Saturday, July 19, 2008

Nina Tassler comments on canceling Moonlight


Hello all.... On Friday, I read comments Nina Tassler made regarding Moonlight. This was reported by several sources who attended the 2008 Television Critics Association Press Tour. I've posted three examples below. After reading what Tassler had to say, I had many thoughts streaming thru my head (I know you will also). I wanted to at least attempt to get those thoughts in order before posting this for you.

As you know, when I started my Moonlight blog I shared with you that I was already writing, emailing and calling CBS in support of our show. I was very aware of the fact that Moonlight was not the "normal" series and needed its fans to be heard. I asked you all to do that same. You joined the campaign with such wonderful enthusiasm. :) We continued communicating with the network right through the cancelation of Moonlight.

I can not begin to count the number of emails and comments I received from Moonlight fans who were contacting CBS. Lots of you even posted the messages you sent to them for all of us to read on the blog. The notes got our point across but were dignified, polite and gracious... even after we learned that our show had been canceled. Just like the messages we have seen and heard from Trevor Munson, Alex O'Loughlin, Jason Dohring, etc.

One thing Nina Tassler says is that the fan response to Moonlight is "actor-centric." We all know she is referring to Alex O'Loughlin. Of course, Alex is a huge draw! DUH! Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that a good thing? Don't you hire a leading man to do precisely that?

I was an Alex fan long before Moonlight. However, that is not the only reason that I am addicted. The vast majority of the messages I sent to CBS were about how fantastic the show is... the writers... the entire cast. You also shared with us that you did the same. We all know that MickBeth was the topic of innumerable letters, voicemails, emails and such.

Even if we were tuning in just to see Alex as Mick St John, since when is that a problem? Most television executives don't care WHY you are watching their show. They only care that your eyeballs are on their network and not some place else. It's about ratings leading to ad revenue.

In my opinion, the comments are simply an attempt at damage control. TPTB do not like to admit that they are wrong. I know you are shocked by that ~ *wink*

I'm happy to see that the entertainment reporters are still asking about Moonlight. Most canceled shows do not receive this kind of sustained attention in the media. That is because you have been doing an amazing job of keeping our show alive!

Sorry about the long winded post. I'm stopping myself now! I took the extra time to organize my thoughts so that I wouldn't ramble on. That didn't quite work out :)

XO ~
Kandye

Tube Talk ~ STLToday.com
Excerpts from TCA press tour: CBS party, only for the hardy
By Gail Pennington

The point of these events is to give visiting TV critics a chance to mingle with and interview actors, producers and network executives; people you either haven’t seen during the formal press conferences during the day or haven’t had a chance to talk to. The point isn’t really to have fun, although some of the parties can be fun.

...CBS partnered with the CW and Showtime and went all out, busing us to the club Boulevard3 in Hollywood...

...I again tried to get into the club and this time succeeded. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, in a strapless dress, was just outside the door; her publicist was rotating interviewers through on a 90-second time limit. Uh … no. Somebody handed me a glass of champagne (good) and a cone of french fries with rosemary mayonnaise (very good), but it was hard to walk without spilling on myself. After the crowd outside, the club was almost empty. That gave me a chance to talk to Nina Tassler, president of CBS Entertainment, who told me the “Moonlight” supporters had sent her red wine, and that she actually tried a bottle, but it was terrible. Although she had to cancel “Moonlight,” she said, she wouldn’t rule out another project for its star, Alex O’Loughlin.

http://tinyurl.com/623xng

iF Magazine
Television : Breaking News : THE FINAL WORD ON 'MOONLIGHT' FROM CBS
By Carl Cortez

The stake in the heart of the show has been there for some time, but at least we now know why it was cancelled

LOCATION: The underworld

THE SKINNY: While MOONLIGHT has faded into the darkness, it was still important to check in with CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler at today’s TCA press tour about any final words on the series which starred Alex O’Laughlin as vamp Mick St. John.

“Everybody knows I love vampires, witches, werewolves, warlocks – I love them all,” says Tassler. “The response to MOONLIGHT was actually more actor-centric. So I think it certainly measures our decision on the show. Like I said, I don’t question the choice we made. I’m not getting as much mail and most of those comments were actor-centric.

So does that mean CBS would hire O’Loughlin in a heartbeat?

“Sure,” says Tassler. “We’d love to.”

http://ifmagazine.com/new.asp?article=6556

Entertainment Weekly ~ The Ausiello Files
by Michael Ausiello
Live Press Tour : CBS Day One

Executive Session
The Player: Nina Tassler, President, CBS Entertainment. Or as she's more commonly referred, the evil woman who killed Moonlight.

9:30 am: Cover your eyes, Moonlight fans. Tassler downplays the fan outcry in the wake of the show's cancellation, maintaining that most of the feedback was "actor-centric." (Huh?) She also says she's not getting a lot of mail and doesn't regret the decision.

http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2008/07/live-press-to-3.html

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