Elisabeth Murdoch—the daughter of News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch, owner of all currently operating media outlets—has a personal story that Horatio Alger would appreciate. Sure, today she's the CEO of her own production company. But she started with nothing. Absolutely nothing. Elisabeth Murdoch was once a lowly, unappreciated "broke acquisitions executive" on the bottom rung of the ladder, according to Elisabeth Murdoch. In a recent speech to a crowd of other wealthy entertainment executives [Hollywood Reporter], she delivered a tale of woe and triumph that will serve as an inspiration to people who, like Murdoch, had to work their way up with pure grit:

When it rains, it pours for our beloved Harvey Weinstein, assailed on all sides by Star Wars geeks, wayward film critics and now the Chinese government, whose leery rebuke of Western cinema following the art-smut epic Lust, Caution resulted in yanked permits for his forthcoming John Cusack/Gong Li romance, Shanghai. The sudden change of heart after three months of pre-production provoked Harvey to exotically blow off some steam call an emergency scouting summit in the Far East:

Cute li'l real-estate magnate and newspaper-owner Jared Kushner broke up with oddly attractive-despite-her-family Ivanka Trump! This is according to Page Six, who note that Ivanka has gone to parties by herself, which is irrefutable proof. They've been together for almost exactly one year, which is, if you ask us, suspicious. What's Jared up to? Why is he breaking up with his hot, brand-name girlfriend? Why is he pretending he's going to buy Newsday? Is he just toying with us??

So internet mogul Barry Diller won the struggle for control of IAC, the ungainly conglomerate which owns sites such as Ticketmaster and College Humor. Here's his celebratory announcement to employees. It's rather clunkier than one expects of the highly quotable IAC boss. Presumably Diller means, in the last line, that employees can have more confidence in the future; wishing IAC colleagues instead more surefootedness implies that IAC's missteps were somehow their fault. And some graphically-aware assistant really should help the 66-year-old former studio boss change his default email font.

We can't really parse much of this Wall Street Journal story on the complicated tangle of investments between IAC honcho Barry Diller and John Malone, Barry's #1 stakeholder. (For instance: Who wanted it written? And why?) But! We did learn that apparently Barry Diller motors around Manhattan on a lil' scooter? That is really odd, and we had no idea. Also Barry should sue over their hideous illustration. [WSJ]

Here are some of the crazed rumors we've heard about the Vanity Fair story that John Connolly is writing about alleged financier-perv* billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, of whom it is alleged that he retained a procurer of underage girls. Oh my God, we heard that Bill Clinton came into 4 Times Square and told Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter that this expose of Epstein must not run and of course Graydon folded like a paper doll. And also we heard alleged former Epstein alleged friend Ron Burkle is Danny A's backer on every club he opens and Burkle does that to harvest pretty young things then flies them to L.A. and allegedly sells them to Epstein and alleged movie-producer Steve "Bing Laden" Bing and it is this cabal of partying hedonists that has prevented the piece from running! And also we heard that Prince Andrew (the one who divorced Fergie!) and the royal family interceded, promising to shut down Graydon Carter's restaurant The Waverly Inn if this piece runs and that is all why it has not seen the light of day yet!

Rupert Murdoch has done his part to ensure the ouster of Australian prime minister John Howard, who's been toiling as the sad prison-island's leader since time immemorial. In a canny feat, Murdoch sent New York Post editor Col Allan out to Scores with Kevin Rudd—he's the opposition leader down in Australia, and is now expected to win the 2007 election. "Mr Rudd admitted visiting Scores and said he had been too drunk to remember much of what had happened," says the Guardian. Then Rudd got reprimanded for manhandling strippers and got booted. For Australian men, this is like scoring the winning goal of a soccer match or shooting the biggest kangaroo or something. He will now receive nearly all of the heterosexual male vote. How can we tell it's a counterintuitive and sophisticated campaign to manage the election? The trip to Scores happened four years ago and is just being revealed now—in Murdoch's papers. Good work, Rupe!

Rupert Murdoch reportedly tried to talk David Geffen out of buying the LA Times, telling him, "Every day is going to be a headache for you. I'm used to these headaches. You're not." And now they're going cruising on Geffen's yacht together! Curious! [Deadline Hollywood]

Get ready for the most synergistic fashion happening of our times! Famously difficult movie mogul Harvey Weinstein is going to make '70s brand Halston "the first American global luxury brand - an American LVMH." How will he accomplish this? "The film studio owned by the brothers Weinstein plans to dress actors in its movies in Halston fashions, hold a fashion show at next year's Cannes Film Festival and possibly open a stand-alone store in Manhattan." After all, nothing captures the experimental, artistic spirit of fashion more than enforced brand partnership. And somehow, this will also help make Halston seem irreproachably upscale: "'Louis Vuitton and Gucci are amazing, but this has the potential to be the classiest American brand,' Weinstein has said." Harvey is just a classy guy. Maybe his new focus on classiness will even lead him to shell out for business class tickets for his employees next time they all have to fly someplace!

Weinsteins Poach Choo Exec For Halston [NYP]

According to a Weinstein Co. source, everyone who's headed to the Cannes film festival to support the many projects they've got in competition there, including the Quentin Tarantino half of Grindhouse, will be flying to France economy-class. Well, everyone except Harvey, who's flying there in his private plane, of course. So is the big bossman feeling the pinch of Grindhouse, Factory Girl and Breaking and Entering's respective floppy openings? Well, in other areas, it doesn't seem like he's hurting—he was just yesterday crowing to the Post about how much money he plans to pump into Halston, the "iconic brand" he bought as a present for his girlfriend. And we also hear that "50% of the Cannes budget is just his hotel, his plane." So maybe he's just still a huge jerkface! Making his staff travel with the common people!