‘Homicide’ Gives Court TV New Look

Having made its mark covering high-profile trials involving O.J. Simpson and the Menendez brothers, Court TV will embark on a new direction beginning Thursday by adding reruns of “Homicide: Life on the Street” to its prime-time lineup. The cable network will inaugurate the NBC show’s arrival with a 24-hour marathon of early episodes--when Det. Frank Pembleton (Emmy winner Andre Braugher) was still on the case--starting at 9 p.m. Court TV will still cover trials by day, but evening hours will now feature “crime stories,” including two airings of “Homicide” as well as “Pros & Cons,” a series looking at legal issues from the day’s headlines; and “Greatest Trials,” focusing on sensational trials of the past. In addition, Johnnie Cochran’s show is being shortened and revised into a sort of legal magazine. Court TV has said the goal is to broaden its appeal beyond just trial junkies. “Homicide,” meanwhile, gets a new home after airing on Lifetime, which paid roughly $400,000 per episode for rerun rights--a questionable move, given that the gritty detective series didn’t fit especially well with the channel’s marketing niche as “Television for Women.”

Rush Is On to Meet the Oscar Deadline

It’s the final week in December and in Hollywood that can only mean three words (no, not “Happy New Year”): “For your consideration.” It’s the last few days to qualify films for the Oscars--the film must open before New Year’s Eve and play for one week in theaters, but that week can be in the new year. Three smaller films with Oscar aspirations are opening Wednesday: October Films is pushing Emily Watson for her portrayal of a difficult musical genius in “Hilary and Jackie,” Gramercy Pictures is pitching Woody Harrelson for his role as a contemporary cowboy in “The Hi-Lo Country,” and Lion’s Gate Films has high hopes for James Coburn and Nick Nolte as a father and son from hell in “Affliction.” In that film the urbane Coburn, a favorite from spy capers in the ‘60s (“In Like Flint”) turns his image on its head by playing a brutally abusive father from a small town in New England. Other films that opened in December for the Oscar race include Fine Line’s “Hurlyburly” (pushing Sean Penn and other members of the A-list cast) and Disney’s “Rushmore” (hyping Bill Murray for supporting actor). The nominations are due by Jan. 29 and will be announced Feb. 9. The final ballots are due March 16, only five days before the ceremony. Studios see the late-release strategy as a way of keeping their films fresher in academy members’ minds before their votes. But that strategy is unproven, according to academy spokeswoman Leslie Unger. “If you were to go back in the history of the awards, the winners tend to be released throughout the year, not just at the end of the year,” Unger said.

Is Rap Album’s Late-Season Release a Risk?

Will rap star DMX miss out on some of the retail magic of Christmas? We’ll know Wednesday, when sales reports arrive on “Flesh of My Flesh Blood of My Blood,” the new album from the Yonkers, N.Y., hip-hop star who is flouting some traditional strategies about the timing of his follow-up effort to “It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot.” Not only is “Flesh” the second album from DMX this year (“It’s Dark,” released in May, is still in the Top 40) but it was also the lone major release the week before Christmas. That’s because the conventional thinking in the industry is that album debut dates are like Thanksgiving turkey--great in November but perhaps a bad idea by late December. The worry is that retailers and shoppers might miss a new album arriving in the midst of the shopping crush, along with the missed marketing and airplay opportunities that can put an album in the minds of shoppers during the biggest sales season. So is DMX risking a happy new year? Probably not, says Scott Levin, a music marketing executive at Musicland. “There’s so much coming out at the same time at the beginning [of the holiday season] that an album coming out later might not be lost in the crowd. . . . [Besides] the stores are still open and selling albums in January and February.”

Morning Report will continue Tuesday through Saturday.