by Shannonn Kelly
4:03PM, EST, January 12, 2010

Conan O’Brien has released a heartfelt and humorous statement firmly outlining that he will not follow Jay Leno show with a 12:05 ‘Tonight Show’ and the destruction of the ‘Tonight Show’ brand. Read below:

People of Earth:
In the last few days, I’ve been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I’ve been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I’ve been absurdly lucky. That said, I’ve been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.

Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over The Tonight Show in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004 I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future. It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.

But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my Tonight Show in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime-time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.

Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the Tonight Show to 12:05 to accommodate the Jay Leno Show at 11:35. For 60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t the Tonight Show. Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the Late Night show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.

So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot doesn’t matter. But with the Tonight Show, I believe nothing could matter more.

There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work.

Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it’s always been that way.

Yours,

Conan

by Shannonn Kelly
05:33AM, EST, January 01, 2010

While most bloggers cobble together a year-end a Best and Worst list or a 10 Best List, I decided to do a Decade Review, in the least amount of words as possible.

I edited the list about 9 times until I got to the one you’ll read below. Have fun reading and remembering. Or remembering and shuddering. I look forward to your own decade review. In the mean time have a healthy, prosperous, safe and creative New Year!

Decade Review ☞

• 2000: Dot-com Bubble Burst
• 2001: September 11 Attacks
• 2002: Adrien Brody wins Oscar for “The Pianist” and plants presenter Halle Berry with a full lip lock
• 2003: Iraq War
• 2004: Mars Rover
• 2005: Hurricane Katrina
• 2006: “It’s Hard Out Here For a Pimp” wins the Oscar for Best Original Song by the group Three 6 Mafia
• 2007: Collapse of the Housing Market in the USA
• 2008: Barack Obama
• 2009: Michael Jackson Dies…

ReelHeART International Film Festival offices will be closed over the
New Year break and will re-open January 4th at 12 Noon

ReelHeART Wishes You a Happy, Prosperous, Healthy and Creative 2010!

by Shannonn Kelly
4:31PM, EST, December 23, 2009

Sadly, it’s reported that a funeral for Brittany Murphy will take place Christmas eve at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills, five days after her untimely death. Murphy was 32.

The funeral and burial service will be “strictly private.” Rumors are that there may be a public memorial after the holiday season.

A will prepared by Murphy before she was married to British screenwriter Simon Monjack, leaves her entire estate to her mother, Sharon Murphy, reports New York Daily News.

There were a multitude of drugs found at the scene and seem to solidify rumors linking Brittany Murphy’s frail frame to her death.

But according to Chief Coroner Investigator Craig Harvey told the Daily News that Murphy weighed 115 pounds and that’s within medical recommendations for her height of 5 feet 5 inches. Read the rest of this entry …

by Shannonn Kelly
6:28PM, EST, December 20, 2009

It it with sadness that I report today the passing of singer, actress Brittany Murphy. She was 32. 

Neighbor Clare Staples said she saw firefighters working to resuscitate the actress Sunday morning. She said Murphy was on a stretcher and “looked as though she was dead at the scene.” Murphy was pronounced dead at 10:04 AM at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Murphy who dazzled us in her roles in ‘Sin City‘, ‘Clueless‘,  ‘Girl Interrupted‘,  ‘8 Mile‘ and as voice-over actress for the character Luanne in ‘King of the Hill‘, was married to husband, Simon Monjack, a British screenwriter and they lived in Hollywood Hills.

Read the rest of this entry …

by Shannonn Kelly
3:53PM, EST December 16, 2009

Normally I don’t talk about Entrants submitting their films or screenplays to ReelHeART, but today I will.

We’ve had amazing entries all season long and especially over the last 10 days because we’re coming close to our final deadline. Famous A-listers through to D-listers and beyond. As well, we welcome back a few Alumni. Read the rest of this entry …