Gawker: defamer, chris albrecht

George Clooney To Explore His High-Minded Side In Terrorism Drama

Seth — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:30:00 EDT

· George Clooney gets back to what he does best—terrorism, law firms, and car explosions—by buying the rights to The Challenge, a book about the trial of Osama bin Laden's bodyguard and driver. [Variety]
· Tom Cruise is close to signing on for the lead in The Tourist, a Spyglass remake of 2005 French thriller Anthony Zimmer, about an American abroad made the patsy to flush out a master criminal. Cruise would play the patsy. [Variety]
· Las Vegas parking lot nuisance and prematurely ejected HBO head Chris Albrecht has left his job at IMG sports and entertainment management after just one year of a three-year contract. A "terse" statement blamed an inability to "raise substantial funds." [Variety]
· Chick-flick-plundering network ABC follows up their pilot-order of a The Witches of Eastwick series with another for a show inspired by Maid In Manhattan. [THR]
· Lionsgate has purchased scripts from screenwriting duo Dirk Blackman and Howard McCain for Conan and Amazon, with Scarlett Johansson attached to star in the latter. Open casting call for 3-foot-tall mainland extras to follow. [THR]

Terry Semel Woos Dubai's Billions in Planned Return to Moguldom

STV — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:45:00 EDT

While DreamWorks, Lionsgate and even Cash-Machine Manoj all have Indian capital to thank for their varying degrees of independence, Terry Semel is apparently courting a few billion dollars from Dubai as he nears a deal to acquire the management giant (and burgeoning media player) IMG. The ex-Warner Bros./Yahoo! kingpin has had his eye on Teddy Forstmann's hobby since at least June, when it was rumored Semel was knocking on a few gilded doors around the Middle East, hat in hand.

Now, however, with Chris Albrecht well into his tenure as IMG boss — and with a $250 million mandate to develop content with talent including Tiger Woods and Gisele Bundchen— the pressure is on for Forstmann to do something a little more constructive than star-fuck his way around the roster.

Conveniently, Semel seems to need a project, and IMG is as good as any. Forstmann reportedly wants $3 billion, though — an "aggressive price" by most accounts; he picked IMG up for $750 million in 2004 and may fetch a little more than twice that if Semel can sort out a deal with Dubai International Capital, a government-owned holding company that also, last November, bought 3 percent of Sony for $1.5 billion. We're all for the deal, frankly — anything that gets Semel back on the scene (though his support for Israel might be a problem in a country to which Israelis can't even travel), particularly if it results in IMG client Elizabeth Hasselbeck trenchantly interviewing Gisele atop a man-made ski slope in some desert shopping megalith. Good luck, Terry!

[Photo Credit: Getty Images]

Dubai International Capital and ex-Yahoo chief let fly at IMG [Times Online via PaidContent]

HBO Honcho Was Off The Wagon, Is Now On Leave Of Absence

Choire — Tue, 08 May 2007 17:08:15 EDT

According to a memo just sent around HBO by Chris Albrecht, he started drinking again a few years back and then everything went wrong and then he was in jail this weekend in Las Vegas for allegedly harming his girlfriend and now he has to take a leave of absence from HBO which is all so totally crazy that we can't wait to watch it on HBO. Holy smokes. The memo follows.

From: Albrecht, Chris (HBO)
Sent: Tuesday, May 8, 2007 3:40 PM

To: *HBO All (HBO)

Subject: Message to HBO Colleagues and Friends

My colleagues and friends:

I am deeply sorry for what occurred in Las Vegas this weekend and for any embarrassment it caused my family, the company I love, and myself.

While I am not at liberty to discuss the incident as the district attorney and my lawyer are still determining the facts, it is my hope to do so in the near future.

This weekend was a wake-up call to me of a weakness I thought I had overcome long ago. I had been a sober member of Alcoholics Anonymous for thirteen years. Two years ago, I decided that I could handle drinking again. Clearly, I was wrong. Given that truth, I have committed myself to sobriety. I intend to take a temporary leave of absence from HBO effective today, in order to go back to working with AA.

Leading this company is a great privilege and I pray that I can continue to do so in a manner that brings honor and pride to this remarkable organization and its remarkable people. Thank you for your understanding during these difficult hours, I will not let you down again.

Chris

Tony Soprano's Tap-Dancing Dream Sequence Cut From Final Season

Seth — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 21:31:19 EDT

No sooner had the pay dispute involving Paulie Walnuts and Silvio been resolved, the curse of The Sopranos' final mini-season strikes again. This time, it's a production delay due to a surprise knee surgery for James Gandolfini:

Because of "unexpected" knee surgery for series star James Gandolfini, the concluding episodes that were expected to begin in January will be delayed about two months, HBO Chairman Chris Albrecht said.
The surgery alone would have pushed the season start back just a few weeks, but that would have put "The Sopranos" up against the football playoffs and the Super Bowl...

The news reminds us of an old Ojibwe saying we keep pinned to our wall: "Sometimes I go about in pity for myself, and all the while a great final eight episodes carry me across the sky." And while we suppose we can wait two more months to find out how it all turns out, there better be a lot more whackings and naked Julianna Margulies and a lot less droning on about restaurant credit card theft to make up for the delay.

Gandolfini surgery creates 'Sopranos' delay [MSNBC/AP]