The Morning Fix: U.S. tries to crack wall in China! Hugh Grant wooed for ‘Two and a Half Men’! Distracted viewers hurt drama genre.

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After the coffee. Before figuring out how many lives NBC’s ‘Chuck’ has had.

The Skinny: Company Town is testing out a new comments system that will require people who want to comment to do so through their Facebook accounts. That means now I’ll see the faces of the people saying mean things. Elsewhere in the media world, the U.S. film industry is taking another crack at opening doors in China. Hugh Grant has had talks about joining ‘Two and a Half Men.’ Comcast hires a top regulator for its lobbying efforts.

Trying to break down the wall. The United States is working on getting China to loosen up on the quota of films the country allows to be screened. Currently, China allows 20 foreign films into the country annually, and the studios that make the movies get less than 20% of the box-office revenue. The goal is to double that figure. But, although the number of theaters in China has grown substantially and there is a need for more product, that doesn’t mean easing up the restrictions is a slam dunk. New Motion Picture Assn. of America head Chris Dodd will go to China next month to work on the relationship. More from the Los Angeles Times.

Two and a half chaps? Hugh Grant has had talks with Warner Bros. about taking a starring role on ‘Two and a Half Men’ in the wake of Charlie Sheen’s dismissal from the CBS hit that the studio produces. Although the discussions were hot and heavy for a little while, they have since cooled, according to Deadline Hollywood, the industry website that broke the news. On the surface, Grant might seem more ideal to replace costar Jon Cryer, who is Felix Unger to Sheen’s Oscar Madison, but the Brit can play a charming rogue in his sleep.

How many cooks in that kitchen anyway? For everyone who fantasizes about producing your own television show, here’s a reminder from the Wall Street Journal of all the hassles, headaches and hurdles a creator goes through to get a show from script to pilot to pickup for the fall schedule.

Pay attention! Once you get a show on a network, better keep it simple because, as the Los Angeles Times notes, viewers are doing 10 different things while watching your show, and it’s really easy for them to get lost and then change the channel. You’ve heard of distracted driving; this is distracted viewing.

Action! Tony Krantz has gone from hot-shot agent to television producer to movie director. Going from behind the desk to behind the camera has always been smooth sailing. “It was hard for people to take me seriously as a producer at first too,” he told the New York Times. “I equate it to seeing your teacher out of school. It feels a little weird. Now, as a director, it’s the same thing again.” ’Equate’ is a word an agent would use, so Krantz still has a little ways to go.

Business as usual. FCC Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker, who just a few months ago voted in favor of Comcast’s big deal to acquire control of General Electric Co.’s NBC Universal assets, will now go to work for the cable giant as a lobbyist. Although not the first government official to go to work for an industry she’s regulated, the timing raised a few eyebrows even among jaded Capitol Hill observers. Details from the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, and Politico.

Inside the Los Angeles Times: Marion Cotillard and Penélope Cruz will be getting lots of attention at the Cannes Film Festival. A behind-the-scenes look at the uplifting movie ‘The First Grader.’

-- Joe Flint

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