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Open Mic

I Did a Mind Meld With Charlie Sheen and Found Out What Really Happened In His Meeting With Fox (Hint: Think ‘Idol’)

News item: “Sources familiar with the meeting tell TMZ [that] Charlie Sheen sat down last Thursday with Mike Darnell, president of alternative entertainment for Fox, David Hill, president of Fox Sports, and Peter Rice, chairman of entertainment for Fox Networks…

Mar 22, 2011

Whoooa Nellie! When Brands Go Horribly Wrong: Psst–Vince McMahon and the WWE Are No Longer In the Wrestling Business. Publicist Alerts the Media.

If you are a boy baby boomer of a certain age, and grew up in the Los Angeles area, like I did, one of your fondest memories of TV as a kid was watching Dick Lane and wrestling on KTLA…

Mar 18, 2011

Behind the Charlie Sheen Lawsuit: Warner Bros. Knew What It Was Getting Into

Pumped up with a blend of Tiger Blood and Adonis DNA, Charlie Sheen didn’t waste any time firing back against Warner Bros. and star showrunner and his hated nemesis, Chuck Lorre, after they fired him on Monday. Team Sheen just…

Mar 10, 2011

It’s Not Rocket Science, It’s TV. Charlie Sheen Claims to Have a Michael J. Fox Clause in His Contract, So That If Sheen Is Replaced, He Still Gets Paid. Don’t Know About That. What We Do Know Is That Warner Bros. and CBS Have the Santa Clause

Rule No.1: Follow the money. “Two and a Half Men” is too important to both CBS and Warner Bros, moneywise, to just disappear at the height of its popularity. For CBS, while the company says it might save money in…

Mar 8, 2011

‘American Idol’: The ‘Hamlet’ Dilemma

It was a defining moment for “American Idol” this week. Near the beginning of Thursday night’s show, as we prepared to find out results of this week’s voting and who would be the top dozen or so finalists for the…

Mar 4, 2011

OMG. One of Those Men Who Received an Oscar on Sunday Night. Didn’t He Used to Work for TVWeek?

It was 11 years ago in January. My bosses here at Crain Communications asked me to move from Advertising Age, where I was the media editor, to take over the reins at Electronic Media, the company’s publication about—and for—the TV…

Mar 1, 2011

No Big Surprise Winners Made This Year’s Oscarcast Hard to Love. And While Host Anne Hathaway was Certainly Lovable, Her Co-Host James Franco Was Less So

"You look beautiful and hip," said James Franco to Anne Hathaway as they began their hosting duties at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards on ABC this past Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011. "And you look like you appeal to a younger…

Mar 1, 2011