What would happen if David Letterman came onstage to do his opening monologue but nothing came out of his mouth? What if the stars of the silver screen had to improvise all their dialogue--would someone like Tom Cruise even have a career? Now you may have an inkling of what TV and screenwriters contribute to popular entertainment. And that's why the strike of the Writers Guild of America matters. They're looking for a bigger cut of burgeoning DVD revenues and growing Internet revenues. Peopling the picket lines in New York this week were Seth Myers, the Weekend Update coanchor and head writer of Saturday Night Live, and his predecessor Tina Fey, now of 30 Rock. The most recent SNL telecast included a hilarious skit with Fred Armisen posing as an overpaid studio executive. Jay Leno has contributed a sound bite supporting his writers and Letterman describes the producers as "cowards, cutthroats, and weasels." But Jon Stewart of The Daily Show is really putting his money where his mouth is. He is personally paying the salaries of his writers for the duration of the strike. These folks know on which side their bread is buttered.
Bell'O International has honored the formidable Motown songwriting team of Holland Dozier Holland with the first annual "Take a Bow, Take a Seat" award.
The increasingly unpopular notion of a spring CEDIA EXPO has finally bitten the dust. Originally scheduled to take place in Las Vegas, and moved to Dallas, the trade show will not take place at all.
Who's got the world's smallest Full HD LCD set? That would be Sharp, which unveiled a 22-inch 1080p model recently at a trade show in Japan. Also shown were similarly equipped 26- and 32-inch models.
Warner currently releases high-def DVDs in both Blu-ray and HD DVD. But the studio may be about to concentrate on Blu-ray only, an executive recently hinted.
Recent ruminations over the contents of my rack have given short shrift to a major player. A disc player, in fact--the Integra DPS-10.5. It has long served as the main signal source in my reference system. Occasionally I make a note to that effect in reviews but I've never really done justice to the Integra. Let's remedy that now.
It's official. HD DVD players have fallen below the $200 barrier. And we're not talking about that no-name Venturer. The breakthrough model is the Toshiba HD-A2. And the breakthrough retailer is Circuit City. The exact price is $197.99 with free shipping. And no, it's not a refurb.