A Look Ahead
RATES: Fox was the clear-cut choice among young adults Sunday, winning every half-hour in key demos and emerging from the opening weekend of sweeps as a solid No. 2 in adults 18-49. NBC is the clear leader through the opening four nights of the sweep. It's a bit closer in total viewers, but NBC leads with an average of roughly 15 million (up 3%), followed by CBS (13.8m, up 10).
K19: Soviet sailors are up in arms at Harrison Ford pic "K19 -- The Widowmaker," about a 1961 nuclear disaster at sea, claiming the script of the Kathryn Bigelow film insults them and gets technical details wrong. They renege on an earlier deal to provide consultant work and sue in Los Angeles.
CULVER: Some movie screens still may be coming to Screenland USA, as Culver City confirms it's in talks with Pacific Theaters to replace the departed AMC Entertainment in a downtown redevelopment project that would give the L.A.-area burg its first multiplex. Meanwhile, nearby Hughes Corporate Center's glitzy new Entertainment Promenade remains without a tenant for a just-constructed megaplex once planned as an Edwards Theaters site.
CANNES: Jodie Foster's replacement as jury president of the Cannes Intl. Film Festival could take a week or a month to find, fest prexy Gilles Jacob said Monday. Among French film industry folk, there was disappointment, tinged with cynicism, that the Francophile Foster, the acceptable face of Hollywood, would not be coming to Cannes this year. Le Monde blasted the move in a front page editorial headlined "Hollywood and its big checks snatch Jodie Foster from the Cannes Festival."
DGA: Directors Guild attempts to bully SAG into an apology over SAG activists' claim that several helmers were nominated for DGA kudos for scab commercials. No one is saying they weren't scab ads, however.
WGA: Negotiators for the Writers Guild of America and studios begin their third week of contract talks. The negotiations are being extended on a day-by-day basis.
SAG: The Screen Actors Guild is warning members against signing new "general service contracts" with agents if they contain provisions allowing for loosening of financial restrictions on agents. SAG insists that its agency regulations, which ban agents acting as producers, remain in effect.
MAKEUP: "Bedazzled," "Cast Away" and "Charlie's Angels," tapped as nominees for contemporary makeup by the Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild. "Almost Famous," "Bagger Vance" and "The Patriot" named for period makeup and "The Cell," "The Grinch" and "Nutty Professor II" tapped for best special effects makeup. Awards will be handed out March 17 at the Century Plaza.
LIVE: The new co-host of "Live With Regis" will be Kelly Ripa from the soap "All My Children."
APTFOX: Two directors of production receive their VP stripes.
DISTANT: Sci-fi, horror and fantasy venture Distant Corners Entertainment has inked a deal to manage all licensing and online efforts for "Creature Features," a series of horror films set to bow on cablers HBO and Cinemax in the fall.
BENSON: Jim Benson upped to senior VP, communications for Studios USA domestic television.
DAD: Fox Family Channel will shoot an original pic called "Till Dad Do Us Part" in Vancouver. Pic, starring John Larroquette and Markie Post, will air in June.
SUN: The Sundance Institute Intl. Program has selected 10 projects for its seventh annual Sundance-Toscano Screenwriters Lab taking place Feb. 14-18 in Oaxaca, Mexico.
OSCARWATCH: Anthony Hopkins to present.
INSIDE MOVES
GAGHAN: Scribe Stephen Gaghan ("Traffic") attached to make directing debut on "Abandoned" for Paramount. Ed Zwick ankled as director.
BUSINESS
BERTELSMANN: Europe's biggest media group Bertelsmann opened the way for a stock market listing on Monday with a deal to swap 25% of its shares for control of Europe's largest television group RTL. Bertelsmann said it had agreed to buy 30% of RTL held by Belgian investment house Groupe Bruxelles Lambert's in exchange for a quarter of its shares, bringing its holding in the maker of shows such as ''Baywatch'' to 67%. As part of the deal, Brussels-based GBL has the right to sell its 25% Bertelsmann stake in a stock market listing in approximately three years' time -- a move seen as a stepping stone to the market for the privately owned German media group.
MERGER: FCC could lose much of its authority to review mergers under a plan being hatched by irate lawmakers on Capitol Hill, who say the FCC has no business imposing the kinds of sweeping conditions it put on the AOL Time Warner merger. New FCC chair Michael Powell has also expressed concerns about such FCC involvement.
AMC: AMC Entertainment says it may have to restate some previous quarters in posting fiscal year results through March 31 to adjust for new accounting rules. There's a total $15.8 million impact.
WORLD
VIVENDI: Union reps in France are mounting pressure on management at Vivendi Universal for answers to vital questions about future job losses following media allegations of thousands of proposed layoffs in Europe and North America.
COPYRIGHT: Sophia Loren, Claudia Cardinale and Roberto Benigni are among hundreds of artists from across Europe who have written to the European Parliament before a crucial copyright vote. They are concerned their work will not be properly protected in the Internet era.
REVOLUTION: Revolution Films partners director Michael Winterbottom and producer Andrew Eaton are branching out into the exhibition business with plans for a four-screen cinema in north London.
GERMAN BOX OFFICE: A record number of new releases couldn't save business at the German box office last year, where revenues grew by only 2%, according to figures released Monday by the national film board.
SBS: SBS Broadcasting's Dutch arm has inked a multiyear multimillion-dollar deal, the biggest in its history, with Warner Bros. Intl. Television (WBIT) for current box office hits, upcoming pix to be produced over the next year, and TV series.
PELLER: On a night of surprises this Saturday, actor Acheroa Manas' directorial debut "Pellet" scooped Spanish Academy Goyas for best film, new director, original screenplay and new actor (Juan Jose Ballesta).
WIRES
CRUISE:The 11-year marriage of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman is on the rocks. Cruise and Kidman announced that they have "regretfully decided to separate," Pat Kingsley, the couple's spokeswoman, said Monday. "The couple who married in 1990 stress their great respect for each other both personally and professionally," Kingsley said. "Citing the difficulties inherent in divergent careers, which constantly keep them apart, they concluded that an amicable separation seems best for both of them at this time."
REVIEWS
FILM: Time of Favor; Play Dead; Jump Tomorrow
L.A. CONCERT: Pantera, Forum; Richard Ashcroft, KF; Levon Helm/Beausoleil, House of Blues
L.A. LEGIT: Romeo & Juliet, Ahmanson; The Gathering, Wadsworth; Venus Attacks, Powerhouse
