Showbiz Sandbox 127: Has NBC Lost Touch With Its Community?
November 28, 2011
When NBC removed the quirky sitcom “Community” from their mid-season schedule the show’s cult following went berserk. Fans launched petitions via Twitter and Facebook and in an ironic twist, got the show selected as TV Guide Magazine’s second annual Fan Favorites winner. In a desperate effort to find success with their primetime programming, NBC has given the “Community” time slot to another acclaimed comedy with mediocre ratings, “Up All Night”. Is anyone minding the store at the struggling network, or are all these calculated strategic moves?
Maybe “Community” can be saved by Netflix. That’s not such a far fetched idea now that the video rental cum streaming service is resuscitating the long-canceled “Arrested Development” by producing another 10 episodes. Yet, as Netflix moves into original content, it stock price continues to decline as some of the companies cash flow problems are made public.
Meanwhile, 30 years after it occurred, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s department has decided to reopen the case of Natalie Wood’s death. The legendary actress drowned under mysterious circumstances in 1981 while boating with her husband Robert Wagner. Could investigators actually find new evidence so long after the fact, or are they following tips from sources who might have ulterior motives.
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Showbiz Sandbox 103: Midnight In Cannes – This Year’s Fest Sparks Fireworks
May 16, 2011
Woody Allen’s film “Midnight In Paris” opened the 64th annual Cannes Film Festival last week, but it was Terrence Malick’s long awaited “Tree of Life” which everyone was eager to see. The film divided audiences with some booing loudly and others proclaiming it a masterpiece. We provide all the highlights from this year’s festival, including news about films and the scene along the Croisette.
Google decided not to wait around for record labels to offer them a decent license before launching their cloud music service. After watching Amazon launch their own music service, Google realized they would never get an appropriate licensing deal from the labels so took matters into their own hands.
Meanwhile, major television networks began holding their upfronts where they inform advertisers, and the world, what shows will air during the fall television season. We fill you in on who made the cut, who got cut, and why. The announcement that Ashton Kutcher will replace Charlie Sheen on “Two and a Half Men” was the biggest television news of the week.
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