'Bioshock,' which became one of last year's biggest console games, is making the expected move to the big screen with Gore Verbinski on board to direct, according to Variety || The last two seasons of 'Lost' will now be 17 hours each instead of 16 hours to make p for time lost because of the Writers Guild of America strike, says The Hollywood Reporter || Common, a rap artist, has decided to take a turn to acting and has been granted a role on 'Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins,' according to Variety || For the first time, SciFi Channel will rerun episodes of the 1987-94 series 'Star Trek: The Next Generation,' joining 'Charmed' and 'Mork & Mindy' on the cable outlet, Variety reports || 'Star Trek: The Experience' may be running out of steam. Cedar Fair, which owns the Las Vegas attraction, says there are no plans to renew its contract with CBS Corp., which could close the event next year, TrekToday reports || 'Bioshock,' which became one of last year's biggest console games, is making the expected move to the big screen with Gore Verbinski on board to direct, according to Variety || The last two seasons of 'Lost' will now be 17 hours each instead of 16 hours to make p for time lost because of the Writers Guild of America strike, says The Hollywood Reporter || Common, a rap artist, has decided to take a turn to acting and has been granted a role on 'Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins,' according to Variety || For the first time, SciFi Channel will rerun episodes of the 1987-94 series 'Star Trek: The Next Generation,' joining 'Charmed' and 'Mork & Mindy' on the cable outlet, Variety reports || 'Star Trek: The Experience' may be running out of steam. Cedar Fair, which owns the Las Vegas attraction, says there are no plans to renew its contract with CBS Corp., which could close the event next year, TrekToday reports ||

NBC Split Could Mean A Stronger Bonnie Hammer

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By MICHAEL HINMAN
Source: Los Angeles Times
Mar-24-2008

The power behind the SciFi Channel and the USA Network may soon get an opportunity to put that talent to the test.

Bonnie Hammer, who has made a name for herself as head of the two strongest genre cable channels over the years, could be in charge of a new production division that would focus solely on producing original programming for both NBC Universal's SciFi Channel and USA Network.

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that Universal Media Studios could be looking at a split, putting the studio that feeds broadcast channels like NBC and other networks in one division, and Hammer with her cable work in another.

That would be a big split for Universal Media Studios, which right now produces 13 broadcast television shows including "House" and seven cable shows that include "Battlestar Galactica."

The move seems to be more about keeping Hammer as part of the NBC Universal team rather than a need to split the production duties up. Hammer's contract is up later this year, and NBCU chief executive Jeff Zucker has been working to make sure that Hammer remains with the company. At the same time, it removes the influence of Ben Silverman and Marc Graboff from the cable side, as well as Katherine Pope, who took over as president of Universal Media Studios late last year. Silverman and Graboff have come under intense scrutiny since taking over the programming side of NBC for a number of gaffes including the highly publicized failure "Bionic Woman" this season.

None of this has been made official by NBCU as of yet, but if it does come to pass, that would mean that there will be a much stronger focus on cable channels such as SciFi and USA being the stars of NBCU, and not necessarily NBC itself anymore.

Thanks to Raissa for the tip!

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