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· Hoping to heal the emotional damage he once inflicted upon national treasure Steven Spielberg by declaring the director's possible departure from his corporate family "completely immaterial," Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman offered a conciliatory flurry of hugs, kisses and a vigorous foot massage to the icon he once offended, calling him "one of the great filmmakers of our time and actually of all time," and promising that "We're going to proceed with calm, with deliberateness, and our entire objective is to focus on making him happy doing what he's doing. Whatever makes him happy and makes us happy will be the way it works out" as they continue to try and salvage their relationship. [Variety]
· The strike clock, as always, is ticking: if things aren't settled "in the next few weeks," pilot season—and the booze-drenched upfronts parties TV reporters so look forward to each year—could be lost. [THR]

· CBS's strike-enhanced winter lineups will include repeats of popular scripted shows, the premieres of new comedy The Captain and existing sitcom Old Christine and the first! ever! in-season installment of Big Brother. Meanwhile, NBC and Fox will ask viewers to choke on all the episodes of Law & Order and American Idol they can cram into their respective schedules. [Variety]
· Kelly Preston and Ron Eldard continue to toil in Hollywood's fifth circle of made-for-Lifetime-movie hell. [THR]
· Russell Crowe has officially "committed" to take the role in Universal's State of Play hastily vacated by Brad Pitt right before Thanksgiving. [Variety]