The Hollywood News for 01/15/10
Unconfirmed Internet reports (via TMZ) on Thursday said that NBC had locked down Jay Leno to return as host of The Tonight Show. But also Thursday NBC sent out a news release noting that The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien has topped all broadcast and cable competition in the key late-night demographic of adults 18-49 for the week of January 4-8.
... NBC says no deal has been made with Jay Leno regarding a new contract for an hour-long Tonight Show at 11:35.
In what could be the most brutal Jay Leno bashing session of all time, Conan O'Brien got himself an invite to appear on David Letterman's The Late Show. Dave -- who knows first-hand what it's like to be treated badly by NBC and Leno -- hasn't reached out to Conan directly, but his staff has contacted Conan's people letting them know about the open invitation.
The Winter Olympic torch is weeks from being raised in Vancouver but already NBC is going for a record. The company announced Thursday that it will roll out more than 835 hours of Olympic coverage across its networks. It will be the most ever for a Winter Olympics and more than what NBC and its sibling networks had offered in coverage for 2006 in Turin, Italy, and the 2002 games in Salt Lake City combined.
The Internet Only Stories:
NBC ANNOUNCES LENO REPLACEMENTS _ New and veteran NBC dramas and a comedy produced by Jerry Seinfeld will take over the bulk of the prime-time slots soon to be vacated by Jay Leno. NBC announced Thursday that the freshman drama "Parenthood" and the relocated "Law & Order" and "Law & Order: Special Victim Units" will fill three slots. Another will go to the comedy panel series "The Marriage Ref" from Seinfeld. "Dateline NBC" will fill another (10p ET) slot. The new lineup will debut after NBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics from February 12-28.
ROSIE O'DONNELL: LENO SHOULD STEP ASIDE _ Rosie O'Donnell believes Jay Leno should step aside. Rosie said: "I have been a big fan of Conan O'Brien... and [The Tonight Show is] a franchise that has been 60 years with NBC, and if you're privileged enough to be asked to drive the bus, you should say thank you and drive it to the best of your ability and when it's time for them to hire a new driver, you should say, 'Thank you for allowing me to drive this for as long as I did,' and pass the keys to the new guy with red hair, and not try to flatten his tires, before he even gets going."
GOLDEN GLOBES GIFT BAGS _ The goody-filled giveaway features a large Dooney & Bourke satchel for the ladies or a Tumi duffel bag for the men. Inside the women's bag will be treats to help her feel beautiful, including Euphoria perfume by Calvin Klein, L'Oreal cosmetics and InStyle's book The New Secrets of Style. His bag will include Euphoria for men, a custom shirt by designer Alexander West and a style book for guys. Both bags will include a DVD directed by this year's Cecil B. DeMille recipient Martin Scorsese. Each bag is valued at $500.
AVATAR SEQUEL A SURE THING _ James Cameron says he was planning a sequel to Avatar during production. "I've had a storyline in mind from the start -- there are even scenes in 'Avatar' that I kept in because they lead to the sequel. It just makes sense to think of it as a two or three film arc, in terms of the business plan. The CG plants and trees and creatures and the musculo-skeletal rigging of the main characters — that all takes an enormous amount of time to create. It'd be a waste not to use it again."
JURASSIC PARK IV IN THE WORKS _ Director Joe Johnston has confirmed that Jurassic Park IV is in the works and revealed plans for a new trilogy. The Jurassic Park III director said that the fourth film in the franchise will be "unlike anything you've ever seen. It breaks away from the first three -- it's essentially the beginning of the second Jurassic Park trilogy. It's going to be done in a completely different way."
