Is it true that most stars are basically sponsored by a fashion icon? In other words, they don't pay for their clothing?
—Toby, England
What a timely, fashiony...
We are of the belief that bigger is often better — when it comes to TVs, paychecks, and credit limits at least. So we're thrilled that our slideshows now come in full-screen size. It's like being in the front row, only better. No more dealing with long lines, PR interns who can't read, or those pesky seat-stealers. See every look up close. And our details galleries are getting the large-and-in-charge treatment, too: You can see cuticles, people. Sit back and enjoy the shows.
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel joined forces for a surprise reunion last night (Feb. 13) at New York's Beacon Theatre, which was hosting its first event after a seven-month renovation by Madison Square Garden Entertainment.
AP - Nearly two dozen guitars are scattered on the floor and sofa in Conan O'Brien's office in Rockefeller Center, most of them gifts from musicians like Eddie Van Halen, Los Lobos, Les Paul and Brian Setzer.
Nearly two dozen guitars are scattered on the floor and sofa in Conan O'Brien's office in Rockefeller Center, most of them gifts from musicians like Eddie Van Halen, Los Lobos, Les Paul and Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 14 Feb 2009 | 3:53 pm
• The Obama effect is taking hold of New York Fashion Week as runways are more diverse this season than ever. Will the trend carry over to editorials and advertising? [NYT]
• Robin Givhan likens Hillary Clinton's Vogue cover to "an oil painting by a modern-day John Singer Sargent," while Obama's, she writes, "has the self-consciously relaxed quality of something that might appear on a Facebook page." [WP]
• BlackBook magazine will be published eight times in 2009, down from ten in 2008. [NYP]
• Designer Elise Overland's guilty pleasure: smoking opium in the desert. Now you know. [GlamChic]
• Chace Crawford reportedly missed the Alvin Valley show because he was stuck on the Gossip Girl set. He supposedly wanted to watch Matt Damon's little sister, Sarah Bradford, walk because they are secretly dating. [NYP]
Yigal Azrouël may be one sexy man, but at the Mercedes-Benz opening celebration last night, the designer was mortified when we asked what kinds of propositions he’s received working in fashion: “I don’t know how to answer that,” he said, laughing nervously. “What are you thinking?” As he moved on to the next reporter, his date, stylist Kate Young, whispered to us that “He just doesn’t get it.”
Awww, look at lovebirds Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, who recently stepped out in matching white outfits while on Tom's Valkyrie tour.
Nothing says "my significant...
The first day of shows proved to be surprisingly diverse for once. Senegalese model Aminata Niaria closed for Charlotte Ronson and her fellow countrywoman Kinee Diouf closed Abaeté. Jason Wu picked Jourdan Dunn to open his show, which was perhaps a not-so-subtle tribute to his biggest fan, Michelle Obama. And for opening the most anticipated show of the day, Jourdan wins Friday's top spot. So does this mean the days of whitewashed runways are behind us? That remains to be seen. To see these and more openers and closers, click ahead for the slideshow.
NEW YORK, Feb. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Do you remember your first time? That is, the first time you fell in love with the scent of Gain. Valentine's Day is near, love is in the... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 14 Feb 2009 | 2:00 pm
There may be a few deliriously happy duos in T-town—cuties Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick come to mind—but there are more than enough romances that have gone on way too...
It's been another week of sexy, thought-provoking information on the Soup Blog. Join us, won't you, for a look at the past week's top five most vital pop-culture...
Fashion Wire Daily - It was not all doom and gloom in Manhattan this week, certainly not at chez Nicole Miller, whose latest collection is firmly targeted at women determined to have a little fun.
German actress Heike Makatsch with Paul von Schell, the widower of late German singer Hildegard Knef before the premiere of "Hilde" at the Berlin Film Festival on February 13, 2009. The festival prepared... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 14 Feb 2009 | 12:15 pm
The Berlin Film Festival prepared to crown its Golden Bear winner Saturday, with dramas about a US soldier coming home from Iraq, parents united by the London bombings and an Iranian look... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 14 Feb 2009 | 12:15 pm
French actor Jean Reno at a press conference at the Berlin Film Festival on February 13, 2009. The Berlin Film Festival prepared to crown its Golden Bear winner Saturday, with dramas about a US soldier... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 14 Feb 2009 | 12:15 pm
Indian actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan on the red carpet before the showing of "Pink Panther 2" on February 13. The Berlin Film Festival prepared to crown its Golden Bear winner on Saturday. Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 14 Feb 2009 | 12:15 pm
WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) delivers the weekly Republican address. Enclosed below is a link to the audio file, YouTube... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 14 Feb 2009 | 11:00 am
Call it an early Valentine's present to their New York fans. Last night Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel reunited on stage at the reopening of the legendary Beacon Theater on the Upper West Side.
BERLIN (Reuters) - Duds stuck in the memory more than discoveries at the Berlin film festival, where critics were underwhelmed by the quality of the main competition line up. Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 14 Feb 2009 | 7:43 am
Reuters - Peter Gabriel has rejected an offer to perform at the Academy Awards next week after the veteran British rocker learned he would have just a minute to sing his Oscar-nominated tune from Disney's "WALL-E".
Reuters - Watch Nathan Followill breeze into his local Nashville watering hole, and it's obvious that he's well known and well liked by the crew at McCabe's Pub. Clad in sweats and a Yankees cap, the Kings of Leon drummer comes off more as cool local guy than international rock star. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 14 Feb 2009 | 4:45 am
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - James Franco got a spoof bar mitzvah and was forced to milk a "gay" cow on Friday to earn his pudding pot as Harvard's Hasty Pudding Man of the Year. The 30-year-old Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 14 Feb 2009 | 4:45 am
AP - James Franco got a spoof bar mitzvah and was forced to milk a "gay" cow on Friday to earn his pudding pot as Harvard's Hasty Pudding Man of the Year.
AP - James Franco got a spoof bar mitzvah and was forced to milk a "gay" cow on Friday to earn his pudding pot as Harvard's Hasty Pudding Man of the Year.
James Franco got a spoof bar mitzvah and was forced to milk a "gay" cow on Friday to earn his pudding pot as Harvard's Hasty Pudding Man of the Year. The 30-year-old Franco, who played... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 14 Feb 2009 | 4:15 am
US President Barack Obama will honor Motown legend and high profile supporter Stevie Wonder later this month, in what will likely be the first major cultural event since he moved into the... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 14 Feb 2009 | 3:40 am
Musician Stevie Wonder performs in Los Angeles, California. US President Barack Obama will honor Motown legend and high profile supporter Wonder later this month, in what will likely be the first major... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 14 Feb 2009 | 3:40 am
NEW YORK (Billboard) - In 1993, Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Soundgarden, the Smashing Pumpkins and Pavement brought AIDS activism into the bedrooms of grunge-obsessed teens on the benefit album... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 14 Feb 2009 | 3:26 am
Only 24 hours in, and we've got some drama. It seems that Yigal has parted ways with People's Revolution and Kelly Cutrone. From the in-box:
New York City, NY, Friday, February 13, 2009 - Yigal Azrouël Fires People's Revolution
Following the showing of his Fall Winter 2009 Collection, Yigal Azrouël has decided to fire front-of-house PR Company, People's Revolution, for mismanagement.
Having worked together for one year, the designer decided to part ways after feeling poorly represented at his Women's Fall 2009 fashion show which took place on Friday, February 13th at 11am in the Promenade at Bryant Park. With only two days until Azrouël's Fall 2009 Menswear presentation, which will take place in his meatpacking district store on Monday, February 16th from 3pm - 5pm, the company has decided to handle the PR internally.
Oh boy. We're awaiting a statement from Cutrone; more to follow shortly.
Update: Cutrone sends us her response.
It is true People’s Revolution has represented Yigal Azrouel for the past year. It is also true that as a result of our combined efforts during this time, Yigal Azrouel’s star has risen significantly. In fact this season he received a GQ nomination, the Mercedes Benz presents award, and had one of the best shows in career. This comes down to a guest in the front row whom the Yigal team was clearly upset about despite our explanations.
If we are all going to pull ghosts out of the closet on Friday the 13th. It is going to be one spooky haunted city.
So: Who was the guest? Ashley Dupré, we presume. We hear that Cutrone invited Dupré to another show, but Dupré showed up at Yigal. And Kelly, being a good host ... you see where this is going.
See Dupré and the rest of the Yigal Azrouël front row in our slideshow.
Fashion Wire Daily - Only a Valentine's Day grinch would fail to smile at Friday's Heart Truth Red Dress collection show, which officially kicked off Mercedes-Benz Fall 2009 Fashion Week in the Bryant Park tents on Feb. 13. Audience members, largely female, donned red outfits for the occasion and let out jubilant cheers that revved up the packed tent.
So, it turns out we love Jimmy Fallon. The former SNL-er was like the Mayor of rag & bone this evening. He enthusiastically chatted up everyone around him, and we mean everyone: on his left, Damages star Rose Byrne (who has the thickest, prettiest hair we've ever seen); on his right, JoAnna Garcia; the random dudes who were sitting behind him; Rachel Zoe, who was a few seats down; Zoe's two assistants (who, contrary to how they behaved last season on The Rachel Zoe Project, appeared to be BFFs); every single reporter who came up to him, way past the time when the rest of the celebs had made a run for the exits; and, after all that, he talked with people we think were just guests who happened to be fans. He posed for camera-phone pictures with anyone who asked and stopped an interview to help some poor random dude who dropped an armful of equipment. He even smiled at us when we accidentally made eye contact with him. If there had been babies at the show, he would have kissed them. In short, he kind of seemed like an awesome dude. Who knew?
Fallon's good cheer was a palate-cleanser after the complete nightmare of gaining entrance to the venue. Rarely have we been convinced we were going to die so early in a Fashion Week. "This is UNSAFE," the woman in front of us exclaimed loudly, before giving up and pressing her way outside through what felt like an immovable block of humanity. And it probably was. We were so closely pressed against the rest of the guests that at one point we considered crowd-surfing our way to the check-in desk. Julia Restoin-Roitfeld had the right idea. We were standing outside right next to the heir to French Vogue's throne, waiting to get our seating assignments, when a tall, handsome man came pushing his way through the crowd. "Excuse ME, I'm LATE FOR THE SHOW," he called — politely, considering. As the masses parted like the proverbial Red Sea (believing him to be a model scheduled to walk), JRR clearly realized that she totally knew this guy and grabbed him and allowed him to escort her to their front-row seats. "Uh, my boyfriend is bringing me in," she attempted, even though from their conversation it appeared they had not seen each other in some time. If only we had a tall, quasi-male-model-type dude to save us from being crushed in the crowds. Maybe next year.
Actress Lake Bell, bearing up surprisingly well considering that she has two nouns for names, provided the meat in a Garcia and Zoe sandwich (a carb-o-rific description we're sure all involved would resent). We almost didn't notice random attendee Elijah Wood, hanging out peacefully at the end of the row with his gorgeous girlfriend, Pamela Racine. They rubbed shoulders with, but didn't see to speak to, Ugly Betty's Becki Newton — who looked a bit worn out, but she was really nice to us at a Club Monaco once so we don't care — and her husband, Chris Diamantopoulos. Fortunately he didn't seem too depressed by the fact that USA just canceled his show The Starter Wife; we, on the other hand, are kind of bummed that we're not going to find out what happens next in his character's hot love affair with the hot closeted action star.
At least we all had the Jimmy Fallon Party to console us. At the end of the show, Fallon — who, contrary to our guess that he was simply seeking face time to promote his upcoming NBC talk show, said he's known the rag & bone guys for years — cheerfully answered a question called out to him by a girl in the third row: "How did you like the chain mail?" He broke into a grin and replied, "I think I could rock chain mail. Definitely their chain-mail neck thing. Chain mail socks, no." Pause. "If I get knighted, maybe," he mused before helping the girl in her wobbly heels negotiate the steep bleachers. Sounds like he's already got the chivalry down pat; just brush up on your jousting, Jimmy, and we'll cross our fingers for you. Watch a slideshow of the Rag & Bone collection. See backstage photos of Jimmy Fallon, Rachel Zoe, Anna Wintour and more at Rag & Bone.
Reuters - Morrissey is no stranger to the artful expression of frustration, but here he blows off steam with an unusually high level of rock intensity. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 14 Feb 2009 | 1:30 am
We hardly recognized her without the rhinestones or feathers.
BCBG was full of women who were once, are currently, or ought to be starlets on the CW. "God, it's another little blonde person," we overheard one already-cranky photographer groan to another, as (extremely little indeed) Katrina Bowden — wearing a white-and-blue minidress at least one size too large — took her seat alongside Olympic gymnast–Max Azria model Nastia Liukin, swimmer Amanda Beard, and a way fake-tanned Amanda Bynes (whose face is weirdly expansive compared to the rest of her). Country singer and former American Idol contestant Kellie Pickler swept in wearing a tight baby-pink sweater dress and what she may have imagined as a Marilyn Monroe coif, but it looked bizarrely more like wacky skater and velour enthusiast Oksana Baiul if she had been ejected from a wind tunnel. If her seatmate Joy Lauren (from Desperate Housewives) was at all frightened by this, it did not show, as they chatted cheerfully.
Privileged's JoAnna Garcia also seemed perky, shooting us a huge smile for no reason whatsoever (maybe she could sense that sometimes we get sucked into reruns of Reba, her former show). We were also thrilled to see the talented Adrianne Palicki from Friday Night Lights getting a little Fashion Week love. The super-tall actress — seriously, we think we come up to her shoulder at best — seemed thrilled to be there. "It's my first fashion show EVER," she confided, wide-eyed, to a reporter. "I'm just getting into fashion, and I figured this was a great time and place to start." When asked if being in town for Fashion Week threw a wrench into any Valentine's Day plans, she faux-pouted and said good-naturedly, "Noooooo," then confessed that a "very good friend" was flying in and they'd be each other's valentines. We hope it's Tim Riggins. That boy is a hot bowl of sex soup.
We were most stoked, however, at the news that fashion-impaired Solange Knowles would be making an appearance. But she defied her own reputation and left the Crazy in her closet, looking better-dressed than we've ever seen her in a leather jacket and what looked to us like a silver dress, all while seeming remarkably unperturbed to be the Lesser Knowles. We hope she was inspired by the cute cocktail frocks coming down the catwalk, but we're putting our money on our girl only noticing the metallic gold C-3PO leggings every model sported. They'll be perfect for making us all forget about anything Beyoncé might be doing.
Yes, the breakout star from the Emperors Club has hit the tents. She told WWD that she "snuck in" to the Yigal show, but her manager was quick to clarify that they were invited by Kelly Cutrone. Either way, her public appearance is a fine commemoration of that fateful night at the Mayflower Hotel, which was one year ago today. Sigh. Seems like just yesterday ... [WWD]
Hilary Duff isn't letting the simultaneous implosion of every celebrity-designed fashion line get to her. Rather, she's following in the footsteps of Rachel Bilson and designing a line for DKNY Jeans to come out sometime this fall. We caught up with Duff backstage at the Heart Truth Red Dress show (where she was wearing a red dress courtesy of Donna Karan, of whom she is a "huge fan") and asked her about the fashionable new project, which should be available for fall. We'll let her explain her aesthetic in her own words:
I wanted to do a really smart line, like jeans that have lots of multiple sizes of belt loops so you can wear any kind of belt with it and it still kind of looks cool, or jeans that have a spot for suspenders to hook on if you want to let them hang down. Or burn-out T-shirts with fringe on them and little, like, shrunken leather jackets and vests. What are some of the other things we did? We did some images with poppies on them, because I was into poppies at the time. And I wanted to do, like, necklaces attached to shirts but that girls can take off and wear in a different way, and the same with scarves.
I saw him at the inauguration and he said, "You have to come to the White House! But not for a while. We're a little busy."
You don't get to weigh in on appointments?
No, strangely enough. I mean, Barack is supposed to call me tonight because of this whole Commerce thing. But mostly, no. I do not.
What were the particular Rahm-isms your character mimicked?
My character sent a dead fish to someone. I actually heard Obama say the other day, "People think Rahm is a bad guy, but he has a really soft side. He volunteers to teach profanity to underprivileged kids." Pretty much all of the loose-cannon episodes, where my desire to win outweighed my ethics, are sometimes based on Rahm. Not that he would ever do that.
Is he that bizarre? I mean, I’ve met the guy.
Not bizarre. Just, uh, blunt. I think that if you played Rahm Emanuel like Rahm Emanuel actually is, I don’t think people would believe it. I think people would think, “Wow, I can’t believe somebody is actually like that.”
Ever see him dance?
No, but I wanted to put that in the show. I wanted Josh to take ballet lessons, but it never happened.
Do you have a ranking system for who on the West Wing cast gets to go to the White House first?
Do you mean, does Martin [Sheen] get the first reception? No, I mean, we went into the Clinton and the Bush White House. But we’re not on anymore. And that’s okay. We don’t have to do that show anymore because we don’t have to pretend anymore. We have a smart guy in office now.
If we were buds with hedge-fund rock star John Paulson, we'd have this conversation tonight over drinks:
Paulson: So, what did you do today? DI: Not much. Talked shit on the internet. Burned some toast and set off the smoke alarm again. You? Paulson: I made $67 million in 25 minutes when Lloyds lost 5.9 billion pounds ($8.5 billion) in market value. DI: Cool. Um, I forgot my wallet, by the way.
Last night’s McFlurry-centric episode of 30 Rock whipped up a lot of excellent debate about the ever-increasing influence of advertisers on scripted television programs. And while we strongly believe that the conversation on this subject has only just begun, we now turn the floor over to Tina Fey, who just sent Vulture this statement (by way of an NBC spokesperson):
"It gives me great pleasure to inform you that the references to McDonald's in last night's episode of 30 Rock were in no way product placement. (Nor were they an attempt at product placement that fell through.) We received no money from the McDonald's Corporation. We were actually a little worried they might sue us. That's just the kind of revenue-generating masterminds we are.
Also, the upcoming story line where Liz Lemon starts dating Grimace is just based on a recurring dream I have.
Seriously, though, it's not product placement.
Also, whoever is writing my Twitter account is pretty funny, but it's not me."
Front Page: SAG president hoping to overturn Allen ruling -- Alan Rosenberg's struck out again in court in his attempt to overturn recent moves by SAG's national board to fire Doug Allen and abolish SAG's negotiating committee.
Tune in to VH1 tonight at 11 for an all-new Best Week Ever with Paul F. Tompkins! This week's special monster-themed episode features creatures big and small, from The Octomom to the Lost Smoke Monster to Idol'sTatiana to Joaquin Phoenix (SHUDDER). Can you think of a better way to get ready for Valentine's Day? Answer: You cannot.
Meanwhile, the week on the 'net:
Get your touching pianos and special guest stars and special guest star pianos ready for our list of Television's 10 Most Special "Special Episodes" (with video ev.)
I couldn't help myself -- I defended Michael Phelps. Now let's please all stop caring about this story.
Even in your horniest depths of adolescence, was the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue ever a big deal? Talk amongst yourselves. But the answer is 'nah.'
Fleet Foxes front man Robin Pecknold, recording solo as White Antelope, has offered up a take on the Dylan classic, “It Ain’t Me Babe,” and the song truly rates high among covers by Johnny Cash (and a pre-hip-hop Joaquin Phoenix as Cash), Joan Baez, Nancy Sinatra, and, uh, New Found Glory. (Baez doesn't fuck around, either). He puts his band’s trademark harmonizing (we assume this is only his own voice, though) to great use over the gentle, finger-picked guitar, making the track sound more optimistic than it has any right to. Pecknold’s recorded only one original under the White Antelope moniker. After hearing this song, we say, "Go forth and cover, young man."
"I think marriage is something where you wake up and look at someone and you’re like, “Oh shit! We married! We’ve been together like six years!” I think that’s how marriage occurs. When you’ve decided to be with someone, and they’re just there.
On Making Them Wait
"I have on Valentine’s Day made a woman wait for a gift. Because everybody’s got to appreciate something. You know. You can’t just be being expecting."
New York: But that's terrible!
"She might have been somebody who needed to wait. Meaning, she already expected a gift when she shouldn’t have. Like maybe I didn’t know her that well. Or maybe we wasn’t really on speaking terms, really."
On Hookups
"In a hookup, a man is going to get his. He’s almost ready to lose it before you even take your pants off. Don’t expect any man when you’re just hooking up, or as we like to call in the hood, 'smashing off,' to fulfill you, unless you’re with someone who’s like, 'Well, if I’m gonna get it, you’re gonna get it.' Most men grow up with the mentality when they’re younger that once I get it, it’s over. Everyone knows that once he gets his, he’s like, 'Good-night. Talk to you in two hours.' But it’s also about being discerning about partners. Just get a partner that doesn’t want to walk away embarrassed. Like me! I’m not trying to sell out the rest of the dudes, but there’s a certain class of men who don’t want to be embarrassed, and if we care about that little bit of our reputation, we will not let you walk away without at least one orgasm. At least! Whatever we’ve got to do. Just get the one and you can’t talk shit! There’s a class of guys that are like that. So if you waste your time on a pretty boy who expects you to jump on top of him and go until he finishes and then you’re wondering why, now that he did that, he’s not gonna put his tongue on you, it’s YOUR fault."
On Being Able To Tell If He's Any Good Or Not
"You know by the kiss. How he kisses is how he is in bed. In conclusion, it’s all about the kiss. If you and the person are kissing, you know. If you’re not kissing, you can tell by the way he touches you. If he grabs your tits within the first two seconds, he’s nothing but a big grabber. If he holds you and moves his hands down the rest of your body, he’s going to do that all over your body. If he’s patting you on the head and shit, leave. Don’t deal with no patting. No patting! This is 2009. Barack Obama is the president. We can’t do patting no more. It is our patriotic duty to rub, caress, soothe, stroke. All those things. We grown now, people!"
Lindsay Lohan's life isn't that much of a Nightmare after all.
Although it was reported earlier today that LiLo has signed on to star in the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street,...
The Twilight star was perched in the front row for the Heart...
Because he doesn’t hire big stars, Goren enjoys several advantages over bigger companies. He can hire singers at their vocal peaks, instead of booking five years in advance. And he can ensure that cast and crew actually get along (“cause life is too short to work with pains in the ass”). A smaller house means he can choose unusual operas and still find an audience. Most of all, he can roll with any punch. Take his experience creating L’isola this year. Goren had planned on mounting Haydn’s fantastical Il Mondo Della Luna at the Hayden Planetarium (it takes place on the moon, after all), but at the last minute, the Museum of Natural History needed the space. “After 30 seconds of panic, I e-mailed Mark Morris, with whom I’d been discussing doing an opera, and he said yes.” Morris was thrilled: “Whenever I’ve proposed producing a Haydn opera, the phone mysteriously goes dead,” he says. “Neal was the first person to take me seriously. I’ve rarely encountered singers who are as prepared, as eager, as game, and as gifted.” (For the record: Il Mondo goes up next season, on the lunar surface, as planned.)
The response to high quality and smart risks has been extreme loyalty. Goren says donations are up, and, asked about his audience, recalls a recent opening-night party. “I introduced myself to some people I’d never seen before, and said, ‘Oh, are you opera people?’” He pauses. “They said, ‘No. We’re Gotham Chamber Opera people.’”
Media has survived the scariest day of the year ... so far. Like a horror-movie heroine, it's gotten creative in its attempts to evade death. But all around, the bodies keep piling up.
• Here’s a new way to survive as a serious journalist: Take a lesson from the blonde bombshell of this generation, Paris Hilton, and promote the hell out of yourself! Dana Milbank at WP posted a video of himself protesting David Plouffe’s OTR speech yesterday. Now, what to call this new breed of journalists? Jour-lebrities? Celebu-press? [Politico]
• Politico’s editor-in-chief, John Harris, was actually supposed to moderate the event, but pulled out when he was told it would be off-the-record. [FishbowlNY/Mediabistro, WP]
• But! The glamorous president that Plouffe got into the White House is still selling magazines. [FishbowlNY/Mediabistro]
• If becoming a jour-lebrity doesn’t work out, there’s always the sex industry! Former Dallas Morning News reporter Michael Precker is enjoying job security by managing a strip joint. Is the Hustler Club on 51st accepting applications? [Romenesko ]
• Economists, shmeconomists: Who knows the most about the economy? EVERYONE ELSE, if you ask cable news. [County Fair/Media Matters]
• Mark Potts writes that one of the best features in online news is Colonel Tribune at the Chicago Tribune, a mascot that guides users around the website and holds the paper's Facebook account. Now the New York Times can have a real Gray Lady! But who will she look like? [Romenesko]
• Rupert Murdoch’s BFF, News Corp. president Peter Chernin, may walk when his contract expires in June. [LAT via HuffPo]
• Parade chairman Walter Anderson stepped down after over 30 years with the magazine. [Editor & Publisher]
• Some writers don’t even know what’s real anymore: the Phoenix New Times News in Arizona did an entire story based on a satirical blog post that reported on the “tattoo cap” proposed by the NBA. The blog post was a joke, but the New Times article was not. Print – 0, Internet – 1. [FishbowlNY/Mediabistro]
• Oh, and Dear Hollywood: STOP PRETENDING THAT EDITORS HAVE GLAMOROUS JOBS. Because mostly they are in debt and waiting for the ax to fall. Plus, they don’t get to borrow Blahniks from the fashion closet. (Do we?) [Daily Beast]
• But wait! There may be jobs at a new magazine just for that type of nonexistent editor! The Daily, a fashion magazine distributed daily at the tents during Fashion Week, is launching a weekly version in September, appropriately titled The Daily Weekly. [Mixed Media/Portfolio]
After Grey's Anatomy's James Pickens Jr. told reporters this week that the show's writers were planning for the departures of both Dr. O'Malley (T.R. Knight) and the brain-tumored Dr. Izzie (Katherine Heigl), creator and showrunner Shonda Rhimes claims they may pull through yet: "That was a very interesting rumor" she told People at the NAACP Image Awards last night. "And it's not true."
For his part, a probably chastised Pickens says his quote was taken out of context: "When the question was posed to me, I was more trying to congratulate Katie and T.R. on whatever they were going to do," he told People. "But yeah, I don’t have any special info about it either way."
So, for the time being, Heigl and Knight will continue to appear on the show, despite not wanting to, and submit themselves to the hilarious whims of the Grey's writers, who are no doubt working overtime trying to come up with a story line even more embarrassing than this one.
• About those rumors he was text-courting Courtney Love, Mickey Rourke has this to say: "I'd rather be on a deserted island with a gorilla."
• People has this...
"It seems UTA partner and board of director [sic] Jay Sures was up at 5 AM reading the article and jumped on the DABA website and emailed that he'd like to rep them. (The fact that these were all good-looking gals didn't hurt, obviously.) They saw the message and vetted Jay through a mutual friend at Lionsgate. Next thing they knew, every agency was chasing them: not just UTA but also CAA, Endeavor, ICM (who reps the NY Times and was really fighting hard), and WMA. But the Daba Girls chose Sures. Now there's going to be a book, and maybe a movie, and maybe a TV series." P.S. You look fat today. P.P.S. The winter has really fucked up your skin, hasn't it? P.P.S. The DABA girls are having sex with your boyfriend. [DHD]
Perhaps David Brooks and Paul Krugman should stop writing on opposite sides of the Times op-ed page, throw down their quills, and kick-box it out like the red-blooded, musclebound American he-men we know they are. Today, Brooks, usually the voice of moderation, cautions against a giant stimulus package that will leave us heavily indebted for years and maybe not even get the economy rocking anyway. But in the other corner, Krugman, volume set as high as his intellect, argues relentlessly for an even higher level of federal stimulus spending.
Set your clocks, audience, it's time for a Three-Round Brainfight!
Round One: Who Are They Writing For?
• Krugman clearly wants his voice heard by the administration, which probably enjoyed his usual anti-Republican zingers about "deep voodoo" and stimulus opposition that "bordered on the deranged." But Krugman also characterizes Geithner's plan as "kick[ing] the can down the road" — nice condescension there.
• Brooks seems to have historians in mind with today's column, which is written in the past tense. He trots out his old friend de Tocqueville — who, we would like to remind everybody, last visited our fair nation more than 150 years ago. New Haven (yes, the one in Connecticut) was the most beautiful city he'd ever seen. We also doubt very seriously that an "American disease" on the scale of the "British Disease of the 1970s" is something to fear, given our more dynamic, innovative economy and highly productive immigrant labor force that won't sit around pining for the grand old days over a pint or five.
Edge: Krugman.
Round Two: Who's Most Convincing?
• Krugman loses us with his complete faith in unimaginably large numbers. So the Congressional Budget Office says that the U.S. economy is set to underperform its potential by $2.9 trillion over the next three years. We have no specific grounds on which to contest the CBO's figures, but nor do we have any basis on which to understand them. Millions, billions, trillions — what comes after that? We're tempted to see all this economic analysis as akin to those fancy debt instruments Wall Street cooked up — too dependent on models there's no reason to believe in anymore.
• Brooks suggests that the problems seem more psychological than economic, and the endless freaking in political circles can't be helping. "Economists and policymakers," he writes, "had no way to peer into the darkness." Which means they're just like us.
Edge: Brooks.
Round Three: Who's Scarier?
• Brooks frightened the living crap out of us. Yes, the headline was "A Worst-Case Scenario," but it all sure sounded plausible. A failed stimulus package will abort the great Obama experiment and leave our country afflicted with long-term, debilitating anxiety, "a society of foreboding." Thanks to Brooks, we can feel it coming on already.
• Krugman eventually leads us down the same rat-hole of despair that Brooks does. "I don't know about you," Krugman writes, "but I've got a sickening feeling that America just isn't rising up to the greatest economic challenge in 70 years." Well, geez, we do have that sickening feeling, now that you mention it — we just can't isolate the cause of it so easily.
Edge: Draw.
And the winner is ... well, nobody. According to these guys, we're all losers, including them. But we're going to give the edge, on points, to Brooks today, for inspiring true terror, and by moving the conversation away from dollar figures and partisan name-calling, perhaps helping us to start sorting out meaningful alternatives that aren't just about spending an extra trillion or so.
By now, nearly every person America (yes, even Mountain Children) has heard of Nadya Suleman, aka Octopu.. Octomom. (throat clear.) But over in England, an equally perverted scandal is plaguing the innocent... as 13 Year Old British school child (who looks 8) Alfie Pattenis now a father. In a way, the timing is perfect. Before any Europeans can poke their overseas fingers in our eyes about what animals we Americans are, as as a collective nation can put our hand between our eyes and block our shame. We are a world of ingrates! Amen.
But who is the bigger ingrate? That's the question for today's Open Thread. Most of you will probably vote for Octomom... so I'll gladly take the other side of the argument. 13 Year Old Dad is clearly the bigger ingrate, because he is likely an emotional orphan. And his voice hasn't even broken yet! Nothing creeps us out more than pre-pubes having sex. Whereas Octomom is a maniac individual, lil' Alfie's baby represents a much larger problem: That of a despicable and uneducated society. (Ed. Note: I'm really trying here.)
Please be more intelligent in the comments! Source: Best Week Ever | 13 Feb 2009 | 9:19 pm
Front Page: Liberty Media reportedly offers loan to radio co. -- Financially strapped Sirius XM Radio Inc. said Friday that it could file for bankruptcy as early as Tuesday if it cannot successfully negotiate with the holders of its debt.
Matteo Garrone, jolly young Italian director of the relentlessly bleak gangster movie Gomorrah (which opens tonight), isn’t going to win any Oscars on February 22. Even with the backing of Martin Scorsese, who introduced it at the New York Film Festival, the picture didn’t make the cut for Best Foreign Language Film. But it has caused a sensation in Italy as big as any of the Godfather movies ever did: It’s based on a nonfiction exposé of organized crime outside of Naples that was already hotly debated there; the author, Roberto Saviano, is in hiding because of a mafia fatwa. The heavily accented Garrone didn’t seem too worried himself, eyes twinkling in between cell-phone calls at the bar at the Hudson hotel, about as far from the nihilistic precincts of Camorra as one could imagine. The movie, he says, was in the end about “The confusion between fiction and reality.”
Were you aware of the book’s controversy when you started working on the film?
No. When I started to work on this project, summer 2006, the book was just published about two weeks. So nobody knew about the book, it was not a bestseller. And Saviano was not under protection.
Did you think the book was exaggerated at first?
Yeah, I thought [it] could be a science-fiction movie, from the book.
Is that a typical reaction to the movie also?
There are many reactions, but everybody is surprised. The people that maybe do not go very often to the cinema, can say, “Oh, it’s just a documentary.” Because it means that I have done good work, because I want to show the movie like it is real. But it’s not. People from Naples [are] very worried, because [of] the problem that the movie can have for tourism.
Did it make it exotic, even to Italians?
When the movie came out in Italy, it came out with subtitles in Italian — because they spoke in so strict a dialect ... I met a lot of people from the center of Naples that were really surprised by the reality of the movie. I come from Rome, and it was a surprise to meet people that in 2008 in Italy live in an atmosphere of war. People of my age, younger than me, that know everything about the guns, about the way how to shoot. I shot the movie like a documentary, like a reportage of war. But it isn’t.
How did you change the book?
The movie is not an imitation of the book, but it’s an interpretation. In the book, the man who brings money to the family of the people of the system, in the book [takes up] one or two pages. And we developed his story.
Everybody talks about how you sought to de-glamorize the mafia movie.
I thought it was the possibility to rewrite, from a different point of view, the [imagination] of the criminal in cinema. But all the criminals that I [have] met love cinema. They love the masterpieces of Coppola.
Like the two young wannabe gangsters in the movie, who quote from Scarface.
They are like Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. They confuse reality and fiction completely. For them, it’s very important, the freedom. They are two anarchists.
That brutalist housing complex they live in is so important to the film, but those two seem to always be outside of it — like that scene where they were shooting guns in the marsh in their underwear.
The building is like Blade Runner. It’s like a labyrinth. It was important, this claustrophobic idea — you’re lost inside it.
Is there political controversy about the film?
The reaction of the government has been to declare war to the Camorra, and they brought harm to Naples.
Because of the movie?
For the book and for the movie together, of course.
How amazing to have that power.
It’s such a responsibility, because I don’t know if the things will change [for the] better because a lot of Camorrists now are in jail, but I haven’t seen many politicians in jail. And the Camorrists worked with politicals. So I don’t know if … the government will be able to work, come inside, and really change something. So I’m curious to see what will change.
The tribal-loyalty aspect of it made me think of Iraq.
That was the most important — that’s what Scorsese said when we presented the movie. He said exactly that, that there is no way out. The strongest part of the movie is the fact that there is no hope. There is a fight to survive. There is a lot of humanity in the characters. But you can’t find hope there.
Do you wish you could have done more of the book’s characters?
I wanted to make the movie for television — ten stories. That would be a real al fresco of the book. But of course, the producer wanted to make a movie for cinema. So I settled for five, but I regret [that], because there were other stories [that were] very interesting.
You could make it into a series for HBO.
Never go back on the scene of the crime. [My next movie] will be, I hope, very light and full of humor, a comedy.
Bill Foxton, a British army veteran who survived 30 years working peacekeeping and humanitarian missions in Oman, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan, finally met his end this Tuesday when he shot himself in a public park after losing his life savings to Bernie Madoff. "He said he had lost all the money in the Bernie Madoff scam and he thought he was going to have to declare himself bankrupt," his son said. "My first thought was to show up at Madoff's trial in New York and throw all of my father's medals in his face." [BBC, Daily Mail]
Microsoft gets more like grandpa every day. We love grandpa, although we’re not sure why he wears both suspenders and a belt, or why he occasionally shouts at the dog to stop stealing his caramels. But while senility is somewhat charming in grandpa, the same cannot be said about software providers. We shook our heads when we read this morning that Microsoft, eight years after the first Apple store opened in Virginia, was opening retail outlets, and that they'd hired execs from Wal-Mart to help them plan it. Wal-Mart! Oh, boy. As we all know, Apple stores are cool. The winding staircase. The open floor plan. The Genius Bar. Even the clerks with their hipster grins who seem to know a little too much about iPods. It all comes together in a way that makes a trip to get a computer part fun. We doubt such an improbable feat could be imitated by anyone, much less Microsoft.
How cool would a Microsoft store be in New York City? Andy Rooney spokesperson cool. Hamburger Helper for Valentine’s Day cool. Alex Rodriguez doing a "Just Say No" campaign cool. Gates and Co. will try to mimic the Apple buzz, but they’ll inevitably add their dorky spin.
• At the Apple store, visitors can stop by to check e-mail and watch YouTube. Microsoft also will allow visitors computer access, but only to balance their checkbooks using the new version of Excel, or to auto-correct résumés on Microsoft Word. And stop sitting so close to the monitor — you’ll burn your retinas out!
• At the Apple store, Apple geniuses offer classes on new applications for iMacs, iTunes and iPhones in a carefree and fun environment. Microsoft stores will also offer classes, although they will be graded on a curve, attendance will be 35 percent of your final score, and all results will go on your permanent record.
• Apple has stores in Soho, near Central Park, and in the meatpacking district. Microsoft will have stores in Murray Hill, the Manhattan Mall, Coney Island, and Florida. But the good news is, they'll all be equipped with those triple-threat Taco Bell–KFC–Pizza Hut outlets!
Musician and Witness co-founder Peter Gabriel, seen here on November 20, 2008, attends the 4th Annual Focus for Change in support of Witness at Roseland Ballroom in New York City. Peter Gabriel has scrapped... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 13 Feb 2009 | 8:45 pm
Astonishingly, the former cast of HBO’s drug saga, The Wire, has come out in support of Michael Phelps following Bong-gate: “I am literally shocked that he lost the fucking Kellogg's endorsement. It’s a fucking cereal. What do you think stoners eat?” said James Ransone, who played hapless dock worker and small-time dealer Ziggy, at a Sports Illustrated party on Wednesday. "That’s my next tattoo. A portrait of Michael Phelps ripping a bong on my back," Ransone continued. "The ultimate irony is that I hate weed because it’s disgusting and awful. The last time I tried to smoke pot I was 22. I watched Boogie Nights and cried myself to sleep while eating Cool Ranch Doritos."
J.D. Williams, who played ruthless up-and-coming dealer Bodie, merely questioned Phelps's technique: “Do you know how long it takes to smoke from a bong? For them to take that picture, he had to be doing the slowest, longest hit ever!" Williams also thought Phelps shouldn’t have copped to the crime so quickly. "I'm not a big advocate of lying, but he probably could have kept us at bay a little longer," says Williams. "He could have said, 'Actually, there was no weed in there. I was just showing everybody, like, how if I was doing it, how I’d put my lips on the bong.' It would have boiled over. But he just gave it up right away! Like, 'Yeah there was weed in the bong and I was smoking it. I’m young. It will never happen again.' You’re 23, homeboy! Trust me, if you’re 23 and smoking weed now, you’re gonna smoke some more."
And André Royo, who played lovable junkie-informant Bubbles, thought Kellogg’s loss was medical marijuana advocates’ gain: "At the end of the day, I think it’s a great advertisement for weed," said Royo at benefit on Monday for Women’s Expressive Theater. "It didn’t slow him down. He broke records! I can see Michael being the face of whatever that marijuana-legalization proposition is in California: 'You, too, can get eight medals if you smoke a bong.'"
Today, Sportscenter brought out the inner NBA Jam-addicted child in all of us with a compilation of the 10 Greatest Moments in NBA Slam Dunk Contest history, and I've gotta say -- while I've never been as big a fan of the NBA as ESPN.com appears to believe that I am, watching these 90s-tv-quality clips of Isaiah Rider and Dominique Wilkins feels like watching home movies of my family. Though not literally my family, as far as I'm aware.
(Not Pictured In This Clip: Shawn Kemp)
The 1,071-page, $787 billion stimulus package passed the House 246–183 this afternoon, and heads to the Senate for a vote tonight. There was still not a single Republican vote for the bill, despite the fact that over $30 billion was trimmed off the original and tax breaks were added. Partisanship: doing just fine, thank you. [Politico]
Front Page: Musical adapts on its way to Broadway -- A period musical-comedy about saucy entertainment conceived as an antidote to stock-market blues? The timing could hardly be better. And coming from the creator of "The Drowsy Chaperone" makes the show's credentials even more tantalizing.
UPDATE (5:20pm): What you are about to read has no real connection to reality, seeing as how Just Jared just admitted that "Someone apparently punk’d me and is trying to ruin my reputation." Our apologies for passing this along; you can rest assured that Vulture will no longer use JJ as a source.
Now that the director of Blind Melon's "No Rain" music video has signed on to direct the Nightmare on Elm Street reboot, it only makes sense that he and the team of producers start focusing on putting together a talented cast of thespians to make the film come to life. After calls to Anne Hathaway and Kate Winslet went unanswered, Samuel Bayer decided to go with the next best thing: Lindsay Lohan. Yes, that's right, while the citizens of Brazil anxiously clamor for the April 3 world premiere of Lohan's latest film, Labor Pains (why do Brazilians always get the best movies first?), Just Jared reports that Lindsay will begin prepping to take on the role that made Heather Langenkamp an international icon.
All snark aside, this news kind of makes us sad for Lohan, especially when you factor in that Andrew Form, the film's producer, gave the exclusive not to Variety or The Hollywood Reporter, but to the photo clearinghouse blog Just Jared. And it also makes us a little bit angry, as he also managed to trash both Sophia Bush and Danielle Panabaker along the way by casually mentioning to Jared that they both tried out for the role but didn't get the part. Talk about bad form (pun totally intended). Anyway, we wish Lindsay and the rest of the Elm Street team nothing but the best, and we look forward to Lohan following in Langenkamp's footsteps and signing on for the inevitable remake of the beloved eighties television series Just the Ten of Us in four years' time.
As many as 800 law-firm workers have lost their jobs in the past few days, according to various industry publications. Firms shedding workers include: Bryan Cave, Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft, Dechert, DLA Piper, Epstein Becker, Faeger & Benson, Fish & Richardson, Goodwin Procter, Holland & Knight, Lovells, Luce Forward, McDermott Will & Emery, Nixon Peabody, and Winstead. Above the Law is calling it "The Valentine's Day Massacre." [Above the Law via DealBook/NYT]
Former Polish president Lech Walesa, seen here in December 2008, adjusts a Solidarity flag during the conference "Solidarity for the future." Veteran Polish film-maker Andrej Wajda said Friday he was planning... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 13 Feb 2009 | 7:42 pm
Polish director Andrzej Wajda, seen here in February 2006, smiles with the Honorary Golden Bear he was awarded for his life's work in Berlin during the 56th Berlinale Film Festival. Wajda said he was planning... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 13 Feb 2009 | 7:42 pm
Kevin James will star in the upcoming movie "Zookeeper", produced by the same team that gave us the box-office hit "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" last month, leading us here at BWE (only me) to ask -- which mundane but potentially hilarious job will Kevin James try next?? Here's our list of 20 Suggested Kevin James "Job" Movies, which admittedly began as a joke but all of them now seem pretty damn probable. Feel free to leave your own KJ titles in the comments.
20. Randy Dunce: Meter Maid
19. Nick Neptune: Claims Adjuster
18. Sam Gooberman: Zamboni Driver
17. Pat Mustard: Crop Duster
16. George Nightingale: Bailiff
15. Mike Blink: Municipal Pool Owner
14. Chuck Quindleberry: Dental Assistant
13. Greg Handlebars: Dry Cleaner
12. Fred Yowza: Department Store Greeter
11. Flippy Dinkelson: Rodeo Clown
10. Stevie McZoom: Notary
9. Skippy Rinkleton: Jewelry Appraiser
8. Ira Goldenstein: Professional Dog Walker
7. Jimmy Poop: Bathroom Attendant
6. Dave Yakadoodle: Shoe Shiner
5. Gordon Van Putten: Condom Tester
4. Bob Badoododadadee: Ice Cream Man
3. Mike Fartz: Concert Flautist
2. Paul Blart 2: President of the United States
1. Jevin Kames: Fat Employee Source: Best Week Ever | 13 Feb 2009 | 7:35 pm
You don't find many churches making theatrical films. You especially don't find many churches making films starring Kirk Cameron about a firefighter in a crumbling marriage addicted to online porn. But "Fireproof," a film made by an Albany, Georgia, church, has become a brand-name success.
Front Page: Post-election interview, big stories boost ratings -- The TV news biz is in retreat, cutting down on programming hours, staff and ambition. But while the weakened competition focuses on octuplet moms and elite call-girl rings, the truly big stories these days are on "60 Minutes," which in its 41st season is riding the waves of war, financial crisis and Obama fever to stronger ratings.
The world's greatest awards campaign continues today, with two brand-new Mickey Rourke interviews. First, a classy, contrite Mickey showed up to Charlie Rose last night, apologizing again for his past fifteen years and thanking Darren Aronofsky for rescuing his career. Lest anyone confuse him for someone outwardly concerned about his Oscar hopes, however, he was also asked by TMZ about his rumored relationship with Courtney Love, and he told them this: "I'd rather be on a deserted island with a gorilla." So basically, the net effect of everything he said yesterday is probably zero. Click for video of the Charlie Rose interview.
Yes: Dreams do come true. The genius mixologists over at Mix That Drink have come up with easily the most delicious looking way to die...
SKITTLES VODKA.
Tasting the rainbow has never been easier! You can taste the rainbow in the cab ride home, outside of Dunkie Donies, on the bathroom floor... the opportunities are endless. Goodbye teeth, helloooooo (thud.) (11 hours later: Roomate slowly dials 911. Gurneys, pumps, etc.) Source: Best Week Ever | 13 Feb 2009 | 7:08 pm
Tonight at 10 PM, your life will change. That's because 20/20 will be airing a spectacular, once in a lifetime television event (as they put it) called... CHILDREN OF THE MOUNTAINS... which title-alone has earned it a coveted spot on our tivos. It's sort of like Planet Earth for feral children, or like an episode of Intervention Meets Cliffhanger.
You might think this is a joke. But watch the preview 5 or 6 times, and it will start to sink in: Children of the Mountains is going to be unforgettable. And patronizing. Soooo patronizing.
Also, I'm in love with the crying football player. So strong... yet so vulnerable. Looks like someone could use a glass of powdered milk and a spam sandwich (euphemism for sex).
Now how long until South Park bases an episode on this? Oh, wait, they just finished animating it. Perf. Source: Best Week Ever | 13 Feb 2009 | 6:32 pm
Well, what's this? Tomorrow is February 14, Valentine's Day, a day where lovers clasp hands in the daisy fields of sensual pleasures, and where single folks clean off their gun collections with mouth saliva. To celebrate easily our favorite of all holidays (after the oft forgotten Tu B'Shvat), BWE.tv has put together a couple of Valentine's to send to your loved ones.
Check all of them out, embed them on your own blogs, even e-mail them to those close to your heart. Let's start with our favorite Valentine, featuring the uber-talented and totally rational Tatiana from American Idol:
(Please don't hate us... we love you!)
Some more BWE.tv Valentine's Ahead...
(Note: It goes without saying for all of these cards that we are idiots. Special shout out to co-worker Phaedra Riley for creating these masterpieces!) Source: Best Week Ever | 13 Feb 2009 | 6:12 pm
AP - The Heart Truth fashion show with its parade of celebrities in red frocks is the industry's Valentine to the public, Tim Gunn of "Project Runway" said as he officially kicked off New York Fashion Week Friday morning.
Dear Alcoholics:
Put the can of hairspray down for a second and listen up. Because we know how it is, alkies. Times are tough, and the only thing you want to spend your hard-earned cash on is pure, clean giggle water. But where are you gonna get the cash to do that? A game show, you say? What if we told you that one of America's most beloved game shows was actually giving away a HOUSE for you, AN ALCOHOLIC.
This week, The Price Is Right gave away easily the most useful prize in the show's history: A HOUSE FOR WINE. OK, it's a walk-in wine refrigerator, but still: YOU COULD LIVE IN IT. They may as well just give away a Fuddruckers. And more amazingly, the man vying for my future home, "Bob", looks like he could really use it. Watch to find out what happens.
In our tough economic climate, it's worth reminding ourselves that losing a job might not be the end of the world. Sure, it never feels good, but for these well-known folks, getting the boot from their gigs provided the impetus for them to reach even greater successes.
Visitors look at a painting of Czech Art Nouveau artist Alfons Mucha during the opening of the Alfons Mucha exhibition on February 11, 2009 at the Belveder Museum in Vienna. Mucha, who seduced early 20th... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 13 Feb 2009 | 5:01 pm
A visitor looks at paintings of Czech Art Nouveau artist Alfons Mucha during the opening of the Alfons Mucha exhibition on February 11,2009 at the Belveder Museum in Vienna. Mucha, who seduced early 20th... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 13 Feb 2009 | 5:01 pm
Visitors look at works of Czech Art Nouveau artist Alfons Mucha during the opening of the Alfons Mucha exhibition on February 11, 2009 at the Belveder Museum in Vienna. Mucha, who seduced early 20th century... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 13 Feb 2009 | 5:01 pm
David Beckham can't bear to be apart from his wife Victoria on Valentine's Day (14.02.09).
Victoria is set to scrap her plans to fly to New York for Fashion Week so she can be with her soccer star husband, according to friends.
A source said: "David begged Victoria not to go to New York this weekend because he can't bear the thought of Valentine's Day without her."
It has also been claimed David's recent form on the pitch has made him more romantic than ever, and he has been in secret talks planning a special treat for his wife.
The friend added to Britain's Daily Express newspaper: "David's playing so well at the moment and he loves his life in Milan - he says he's feeling more romantic about Victoria than he has in years because he's really on top of his game.
"He's been having top discussions with a number of Italian jewellery designers over the perfect present and if she accepts his invitation he's planning a romantic candlelit dinner with a room full of red roses on Saturday night."
The couple's schedules originally meant they would be apart for the romantic day - with David in Italy for a big derby match at AC Milan, where he is currently on loan.
The 33-year-old sports star flew into London last weekend to be with Victoria, 34, for just 24 hours, booking a posh hotel as an early Valentine's treat. Source Source: Lepaparazzi - Celebrity News and Gossip Blog | 13 Feb 2009 | 4:35 pm
The 'Rehab' singer - who has been battling her dug addiction on an extended Caribbean holiday - will swap hedonistic Camden for the quiet suburb of Hadley Wood on her return to London.
A friend told Britain's The Sun newspaper: "It's quiet and there won't be all that temptation on her doorstep.
"But it's near to her home London borough of Enfield and to Camden, so she won't feel too isolated. That's why she has agreed."
Hadley Wood's Tory MP David Burrowes says the North London suburb - which boarders Hertfordshire's idyllic countryside - has nothing to tempt the singer back onto a destructive path.
He said: "The area has no pubs, clubs or wine bars. The only nightlife is a whole lot of foxes and wildlife. Amy could take on a role in the community."
It was revealed earlier this month that Amy, who went to St. Lucia in December, is avoiding "bad influences" in London by recording her long-awaited third album in Jamaica, the home of late reggae legend Bob Marley.
A source said: "Amy is having the time of her life in St. Lucia and doesn't want it to end. She's looking and feeling so much better and is worried about the bad influences waiting for her back in London. She's written a big chunk of her new album and has told bosses she wants to go to Jamaica to record it." Source Source: Lepaparazzi - Celebrity News and Gossip Blog | 13 Feb 2009 | 4:29 pm
Tori Spelling feels under pressure to be thin in Hollywood.
The mother-of-two - who recently appeared in new spin-off show '90210' - feels she is expected to stay slim in Los Angeles, even after having children.
She said: "They scrutinise you so much. You try to be the person who says, 'Oh, I don't care,' but I feel the pressure. You're out there, your picture is in every magazine. They're looking at you from every angle, no matter what you do. You have to be careful getting out of cars now because they shoot up your skirt. Everything has to look good, and of course, there's pressure to do so. I definitely feel it."
Tori - who has a two-year-old son Liam Aaron and eight-month-old Stella with her husband Dean McDermott - found losing her baby weight was "much easier second time around."
The 35-year-old star added to Us Weekly magazine: "I keep saying this, but it's true. I think the first time I was so stressed and knew I had to lose it. This time I did it with my family.
"I didn't do a super diet fad or a workout routine. I literally did everything with my kids and my husband. Before I knew it, the weight came off."
Usher's wife Tameka Foster was put into a medically-induced coma after suffering a heart attack last week.
The former stylist, 38, was due to have cosmetic surgery at a hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil, when she was taken ill.
‘Tameka Raymond came here on Friday to do a liposuction,’ Ellen Dasptry, a rep for the surgeon who was due to perform the operation, tells People.
‘Shortly after she went under [general] anesthesia, she suffered a cardiac arrest. When an attack like this happens, the doctors put the patient to sleep and make sure that everything is okay and that there has not been any damage. This is the protocol every time and this is what was done.’
Usher, 33, cancelled his performance at Clive Davis' pre-Grammy gala to fly to Brazil to be at his wife's side.
He and Tameka are mum and dad to Naveid Ely Raymond, 2 months, and Usher Raymond V, 15 months. They married in August 2007. Source Source: Lepaparazzi - Celebrity News and Gossip Blog | 13 Feb 2009 | 4:22 pm
Britney Spears' ex allegedly fleed the scene of accident
Britney Spears' ex boyfriend Adnan Ghalib is being accused of 'assault with a deadly weapon' - his car.
On Monday the British photographer allegedly drove into a man who was trying to serve him court papers, then fled the scene.
The legal documents Adnan appeared keen to avoid related to the restraining order issued on 30 January to keep him away from Britney, 27.
‘[The process server] ended up on the hood of the car, then fell off when [Adnan] drove away, and ended up with scratches and bruises,’ Lieutenant Brian Whitten tells People.
‘[But] he's not liable for arrest. We first need to get his side of the story.’
As she prepares for a 'life-changing' event, Ashley panics over Cheryl's health
Ashley Cole is said to be very concerned about wife Cheryl Cole's health - and state of mind - during her 8-day ‘life-changing’ trek to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in aid of Comic Relief later this month.
‘One thing that really worries Ashley is Cheryl getting dizzy in the extremely high altitude or getting headaches because she’s prone to them,' says our source.
'As a sportsman, he also knows what your body goes through when you push yourself hard - how that can change you as a person. They’ve been through so much together that the last thing he wants is for this latest challenge to divide them as a couple.’
The Coles have stuck together after the allegations of 28-year-old Ashley's infidelity surfaced last year but it's been a tough time.
'He’s been worried that Cheryl might change her mind,' says the insider, 'especially if something comes along that gives her a new strength and vision.’
Even so, the footballer has been helping Girls Aloud star Cheryl, 25, prepare for her trip.
‘Ashley’s been doing lots of stretching with Cheryl and getting her the best vitamins and minerals, which supplement her new diet,' reveals the friend. 'He’s also helped source the equipment she uses, so she has the best sleeping bag, rucksack and boots available.'
As speculation continues to swirl around Chris Brown's arrest on suspicion of making a criminal threat, industry executives are wondering about the R&B singer's future. Some U.S. radio stations have stopped playing Brown's music, and brands have put a halt to his campaigns.
AP - In a Feb. 11 story about the Oscar fashion show, The Associated Press erroneously reported which dress Maria Pinto designed for Michelle Obama. It was a dress for the Democratic National Convention, not Inauguration Day. Source: Yahoo! News: Fashion News | 13 Feb 2009 | 4:06 pm
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Leonard Cohen will release "Live in London," his first new album in five years, on March 31. The set was culled from his July 17, 2008 performance at London's 02 Arena during his world tour last year.
Peter Gabriel says he will not be performing at the Feb. 22 Academy Award telecast in support of his best song nominee "Down To Earth," from the film "Wall-E."
Despite rampant speculation to the contrary, Live Nation has not signed a multi-rights or long term deal with Janet Jackson, according to a company spokesperson.
Is it true that most stars are basically sponsored by a fashion icon? In other words, they don't pay for their clothing?
—Toby, England
What a timely, fashiony...
Awww, look at lovebirds Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, who recently stepped out in matching white outfits while on Tom's Valkyrie tour.
Nothing says "my significant...
There may be a few deliriously happy duos in T-town—cuties Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick come to mind—but there are more than enough romances that have gone on way too...
It's been another week of sexy, thought-provoking information on the Soup Blog. Join us, won't you, for a look at the past week's top five most vital pop-culture...
Meanwhile, the week on the 'net:
Lindsay Lohan's life isn't that much of a Nightmare after all.
Although it was reported earlier today that LiLo has signed on to star in the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street,...
• About those rumors he was text-courting Courtney Love, Mickey Rourke has this to say: "I'd rather be on a deserted island with a gorilla."
• People has this...
Kevin James will star in the upcoming movie 
15. Mike Blink: Municipal Pool Owner
14. Chuck Quindleberry: Dental Assistant
13. Greg Handlebars: Dry Cleaner
12. Fred Yowza: Department Store Greeter
11. Flippy Dinkelson: Rodeo Clown
10. Stevie McZoom: Notary
9. Skippy Rinkleton: Jewelry Appraiser
8. Ira Goldenstein: Professional Dog Walker
7. Jimmy Poop: Bathroom Attendant
6. Dave Yakadoodle: Shoe Shiner
5. Gordon Van Putten: Condom Tester
4. Bob Badoododadadee: Ice Cream Man
3. Mike Fartz: Concert Flautist
2. Paul Blart 2: President of the United States
1. Jevin Kames: Fat Employee
