Seems like the press tour for The Soloist must be going pretty well for Robert Downey Jr.! After having to get huffy with a reporter who asked him if Jamie Foxx went "full retard" on the set, he chilled out considerably in this interview with Newsday's John Anderson. When asked about the film's delay, RDJ expressed his pleasure that he didn't have to campaign for the film last fall with this delightful bon mot: "I wouldn't have been able to work it with all the zeal of the highly professional whore that I am." [Newsday]
The Bush administration rush-ordered approval of harsh interrogation tactics without bothering to learn about their controversial histories — lessons that might have given a hint as to how the methods might be received when they became public. According to the Times, many of the tactics (like waterboarding) were derived from the training given to participants in SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape), a military program designed to teach American soldiers to withstand the kind of torture they might suffer at the hands of enemy Communists during the Korean War. Waterboarding in particular has a rich history, dating back to the Spanish Inquisition, and being a favorite of Cambodian dictator Pol Pot. The logic went: if Americans were being subjected to these methods, how could they be illegal? Because of the rush to approve these tactics in the face of terrifying and unknown threats after 9/11, the Bush administration met in small groups (some including Bush himself) to authorize it. “It was described as a program that was safe and necessary, that would be closely monitored by medical personnel,” a former senior official told the Times. “And it was very much in the context of the threat streams that were just eye-popping at the time.”
Had more research been done into the origin of the tactics, officials may have been better briefed as to their level of success, opponents say:
A little research on the origin of those methods would have given reason for doubt. Government studies in the 1950s found that Chinese Communist interrogators had produced false confessions from captured American pilots not with some kind of sinister “brainwashing” but with crude tactics: shackling the Americans to force them to stand for hours, keeping them in cold cells, disrupting their sleep and limiting access to food and hygiene.
According to The Wall Street Journal, highly placed Bush administration lawyers had been pushing to give the executive office more power in matters like these, and to liberate it from the obligations of international treaties since before 9/11 even happened. After, these supporters found the Department of Defense easy to convince and eager to enact the policy. In fact, the Washington Post reports that the DoD was preparing to use the controversial tactics months before they were approved, and even well before they even had any terrorists in custody.
Exhibit at Omaha's Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts Features Thousands of Dex Telephone Directories OMAHA, Neb., April 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:30 pm
Mia Farrow plans to begin a hunger strike next week in solidarity with the people of Darfur. The 64-year-old actress and humanitarian says she will begin a "fast of only water" on Monday Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:14 pm
(Reuters) Reuters - Britain's Royal Opera House has recruited tenor Placido Domingo to help ride out the recession next season with a historic double in which he sings tenor in Handel's "Tamerlano" and baritone in Verdi's "Simon Boccanegra." Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 22 Apr 2009 | 11:06 am
India's child-rights watchdog has sought a report from police investigating allegations by a tabloid that the father of a "Slumdog Millionaire" child star tried to sell her to an undercover reporter, the watchdog's leader told CNN.
The Hills were alive with episode spoilers, Speidi wedding gossip and talk of a possible sixth season with or without Lauren Conrad at tonight's Paley Fest '09 panel.
Lauren hit...
Reuters - It's not a musical, but Tim Firth's stage version of his screenplay for the hit 2003 film "Calendar Girls" takes aim squarely at the audience that flocked to see "Mamma Mia!" and hits its mark. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 22 Apr 2009 | 2:19 am
Elimination Tuesday turned into a world premiere for six aspiring hopefuls. And we don't mean the celebrity sextet that remains after another Dancing With the Stars elimination.
ABC,...
Front Page: Studio seeks international co-productions -- With projects already in production in the Americas and also with European broadcasters, Fox TV Studios is next looking to Asia as fertile ground for international co-productions.
The British electronic music trio Depeche Mode (pictued) will likely bring Hollywood Boulevard traffic to a halt Thursday when they hold a free street concert, a city official has confirmed. Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 22 Apr 2009 | 1:55 am
Australian actor Hugh Jackman raises his hands to a crowd after planting them in the cement on Hollywood's "Walk of Fame" on April 21. Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 22 Apr 2009 | 1:48 am
Is Rihanna going on a girls-only road trip?
We just got word that the singer is planning a North American tour.
A source insists that the "Disturbia" songstress...
Rob Thomas kicks off support of his June 30 solo album, "Cradlesong," by premiering lead single "Her Diamonds" on Billboard.com, planning a North American fall tour, and lending another new song to the NBA playoffs.
Though obviously fit to be the family cash cow, Britney Spears still doesn't have the goods to testify in open court.
The pop star will not be required to take the stand in her...
The First Lady was out and about in the capital today. She wore a purple jacket over a green sleeveless top at the Seed School. Later today, she was out gardening in the same top. Because no mere gardening smock will do for Our Lady of Fashion. Check her out in our ever-expanding Michelle Obama Look Book.
AP - Inspiring, relevant and real, the story of Nathaniel Ayers a schizophrenic but wildly talented Juilliard-trained cellist living on the streets of downtown L.A. captivated Los Angeles Times readers in 2005.
The Wall Street Journal has noticed that, more and more, designers are inking deals to do diffusion lines with places like Target and H&M. But, the ever-inquisitive Journal — now devoid of a fashion department — wonders, can fashion experts tell a Thakoon Target piece from a regular Thakoon piece you might purchase at Barneys? To answer this seemingly obvious question, the paper concocted an experiment — they purchased a $1,145 Thakoon dress and mixed it in with the Thakoon Target stuff, which ranges in price from about $20 to $70, and asked experts to pick out the expensive item (all identifying labels and tags were concealed).
The aim of the Journal's experiment was to see if experts could tell the difference in quality between what Target and Barneys sell. It seems like a pointless exercise to us, because we stare at the Internet all day and can't help but memorize which pieces comprise these diffusion lines. Thankfully the Journal's experts — Simon Collins, dean of fashion at Parsons the New School for Design, and Randi Rahm, a designer based in Manhattan — don't spend 90 percent of their waking hours with their noses glued to a fashion RSS feed, and don't have the lines memorized. Rahm ultimately was able to correctly pick the Barneys Thakoon piece out of the lineup. Collins, however, was not. He thought the Target Thakoon trench was the expensive item in the lineup. "[I]t's clear that high quality can be had in the mass market," he said, noting that the Target stuff wouldn't last as long as the Barneys stuff. We're surprised that he goofed. He's the dean of Parsons, after all.
Front Page: Agency board gets overview of Endeavor merger -- Board members of the William Morris Agency got their first comprehensive overview of the proposed merger of WMA and Endeavor on Tuesday, including details of how the new combined entity would be structured.
Andy Milonakis is an acquired taste (and not often acquired), but even the hormonally challenged comedian’s haters will have to agree: his “Let Me Twitter Dat” is the greatest (only?) anthem of the social-networking phenomenon. The two verses — the first a Twitter travelogue of a quest for eggs, the second basically a list of all the rappers Milonakis has met — are pretty great, but it’s the stupid-to-the-point-of-genius chorus that has us hooked: “When I’m sipping on punch at a brunch / ay let me twitter dat” just about made our day. Plus, as far as fake Southern-rap-indebted novelty songs go, it’s pretty on point. (Compare and contrast with “You’re a Jerk,” the real Southern-rap-indebted novelty song of the moment.) And if you think this is just a dig at Twitter's oversharers, think again — sample real-life Milonakis tweet: “@BusinessClass I had some Lamp Soup last night, it was illlllll.”
In James Toback’s Tyson, which opens on Friday, the champ simply tells his life story directly to the camera, with bits of archival fights and interviews spliced throughout. It’s mesmerizing and a little bit scary. And just as fascinating was seeing Tyson talk about the film at last night's screening, which was attended by Toback, Ice-T, Joe Lewis, Nas, and random boxing expert Joyce Carol Oates.
Oates kicked off the questioning. "What’s the experience of watching yourself in this movie?" she asked. "Do you feel like you yourself are an abstract piece of art?"
"I just look at it like Jim asked me questions and I answered the questions," Tyson explained. "It looked very simplistic to me at first, but watching it with a conglomerate of people here, I feel very vulnerable. I don’t like watching it."
He went on. "This kind of fame is all new to me," he said. "It’s not accustomed to me to come in here and get applause for just being me, you know. I’m used to working hard, sweating hard, getting in shape, putting on my show, best man on the planet, do my deed, and then everybody has to love me. Look at me now! But this is just walking in and everyone applauds ... I feel like a dork. This doesn’t feel like real love. I like to feel as if I established and I accomplished something.
"I met Cus D’Amato" — his first trainer and father figure — "when I was 12 years old and decided that life is about just living and conquering and being glorious. The only thing I knew about was just becoming great. At this stage of my life, I think about how to be good. Most great men are not good men."
Ice-T piped up. "I met Mike Tyson when he was 21," he explained to the crowd. "I consider you a friend. But when I see you up there, today I really feel I know you. People don’t really know you, homey. But today I got a chance to really see you, man."
Did you learn anything about yourself? someone else asked Tyson.
"Yeah," he said. "Being objective and sitting there like I am not Mike Tyson, I was thinking, 'That’s a very scary guy. I feel very uncomfortable in a room with him.'”
Front Page: Hollywood likes the look of slimmed-down fest -- "Whatever Works" opens a decidedly leaner and less splashy Tribeca Film Festival this year.
Despite Dick Cheney's recent bluster that he wants Obama to release torture memos that Cheney says will reveal all the great information the Bush administration learned through controversial interrogation techniques, a CIA source tells Greg Sargent that the former vice-president never actually made a formal request to have the memos made public — even though that's what Cheney himself told Sean Hannity. A Cheney rep now can't confirm what exactly he meant by "formal request." [Plum Line/Who Runs Gov]
No, that is not Eminem’s face rendered in rice pilaf on the just-unveiled cover of Relapse — those are pills! Lots and lots of them! Probably illegal ones! So, after first introducing his comeback album with the whimsical piece of doo-doo “We Made It,” what’s Em trying to tell us now? Maybe just that, like all his other albums, the rest of Relapse will be way darker than its terrible, radio-pandering first single? That in the five years since Encore, enough messed-upstuff has happened to him to turn him back to the tormented soul on his best, early stuff? That he’s as crazy and sad and screwed up as ever? Actually, maybe that is just rice pilaf.
BIG MOTHER: Big Brother host Julie Chenis expecting her first baby with CBS CEO Les Moonves. Expect to see the infant in a crawl-on role on Two and a Half Men in a few months. (CBS)
RUMOR MILL: Can't keep all the Brangelina rumors straight? Allow this handy guide to answer your questions! Wait -- they're living on Long Island right now? LOL x infinity. (People)
A LITTLE TOO PERSONAL AD: Move over, Trenita! Levi Johnston is the latest of fake celebrities to sign up for eHarmony. And, wouldn't you know it, he wants to put his seed in Lindsay Lohan of all people. (The Full Ginsberg)
Model Liya Kibede appears on the May cover of Vogue. She's the third woman of color in a row to land that spot, and told us at Cookie magazine's Smart Cookie Awards last night that she thinks the Obamas have a had a great influence on diversity in the fashion industry. "I think it’s wonderful to have a beautiful, elegant man and woman in the White House," said Kibede. "I think it changes the way we look at things. Already they’re attracting so much attention. I think fashion is following, and I’m really glad that fashion is following what they’re doing and [that] it’s really helping diversity." Kibede added, "I think there’s a lot more black models working and I think that’s because of having Michelle and Barack out there. I mean there’s been this issue, raised last year — how there wasn’t enough black models on the runways — but I think Barack and Michelle have really helped us, hopefully forever, to get over this hurdle for black models."
The gloves came off when Rubina Ali's mother got wind of an alleged plot to sell her daughter to the highest bidder.
Rafiq Qureshi, father of the 9-year-old Slumdog Millionaire...
• Media pundit (and New York alum) Michael Wolff predicts that in five years, Time Warner will be no more — and that in eighteen months, 80 percent of newspapers will be dead. [NYO]
• The Seattle Post-Intelligencer's website, now the only remaining segment of the former newspaper, is steadily losing online readers. [E&P]
• Other exciting media-related earnings reports: Time Warner lost $13 billion last year. CBS, $11 billion. Gannett, $6 billion. [Paid Content]
• Delivering a lecture at Yale, Financial Times editor Lionel Barber said it’s the best and worst time to be a financial journalist: "The best, because we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to report, analyze and comment on the most serious financial crisis since the Great Crash of 1929. The worst, because the newspaper and television industries are suffering, not only from the cyclical shock of a deep recession but also from the ongoing structural shock powered by the Internet revolution." [Romenesko]
• Even some high-school newspapers are shifting to primarily online content. [Chicago Tribune]
It looks like the Susan Boyle makeover has begun.
In one recent report about the YouTube sensation from Scotland, Boyle is said to have visited with a hairdresser to help tame her curly...
Front Page: Summit focuses on Hollywood and the economy -- Showbiz heavyweights: entertainment biz is central to the nation's economy and even its recovery.
Lauren Conrad is gettin' fancy! Not only does her animated self get busy with Brian Griffin (not every celebutante can say that!) in the May 3 episode of Family Guy, but she also reveals that...
This morning, Somali pirate Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse looked like he was having an excellent time on his way to court. He was in New York City, and everyone was paying attention to him, and taking pictures of him, and it was all probably a little bit intoxicating! But once he got inside, Wal-i-Musi acted far more subdued:
Wal-i-Musi was asked if he understood that two lawyers were being assigned to his case because he reported having no financial resources.
Through an interpreter, Wal-i-Musi replied, "I understand. I don't have any money."
He then sobbed when his lawyers mentioned contacting his family in Somalia.
Wal-i-Musi - his scrawny 5-foot-2 frame so slight that his prison clothes draped loosely over his body - put his head in his uninjured hand in despair as his lawyers made their case.
You know it's a heartrending scene when even the Post sounds like they feel bad for the guy. We think probably, once away from the maddening crowd, Wal-i-Musi got upset because he finally realized what was happening to him: He was a celebrity. A celebrity in America. Even in Somalia, they've seen those head-shaving pictures of Britney Spears, and know this is one of the darkest roads a human being can go down.
The imagined conversation between Helena Christensen and Padma Lakshmi at the first annual Blossom Ball: "If we keep looking in different directions, no one will notice that our dresses clash."
Are you fans of the looser silhouettes and bold colors?
If Drew Barrymore's Grey Gardens had been in theaters this weekend, would it have outgrossed Zac Efron's 17 Again? Is Melissa Joan Hart the new queen of TV movies? And what could possibly...
Yesterday we were treated to the pleasing — nay, heartwarming — sight of Lady Gaga wearing bottoms made of actual fabric. But that was too angelic a demeanor for her to maintain. So today she slapped on panties with a front skimpy enough to make up for all those non-rubber bottoms she wore, paired with thigh-high boots that appear to be made from 50 pairs of shin guards and some string. To her credit, thigh-highs are in for fall.
The Brooklyn Academy of Music's Sundance at BAM series may have been discontinued, but fear not — the institution is replacing it with the BAMcinemaFEST, a similar series highlighting the best pictures selected from a number of top film festivals. Some of the hotly anticipated features that have been announced include Andrew Bujalski's Beeswax, Robert Siegel's Big Fan, and British comedian Armando Iannucci's In the Loop, starring James Gandolfini. Film buffs hoping for something of a more classic vintage should make note of a June 27 screening of Fritz Lang's masterpiece, Metropolis, which will be set to a live score performed by 3epkano, an experimental music group from Ireland. [Playlist]
In today's round of BWE's most favoritest game, "What the F*ck Am I Looking At?", we bring you one of a series of photographs of what appears to be a tiny robot with abs being abused by a much larger, scarier woman:
Want to know what the f*ck you're looking at? Great! Click ahead for many, many more pictures that you will see in your eyelids before falling asleep tonight:
Ummm DUHHH! It's just your typical day at Circus Lab! Australia's "The Lab" is a place where members of Melbourne's "Circus Oz" can get together and practice future routines... such as the famous "Lil' Foot Butt Massage" seen here:
Uh uh uh, don't forgot a little mam massaging while you're at it:
Now, it would seem the little person used in this act enjoys her work (assuming she's human and not a robot as her face would suggest.) Check out how relaxed she looks here:
But then, every now and again, it almost looks like she's trying to escape out of PURE, UNADULTERATED FEAR, like so:
Also, is it weird to say I'd give anything for this lil' ladies bod? She's so cut! She probably does the world's tiniest crunches:
Finally, for no reason whatsoever, here is a photo of a man practicing balancing a cornet on his lips:
Tomorrow you have a shot at making your wildest dreams come true, when P. Diddy's Faces of the Future contest kicks off. The winner will star in Sean John's fall ad campaign. Contain yourselves — the excitement is almost too much for us, as well. WWD announced the contest today, but also notes that the search will be unveiled on seanjohn.com, Twitter, Diddytv, and other blogs. Would you expect a fewer-platform launch from the man whose Twitter has possibly made Kanye West's blog irrelevant?
Enter by uploading your photo to the Sean John site between tomorrow and April 29. The general public can log on to vote and comment on potential models, which sounds like either the setup for a lot of hurt feelings, or a great way for entrants to get the cheap thrills they once got on MySpace. The ten entrants with the most votes will meet with Sean John executives during the first week of May. A winner will be announced May 8.
What makes this contest truly glamorous is not that you might see yourself in magazines or on billboards all around the country, if not the world, but that you could get a chance to hang out with Diddy. And his entourage! He might even Twitter about you, his new friend for life five minutes.
Bill Ackman is preparing to fight the banks, and is generally regarded among his high-flying peers in the hedge-fund industry as one of its savviest investors. But does he have any financial advice for the common man? Jeffrey Goldberg tried to find out when he ran into him (at Boaz Weinstein's house, of all places) during reporting for his Atlantic cover story this month. It was awkward. Not least because Ackman was just finishing up a diatribe against the media — who, he feels, misunderstand finance people, so consumed are they with jealousy and rage over the meager contents of their own wallets — when Goldberg, the reporter, butted in.
It only seemed right for me to stick up for my fellow ink-stained proles, so I decided to make an intervention. But then I thought, This is Bill Ackman standing before me. He’s a great investor. Maybe he can give me some advice.
So this is what came out of my mouth: “What do you tell the ordinary mortal — say, the person who works in the press that you talked about — what do you say to the person who has $20,000, $50,000, $100,000, or $200,000, maybe, parked somewhere doing nothing? What is your advice right now for that person?”
I looked around. The wizards in the room were having difficulty calculating figures of such humble size. I had thought $200,000 sounded like a large and unembarrassing number. But the room reacted as if I had asked, "Bill, I have 75 cents in my pocket. Do you think I should buy Twizzlers or a big red gumball?"
Ackman answered: "First, it depends on when you're going to need the money. I've always said that if you want to take risk any risk—you have to be prepared to put your money away for five years or more. If it's that kind of money, I would give someone a couple of alternatives. Do you have enough money in the bank that if you were to lose your job, you've got a good window to get reemployed? You've got to make sure you have a safety net. Buy a house. I think it's a great time to buy a house. But put a 20 percent down payment, get a good mortgage from Fannie and Freddie. It's one of the best investments you could make. The rest of the money, either invest in a very broad index fund—a Wilshire 5000 type of index fund—or if you want to do a bit of homework, I'd invest in a few great unlevered businesses that earn attractive returns. In my opinion, McDonald's, Visa, maybe Berkshire Hathaway."
Hmmm, what else? Dunkin' Donuts, Kentucky Fried Chicken, whatever you people eat. Poor-people food. That'll be around for a good long time. If I have anything to do with it. Mwhahahaha ...
So you can't run your fingers through it. It's still hot.
• The secret to controlling Johnny Depp's locks? Dep gel and Aqua Net. Men do like products. [Star]
• Speaking of Aqua Net, big hair is in! If celebs like Drew Barrymore and Elle MacPherson are any indication, size does matter. [WWD]
• Want a plump, luscious pout? Use a … lip pump? It works by bruising the lips. Fun! [Daily Beauty Reporter/Allure]
•Can $9 foundation work as well as pricier stuff? Yes, says this blogger. Recession beauty! [Beauty Snob]
• The best de-puffing eye cream is Bioré, according to Self. See what else they picked. [CBS]
• We may do some crazy things to stay beautiful, but it's nothing compared to what we used to do. Check out the scary-looking gadgets of yore that women willingly utilized. Botox ain't lookin so bad now, is it? [Newsweek]
In an interview with the British music magazine Q set for release next week, Oasis songwriter Noel Gallagher suggested that the band will be taking a five-year hiatus from recording and touring. Though the band's long-term plans are currently hazy, Gallagher intends to begin work on his first solo album shortly after the group completes its world tour for its most recent record, Dig Out Your Soul.
Though this is no doubt great news for the world's teeming hordes of Oasis haters, and absolutely heartbreaking for the band's most devoted followers, we're a bit unsure about our feelings here. On the one hand, this may be a brilliant move for the band — if they stay out of the public eye long enough, there could be enough nostalgia for the twentieth anniversary of Definitely Maybe in 2014 to fuel a major comeback. On the other hand, they may sink so deep into irrelevance by that time that their return will barely register with anyone but the diehards. Also, after a handful of Oasis albums diluted by the subpar songwriting contributions of non-Noel members of the band, it could be nice to get an entire album of fresh Noel tunes, though if we're being honest, we'd much rather hear them if they were sung by Liam. We'd also very much prefer it if Liam Gallagher refrained from writing his own solo album. It's hard enough to take a couple of his solo compositions in the context of a late-period Oasis CD — just imagine the horror of a full album!
PFT is back with another look behind the scenes of Best Week Ever with Paul F. Tompkins. Today, he's got a look at the heated debate that goes on each day to decide what clips go in the show:
After completing fourteen months of rehab for her heroin addiction, former Studio 54 club kid Shawn Kovell has been released on probation by a judge. Kovell was busted in late 2007 with her boyfriend, Robert Chambers, for selling cocaine out of their apartment. Chambers, of course, is better known to New Yorkers as the "Preppy Killer," who strangled young Jennifer Levin to death in Central Park. During the fifteen years he spent in prison for manslaughter, the pair remained an item, and they moved in together on the Upper East Side upon his release. According to the judge who authorized her parole, Kovell is still allowed to see Chambers (he's currently serving nineteen years for the drug charges). "She can go visit whoever she wishes," said State Supreme Court Judge Charles Solomon. The Times reporter covering the trial asked Kovell as she exited the courtroom whether she was still in love with Chambers. "Of course," she said. "After 22 years, I don’t love him any less than Day 1."
This month's issues delivered lots of great pictures and managed to avoid the floral clichés of spring. Even Vogue delighted with its treatment of Beyoncé, who was thankfully stripped of her Sasha Fierce alter ego — fashion-wise, at least. Zoo did some fantastic things with Gareth Pugh menswear. Dazed & Confused shot a fantastic avant garde spread at Stonehenge in the snow. L'Officiel Hommes presented one of the finest collections of scantily clad male models we've seen in a single issue. And Gisele's got a gun! See all that and more in the slideshow.
MTV's Splash Page blog has a preview of Saturday Night Live's Bill Hader and Seth Meyers's collaboration on a new one-shot Spider-Man comic book, due out in May from Marvel Comics. Unfortunately, the preview pages do not featuring any lettering, so we don't get to sample the comics rookies' dialogue, but on the upside, the art by veteran illustrator Kevin Maguire is looking pretty sharp. [Splash Page/MTV]
Like a community-theater troupe performing for a Broadway scout, Citigroup apparently gave this morning's shareholder meeting everything it had. Though the mood was somber, according to the AP, CEO Vikram Pandit "tried to bring a more upbeat atmosphere to the ballroom at the New York Hilton hotel" by singing an uplifting tune about the giant monstrosity that is his bank.
“I believe to my core that Citigroup has what it takes to rebound, what it takes to rebuild.”
Then Chairman Dick Parsons came on and made a few jokes.
When a shareholder asked if any government representatives were in attendance, he said to laughter from the audience: “If they’re foolish, they can raise their hand.”
Ha! Then someone asked how many of the directors onstage bought Citi when it was down to a dollar a share last month
“I wish I had,” Mr. Parsons said with a chuckle.
But although some investors came ready to party — one was wearing "a bedazzled red satin cap," according to the news service — overall, the audience did not respond as well as the company hoped.
Evelyn Y. Davis, a long-time shareholder who every year takes several trips to the microphone, called the Citi Field deal the “most stupid thing” and a waste of shareholder money.
Other shareholders called the board “Byzantine,” “communist” and “socialist.”
Mr. Steiner said it is ridiculous that a board composed of chief executives and former chief executives gets a say in Citigroup executive’s compensation while shareholders do not.
“It’s like having the Yankees determine the salary of the Mets,” he said.
When the bank’s chairman, Richard D. Parsons, recognized the five departing members of the board, who include ex-chairman Winfried F. W. Bischoff and the former Treasury secretary, Robert W. Rubin, one man from the audience yelled out: “Thank God you’ve gone!”
At least they didn't throw tomatoes! Those stains are tough to get out.
We're not sure how your calendar is shaking out these days, but here at Vulture, we've been finding that there's just not enough time in a week to watch all the television shows we'd like to. Unfortunately, such is the fate of Better Off Ted, a show whose pilot we liked just plenty, but not enough to bump off something from our already crowded DVRs. Don't feel too bad for ABC or Ted, though, as the show seems to be successfully building its audience each week. However, we did catch an interesting promo for the show earlier today that has us wondering whether ABC's promo department is perhaps getting a bit too clever for its own good.
As everyone who has ever seen an advertisement for an entertainment product will attest, the critical testimonial is still one of the most popular devices with which to promote movies, television shows, CDs, what have you. Recently, the form has been adapting itself to the new era of Internet criticism, and the makers of the film One Week even went so far as to print a newspaper advertisement containing critical raves from random YouTube users, of all things. Now, ABC seems to be following in the same footsteps by lacing their new promos for Better Off Ted with testimonials from the likes of "ONE FAN from ABC.com" and "ANOTHER FAN from His Blog."
Now, if you've ever watched Ted, you'll realize these testimonials are not only fake, but also in line with the playfully humorous tone that the show takes with regards to all matters of marketing. This presents us with a bit of a conundrum: On the one hand, we appreciate that the ABC promo department is willing to get a little creative with their 30-second spots. On the other, however, won't promos like this dissuade people who aren't in on the joke from watching the show? After all, in the age of DVRs, the main function of running a promo (particularly on another network; we saw this one on ESPN) is to draw new audiences to shows, while the secondary goal is to remind engaged viewers to tune in. By running what amounts to an inside joke, is ABC hurting the potential growth of their show?
She Uemura's artistic director, Gina Brooke, shuttles around the world for photo shoots (she glammed up Madonna in W's March issue), preps her celebrity clients for the red carpet, and, of course, creates the most stunning lashes for the company. The Toyko Lash Bar's 2009 Lashes in Nature collection (which hits stores in June) is a gorgeous mix of dramatic plumes, rainbows, and furlike materials. We caught up with Brooke the day before she flew out to a shoot in L.A. and chatted about everything from B.B. King to her days as a lingerie designer.
For the new Flower Garden lashes (which hit in June), how did you translate the floral concept into lashes?
I have so many ideas that it can be overwhelming, but that's the beauty of being an artist and working with corporate. They say just choose one, when choosing one is really hard. They get me focused.
Who was the first celebrity you worked on?
B.B. King. He's so cool. And Madonna was my second.
What can you possibly do to B.B. King?
I prepped his skin and gave him a bit of concealer.
From top: Flower Garden, Celestial Horizon, and Deep Forest lashes, all out in June.
Photo: Melissa Hom
How did you go from B.B. King to Madonna?
[Laughs] I ask myself that all the time. I was in L.A., and Jordana (her current agent) asked me which celebrity I wanted to work with. I didn't know, but she said I had to pick one and I said Madonna. I mean, she's an icon. Jordana takes my book and a few days later I'm told Madonna likes my work and wants to work with me.
What was your first experience with fake lashes?
I was 7 and my mom had a pair. I put them on, but I used costume glue and they were stuck on for two days. We tried everything to get them off — Vaseline, baby oil ...
So you always wanted to be a makeup artist?
Actually, no. I wanted to be a fashion designer, but didn't make it. I didn't have the financial backing and it was a struggle that never ended. I designed lingerie and my fit model wanted me to do her makeup for a shoot. Soon after, I'm being booked for ad campaigns and being asked for my day rate.
What products do you swear by?
An eyelash curler, mascara, blush, and lipstick.
You have access to everything. Do you still even shop for beauty products?
I try to find things where people don't. I travel a lot, so I like to mix products and create stuff.
What beauty trends do you hate?
I hate trends in general. I don't believe in everyone looking like everyone else.
What was the first designer item you bought?
The first designer item I bought in makeup was Shu Uemura in Soho, NYC, and for clothing it was a Halston dress and YSL shoes.
What brands, other than your own, do you wear most?
The only perfume I wear is Fracas.
US singer-songwriter Bob Dylan performs at the Roskilde Festival in 2006. A music video from Dylan's soon-to-be-released "Together Through Life" album has an exclusive stage online at Amazon.com. Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 21 Apr 2009 | 8:20 pm
Blog superpower Matt Drudge isn't just a recluse because he's busy writing his blog, theorizes Gabriel Sherman on TNR.com; he's deliberately chosen his hermetic existence because he wants to hide his personal proclivities from the world. Or because it's too much work to get out there and be talking all the time. Or because he only likes Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, and Andrew Breitbart. Or, maybe (and this is our favorite reason), because he listened to the heavy advice a source says Limbaugh once gave him:
One source relayed to me that, a couple of years ago, Limbaugh advised Drudge to disappear from public life. (Limbaugh declined to comment.) Perhaps Limbaugh, whose personal life has received a thorough public airing over the years, understood the toll this could take. Perhaps he was trying to protect a fellow conservative from attack by the left. Or maybe he simply grasped something that now appears very obvious: Matt Drudge owes his power in part to the air of mystery that surrounds him.
This reasoning for why Limbaugh might urge him to lay low makes sense — though it ignores the more obvious conclusion: that Matt Drudge is perhaps the only more important or relied-upon conservative media authority in America than Rush Limbaugh. And as long as Drudge remains in hiding, the radio host doesn't have to face that fact.
Our thanks go out to Buzzfeed/Urlesque's Eliot Glazer, who first introduced us to our favorite person who has ever existed on the internet: Trenita. Trenita appeared on the Dating on Demand channel in an effort to find the love of her life -- and her requirements are simple: You can't be laid back, you must love freebies, and let's just say anything Nine Inch Nails related will cause you to OD on armfuls of Trenita in the morning iffff you get what we're saying. (Ed. Note: She'll sleep with you.)
Trenita is a rare specimen: Someone who is totally herself, completely un-self-conscience, fun as hell, and, frankly, adorable. WILL SOMEBODY PLEASE DATE HER AND THEN TELL US HOW IT WENT??? Because if spending 2 minutes with her in the following video is this enjoyable, imagine spending the whole night.
How amazing is she? Source: Best Week Ever | 21 Apr 2009 | 8:10 pm
West Village womenswear boutique Helianthus ("sunflower" in Greek) unveiled a second location in Soho yesterday. The 650-square-foot space is on a beleaguered strip of Spring Street (Little MisMatched, Z'Baby, Von Dutch, Sense of Wonder, and Briel Milano were all recently shuttered nearby), where owner Grace Wang says she's taking advantage of the plunging rents. The selection at the Spring Street store will be similar to the original outpost, but with a higher-end slant: breezy dresses, skirts, and work-to-weekend tops from labels like Karen Walker, Ulla Johnson, Bensoni, Pencey, Dallin Chase, and Wren. The new space stocks covetable jewelry by Bliss Lau and Iosselliani (which Wang fell for after her boyfriend gave her one of their rings), along with affordable costume baubles from Japanese designers. Wang, a grad from FIT, is also introducing her own line at the new boutique, also called Helianthus. The small debut collection offers funky chiffon, cotton, and silk dresses sporting feminine touches, like vintage lace and subdued ruffles ($100-$250).
Helianthus, 196 Spring St., nr. Sullivan St., 212-966-6435; M–S (11:30–8), Su (noon–8).
Though movie critic Phil Hoad gave J.J. Abrams's Star Trek reboot a rave review on the Guardian's film blog, hard-core Trekkies may cringe in horror at his description of the picture as being "Star Trek 90210." As for us, we're just hoping this means we get to see Mr. Spock show off some sweet sideburns at some point in the film, and that the iconic opening theme is played as a bitchin' electric-guitar solo. [Guardian UK]
Say what you will about The Real Housewives of New York: Bethenny's funny and skinny; Ramona might be a lithium addict; the Countess Luanne sh*ts diamonds; and Jill loves fabric (even though her house is a Liberace nightmare). But for all of their faults, perhaps no Housewife is more hated, more reviled, than Kelly Kiloren Bensimon, former model and current divorcee, who picked a fight with Bethenny, one of the only redeeming people on the entire series.
The good news? Looks like her own siliconbags are looking to fly the coop:
As Ben at B-Side Blog put it: "This picture really brings new meaning to Kelly's signature put-down 'I'm up here, and you're down here.' (I could not improve upon perfection in this case.)
Ahead, Kelly proves that the Devil was born nipple-free:
So it makes perfect sense that the porcupine-coiffed producer Brian Grazer wanted to get ahead of the rumors this time around, and, by releasing photos of Crowe looking very Gladiator-esque, it seems he has succeeded in turning people's opinions on this project around. That is, at least until people start seeing footage. But by then, we're pretty sure that the celebrity weeklies will be running "Russell Crowe's Dieting Secrets Revealed!" cover stories, and the whole cycle will begin anew.
Miss U.S.A. Pageants may be archaic and useless in the year 2009, but man, they can start some awesome scandals -- Miss California Carrie Prejean appeared on the Today Show this morning to defend her position that marriage should be between a man and a woman and to respond to Perez Hilton's insults towards her, eventually saying that she'll be "praying" for him in an extremely believable display of faux-compassion for the hopeless gay blogger's gay soul that's doomed to gay hell.
It's all good, though, because she's "standing by her beliefs!" Even if those beliefs deny rights to millions of Americans and she's lobbying to become a public representative for the nation! "Standing by my beliefs" is such a nice phrase though so let's not get mad!
"The Da Vinci Code" author Dan Brown at the 59th edition of the International Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, Southern France in 2006. The sequel to the smash mystery "The Da Vinci Code" should make it... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 21 Apr 2009 | 6:09 pm
Ladies and gentlemen, after finishing 0-16 for the first time in the history of the NFL, the 2008 Detroit Lions were a team clearly in need of sweeping changes. Three months ago, the new Lions coaching staff sat down with the entire front office, along with a team of scouts, former players, economists, journalists, biologists, alchemists, and John Clayton, working around the clock for ninety days to jump-start this franchise's comeback.
After tens of thousands of hours of intense labor, ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to announce to you the future of the Detroit Lions organization -- a logo with a slightly more visible mane and two fangs:
[THREE HOUR STANDING OVATION]
I will now be happy to field any questions regarding the new "Fangs" era of our franchise. Yes, you there, with the little card in your hat that says 'PRESS'.
REPORTER: Now that you've come up with this new logo, do you have any specific plans to improve the Lions on the field?
Why yes, there are in fact two visible fangs in the new logo, thank you for asking about the number of fangs in the new logo. Any other questions? I assume all those raised hands mean that you're tired and would like me to end this press conference? Very well -- thank you all for coming, and be sure to grab a complimentary "2009 Lions: The MANE Event" bumper sticker on your way out. Source: Best Week Ever | 21 Apr 2009 | 6:00 pm
A dissected and polymer-injected human body on display during the exhibition "Our Body" in Paris in February 2009. A French judge on Tuesday slapped a ban on the exhibition on the human anatomy that featured... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 21 Apr 2009 | 5:58 pm
Fashion Wire Daily - The latest Gap product to get an upgrade from Patrick Robinson, executive vice president of design, is denim, with a new premium collection, "1969," which will debut for Fall 2009.
Michael Cera and Charlyne Yi are straying from their indie roots with the upcoming Paper Heart, a big-budget special effects action flick co-produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay and directed by Brett Ratner, featuring a kickass mainstream soundtrack (lots of Papa Roach, Soulja Boy and Rascal Flatts), dozens of high-tech non-handheld cameras, and absolutely no black glasses on any character in the entire film.
Brace yourself, box office records!
Last week, when word broke that a fat British middle-aged version with the voice of an angel had sung Les Miserables on Britain's Got Talent, my inbox flooded with Youtube links and Facebook wall postings, with friends assuring me that I would "love her." Her, in this case, was Susan Boyle, who, thanks to the unstoppable media machine, is now a household name in even the smallest of Panamanian huts. Boyle used her own outwardly appearance to defy expectation, and proudly announced that she would never change for nobody. This is all well and good for Susan Boyle, but bad news for me, who from the get go couldn't buy into her story. She was great the first time I saw it. By the time my Great-Grandmother emailed it to me from the grave, I was over it.
This is not the case with the latest viral video star born from Simon Cowell's womb, 12 year old singer Shaheen Jafargholi. I could watch Shaheen and his adorable little doll face belt out Michael Jackson all the live long day. In fact, if we're really going to be honest with each other... I even got a little teary eyed. So you can keep your Susan Boyle, world, because I've got a much more adorable virgin to get worked up about... and dare I say, more talented:
Word of advice -- he should just go ahead and change his name to "Shaheen". It's an elegant and apropos stage name. Source: Best Week Ever | 21 Apr 2009 | 4:30 pm
There's nothing quite like showing up to a red carpet for a movie you aren't in to boost your Hollywood rep and promote your other projects -- let's take a look at the red carpet for Homeless Ray to find the 3 Most Random Celebs in attendance:
3. Halle Berry
Halle Berry plays the love interest in The Soloist, whose-- wait, no she doesn't, she's not involved with the movie in any capacity. But I suppose she's A-listy enough to show up to red carpets at will, so we'll let this one slide. She's also white.
2. Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Also not in the movie, but The Tudors is currently in season, and writing "Thy Kingdom Come" across your extremely visible V-chest area is a traditionally acceptable form of Hollywood cross-promotion.
But the #1 Most Random Celebrity at the Soloist red carpet is...
1. Tom Arnold
Maybe there's a scene where Jamie Foxx's character goes on Best Damn Sports Show and Arnold cameos, but I'm gonna cautiously bet against it. We also can't technically see the red carpet in this shot, so maybe they're just standing near a poster of Jamie Foxx's head...
Catch you at the True Lies Criterion Collection DVD release party! Source: Best Week Ever | 21 Apr 2009 | 4:00 pm
Front Page: Mogul moves offer to May 1 -- In the latest salvo in the Lionsgate battle, Carl Icahn has extended his offer to buy $325 million of the mini-major's debt until May 1 -- even though the offer has generated mostly yawns so far from debtholders.
AP - Back when video gaming was a wholesome family activity, there weren't many games that let you pretend to be a bad guy. At best, you might get something like 1999's "Driver," which let you be a mob wheelman but you were really an undercover police officer.
Front Page: 'Suburbia,' 'Castle' offer little help -- On the last Monday before the start of the May sweep, ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" was on the rise, lifting the net to a demo victory. ABC is still not getting much Monday help, though, from either "Surviving Suburbia" or "Castle," although the latter grew a bit this time around.
How does a Jewish guy from Richmond, Virginia, end up mining for gold in the genre of R&B music? A few years of experience and creative control have helped.
The Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival rang up its second biggest year ever, with an aggregate attendance of 160,000, according to producer Paul Tollett, president of Goldenvoice, a division of AEG Live.
Richie Havens, who was the first act on stage at the original Woodstock Music & Art Fair in 1969, will perform at noon on Aug. 14 at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts on the original festival site in Bethel, N.Y.
'Fast & Furious' star wreaks havoc at famous pal's posh wedding, pushing guests into pool and screaming profanities Source: FOXNews.com | 21 Apr 2009 | 2:05 pm
Amidst touring with the Eagles and this weekend's Poco reunion at the Stagecoach festival in Indio, Calif., Timothy B. Schmit is putting the finishing touches on "Expando," his first solo album in eight years.
VH1 is bringing back its "Divas" franchise for the first time since 2005, the music network announced on Monday (April 20). The performance special - which in past years has showcased Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Shania Twain, Chaka Khan and Diana Ross - will air live on September 17 from the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Howard Gilman Opera House in New York.
The Pixies studio catalog will be released in a pair of box sets in June, though neither will feature remastered sound and the bonus track situation is still up in the air.
Joan Baez and Pete Seeger, who played the first Newport festival in 1959 and remain vital figures in the folk genre, are scheduled to perform again this year. Judy Collins and Arlo Guthrie also are on the bill, along with more contemporary acts like the Decemberists and Iron and Wine.
Bachelor star Melissa Rycroft received a nearly perfect 29 from the judges, just edging out gymnast Shawn Johnson and leaving the seasons former shoo-in, actor Gilles Marini, in a three-way tie for third. Source: FOXNews.com | 21 Apr 2009 | 11:50 am
Waxploitation Records is set to release its second Darfur benefit compilation, "Causes 2," on May 5. The fifteen song set culls rare and exclusive songs from a wide degree of artists, including Gnarls Barkley, My Morning Jacket, LCD Soundsystem, and Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings.
The Hills were alive with episode spoilers, Speidi wedding gossip and talk of a possible sixth season with or without Lauren Conrad at tonight's Paley Fest '09 panel.
Lauren hit...
Elimination Tuesday turned into a world premiere for six aspiring hopefuls. And we don't mean the celebrity sextet that remains after another Dancing With the Stars elimination.
ABC,...
Is Rihanna going on a girls-only road trip?
We just got word that the singer is planning a North American tour.
A source insists that the "Disturbia" songstress...
Though obviously fit to be the family cash cow, Britney Spears still doesn't have the goods to testify in open court.
The pop star will not be required to take the stand in her...
The gloves came off when Rubina Ali's mother got wind of an alleged plot to sell her daughter to the highest bidder.
Rafiq Qureshi, father of the 9-year-old Slumdog Millionaire...
It looks like the Susan Boyle makeover has begun.
In one recent report about the YouTube sensation from Scotland, Boyle is said to have visited with a hairdresser to help tame her curly...
Lauren Conrad is gettin' fancy! Not only does her animated self get busy with Brian Griffin (not every celebutante can say that!) in the May 3 episode of Family Guy, but she also reveals that...
If Drew Barrymore's Grey Gardens had been in theaters this weekend, would it have outgrossed Zac Efron's 17 Again? Is Melissa Joan Hart the new queen of TV movies? And what could possibly...
![Kelly Killoren 2].JPG](http://www.bestweekever.tv/bwe/images/2009/04/Kelly%20Killoren%202%5D.JPG)
