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  • Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016
7 innocents spend time in jail for new TV show
This image released by A&E Networks shows a scene from "60 Days In," a 12-episode series about a group of innocent civilians who spent two months in an Indiana jail. The series premieres with a double episode on March 10 on A&E. (A&E Networks via AP)
By David Bauder, Television Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- 

Seven innocent civilians agreed to spend two months in an Indiana jail and have their experiences filmed for an A&E Network series, "60 Days In," that will air starting next month.

Backgrounds of the fake inmates, whose jail time ended in December, were kept from both corrections officers and real inmates at the Clark County Jail in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Even though one of the participants dropped out after being punched by an inmate, the show's producer and Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel said Wednesday that the stunt was worth the risk.

"We wanted to create a show that really shows what it is like to do time, from a perspective that hadn't been seen before," said Gregory Henry, executive producer for the Lucky 8 TV production company.

The 12-episode series begins 9 p.m. EST Thursday, March 10, with two back-to-back episodes, then moves to 10 p.m. EST starting March 17.

The More

  • Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016
HBO Now has 800,000 paying subscribers since April launch
In this March 9, 2015, file photo, HBO CEO Richard Plepler talks about HBO Now for Apple TV during an Apple event in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
NEW YORK (AP) -- 

HBO Now, the standalone online version of the premium TV channel, has gained about 800,000 paying subscribers since it launched in April, contributing significantly to the 2.7 million net new HBO customers last year.

The figure was revealed by HBO CEO Richard Plepler in a conference call following the release of parent Time Warner Inc.'s quarterly earnings results.

The gains didn't seem to wow investors, as Time Warner shares fell 3.5 percent to $61.02 in afternoon trading Wednesday.

Stifel analyst Benjamin Mogil said the 3.2 percent gain in HBO subscriber revenue was lower than the 4.7 percent rise that Wall Street expected.

Initially available for $15 a month only on Apple TV and other Apple devices, HBO Now has steadily rolled out to other platforms including Amazon, Roku, Google's Chromecast and certain smart TVs.

Plepler said the service has yet to be offered on two major More

  • Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016
Twitter tweaks its timeline to look a bit more like Facebook
This Friday, Oct. 18, 2013, file photo, shows a Twitter app on an iPhone screen, in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
NEW YORK (AP) -- 

Twitter is tweaking its timeline.

The social media site will let people turn on a setting that lets popular tweets related to people you follow show up first in your timeline, followed by the real-time feed most people on Twitter are used to.

It's a significant change for the microblogging service, although its existing "while you were away" feature also highlights tweets from the recent past.

The Twittersphere exploded over the weekend on rumors that Twitter was changing its feed to look more like Facebook's newsfeed. CEO Jack Dorsey was compelled to tweet that the real-time stream won't change.

Pressure has been building on Twitter to accelerate user growth, and its stock has declined significantly. 

  • Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016
Viacom CEO defends self in testy exchange on 1Q results
In this Wednesday, June 13, 2012, file photo, Viacom Inc. CEO Philippe Dauman waits for the start of an event in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
By Ryan Nakashima, Business Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- 

Viacom Inc. CEO Philippe Dauman defended himself in a testy exchange with analysts during a quarterly earnings conference call Tuesday after the media company behind MTV and Paramount Pictures missed revenue expectations for the fifth quarter in a row.

The call occurred as 92-year-old chairman emeritus Sumner Redstone — who has a speech impediment and requires a feeding tube — was said to be listening in. It came just a few days after Dauman replaced Redstone as executive chair to go along with his job as CEO, and three weeks after Viacom awarded Dauman a $17 million contract renewal bonus that boosted his overall pay 22 percent to $54.2 million last year.

In reaction to the weak quarter and a call that didn't inspire investor confidence, Viacom's shares fell more than 21 percent Tuesday to $32.86, their lowest close in more than five years.

"Given the exceedingly poor performance of Viacom More

  • Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016
Second City names new film comedy school for Harold Ramis
In this Dec. 12, 2009 file photo, actor and director Harold Ramis laughs as he walks the red carpet to celebrate The Second City's 50th anniversary in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jim Prisching, File)
CHICAGO (AP) -- 

Chicago improv troupe Second City is opening a school focusing on comedic filmmaking and naming it after late writer-director-actor Harold Ramis.

Second City said Tuesday that applications are being accepted for the school's yearlong filmmaker program that starts in September in Chicago. Students enrolled in the intensive program will learn comedy training, film history, storytelling and film production. They'll produce a pilot TV show or short film.

Ramis' longtime collaborator and film producer Trevor Albert will be the school's chairman. The advisory board will include Second City alumni Steve Carell, Adam McKay, Catherine O'Hara and others.

Ramis died in February 2014 at the age of 69 at his home in the Chicago suburbs after suffering from an autoimmune disease. He is famous for movies including "Caddyshack," ''Ghostbusters" and "Animal House."

More
  • Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016
Michael Douglas among film stars honored by AARP
Bette Midler, right, presents Michael Douglas with the Career Achievement Award at the 15th Annual Movies for Grownups Awards at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Monday, Feb. 8, 2016, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Rich Fury/Invision/AP)
By Derrik J. Lang, Entertainment Writer
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) -- 

Michael Douglas was initially confused when he was told that he was being honored with a career achievement honor by the AARP Movies for Grownups Awards.

The star of such films as "Wall Street" and "Fatal Attraction" told the crowd at Monday's glitzy ceremony that his assistant mistakenly informed him that he was receiving an award for his work in adult films.

"I remember all my films," joked Douglas after receiving a standing ovation. "I don't remember any adult films."

The newspaper drama "Spotlight" was selected as best picture at the 15th annual ceremony presented by the advocacy group AARP to stars over the age of 50 and the films that speak to that demographic.

"I think when we set out to make this movie, we weren't thinking about whether it was for kids or for grownups," said "Spotlight" filmmaker Tom McCarthy. "Collectively, we understood that it was a story we had to tell. It More

  • Monday, Feb. 8, 2016
Stallone put Oscars attendance in Coogler's hands
Sylvester Stallone arrives at the 88th Academy Awards Nominees Luncheon at The Beverly Hilton hotel on Monday, Feb. 8, 2016, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
By Lindsey Bahr, Film Writer
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) -- 

The annual Oscar nominees luncheon is generally a time of low-stakes celebration, but this year amid discussions of Oscar diversity and a boycott, as well as dramatic changes to Academy membership, the Monday gathering was also one for reflection.

Sylvester Stallone, who became a focal point in the controversy for being the sole nominee from "Creed," which had both a black director and lead actor, said he consulted with director Ryan Coogler as to whether or not he should attend at all.

"I said, 'if you want me to go, I'll go, if you don't, I won't,'" Stallone told reporters before lunch. "He said, 'Just go there and try to represent the film.'"

Prior to the luncheon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., various nominees stopped to speak to a room of reporters about everything from finance reform to fashion. But Stallone wasn't the only one thinking about the question of diversity, both at the Oscars and in the More

  • Monday, Feb. 8, 2016
Super Bowl gets 111.9 million viewers, down from last year
Denver Broncos’ Peyton Manning holds up the trophy after the NFL Super Bowl 50 football game Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016, in Santa Clara, Calif. The Broncos won 24-10. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
By David Bauder, Television Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- 

Setting television viewership records with the Super Bowl has become almost routine, but this year's average of 111.9 million viewers for Denver's victory over Carolina is down from the past two years.

That makes Sunday's game the third most-watched event in U.S. television history, the Nielsen company said Monday. Last year's down-to-the-wire contest between New England and Seattle keeps the record with 114.4 million viewers.

The Super Bowl had seemed to know no ceiling in popularity, setting viewership records in six of seven years until this one.

CBS, the nation's most-watched network, had pushed the event hard the past few months, playing up the historical nature of the 50th Super Bowl game. But Denver's 24-10 victory wasn't a sizzler, with defenses dominating the marquee quarterback matchup between Peyton Manning and reigning NFL MVP Cam Newton.

Even more than television, social More

  • Monday, Feb. 8, 2016
Gerson, scribe of 'Monsters, Inc.,' 'Big Hero 6' dies at 49
This July 12, 2010 photo released by Disney shows Daniel Gerson. (Disney via AP)
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- 

Daniel Gerson, who co-wrote several Walt Disney animated films including "Monsters, Inc." and "Big Hero 6," has died. He was 49.

Gerson's family said in a statement that he died at his Los Angeles home on Saturday after battling brain cancer. Gerson was a frequent contributor for Pixar Animation, co-writing both 2001's "Monsters, Inc." and its 2013 sequel, "Monsters University."

Along with Robert L. Baird and Jordan Roberts, Gerson co-wrote Disney's Oscar-winning "Big Hero 6," an animated superhero tale. The New York-born Gerson got his start as a writer for the NBC comedy "Something So Right."

Gerson is survived by his wife, Beau Stacom, and two children.

  • Monday, Feb. 8, 2016
"Good Wife" creators welcome show's end; possible spinoff?
This image provided by CBS shows, Julianna Margulies as Alicia Florrick in a scene from "The Good Wife." (Michael Parmelee/CBS via AP)
By Lynn Elber, Television Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- 

"The Good Wife" creators Robert and Michelle King say they welcomed CBS' decision to end the series, allowing them to write its final chapter.

The Kings already had decided to exit as executive producers after this season, the seventh, leaving CBS to weigh whether to keep the critically acclaimed show afloat without them.

On Sunday, the network used its Super Bowl telecast to announce that "The Good Wife" was heading into its final nine episodes, with the series finale to air May 8.

The Kings had just learned of the decision in the past week, they told a phone news conference Monday.

"We felt very fortunate and flattered that we're being allowed to end the show .... the way we hoped it would end," Michelle King said. "The Good Wife" airs 9 p.m. EST Sunday.

CBS may have faced the loss of series star Julianna Margulies as well. At an event last month honoring the Kings, Margulies More

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