The Morning Fix: Gaga for Grammys! Wanna buy Miramax? Vampires helping CW bleed less
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Before the coffee. After shaking the Grammy hangover. Beyoncé’s night. Beyoncé was the big winner at Sunday night’s Grammy Awards, taking home a record (for a woman) six trophies. Taylor Swift had nothing to cry about (except maybe that duet with Stevie Nicks) as she walked away with four awards including album of the year. But in terms of performance, it was Pink and Lady Gaga who ruled the night. Before we all start gushing about wild child Ke$ha, remember Pink’s already been there and done that. Ratings will be in later this morning, but it looks like the audience averaged almost 26 million viewers, up 35% from last year. More on the show from the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, USA Today and Billboard.
No surprise here. Walt Disney Co. is looking to unload Miramax, a move that comes after years of gradually reducing its output. But the name and the library are still strong enough to attract a slew of bidders, including Summit Entertainment. Not bidding is the Weinstein Co., headed by Miramax creators Bob and Harvey Weinstein. Though they’d love to have their company, or at least their name, back, that’s a little bit out of their price range right now. More from the New York Times and the Wrap.
Sucking blood for a long time to come. The CW network, which has had some nice success this year with ‘The Vampire Diaries’ and new hit ‘Life Unexpected,’ is still bleeding red ink, but its parents at Warner Bros. and CBS reassure Broadcasting & Cable that they remain committed to the venture. CW chief Dawn Ostroff tells B&C’s Melissa Grego that, although the network tries to be cutting edge with its content, ‘sometimes it is hard to predict what will strike a chord.’ That said, we’re not sure we agree with her assertion that ‘Melrose Place’ and ‘The Beautiful Life’ tanked in part because the country changed a lot in the last year.
Sundance wrap. Amid concern that Sundance would be lacking a lot of deal-making, a late flurry of sales brought numbers in line with 2009. Roundups from Hollywood Reporter and Variety.
Singing for dollars. Fox’s ‘Glee’ isn’t even through its first season, but the high school musical hit is already finding new revenue streams thanks to its soundtrack, downloads and even a tour in the works. Advertising Age looks at how Fox and producer 20th Century Fox TV are milking the show for all its worth.
Inside the Los Angeles Times: Mel Gibson’s return to the big screen produced solid but not spectacular results at the box office. Cuts are coming to CBS News. Kenneth Turan on what really matters about Sundance.
-- Joe Flint
