Mel's Diner
Interviews with TV industry figures over their favorite meals.
FX's John Landgraf Wants To Bring the Noise...Again
WHO: John Landgraf, President-General Manager, FX Networks WHERE: Versailles, Culver City, Calif. WHEN: June 2009 THE DISH: When FX launched edgy Emmy-winning drama The Shield in 2002, it proved what was then thought impossible: A basic cable network could be home to one of the best original shows on TV. And as the network pumped out more hits, FX became known for its gritty, hig ...... Read More
Comments (0)Lionsgate TV's Kevin Beggs: A Guide's Guide
WHO: Kevin Beggs, Lionsgate TV Programming and Production President WHERE: Julienne, San Marino, Calif. WHEN: April 27, 2009, lunch THE DISH: How’s this for some good news: There is a new buyer in town. Shortly after Lionsgate, the indie studio behind the huge horror franchise Saw and TV series Mad Men, Weeds and Crash, acquired TV Guide Network for $255 million in March, the network made a ...... Read More
Comments (0)Sue Naegle's New Recipe for HBO
WHO: Sue Naegle, President of Entertainment, HBO WHERE: Le Pain Quotidien, Studio City, Calif. WHEN: April 2009 THE DISH: It’s just a few weeks shy of a year since Sue Naegle made her big career shift when we meet for breakfast at the casual, quiet Le Pain Quotidien in Studio City. She left her 16-year stint at talent agency UTA to become president of entertainment at HBO on May 1, 2008, an ...... Read More
Comments (5)Good morning, TV Biz Twitterers. What’s for Breakfast?
Does anyone really care about what other people eat for breakfast? It’s a legitimate question prompted by the proliferation of meaningless info in the social-networking media age. Here at Mel’s Diner, of course, the answer is often “Yes.” I care more about what folks in the TV industry have to say over their meals (particularly during an interview with yours truly) than ...... Read More
Comments (0)Who in TV Ate What Today -- According to Twitter
We’ve all been hearing a lot recently about Twitter, its democratization of media/info/etc etc and the incredible things we can all learn from it. In the last few days, I couldn’t resist the urge to check out how it’s evolved since I set up a couple of accounts last year, which I’ve left largely dormant until now. This weekend I picked one account (twitter.com/melissagr ...... Read More
Comments (0)How to Eat Cheap -- Part Deux
Several readers kindly pointed us in the direction of more ways to dine out on fewer dimes since I posted How to Eat Cheap. Thank you for your responses! Among the tips or deals I’ve stumbled on since… *Tasting Table posted a calendar online of New York City recession deals on a section of its Web site dedicated to the New York area . (I definitely recommend double-checking with the ...... Read More
Comments (1)New Rules for Working Meals
For years, a major media company’s communications executive and I have met for lunch at the same reasonably priced French restaurant halfway between his office in Burbank and mine on Wilshire Boulevard. And for years, we fought over the check. Until the other day. When the bill arrived, we looked at each other, sensing unfamiliar territory. Then in unison, we offered: “Split it? ...... Read More
Comments (0)How to Eat Cheap
Chances are your interest in going out to eat hasn’t waned at all since you dutifully started to reel in your T&E spending; you may, in fact, find yourself wanting to get out to eat even more since cutting back on the official wining and dining. But believe it or not, there’s some good news about the recession: Feeding your dining habit out of your own hard-earned ducats can actu ...... Read More
Comments (2)Tony Vinciquerra: Get to Know the Man at the Top of Fox's TV Food Chain
WHO: Tony Vinciquerra, Chairman and CEO, Fox Networks Group WHERE: Spark Woodfire Grill, Los Angeles WHEN: Monday, March 16, 2009 THE DISH: Fox Networks Group Chairman Tony Vinciquerra has been on the Mel’s Diner wish list for a while. That’s partly because he is one of the very few people who know every nook and cranny of the television business, from running local stations to the n ...... Read More
Comments (0)Fly on the Wall -- Where Steve McPherson and Ari Emanuel Dine and The Arquettes and Harper-Derns Double-Date
The darkly-lit dining room of the Brentwood Restaurant & Lounge was host to at least two power dinners Monday night (3/2/09). ABC Entertainment boss Stephen McPherson, who was recently tapped to oversee both the company’s broadcast network and studio, was seen dining at the front of the restaurant with Endeavor founding partner Ari Emanuel (aka the inspiration for Entourage’s Ari ...... Read More
Comments (0)Fremantle’s Cecile Frot-Coutaz: In Search of the Next ‘American Idol’
WHO: Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO, FremantleMedia North America; executive producer, American IdolWHERE: Barsac Brasserie, North Hollywood, Calif.WHEN: Monday, Feb. 23, 2009, lunch THE DISH: Barsac Brasserie is louder and more crowded than usual, says Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO of FremantleMedia North America, as she sits down to lunch. She likes quiet restaurants. “My voice doesn’t carry,&# ...... Read More
Comments (2)Jimmy Kimmel: Two Nut-Averse Italians Walk Into a Taco Shop...
WHO: Jimmy Kimmel, host/executive producer, Jimmy Kimmel Live WHERE: Loteria Grill, Hollywood, Calif. WHEN: Mon., Feb. 9, dinner THE DISH: Jimmy Kimmel is a self-described student of the late-night TV game (Not to mention a fan of the competition — see his shirt). When we have dinner down the street from his show, we talk all about it — Jay Leno’s surprising decision to stay ...... Read More
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