The Morning Fix: Polanski arrested! SNL’s $#*& up! Leftover ‘Meatballs’ tasty. Fall TV season’s solid start
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Skipping the coffee. Before atoning.
Polanski arrested. Director Roman Polanski’s arrest in Switzerland will likely bring the fugitive director back to the United States, which he fled in 1978 rather than face the music for unlawful sex with a minor. Details from the Los Angeles Times and New York Times.Leftover meatballs are tasty. Sony’s ‘Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs’ finished first for the second week in a row at the box office with $24.6 million, an impressive drop of only 19% from its premiere week. Not so good weekend for Disney’s ‘Surrogates’ and MGM’s ‘Fame.’ Analysis from the Los Angeles Times.
She said what? Saturday Night Live cast member Jenny Slate meant to say ‘friggin’ ’ but said something else in the show’s season premiere. The slipup was heard only on the East Coast and SNL executive producer Lorne Michaels told the Washington Post that NBC’s switchboard did not ‘light up’ with angry calls. At least there weren’t angry calls about the cursing, we don’t know if there were angry calls about the tired sketches and Bono’s rapping. Broadcasting & Cable D.C. ace John Eggerton reminds us that, technically speaking, the incident occurred after 10 p.m. so there are no legal issues for NBC stations. In other words, chill out PTC!
Week 1 not so weak. The new TV season officially started last week (even though new shows premiered as early as two weeks ago, but anyway) and almost everyone can find something to crow about, reports the Wrap. Our own Scott Collins weighs in with his take on the early results.
Will Graydon Carter and Anna Wintour carpool? Publishing giant Conde Nast, home of the New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Vogue and GQ, is getting ready to go through some serious cost-cutting. But how can magazines that promote the good life cheap out on the perks? The New York Times looks at the challenges Conde Nast faces in trying to change its culture.
HSN is adding ... commercials. While Home Shopping Network is all about selling stuff, it is now adding product placements into the mix, according to the Wall Street Journal. Next week, HSN will start airing a three-minute segment on how to use Kraft products. Can’t wait to see what else I can do with my macaroni and cheese. QVC, which is still the No. 1 shopping channel, told the paper it has no plans to add product placements to its sales efforts.
In the Los Angeles Times: As stars fall in value, games and toys rise, reports Ben Fritz. Patrick Goldstein on Polanski.
-- Joe Flint
