Halsey Minor's failed recent investments include the Landmark Hotel in Charlottesville, Virginia, whose construction stalled. "I'll get it up," the CNET founder promised in the fall, but it seems locals got tired of waiting: The construction site was just plastered with copies of the phallic sign above, reports cVillain.com.
• American Idol's finale scored its lowest ratings ever for the 18-49 demo. Not that there's a chance Ryan Seacrest will be disappearing anytime soon. [THR]
• The CW has unveiled its fall lineup. As expected, the Gossip Girl spin-off isn't happening. A social media-centric ad campaign, however, is. [Variety, NYT]
• New York magazine is raising subscription rates. [Folio]
• Google is reorganizing its ad sales team and cutting a few jobs. [WSJ]
• Thanks to the $75K speaking fee Tom Friedman accepted (and returned), Times staffers have been reminded about the paper's ethics guidelines. [LAT]
• Paste Magazine hopes to survive by asking readers for donations. [Gawker]
• Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich wasn't permitted to appear on NBC's I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, so his wife will do it instead. [THR]
Cannes has been buzzing for several days now, and you've probably seen dozens of photos of the same celebrities walking up the same red carpet, all doing their very best to seem interested in the hoopla around them. But what are the stars seeing as they move from premiere to premiere? A very different view of the Cannes Film Festival—from the vantage point of, say, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt—below.
Well, that's it. After all this tumbling and mumbling and Kara bumbling, the eighth and most bespangled season of American Idol yet has come to a screeching, crooning end. How'd it end for you? Are you satisfied? Surprised? Gassy? To work through all these emotions and sensations, let's discuss.
In case driving a bus wasn't your thing and you're still looking for a job, please note that Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey Circus is hiring. And you don't even need to wear makeup, put on a silly wig, or taunt tigers either. A job fair is scheduled for next week and the circus is looking to fill 200 ticketing, ushers and maintenance positions for its Coney Island summer run. Applications available for download! [CIDC]
Lawyer Marc Dreier pleaded guilty to charges he bilked investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars a couple of weeks ago, and he remains under house arrest until his sentencing next month. (He may end up with a life sentence if prosecutors get their way.) He's been having trouble paying his bills since he was first indicted several months ago. According to his lawyer, Dreier even had to dip into his son's bar mitzvah fund recently to cover his living expenses. Perhaps that's why his yacht, which is one of a bunch of Dreier's assets now up for sale, was just discounted? Dreier's "Escape" (or "Seascape"), which was originally listed at $13.5 million, was just reduced to $12.5 million. After the jump, a few photos of the boat where Dreier probably spent many hours plotting and scheming.
John Turturro giving an autograph to Mario Batali's sons Leo and Benno outside Bar Pitti ... Elle Macpherson leaving lunch at Le Bilboquet on the UES... Ed Westwick walking in Soho ... Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds entering his hotel in Midtown ... Tracy Morgan leaving an event at Town Hall ... Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong walking with wife Adrienne in Soho ... Matthew Broderick riding a scooter with son James in the Village ... Shawn Johnson arriving at the Gramercy Park Hotel ... Jenna Elfman posing for pictures outside an SUV ... and Lindsay Price leaving the London Hotel on West 54th Street.
