A Little of the Old In and Out



Everybody Loves Dave. (image via salon)

In: Dave Chappelle. Have you seen the glowing reviews everywhere of Chappelle's "Block Party"? Damned if The Corsair knows how Dave Chappelle pulled this one off. Coming back from the brink of cultural irrelevance -- worse: a "Mariah" moment -- Dave clearly gets a second act, as determined by the gatekeepers of American culture, who are, for better or worse, fascinated by all-things-Chappelle. This time next week: expect Comedy Central -- or, perhaps Showtime -- to break out their kneepads and procede, gingerly, to blow Chappelle, with just the right amount of salivary viscosity, in hopes he'll do some original comedy for them. (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment)

Chappelle is HOTT! Dammit. According to Cinematical:

"The critics have spoken, friends, and they freaking love Dave Chappelle and his partay. Even the few hardened souls who mustered the strength to resist the movie's considerable charms nevertheless found themselves drawn to Chapelle and his easy-going persona. (Also, every single damn review mentioned his appearance on Oprah. We've heard enough about that by now, thanks.)"



Jasmine Al-Fayed, in center. (image via palmbeachpost)

Out: Jasmine Al-Fayed in Paris. It was supposed to be a triumph. Generally, we are oddly enamoured of all things Al-Fayed; to wit: the lurid whispers of conspiracy (and the dark underbelly of High Society), the high profile libel cases, the corrupt donations to the Tory's, and, last but not least, the enduring -- and quite quixotic -- lust to be a part of the impotent British Establishment. (Averted Gaze; It's a Ugandan thing, you see) According to Fashionweekdaily:

"Paris finally has its own version of Baby Phat. The chaos, pandemonium, and flared tempers typically associated with Kimora Lee Simmons� fashion shows were ever-present Thursday evening at Jasmine Di Milo.

"At the first presentation for designer Jasmine Al-Fayed�daughter of Harrod�s chief Mohamed Al-Fayed�many important members of the U.S. and European press were denied entrance after showing security their front-row tickets. Those latecomers struggling to gain access included the New York Times� Karla Martinez and Tina Laakkonen, The Daily Telegraph�s Hilary Alexander, stylist Kithe Brewster, and Elle�s Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele.

"Ultimately, publicists had to resort to swapping guests already inside for those waiting to get in. For some, like Martinez, Laakkkonen, and Alexander, it worked; for all others, no such luck. 'We were late,' said Ellen von Unwerth with a half smile. 'Next time.' The photographer ended up joining Cerf de Dudzeele in front of a television outside that was broadcasting live.

�'This is not how to do things,' Barneys New York vice president and fashion director Julie Gilhart said calmly. As she moved out of the frenzy, Gilhart was approached by a man who asked her, 'Are you going to take the collection anyway?'

�'I don�t know,' she responded, with sheer exasperation, before leaving." More here.



(image via forbes)

In: Dawn Hudson. The Oscars this season -- as the joke goes -- might as well be called The Indiewood Oscars, considering, to be sure, the lack of traditional Gladiator-like throng of ridiculously well-financed Best Picture nominees.

(a considerable pause) In fact, the difference between the Independent Spirit Awards and the Oscars is, at present, nearly non-existent. Dawn Hudson is to be credited -- or blamed --for anticipating a time when quality-pictures would be getting their just rewards (we are trying, hard, to erase the memory of: "Driving Miss Daisy," and, worse, "Scent of a Woman"). According to indiewire:

"iW: There is such a wide range of work recognized with Spirit Award nominations this year, including some small, relatively unknown films... Can you talk about how the Spirit Awards can bring more attention to these movies?

"Dawn Hudson: Our partnership with Netflix has helped all the films, and especially the smaller, under-the-radar nominees. Now every voting member can view these films, and there's much more awareness of these films throughout the industry and with audiences. We announce the nominations as early as humanly possible to benefit the smaller films in particular. The filmmakers use the entire three months, from the announcement of the nominees until the show itself, to meet with distributors, cable channels, agents, and potential new investors -- with anyone who can help increase the audience for their films and further their careers. The Spirit Awards give these filmmakers more access to the people who can help them. We hope the recognition gives them the encouragement they need to keep doing this great work."



(image via granta)

Out: The Outlaw Sea. Port security is front and center, the top issue, and the Democrats are -- finally -- forging political wiggle room to the right of the White House on security. The $64,000 question: Do the House members abandon the President? Is the United Arab Emirates prot deal DOA? Well, let's put it this way -- according to Reuters, "US trade officials have no plans to push for the privatisation of state-owned Dubai Ports World in free trade talks with the United Arab Emirates."

According to that perfect Dickensian villain, Robert Novak:

" In a closed-door meeting Tuesday of the top House Republican leadership, the consensus was that President Bush had gotten himself in deep trouble on the Dubai ports management deal and he was on his own to try to save it.

"Rep. Tom Reynolds was particularly adamant in separating House Republicans from presidential wreckage on the ports affair. As the current chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, Reynolds is responsible for election of enough Republican candidates to retain control of the House.

"A footnote: Treasury Secretary John Snow was on the phone last week asking for advice on how to solve the Dubai problem from senior Republican members of Congress who had not come out publicly against the ports deal."



(image via mktw)

In: Ross Levinsohn. The NewsCorp 2.0 buying spree continues apace, launching a thousand whispers in the blogosphere, which go like this: Whose next? According to the ZDNetBlog:

"During an interview conducted by Mike Arrington of TechCrunch at the IBDNetwork Under the Radar event, Ross Levinsohn, president of Fox Interactive, just said that he had bought one of the companies in the room (still finishing the paperwork), but didnt' say who. He has a $2 billion war chest to buy new companies, and went on to say he would bet that he will buy five more companies in the room. Here's the list of companies. Riya is the hottest property, or at least is perceived as a real winner, but nobody's talking�tagged.com may be a good fit with Myspace, which is the flagship (60 million registered users) of Fox Interactive's foray into the social Web. Just talked to Levinsohn�said it's definitely not tagged.com."

Guesses? We guess Loomia.



Out: "Duke" Cunningham. Atogether now: Nananana-nananana-heyheyhey -- goodbye. (The Corsair sips a glass of Madeira) According to TheHill:

"A Southern California district court judge today sentenced former Rep. Randy 'Duke' Cunningham (R-Calif.) to eight years and four months in prison for bribery and tax evasion, the longest term ever given to a member of Congress. The judge also ordered Cunningham to pay restitution of about $1.8 million in back taxes.

"The prosecution had pressed for a 10-year sentence while the defense had pushed for six years, arguing that a 10-year sentence would amount to a �death sentence� for the former lawmaker, who is in bad health. In written arguments, Cunningham's lawyers contended his health probably gives him no more than seven years to live.

"Despite the defense�s attempt to paint a picture of the 64-year-old Cunningham as a broken man, U.S. district judge Larry Alan Burns decided to send Cunningham to prison for 100 months followed by a three-year supervised release"

(image via montgomerycollege.edu)

In: Al Hunt. Mild-mannered and well-respected Washington powerplayer Al Hunt, formerly of the Wall Street Journal and CNN's Capitol Gang, is expanding Bloomberg's operations significantly in the nation's capitol. Sounds good to us; let's hope they ratchet up coverage of the lobbying scandal. According to FishbowlDC:

"Harry Jaffe today picks up a story we've been watching closely: the ramping up of Bloomberg's D.C. operations. He starts with an amusing aside about how hard it is to get into the bureau, and then goes at the wire service's ongoing hiring binge (we hear more hires will be announced soon).

"Judging from Jaffe's piece and the enthusiasm of head honcho Al Hunt, Bloomberg's looking to make a bigger splash in Washington than its once-a-year prom party."