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Guster Shifts To Aware/Columbia For New AlbumAfter four albums with Reprise, veteran rock outfit Guster has signed with Aware/Columbia. The group hopes to complete its as-yet-untitled label debut in February.Source: Billboard.com | 11 Dec 2008 | 5:01 pm Bon Jovi Scores 2008's Top-Grossing TourBon Jovi's Lost Highway tour tops the list of the biggest tours for 2008, based on data reported to Billboard Boxscore from Nov. 14, 2007, through Nov. 11, 2008. The trek, promoted in North America and Europe by AEG Live, grossed $210.6 million and drew 2,157,675 fans.Source: Billboard.com | 11 Dec 2008 | 5:01 pm Josh Hartnett wins libel suit against UK tabloid (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 11 Dec 2008 | 12:52 pm Audiophiles view America's Jews through vinyl (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 11 Dec 2008 | 12:47 pm Audiophiles view America's Jews through vinyl (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 11 Dec 2008 | 12:47 pm Audiophiles view America's Jews through vinyl
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AP - Considering that Clint Eastwood's most iconic roles have been serious ones, it's easy to forget that he can be funny that he possesses terrific timing with his sly sense of humor.
AP - It's possible that Jay Leno's decision to stay at NBC might have saved ABC's "Nightline" from being axed, but the show's producer doesn't think so.
E! Online - Jennie Garth's Kelly Taylor has been a fixture on the CW's 90210; Shannen Doherty's Brenda Walsh has done a few drive-bys. Even Jason Priestley is stopping by to step behind the camera.
 CTV.ca | The Films Are for Him. Got That? New York Times - By BRUCE HEADLAM Scenes from “Gran Torino,” in which Clint Eastwood plays a character fond of Pabst Blue Ribbon. BEING introduced to Clint Eastwood is something like seeing a California redwood for the first time. Cars and 'Gran Torino' make Eastwood's day Review: Eastwood back with a roar in `Gran Torino' |
AP - Sotheby's has withdrawn from auction three papers related to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. after his estate claimed the documents being sold by Harry Belafonte are estate property.
AP - The Academy Awards picture should begin to grow clearer as contenders are announced for Hollywood's Oscar prelude, the Golden Globes.
Nobody knows this, but Jennifer Aniston is friends with Brad and Angelina.
"The funny thing is that people don't realize we all go away to the Hamptons on the weekends,"...
E! Online - Nobody knows this, but Jennifer Aniston is friends with Brad and Angelina.
Hell, yes.
Well, that's our assessment based on this clip for Terminator: Salvation, in which Christian Bale battles giant machines with guns for heads, jumps out of helicopters and...
Reuters - After keeping "Valkyrie" mysteriously under wraps for months and moving its release date four times, MGM has finally pulled back the curtains on its Tom Cruise World War II historical thriller to reveal a coolly efficient, entertaining and straightforward tale about the last of 15 known assassination attempts against Adolf Hitler.
With no fancy celebrity guests this week, the grouchy, knife-wielding Top Chef contestants nearly turned on each other. Or on Stefan, mainly, because the dude annoys.
Still, they...
Jason Mraz nabbed three Grammy nominations last week for "I'm Yours," but he's more than just the singer-songwriter behind one of the year's most infectious...
Juggernaut has been bombarded.
X-Men: The Last Stand actor Vinnie Jones was charged Wednesday with three counts of simple assault for brawling in a South Dakota bar last...
We're developing a girl crush on Italian Vogue editor Franca Sozzani. In this economic climate, many fashion houses and magazines are afraid to take risks. But not Franca. In July, she put out the groundbreaking all-black issue of Italian Vogue. "When I was doing the Black Issue, everybody told me, ‘You will not sell one copy.’ Well, we reprinted the magazine," she told WWD. "Maybe nobody had tried before, so they didn’t know they were wrong." Sozzani is not constricted by fears of selling issues. She doesn't know what her circulation is and said she doesn't even care. She followed up the black issue with an issue of L'Uomo Vogue dedicated to Africa. For that, she put philosopher Bernard Henri-Lévy on the cover. Unencumbered by newsstand sales figures, she doesn't worry about putting celebrities on her covers, though she does sometimes for L'Uomo Vogue "not just because they represent celebrity" but because they're "doing something interesting."
The new issue of L'Uomo Vogue includes a spread of more than 100 pages shot by Bruce Weber depicting life in Miami. Here's the interesting part: It includes no fashion credits. “L’Uomo Vogue is not exactly what you call a fashion magazine anymore,” Franca said. “Basically, I am more free than anyone else because I don’t think that you sell clothes through a [fashion] credit. I think that you go through an image, that you sell a dream, and [then] the clothes.” We agree. Most people in the world don't shop from those pages anyway.
Memo Pad: Franca's Coda [WWD]
Read more posts by Amy Odell
Filed Under: bernard henry-levy, bruce weber, franca sozzani, girl crushes, italian vogue, luomo vogue
• Ashlee Simpson-Wentz checks in and lets us know everything is just peachy on her MySpace blog: "Motherhood is the most fantastic experience I have ever been thru, Bronx makes me laugh...
One way or another, Lane Garrison is going to be paying for his mistakes for a long time.
The parents of a 17-year-old boy who was killed in the actor's 2006 DUI crash has sued...
Happy holidays, shoppers. Feel the pinch of your pennies yet? We sure do. But that's why tomorrow's Soho Partnerships event, the 2008 Soho Holiday Stroll, couldn't come at a better time. Tomorrow, 75-plus stores join forces to stay open late (until 11 p.m.!) and offer discounts, drinks, and freebies to raise money for the city's homeless. And you're invited. All you have to do is buy a bracelet for $20 (at one of the stores marked with an asterisk after the jump) and you're eligible for all the bargains. Proceeds from bracelet sales go directly to the Association of Community Employment Programs for the Homeless. So far, we've got our eye on Theory's 25 percent off offer, PHI's 40 percent off option, and free samples of Vosges chocolates. Now that's a yummy way to entice us. Check out the full list of participating stores and discounts after the jump.
Aero Ltd.
20 percent off every purchase of in-store merchandise.
Aerosoles
Enter to win a $50 gift card! Plus, shop now for fall savings — up to 70 percent off!
AK Anne Klein
20 percent off your entire purchase.
Alex Beard Studio
10 percent discount on any purchase over $100. Plus, refreshments and live music.
Amarcord Vintage Fashion*
10 percent discount and refreshments.
Babeland*
Receive 15 percent off your total purchase and enjoy complimentary holiday refreshments.
Bicycle Habitat
5 to 10 percent discount on bikes.
Bliss Soho
20 percent off all Bliss/Remede products. Plus, $25 gift card for yourself when you purchase a $200 gift card for someone else!
Bloomingdale's Soho
Receive a free umbrella with a purchase of $75 or more.
BOSS Store
Receive an additional 10 percent off your purchase.
Braccialini
Up to 35 percent discount on Italian-designed and -made purses, wallets, and key chains — perfect gifts for everyone on your list! Plus, enjoy Italian-inspired refreshments and music while you shop.
Burton Snowboards Flagship Store
Exclusive holiday gift with purchase of $100 or more. Plus, hot chocolate and Christmas cookies.
Cardboardesign*
Free gift with purchase over $30 (while supplies last!). Plus, Santa will be here. Come say hello!
Christopher Fischer Cashmere
Additional 10 percent off all merchandise.
CP Shades
50 percent off Dupioni silks and more! Plus, warm up with some hot cider.
Daffy's
10 percent off your entire purchase, up to $500.
Design Within Reach
$50 off purchase of $500 or more.
DWR: Tools for Living
15 percent off.
Diesel Kids
Holiday sale, drinks, and snacks.
Domenico Vacca
30 percent off!
Eileen Fisher
Gift with purchase. Plus, bubbly sips and tasty bites!
Elie Tahari
$100 off purchases of $300 or more. Plus, D.J. and refreshments.
Esprit*
25 percent off all full-price merchandise. Plus, free gift (while supplies last!).
FACE Stockholm
Gift with purchase from 3 to 7 p.m.
Fragments*
20 percent discount on all fashion and fine jewelry!
Godiva Chocolatier
Free gift card with purchase and complimentary samples of Godiva chocolates.
Guess?
Enjoy D.J. tunes, plus receive an exclusive Guess? makeup bag with any purchase. Guess? list members receive double reward points.
HUGO Store
Receive an additional 10 percent off your purchase.
IF Soho
10 percent discount on full-price items. Plus, additional items on sale.
ILORI
$50 gift card with purchase of $300. Plus, complimentary stylist consultation, ILORI signature chocolates, Champagne, and hot chocolate.
J. Lindeberg
30 percent discount on full-price items.
Jill Stuart
Gift with purchase. Plus, receive further markdowns on all sale items.
John Varvatos*
Receive an additional 20 percent off your entire purchase.
Kate's Paperie*
15 percent discount. Plus, refreshments and a raffle to win a selection of personalized social stationery — up to a $300 value!
Kazuyo Nakano*
Handbags 30 to 60 percent off! All wallets 30 percent off. Complimentary gift bag ($50 value) with any purchase of $250 or more. Plus, cash gift card (worth 10 percent of your purchase amount) for next time!
Kiteya
Free gift with any purchase.
Lacoste
Gift with any purchase over $80.
LF Stores
Raffle entry with any purchase over $100. Plus, D.J., refreshments, and free styling sessions.
Ligne Roset
$50 off a purchase of $500 or more. Plus, refreshments.
Links of London
20 percent discount on all purchases. Plus, refreshments all evening.
M Missoni
Gift with purchase.
Maclaren
Raffle to win a stroller. Plus, free gift with any purchase, Vosges hot cocoa, holiday treats, and arts and crafts for the kids!
Marciano
Enjoy Champagne and a free Marciano Jet Set Travel Kit with any purchase. MI members receive double reward points.
Marisa Perry Inc.
Good wine and light hors d'oeuvre! 10 to 50 percent off fabulous jewelry items of all price points. Fine and semiprecious.
Marithe + Francois Girbaud*
10 percent discount on full-price merchandise. Plus, D.J. and refreshments.
McNally Jackson Books*
20 percent off all regularly priced items in the bookstore and the café.
Miss Sixty
30 percent off all full-price merchandise. Extra 10 percent off sale merchandise.
Molton Brown
Goody bag (while supplies last!). Complimentary hand and arm massages and mini-facials. Plus, D.J., Champagne, and light snacks.
MoMA Design Store
Save $15 on any purchase of $75 or more.
Napapijri
Free gift with purchase and 20 percent off full-price merchandise. Plus, refreshments.
Nine West
20 percent off one regularly priced item.
Paul Smith
25 percent discount until 8 p.m.
PHI
Fall merchandise at 40 percent off.
The PUMA Store
20 percent discount.
Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic
Sign up for their e-mail list and get 20 percent off your purchase!
Reinstein/Ross
10 percent discount.
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ANNEX NYC & ANNEX ROCK SHOP
Gift with ticket purchase on a first-come, first-served basis … (limited-time offer — while supplies last!) Also, save 20 percent on select items at the Annex Rock Shop.
Sam Brocato Salon
15 percent off all hair-care services plus a complimentary paraffin treatment and hand massage. Free travel tote with product purchase to all SoHo Strollers. Plus Champagne, wine, and hot cider all night!
The Scholastic Store*
10 percent discount with any purchase of $59 or more. Plus, super sales! Train set (regularly $99.99, on sale for $49.95) and garage (regularly $99.99, on sale for $49.95).
7 For All Mankind
30 percent off your entire purchase.
Solstice Sunglass Boutique
Spend $125 and get $25 off your next pair. (Spend $200, get $50 off; spend $250, get $75 off…)
SPORTMAX*
Offer TBD.
Ted Baker London
25 percent off all non-sale items.
Theory
25 percent off your entire purchase.
Thompson Chemists*
15 percent off all non-sale, nonprescription items.
Tibi
20 percent discount on all merchandise, including sale items. Plus, hot chocolate and cookies!
Tommy Hilfiger
15 percent discount. Plus, D.J. and holiday refreshments.
Tretorn Shop
20 percent discount.
UNIQLO
Cashmere sweaters at the promotional price of $49.50. Exclusive promotion for bracelets holders to come!
Versani on Mulberry Street and Versani on Mercer Street
Buy two items, get the third (of equal or lesser value) free!
Via Spiga
20 percent off your entire purchase.
Vosges Haut Chocolat
10 percent off all purchases. Plus, all kinds of fantastic samples!
Wink
25 percent off your entire purchase.
Yaso
25 percent discount on all clothing and accessories (excluding sale items). Plus, complimentary apple martinis!
Soho Holiday Stroll [Association of Community Employment Programs for the Homeless]
Read more posts by Sharon Clott
Filed Under: retail therapy, sales, shopping, soho
Today, newspapers are continuing their introspection, wondering how they ended up here and brainstorming rescue plans. Meanwhile, magazine ad sales are down and their parent companies aren't paying the bills on time, radio is making new rounds of layoffs, Websites are trimming the fat, and TV hosts are, fittingly, cracking jokes. Except that they're not in such great shape, either, as their human-resource hands are getting axed since nobody's hiring. There wasn't even one of those "Hey! Good news!" pieces about a blog in the mix today.
• The New York Times just can't stop reporting on its own demise. Today's paper included the story, "The Newspaper Bubble, Too, Has Burst," (duh) pointing out, as we did on Monday, the similarities between its unfortunate debt problems and those of the average American homeowner. As the story explains, in the year(s) preceding this one, investors and moguls borrowed heavy sums of money to invest in the newspaper, an ailing product. Notably, there's Sam Zell, who borrowed multi-millions to buy the now-bankrupt Tribune Co.; the McClatchy Company, which bought the now-for-sale Miami Herald; and investors who borrowed money to finance the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News, which are now cutting staffers. The real-estate market, however, may have the upper hand here: We're all going to need shelter for the foreseeable future, but can we say the same about newspapers? (Don't answer that.) [NYT]
• American Media, home of such reputable periodicals as Star magazine and the National Enquirer, hasn't been paying its bills. After the Tribune Co.'s recent troubles, many pessimistic insiders are speculating that the gossipy writing is on the wall for American Media. [NYP]
• An Observer piece asks: "[D]oes the Times have any idea how dire their situation really is?" At a meeting this week, Times Company spokespeople and financial analysts commended the paper for cutting costs and maintaining quality as well as expanding its online presence. The Times apologists blame the times (ha!) for the paper's problems. [NYO]
• Condé Nast is cutting its flacks. At GQ, publicist Beth Andrews is out; at Gourmet, publicists Karen Danick and James Humphrey have been laid off. And even Fairchild vet Andrea Kaplan has been released. [NYP]
• BusinessWeek predicts that, in order to pay back debts and restructure in financially beneficial ways, newspapers might be consolidating next year. [BusinessWeek]
• Celeb weekly OK! has been losing millions of dollars in not-selling. Earlier this year, in an attempt to remedy its financial troubles, the mag raised its newsstand price to $3.49. But, uh, that didn't work. So, Plan B: It's now slashing its price to $2.99. [NYP]
• As hiring has been rather inactive lately, talent hunters and hiring scouts at CNN and NBC are now being fired. [NYP]
• Aaron Gell, executive editor at Radar before the magazine folded, is throwing a very special holiday party at Ella for media men and women who find themselves out of a job this holiday season. Gell dubs his organization the American Society of Shit-canned Media Elites (like the ASME, the American Society of Magazine Editors, but, well, not). Thankfully, it's open bar from 8 to 9, with $5 drink specials after that.
• The monthly magazines that are still standing aren't having the best year either. Even with a flashy (literally) cover, Esquire, is down 15 percent in ad pages, the Atlantic 17 percent, and Vanity Fair 15 percent. But compared to some media companies, those numbers aren't so bad. [NYO]
• NPR announced it will be laying off 7 percent of its staff and cutting expenses. We're assuming the news was delivered in dulcet tones. [FishbowlDC/Mediabistro]
Read more posts by Mike Vilensky
Filed Under: american media, atlantic, cnn, esquire, media, media deathwatch, national enquirer, nbc, new york times, observer, ok magazine, star
Even though you will lovingly deplete your bank account this month to spend money on other people, there are two words that will definitely raise your spirits: Party. Season. Just think about what's on deck: Friends' apartment holiday parties, obligatory family fêtes, Christmas dinner, and New Year's Eve, all of which give you plenty of reasons to snag something for yourself during the next few weeks. Nothing to wear? We'd love to assist. We found 115 perfect holiday dresses for our latest Shop-A-Matic, from A-lines to trapeze frocks. Click through the entire selection to see the best dresses in the city. But first, check out our five favorites after the jump.
Asymmetrical Tiered Dress by Twenty by Twelve
Price: $39
Why we like it: The tiers and muted red shade prove that you don't have to be flashy to still look flirty and fun.
Embellished Dress by Shoshanna
Price: $495
Why we like it: Gold embellishments update this classic little black dress, making it an elegant choice for holiday parties where you need to impress.
Silk Halter Dress by Banana Republic
Price: $150
Why we like it: Amazing color. Plus, the subtle twist at the neckline is a great spin on the halter.
Fringe Dress by Target-Limited-Edition
Price: $40
Why we like it: Take on the fringe trend with this flapper dress. And if the fringe tiers aren't enough to make you want to shimmy and shake, the price will seal the deal.
Ikat One-Shoulder Dress by Tibi
Price: $345
Why we like it: Between the print and the one-shoulder silhouette, this overall look for the holidays is completely refreshing.
Read more posts by Sharon Clott and Diana Tsui
Filed Under: retail therapy, sales, shopping, target, tibi
In a major development in the Scott Ruffalo case, the woman who was being held for the shooting death of Mark Ruffalo's brother has been released and cleared of any...
"I think [the Standard Hotel] is going to be ground zero of the meatpacking district … the meatpacking district is about to shift 500 feet to the west. — Richard Born, landlord for the rival Gansevoort Hotel. [NYO via Curbed]
Read more posts by Chris Rovzar
Filed Under: gansevoort hotel, meatpacking district, neighborhood watch, standard hotel
Last night a crowd of downtown artists and gallerists, still bleary-eyed from the Miami art fairs but boasting healthy tans (or at least less-than-usual pallor), convened again at James Fuentes LLC in Chinatown for the opening of a show that neatly encapsulates the mentality of the art world in the present climate. Called "8 1/2 x 11 / A4," the group offering featured more than 70 pieces by artists — including Wolfgang Tillmans, Eileen Quinlan, Ryan McGinley, Nate Lowman, Becky James, Daniel McDonald, and Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs — who'd been asked to use an empty sheet of white printer-type paper as the starting point for their work. Most of the pieces were unceremoniously taped up against the tiny gallery's Masonite wall boards, though a few pricier items, like a Henry Darger drawing of a harlequin-esque flag bearer (courtesy of the Darger estate), were framed. The works ranged from a chewed-paper piece by Fluxus artist Allison Knowles to a drawing of a Dial soap bar by Mathew Cerletty to a stack of Scott toilet-paper rolls that artist Devon Dikeou had stripped of sheets until they all fit perfectly on an eight and a half-by-eleven-inch base.
"The concept was, what is the one material that you find in every artist's studio? A blank sheet of paper," said Fuentes, who had organized the show as a celebration of his tenth year in the gallery business, asking for contributions from artists he had admired or befriended along the way. (No one from his own gallery roster was included.) "What if all the money runs out, and what if artists have no more materials — what is the most maximal possibility with the most minimal means?" he asked. "It's basically it's a core sort of material, a lowest-common-denominator element to what everyone is doing. It's the ultimate blank canvas."
Among the clutch of artists crammed into the one-room gallery, sipping bottles of Grolsch, were Fred Tomaselli, Olaf Breuning, Agathe Snow, Rita Ackerman, and Darren Bader; representatives from Deitch Projects were there, as was 303 Gallery director Mari Spirito. Most people were talking about the dismal art fairs. "Nobody did well in Miami," says Fuentes. "Basically the essence of the art fair is that you invest X amount of money and you get quadruple your investment in a weekend, and that paradigm has been totally shattered."
The dealer said that while he "made ends meet" last week, it was time for the gallery — which had done five art fairs in the past year — to put the breaks on participating in them. "For me I have one of the lowest overheads of any gallery, so if I sell four drawings in a month, I cover my rent," he said. "I want to channel all of the resources that we would put into an art fair and put it in over here and see what would happen from that. I think what's over is overfabrication, overproduction, overcommercialization, the Bloomingdale's that Chelsea has created, this kind of strip-mall environment that Chelsea has created."
Read more posts by Andrew Goldstein
Filed Under: art, Becky James, Daniel McDonald, Eileen Quinlan, James Fuentes, Nate Lowman, news reel, Nick Zinner, Ryan McGinley, Wolfgang Tillmans
In a decidedly Yankee-ish move, the New York Yankees signed prized free agent pitcher C.C. Sabathia to a seven-year, $161 million contract, the most expensive deal ever handed out to a pitcher in the history of baseball.
You know what to do, punsters -- give me your best "C.C. signs with the Yankees" NY Post headline in the comments. Even if you don't know sports, you should still be able to just combine his name with being rich and/or fat. My suggestions:
CASH COW
SABBATH-IA DAY (alternatively - GREEN SABBATH-IA)
OH PAY CAN YOU C.C.
CHECK CASHING SABATHIA
C.C. TAKING A SA-BATH IN HIS MONEYBIN
YANKEES PUT DOWN PAYMENT ON A SAAB-BATHIA
THE OLD TEAM AND THE C.C.
BIG FAT MAN SIGNS BIG FAT CONTRACT (Simpsons-inspired)
YANKEES HOPING SABATHIA'S ARM DOESN'T FALL OFF AFTER PITCHING 500 INNINGS OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS BECAUSE THEN THEY'D BE OUT A SH*TLOAD OF MONEY
Think you can do worse? Leave 'em in the comments.
Twilight hottie Robert Pattinson, like Chace Crawford, broke into the entertainment industry as a model. You can see that he has that pretty boy-model-y look to him — the thick hair that begs to be styled, the sallow cheeks, the luscious eyebrows. But when he was 16, after four years in the biz, he was forced to quit because he became, as the Daily Express puts it, "too manly":
He tells British magazine Closer, "When I first started I was quite tall and looked like a girl, so I got lots of jobs, because it was during that period where the androgynous look was cool. Then, I guess, I became too much of a guy, so I never got any more jobs. I had the most unsuccessful modelling career."
Yes, he became "too much of a guy." Never mind the length of his hair, blushed cheeks, and pithy attempt at growing scruff. Or that scene from Twilight where he's completely awash in glitter, looking as though he spent the night rolling on the floor of Studio 54. He's a regular Paul Bunyan! He probably cuts down his own Christmas trees and stuff.
PATTINSON'S MASCULINITY ENDED HIS MODELLING CAREER [Daily Express]
Read more posts by Amy Odell
Filed Under: hot men, male models, robert pattinson, twilight
Shame on you. This could be the greatest night of our lives, but you're going to let it be the worst. And I guarantee a week won't go by in your life you won't regret walking out, letting them get the best of you. Well, I'm not going home. We've come too far! And I'm going to stay right here and fight for this lost cause. A day may come when the courage of men fails... but it is not THIS day. The line must be drawn HERE. This far, no further! I'm not saying it's going to be easy. You're going to work harder than you ever worked before. But that's fine, we'll just get tougher with it! If a person grits his teeth and shows real determination, failure is not an option. That's how winning is done! Believe me when I say we can break this army here, and win just one for the Gipper. But I say to you what every warrior has known since the beginning of time: you've got to get mad. I mean plum mad dog mean. If you would be free men, then you must fight to fulfill that promise! Let us cut out their living guts one inch at a time, and they will know what we can do! Let no man forget how menacing we are. We are lions! You're like a big bear, man! This is YOUR time! Seize the day, never surrender, victory or death... that's the Chicago Way! Who's with me? Clap! Clap! Don't let Tink die! Clap! Alright! Let's fly! And gentlemen in England now abed shall know my name is the Lord when I tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take our Independence Day!
Yay! Even though he only joined the bank in July and already helped Charlotte-based Wachovia escape the clutches of Citigroup in order to marry its one true love, Wells Fargo, Wack CEO Bob Steel has proudly joined the "we're not taking a bonus this year" team. Meanwhile, the Journal reports, "no decision has been made" on a bonus for his neighbor down south, Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis. Red rover, red rover… [WSJ]
Read more posts by Jessica Pressler
Filed Under: robert steel, The Greatest Depression, wachovia
What do we want from art now? It sums up Art Basel Miami well that one of the best-selling works of the annual extravaganza was finally smart, small, darkly comic — and dirt-cheap. Artists William Powhida and Jennifer Dalton offered a line of art-world condolence cards. They read, over images of moving vans, gravestones, and street signs, "I Am So Sorry for Your Loss of Representation" and, comfortingly, “Chelsea will miss you." At $150 a box, everybody wanted one.
Forget the frenzy — when all the dust settles after Art Basel, it’s all about the art. Who broke through with good work? What sold and who bought it? Six days, four museum shows, and thirteen art fairs later, here’s our take.
Dealers pulled out all the stops to bring some of the best work the ABMB bacchanalia has ever seen. Many, especially at the main fair, hung great photography or classic works by dead artists — Dubuffet, Duchamp, Picasso — rather than risk offering discounts on the works of younger artists. There, 20 percent off might reprice a whole inventory and shake a career. But then, karma from 2007 kicked in. Some of the same dealers who’ve been placing buyers on waiting lists for years — think Gagosian — got put on “hold” themselves by collectors who expressed interest in works but left dealers hanging, and sometimes left town. As one art adviser said, by the glow of hanging lanterns by the Raleigh pool, "Everybody is worried sick."
Lee Schrager, director of the South Beach Wine & Food Festival and a longtime art collector, snapped up two Starn brothers photos “at a 13 percent discount” at Photo Miami but then put away his checkbook. He said one dealer explained the Miami climate to him this way: “We did better than we expected — and worse than we had hoped.”
Who was recession proof? Cindy Sherman, breaking through to Warhol territory in cred and cost; Whitney Biennial vet Hernan Bas, whose atmospheric and homoerotic works get a show at the Brooklyn Museum of Art next year; and Mickalene Thomas. Her nifty rhinestone-on-enamel portraits were one of the hits of the much-praised show at the Rubell Collection, "30 Americans." To overgeneralize, pretty, portable art, and video art, was “in” with buyers; large, confrontational, or installation art was “out.”
Buyers included Takashi Murakami, who said he was cutting back his art-collecting but broke his own rule when he spent $100 on a drawing by Jacksonville, Florida, graphic artist Brandon Mata. The scrawny, friendly twentysomething artist, who does geometric portraits on graph paper, said he was “really happy!” as a result. At the main fair, Sheikh Majed Al-Sabah, one of world’s richest men, snapped up one of Karl Lagerfeld’s photos of the Jeff Koons exhibition at Versailles. It shows a Koons vacuum cleaner alongside a portrait of Marie Antoinette and was originally priced at $30,000. “It was controversial [in France] — and I got a deal,” bragged the grinning Sheikh, who added he’d like New York readers to know he’s opening one of his Villa Moda luxury malls in Dubai in March. Real-estate developer Craig Robins went shopping for several works and announced he and partners are building a museum of design in Miami.
Morgans Hotel Group CEO Fred Kleisner, giddily celebrating the coup of luring a surprising slice of celebrities and artists to his new Mondrian Hotel (dubbed "stunning — a decorative wonderland" by Artkrush editor Paul Laster, poolside at the Russell Simmons party), fell hard for some video art in the Lisson booth. It’s "about obsessive-compulsive disorder — my wife says it’s a little like me," said Kleisner. He also picked out one memorable work at Design Miami: a rat encased in a shiny crystal vacuum cleaner with a diamond gleaming in its mouth. "It’s good, it’s so New York," he said — but was still negotiating a discount off the $57,000 price when last we checked.
Dealers who thrived included Francis Nauman, who did a gutsy show of Marcel Duchamps instead of playing it safe with cheaper works. Kenny Schachter had a lot of demand for his Zaha Hadid works, and New York veteran dealer Max Protetch nearly sold out his “recession booth” of works mostly under $50,000 at the Pulse Art Fair. A breakthrough artist there (almost all of his work sold) was New York artist Siebren Versteeg, whose giant iPhone-like touch screen changed its art as the viewer scrolled a finger across it. Korean art also sold strongly and conceptualist and sculptor Hyungkoo Lee was a big hit. Photography sold strongly at Art Miami booths Yancey Richardson, Barry Friedman, and Stux.
One trend we’re sorry about: Collectors often opted to buy works by “famous names” that weren’t priced as high as art by traditional artists: Lagerfeld, Hadid, Marilyn Manson, and Naomi Campbell all had shows. The nicest thing to happen all week: Hopeful images of Obama were everywhere, and the crowd, though smaller, was by far the most racially mixed ever to attend Art Basel Miami. Recession or no, the art world has changed for the better.
Read more posts by Alexandra Peers
Filed Under: art, basel blog, cindy sherman, francis nauman, jennifer dalton, karl lagerfeld, larry gagosian, marcel duchamps, marilyn manson, mickalene thomas, naomi campbell, takashi murakami, william powhida
According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, some faculty members at the New School are considering drastic measures against president Bob Kerrey over a series of provost appointments that they feel has left the institution without a sense of consistency or a chance to grow. They're meeting this afternoon to discuss the abrupt departure this week of current provost Joseph Westphal to work on the Obama transition team for the Department of Defense. Westphal, a former congressman and chancellor of the University of Maine, only served three months out of his two-year term.
That makes five provosts that the school has cycled through since Kerrey took charge in 2001. "That's remarkable," said Arjun Appadurai, an anthropologist who says a no-confidence vote is "certainly a possibility." "We still don’t know all the facts," Appadurai added, "but clearly there was nothing routine about this." Ooh! We don't even know if this means anything, really, but academics in a snit! Overhead-projector fight!
New School Faculty Members May Hold No-Confidence Vote in Bob Kerrey [Chronicle.com]
Read more posts by Chris Rovzar
Filed Under: bob kerrey, new school, politics, school daze, schools
Not all of the fashion/luxury market is cowering under rocks, waiting for These Economic Times to turn bullish. Some are opening stores and throwing dinners! It's like it's 2007! Brazilian jeweler Jack Vartanian opened his first U.S. flagship yesterday on Madison Avenue (with a packed crowd ogling the wares). The store, designed by architect Arthur Mattos Casas, is modern but compact, much like most of our apartments. So, yes, you feel at home. Though we wish we had displays of diamond-laden jewels in our digs. The baubles have an old-world, vintage feel: giant rocks, delicate gold settings, and drop earrings that could have been passed down through generations. And what's a jeweler without the star-studded clientele? Anne Hathaway, Kate Hudson, and Cameron Diaz are all reported fans. So is it wishful thinking to throw open the doors this month of this year? Maybe, but at least we get to look at nice things. If only we could, you know, afford them. See the store after the jump.
So many jewels, so little cash.Photo: David X. Prutting
Read more posts by Amina Akhtar
Filed Under: First Looks, Jack Vartanian
With Hamlet 2 conquering this year's Sundance and a key role in Tropic Thunder, Steve Coogan was having one helluva 2008. That is, until Russell Brand usurped nearly all of his buzz when he stole the show as host of the VMAs in September. All is not lost, though: Vulture buddy Nikki Finke is now reporting that Coogan is set to host the Film Independent Spirit Awards in February. Just make sure Courtney Love isn't on the guest list and everything oughta be kosher. [DHD]
Read more posts by Mark Graham
Filed Under: Film Independent Spirit Awards, Hosts, Independent Spirit Awards, Steve Coogan
“Submarines in Stockholm,” the second track to be released from A.C. Newman's upcoming Get Guilty, might disappoint fans, but then again, we’re not so sure we can judge on their behalf. Like all of Newman’s “perfect pop songs,” this one layers an instantly memorable sing-song-y melody over textures (like the quiet keyboard in the bridge) that reward repeated exposures. And of course, the mildly rocking package is garnished with artfully nonsensical lyrics. “Perfect” is sometimes just another word for “rote.”
Download “Submarines in Stockholm”: Stereogum
Read more posts by Ehren Gresehover
Filed Under: a.c. newman, music, right-click
FRAGRANCE
• Manufacturers are phasing out the use of chemicals called phthalates in fragrances, according to a new report. Phthalates have been linked to "genital changes in baby boys, reduced sperm counts in men, and early puberty in girls." [USAT]
MAKEUP
• Sarah Palin's $22,800 makeup artist, Amy Strozzi: "The Governor's skin is the most beautiful skin I have ever worked with. Of course, makeup always helps to create an even canvas, but the condition of her skin was flawless. I attribute it to the clean Alaskan air, lots of fresh fish and protein, and a good fitness regime." [Racked]
• Michelle Obama is the inspiration for the new lipstick called Lady Obama by makeup line Khuraira . The burnt-sienna shade will sell for $20, with a percentage of the profits going to breast-cancer awareness. [Nylon]
HAIR
• Emma Watson, the lovely 18-year-old star of the Harry Potter movies, is the latest victim of "The Rachel" haircut. Sad. [Daily Beauty Reporter/Allure]
• Jennifer Connolly's eyebrows are the "physical endorsement against overplucking." Yes, that good. [Beauty Counter/Style.com]
Read more posts by Sharon Clott
Filed Under: beauty marks, emma watson, fragrance, hair, jennifer connolly, makeup, michelle obama, sarah palin
Last week the National Enquirer came out with a seemingly untethered story about how Live! host Kelly Ripa and actor Mark Conseulos were splitting up. Like any couple in which both partners are relatively famous, this rumor comes up from time to time — which might be why Kelly is so adept at handling it. Before the story even hit (but presumably after reps had been contacted by the supermarket tabloid), the petite couple appeared at the Cadillac Records premiere holding hands and making a full tableau of togetherness. Then, when the tabloid printed their account, her publicist issued an obligatory statement denying a breakup.
Instead of discussing the issue on her show, she invited co-host Regis Philbin over to her house that night to help decorate their Christmas tree. She devoted a long portion of the next show to talking about what happened when Reeg arrived (he dropped something and chipped the hardwood floor and Mark went bananas; it was hilarious), and how it was all a great big family scene. And every single day since then, she's managed to bring up her husband or kids (their last name is Consuelos, see). It's not that unusual for her to do so, it's just been very consistent — and yes, we watch every day. It's so you don't have to! And then a CityFile spy spotted them kissing in public (they've been married twelve years, come on) on Monday. Seriously, Madonna should have hired Kelly to do her PR this year. Things could have turned out a lot differently.
Kelly Ripa & Mark Consuelos: The Love Endures [CityFile]
We Question the Kelly Ripa-Mark Consuelos Breakup Rumor [NYO]
Read more posts by Chris Rovzar
Filed Under: kelly ripa, live, mark consuelos, national enquirer, regis philbin, the most important peole in the world
While Twilight mania has ebbed ever so slightly at the box office (it racked up $13 mil of its $140 million domestic cume this weekend), there's no denying that the cultural impact of the film continues to grow. And we here at Vulture are certainly cognizant of this. So, as a means to help quench your inestimable thirst for all things Bella and Edward, we present you with two quickie Twilight-related Web distractions. The first comes from someecards.com, who offer up a triumvirate of wryly sardonic tributes to the source material (as seen above). The second is the soon-to-be viral "Twilight: The Puppet Saga," which we first noticed in one of our frequent visits to /Film. The three-minute opus isn't quite up to par with Jason Segel's puppet opera Dracula's Lament from Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but we're pretty sure the legions of Twilighters (and possibly even Jim Henson fans) will approve. Heck, they even managed to nail the sparkly skin effect!
Read more posts by Mark Graham
Filed Under: Twilight, Web Junk, YouTube
Starting next spring the MTA will introduce a prototype subway line where four of ten cars have their seats locked upward during rush hour to pack in 18 percent more passengers. It hasn't yet revealed which line. Apparently they're already trying this in Boston. (Really? Like, only 50 people live there.) "I'm 86 years old," whined one rider. "What would happen to me if there are no seats?" It's simple, really. You enter an essay contest in which 100 lucky elderly, disabled, and pregnant people will qualify for a golden key to unlock a seat. Then you kill a witch, provide her broom as evidence, and they hand it over. You've already worked harder than that for a seat on the subway anyway, right? [WCBSTV.com]
Read more posts by Tim Murphy
Filed Under: commuters, mta, neighborhood watch, subways, why won't those people turn down their ipods?
To say that Kelly Reichardt "burst" onto the scene with 2006's Old Joy is slightly inaccurate. First, because Reichardt had been an underground filmmaker of some repute for years, with the much-acclaimed 1994 feature River of Grass and the 1999 long-form short Ode. Secondly, because Reichardt doesn't make movies that "burst": Joy was a gentle, haunting story of two old friends reconnecting on a languorous camping trip and discovering how much they've changed. Wendy and Lucy, Reichardt’s highly anticipated latest, stars Michelle Williams as a poor and mysterious young woman scrounging her way to Alaska when her car breaks down in Oregon and her dog goes missing. Reichardt spoke to Vulture about the fine-tuned instrument that is Michelle Williams.
Old Joy was about two childhood friends who had drifted apart — one was a suburban husband; the other, Kurt, was a penniless drifter. Now Wendy reminds me of Kurt in that she’s running out of money and on the edge of society.
She’s another person who’s living off the grid. But Wendy is not too much like Kurt. She’s not a whatever-comes-my-way kind of person. She’s actually really buttoned down and looks at life in the short term. She’s a list keeper. She tracks her mileage and tracks her money.
I’m convinced we’re basically watching the last few days of Wendy’s life.
That’s funny. Some people actually say, “What a hopeful ending!” What I really like about Jon’s writing, and why I’m drawn to it, is because there’s really enough space in the story for every viewer to bring their own personal experience. There must be some expression of yourself in the way you see it. So, let me guess, you must be a glass-half-empty kind of person. [Laughs]
It sounds like the film has political overtones for you.
To me, Wendy and Lucy is a personal story of a girl and her dog. But when you’re strapped financially, it’s hard to escape some things. The myth that we’ve bought into in this country, especially in the last eight years, is that if it’s not working out for you, then it’s because you’re lazy or don’t really want it. So we started with this character who actually has the wherewithal to look around her and say, “There’s no opportunity here.” And she has the spirit to go out and seek something. Is that really all you need?
So what’s she going to do in Alaska, if she gets there?
That’s a good question. There’s that whole go-to-Alaska-and-work-in-a-fish-cannery thing. I met so many people, especially in the Northwest, who did that. And, of course, none of them came home with the pot of gold that they were promised: “You can save up! Get a nest egg!”
So much of Michelle Williams’s performance is wordless. How do you write something like that?
You don’t. Both of these scripts were basically like 40 pages. A lot of it is just Michelle. When I first met her, she said something offhanded about being a fine-tune instrument. When I was filming her, I realized that’s exactly what she is. She’s a master of her craft. She’s been working for so long, she can just make the smallest adjustments, and she’s capable of being really still and letting a lot come through that.
Did you improvise a lot?
We were moving too fast to improvise. We shot 22 locations in eighteen days. At the same time, I feel like Michelle is improvising with her body all the time. And you’re improvising because you’re not blocking off a street. You’re improvising because you’re working with an untrained dog. So there are elements that are keeping her in the moment at all times.
Read more posts by Bilge Ebiri
Filed Under: kelly reichardt, michelle williams, movies, old joy, wendy and lucy
Alber Elbaz's breathtaking creations for Lanvin have made us swoon for quite some time now. And, as of next Thursday, his first denim line — a collaboration with Swedish denim company Acne — will finally be available. The 28-piece collection combines the classic style and impeccable detailing of Lanvin with the slightly rugged and hip look that Acne is famous for. Made from Italian and Japanese fabrics, the denim is minimally treated so it keeps its rich color. Highlights from the collection include a slightly relaxed straight-leg jean in the perfect shade of intense indigo ($520) and a short trench — an Alber hallmark — with oversize lapels, a loose fit, and beautiful jeweled buttons ($1,350). The entire collection will be available next week at Acne Studio, Barneys New York, and acnestudios.com.
Read more posts by Doria Santlofer
Filed Under: acne, alber elbaz, denim, first looks, lanvin, slideshow
Bailoutmeister Neel Kashkari was grilled and filleted in front of the House Financial Services committee today. The Times' DealBook has a roundup of some of the more snippety quotables from Congress, including this arch little comment from Alabama Representative Spencer Bachus:
I wonder what [Treasury] Secretary [Henry] Paulson and Mr. Kashkari, back when they were still working for Goldman Sachs, would ever agree to a deal where billions of dollars changed hands based on a two-page application, without asking what the money was going to be used for or whether it was going to be paid back.
"Is Goldman Sachs running this country? What are we doing giving $700 billion and there is this monopoly on who is controlling it. Nobody is accounting to anybody for it. And the perception, whether the reality is correct or not, the perception is that there is something sinister going on here."
Neel Kashkari in the Hot Seat [DealBook/NYT]
Read more posts by Jessica Pressler
Filed Under: bailout, neel kashkari, The Greatest Depression
What you’ll see here is a video of a video: a sort of outsider’s view of the installation at Murray Guy gallery by Ann Lislegaard, who has used CGI to animate science-fiction novels improving by light-years the ho-hum, non-animated sci-fi experience. A double screen shows, we are told, a modernist glass hotel slowly being invaded by a crystalline growth. The accompanying text reads: “What surprises me most, is the extent to which I have accepted the transformation; everywhere the process of crystallization is advancing.”
Read more posts by Emma Pearse
Filed Under: ann lislegaard, art candy
A Daily Mail reporter spent a day running around London in a $2,000 Hervé Léger bandage dress, inspired by curvy Kate Winslet whose figure recently looked great in one. She writes she couldn't eat, move, or breathe in it, but adds, "My usually stooped posture is forced into an upright pose. My bosom is hiked up to the heavens … I almost have a waist, perhaps even the hint of a smooth bum. Something that many hundreds of squats and lunges have still failed to deliver has been provided in moments by this remarkable dress." [Daily Mail]
Read more posts by Amy Odell
Filed Under: bandage issues, herve leger
Just a friendly reminder: My live talk show spectacular "CBS/NYC Presents: How Dare You? with Michelle Collins" premieres tonight at NYC's Upright Citizen's Brigade Theater at 8 PM, with special guests Julia Stiles and Stephen Baldwin. Now, I realize a lot of you (a lot = 3 or 4 on a good day) would give anything to be at this show, but just can't make the trek out to New York. I understand... and feel your pain.
So to ease the internal tension that must be crushing you right now, I've decided to give you a little preview as to the fun that will be had at tonight's show. Here is the credits sequence. A little something that will kick off the show and (read in your best midwestern accent) "set the mood." Believe you me: SIT THROUGH THE WHOLE THING. And feel free to actually clap at the end, no matter where you are. Much like Santa's sleigh on the end of Elf, I feel the love in spirit.
Also, for fun, turn your work volumes to HIGH.
Tagline: (Um, this trailer doesn't contain any actual words*.)
Translation: Who needs words when Jessica Biel is writhing about while barely clothed?
The Verdict: This voice-over-free, largely impressionistic trailer for Powder Blue doesn't go far in the way of, you know, actually telling you what the movie is about. However, Vulture has a feeling that most of the people who end up watching this film will be doing so in the privacy of their own homes in either fast-forward or slow-motion (depending on the scene, natch). Because ever since word broke way back in August 2007 that the film's producers (among whom is horny Oscar winner Forest Whitaker) ensured that Jessica Biel was contractually obligated to show "shots of her breasts (nipples from the front and side) and her butt (side view only)," fanboys have been anxiously counting down the days until this film's release. However, for you cinephiles who aren't solely interested in seeing Justin Timberlake's main squeeze sans clothes, we understand Powder Blue to be a Crash-like melodrama with a plot that features strip-club owners, morticians, and suicidal ex-priests intermingling in Los Angeles on Christmas Eve. Oh, and there's also this little morsel for you to snack on: "Newcomer Alejandro Romero will play a transsexual prostitute who shares an unexpected bond with the priest." Alrighty then! Factor in the fact that the trailer also shows people doing blow, Ray Liotta making it rain in a strip club, someone shooting hoops during a torrential downpour, and Biel dripping wax on herself and you've got yourself all the makings of a holiday movie for the ages!
*Yes, we realize there is one context-free sentence spoken at the very end of the trailer, but just go with us on this one, ok?
Read more posts by Mark Graham
Filed Under: Jessica Biel, Movies, Powder Blue, Trailer Mix
Look who's naked: John Galliano, Agyness Deyn, Karl Lagerfeld, and Donatella Versace. The fashionable four appear as nude cartoon characters (with strategically placed floral arrangements) on Henry Holland's new T-shirts, which will arrive in stores next year. It's nice to see the economic downturn hasn't killed the fashion world's sense of humor — all of Holland's subjects granted the designer permission to use their images. We can only imagine that pitch letter to the Kaiser. [Grazia]
Read more posts by Sharon Clott
Filed Under: agyness deyn, best things ever, donatella versace, henry holland, house of holland, john galliano, karl lagerfeld
Believe it or not, five years ago today, in the flush of the real-estate boom, Mayor Bloomberg, Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz, and big-time developer Bruce Ratner unveiled their vision for Atlantic Yards, which would tear down a chunk of Prospect Heights to build a Brooklyn Nets arena plus a complex of residential, retail, and office towers that would loom over the small-scale hood. As many of you know, utter chaos and protest ensued, with accusations that the project's size and scale would destroy the area. And today, the protesters have won, sort of: Construction hasn't begun and the whole thing's tied up in lawsuits and has naturally slowed due to the financial meltdown. In an inverse version of showing people baby pictures, this would be like a shame-filled parent (Ratner) showing photos of a stunted little 5-year-old and everyone else (the countless Brooklynites who despise the idea of Atlantic Yards) oohing and aahing with genuine delight. "So cuuuute! Wouldn't it be great if s/he could stay that way forever? Awww!" [Curbed]
Read more posts by Tim Murphy
Filed Under: atlantic yards, bruce ratner, Neighborhood Watch, real estate
Fashion Wire Daily - The Smiths came out in force on Tuesday night for the premiere of young Jaden's latest flick. Dad Will, mom Jada, and sister Willow hit the red carpet in New York City as 20th Century Fox celebrated their updated take on the classic science-fiction film "The Day the Earth Stood Still."
CBS CEO Les Moonves (a.k.a. Moonvest) heard the Jay Leno news and, quite frankly, wasn't the least bit fazed by it. "I would bet anyone who would like to bet that CSI: Miami will beat Jay by a lot," Moonves said today. "Remember: by a lot." We just hope that news of this double-dog dare evades unlucky mogul/frequent gambler Harvey Weinstein, whose pocketbook is hurting after recently losing big bets to both Nikki Finke and Cindy Adams. [Live Feed/HR]
Read more posts by Mark Graham
Filed Under: Beef, Bets, Harvey Weinstein, Jay Leno, Les Moonves, TV
Like the recession wasn't putting enough of a damper on the holiday season. Now Santa Claus has been brutally attacked. Santa was sitting at a New Jersey PetSmart this weekend when a lady came up and plopped her giant cat in his lap for a picture, because apparently people do that. Santa could barely get out a jolly "You're a husky little guy, aren't you" before the cat went feral and started freaking out worse than Randy from A Christmas Story, clawing ferociously until Santa's palms were shredded and, a local news station reports, "his white Santa gloves became red." It was later deduced that the cat was a bobcat. "It hurt. It had a lot of power in its jaws," said Santa. The horror. We hope he heals in time to drive the sleigh.
Biting bobcat leaves Santa scarred for Christmas [9News.com]
Read more posts by Jessica Pressler
Filed Under: animal stories, bobcat, christmas, holidays, santa, This Is Just Weird
Excitement continues to build over Kelly Cutrone's new reality show about her fashion PR company People's Revolution. Last week we learned ex–Project Runway producers Magical Elves were producing it. But we've only heard vague metaphors about what we would actually see on camera. Those vague metaphors shall keep us in the dark no longer. PR Week reports:
The new show will follow the agency as it tries to get clients into top-tier publications, tracking phone calls, written materials, look books, meetings, and photo shoots. It'll also play out the drama associated with producing fashion shows and working with celebrities.
“It's visually very stimulating … coupled with the intense hours we go through and some of the perceived crises that happen within the fashion industry, whether it be something being held up at customs … in the middle of the night, to trying to find double-sided tape at three in the morning for a dress for a fashion show," Cutrone said.
Cutrone added she wanted to provide an “opportunity on TV for young women to see women in power.” Are you there, Real Housewives? The Magical Elves are shopping the pilot around to networks and say, “There's been a great interest in the show." Variety reports that NBC Universal has a first-look deal at the show. To say there is life after The Hills would be an understatement. We wonder how Lauren Conrad will fare. And, for that matter, the piteous Lo Bosworth.
Kelly Cutrone snags reality show for agency [PR Week]
Magical Elves in fashion again [Variety]
Related: We Can’t Wait for Kelly Cutrone’s New Reality Show
Read more posts by Amy Odell
Filed Under: kelly cutrone, magical elves, nbc, peoples revolution, reality revolution, reality tv, television
Today saw the release of the annual Black List, an index of the year's best-liked, not-yet-produced screenplays. To compile it, more than 250 film executives were polled and each script had to be mentioned four times to warrant inclusion. The one with the most mentions is Kyle Killen's The Beaver (see our exclusive review here!), and No. 2 is by Jay Reiss, the guy who played the word pronouncer in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The full list (with synopses!) is after the jump. Special congratulations is due to Nick Confalone, former writer of Vulture's daily Industry post, whose Knights (co-written with Neal Dusedau) is included.
67 mentions:
THE BEAVER by Kyle Killen
“A depressed man finds hope in a beaver puppet that he wears on his hand.”
61 mentions:
THE ORANGES by Jay Reiss & Ian Helfer
“A man has a romantic relationship with the daughter of a family friend, which turns their lives upside down.”
44 mentions:
BUTTER by Jason Micallef
“A small town becomes a center for controversy and jealousy as its annual butter
carving contest begins.”
42 mentions:
BIG HOLE by Michael Gilio
“An old cowboy goes on a mission to recover his money after a million dollar
sweepstakes scam cleans out his entire bank account.”
40 mentions:
THE LOW DWELLER by Brad Ingelsby
“A man trying to assimilate into society after being released from jail discovers that someone from his past is out to settle a score.”
39 mentions:
FUCKBUDDIES by Liz Meriwether
“A guy and a girl struggle to have an exclusively sexual relationship as they both come to realize they want much more.”
34 mentions:
WINTER’S DISCONTENT by Paul Fruchbom
“When Herb Winter’s wife of fifty years dies, the faithful but sexually frustrated widower moves into a retirement community to start living the swinging single life.”
29 mentions:
BROKEN CITY by Brian Tucker
“A New York private investigator gets sucked into a shady mayoral election.”
24 mentions:
I’M WITH CANCER by Will Reiser
“A autobiographical comic account of one man’s struggle to beat cancer.”
22 mentions:
OUR BRAND IS CRISIS by Peter Straughan
“Based on the eponymous documentary. James Carville and a team of U.S. political consultants travel to South America to help Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada (aka ‘Goni’) become President of Bolivia.”
21 mentions:
INGLORIOUS BASTERDS by Quentin Tarantino
“American soldiers, French peasants, French resistance, and Nazis collide in Hitler
occupied France.”
20 mentions:
UNTITLED VANESSA TAYLOR PROJECT by Vanessa Taylor
“After thirty years of marriage, a middle-aged couple attends an intense counseling weekend to decide the fate of their marriage.”
16 mentions:
GALAHAD by Ryan Condal
“A revisionist twist on the King Arthur legend from the knight Galahad’s perspective.”
THE WEST IS DEAD by Andrew Baldwin
“During the Great Depression, a group of semi-outlaws go on the run from the law when forced to vacate a town as the Hoover dam is constructed.”
15 mentions:
MANUSCRIPT by Paul Grellong
“A contemporary thriller about three bright, young New Yorkers with boundless literary ambition who will stop at nothing to get what they want.”
THE TUTOR by Matthew Fogel
“A twenty three year old recent graduate decides, at his mother’s insistence, to tutor his ex-girlfriend’s younger sister for the SATs. When they begin a romantic relationship, his ex-girlfriend moves back home for the summer and begins to fall back in love with our anti-hero as well.”
14 mentions:
THE DESCENDANTS by Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
“A newly widowed father — also one of the richest men in Oahu, Hawaii — takes off with his two rebellious daughters to track down his Kauai.”
SUNFLOWER by Misha Green
“Two young women struggle to escape from and exact revenge on the deranged college professor who holds them hostage.”
GOING THE DISTANCE by Geoff LaTulippe
“A couple tries to maintain a long-distance relationship.”
13 mentions:
THE AMERICAN WAY by Brian Kistler
“Two brothers are affected by their parents’ murder, leading one to the FBI and the other to a life of crime.”
NOWHERE BOY by Matt Greenhalgh
“The story of John Lennon’s rise from lonely, Liverpool teenager to iconic rock star.”
RAINDROPS ALL AROUND ME by Reed Agnew & Eli Jorne
“A socially awkward high school teacher learns to ‘dumb it down’ in order to fit in with those around him.”
SEQUELS, REMAKES & ADAPTATIONS by Sam Esmail
“The outlandish journey of a young man in search of love and what he’s meant to do with his life.”
12 mentions:
A COUPLE OF DICKS by Mark Cullen & Robb Cullen
“Two veteran LAPD detectives attempt to track down a stolen, mint-condition, 1952 baseball card that one of the detectives hopes to sell in order to pay for his
daughter’s upcoming wedding.”
THE MANY DEATHS OF BARNABY JAMES by Brian Nathanson
“A teenage apprentice in a macabre circus for the dead yearns to bring his true love back to life, but not before encountering the many dangerous and mysterious gothic characters that stand in his way.”
GAY DUDE by Alan Yang
“A comedy about the friendship of two high school seniors that’s torn apart after one comes out of the closet.”
UNDERAGE by Scott Neustadter & Michael Weber
“A seventeen-year-old seduces a twentysomething man and then blackmails him into being her boyfriend in order to exact revenge on her high school aged ex.”
11 mentions:
CODE NAME VEIL by Matt Billingsley
“Based on actual events. A young CIA agent struggles to maintain his morality while navigating dangerous and absurd conditions in 1980s Beirut.”
THE FOURTH KIND by Olatunde Osunsanmi
“A woman investigates an extraordinary number of unexplained disappearances from one small town in Alaska.”
EVERYTHING MUST GO by Dan Rush
“A relapsed alcoholic loses his job and his wife and decides to live on his front lawn while selling all of his belongings in a yard sale.”
FOXCATCHER by E Max Frye & Dan Futterman
“Based on the true story of John du Pont, a paranoid schizophrenic who was heir to the du Pont fortune. After building a wrestling training facility named Team Foxcatcher on his Pennsylvania estate, Du Pont shot and killed Olympic gold medal-winning grappler David Schulz.”
THE PHANTOM LIMB by Kevin Koehler
“A troubled private detective uncovers a blackmail scam involving a gangster who runs a brothel that caters to amputee fetishes (and other taboo sexual interests) and the
doctor who performs the body modifications.”
10 mentions:
THE APOSTLES OF INFINITE LOVE by Victoria Strouse
“When an upper class dysfunctional New York family learn their youngest daughter has joined a cult in the midwest, they recruit a cult deprogrammer and go on the road to save her while both parents and siblings confront their issues with one another.”
THE F-WORD by Elan Mastai
“Two best friends struggle with falling in love without ruining the bond between them.”
UP IN THE AIR by Jason Reitman
“A ruthless human resources executive, whose job is to fire people, looks forward to the only joy he has in life, his millionth frequent flyer mile, a goal he pursues with
zeal as the rest of his life falls apart around him because he is constantly on the
road.”
9 mentions:
BACHELORETTE by Leslye Headland
“Ten years out of high school, three unhappy single friends come together as
bridesmaids at a classmate's wedding, get drunk, get high, and trash the wedding dress
while romancing new and old loves and settling old business.”
KNIGHTS by Nick Confalone & Neal Dusedau
“A kickass British adventure where knighted celebrities (an entrepreneur, a soccer player, a musician, and an actor) are called upon to defend their country.”
JONNY QUEST by Dan Mazeau
“Young Jonny Quest travels the world with his scientist father, adopted brother from India, Bandit the bulldog, and a government agent assigned to protect them while they investigate scientific mysteries.”
THE KARMA COALITION by Shawn Christensen
“A professor embarks on a quest to uncover the truth behind his wife's death before the world ends.”
KEIKO by Elizabeth Wright Shapiro
“A white teenage girl, who was adopted and raised in Japan by Japanese parents, travels to America to find her long lost father, comedian Dana Carvey.”
TWENTY TIMES A LADY by Gabrielle Allan & Jennifer Crittenden
“Based on the book by Karyn Bosnak. After realizing that she has had twice as many sexual partners as the national average, Ally swears off new guys and decides to go back and visit the previous twenty guys and find out if she overlooked anyone.”
8 mentions:
CLEAR WINTER NOON by John Kolvenbach
“A hit man released from jail in his seventies tries to make amends for the innocent life he took.”
FIERCE INVALIDS HOME FROM HOT CLIMATES by Eric Aronson
“Based on the novel by Tom Robbins. An irascible, world-weary CIA operative is duped by his boss into helping re-place a listening device back in Russian hands that is vital to spying on them.”
ROUNDTABLE by Brian K Vaughan
“In modern day, Merlin attempts to assemble a bunch of knights to battle an ancient evil.”
7 mentions:
PLAN B by Kate Angelo
“A woman sets out to be artificially inseminated and falls in love.”
THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF THE MONOGAMOUS DUCK by Neeraj Katyal
“A writer struggling with drugs and his girlfriend’s death leaves New York for Los Angeles where he falls in love with a teacher and straightens out his life.”
THE LAYMAN’S TERMS by Jeremy Bailey
“In the midst of the Great Depression, a prodigal son returns home to face his demons and resurrect the dust bowl town he left behind. But the arrival of a mysterious woman soon threatens his way of life when he discovers she is being hunted by the very same Chicago gangsters he used to run with.”
THE MALLUSIONIST by Robbie Pickering & Jace Ricci
“A wannabe illusionist travels cross country with his young son to compete against his archnemesis in a Vegas magic show.”
THE GARY COLEMAN–EMMANUEL LEWIS PROJECT by Dan Fogelman
“Emmanuel Lewis and Gary Coleman save the world from an evil madman.”
WHAT IS LIFE WORTH? By Max Borenstein
“Based on the memoir of Kenneth Feinberg, a dramatization of his involvement in the 9/11 victims compensation fund.”
6 mentions:
ACOD: ADULT CHILDREN OF DIVORCE by Ben Karlin & Stu Zicherman
“A grown man finds himself still caught in the crossfire of his parents’ divorce.”
BAD TEACHER by Lee Eisenberg & Gene Stupnitsky
“After being dumped by her boyfriend, a foul-mouthed, gold-digging seventh-grade teacher sets her sights on a colleague who is dating the school’s model teacher.”
CHILD 44 by Richard Price
“Based on the novel by Tom Rob Smith. An officer in Stalinist Russia’s secret police is framed by a colleague for treason. While on the run with his wife, he stumbles upon a series of child murders and launches his own rogue investigation.”
THE BIRTHDAY PARTY by Charles Randolph
“The true story of former Assistant United States attorney Stanley Alpert’s kidnapping by petty thieves and how he bonded with them in a Queens, NY apartment in 1998.”
INFERNO: A LINDA LOVELACE STORY by Matt Wilder
“The story of Linda Lovelace, the first mainstream porn star who eventually overcame her past, found happiness in suburbia and led a crusade to stop pornography.”
EASY A by Bert Royal
“A good-natured high school student uses the rumor mill to personal advantage by pretending to be the school slut.”
GRAND THEFT AUTO by Jason Dean Hall
“Facing foreclosure on his repo yard, a young ex-con resumes a life of crime only to get blamed when his uncle’s coke deal gets hijacked. Caught in double crosses between Russian mafia, Yakuza, and the ATF, the young ex-con kidnaps a crime boss’s daughter and steals car after car on a Vegas bound suicide mission to retrieve the stolen drugs.”
HELP ME SPREAD GOODNESS by Mark Friedman
“When an email predator dupes a man out of his son’s college fund, the man travels to Nigeria to confront those who ripped him off.”
GIANTS by Eric Nazarian
“A teenager with Marfan Syndrome comes to terms with his estranged father, his
overworked mother, and the possibility that he very well might die during his upcoming
procedure.”
LONDON BOULEVARD by William Monahan
“Based on the book by Ken Fruen. Fresh out of prison, Mitchell lands a legitimate job as a handyman for a rich actress who's eager to reward him with cash, cars, and sex.
But Mitchell can never truly escape his violent past or the dangerous world of loan
sharks, drug addicts and other bottom-feeders.”
SHRAPNEL by Evan Daugherty
“Two mortal enemies square off on a hunting trip to the death.”
YOUR DREAMS SUCK by Kat Dennings & Geoffrey Litwak
“An awkward teen with no self esteem regains his self-confidence after joining a Dance Dance Revolution team.”
MEMOIRS by Will Fetters
“Two college students who’ve experienced recent loss fall in love and heal their fractured families.”
GREETINGS FROM JERRY by John Killoran
“Jerry seems to have it all — money, women, and a ridiculously easy job as a greeting card writer — until a tiny mistake at work unravels his life. Having lost everything he had — but never earned —he's forced to confront who he really is and start again from scratch.”
5 mentions:
AFTER HAILEY by Scott Frank
“Based on the novel by Jonathan Tropper. After a twentysomething man’s older wife dies, he remains in suburbia and struggles to raise her teenage son from a previous marriage.”
THE BLADE ITSELF by Aaron Stockard
“Based on the novel by Marcus Sakey. Two former childhood friends, who made their reputation committing petty crimes, are reunited years later, forcing one of them to
decide how far he will go to protect his past.”
FRESHLY POPPED by Megan Parsons
“A teenage girl who works at a movie theater tries to decide to whom she wants to lose her virginity.”
GAZA by Frank Deasy
“A British woman goes to Gaza to recover the body of her dead daughter and comes to understand her daughter’s political ideals.”
BROTHERHOOD OF THE ROSE by Adam Cozad
“Two orphans, raised by a CIA operative to be assassins, become targets themselves.”
MAN OF CLOTH by Josh Zetumer
“When an English minister's family (wife and youngest son) are unjustly punished and sent off to a prison colony in Australia, the minister and his oldest son travel to
Australia to re-unite the family. Upon arrival though, the minister is informed of
their death, and quickly vengeance is the only thing that can quiet his hurt.”
GROWN MAN BUSINESS by Justin Britt-Gibson
“An older man who was a gangster in his youth returns to his neighborhood after a long absence to find the boys who murdered the son he abandoned years previous.”
HOW TO BE GOOD by Cindy Chupack
“Based on the novel by Nick Hornby. A woman having second thoughts about her husband is pleased when he begins following a guru, but when her husband invites the guru to live with them, her point of view changes entirely.”
IRON JACK by Johnny Rosenthal
“A renowned novelist’s comic quest for hidden treasure in the 1930s.”
THE HERETIC by Javier Rodriguez
“The Roman Catholic Church asks a former inquisitor to assassinate rebel monk Martin Luther.”
UNLOCKED by Peter O’Brien
“A female CIA interrogator is duped into getting a terrorist to provide key information to the wrong side, thrusting her into the middle of a plot to plan a devastating
biological attack in London.”
SLEEPING BEAUTY by Julia Leigh
“A haunting erotic fairy tale about Lucy, a student who drifts into prostitution and
finds her niche as a woman who sleeps, drugged, in a ‘Sleeping Beauty chamber’ while men do to her what she can‘t remember the next morning.”
STOP HUNTINGDON ANIMAL CRUELTY by Adam Sachs
“A lonely journalist finds love and inspiration in a quirky, unlikely manner –covering the misadventures of a young boy’s ‘protest’ of an animal rights movement.”
A TALE OF TWO CITIES by Beau Willimon
“Based on the novel by Charles Dickens. Set in Paris and London during the French Revolution, English aristocrat Sydney Carton sacrifices his own life for his unrequited love Lucie Manette and Frenchman Charles Darnay.”
THE SPELLMAN FILES by Bobby Florsheim & Josh Stolberg
“A family of private investigators use their gumshoe skills to crack cases and pry into one another’s personal lives.”
THE BEAUTIFUL AND THE DAMNED by Hanna Weg
“The tumultuous and doomed love affair of Jazz Age icons F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Sayre.”
WHAT WOULD KENNY DO? by Chris Baldi
“A seventeen-year-old high school kid meets a ‘hologram’ of himself at thirty-seven-years-old and benefits from their friendship.”
4 mentions:
47 RONIN by Chris Morgan
“Forty-seven samurai seek vengeance upon a regional lord who is responsible for the death of their master.”
THE ZERO by Stephen Chin
“Based on the novel by Jess Walter. After a New York City policeman shoots himself in the head following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, he is assigned to work for a shadowy agency at ‘Ground Zero’ and quickly finds himself drawn into a sinister government plot.”
BALLAD OF THE WHISKEY ROBBER by Rich Wilkes
“Based on the book by Julian Rubinstein.”
THE DEBT by Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn
“Based on the Israeli film HaHov. Three Israeli Mossad agents discover that a war
criminal is still alive and set out to pursue him.”
A BITTERSWEET LIFE by Mark L Smith
“A crime boss asks his trusted lieutenant to determine if his young mistress is having an affair (and to kill her and her lover if she is.) The lieutenant confirms the affair
but, entranced by the girl, chooses to let them live. Discovering this, the crime boss
orders the lieutenant killed, only he escapes and seeks vengeance.”
BOBISM by Ben Wexler
“A shy college student discovers that life in one thousand years will be based on his blog — and he has to stop aliens from the future who want him dead.”
DEADLINE by Soo Hugh
“A discredited journalist navigates dangerous politics to find a missing aid worker.”
BOBBIE SUE by Russell Sharman, Owen Egerton, & Chris Mass
“A hard charging female ambulance chaser becomes the face of a prestigious law firm when an important client is sued for sexual discrimination.”
A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY by Susan Walter
“A female clothing designer struggles to find love and success after turning thirty.”
THE ENDS OF THE EARTH by Chris Terrio
“Based on a true story. The controversial love affair between an oil baron and his
adopted daughter destroys the empire they built together.”
THE HOW-TO GUIDE FOR SAVING THE WORLD by BenDavid Grabinski
“A loser discovers a book on how to stop an alien invasion and is thrust into action to stop a real one.”
I KILLED BUDDY CLOY by Nick Garrison & Chase Pletts
“When a terrible act of violence shatters Ray’s hum-drum existence, his sociopath uncle lures him down an absurd, vengeful path.”
HEARTSTOPPER by Dan Antoniazzi & Ben Shiffrin
“A romantic comedy, with a serial killer.”
JAR CITY by Michael Ross
“Based on the film by Baltasar Kormakur. A police detective’s investigation of a murder leads to the uncovering of secrets in a small town.”
SAMURAI by Fernley Phillips
“Set in Japan during the 150 Year War, a ronin out for justice teams up with a ninja and a green-eyed English boy to rid Japan of an evil Lord. Their partnership becomes the stuff of myth.”
THE MOST ANNOYING MAN IN THE WORLD by Kevin Kopelow & Heath Seifert
“A man travels across the country with his annoying brother in order to get to his own wedding.”
THE MURDERER AMONG US by Lori Gambino
“Based on true events. Legendary filmmaker Fritz Lang contends with a mounting police investigation into the death of his first wife, the growing threat of the Third Reich,
and a caustic relationship with his female collaborator; all leading to the production
of the film M.”
MOTORCADE by Billy Ray
“The President of the United States and his motorcade are attacked during a visit to Los Angeles.”
ONCE UPON A TIME IN HELL by Brian McGreevy & Lee Shipman
“A gritty, contemporary retelling of THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO set in the underworld of the Hell’s Kitchen Irish mob.”
‘TIL BETH DO US PART by Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg
“The friendship of two twentysomething men is put to the test when one of them becomes engaged.”
THE SCAVENGERS by Nate Edelman
“Based on the play Playboy of the Western World by J.M. Synge. A ne’er-do-well Irish twentysomething becomes infamous when he commits a haphazard murder and catches the fancy of a brazen barmaid who, bored with her small town existence, sees him as the rebel he always wanted to be and follows him on the run.”
SHERLOCK HOLMES by Tony Peckham
“A dark, sophisticated take on Sherlock Holmes and his trusted number two, Dr. Watson.”
SERIAL KILLER DAYS by Mark Carter
“A dark comedy blending stories of teen love and municipal corruption set against the backdrop of a town plagued by a serial killer that decides to profit the only way it
can — by creating a festival and economy around the fact that they have a serial
killer.”
SWINGLES by Jeff Roda
“After their best friends get engaged, a dedicated bachelor and a high-strung lawyer team up to help each other get dates by giving revealing insights into the opposite sex (thus inventing ‘swingling’) but complications ensue when they fall for each other.”
UNTITLED CHANNING TATUM PROJECT by Doug Jung
“A Los Angeles cop escorts a Korean gang leader back to South Korea. When the gang leader escapes, killing the cop's partner in the process, he teams with a young Korean gangster in a bloody pursuit of revenge that takes them through the dangerous and exotic underworld of Seoul.”
Read more posts by Lane Brown
Filed Under: nick confalone, scripts, the black list
Our fearless editor Rohit randomly found this MIDI file on the internet, and it is HANDS DOWN one of the funniest things I've ever heard. It is Bryan Adams "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You," and it is amazing. I can't even begin to imagine what went into the making of this track, because it's just so bad, and so bizarre, that it's incredible to think that a human had a hand in making this publicly available, much less making it at all. If "fail" had a theme song, this would most definitely be it. You MUST listen to the entire thing, because it just keeps getting better and better.
AP - This revolution will not be televised but only because there's no budget for video monitors, according to the Chorus in "Too Much Memory."
On the day when gays are trying to prove that they are an essential part of American life by skipping work, anti-gay State Senator Ruben Diaz demonstrates just how influential they are. They are making. him. really. mad. They're calling his office and asking him why he has broken away from the Democratic Party partially over the issue of marriage equality. They're protesting his august decision-making (and so is Ed Koch, who called him a "rat" on the radio the other day). And Diaz is pissed. He told the Daily News' Elizabeth Benhamin that there would be consequences for all this:
"The gays are calling my office. They're jamming my phones. They're going to see what we can do. They've going to see exactly what we can do. Ed Koch is going to see what we can do. They're just going to see. That is what I'm telling you."
Hey gays, whatever you're doing is totally working. Was that a threat, Mr. Diaz? What, exactly, are you going to try to do to the gays now? You're trying to stop marriage equality, you already tried to stop the Gay Games, and you fought against a safe-haven high school for LGBT students. What are you going to try to take away next, Chelsea? Because we've seen the size of some of the dudes walking around down there and we don't really recommend that you try it.
Diaz: 'Just Wait To See What We Can Do' [NYDN]
Earlier: Anti-Gay State Senator Chooses Opposition to Marriage Equality Over Party
Tomorrow: A Day Without Gays
Read more posts by Chris Rovzar
Filed Under: early and often, ed koch, gays, marriage equality, politics, ruben diaz sr
AP - Like the plantains and empanadillas that adorn the film's Christmas dinner table, "Nothing Like the Holidays" is comfort food.
Reuters - In couture, cut is vital, but Marie Dupuis has found it can also apply to price. Thanks to a little bargaining, a Jean-Paul Gaultier dress she had her eye on for New Year's eve was hers at a 40 percent discount.
AP - While Robert Wise's science-fiction classic "The Day the Earth Stood Still" was a simple story of deep ideas, the remake is an overblown, puny-minded tale featuring extraterrestrials too stupid or lazy to do a background check on the species they condemn.
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