AP - A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has ordered Clive Cussler to pay $13.9 million in legal fees to the production company that turned his novel "Sahara" into a box-office flop. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 10 Mar 2009 | 12:25 pm
Reuters - It's difficult to fathom a more dangerous and enthralling piece of television than "Breaking Bad," the AMC drama that returned for Season 2 on Sunday. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 10 Mar 2009 | 12:22 pm
Reuters - Leighton Meester, one of the stars of "Gossip Girl," is getting ready for some late-night whispering sessions on the big screen. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 10 Mar 2009 | 12:12 pm
Reuters - Rebecca Romijn has been cast as one of three central witches on ABC's drama pilot "Eastwick." Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 10 Mar 2009 | 12:11 pm
(Reuters) Reuters - Oscar-winning actress Jane Fonda opened on Broadway for the first time in 46 years on Monday, starring as a terminally ill academic researching the late work of Beethoven in the play "33 Variations." Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 10 Mar 2009 | 11:51 am
US band Chairlift perform onstage at KOKO in London, February 2009. With Jay-Z, Vampire Weekend and MGMT already dominating international charts, a new crop of Brooklyn acts taking the world by storm are... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 10 Mar 2009 | 11:20 am
US band Chairlift are pictured backstage at KOKO in London, on February 2009. With Jay-Z, Vampire Weekend and MGMT already dominating international charts, a new crop of Brooklyn acts taking the world... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 10 Mar 2009 | 11:20 am
Mind you, we don't really have any major beef when either Timberlake or Diaz agrees to host every other year or so. They make for good show hosts because they're good sports (read: they're willing to embarrass themselves), they adapt better than most of their peers to the demands of sketch comedy and heck, they also perform when it comes to the ratings. For unabashed SNL fans like this writer, those are all good things. However, with this weekend's Timberlake cameo, we feel like the show crossed a line from wanting celebrity cameos because they worked for the bit to a place where they found themselves needing them to compensate for their own creative shortcomings with star power. Trust us, SNL, you're better than that.
*Cameron Diaz has appeared in the "Cougar Den" sketches three times in the last year.
"I'm not even doing this so I can get my inheritance early!"
The Bad News: "Markets seem unable to shake the perception that the global economy is rapidly deteriorating," said the Journal, and the Dow fell again today by 79.89 points to 6547.05, its lowest close since April 14, 1997. The Good News: One of the good things about 1997 is coming back soon, Melrose Place! This one will star Ashlee Simpson as the Sydney character. And possibly original cast member Heather Locklear. "If there is a god," sighs Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. [EW]
The Bad News: Even Warren "Be greedy when others are fearful" Buffett is sounding kind of fearful. The economy, the Berkshire Hathaway chairman said on CNBC today, "has fallen off a cliff ... Not only has the economy slowed down, people have changed their behavior like nothing I have ever seen.” And remember: Dude is old. [WSJ] The Good News: But maybe it's changing our behavior for the good? Like we are becoming better people? With like, values and stuff? "It's kind of funny," one Chicago teacher told the Times today. "But I feel much more satisfied with the things money can't buy, like the well being of my family. I'm just not seeking happiness from material things anymore." [NYT]
The Bad News: "As in the Great Depression, world trade is collapsing, wealth is evaporating and the banking system is broken. Deflation is a growing threat as companies slash production, pay and prices. And leaders worldwide are having difficulty making headway in halting the self-perpetuating decline. 'This is going to scar the collective psyche,' says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com." [Bloomberg] The Good News: When the going gets this tough, we like to look to the wise sage Jennifer Aniston for counsel. Jen proffers this spiritual advice in the current issue of Us Weekly: "I've always gone with the flow ... Life is what it is. I don't think we have any idea about what the future holds for us. I enjoy the moment because life goes on while you try to make plans; it's better to make the most of every second. So I just try to live in the present." Om. [Us]
Last week Alber Elbaz presented another collection for Lanvin that left editors writhing in their chairs with pleasure. We're not even sure if they all made it out alive, so amazed were they by his design genius. Ariel Levy profiles Alber for the New Yorker's new style issue. Despite the continuous outpouring of praise, he is a perfectionist who always thinks his work sucks, which it never does. His aim is not to, as Levy writes, design dresses "that will make a man fall in love with the woman who wears it," but dresses "that a woman wears when she falls in love herself." He wants his customers to look not necessarily sexy, but smart and interesting. And customers respond — Simon Doonan likens Lanvin trunk shows at Barneys to scenes from The Day of the Locust, adding, “Alber’s clothes are like crack for women.” Here's what the dealer — er, design extraordinaire had to say.
He refuses to do a secondary, lower-priced line.
“I have a problem to do a collection that is a secondary line. I mean, you don’t want to be the stepsister. You want to be Cinderella. Show me one girl who wants to be the stepsister.”
Elbaz is very conscious of his weight, which influences his designs.
“I do things without décolleté, nothing is transparent,” Elbaz said. “I am overweight, so I am very, very aware of what to show and what not to show, and I am sure there is a huge link with being an overweight designer and the work I do. My fantasy is to be skinny, you see? I bring that fantasy into the lightness — I take off the corset and I bring comfort and all these things that I don’t have. What I bring is everything that I don’t have. This is the fantasy. This is the concierge that goes home.”
He also hates the idea of the 'It' bag.
“[T]here is nothing scarier than being ‘the designer of the moment,’ because the moment ends.”
His philosophy on avant-garde?
“If it’s not edible, it’s not food. If it’s not wearable, it’s not fashion.”
When you buy Lanvin, you are paying for this:
“I’m taking out a lot of the corset that is like syoop,” he said, making a sucking noise and holding in his cheeks. “I took all the bones out, and I stitch, and to get there, you know, it took me forever. It took me six or seven dresses to make one. And it’s time and it’s money and we are not doing it in offshore countries — we pay sixty-five-per-cent taxes in France! It is so much work. Doing a collection for me is almost like creating a vaccine. Once you create the one vaccine, then you can duplicate it for nine dollars and ninety-nine cents. But see if you can create it for nine dollars and ninety-nine cents, and the answer is no. In that sense, I have absolutely no problem with the prices. I don’t think we do it just to do it.”
And oh! This:
“Two nights before the show, the bags arrive,” he said. “And I look at the bags and I hate them. Within a second, I got a migraine from depression. I thought, It’s a disaster — it’s just a disaster — it will never work. I go back to Alex, ‘Am I not seeing right? Everybody
seems to like it and I hate it.’ And then it’s that moment that you have two choices: either to give up or to start fighting. I said, ‘Everybody, we are going to meet again at eight o’clock tomorrow morning, all of us.’ Everybody came at eight o’clock — half asleep, half tired, three-quarters depressed — and we went bag by bag. We take off the chain. We put steam. We put it into water. We take off the closure. We edit the lucky charm that we have done on the bag. We took a pompom we have made out of grosgrain, we put it on the bag. I said to the girls, ‘Is that the bag you are not going to be able to let go if you see it in the store?’ They said yes. They say, ‘Now we do another bag from the same group?’ I said, Forget the groups! It’s not about groups! It’s not about marketing — where you need three sizes in four colors in five fabrics.” Elbaz shuddered. “And it was the first time that the numbers of the bags went like that,” he said, and pointed at the ceiling to indicate how well those difficult bags eventually sold. “And what was it that we added? We broke the formula. We make every mistake that you can do. I think that what we created, in the end, they were very emotional, those pieces. They didn’t look like they were done in a factory, they look like they were done by a human being.”
After that, we're not surprised he loves hospitals.
“If I had a kid, I’d have to live in a penthouse of the hospital,” Elbaz said. “Every time he sneeze I’d want him checked.” On the bright side, then he’d get to live in a hospital — an oasis of care. “I like everything about hospitals,” Elbaz said. “Even the food.
We're also not surprised by his usual post-show routine.
“After every show, I say to Hania [Destelle, a friend], ‘They hated it.’ ”
AP - Somewhere, buried deep down, there are probably some real emotions and honest moments to be had in "The Edge of Love." They're hard to find, though, smothered beneath self-aware, hyperstylized visuals and corny, old-fashioned melodrama.
When the producers of American Idol decided to keep thirteen finalists this year, they forgot about one hilarious detail. On previous seasons, viewers have been able to dial the phone numbers between 1-866-436-5701 and 1-866-436-5712 to vote for their favorite contestants. But, as it turns out, Idol does not own 5713 — which is a phone-sex hotline. [mjsbigblog via Idolator]
A newspaper conglomerate lays off an unbearable amount of people, a sports weekly folds, and one of the great gross morning-radio shows sputters into silence. But hark, there's also some good in our daily roundup of media news!
• New Republic editor Marty Peretz has officially purchased his shares of the magazine from Can West, the struggling Canadian newspaper giant. Franklin Foer will stay on as editor, and "editorially, Peretz said TNR will continue as it has in the past." Aw. That reminds us of when Mark Darcy told Bridget Jones he liked her just as she is. [Politico]
• In the midst of $110 million cost-cutting measure, the McClatchy newspaper company plans to cut 1,600 jobs, or 15 percent of its workforce. [Romenesko]
• The Boston Globe shuttered its sports weekly, OT. The oversize tabloid (the letters stood not for "Oversize Tabloid" but for "Our Town/Our Teams") printed its last issue Thursday. [Boston Globe]
• ,Sirius K-ROCK* has canceled The Opie and Anthony Show. The news broke via Twitter, the media of the future. [OpieRadio via Twitter]
Digital copies of It's Blitz! go on sale tomorrow, but before you part with your coin, enjoy this video for "Zero," a celebratory slice of recession chic that also happens to showcase the new, synth-centered sound of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Director Barney Clay has Karen O and co. take to the streets and perform on the cheap: She dances on a Taurus, the band screws around with shopping carts, and, for a light show, someone flips the overheads on and off in a bodega. Lipstick and eyeliner probably had their own lines on the budget.
In the past, the Tribeca Film Festival's biggest problem has been that it's featured too many movies, making it hard to find the good ones — but this year, the fest has slimmed down to a svelte 84 features and 46 short films. [IndieWire]
Lindsay Lohan's 6126 leggings line was a smash hit, so it only makes sense for her to follow it up with a line of self-tanner, launching April 15. Sticking to numerical nomenclature, LiLo decided to call the self-tanning mist Sevin Nyne, a play on her favorite numbers (because she can , okay?). Originally Lohan planned to launch Sevin Nyne under Stay Gold LLC, the company she founded along with three other ladies for her 6126 launch, but for some mysterious reason, those plans fell through, aptly named though that company may be.
Lindsay devised the product with Lorit Simon, a "tanning expert" who has bronzed the starlet over the years for events and fashion spreads. DHA is the active ingredient, and the spray doesn't contain any chemicals. Other ingredients include caramel, Chardonnay extracts, gogi berry, and a sugar-coconut base. The color lasts for four to five days, which isn't very long, so you'd have to buy a lot of it to stay tanned sans sun for the summer. But hey, Lindsay's got to make money in These Times, too. And we will admit, it kind of sounds delicious.
Ebbot Lundberg sets the global standard for rock stars aging with integrity. Years ago, the Gothenburg, Sweden, native was the wild, hollering front man of Union Carbide Productions, post-punkers who make the Pixies sound like lite FM. Twenty years later, he's the wild, hollering front man of the Soundtrack of Our Lives, who may be the world's finest practitioners of classic rock. Their new release, Communion, is a rollicking double album that borrows equally from the bluster of the Who and the psychedelia of Pink Floyd. Soundtrack has never, in anybody's recollection, put on a lame show, and they come to New York for two dates this week, Wednesday at the Williamsburg Music Hall and Thursday at the Bowery Ballroom.
What can you tell me about your first time through New York on tour with UCP back in the eighties?
It was in March or April, 1988, I think. UCP were invited by Richard Kern to play some shows with his band the Black Snakes. We had a lot of fun staying at author Michael Weldon's apartment, living among the cockroaches for a week or two. I remember playing a club called Siberia wearing a kaftan over my yuppie suit for the first time — at least for a while before going nude. And then we did CBGB as well. I really loved the audience — totally unimpressed and berserk at the same time.
You guys are from Gothenburg — how would you describe it to someone who's never been there? What is its relationship to Stockholm?
Gothenburg is like Liverpool or Detroit. Maybe a little less depressing though. There are a lot of good bands and people are pretty laid-back. Stockholm is more like a fashion capital
Can you tell me what you see right outside your window, right now?
A group of wild boars and some very strange birds. I live in a place called Särö, by the sea, south of Gothenburg, about as far away as Coney Island is from Manhattan.
Is there anything that you set out to do differently with this album?
To make it grow without any expectations or stress. It created itself and the band just automatically got back on track again. We had to get back to be what we intended to be in the beginning and live up to our name without feeling embarrassed.
Not that it's a new thing for you guys, but it's a dark record, lots of apocalyptic overtones. Is that how you see the world?
I think in this rapidly changing world you have to — like any contemporary
artist — reflect these changes in your own way. And we live in a very fear-based society. So the apocalyptic overtones become obvious sometimes. But the intention is not being negative. Change is the same as possibility and we're just trying to raise the frequency level a little bit.
Who are those people on the cover and what are they drinking?
They represent the corporate mass psychosis that has slowly taken over our world. Images of a perfect civilized life that does not exist or ha[ve] anything to do with reality. They are probably drinking octopus semen mixed with gin and DMT.
Disgusting. Give us some good news from Sweden — we can use it.
Sweden has also gone bankrupt. We also need an Obama to sort things out. So I guess there is no good news for the moment from the land of the midnight sun — except for the music, maybe. We're looking forward to spread the gospel and save the world from shit again.
TO THINE OWN FACE BE OBVIOUS: A new portrait of William Shakespeare was revealed today after 399 years, proving that Shakespeare looked even more like we thought he did than we thought he did. (NY Times)
LESS SEXY TAXICAB CONFESSIONS: Tom Cruise makes Katie Holmes give him written confessions every week. Her confession usually consists of the line, "I deal with a husband who makes me write this crap every week because it makes me a lot more famous." (Celebitchy)
K. F. C. (TO THE TUNE OF "COME TO ME"): The only thing more pointless that watching Diddy decide which chicken is better, KFC or Popeye's is watching him ponder the question for three minutes and still not come up with an answer. (BuzzFeed)
UNCIVIL WAR: After 22 years, General Motors will no longer fund Ken Burns' documentaries. Looks like he'll have to find independent financing for his next PBS special, "A History of Backstabbing Car Company A-Holes." (Variety)
MAN OUT OF TIME-BERLAKE: And finally, Justin Timberlake turned into Elvis Costello. Cool. (People)
YouTube webpage. A schoolboy and his father have unleashed software that lets people listen to YouTube's vast collection of music videos as if it were a private collection. Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 9 Mar 2009 | 10:24 pm
In the bromantic comedy I Love You, Man, Paul Rudd’s character gets into some awkward situations trying to make male friends in preparation for his wedding, for which he needs a best man. One man-date in particular goes awry when the guy he's with suddenly leans across the table and kisses him. At last week's Cinema Society screening, we asked if he'd ever had anything similar happen to him in real life. Rudd stuttered and walked away, but his co-star Jason Segel — who bared all in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and more recently, wore a nude body stocking on the cover of Vanity Fair — had nothing to hide. “When I was 12 years old I had a kid in my elementary school who knew I loved comedy say to me, ‘Hey, do you want me to teach you how they kiss on Saturday Night Live?’” he told us, “Because there had just been the first guy-guy kiss on Saturday Night Live. And I said, ‘Yeah, sure. I would love that; I love comedy.’ And he said, ‘All right, I’m going to show you.’ And then he just kissed me. There was no trick, it was just a proper kiss.” Oh, we think there was a trick all right.
Get more disturbing memories from last night’s screening by viewing our Party Lines slideshow
Artist Jeremy Kost is known for Polaroid shots of hot, scantily clad male models. (You've also seen plenty of his video work on the Cut during Fashion Week.) Through March 21 you can see piles of his sexy man photos in his exhibit at the Dactyl Foundation. The models in the exhibit are "the objects of the artist's sexual desires" and the "medium of Polaroid photography serves as the vehicle for getting close to these desires." How can you argue with that? Visit the Dactyl Foundation's website for more info.
John McCain's daughter took to the Daily Beast today to air her concerns about the state of the Republican Party and its utter unattractiveness to young voters. "It is no secret that being a Republican isn’t the most hip political stance a person can take right now ... Being a Republican is about as edgy as Donny Osmond," she writes, making a reference that, ironically, many people around her age will probably not understand. But where does McCain place the blame for how unhip and unpopular the party is? Not in its policies, nor in its actual leaders, but in sideshow attraction Ann Coulter.
McCain is rightly turned off by Coulter and wonders whether the insane viewpoints she espouses are for real. "I find her offensive, radical, insulting, and confusing all at the same time," McCain writes. The thing is, outside of Coulter's cult of followers, everyone pretty much agrees with that sentiment. Coulter may represent low-hanging fruit if you're looking for someone to criticize, but she isn't a "figurehead" in Republican politics, because figureheads at least have the illusion of being important. Of course, if you want to take on the real leaders of the GOP, like Rush Limbaugh — who a few days ago predicted that the ailing Ted Kennedy will die before health-care reform is passed — you risk being excommunicated from the party.
MAKEUP
• At Emanuel Ungaro, makeup artist Tom Pecheux painted models' top lips orange and the bottom magenta. It's eighties-inspired, if you can imagine that. [Beauty Department/Glamour]
• Fergie created M.A.C's Viva Glam Project's latest shade, bubblegum pink, because it works with "all skin tones." Her thoughts, not ours. [Stylewatch/People]
NAILS
• Matte nail polish is coming back. [BellaSugar]
HAIR
• Stella McCartney went with easy ponytails for her runway show. Hairstylist Eugene Souleiman says, "It's always about being easy with Stella, 'cause cool girls don't really do high-production hair." [WWD]
• Frederic Fekkai is feeling the pinch, and his salons are offering a deal: Get any cut-and-color package, and they'll throw in a manicure or lip waxing for free. [Sassybella]
There was a time last fall it seemed like Colin Hanks was everywhere. In the span of a few months, he'd appeared in Mad Men, The House Bunny, and W. So we were excited, if not exactly surprised, to hear that he would make his Broadway debut this spring in 33 Variations, co-starring Jane Fonda. The Moisés Kaufman play, which interweaves scenes of Beethoven with a modern-day musicologist, opens tonight, and Hanks's Sundance film, The Great Buck Howard, hits theaters this month. Vulture caught up with the 31-year-old actor to chat about his latest projects, fish for info on Mad Men, and discuss the never-ending questions about his dad.
Did you know anything about classical music before 33 Variations?
No! To be honest, I knew nothing about classical music prior to this. And in fact, reading the script was like trying to read a script that’s written in Greek. A lot of people that have seen the play really feel like they come away learning something that they knew nothing about. It’s very rare that that happens and you don’t feel like you’ve been preached to a little bit.
I read that you credited Mad Men with starting a new chapter in your career.
Matt Weiner was really the one that noticed that, and it’s hard to disagree with someone as smart at Matt Weiner. But I think he’s really right. A lot of times in roles, it’s like, “Oh God I really want this girl to pay attention to me.” And that is not really what I was doing — everyone assumed that’s what Father Gill was doing, but he was really fighting for something much, much more than that, which was her soul.
Are you on next season?
I’m not sure. They play their cards very close to the chest there at the Mad Men television program. If Matt comes up with something, that’s fantastic, I’d be happy to do it, and if not, I can still walk away feeling like it was a complete story.
Your dad plays your dad in Buck Howard. Is this the first time you’ve worked together?
Yeah, it was never my intention to do. In fact, the whole way that it transpired is really sort of weird. I showed it to Playtone [Tom Hanks's production company] under very specific guidelines, like “Hey, tell me what you think. And if you could point us in the direction of someone who might want to make this movie, please let us know.” And they ended up liking it so much that he then said, “And I want to be in it. I want to play your dad.” And I was at first very uncomfortable by the concept of it. But at the end of the day, I’m not stupid, so if someone like him wants to be in your movie, that’s a good sign. And now looking back, I’m actually very glad we did it.
Did it make you nervous to do a scene with him?
No, I was totally fine with it, and then people just kept going, “Oh my God, are you nervous? Oh, are you nervous? Oh my God, I would be so nervous.” And like everything that involves him, other people made it such a big deal that then I just had to go, “Oh God, will you please just shut up? You’re driving me crazy about this thing that should not be driving me crazy.”
Did you ever have any hesitation about going into acting? Like “Oh, he’s going into the family business”?
I mean, look, I knew that this was going to be something that was constantly going to be brought up all the way up until they write my obituary. So really the question was then, “Well, I better really want to do this.” ’Cause if it’s not something that I really love and I constantly have to deal with that, that’s going to be like living your life in purgatory. People are so fascinated in an aspect that I really am not that interested in. And also, they only seem to look at my dad in the last ten years, and they don’t realize that I was also 1 year old and going with him to the bank to cash his unemployment checks. Every now and again, you deal with someone, in which you just go, “I can’t believe ten years in, I’m still dealing with these kinds of questions.”
Sorry I just did the same thing.
No, no, no! No, believe me, you did it much better than the way some people have done it. The truth of it is it’s a much bigger deal to other people, and so it’s kind of hard to come up with an answer that people want. But then again, I knew this was going to be something that was going to come up, so you just gotta take it with a grain of salt.
From the Daily Intel mailbag today came this telling sighting of Gossip Girl's star-crossed lovers Penn Badgley and Blake Lively, a.k.a. Dan Humphrey and Serena van der Woodsen:
"Yesterday we were at Whole Foods on the Bowery at around four and, in addition to saggy-panted J.D. Sampson from Le Tigre in the produce room, there were Blake and Penn, shopping just like they subsist also on human food! Two observations: He had what I thought was a birthmark on the side of his neck, but it might have been a hickey. At first I thought it was a neck tattoo, which seemed odd. She was wearing tights."
Readers: We have taken this information into the Gossip Girl Situation Room, examined Penn Badgley's neck from variousangles, and can safely assert that he has neither a neck tattoo nor a birthmark. Verdict: Hickey!
During a recent concert in Tampa, a too-quick costume change apparently resulted in Britney's ladyparts being briefly exposed, and because she didn't realize she was still mic'd, she delivered an incredibly...literal...statement over the loudspeakers:
And if this is fake, you know, I don't even care anymore. I've gone 180 from not trusting that anything on the internet was real, including Barack Obama actually existing/winning the presidency, to just unquestionably posting everything without getting angry. I'm much happier now.
(via Perez) Source: Best Week Ever | 9 Mar 2009 | 9:40 pm
Bronx state senator Pedro Espada Jr. — a borough bigwig and a member of the “Gang of Three” that threatened to defect from the Democratic caucus during an Albany tangle with new majority leader Malcolm Smith — doesn’t list contact information on his website. He hasn’t opened a district office yet, and if you send him an e-mail it bounces back. (If you send him a carrier pigeon, it will be shot.) None of this is too surprising, as he’s rarely/never seen in the co-op he uses to establish residency anyway. The Boogiedowner suggests that if you are a constituent who needs Espada, you should look for him in Mamaroneck. [BoogieDowner]
Over the weekend, Techcrunch's Michael Arrington posted the details of a recent conversation he had with an anonymous "big music-label executive," much of which focused on the perceived cluelessness of record-company employees. According to Arrington's source, "It’s all part of a master plan" — the labels know that in the future music will be free, but if they altered their business model in any serious fashion, it would only cut into CD sales, which are still making them money.
So, operating with minimal staff and budgets, they apparently plan to just fade profitably into irrelevance over these next few years, earning money on CDs, suing Internet start-ups, and collecting royalty payments from Apple, MySpace, Imeem, and others ("Until CD sales really stagnate, all those revenue streams bring in more money than facing reality," says Arrington, paraphrasing his source). Then, in 2013 or so, once consumers have finally stopped paying for music completely, the plan will enter phase two and the labels will snap back into action with a profitable new business model (at least this is the idea).
If any of this is true, and the still-employed label execs really are trying to appear boneheaded on purpose, all while collecting huge salaries, we have to wonder — what do they do all day? Golf? Laze around in hammocks? Take month-long Hawaiian vacations? Aside from their having to be called stupid by everyone wherever they go, that sounds like a pretty sweet job.
Is New York's favorite book-publicist-author (Vintage, I Was Told There'd Be Cake) ready for the dark side of fame? We turn your attention to the new Facebook group "Having A Crush on Sloane Crosely [sic] (It's Not Fair!) Support Group," currently consisting of its founding member, Boston's Doug Finch, and a shadowy figure known as "Outsider Writers." The group implores would-be members to report sightings "in a non-stalkery way," warning that "we gaze upon the object of our crushdom from afar." Sensible, but would it hold up in court? [Facebook]
If you missed all the Idol shenanigans, Bachelor villainy, and phone Tazering from this weekend's all-new episode of Best Week Ever with Paul F. Tompkins we got the full thing for ya RIGHT HERE in four...kind of convenient...embeddable players! It's Bryan Cranston-approved (but with slightly less meth involved)!
Part One:
First comes love, then comes puke, then comes a phantom baby in the split personality’s “puppy oven.” Then comes love again. L-o-v-e is all over this episode: caged inside the evangelical church’s Hell House; flowing in a single direction between daughter Kate and her creepy boss; on the bathroom floor in an embrace between hubby Max and alter Alice.
But before all that: vomit. Despite promising Tara’s shrink he won’t tell his wife about her new night-dwelling, incontinent alter, milquetoast Max spills the beans, and Tara promptly exits stage left to spill the contents of her guts. The internal disturbance triggers an external transition, and Alice appears, glowingly declaring she’s with child. Max summons her sister to administer a pregnancy test, whose pink negative symbol Alice interprets as a sign that the baby will be a girl.
Another Alternate Reality
While Alice traipses about, dreaming up baby names and charming the psychobabble off Tara’s shrink, the progeny delve into their own love-life dramas.
Kate gets some cosmetic help and “how to please your man” advice from Alice, which she uses as ammo to try and reclaim her crappy T.G.I.Friday’s-style job from her ex-boss ex-boyfriend. Her womanly wiles do the trick: Boss dude stealthily, and creepily, delivers a dark, stoner-art DVD, where he informs Kate she’s back on the schedule.
So far we’ve dismissed daughter Kate as a tertiary character, the obligatory offspring slash typical teenager. From what we’ve peeked at in next week’s episode, looks like she may be moving from third fiddle to at least second chair. This could be interesting.
As for Marshall, he’s knee-deep in stereotypes at his rehearsal for the Hell House production at his love interest’s evangelical church. The two are charged with rustling up some “abortion meat” for the scary premarital (and hetero) sex part of the show. At the grocery store, Marshall takes a stab at getting Jason to give gayness a shot by coming up with some awkward metaphor about trying new vegetables (like okra!). Finally Hell House opens, and the two make a convincing gay couple, writhing about in a nightclublike cage wearing little more than bondage gear and day-glo raver accessories.
The Unaltered Tara
Though the real Tara only makes a fleeting appearance, this penultimate episode of the season shows Max blurring the lines between Alice and his alter-free wife. He talks to Alice about the other alters — she claims she’s the keeper of the whole split-personality clan — and she refers to “the Gimme,” which we can only guess is the aforementioned nocturnal goblin. The conversations carry some genuine intimacy. At the close of the episode, Max comforts a hysterical Alice, whom he finds sobbing next to the toilet after she gets her period. “I love you, Alice,” he says. It’s the closest to a true emotional moment we have seen from Milquetoast Max and a caricature alter.
Part of what prevents U.S. of Tara from being an unqualified success is its paint-by-numbers stereotypes. It is unlikely that producer Steven Spielberg — or his hired help — intends to limit so many characters to such simple templates. It’s more likely that they’re underestimating the intelligence of the audience. These storytelling crutches seem to be slowly falling away as the season nears its end. The programming gods have generously granted the show a second chance (in the form of a second season); it’s up to the season finale to prove it is worthy of such a gift.
Modeling is not nearly as glamorous or lucrative for men as for women. The boys make less money, so they often don't have the luxury of, say, a black car to ferry them between shows and fittings. Also, male models can be filthy, filthy creatures. Russian-born Matvey Lykov ranks in the top 25 male models working today (he recently landed the spring Jil Sander campaign). He tells the L.A. Times he prefers not to live in agency male-model housing:
"Before my first show in Milan, we were staying in this apartment that belonged to a male model," Lykov recalls. "I was staying with these Canadians; they were like animals. They destroyed all the furniture, they were throwing chairs and beer bottles out of the window from the fourth floor onto cars — one guy [relieved himself] in the oven." He said he took his suitcase and checked into a hotel that night ... "Male models are messy — it's not sexy at all."
The financial compensation hardly makes up for the pain and suffering. Lykov walked 34 shows in Milan, Paris, and New York. The eleven shows he walked in New York this season paid him in clothing rather than cash — something that's called a "trade" and not allowed in Europe. So if he makes around $1,000 a show, he netted about $16,400 this show season, after a 20 percent agency fee and couple grand for travel expenses. In a year, doubling that figure and adding in a few one-off shows and an exclusive job, he makes around $40,000. Before taxes. Including human excrement in the kitchen. (It is, however, considerably better than a starting salary at Condé Nast.) Lykov is hoping for some fall campaign bookings, where the real money is. In the meantime you might find him in the Williamsburg apartment he shares with four roommates, none of them models.
More than a quarter of all New York City subway stations — 111 out of 425 — saw an increase in average weekday ridership of 50 percent or more between 1998 and 2008. Brooklyn accounted for nearly half (51) of those stations; there were 28 in Manhattan, 20 in the Bronx, and 12 in Queens. [NYCFuture]
Last month, when Eileen Gray's Dragon Chair sold for $28.5 million at an auction of Yves St. Laurent's belongings, we had two thoughts: The first was, "Hey, if people are still continuing to buy insanely overpriced crap at auctions, then maybe the economy is not as bad as everyone says it is?" The second was: "Holy crap, who would spend that much money on a chair that looks like someone's diseased molar?"
And now we know the answer! To the second question, anyway.
The Economist, in tracking the purchases at the auction, reveals the following information:
Cheska Vallois, an Art Deco dealer, won the work in the room; it is thought that she did so on behalf of Henry and Marie-José Kravis, who had already acquired examples of Gray’s work from Ms Vallois at the Biennale des Antiquaires in Paris.
Fascinating! If it was indeed Kravis that bought it, it was probably only because he really loved it. Otherwise, it could look kind of bad, him spending that much on a hideous chair just a few days before telling his public shareholders their stock is about to lose about 90 percent of its value. And this being "a very sobering time" and all.
Update: Kravis says he did not buy the chair. A spokesman sent us the following statement: "Contrary to speculation, I can categorically deny that neither Henry Kravis, nor anyone in his family, purchased the chair in question."
Topshop is slated to open in New York on April 2. (For real this time.) But don't expect a blowout bash with free-flowing Guinness, vinegar-drizzled French fries, Mark Ronson at the turntables, free rides home in double-decker buses, and other unnecessary British panache. Topshop owner Sir Philip Green has decided on a low-key opening due to the economy. So we can confirm at the moment only that one real live British person will be at the opening — Sir Philip. He is hopeful he will have a real live Brit to accompany him — Kate Moss. He told the Daily Mail that Kate "will hopefully be coming over" for the opening "to give it some glamour." We're disappointed. We've been looking forward to this opening literally since the dawn of time. And Kate Moss can't even commit to witnessing our dream come true. Our feelings are hurt. Maybe Sir Philip is trying to cut back by flying her commercial. If she doesn't show, Sir Philip will have to deliver the glamour all on his own. Might we suggest a feather boa and some faux crown jewels?
That's right. The majority of the active commenters on "the Daily Wag" already appear to be fellow dogs. Here's a sampling:
• "Hello! I am Preppy Pug living in Atlanta. If you ever visit Atlanta, we should do lunch at the doggie park with treats from the dog bakery that my mommy loves!"
• "Congrats and welcome to the cyber doggie world–from a couple of adoring fans (Norwich Terriers) in San Francisco. (And our cat Howie thinks it’s cool, but is pretending otherwise, as per usual with cats)"
•: "Bonjour! My name is Cors. My mom and dad named me after a character in Welsh mythology. But everyone assumes I am named after beer (Coors). My mom hates that. I’m a Pembroke Welsh Corgi and I live in a green place with lots of cats and corn fields. Tennis balls are my favorite toys and I love peanut butter."
• "Hello, and may I sniff your tails? I’m a mutt so pardon my forwardness. Not too well behaved in social settings, and typing is impossible until I get my nails trimmed. But what I want to know is…who IS this Martha Stewart person that is going around telling everyone to brush their dogs teeth! I’ve lived for ten years without ever having such a thing done and now I can hear them talking about doing just THAT, to me. I’m really good about nail trimming but how do you like it when Martha scrubs your gums?"
• "My name is Barney and I’m your friend across the pond in Ireland. I’m a sturdy German Shepard, getting up there in age, but aging gracefully, I might say.
• "What a fantastic blog! I wish you both great adventures & success…Obviously the two of you are very photogenic, & like me, share a deep love for fashion & acessories!"
• "Congrats and a big BOW WOW to you both for this utterly cool canine blog!
My mom is typing here cos I still am learning how to blog but follow your Mom’s blog all the time! My name is Martha and I am a Yorkshire terrier. I have two brothers named Stewart and Bentley. Hmmmm…wonder who we were named after!! ROFB…'rolling on the floor barking!!'"
• "Good Morning, my friends, i got shaved, and look fat."
Our favorite comment from the blog, though, comes from a cat. Writes Precious: "I am a kitty, but, because you are both so adorable!!! ... I will read your 'dog blog.' Please tell your Mommy she is looking especially beautiful these days - is it a new hair style, different make-up?? See if you can find our her secret. My Mommy would reallllly like to know. Will be in touch. Love & purrs!" Francesca and Sharkey helpfully replied to this post. "Martha, indeed, does have a new hairdresser/makeup artist, Mary Curran," the French bulldogs explained. "Mary has parted Martha’s hair on the other side. We agree, she looks dazzling!"
YouTube webpage. The Google-owned company and the world's largest music recording company Universal Music Group are reportedly discussing collaborating on a premium music video website. Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 9 Mar 2009 | 8:36 pm
W Magazine has apparently taken Life and Style's lead and given us the following refreshingly honest cover of some robotic young model who's been airbrushed to resemble newsful person Drew Barrymore:
Look out the window today and you'll confront the same depressing scenery we've been coping with for the past few months. The weather, like the economy, is bleak, and it's easy to combine the two into one overwhelming, dispiriting force. If only we could at least enjoy the weather, then maybe this whole economic catastrophe would be slightly easier to swallow. But it's actually quite amazing how changes in the weather could literally help the economy.
During our brief respite from winter over the weekend — the sunshine, the warmth, the birds chirping to each other about their next attack — people started behaving in a peculiar way: They bought things, even expensive things, like jewelry and art. Things that it seemed nobody would ever buy again, because we can't eat them or live in them. People felt optimistic for once, and, at least for a moment, businesses flourished. This wasn't a fluke; at least one researcher the Times talks to found a direct correlation between sunshine and stock prices: the more sun at the site of the stock exchange on a given day, the higher the returns. So we just need to hold on a little longer, until the sunshine returns for good. Or, we could just destroy the clouds right now. That wouldn't have any unintended consequences, right?
While New York Fashion Week sets the tone for the season (Marc Jacobs), and London is usually fun and crazy, Milan's runways offer up overtly sexy clothes, rock-and-roll style, and just the right amount of edge. From Burberry's country chic to Armani's dual-tone capes, the collections had a little something for everyone. And after poring over so many photos, we've nearly gone blind from all those mirrored catwalks. Click ahead to see the best of Milan.
Karl Lagerfeld and Beth Ditto pose backstage at the Karl Lagerfeld Ready-to-Wear show. Lagerfeld was seen tossing that glove in the trash moments later. Source: Best Week Ever | 9 Mar 2009 | 7:45 pm
The fall runways in New York were awash with eighties-era neon and power suits. But for those still wary of sporting shoulder pads, recently opened menswear store Teddy Boy brings a dose of dapper fifties style to the Lower East Side — evidenced by the growing number of waistcoat-wearing hipsters we've spotted skulking around downtown bars. Designed by Evan Ferber and Ahmed Abdallah (also the owner of St. Marks boutique Ohmash), the Teddy Boy label references the British fashion movement of the fifties — later revived by rockabilly fans in the seventies — mixing Edwardian pomp with some greaser flair: drape jackets and leather bombers, skinny ties, waistcoats, lace-up boots, and tapered jeans. Shoppers can browse seasonal, limited runs of ready-to-wear items or order custom-made suits, jackets, and coats from the label. (Check back later this spring for new shipments of vintage sunglasses from Persol and Cazal.) Click ahead to view some Teddy Boy style essentials.
The following anti-abortion ad is currently running atop Drudge Report:
Wow -- it really changes my perspective to know that a baby has pondered the issue of abortion, weighed the societal and ideological implications, considered the vast and divisive history of the issue, and eventually decided on his own accord to raise his--
WAAIIIIIITTTTT A MIIIIIIIINUUUUUTTTTTEEEE!!!
Someone ELSE is raising that baby's hand! That baby has no idea what it's voting against! It probably hasn't even considered all of the pros and cons of this uniquely complicated issue before having its hand raised!
It's almost like...you could make that baby raise its hand for ANYTHING! Check THIS out:
You are BUSTED, abortion ad. For a second there I really thought "I did not realize that this baby was intellectually against this complex human concept that has divided opinions for centuries" but then I saw through your little game. Psh, "raise your hand." NICE TRY. Source: Best Week Ever | 9 Mar 2009 | 7:20 pm
The new season of Celebrity Apprentice might only be in its second week, but already it has become a necessary staple in my weekly DVR routine. In its first 2-hour long episode, comedian Andrew "Dice" Clay was sadly booted after refusing to bake cupcakes and wear a baker's hat. It's a shame they booted Dice so early on, as his hilarity potential was off the charts. The guy still proudly sports Arsenio Hall's worldy leather jacket collection while referring to himself in the third person.
With "Dice" gone, there are only two other contestants worth listening to: My inspiration in life and all other things, Joan Rivers, who remains as genius as ever; and one Canadian gent who we are happy to see back on America's radar... Mr. Tom Green. Harken back to 1999, and you might recall a goggly-eyed MTV talk show host who, along with sidekick Glenn Humplik, put audience members and his own family through a series of wildly outrageous pre-Jackassian stunts. If you remember some guy airbrushing an explicit girl-on-girl porn scene on his father's car (or the "Slutmobile")... that was Tom Green.
But marrying and divorcing Drew Barrymore and losing a ball can really have an effect on a guy. We hadn't heard from Tom Green in the past 9 or so years, so it came as sort of a surprise that he would be included in a cast with the likes of Dennis Rodman and the charming Khloe Kardashian. And yet, dare we say he's slowly becoming the star of the show.
To wit: Last night, petite figure skater and surprisingly giant a-hole Scott Hamilton became Project Manager for the boys. The challenge was to create a superhero to promote famed online shoe emporium Zappos.com, and it was Green vs. Hamilton from the get go. It's safe to say Tom Green is the funniest person on the entire men's team, if not the most restless, and yet, they prevented him from writing the ad's copy. In fact, they really didn't give him very much to do at all. This would have been fine had Scott's ideas not been, literally, retarded -- for example, naming the superhero "EEE". (ahem.) What ensues is, simply, hilarious:
Welcome back, Tom Green. Welcome back. Please, The Donald, do not fire him. He's almost all we've got left. (And also thank you, Tom Green, for this photo uploaded on your website.) Source: Best Week Ever | 9 Mar 2009 | 7:11 pm
Perhaps PETA skipped New York Fashion Week to save some energy for Paris Fashion Week. In a noisy protest outside Jean Paul Gaultier's show, they threw eggs at editors entering the show and ripped the sleeve of French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld's Balenciaga dress in an attempted attack on her lilac goat-fur coat. “I am a fashion martyr now,” Carine said. But, were they soy eggs? [blog/LOVE, Style.com]
Reuters - The re-launch of a Russian luxury label in Paris this week neatly summarized the state of the industry: instead of a bombastic event dripping with Tsarist extravagance, the director held court in a small showroom. Source: Yahoo! News: Fashion News | 9 Mar 2009 | 6:49 pm
French singer Patricia Kaas, seen here performing in February 2009 and who was chosen to represent France at this year's Eurovision contest in Moscow, has signed up with Universal for sales of her new... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 9 Mar 2009 | 6:46 pm
The hype is over, and the viral videos are done (for now) -- Watchmen finally hit theaters this past weekend, debuting to a $55 million box office, positive but mixed reviews, and a bunch of really fruitless arguments amongst myself and my fellow Watchmen-loving friends.
It's time to (Watch)man up: Who saw Watchmen this weekend, and what did you think? Fans of the comic or uninitiated? Favorite parts? Least favorite parts? Casting? Length? Leave it in the comments.
I'll save my analysis of the film for after the jump, so I don't spoil anything. Although I will say that I did NOT expect them to kill off Doc Manhattan in the opening credits -- that was a hell of a twist.
In general, I liked the movie. Everyone I went with to the Saturday IMAX show enjoyed it, agreeing about the handful of stupid parts and that a better movie probably couldn't have been made, whereas all of our friends who went to the Friday show -- also fans of the comic, also as excited to see it as we were -- hated the movie, making me wonder if they slowly pumped nitrous oxide into the theater during our showing, or something.
-- Jackie Earle Haley was perfect as Rorschach; this was the one point of agreement between those of us who liked the movie and those who hated it. He managed to deliver the bombastic monologue lines without coming off as cheesy (no tough task - a lot of that stuff looks awesome on paper but I can't imagine a person just saying it and it not sounding stupid), and conveyed a sense of believable badassery that even drew a cheer from the crowd when he declared "You think I'm locked in here with you? You're locked in here with ME!" If this part had been the slightest bit miscast, that line would've drawn a dismissive laugh from the movie crowd, and the film would've been downhill from there.
-- I had absolutely no problem with the tweaked ending. Think of it this way - the movie got rid of Veidt's "Alien" and replaced it with Doc Manhattan being set up as the destructor of cities. Imagine if the comic had ended with Doc Manhattan's power destroying cities, but the movie replaced it with Veidt creating a giant fake octopus-looking alien. You would've been like, "I can't believe they added a giant goofy-looking alien - this is totally retarded." Plus the idea that Doc Manhattan was vilified and yet still had to acknowledge that Veidt's actions made humanity better off was an interesting character touch.
-- The worst aspect of the movie, as just about everyone can agree on, was the music. I was on board with the "Times They Are A-Changin'" intro, but just about every music cue from that point on was distractingly ridiculous. "99 Luftballons" was jarring and out of place, "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" playing in the background of Veidt's entryway was meaningless and stupid, "All Along The Watchtower" playing while Rorschach and Nite Owl approached the Antarctica lair made me think I was watching Forrest Gump (and synching up "two riders were approaching..." with the two heroes in the snow was high school filmmaking, "Ride of the Valkyries" in the Vietnam scene couldn't have been more on the nose if the physical film canister was spinning around on my actual nose, and the "Hallelujah" sex scene was simply the worst scene in the movie. However, I am not of the opinion that one horrible scene can ruin a movie (if so, we can take that Oscar away from The Departed any second now), and the horrible music choices made for a funny post-movie discussion but didn't spoil my enjoyment.
-- In general, I thought most of the casting was spot-on; Billy Crudup didn't portray Manhattan with the booming voice I always imagined when reading the comics but I thought his logical, indifferent tone worked well. Jeffrey Dean Morgan was perfect, Patrick Wilson was surprisingly believable as a semi-dork, and Malin Ackerman wasn't stellar, but the part wasn't difficult and she was really hot. They didn't give the Veidt character that much depth, but neither does the comic; he's sort of an intentional mystery up until the end, and I thought the movie handled him decently enough. Mickey from Seinfeld was a nice bonus too.
-- Zack Snyder's token slo-mo got on my nerves in the opening fight scene with The Comedian, plus I feel there's something to be said for opening the story with an inexplicable corpse already on the ground, but I got the impression that some executive was like "we have to give them SOME action before the opening credits, so let's have a full fight," plus I wasn't really bothered by the slo-mo in subsequent fights.
-- I thought the billion or so shots of the smiley face more or less got the point across.
-- They also cut the "Screechers," the things blaring loud noise that incapacitate the rioting prisoners, from Nite Owl's ship, which I felt was a pretty smart omission. I was also a little glad they omitted Veidt's inexplicable weird pet thing Bubastis, but then it showed up in the final sequence and I was like "ahh well, I'll live with it." But it was RED in the comics, DAMMIT! (Kidding - no one cares).
-- I'm about as impatient and childish as possible when it comes to dealing with long movies, and I honestly didn't think this film's length was particularly distressing. I enjoyed Dark Knight even more but that film felt longer to me. Not sure why, might've just been in a good mood Saturday. Probably from the aforementioned nitrous.
Alright, I've babbled enough -- Watchmen thoughts in the comments, please. Source: Best Week Ever | 9 Mar 2009 | 6:30 pm
Poor Michelle Obama seems to have been scared out of her sleeveless frocks. On Thursday when visiting a soup kitchen, she wore a white ruffled Liz Claiborne blouse, designed by Isaac Mizrahi, under a pink cardigan. If anyone could use a MObama endorsement it's Claiborne, which lost $830 million in the fourth quarter. Michelle also wore the same clear plastic Sonia Rykiel belt she wears on the cover of April's O. If we were editors at monthly glossies we'd applaud her for shopping in her closet. But we're not, so we'll just note that outfit repeats are not only economical but Anna Wintour–approved! [WWD]
Sometimes, great tragedy brings about adorable, hilarious, face-scraping, head-shaking, collapsing on the ground in laugh/sadness feelings. Such is the case with the above elephant, Mosha, a three-legged pachyderm whose fourth, giant elephant leg was blown off in a land mine explosion. Not that Mosha has any idea what is going on... look how freaking psyched she is to be alive:
Get this goddamned thing on Dancing with the Stars please.
Ahead, Dan Hopper suggests a "Simi-Lebrity" that approximately one of you (Dan) will get:It's Mosha vs. Fisto from Masters of the Universe:
Jessica Simpson is worried her boyfriend will never propose.
The singer-and-actress has been dating American football quarterback Tony Romo for around 16 months, and is becoming increasingly frustrated at his unwillingness to commit.
A source claims Jessica said: "I know Tony loves me, but I don't know if he'll ever propose."
Jessica, 28, was convinced Tony, also 28, would pop the question on Valentine's Day (14.02.09) and was left devastated when he failed to do so.
A source said: "Jessica was really hoping she was going to get an engagement ring. She wanted one for Christmas, then she thought maybe New Year's Eve (31.12.08). Her last hope was that Tony would propose on Valentine's Day - but he didn't."
Jessica was not happy. He just wasn't picking up on the fact that she was starting to lose her patience.
The star was also said to be furious after Tony took her for a meal at exclusive New York restaurant The Waverly Inn but spent much of the evening texting on his phone.
A witness said: "Jessica was not happy. He just wasn't picking up on the fact that she was starting to lose her patience."
Jessica has been discussing her relationship woes with her 24-year-old sister Ashlee - who has three-month-old son Bronx Mowgli with her husband Pete Wentz - and her friends, who are also concerned Tony will never make her his wife.
A source told America's OK! magazine: "Ashlee has always been the more realistic, the more practical of the two sisters. And Ashlee knows how much her sister wants to be married and have a baby of her own. But as wonderful as Tony is, he is not the marrying kind - probably not for years." Source Source: Lepaparazzi - Celebrity News and Gossip Blog | 9 Mar 2009 | 5:36 pm
The 'Knocked Up' star has shed 30lbs for his role in new comic book adaptation 'The Green Hornet' - in which he plays the crime-fighting vigilante of the same name - but doesn't think he will be able to maintain his new slimline figure when filming ends because dieting has made him so emotional.
I lost the weight for a role, but I don't know if I'll keep it off He said: "I lost the weight for a role, but I don't know if I'll keep it off. That's the big question. I have a lot of tantrums. I want my food. I cry for no reason."
The actor is adamant he wouldn't have lost the weight if the role didn't require it and admits he feels like a "sell-out" for trying to alter his body shape.
He recently said: "I'm selling out guys. It's the lamest thing ever. It's for 'The Green Hornet' - the only reason. There's no other reason. I think it serves the movie."
Despite winning praise for his new figure, Seth has previously insisted his long-term girlfriend Lauren Miller is indifferent about his new look.
He said: "She's stuck by me through thick and thin - literally! She claims she doesn't like me any more now than when I was heavier, but I think that's completely not true." Source Source: Lepaparazzi - Celebrity News and Gossip Blog | 9 Mar 2009 | 5:35 pm
Claudia Schiffer won't work with designers who are nasty to her model friends.
The German supermodel rose to fame in the 90s and became such good pals with many of her contemporaries she was, and still is, as concerned about their careers as her own.
She said: "Yes, there was competition because all of the jobs were divided between us, but we all stuck together and stood up for each other.
"We even used to make group decisions not to do a job if a particular designer had mistreated one of us."
Claudia, 38, also revealed she isn't concerned about ageing and is vehemently opposed to using cosmetic procedures to keep her looks and carry on working.
I have always worked out, and I've gone through different phases of yoga, but the combination of Pilates three days a week with yoga is incredible. Speaking about Botox, which is used to smooth the appearance of wrinkles, she said: "It's poison in my skin and no one knows the long term effects. I'm far more scared of that than a wrinkle on my forehead.
"All of my friends are my age and we are all ageing at the same time. We talk about it and moan, but it doesn't bother me."
Instead, the model relies on a stringent fitness regime to maintain her figure.
She told Vogue magazine: "I have always worked out, and I've gone through different phases of yoga, but the combination of Pilates three days a week with yoga is incredible." Source Source: Lepaparazzi - Celebrity News and Gossip Blog | 9 Mar 2009 | 5:33 pm
We're assuming Miley Cyrus isn't simply referring to Justin Gaston's buff bod.
At a book signing in L.A. on Saturday for her new autobiography, Miles to...
John Milius is the author of some incredibly memorable lines in a few blockbuster movies and he hasn't lost his bold way with dialogue -- including his own.
A portrait painted 400 years ago and kept anonymously in an Irish home for much of the time since is now believed to be the only painting of William Shakespeare created during his lifetime.
AFP - Two-time Grammy winner Pink, in Paris on Monday for Fashion Week, said she would never befriend a designer who used fur as she joined Stella McCartney in the launch of a new PETA animal rights campaign.
Well, look who's back in her Daisy Dukes.
Jessica Simpson performed last night at the Strawberry Festival in Plant City, Fla., in itty-bitty denim cutoffs and a corset so that...
The Pussycat Dolls, Fergie, Staind, Gym Class Heroes and Gavin DeGraw have been tapped as headliners for The Big Dance, a three-day concert series taking place during the NCAA Final Four basketball championship weekend next month in Detroit.
Fashion Wire Daily - Painter Francis Bacon sounds a tiny bit unlikely as a source of inspiration for a fashion collection, but filtered through the canny brain of Dries Van Noten, and staged Sunday, March 8, in Paris, the result was a chic and sophisticated fall 2009 collection, albeit one more suited for a Baltic cruise than a backstreet art gallery opening.
U2’s “No Line on the Horizon” (Mercury/Universal) outdid the combined sales of the other albums in the new U.K. top five yesterday to debut at No. 1. “Right Round” (Atlantic) by Flo Rida featuring Ke$ha went straight to the top of the new singles survey.
Déjà vu all over again for Amy Winehouse.
A year and a half after she was barred from entering the country to attend the Grammys because of a drug rap, U.S. authorities are now...
Pete Wentz had better get used to spending quality time with baby Bronx. His wife is going to be busy for a while.
Ashlee Simpson-Wentz has been cast in the CW's Melrose Place redux,...
Metallica had a less than Swede reception over the weekend.
The hard rockers were forced to cancel the second of two planned Stockholm gigs last night after frontman James Hetfield was...
Reuters - Stella McCartney injected some masculinity into her signature soft, feminine designs with belted spray-print dresses and tapered trousers on Monday, adding to a string of Paris collections courting the working woman.
AP - Former Baywatch babe Pamela Anderson ditched her swimsuit for some no-less-sizzling looks as she hit the catwalk in a tutu, hot-pants and second-skin skirt suit at Vivienne Westwood's ready-to-wear show.
Phish played another marathon show on Sunday (March 8) to a delighted audience, dipping into a wide range of their back catalog as well as dishing out a number of favorite cover songs.
It's official: Dakota Fanning is sinking her teeth into New Moon.
Nearly two months after it leaked out that the actress was in negotiations to star in Twilight's would-be...
• A gazillionth magazine cover supposes that Jennifer Aniston is pregnant—a claim her rep denies. We're hearing this time it's with a test tube's tot and not John...
Sometimes, when you need just the right thing to say, it's good to let the movies do the talking. And why not? When some of the funniest, most dramatic, romantic and poignant words are spoken on the big screen, it's no wonder they stick with us long after the movie is finished.
After all the anticipation and hubbub, the weekend is coming to an end and the box office results are here: "Watchmen" (No. 1) grossed $55.7 million during its first frame, according to early estimates from Media by Numbers.
Police said Monday they confiscated about $1.2 million in illegal drugs and more than $68,000 in cash from concertgoers. Authorities also arrested 194 Phish fans during the three-night celebration of the band's return to the stage after a nearly five-year absence.
AP - Fashion designer Jason Wu says the inauguration ball dress he designed for President Barack Obama's wife, Michelle, grew out of his childhood fascination with dolls.
Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire, two of pop music's most enduring and prolific outfits, are reuniting for a 30 city tour this summer, starting June 5 in Orange, Beach, Ala
The new season of Celebrity Apprentice might only be in its second week, but already it has become a necessary staple in my weekly DVR routine. In its first 2-hour long episode, comedian Andrew "Dice" Clay was sadly booted after refusing to bake cupcakes and wear a baker's hat. It's a shame they booted Dice so early on, as his hilarity potential was off the charts. The guy still proudly sports Arsenio Hall's worldy leather jacket collection while referring to himself in the third person.
With "Dice" gone, there are only two other contestants worth listening to: My inspiration in life and all other things, Joan Rivers, who remains as genius as ever; and one Canadian gent who we are happy to see back on America's radar... Mr. Tom Green. Harken back to 1999, and you might recall a goggly-eyed MTV talk show host who, along with sidekick Glenn Humplik, put audience members and his own family through a series of wildly outrageous pre-Jackassian stunts. If you remember some guy airbrushing an explicit girl-on-girl porn scene on his father's car (or the "Slutmobile")... that was Tom Green.
But marrying and divorcing Drew Barrymore and losing a ball can really have an effect on a guy. We hadn't heard from Tom Green in the past 9 or so years, so it came as sort of a surprise that he would be included in a cast with the likes of Dennis Rodman and the charming Khloe Kardashian. And yet, dare we say he's slowly becoming the star of the show.
The 
We're assuming Miley Cyrus isn't simply referring to Justin Gaston's buff bod.
At a book signing in L.A. on Saturday for her new autobiography, Miles to...
Well, look who's back in her Daisy Dukes.
Jessica Simpson performed last night at the Strawberry Festival in Plant City, Fla., in itty-bitty denim cutoffs and a corset so that...
Déjà vu all over again for Amy Winehouse.
A year and a half after she was barred from entering the country to attend the Grammys because of a drug rap, U.S. authorities are now...
Pete Wentz had better get used to spending quality time with baby Bronx. His wife is going to be busy for a while.
Ashlee Simpson-Wentz has been cast in the CW's Melrose Place redux,...
Metallica had a less than Swede reception over the weekend.
The hard rockers were forced to cancel the second of two planned Stockholm gigs last night after frontman James Hetfield was...
It's official: Dakota Fanning is sinking her teeth into New Moon.
Nearly two months after it leaked out that the actress was in negotiations to star in Twilight's would-be...
• A gazillionth magazine cover supposes that Jennifer Aniston is pregnant—a claim her rep denies. We're hearing this time it's with a test tube's tot and not John...
