Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



(image via abcnews)

"It's been a little more than a week since Bernie Madoff raped me financially .. Hundreds of vitriolic comments blasted onto the site basically calling me a rich bitch. A few were sympathetic. I wasn't surprised one way or the other because I'm scared shitless about just having to survive these days. But it suddenly seemed clear to me that we are all in this together. Aren't we all afraid when we've lost our jobs, our savings, our homes, pensions—and our confidence? ...In these ten days the M.F. has been parading around town with that rictus smile on his greedy, bloated face, while his personal chef is sweating in one of his kitchens, preparing moist, exquisite Kobe beef for him. Last night I thought, ‘Okay, it's Saturday, I'll leave work, it's time for a treat.’ Called the consort and we decided we'd try and watch some TV and munch on a pizza. There's a Domino's on my corner so I sally in and order two pizzas, no salads, no extras." (Alexandra Penney/TheDailyBeast)

"Last night after dinner at Swifty’s, I was standing on the corner of 72nd Street and Park Avenue saying goodnight to my dinner date when a couple she knew walked by in their warm winter woolies, moving quickly as if heading home to out of the cold. The man of the couple had lost a great deal of his fortune with Madoff. We just happened to know." (NYSocialDiary)

"Samantha Ronson may want her relationship with Lindsay Lohan to work for more reasons than just love: Since dating the actress, the deejay’s fee per gig has jumped from around $1,500 to as much as $25,000, netting Ronson close to $3 million over the last year. 'While Sam never contractually agrees that Lindsay will show up to her shows, promoters, owners and publicists all know that if you book Sam, there’s a high likelihood Lindsay will also show,' an insider close to the couple told us." (Gatecrasher)

"MSNBC may find out soon whether 'Hardball' host Chris Matthews returns to the channel, which has been invigorated in the ratings. Matthews is said to be considering an offer from NBC to remain as host of 'Hardball,' a job he's held for more than a decade, or to return to his native Pennsylvania to run for the U.S. Senate against GOP incumbent Arlen Specter. There are indications that a decision could come soon, sometime before Inaugural Day. But MSNBC president Phil Griffin declined late last week to say whether that's true or not. 'I've talked to Chris. I think he's going to be here for a long time,' Griffin said. 'I want him to be here for a long time.' Griffin said that there would be 'clarity' soon." (THR)

"What is it with Barack Obama and preachers? First, he sits in Jeremiah Wright's congregation for two decades and finds himself defending, then distancing himself from what amounts to hate speech. Now he's picked a bigot to give his invocation at the inauguration. Rick Warren's anti-gay invectives stirred Rep. Barney Frank, a leading gay member of Congress, to denounce Obama's plans for the preacher to bless his inaugural. Obama needs to find a preacher who offends no one (Ed note: good luck)." (CQPolitics)

"Jeremy Piven quit his Broadway show three months early because of an overexposure to mercury. Sounds serious! And fake! So who's treating him? A celebrity doctor with a shady past named Carlon Colker. Colker is a former body builder turned celebrity physician and motivational speaker in his early 40's. He's been on weight loss TV shows, promoted wellness with the likes of Christie Brinkley, and coached Shaq." (Gawker)

"Jeremy Piven doesn't need a publicist—he's an expert at self-promotion. The Entourage star has been visiting the Soho branch of Equinox while he's in town appearing in Speed-the-Plow, and he appears to be pumping up in more ways than one. Every morning when he comes in, he stops at the gym's juice bar to buy water. Last week, a young, attractive brunette who works there squinted at the actor, who was dressed in a baseball cap, a black hoodie and sweatpants, and said, 'You know, you look like Ari Gold on Entourage.' Jeremy looked her straight in the eye and replied, 'I hear he's a badass guy.'" (PageSixMagazine)



(will vs. carey via guardian)

"Everyone expected yucks to trump tears at the North American box office where comedy has been mostly king since Thanksgiving. So no surprise that Warner Bros' Jim Carrey derivative laugher Yes Man (which is a deadringer for the funnyman's 1997 Liar Liar) opened with $6.5M Friday and $6.6M Saturday in 3,434 theaters for what was a low $18.1M weekend since the weather did not improve (includes Sunday estimates). Can't Carrey find new material? ... Another risky move was Will Smith choosing this melodrama Seven Pounds for Sony with its downer story that reunites the star with his Pursuit of Happyness director Gabriele Muccino. But the experiment produced Will's worst opening since 2001's Ali. Audiences for Seven Pounds this weekend were 55% female and 64% were aged 25 or older. It debuted to $5.3M Friday and $5.6M Saturday in 2,758 venues for a $16M weekend." (DeadlinwHollywoodDaily)

"The United States is aiming to send 20,000 to 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan before this summer, according to Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. Three thousand will be sent next month. Most of the troops will be sent to bolster struggling European forces in Southern Afghanistan .. Gen. David McKiernan said he hopes the additional troops will allow international forces to reach a 'tipping point' against the Taliban that will allow aid and development groups to do their work. At the same time, NATO forces will begin a strategy of reaching out to local tribal leaders, to enlist them in the fight against the Taliban. This is a central aspect of the "clear, hold, and build" strategy that now-CENTCOM Commander David Petraeus employed in Iraq." (Blogs.ForeignPolicy)

"The incoming Obama administration stands on a precipice in Afghanistan. Someday we may look back at the impending deployment of two U.S. army brigades to Afghanistan as we do President Lyndon B. Johnson’s sending the Marines ashore in South Vietnam — a fatal mistake. In that one step, Johnson traded a strategy of counterinsurgency — which arguably had a chance of winning, however slim — for the application of brute military force, which had none. Take it from a former Russian KGB general: Sending more American troops to Afghanistan is not the answer there, either. And he knows first-hand." (CQPOlitics)

"Fox Searchlight wrestled key victories out of the weekend box office for Mickey Rourke starrer 'The Wrestler' and awards favorite 'Slumdog Millionaire.''The Wrestler,' directed by Darren Aronofsky, posted an impressive per-screen average of $52,368 in its debut, grossing an estimated $209,474 from four locations. Cume on the pic, which opened Wednesday, is $294,980. Climbing up the top 10 chart to No. 8 was 'Slumdog Millionaire,' one of several specialty titles basking in the glow of multiple award nominations ..'We were selling out everywhere on both pics,' Searchlight's Sheila DeLoach said." (Variety)

"A year had passed since the theatrical release of Lucas’s gee-whiz space epic, and in that time Star Wars had become the highest-grossing movie in history as well as a cultural phenomenon with its very own lexicon and mythology. With a sequel still two years away from theaters, Lucas had been sold on the idea that a Star Wars holiday television special—to be broadcast on CBS the weekend before Thanksgiving, when Nielsen audiences were plentiful—would sustain interest in the franchise, move more toys off the shelves, and maybe even pick up some new fans who hadn’t seen the movie. Though Lucas would not be involved in the actual shooting of the special—Smith and Hemion would oversee that—he knew the tales he wanted to tell and planned to work with the show’s team of seasoned TV writers to develop his ideas into a viable script. For those who had been summoned, the prospect of collaborating with the father of the Force initially sounded like a sure bet. 'We were really excited, because, My God, this is an annuity—Star Wars! says Lenny Ripps, another writer who worked on the special. How could it lose?'" (VanityFair)