Morning Briefing:
London calling Paris: Despite evidence last week that she isn't aware that London is in the U.K., Paris Hilton has been signed on as a red-carpet reporter for this year's Brit Awards -- sort of the British version of the Grammys -- on Feb. 15. The U.K. channel ITV will be broadcasting the awards, and an insider tells the Mirror that they've "hired a lackey whose sole job is to steer her towards all the rock 'n' roll stars," since Hilton probably won't know who most of them are. Whether she can find London on a map or not, she'll earn 100,000 pounds (about $175,000) for one night's work. (3AM Girls)
The great mysteries of Oscar: The nominations are only just in, but already the Web is brimming with Oscar trivia. For instance, according to MTV, George Clooney is the first person ever to be nominated as a director ("Good Night, and Good Luck") and as an actor in a different film ("Syriana") in the same year. Other tidbits: 2006 is the first year since 1981 that the nominees for best film and best director are all the same; it's also the first year since 2001 that none of the nominations in animation went to CGI films. And if you've been wondering why some of this year's great documentaries -- like "Grizzly Man" -- weren't nominated (or, in some cases, weren't even eligible for nomination), the New York Times has a long piece on the travails of documentaries at the Oscars here. (MTV, N.Y. Times)
Frey's rep flees: James Frey's woes compounded on Tuesday when his agent at Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, Kassie Evashevski, dumped him. "In the past week, it became impossible for me to maintain a relationship once the trust had been broken," Evashevski said to PublishersWeekly.com. "He eventually did apologize, but I felt for many reasons I had to let him go as a client." Still, she remained unwilling to join the media dog pile on Frey, adding, "I still believe he's a very talented writer and suspect we haven't heard the last of James Frey." (N.Y. Daily News, PublishersWeekly.com)
Will Oprah blame Jen? Also, is it possible that Jennifer Aniston was behind Oprah Winfrey's choosing Frey's book in the first place? Star magazine is reporting that Aniston's high-profile appearance on "Oprah" last fall, post-divorce, was made possible only after Oprah agreed to push "A Million Little Pieces," to which Aniston owns the movie rights. Warner Bros. is now apparently reconsidering the idea of turning the book into a film. (Star via Lowdown, L.A. Times via Post Chronicle)
Also:
Kate Moss finally returned to London to be questioned by police for last year's alleged cocaine use scandal. (This is London) ... Ashlee Simpson and David Lee Roth: Separated at birth? (CityRag) ... Watch in horror as Brad Pitt morphs his look with each successive love interest, from the Juliette Lewis faux-bohemian phase through to his current Matrix-esque look, borrowed from Angelina Jolie. (TMZ) ... Dennis Publishing editorial director Andy Clerkson -- he of lad magazines Maxim and Stuff -- is stepping down at the end of March. (WWD) ... "In the Groove," which went on sale Tuesday, is the first of a series of NASCAR-themed romance novels being put out by Harlequin Romance in a new cross-branding effort. (USA Today via AOL News) ... "The Producers," which opened in Tel Aviv on Jan. 26, is proving to be a big hit in Israel. (Associated Press)
Money Quote:
Tara Reid on how the celebrity machine is sometimes simply unfair: "How come when someone else gets messed up or gets a DUI and goes to rehab, they're considered a hero again? But someone like me, who just likes to have fun, is the bad one. I don't get it." (ContactMusic)
Turn on:
Wayne Brady hosts "That's What I'm Talking About" (TV Land, 10 p.m. EST), the first of a three-part series about African-Americans and pop culture, tonight featuring actor Diahann Carroll, Paul Mooney, Touré and Harry Belafonte. Also, there's a new episode of "Veronica Mars" (UPN, 9 p.m. EST).
-- Scott Lamb
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