artie's back. Howard Stern fans breathed a sigh of relief Tuesday when sidekick Artie Lange reappeared after his latest misadventure. Lange, who has struggled with drug and alcohol addiction, said he nearly relapsed. Details from the blog that chronicles all things Howard: MarksFriggin.com.
Inside today's Los Angeles Times: Universal Orlando and Steven Spielberg restructure the director's lucrative deal with the theme park. Patrick Goldstein on the challenges facing this year's Oscar producers.Â
-- Joe Flint
Follow me on Twitter.
Not unlike a Cylon!
More details on Sackhoff's role on "Big Bang Theory" are below. Spoilers ahoy.
Sackhoff will play Wolowitz's fantasy woman. And nerds, sit down. I hear from a CBS source that "there may be nudity." Now, the show still airs on CBS, not on Showtime, so don't get too riled up.
But still. Katee Sackhoff. Wolowitz. Implied nudity.
I can hear the geek brains melting now.
The silver balloon that drifted 50 miles across Colorado last week may have been part of an elaborate hoax cooked up to land the Heene family a reality show, authorities say. Reality show guru Bill Hayes, founder and president of Figure 8 Films, discusses how reality TV stars are selected.
It just got a little sunnier in Philadelphia.
No, we're not talking about the Phillies being on the verge of making the World Series for the second year in a row. News Corp.'s Twentieth Television has just sold reruns of the FX sitcom "It's Always Sunny in Philadephia" to Viacom's Comedy Central for roughly $400,000 per episode plus some commercial inventory, people familiar with the deal say.
For a cable comedy, that is a pretty healthy price tag. Throw in the commercial time and the value of the deal could end up being being north of $700,000 per episode for Twentieth Television and the creative team behind the show. Of course, that is also dependent on the economy and what is happening in the advertising market when Comedy Central starts running the show.
While the $400,000 cash part of the deal still pales compared with what a hit comedy in broadcast television can get in rerun sales (Lifetime paid Twentieth Television about $800,000 per episode for reruns of "How I Met Your Mother"), the gap is definitely narrowing.
Furthermore, the cost of producing an episode of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" is nowhere near what a typical episode of "How I Met Your Mother" or NBC Universal's "30 Rock" runs, meaning that the little sitcom that could -- which is off to a strong start this season -- could end up turning a very nice profit.
While FX looked at buying the reruns, Twentieth Television, by selling to Comedy Central, doesn't have to worry about any producers thinking it cut a sweetheart deal within the company. That has been a problem in the past, as actors Alan Alda and David Duchovny and producer Steven Bochco sued News Corp. claiming just that over rerun sales of "M*A*S*H," "The X-Files" and "NYPD Blue," respectively, from Twentieth to FX.
-- Joe Flint
Photo: FX's "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." Credit: Craig Blankenhorn / FX
Oprah Winfrey will interview former Alaska governor Sarah Palin on her talk show on Nov. 16. Winfrey will get the first interview that the former vice presidential candidate is giving to promote her new book, "Going Rogue."
"[F]ollowing her decision to step down as governor of her home state of Alaska, and on the eve of the release of her first book, Palin will speak first to Oprah in a world exclusive interview," a statement from Oprah's production company said on Tuesday.
You may recall that there was a kerfuffle when a report emerged in September 2008 that Winfrey, a prominent backer of President Barack Obama (who was then a candidate for president), said she thought it best not to have Palin on her show until after the election was over. In November of 2008, a report emerged that Winfrey's show had extended an invitation for Palin to appear on the show.
poll by twiigs.comThe full release from "The Oprah Winfrey Show" is below. Read more on The Swamp.
The book industry is reeling as the price of some of its hottest books drops to a new low at some online stores. The price war took off last week when Walmart cut its price for online pre-orders of 10 upcoming best-sellers to $10. Amazon countered with a similar discount of $9, which Wal-Mart then took down to $8.99. Now, Target is entering the fray.
Warner Bros. Production President and 10-year veteran Kevin McCormick is transitioning to an exclusive three-year production deal at the Burbank studio. McCormick will stay in his executive role, which he has held since January 2008, until the end of December.
The studio said McCormick's job would not be filled with another executive. Rather, beginning in January, Warner Bros. Pictures Group President Jeff Robinov will assume some of McCormick's duties and reassign his other responsibilities to executives on his team.
A person inside Warner said that McCormick and Robinov had recently discussed the idea of him segueing into a production deal at the studio. Two people familiar with the matter said there had been growing "awkwardness" between the two executives whose jobs tended to overlap. People said Robinov, who had been head of production for five years before being promoted two years ago, had remained very hands-on despite the expansion of his duties.
McCormick had another year to go on his contract, and in a prepared statement said he was eager to get back to the "creative side of filmmaking, which is what I most care about." Early in his career, McCormick had worked extensively on the production side of the business.
Among the first Warner Bros. projects that McCormick will tackle at his new production company are "Dead Spy Running," adapted by Stephen Gaghan; "The Lucky One," to be directed by Doug McGrath and produced by Denise Di Novi; "Arthur," with producers Larry Bresner and Chris Bender; and an untitled project with screenwriter Eric Roth.
McCormick, who as a film executive was involved with such films as Tim Burton's "Charlie and The Chocolate Factory," "The Perfect Storm" and "The Last Samurai," will also maintain an association with Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures by becoming a producer on several of that unit's projects in development and pre-production.
Before joining Warner Bros. in 1999, McCormick worked at Fox 2000 as executive vice president of production. He began his career at the Robert Stigwood Organization in London, working on such films as "Saturday Night Live" (which he executive produced), "Grease," "Tommy" and "Jesus Christ Superstar." He then went on to form a producing partnership with actress Sally Field and later had a production deal at Paramount Pictures.
-- Claudia Eller
Photo: Warner Bros.' Kevin McCormick (R) with actor James Franco: Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
The following post discusses "The Color Blue," Sunday's episode of "Mad Men."
"I am afflicted, OK? It's not a question of will. I can't change that."I do have some questions in this regard, however: What if Don destroys the papers and photos in the box before Betty can confront him with what she learned from its contents? Also, an even bigger question: Why did Don keep all that stuff -- in his house, no less? Did he keep some of the papers because Anna Draper might need them? Did part of him want to get caught?
I think keeping both dog tags wasn't smart at all. The sight of both dog tags almost took me out of the moment, actually. Even at his most self-destructive, would Don, who has been so focused on survival his entire life, keep such hard evidence of what he'd done in Korea? Hmm, I don't know.
Sponsored Link: Amazon's Mad Men StoreThe new documentary One Fast Move or I'm Gone uses various artists to voice Jack Kerouac's novel Big Sur. Director Curt Worden and biographer Joyce Johnson discuss the beat poet's relationship with the California coast.
