When Do You Write Broadway Stories About Big Stars ... And When Do You Stay On The Sidelines?

OK – so if Scarlett Johansson and Chris Pine were to land roles in, say, a David Fincher movie…than everyone would knock themselves out confirming, rewriting, posting, etc. No thought about it. Big stars in a big movie = story. But the New York Times reports today that she's a definite yes -- and that he's close -- for “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” on Broadway. So what happens?

  

Alan Horn Running Disney Studios: Kim Masters Wins

She had her exclusive tip up at 12:13 p.m. and that's really all that mattered here. In it, she also told us that an announcement would be forthcoming...which indeed was correct. She updated the item once the release came through. Frustratingly, while THR's alert was sent at 12:16, I received it at 12:19 -- ya gotta see wazzup with that lapse. But still -- weighing everything, she had it first. Deadline posted the full press release at 12:17 and its alert came to me at 12:18. Variety posted a two-line story at 12:16, and I received its alert at 12:19. The Wrap had a smallish story up at 12:20, but I got the alert at 1:01.

What Makes A Winner -- The Posting Timestamp Or The Alert Timestamp?

That’s the fun little question. This morning showcased the perfect example after news broke that the Emmys are combining the lead and supporting actor/actress awards in the miniseries and movie category. Variety posted at 9:08, while Deadline followed with a 9:16 post. But the alerts tell a different story. I got my Deadline one first, at 9:19…while Variety’s came at 9:20. So sure, it could be all about “servers” (a familiar excuse I hear…yawn)…and people can obviously create the shell of a story as early as they want and then fill things in, making it look like they posted earlier. I have no idea if any of that happened here. All I know is that alert times will now factor into my analysis, barring anything that shows obvious exclusivity. For what it’s worth, THR posted at 9:32 and the alert came at 9:35. The Wrap's posting timestamp says 9:30, but the alert came to me at ... 10:56?

Stories You Should Have Had: The 'Battleship' Free Pass

I’m not saying you didn’t slam it. I’m saying nobody wrote a story like this that said it feels like it’s getting much more of a free pass than “John Carter.” I’ve been thinking about it in my own head ever since it came out: So many people were mauled, destroyed and ruined -- for weeks -- over Disney’s movie…while the Peter Berg film seems to represent just another costly misfire. Its failure is really just relegated to normal box office stories everywhere (except for this), while “John Carter” had volumes and volumes and volumes written about it. So good on Patrick Goldstein for saying something. 

'G.I. Joe' Shows Readers That Every Second Counts

I've been sorting through the interesting story that broke yesterday about the decision to delay its release. Nikki got there first by posting this terrific behind-the-scenes item at 9:32 p.m. She certainly was, um, prescient, because she knew exactly when to scoop Kim Masters’ story, which hit the street in print today (and posted online last night at 9:37, after Nikki broke it open). If the THR editors were holding this story in order to time it to the print item, then boy, therein lies the danger, no? For whatever best laid plans one constructs, it’s simply risky to wait.

REVIEWING THE REVIEWS: 'Prometheus'

Overnight you received the “Prometheus” review alerts from THR and Variety. I can’t really tell if Justin Chang likes it, but he thinks it’s "chatty" and that it will be a major box office player (if he’s wrong, I’ll be back). Todd McCarthy doesn’t say anything about its turnstile prospects, but he does say it won’t hit “classic’ status because it doesn’t take enough chances. Me? I think it looks like that awful Barry Levinson movie, "Sphere"...but I'm sure it's much better. I’ll say this about the review presentations: THR knows how to take care of previous stories -- it calls attention to four other "Prometheus"-related items. Variety still just cuts and pastes the review. Nothing on any other stories at all.

Kevin Costner Means Record Ratings: Who Had It First?

The dreamboat is back, baby. History Channel’s “Hatfields & McCoys” scored record numbers, making it the top non-sports telecast in ad supported cable history (I sound smart, but that’s actually verbiage the network spewed to the reporters, who in turn are all spewing it to us). Forget the lingo…the real question is, who had it first?

Why Are Deep Dives So Few And Far Between?

Over the weekend, I read this sharp and extensive New York Magazine piece about the New York Times and Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. It’s a keen and well-researched look at internal strife, nasty politics and personal relationships ... and I couldn’t help ask myself why the trades don’t do much of this. Daniel Miller and Matt Belloni’s recent Kim Dotcom piece was excellent, and it shows that the potential is there for "long" journalism. But it’s still too seldom that we get this kind of laser beam-like, purposeful and investigative reportage.

My Unsolicited, Unscientific But Educated And Reasonable Look At The Hollywood Reporter's Blogs

My attention has always been drawn to the blog strategy of the old-school trades. Variety and THR were so reluctant to move in an opinion-centric direction, so when the web-olution hit, they listened to the bosses and stuck mainly to their news strategies. That decision didn't serve them well in terms of traffic or mojo.

But THR's blogs show that they have done a very good job at evolving: They look good, are easy to read, and some of them are niche enough to really differentiate the site and therefore the writers. As a general suggestion, I would raise their profile -- although some of them show up on the top left rail and the top nav bar (very nondescript), the shout-out badges, which I really like, live more than half-way down on the homepage. And as you'll see, I have a lot of problem with many of the blogs' names..and names are everything. But making the good ones more prominent "above the fold" should be a no brainer both editorially and aesthetically. And let's see what the good ones are.