DAILYFILE
February 08, 2010

Rumors

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Even in Scandal, Paterson Disappoints | Here we were expecting to hear a tawdry tale about coked-up key parties at the governor's mansion in Albany. But now word has it the much buzzed-about David Paterson scandal may not be quite as juicy as some have been suggesting, says Gabriel Sherman: "According to a source close to the Paterson camp who is familiar with the scope of the Times' reporting, the Times piece will be an in-depth profile of the governor focused on his personal character. There are likely to be new details about his marital infidelities, but the source added that it's not going to be the bombshell the blogs have predicted. "The piece is PG-13, not XXX.'" [NYM]

The Burbs

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Greenwich Gets Back to 'Normal' | Now that the economy has rebounded—for people who make their living on Wall Street, at least!—and big bonuses have returned, how are residents of fancy schmancy Greenwich faring? Life is  "slowly returning to normal," apparently. "The Greenwich version of normal, anyway," which means people are once again turning up to the local Ferrari dealership: More

Out & About

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Spotted | Rosario Dawson leaving the Bowery Hotel ... Keanu Reeves walking in SoHo ... Larry King picking up food on Madison Avenue ... Renee Zellweger arriving at JFK ... Eliza Dushku and Rick Fox walking in the East Village ... Madonna arriving at the Kabbalah Center in Midtown with her kids ... Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts in Soho pushing their kids in strollers ... Amanda Seyfried picking up coffee in the East Village ... Natalie Portman taking a break on the set of Black Swan ... Sarah Jessica Parker leaving her townhouse in the Village ... and an unrecognizable Kate Gosselin leaving the Ted Gibson Salon before heading to dinner at Butter.

Buyers & Sellers

Conan Looks for Payout on CPW; Madoff Buyer Revealed

151652Conan O'Brien's tenure as Tonight Show host has ended, but it looks like he and wife Liza may be planning to stay in LA, since they're reportedly looking to unload their penthouse duplex at the Majestic on Central Park West. The 17th and 18th-floor spread, which features three terraces and Central Park Views, is being "quietly" shopped around for $35 million. [NYP]
• The buyer of Bernie and Ruth Madoff's penthouse has been revealed. It's Al Kahn, the CEO of 4Kids Entertainment and the man behind Pokemon and the Cabbage Patch Kids, who is said to be buying the place at at 133 East 64th Street for "just under" the asking price of $8.9 million. [NYP, previously]
• Jimmie Johnson has unloaded one apartment and picked up another. The Nascar driver has sold his 3,200-square-foot loft at 32 West 18th Street, which he put on the market last year, for $4 million. Meanwhile, he and his wife paid $8.33 million for a condo in the Superior Ink building on W. 12th St. [NYT]More

Scandal

The Paterson Waiting Game Continues

151659So what's going on with Gov. David Paterson and those rumors last week that the Times has been working on a "bombshell" story that may (or may not!) involve allegations that Paterson is a fan of booze-filled swinging sessions? Over the weekend, reports suggested the Times story would drop today. That didn't happen. More

Gossip

Stars at the Super Bowl; JWoww's Expansion Plans

151658• Lots of celebs turned out for the Super Bowl in Miami. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were there (and were spotted "kissing, hugging and laughing," so if you were worried that they'd broken up, you can rest easy). Also on hand was Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher (who were chased by photographers), Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, and John Travolta, who couldn't even be bothered to stay for the entire game. [DM, The Sun, Popeater]
• Is the cast of Jersey Shore getting a little overexposed? Just a little! MTV is now looking to clamp down on their efforts to "pimp themselves" at bars and colleges around the country and has informed them that they're each limited to two appearances a week and need permission from the network before accepting any gigs. [P6, NYDN]
• In other Jersey Shore news, Jenni "JWoww" Farley is planning to "enhance" her ginormous fake boobs "as soon as possible to be ready for the new season," you'll be pleased to hear. [P6]More

One Year Older

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Happy Birthday | Former Nightline anchor Ted Koppel turns 70 today. John Grisham is turning 55. Mary Steenburgen is 57. Nick Nolte is turning 69. Vince Neil of Motley Crüe turns 49. Seth Green is 36. Mary McCormack, the star of In Plain Sight, is turning 41. Comedian Robert Klein is 68. Times Magazine editor Gerry Marzorati is 57. And recently-jailed actor Gary Coleman turns 42 today.

Reminders

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[Photo via Flickr]

Politicians

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Harold Ford, Rock Star | Former congressman and possible Senate candidate Harold Ford is getting $20K a pop to give speeches around the country. Among the demands listed on his "tour rider": Limo drivers have to carry a sign that reads "H.F."; he needs an "alternate entrance & exit" at each venue; and you can't feed him shellfish. He's allergic (but will probably claim he's kosher when it comes time to lock in the Jewish vote.) [TSG]

Roundup: Media & Entertainment

• Condé Nast Publications exists no more. The company will now be known simply as "Condé Nast," since the powers that be there have finally realized that people like to read stuff on the Internet every once in a while. [NYP]
Bill O'Reilly invited Jon Stewart on his show this week. (Bold!) Unfortunately, all of Stewart's good jabs were edited out. (Not surprising!) [Gawker, NYT]
Keith Olbermann is feuding with journalists and bloggers. Once again. [HP]
• Fashion mags struggled during the second half of '09: Sales of Vogue and Marie Claire fell by 15%, while Elle and Harper's Bazaar were flat. [NYM]
• Exits: Lifetime CEO Andrea Wong has been ousted from the network amid lackluster ratings. And the president of TV Guide Network is stepping down.
• Rumor has it Howard Stern may replace Simon Cowell on Idol. [P6, LAT]
• The cover of the new issue of SI has some people hot and bothered. [LAT]
• Magazines that tried cutting prices to boost sales? It didn't work. [AdAge]
• A rundown of the ads you can expect to see on Super Bowl Sunday. [ABC]
• Last Sunday's Grammy Awards boosted music sales this past week. [LAT]
• The Oscars are officially a month away. Mark your calendar. [The Wrap]

Photos

David Paterson: New York's Leading Lothario

Click to expand
 

Previously: Trouble Looming for Gov. Paterson?

Fashion

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Tavi Has Seen Into Karl Lagerfeld's Soul | The world's most precocious blogger, Tavi Gevinson, will be in town to cover New York Fashion Week, which kicks off next Thursday. In the meantime, the 13-year-old fashion industry sensation (who is looking a few years older now that she's decided to follow the trend and die her hair grey) was asked about the most memorable moment of her two-year-old career covering fashion: "Probably meeting Rei Kawakubo, or meeting Karl Lagerfeld and him saying some very nice things and also I could SEE HIS EYES (there were no lasers)." [Fashion Informer]

Bonus Season

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Blankfein Plays It Safe | So much for those rumors about Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein taking home a $100 million bonus. The firm just disclosed that Blankfein will collect a $9 million bonus in stock and no cash for his services in 2009, or roughly half as much as JPMorgan Chase chief Jamie Dimon. [NYT]

Real Estate

Madoff Penthouse Finds a Buyer

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Matt Lauer will soon have a new neighbor: The Wall Street Journal reports that Bernie Madoff's penthouse at 133 East 64th Street has gone into contract. The buyer has yet to be identified and it's unclear how much the apartment went for—it had been listed for $8.9 million—but whoever it is, let's hope he/she performs a thorough home exorcism before moving in. [WSJ]