Entertainment News November 27 - TOP 3 Stories for Tuesday
'KEEP THIS COUPON' COMMENTARY WITH CATCHY TUNE
It could be the movie that audiences had the most fun with that was screened in WILDsound history. KEEP THIS COUPON was considerd by most people in attendance the most interested film played at WILDsound's November Film Festival.
As the WGA strike begins its fourth week, the outcome of Hollywood's first significant labor crisis in 20 years is anything but certain. But one aspect of the walkout that is clear is that the scribes are, thus far, winning their case in the court of public opinion -- even as many biz insiders predict the strike will ultimately be settled in a way that favors the major studios, according to a survey of nearly 1,000 Variety subscribers conducted by Frank N. Magid Associates.
More than two-thirds of survey respondents stated the Writers Guild of America is representing its side of the battle more forcefully and more clearly than the studios under the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers umbrella org. And more than two-thirds of respondents agreed that the scribes are being "more honest and forthright" than the majors in their discussion of the key issues, chiefly increased residuals for homevid sales and for digital distribution of movies and TV shows. UNIVERSAL SEEKS CROWE TO REPLACE PITT
Universal Pictures spent the weekend trying to convince Russell Crowe, its "American Gangster" topliner, to replace Brad Pitt as the star of "State of Play." The result of that courtship will be known early this week and will determine how ugly things get between the studio and Pitt after he exited the picture over disagreements about the shooting script.
Pitt's exit on Thanksgiving eve not only put the picture in a state of flux, it also left a studio and star with differing opinions on which one caused the exit. And it left Hollywood questioning how valid pay-or-play deals are in a strike climate where studios are venturing into production starts on scripts that can't get a rewrite if they need one.News November 27
