Dieter Zetsche may think twice about having a party to celebrate his promotion to chief executive of DaimlerChrysler after the trouble his wife has caused with an event of her own.
Gisele Zetsche could be fined $500 for a June 18 graduation party she gave for a 19-year-old family friend. According to a police report, neighbors complained of noise, open drinking and objects being thrown at cars from the Zetsches’ home in Bloomfield Township, Mich. Mrs. Zetsche’s court appearance, which was scheduled for last week, has been postponed until September.
The police said they cited 20 people for underage drinking at the party, which drew a crowd of about 100. According to a police report, Mrs. Zetsche acknowledged buying beer for her young pal (the state’s legal drinking age is 21), but officers said they also found empty liquor bottles and margarita mix.
If Mr. Zetsche does go ahead with a goodbye party for himself, he may want to be very careful about checking ID’s. Micheline Maynard
HOLLYWOOD NORTH What led two former Hollywood hotshots, Jeff Sagansky and Kerry McCluggage, to sign on with Peace Arch Entertainment, a little-known Canadian production company?
After all, Mr. Sagansky, 52, was the president of Tri-Star Entertainment when it made successful films like “Glory” and “Steel Magnolias.” His friend, Mr. McCluggage, was just 25 when he became a vice president of Universal Television, overseeing popular series like “Miami Vice.”
Peace Arch, by contrast, is known for cable movies and occasional theatrical duds like “The Good Shepherd” (a Christian Slater vehicle about a priest’s spiritual crisis, not Robert De Niro’s widely anticipated C.I.A. film of the same name).
Mr. McCluggage said the attractions were creative control and a chance to invest. “Jeff and I have made a lot of money for some big companies over the years,” he said by phone while vacationing in Hawaii. “But for a long time we have wanted to get together and build some businesses that allow us a little more freedom.”
The men invested $2 million in Peace Arch, giving them 9 percent of its stock, and will help it pick projects to pursue. Robert Johnson
JUST FIRED? It is a busy summer for corporate job cuts – so far this year they are running 18 percent ahead of 2004, according to the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas – but there is some consolation, of sorts.
Recent downsizees can share their stories and vent their spleens on SimplyFired.com, and while they’re at it, they can compete for a cruise with contestants from “The Apprentice.”
The site is run by SimplyHired.com, an online job search engine. The contest for “captivating and compelling” tales of firings and layoffs will be judged by Silicon Valley demicelebrities including Mark Jen, whom Google fired for blogging about the company, and Philip J. Kaplan, who runs a layoff-theme Web site whose name is a vulgarism for “failed company.”
The grand prize includes a cabin aboard an “Apprentice”-theme cruise next month. Donald J. Trump, who revived his public persona by famously barking “You’re fired” on the reality program, will give a send-off speech in New York.
Louise Story
