Time Warner CEO Questioned About Obama Ties, CNN Gun Coverage

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At the conglomerate's annual shareholder meeting, Jeff Bewkes also touted the company's financial and stock performance and its outlook.

Time Warner chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes at the entertainment conglomerate's annual shareholder meeting on Thursday touted the company's performance and outlook and answered questions about the objectivity of CNN on the issue of gun control and the company's relationship with the White House.

The hour-long event took place at the CNN Center's Omni Hotel in Atlanta and was webcast. Bewkes also lauded the strong financial results achieved in 2012 and said he believes the company has never produced "quite as much great storytelling" as last year.


One shareholder suggested that CNN wasn't always doing a great job at representing facts neutrally on key issues, such as gun violence, given that pundits in favor of tighter gun controls have been featured, while the network declined to take gun ads, even though Warner Bros. movies include gun violence. "It's not easy [because of] different views people have" to satisfy everyone's expectations, Bewkes said. "I take it as an interesting point....We'll be alert to that." He also told the speaker that CNN boss Jeff Zucker was in attendance and was "hearing you too." He added: "Any viewer and any shareholder should make us aware if you think there is bias on any issue."

Another person asked about TW's apparently close relationship with the White House, citing the fact that First Lady Michelle Obama was at the Oscars to present the best picture award to Argo from TW's Warner Bros., Time magazine named President Obama the man of the year and other facts, including that the Obamas attended TNT's annual "Christmas in Washington" party.

Bewkes said that Turner organizes that event every year regardless of who is president and invites current office holders. He also explained that the Academy picks who presents the Oscars and why none of the other facts were any cause for concern or signs of undue closeness to the Obama White House.

During his prepared remarks, Bewkes had highlighted that TW's stock "significantly outperformed" the broad-based S&P 500 stock index last year - with a 74 percent gain, compared with a 26 percent increase for the index.

He called the spin-off of Time Inc., which is planned to take place by the end of 2013, the "next step in the evolution" of TW. "This is the best structure for both Time Inc. and for Time Warner," he said, allowing each to chart their own strategic course and attract their own shareholder base.

TW will be "the leading pure-play video content company" after the spin and be "even more strategically focused," Bewkes said. And Time Inc. will be positioned to put a spotlight on its assets and performance.  AOL and Time Warner Cable, which TW previously spun off, have both seen their stocks outperform the S&P 500 as well, he pointed out.

Bewkes then lauded the performance of TW's various divisions, starting off with the Turner TV networks unit, which hosted the shareholder meeting. The TV networks unit will contribute roughly 80 percent of TW's earnings after the Time Inc. spin-off, he highlighted.

Discussing Warner Bros., Bewkes said the studio and the whole company were "extremely proud" of Oscar winner Argo and also lauded its other output. Argo became the fourth film to win an Academy Award for best picture in the past decade, proving that TW's scale attracts the best talent in the industry, Bewkes said.

Showing a trailer for Man of Steel, the TW CEO also lauded the Warner slate for the current year, including The Hangover Part III and The Great Gatsby, which he said has become "a bone fide hit."

During the Q&A session, one shareholder asked about a TW's stock grants to top executives and why not all employees get stock. Bewkes said that except for top managers, staffers tend to feel they do not have a lot of influence over the company's stock price and "don't value [stock grants] as much as cash and cash bonuses we instead give them."

In the meeting, shareholders elected all TW board nominees. On an advisory basis, they also approved Time Warner's 2012 executive compensation and its 2013 stock incentive plan.

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com
Twitter: @georgszalai

Power Lawyers: 5 Music Attorneys to Know

Top stars (or their estates) now require added expertise as Cirque du Soleil shows and "American Idol" deals replace record sales.

From left: John Branca, Eric Greenspan and Kenny Meiselas

This story first appeared in the May 31 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.

1. John Branca, Ziffren Brittenham
UCLA School of Law

Why he matters: Once known for representing Michael Jackson, Branca has expanded his focus to touring, buying and selling companies and management. That’s in addition to handling the Jackson estate as one of its trustees.

Big deal: The Ferrari-loving Branca consulted on Sony/ATV’s June 2012 acquisition of EMI publishing for $2.2 billion and serves as executive producer of Cirque du Soleil’s immortal tour, which has passed $300 million in total box office. Other recent deals include Carlos Santana’s residency at Las Vegas’ House of Blues and a new joint venture for Rick Rubin’s American recordings label with Universal Music. A source of great pride for Branca is his co-management of the Beach Boys’ 50th anniversary reunion last year, which marked the first time founding members Brian Wilson and Mike Love performed together in two decades.

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2. John Frankenheimer, Loeb & Loeb
UCLA School of Law

Why he matters: Founder of his firm’s music industry group, Frankenheimer represents both talent and record labels, emerging tech companies and storied publishing libraries.

Big deal: He recently negotiated the sale of Criterion music, bringing a catalog that spans seven decades of music — among its titles: “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’ ” and Jackson Browne’s “doctor my eyes” — to Universal Music Group. “For the first time in many years, there seems to be a renewed interest on the recorded music side as opposed to just pub- lishing,” he says. “We’re a long way from fully understanding what the impact of streaming will be, but we’re seeing very encouraging signs.”

3. Eric Greenspan, Myman Greenspan Fineman Fox Rosenberg & Light
Washington College of Law

Why he matters: As head of his firm’s music department, the onetime concert promoter handles major names such as Red Hot Chili Peppers and Slash — along with his former cook, Food network’s Giada De Laurentiis, who for five years fixed dinner for his family three times a week.

Big deal: Greenspan ran point for the complicated, ultrasecret negotiations to bring Christina Aguilera back to NBC’s The Voice for the fall season. He notes, “It’s a process that lasted months.”

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4. Kenny Meiselas, Grubman Indursky Shire & Meiselas
Hofstra University

Why he matters: With clients like P. Diddy, Usher and Nicki Minaj, he’s helping several top artists graduate from mere pop stars to multiplatform giants. That includes putting Usher on The Voice, Minaj on American Idol and Diddy in the film Draft Day opposite Kevin Costner that’s due out in 2014.

Big deal: “This has become the year of electronic dance music,” says Meiselas, who represents three of the genre’s busiest acts: Avicii, Afrojack and Swedish House Mafia.

5. Don Passman, Gang Tyre Ramer & Brown 
Harvard Law School

Why he matters: Aside from representing such superstars as Adele, Pink and Paul Simon, Passman is the author of industry bible All You Need to Know About the Music Business, which was released in an eighth edition in December.

Big deal: Client Mariah Carey scored a reported $18 million to judge American Idol this season. Passman won’t comment on the number, saying only, “our job is to maximize what our clients are able to get.”

23 40 SCNDS 'Glee's' Lea Michele to Write Her First Book

"Brunette Ambition" is due in spring 2014 as the actress becomes the latest cast member with a book deal.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Lea Michele

Glee's Lea Michele now has another thing in common with her co-stars Jane Lynch, Chris Colfer and Jenna Ushkowitz: she's writing her first book.

The actress otherwise known as diva Rachel Berry on the Fox musical has singed a deal with Harmony Books to pen her first book.

Brunette Ambition is scheduled for spring 2014 release in the U.S. and Canada in print and digital formats. The title is described as part memoir, part how-to, part style guide following Michele from her Bronx upbringing to Broadway to her breakout role on Glee. Ambition will offer an intimate, behind-the-scenes perspective featuring Michele sharing her personal and professional journey, how young girls can follow her trajectory and offer beauty, fashion, fitness and career tips in addition to never-before-scene photos.
"There wasn't a guidebook when I was growing up, that detailed everything I would need to do, and know, to get where I am today,” Michele said in a statement announcing the news Thursday. “But I believe I can write one of sorts: Not a how-to-make-it-in-show-business book, but a guide to harnessing tenacity, passion, enthusiasm, and hard work to make your dreams come true.”

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Harmony Books, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group at Random House, acquired the title from WME's Jennifer Rudolph Walsh. Harmony senior editor Suzanne O'Neill will edit the book.
Michele's book comes as co-stars Lynch (Sue), Ushkowitz (Tina) and Colfer have all published books (Happy Accidents, Choosing Glee and the young-adult novel The Land of Stories, respectively).

Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit

Hootie 'Cracked Rear View' Anniversary Tour In Discussions, Says Darius Rucker

The band's major label debut was released in 1994 and went on to sell more than 10 million copies.

Hootie & the Blowfish could be emerging from Darius Rucker's career rear view in the next year.

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While the now-country superstar has previously stated that he hopes to one day reunite with his former bandmates for a full blown album and yearlong farewell tour, Rucker tells The Hollywood Reporter that the band is considering something special to mark the 20th anniversary of their major label debut.

"We might do a month tour next year to commemorate Cracked Rear View," says Rucker, "but that one total year where we decide to do a record and a farewell tour is a couple years away."

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Cracked Rear View hit shelves on July 5, 1994, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard 200 charts a whopping five times, and placing at No. 7 on the same chart's end-of-decade rankings in 1999. The band's hit single "Let Her Cry" won them their first Grammy award.

"We're gonna do a [yearlong] Hootie tour. We just don't know when. When we do it, we want it to be a big deal," says Rucker. "I think the bigger I get in country music, the bigger deal it's going to be for us, and I think the more time we take off, the bigger deal it'll be. We've never been one to follow trends."

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Asked what he thinks of the rash of '90s nostalgia tours in today's marketplace, including Backstreet Boys, New Kids on the Block, 98 Degrees, Boyz II Men and more, Rucker responds with a hearty laugh. "I love 'em! I love to see bands that can still do it. Even bands from the '70s, I can't believe Dennis DeYoung and Styx can't get along well enough to go play stadiums. It's crazy to me. I love when bands can get along and they go do it and do it right."

In the meantime, Rucker released his third solo album on Tuesday -- True Believers -- and is currently in the midst of his first ever solo headlining tour featuring Rodney Atkins, Justin Moore and Jana Kramer. He will appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Wednesday night, and on Ellen and Good Morning America later this week.

Email: Sophie.Schillaci@THR.com; Twitter: @SophieSchillaci

'S.W.A.T.' Star Steve Forrest Dies at 87

A contract player at MGM in the 1950s, he also starred in such films as “The Longest Day” and “Spies Like Us” and in the BBC hit “The Baron.”

Steve Forrest, whose starred as Lt. Dan “Hondo” Harrelson on the 1970s ABC action series S.W.A.T., died peacefully surrounded by family on May 18 in Thousand Oaks, Calif. He was 87.

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In a career spanning more the 60 years, Forrest frequently was cast as a leading man or “heavy.” An aficionado of the American Western, he delighted in roles that glorified the genre, including guest-starring appearances in such television classics as The Virginian, Bonanza and Gunsmoke.

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But it was his role as the hard-hitting yet warmhearted Harrelson on the Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg-produced S.W.A.T. that most endeared Forrest to the American audience. As the leader of the police department’s five-man special weapons and tactics team, he often was seen with his bullhorn in hand, jumping into the large dark gray van shouting the signature line, “Let’s roll!”

As a salute to the show, which aired from February 1975 to April 1976 for 37 episodes, Forrest appeared in a cameo role as the van driver in the film version of S.W.A.T. (2003) that starred Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Farrell.

Forrest was born William Forrest Andrews on Sept. 25, 1925, in Huntsville, Texas, to Annis and Charles Andrews, a Baptist minister. He was the youngest of 13 children.

At 18, Forrest enlisted in the military and served with the Army. He attained the rank of sergeant during World War II and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. At the end of the war, he moved to Los Angeles and attended UCLA.

Forrest graduated with honors from UCLA in 1950 with a bachelor’s degree in theater arts and went to work as a stagehand at the La Jolla Playhouse outside San Diego. It was there, during the summer stock production of Goodbye Again, that he was discovered by Hollywood legend Gregory Peck. The actor cast him in the production and arranged for his first screen test with MGM, where he was placed under contract.

In 1953, Forrest garnered a New Star of the Year award from the Golden Globes for his performance in the Warner Bros. film So Big, playing opposite Jane Wyman and Sterling Hayden. Throughout the ’50s, Forrest landed roles on both the large and small screens, frequently cast on such early TV series as Playhouse 90, Climax! Theater, Lux Video Theater and Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

His early films included roles as a P.O.W. opposite Ronald Reagan in MGM’s Prisoner of War (1954), as Robert Taylor’s younger brother in Rogue Cop (1954), as Doris Day’s would-be suitor in It Happened to Jane (1959), as Elvis Presley’s half brother in the Western Flaming Star (1960), as Sophia Loren’s gun-slinging love interest in Heller in Pink Tights (1960) and with John Wayne and an all-star cast in The Longest Day (1962).

Later film and television appearances included North Dallas Forty (1979), Mommie Dearest (1981) with Faye Dunaway, Spies Like Us (1985) with Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd, the miniseries Hollywood Wives (1985), a season in the 1980s on TV’s Dallas, Storyville (1992) with James Spader and Killer: A Journal of Murder (1995) with James Woods.

A trained vocalist, Forrest made his Broadway debut as budding prizefighter Bob Stanton in the 1958 production of The Body Beautiful opposite Mindy Carson, Jack Warden and Brock Peters. 

In 1965, under contract to the BBC, Forrest relocated to London with his family to star as John Mannering, the international antique dealer-cum-secret agent in the British crime drama The Baron. The program was the first color series on British television.

An avid and accomplished golfer, Forrest frequently played in charity tournaments around the world. In 1976, he competed on the American team at the Bing Crosby Great Britain vs. U.S.A. Tournament at the Glen Eagles course in Scotland.

Survivors include his wife of 65 years, Christine, sons Michael, Forrest and Stephen and grandchildren Samantha, Emily, Aubrey and Alex.

A service will be held at 10 a.m. May 30 at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Griffin Memorial Park in Westlake Village, Calif.

Making Money by Giving Away the Goods (Research)

For years, music has operated on selling things -- vinyl, cassettes, CDs and now downloads. Then came advertising on radio and elsewhere. But there’s a third way -- freemium, a combination of free and premium offerings.

Examples of this in music are Spotify (free on browsers, premium on mobile) and Pandora (free with ads, premium without ads). But what if we expand the universe to include examples of freemium from other categories?

A report, "Making Freemium Add Up," published Tuesday by Mark Mulligan of Midia Consulting, made such a comparison, putting Spotify, Deezer, Pandora and Slacker alongside Angry Birds, Hulu, Skype and others to glean further insight into the freemium model.

One set of observation involves the critical task converting free users to paying customers. If the free version is too good, which Mulligan argues is the case with Pandora, SoundCloud, Skype and Hulu, there’s little incentive to pull out the wallet for a paid version. SoundCloud converts a mere 0.1% of its users to a paid account, while Pandora hovers around 2%, Skype is at 3% and Hulu at 8%.

What about Angry Birds? Of the estimated 263 million people who have actively played with the game, 75 million have spent money on it, a conversion rate of just under 29%.

Spotify and Deezer are no slouches in the conversion game, at 32% and 38%, respectively. But neither have the scale of Angry Birds.

Part of the reason is pricing, Mulligan argues: “The gap from zero to $0.99 for Angry Birds free to paid is a modest step.” Going from free to $9.99 a month or so, however, is a “more sizeable hurdle,” wrote Mulligan, who recommended bridging the gap with a range of bite-sized prices.

The report also tackles a nettlesome population for many freemium applications -- inactive users. Music services consistently fall below the “industry average” of 52% active users (or 48% inactive) for all freemium services, according to the survey. Here’s how music services stacked up, compared to social networks such as Facebook (with 90% of users actively engaging in the service within the last 30 days) and Instagram (with a 77% active rate):

• Slacker: 13%
• Deezer: 29%
• Pandora: 37%
• Spotify: 40%

If one tends to see glasses as half-empty, inactive users can be detractors. But looked at another way, Mulligan wrote, they can be "priceless qualified marketing lead databases."

No Background Check on Michael Jackson's Doctor, Says Lawyer

AEG Live LLC did not conduct any background checks or supervise the doctor who was later convicted of killing Michael Jackson, a corporate attorney testified Tuesday in a lawsuit claiming the concert promoter was negligent in hiring the physician.


AEG Live General Counsel Shawn Trell told jurors that no legal or financial checks were done involving Conrad Murray or anyone else who worked as an independent contractor on the "This Is It" shows.

Jackson's mother Katherine is suing AEG claiming it failed to properly investigate Murray, who was deeply in debt when he agreed to serve as Jackson's tour physician in 2009 for $150,000 a month.
Trell said he thought a background check would be appropriate for people working in financial roles, but not tour personnel who weren't employees of AEG.

Murray's employment status is a central issue in the case. Katherine Jackson's lawyers contend he was hired by AEG, but the company denies it hired him and notes the singer died before signing the doctor's contract.

Trell also acknowledged while testifying that numerous people in the company knew of concerns that Jackson's health was declining.

Five days before Jackson died, AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips alerted the promoter's parent company that Jackson had missed a rehearsal and didn't appear to be ready for his comeback concerts.

"We have a real problem here," Phillips wrote in the message to the CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group.

Trell agreed with a statement by plaintiff's attorney Brian Panish that company executives knew by then there was a "deep issue" with Jackson.

Trell also said he continued discussions with an insurance broker about additional coverage to recoup AEG Live's investment if the tour had to be canceled.

Hours after Phillips sent the warning email, attorney John Branca, who later became co-executor of Jackson's estate, offered to enlist a spiritual and substance abuse specialist to help Jackson, according to an email shown in court.

On that same day, Phillips and others met with Jackson and Murray at the singer's home.

Hours later, Phillips sent an email to tour director Kenny Ortega telling him not to worry. Ortega had expressed grave concerns about Jackson.

"This doctor is extremely successful — we check everyone out — and he does not need this gig so he (is) totally unbiased and ethical," Phillips wrote.

Panish called Phillips' statement "a flat out lie" and asked Trell whether he agreed with it or if it signified how AEG did business. Trell said he didn't know what Phillips thought he knew when he wrote the message.

"I know this statement is not accurate, but you'd have to speak with Mr. Phillips about what he thought or meant in saying it," Trell said.

Phillips is listed as a potential witness in the case, and Trell said he expects him to testify later in the trial.

Outside court, AEG's attorney Marvin S. Putnam declined comment on the email or Panish's characterization of it.

Trell also said on Tuesday that no one at AEG supervised or monitored Murray, who was convicted in 2011 of administering a fatal dose of the anesthetic propofol to Jackson.

Trell is considered the most knowledgeable person on numerous issues involving the shows, including contracts and Jackson's health. He has not yet been questioned by AEG's trial lawyers.
Earlier in the day, Trell revised previous testimony in which he told jurors that tour director Ortega worked on "This Is It" without a contract.

The lawyer said Monday that Ortega worked under an agreement forged through a series of emails but didn't have a signed contract.


On Tuesday, he told jurors he was mistaken, and Ortega did have a contract. The agreement was signed in April and included three pages of legal text and several pages of emails laying out the terms.


Trell said he had been reminded of Ortega's agreement by AEG's trial attorneys.