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In the news
Compiled from Times wires Academy comes out ahead in Emmy dealThe networks and television academy each gave financial ground to reach a deal to keep the Emmy Awards on broadcast TV. Staving off a fat HBO offer, ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC agreed to pay the TV academy $52-million over eight years to prevent the event from slipping away to the cable channel. The board of governors of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences approved the deal late Wednesday. If the board had accepted HBO's five-year, $50-million proposal, the Emmys would have moved from broadcast to cable for the first time. In a statement Thursday, HBO chairman Chris Albrecht took the opportunity to tweak the four networks that had shared the awards on a rotating basis for the past eight years. "While I am certainly disappointed that we didn't get the Emmys, I am glad the academy finally got some respect from the big wheels in the big wheel," Albrecht said. "This is a huge victory for the academy." More reality TV tryoutsIf you couldn't make the Nashville Star auditions Thursday, and The Bachelor tryouts Saturday aren't quite your speed, here's another opportunity for fame: WTOG-Ch. 44 is holding an open casting call to find contestants for Search for a Supermodel, tonight from 10 p.m. to midnight at the Amphitheater in Ybor City. Go to www.upn.com to download a registration form, and bring it to the casting call along with at least three photos including two head shots and a swimsuit pose. Applicants of all shapes and sizes are welcome, as long as they are ages 18-27 and have not modeled in a national campaign within the last five years. Complete rules are available at the Web site. Rippingtons show postponedThe Rippingtons show originally scheduled for Saturday at the Mahaffey Theater has been postponed. Ticket refunds can be obtained at the point of purchase. New 'Harry Potter' already being pirated on InternetIllegal copies of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets have started appearing on the Internet, even before the film opened in theaters today. Warner Bros., the studio that produced and distributes the movie, confirmed Wednesday that pirated copies have popped up on Internet sites that regularly offer illegal copies of first-run films. Pirated copies of films -- often grainy, jumpy versions taped using a handheld camera at a screening -- regularly show up on the Internet before a movie opens. "As long as they are showing premieres and as long as post-production (houses) have access to the film, it's very hard to prevent this from happening," said Andrew Frank, vice president for media and entertainment at Divine Inc., an Internet software and services firm. 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' renewed for another seasonHBO has given two enthusiastic thumbs up to Curb Your Enthusiasm, picking up Larry David's offbeat comedy for a fourth season. No decision has been made yet on Curb companion The Mind of the Married Man.
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From the wire |
