L.A. Times - TV News

Studios' top negotiator is all ears

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

As president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, Carol Lombardini says that when it comes to contract talks, 'I'm a good listener at the bargaining table.'

Carol Lombardini may have the least glamorous job in Hollywood. As the chief negotiator for the major studios, she must find consensus among a group that often has conflicting interests and priorities.

Motion filed to dismiss Letterman case

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Robert Joel Halderman's attorney says his client's actions did not meet New York state's definition of extortion. Talk show host's lawyer disagrees.

Robert Joel Halderman did not think he was breaking the law when he allegedly demanded $2 million from David Letterman in exchange for the rights to a screenplay treatment about the talk show host's affairs with female staffers, a lawyer for the CBS News producer said Tuesday.

Tale of the talk: Wanda Sykes, George Lopez

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Sykes' comedic bite is on full, if shaky, display on Fox while Lopez treads a familiar funny-guy path on TBS.

The last thing the television landscape needs right now is another comedian-hosted talk show and yet now we have two more. “The Wanda Sykes Show” premiered on Fox on Saturday night followed two days later by “Lopez Tonight” on TBS.

With the World Series complete, CBS returns to the top

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

'NCIS' leads scripted programming.

CBS returned to the top of the weekly television ratings last week after a one-week interruption caused by Fox Broadcasting's World Series coverage and three days of reruns.

'Sesame Street' at 40: The importance of being Ernie -- and Bert and Kermit . . .

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Beyond ABCs and 1, 2, 3, a multicultural cast and iconic puppets have entertained and educated generations of kids.

Happy birthday, “Sesame Street.” You are 40 years old now, just a year younger than Mickey Mouse was the year you arrived on television -- and he was semi-retired by then, while you still report to work each day. This very morning you begin your 41st season, you and your cast of aging humans and ageless Muppets, with three first-episode veterans still in residence: Bob McGrath (who plays Bob), Loretta Long (called Susan) and Big Bird, who is still only 6 years old, although the man inside him, Caroll Spinney , will turn 76 next month. (The Bird's voice has dropped a little, but you should be so spry.) That kind of continuity is rare, if not otherwise nonexistent, on television. Certainly there is no other children's show to match you for longevity, cultural penetration or global reach.

Pssst -- heard the latest on 'Gossip Girl'?

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

A sex romp plot line is drawing protests, which might actually help the CW show's sagging ratings.

The Parents Television Council surely didn't plan it this way, but a protest from the conservative watchdog group might do for "Gossip Girl" what a guy-on-guy kiss and coed romps haven't been able to accomplish this season: Boost the ratings, which have seen double-digit declines this fall.

Much teen love for 'Isa TKM'

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Across Latin America, the main character's kooky antics have spawned a legion of adoring fans. Now, the telenovela's popularity has spread to the U.S., thanks to MTV Tr3s.

Fall is here, and schools are back in session. The über trendy teens of "90210's" West Beverly High, the Upper East Siders on "Gossip Girl" and the chorus line on "Glee" are all just getting going. But a group of foreign-exchange TV students has been hard at work since summer.

Angus T. Jones proves a good boy is hard to find

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The fraction in 'Two and a Half Men' is growing up fast.

Is it fair that one of Hollywood's most successful and richest young actors didn't set out to be a performer -- in fact, never took an acting class -- when there are thousands of others like him, sweating auditions, posing for head shots, tweeting their every move?

CBS to broadcast Emelianenko fight

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Strikeforce SEARS CENTRE ARENA, CHICAGO

'The People v. Leo Frank'

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Documentary revisits the case of a Jew lynched in Georgia over a girl's killing.

On April 27, 1913, the body of 13-year-old Mary Phagan was found in the basement of the National Pencil Co. factory in Atlanta, where she worked. She had been raped and strangled.