Hollywood Comings, Goings & Just Plain Bad Parking

Now what’s happened to him is worse than when he was stripped of HBO Films. I’m told that, even though Callender’s contract isn’t up for a few more years, HBO brass Richard Plepler and Mike Lombardo had a so-called strategy meeting with Colin, where he was told, “If you want to be here ... be here. If you want to go, go.?...But you don’t need to be snooping around surreptitiously for another job. If you find a better thing somewhere else, talk to us about it like a grown-up.”

JUDD APATOW MAKES IT OFFICIAL

There’ll be no formal announcement, but I’ve learned that movie comedy mogul Judd Apatow is not going to jump to CAA, Endeavor or any other agency. He’s staying put at United Talent Agency with his point person David Kramer, the UTA partner who was recently upped to the governing board of the ten-percentery.

There had been a lot of speculation around Hollywood that the multihyphenate writer-director-roducer might follow Nick Stevens to Endeavor, or sign with CAA, where most of his manager Jimmy Miller’s other clients are now represented. Believe me, UTA would have sat shiva if Apatow had left the agency. But UTA did lose actor Martin Lawrence. And Chicago director Rob Marshall left ICM to go to CAA.

OPRAH ... JUDY... JUDY ... OPRAH

I’m told that Oprah is talking to MTV Networks chairman/CEO Judy McGrath about running Winfrey’s new cable network for “empowerment programming” — the latest pop-culture-speak for self-help guidance. Called OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network), it launches in 2010. McGrath has been at MTV for 27 years. Maybe it is time for a change. Then again, no one moves from atop a $7-billion-a-year media powerhouse to an entertainment start-up without a big equity position.

MAYBE THEY SHOULD CALL IT ‘OLD LINE’

Entertainment über-lawyer Skip Brittenham negotiated that first-look producing deal with Warner Bros. for axed New Line founders Bob Shaye’s and Michael Lynne’s new production company. I confirmed that Mark Kaufman is onboard in New York. Both Shaye and Lynne are in town interviewing candidates for head of production, to be based in Los Angeles.

Also, Toby Emmerich has agreed to find New Line projects for Shaye and Lynne. But at the same time, Emmerich is trying to distance himself from his former bosses. Oy. Bounced from their studio by Time Warner boss Jeff Bewkes, the pair are setting up on the ninth floor of their old building on Robertson Boulevard. Very early on, the duo were talking about starting another New Line (and Ted Turner offered to put up some money). But even though Bob and Michael are centimillionaires, they’re still intent on using Other People’s Money to fund their new operation.