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Axios is reporting that Paramount and Warner Discovery are trying to engaged to be married.
After Disney bought 20th Century Fox, this wasn’t far behind.
Makes a lot of sense, especially for Paramount, which is struggling despite best intentions. For example, they have no big Christmas or Oscar movies, other than “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which really comes from Apple Studios. Warner’s is loaded with movies.
But Paramount has a big TV business. Merging Paramount Plus with Max and HBO with what used to be Showtime– perfect match.
CNN and CBS would be very happy together. CNN already loans Anderson Cooper to CBS. CNN needs programming, which they could supply CNN with especially on weekends.
Axios reporter Sara Fischer is listed as a CNN contributor, so she had good sources on this one.
Soon Apple will buy NBC Universal from Comcast, and whole new worlds will emerge.
Last week, something shocking happened in the morning news race.
Gayle King’s “CBS Mornings” came within 14,000 viewers of beating ABC’s “Good Morning America” in the key age demo of 25 to 49. In fact, one day, “CBS Mornings: actually did beat “GMA.”
It’s the closest CBS has come to ABC in the morning hours since 1991. CBS had 507K younger viewers vs. ABC’s 521K.
CBS has always had the third place morning news show lagging far behind “GMA” and NBC’s “Today.” But persistence has paid off. King has turned into a mega-star, and for once in CBS’s history they’ve stuck with a star and an approach.
Now it’s paying off. “CBS Mornings” last week also came within spitting distance of both rival shows in total viewers– five hundred-to-six hundred thousand.
“GMA” still narrowly leads “Today” in total viewers, but “Today” swamps “GMA” in younger viewers.
Adweek magazine notes that the King’s shows ratings were aided by the announcement of Golden Globe nominations and so on. But I do think that Gayle King’s consistent approach is winning CBS a growing, loyal audience. And “Mornings” is a serious stand out, while “Good Morning America” often feels like a game show.
It’s December 20, 2024. The Golden Globes air live on CBS on January 7, 2024. The show still has no host.
According to reports, many comedians have turned down the opportunity to front for the formerly scandal plagued group. It’s the irony of the Globes, who one insider told me “is a great brand” but “no one respects it.”
One report said Chris Rock declined the job. Former hosts Ricky Gervais, Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, have no interest in returning.
Last year’s host, comic Jerrod Carmichael, was a disaster. He referred to the Beverly Hilton Hotel — which, like the Globes, Dick Clark Productions, and the Hollywood Reporter are all owned by the same person, Todd Boehley — as being the place where Whitney Houston died. So he’s off the list, too.
Other awards shows have their hosts well in advance. The Critics Choice Awards are all set for January 14th with Chelsea Handler, for example. The Grammy Awards have Trevor Noah. The Oscars are represented by Jimmy Kimmel. The Super Bowl has already booked Usher to perform in the half time show.
But the Globes so far are rudderless. CBS is airing the show three decades after kicking the group off the air for accepting trips to Las Vegas from singer Pia Zadora’s rich husband and then giving her an award. But now, needing programming because of the strikes this past year, CBS has welcomed them back.
The Globes have other problems, too. There’s a report that 64 members of the group are protesting the show because they won’t be able to sit in the Beverly Hilton’s capacious ballroom. They’ve been told there aren’t enough seats. That doesn’t seem possible given that the official capacity for the ballroom is 1,100.
The clock is ticking…
Here are some of Carmichael’s best jokes from 2023. At 2:08 you can hear the Whitney Houston joke.
Ryan Gosling and Mark Ronson really want the Oscar for “I’m Just Ken.”
According to Mrs. Gosling, aka Eva Mendes, the pair are launching a Phil Spector version of the song tomorrow with a video. It sounds like a rock anthem set against a wall of sound. Cool!
Trust me, this song will win Best Song at the Oscars this year. If Gosling performs it, the whole Dolby Theater will go nuts.
Eva gave a snippet on Instagram today. Stay tuned….
Yes, today is Tuesday and there are no reviews. The press is seeing it tomorrow morning. Cutting it close? You bet.
Last night– Monday — Warner Bros. had a bit of a stealth premiere in Los Angeles at the Grove. This was called a “fan event.” Star Jason Momoa was present. Star Amber Heard was not. Sources told me the studio did it this way to avoid having Heard and her Johnny Depp problems swamp the red carpet.
No one has high expectations for “Aquaman 2.” They think it will follow “The Flash” to a watery grave. Then the new James Gunn- Peter Sacs fran era will begin at DC Comics productions. The pair of execs (and Gunn is a famous director) are gutting the building and starting over.
If “Aquaman” drowns at the box office Warner Bros can take it in stride. They’ve got a great hit with “Wonka,” and another with “The Color Purple.” At this point they’ll probably be happy with whatever happens. But the movie should do well with teens and boys, especially. It’s not like they’re going to see “Maestro.”
Just when you think you’ve heard Everything you could about Taylor Swift…
According to hitsdailydouble.com. Tay Tay is about to tie Elvis Presley’s record for second most weeks at number 1. Her 2.0 version of “1989” returns to Number 1 this week with a potential 120,000 copies sold.
This means that after one week, Nicki Minaj falls to number 2 with 90,000 copies of her Pink Lady 2.
Why is “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” back? Just her constant exposure in the tabloids, on NFL games, her movie, all of it. You can’t shake her off now. Many people are watching to see if she turns up at the Golden Globes January 7th — even though she will lose to Billie Eilish and “Barbie.”
Here’s actor Nicholas Hoult starring in the new Rolling Stones video, “Mess It Up,” from the triumphant “Hackney Diamonds” album.
Hoult stars in the next Superman movie as Lex Luthor. He’s already pretty well known for “The Menu,” “The Favourite,” “Renfield,” and a couple of “X Men” movies as well as the hit TV series, “The Great.”
Frankly, the Stones could make videos for every song on “Hackney.” The album is that good. The World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band is on tour in 2024.
“The Color Purple” reviews have arrived, and they are everything I hoped for. Rotten Tomatoes puts is at 88% fresh. Blitz Bazawule’s movie is headed to the Oscars.
Fantasia leads a cast of terrific actors who all deserve to be nominated, including Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, and Colman Domingo.
“The Color Purple” started life as Alice Walker’s novel, then became a Steven Spielberg movie starring Whoopi Goldberg. It went on to success as a Broadway musical, then returned to Broadway reimagined. So this is the fifth time around, and it’s a charm.
Bazawule has breathed even newer life into the story of sisters Celie and Nettie, their abusive father and the lives they made in the South in the early part of the 20th century. It’s a tribute to Walker’s work that “The Color Purple” has retained such a strong impact every time it’s told. But Bazawule’s fresh approach — combined with music from the Broadway shows — makes for a sensational film.
Fantasia, who won “American Idol” and then played Celie in the first Broadway iteration, is remarkable. We already know her amazing voice, but she gives life to Celie in an even more nuanced performance. “The Color Purple” is full of acting revelations. Taraji P. Henson is already a star, but no could have imagined her singing, and dancing the way she does here. Danielle Brooks was a star on Broadway last year in “The Piano Lesson,” but her version of Sofia, the spitfire that comes into Celie’s family’s life, rips the paint right off the ceiling. And don’t forget Colman Domingo as the abusive Mister, who is eventually given his comeuppance.
“The Color Purple” should be the hit of the holiday season, gripping audiences of all kinds. And thanks to the original story, when the movie hits its climactic moment, there isn’t a dry eye in the house. Exuberant and painful, “The Color Purple” is a landmark film.
