Gawker
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white house vistors
Dear Mr. President: Please Stop Palling Around With This Man
Barack Obama's bizarre alliance with NBC continued last week when the White House invited network chief/seasoned clubrat Ben Silverman over for a highly publicized meeting just in time for the launch of Silverman's shitty new show, The Philanthropist. More »
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By John CookComment by jessedir: Wow. Such vitriol. Such hate. Silverman is an "awful person." Seriously? On what grounds? He may make shitty TV, but... 5 Responses | Other threads
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Trapezoid Of Lies
Heidi Pratt's 'Hospitalization' Is One Giant Reality TV Mess
Heidi Pratt was rushed to a hospital in Costa Rica last night for some kind of stomach infection while filming/quitting I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here. Our source calls the entire thing out. More »
30,607
By Foster KamerComment by matildalee: I. Hate. Them. So. Much. It's beyond rational. I would seriously throw a punch if I saw them on the street. 4 Responses | Other threads
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ben silverman
Why Does Ben Silverman Still Have a Job?: The Bill Carter NYT Profile Edition
Times TV reporter Bill Carter's profile on NBC co-chairman and Executive Bong Smoker Ben Silverman ran today. To put it lightly: Carter takes Silverman by the collar, beats him, and stuffs him in a locker. More »
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By Foster KamerComment by PattyCake: His output reminds me of one Freddie Silverman, same studio, about 30 years before. [www.nytimes.com] 2 Responses | Other threads
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TV Executives Gone Wild
Ben Silverman, NBC's Boy King, Freestyles Topless in Aspen's Swanky Locker Rooms
NBC co-chairman Ben Silverman, half man, half fraternity sergeant-at-arms, has long been a bit of an enigma, and now his "How Does He Have His Job?" quotient is going to skyrocket. You ready for this? More »
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Comment by CreampuffTKO: A Jew with no hair on his chest? What the fuck is this world coming to? 8 Responses | Other threads
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comebacks
Jay Leno's Best Sick Jokes
Jay Leno's rep says it looks like dehydration sent the Tonight Show host to the hospital last week. But Leno prefers to process his trauma by mocking Conan O'Brien and Ben Silverman. More »
7,333
By Ryan TateComment by ScottieB: Leno's not funny. I don't know how else to say it.It has confused me for years that the man has... 2 Responses | Other threads
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failures
Most-Watched Super Bowl Ever Is a Disaster for NBC Universal
Jeff Zucker's division made about half as much money last quarter as it did the year before. So to judge by the upward-failure arc of his career, he'll be running GE in about three weeks. More »
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By John CookComment by Kari's Favorite Mark: Well, his club kid did say that he was programming for margin at NBC, not audience. That's why he's filling... 7 Responses | Other threads
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product placement
NBC Sells Its Nonexistent Soul For a $5 Subway Sandwich
NBC has shockingly ruined the integrity of its dramatic show Chuck by allowing Subway what is perhaps the most blatant (and therefore laughable!) product placement in network TV history. Mmm, smell that chicken teriyaki. More »
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Comment by General Halfshaftery: See now if we spread a rumour here that 7 out of 10 Subway sandwiches tested positive for traces of... 6 Responses | Other threads
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resolved
Project Runway Deal Signed, Harvey Weinstein Returns to Bashing NBC
Harvey Weinstein's gracious-in-defeat couldn't last long. After paying off NBC to take his Project Runway to Lifetime, the mogul had "personally" congratulated the network. Now, he's calling NBC chairman Ben Silverman a big naked-arm-wrestling homo. More »
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Comment by Rumpelstilskin: Hey, I'll be watching it, even if it were on ESPN. 3 Responses | Other threads
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comedy
How Seinfeld's New Show Will Work
Comedian Jerry Seinfeld gave the New York Times exactly two examples of disputes that might be tackled in his (dubiously) forthcoming reality show The Marriage Ref. More »
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By Ryan TateComment by Tart of Darkness: Has been comedians doing reality shows! What's up with that? Has anyone ever sat down at NBC and recognized that... 7 Responses | Other threads
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nostalgia
Seinfeld Returns To NBC
Oh, hey, look: Flailing NBC executive Ben Silverman just bought a reality TV project from Jerry Seinfeld, marking the 1990s comedian as the ultimate trailing indicator of desperation and creative bankruptcy. More »
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By Ryan TateComment by Schmalerie: Did anyone else see when he was on Conan last week? It was supposed to be a big special... 5 Responses | Other threads
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30 rock
'30 Rock' McFlurryGate Overshadowing More Persuasive iPhone-Contra Affair
For all the e-ink spilled over whether 30 Rock gave the McFlurry too much product placement last week (even Jane Krakowski is unsure now!), we think there's a different, far bigger case to be made. More »
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Comment by I do love Sherry: Why is it that in TV shows they are always holding iPhones upside down, (look at photo 5). This... 3 Responses | Other threads
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blind items
Which NBC Universal VP May Have Pulled A Spitzer With His Corporate Card?
Lord knows that NBC head Ben Silverman hardly needs another reason to fire another VP, but at least this one's creative: someone's hiring hookers on the corporate card! More »
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Comment by Max Power: I'm just going to say it. Paying for hookers with a credit card seems like a poor idea. 1 Responses | Other threads
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hollywood privacywatch
PrivacyWatch: Courtney Love And Ben Silverman Drunk On Red Wine And Each Other Edition!
1/21 — Apocalypse now - COURTNEY LOVE and BEN SILVERMAN (TOGETHER), stumbling out of Giorgio Baldi on Wednesday night. Someone needs to explain this right now. More » -
nbc
Live From NBC's TCA Panel: 'Heroes' Spared, Ben Silverman In Hiding
NBC potentate Jeff Zucker and loyal henchperson Ben Silverman had the aura of proud parents watching their 30 Rock children collecting Globes—but they made the unusual decision to avoid the podium entirely at TCA. More »
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By SethComment by StylusPictures: SOUTHLAND will be a hit because it's geographically named. All shows with Los Angeles derived geographic names are hits.... 3 Responses | Other threads
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nbc
Did Ben Silverman Curse NBC, Or Was It The Other Way Around?
With everyone fired at NBC besides Jay Leno, Ben Silverman, and a particularly bodacious NBC page named Honey, it's now time to examine Silverman's track record. There's just one thing: it used to be good!
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Comment by Magister: How do you create that which already existed? If that is the criteria, then McDonalds franchisees would rule the world. more » | Other threads
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television
Ben Silverman's NBC Job Safe, Says Ben Silverman
What does Ben Silverman, skiing enthusiast and co-chairman of craptacular NBC, do when everyone wonders why he's still employed? Judging by today's New York Post, tell his favorite outlet how great he is. More »
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Comment by hellosunshine: "Kath and Kim" got cancelled? Damn, I actually like that show. 3 Responses | Other threads
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conan obrien
Conan On Leno: 'Temperatures Rising Rapidly In My Personal Hell'
All eyes were on Conan last night in anticipation of what, if anything, he'd say about NBC's surprise announcement that Jay Leno would upstage his long-planned ascension to The Tonight Show throne.
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By SethComment by jpdanzig: Conehead and Lamo are both vastly inferior to the Mighty Carsoni. Letterman may be an old grump, but he still gets... 4 Responses | Other threads
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ben silverman
Hollywood PrivacyWatch: Silverman Edition! 12/8 — I spotted BEN SILVERMAN in the lobby of the Beverly Hills Hotel last night. The Video Hall of Fame event was taking place, so not sure if that's why he was there. Or maybe he just likes the Polo Lounge. much skinnier than I imagined. Eat! Eat! [Hollywood PrivacyWatch is written by and for Defamer readers; send your sightings to tips@defamer.com.] -
jay leno
Dear SAG: Strike Away! Love, NBC
So SAG's fucked. Wait—did we say "fucked?" There we go again—needless doomsday prophesying where Obaman cool-headedness is clearly required. What we meant to say is: "SAG's probably fucked." Yesterday brought a confluence of Pop Culture Doomsday events that not even a walrus blowing like Bird could have foretold:
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By SethComment by CatherineTrammell: I love the fact that the waiters in Los Angeles are going to bring this town to a screeching halt.... 7 Responses | Other threads
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ben silverman
'I Am Silverman': The Last NBC Exec On Earth
So Friday afternoon we threw together a little post trying to make sense of a power shakeup at NBC that saw Katherine Pope and a number of other NBC executives nudged out. In our typical, lightly inflammatory reporting-fashion, we headlined it, "Jeff Zucker Sends Out 'You're Fired Unless Your Name Is Ben Silverman' All-Staff NBC Memo." As of today, however, that headline is more or less accurate.
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By SethComment by Little Mintz Sunshine: Ben Silverman skiing. See, comedy is easy. Jokes do write themselves. Will the last person in the NBC Comedy department... 1 Responses | Other threads
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Do Not Ask For Whom The Chimes Toll
Jeff Zucker Sends Out 'You're Fired Unless Your Name Is Ben Silverman' All-Staff NBC Memo
"'They call her the black widow. Every program she touches turns to death,' growled our source. 'She is on very thin ice.'" That was how Page Six described Universal Media Studio President Katherine Pope (pictured) last month in a suspiciously positioned item foisting blame for the network's disastrous string of recent offerings—shows like Bionic Woman, My Own Worst Enemy, Lipstick Librarians, and freshly squeezed lemon Knight Rider—on her fetchingly exposed shoulders. Nikki Finke accuses Silverman of having leaked the items himself ("that's one of the fringe benefits of his selling his Reveille to Elisabeth Murdoch and yachting with her this summer") in her analysis of today's shakeup that saw not just Pope's exit, but that of NBC Entertainment EVP Teri Weinberg, as well. (Weinberg was the D-girl Silverman brought over from Reveille who was later discovered in the compromising position technically referred to in the business as shtupping your showrunner. Because no one ever fucks anyone they work with in Hollywood—ever.)
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By SethComment by RonMwangaguhunga: What the fuck is up with NBC refusing to roll the head that need to roll. Zucker, for years, has... 1 Responses | Other threads
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'Night, Rider
NBC Sells KITT For Scrap Metal; Last Words Before Cube-Crushing Are 'Michael--Whyyyy?'
THR noticed something interesting in today's NBC, mid-season We're Canceling Everything New and Supersizing Anything Else That Isn't Nailed Down press release: The Knight Rider season finale was listed as airing on February 25th. Since when do super-duper, Ben Silverman-championed, beloved 1980s trash-TV remakes supposedly given full pickups end their seasons in winter, you ask?
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By SethComment by smokyburnout: "WEDNESDAYS 8-9 p.m. -- "Knight Rider" (season finale February 25) 8-9 p.m. - (TBA -- new show begins March 4)" if that new... 2 Responses | Other threads
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the office
Rainn Wilson As Sick of Super-Sized 'Office' Seasons As You Are
Though Ricky Gervais's version of The Office folded up shop after two six-episode runs, that wouldn't amount to even half of a current season of the Steve Carell-toplined Office, which is continually pressed into service for hourlong episodes, spinoffs, and expanded seasons by NBC. Though the moves have pumped up ratings for the sitcom, the results are not always well-regarded by critics — or by a burnt-out cast, says Rainn Wilson: More »
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Comment by icallthebigonebitey: I am definitely interested in that Phyllis spinoff. Is Bess finally going to come out of the closet? Will Aunt... 3 Responses | Other threads
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short ends
Turkey Bowling With Arsenio!
· Damn, we would have had a spare if the stuffing didn't fall out halfway down the lane. More » -
ben silverman
Kim Masters Attempts to Lay Out Defamer-Sourced Case for Ben Silverman's Homosexuality
We consider ourselves connoisseurs of beleaguered (but enthusiastic!) NBC chief Ben Silverman, so we were a little surprised when we heard that Kim Masters had published a rumor roundup on The Daily Beast today that included three whole paragraphs tracking speculation that Silverman might be gay. Had our gaydar been scrambled by distinctly unfabulous shows like My Own Worst Enemy and Project Lipstick, we wondered? Then we read the article, in which Masters (citing Defamer as her primary source) appears to lay out her entire same-sex case by mistaking some of our "funny ha-has" for actual, industry-pervading rumors: More »
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Comment by PunnyMcGee: Hasn't Tina Fey said there are about four characters on "30 Rock" that are vaguely based on Ben Silverman... most... 1 Responses | Other threads
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fanfic
When Ben Met Charlie: A Defamer Original Fanfic
We honestly wish there was some way we could dress up NBC rock star Ben Silverman's appearance on Charlie Rose last night as something more than two talking heads—albeit enviably bone-structured heads—covering the nuts and bolts of programming strategy in a 21st century, multi-platform TV jungle. Unfortunately, there isn't. So we're instead going to do the next best thing: Write some Ben on Charlie fanfic. It's after the jump! More »
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By SethComment by BowlingForDollars: Please, how far does NBC have to fall before they sack this douche? My granny coulda brought back American Gladiators and... 1 Responses | Other threads
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lipstick jungle
Ben Silverman Searches for Subordinate to Drag Brooke Shields Off NBC Lot
Few were surprised when NBC axed Lipstick Jungle, figuring that if a brutal, Project Runway-assisted title indoctrination couldn't help it gain a ratings foothold, nothing could. But wait! insists star Brooke Shields to Us. "It's not true," she said. "Our bosses are saying, 'You’re not canceled, don’t worry. We’re just trying to figure out how to make this make sense.'" Yes, if only a major media conglomerate like NBC could get the word out somehow! Still, James Hibberd writes that even though there's been a fan outcry (really?), there are other factors at play that may doom a new application of Lipstick: More »
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Comment by Little Mintz Sunshine: Don't worry, Brooke. Pope's just been assigned and she's hired those now-available Heroes showrunners and the geniuses behind Bionic Woman.... 1 Responses | Other threads
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ben silverman
Cancel-Happy Ben Silverman Uses Pope As Human Shield
Before the premiere of this fall season, NBC head Ben Silverman liked to brag about the extensive movie star outreach he'd done to populate his shows: Selma Blair in Kath & Kim! Christian Slater in My Own Worst Enemy! Sadly, Kath was poorly received, Enemy has just been axed (alongside another show called something like Project Lipstick, we think?), and the rest of the fall lineup is skidding out like Silverman's Knight Rider retread. You might imagine, with all this broadcast carnage, that some of it might be Silverman's fault. Nuh-unh! protests Page Six: More »
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Comment by TurdBlossom: Gotta love his mgmt style. He's only to blame if it's a success. Where does the paper trail end I... 2 Responses | Other threads
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nbc
NBC Takes Sickly Peacocks 'Enemy,' 'Jungle' Out Behind Shed In Time For Thanksgiving
THR reports NBC has canceled both Christian Slater amnesiac secret agent show My Own Worst Enemy, as well as Lipstick Jungle, in which Brooke Shields leads a troop of cosmetic assassins down the Nung River to eliminate the AWOL and believed-insane Colonel Mary Kay: More »
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By SethComment by Old No.7: OK, who's gonna start up the Silverman Dead Pool? 2 Responses | Other threads
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heroes
News Flash: 'Heroes' Was Always Bad
How's this for a cliffhanger: ratings for NBC's Heroes have dropped precipitously this season, leading to the firing of two producers, an Entertainment Weekly cover story asking whether the show can be saved, and now, a NY Times article that lays the blame on Jeff Zucker, Ben Silverman and show creator Tim Kring. According to the media frenzy, Heroes has suddenly undergone a drastic creative plummet in its third season. Here's the thing though: the show? Never that good! More »
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Comment by MCU: Now, I'm right about this, so just listen: The show was in fact pretty damned good for the first 75% of... 4 Responses | Other threads
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ben silverman
Duly Noted: To us, the simple three-note structure of the famous NBC chimes leaves little room for interpretation, but then, we lack the cunning intellect of NBC head Ben Silverman. According to Variety, the network is asking musical acts like T.I., the B-52s, and the Flaming Lips to record their own twist on the theme for ads that will air between NBC's shows. Is it too much to hope for that Silverman will submit his own, Ryan-Seacrest-approved version? "Hey, dwindling Knight Rider audience! Ding DING ding!" [Variety] -
30 rock
Tina Fey's Confirmed 'SNL' Appearance is News to Tina Fey
By now everyone has heard Ben Silverman's soggy rationale for reintroducing 30 Rock so late in the fall season — everyone except Tina Fey, it appears, whose sit-down today with the Associated Press revealed that she doesn't know when or even if she will revive her recurring Sarah Palin gig on Saturday Night Live. An NBC spokesperson corroborated the network's uncertainty. Who to believe? More »
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By STVComment by LBJeffries: 30 Rock is great, but let's not kid ourselves into thinking it's going to do giant numbers when it comes... 1 Responses | Other threads
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ben silverman
Blergh: The New York Times is as fed up with the lack of 30 Rock as we are, noting that Tina Fey "is about the hottest star in show business at the moment" thanks to those Emmy wins, American Express commercials, and Sarah Palin guest spots, and yet the third season of the rating-challenged sitcom still hasn't yet premiered to take advantage of Fey's heat. Embattled NBC head Ben Silverman takes the blame: "If we knew then what we know today about how hot Tina was going to be, would we do it differently? Maybe." The "business juice"-quaffing Silverman then announced plans to incorporate Fey into several of his struggling new series; expect a new, Palin-like voice for KITT on Knight Rider and a Kath & Kim & Liz Lemon crossover to thrill audiences before 30 Rock's season premiere sometime in the year 2011. [NY Times] -
ben silverman
Appletinis for Everyone: He's known as a tomcatting party boy, but at Wednesday's Outfest Legacy Awards, NBC topper Ben Silverman told the audience he had a confession to make (after first confirming that industry gossip Nikki Finke was nowhere to be found). “I debated whether or not to say this, as I am a bit of a press target," he began tentatively, cradling the "Outtie" award he accepted on behalf of NBC Universal. The well-heeled gay audience craned forward; was Ryan Seacrest's best pal "Beijing Ben" about to come out of the closet? Might this explain all those suspiciously well-informed WeHo jokes Silverman had made on KISS-FM? “No, it’s not me,” he continued. “But my mother is gay.” Silverman then got back to work on his latest fall revamp: Kath & Kim & Gay Bubbe. [The Advocate] -
short ends
Wherein E! Is Temporarily Hijacked By Defamer's Ghetto Broadcast Standards
· We're not going to lie: Seeing The Soup run our footage of Brooke Hogan drawing a blank on the name "Sarah Palin" on the VMAs red carpet was a real thrill. Enhancing that thrill was knowing E! was temporarily held hostage by our shaky Nikon Coolpix camera work and audio that sounded like it was piped in via two baked bean tins strung together with twine. [The Soup] More » -
ben silverman
Forward-Thinker Ben Silverman Safeguards NBC From Inevitable 0/0 Audience Share
Ben Silverman—dubbed by some "the Russell Brand of TV execs" as much for his ids-gone-wild approach to the job as for his untamed nest of rock-star hair and penchant for ultra-skinny jeans—has found himself in recent months the source of much industry deathwatch chatter. By now we're well aware of the criticisms—long absences from the development fold, turning a blind eye to VP-on-showrunner affairs, signing his name and likeness over to a line of Graffix bongs, etc. None of this, however, seems to be of much concern to Ben, who has devised an ingenious way to profit off the one thing NBC has over the other guys: a lack of viewers. He explained the concept to Variety: More »
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By SethComment by NoWireHangers: "Instead of a 3 rating, we can survive with a 1.2 rating," Silverman says. So, what he's saying is that they... 2 Responses | Other threads
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ben silverman
Is NBC Plotting a Fall Schedule With No Time Slot for Ben Silverman?
While it's hardly a secret that embattled NBC chief Ben Silverman likes to party, never have his carousing ways received the sort of harsh buzz dealt out this weekend by Nikki Finke, who spent the better part of a blockbuster post detailing how Silverman's antics are about to cost him his job. No, seriously this time! According to a variety of anonymous NBC sources, Silverman is the network's very own Man Who Wasn't There, missing meetings on a regular basis and spending the entire, crucial month of August in Beijing while his colleagues expected him to decamp for a week at most (in all fairness, those Ryan Seacrest remotes weren't going to tape themselves!). However, it seems that the NBC chief's biggest problem is EVP Teri Weinberg, a Silverman protege whose romantic involvement with an NBC showrunner caused upward-failing NBC Universal head Jeff Zucker to step in and terminate that writer's deal: More »
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Comment by OldTowneTavern: You know, "high as a kite" still doesn't explain that serial-killer-with-his-hand-caught-in-th... smile of his. 3 Responses | Other threads
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ben silverman
'Beijing Ben' Silverman Regales Ryan Seacrest With Gay Jokes, NBC Chimes
He speaks! In the midst of fending off the rumors swirling about his job security, NBC head honcho Ben Silverman has taken time out to become a recurring Olympics correspondent for Ryan Seacrest's morning radio show on KIIS-FM. Broadcasting & Cable has the scoop (not to be missed is Silverman's quip about his Chinese tour guide: "Her name is Fun Fun, so you can imagine how much fun-fun Fun Fun is"), but with the help of Molly McAleer, we've assembled some of Silverman's most enthusiastic moments in the video after the jump. Who knew that Silverman and Seacrest were so well-versed about the gay goings-on in West Hollywood? [Broadcasting & Cable]
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Comment by BowlingForDollars: The sexual tension between these two is palpable. more » | Other threads
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ben silverman
This Should Help With Those "Party Boy" Rumors: NBC head Ben Silverman, who's never let running a network get in the way of being a party-positive "rock star," will be guesting on the upcoming fifth season of Entourage, says Nikki Finke. What kind of storyline might the HBO brofest have in store for Silverman? We imagine that after sparking up a doob with Vincent at Teddy's, a jealous Johnny Drama will grunt to Turtle, "I want to go hang out with that guy!" Their quest to befriend Silverman will result in a hilarious B-story that ends as all Entourage plotlines do: indifferently, punctuated by loud outbursts from Jeremy Piven. [Deadline Hollywood Daily]
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Comment by HandsomeBwonderful: Here's my pitch for the episode: Vince wants something. He is told he can't have it. Piven gesticulates wildly while ordering... more » | Other threads
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jeff zucker
Jeff Zucker: Portrait Of An Upwards-Failing Champion
What better après-puff-piece aperitif to follow the NY Times's profile of a content-hungry Time Warner than Portfolio's equally attentive servicing of NBC Universal oligarch, Jeff Zucker? Interviewed at his ballroom-sized corner office at 30 Rock, the reporter at first can't resist infantilizing his subject: "Zucker has an appealing, ruddy tint that lends him a cherubic appearance," reads one willies-inducing passage. "When he sits back, his feet actually lift off from the floor a bit, like a boy taking a turn on someone else’s throne." (We'll assume the part that read, "He then soils his diaper, a mess quickly attended to by the youngest and prettiest of his three assistants..." was edited for space.) More »
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By SethComment by Sullygulliver: Moments of loneliness...I love that band. Er, um, I mean song. more » | Other threads
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