Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



"A couple of weeks ago, we ranked digital-media CEOs by the size of paychecks. But many of these titans derive most of their wealth not from salary, bonus or options, but from their holdings in the companies they run. In fact, Steve Ballmer and Steve Jobs, among others, draw an annual salary of a $1. So how have new media CEOs fared in this market? It’s not pretty: Anybody who reads Forbes annual billionaire list probably knows that Ballmer, Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Eric Schmidt, Barry Diller and Jerry Yang collectively lost nearly $18 billion in wealth last year, with Ballmer topping the loser board—he was $6 billion in the red." (Paidcontent)



"'He's the only man I know,' said international playboy and Greek shipping heir–slash–journalist Taki Theodoracopulos of his 28-year-old son, J.T....I asked Taki what kind of values he tried to instill in his son. 'The traditional values,' he said. 'The difference between good and bad. The values of honor, country and beauty, and all that—but now I’ve changed, I wouldn’t send him to war. But J.T., I like the idea that he’s brave, that he’s a good athlete and that he has a good heart. I’d hate to see my son be a bloody hedge fund manager.'" (Observer)



(IMAGE VIA DAILYCONTRIBUTOR)

"They say life begins at 40... and Guy Ritchie certainly seems like a man reborn. The director hit the big four-oh last September, got divorced from Madonna the following month – and has been having the time of his life ever since. He didn’t seem to be missing Madge one little bit when we bumped into him at the Empire Awards after-party. He told us: 'I’m single again – and I wouldn’t have it any other way.' Ouch." (3AMGirls)



"The opening of the Doha Arab summit was initially overshadowed by the presence of Omar Bashir and the absence of Hosni Mubarak. But then eternal prankster Moammar Qaddafi stole the opening of the show .. First, Qaddafi. The summit began with a classic bit of political theater from the Libyan despot (wait, I mean 'democrat' since he cashed in his alleged nuclear program for the Bush administration's support, right? It's hard to keep up...). Qaddafi interrupted the opening statement by the Emir of Qatar to address Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, demanding that he end the six-year long feud between the two countries. After his microphone was cut, he dramatically left the room (and, rumor has it, then took a leisurely tour of Doha's Museum of Islamic Art)." (ForeignPolicy)

"Lakme Fashion Week is celebrating its 10th Anniversary in Mumbai...and the shows being presented at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, a brand new venue for the event, demonstrated the growth and strengths of both India's designers and its fashion hungry audience .. Conceived to address the Mumbai disaster of 26/11 and to let the world know 'Mumbai is open for Business'...the world's fashion industry once again came through with their creativity and generosity, under the banner and leadership of Naomi Campbell's initiative 'Fashion For Relief' The 'MAI MUMBAI' fashion show was presented to a packed, energized and awestruck audience. Naomi herself lead the star studded cast of models walking the ramp, and wearing gowns inspired by, influenced by, beaded , embroidered, or embellished in or by India." (Fashionweekdaily)

"Auditions will be held Friday, April 10 in Los Angeles for drummers who are looking to play with THE SMASHING PUMPKINS. They should send their background info, photos and performance web links via email only to: pumpkinsdrummer@gmail.com." (BrooklynVegan)



"The octogenarian Republican is an improbable go- between to push the diplomatic line of a young Democratic president. But here he was in Moscow on Friday: Henry Kissinger, the architect of Cold War detente with the Soviet Union, meeting informally with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to try to smooth over a new generation of animosities between their two countries .. The Nixon-era secretary of State was joined on the trip by other prominent officials from previous administrations, including former Secretary of State George Shultz, former Georgia Sen. Sam Nunn, former Defense Secretary William Perry and former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin. The White House said the group had not been sent by President Obama. 'They're private citizens and not there at the behest of the White House,' said an official, speaking on condition of anonymity. 'But they did inform the White House beforehand.'" (LATimes)

"Leaving for the airport soon." (David Lynch/Twitter)

"The heaviest mail we got yesterday was about the man on Madison Avenue last Saturday who was looking for money to feed his family. I was surprised by the response, which was much greater than the response to the stories about the two countesses and their marital woes." (NySocialDiary)

"The men’s college basketball Final Four is now set, with Michigan State, Connecticut, North Carolina and Villanova all headed to Detroit next weekend. Also set: CBS’s domination of Friday and Saturday night with basketball. Coverage of the NCAA tournament led CBS to first-place finishes on both Friday and Saturday night among viewers 18-49, according to Nielsen overnights, and neither night was close. On Friday night, CBS led among 18-49s with a 3.6 average overnight rating and an 11 share. ABC was second at 2.0/6, Univision third at 1.7/5, Fox fourth at 1.3/4, NBC fifth at 1.2/4 and CW sixth at 0.7/2. As a reminder, all ratings are based on live-plus-same-day DVR playback. Seven-day DVR data won’t be available for several weeks. Twenty-eight percent of Nielsen households have DVRs." (Medialifemagazine)

"SOHO House no longer wants to be a place where bankers flock to drink and flirt. Sources told us several financial types, already hit by the economy, had their egos slammed when they were notified by the club that their membership would not be renewed as it was returning to its 'artsy' roots. Soho House US operations director Mark Somen told us, 'We recently celebrated our fifth anniversary and want to make sure we are staying true to our creative roots. We are not pinpointing specific industries, but want to make sure that our members are great creative types. In addition, members who are not respecting the House or our staff are not likely to have their memberships renewed. We are happy to have less members, and if the place is not so busy, that's totally fine.'" (PageSix)



"Tonight will be intense. Ted Turner, Erica Jong and 6 other friends are coming tonight to '33 Variations.'" (JaneFonda)

"You asked, I'll answer. I've just learned that CBS has demanded that each existing TV show -- even the hit ones -- reduce their budgets for next year, if renewed. This may mean smaller writing staffs. Meanwhile, Hollywood has been speculating about the future of the new CBS feature division. I'm told, 'All systems go.' Not only are there no layoffs, but there are actually additions as the division heads into production. Shooting begins April 7th on its first motion picture, a medical drama starring Harrison Ford. And its second pic, a romantic comedy starring Jennifer Lopez, starts principal photography in May." (DeadlineHollywoodDaily)



"Stephen Colbert perfected his Method eyebrow raise as a theater major at Northwestern (’86) after transferring from Hampden-Sydney. The Comedy Central anchor once described his college self as a 'real poet-slash-jerk…I had a beard, and I wore black, and I was really willing to share my grief with you.' Colbert’s regimen was hardcore: dance in the morning at 9:00 a.m., water performance class, dramatic criticism, the history of costume and decor, and scene design. He also performed in experimental plays such as Pelleas and Melisande by Maurice Maeterlinck in college before graduating to the Second City improv scene." (TheDailyBeast)

"Eighteen months ago, when Hollywood was beating a path to the Middle East in search of investors, Warner Bros. thought it had struck oil. In September 2007, the studio signed a deal with companies owned by the Abu Dhabi government for what was later pegged at $1 billion to build a theme park and movie theaters and finance films together. Today the largest part of that deal—$500 million to jointly fund movie projects—has stalled. Sources in Hollywood and the financial industry say that Abu Dhabi Media and the Time Warner-owned studio are in talks to restructure their agreement but are not close to a resolution. The only movie Abu Dhabi has invested in under the deal is Shorts, a family film starring Jon Cryer and William H. Macy that is scheduled for release this summer. That movie was put into production shortly after the financing deal was announced. According to sources, the two sides haven't discussed new film projects in months." (BusinessWeek)

"Sen. Richard M. Burr has opened his ears — and his earmarks — to African-American causes. Though only 12 percent of his votes came from black constituents in 2004, the North Carolina Republican’s attention to that segment of the electorate could pay dividends in 2010 — either by lowering intensity of black opposition to him or by showing white voters that Burr can work across political and racial spectrums. It is the kind of political legwork that might make a subtle but significant difference in a close race. 'Those of us who read the records are very clear on what he’s done,' said George E. Battle Jr., a bishop in the A.M.E. Zion Church who supported Burr’s 2004 opponent, Democrat Erskine Bowles. 'He’s always responsive. He’s always there.' In February, Burr introduced legislation (S 413) aimed at boosting graduation rates for low-income and minority students, an issue on which he has teamed up with Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Chaka Fattah, whose district includes Philadelphia. He has been involved in efforts to combat sickle cell disease and to reauthorize the Healthy Start program, which is designed to reduce infant mortality and the number of babies born at low weights. Both issues disproportionately affect African-Americans." (CQPolitics)

"In the 1980s, London launched a radical set of market reforms known as Big Bang, turning the city into ground zero of a revolution that begat today's buckling global financial system. Now, as leaders of the world's 20 largest economies gather here to fix that system, some Big Bang architects are questioning the ideal of unfettered capitalism on which it was built. In retrospect, they say, the movement unleashed unanticipated forces such as global banks whose influence extends beyond the reach of any one regulator. Those forces may be difficult for the G-20 -- or anyone -- to rein in. London is bracing for angry protests before and during Thursday's Group of 20 summit, which will see fortresslike security for world leaders. Few events embody the free-market thinking that shaped modern finance better than Big Bang. Under former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, a small group of officials, including Treasury chief Nigel Lawson and Secretary of State for Trade and Industry Cecil Parkinson, scrapped decades-old rules at the stock exchange and other institutions that they feared could leave London trailing behind rapidly globalizing markets." (WSJ)