Before you unscrew that bottle of André you've been saving up for some happy SAG news, commenter Justine Bateman over at Deadline Hollywood Daily had this to say about the overthrowing of Doug Allen:

An alleged extortion attempt against John Travolta, the Scientology-believing Hairspray star whose teenage son Jett died January 2 in the Bahamas, is drawing a wider investigation. The FBI is now looking into the case.

The pink-slip printer had been whirring loudly all day over at Variety. And moments ago, as it produced actual names, it took on the blood-curdling tone of a meat grinder.

Fresh from his victory over dinosaur-hating Sarah Palin, Matt Damon has issued two new challenges: one to be settled with words, the other with close-quarters combat.

Two weeks ago, Page Six reported that lit agent Luke Janklow and his wife, Julie, the founder of the restaurant Sweetiepie in the West Village, were splitting up. "Real estate brokers are already eyeing the couple's magnificent townhouse nearby," the column quipped. It looks like Paula Del Nunzio of Brown Harris Stevens ended up winning the beauty contest. Today she posted the listing for 16 West 12th Street, which the Janklows bought for $4.5 million in 2004 from another divorcing couple, hotelier Andre Balazs and Ford Models CEO Katie Ford. The home is now on the market for $24.975 million; you can take a look around the stunning townhouse after the jump.

As we all know, John McCain lost the election because the media was biased against him. So his former staffers got wasted with journalists this weekend because they all missed each other so much!

A mutinying group of SAG moderates calling themselves National Board Majority have succeeded in removing Doug Allen as SAG's National Executive Director and chief negotiator, in what will likely be the strike movement's fatal blow.

Google will never be free of Marissa Mayer, the cupcake-loving gigglepuss VP who oversees the company's multibillion-dollar search engine. Or so says Marissa Mayer.

What do you get Kiefer Sutherland for his birthday? Apparently, not a transvestite stripper—the National Enquirer says he's already had one of those.

This morning we told you about internet microcelebrity Hilary Rowland, the modelesque blond fond of name-dropping and self promotion. But who is she, really? Time for a field guide!

• Olivier Theyskens is, in fact, parting ways with Nina Ricci. [Grazia, FWD]
• The couture shows in Paris began today and they're as over-the-top as ever. [NYM]
• Brioni just launched a line of suits that cost as much as $43,000 apiece. "The timing was not fortunate for us," says Brioni's CEO. Go figure. [WSJ]
• Tom Ford has introduced a line of men's jeans that retail for $990. They're the same jeans that Ford wears, and the button is plated with 18-karat gold, though, so it's totally worth it. [WWD]
• Vivienne Westwood's ads featuring Pam Anderson have debuted. [Pipeline]
• Hartmarx, Barack Obama's "favorite tailor," has gone bust. [WWD]
• Saks fashion director Michael Fink has left the company. [NYM]
• What do retail employees do during a recession? Try to look busy. [NYT]

With the Lunar New Year dropping, rebirth is in the air and you have a chance to revise some New Year's resolutions. Lose 15 pounds? Make that 5. Find peace? More like, find a job.

Why did former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain spend $1.2 million renovating his office when he took from Stan O'Neal at the firm? It was because O'Neal's office was "very different," and it would have been "very difficult" to use it in the "form that is was in." We're not sure what that means either. A clip from Thain's awkward chat with CNBC's Maria Bartiromo earlier today appears after the jump.

[Former actress Mischa Baron in Paris; image via Bauer-Griffin]

Twitter is raising more cash from gullible venture capitalists. The company is now supposedly worth $250 million, even though it has no revenues. But the Twitterati's worries were elsewhere.

After warm Sundance, hail falls in Atwater Village. [Atwater Newbie]

Ok, great, this is happening now: Drudge Report operative Andrew Breitbart wants to pay Matt Damon $100,000 to "debate Bill Kristol," for serious, about the war. This is to prove that liberals are stupid.

[Submit your own Gawker Stalker sightings to stalker@gawker.com] Jan. 26 @ 1pm Rod Blagojevich waving hello to Ed Koch, to no response in Jean Georges. He still needs a haircut, badly.

As loyal Defamer readers will know, there are a lot of reasons to be excited for The Expendables — joined now by the potential to watch Sylvester Stallone literally explode onscreen.

The Nederlander Organization, one of the biggest theater owners and producers around, has acquired the rights to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video. The one with the zombies. Plus, Mary-Louise Parker's very bad Hedda Gabler reviews.