Networks at a loss as November sweeps arrive
By Gary Levin, USA TODAY
The November sweeps, starting tonight, has the usual crop of celebrations (CBS turns 75), news-interview exclusives (Jessica Lynch), trophy handouts (Country Music Association Awards) and special episodes (8 Simple Rules mourns John Ritter's death).
What's missing: networks celebrating their usual skill at luring viewers who are eager to embrace the new TV season.
With the exception of first-place Fox — up 20% this fall because of postseason baseball — the news isn't good. UPN is off 16% from last year, NBC and WB are down 11%, CBS is off 3% and ABC is unchanged compared with a lowly 2002. Among younger viewers, the declines are even sharper.
So naturally there's even more jockeying to improve standings during sweeps, when ratings help determine local stations' ad rates.
"The season started poorly, and now that baseball's over, there are no more excuses" for weak performance, says top Initiative Media buyer Tim Spengler.
Less than six weeks into the season, the weaklings are being separated from the herd:
• NBC, now in third place, has made the most moves, axing Boomtown and benching Coupling and legal drama Lyon's Den for at least a month.
• Fox canceled its new sitcom Luis.
• CBS yanked David E. Kelley's Brotherhood of Poland, N.H.
• UPN's The Mullets didn't last nearly as long as its namesake hairstyle.
NBC is hauling out more repeats of Friends and Law & Order to fill its gaps. Six Law episodes are scheduled to air in the next week, leading to questions about the network's reliance on the still-powerful crime series. Monday brings new reality dating show Average Joe (NBC, 10 p.m. ET/PT), despite the failure of another Joe, as in Millionaire.
Which brings up Fox's dilemma: The network has been unable to parlay powerful baseball ratings into series success, as Millionaire and new drama Skin stumbled badly. Even the hit 24 premiered Tuesday with 11.6 million viewers, down 14% from last fall's opener.
One problem, analysts say, is TV cannibalism: NBC's Saving Jessica Lynch will do battle with another biopic, CBS' Elizabeth Smart Story, on Nov. 9. "Each standing alone has the potential to do well," says Steve Sternberg of media buyer Magna Global USA. "Opposite one another, they will both be hurt."
Tipsy Popcorn
Odeon Cinemas in the UK are set to launch alcoholic popcorn. Yep, that’s right you didn’t miss here me. They held a poll of what else people want from their kernels and alcohol was the winner. They are going to start off with Sambuca and Irish Cream and if these go down well, who knows what will be popping.
Paul McCartney 'Ecstatic' Father Again at 61
LONDON (Reuters) - Paul McCartney is a father again at the age of 61 after the former Beatle's second wife, Heather Mills, gave birth to their first child, a baby girl born three weeks early by Caesarian section.
"Both she and mum are doing well. Paul and Heather are ecstatic with the news," said a statement on Thursday from the couple after the birth of seven-pound Beatrice Milly. "She is a little beauty and we couldn't be prouder."
The one-legged model turned charity campaigner, who married the former Beatle in June last year, gave birth on Tuesday at a London hospital near the Abbey Road studios where the world's most famous pop group recorded their immortal albums.
The proud parents said: "She is named after Heather's mother Beatrice and Paul's Aunt Milly. Our immediate family were told the news right away and are all as overjoyed as we are at the early arrival of our little bundle of joy."
Initial press reports said that Mills gave birth to a boy.
McCartney has three adult children from his marriage to first wife Linda, who died of breast cancer in 1998.
Mills, 35, had always feared she could never have children because she had in the past suffered cancer of the uterus and two ectopic pregnancies.
Mills said that when she told McCartney that her pregnancy test was positive "We both started crying and it was just a miracle."
McCartney's marriage to photographer Linda Eastman was one of the happiest in showbusiness and they rarely spent a night apart. He was heartbroken by her death.
His friendship with Mills, who was born the year before Paul and Linda's wedding, blossomed into romance after they first met at a charity event.
"I'm lucky to have found a good woman who is strong like Linda," McCartney said.
His children were said to be not so sure and McCartney has admitted this was a problem.
"I think a second marriage is hard for the children no matter who it is," he said. "They find it difficult to think of me with another woman."
Mills has denied press reports of a feud between herself and McCartney's children Mary, James and fashion designer Stella.
Mills ran away from home at the age of 13, living rough on the streets of London and descending into petty crime and delinquency.
She became a glamour model and married a computer sales director. But they split up in 1989 and she went to Yugoslavia to train as a ski instructor.
On return to Britain, her life was forever changed in 1993 when she was hit by a police motorcylist speeding to an emergency. "When I landed, I was on one side of the road and my leg was on the other," she said of the horrific accident.
She now devotes her time to her own charity which raises funds to provide artificial limbs to land mine victims.
Nichols' brother sues Michael Moore
DETROIT (AP) -- James Nichols, the brother of Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols, says he was tricked into appearing in the documentary Bowling for Columbine, according to a federal lawsuit filed against filmmaker Michael Moore.
Nichols also alleges in the lawsuit, filed Monday in Detroit, that Moore libeled him by linking him to the terrorist act.
Nichols accuses Moore of libel, defamation of character, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. His lawyer is asking for a jury trial and damages ranging from $10 million to $20 million on each of nine counts, the Detroit Free Press reported.
A message seeking comment was left Tuesday with Moore's publicist.
In the film, Moore asks Nichols for an interview and steers the subject from the Oklahoma City bombing to gun ownership. Nichols tells Moore he has a gun under his pillow, and Moore asks Nichols to show him.
In the lawsuit, Nichols, who lives in Decker, said Moore misled him about the purpose of the interview.
Bowling for Columbine won the feature-length documentary Academy Award earlier this year.
Groening: Fox News Threatened to Sue 'Simpsons'
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Over its 14-year history, "The Simpsons" has taken almost as many shots at its network, FOX, as Bart has at Springfield bartender Moe Szyslak through his prank calls.
However, Fox News Channel -- which is part of the same News Corp. empire that owns FOX -- apparently got a little touchy about an episode of the show that aired last season.
In an interview on National Public Radio's "Fresh Air" last week, "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening said Fox News threatened to sue "The Simpsons" for using a fake news crawl with the Fox News logo in an episode that aired in March. The episode, titled "Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington," involved Krusty the Clown running for Congress.
"We called their bluff because we didn't think [News Corp. CEO] Rupert Murdoch would pay for Fox to sue itself," Groening says in the interview. "We got away with it, but now FOX has a new rule that we can't do those little fake news crawls in a cartoon because it might confuse the viewers into thinking it's real news."
Fox News says it never threatened to sue the show, according to several news reports.
The fake crawl took some jabs at Fox News' right-leaning reputation, reading in part: "Rupert Murdoch: Terrific dancer ... Dow down 5000 points ... Study: 92 per cent of Democrats are gay ... JFK posthumously joins Republican Party ... Oil slicks found to keep seals young, supple. ..."
"The Simpsons" begins its 15th season Sunday (Nov. 2) with the annual "Treehouse of Horror" episode.
Timbaland To Lead 'World' Charity Remake
Timbaland plans to revisit the USA For Africa charity project "We Are the World" to raise funds for worldwide HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention programs. The hip-hop artist/producer confirmed the plans Monday night (Oct. 27) at the second annual YouthAIDS Gala in New York.
Justin Timberlake and Missy Elliott will co-write the new version, which will be titled "The World Is Ours." Like the original, which involved an all-star roster of more than 40 vocalists, a cast of contemporary artists is being recruited for the project.
Due in spring 2004, "The World Is Ours" is being made with the blessing of Quincy Jones, who produced the original. Beat Club Records will release the single, which will be distributed by Interscope. Proceeds will benefit YouthAIDS and Jones' Listen Up Foundation.
A "The World Is Ours" video will premiere on VH1, the official media partner for the project, and MTV. A VH1 special about the recording of the song is also planned and an accompanying DVD will be produced by QD3, Jones' son.
Inspired by Bob Geldof's all-star U.K. Band Aid benefit recording "Do They Know It's Christmas?," in 1985 Harry Belefonte conceived a stateside version, USA For Africa, to further raise funds to fight famine in Africa. Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie wrote "We Are the World," reportedly in just two hours, and Jones produced the recording session. Among the participants were Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper, Paul Simon, Tina Turner, Ray Charles, Diana Ross, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder and Willie Nelson.
Released by Columbia, the single reached the top of The Billboard Hot 100. The accompanying album, which also boasted previously unreleased tracks by Prince, the Pointer Sisters and others, hit No. 1 on The Billboard 200. The project raised $90 million for famine relief in Africa.
"I see this as a passing of the torch. I will use the legendary model of 'We Are the World,' but update it in a way that works for the trends of the music industry today," Timbaland says in a statement. "Just as Quincy Jones, Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson did, we will create an anthem with today's most talented artists to produce a song that will bring the world's attention to the AIDS pandemic."
Disney Postpones 'The Alamo' Release
LOS ANGELES - Disney has postponed the Christmas release of "The Alamo" until April because filmmakers felt they needed more time to finish it.
"Too often in Hollywood these days, release dates are set before a film has even completed shooting and it forces the director into a situation that compromises the work," studio Chairman Dick Cook said Wednesday.
The movie, starring Billy Bob Thornton as Davy Crockett and Dennis Quaid as Sam Houston, was scheduled to debut Dec. 25. The postponement means it won't qualify for the 2003 Academy Awards — where some had predicted it would be a major contender.
"Ultimately, the end product is more important than the need to meet arbitrary deadlines for awards," Cook said.
With Tom Cruise's "The Last Samurai," "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" and "Peter Pan" opening in December, "The Alamo" will be dodging some tough competition.
"The Alamo" was directed by John Lee Hancock, whose other major directing credit was "The Rookie," which starred Quaid. He also wrote the screenplay for Clint Eastwood's "A Perfect World."
Hancock said he wouldn't miss the awards campaign.
"Postproduction on an epic ensemble piece takes time and no deadline, no prestige release date, no awards season is worth more to me than the movie being fantastic," he said.
Disney initially courted "A Beautiful Mind" Oscar winner Ron Howard to direct "The Alamo" and Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe to star. But the studio and Howard clashed over how bloody and expensive the film should be, with Howard seeking a reported $125 million budget.
Hancock's "Alamo" has been touted by the studio as an example of a cost-saving epic in an era of out-of-control movie budgets, but the delay is likely to drive its reported $80 million price tag higher.
Italian Tenor Franco Corelli Dies at 82
ROME - Franco Corelli, whose ringing tenor voice and matinee-idol looks made him one of the top opera stars of the 20th century, has died at age 82, the ANSA news agency said Thursday.
Corelli, whose career took him from La Scala to New York's Metropolitan Opera and other great stages in between, had been hospitalized in August following what was believed to be a stroke. ANSA said Corelli died in the same Milan hospital where he was being treated.
The Italian agency's report did not say when he died, and officials were not available for comment in the early hours Thursday.
Born April 8, 1921, Corelli made his opera debut in 1951 at Spoleto as Don Jose in Bizet's "Carmen."
He inaugurated the opera season at Milan's Teatro alla Scala three years later with Maria Callas, singing in Spontini's "La Vestale." He made his debut at The Royal Opera in London in 1957 as Cavaradossi in Puccini's "Tosca," becoming one of the world's finest spinto tenors.
He appeared frequently at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, which was for many years his favorite venue.
In all, Corelli sang 368 performances at the Met, where he made his debut on Jan. 27, 1961, as Manrico in Verdi's "Il Trovatore" opposite soprano Leontyne Price, who also made her house debut that night.
His final performance with the Met was on tour in Puccini's "La Boheme" on June 28, 1975.
He made his Vienna State Opera debut in 1963.
Corelli was a perfect romantic lead: a lyric tenor with great versatility, he also had a strapping and muscular build. As he developed his upper register, he took on and scored successes in all the great tenor roles, performing in Verdi's "Don Carlo," "La Forza del Destino," "Aida" and "Ernani," Puccini's "Turandot," and Giordano's "Andrea Chenier."
He appeared in opera houses around the globe with such greats as Callas, with whom he had a special partnership for many years, Renata Tebaldi, Birgit Nilsson and Joan Sutherland.
He frequently sang opposite Nilsson at the Met in Puccini's "Turandot," taking the role of Calaf, the prince who melts the heart of the icy princess Turandot, the role sung by Nilsson. In their second-act duet, they delighted audiences by competing to see who could hold the climactic high note longer.
Legend has it that on one occasion when Nilsson outlasted him, Corelli became so jealous he bit her on the neck. Nilsson, famous for her sense of humor as well as her powerhouse soprano voice, supposedly notified Met general manager Rudolf Bing that she would be unable to perform again until she had been tested for rabies.
Barry Tucker, son of the late American tenor Richard Tucker, called Corelli "one of the greatest tenors of all time," and remembered him for "his ringing high Cs."
"My mother used to say to my father all the time after (hearing) "Turandot:" `This opera was written for Franco Corelli,'" said Tucker, a longtime friend.
Corelli also had a hand in the Met debut of Placido Domingo. Corelli was scheduled to sing in Cilea's "Adriana Lecouvreur" opposite Tebaldi at the Met on Sept. 28, l968.
"I had just sat down to dinner when the phone rang and Rudolf Bing's voice inquired, `How are you feeling, Placido?' " Domingo recalled in 1998.
"`Oh, fine, Mr. Bing,' was my answer.
"`That's good, because in an hour from now you have to sing Maurizio. Franco Corelli just canceled, because he is sick.' "
The mayor of Corelli's hometown of Ancona, Fabio Sturani, sent a message of condolence to Corelli's family, calling Corelli one of the most "refined" tenors in Italian lyric opera.
As his voice aged, Corelli sang fewer operas and concentrated more on concerts. He retired in 1976, although he was present as a special guest in October 2002 at a Milan awards ceremony where he received a standing ovation.
He is survived by his wife, the singer Loretta Di Lelio, ANSA said.
'Indiana Jones' Digs Up Record for Catalog Set
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "The Adventures of Indiana Jones -- The Complete DVD Movie Collection" has become the best-selling boxed set of classic catalog film fare of all time, selling more than 1.1 million units during its first week on store shelves, according to studio executives.
During its first 24 hours in release Oct. 21, the four-disc boxed set, at an average retail price of $46, sold roughly 600,000 units for an estimated retail value of $28 million. For the week, the value topped $50 million said executives at Paramount Home Entertainment and Lucasfilm Ltd.
The adventure classics starring Harrison Ford, with supporting cast members including Karen Allen, Sean Connery, Kate Capshaw, Ke Huy Quan, Amrish Puri, Denholm Elliott, River Phoenix and John Rhys-Davies, was one of the most requested DVD series, prompting Lucasfilm executives to meet the demands with a boxed set.
"We couldn't be more pleased about the fantastic sales figures, but probably the best news is that we delivered a collection that lived up to the enormously high expectations that 'Indiana Jones' fans had for this movie," said Jim Ward, Lucasfilm's vp marketing and distribution.
"Our top priority was making sure these movies looked and sounded better than ever, so a new generation of fans can discover them for the first time," Ward said. "The reviews are really pleased with the quality of the discs and the bonus materials."
The four-disc set provides viewers with more than 10 hours of entertainment. Disc 1 offers the completely remastered "Raiders of the Lost Ark." On Disc 2 is "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," while Disc 3 offers "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade." Disc 4 holds the bonus material, including an exclusive link to special material on the "Indiana Jones" Web site.