Showbiz Sandbox 363: With Bill O’Reilly Gone, Cable News Begins A New Chapter

After twenty years as the face of Fox News, Bill O’Reilly was responsible for nearly 20% of the network’s revenue. Even so, Fox made the decision to fire O’Reilly last week after reports that he had paid out settlements over the years to women accusing him of sexual harassment. At least, that’s how Fox spun the story, not wanting to admit the controversial news host was causing the network too look bad and lose advertisers.

O’Reilly wasn’t the first on-air host Fox News has lost over the last year. A string of anchors, including the popular Megyn Kelly left for new deals at other networks. With Fox’s entire primetime lineup upended so suddenly, other media outlets are beginning to make a move to overtake the top cable news network.

Meanwhile, China continues to issue release dates for big Hollywood movies at a rate that will likely surpass their own quota on imported films. One thing is for sure, none of the movies China approves will star Richard Gere. We’ll explain why.

Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news stories including why it doesn’t matter that Netflix didn’t meet its quarterly subscriber goals, the return of “X-Files” and Kevin Spacey gets tapped for the Tony Awards.

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Showbiz Sandbox 48: The Justin Bieber Swagger

Yet another 3D film release topped the box office this weekend, sort of.  “Clash of the Titans” was actually shot traditionally and had 3D added to it during post-production.  Many film critics and industry insiders are faulting the film’s 3D work, which was performed in only eight weeks.  Neil Feldman, the president and CEO of In-Three, a company that specializes in dimensionalizing 2D films, joins us during our Inside Baseball segment to discuss the difference between good 3D conversions and bad 3D conversions.  For Feldman, it’s all about quality, which he believes Warner Bros. was not concerned with on “Clash”.

Apparently, Warner Bros. also wasn’t concerned with producing a sequel of “The Hangover” when they set out to make the surprise comedy hit.  The studio neglected to put option clauses in the lead actor’s contracts so they are having to pay each of them $5 million to appear in the sequel.  The same may have been true for Twentieth Century Fox and “Independence Day”.  There are now rumors however that the studio has locked Will Smith in for two sequels to the blockbuster 1996 action film.  Unfortunately they are just that… rumors.

Justin Bieber continues to tear up the music charts.  His new album “My World 2.0” debuted in the number one spot and his first album is still at number five.  Read more

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Showbiz Sandbox 8: Everybody’s A Critic On The Internet

This week “The Hangover” hung around, and “The Taking of Pelham 123” opened at lower numbers than expected. Was the film miscast?

James Cameron proves he’s King of the World, or at least of the digital age, by pushing game publisher Ubisoft to create the videogame industry’s first stereoscopic title. What does this mean for future relationships between films and videogames? In other film news, “Slumdog Millionaire” director Danny Boyle signed a three year deal with Fox Searchlight; the quasi-classic “Conan The Barbarian” will be remade; and rumors abound that the director of the summer action film “G.I. Joe” was fired. Plus, DVD fans may have to wait a little longer until movies they didn’t bother seeing in the theaters are available for viewing on the couch.

Despite repeated warnings, chaos still ensued when the switch to digital TV finally happened in the United States. And though there were obvious clues about his sexual orientation, “American Idol” runner up Adam Lambert finally came out to Rolling Stone magazine. Plus, the debate rages on: Can Jay Leno survive at 10pm? Advertisers sure aren’t happy about his new time slot. Read more

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Showbiz Sandbox 6: Down With ‘Up’ And Other Contrarian Opinions

We are excited to be joined by journalist Anne Thompson of Thompson On Hollywood who recently returned to the United States after covering the Cannes Film Festival. You may remember Anne as the West Coast Editor for Premiere Magazine and Film Comment, not to mention her stint as the Deputy Film Editor at The Hollywood Reporter. She’s also written for a plethora of media outlets including, The New York Times, Washington Post, Wired and LA Weekly. Anne fills us in on who scored big at this past year’s festival and who wound up spinning their wheels.

There was plenty to talk about this week with Pixar’s tenth animated film “Up” winning praise from both critics and audiences. The film earned $68.2 million during it’s opening weekend in North America, but not a dime from Karen Woodward who’s not a fan of animated films (or as she calls them. . . cartoons). “Up” may just give “The Hangover” a run for its money when it opens next week. The comedy flick from director Todd Philips has been receiving a lot of buzz as a potential sleeper hit. Another animated film trying to capture people’s attention is Robert Zemeckis’ take on “A Christmas Carol”. Though it’s not due out until November of this year, Disney has launched a promotional tour which will have clips of the film visiting 40 cities over the next six months by train.  Actor Jim Carrey tells us why another version of the classic tale is being made. Read more

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