Mel's Diner

Mel's Diner tag:www.tvweek.com,2009://6 2008-01-19T01:55:48Z In the television business, you are where you eat as much as you are what you eat. TelevisionWeek Managing Editor Melissa Grego is tapping into Hollywood's penchant for the working meal with her TVWeek.com feature, Mel's Diner. Ms. Grego sits down with television industry players at their favorite restaurants, giving readers a window into the minds -- and appetites -- of industry heavyweights. As each Mel's Diner guest dishes about what they're working on, planning and thinking about, Ms. Grego provides a unique view of the television business from the insiders perspective. TVWeek.com invites fans of Mel's Diner to report back in the comments section on the meals, deals, or anything at all that is eating them about what the featured players have to say. Dig in! Movable Type 3.33 Mel's Diner: Pat Mitchell tag:www.tvweek.com,2007://6.25133 2007-09-21T00:58:21Z 2008-01-19T01:55:48Z

Who: Pat Mitchell, president-CEO, the Paley Center for Media Where: Cafe 440, Beverly Hills When: Thursday, Sept. 6, lunch Dined On: I knew Pat Mitchell and I were going to see eye-to-eye as soon as we started talking at Cafe 440. “Food enhances a community experience,” she said as she walked me through her best bets on the menu. You could say Mel’s Diner agrees with that. The small patio dining area is adjacent to the Frederick Fekkai Salon, about a block down an alley from the Paley Media Center in Beverly Hills. Pat, who lives in New York, usually dines at this spa-tastic spot when she comes to L.A. That’s at least once a month. Pat made the “community” comment to explain why she’s been talking to this restaurant about setting up a cafe at the media center, formerly known as the Museum of Television & Radio. The Paley doesn’t have a kitchen, but it still could offer coffee drinks and pre-made breakfast and lunch fare such as bagels, salads and wraps. They’d just need some sort of mobile cart like you see at lots of museums. The idea is to encourage people to meet for a bite at the center, where they could access its collection of audio and video material over a secure data connection. Establishing that digital access is part of a bigger push for both of the center’s locations, in New York and L.A. “We have these beautiful buildings,” Pat said. “We hope to give people a reason to visit them even if they’re not coming for a specific show or program. Maybe people are having lunch and say to each other, ‘Remember that ‘Bob Newhart’ scene?’ And then be able to pull it up on a screen right there.” Sign me up. Really, could there be a more appropriate place for a future Mel’s Diner than the Media Center itself, where we can view just about anything we’re talking about? “Newhart” was top of mind for Pat. She was in town partly to attend the Paley’s special “The Bob Newhart Show” cast reunion event, co-hosted by TVLand. The program, which kicked off the Paley’s fall 2007 events schedule, was held the night before our lunch. Pat started out talking to Starbucks about her cafe notion, but the coffee mega-chain already has a Beverly Hills location close by. That is just as well. Cafe 440-level food would be well worth a trip to the Paley for the meal alone. Pat and I both had Frederic’s Favorite salad. She asked for hers with chicken; I ordered mine with tuna. It’s chopped and chockfull of some of my faves as well: broccoli, mozzarella, garbanzo beans and red cabbage. The Dish: In addition to attending the “Newhart” event, Pat was in town for the Los Angeles board of governors meetings; she always tries to meet with Paley trustees and other media executives in the area as well. She’s also always fundraising for the many plans she has for the Paley. The center launched a campaign earlier this year and is on its way to achieving its goal of raising $20 million by the end of 2007. At this point about 2,000 hours of the center’s TV programs have been digitized (along with more than 1,500 radio hours). Some 10,000 hours are earmarked as priorities, and the center will do the whole 150,000 eventually, Pat said. Processing the content would enable the center to make the library searchable and viewable to visitors using kiosks in the Paley locations in New York and L.A. Pat said she was just chatting with “Law & Order” creator Dick Wolf about her plans on the very morning of our lunch. “I told him, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if someone comes in, wants to see all about you, and they can just plug in your name and bring up everything we have related to your career?’” she said. “He loved it.” As I continue to refer to the former MT&R as the Paley, I realize it is coming more naturally than I expected when the organization changed its name this summer. Pat said she had been thinking about a name change ever since she came on board in March 2006. The switch took longer to execute than she thought it might, partly because of the difficulty of finding the right moniker. (The org’s name was changed once before, from the Museum of Broadcasting.) Changing “TV & Radio” to “Media” was an easy sell to the group there, who worked with consultants Landor on the switch. And “Museum” never quite fit, she said. “We have a collection, but people who came in, particularly in New York, expected things on the walls and Archie Bunker’s chair,” she said. “Center” seemed closest to “community,” and to how she sees the org. The folks at Landor said institutions become familiar by associating them with people’s names. Think the Guggenheim, the Kennedy Center, the Getty. Landor suggested “Paley,” for the Center’s late founder William S. Paley. Although a lot of the Center’s members who were polled didn’t know who he was, they liked that he was a real person. In addition, Paley was a visionary whose diverse media career represented the spirit of the center and where it was going, Pat said. Pat’s career has been expansive as well. In addition to heading PBS prior to joining the Paley, she has worked for three broadcast networks and several cable channels, serving as reporter, news anchor, talk-show host, producer and executive, among other things. “People look at my career, and often think I must have been so ambitious and known what I wanted to do,” she said. “Really, the thing that always guided me is what interested me.” She signed on for two years with the Paley initially, but she told me she is sure she’ll be there for a while. “I’m very energized by it,” she said.

TVWeek Author Who: Pat Mitchell, president-CEO, the Paley Center for Media Where: Cafe 440, Beverly Hills When: Thursday, Sept. 6, lunch Dined On: I knew Pat Mitchell and I were going to see eye-to-eye as soon as we started talking at Cafe... http://www.tvweek.com/blogs/mels-diner/2007/09/mels-diner-pat-mitchell.php Mel's Diner: Special Emmy Weekend Edition tag:www.tvweek.com,2007://6.25134 2007-09-21T00:00:00Z 2007-09-21T22:04:44Z

TVWeek Author ... http://www.tvweek.com/blogs/mels-diner/2007/09/mels-diner-special-emmy-weeken.php Mel's Diner: Rod Perth tag:www.tvweek.com,2007://6.24895 2007-09-10T18:52:04Z 2007-09-10T19:46:18Z

Who: Rod Perth, consultant/adviser, ReelzChannel Television Where: Cafe Pinot, Los Angeles When: Tuesday, Aug. 28, lunch The Dish: This outing was all kinds of unusual. For starters, I wasn’t even sure it was going to happen. A week before I was scheduled to meet Rod Perth at the ReelzChannel headquarters for a tour of the futuristic facility and lunch nearby, the company announced he would step down as president after seven years in the job and take a consultant/advisory role. “President to consultant” sounds a lot like “production deal” in this biz, aka “fired.” Would he want to go sit with me and talk about that? I knew of Rod for a long time and always wanted to meet him. He spent many years at CBS and was portrayed by Ed Begley Jr. in “The Late Shift”, the 1996 film about the battle to succeed Johnny Carson. I knew he was credited with bringing David Letterman to CBS and that he left CBS to run the USA Network. But I didn’t know enough about him or the situation at Reelz to have a clue whether to take the announcement at face value. So I asked. His people said he still wanted to have the meeting. The great thing about the timing of his big change and our little lunch was that, given the news, Rod was flexible enough to spend a good amount of time showing me around the offices, swapping stories and enjoying a leisurely lunch at Cafe Pinot. I definitely got to see and hear more with Rod Perth than I normally do during quick Mel’s Diner lunches. The first-hand view of the Reelz operation, an advanced, completely digital stunner, was super-cool. Since the network’s office and studio space was carved out of gutted areas of L.A. Center Studios, it represents the latest, greatest TV network infrastructure. It’s literally the embodiment of what a veteran TV exec could produce given the time to plan and the money to spend on the ideal network operation. Reelz is the largest tenant of L.A. Center Studios. Rod took me for a walk around the perfectly painted entertainment utopia buzzing with the people who keep original programming geared toward “Everything About Movies” flowing on the channel 24/7. It’s clean and modern without being cold, and each member of the productive-looking staff acknowledged Rod warmly as we walked by. The studio for Reelz’s show “Dailies” is sharp; it evokes old Hollywood. The digital systems in place make it possible for 100 people to simultaneously edit the same video file the instant it is ingested. Rod named the conference rooms Minneapolis and St. Paul for the Twin Cities where Reelz owner Hubbard Broadcasting is based. The physical facility was not the only thing built from the ground up. In six months last year, Rod took the channel from two people in Los Angeles (him and an assistant) to 250 people. The group moved into the studios in May 2006, just ahead of the network’s September 2006 on-air launch. “It was an unbelievable sprint,” he said. It all came together as Rod expected since the Hubbard family and he hatched the idea about seven years ago, except that it took a bit longer, particularly to get distribution as an independent. Still, the net debuted to 28 million homes last September, which Reelz says is the largest cable/sat premiere in history. The network is expected to be in 40 million homes by year’s end, Rod said. Even more interesting than hearing and seeing all this, though, was getting to bear witness to what it’s like for an accomplished exec like Rod to switch career gears—as he was actually shifting. Rod had yet to move from his swank office into the smaller space he plans to use, since he won’t be coming in every day. I mentioned on our way from Reelz to lunch at Cafe Pinot, where the staff had thrown him a party the night before, that most people would take an announcement like his as a euphemism. “Yeah, you can’t really control that,” he said, seeming unfazed, then adding that it is a little scary to think about not walking into work with this group every day. He’s seen a lot in this business. We had a lot of fun dishing about his career to this point. He moved seven times in 15 years, working primarily in stations for CBS before returning home to the West Coast to run late night for the network. He later left CBS for USA at a time when top net execs were not taking big gambles on cable. “I believed in cable,” he said. “We developed probably more original programming when no one was doing much in cable.” Before Barry Diller swept Rod out of USA, he was able to invest in some of the first original series in cable, shows such as “La Femme Nikita,” and it was clearly a highlight for him. Sitting at Pinot, we agreed that this summer originals on cable have officially arrived—and come a long way—with so many of them seeing record ratings. “Budgets are enablers of more ambitious ideas,” Rod said. “Nikita” was produced for around $800,000 or $900,000 per episode. Shows such as AMC’s lush, period series “Mad Men,” shot coincidentally at L.A. Center Studios, can cost around $2.2 million an hour. As for Rod’s own ambitions, now that Reelz is “pointed in the right direction” and approaching its first on-air anniversary, he is going to take some time to decide on his next steps. For example, earlier the day of our lunch, he turned down an offer to be CEO of a company. Rod continues to serve as chairman of the board of public radio station KCRW, and he is talking to a number of people about entertainment business ventures, he said. He plans to study digital photography and to do some world travel, including a motorcycle trip in New Zealand and hiking in France, and does not see himself pitching shows around town. Then again, he said: “I don’t want to say never to anything.” Dined On: It was just a few degrees from being too hot sitting in the sun on the patio. The chilled offerings at Cafe Pinot, which specializes in seafood, hit the spot. Hamachi is a favorite of mine, and Pinot serves it well over ice. We also kept cool with simple green salads, iced tea and sorbet dessert. On the Books: Pat Mitchell, the Paley Center for Media

TVWeek Author Who: Rod Perth, consultant/adviser, ReelzChannel Television Where: Cafe Pinot, Los Angeles When: Tuesday, Aug. 28, lunch The Dish: This outing was all kinds of unusual. For starters, I wasn’t even sure it was going to happen. A week before I... http://www.tvweek.com/blogs/mels-diner/2007/09/mels-diner-rod-perth.php Mel’s Diner: David Kenin tag:www.tvweek.com,2007://6.24749 2007-08-28T20:16:14Z 2007-08-28T20:36:10Z

Who: David Kenin, executive VP, programming, Hallmark Channel When: Monday, Aug. 20, lunch Where: Hotel Bel-Air, The Restaurant & Terrace The Dish: David Kenin borrowed a line from a racier genre when he told me at lunch how he determines which pitches fit what he’s going for on the Hallmark Channel. “We know it when we see it,” he said. Easy now, dirty minds. Lots of cable channels are known for making some pretty dramatic switcheroos in their programming to pull a rating, but Hallmark isn’t one of them. David was talking specifically about original Hallmark movies, all of which are absolutely family-friendly. Most of them generally fall into the categories of romances, holiday tales, mysteries, Westerns and traditional dramas. There’s even some room for science fiction, he said. Whatever the category, David has developed an approach for movies that click with ever-growing audiences without abandoning the wholesome Hallmark brand. “We can deal with any situation or subject,” he said. “It’s how you do it.” By talking about the consequences of less-than-exemplary behavior, while aiming to not be preachy about it, Hallmark can explore contemporary subjects in virtually all areas. Just because the network’s programs aren’t edgy, don’t be fooled into thinking David himself doesn’t have an edge. It has taken bravery and shrewdness to do what he has done for the Crown Media-owned outlet, which rewarded him with a rich contract extension this summer that keeps him around through 2009. The veteran exec, who previously was president of CBS Sports and a honcho at USA Networks, arrived at Hallmark Channel soon after its August 2001 launch and quickly helped build up its ratings from what he calls the “flatline” he found when he arrived. David put the first gun on Hallmark’s air (more on that in a moment), acquired “M*A*S*H” with a sneak-attack offer (no competitors at the time expected Hallmark to be a bidder) and has continued to build a distinctive original-movie business. More than 30 original pics are scheduled to air next year, marking the channel’s largest slate yet. If the sky were the financial limit, David would do 50 movies a year in order to premiere a fresh one each week, he said at lunch. Hallmark is now a consistent top-10 player in prime-time viewership among basic-cable networks. The channel’s total audience rose 14 percent during the first quarter of 2007. The programming strategy consists of family-oriented original movies in prime time, combined with classic television series at other hours. Hallmark also has rebroadcast rights to CBS’ “Hallmark Hall of Fame” movie franchise. Hallmark wants to provide a place to go on TV that can be depended on for quality, positive content aimed at adults that wouldn’t pose a problem if kids were to walk into the room, David said. “I’m not a prude, but I know a lot of audiences like to have one place you can go that is safe and secure,” he said, adding that much of the material on TV today would have gotten the perpetrators’ mouths washed out with soap when he was a kid. Hallmark and its audience take its standards seriously. Any violence on the air is stylized, and the network is very careful about sexual content. Among the classics Hallmark airs are a number of Westerns, a genre David introduced in one of his first programming moves. When he got to the network in January 2002, he noticed “The Rifleman” on the shelf in the library. David thought it might be an issue for the family-oriented net, but he felt it also might connect with viewers. So he put it on the air at 11 at night. “I got a call from a colleague asking, ‘Who gave you the authority to put that on?’” he said. When the ratings for that show came in, a 0.4 appeared where once had been zeros, he said. Armed with those numbers, he told his boss about his colleague’s complaint, called it ridiculous and said he didn’t plan to listen, adding, “If I fail, fire me.” The strategy worked. David went on to double-run “Rifleman” at 11 and 11:30 p.m. It started doing well, they moved it to the afternoon, and a classic-genres-in-daytime strategy was born. “Meanwhile, people were still saying we don’t allow guns on the air,” he said. “But we came to the conclusion that Westerns had a role. We realized, yes, we can put a gun in the programming because it can be in the context of right and wrong.” Hallmark then acquired “Rawhide” and “Bonanza.” While we were having lunch, David was in the midst of hammering out a new acquisition, which he declined to give details on. He also was anticipating a visit from his new-ish New York-based boss, Henry Schleiff, president and chief executive officer of Crown Media. The “gun” battle was one of many tricky situations David had to navigate while developing Hallmark’s family-friendly strategy. Even his addition of “M*A*S*H,” one of television’s most popular and lauded series, was controversial, given some of the show’s colorful characters and its implicit commentaries on war. More recently, David took a phone call from a viewer complaining about a scene in an original movie in which a 17-year-old girl asks her dad about sex. David defended the programming, suggesting that a conversation at home with parents is the best place and way to get that information. Sounded like a great answer to me, but the viewer remained incensed. “A small part of our audience is very conservative,” he said. “That movie did very well.” Dined On: It’s nice to eat where Jane Fonda eats. I’m just saying. The icon was having lunch at the next table over at Hotel Bel-Air, adding to the already glamorous, airy ambience on the terrace. I actually didn’t spot her until well into our meal, which is kind of embarrassing considering I am a humongous fan. Admittedly, I was distracted. For one thing, I was absorbed in conversation with David. In addition to talking Hallmark strategy, of course, David captivated me with dishy, off-the-record (sorry!) stories about his memorable times on the restaurant’s terrace. Officially he says he loves this spot for the food, service and the outdoor setting—sans nearby traffic and exhaust. The beauteous bougainvillea peeking through a white canopy above the patio provided atmosphere and another pleasant distraction. I know: Excuses, excuses. So I’d be a lousy paparazzo! (Then again, I later noticed Jane’s blond do was in the background of nearly every pic I snapped of David. Beginner’s luck, I guess.) Still, upon spotting Jane, I decided not to think twice about ordering dessert. I know, again with the excuses. But Jane Fonda eats here. And look at her—unbelievable. I mean, if I truly overindulged I could always go “feel the burn” later at the gym to make up for it, right? So following a very nice lunch—a Mediterranean plate for me, tortilla soup and beef carpaccio for David and a chopped Cobb for corporate communications expert Nancy Carr—we went for it with dessert, a chocolate tart and peach pie, which we narrowly chose over a cherry concoction. So I’d be a lousy famous fitness icon, too. At least one dessert had fruit in it…

TVWeek Author Who: David Kenin, executive VP, programming, Hallmark Channel When: Monday, Aug. 20, lunch Where: Hotel Bel-Air, The Restaurant & Terrace The Dish: David Kenin borrowed a line from a racier genre when he told me at lunch how he determines... http://www.tvweek.com/blogs/mels-diner/2007/08/mels-diner-david-kenin.php Mel's Diner: Devin Alexander tag:www.tvweek.com,2007://6.24621 2007-08-17T20:09:18Z 2008-04-11T05:06:04Z

TVWeek Author Who: Devin Alexander, host of Discovery Health Channel's "Healthy Decadence With Devin Alexander" and author of "The Biggest Loser Cookbook" and "Fast Food Fix" When: Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2007 Where: Devin's home kitchen, Brentwood, Calif. Dined On: Lots! Do you... http://www.tvweek.com/blogs/mels-diner/2007/08/mels-diner-devin-alexander.php Mel's Diner: Phil Rosenthal tag:www.tvweek.com,2007://6.24431 2007-08-03T17:53:04Z 2007-08-03T18:11:14Z

Who: Phil Rosenthal, media columnist, Chicago Tribune When: Friday, July 20, dinner Where: Simon L.A., Sofitel Hotel Dined On: This time I picked the restaurant, along with TelevisionWeek Design Director Jennifer Ciminillo, who introduced me to Phil Rosenthal, media columnist for the Chicago Tribune. I was a little nervous about it. I don't know Phil too well, but Jen said he knows a better restaurant from a not-better restaurant. And geez, turns out I and Simon L.A. had a tough act to follow: Phil told us over dinner that the previous weekend, his wife took him to the famed Charlie Trotter's back home in Chicago for a multicourse birthday dinner. Trotters is a restaurant-or, perhaps more aptly, dining destination-known as one of the best in the world. Once while traveling in Australia, Phil told a chef that he was from Chicago. The first thing the chef said: "Oooh, Chicago. Charlie Trotter's." Jen and I are fans of Simon L.A.'s dessert platter, which features cotton candy as the centerpiece. But I'm certain it's not revered halfway around the globe a la Trotter's. Still, the place is stylish, serves inventive drinks such as a grapefruit-basil martini and is centrally located, adjacent to the Beverly Center mall. They also serve a nice mac and cheese. Phil was in town for the Television Critics Association's semi-annual press tour. He's covered around 35 of the gatherings, having worked for 11 years as a journalist in Los Angeles before returning to his hometown 11 years ago. We sat on the Simon L.A. patio. It's pleasantly lit and heated, but there was one slightly weird thing about the atmosphere: A marathon of sentimental songs piping all evening. Not bad songs, just noticeably on the sad side. If I was a girl on a date, I'd have been bracing to be dumped romantic comedy-style. I e-mailed Phil a couple days later to ask what he thought of the restaurant. "It was lovely on the terrace, despite all those sad songs, and the company was good," he wrote. "Comfort food is comfort food. I mean, mac and cheese, little Hostess-style cupcakes, meatloaf. All that was missing from my childhood was a TV dinner tray with peas and carrots sauteed in the syrup that spilled over from the dessert next to it and a 'Partridge Family' rerun." Phil, who lived on the other side of the hill when he was an L.A. resident, seems still to be perfectly at home in Southern California. But personally, going back to Chicago was great for him, he said. "My wife, whom I met after she returned to Chicago, told me we probably wouldn't have dated if we had met when she was still living in L.A. because she didn't go out with guys who lived in the Valley," he said. "Now we have two variable-rate kids and a lovely mortgage." He's also got the claim to being half of the first married couple covered in Mel's Diner. His wife, Jennie Rosenthal, introduced me to the magnificence of Michael Mina's lobster pot pie during NATPE in January. The Dish: Call him the real Dr. Phil. As far as I know Phil and his work, he's always got a wise way of looking at things. An insight or two I hadn't thought of, whether the topic is media, careers or personal stuff. While at press tour, he was doing a lot of background and brain-bending for stories and columns down the line. "I'm looking for trends and new ways of looking at what's happening to the media business in the digital age," he said. The biggest story for Phil lately has been following Rupert Murdoch as he gunned for Dow Jones & Co. "The implications of that and discerning his strategies to take that company forward in the 21st century, like Sam Zell's efforts to turn around Tribune, could tell us a lot about where all media businesses are headed," he said. Tribune, of course, owns the Chicago Tribune, so that's got to be one of the trickiest companies for him to cover. "Apart from noting Tribune Co. owns the Chicago Tribune in stories, you have to set aside the fact it's your own company in your approach and dig in as tenaciously as you would in covering any story," Phil said. "After all, that's what you're paid to do." One challenge is that the folks at Tribune treat him no differently than anyone else covering them, and some people outside the company view him warily, he said. He's not in completely uncharted territory, though. When he worked at the L.A. Daily News and was in his mid-20s, he had to write a story that mentioned Jack Kent Cooke, who owned the paper. "I was sent to see him by an editor who thought he should have an opportunity to comment," Phil said. "The result was a terrifying experience in his office that ended with him telling me he thought I did very good work but I needed to work on my deportment. Oh, and no comment." The state of the newspaper biz continues to be a hot media topic, especially when critics from papers across the country are gathered for press tour. "I wonder how long press tour will continue, but I've been wondering that for a while and it endures," Phil said. "It's no secret newspapers are re-examining the role of television critics and eliminating the TV books that once were filled with stories banked from TCA interview sessions. "Blogging has changed things too, especially with wireless Internet access in the rooms," he added. "Maybe that helps. Maybe not. I don't know. What do I look like, Kreskin? You know the old saying: He who lives by the crystal ball learns to eat broken glass." Top that, McGraw!

TVWeek Author Who: Phil Rosenthal, media columnist, Chicago Tribune When: Friday, July 20, dinner Where: Simon L.A., Sofitel Hotel Dined On: This time I picked the restaurant, along with TelevisionWeek Design Director Jennifer Ciminillo, who introduced me to Phil Rosenthal, media columnist... http://www.tvweek.com/blogs/mels-diner/2007/08/who-phil-rosenthal-media-colum.php Mel's Diner: Steven Peterman and Michael Poryes tag:www.tvweek.com,2007://6.24105 2007-07-13T18:23:46Z 2007-07-13T18:48:34Z

Who: Steven Peterman and Michael Poryes, executive producers, "Hannah Montana" When: Thursday, June 28, breakfast Where: Mel's Diner, Hollywood Dined On: Your eyes are not fooling you. That is the sign for Mel's Diner on Highland in Hollywood. I met "Hannah Montana" executive producers Steven Peterman and Michael Poryes for Mel's Diner, at Mel's Diner. It's close to Tribune Studios, where they are in the throes of producing the second season of their tremendously popular Disney Channel series. "During the season, food is just what gets you through," Steven said. They have been working on the current 30-episode order since October and expect to keep it up until September. Steven had turkey hash. Michael ordered oatmeal. I had my usual: Poached eggs, toast, fruit and tea. I also had far more enthusiasm for the food than the showrunners showed. I see those eyebrows going up. Nooo, I am not playing faves just because of the restaurant's name. My breakfast was truly at least as good as the exact same order offered around town for four times the cost. What's more, the Mel's Diner atmosphere is fun and laid-back and the service is quick. It's smack in the middle of Hollywood, but still a few sweet steps away from the actual fray of Hollywood Boulevard. It is an easy-peasy central location for folks on either side of the hill. Something to consider for discreet, no-frills breakfast meetings. When I walked into Mel's Diner, Steven and Michael already were sitting in a window-seat booth. I was immediately impressed by how much energy and personality they both exude. (Bright and early, I might add.) I downed my tea quickly; if they could keep up with millions of tweenage fans and a young cast, I should do my best to keep pace at breakfast. I was not surprised to learn they both were performers early in their careers before going on to write and/or produce some of the most successful comedies to air in prime time. Steven's credits include "Murphy Brown," "Suddenly Susan" and "Becker"; Michael's include "That's So Raven," "Cybill," "The Facts of Life" and "Who's the Boss?" Steven, who attended Harvard, quit law school to be an actor. Michael left Berkeley to join a comedy troupe and go to "the college of waiting tables." Michael said he got his first agent the classic way: Someone he waited on found him funny. (I did, too, by the way.) What was remarkable was that these guys have been working together only since the beginning of the show. Michael co-created the show, and Steven joined the project soon after, co-writing the pilot. I took them to be longtime writing partners as I listened to them finish each other's sentences throughout our meal. They obviously share a similar sensibility. The dish: The Steven-Michael combo appears to be working. A few nights before we met for breakfast, "Hannah Montana" rang up its most-viewed episode: 7.4 million people watched Sunday, June 24, at 8:30 p.m., according to Disney Channel. That's a solid number-especially in summer, especially on cable, and especially for a kids show. (Some context: The program with the most viewers in prime time that same night was "60 Minutes" on CBS, earning 8.5 million viewers.) Also that week, the show's star, actor-singer Miley Cyrus, released her second album, "Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus." It was the top-selling record for the week in the U.S. (Miley's dad is country music recording artist Billy Ray Cyrus; he also plays her dad on the show.) Add to all the momentum a bunch of recent or upcoming cameos, and the show just may continue to snowball. Season two guests include Larry David, Joey Fatone, Dolly Parton, Vicki Lawrence and Jesse McCartney. A hit show is always a confluence of things-great writing, production values, casting, promotion, platform, timing, luck. But Steven and Michael are veterans with a clear vision and deserve some serious credit for "Hannah Montana's" success. They are, after all, working with a unique set of challenges. For one thing, cable shows like this typically are made for about half the budget of a typical prime-time comedy. Also, the show centers on the life of a teenage girl who happens to secretly be a rock star (only a few people in her life know it), so it operates in two different worlds. There's Miley's day-to-day life and then there's her alter ego singer Hannah Montana's life as a performer. These guys create a truly complex show each week. They avoid obvious jokes, and they aim to be responsible yet subtle with their core 6- to 11-year-old audience. "We try to make it so adults can watch," Steven said. "We don't write down," Michael said, adding that in a way it's harder than traditional prime time. "You can't go for the cheap, easy, sexy, edgy funny. There are more restrictions." The producers both said they feel a sense of personal integrity about this show. "We see if we can teach some morality, how to be a good person without shooting a flare up," Michael said. Then there's the little fact that Steven and Michael are grown men writing for a teenage girl character. That's actually the least of their concerns, they say. "Everybody has the same insecurities, same fears," Steven said. "When you get older you just have a bigger vocabulary. Michael and I having been performers, we also are familiar with that part of things." The writing process is very collaborative, they said. The entire staff, which all came out of prime time, writes all the episodes together. The producers also tell the kids in the cast to flag dialogue if it doesn't sound right to them and to suggest alternatives. Steven and Michael do all this with a largely inexperienced cast, which must film during limited hours due to child labor regulations. The producers are quickly bringing the cast along as they go. Their mantra lately is reminding the kids to hear the laugh of the studio audience; it helps with comedic timing. They say Miley's evolution is one of the most rewarding aspects of the job. She has literally grown before their eyes. She was 11 when they saw her tape, 12 when they cast her, and now she's going on 15. She's also shot up about a foot in that time, they said. "We are so lucky to have a show that can be so goofy, so silly, then have emotional moments," Steven said. "In the first season, Miley was more uncomfortable with the more emotional stuff. Now she not only can do it, she loves it." Miley is grounded and hard-working, they said. "She drinks it up," Michael said. "She soaks it up," Steven echoed. "Some of it she was just born with in her genes. She's seen her dad and wants to do this for the rest of her life." The producers also seem to be getting paid by this show with more goodwill and lifestyle perks than perhaps either has experienced in his career. Steven said he never thought he'd top the experience of working on "Murphy Brown," but just might be doing it with "Hannah Montana." Steven and Michael said they generally pull off their jobs by working approximately 8 a.m. to 7 or 8 p.m. Monday through Friday. That's an unusually civilized workday in the world of sitcoms. "I saw too many suns coming up working on other shows," Michael said. "We like our families, so we want to go home," Steven said. Prime time is just plain hard, he added. "You do the best you can, the show goes on the air," he said. "People say they saw the show, they might say it was cute, and that's about all you get. "Or they say it's cute but .," Michael chimed in. "On this show we get 'Omigod.' There's so much positive feedback." "Nobody's getting rich on cable, but everybody is proud to be part of this," Steven said.

TVWeek Author Who: Steven Peterman and Michael Poryes, executive producers, "Hannah Montana" When: Thursday, June 28, breakfast Where: Mel's Diner, Hollywood Dined On: Your eyes are not fooling you. That is the sign for Mel's Diner on Highland in Hollywood. I met... http://www.tvweek.com/blogs/mels-diner/2007/07/mels-diner-steven-peterman-and.php Mel's Diner: Paul Colichman tag:tvweek.com,2007://6.23862 2007-06-29T18:20:31Z 2007-06-29T23:58:58Z

Who: Paul Colichman, founder-CEO, here! Networks When: Monday, May 21, lunch Where: Mr. Chow, Beverly Hills The Dish: People warned Paul Colichman in 2002 that the cable industry is conservative. At the time, the producer of such acclaimed feature films as “Gods & Monsters” and “Tom and Viv” was getting ready to launch the premium gay TV network here!, the only programming service of its kind. Paul envisioned hip, sexy gay programming, not the ad-supported shows on Viacom’s Logo and NBC Universal’s Bravo that he refers to as “gay light.” “People don’t pay for that,” he said. “To be a pay service you cannot be coy. We knew we had to deliver authentic imagery.” As it turned out, cable operators and viewers alike have been receptive. “If this is conservative, it’s not so bad,” he said. As we shared lunch in late May, he was preparing for the July 1 launch of here! as a subscription video-on-demand service in 22 markets. The switch is likely to be the thing to put the 5-year-old endeavor, which now employs some 60 staffers, in the black, Paul said. “Americans, the vast majority, have a live-and-let-live attitude,” he said. “The people on Fox News are the vast minority,” he added. “They do not represent the heartland. They’re a teeny tiny group.” The service is available nationwide on all major cable systems and Internet TV providers in some form, but as of July 1 it will be available as subscription video-on-demand in 23 of the top 25 U.S. markets. Comcast is scheduled to pick up the service as SVOD in 21 markets, and Time Warner, which already offers it that way in New York, is due to add Los Angeles. Paul said he has had a lot of angels looking over this project. Logo, which might appear to be a competitor, was one of them. That channel, backed by media conglom Viacom, helped pave the way for here! by introducing the gay genre to the TV industry. “Though a lot were not wild about Logo, they got the message,” he said. The gay community is one of the most educated, affluent, influential populations in the U.S., with $650 billion in spending power this year, Paul reminded me. “That includes a lot of double-income, no-kid families with much disposable income,” he said. Privately held here! has come a long way since it was a germ of an idea for an investment in an underserved media market. Paul and Stephen P. Jarchow, his partner in motion picture company Regent, invested $40 million of their own money and Regent profits in here! Regent had been profitable for a decade, selling projects to more than 300 outlets worldwide, when Paul and Stephen started to look at how some other indie filmmakers’ careers progressed. They were particularly inspired by the path taken by media mogul Haim Saban, whom Forbes lists as the 98th richest man in America. “Haim chose a niche, then created an opportunity (with the Family Channel) for a cable network he could produce content for,” Paul said. Showtime and MTV, both Viacom companies at the time, were collaborating on a pay TV gay programming project. When that service, known as Outlet, was shelved, the opportunity opened up for Paul and Stephen to take that tack. (MTV Networks, of course, went on to launch the ad-supported Logo.) Initially, as a gay man, Paul thought Madison Avenue would accept his creative vision for here!, so he flirted with the idea of working sponsorships into the model. He met with a major advertiser who expressed interest in tapping the power of the demographic, but asked one key question: Would they show men kissing each other? Um, yeah. In that moment it was clear. Off to premium land they went. Dined on: Paul said he’s been coming to Mr. Chow as long as he can remember. It’s his favorite kind of business-lunch place. “Everyone here is doing the same thing, there’s great service, and it’s also delicious,” he told me before we ordered. Given all that, I was surprised to hear he has never seen the menu. A decade had passed since the last time I dined here, so I completely forgot that part of the allure of this celebrity favorite is menu-less ordering. Or, in our case, orderless ordering. The charming server chatted with us about what we might be hungry for and we made some health requests (Paul: no oil; me: food allergy clarifications). Soon we were surprised with an incredible spread that included dumplings and broccoli. The prices at Mr. Chow are certainly well above average. The restaurant technically is in the business of Chinese cuisine, but eating there is far from simply “going for Chinese.” I was amazed at how something as simple as broccoli truly can be better at a place like this. The seamless, elegant choreography with which they deliver the eats is worth mentioning. There’s a certain aura the wait staff brings to the table along with their crisp white jackets and plates of food. Though Mr. Chow is as well known as any L.A. restaurant for a rich, hip, Hollywood clientele, there was no star factor at lunch that I noticed. It was very much a business crowd. Coincidentally, though, a few days after Paul and I had lunch at Mr. Chow, I headed back there to meet some colleagues for dessert who were in from out of town. They gushed about how great their dinner was. At night, the restaurant is transformed into something closer to the Hollywood haunt I imagined at lunch, though more old-school. A camera crew was outside interviewing an 8-foot-tall woman who looked like a model—I think it was Angie Everhart. Jackie Collins and Marla Maples were at nearby tables, and the couple next to us told inside stories about $300K-a-year golfing at The Donald’s club. In other words, it’s the sort of place where Paris Hilton’s parents would hang out. Maybe even Nicky Hilton—but not likely Paris. In fact, the Hilton fam reportedly dined there, sans Paris, the night she began her jail sentence. On the Books: “Hannah Montana” Executive Producers Steven Peterman and Michael Poryes

TVWeek Author Who: Paul Colichman, founder-CEO, here! Networks When: Monday, May 21, lunch Where: Mr. Chow, Beverly Hills The Dish: People warned Paul Colichman in 2002 that the cable industry is conservative. At the time, the producer of such acclaimed feature films... http://www.tvweek.com/blogs/mels-diner/2007/06/mels-diner-paul-colichman.php Mel’s Diner: Lauren Corrao tag:newtvweek.epublishing.com,2007://6.23075 2007-06-08T21:03:02Z 2007-06-08T21:12:34Z

Who: Lauren Corrao, executive VP, original programming and development, Comedy Central When: Wednesday, May 16, lunch Where: Bistro 45, Pasadena The Dish: It was never more apparent to Lauren Corrao than the day we had lunch that nobody’s doing comedy. At least not on the broadcast networks, she said. It was the middle of the upfronts week, when the biggest networks reveal their fall schedules for advertisers in New York. The lineups included few new humorous offerings. That’s actually pretty okay with Lauren. She loves “being able to do comedy when no one else is— and do it well,” she said. As we dined, about eight new Comedy Central pilots were under way, with the casting process going on for one, director searches on others, one due to shoot in New York the following Monday, and the rest rolling between now and August. The network could have “as few as two going to series, or as many as five,” Lauren said. She officially announced her development slate on May 29. She gets shows, projects and ideas from all sorts of sources. For one thing, she believes in finding talent in the sea of amateur and short-form video circulating in new media platforms. For example, upcoming series “Lil Bush,” slated to premiere on Comedy Central on June 13, started on Amp’d Mobile. The network’s staff always has an eye out for the next “Lil Bush.” Each week people at the network on both coasts submit videos that go up on a site Lauren checks out over the weekend. Not that she’s not looking and laughing at that sort of thing all the time. The day we had lunch she was completely amused by a video her assistant and Comedy Central GM Michele Ganeless had each sent to her that morning. It depicts an unfortunate collision between a break dancer and a child spectator. “It’s not the twistedness of the child getting kicked” that made her laugh, she said. “But the surprise of it.” That’s her sense of humor. She likes the unexpected. “I do enjoy humor and love to be surprised. That’s probably the reason I’m more suited to cable,” said the executive, who has worked at MTV and Fox and as a producer. “Broadcast tends to be more predictable because they’re trying to appeal to a mass audience.” Dined On: Lauren said she comes to Bistro 45 all the time. It’s an elegant spot in a deco building in Pasadena and has developed a reputation as being one of the best restaurants in town. They offer an extensive wine list, wine dinners and truly wonderful food. It’s a little expensive, but I found you get what you pay for. She has lived in Pasadena for eight years now, and quickly became friends with the owner, Robert Simon, and his wife. Lauren, who has a 13-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son, met Robert at her daughter’s school. “I got into wine largely coming to this restaurant,” she said. She now keeps a stash of what she calls “the good stuff” both at home and the Comedy Central Stage. At lunch, Lauren and Robert thought it would be good to order just a half bottle to share among her, Comedy Central PR guru Jenni Runyan and me. It was French, a chardonnay, and I honestly can’t tell you much more about what I ate and drank. But I loved the cauliflower soup, my monkfish entrée and chocolate dessert. Lauren and Jenni both started with a salad laden with burata cheese that they reported was good, good, good. We shall blame my lack of additional fooddetailsontheimbibing. I rarely drink anything but water or iced tea at lunch. Or ever. Some so-called friends nicknamed me Half-Can Jan. (I swear, though: I took my time with the dessert, so no one was in danger when I hit the road back to the office). Lauren said we Americans have something to learn from the Europeans about the whole drink-at-lunch, work-to-live idea. The British, too. (She worked in London for a year.) “At lunch there, you go to pubs and people down two pints, sometimes two bottles of wine,” she said. “I’d get back from lunch and have to put my head down and sleep for an hour.” On the Books: here!’s Paul Colichman

TVWeek Author Who: Lauren Corrao, executive VP, original programming and development, Comedy Central When: Wednesday, May 16, lunch Where: Bistro 45, Pasadena The Dish: It was never more apparent to Lauren Corrao than the day we had lunch that nobody’s doing comedy.... http://www.tvweek.com/blogs/mels-diner/2007/06/mels-diner-lauren-corrao.php Mel's Diner: Steve Lipscomb tag:newtvweek.epublishing.com,2007://6.22441 2007-06-01T20:20:11Z 2007-06-08T16:39:02Z

Who: Steve Lipscomb, founder and president-CEO, WPT Enterprises, the World Poker Tour and the Professional Poker Tour When: Wednesday, May 2, lunch Where: Luna Park The Dish: Steve and I met for what has become an increasingly rare moment—he was actually in town! The globe-trotter, whose “World Poker Tour” shoots all over the world, was just back from the Bellagio in Las Vegas, where he filmed the 100th episode of the show that launched a thousand poker projects. The Bellagio tournament featured a $16 million prize pool, generated by 639 people plunking down a $25,000 buy-in. It was the largest non-online gaming kitty ever, he said. He planned to stay in town the whole week, resting for a few weeks, then kicking off production on the sixth season of the show at the Mirage. With the new season, “WPT” is moving to GSN from the Travel Channel. Steve renegotiated his deal last year to allow him to create non-gaming projects outside of the WPT business he founded, he said. But he’s still so excited about what he does with WPT that “it’s impossible to take time” for different projects, Steve said. We marveled together at the evolution of this company, which I have followed since its inception. I wrote the first piece about WPT when I was a reporter at Variety, just a few paragraphs about this guy who got funding, formed a poker league and started shooting episodes of a show before making a deal with a network. All this on the belief that poker should be a regularly televised sport. Before just about single-handedly igniting the televised poker boom, Steve was a lawyer-turned-documentarian who was creating shows with Norman Lear and Al Burton. “It’s been quite a process of starting a little business at a studio with four people on the lot,” he said. It since has grown into more than a hundred full-time employees, plus dozens more on production days. From this point, Steve is focused on lining up new business (and of course his TVWeek.com blog “From the Inside Looking In”). Among the things Steve has percolating: -He signed a deal with Grup Peralada, the largest casino group in Spain, to put a WPT event in their Barcelona casino; they also will attempt to launch a regional poker tour together. -PlayWPT.com launches in late June, and Steve said he expects it to be the company’s biggest revenue source. It features online poker, and eventually casino poker, in legal territories. -He’s also launching a new business in July by “taking layers of the TV brand strength to drive new businesses internationally.” The concept is to “use every consumer touchpoint,” from TV to playing cards, to drive people to the online site. “The strength of the brand we have built extends far and wide, with 150 countries and territories having aired the show,” he told me by e-mail later. “The plan is to leverage that brand awareness to build this business.” -WPT is getting into the online community that is building around games of chance that don’t involve money changing hands. Steve believes there’s a lucrative business opportunity there, even if Internet gambling is never legalized in the U.S. Steve is exploring subscription models that will allow people to enjoy the online gaming experience within the confines of the sweepstakes laws, he said. “This will be the tentpole that we will use to build a robust poker community,” Steve said. Since WPT is a public company, Steve spends a lot of time on legal and reporting stuff. Still, he says it’s never the same day twice. “It’s the exact opposite of Groundhog Day.” “I have great people working with me,” including a new assistant, he said. “She is great. It feels like ‘The West Wing’ sometimes. I walk in, and she’s got four people lined up and organized and waiting to find out an answer to something different every time.” Dined On: While Steve’s life is anything but routine, he keeps coming back to Luna Park time and again. In fact, this was at least the third time he and I have met here for lunch in the last couple years. “It defines great food and a great scene without being a Hollywood scene,” he said. He brings everyone here, from owners of media congloms and celebrities to my sister, he said. “Everyone says they’ve got to come back here.” The menu offers a range of inspired dishes without being pretentious. It’s always well-executed, and the staff is friendly without being annoyingly chummy. Example: Steve said he rarely deviates from his usual, the whitefish sandwich. The waitress subtly nodded when he ordered his favorite, acknowledging without intruding. For dessert we shared s’mores, capping off what the waitress called “the full Luna Park experience.” On the books: Comedy Central’s Lauren Corrao

Who: Steve Lipscomb, founder and president-CEO, WPT Enterprises, the World Poker Tour and the Professional Poker Tour When: Wednesday, May 2, lunch Where: Luna Park The Dish: Steve and I met for what has become an increasingly rare moment—he... http://www.tvweek.com/blogs/mels-diner/2007/06/mels-diner-steve-lipscomb.php Mel's Diner: Chuck LaBella tag:newtvweek.epublishing.com,2007://6.22440 2007-05-25T20:59:15Z 2007-06-08T16:26:40Z

Who: Chuck LaBella, executive producer, Starz’s “The Bronx Bunny” When: Monday, April 23, lunch Where: Pane e Vino The Dish: Chuck LaBella spent much of the week we met for lunch getting calls about actor Alec Baldwin’s infamous voicemail to his daughter. A native of Massapequa in Long Island, N.Y., Chuck went to high school with the Baldwin brothers. He’s particularly tight with Billy Baldwin, he said, and folks consider him a “Baldwin touchstone.” He wasn’t exactly raring to offer his thoughts on Alec’s situation on the record, so I can’t tell ya his reaction to the voicemail. A quirky coincidence that did come up on the record: Chuck’s obsession with the television business, which has been with him since he was 6 years old, focused quite early on NBC headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York. He was aware of 30 Rock, the source of many of his favorite shows, and just really, really wanted to work there someday. Of course, that’s what Alec’s character on, wellll, NBC series “30 Rock” does. Chuck did get a gig there as an intern in development at the beginning of his career. He went on to work as a radio personality and producer and then became the first talent executive for “Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher.” Given his knack for getting to know people and the fact that Chuck has a nice way about him, he became one of the most sought-after talent and celebrity producers. He’s worked on “The Late Late Show With Craig Kilborn” and “Celebrity Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” Recently he was talent producer on NBC’s “Grease: You’re the One That I Want” and “Thank God You’re Here” and ABC’s “The Next Big Thing” and “The Big Give.” He continues booking shows, but what Chuck was most excited about at lunch was the fact that Starz was in the midst of debuting “The Bronx Bunny,” his first big show of his own. Part of the pay cabler’s new comedy block, “The Bronx Bunny” is a talk show led by two foul-mouthed puppets, Bronx Bunny and Teddy T. (“T” standing for Tourette’s syndrome). The puppets are remarkably well prepared for celebrity interviews on the show and “take the piss” out of the guests, Chuck said. There’s puppet porn and lots and lots of language you won’t hear on “Sesame Street.” ‘It’s filthy, it’s filthy,” Chuck said. “But it’s funny, too. My mother saw it and said, ‘Honey, that’s filthy. But funny.’ She saw ‘Grease’ and liked that, then saw this, which was quite different. “The show is funny aside from the crudeness,” he said. “You can get away with anything with puppets.” When “Star Wars” star Mark Hamill was on the show, the puppets said they know everyone asks him the same questions over and over, Chuck said. Then the duo told him they were going to do the exact same effing thing. Chuck’s partners on the show are a couple of Irish guys who were doing some work with these characters in the U.K., utilizing the Bronx accents. “They created this because they loved ‘The Sopranos,’” Chuck said. “Being Irish, I guess they were raised with the same Catholic guilt.” Chuck experienced the “whole spectrum of cliche experiences” getting the project on the air. He is really pleased to have wound up at Starz, which he said seems to be genuinely looking to emulate a young HBO with its new, edgy originals. Dined On: Chuck picked Pane e Vino for its authenticity. “I come here for the red sauce and garlic,” he said. If you didn’t gather from his last name, or the name of the restaurant, we’re talking Italian cuisine. Neither of us went the tomato route at this meal, however. Rather, Chuck suggested his regular lunch special option, paillard di pollo con rucola e asiago (aka pounded chicken breast with arugula and Asiago cheese). It was simple and light and I could see why he considers it whenever he comes here. An added bonus: While we sat outside, I personally enjoyed dining on a patio that was relatively free of bits of nature. I don’t know why this always is the case, but my favorite Italian restaurants in L.A. seem to come with the added danger of getting pelted in the head, the plate or both by things falling from trees. Pane e Vino steers clear of these hazards. Another of my favorite “real” Italian restaurants in L.A., Orso, gets me every single time. There are lots and lots of options for good Italian fare in Los Angeles. Dare I ask, what is your favorite? On the Books: World Poker Tour’s Steve Lipscomb

Who: Chuck LaBella, executive producer, Starz’s “The Bronx Bunny” When: Monday, April 23, lunch Where: Pane e Vino The Dish: Chuck LaBella spent much of the week we met for lunch getting calls about actor Alec Baldwin’s infamous voicemail... http://www.tvweek.com/blogs/mels-diner/2007/05/mels-diner-chuck-labella.php Mel's Diner: Ross Greenburg tag:newtvweek.epublishing.com,2007://6.22439 2007-05-11T12:57:11Z 2007-06-15T22:34:17Z

Who: Ross Greenburg, president, HBO Sports When: Saturday, May 5, lunch Where: Studio Café , MGM Grand hotel and casino, Las Vegas Dined On: Apologies to my foodie friends, because the eats were truly beside the point of this lunch. We were fed by atmosphere, people! Ray Stallone from HBO Sports communications department arranged for a great booth at the Studio Café overlooking the jam-packed MGM Grand casino floor just hours before the WBC Super Welterweight Championship fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather. In the run up to HBO’s exclusive live pay per view telecast of the bout, descending boxing fans and throngs of people celebrating Cinco de Mayo created 405 freeway-style pedestrian traffic jams throughout the MGM and the routes to it from other hotels. Among the people in the MGM crowd was Lennox Lewis’ mom Violet, who stopped by with a friend to exchange warm hellos with Ross. The Dish: I got to meet Ross Greenburg on a big day at the end of a big week. Or maybe I should say a big six months, since the match up and the four-part behind-the-scenes HBO Sports reality show about the boxers, “24/7,” started coming together in December. I immediately got the sense he was savoring the magnitude of the day, which HBO and De La Hoya’s promo machine Golden Boy Productions hyped as the one “The World Awaits.” In addition to all the week-of prep and decision-making, like bumping up the number of cameras from 18 to 20 (with one dedicated to celeb watching), he’d been busy talking to the press. The day before our lunch, I punched his name into the Factiva news search and up popped 55 articles for the previous week alone. “I woke up at 4:30 this morning unable to sleep,” he said. Although he arrived in Las Vegas Thursday, and this was Saturday, he attributed the restlessness to a combination of adjusting from the East Coast to West Coast time zone and the sort of fight night jitters he generally only got when he was personally the producer of the telecast. When I asked him what needed to happen for him to deem the event a success, he said everything was pretty much considered done. Some 7,000 hours of footage for “24/7” was turned around in a matter of four months, making it practically real-time. The producers had to deal with vast challenges like keeping up with Mayweather’s unusual training schedule. That sometimes meant going for a run at 1 a.m. But it was worth it. “24/7” clearly connected with people and raised the profile of the match and the sport, he said. On average, the first two weeks of the show averaged a cumulative 4.1 million viewers, according to HBO. “From here, it’s gravy,” he said. Well, mostly. Ross admitted his dream was to find out when the PPV numbers come in that the fight has “blown the top off the record.” (His wish came true.) The fight itself was a hot ticket too. I overheard someone at the airport saying he was offered $25,000 for his $2,000 ticket. Ross said his brother knew of someone who paid $90,000 for four seats. In fact, Ross, a 29-year veteran of HBO Sports, said the ticket requests he got were unprecedented and included many from the celeb ranks. He expected 200-ish real deal stars to attend. Ross was scheduled to sit in the third row with HBO Chairman-CEO Chris Albrecht and fight fan and Time Warner Chairman and CEO Richard Parsons. Leonard DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire had seats a few rows behind them. Ross said he was “so proud” for Chris Albrecht and the rest of the network to “take ownership in an event like this. It’s not that often HBO can take ownership in a Super Bowl-like event.” I was scheduled to attend the big bout and was nervous about it. Would somebody get really hurt? Would I feel guilty enjoying violence framed as a game, like I was watching Gladiators? Ross assured me that the apparent world-class athleticism would impress me and that the feeling in the arena is remarkable, especially when the crowd roars as Oscar walks in. “I’m an emotional guy—have you seen our documentaries?” Ross said with endearing self-deprecation. (Yes, by the way. I’m a huge fan of the HBO Sports.) “When people scream as De La Hoya enters, I wonder, God what that must feel like for him,” Ross said. “There is nothing like the electricity of a prize fight.” He was right. A few hours after lunch I found myself physically feeling the hum of the full arena as the fans waited for the athletes to make their entrances. I’ve been to pro hockey games, NBA finals, NASCAR. The only sporting event that came close to this feeling of being part of a true American spectacle was a big game in University of Michigan’s Big House, which holds exponentially more seats than the space I was in. What I’ve never seen is such a clearly one-sided crowd. At least once during every round people began chanting “Oscar.” When Mayweather was named the winner, I heard nothing but “Boooo!” A lot of the press I read leading up to the event questioned whether boxing was dead or dying and whether this fight could save it. Considering the enthusiasm I witnessed that weekend and the $120 million in pay-per-view revenue the fight generated that night, I found that anthem kind of kooky. Ross insisted the boxing-is-dead refrain is hogwash. “I’ve done enough research on this sport through documentaries, all sorts of programs and I can tell you there have been certain times over a period of 100 years, usually when the heavyweight title is in question, when people say boxing is dying,” he said, adding that there was a headline once that asked whether Joe Louis could save boxing. It’s not the glory days of the 1980s right now, but “I know this sport is not dying. It’s not dead. It’s here to stay on HBO,” he told me. He also said he has a theory about all the boxing-is-dead buzz. “A lot of fringe writers and journalists who do not cover our sport on a daily basis are now turning their attention to De La Hoya and Mayweather and perhaps rationalizing why they have not been writing about these people by saying it’s a dying sport,” he said. Whether that’s true or not, Ross has been taking steps to keep a spotlight on and grow the sport. For it to continue thriving, “the storytelling and drama of the fighters needs to come through.” HBO in the last couple years has been spending more time on interstitial vignettes about boxers and upping the amount of profiles during boxing telecasts. “24/7” of course also was part of an effort to draw people into the drama and personalities of the sport. He’s also committed to telling these stories in a truthful, artful way. “We are documentarians at HBO Sports,” he said, adding that before joining HBO he picked up a lot as a young P.A. at ABC Sports under the late Roone Arledge’s tenure. He said he applies Roone’s philosophies to everything HBO Sports does. “You can’t fool the American public,” he said. “We need to deliver truth.” That’s why he gives announcers freedom to speak their minds, he said. He told me a story of how Jim Lampley, who announced Saturday’s fight, says one of his fondest memories of doing a fight with Ross was the Lennox Lewis-Evander Holyfield fight in which Lewis appeared to win. It was deemed a draw. “Before the crowd could start chanting I hit his IFB and said, ‘Go for it,’” he said. Jim came up with a one minute diatribe that some consider a great part of boxing history. Another moment in HBO boxing that will go down in history is the fact that the night of the De La Hoya-Mayweather fight ended on a sour note for Chris Albrecht. He got into an altercation outside the MGM that landed him in jail. He was forced to resign a few days later on May 9. On the Books: Chuck LaBella, executive producer, Starz series “The Bronx Bunny”

Who: Ross Greenburg, president, HBO Sports When: Saturday, May 5, lunch Where: Studio Café , MGM Grand hotel and casino, Las Vegas Dined On: Apologies to my foodie friends, because the eats were truly beside the point of this... http://www.tvweek.com/blogs/mels-diner/2007/05/mels-diner-ross-greenburg.php Mel's Diner: Bob Madden tag:newtvweek.epublishing.com,2007://6.22438 2007-05-04T21:49:09Z 2007-06-08T16:26:40Z

Who: Bob Madden, president-chief operating officer, CBS Television Distribution When: Wednesday, April 18, lunch Where: Pizzeria Mozza, Los Angeles The Dish: Good things happen when Bob Madden eats pizza. Bob has been referred to as the third King brother, having worked with the syndication veterans/legends/brothers Roger and Michael King for more than two decades. So I hoped if I got him drunk on high-end pizza he would spill an on-the-record anecdote or two. Bless those pies, that is what he did. Lots of tales have been told about the legendary King family, who made many waves while distributing “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “Dr. Phil,” “Wheel of Fortune,” “Jeopardy!” and “Inside Edition” forever and ever. Bob has been there firsthand for many of them. One of my favorites I’ve heard involves Roger paying guys in the bathroom line at a casino $1,000 each to allow him to cut in front of them. The Kings “have done many exciting things, but their reputation is exaggerated,” Bob said. “Deep down, they’re just brilliant, good men.” They spent a lot of time “knocking on doors and sitting in general managers’ offices when no one would hear them,” he said. They are “once-in-a-lifetime characters. … The opportunity to be with legends like them is rare.” Among the things Bob has been there for was the $2.5 billion sale of King World to CBS in 1999. And he was there last September when CBS Corp. created CBS Television Distribution Group, which combined CBS Paramount Domestic Television, King World and CBS Paramount International Television into one unit. Bob and John Nogawski both were given the titles of president-COO of the new division. Roger King, who Bob says still gets excited “about the sale of any item,” is CEO. When Bob told me how he first hooked up with the Kings, I thought, Sure, I imagine that would be exactly how he became their consigliere. In 1985, Bob had a thriving divorce law business in Beverly Hills. Michael King came to him for some legal help buying a home in Malibu. They had plans to go out to dinner one night to talk shop, but when Michael showed up at Bob’s house they decided instead to order in—imagine this—pizza. They also shared a few cocktails. Michael told Bob about Oprah Winfrey and at one point, probably early the next day, Bob agreed to go work with them. The next day (er, maybe later that morning?), Bob began extracting himself from 100 divorce cases. It took him 60 days (He still keeps his legal license up.) He worked for the Kings personally for 11 years; then in 1996, when the COO of King World Productions left the company, Bob replaced him. Bob now is eyeing development for the 2008-09 season. The company—which now includes all that King World had plus such shows as “Entertainment Tonight” and “Judge Judy,” something like 70,000 hours total—is considering many projects, including two game shows with Sony, “Combination Lock” and “Joker’s Wild.” But with eight of the top 10 shows in syndication, CBS isn’t desperate to launch another one. All new projects have to meet three criteria: Be well-produced, well-sold (strong time slots, stations), and profitable. Depending how development goes for next year, that means CBS “could have none or 10,” Bob said. Dined On: Bob Madden and I both visited this restaurant once before. But his Mozza “first” is a way better story than mine. No disrespect, of course, to NATPE boss Rick Feldman, who joined me there in March. It’s just that Bob dined with “Everybody Loves Raymond” creator Phil Rosenthal there a year ago, before it was open, construction was complete or the delish menu was set. Before, ahem, “everybody” else—and at Phil’s suggestion. (Phil, who’s also passionate about food, is an investor in Mozza as well as Jar in L.A.). During Bob’s first meal at Mozza, restaurateur Nancy Silverton, one of the partners, personally brought out a selection of pizzas for him and Phil to try while they hammered out their approach to converting the first four seasons of “Raymond” to high definition (the later seasons were all shot in HD). Bob’s division at CBS syndicates “Raymond,” and the HD upgrade he and Phil worked out last year has gone smoothly. He said they were on target for every episode of the show to air in HD starting in February. The seven-figure cost to pull off the switch is a sound investment in the grand scheme for the sitcom, he said. “It’s a classic,” Bob said. “We want to present it for the next 30 years in the best possible way.” Nancy did not personally bring the bianco, funghi and fennel sausage pizzas that Bob and I shared with John Wentworth, CBS TV Distribution’s exec VP of communications. But the food and service did not disappoint. Bob and I are both Detroit-raised, full-blooded Italian Americans, so it seemed fitting to end our meal by enforcing my favorite Italian family dining rule: My mom taught me to always leave the table on a sweet note. So I insisted we order dessert. It took a giant twist of the arm (uh-huh), but I talked the CBS guys into a butterscotch something or other. Yum. I know it looks like we ate a ton. Bob, for one, can afford it. He ventures out of his Pacific Palisades home every day for a 5- to 8-mile run. He has covered every street from Hermosa Beach to Ventura to the Hollywood Bowl and beyond, using a 1997 Thomas Guide to map his adventures. On the Books: Boxing(ing) lunch in Las Vegas with HBO Sports’ Ross Greenburg

Who: Rob Silverstein, executive producer, “Access Hollywood” When: Monday, April 16, lunch Where: The Ivy, Los Angeles The Dish: I’ve known Rob for years. He has always been a competitive guy, and so fun to talk to because of it. At lunch he seemed especially riled up about the “other shows.” Maybe it was the impending May sweeps. Or the seemingly unending, cutthroat-and-costly-to-cover Anna Nicole Smith stories. But I did get the sense more than ever that I will never catch him exchanging pretend Hollywood kiss-kisses with his competitors on the red carpet. It’s certainly not uncommon for folks to jump around in TV jobs. “Access” has lost a few staff members in the last 18 months; it sounds like Rob struggles with it. Anybody who leaves “Access Hollywood” and winds up at a competing show, “I have a hard time with it,” he said. “I take this very seriously. I’ve lived this for 11 years.” Former host Pat O’Brien went to CBS’s “Entertainment Tonight” spin-off “The Insider” two seasons ago. He saw Pat at the Golden Globes. “When I see him I say hello,” he said of Pat, who he’s known for a good decade and a half. “Maybe we’ll hook up again.” Rob’s team separates itself from other syndicated newsmags with “presentation and attitude,” he said. He’s always looking for distinguishing features, like the big push he planned at the Cannes Film Festival this year. It’s devised, he said, “to combat the monkey stories others roll out at sweeps.” “Access” has been in rebuilding mode since Pat’s and the other departures, he said. It’s now in quite a good place. Daily viewership is up 8 percent year-to-year, and the “Access” Web site is cranking after a revamp in September and an infusion of staff. Rob now is pondering the creation of new shows. He and “Access” co-host Billy Bush talk a lot about both a late-night show and a daytime vehicle. Rob envisions the daytime one as a sort of “Regis and Kelly” with more video. He said Billy, who he calls his “moment machine,” would be outstanding as talent on both. The two are tight. Rob clearly values Billy’s spontaneous, bold approach to things. He also values a tell-it-like-it-is vibe on the show. He told me a story about an interview Billy did with Lindsay Lohan after she and Wilmer Valderrama broke up. Rob was in the control room—and Billy’s earpiece. Lindsay said something about the split being mutual. “I blurted in Billy’s ear, ‘It’s never mutual!’” Rob said. Immediately Billy leaned in and said to Lindsay, “It’s never mutual.” Um, uncomfortable … but, hey, much more fun to watch, no? Rob is a very hands-on producer. “I approve the scripts, read every word, you have to be in the control room every day,” he said. “It moves too fast not to do it like I do.” Still, Rob said he could see himself handling one other daily show in addition to “Access” within the next three years. He does lots of specials. “Access” recently produced one on Anna Nicole for MyNetworkTV that was a ratings win for the struggling freshman outfit. MyNet and “Access” have plans to collaborate on at least a half-dozen more specials, with more likely down the line. When MyNet President Greg Meidel phoned Rob about doing them, Greg called the “Access” team “animals,” Rob said, beaming like he could not have received a greater compliment. Dined On: Rob picked this restaurant partly for the celeb spectacle it’s known for. His show does, after all, cover the every move of every starlet known to frequent this place. The Ivy plays host daily to a string of what he calls lunch-hour “premieres.” Stars with a hankering for publicity, or even just a good hair day, know they can come here and count on being captured in flattering noon-time light. “There are lots of great restaurants,” Rob said. “There’s no reason to come here over and over unless you want to be seen.” There was one other draw at The Ivy that day: Stone crab, one of Rob’s life-long favorites. Though he was pretty sure it was not exactly in season, he gave it a shot. His review: “Good, not great.” Restaurants rarely serve it cold enough, and it’s always best when “sweet and cold,” he said. Not that The Ivy’s crab stood a chance against the memory of fresh stone crab at Joe’s in Miami. That’s where Rob’s dad “Big Al” took the then New York-based family every year during Christmastime vacations when Rob was a kid. Rob continues the tradition with his wife and four kids (daughters, 13 and 8; and twin 11-year-old sons) by ordering Joe’s shipped to his home in Tarzana every New Year’s. On the books: Next week Mel’s Diner features CBS Television Distribution’s Bob Madden.

Who: Rob Silverstein, executive producer, “Access Hollywood” When: Monday, April 16, lunch Where: The Ivy, Los Angeles The Dish: I’ve known Rob for years. He has always been a competitive guy, and so fun to talk to because of... http://www.tvweek.com/blogs/mels-diner/2007/04/mels-diner-rob-silverstein.php Mel’s Diner: Tracy Green tag:newtvweek.epublishing.com,2007://6.22436 2007-04-20T21:36:03Z 2007-06-08T16:26:39Z

Who: Tracy Green, executive VP, Lion Television USA Where: Cabana Restaurant, Four Seasons Hotel When: Monday, April 2, lunch The Dish: The next great frontier of prime time is right at all of our fingertips, as far as Lion TV USA’s Tracy Green is concerned. It’s the human body. “We are a nation of hypochondriacs,” she told me the other day over lunch. So when her colleague at Lion in the U.K. came up with what she called an inspired idea to follow the health of 100 people, she ran with an Americanized version of the concept and dubbed it “Diagnosis Live.” The show is devised as a “mystery” in which a handful of participants undergo a battery of the most advanced medical tests available. The results then get revealed live on the air. The format already has been sold in Australia, Tracy said, and she is pitching it to U.S. networks now while her colleagues at Lion, a busy, U.K.-based production outfit, are pitching the show internationally at MIP. This project is her baby, she says. She’s been spending much of her creative energy lately sorting out its execution. She also just started talking to networks and distributors about “Party Bus,” a new program inspired by Lion’s “Cash Cab,” in addition to negotiating the distribution of the live entertainment program “Let Me Entertain You.” “Party Bus” is a game show much like “Cash Cab,” which Discovery has locked up for the U.S. Instead of being set in a taxi, it takes place—you guessed it—on a bus. Buyers have been clamoring for something like “Cash Cab,” Tracy said, illustrating how a little track record can go a long way in TV today. Tracy, on the other hand, is dying for more live or live-to-tape productions. Her roots are in local TV, and she said she savors any opportunity to be in a control room experiencing the sort of as-it-happens moments that are unique to, well, as-it-happens TV. In addition to “Diagnosis Live,” “Party Bus,” “Entertain” and some other shows in development, Tracy’s mind was on her U.K. bosses as we sat at the Four Seasons. “I feel a tremendous responsibility to find and create a hit for them,” she said of the company, which charged her with drumming up a Los Angeles-based business for them in 2005. She expected “Diagnosis Live” to be “a big star” for the company at MIP. “The medical genre is huge, but no one’s really figured how to do it on the networks,” she said. “The idea is you’re sitting at home and watching and say, ‘Omigod I’m so glad that guy went on that show.’” The aim is “not to find someone with an embolism about to burst on the air,” she said, but rather to find things early and help people get the attention they need before they get sick. It’s about showing the power of preventive medicine. Dined On: Tracy picked the Cabana Restaurant for a few reasons. First, Four Seasons venues tend to be popular among international business travelers, she said, and being that she works for a global company some foreign fare seemed appropriate. Besides, a warm-beer-and-bangers-and-mash-serving English pub, while being perhaps more fitting “might be too smelly.” Plus she got her job offer here and took her parents to Cabana once she accepted the offer. Whatever reasons brought me to this quiet patio dining area adjacent to the hotel spa, I was happy to be there. My Mediterranean trio, Tracy’s chicken skewers and the cobb salad we split were good, and as I expected, I loved the freshly-brewed passion fruit vanilla iced tea concoction. I pay good attention to which restaurants do iced tea right, and knew even if I hated the Cabana food (certainly not the case) I’d at least have a brilliant glass of the stuff. Every Four Seasons I’ve dined at takes iced tea seriously. They serve it with ice cubes made out of the tea—so as the ice melts it doesn’t dilute the drink. How smart is that?