Things have been pretty busy at Michael’s this week. On Monday, none other than James Bond aka Daniel Craig dropped by. (“His eyes are so blue!” cooed one smitten staffer). Yesterday, a very laid back Rosie O’Donnell showed up with, so we’re told, a new lady love in tow, and they didn’t have to wait for one of the coveted tables at the very front of the restaurant. They settled for something further back. Today, the usual Wednesday SRO crowd started showing up well before the appointed lunch hour, leaving plenty of time for air kissing and glad handing all around.

I was joined today by Lisa Sharkey, HarperCollins’s senior vice president and director of creative development. Lisa is one hot property herself having spent 25 years in television including stints at Good Morning America, Inside Edition and Al Roker‘s production company before making the switch to publishing four and a half years ago. “The skills were totally transferable. I wanted to bring the TV model to books. I love authors. When I was in television, I was always drawn to them. Now, I consider my authors part of my family and have great relationships with them,” Lisa tells me. “I’m much happier in book publishing because there is more time to spend on a projects. Books have the power to last for generations.” Now, anyone who is anyone — or who wants to be someone — is after Lisa to publish their books. This season, Lisa had no less than four books on the New York Times best seller list, including How to Love an American Man (currently being shopped as a film project by United Talent Agency), football phenom Tim Tebow‘s Through My Eyes, and soap opera diva Susan Lucci’s memoir,  All My Life (We really loved the scathing epilogue she added to the paperback edition taking ABC president Brian Frons to the woodshed for cancelling the beloved soap, All My Children. Go Susan!)

Lisa has a full slate of upcoming books where there is something for everyone. Later this month, actress Carre Otis‘ no-holds barred memoir, Beauty Disrupted, will tell all about her relationship with Mickey Rourke. Due out in November, Imperfect Justice by Jeffrey Ashton is sure to make headlines when the Casey Anthony prosecutor offers his version of what happened behind the scenes of her trial and why is he completely convinced of Anthony’s guilt. “The prosecutor’s story is the real story of the trial. He’s got a lot to say,” says Lisa. No doubt.  On the other end of the spectrum, HarperCollins has a slew of celebrity titles this fall including the first novel penned by those ubiquitous Kardashian sisters, which was Lisa’s idea. The book, due out November 15, spins a fictional (but no doubt inspired by real life) tale of three sisters growing up with a famous father in Hollywood. “The fun is trying to figure out what’s real disguised as fiction,” says Lisa. There was quite a fracas coming up with a title. Lisa wanted to call it Keeping Up but, she told me, the powers that be at E! put the kibosh on the idea saying that was their brand. Lisa then came up with the idea of launching a contest on Twitter asking followers to come up with their own titles. The winning entry, Dollhouse, was submitted by a gal named Courtney who will herself be written into the book as a wedding planner. Savvy Lisa, who is always coming up with clever ways to market her books, decided the cover will be in leopard print and is hoping to do a special edition adorned with Swarovski crystal (“Kim loves bling!”). The sisters’ fans can also turn the cover over for a special keepsake poster that is sure to find its way into plenty of teen bedrooms.

As for the general state of the industry, Lisa weighs in with this: “Publishing is in a new transformative stage. The new wave of eBooks has opened up a world of possibilities. For those who are addicted to technology and books, it’s the perfect fit.”  To wit: HarperCollins’ eBook version of Sammy Hagar‘s best selling memoir, Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock, featured enhanced content that included a sit-down with Hagar talking about his career at the end of each chapter. Lisa and her team expect the eBook version of Gregg Allman‘s yet-to-be-titled memoir due out next year to have a wide range of enhanced content. By the way, I got a glimpse of the book’s stunning cover and it has best seller written all over it.

Here’s the rundown on today’s crowd:

1. Fashionista Mickey Ateyeh with an impressive crowd of power lunch gals: producer Fran Weissler, Fern Mallis (looking fabulous since being on the mend from two broken elbows), Cindy Lewis, Barbara Cutler and Laurie Tisch

2. Six-time NBA champion with the Chicago Bulls, Scottie Pippen, with PR gal Tammy Brooks and some other lovely looking ladies we didn’t get to meet.

3. Proprietor Michael McCarty holding court with Mort Hamburg (Nice to meet you!) and another formidable looking fellow

4. Peter Brown with the very chic Judith Czelusniak. Read more

Yesterday evening Discovery Communications held its annual upfront presentation, wooing advertisers and media buyers, while previewing upcoming programming and networks.

With a suite of channels that includes Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet and OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, there was plenty of ground to cover.

Luckily, they had Oprah there to sell it.

Yes, talk show queen turned media mogul Oprah Winfrey herself was in attendance at Jazz at Lincoln Center, and revealed the 2011/2012 OWN programming slate on stage.

She was joined by Rosie O’Donnell, who will be making her return to daytime with a talk show on OWN later this year. O’Donnell performed a song and dance routine with a troupe of male dancers.

Discovery had other big names in attendance, inducing actor Morgan Freeman, who hosts and produces the program “Through the Wormhole” on Science, and magicians Penn & Teller, who have a new show “Penn & teller’s Secrets of the Universe” on Discovery later this year. Billy Ray Cyrus also unveiled his new show for TLC, “Homecoming,” which reunites military men and women with their families, while SNL’s Andy Samberg told some jokes in advance of his gig as “Chief Shark Officer” during 2011′s Shark Week.

FishbowlNY also spotted:

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(Photo courtesy of MaryAnneRussell.com)

The 2011 Matrix Awards were held at the Waldorf-Astoria on Monday, and it was a chance to see the top women in media honor the achievements of each other.

The Matrix Awards take a broad look at the media industry, and recipients include women in television, advertising, public relations, and technology. “I didn’t even know I was in the media until today!” said Broadway actress and Matrix award recipient Idina Menzel.

The lifetime achievement award was given, deservedly, to Betty White, who spoke via satellite from Los Angeles. “It’s wonderful to be a role model at 89… it’s wonderful to be anything at 89,” said White with characteristic good humor.

Her advice to other women: keep doing what you are passionate about, said White, “long after people assume you’re dead.”

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— DIANE CLEHANE

It would have been hard to beat the head-spinning scene that I witnessed at Michael’s last Wednesday, but this week came close. A camera crew from WNBC-TV’s LX-TV was on hand filming a segment on celebrity lunch spots as the masters of the universe (Barry Diller) and socialites (Melania Trump, swathed in mink) strolled in and air-kissed their way to their tables. When Amy Rosenblum, the show’s producer, heard I was having lunch with comedy icon Sinbad and his family to talk about their new reality show for WE tv, her ears perked up. “Perfect!” she said. “We’ll come over and borrow him for our segment. ”

Having never met the comedian, I didn’t know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised to find that 10 minutes after the family arrived (right on time!) fresh off their morning at SiriusXM, it felt as if I’d known them all forever. They’re the anti-Osbournes! Named one of the Top 100 Stand-up Comedians of All Time by Comedy Central and a sitcom (A Different World, The Sinbad Show) vet, Sinbad told me the new show, Sinbad: It’s Just Family (premiering April 12 at 10 pm on WE tv) is a marked departure of the bumper crop of dysfunctional family fright fests that populate the reality TV landscape.

“These producers want meltdowns and dramas, but most of the dramas wouldn’t happen if people weren’t shooting their show. Most reality shows have an agenda and you have to understand that. I got about 80 percent of what I wanted. I was the voice of reason. We picked and chose what we wanted to shoot.” Any scenes in the master bedroom were off-limits, he said. “That’s just not respectful.” Instead, the show focuses on his version of family life — his re-marriage to his ex-wife Meredith Adkins and his relationship with his two “grids” (semi-grown kids) Paige and Royce. When he’s not on the road doing stand-up, he’s home keeping things together — his way. “The show is not about some comedian looking for a comeback because I never went away!” he quipped.

I had to ask him what he thought of this season’s Celebrity Apprentice since he appeared on season three of the show. “Donald Trump likes fights. He likes drama,” he told me. “That’s why Meat Loaf and Gary Busey are still around. That’s what people want to watch.” As for his take on his former cast mates: “Brett Michaels was a baby and Sharon Osbourne has the filthiest mouth of any woman I’ve ever met. She faked being sick just so she could miss being project manager for the first three weeks.” He also has choice words for Ozzy Osbourne. “That show they did made him look like a fool. Do you really want people to remember you like that? These people are stars and they don’t really think about how they want to be perceived.”

For their show, Sinbad and the family ”focused on the positive” and shot weeks of 12-14 hour days for six episodes, which was quite an adjustment. “It’s the most time we’ve spent together since the kids were babies,” says Meredith. “We were miked all the time and had to remind ourselves that they were recording everything.”

Royce is a college student studying audio sound engineering, and Paige is an R&B artist (Meredith is her manager) who co-wrote all the songs on her new album, Imperfect Me. Both had to be convinced to do the show at first, but wound up enjoying the experience. Proud Papa says of their TV debut: “He surprised me and she turned out to be quite the daredevil.”  In one episode, Paige convinced the family to try out a trapeze park, and the producers were only too happy to get it all for the show. “That’s what was so great about the show.  If we wanted to do something and the producers thought it was a great idea, they made it happen,” says Paige. “The flip side was we were having family barbecues, and there was someone standing on the driveway handing out releases for our friends to sign. That was a little strange but we got used to it.”

Here’s the rundown on today’s crowd:

1. Sinbad, his wife Meredith Adkins, daughter Paige, son Royce and yours truly.

2. Project Playlist CEO John Sykes and Brian Bedol

3. Melania Trump and designer Rachel Roy. I was nearly blinded when I happened to look over at The Donald’s better half  and spotted the sparkler on her ring finger. And, yes, she is even more gorgeous in person.

4. Barry Diller

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Sirius XM Radio announced yesterday that former talk show host and explosive “View” co-host Rosie O’Donnell will be hosting her own daily morning show on satellite radio come this fall.

The show, called “Rosie Radio,” will be a two-hour weekday talk show featuring Rosie’s unique take on the world — “an eclectic mix of humor, pop culture and serious conversation,” the satellite radio network said.

“Rosie Radio” will also have “an ensemble feel” thanks to a variety of guests who will be sitting in to talk with Rosie, including celebrities and average Joes. We doubt that Rosie’s former “View” co-hosts Elisabeth Hasselbeck or Barbara Walters will be among the guests who join in the fun, although that would make for great ratings.

Full release after the jump

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Mark it down: Whoopi Goldberg will be named the new co-host of The View, FishbowlNY has learned. Sources close to the decision say the announcement could come in a matter of days. The move has been rumored since Rosie‘s departure in May, while boldfaced names from Paris to Perez have been tossed around as possible replacements. Barbara Walters told FishbowlNY recently at Michael’s that a decision would be forthcoming: “We have to decide by the end of the month [July] because we’re off in August, so, soon.”

An ABC spokesperson tells FishbowlNY, “We adore Whoopi and enjoy having her as a guest host on the show, but no decisions have been made.”

RELATED:

Perez Hilton to get Rosie‘s View slot? That’s the rumor that has been presented to us by multiple sources. Here’s one reason for the persistent rumormongering — posted by the Queen of All Media himself yesterday:

Only one day to go!!!!

Perez is going to be a guest on The View tomorrow!!!
Perez is going to be a guest on The View tomorrow!!!
Perez is going to be a guest on The View tomorrow!!!

P.S. Our big announcement is also coming tomorrow.

The secret will be out Friday at noon.

Hmm, noon — isn’t that the time The View ends?

If Perez-to-View is true, here’s why it makes perfect, story-arc sense: Perez is a blogger-turned celebrity. Rosie is a celebrity-turned-blogger. Both are opinionated. Both are outspoken. Both are gay.

Stay tuned …

RELATED:

Love her or loathe her, has there ever been a celebrity more new media savvy than Rosie O’Donnell? After an intellectual showdown with Elisabeth Hasselbeck on the View left Barbara Walters to calm the insatiable studio audience down (“There is peace in the kingdom“) Rosie put her beat poetry blog-leanings to video, Web-cam style, to explain why she won’t be coming back to the View:

“I was really just like the foster kid for a year. I came and we considered adoption, but I really didn’t fit into the family, and then it was time for the foster kid to go back home.”

The result: an intimate talk (and bandana and beer) implausibly hard to ignore.

EARLIER:

Barbara Walters gives a bizarre, seemingly unnecessary video statement to ABCNews.com regarding yesterday’s heated debate between Rosie and Elisabeth Hasselbeck over the war in Iraq.

Wanna see something even more unnecessary? ABCNews.com’s follow-up report on the feud entitled “‘View’ War of Words Prompts Question: What Can Americans Say About the War?” — perhaps the “war” wasn’t manufactured for ratings, as Barbara insists, but the network’s marketing of it certainly has been.

After the last few relatively uneventful Wednesdays, we were thrilled to see the dining buzzing with excitement when we arrived this afternoon. Our favorite Cosmo gal Kate White was celebrating the publication of her latest book, Lethally Blonde, with a ladies lunch at Table One comprised of an intriguing mix of flaxen-haired gals. The festivities spilled out into the main dining room causing quite the hubbub until Steve Millington corralled the crowd and the gals settled down to tuck into their salads. White’s power peroxide set: Kim Cattrall (who was overheard telling a reporter she “hasn’t heard anything new” about a possible Sex And The City movie), Hilary (Mrs. Bryant) Gumbel, Cecile Richards (president of Planned Parenthood and daughter of the late Texas governor, Ann), Linda Fairstein, Sarah Greenberg of Lionsgate Films and Joan Carl, president of D. Porthault (which would explain the lovely little packages at each place setting).

The View‘s Elizabeth Hasselbeck, who looked glowing in her 15th week of pregnancy (“It’s the self-tanner”) told lunchtime chronicler Diane Clehane that she was there because she was “in awe” of Ms. White, adding, “Cosmo and The View have a lot in common. They both cover all the things women really care about. Both have also been subject to others trying to duplicate their successful formulas but they’re both true originals!” Fresh off yet another dust-up on this morning’s show with Rosie O’Donnell, Hasselbeck professed to know nothing about plans to replace her departing co-host. “I never know anything.” But, she admitted, “I’m sure there’s some master plan.” When asked to characterize her contentious relationship with O’Donnell, Hasselbeck gamely replied: “We’re friends. We’re in different places philosophically. When you feel deeply about issues, things get heated. Some times I wish I didn’t care as much as I do.”

Also in attendance: Lesley Stahl (who slipped in after things had settled down) and the one true head-scratcher of the group: Carolyn Kepcher, who, you might recall, served as Donald Trump‘s hatchet woman on The Apprentice until he banished her from the boardroom. We’re guessing Ms. Kepcher enjoyed the news that the once popular reality show was left off NBC’s new fall schedule.

Here’s the rundown on the rest of today’s crowd:

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