“It was like Godzilla versus…

… King Kong.”

It’s not yet certain that it will end for Nikki Finke the way it did for Muammar Gaddafi. Time will tell.

The facacta, constantly dying, yet often useful Hollywood journalist, has reached a settlement with former boss Jay Penske after a poisonous parting and is rebranding herself as a publisher of show-business fiction with Hollywood Dementia. She just did an AMA at Reddit and came across as shockingly normal. A few exchanges follow.

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Question:

Who is the craziest executive still working in Hollywood?

Nikki Finke:

Oh my. That’s an incredibly long list. The producer Scott Rudin probably is #1 followed close behind by studio chief Harvey Weinstein. I recall one time when the two of them were fighting: it was like Godzilla vs King Kong. I made one of them promise to give a donation to a charity if what I was reporting was wrong: it wasn’t, but they never made the donation, dammit.

I’d have to add Ryan Kavanaugh to that list. But since his company is going belly up (bankruptcy), he may not be around much longer. Which is a shame because who will Hollywood have to kick around now? He was a laughingstock, or should have been.

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Question:

Which scoop have you witnessed go beyond entertainment that possibly affected politics, world events?

Nikki Finke:

Well, I scooped the world about Ronald Reagan’s final weekend and death. And I used to report on U.S.-Russian strategic arms talks and summits between leaders. But when Benghazi broke out, and an anti-Muslim movie was blamed, I kept reorting on what was true and what wasn’t. Plus, I scooped that Oprah was leaving her syndicated show – and that was pretty earth-shattering, LOL. I couldn’t believe what a big deal that was.

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Question:

How’s your relationship with Matt Drudge these days?

Nikki Finke:

I’ve known Matt Drudge for seemingly forever. He was one of the true online pioneers. What’s amazing about Drudge is his reach into every facet of power in every field. He truly has clout. Media outlets like The New York Times beg him to pick up their stories. He and I both are finding the Trump phenom right now very stimulating and interesting for the media – if it lasts.

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Question:

Ben Affleck and the Nanny, yes or no? How about JLo?

Nikki Finke:

Thank god I’ve never done celebrity gossip in my long career. I have zero interest in it. I believe everyone is entitled to a private personal life. I don’t and won’t go there. But from a professional standpoint, Ben Affleck was one of the most humble actors/directors/producers I ever came to know in Hollywood. And that’s saying a lot. I remember the night he won the Best Picture Oscar for Argo, he called me from his car as he was leaving the ceremony. And even though everyone knew he was going to win, he was still gobsmacked about it, almost in shock.

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Question:

Hi Nikki! It seems like the journalism world is very cutthroat and competitive — do you have advice for young reporters just starting out about forming relationships with their peers? Is it sometimes hard to make friendships with people you’re competing against in media?

Nikki Finke:

When I was a young journalist, I found that the older journalists hated me. They threw shade because they knew I was working harder than them and scooping them which made them look bad to their editors. (No journo likes to hear, “Why didn’t you have that story?” from their editors.) It took me a few years to ignore them and that. You must have balls of steel to go with a thick skin. The only thing that matters is working your sources and getting as close to the truth as possible. Who cares if no one likes you for it? Isn’t that why people get dogs? In recent years I’m so used to getting bad press about how I “bullied” Hollywood that I was shocked when anybody had anything nice to say about me. I think a lot of people are very relieved I’m not in journalism now.•