Nikki’s Back

When last heard from, the outspoken reporter and blogger had a nasty, public falling out with Jay Penske – whose Penske Media Group acquired the Deadline Hollywood site and brand as part of a deal with Variety. Finke is rolling out HollywoodDementia.com, which presumably doesn’t run afoul of her separation agreement with her former boss.

Rather than reporting box office numbers and industry gossip, the site will focus on Hollywood-themed fiction from an unannounced stable of contributors.  Finke says she has set up a TinyPass paywall for the site, and will charge $1 per post for those wishing to read the prose.

While no content yet appears on the site, the May 18 announcement caused a minor stir when the notoriously camera-shy Finke tweeted details of the project, including a recent photograph of herself.

“Not since F. Scott Fitzgerald, John O’Hara and more recently Michael Tolkin and Bruce Wagner have knowledgeable writers tackled showbiz in short fiction or succeeded in getting paid for it. Now add my name to the list about to try that – and I invite Hollywood movie and TV writers, executives, journalists, critics and authors to join me,” Finke posted on her own website, NikkiFinke.com.