Photo: Getty Images

Amira: Do you have any good angles for this cab-baby story?
Catucci: That’s tough. You can be funny, but you don't want to go overboard. There's a million and one tasteless jokes to make.
Amira: Haha, yeah, I know.
Amira: I mean, the baby's probably better off. The dad doesn’t really seem like a stand-up guy.
Catucci: You could go the heartwarming route, like here's something for the city to rally around.
Catucci: When was the last time there was a story like this to capture our imagination? Baby Jessica had a well; we have this girl in a livery cab. Or something.
Amira: Yeah, that could work.
Catucci: It's a sign of the new New York.
Amira: It’s a little strange that Commissioner Kelly is surprised that nobody recognized this baby. I mean, how many babies do you know?
Catucci: Babies all look same. (Wait … now that I look at the photo again, that's my baby!)
Amira: Exactly. It's like saying, “Whose Chihuahua is this?”

This week, Fox's semi-despicable The Moment of Truth finally realized its potential as a reality show capable of destroying a marriage — or so we thought. On Monday night's episode, Pierpont, New Jersey's Lauren Cleri nearly won $200,000 by admitting to cheating on her spouse and that she'd rather be married to her ex-boyfriend, before losing everything on a throwaway question. But on Wednesday, the New York Post caught up with Cheri and her husband Frank who, for no logical reason, are still very much together. The Post's always-helpful comment section has responded with some expert advice for Frank. Highlights after the jump!

The Opportunist From Lauren's Past:

Yo Lauren, hit me up.....

Lookin fine as hell girl...mmmm I wanna get me some more of that.....

you know the number

-T
Posted by: Tony on February 27, 2008 04:54 PM

Commenter Who's Pretty Sure There's No Such Thing As Paranoia:

Leave that white trash bro, once a cheater alway a cheater. I don't know you frank, but you seem like one of those nice guy who get use by B*@#$ like Lauren. She doesn't deserve you, you can do better man. I broke up with my girlfriend who I believe was cheating, but never caught her.
Posted by: canes on February 28, 2008 01:04 AM

Guy Who's Probably Not the Real William Safire:

She's already got that "old lady" look to her face. In 10 years she'll be a wrinkly cougar trolling for district sales managers in the bar at the Newark Airport Ramada Inn.
Frank: She's lost all respect for you, and has told you & America that she'd rather not be with you. Save yourself years of misery & money and walk away now. You'll never regain "hand" in the situation and you can't be with someone who doesn't respect you, and is basically ethically challenged and just not an honorable person.
Posted by: William Safire on February 28, 2008 03:32 AM

Commenter Who Suddenly Wants to Make This About Frank:

As a woman who has been cheated on many times I knows how frank feels. But to read that all the comments are putting her down and calling her trash really make me mad. America is so quick to comment on the fact. But if this was a man America would look at it so difffernt and say she sould forgive him and everyone makes mistakes and they should just try to work it out. It really makes me mad that every time a man cheats its ok and woman should forgive them and stick by them. But if a WOMAN does it she is a HOE and the man should leave her. Men Should think about what they do Before they comment and who knows what Frank has done to her. And if not her to some other poor girl so men who get cheated on are only getting what is coming to them. And I would put money on it that half the people saying that they should not have done this for the money, if they had the chance they would do it to. So stop PUTTING her down.
Posted by: Renna on February 28, 2008 09:37 PM

Person Whose Creepy Advice Is So Creepily Specific the Police Might Want to Take Note:

HEY FRANK, ONCE A CHEATER ALWAYS A CHEATER, FILE FOR A DIVORCE FOR ADULTERY, BEFORE YOU MAKE A MISTAKE IN HAVING CHILDREN WITH HER. YOU AS A COP AND WITH DIVORCE PROCEEDING WITH CHILDREN INVOLVED THE WOMEN GETS 17% PER CHILD IN CHILD SUPPORT MONEY AND 1/2 OF EVERYTHING YOU OWN. SHE WASN'T PAY WHAT WAS OFFERED TO HER IN THE SHOW SO WHY SHOULD YOU PAY,.GET OUT BEFORE YOU MAKE A BIG MISTAKE IN STAYING AND ONE DAY YOU MIGHT TURN UP IN THE NEWSPAPER FOR MURDERING YOUR WIFE BECAUSE YOU SNAP.
Posted by: Eve on February 29, 2008 09:06 AM

Commenter Obnoxiously Flaunting Superiority by Claiming Not to Watch Television in the Comment Section of a Story About the Most Exciting Ten Minutes of TV in Years:

I knew nothing of this ridiculous show as I voluntarily broke my addiction to television back in December. Haven't missed it for one second and "entertainment" like this is exactly the reason why. So now I'm glad I didn't give in when Comcast called me the other day to give me a special deal on cable. No thanks, I'll spend that 40 bucks on some intelligent books instead.

Everybody, go back to the lost art of reading - that way you aren't constantly assailed with this humilation-for-money crapola, any of Oprah Winfrey's fake humanitariansim, and commercials every 3 seconds that tell you you are fat or ugly or using the wrong kind of fabric softener. Trust me, you'll be happier and less angry all the time.
Posted by: not a guilty white liberal on February 29, 2008 12:16 PM

Commenter Futilely Trying to Convert New York Post Commenters to Christianity:

The bottom line is wedding vows are just not what GOD intended them to be in these days and times ~ Sad to say. We can call tell Frank what we "think" he should do or not do...but the truth of it is...we ALL have been naive at one point or another in terms of a relationships...we ALL have crossed that path and we ALL must LEARN for ourselves. Before we judge either of them...let’s look at ourselves and dig in our own closets for stuff or decisions we have made that were not the wisest of choices. And for those of you who are adding "lil" pot shots at being with her...come on...YOU WISH. [If] Frank was to read any of our comments do you think it would make him feel any better about his situation...how can so many be so cruel to someone who I am sure is hurting already. If it were you or a brother or family member...would you honestly want the "cruel" comments coming their way...it's always good to put the shoe on the other foot. Instead of tearing them down even more...try helping to lift people up...after all you DO reap what you sow...It all comes back to you in ONE FORM or ANOTHER...Trust me that is the way the LORD works.

The world already has enough mean and evil haters…don’t add to the already large population, give back to this world …DON’T take from it. You will feel better about yourself in the end and that which you had to contribute.

Frank and Lauren, God's speed be with you and your relationship, I pray for healing and a bright future for the both of you.
Posted by: Kellece on February 29, 2008 01:47 PM

The Voice of Reason:

YO DUDE DROP HER AND GO FOR THE SISTER MONICA SHE'S THE HOT ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Logan on February 29, 2008 01:53 PM

Web Exclusive: The 'Truth' Hurts [NYP]

Earlier: ‘The Moment of Truth’ Finally Delivers on Its Promise to Ruin Marriages

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 29 Feb 2008 | 10:00 pm

Heaven Forbid a Woman Propose to Her Beau

Oh no! Woman proposes, man loses control!Photo: AP

Since today is leap-year day, it's acceptable for women to propose to men. Lord knows why, but it has something to do with a nunnery in fifth-century Ireland. Do we really want to get into it? Nah. Anyhow, a gentleman has written a piece for the Times of London about how to avoid getting in a situation where — God forbid — their girlfriends propose to them. Steve Beale writes, "A long-term relationship with a woman who doesn't display signs of borderline personality disorder can be fantastic." He also points out, "If you're married, she can have half your money. Maybe more." And he suggests the "real reason" a woman might propose today is that it would make for a good story for her friends. Because really, when it comes to marriage, what's love got to do with it?

So how does Beale think dudes can avoid a dreaded proposal?

• Go to a "high class orgy" because "the last thing she wants is for your (inevitable, gutless) acceptance to be celebrated by a round of applause from a bunch of naked 'heedonists,' as Larry David calls them."

• Get scary into the whole marriage idea. Give her your grandmother's ring and tell her you're going to Paris to get a proper one, have Vivienne Westwood "make you up four swords with her orb on the hilt for your ushers," book a castle for the whole affair. Beale writes, "Your fiancée will undoubtedly call it all off, citing that the relationship was so 'intense' that it must also be 'destructive.'"

• Avoid soccer matches because this is a perfect time for her to propose.

• Go to Greece because Greeks think it's bad luck to marry during a leap year.

• Don't watch soap operas because this one time a contest winner proposed with a prerecorded commercial-break message.

• If all else fails, book a "business trip" to Moscow and stage an affair with a Russian woman. Send yourself letters with Russian addresses and a cryptic message that says the fake Russian woman's brothers will kill you if you don't marry her. The woman who proposed to you will realize she doesn't stand a chance.

You know what would be a lot easier than all of that, Mr. Beale? Breaking up with your girlfriend.

What happens when the woman proposes [Times]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 29 Feb 2008 | 9:58 pm

A Dutch copy of Misha Defonseca's faked Belgian Holocaust memoir

A customer looking at a Dutch copy of Misha Defonseca's faked Belgian Holocaust memoir. The duped French book-editor and film-producer of the memoir scrambled Friday to put a brave face on the deception,...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 29 Feb 2008 | 9:36 pm

The Internet Is Messing With Us Over ‘Gossip Girl,’ and We Do. Not. Like.

Photo Illustration: Getty Images, Courtesy of CW

TV Guide is checking its sources against this new information, but we trust Us implicitly, since they know everything. The only question in our minds is this: Who will be Gossip Girl's Valerie Malone? Our suggestions, after the jump.

Nicole Richie: Who needs Chicago? Pro: As a formerly heroin-addled rich girl, Nicole could make the character work even without acting, which is good because she probably can't. Con: Too L.A., and can she lose the baby weight?
Ellen Page: After the Oscars, indie darling decides to expand her range. Pro: Brings in that mid-twenties indie demographic. Con: Chirpy soundtrack follows her wherever she goes.
Hayden Pannetiere: Hayden is debauchery waiting to happen, and it's only a matter of time before they kill her off Heroes. Pro: There would finally be a reason for her to be in the tabloids. Con: Is she phlegmatic enough for New York?
Jamie-Lynn Spears: Do we even need to justify it?

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 29 Feb 2008 | 9:30 pm

Rapper Sheek Louch Brings Beef to Wes Anderson

Getting in on the response-video blood sport, Sheek Louch—the comic relief in the NYC gangster-rap survivor clique the Lox/D-Block—has taken the game to Wes Anderson in his new video for the single “Good Love,” mimicking the Dajeerling auteur’s semi-funny AT&T ads. We follow “The Wolf” as he gets dap on the slopes in Colorado, outside an auto detailing spot on D-Block, and breezing through a TSA checkpoint at a remarkably upbeat airport terminal. It all goes down in a place called Aspeyonkerguardia.

Sheek Louch

"Good Love"
Silverback Gorilla
Koch Records

Watch

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 29 Feb 2008 | 9:30 pm

Beauty Marks: Organic Technicalities, Dramatic Eyes

Dramatic eyes at Givenchy.Photo: Imaxtree

SKIN
• Organic cosmetics is a $7 billion industry, even though the “USDA requires that only 95 percent of the ingredients must be organically grown.” So basically, organic isn’t completely organic. If you're picky, you probably find this bogus. [Bella Sugar]
• Don’t want everyone in the office you’re going for a Brazilian wax? Lifebooker.com is the Seamless Web of scheduling beauty appointments. Thank you, God, for this. THANK YOU. [Beauty Blogging Junkie]

MAKEUP
• Aaron De Mey, makeup artist at Givenchy, created his dramatic eye look by taking a lighter to a ceramic plate — not by using liner pencils in bulk. Heavy-handed eyeliner junkies, take note. [Allure]
• For gold-shadow lovers, this shimmery pink shadow from Nars flatters lids with a softer tint. [Daily Obsession]

NAILS

• Caught in Paris: Model Behati Prinsloo wears metallic silver Chanel nail polish. [Moment/NYT]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 29 Feb 2008 | 9:24 pm

Blogger: Perez Traded Tips for Sex Tapes

Jonathan Jaxson told ABCNEWS.com that he sent Perez Hilton sex tapes for tips.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 29 Feb 2008 | 9:05 pm

Uliana Tikhova Picks School (and New York) Over Paris

Where you been, girl?Photo: Imaxtree

Though Nina Ricci’s newest collection remains a well-kept secret, we can tell you who not to expect come Sunday: Uliana Tikhova. After closing last season’s show, Tikhova has missed all of the Paris shows to take exams back home in Russia. Yes, she has actually chosen education over modeling. (Take a moment to process if you need to.) It may be an unexpected choice, especially during the biggest week of the year, but it turns out the girl's got a bit of a nerd thing going on: She wants to become a surgeon. Also, her agency’s planned this schedule so, even though she's missing the shows, she can be rushed back to New York for work as soon as she takes her last exam. Take that, gay ol' Paris. —Kendall Herbst

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 29 Feb 2008 | 9:00 pm

Photographer Brian Finke Hangs Out With Some Dudes

Brian Finke, Untitled (Frat Boys #1) (2005) and Untitled (Frat Boys #3) (2005).Courtesy of ClampArt, New York City.

Photographer Brian Finke infiltrates various hipster-hating A-crowds (i.e. frat boys and cheerleaders) for a hilariously poetic look at social hierarchies and, in this case, alcohol tolerance. His solo exhibition is currently up at Chelsea's ClampArt. —Rachel Wolff

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 29 Feb 2008 | 9:00 pm

MDs Cleared of Wrongdoing in Ledger Death

DEA determined two doctors lawfully provided prescriptions to Heath Ledger.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 29 Feb 2008 | 8:46 pm

‘SNL’ Fauxbama Fauxmenting Backlash

Wow, who remembers the last time Saturday Night Live was so politically relevant? On Tuesday Hillary Clinton drew attention to SNL’s debate skit from last weekend, which highlighted the media’s pro-Obama bias, and now the show's choice of Fred Armisen as their Fauxbama is creating a debate over race in television. Critics contend that it’s inappropriate and shameful that SNL couldn’t find a black comedian to play Obama (Armisen is of Venezuelan, Japanese, and German descent). Hannah Pool at the Guardian compared Armisen’s light makeup to blackface, and Maureen Ryan at the Chicago Tribune wrote that SNL’s failure to choose a black person for the role shows it has failed to keep pace with the rest of the nation’s progress on race relations.

The Washington Post helpfully points out that white cast members have portrayed black celebrities in the past and that nobody complained: Darrell Hammond repeatedly played Jesse Jackson, and Billy Crystal took a turn as Sammy Davis Jr. In one respect the critics are right: There must be someone out there who is black and could impersonate Obama. But isn’t it a step backward to say that only a black person could successfully impersonate another black person? As if the gulf between the races is so vast that skin color trumps speech and gestures — which are after all what impersonation is about? And remember Ben Kingsley, who won an Academy Award for his portrayal of Gandhi (in dark makeup)? We all thought he did a pretty good job, and he was from a mixed background, like Armisen. And in fact, like Barack Obama. —Dan Amira

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 29 Feb 2008 | 8:45 pm

King of Pop's Finances Going Poof?

Michael Jackson's credit rating appears to be moving into dangerous territory. According to newly disclosed public records, the self-proclaimed King of Pop's financial woes have gotten...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 29 Feb 2008 | 8:36 pm

Director Brett Morgen on ‘Chicago 10,’ Jeremy Blake, and Gagging Sam Jackson

Photo: Getty Images

The latest documentary from director Brett Morgen (The Kid Stays in the Picture) chronicles the circuslike trial that ensued following the arrests of ten famous activists presumed to have caused the riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The wild, resultant film fuses sobering footage of the riots with animated reenactments of the closed-door courtroom sessions — with the parts of Abby Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, and their cohorts voiced by a cast including Liev Schreiber, Mark Ruffalo, Hank Azaria, and the late Roy Scheider, in one of his final roles. Morgen checked in with Vulture on the eve of the film’s release.

The Chicago 10 voice cast is like a director’s wet dream. Did you ever think you’d get such an amazing group of actors?
At first I wanted all nameless actors because I thought it would be distracting for the audience to watch the movie and be like, "Oh that’s Nick Nolte!" so I started casting people who work in animation. But a lot of the dialogue is really heavy and needed to be really well acted, so about nine months into the process I said, "Okay, this isn’t working, let’s just try to get the best cast we can find." I wrote a dream list and literally just started calling people cold. We had no money to offer, just SAG minimum, which is like $700 a day, but it turned out a lot of them were really into the politics and the message of the film. So suddenly I was in a booth with, you know, Mark Ruffalo, Roy Scheider, Hank Azaria…. It was amazing to watch someone like Liev Schreiber rip through seventeen pages of dialogue in fifteen minutes and turn to me and go, "Now what?"

Was there anyone you desperately wanted that didn’t pan out?
I got pretty much everyone I wanted for the main characters. I did screen the film for Samuel Jackson and talked to him and his people about playing Bobby Seale, but a lot of Bobby’s dialogue happens when he’s gagged. I think the line his manager came back with was "Sweetheart, we’re not going to let you gag Sam Jackson."

What inspired you to focus on this particular moment in history?
The idea for the film came out of a conversation I had with Graydon Carter in 2001 or 2002. The U.S. had already invaded Afghanistan and was talking about going into Iraq, and Graydon was like, "What’s wrong with your generation? When I was a kid, we had the Chicago 7 — they were like rock stars, they were our heroes! What do you think about making a film looking back on all that?" As we went into it, I said, "Look, this is one of the most heavily documented periods in contemporary American history, so if we’re gonna do it, what can we add to the canon of work?" To me it was about doing something that would capture the experience and energy of Chicago something uniquely cinematic. A sublime, visceral attack on the senses.

Everything about the movie feels very young — particularly the soundtrack. Was that your goal?
The movie is not about 1968. There’s no context. There’s a war going on, there’s opposition to the war, and there’s a government trying to silence that opposition. Basically this is a movie about today, so the soundtrack is the soundtrack of today, of my life, rather than my parents’ generation’s life. And also I just don’t think we really need another documentary featuring "For What It’s Worth" by Buffalo Springfield.

I understand that [late artist] Jeremy Blake did the final film poster. How’d that come about?
We had a screening at the Guggenheim in May, and they asked Jeremy Blake to work on the poster for the event. I was familiar with Jeremy’s work from Punch-Drunk Love and some other stuff, and I was thrilled that he was interested, so we screened the film for him and he totally got what I was trying to do. He wanted to use an image of Abby with an American-flag gag over his mouth and design the poster as an homage to the Fillmore East posters from the sixties but give it a more sort of contemporary digital feel. And I was like, "That is exactly what the film is about!" Sadly, I think it was one of the last things he did, if not the last thing he ever worked on. One of the last things he said to me was “I wish I could have seen this movie when I was 17 years old.” A few weeks afterward, he passed away.

That must have been so hard.
It hit me really badly for a number of reasons. One, it was amazing working with him. And two, he happened to take his life about five blocks from where I live — on the beach in Rockaway. Later, as we went down the road with the film, none of the poster images were really working for me so I said, "Listen, can we please go back to Jeremy’s poster? I think he nailed the essence of the film, and I think it would be a wonderful tribute to him." I’m pretty confident he would have loved it. —Sara Cardace

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 29 Feb 2008 | 8:30 pm

Fresh From Paris: Celine's Future Perfect; YSL Is Just Perfect

From left, Celine, Leonard, Yves St. Laurent.Photo: imaxtree

• Stefano Pilati's collection for Yves St. Laurent gets a gold star — it both stayed true to the house's namesake and still turned out something completely new.

• Celine's collection was very modern. Lots of white with punches of bright green and orange.

• Leonard showed pretty brocade-inspired patterns with a lot of browns.

• Barbara Bui showed oversize necklaces, funky fringe, and barely there gloves.

• Anne Valérie Hash rides the plaid train.

• Some of Issey Miyake's dresses looked like intricate origami projects.

• Haider Ackermann paired scrunched tight pants with draped dresses under structured coats.

• Sophia Kokosalaki showed chic black dresses and killer spiderweb pumps.

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 29 Feb 2008 | 8:20 pm

Ghost Towns and Old Bones

Flushing: Time to buy a new bathing suit! Or, um, ice skates? The plush, $66.3 million Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Natatorium and Ice Rink is opening today. [Curbed]
Lower East Side: Loud messy construction from Jason Pomeranc’s hotel at 200 Allen Street and Morris Platt’s 26-story condo on Orchard Street has turned the surrounding blocks into "a ghost town." [NYO]
Lower Manhattan: Signs that speak of the World Trade Center in the present tense will be removed. [NYT]

Park Slope: The librarians at the Park Slope Library need to take a few cues from Park Posey's character in Party Girl. They're so lackadaisical, patrons are considering defecting to — horrors! — Barnes & Noble. [Gowanus Lounge]
Staten Island: Councilman Michael McMahon rises up against big, bad foreclosure signs. [NYO]
Washington Square Park: Park activists unveil photos of ancient poor-people bones! Spooky. [Villager]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 29 Feb 2008 | 8:00 pm

Even Walter Benjamin’s Napkin Scribblings Were Genius

Walter Benjamin scholars obsess over not only his published work but also his scribblings on scraps of paper: His range of interests and the highly personal style in which he limned them make him read like a brilliant, charming friend. This book includes pages from Benjamin’s diaries, envelopes and postcards on which he jotted down ideas, and notebooks he filled with hundreds of cramped words. Benjamin’s way with aphorisms makes the volume a treasure trove of philosophical speculation.

Walter Benjamin’s Archives

Verso
Out now
$27.95

Buy

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 29 Feb 2008 | 8:00 pm

Author's best-selling Holocaust book a hoax

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 29 Feb 2008 | 7:57 pm

Breaking: Has Stammy Gone … Red?!

Things do not change; we change. —Henry David ThoreauPhotos: Imaxtree

Breaking news, people. Brace yourselves — we want you to remain calm. Are you sitting down? Okay, good. Now, deep breaths. If you need to picture your happy place, go ahead and do that. Whatever you need. Alright, here goes: Jessica Stam appears to have dyed her hair. DO NOT PANIC. We're not sure if it's the lighting or a spray job, but she was totally red at Rue du Mail. And we all know she can rock the red (remember 2004?), but is she pulling a Julia Dunstall? She was totally blonde at Sonia Rykiel earlier, so maybe it's temporary. Does anyone have an eyewitness account? We need people on the scene! Someone call Sarkozy! They're going to start looting on Saint-Honoré!

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 29 Feb 2008 | 7:50 pm

David Strathairn Takes His ‘Conversations in Tusculum’ Castmates on a Tour of the Met

Strathairn and Aidan Quinn at the Met.Photo: Jeff Mermelstein

"Rome was getting richer and richer," said the tour leader, "and the virtues were getting chipped away at." Some in the tour group were listening intently; others were whispering about the writers' strike, Rome the mini-series, and a new play by Lewis Black. It's not always easy to corral a theater cast on a field trip, even though the setting — the Villa Boscoreale, the suburban Roman square at the heart of the Met's shiny new Greek and Roman Galleries — was highly relevant to their new gig. On this day in early January, they were about to begin rehearsals for Richard Nelson's new play at the Public Theater, Conversations in Tusculum, in which Brutus, Cassius, and Cicero figure out what to do about power-grabbing Caesar between bouts of fishing and drinking in a villa much like this one. They argue amongst themselves, complain about their wives, and consider doing away with the big guy.

Most of the cast was meeting for the first time before heading to a boozy Upper East Side lunch. David Strathairn (Cassius), who had the soft-spoken air and khaki cords of a Vermont professor, had organized the tour — part research session, part cocktail party — after attending a Met benefit. Notably missing was Cicero — Brian Dennehy — who canceled owing to a last-minute voice-over. "Well you know how voice-overs are," said Maria Tucci (Brutus's mother, Servilia). "You just find out the day before. Oh, look at this, they're so sensual," she said, pointing out a series of busts. Aidan Quinn (Brutus) was new to the cast (after Michael Cerveris had to pass). He made up for lost time with some comic relief, dragging ER's Gloria Reuben, who plays his wife, off to a gallery full of men's jewelry, giggling loudly in front of ancient figurines of actors with "masks on the jiggly bits."

Public Theater director Oskar Eustis arrived late, having run over from a meet-and-greet for a Broadway transfer of Passing Strange. A tour like this is "a perk of the job that I don't intend to give up lightly," he said, though as a producer, "the question is whether you're inside or you're viewed as an alien force." Was any of this research going into the actual show, which opens next week? "I love this gallery," said costume designer Susan Hilferty. "But right now, I already have the ideas." In fact, the men will be decked out in the rumpled three-piece suits of Edwardians on holiday, the entire set comprising a couple of benches and a curtain. This pre-rehearsal outing, too, was more about conversations than Tusculum. —Boris Kachka

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 29 Feb 2008 | 7:45 pm

Janet Jackson Teaches Larry King ‘The Dance of the Video’

Photo: Courtesy CNN

Since both Janet Jackson and Larry King have been around since roughly forever, we assumed they were around the same age. Sure, they don't look it, but that's because, we figured, Larry has aged naturally while it's safe to say that Janet has had some work done. But last night when Janet gave a suspendered Larry lessons on how to do the dance from her new video, it became clear that they were in fact from different generations. "What's this dance called?" Larry asked, clearly assuming that it would have a name, like "The Mashed Potato" or "The Freddy." Janet stared at him blankly. "It's…the dance of the video," she said. "The Dance of the Video!" Larry proclaimed, striking a pose. "I bet this is how Gene Kelly started." Click the photo to watch.

Janet Teaches Larry King Dance Moves [CNN]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 29 Feb 2008 | 7:15 pm

Is Marc Jacobs Deliberately Depriving Us of a Fitted Hillary Tee?

Photo: Courtesy of Marc Jacobs

The other day, we sneaked off to Bleecker Street to pick up one of Marc Jacobs's revived Hillary Clinton T-shirts because, well, Tina Fey isn't the only liberal New Yorker swooning for the lady.

A sales clerk directed us to the stacks of shirts, but a quick rifle through the tees revealed they were all size large — and while we don't necessarily oppose the improvised shirtdress look, in this case it would mean putting a belt over Hillary's face.

Interestingly, the shirt went on sale no more than a week ago and is allegedly a campaign-support tactic by Jacobs. Yet there’s not a single medium nor small (the sizes that so many Clinton supporters wear) available in the store? Is this a conspiracy?! We immediately aimed to get to the bottom of it. With a dismissive tone and zero eye contact, the clerk informed us that she had no idea if (a) the store had sold out of sizes small and medium, (b) the store ever had smalls and mediums in stock to begin with, and (c) the store was ever going to have smalls and mediums in stock, ever. Hmph.

We've yet to hear back from Marc Jacobs's reps on the matter. In the meantime, we're looking at you, David Axelrod. —Elizabeth Cline

Earlier: Marc Jacobs Brings Back the Hillary Tee

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 29 Feb 2008 | 7:05 pm

America's Critics Unanimously Declare ‘Semi-Pro’ ‘Semi-Funny’

Courtesy of New Line

How's the new Will Ferrell movie? Not so good, apparently. Semi-Pro currently ranks a 46 on Metacritic and a 25 percent on Rotten Tomatoes with some calling it only semi-decent and semi-coherent. Mostly, though, as punny critics from the New York Post, Rolling Stone, USA Today, the Village Voice, the Daily Mail, the Charlotte Observer, Canada's National Post, the Modesto Bee, the Denver Post, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Las Vegas Weekly, the Flint Journal, Metromix Chicago, the San Luis Obispo Journal, Orlando Sentinel, and Beliefnet all point out, it's only "semi-funny." Since everything else out this weekend looks semi-craptastic, though, we can probably still expect it to make a semi-buttload of money.

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 29 Feb 2008 | 7:00 pm

Great Feats of Daring at the St. Vincent Show

For my next trick, I shall ... play this guitar!Photo: Brandon Cuicchi

Nothing can turn a great show silly like a semi-ironic cover. Last night at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, St. Vincent lead singer Annie Clark interrupted the band's set of quirky but heartfelt love songs for an a cappella go at Anita Ward's classic disco track “You Can Ring My Bell” — and it didn't suck! It was a surreal moment that hinted at genuine vulnerability: Clark started off quiet and unsure, her voice growing until she hit “bell,” which she positively belted. And with that, the rest of group picked up handbells and rang them furiously for about a minute. Clark, a local, later shouted-out Bed-Stuy, Bushwick, and Park Slope — only, naturally, to have someone from the crowd yell out “Greenpoint!” “My man from the GP!” she called back, as if ringing a bell of her own. —Brandon Cuicchi

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 29 Feb 2008 | 6:30 pm

Will Andy Pettitte Help Send Clemens to Prison?

The resemblance is startling.Photo Illustration: Getty Images, Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

As reported in today’s Post, Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte isn’t taking the latest developments in the Roger Clemens steroid scandal well. If you haven’t been keeping up on your steroid news, Pettitte’s testimony against his best friend Clemens went a long way in corroborating the accusations of Brian McNamee, the trainer who claims to have injected Clemens with steroids and HGH. "I hate it, there is nothing else to say. You all know how I feel about it," Pettitte told reporters as the Yankees trained in Tampa, Florida. "Whenever you testify against two guys [Clemens as well as McNamee] who are your friends it's extremely difficult." Now that the FBI is officially investigating Clemens and many expect him to be charged with perjury, it’s likely that Pettitte will be forced to testify once again. But in light of his shaky emotions, one wonders whether he will be able to summon the fortitude, when it comes down to it, to put Clemens in jail.

This whole situation reminds us of the fated Mafia capo Frank Pentangeli from The Godfather: Part II. His testimony was expected to be the key evidence in a perjury case against his former friend and boss, godfather Michael Corleone. At the trial, however, a shrewd Corleone flew in Pentangeli’s brother from Italy, whose mere presence and disapproving glare shamed Frank into changing his mind. He recanted his original story and ruined the government’s case against Corleone. Then he killed himself in a bathtub. Now, we’re definitely not advocating that Pettitte commit ritualistic suicide (God knows we need his arm this year). But with Clemens’s options looking extremely thin, we wouldn’t be surprised if his lawyers were searching for Pettitte’s brother from the Old Country as we speak. —Dan Amira

Pettitte's Pain [NYP]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 29 Feb 2008 | 6:30 pm

Singer of British Invasion Band Dies

There weren't many bands that rivaled Beatlemania in 1964. The Dave Clark Five was one of them. Mike Smith, the lead singer of the hard-driving British Invasion group, died Thursday...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 29 Feb 2008 | 6:20 pm

Family Guy Spins Off Cleveland

Fox is getting ready to put "Cleveland" on the map. The network, along with 20th Century Fox, is currently developing a spinoff of its enduringly popular "Family Guy" to revolve...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 29 Feb 2008 | 6:10 pm

Warner Bros. Absorbs 'LOTR' Studio

New Line Cinema will become a part of the Warner Bros. Entertainment studio.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 29 Feb 2008 | 5:58 pm

John Ritter's Widow Testifies in Death Suit

Amy Yasbeck, Ritter's wife and "Problem Child" co-star, testified through tears.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 29 Feb 2008 | 5:57 pm

Obama’s Sly, New — Liberal — Strategy to Undermine Clinton

Next I'd like to show you my portrait of Reagan in its gilded frame…Photo Illustration: Everett Bogue; Photos: Getty Images

Yesterday, Barack Obama released an open letter about gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender equality, stating that “it’s wrong to have millions of Americans living as second-class citizens in this nation.” Obama is broadly committed to issues of special importance to gays, from advocating benefits for domestic partners of federal employees to supporting equal treatment for same-sex couples under immigration law to fighting HIV infection in prisons. But there’s also a larger context to his opposition to the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and his desire to completely repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. Obama’s doing a little coming out of his own — as an anti-Clintonian liberal.

Obama has long maintained that Bill Clinton’s presidency was too incremental in its achievements, at least partly because it was too bogged down in partisan squabbling. For the most part, however, Obama has trod pretty gingerly around the topic of Bill Clinton, who is still extremely popular among most Democrats. Until Ohio. Hillary Clinton’s insistence that she privately opposed NAFTA, which may be true but puts her in opposition to one of Bill’s signal accomplishments, has freed Obama to come out against things the Clinton administration did that looked good at the time but don’t seem so hot now. Many Democrats have always been queasy about the Clintons’ fund-raising tactics; Obama has stepped up his attacks on Hillary as too beholden to lobbyists. And he hasn’t just hit Hillary on NAFTA, but made a more general argument: “Every good thing that happened [in Bill's administration] she says she was a part of. So the notion that you can selectively pick what you take credit for and then run away from what isn’t politically convenient — that doesn’t make sense.” And now, gay rights: Maybe the Clinton-implemented “don’t ask, don’t tell” and Clinton-signed DoMA are the best deals Bill and Hillary thought they could strike ten or fifteen years ago, but they’re thin gruel for Americans looking for equal rights today.

Indeed, by pinning Hillary Clinton to acts of Bill Clinton’s presidency that Democrats look back upon with distaste, Obama is making her look worse than wrong. He’s making her seem passé. —Peter Keating

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 29 Feb 2008 | 5:45 pm

Jury hears Ritter's final message to wife

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 29 Feb 2008 | 5:40 pm

Winehouse cleared of witness tampering

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 29 Feb 2008 | 5:39 pm

Barack Is the New Brangelina!

MEDIA
• Turns out Barack Obama's underwear is more interesting to Us Weekly readers than Britney Spears's custody battles. A Q&A with the Chicago senator in which he refused to answer the boxers-or-briefs question generated the some of the highest-ever traffic for a single article on the site, second only to news of Heath Ledger's death [WWD]
• The Sam Zell bloodbath continues: The Tribune Co. owner axes 120 Newsday jobs. [NYP]
•Is Matt Drudge the world's most powerful journalist? [Telegraph]
• The FBI isn't happy with a recent Rolling Stone article on the Joint Terrorism Task Forces. [Mixed Media/Portfolio]

FINANCE
•Two formerly high-flying Goldman Sachs moneymen blame Wall Street for the implosion of their hedge fund, Peloton Partners. [Bloomberg]
• Blair Effron and Robert Pruzan's boutique investment bank, Centerview Partners, is thriving in tough financial times. [DealBook/NYT]
•What's with the excessive perks for MF Global execs? Do they really need a $55,000 Core Club membership? [Footnoted]

LEGAL
• Watch out world! "Rebel investors," presumably wearing button-ups and carrying BlackBerrys as weapons, are looking to sue Bear Stearns over the $1.6 billion that was lost when two of the firm's hedge funds collapsed last summer. [FT]
• Bloggers unite in the case of the 2007 New York bar-exam disaster. [Legal Blog Watch]
• More than one in 100 adults in the U.S. are in the clink; New York, however, has reduced its number of inmates below 1993 levels. Let's hope that's a good thing. [WP]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 29 Feb 2008 | 5:15 pm

Dave Clark Five singer Mike Smith dies

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 29 Feb 2008 | 5:07 pm

YSL Takes Met Opera Under Its Wing for Four Years

The French are coming! The French are coming!Photo Illustration: Courtesy of Lincoln Center, YSL

This just in: Coming hot on the heels of yesterday's well-received Yves Saint Laurent show, the maison has announced a four-year sponsorship of New York's Metropolitan Opera — one the biggest philanthropic moves in the house's history. YSL will sponsor the Met's opening-night galas, the first of which is on April 21 for Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment. YSL head designer Stefano Pilati (who Cathy Horyn just put on the same plane as Balenciaga darling Nicolas Ghesquière) will co-host the opening-night dinner with YSL CEO Valérie Hermann. What's more, YSL will continue to sponsor a production-night gala event for the next three years, which is a pretty major (and unique) commitment. You know what this means? The French like us! They really like us!

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 29 Feb 2008 | 5:00 pm

Bill O'Reilly and Arianna Huffington Continue Their Tempestuous, Exciting Relations

Photo: Getty Images

So, you might remember the other week in his column Bill O'Reilly got himself all aflutter, as he does, about some of the colorful language that occasionally appears in comments on the Huffington Post. Apparently a couple of days ago on his show he brought it up again and made an overblown analogy, as he does, comparing Arianna Huffington to a Nazi. "I don't see any difference between Huffington and the Nazis," he said. "They both want people to die." If movies are anything to go by, they are both impeccably groomed, too, but that's beside the point.

Anyway, you'd think he would have backed off said analogy when, last night, a Holocaust survivor confronted him, but no. Oh, no. "If you look back at what happened in Germany," he said, according to Portfolio, "you cannot escape the similarities between what Hitler and his cutthroats did back then … and what the hate-filled blogs are doing now." That's our O'Reilly!

Huffington, for her part, apparently decided that the whole thing provided an excellent opportunity to plug her book. "If having a few ugly — and anonymously posted — comments appear on HuffPost, which were removed as soon as we become aware of them, caused O'Reilly to compare me to Nazis, I can only imagine what he'll come up with when Right is Wrong (my new book) comes out," she said in a statement to Portfolio. And that would be our Huffington. We can't quite put our finger on why, but it's almost like they belong together.

Bill O'Reilly calls Arinana Huffington a Nazi [Mixed Media/Portfolio]
Earlier: Bill O'Reilly Thinks Arianna Huffington is a Bad, Bad Girl Who Needs to Be Punished

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 29 Feb 2008 | 4:55 pm

Indiana Jones' Cannes Opener

Maybe they should call it "Indiana Jones and the Quest for the Palm d'Or." Because instead of evading poison darts and being chased by a giant boulder, your favorite globe-trotting...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 29 Feb 2008 | 4:45 pm

Ledger MDs Off the Hook

The doctors are in...the clear. The two doctors in California and Texas who were under investigation from the federal Drug Enforcement Agency have been cleared of any prescribing wrongdoing...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 29 Feb 2008 | 4:31 pm

Ritter Speaks at Wrongful-Death Trial

John Ritter spoke from the grave Thursday at the trial of the wrongful-death lawsuit filed by his widow and children. Jurors heard the late actor's voice in a phone message he left his...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 29 Feb 2008 | 4:29 pm

M. Jackson late on family's house payments

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 29 Feb 2008 | 4:20 pm

Review: Movie not sure what it is

For filmmakers, the private life of Henry VIII is the kind of history lesson that writes itself: sex, adultery and decapitation, right there for the taking.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 29 Feb 2008 | 4:08 pm

Juicy Couture Targets Bad Boys, Will Make Slogans for Tushes of All Ages

For bad boys everywhere.Photo: Courtesy of Juicy Couture

Juicy Couture has big, bad plans to expand, starting with a new fragrance for men called Dirty English. The label's founders Gela Nash-Taylor and Pamela Skaist-Levy say the fragrance is a mixture of Anglomania, CZ Guest, and a "dash of attitude inspired by a 1976 review of a Sex Pistols concert." What man wouldn't want to smell like the British, a female beauty icon, and a smelly Sex Pistols concert?

Dirty English was also inspired by the flagship Juicy store on Rodeo Drive, which boasts a loft "designed to make men want to come and hang out," according to Nash-Taylor. It's supposed to look like a billiard room complete with a gold knight in armor by a fireplace and a surfboard that says "Dude, Where's My Couture?" Similarly inviting, Nash-Taylor believes, is the Dirty English bottle, which is heavy, glass, and square with a chain. Nash-Taylor says, "Any self-respecting bad boy will want to wear it." Nothing says "bad" quite like chains on your cologne bottle.

After the cologne, Juicy will roll out men's eyewear, an equally bad-boy infants' line, and men's loungewear like robes and boxers. It sounds to us like pretty soon whole families will be able walk around with "Juicy" across their asses. Don't think the East Coast will remain immune to such a sight, either — in August, Juicy is opening a 9,000-square-foot flagship on Fifth Avenue. So run for the hills, but if you bump into a golden surfing knight asking you where your couture is, you've gone too far.

Juicy Couture Speaks 'Dirty English' to Men [WWD]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 29 Feb 2008 | 4:03 pm

Idol's Sweet Sixteen: Your Favorite Still In?

Four more contestants were weeded out on Thursday's "American Idol."
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 29 Feb 2008 | 4:02 pm

Will Ferrell Puts the Funk in the Dunk

Hollywood's favorite funnyman becomes an Afro-sporting baller.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 29 Feb 2008 | 3:41 pm

'Other Man' on 'Moment of Truth' Regrets Damaging Marriage

The "other man" who helped destroy a marriage on national TV — getting his ex to admit to 8 million viewers that she'd rather be married to him than her hubby — is "sick" over his role in the scandal and says he made a mistake appearing on the show.
Source: FOXNews.com | 29 Feb 2008 | 3:01 pm

Report: Federal Agents Rule Out Doctors in Ledger's Death

Federal agents have ruled out two doctors as the sources of the OxyContin and Vicodin found in the bloodstream of Heath Ledger, the New York Post reported.
Source: FOXNews.com | 29 Feb 2008 | 2:53 pm

Reality Check: Early Exits on 'Idol'

Alaina Whitaker, Jason Yeager, Robbie Carrico and Alexandrea Lushington get the boot.
Source: FOXNews.com | 29 Feb 2008 | 2:45 pm

Natalie Portman: Hollywood Royalty

Star dishes on seduction and her relationship with Scarlett Johansson.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 29 Feb 2008 | 2:41 pm

Rowling sues publisher, is upset by fan

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 29 Feb 2008 | 2:41 pm

John Ritter's Widow Testifies in Wrongful-Death Trial

Jurors in the trial of a wrongful-death lawsuit against two of John Ritter's doctors heard the actor's voice Thursday as he reported to his wife in a phone message that he wasn't feeling well and thought he had food poisoning.
Source: FOXNews.com | 29 Feb 2008 | 2:35 pm

FOX411: Jessica Alba: Single Baby

Jessica Alba is not having twins. The beautiful young actress did tell me over Oscar weekend that she's keeping to just one baby. So much for the rumors.
Source: FOXNews.com | 29 Feb 2008 | 2:20 pm

Behind the Stars' Steamy Love Scenes

Leading ladies on love and looks - Portman, Ricci and Crow.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 29 Feb 2008 | 2:05 pm

Review: 'Semi-Pro' delivers some laughs

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 29 Feb 2008 | 1:45 pm

Body of Top Model Katoucha Niane Found in Seine River

The body of former top model Katoucha Niane has been found in the Seine River, according to Paris judicial police.
Source: FOXNews.com | 29 Feb 2008 | 1:21 pm

'Idol' eliminates four more

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 29 Feb 2008 | 1:11 pm

Pop Tarts: Win a 'Special' Night With Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett Johansson may only have eyes for Ryan Reynolds, but for one night only, the 'Other Boleyn Girl' star is prepared to party with a different date.
Source: FOXNews.com | 29 Feb 2008 | 12:41 pm

Disclaimer | About

World : News Archives | Business | Entertainment | Sports | Technology | Science | Marketplace Audio

India : News | Business | Entertainment | Sports | Telugu |

Blogs : Humor pages | Norkay's Blog | Kids Stories | Indian Recipes | Database Tech Blog

Sundries : World Video Clips | Songs Clips | Indian Video Clips |