Thompson on Hollywood

Leaked! NBC CEO Zucker's Phone Messages to O'Brien

Leaked! NBC CEO Jeff Zucker's Vociemails for Conan O'Brien - watch more funny videos

By Anne Thompson
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January 14, 2010 12:41 AM
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Conan O'Brien Takes a Stand

Conan O'Brien has thrown down the gauntlet to NBC. He doesn't want to move The Tonight Show back by half an hour to make way for Jay Leno. Here's his statement. I agree with the argument that in a world of DVRs and TiVo, O'Brien's belief that he must be on at 11:35 PM to be successful is probably misguided. I suspect he feels betrayed more than anything else and fears that being pushed back will make it tougher for him to succeed.

By Anne Thompson
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January 13, 2010 2:20 AM
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Conan Goes Nasty on NBC

In his first Tonight Show monologue following the NBC announcement of Jay Leno's return to 11:30, Conan O'Brien lets loose on NBC:

By Anne Thompson
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January 12, 2010 7:51 AM
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Ferguson Riffs on Late Night Shifts

When my 20-year-old is home, she TiVos Oprah and Conan. (She refuses to watch Leno, Letterman or, God forbid, Charlie Rose.) In passing The Tonight Show mantle to O'Brien, NBC was trying to grow a younger viewer base, which takes time. By moving Leno to 10 PM, the network gambled that it could solve all its problems without losing talent or viewers, and lost. (Here's Kim Masters and the LAT.) While NBC's scrambling --which could return Leno to 11:30 and risks losing O'Brien altogether-- seems messy at best, it did feed this inspired Craig Ferguson monologue:

By Anne Thompson
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January 8, 2010 5:56 AM
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Time Warner Cable and Fox Strike New Deal

The LAT reports that the impasse between Time Warner Cable and News Corp has been broken:

By Anne Thompson
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January 2, 2010 1:07 AM
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Comcast Makes NBC Universal Deal

As predicted, now that Vivendi has agreed to sell its 20% stake in NBC Universal for $5.8 billion, the deal for cable corp. Comcast to acquire NBC Universal from GE has gone through. Comcast would be the sixth owner of Universal over the past two decades. (The Obama administration could take a year to review the deal before the two companies can merge.) Comcast will pay $13.75 billion for a majority stake in a combined entertainment entity to be run by NBCU chief Jeff Zucker.

By Anne Thompson
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December 3, 2009 4:45 AM
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Joseph Gordon-Levitt Makes 'Em Laugh on SNL

I have always dug Joseph Gordon-Levitt, from success d'estime Brick to Searchlight hit 500 Days of Summer. But did I know he had Donald O'Connor in him? No! Check out his gut-splitting, floor-to-ceiling rendition of Singing in the Rain's "Make 'Em Laugh:"

By Anne Thompson
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November 23, 2009 11:24 AM
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South Park Skewers The Cove and Avatar

Bad news: the dolphin-killing expose The Cove did not land an International Documentary Association best feature nomination.

By Anne Thompson
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November 14, 2009 8:54 AM
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Oscar Watch: Waiting for The Big Four, Invictus, Lovely Bones, Avatar, Nine

As the deadlines for the Hollywood Foreign Press and film critics voting loom, the studios are finally starting to screen the last four big guns. The HFPA is heading to New York this weekend for the Nine junket. And they're seeing The Lovely Bones and Invictus. Avatar will likely be the last to show--not before December 10, says Fox.

By Anne Thompson
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November 11, 2009 9:13 AM
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Twilight Saga New Moon: Saturday Night Live Spoof Firelight, Pattinson's Next Moves

With Chris Weitz's Twilight Saga: New Moon opening on November 20 (and Twilight reprising in theaters the night before), every media outlet worth their salt is trying to grab a piece of the Twilight fan base. Saturday Night Live is no exception. (See trailer for Firelight, starring Taylor Swift, on the jump.)