Media-Whores D'Oevres



"ART connoisseurs, shocked at prices for contemporary works, figure the rising tide can only make the Old Masters more valuable. Dealer Larry Salander has put a $100 million price tag on a Caravaggio he's showing at the former Forstmann mansion on East 71st Street. He told writer Gregory Speck, 'If people can justify paying $90 million for a new work by Damien Hirst, they should consider that these 400-year-old paintings are worth far more from an aesthetic point of view than anything from the contemporary field of junk, in which I think the emperor wears no clothes.'"(PageSix)

"It’s the third-season finale of Bravo’s 'Top Chef,' airing live at 10 p.m., in which finalists Casey, Dale and Hung square off and celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito serves as a guest judge.While the judges will determine who wins the competition, Bravo continues its attempts to engage viewers with side contests like tonight’s 'Fan Favorite' vote. The network asked viewers to text or vote online for their favorite chef, and the winner will receive $10,000. Bravo has employed similar online elements with its popular 'Project Runway.' 'Chef' has averaged 1.58 million viewers 18-49 this season, according to Nielsen data analyzed by Turner Networks, down 6 percent from last season but still ranking a strong No. 7 among all basic cable shows this summer." (Medialifemagazine)

"At Fairfax Hospital, Senator Warner had a procedure to correct atrial fibrillation. A second, routine procedure will be performed tomorrow. His doctors fully anticipate that Senator Warner will be home this weekend and back to work next week." (Politico)

"Looking to soothe tensions, Paramount will start reporting box office receipts for DreamWorks titles under the newly created DreamWorks-Paramount banner. The arrangement will begin this weekend with the bow of Ben Stiller laffer 'The Heartbreak Kid,' but the accommodation was made several months ago when the overall DreamWorks deal was re-negotiated. 'It was important to (Geffen and Spielberg) that things be clear in term of the movies that are theirs,' a Par exec said. This could help to pave the way for a scenario in which DreamWorks becomes more of an autonomous production company, with the ability to raise outside money, in addition to its allotment from Paramount.Whatever the case, concession indicates that Par is trying to do what it can to save the DreamWorks marriage and keep Steven Spielberg and David Geffen from bolting at the end of 2008." (Variety)

"But let me shill for Page Six as I tell you they're craftily starting a TMZ-like website on which they'll run videos of stars in crisis. Run, Britney, run." (Musto)