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AT&T, As Owner of Warner Media, Shutting Down Popular, Smart FilmStruck Streaming Service Next Month

Roger Friedman
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AT&T, As Owner of Warner Media, Shutting Down Popular, Smart FilmStruck Streaming Service Next Month

That didn’t take long.

Now that AT&T owns WarnerMedia, formerly Time Warner, they have to get busy shutting down things people like.

FilmStruck, a popular and smart streaming service, is first to go. This was a service that provided curated, unusual films, and programming for sophisticated film fans. But you know, there’s no place for that now, not when you could be watching a comic book movie.

The folks in charge say: “We’re incredibly proud of the creativity and innovations produced by the talented and dedicated teams who worked on FilmStruck over the past two years. While FilmStruck has a very loyal fanbase, it remains largely a niche service. We plan to take key learnings from FilmStruck to help shape future business decisions in the direct-to-consumer space and redirect this investment back into our collective portfolios.”

The service ends November 29th.

 

Hear Barbra Streisand’s New Very Patriotic Single, “Lady Liberty,” From Her Forthcoming “Walls” Album

Roger Friedman
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Hear Barbra Streisand’s New Very Patriotic Single, “Lady Liberty,” From Her Forthcoming “Walls” Album

Here’s the second single from Barbra Streisand’s new album. “Lady Liberty” comes from “Walls,” which we’ll get next month.

“Lady Liberty” is VERY patriotic, with lyrics about 9-11, and references Emma Lazarus’s famous poem “The New Colossus.” I’m very proud because Emma lived on the same block I live on now, and she has a nice plaque commemorating her. If she were alive, I’d take over to the Waverly Inn and raise a glass.

Coincidence? Former 9AM Today Show Hosts Reunite (See Photo): Tamron Hall Visits Al Roker on Broadway

Roger Friedman
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Coincidence? Former 9AM Today Show Hosts Reunite (See Photo): Tamron Hall Visits Al Roker on Broadway

Guess who went to see Al Roker on Broadway last night? His former “Today Show” co-host Tamron Hall. Al and Tamron hosted the 9am hour of “Today” before Megyn Kelly took it from them. Al and Tamron were beloved and became much missed overnight.

Now that Kelly has self-imploded, Roker is her likely successor. Tamron signed a deal with Disney syndication this fall to host her own talk show on ABC starting next year, so she probably won’t be co-hosting with Al.

But who knows? Maybe Disney will let Tamron sit in with Al when (and if, ’cause it’s not finalized) he takes over on Monday. Their ratings will skyrocket!

If Al Roker Wants Megyn Kelly’s Show He’s In Luck: He’s Off Monday from His Broadway Gig in “Waitress”

Roger Friedman
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If Al Roker Wants Megyn Kelly’s Show He’s In Luck: He’s Off Monday from His Broadway Gig in “Waitress”

Al Roker has lucked into a good schedule. If he wants his old show back, 9am on NBC as the third hour of Today. It’s free.

RadarOnline already says he’s got it. But Al has a second job– he’s appearing on Broadway in “Waitress” until November 18th. He can’t leave early– they’ve sold tickets and extended his run.

But luckily, Al is off on Monday. “Waitress” is dark. And he’s already on the “Today” from 7 to 9am. (When does he sleep?)

On Sunday he has two performances, 2pm and 7pm. The show is over at 9. He can be in bed at 10pm, wake up at 5, get to “Today.” The rest of Monday is free– that’s when he can sleep– and be back Tuesday morning. It will be a rough three weeks, but then “Today with Al Roker” is his– and he will be welcomed back. That’s for sure!

Al, to his credit, was a vocal critic of Kelly’s on the subject of blackface. He was also enthusiastic about ousting Matt Lauer and of Billy Bush. As one insider tells me: “He will want the show.”

All Eyes on Morgan Radford, Amy Holmes to Replace Megyn Kelly Starting Monday on Today

Roger Friedman
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All Eyes on Morgan Radford, Amy Holmes to Replace Megyn Kelly Starting Monday on Today

This Monday the 9am hour on the “Today” show is going to look a lot different. Megyn Kelly will be gone. So will the logo “Megyn Kelly Today.”

So what will Monday’s show look like?

I’m told that Morgan Radford and Amy Holmes, who appear on the Kelly show as contributors, are likely to take her place.

Al Roker might be part of the equation, too. His show with Tamron Hall, which preceded Kelly, was very popular.

But Tamron Hall–bad timing. She signed a deal with Disney syndication for her own talk show. So she can’t come back to NBC. Her show will launch next year.

One other possibility is bringing in Willie Geist. He’s very popular, likable, and could take the sting out of the transition back to normalcy.

Expect the 9am hour to go back to light news and entertainment, and to stop being a daily forum for abuse stories. Those topics at 9am didn’t compete with “Live with Kelly and Ryan” or “Hot Bench.” They were strident, accusatory, and often not fully developed with much thought.

Megyn Kelly’s New Lawyer Represents the Songwriters in the Michael Jackson “Fake Cascio Songs” Case

Roger Friedman
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Megyn Kelly’s New Lawyer Represents the Songwriters in the Michael Jackson “Fake Cascio Songs” Case

Megyn Kelly’s new lawyer is an interesting choice.

Bryan Freedman is not the Hollywood name you usually hear. He’s involved in what you might call second tier cases, and ones with strange publicity.

Readers here will be interested that he represents the songwriters in the very weird case of a fan who sued them claiming their Michael Jackson songs are fakes.

Eddie Cascio and James Porte recorded Jackson’s voice on their demos in the summer of 2007 over their tracks while Michael and his kids stayed at the Cascio home in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey.

Months after Michael died, Cascio and Porte revealed they had the tapes, and sold their songs to Sony, which used them for a posthumous album.

Then a fan filed a suit against Sony and the songwriters claiming it was all a fraud, and that the voice heard on the album was Jackson imitator. Freedman represents Cascio and Porte.

Freedman also has a client in Amy Powell, former chief of Paramount TV, who was fired when she allegedly refused to cooperate with the studio’s investigation into her allegedly making racist comments on a conference call.

Another Freedman client is something called Rebel Entertainment, a production company that sued Judy Judy Sheindlin over royalties from her TV show. They claimed her $45 million salary had driven the show into the red. A judge ruled in favor of Judge Judy, saying her salary was not unusual considering her success.

 

UPDATE Megyn Kelly Off the Air, Lawyers Up After Being Dropped By Second Talent Agency

Roger Friedman
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UPDATE Megyn Kelly Off the Air, Lawyers Up After Being Dropped By Second Talent Agency

Stick a fork in Megyn Kelly. She’s done.

The former Fox News anchor who ran the Today Show’s 9am hour into the ground is gone. This morning and tomorrow, “Megyn Kelly Today” is yesterday, all reruns.

On Monday, there will be a new configuration at 9am. Megyn is gone.

Over night, she lawyered up after being dumped by not one but two talent agencies- CAA and then UTA.

Kelly hired a Hollywood lawyer who handled, among others, the firing of Paramount TV’s Amy Powell last year. Like Kelly, Powell was accused of racism. She was accused of making insensitive comments about black women’s dating habits on a conference call. Attorney Bryan Freedman accused Paramount of “gender bias.” Maybe he’ll try that to defend Kelly, who once told her Fox News audience that “Santa is white.”

That Kelly has lawyered up means her show is over. Now. NBC may be trying to get out of paying her anything more based on her comments defending the use of blackface for Halloween costumes. Even though Kelly apologized on air, the damage is done. She seems to be the only person in the world who never heard of blackface identified as a racist act.

Kelly’s contract, according reports, could be as much as $17 million a year. When her first NBC show began in the summer of 2017, at night against “60 Minutes,” it failed miserably. Then NBC moved her to daytime, where her poor ratings have affected the 10am hour of “Today” and invited criticism for many disasters on air (including insulting Jane Fonda).

NBC would love nothing better than to not have to pay Kelly out. The new lawyer will try and get her some of that money. But clueless Megyn Kelly is more than likely kaput at NBC.

 

Megyn Kelly Should Be Off NBC by Morning: Talent Agent Dropped Her, Cast of TV Show Cancelled Appearance

Roger Friedman
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Megyn Kelly Should Be Off NBC by Morning: Talent Agent Dropped Her, Cast of TV Show Cancelled Appearance

Good news: Megyn Kelly is 50-50 for the morning. When 9am rolls around we’ll either see her crying some more or Hoda– who basically never sleeps– will be anchoring Megyn Kelly Today.

But it’s Megyn Kelly Two Days ago that we care about. She defended the wearing of blackface. This was after countless stupid moves, things said that could not be taken back, and getting in a fight with Jane Fonda.

Reports are tonight that her talent agency, CAA, has dropped her. “House of Cards” actors cancelled their appearance on the show. More reports suggest NBC is negotiating her exit as you read this. It’s about freakin’ time.

Kelly was always out of her league at NBC News. She is simply unprofessional. She’s also– let’s face it– the worst of being right wing. She’s also a yahoo who doesn’t have a clue about broadcasting.

SO let’s rev up the set at 8:59am for the final curtain.

“The Conners” aka ex-“Roseanne” Drops by More than 28 Percent, More than 2 Million Viewers in Second Week

Roger Friedman
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“The Conners” aka ex-“Roseanne” Drops by More than 28 Percent, More than 2 Million Viewers in Second Week

Turns out last week’s 10 million viewers for “The Conners” were just curiosity seekers. “The Conners” had just 7.9 million viewers, down more than 2 million for the second week.

That’s a 28% drop.

Even the appearances of Johnny Galecki, Juliette Lewis, and Justin Long didn’t help. The World Series probably put a crimp in the ratings. But the NBC schedule–and CBS– did fine. “The Conners” finished 5th among non baseball programming.

“The Conners” has likely dropped to where it will stay and not go much lower. But it’s hard to say. “Roseanne” without Roseanne is interesting but not outrageous. Roseanne was the cackle at the end of the opening, the exclamation point. My guess is “The Conners” maybe gets another season, but there’s no guarantee.

CNN NY Headquarters Evacuated After Suspicious Package Found at Time Warner Center, Obama and Clinton Homes

Roger Friedman
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CNN NY Headquarters Evacuated After Suspicious Package Found at Time Warner Center, Obama and Clinton Homes


CNN’s Time Warner Center has been evacuated this morning after the network received a “suspicious package” aka a pipe bomb. Other similar packages were discovered today at the homes of former presidents Obama and Clinton, following another one at George Soros’s home yesterday, and to the White House.

CNN employees and other floors at the Time Warner Center have been ordered out of the building.

 

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