A Little of the Old In and Out

In: Steve Jobs, CEO Pixar. Forget the Apple lawsuits (unless, you are, of course, being litigated against) CNN's Krysten Crawford extols the tender virtues of Pixar re-upping with Disney, noting, "Pixar Animation CEO Steve Jobs, who called off negotiations over a new contract after sparring with outgoing Disney head Michael Eisner, told analysts last month that he was waiting until Disney picked a new CEO before deciding what to do about a new distribution partner." Curious.

Everyone wants a little piece of that sweet Steve Jobs Silicon Valley ass (TM). Steve is like the prettiest girl in the AV squad. Lloyd Grove says of it all:

"Author Fredric Alan Maxwell, who's writing a critical biography of Apple Computer founder Steve Jobs, was tossed out of Jobs' keynote speech in January to the Macworld trade show in San Francisco. So (Grove) was fascinated by Maxwell's E-mail the other day: 'About 15 minutes ago I was walking down a side street here in Palo Alto ... when I looked to my left. There was a tall, thin, lanky man ... I did a double take, put out my right hand, and said, Steve Jobs. Fred Maxwell. I'm writing a biography of you. In a jocular way he replied, Lucky you, and walked on. So concluded my first, and probably only, interview with Steve Jobs."

And you just know Steve walked away insolently, with a slow, deliberative gait, leaving Maxwell to ogle the bouncing milkshake, cop a whistle, and wonder aloud if it "comes with fries."

Out: Bruce Willis. According to Ananova, the former New jersey Blues crooner is single because ... he sets his sights too high. Wait a minute. WTF?! This is the same Bruce Willis who achieved unholy "tushy congress" with the porn star Alisha Klass? We thought he set his sights too low. According to Ananova:

"(Willis) said: 'The slice of the pie chart that lines up with the criteria that I have set for myself is about two per cent of the population. So I've kind of given up.

"'There are a lot of cute women out there. But it's difficult to be with someone who works in showbusiness, who travels and moves around the world as much as I do.'"

Not so much "around the world" as, oh, say, "intergalactic travel," because -- and this message is to Klass for the symmetry -- Bruce Willis visited Uranus.



In: Is Heidi Klum Pregnant? According to that significant cultural artifact, Star Magazine:

"Heidi Klum and her singer fiance Seal are expecting their first child together, Star has learned exclusively. Though a rep for Klum, 31, had no official comment, one of her closest friends confirms the supermodel is definitely with child.

"'She is pregnant. They [Heidi and Seal] are very, very happy,' the pal tells Star. Klum and Seal have two homes, one in L.A. and another in New York. 'They are currently deciding where to bring up the baby,' the source added."

We like the Star, but we'll withold the congratulations to Klum and Seal on the onset of their sure to be stunning little mocha-colored child, but Star accuracy has been a ... wee bit bit spotty. Then again, they did unload Victoria Gotti -- no disrespect.

Out: The National Arts Club. National Arts Club .... paging the National Arts Club -- Ruffian turned your club inside out! According to Fashionweekdaily:

"'Ooh, look,' whispered Ruffian's Brian Wolke as he scanned his own party (at the National Arts Club). 'She's wearing Ruffian, and she's wearing it, and that's Ruffian!' As the designer counted his own couture, his other half, Claude Morais, beamed brightly. 'We are just so excited,' he explained. 'This is an amazing turnout, and of course it's great to see our clothes off the runway.'

"The turnout in question, for the National Arts Club's Black and White Salon, was indeed fabulous. Besides Ruffian-clad celebutantes, there were editors, artists, fashion folk, and the ubiquitous Patrick McDonald, who couldn't be missed in a terribly tall top hat and spats black and white, of course.

"... Midnight brought the bar's last call, and boxer J.P. Chisholm swigged a final shot of Jack Daniel's, straight from the bottle. 'That's how you know it's a new crowd coming in,' said the bartender. 'If the old members of this club saw you kids, dancing and carrying on in the club, drinking Jack like that, they'd roll over in their graves!'"

After midnight all the fabulousness evaporates (The Corsair snaps aggressively and exhibits a "neck roll").

In: Oscar de la Renta and Soft Power. Aside from designing the First Lady's wardrobe for the inauguration, Condi favored him at the Gridiron dinner. When a woman wants to project a little "soft power" in this age of the American Empire, one turns, it would seem, to Oscar de la Renta. Basta!

Out: Overly Aggro PR. Hamilton Nolan in PR Week does a wonderful job fleshing out a really ethically nebulous area, namely, the point at which aggressive publicity becomes, well, kind of skanky:

"For those who believe P.T. Barnum was the original PR man, self-promotion is a natural element of the business. But many in the industry feel the more blatant form of the practice falls somewhere between a necessary evil and a black mark of unprofessionalism.

"So where, exactly, does personal publicity cross the line into outright hucksterism?

"MWW CEO Michael Kempner ... acknowledges that agencies must promote themselves in order to remain visible. 'But... there is an important distinction between promotion and over promotion, between marketing and baseless hype,' Kempner adds, "and despite what some of the more aggressive self promoters in our industry may believe, all press is not good press. When business ethics and values take a back seat to growing a business at all costs, self promoters become a major accident waiting to happen.'"

More here.