Gawker: defamer, my own worst enemy

Cancel-Happy Ben Silverman Uses Pope As Human Shield

Kyle Buchanan — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:10:55 EST

Before the premiere of this fall season, NBC head Ben Silverman liked to brag about the extensive movie star outreach he'd done to populate his shows: Selma Blair in Kath & Kim! Christian Slater in My Own Worst Enemy! Sadly, Kath was poorly received, Enemy has just been axed (alongside another show called something like Project Lipstick, we think?), and the rest of the fall lineup is skidding out like Silverman's Knight Rider retread. You might imagine, with all this broadcast carnage, that some of it might be Silverman's fault. Nuh-unh! protests Page Six:

NBC Entertainment co-chair Ben Silverman isn't going to get all the blame for the network's lackluster fall schedule.

With yesterday's cancellation of two NBC shows produced by sister company Universal - "Lipstick Jungle," which starred Brooke Shields, and "My Own Worst Enemy," which featured Christian Slater -culpability falls on Universal Media Studio President Katherine Pope, who oversaw both doomed series.

"They call her the black widow. Every program she touches turns to death," growled our source. "She is on very thin ice." Pope also produced flash-in-the-pan series "Bionic Woman."

Of course, none of NBC's other new shows - "Knight Rider," "Kath & Kim" and "Crusoe" - has become a hit, either. But Silverman, 37, has been able to cut costs at the network and seems to be satisfying his bosses, particularly NBC chairman Jeff Zucker.

If this "it's her fault, not Ben's fault" maneuver seems familiar, it's because people were blaming his EVP Teri Weinberg for NBC's problems a mere two months ago. How can Silverman be responsible for hiring people who are bad at their jobs, or be expected to actually watch and oversee the shows the network creates? He's busy throwin' back brewskis with Seacrest, people! Quit harshin' his buzz!

'BLACK WIDOW' EFFECT AT NBC [Page Six]

NBC Takes Sickly Peacocks 'Enemy,' 'Jungle' Out Behind Shed In Time For Thanksgiving

Seth — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:20:29 EST

THR reports NBC has canceled both Christian Slater amnesiac secret agent show My Own Worst Enemy, as well as Lipstick Jungle, in which Brooke Shields leads a troop of cosmetic assassins down the Nung River to eliminate the AWOL and believed-insane Colonel Mary Kay:

The cancellation comes after both shows dropped to new lows in the ratings in recent weeks, with the Christian Slater action series sinking to a 1.8 among adults 18-49 (4.3 million viewers) on Monday night and "Lipstick" falling to a 1.2 (3.3 million viewers) on Friday.

Some of the blame for Enemy is being directed at Heroes, a lead-in that's been quickly losing viewership as it gradually dawns on fans that it always sucked. One online source is reporting that both series will finish their runs, with Enemy's last episode airing December 15, the same date as the Heroes "fall finale." Lipstick, meanwhile, will run to January, when it will be replaced by new episodes of Friday Night Lights—the cult football favorite breaking itself free from the DirecTV tyranny that has hoarded new episodes until now.

NBC cancels 'Enemy' and 'Lipstick' [THR]

Is NBC Plotting a Fall Schedule With No Time Slot for Ben Silverman?

Kyle Buchanan — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:15:00 EDT

While it's hardly a secret that embattled NBC chief Ben Silverman likes to party, never have his carousing ways received the sort of harsh buzz dealt out this weekend by Nikki Finke, who spent the better part of a blockbuster post detailing how Silverman's antics are about to cost him his job. No, seriously this time! According to a variety of anonymous NBC sources, Silverman is the network's very own Man Who Wasn't There, missing meetings on a regular basis and spending the entire, crucial month of August in Beijing while his colleagues expected him to decamp for a week at most (in all fairness, those Ryan Seacrest remotes weren't going to tape themselves!). However, it seems that the NBC chief's biggest problem is EVP Teri Weinberg, a Silverman protege whose romantic involvement with an NBC showrunner caused upward-failing NBC Universal head Jeff Zucker to step in and terminate that writer's deal:

"Teri just couldn't stay out of their business even though NBC had instructed her for months and months and months to do so," one insider informs me. "Other TV writer/producers began assuming that every decision Teri made was influenced by her relationship with her boyfriend's company. If she didn't buy something of theirs, they complained she was protecting her boyfriend's pitch. The truth is that this appearance of a conflict was really starting to hurt NBC's business."

Finke also provides more salacious details on the Silverman/Ari Emanuel blowup that set industry tongues wagging last May:

For some time, Endeavor talent agency owner Ari Emanuel had been counseling his pal to tone down this over-the-top behavior — even last spring when both men were attending a cancer benefit dinner where Silverman was widely observed "high as a kite". During the fundraiser, Emanuel reminded Silverman that scheduled the very next morning was a big meeting about an important piece of Marvel Studios business between Endeavor and NBC, and Ari warned Ben not to be late. But the next day, Silverman was a no-show. Though Endeavor does 75% of its TV business with NBC, Emanuel didn't hesitate to complain directly to Zucker — and the conversation focused on Silverman's over-indulgence of alcohol and drugs.

...I'm told that NBC is hoping that Silverman jumps before he is pushed. And several sources have information to believe there is every reason that Ben is a short-timer. His contract, like Weinberg's, expires next summer. But already Ben's posse is letting it be known that he may start negotiating his out with an eye to exiting before December. His reasoning, according to insiders, is that, if by some miracle this fall's primetime schedule succeeds, he'd like to go out "a hero".

Only time will tell whether Silverman is allowed to exit the NBC arena like a triumphant American Gladiator, or whether he will be cruelly pushed out and sold for parts like a ratings-challenged Bionic Woman. Sure, there's always that Entourage guest spot to fall back on, but we're starting to worry that the party-hearty NBC chief lacks the time needed to mend his ways. If Silverman can't shape up, we have but this to say: Benji, do not ask for whom the NBC chimes toll. They toll for thee.

MAJOR MESSY NBC SHAKEUP AHEAD: Network Wants To Fire Teri Weinberg & Hopes Ben Silverman Quits Very Soon [Deadline Hollywood Daily]