Revenge? Ellen Barkin? Never!Neither the auction she held to sell off the gifts her ex gave her or her new TV pilot were motivated by revenge against ex Ron Perelman. Also: Guess who Michelle Tractenberg is dating?
‘Ugly Betty’ Watch Begins!America and friends come to Dumbo, Betsey Johnson sells her Village penthouse and moves uptown, and the hipsters still haven’t taken over the Giglio Feast in W’burg. That and more in our daily boroughs report!
company town
Lies and the Lying Arabs Who Tell ThemMEDIA
• The New Republic pulled back on its long-embattled “Baghdad Diarist” series, admitting they could no longer stand behind the author, an army private serving in Iraq. Meanwhile, The National Review suffered its own Middle Eastern credibility scandal and struck back in a novel way: “As one of our sources put it: ‘The Arab tendency to lie and exaggerate about enemies is alive and well among pro-American Lebanese Christians as much as it is with the likes of Hamas.’” Yikes. [NYT Mixed Media/Portfolio]
• Big layoffs ahead at NBC News? “There are going to be firings very soon — everybody is terrified,” according to a “former network insider,” who claims tens of millions in cuts will happen in the next two weeks. [Jossip]
• New NBC programming honcho Ben Silverman is looking to clear up a conflict of interest and cash in on his old production company, which Elisabeth Murdoch, daughter to Rupe, is buying for around $200 million. Not bad for a guy who built his career on stealing foreign shows like The Office and Ugly Betty and then repackaging them for the U.S.[NYP]