Twilight Sequel 'New Moon' #1 Advance Online … 
MPTF: Open Letter To Jeffrey Katzenberg 
'2012' Dominates For $225M 5-Day Launch … 
Showtime Rattled By Rival EPIX Arrival 
4TH UPDATE: MGM Studio Claiming Business As … 
'Paranormal Activity' Crosses $100M Cume: … 
EXCLUSIVE: DISNEY'S BIG JOB SWITCH; CFO Tom … 
Rich Ross Restructures Disney Studios' … 
20 Animated Films Vying For 2009 Oscars 
THE END OF 'OPRAH' AS WE KNOW HER: Daytime … 
Comcast & GE Pact To Keep NBCU Talks … 
Elle's Women In Hollywood Power List 
The article about DeadlineHollywoodDaily.com by NYT media columnist David Carr for Friday is online. It claims I'm "thuggish". So thug this: I'll be back to work on Monday.
UPDATE: Interesting commentary on the piece by FAIR (Fairness And Accuracy In Reporting) here.
2ND UPDATE: The article has several errors. This is the most glaring: When I began my website in March 2006, I had not "run low on money and options" as Carr claims. Just the opposite. I had been an award-winning columnist with LA Weekly for four years. 2002 is when my career hit the skids, the year I sued Disney, News Corp, and the New York Post to fight for a journalist's freedom to write accurately about the business and advertising partners of Big Media.
Loading ...
Just read it! Wow, Carr moves the narrative of the Legend of Nikki Finke along quite nicely. Congrats.
full disclosure: it also claims you’re a hermet…(but hey, i’m fucking reading…)
Heh-heh-heh—-me & Louis B. are having a great laugh about this here in Hell!
From the NY Times article:
“I’d prefer not to ever deal with her,” said a senior communications executive at a studio who declined to be identified. Many others declined comment saying, variously, “she gave me a nervous breakdown,” “she terrifies me,” and “there’s no percentage in me saying anything to you about Nikki no matter what it is.”
What’s that, Louis B? What’s a “senior communications executive”? Why, that’s a ____________”
Oh come on, you hotshot readers of Deadline Hollywood, fill in the blank!
You GO Nikki!
if there’s one thing i think of one someone mentions niki finke hollywood blogger/journalist – it’s thug
that’s hysterical – also when i think of nyt i think bankrupt
Thug life!
Thuggish = Unafraid.
Apparently there are many un-thuggish folks where you’re concerned, Nikki.
Congratulations.
You can thug me any night of the week, Nikki.
very impressed with the ink spilled at NYT and how fast you link to it. Do you ever sleep, Madam? Congrats.
If they ain’t talking about you, you ain’t important. You keep me pointed in the right direction. F**k them. Keep doing what you do. Hollywood needs you.
Love your brass, Nikki – can’t wait to see what’s next!
Congrats, Nikki. You may have just helped turn “thug” into a verb.
You rock
So you’re making millions from this site? You just lost a visitor.
“Thug on this (making an obscene gesture), New York Times!”
I thought it was quite flattering.
Yeah, baby! Keep on thuggin’!
Reminds me of the old Bernie Brillstein quote, “You’re No One in Hollywood Unless Someone Wants You Dead”. Way to go, Nikki!
hey – wussies, so terrified of Nikki Finke and her truth telling powers – if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the hollywood kitchen. or better yet, behave better to those around you. being an asshole is a choice we all make, or not. and when you choose asshole behavior, you know know that the “thug” is watching…
Is it better to be feared or loved?
congrats from that guy it’s a compliment.
Nikki is about as “thuggish” as Pinch Sulzburger getting ready to mud-wrestle Carlos Slim for future control of the New York Times…
Nice article about a fearless journalist and an invaluable resource to many of us – congrats!
Thug for life!
Tupac would be proud.
Cheers!
Reporters are boring anyways. Thugs get shit done. Keep getting shit done Nikki… <3
Hey! Is that a new picture? Niiice.
Being called a ‘thug’ in a once venerated newspaper that of late can’t seem to do the due dilligence to prevent itself from hiring charlatan fiction writers who pass themselves off as journalists is a big complement. I sense there’s more than a little envy going on there at the old Grey Lady.
Having listened in on a phone press conference (regarding the MPTF home closure) and hearing for myself Katzenberg’s voice shrieking in high holy freakout mode because Nikki Finke asked him real serious thoughtful journalist questions (like ‘isn’t there more to this MPTF story than what you’re telling us or why else would you be calling yet another press conference’) must be what the executives running their golden goose into the ground think is ‘thuggish’.
Given their penchant for not paying people (actors, writers, directors, crews, office employees) and now wanting to throw old folks onto the streets because they’re not aging ‘properly’ while they themselves live increasingly like a cross between Howard Hughes & Marie Antoinette, I say let the mogul-wannabees pee their pants as publically as possible. Someone has to call them out on their dumbassery so why not Nikki?
Keep bringing it Nikki. Good stuff here.
i came here from nytimes. though i first heard about you through bill simmons (espn writer) a while back. seems like a pretty interesting read. kudos to you.
What’s that old saying about Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History?
Take it as a compliment. It means you’ve done something right.
“So thug this: I’ll be back to work on Monday.”
This is win.
You’re all a bunch of kiss ass- thuggets!
Read David’s article on NYT’s digital version. You should hire him as a First Lieutenant. Good Job!
When the New York Times refers to someone as “thuggish” it means “More effective than anyone on our staff at getting stories people are interested in.”
As long as you keep scooping them they will do stories like that and from what I’ve learned in observing media, if the New York Times hates you, you’re usually doing someting right.
“Not since Lord of the Rings…”
Like that was SO long ago…:-P
“Her liabilities in the world of print — a penchant for innuendo and unnamed sources — became assets online.”
I love this bit of hypocrisy from a NYT reporter. The paper where stories are made up and are controlled by a small powerful elite. The way they have been covering the New York City council’s treatment of term limits and slush funds is comical. Like other media conglomerates they abandoned their responsibility of a free press for the bottom line.
Other than my beef with the Times, it is great Nikke is getting some recognition and money for her effort. Maybe now she can get a new computer so we don’t suffer from DHD withdrawal when it breaks down.
Please do not get ‘Thug Life’ tattooed across the front of you.
Please do continue to bash Jeff Zucker & Ben Silverman.
I noticed over time that the movie Sicko was blacked out of any mention in the mainstream news. A former VP of Cigna explained it on Bill Moyers last weekend. A memo campaign went out from the big insurance/pharmaceutical companies to black out any mention of the movie. It worked. As winner of Best Documentary, Sicko was the natural point of reference for societal discussion of health care reform, but it was “redacted.” It is too watchable and too persuasive to be tolerated. Is your “beat” to be a watchdog on the big money manipulation of Hollywood productions? This is a nice example of Orwellian control over public knowledge. Michael Moore should have staning for a lawsuit.
It seems the movie “Che” is another. 7 years in the making. Sean Penn, upon receiving an honor for “Milk,” said “Where’s Benicio? I should be up against him for Best Actor. Where’s Che? It should be up for Best Picture. I can’t figure it out!” It is a mystery, until you realize that free speech is a thing of the past. Tinkering around the edges is still allowed. Just don’t cross the big money players with anything that threatens their pyramid of wealth and control.
ah ah — she was on the side of the writers during the strike. ah ah. and what was the outcome? ah ah.
losers.
keep her, she’s yours. ah ah.
It doesn’t say you’re thuggish, it just says there are “stories” about how you are, and that you say they are false. Seems fair.
Very cool. Something novel. Voice, calling it like you see it, assiduously avoiding conflicts of interest, to get the story correct as it develops. Like all the best dictators Hollywood has a vested interest in bodies staying hidden or buried, your blog an autopsy on “spin.” Congratulations!
Such a crybaby. You go get ‘em. If someone had been doing what you are with the banks, we would not be in the mess we are.
kick his ass, Seabass!
You’re not “thuggish,” you’re honest. That’s why we read you!
Yo Girl…
I’d busta’ cap in those bitches ass!
You rock Nikki!!
Listen to all the suck-ups on this board. Be careful, Nikki: I see you allowing those posts, and not too many negatives. Pretty soon it’s going to be a non-stop jerk-off fest for you and you’ll lose all credibility.
You are a fucking thug.
Yeah- they seem to miss a few thing in the Times article: That you’ve been a voice to stand up against Big-Media (and media consolidation,) connecting dots for those of us who are outside the loop, and particularly your pointing out hypocrisies in this town.
Don’t get me wrong- I wouldn’t want to get on your bad-side either. And we’ll probably never go out for drinks. But I’m glad you’re out there.
Somebody posted today “You just lost a visitor” lol. Well don’t worry, you just gained one too, and I’m sure many more! Looking forward to “thug Monday”!
And a new tagline to add to Toldja!… Thug You!
Nikki, thanks for cutting through the spin to reveal truth and realities occurring in and facing the industry.
Good for you! The fame, the money… You deserve it. You made it happen!
Yours is the first website I open every day where I can read the news and share your dislikes. In a town as phony as L.A. is great to read someone who calls it as it is.
Take care of yourself and I hope to read your posting for many years to come.
A thug would turn the comments section off when they posted this news.
you are tough but you’re the best and only game in town. my withdrawl continues. please come back with some great info!!
you ARE thuggish.
Any press is good press… right?
“Her liabilities in the world of print — a penchant for innuendo and unnamed sources — became assets online.”
Comment by Murderburgers — July 17, 2009 @ 7:49 am
Isn’t the NYT the newspaper that made up the story about McCain having an affair w/ a lobbyist, then had to settle?
Keep their panties bunchin’, Nikki.
You’ve arrived.
uh huh!…uh huh!
You Go Girl is absolutely correct.
The legend lives on!!! That article will do more to help you than hurt you (but I can’t help wondering if maybe that’s what he had planned???)
I think you owe Carr a fruit-basket!
You’re the Babe!
Nikki, you have never cared about what other people think you. Why start now? I would’ve thought that this changeover deal would have brought you more journalistic clout, not the wrath of your peers. Oh well. At least it’s publicity!
Well, Nikki, there may be times that I totally disagree with you but thuggish? No. And the NYT calling someone that? The paper that practically committed treason by unveiling some intelligence secrets that weakened our military greatly? That’s a laugh. No one is more thuggish than the NYT.
Nikki, U a ‘thug?’ In a town that worships that behavior – so long as ur in heels, a tie or a cardigan, bring it ON!
Props Nikki. Would love to see that wall of pelts!
Sounds like the NYTitanic is a little jealous of Nikki zipping past them in her speedboat!
So the NYT thinks Nikki is thuggish, eh? Do they have anything to say about Darth Cheney being thuggish? Oh wait, they were the ones who helped sell his fake war to the American people, didn’t they? Nevermind.
The NY Times is just jealous, Nikki, that one woman can singlehandedly hold Hollywood in her viselike grip and make longstanding print publications obsolete! And they’re jealous that you’re not beholden to anyone and can tell it like it is while these corporate behemoths are mired in bureaucracy and advertiser relationships. Keep on sluggin’ and keep on thuggin’!
You do sound very mean but the article made me look at your website!
Wow, you post comments very quickly when shamelessly plugging yourself.
keep up the good work, Nikki…you know you’ve made it when you piss the NYT off
Congrats Nikki! You made it to the big time!
How strangely ironic that New Yorkers, with a reputation for brashness and brutish honesty, are offended that you might be the same!
Look in the mirror, NYT!
Red or Blue it just don’t matter, said Ice T.
I stopped reading that Hatchet job on you Nikki at the beginning of page 2
If they understand F’em.
As a journalist, writer, screenwriter you tell it straight Nikki.
Peace out.
I’M IN LOVE WITH A THUG NAME OF NIKKI.
WHO CRAPPY EXECS FIND SCARY AND TRICKY.
SHE LIVES LIKE A HERMIT,
HAS AN “ASS KICKING PERMIT.”
AND HER CLOUT IN THE BIZ IS QUITE TRIPPY.
As a writer, and one who loves the job and wears it like a badge of honor… i am reminded more than ever during these economic and creatively challenged times of what Nikki did specifically during the strike, and continues to do with her journalism talent.
i dont think im alone in expressing that i feel a very intimate connection to this woman who fights to allow so many of us to pursue our passions and dreams in a slightly more dignified and financially viable way…
On numerous occaisions, she has stood up for me, on both macro and micro levels…what can i say to that except thank you nikki, i hope to be able to repay the favor and that i have properly expressed my gratitude along the way.
Those people that want to talk about kissing her ass? well…you fucking should kiss her ass, she puts money in your pocket, and makes it so it doesnt always feel like your taking it dry in an endless cycle of being bent over (which i choose to do, again, i love my job and would do it for less money, and have for years) but moreso, even from a non utility perspective, she is you (and fuck off because she makes some money…not nearly what she should be btw, do you know a person, comparatively better at their job? I dont. i really dont), this is a woman who got fucked by big business and they tried to shut her out…just like we are all shut out of these caste systems. well shes not just peeking inside but shes kicking down the door and giving you front row seats. i dont listen in on studio heads phone calls…but she does. and she shares it with us…
as for the article…it lost me at well travelled journalist. you knew where it was headed…only stopping to compliment when forced by fact…i wish they had told us a little more about how and why nikki does the job that she does, what fuels her and drives her, what makes her so exceptional at what she does, that wouold have been something.
Don’t worry about what they say. Some people think everyone is either assertive (therefore pushy and so a “thug”) or lay back (therefore a push over and so in the pocket of the establishment). They can’t see anything in-between.
We loyal readers know how good you are, and appreciate all your hard work. Just keep doing what you do, and forgot about the critics.
Aw, c’mon, Nikki. Admit it. You get off on the fame, just like the rest of Tinsel Town. Intoxicating, isn’t it? The trick is … realizing that when the bubbly goes flat, it can still get you drunk.
Congrats.
p.s.
Maybe now that your financial situation is balancing out (from the look of the article), you can start leaving the *thug life* behind, come out of the hermit shell, and concentrate on *real life.*
Here’s to Nikki’s transformation from the feared to the loved.
Do you ever notice that the people who write the meanest things about others are the first ones to cry when someone says something about them in a story they don’t like?
After all Nikki has written about others, how can she legitimately complain about what others write about her? It’s all part of the buiness, no?
Congrads Nikki. From one hermit to another.
-Pat
P.S. Keep up the good work in this area.
Joe (way up top), if that’s your feeling (leaving the website b/c someone’s making money off it) I hope you are also forgoing network and cable television, all movies, network news, radio, magazines, newspapers (sort of), basically all media in general. Because the money they’re making dwarfs anything anyone’s making off of Deadline. News and media is a commodity that people will pay for – get over it.
re: being called a thug, that the NYT’s way of saying “person in our field who we wish would go away”. I wouldn’t worry what any competitor is saying about one ever – there’s obviously a pretty insane case of personal bias going on.
Totally reminded me of a storyline in the show Weeds. “Thug means never having to say you’re sorry!”.
lol, my ass! They shoudl give an award for I told ya so’s and you’d def. win that one. Women are always right, ya ya ya. No need to be ignorant.
Top Ten Things Nikki Fink Has In Common With a Gang Member
1. Down for her homies (SAG, WGA, and the craft guilds)
2. Will cap you without blinking
3. Makes strong men her bitch
4. Armed and very dangerous
5. Fearless, brutal thug
6. Excited by the sight of blood
7. A threat is a promise
8. Takes no shit
9. Proudly displays her tat: DHD
10. Wears a bandana (headwrap) every night (girl’s gotta look good)
Ha, “thug” is a big compliment..all you need now is a “Thug 4 Life” tat..lol..keep bangin’
Dear Nikki,
Diddy. JZ and T-I are thugs You are too much of a deb and a prima donna to be a thug. You are also hardworking, fearless, thorough, generous and wickedly funny. I am proud to say I knew you when. Congrats on the fame and I hope you will “once again” have the fortune. Keep up the terric job.
Diane Weathers
Let’s be perfectly clear about who David Carr is… until recently he was a hardcore crack addict. Take a look at a current photo, it speaks for itself. The guy looks like one of the baddies in Straw Dogs. He’s clearly jealous of Nikki and the business she’s worked so diligently to build in a few short, tumultuous years.
Then again, these descriptions could apply to any NYT or other print journo across the board. OK maybe not the ex-addict part, except for Maureen Dowd, who simply prefers to date (Hollywood) drug addicts.
I loved that email! It’s what I would say in your position and what a lot of people would think but dare not say. I SO related to it! I hope that kind of fiery chutzpah continues. Kudos! Tell it like it is!
When they say “thug” what they really mean is “uppity cunt.” And you rule!
Thank you Nikki for standing up and telling the truth beyond the corporate spin. Clearly the overwhelming response you garner is due to the fact that the truth has been in short supply in this town. Lots of us need to work to support families and make a living and as a result have felt utterly powerless in the face of the handful of badly behaving, ever revolving titans of the month. As David Mamet wrote in The Verdict, “Who were these men?” And often women. They claim to have the best interests of their viewing audience in mind but time and time again work for their own personal agenda at the expense of hard working mid and lower level employees. Your desire to expose hypocrisy and exploitation on a corporate level makes me your true fan. I wish you nothing but success. This is a tough town but tougher for women. Journalism, show business…they treat you like you’re Martha Mitchell if you tell the truth. I am so glad you are getting the last laugh.
nikki, fun to watch your journey. you’ll irritate your way to the top…kinda like a pearl.
plz announce the bruno contest winners.
thanks,
tom
I know David Carr and he is DEFINITELY not typical NYTimes. As far as I’m concerned, as long as he’s presently sober, his former crack addiction is a PLUS. At least he’s not a precious Ivy League type who knows nothing of the real world and has yet to make any actual mistakes in life. In fact, he’s probably more like Nikki than not… they’re both outsiders who work inside the larger system. (I say that because Nikki’s constant scooping is a result of some very, very good relationships with sources. Something she could not have unless those sources believed that she is, in a sense, one of them.) That said, I think Carr missed one of the main reasons so many people read DHD… the comments section! Hollywood’s watercooler…
As for the piece itself: it was a pretty fine piece of hagiography. Thugz and all.
I thought it was a pretty nice piece. It was quite complimentary to be honest.
I’m not entirely sure about your favorites, but you’d have to be lying if you disagreed with the fact you’re hammering on Zucker and Silverman. However, everyone in the industry is hammering at them. All the journalists specialized in tv shows are and make fun of them all the time, so that was not the best example.
Overall, I thought it was very good PR. You should thank him.
nikki’s not a thug, she’s obviously more than a little bit sensitive!
Interesting commentary? Yeah, Nikki, because you never use anonymous sources, right?
Funny, I’ve been reading Nikki for quite sometime. I know her and her work. Up to reading this article I never even heard of David Carr–hmmm, guess I’m a thug too. (Yay me!!)
If you read the article, it doesn’t call her “thuggish”, it says that some in Hollywood think some things she does are thuggish.
And if some in Hollywood didn’t think that…well, she wouldn’t be doing her job and she wouldn’t be Nikki Finke. In a town full of easily bruised egos, its not surprising some object to her “take no prisoners” approach.
So true about the NY Times aggressively selling the Iraq War, smashing the objective credentials of that newspaper which were built up over so many decades. And they will never recover from the stigma that now they are just another mouth-piece for powerful interests (except maybe after many, many years re-establishing their objectivity, which is doubtful).
I love it when Nikki injects reality into this town of make-believe. I wish I had that “thuggish” rep. I’m actually envious. I’m thinking of changing my name to JD Nikki Finke so I can invoke fear in this town.
What I like most about your site is that I can learn something. Hollywood – or whatever it is – is about deals and personality.
No one has the balls to cover it plain and simple.
Usually you have to wait for books like “Indecent Exposure” to get it right.
So here I can learn what’s going on right now, more or less, without having to rely on friends who are more “in the know” and then withholding the info for their own personal gain.
“I think we’ve got a bunch of thugs here …”
- W. Cronkite, 1968.
Congratulations on your ascendancy to the front page of All The News That’s Fit To Print.
Keep kicking Hollywood keester. Especially those at NBC-U.