Why Is CAA Doing Market Research On Michael Jackson's Death?
Monolithic agency CAA is in all kinds of cookie jars, taking percentages of all kinds of famous cookies' salaries. But did you know about their market research firm...that's crowdsourcing answers on Michael Jackson's death the night after it happened? Ominously named The Intelligence Group, CAA's market research subsidiary "builds creative solutions for (their) clients." But their "best known division" is Youth Intelligence. According to their language they're the "premier research group focused on Gen X and Gen Y (ages 14 to 39)," to all of which I say: nice demos. But: do the higher ups at CAA know that the swarmy pollsters Youth Intelligence put a poll out in the field only a day after Michael Jackson's death, looking to do focus group work on Jackson's demise? The email: From: YI PANEL Subject: the passing of michael jackson To: [Redacted] Date: Friday, June 26, 2009, 9:05 PM Hello friends- The passing of Michael Jackson was a crazy surprise, and has left many of us truly saddened. He was a pretty incredible artist whose influence on pop culture is immeasurable. Because the impact of his music, his fashion, and his talents was felt by so many around the world, we're very much interested in your reaction to his passing. What does Michael Jackson mean to you? What kind of impact did he have on your life? Are you doing anything to memorialize him? If so, what? It would be awesome if you could send us your thoughts by Sunday night - and thank you for sharing. The Intelligence Group Awesome, indeed. We received this email late Friday night; I contacted The Intelligence Group for comment, they have yet to get back to me. On that note, we've got three questions for The Intelligence Group: 1. Aren't the results of this research ultimately going to be swayed and too varied due to the intense newsdump that's taken place over the weekend to be of any substantial use? 2. Market research one day after Jackson died, with the body still warm, and someone's looking for answers that will eventually lead them to build a "creative solution" somewhere? 3. Won't the gigantic celebrities CAA represents - among them, friends and cohorts of Jackson's, surely - find this a little, uh, callous? You can reach us here with whatever answers you've got for us. It would be awesome if you could send us your thoughts by the time your CAA overlords read this. And thanks for sharing. - Gawker Weekend MORE >>
The One Michael Jackson Article You Have To Read: His Death, Predicted
New pieces about the final days of Michael Jackson are flooding the news, along with tributes, memorials, debates on the nature of the conversation about him, etc. If there's one article you have to read on it, however, it's this: Ian Halperin, the writer of unauthorized biographies on Celene Dion, Kurt Cobain, and James Taylor, penned a piece for the Daily Mail in which he claims to have predicted the death of Michael Jackson six months and one day ago. It appears that he might be telling the truth. There's a lot inside the article, so we'll run it down, for you. Some of it might have full-bodied shades of truth, some of it could be totally off the mark. At the very least, though, it's all pretty fascinating: - Ominous Prediction: "Had he not been driven – by a cabal of bankers, agents, doctors and advisers – to commit to the grueling 50 concerts in London's O2 Arena, I believe he would still be alive today." - Jackson's Exhaustion: He was preparing for a string of concerts nobody in their right mind could've thought he could've completed. While leaving a Burbank studio, he reportedly told fans: 'I don't know how I'm going to do 50 shows. I'm not a big eater. I need to put some weight on. I'm really angry with them booking me up to do 50 shows. I only wanted to do ten.' One of his former employees weighed in to Halperin earlier this month: "It's like he's not in control over his own life any more." - Dr. Tohme Tohme: Jackson's official spokesman as of last year. Incredibly seedy. Refuted a claim Halperin made that Jackson had six months to live, back in December. Tohme called it a "complete fabrication." An important player in all of this, if only to indicate the people Jackson was surrounded by near the end: "Tohme has been alternately described as a Saudi Arabian billionaire and an orthopedic surgeon, but he is actually a Lebanese businessman who does not have a medical license. At one point, Tohme claimed he was an ambassador at large for Senegal, but the Senegalese embassy said they had never heard of him." At one point, Tohme (associated with the Nation of Islam, more below) threatened an auctioneer's life if he didn't postpone an auction of Jackson memorabilia. - Image Protection: Jackson had a huge collection of wigs that he used out in public to hide his graying, thinning hair. - Mental Health: Feelings of despondency and suicidal thoughts started surfacing after his latest acquittal from the 2005 sexual molestation trial involving Gavin Arvizo. He was close to a "complete nervous breakdown." He was being fed "pills like candy" by those around him, who were described as "enablers." He was worried he would end up dying like Elvis (a claim backed by Lisa Marie Presley). He wasn't eating and had nightmares of being murdered. His drug of choice was OxyContin. Then there's this: "On June 21, Jackson told my contact that he wanted to die. He said that he didn't have what it would take to perform any more because he had lost his voice and... MORE >>
Bret Easton Ellis Thinks The Hills Is "A Modern Masterpiece"
So: Bret Easton Ellis is on the cover of expensive Amsterdam-based magazine Fantastic Man, drinking a Diet Coke. In it, he calls the soul-sucking experience that is The Hills "the greatest show that I have ever seen in my life." The profile details Ellis' move to L.A. and comes in the middle of his writing the "sequel" to his first book, Less Than Zero (which made him a literary superstar at the age of 20), which is tentatively titled Imperial Bedrooms. The article - which isn't avalible online - paints Ellis as kind of sad and living a very existential, somewhat disconnected life. Also, he thinks The Hills is genius. The full quote, transcribed from print: He is, however-and on this subject, he is highly animated-a huge fan of MTV's scripted reality series of the young and the monied in L.A., THE HILLS. "I think THE HILLS is the greatest show I have ever seen in my life," he says, sincerely. "It is a modern masterpiece. I think that ADAM DeVILLO is a mad genius. He creates it and controls it perfectly." Mr. ELLIS is very specific about the way he watches THE HILLS. "I'm holding off on Season 4 right now. I started watching a bit of it, but I'm waiting until the DVD comes out because I want to see it all so beautifully mastered. Even if you download the show there is that irritating MTV logo in the corner. It doesn't work for me that way. It has to be on a big screen with the sound right up. It blows me away...I'm sorry, but whoever invented HEIDI MONTAG and SPENCER PRATT are just...nothing matches it. I've never see L.A. look more beautiful in a work of art. There are no movies that are as beautiful as that." This is why I'm never moving to L.A. Just like The City is why you should never move to New York. He was also, interestingly enough, called out on a social networking site on a date going out ("BRET ELLIS is not a fan of social-networking sites. He has been "caught out" by someone on a dating site, though understandable doesn't care to flesh out that story. He won't try it again."). Thing is, this makes an interesting point that I've never really considered before. The Hills is the tame, boring drug-less version of Less Than Zero (note to Hills producers: show them doing blow, and I'll watch). A bunch of severely disaffected brats, fucking around with their parents' money, creating an awe-inspiring charade of lives inextricably tied to the celebrity culture of Hollywood. This raises the question: was Less Than Zero the predecessor to The Hills? Do we blame Ellis for Speidi? Is Paul Telegdy off the hook today? Meanwhile, Fantastic Man, which could be a test-tube baby between Esquire and McSweeny's, is kind of a fascinating product. It's a giant, pretty magazine with nice pages and a strange sense of humor. It costs $11. And it has Bret Easton Ellis on the cover, drinking a Diet Coke. This should tell you what kind of magazine it is: at once both kind of genius and a complete waste of one's time. I love it. For example, in one issue,... MORE >>
Is Honduras' Military Junta The Hot New Revolution?
While you're out this morning at brunch, mumbling semi-coherent thoughts about how amazing the citizens of Iran are, people somewhere will be fighting for change, actually doing something to alter the course of history! Nope, not Iranians. Hondurans! Viva? In a shallow attempt to divert attention away from their Iranian brethren (?), while you were getting out of bed today, Hondurans were having a military coup. Here's the basic rundown: - Honduran President Jose Manuel Zelaya was arrested outside the presidential palace. He's been transported to Costa Rica, where he's seeking political asylum. - The military arrested him because he was going to follow through with a referendum that the Supreme Court of Honduras had ruled illegal. - The referendum in question Hondurans would be asked to vote on today was an extension of term limits. It wasn't a vote to extend the term limits, it was a vote to get the question of term limits put on the ballot in Honduras' upcoming election in November. The vote would put in place a constitutional assembly who could essentially override things like term limits. - Zeleya's noted that it's "just a poll" that doesn't obligate the government to do anything. He's asserted that the poll isn't to ensure his reelection, as he'll be out of office regardless. On Friday, Zeleya lead a peaceful protest to pick up a bunch of ballots from a military base to show that he was actually going to go through with this thing, today. Zeleya had also instructed the armed forces to provide him and the poll with security. - The heads of Honduras' military have all resigned to show support for the military's chief, Gen. Romeo Vasquez Velasquez. Zeleya had threatened earlier this week to fire Velasquez if he didn't support Zelya's poll. - Protesters and supporters of Zeleya who've gathered at the presidential palace - about 600, according to initial reports - have had tear gas fired at them by the military. - Finally, President Obama is not cool with any of this shit. Put it on ice, Honduras! "I am deeply concerned by reports coming out of Honduras regarding the detention and expulsion of President Mel Zelaya. As the Organization of American States did on Friday, I call on all political and social actors in Honduras to respect democratic norms, the rule of law and the tenets of the Inter-American Democratic Charter. Any existing tensions and disputes must be resolved peacefully through dialogue free from any outside interference," was the statement Obama put out. Either way, it looks like a crazy leader kinda got a little carried away with this little poll of his. But it seems to be a mostly by-the-numbers kind of Junta - if you can even call it that - no? Either way, in Honduras, they protest and get active over this kind of thing! If Bloomberg had lost the opportunity to run for a third term, and we found out he was going to do it anyway, we'd probably all just sit around at brunch, gnawing on a croissant, figuring out when we could take... MORE >>
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