Nikki Finke

This time last year, it would have been difficult to fathom that as 2007 came to a rather inexorable end, there would be no new episodes of The Office or, hell, even Desperate Housewives to get us through what promises to be another long, cold, slushy New York winter; that Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert would be doing their shows on their own; and that in a world when one man, Rupert Murdoch, owns a scarily increasing percentage of the world’s media, a one-woman Web site would show that feisty journalistic independence isn’t  read more »

Could the Guild and the studios be ready to come to an agreement to end the movie and TV writers strike? Deadline Hollywood's Nikki Finke -- who just today was profiled by The New York Times, after turning her blog into the go-to site for strike news -- writes: "a very reliable source tells me that there appears to be a deal seemingly in place between both sides."  read more »

There's little doubt as to who's the striking Hollywood writers' favorite journalist/blogger.  Via Cinematical.com: LA Weekly columnist Nikki Finke, who's been covering every angle of the stoppage, from a generally pro-writers perspective, has been given the exclusive right to publish the Guild's "Speechless" internet videos on her blog, Deadline Hollywood Daily.  The buzzy short productions feature stars like Sean Penn, Harvey Keitel, Tim Robbins, and Holly Hunter declaring their support for the writers.   read more »

The Transom bit off more than it could chew this week--check its beard growth level for proof (Shaving? When?)--so it's been a bit quiet around these parts. (Also, blame Brokeback Mountain.)

However, now in the quiet lull of a Thursday evening, a couple things must be shared:

· The Transom must point out that this week's Nikki Finke column on Mike Ovitz's art collection as a way to learn everything you need to know about Mr. Ovitz is freaking brilliant. (It also tells you everything you need to know about what a completely shitty industry art dealing is--witness Mike Ovitz trying to cheat $20K off the price of a painting that he'd then take four months to pay for. Classic.) God bless ya, Ms. Finke. · This week, New York was host to the Country Music Awards, and The Transom studiously ignored the myriad events that splattered on the city. Friend of The Transom, Campbell "Boldface" Robertson, hit the nail on the head this week:

The prevailing idea appears to have been setting up events that pair country stars with ostensibly non-country locales to see if there is a great explosion, littering the pavement with Prada handbags, bolo ties and a seemingly contradictory sense of both loss and entitlement, and leaving behind a trail of delightful little culture-clash stories in the media.

· The Transom has also noticed that Manhattan parties suffer from fools' need to overdocument. Does no one trust the written word any longer? No?

And now, camera-less, The Transom must go follow Rosario Dawson to a party. It is our lot in life.  read more »

— Choire Sicha