Turn On:
Joseph Wilson, former U.S. acting ambassador to Iraq, appears on "Charlie Rose"(PBS; check local listings) to discuss his new book, "The Politics of Truth." Also, "Scrubs" (9:30 p.m. ET; NBC) has its season finale tonight.
-- Scott Lamb
Morning Briefing:
The writing life: Bill Clinton is apparently too busy feeling his own pain these days to feel yours. Friends of the former president tell the June issue of Vanity Fair that, as he works on his memoir, "My Life," Clinton is "just self-absorbed. Totally. Not really interested in anything [anyone] does or what they think." They also say he calls Hillary countless times a day as she travels and spends a lot of time chatting with friends, too. Clinton himself says he's "literally hardly sleeping." It was "hard enough to live my life the first time," he says. "The second time has really been tough." (Vanity Fair via Rush and Molloy)
Moving on up: Kevin Reilly, who for the last few months has overseen prime-time development at NBC, has been promoted to the position of entertainment president at the network. Reilly will succeed Jeff Zucker, who last year was put in charge of both news and entertainment for the network and its cable offshoots. Reilly says he's looking to find the "next generation of hits" as "Friends" and "Frasier" wrap things up. (Reuters)
Rock 'n' roll offspring unite: John Lennon's son Sean, 28, and Mick Jagger's daughter Elizabeth, 20, are reportedly "an item," having dated for the last seven weeks. Elizabeth's mother, Jerry Hall, told the London Mirror, "They are so in love. We had all these incredible family sing-songs with him around the piano. He looks so like John now, and he writes beautiful poetry." Hall's rep confirmed the accuracy of the quote. (N.Y. Daily News)
The next J.Lo? John Kerry's daughter Vanessa, a 26-year-old Harvard med student, was seen having a "long, lingering policy talk" with Ben Affleck after the White House Correspondents Dinner on Saturday night. (Rush and Molloy)
Before he'd even left the building? "Insiders" say that even before film critic Elvis Mitchell left the New York Times -- while he was still reviewing films there -- he was already in conversation with Columbia Pictures head Amy Pascal about running the studio's New York office. (Rush and Molloy)
Lizzie lesson: Troubled flack Lizzie Grubman is teaching the following course on Aug. 3 at the Learning Annex in New York: "How to Succeed in Public Relations and Image Marketing With Lizzie Grubman"? (Lesson 1: Don't back your dad's SUV into a crowd of Hamptons club-goers hollering "F--- you, white trash!"?) Grubman says she's a "laid-back teacher." (Lloyd Grove's Lowdown)
Author gone wild: Financial columnist Christopher Byron reportedly stormed off the set of CNN's "In the Money" on Friday, where he was scheduled to discuss his book "Testosterone Inc.: Tales of CEOs Gone Wild," because he thought the interview with the show's co-hosts Jack Cafferty and Andy Serwer would be "hostile" and "confrontational." Serwer had apparently just written a column reporting allegations that the book -- about Jack Welch, Dennis Kozlowski, Ronald Perelman and Al Dunlap -- contained some factual inaccuracies. (Lloyd Grove's Lowdown)
Ritual exposure? The new magazine Best Life reports that the initiation ritual for the Masons includes the following procedure: "While blindfolded, each initiate is asked to expose his left leg and bare breast. A rope is looped around his neck. New members receive the Masonic apron, made of white cloth and meant to symbolize innocence." Trent Lott, Arlen Specter and Bill Clinton have all reportedly taken part in the ritual. (Lloyd Grove's Lowdown)
Not a Spencer Tunick fan: President Bush's AIDS czar, Dr. Tom Coburn, scrawled a note to the editors of Poz magazine insisting that his subscription be canceled after the magazine ran a cover shot of 80 naked HIV-positive readers taken by naked people snapper Spencer Tunick in honor of the magazine's 10th anniversary. The magazine's founder says Coburn's objection was the only one the magazine received. (Page Six)
Enjoying the rides: The big hit at Disney World this week? Legendary porn star Ron Jeremy, who got a VIP pass to jump the lines at the Florida theme park. Newly known by the masses for appearing in "The Surreal Life," Jeremy was mobbed by autograph hounds. "Clean-cut dads and moms and their kids took turns snapping pictures with him all day -- that was surreal," said one witness. (Page Six)
Money Quote:
Brad Pitt on his tragic flaw: "I'm hung like a hamster." (U.K. Sun via Rush and Molloy)
-- Amy Reiter
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