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moguls
Facebook Movie Turns Sean Parker Into Rock Star
The blog ScriptShadow got hold of the first draft of Aaron Sorkin's Facebook movie. The verdict? The movie reads oddly mesmerizing, and has an unexpected hero: Sean Parker, an early investor in the social network. More » -
celebrity computer science
Internet Somehow Survives Michael Jackson Funeral
Sure, the Department of Defense designed it to be military-grade rugged, but no one really knew if the internet could handle a memorial service webcast of a pop megastar. Oh, it was brutal. From a network engineering perspective. More » -
Tweed?
L.A. Weed Dealer Finally Finds a Use for Twitter
California won't let the gays marry but it does let people micro-blog (medical) drug deals. Meet former Northwestern J-school student Dann Halem, who is building an online business selling weed on Twitter. How is this possible you ask? More » -
blogging for gold
Nikki Finke Did Not Make $15 Million Today
News broke earlier today that Nikki Finke had sold her Deadline Hollywood Daily blog to Jay Penske's Mail.com Media Corp. Now, fantastical numbers are being floated around about how much she got. Who would do a thing like that? More » -
the cinema
The First Rule of Facebook Club Is...
Columbia Pictures is close to securing a director for its Facebook movie: David Fincher, of Fight Club fame, is reportedly in advanced talks. He'll be expected to move fast, before the market for a movie about the social network evaporates. More » -
field guide
Jay Penske: The Hard-Partying Si Newhouse Wannabe of Bel Air
As the L.A. media otherwise disappers, Jay Penske is in empire-building mode. His hitherto low-profile Mail.com Media Corporation acquired Nikki Finke's showbiz blog and he backed Movieline in April. From what we've gleaned, the guy's a true Tinseltown dreamer. More » -
deals
Who Wants to Work for Nikki Finke?
Nikke Finke has sold her web site, Deadline Hollywood Daily, to Jay Penske's Mail.com, and will be hiring a reporter in New York to expand the site's coverage. So get those résumés ready, kids. More » -
acquisitions
Nikki Finke Does a Deal With Mail.com
Mail.com, which launched Movieline.com with the ex-Defamer crew, has purchased Nikki Finke's Deadlinehollywooddaily.com. [AllThingsD] -
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books
Facebook Tell-All Released Into Wild
Facebook's creation myth has left the building, or so we hear: Fortune is said to be readying an excerpt of Ben Mezrich's tell-all book and movie about the social network. And another publication is, naturally, trying to ruin the scoop. More » -
publishing
The Facebook Status Update That Could End Up a Movie
Sure, people have made books out of tweet collections and websites about emails and fatty foods, but has anyone parlayed a lone Facebook update into old-media glory? This might actually happen, insanely enough.
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advertising
Perez Hilton's New Site to Showcase His Sensitive, Thoughtful Side
Perez Hilton is launching a new website, his advertising agent reports, to "focus on longer-form, more advertiser-friendly content." Meaning, presumably, that the celebrity gossip can finally unleash his fearsome intellect. More » -
art
Perez Hilton in Ghost-Splooging Scandal
In a shocking breach of the integrity (ahem) his fans have come to depend upon, it turns out Perez Hilton might not have phallically doodled on celebrity pictures alone. He uses one or more ghost writer/sploogers. And he might have been a secret. More » -
Shut Up, Twitter
New Twitter Show Sure to Annihilate Twitter Once and For All
Are you sick of Twitter yet? Probably! But if not, wait patiently because the spunky little messaging service is teaming with a group of Hollywood geniuses to bring you an "unscripted show" that would "harness Twitter to put players on the trail of celebrities in an interactive, competitive format." Yeah. More » -
Shut Up, Twitter
Today's Twitter Hysteria Says Patrick Swayze Has Died; He Didn't
Patrick Swayze is alive and well, his spokesman has confirmed. How did false reports of his passing consume the internet for several hours today? Through the false rumor's vehicle of choice: Twitter.
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servicey
How Valleywag Got MySpace to Drop Its Sony Ban
Sony Pictures employees can now waste their time on MySpace again, thanks to Valleywag. (You're welcome.) Here's the tale, from inside Sony's Internet operations, of how our story got the ban lifted. More » -
breakdowns
Sony Moviemakers Banned from MySpace
A tipster tells us that when Sony employees in L.A. try to log onto MySpace, "it directs you to google.com." Bizarrely, Sony's IT staff is saying it's MySpace's fault. More » -
blogging for dollars
Perez Hilton Wins Ruling That Says His Blog Is Illegal
Color us confused: Hollywood gossip Perez Hilton, aka Mario Lavandeira, the queen of the knockoff disguised as parody. So why is he suing PerezRevenge to get it to change its name?
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politics
Gavin Newsom Erases His Wife's Threesome Movie
Every political résumé polished and fluffed. But why is San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom, running for California's governorship, stretching the truth about his actress wife's show-biz career?
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leaks
Salma Hayek's Hacked Emails Reveal Celebrity's Quotidian Existence
Hackers have broken into Salma Hayek's email, revealing the actress's iPhone-app obsession, designer-clothes habit, travel plans, and more. (Her billionaire husband, François-Henri Pinault, who's throwing a second wedding for her this weekend, pays the bill!) More » -
Shut Up, Twitter
Oprah's on Twitter, Twitter's on Oprah, and Everyone's So Excited!
We think we've figure out Twitter's big news tomorrow: Oprah Winfrey is joining Twitter. Here's the evidence. More » -
journalismism
Pirated Wolverine Review Puts Fox Newser's Job on the Line
(UPDATED) Despite reports he was fired for reviewing a pirated copy of Wolverine, Fox News columnist Roger Friedman will have a chance to argue for his job, a Fox News source said.
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pranks
E! Comedienne Falls for Twitter's Fake Dina Lohan
Boy, that Chelsea Handler really nailed scary Twitter-using celebrity mom Dina Lohan on Chelsea Lately! Except for one small problem: Lohan doesn't actually use Twitter. More » -
celebritards
How Twitter Saved the Celebrity P.R.
Blogs, Facebook, and Twitter were supposed to liberate famous people from old-media gatekeepers. But John Mayer, Courtney Love, and others are teaching us that public figures are terrible at shaping their own image. More » -
pranks
Comic Genius Behind Dina Lohan's Fake Tweets Outed
A LiveJournal user says the brilliant mind behind the crazed tweets of celebrity mom Dina Lohan is a 24-year-old Michigan man named Matt Cherette. Cherette, who's confessed, has a career in Hollywood awaiting him. More » -
Shut Up, MySpace
Courtney Love in MySpace Libel Suit
A fashion designer has sued wacky-mess rocker Courtney Love for libel on MySpace. Love's response? Going on a blabby Twitter rampage and accusing Lindsay Lohan of stealing drugs.
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celebritards
Lohan Mom's Twitter Stupid — or Crazy Smart
Either Lindsay Lohan's entire crazy family is really on Twitter, or the world's best comedy writers have taken to the medium. Here are Dina Lohan's Twitter tales of bad tea, insidious censorship, and "HATERS." More » -
valley spawn
Rehab For Courtenay Semel's 'Exhaustion'
Courtenay Semel is ready to stop lighting her girlfriends' hair on fire, or at least regain access to the trust fund her father, former Yahoo CEO Terry Semel, locked her out of. More » -
Shut Up, Twitter
Jennifer Aniston Dumps John Mayer Over Twitter Addiction
It turns out using Twitter will not get you laid. Actress Jennifer Aniston reportedly dumped musician John Mayer over his habit of broadcasting his every idle thought on the microblogging service. Hurray! More » -
wedding announcements
Netscape Billionaire to Wed Supermodel This Weekend
Giving geeks everywhere hope, Jim Clark, cofounder of Silicon Graphics and Netscape, is marrying swimsuit model Kristy Hinze this weekend on Richard Branson's Necker Island — also the site of Google founder Larry Page's nuptials.
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Shut Up, Twitter
Ellen Fails at Twitter, While Jon Favreau Wins
In today's famous people Twitter stunts, talk-show lesbian Ellen DeGeneres wanted a million Twitter followers by today. She's almost 13% there! Meanwhile Jon Favreau has taken celebrity Twitter posting to its logical conclusion. More » -
myspace
Wendi Deng Murdoch's MySpace Problem
A tipster tells us Wendi Deng dropped by MySpace headquarters with a friend on Friday. What is Mrs. Rupert Murdoch up to at the News Corp.-owned social network? More » -
wtf
TMZ Fights for Its Right to Give Away Octo-Mom Pics
So, how did those photos of Nadya Suleman's horribly distended, octuplet-carrying belly get out into the world? They were licensed to TMZ (presumably by Octo-mom herself), which wants to drum up publicity and traffic. More » -
scandal
Who's Behind the Campaign to Smear Wendi Deng Murdoch?
Sometimes the mere existence of a rumor is as interesting as the rumor itself, and the recent surge of people breathlessly telling us that Wendi Deng Murdoch is cuckolding News Corp. Rupert Murdoch certainly falls into that category. In the last couple weeks, three separate people have come forward to tell us Deng is having an affair with Chris DeWolfe, a MySpace founder who now works for Rupert after News Corp. purchased the social network three years ago for $580 million. It's pretty clear there is a campaign underway to get this story out. And whoever it is has finally found an outlet to bite. There's certainly no shortage of people who might have an ax to grind against Murdoch, Deng or even DeWolfe. If you have any idea who's behind it, please email me.
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geek love
Michael Arrington pounding his MySpace source
When TechCrunch, the blog for startup fetishists, published leaked screengrabs of MySpace's just-launched music service, Michael Arrington wrote: "We’ve been pounding our sources for screenshots of the new service for weeks without any luck." Now we know what he meant. A tipster tells us, and another source confirms, that Arrington's been dating Dani Dudeck, MySpace's VP of global communications, for months. More » -
sarah palin emails
Sarah Palin's Personal Emails
Did the internet just cause Sarah Palin to destroy evidence? The potential Veep is in a bit of trouble for conducting state business using her personal, unarchived email address (gov.sarah@yahoo.com) instead of her official account (which is, of course, subject to laws requiring the retention of government records). Emails from that Yahoo account are already being sought in connection with the Troopergate investigation. Now comes word that Anonymous, the fun-loving Internet trouble-makers based loosely around the message board 4Chan, gained access to another Palin email account: gov.palin@yahoo.com. It looks legit! The offending posts, screenshots, heretofore unseen family photos, and emails have all been deleted from Imageshack and 4Chan. But we have them. You want to read Sarah Palin's email?
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geek love
Terry Semel spawn Courtenay dating MySpace star Tila Tequila
Plasticly popular MySpace personality Tila Tequila and Courtenay Semel, the daughter of ex-Yahoo CEO Terry Semel, attended a premiere together last night in Los Angeles. There, the pair confirmed a more successful merger than Semel senior ever managed. “I’d seen the show [A Shot at Love] and just needed to meet her and it just happened,” Semel told People magazine. “It’s true what they say about lesbians," said Tequila. "You meet and then the next day you move in together, because I can’t get rid of her. She pretty much lives at my house.” We think this is the only Yahoo-MySpace deal we'll see happen. (Photo by AP/Steinberg) -
Tucker Max
Tucker Max's Movie Script
Yesterday we put out a call for the viciously panned script of I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell, the upcoming film written by I-totally-fucked-that-chick blogger Tucker Max. We immediately received about a dozen copies of the script, which is apparently being forwarded around Hollywood like a list of bad lawyer jokes. I also could have said "like herpes," and I could also follow up by joking that the script is about as funny as a bad lawyer with herpes, haha. Friends, it opens with Tucker Max fucking a deaf girl and screaming "DON'T TAZE ME, BRO!." It is that bad. After the jump, three of the most terrible moments from the film's first half. Jesus, bro:
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kathy griffin
Live From Just For Laughs: The Defamer Kathy Griffin Interview
Lured as much by its illustrious roster of Hollywood comedy power-players as we were by Quebec's notoriously lax champagne-room laws and the promise of a poutine stand on every corner, Defamer dispatched editor Seth Abramovitch to Montreal to take in a few days of the 2008 Just For Laughs Festival. Now a quarter-century old, Just For Laughs has grown into the largest comedy festival—two weeks of stand-up, sketch comedy, movie screenings, and street performances. Tonight we'll be front and center for the much-hyped Apatow For Destruction, billed as "a unique night of stand-up comedy as writer/director/producer Judd Apatow assembles a veritable all-star team with one of Canada's biggest exports, Seth Rogen, Craig Robinson, Russell Brand and a line-up of some of the most buzzed about film and TV stars in comedy." More » -
23andme
Google cofounder funnels money to wife's startup through Michael J. Fox charity
Google employees must avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest, according to the company's code of conduct. But Sergey Brin is exempt from such bureaucratic trifles. The cofounder skirted ethical lines when he loaned money to 23andMe, a genetic-testing startup cofounded by his wife, Anne Wojcicki, and later had Google repay that loan in the course of investing in that company. The Google board's audit committee and CEO Eric Schmidt blithely signed off on the deal, however. Now, Brin has found a new way to route money to 23andMe, this time through a charity — thereby boosting, at least notionally, the value of Google's investment and his wife's net worth. Brin can claim it's all for a good cause, but the deal stinks to high heaven. More »


































