‘Iron Man 3’ is unbeatable! Meet Hollywood’s new script doctor.
After the coffee. Before deciding if I still need a landline phone.
The Skinny: My Time Warner Cable bill, which includes Internet and phone, is now more than $200 a month. I’m always looking to trim costs and am debating dropping the phone, which would save me $60. I have it only in case of emergencies and in four years, I’ve had none. Monday’s headlines include the weekend box office recap and a look at Hollywood’s latest script doctor. Also, we’re getting closer to making this a reality so if you are interested in receiving an email alert when the Morning Fix is live please send me a note.
Daily Dose: The fight for the Outdoor Channel, a small cable network aimed at sportsmen, took another twist. On Monday, Outdoor Holdings Inc. said a new offer from InterMedia is superior to a bid from Kroenke Sports & Entertainment. KSE has four days to come up with an offer better than InterMedia’s $9.75 per-share bid.
Golden weekend. “Iron Man 3” took in $175.3 million at the box office this past weekend, which was the second biggest U.S. opening of all time behind “The Avengers.” “Iron Man 3” took in an additional $175.9 million overseas. Seems everyone but me saw it. Other studios are steering clear of the franchise. It won’t face any real competition until May 17 when the next “Star Trek” movie opens. Box office recaps from the Los Angeles Times and Movie City News.
Saving the last picture show. As Hollywood prepares to shift from film to digital, many small town movie theaters are coming up with unique ways to deal with the costs of conversion. While big chains have already converted to digital, stand-alone outlets in smaller towns are resorting to holding benefits and using Kickstarter to raise money to upgrade their theaters. The Los Angeles Times looks at how some independent movie theater owners are dealing with the challenges of the digital switch.
No bowling for dollars. Did you know that movies that include a bowling scene typically don’t get big box office? Meet Vinny Bruzzese, a former statistics professor who has created a business evaluating scripts to determine what will be a hit or a flop. Is this a smart way to find success or yet another blow to creativity? The New York Times on Bruzzese and reaction to his number-crunching approach to evaluating screenplays. All I know is one of my favorite movies of all time is “Kingpin,” which has no shortage of bowling scenes.
Pilots waiting to take off. It’s that time of year when network executives huddle in their offices evaluating comedy and drama pilots. Next week, the broadcast networks will unveil their fall schedules to advertisers. So far though, other than a few big name projects such as Michael J. Fox’s new comedy at NBC, there isn’t much buzz. More on pilot season from Variety and Deadline Hollywood.
Mucho dinero. Univision, the large Spanish broadcasting network, has numbers that are starting to rival English-language networks and now it wants a bigger take of ad dollars. The Wall Street Journal looks at how Univision is hoping to lure more advertisers. Also, Linda Yaccarino, NBCUniversal’s top ad sales executive, talks upfront market with the Hollywood Reporter.
Inside the Los Angeles Times: NBC’s “The Office” is closing its doors for good. John Horn on “The Great Gatsby.” CNN media critic Howard Kurtz got grilled on his own show.
Follow me on Twitter. You really have no excuse at this point. @JBFlint.
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