I was fortunate enough to know Jim Gianopulos while he was a top film executive at Fox. Jim was a throwback even then to the golden age of Hollywood, where movie executives had a commanding physical presence, with an obvious passion for fine art, fine wine and fine women, implicit ability to steer a negotiation … Read more
In a media landscape where change is the norm, a remarkable milestone of stability is achieved today The CBS daytime version of THE PRICE IS RIGHT begins its 50th season. There are numerous examples of Leblanguage that can be invoked to describe exactly how incredible that statement is. Try this one out: The first half-hour … Read more
As I write this, there are memorial services ongoing in New York, Washington, Pennsylvania and elsewhere commemorating the somber 20th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center. As a native New Yorker, I took these attacks emotionally and personally. While I did not personally lose anyone close to me in the buildings or … Read more
If it’s the week after Labor Day, then it must be time for a great new buzzworthy drama on FX. This year’s entry, the latest “American Crime Story” season, a scathing retelling of the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinskyscandal called “Impeachment”, is already off a stellar start, garnering significant favorable social traction. As someone who visioned this … Read more
Since the 1950s the lives and livelihoods of thousands of media executives and tens of thousands of producers and actors have been dictated by the results derived from a small fraction of U.S. TV households, otherwise known as the Nielsen ratings panel. As this column has previously documented, the daily intensity of compiling, disseminating, spinning … Read more
Twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood When blackness was a virtue the road was full of mud I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form Come in, she said I’ll give ya shelter from the storm I survived the remnants of Hurricane Ida physically this week. My biggest loss … Read more
And so it is written. The Mike Richards era of both hosting and stewardship of Jeopardy, as well as the EP role of Wheel of Fortune, didn’t even make it to September 2021. Sony executives, rapidly approaching the level of transparency and clarity of the Cuomo administration, gave in to the inevitable and announced that … Read more
Here’s what else youneedtoknowtoday. If like me you’re a devotee of The Daily, the Michael Barbaro-fronted weekday podcast from The New York Times, you know why the last five words are without separation. That phrase is the semi-colon between the podcast’s signature main story, an extended interview or series of sound bites that delves into … Read more
So with Jeopardy-gate in a temporary (?) lull your author can tend to his own life again, and once again Leblang Across America is in airplane mode, this time the destination being his roots in New York. Once again we are meeting the confluence of exciting present and troubling past, simply letting the fact we … Read more
UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE! Within hours of this writing Sony Pictures TV announced that Mike Richards informed his team that he will step down from the hosting chores, citing the distractions continuing would cause. As of now he is scheduled to continue as executive producer of the show as well as Wheel of Fortune. The calls … Read more