Media-Whore D'Oevres

"HOWELL RAINES said last night at The Week magazine's journalism awards that Bill Clinton has engaged in subtle race-baiting against Senator Obama: 'He has sought to, in a low key way, remind people, Hey, this guy is black.' That from Politico's Jonathan Martin, who notes: 'As editorial page editor of the New York Times in the 90s, Raines frequently penned scathing attacks on the former president.'" (Politico)

"Chloe Sevigny and Zooey Deschanel will star in indie comedy 'Divorce Ranch,' produced, directed and written by veteran helmer Michael Lindsay-Hogg. Anne Clements ("Quinceanera") will produce along with Lindsay-Hogg. Shooting starts in September. 'Divorce Ranch' is set in Nevada just after WWII, when a quickie divorce could be granted after residency was established. Sevigny will portray an actress who comes to the ranch with her 6-year-old son so she can then marry a wealthy man. Deschanel will play her assistant." (Variety)

"Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis are getting married on June 14, it has been reported. The pair have been together for over 10 years and have two children, eight-year-old Lily-Rose and six-year-old Jack, but French singer Vanessa is now keen to tie the knot. A source told MSNBC: 'Johnny loves Vanessa very much, and he said if that’s what would make her happy, then he would marry her.'" (MTV.uk)

"Former state Sen. Jackie Speier (D) won a resounding victory in the open special election for the seat of late Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) seat on Tuesday night, taking 78 percent of the vote in a five-candidate field and stamping her ticket to Congress. Speier was expected to win the race, but her opponents had hoped to force a runoff at least. In the end, they did not come close. Lantos died of cancer in February but endorsed Speier before his death." (TheHill)

"At first glance, the AFI Dallas International Film Festival appears to have a lot in common with the similarly nascent Tribeca Film Festival. Both gatherings are in their first decades of existence, emphasize locality by spotlighting the works of filmmakers from their own communities, and rely on major corporate sponsorship to stay afloat ... However, a great deal of the program has yet to find theatrical distribution, including some films with built-in visibility. Barry Levinson's 'What Just Happened,' an endearingly perceptive adaptation of producer Art Linson's zany Hollywood memoir starring Robert De Niro, came to town at the end of the week with director, writer and lead actor in tow. Major theatrical prospects for the movie were quite possibly squelched by an overhyped Sundance premiere, and it now appears that executive producer Todd Wagner's Magnolia Pictures might take it on." (Indiewire)

"'Did you get a load of Lou Rawls’s wife?' Matthews said as he left the spin room. Apparently the Rev. Jesse Jackson was introducing the widow of the R&B singer at the media center. 'She was an absolute knockout,' Matthews declared. It’s a common Matthews designation. The actress Kerry Washington was also a 'total knockout,' according to Matthews, who by 1 a.m. had repaired to the bar of the Cleveland Ritz-Carlton. He was sipping a Diet Coke and holding court for a cluster of network and political types, as well as for a procession of random glad-handers that included, wouldn’t you know it, Kerry Washington herself. Washington played Ray Charles’s wife in the movie 'Ray' and Kay Amin in the 'Last King of Scotland.' She is a big Obama supporter and was in town for the debate; more to the point, she said she likes 'Hardball.' Matthews grabbed her hand, and Phil Griffin, the head of MSNBC who was seated across the table, vowed to get her on the show. 'I know why he wants you on,' Matthews said to Washington while looking at Griffin. At which point Matthews did something he rarely does. He paused. He seemed actually to be considering what he was about to say. He might even have been editing himself, which is anything but a natural act for him. He was grimacing. I imagined a little superego hamster racing against a speeding treadmill inside Matthews’s skull, until the superego hamster was overrun and the pause ended. 'He wants you on because you’re beautiful,' Matthews said. 'And because you’re black.' He handed Washington a business card and told her to call anytime 'if you ever want to hang out with Chris Matthews.'" (NYTimes)

"Shiite militia groups backed by Iran are the greatest long-term threat to Iraq's stability, according to Army General David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq. The so-called `special groups,' which are funded, trained and armed by Iran, played a `destructive role' in the recent clashes between extremist militias and Iraqi government forces in Basra and Baghdad, Petraeus said. 'Iran has fueled the violence in a particularly damaging way,' he told the House Armed Services Committee today in Washington, his second day of testimony to lawmakers. 'Unchecked, the special groups pose the greatest long-term threat to the viability of a democratic Iraq.'" (Bloomberg)