Summary: Late night talk show personality David Letterman surprised everyone last week by announcing that he would be retiring as host of the “Late Show” in 2015. News that Letterman would be exiting on his own terms after 30 years as a late night headliner broke in a thoroughly modern way; first via Twitter, then through the media’s career retrospectives and ultimately with stories about who would make a good replacement. We nominate Vince Vaughn. In other television news, Time Warner Cable is in a bitter dispute with satellite provider DirecTV. The two companies are butting heads over the broadcast rights for the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball games TWC paid more than $8 billion for last year. With negotiations seemingly stalled, more than 30% of the market’s paid television subscribers have been blacked out of each game’s telecast. Meanwhile, this year’s Broadway season is about to kick off in earnest on the run up to the Tony Awards. Our own Michael Giltz gives us a complete rundown on which productions he’s putting his own figurative money on. Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news stories including a trademark dispute over Mickey Mouse, a new contract for the Writers Guild of America and the continuing struggles of Entertainment Weekly. Mickey Rooney, Master of Putting On a Show, Dies at 93 http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/07/arts/mickey-rooney-master-of-putting-on-a-show-dies-at-93.html?_r=0 (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/07/arts/mickey-rooney-master-of-putting-on-a-show-dies-at-93.html?_r=0) Captain America’ Blows Up Weekend Box Office With Boffo $203 Mil Globally, Scores Record $96 Mil Stateside http://variety.com/2014/film/news/captain-america-blows-up-box-office-with-boffo-203-mil-globally-scores-record-96-mil-stateside-bow-1201153224/ (http://variety.com/2014/film/news/captain-america-blows-up-box-office-with-boffo-203-mil-globally-scores-record-96-mil-stateside-bow-1201153224/) Box Office: 'Captain America: Winter Soldier' Soars to $303.3 Million Globally http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-captain-america-winter-693959 (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-captain-america-winter-693959) German Film Academy Awards Announce Nominees http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/german-film-academy-awards-announce-691863 (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/german-film-academy-awards-announce-691863) German Box Office Falls in First Quarter http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/german-box-office-falls-first-693210 (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/german-box-office-falls-first-693210) China's Box Office Surges 30 Percent in First Quarter, Expected to Hit $4.64 Billion for 2014 http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/chinas-box-office-surges-30-693212 (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/chinas-box-office-surges-30-693212) President Obama, Jimmy Kimmel React to David Letterman’s Retirement Via Twitter http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/jimmy-kimmel-ellen-degeneres-react-to-david-lettermans-retirement-via-twitter-1201152454/ (http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/jimmy-kimmel-ellen-degeneres-react-to-david-lettermans-retirement-via-twitter-1201152454/) David Letterman Follows Johnny’s Playbook Until the End http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/david-letterman-follows-johnnys-playbook-until-the-end-1201152390/ (http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/david-letterman-follows-johnnys-playbook-until-the-end-1201152390/) CBS Approached John Oliver for Late Night Show as Major Shuffle Looms http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cbs-approached-john-oliver-late-693587 (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cbs-approached-john-oliver-late-693587) Los Angeles Mayor to CBS: Move the ‘Late Show’ to L.A. http://variety.com/2014/biz/news/los-angeles-mayor-to-cbs-move-the-late-show-to-l-a-1201152653/ (http://variety.com/2014/biz/news/los-angeles-mayor-to-cbs-move-the-late-show-to-l-a-1201152653/) For Letterman’s Job, Dueling 10-Best Lists http://www.nytimes.
