• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, August 5, 2010

A really bad review mixed with a pricey media buy: exactly a perfect match for any entertainment company executive.

For example, Universal Pictures' mostly positively reviewed "Despicable Me" supposedly got into a bit of a mess in its home court: the Los Angeles Times. There, a crushing review was run in the same section as an elaborate print ad for the movie.

The end result? One story in The Wrap suggests that Universal executives were so pissed they threatened to withhold payment for the $100,000 ad. But Universal Pictures then said it was taken care of -- that there was no problem.

A big newspaper ad isn't run just to grab consumers in Los Angeles, home of the Hollywood studios; it's to show off to other studio executives, talent agents, and high-priced talent.

Editorial and commerce have always tussled - and in the entertainment community, that conflict can be amplified. The only question in these pressing times: Why doesn't this stuff come up much more?

You can understand Universal Pictures' nervousness. It has had a bumpy year and half, and needed a big summer movie -- especially on the verge of its parent company still in the process of getting governmental approval for a merger with Comcast Corp. NBC Universal has had other problems, especially at its base NBC Television network.

So far "Despicable Me" has delivered, amassing $190 million in U.S. box office receipts since early July and scoring a very positive 79% approval of critics via RottenTomatoes.com.

Besides movies, bad reviews would seem to do perhaps more damage to big-ticket, highly touted network TV shows. Then again, this is the digital age. There are many more outlets that contribute to a entertainment property's success: bloggers, Internet buzz, Comic-Con spin.

Executives still get upset over bad reviews, but perhaps less so over just one bad review -- unless that one talks to the consumers and fellow business executives from whom they're seeking approval and acknowledgment.