"Men in Black 3" is expected to take the top spot at the box office. Credit: Wilson Webb/Sony.

The Morning Fix: Networks, Dish square off. 'Men in Black' on top?

After the coffee. Before some more introspection.

The Skinny: The Morning Fix wishes everyone a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend. Stay out of trouble. I know I'm going to try to do that. Friday's headlines include the latest chapter in the fight between the broadcast networks and satellite broadcaster Dish Communications, a preview of the weekend box office and a review of "Men in Black 3."

Daily Dose:While the broadcast networks are bringing out the legal guns to try to shut down the AutoHop, satellite broadcaster Dish Network's new commercial-skipping feature (see below), an industry...

More...
Curt Schilling, former Red Sox pitcher and founder of 38 Studios, a game development company named after his jersey number.

Curt Schilling shutters his game studios, lays off entire staff

Just three months after shipping his first game, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling has reportedly laid off the entire staff of his two development studios, Big Huge Games and 38 Studios, and shut down the operations.

They had roughly 400 employees combined. Messages left for Schilling's spokesman, Adam Kahn, were not immediately returned.

Schilling's 38 Studios had been working on a massively expensive multiplayer online game that was supposed to be released later this year. That work was abruptly aborted on Thursday when Schilling handed out the pink...

More...
The AutoHop from Dish skips commercials.

Dish says Hulu is an issue too

The legal battle between Dish Communications and the broadcast networks over the satellite broadcaster's new feature that makes it easier for its subscribers to skip commercials may be the biggest issue between the two sides -- but it isn't the only one.

In an interview, David Shull, Dish's senior vice president of programming, expressed frustration over the networks' growing willingness to offer their content on digital platforms such as Hulu and iTunes. That makes the programming that Dish is paying for less valuable, Shull said, and was one of the reasons that it pushed its AutoHop device.

"...

More...
Gerry Lopez, chief executive of AMC Entertainment, left, shakes hands with Zhang Lin, vice president of Dalian Wanda Group, attend a signing ceremony in Beijing for Wanda to acquire AMC.

AMC chief calls new Chinese owner 'great news' for its theaters

AMC Entertainment Chief Executive Gerry Lopez said the Chinese conglomerate poised to take over the nation's second largest theater chain would provide needed debt relief and resources to upgrade many of its cinemas across the country.

"We're going from a group of five financial owners -- private equity funds -- to a single strategic, long-term buyer who happens to love this business and who is already in this business," Lopez said in an interview Thursday. "For us, this is nothing but great news."

After a year of talks, Dalian Wanda Group, China's largest theater operator, reached a deal last...

More...
A screen shot of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, developed by Infinity Ward.

Activision's Call of Duty trial delayed until June 1

Those awaiting the start of legal fireworks betweenActivision Blizzard Inc.and the former developers of the multibillion-dollar Call of Duty game franchise will have to hold their collective breath a little longer.

California Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle on Thursday ordered that the trial begin June 1, three days after the original start date. Berle cited logistical difficulties assembling a sufficient jury pool.

Berle also stipulated that the trial must end by July 2, giving 22 business days to try the case. Attorneys for each party had requested 30 business days, given the complexities of...

More...
Dish Network's commercial-skipping feature AutoHop

Fox sues Dish over ad-blocking feature; Dish fires back

Fox Broadcasting Co. has sued Dish Network, becoming the first television network to fire a legal salvo over the satellite company's controversial new ad-skipping device called AutoHop.

Dish, meanwhile, filed its own lawsuit, which asks a federal judge to declare that AutoHop violates no copyright laws. Dish sued not only Fox, but also CBS, Walt Disney-owned ABC, and Comcast Corp. controlled-NBC.

The television industry is grappling with new technologies that threaten to undercut the billions of dollars a year that the networks collect from advertisers to run 30- to 60-second television...

More...
People use 3-D glasses to watch an NFL football game shown in movie theaters in 2008.

Sony Pictures agrees to pay for "Men in Black 3" 3-D glasses

Sony Pictures Entertainment has backed down from its refusal to pay for the 3-D glasses on this weekend's science fiction sequel "Men in Black 3." But the studio still doesn't see eye to eye with exhibitors on the issue.

Sony sent a letter to exhibitors last fall informing them that as of May 1, 2012, it would not longer pay 3-D technology companies such as RealD the average cost of about 45 cents per ticket for 3-D glasses used by moviegoers. Sony contends that theaters, not studios, should cover the cost of supplying the glasses, which can add up to $10 million for very popular films.

In...
More...
Phillip Phillips, left, and John Fogerty on American Idol.

'American Idol' finale ratings: The decline of the 'death star'

The two-hour season finale of Fox's"American Idol" was the least watched finale in the show's history with a smaller audience than even Season 1's finale — which aired in the summer.

Fox projected that 21.5-million people tuned in to see Phillip Phillips get voted the winner of the 11th season finale of the singing competition. The star-studded show also featured appearances by John Fogerty, Rhianna and Reba McEntire. "American Idol" judge Steven Tyler also performed with his band Aerosmith.

Those numbers, while still strong by the standards of today's fractured media landscape, represent...

More...
"Men in Black 3" will knock "The Avengers" from the No. 1 box office spot this weekend.

Movie Projector: 'Men in Black 3' debut to take out 'Avengers'

The Men in Black are invading theaters this weekend with a mission that others have failed to achieve: knock "The Avengers" off the No. 1 box-office perch.

Sony Pictures' big-budget 3-D sequel "Men in Black 3" is on track to gross around $250 million worldwide over the long Memorial Day weekend, most of which should come from overseas markets.

In the U.S. and Canada, the film is expected to generate about $80 million over the four-day holiday period from Friday through Monday, said people who have seen pre-release tracking surveys.

That would be about twice as much as "The Avengers" is likely to...

More...
20th Century Fox is taking unusual steps to promote "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter."

The Morning Fix: 'G.I. Joe' off duty.

After the coffee. Before getting over jet lag.

The Skinny: Caught the finale of "American idol" on Fox on Wednesday night on the flight back from Boston. Couldn't they have done that show in an hour? Thursday's headlines include the efforts to woo viewers to "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," a delay in the release of the newest "G.I. Joe" movie, and a top cable executive saying there are too many channels out there.

Daily Dose:Ever wonder how a cable channel starts to lose its identity and become like every other channel? It usually starts small. On Wednesday, Variety reported that Discovery...

More...
Movie extra Gabriela Cedillo sustained permanent brain injuries after an accident on the set of "Transformers: Dark of the Moon."

Injured 'Transformers' extra receives $18.5 million settlement

Paramount Pictures has agreed to pay $18.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a movie extra who sustained a serious head injury during filming of the blockbuster Paramount Pictures movie "Transformers: Dark of the Moon."

Gabriela Cedillo, 26, was driving a car in a background scene when she was struck in the head by a stunt vehicle that broke lose from a cable during filming of the movie in Hammond, Ind.

The accident on Sept. 1, 2010, left Cedillo with permanent brain injuries. The Chicago resident had a portion of her skull removed and suffers from memory problems, seizures and is blind in...

More...
Advertisement
Connect

Videos

Advertisement

Raw Video: Dragon arrives at space station

Space station astronauts have captured the Dragon. The privately bankrolled Drag...

Space station astronauts have captured the Dragon. The privately bankrolled Dragon capsule arrived at the International Space Station on Friday, making history as the first commercial delivery truck in orbit. (May 25)