Afternoon Briefing:
Jack Ryan gives sex advice: The Illinois Republican who gave up his Senate bid amid controversy over alleged sex-club visits with his then-wife, actress Jeri Ryan, gives an interview to ABC's John Stossel, to air on "20/20" tonight, in which he says, "I think we need more people going to Washington, D.C., who want to have marital relations with their wives. I think that's a good thing for this country, not a bad thing." (ABC)
The Moore war continues: A Michael Moore-bashing Web site is linking to an illegal download of the film "Fahrenheit 9/11." The people at Moorewatch.com claim that the filmmaker said, "I don't have a problem with people downloading the movie and sharing it with people ... as long as they're not doing it to make a profit." They're taking him at his word and the Web site's founder, Jim Kenefick, throws out this challenge: "Let's see if Moore really wants this to be about the work and not the money. Let's get as many people to see this for themselves, and for free, as we can. Mikey, if you want to sue me, I'm not hard to find." (The Guardian)
Speaking of Moore money: In a deal between Disney and Miramax back when the Mouse decided not to release "Fahrenheit 9/11" and the Weinstein brothers were hot to do so, it was agreed that 60 percent of the profits from the film would go to charities to be chosen by Disney. Moore's take reportedly will come before the 60/40 split happens, but that number hasn't been announced. (AP)
N.Y. Times steals another one: The Los Angeles Times must feel honored and depleted at the same time, since their fourth star in a week just left them to go to the New York Times. The latest is Michael Cieply, who will be the N.Y. Times' new movie editor. He's most famous recently for heading the paper's investigation into Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter's ties to Hollywood. The other deserters this week were film critic Manohla Dargis, music business writer Jeff Leeds and architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff. One source at the L.A. Times Calendar section told L.A. Weekly columnist Nikki Finke, "We'd always heard that once it got its act together [post-Raines], the New York Times was coming to get us." (L.A. Weekly)
Diva demands: What does Sharon Stone require when she works on a film? Her contract reportedly calls for Pilates equipment, armed bodyguards, a chauffered car driven by a non-smoking person, three nannies, two assistants and a motor home with all the amenities. (TV Guide)
-- Karen Croft
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Turn On:
Two Davids are better than one: On Friday night, author, commentator, David Sedaris appears on the "Late Show With David Letterman" (11:30 p.m. ET; CBS). Stacey Peralta's documentary about the birth of modern skateboarding in 1970s Southern California, "Dogtown and Z-Boys" (8 p.m. ET; IFC), is showing on Saturday night.
-- Scott Lamb
Morning Briefing:
At it again: Bill Cosby, who in May came under fire for upbraiding the black community for failing to educate its children and squandering the opportunities hard won by the civil rights movement, again had harsh words for a roomful of back activists. Defending his previous statements against critics accusing him of publicly airing the community's "dirty laundry," Cosby told a crowd at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition & Citizenship Education Fund's annual conference in Chicago. "Let me tell you something, your dirty laundry gets out of school at 2:30 every day, it's cursing and calling each other n------ as they're walking up and down the street. They think they're hip. They can't read; they can't write. They're laughing and giggling, and they're going nowhere." Said Cosby, the problems often start at home, telling black men, "You've got to stop beating up your women because you can't find a job, because you didn't want to get an education and now you're [earning] minimum wage. You should have thought more of yourself when you were in high school, when you had an opportunity." Added Crosby to his detractors, "For me there is a time ... when we have to turn the mirror around. Because for me it is almost analgesic to talk about what the white man is doing against us. And it keeps a person frozen in their seat, it keeps you frozen in your hole you're sitting in." Rev. Jesse Jackson, who appeared with Cosby, told the same crowd, "Bill is saying let's fight the right fight, let's level the playing field. Drunk people can't do that. Illiterate people can't do that." (Associated Press)
Stern to be slapped with whopping fine? The FCC is expected to propose a $1.5 million fine against the 18 Infinity Broadcasting stations that have been airing Howard Stern's radio show, in particular the broadcast -- in which Stern and his colleagues discussed anal and oral sex -- that caused Clear Channel to drop Stern from its stations. Said Stern, "We are going to fight back." (Broadcasting & Cable)
Jackson porn: A source is claiming that police found pornography -- including magazines and DVDs -- in Michael Jackson's bedroom during their search of his Neverland estate last November. That's the bad news for Michael. The good news? It was all hetero porn -- depicting adults, at that. The collection, which was said to have been kept in a locked briefcase and a bedside drawer in Jackson's bedroom, included copies of Playboy, Penthouse, Hustler and Cheri. Oh, but wait, there's more bad news: Prosecutors are suggesting that Jackson may have used the porn to arouse his then 13-year-old accuser before allegedly abusing him. Jackson's spokesman and lawyer aren't commenting. (Rush and Molloy)
Fight the fight: "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have announced that they'll release an all-marionette movie, an R-rated political satire called "Team America: World Police," two weeks before the presidential election in November. The movie focuses on a group of superheroes struggling to rid the world of terrorism. (Rush and Molloy)
Her bad ... minton? Katie Couric says she's unhappy that NBC's "Today" show got scooped yesterday when it neglected to interrupt a report on badminton and an interview with Robert Redford to air breaking news of Saddam Hussein's appearance before a tribunal in Baghdad, as her competitors over at ABC and CBS did. "Our bad," she says. Nevertheless, she insists, she did not give the producer who made the decision a "colonoscopy," as someone suggested. "That's a good line, but it's not true," she said. "If I had been upset or given anyone a colonoscopy, I would tell you. That's part of the creative process." (Lloyd Grove's Lowdown)
The first Mr. J.Lo talks: Ojani Noa, who was married to J.Lo before (and perhaps during) her whole Puffy thing, is airing the secrets of the young Jennifer Lopez on "Young, Sexy & Spoiled," a one-hour special to be shown on the WE channel on July 18. According to Noa, whenever Lopez wanted to get out of having sex with him, she would claim she needed to run to the bathroom to throw up. Lovely. (Page Six)
-- Amy Reiter
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