Go behind-the-scenes with the pop-punk act as they get down to 'Misery Business.'By James Montgomery Paramore's Hayley Williams performs at the 2008 Video Music Awards Photo: Lester Cohen/ WireImage... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsEnter | 8 Sep 2008 | 4:36 pm
Highlights of 2008 show include performances by Lil Wayne, Rihanna, Jonas Brothers, T.I. and more.By Gil Kaufman Britney Spears shows off her Moonmen Photo: Stephen Granitz/ WireImage Britney... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsEnter | 8 Sep 2008 | 4:20 pm
• The new Agent Provocateur campaign stars Peaches Geldof, Daisy Lowe, and Paz de la Huerta. "Chanelling the gothic decadence of Hogarth, Caravaggio, Rubens and Delaroche’s Execution of Lady Jane Grey, it is a seething orgiastic scene of girls on top, girls on girls and boys and beasts." Yessss! [Times UK]
• Sean Avery has decorated a booth in the Beatrice Inn with sunflowers. He's keeping it as his special little VIP area for the duration of Fashion Week. [Style.com]
• Anna Wintour was spotted with Diane Von Furstenberg visiting the CFDA booth in the tents that offers information on eating disorders. No word on if she took a pamphlet. [Fashionologie]
• Eva Longoria Parker is shilling flavored M&Ms in the tents. Now we have a reason to indulge in all those free samples.[Shophound]
• This black alligator Chanel handbag with chain straps costs $39,450. Just like college tuition! [Bag Snob]
So, what did you miss by not tuning into last night's 25th annual, cheapest-ever MTV Video Music Awards, the first ones, as far as we know, to be held in a high-school gymnasium? Practically nothing! Lil Wayne performed with his pants around his ankles, wacky Christian American Idol winner Jordin Sparks made teenage America giggle by branding all non-virgins "sluts," and Britney Spears won three awards, ostensibly for the quality of her art. Also, Kanye West closed the show by singing (yes, singing) a not-bad new song, "Love Lockdown," purportedly the first single from his upcoming album (see it here). Hope you enjoyed Mad Men!
It was celebrity madness at the Diane Von Furstenberg yesterday afternoon — Cathy Horyn and Racked have rundowns of all the luminaries, from Graydon Carter to Leighton Meester, J.Lo to Ray Kelly — but our heart skipped a beat later last night at the DVF after-party at 60 Thompson. When we walked in, we nearly smacked right into Whitney Port. Cameras on tripods were planted in the corners and aimed squarely at the Hills star, who was having a what looked like a forced conversation with some suits. We were admiring her short gray dress with black lace detail when a MTV-ish fellow shoved a release form in our faces and asked us to sign. We obliged, obviously — the back of our head maybe appearing on The Hills would be a dream come true!
We immediately asked if L.C. was in the house. She was not, Mr. MTV informed us, but dear Olivia Palermo was! But it was Whitney, Whitney who we really wanted. We wandered to the lounge outside and found nine or ten people in a corner, looking at footage just shot at the party on tiny television screens. Whitney, now off-camera, was chatting with the crew. And THAT is how they create those Emmy-worthy Hills scenes? It felt like we'd unearthed a state secret.
Moments later, Olivia Palermo flitted out to chat with the crew. We asked her what she was doing with herself these days. "I work at DVF!" she said excitedly. "I'm in PR." Is she an intern? Her expression soured slightly. "No, I'm actually on staff!" she replied. Huh. Interesting: Could Olivia be the new Lauren? She's working at DVF with Whitney, she's probably capable of conducting expository dialogue on camera, and she's perky but turns sullen when an unsavory type (like us) says the wrong thing. Sounds like it could work!
MTV has set a high standard for the unexpected at its Video Music Awards, but on the show's 25th anniversary, the network instead settled for throwing its full support behind Britney Spears' comeback. Source: FOXNews.com | 8 Sep 2008 | 1:26 pm
Sunday night's MTV Video Music Award host Russell Brand took several digs at young stars wearing "promise rings" to pledge their virginity until marriage and "American Idol" winner Jordin Sparks wasn't having any of it. Source: FOXNews.com | 8 Sep 2008 | 1:26 pm
"The Vogue editrix dashed from Calvin Klein's High Line bash to sit at Justin Timberlake's William Rast show at the Roseland Ballroom Sunday night. The minute the show finished, Anna bolted for the backstage, though she had a little trouble getting past a burly guard. A Rast staffer quickly recognized her and led her right in and up to Timberlake. 'Hey! Thanks so much for coming!' Timberlake exclaimed. 'My pleasure,' Wintour replied, adding that she liked the show but had to dash. 'Can we get together soon?' Wintour asked. 'Of course. Email me and we'll make it work,' Timberlake replied." Please, God, let this be the beginnings of a scandal. [Fashion Disclosure]
And so it begins! The shows are in full swing, and the critics are weighing in. We'll be compiling the general consensus throughout the week.
Rag & Bone
After opening their first rag & bone boutique on Christopher Street last week to a flurry of eager shoppers, David Neville and Marcus Wainwright wooed the rest of the fashion world with a tough and rough-around-the-edges collection inspired by England's music scene. The critics were divided on the parade of punkish denim and leather jackets, exposed zippers, checked button-downs, and miniskirts. Style.com sighed over the theme, complaining "it's all been done before," and even venturing that "the fit on one or two of their double-breasted jackets looked off." WWD agreed, writing that the designs "felt repetitive and at times lacked personality," though it allowed that the rock-inspired zippers and studs added edge to rag & bone's classic suits. But British Vogue championed the show as "one of the strongest Rag & Bone collections we've yet seen" — particularly loving the floral accents mixed with leather — and asserted that Neville and Wainwright "remain true their English roots and they always get it right." Celeb fan Kelly Osbourne agreed, declaring to The Daily, "They are masters at androgynous wear."
Reuters - Universal Pictures has agreed to back rollout
of digital cinema equipment in U.S. theaters, people familiar
with the matter told the Wall Street Journal.
AP - Halle Berry, in a body-hugging outfit, and her special man, model Gabriel Aubrey, helped make Calvin Klein's 40th anniversary bash a New York moment.
AP - Halle Berry, in a body-hugging outfit, and her special man, model Gabriel Aubrey, helped make Calvin Klein's 40th anniversary bash a New York moment.
'Breakfast with The Beatles,' hosted by renowned Beatles expert and longtime host Chris Carter, to air every Sunday on SIRIUS' Little Steven's Underground Garage Channel Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsEnter | 8 Sep 2008 | 10:00 am
Brooke Taylor - From 'Cathouse' to Main Street Star of HBO's Smash Hit 'Cathouse,' Brooke Taylor is in Hot Demand By Mainstream Media CARSON CITY, Nev., Sept. 8... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsEnter | 8 Sep 2008 | 10:00 am
Fourteen-year-old teen actress Dakota Fanning made a pledge this weekend: from now to til shes 18, the star of The Secret Life of Bees isnt going to be holding up any 7-11s, having an unwanted teen pregnancy, or getting any tattoos or piercings. Source: FOXNews.com | 8 Sep 2008 | 8:33 am
Reuters - Susan Sarandon and Richard
Dreyfuss have signed on to join Edward Norton in "Leaves of
Grass," a comedic thriller from actor-turned-filmmaker Tim
Blake Nelson.
We figured Justin Timberlake's hotly touted "My Name Is William Rast" show would be chock-full of gossip, but we never expected intrigue before we'd even taken our seats — in fact, things got sassy while we were still standing outside in line and a red BMW convertible full of dudes slowly cruised the line, blaring R&B slow jams and winking appreciatively at the ladies. If they'd turned their heads to the right, they would've realized they were also technically cruising people who had tickets to Hairspray, but the huddled masses of scantily clad Timberlake fans probably made for more satisfying ogling.
Once inside, we camped out at the end of the red-carpet line hoping to overhear some salacious celebrity tidbits; instead, we heard a harried (yet also amused) PR guy dash up to his friend and pant, "Dude, I have a situation. A model shortage." Apparently some of the chosen girls slated to wear Timberlake and Trace Ayala's duds were double-booked, and our hero had to bus some girls across town to fill the void. "Otherwise they're gonna have me shave my legs and put on a wig," he cracked.
Evidently he swept in and saved the day, because the show started only 25 minutes late — practically early compared to a lot of similarly star-studded events. Leonor Varela arrived on the dot of nine o'clock for her moment in the sun, and was rewarded by being ushered out of the press area by a militant staffer who had no idea Leonor was famous ("famous") and was anxious to clear out uncredentialed gawkers. We count this as one of the top ten signs that an actress needs to nab a guest-spot on network TV post-haste. Varela ignored the woman three times before things got a bit testy and someone finally stepped in and promised it was okay for Leonor to stay. Meanwhile, starlets Malin Akerman and Emmanuelle Chriqui posed for pictures with Chriqui's former Entourage co-star Carla Gugino, with the three of them taking pains to maximize the photographic variety by reordering themselves every time a new lensman called for their attention. We've never seen a trio of actresses so conscious of each other's good sides.
The next note on our sloppily written blotter reads, "Silvstedt Swedish boobs," which about covers everything we learned about Victoria Silvstedt — she gave an interview in her native tongue, which we don't speak (yet; vakta ute, Stockholm!), and thrust her chest forward for a photographer before tottering inside on impossibly high heels. Then NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon and wife Ingrid Vandebosch commandeered the red carpet while Rachel Hunter and Caridee English waited in the wings, making casual conversation that we assume was about the assorted glories of Cover Girl mascara. (The guys behind us didn't know whom to drool over more: the sports star or the 90-foot-tall tan blondes. They chose Gordon.) And Saturday Night Live star Andy Samberg brought his girlfriend, musician Joanna Newsom, to support his "D*ck in a Box" co-star. We hoped this might mean a model or two would walk out bearing a tenderly wrapped genital gift, perhaps while wearing an Omeletteville tee, but alas it was not to be.
At about the 9:15 mark, a man tore through the room bellowing into his walkie-talkie, "Get 'em inside or I'm gonna shut this place down!" Oh, sir. You cannot shut down Justin Timberlake; you can only hope to lose to him in a dance-off. Nonetheless, it worked, and five seconds later, a chorus of PR girls loudly ordered everyone into their seats — where, it turns out, buckets of Budweiser super-cans and Bud Light bottles awaited. If we'd known that, we'd have sat down from the get-go. But because we had to clear out of the foyer, we didn't spy the late-arriving Jeremy Piven and Kevin Connolly — without his girlfriend Camille Guaty, though she is in town doing the Fashion Week rounds — until after the show began. That's also when we noticed the Coif of Judgment sitting in the front row as well; yes, watch out, Roger Federer, because Anna Wintour turned up early for Timberlake, so it may be a mere matter of time before she's parading JT before the crowd at Marc Jacobs.
Timberlake opened the show with a faux-trailer for the series of movie-esque ads he's made for the line, starring him and attendee Erin Wasson as what appear to be a hipster Bonnie and Clyde, but with tighter pants and less Academy Award potential. But he did not, as was rumored, close the show with a performance — nor, sadly, did he carry A-Dubs out of there like a modern-day An Officer and a Gentleman (she's the officer, he's the gentleman). Because the beer was still flowing and munchies were being passed on silver trays, we hung around as long as our feet could stand it — but when we saw the tall, handsome dude that we thought was Tyrese Gibson leaving the venue, we figured maybe our hope of a Timberlake concert was in vain. This, of course, means he probably came out 30 seconds later, leaving us both without our moment of teenage palpitations AND minus the taxi we hailed that maybe-Tyrese and his lady friend promptly stole.
All was not lost, though: As we awaited a replacement cab, we saw one of the male models outside on his cell phone, having a smoke and wailing that a girl had hacked into his Facebook and written salacious info about him on there without his permission. See? We KNEW that where the William Rast show went, drama was sure to follow.
Last season, the Miss Sixty show boasted a surprisingly A-list front row, even if they did all look unenthused about being there. This time? Not so much. We suspect most of Fashion Week’s A-listers were home curling their hair and practicing their dance moves in case they ran into Justin Timberlake at William Rast across town. The Miss Sixty folks did seem like they were doing their best to prevent anyone in their front row from dashing out as soon as the scheduled–for–8 p.m. show was over, in hopes of making William Rast at 9 p.m. They didn’t dim the lights and send the models out until ten minutes to nine, and only after the photographers in the pit started stomping their feet and chanting, “Go! Go! Go!”
But not everyone was so impatient. A man near us took advantage of the wait and actually leaned over to ask our seatmate if she “came here often.” We didn’t know people still used that one with a straight face. He also pulled out the old, “Are you visiting from out of town?” and, “What are you doing later?” Clearly, he was hoping to emulate the couple in front of us. They were embracing, holding hands, stroking hair — actually canoodling. As for us, we just kept our eyes on the front row.
And we were rewarded. Not with any tender butterfly kisses or anything, but rather with Blake Lively, who was sporting a seriously, intensely misguided green jumpsuit. If she can’t pull it off, the rest of us haven’t got a chance in hell. Blake was seated next to Ugly Betty’sBecki Newton, whom she seemed to be outright ignoring for much of the wait in favor of talking to someone behind her, leaving Becki just sitting politely without a pal to chat up. We were beginning to wonder if Blake was rude. Giving a seatmate the cold shoulder is not very Serena of her. Luckily, we got ourselves all in an uproar for no reason whatsoever, as Blake eventually engaged Becki in conversation, then politely chatted up the celeb on her other side, Rosario Dawson.
The rest of the time, Rosario (free from the overlong yellow dress she wore to DVF and wearing a dark cocktail dress) made small talk with the woman to her right, whom we could not identify for the life of us — was it Charlize Theron? No. Kate Bosworth? No. HEIDI MONTAG? Thank you, God, no. It proved, instead, to be Monet Mazur. We never would have guessed that. But the real star of Celeb Row was Bijou Phillips, who seemed to think she was attending a filming of Pants-Off, Dance-Off rather than a fashion show. Okay: Her pants stayed on. But if there had been a table to dance on, she would have climbed onto it. She waved her hands wildly in the air. She pumped her fists. She dramatically shook her (admittedly beautiful) hair. She writhed and wriggled in her seat to the extent that we’re pretty sure there was no way she could have actually seen the show. Although considering some of the stuff we saw … maybe that was the point.
In the end, all that buzz for the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards was more or less for naught.
Britney Spears showed up. Michael Jackson did not. Russell Brand did, though if the early...
Awards shows are usually a zoo, but this one was actually a circus, with rapper T-Pain hitting the red carpet riding an elephant.
The rest of the best of young Hollywood was on hand,...
The red carpet of the Video Music Awards was its own kind of eye-popping spectacle, but during the show I couldn't take my eyes off Britney Spears. And I wasn't the only one—she had...
AP - The stars descended on New York Fashion Week on Sunday, with Olympian Dara Torres hitting the catwalk, Justin Timberlake putting on a runway show and the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Uma Thurman lining the front rows.
Though Gap's spring presentation this morning was light and cheery, we were still haunted by memories of last night's Tropical Storm Hanna. Patrick Robinson was toiling away in a windowless room last night when the storm hit. "Was there a hurricane?" he laughed. "I didn't even notice." Photographer Scott Schuman, better known as the Sartorialist, made his assistant tote around umbrellas so they could keep taking fashionista-on-the-street portraits. "I just shot and tried to keep the camera dry," Schuman said. "I had an excuse, if I didn't have enough pictures for Style.com — 'It's raining!' But I think I came up with some pretty good stuff. I like that kind of crazy combination of people still dressed, you know, running in the rain." Tory Burch did the unthinkable when she was stranded in the downpour: She took off her shoes and walked home barefoot, "which I never, ever do," she blurted out quickly. [Ed. note: To be fair, one of your Cut editors totally did the same thing, weeping all the way.]
Burch should have followed Nina Garcia's lead and ditched the flats for vertigo-inducing heels. She was at the Rock & Republic show when it started pouring last night. "The tents were moving," she said. "I wear very, very high shoes, so they're not ruined. I've learned that it's about the biggest platforms you have so that you can go over the water." As we tried in vain to get our sweaty bangs off our face, we asked how she keeps her cool during the Fashion Week. "Eat! People need to eat!" We must have looked skeptical, because she added, "I always find time to eat. Otherwise, then I really whither and get really exhausted. Keep your energy and eat something." She's looking at you, Anne Slowey.
The universe should know better than to send us to a fashion show that requires walking through what we affectionately term "the wig district." When we're faced with that kind of temptation, odds are we will get sidetracked, fall into a beehive or a fifties bouffant, and never be seen again. Indeed, we're wondering if Veronica Webb struggled through the same test of her willpower. At the Y-3 show on Sunday afternoon, the statuesque Webb showed up with a fake-looking banged hairdo, and we are not the only ones in the crowded bleachers who opined that she might have dropped it onto her head ten minutes prior.
Webb sat shoulder to shoulder with reggae artist Sean Paul, who was hanging out in the backstage lounge before the show accepting compliments on his giant neck bling while Vincent Gallo discussed his own hair with a friend. Admittedly, if we'd been that person, we'd have asked about it, too, as it's his most interesting feature. The last few seasons he's sported a matted beard with a wild nest of hair that we always feared might be the vacation home of an errant pigeon; here, he was cleaner-shaven with seventies-esque sideburns. Add that to his tight pants, blue shades, and pointy-toed loafers, and he's all set to live the Swingtown dream — although we secretly suspect he's taken with his one true soul mate, Vogue and Teen Vogue editor (and former star of The Hills) Lisa Love. This is the second Y-3 show Love and Gallo have attended together — at least, that we know of — and today she sat right behind him, which is about as close to spooning as you can get at a fashion show without arousing suspicion. Or yourself.
Speaking of arousals, we have it on good authority that one of the faces near us in the front row belonged to Michael Lucas, arguably the Tyler Perry of the gay-porn world because of how his name appears ahead of every film title. (We PROMISE we did not know that offhand, Mom.) We were tickled to see him sitting innocently just a stone's throw from actress Ellen Pompeo and hubby Chris Ivery. If the show changes its name to Ellen Pompeo's Grey's Anatomy, we'll know they bumped into each other long enough for him to impart some valuable career counseling.
We had a gut-check moment when we noticed that at least one of the hanger straps on Amanda Hearst's dress was fully exposed. A true girlfriend would tell her quietly, but then again, we don't even know her and ultimately decided a stranger giving her grooming tips might be creepy and unwelcome. We're sorry, Amanda — but at least it's possible everyone else was too nose-deep in bubbly to notice. Kanye West's former fiancée, Alexis Phifer, bellied up to the bar for some Champagne, passing by the likes of Cory Kennedy, a silver-headband-clad Peaches Geldof, Gossip Girl's Nicole Fiscella (how does she attend more stuff than the actors who have actual lines? Oh, wait, maybe we answered our own question there), and Genevieve Jones, who miraculously managed not to melt in the heat despite wearing a long-sleeved sweaterdress.
And seriously, it was steamy in there. In the past, Y-3 has put its models to the test by making them walk through water and ice and on running treadmills, but this season, it was our fellow attendees who were challenged. Our task: not passing out amid the hanging fluorescent lights and humid, stale air. Maybe that's why Sean Paul's seatmate had on a hot-pink sequined bra underneath her billowing, well-ventilated T-shirt. How did she KNOW? If we can't get the number of her psychic, we'll just follow her on a shopping trip and try to glean what the future holds by interpreting her purchases. Let's hope she takes us to a wig store.
Front Page: Actor set for Columbia's 'Last' film -- "Braveheart" scribe Randall Wallace will write "The Last Pharaoh," a Columbia drama crafted as a vehicle for Will Smith to play Taharqa, the pharaoh who battled Assyrian invaders in ancient Egypt.
Front Page: Executive will handle international sales, ops -- Former Polygram chief Stuart Till has inked a deal to acquire the international sales and distribution operations of Mel Gibson and Bruce Davey's Icon Entertainment.
Front Page: Paramount reteams with 'Spiderwick' duo -- Paramount Pictures is reteaming with "Spiderwick Chronicles" producers Mark Canton and Ellen Goldsmith-Vein to bring young-adult novel "Spanking Shakespeare" to the bigscreen.
Hervé Léger by Max Azria needs to start showing in a larger venue. The Salon at Bryant Park was packed to the gills with people who'd apparently contracted a raging case of bandage-dress fever since February, and we practically had to promise the PR girls our first-born children to get inside.
Those who presumably were allowed to attend and keep their offspring included Maria Sharapova, who carried off one of those skintight frocks as easily as any of the models, and posed graciously with fans, including one who then asked us, "Hey, who is that?" Looking less sexy and more matronly was Zoe Saldana, who mistakenly accessorized her Leger with a weirdly demure diamond choker and a companion who we first thought was Seann William Scott. Sadly, we were mistaken, meaning we're never going to find out what happened to the Dude, Where's My Car? sequel.
We also spied show regular Joy Bryant, who managed to avoid a repeat of her nip slip from last season's show by wearing a dress with a more modest neckline; Melissa George, who's smartly toned down the makeup since we saw her at Nicole Miller; and actress Kate Mara, who splashed out in a pretty green number. The Gossip Girl requirement was filled by Michelle Trachtenberg, who was cheerful and chatty with the reporters, saying that she likes to mix a bit of Tar-jzey with her Louboutins, and confiding with a laugh that the best Fashion Week tip she's ever learned is not to talk about her personal life with reporters. Not a bad piece of advice, if only because if we overhear it, we'll totally tell everyone.
And a tip we learned today is that if you see a huge crowd of paparazzi waiting outside the Bryant Park Hotel, and you decide to hang around to see whom they're stalking, you better watch from a safe distance or else you're going to get trampled like you're running with the bulls. One of us was almost killed when Rosario Dawson, of all people, emerged from the building to go to DVF and the assembled masses sprang to attention and bowled over every warm body in their way. We were saved by a friendly, burly guy who told us to stand behind him — he basically acted like the MVP of our offensive line, if we were some kind of celeb-spotting quarterback. We must confess that when this all went down, the one of us who was not seeing her life flash before her eyes may have screamed, "PEOPLE. It's just ROSARIO DAWSON." No offense, Rosario, but … seriously.
Front Page: Film begins shooting next month -- Jessica Alba will topline modern-day fable "An Invisible Sign of My Own."
(AP)
AP - After winning three silver medals in Beijing, Olympic swimmer Dara Torres has mastered another daunting challenge: walking the runway at New York Fashion Week.
MTV's Video Music Awards are hot. Literally. It feels like 100 degrees on the red carpet here on the Paramount lot in Hollywood.
But the hot topic for the day: Britney Spears! Will...
E! Online - The red carpet of the Video Music Awards was its own kind of eye-popping spectacle, but during the show I couldn't take my eyes off Britney Spears. And I wasn't the only one—she had at least two bodyguards watching over her the whole time. At one point a fan tried to approach her, but one of the guys gently told him to beat it.
• Kevin Smith figures there's one thing wrong with bringing a movie to the Toronto Film Fest: The audiences are way too polite.
"In Toronto, nobody turns their nose up at...
Even in a tough economy, people will open their wallets for a great cause!
Organizers say Friday night's historic, star-studded Stand Up to Cancer telethon helped push donations to...
Front Page: Musical remains on top of foreign box office -- "Mamma Mia!" continued to do sensational biz overseas, warbling its way into the top weekend slot at the international box office with $15 million from 3,493 playdates in 39 markets.
The fall box office sure fell all right.
After a $4 billion grossing summer, Hollywood slogged through its worst weekend of the year, per studio estimates compiled today by Exhibitor...
The Toronto Film Festival doesn't often lack the vision thing. And then came Blindness.
The Fernando Meirelles film based on Nobel Prize winner Jose Saramago's acclaimed novel,...
Channing Tatum has smooth moves on and off the dance floor—just ask his new fiancée, Jenna Dewan.
The 28-year-old hottie popped the question to the equally hot Dewan, 27, on...
Front Page: Festival kicks off despite political unrest -- Unswayed by the country's political turmoil and warnings to travelers to stay away, the 2008 edition of the Bangkok Film Festival will open on Sept. 23 with Woody Allen's "Vicky Cristina Barcelona."
Front Page: Exec known as champion of new technologies -- Mel Harris, the exec who was an innovator in firstrun syndication and the homevideo biz during his 25-year run in the top ranks at Paramount and Sony Pictures Entertainment, died of cancer Saturday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 65.
Tommy Lee Jones is suing the makers of 'No Country for Old Men' for more than $10 million that the he claims he is owed for starring in the 2007 crime thriller. Source: FOXNews.com | 7 Sep 2008 | 12:47 pm