4A
/ ENTERTAINMENT / FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
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Conceptis SudoKu
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2010 Concepts Puzzles, Dist. by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
Difficulty Level ★★★★
Difficulty Level ★★★
Answer to previous puzzle
SKETCHBOOK
7 2 5 9 4 8 1 3 6
4 6 1 2 3 7 9 8 5
3 9 8 1 6 5 4 7 2
9 5 6 7 8 2 3 4 1
2 8 4 3 1 9 5 6 7
1 7 3 4 5 6 2 9 8
5 4 9 8 7 1 6 2 3
6 3 7 5 2 4 8 1 9
8 1 2 6 9 3 7 5 4
LITTLE SCOTTIE
Drew Stearns
Todd Pickrell and Scott A. Winer
THE NEXT PANEL
TELEVISION
Nicholas Sambaluk
MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE
Late night drama to cost NBC up to $50 million
LOS ANGELES — Ending his brief reign as host of one of television's longest-running shows, Conan O'Brien on Thursday finalized a rich severance deal with NBC that releases the comediar
from "The Tonight Show" and frees him to join another network in time for the new fall season, an NBC spokeswoman confirmed.
The settle
O'Brien
ment, hammered out over the last week, brings to an abrupt end O'Brien's nearly 20-year career with NBC, where he began as a staff writer for "Saturday Night Live" in the late 1980s. His separation from NBC includes a payout that will go down as one of the most eye-popping in the annals of Hollywood: O'Brien, who has two years remaining on his contract, will walk away with about $32 million, according to people close to the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
NBC agreed to compensate the show's staff members, including executive producer Jeff Ross. About 190 people worked on the show, including nearly 70 people who relocated to Los Angeles
Overall, NBC will have to shell out $40 million to $50 million to close the book on its late-night drama.
from New York early last year to work with O'Brien at the program's newly built studios on the Universal lot. NBC and O'Brien's team spent the last few days ironing out severance packages for all the show's workers.
O'Brien's final "Tonight Show" appearance will be Friday. But he may not be off the air for long. The comedian will be allowed to work on a competing network by September. Jay Leno will be back in his old time slot even sooner. Leno, who surrendered "The Tonight Show" to O'Brien last spring and then was handed his own prime-time show on the network at 10 p.m., will return to late night after NBC's Olympic coverage concludes at the end of February.
O'Brien's manager, Gavin Polone, said the talk show host would kick in some of his own money for his staff as well.
provided his side of the story on his program, saying he told NBC executives that he was skeptical that a prime-time show would work.
Meanwhile, Leno, whose primetime show ends Feb. 11, will face the challenge of improving on O'Brien's ratings. NBC has been trailing CBS' David Letterman and is tied with him in the coveted demographic of adults ages 18 to 49. During the last week, O'Brien's ratings have nearly dou
— he spent 16 years as host of "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" — and his short tenure at "The Tonight Show." Certainly this was not how NBC anticipated O'Brien's run with "The Tonight Show" playing out when it declared him the "king of late night" in June after he made his debut as host.
It was an undignified end to O'Brien's long career at NBC
The costly resolution ends two weeks of high drama that damaged the images and reputations not only of NBC executives, but also of Leno, who was
O'Brien, who has two years remaining on his contract, will walk away with about $32 million, according to people close to the negotiations.
painted as the villain by many in the media, including CBS' David Letterman, who took numerous jabs at Leno during the last week. He was also the target of a grass-roots Internet campaign to demonstrate support for the embattled O'Brien. Earlier this week, Leno
bled. Whether the backlash against Leno, fair or not, will hurt him when he returns to his old 11:35 p.m. time slot remains a question mark.
And finally, NBC, which is
already enduring a tough season, now has to spend heavily to develop new shows for the 10 p.m. hour, at a time when the General Electric Co.-owned network already conceded that it would lose about $200 million on its coverage of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.
HOROSCOPES
ARIES (March 21-April 19)
Today is a 7
Uplifting words pervade your space. Everyone seems to be in a festive mood. A female provides special treats for everyone.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
Today is a 7
Someone wants to travel today. If you already have reservations, that's great. If not, make a plan for later.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21)
Today is an 8
More new ideas arrive by the hour. How to get them all into the plan? An associate provides the means to document everything.
CANCER (June 22-July 22)
Today is an 8
Practical considerations work best today. Allow another person to make decisions. You don't have to be in control. You just need to be present to win.
LEO (July 23-Aug.22)
Today is a 7
Think about how you want to spend the weekend. As you're doing daily tasks, figure out what you'll need and make a list. Add something extra just for fun.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
Today is a 7
Today you find greater enjoyment in fulfilling responsibilities. You love every chance you get to find imaginative ways to get work done.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
Today is a 7
Everything goes well today on a practical level until someone comes up with a bright new idea. Run with it! This concept is much better.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
Today is a Z
Group efforts result in improved cash flow. Resist spending that new money. Instead, continue to formulate new ideas with convincing language.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
Today is a 7
All of the best efforts today occur behind closed doors. Be polite but firm. You have a lot to accomplish by the end of the day.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan.19)
Today is an 8
If you can sort out the key principles in other people's arguments, you'll be home free on your own project. Acknowledge the support, both personally and professionally.
You now have an opportunity to fulfill a karmic debt. No problem. You're filled with inspired thoughts and plenty of energy.
It's a good thing you know where you're headed, because others in your group don't have a clue. It's like leading someone who's blindfolded.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)
Today is an 8
ACROSS
1 Scenery chewer
4 Resort
7 Wimble-don surface
12 Chicken-king link
13 Stolen
14 Proportion
15 Old soldier
16 Henny Young-man's repertoire
18 Make up your mind
19 Hatred
20 Bistro name starter, often
22 Type measures
23 Movie pig
27 "— Town"
29 Cheap
31 Track legend Jesse
34 Sports venue
35 Requiring bicolored glasses
37 "CSI" evidence
38 Fly catcher?
39 — Todav
41 Opening day?
45 Memo-
rable mission
47 Illustra-
tions
48 Bluff
52 Dove's call
53 Bring the meal
54 Funny-
man DeLuise
55 Pump up the volume
56 Words to live by
57 Office-
holders
58 Existed
DOWN
1 Devastation
2 Hebrew letter
3 Photo finish
4 "Get outta here!"
5 Mull over
6 Had a home-cooked meal
7 Somber
8 Operated
9 Goddess of fool-hardiness
10 Madam's counter-part
11 "Mayday!"
17 A deadly sin
21 Like urban land
23 Powdered cleaning agent
Solution time: 25 mins.
24 Copper head?
25 Crib
26 Timetable abbr.
28 Work with
30 Ashen
31 Mel of Coopers-town
32 Personal question?
33 Historic time
36 Lack-luster
37 Variety of plum
40 Riyadh resident
42 Showy parrot
43 Bakery lure
44 Subway stations
45 Kind of hairdo
46 Resistance units
48 Radio watchdog org.
49 Rowing need
50 Salt Lake City athlete
51 Scarlet
1-22
CRYPTOQUIP
Today's Cryptoquip Clue: E equals L
MUSIC
Nick Jonas side tour largely sold out
Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers said he wasn't sure how ticket sales would go for his new side project, Nick Jonas and the Administration.
"It's so much different than anything I've done in the past, so I can never assume anything, and I didn't with this," Jonas said.
But the tour is largely sold out, whether it's from the Jonas name, or genuine interest in the music on his upcoming CD, "Who I Am," scheduled for release Feb. 2.
the idea for the side band came about after he realized that new tunes he was writing didn't necessarily sound like Jonas Brothers songs, he said.
McClatchy-Tribune