Usually, when rumors circulate that an actor may be leaving his hit show, strongly worded denials are forthcoming from the actor, his manager, his publicist, the showrunner, someone's mom, and even a loyal dog as character witness. However, when are things ever business as usual on the war-torn set of Grey's Anatomy? Yesterday's report that T.R. Knight had packed up his dressing room and hadn't attended a table read since the second episode of this season prompted an unnamed Grey's rep — not Knight or any of his management — to issue a vague non-denial denial to Us Weekly. Now, EW is reporting that the rumors are true:

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich kind of threw a bit of a monkey wrench into Barack Obama's pre-inauguration honeymoon today by getting arrested by the FBI for allegedly trying to sell Obama's vacated Senate seat and demanding recompense from the Obama team in exchange for appointing their preferred candidate. US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has been investigating Blago (as the cool kids call him) since, like, forever, but nearly all the evidence in the charging document comes from post-election wiretaps. Obama's team wanted Blago to appoint Obama senior advisor Valerie Jarrett to the position. But Blago wasn't thrilled about their unwillingness to bribe him. But Valerie's a major player in the criminal complaint. Who'll have to testify?

Ooh, the city of Chicago is seedy and corrupt again! The Chicago Tribune has gone ruined and bankrupt, giving the city a sense of anarchic lawlessness. And now the governor of Illinois (who, yes, I know, actually holds office down south in Springfield) was just arrested for some shady Chicago-style political dealings. It's like a new Depressiony gangster era all over again! And hey, a big new movie that depicts that depraved Chicago of the past (and present!) is already filming (plus a movie about Al Capone foe Eliot Ness once he moves to Cleveland). It certainly won't be the first film of its kind, though. After the jump take a look at clips of some past films that illustrate the gritty Windy City of yesteryear, and offer us a vision of the city's downward spiral that's begun anew.

Have you been wondering why the rich enjoy spending time with other rich people, especially around the holidays? Us neither. But they do, as professional scion of wealth (and accidental inheritance wrecker) Jamie Johnson kindly points out today on VF.com. "Each year," he says, "committee lists for the grand society balls are indistinguishable from those of past years." But why? Well, it's complicated, but in language that plebs might understand: Rich people like hanging out with other rich people because they're familar, and because they revere wealth and therefore each other. And don't forget the most important point: They have good food and booze at their parties! (Or, as Jamie puts it, "An abundance of food, drink, and amusement facilitates fun.") We know, it's nothing short of revelatory.

So SAG's fucked. Wait—did we say "fucked?" There we go again—needless doomsday prophesying where Obaman cool-headedness is clearly required. What we meant to say is: "SAG's probably fucked." Yesterday brought a confluence of Pop Culture Doomsday events that not even a walrus blowing like Bird could have foretold:

Rod Blagojevich wanted to sell an Illinois Senate seat. Who's in the market for such a thing? Apparently, Blagojevich figured either Obama would pay up (with a cabinet post or something) for the right to pick his own successor, or he would go ahead sell it to "Candidate 5"—someone who was publicly reported to want it. Logic dictates that Candidate 5 is probably Jesse Jackson, Jr [UPDATE: Or is it? Alternate theory added below]. Which puts this corrupt, white governor in the interesting position of trying to play the old vanguard of Black American leadership against its new version. And failing miserably.

Don't be alarmed if you start seeing large groups of Chinese tourists circling your block—they're just here to buy up all the property you can't afford! Thanks to falling real estate values market and newly-relaxed visa rules, travel agencies in China are now putting together guided trips to places like New York and LA, package tours specifically designed for house hunting. Organizers of the trips say it's really not that different than Chinese tourists coming to NYC to buy a dozen handbags at Louis Vuitton. "In the past, people who traveled to the U.S. might carry back a large luggage with American goods," says one. "It's just that this time, what they bring back are [papers showing] hundreds of thousands of dollars of a house." But we can't imagine that desperate sellers, who have grown accustomed to seeing empty open houses in recent weeks, will mind a big crowd turning up. Even if they are camera-toting tourists who plan to hit the Bronx Zoo later that day. [LAT]

Hollywood PrivacyWatch: 12/4 — I was waiting outside the glass abyss that is CAA in Century City, waiting for my car from the valet alongside ELLEN POMPEO, a.k.a. Meredith Grey from Grey's Anatomy. She seemed to be with a publicist/agent and was wearing that odd combo of a tank top with like super intense boots and a scarf. Most notable was that she was skinny as eff, I thought she might topple over in the wind. [Hollywood PrivacyWatch is written by and for Defamer readers; send your sightings to tips@defamer.com.]

It's another day to keep your head down around Scott Rudin's office: was snubbed once again in the latest fiery belch from Awards-Season Hell. This time, it was the Broadcast Film Critics Association Critics' Choice Awards issuing the diss among its 2008 nominees, a list where seemingly anything even casually mentioned as Oscar bait in the last three months was recognized — with not just one Revolutionary exception.

With the holiday season upon us (and with the first snowflakes beginning to fall), we thought we'd check in with some of the luxe hotels at ski resorts around the country—you know, the ones in places like Aspen that book up months or years in advance—to see how they're faring this year. The answer? Three of the five hotels had availability, an ominous sign given it's high season and Christmas is just two weeks away. The good news, of course, is that if you're one of those people who waits until the last minute to book a trip, you'll have no trouble securing a deluxe room at the St. Regis in Aspen. (Assuming you still have money left in your bank account, that is.) Our survey of the five hotels after the jump.

Last week was a tough week for me and The Hills. They dragged an old lady into the grim proceedings and it made me think that the whole glorious and painful history of 20th century America was null and void. So it was nice that this week my faith was somewhat restored. Not because the show was good, but because it soared in its shitty sadness, its oddly affecting surface melancholy that is rarely, if ever, backed up with anything behind it. Plus we got to watch Whitney mercilessly plug her new show The City to death. So wander on with me after the jump and we'll see what's left in this dusty old shadowbox.

The nine-year-old who self-published, then actually published, a 46-page book about how to talk to girls (he compared us to cars that need lots of oil, and we hope he isn't talking about what we think he is) just sold the movie rights to Fox, who thought it would make a fine movie. Maybe starring Robin Williams as the nine-year-old? Then there's the twelve-year-old, who was mouthing baby food only a few years earlier, who fancies himself a food critic (“Softish jazz music. Seem to enjoy kids but not overly") whose film rights were acquired by SNL's Lorne Michaels. Well, goody for them! Brats. Trend alert: only precocious kids need apply for book-to-movie success for the next few months. And yes, we would be happy to show you an excerpt!

It looks like David Patrick Columbia is in a bit of hot water. In his column this morning, the social diarist suggested that the real estate brokerage firms Corcoran and Edward Lee Cave were both shutting down. Did DPC just break the biggest story of his life? Maybe not: "It's all nonsense," Corcoran's Pam Liebman tells the Observer. "There's not an ounce of truth to it. Not an ounce of truth to it. And we're going to have our attorneys do something about it." As for Edward Lee Cave's eponymous firm, the real estate vet says there may be some changes to the "corporate structure," but he denies he's closing up shop. [NYO]

Now that Obama has been elected, a tipster inside a PR firm tells us, clients are demanding "an increased number of African Americans added to the guest list" at their holiday parties. In the spirit of hope! The email can't really be "verified," but appears genuine and is just too important not to share. This firm has even assembled an official internal "Diversified Holiday Guest List," in which they rank the top 10 acceptable black socialite attendees, in order of desirability. Uh... yes we can? After the jump, meet the fashion world's ten favorite African-Americans for Obama-era parties. Jesus christ:

As anyone who watched The Wire knows, when the feds tape and tape and tape someone's phone calls, they're likely to hear them saying something stupid. And in the criminal complaint against Gov. Rod Blagojevich, arrested by FBI agents this morning for allegedly sellling the appointment of President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat, he says plenty of really stupid things. The Smoking Gun has an excerpt and it's loaded with straight-off-the-wire quotes, such as his frank assessment: a Senate appointment "is a fucking valuable thing, you just don't give it away for nothing."

Are you a Republican who feels some sort of responsibility to aid in the creation of a whitewashed false memory of an uneventful, maybe mildly successful Bush presidency? Yes? Then the White House has a memo for you!

♦ What recession? Condé Nast is launching a new magazine in the UK. [WWD]
♦ More on the fallout from the Tribune Co. bankruptcy. [NYT]
♦ Yesterday the New York Times revealed plans to mortgage its office building; now it says it's in talks with lenders about upcoming debt payments. [AP]
♦ Jann Wenner has hired a new chief digital officer. [AdAge]
♦ Is the advertising world sexist? Maybe! [HuffPo]
♦ Jay Leno may earn $40-50 million a year for his new gig on NBC. [MP]
♦ NBC still has some Super Bowl ads available, if you're interested. [AdAge]

Jay Leno is moving to 10 p.m., every god damn night of the week! That sure is something. You never realize how many people love Jay Leno until something like this happens (or until you find yourself in a comedy club in Winston-Salem, talking to the owner, Roy). NBC is obviously happy about it—and so is Jay, or he would have taken his middling act elsewhere—but, as in everything in showbiz, some people got screwed in this deal. After the jump, the biggest winners and losers of the Return of the Chin:

I find myself at a bit of a loss this morning to describe the Sturm und Drang that was last night's half-season-ender episode of Gossip Girl. O, Stephanie Savage. You giver of hopes, you taker awayer of those same hopes. What began as something that felt almost, almost like the sweepy melodrama this show should regularly be going for, eventually just yawed sideways and no one seemed to know what was up and what was down. So we were left with Aaron Rose and Serena's grandma getting more airtime than a lot of the principals. Ah well! We'll sift through the wreckage after the jump. Let's see what treasures we find!

You want your Chicago-style politics? They don't come much more Chicago-style than this: Democratic Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was just arrested, along with his chief of staff, by FBI agents. How many corrupt things can one Governor do before a new ethics law takes effect at the beginning of next year? Blagojevich was apparently trying to set some sort of record. And Rezko's involved! And Tribune Co! Let's start with Rod's charming decision to sell the Senate seat vacated by squeaky clean president-elect Barack Obama!