It’s LA Screenings week, which means the proportion of English-first persons on studio lots is even smaller than usual. For the unfamiliar, this is a time when the international sales divisions of those producing for television put on their finest and expense accounts are far less scrutinized as buyers from networks and platforms around the … Read more
I’ve probably spent a disproportionate amount of time chronicling CBS’ Wendy McMahon. In part, that’s because she’s been a stellar example of how to rise through the ranks from levels I’m much more familiar with–promotion director at major market stations, for example–and wind up running not one, not two, but three different revenue lines for … Read more
Hats off and multiple huzzahs to Jamal Roberts. I suspect more than a few of you might be thinking “who dat?”. I’ll give you a hint: he had a better Sunday than did Jamal Murray. Roberts is the latest aspirational superstar to be crowned “American Idol”, having survived a climactic three-hour live showdown with fellow … Read more
No, I’m not Italian-American, but I’d like to think I qualify as Italian-adjacent. I grew up in an area that had quite a bit of first generation families whose parents were born in the “Old Country” and there were some wonderful family-style pizzerias in my neighborhood where many would frequent on weeknights. They would often … Read more
The esteemed cultural critic that was my tortured, self-deprecating and ultimately prematurely deceased mother had a phrase whenever she’d see something that she found to be beyond explanation, such as when one of her fellow Entenmann’s loving Mah Jongg buds would decide to sport hot pants. With a caustic drag on her Marlboro 100 she’d … Read more
I’ll confess that I have more than a little bit of envy for those I know personally who have actually been able to publish a book. As I suspect you’ve surmised if you’re reading this for me the writing part is easy, and having discussed this with the many I know who actually have their … Read more
We tend to have a bit of fun trolling the chairman of Warner Brothers Discovery, David Zaslav. Ever since he took on the reins of the storied legacy studio in 2022 and immediately grafted the name of the amalgamation of cable networks he has done all he can to transform himself into a mogul, scooping … Read more
NOTE: This musing also appears today on our sister site Double Overtime. Please visit it regularly for coverage of sports of all sorts plus occasional articles on technology. On the same day when the rundown of news stories with ethical implications already included the gifting of a $400 million plane from a country that reportedly … Read more
Of all of the posts and alerts that seemed to proliferate from dawn to dusk yesterday regarding the official kickoff to the traditional upfront week in New York, perhaps the most practical–and, indeed, one of the most popular–came from someone who made sure to point out that for anyone from out of town who didn’t … Read more
When I saw that Barry Diller at long last had chosen to share his life story with the world it caught my attention. After all, when your ex-boss and ex-roommate writes a book the very least one can do is at least put in an order for an advance copy. No, Barry and I didn’t … Read more