14 February 2008

With WGA strike over, networks ramp up for the rest of the season; Paramount shifts Star Trek

Just after the announcement that the WGA strike came to a close, things in Hollywood began again. Most of the networks announced that production on most shows will resume soon, with air dates for new episodes to begin as early as late March, with all of them having new episodes airing by the first week of April.

On the heels of ABC picking up all of its previous shows, freshman drama/fantasy darling, Pushing Daises will be back in the fall, though ABC said the series is done for the season at only nine episodes produced. Meanwhile, NBC has picked up the charming Chuck and Life for the fall, although they too are done for the season, as is huge hit Heroes. Bionic Woman, Journeyman and Friday Night Lights are considered dead in the water, even though NBC has not officially cancelled them.

CBS picked up 11 of its most popular shows, leaving out -at least temporarily - Moonlight and Jericho.

Meanwhile, Paramount made some major shifts in their theatrical schedule, with the JJ Abrams Star Trek reboot now pushed from Christmas Day to May 8, 2009. According to the industry trade papers, the five month delay by Paramount is said to be a move to maximize the box office potential for the sci fi film, which will now open the week after X-Men Origins: Wolverine and the week before Sony has scheduled Angels and Demons. Plus, it seems, it will address Abrams comments that the film will need to be tweaked, and now that the strike is over, those script revisions can happen.

But Star Trek is not the only film on the move, David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which stars Brad Pitt, will now replace Trek as Paramount’s holiday pic, moving it from Nov. 26 to Dec. 19. The Ben Stiller comedy Tropic Thunder is moving from July 11 to August 15, while the Renee Zellweger file Case 39 is delayed from August 22 to April 10, 2009. Meanwhile, Eddie Murphy's Nowhereland moves from September 26 to June 12 of 2009.

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