Trade Round-Up: More On Tom Freston
In a conference call explaining Tom Freston's exit from Viacom, a displeased Sumner Redstone let on that he was "like, Tom-Cruise-shitcanning pissed" that Freston let MySpace slip through their fingers and get snapped up by rival Rupert Murdoch. [Variety]
And just because repetition is fun, here's THR noting the same thing from the conference call. [THR]
Studios embrace box office mediocrity, as their collective summer tally is up six percent this year over last thanks to middle-performing, lower-budgeted films. [Variety]
· The studios urge the Guilds not to prematurely complain about the screwing they're getting while the networks "experiment" with streaming content, assuring them that once the platform becomes a viable retail option like downloading, they'll figure out a way to give them the same, unsatisfying ass-fucking they're taking on iTunes residuals. [THR]
· Realizing that even a limited corporate sponsorship of its Path to 9/11 minseries might make the network seem like tragedy-exploiting whores, ABC decides to go with a commercial-free broadcast. [Variety]