‘Gravity’ won’t come down. Netflix and cable becoming friends?
After the coffee. Before wondering why I’m not off today.
The Skinny: Tough day for my teams Sunday as the Redskins and Tigers took it on the chin. Hopefully the Dodgers lineup will at least wake up Monday night. Also, no “Walking Dead” or “Good Wife” spoilers, please. Today’s roundup includes the weekend box office recap, a story about Netflix possibly working with cable operators to distribute its service and the escalating fight between Aereo and broadcasters. If you are off today, enjoy it!
Daily Dose: Here’s one for soccer fans. Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox has signed a far-reaching rights deal with the Deutsche Football League to carry its games in North and South America as well as Europe and Asia. Overall, the agreement covers 80 countries.
Can’t keep ‘Gravity’ down. “Gravity” continued to fly high at the box office, taking in $44.3 million in its second weekend. That is only a 21% drop from its premiere week. Finishing second with $26 million was “Captain Phillips,” the Somali pirate drama starring Tom Hanks. I still need to see both of these films. Fortunately, given the way the Redskins are playing, I’ll have some free time on Sundays. Also opening was Robert Rodriguez’s “Machete,” which could only chop its way to less than $4 million. Weekend box office recaps from the Los Angeles Times and Hollywood Reporter.
To the Supremes? Big broadcasters including CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox want the Supreme Court to declare Aereo -- the start-up service that distributes local TV signals to consumers via the Internet -- illegal. The broadcasters argue that Aereo is dodging copyright laws through technical loopholes. Getting the Supreme Court to overturn a lower court’s ruling in favor of Aereo is no sure thing. Coverage of the Aereo legal fight from the Los Angeles Times, New York Times and Broadcasting & Cable. Also, pay-TV company Cablevision, which previously sided with broadcasters in their fight with Aereo, blasted the Supreme Court filing as too far-reaching and looking to shut down new technology. More on that from the Los Angeles Times.
PHOTOS: Celebrities by The Times
Frenemies. A couple of cable operators are talking with Netflix about making the online streaming service available to subscribers through set-top boxes, reports the Wall Street Journal. This is significant because Netflix is often seen as a competitor to cable and satellite TV’s video offerings. On the other hand, cable operators figure they sell broadband too and Netflix users need lots of that so maybe there is some common ground. My hunch is this is a little ways off because of potential conflicts between programming carried by distributors and Netflix’s own offerings.
Whipped? Over the weekend, “Sons of Anarchy” star Charlie Hunnam pulled out of his starring role in the movie version of the erotic novel “Shades of Grey.” The spin from the production companies was that Hunnam’s busy TV schedule was the cause. However, it’s not like his TV obligations weren’t known before he signed the contract and that has led to speculation that his concerns were more about the movie and not his workload. More from Variety.
Inside the Los Angeles Times: Somali actor Barkhad Abdi is hijacking “Captain Phillips.” Randall Roberts on Paul McCartney’s new release.
Follow me on Twitter. I need to be cheered up after the Redskins loss. @JBFlint.
For the record: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated the box office total for “Machete.”
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