Hollywood's Variety Goes Up for Sale

Audience loyalty critical as online competitors gain ground

(NEWSER) - Variety will phase in a paywall starting today, a return to its pre-2006 model and a big gamble that its long history as the Hollywood daily will spur users to open their wallets. The site's traffic has increased since it became free, but it failed to attract a bump in advertising revenue, writes Jon Friedman. "We're not as concerned about traffic as other publications," said president Neil Stiles. "As long as we deliver to core people in the business, that's what our advertisers expect." More»

Column appeared in Variety for 52 years

(NEWSER) - Army Archerd, who chronicled Hollywood for 52 years as a columnist for Variety, died today of mesothelioma, the showbiz publication reports. He was 87; the cancer was thought to be related to exposure to asbestos during World War II. He was known for injecting a social consciousness into his reporting, which first appeared Oct. 18, 1945; his last blog post was July 27. More»

Blade Runner star struck guard: cops

(NEWSER) - Blade Runner vamp Sean Young was busted outside a post-Oscars party after she slapped a security guard when she was told to leave, according to officials. Now she's demanding an apology, reports TMZ . "She was trying to get into the party and couldn't," a Hollywood police commander tells AP . But the 52-year-old actress—who starred in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, No Way Out, Wall Street, and most recently, Celebrity Rehab—says the guards were overzealous, and she wasn't doing anything wrong. "I was just standing by the little line," says Young, who earlier in the evening had posed for photos with Angelina Jolie, Michelle Williams, and Sandra Bullock . "I wasn't bothering anybody." More»

A Hollywood money manager gives the details to 'New York'

(NEWSER) - "Very few" superstars live within their means, a Hollywood money manager tells New York . Cash, in particular, can spell bad news: "We had one guy go through $600,000 one year," the manager explains. "We try to get everything on a credit card: It helps track it." He gave the magazine details of one A-list actor's finances. Highlights:

• Total income: $15,912,000
• Cash spent: $175,000
• Fine art: $1,200,000
• Jewelry: $875,000

Actor will name those who 'abused me'

(NEWSER) - A vampire hunter on The Lost Boys is now after Hollywood pedophiles. Former child actor Corey Feldman, a star of Stand By Me and The Goonies, has vowed to reveal the names of two Hollywood figures who abused him when he was 14. "These older men were leching around like vultures," Feldman told The Sun . "There are people who have got away with it for so long they think they are above the law. That's got to stop." More»