HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Hurricane Floyd shut down film and TV productions Wednesday, put the networks' weekend sports schedule in limbo, forced the postponement of the Backstreet Boys' U.S. tour opener and put a major damper on the East Coast showbiz industry in general.
The sprawling 600-mile-wide storm lost some strength as it headed for an expected pre-dawn landing Thursday between Wilmington, North Carolina, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, but it remained a powerful Category Three system capable of destroying small buildings and tearing up trees.
Filming was halted on Columbia TriStar's ``Dawson's Creek,'' which was shooting in Wilmington. Representatives there said that they won't be able to resume shooting until they are able to access the damage.
The Warner Bros. feature ``The In Crowd,'' which was on location in Charleston, S.C., also was closed down. It was the second time this summer that filming on the picture has been halted by a hurricane.
The top-rated program on cable's TBS, the wrestling show ''WCW Thunder,'' canceled a nationally televised event in Florence, S.C. A second attempt to film in Norfolk, Va., ended up washed out as well.
Meanwhile, crews on WB's new drama ``Safe Harbor'' will be able to report to work after they were ordered off their Jacksonville set Tuesday by the National Guard and moved to Tallahassee to wait out the downpour.
Because the impact of the powerful storm is expected to cut a 300-mile swath as it heads up the Atlantic Coast, network officials are monitoring a number of sports events with hopes that the tempest will slow down by the time it hits the Northeast.
Fox's Major League Baseball broadcasts Saturday were to feature pennant race showdowns -- the New York Yankees at the Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati at Pittsburgh -- but both appear uncertain as they're smack in the storm's path.
The outlook looks better for two of Sunday's NFL matchups on Fox: Tampa Bay at Philadelphia and Washington at the New York Giants.
A Fox Sports spokesman said he was optimistic that the games would go on, but Floyd ``could make it very difficult to set up if there's any flooding. ... At least people love to watch good, muddy football,'' he said.
CBS officials were breathing a sigh of cautious relief. Saturday's showcase college grid matchup, Penn State at the University of Miami, looks safe. The storm has passed through southern Florida, and the forecast calls for sun and 80-degree temperatures.
With the National Guard ordering a mass exodus from the East Coast from Florida through Virginia, millions have been tuning into the Weather Channel.
The network's ratings began to build over the weekend and hit a high mark Tuesday with a 3.4 rating in the 8-8:15 p.m. quarter-hour with over 2.5 million households tuned in, according to Nielsen research. Audience surges were expected to continue Wednesday as the hurricane headed into the Carolinas. The Weather Channel's Web site also broke a record Tuesday with 23.5 million pageviews reported.
The threat of the hurricane forced cancellations of the Backstreet Boys' concerts Tuesday and Thursday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the first scheduled dates on the band's sold-out U.S. tour. The shows have been rescheduled for December 5-6.
Floyd blew PBS' ``Nightly Business Report'' from its Florida home Tuesday as well, with the financial news show broadcasting from New York rather than Miami.
