Is TV Too Gory?

The Walking Dead When you absolutely, positively have to determine whether a zombie has devoured a missing girl, there's only one thing to do: Shoot it in the head and disembowel what's left of the flesh-eater's rotting corpse.Yuck? Perhaps, but it's that kind of occasional carnage that has fans rabid for AMC's The Walking Dead. The zombie series continues to unearth big ratings as it ushers in a new age of horror and thriller series - and the accompanying gore - on TV. The trend began with Showtime's Dexter and the titular killer's plastic-wrapped human-carving station, as well as HBO's True Blood and its flesh-ripping, neck-biting vamps. Then came The Walking Dead, and more recently, FX's American Horror Story and NBC's Grimm, both of which have scared up sizable audiences.TV's past thrillers, such as The Twilight Zone, relied more on psychological scares than gore. Horror is a polarizing genre, which is why the networks mostly avoided it. But times have changed, content standards have loosened, and cable is able to target a niche crowd that likes a little gristle in their TV diet.The horror genre has made a bit of a comeback in recent years, as audiences grew accustomed to more graphic thrills via the popularity of movies like Saw, Paranormal Activity and The Human Centipede (some of which have been dubbed "torture porn" because of their graphic nature). Also, dark procedurals like CSI and Criminal Minds made it safe to show brutalized corpses in prime time, paving the way for some of the gruesome images on TV's horror explosion."CSI took it to another level in terms of exploring gore," says AMC programming senior vice president Joel Stillerman. "Our intent was never to highlight the gore," he adds of The Walking Dead. "We do it in a way that's organic to the story. People who love that stuff can geek out, and if you don't, you can cover your eyes. We know where the limits are and we know what flies and what doesn't. If we push it, we run a disclaimer."But TV producers say they're still more interested in scaring audiences than grossing them out. Compared to the realism on TV's forensics and autopsy shows, the worlds of The Walking Dead and American Horror Story are at least rooted in make-believe.Fans of The Walking Dead know to expect the occasional blood and guts - like the time a zombie was sliced in half as it was pulled out of a well - which help balance quiet, more emotional moments in a story that at the core is about a family trying to survive an apocalypse. "There are certain conventions in the horror genre, and one is that dispatching zombies, or humans being attacked by zombies, will be fairly graphic," says executive producer Gale Anne Hurd. "If you aren't making a campy show, which we're not, it is something we're expected to deliver. After all, zombies are no longer alive, and the only way to 'kill' them is with a head shot."Viewers don't appear to be turned off by the splatter. The Walking Dead's season premiere attracted the best adult 18-49 ratings ever for a cable drama. At FX, American Horror Story continues to grow its audience and was recently renewed for Season 2. FX programming executive vice president Nick Grad says American Horror Story is bringing in a large female audience that is more interested in the show's characters and its underlying theme - about a marriage in trouble - than its horror imagery (which includes a blood-thirsty demon baby). "We don't want to be gratuitous just for the sake of being gratuitous," he says. "If you're going to do something pretty extreme, there has to be a reason you're doing it."Even though ABC's upcoming The River will contain gory elements, the show's producers say much of it will be blurred out. "We're not really fans of gore," says executive producer Michael Green. "There's a difference between horror and thriller, and we're more in the thriller camp."That means audiences won't get a good glimpse of a gruesome dead body that The River's art department prepared for one episode - at least not yet. Just in case viewers demand more gore with their goose bumps, fellow exec producer Zack Estrin says they're mulling an uncensored DVD. After all, in Hollywood everyone's looking for that other kind of gross - profits.Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!

NCIS' David Dayan Fisher Pleads Not Guilty in Choking Case

David Dayan Fisher NCIS' David Dayan Fisher has pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor battery charge in his choking case, TMZ reports.David Dayan Fisher arrested for battery over pool-towel altercationThe actor was arrested in September for allegedly choking his neighbor during an argument about whether pool towels had been hung up. Fisher claimed it was in self-defense after his neighbor insulted his late mother.He is due back in court next month.

WME Signs New Women Max Greenfield

EXCLUSIVE: Max Greenfield, one of the male leads opposite Zooey Deschanel on Fox’s breakout new comedy series New Girl, has signed with WME. He was at TalentWorks. On New Girl, Greenfield plays Schmidt, among Jessica (Deschanel)’s 3 male roommates, a self-introduced ladies guy as well as the group’s designated “douche bag.” Greenfield, who formerly had major recurring roles on Ugly Betty, Veronica Mars and Greek, is handled by Adena Chawke and Lisa Wright.

Exclusive: Jonathan Jackson Talks about His Shocking Exit From General Hospital

Jonathan Jackson First, what's promising. They are not changing him. Now, unhealthy. Four-time Emmy champion Jonathan Jackson, stating emotional and physical exhaustion, will exit ABC's General Hospital a few days of December 19 when his character, Lucky Spencer, leaves Port Charles for another visit to Ireland. In recent several weeks, Lucky continues to be hit by one breaking tragedy to another - the hit-and-run dying of his son Mike, the disgusting downfall of his drunken father Luke, and also the dying of his wife Siobhan, which brought towards the character's own descent into drugs and hallucinogenic madness. It is highly likely all of this sturm und drang brings the brilliant Jackson a fifth Emmy award the coming year, but at this time it's going for a large toll around the guy. TV Guide Magazine had a unique talk to Jackson to discover why he stated, "Enough already!" TV Guide Magazine: Your fans are upset. Your costars are upset. What went down here? Could not this happen to be prevented?Jackson: It's one of individuals circumstantial things, I suppose. There certainly wasn't anything negative or contentious about the actual way it happened. I've got a great relationship with everybody in the show. TV Guide Magazine: So, word is, you visited the executives and requested to possess your workload lightened plus they stated they could not get it done. There is no wiggle room? No compromise? Jackson: I do not think my dilemma completely fell on hard of hearing ears. I believe there have been logistics that managed to get difficult to allow them to keep me around basically wasn't inside a large story. TV Guide Magazine: What particularly had you been requesting? Less workdays each week? No large tales for some time? Forget about tragedy? Jackson: All that was talked about. I believe - though I'm not sure without a doubt - that they are truly thinking about determining a method to get this to situation workable. But ultimately it had been made the decision that, basically ended up being to remain on the program, Lucky is simply too important of the character to become placed on the rear burners. The authors have a lot to complete every week it just wasn't likely to be possible to create a significant change such as this. TV Guide Magazine: But is not there a contented medium between tearing your guts out every single day on air and standing on the rear burners? And when Lucky's essential, just how can the authors so easily do without him? Sounds strange. Jackson: I understand. TV Guide Magazine: What introduced you to definitely your decision to not renew your contract? How was your exhaustion manifesting itself?Jackson: This is an interesting paradox. The story lines don't stick with me meaning which i feel personally suffering from what my character is certainly going through, however it does be bad for you on me physically and psychologically. It is a real energy zapper and you will find days after i seem like I've nothing left to provide. As well as in this medium where you are handling a pretty insane quantity of dialogue, day in, day trip, the collision of the heavy workload and growing exhaustion will make you just a little crazy. I enjoy strive but I have been at maximum capacity when it comes to emotional and mental output for several weeks on finish and contains become too hard. I'm very grateful they desired to produce all individuals story lines with the much depth, there is however just no balance. Usually, you can find one or possibly two great and intense story arcs each year. There's often a cycle for this stuff on soaps. But it has been nonstop. There is just no reprieve. I've got a wife and three kids along with other things in existence I must consider. I simply understood I could not sustain the schedule at GH which type of emotion for considerably longer. It had been too intense. TV Guide Magazine: I hear additionally you requested a Lucky and Elizabeth [Rebecca Herbst] reunion and also got a no on that. Have you observe that in an effort to restore some balance and produce Lucky some happiness?Jackson: Absolutely. And i believe the fans want that, too. I had been from GH for ten years and returned [last year] particularly to utilize others. Tony Geary [Luke] would be a huge reason that i can return and thus was Becky. I love dealing with her and like it when our figures are together romantically. Despite the fact that everything has become crazy between Liz and Lucky through the years, there's still an in-depth possibility of something effective and redemptive there. Therefore it appeared just like a real no-brainer in my experience. From my perspective, I simply assumed they'd reconcile. Whether it's a timing problem. There has been large alterations in the writing team at GH which might have moved the timeline for Lucky and Elizabeth to reunite. Or possibly it simply wasn't ever going to take place whatsoever. I'm not sure. TV Guide Magazine: Made it happen surprise you that things switched out by doing this? Or are you aware, starting your conferences using the brass, this may not finish well?Jackson: I can not say I am surprised. I am among individuals individuals who attempt to live daily, moment to moment, and so i didn't have a genuine vision of how this could exercise. I had been greatly available to remaining as we might have determined steps to make it possible for me personally. TV Guide Magazine: I am hearing you will find no large goodbye moments written for Lucky. He just kind of heads to Ireland. Is an indication you might be to finish things off sooner or later, particularly if GH is cancelled? Jackson: This is the one upside to any or all this. Lucky's not dying and they're not recasting. There's a complete possibility that he'll return. We'll see what goes on. TV Guide Magazine: Hey, not have your real-existence kids on GH? Are two Jacksons going for a hike here? Jackson: Yeah, I've my smallest one, Titus, playing Lucky's boy Aiden. Which will continue. He's just a little baby so we are taking it per week at any given time at this time. To date so great. [Laughs] Unlike his father, he's handling it perfectly! Sign up for TV Guide Magazine now!

Kermit & Jason Segel Beg For Can Be

EXCLUSIVE: I needed to obtain my on the job this private little video after i heard it been around. Here are producers Jason Segel and Kermit The Frog inviting Can Be to become listed on the cast from the Muppets movie, the first Muppets theatrical release in 12 years. Beyond cute: rtmp://streaming.deadline.com/ondemand/video/Muppets_Amy_Adams_Invite_v3_2011-11-16.flv

Hotel Lux

Alexander Senderovich and Michael Bully Herbig in "Hotel Lux" A Constantin Film Verleih discharge of a Bavaria Film Intl. presentation of the Bavaria Pictures, Beeplex Film Prods., BSI Intl. Invest, Colonia Media Filmproduktion, HerbX Film, Li Produktion, Little Shark Entertainment, Pirol Film Push., Rainer Windhager Film Push., WDR, BR, ARD Degeto, Arte production, together with Bavaria Film, Bavaria Fernsehproduktion. (Worldwide sales: Bavaria Film Intl., Geiselgasteig, Germany.) Created by Guenter Rohrbach, Corinna Eich. Executive producers, Matthias Esche, Jan S. Kaiser. Co-producer, Michael Bully Herbig. Directed, compiled by Leander Haussmann, according to motifs by Uwe Timm, Volker Einrauch.With: Michael Bully Herbig, Juergen Vogel, Thekla Reuten, Alexander Senderovich, Valery Grishko, Juraj Kukura, Sebastian Blomberg, Axel Wandtke, Steffi Kuehnert, Matthias Brenner, Robert Doelle, Josef Ostendorf, Thomas Thieme, Gennadi Vengerov, Johann Adam Oest, Daniel Wiemer, Uwe-Dag Berlin, Friedrich Karl Praetorius. (German, Russian, British dialogue)"Hotel Lux" really wants to be several things: a side-splitting comedy about Stalin (with Hitler quietly), a grandiose Hollywood-style production in the large studio era, an Indiana Johnson-like romp through history. After making his title with genial comedies occur East Germany, Leander Haussmann ("Sun Alley") winds the time back further, even though "Hotel Lux" is not a train wreck on the amount of Oskar Roehler's "Jew Suss," neither could it be original or especially inspired. Extravagant as well as in dubious taste, the pic does decent biz in your own home, but many worldwide marketplaces is going to be cautious about a Nazi laffer. Berlin, 1933: Apolitical ladies' guy Hendes Zeisig (Michael Bully Herbig) and Jewish commie Siggi Meyer (Juergen Vogel) possess a Stalin-Hitler act that slays Them within the lanes. 3 years later, Meyer's gone into hiding and Zeisig is not getting enjoyable together with his Stalin number, particularly with Nazi Kessel (Uwe-Dag Berlin) now responsible for the theater and pushing him to complete an anti-Semitic parody. Rather, Zeisig dons Meyer's Hitler outfit and works a skit they know is going to be his last. Neither the very first Stalin-Hitler act (very Mel Brooks, with no brilliant comic shock) nor Zeisig's solo Hitler number (with debt obviously to "The Truly Amazing Dictator") is particularly funny, notwithstanding an audience's legitimate need to from time to time laugh at these figures. The issue is based on the way the comedy is created: With Chaplin, there's terror underneath every elegant comic movement, whereas Haussmann is not behind the buffoonery. Nazis chasing after Zeisig lower the road, shot like quiet slapstick, is particularly ill created. Zeisig tries to obtain a visa towards the U.S., convinced he'll be considered a star in Hollywood, but wrangles merely a fake Soviet passport. He comes to Moscow in the Hotel Lux, where Comintern people are lodged within an atmosphere of mistrust. There, he meets Nikolai Yezhov (Alexander Senderovich), the violent, diminutive chief from the secret police, who's convinced the actor is Hitler's personal astrologer, whom Stalin is expecting. Zeisig is designated a translator, Clara (Thekla Reuten), real title Frida, a Meyer partisan whom Zeisig met in '33, and who attempts to save him from an progressively sticky situation. Then Stalin (Valery Grishko) arrives. Unlike Dani Levy's not successful farce-drama hybrid "Mein Fuhrer," "Hotel Lux" does not play the role of anything apart from a comic book caper. Yet with no underlying deadly importance so essential to making the laughs cathartic, Haussmann's Uncle Joe is basically a paranoid and superstitious fool, by having an focus on the second trait. A smart cackle at Stalin (or Hitler) will be a relief, although not if this sweeps away the monster within. Further (minor) laughs are produced by labels determining hotel visitors who'll later go onto become major figures in East Germany along with other Soviet-bloc nations. When the history were completely make believe (just like a "Stargate" episode), the pic will make a directing adventure-comedy romp, but Haussmann's wish to have everything outings him up. Fortunately, Herbig has personality having a capital "P," and also the popular spoofer has very exciting directing the aura of stars from cinema's past. Exactly the same could be stated of Haussmann's entire concept, utilizing products from another era including elaborate studio sets, matte works of art, dolly shots and so on. It's playfully old-fashioned and aesthetically pleasing, with kudos visiting the stylish, self-purposely grandiose lensing by d.p. Hagen Bogdanski ("The Youthful Victoria") and Uli Hanisch's elaborate sets. Ralf Wengenmayr's music tries way too hard having a type of symphonic accompaniment connected with photos in the nineteen forties, and the over ripe arrangements, just like a mix between Max Steiner and John Williams, are excessive.Camera (color/B&W, widescreen), Hagen Bogdanski editor, Hansjoerg Weissbrich music, Ralf Wengenmayr production designer, Uli Hanisch art director, Daniel Chour costume designer, Ute Paffendorf seem (Dolby), Frank Kruse, Ben Rosenkind seem designer, Heiko Mueller, Mario Hubert effects supervisor, Adolf Wojtinek line producers, Anne Leppin, Gilbert Moehler connect producer, Matthias Batthyany casting, Simone Baer. Examined at Rome Film Festival (competing), March. 31, 2011. Running time: 106 MIN. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

'Bang,' 'Grey's' shine Thursday

CBS comedy ''The Big Bang Theory'' remained Thursday's standout performer this week, easily ruling as the No. 1 program while ABC's fall finale of ''Grey's Anatomy'' saw a nice uptick to stand as the top-rated drama. Fox still won the night, though ''The X Factor'' and ''Bones'' declined week to week.According to preliminary national estimates from Nielsen, Fox saw both ''The X Factor'' (3.3/9 in 18-49, 10.2 million viewers overall) and ''Bones'' (2.7/7 in 18-94, 8.8 million viewers overall) drop from the previous week, with the crime drama sliding more. Each ranked second in their hour but Fox's nightly average beat out the three-hour averages of its rivals, and the net has now won eight straight Thursdays to start the season (including two with the World Series).ABC aired what could be the last scheduled episode of ''Charlie's Angels'' (1.1/3 in 18-49, 5.1 million viewers overall), a show that was effectively canceled last month but allowed to play out its produced episodes. The show's sixth-place finish among the broadcasters didn't seem to affect 9 p.m. anchor ''Grey's Anatomy'' (4.0/10 in 18-49, 11.2 million viewers overall), which was up more than 10% week to week to deliver its best demo score since its season premiere and its largest overall audience since last spring. Also picking up steam is 10 p.m. drama ''Private Practice'' (2.9/8 in 18-49, 7.7 million viewers overall), which was up week to week in advance of next week's two-hour episode.CBS dominated Thursday's opening half-hour with ''The Big Bang Theory'' (5.2/15 in 18-49, 15.7 million viewers overall), which was down just slightly from last week's record high in the timeslot. It was followed by ''Rules of Engagement'' (3.6/9 in 18-49, 11.8 million viewers overall), which was in line with last week and led its timeslot in all categories (tied with Fox in 18-49). The Eye then aired repeats of ''Person of Interest'' (2.0/5 in 18-49, 9.1 million viewers overall) and ''The Mentalist'' (1.9/5 in 18-49, 10.0 million viewers overall). Despite the two repeats, CBS was competitive in 18-49 and won in adults 25-54 and total viewers.Univision moved up to fourth on the night with its three-hour telecast of the Latin Grammy Awards, which averaged a 2.2/6 in adults 18-49 and 5.2 million viewers overall.NBC had another quiet Thursday, starting with ''Community'' (1.5/4 in 18-49, 3.5 million viewers overall) and ''Parks and Recreation'' (1.8/5 in 18-49, 3.6 million viewers overall). Its top show remains ''The Office'' (3.0/7 in 18-49, 5.9 million viewers overall), down a bit week to week, and rookie 9:30 p.m. comedy ''Whitney'' is hanging in there (2.1/5 in 18-49, 4.3 million viewers overall), matching last week's score despite the slightly smaller lead-in. And at 10, ''Prime Suspect'' (1.2/3 in 18-49, 4.8 million viewers overall) continues to struggle, on par with last week and seeing no bump in spite of CBS airing a repeat of its crime drama.Off their strong showings of last week, CW was down a bit with both ''The Vampire Diaries'' (1.4/4 in 18-49, 3.3 million viewers overall) and ''The Secret Circle'' (0.8/2 in 18-49, 2.2 million viewers overall), with the former again beating ABC's ''Charlie's Angels'' in 18-49 and tying the NBC comedies for third in persons 12-34 (1.5/5). ''Vampire'' drew its second largest overall audience of the fall.Preliminary 18-49 averages for the night: Fox, 3.0/8; CBS, 2.8/7; ABC, 2.7/7; Univision, 2.2/6; NBC, 1.8/5; CW, 1.1/3.In total viewers: CBS, 10.9 million; Fox, 9.5 million; ABC, 8.0 million; Univision, 5.2 million; NBC, 4.5 million; CW, 2.7 million. Contact Rick Kissell at rick.kissell@variety.com

Cars.com Yanks Sponsorship Of Penn Condition Game Broadcasts On ESPN

Stating “allegations all around the Penn Condition Football program,” Cars.com has yanked its sponsorship from ESPN broadcasts of two approaching Penn Condition football games, the Wall Street Journal reviews. “As a proud, longtime supporter of ESPN Nfl And College Football, it’s vital that you us that people’re building our logo and raising the visibility in our marketers in ways that remembers the activity, the dedication of their student sports athletes and also the many trustworthy colleges that area teams,” Cars.com stated inside a statement. Cars.com is really a classified advertising venture under an umbrella referred to as Classified Endeavors possessed through the media companies Belo, Gannett, McClatchy, Tribune and Washington Publish. The kid sex-abuse scandal has led to the exits of Penn Condition leader Graham Spanier and football Joe Paterno. Marketers who’ve betrothed their brands to sports athletes are specifically skittish about scams and finally otherwise immediately sever the hyperlinks.

Andy Rooney dies at 92

RooneyLongtime CBS newsman Andy Rooney, who brought greater than 1,000 essays to "an hour or so,In . died on Saturday consequently of complications following surgery. He was 92.Rooney's career at CBS spanned six decades, beginning in in 1949 when he was hired by Arthur Godfrey after telling r / c star he is able to apply certain better writing (the encounter happened inside an elevator), and ending in October of the season, when he introduced that his 1,067th "an hourInch essay might be his last.More than thirty years, "A few momemts With Andy Rooney" broadcast just like a regular feature in the award-winning CBS newsmagazine. Rooney's curmudgeonly and sometimes humorous have a look at life's minor irritations acquired him three Emmy Honours additionally to some devoted fanbase. He gained his last regular broadcast on March. 2."Underneath that gruff exterior will be a prickly interior," mentioned longtime friend Morley Safer, "and far much deeper lower will be a sweet and gentle guy, a patriot getting an appreciation of other dietary meals American, like good bourbon, together with a tasty hate for prejudice and hypocrisy." Safer will lead a tribute to Rooney on Sunday, November. 6 on "an hour or so.InchAddressing subjects different from paper clips and umbrellas to presidential politics and racism, Rooney established television essays just like a viable commercial form. Time magazine once known to him as "most likely probably the most felicitous nonfiction author in television." Indeed, Rooney won the Authors Guild Award for script of year six occasions, formerly greater than almost every other author inside the good status for television. Rooney was produced in Albany, N.Y. in 1919. He graduated from Albany High Schoo, attended Colgate College (he written for schools' newspapers) and was drafted to the U.S. Military in 1941 throughout his junior year. He offered inside an Artillery unit in England and will be a correspondent for your Stars and Stripes for three years. He received the Bronze Star for verifying under fire within the fight of St. Lo.February 1943, Rooney was among only eight correspondents who travelled with the Eighth Air Pressure round the first American bombing raid in Germany. The crowd of journos, named "the Writing 69th," incorporated United states . Press scribe Walter Cronkite, who'd become Rooney's longtime friend and friend at CBS News.At the beginning of Rooney's career, Godfrey's show, "Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scounts," increased to become high-ten hit by 1952 Rooney also written for "Arthur Godfrey and also the Pals" along with many other radio shows, including "The Morning News with Will Rogers, Junior.," where he met Harry Reasoner.With the mid-1960's, Rooney was an institution within the Eye's news divsision combined with begun developing essays for television broadcast, they produced and reasoner read. The Reasoner-Rooney collaboration brought to special deals for instance "An Essay on Bridges" (1965), "An Essay on Women" (1967) and "An Essay on Chairs" (1968). More youthful crowd spent the sixties creating documentaries for CBS, including "Frank Sinatra: Dealing with the Legend" read by Cronkite, and "Black History: Lost, Stolen or Strayed," which acquired him his first Emmy in 1968.Rooney and Reasoner left CBS for just about any short tenure at ABC News, from whence they returned in 1973. He nabbed a Peabody award for "Mr. Rooney Visits Washington" and came out on "an hourInch several occasions just before being designated to switch the program's "Point/Counterpoint" seg for your summer season of 1978. With the next season, the best short while in the popular broadcast was Rooney's alone.His sour humor immediately hit a chord with audiences who appreciated his wry and honest have a look at each-day existence. Rooney rarely strayed within the format that made him famous, but he gained the very best in May 1996 when he did a long feature on assisted-suicide advocate Dr. Jack Kevorkian, who made the decision to exhibit on "an hourInch only if Rooney asked him. Rooney also written an ordinary column for Tribune Media Services, which distributed it to hundreds of newspapers country wide. More youthful crowd brought articles to Esquire, Existence, Look, Reader's Digest, Harper's, Playboy and Saturday Review, among other guides.The prolific author also written numerous books, including "The Fortunes of War," "A few momemts With Andy Rooney," "Items of My Ideas,Inch "Sentence after sentence,Inch "Much Less You Asked for," and "Sweet and Sour."Debate adopted Rooney throughout his career, and not always permanently reason. In 2005, Rooney felt the need to refute a racist essay written anonymously in the poor imitation of his style and disseminated online with Rooney's title attached.But sometimes the controversy was of Rooney's own making. Rooney's remarks about gay and black people - the first sort made round the air, the 2nd to have an interviewer he mentioned had misquoted him -acquired him monthly-extended suspension without pay in 1990.Cronkite defended Rooney against charges of racism, but Rooney ongoing to stir the pot in the last handful of decades of his career. In the 1992 essay about Native American complaints of insensitivity (there is a deal to change the title in the Atlanta Braves), he mentioned "We are feeling guilty and we'll do that which you can on their own account within reason, nonetheless they can't obtain country back. Next question." In 2002, he mentioned that girls had "no enterpriseInch working at football games as sideline reporters in 2007, he written a newspaper column proclaiming that all current day baseball stars are "males named Rodriguez in my opinion.InchRooney was open to critique. Carrying out a 1994 segment round the dying of Kurt Cobain that came significant viewer ire, he devoted the following week's seg to have an apology also to on-air reading through through of negative feedback from people who authored him to challenge his perspective.Indeed, self-interest was demonstrably not a part of Rooney's curmudgeonly perspective - in 1990, he blamed CBS's difficulties with the WGA on chairman Laurence Tisch and dared Tisch to fire place him. Most likely probably the most complaints CBS ever received of a Rooney broadcast showed up 2004, when he referred to as Mel Gibson and Pat Robertson "wackos" round the air. To hear Rooney tell it, he only decided to be verifying the particulars. "'Andrew,' God mentioned in my opinion - he always calls me Andrew I really like that - 'Andrew, there is a eyes and ears of numerous people,Inch Rooney mentioned on "an hour or so.In . "If perhaps you'd tell your audiences that both Pat Robertson and Mel Gibson strike Me as wackos. For me that's your present words.""In my opinion its' fair to convey he was the most used person ever to appear on '60 Minutes,'" mentioned fellow CBS Newsie Steve Kroft, "and i'm sure Andy would believe that assessment. His wife of 62 years, Marguerite, predeceased him in 2004. He's managed to get by four children: Ellen, an electronic digital photographer John, an ABC News correspondent Emily, the host of PBS's Boston public matters show "Greater Boston and Martha Fishel, who works well with the U.S. National Library of medication along with five grandchildren and a pair of great-grandchildren.Funeral services will probably be private. A memorial will probably be introduced afterwards.Rooney were living in Manhattan. Contact Mike Thielman at mike.thielman@variety.com

Lionsgate Shopping Animated Version of Harold & Kumar

John Cho and Kal Penn Harold & Kumar go to White Castle TV? Lionsgate is shopping around an animated version of the Harold & Kumar franchise for the small screen, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Check out the rest of today's news Original film writers Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg are attached to write the script, with film stars John Cho and Kal Penn set to voice the leading characters. The third film in the franchise, A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, was released Friday.