A Little of the Old In and Out



(image via sfgate)

In: Larry Kramer. We love CBS Digital's Larry Kramer, but he doesn't love us back. It says so in the restraining order. Once again, despite the courtroom involvement, we have to give the day to Kramer's evil genius. CBS Digital's piggybacking on the key-demographic allure of sports is paying off in their "March Madness" gambit. According to Paidcontent:

"Last year, roughly 25,000 people paid CSTV.com $19.95 for live streaming of March Madness. It didn't cover the cost of licensing the tourney from CBS (now owner of CSTV). This year, Larry Kramer, president of CBS Digital, tells Bambi Francisco, 'We're making money ... By and large, we've covered our costs.' Revenue from 19 ad sponsors already has exceeded last year's sub sales; that would mean they've taken in more than $500,000, a drop in the broadcast bucket but significant for digital. -- No one really knows what to expect in terms of users or bandwidth demands. Kramer's prepared for 200,000 simultaneous users. That would be slightly less than the 214,000 Yahoo drew drew for Howard Stern's last day at CBS, slightly more than the 175,000 simulatenous users for AOL's Live 8 webcast. One difference: those were single-day events, not a multi-week tournament.

"MKTW: Consultant Neil Pilson calls it a 'watershed moment. ... this is the first time that a significant national event -- which is also covered on television -- is being made available free, with the revenue stream coming from advertisers.'

"NYT: Roughly 90,000 DirecTV subs picked up the March Madness lsst year for $49-59, more than tyhree times the number of paid online subs. This year, the larger number will be watching online but they'll have to be observant: users will have five minutes every half-hour to acknowledge they're watching or will be booted off, their place taken by someone in the VIP waiting room."

More Staci Kramer here.



Bruce Willis parties like it's 1399. (image via defamer)

Out: Bruce Willis. Is Bruce Willis' loss James Blunt's gain? First, Willis made very public his amorous intentions towards Petra Nemcova, the stunning supermodel who tragically lost her photographer boyfriend in the southeast Asian Tsunami. "Bruno's" fiery lust -- Medievalish -- was well-publicized in the gossip columns. At once Willis advanced, Nemcova retreated; then Nemcova grew bolder and Willis' ardor evaporated. Finally, he stood her up for the 'V for Vendetta' premiere on Monday night.

Now, says our favorite superhero gossip duo Ruch and Molloy:

"COULD JAMES Blunt be singing his catchy hit 'You're Beautiful' to tsunami-surviving supermodel Petra Nemcova? The two, who were partying at Stereo Tuesday night with Seth Myers and Axl Rose, left together in the wee hours. A rep swears they're 'just friends.'"

In the Biz Markyan "friend"? Alls fair in Love and War.



C'est freaks, c'est chic. (image via fashionweekdaily via patrickmcmullen)

In: Christy's Black and White Ball. At Truman Capote's original Black and White Ball it is said that Norman Mailer asked then-Secretary of Defense Robert McNamarra to step outside. Apparently, The Great War novelist wanted to settle U.S. involvement in Vietnam mano-a-mano. (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment) Vintage Mailer. No such mayhem happened last night, though at the studious re-creation of that significant 60's performance art period piece. According to Sarah Horne of Fashionweekdaily:

"The masked chic-ettes�who were greeted at Christie�s by a red carpet and two black and white Bentley�s flanking the entrance�were accompanied by some of New York media�s greats, from Dominick Dunne to Bob Colacello. Also spotted were Kenneth Jay Lane, Amy Fine Collins (in winsome sequined devil horns), Helen Lee Schifter, Mark Badgley and James Mischka (who dressed Lauren duPont, Zani Gugelman, Nathalie Kaplan, and Tinsley Mortimer) and Kitty Carlisle Hart, who left after the witching hour.

"... For her sources (Deborah) Davis went back to the gossip columnists of the day, from Suzy to Eugenia Sheppard. 'If you want to know what was going on, go back to the gossip columnists. They should be renamed social historians.'

"... And as for the ball�s success? 'From the moment that we walked in, to the CBS footage on the video monitors, it was sensational. I was really struck,' said Davis. 'New Yorkers are a pretty jaded set when it comes to parties, I was astounded by how seriously they took their preparations, as did Truman�s guests.'"



Love to love you, baby. (image via international)

Out: Republicans, Trapped in an Elevator. R Kelly made confined spaces sexy in his magnum opus "Trapped in a Closet (we're glad that other activity R Kelly is famous for never caught on among the Republican caucus)," but Congressional Republicans took it one step further. Quothh TheHill:

" There go those House Republicans again, holding votes open. To be fair, they had a great excuse this time: 11 of their colleagues were stuck in an elevator.

"Three suspensions were scheduled for Tuesday night�s customary 6:30 p.m. round of votes. But as the clock wore on past 40 minutes, members began to wonder what was taking so long. The answer came from the chair in the form of an announcement about their captive cohorts, to which a great sarcastic cheer went up.

"Inside the approximately 5-foot-square elevator, the situation was a bit more grim. After half an hour, 'it started to get pretty gamey in there,' quipped Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas)."

We can imagine. 11 Congressmen means a lot of pork.

"Things might have gotten uglier were it not a purely partisan elevator. The lift contained only Republicans, also including Reps. Chris Chocola (Ind.), Curt Weldon (Pa.), Thaddeus McCotter (Mich.), Lynn Westmoreland (Ga.), Steve Pearce (N.M.) and David Dreier (Calif.).

�'We all exchanged stories. We had a nice talk,' said Rep. Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.).
As it turns out, Conaway said the elevator was moving steadily upward 'an inch at a time,'"

Steadily upward an inch at a time, you say? Then Congressman Dreier ought to been comforted by the familiarity. (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment)



(image via transfandango)

In: MYSun. Rupert Murdoch's move to integrate MySpace and TheSun is interesting. Now, does that mean TheNYPost's PageSix is next? It seems only logical. Says TheGuardian (link via iwantmedia):

"The Sun is planning to give its website a massive boost by tying it to the recently acquired and hugely popular MySpace.com community and networking site to create a 'MySun' online readers' network.

"The plan, in its early stages, would allow readers to go to a MySun portal and create their own web pages, blogs, as well as share pictures and video clips with friends using MySpace.com software.

"News International, which owns the Sun and the Times, is understood to have considered linking MySpace.com with TimesOnline, the website of the Times and Sunday Times, but thought its older audience would not be as good a fit as the Sun."

Or PageSix.



In retrospect, the chicken-fingers-at-the-wedding appear to have been one of her more inspired decisions.

Out: Britney Spears. Pretty fucking disgusting, this. Imagine yourself at a swishy eaterie. You are famished. The order arrives. You tuck in. But, wait: the lady at the table adjacent to yours is changing her baby's diaper. What do you do? From IDontLinkYouInThatWay:

"Before she took off to Hawaii to get chubbier, or more pregnant, Britney Spears had yet another public display of trashiness. She was eating at a fancy Los Angeles restaurant and decided her table was as good a place as any to change Sean Preston's dirty diaper.

"One [witness] said: 'It was disgusting. Someone else has got to eat at that table. Yuck.' The restaurant manager is quoted in Britain's News of the World newspaper as saying: 'It's Britney Spears. What can we do?'"

Tell her to go in the restroom? Just a shot in the dark.