MORNING REPORT - News from June 12, 2001
POP / ROCK
No Eagles vs. Eagles Showdown
The Eagles have dropped a trademark infringement lawsuit over the telephone number and Web address of a nonprofit foundation dedicated to saving the once-endangered birds. The 3-year-old case was to be heard Monday in Knoxville, Tenn., but the band’s lawyer, Carla Christofferson, requested the trial be called off because the band is touring in Europe. Eagles Ltd. and Eagles Recording Co., two Los Angeles-based companies formed by the band, brought the lawsuit in 1998, claiming the foundation infringed on its name and image by selling music recordings and videos on the American Eagle record label.
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Ronstadt to Sing at Fiesta Navidad
Linda Ronstadt will guest with Natividad “Nati” Cano at the eighth annual holiday mariachi concert, Fiesta Navidad, Dec. 11 at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa. Cano’s Los Camperos performed with Ronstadt on her Grammy Award-winning 1987 “Canciones de Mi Padre” (Songs of My Father). Tickets are $20 to $65.
MOVIES
‘Godfather’ Films Headed for DVD All three “Godfather” films will be released together Oct. 9, with director Francis Ford Coppola supplying commentary on each of them, Paramount Home Entertainment said Monday. Retailing for $75, the “Godfather DVD Collection” has the films on four discs with a fifth disc featuring three hours of bonus material, such as information on the music, cinematography, production design and the collaboration of writers Coppola and Mario Puzo. Both “The Godfather” (1972) and “The Godfather Part II” (1974), starring Marlon Brando, won Academy Awards as best picture of the year. . . . Meanwhile, another best picture Oscar winner, “Gandhi” (1982), arrives on DVD Aug. 28. The special edition from Columbia TriStar includes several extra features, including four vintage newsreels of the real Indian leader.
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Academy Presents Student Oscars
Brooke Keesling of California Institute of the Arts in Valencia was among the top winners Sunday at the 28th annual Student Academy Awards. Her film “Boobie Girl” won the $5,000 prize in the animation category. Among those receiving $3,000 runner-up prizes from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences were Carl Pfirman of UCLA and Victor Robert and Rodney Hom of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.
TELEVISION
ABC Advertising Takes a Green Turn
It’s no secret that summer is rerun time on the TV networks, so ABC is embracing the fact by signing a very retro pair to try to entice viewers to watch.
The clay figures of Gumby and his steed Pokey will begin turning up on the air today in a series of ads aimed at getting people to watch shows that they missed during the regular season.
Art Clokey, who created the characters in the 1950s, is one of the executive producers of the new spots.
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Cartoon Fishes in ‘Adult’ Pool
The Cartoon Network will add an adult-oriented block of animated programming from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. Thursdays and Sundays in September, under the title “Adult Swim.” Aimed at those in the 18-to-34 age bracket, the venture will feature new episodes of “Space Ghost Coast to Coast” and five new series, among them “Harvey Birdman,” which puts “the crimes and misdemeanors of the cartoon world” on trial. Network officials cited the many adults who already watch their programs and enjoy animation in justifying the strategy.
QUICK TAKES
Radio notes: Fred Johnson, program director at KCSN-FM (88.5), has been named acting general manager, replacing Rene Engel, who is joining KLON-FM (88.1). Engel’s daily arts program, “Let’s Do Lunch,” has been put on the shelf. . . . Times columnist Patt Morrison will fill in as host of “Air Talk” on KPCC-FM (89.3) this week (weekdays 9-11 a.m.) as Larry Mantle takes time off to be with his first child, a son delivered by his wife Kristen Sunday night.