Rihanna has become the latest casualty in NBC cable boss Bonnie Hammer’s decision to scrap the Style network. The end of the network has already resulted in eliminations of some staffers who can’t find other positions within the company.
Style was taken over by Esquire during a reorganization plan by Hammer, because the channel was “redundant” with its programming that was similar to Bravo, E! and Oxygen, all of which fall under the NBC umbrella. Style’s bigwigs had been planning for RiRi’s show to boost Sunday night’s ratings, a prime night for the former network.
Instead, Style — known for reality shows like “Jerseylicious” and “Giuliana and Bill” — was yanked at the 11th hour as RiRi’s “Styled to Rock” was scheduled to air.
When execs screened the singer’s reality competition series, it did not live up to expectations, according to one insider. It now has been dumped to Friday at 8 p.m. on Bravo, a historically low-rated slot. The show will debut Oct. 25 and features 12 up-and-coming designers picked by the singer and a slew of celebrity guest — including Miley Cyrus, Carly Rae Jepsen, Khloe Kardashian and Kylie Minogue — whose appearances obviously did not help the struggling series get a better time slot.
“Rihanna’s camp is pissed,” a Style network source tells us. “From promises to be a huge star on Style to a terrible time slot on Bravo. Ouch. The last original program to get that slot was “Platinum Hit” in 2011, which ran for five weeks.”
“Platinum Hit” was also a reality competition, featuring songwriters composing and performing songs.
As for the other hits on the now-defunct network, “Giuliana and Bill,” which averages 700,000 viewers per episode, will be moved to E!, where Giuliana Rancic is a popular host. Style’s hit “Tia & Tamera” will also move to E! in mid-October. “Jerseylicious,” which was scheduled to air this Sunday, has yet to find a home, even though Bravo airs reruns of the series.
There also has been a shakeup in the senior management team for both Bravo and Oxygen. In an internal email, changes were announced to appoint Oxygen’s Rod Aissa, senior vice president of development and production; Bravo’s Andy Cohen, executive vice president of development and talent, and Bravo’s Ellen Stone, executive vice president of marketing for both Bravo and Oxygen.
SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH LIAM
Liam Hemsworth decided to take a break from the Miley drama and enjoyed a boys’ day out at Ainsworth Park Sunday. The star was joined by fellow actor James Marsden and a few other friends, who helped rack up a $3,800 bar tab. Notably missing from the celebrations was Liam’s rumored new girlfriend, Mexican actress and singer Eiza Gonzalez. Our spywitness says Liam, a casually dressed Aussie, barely paid attention to the games on TV, but did seem focused on two pretty girls.
PHOTOS: LIAM HEMSWORTH AND MILEY CYRUS: THEIR RELATIONSHIP THROUGH THE YEARS
REPORTER HIT BY INTENSE FLACK
Academy Award winner Marion Cotillard’s publicist needs a publicist.
A video of the actress’ flack Bryna Rifkin snapping at a reporter at the Toronto Film Festival is making the rounds in media circles and it’s making Rifkin look pretty bad. In it, when a reporter asks Rifkin for a quick moment with Cotillard, the powerhouse publicist with ID public relations snaps, “She can’t be late for the premiere of her movie.”
When the journo claims she was assured she’d be allowed to ask one question, Rifkin retorts, “Nobody told you that,” then a moment later makes an ugly face and says, “And either way, I’m saying no.”
After bizarrely calling the seemingly polite reporter “aggressive,” Rifkin walks Cotillard away from waiting journalists and into the screening of “Blood Ties.”
More than 11,000 YouTube viewers have watched the clip, with one commenting, “On behalf of all publicists everywhere, that publicist is a bitch!”
Rifkin didn’t return our request for comment. Maybe we were being too aggressive.
DISCO GOES GLOBAL
The Global Citizen Festival held an after-party at the Paramount Hotel in New York City over the weekend, with the two-story lobby transformed into a disco. Guests danced to a DJ set by Questlove, another set by Ben Lovett with Jake Clemons, and a light show by Blackship Moment featuring world-renowned violinist Tim Fain. LDV Hospitality and No. 8 hosted the VIP lounge on the mezzanine level for Benjamin Bronfman, Amy Sacco, Andrej Pejic, Zani Gugelmann and Gerard Butler.
ZETA-JONES STILL A RINGER
Catherine Zeta-Jones was wearing her wedding ring again Sunday as reports in the U.K. surfaced that she had reconciled with Michael Douglas. The actress was honored by the New York Dance Alliance Foundation at NYU Skirball Center. The star looked stunning in a plunging silver gown and was accompanied by her mother, Pat. “Even when I was 9 years old, I said to my mother, ‘Why didn’t you marry someone with red hair so I could play Annie,’ ” Zeta-Jones joked when she accepted the group’s Ambassador for the Arts Award.
PHOTOS: CATHERINE ZETA-JONES DAZZLES ON RED CARPET: FIT & FAB CELEBRITIES OVER 40
MARIA’S GOING STRONG
Maria Shriver looks incredible from the front — and the back — as she shows off her toned physique in yoga pants while walking in Los Angeles. The 57-year-old was busy enjoying a solo lunch and hitting the stores for some light shopping.
SPECIAL OF THE DAY
A visit from entertainment power pair Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey had the Cecil chef Alexander Smalls dancing in the aisles over the weekend. The new Harlem hotspot, billed as an “Afro-Asian-American brasserie” when it opened a week ago, hosted the A-list couple Saturday, when they popped in with Pepsi executive Frank Cooper and his wife, Nina, for a bite. According to our insider, Smalls literally danced for joy next to the VIPs’ table on W. 118th St.
MUCH ‘CARRIE’-ING ON
“The Carrie Diaries” season-two premiere kicked off at the Gansevoort Park Avenue Hotel over the weekend, where AnnaSophia Robb, Vanessa Hudgens and her boyfriend Austin Butler partied. Guests at the Bongo-hosted event were treated to a nail bar and arcade games.
PITT HAS A NICE TANK TOP
It seems like only yesterday that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie had long matching manes. But filming his new World War II flick, “Fury,” means the father of six chopped off his hair, slicked it back and threw a helmet on. Pitt was spotted filming scenes atop the giant titular tank in the British countryside, where he and co-star Shia LaBeouf reportedly spent a week camping together in an effort to bond before the cameras started rolling.
PHOTOS: BRAD PITT AND ANGELINA JOLIE: THROUGH THE YEARS
NOT PRO BONO WORK
Unfortunately for rocker Bono, the good old-fashioned porta potty does not come with VIP upgrades. So it was good that this was just one of his impersonators who needed to go, while on the go. Visiting the Kinney Street Festival with a gorgeous younger female friend, the phony U2 front man succumbed to the great equalizer of public toilets in Venice, Calif., on Sunday. How so not rock star of him.
TWO GOOD DUDES
“American Pie” wise guy Seann William Scott was downtown at Astor Place in New York, taking a stroll with his yellow Lab (r.), who as man’s best friend, is appropriately named Dude. Kanye West could take a few tips from the actor — Scott was recently spotted chatting up the photographers following him and pointing out pictures he liked of himself.
SEEN AND HEARD...
Amy Poehler, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Busy Philipps enjoying specially crafted Ciroc vodka cotton candy cocktails at the after-party for “A.C.O.D.” at W Westwood's Whiskey Blue. ... Recent Emmy award winner Derek Hough enjoying a wild night out with friends at Beacher’s Madhouse in L.A., where he jumped on the main stage to dance with three burlesque performers. … Kelly Ripa and Mario Batali chowing down at a friend’s birthday dinner at Greenwich Village eatery Carbone
No comments:
Post a Comment