Read more posts by Lauren Murrow

Filed Under: anna sui, barbie, boucheron, donna karan, first looks, givenchy, mattel, vera wang, zac posen

Do Movie Star Dogs Get Paid? (E! Online)

E! Online - I just watched Beverly Hills Chihuahua and I wonder if these dog "actors" get paid? They sure make lots and lots of cash for Disney.

Lisa Falcone Displays Her Plumage

Lisa Falcone attended the opening of the ballet the other night not with her husband, billionaire hedge-funder, New York Times investor, and folksy defender of the American Dream Philip Falcone, but "with her friends, singer Alicia Keys and personal stylist Zaldy," reports Park Avenue Peerage, which adds that "Lisa was recently installed as a director of the Ballet's board." Installed. [Park Avenue Peerage]

Read more posts by Jessica Pressler

Filed Under: lisa falcone, philip falcone, Things That Are Wrong

Media Slaughter Leaves Anna Wintour Thus Far Untouched

Today's media failures and firings were not noteworthy for their numbers, but for their quality. We saw some Internet friends go, the Most Important Person in Fashion stay, and an entire scrapbooking social network collapse. Where's the justice?

• At Gawker, Intel friend Sheila McClear and new hire Alex Carnevale were released from their contracts. Now there are no female contributors on the site, and no one is awkwardly trying to compete with Vulture anymore. [FishbowlNY/Mediabistro, CNET]

• Other Gawker firings: Benny Goldman is out at Gizmodo, and Jezebel editors Tracie Egan, Sadie Stein, and Megan Carpentier have been pushed to part-time. Apparently, though, Nick Denton's blog company is still growing! [FishbowlNY/Mediabistro, FishbowlNY/Mediabistro]

• But don't get too excited: Newspaper ad revenue is down, oh, you know, $2 billion. [HuffPo]

• Condé Nast's social-networking site for teenage girls, Flip.com, has no friends, and is folding. What will this do to their self-esteem? [FishbowlNY/Mediabistro]

Read more posts by Mike Vilensky

Filed Under: anna wintour, conde nast, gawker, media, media deathwatch, nick denton

…OF THE DAY: Honesty Is The Best Gift

• IT'S THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS: This holiday season, make sure the gift you give tells that special someone how you really feel about them - use this handy guide called "If Christmas Presents Were Honest." (Holy Taco)
• WEAPON OF CHOICE: When our founding fathers wrote the Second Amendment, do you think "arms" included chainsaw bayonet-mounted assault rifles? (Buzzfeed)
• IT'S LIKE A MOUSTACHE ON MY EGG...HOW DOES THE SAYING GO? On The Today Show this morning, Ann Curry shared a proverb her father coined, which involves kissing men with facial hair. Needless to say, it got a little awkward. (Videogum)
• SCANDAL! NOT REALLY: Twilight star Robert Pattinson was seen eating a meal withs supposed Jonas Brother girlfriend, Camilla Belle. Don't worry. It definitely appears that whatever baby Camilla has will have amazing eyebrows, as we originally predicted. (Us)
• I'M GOING TO THE SALON AND ASKING FOR THE COURIC: Katie Couric got a new hairdo, and nobody likes it. Best critique I've heard so far: "I didn’t know Bruce Jenner was a newscaster." Indeed. (Pophangover)

Source: Best Week Ever | 2 Dec 2008 | 11:00 pm

AMPTP add up strike sum

Front Page: Producers focusing on economics -- A SAG strike will cost members $2.5 million a day -- or $250 million if the guild matches the WGA strike and stays out 100 days, according to their calculations.




Source: Variety.com - Front Page | 2 Dec 2008 | 11:00 pm

Nicole Kidman Harangued by Unruly Facebookers




As if it weren't bad enough that Vulture buddy Nikki Finke has begun to label the underperforming Australia as "Rupert's folly," Nicole Kidman now finds herself on the receiving end of scorn from social-networking miscreants. Australian native Brendan Shanahan (not to be confused with the former New York Ranger) has started a Facebook group called "Am I Taking Crazy Pills or is Nicole Kidman the Worst Actress in the World?," a group which boasts at press time a (less than impressive) total of 246 members. Although Vulture tips its cap to the founder for incorporating a Zoolander reference into the group's name, we will go to our beds tonight fearful that the rogue actions of this collective might just be enough to persuade Nicole Kidman to finally quit Hollywood once and for all. [Fox News]

Read more posts by Mark Graham

Filed Under: australia, backlash, movies, nicole kidman





Source: Vulture | 2 Dec 2008 | 10:56 pm

Meet the New Guy: Ash Stymest


Ash Stymest

A new male-model trend has emerged. From Cole Mohr to Tyler Riggs to Josh Beech, all of fashion's latest "It" boys have that awkward but adorable high-school punk look. The latest to join the bunch is British cutie Ash Stymest. He's got multiple tattoos on his arms and gauges in his ears, so Hedi Slimane (naturally) fell in love. He shot the 17-year-old for his personal work and the premiere cover of Japanese Men's Vogue. Since then, he's appeared in spreads for glossies like i-D, Wonderland, and Dazed & Confused. And eagle-eyed runway watchers might recognize Stymest from Balenciaga's spring show. Shoot, if we knew this was going to be the trend years ago, we wouldn't have taken out all of our piercings and cleaned up our act. Oh well.

Model Profile: Ash Stymest

For more of the industry's favorite faces, check out our comprehensive Model Manual.


Read more posts by James Lim

Filed Under: ash stymest, dazed & confused, dior homme, hedi slimane, i-d, male models, model tracker, wonderland





Source: The Cut | 2 Dec 2008 | 10:55 pm

Sister's ex charged in Hudson case

The estranged brother-in-law of singer and actress Jennifer Hudson was charged Tuesday with three counts of first-degree murder stemming from the fatal shootings of Hudson's mother, brother and nephew, police said.


Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 2 Dec 2008 | 10:47 pm

Peaches Geldof Made an Entire Magazine


She's just a button.

One measly Nylon column could not — nay, would not — satiate Peaches Geldof's journalistic ambitions for long. Inevitably she would spread her wings and not just fly, but soar. And this Thursday is that very day. Peaches has put together an entire magazine called Disappear Here, and it will be distributed for free in 50 unspecified bars, nightclubs, and record shops (remember those?) in New York and London. Peaches put the magazine together with James Brown, a 43-year-old ex-men's-magazine editor. They call Disappear Here a "women's magazine that appeals to men," according to the Guardian. Brown tells the paper, "Nothing in this magazine comes from the PR industry — it's basically Peaches and other young journalists raving about stuff they love." Nothing says creativity and a selfless drive to make the world hip more than the "stuff Peaches loves" concept, which has laid the foundation for both Peaches's Nylon column and her capsule collection for PPQ. Her Peachesness tells the Guardian:

"When I read Cosmopolitan, Company or Marie Claire I feel so patronised … I'm not spending my time worrying about how to give my husband great sex so he stays with me. This isn't the 1950s. Women's magazines have no sense of humour. That's why I read Vice, GQ or Heat. I don't mind Heat. It's so insulting but in a really funny way — unlike Closer or Now, which are basically pointless."


If anyone can properly identify what's "pointless" in this world, it's Peaches Geldof. The word may as well have originated along with her, after all.

'Both of us are quite outspoken' [Guardian]


Read more posts by Amy Odell

Filed Under: disappear here, james brown, peach pit, peaches geldof





Source: The Cut | 2 Dec 2008 | 10:31 pm

Cedric the Entertainer Leaves the Booze at Home




Cedric the Entertainer, known to be fond of Crown Royal, did not bring any to last night’s premiere of Cadillac Records. “Everybody was looking forward to getting drunk with me,” said the temporarily teetotaling Cedric, late of American Buffalo. See disappointment on the faces of Beyoncé Knowles, Adrien Brody, and others by watching our Party Lines slideshow.

Read more posts by Bennett Marcus

Filed Under: cedric the entertainer, party lines





Source: Daily Intel | 2 Dec 2008 | 10:30 pm

Jessica Alba Appears In Extremely Not-Phallic Calendar Shoot For Campari

Jessica Alba appears in the 2009 calendar for the alcoholic beverage Campari; several friends of mine have pointed out that these Alba photos are pretty overtly sexual, particularly with the way she handles the vaguely penis-shaped bottle, but I've been staring at these pics for hours and hours now and honestly, I don't see it. Let's take a look at some of the photos in question and see if we can uncover some of this so-called sexual symbolism: Pic #1 Here's Jessica holding the bottle up to her red lips. Note that she's holding the tip of the bottle very delicately with her entire hand, including her thumb, which is in no way a reference to how a female might handle a male sexual organ during foreplay, she's just grasping the bottle well so she doesn't drop it. She's holding it up to her lips because she's going to drink it, not because she is going to slide the tip of the bottle in and out of her mouth repeatedly. No innuendo here. Pic #2 Here's Jessica holding the bottle at an angle, which is pretty normal and the way most people hold bottles of liquor. This is in no way meant to reference penile contact, even though she's holding the bottle exactly where a man's genitals might be if that man were standing next to her and she were grabbing his penis, which she's not. Once again, I don't really see anything racy in this pic. Next. Pic #3 Definitely nothing sexual here. Not going to waste time elaborating. Moving along... Pic #4 Here's Jessica in a tight embrace with another man, presumably a platonic friend. Notice the bottle is standing straight up, because it's on a table, so of course it's standing straight up. That's what a bottle would do. It is not an erection, it is a bottle of Campari. What? Pic #5 I'm not sure why Campari decided to insert a cartoon dialogue bubble into this picture, it looks a little forced, but again, I don't really see any sexual symbolism here, or in this entire calendar for that matter. Maybe I'm just being too skeptical -- I may have to look at these photos again and again for several dozen hours once I get home, but I highly doubt I'm gonna find anything sexual. Better bookmark this page for future research.
Source: Best Week Ever | 2 Dec 2008 | 10:30 pm

Uma’s Mom Forgets She’s Supposed to Be a Buddhist


Tanya Hollander

After being arrested as part of the Emperors Club sweep that brought down Eliot Spitzer last March, former hooker-booker Tanya Hollander moved on with her life. She'd always been into healing and New Age stuff, and while her job at the Emperors Club was semi-related to the field, she was more in her element as a manager at the Menla Mountain Retreat, a Woodland Valley conference center owned by the NYC-based nonprofit Tibet House. They liked her, too, and all was well there until someone told Menla’s managing director, Birgitte "Nena" Thurman, mother of actress Uma and a practicing Buddhist, about Tanya's shady past. Thurman flipped out. “When we interviewed and hired her back in July, we had absolutely no idea that she had any involvement in such a thing,” Thurman told local paper the Phoenicia Times. "We’re extremely troubled to learn of her problems only now, and especially troubled that she withheld what’s clearly pertinent information about her background. Clearly, had we been aware, we might have hired someone else.” Jeez, what kind of Buddhist is this lady? Hasn't she ever heard of Metta, otherwise known as goodwill, friendliness, kindness, forgiveness and one of the central tenets of Buddhism? Sounds like someone needs to spend a little time in the chanting hut.

Hiring Shocker [Phoenicia Times via NYP]

Read more posts by Jessica Pressler

Filed Under: Call Service, tanya hollander





Source: Daily Intel | 2 Dec 2008 | 10:20 pm

Kim Kardashian’s and Scarlett Johansson’s New Dos; the DNA-Decoding Scent Finder


Kim Kardashian

HAIR
• Kim Kardashian just got all banged up. Zing! [Off the Rack/People]

• Meanwhile, Scarlett Johansson took on a shade of strawberry blonde. Everyone in Hollywood is changing their hair today! Ah! [BellaSugar]

FRAGRANCE
• A new Website homes in on your perfect fragrance by reading your DNA from a cotton swab. The sniff test isn't that hard, you know. [Beauty Department/Lucky]

SKIN
• Elizabeth Arden face capsules are $108 for a week's supply. It may seem expensive, but it could also make a good gift for a highly finicky traveler who wants only a small dose of face lotion a day. [Makeup Loves Me]

MAKEUP
• Nikki Kinnaird, founder of Space NK cosmetics (which is sold at Bloomingdale's), suggests you buy products that multitask — like a lip and cheek tint, because they're "very buildable and easy to control." [BellaSugar]


Read more posts by Sharon Clott

Filed Under: beauty marks, fragrance, hair, kim kardashian, makeup, scarlett johansson, skin





Source: The Cut | 2 Dec 2008 | 10:17 pm

What Do Jay-Z, Santogold, and Biggie Smalls All Have in Common?




“Brooklyn (Go Hard)” is indeed chockablock with all things Brooklyn: Jay-Z deploys a phony Jamaican patois; riffs on a local hero (“I Brooklyn Dodger them / I jack, I rob, I sin, amen / I'm Jackie Robinson / except when I run base, I dodge the pen”); and borrows the borough’s own Santogold for a sample (off “Shove It”) and a guest verse. This all presumably owes to the song being destined for the soundtrack to Notorious, the Biggie Smalls biopic. (Do we need to tell you where Biggie’s from?) The track’s one interloper, Kanye West, comes correct with an ominously bombastic beat — think “Jesus Walks.”

Download “Brooklyn (Go Hard)”: 2dopeboyz

Read more posts by Ehren Gresehover

Filed Under: jay-z, music, notorious, notorious big, right-click, santogold





Source: Vulture | 2 Dec 2008 | 10:15 pm

This Video About Animating Hair Is Going To Give Me Nightmares, Or A Seizure

The problem of creating realistic-looking hair that moves and shines has long haunted animators (though I do remember being really impressed with Donkey's fur in Shrek). Here's a video explaining how technology has advanced to further enable animators to create stunning, creepily real digital hair. I'm not a doctor, but watching this video COULD induce a seizure, so be warned. It also filled me with a feeling of impending doom. Maybe it's because it has all these scary, lifeless heads of hair and graphs, combined with French scientists talking into awkward microphones. It's like a French art film meets Donald in Mathmagic Land meets the video from The Ring: Disturbing, yes, but it sure will come in handy next time I'm animating hair!
Source: Best Week Ever | 2 Dec 2008 | 10:00 pm

Oh, NOW Everyone Wants to Hug Our Cuddle Guv


Bubba started a trend!

According to the Times' City Room blog, even though David Paterson is under fire to solve the state's budgetary woes, there's a group of people out there still aggressively kissing his butt: the people who want to replace future secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. The list of prominent Democratic names said to be under consideration for her Senate seat is ever-changing: Representative Nita Lowey said recently she doesn't want the gig, for example, but Representative Carolyn Maloney said she did. But it's not only high-profile politicians lining up for the job — it's also some weirdos. Take the person who loitered around on a university campus where Paterson was supposed to speak, waiting to accost him on the way in. "I thought they were going in the event," Paterson told the Times, avoiding specific pronouns. "I said let's go in. And they said, 'Oh no, I'm not going in the event.' They came to stand there to make their case to me." Ludicrous, no? Everybody knows that you get the guy to pick you by playing hard to get and then making as many excuses as possible to touch him when you are in the same room. Duh.

Luckily, Paterson knows all of this insane courtship is fleeting. In the end, he says, "There'll be probably one ingrate and 20 enemies … that's what happens in this kind of process."

Paterson Soaks Up the Attention, for Now [City Room/NYT]


Read more posts by Chris Rovzar

Filed Under: carolyn maloney, david paterson, early and often, governor awesome, hillary clinton, nita lowey, obama administration, politics





Source: Daily Intel | 2 Dec 2008 | 9:50 pm

Bad Economy, You Say? Tim Gunn, Zac Posen, and Mary Alice Stephenson Promote Hope


Tim Gunn

Tim Gunn took a few cues from Barack Obama's platform of hope and change today when he moderated a panel discussion titled "Redefining the Rules of Fashion in Today's Economy" presented by the YMA Fashion Scholarship Fund. "These are very trying times, but we need to pull through this," Gunn said to a packed room of fashion students at the Directors Guild of America. "And I think we will. But I think it will be a different time." Zac Posen, the only designer on the panel, agreed. "I've never faced this before. I have to step back. It's a great time to be creative. There's always room for great clothes."

Mary Alice Stephenson said she sees a transition in the works: "I think it won't be cool to look so fabulous all the time. I was in Target this weekend. There are things that go bling bling at every level." All of the panelists, which also included fit model Josh Button, Alex Gonzalez of ad agency AR New York, Macy's senior vice-president Les Steiger, and CEO of HSN Mindy Grossman, agreed that there is hope for the fashion industry, in a time when innovation is imperative.

On the way out, students chattered excitedly about how they left inspired. "It's just what I needed to hear," a young female student told us. "Everyone's talking about the economy, and they talked about passion." So, we asked, are you concerned about getting a job? "Yes, but I don't graduate this year. In a few more it'll be better, right?" Well, we can only hope.

Read more posts by Sharon Clott

Filed Under: make it work, mary alice stephenson, tim gunn, zac posen





Source: The Cut | 2 Dec 2008 | 9:37 pm

CNN Hot Topics Ticker Creeping Me Out Again

I took this screengrab from the CNN.com homepage a moment ago. I have no idea what it means, but it makes me a little worried for the Earth. I feel like this is exactly what some unfortunate girl in a slasher movie sees on a screen and says "Scream Bloody Murder? That's odd..." right before turning around and getting stabbed in the heart with a corkscrew by the masked killer. That's why I'm not turning around until at least 3 of these 5 Hot Topics link to kittens.
Source: Best Week Ever | 2 Dec 2008 | 9:30 pm

Old Flushing Airport to Get Fresh Kills–Type Park Treatment?




Perhaps you read our recent article on the slow transformation of Staten Island's Fresh Kills dump into an awesome park. Well, the idea seems to be catching: Last week, city planners met with some local Queens folks about doing the same thing to the long-defunct Flushing Airport in College Point, in which lots of illegal dumping and pollution has happened, but which is also surrounded by wetlands. "This is like a jungle … a definite functioning ecosystem," said James Cervino, one of the two guys pushing the idea, which could include baseball fields, a driving range, and nature trails on the 26-acre site. [YourNabe via Queens Crap]

Read more posts by Tim Murphy

Filed Under: flushing, neighborhood watch, parks, queens, real estate





Source: Daily Intel | 2 Dec 2008 | 9:30 pm

‘Rachel’ and ‘River’ Smell Like Independent Spirit


We've got Spirit, yes we do! We've got Spirit, how 'bout you?

Year in and year out, the Film Independent Spirit Awards serve as Oscar season's most genuinely confusing awards show. After all, over the course of the last ten years and change, the lines between truly independent film and studio-financed projects have not so much blurred as they have been erased. Still, the Indie Spirits soldier on with their oblique mission statement (their nominating process is driven by "uniqueness of vision, original, provocative subject matter, economy of means and percentage of financing from independent sources"), their sponsorship-friendly stance (including the Acura Someone to Watch award and the Lacoste Truer Than Fiction award), and their willingness to serve as the rehearsal dinner for the lavish wedding ceremony that is the Academy Awards. Leading the pack of 2009 Spirit honorees with six nominations apiece are Jonathan Demme's Rachel Getting Married (which includes a Best Actress nod for Anne Hathaway), Sundance fave Frozen River, and Lance Hammer's low-budget look at life on the Mississippi Delta, Ballast. Other key story lines emerging from this morning's press release include what is sure to become a tightly contested Best Actor category (featuring heavyweights Sean Penn, Mickey Rourke, and Javier Bardem) and the no-holds-barred death match between Rachel Getting Married co-stars Rosemarie DeWitt and comeback kid Debra Winger in the Best Supporting Actress category.

We wouldn't leave you without presenting to you the complete list of the 2009 Film Independent Spirit Award nominations:

BEST FEATURE
Rachel Getting Married
The Wrestler
Wendy and Lucy
Ballast
Frozen River

BEST DIRECTOR
Tom McCarthy, The Visitor
Jonathan Demme, Rachel Getting Married
Courtney Hunt, Frozen River
Ramin Bahrani, Chop Shop
Lance Hammer, Ballast

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Summer Bishil, Towelhead
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Tarra Riggs, Ballast
Michelle Williams, Wendy and Lucy

BEST MALE LEAD
Javier Bardem, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
Sean Penn, Milk
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Penélope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Rosemarie DeWitt, Rachel Getting Married
Rosie Perez, The Take
Misty Upham, Frozen River
Debra Winger, Rachel Getting Married

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
James Franco, Milk
Anthony Mackie, The Hurt Locker
Charlie McDermott, Frozen River
JimMyron Ross, Ballast
Haaz Sleiman, The Visitor

BEST FIRST FEATURE
Afterschool
Medicine for Melancholy
Synecdoche, New York
Sleep Dealer
Sangre De Mi Sangre

BEST SCREENPLAY
Woody Allen, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, Sugar
Charlie Kaufman, Synecdoche, New York
Howard A. Rodman, Savage Grace
Christopher Zalla, Sangre De Mi Sangre

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Dustin Lance Black, Milk
Lance Hammer, Ballast
Courtney Hunt, Frozen River
Jonathan Levine, The Wackness
Jenny Lumet, Rachel Getting Married

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000)
Prince of Broadway
Take Out
The Signal
Turn the River
In Search of a Midnight Kiss

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Maryse Alberti, The Wrestler
Lol Crawley, Ballast
James Laxton, Medicine for Melancholy
Harris Savides, Milk
Michael Simmonds, Chop Shop

BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Order of Myths
Up the Yangtze
Encounters at the End of the World
The Betrayal
Man on Wire

BEST FOREIGN FILM
The Class
Gomorrah
Secret of the Grain
Hunger
Silent Light

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (Given to one film's director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)
Charlie Kaufman (director), Jeanne McCarthy (casting director), Hope Davis, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton, Tom Noonan, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest, Michelle Williams, Synecdoche, New York

PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
Heather Rae, Frozen River
Jason Orans, Goodbye Solo, Year of the Fish
Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy, Treeless Mountain, I'll Come Running

ACURA SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
Lynn Shelton, My Effortless Brilliance
Nina Paley, Sita Sings the Blues
Barry Jenkins, Medicine for Melancholy

LACOSTE TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
Darius Marder, Loot
Sacha Gervasi, Anvil! The Story of Anvil
Margaret Brown, The Order of Myths

Film Independent's 2009 Spirit Awards [Spirit Awards]

Read more posts by Mark Graham

Filed Under: Awards, Independent Spirit Awards, Kudos, Movies





Source: Vulture | 2 Dec 2008 | 9:30 pm

Disney mad about 'Hannah'

Front Page: Channel orders additional season 3 episodes -- The Disney Channel has ordered additional third-season episodes of hit tween series "Hannah Montana," while committing to a second season of frosh skein "The Suite Life on Deck."




Source: Variety.com - Front Page | 2 Dec 2008 | 9:23 pm

Polanski files for sex-case dismissal

Front Page: Director seeks to drop molestation charges -- Roman Polanski has launched a new initiative to get back into Hollywood.




Source: Variety.com - Front Page | 2 Dec 2008 | 9:11 pm

Atari nabs 'Despereaux' game rights

Front Page: Publisher takes over for Brash Entertainment -- Atari has bought North American publishing rights to the videogame version of "The Tale of Despereaux," Universal's upcoming toon about a heroic mouse.




Source: Variety.com - Front Page | 2 Dec 2008 | 9:08 pm

Something Is Afoot On The Set Of Sherlock Holmes

Robert Downey Jr., Guy Ritchie, and Jude Law are having a grand old time on the set of Sherlock Holmes! But something's...not right. Can you see what it is? Something sort of odd and spooky about these two pictures. Find out, after the jump. It's this guy! He's staring directly into my soul, and I feel a chill run up my spine just looking at him. Even though it's just a picture, it's like he can see me through the computer screen from whatever evil dimension in which he dwells. He's got a guilty look on his face, like he's totally about to kill my darlings and there's NOTHING I can do about it. Either that, or he's just some random crew member who told his friend "hey, dude, go stand over there and take a picture of me in front of RDJ!" Either way, he sort of reminds me of Disaster Girl.
Source: Best Week Ever | 2 Dec 2008 | 9:00 pm

Julia Restoin-Roitfeld Said Her Mom Would Never Helm American ‘Vogue’


Julia Restoin-Roitfeld

This morning rumors surfaced that French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld would replace Anna Wintour at Vogue as early as next month. However, Carine's daughter, Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, dismissed those rumors at the Mango store-opening party on November 21. "I don’t know how that rumor started," Julia told us. "She loves Paris too much — she’d never leave." Could all that have changed in just eleven days?

Filed Under: anna wintour, carine roitfeld, french vogue, julia restoin roitfeld, rumor mill, vogue





Source: The Cut | 2 Dec 2008 | 9:00 pm

Joe Biden Still Has the Hots for Sarah Palin




Okay, okay, I know we're the only people in America (I shouldn't say "we" — it's just me, Intel editor Chris) who think that Joe Biden and Sarah Palin were exuding some sexual energy during their vice-presidential debate in October. But seriously, the flirtation continues. At a governors conference today in Philadelphia, Biden and President-elect Barack Obama showed up. Biden read from some prepared remarks, but strayed at one point when speaking about Sarah Palin. This is what he was supposed to say:

"And Governor Palin, your being here today sends a powerful message that when campaigns end, we are all partners in progress. Thank you."


But this is what he actually said:

"And Governor Palin, I want to thank you particularly. I might point out, as I told you, we walked in. Since the race is over, no one pays attention to me at all. So I'm — maybe you will walk outside with me or something later and say hello to me ... It's great to see you, Governor. And, by the way, I think it is — I hope, you know, the whole country can see the sort of a metaphor for the fact that this election is over and here we are. We're all together."


Okay, if that is not hilarious, awkward flirtation of the Dan-and-Serena variety, then we just don't know what is.

Obama, Biden Governors Meeting Appearance [HuffPo]


Read more posts by Chris Rovzar

Filed Under: barack obama, election hangover, governors, joe biden, politics, sarah palin





Source: Daily Intel | 2 Dec 2008 | 9:00 pm

Clint Eastwood Sings!




In their infinite benevolence, Warner Bros. has created a "For Your Consideration" Website for the musical score for Gran Torino — which features the plaintive, heartfelt balladeering of grizzled, 78-year-old actor-director Clint Eastwood! Sounding not unlike Tom Waits with a punctured lung, Eastwood eschews Auto-Tune, rendering the film's title song (hear it here!) possibly the most terrific thing we've heard all week. We can't wait to see him do this live at the Oscars.

Gran Torino [Warner Bros. Awards via Playlist]

Read more posts by Lane Brown

Filed Under: clint eastwood, earsores, gran torino, movies, music





Source: Vulture | 2 Dec 2008 | 8:45 pm

French flavor for Golden Globes

Front Page: France claims 14 of 53 foreign-language entries -- France dominates the field of Golden Globe contenders for foreign-language film, claiming 14 of the 53 slots qualified by the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. Number is down from last year's initial pack of 61.




Source: Variety.com - Front Page | 2 Dec 2008 | 8:35 pm

Flamboyant Gun-Toting Probable Murderer Shows Off His Support For Obama

Umm, Mr. Spector? I'm glad that you support my family and the new direction of the American presidency, but... could you do me a favor and maybe not wear pictures of my children to your second-degree murder retrial?
Source: Best Week Ever | 2 Dec 2008 | 8:35 pm

Lily Is Pregnant!




Lily van der Woodsen, also known as Kelly Rutherford, has been re-impregnated by her hot German financier husband, Daniel Giersch. They already have a 2-year-old called Hermès, so they will need a matching name. But before we get distracted by that (Chanel? Ghetto. Thakoon? Too exotic. Manhattan Simba? Possibly), we need to address what's really important, which is: What does this mean for Gossip Girl? We'd say ordinarily that they would just hide her bulge in blousy outfits, or film her from the waist up, or have her position her massive Kelly bag just so, or send her character to the Golden Door for a little relaxation. But Lily has been going through some dark stuff in the past few episodes, and now we're wondering if, because of her pregnancy, they're planning on doing something drastic.

Maybe Lily dies.

We know. But consider this: Last night when talking to Rufus, Lily was pitifully sad. "I didn't think my life would turn out like this," she says. We know that, like Eric, she's been hospitalized for depression or suicide-attempting or possibly something worse. We know that in the next episode, Lily and Chuck get into a terrible fight where he says she "disgusts" him. We know that someone dies.

And we don't know that it's Bart. Sure, he was in an accident, but maybe he just lost control of his bladder and was dying of embarrassment. We posited that he would be the one to go, but really why? So that Lily and Rufus can finally live happily ever after? Because that would be convenient? We're such rubes. This is the Greatest Show of Our Time, after all, not a Disney cartoon. Certainly, the writers are charting a more complex, more Borgesian voyage for us.

Further: Lest we forget, Lily is not in the pictures of the upcoming funeral scene, though her mother is. Would Cece really fly in for the death of her daughter's fifth husband of like four months? And perhaps most tellingly, why would Rufus wear a large bulky pullover sweater, as he does in the trailer for the upcoming episode, unless he felt like he needed to be held?

Well. There. We think that about solves it. Also, the kid should be named Queens Bastian Balthazar Bux.

Gossip Girl's Kelly Rutherford Pregnant [People]

Read more posts by Jessica Pressler

Filed Under: bart bass, lily van der woodsen, The Greatest Show of Our Time





Source: Daily Intel | 2 Dec 2008 | 8:31 pm

WALLPAPER 4 LYF: Anderson Cooper In a Pool

On Sunday, Anderson Cooper decided to show Michael Phelps what a real, non-semi-retarded man looks like, took his shirt off, jumped into a pool, and raced Phelps in a pool. It then became clear why Anderson was assigned to interview Phelps: So that he could grace our television screens in all his hot, pasty, ripped, to die for glory. After the jump, we've got two more (blurryish) screen caps. But for those of you that missed the original video, Defamer's strung together all the best Andersoon bits (well, OK, not the BEST bits) for your perusing pleasure. Oh, and if you missed the interview, thank us for not bringing you the clip of Phelps dozing off next to Anderson in an SUV, slackjaw nearly hitting the ground. It makes Faceless Cat look like a cold beer on a hot day. Giggling like a schoolboy again. Frankly, I never realized how strange those mini diving boards looked until Andy hopped on one.
Source: Best Week Ever | 2 Dec 2008 | 8:31 pm

Still Life’s Frenel Morris Thinks You Need a Hat


Keep your head warm!

When Manny, of Manny’s Millinery, was closing up and selling off all of his equipment, Frenel Morris bought it all and set up shop in an old warehouse in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Now with more than a thousand vintage hat blocks in his factory, Morris shapes and fits every single hat himself, from fedoras to cloches to simple caps, and sells them out of his bright and cozy Orchard Street shop, Still Life NYC. We caught up with Frenel at the store to discuss accessorizing, head-to-toe.

How did you get involved in the hat business?
Well, since I was a kid, I always wore a hat. I went to Parsons, for communications, and started working in the publishing and advertising world, though doing graphics for some fashion companies, then started experimenting with my own line, and I guess that’s when I first decided to make a cap and it came out nice.

Who have you been collaborating with?
We did a cool collaboration with the designer Jen Kao, a new and upcoming line. The collaboration allowed me to do a totally different aesthetic than Still Life and I love that.




Who can resist a man with puppies?Photo: Melissa Hom


If you could collaborate with any designer, who would it be?
Gucci.


Who shops at Still Life?
There’s really no set demographic for Still Life. Our customers are men and women of all ages and styles. That’s the great thing about hats: Two people with totally different aesthetics can wear the same hat, but it’ll say something completely different on each. I guess the one thing my clients have in common is that they’re all pretty confident in their styles and aren’t afraid to be individuals.

What was the first hat you ever bought?
I never used to buy hats, I just acquired them one way or another, but the first hat I ever purchased was on my birthday in Puerto Rico. I had just won $1,500 at the blackjack table the night before, so I dropped three bills on a sick Borsalino. Well spent.

What labels do you wear the most?
It's going to sound wack, but Brooks Brothers. I’m a pretty basic guy. I think it’s all about the accessories anyway.

What’s something that every woman (or man) should have in her (or his) closet?
That’s obvious: a beautiful hat (hint hint) and some really nice shoes. Then you can rock anything in between the two. Accessorize.

What are your favorite trends for this winter?
Lots of black!

What is the trend you wish would go away?
White winter coats.

Trend you wish would make a comeback?
Knickerbockers for men.

Where else do you shop in NYC?
Brooks Brothers for my clothes — I like basics. Jean Shop on West Broadway for denim. Gargyle on Orchard Street has a good collection of independent designers and a great selection of men’s shoes.

Finish this sentence: I never leave the house without ____.
My keys and some quarters.

Read more posts by Doria Santlofer

Filed Under: Frenel Morris, hats, Still Life NYC, Tastemakers





Source: The Cut | 2 Dec 2008 | 8:22 pm

WATCH: Welcome to Britney's 'Circus'


Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 2 Dec 2008 | 8:13 pm

Artist Kate Gilmore Breaks Down the Fifth Wall


Kate Gilmore’s Between a Hard Place (2008)

Artist Kate Gilmore has a lot of rage. In this clip from one of three videos showing at Smith-Stewart through January 18, the artist, dressed in a black wrap dress and yellow spiked heels, punches and kicks her way through five layers of drywall. We want some of what she's on.

Read more posts by Emma Pearse

Filed Under: art candy, video





Source: Vulture | 2 Dec 2008 | 8:00 pm

WATCH: Britney's Bday Wishes from H'wood


Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 2 Dec 2008 | 7:41 pm

WATCH: Britney Spears Sings 'Womanizer'


Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 2 Dec 2008 | 7:41 pm

‘The Hills’ Learns About Trust and We Learn About Nana


Audrina weeps for all that has been lost. If only she could figure out what those things are.

Well, folks, it was good while it lasted. Last week’s drama-filled episode was gone in the blink of an eye (well, a 22-minute blink), only to be followed by another stinker. BOO! HISS! The highlight of this week was the introduction of The Hills’ first octogenarian — Nana Pratt — which was kind of odd (did she even know she was on TV?), but nevertheless amusing (Nana’s an even worse actress than Heidi! Heh). So let’s get on with it, shall we?

Lauren and Lo are in L.C.’s room, and they’re still talking about how Audrina accused Lauren of hooking up with Justin Bobby. Lo keeps talking about trust, and lack of trust, and the need for trust. These girls are really insufferable. Lauren states that if Audrina’s actually sorry about what she did, she’ll grant her forgiveness. Ah, Queen Lauren, you are so generous with your minions!

Over at Epic Records, Audrina is similarly recapping to Chiara that she got into a "scream-fest" with Lauren, and then went to meet Justin Bobby. Last week, those sneaky MTV editors made it seem like she met with J.B. before she threw down with Lauren; you got us good, editors! Aud says that Justin claimed he lost his phone charger, which is why he didn’t return her calls or texts. Yeah, we’ve used that one before. “Oh, sorry, my phone was totally dead.” “Oh, I was in a basement bar and didn’t get any service.” “Oh, I think it went straight to voice mail. You didn’t leave a message, right?” “Oh, I got a new phone and don’t have your number, which is why I haven’t called you in the past six months.” (Just kidding, friends — we’ve never pulled that last one.)

Meanwhile, Brody takes a break from Bromancing dudes to pay a visit to Lauren, and we’re actually really happy to see him. He cuts to the chase: “Why are you banging Justin Bobby?” he asks L.C. Ha. Brody’s not the brightest bulb, but sometimes he’s pretty funny. Also, we’re 85 percent sure that he had those sunglasses are surgically attached to his head. Finally, Audrina and Lauren meet (again), and Audrina cries (again), and Lauren talks about trust (again), and says that the idea of her hooking up with J.B. is CRAZY (again and again). Audrina has “lost who she is,” and we’re not even going to joke about that. The moral of the story: Audrina should use way less bronzer.

On to the oldie but goody! Spencer pays Stephanie a visit, criticizes her decorating, and then guilts her into visiting their grandmother in Huntington Beach. We learn that Spencer and Heidi see Nana all the time, but Steph hardly ever does. Once they get to Nana’s house, we see a picture of little Stephanie and Spencer; interestingly, Spencer has always looked like the bad guy from an eighties movie, even when he was 7 years old. Nana tries to make peace between the siblings, to no avail, so she invites Stephanie to hang out with her alone the next day. As an aside, can we take a moment to discuss Nana, please? This is a real-life Nana, not a fictional one (like The O.C.’s awesome Nana Cohen). What the HELL is she doing on The Hills? This is too weird, and it’s giving us the creeps. Someone who was born in 1924 should not be on MTV. Anyway, Nana and Stephanie stroll along the waterfront and talk about how Spencer is a douche bag. Nana would rather be left in the dark about all that, and we don’t blame her. That’s it, the end — peace out, Nana.

Next week: Whitney goes back to New York to interview with DVF (time to start prepping for The City, gang!), and Stephanie gets back with Cameron. Snooze-fest! Sigh.

And now, our Unequivocal Hills Reality Index:

As Real As Stephanie’s Brown Hair in That Childhood Picture
• Nana’s cute little hat.
• Audrina’s lip-quivering. For those of you who think she’s faking this whole thing: You’re wrong! Audrina cannot lip-quiver on demand!
• Stephanie’s annoyance at having to see her grandmother again, the following day. We’re not judging, we’re just saying it’s real.

As Fake As Nana’s "Story" About How Seeing Stephanie Is Out of Her Control:
• The fact that Nana tells Stephanie that “life is just a bucket of worms.” Sorry, Nana, but we’re not buying it; that’s definitely something an old person would cook up if an MTV producer asked them to concoct life-advice for their grandkid.
• Audrina’s weird voice-over at the end of her conversation with Chiara.
• Lauren’s assertion that she wouldn’t ever want Audrina to be sad. Ummm, why don’t we believe that?


Read more posts by Emma Rosenblum

Filed Under: audrina partridge, head for the hills, heidi montag, lauren conrad, mtv, reality television, spencer pratt, the hills





Source: The Cut | 2 Dec 2008 | 7:38 pm

Paramount Demands the Immediate Removal of Vulture’s Fake ‘Beverly Hills Cop IV’ Script




Yesterday, Latino Review posted a report on a leaked draft of a screenplay for Beverly Hills Cop IV (apparently it still needs a little polishing). Predictably, Paramount freaked out and persuaded them to remove their post (it's still cached on Google here). Hilariously, Vulture also got a takedown notice from the studio about one of our posts — “Vulture Exclusive! Brett Ratner’s Script for ‘Beverly Hills Cop 4’ Revealed!” "Despite Paramount's clear rights to the Paramount Properties," writes a Paramount lawyer in an e-mail received last night, "Paramount has learned that you are reproducing, displaying and distributing portions of the Beverly Hills Cop IV script on your website." Who could possibly have imagined that, when we sat down to write a fake copy of the screenplay as a joke this past June, we would've imagined the exact same dialogue, scene headings, camera directions, and page numbers as Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, the actual Paramount-hired authors of the leaked BHC4 script? Quite a coincidence!


The takedown notice is as follows:

This letter is being written to you on behalf of Paramount Pictures Corporation (hereinafter "Paramount"). Paramount is the owner of rights in and to the Beverly Hills Cop motion picture series, including but not limited to the screenplay for Beverly Hills Cop IV (hereinafter collectively referred to as "Paramount Properties"). No one is authorized to copy, reproduce, distribute, or otherwise use the Paramount Properties without the express written permission of Paramount.

Despite Paramount's clear rights to the Paramount Properties, Paramount has learned that you are reproducing, displaying and distributing portions of the Beverly Hills Cop IV script on your website at http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2008/06/vulture_exclusive_brett_ratner.html. You are hereby put on notice that the reproduction, display and/or distribution by you of Paramount Properties constitutes copyright infringement as well as an unauthorized misappropriation of a protected corporate document. Further, your conduct would constitute an improper receipt of a corporate document.




Paramount hereby demands that you immediately remove all portions of the Beverly Hills Cop IV script from your website.


We will take this under advisement. Also, we are really looking forward to the scene with the monkeys.

Earlier: Vulture Exclusive! Brett Ratner’s Script for ‘Beverly Hills Cop 4’ Revealed!

Read more posts by Lane Brown

Filed Under: beverly hills cop 4, brett ratner, movies, paramount





Source: Vulture | 2 Dec 2008 | 7:30 pm

PROOF: Nicole Kidman’s Baby Is Real and Exists

Remember about a year ago, when it seemed that Nicole Kidman was pregnant with a ghost bump for somewhere around 13 to 15 months? Well, when we heard she "delivered" the "baby", it's safe to say we were skeptical. But if these photos are to be believed, Nicole Kidman really and truly had a baby! A little girl named Sunday Rose. Aww. Here's Nicole struggling through layers of face poison to kiss her child: Is it sad to say she has more wrinkles than her mother? Not only isn't it sad, it's joyous. It goes without saying, Team Suri 4VR.
Source: Best Week Ever | 2 Dec 2008 | 7:30 pm

‘Vanity Fair’ Pries Back Plaza Veneer




This month's Vanity Fair includes a delightful takedown of the new Plaza Hotel renovation by El-Ad properties. In addition to well-publicized problems with apartment and window sizes, writer Evgenia Peretz outlines a slew of other flaws, from the trivial to the obnoxious. They include:

• A koi pond that was not properly waterproofed.
• The use of low-density marble from China (about 50 cents per square foot) in the bathrooms instead of quality Italian marble.
• A building stairway that cut through one expensive apartment's master bedroom.
• Crown moldings in rooms that are made of fiberglass and run from $2 to $7 per foot. (High-end crown molding can cost $70 a foot, and real plaster molding many multiples of that.)
• "Mahogany closets" are really lined with millimeters-thick wood veneers over industrial particleboard.
• "Patch & Match" carpeting on the penthouse floor hallways.

Peretz describes the reactions of many residents, upon seeing their newly renovated homes, as "like Extreme Makeover, Home Edition — only the total opposite." This would kind of be a great, hilarious story of rich people getting screwed by greedy developers, except it's the Plaza Hotel. It's supposed to be obnoxiously opulent. Every day thousands of tourists walk by it and think about how truly spectacular New York City is. Little do they know, the veneer of glamour is only a few millimeters deep.

Eloise Sheds a Tear [VF via Curbed]
Earlier: Buyers Flipping Out Over Plaza Conditions
Inside an Apartment in the New Plaza Hotel

Read more posts by Chris Rovzar

Filed Under: developing, el-ad, plaza hotel, real estate, real-estate porn





Source: Daily Intel | 2 Dec 2008 | 7:30 pm

Highfliers, Flying No More




Beleaguered banking giant Citigroup has, in addition to cutting back staff, put two of its private jets up for sale. As you can see by this photo, the two Dassult Falcon 900 jets, which retail at $35 million apiece, have very comfortable interiors, complete with mahogany woodwork, leather seating, and lush "beige, coral blue and white wave designed patterned carpeting" that when combined with turbulence doesn't make you nauseous at all, swear. Act now and they may even throw in the fruit plate and a complimentary bottle of Yellow Tail! Oh, curiously, they are still hiring pilots. [CityFile]

Read more posts by Jessica Pressler

Filed Under: carpeting, citigroup, private jets, The Greatest Depression





Source: Daily Intel | 2 Dec 2008 | 7:19 pm

Pet Greeting Cards Best Way To Wish Someone a Lonely Christmas

Are you still searching for that simple, enjoyable Christmas card that says "Hello, friend! Here's to hoping your Christmas season is full of cheer! I know mine will be. Off to put knit a sweater for my hamster, put heels on the dog and cry myself to sleep in a pool of sad juice under the Christmas tree"? Well then today is possibly the luckiest day of your life. Because the good people over at Purina ("Horsemeat so pure... it's Purina") have teamed up with Petcentric to create a brilliant application where YOUR PET becomes the star of his or her very own singing holiday e-card! That's right: Upload a picture of your favorite dog or cat (don't worry, I won't tell the others! [audible gunshot into my forehead]), slap an animated mouth onto that sucker, and it's personalized lonelytimes heaven! Having just spent a solid 7 days with my morbidly obese cat Lutzy while visiting home, I decided to take the time to create his very own Xmas Card (even though he's agnostic) using nothing but his unknowing, sleeping, sort of re-re face. You can see the final version after the jump, but be warned: It uses Autoplay. So turn those workplace volumes down... And feel free to link to your own personalized cards in the comments section.
Source: Best Week Ever | 2 Dec 2008 | 7:15 pm

Kazakhstan movie director Sergey Dvortsevoy

"Tulpan," a film by Kazakhstan movie director Sergey Dvortsevoy, seen here in October 2008, scooped top prize at the International Film Festival of India in the resort state of Goa Tuesday, as the 10-day...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 2 Dec 2008 | 7:14 pm

YouTube cracks down on 'sexually suggestive' content

YouTube announced on Tuesday that it was cracking down on "sexually suggestive" videos in a bid to clean up the popular video-sharing website.
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 2 Dec 2008 | 7:02 pm

Being a Spice Girl Didn’t Open Doors, Fashion-Wise




Posh Spice's new dress line launches tomorrow at Selfridge's. Quoth she: “Being in the Spice Girls, fashion-wise probably didn't open any doors. If anything it shut doors and I've had to bang them down.” Well, technically, you didn't have to. [Times UK]

Read more posts by Amy Odell

Filed Under: posh spice, spice girls, spicy dish, victoria beckham





Source: The Cut | 2 Dec 2008 | 6:56 pm

The next Berlinale to spotlight prescient Cold War cinema

The next Berlin Film Festival will showcase Eastern European and German cinema from the Cold War that seemed to foreshadow the end of European communism, organisers said Tuesday.
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 2 Dec 2008 | 6:46 pm

YouTube Symphony Orchestra Launches Global Search for Actual Talented People on YouTube




Say you’re a piccolo player from Kazakhstan, or a bassoonist from Staten Island. A professional career in music seems like a long shot, and Carnegie Hall might as well be on another planet. Enter YouTube. The video-sharing Website has launched the YouTube Symphony Orchestra, an online global auditioning process for a non-virtual orchestra, which will play actual music on a physical stage.

YouTube commissioned a five-minute symphony from Tan Dun, the Oscar-winning, Chinese-born New Yorker and global composer par excellence, who led the London Symphony Orchestra in a performance that YouTube shot and posted at youtube.com/symphony. Now musicians everywhere can download the sheet music, practice playing the piece to a silent video of the composer conducting, and upload videos of their own performances. Entries will be judged, American Idol style, by a combination of experts and online vote. Winners get a free trip to New York and a chance to play the first “Internet Symphony” at, yes, Carnegie Hall, with Michael Tilson Thomas conducting.

The project has the feel of a test run: Tan Dun’s tiny symphony is a mash-up of Beethoven motifs, Stravinsky rhythms, and Gershwin’s urban jangle, and while the resulting flood of video clips will be stitched together somehow, the endpoint is a conventional concert, not some digital extravaganza. Or maybe that’s just the first step. Judging from the musical talent that turned out for Monday’s presentation, including Metropolitan Opera stars Anna Netrebko and Susan Graham, members of the Emerson String Quartet, and (by video hookup from San Francisco) the pianist Lang Lang, we suspect the project’s next iteration is already in development. Classical musicians want a bigger online stage, a planetful of amateur players want a path to success, and now there’s YouTube to make the introductions.


Read more posts by Justin Davidson

Filed Under: classical, music, youtube, youtube symphony orchestra





Source: Vulture | 2 Dec 2008 | 6:45 pm

CBS, ABC fill midseason

Front Page: 'Castle,' 'Cupid' set for spring launch -- ABC and CBS are making plans for spring, finding homes for several more midseason skeins.




Source: Variety.com - Front Page | 2 Dec 2008 | 6:23 pm

Is André Leon Talley Responsible for Michelle Obama’s Jason Wu Dress?




Michelle Obama wore a dress by young designer Jason Wu on The Barbara Walters Special last week, and Wu is hoping the exposure will help launch him into the big leagues. The L.A. Times reported last month that Michelle — who's been seen in everything from H&M to Moschino to Narciso Rodriguez — got to know Wu's work through Vogue editor-at-large André Leon Talley and purchased four dresses from his spring 2009 collection. The Wall Street Journal reports the $3,510 raw-silk dress Michelle wore on Barbara Walters last week was special-ordered from the Ikram boutique in Chicago at the end of September (Wu noted Michelle purchased the dress). An ex–Narciso Rodriguez intern, Wu said the handiwork on the dress took more than 100 hours to complete.

What interests us is that Michelle must have watched September's spring 2009 collections awfully carefully if she's plucking looks fresh off the runways and wearing them before they hit stores. Either that or she has a style adviser to comb through them for her, which might be more plausible considering how busy she must be nowadays. Though in August he denied that he had ever styled her, could André be helping her after all?

The Michelle Obama “Career-Launcher” for Emerging Designer Jason Wu [WSJ]
A Name to Remember: Jason Wu [Mrs. O]

Read more posts by Amy Odell

Filed Under: ikram, jason wu, michelle obama, narciso rodriguez, political style, spring 2009, the barbara walters special





Source: The Cut | 2 Dec 2008 | 6:18 pm

The Cast of ‘How I Met Your Mother’ Will Cure Your Infertility




"If you're trying to start a family, please come visit the set of How I Met Your Mother. Just come by and hang out for a day or two. We can't legally guarantee anything, but by the time you leave, you will almost certainly be pregnant." —Craig Thomas on the rampant outbreaks of pregnancy in the HIMYM cast [TV Guide]

“Completely forgetting the lyrics in ‘Left Behind’ in Spring Awakening. I just kept singing ‘All things … All things … All things…’ over and over again. The worst was seeing the whole cast sitting on the lip of the stage, their shoulders shaking with laughter. ‘Totally Fucked’ never rang so true…” —Jonathan Groff on his biggest onstage mistake [Playbill]

"I was 18 years old and thought I was the best young actor in the world. Then I saw Dean. I had never seen anybody improvise before. I had never seen anybody do things that weren't on the page. I was amazed. I grabbed him and said, 'I thought I was the best young actor around, but I don't know what you're doing. You're working so far over my head. What should I do? Should I go to New York and study with Strasberg? What should I do?'" —Dennis Hopper on working with James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause [A.V. Club]

"I'm not afraid of exposing my raw nerve, and I invite them to do the same." —William Shatner will be exposing himself on his new talk show, Raw Nerve [USAT]

"I set the stage for Britney to crash and burn. I went through it all first." —Courtney Love [Elle via MSNBC]

"When I did I Am Legend, I sent him the script, and he sent me back four hours of notes and changes. He did more work on I Am Legend than I did." —Will Smith on having Tom Cruise look over all his scripts [Newsweek]

Read more posts by Stan Park

Filed Under: courtney love, craig thomas, dennis hopper, how i met your mother, jonathan groff, quote machine, will smith, william shatner





Source: Vulture | 2 Dec 2008 | 6:15 pm

Pitt Hates Paparazzi, Talking About the Fam

Brad Pitt "hates" celeb photogs, doesn't get how they "do that for a living."
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 2 Dec 2008 | 6:02 pm

An Iranian holds a copy of Shoka in front of copies of Donya-ye Tasvir and Sobh-e Zendegi

An Iranian holds a copy of Shoka in front of copies of Donya-ye Tasvir (World of the Image) and Sobh-e Zendegi (Morning of Life) in Tehran on March 16, 2008. Iran has lifted a ban on a cinema magazine...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 2 Dec 2008 | 5:51 pm

Filmmaker Antonio Campos Spoils His Dinner




Let’s see … where to start with this one? First of all, Antonio Campos's The Last 15 is a harrowing little family drama that perfectly illustrates Alfred Hitchcock’s dictum that a card game becomes more suspenseful if you show a bomb ticking under the table in advance — in this case, substitute "family dinner" for "card game." This short played the Cannes Film Festival and New Directors/New Films — but perhaps the elephant in the room is its 24-year-old maker's debut feature, Afterschool, which also screened at Cannes and at the New York Film Festival this year. It is currently the subject of an ongoing war among film bloggers, critics, and assorted civilians: Some consider it a groundbreaking masterpiece, others superficial and ham-handed. (You can get a taste of the battle lines here. Also, read the New York Times rave here. ) In the meantime, the supremely talented Campos is among the nominees for the Breakthrough Director award at the Gotham Awards tonight. If he wins, expect a food fight to break out — waaay back in the rear of the auditorium, where they seat the bloggers.


Part One:


Part Two:


Read more posts by Bilge Ebiri

Filed Under: afterschool, antonio campos, vulture picture palace





Read more posts by Mark Graham

Filed Under: david carr, kudos, movies, oscars






Source: Vulture | 2 Dec 2008 | 5:26 pm

Blake Fielder-Civil's Big Amy plan




Amy Winehouse's husband is planning to appear on her favourite TV show to win her back.

Blake Fielder-Civil - who has been in rehab since leaving prison last month - reportedly thinks starring on reality series 'Celebrity Big Brother' would be the perfect way to prove his love for the troubled singer and show he has quit drugs.

A source said: "Blake has told me he's been asked about doing 'Celebrity Big Brother'. Amy is a big fan of reality TV and Blake knows she will be watching it.

"He thinks it is the perfect chance for him to show Amy he is off drugs and loves her to bits."

Earlier this week, Blake - who admits he is responsible for Amy's drug addiction - revealed he was willing to cut contact with his wife to help her beat her substance abuse.

He said: "I dragged Amy into it and without me there is no doubt that she would never have gone down that road. I ruined something beautiful.

"Now I have to let her go to save her life. I am not abandoning her. I am doing this out of love.

"For her recovery I have to leave her alone. I will do anything for her - and that includes walking away."Other names rumoured to be starring on 'Celebrity Big Brother' include singer Whitney Houston and her ex-husband Bobby Brown, astrologer Russell Grant, comedian Mark Lamarr and ex-'The Word' presenter Terry Christian.

Source
Source: Lepaparazzi - Celebrity News and Gossip Blog | 2 Dec 2008 | 5:26 pm

Taiwanese director Wei Te-sheng

Taiwanese director Wei Te-sheng listens during a press conference at the Government Information Office in Taipei. Taiwanese officials said Tuesday they are hopeful that a local blockbuster can hit theatres...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 2 Dec 2008 | 5:24 pm

Katy Perry kisses and tells

Katy Perry is running "Hot N Cold." The singer's latest hit features a video showing her at a wedding ceremony -- and lashing out at her lover in an alley. Perry knows the feeling of playing two extremes.




Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 2 Dec 2008 | 5:19 pm

Missing 'Sopranos' Juror Discovered in Jail

A missing juror for the trial of a former Sopranos actor was found in jail for punching his stepson in the face.
Source: FOXNews.com | 2 Dec 2008 | 4:44 pm

New Neko Case Album Due In March

Neko Case will follow up 2006's "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood," the best-selling album of her career, with "Middle Cyclone," due March 3 via Anti-.
Source: Billboard.com | 2 Dec 2008 | 4:04 pm

Nicole Kidman Takes a Beating on Facebook

Type "Nicole" and "Kidman" into a Facebook search and you're confronted with the horrible, disturbing, catty world of Kidman haters
Source: FOXNews.com | 2 Dec 2008 | 3:56 pm

Hospital Worker Admits Selling Records

Former UCLA hospital employee pleads guilty to selling celebs medical records.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 2 Dec 2008 | 3:55 pm

Bonnaroo Sets Dates For 2009

The eighth Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival will be held June 11-14, 2009, on its usual site in Manchester, Tenn., an hour southeast of Nashville. The first round of ticket pre-sales begins Thursday (Dec. 4); a lineup announcement is expected early next year.
Source: Billboard.com | 2 Dec 2008 | 3:54 pm

Britney Spears Leads Yahoo Searches

Spears tops Obama, Angelina, Miley and Lindsay in most searches for 2008.
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 2 Dec 2008 | 3:37 pm

Britney Spears Plots 'Circus' Tour

As first tipped here in October, Britney Spears will embark on her first arena tour in five years next spring. The "Circus Starring Britney Spears" jaunt begins March 3 in New Orleans, with support from the Pussycat Dolls.
Source: Billboard.com | 2 Dec 2008 | 3:28 pm

Red Carpet Close-up: Gorgeous 'Spirit' women




Source: CNN.com - Entertainment | 2 Dec 2008 | 2:54 pm

PHOTOS: Britney Spears Through the Years

Britney celebrates her 27th birthday with live concert on "GMA."
Source: ABC News: Entertainment | 2 Dec 2008 | 2:53 pm

Spirit Award nominees announced

Front Page: 'Ballast,' 'Frozen River,' 'Rachel' lead the pack -- "Ballast," "Frozen River" and "Rachel Getting Married" led the field with a three-way tie of six nominations each at the Film Independent's 24th Annual Spirit Award kudos.
• View the full list of Spirit Award nominees




Source: Variety.com - Front Page | 2 Dec 2008 | 1:00 pm

Oprah Took Millions From Obama Foe

Man who worked to scuttle Barack Obama's presidential campaign is second largest donor to Oprah's South African school
Source: FOXNews.com | 2 Dec 2008 | 12:33 pm

`Cadillac Records' plays song you've heard before (AP)

AP - Darnell Martin could have made an entire movie about Muddy Waters. Or Etta James. Or Chuck Berry.



Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 2 Dec 2008 | 12:28 pm

Gavin Rossdale Talks Music, Paps and Life as a Dad

Gavin Rossdale may be a new dad and hubby to rock royalty, but don't tell 'Wanderlust' reveals his softer side!
Source: FOXNews.com | 2 Dec 2008 | 12:28 pm

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