'Wolverine': Is Fox's Friedman in or out? (VAR, VW, THR, DHD, NYT)

By Nancy Tartaglione

Weekend reports of Roger Friedman's demise may have been premature. The Fox News freelancer posted a review of a leaked copy of Fox's "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" last week drawing the ire of the blogosphere and a condemnation from the studio which called his actions "reprehensible."

On Saturday, News Corp. released a statement saying the blogger had been "terminated," but on Sunday, Friedman told Variety he had not been let go.

Further, a Fox News source told Valley Wag that Friedman will have a chance to argue for his job today when he meets with Fox News chief Roger Ailes.

Friedman, according to VW, is to meet with Ailes and John Moody, the news network's executive vice president for editorial. Friedman will then have a chance to plead his case, but the meeting could well end with the columnist losing his job.

Friedman posted a review of "Wolverine" on Thursday which immediately sent the blogosphere clamoring for his ouster.

DeadlineHollywoodDaily.com reported on Saturday that Friedman had been fired. A source told the site, "He promoted piracy. He basically suggested that viewing a stolen film is OK, which is absolutely intolerable. So we fired him. Fox News acted promptly on all fronts."

As Variety notes, the chain of events looks like a case of corporate synergy gone awry, with three different divisions of News Corp. unable to agree on the fate of Friedman.

Fox News has an entirely different style than the rest of the company, but remains a cable ratings hotshot and contributes mightily to News Corp.'s bottom line.

A Fox News spokesperson on Sunday said, "This is an internal matter that we're not prepared to discuss at this time."

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