Trade Round-Up: Hugh Jackman Will Sing And Dance Again
· Details of the Viacom split emerge: Sumner Redstone will still control everything, the two companies will share some directors, and new CEOs Tom Freston and Les Moonves won't be able to hot oil-wrestle for the same properties. Which is probably good news for Freston, as Moonves has been secretly practicing his Warm Crisco Figure Four Leg Lock for months. [Variety]
· The reality TV boogeyman continues to gobble up jobs that could be going to SAG members. But look at the flip side: reality TV creates many exciting opportunities for non-union sweatshop writers. [THR]
· Sensing that the nerd audience might be more forgiving of his "quirky" decision to name his son Kal-el, Nic Cage will executive produce the pilot The Dresden Files for Sci-Fi network. [Variety]
· UPN picks up the back nine for Everybody Hates Chris; somewhere deep within his secret lair, Les Moonves plots how he can shift the show to CBS without looking like a liar. [THR]
· Disney will adapt the novel If You Could See Me Now into a musical vehicle for Hugh Jackman. We're only going to say it one more time: There's nothing suspicious about Hugh Jackman's obsession with musicals, OK? If you had Jackman's triple-threat skills, you'd just close your eyes, slip into your tight, gold pants and cheetah shirt, and dance, dance, dance, not caring what people were whispering about you. [Variety]