Post by Trublu on Jul 26, 2005 10:53:54 GMT -5
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/25/AR2005072501684.html
Dick Wolf Bares His Fangs
By Lisa de Moraes
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., July 25
"Law & Order" franchise creator Dick Wolf is angry,
angry, angry that
critics devoted more attention to "Alias" than to
"L&O: Criminal
Intent" when the shows debuted back in 2001. It cost
"CI" star Vincent
D'Onofrio some acting trophies, he claimed.
"The first season all the heat was on 'Alias,' and we
had to fight to
get anything in the press, and [D'Onofrio] was doing a
job that, if
you'd been paying attention, I firmly [believe] would
have gotten him an
Emmy and a Golden Globe," Wolf told critics Monday
during NBC's second
day onstage at Summer TV Press Tour 2005.
Besides which, "Criminal Intent" has proved to be
more lucrative in
syndication, he said.
" 'Alias' sold [in syndication] for $175,000 an
episode; 'Criminal
Intent' sold for 1,100 percent more. Do the math,"
snapped a steamed Wolf,
who apparently did not get the NBC memo to staff re:
colonic (everyone
gets one; everyone loses sense of entitlement) that
NBC Entertainment
chief Kevin Reilly had spoken of so glowingly the day
before.
(FYI: According to trade reports, cable network TNT
bought weekday
syndication rights to "Alias" for about $200,000 per
episode, and
distributor Buena Vista sold weekend syndication
rights to broadcast stations
in a barter-only deal, which means BV gets to sell ads
in the show on
those stations. The trades reported that cable nets
USA and Bravo anted
up an estimated $2 million per episode to split
syndication rights to
"Criminal Intent." And here's probably a good place to
say that NBC, TNT,
USA and Bravo are all owned by NBC Universal, which
also houses Wolf's
production company, Wolf Films.)
"The three ['Law & Order'] shows have turned TNT into
the number one
network on cable and USA the number two network on
cable," Wolf fumed.
What really had his knickers in a knot were articles
written last fall
about how "Law & Order" series were dinged in the
ratings opposite
launches of "Desperate Housewives" and "CSI: NY."
"There is no bad news here," he said. " 'Criminal
Intent' is the only
show that could possibly have held up against
'Desperate Housewives.'
Sure it was down, but it was not out, and all you have
to do is look at
the repeat numbers this summer.
"You guys don't report the financial aspects of how
successful the
brand is," he lectured critics, one of whom noted
afterward that "Alias"
was probably more lucrative than, say, "Macbeth."
("News flash: Dick
Wolf hates us," another critic cracked in the press
room.)
"This brand exists, at the moment, alone in the
cosmology of long-term
profitability," Wolf proclaimed during his morning Q&A
session.
But wait, there's more.
Critics don't "fuss" enough about "Law & Order:
Special Victims Unit,"
even though it's generally described as a "mature"
show, Wolf
complained.
"You read about who's hot, who's not -- these shows
are never
mentioned," he said, turning right around to say,
"We're not looking to be the
hot show; that's not what the 'Law & Order' brand is
about. It's about
longevity and about repeatability and about staying on
the air and
being a profit center for NBC for years to come."
One critic noted that Wolf was onstage "with three
very well-reviewed
actors" from his shows, that "your shows regularly get
good reviews,"
and that he has the only series on TV "where cast
changes are reported
generally with gusto, but you always seem to be angry
at us and . . .
I'm seriously wondering, what would you consider fair
treatment?"
"What makes me angry is the lack of sophisticated
business reportage,"
Wolf shot back. "I understand there are business
sections and
television sections, but, come on, guys, there are no
good-news newspapers."
The success of "Desperate Housewives" at "Law &
Order's" expense is "a
legitimate story, but . . . there is no recognition .
. . that, yeah,
we may get knocked around a little bit, but this is
still the most
profitable brand in the history of the medium . . .
these shows generated
$1 billion in advertising revenue last year."
(Variety reported on Monday that the "Law & Order"
franchise runs an
average of 45 times a week on NBC, TNT and USA, and
the trade paper
quoted an NBC Universal rep saying the brand generated
more than $1 billion
in ad revenue across those platforms last year.)
Wolf acknowledged that he had seen such references
about the shows in
"business articles" but not in "the popular press."
Wolf had opened his Q&A session with a little speech
assuring critics
he was "incredibly upset, disappointed, dismayed and
any other
adjectives that you could care to add" about NBC
yanking "Law & Order: Trial by
Jury" off the air last season. But, he noted, his
relationship with NBC
Universal is more like "a long-term marriage with no
possibility of
divorce" than a standard business relationship, and
promised critics that
the brand "is the most important piece of business to
both of us."
Easing the pain somewhat, Wolf is now at work on a
new series about
New York assistant district attorneys that will use
the "Trial by Jury"
set -- did you know that the average age of an
assistant DA in Manhattan
is 28 years? Wolf says so.
And Wolf wanted critics to know he "couldn't be more
thrilled" that
his dream of selling the "Law & Order: Criminal
Intent" format to an
international network has come to fruition.
In one of those strange coincidences that make you
think that maybe
there is a higher power and maybe Jennifer Love Hewitt
really can talk to
dead people, on the very same morning that Wolf took
the stage to
reprimand critics, Variety broke the news that Wolf
had struck a deal with
French TV network TF1 to format "CI" for French
audiences. Wolf told
the trade paper that it was "an enormous
accomplishment" and "by creating
a localized French version, the potential to grow that
audience becomes
limitless."
At some point during his rant, Wolf insisted, "I'm
not [ticked] off.
I'm a very happy guy."
Mr. Wolf: I have served with happy guys. I knew happy
guys. Happy guys
are friends of mine. Mr. Wolf, you're no happy guy.
ETA: Ignore the filters
Dick Wolf Bares His Fangs
By Lisa de Moraes
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., July 25
"Law & Order" franchise creator Dick Wolf is angry,
angry, angry that
critics devoted more attention to "Alias" than to
"L&O: Criminal
Intent" when the shows debuted back in 2001. It cost
"CI" star Vincent
D'Onofrio some acting trophies, he claimed.
"The first season all the heat was on 'Alias,' and we
had to fight to
get anything in the press, and [D'Onofrio] was doing a
job that, if
you'd been paying attention, I firmly [believe] would
have gotten him an
Emmy and a Golden Globe," Wolf told critics Monday
during NBC's second
day onstage at Summer TV Press Tour 2005.
Besides which, "Criminal Intent" has proved to be
more lucrative in
syndication, he said.
" 'Alias' sold [in syndication] for $175,000 an
episode; 'Criminal
Intent' sold for 1,100 percent more. Do the math,"
snapped a steamed Wolf,
who apparently did not get the NBC memo to staff re:
colonic (everyone
gets one; everyone loses sense of entitlement) that
NBC Entertainment
chief Kevin Reilly had spoken of so glowingly the day
before.
(FYI: According to trade reports, cable network TNT
bought weekday
syndication rights to "Alias" for about $200,000 per
episode, and
distributor Buena Vista sold weekend syndication
rights to broadcast stations
in a barter-only deal, which means BV gets to sell ads
in the show on
those stations. The trades reported that cable nets
USA and Bravo anted
up an estimated $2 million per episode to split
syndication rights to
"Criminal Intent." And here's probably a good place to
say that NBC, TNT,
USA and Bravo are all owned by NBC Universal, which
also houses Wolf's
production company, Wolf Films.)
"The three ['Law & Order'] shows have turned TNT into
the number one
network on cable and USA the number two network on
cable," Wolf fumed.
What really had his knickers in a knot were articles
written last fall
about how "Law & Order" series were dinged in the
ratings opposite
launches of "Desperate Housewives" and "CSI: NY."
"There is no bad news here," he said. " 'Criminal
Intent' is the only
show that could possibly have held up against
'Desperate Housewives.'
Sure it was down, but it was not out, and all you have
to do is look at
the repeat numbers this summer.
"You guys don't report the financial aspects of how
successful the
brand is," he lectured critics, one of whom noted
afterward that "Alias"
was probably more lucrative than, say, "Macbeth."
("News flash: Dick
Wolf hates us," another critic cracked in the press
room.)
"This brand exists, at the moment, alone in the
cosmology of long-term
profitability," Wolf proclaimed during his morning Q&A
session.
But wait, there's more.
Critics don't "fuss" enough about "Law & Order:
Special Victims Unit,"
even though it's generally described as a "mature"
show, Wolf
complained.
"You read about who's hot, who's not -- these shows
are never
mentioned," he said, turning right around to say,
"We're not looking to be the
hot show; that's not what the 'Law & Order' brand is
about. It's about
longevity and about repeatability and about staying on
the air and
being a profit center for NBC for years to come."
One critic noted that Wolf was onstage "with three
very well-reviewed
actors" from his shows, that "your shows regularly get
good reviews,"
and that he has the only series on TV "where cast
changes are reported
generally with gusto, but you always seem to be angry
at us and . . .
I'm seriously wondering, what would you consider fair
treatment?"
"What makes me angry is the lack of sophisticated
business reportage,"
Wolf shot back. "I understand there are business
sections and
television sections, but, come on, guys, there are no
good-news newspapers."
The success of "Desperate Housewives" at "Law &
Order's" expense is "a
legitimate story, but . . . there is no recognition .
. . that, yeah,
we may get knocked around a little bit, but this is
still the most
profitable brand in the history of the medium . . .
these shows generated
$1 billion in advertising revenue last year."
(Variety reported on Monday that the "Law & Order"
franchise runs an
average of 45 times a week on NBC, TNT and USA, and
the trade paper
quoted an NBC Universal rep saying the brand generated
more than $1 billion
in ad revenue across those platforms last year.)
Wolf acknowledged that he had seen such references
about the shows in
"business articles" but not in "the popular press."
Wolf had opened his Q&A session with a little speech
assuring critics
he was "incredibly upset, disappointed, dismayed and
any other
adjectives that you could care to add" about NBC
yanking "Law & Order: Trial by
Jury" off the air last season. But, he noted, his
relationship with NBC
Universal is more like "a long-term marriage with no
possibility of
divorce" than a standard business relationship, and
promised critics that
the brand "is the most important piece of business to
both of us."
Easing the pain somewhat, Wolf is now at work on a
new series about
New York assistant district attorneys that will use
the "Trial by Jury"
set -- did you know that the average age of an
assistant DA in Manhattan
is 28 years? Wolf says so.
And Wolf wanted critics to know he "couldn't be more
thrilled" that
his dream of selling the "Law & Order: Criminal
Intent" format to an
international network has come to fruition.
In one of those strange coincidences that make you
think that maybe
there is a higher power and maybe Jennifer Love Hewitt
really can talk to
dead people, on the very same morning that Wolf took
the stage to
reprimand critics, Variety broke the news that Wolf
had struck a deal with
French TV network TF1 to format "CI" for French
audiences. Wolf told
the trade paper that it was "an enormous
accomplishment" and "by creating
a localized French version, the potential to grow that
audience becomes
limitless."
At some point during his rant, Wolf insisted, "I'm
not [ticked] off.
I'm a very happy guy."
Mr. Wolf: I have served with happy guys. I knew happy
guys. Happy guys
are friends of mine. Mr. Wolf, you're no happy guy.
ETA: Ignore the filters