We were fairly sure today was the day for the massive Los Angeles Times layoff announcements—it may still be, since it's like 3 hours and 2 weeks earlier in Los Angeles than in New York at all times. (Though folks hear that they'll do the layoffs in chunks, announced as separate initiatives, so as to not get in federal trouble. Classy!) Yesterday Times staffers got a memo that's a classic of pre-layoff conceptualizing and framing. Meanwhile, across that sultry town, Nikki Finke is awesomely making a federal case out of what car New Line CEO Toby Emmerich is driving. New Line, now under Warner Brothers, is also having layoffs—to the tune of 550 staffers, and some people would like to see Emmerich hang. "Toby Emmerich has been driving around in a shiny new car and parking in the 116 North Robertson lot since June 10th. Like the jackass couldn't have waited until July to show it off to the world," she wrote. (Jeez, Nikki, you can lease a Lexus for like $700 a month!)
Regarding which, a friend of Emmerich's writes in:
The guy had a lease on a Mercedes that just ended. He just leased a less expensive Lexus hybrid. He's had the same exact parking place for 8 years, and he expressly declined to take Bob Shaye's better space. What's he flaunting? What has he done to deserve your implication that he's gleefully driving over the graves of ex-New Line employees in his new red Ferrari?
Well, he's still driving, for one thing! It's going to be so awesome when half of the people transferring onto the 2/302 bus to downtown for job placement services will be one-quarter unemployed journalists and one-quarter unemployed film executives.
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