“In the movie Wall Street I play Gordon Gekko, a greedy corporate executive who cheated to profit while innocent investors lost their savings. The movie was fiction, but the problem is real.” And with that, Michael Douglas stumps for the FBI in a new public service announcement warning investors against financial misdeeds. If Gordon Gekko himself says greed is no longer good, it must be true. Fraudsters, beware!
Brenda Walsh and her education connections can slide over to the side for a second, because here comes self-proclaimed America’s Next Top Oprah, Tyra Banks, with her diploma from Harvard University’s Executive Education Owner/President Manager Program. The Washington Post says that Harvard’s Executive Education Manager Program costs around $99,000 and is only available to head bitches of companies with annual sales of at least $5 million.
After completing three three-week session cover the course of three years, Ty Ty graduated summa cum ME ME ME ME ME last week and Tweeted the above picture with the note:
Smiling ear2ear on the Harvard Business School campus w/ my diploma! Tnx 2 my fab photographer mama 4 the pic!
It’s times like this when I wish bells had eyes, because somebody or something needs to read TyTy with its side-eye. Tyra is a Harvard Education Manager Program graduate and yet she doesn’t know that “thanks” in textanese is THX? Didn’t she learn anything from Harvard?
Condragulations to Tyra. She has earned the right to use “Well, when I was at Harvard Business School….” as much as she wants during the next season of America’s Next Top Model: College Edition. And she will.
Film producer and studio executive Laura Ziskin passed away Sunday after a public battle with cancer, having established a distinguished career as one of Hollywood’s most prominent female producers. Her notable credits include Pretty Woman (1990), Hero (1992), To Die For (1995), As Good as It Gets (1997), as well as all three of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films and the upcoming reboot The Amazing Spider-Man. Ziskin was 61.
Ziskin’s additional career achievements included heading 20th Century Fox arm Fox 2000, which released films including Courage Under Fire, Fight Club, Never Been Kissed, and The Thin Red Line during her tenure. She produced the 74th and 79th annual Academy Award telecasts, becoming the first woman to produce the show solo and earning Emmy nods both years.
Diagnosed with breast cancer seven years ago, Ziskin co-founded Stand Up to Cancer in 2008, joining fellow entertainment industry figures in supporting cancer research initiatives, and executive produced two widely broadcast SU2C telecasts in 2008 and 2010. A week ago, Ziskin penned a blog entry urging cancer survivors and loved ones to speak out about their experiences.
While it’s not among her awards-lauded films, one of my favorite Ziskin titles was the 1991 Bill Murray comedy What About Bob?, one of two projects she’d also earned a story credit on. (The other: Stephen Frears’ Hero, also co-written by Ziskin’s husband Alvin Sargent.) It may not have broken box office records like the Spider-Man flicks, earned Oscar nods like As Good as It Gets, or have shaken up an entire generation as did David Fincher’s Fight Club (optioned by Ziskin herself), but it gave us baby steps! Watch a highlight reel from the film and leave your own appreciations of Ziskin’s legacy below.
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Hayden Christensen Wants Credit For Royal Pains:
Just add “jilted creator/executive producer” to Hayden Christensen’s resume. The Star Wars actor and his brother filed a lawsuit yesterday against the USA network, alleging that the second-season series Royal Pains is a ripoff of their own idea. The Christensen brothers claim that in 2005, they pitched a concierge doctor show called Housecall to the network, and a USA executive even admitted that he had never heard of the profession before their meeting. This whole situation smells (unfortunately, not like the Christsensen-endorsed Lacoste. [NYP]
Ricky Gervais Bids Steve Carell Adieu from The Office:
While NBC hasn’t confirmed that Steve Carell plans to make the next season of The Office his last at Dunder-Mifflin, executive producer Ricky Gervais has wasted no time in offering up his farewell. Said Gervais: “It was expected of me, as executive producer, to persuade him to stay on. With syndication in full swing the more successful the show remains, the more billions we all make. It was tempting, but the truth is, I believe he is doing the right thing. He’s fulfilled his contract and more, and is a huge film star now […] I’d be lying if I said he should do more. He shouldn’t. He should move on, continue to do great work, and buy a new house every time The Office is repeated somewhere.” That sound you heard was Angela Bromstad throwing her morning latte at the wall. [NYT/ArtsBeat]
