Tribune emerges from bankruptcy! Hollywood finishes 2012 strong. - Los Angeles Times
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Tribune emerges from bankruptcy! Hollywood finishes 2012 strong.

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After the coffee. Before figuring out how to get to the Redskins playoff game this Sunday.

The Skinny: My New Year’s Eve celebration was last night when the Redskins beat the Cowboys. For all you folks partying tonight, don’t drive drunk! The life you save may be mine. Today’s headlines include a look at the box office for the weekend and for 2012, and Los Angeles Times parent Tribune Co. emerges from bankruptcy. The Morning Fix will be off Tuesday and back on Wednesday. Happy New Year, everyone, and see you next year.

Daily Dose: The semi-annual Television Critics Assn. Press Tour gets rolling later this week but the likely highlight will be Jan. 8, which is when Fox takes the stage. Not only will the network face a barrage of questions about the performance of “The X Factor†and who the new judges will be next season, but also about its new dark drama “The Following.†The show, which stars Kevin Bacon and is about a cult of killers, is pretty bloody and given concerns about the impact of movies and films on our culture, will likely be given a lot of scrutiny. Having said that, I watched the first four episodes and found it very compelling.

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We’re back! After being in bankruptcy for four years, Los Angeles Times parent Tribune Co. is finally emerging with new owners including private equity firms Oaktree Capital and Angelo, Gordon & Co. and a new board of directors. Former Fox and Discovery Communications executive Peter Liguori, who is on the new Tribune board, is expected to be named chief executive as well in the coming weeks. More on Tribune’s emergence from bankruptcy from the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Bloomberg.

Still going strong. “The Hobbit†took top honors at the box office for the last weekend of the year with $32.9 million. It was the movie’s third straight weekend in the top spot. Finishing second was “Django Unchained,†which lassoed almost $31 million. “Les Miserables†was a solid third with $28 million. Box office recaps from the Los Angeles Times and Variety.

A year to remember. Hollywood will have plenty to celebrate tonight as 2012 will likely set a box office record by the time dust settles. “The Avengers,†“The Dark Knight Rises,†“Skyfall,†“The Hunger Games†and, of course, “â€The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2†were among the hits that lifted box office totals 6% compared with 2011. A look back from the Los Angeles Times and New York Times.

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No binders needed here. The Sundance Film Festival will get going in just a few weeks and for the first time in its history will have an equal number of films from male and female directors. The Wall Street Journal with a preview of Sundance.

Squeeze SpongeBob. Cablevision Systems Corp. is in a programming dispute with Viacom, parent of cable channels Nickelodeon (home of SpongeBob SquarePants), MTV and Comedy Central. The current distribution agreement is up at the end of the year, reports the New York Post. Cablevision has about 3 million subscribers, mostly in the New York City region.

Call my broker! What media stocks should you invest in next year? The Hollywood Reporter looks at what the top analysts are saying about which companies are in line to have a good 2013. If I were a stock, I’d tell you to short me. Kidding.

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Inside the Los Angeles Times: Steven Zeitchik on movies with bad endings. Randy Lewis looks back at the biggest concert tours of the year.

Start the new year off right by following me on Twitter. @JBFlint. See you on Wednesday.


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