Kirsten Dunst Off the Wagon Again?The recently rehabbed starlet was spotted with Champagne glass in hand, and more celebrity mishaps in our morning gossip roundup.
Drew Barrymore’s Garden TroublesThe actress, whom we loved in the HBO movie last weekend, has to contend with co-star Jessica Lange’s competition. Plus, the rest of today’s gossip!
Courtney Love Is Merely EccentricThe Wire’s Dominic West celebrated the finale of the show at a party with a bunch of strippers. Warren Buffett dined at Michael’s. Courtney Love claims she’s “eccentric,” not “bipolar,” on her MySpace blog. A “Page Six” “insider” claims that Lindsay Lohan’s new crop of friends are “leeches … trying to drag Lindsay down and use her for her fame.” Meanwhile, Dina Lohan is excited about her new reality show on E!, which will probably debut around Memorial Day.
company town
Imus Sucker Punches BrokawMEDIA
• Don Imus on Tom Brokaw: “He is not the most courageous person I’ve ever met in my life. He’s not the guy I’d want to be in a foxhole with.” You see, Brokaw didn’t defend Imus when he was down-and-out because of the whole “nappy-headed-hos” incident. Resentment, now that takes courage! [NYP]
• Shocker: CNBC is actually scared shitless of Fox Business News. They’re now asking guests to choose sides, threatening to drop them if they dare to appear on Murdoch’s new down-home network. [Silicon Alley Insider]
• Veteran literary agent Lynn Nesbit wants a new publishing madman: “Even [former Simon & Schuster CEO] Dick Synder is a lot more colorful than [newly departed Simon & Schuster CEO] Jack Romanos, who is now gone. I mean, they had passion, they cared about literature. Even Dick, who’s not an intellectual. He cared. He was a madman … . Who is a madman now in publishing? … It was just different then.” Hi, Lynn, allow us to introduce you to our favorite publishing madwoman, Judith Regan. [Media Mob/NYO]
company town
‘Times’ Editorial Chief Andy Rosenthal, UnpluggedMEDIA
• Incoming Time Warner CEO Jeffrey Bewkes may well spin off the company’s huge cable unit, but a sale of Time Inc. looks unlikely since the small potential proceeds (and big tax penalty) would little benefit a company of Time Warner’s size. [NYT]
• Times editorial-page editor Andy Rosenthal calls all executive editors, including Bill Keller and his own father, crazy. Sweet. [Radar]
• Rupert Murdoch is confirming to all his friends he plans to bring in Times of London editor Robert Thomson to become the Journal’s publisher as part of an “Aussie invasion” in the first few months of next year. [Guardian via Media Mob/NYO]
company town
Introducing Goldman CFO David ‘Bones’ ViniarFINANCE
• Meet David “Bones” Viniar, the reclusive Goldman CFO who’s quadrupled profits in the last eight years. A graduate of Bronx Science, he sits at the top, surveying his domain, as CEOs come and go. [Financial News via DealBook/NYT]
• Stephen Feinberg’s Cerberus is clearly the hedge fund’s hedge fund: to help finance the firm’s acquisition of Chrysler, Feinberg roped in $100 million from at least four other top firms — and made them pay for the privilege. [Deal Journal/WSJ] • Another sign that we’re in the wrong business: Henry Kravis managed to ink an $8 billion buy-out, later back out of the deal, and then even got his bankers to step up and pay the penalties. [MarketBeat/WSJ]
gossipmonger
Divorces, Horses, and So OnPaula Zahn’s friends say she wanted to stay in the Fifth Avenue apartment she shares with soon-to-be ex-husband Richard Cohen for the sake of their kids, but he made it too difficult. Lou Dobbs’s daughter Hillary won the Open Jumper Class (and $7,500) at the Hampton Classic Horse Show. (Soon-to-be-mom Kelly Klein also rode there.) Heather Mills has racked up a number of parking tickets in her Bentley convertible in East Hampton. NYU’s school newspaper went out of its way to point out that people use the campus library to commit suicide and hook up on Craigslist. Larry David doesn’t like fund-raisers on yachts in Martha’s Vineyard. Courtney Love is blaming ex-boyfriend Steve Coogan for Owen Wilson’s attempted suicide, and now Coogan is worried about his career prospects. The New York Times has a clear anti-Yankees bias, “Page Six” says.
gossipmonger
Judi Giuliani, Puppy Killer?Vanity Fair’s forthcoming takedown of Judi Giuliani paints her as “opportunistic, puppy-killing homewrecker.” ABC News employees were reminded not to surf for porn on company time after it was discovered that an intern had nude photos online. Married cosmetics heir William Lauder may be the illegitimate father of a child with nightlife honcho Howard Stein’s daughter. Mets pitchers John Maine and Aaron Heilman partied at the Hawaiian Tropic Zone. New Yorker film critic Anthony Lane might not technically be married to the mother of his two children, journalist Allison Pearson. Penélope Cruz and Bono were spotted holding hands in St. Tropez. Star Jones claims women on TV get a raw financial deal. Rachael Ray and Ron Jeremy were in Saratoga for the opening of the racetrack.
gossipmonger
Happily Eva AfterOK! magazine paid more than $2 million for the rights to Eva Longoria’s wedding photos, much to the chagrin of People. Lily Allen was so drunk during a performance she referred to hostess Tinsley Mortimer as “Ashley Winksdale,” which, actually, is kind of awesome. Courtney Love has been licensing Kurt Cobain’s likeness for a bunch of lame products. (Certainly Al Pacino wouldn’t approve.) The Queen of England uses e-mail and has an iPod. Rachel Roy and Damon Dash got into a public spat at Dash’s club Socialista. Ryan Cabrera and Riley Keough — she’s Elvis’s granddaughter — are on the outs. Renée Zellweger might be dating an agent at CAA.
gossipmonger
Sharpton Comes AliveAl Sharpton is planning on speaking out against rap music at this week’s National Action Network convention, but Russell Simmons and other hip-hop execs are skeptical. The wife of Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun invited three of his alleged mistresses to today’s funeral. Beyoncé is slated to make a lot of money after her current deal with Sony is up. Britney Spears may have fired manager Larry Rudolph, whom she blames for her recent career woes. Madonna went back to Malawi but insists she’s not adopting another child. Bruce Willis is now seeing Courtney Love.
