Suspension Coming for Keith Olbermann?

Howard Wolfson, communications director for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, called it “disgusting” and “beneath contempt.”

He characterized it as something that “should never be said on a national news network.”

He also brought up the Chris Matthews apology, the one in which the “Hardball” host said he was sorry for suggesting that Hillary’s political success was due to her spouse having had an affair with an intern.

“At some point,” Wolfson said, “you have to question whether there is a pattern at this particular network.”

What’s the “it” that has Wolfson so exercised?

Well, Wolfson’s remarks were about David Shuster and the comments the fill-in host made about Chelsea Clinton’s campaign role. Shuster used the words “pimped out” in reference to the campaign’s use of Chelsea to recruit Democratic Party super delegates in support of her mother.

Most would agree that the remarks were regrettable, but what about the “pattern” to which Wolfson referred?

The subject network here is none other than MSNBC. But the unnamed perpetrator of the “pattern” is one of its most outspoken and opinionated hosts, Keith Olbermann.

Olbermann is billed on NBC and MSNBC as a journalist. He has called one of his favorite targets, Fox News’ “Factor” host Bill O’Reilly, a “passive-aggressive racist.”

This is the same Olbermann who in narrating an NFL play described a punt return by Roscoe Parrish, a wide receiver who happens to be African-American, as “Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles at its finest.”

Olbermann also described a supposed conversation between Bill Clinton and Bill Richardson, the New Mexico governor of Hispanic descent, in which Clinton was “asking Richardson for an endorsement and then, ‘would you please pass the guacamole?’”

The “Countdown” host also said that the Bush administration was an example of facism, claiming that it was similar to The Third Reich, and compared Fox News to the Nazis as well.

Meanwhile Shuster profusely apologized to the Clintons and in return was given a suspension.

The suspension was apparently not enough for Hillary. The senator and presidential candidate wrote a letter to president of NBC Steve Capus, which stated that “no temporary suspension or half-hearted apology is sufficient” for the language that Shuster used.

Hillary also asked Capus to “look at the pattern of behavior on your network that seems to repeatedly lead to this sort of degrading language.”

As long as Capus is looking, maybe he ought to take a glance in Olbermann’s direction.

James Hirsen is a media analyst, Trinity Law School professor and teacher of mass media law at Biola University.

Jessica Simpson and Celebrity Superstition

Jessica Simpson is not happy about a recent article in OK! magazine.

The singer-actress has directed her attorney to dispatch a retraction demand to OK! over a piece that claimed Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo called it quits in his relationship with Simpson because his team lost in the playoffs, which put the kibosh on the Cowboy’s bid to play in the Super Bowl.

In the letter, Simpson’s lawyer, John Rosenberg, characterized the OK! article as a “personal attack masquerading as journalism.”

Simpson’s spokesperson, Cindi Berger, let the press know that, according to her, the story was “fabricated,” and “made up.”

The OK! article implied that Simpson is bad luck, a charge that could have real life ramifications.

One thing that looms large in sports locker rooms as well as in Hollywood dressing rooms is superstition.

Holy habits, favorable foods and even charmed undergarments have been known to play a part in the rituals surrounding both stadium and studio activity.

Here’s a sampling of star-sized superstition and bad luck deflection from the sports and entertainment worlds:

-When Michael Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships, he wore his lucky college gym shorts underneath his Bulls uniform.

- Tiger Woods believes there’s a lucky charm in the color red. When in 1997 the golf sensation won his first Masters tournament, guess what color he was wearing?

-Wade Boggs was known as the “Chicken Man” because he would eat poultry before every game. The baseball great also took exactly 150 ground balls during practice, entered the batting cage at exactly 5:17 p.m. and began sprinting at precisely 7:17 p.m.

-Pitcher Turk Wendell would brush his teeth between every inning.

-Hockey goalie Pelle Lindbergh would wear an old Swedish-made orange T-shirt under his equipment. Each time the shirt started to fall apart he would have someone mend it. Between periods he would only drink a Swedish beverage called Pripps that was delivered by a special team trainer.

-Hockey player Patrick Roy routinely talked to the goalposts during the game.

-Tennis player Goran Ivanisevic would always attempt to be the second person to get up from his chair on the change-over and would avoid stepping on any of the lines. When he won, he would repeat all the events of the day, going to the same restaurant, ordering the same food and talking to the same people.

-Jason Isaacs, who played Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, refused to attend the premiere of the fifth film, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.” Since he was unable to make previous premieres due to scheduling conflicts, the actor skipped “Phoenix” to avoiding jinxing the box-office.

-Cameron Diaz has some treasured lucky charms and methodically knocks on wood.

-Geoffrey Rush brings a plastic Daffy Duck figure to awards shows. In 1997 the actor was nominated for his role in “Shine.” He brought Daffy to the Oscars and picked up a gold statue.

-Cate Blanchett keeps her “Lord of the Rings” elf ears on her mantle for luck.

-True TV host Star Jones never puts her purse on the floor.

-Legend Eartha Kitt won’t stay in a hotel room above the 8th floor.

-Robin Williams has a lucky carved ivory figurine that belonged to his father.

-Meat Loaf travels with two stuffed bears.

James Hirsen is a media analyst, Trinity Law School professor and teacher of mass media law at Biola University.

Disney Disses Striking Writers

Using a contract provision known as a “force majeure clause,” ABC Studios notified nearly two dozen writers and non-writing producers that it was terminating their overall deals as a result of the strike.

Force majeure is a common provision contained in entertainment contracts, which allows a party to terminate without liability due to the occurrence of an extraordinary event or, as even Hollywood contracts call it, an “act of God.”

The Disney/ABC Studios action is the biggest move yet by a studio to up the pressure on striking writers.

“The ongoing strike has had a significant detrimental impact on development and production so we are forced to make the difficult decision to release a number of talented, respected individuals from their development deals,” ABC Studios said in a statement.

Meanwhile a new Pew Poll claims television viewers don’t care about the strike.

According to the poll, 49% responded that the strike had not affected their shows at all while 35% said the shows they watched were now airing repeats because of the strike.

54% didn’t know whether the strike had affected the late night shows, and 70% of participants didn’t think they had been missing out on any campaign news.

In a non-scripted drama, Dr. Phil McGraw has responded to some of his critics.

Lately Dr. Phil has been catching a lot of flack on the Britney Spears matter.

He’s been criticized for making public statements about his hospital visit to the troubled Britney.

After the Spears session, McGraw announced that a special episode of his TV show would focus on how to deal with the pop star’s problems. The episode has since been cancelled.

Britney’s parents have let it be known that they are not happy with Dr. Phil. They accused the famed psychologist of violating their trust.

Lou Taylor, a Spears family spokesperson, told NBC’s “Today” show that “the family basically extended an invitation of trust for him [Dr. Phil] to come in as a resource to support them, not to go out and make public statements.”

In a battle of the TV docs, Dr. Drew Pinsky, host of the reality show “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew,” also took a swipe at McGraw through use of a question and did so on an entertainment news show, incidentally.

“My concern was, I don’t know that Dr. Phil has a license in California,” Pinsky told “Access Hollywood.” “He’s not on staff at Cedars. Is he interfering with the care of another doctor’s patient? I don’t know.”

McGraw responded to critics on a competing entertainment news program. He told “Entertainment Tonight,” “There’s been no betrayal of Britney; I have all the respect in the world for her.”

“I may be the one person in the media that’s never said a negative word about that girl, or her family for that matter. My visit to her was private. It was intended to be private from the beginning,” McGraw said.

He added, “There’s some spokesperson that’s been out there talking to the contrary, and I’m just sitting here saying I know the truth and so does everybody in the Spears camp. Right now people need to be focusing on Britney, not on me.”

Tom Cruise Makes His Own Pact with Writers

Studio heads are fuming.

Executives who run the movie biz are members of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), a group that represents hundreds of movie studios and production companies, and negotiates with entertainment industry trade unions like the Writers Guild of America (WGA).

Interestingly, the WGA has made a deal with Tom Cruise and UA that is similar to the agreement that the union cut with David Letterman’s production company, Worldwide Pants.

By making the first interim deal with the WGA, UA now has a competitive edge over the rest of the Hollywood studios. But this has also created a situation that has weakened the position of the AMPTP and created pressure for other companies to make side deals with the writers’ union, which plays right into the hands of the striking writers.

To that end, the WGA is pursuing similar side deals with the Weinstein Co. (owned by former Miramax Films founders Bob and Harvey Weinstein) and Lionsgate.

The UA deal helps its distributor and majority shareholder MGM because needed product will be supplied to the company.

Because MGM is a member of the AMPTP, in a desire not to break ranks with the group, MGM CEO Harry Sloan had been pleading with Cruise and his sidekick Paula Wagner not to make their own deal with the WGA.

Could it be that there are some second thoughts about making Tom Cruise the head of United Artists film studio?

Meanwhile the awards shows are also feeling weakened and pressured as a result of the writers’ strike.

“What would the N.F.L. be without the Super Bowl?” one movie exec told the New York Times. “They will find a way to make it [the Oscars] happen.”

Maybe. Maybe not.

The Oscar folks started getting nervous when the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) announced that the actors who were nominated for Golden Globes, in a show of support for striking writers, would not be attending the ceremony.

It could be that the only one walking the red carpet will be Al Gore.

Let’s face it. Awards shows aren’t really about honoring peers. They’re about the public’s insatiable desire to have another opportunity to star gaze. That’s the draw, and that’s what brings in the big bucks.

For the Academy, it translates into around $50 million in Oscar-related revenue. ABC TV brings in scores of millions in ad money each time the golden boy mugs for the camera.

Winning an Oscar can also give a boost to a film, in box-office terms, of 5 to 10 percent.

All of the dough means that keeping actors (who also happen to be SAG union members) away from the awards shows is the Writers Guild of America’s (WGA) ace in the hole in getting concessions from execs and ending the strike.

David Letterman Makes Deal to Cross Picket Lines

David Letterman is one happy guy.

“I am grateful to the WGA for granting us this agreement,” Letterman said in a recent statement to the press.

A few weeks back Letterman’s production company, Worldwide Pants, went public with its plan to seek a separate deal with the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA). The comedian got what he wanted.

As a result, the Letterman show and Craig Ferguson’s “Late Late Show,” also produced by Letterman’s company, get to go back on the air with help from their writers pumping out jokes.

Unlike their competitors who have no similar agreements, which includes Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien, Letterman and Ferguson are now going to be able to get the big-name celebs on their shows.

Two important facts explain Letterman’s huge score.

The first fact has to do with history. Back in 1988 when the writers last struck, the late-night shows affected were the “Tonight” show, then-hosted by Johnny Carson, and “Late Night” hosted by Letterman. Both shows were on NBC at the time.

Carson was able to cut a separate agreement with the Writer’s Guild while Letterman had no agreement and consequently had to host his show for weeks minus the writers. That kind of experience can leave an indelible mark in a late-night comic’s memory bank.

The second fact has to do with business. Sometimes it really does matter who owns the show.

Unlike his competitors, Letterman was able to negotiate directly with the union because his company owns his program as well as Ferguson’s.

With shows like NBC’s Leno and O’Brien, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel and Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert going back on the air without having made deals with the union, writers intend to exert heavy pressure.

In a joint letter to their members, the WGA East and WGA West said, “In the case of late-night shows, our strike pressure will be intense and essential in directing political and SAG-member guests to Letterman and Ferguson rather than to struck talk shows.”

Also included in the letter was the following: “At this time, picket lines at venues such as NBC (both Burbank and Rockefeller Center), The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and the Golden Globes are essential.”

What does it mean?

“Struck talk shows” is a reference to those of Leno, Conan, etc., who will obviously find it a lot more difficult to book guests. In addition, the shows will most likely serve as targets of intensified picket activity.

All of which means the funny business doesn’t seem so funny right now.

‘Charlie Wilson’s War’ Credits Dem with Cold War End

History indicates that a prominent conservative’s steadfast actions are what led to the Cold War end.

It was the late great Ronald Reagan who was the key player in the engineering of U.S. victory following the prolonged tension-ridden period during which we were at odds with the then-Soviet Union.

A current film once again illustrates that acknowledging Reagan’s triumphs doesn’t sit all that well with liberal Hollywood.

Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin of “West Wing” fame (who, incidentally, is up for a Golden Globe but is refusing to cross the writers’ strike picket line) and director Mike Nichols, who’s best known for “The Graduate,” found a book to adapt to the big-screen that credits a Dem with the Cold War win.

“Charlie Wilson’s War” is based on a non-fiction book by George Crile, which profiles a 1980s congressman named Charles Wilson, a.k.a. “the liberal from Lufkin.” Representative Wilson was a pro-abortion, Equal Rights Amendment-supporting Democrat.

Tom Hanks plays the Texas rep who was involved with covertly funding Afghanistan’s Mujahideen rebels in opposition to the Soviet Union. He was urged on by born-again socialite and mistress Joanne Herring, who is played by Julia Roberts.

Entertainment Weekly gave the quintessential Tinseltown take on the flick, praising it as “a journalistic satire of realpolitik in which our jerry-rigged alliances, which looked strategic at the time, end up biting the U.S. in unforeseen ways.”

But the publication did take a small swipe at the movie in the following way: “Charlie was right to fight his war…All of which sounds a little too close to recently made rationalizations for a certain other war.”

Not surprisingly, the critics are heaping praise on the film. It has been nominated for 5 Golden Globes and is also on most of the Academy prognosticators’ Oscar lists.

The Golden Globes may be a predictor of what happens at the Oscars in more ways than one.

Globe nominations were recently announced, but the six-week old writers’ strike may all but eliminate any reason for the public to watch the telecast.

Writers, presenters, nominees and, of course, red carpet walkers could be agonizingly absent.

Globe producers are trying to get a waiver from the Writers Guild of America to exempt the January 13 ceremony at the Beverly Hilton, promising to use the event to express solidarity with the picketers.

If the requested waiver is denied, many of the nominees who don’t want to be labeled Ellen DeGeneres-like strikebreakers have already declared that they won’t cross the picket line and will therefore boycott the Globes ceremony.

David Duchovny, of “X-files” fame who’s nominated for “Californication” told the Hollywood Reporter, “I would never cross picket lines. I would probably send a stunt double in.”

“Grey’s Anatomy” producer Shonda Rhimes, “Eastern Promises” director David Cronenberg and “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” writer Ronald Harwood have also said they will boycott the Globes if there is no waiver.

“Samantha Who?”’s Christina Applegate who’s nominated for the new comedy has decided to attend despite the picket lines. Applegate summed up her feelings about being nominated for a Globe while the writers are on strike.

The actress said, “It stinks.”

Hollywood Writers’ Strike Draws Politicians’ Attention

Maybe it’s because if Los Angeles were a state it would be the 4th largest economy in the nation.

Or maybe it’s because the entertainment business generates more than $30 billion annually.

Anyway here they come, politicians to the rescue of Hollywood’s writers’ strike.

Former movie star and current California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, former labor negotiator and current L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and former president and current Hillary stumper Bill Clinton have all offered their services as mediators. Even Jesse Jackson is here cheerleading the picketers and posing for the press.

The governor seems poised to jump in like an action hero, the mayor has already met with reps from both sides, rumors are rampant that Hillary would like Bill to take a trip to the Left Coast and Jesse has the pompoms at the ready.

The problem is that the writers don’t trust Arnold because he’s been chummy with studio execs, the execs don’t trust Villaraigosa because he used to work for unions, no one believes Clinton is going to leave the Hillary campaign when it’s in trouble and Jesse just continues to float from one activist photo-op to another.

One exec described the writers’ decision to strike as having “declared war.” The writers want a bigger share of DVDs and a piece of the Internet and cell phones. The studios say that the revenue from new technology is an unknown speculative projection, and therefore they can’t lock in on a percentage.

A simple solution would be to give the writers a share when the revenue reaches a specified level. If both sides could conceptually agree, it would be the start of talks that could lead to a resolution, and thankfully, more to watch than reruns and reality shows.

Come to think of it, Hollywood really needs someone to settle the strike who’s apolitical, able to communicate in monosyllables and is experienced in bringing emotionally charged sides together. Sounds like a job for Dr. Phil.

Torture Flick Sullies the Big Screen Again

Torture flick “Saw IV” was not screened for critics, probably because of its incredibly sick content.

The abhorrent movie from Lionsgate brought in $32.1 million last weekend, the second highest opening of the “Saw” films, which have been released every Halloween weekend since 2004.

Hollywood will no doubt continue to churn out more of the big-screen garbage. “Saw” (2004) opened with $18.2 million, “Saw II” (2005) $31.7 million and “Saw III” (2006) $33.6 million.

In stark contrast, “Bella,” a life affirming movie from Roadside Attractions, opened with the second highest per screen take, with more than $8,000 per theater.

“Bella” was only on 165 screens.

That number should swiftly expand if Hollywood execs are paying attention.

In torture of the terrorism related kind, the Fox hit “24” has alarmed critics on the Left with its counterterrorist characters and their willingness to use extreme measures when dealing with terrorists in trying to save countless lives.

The show appears to be taking its critics head-on.

In scenes from a trailer promoting the show’s seventh season, Kiefer Sutherland’s character, agent Jack Bauer, appears in front of a governmental panel that is investigating his past actions, including harsh treatment of terrorism suspects.

“Don’t expect me to regret the decisions that I have made, because sir, the truth is, I don’t,” Bauer says in the scene.

In another segment, Bauer is preparing to interrogate a suspect when a female official gives him free rein.

“Do whatever it takes. Torture him if you have to,” the woman says.

Jimmy Kimmel Gets the Rush Limbaugh Treatment

ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel was essentially fired from his position as comedic color commentator on ESPN’s Monday Night Football.

After two editions of the show, Kimmel was let go for a quip about former QB and announcer Joe Theismann, in which he said that Theismann, who was let go last season, was “watching from his living room with steam coming from his ears.”

The next day, Monday Night Football producer Jay Rothman characterized Kimmel’s joke as “classless and disappointing,” adding that “it was cheap.”

Rothman confirmed Kimmel won’t be back.

This is reminiscent of 2003, when ESPN bowed to pressure and accepted Rush Limbaugh’s resignation after the talk show host directed commentary at the media about quarterback Donovan McNabb’s overly favorable press coverage.

Sports talk used to be the last bastion of freeform ranting.

Looks like PC-itis has really infected the announcing booth when a commentator gets let go for expressing an opinion and a comedian gets fired for telling a joke.

On another ambiguously funny note, Stephen Colbert was teasing as usual when he announced that he’s a candidate for the U.S. presidency.

But the law could create some serious trouble for the satirical talk show host.

Congress has created a load of complex election laws that Colbert may have already triggered with his latest politically charged prank.

The Comedy Central notable executed the necessary documents to have his name added to both the Democratic and Republican primary ballots in South Carolina. In addition, he set up a Web site for his budding campaign while at the same time declaring that he was crossing out the part of an oath stating that he would not “knowingly violate any election law.”

Colbert appears to be mildly serious. He indicated that he has sought the advice of an election law firm, Wiley Rein. The caricaturist switched to his campaign site a petition seeking signatures from the show’s Web site, based on his lawyers’ recommendations.

If Colbert actually follows through as he has promised and pays the fees ($2,500) and collects enough signatures (3000), campaign finance laws will expose his show and network to violations that could even involve criminal penalties.

To the extent that Colbert’s cable show promotes his candidacy, it could arguably be viewed as an illegal “in-kind” contribution from Comedy Central.

The whole problem might be mitigated if Colbert would do something he almost never does—admit it was just a joke.

Nicole Kidman’s Faith Shifts ‘Golden Compass’’s Needle

“The Golden Compass,” a film adaptation of the first book in a trilogy by author Phillip Pullman, is stirring unrest in some Christian souls.

Pullman is a militant atheist, and he’s made it known that he detests religion.

Just as J.K. Rowlings’ “Harry Potter” series grew progressively darker as she churned the books out, Pullman has things in his trilogy growing progressively more anti-religious.

The heroes of the story are engaged in a rebellion to kill God. In the third and final book, they succeed in their efforts.

Nicole Kidman, who stars in “The Golden Compass,” spoke with Entertainment Weekly about the film. She told the magazine that she was raised Catholic and that the Catholic Church is part of her “essence.” She added that she wouldn’t be able to do the film if she “thought it were at all anti-Catholic.”

The sweet result is that the religious message put forth in the film version of the book “has been watered down a little,” according to Kidman.

Based on the footage that I have seen, Christians are not likely to be offended by the movie. Still, the Catholic League intends to conduct a nationwide two-month protest of the film.

Christian groups are right to be concerned. The movie could lead children to read the books, which contain potentially faith-damaging material. Additionally, Pullman is an excellent writer and uses cliffhangers to induce readers to continue on to subsequent books in the trilogy.

But, in my assessment, a boycott is an ill-advised approach in this instance. Controversy has been a key element in film promotion over the past few years, with PR firms seeking to generate loads of it in the hopes of boosting ticket sales.

“Compass” is not as well known as “Potter,” but controversy will provide it with the publicity it needs to rise to a higher tier within the fantasy realm. This plays right into the hands of the studio.

Boycott or not, Christian organizations should focus on educating the public on the difference between the film and the Pullman books and encouraging parents in particular to monitor and guide their children in the selection of literature and media.

Faith and film have come together in a big way for another Tinseltown figure. Have you heard of Christian director Tyler Perry? Hollywood sure has.

With a production budget of only $6 million, Perry’s “Madea’s Family Reunion” grossed over $63 million. And similarly, with a production budget of a mere $5.5 million, his “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” took in $50 mill.

Most recently, the Lionsgate film “Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married?” clobbered George Clooney’s legal Oscar dreamer “Michael Clayton,” Cate Blanchett’s regal sequel “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” and Mark Wahlberg’s criminal thriller “We Own the Night.”

“Married”’s cast includes Janet Jackson.

The positive themed flick brought in $21.5 million as opposed to Clooney’s “Clayton,” which pulled in $11 million as did “We Own the Night.” Blanchett’s “Golden Age” took in $6.2 million.

It turns out that box-office cash has slipped for the fourth straight weekend. The best dozen films of the past weekend brought in $85.5 million, off 14 percent from the same weekend last year.

If there’s one thing that can make Hollywood find religion it’s the Almighty Dollar.