Guess who's already been floated as the guy who made this Blagojevich investigation end in an arrest today instead of, say, late January? Rahm Emanuel! Chicago Fox affiliate reporter Jack Conaty said on the TV today that after Blago "reached out" to Emanuel regarding the Senate seat, Emanuel reached out to US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. Vid below.
You cokeheads just don't listen to reason. So the government tried metaphors. Remember when they cracked an egg, representing your brain, into a sizzling frying pan, representing drugs, to indicate that drugs will "fry" your brain? Years after that, it turns out that people are still doing drugs! Now the UK government has hit on a brilliant message: If you do coke, you are killing this innocent dog. The clever use of a grisly puppy murder makes this, honestly, the best anti-drug campaign we've seen in quite a while. Tell poor scruffy Pablo you needed that bump—or tell his dead body:
Blood Suckers: We made our own wishlist for who Summit should pick to helm the next Twilight sequel, but it looks like the fledgling studio had other plans. Bucking murmurs that a female director ought to be picked (and a fanboy consensus that the Summit-friendly Kathryn Bigelow should be offered the job), Nikki Finke reports that an offer has been made to Chris Weitz, who's friends with Summit's head of production. Weitz's last film was the enormous bomb The Golden Compass, a film he developed then departed from when he decided he couldn't handle an effects-heavy film of such scope. He changed his mind and eventually came back to Compass, though the finished flop killed what was intended to be a huge, youth-friendly franchise. That should work out well, then! [Deadline Hollywood Daily]
Viacom, the parent company of MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon (among others), recently laid off 7% of their staff. That is 850 people, folks! But apparently, Nickelodeon president Cyma Zarghami doesn't think it's any reason to cancel Christmas, hosting a party for a chosen few— but Viacom's employee party was officially taken away this year due to lack of funds. This, of course, really pisses off the uninvited. Memo follows.
♦ Rachel Zoe is scary skinny these days, no? [NYO]
♦ On the heels of Zac and Thakoon, Doo-Ri Chung also plans to launch a lower-priced line. [WWD]
♦ Andre Leon Talley's latest accessory? "A $20 black knit cap bearing the name 'Obama' spelled out in sparkly stones." [WSJ]
♦ Victoria Beckham's line at Bergdorf Goodman is quickly selling out, you'll be pleased to hear. [NYM]
♦ What do your nails say about you? [Fashionista]
♦ Henry Holland has a new set of tees with drawings of John Galliano and Agyness Deyn in the buff. [Grazia]
♦ There's a big Charlotte Ronson sale that begins tomorrow. Proceed with caution! [Racked]
Hollywood PrivacyWatch: Silverman Edition! 12/8 — I spotted BEN SILVERMAN in the lobby of the Beverly Hills Hotel last night. The Video Hall of Fame event was taking place, so not sure if that's why he was there. Or maybe he just likes the Polo Lounge. much skinnier than I imagined. Eat! Eat! [Hollywood PrivacyWatch is written by and for Defamer readers; send your sightings to tips@defamer.com.]
Everybody's doing bad now, right? Not at all! Capitalism, as we all know and believe, is a wondrous balancing mechanism that ensures that when one area of the economy (everything) goes down, another (ten quirky niches) will rise up. After the jump, a list of ten sectors and companies that are actually doing great right now. And they only get better as everything else gets worse:
Poor John Rogers. The former CEO of Pay By Touch can't pin the fall of his online-payments startup, which raised $340 million and employed 750 people before going bankrupt. This self-aggrandizing outlaw has no one but himself to blame.
Sad but true, I'm afraid. Elmer Valentine, who opened and owned the famed West Hollywood music magnet Whisky a Go Go (they invented the practice of having Go Go dancers in hanging cages!), died last week at the age of 85. The former "dirty cop" from Chicago opened the club in 1964, which would play host to the likes of The Doors (who were the humble house band for a time), Van Morrison, and Frank Zappa. The New York Times obit doesn't mention the future of the club, but whether it carries on or not (we're sure it will), a legend has still shuffled off. Oh, and speaking of legends, remember CBGB's? The "counter-culture" club closed back in 2006 (sniff!), and now its name is being wrestled to the ground and branded over and over again:
US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald made a point of saying Barack Obama was unaware of the wrongdoings of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, but that decidedly does not mean that our president-elect will emerge from this unscathed. No, this is the kind of distracting, dragged-out mess than can derail a first term—or at the very least a first 100 days. And, you know, the full extent of the involvement of Obama's team and maybe Obama himself is yet to be discovered. So let's take a look at just a couple of the ways this can go terribly wrong for our president-elect!
Though John Mayer will open up about Jennifer Aniston to any paparazzi within shouting distance, Aniston has remained relatively tight-lipped about the troubadour in the press. But again, something about those wily Brits seems to elicit confession, and so it is that Aniston did so much high-voltage gushing about Mayer to the Daily Mirror that she could power an entire In Touch office for a whole year:
According to CNN, Bank of America will extend credit to Republic Window & Door, the Chicago factory where laid-off workers were engaging in a sit-in. Now Republic will presumably be able to make payroll for the federally mandated 60 days, and perhaps even reopen for business. Labor just won something! Happy Christmas!
To fully appreciate this, we'll ask you now to stop whatever it is you're doing—don't worry, we'll be here when you get back—lay your head down on your keyboard, and drift off to sleep. (Feel free to take whatever prescription sleed-aids you might require to make this happen. Just no fistfuls washed down with a liter of vodka! The weekend is still three days away.) Then, have a co-worker or cohabitant click play on the video above.
The lady pictured with terrifying Jim Henson Creature Workshop creation/popular talk show host Rush Limbaugh up there is Kathryn "Kate" Rogers. Oh, look at that, she's got a ring! Congrats to Rush Limbaugh, for popping the question to this woman (according to what she's been hinting to friends!) who surely loves him for his winning personality (which is the same reason he loves her, obv). Kate, 32, is a party planner and is currently planning the Super Bowl or something. Rush divorced his last wife in 2004. Go ahead and congratulate Katie at her Facebook page!
Hey, Obama press availability time: president-elect Barry Obama is "saddened" by the actions of evil criminal governor Rod Blagojevich, but it's an "ongoing investigation," so he won't comment on it. Where have we heard that line before? Oh, right—from the Bush administration, for eight years. Now Barry will just talk about how he met Al Gore, who speaks for the trees. He is actually talking about climate change, and no one is listening. We want to hear about Tony Rezko and Rahm Emanuel and Valerie Jarrett and how they're tied up in this mess! No questions! Well, one question: "I had no contact with the governor or his office, so I was not aware of what was happening." Poor Al Gore.
Want a scapegoat for the economic crisis? Mark Zuckerberg looks pretty good right now. Facebook's young CEO dreams of a world where we instantly know each others' emotions. To our peril, we're already pretty close.
Remember Josh Persky, the unemployed Wall Streeter who used up most of his 15 minutes back in June when he took to the streets with a "MIT Grad For Hire" sandwich board around his neck? Good news! He's landed a job! "After 11-odd months, plenty of interviews and many a TV appearance, the stunt resulted in a job at Weiser LLP, an accounting firm." Is this a sign the worst is over? Not really, but you're welcome to use it to cheer yourself amid the reports today of political corruption, stock losses, health epidemics and whatnot. [PEHub via Clusterstock]
Chalk up another victory for the creative class: ABC's obstacle-course competition hit Wipeout will return for two episodes on Super Bowl Sunday, directly challenging both NBC's halftime show featuring Bruce Springsteen and a special postgame edition of The Office. It's the biggest such counterprogramming battle in five years, and as with everything else pertaining to the network these days, the Peacock might be in trouble.
