THE CABIN IN THE WOODS SYNOPSIS:

Five friends go to a remote cabin in the woods. Bad things happen.

If you think you know this story, think again. From fan favorites Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard comes THE CABIN IN THE WOODS, a mind blowing horror film that turns the genre inside out.

Produced by Whedon and directed by Goddard from a script by both, the film stars Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford.

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01 Apr 2011 - 21:43 Can there be a topic where we get to talk about what we would like to see on Chiller?

Comcast-NBC U execs tout synergy, muscle
Burke, Roberts rally newly merged troops
By Sam Thielman

"How do you feel?" NBC news anchor Brian Williams asked Comcast topper Brian Roberts, as the kickoff to Thursday's town hall meeting for the newly united employees of Comcast/NBC Universal.

Roberts said he was overwhelmed, but given the time he's had had to study the companies' history over the 13 months of the approval process, he confessed himself surprised at the similarities between NBC, Universal, and Comcast. Others (including Ryan Seacrest) joined Roberts and Williams, and the presentation opened up to include feeds from various parts of the world where other execs took part in the welcome.

Newly-minted NBC U CEO Steve Burke told his troops that he recognized the market power the merged companies represent.

"With the set of assets that are in this co I think there's no reason why we can't set the bar very high -- whatever we do, we should be in it to win it," he said."We got big for a reason."

He also discouraged in-house competition, saying that the future of the org would be determined my its willingness to work together.

"Synergy is not a bad word," he said. "It's something we should focus on."

To that end, he encouraged NBC U to use Comcast's technology and Comcast to use NBC's content. He also addressed some of the recently-aired concerns over Comcast's commitment to the local side of the biz.

"It's impossible to think about the network without the local stations," Burke said. "We're going to try to do everything we can to be supportive and grow the local station business."

Roberts also said that given the history of company men past and present, the new org was "determined to be good stewards of your and their collective efforts for all those years past." No mention was made of outgoing CEO Jeff Zucker, who leaves NBC U on Friday, though the group did briefly address the controversy around Keith Olbermann's departure from MSNBC, which Burke said wasn't his call to make, as the FCC hadn't finalized the deal when Olbermann's exit transpired.

Roberts echoed Burke's synergy sentiments. "I really do hope we can now become one truly combined company," he said. "In my opinion, Steve Burke is the perfect person to help guide us. He's smart, he's tough, he's fair, he's very innovative, puts his family first and like all of us, he just wants to win."

The presentation wasn't all earnest moments. Williams displayed his trademark wit, riffing on the dodgy satellite feed for the international portion of the address and joking that he simply takes notes on a 3 by 5 card when the news breaks. "I work on air between seven and 11 minutes a week," he quipped.

"Saturday Night Live" head writer Seth Meyers showed up and joined in, having a "quiet moment" with Burke in which he warned the new NBC U topper that, though Williams seems nice, not to give the newsman his phone number unless Burke wanted Williams to show up at his house wanting to hang out and watch VHS tapes. "He might be a vampire," Meyers cautioned.

Universal Studios prexy and COO Ron Meyer expressed deep confidence in the new management. "I'm confident that the Comcast culture and the combination of our businesses will make us unquestionably one of the greatest entertainment companies in the world," Meyer said. "I personally couldn't be more optimistic regarding our future." Jim Cramer interviewed Michael Angelakis (Comcast's CFO) and Neil Smit (the company's cable prexy) in the packed Comcast lobby in Philadelphia.

Angelakis told Cramer that "marriages take work," but that "this company is going to be so well-positioned to lead, influence and benefit from all the changes." Regarding the company's new credo, Burke told Williams that "truly great companies stand for something, and ideally they stand for something that they take the time to write down."

He also enthused about NBC skeins "30 Rock," "The Office" and "Saturday Night Live" (which, he said, his son loves) and said that he was committed to serving the industry. Burke allayed any fears about the NBC doing away with its iconic peacock logo (prompted by the sudden appearance of the new corporate credo around the building), saying that it would be "a part of NBC and CNBC and MSNBC for years to come."