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Courtesy of Disney/Pixar and AMPAS
Vulture buddy Nikki Finke reports the happy news that Disney and Pixar plan to campaign heavily for a Best Picture Oscar nomination for Wall-E, a campaign that we're already fully onboard with. Finke sniffs out some controversy in claiming that one roadblock to a Wall-E nomination is Andrew Stanton's claims to the New York Times last weekend: “I never think about the audience,” he said. “If someone gives me a marketing report, I throw it away.” Finke gets an outraged response to this from, hilariously, a "bigwig Hollywood marketer," who sniffs, "Nobody can say, 'I don't care what the audience thinks', especially when making a mainstream movie for families. Nobody can live outside the envelope like that. His disdain for the audience was really obvious."
Hey, you know what, bigwig Hollywood marketer? Andrew Stanton wasn't expressing disdain for the audience. He was expressing disdain for you. And you know who can say "I don't care what the audience thinks"? A guy whose company's eight amazing movies have made over four billion dollars, that's who. So we're not too worried about this particular controversy.
'Wall-E' Orbiting Best Picture Oscar Nod? [Deadline Hollywood Daily]
Earlier: What’s the Best Pixar Movie of All Time?
Pixar on ‘Wall-E’: Environmental Themes? What Environmental Themes?
Start the Campaign: ‘Wall-E’ for Best Picture!
The older gentleman from yesterday's Yohji Yamamoto show. Steve McQueen is in the center.Photo: imaxtree
Okay — what is going on with the men's show castings this season? First beefy bear Sergio Lo Re wins over hearts around the world with his shirtless appearance at the Vivienne Westwood show, then Dsquared2 sends out almost entirely non-white models, and now Yohji Yamamoto throws old guys into the mix, one of whom, according to the AP, "appeared to SLIGHTLY DRAG A LEG" (emphasis ours). It's amazing, isn't it?! Every man is having his day! We dare (er, pray for?) the women's shows to top them.
Grey power hits Paris men's catwalks [AFP]
Paris menswear challenges style codes [Miami Herald]
Photo: WireImage
Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi have picked a wedding date. We just don't know what that date is. Clear Channel won't let Harry Shearer advertise his new CD, Songs of the Bushmen, on their billboards because it has a mean picture of George Bush on it. Shockingly, Amy Winehouse's apartment is a disgusting mess. The widow of gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson doesn't think his suicide was a courageous act, she thinks it was "the opposite." Oprah Winfrey and Bill Clinton were cold to one another at a party for Nelson Mandela in London, probably because of the primary results. But Naomi Campbell showed up to the event, even though she was axed as a presenter over her whole airport assault problem. A photographer says Marilyn Monroe often didn't wear "pants." That's British for "undies."
Clockwise from top left: Courtesy of AMC, Fox, HBO, ABC, NBC, and Showtime
Could this be the year The Wire finally gets an Emmy nomination? Could Mad Men break through? Is — gasp — Family Guy on its way to a Best Comedy Emmy? Maybe! The TV Academy's Website posted ten-title short lists for its Best Drama and Best Comedy nominations, well in advance of July 17's nomination announcement. The lists, after the jump.
Top Ten Comedy Series Finalists
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Entourage
Family Guy
Flight of the Conchords
The Office
Pushing Daisies
30 Rock
Two and a Half Men
Ugly Betty
Weeds
Top Ten Drama Series Finalists
Boston Legal
Damages
Dexter
Friday Night Lights
Grey’s Anatomy
House
Lost
Mad Men
The Tudors
The Wire
Other than the glaring absence of Cavemen, the happy surprise on these lists is, of course, The Wire, famously ignored by the Emmys all these long years. Will David Simon's prediction that the show will never win an Emmy be one last thing about his own show that Simon was wrong about? Or is this short list just the Emmys' way of covering their butts? After all, they didn't ignore The Wire, they put it in their Top Ten!
The lists are interesting in that you can pull from them groups of shows that would suggest a really exciting year at the awards (Family Guy, Conchords, Pushing Daisies, Weeds), or the opposite (Boston Legal, Grey's Anatomy, House, Lost). It's safe to bet that the actual nominees will be a mix of the boring and exciting. We'd make some predictions, but it's gonna be hard to type between now and July 17 with all our fingers crossed. It5'[s reqally nopt as easy as y6ou'd thinjk.
Top 10 Drama and Comedy Finalists Announced [Emmy.org]
Gareth Pugh.Photo: Getty Images
• Here's a first look at Richard Chai's Target line! [Nylon]
• Dior Homme is trying to woo back Hedi Slimane, according to a rumor coming out of L.A. So, you know, don't freak out just yet. [Fashionista]
• Giambattista Valli is now making bridalwear — the functional kind that you can easily party in. [WWD]
• Cashmere label Degrees of Freedom designer Noelle Reno says she was asked to leave the label after she broke up with her husband and owner of a 51 percent stake in the label, Matthew Mellon (Tamara of Jimmy Choo's ex). She says she's been offered a gig reviving an old label, whose name she won't reveal. [WWD]
• Alla Kudryavtseva knocked Maria Sharapova out of Wimbledon and said, "It's very pleasant to beat Maria. I don't like her outfit." Rawr! [British Vogue]
• Esquire shot Marc Jacobs for its upcoming 75 most influential people of the 21st Century issue. He appears doing yoga with his trainer. [WWD]
• Hermès has a new partnership with Monaco-based yacht-maker Wally. So they'll fancy up the insides of some big boats at some point. [WWD]
• Giorgio Armani is launching a line of pens. Armani explains, "A handwritten note is today more than ever a sign of etiquette, elegance and sophistication. To carry an iconic pen is therefore a symbol of character and style." Anybody want to make designer e-mail? Hm, Marc? [British Vogue]
• Um, why haven't models formed unions already? [Jezebel]
• Anna Wintour went to Wimbledon after the Milan men's shows. [Fashionologie]
UmaArkiPhoto: WireImage
Uma Thurman Engaged [NYDN]
Related: The Great Divorces Of New York
"It's not dead in the water," says Reeves. "It's probably more sort of on hold. The thing that we promised ourselves is that we only wanted to do another one if we could come up with something that felt as fresh to us as [the original did]. We're still toying with what it's going to be and whether or not it's going to be as exciting to make and, hopefully, for an audience to watch [as the first one]."
We can certainly understand the difficulty involved with trying to build a franchise around a mostly unseen monster and a bunch of unsympathetic yuppie characters who are all now (spoiler alert!) dead, but surely J.J. Abrams — who, we'll remind you, was able to sustain Lost's entire third season without having a single idea — can come up with something, right? Couldn't the monster just attack a bunch of professional cinematographers this time? We'd be pretty compelled and excited if we could watch a Cloverfield movie without throwing up.
Exclusive Video Interview with Cloverfield Director Matt Reeves [Collider via Fark]
A women who was shot in the face that night is for some reason only now suing Combs for $130 million, and her lawyers have subpoenaed Lopez and will compel her to give a deposition. We sincerely hope that this goes to court and that furthermore Cold Case picks it up and turns it into an awesome period episode, wherein everyone is wearing backless tops and velvet pants and "It's Not Right, But It's Okay" and "No Scrubs" are piped in at every opportunity. Because that would be awesome.
J.Lo To Testify in 1999 shooting [NYP]
How's this for corporate synergy?
Powerhouse Disney has teamed up with the folks behind the American Idol juggernaut to bring a new attraction revolving around the glorified karaoke...
AP - Queen, Leona Lewis and Amy Winehouse were among the performers due to serenade Nelson Mandela at a concert Friday honoring the South African statesman's 90th birthday.
AP - Queen, Leona Lewis and Amy Winehouse were among the performers due to serenade Nelson Mandela at a concert Friday honoring the South African statesman's 90th birthday.
 Kotaku.com | Teens Turn 'Grand Theft Auto' Into Real-Life Robbery Spree FOXNews - GARDEN CITY, Long Island - A gang of teens in love with the blood-drenched digital killfest "Grand Theft Auto IV" - in which players slaughter hundreds during endless crime sprees - copied the video game's violent hero with a two-hour campaign of ... Cops: Grand Theft Auto video game inspired teen crimes Game inspired teens' spree |
 Telegraph.co.uk | Stars gather for Nelson Mandela birthday show The Associated Press - LONDON (AP) - Queen, Leona Lewis and Amy Winehouse were among the performers due to serenade Nelson Mandela at a concert Friday honoring the South African statesman's 90th birthday. Nelson Mandela's 90th B-day Happy 90th birthday, Nelson Mandela |
Photo: Getty Images
What Are Goldblum's Intentions?: We have news for you, if you'd stop watching Law & Order reruns long enough to read this: Jeff Goldblum will be replacing Chris Noth next season on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. [Variety]
Clash of the Greek Epics: The Incredible Hulk's Louis Leterrier is onboard to direct the Lawrence Kasdan–scripted remake of Clash of the Titans for Warner Bros. It's a race against time though, as Relativity Media preps War of Gods with Tarsem Singh (The Cell) at the helm. Scorecard: They both have gods, warriors, and sprawling battles, so the deciding factor may very well be which one has more homoeroticism. [Variety]
Brandt and Haas Want Creatures: Wanted writers Michael Brandt and Derek Haas will next curve their pens toward Neal Moritz's All Creatures Great and Small, the story of animals who quickly evolve to fight mankind. Why? "Because of people's inability to quench their thirst for oil and consumption of resources, we basically ruin the planet, and the planet fights back." Well, we guess shots of menacing animals will be scarier than shots of menacing trees. [HR]
Lenox Gets Ruined: Tony winner Adriane Lenox (Doubt) will star in Manhattan Theatre Club's world premiere production of Lynn Nottage's Ruined, first in Chicago and then at the New York City Center Stage I in January 2009. She'll play a shrewd businesswoman who's kind of like the Oskar Schindler of the Congo during their civil war. Early prediction: There will be exactly zero jokes in the play. [Playbill]
The couple last year. Look at those eyes.Photo: Getty Images
YouTube hero Tricia Walsh-Smith took the stand yesterday in her divorce case against Shubert Group president Philip Smith and put on the kind of show we are used to seeing in her online videos. Tricia was the first to take the stand in the proceedings, and according to the Post, she "at turns cracked jokes, shouted, shrieked, pouted and sobbed in expletive-laden testimony." "I loved somebody and they want to crucify me!" she shouted at one point. "After loving them for 13 years and making vegetable soup for them!" But it turns out that vegetable soup wasn't the only thing she was good at making. She also had quite the flair for making threats. Like when Philip wouldn't pay a $45,000 credit-card bill for her (charges racked up in one month alone), she told him: "I will cut your balls off and have them for breakfast!" Another time, when he wouldn't bankroll a play she was producing, she told him she would call gossip columnists. "Get the play back on, otherwise you're going to be front-page news," she warned. "Your days of being a big shot in the theater circuit are over!"
Both threats were on voice mails played in the courtroom. Tricia said the "balls for breakfast" line didn't "sound like" her, and that she may have been "channeling something." Ooh! Let's guess who she was channeling! Alec Baldwin? Hillary Clinton? Oh, no, we've got it: Paris Hilton!
YOUTUBER A RAGING MANEATER [NYP]
Related: The YouTube Divorcée [NYM]
Related: The Great Divorces Of New York
EVENTS
• Meet designer Jillian Diaz as she personally presents her Luca Bella jewelry collection. Alanna Richman, designer of the Alanna Bess line, will also be at Henri Bendel. Through 6/28. Henri Bendel, 712 Fifth Ave., nr. 56th St. (212-247-1100); 10–8.
SALES
STARTING TODAY
• Mint Jodi Arnold dresses and tops from the spring/summer collection are up to 75 percent off. Through 6/29. 230 W. 39th St., nr. Seventh Ave., second fl. (212-997-0270); Fri. (10–7), Sat. (10–6), Sun. (noon–5).
• The vintage-inspired apparel and home furnishings on sale at Urban Outfitters online outpost are an extra 20 percent off. No special code needed at checkout, the discount will be automatically applied. Through 6/30 at midnight.
• Shoes and handbags from Frye, Calvin Klein, and more are 40 percent off retail prices at the Lime Tag Sale on Piperlime.com. Through 7/20.
• Dresses, tops, shorts, swimwear, and shoes are up to 80 percent off from lines like Staerk, Fluxus, Ya Ya Aflalo, and the Smooth Company at Openhouse Gallery. Through 6/29. 201 Mulberry St., nr. Kenmare St.; daily (noon–8).
ENDING TODAY
• Williamson Showroom is marking up to 70 percent off the designers they carry, like Nili Lotan, Rodnik, and Gilded Age. Through 6/27. 119 Mercer St., nr. Prince St. (212-226-5507); Thurs. –Fri. (8:30–7).
• Find up to 75 percent off La Perla’s sexy collection at their sample sale. Through 6/27. 260 Fifth Ave., nr. 28th St.; Tues., Wed., Fri. (9–6), Thurs. (9–8).
• With this three-day sale ending today, you’ll have to pay only $5 to $60 for clothes from Soundgirl, or pay $40 to $60 for Shoes for Lovely People. Through 6/27. 1385 Broadway, nr. 37th St., fifth fl. (212-730-0377); daily (10–6:30).
• Miguel Ases jewelry is 70 percent off at his annual sample sale. Here you’ll find fourteen-karat gold pieces and semiprecious stones, and if you pay cash, receive an extra 10 percent off. Though 6/27. 150 W. 25th St., nr. Sixth Ave., Ste. 601; Mon.–Fri. (10–6).
• The Asmar Group Showroom opens its doors again this week to mark down men’s and women’s spring collections from Generra between 50 to 60 percent off. Dresses are down to $120 (originally $245), and a men’s cotton-blend utility blazer is $145 (originally $295). Though 6/27. 275 W. 39th St., nr. Seventh Ave., fifth fl. (212-768-2868); Mon.–Fri. (9:30–7).
STARTING TOMORROW
• It's Flip-flop Day at Old Navy this Saturday. Get any pair for only $1. Click here for the locations.
• Temperley London is knocking off 60 percent on their spring and cruise collections. Through 7/1. 453 Broome St., nr. Mercer St., second fl. (212-219-2929); 11–7.
ENDING TOMORROW
• United Bamboo’s spring/summer 2008 collections as well as previous collections are up to 90 percent off retail. Through 6/28. 217 Centre St., nr. Grand St., sixth fl. (212-925-3311); Thurs.–Fri. (10–7), Sat. (12–7).
• Anbar’s collection of designer shoes is up to 80 percent off at their clearance sale. Shoes like Lulu Guinness and BCBG are down to $15 to $66. Through 6/28. 60 Reade St., nr. Broadway; (212-227-0253); Mon.–Fri. (9–6:20), Sat. (11–5:45), Sun. (closed).
• Redbag's weeklong sale, featuring up to 85 percent off accessories and apparel from Nicole Farhi, Prada, Ted Baker, and more, ends today. Though 6/28. 250 W. 39th St., nr. Seventh Ave. (212-719-0001); Mon.–Fri. (9:30–7:30), Sat. (10–6), Sun. (closed).
ENDING SATURDAY
• Get up to 70 percent off Alexander Wang's tops, blazers, dresses, and cut-off denim shorts. Through 6/28. 386 Broadway nr. Walker White St., third floor. (212-532-3103). 10–7.
ENDING SUNDAY
• Pleats Please by Issey Miyake is taking up to 40 percent off houndstooth jackets ($262) and skirts with tulle lace ($282). Through 6/29. 128 Wooster St., at Prince St. (212-226-3600); Mon.–Sat. (11–7); Sun. (noon–6).
 Boston Globe | Brick Lane Chicago Sun-Times - By Roger Ebert "Brick Lane" tells a story we think we already know, but we're wrong: It has new things to say within an old formula. Movie review: Life abroad in a London slum 'Brick Lane': Tale of expat Bangladeshis in London too condensed |
Fashion Wire Daily - There's a fine line between understated and dull, a narrow gap twixt quiet elegance and predictable formulism, and one cleverly negotiated – happily on the right side - at Louis Vuitton on Thursday in Paris when it presented its latest men's collection.
AP - George Clooney just wants actors to get along instead of choosing between sparring unions.
AP - George Clooney just wants actors to get along instead of choosing between sparring unions.
Fashion Wire Daily - Making clothes that manage to look rather proper yet also seriously hip is a delicate balancing act, but one managed with aplomb and panache by Dries Van Noten on Thursday in Paris, the opening day of the spring 2009 men's shows.
AP - Even for Amy Winehouse, it was a dramatic chain of events: After fainting and being rushed to a hospital, Winehouse's father said her crack and cigarette smoking had so damaged her lungs, she was risking emphysema and death if she didn't clean up.
AP - VATICAN CITY (AP) — The devil may wear Prada — but the pope does not. According to the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, the bright red loafers that Pope Benedict XVI wears are not designed by the Milanese fashion house, as has long been rumored.
Reuters - This is getting to sound
like a broken record: Pixar Animation Studios has just topped
itself. Again.
Reuters - The audience at Los
Angeles' Forum gave George Michael a special present just
before the second half of his two-hour performance Wednesday: a
spontaneous arena-wide "happy birthday to you" for the English
singer, who turned 45 on Wednesday.
Paris Hilton is building on her famous name.
Childrens Hospital Los Angeles announced Thursday that the hotel heiress has made an "extremely generous" donation toward the...
So much for capitalizing on the exposure.
Verne Troyer, best known for playing Dr. Evil's Mini-Me in the last two Austin Powers movies, filed a multimillion-dollar federal lawsuit...
Even David Beckham is impressed by how massive he looks in those Emporio Armani ads.
On his blog, he writes about going to the big unveiling in San Francisco: "To be honest I was...
You wanna mess with Texas? Not us.
Though considering how lovely Jessica Simpson and Beyoncé are looking here, we would definitely be open to "messing around" with it if the...
He may not have made it as a hallucinating detective, but Jeff Goldblum has been assigned to Major Case.
USA confirmed Thursday the veteran actor will be replacing Chris Noth on Law...
The Supreme Court, that is.
In a letter released today, rocker Ted Nugent blasted four unnamed Supreme Court justices—though presumably he means Justices Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg...
AP - If you've ever wanted to see a Ukrainian frog juggler, a Bulgarian "hairialist" and a Mongolian contortionist lizard all in the same show, then you're in luck. "Jungle Fantasy" has arrived to satisfy all your circus cravings.
The Dark Knight doesn't forget.
Heath Ledger and a special-effects technician, who both died before the superhero movie's release, will be remembered with a joint, onscreen...
Stewie, a serial killer and Down Under singers are in. Wisteria Laners, Cylon apologists and Heroes are out. Let the grousing begin.
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences...
Yep, we still love 'em. Probably $1,000 to $3,000 worth of love, but certainly not $20,000.Photo: Getty Images
We’re sure the Giants won’t be the last local team to require PSLs. The Yankees and Mets have said they won’t require them in their new parks, but with the Nets eyeing Brooklyn and the Rangers and Knicks planning renovations to the Garden, the PSLs could be used to partially fund those projects. (The Times says the Jets, who will share the new Meadowlands stadium with the Giants, are expected to announce a PSL plan themselves.) The Giants are just the only franchise with enough goodwill right now to announce such a plan. (The Mets explicitly said they feared fan backlash if they tried to.) After all, consider the first line of the Giants’ letter:
“As the Giants prepare to defend the Super Bowl championship, and with construction of a new state-of-the-art stadium and team practice facility well underway at the Meadowlands, these are exciting times for Giants fans.”
Aw, you want to pay a little extra because you're so excited. We’ve gotta admit, it’s got a better ring to it than “Good afternoon, Giants fan! You owe us twenty grand!” —Joe DeLessio
Giants to Charge Seat License Fees for New Stadium [NYT]
Photo: Anthony Pidgeon / Retna
2. Coldplay, "Lost!" (live on The Daily Show)
Last night, Coldplay became only the third-ever musical artist to perform on The Daily Show, confirming that it is, indeed, the slowest news week in all of history. [Pitchfork]
3. Pearl Jam feat. Ace Frehley, "Black Diamond" (Kiss cover)
Ace let Mike McCready take five at MSG last night, soloing on KISS's classic "Black Diamond," their best-ever song about advanced downhill skiing. [Stereogum]
4. David Banner feat. Lil Wayne, "Shawty Say"
Banner refashions Wayne's "Lollipop" into a track approximately half as good as "Lollipop." Still, not bad. [Nah Right]
5. Liz Phair, New song
From Phair's Guyville show in Chicago on Tuesday, a brand-new track. We like all her other songs better. [Stereogum]
Enjoy it while it lasts.Photo: Shiseido
• Aaron de May, Lancôme's new director, said a pair of red Christian Louboutin shoes inspired a limited-edition red lipstick and black lip gloss launching later this year. Funny, Loubs inspire us, too. [WWD]
• Charlize Theron has been making the rounds promoting Hancock with a face painted by Shane Paish, a Dior makeup artist. In Moscow she wore Rouge Dior Lipstick, a dark-burgundy shade we predict will be a big trend for fall. [Beauty Addict]
HAIR
• The Mangroomer is a device that men can use to shave their own back hair. It even folds for easy storage. [Haute Concept]
• Hilary Swank chopped all her hair off! [Jezebel]
FRAGRANCE
• La Perla released Hedo White, a scent for men with notes of lemon, bergamot, grapefruit, pear, and watermelon. It also comes in an aftershave. How fruity. [Now Smell This]
Just two guys fisting on a beach.
We somehow managed to regain our composure.
Lois, who said he still receives advance copies of several major magazines on Sundays (including this one) as a kind of tribute to his influence on the business, still takes the odd cover job here and there. "Nobody knows this, but I am going to be doing a couple of covers for the Harvard alumni magazine, 02138," he said. "They called me up and said, 'Do what you want,' which nobody else would say. I've had every magazine, every magazine in America, for 40 years saying…Time magazine, 'Oh, we want you to do the covers.' But of course when you do, you have to come in and talk to a group of us and then anything edgy gets killed." Since Lois and Hunter Thompson both had such an outsize impact on journalism in the sixties, we asked if the two had known each other. "Yeah, I ran into him five or six times, I never hung out with him. I was a family man." Lois said. "He was a fan of the Esquire covers. I met him and he said, '"Oh my God — we hit a little girl!"' You were the cocksucker, you put that on that cover, right?'" Hello, language. Maybe this guy did know what fisting means…before we could get up the gumption to ask him, he was gone. —Andrew Goldstein
Courtesy of Pixar
Well, soon it'll be 2009 Academy Award winner Wall-E, but which of Pixar's eight previous wonders of the movie world will this week's apparent masterpiece be supplanting atop the list? Every Pixar movie has its proponents: Foodies love Ratatouille; sentimentalists love Toy Story; dads love Finding Nemo; cars love Cars. But which is actually the best? And which is the worst? And what does "worst" mean when you're talking about Pixar? Vulture breaks it down, after the jump.
8. Cars (2006)
While it's the only Pixar movie that never once gives the non-9-year-old-male that sense of effortless wonder that's usually the hallmark of the Pixar experience, Cars isn't at all a bad movie. If this were a list of all movies, organized by quality, we'd put Cars somewhere around Predator: entertaining, but a movie that's obviously targeted to a specific audience and is of only modest interest to those outside that audience. Bonnie Hunt is adorable even in car form, though.
7. The Incredibles (2004)
Brad Bird's movie is undeniably entertaining, and perhaps the most visually wonderful of all the Pixar movies, but it suffers slightly in our estimation owing to its (inescapable) similarity to many other superheroes-gone-straight stories we've read in any number of revisionist comic books. Nevertheless, Edna Mode is an inspired creation, and we'd watch this movie a hundred times before we'd watch Superman Returns once.
6. A Bug's Life (1998)
Sometimes referred to as Pixar's only bomb — and that term is relative, as the movie "only" made $162 million in the United States — A Bug's Life has one of the most straightforward (or, if you prefer, simplistic) plots of all Pixar movies: A misfit goes on a journey, then returns home to protect his people. But with great characters and great performances — including Dave Foley as Flik, Kevin Spacey as the grasshopper villain, and beloved Pixar story chief Joe Ranft as Heimlich the caterpillar — A Bug's Life stands up surprisingly well.
5. Toy Story (1995)
The jewel in Pixar's crown and the movie that first demonstrated what computer animation could accomplish, Toy Story supplies laughs, wonderment, and adventure in equal doses — plus the scariest villain in Pixar history, psychopathic next-door neighbor Sid.
4. Ratatouille (2007)
Though it sags a little in the middle, Ratatouille — like its rodent-chef hero — earns its acclaim through a combination of God-given genius (in the form of Brad Bird) and endless hard work (on the part of the animators and musicians who somehow made flavor cinematic). Bonus points for Anton Ego, whose turnaround from villain to hero is positively Grinch-like.
3. Toy Story 2 (1999)
The rare sequel that's even better than the original, Toy Story 2 takes a question that no one's ever really thought about — what would it be like to be a toy, and to find out you've been mass-produced? — and used it to craft an adventure filled with profound ideas on individuality, friendship, and family. Plus, as seen above, Kelsey Grammer's Stinky Pete farts in his box!
2. Finding Nemo (2003)
Touching, exciting, and endlessly beautiful, Finding Nemo — Wall-E director Andrew Stanton's last Pixar movie, and the company's biggest hit — is an enduring classic, one of the best stories of fathers and sons ever filmed. It also features the (unlikely) greatest performance in Pixar's canon, Ellen DeGeneres's addled but true-hearted Dory.
1. Monsters, Inc. (2001)
It's not the funniest of Pixar's movies. It's not the prettiest. It's not the most grown-up. But in telling this fanciful tale of the monsters who haunt children's closets, the filmmakers at Pixar found their perfect story. Monsters, Inc. inhabits the intersection of childhood mystery and adult responsibility, exploring the tension between dreams and reality that defines the greatest stories for children. When the movie ends, with the miraculous opening of a door and a singular love renewed … well, let's just say it takes a stronger viewer than us not to shed a tear, even seven years later. If Wall-E can match that, it'll be something special.
Earlier: Start the Campaign: ‘Wall-E’ for Best Picture!
‘Wall-E’: Best Pixar Movie Ever?
Related: David Edelstein on Wall—E [NYM]
The inspiration for Minkoff's line.Photo: Courtesy of Rebecca Minkoff
But don't expect a big flashy, runway debut. "We’re not going to do the usual — we don’t want to do a runway show at Bryant Park with everyone else," Minkoff said. "We want to do something a little bit more refreshing. We’re still in the planning stage of how that’s going to be." However she decides to unveil the line, she said it will occur during Fashion Week.
The 27-year-old designer is also busy wedding planning. She became engaged to actor Gavin Bellour on Memorial Day, and will probably design special outfits for the entire wedding party. Might that include her own dress? "I'm definitely leaning in that direction," she said.
—Fiona Byrne
Courtesy of Warner Bros.
Travers's rave would appear to (mostly) corroborate the pants-shitting fan review posted on Ain't It Cool News yesterday ("The best thing I can think of for comparison is The Godfather Part II"), though Hollywood Elsewhere blogger Jeffrey "Ellen Page Not Doable Enough" Wells is awaiting further confirmation. "[Travers has] responded in his usual eager-beaver town-crier way, applying lotsa passion and saliva and goo-goo gah-gah," says Wells. "Knight may be a good or even great film, or at least a wild slam-banger, but there's no trusting Travers. About anything. Especially when he's the first one out of the gate."
Since we can't really envision any possible reality in which Dark Knight isn't totally awesome, we're inclined to side with Travers and Ain't It Cool News on this one. But we've been warned, we guess.
The Dark Knight [Rolling Stone]
Travers-ing Knight [Hollywood Elsewhere]
A truly lucky and blessed bastard has seen THE DARK KNIGHT and damn... I'm so frickin' jealous! [Ain't It Cool News]
Jeffrey Wells Says Peter Travers Not To Be Trusted Over 'Dark Knight' [Playlist]
Chaunce Hayden, tipster of doom.Photo: Patrick McMullan
'Opie' Gal's Sex Tape Lawsuit [Smoking Gun]
Andrew Stanton and Wall-E.Photo: Getty Images; Courtesy of Pixar
Wall-E, Pixar's latest animated cash-cow-in-waiting, is two parts robot love story, one part cautionary Mother Earth tale. Well, unless you listen to director Andrew Stanton, who seems eager to position his movie in as neutered and apolitical a light as possible, lest GOP ticket-buyers think it's part of some secret, liberal Hollywood agenda. When asked about the environmental messages of a movie in which Earth is overrun with garbage and humans are space castaways who have atrophied into tubby, perpetually stationary blobs, yet have lost none of their voracious consumer appetites, Stanton … demurred. “Well, I hate to not be able to fuel where you want to go, but that was not where I was coming from when I did that stuff," he told us.
"I knew that I was going into territory that was basically the same stuff, but I don't have a political bent or ecological message to push. I don't mind that it supports that kind of view — it's certainly a good-citizen kind of way to be — but everything I wanted to do was based on the film's love story, the last robot on Earth, the sentence that we first came up with in 1994. I said, 'I have to get everybody off the planet, and do it in a way that audiences get it without any dialogue.' So trash did that. You look at it, you just get it. It's a dump, you've gotta move it — even a little kid understands that.”
Even little Lincoln Log Republican kids, it seems — which explains the all-things-to-all-viewers story being peddled, at least until those first weekend grosses come in. Then, just to reiterate his corporate-vetted message of inclusiveness, Stanton added: “The most I do is recycle — and sometimes I'm pretty bad at that, if you talk to my wife.” So there you have it, folks — Wall-E's makers can be trusted, since they disregard the environment just like you! —Brent Simon
Related: David Edelstein on Wall—E [NYM]
Photo: Chadwick Tyler
Model Profile: Sarah Stephens
Search through other beautiful Aussies and tons of other mannequins in our all-encompassing Model Manual .
This morning Law & Order's Richard Belzer went onto MSNBC's Morning Joe to talk about animal adoption. He brought his dog, an adorable poodle–fox terrier mix called Bébe, which Mika Brzezinski immediately scooped up and began canoodling. "You're like the dog whisperer, Mika," said one of the hosts, as the dog sat calmly in her lap. Mika responded with a beneficent, I-love-all-creatures smile. Then a second later the dog opened its mouth and proceeded to ralph all over her. Witness the hysteria that followed — Mika, shoving the dog off her lap, trying to be cool, laugh-sobbing maniacally, Belzer breaking into song, and an artful, lingering shot of the dog standing alone and unashamed in the above video. Because what is the Internet for if not puking-dog videos?
Photo: Mia Ferm/Courtesy of Forcefield PR
In this week's magazine, we asked five New York artists to make us playlists for New York–specific summer activities. Today, we've got one more from Brooklyn's Dirty Projectors. Front man Dave Longstreth made us a mix to listen to whilst relaxing in a park. Hear it, after the jump.
1. Jackie Wilson, “Lonely Teardrops”
"I've been looking for ecstatic voices, and Jackie’s got it. Once, while driving the family minivan on a summer vacation, my dad got a speeding ticket listening to this song. It made him drive too fast. Is there anything more summery than driving too fast?"
2. Lucky Dragons, “Morning Ritual”
"The only thing I can compare them to is Mozart: deep lightness, aloof warmth, gentle humor. There’s a lot of movement in his music — it’s total tipsy-on-white-wine-at-a-summer-rooftop-party music. And Luke [Fishbeck, the producer behind Lucky Dragons] goes to more parties than anyone I know — besides me."
3. Van Halen, “Eruption”
"The true boys of summer. My uncle saw them at a house party in Pasadena, summer of ’76. He said they blew his mind. Eddie’s guitar on ‘Eruption’ expanded the lexicon — a summery thing to do, I think."
4. Stevie Ray Vaughan, “Crossfire”
“Your dad, 1987, drinking a beer in a bathing suit, listening to ‘Crossfire.’”
5. Radiohead, “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi”
6. John Mayer, “Waiting on the World to Change”
“I noticed how similar these albums [Radiohead’s In Rainbows and John Mayer’s Continuum] were during a bout of insomnia in Portugal. It’s something about the late Bush years — these songs are for the last Bush summer. The titles of the albums make me think of an axis or spectrum. Maybe they’re about possibility. And the lyrics! Radiohead’s lexicon is all about bureaucrats telling you you can’t succeed. And really, Mayer says the same thing, but with more ambiguity — and it’s better.”
7. Black Dice, “Endless Happiness”
“I don’t know why the generation of New York bands that included Black Dice, Gang Gang Dance, Excepter, and Animal Collective didn’t get the Seattle ’91 treatment. Maybe it’s weird, but I mean, to me, ‘Endless Happiness’ is great barbecuing music.”
8. David Byrne, “Glass, Concrete, and Stone”
“A great artist for any season, really, but we recorded some tracks together recently and I’ve been digging deep into his catalog. A really impressive musician. Makes me want to change my name to David.” —Mike Powell
Hear all eight songs at Muxtape!
Earlier: RZA, Kim Gordon, and Albert Hammond Jr. Make You a Summer Playlist
Master Playlists [NYM]
Jocelyn Hobbie’s Rec Room (2007).Courtesy of V&A New York.
The cast of Britain's Missing Top Model..Photo: Courtesy of BBC3
Today the papers offer a look at some of the contestants, all of whom are quite beautiful. Debbie Van der Putten lost her right arm in a bus accident but posed for Playboy last year. Kellie Moody is deaf and can hear nothing without hearing aids. Jessica Kellgren-Hayes requires a wheelchair to travel long distances, since she has Hereditary Neuropathy with liability to Pressure Palsies (HNPP), which can cause her to be paralyzed at any time (she once paralyzed a leg after a night out dancing).
The Daily Mail reports the point of the show "is to challenge the boundaries that seem to exist in the beauty and fashion industries and cast new light on our concept of the ideal woman." We think this is a great idea. However, we're also interested to see how other people on the show — photographers, runway coaches, stylists — will come across.
Take for example Marie O'Riordan, editor of British Marie Claire, and one of the show's judges. She told the Daily Mail:
'When I first heard about the programme, my immediate thought was would it all be women in wheelchairs,' she says. 'And I knew that if it was going to be some sort of freak show, I didn't want to be involved.'But I very quickly realised there are many disabled people who are not in wheelchairs, and that is just one of the many preconceptions we all hold about disability.
Really? Not all disabled people are confined to wheelchairs?! Thanks for setting the record straight for, you know, all of us.
Those comments aside, we'd guess not many people in the fashion industry are familiar with the physical limitations of a person who has, say, HNPP. We can't help but think they'll throw around lots of off-color comments, like O'Riordan's, when it comes time to do an interview about how a photo shoot went. We're keeping our fingers crossed for them.
The disabled beauties still fighting to become models [Daily Mail]
Varvatos, nee CBGB.Photo: Jonah Green
Soho: A fancy new condo will come with Bang & Olufsen audio-video systems in every unit. Which is not nearly as Danishly cool as if you got an Olafur Eliasson waterfall in every unit. Or even just a morning Danish delivered to every unit. [NYS]
Springfield Gardens: Denizens of this Queens nabe near JFK airport are protesting a "whore motel" across from a school by picketing directly in front of the Great Neck, New York, home of its owner. Whose last name is Gandhi! [NYDN]
Times Square: In the ultimate semiotic nostalgification of the seedy hood of old, punk impresario Malcolm McLaren will show arted-up (but not too dirty) renderings of old blue films on MTV's big screen. You call in to hear the accompanying mash-up of "Love Will Keep Us Together" and "Love Will Tear Us Apart (Again)." [NYDN]
Upper West Side: This secret CBS2 video shows construction workers knocking back up to six drinks on their lunch break. [WCBS via Queens Crap]
From left: Marni, Etro, Salvatore Ferragamo.Photo: Imaxtree
Photo: Jane Kratochvil's flickr
Related: The Falls Guy [NYM]
The Waterfalls [Agenda listing]
Photo illustration: istockphoto
Dr. Chynn offered either a free Botox injection worth $400 or a $100 discount on the $5,000 Lasek operation, which, unlike Lasik, doesn’t entail cutting a flap in the cornea.“I thought it was a little odd, because I was wondering ‘Who wants to see my surgery?’ ” said Ms. Wilder, 25, a Manhattan accountant.
No one. (Or perhaps a few people with iron stomachs.) Aside from this rubbing us in all the wrong ways because it's gross and unethical, we just don't see how it's an effective form of advertising. We hate our contacts, so we tried to watch this video of YouTube user jackdakota's Lasik eye surgery. Except we couldn't even make it past the first 30 seconds, which is not even close to the first incision. We were creeped out even more by the ominous, old-school-techno background music that seemed to say, "Uh-oh! We're cutting open eyeballs!" But also, if we were seriously shopping for Lasik, we wouldn't turn to a YouTube video to help us find a doctor. We mean, how do we know if they're doing a better job than the guy in the other video? Sorry, we just lost our lunches, as, we're sure, did you.
Coming Soon to YouTube: My Face-Lift [NYT]
AP - "The Hamburger: A History" (147 Pages. Yale University Press. $22), by Josh Ozersky: Writing an ode to a single foodstuff is a road studded with pitfalls. If you go too granular, your narrative is derailed by obscurity. If you're too generalist, you sink into a morass of cliche.
AP - The movie is called "Wanted" and the star is Angelina Jolie. No, it is not a documentary.
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