Originally posted Saturday, August 17, 2019 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Bobcat Goldthwait and Dana Gould are recuperating from minor injuries from a car accident as they tried to enter Relapse Theatre last night for a show.
They went to the hospital and had to cancel the show, along with those in Athens and Asheville, N.C.
Their publicist said they both had broken ribs and Gould had a bruised lung. “In pain,” she wrote, “but grateful to be alive.”
She said they will reschedule all three shows once they are healthy again.
>>RELATED: My interview with Goldthwait last month
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Not much changed between June and July ratings for Atlanta’s Nielsen Atlanta radio charts. (The latest ratings actually cover the four weeks between June 20 and July 17.)
Christian pop station Fish 104.7 continued its reign at the top of the overall charts for the fourth straight month with an 8.6 share. Its hitting ratings numbers it has never achieved in its prior 19 years of existence.
The next five stations are clustered tightly behind Fish: News/talk WSB, 97.1/The River, Kiss 104.1 and V-103 and Majic 107.5/97.5. At fifth place overall, this is the lowest monthly overall ranking V-103 has had since people meter measurements began in 2009.
V-103 did hold its top spot with 18 to 34 year olds but for the very first time, Majic 107.5/97.5 edged V in the key 25 to 54 year olds demographic. V-103 had been the No. 1 station among 25 to 54 year olds since February, 2018, when the River just barely beat V.
For folks curious about how the Jenn and Friends show at Star 94.1 is doing so far, it hasn’t moved the needle in any tangible way. In July, Star ranked 11th overall and with 25 to 54 year olds and 14th among 18 to 34 year olds.
In Cadillac Jack’s final month at Kicks, he finished 14th overall and 20th among 25 to 54 year olds. The still relatively new Spencer Graves/Kristen Gates combo at rival 94.9/The Bull landed in 11th overall and 14th among 25 to 54 year olds.
The relatively new Morning Culture at V-103 has not seen a major dip or rise in ratings compared to its predecessor show in its first few months. It remains top 5 across the board overall and in key demos.
The Talk 106.7 audience was fully flushed out and the Christian K-Love dropped to a 0.2 share in its first full month of ratings. (Talk often finished in the low to mid 1’s.) K-Love has been doing a heavy billboard campaign in recent weeks so we’ll see if it gets any traffic. It hasn’t yet hurt Fish though Joy 93.3/92.5 (1.4) slipped a bit after a very strong winter.
Where did the Talk listeners go? It didn’t appear they stayed with the Atlanta AM/FM dial because their only obvious alternative was WSB and their ratings didn’t budge.
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Netflix released the first photos of a drama shot in Atlanta called "Raising Dion" executive produced by Michael B. Jordan that will be out October 4.
Jordan will play the dead father of a boy (Ja'Siah Young) who discovers he has special powers.
Here’s a plot summary provided by Netflix:
"Raising Dion" follows the story of Nicole Reese (Alisha Wainwright), who raises her son Dion (Young) after the death of her husband Mark (Jordan). The normal dramas of raising a son as a single mom are amplified when Dion starts to manifest several magical, superhero-like abilities. Nicole must now keep her son's gifts secret with the help of Mark's best friend Pat (Jason Ritter, who was just in Atlanta as star of ABC's cancelled drama "Kevin Probably Saves the World"), and protect Dion from antagonists out to exploit him while figuring out the origin of his abilities.
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The ScreenCraft Writers Summit, which has been in Atlanta the past two years, has decided to move to Chicago in 2020.
The most recent one, held in April, was held at the Georgian Terrace and “the Craft Hub” at SPACES Midtown. It featured writers with credits ranging from “Die Hard” to “BlacKkKlansman” to “Vampire Diaries” and “Insecure.”
Executive director Emily Dell on Friday wrote that the reason they are leaving is in part because of the "heartbeat" abortion bill Gov. Brian Kemp signed.
She wrote, “Art thrives in a world of freedom, compassion and respect.” But the bill “created an environment that is difficult to navigate and contrary to the values of many Georgians, and to many entertainment industry professionals.”
In comparison, she lauded “the creative and welcoming environment of the city of Chicago.”
In a follow-up interview, Dell said the decision was a difficult decision but the issue was the top-flight screenwriters were balking about coming to Atlanta over the abortion issue. And those screenwriters are what draw ticket sales. “That was the crux of the decision,” she said.
She said she hopes to come back to Atlanta, which is building its own home-grown crew of screenwriters and providing a unique view of the South.
In Chicago, she plans to team up with Second City and the Harold Ramis Film School as well as the thriving advertising and theater scene.
The summit and the Beverly Hills, Calif.-based ScreenCraft organization itself is meant to help budding screenwriters connect with networks and production companies for potential TV and film writing gigs.
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