The Morning Fix: Disney’s on the move! No prime suspect for NBC’s ‘Prime Suspect.’ Conan’s on Twitter (yawn). Just what is in Charlie Sheen’s morals clause?
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After the coffee. Before watching Comcast and NBC get grilled on Capitol Hill again.
What’s up with Disney? A couple of interesting articles on Walt Disney Co. floating out there. Bloomberg looks at the spending spree CEO Bob Iger has been on as he remakes the company. Besides Marvel, the company has been upgrading theme parks and overhauling some cable properties. Did you know Iger was voted ‘most enthusiastic’ in high school? Meanwhile, the Daily Beast’s Kim Masters looks at the reign of Rich Ross in his first several months as head of Disney Studios. A lot of Hollywood is questioning some of his moves, but of course no one will actually go on the record. And once again, the decision of Disney not to make a sequel to ‘The Proposal’ is brought up without saying whether Sandra Bullock was attached, and until someone writes that she definitely was game, it’s hard to get that worked up about it.
The check is in the mail. Media giants are starting to increase their dividends, says the Hollywood Reporter. Time Warner, News Corp. and Comcast have all boosted dividends, while Time Warner Cable said it would start paying one and DirecTV is considering one. Still, most media companies, the article said, have a low dividend yield.
Still no prime suspect for prime suspect. NBC is pushing back its plans for a remake of the British drama ‘Prime Suspect’ because it still can’t find anyone worthy of reprising Helen Mirren’s role, reports Variety. Jessica Walters is only a few years older than Mirren -- just throwing that out there. Or, if you want to go a little younger, maybe Cynthia Nixon or Gillian Anderson.
Conan’s on Twitter! The former late-night talk show host has joined Twitter, and for some reason that merited tons of stories everywhere. Was it a slow news day? We’re not going to link to any of the stories on this one, as a protest. This comment on the New York Times’ media blog seemed to sum up my thoughts on the obsession over this one. ‘I understand the humor, but a lot of us really don’t have jobs and we don’t have the resources gained by working in entertainment for over a decade to fall back on. I have to decide between paying my mortgage or paying for health insurance, sorry about the squirrel interview.’ I know, I know, lighten up.
Call in the lawyers. The Hollywood Reporter tries to figure out who could potentially be on the hook for any big financial losses from Charlie Sheen’s temporary (for now anyway) break from his hit sitcom, ‘Two and a Half Men.’ I know I’d love to see the moral clauses in his contract.
Inside the Los Angeles Times: Our own Maria Elena Fernandez has been tracking pilot season and here’s her look at the CW. You can also find her takes on ABC and CBS there as well. Patrick Goldstein spends some time with director Kevin Smith. CBS CEO Leslie Moonves has a new deal but no raise. The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.’s chief economist, Nancy Sidhu, is an optimist about the entertainment biz in SoCal. Well, someone has to be, right?
-- Joe Flint
