Kathy Griffin Lands $2M Memoir Deal

Launch a Fox rival? Return to SNL ? Reality TV?

(NEWSER) - NBC's shabby treatment of Conan O'Brien has been a recurring theme of the Jay Leno-centric late-night shuffle, but "he-who-rocks-the-dopest-pompadour-on-TV" has more options than you might think. MTV ponders his options.

• Defect to Fox: The network is apparently interested, and it would be a great way to tick off NBC. But Fox has a terrible track record with late-night talk shows.
• Saturday Night Live: O'Brien's writing tenure at SNL coincided with a memorably strong run for the show, but Tonight Show host to "Cheeto-dusted anonymity" is a major step down.

Ballantine Books won't disclose fee for May 2010 release

(NEWSER) - Jenny Sanford will write an “inspirational memoir” to be released by Random House next spring, CNN reports. The publisher is mum on how much the estranged wife of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford will get for her trouble. The fairer half of the couple has been fairly tight-lipped since the news of her husband’s affair broke in June. The deal marks a revival of the Sanfords' literary fortunes: the governor had an agreement with Sentinel Publishing that was axed in July. More»

(NEWSER) - The Decider, aka George W. Bush, will write a book titled Decision Points, the New York Post reports. The former president's rumored advance for the book, due out in 2010, is $7 million. That’s $5 million short of Bill Clinton’s deal for My Life, $1 million less than Hillary Clinton got for Living History, and $2 million shy of Tony Blair’s advance, Gawker reports. Ouch. More»

Ex-rapper's renovation show will run on DIY Network

(NEWSER) - Stop, collaborate, and set your DVRs. Ice is back with a second season of "The Vanilla Ice Project," a show on the DIY Network that stars the 44-year-old rapper as he renovates a run-down mansion in Palm Beach County, Florida. Returning on the heels of a hit first season, the peculiar home improvement show will run 13 episodes beginning tomorrow, reports AP . More»

We need to get these people mental health

(NEWSER) - The suicide of Real Housewives hubby Russell Armstrong ought to make us think twice about reality TV, which has become “the soft-bellied, 21st century American TV version of a gladiatorial contest,” writes Matt Zoller Seitz on Salon . “As your parents may have warned you, it’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt. People are getting hurt.” We don’t know for sure why Armstrong killed himself, but it’s hard to imagine being on a show like Housewives helped. More»