The Rite wins b.o. bragging rights. The New Line/Warner Bros. exorcism drama rakes in about $15 million to become the weekend’s top drawing film.

Two and a Half Men production shutdown could cost CBS a bundle in lost revenue.
The network says that’s secondary to star Charlie Sheen getting the help he so obviously needs.   

Warning: Coming out in Hollywood can be hazardous to your career. Conservative actors Clint Howard and Morgan Brittany warn that not adhering to liberal orthodoxy can be dangerous for anyone hoping to build a career in the entertainment industry. That’s why the Friends of Abe, a group of right-leaning Hollywood conservatives, has taken to meeting quietly in restaurants and private homes to talk about their politics. The ugly truth of Tinseltown is that conservative Republicans and those of religious faith are pressured to keep their thoughts and opinions to themselves if they want to work. Hollywood puts a lot of value in diversity — except when it comes to age, body types or thought.

TNT apologizes for “comedian” Tracy Morgan’s lewd Sarah Palin comment. The  30 Rock star made his comment (involving masturbation) while appearing on the cable network’s Inside the NBA program. Now the question is will HBO apologize for Real Time “comedian” Bill Maher’s similar masturbation crack about Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. Video here. Unfortunately, much of today’s TV comedy is in the hands of people who hold to the equation that lewd comment + conservative woman = wit.
Update: Morgan issued another crude sexual swipe at Palin during an appearance on E’s coverage of the SAG Awards red carpet. The guy’s obviously suffering from a material shortage.

HBO greenlights pilot for Aaron Sorkin’s cable news drama. Will the talented liberal writer who gave us The West Left Wing skewer so-called “comedians” who, while guesting on live programs, think its appropriate to make lewd sexist comments about conservative women? Personally, I expect the vast majority of “over-the-top” pundits featured on the scripted show to be those which the left generally regards as “stupid, crazy and ultimately dangerous” conservatives.  

Fox News wavers between “homicide bomber” and “suicide bomber.” The policy of echoing the Bush Administration’s preferred term (“homicide bomber”) to describe a person who blows himself/herself up in the act of killing others was instituted during my tenure as a writer/associate producer at the network. I thought it was dumb then and I think its dumb now. Anyone who ignites a bomb with the intent of killing people is a “homicide bomber.” The term “suicide bomber” more specifically describes the act in question and, in my opinion, does not diminish the heinous act’s impact on the innocent victims.