A Little of the Old In and Out

In: Soho House Oscar Villa. The gossip columns were all about the (haughty voice) "Soho House Oscar Villa" today, which is, apparently, giving away all sorts of swag out to the truly needy, namely, the already pampered, superrich celebrities. What about the bloggers? Where's the love SoHo House? Where's the love? Fox411 said ofthe spectacle:

"... Meanwhile, Oscar arrivals to Hollywood are just about fighting with each other to get dinner reservations at Soho House over the weekend.

"One reason: The gourmet food and drink are FREE, since the club is private and foreign and not set up to take money as an eating establishment. And there's nothing actors like better than free food!"

And, in Page Six, "DREW Barrymore celebrating her 30th birthday with affectionate beau Fabrizio Moretti, Ed Norton and Willie Garson at the Soho House Oscar Villa, which is open for the week in a super-secret location in the Hollywood Hills."

But what's the function, aside from fabulosity? According to their press release:

"The intent of the Villa is to provide invited guests a place where they can relax, have meetings, eat and drink as well as retreat from the mayhem of pre-Oscar week. Therapists from the Cowshed Spas, Bumble and Bumble and Mac Cosmetics will be on hand at the house throughout the term ... Entry to the Soho House Oscar Villa is by invitation only."

So, invite us already, bitches.

Out: Peter Jennings. As The Corsair noted yesterday, the once respected and urbane presence in broadcast journalist, no doubt reeling from the repeated ratings bitchslaps handed to him by the likes of the milkfed Brian Williams, will presently tackle the pressing societal issue of .... flying saucers (Averted Gaze) tonight, on AB to the goddamnC. So sad to see a great man brought low by the bean counters.

Joanne Ostrow of the Denver Post (link via Romenesko) offers a sober assessment of this now terrible debacle:

"Jennings, of course, is careful not to take sides in the long-running debate.

"But by fronting this exercise, Jennings has taken sides in an uncomfortable way. He has thrown in with the corporate bean counters who would rather have their anchor host a two-hour prime-time marathon about UFOs during February than, say, a straightforward, in-depth analysis of Social Security.

"At a time when the network is weighing the best way to dump 'Nightline,' serious journalism has all the appeal of a white paper on the trade deficit. UFOs are more fun."

It had to be said. Peter Jennings: from urbane internationalist to the "fun" (Averted Gaze)news anchor. (Update: Drudge reports Jennings UFO show got an 8.0/11 share in the artings. The selling of his soul yielded significant ratings. He got a good deal with Beelzebub)

In: Prince. According to Ananova, the reclusive singer will come in from the wilds of Minnesota, to a chorus of soft, feminine giggles, carrying about him the faintest hint of lavender mixed with a whisper of contrived exclusivity, to present an Oscar:

"The appearance of the 46-year-old singer onstage at the Oscars will be his first at the awards in two decades since he won Best Original Score for his 1984 movie Purple Rain."

Best Achievement in makeup?

Out: Michael Powell, Loudmouth. For someone in charge of the FCC, Michael Powell sure has "issues" with the art of communicating effectively. First Stern, now this. According to Unconventional Wisdom (link via Wonkette):

"So tonight I was eating at Tosca, one of Washington's finest Italian restaurants, and there sitting at the very next table was Michael Powell, the outgoing FCC chairman and son of the former secretary of state.

"Powell was eating with a mid-thirties white guy, decent looking. I don't know who he was; I do know that he has written a book.

"Anyway, what Powell wanted to talk about, far too loudly, was John Negroponte, the ambassador to Iraq who President Bush has nominated to become National Intelligence Director. In Powell's opinion, Negroponte was a bad choice because he's 'not ruthless enough.'

"The White House will not listen to him. Also, intelligence is not his field; he's a diplomat."

Not ruthless enough? This is the same John Negroponte who supervised the creation of the El Aguacate air base, which was ultimately used as a secret detention and torture center? That's not ruthless enough, Michael Powell?

In: Seeds of Peace Bid for Peace Celebrity Auction. According to Our Guy, David Patrick Columbia at NYSocialDiary:



Above: The Hip Hop Violin (Averted Gaze). You do your thing, Miri Ben-Ari ... you .. do your thing.

"The seventh annual Seeds of Peace Bid for Peace Celebrity Auction brought celebrities and over 1,200 New York professionals to the Copacabana on February 16th and helped to raise close to $850K for programs that empower young people from regions of conflict, including Israelis and Palestinians, with the leadership skills required to advance coexistence.

"This year�s event honored Christiane Amanpour of CNN; Former Assistant Secretary of State James Rubin; former US Ambassador to the UN Richard C. Holbrooke. Universal Artists� Miri Ben-Ari, the hip hop violinist and recent Grammy Award-winner for her collaboration on Kanye West�s 'Jesus Walks.'"

Stop there. You had us at the "hip hop violin." Looks like someone made band practice work for them. How do you think Ambassador Holbrooke reacts to this socially significant development? Does he appreciate the decorative high pitched trills? Or, more likely, did the Kosovo negotiator shout, "it's all krunk," then, taking off his jacket, throwing it to the ground, start "battle rockin" former assistant secretary of state James Rubin?