The Media Says Au Revoir to All ThatHarperCollins is laying off staffers, the Toronto ‘Metro’ is written by interns, and approximately 41,000 media jobs have been slashed since the start of the recession. But things are looking up in France!
Ana Marie Cox Comes Full Circle at ‘Radar’The founding Wonkette editor signs on to do irreverent political coverage for Maer’s magazine, another Charles Kushner associate goes down, and Andrew Cuomo noses around Dick Grasso’s package, in our daily roundup of news from the worlds of media, real estate, law, and finance.
company town
John Koblin of the ‘Observer’ Is Probably Just JealousBlogger Emily Gould’s ‘Times Magazine’ cover continues to ruffle feathers, Scarlett Johansson relocates to a totally boring neighborhood, and Baker & McKenzie partner Martin Weisberg is indicted — again. All that and more in our daily roundup of media, real-estate, law and finance news!
Murdoch Won’t Go Any Higher on ‘Newsday’ BidAlso, Microsoft gives up on Yahoo, Berkshire Hathaway’s profits tank briefly, and Buzz Bissinger apologizes to Will Leitch, all in our daily industry roundup.
For Cecilia Sarkozy, Revenge Is a Dish Best Served During the Venetian HourCecilia Sarkozy, the ex-wife of French president Nicolas Sarkozy, is set to get married to PR exec Richard Attias in New York on March 22. (Friends say it’s a “revenge” wedding.) Shelley Ross was so hated in her capacity as executive producer of CBS’ The Early Show that CBS News president Sean McManus didn’t even wait to find a replacement before firing her. Colin Farrell tried hitting on model Meghan Lowther at the Rose Bar, but found out the hard way that she has a boyfriend. The April issue of Elle features an interview given by Michelle Williams right after she broke up with Heath Ledger. New York real-estate giant Steven Fisher, best known for turning the aircraft carrier Intrepid into a museum, is trying to get his own TV show. Gossip Girl’s Conor Paolo wants, uh, Daniel Day-Lewis to join the cast.
office-party patrol
Sneaking Into Steve Brill’s House, and Doing Shots With the ‘Daily News’Believe it or not, companies are still having holiday parties, even though you’re like, so totally over the festive season. Luckily, you have us to attend them for you, so you don’t even have to get up off your bedroom floor, where you’ve been sitting and weeping for the last three days trying to wrap presents and figure out what to re-gift from last year. Last night saw some big parties: The Hearst gala occupied the bottom floors of their massive Eighth Avenue Tower, and Elle and Elle Décor took over both floors of Socialista. We skipped those and opted for a nice blend of holiday high and low. After the jump, read our reviews of the down and dirty Daily News party at Columbus 72, and the cozy and cultured Clear party at Steve Brill’s Upper East Side apartment.
new york fugging city
The Fug Girls: Taking a Peek Inside Karl Lagerfeld’s Mind of SteelEven in an industry full of eccentrics, Chanel’s Karl Lagerfeld is an icon: those omnipresent shades, the man-jewelry, and, of course, the leather glove, which lends his style that special “ringmaster at a Michael Jackson–themed circus” feel. So when filmmaker Rodolphe Marconi touted his new documentary Lagerfeld Confidential as a profound peek behind The Kaiser’s sunglasses, we had to investigate — after all, this is the man who once told Elle, “It’s too easy to forgive. I love revenge.” What could be better than an hour and a half of that?
photo op
Good News: We Were Not Blown Up This Weekend! Yay!
Did you know there was a dirty-bomb scare over the weekend? Yeah, us either. But we suppose it’s nice to know the NYPD has these radar-gun-like radiation-detection devices to see if any cars driving past are spewing radioactive emissions. (Although, at that point, isn’t it a bit late?) We’d totally suspect the tour buses, too.
gossipmonger
Still Barkin Up Ron’s TreeEllen Barkin claims that Ron Perelman owes her another $3.4 million because he promised to fund a production company for her and her brother. (She already got $40 million in the divorce.) Lindsay Lohan was dropped as the potential face of Louis Vuitton after stealing a lot of clothing during an Elle photo shoot. Sagg Pond in the Hamptons was jokingly renamed On Goldman Pond after Lloyd Blackfein and other GS employees bought houses on it. Some staffers at the Russian Tea Room claim the restaurant is haunted. Sumner Redstone may sell Paramount to settle family squabbling. Keith Richards did snort his dad’s ashes — just not with cocaine.
gossipmonger
Si to Shutter ‘Teen Vogue’?Teen Vogue may be the next Condé Nast magazine to fold. Some 370 girls auditioned to be Rockettes recently; two were hired. Reggie Jackson took issue with the scene in The Bronx Is Burning in which he loses his temper. Usher and Tameka Foster may be married in the Hamptons this week. Kelly Clarkson apologized to Clive Davis after realizing that her album was as bad as he claimed it was. Diddy wrote a song and shot a video about ex-girlfriend Kim Porter. A 9-year-old girl cried after being rebuffed for an autograph by Hilary Duff. Flava Flav got the celebrity-roast treatment. Elle is throwing a party for August cover girl Sarah Jessica Parker in the Hamptons. John Legend shopped for BBQ fixings at the Houston Street Whole Foods.
intel
Go to School in an ‘Elle’ Staffer’s House!The latest educational trend in Brooklyn’s Sheepshead Bay is homeschooling, though not by choice. In early May, a three-alarm fire forced Inheritance Christian Academy out of its classrooms in Emmanuel Episcopal Church, and ever since, the school of fifteen students has relied upon the generosity of congregants. Nina Weiss, Elle magazine’s editorial production coordinator, has been letting teachers hold classes in her one-bedroom apartment. “The ninth-grade boys meet in my living room, and the sixth-grade boys meet in my breakfast nook,” says Weiss, who’s friends with some faculty members. And Weiss says the perks outweigh the inconvenience of things like bins of smoke-scented books and extra tables and chairs cluttering her space. “The students fixed a leak in my bathroom the other day, and when I went out of town, they watered my plants,” she says. Weiss’s only rule: “The boys aren’t allowed in my bedroom.” —Emma Rosenblum
party town
Astoria: Only Minutes From Hollywood• Spider-Man 3 premiere. United Artists Kaufman Astoria Stadium 14, 35-30 38th St., Astoria, 6 p.m. In attendance: spider-franchise stalwarts Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, J.K. Simmons, and Rosemary Harris, as well as newcomers including Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace, and Bryce Dallas Howard. This will mark the first and last time any of these people go to Queens for a social event.
• Parsons Benefit & Fashion Show. Grand Hyatt at Grand Central, 109 E. 42nd St., nr. Lexington Ave., 6 p.m. The guest list includes Bill Clinton, Bob Kerrey, Oscar de la Renta, Diane von Furstenberg, and Tim Gunn. If we went to a gala at the Grand Hyatt, a free-booze-fueled run to the nearby McDonald’s on Lex would be a distinct possibility; since we weren’t invited, we’ll have to make do with just the McDonald’s.
gossipmonger
The Berry Gordy Character in ‘Dreamgirls’ Is Not Berry GordyDreamWorks and Paramount took out a full-page ad in Variety and The Hollywood Reporter to say that Jamie Foxx’s character in Dreamgirls isn’t based on Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr. Lindsay Lohan skipped out on “father figure” Robert Altman’s memorial service. Jeffrey Chodorow thinks Frank Bruni’s smackdown of his Kobe Club is personal, and he took out a full-page ad in the Times to say so. Rapper Common bad-mouthed the Duke lacrosse team; now he’s performing at the university. Vogue’s André Leon Tally went on a shopping spree with
