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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check
October 22, 2009
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Equal time:
SARAH PALIN and OPRAH WINFREY sit down on Nov 16, the day before the former Republican VP candidate's new book, "Going Rogue," is set to be released. Instant ratings, for sure, particularly since Oprah campaigned for BARACK OBAMA.
Industry analysts say the endorsement and the fact that Oprah suffered a huge fall in ratings last season are related and that the Queen of Talk managed to alienate much of her conservative audience. So far this season, Oprah's biggest shows have been commercial fare: a two-day interview with WHITNEY HOUSTON and the first meeting between MIKE TYSON and EVANDER HOLYFIELD since Tyson bit off part of Holyfield's ear more than 10 years ago. (Maiman)
Afghanistan:
Guess what we're paying for gas in Afghanistan?
The Hill newspaper reports that the Pentagon is paying $400 a gallon for gas in the Afghan war.
The gas itself costs less than $3, but delivering anything to Afghanistan is a "logistical nightmare." Poor infrastructure, choppy terrain, and roadside attacks have driven up the cost.
The newspaper thinks the cost of delivering fuel to U-S troops could "play into the escalating debate in Congress" over whether to send additional forces to support the war.
"It is a number that we were not aware of and it is worrisome," says Rep JOHN "Where's the Pork" MURTHA, chairman of the House appropriations defense subcommittee.
The statistic emerged from a Pentagon report showing that each thousand troops sent to Afghanistan costs the government $1 billion. (Maiman)
Broadcast, cable and video news:
When you turn over to the Weather Channel you're looking for a forecast, right?
Not necessarily. Yesterday, the folks at the Weather Channel said they were adding movies to the network. Of course, all the flicks wilI have something to do with the weather, and the network is kicking things off with "The Perfect Storm" (starring GEORGE CLOONEY, MARK WAHLBERG, DIANE LANE and JOHN C REILLY), beginning next Friday, Oct 30. The reason: the anniversary of the killer storm back in 1991.
Of course, there'll be a meteorologist explaining all the nuances of the "weather movies" as well.
Other upcoming weather flicks include: "March of the Penguins," "Misery," "Deep Blue Sea" and more.
The Hollywood rumor mill:
Don't put TOM CRUISE and BRONSON PINCHOT --who played Balki on the sitcom, "Perfect Strangers," in the same room together. In an interview earlier this week with The Onion's A.V. Club, Bronson claimed Tom made "constant unrelated homophobic comments" while they both were filming "Risky Business" back in 1983.
"He was tense and made constant unrelated homophobic comments, like, "You want some ice cream, in case there are no gay people there?" There was no basis for it. It was like, "It's a nice day, I'm glad there are no gay people standing here." Very, very strange. He [also] always talked about himself like he was a mega-superstar; that was weird, too."
Tom's rep released a statement yesterday to Entertainment Weekly, saying "Obviously, this is so far removed from who Tom Cruise is as a person, this must have been said in jest."
Tom Cruise wasn't the only star Bronson didn't like. He also took DENZEL WASHINGTON to task, calling him "one of the most unpleasant human beings I've ever met."
"He was really abusive to me and everybody on that movie, and his official explanation was that his character didn't like me, but it was a dreadful experience," he said. "I spent my salary on time with my shrink just for helping me get through it. I should have said to the producers, 'You get that guy in line, or I'm out of here.' Life's too short."
The Reel Deal:
There's another Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film in the works.
Daily Variety says Nickelodeon has decided to pick up the franchise and has shelled (get it --shelled!) out $60 million to develop a new animated TV show and feature film, both slated to show up in 2012.
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