Decide the Next Real World Location

Richard Lawson · 03/31/09 02:01PM

As mentioned earlier, MTV has ordered four more seasons of The Real World. But, really, what cities are there left to send the seven gurgling strangers? Where should they go next? Let's do a poll:

Is Chelsea Planning a Wedding?

cityfile · 03/31/09 01:19PM

The always reliable National Enquirer is reporting that Chelsea Clinton plans to tie the knot with boyfriend Marc Mezvinsky "in a lavish $1 million dream wedding" this summer. Of course, she hasn't even announced she's engaged yet, so you may want to take this news with a grain of salt. But you'll be happy to hear that the timing is "perfect" now that Chelsea's mom is "settling into her position as secretary of state," and Marc's father, former Iowa congressman Ed Mezvinsky, "has been released from a halfway house after serving time for investment fraud." Sounds ideal, actually. [NE]

Connect and Go.

Chrissie Lamond · 03/31/09 01:00PM

Featuring built-in wireless access, the new Sony VAIO® Lifestyle PC with Intel® inside puts the internet in your pocket. And this is no stripped down version of the web, either. Everything is there, displayed just like it is on your home PC. Video chat with friends, download music or update your blog-from virtually anywhere. Click here to find out more.

It's Celebrity Defendant Day at 100 Centre Street

cityfile · 03/31/09 12:56PM

What do Kelly Killoren Bensimon, Ja Rule, and Plaxico Burress all have in common? All three made appearances at the courthouse at 100 Centre Street this morning, which would have been a very convenient coincidence for waiting news photographers if they managed to catch them all. A "caramel-skinned" Kelly turned up with lawyer Ed Hayes to face charges she assaulted her boyfriend. (Her case was adjourned to June 8.)

It's a Bad News Day at Forbes

cityfile · 03/31/09 12:21PM

Forbes has busy been laying off staff today. But the magazine is facing other problems, too. Billionaire Russian oligarch Alexander Lebedev now says he plans to sue the mag for reducing his net worth on its recent list of the world's richest people. "Forbes magazine claimed that I lost $2.5 billion in the global financial crisis," he told the Russian news agency, Interfax. "That's absurd. I will demand compensation of material and moral damage caused by this defamation." [Guardian]

Another Newspaper Goes Bankrupt

cityfile · 03/31/09 11:22AM

• The Chicago Sun-Times filed for bankruptcy protection today. [BN, NYT]
• Nielson is planning to cut 1,600 jobs, or 5% of its workforce. [AdAge]
• NBC is keeping the lights on at Friday Night Lights, after all. [NYT]
• Because it has precious other good news to report as it sits in fourth place, NBC says it saved $2 million last year by "going green." Congrats. [AP]
• MTV has ordered up four more seasons of The Real World. [THR]
• Sad news, soap fans: CBS is thinking about pulling the plug on Guiding Light, the longest-running daytime drama on television. [NYM]
• The MPAA reports global box office revenues were up 5.2% in 2008. [THR]
• Disney's TV unit has inked a distribution deal with YouTube. [NYT]
• How bad is the situation at CNN? "It's gotten so bad that Fox's Bill O'Reilly has actually taken to saying kind things about CNN, possibly out of pity." [MM]

A Glowing Review by Frank Bruni Has Its Pitfalls

cityfile · 03/31/09 10:49AM

If you come up short in a review by Times dining critic Frank Bruni, consider the bright side: You just may save yourself from a messy, three-year legal battle. In 2006, Tina Michelle Braunstein, a former bartender at David Barber's three-star Blue Hill at Stone Barns, filed suit against the restaurant, claiming she'd been the victim of sexual harassment and discrimination. The workplace unpleasantness increased considerably, she says, after her name was mentioned three times in Bruni's review of the restaurant, since the praise was none too appreciated by Philippe Gouze, Blue Hill's general manager. Braunstein's suit was filed three years ago, but Blue Hill tried to have the case dismissed, a motion that was denied by a judge late last week. Here's hoping the matter goes to court: There's always the off-chance Frank Bruni is forced reveal himself and take the witness stand. The judge's order is below.

Google Wife Still Determined to Get Your DNA

cityfile · 03/31/09 10:18AM

Remember last year's Fashion Week party for Anne Wojcicki (Mrs. Sergey Brin) and Linda Avey's gene-testing site 23andme.com, where the likes of Ivanka Trump touted their newly-discovered genetic blessedness while other attendees spit into test tubes to enjoy the scientific equivalent of a palm reading? While spending money to find out that your shortness is hereditary, or that you'll go bald at 35 then succumb to heart disease at 50, isn't likely to be high on people's priority list during a recession, the company, which is backed by Wendi Deng and Harvey Weinstein, is still going. It is, however, employing some ingenious/desperate new marketing tactics.