The Morning Fix: Inside the academy! ‘Safe House’ rises in value.
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After the coffee. Before figuring out why I don’t have today off.
The Skinny: Is Channing Tatum in every movie coming out between now and September? I saw ‘Safe House’ on Saturday (thumbs up) and it seemed every trailer featured the pretty boy. In Monday’s holiday headlines, an inside look at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; China lowers its wall on Hollywood and Woody Allen wins big at the Writers Guild Awards.
Daily Dose: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was eager to take credit for brokering a new deal between MSG (home of the New York Knicks and new star Jeremy Lin) and Time Warner Cable that got the cable network back on in New York City. But in reality it was pressure from NBA Commissioner David Stern that brought both sides back to the table, according to insiders who talked to Company Town. Lin’s rise from obscurity to superstar is the NBA’s biggest feel-good story in years and is making people forget about the lockout that shortened the season.
Everything you wanted to know about the academy but were afraid to ask. The Los Angeles Times pulls the curtain back on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, with a look at the demographics of those who decide who gets an Oscar (mostly older, white and male) as well as some of the more unusual members.
Cracking the wall. Late Friday, the movie industry scored a big win in its ongoing effort to get more of its movies shown in China. Hollywood will get to export more of its movies into China as well as keep more of the revenue those films generate in ticket sales. Details from the Los Angeles Times, New York Times and Wall Street Journal.
Safe! The action movie ‘Safe House’ is projected to finish first this holiday weekend. Interestingly, last week the industry executives who make forecasts had Nic Cage’s ‘Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance’ racing to the top spot. A look at the weekend box office from USA Today.
Woody’s night. Woody Allen’s ‘Midnight in Paris’ took home the prize for best original screenplay from the Writers Guild of America at its annual awards ceremony Sunday. Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash won for best adapted screenplay for ‘The Descendants.’ On the TV side, ‘Modern Family,’ ‘Homeland’ and ‘Breaking Bad’ had big wins. A recap from Variety.
Staying behind the scenes. Oprah Winfrey’s troubles in getting her cable network OWN off the ground may serve as a cautionary tale to other Hollywood big shots, says AdWeek. ‘Anyone else launching a network would be wise to keep their name off of it,’ Gary Lico, chief executive of CableU, which studies the cable industry, told AdWeek. I guess that means FlinTV is a no-go.
Inside the Los Angeles Times: Most broadcasters are in no hurry to part with their spectrum. Matt Groening, creator of ‘The Simpsons,’ on hitting the 500-episode mark.
-- Joe Flint
Follow me on Twitter. I’ll be around at least as long as ‘The Simpsons.’ Twitter.com/JBFlint
