The Morning Fix: Sarah Palin makes Discovery! Lions Gate board says no to Icahn. Time Warner in mix for MGM. `Spartacus' slays them at Starz.

After the coffee. Before figuring out how messed up your NCAA brackets are.

And then there were three. Looks like there were three bids made for the ailing MGM Monday in the $1.2-billion to $1.5-billion range, not even close to the $2 billion that the studio's creditors were seeking. The three bidders are Time Warner, Lions Gate and Len Blavatnik's Access Industries. Time Warner appears to have made the biggest bid and is considered the front runner. Details on the process from the Los Angeles Times and Reuters.

Lions Gate board says no to Icahn. The board of Lions Gate Entertaiment rejected activist shareholder (still hate that phrase, by the way) Carl Icahn's hostile bid of $6 per-share for the company. According to Bloomberg, Lions Gate CEO Jon Feltheimer said, “This financially inadequate proposal stands in stark contrast to our patient, disciplined strategy of building a strong and diversified company.” So there!

Sneak peak. The New York Times takes a look at James L. Brooks' new adult drama (the two most dreaded words in the film industry) "How Do You Know" starring Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson and Jack Nicholson. Sony has been keeping the movie under wraps. Even the title is not set in stone and details are still sketchy. It is either about a female athlete or it is about the decisions we make that change our lives, like whether I'll take 3rd Street or Wilshire to work today.

Palin to Discovery. The Hollywood Reporter says Discovery Channel has won the Sarah Palin reality show sweepstakes. Considering the broadcast networks all passed and there was only one other cable channel in the running, we're not sure what exactly they won. According to THR, the cost to the cable channel may be more than $1 million per episode which, uh, sounds insane. Wanna bet on whether this thing gets on the air, much less lasts a whole season? Not that we're keeping score, but THR originally reported that Discovery Channel was not interested in the show, but that its sister network TLC was. We'll wait for an official release from Discovery before we start the official mocking of them.

Gossip about this. Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, the team behind "Gossip Girl," have signed a new overall deal with Warner Bros. TV. Variety and the Wrap have details on the innovative pact.

"The Situation" is universal. MTV is taking its "reality" hit "Jersey Shore" overseas. This is a surprise to, well, no one except the New York Times, which has a lengthy story about whether Europeans and others from around the world will get "The Situation." If they got "Beavis and Butt-head" they can handle "Jersey Shore."

Inside the Los Angeles Times: Inside Starz's over-the-top hit "Spartacus." Patrick Goldstein on the battle between theater owners and studios over windows on DVD releases.

-- Joe Flint

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Comments

[Kevin]

I really like Discovery Channel, but I assure you I will never watch again if they actually start a Quitter Pants Palin "reality" show, on Alaska's natural beauty no less. Oh the irony...

[Bud Confoy]

Jackasses,
So you are ready to mock anything Sarah Palin does without knowing any details about it? Obviously if TLC/Discovery won a bidding war with A&E, some people are willing to put big money up is support of her. Let's look, Oprahs highest ratings in 2 years-Sarah palin, Leno's highest ratings this year-Sarah Palin. What is wrong with you?

[Arye (Leslie) Michael Bender]

Can prevision the revue header: "We have discovered Palin, and wish we had not".

As for me, I prefer watching Michael (Palin).

[Kevin]

Mr. Confoy,

Yes, I am ready to mock everything she does without details since her track record shows that everything she does is insane and mockable. And big money and high ratings do not equal integrity or quality programming. If I were an advertiser or network exec, sure I might want her show to make fast cash while I can. There are also shows by or about Jerry Springer, Paris Hilton, Anna Nicole Smith...they are like watching car crashes. People can't look away. The entertainment factor plays to the lowest common denominator. I suppose those are the people who would watch a former half term governor's show too. I am not one of those people.

[Bud Confoy]

Kevin,
Just curious what is the irony of Sarah Palin doing a show about Alaska? She lives there, talks about her love for the state all the time, is certainly an outdoorswoman. She was the Governor there until nuisance lawsuits(all which have been dropped) forced her to turn over the reins to Gov Parnell, who by the way speaks glowingly of her. Tell me WHAT IS THE IRONY?????You are the usual liberal moron who just spouts BS and thinks you sound sharp.Please SHUT UP.

[phylosopher]

Where's the boycott list. I, too will not watch any discovery Channel shows , will protest their inclusion in my cable package and boycott sponsors. Send the wicked witch of the north back.

[Edwin Johansson]

Dear Confoy the Confused,

Thank you so much for addressing everyone else here as jackasses. Coming from a misguided soul such as yourself, any such derogatory remarks can only be construed by the sane and reasonable as compliments. Now onto dissecting the minimal amount of substance you It is most certainly true that a sucker is born every minute, so you should feel comforted belonging to such a large group. The immeasurable levels of ignorance that you and other fans of Sarah Palin embrace and espouse is certainly embarrassing to the rest of America, but I suppose it could provide entertainment to our enemies. You ask what is the irony? Since you are so blind to the truth, I doubt anyone's explanations will help you to understand what you do not want to read about. Your claim of nuisance lawsuits as the impetus driving your heroine to quit governing is beyond laughable, but this is America and you are entitled to believe what you want to believe. For a sensible explanation though, why not consider the fact that she is an opportunist who quit her responsibilities and pledges so she could chase the dollar--just like Glenn Beck and all the others who are playing the conservative movement like a fiddle. They do not care about you. I know you don't want to believe it, but you are being cashed in upon as you read this by all the virulent mouthpieces you so admire. As far as the irony you ask about; read up on Palin's anti-wildlife policies during her truncated tenure. The archives of the LA Times are easy to search, but since you radiate an impression of finding fault with anything someone who disagrees with you may suggest, perhaps you can find your own resources. Even the Alaska Daily News archives will show you how Palin stubbornly ignored the advice of Alaska's own Board of Fish and Game and 172 wildlife and scientific experts in promoting her aerial wolf hunting program, which allowed your favorite pageantress a photo-op with a rifle in a helicopter to promote barbaric acts of animal cruelty. Still, you wonder about irony as you clamor for an appearance by Sarah Palin alongside conservation and wildlife programs on the Discovery Channel? Since you come across as the type who would be unsatisfied by facts and logic, you can also find clues about irony within your own post--you yourself desperately rant about liberals being morons and end by telling everyone else to "shut up." Since you seem to be so bent on outing all the quacks, you would be well suited to position a chair in front of your bathroom mirror and sit there all day. You can then feel successful and accomplished, even though you write you are not normally a fan of others who are sharp. Thanks again Bud.

Sincerely,

Edwin Johansson
Hidden Hills, CA