Reuters - The global economic downturn hit Walt Disney Co's quarterly results harder and faster than Wall Street expected, with the company on Thursday reporting a sharp decline in hotel bookings and softness in advertising revenue at its networks.
AP - Comedian Katt Williams has been arrested on weapons charges in midtown Manhattan after police say they pulled him over for driving a car without license plates. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 7 Nov 2008 | 1:41 pm
AP - Comedian Katt Williams has been arrested on weapons charges in midtown Manhattan after police say they pulled him over for driving a car without license plates. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 7 Nov 2008 | 1:41 pm
"Role Models" shouldn't work as well as it does. The plot is formulaic and the script took six writers. But thanks to Paul Rudd, Seann William Scott and Jane Lynch, the movie provides a lot of unexpected laughs.
(Reuters) Reuters - A "60 Minutes" crew including correspondent Scott Pelley were jumped by a group of Chinese men who were upset that cameras were investigating toxic waste at a recycling plant for computer and other electronic waste, CBS News disclosed Thursday. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 7 Nov 2008 | 11:48 am
Madonna had her bases covered at Dodger Stadium tonight, although she was careful not to double up.
The pop über-star's Sticky & Sweet tour was made all the more saucy...
Fox's "American Idol" will return for its eighth season Jan. 13 while medical drama "House" is moving to a new night, the network said in announcing its midseason lineup. "American... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsEnter | 7 Nov 2008 | 7:22 am
What a week for the nation. What a week for Oprah Winfrey.
She wept on the shirt of a stranger while our next president addressed the nation. She erupted in a primal scream of...
So Britney Spears couldn't make it to the MTV Europe Music Awards to pick up her two awards—she had a gig with Madonna and Justin Timberlake in L.A.—but the show went on...
And after...
(E! Online)
E! Online - Aw, doesn't it look peaceful on Survivor: Gabon?
Aw, doesn't it look peaceful on Survivor: Gabon?
Maybe Kota hasn't had much trouble assuaging nerves and keeping tempers down so far (it helps when you've won 9 out of 11...
Front Page: Producers asked to trim budgets by 2% -- With the economy continuing to falter, at least one TV studio is already mandating production cuts -- while others aren't too far behind.
Front Page: Studio to bring Broadway show to bigscreen -- Flush from the global returns of "Mamma Mia!," Universal Pictures is tuning up another stage musical transformation. The studio has acquired rights to turn the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical "In the Heights" into a feature.
Front Page: Lin to produce film based on L.A. Times series -- Warner Bros. has acquired rights to the L.A. Times' recent seven-part series "Tales From the Gangster Squad," with Dan Lin to produce the feature adaptation.
Front Page: Filmmaking duo honored with producer's prize -- Brian Grazer and Ron Howard have been chosen to receive the Producers Guild of America's 2009 Milestone award.
Front Page: Co-founder's exit leaves co. on shaky ground -- In what means the end of the road for the Firm, Jeff Kwatinetz resigned late Thursday from the management/production company he founded in 1997.
Front Page: Pair may kidnap remake of Korean drama -- Steven Spielberg and Will Smith are in early discussions to collaborate on a remake of Chan Wook-park's "Oldboy." DreamWorks is in the process of securing the remake rights, and the new pic will be distributed by Universal.
Front Page: Network nixes Boy Wonder show -- The Boy Wonder won't be flying into primetime after all. The CW and Warner Bros. TV have been forced to scrap their plans for "The Graysons."
AP - "Mouth to Mouth" by English playwright Kevin Elyot is a melancholy little memory play, sad yet compulsively watchable in its disturbing tale of friendship and family pulled apart by desire and selfishness.
E! Online - One's a kitty-freezing beet farmer with a rockin' Firebird. The other's a Cornell grad who can a cappella an R&B slow jam like nobody's business.
Britney Spears didn't even have to show up to come back in Liverpool.
The again-viable pop star was named Act of 2008 in absentia at the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards, which were...
• The Twilight gang is on three different EW covers this week, and they're revealing RobPat's cover first. Pretty!
• Melissa Etheridge joins Ellen in blogging her...
How are Grey's Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo and her husband, Chris Ivery, going to celebrate their upcoming one-year wedding anniversary?
With a trip to Las Vegas, baby!
The...
Wow, a Catholic, a Muslim, and a Jew! Don't see that on the same team every day. Photo: Getty Images
It's barely been two days since Barack Obama and Joe Biden were elected to the top two offices in the land. And it's been less than a day since Rahm Emanuel agreed to serve as their chief of staff. But, of course, that hasn't stopped eager up-and-comers looking to slip into the already-warm seats without a race.
Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. is a widely mentioned replacement for Obama. Governor Rod Blagojevich (who himself is under investigation by the Feds for possible corruption and faces a possible impeachment before 2010) is the one choosing, and he'll be under pressure to sub in another black politician for Obama, as he's currently the only one in the Senate. Obama himself is not likely to be involved in the situation — one expert told Congressional Quarterly: "Obama will not step foot into Illinois politics. It’s a minefield. He’d go to Kabul before he’d go to Springfield."
Other names being bandied about include:
• Illinois State Senate president Emil Jones, who was an early Chicago mentor of Obama's and is an ally of Blagojevich's.
• Former Chicago city councilman and current U.S. Congressman Danny Davis.
• Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White. White, Jones, and Davis are all black.
• Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq veteran who ran for election to the United States Congress in 2006 and lost. She's currently Blagojevich's Secretary for Veteran's Affairs.
• Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan.
• U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky, who is the Chief Deputy Whip and a former Illinois assemblywoman.
Regarding his Senate seat, which he won the same day he won the vice-presidency, Joe Biden is said to be much more involved. He is hoping to pass the seat to his son, Beau Biden, the Delaware attorney general. The problem with this, according to the Associated Press, is that Beau is scheduled to be deployed to Iraq for the next nine months. As a result, if Papa Biden's dreams are to come true, a seat-warmer will need to be appointed to hold the spot for Beau in 2010, when another election will be held. This means somebody who won't seek reelection. The selection will either be made by outgoing Governor Ruth Ann Minner or Governor-elect Jake Markell. They are both Democrats. Names that have been mentioned so far include:
• Delaware Secretary of State Harriet Smith Windsor.
• Lt. Governor John C. Carney Jr. He's the state party's choice, but is not likely to want to step down when young Beau becomes available — he just lost a close gubernatorial primary, so he's clearly got ambitions.
• Myron Steele, chief justice of the Delaware Supreme Court.
Rahm Emanuel had barely even accepted the job of chief of staff before just-elected Illinois Representative Deborah Mellthrew her hat in the ring. She's the sister-in-law of Governor Blagojevich and the daughter of a longtime Chicago alderman. She's also an open lesbian who says she has a solid base in her largely gay district. Other names mentioned include:
• Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley.
• State Representative John Fritchey.
• State Representative Sara Feigenholtz.
• State Senator John Cullerton, who is seeking to be the next State Senate president.
This contest will be decided by a special primary and election, to be scheduled in the next three months by Governor Blagojevich.
We might not find out where the heck Dave Chappelle's been for the past year, but maybe we'll learn what he'd like to hear God tell him when he arrives at the pearly...
Barack Obama will bring much more than theoretical "change" to the White House. He'll also bring his dashing 47-years-young visage, trim figure, and newly salt-'n-peppery sexy mane. He's athletic, he's hot, and fashion designers can't wait to get their clothes all over him. And he does need something to wear to the Inauguration. “He could wear a paper bag and I would still love him,” pants J. Crew creative director Jenna Lyons Mazeau in WWD. “He just looks effortless. He understands how his clothes should fit.” Marc Bouwer agrees: “I love that he wears narrow, fitted suits and that he doesn’t wear the typical Washington suit with baggy pants." All the better to show off all those hours of step-ups at the gym.
Elie Tahari called Barack "Mister Handsome," and issued this come-hither:
“He could be a male model,” Tahari said. “Whatever he has been wearing has been appropriate. I think the fashion industry will have a ball with him. They will have so much fun because he is built so well. They all love to dress him and I’d love to dress him too. We do men’s wear.”
Quick — someone pass that man a fan! Obama often wears union-made suits from Chicago-based Hart, Schaffner, Marx & Hillman. They've probably smoked cartons of cigarettes since Tuesday.
"I am a male in my mid 60's and I am looking for a room mate. Times are tight and I need some extra money. I am willing to rent out my bathroom in my 1 bedroom East Village home. My bathroom is large. You can easily put a twin air mattress in there. I only ask that when I need to use the bathroom, you or your air mattress are not in it. I do ask that when you are in the apartment, you confine yourself to the bathroom. I do not feel comfortable with a stranger walking around my living room. This might change as I get to know you better. You may have guests over as long as they are cnfined [sic] to the bathroom as well. This might seem a bit odd but please remember the rent is $400 and the bathroom is large."
We think it would be fair for you to ask him to keep a jar by his bed. Don't dudes that age pee a lot at night? [Craigslist]
Heidi Klum, doing some seriousass shopping at Hell-Ay's posh shoppery the Beverly Center on Election Day. Heid hightailed it to home away from home, Victoria's Secret, where she spent...
The Daily Beast asked past Project Runway contestants to sketch an Inaugural Ball gown for Michelle Obama. Except they asked them to create the look using only Laura Bush's 2005 Inaugural Ball dress, burlap potato sacks, an American flag, and $10 worth of trims of their choosing. Five out of the nine asked would have Michelle wear the damn flag. Leanne's was the only viable option, in our book. Hers would be made from the burlap sacks and lined with the flag to make the sacks more comfortable. The Ball is no Democratic National Convention, after all. [The Daily Beast]
1. Fake Male Voice, "OMG!!! FMV!!!"
Tunde Adebimpe must be busy (in addition to singing in TV on the Radio, he recently played the groom in Rachel Getting Married), because, judging from the munching sounds at the end of this track, he had to record his new Prince-y solo material on his lunch breaks. [Pitchfork]
2. Thom Yorke, "Tchk Harrowdown Jump Remix"
Famously chipper and upbeat, Thom Yorke delivers this remix of a track from Eraser for bandmate Jonny's birthday, and also as a reminder of the "dark days of Bush." [East of L.A.]
3. Metric, "Help, I'm Alive!"
With Halloween just over, and Twilight about to make the undead even more cool, Metric's Emily Haines seems to find living a bit of a drag (though this song is awesome). [We Like it Indie]
4. Whispertown 2000, "From the Start/Jamboree"
The actual jamboree doesn't officially happen until the last thirty seconds, but this track from Whispertown 2000 (an indie-pop roots band that is the first on Gillian Welch's new label) is great from the first note. [Mainstream Isn't So Bad... Is it?]
5. The Decemberists, "Record Year"
On this sad and yearning track (the third and final single released by the Decemberists before their new album next year), Colin Meloy seems to be uncharacteristically sad about the "record year" we're having. Perhaps he voted McCain? [Under the Rotunda]
AP - "The Widows of Eastwick" (Alfred A Knopf. 308 pages. $24.95), by John Updike: Even the most wicked witches age. And, as it turns out, a sorceress' decline is by turns as painful, lonely and even common as that of any unmagical being. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 6 Nov 2008 | 10:33 pm
Front Page: Edward Norton production began in 2006 -- Days after the election of Barack Obama, HBO has paid low seven figures for U.S. TV rights to Amy Rice and Alicia Sams' untitled docu on the senator's presidential run.
In today's Thursday "Styles," Eric Wilson exposes the phenomenon of crediting clothes and accessories as "Price upon request" in magazine stories. See, mags use this phrase when a) the item is exorbitantly expensive, b) no one knows how much the item costs, or c) the item was never produced beyond the runway. We know, we know, you're shocked by such trickery from publications that routinely Photoshop models and celebrities into impossible ideals of beauty. But wait! There's more treachery afoot. One of our favorite tasks at a former publication was to compile the cover's beauty credits so readers could achieve a similar look. Only the credits weren't based on the makeup actually used at the shoot; instead, the issue's biggest beauty advertiser was touted, with colors that were similar to what the cover girl was wearing. Feel cheated yet? Of course, what gets our goat more is the ever-mystifying "fragrance credit." We can't wait for scratch-'n-sniff editorials so this will actually make sense.
Today a Reuters White House correspondent bumped into the First Dog during his morning walk — and perhaps this happened during a moment Barney was just feeling a little cranky (can you blame him? Dogs hate drama), because when the reporter reached down to pet the pup, said pup bit him. The damage to his right index finger resulted in just enough bloodshed that the White House physician had to get on the case. And of course someone caught the whole snarly, biting scene on video, complete with the victim's bandaged-finger follow-up. Watch and soak in the metaphor.
On Tuesday, America elected its first black president, Barack Obama. But what does Obama's sweeping victory mean for the United States? Bill Maher offered his take on "Larry King Live."
As could probably have been expected, nobody watched television the night after Election Day (probably because they knew that nothing could ever again match the magic and majesty of Will.I.Am's historic appearance as a hologram). But guess what network people especially didn't watch? NBC! Ben Silverman's Knight Rider — which was hilariously recently picked up for a full season — was watched by only 5.1 million people, its worst ratings ever. Also, only 7.8 million tuned into Law & Order's nineteenth season premiere, that show's worst-ever numbers, too. Like we said last week, critically loved, intermittently watched 30 Rock is in practically no danger of cancellation. Last week, it rode the tide of Fey-mania to its hightest-ever ratings (with 9 million watching), so, ratings-wise at least, there are probably five other shows NBC would axe first. Plus, tonight features a guest appearance from Oprah. So here's to another ten seasons, most likely.
Looking at our November issue of Mogue (Daniel Craig, still hot), we noticed something in the required annual circulation report. Out of 294,289 issues printed for newsstand sale, only 56,616 were sold. That's roughly 19 percent, which explains why you saw all those Barack Obama covers in Hudson News for so long. It also maybe explains why Condé Nast was so quick to shrink it into a Vogue insert.
Front Page: 'Role Models,' 'Soul Men' also set to open -- DreamWorks Animation and Paramount open "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" in theaters today in what’s expected to be a strong start to the holiday season. • Watch Trailer • Review
This is the invitation to the press day for Alexander McQueen's lower-priced McQ line. Like how he's taking a jab at Topshop there? True, McQ is "higher street fashion," — but it also comes with a much higher price tag than Topshop merchandise. With news coming two days ago of his diffusion line for Target, (change to mental Carrie Bradshaw voice) we can't help but wonder if McQueen was asked to collaborate with Topshop but chose Target instead. Maybe he feared all those Kate Moss lines would eat his clothes alive.
Paul & Joe by Disney collection. Photo: Courtesy of Paul & Joe by Disney collection
PLASTIC SURGERY
• Plastic surgeons are offering department store–style discounts on Botox injections and other procedures, which worries people because it reduces medical procedures to a commodity. Eh, we kind of always thought of those procedures that way. [NYT]
MAKEUP
• Paul & Joe launched a limited-edition collection for Disney, and released it this spring in Japan and Europe. Finally, it's stateside, due to "overwhelming demand and popularity," and available at Bergdorf Goodman counters now. Heads up: Bambi's on the bronzer balls. [Beauty Anonymous]
• Good news for Revlon: The company raked in $29 million in profits this quarter, thanks to product launches and the sale of the Bozzano men's grooming line. [WWD]
• But Elizabeth Arden reported a net profit loss of $12.5 million for the first quarter and halved its projected yearly profits. Ouch. [Cosmetic News]
FRAGRANCE
• Cosmetics brand Carol's Daughter launched a new fragrance called Pearls, a feminine blend of bergamot, lemon, peach, apricot, and vanilla. [Now Smell This]
Front Page: Wall Street tumbles for a second straight day -- A fresh wave of bad economic news, including a half-million Americans newly out of work and the weakest October retail sales in nearly 40 years, pummeled the stock market Thursday, driving the Dow Jones industrials under 9,000 again with a stunning two-day decline of 10 percent.
Years of hefty television roles and playing ruinous indie heroines has established Vera Farmiga as a formidable actress, with more than a dozen films in the last four years, including celebrated turns in Running Scared and the Oscar-winning The Departed. This fall, she's back in two high-profile dramas, Mark Herman's The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and writer-director Rod Lurie's Nothing But the Truth. In the former, she's a German wife and mother who unravels as she discovers her husband's complicity in prosecuting Adolf Hitler's Final Solution; in the latter, she's a tough, undercover CIA agent who gets outed in the press. Almost seven months pregnant, and in great spirits, Farmiga spoke with Vulture recently about her upcoming roles, her love affair with Upstate New York, and the little indie film that jump-started it all.
Prior to filming The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, were you familiar with the novel?
No, I wasn't. And I don't think I'd ever cried so hard the way I did when reading the script. I immediately ordered the book and then read the script again to make sure that it did the novel justice. And there was just an overwhelming sense of wanting to be a part of the movie.
One of the interesting undercurrents of the film is the willful obliviousness of your character. Obviously she responds very strongly, and we see a deterioration in her stability once things come to light, but do you think it's a case of her not wanting to know what her husband is doing?
I think it is a "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Yes, the ideology of the times was radically different, and a women's world was different — a German woman's highest essence and purpose in life was to be a dutiful wife and a loving mother and be beautiful. That's what was expected of women, that propaganda was instilled in them. I find it very difficult to understand that a woman, being the intuitive creatures that we are, would not intuit to some degree that people were being horribly mistreated, and not to question it. In my research, I found that the wives at Auschwitz, Treblinka, and Sobibór were lied to by their husbands, who were under strict oaths to keep the extermination programs top secret. The way that they found out was not until two years after they had lived there, and smelled the smells they smelled, and saw the ash in the air. But Rudolf Hirsch, in his memoirs, talks about the fact that the torturous screams of the prisoners would disturb his naps, so I don't see how the women — with all these clues — couldn't question it. It's a willful refusal to see what's going on.
You share many scenes with Asa Butterfield, who plays your son Bruno, and of course there is the old saying to beware children and animals in movies. Working with a young actor, are there certain things you do to help them get comfortable?
Asa didn't have much of an acting background. This was his first profound experience on the set, which is always a circus anyway. He was just very much like his character; he walks through life with these big eyes. He's such a bright, sharp kid, so intuitive. He had a great sense of awareness and depth, and not much had to be explained to him, so there wasn't much trickery in the relationship.
The 2005 Down to the Bone barely received a domestic theatrical release, but do you believe your lead performance helped jump-start your career?
It did, and I have Debra Granik to thank for that. Debra and I are about to embark on our next collaboration — it's called Miles from Nowhere, and it's about a woman who's kidnapped and ends up falling in love with her kidnapper. She's taken away from a rather boring existence and embarks on an Alice in Wonderland–like journey. But it was our work, and being honored for it, which was really the biggest jump-start of my career. People always say that it was The Departed, but it was Marty [Scorsese] actually seeing my work in Down to the Bone.
You also have a key role in Nothing But the Truth, as outed CIA operative Erica Van Doren. Do you rock a blonde Valerie Plame wig?
[Laughs] No, on the contrary, I wanted to separate my character from her. But her media moment was upon me, actually, in the two weeks or so I was filming in Tennessee. I would come home and she was on every news venue — on Larry King or Meet the Press. So of course the character was inspired by that, and I had that to draw on, but she's not the first operative to be exposed.
You live in Upstate New York — why not New York City or Los Angeles ?
Living upstate is nothing but beneficial for me. I've been working so much that, any time that's not spent on set, I really need a place where I can completely decompress and be around the real-life people that I'm trying to portray in my work. And the little niche that I've carved out for myself upstate is a great vantage point, away from Hollywood and away from my career. I can take a step back and look at what's important to me and what do I want to do next.
SCENE: You having a drink with your friends, talking about election night. SETTING: A bar, or any establishment where fine Stella Artois is sold. SOBRIETY LEVEL: Medium. Two-day hangover.
You: I know, I know. I cried during the part of his speech about the really old black lady. A little. I didn't, like, weep, but I definitely welled. Your Friend: I thought McCain was really respectful in his concession speech. It was like the old McCain was back again. Why wasn't he like that during the race? Your Other Friend: I almost felt bad for Sarah Palin, to see her crying like that. Almost. She knew it was her fault. That Guy That Follows You and Your Friends Around: You know what I liked best? The hologram. You: Oh my God, that was so absurd. Your Friend: It was so fake! They couldn't even see them in the studio, they were just pretending. Anderson couldn't even keep a straight face! Your Other Friend: No, I think they could see them. That was the whole point! That Guy That Follows You and Your Friends Around: Are you guys joking me? Don't you know anything about holograms?
Has something like this happened to you? Have you realized, one or two days later, that you actually don't know whether the holograms of reporter Jessica Yellin and musician Will.I.Am really were visible to the anchors in the CNN studio, or if they were just inserted into the broadcast? Because of all the things we saw on Tuesday night, it turns out that was the part we understood the least (even less than the part where Oprah was using that random white dude as a chin rest, or the part when Michelle Obama put a fireball on her FUPA). Thankfully, Canada's CBC News has an explanation. Will.I.Am and Yellin were not, technically, holograms. They were basically the result of combined video streams. Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper could not see them in the studio, even though Anderson totally said: "It looks exactly like in Star Trek when they would beam people down, that's what it looks like right here." If you watch the video again below (courtesy of Vulture) you can see by his reaction time that he totally can't see Will.I.Am (and that yes, he is struggling to contain his laughter).
Anderson! How could you deceive us like that?! You're supposed to be keeping them honest! We will never forgive you. Unless … Unless! Can that hologram be beamed anywhere? Like, anywhere anywhere?
U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia just announced that former governor Eliot Spitzer won’t be charged in the prostitution scandal that cost him his office last March. That loss, it seems, was the biggest factor in Garcia’s calculation.
Prosecuting Spitzer on money-laundering or “structuring” counts — essentially for trying to hide his payments to the Emperors Club — was always going to be difficult, given the fairly small amounts of money involved, how Spitzer barely attempted to hide the transactions, and that he apparently didn’t spend campaign money. A more difficult call was whether to charge Spitzer with transporting Ashley Dupré across state lines for the purposes of prostitution. Garcia basically says that Spitzer is guilty — but that his office rarely enforces that particular law, and Spitzer has suffered enough. (And according to a fellow Upper East Side voter who stood in line near him Tuesday, Spitzer’s suffering remains visibly apparent.) After the announcement today, the ex-guv released a statement of his own:
I understand the Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York has decided that it will not bring criminal charges against me. I appreciate the impartiality and thoroughness of the investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office, and I acknowledge and accept responsibility for the conduct it disclosed. I resigned my position as Governor because I recognized that conduct was unworthy of an elected official. I once again apologize for my actions, and for the pain and disappointment those actions caused my family and the many people who supported me during my career in public life.
Japanese label Syunsoku's children's sneakers are all the rage in Japan. The asymmetrical soles with rubber spikes on one side supposedly allow you to run fast without losing balance. Over 10 million pairs have been sold since they came out in 2003. Four-year-olds are going wild for them, but starting next year adults can have them too, when the brand (whose name means "nimble feet") launches an adult line. We'll start cheering you on now — Run, Forrest, run! [Reuters]
This is not Summers' (l) best picture. Photo: Getty Images
A scant two days after the election, the list of who might become Treasury Secretary has been whittled down by those who whittle such things to two people: Larry Summers, the former Harvard president who served as Treasury Secretary at the tail end of Clinton's term, and New York Federal Reserve president Tim Geithner. "They are both highly regarded," an Obama insider tells the New Republic's Noam Scheiber today. "Very highly regarded. Very, very highly regarded." They also have a past, dating back to 1993, when Summers was serving as the head of the Treasury's international arm and hired Geithner, a deferential 30-year-old whom Scheiber describes as a "svelte and baby-faced" "man-child" with "teen-idol locks and a boyish voice" as his "consigliere." "In Geithner," he writes, "Summers recognized the perfect complement."
As Geithner and Summers rose within Treasury, Summers increasingly involved him in the most sensitive issues to cross his desk. When proposed aid packages came back from the IMF, Summers's chief of staff often found herself chasing down Geithner because, according to one colleague, "Larry wanted to know what Tim thought about it" before he'd sign off. When currency crisis deliberations degenerated into esoteric grad-school seminars, someone would invariably turn and ask, "Well, what do you think, young Mr. Geithner?"
Now, of course, mentor and student are pitted against each other. Which could mean an epic showdown. Like the one between Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine! Will the young Geithner take his mentor and shove him down a shaft?
Probably not.
"My guess is that Tim would like Larry to be secretary," a friend of both told me recently. "He's the type of guy that, if Obama calls and says, 'I want you to be secretary of Treasury,' it's not at all implausible he would say, 'Mr. President, you should pick Larry.'"
Fashion Wire Daily - Rogan Gregory, the designer behind eponymous men's and women's wear label Rogan, as well as Loomstate and Edun, is a man whose primary design goal is to strip things down to their most essential state while still creating something new - and most importantly, to add something raw and real to the process and the end result. Gregory calls this "soulful minimalism."
Michael Buhler-Rose's The Conversation, Alachua, FL (2006). Photo: Courtesy of the artist/Humble Arts Foundation
Michael Buhler-Rose seems to have stumbled upon an outpost of Bollywood extras waiting for their big moment. Mira Nair, take your pick. Buhler-Rose is part of a snazzy group photo show titled "Things Are Strange," on view at New Century Artists through November 15.
Audrey Tautou as Coco Chanel. Photo: Courtesy of Warner Brothers
The first still from the Coco Avant Chanel movie has been released! We haven't been this excited about a film since the wonderful Valentino documentary, which we actually saw relatively recently, but whatever. Audrey Tautou plays Coco in the biopic, which comes out next year and is loosely based on the book L'irreguliere by Edmonde Charles-Roux. The film is being shot in Paris and Normandy, and will feature iconic Chanel dresses. Catherine Leterrier is designing the costumes with Karl Lagerfeld's oversight. Maybe this shot depicts Audrey as Coco fly fishing? If only she had her $15,000 Chanel rod back then. Sigh.
At a private screening of the documentary "Dominick Dunne: After the Party," media patriarch Harry Evans mused on the future of print. "Fifty million people a day buy newspapers, so, you know, it's the Mark Twain story — rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated," he said. "Print has a viability, and because of the association with magazines and newspapers having established their credibility, print carries that aura of authority." He put forth a possible financial model: "One answer of course is to charge a lot more than we do, because they're given away, basically. I mean, you get the New York Times for $1.50. I would pay $3. The Wall Street Journal is $2," Evans added. And yet, he believes the future lies in the Web, whose immediacy and flexibility and accessibility he finds overwhelmingly appealing. "My view is that the future of long-form journalism will be in print, and the short-form will be on the Web." But take that with a grain of salt. "I'm a historian; I'm usually in the business of recording the past, so I'm not reliable about the future."
Evans's wife, Tina Brown, didn't offer specifics, but she concurred. "I love print and I'm so sad to see it all kind of collapsing, but I do believe that things will regroup in a different shape," she told us. Brown, who recently started her own online publication, bluntly explained the economic outlook for print media. "It's 1929. What can I say?"
To call Kurt Kuenne’s feature documentary Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (which opened in New York last week and opens in Los Angeles and Chicago this week) the most devastating film you’ll see this year might actually be an understatement. (You can read David Edelstein’s similarly overwhelmed take on it here.) So by featuring Kuenne’s 2004 short Rent-A-Person on the Picture Palace, we're both drawing attention to the remarkable feature, now in theaters (and also airing on MSNBC December 7), and showing another, very different side of director Kuenne, since Rent-A-Person, a business epic in miniature, is a hilarious musical pastiche about a young, lovesick men’s-room attendant who decides to become a visionary entrepreneur.
Alexander Wang on designing in this economic climate: "There’s no point in creating clothes so out-there, so special that no one can wear them. I try to stay in touch with the customer. We’ve been lucky — our sales are growing. I think we were also pretty lucky to get out a T-shirt line. It’s nice to have a $65 product. But it’s also nice to have a $1,200 dress, say, for that person at Colette. The key now is that dress has to be worth what it costs." [Style.com]
"It's okay, you can call him McLovin, everybody else does." —Paul Rudd, cutting off an interviewer who was about to refer to his Role Models co-star as "Christopher Mintz-Plasse" [The A.V. Club]
"But I feel like right now I'm still kind of young and my voice is whiny." —McLovin on why he's sticking to comedy for a while [LAT]
"I know it's obvious to say Sarah Palin, but, you know, Sarah Palin." —SNL head writer Seth Meyers on who he'll miss most now that the election is over [Politico]
"Bawdy jokes are okay, if they're really good." —Justice Antonin Scalia on television indecency [WaPo]
"Reality is not for me. I don't think I'm that interesting. I need to play someone else." —Brandy [MTV]
Any day now, Sarah Palin's designer clothes could go to charity. She acknowledged the clothes weren't hers weeks ago, and that this has been the McCain campaign's plan all along — right? Now that the campaign's over, she could unload them any second! Perhaps she'll auction them and then give the money to charity. Or maybe she'll cart them down to her local Goodwill. Opportunities to donate abound! So maybe she's holding on to them a little longer because she's having trouble kissing their sweet, sweet designer-ness goodbye. Understandable — we would, too. But that might only be part of the donation delay. According to the New York Times, McCain's advisers said the campaign was "incredulous" about the massive clothing bill. Also, Republican National Committee lawyers will probably go to Alaska "to conduct an inventory and try to account for all that was spent."
As Newsweek reported yesterday, and the Times reiterates, the campaign was alarmed by the clothing budget. Senior McCain aide Nicolle Wallace reportedly told Palin to purchase three suits for the Republican National Convention and three more new suits for the fall campaign. They expected Palin to spend around $20,000 to $25,000 on clothes. But then she went off and got clothes for herself and her family, and luggage, and jewelry. So yeah, it's a shame this bounty of fine things can't go to charity right away, and that the Republican National Committee has to spend time and money going to Moose Country in the winter to figure this mess out. But at least in the meantime Sarah Palin can still look snappy.
A lawmaker called Thursday for controversial BBC presenter Jeremy Clarkson, seen here in 2007, to be sacked, as a growing number of viewers complained about remarks he made in a new row rocking the broadcasting... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 6 Nov 2008 | 6:27 pm
Esquire has a previously unpublished "What I've Learned" with Studs Terkel, the Bronx-born, Pulitzer-winning writer and radio host who described his life as "an accretion of accidents" and died last week in his adopted hometown of Chicago. "Ah, Chicago," he says. "Were I living in New York or L.A., I'd have been dead meat long ago." [Esquire]
Joan Baez is in a celebratory mood. And rightly so: She's survived 50 years in show business. Her new album is produced by Steve Earle. And, she says, a look deep inside has helped her put aside the sadness she felt for so long.
Tagline: "You can wipe away a memory. But can you wipe away a soul?"
Translation: Or Joss Whedon's original vision?
The Verdict: After a production shutdown, a scrapped pilot, and one panicked blog post by the show's creator (not to mention what happened with Firefly), Whedon fans are probably rightly worried about how much Fox's meddling might affect his upcoming (?) Dollhouse. So, how much does this new trailer differ from the original one we saw in May, back before the network demanded changes? Well, it's about 90 seconds shorter, includes a few more guns, and now features an extended close-up of Eliza Dushku getting a CAT scan while wearing a bikini. Otherwise, though, it looks like pretty much the same show that Whedon originally promised us — which means its chances of an early cancellation might've just gone way up.
From left: Bad hair with an Oscar de la Renta gown, an ill-fitting YSL pantsuit, and a Vuitton we-don't-know-what. Photo: Getty Images
In Hollywood of late, the term "It Girl" increasingly refers to the hotness of one's ass, rather than actual talent — ergo, it's not uncommon for a B- or C-level actress to shoot straight to the A-list simply on the strength of gushy headlines about how many squats she did last week. But while having a firm bum is enviable, being known solely for your assets makes it a struggle when you want the world to pay attention to your actual résumé. Just ask Jessica Biel, who, like former fellow It Girl and name-twin Jessica Alba, is probably most famous for having a rocking body, and not much else, despite having worked steadily on middling-to-decent projects for years. But now, with the new flick Easy Virtue to promote, Biel is being asked to present herself as a serious, bankable actress, rather than just That Hot Girl Dating Justin Timberlake. And, judging by her recent fashion choices on the festival circuit, she's flailing to find that identity.
We all know that clothes don’t make the woman. But when you don't have much else to say, what you wear often does the talking for you. So it's unfortunate that Biel's first foray back into the limelight in ages — an event at the Rome Film Festival — involved decking herself out in a YSL pantsuit that said, “Welcome to KFC. Try my grandfather's Original Recipe." The suit itself isn’t terrible; we love a smart jacket and pants on a woman, and we get why Biel’s handlers wanted to avoid something too va-va-voom, especially since we’re supposed to be concentrating on her wicked acting skills. But surely it wasn’t supposed to look as though she’d dug it out of the closet of someone much taller than she is. Wouldn’t a serious actress have a better tailor? When Tilda Swinton shows up places with her extremities swathed in yards of extra fabric, she at least always looks like it’s on purpose.
Biel's next outfit — a metallic, shimmery Oscar de la Renta strapless number — nailed the fit, but was undercut by limp bangs and lackluster styling that made it look like she was actually still AT the fitting, and about to change back into her jeans and sweatshirt so she could pop over to Trevi Fountain for some sightseeing before the party. Casual can be cool, but not when you’re repeating the hairdo we’ve already seen in countless paparazzi shots also featuring sweatpants, giant Ray Bans, and a cup from Starbucks.
Unfortunately for Biel, instead of going out on a positive note, she saved the worst for last — in the form of a drop-waisted, puff-sleeved Louis Vuitton crappy black sack...thing…that she wore in London. Forget saying “I’m a serious actress.” This dress screamed “I am in mourning at an eighth-grade formal.” It monkeyed with Biel's proportions so that her torso appeared longer than her legs, and it had the air of someone who is trying desperately to look avant-garde, but isn't sure how to do it because the on-set tutors at 7th Heaven didn't teach French.
Look, we get not wanting to be known only for your booty (although if we had Jessica Biel’s butt, it would be hard to get us to put away the assless chaps). But what feels like very strenuous efforts by Biel to re-brand herself as serious, succeeded only in making her look unfocused — and, in the case of the Vuitton Hefty bag, a bit depressing. So what’s an It Girl to do? This one could start by hiring a new stylist.
New York magazine's TV critic, John Leonard, passed away last night at the age of 69. Leonard, who was the editor of the Times Book Review in the early seventies, and wrote about culture for pretty much everyone during his career, had a long association with New York. He had a book review in the third issue of the magazine and was the TV critic from 1984 to the present. He was a fiercely intelligent, passionate writer with a truly original voice, and an omni-cultural critic of a kind that we don’t see much anymore. He will be missed. We'll pay more extensive tribute later today.
Having a conversation with Jean-Claude Van Damme, we're quite pleased to report, is just as awesome as you'd always hoped: The Muscles From Brussels is friendly, talkative, sincere, and, most of all, prone to wild tangents and non sequiturs. Van Damme makes his much-anticipated return to the screen this weekend in JCVD, in which he plays an exaggerated, down-and-out version of himself, embroiled in a custody fight and trapped in the middle of a bank robbery. New York's David Edelstein calls the film's pivotal scene "the most amazing piece of acting I've ever seen by a martial artist." Van Damme spoke to Vulture by phone yesterday about pretty much anything he damn well pleased. Trust us, you'll probably want to read this.
So how did JCVD happen, exactly?
It was first a script was written by the producers; they had a relationship with the studio, Gaumont. They came to me with a script called King of the Belgium, a comedy. And in the studio, they have a lots of offices with names of producers. And one young man walked by, and he saw "Jean Claude Van Damme project: King of the Belgium." And he said, "Wait a second, can I read that script?" It was [director] Mabrouk [El Mechri]. They said, "Sure, read it." And he came out and said, "This is a complete piece of shit. You're gonna put him in a piece-of-shit movie! I want to direct this."
He knew everything about me. Everything. And he knows everything about a lots of people. Because he's some crazy guy. He had an idea that was very special, and it happened. He left the country and came back eight days later, and he came back with a script called JCVD. I don't know where he went. He had a broken heart, his girlfriend left him. He's a very sensitive guy. He didn't want to tell me. But other people told me. But he wrote me a nice piece of story, half real, half fiction. I was completely amazed.
So you developed a pretty close relationship with El Mechri?
With everybody. I don't have a bad relationship. I'm 48 years old. I think life is too short for that. To me, life is... you open the shutters, you see the dogs outside, you look left, you look right, in, what, a second and a half? And that's a life. How old are you, Amos?
I'm 24.
Oh, okay. I'm double. What I'm saying is, when you'll be double, we look at life differently. When I was 24, I was full of life. I was that ham who wanted to be famous, a movie star, all that stuff. I think it's cool. But it was not what I was searching for, really. It was more a delusion.
Did this movie help you find what you were searching for?
This movie didn't help me find something I'm searching for, but this movie helped me open up on a big way, without being afraid to act the way real men would act in a bank-heist situation, stuff like that. Like Dog Day Afternoon.
It allowed you to be more vulnerable onscreen?
It's not that. It was that the story becomes you. And then suddenly you don't follow the script anymore, the script is following you. If you're that good as an actor, the script is behind you, it's over. You're living the film. You start improvising. I never saw De Niro following a script. He's starting with an idea, and a close-up. The first impression is so important. The first close-up can really establish your character. If you eff up that first impression, it's time to do it again. Otherwise, the movie will be canceled — finished — in the minds of the people. So the first time you see me in JCVD, a guy doing big karate stuff, and then suddenly coming out of the studio, and then you go to his vacant room, that's the first impression. That's when the close-up is telling people, "This guy seems nice."
Was there a point where the movie was cutting too close to real life? Or were you encouraging the directors to take more from reality?
I saw myself on the screen — I was disturbed. I was not like, "Wow, I made a great movie, some great action." No, no, no — I was disturbed for a couple of days. The truth is like, why did I open myself so much? I opened the fruit, I peeled the skin, I cut the pulp. I put the pit, and I cut the pit, and I show inside the pit to the audience. I didn't just cut the pulp, you know what I'm saying?
Everyone's talking about this direct-to-the-camera monologue you have in the film. I understand it was inspired by your actual conversations with the director?
Yeah, it's difficult to have those real emotions if it's not coming from you. Because no matter what you say in life, the truth will always be the truth. You know when someone is telling the truth, you look in the eyes. I have a tendency to believe people. Very much so. This is my movie. This is my movie, sir, so if I say something from the top, I'm the top, without mentioning the egotistic feeling, okay? What I promise to my actors, and to my director, is to give them the salary and everything they need. [The lighting guy] said, "Wait a second, Jean-Claude Van Damme the kickass guy is asking me if I have enough of a lighting package?"
[The publicist cuts in: "We have time for one last question..."]
Amos, I'm sorry, because, the lady… Amos, she doesn't like to do that. It's her job, if not, she's gonna get grounded by the company.
No problem. Can you tell me about the movie you're directing, Full Love?
Oh, the movie, it could be great, but I don't know if it's good for my career. It's a tough movie where I like to tell the truth from the movie point of view, where I take the audience into a story. It makes sense and no sense at all, but at the end they'll understand why it makes sense. And between the ending and the movie, something will happen… Something will happen.
For the first time in its history, the Louvre museum has opened its doors to a musician, France's renowned contemporary composer and conductor, Pierre Boulez, seen here, giving the classical arthouse a... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 6 Nov 2008 | 2:34 pm
Madonna had her bases covered at Dodger Stadium tonight, although she was careful not to double up.
The pop über-star's Sticky & Sweet tour was made all the more saucy...
What a week for the nation. What a week for Oprah Winfrey.
She wept on the shirt of a stranger while our next president addressed the nation. She erupted in a primal scream of...
So Britney Spears couldn't make it to the MTV Europe Music Awards to pick up her two awards—she had a gig with Madonna and Justin Timberlake in L.A.—but the show went on...
Aw, doesn't it look peaceful on Survivor: Gabon?
Maybe Kota hasn't had much trouble assuaging nerves and keeping tempers down so far (it helps when you've won 9 out of 11...
Britney Spears didn't even have to show up to come back in Liverpool.
The again-viable pop star was named Act of 2008 in absentia at the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards, which were...
• The Twilight gang is on three different EW covers this week, and they're revealing RobPat's cover first. Pretty!
• Melissa Etheridge joins Ellen in blogging her...
How are Grey's Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo and her husband, Chris Ivery, going to celebrate their upcoming one-year wedding anniversary?
With a trip to Las Vegas, baby!
The...
We might not find out where the heck Dave Chappelle's been for the past year, but maybe we'll learn what he'd like to hear God tell him when he arrives at the pearly...
Heidi Klum, doing some seriousass shopping at Hell-Ay's posh shoppery the Beverly Center on Election Day. Heid hightailed it to home away from home, Victoria's Secret, where she spent...
