At least at the box office where the unstoppable fire-breathers roared for another week. They've been trained how to fly, but J.Lo's career is still in an unstoppable tailspin thanks to another movie dud.
In a couple of hours, Jay Leno returns to The Tonight Show. I will be tuning in. Why, you ask? Because I used to actually like Leno, and—honestly—I'm not sure that I ever really stopped. Inside, I explain.
• Lawmakers on Capitol Hill grilled Brian Roberts and Jeff Zucker today about Comcast's proposed takeover of NBC Universal. Meantime, Zucker's chances of keeping his job as NBC's CEO? Dimmer by the day. [Reuters, WSJ, LAT]
• Observer owner Jared Kushner is expanding: He's decided to partner with another company to…
• CBS News laid off more than 150 staffers this week. Will Katie Couric be forced to take a pay cut when her contract expires next year? Some say yes; CBS News chief Sean McManus is denying the report. [NYP, Politico]
• Avatar has dominated the box office for seven straight weeks now (and has officially bested Titanic…
• It's the end of the line for Miramax. The studio that Harvey and Bob Weinstein founded in 1979, sold to Disney in 1993, and departed in 2005, was officially shuttered today, and 80 people were let go. [Wrap, NYT, Guardian]
• Jay Leno went on Oprah today to try and redeem himself. He acted like a cry-baby and…
• The iPad may be cool and all. But don't expect it to revolutionize newspapers. Or magazines. Or even book publishing. [AdAge, NYT, Reuters, NYT]
• The WSJ is getting ready to take on the Times. Three dozen staffers (and $15 mil.) will go into creating its new NYC edition, which debuts in April. [NYO]
• NBC and Conan…
• NBC Universal's profits tumbled 30 percent in the fourth quarter and dropped 28 percent in 2009. And that was before The Tonight Show mess and the money-losing Olympics were factored in. Good work, Zucker. [THR, LAT]
• More on Conan's departure (and his big ratings this week); Jay Leno's attempt at damage control;…
This is Conan O'Brien's last day at NBC, as you've probably heard. Unfortunately, the person who should be packing up his giant office today isn't: Jeff Zucker, NBC's ruinous president and CEO, who has pretty much destroyed everything he's touched over the past decade, from comedy (remember when Thursday night was…
In case you missed it, here is the full "documentary" that Jimmy Kimmel aired on his show last night. If nothing else, it's worth watching for the artistic interpretations of Conan, Andy, Leno, and Jeff Zucker in historical colonial dress.
In the midst of 30 Rock's non-stop bashing of Boston, the crew revolted against Liz Lemon and NBC management's decision-making (ha!). So Liz, genius that she is, thinks of a solution that Jeff Zucker wishes he thought of first.
Colbert, obviously a member of Team CoCo proper, joins the party of NBC bashers before getting up close and personal with speed skating record holder Tucker Fredricks. The unimpressed athlete challenges Stephen to race his mother.
Confused about the whole Late Night situation? Let Taiwan get you up to speed by turning Zucker, Leno, and Conan into brawling animated superheroes. Gruh?
• Negotiations between Conan O'Brien and NBC didn't wrap up today, as expected. Conan is holding out for more severance for the employees who will lose their jobs. Or "posturing" as part of a "PR ploy," to use NBC's words. [NYT]
• Related: Conan has a big lineup planned for the rest of the week, which will be his…
Today at Gawker.TV, Jeff Zucker makes an appearance on Charlie Rose, Alyssa Milano's steamy 80s workout video, Jon Stewart tears apart his own political party, The Bachelor's latest humiliating rejection, and Jennifer Lopez tries her hand at stand-up comedy.
If you're looking to get caught up on the late-night chaos at NBC and you're fluent in Chinese, the Taiwanese production company that produced that very amusing Tiger Woods animation a few weeks ago has a new masterpiece. Conan and Jay morph into superheros about halfway through, which is sort of weird. And Jeff Zucker
Amid the chaos of the Late Night Wars, Jeff Zucker decided to try to set the record straight by appearing on Charlie Rose. He remained very political throughout, but the fact remains the same: Jeff Zucker is a terrible executive.
Amy Winehouse's self-destruction takes an unexpected turn into bimboland. Jersey Shore's stars get greedy and want fake boobs. NBC infighting escalates. LaToya Jackson has a new shot at fame. Tila Tequila takes aim at Megan Fox. Jai ho, Monday gossip.
It's surprising that Jay would usurp Conan O'Brien like he is. Because not only has he gone on record saying he has total faith in Conan, but NBC once tried to screw over Jay just like they're doing to Conan.
NBC has drawn the long knives and dispatched NBC Sports titan and former late-night guru Dick Ebersol—who produced Saturday Night Live during the Joe Piscipo years—to strike back at Conan O'Brien in a New York Times interview.
• Is NBC close to resolving the mammoth mess it has on its hands? TMZ reports the network has reached a deal with Conan O'Brien (in which he'll leave NBC with some amount of money, and Leno, in turn, will take over The Tonight Show). Others, however, say the negotiations continue and NBC chief Jeff Zucker's been …
