Monday, April 23
Will Rosie O'Donnell don her Neo costume to emcee the Matrix Awards over lunch at the Waldorf-Astoria, as New York Women in Communications celebrates the likes of Meredith Vieira and Susan Lyne for their work? For less auspicious accomplishments, check out the premiere of The Real Wedding Crashers on NBC at 10 p.m. ET. Ashton Kutcher's latest dose of prankery features a hidden camera at weddings and looks like a combination of Punk'd and that movie about those guys who, ya know, crash weddings and stuff. Speaking of premieres, Food Network trots out Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, an homage to the greasiest of greasy spoons across America. The fun starts at 10.
Tuesday, April 24
Lifetime holds its upfront presentation over breakfast in the Grand Hyatt Ballroom in New York. Patti LaBelle sings, CEO Betty Cohen presents, and Jason Priestley sports his sideburns. If the new Lifetime slate encourages even one woman to go to the authorities, it will have been worth it. And if you simply can't wait to see Brando at the Tribeca Film Festival later this week, check out the advance screening at the Museum of Television & Radio in Los Angeles. Ed Begley Jr. and Penelope Ann Miller will be there. And, if last week was Larry King Week, we're dubbing this Meredith Vieira Week. Fresh from last night's Matrix Awards, Vieira sees her biopic debut on Biography at 8. Have a very merry Meredith Vieira Week!
Wednesday, April 25
It's the 14th annual T. Howard Foundation Diversity Awards Dinner at Gotham Hall in New York. Honorees include Disney-ABC Television President Anne Sweeney and Turner Broadcasting. Elsewhere in NYC, the aforementioned Tribeca Film Fest kicks off downtown with filmmaker/cable guru/D.C. muckety-muck Al Gore speaking about, yup, the environment. In midtown, it's the book-release party for Watch This, Listen Up, Click Here at Campbell Apartment by moonlighting marketing wizzes David Verklin and Bernice Kanner.
Thursday, April 26
Why have an upfront presentation when you can have an outfront one? Ask the good folks at Media Magazine, who roll out the 2007 Outfront Conference at the New York Hilton. They ask, “Are you ready to think outside the TV box?” We are, if Media Mag is ready to put that hoary cliché to rest. Speakers include Fox President of Sales Jon Nesvig and Turner Sales Executive VP/GM Linda Yaccarino. And this makes us feel fairly warm: AWRT-NYC holds a lunch in honor of “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day” at the Yale Club in New York. “Media Moms We Love” includes WPIX personality Kaity Tong and WNBC anchor Lynda Baquero.
Friday, April 27
ESPN holds its Sports Film Festival as part of the Tribeca Fest, with Tiki Barber serving as confab ambassador in Gotham. The jock component kicks off with the premiere of poker film The Grand, starring Woody Harrelson. East of the city, CBS Newsman Harry Smith keynotes the Fair Media Council's Folio Awards, honoring excellence in local-news coverage, at the Crest Hollow Country Club on Long Island. And several lucky broadcasters find themselves at the Ritz Carlton in Key Biscayne, Fla. It's the third-annual Broadcasters' Foundation Celebrity Offshore Challenge “Fun Raiser.” Fun, indeed: The agenda calls for trips to South Beach, spa time and a fishing tournament with chartered boats. It promises to be off the hook—same as that grouper you nearly landed.
