LOS ANGELES, CA, JANUARY 4, 2009 – Relativity Media, LLC has purchased Rogue Pictures from Universal Pictures, CEO Ryan Kavanaugh announced today.  With this deal, Relativity has acquired Rogue’s entire library, its more than 30 projects in development and ownership of its producing deals, including the legendary horror mastermind, Wes Craven and Intrepid.
 
The first picture set for release under this new deal is writer/director David S. Goyer’s (The Dark Knight) new horror film, The Unborn, produced by Michael Bay and his Platinum Dunes production company. The Unborn is a supernatural thriller that follows Casey (Odette Yustman) a young woman pulled into a world of nightmares when a demonic spirit haunts her and threatens everyone she loves. Plagued by merciless dreams and a tortured ghost that haunts her waking hours, Casey learns that the spirit may be the soul of her unborn twin brother and must turn to the only person who can make it stop-- Rabbi Sendak (Gary Oldman). The Unborn opens January 9, 2009.
 
Relativity expects to release three additional pictures in 2009, including Craven’s thriller 25/8, and release a minimum of two films per year each year thereafter. Relativity’s President of Production Tucker Tooley and his team will oversee all future productions.  As part of the deal Universal will continue to handle distribution of Rogue Pictures for most of the world.  Today’s announcement comes on the heels of Relativity’s landmark equity partnership with Universal (announced earlier this fall) where Relativity will fund a substantial part of Universal’s upcoming slate until 2015.
 
“Rogue is a recognized brand worldwide,” said Kavanaugh. “They’ve had success in the horror space in particular, which is something we can expand upon. This purchase allows us to pair our production and finance abilities alongside Universal’s extraordinary marketing and distribution team, under the umbrella of a strong and highly-focused brand.”
 
Said Michael Joe, Executive Vice President of Universal Pictures, “"Relativity is acquiring a strong, profitable business, and we are pleased to be working with them to continue marketing and distributing Rogue films.  We know Ryan and his team will continue to ensure Rogue has an opportunity to flourish."
 
Founded in 2004 by David Linde and James Schamus, Rogue Pictures is devoted to producing high-quality suspense, action, thriller, comedy and urban entertainment with mainstream appeal and franchise potential. Past hits include: Strangers, Waist Deep, The Hitcher, Balls of Fury, Dave Chapelle’s Block Party, Unleashed, Doomsday, Fearless, Assault on Precinct 13.

Relativity Bargaining To Acquire Rogue
  

SUNDAY AM: Weekend domestic box office numbes, including Sunday estimates...

Top 10

1. Marley And Me (Fox), 2nd Week, 3,505 locations, Wkd $24M (-35%), Cume $106M

2. Bedtime Stories (Disney), 2nd Week, 3,684 locations, Wkd $20.3M (-26%), Cume $85.3M

3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount), 2nd Week, 2,988 Locations, Wkd $18.4M (-31%), Cume $79M

4. Valkyrie (MGM-UA), 2nd Week, 2,778 Locations, Wkd $14M (-36%), Cume $60.6M

5. Yes Man (Warner Bros), 3rd Week, 3,434 Locations, Wkd $13.8M, Cume $79M

6. Seven Pounds (Sony), 3rd Week, 2,758 Locations, Wkd $10M, Cume $60M

7. The Tale of Despereaux (Universal), 3rd Week, 3,091 Locations, Wkd $7M, Cume $43.7M

8. Doubt (Miramax), 4th Week, 1,287 Locations, Wkd $4.9M, Cume $18.6M

9. The Day The Earth Stood Still (Fox), 4th Week, 2,337 Locations, Wkd $4.8M, Cume $74.3M

10. Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight), 612 Locations, Wkd $4.7M, Cume $28.7M

Other Oscar-Buzzed Pics

Gran Torino (Warner Bros), 84 Locations, kd $2.8M, Cume $9.6M

Milk (Focus), 309 Locations, Wkd $1.8M, Cume $17.1M

The Reader (Weinstein Co), 398 Locations, Wkd $1.5M, Cume $3.4M

Frost/Nixon (Imagine/Universal), 205 Locations, Wkd $1.4M, Cume $6.3M

Revolutionary Road (Paramount Vantage), 38 Locations, Wkd $979K,  Cume $1.3M

The Wrestler (Fox Searchlight), 18 Locations, Wkd $441K, Cume $1.7M

Defiance (Paramount Vantage) opener, 2 Locations, Wkd $121K, Cume $198K

Last Chance Harvey (Overture), 6 Locations, Wkd $105K, Cume $354K

Waltz with Bashir (Sony Classics), 5 Locations, Friday $16.3K, PSA $3,278, Cume $122K

For years now, I've kept up with LA's everchanging restaurant landscape through Jay Weston's Restaurant Newsletter. The film producer has published his print-only chatty 411 about Industry watering holes for 22 years. Heck, he helped put Nobu Matsuhisa on the Map Of The Stars. But in this rotten economy all of Weston's advertising has disappeared so he can't print the latest newsletter. (He tells me it reviews the neighborhood restaurant Amici Brentwood, and the new SLS Hotel's weird but wonderful Spanish restaurant Bazaar, and an expensive Japanese steak house on Pico so myserious no one can get in without a personal introduction from a customer...) The rate is $2,500 for a full-page color ad.

In 1975, Glenn Goldman opened the Sunset Strip's famed Book Soup. On Friday, he put it up for sale. On Saturday, he died. In a prepared statement, Book Soup general manager Tyson Cornell said, "The store remains an extremely viable business, and the entire staff wants to carry on the legacy of Book Soup." Please, Hollywood, make sure this showbiz treasure stays open and financially sound.

Back in 2007, Harvey Weinstein was boasting about Genius Products, the Santa Monica-based DVD distributor 70% owned by The Weinstein Co. That was then, and this is now. On December 24th, its shares were de-listed from the “over-the-counter” board (OCTBB) to the pink sheets. According to Home Media magazine, the de-listing was due to Genius’ inability to report third quarter fiscal 2008 results ending September 30th in a timely manner after formally requesting a filing extension with the SEC. Genius at that time said it would restate consolidated financial statements for six quarters and two fiscal-year periods. How awful must those numbers be after the company, in the second quarter FY2008, reported a 33% decline in DVD revenue to $74.6 million and a loss of $11.7 million due to a 49% drop in box office for Weinstein Co releases The Great Debaters, Diary of the Dead and Cassandra's Dream. I regularly do box office, and I barely remember those titles.

As DHD readers know, I've been closely following the Al Franken vs Norm Coleman hotly contested U.S. Senate race in Minnesota because, while showbiz talents who are also Democrats routinely raise money and campaign for political candidates, they rarely run for public office themselves. For a long while, Franken, the Saturday Night Live alum and ex-Air America radio broadcaster, trailed Coleman, the Republican incumbent U.S. senator. Then the challenger led by a slim margin. But tonight, the recount is finally complete with Franken ahead by a relatively comfortable 225 votes over Coleman. According to the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune, all that's left is for the Coleman camp's various legal challenges to be considered by the state Supreme Court. The Republican's term as a U.S. senator ended at noon ET today, and tonight state officials counted previously rejected absentee ballots in St. Paul. A newspaper tally of the officials' count of the absentee ballots showed that Franken, who had led unofficially by a mere 49 votes going into the day, gained a net 176 votes by day's end. "The state Canvassing Board is scheduled to meet Monday -- and possibly again Tuesday -- to review the tally of the previously rejected ballots. It may announce the race's final result by Tuesday, the day a new Congress convenes in Washington," the Star-Tribune reported. "With the recount complete, focus immediately shifted to the Minnesota Supreme Court, which continued to consider a request from the Coleman campaign to alter the process and add more absentee ballots to be reconsidered. But by early evening there was no word from the state's highest court as to when it would rule or hear arguments." So this is still not yet over. "A court challenge to the recount is almost certain to follow a certification from the Canvassing Board, as Coleman lawyers acknowledged last week," the Star-Tribune wrote. "Under state law, an election certificate formally naming a winner cannot be issued until all legal disputes are resolved."

1. Bill Clinton Campaigning For Al Franken
2. D-List Actors Diss Al Franken For Senate
3. SNL's Al Franken Leads In Senate Race
4. Al Franken Should Stick To Campaigning
5. Al Franken No Joke As Senate Candidate
6. Al Franken Will Run For U.S. Senate Seat  

UNIVERSAL CITY, CA, January 1, 2009 – Universal Pictures recorded its biggest year ever for the second year in a row with global theatrical grosses totaling $2.834 billion for 2008.  Universal’s domestic box-office tally of $1.12 billion outpaced the record it previously set in 2007, which was $1.099 billion.  Internationally, Universal shattered last year’s box-office mark of $1.034 billion, with a 2008 total of $1.714 billion, for an incredible year-over-year improvement of 66 percent.  Celebrating the studio breaking its own records for the second year in a row, the announcement was made today by Marc Shmuger and David Linde, Chairman and Co-Chairman, respectively, of Universal Pictures.  All numbers are estimates, and final figures will be available on Monday, January 5, 2009.
 
“If 2007 was a turnaround year for Universal, 2008 proved our studio’s ability to consistently deliver the highest quality commercial hits,” stated Shmuger and Linde.  “To have two successive years of record-breaking success is an incredible achievement, and we thank our teams from around the world that produced, marketed and distributed a slate of films that, again, set a new standard for our studio.  This year, we created new franchises, extended others, released the most successful movie musical in history and continued our tradition of turning modestly budgeted comedies into solid hits.  Our strength of success comes from this diversity.  We worked with some of the most interesting and inspiring filmmakers and talent working anywhere and released some of the years most critically acclaimed and rewarded films.  We are proud to close out another year with historic success.”   
 
Details of Success
 
The studio released four films this year that grossed more than $100 million domestically: The Incredible Hulk, Wanted, Mamma Mia! and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.  In addition, the studio released three comedies — Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Baby Mama and Role Models — which turned into solidly profitable hits by grossing more than $60 million apiece, while being produced with modest budgets.
 
At the international box office, Universal Pictures International (UPI), in its second year of operation as a wholly owned distribution entity, tallied $1.714 billion, beating its former 1999 record (when it was part of joint venture UIP) of $1.16 billion by nearly 50 percent.  UPI reached the $1 billion threshold on August 13, earlier than ever before in Universal’s history.  The record-breaking $428.5 million foreign success of Mamma Mia! led the juggernaut, and UPI also had two other films gross more than $200 million with The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor and Wanted, and one more to break $100 million with The Incredible Hulk.
 
Mamma Mia! was the studio’s biggest earner of the year, both domestically ($144 million) and internationally ($428.5 million).  Opening on July 18, it set the record for biggest domestic opening ever for a musical and reached $100 million faster than any other tuner in history.  But the success story of the year is how Mamma Mia! turned into an unprecedented global phenomenon.  The film is now the biggest film ever in the history of the United Kingdom, a record held previously by Titanic.  Since its release in early July, Mamma Mia! has broken records of the biggest opening of a musical in history in territory after territory and is now the highest grossing film of 2008 in the U.K., Austria, Greece, Hungary, Norway and Sweden. 
 
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is the highest-grossing entry of Universal’s three-film Mummy franchise at the international box office.  With $294.3 million, it easily bests the previous foreign $260.5 million record of 1999’s The Mummy.  The film opened at No. 1 in 38 territories and was Universal’s biggest opening ever in Russia, Spain, Ukraine, Korea, Latin America and Thailand, among others.  Stateside, the film was released on August 1, opening to $40 million on its way to $102 million.
 
An all-new action franchise was born with Wanted, released on June 17 to a $51 million domestic first weekend and ultimate domestic take of $144 million.  The film delivered the biggest opening ever for its star Angelina Jolie and the biggest R-rated opening ever for the month of June.  Universal took a cult graphic novel and paired it with Timur Bekmambetov, a Russian director and inventive visual stylist who made an unforgettable English-language debut with Wanted, and placed James McAvoy at the center of this action-adventure.  Wanted also was an international hit, totaling $209.5 million in foreign grosses.
 
Universal released Marvel Entertainment’s The Incredible Hulk on June 13 to a rousing $55 million opening domestic weekend, and the film went on to gross more than $135 million in North America.  Having released a previous film based on the Marvel Super Hero just five years before, Universal reintroduced the character and, by emphasizing the action and heroism of this franchise, outperformed that 2003 release and invigorated the franchise with the potential for future installments.  The Incredible Hulk crossed the $100 million mark at the international box office as well.
 
Also of note was the breakout success of The Strangers, one of the first Rogue Pictures films to be marketed and distributed by Universal Pictures.  Released on May 30, this small horror film starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman became one of the surprise hits of the summer, accumulating more than $52 million in its North American release.
 
On the comedy front, Universal continued its prosperous and long-time relationship with Judd Apatow with Forgetting Sarah Marshall, produced by Apatow and Shauna Robertson, directed by Nicholas Stoller and led by a cast that turned into some of the year’s biggest breakout stars.  Forgetting Sarah Marshall was released on April 18 and went on to gross $63 million domestically.  Baby Mama followed the next week, pairing two of the year’s most formidable comedy talents and pop-culture stories, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.  Baby Mama was released on April 25 and went on to make $60 million domestically.  Later in the fall, Universal released Stuber Films’ Role Models, starring Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott under the direction of David Wain, and turned in a fall comedy sleeper hit that has made more than $66 million to date. 
 
In addition to these commercial successes, Universal also released some of the year’s most critically acclaimed motion pictures.  Guillermo del Toro dazzled audiences and critics alike with the detail and depth of his imagination in Hellboy II: The Golden Army.  And Clint Eastwood debuted his drama Changeling at the Cannes Film Festival to rave responses.  The film was included among the best of the year by the Critics’ Choice Awards and the National Board of Review, and Angelina Jolie earned nominations for Best Actress from the Golden Globe Awards, the SAG Awards and the Critics’ Choice Awards.
 
Imagine Entertainment and Working Title Films’ Frost/Nixon is among the most heralded films of the year.  Directed by Ron Howard and written by Peter Morgan—who adapted his own award-winning play—Frost/Nixon is one of only two films to be recognized as one of the best of the year by the four leading awards groups: the Golden Globe Awards, the Critics’ Choice Awards, the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute.  Included on many critics’ year-end Top 10 lists, including those from Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers, the Los Angeles Times’ Kenneth Turan, The Associated Press and many others, Frost/Nixon also earned five Golden Globe Award nominations: Best Picture (Drama), Best Director, Best Actor, Best Screenplay and Best Score.
 
Focus Features retained its position as one of the industry’s most consistently successful specialized film companies, both in terms of quality and commercial success.  Focus began 2008 with the noteworthy achievement of having Working Title’s Atonement honored with seven Academy Award® nominations, including Best Picture.
 
In September, Focus enjoyed the biggest opening in its history with the $19.2 million opening weekend domestic take of Working Title’s Burn After Reading, written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, which went on to gross more than $60 million domestically (making it the highest grossing film from a specialty company this year).  Burn After Reading also earned a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Picture (Comedy or Musical), a Critics’ Choice Award nomination for Best Comedy and inclusion among the National Board of Review’s Best Films of the Year.
 
Milk has become one of the most honored and acclaimed films of 2008.  Directed by Gus Van Sant from an original screenplay by Dustin Lance Black, Milk has earned accolades including being named Best Picture of the Year by the esteemed New York Film Critics Circle.  Already a winner of Best Actor honors from nearly a dozen critics’ groups, star Sean Penn has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award, a SAG Award and a Critics’ Choice Award, and the film’s entire ensemble was nominated as one of the best of the year by SAG.
 
Last but not least, writer/director Martin McDonagh’s In Bruges, which world premiered as the opening-night film of the Sundance Film Festival, also has been cited by many critics as being among the best and most original films of the year and earned a Best Picture and two Best Actor (Comedy or Musical) nominations from the Golden Globes.

My father passed away on New Year's Day. DHD coverage will return to normal on January 12th. Thank you all for your condolences.

ThURSDAY AM UPDATE: Both Viacom and Time Warner Cable took their revenue battle to the brink. Less than an hour before TWC's 13.3 million subscribers were going to lose 19 Viacom channels at 12:01 AM today, the two Big Media companies came to an agreement. Here was their joint statement:

TIME WARNER CABLE, VIACOM REACH AGREEMENT IN PRINCIPLE
Networks Will Continue to Be Available On All Time Warner Cable Systems

New York, NY - Jan. 1, 2009 — Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC) and Viacom (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B) jointly announced this morning that they have reached an agreement in principle to renew carriage for Viacom’s MTV Networks.  The companies expect to finalize the details of the agreement over the next several days.

Glenn Britt, President and CEO of Time Warner Cable said, "We are pleased that our customers will continue to be able to watch the programming they enjoy on MTV Networks. We are sorry they had to endure a day of public disagreement as we worked through this negotiation."

Philippe Dauman, President and CEO of Viacom said, "We’ve been partners with Time Warner Cable for a long time, and we’re happy to be renewing that partnership for the benefit of their customers and our loyal viewers. It’s gratifying that we could reach an agreement that benefits not only our audiences but that is also in the best interest of both of our companies."

WEDNESDAY NOON: Viacom has rejected Time Warner Cable's request for a 15- to 30-day extension on the 12:01 AM January 1st deadline when the cable programmer pulls its 19 channels off the 2nd largest cable system operator. I'm told Viacom and TWC had no contact throughout yesterday until news of the Big Media battle broke. Suddenly, at 8 PM, TWC came to Viacom with an increase offer and the extension request. But Viacom rejected both out of hand. "It was bogus. The low-ball offer was clearly an excuse to ask for an extension and then use that in their press acrtivity today," a Viacom source claimed to me. "After we've been trying to meet with them for several weeks, we won't consider an extension unless they're prepared to really negotiate and come across with a reasonable offer." Insiders say Viacom President/CEO Philippe Dauman stayed in his office most of today waiting to hear from his TWC counterpart Glenn Britt, but the situation remains stalled. This is turning out to be Big Media brinkmanship at its most brutal with 13.3 million cable subscribers caught in the middle.

WEDNESDAY 11:30 AM: Viacom has now answered the bashing by TWC's Britt:

Time Warner Cable’s continued rhetoric and posturing is disappointing and unproductive. We have made it clear that we welcome a credible and meaningful discussion that respects our viewers and the value our programming brings to Time Warner Cable. We remain ready and willing to engage. It’s time for serious talk – before the viewers become the victims.

WEDNESDAY 10 AM: Now it's all about the PR war between these two Big Media giants. To counter Viacom's 12-hour media blitz blasting his company, Glenn Britt, President/CEO of Time Warner Cable just issued this statement about Viacom’s "threats" to pull MTV Networks from TWC customers:

Christmas is over, but Viacom is still playing Scrooge, threatening to pull its MTV Networks off of Time Warner Cable at midnight tonight unless we ask our customers to pay exorbitant price increases.

Viacom claims their demands equate to “pennies,” but that is misleading and insulting to our customers, from whom Viacom is trying to extort another $39 million annually – on top of the hundreds of millions of dollars our customers already pay to Viacom each year. That doesn’t sound like pennies to us. Demanding that our customers pay so much more for these few networks would be unreasonable in any economy, but it is particularly outrageous given the current economic conditions.

We sympathize with the fact that Viacom’s advertising business is suffering and that their networks’ ratings have largely been declining. However, we can’t abide their attempt to make up their lost revenue on the backs of Time Warner Cable customers. We’ve negotiated in good faith and made several concessions to help reach a fair and reasonable deal. We’ve asked for an extension of the current contract while we continue to negotiate. But Viacom doesn’t appear to be interested in what’s fair and reasonable for American consumers – they’re only interested in propping up their sagging bottom line, and they are poised to pull their networks from Time Warner Cable customers tonight.

Huge price increases like what Viacom is demanding threaten the ultimate value of cable TV. Time Warner Cable is a retail distributor of products we purchase wholesale. Wholesale programming costs are rising dramatically every year, and, like all multichannel distributors, we have to pass on at least a portion of the increases to our customers. Viacom’s MTV Networks are just a few of the hundreds of channels we carry. If every channel demanded huge, double-digit increases like what Viacom is trying to force our customers to pay, it would be impossible to keep the price of cable reasonable for our customers.

Time Warner Cable has reached hundreds of distribution agreements with other networks. In fact, we currently have deals with every other cable programmer. The negotiations aren’t always easy, but we work hard to reach agreements that are fair to our customers and to both businesses.

We hope Viacom won’t pull the MTV Networks from Time Warner Cable customers, and we’ll negotiate up to the last possible minute and beyond. But ultimately, it is Viacom’s decision. We implore them to join with us to reach a fair resolution or grant an extension, and we hope they won’t carry through with their threat to take their networks away from our customers tonight.

WEDNESDAY 7 AM: It appears Time Warner Cable customer service was unprepared for the onslaught of complaints from subscribers flooding into call centers. Anecdotal evidence suggests that many reps were unaware of the dispute with Viacom, which began running news crawls below its programming that 19 channels would go dark on the cable system operation at 12:01 AM on January 1st. Viacom also placed full-page advertisements in some major market newspapers today featuring protests by its media characters, including Dora the Explorer who is shown crying because she is being taken away from her fans, or SpongeBob freaking out. Viacom is even telling viewers they can get Dora or SpongeBob back by signing onto Time Warner Cable's competitors DirecTV or Verizon. Meanwhile, Time Warner Cable is prepared to refund customers for the lost programming if a deal can't be reached by New Year's, though the amount hasn’t been determined yet. (story continued after video...)

TUESDAY: What an awful way to ring in 2009. It turns out that Viacom claims it has been trying to negotiate a "fair" renewal of its prized cable channels for months and months, but reputedly Time Warner Cable has been unresponsive and "unreasonable" so talks have stalled. The nation's 2nd largest cable system operator, in turn, claims Viacom is asking for "exorbitant" increases in carriage fees which would have to be passed along to the customer. So now this fight between the two Big Media giants will hurt cable viewers. At 12:01 AM on January 1st, just after the ball drops in Time Square, Time Warner Cable's 13.3 million subscribers will lose 19 Viacom channels -- Comedy Central; CMT: Pure Country; Logo; Palladia; MTV; MTV 2; MTV Hits; MTV Jams; MTV Tr3s; Nickelodeon; Noggin; Nick 2; Nicktoons; Spike; The N; TV Land; Vh1; Vh1 Classic; Vh1 Soul. The howling starts here, especially by parents home for the holidays with children who won't have access to their favorite shows like SpongeBob Squarepants and Dora The Explorer, and tweens/teens wanting to see new episodes of those new unreality Reality TV series The City and Bromance, and twentysomethings and older who get their news from The Daily Show With Jon Stewart or The Colbert Report.

This affects all U.S. Time Warner cable subscribers including those in New York and Los Angeles. Alex Dudley, a vice president at Time Warner Cable, the nation's second-largest cable operator, is telling reporters that the dispute with Viacom "is that they have asked for an exorbitant increase in their carriage fees and their network ratings are sagging."  However, Nickelodeon is 2008’s No. 1 basic cable network, drawing the largest audience in its history. MTV, on the other hand, has seen ratings slide. Time Warner Cable claims it's "trying to hold the line on fees for our customer" -- but it's really worried that if Viacom gets its raises, then every cable programmer will want them. TWC claims Viacom has asked for fee increases of between 22% and 36% per channel, but Sumner Redstone's company maintains the increases would cost less than $.25 a month for the package of channels per subscriber who spend a fifth of total TV time watching Viacom shows but its fees make up less than 2.5% of the Time Warner cable bill. (Sports channels are paid the biggest cable premium). But Time Warner Cable also is complaining that Viacom's popular shows are rerun on Web sites where Viacom collects advertising revenue that it does not share with Time Warner. On the other hand, Viacom has staked much of its revenue-growth prospects on squeezing higher carriage rates out of its cable and satellite affiliates despite an ad slowdown and weaker ratings.

Such negotiation battles between cable networks and cable system operators have happened before and lasted merely hours. In 2004, for example, Viacom's cable channels disappeared from EchoStar's Dish Network for two days while both sides fought over the terms of a new contract. And Time Warner blocked ABC from its cable systems in New York during a breakdown in contract negotiations with parent company Disney. So this one will either end fast or go on forever. It probably will depend on how many subscribers start flooding Time Warner Cable with obscene calls or, worse, switch to satellite. Viacom has already started a hardball campaign to "Call Time Warner Cable and say 'NO' " starring The Hills and South Park.

This is Viacom's just issued statement:

This move by Time Warner Cable to force such channels as Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and MTV off the air is another example of a cable company overreaching for profit at the expense of its viewers. 

The renewal we are seeking is reasonable and modest relative to the profits TWC enjoys from our networks. We have asked for an increase of less than 25 cents per month, per subscriber, which adds up to less than a penny per day for all 19 of MTV Networks’ channels. We make this request because TWC has so greatly undervalued our channels for so long. Americans spend more than 20% of their TV viewing time watching our networks, yet our fees amount to less than 2.5% of what Time Warner generates from their average customer.

Throughout the country, we have negotiated equitable license agreement renewals, or are in the final stages of renewals, with virtually every cable and satellite carrier. Nevertheless, Time Warner Cable has dismissed our efforts at a fair compromise and has effectively chosen to deny its customers some of the most popular TV shows on the air.

As a result, we are sorry to say that for Time Warner Cable customers our networks will go dark as of 12:01 on January 1st, denying Time Warner customers shows like Dora the Explorer, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, and The Hills.

Ultimately, however, if Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV and the rest of our programming is discontinued – over less than a penny per day - we believe viewers will see this behavior by their cable company as outrageous. 

Time Warner Cable subscribers who are being handed a January 1st $3 monthly increase in Raleigh, Orange County, Los Angeles, and New York City are simultaneously facing the removal of beloved shows across 19 channels.

We find it a shame that Time Warner Cable remains unreasonable at this time. We hope its leadership will have a change of heart and will seek to negotiate a fair renewal agreement.

This sneak peek of the disputed Watchmen movie just went up online. No, not on Warner Bros' site, but on News Corp's MySpace, the sister company to 20th Century Fox which as of last week appears to be winning its lawsuit for distribution rights to the film because of copyright infingement. I'll post a status update after the video:

1. WB Vows To Fight Fox Over 'Watchmen': Both Sides At Impasse; No WB Plans To Move Release Date
2. WATCHMEN RULING: Where Was Larry?
3. SHOCKER! Federal Judge To Side With Fox In Warner Bros 'Watchmen' Film Lawsuit
4. 'Watchmen' Contracts & Court Documents
5. SAVE US! Warner's 'Watchmen' In Legal Peril After Judge Won't Dismiss Fox Suit

So SAG leaders continue conducting their education campaign about the Strike Authorization Vote despite the ballot delay and upcoming January 12th-13th National Board meeting which could deep-six the idea. The following is the first in what is described to me as a series of responses to members’ questions at recent Town Hall meetings. Its major point is SAG executive Director Doug Allen saying a strike "will not shut down the Industry". Then what's the point of a strike?

Know the facts!

Will a SAG TV/Theatrical strike “shut down the Industry?”  NO WAY!

If the SAG National Board is authorized to call a strike, we all hope a strike will not be necessary.  But, if the National Board decides to call one, it will not “shut down the Industry.”  Why not?  Because the National Board’s decision would have no effect on work done under the Guild’s other contracts.

In the event of a TV/Theatrical strike, work done under other SAG contracts would continue to be governed by those contracts, not the TV/Theatrical contracts.  That means jobs in commercials, basic cable, video games and industrials would continue during a TV/Theatrical strike.  Also, jobs would continue on more than 800 independent movie projects by producers not associated with AMPTP companies, and on more than 800 independent new media projects under SAG’s new media agreement.

A strike of our TV/Theatrical contracts would be a serious step we hope to avoid, but even if the working actors on SAG’s National Board were authorized and ultimately voted to call a strike, that decision would affect only work on primetime network shows, pay TV shows (e.g., HBO), and movies made, financed or distributed by AMPTP companies (e.g., Sony, Warner Bros., Disney, Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount, NBC Universal, etc.).  Not “the entire industry.”

Also, actors on any shows signed to AFTRA before the effective date of such a strike would be required by their personal contract and AFTRA’s CBA to report to work on any AFTRA-covered projects in its jurisdiction (primarily dramatic network primetime and pay TV shows, and movies made for television or DVD.)

Please visit the SAG website at www.sag.org for up to the minute information and email your questions or comments to www.Contract2008@sag.org (this is an email address and not a live web link.)

Sincerely,
Doug Allen

VIDEO: Why Is Fox's Sister Company Hosting New 'Watchmen' Sneak Peek?

UPDATE: Warner Bros just issued this statement after today's status conference in federal court in Los Angeles to determine how to proceed in the Watchmen case after Juge Gary Feess concluded that Fox is entitled to summary judgment on its copyright infringement claim and has the right "at the very least" to distribute the motion picture set for release in March. I'm told that Warner Bros is looking for leverage to help it in negotiating with Fox:

“We respectfully but vigorously disagree with the Court’s ruling and are exploring all of our appellate options. We continue to believe that Fox’s claims have no merit and that we will ultimately prevail, whether at trial or in the Court of Appeals. We have no plans to move the release date of the film.” 

1. WATCHMEN RULING: Where Was Larry?
2. SHOCKER! Federal Judge To Side With Fox In Warner Bros 'Watchmen' Film Lawsuit
3. 'Watchmen' Contracts & Court Documents
4. SAVE US! Warner's 'Watchmen' In Legal Peril After Judge Won't Dismiss Fox Suit

SUNDAY PM: Marley stayed top dog! That's because, understandably, family fare was what post-holiday moviegoers wanted this 4-day holiday weekend. So all Top 10 films were PG or PG-13 rated. Attendance on Christmas Day was enormous, with the top two pics setting all-time records for the holiday. Even the cold and snowy weather cooperated. Good thing too because Hollywood had been hotly anticipating the Christmas Day openings of five high-profile movies with potential to be blockbusters (because Christmas releases on average have a 6.9 multiple). Only one movie's debut disappointed. Overall, it's looking like a jolly $190 million 3-day weekend, up 5% from last year. Here are very early numbers for the Top 10 with Oscar-buzzed films below:

1. Marley And Me (20th Century Fox)
$37M 3-day weekend... $51.6M 4-day holiday
Hollywood underestimated the built-in audience for this pic based on the bestselling book. Expected to be runner-up, it easily held onto No. 1 all weekend in 3,480 theaters. (I hope the pooch had first-dollar gross.) When it comes to North American filmgoer favorites, don't ever bet against a dog movie. Remember how well Beverly Hills Chihuahua debuted earlier this year? Marley's strength was in the middle of the country and in the south, and clearly its female-driven audience brought their boyfriends and husbands and families and Kleenex. Concern that moviegoers weren't adequately prepared for the plot denouement, not even hinted at by the pic's marketing, proved not to be a problem. Fox needed a hit film after a lousy summer and fall littered with losers. Chalk up one in the "win" column as well for both Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston.

2. The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button (Paramount)
$27.2M 3-day weekend... $39M 4-day holiday
This pic could have scored more if only its running time hadn't been 2 hours and 47 minutes long. Still its box office was bigger than expected in 2,988 dates, proving skeptics wrong that this would be "Hollywood's most expensive art flick". The Brad Pitt-Cate Blanchett starrer directed by David Fincher was strongest on both coasts and mostly female driven. But its heavy marketing for a hefty price succeeded in delivering both moviegoers and awards buzz. (Studio boss Brad Grey feels a special obligation to try to win an Oscar for his former management client Brad Pitt and their once joint production company Plan B.) Strong word of mouth could push Benjamin Button to a great multiple through the holidays.

3. Bedtime Stories (Disney)
$28.1M 3-day weekend... $38.6M 4-day holiday
This had been expected to lead the pack this weekend since it was Disney-branded family fare starring Adam Sandler with the widest release of 3,681 plays and its 99-minute running time allowed for extra screenings daily. Blame all those kiddie matinees and their half-price tickets. Or the awful reviews that hurt word of mouth. Still, the pic's grosses were big -- just not big enough to qualify as this holiday season's Night At The Museum, which made $575M worldwide.

4. Valkyrie (MGM/UA)
$21.5M 3-day weekend... $30M 4-day holiday
This didn't flop like Tom Cruise's other film for UA, Lions For Lambs. But Valkyrie's Fri-Sat-Sun grosses were less than his opening weekends for even his least successful action pics like Collateral, The Last Samurai, and Vanilla Sky (and not adjusted for inflation or higher ticket prices). So Tom's star power continues to dim. But it's still much brighter compared to the dark place where Valkyrie was a few months ago. What with Cruise in Nazi war movie, directed by Bryan Singer still living down his underperforming Superman Returns, with an ever-changing release date, the pic was a Hollywood joke. But $60M worth of smart marketing turned it around. Sure, Hollywood analysts don't see how this pic will earn out unless it's a blockbuster overseas where Cruise is still considered a huge star. (Lions For Lambs did 3x its domestic take overseas.) But Valkyrie tracked well with males aged 16+ and stole away the weekend's guy audience.

5. Yes Man (Warner Bros)
$16.5M 3-day weekend... $22.4M 4-day holiday... cume $49.8M
The studio is pleased with this comedy's hold and thinks it can get to $100M domestic. I say it'll be a struggle. The real suspense is whether Jim Carrey gets a payday on this film. (See my previous, The Worst Talent Deal Ever?)

6. Seven Pounds (Sony)
$13.4M 3-day weekend... $18.2M 4-day holiday... cume $39M
Sony certainly did what it could to hype this pic, short of giving away the plot twists. With the same star and same director but without the happy ending, the film was no Pursuit Of Happyness juggernaut at the box office. But it was down only 10% from its weather-hurt opening last weekend. Now there's a limit to how much fans will support Will Smith's downer film choices.

7. The Tale of Despereaux (Universal)
$9.4M 3-day weekend... $11.4M 4-day holiday... cume $27.9M
This earnest mouse toon keeps playing very young. But is it too young for parents?

8. The Day the Earth Stood Still (20th Century Fox)
$7.9M 3-day weekend... $10.6M 4-day holiday... cume $63.4M
Well, some people are seeing it. Unclear if they're liking it, however.

9. The Spirit (Lionsgate)
$6.5M 3-day weekend... $10.3M 4-day holiday
Not every comic book can become a hit movie. Movie analysts didn't expect much life from this adaptation of Will Eisner's graphic novels despite a flashy marketing campaign. Lionsgate shouldn't have tried to brave the Christmas competition.

10. Doubt (Miramax)
$5.7M weekend... $7.1M 4-day holiday... cume $7.5M
Strong cast, heavy TV ad rotation, and big award nominations created wannasee for the expansion into 1,267 venues.

As for other Oscar-buzzed pics: Fox Searchlight's Slumdog Millionaire directed by Danny Boyle came in 13th place with a 3-day weekend of $4.4M and 4-day weekend of 5.8M Friday on 614 plays. Its new cume is $19.6M. Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino for Warner Bros was #15 despite playing in only 84 theaters for the best Top 20 per screen average. It took in $2.3M for the weekend and $3.1M for the overall holiday. Its new cume is $4.2M, but look for the pic to pop when it goes wide into 2,400 theaters on January 9th. Revolutionary Road starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio debuted on 3 screens for $67K Friday and and $66K Saturday for a $192K weekend that scored the highest per screen average of $64K set all year. Paramount Vantage expands it into the top 15 markets next week. Focus Features' Milk directed by Gus Van Sant and starring Sean Penn on 311 dates earned $570K Thursday and $670K Friday and $64K Saturday for a $1.8M weekend and cume of $13.5M. Imagine/Universal's Frost/Nixon directed by Ron Howard made $$1.9M for the 4-day holiday from 205 runs for a per theater average of $7,179 and new cume of $3.7M. The Weinstein Co's The Reader with Ralph Fiennes and Kate Winslet can't build any steam with $178K and $205K from 116 venues for a slow per screen average. And Fox Searchlight's The Wrestler starring Mickey Rourke playing in 18 theaters maintained an excellent per screen average with $381K for the weekend and $515K for the overall holiday and a new cume of $900K.   (more...)

Oscar ballots go out today from the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences to its 5,810 members and are due back on January 12th. Nominations will be announced January 22nd with the Academy Awards telecast held February 22nd. I know people love to endlessly speculate about who's going to get nominated, and who might win, but I must say this year's Oscars is shaping up as rather suspense-less. According to my AMPAS voter gurus who constantly talk to other Academy members, consensus already is forming around Fox Searchlight's Slumdog Millionaire for Best Picture. Also, I don't know why opinion is focusing on Cate Blanchett in The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button over, say, Meryl Streep in Doubt for Best Actress. And Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight for Best Supporting Actor is considered a lock. I'm told by Academy members that David Fincher would have a better shot at Best Director for Benjamin Button if only he wasn't considered such a jerk (yes, that factors in unless a pic is the absolute frontrunner), so Slumdog's Danny Boyle is the favorite. Which means the only real mystery surrounding the Oscars is the Best Actor category with Sean Penn for Milk, Frank Langella for Frost/Nixon, Clint Eastwood for Gran Torino, and Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler all seen as having an equal chance to win. My insiders say Langella may have the edge right now among the older voters, and Penn with younger voters, but Rourke is also starting to be singled out. It's too early to speculate on other categories since the vast majority of Oscar voters don't even start screening most DVDs until after Christmas. I just hope Academy members throw some major category nominations to the year's more popular pics so it's not a repeat of the last Oscars where mostly grim little-seen films were rewarded -- and, for that reason and others having to do with yet another lousy telecast, ratings were the worst since Nielsen started tracking them in 1974. 

Fandango's MOST ANTICIPATED BLOCKBUSTERS FOR 2009
According to Men:
    1.  Star Trek  23%
    2.  Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen  17%
    3.  Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince  14%
    4.  X-Men Origins: Wolverine  9%
    5.  Terminator Salvation  7%
    6.  Watchmen  7%
    7.  Angels & Demons  5%
    8.  Public Enemies  3%
    9.  G.I. Joe  3%
    10. New Moon  3%   

According to Women:
    1.  Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince  25%
    2.  New Moon  15%
    3.  Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen  11%
    4.  Angels & Demons  9%
    5.  X-Men Origins: Wolverine  7%
    6.  Star Trek  6%
    7.  Public Enemies  5%
    8.  Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian  4%
    9.  The Lovely Bones  3%
    10. Where the Wild Things Are  2%   

How sad that these deaths always come in threes...

Eartha Kitt who came from South Carolina cotton fields to become a reknown actress singer, dancer and actress, has died at age 81. She played the lead female role opposite Nat King Cole in St. Louis Blues in 1958 and in the 1990s appeared in Boomerang and Harriet the Spy. But who can forget her as Catwoman on the Batman TV series in 1967-68: she made sexy span all racial lines. But her legacy may lie in the fact she was one of the most outspoken political activists in showbiz -- she spoke out against the Vietnam War while attending a White House luncheon hosted by Lady Bird Johnson -- and her career paid the price for it.

Harold Pinter, the Nobel Prize For Literature winner, died at age 78. His film credits include 22 screenplays, most notably 1980's The French Lieutenant's Woman.

Robert Mulligan, who passed away at age 83, directed many of the movies that the world has come to love by never letting sentimentality become mawkish or manipulative. A frequent collaboraor with producer Alan J. Pakula, their credits include To Kill A Mockingbird, Love With the Proper Stranger, Up the Down Staircase, Inside Daisy Clover, and Baby The Rain Must Fall. Among other films he helmed were Summer Of '42, Same Time Next Year, Clara's Heart and most recently The Man In The Moon. 

Hollywood has been especially curious about producer Larry Gordon's role smack in the middle of this Fox vs Warner Bros lawsuit over Watchmen. In federal judge George Feess' latest ruling, there's this interesting footnote:

WATCHMEN RULING: Where Was Larry? 

I've just learned tonight that the Fox Filmed Entertainment brass, because of the holiday, didn't even know they had won! The New York Times' Michael Cieply was first to get hands on today's five-page written order issued by Gary A. Feess, a Los Angeles-based judge in the United States District Court for Central California, stating how he intends to rule soon in the closely watched case. I broke the news in August when Feess denied a Warner Bros motion to dismiss 20th Century Fox's legal battle over the rights to develop, produce and distribute a highly anticipated film based on the graphic novel Watchmen written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons. Fox was seeking to enjoin Warner Bros from going forward with the project and releasing it in March 2009, and Feess back then refused to deep-six Fox's lawsuit filed on February 12th. Everyone assumed there would be a trial starting in late Janury over the legal issues because Feess at an earlier hearing said he believed one was necessary to settle the case.