The Morning Fix: Public service or agenda? Vivendi and GE just $500 million apart. Glickman going. Sex on screen and off. Leno’s effect on late news.
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After the coffee. Before figuring out how to end the baseball season before November.
This plot brought to you by... This week, scores of network and cable programs will highlight community service as part of an initiative from the Entertainment Industry Foundation called ‘iParticipate.’ There are some concerns that while there may be good intentions at heart, depending on how community service is portrayed, there is a risk of an agenda being underscored. In other words, if a character volunteers for some environmental cause (as is the case in Fox’s ‘’Til Death’), is this a message about service or making a political statement? The plot on the plots from the Los Angeles Times.
Just a few dollars apart. Vivendi and General Electric Co. are only about $500 million apart in figuring out what the French conglomerate’s 20% stake in GE’s NBC Universal is worth, according to the Wall Street Journal. It’s hardly a deal-killer, one person told the WSJ. Meanwhile, the New York Times looks at what Vivendi will be post-NBC.
Job opening at the MPAA. Dan Glickman is stepping down as head of the Motion Picture Assn. of America. Glickman, who succeeded the larger-than-life Jack Valenti, had been dropping hints for a year that he was looking to exit next September when his contract is up. News and potential replacements (speculation includes Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger) from Politico.
The ‘Wild Things’? They’re at the box office. ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ cruised to first place in the weekend box office. But figuring out who the movie was a big hit with is harder than it seems. Analysis from the Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal and Deadline.
The perils of on-screen sex. Yes, it’s the story you’ve been waiting for. The Wrap looks at how actors deal with on-screen sex in their off-screen lives.
Inside the Los Angeles Times: A look at what Jay Leno’s show is doing to late news. Angels-Dodgers sounds like fun, but not if you’re Fox Broadcasting or live outside of Southern California. David White named chief SAG negotiator.
-- Joe Flint
