Subject: HBO programming chief out; "O.J." in theaters; press freedom grades; remembering Will King; "Captain America" crosses $1 billion mark; Sunday's lineup
From: CNN's Reliable Sources <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 21 May 2016 01:29:33 +0000
List-Id: 47c9040f6ff957a59bd88396emc list <47c9040f6ff957a59bd88396e.161353.list-id.mcsv.net>

By Brian Stelter and the CNNMoney Media team - [email-masked] (mailto:[email-masked])

** HBO programming chief exiting
------------------------------------------------------------
HBO programming chief Michael Lombardo is leaving after 9 years in the position and 33 years at the company. The move "comes at a time when the network has been under pressure after several perceived missteps," like "Vinyl," Brian Lowry writes. (http://money.cnn.com/2016/05/20/media/hbo-michael-lombardo-exits/index.html?iid=SF_LN&mc_cid=13e6a8f976&mc_eid=[UNIQID])  "In addition, its flagship hit, 'Game of Thrones,' is winding down to its final two seasons, increasing the sense of urgency to launch new shows." Of course, HBO's argument is that it has a wide variety of shows that make its service essential to subscribers... And that movies still account for most viewership.

So what's next for him? "Lombardo is working out a producer deal with HBO that will allow him to make projects for the network as well as other outlets." Read more here... (http://money.cnn.com/2016/05/20/media/hbo-michael-lombardo-exits/index.html?iid=SF_LN&mc_cid=13e6a8f976&mc_eid=[UNIQID])

-- Lombardo spoke with Emily Steel tonight: (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/21/business/media/michael-lombardo-hbo-programming-chief-is-stepping-down.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&mc_cid=13e6a8f976&mc_eid=[UNIQID]) "Lombardo said that he had hesitated to leave on a down note, before adding that the network’s programming remains strong. 'There are always these cycles of up and down and hot or not,' Mr. Lombardo said..."
Who's taking over?
So was this a Friday afternoon news dump? A shakeup in the ranks? Variety's Cynthia Littleton, who broke the news, says (http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/michael-lombardo-hbo-programming-president-1201779881/?mc_cid=13e6a8f976&mc_eid=[UNIQID]) "it's understood that the decision to step down was Lombardo's."

But THR's Lacey Rose notes (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/michael-lombardo-depart-as-hbo-896177?utm_source=twitter&mc_cid=13e6a8f976&mc_eid=[UNIQID]) that the decision "comes some three and a half months after his underling, EVP drama development Michael Ellenberg, was pushed out in the first sign that change was afoot at HBO." More from Rose: "Former comedy head Casey Bloys was upped at that time to president of series, late night and specials, and multiple insiders suspect he will now ascend to Lombardo's perch..."
This weekend on HBO...
Since we're on the subject of HBO, one more note: "All the Way," with Bryan Cranston as President Lyndon Johnson, premieres on Saturday night. The adaptation of the Tony Award-winning play "feels especially relevant and timely a half-century after its key events," Brian Lowry writes... (http://money.cnn.com/2016/05/19/media/all-the-way-hbo-movie-review/index.html?iid=SF_LN&mc_cid=13e6a8f976&mc_eid=[UNIQID])
'O.J.' gets an awards run
Are you wondering why there were so many (rave) reviews of "O.J.: Made in America" published today, even though it's not airing on TV until mid-June?

The answer: The nearly-eight-hour (without commercials!) ESPN documentary series is receiving a brief theatrical run this weekend in New York and L.A... To qualify for Oscar nominations...Then premiering on ABC on June 11... Then shifting to ESPN on June 14.

Brian Lowry emails: I've watched the full documentary, which I see as a logical companion to FX’s recent “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.” And it covers several fascinating aspects of Simpson's life, and broader history, that the miniseries didn't. Read Lowry's review here... (http://money.cnn.com/2016/05/20/media/oj-made-in-america/index.html?iid=SF_LN&mc_cid=13e6a8f976&mc_eid=[UNIQID])

-- LATimes:"Why 'O.J.: Made in America' might be the first television show to win an Oscar" (http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-oj-made-in-america-tv-review-20160505-snap-htmlstory.html?mc_cid=13e6a8f976&mc_eid=[UNIQID])
Scrutinizing Vice's work for Philip Morris
"Anti-tobacco campaigners are pressuring Walt Disney to use its $400m stake in Vice Media to stop the youth-focused media company from making ads for the tobacco industry," The Guardian reports. (http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/may/20/walt-disney-vice-media-tobacco-ads-frozen?CMP=share_btn_tw&mc_cid=13e6a8f976&mc_eid=[UNIQID])  (One of Vice's marketing agencies has been making ads for Philip Morris for use outside the U.S. and U.K.)

The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids wrote to Bob Iger last month... And says it hasn't heard back from Disney yet... Meanwhile, a Vice reptold The Guardian (http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/may/20/walt-disney-vice-media-tobacco-ads-frozen?CMP=share_btn_tw&mc_cid=13e6a8f976&mc_eid=[UNIQID]) that it is currently "evaluating our global portfolio of businesses and agencies, and reviewing the work that they're conducting."

-- BTW: Shane Smith's latest prediction: (http://digiday.com/publishers/shane-smith-vice-media-interview/?mc_cid=13e6a8f976&mc_eid=[UNIQID]) "We're the largest new media company, and we’re going to become the fourth-largest or fifth-largest, or maybe the third-largest [mainstream media company]. I don’t think it’s any secret that you're going to see a bloodbath in the next 12 months of digital, mobile and terrestrial."
Remembering Will King
Richard Griffiths writes: (http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/20/us/cnn-will-king-obit/?mc_cid=13e6a8f976&mc_eid=[UNIQID]) "Will King was a CNN original, among those who signed the network on the air in 1980, helping change the face of journalism. King died Thursday in Atlanta after battling cancer. He was 64. He retired from CNN in 2014. In his almost 35 years at the network, there was hardly a part of the company he had not touched. " Tony Maddox describes him as the "ultimate unsung hero." Read Griffiths' full obituary of King here... (http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/20/us/cnn-will-king-obit/?mc_cid=13e6a8f976&mc_eid=[UNIQID])
Reasons to tune in to Sunday's show
Here are the A-listers that are booked on Sunday's "Reliable Sources:"
-- WashPost exec editor Marty Baron
-- LATimes TV critic Mary McNamara
-- Former W.H. press secretary Ari Fleischer
-- Daily Beast EIC John Avlon
-- American University J-prof Jane Hall
-- Poynter chief media writer Jim Warren
-- and last but definitely not least, Carl Bernstein
Join us! Sunday, 11am ET...
Road to 2016
Grading the candidates on press freedom
How do the 2016 candidates rate on press freedom? Committee to Protect Journalists executive director Joel Simon reviewed (http://www.cjr.org/opinion/simon_grades.php?mc_cid=13e6a8f976&mc_eid=[UNIQID])  the three still standing for CJR... Says that Bernie Sanders rates the best... Hillary Clinton is a close second... And Donald Trump is unsurprisingly much worse. Read his "grades" here... (http://www.cjr.org/opinion/simon_grades.php?mc_cid=13e6a8f976&mc_eid=[UNIQID])
Trump sweeps the Murdoch primary
Tom Kludt emails: It looks like Donald Trump has secured every precinct in Rupert Murdoch’s media empire. He won the endorsement of the New York Post. He made peace with Fox News and one of its biggest stars. And now, the once-fiercely anti-Trump editorial page of the Wall Street Journal is giving him kudos for his list of potential Supreme Court nominees. (http://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trumps-day-in-court-1463700694?mod=wsj_review_&_outlook&mc_cid=13e6a8f976&mc_eid=[UNIQID])

Trump and the Journal have attacked each other throughout the campaign. In February, Trump dismissed a Journal poll as a "Rupert Murdoch hit." And the Journal’s editorial writers have been among Trump’s biggest critics. In March, they called him "the weakest Republican front-runner since Gerald Ford in 1976." But Murdoch has come around to Trump in recent weeks, as the two have had several conversations. And as Murdoch goes, so goes Fox/the Post/etc...
For the record
-- Tonight on "Nightline:" Diane Sawyer's week inside Rikers Island... (TVNewser (http://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/diane-sawyer-spends-a-week-inside-new-yorks-rikers-island/293960?mc_cid=13e6a8f976&mc_eid=[UNIQID]) )

-- Former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau will be writing about the 2016 campaign for Bill Simmons' new site... (The Ringer (https://twitter.com/ringer/status/733693807305297920?mc_cid=13e6a8f976&mc_eid=[UNIQID]) )

-- Larry David says Hamilton was “pretty amazing,” but that most white people are seeing it to sound "hip..."
(Jezebel (http://jezebel.com/larry-david-on-hamilton-most-white-people-just-say-the-1777793665?rev=1463765019834&utm_campaign=socialfow_jezebel_twitter&utm_source=jezebel_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow&mc_cid=13e6a8f976&mc_eid=[UNIQID]) )

-- Ewan McGregor is going to be pulling double duty playing two brothers, Emmit and Ray Stussy, on FX's "Fargo..." (THR (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/fargo-ewan-mcgregor-star-season-896129?mc_cid=13e6a8f976&mc_eid=[UNIQID]) )
'Walking Dead' begets 'Preacher'
Brian Lowry also sends this along: With “The Walking Dead” being such a huge hit for AMC, there’s a lot of interest in turning comics and graphic novels into series. As part of the summer assault of original cable fare, two shows with a macabre twist are coming up (http://money.cnn.com/2016/05/20/media/walking-dead-preacher-outcast/index.html?iid=SF_LN&mc_cid=13e6a8f976&mc_eid=[UNIQID]) , starting with AMC’s “Preacher,” which premieres on Sunday.

Based on the cult comics that launched in the mid-1990s, the series is notable in part because of all the fits and starts the project went through before Seth Rogen and his partners turned it into a series. Meanwhile, “Walking Dead” creator Robert Kirkman has a show of his own, “Outcast,” which Cinemax will debut on June 3.

The latter is very much like “The Exorcist” — although probably not as much as the adaptation of the movie that Fox has ordered for the fall...
Quote of the day
"Random reminder that Facebook considers anything 3 seconds or more a 'view.'"

-- Tweet by IBTimes TV reporter Oriana Schwindt. A good day for a reminder, since this Facebook Live video of a woman wearing a Chewbacca mask broke "50 million views" in less than 24 hours... (http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/20/living/happiness-is-chewbacca-mask-trnd/index.html?sr=twCNN052016happiness-is-chewbacca-mask-trnd0156PMStory&mc_cid=13e6a8f976&mc_eid=[UNIQID])
Maroon 5 cancels NC concerts in protest
Frank Pallotta emails: Maroon 5 became the latest to cancel a concert in North Carolina in protest of the state's anti-LGBT law (http://money.cnn.com/2016/05/20/media/maroon-5-cancel-north-carolina-concert-lgbt/index.html?mc_cid=13e6a8f976&mc_eid=[UNIQID]) pulling out of shows in Raleigh and Charlotte. "This was a difficult decision for us to make as a band," the group said in the statement. "We don't want to penalize our fans in North Carolina by not performing for them, but in the end it comes down to what we feel is morally right."

Maroon 5's cancellation drew the ire of the state's Governor Pat McCrory."The only people they are hurting by hypocritically targeting North Carolina for selective outrage are their fans and the hardworking men and women servicing these shows while they keep tour dates overseas -- even in Russia,"  a spokesman for the governor said.
"Captain America": 10th billion $ film for Disney
Frank sends this along too: Another day, another billion dollar box office for Disney. Disney and Marvel's "Captain America: Civil War" crossed the $1 billion mark at the global box office today (http://money.cnn.com/2016/05/20/media/captain-america-civil-war-billion-box-office/?mc_cid=13e6a8f976&mc_eid=[UNIQID]) . It's not just the first billion-dollar film of 2016, but the 10th in Disney's storied history.

What are the other nine? Happy you asked... "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," "The Avengers," "The Avengers: Age of Ultron," "Frozen," "Iron Man 3," "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," "Toy Story 3," "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," and "Alice in Wonderland."

And while we're on the subject of billion dollar Disney brands...
Take a ride to Arendelle next month
Frank emails: Do you want to build a franchise? Disney does. That's why the Mouse House is expanding one of its most profitable brands to its theme parks and resorts. Orlando's Disney World is gaining a "Frozen" ride called "Frozen Ever After (http://money.cnn.com/2016/05/20/media/frozen-disney-world-ride-epcot/index.html?mc_cid=13e6a8f976&mc_eid=[UNIQID]) " on June 21. It will take guests on a boat ride with Princess Anna and Elsa.

When it was first announced in 2014 that "Frozen" would be replacing Maelstrom at Epcot's Norway Pavilion, some fans were upset. But they'll have to learn to let it go...
One year ago today
Frank notes: It's crazy to think that just one year ago today, David Letterman said goodnight for the final time as the Foo Fighters played him off... (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUKOtbVnV4M&mc_cid=13e6a8f976&mc_eid=[UNIQID])

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