A Little of the Old In and Out



(image via thesun)

In: Daniel Craig. The new James Bond, or, as DrudgiePoo says, breathlessly, on his website, "Blonde ... James Blonde."(Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment) Frankly, we believe the whole James Bond franchise to be on the very threshold of cultural irrelevance (Especially in a post-cold war multiculti scenario), but ... the simple fact that Daniel Craig precipitated the breakup of Jude Law and Sienna "Puce" Miller intrigues us. Mightily. This is clearly a Daniel Craig sex-week and we are forced to take notice of this British Newjack that is demanding prominent placement on the global entertainment chessboard. Says TheSun:

"NEW Bond Daniel Craig was officially unveiled today and spoke for the first time since taking on the role.

"The Layer Cake star said he hoped to take the famous character in a new direction.

"But he refused to be drawn on who he would pick as his Bond girl given the choice between Sienna Miller and Kate Moss."

Why should he have to chose? James Bond would at least open contingent negotiations on a threesome.



Yikes. (image via jossip)

Out: Cisco Adler. What the fuck is up with Cisco Adler? He pinches pennies so hard that Abe Lincoln literally screams. This, from the venerable Page Six:

"WHAT'S behind Mischa Barton's money demands on her 'O.C.' bosses? Apparently, it's her new, tight-fisted boyfriend. The starlet wants her per-episode rate to hit six figures. 'Mischa's the biggest star on the show, and she feels her salary should reflect that,' a source told Inside TV. Besides a lofty $30,000 monthly mortgage payment for her $7 million house, the blonde now dates musician Cisco Adler instead of billion-heir Brandon Davis. 'Mischa winds up paying for a lot of their dates,' the source added."

Hey, Cisco: granted, this is the 21st century; and -- what have you -- the music industry payscale sucks ass, but come on. Step up your game, brother.



Elizabeth Vargas at the upfronts. (image via latina.com)

In: Elizabeth Vargas and Bob Woodruff? Is America ready for an evening anchor with a little ... "Arroz con pollo" in the kitchen? (If you know what we mean) And, no, we're not talking about Bob Woodruff's concave, WASPish asscheeks. We're all about sexy latina Vargas ("rowwr ..."). According to Cindy Adams, whom we love to wedgie, but also respect. Somewhat:

"...Mother told you Bob Woodruff would move into the Peter Jennings chair. I also told you Cynthia McFadden would be the new Ted Koppel. I now tell you the newest drip around ABC's water coolers. This is not confirmed. But then the Woodruff stuff isn't confirmed. Not confirmed, not denied, not nothing'd. The McFadden stuff wasn't confirmed. Not confirmed, not denied, not nothing'd. ABC probably still hasn't even confirmed that its initials stand for American Broadcasting Company.

"So, with Elizabeth Vargas and Charlie Gibson also working the 'World News Tonight' slot, here's what the water cooler says is going down. A co-anchor job. Elizabeth Vargas and Bob Woodruff. A sort of deja vu from the old days when we had Dan Rather with Connie Chung and Harry Reasoner next to Barbara Walters."

You'll remember Dan Rather's enlightened advice to Connie Chung on being an anchor? "Read."



(image via islandconnections)

Out: Jeff Zucker. Everyone on the planet besides the usually sober Kurt Andersen knows that Jeff Zucker is in a bit of a corporate pickle. Hell, The Corsair blog has been on Zucker's ass for months (see second item), some time before the Radar piece. NBC is getting its lunch eaten in the ratings. The upfronts were a disappointment. Those are the facts. Now this, from Medialife:
"No matter how many times 'ER' reinvents itself, and it's certainly been many, it can't hold up against CBS when the rest of NBC's schedule is so weak.

"Last week CBS's 'Without a Trace' topped 'ER' among adults 18-49 for the first time in their four-year timeslot battle Thursday at 10 p.m. It did it again last night, averaging a 6.7 Nielsen overnight rating to 'ER's' 6.1, a 10 percent advantage.

"'ER' and 'Trace' both fell 3 percent week to week, undoubtedly because of Fox's coverage of the National League Championship Series, which didn't finish until after 11 p.m. Fox averaged a 3.4 that hour.

"... But 'ER' is an aging show, now in its 12th year, while 'Trace' is a mere pup at four years old. 'ER' has weathered cast changes and plot twists while still remaining one of the top dramas in 18-49s.

"Last year 'Trace' passed 'ER' in total viewers, and many figured it was only a matter of time before NBC's 8-10 schedule slowed down enough that 'ER' became vulnerable in 18-49s."

The Zucker countdown-to-a-media-beheading continues ... (tickticktick)



Yummy. (image via NySocialDiary)

In: Kerry Washington. Tuesday night the superhott Kerry Washington received the Young Artist Award for Artistic Excellence. And we hear from the Page Sixxies the Spence School grad will next play Idi Amin's wife -- Oscar, anyone? -- in "The Last King of Scotland," which we cannot wait to see having lived some of that (Not the wife part, however). We'd award this Tibetan Prayer flag aficionado the "Yummy Yumtastic Award for Delicious Excellence." Call us?



(image via onprobation via photos1.blogger)

Out: Lightening Beyonce? Say it isn't so! Last week we congratulated Beyonce on her Vanity Fair cover. Our old college pal Amy Craword hips us onto this link at Radar which implies that Ms. Knowles was lightened by Vanity Fair. They say, in part:

"African-American entertainers have long complained about being ignored by mainstream magazines, which often avoid covers featuring black celebrities for fear that they will underperform on newsstands. Vanity Fair, which has drawn some of the sharpest criticism, has has not featured a solo black person on its cover since the late nineties, when it showcased Michael Jordan, Will Smith, and a clown-faced Chris Rock.

"A pronounced dip in newsstand sales earlier this year has Carter feeling especially skittish. Convinced that a series of gloomy covers has contributed to the slump, says our source, the wing-haired editor ordered his art department to lighten up its act. Unfortunately, staffers got so carried away they ended up lightening Beyonce as well. 'Everything on the cover is bright, including the white background, to make it seem as white as can be,' says the source, who claims that the pop diva's medium-dark complexion was airbrushed to a 'Jennifer Lopez shade of bronze' to fit in with the magazine's cheery new aesthetic."

We truly hope this is not the case. The clownmakeup on Chris Rock was disheartening enough for my people
.


(image via edge.org)

In: Where in the world is Michael Wolff? Where is the Vanity Fair scribe? Where does he go to relieve his midafternoon hunger? The Four Seasons? Where?

On Monday, Anderson Cooper and a gentleman friend sat at his power table at Michael's. Then, on Wednesday, Laurel Tobey noted that Norman Lear and Mike Ovitz were at his table? Where in the world is Michael Wolff? And, will we never again see those pillowy lips cooling off Michael's exquisite crab bisque? (The Corsair weeps silently)



(image via indiewire via stv)

Out: Harvey Weinstein's "Money Bleeding Machine." Online, the reaction to the Slate's deconstruction of Harvey Weinstein piece is gathering steam. This particularly compelling post comes from the talented Karina Longworth at Cinematical:

"I read Edward Jay Epstein's latest Slate piece, about Harvey Weinstein's creative accounting practices whilst at Miramax, when I was in Chicago covering the Festival. The night before, I sat through a screening of The Matador, the Pierce Brosnan/Greg Kinnear buddy comedy that Harvey picked up at Sundance and has plans to release through his new company this fall. On the surface, The Matador seems like an odd acquisition for Weinstein; an indie film in name only, no major studio would have trouble marketing its broad comedy and multiple-quadrant-skewing premise. On the surface, it lacks a certain essence that used to mark a typical pre-divorce Weinstein Sundance pick-up -- where's the challenge?

"Without touching directly on that acquisition, Epstein puts it in a kind of perspective. Harvey's business at Miramax was apparently based on delaying the release of films that he knew were going to be unprofitable so that those losses wouldn't affect his own bonuses."

Wow. (NB: Harvey Weinstein, according to the New York Magazine salary issue, made $50 million last year) Full story here.