A Little of the Old In and Out



(image via smart90)

In: Murdoch.com. In that infamous August 10 conference call, Rupert Murdoch sounded the starting guns for Old Media racing after New Media, saying, "There is no greater priority for (Newscorp) today than to meaningfully and profitably expand its Internet presence and to properly position ourselves from the explosion in broadband usage that we're now starting to see."

Businessweek has a fascinating, must-read article today (link via iwantmedia) on Newscorps aggressive moves online, saying, in part:

"The highly adaptable patriarch of the family empire always has been willing to embrace new technology. First he forged into the world of cable-TV, and then satellite, buying DirecTV. Now his empire is at a critical juncture. The world is changing and Murdoch is ready to change with it.
"The younger viewers at the core of the company's audience are drifting away from TV, spending more time online. They're using the Web to socialize and communicate, downloading songs, listening to Internet radio and podcasts, and playing online games. It won't be long before they turn to the Web for longer-form video and TV, thanks to the rise of broadband. About 35% of the U.S. population has broadband, which is getting faster and cheaper every year.

"And advertising dollars are shifting from TV and print to the Web."Next up, Rupert: In search of a search engine. The story here.

(image via andrew.cmu)

Out: NBC, Embattled. The Peacock Network, former home to "Must See Thursday": They've wined and dined with Kings and Queens ... now they're lying in the gutter eating pork and beans. The belt tightens, and somewhere, Brandon Tartikoff spins, counterclockwise, in his grave. According to MediaLifeMagazine:

"Expect 'Joey' to eat a lot fewer sandwiches this season. After an upfront season during which NBC�s ad sales were down almost $1 billion and the network stumbled to fourth place among adults 18-49, NBC Universal Television Group president Jeff Zucker sent a memo to staff advising them to cut back on all expenses, down to the smallest snack. The memo, first reported by The Hollywood Reporter, comes after NBC said at last month�s Television Critics Association tour that it was cutting back on discretionary spending. Perhaps most interesting, there�s a rumor circulating that NBC Universal may ditch the network�s longtime Burbank headquarters at Universal City Plaza as part of the cost-cutting. Among the cuts: No more Blackberries being purchased this year, snacks and meals only when guests are present, and a restriction on travel when a simple tele- or videoconference would suffice."

Sweet Jesus, no. (The Corsair softly weeps into his perfectly manicured, Geminian hands)



(image via celebrity-exchange)

In: Paltrow as Peggy Lee? Although, quite frankly, we are not "Gwynny" Paltrow fans, when we get into the odd existential mood, we have been known to play Peggy Lee's "I'm Walking," while commemorating love's lost over a 12-year old single malt scotch. This item in LASocialDiary particularly intrigued us:

"...( Gwyneth Paltrow) is perfecting her impersonation of singer-songwriter Peggy Lee for Have You Heard? a movie based on the late George Plimpton�s book about Truman Capote, in which sundry friends and enemies, admirers and adversaries recall Tru�s turbulent career � as a writer and pop culture phenomenon.

"It is being said that Paltrow�s performance eerily echoes the look, the voice and the persona of the legendary Lee. She has showcased her imitation of the imperious, platinum-mane Lee for an audience made up of friends like Madonna and Guy Ritchie, Kate Moss and Pete Doherty and Crown Prince Pavlos and Princess Marie Chantal at the London hot spot Kabaret, which is owned by Ben Elliot and Harry Beacher.

�'She is amazing,' our source reports. 'it is the best Peggy Lee get up ever. She is considering making the Lee re-enactment a weekly event (at Kabaret) and Madonna is urging her to take it to Las Vegas.' This is not too likely to happen but or spies tell us that they heard Paltrow is considering recording the act for a BBC special."



(image via samaratoday)

Out: Pete Doherty's Anal Cavity Search. Oh dear. Yesterday, we reported on the 3AM Girls' report that Kate Moss' cracked up fiance Pete Doherty got held up in Norway on crack and smack possession. Now, things take an even more sinister turn. (Cue Bach's Toccatta in D Minor) In this episode, the Norwegian police search for crack in Pete Doherty's, ehr, crack. According to the ironically entitled TheDigitalSpy (link via WorldofWonder):

"Pete Doherty was forced to endure an all-body strip search at an airport in Norway over the weekend.The Babyshambles frontman was held by customs officers for three hours at Gardermoen Airport while they ensured he was carrying no drugs.'Pete was given a thorough search by officers,' a source told The Sun. 'He looked fairly wide-eyed by the time they have finished.' He got the full rubber glove treatment. They made sure there was absolutely no trace of drugs before they let him go."

(A considerable pause) Wow, TheDigitalSpy doing some actual "digital" spying (Averted Gaze). What happens in Norway, stays in Norway; right, Pete?



(image via NYSocialDiary)

In: Stella Keitel. Some kids have all the luck. Some kids have all the fame. Fashionweekdaily reports:

"Elite Models is interested in signing 19-year old Stella Keitel (daughter of Harvey Keitel and Lorraine Bracco), who has been interning at Zac Posen�s studio this summer (on the heels of Ashley Olsen)"

That particular item had so many boldface names going on that The Corsair is presently suffering from cognitive vertigo.



(image via adorocinema)

Out: Rob Schneider. From the beautiful Stella Keitel to, well, to Rob Schneider, clearly a man at the bottom of the Hollywood food chain -- above the social status of, say, a Fatburger employee, but significantly below the clout of Carrot Top. And yet, Schneider craves himself some critical acclaim. He says, to Moviehole:

"'Sometimes for me (bad reviews have) been a blessing and a curse. A curse because if someone�s saying that you�re horrible - some of the reviews are just vicious and are personal attacks on me - it can hurt. But it also frees me up because I don�t have to try or worry about having to please these people because it�s been such a relief for me. Now I just try to make movies the way I think are funny.' And Schneider is clearly ignoring his critics and working harder than ever, beginning with his pet project 'Hard Art'.

"...' I�m going to play Prince Habebu in (Adam Sandler's) next movie, Click, with Christopher Walken and Kate Beckinsale. I�m going to play this crazy guy, another Hula-type character, like Fifty First Dates. The next one I�m doing is Harv of the Barbarian which I don�t think is with his production company.

"If audiences go bananas for this one then you might see Deuce III Time Whore. What I like about it is I think the movie is so relentless and so out there that I think we might even get some decent reviews finally. Who knows? I�m always an optimist."

Sorry to break it to you ...



(image via hello!magazine)

In: Demi Moore. Our magnificent blog wife, Miu, brings us Demi Moore (via JJ, via the late, great "Oui Magazine") -- the current Harper's Bazaar covergirl -- when she was, well, significantly lower on the Hollywood food chain. One must marvel at the state of bionics as, in her 40s, Demi looks a lot better than she did, naturally, in her early 20s. Crazy. Here.

Out:



(link via gawker via Lukas Kaiser)

In: Michael Musto. Did Fergie Pee Herself? Do we finally get an answer? Urine luck (excuse the pun); we do. That's what we all want to know. Musto gets to the bottom of things:

"... The Black Eyed Peas' FERGIE, who, at Paper magazine's dinner at Luda in her honor, was sweet and effusive in all her Heatheretted-up glory. She was so sweet, in fact, that I hated to corner her with a pesky question involving personal hygiene. Had she seen the photo from their recent San Diego concert, linked on gawker.com, in which a giant, crescent-shaped stain jazzed up her pants crotch? (Reports claimed that since she and the Peas had arrived late, Fergie was in a bind and had to relieve herself onstage.) 'I had a bad day that day,' she told me, not moistening�or clarifying. Point taken�but did the Black Eyed pee? 'No!' she exclaimed, half convincingly. 'Well then,' I generously stammered, 'maybe it was perspiration?' She half nodded, still smiling, but being as much of a gentleman as she's a lady, I didn't pursue that or other far worse options. (You know . . . never mind.)"

She peed herself.