(AP)

AP - PARIS (AP) — It sounds like a scene from "Fight Club." French police say camouflaged paparazzi who got on to the grounds of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's chateau in southern France fought with the Hollywood couple's guards.

Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 25 Jul 2008 | 11:44 am

LA prosecutors oppose motions in Spector retrial

Jurors in Phil Spector's upcoming murder retrial should be allowed to hear testimony about blood evidence and the autopsy of the actress he is accused of shooting, prosecutors argued in...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsEnter | 25 Jul 2008 | 11:33 am

Infighting hits US actors strike - BBC News

BBC News

Infighting hits US actors strike BBC News - 3 hours ago A breakaway group within the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) has launched a campaign to gain control of the powerful Hollywood union. It blames the organisation's current leaders for the stalemate in contract talks with major American studios. UPDATE 1-Hollywood actors union faces internal rift Reuters Battle for SAG underway Variety The Associated Press - Los Angeles Times - E! Online - Bloomberg all 204 news articles

Source: Google News - Entertainment | 25 Jul 2008 | 11:32 am

Nothing extraordinary about "X-Files" movie (Reuters)

Reuters - Ten years after the first "X-Files" movie -- and six since the conclusion of the iconic TV series -- FBI agents Mulder and Scully return to (E! Online)

E! Online - Drew Barrymore apparently whipped him good.

Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 25 Jul 2008 | 7:35 am

Paparazzi Given Le Boot at Chez Brangelina (E! Online)

E! Online - Forget the Bastille, the latest thing to storm in France is Brangelina's château.

Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 25 Jul 2008 | 7:26 am

Elizabeth Berkley has answers for MTV (Reuters)

Reuters - MTV is developing an unscripted project with actress Elizabeth Berkley and her husband, artist Greg Lauren, that is based on Ask-Elizabeth, the self-esteem workshops for teen girls that Berkley created.

Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 25 Jul 2008 | 4:48 am

"Distraught" Justin Withdraws From Drew's Film

Drew Barrymore apparently whipped him good. A source tells E! News that Justin Long, who remains "distraught" over being dumped by the Charlie's Angels star, has dropped out...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 25 Jul 2008 | 4:35 am

Comic-Con: Keanu Reeves, Robert Rodriguez, More

We're there on the ground getting you all the Comic-Con intel you need to know—and plenty of photos in our Comic-Con gallery. Here are the highlights from Day One: Keanu...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 25 Jul 2008 | 4:28 am

Comic-Con: Paris Hilton Heats Up the Crowd

Paris Hilton hit Comic-Con Yes, complete with a full entourage and scrum of backwards-walking photographers. So why is the Hollywood socialite at a comic convention? Read...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 25 Jul 2008 | 4:00 am

The X-Files: The Truth Is in Here

Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny both turned out for the Los Angeles premiere of X-Files: I Want to Believe at Grauman's Chinese Theatre Wednesday night, resulting in an unexplained...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 25 Jul 2008 | 3:30 am

Latest Bachelor Returns to, Well, Bachelorhood

We...are...shocked! Former Bachelor Matt Grant and the recipient of his most important rose, actress Shayne Lamas, have broken off their engagement after publicly pretending that they...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 25 Jul 2008 | 2:45 am

Russell Brand's MTV Bedtime for Jonas Brothers

You may not automatically know who Russell Brand is when you hear his name, but that's probably going to change on Sept. 7. The British bad-boy comedian, who played rehabbed rocker...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 25 Jul 2008 | 1:42 am

Publisher Throws the Book at Foxy Brown, Lil Kim

Being incarcerated may be a pretty good excuse, but Simon & Schuster apparently doesn't care what led to Lil Kim and Foxy Brown's writers block. The New York-based publisher...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 25 Jul 2008 | 1:05 am

Sex, Drugs and Saved By the Bell

Dustin Diamond, the geek (below right) who loved playing Screech so much he went around for seconds and then made a sex tape (not really related, but had to be said), will be dictating a Saved by...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 25 Jul 2008 | 12:09 am

A-List Secrets: Inside Sienna's Naked-Pic Hissy Fit

So Sienna Miller stands around topless on a boat and a hotel balcony, and she gets to sue the British tabs who published the photos? How does that work? Wasn't she visible for the world to...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 25 Jul 2008 | 12:05 am

David Cook Promises 'Twists And Turns' On Debut

Even though he's busy on the road with the American Idols Live! tour, reigning champ David Cook says he's making good progress on his debut album. "I think we've for sure got seven songs we're tracking," Cook tells Billboard.com. "We're gonna try to get to around 20 I think, and work it out from there."
Source: Billboard News - Daily | 25 Jul 2008 | 12:00 am

Burberry’s Adorable Childrenswear Is Expanding at a Breakneck Pace

Burberry has announced plans to expand their line of kids' clothes. They're opening a special Burberry childrenswear retail space in Harrods based on their first Hong Kong store, which opened in April and is devoted entirely to the young tykes. Sure, the new space is all the way across the pond, but it's probably only a matter of time before they find a space to fill entirely with plaid onesies on the Upper East Side. British Vogue reports:

Childrenswear is a category that Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts and creative director Christopher Bailey have identified as one of the fastest growing categories for the design house, with huge potential for growth.

We hope they sent Burberry baby Suri Cruise a cookie bouquet. The new London space will carry "everything [visitors] need for their 4- to 10-year-olds, as well as a baby section catering from new born to four years." We took a look at the Burberry kids' collection online, and we must confess it's pretty damn cute. And a girl's onesie is a steal at just $75. A classic kilt is a mere $110, and the wool duffel coat is $350. But please, if your kids wears that this winter, try to refrain from zipping them up in a plastic stroller bag. You never know how much therapy they'll need if they subconsciously think you're trying to keep everyone from seeing how fabulous they are.

The Kids Are Alright [British Vogue]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 24 Jul 2008 | 11:40 pm

Rufus Albemarle Says Good-bye to New York, Gives Good Credit Advice

We'll be honest: We've been running into social fixture Rufus Albemarle on the party circuit for years and have never had a clue about what he does. He was always just the tall, charming British rogue who seems to be having the best time of anyone in the room. It turns out he's an actual earl with a seat in the House of Lords who came to America to make his fortune as an industrial engineer, but ended up started a men's shirt company, Albemarle of London. Apparently, the business is taking off, because after ten years in New York, he's headed back to London to work on an expansion and to be with his wife, Sally, and his three year-old son, Augustus, who've been living across the pond for two years now. Don't ask how that worked. The ways of the Rufus will always be a mystery.

Last night, PR powerhouses Nadine Johnson and Vanessa Von Bismarck threw a birthday and going-away party for Albemarle, at Bungalow 8. The crowd was so full of expats we thought we'd ask them for some advice — namely, on how to find your way in New York as a foreigner. Their answers were much more practical than we thought they'd be.

"Get a credit history," said Albemarle. "Without credit, you're nobody. As a foreigner, it's frightening. I joined Bally gyms. It works. Basically, they lend you $2,000 to pay for Bally gyms for three years and what happens is if you pay your membership, you automatically get on the credit-history list. That's the only way. That, or get a Capital One credit card." Event designer Antony Todd said he'd run into the same issues. "I was illegal at the beginning, you know, because I was a visitor, but somehow from London my mother had set up this bank account for me," he explained. "There were complications renting apartments and not being able to unless my mother came over and guaranteed it." Ann Dexter-Jones, too, said she'd run into the same issue. "I had lousy credit when I came here because I like to pay my bills, and if you don't owe money, you don't have a credit history." As for the problems Albemarle and Todd ran into renting cars and apartments, she was in the dark. "I didn't have that problem," she said. "I'm kind of privileged, you know." —Jada Yuan

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 24 Jul 2008 | 11:00 pm

Peter Som Might Be Out at Bill Blass (UPDATED)

Fashionista is reporting Peter Som is out as the head designer of Bill Blass. They received an e-mail that reads:

After only three collections, Peter Som has submitted his resignation at Bill Blass. Perhaps he can't handle the stress of designing more than one collection? Let's face it, he's no Marc or Karl.

Word is management at Nexcen is keen on keeping him on board, at least in name, until they can sell the brand.

Or maybe he's tired of being tied to a company that Nexcen has been wishy-washily trying to sell for months? Nexcen has appeared to be on the brink of collapse for some time. It acted like it was going to sell Bill Blass but then rejected bids for the house last week because they were too low. Then earlier this week they said they'll hold off on the sale until the end of the year. What a mess. If we were Nexcen and we wanted a higher price for the label, we'd be buttering up Som like it's our job so he can send out a killer collection at Fashion Week to show everyone what it's worth.

We put in a call to the folks over at Blass to find out if this is true and are awaiting a reply.

Peter Som Out at Bill Blass? [Fashionista]

Update: WWD reports Som has resigned as creative director of Bill Blass:

Bill Blass’ decision to scrap the September fashion show in Bryant Park, due to financial woes was said to be the last straw for Som, according to industry sources.

...Bill Blass executives have been trying to persuade Som to delay his departure for fear the negative publicity would be detrimental to any potential financial suitors.

Som Resigns at Bill Blass [WWD]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 24 Jul 2008 | 10:25 pm

Harvey Keitel to Slum It on Television

Keitel Arrives on Mars: Life on Mars is beginning to sound a thousand times better than the crappy original pilot we watched last month! Harvey Keitel has just joined Michael Imperioli in the cast, signing on to play Detective Gene Hut, his first-ever recurrent TV role. Does this mean Quentin Tarantino didn't write him a part in Inglorious Bastards? [Variety]

Bubble Fluid Stolen: More than three tons of the liquid used to make the giant, elephant-encapsulating bubbles in Off Broadway's Gazillion Bubble Show have been stolen, though a spokesman says no performances will be affected. Police advise you to be on the lookout for any suspicious-looking persons in huge motherfucking bubbles. [Playbill]

Paramount Drops the Hammer: Like they said they would a month ago, Paramount has combined Vantage's marketing, distribution, and physical production departments with its own and eliminated about 60 jobs. [Deadline Hollywood Daily]

Your New Terminators Revealed: The eagle-eyed nerds at io9 have examined frame-by-frame the new trailer for Terminator Salvation, giving us a closer look at the human-killing machines Christian Bale's John Connor will have to contend with. Unlucky for him, they don't look like the sort of evil robots who tolerate cussing. [io9]

Our Namesakes Are Awesome: Six hilarious real-life turkey vultures have been circling an orthopedic hospital in Milwaukee, making patients nervous (and us proud!). [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 24 Jul 2008 | 10:15 pm

Kirsten Dunst Explains Why We Vote on Tuesdays

So there we were, with Kirsten Dunst at last night's 303 Gallery party in Chelsea, jawing away about the things you normally talk about with a press-shy A-lister, when the actress abruptly changed the subject. "Actually, I'm gonna plug the documentary I'm directing," she announced. (So THAT'S why she agreed with talk to us. We tried not to look hurt.) "My friend Jacob Soboroff is executive director of this nonpartisan organization called WhyTuesday.org. It's a Website. So we're making a documentary together about why we vote on Tuesday."

It's all about America's agrarian roots, see? November is the end of harvest, Dunst explained, and the Tuesday vote allowed Sabbath-observing country folk enough time to horse-and-buggy it to the polling stations before Wednesday market. Worked all right back then, apparently. But today, "it's not a holiday, and we're one of the lowest democratic countries in voter turnout," Dunst explained. Lest her doc turns out to be dutifully evenhanded, we demanded to know Dunst's personal opinion on the matter: "I would keep it the same day, just make it a holiday." You heard it here first.

Dunst's other political project of late has been cheering on Obama — who's been her man "from the beginning," she emphasized — the best way she knows how. "Because I get photographed a lot, sometimes I'll wear certain T-shirts and promote things," she said, including Barry O. paraphernalia. "Like, I'd just bought a Rolling Stone with Obama on the cover, so I purposely was holding it so you could see it." Certainly beats placing cold calls. —Darrell Hartman

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 24 Jul 2008 | 10:15 pm

Richard Nelson dissects fans of all-things English (AP)

AP - "Some Americans Abroad" is a quietly malicious little comedy.

Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 24 Jul 2008 | 10:06 pm

Bridal Botox Parties Are all the Rage; Bejeweled Contacts Are Here

SKIN
• Brides are asking their bridal party to get Botox treatments just to be in the wedding. God, can't a woman age these days? [NYT]

MAKEUP
• Carol J. Hamilton is the new president of L'Oréal's luxury-products division. The exiting president left for a job at Louis Vuitton Taiwan. [WWD]

• Aveda is relaunching its Uruku makeup collection. It will contain annatto, a red pigment that comes from the seeds of the urukum shrub. The whole idea came about after the head makeup artist took a trip to the Amazon where tribes paint themselves with the stuff for rituals. [Cosmetics & Toiletries]

• A French advisory group is saying that the Clarins family's plan to buy out minority shareholders might not be a fair deal. Scandalous! [Cosmetic News]

• Now they make contact lenses with jewelry dangling off them. Yes, you can have jewelry dangling off your eyeballs. We'll pass. [Kiss and Makeup]

HAIR
• Ted Gibson says asymmetrical French braids are the way to power through the end of the summer. [Style.com]

NAILS
• The new Sally Hansen colors by Tracy Reese are out. Favorites include Night Divinity and Chameleon, both pale beige shades with hints of shimmer. [Makeup and Beauty Blog]

• CVS will carry Barielle nail-, hand-, and foot-care products starting next month. [PR Newswire]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 24 Jul 2008 | 10:05 pm

Kenneth Cole Holiday: Black and White, and Red All Over (Fashion Wire Daily)

Fashion Wire Daily - Kenneth Cole had the right idea with their Holiday 2008 collection, which they presented in New York on Wednesday, July 23. Here's the prescription: Keep the regular fall wardrobe of cozy shawl knits, simple smocked jersey tops and little black dresses and when holiday party season rolls around, just add a jolt of jewel toned color in the form of a smart round toe patent leather pump or flat, or a chic envelope clutch bag.

Source: Yahoo! News: Fashion News | 24 Jul 2008 | 9:46 pm

Nas and Bill O’Reilly Try to Out-Hyperbolize Each Other

Yesterday, armed with petitions signed by over 600,000 people, Nas and the MoveOn.org offshoot ColorofChange.com protested outside the headquarters of Fox News against the network’s perceived racism against “the Obama family” and “black Americans.” Nas called the network a “propaganda machine” and said their attacks have gone too far. Fox News replied with a none-too-subtle dig against Nas’s motivations, releasing a statement that read, “Fox News believes in all protesters exercising their right to free speech, including Nas, who has an album to promote." Zing!

Well, obviously, that was not the end of that, because no two entities in this world enjoy a beef more than rappers and Fox News. And so it was that Bill O’Reilly used his show’s Talking Points segment on Wednesday night to ratchet things up a notch with some standard O’Reilly hyperbole, calling Moveon.org "the new Klan” and the protesters “Kool-Aid–drinking zombies.” Luckily, for everybody who enjoys being entertained, Nas appeared on The Colbert Report last night to further the beef by making his own absurd statements. “The things he's saying is worse than the worst rap lyrics I ever heard,” Nas said of O’Reilly, willfully ignoring much of the rap lyrics he’s heard. He also told Colbert, "I think O'Reilly's afraid of me." Probably true: He thinks you’re a zombie! Nas challenged O’Reilly to debate with him on neutral turf, which, if it ever actually happened, would probably rival the Lincoln-Douglas debates in historical importance. But until that glorious day, a steady stream of back-and-forth overreactions will have to suffice. —Dan Amira

Nas Protests Fox News Over Racist Coverage [Gothamist]
Nas and Bill O'Reilly Take Their Beef to the Air, As Fox News Host Denies Charges of Racism [MTV]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 24 Jul 2008 | 9:35 pm

‘Mad Men’: Logan Hill on Don Draper, Granite Statue and Train Wreck

Every episode of Mad Men begins with the same fear of falling.

Visually, the show's opening credits are a riff on Hitchcock's intro to Vertigo — an animated, abstracted man in a suit, plummeting through skyscrapers. The man, of course, is adman Don Draper, who, for all his Gregory Peck looks and Scotch-swilling swagger, is constantly falling apart at his tailored seams. The first seconds of every episode leave you wondering: Why is Don so fucked up? What is he afraid of?

Discussion boards overflowed with theories about his secret last season: Is he gay? (No, his colleague is.) Jewish? (No, his lover is.) Secretly black? (Nobody's black except the elevator operator.) A war deserter? (No.) A felon? (No.) Communist? (No!) When Draper's past was finally revealed, he literally fell into it — down the stairs of his home, banging his head and triggering a flashback. (Spoilers ahead!)

Don was the son of a Depression-era prostitute, a kid raised by a cruel redneck uncle, a Korean War soldier who swapped dog tags with a smoldering corpse to escape his past. But did it really explain anything? To his colleagues, kids, and wife, Don is relentlessly composed — a granite statue in a bespoke suit, armed with a drawer-full of crisp white shirts. To his self-loathing self, Don is a train wreck: son of a whore, bad husband, impostor — or, worse, just another company man.

Don seems to have lost track of what, exactly, it is he wants. In some way, he's what David Riesman talked about in 1957's pop-sociology hit The Lonely Crowd: a man who has lost a fix on his "inner gyroscope" and let himself be swept up in the corporate myths that he spins. He's always grasping at some greater glory: a reckless romance (when he asks both Rachel and Midge to run away with him), or magazine-ad image of a happy home (when he imagines that he comes home early for that family vacation), or some career beyond advertising (when he refuses a long-term contract). He seems both lost and stuck in place.

The first few seconds of the second season of Mad Men — spoiler alert — give every indication that Don hasn't settled anything in the nearly two years that have lapsed. He's just gotten older, and apparently prone to quoting Frank O'Hara: "Now I am quietly waiting for the catastrophe of my personality to seem beautiful again,and interesting, and modern." Don is 36 and feeling his age, stuck between the Greatest Generation and the rising tide of boomers. These confident, Beetle-driving, Beatles-listening, DDB-loving postwar kids never had to fight a war or survive a depression — and are poised to drown out everyone else. In the end, Draper's not so much afraid of his own sordid past as he is terrified of their happy future. —Logan Hill

Check out Vulture's complete Mad Men coverage:
The SYSW Index: What Makes 'Mad Men' a Show You Should Watch?
Jon Hamm of ‘Mad Men’ on the Future of Don Draper
Don Draper’s ‘Mad Men’ Bookshelf
Emily Nussbaum on Pete Campbell and His Poignant Crumminess
Logan Hill on Don Draper, Granite Statue and Train Wreck

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 24 Jul 2008 | 9:30 pm

statement earrings? try statement earbuds

Now that sporting a logo on your temple is positively plebeian thanks to the popularity of designer sunglasses, it takes something a little more unusual (and a lot more expensive) to turn heads. DEOS Diamond [www.deos-diamond.com] ear phone covers fit that bill nicely—the collection of covers, which come with colored, clear, or black VS-quality diamonds set into titanium—are designed by Allison Lee Zeiss (an alum of Vera Wang's fine jewelry line) and cost between $3,500 and $40,000, depending on the number and color of diamonds. The sparkly little sleeves slide onto the standard white Apple ear buds to add instant glam to phone or pod. Not ready to shell out twenty grand on the real deal? The company plans on making a crystal and sterling version later this year.

Source: The Style File | 24 Jul 2008 | 9:19 pm

New York Finally Gets a Zaha Hadid — Just Five Years After Cincinnati!

It took a while, but we’ve almost caught up with Ohio’s third largest city. Zaha Hadid, the London-based architect whose swooshing, snaking structures and futuristic drawings earned her a Guggenheim Museum retrospective and a Pritzker Prize, will finally build something in New York, just five years after opening her Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati. Okay, so it’s not really a building — more of a prefabricated Mobile Art pavilion — and it will only be up for three weeks, but, hey, it’s a Zaha Hadid!

With their ramps and leaning walls and racer silhouettes, Hadid’s designs embody the romance of motion; not coincidentally, one of her major projects is a BMW factory in Germany. So it’s apt that she should announce herself here with a museum that’s stopping just long enough for a drink and a nibble before moving on. The 7,500-square-foot saucer alights in the middle of Central Park on October 20, courtesy of Chanel, which is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its classic quilted handbag by commissioning handbag-inspired art. The resulting exhibit is traveling around the world in its own portable gallery: a pouch for purses, you might say. The cynical notion that somehow the city is turning over its precious public space to a highbrow billboard is dispelled by the millions that the company is reportedly donating to the Central Park Conservancy and the Parks Department. Plus, who cares: It’s a Zaha Hadid! —Justin Davidson

Related: Chanel’s Mobile Art Exhibit Finds a New York Home [Cut]

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 24 Jul 2008 | 9:00 pm

Greenpoint Subdivided: Do You Live in Garbagetown or Sewagetown?

Dumbo: Why do gorgeous Deco-and-Modern-era-straddling buildings get no respect if they're under a damn bridge (even a famous one)? How else do you explain why the city's landmarks honchos said "Sorry, Charlie" to the 1936 Purchase Building, which is being demolished right now so the property can become part of Brooklyn Bridge Park? [Brownstoner via Curbed]
Greenpoint: Remember that New Yorker cartoon that broke Manhattan up into areas like Moneystan (Upper East Side) and Homostan (Chelsea), or something like that? Now Greenpoint has one! Do you live in Sewagetown, Garbagetown, South Vinyl Siding, or (if you're a real waterfront swell) the Riviera? [Very Small Array via Newyorkshitty]
Long Island City: A sweatshop that reportedly produced clothes for Macy's, Banana Republic, and the Gap was busted by state Feds for ignoring minimum-wage laws and paying workers by the piece. Okay, that's it. We are not shopping at the Gap and Macy's anymore, no matter how cool they are! [Crain's New York via Queens Crap]

NoHo: If some people thought the (somewhat beautifully disintegrating, we think) Colonnade Row residences were in bad shape back in 1923, what would they make of them today? [Lost New York City]
SoHo: This picture-filled post is all about Renwick Street, one of those one-block streets in Manhattan (like our favorite, Weehawken!) that often doesn't ring a bell with people. It's cool that such streets exist! And this one will soon host...a giant condo named the Renwick. [ForgottenNY]
Upper East Side: White people, have you ever hung out with a really cool, funky, soulful group of people of color and then after not wanted to be white anymore? Yeah? Then you can sympathize with these classic white-brick apartment buildings that are going red-brick. [Fine Company]
Wakefield: Know where it is? The Bronx! And it's also where Montefiore Medical Center has taken over Our Lady of Mercy Hospital, which was "bleeding" financially. In fact, the lady of mercy herself wouldn't stop lip-syncing to Fiona Lewis until Montefiore stepped in and begged her to stop. [West Bronx News]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 24 Jul 2008 | 8:55 pm

George Michael: I Never Thought I Was Attractive

Michael spends part of his time in Texas to be with his partner, Kenny Goss.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 24 Jul 2008 | 8:39 pm

waist not, want not: the perfect high-waist trousers

The girls in the office and I have been searching for the perfect pair of high-waist, pleated trousers. Well, the search is over: DKNY has a great pair for $225, available at www.dkny.com. It's never too early to start our fall shopping.

Source: The Style File | 24 Jul 2008 | 8:32 pm

‘Mad Men’: Emily Nussbaum on Pete Campbell and His Poignant Crumminess

Pete Campbell is a creep. Pete Campbell is a dork. Pete Campbell is a schemer, a sadist, a weasel, a blackmailer. Worse, he's got no game. Pete Campbell — currently an account executive at Mad Men’s white-shoe advertising firm Sterling Cooper, but ambitious for so much more — is pompous to underlings, obsequious to bosses, grabby with women. The man manages to combine the worst qualities of frat boy and nerd.

And yet Pete Campbell is our hero. You can take your Don Draper, with his gleaming hammerhead and his existential dark secrets! To us, the true heroes of the already-in-backlash-before-the-season-has-even-started, Emmy-nominated series Mad Men are Pete and his opposite coin Peggy, Pete's ex-fling, the mother of his child, and his professional enemy. This pair of ambitious, resentful oddballs are more interesting than anyone else on the show, and both so terribly underestimated. If only they weren't natural foes, and he wasn't married, and she wasn't basically decent and he wasn't essentially evil, they could start their own firm.

Pete is played by Vincent Kartheiser, formerly best known as Angel's sulky jerk of a teenage son, an actor who has developed an intriguing expertise at what might be termed poignant crumminess. Even among his Über-masculine colleagues, Pete’s sexuality is downright weird, date-rapist with neurotic streaks of caveman. Early in season one, he manages to turn Peggy on with a fantasy involving, of all things, the gutting of animals. Then he cruelly shuts her down during her joyful performance of the Twist ("I don’t like you like this") — so desperate is he to keep someone, anyone, under his thumb, he yanks the faucet shut on a rare moment of sensual freedom. And yet he couldn't help punching his colleague for mocking Peggy's weight gain. Pete's a little conflicted.

And lonely! Very, very lonely. The child of chilly Wasp snobs, he's got no friends. His wife is a smug, shiny princess in league with his manipulative in-laws. (To us, one of the saddest moments on the show is when Pete came back from his honeymoon, excited by how much funnier his wife was than he'd imagined.) And dammit, he never wins. When Pete walks into Don's office with that box of stolen photos, certain he can blackmail himself into a promotion, Don just smiles and take one step forward, swelling like a cartoon cat as Pete practically jumps out of his shoes. The two scurry comically toward the boss' office. Pete spills the beans — and Cooper memorably replies, "So what?" For a man who likes to play with guns, Pete is amazingly unable to pull the trigger.

It’s all just so unfair! Because the weird thing is, when it comes to advertising, Pete Campbell is right about everything. Kennedy is the new Elvis, dammit. The future of advertising should take advantage of the Freudian "death wish." Nobody will listen to him, because the guy is a douche bag. Maybe that's understandable, but it's so very, very wrong. Because Don? Keep smiling like a handsome shark. You're the past, man. The future is coming fast, and his name is Campbell. —Emily Nussbaum

Check out Vulture's complete Mad Men coverage:
The SYSW Index: What Makes 'Mad Men' a Show You Should Watch?
Jon Hamm of ‘Mad Men’ on the Future of Don Draper
Don Draper’s ‘Mad Men’ Bookshelf
Emily Nussbaum on Pete Campbell and His Poignant Crumminess
Logan Hill on Don Draper, Granite Statue and Train Wreck

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 24 Jul 2008 | 8:30 pm

Giuliani’s Son Sues Duke for Cutting Him From Golf Team

And we wonder why Southerners hate us. Andrew Giuliani, the 22-year-old son of the former mayor, was cut from the Duke University golf team in February as coach O.D. Vincent abruptly decided to halve the size of the team. In what Giuliani's lawyers call "a bizarre Lord of the Flies scheme," the coach tried to rescind Giuliani's student-athlete responsibilities. When Giuliani wouldn't sign the paperwork cutting off his ability to train at Duke's state-of-the-art golf center, he claims Vincent tried to turn his teammates against him. According to the 198-page lawsuit that was filed yesterday in district court in Durham, North Carolina, the coach and the school are interfering with Giuliani's plans to live life as a professional golfer.

We know you have a lot of questions. So do we. Like, why is a 22-year-old only going into his senior year? Kidding, sort of. We bet you're actually wondering how good this kid was. Well, according to ESPN, he was ranked twelfth out of the fourteen members of his team. Knowing that, we're betting you're now wondering where he got the balls to sue his school for cutting him when they wanted to shrink the team. The answer to that question is obvious: from Donna Hannover, of course.

A co-worker of ours shed a little bit of light on the situation for us. "Duke," he explained, "is the place where asshole New Yorkers and New Jerseyans send their most hated children to befoul the South." Sure, this co-worker went to rival UNC, but we see his point. It's not an indictment of the legendary school, but of the people who sometimes give it a reputation for entitlement. (Side note: Giuliani's lawyer also represented a couple of Duke lacrosse players involved in a civil suit over phony sexual-assault accusations made against them in 2006.) Come on, Andrew: An editorial in the student newspaper wouldn't have done the trick? Perhaps a kegger fund-raiser with a surprise appearance by George Clinton?

Andrew has said he doesn't want his father to be involved in all of this. We wouldn't either. If we tried to pull this kind of stunt, our dads would kick our asses.

Andrew Giuliani files lawsuit against Duke [Newsday]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 24 Jul 2008 | 8:20 pm

Artist Team Os Gemeos Turn Art Gallery Into Favela

Os Gemeos, “the twins,” are Brazil's Octavio and Gustavo Pandolfo, who vandalize the favelas by day and sleep happy at night because their illegal activity brings color and exuberance to these otherwise ragged shantytowns. Os Gemeos have transformed the Wooster Street Deitch Projects into a favela (albeit an air-conditioned, rather dustless one) through August 9, installing all manner of surreal and figurative creations like a pockmarked frying pan with happy eyes, a giant sleeping yellow man in a corner, and a wooden man with heart-shaped windows in his chest blowing bubbles. Here's one of the twins’ painted doors, decorated with a barefoot neighborhood family, in whose home may lie any number of Eloise-style fantasies. —Emma Pearse

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 24 Jul 2008 | 8:00 pm

Video: Model Sarah Stephens Used to Be a Total Nerd

Sarah Stephens was discovered when she won a model search in her native Australia. Just 18 years old, she's already garnered praise from Mario Testino, appeared in Italian Vogue and Numéro, and is expected to land a lot of runway shows when Fashion Week starts in September. She says her classmates were surprised by her success since in school she was always a "dag" (the Aussie term for a nerdy loner — she even played the bass clarinet in band). Watch and find out what she used to hate about the way she looked.

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 24 Jul 2008 | 7:55 pm

Crow not working with Fleetwood Mac for now

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 24 Jul 2008 | 7:50 pm

Batman Hides From Harsh Media Spotlight

Christian Bale asks for privacy, calling incident a 'deeply personal matter.'
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 24 Jul 2008 | 7:31 pm

Don Draper’s ‘Mad Men’ Bookshelf

In bed with his wife, Mad Men's Don Draper reads The Best of Everything — Rona Jaffe's 1958 chick-lit classic about women trying to make it in the office world. Before getting into bed with his Jewish client, he reads Leon Uris's Exodus. And before he gets into bed with anyone in the second season — literary spoiler alert! — Draper is seen reading Frank O'Hara's Meditations in an Emergency. Clearly, Mad Men isn't just nostalgic for the days when men tossed back Scotch — but for the days when they tossed back Scotch and read books too! What else might be on the Draper's bookshelf? And what books about guys just like Don Draper might Matthew Weiner and the Mad Men writers have dug into for period detail?

The Hidden Persuaders (1957)
Vance Packard's hysterical exposé was the Fast Food Nation of its era — an alarmist romp through the "strange and exotic" world of Don Draper's cronies, from subliminal advertising to the feminization of men's clothes.
Sounds like Don: "The women are buying a promise," says one of the book's ad execs. "The cosmetic manufacturers are not selling lanolin, they are selling hope."

The Lonely Crowd (1950)
David Riesman's classic pop-sociology bestseller argued that Americans' pioneer spirit was being corrupted by postwar softness, while nuclear families crumbled. The result: Men were becoming "other-directed" — driven by communal peer pressure (like advertising) in an aspirational era of conspicuous consumption.
Sounds like Don: "The other-directed person is, in a sense, at home everywhere and nowhere, capable of a rapid if sometimes superficial intimacy with and response to everyone."

The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America (1961)
Daniel Boorstin was pop sociology's dystopic answer to Andy Warhol, diagnosing a new "age of contrivance" characterized by men like Don Draper who were "programming our experiences."
Sounds like Don: Like Theodore White's The Making of the President (1960), the book specifically focuses on the ways admen shaped the jingles, TV ads, and TV debates of the 1960 Nixon-Kennedy election, featured heavily in Mad Men.

Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (novel 1955, film 1956)
The title of Sloan Wilson's male weepie quickly became a pop catchphrase for conformist men, or what Theodore White dubbed the "organization man."
Sounds like Don: In the 1956 film, Gregory Peck played the role of a PTSD-rattled WWII vet who returns home from brutality of war to the common fear of becoming just another pencil-pushing commuter. When he takes a more demanding PR job at the Manhattan offices of a TV network to support his seemingly perfect family, he's nearly corrupted by the soul-deadening, square office job.

The Hucksters (1946)
Another ad-centric novel, starring another mysterious adman, Frederick Wakeman's scabrous take on advertising follows Victor Norman, a Drapery guy who returns home from his gig at the Office of War Information to a firm where his sole job is to keep a client happy with a new radio show.
Sounds like Don: Norman has an affair with a Jewish showgirl, a best friend who loves party girls more than he does, and a spectacular, romantic affair with a woman who forces him to see how unhappy he is. We guess that does sound familiar. —Logan Hill

Check out Vulture's complete Mad Men coverage:
The SYSW Index: What Makes 'Mad Men' a Show You Should Watch?
Jon Hamm of ‘Mad Men’ on the Future of Don Draper
Don Draper’s ‘Mad Men’ Bookshelf
Emily Nussbaum on Pete Campbell and His Poignant Crumminess
Logan Hill on Don Draper, Granite Statue and Train Wreck

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 24 Jul 2008 | 7:30 pm

The Problem With All Those Yankees Wins

The Yankees have won six straight to open the second half, and they probably couldn’t have picked a worse time to do it. That’s because today is the front office’s pre-trade-deadline meeting in Tampa, where Brian Cashman, the Steinbrenner brothers, and a cast of thousands will begin to determine whether the team is good enough as is or if it will need reinforcements before July 31. And based on their play in the last week, they might just think the club can get by with starting Brett Gardner in left, handing Darrell Rasner the ball every five days, and going without a useful lefty in the bullpen.

It’s no secret that this is an imperfect Yankees team as it stands now — one that’s proven it’s just as capable of winning six in a row as it is of, say, losing six out of seven. And the front office has indicated it’ll go for it this season, which should come as no surprise, as that’s been Hank Steinbrenner’s general philosophy since he advocated the win-now approach last winter in the Johan Santana negotiations. But they’ve been uncharacteristically hesitant to part with prospects since GM Brian Cashman got his authority put into writing in 2005, and it stands to reason that if they feel they can win without having to give up youth to land, for example, Pittsburgh’s Xavier Nady, they will.

Right now, the team is winning. Mike Mussina has thirteen victories, less than a year removed from being yanked from the rotation. Kyle Farnsworth, who was so reviled that "Anyone But Farnsworth" T-shirts were being sold on River Avenue, is suddenly unhittable. And, inexplicably, they’ve won all of Sidney Ponson’s starts. But what about when Mussina loses three in a row? Or Farnsworth returns to being Farnsworth? Or when Ponson is no longer getting ten runs per game of support? Put it this way: Losing a couple of games to Boston this weekend would bring them back down to earth, and that wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. —Joe DeLessio

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 24 Jul 2008 | 7:20 pm

McCain to Attend Lance Armstrong Event

McCain appears with Armstrong as stars make plans to descend on Denver for DNC.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 24 Jul 2008 | 7:19 pm

Chanel’s Mobile Art Exhibit Finds a New York Home

We were wondering where Chanel's Mobile Art Exhibit, designed by none other than Zaha Hadid, would touch down when it stops by New York in October. See it's not as small or easy to transport as its name would imply: As Racked noted, it takes up 2,297 square meters and requires three weeks to assemble. But, rest easy — it's found a home in Rumsey Playfield in Central Park, where it will be open from October 20 to November 9. How much does it cost to rent that space for three weeks? Chanel paid the Central Park Conservancy in the low seven figures plus a $400,000 usage fee. A steal, really.

We're glad they laid out the cash, though, because the exhibit inside the structure sounds delightful (and it's free!). Chanel recruited world-renowned artists to contribute works that "[explore] the notion of the handbag as a cultural symbol, often with a dash of irreverence." For example:

Blue Noses created “Fifty Years After Our Common Era or Handbags Revolt,” an installation of packing boxes in which videos show satirical moments in the life of a handbag. [Sylvie] Fleury created a giant Pop Art-style quilted handbag lined with pink fur; inside is a makeup compact in which you can view a video of women shooting handbags with guns.

It's about time we devoted Manhattan's largest park to an exhibit about purses and the whimsy derived thereof. We mean, we bet we're not the only ones who still feel cheated by The Gates. Or those dribbly waterfalls.

A 7,500-Square-Foot Ad for Chanel, With an Artistic Mission [NYT]

Related: New York Finally Gets a Zaha Hadid — Just Five Years After Cincinnati! [Vulture]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 24 Jul 2008 | 7:10 pm

clayton cubitt's empire of dirt

Film is said to capture fleeting moments. But while it can crystallize an ephemeral image, the medium itself is as fragile as flesh. This off-putting contradiction underlines the powerful and piquant art of New Orleans-raised, New York-based photographer Clayton Cubitt. Cubitt buries his clean and crisp fashion photos, portraits, and pornographic images in earth, where natural decay eats into the imagery, creating a disquieting counterpoint to our efforts to fight mortality. The work he's showing in "This Eclectic Explosion," a group show curated by Peter Miszuk at the Tribeca Grand hotel, has an added layer of personal and political poignancy. "The more recent work, the personal and the fashion work," he reveals, "where I'm literally degrading the quality of the image—injuring it, damaging it—is a result of Hurricane Katrina, what it's done with New Orleans, and what it's done with my family. It's that notion of beauty—not in spite of decay but because of decay. It becomes so horribly beautiful that you can't look away."

Source: The Style File | 24 Jul 2008 | 7:08 pm

Screw Our Principles — We’re Totally Reading Lee Israel’s Book

We've not proud of everything we've read (or not read), but, as writers, we try at least to maintain some kind of principles about whose pages we grace with our eyeballs. We'll avoid a book either because we're repulsed by its author or because we don't want to support a writer who brought shame upon our profession. Which is why we'd expect to be totally turned off by Lee Israel, whose memoir Can You Ever Forgive Me? comes out next month. According to the Times, she's a "biographer and editor in New York who spent two years writing [letter] forgeries from her studio apartment on the Upper West Side and then selling them to autograph dealers," and in the memoir, she "confesses to a host of offenses, both criminal and literary, and recounts how she was eventually caught by a dealer who took his suspicions to the police."

We know we should take a moral stand against this author — after all, if liars are getting all the book deals, where does that leave honest folks? And yet our immediate reaction is not distaste, but fascination. The sixtysomething (or so she says!) author seems to feel little remorse — "They were fun, and nobody got hurt, and everybody made money," she tells the Times — and though we wouldn't rush out to buy a James Frey or Margaret Seltzer tell-all, there's something about Israel that has us intrigued. After stealing (and selling) three Fanny Brice letters from the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, Israel began penning her own letters from literary luminaries like Lillian Hellman and Dorothy Parker, and a few even made into a book called The Letters of Noël Coward. (“Sitting down with his diaries for inspiration and a British dictionary by my side to help with my ‘humours’ and ‘cosys,’ I composed over time more than one hundred fifty letters that I attributed to Noël Coward,” Israel explains.) To make a long story short: She lied and got caught and we don't really want to reward this sort of behavior. But … well … we just might read this sucker.

Maybe it's that even booksellers have forgiven her (“I’m certainly not angry anymore … And she’s really an excellent writer. She made the letters terrific," says bookshop owner Naomi Hample). Or perhaps it's that we've always kind of liked reading the personal correspondence of famous people, and when the fake writing is done well, we're no less entertained. Or it could just be that we can totally relate to lines like this, found in a "Dorothy Parker" letter: "I have a hangover that is a real museum piece; I'm sure I must have said something terrible." But whatever the specific draw, we suspect her forthcoming memoir might be one of those works to file under "guilty pleasure" — and we'll likely read it before we ever get to Catch-22. (Yeah, that was us.)

Plus, just look at the woman. She could probably reduce Oprah to tears. —Lori Fradkin

She Says It’s True, Her Memoir of Forging [NYT]

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 24 Jul 2008 | 7:00 pm

What was Wendy Williams thinking?

Radio shock jock Wendy Williams was rendered speechless.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 24 Jul 2008 | 6:39 pm

Michael Winterbottom

British director Michael Winterbottom, seen here in 2007, will present his new movie "Genova", a ghost story starring Colin Firth, to compete for the top prize at the San Sebastian film festival in September,...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 24 Jul 2008 | 6:34 pm

Forecasting ‘The Hills’: A Whole Season in a Single Trailer

As if sensing our fatigue with its omnipresent marquee show, MTV has released a fresh, tear-stained trailer for The Hills designed to convince everyone that its premiere next month heralds a whole new thorny web of intrigue. And we're trying to feel excited, but we've been burned before: Last season devolved into boring retread conversations and anticlimactic three-word confrontations. So pardon our cynicism, but we're fairly sure this teaser — with its taupe love interests, melodramatic one-liners, and ruined mascara — is less a jumping-off point for awesomeness than a souped-up Cliffs Notes reel full of false hope. But to be sure, we ran the trailer through our internal Hills montage-defragging machine to try to interpret the actual path of these "plot twists" — watch for yourselves and see if you agree with our analysis.

THE CONTINUING DOUCHERY OF SPENCER PRATT
What they want us to think: A new obstacle — Heidi's sister — threatens Speidi for good.
What's really going to happen: They’re worth more together than apart, so we expect this is just another manufactured obstacle from story-line purgatory. We foresee many repetitive episodes of Spencer whining before Heidi's sister eagerly agrees to leave (seriously, would YOU want to live with them?). Then he and Heidi can resume bad-mouthing everyone else, once again demonstrating that Heidi is the only person in the world who could yell that much at an asshat who totally deserves it yet remain totally unsympathetic.

LAUREN'S LOVE TRIANGLE
What they want us to think: Drama queen Brody suspects Stephanie Pratt is plotting to steal Lauren’s new boyfriend, Doug; the scandal is punctuated by a trip to Vegas on Doug’s private plane, during which L.C. wears a romper and Doug and Brody wind up in jail.
What’s really going to happen: We do see Stephanie out with Doug, snarking that Lauren can’t “dictate all [their] lives” — proving Stephanie's really never seen this show before — as well as a moment where she cries while Lauren acts self-righteous. While it’s possible that Stephanie is a backstabber (she is a Pratt), we suspect she had a latte with the guy in 2003 and Brody is stirring the pot because he wants screen time and/or enjoys emotionally manipulating Lauren. Also, “jail” is surely code for “the drunk tank at the Palms.” Unfortunately, the romper is legit.

WHITNEY GETS A NIBBLE
What they want us to think: Love blossoms for the only cast member with an actual job … but the guy lives in New York.
What's really going to happen: The flirtation with the cardboard male model (they both attended USC — OMG, destiny!) goes nowhere, because Whitney's only function is to hang up clothing at People's Revolution while quizzing Lauren about her problems. However, it lays the groundwork if L.C. nixes another season of The Hills, and MTV needs to give Whitney a show where she hangs up clothing at People's Revolution in New York and quizzes a bunch of socialites about their problems.

FURTHER ADVENTURES IN JUSTIN BOBBY
What they want us to think: Audrina dates a Justin Bobby look-alike; Justin Bobby burns with jealousy.
What’s really going to happen: Justin Bobby won’t really care (or even remember), and while Audrina should move on, the likelihood that anyone on this show will make an intelligent romantic decision is about equal to Heidi’s chances of winning a Grammy.

LAUREN, AUDRINA, AND LO SORT OF HATE EACH OTHER
What they want us to think: Lo plays the bitch to Audrina, while Audrina and Lauren’s relationship further deteriorates, much to L.C.’s weepy dismay.
What’s really going to happen: Remember when Lo was a tertiary character who occasionally told Lauren to dump her cruddy boyfriend du jour and then left? We miss that Lo. Given what a pill she seems like now, we're pretty sure Lo actually is mean to Audrina, and that Audrina rightly plans to ditch these chuckleheads as soon as possible. Hey, even a stopped clock is right twice a day. —The Fug Girls

Check out The Cut's previous, obsessive Hills coverage.
For more of the Fug Girls, indulge in their complete archive.
Hills Season 4 [MTV]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 24 Jul 2008 | 6:25 pm

present arms: genevieve jones' snake bracelet

Though Genevieve Jones has been designing jewelry for a while now, her first official collection was presented to press just recently. Her popular safety-pin earrings are still there, but she's moving in a bolder direction, with Indian-inspired chandelier earrings and vertebrae bangles (available in white gold, black/white gold, oxidized, and yellow gold) that feel very fresh and now. 18K gold-plated Railey snake vertebrae bracelet, $1,050, available at Muse Imports, (866) 301 MUSE.

Source: The Style File | 24 Jul 2008 | 6:05 pm

Christian Siriano’s Collection Debuts on Bluefly

Today Christian Siriano's Project Runway prize comes to fruition. His collection for Bluefly.com went on sale, and it looks like a few pieces have already sold out! In a video about the line he says it's inspired by "some signature things" he showed in his final collection for Fashion Week "but obviously not as whoa." The collection consists of only seven pieces in black and gold. ("Don't you love the gold? It's like tranny Klum on a budget! Oh my God, it's fabulous!" Christian exclaims in the video.) And it's not cheap — prices for the remaining pieces average $500. But are the clothes as fabulous as he thinks the tranny-Klum gold fabric is? Check out the photos for yourselves.

Christian Siriano [Bluefly]
Christian Siriano's Exclusive Bluefly Collection: The Concept. The Model Casting. [Flypaper/Bluefly]
See Christian's Final-Collection Slideshow

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 24 Jul 2008 | 5:50 pm

Vince Vaughn, biggest bargain in Hollywood

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 24 Jul 2008 | 5:43 pm

Capsule reviews of `Step Brothers' and other films (AP)

AP - Capsule reviews of films opening this week:
Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 24 Jul 2008 | 5:26 pm

Wanting to Believe at the "X-Files" Premiere (Fashion Wire Daily)

Fashion Wire Daily - It has been ten years since FBI agents Mulder and Scully chased after the strange and unexplained in a big-screen flick, but fans of "The X-Files" are still ready to believe.

Source: Yahoo! News: Fashion News | 24 Jul 2008 | 5:17 pm

Little to believe in with new `X-Files' movie (AP)

AP - The makers of the new "X-Files" movie have done themselves a disservice in coming up with the elongated title, "The X-Files: I Want to Believe." Really, it just invites a whole bunch of bad jokes which, unfortunately, are justified.

Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 24 Jul 2008 | 5:07 pm

Rag & Bone to Open First Store in West Village

Rag & Bone just signed the lease for their first store, slated to open in September (Fashion Week party, anyone?) in the West Village at 104 Christopher Street. Marcus Wainwright and David Neville started the label as a men's denim collection in 2001; though they had no formal fashion training, they managed to expand into full sportswear collections for men and women and become hot enough to garner fans like Gisele and Sienna Miller. So it's about time for a shop of their own. We look forward to seeing their bright-purple coats and plaid dresslike garments for men from their fall collection in the windows over there.

Denim Destination [WWD]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 24 Jul 2008 | 4:50 pm

Workers putting the final touch on the stage for 2007 staging of Puccini's opera 'Tosca'

Workers putting the final touch on the stage for 2007 staging of Puccini's opera 'Tosca' at the 62nd Bregenz Festival. The 63rd edition of the annual festival, which is set on Lake Constance on the border...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 24 Jul 2008 | 4:32 pm

The stage for "A Masked Ball" by Verdi at the 2000 Bregenz Fest

A view of the stage for "Un Ballo in Maschera" (A Masked Ball) by Giuseppe Verdi at the 2000 Bregenz Festival. The 2008 edition of the annual festival, which is set on Lake Constance on the border of Germany,...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 24 Jul 2008 | 4:32 pm

Actors rehearsing for Puccini's opera "La Boheme" at the 2002 Bregenz Festival.

Actors rehearsing for Puccini's opera "La Boheme" at the 2002 Bregenz Festival. The 2008 edition of the annual festival, which is set on Lake Constance on the border of Germany, Austria and Switzerland,...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 24 Jul 2008 | 4:32 pm

nights of ravens and roses

"It's kind of a gut thing, stuff that gets lodged in my mind for one reason or another," Adam & Mia's Adam Dugas explains of his wide-ranging musical repertoire—think Irving Berlin, Kraftwerk, and a little Britney—the likes of which were on display last night at one of two July performances of "Ravens and Roses" at Chelsea's Metropolitan Room. Accompanied by harpist Mia Theodoratus, with whom the singer/actor/writer (and Citizens Band co-founder) is currently recording an album of duets, Dugas, a former Angeleno, agreed that his darkly melodic, elegantly playful cabaret-style shows may ultimately be better suited to the Big Apple. "For live performance, it's New York," Dugas says. "I don't wanna slam L.A. New York is just so immediate. It's easier to get around here, too, so it's easier to take a risk and just go see something." Gothamites should heed that advice: Ladies and gentlemen, he'll be here next Wednesday, too.

Source: The Style File | 24 Jul 2008 | 4:15 pm

The bust of Roman Emperor Hadrian

The bust of Roman Emperor Hadrian during a press view for the exhibition: 'Hadrian Empire and Conflict' at the British Museum in London. Hadrian may be best known for the wall in Britain which bears his...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 24 Jul 2008 | 4:08 pm

the braid is french, the style is now

With the devastating one-two punch of being the hairstyle of choice for female athletes and Mormon cult members, the French braid has gotten a bad rap in the past decade or so. But a few recent runway nods (like Trace Reese, above) and several celebrity endorsements (thank you, Nicole, Mary-Kate, and Ashlee) have redeemed the less-complicated-than-you-think technique, making it one of the most popular looks of the summer. "It's a very easy way to have hair look styled without looking overly 'done,'" New York-based stylist Ted Gibson says. "Plus, it's a very comfortable way to get hair off the neck when it's hot outside." Humidity-fighting power aside, Gibson also credits plain old innovation for the style's resurgence, pointing out some avant-garde interpretations that almost make up for years of abuse on the basketball court. "I like to update the look by doing asymmetrical French braids, or French braids that are on the side, rather than in the center—or by really messing up the braid so that it looks sexy." Rebel.

Source: The Style File | 24 Jul 2008 | 2:56 pm

60 thompson, the western version

Beating the SoCal heat this summer might not be so problematic, after all, now that the 60 Thompson has opened its bi-level rooftop lounge. The outdoor space, which is situated smack-bang in the middle of Beverly Hills, comes complete with 360-degree panoramic views, private cabanas, and plush chaise longues, all of which are grouped around the hotel's very own Swarovski-tiled swimming pool. If the location and the amenities don't tempt locals to reconsider the drive out to coastline beaches this summer, then the ultra-chic assortment of aperitifs and cocktails served at dusk by genetically blessed actor/model types (this is L.A, after all) should seal the deal. We'll see you there.

Source: The Style File | 24 Jul 2008 | 1:50 pm

Report: FBI Seizes Anne Hathaway's Journals

The FBI confiscated personal journals belonging to "Get Smart" star Anne Hathaway and other personal items during a raid on ex-boyfriend Raffaello Follieri's apartment, the New York Daily News reports.
Source: FOXNews.com | 24 Jul 2008 | 12:54 pm