A Little of the Old In and Out



(image via symphonyspace)

In: Stephen Colbert. At some point we should all start calling Comedy Central The Daily Show Writer's Channel just as we, once-upon-a-time, called it The Dave Chappelle Channel (Doesn't it seem like only yesterday ...?). Clearly, the Daily Show writers exert some serious muscle at the cable channel. Their muscularity is in evidence moreso because Comedy Central has reupped with "The Colbert Report." According to the the press release:

"Open wide, baby bird, because mama has got a big fat night crawler of good news. COMEDY CENTRAL has extended 'The Colbert Report' through 2006 from its initial eight-week run, it was announced today by Lauren Corrao, executive vice president, original programming and development.

"'In two short weeks The Colbert Report has seamlessly paired itself with The Daily Show to form one of the smartest and funniest hours of television and has cemented COMEDY CENTRAL's position as the preeminent destination in late-night,' said Corrao. 'My job becomes a lot less complicated when I can rely on such a talented and creative team as Stephen Colbert, Ben Karlin and Jon Stewart and they give back the gift that is 'The Colbert Report.' Giving the show a full-year order was one of the easiest decisions I've ever made in my career.'"

That's cable network love, yo.



Portrait of the punk-ass as a young man. (image via my brilliant blog wife)

Out: Stavros Niarchos. It is hard to imagine a maneuver more asshole-esqu in execution than the following. But Stavros has skillz. He is a true prick. According to those intrepid Page Sixxies: "PARIS Hilton plaything Stavros Niarchos III is some kind of class act. After he fueled up at L.A.'s Element club the other night, the Greek shipping heir and a posse of pals stopped at Burger King. 'Stavros offered a homeless man outside $100 to dump a soda on himself,' a source squealed to Us Weekly. The desperate bum took the payout 'and everyone laughed,' reports the source. This one's a keeper, Paris!"

Altogether now: What a dick.



Whose his daddy? (image via Nysocialdiary)

In: The Ten-Week Old Jack Russell Terrier. Whither the fate of this cute 10-week old Jack Russell Terrier? The wonderful Rachel Sklar's "The Littlest Hobo" mention on FishbowlNY yesterday got me thinking about my years as a Canadian diplobrat in an earlier incarnation. It also got me thinking about the ancient and sweet collaboration between dogs and humans.

It should have been a seemless Halloween auction. Martin Short was the celebrity auctioneer. Big money, like Yoko Ono, Lally Weymouth, Annette de la Renta, Glenn Close, Mariah Carey and Ahmet and Mica Ertegun were in attendance. There was a cute dog. What could go wrong? According to our favorite social chronicler David Patrick Columbia in NYSocialDiary:

"Martin Short, who as his alter ego Jiminy Glick conducted the auction ... The biggest auction item of the night turned out to be the tiniest creature in the room � a ten-week-old Jack Russell terrier who�d come up from San Antonio, Texas, in the hands of his breeder Brooke Negley (daughter of frequent NYSD persona Nancy Holmes). Bidding for her outdid the 'backstage with the Rolling Stones' package, and the gavel came down at $15,000 for the little cutie.

"Then, right afterwards, someone else in the audience (who shall remain nameless for the time being) offered to pay $20,000 for the pup. So the previous bidder ($15,000) signed off. Then, when the show and the night was over, the bigger bidder disappeared without leaving a name or a check. Big spender, big guy, that he was (not).

"Yesterday morning, no one knew where the dog was going or who was going to take her. The $15,000 bidder also signed off. The last I heard, an earlier bidder, actor Tony Danza ($8000) might take her.This is what I hate about auctioning off animals at charity events. The jerk who bid 20 grand was obviously showing off and the previous bidder was so easily dissuaded from staying with his original purchase that one can only wonder where his true heart lay. Which means ... as for the dog�s future ... who knows? Which means neither of those people was thinking of the animal, the life. If I had their names and pictures I�d post �em just so you could see what a couple of goofballs look like ... Jerks playing Mr. Big."

Anyone who knows who the bidder was can email me at: papermag@yahoo.com.



(image via emi.fi)

Out: The Beastie Boys Film. While we have a certain soft spot in our hearts for the Beastie Boys, whose satirical urban rhythms served as the general theme music of our youthful indiscretions in the late 80s (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment), paying good money to go see a documentary shot by fans of a Beastie concert in 2005 is ... well, its not our idea of a quality time (Averted Gaze). Don't get The Corsair wrong: We appreciate the exhuberant experimentality of it all, but a concert is one thing, and a fan-shot documentary of a concert a year old is a different kettle of fish alogether. We're not sure we'd even watch such a doc if it came on IFC (Or, more likely, Al Gore's buzz-challenged "Current TV") if it came on for free. According to Indiewire:

"A new Beastie Boys performance doc, shot by their fans and directed by the band's Adam Yauch, a.k.a. M.C.A. (using the pseudonym Nathaniel Hornblower), has been nabbed by THINKFilm. The movie, dubbed 'Awesome; I Fuckin' Shot That,' features footage filmed by 50 fans at a Madison Square Garden concert. THINKFilm has acquired all worldwide rights to the movie. They are eyeing a Spring '06 release, after what they said will be 'significant festival presentations early next year.'

"'I'm glad that the film has found a home with THINK,' said the Beastie's Yauch/M.C.A./Hornblower in s statement, 'Shit has been bubbling for a minute and now THINK is gonna light a match.' The company's theatrical division head Mark Urman added, 'Awesome' is the only word that can describe the experience of watching this film.'"

Whatever.



Lagerfeld and a well-mantanned Valentino vamp. (image via fashionweekdaily/Patrick McMullen)

In: Karl Lagerfeld, Closing Out FashionWeek? Will The Gloved One -- He who once sustained himself off a diet of Diet Coke and horsemeat (2nd item) -- close out FashionWeek come February? According to fashionweekdaily:

"Karl Lagerfeld�s New York plans are crystallizing by the day. First he confirmed to The Daily his plan to present his fall/winter 2006 Lagerfeld Gallery collection show in New York. Now he�s confirmed a date and time. The Lagerfeld Gallery show will take place on Feb. 10 at 8pm. That choice of day and time ensures Lagerfeld the likelihood that he will close New York Fashion Week, thus joining the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Gwen Stefani, both of whom have held what seems to have become the most coveted spot the last two years."

That is, of course, unless Naomi Campbell decides to -- at the last possible minute -- upstage everything.