(Reuters)

Reuters - In Pamela Anderson's new reality show "Pam: Girl on the Loose," each episode has a name, such as "The Uncensored Confessions of a Trailer Camp Tramp" and "Crazy Bitch."

Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 1 Aug 2008 | 6:31 am

Durning gets star on Hollywood Walk of Fame (AP)

AP - LOS ANGELES (AP) — From World War II hero to dancer and award-winning actor, Charles Durning has lived a storied life. The 85-year-old added to that resume Thursday with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next to one for his idol, James Cagney.

Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 1 Aug 2008 | 2:37 am

Stealing America a flawed call for voting reform (Reuters)

Reuters - You won't feel any more secure heading to the voting booths in November after watching "Stealing America: Vote by Vote," which details myriad ways in which election results are seemingly manipulated and falsified under a deeply flawed system.
Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 1 Aug 2008 | 1:27 am

Kevin Costner's "Swing Vote" a failed satire (Reuters)

Reuters - As political comedies go, "Swing Vote" doesn't dig very deep into the American political scene, and it certainly mines few laughs along the way.

Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 1 Aug 2008 | 12:09 am

"Traveling Pants" sequel a comfortable fit (Reuters)

Reuters - Much has transpired in the lives of best friends forever Tibby, Carmen, Bridget and Lena and their shared globe-trotting jeans in the three years since the first "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants."
Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 1 Aug 2008 | 12:06 am

Mariah Carey Launches Summer Krush Series

Surrounded by thousands of screaming fans, Mariah Carey helped launch the second annual Samsung AT&T Summer Krush last night (July 31) with a five-song set at the Hollywood & Highland Center in Los Angeles.
Source: Billboard News - Daily | 1 Aug 2008 | 12:00 am

The Verve Storms Back On Fourth Album

The Verve roars back to life after an 11-year hiatus between new albums with "Forth," a bracing blend of the experimentalism of the group's early work and the more structured songwriting of its last two efforts. The set is due Aug. 25 in the U.K. and a day later in North America.
Source: Billboard News - Daily | 1 Aug 2008 | 12:00 am

Mariah Carey: Hair Twirler or Rock Flasher?

Check out this charming shot of Mariah Carey in the August issue of Elle: It looks like the camera just caught her off guard in her $2,195 Michael Kors dress, innocently twirling her locks in the "breeze." And oh! How could we miss that ring on her left ring finger? Why, it's practically the size of an eyeball. Her husband, Nick Cannon, sure knows what Mariah wants. But you know, because we love Mariah so much, that Elle spread just wasn't enough. So we started digging around for some more Mariah eye candy. And what we found was kind of interesting.

It seems her Elle photo bears something in common with pretty much every other photo she takes: The woman twirls her hair like that every time she gets in front of the camera. And always with her left hand (given the weighty engagement ring, we're amazed she can even lift it that high). So what gives? Isn't she all about Touching Her Body anyway? Surely she just happened to be taming her hair in exactly the same manner at her Elle shoot, the Tokyo airport, and all those benefits and film festivals! We mean, Mariah wouldn't just cheat the camera like that to flash her diamond, would she? Her marriage is a valley deeply grooved with rivers of profound love. Wives in those kinds of lifelong partnerships don't use them for something as shallow and vapid as publicity. Right? Right?? —Sharon Clott

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 31 Jul 2008 | 11:45 pm

Liz Taylor hospitalized; cause unknown

Read full story for latest details.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 31 Jul 2008 | 11:24 pm

Marc Scrivo Keeps It Secondhand Chic

When we caught actor Marc Scrivo out in the Hamptons this weekend, we had to pinch ourselves to make sure we hadn't fallen asleep and dreamed we'd gone to Williamsburg — he did get his hat at Beacon's Closet, after all. He said he usually only wears his suit for performances (but he didn't appear to be performing so we guess we caught him on one of his special days), and he likes secondhand clothes. It's sort of his way of dressing green. Press play and allow him to explain.

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 31 Jul 2008 | 11:15 pm

The Dark Knight's Road to $600 Million…or Not

It posted the biggest opening weekend in Hollywood history. It scored the biggest opening week in Hollywood history. It didn't come close to toppling Titanic. The...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 31 Jul 2008 | 11:15 pm

'Flamingo Court' chronicles Florida retirement (AP)

AP - There's no need to travel all the way to Florida to see dinner theater. Instead, Florida dinner theater has come to off-Broadway's New World Stages, in the form of "Flamingo Court: A Comedy in Three Condos."

Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 31 Jul 2008 | 11:11 pm

A general view of the Festspielhaus theatre during the Bayreuth Festival

A general view of the Festspielhaus theatre during the Bayreuth Festival on July 25, 2008. A performance of Richard Wagner's "Siegfried" at this year's Bayreuth Festival was delayed by 10 minutes on Thursday...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 31 Jul 2008 | 11:09 pm

Paris Hasn't Seen McCain Attack Ad, Probably Won't

John McCain may have given Paris Hilton a costarring role in his latest political ad slamming opponent Barack Obama, but he shouldn't expect a thank you note any time soon. "She...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 31 Jul 2008 | 11:02 pm

Snoop's Dawgs Facing Marijuana Rap

Maybe Snoop Dogg should've popped for the pine-tree air freshener. Two members of rapper's entourage were busted for marijuana possession Thursday in Texas after state troopers...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 31 Jul 2008 | 11:00 pm

Joe Francis Successfully Fights Paper With Paper

It's Joe Francis' lawyers who are having all the fun these days. The Girls Gone Wild founder's gainfully employed legal camp has settled another of the civil suits pending...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 31 Jul 2008 | 10:59 pm

A-Rod: Marriage "Broken," But Prenup Sound

Alex Rodriguez is trying to go down without much of his fight. (No, we're not referring to his postseason play.) In court documents filed Thursday, the Yankees slugger admits to much...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 31 Jul 2008 | 10:55 pm

Manny Ramirez About to Drive Joe Torre Crazy

The Red Sox traded Manny Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers this afternoon, and though this means plenty to the balance of power in the AL East, it means plenty more to our old pal Joe Torre. During his title years with the Yankees (and to an extent until he departed after last season), Torre was blessed with as professional a team as a manager could hope for — guys like Tino Martinez and Scott Brosius who weren’t necessarily Hall of Fame talents but made his job borderline easy. There became a sort of “Torre Guy” that fit this criteria, which jibed nicely not only with Torre’s own quiet persona but with George Steinbrenner’s updated vision of what a Yankee should be: talented, yes, but also buttoned-up, clean-shaven, and noncontroversial.

But when he left the Bronx, Torre entered the real world of baseball, where teams are willing to look past things like in-game headphone wearing, phone-call taking, and behind-the-fence urination when a guy can hit like few others who’ve ever played. Suddenly, the “Torre Guy” had become more of an idea than an actual, obtainable player. Torre was known to be a fan of Ramirez while he was the Yankees’ skipper. But you have to wonder if that’s because Torre could sit back and soak up Ramirez and all his talents (especially when the batter stepped up his game against the Yankees) without having to actually deal with any of the Manny drama. Because make no mistake, Ramirez is as far from a “Torre Guy” as you can get, and Manny will be Manny no matter who his manager is. And sure, he may only be a Dodger until he can file for free agency, but we suspect that Torre’s shrink is clearing his schedule as we speak. —Joe DeLessio

Manny traded to Dodgers, Bay headed to Boston [SI]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 31 Jul 2008 | 10:45 pm

Troyer Goes After Sex-Tape Costar for $20 Million

No one gets Verne Troyer more interviews than he's had in years and gets away with it! The diminutive actor has sued the ex-girlfriend who leaked their sex tape to TMZ.com,...

Source: E! Online - Top Stories | 31 Jul 2008 | 10:45 pm

The World Can’t Wait to Get Vibrating Mascara

MAKEUP
• Lancôme's vibrating Oscillation Mascara sold out on Sephora.com at 6 a.m. this morning. It's not going on sale until the fall, but today was a one-day special. Uh, you guys? If you're really eager for battery-operated mascara, there's already one you can buy called Spinlash. [Beauty and the Blog/Sephora]

• Speaking of vibrating, since Lancôme announced the launch of this vibrating mascara, pervy jokes have been running rampant in the beauty blogosphere. Happy Lowest Common Denominator Day! [Sephora/Beauty and the Blog]

• Speaking of successful launches, Avon knows a thing or two about those. (Yes, the brand for which Ms. Lauren Conrad shills.) Its profits more than doubled in the second quarter. [WWD]

• M.A.C's new fall collection will be called Cult of Cherry, which confirms the burgundy lip trend we heard about a while ago is imminent. [Blogdorf Goodman]

• The new Too Faced Galaxy Glam eye shadows look suspiciously similar to M.A.C's Electroflash collection. [Product Girl]

FRAGRANCE
• Celeb Look asked Macy's which celebrismells were top sellers, and it turns out Paris Hilton's tops the list, followed by Unforgivable by Sean John, Lovely by SJP, Believe by Britney, and Glow by J.Lo. Ahem, why is Paris beating Britney? Has the world gone MAD?! [Celeb Look]

HAIR
• Is Orlando Pita the sexiest hairstylist? You decide. [Spoiled Pretty]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 31 Jul 2008 | 10:30 pm

David Simon and the ‘Wire’ Cast Hold Forth at Museum of the Moving Image Panel

Imagine a Wire episode in which Cedric Daniels was Bubbles or Ellis Carver was Stringer Bell. It’s just so … wrong. But as we learned last night at a Museum of the Moving Image panel discussion on our favorite TV show ever, that’s what might have been. We also saw an extra from the season-five DVD (out August 12) that included casting from an alternate universe and several of the actors' favorite scenes and characters. Seth Gilliam (Carver) loves Omar: “I just like the fact that he has a duster AND a shotgun.” And Deirdre Lovejoy (Rhonda Pearlman) has a predictable soft spot for Dominic West’s messed-up masterpiece of a role: “McNulty. Because he’s so perfectly flawed.”

David Simon and Richard Price held court over the panel, with supporting work from Gilliam, Lovejoy, Wendell Pierce (The Bunk), Clark Johnson (Saint Gus Haynes and director of the pilot and series finale), and Clarke Peters (Lester Freamon). Moderator David Schwartz wisely ceded control of the discussion, which yielded plenty of gems. After the jump, check out Price's cogent response to the “Dickensian” question, their thoughts on a Wire movie, and the story of the revolt of Herc and Carver.

• Price and Simon spent their first meeting driving around a chaotic Jersey City the night of the Rodney King verdict in 1992.

• Price: “Everyone uses the word ‘Dickensian.’ I don’t know … whatever.”

• During shooting, Pierce frequented an after-hours club in Baltimore called, perfectly, Choices.

• Producer Ed Burns disagreed with Simon on whether Freamon should swear, but Simon insisted he let loose occasionally. The story prompted a live performance by Peters of the following: “I don’t want to go to no dance unless I can rub some tit.”

• Price: “I can’t think of a worse idea than Wire: The Movie.” Simon also has no interest in a film.

• In season one, when Carver, Herc, and Prez are shielding themselves from debris from the Towers overhead, real debris rained down — thrown by the senior citizens who actually lived there.

• There’s a real Bodie Barksdale and he has a wooden leg. He visited the set after getting out of prison. “I didn’t know he was out when I used his name,” said Simon.

• HBO wisely suggested to Simon that he scrap a strange McNulty dream sequence that was to open season two featuring past and present Wire characters.

• Simon recalled a “revolt” in 2006, when Gilliam and Domenick Lombardozzi (Herc) wanted the writers to stop using them for comic relief. “It was like being told by Bugs Bunny that he didn’t want to work with Elmer Fudd anymore,” said Simon.

• And David Simon still hates the Internet: “The Internet is a parasite, and it’s killing the host.” Sorry, David!

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 31 Jul 2008 | 10:15 pm

The Chelsea Hotel Has Not Lost Its Edge

Bed-Stuy: The first official school double Dutch team has formed at formed at Bedford Academy High School. [NYT]
Chelsea: Even though it's now managed by a corporation, the Chelsea Hotel is still bohemian: One lucky guest got a room for $119 a night (with A/C, after he complained) and even saw a naked girl walking back from the shared bathroom. Honey, that was Nancy Spungen's ghost. [Living With Legends]
Cobble Hill: Long Island College's maternity ward, which delivered roughly 2,800 babies last year, will go condo. Will the rest of the surrounding hospital, or will the new condos be the perfect security zone for hypochondriacs who love to run to the ER with the slightest ache or bug bite? (Uh, that would be us.) [Curbed]
Fort Greene: Twenty-five years' worth of old Saturday Night Live sets were recently demolished in a warehouse in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. And the archive was immense: "When they needed a waterfall for a sketch, the set shop would say, 'Which one? We have three.'" [I'm Not Sayin'...]

Glendale: Here in Queens, the first bowling alley in the city to apply for landmark status didn't get it, likely in part because its bowling lanes had just been torn out. It'll be a Panera Bread by year's end. [NYDN via Curbed]
Harlem: Meet a white woman who loooved Harlem (and the brothers), then got mugged, then decided that "thug life," not gentrification, was the hood's real problem. You'll feel uncomfortable! [NYP]
Ridgewood: The old Ridgewood Theater vaudeville house is on the market for $9.5 mil, down from $14 mil last winter. Buy some pasties and a magic hat for a few bucks more, and you've got yourself a show! [Lost New York]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 31 Jul 2008 | 10:15 pm

Whose Star Will Shine on the Big Stage?

Some screen names are heading to the stage, but not all are bound for success.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 31 Jul 2008 | 9:53 pm

Anouck Lepère's New Gig: Boden Catalog Model

Yesterday our Boden catalog came in the mail. That's right, with the help of a mailman and everything. We enjoy flipping through catalogs after long, hard days on the blog. Even if, like Boden's, they're full of clothes for 37-year-old moms that make us think of Talbot's, looking at paper is just so soothing on weekday evenings. When we got to page 76 of this 170-page clunker, we found a true gem, and we're not talking about that cute faded red henley — we're talking about Anouck Lepère.

Yes, that's Jefferson Hack's fiancée frolicking across the new Boden catalog — 35 pages of it, in fact. Now this, readers, is the woman who appeared on the cover of French Playboy in June, starred in the Miu Miu resort presentation, and previously shot campaigns for Bally and Jimmy Choo. She's edgy and high fashion. For her, doing Boden is like Gisele doing L.L. Bean. Something about seeing Anouck buying catalog bread and taking her catalog children to the catalog playground in a dotty flower skirt just feels a little off.

So why the mom-friendly catalog? Probably the same reason so many models turn to catalogs: They pay the bills. But even though looking at the latest Boden felt strange, we think Anouck's gig is great. We mean, who doesn't like a dash of high fashion with her 170-page serving of Boden? —Sharon Clott

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 31 Jul 2008 | 9:50 pm

Michael Madsen Just As Clueless About ‘Inglorious Bastards’ As Everyone Else

With news swirling about studio suitors for Quentin Tarantino's long-gestating, Nazi-scalping WWII epic Inglorious Bastards — which he's famously promised to cast, shoot, and edit in time for next year's Cannes Film Festival — we spoke Tuesday to the only actor who was ever "confirmed" to appear in the film (in the role of "Babe Buchinsky," a part that no longer exists in the most recent draft of the script). So, is he in Bastards or what?

“I wish I knew the answer to that, but it's like asking McCain who his V.P. is gonna be,” said Madsen. “I've been on the IMDb connected to that project for a very long time, but they're taking it to a studio and therefore my participation in the project is unknown, because that's a different world. I have to wait and count on Quentin to pull me in at the last minute and give me a decent role. I hope that he does, but I'm certainly not going to stay awake at night worrying about it. I'm gainfully employed, and expect to be for some time. I love to work for Quentin and hope that I'm in it, but if I'm not, it doesn't fucking mean that I'm going to jump off a cliff.”

“I had a great role in [Mark Mahon's] Strength and Honour, and the film hasn't been realized yet — I've been in a couple things that haven't been realized yet,” Madsen continued. “I'm not gonna just hang my hat on Inglorious Bastards and say, 'This is the one for me.' You never know what that's gonna be, and you can't spend your life thinking about it. You'll make a great film when you least expect it, or don't really anticipate it … I don't have a crystal ball or time machine, I can't know what's going to happen. I just want longevity.” Of course, a Nazi scalp or two would probably be nice as well. —Brent Simon

Earlier: Casting ‘Inglorious Bastards’
We’ve Got Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Inglorious Bastards’ Script
Brad Pitt’s Imminent Paternity to Further Complicate Timely Completion of Tarantino’s ‘Inglorious Bastards’?

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 31 Jul 2008 | 9:45 pm

'Ripcords', a Musical Drama of Post-War Secrets, Will Play FringeNYC (Playbill)

Playbill - Ripcords, a new musical drama about war profiteering in World War II, and choices to be made in the 1950s, will jump into the The New York International Fringe Festival Aug. 10-24 at the Bleecker Street Theatre.
Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 31 Jul 2008 | 9:31 pm

Inside the Fabulous $34.5 Million Glass Penthouse at 145 Hudson

Back in 2006, New York's S. Jhoanna Robledo shared the sad tale of rich people who couldn't move into their giant Tribeca lofts because of run-ins with the Landmarks Commission. But, at last, the penthouse — first proposed in 1996 — is ready to live in. And throw amazing parties in. And shield your works of art from harmful solar rays. Watch the video and marvel at what you'll never have.

Prisoners of Hudson Street [NYM]
Real-Estate Porn: Sky-Loft Penthouse [NYM Video]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 31 Jul 2008 | 9:30 pm

New DVD releases: `Nim's Island,' `Counterfeiters' (AP)

AP - Selected home-video releases:
Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 31 Jul 2008 | 9:27 pm

Artist K. Min Sacrifices a Perfectly Good Muffin

K. Min’s quiet pastel of a blueberry muffin kissing a paper bag with its hours-old (at least) grease stain is part of a group show at Number 35, through August 8, based on the color (or non-color) white. On view are designer trash bags in a window, Chinese takeout boxes, and lots of spooky, clean shadows moving about on a white wall. K. Min's work is pensive and sad, like a memory of a muffin lost. —Emma Pearse

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 31 Jul 2008 | 9:00 pm

The most important of Egyptian artifacts (AP)

AP - "Discovery at Rosetta" (W.W. Norton & Co. Inc. 288 pages. $22.95), by Jonathan Downs: It's the most important Egyptian artifact ever discovered — the key to the tale of the astonishing ancient civilization and its many accomplishments.
Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 31 Jul 2008 | 8:55 pm

‘Elle’ Robs Jessica Simpson of Her Hips for September’s Cover

We were surprised enough to learn that Jessica Simpson was Elle's best-selling cover of 2007 (of the past seven years). Now she's scored the mag's September issue this year and, having seen the cover, our frown lines are only deepening — this is not the month to have one of the most awkward covers of the year. Here's what irks us.

1. Simpson's outfit is not glam. At all. We get that she's a country singer now and the sexy-lumberjack look is meant to cement her new image. But this is the cover of Elle. There has to be some shiny fabric on there somewhere, and that pink flash of bra doesn't count.

2. Her face doesn't look like her face. We can't quite put our finger on what's making her look so off, but we find it enormously distracting that she appears to be using her tongue to compensate for a lack of lower teeth.

3. It looks like an animal ate her left thigh/ass cheek for breakfast. How else to explain why she looks so caved in over there? She may wobble, but we doubt she actually stands all gawky like that.

4. Her hair is wider than her hips. No matter how thick and luscious Simpson's locks are, there is no way they surpass her hips in fullness. This is a good thing. The girl is known for her curves. Help her flaunt them, Elle! Don't digitally slice them off! There's nothing wrong with women who look like, well, women, after all.

Jessica Simpson: 'I Have Definitely Experienced Abuse' [ET]

Related: Keira Knightley and Jessica Simpson Land September Covers

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 31 Jul 2008 | 8:49 pm

Rosie O’Donnell Seems to Think She Can Quit Blogging

It was the quasi haiku heard round the world:

i am taking off august
in blog-ville
2 c if i can
rosie unplugged

The e.e. cummings prose, the Joyceian psychology filtered through some sort of rudimentary l33t-speak — it could mean only one thing: Rosie O'Donnell, the William Faulkner of celebrity blogging, had announced her retirement. What happened? Well, there was an earthquake, and it was very scary, and Rosie had to tell herself to "stay / stop - b still / remember / u will live thru these feelings," and then it hit her: "i feel too much." And then those four little lines bidding us adieu. But is that really it? Really? Blogga, please.

Like baptisms and brises, quitting your blog is an emotional rite of passage, the moment at which the heart of a casual blogger begins to pump the blood of a total Internerd freak: I am tired of blogging, but I am not so tired of blogging as to restrain myself from blogging about it and blogging about how I will no longer be blogging. When your brain gets to that mental state, you are beyond the point of return. You are LIVING THE BLOG.

People followed up with Rosie: "I'll take the month off and then see what it feels like to come back to it." Emphasis ours, because at least she seems to kind of know what's happening here: By announcing her blogging "sabbatical," she is, in fact, so knee-deep in this shit that she's beyond rescue. And, yeah, she'll be back (probably well before Labor Day). She has no choice. It's the only way she knows. —Jessica Coen

On We Go [R Blog]
Rosie Says Bye-bye to Blogging — for Now [People.com]

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 31 Jul 2008 | 8:45 pm

Who Should Play the Ramones in the ‘Rock ’n’ Roll High School’ Remake?

It probably goes without saying that Howard Stern's forthcoming remake of 1979's Rock 'n' Roll High School, announced this morning, is a terrible idea. We're happy to say it anyway, though: Howard Stern's upcoming Rock 'n' Roll High School remake is a terrible idea. As we noted in today's Industry post, the original was, at the same time, the greatest and most idiotic movie in history. In it, a group of students conspire with the Ramones (who, themselves, were the world's dumbest and best band) to get revenge on their rock-hating principal by blowing up the school (this was back in the seventies, long before the advent of plausibility or responsible filmmaking). It was a stupid — and awesome — movie that would've been completely forgettable had it not been for Roger Corman's ingenious decision to cast the Ramones.

But who are the Ramones of 2008? What contemporary band is capable of inspiring today's cynical, careerist, AP-credit-seeking teenagers to do something with their lives — like shirk their educational responsibilities, scrap their futures, and risk life in prison by demolishing their school with deadly, hard-to-obtain explosives? And is there a group around that's unserious, universally beloved, and stupidly charming enough to pull it off without just making everyone uncomfortable? The Flaming Lips, maybe? We don't think such a band exists. (Yes, we know they'll probably just get Green Day.)

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 31 Jul 2008 | 8:15 pm

Diane von Furstenberg Unanimously Elected to Second CFDA Term (Fashion Wire Daily)

Fashion Wire Daily - Diane von Furstenberg is a busy woman these days, between designing her collections and her role as the president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). But she's managing to balance everything just fine, as evidenced by her unanimous re-election to a second two-year term as president of the CFDA Wednesday, July 30, as well as her induction that same day into the Fashion Walk of Fame by the Fashion Center Business Improvement District on New York's Seventh Avenue.

Source: Yahoo! News: Fashion News | 31 Jul 2008 | 8:03 pm

Diane von Furstenberg Unanimously Elected to Second CFDA Term (Fashion Wire Daily)

Fashion Wire Daily - Diane von Furstenberg is a busy woman these days, between designing her collections and her role as the president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). But she's managing to balance everything just fine, as evidenced by her unanimous re-election to a second two-year term as president of the CFDA Wednesday, July 30, as well as her induction that same day into the Fashion Walk of Fame by the Fashion Center Business Improvement District on New York's Seventh Avenue.

Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 31 Jul 2008 | 8:03 pm

keeping up with jones beach

New York's Jones Beach may not be renowned for its natural splendor, but it does offer sumptuous sights and insights to what London's Michael Hoppen Gallery calls the "melting pot of humanity" as it fuses together under the summer sun. In his second solo show at the gallery, Ohio-born photographer Joseph Szabo presents 30 years' worth of touching, playful black-and-white images shot at New York's historic hub for sun-worshipper socializing. In his images, a glistening bodybuilder holds hands with his small, smiling son; a little vixen strikes a sassy pose while her mother sits poised beneath a mask of makeup and a massive cloud of hair. Sexy, slinky teenagers groove on the boardwalk, and an awkward adolescent hunches over her cigarette. Jones Beach might not be an idyllic outdoors paradise, but after looking at these images, no one can assert that it isn't a hot spot to cool off.

Source: The Style File | 31 Jul 2008 | 6:57 pm

Matthew Weiner Discusses the Second Season of ‘Mad Men’ on ‘Charlie Rose’

For Mad Men fanatics, there's lots to dig into in this video of Matthew Weiner, Jon Hamm, and John Slattery on The Charlie Rose Show. If you can get past Rose's traditional inability to ask interesting follow-ups, you'll be treated to hints to what aspects of Don Draper's past we'll soon learn about (19:00), what 1963 books symbolize the social change Mad Men's characters are about to go through (8:00), and how Weiner viewed the life of the women in the office as a combination of Sex and the Single Girl and The Feminine Mystique (13:00). Plus, Hamm and Slattery are hot.

The Charlie Rose Show [Google Video via A Continuous Lean]

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 31 Jul 2008 | 6:45 pm

Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Red-Carpet Schizophrenia

With another summer movie season drawing to a close, we thought we'd finally gotten a handle on the celebrity approach to dressing for a parade of global press tours: Figure out what, exactly, you're trying to sell about yourself, and then pack outfits that are on-point without being identical. For instance, Anne Hathaway’s Get Smart looks each seemed cleverly chosen to rub her ex-boyfriend’s nose in her unavailable hotness; similarly, when Gwyneth Paltrow promoted Iron Man, her endless string of super-short minidresses helpfully reminded us that she’s still a relevant, sexy woman with legs for weeks, rather than just Madonna’s musty old macrobiotic-loving best friend.

Then Maggie Gyllenhaal threw a wrench in our theory. Surely, promoting The Dark Knight was the perfect way for this indie princess to present her quirky personal style as a charming antidote to Hollywood’s cookie-cutter starlets. Instead, she gave us a fashion roller-coaster, sporting a schizophrenic range of looks that made us wonder if she threw them into her bags at random, possibly while blindfolded.

Maggie’s lone hit came at the Stateside premiere, to which she wore a gorgeous black flowered Dries Van Noten gown (above, center), with minimal accessories beyond the kind of shoulders that make us drop and do ten (okay … five) on the spot. That's the perfect modern, offbeat spin on a classic cut, and a great example of keeping it simple without being a snore.

But it’s sandwiched between two fussy, bipolar flops. Maggie's floor-length blue-and-black Zac Posen is the clothing version of a split-personality soap-opera character: the pretty, generally well-liked sheath fighting to peek out from behind the domineering, overworked, bed-jacket-esque overlay that appeared one day after a bump on the head and started slutting around town ruining their joint reputation. And that vintage black cocktail dress can't figure out WHAT it wants to be. Did she knot a velvet toga over a slip and think a feathered headband would be the magic Band-Aid that patched it all together?

Then Maggie threw in a few ill-advised retro curveballs. The orange peekaboo dress is Gaultier; although lace is admittedly very on trend for fall, as far as we’re concerned, neon plus lace plus visible bra just equals eighties Madonna (plus the only Madonna-esque Gaultier look we’re dying to revisit involves cone boobs). But at least the dress fits her, and although that damns it with faint praise, it's more than can be said for Maggie's unflattering Stella McCartney jumpsuit. Sure, the blousy, baggy fit hides the occasional pre-party Happy Meal, but shouldn't something with a halter top and a plunging neckline be slightly less frumpy? Also, shouldn't she have feet?

So while we’d hoped to emerge from the shadow of The Dark Knight’s press onslaught refreshed by Maggie’s off-kilter charm and sassy style, here we are throwing up our hands and saying to ourselves, "I wonder what Katie Holmes would have worn if she'd stuck around?" The only firm statement these looks make is that Maggie favors an updo. And unless she’s hankering for an Us Weekly cover about her bobby-pin addiction, we hope she’ll consider a more all-around cohesive approach to her next summer-movie fashion spree. After all, if you want your clothes to make a statement, it's better if they're not speaking in tongues. —The Fug Girls

Related: Anne Hathaway Gets Her Chic Revenge
For more of the Fug Girls' sartorial wisdom, check out their complete archive.

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 31 Jul 2008 | 6:40 pm

‘Ugly Betty’ Stars Mark Indelicato and Becki Newton Share Pants

Fittingly enough, it was at the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants premiere earlier this week that we learned that Mark Indelicato, who plays Justin on Ugly Betty, likes to steal from co-star Becki Newton's closet. He and Becki (who plays Amanda on the show) are the same size, apparently. And they have the same girlish hips! (See picture, left, from the premiere.) They told Jada Yuan all about it.

Becki: Speaking of traveling pants, whose jeans are you wearing?
Mark: Victoria Beckham, from the closet of Becki Newton.
Becki: This is a theme night: Traveling pants, where my pants travel to his closet all the time.
Mark: All the time.
Becki: I need to buy bigger sizes, because there’s no reason we should be wearing the same pants.
Mark: There’s no reason. It’s okay for Becki, but my thighs should not be this small.
Becki: Wrong. People were just asking me, “Are those leggings?” No. These are jeans. I was like, "There’s no reason I should be wearing jeans this tight." They’re Fried Denim. Do you want them? I’ll give them to you.
Mark: Yeah, I like them.
New York: So you guys will share jeans after this is over, too?
Mark: Forever. I don’t really have to buy jeans anymore, because I’m just like, "Becki these are pretty. I really like them." Boom, boom.
Becki: Traveling pants. There you go.

Source: Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine | 31 Jul 2008 | 6:35 pm

Literary forger tells of bogus missives in memoir (AP)

AP - "Can You Ever Forgive Me? Memoirs of a Literary Forger" (Simon & Schuster, 128 pages, $20), by Lee Israel: "She is a bright, talented actress," Noel Coward once wrote of Julie Andrews, "and quite attractive since she dealt with her monstrous English overbite."

Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 31 Jul 2008 | 6:02 pm

Seth Rogen: Unlikely Spokesman for Reebok

“I have some custom Reeboks, too, that I made on their website. On the back of the sneaker, you can write a word, and they kind of censor it so that you can’t write FUCKY YOU. But I kept trying to find the dirtiest thing that the computer would allow. I tried to get it to print ASSHOLE, but it wouldn’t let me do that, and then I did BUTTHOLE, but that didn’t work either, but I got it to approve BUMHOLE. Also, I got a pair that says EAT POOP.” —Seth Rogen [Elle]

“I've been warned when I'm presenting there are two things I am never allowed to say. One — cunt. And two — Scientology. There is one sentence that could join both of those words but I'm going to try and not say it.” —Russell Brand on hosting the MTV Video Music Awards [Mirror]

“Dylan was doing occupations at school recently and the teacher said, ‘You have to go home and ask Mummy and Daddy what they do.’ So we were trying to explain to Dylan that we make movies and he went to Michael, ‘Hang on. Mama makes movies, you make pancakes!’ So my two-time Oscar-winning husband with a career of 40 years looks at me and says, ‘Oh, it’s come to that!’” —Catherine Zeta-Jones [Sun UK]

“If you heard a rumor that I covered myself in fake tattoos and played Guitar Hero until 3 a.m. this weekend, that rumor is true. I rocked it,” —Jenna Fischer [Lifeline Live/USAT]

"He said, 'Wouldn't it be cool to have a theme like Ghostbusters? Let's have Ray Parker Jr. record it.' Then we remembered that Ghostbusters got sued for being too similar to Huey Lewis and the News' 'I Want a New Drug.' Then Seth had the idea to see if Huey would do it. We loved seeing his [genitals] in Robert Altman's Short Cuts." —David Gordon Green on how Huey Lewis ended up recording the theme song for Pineapple Express [Soundboard/LAT]

Source: Vulture -- Entertainment, Music, Culture, Theater, Movies, Art -- New York Magazine Blog | 31 Jul 2008 | 6:00 pm

Sean Avery Pontificates on Men in Shorts

The New York Times "Style" section has another in-depth article about men exposing their legs today. This week Guy Trebay tries to determine why it's become so much more acceptable this summer than ever before for men to wear shorts to work. He comes up with an answer pretty easily: because Sean Avery says so. When Avery interned at Vogue this summer, he wore shorts suits to the office. He offers Trebay lots of reasons shorts make more sense than pants:

“Why go to work and be hot?” he asked last week, adding that there was no compelling business reason to look modest and dull on the job. “You can look good and not have that boring-type look … Why are women allowed to do it and not men? … Women have the option of wearing a dress."

But Avery wasn't merely trying to level the dress-code playing field with his women colleagues. He was doing them a service:

“I haven’t asked them, but I’m sure women like looking at a man’s calves, or if a man has them, nice ankles,” Mr. Avery said.

He's totally right. Ankles are the new biceps, cankles are the new beer bellies. Someone have Thom Browne send out a memo.

Shorts Crack the Code [NYT]
Related: Fashionable Men Are Wearing High-Waters and Cutoffs This Summer
The Very Leggy Summer [NYM]

Source: The Cut - New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | 31 Jul 2008 | 5:50 pm

jessica on dolly: she's like the president

Jessica Simpson says that the concert in which she mangled the lyrics of "9 to 5" was devastating for her because the song's creator, Dolly Parton, is "like the President to me." There's a joke in there about boobs in the White House, but we're not going to make it.

And, to continue with our political theme for the day, political neutrality now has a color: purple. All the cool newscasters are wearing it. Maybe this coding should apply to other situations, too. What better way to say, for example, "Hey, I'm not a Crip or a Blood," than with a lovely shade of lavender?

Source: The Style File | 31 Jul 2008 | 5:42 pm

An official Star Wars replica stormtrooper helmet on display at a London store

An official Star Wars replica stormtrooper helmet on display at a fantasy memorabilia store in London. Star Wars director George Lucas's production company Lucasfilm is suing prop designer Andrew Ainsworth...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 31 Jul 2008 | 5:18 pm

Saddam Hussein in 1995

Saddam Hussein in 1995. A new BBC drama of the life of Saddam Hussein which portrays the late Iraqi leader as a brutish mafia boss reminiscent of the TV gangster Tony Soprano received rave reviews on Thursday...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 31 Jul 2008 | 4:33 pm

Dark moments for Greatest Generation (AP)

AP - "Red Sky in Morning" (HarperCollins Publishers. 352 pages. $24.95), by Patrick Culhane: Inspired by his father's World War II experiences, Patrick Culhane has written a flawed novel about a compelling and shameful piece of American history.
Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 31 Jul 2008 | 4:25 pm

mike figgis' roman holiday

"Leaving Las Vegas" director Mike Figgis has turned his eye to fashion, kind of, with a short film and photo installation piece, created in collaboration with photographer Massimo Vitali. It's called "Piazza di Spagna," and it was shot on location in Rome. Featured actress Katie Saunders plays four different characters, two of whom are exaggerated fashionista types. The other two characters, by contrast, are a starry-eyed tourist and an up-to-no-good ne'er do well. Style.com caught up with Figgis at the film's premiere at London's Somerset House last night, which was attended by Jimmy Choo, Agent Provocateur founder (and Vivienne Westwood scion) Joe Corre, Serpentine Gallery co-director Hans Ulrich Obrist, "The Wire"'s Dominic West, and designer Agnès B., whose company underwrote the project.

How did you and Massimo Vitali meet and how did you decide to collaborate on this project?

The common denominator was our producer, Vito Di Rosa, who's someone I've worked with and known quite a long time in London, but who is Italian. I happened to say to him one day, "I'm a big fan of this photographer, Massimo Vitali," and he went, "Oh, he's a friend of mine. You should meet him, you guys would get on very, very well." So we had a meal and then we had a conversation: It would be really nice to do something together. And then Agnès B. came onboard as our financial producer. And that's really how it all began.

In the piece, there is a little bit of a focus on fashion. There are two characters in it that you describe as "fashion victims." What is it about that place (the Spanish Steps) and fashion and people displaying themselves that drew your attention?

Well, it's very visually engaging, number one. And it's also something that's so much a part of our lives now with fashion TV and all the rest of it, so that fashion has become such a big cultural event, much more so than it ever was before. And so I quite liked the idea of pushing the boundary a bit, because normally we just see that character on a catwalk or something like that. Then, I needed to come up with four characters for the one actress, so those were two of them—very contrasted—and then two other characters. So, I just thought that would work quite well, given that it's also a visual piece; it’s not dialogue based like a normal film.

At one point in the film, Katie Saunders walks past that line of exclusive boutiques (Dior, YSL) that leads off the Piazza and you actually see a couple of women who look like her character, watching her…

I loved it. I mean I loved the fact that all those beautiful little ironies were present in that one little area of Rome. You have the fashion street, very high-end, and then you have the more funky side streets, and then you have this huge meeting place for the world's tourists, sitting almost on a stage. I felt that that was potentially really good material for ironic coincidences; also as something for the actress to play off of in each of those different characters.

The top of the Spanish Steps, in front of the Trinità dei Monti, is prime advertising real estate. What do you think of the way that advertising images have become so much a part of classical sites around the world?

I'm not crazy about it. I mean, there's so much advertising now at the Cannes Film Festival that you can't see Cannes anymore. For the duration of the festival, everything is covered, like in Los Angeles, with billboards and now electronic billboards as well. I think it's a shame. I think there should be some kind of curb on it.

A lot of this piece also has to do with digital cinema and photography and what they can do. Digital cameras have made everything from Facebook to amateur online porn possible. Do you get the feeling that we're being overloaded with images that many times are meaningless to everyone other than their creators?

Yes, but there's nothing you can do about it. The genie's out of that bottle. And it creates its own genre of disposable imagery, low-end imagery. It has a nasty side to it, which is a kind of vindictive, gossip element, but at the same time there are little pearls in it as well. As ever, great stuff will emerge and be seen as separate from that kind of general mess, if you like. Nah, it doesn't worry me; it's just the way it is.

What's the overarching message of this piece?

No message. It's two artists observing.

Victoria

Source: The Style File | 31 Jul 2008 | 4:04 pm

Being black in Hollywood still exception

Will Smith has made epic blockbusters a Fourth of July tradition, and Denzel Washington is one of the most recognized faces in show business. But some iReporters have told CNN that these well-known actors' roles are not typical of how black people are shown on TV and in the movies.

Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 31 Jul 2008 | 3:35 pm

Alicia Keys: I Won't Sing for Cigarettes

The singer had Philip Morris billboards pulled down at an Indonesia concert.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 31 Jul 2008 | 2:51 pm

line up, lash out

Even if you've been faithful to one mascara for the greater part of your makeup-wearing life, today is the time to consider a little infidelity. For one day only, Lancôme's revolutionary new battery-operated offering goes on sale at select counters in limited quantities—not to be available for purchase again until its official launch in November. Ôscillation, the world's first "powermascara," has a patented application brush that, with a little practice, will keep you coming back for more. The product features a formula designed to work specifically with the brush's 7,000 micro-oscillations per minute, a combination that completely wraps each individual lash in product for maximum separation and extension—no zigzagging hand gyrations required. If waiting in line for new technology isn't your thing, Sephora.com has managed to secure a limited quantity as well.

Source: The Style File | 31 Jul 2008 | 2:41 pm

jewelry to crow about

Anyone in the market for statement accessories might want to clear their diary for the evening: K. Brunini is launching a one-of-a-kind jewelry collection inspired by Native American and Mayan cultures. Pieces like this raven ring (above) mix materials such as carved bone, wood, and jet, and are pretty much impossible to miss. The collection will be presented tonight from 6 to 9 pm. For more information, call (212) 696-1321.

Source: The Style File | 31 Jul 2008 | 1:58 pm

dvf joins the fashion walk of fame

Now Diane von Furstenberg really does have it all. With the unveiling yesterday morning of her plaque on the Fashion Walk of Fame, the industry's most glamorous mogul was officially added to the canon of fashion immortals. The ceremony honoring von Furstenberg and fellow inductee Liz Claiborne saw fans and friends such as Fern Mallis, Hamish Bowles, and Isabel Toledo decamp to the Bryant Park Grill for a bit of breakfast, a little speechmaking, and a lot of well-wishing. As she mingled with the crowd, von Furstenberg allowed herself to muse—briefly—on the longevity of her most famous creation, the wrap dress. "You know, I was in Italy last month to show my Resort collection and I saw the patternmaker who helped me develop the wrap. We had no idea it would be so big—or that it would keep coming back." But she declined to speculate on why the dress had turned out to be such a success. "What can I say? Fashion's a mystery. But, you know, would we want it any other way?"

Source: The Style File | 31 Jul 2008 | 1:46 pm