Poor Conan O'Brien Only Gets $32.5 Million for Leaving NBC
Conan is losing the "Tonight Show," but he's going to be just fine. TMZ has learned that Conan O'Brien is getting a $32.5 severance package—plus an extra $8 million or so in severances for "Tonight Show" employees.
But that $32.5 million figure is a little misleading. (Although great for headlines!) According to TMZ, any money O'Brien makes from other networks during the remainder of his contract with NBC will be used to offset the $32.5 million. So, basically, they are paying him not to work. This awesome deal must have been because of all those rallies. [TMZ]
•Johnny Depp is starring in a Spanish-language film directed by Emir Kusturica, a Serb. Weird. Depp will star as Pancho Villa in the biopic "Wild Roses, Tender Roses," which starts shooting in Feb. 2011, and he will be speaking Spanish. Does Johnny Depp speak Spanish? He has one year to learn it. [ScreenDaily]
•If we lived in a perfect world, the Golden Globes would be called the "Golden Orbs," and they would be given out by a grizzled warlock named the Great Orbiter in a candlelit cave once every hundred years, and they would grant their recipients everlasting life and invisibility. The best thing about the real Golden Globes was that last night they drew an audience of 16.9 million for NBC—up 14% from 14.9 million viewers last year. [LAT]
•"Lovely Bones" is back from the dead. In a remarkable turnaround, the Peter Jackson film about a girl that comes back from the dead came in No. 3 this weekend, grossing $20.5 million. The film initially opened in a few theaters to terrible numbers. Paramount then re-targeted advertising from the older women they thought would see the film to the younger "Twilight" crowd who actually did see the film. The rest is very recent history. [Variety]
•The Weinstein Co. sucked out at the Golden Orbs last night: Weinstein films were nominated for 12 Orbs but they only won one—Christoph Waltz won the Orb for best supporting actor for his role in "Inglorious Basterds". The Weinstin Co. must not have performed the necessary blood rituals. The Great Orbiter did not approve. Magic is real and it touches our lives every day in subtle ways. [Variety]
•Sandra Bullock donated $1 million to help Haitian earthquake victims. Good job! [Variety]