‘Carrie’ tries to fight ‘Gravity.’ Sean Combs preps Revolt.
After the coffee. Before going back to bed for some more sleep.
The Skinny: I was out of town Thursday on assignment and didn’t get back home until about 1 a.m., so I’m groggy and wired at the same time. Friday’s roundup includes the box office preview as well as a story about ABC possibly selling its stations. Also, the confirmation of FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler is being held up. Go Dodgers!
Daily Dose: While broadcasters wait to see if the Supreme Court will hear its case to shut down Aereo, the start-up that delivers local TV station signals to consumers via the Internet continues to launch in new cities. On Friday, Aereo said it will launch in Detroit at the end of the month. Now the question is how long until the broadcasters sue them there too.
ON LOCATION: Where the cameras roll
Don’t mess with Carrie. “Gravity†has dominated the box office for the last two weekends. But this weekend a remake of “Carrie†may bring “Gravity†back to earth. Both are projected to pull in just more than $30 million. The other two new movies opening are “Escape Plan,†starring Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and “The Fifth Estate,†about Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder. Neither of those are expected to set the world on fire. Box office previews from the Los Angeles Times and Variety.
Cruz control. Republican Senator Ted Cruz is holding up the vote to confirm Tom Wheeler as new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Cruz wants Wheeler to answer questions about new FCC rules regarding how political advertising information is disclosed to the public. Though such information has always been available, new FCC rules puts such information online, which has raised concerns in some corners. More from Reuters.
For sale sign? The New York Post says Walt Disney is looking into selling its local TV stations but not the ABC network. It’s a sellers’ market for TV stations, so the properties would fetch a pretty penny, but such a move seems a little odd if the network is also not for sale. Broadcasters see retransmission consent fees as a huge revenue stream, so why would Disney turn its back on that? Never say never, but I’d take this one with a grain of salt.
PHOTOS: Hollywood Backlot moments
Back to the future. Sean Combs’ new cable channel Revolt will look to do what MTV stopped doing, making and breaking music stars. The network launches next week in 25 million homes and will target 18-to-34-year-olds. These days, music videos live online via YouTube and other sites. Combs thinks he can woo that audience back. And hey, it beats going on “Dancing With the Stars,†which he almost did when he had a new release to promote. The Wall Street Journal talks to Combs about Revolt.
New team. To replace Oren Aviv, who was bounced from his job as marketing chief for 20th Century Fox, the studio has tapped Paul Hanneman and Tomas Jegeus from its international operations to take over the gig. Details on the hire from Variety.
Inside the Los Angeles Times: Kenneth Turan on “12 Years a Slave.†Geneva Overholser on a new book on Rupert Murdoch by NPR’s David Folkenflick.
Follow me on Twitter all the way to Memphis! @JBFlint.
From the Oscars to the Emmys.
Get the Envelope newsletter for exclusive awards season coverage, behind-the-scenes stories from the Envelope podcast and columnist Glenn Whipp’s must-read analysis.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
