Once again HBO is king of the Emmy nominations. The 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards nominations were announced today and the pay channel topped the list with 104 — leaving the rest of the networks far behind.  The cabler’s miniseries, “Mildred Pierce,”  a remake of the 1940s classic, scored the most nominations with 21.

Also, collecting a slew of nominations the following TV series: “Mad Men” with 19, “Modern Family” 17, and “Games of Thrones” 13.  For more on the nominations and reactions from some of the nominees, click over to the Los Angeles Times website.

The Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony well be broadcast  Sunday, September 18, 2011, on the Fox Network.

Photo: Conan O'Brien from the TBS website

Former “Tonight Show” Host/Comic, Conan O’Brien, appears to have made a triumphant return to late night TV. “Conan” debuted late night on TBS and according to The Wrap whipped the competition. In the Nielsen’s 56 metered markets, Conan rated a 2.8, Leno got a 2.7 , and Letterman a 2.5.

On the TBS website today, the comedy network crowed about the late night talker’s young adult demographics as well. Here are those  numbers:

• 2, 451, 000 adults 18-34 watched
• 3, 285, 000 adults 18-49 watched
• 4, 155, 000 total viewers

In a press release, TBS credited O’Brien’s strong following among younger viewers and social media for the show’s successful kick-off. ”Conan’s audience has been very vocal online, and he clearly made a smooth transition from Twitter to TBS,” said Steve Koonin, president of Turner Entertainment Networks. “Conan delivered an extraordinary audience and stands out as the youngest late-night talk show on television.”

It’s going to take a few weeks to see if these numbers hold after the hype of “Conan” wears off.  Even if O’Brien show takes a dip in the ratings, his comeback from the NBC debacle last winter, which resulted in the entertainer walking away from “The Tonight Show” hosting job, has been admirable.

Last night, O’Brien’s guests included Seth Rogen and Jack White. Click here for the monologue posted over on Deadline.com. Tonight, Tom Hanks and Soundgarden join O’Brien. “Conan” airs at 11 p.m, Monday through Friday. The late night talker is produced right here in Burbank, at Warner Bros.’ Stage 15.

 Lindsay Lohan’s brother speaks out

Reports are out that troubled Actress, Lindsay Lohan, has voluntarily entered rehab. This will be the fifth time around for Lohan. Her brother, Michael Lohan Jr., says his sister is “fully committed” to making rehab work this time.  Also, he blamed Lohan’s past failures at getting clean on “leeches” in her social circle. More on the People website.

Heroic pilot’s story optioned by Hollywood producers

Photo: Gary Friedman/ Los Angeles Times -- Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and wife Lorrie at the Rose Parade in Pasadena on January 1, 2010

  Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger’s incredible story is going to be a movie. Captain Sully became a hero on January 15, 2009, when he landed a crippled U.S. Airways jetliner, like a glider, on the Hudson River saving the crew and 155 passengers on board.

Captain Sully was the Grand Marshal of the 2010 Tournament of Roses Parade. Also, he wrote his memoir, “Highest Duty: My Search For What Really Matters,” with Jeffrey Zaslow. Hollywood Producers, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall  have teamed up with Flashlight Films to option the memoir and develop it into a movie. More details on The Wrap.  

Actor Gene Hackman’s new book

Gene Hackman is going solo for his new novel. The actor has signed a deal with Pocket Books for a western set in 19th century New Mexico, according to GalleyCat. He’s co-authored three other westerns.

Hackman has appeared in nearly 100 films. He won the Best Actor Oscar for the “French Connection” (1971) and Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in “Unforgiven” (1992). Hackman is such a good character actor that it’s said he’s worth watching even in a bad movie.

Hackman  new western, “Jubal’s Bounty,” is due out next July.

Comcast’s Steve Burke replacing Zucker

It didn’t take long for NBC Universal President Jeff Zucker’s replacement to be announced.  No surprise, one of the key players in the Comcast/ NBC Universal deal, Steve Burke, is taking over Zucker’s job. Burke is Comcast’s chief operating officer. Interesting these changes are happening before the Comcast/NBC Universal deal gets final approval from the Feds. Read more on The Wrap.

 Lindsay Lohan back on the streets

Photo: Al Seib/Los Angeles Times -- Lindsay Lohan heading to court in Beverly Hills , September 24, 2010

 After a freaky Friday that included court drama and a short stay in jail, Actress Lindsay Lohan is a free woman once again. After failing a court-ordered drug test, Lohan appeared in a Beverly Hills court yesterday. True to his word, Judge Elden Fox, sent her to the slammer for 30 days without bail.

However within hours, Lohan’s lawyer got another Los Angeles Superior Court judge to reverse the bail ruling. Lohan’s lawyer, Shawn Chapman Holley, pointed out defendants convicted of misdemeanors are allowed bail under the law. Sometime before midnight, Lohan walked free on $300,000 bond.

Did Lohan get a break because she’s a celebrity? Folks are debating that today. The way I see it, the major difference between Lohan and the average inmate in Los Angeles County jail is the money to pay for lawyers and to post bail.  The Los Angeles Times has more on the debate here.  

Jay-Z’s memoir and hip hop decoder

Business Mogul/Hip Hop Artist, Jay-Z, has a book coming out. It’s a memoir and a decoder for 36 of Jay-Z’s songs — which provide an intimate look at his art, according to the publishing site Galleycat.

The printed and e-book formats of “Decoded” include illustrations and lyric analysis as well as the autobiography content. “Decoded” goes on sale in mid- November, just in time for the holiday shopping season.

 NBC Universal President Jeff Zucker on the way out

No surprise, NBC Universal President Jeff Zucker is leaving the network. Zucker made the announcement himself in a company memo yesterday. NBC is in fourth place and who can forget Zucker’s orchestration of the Conan O’Brien/Jay Leno financial/public relations disaster.

Zucker apparently got the word from Comcast that once it’s deal to buy NBC is official, he would be getting the boot. Unlike most NBC employees who lose their jobs at the network and barely score chump change, Zucker will probably get one of those multi-million-dollar executive parachutes. More on Zucker’s departure at The Wrap.

“Show Me the Polyester”

If you look great in polyester and dig rock singer/songwriter, Jackson Browne, here’s a contest for you. Browne is touring the U.S. right now with musician David Lindley. Apparently, Browne and Lindley are sporting flashy polyester shirts on stage during their performances this summer.

The duo is encouraging fans to show-off their best eye-catching polyester shirts in a photo contest going on at the “Show Me the Polyester” website, according to a PR Newswire press release. Fans have until August 25 to upload photos of themselves wearing  polyester shirts to the site. One winner will get a travel package to New York City and two-front row seats for the duo’s Beacon Theatre concert on September 14, 2010.

The latest release from  Browne and Lindley is “Love is Strange,” a 2-CD set of a tour they did in Spain back in 2006.

Profits soar for Disney, the other big studios, and the networks

Photo: FLLewis/Media City G — Disney Studios in Burbank

The money is rolling in for Disney, which this afternoon reported third quarter profits leaped 40%. Disney is not the only entertainment giant enjoying a good year. Despite the bad economy, other studios and the networks are doing well, too. Nikki Finke over at Deadline.com asks why so many folks in the entertain biz are out of work with this kind of upbeat financial picture in Hollywood? Check out Finke’s post here.

“The Other Guys” shoot to the top of the Box Office 

The action-comedy, “The Other Guys,” won the weekend domestic Box Office and is continuing to rake in the dough at theaters.  “The Other Guys” debuted with $35.5 million to become the number one film in the country. On Monday, the teaming of Will  Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg as wantabe- hero  New York City detectives earned nearly $5 million more at theaters. 

After three weeks at in the top spot, the dreamscape sci-fi flick, “Inception,” dropped to second collecting $18.5 million– bringing its four-week domestic total to around $227 million. The new dance movie, “Step Up 3D” boogied into third place with $15.8 million. Adam Sevani and Alyson Stoner star in this third installment of the Step Up trilogy, where the battle of the dance moves to the college arena. 

Rounding out the top five, the spy thriller “Salt” with $10.9 million and the comedy, “Dinner for Schmucks” with $10.3 million.

Rosie O’Donnell gets new daytime talk show

Comedienne/Talk Show Host Rosie O’Donnell is headed back to daytime television on the new Oprah Winfrey Network. O’Donnell’s new talker will debut next year on OWN.

“Rosie is an undeniable talent who has captivated TV audiences for nearly 20 years,” said Oprah Winfrey in a PR Newswire press release. “She’s a true original, who brings her authentic voice, dynamic energy and pure passion to everything she does.”

“It’s an honor and a privilege to work with Oprah Winfrey on her network,” said Rosie O’Donnell. “I’m excited to be back on daytime television.”

O’Donnell has won six consecutive DayTime Emmys for Outstanding Talk Show Host.   “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” ran from 1996 to 2002.

Hollywood producers buy novel for $2 million-plus

Author Nicholas Sparks just scored a major Hollywood deal.  Movie rights for Sparks’ new novel, “Safe Haven,”were snatched up in a bidding war. The book plot centers on romance and a mysterious woman with a dark secret in a North Carolina town. The selling price – $2-$5 million.

“Safe Haven” publishes next month. Reviews and more on the novel up on the Barnes & Noble website.

Hollywood has had a love affair with Sparks’ romantic novels for some time. Several have been turned  into successful films including “Dear John” (2010) , and “The Notebook” (2004), and “Message in a Bottle” “1999.  Deadline.com has more on Sparks’ new deal.

Unauthorized bio of Angelina Jolie

Actress Angelina Jolie has a hot new movie out, “Salt.” In two weeks of release, the spy thriller has racked up about  $79 million at the domestic Box Office, but a new book about Jolie may be even hotter. The  Los Angeles Times has a review of “Angelina” by Andrew Morton. Check it out  here.

Logo courtesy PR Newswire

Some heavyweight stars have signed on to produce a series of two-hour documentaries with OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network, scheduled to debut next January.

Julia Roberts, Forest Whitaker, and Goldie Hawn will be joined by Gabriel Byrne and Mariel Hemingway in this venture.  The subjects range from:  a look inside a hospice at the Louisiana maximum security prison in Angola, to Hemingway’s exploration of her family’s legacy of suicide to an in depth report on extraordinary mothers and their desire to make a better world for all children.

“All of these documentaries fundamentally explore human interaction, relationships and emotions,” said Lisa Erspamer, chief creative officer, OWN, in a PR Newswire press release today. ”We’re excited to provide viewers with new perspectives and new ways of looking at core themes that shape and affect their lives.”

The Oprah Winfrey Network is set to go on the air January 1, 2011, to approximately 80 millions homes, on what is now the Discovery Health Channel.

“The A-Team” movie and the dish on its development

“The A-Team” film re-do of the popular 1980s TV series reportedly has been in the works since the mid 1990s. No wonder there’s a long list of writers on the project. Nikki Finke over at Deadline.com/Hollywood has the dish on the behind the scenes dealings on the film and who got the best writer credit on it.

“The A-Team” and the remake of “The Karate Kid” are the two major movies opening in theaters tomorrow, Friday, June 11. Moviegoers have been cool to sequels and remakes lately –but you never know, these two flicks just might kick-start the Box Office into the hot zone. Then again, maybe not.

Ex-Disney employee remains free on bail after second court appearance

Bonnie Hoxie is no longer punching a clock at Disney, instead she’s in a heap of trouble with the Mouse and the law. The 33-year-old former assistant to a high-ranking Disney corporate executive appeared in a New York Federal Court yesterday.

Hoxie and her 29-year-old boyfriend, Yonni Sebbag, are facing insider trading charges.  They were arrested late last month in the Los Angeles area, allegedly for trying to sell inside information about Disney. The two are being prosecuted in New York–rather than L.A. — because they reportedly attempted to shop the stolen data to several investment firms in N.Y, according to Reuters.  

Yesterday, the judge allowed Hoxie to remain free on $50,000 bail. The boyfriend has been denied bail on the grounds he’s a flight risk. More here.

Wacky Emmy campaign for Conan O’Brien

Comedian Conan O’Brien’s new TV show doesn’t debut on TBS until the fall — but the network has still launched an Emmy campaign for the late night host. The campaign touts the NBC-O’Brien-hosted “Tonight Show.” 

Clearly, the campaign is geared toward stirring up buzz for O’Brien’s TBS late night talker, which debuts November 8 and it will be produced right here in Media City. More on The Wrap and Hollywood Insider.

Sequels stumble at the Box Office

The four-day Memorial Day weekend was no thriller at the Box Office, and that has sparked a lot chatter about whether moviegoers are growing weary of the sequels. Ticket sales for the long weekend, $184.2 million compared to $213.8 million for the same holiday weekend last year. Many critics are putting the blame for this year’s disappointment on the weak performance of the sequels.

The animation “Shrek Forever After” held onto the number one ranking, for a second week at the domestic Box Office, with a haul of $57 million.

Second place went to the new action adventure, “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time,” which racked up $37.8 million. The flick, based on a video game, is about a prince who teams up with a rival princess to stop a sandstorm that could destroy the world. Jake Gyllenhaal stars, along with Gemma Arterton and Ben Kingsley.

“Sex and the City 2″ sashayed into third with a debut of $36.8 million. This sequel had a ton of buzz, got off to a fast start, but cooled somewhat over the long weekend. Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, and Kim Cattrall star in another go-round of comedy, drama, and romance in the Big Apple.

 ”Iron Man 2″ landed in fourth with $21 million and “Robin Hood” scored fifth place with $13.4 million. More on the sluggish Memorial Day weekend Box Office and the struggling sequels on The Wrap.

Director James Cameron takes a meeting on that catastrophic oil spill

Oscar-winning filmmaker James Cameron joined 20 top scientists, engineers, tech experts, and  government officials yesterday to brainstorm on how to contain that huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Besides winning three Oscars  for the movie “Titanic” and producing other blockbusters like “Avatar,” Cameron helped design special underwater equipment to film a series of documentaries exploring shipwrecks in the ocean deep. So he might have some ideas on what to do about that six-week-old, oil disaster.

Southland hearing on the Comcast-NBCU deal

The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing next Monday, June 7, at the California Science Center in Downtown Los Angeles, on the controversial Comcast-NBCU proposed deal.  The hearing is open to the public.

The Justice Department is looking into possible anti-trust implications of the union, while the FCC will determine if the $30 billion deal is in the public interest. Details on The Los Angeles Times website.