Hollywood takes on the oilmen

The Times ^ | October 21, 2006 | Catherine Philp

[sauropod]

What's your point?

[kcvl]

http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2005/03/14/stevebing_narrowweb__200x239,1.jpg


Producer Steve Bing (born 3/31/65) is heir to a $600 million real estate fortune largely built by his grandfather Leo, who developed luxury apartment houses in New York in the 1920s. His father is Dr. Peter Bing, who worked on public health matters for the Johnson White House before moving to Los Angeles to attend to family business.

The Bing family has appeared on the Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans. The Bings donated to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's Leo S. Bing Theater as well as Stanford University. Peter Bing was chairman of the board of trustees.

Steve Bing's friends include Dominic "Donny Shacks" Montemarano, a felon and onetime capo in the Mafia; shopping mall magnate Ron Burkle; Hollywoodites Rob Reiner, Warren Beatty, James Caan and William Goldman; and Dodger Chairman Bob Daly.

Steve attended the elite Los Angeles Harvard-Westlake private school. Before graduation, he'd written (with veteran sitcom writer Arthur Silver) his first screenplay, "Mising in Action." It became a Chuck Norris film that had a sequel.

Bing inherited his money on his 18th birthday. He dropped out of Stanford in his junior year to pursue Hollywood. He directed the 1993 erotic thriller "Every Breath" starring Judd Nelson. It received poor reviews and went straight to video.

From an Imdb.com review of Every Breath: "Dodgy plot, dodgy script, dodgy almost everything in fact. The most compelling performance is that of Joanna Pacula as Lauren, but even that does not rescue this pointless and nasty film."

Steve sold a number of projects to studios over the next decade. None of them were released.

His first project to get a studio release is tentatively called "Down and Under." It came from a story Bing heard as a teenager - a couple of childhood friends take mob money to Australia, only to lose it to a kangaroo. The script earned Bing and his co-writer Scott Rosenberg $1.4 million from Disney and producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Warner Brothers will release the film in early 1993.

In the early 1990s, Steve moved into the Hotel Bel-Air one night and stayed nine years.

In late 2001, English model Elizabeth Hurley announced that she was pregnant and that Bing was the father. Steve issued a news release claiming that the couple had not been in an exclusive relationship and that it was "her choice to be a single mother." Tabloids in Britain called Steve "Bing Laden" and a "spermicidal maniac."

According to Rachel Abramowitz's article in the 7/3/02 LA Times, Bing asked Hurley to terminate the pregnancy. She refused. He then asked her to go to counseling with him. She refused.

A DNA test shows that Bing is the father of Hurley's child.

Also in 2001, Bing sued Kirk Kerkorian for invasion of privacy after the billionaire's private eye took Bing's dental floss out of his trash can. Kerkorian was in a child support lawsuit with his ex-wife. Kirk wanted DNA evidence to prove that Bing was the father of his wife's daughter. The case has now been settled.

Bing has filed libel suits against tabloids in England and the U.S.. After giving millions of dollars to the UCLA school of medicine, Bing quit giving after UCLA honored Rupert Murdoch, who owns some of the tabloids following Bing.

Steve contributed $3.5 million to the 1998 Rob Reiner-led initiative Proposition 10 that imposed a 50-cent-per-pack tax on cigarettes to fund child-care and anti-tobacco programs for preschoolers. Bing has given over $7 million dollars to the Democratic Party and its politicos. Steve's pledged $25 million to Stanford University. He's pledged $10 million to the National Resources Defense Council's study of global warming.

Bing will soon close a deal with Warner Brothers. The studio pledges to release eight of his films that he will finance.

Steve Bing stands 6'4". He drives around in a '97 Lincoln. He likes to wear jeans and T-shirts. He likes strip clubs and dating models. He's been a big player in Las Vegas for years.



Politics

In the 2004 election cycle, Bing donated more than $16 million to the Democratic Party and allied groups.

Examining donations from 1999 to 2006, the Web site campaignmoney.com lists Bing as the 2nd most important contributor of political funds in America, with 55 donations totalling $9,842,493. Bing's position as the second-greatest contributor of funds after Haim Saban is likely even stronger, due to the fact that the Web site also lists him as 63rd-greatest contributor "Steven Bing," with 10 donations totalling $1,010,426, as well as "Steve Bing," #38347, with 10 donations totalling $20,150.

[mewzilla]

They're not just against oil...

Protesters Gather Against Malibu LNG Terminal

[Malsua]

Big oil claims that the proposition will raise gas prices at the pump — unlikely, as the Bill forbids that

That is the funniest line of the piece. If they think that oil companies or any company for that matter will "eat" a tax increase and not simply pass it on to their customers, they are living in bizzaro world.

[-YYZ-]

Despite being a supporter of Canadian technology, given the CANDU reactors' history of failing to meet (by a long shot) their uptime percentages and the expensive repairs and refits they've required to keep running, I would prefer that any future nuclear reactors be of a proven LWR design, as used in France or Japan where a large percentage of their power is nuclear generated. Even better, how about breeder reactors and fuel reprocessing facilities, like in Japan?

[GOPJ]

Thanks for the ping.

[Watery Tart]

What's your point?

I posted pics of LA traffic jams. I want the celebs to divest themselves first, before they start telling us what to do (Do as I say...). From a WND article, among others:

[Norman] Lear's neighbors in the Brentwood Hills area of Los Angeles are well aware of the famous TV producer's 21-car garage, which became the object of a legal battle in the 1990s when Lear wanted to build a tennis court on its roof.

``snip``

Celebrities who have ordered custom-built SUV or truck-based limousines along with Fonda and Eisner are Barbra Streisand, Whoopi Goldberg, Elizabeth Taylor, Jerry Seinfeld, Charlie Sheen, Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Cher, Sylvester Stallone, Ben Affleck, Adam Sandler, Michael Jackson, Michael Douglas and Eddie Murphy.

Oh yeah, I read further down about how Arianna drives a Pious now. Here is a FReeper photo of her since then (IIRC, she has confirmed it was her.):

Doug, was this pic taken by you?

[AmishDude]

Is anybody going to tell them that "Big Oil" is not private companies, but state companies like Venezuela and Saudi Arabia?

[sauropod]

Thanks for the explanation. Your point was not clear from the previous post.

BTW "Pious." LOL!

[Watery Tart]

BTW "Pious." LOL!

It's one of the cars used to get out of town when they announce a "Smug Alert." Of course, the rocket surgeons at DU sometimes refer to these cars as "high breads."