PROGRAMMING
Last week, not just the roof, but in fact the entire “House,” was on fire.
Fox’s freshman medical drama is burning up, boasting season-high ratings last
week with 17.3 million viewers. [E! Online]
E! Online

Though he is used to merely observing fights, Jerry Springer is involved in
his very own battle in the U.K.… a TV battle that is. Springer’s new talk show
is set to air on ITV1 and will go head-to-head with Trisha Goddard’s
talk-show on Five. [BBC News]
BBC News

A new current affairs program has hit the airwaves in New Zealand, and so far
the ratings have agreed with it. TV3's new flagship news show “Campbell
Live” came in third in the television ratings on its debut Monday. [Yahoo News]
Yahoo News

With memories of British-turned-American disaster “Coupling,” fresh in their
minds, Americans brace themselves for the remake of British comic hit, “The
Office,” set to debut on Thursday night. So far the critics are split, with
some seeing the show as “creative” and “original,” while others wonder why NBC
had to mess with perfection. [BBC News]
BBC News

BUSINESS
In a media industry controversy that resembles a tennis match, the ball seems
to be in the court of Internet start-up, Livedoor. The newest development in
a court battle over the majority stake in Nippon Broadcasting, which has
captivated Japan, has barred NBS from going ahead with its stock sale to Fuji TV; a
move that was designed to prevent Livedoor from acquiring the same coveted
majority stake. [The International Herald Tribune]
The International Herald Tribune

Viacom, the ultimate media conglomerate, may be splitting in two. Chairman
Sumner Redstone has announced a plan to split the conglom into two new public
companies — one, which houses the broadcast TV and radio units, and another,
which covers the cable networks and film studio. [The New York Times]
The New York Times

TECHNOLOGY
Executives at 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment are trying to get you
hooked onto their shows… one episode at a time. The company has begun releasing TV
series “starter sets,” inexpenive DVDs that feature a sampling of the first
two episodes of a series, designed to entice soon-to-be-fans. The first series
being treated to this special DVD is cult series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
[The New York Times]
The New York Times

CONTROVERSY
One Bollywood actor is finding himself in hot water over comments he made to
a journalist. Shakti Kapoor is involved in a large controversy that is shaking
up the Indian film community. Kapoor requested sexual favors from a
journalist, and his indecent proposals were telecast on Sunday as part of a sting
operation. [Google News]
Google News

Proving that the U.S. is becoming more and more religious every day, a number
of Imax theaters (including some in science museums), are refusing to air 3-D
movies that refer to evolution or the “Big Bang” theory out of fear that
they will be protested by religious groups. [The International Herald Tribune]
The International Herald Tribune

EXECUTIVE SHUFFLE
The revolving door continues to, well…revolve. Fox entertainment president
Gail Berman is set to leave the network and head over to Paramount. For Fox, the
news couldn’t come at a worse time. The net will lose its top programmer just
two months before presenting its fall schedule at the advertiser upfronts.
[E! Online]
E! Online

“60 Minutes” producers seem to be dropping like flies. More than two months
after being asked by CBS chief Les Moonves to step down from his position,
Josh Howard, who became an executive producer not long before the President
Bush/National Guard debacle, agreed to resign. [The New York Times]
The New York Times

FILM
On Monday, Canada’s answer to the Oscars, the Genie Awards, celebrated its
25th anniversary by bestowing honors on Canadian productions and co-productions.
The event, which took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre led to a
bizarre happenstance: animated film The Triplets Of Belleville — directed by
French animator Sylvain Chomet but largely made by Canadian artists and
technicians -- won as best picture. [The Winnipeg Sun]
The Winnipeg Sun

After having his personal life scrutinized across the media, Ben Affleck is
finally making headlines with his career. Affleck is set to make his
directorial debut with a film adaptation of the Dennis Lehane novel, “Gone, Baby,
Gone.” [The Guardian]
The Guardian

PRESS RELEASE CLIPS
Bavaria Media is enjoying a large presence at this year’s Hong Kong Filmart
(going on now). Bavaria distributed movie “Mongolian Ping Pong,” is part of
the festival section, “Competition for the Asian DV Awards.” On the TV side,
Bavaria is showcasing “1200 Degress: and “Speer & Hitler.”
Bavaria

With 90 days to go until its opening, DISCOP 05 is being inundated with
registrants. Over 200 international content and formats sales executives have
signed up for the market, which will take place from June 23-June 25 in Budapest,
and 95 percent of exhibiting space is already sold out.
DISCOP

Tom Gutteridge, CEO of FremantleMedia North America has resigned from the
company. Gutteridge will return to the U.K. and act as a creative consultant on
some of the U.S. projects that he initiated. A formal process for his
replacement is underway.
FremantleMedia

Power will come to MIP-TV with mini-series and thrillers galore. In the
mini-series category are: “Colditz,” “Casanova,” “Mary Bryant,” “Poseidon
Adventure” and “Category 6: Day of Destruction.” In the thriller category are:
“Archangel,” “Crimes of Passion” and “Lies and Deception.”
Power

The first ever PROMAX&BDA Arabia conference is set to take place May 3-4 at
the Emirates Towers Hotel in Dubai. Frank Radice, NBC’s top Promotion and
Marketing executive, is et to deliver the keynote speech.
PROMAX

A little blue muppet is about to embark on some exciting travels. In Global
Grover, a 5-minute, 30-episode series, Grover travels all over and joins
children in engaging in activities related to their individual cultures.
Sesame Workshop

Last week’s SPORTELAsia 2005 was a big hit, with a total of 521 participants,
representing 301 companies from 42 countries worldwide attending the event at
the InterContinental Hong Kong Hotel.
Sportel

It's true, all publishers sounds alike...

We're the best… we're the most important, and so on.

So what is a distributor to do in order for a few advertising dollars to
stretch further?

Here's what. For the L.A. Screenings ‘05, find:
1) The publication that serves your buyers by publishing a truly helpful list
of pilots pick-ups.
2) The publication that is sent to all buyers’ hotel rooms (how do you know
who does it? Simply, look at their list of published buyers).
3) The publication that offers the most up-to-date information on all
distributors' suite numbers.
4) The publication that gives you the most visibility in terms of program
listings, editorial coverage and photo reports.

If your preferred publication can satisfy ALL of these four points, it is
your Number One media buy, and you shouldn't settle for less (even if it is given
for almost nothing).

This message is brought to you by “VideoAge,” the L.A. Screenings official
publication (http://www.videoageinternational.com/screenings.html)