‘G.I. Joe’ will command box office. Barbara Walters readies exit.
After the coffee. Before auditioning for a spot on ABC’s “The View.â€
The Skinny: How good a Friday can this be if I’m working? Well, at least there is some great college basketball this weekend and baseball’s back on Sunday. Friday’s headlines include a preview of the weekend box office and Barbara Walters getting ready to step down from ABC.
Daily Dose: It used to be that people wrote about new TV shows when they were definitely going to get on the air. Now an announced project is enough to draw a big headline. On Thursday, Miramax said it is working with director Martin Scorsese on a TV version of “Gangs of New York.†That should be an easy sell to someone (HBO? Showtime? Netflix?) but until it is, it’s just a piece of development no different than thousands of other projects trying to get picked up.
But does he have a kung fu grip? “G.I. Joe: Retaliation†is expected to shoot its way to the top spot at the box office this weekend. According industry projections, “G.I. Joe: Retaliation†should take in between $45 million and $50 million. The battle for second place may be closer as the animated family film “The Croods†will do battle with Tyler Perry’s romantic thriller “Temptation.†Each should take in around $20 million. Box office previews from the Los Angeles Times and Hollywood Reporter.
Looking for a new view. Pioneering TV journalist Barbara Walters is planning to step down in May 2014. The host of ABC’s soft talk show “The View,†Walters was the first female co-host of NBC’s “Today†(even if she didn’t have that title at the time) and the first woman to anchor an evening news broadcast. Her exit from “The View†will leave ABC with a big hole, especially since Joy Behar is also leaving the morning chat show and Elisabeth Hasselbeck may also be on the way out. More on Walters and what her departure from “The View†will mean from the Wall Street Journal.
Where are the consultants? Between “The Tonight Show†and “Today,†NBC has a lot of behind-the-scenes drama going on that the press is having a field day over. Is Matt Lauer a bad guy? Is Jay Leno getting a raw deal? Much of NBC’s bad press is self-inflicted, leading some media pundits to wonder why they are managing all this so badly. Some thoughts from the New York Times, Variety and USA Today.
Not so wanted. “America’s Most Wanted†has run out of lives, according to TV Guide. The show, which was rescued by Lifetime after Fox canceled it two years ago, could still catch criminals but catching a lot of viewers was another story.
Inside the Los Angeles Times: Prana Studios has acquired special effects company Rhythm & Hues, which is in bankruptcy. A sneak peak at what’s in store for some of the women of HBO’s hit series “Game of Thrones.â€
Follow me on Twitter as I fight for truth and justice. @JBFlint.
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