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The Morning Fix: Fewer Starz on Netflix. More gripes about Time Warner Cable’s iPad app.

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After the coffee. Before kicking myself for not replacing my Timberlands.

The Skinny: Of all the places I’ve lived, (Detroit, New Jersey, New York and Washington, D.C) none have rain like Los Angeles. I don’t mean those other cities have less rain. I mean when it rains here it is much more intense. It’s like the rain in the movie ‘Seven.’ Have a dry weekend.

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Fewer Starz on Netflix. First Showtime changes its deal with Netflix and now Starz is following suit. On Thursday, the Liberty Media-owned pay TV channel said it would no longer put its original content on Netflix the day after it runs on the channel. Now it will wait three months. Starz also said it would eventually do the same with the theatrical movies it carries. The moves from Showtime and Starz come after Netflix made its first foray into original programming, making the company even more of a competitor. Analysis from the Los Angeles Times, New York Times and Variety.

Stop talking and start suing already. Cable networks continue to grumble that Time Warner Cable’s new iPad app that allows for live TV to be streamed on the tablet device in the home is a violation of their contracts. So far, though, only one programmer -- Food Network parent Scripps Networks -- will go on the record and complain. The others just whisper. Man up! If you think Time Warner Cable is out of line, go public or sue them instead of hiding behind background quotes and official ‘no comments.’ The latest on the flap from the Wall Street Journal.

Wimpy kid or violent girls? This weekend’s box office match is a battle between a sequel for the surprise hit ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ and ‘Sucker Punch,’ which looks like a modern-day Russ Meyer movie aimed directly at young men or fans of leather and latex. Box office projections from Los Angeles Times and Variety.

Maybe I’ll open a video store with a law firm. Financially ailing video store chain Blockbuster Inc. said it is canceling the leases on 150 of its stores and leaving any property to the landlords. Hmmm. I’ve always wanted a big bookcase that said, ‘comedy.’ More from Bloomberg.

Hope she got a lot of cash. New Line has acquired the rights to the story of an unlikely cheerleader for the Cincinnati Bengals. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Laura Vikmanis, 42, became a cheerleader late in life after her husband left her for a younger woman and ultimately was hired by the Bengals. Given that there may be no football season this fall, hope New Line is paying her well for the rights.

Stop the presses! This is what’s known in the biz as a dog-bites-man story. Per the New York Post, reporters at the Washington Post are shocked to learn that the paper’s publisher Katherine Weymouth continued to rake in a couple million in salary and bonuses while the paper was conducting buyouts. In reality, there are probably a lot better examples of outrageous paydays. If a movie is made about Weymouth, I suggest casting Elisabeth Moss of ‘Mad Men.’

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You mean it’s not Lindsay Lohan? Rob Lowe, writing for the Daily Beast, says there will never be another Elizabeth Taylor. Said Lowe: ‘In today’s era, where actor’s drop f-bombs from award podiums or slather the audience in aggressive gratitude, drowning you in a syrup of false humility, it’s impossible to imagine Taylor doing the same, then driving off in a Prius. She knew there was no point in pretending to be just like everyone else when the whole world already knows you are not.’

Inside the Los Angeles Times: Mary McNamara on HBO’s ‘Mildred Pierce.’ CBS seems to be ready to move on from Katie Couric.

-- Joe Flint

Follow me on Twitter. It’s like a burst of sunshine on a rainy day. Twitter.com/JBFlint

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