The Morning Fix: MTV leaving Times Square; ‘G.I. Joe’ director gets last laugh; Fox gets ‘Octomom’ special!
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
After the coffee. Before figuring out your vacation plans.
MTV leaving crossroads of the world? The New York Post reports that MTV is not renewing the lease on its famous ground-floor Times Square studio at 1515 Broadway, which has been home base for the cable channel since 1997. The network has been doing fewer shows from the locale, but the building will continue to be parent Viacom’s corporate home.
‘G.I.Joe’ director girds his loins. Stephen Sommers tells Variety he doesn’t think mainstream movie critics are relevant when it comes to action flicks like ‘G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.’ ‘As long as my wife and kids are proud of me, it’s all fine,’ he said. However, he would have been perfectly happy if Paramount had screened the movie for reviewers in advance.
‘Octomom’ finds a TV home on, of course, Fox. Fox will air a two-hour special on Nadya Suleman next week. Whether this is the precursor for ‘Nadya Plus 8’ remains to be seen, but Fox’s reality chief Mike Darnell promises the special is a ‘little bit of a train wreck’ and ‘really entertaining to watch.’ The Hollywood Reporter.
Yes, this is it. Sony Pictures will release ‘This Is It,’ a movie of Michael Jackson’s last rehearsal footage, at the end of October, which is not an ideal date because of Halloween. Concert promoter AEG will get a cut of the revenue. The Los Angeles Times, Deadline Hollywood
Silence of the soundtrack. The Wrap says that movie soundtracks, once a staple of Hollywood, are going away.
NBC goes Facebook not Hulu for ‘Community.’ NBC used Facebook to post a sneak peak at ‘Community,’ one of its more anticipated comedies for the fall, instead of its own video site Hulu. NewTeeVee.com notes that using Facebook will allow the network to get input from real people as opposed to anonymous commenters.
Imus in the morning. Fox Business News, which has struggled to break out in the two years or so since it launched, is near a deal to simulcast radio personality Don Imus in the morning. The move would mean that Alexis Glick, one of the network’s few bright spots, would have to find a new home for her show, says the Los Angeles Times.
Inside the Los Angeles Times: Lions Gate posted strong results, thanks to its television operations. KFWB-AM is abandoning its all-news format in favor of talk. Betsy Sharkey on Amy Adams.
-- Joe Flint
