Insurance-Man BluesWoody Allen once had to drop Winona Ryder and Robert Downey Jr. from a movie because no one would insure them — just like Lindsay Lohan is getting dropped because no one will insure her. 50 Cent claimed that he’ll no longer put out any solo albums if Kanye West’s Graduation outsells his record when they both debut on September 11. In Jay McInerney’s latest book, Evelyn’s is based on now-shuttered West 9th Street speakeasy Marylou’s. Ashley Olsen says that she and sister Mary-Kate have a psychic bond and “carry the weight of each other.” Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld ate together at the Brooklyn Diner. Cheryl Tiegs likes to play hard-to-get with guys.
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Kaplan to the Rescue!Former CNN and MSNBC honcho Rick Kaplan is coming to save Katie Couric’s CBS Evening News. Bono disagrees with an Ad Age’s cover story saying that his RED campaign has been a financial failure. Brandon Davis mocked Paula Abdul for having an Arabic-sounding last name. His real surname? Zarif. Two staffers quit Star’s beauty department. Leslie Stahl’s contract at 60 Minutes is almost up, and it’s unclear whether she’s staying. Stephen Colbert’s new Ben & Jerry’s flavor is called “AmeriCone.” (And we told you all about it on Tuesday.) Buddha Bar fired its CEO. Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown hung out at their kid’s birthday dinner.
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Also, There Were Parties After the OscarsLeonardo DiCaprio, Ryan Gosling, and Vince Vaughn cruised the Vanity Fair Oscar party at Morton’s solo. (Everyone who is anyone was there.) Except Brad Pitt, who was a no-show at the Oscars despite having starred in Babel and been a producer on The Departed. Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard are leaving the West Village for Brooklyn because of the paparazzi. Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams are fighting. Oprah says that Barack Obama didn’t start the Clinton-Geffen feud. Zero-star Kobe Club owner Jeffrey Chodorow has banned Frank Bruni from all 29 of his restaurants. At $70,000, a private soccer lesson with David Beckham was the lowest winning bid at Elton John’s Oscar-night AIDS benefit. Natalie Portman left an Oscars party with Gael García Bernal.