Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



"Wait for it: Ben Silverman’s new company -- thus far under wraps and under the radar -- is called Electus. As in: 'Chosen' (in Latin). Select. Or, in Barry Diller-speak: Bespoke. (Like suits. In England.) ... The Q3 earnings report for Diller’s Interactive Corporation brought us a few details about it, which we checked out to find the latest on this quiet venture. First, let’s take a minute to marvel at just how much cash Barry Diller has: $1.8 billion on the balance sheet of IAC. This must serve as a reminder that Barry can spend as damn much as he pleases on the Daily Beast, for example, for as long as he chooses, and it still wouldn’t make much of a dent. Tina, go ahead and order drapes for your office. Electus, meanwhile, is being capitalized at about $125 million, with Silverman in the process of closing deals with content creators including his bff Ryan Seacrest and 'SNL' chief Lorne Michaels. He's seeking to corral more than a half-dozen brand-name content creators -- Ben Stiller, for one, but I hear a deal is not close -- to partner them with advertising brands. The concept is a United Artists of multiplatform content." (TheWrap)



"Ashley Dupre returned to her roots on Saturday. Dupre, who was a cocktail waitress at the Penthouse Executive Club before becoming a high-end call girl, showed up at Scores with three pals. 'She was definitely enjoying herself,' manager Ed Norwick tells us. 'She introduced me to her boyfriend, P.J. -- the two of them were making out and all over each other all night long.' Dupre did not respond to a request for comment." (PageSix)



"Against a repeat lineup on CBS, ABC took the night, though impressively CBS managed second place both in overall viewers and adults 18-49. NBC is now famously on record that it thought The Jay Leno Show would fare better against repeats. I was on record early saying that repeats of CSI: Miami would still best Jay. But I’m not sure I expected the beat down to be so bad. Last night at 10pm a rerun of CSI: Miami averaged a 3.1 rating with adults 18-49, while The Jay Leno Show averaged a 1.3 rating. Castle averaged a 2.8 rating, though that might get adjusted down a touch in the final numbers due to Dancing With the Stars overrun (also, in the Philadelphia market, Monday Night Football aired on the ABC affiliate and is counted in the numbers below, and that might have been the case in the Washington, D.C. market as well — that will be adjusted out in the finals). The real story to me though isn’t Leno’s ratings, it’s how great CBS Monday lineup does in repeats. This isn’t a new trend, but it still impresses me." (TVByTheNumbers)



"Stephen Stills (of Crosby, Stills and Nash) stopped by (the Howard Stern Show) to promote his new album, 'Live at Shephard's Bush,' and Howard asked him about his songwriting process ... Howard questioned Stephen about being asked to be in the Jimi Hendrix Experience, so Stephen explained he'd endeared himself to Jimi by 'being easy' and called Jimi 'the best.' Stephen added that his management withheld the message: 'I was in Hawaii...Jimi and I had been thinking about this over in London for a while. But they didn't pass on the message.' Stephen added that the reason they didn’t this was that the manager didn’t want to break up CSN. Howard wondered if Stephen would've taken the job and Stephen snapped:'Hell yeah!'Stephen later denied ever being in love with Joni Mitchell ('No. Well, I mean I love her but I was never in love with her.') or ever being heavily into drugs: "Opinions vary. I managed myself pretty well.'" (HowardStern)



(image via NYSD)

"While up in Central Park, underneath a tent, the Central Park Conservancy was holding its annual Halloween Ball. The eerie, the supernatural and the Big Hams all meet under the chosen theme of 'Twilight.' A costume contest, dancing and dining. Chaired by Suzanne and Bob Cochran. A fundraiser and fun-raiser." (NYSocialDiary)

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