Tammy Filler Moves From E! News to NBCU Ad Deals

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Someone has to handle the truth. In the 1992 legal drama, “A Few Good Men,” a senior military commander played by Jack Nicholson is asked over and over if he ordered a “code red,” or an off-the-books dictate that sent underlings scurrying to do something they probably should not have done. Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch and many of the top executives and anchors at Fox News Channel may feel like they are stuck in a reboot of that film. In a remarkable series of depositions that have been made available from much-scrutinized litigation between voting-technology company Dominion Voting Systems and Fox Corporation, top officers at Fox and its most lucrative subsidiary, Fox News Media, are grilled over whether they have direct responsibility for stories, talent and reporting that airs on Fox News Channel or Fox Business Network. In many instances, the executives say they do not.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Dick’s Sporting Goods is getting ready to play a new game with the NCAA. The Pittsburgh company has been named the college-sports league’s official sporting-goods retailer, a new partnership that will become quickly visible during the NCAA’s “March Madness” basketball tournament and is part of a multi-million dollar deal that will give Dick’s on-court signage and exclusive access to select fan events. Commercials purchased in game inventory from CBS Sports and Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, which televise the March Madness games, are a strong element of the deal. Dick’s also plans to have a presence at NCAA women’s Final Four Open Practices, which has not had an active on-site sponsor in the past. Dick’s plans to invest in media around the women’s basketball tournament on Disney’s ESPN.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Max Meyers has at least one firm rule about his new CNBC program, and it might surprise some of the business-news outlet’s die-hards. “I told everyone, ‘No earnings,’” says Meyers, a veteran producer at the NBCUniversal-backed cable network. “I don’t want to hear that.” No net income on CNBC? Such a dictate would be anathema on “Squawk Box,” the morning-news program that Meyers previously ran, but it might just stick on “Last Call,” a new 7 p.m. effort from CNBC executives that aims to keep business-news aficionados hanging out with the network until later in the evening. Over the past week, anchor Brian Sullivan, who is moving from a 5 a.m. roost on “Worldwide Exchange” to anchor the new evening show, has held forth on everything from Tesla to Salesforce during rehearsals, ready to give late-breaking news to CNBC’s market faithful.

Killers Of The Flower Moon, Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny, and Asteroid City are among the high-profile movies in contention for a Cannes splash this year.

Her one and only! 1000-Lb. Sisters star Tammy Slaton found love with husband Caleb Willingham after meeting him at a rehab facility in Ohio.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor David Westin, the Bloomberg TV anchor, will focus more intently on duties tied to “Wall Street Week” as the network focuses more intently on breaking-news coverage throughout the market day. Westin will host the weekly show, which has ties to the PBS original hosted by Louis Rukeyser, while anchoring daily “Wall Street Week” segments tied to the program. The daily segments will feature a rotating panel of influential voices and thought leaders. He will leave his duties on “Balance of Power,” which will shift to 5 p.m. weekdays rather than noon, and move to Washington, D.C. from New York. “Balance” will be co-anchored by Annemarie Hordern and Joe Mathieu. Executives expect the retooled show to include more original reporting and roundtable discussions.

A mysterious sea creature which looked like the Loch Ness Monster has been spotted off the Somerset coast - almost 600 miles from her 'home' in the Highlands. Visitors in Clevedon rushed to take photographs of the ‘creature’ that was spotted bobbing in the water right next to the town’s Victoria Pier.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor FX chief John Landgraf and ABC programming head Simran Sethi will expand their duties under an executive shuffle at Disney’s TV operations, one of the first big moves under Dana Walden, who was assigned responsibility for the company’s TV networks after Bob Iger returned as Disney’s CEO. Landgraf will take oversight of National Geographic as well as Onyx Collective, the production unit devoted to projects from communities of color and underrepresented groups. Sethi, meanwhile, will oversee programming and development for both ABC and Freeform. She will continue to report to Craig Erwich, president, Disney Television Group. The moves comes as Tara Duncan, who had been supervising programming for both Onyx Collective and Freeform, will devote her attention solely to Onyx, freeing up the programming duties for Sethi, who had a previous tenure at the cable network.

K.J. Yossman “Cunk on Earth” star Diane Morgan and “Intelligence” creator Nick Mohammed have each inked independent deals with BBC Studios. Both comedians, who act and write, have signed deals for development, co-production and distribution of new scripted material, which BBC Studios will rep and distribute internationally. Mohammed is a double Emmy nominee who created and co-starred in “Intelligence” alongside “Friends” star David Schwimmer. He is perhaps best known for his role as Nate in “Ted Lasso” and will be seen in the upcoming feature “Maggie Moore(s)” opposite Jon Hamm and Tina Fey. Mohammed is also an associate of the Inner Magic Circle. Morgan recently had a hit with “Cunk on Earth” in which she starred as professional dim-wit Philomena Cunk. She is also known for comedy show “Mandy,” which she created, wrote and directed, and has starred in shows including “After Life” and “Motherland.”

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor CNN hopes it’s finally hit upon a way to solve a long-vexing puzzle: What should it be airing at 9 p.m.? The solution requires the network to fit together many pieces. Starting this week, the Warner Bros. Discovery-backed news outlet will fill the hour with a range of different special reports, all under the rubric of “CNN Primetime.” Future 9 p.m. hours could include one-on-one interviews with newsmakers; town halls that put government officials in direct contact with the people affected by policy decisions; and other programs that feature surprising “gets” and scoops. The programming gambit backs away from the tried-and-true practice of relying on a single anchor or opinion host in the time slot, home to Sean Hannity, Alex Wagner and Rachel Maddow, and banks instead on creative ways of analyzing the news cycle.

Nick Carter's ongoing legal battle rages on as Shannon Ruth — one of the women who accused the singer of sexual battery — is now filing to dismiss a countersuit Carter filed against her earlier this month.In December, Ruth sued Carter for sexual battery over an alleged February 2001 incident she claims happened when she was 17. In response, Carter filed a counterclaim earlier this month against Ruth — as well as two other accusers — for $2.3 million, claiming these individuals have been trying to extort money from him for years.On Wednesday, Ruth filed an Anti-SLAPP motion with the court in Clark County, Nevada, seeking to have Carter's countersuit dismissed.«Carter’s Counterclaim is clearly intended for no other purpose than to harass, intimate, and potentially silence [Ruth],» the motion, obtained by ET on Thursday, claims.

Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is eyeing a world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, potentially giving the annual celebration of cinema one of the glitziest red carpet bows of its eight-decade history. The Apple movie, which was pursued by both Venice and Cannes toppers, may ultimately be unveiled in the South of France. Of course, there could still be a last minute change of plans by the time the lineup is unveiled in April, but it’s looking promising enough that Scorsese is even rumored to have reserved a suite at one of the posh hotels along the Croisette. Thierry Fremaux, Cannes’ director, is preparing a massive 2023 edition and traveled to L.A. earlier this month to screen Scorsese’s movie and discuss other potential Hollywood titles. Alberto Barbera, Venice’s artistic director, was in town at the same time taking meetings with studio bosses, which led to an awkward situation even though they didn’t bump into each other, according to an industry insider.

European Film Market which at one and the same time has underscored the challenges still facing the international independent film business.  Following by way of an industry wrap, a dozen takeaways on the 2023 Berlin market, including its Berlinale Series Market, an ever more building proposition at the Festival.  The Verdict If the European Film Market is anything to go by, broadly, the international movie market is in some ways making a international comeback, despite still vastly challenging circumstances. On Thursday, the EFM reported “record results” of a total of over 11,500 market participants from 132 countries. “It was a rather busy market, with no single must-have, but much mid-sized product,” recognizesConstantin’s Martin Moszkowicz of this year’s Berlin European Film Market, noting that Constantin received about 90 project submissions prior to market, “which is a lot.” “There’s been more deals happening at the EFM than at Sundance and we sense a new vibrancy in the international markets,” says Nick Shumaker, at Anonymous Content’s AC Independent.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Norah O”Donnell is taking the venerable “CBS Evening News” out of its usual dock in Washington, D.C. and steering it into more challenging waters. O’Donnell will anchor both the Thursday and Friday broadcast’s of the venerable evening-news program live from the U.S.S Nimitz, a U.S. aircraft carrier which has been operating in the South China Sea. She will report on China’s close relationship with Russia, and the growing tensions between the U.S. and China over Ukraine, Taiwan, and the Chinese spy balloon — all as part of offering perspective and an examination of national-security developments woven around the first anniversary of Russia’s incursion against Ukraine.  A team of CBS News correspondents will also offer context and reporting around the war.

A Los Angeles judge on Wednesday sentenced the man convicted of gunning down Nipsey Hussle to 60 years to life in prison after hearing testaments to the immense cost of the killing of the hip-hop star and neighbourhood leader, and of the lifetime of mental illness, abuse and struggle of the man who shot him.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor CNN’s morning show isn’t peeling away from Don Lemon. The anchor will return to “CNN This Morning” on Wednesday, despite delivering a set of controversial remarks last week, the latest maneuver in what has become a more difficult than expected effort by the Warner Bros Discovery-backed outlet to shake up its programming. “I sat down with Don and had a frank and meaningful conversation. He has agreed to participate in formal training, as well as continuing to listen and learn. We take this situation very seriously,” CNN CEO Chris Licht said in a memo Monday night. “It is important to me that CNN balances accountability with fostering a culture in which people can own, learn and grow from their mistakes. To that end, Don will return to CNN This Morning on Wednesday.”

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Don Lemon will be absent from “CNN This Morning” for a second consecutive broadcast as CNN continues to grapple with backlash to comments he made last week about the abilities of women over 40 — a crucial demographic for any morning-news program. Three people familiar with the Warner Bros. Discovery-backed network say CNN staffers got word around 3 p.m. on Sunday that Lemon, who had been expected to return to his morning duties after taking a previously-scheduled day off on Friday, would not be on air Monday. Sara Sidner, an anchor who has been getting more screen time over the past year, is expected to fill in for him, sitting alongside co-anchor Poppy Harlow while the third member of CNN’s morning show team, Kaitlan Collins, will report from Poland. Some CNN staffers have begun to wonder, according to these people, whether the network may be considering a shake-up of the “CNN This Morning” team.

Nick Frost, Alicia Silverstone & Kevin Connolly To Star In Dark Comedy ‘Krazy House’Nick Frost, Alicia Silverstone, and Kevin Connolly have signed on to star in the dark comedy Krazy House from writer-directors Steffen Haars and Flip van der Kuil. Production on the pic has just been completed in Amsterdam. The cast is rounded out by Gaite Jansen, Walt Klink, Jan Bijvoet, Chris Peters, and Matti Stooker. Maarten Swart will produce the film for Kaap Holland Film, in a co-production with Haars and van der Kuil. Kaap Holland Film’s Jorn Baars and XYZ’s Todd Brown are executive producers. Splendid Films is handling distribution in the Benelux. XYZ has North American sales rights.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor CNN typically devotes its daily morning editorial call to hashing out the news cycle, lining up “rundowns” for its various programs; and internal housekeeping. On Friday’s call, according to two people familiar with the matter, anchor Don Lemon took time out for something different — an apology. Lemon sought to tamp down internal and external backlash to polarizing comments he made on Thursday’s “CNN This Morning” about when women are in their prime, though it remains unclear whether all staffers will let the matter drop. Speaking for a few minutes, one of these people said, Lemon said he regretted saying that women who are past their 40s are no longer in their prime, a comment that appeared to be off the cuff and inspired by coverage of Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor who recently declared her candidacy for the 2024 U.S. presidential race. “Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime, sorry. A woman is considered to be in their prime in 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.” Lemon said on Thursday’s broadcast, later adding: “If you Google ‘when is a woman in her prime,’ it’ll say 20s, 30s and 40s.” The comments appeared to rankle co-anchor Poppy Harlow, who tried to get Lemon to walk them back.

NBCUniversal has promoted Tammy Filler and Jamie Cutburth to the position of EVP in the advertising and partnership group and upped Jenny Depper to SVP of E! News Digital.