The very idea that tonight's Emmy showcast on NBC was so scripted-in-stone that neither the network nor host Conan O'Brien could change a word of the broadcast opener, or decide not to show it altogether and substitute another skit crafted at the last minute, is absurd. After all, isn't that the reason Hollywood pays writers for these awards shows? C'mon, couldn't one executive or producer, much less Conan or the television academy that puts on the Emmys, pipe up and say, "Uh, maybe starting with a plane crash comedy skit on the same day there was an actual plane crash might be in poor taste? Let's rewrite." But, noooooooooo. Now the NBC affiliate general manager at the Lexington, Kentucky, site of today's tragedy says he was "horrified" by NBC's callousness. “We wish somebody had thought this through. It’s somewhere between ignorance and incompetence.” So I ask: Will someone get fired for this? Host Conan riffed off the ABC's series Lost which was all-but-ignored by the Emmies by starting the ceremony with a filmed comedy bit in which O'Brien was seen sipping champagne aboard a jetliner. "What could possibly go wrong tonight?" he says — before the plane crashes onto an island resembling the one in ABC's drama. Today, in Lexington, Kentucky, commuter jet Delta Comair Flight 5191 mistakenly trying to take off on a runway that was too short crashed into a field Sunday and burst into flames, according to media reports, killing 49 people and leaving the lone survivor -- a co-pilot -- in critical condition. Really, is there even one person at NBC with a brain left in his head?
Understandably, the NBC affiliate in Lexington, WLEX Channel 18, was shocked and dismayed by NBC's Emmy broadcast opener. According to news reports, the Lex 18 News was just ending a recap of the crash coverage when the station saw the Conan plane spoof skit come over the live feed. WLEX’s president and general manager, Tim Gilbert, was home watching the telecast with his family and would have pulled the plug on the Emmy broadcast if only NBC network execs had had the sense to warn him ahead of time. "It was a live telecast — we were completely helpless,” Gilbert told the local newspaper. “By the time we began to react, it was over. At the station, we were as horrified as they were at home.” Gilbert said he’ll complain to NBC, but he said an apology won’t make up for insensitivity. “They could have killed the opening and it wouldn't have hurt the show at all,” Gilbert said. Here's the video of the poor taste skit if you missed it.
We all know that Hollywood's executive suites are populated by Hollywood's Napoleons. Long on ego, short on stature. So now the latest working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research finds that tall people are smarter than their height-challenged peers. "As early as age three -- before schooling has had a chance to play a role -- and throughout childhood, taller children perform significantly better on cognitive tests," wrote Anne Case and Christina Paxson of Princeton University in the paper published by the NBER. To read the study, 
Here's yet one more reason why rival Hollywood studios are salivating to use the newly branded Brad Grey Wimp Factor to get a leg up on Paramount with talent. Newsweek just ensured that Paramount boss Brad Grey has no deniability in the Viacom vs Cruise cock-up. "Critics saw it as evidence that Paramount chairman Brad Grey and his boss, Tom Freston, were powerless. Redstone says that's false. 'We were all in agreement about ending Tom Cruise's production deal,' Redstone tells Newsweek. 'I have complete faith in Tom and Brad, and they are clearly running the business.' Last Friday, Grey spoke directly about the matter to Newsweek: 'Sumner is a maverick. He said what he felt, and that's his prerogative. He certainly didn't ask my permission, and I'm certain, knowing Sumner as I do, that he felt no obligation to. He built the place." What I find most disturbing here is that Grey is so pussy-whipped that he couldn't even get permission from Redstone to at least disagree about a public diss of a star who's made $3 billion in box office gross for the studio. At best, Grey offered this weak kiss-ass. "I still admire Tom Cruise," Brad told Newsweek. "He's a huge movie star, and a great actor, and I'm sure we'll work together in the future.'" So let's analyze: Sumner says everyone agreed to dump Cruise's production deal, including Brad; but Brad implies Sumner did it on his own. Talk about trying to play both sides against the middle, eh? And now Brad supposedly wants to work with Tiny Tom again? Grey even told Time that he "wouldn't rule anything out" about a Mission Impossible 4. To which Cruise's producing partner Paula Wagner laughingly told Newsweek, "If it's the right script, why not? We created that franchise." Hmm, this smacks of a Paramount peace offering in the form of a big fat commission to CAA. Note to Brad Grey: Next time you're being bitch-slapped, don't wait to give your side (as lame as it is) to the newsweeklies. That's so dial-up.
All of Hollywood had their eyes on the box office of popular hip hop group Outkast's Idlewild from Universal this weekend since, historically, musicians who try to crossover into film rarely have luck although rap and hip hop artists have had a better time of it than most. (Eminem's 8 Mile...) Playing in just 973 theaters, the Universal movie did $2.1 mil Friday and $2.2 mil Saturday which puts its weekend opening total at $5.9 mil. I, for one, wish Outkast had done something more contemporary than this tired Harlem Nights retread (and that movie killed Eddie Murphy's film career, for awhile). But its per-screen average was a jazzy $6,055 despite mixed reviews. Meanwhile, MSNBC.com provides some 
SUNDAY UPDATE: U.S. moviegoers made sports films #1 and #2 at the box office this weekend. There's nothing more predictable, as the NFL returns to television, than a movie about a down-on-his-luck guy who attempts an against-the-odds shot at making a pro football team. So I'm told Disney's formulaic Invincible starring Mark Wahlberg opened in 2,917 theaters with so-so numbers that were still better than expected -- earning $5.4 million Friday but up 30% Saturday with $6.7 million so that makes for a $17.2 mil weekend. (Weekend figures include Sunday estimates.) The Warner Bros' lame comedy Beerfest staggered into 2,964 theaters Friday with just $2.7 mil, and -13% less for $2.2 mil Saturday, for what is a weak $6.7 mil opening -- extending that studio's cold streak this very hot summer. Meanwhile, Warner Communications' sister studio, New Line, continues to be embarrassed by the utter collapse of Snakes on a Plane, down an ugly 72% its second weekend for what is only a $6.1 mil weekend. And, to top it off, New Line's new entry How to Eat Fried Worms can't even wiggle its way into the top 10, earning on Friday just $1.3 mil for what's only a $4.1 mil weekend. But Sony's hot comedy Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby finished No. 2 by revving another $2.4 mil Friday and $3.3 mil Saturday for an $8 mil weekend. The biggest surprise was No. 3, Fox Searchlight's Little Miss Sunshine, one of the best-reviewed movies of the summer. After lighting up with $2 mil Friday and $3.0 mil Saturday, it's posting a $7.2 mil weekend. Universal's Accepted did $2.1 mil Friday and another $2.5 Saturday to finish up $6.5 mil for the Fri-Sat-Sun.
Meanwhile, all of Hollywood had their eyes on the box office of popular hip hop group Outkast's Idlewild this weekend since, historically, musicians who try to crossover into film rarely have luck -- although rap and hip hop artists have had a better time of it than most. Playing in just 973 theaters, the Universal movie did $2.1 mil Friday and $2.2 mil Saturday which puts its weekend opening total at $5.9 mil. But its per-screen average was a jazzy $6,055 despite the mixed reviews. And, in case you were wondering, Paramount's World Trade Center did $1.7 mil Friday and $2.6 mil Saturday adding about $6.2 mil for the weekend which finally puts the controversial Oliver Stone film over the $50 mil mark.
So this is the fab Republican "friend" whom Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Haim Saban and some other so-called Hollywood Democrats are financially and politically supporting in this November's California gubernatorial election? Media reports today say Arnold Schwarzenegger has finally settled that lawsuit brought by Anna Richardson, the British TV host who accused the actor of groping her and two of his top political aides of later smearing her reputation because she came after him. Let's not forget that one of those aides, Sean Walsh, played a pivotal role in that horrible mess involving Los Angeleno stuntwoman Rhonda Miller who also dared to come forward before 2003's recall election and accuse Schwarzenegger of groping her. Here's my 2003 LA Weekly "Deadline Hollywood" column with the details about it, 
What a convenient time for Brian Grazer to be off vacationing with family and out of touch with his office and reporters. But not out of touch with his Hollywood pals, thankfully. I'm told that the Imagine uber-producer is disputing to friends ever "making a congratulatory call" to Viacom Inc Chairman Sumner Redstone for dumping Tom Cruise's Paramount production deal, as the octogenarian claimed to the media. I've learned that Grazer is quietly explaining that he simply called Redstone "to ask what's going on." Redstone is now in a lot of hot water with Grazer for putting the producer in a lot of hot water with talent. As one Grazer intimate told me today, "anyone would be shocked to see a private phone call ever discussed publicly, much less reported in The New York Times." (The Los Angeles Times also had this.) It does seem a little counter-intuitive for Grazer to be lovin' Sumner's cost-cuttin' -- especially when Grazer himself makes studio perks a priority. On the other hand, let's not forget that Cruise's Far and Away was a big-budget box office failure for Imagine. Oh, and in case you were wondering whether David Geffen also disputes making a congratulatory call to Redstone, as the media also quoted Sumner claiming. In fact, Geffen, whose Interview With The Vampire starred Cruise and whose Dreamworks is now based at Viacom's Paramount, has been siding with Sumner in every heated Hollywood discussion about Redstone's are-you-shitting-me trashing of Tom.
Los Angeles subscribers to The New York Times still don't realize they are missing the "money quote" from Tom Cruise's attorney Bert Fields today in the newspaper's coverage of the Viacom vs Cruise war of the words. In the edition they received, the article's final paragraph has the actor's co-producer Paula Wagner claiming there are plans for that $100 million equity financing deal from a pair of hedge funds, and ends with this inocuous sentence: "But Mr. Fields, who has been out of the country, said he was unaware of those plans." But, after the reporters on the story jumped up and down in protest about the missing words, Bert's quote was restored online and in the NYC area late edition -- and boy, is it a doozie!
The Los Angeles Times had this angle today, but screenwriter/columnist Bruce Feirstein said it 
Just thought I'd point out that Rogers & Cowan is having a helluva summer in terms of celeb crises. The PR agency represents not only Mel Gibson but also Tom Cruise. (Well, the good news for Gibson is that Cruise's bad news gets Mel off media minds.) No wonder Tom's latest flack Paul Bloch called around town yesterday asking the power players about Viacom vs Cruise, "Whaddaya think?" The overwhelming response was a thumbs-up for Tom's career. "He looks like a victim," one studio mogul told Bloch. Only in Hollywood PR-think is that a good thing.
OK, I've heard the stories about how cheap Michael Eisner is. How he asks for change back when he slips a fiver to the valet parking attendant. And so on, ad nauseum. Still, it came as a huge surprise to me when TMZ.com, the Internet gossip site, reported that the ex-Disney honcho and wife Jane flew Jet Blue from LA's Burbank Airport to NYC yesterday. But now I'm told that Eisner, even though he's worth a cool half-billion dollars easy, loves Jet Blue and flies it all the time because he considers it safe and efficient. Frankly, I just don't get this; not when he can afford to timeshare a Gulfstream or at least fly commercial First Class. (Tip to Mikey: if you want to save $$$, then fly United's LAX-JFK Business Class Premium Service, which is nicer than first class and offers amazing legroom and edible food.) Could it be that Eisner is either a Jet Blue shareholder, or channelling cheapskate investor Warren Buffett, or angling for an endorsement contract? 
One thing I do know: Eisner was not heading to tape his no-rated talk show for CNBC, for which GE Travel routinely books all NBC worker bees on the lowest-priced flights available. Even so, talent usually negotiates first class into their contracts. According to the 
Granted Redstone was on a Rocky Mountain high, making his remarks in the thin air of Aspen Summit 2006 where his company was presenting before the digital world. And, granted, the octogenarian was seen wandering dazed and confused into the kitchen of The Grill in Beverly Hills not long ago. But, for the moment, I’ll assume he had all his mental faculties intact when he made his statement to the Journal. So, if I were a Viacom shareholder, I’d be asking Ol’ Sumner right now: Are you nuts? Fine, don’t do business anymore with the freakish dwarf actor who’ll never own an Oscar unless he buys one at auction and who gets an exorbitant amount for each movie. But why the fuck are you setting up his legal piranha (Bert Fields, who’s never lost a case) for what could well be the biggest lawsuit ever to hit Hollywood? (UPDATE: Bert's saying he won't sue.)
Already Cruise’s producing partner Paula Wagner called Redstone’s remarks "outrageous and disrespectful" and disputed his account of what happened during the negotiations to renew their studio pact. Not only did she claim Cruise / Wagner Productions terminated their talks with Paramount earlier in the week, but she said
Far be it from me to judge whether Cruise belongs in a straitjacket or not, or whether Scientology is a cult or a religion, or whether he’s gay or not, or whether MI3 would have done a lot more business in theaters if another big star had been the lead. But it’s absurd for Redstone to make an issue of Cruise’s conduct like he has. My god, Sumner himself was openly shtupping one of his producer girlfriends on the lot for years, and his own son is suing him. And Redstone looked the other way when Les Moonves carried on a long adulterous affair with employee Julie Chen and then married her after dumping his wife in the process. Which are all violations of so many corporate codes of conduct that I don’t think I can count that high. And let’s not forget how the old guy’s studio is still in business with Robert Evans who not only was a hopeless cocaine addict and regular client of Heidi Fleiss’s prostitution call girl ring for years but pled the Fifth Amendment in connection with a murder rap no less. And let's not forget that Redstone didn't blink when Brad Grey's name surfaced in that Anthony Pellicano (the thug P.I.) mess. So lemme get this straight: Cruise’s jumping around on Oprah’s couch is worse?
