Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



(image via msnbc)

"ELLEN Barkin may soon get the ultimate comeuppance on Ron Perelman - by trashing her billionaire ex-hubby in a thinly disguised HBO series based on her life as a sizzling cougar after their bitter divorce. Barkin will executive-produce and star in a half-hour pilot being scripted for an untitled show about a woman, 'famous for her high-profile marriage, who divorces and re-enters the singles market,' according to Variety. Barkin, 54, pocketed $60 million from Perelman, 66, who slapped her with divorce papers in 2006, then booted her from his East 63rd Street mansion. But she quickly struck back. The 'Sea of Love' hottie auctioned off more than 100 jewels he'd lavished on her, netting an additional $20.3 million. And when she bumped into Perelman at the Waverly Inn with new girlfriend Anna Chapman, Barkin threw a glass of water in his face and hissed at Chapman: 'I feel sorry for you that you have to [bleep] him tonight.'" (PageSix)

"But the rising financial and geopolitical stress have made it difficult to maintain the veneer of civility. The big news from last night? A well-attended forum on the Middle East, featuring Shimon Peres of Israel and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, ended in a storm of controversy. Erdogan left the stage in a fit of pique, arguing that Peres's impassioned defense of Israel's Gaza offensive — at one point he asked Erdogan how Turkey would respond if it were attacked in a similar manner — was 'in a manner not in line with. . . the spirit of Davos.' He was also angered that moderator David Ignatius of the Washington Post had tried to keep him within prescribed time limits while Peres had spoken at length. Erdogan said he'd never return. Two things: First, Turkey and Israel, it will be recalled, are supposed to be allies. Second, droning on beyond allotted time frames isn't rude at Davos. It's a sign of Davos Man's virility. That's what people do here. They talk—a lot, and at length." (Newsweek)

"At Elaine's (they're all impressed with our Halston dress and the people we know here)(those of you who get that) ... Gang at Elaine's loooves Charlie Gasparino. Much ring-kissing and one 'John Thain's your best friend!' (Chris Noth was there too.)" (Rachel Sklar/Twitter)



(Stefano Pilati and Stella McCartney via fashionweekdaily)

"'I think I got really lucky with this location,' said Stella McCartney of her Palais Royal boutique, which she celebrated with a fête last night-even though the store opened in November .. 'This is a big deal for Stella,' said Marianne Faithfull, as photographers dodged through the 1600-square-foot space like pigs hunting for truffles. Indeed, the night was big enough for Stella to debut a Cartier sapphire and diamond pendant her dad gave her mom in the '70s, and just passed onto her. 'Only like one other person knows this was my mum's!' Unsurprisingly, especially for such a low-party week, McCartney had quite a turnout. Sir Paul and his girlfriend Nancy Shevell were in full receiving mode; François-Henri Pinault was practically glowing; when Catherine Deneuve arrived, some photographers dove at her and others ran away as fast as they could." (Fashionweekdaily)

"I took an old friend to lunch at Michael’s. It was sort of a treat: she had been through some very hard times health-wise and she had made it through thanks to the miracles around us .. For years they’ve been a constellation in the lives of many of these New Yorkers whom my lunch partner has grown up with. The Madoff catastrophe has been just that for them also, a catastrophe, according to my friend .. Although it is a socio-economic incident of historic proportions, it is also the result of decisions and agreements made by (groups of) people who had their hands on the levers of power and responsibility. We have yet to recognize that in order to 'right' the situation, we will have to put the 'righting' in the hands of those who do not have a vested interest in saving their own skins, necks." (David Patrick Columbia/NYSocialDiary)

"A passionate student and champion of great directors, film critic Roger Ebert will receive the Directors Guild of America 2009 Honorary Life Member Award. Here, in Ebert's own words, are 10 conversations between directors he'd enjoy hearing if stranded with them on a desert island." (Roger Ebert/Variety)

"... (Rahm) Emanuel’s go-for-the-big-win style, even when mixed with the president’s earnest charm, did not gain even one vote from the House GOP. The caucus held together like a stone wall when it came time to vote on the Democratic-authored $825 billion stimulus package—all 177 members joined 11 'Blue Dog' Democrats for the 244-188 final tally .. Since the beginning of his campaign for the presidency, Barack Obama has spoken repeatedly of 'post-partisanship.' He promised that he would transcend the divisions of the past by uniting Democrats and Republicans alike. His actions, engineered by Emanuel, were intended to win enough Republican votes to claim not just a victory on the stimulus bill but also confirmation of his 'post-partisan' leadership. The result, with not a single Republican voting in favor, despite Obama’s wining and dining, joking and cajoling, reveals a Washington as polarized as it has ever been. The dream of post-partisanship did not last one vote in the Congress." (John Batchelor/TheDailyBeast)

"Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Sengalese President Abdoulaye Wade on Friday urged embattled Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe to give up power, though Mr. Odinga went a step further and suggested Mr. Mugabe should face legal crimes for countless deaths of political opponents. 'Maybe we should not let him get away. Africa needs to stand firm … I don’t think it’s time to treat him with kid gloves,' Mr. Odinga said to the applause of a packed audience at the World Economic Forum." (WSJ)



(image via cbsnews)

"It doesn’t surprise many that Susan Zirinsky, the CBS News producer, was the inspiration for Holly Hunter’s Jane Craig character in Broadcast News. On a recent Monday afternoon, she was uncharacteristically static for a moment as she stared at a framed poster for Three Days in September, a documentary about the 2004 Chechen terrorist attack on a school in southern Russia. Normally a compact blur of energy, she wears her brown hair in a signature bob and stares out at the world with intense brown eyes, framed by round rimless glasses with bright pink temples. On Monday afternoon, she was dressed in a dark skirt, with knee-high boots and a navy blue overcoat. The film, Ms. Zirinsky said, started out as an episode on CBS’s long-running true-crime show 48 Hours Mystery, on which she is the executive producer, before it was spun off into a film for the cable channel Showtime and was nominated for a prime-time Emmy. Below the main image in the poster, a photo of a bloodied hostage, was a sentence that Ms. Zirinsky had composed years earlier. It read: 'In the proud tradition of broadcasting excellence, CBS News is honored to have produced this powerful documentary for Showtime.' Ms. Zirinsky’s eyes widened. 'We’re not a cable operation,' she said. 'But we’re always looking for more platforms.'" (Observer)

"Armed with Blackberries, cameras, and computers, the Twitterati and those seeking to break in flocked to last night's Journalism and Social Media Panel at Tribeca Cinemas. Media types in the audience at the mediabistro.com-hosted event listened to journalists discuss that 140-character wonder of new media, Twitter. An informal audience poll showed that most were familiar with the microblogging platform, while nearly half were registered on the site. The event's golden child remained at the heart of the conversation as panelists explored its current uses and its future practices. 'Twitter is really the conversation that never ends,' said Andy Carvin of NPR, who like fellow panelist Rachel Sklar of Abrams Research and The Daily Beast, even managed to Twitter from the stage while discussing the medium." (FishbowlNY)

"Our first lady may have some controversial sartorial taste, but at least she goes for bold designers who are one of us, if you know what I mean. Gone are the uptown days of Oscar de la Whatshisname and Arnold Isaacs-spelt-backwards. Michelle favors kooky clothiers like the different-drum-following Tracey Feith, Latina lovebug Isabel Toledo, and downtown darling Jason Wu, who did the RuPaul and naked Amanda Lepore dolls, for chrissake." (Musto)