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 E! Online | Year of the Dragon Entertainment Weekly - By Nialle , 03/15/2008, 0 Comments I read a lot about Lost. I analyze everything I can and I consider myself pretty Lost-smart. However, this show is written so well that I still manage to be surprised constantly. Lost Redux: Dragons and Roosters and Pandas, Oh My! "Lost" Diary -- Ji Yeon |
 Regina Leader-Post | 1700 Bands at SXSW eFluxMedia - By Ona Zachary SXSW, or the South by Southwest Music Festival, gathered more than 1700 bands this year in Austin , Texas . The festival is America ’s most important music convention, bringing together many musicians and their fans and exploiters from ... 1700 Bands, Rocking as the CD Industry Reels Music Festival Limits the Party |
 BBC News | Call Girl in Spitzer Scandal to Dad: I'm in 'a Little Bit of Trouble' FOXNews - NEW YORK - The day after federal prosecutors pulled the covers off the high-priced prostitution ring that would soon bring down Gov. Spitzer's call girl could parlay infamy into payday In pursuit of "Kristen" |
 ReelzChannel.com | Confronting a Killer Epidemic That Wouldn’t Die New York Times - By MATT ZOLLER SEITZ “If you’re hungry, here’sa piece of your friend,” snarls a jailer in the post-apocalyptic action picture “Doomsday,” sliding a plateful of charbroiled man-flesh to a captive. Review: Doomsday Viral doom made infectiously fun |
 National Post | Generic characters make 'Sleepwalking' a stumble HeraldNet - By Robert Horton An impressive amount of acting and directing talent is showered on a blueprint script in "Sleepwalking," one of those well-intentioned numbers that doesn't generate much heat. Navigating a dark world in 'Sleepwalking' Karel's Movies Of The Week |
 Chatter Shmatter | UCLA workers snooped in Spears' medical records Los Angeles Times - Dan Steinberg / AP Security guards stand outside of the ambulance entrance to the at the UCLA Medical Center emergency room in Los Angeles on Thursday, Jan. 31, 2008, after Britney Spears was admitted. Hospital Workers Fired for Peeking into Britney’s Medical Records Hospital to fire workers in Spears case |
 Vancouver Sun | Minnie's a mama, but who's the daddy? The Star-Ledger - NJ.com - BY VICKI HYMAN WE'RE VERY happy for Minnie Driver, who announced her pregnancy on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" Thursday night without revealing the name of the father. Minnie Driver Confirms She's Pregnant Driver Confirms Pregnancy |
 Telegraph.co.uk | Shandling testifies against Pellicano Variety - By JANET SHPRINTZ Ten years after his split from Brad Grey, a still-bitter Garry Shandling took the stand Thursday in the criminal wiretapping case against Anthony Pellicano. Pellicano jury hears first A-list testimony Shandling Takes Stage at Pellicano Trial |
This guy isn't playin' with the Game.
The Long Beach man who claims he was on the receiving end of a schoolyard smackdown last year has sued the rapper for assault and battery, civil...
Who's the biggest winner on "American Idol" so far? The answer might surprise you.
David Archuleta has the buzz. Chikezie just might have had the performance of the week. But it's...
Does she know she's in her underwear?Photo: Getty Images
Antin put the Pussycat Dolls together, and considering she succeeded in launching them from cabaret-burlesque act to pop stardom, we don't doubt her ability to rack up an audience the way Victoria's Secret has. She's already got front-row star power: P. Diddy, Dr. Dre, and Nelly attended yesterday.
And sure, we could all use some new skivvies. But the Dolls' latest target audience is the nation's tweens, as evidenced by the CW's latest girl-band-making reality show, Girlicious. Anyone else a little, er, uncomfortable at the idea of young girls rocking some of these thongs? Because we kinda are! Fingers crossed these are marketed to the 18-to-34 group.
Check out photos from the show to see for yourself.
Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images
Pussycat Dolls Present New Lingerie Collection at L.A. Fashion Week [AP/Fox News]
Photo: Chip East/Reuters
Hillary Clinton tried to give the impression that she regretted allowing quote machine Geraldine Ferraro — “If [Barack] Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position” — anywhere near her finance committee. Obama continued to be amazed that Clinton was touting him as a potential running mate, then won the Mississippi primary handily. GOP nominee John McCain played the Plaza for one night only, accompanied by Al D’Amato, for a fund-raiser that raised a reported $2 million. The owner of the Lispenard Street loft that bunked the lovelies of America’s Next Top Model railed against their ugly housekeeping skills. A Brooklyn prosecutor assaulted in court by a razor-wielding drug dealer was saved by her attacker’s 72-year-old defense attorney.
Trace amounts of hormones, nicotine, and anti-anxiety drugs were found in the Big Apple water supply. Rumors swirled that the last game at Yankee Stadium would be played on skates, by the Rangers. Aged yet buff Iggy Pop serenaded Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Madonna with “Ray of Light” and “Burning Up.” Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman bought naming rights to the New York Public Library building for $100 million. And in the best news all week, the Parks Department granted new permits to the Red Hook soccer-field vendors, ensuring six more years of empanadas. —Mark Adams
Senator David Vitter, Republican of Louisiana, paid Washington DC prostitutes to put him in diapers (ewww!), yet the Senator was not exposed by the US prosecutors busting the pimp-ring that pampered him. Naming and shaming and ruining Spitzer — rarely done in these cases — was made at the ‘discretion’ of Bush’s Justice Department.
For once, Sheryl Crow won't be going her own way. She's ready to join forces with Fleetwood Mac.
"I don't want to make any official announcements, but I will say that we definitely...
Photo Illustration: Everett Bogue; Photos: myspace.com, Getty images
We are dreams and fantasies marketers…
Three Diamonds ($1,000/hour):
Not only did Vampire Weekend's SNL appearance make everyone want to beat them up, it also sparked a national backlash against sweaters. Then rumors of Kevin Federline's Broadway debut briefly made people who love terrible things excited about the theater. Sadly, the reports turned out to be nothing more than lies — on Edward Albee day, no less!
Four Diamonds ($1,500/hour):
Even though there are no decent movies coming out for another month, New Line cruelly refuses to release Harold and Kumar 2 early (but we suspect it'll be worth the wait anyway). Daily Show producer Josh Lieb sold the movie rights to his funny new book. Too bad McG might direct!
Five Diamonds ($2,000/hour):
How did David Archuleta get to be the greatest American Idol contestant ever? We'd tell you, but you probably wouldn't hear us over all of his dad's shouting. He may have forgotten his words on Beatles night, but it was okay — America voted off the stripper.
Six Diamonds ($2,600/hour):
The Wire went out in classic style (with a montage). (Don't worry, we won't spoil it here.) Did it answer all of our questions? No. At least it wrapped things up better than the Sopranos finale. And even though the show's final episode ran on Sunday night, a certain fun-loving former governor of New York just couldn't seem to let go. At least we got this awesome remix out of it.
Seven Diamonds ($3,100/hour):
Artist Neke Carson talked to us about the portrait of Warhol he painted — WITH HIS BUTT!!! Also, BattleBots is coming back!
Heatherette for M.A.C.Photo: Pursebuzz.com
FRAGRANCE
• Reese Witherspoon will star in a new U by Ungaro ad campaign. The scent (along with one for men) was launched in a collaboration between Ungaro and Avon. [Cosmetic News]
• Secretions Magnifiques is supposed to evoke the smell of “blood, sweat, saliva, and sperm.” Yum! The “olfactory orgasm” in a bottle is sold at New York’s Henri Bendel. [BellaSugar]
• Florals may be in for dresses but not fragrances. Estée Lauder ditched florals for "amber woods" in its new scent Sensuous launching in July. Sounds musky! [WWD]
Photo: Getty Images
Unlike virtually every other Democratic politician in the country, Eliot Spitzer understood markets. He believed in the potential of widespread investing in stocks to build and spread genuine wealth, and as attorney general, he was like a Money magazine editor on crack, targeting enemies of small investors: self-promoting analysts, corrupt mutual-fund traders, predatory lenders. Spitzerism wasn't about taxing and regulating profits; it was about diffusing profits to people who have never received a dividend check.
After failing to make his case on a national level through the Kerry campaign, Spitzer took Spitzerism to the 2006 governor's race, where he won 69 percent of the vote, a landslide so big it was clear he didn't owe his margin to Shelly Silver or Dennis Rivera or Al Sharpton or Randy Weingarten or the Cuomo family or anyone else you're tired of seeing on Democratic-primary nights.
And then he fell off a cliff. Spitzer will be remembered for his hookers. But the truth is, by the time he was cavorting with Kristen at the Mayflower Hotel just before Valentine's Day, Spitzer had already shot his load.
As Spitzer was rolling into Albany in early 2007, State Comptroller Alan Hevesi was leaving in disgrace. New York’s constitution says the State Legislature must fill executive vacancies, but that didn’t matter to the new governor. Spitzer set up an independent panel to name Hevesi’s successor, which triggered an entirely unnecessary confrontation; if ever a governor had the resources to work around a comptroller, it was Spitzer. He then watched the Legislature choose one of its own members over the panel’s nominee, by a vote of 150 to 56. Spitzer’s typically pugilistic response was to try to undermine assemblymen from his own party by visiting their districts to denounce them for their votes.
Then came the budget, Spitzer’s first real chance to put his stamp on the machinery of New York State. Since Spitzer had campaigned relentlessly against George Pataki’s inability to get budgets passed on time, his opponents knew they could torture Spitzer simply by dragging their feet. Spitzer did get his budget through by deadline, but only by doing what the Pataki-Bruno-Silver cabal always used to do — dolloping out a few hundred million more dollars to Medicaid and hoping the spit on the envelope would stick. Someday, maybe smart, young policy analysts will admire provisions that Spitzer’s staff tucked into the budget; in the meantime, the state’s deficit is projected to climb to $4.3 billion by 2008–09.
And then came Troopergate. You can find everything you want to know about Joe Bruno here, but in the long run, Spitzer’s political response is what turned out to be important. Already shorn of allies by his own bullheadedness, Spitzer grew desperate once his operatives were caught playing naughty tricks on the State Senate majority leader. As summer turned to fall and he couldn’t shake the scandal, Spitzer proposed giving driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants with passports. He said he would sue the Bush administration for thwarting his plan to expand children’s health insurance. He wiped out rules requiring food-stamp recipients to go through fingerprinting and interviews. And the MTA, where Spitzer pulls the strings, sided with the Transit Workers Union in asking a judge to ease penalties imposed on the TWU for breaking state law during the 2005 transit strike.
Maybe each of these moves makes sense; certainly Spitzer was willing to argue them on the merits. Taken together, however, they smelled an awful lot like Bill Clinton circa 1998, toadying to as many Democratic interest groups as possible to drum up support among the left-wing base.
It didn't work. A Siena poll in December pegged Spitzer's approval rating at 36 percent. That number would bob up and down afterward, but the days were gone when a large majority of New Yorkers believed in Spitzer as a fundamentally different kind of politician. Even worse, only one in three Democrats said they wanted to reelect him. Spitzer had tried to sell out to the base, but not even left-wingers were buying; his career was effectively done. That's the kind of news that can drive a guy to prostitutes.
There’s a huge sigh going around Albany, and it’s not just because Spitzer finally resigned, or that Democrats and Republicans alike think that David Paterson will be easier to work with. The big question when Spitzer came to town was whether he would keep using the authority of state government to go after inequities on Wall Street or turn his zeal for cleanup on Albany itself. He did neither and didn’t even stick around long enough to see if the Democrats could take the State Senate. Instead, fighting to survive largely self-inflicted wounds, Spitzer became one more Democrat embodying reactionary liberalism. Now it’s back to business as usual. —Peter Keating
CHAMPIONSHIP DOLL?
MIDDLEWEIGHT MADGE?
DOMINATRIX GRANDMA?
Our best guess, based on the large photo on Amazon.com, is GIVE IT TO ME and HOLLA, but surely that can't be right. Right?
Leave your best guesses in the comments! For the life of us we can't figure it out.
Madonna's Hard Candy Album Cover Revealed! [People]
Photo: Time and Life Pictures/Getty Images
I am an elderly lady, in my 70's. I am looking for someone lovely to live in the second bedroom(lovely people only). I am not thrilled about living with someone but I could use the extra cash. I have only one rule. You must wear a belt I designed that has bells all over it. I do this so I know when you are in the appartment and where in the appartment you are.If you have friends over, they must wear the device as well. I only have 2, so no more than 1 friend over.
Hear that? Only one friend.
$700 LOOKING TO SHARE MY APPARTMENT WITH SOMEONE LOVELY (Murray Hill) [Craigslist]
She's got leggings…Photo: Splashnews
“It will be a while before it comes out, but I’m going to do it. Some of them will have prints and some will have patterns. I love leggings.”
To this we say: Good for you. Okay, we may not like the trend much and wouldn't ourselves be caught wearing a pair, especially ones with patterns or prints. But if this keeps Lindsay on the up and up, why not? And at least she's not trying to design dresses and berets, like some L.A. girls we all know.
All this biz talk isn't coming from out of the blue. In Touch weekly is alleging that Lohan is perhaps a bit strapped for cash. The mag went so far as to list out her rehab, hotel, and even tanning costs ($315,000, $1 million, $70,000 respectively). Lohan's rep denies this ugly rumor.
Now if only LiLo can somehow parlay her leggings into a new movie role…
Lindsay Lohan may be running low on cash [MSNBC]
She added: "Part of the reason we ran both pictures was to provide as complete a portrait as possible; only showing the bikini picture might have given an overly sexy impression, for example; only using the other picture might have given a distorted sense of youthful innocence. We linked to the MySpace page so readers could get more information and listen to her song; we frequently provide links to MySpace or other sites."
How do the wrappers get there? Well, there are a bunch of teenagers in my building and I guess they prefer to be overheard by their neighbors than their parents. I think that's a fair stance.
Anyway, Andrew goes to sit down on the staircase, but unbeknownst to him, there's a young couple necking just a few feet above, where the staircase curves. Not wanting to break the mood for these young lovers, I say, "Hey Andrew, why not just stand in the hallway and enjoy this nice fluorescent lighting?"
"No," Andrew says. "I want to sit down." With our glamorous lifestyles, bloggers are used to getting what we want. Andrew starts walking up the stairs, soon realizes he's about to interrupt something, and turns back around. Of course, bloggers also have an inflated sense of self-importance, and ultimately our idle chatter in the hallway did nothing to dissuade the lovers from their purpose.
I know. Sometimes I can't believe I live this life either. And the best part? I get to post videos of adorable cats doing adorable things. What does makes cats go crazy? Watch this video to find out!
Photo: NYPost.com
NYPost [NYP]
AGREED. Well done!
2. Shawty Putt feat. Lil' Jon, "Dat Baby"
Guys are rarely less charming than when they're denying their paternity ("Bitch, you heard Maury!"), but when they start dropping naming all the rappers whom the baby might belong to, it's hard not to be amused. [First Up]
3. The Oaks, "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter"
The Oaks create warmly epic songs with mini-orchestral arrangements, like a twangier Sufjan Stevens. John Singer would be missing out. [Here Comes the Flood]
4. E-603, "Crunk Colony"
The denizens of master masher E-603's "Crunk Colony" are people like Clipse, Postal Service, Crime Mob, Wolf Parade, and the Strokes. While they'll make some great music, we're guessing they probably won't last through the winter. [Music I Have Been Listening to]
5. Drive-By Truckers, "Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife"
The Truckers turn in a decent-enough performance on Conan — surprising, since half the band was sitting down the whole time. [Culture Bully] —Ehren Gresehover
Martha Plimpton at the opening night of Passing
StrangePhoto: Getty Images
Maybe you’ve heard—Britney Spears will play a dippy receptionist on next week’s episode of the best sitcom for twentysomethings. But it’s the tried-and-true crazy-train gimmicks of Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) that we’re tuning in for tonight, after a painful three-month-long hiatus due to the writers' strike. The nine new episodes (airing earlier, at 8 p.m.) kick off with earnest, still-single Ted borrowing a few of Barney’s pickup moves — surely they won’t fail him.
Max, in avant-garde black and white.Photo: Robert Haller
Au Revoir, Max: Much-loved Anthology Film Archives cat Max has gone off to nonlinear film heaven, and the staff is sending him off with a collection of feline shorts by Brakhage and others. Mice will be served. [Art Fag City]
A&R Guy Mean to "Kristen": Chris Anokute, Capitol Records senior A&R director, thinks everyone is laughing at Ashley Alexandra Dupré and that her music is "absolutely terrible." "It'd be a shame to exploit her talent based on the unacceptable reality that she was involved in. Most importantly, it destroyed multiple families. I don't think the scandal will help her at all," he says. Other A&R guys show slightly better instincts. [Billboard]
Client 9, the Musical: Ben Greenman's latest might be his magnum opus, the musical he was born to write, featuring raunchy sex, incisive character analysis of the ex-governor, and lyrics rhyming "Imax" with "climax." [McSweeney's]
Client 9, the Rap Song: We're pretty sure Staten Island's own AC's "She Spitzer Swallows" is the first rap song about the current scandal. Maybe they'll play it on Client 9 Radio! [Nah Right]
Robocop Redux?: The gang at Ain't It Cool News is up in arms over a possible remake of Robocop, though we can't bring ourselves to get quite so enraged. Don't touch our Timecop, though! [Ain't It Cool]
Has Anything Interesting Happened at SXSW?: No.
Really? Nothing?: Okay, there was a pretty solid R.E.M. concert, archived by NPR, which you can listen to until it crashes your browser. [NPR]
Cleon Peterson's Untitled (2007).Image courtesy of New Image Art, Los Angeles.
Lil Wayne won our hearts with his endless stream of ludicrously garbled mix-tape tracks, not his middling studio fare, so we were hesitant to embrace “Lollipop,” the first single off the chronically delayed The Carter III. God, we’re so stupid. Wayne borrows T-Pain’s vocoder, dumps all pretense of subtlety (“she wanna lick the wrapper”), and does smoothed-out “club rap” in full cracked-genius mode. And holy crap, the video: Wayne parties with the Maloofs, croons like Teddy Pendergrass on the mike stand, and, oh, yes, straight rips a guitar solo, on top of a moving limo, under the Vegas lights.
Brooklyn Heights: The sale price of the Cranberry Street house where they filmed Moonstruck has dropped from $5 million to $3.95 million since early 2006. That's still très Cher! [Brooklyn Heights Blog]
Coney Island: Astroland opens Sunday … possibly, for the second year in a row now, for its last season before major Coney development begins. [amNY]
East New York: It's "the new Harlem," did you know that? So if you're bitter you didn't buy uptown twenty years ago, you'll want to buy here, where cribs are going for up to $300,000. [NYDN]
Forest Hills: Did you know it's just one of the unassuming Queens hoods, including Kew Garden Hills and possibly even Middle Village, where Spitzer pimp Mark Brener worked his matchmaking magic? [Queens Chronicle]
Long Island City: What if the rumors are true and Clay Aiken is moving to the same Arris Lofts that superstar D.J. Danny Tenaglia just bought into? Will scary hard-house remixes of the Spamalot score rattle the building? [LIQCity]
Prospect Heights: Opponents of the long-controversial Atlantic Yards project aren't happy that the Brooklyn Museum plans to honor the project's kingpin, Bruce Ratner. [Atlantic Yards Report]
Washington Square Park: When the cops start cracking down on chess-table sandwich eaters who aren't actually playing chess, you know that Washington Square Park's wild and woolly days are finally over. [Villager]
Don't hit us!Photo: Getty
Photo: Comedy Central and popularmechanics.com
Though BattleBots will miss its onetime host, recently fired ESPN buffoon Sean Salisbury, it should still be pretty great, especially as the show increases its focus on the pits, where panicked engineers have to repair their bots to a ticking clock. In addition, the show will find a way to ban "wedgebots," robots whose entire modus operandi is to stay low, get under their opponent, and flip 'em over. We know we're totally nerding out here, but this is gonna be awesome.
BattleBots Returns, but Will 'Science Fair Gone Mad' Grab Geeks? [Popular Mechanics]
John Ritter's tragic death cannot be blamed on a pair of doctors.
So a jury essentially decided Friday in rejecting a wrongful death claim made by the Ritter family.
The...
Photo:
Who's your favorite New Yorker, living or dead, real or fictional?
Jackie O. The First Lady, not the rapper.
What's the best meal you've eaten in New York?
French fries at Bette, followed by cheesecake at Veniero's.
In one sentence, what do you actually do all day in your job?
I write and talk about politics.
Would you still live here on a $35,000 salary?
I practically do!
What's the last thing you saw on Broadway?
Come Back Little Sheba. S. Epatha Merkerson will win the Tony, and she deserves it!
Do you give money to panhandlers?
Rarely, although I am a sucker for anyone with a pet or a clever sign. There’s a guy that used to hang around NYU with a sign that said “Paying Off My Student Loans.” I think he made a small fortune off of that sign.
What's your drink?
Hot chocolate with no marshmallows, but extra whipped cream.
How often do you prepare your own meals?
About as often as I balance my checkbook — every now and then but not as often as I should.
What's your favorite medication?
Loehmann’s. Bargain shopping is better than any drug.
What's hanging above your sofa?
A cheap painting.
How much is too much to spend on a haircut?
A haircut I’m not sure, but really great extensions are priceless.
When's bedtime?
Somewhere between 1:52 a.m. and 2:26 a.m. (approximately).
Which do you prefer, the old Times Square or the new Times Square?
Neither. Times Square is for tourists.
What do you think of Donald Trump?
Good businessman. Bad hair.
What do you hate most about living in New York?
The cost!
Who is your mortal enemy?
Anyone whose cell phone rings during a great movie or show. Those who actually answer their phones and proceed to have a conversation are my super-duper mortal enemies.
When's the last time you drove a car?
Two years ago and it wasn’t pretty. Thank goodness for cabs!
Who should be the next president?
Chris Rock.
Times, Post, or Daily News?
The Post for headlines, the Times for news.
Where do you go to be alone?
Away from New York. I just got back from a solo trip to Belize.
What makes someone a New Yorker?
Chutzpa.
Eleven years in the making, Alexander Theroux’s hugely ambitious (and just plain huge, at 878 pages) new book tracks the vicissitudes of one Eugene Eyestones, an acerbic columnist who falls in love (and hate) with his boss’ wife, the titular Laura, his mind spinning out a desperate, ferociously eloquent cry of derision at both himself and her (“Laura’s conversation was jingle, sheer twit-twit, a blend of flip slang, ‘zine clichés, oneirobabble, pop lyrics”). Theroux’s prose sparkles and horrifies as Eyestones (figuratively) eats himself alive.
Eleven years in the making, Alexander Theroux’s hugely ambitious (and just plain huge, at 878 pages) new book tracks the vicissitudes of one Eugene Eyestones.
Whitney Port: "Swarm" memberPhoto: Getty Images
Port doesn't have a degree like Conrad from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (judging by the reviews and tepid applause Conrad got at her show, it doesn't help much anyway), but Port has designer genes (zing!). Her dad Jeff owns the company Swarm, which makes a young-men's line called Shades of Gray. (Swarm — also the nickname of Whitney's seven-member family — is backing Eve & A.) Her line boasts seventeen pieces, including convertible dresses, tops, and jackets that wholesale for $40 to $250 (a bit more than double that for retail), which means, we hope, they'll be pretty decent quality.
Port and Conrad are still interning for public-relations firm People's Revolution. Port even worked the front of the house at L.A. Fashion Week for them. Hey — she and Conrad have to keep their "friendship" and TV show going somehow.
Fashion Scoops: Port of Call [WWD]
Related: Inside the Sad, Bizarre World That Was the Lauren Conrad Show
Exclusive: ‘Hills’ Girls Lauren and Whitney Working for People's Revolution
Photo: Getty Images
Charlize, is it true that one of the key reasons for your agreeing to produce this film was AnnaSophia's performance?
Theron: In part. First of all, I had really liked the material, and Nick Stahl had read the script, and he wanted to play the brother. But we all realized that the part of the young daughter was going to be a huge part of this film. And we knew it was going to be very hard to find an actress of that age — this was very adult material, and it carries a lot of emotional weight. I didn't know if I would be able to see a film like this through to the end if we couldn't find that person. Then I met with my friend Stephen Hopkins, who had directed me in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. He had just made The Reaping with AnnaSophia and said she was amazing and that I should take a look at her. So I met with her and spent a couple of days playing around with the material. And we wound up not looking at anyone else for the part.
AnnaSophia, how did it feel to basically have to carry a film with such weighty subject matter?
Robb: It was hard, but I'm actually happy that this was my first film with this kind of heavy subject matter. And I appreciated this really safe environment that Charlize had created. Now I feel more comfortable with this sort of thing.
How did you prepare for it?
Robb: After I read the script, I talked a lot with Charlize. We had a lot of conversations over the phone, talking about the characters. And then once you get on set, that's what the whole world is about: read-throughs, talking about the characters. When you're on set, it's important actually to be able to break off from that at the end of the day and leave it behind.
So, is it safe to say that you're not in the Daniel Day-Lewis mold of living with your character day in and day out?
Robb: Obviously, I respect him a lot as an actor. But I'm not sure that's the right approach for me. I don't want to totally become my character, especially at such a young age. Acting is not the only thing. I need to have a life and enjoy it. Also it's important I think to have the imagination to create this person, and to be able to come back at the end of the day to who I really am.
Charlize, you started off producing with Monster, with which this film shares some similarities. Does being a producer on a film, especially a low-budget one like this, make it harder to also act in it?
Theron: Not really. I don't think producing makes anything harder. I don't really compartmentalize. It's all part of the same thing for me. There's an incredibly creative element to a producer's job. There has to be. I couldn't go up and start working six weeks before production if there wasn't. It's a huge amount of work, a huge amount of responsibilities, a huge amount of time you have to invest. But it feels effortless to me — that is to say, it feels like part of the whole creative thread of making the film.
How would you characterize yourself as a producer?
Theron: I don't know. I dislike hard work, but I feel blessed to be part of something creatively satisfying. I think I was spoiled on Monster, to be honest with you. There were no set rules about what I was supposed to do and not do. In the end, it was all about being truthful to the story, and I had to protect that. And that set the bar for me, in a way. Now I want it to be always that way. Because otherwise it's too much work. You spend three years of your life waking up at four in the morning.
AnnaSophia, you've done a lot of very different movies in such a short time. What's the best advice someone has given you about showbiz so far?
Theron: It definitely didn't come from me… [laughs]
Robb: You get different advice for different films. But a certain someone, who may or may not be in this room, did say that in the end it's all about telling a good story and doing good work that stays with people. It's just really that simple. —Bilge Ebiri
She's good enough for ClooneyPhoto: Getty Images
Photo Illustration: Everett Bogue; Photos: WireImage, Getty Images
Is MK Chasing Chace? [Faded Youth]
Earlier: The Fug Girls: Introducing the Good Boy
F*erce hot mess Siriano now has something to sleep on.Photo illustration: Everett Bogue; Photos: Getty Images, Hulton Archive/Getty Images
[Siriano] flew to Los Angeles with a rack of clothes, including the ruffled dress he created for Victoria Beckham in the show's last episode. He greeted fans, including retailers Cameron Silver and Tracey Ross, at a dinner in his honor at the Roosevelt Hotel Wednesday night, and said he was meeting with Beckham on Thursday to fit her in more pieces he designed for her … [Siriano] said, "Some woman just asked me to make her wedding dress. I took one look at her ring and was like, 'Let's go, girl!'"
How delightfully shallow! Following the equally delightful Runway spoof he inspired on Saturday Night Live, Siriano will continue his television foray with a cameo on Ugly Betty (he'll play the person he loves most: himself) and an appearance on the Tonight Show. Also, since his New York apartment was so sad and furniture-less, W Hotels gave him a bed. We don't know how Siriano is going to fit it anywhere, but note to W Hotels: He's not the only poor person in New York living in a closet with no furniture, thankyouverymuch.
Here's another shocker: Siriano used the F-word to describe his newfound fame. We are so over it we refuse to type it anymore. Tyra Banks really should've trademarked that shit a long time ago.
Fashion Scoops: Winner Takes All [WWD]
Related: The Near-Fame Experience [NYM]
Richard Gere is no longer a wanted man in India.
The country's highest court has indefinitely suspended a warrant that was issued for the actor's arrest in last year after he enraged...
Deyn in London last night.Photo: WireImage
• When young new designers take over established fashion labels, it's difficult to try something new and still be similar to the house's founding or recent designers, which may explain why Paulo Melim Andersson got the ax at Chloé. You can't please everybody. [Guardian]
• The natural-beauty-products industry is trying to regulate what exactly "natural" and "organic" mean with new product guidelines and certifications. [WWD]
• British designer Alice Temperley is more than three months pregnant. She says she'd been begging her husband to have a baby for years. [British Vogue]
• The Kaiser, a.k.a., Karl Lagerfeld, traveled to Hong Kong to see Chanel's mobile art exhibit. He said it was worth the trip but probably won't see it in any other cities when its tour begins. [WWD]
• Carla Bruni Sarkozy loves spring Hermès dresses by Jean Paul Gaultier. France's First Lady wore a short white dress from the line for her wedding and a purple frock to her first official dinner. (Sarkozy's ex-wife, meanwhile, is wearing Versace at her wedding later this month.) [WWD]
• Pharrell Williams talks about his fine-jewelry collection for Louis Vuitton. This isn't his first foray into fashion: Williams had previously designed sunglasses for the brand. He got the gig thanks to his pal Marc Jacobs. [My Fashion Life]
• T's spring design issue is online but hits newsstands tomorrow. It features Lenny Kravitz and designer Philippe Starck swathed in African fabrics. [Moment/NYT]
• Mystic Tans will soon come in bottled forumula you can use at home. So you don't have to endure the awkwardness of standing naked in a dark room, doing the "Thriller" dance while a machine sprays you. [WWD]
LAW
• Eliot Spitzer has been careful about the lawyers he's selected to protect him against potential charges related to his activities with random twentysomething hookers, hiring a set of heavy hitters from white-collar crime specialists Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. He's right to be choosy: "Hiring a lawyer is not unlike selecting a river guide," the Times says today. "One wants a professional who not only steers clear of the rapids but does so in a reassuring manner. It also helps if he knows what to do should the boat hit the rocks." Yeah. That's just how we would have put it. [NYT]
• A New York court rules that the daughter of a Jell-O heiress is not entitled to a taste of the multi-million-dollar fortune. [New York Law Journal]
• Is Hillary Clinton's legal background hindering her campaign? [Law.com]
MEDIA
• Mark Cuban gives the New York Times some sage branding advice: "I would be doing everything I could to send the message that 'The NY Times does not have blogs, we have Real Time Reports from the most qualified reporters in the world. Like blogs we post continuously , 24x7x365 to keep you up to speed, unlike blogs, we have the highest level of journalistic standards that we adhere to…'" Dude, why can't you be the activist shareholder? [Blog Maverick]
• Tim and Nina Zagat are asking little too much for Zagat. [The Deal]
• People magazine embraces Web 2.0 and … hires an advertising director. [WWD]
FINANCE
• The SEC charges three of its own with insider trading. [WSJ]
• Is this a result of Spitz-mania? Venture capitalists invest in "a Web site that publishes professional photos of women, many in various states of undress, and allows its members to vote for their favorites." [VentureWire via DealBreaker/NYT]
• When they were young: Jim Cramer and Eliot Spitzer. [DealBreaker]
Next up: the sales rackPhoto: Courtesy of Topshop
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