Who’s Been Cast In Current TV Pilots? Over 120 Confirmed Castings Here
The Gist: Spoiler TV has an updated list of all of the talent additions to current TV pilots contending for the 2016-2017 season.
Source Article Here: Spoiler TV

Eagles Member Randy Meisner’s Wife, Lana, Dead After Gunshot In Studio City, CA
The Gist: An L.A. County Medical Examiner is classifying the death of Lana Rae Meisner, married to Randy since 1996, as an accidental shooting. Randy Meisner had been placed under court-ordered 24-hour supervision in January 2015 after an alleged murder-suicide threat with an assault rifle and pills. The investigation is ongoing.
Source Article Here: Rolling Stone
Author: Daniel Kreps

Erin Andrews Wins $55 Million Settlement In Nashville Marriott Case
The Gist: The legal case and victory for Erin Andrews is explained after a stalker removed the peepholes in her hotel room in 2008, recorded her nude, and uploaded the footage, which has been seen nearly 17 million times.
Source Article Here: People
Author: Harriet Sokmensuer

The Top 10 Grossing Indie Films of 2015
The Gist: A breezy chart shows the budget and grosses, domestic and international, for the Top 10 indies of last year, including Amy, Ex Machina, Spotlight, It Follows, and more.
Source Article Here: Film Budget
Author: Jack Binder

The Renewal & Cancellation Status of Over 200 Television Shows
The Gist: Your A-to-Z guide, in alphabetical order, of renewed and cancelled shows, including the season the shows have been renewed up to, as well as cancellations and reduced episode orders.
Source Article Here: Collider
Author: Allison Keene

“Don’t say I was tough. I was strong. I had to be…” – Nancy Reagan
The Gist: Bob Colacello remembers the appeal across the aisles of Former First Lady Nancy Reagan, who passed away this weekend at 94.
Source Article Here: Vanity Fair
Author: Bob Colacello

“When you’re writing, your only job is to write.” – 4 Tips For Getting Your Book Written
The Gist: An author’s 4 takeaways to getting your novel written and getting one’s book-writing career underway, in a month or one year.
Source Article Here: Stage 32
Author: Kevin Tumlinson

The Big Titles Of SXSW 2016 – What’s Buzzworthy To See
The Gist: A list of 20-plus films with buzz that will run at this year’s South by Southwest festival, with photo art and descriptions of each title, all on one page.
Source Article Here: Rolling Stone
Authors: David Ehrlich and David Fear

Ben Carson Suspends Presidential Bid: “There’s a lot of people who love me. They just won’t vote for me, but that’s OK.”
The Gist: Ben Carson, after skipping last night’s debate, has officially suspended his campaign.
Source Article Here: Huffington Post
Author: Sam Levine

The Week Ahead In TV: 30 Shows Between March 6 – 12
The Gist: Day and date returns of TV programs for next week, including: Downton Abbey, Race For The White House, Bates Motel, Last Man On Earth, Once Upon A Time, Underground, and the adapted series School of Rock.
Source Article Here: Los Angeles Times
Author: Matt Cooper

Mary Parent Named Vice Chairman of Worldwide Production At Legendary Entertainment
The Gist: President of Television and Digital Media Bruce Rosenblum, has left the company and Mary Parent has been promoted in the re-org that comes after the company was recently acquired for $3.5B. Details are in the article.
Source Article Here: L.A. Biz
Author: Annlee Ellingson

No ‘Game of Thrones’ Advance Screeners For Season 6 . HBO Says: “We’re not sending out press copies this year, anywhere in the world.”
The Gist: Already the most pirated TV show online, BitTorrent leaks of Game of Thrones Season 5 have led to HBO putting the kibosh on any potential leaks.
Source Article Here: Independent
Author: Clarisse Loughrey

E-Cigarettes Banned On All U.S. & International Flights, As Well As Chartered Flights With A Flight Attendant On Board
The Gist: The Department of Transportation’s ban includes prohibiting packing e-cigarettes in checked luggage due to spark fire concerns.
Source Article Here: Lawyer Herald

14 Notable Book Releases For March 7, 2016
The Gist: Publishers Weekly has synopsis and jacket covers for 14 of their editors picks for the week. Among the picks are: The Violet Hour: Great Writers At The End; Innocents and Others; Hour of the Bees, and All Things Cease To Appear.
Source Article Here: Publishers Weekly

North Korea Issues Statement Ordering Nuclear Weapon Launch Capability ‘At Any Time’
The Gist: South Korea’s defense leaders said that North Korea launched six rockets into the sea, with distances spanning 60-90 miles, off the eastern coast yesterday. North Korea’s statement comes after test-firing a new multiple rocket launcher today and in response to new UN sanctions.
Source Article Here: The Guardian
Author: Staff & Agency Report

#Trailer Watch: ‘Ghostbusters’
The Gist: The 2:38 trailer for the reboot of the 1984 original is here. Directed by Paul Feig, the leads are: Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones. The film opens July 15, 2016.
Source Article Here: PR Newser
Author: Evann Gastaldo

ABC Announces Close To 20 Early Pickups & Renewals of TV Shows
The Gist: Here’s the updated list of the shows returning for the 2016-2017 season, via ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey.
Source Article Here: Vulture
Author: Emma Barrie

#Trailer Watch: The Angry Birds Movie
The Gist: Sony’s adaptation of the Angry Birds mobile game app will be released in May 2016. Here’s the full-length trailer with A-list animation talent behind it: The Simpsons writer Jon Vitti and co-directed by alums of Wreck-It Ralph, The Iron Giant, and Tangled.
Source Article Here: GameSpot
Author: Eddie Makuch

Miramax Sells To BeIn Media
The Gist: The Qatar-located company has bought Miramax in its entirety and will allow it to be run independently.
Source Article Here: Fortune
Authors: Reuters

Kathy Griffin Q&A: “..I’ll get right into someone’s face and be like ‘Hi Lee Daniels, I need you to write me my ‘Precious!’”
The Gist: Kathy Griffin’s interview in support of her Like A Boss tour, on ageism, being politically incorrect, and her take on Caitlyn/Bruce Jenner’s reality show: “..She’s really kind of an airhead. She is a little clueless, yeah. And that is the part that is funny.”
Source Article Here: Out
Author: Julien Sauvalle

#Trailer Watch: ‘God’s Not Dead 2’
The Gist: The 2:07 trailer for the sequel to the original film, which grossed 30 times its $2 million dollar budget, opens April 1, 2016; Melissa Joan Hart and Jesse Metcalfe star.
Source Article Here: YouTube/Pure Flix (February 29)

#Free Training Courses: Salesforce
The Gist: There are a list of options here, from premium classes to 10 separate free training portals, to learn Salesforce at your own pace.
Source Article Here: Geckoboard
Author: Laura Tyson

#Free Courses For Journalists & Writers: 4 Classes You Can Take At Your Own Pace
The Gist: Here are 4 video classes that you can take for free with a simple registration process (no credit cards, just your e-mail address). The 4 courses are:
Google Search for Journalists, Verification: The Basics, Doing Journalism with Data: First Steps, Skills and Tools, and Managing Data Journalism Projects.
Source Article Here: Learno

#Trailer Watch: ‘A Beautiful Planet’
The Gist: This exclusive IMAX theaters release, co-produced with NASA, is shot from the aerial perspective of astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The film is narrated by Jennifer Lawrence and will be released April 29.
Source Article Here: USA Today
Author: Bryan Alexander

#Trailer Watch: ‘Nina’
The Gist: The 2:40 first trailer – already facing a huge uphill social media discourse over casting and prosthetics– for the long-delayed Nina Simone project starring Zoe Saldana and David Oyelowo. Nina opens April 22, 2016.
Source Article Here: New York Daily News
Author: Ethan Sacks

#Film Review of ‘London Has Fallen’ – ‘One of the cheapest looking $100 million movies ever made…’
The Gist: The A.V. Club’s decimating review of the upcoming action flick calls it, “A murky, brain-dead stab-a-thon packed with so many inane chases, laughable special effects, and mismatched stock footage shots that it begs to be made into a drinking game.”
Source Article Here: The A.V. Club
Author: Ignatiy Vishnevetsky

44 New Music Releases In March, From Iggy Pop to Gwen Stefani and Loretta Lynn
The Gist: Synopses and clips of new music from over 40 artists and acts, including: The Violent Femmes, Miike Snow, Grant-Lee Phillips, The Thermals, Shooter Jennings, Jeff Buckley, Emmy the Great, and Pete Yorn.
Source Article Here: A.V. Club
Authors: Various

#Trailer Watch: ‘Finding Dory’
The Gist: Pixar’s latest, featuring Dory from Little Nemo, will be released June 17, 2016.
Source Article Here: YouTube/TheEllenShow

 

The Most Prosperous & The Most Distressed Large Cities In The U.S.
The Gist: Findings from the Economic Distress Group with groupings of the most distressed and prosperous cities overall, by large cities, and by largest number of people in distressed zip codes – the latter includes Los Angeles, New York City, Memphis and San Antonio. The 5 charts are included in the article; to see actual interactive maps, click here.
Source Article Here: Next City
Author: Jen Kinney

“You must speak English fluently; bad grammar can be tolerated to a certain extent.” – How Hackers Get Hired
The Gist: The remarkably similar way that hackers get jobs like their non-criminal counterparts, Dark Web style.
Source Article Here: The Atlantic
Author: Kaveh Waddell

10 Billionaires Who Lost Billions In 2015
The Gist: Forbes’ list of 10 current billionaires who lost anywhere from $27B (Carlos Slim) to $7B (Wal-Mart’s Alice Walton) in 2015. Others on the list include: Larry Ellison, Warren Buffet, and Charles Ergen.
Source Article Here: Forbes
Author: Deniz Cam

 

Job Hunting? 3 Online Job Search Engines To Help You Get It Done
The Gist: A zippy, informative take on 3 job search engines that are streamlining the job hunting process. Indeed.com is included, as well as 2 others that you may not have heard of that are explained here.
Source Article Here: Tech.Co
Author: Himanshu Agarwal

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg Talking To L.A. Talent Agencies For Celebrity Talent To Live-stream Content
The Gist: A look at Facebook’s search for name-brand talent for Live, its live-streaming video service, that could allegedly pay up to 100 celebrities and niche digital talent anywhere up to a rumored six-figures for their participation. A report on Facebook’s push for partnership in the service and the potential threat to YouTube, Twitter, and Vessel.
Source Article Here: re/code
Author: Peter Kafka

Reddit In The Year 3016: “Got drunk in the genesplice kit last night. Made something funny.”
The Gist: It only took Blair Erickson 4 years to create his vision of what Reddit will look like 1,000 years from now, adding clickable links with topics like ‘Only 3012 breedlings will recall this!’ and ‘Did your pocket whale write you a poem that makes you feel shame?’ The story is below; the mock site, Reddit 3016, complete with (hilarious) futuristic banner ads, is here.
Source Article Here: Ubergizmo
Author: Tyler Lee

Vice Launches 24-Hr Channel Viceland
The Gist: An article on what to expect from Vice’s new TV channel, Viceland, with news on returning shows, clips from existing shows, and more. Spike Jonze is the channel’s Creative Director. A guide to where to find the channel on your particular setup, and how to watch, is here.
Source Article Here: Newsweek
Author: Stav Ziv

5 Strategies To Make Your Blog or Brand Pop In Search
The Gist: Search engine optimization (SEO) is often at the top of the list in content strategy and raising your site or company’s visibility. Here’s an infographic ‘5 Strategies To Map Out Your SEO’ – along with a link to monitoring all Google announcements, and tips to tool around with as your content grows.
Source Article Here: Business 2 Community (Feb. 27, 2016)
Author: Anthony Carranza

FLASHBACK READ

#Writers Insight: Annie Proulx – “You should write because you love the shape of stories and sentences and the creation of different worlds on a page.”
The Gist: Annie Proulx didn’t start writing fiction until her 40s and later won the Pulitzer Prize for The Shipping News. Here are Proulx’s thoughts on not caring that she started late, why she regrets writing Brokeback Mountain, how she invents her characters, why reading is crucial to writing, and more.
Source Article Here: Paris Review (Spring 2009)
Author: Christopher Cox