Friday, July 20, 2007

Media-Whore's D'Oevres



(image via viewimages)

"Could Paramount Pictures lose Steven Spielberg and the DreamWorks studio it bought just 20 months ago for $1.53 billion? It's entirely possible. People close to Spielberg say he is vexed that Paramount has treated his team shabbily and grabbed credit for DreamWorks productions. If Spielberg were to leave, says a person familiar with the situation, he could take several of his hitmakers and the DreamWorks name with him. Spielberg's departure would be a huge blow to Paramount chief Brad Grey, whose nascent turnaround at the studio is based largely on DreamWorks hits, including Transformers and Blades of Glory. In recent months, Grey has been toiling to rebuild his relationship with Hollywood's most powerful director-producer. In early July, Grey went to Spielberg's sprawling East Hampton (N.Y.) compound and gave him a $1 million check from Paramount for the Shoah Foundation Institute .." (Businessweek)

"Hedge funders have rocketed to the top of Democratic Party donor lists in recent years, reflecting a generational shift on Wall Street that's part of the Democrats' growing money edge. Democrats have been free to ignore them, though, on high-profile tax issues, and still collect their money -- like other donors, their first forays have been about ideology and personal access. That may be changing: now, they're starting to lay out an agenda and act like other interest group." (Politico)

"The nation’s chief justice was unexpectedly reinstated today by the Supreme Court in a case that has fueled national protests and posed a serious challenge to President Pervez Musharraf. Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhr in Islamabad after the ruling today. The presiding judge in the case declared that the president’s suspension of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was 'illegal and without lawful authority.' The decision, by a panel of Supreme Court justices, was 10 to 3. Hundreds from a wide range of political groups — including Jamaat-e-Islami, a religious party, and Pakistan People’s Party, led by Benazir Bhutto, an exiled prime minister — erupted with joy outside the court here, clapping and chanting, 'Go Musharraf, Go.'" (NYTimes)

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