TINA Brown saw the hot new Broadway show “The Producers” at its premiere last Thursday – and decided to rip up the cover of her June/July cover once again.
She says she called in the change during intermission.
Out went the cover that was all set to roll to the printer with Estella Warren, the hot babe who is starring in the 20th Century Fox summer release of the new “Planet of the Apes.” Nancy Griffin wrote the story, Danielle Matoon edited and Sean Baptiste photographed it.
In came a new cover featuring “The Producers” stars Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane, written by the New York Observer’s theater critic, John Heilpern.
Reached by Media Ink, Tina said, “I hope I’m still enough of a journalist that I can make a change over something I am enthusiastic about.”
She said of “The Producers,” “It’s not just a hit – it’s a phenomenon.”
But the last minute nature irked some of the staffers who had to work overtime to finally get the June/July issue which hits next month off to the printer.
“The s– hit the fan Friday morning,” said one insider. “Her editors were up in arms over it. A lot of people feel they are bringing people to the table and getting burned.”
“Why?” asked one insider. “Because it turns out Harvey Weinstein is one of the producers behind the ‘The Producers.'”
And of course, Weinstein’s Miramax Films and Hearst Corp. are the joint-venture owners behind Talk magazine.
A Miramax spokesman says the order to switch was entirely Tina’s idea.
And Tina adds, “Harvey has ‘Bridget Jones’ Diary,’ ‘Spy Kids’ and ‘The Producers.’ He needs no help from Talk.”
It probably will not help the magazine in Hollywood circles that Warren’s public relations representative and the movie p.r. folks were kept in the dark about the change – until Media Ink called.
“She’s still on the cover as of last week,” said Annette Wolfe at Wolfe Costella, the public relations agency that handles Warren.
The same was true at the New York offices of movie studio 20th Century Fox (owned by News Corporation, which is also the owner of The Post).
“As far as I know, she is on the June/July cover,” said Daria Vorgel.
Aside from irking Hollywood insiders, the moves cost money. “Last minute, beyond the production schedule, these changes are expensive,” said one insider.
The magazine is estimated to have lost about $25 million last year.
As to cost estimates of the latest maneuver, Tina said only, “No comment.”
But, she insisted: “We have a five-year plan and we’re on target.”
As to Warren’s people, Tina said, “They are being notified about it.” Tina says she plans to use Warren on a future cover.
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It’s only been a week since the 27 bedraggled survivors from Powerful Media’s Inside.com moved from their Chelsea digs into Brill Media Holdings in the Simon & Schuster Building in Midtown Manhattan – and they already have their first escapee in the new era.
Magazine beat reporter David Carr is jumping to Caroline Miller’s New York magazine – where he has a one-year feature-writing contract – and to Michael Kelly’s Atlantic Monthly, where he will be given a monthly column.
“It’s not like my hair was on fire. We were treated very graciously by the people at Brill’s,” said Carr. “These are great offers. I think New York is on a hot streak and I don’t think there is any journalist in the world who would not like to write for Michael Kelly.”
Of his year since he left an editing job in Washington, D.C., to join Michael Hirschorn and Kurt Andersen at Inside.com, the Web news service? “It was the most fun year of my life. I had a blast.” His major scoop: He broke the story that Hachette Filipacchi Magazines was pulling the plug on George before even the then-editor Frank Lalli knew about it.
New York media columnist Michael Wolff need not worry about Carr’s imminent arrival. Said Miller of Carr, “He’s moving away from media. He’s going to be writing big features about important New Yorkers, players.”
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Maybe it is the source of a new book: Your employees as potted plants.
Rodale, the sleepy Emmaus, Pa., imprint that publishes Organic Gardening (the newsletter), Prevention (the digest sized magazine with the giant circulation), and Men’s Health (great abs), is carrying the gardening metaphor to new heights in a companywide memo that went out recently from chairwoman Ardath Rodale.
She begins:
“Hello to All You Great People at Rodale Inc.!”
She encourages employees to be nice to one another, say hello to all of the new people in the hallway. (Read: We fired a lot of people, but not you – so watch out). “It’s so exciting to see the gardens change as new plants sprout up amid the perennials from previous years. I like to think that this is what is happening in our company. We have fertile soil for nourishing all the diversity of people and ideas that make a beautifully fruitful garden.
“As we tend our garden of Rodale, we constantly need to honor and nurture the idea seeds that will grow into success for all of us. At the same time, we must pull out weeds of dissension, which takes up valuable time and energy.”
Ardath Rodale could not be reached for comment.
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