Morning Fix: ‘Spider-Man’ casts $92-million web. Could Couric return to ‘Today’?
After the coffee. Before wishing the Morning Fix a happy anniversary.
The Skinny: It was five years ago Sunday that the Morning Fix was born. Here is what it looked like on Day 1. Pretty primitive. It is an exhausting job that couldn’t be done without the copy desk editors who make sure I don’t have too many goofs in here and the loyal readers who keep me in line. Thanks all of you. Today’s roundup includes the weekend box office recap and a look at how New York City is taking a lot of TV and movie production away from Hollywood. Also, just how long will Lara Logan be suspended from CBS?
Daily Dose: Fox is bringing back “24,†its hit counter-terrorism series tonight. When “24†finished its run four years ago, its last season averaged 9.1 million viewers and a 2.8 rating in adults 18-49, according to Nielsen. At that time, those numbers were seen as proof that the franchise was running out of steam. But if “24†get similar numbers in its return, we will be calling it a hit.
Define “amazing.†“The Amazing Spider-Man 2†cast a wide web around the box office, but it wasn’t as big as some industry analysts projected. The movie had been expected to make $95 million. Instead it took in only $92 million. Only “Captain America: The Winter Soldier†had a bigger debut weekend this year. “The Amazing Spider-Man 2†won’t face any real competition for two weeks, which is when “Godzilla†is to premiere. The week after that will see the debut of yet another “X-Men†movie. Weekend box-office recaps from the Los Angeles Times and Hollywood Reporter.
Start spreading the news. TV executives are hopping flights to New York in advance of next week, which is when the broadcast networks will unveil their fall TV schedules to advertisers. Given the high level of TV production that has moved to New York, perhaps they should just stay there. The Los Angeles Times looks at how the Big Apple has taken a bite out of Hollywood production.
Missing in action. Is CBS News correspondent Lara Logan’s indefinite suspension turning into a permanent vacation? Logan, once a superstar foreign correspondent, has been on the bench since a report she did for “60 Minutes†on the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, had to be retracted. New York magazine suggests that Logan was a toxic presence at CBS News even before the ill-fated Benghazi report, and that her return is no certainty.
Return to action? With “Today†cohost Savannah Guthrie getting ready for maternity leave, it was only a matter of time until someone speculated that Katie Couric is in talks to return to the morning show as a temporary host. The award goes to the New York Post, which says Couric has had talks about a return, as has Meredith Vieira. If I was a betting man, I’d put money on Vieira returning, not Couric.
BFFs. Media mogul Rupert Murdoch went to the Kentucky Derby on Saturday as a guest of Sen. Rand Paul. That’s all it took to get tongues wagging, because Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox and News Corp. own Fox News and the Wall Street Journal, respectively, and Paul is seen as a contender for the 2016 Republican nomination for president. The New York Times chronicles their day at the race.
Inside the Los Angeles Times: Kiefer Sutherland is ready to be Jack Bauer again.
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