Thursday morning headlines

Diller's the one: Executive compensation scorecards normally come out in the spring and early summer, but some companies haven't filed their most recent proxy material at that point, so the information can be outdated. But by now most everybody's numbers are in and this year's highest- paid executive is ... drum roll... Barry Diller. Exactly how much he made, however, depends on which study you're using. One has him at $295 million, another at $85 million. Why the discrepancy? Different ways of calculating options and other payments. Diller is chairman and CEO of IAC/Interactive, which operates all kinds of media/Internet enterprises that include QVC and Expedia.

The $1,275 cell phone: And as described by NYT tech columnist David Pogue, it hardly seems worth the money. Made by Bang & Olufsen, the phone apparently looks great - clambshell design, jet black surface - and has a tiny internal motor that avoids the hassle of flipping the thing open and shut. Just nudge it and the motor takes over. Not sure if the world really needs this, but that's probably the point.

NFL Coliseum deal dead: Not that there ever was an actual deal, but now that the league has all but passed on rebuilding the stadium for pro football, the Coliseum Commission is talking to USC about extending the school's lease. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said that if the NFL really wanted to make a deal with the Coliseum, the league would have done it already. Time to move on, he said.

Clear channel update: Those huge private equity firms have another target: Clear Channel Communications, the nation's largest radio company - and a big presence in L.A. radio. WSJ reports that Providence Equity Partners, Blackstone Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. have formed a bidding consortium that plans to stage a buyout. There's a second group that's also interested. The talks are said to be pretty advanced.

MySpace flight: Is the networking site, like, over? The number of unique visitors fell 4 percent in September. While a Nielsen analyst says the slowdown is seasonal, a VP at Fox Interactive Media, which oversees MySpace, admits that the site is "moving from a growth spurt into a phase of maturity." How much did those YouTube guys get from Google?

Waxing upset: Word that Madame Tussauds plans to open one of its museums next to Grauman's Chinese Theatre, first reported a few weeks back, is getting a less than rousing endorsement. Nearby landlords and homeowners had been hoping for something a little less touristy - and besides, Hollywood already has a wax museum barely a block away. Tussauds executives were in town to talk up the project, which must still be approved by the city.

Speaking of tourism: The City Council has delayed a $600,000 plan to promote the San Fernando Valley as a tourist destination - a move that doesn't exactly sit well just days after the city opened a tourism office in China. Valley advocates want the region to get a dedicated share of the hotel room tax it collects, instead of putting those dollars into the overall tourism pool. Valley hotels account for 17 percent of all funds raised from L.A.'s bed tax. Why not put Madame Tussauds at City Walk?

Another Hollywood story: NYT's Sharon Waxman uses the upcoming release of the movie "Harsh Times" as an entry point to examine Philippe Martinez, who came to L.A. last year with plans to build the biggest independent studio in the industry (haven't we heard that one before?). Turns out that he's served jail time for fraud in France after a failed film venture and was looking for a clean start. He also claims to have put $15 million into the marketing of "Harsh Times," when in fact the money is coming from MGM.

Pollution police: They are cracking down on diesel trucks at the Port of Long Beach. Inspectors stopped 128 trucks along harbor-area roads and cited 20 drivers for emission and mechanical violations.