The Morning Fix: Nick Nolte’s comeback. Andy Cohen makes late-night push.
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After the coffee. Before the trip to D.C.
The Skinny: This is a somewhat abbreviated version of the Morning Fix as I had an early flight to catch to D.C. for Thanksgiving. Tuesday’s headlines include a look at Aardman Animations and a new entry into the late-night television field.
Christmas comeback? ‘Arthur Christmas,’ the animated family holiday film opening Wednesday, is the first effort between Sony Pictures Animation and British animation house Aardman Animations. For Aardman, creator of Academy Award-winning Wallace and Gromit shorts like ‘The Wrong Trousers,’ the movie is a chance for it to move beyond its 2006 flop ‘Flushed Away,’ which turned into a sea of red ink for its then-partner DreamWorks Animation. The Los Angeles Times looks at what Aardman has riding on ‘Arthur Christmas.’
Cloudy days ahead. DirecTV, which has close to 20 million subscribers, is anticipating a bleak 2012. The satellite broadcaster is considering joining rivals Time Warner Cable and Comcast in offering low-cost programming packages to subscribers in an effort to hold onto old customers who might be feeling financially pinched and to woo new customers who don’t want to spend a ton on a video programming service. But the low-cost lineups usually don’t include sports channels, which are the most expensive networks. More from Bloomberg.
Will stream for food. Netflix is looking to raise about $400 million, a move seen as a sign that it will continue to struggle. The entertainment company has seen its stock tumble and subscriber base shrink after it raised prices last summer. It has been spending a lot on old reruns and is also trying to get into the original-programming game to make its service more appealing. Details from The Wall Street Journal.
Look out Conan! Bravo is moving into the late-night television game. ‘Watch What Happens Live,’ the network’s twice weekly late show, is now going to run five days a week. The program, which is hosted by Bravo executive Andy Cohen, primarily serves as a platform to promote the network’s heavy load of popular reality shows, including the ‘Real Housewives’ franchise, and is most popular with women. It will have to broaden its guest list a little if Bravo wants it to be a serious contender in the late-night race. Coverage from The New York Times.
Hard to please. There is an automatic assumption that movie attendance rises around Christmas. Variety got ahold of a survey which found that it is the art house crowd that most looks forward to seeing a flick around the holidays. That actually makes sense. Art house folks are a sensitive lot who probably can only take so much time around their families.
Nolte’s rebound. It’s been almost a decade since Nick Nolte was busted for drunk driving and posed for the mug shot seen round the world that made him, to this day, the butt of late-night TV jokes. But now Nolte is considered Oscar material for his performance in ‘Warrior’ and is co-starring in the much-anticipated HBO series ‘Luck,’ about the horse racing game. The Daily Beast catches up with Nolte.
Inside the Los Angeles Times: Patrick Goldstein on the upcoming Warner Bros. movie ‘Gangster Squad.’ Steven Zeitchik reviews ‘The Doors’ by rock critic Greil Marcus. Hugh Grant makes a splash at a Parliament hearing on phone hacking at News Corp.’s tabloid newspapers.
-- Joe Flint
Follow me on Twitter. I’m something to be thankful for. Twitter.com/JBFlint
