Bela Bajaria is arguably the world’s most powerful creative executive. She’s so good she replaced a woman (Cindy Holland) who earned her company more than a trillion dollars over 16 years and in on a pace to eclipse that. How good is she? We simply don’t know. As Netflix’s head of global TV, Bajaria shepherds … Read more
A lot of file space was devoted here late in the summer to the saga of Mike Richards, my former Sony colleague whose rapid fall from newly anointed heir to Alex Trebek’s throne to the loss of an eight-figure salary and public shaming that had him reduced to a punch line by Labor Day. As … Read more
Frances Haugen started trending this past weekend and literally broke the internet in the next 48 hours. Call it the epitome of irony. Haugen, a former Facebook employee, gave a powerful interview to 60 MINUTES Sunday night and compelling testimony to Congress yesterday, blowing the whistle on what she described as a business culture that … Read more
The above phrase, a signature of the immortal philopsopher George Costanza, may very well explain everything from last week’s folding of controversial digital media firm Ozy Media to the global phenomenon of Squid Game, let alone the popularity of ivermectin. Many who have compared my hairline to George’s have equated Leblanguage to Costanzan. At its … Read more
Yesterday I had a minor surgical procedure that had me under anethesia for the first time since my major health scare Christmas 2019. And NBC brought LAW AND ORDER back from the dead. In Leblanguage, these events are indeed connected. The revival of LAW AND ORDER, scheduled for NBC and Peacock next year 13 years … Read more
Peter Bart: As U.S. Demographics Evolve, The Question Isn’t Where Is Hollywood’s Audience, But Who Peter Bart wrote a fascinating column for Deadline yesterday that brings to light some recent U.S. demographic tweaks that reveal some fascinating trends and could go a long way to answering recent questions about why media audiences continue to be … Read more
You’ll find why I’m shedding more than a few tears tonight. Willie Garson was a versatile actor, best known for his ambitious portrayal of Stanford on the original SEX IN THE CITY, as well as several memorable co-starring roles in movies like FEVER PITCH and other TV series like USA’s WHITE COLLAR. He was a … Read more
UPDATED with revised preliminary Emmy audience estimates (CBS only) Last night I watched the Emmy Awards, or at least the portion I stayed awake for. It was an aesthetic improvement over last year, which was a glorified Zoom call, and there were some genuinely sweet and relevant moments. But a lot of it went completely … Read more
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