The Morning Fix: Comcast marches on! Spielberg hops off ‘Harvey.’ Powerful women!
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After the coffee. Before deciding whether George Clooney needs to up his profile a little.
Comcast: Day II. Can we move on yet? Comcast detailed its deal to acquire control of NBC Universal from General Electric Co. on Thursday. Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, President Steve Burke and even company founder Ralph Roberts (who’s 89!) were in New York greeting staffers at a town hall held in the Jimmy Fallon studio. Meanwhile, Comcast’s D.C. team is working overtime for the yearlong battle to get this merger through the regulators and lawmakers. Out in Hollywood, the folks at Universal are pretending to know what’s next. As for what it means to you the average American, well we’re still trying to figure that one out.
Here’s today’s coverage:
For the deal: Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Times.
For the D.C. angle: Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Broadcasting & Cable.
For Hollywood: Los Angeles Times, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Daily Beast, Wrap.
Women too busy to lunch. The Hollywood Reporter has released its annual power list ranking Hollywood’s female executives. On top are Disney’s Anne Sweeney and Sony’s Amy Pascal. Also in the top five are CBS’ Nancy Tellem, NBC Universal’s Bonnie Hammer and, of course, Oprah Winfrey.
Get the wake-up call ready. George Stephanopoulos is mulling over an offer to succeed Diane Sawyer on ABC’s ‘Good Morning America.’ According to the Washington Post, the former White House staffer and current host of ABC’s Sunday morning political program, ‘This Week,’ wants to bring a harder news edge to the morning chat fest. Yeah, good luck with that one.
Now can we just drop the whole idea? Steven Spielberg has dropped out of DreamWorks and Fox’s planned remake of the Jimmy Stewart classic ‘Harvey’ about a man and his 6-foot rabbit friend. Variety says there has been casting issues, with few willing to take on such an iconic part. No one is ready to throw in the towel yet though.
Isn’t it rude to ask? Everyone’s trying to figure out how much Fox is spending on Jim Cameron’s ‘Avatar.’ Is it $400 million? Is it $500 million? Is it $10 billion? OK, no one is saying that ... yet. The Wrap says the movie’s ‘true cost’ is under $400 million and it’s poised to be profitable. Geez, all that money and I still won’t buy popcorn because it’s too expensive.
Inside the Los Angeles Times: A look back at ‘Monk’ as it ends its run on USA. More Adam Lambert controversy. The Federal Trade Commission praises the video game industry but not the movie industry when it comes to protecting kids from violence.
-- Joe Flint
