Party crashers know three rules of fame

Plus: Sandra Bullock is the box-office darling of 2009

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>> al, thanks very much.

>>> now to new revelations about that virginia couple that managed that crash last week's white house state dinner . nbc 's chief white house correspondent chuck todd has the latest on this. hi, chuck, good morning.

>> reporter: good morning. it doesn't get any big they are week for president obama . he has the big afghanistan speech tomorrow at west point. thursday he hosts his jobs summit. the white house is finding itself distracted by this state party dinner incident. the secret service investigation is continuing just as new details are emerging about this fame-o obsessed couple.

>> reporter: the uninvited state dinner guests who charmed their way into the white house are now, according to reports, trying to sell their story to television networks for hundreds of thousands of dollars. they canceled an interview planned for tonight with cnn's larry king . a publicist for the couple told nbc news "we are not making any formal comments or arrangements with any media at this time." the party crashing couple who shook hands with the president and posted photos of their escapade on their facebook page have a history of attention-seeking behavior. "the real housewives of d.c." were filming the couple the day of the dinner. but bravo, owned by nbc 's parent company nbc universal , says the salahis have not yet been cast in the show. this latest publicity stunt appears to be a trend among aspiring reality show stars after last month's balloon boy hoax. beyond their reality tv dreams, the salahis wedding video shows off their taste for the extravagant. a ceremony with over 1,800 guests, including supreme court justice anthony kennedy . rachel, who's known the couple for ten years, says they have a history of exaggerating.

>> they've gotten two other places before, they've done a lot of inappropriate things. in their head it is power.

>> reporter: she claims she was a model for victoria's secret and a former redskins cheerleader. both say she's never worked for them. though the couple was first turned away at the vehicle entrance, they were cleared through a pedestrian entrance after a uniformed agent only checked their i.d.s but did not cross-check their names with the guest list. the secret service is conducting a full investigation. while criminal charges are unlikely, some lawmakers say the couple did break the law.

>> i think you have to have a strong deterrent against this kind of thing. therefore if it is a federal crime to lie to a federal agent and these people didn't tell the truth about their invitation, then they should be in some way brought to justice.

>> reporter: now, matt, the salahis were interviewed by the secret service over the weekend and we're told that this review process, or this investigation, should be wrapped up before the end of the week.

>> chuck, thanks very much. chuck todd at the white house this morning. republican congressman peter

Show transcript

By Courtney Hazlett The Scoop

msnbc.com

updated 11/29/2009 10:07:10 PM ET

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For the sake of argument, let’s assume that despite their protests to the contrary, Tareq and Michaele Salahi were not invited to President Obama’s state dinner last week. Let’s assume that they, like the Heene family of balloon boy fame, are reality star wannabes who have taken things too far.

If that’s the case, then guess what? They’re also the most “real” stars that reality television has seen in some time. In three simple steps, the Salahis have really earned their 15 minutes of fame.

1) They understand the fame game
Although cameras have been following potential “Real Housewives of D.C.” candidates, including Michaele Salahi, for weeks, Bravo has yet to announce the cast list.

If being part of the franchise is Michaele Salahi's goal, then she smartly realized it would take some outrageous behavior to get noticed. Mission accomplished.

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The biggest challenge the “Real Housewives” franchise has is getting the public to welcome strangers into their homes. Thanks to the recent headlines, the Salahis aren't strangers any more. If Bravo were to include them in the show, the couple gets what they were after, and Bravo gets some instant ratings.

2) They have the gall to ask for big bucks
Speaking of ratings, what helps send those soaring better than an exclusive network interview? The New York Times reports that the Salahis want hundreds of thousands of dollars to tell their story.

Video: Going to extremes for shot at fame If that comes as a shock, you’d better sit down, because I’ve got something I’d like to tell you about Santa Claus. Reality check: many, many exclusive interviews involve an exchange of currency. By asking for some cash, the Salahis send the message that they’re playing in the big leagues here.

3) They aren’t ashamed of reality TV
The Secret Service said the Salahis were waved past the initial security checkpoint, and while you really hope the White House is more difficult to enter than New York hotspot 10AK, you can see how the lapse happened. Look at who else was in attendance: Steven Spielberg, Alfre Woodard, Blair Underwood, M. Knight Shyamalan, Jennifer Hudson.

What’s another couple claiming to be reality stars? Like pigs in a blanket on a plate of fancier hors d’oeuvres, in the presence of “real” celebrities, a reality star can fit in now. The Salahis figured it out first, and had some serious moxie to go out and really test it. This time, the joke’s on us.

Sandra Bullock bullies ‘Twilight’ at box office
Sure, “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” topped the box office and made another $42.5 million this weekend, but the real winner, in my opinion, is Sandra Bullock.

Slideshow: Sandra Bullock Her movie, “The Blind Side,” was No. 2 and came in just behind “New Moon” with $40.1 million. More importantly, “The Blind Side” did that while playing in nearly 1,000 fewer theaters than the vampire romance.

If it’s not too early, then I nominate Bullock for female box-office superhero of 2009. She hadn’t hit the big screen since 2007, and between “The Proposal,” “All About Steve” and “The Blind Side” (which has only been out two weeks), she’s made more than $300 million at the box office.

Courtney Hazlett delivers the Scoop Monday through Friday on msnbc.com. Follow Scoop on Twitter @courtneyatmsnbc