Our long national nightmare–well, at least the one that may have been keeping Shari Redstone’s now-former employees awake–is over. UPI’s Paul Godfrey was among the many that broke the news earlier this morning: Paramount Global, the owner of Paramount Pictures, CBS television, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and MTV said Monday it had accepted a $8 billion … Read more
I haven’t been able to find much positive inspiration lately; certainly not in the last few days. And a holiday weekend devoid of the preponderance of summer blockbusters that once dominated multiplexes didn’t offer the cornucopia of welcome distractions from the world at large that often saved many of us from nervous breakdowns. But, thankfully, … Read more
By my count, there are now at least three senior citizens of some prominence who are incapable of accurately understanding what the court of public opinion actually thinks about them. One, of course, is the presumptive Republican candidate for the presidency, that esteemed golfing legend who lovingly referenced his opponent as a “broken down pile … Read more
Usually, the only night of television less devoid of anything worthy of watching beyond the 4th of July is the 5th of July. At least the 4th has been dominated by the Macy’s spectaculars, giving NBC a pyrrhic victory for little more investment than a bunch of cameras aimed at the sky. The 5th is … Read more
I grew up fearing the year 1984; thank you, George Orwell and my high school English teachers. But instead of utter dystopia we got a memorable Apple commercial that utterly trashed the eponymous novel that drove my angst, a shockingly entertaining race for the National League Eastern Division title between the Mets and Cubs, neither … Read more
Ah, Sharileh, you little minx. Just when you’ve sort of convinced most observers you had actually moved on with your life and had set things up to make a go of it for a while, you turn around yesterday and crank things up again with the suitor you had jilted mere weeks ago. Per BLOOMBERG’s … Read more
Of all of the news that’s been eminating of late from the smouldering remains of the dumpster fire Shari Redstone’s obstinance has turned Paramount Global into, none was as encouraging as what was widely reported yesterday, including THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER’s Erik Hayden: Barry Diller is taking a look at Paramount Global. The mogul’s digital media … Read more
At just after midnight, I flipped my calendar over to the side where the pages now turn in the other direction. And then I threw up half of my dinner. I suppose I should be a tad more grateful than I’m capable of being this morning for officially making it to the second half of … Read more
Of all of the headlines that contained that five-letter word that begins and ends with the letters that stand for toilet paper (you know, that pesky substance that sometimes sticks to shoes) that are out in the ether this morning, this one from THE WRAP’s Umberto Gonzalez stood out as perhaps the one that best … Read more
Yeah, I suppose it’s my civic duty to at least pay attention to what will transpire tonight in Atlanta. You know, that debate thing. If you take the Associated Press at face value, and with the state of journalism these days one almost doesn’t have a choice, at least there will be a sizable audience … Read more