Hollywood – News Stories About Hollywood - Page 51

Nov 17, 2007 4:25 PM CST

Why Can't They Just Get Along?

Inside the bitter feud that's breaking up Dreamworks and Paramount

(Newser) - Less than two years after Paramount acquired DreamWorks, executive tempers have boiled over. The much-heralded union has degenerated into a series of scathing personal attacks between the principals, Sumner Redstone and David Geffen. Shuttling between the bigwigs, Vanity Fair offers an in-depth look at the Hollywood war—and maybe even...

Striking Writers to Resume Talks

Nov 17, 2007 5:48 AM CST

Striking Writers to Resume Talks

With 2 dozen TV shows shut down, will meet with studio reps Nov. 26

(Newser) - With the Hollywood writers' strike starting to cause economic pain, writers and studios have agreed to head back to the bargaining table Nov. 26. The breakthrough came via back-channel talks between top TV writers and studio execs, the Los Angeles Times reports. The strike halted production on some two dozen...

Striking Writers Enlist Kids

Nov 12, 2007 6:20 PM CST

Striking Writers Enlist Kids

Writers use Veterans Day to teach kids and garner attention

(Newser) - Striking scribes took advantage of Veterans Day to bring their kids to picket lines in Los Angeles today, the AP reports. The move garnered attention and gave parents a chance to tutor youngsters in payments and residuals. "It's a little rude for the producers to take so much and...

Compass Film Strips Book's Anti-God Moral

Nov 9, 2007 9:58 PM CST

Compass Film Strips Book's Anti-God Moral

Author Pullman's stab at organized religion gets mass-appeal makeover

(Newser) - When the film version of hit children’s book The Golden Compass hits theaters this month, its atheist message will be thoroughly scrubbed—but the author is mainly holding his tongue. Philip Pullman says New Line would have scored a bigger hit by preserving God and clergy as villains, but...

Writerless Studios May Turn to UK

Nov 9, 2007 2:10 PM CST

Writerless Studios May Turn to UK

Transatlantic talent search a possibility; strike marches on

(Newser) - Five days into the Writers Guild strike, studios are looking across the Atlantic to UK screenwriters who don't fall under American union jurisdiction. So far, they're just looking, Variety reports, and the jury's still out on the ethics of the situation. One studio exec says it presents "an extraordinary...

Hollywood Studios Strike Back

Nov 7, 2007 8:52 AM CST

Hollywood Studios Strike Back

Cancel deals with production companies to spread the pain of writer's guild strike

(Newser) - Hollywood studios are moving quickly to spread the pain of the writers' strike, saying they'll start—as soon as today—suspending dozens of long-term deals with TV production companies and laying off assistants, development executives and production managers who work for striking writers. "Anyone who's not working on pilots...

Scribe Strike May Last
Months

Nov 6, 2007 7:23 PM CST

Scribe Strike May Last Months

No talks planned as shows tabled, actors refuse to work

(Newser) - The Hollywood writers strike could last for months, says ABC News, because negotiators will have trouble dividing profits that no one can predict. "You can't slice a pie that isn't baked yet," a consultant tells ABC, referring to new media. "It's really poor timing on the...

Hollywood Writers on Strike

Nov 5, 2007 6:08 AM CST

Hollywood Writers on Strike

Writers demanding bigger share of DVD profits; studios slam 'irresponsible' strike

(Newser) - The first Hollywood writers strike since 1988 began early this morning when union representatives walked out on talks with studio negotiators after 11 hours at the bargaining table. Both sides expect the strike to be long, expensive and debilitating. "Once it starts, it's going to get ugly," a...

CBS Mobile Pioneers Tiny TV Programs

Nov 5, 2007 5:26 AM CST

CBS Mobile Pioneers Tiny TV Programs

Cell phone content marries Hollywood and Silicon Valley

(Newser) - With such offerings as a twice-daily celeb gossip show and a 24-hour version of "Big Brother," CBS Mobile has taken a lead in the burgeoning made-for-mobile content business. The new field still has plenty of kinks to work out as companies navigate complicated deals between TV networks and...

Gangster Whacks Box Office

Nov 4, 2007 4:25 PM CST

Gangster Whacks Box Office

Ridley Scott flick is highest grossing R-rated crime film ever

(Newser) - American Gangster put competitors on ice this weekend and became the top-grossing R-rated crime flick ever. Starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, Gangster scored the top debut of the fall, beating Seinfeld's Bee Movie by $46.3 million to $39.1 million. Seinfeld's first foray since Seinfeld buzzed a little...

Hollywood Grows Skittish About Iraq Films

Nov 3, 2007 6:12 PM CDT

Hollywood Grows Skittish About Iraq Films

Nation's volatile mood has producers wary of adapting war books

(Newser) - Iraq war books are hitting stores in droves—with some 40 titles coming out this fall—but Hollywood isn't lining up to adapt them like before. A dicey political mood, huge war flick budgets, and fears of bleak, box office clunkers like Rendition all have producers scared, the Los Angeles ...

Hollywood Writers Call Strike

Nov 2, 2007 2:38 AM CDT

Hollywood Writers Call Strike

'Feels like Armegeddon,' says one industry insider

(Newser) - Setting the stage for the first walkout in nearly 20 years, Hollywood writers voted yesterday to go on strike, reports Associated Press. The union's president announced the decision in a closed-door meeting yesterday, drawing raucous cheers from the assembly. "There was a unified feeling. I don't think anyone wants...

History of Loathing Fuels Labor Unrest

Oct 30, 2007 7:12 PM CDT

History of Loathing Fuels Labor Unrest

In Hollywood, art vs. business has long divided writers, studios

(Newser) - The current Hollywood labor difficulties are the culmination of generations of animosity, dating to the earliest days of talking pictures and studios' resentment of the sophisticated New Yorkers they employed. With the Writers Guild of America set to strike at midnight tomorrow, the LA Times takes a look at a...

DVD Pirates Outwit Hollywood

Oct 26, 2007 7:18 AM CDT

DVD Pirates Outwit Hollywood

Pre-release bootlegging on the rise despite studio security measures

(Newser) - The high-profile Oscar hopeful American Gangster opens next week—but it's already available as a pirated DVD for $5 or for free via internet file-sharing sites. American Gangster is the latest example of the upper hand that bootleggers have gained of late in their war against security measures, the Wall ...

Hey Brother, Can You Spare
a Screenplay?

Oct 24, 2007 1:06 PM CDT

Hey Brother, Can You Spare a Screenplay?

Hollywood desperate to finish scripts before Halloween writer strike

(Newser) - Last week, Paramount issued an urgent call for someone, anyone, to doctor its Wolverine script—fast. Across Hollywood, studios and writers alike are desperately rushing to finish scripts before the Writers' Guild’s Halloween strike deadline, the LA Times reports. “Everybody is living in the impending doom,” said...

Hollywood Writers Vote to Strike

Oct 20, 2007 6:20 AM CDT

Hollywood Writers Vote to Strike

Studios stockpiling content in preparation for possible walkout

(Newser) - Hollywood writers are headed for the picket line if they don't reach a deal with the studios by Oct. 31. Members of the film and TV writers' union voted by a 90% margin to authorize a strike if the standoff isn't resolved, the first such strike vote since 1988, the...

Writers' Strike Might Keep
You out of
'The Office'

Oct 16, 2007 5:01 AM CDT

Writers' Strike Might Keep You out of 'The Office'

Prime-time could get real if negotiations fail

(Newser) - Get ready for what might be a big dose of reality. Contract negotiations between Hollywood and writers aren't going well, and a strike could mean prime-time schedules would soon be dominated by such unscripted series as "American Idol." The sides remain divided on issues like splitting revenue from...

Peacock Flies Burbank Coop

Oct 11, 2007 4:03 AM CDT

Peacock Flies Burbank Coop

NBC is moving operations to new studios near Universal

(Newser) - NBC Universal is pulling up stakes at its legendary Burbank studio home of 50 years and moving to new facilities across from Universal Studios in Hollywood. The company will switch operations to a massive new complex in 2011. The center will have a street-side studio modeled after the "Today"...

Hillary Is Boffo in Hollywood

Oct 5, 2007 6:15 AM CDT

Hillary Is Boffo in Hollywood

After flirtation with Barack Obama, entertainment power brokers now back Clinton

(Newser) - After an early romance with Barack Obama, entertainment industry power brokers have largely switched their affection to Hillary Clinton, the Los Angeles Times reports, finding the former first lady more charming and personable than they had expected. Director Rob Reiner, who had been skeptical that Clinton could be elected, is...

Hard Work Has Cruise's Studio Poised to Strike

Oct 4, 2007 3:57 PM CDT

Hard Work Has Cruise's Studio Poised to Strike

Now, a big hit would complete resuscitation of United Artists

(Newser) - Tom Cruise and longtime producing partner Paula Wagner, 15 months after being publicly bounced from Paramount, have a line of high-end films ready to roll as they attempt to rejuvenate the United Artists studio. A hit would solidify the pair's rebuilding effort, Business Week reports, and first up is Cruise...