• Marc Jacobs and Lorenzo Martone's wedding has been pushed back to August due to the designer's hectic work schedule. They will wed in Provincetown, Massachusetts, where Jacobs's business partner Robert Duffy has a home. [WWD]
• Kylie Minogue's man, Spanish supermodel Andrés Velencoso, appears naked in the background of Yves Saint Laurent's fall campaign. Christy Turlington stars in the ads. [WWD]
• Here are photos of Carla Bruni modeling lacy granny panties for a catalog shot in 1989. [Mirror]
• Pixie Geldof stars in Giles Deacon's pre-collection lookbook. [Grazia]
The AP is reporting that at least ten more people are likely to be charged in connection with the Bernie Madoff fraud. They aren't naming names, but the Times has a handy rundown of eighteen key players, in case you want to start placing bets. [AP]
After unleashing a 27-tweet tirade against a reviewer who didn't fully appreciate her new novel, Alice Hoffman has issued a statement that could probably be considered an apology, depending on your standards: "I feel this whole situation has been completely blown out of proportion. Of course I was dismayed by Roberta Silman’s review which gave away the plot of the novel, and in the heat of the moment I responded strongly and I wish I hadn’t. I’m sorry if I offended anyone." [CSM]
Most of the gays just showed up for Michelle and her outfit, anyway.
At a reception commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, Barack Obama faced down representatives from a constituent group that was originally very supportive of his candidacy, but has now grown skeptical of his commitment to their own issues. Addressing a group of gay men and women, the president tried to soothe their worries. "I know that many in this room don’t believe progress has come fast enough, and I understand that," he said, pointedly reminding them that they were not the only people to become impatient with civil-rights progress. "It’s not for me to tell you to be patient any more than it was for others to counsel patience to African-Americans who were petitioning for equal rights a half-century ago." Gays have become frustrated that after promising to abolish the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy and repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, Obama has done nothing on either front. In fact, his administration has defended both in court, and in the latter case the Department of Justice filed a lengthy brief that infuriated gay advocates by likening same-sex marriage to incest.
"We’ve been in office six months now," Obama told the group, which included Clinton adviser Richard Socarides, who has been vocally critical of Obama on gay issues, and Lieutenant Colonel Victor Fehrenbach, who is set to be expelled from the Air Force after a colleague told his superiors that he is gay. "I suspect that by the time this administration is over, I think you guys will have pretty good feelings about the Obama administration." Still, the president stressed patience. "I do have a responsibility to see that this change is administered in a practical way and a way that takes over the long term," he said, asking to be judged "not by promises I've made but by the promises that my administration keeps."
Obama should know that gays are going to judge him today, tomorrow, and four years from now — after all, that's what they do best. But political language aside, there is simply a difference between a promise kept today and one addressed three and a half years later. And while they may be good at judging, it's our experience that the gays are less good at being patient.
Behold the deal-making power of recently merged megaagency William Morris Endeavor: The New York Times and The Hollywood Reporter have revealed that WME client Michael Bay has bought film rights to the first book in a six-part series of young-adult sci-fi novels co-written by none other than WME client James Frey. Riding high on his Transformers windfall, Bay reportedly paid in the "high six figures" for I Am Number Four, about a group of alien children fallen to Earth following an attack on their home planet. Publishers Lunch claims to have discovered the lucky co-writer, a 29-year-old recent Columbia MFA graduate named Jobie Hughes — also a WME client.
All of this hard-core synergy reminds us of another dealmaker, Richard Abate, who scored a $3 million deal last year for Dale Peck and Heroes creator Tim Kring. Interestingly, Abate, who ran Endeavour's literary operations in L.A., was pushed out in the merger. The new NME macher? None other than Eric Simonoff, agent to both Frey and Hughes, who built his literary reputation on the likes of Jhumpa Lahiri, Nam Le, and the pre-scandal James Frey, and started making bigger and bigger book deals for Janklow and Nesbitt before jumping to William Morris just ahead of the merger.
One unresolved issue, at the moment: The book hasn't been sold yet. This may be owing, in part, to the fact that neither Frey nor his co-writer have their names on the project. When the Times' Motoko Rich called around to publishers, some who'd seen the manuscript didn't even know the fabricator turned novelist was involved. "I think we're all confused," one publisher told her. “I think we're wondering, Are you hiding it because you think it's better, and if so, why are you hiding it?'" Maybe because Frey's lying and drug abuse might not sit well with YA divisions; maybe because his first intentional novel, Bright Shiny Morning, seriously underperformed its million-dollar advance. But still, secrecy might not have been the best policy, especially given the difficulty of keeping said secret. Maybe Simonoff got a little ahead of himself — before Michael Bay swooped in, Optimus Prime–like, to save the day. Or maybe, given that Frey and Hughes are trying to sell their own separate novels at the moment, Simonoff is already thinking five moves ahead. (Hell, maybe he even leaked the names himself.) Ari Emanuel, watch your back.
AP - The chief of the nation's second-largest school district is fuming over comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's magazine photo shoot with high school football players. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 30 Jun 2009 | 2:54 pm
Last week, Sylvana Soto-Ward was promoted from accessories editor to director of special events at Vogue. But naysayers surfaced even before Sylvana's appointment was announced. For weeks, Fashion Week Daily has been reporting on gossip about downsizing the Met gala (not to mention, keeping the celebrities out of next year's ball), which Vogue's former event planner, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, did a spectacular job of organizing for years. Now poor Sylvana, who has spent the past years taking pictures of baubles, has to make the event just as amazing as it's always been. But the anonymous sources think Wolkoff was the only one capable of getting the fashion houses to spend thousands on tables and making their celebrity guests look beautiful, all for Anna charity.
"They have put the Met Gala, CFDA, Vogue Fashion Fund and many, many other important events in the hands of a woman who has never done any planning," an insider said. "Sylvana didn't even plan her own engagement party — Anna Wintour had the in-house events team produce it for her. They've even pushed out Stephanie's assistant and hired a consultant and some other assistants to operate as the real workhorses and pick up the slack."
Vogue insists this is all part of any transition that occurs when someone assumes a new position. Planning the Met gala is a whole different bag than being accessories editor, pun intended, but it seems to us that if Sylvana "didn't even plan her own engagement party" — OMG, let's freak out — she must be doing something right. Anna wouldn't waste the in-house events-planning team on her if all she brought to the table was a sufficiently hoity-toity sounding name and amazingly lustrous hair. Maybe these anonymous sources are other Vogue staffers, jealous as all hell of Sylvana because Anna passed them up for the promotion.
(Reuters) Reuters - A little-known Swedish software firm has snapped up file-sharing website The Pirate Bay with the hope of turning the source of legal controversy into a money-spinner that appeals to both users and content providers. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 30 Jun 2009 | 2:36 pm
Reuters - A little-known Swedish software firm has snapped up file-sharing website The Pirate Bay with the hope of turning the source of legal controversy into a money-spinner that appeals to both users and content providers. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 30 Jun 2009 | 2:36 pm
Iraqis were celebrating in the streets yesterday as U.S. troops pulled out of all urban areas for good in accordance with a bilateral security agreement. You know you've overstayed your welcome when your host throws concerts and parades and declares it a national holiday upon your departure. Still, they could at least pretend they'll miss us a little bit. [Reuters]
Reuters - A woman who inherited some Chinese carved jade from her father has scored the first $1 million appraisal from experts on the U.S. television program "Antiques Roadshow," the producers said on Monday.
Well, this was bound to happen someday: Popular BitTorrent site the Pirate Bay has been sold to a Swedish software company for the measly sum of 60 million Swedish kronar ($7.7 million). This follows Friday's decision by a judge to deny the site's operators a new trial in their file-sharing case (the one in which they were recently sentenced to a year in prison and ordered to pay $3.8 million to copyright owners). "We're not [worried] and you shouldn't be either!" writes someone on TPB's official blog. "If the new owners will screw around with the site, nobody will keep using it." But you maybe should worry, because apparently the new owners do play on screwing around with the site: "We would like to introduce models which entail that content providers and copyright owners get paid," says Global Gaming Factory's CEO in an ominous press release. So this probably means you'll have to start stealing your intellectual property via one of the Internet's billions of other infringement-facilitating websites.
The question of whether or not Michael Jackson had a valid will at the time of his death just got a little more complicated.
Yesterday, parents Joe and Katherine Jackson sought control...
AP - The Jackson family is determined to move on in order to protect Michael Jackson's legacy and make sure his three children are well, family friend Al Sharpton said Tuesday.
AP - The Jackson family is determined to move on in order to protect Michael Jackson's legacy and make sure his three children are well, family friend Al Sharpton said Tuesday.
The latest financial statements from Britain's royal family suggest that the next British institution needing a taxpayer bailout could well be the monarch herself. Annual accounts... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 30 Jun 2009 | 2:03 pm
Unlike the last time we claimed it, we now actually have the first baby pictures of Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick's new twins. SJP is holding Marion Loretta Elwell, and Broderick is holding Tabitha Hodge. The twins were born on June 22 via a surrogate in Ohio. Please note how the couple's preexisting child, 6-year-old James Wilkie, looks on suspiciously at his new baby sisters. Some sibling relationships are universal.
More Fighters:Amy Adams is in talks to join The Fighter, the David O. Russell film starring Mark Wahlberg as the boxer “Irish” Mickey Ward and Christian Bale as his half brother and trainer, Dick Eklund. She’ll play Wahlberg’s love interest, a tough Massachusetts bartender and ex-college-high-jumper. Odds on a scene in which Wahlberg, while about to bed Adams in her place of employment, knocks a bunch of glasses off of a bar? [HR]
Moving On:My Name Is Earl creator Greg Garcia has set up a new show at Fox. Still untitled, it’s a half-hour comedy about a 25-year-old raising a kid — the unplanned result of a one-night-stand with a woman now on death row — along with his wacky family. Garcia is now writing the script and will shoot in the fall with some of his old Earl crew. Jason Lee’s moustache is still fielding offers for its next project. [Variety]
More Dicks: Speaking of Jason Lee, the old Kevin Smith regular will join the director’s latest film, A Couple of Dicks, in a role that’s sounding fairly cameo-ish: He’ll play the stepfather of (also newly cast) Michelle Trachtenberg, who plays Bruce Willis's daughter. (Along with Tracy Morgan, Willis is one of the two “dicks” on a wild-goose chase for a stolen baseball card.) Maybe, for old time's sake, Lee can just play Brodie from Mallrats? [Variety]
This Wednesday, just in time for our favorite patriotic holiday, Maptote's new USA bag will be available on Target's "Red Hot Shop" website. The double-sided tote features the East Coast on one side and the West Coast on the other, with graphic, screen-printed drawings of major cities and landmarks in between (Las Vegas, for example, is denoted by a slot machine and Georgia is a ripe peach). The bag, the newest in the Maptote series, is made by Brooklyn-based designers Rachel Rheingold and Michael Berick, who have combined their love of fashion and cartography. The dark-denim-and-red-ink combo has a summery-cool look, and the tote is a great replacement for those bland beige bags you've been using for groceries.
Available starting July 1 for $24.99 at Target.com.
Much was made of Billy Mays's rough landing the day before he died. But according to a Florida medical examiner, the TV pitchman's death didn't have to do with any airplane...
NEW YORK, June 30 /PRNewswire/ -- The Carlisle Collection housed in midtown Manhattan offers a sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of the city and its hectic shopping districts. Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 30 Jun 2009 | 1:30 pm
TORONTO - The most popular game rentals (all platforms) according to Rogers Video for the period ending June 30. 1 UFC 2009 Undisputed (Xbox 360) 2 Transformers 2 (Xbox 360) 3... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 30 Jun 2009 | 1:27 pm
TORONTO - The most popular DVDs according to Rogers Video for the period ending June 30. DVD RENTALS 1 Confessions of a Shopaholic 2 Gran Torino 3 Crossing Over 4 The... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 30 Jun 2009 | 1:26 pm
AP - Media coverage of Michael Jackson's death began receding following an extraordinary worldwide outpouring, with the shock wearing off and the pace of new developments slowing.
AP - At the BET Awards over the weekend, Michael Jackson's father, Joe Jackson, was back in front of the cameras. Wearing a black fedora and oversized sunglasses, he spoke proudly of his son, paid tribute to "a superstar" and promoted his own new record label.
• Chris Brown is supposedly peeved not to have performed at the BET Awards Sunday, and all kinds of rumors are swirling about why that was. Some are claiming his participation in...
Two weeks before he died, Michael Jackson wrapped up work on an elaborate production dubbed the "Dome Project" that could be the final finished video piece overseen by the King of Pop, The Associated Press has learned.
Front Page: Nearly one million tix were sold, totaling $85 mil -- Concert promoter AEG Live will offer full refunds to those who bought tickets to Michael Jackson's "This Is It" concerts at the O2 Arena in London.
The celebrity flameout is a Hollywood cliché -- a mantel worn tragically by the likes of Lenny Bruce and John Belushi and handed down through the years to tabloid-populating stars such as Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears.
Neil Nitin Mukesh (pictured) has stripped for the forthcoming "Jail," causing tongues to wag, particularly in the newspaper gossip columns, despite the scenes being tame by Hollywood standards. Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 30 Jun 2009 | 2:21 am
Veteran producer-director Mahesh Bhatt (pictured) was one of the first Indian filmmakers to experiment with bolder kissing scenes in the thriller "Murder," which was one of the biggest hits of 2004. Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 30 Jun 2009 | 2:21 am
Bollywood actors John Abraham and Katrina Kaif promote their upcoming film 'New York' at a press conference in Mumbai, on June 17. "New York," charting the reactions of international students in the city... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 30 Jun 2009 | 2:21 am
Front Page: Guild warned not to slam AFTRA -- The Screen Actors Guild's top attorney has warned the guild's elected leaders -- again -- that they're not allowed to bash the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists.
Front Page: Greg Garcia moves to still-untitled laffer -- Even though "My Name Is Earl" is dead, creator-exec producer Greg Garcia didn't have long to mourn: The scribe has already landed a put pilot at Fox.
Reuters - Working-class boy with artistic aspirations is caught between the Brooklyn mob and Manhattan dreams in "The Narrows," a been-there, done-that drama that recently bowed in New York and Los Angeles. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 30 Jun 2009 | 1:54 am
Front Page: Actress in talks to star alongside Bale, Wahlberg -- Amy Adams is in negotiations to star alongside Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg in Relativity Media's "The Fighter."
E! Online - UPDATE: E! News has exclusively learned that after taking the three children for a visit at Uncle Tito's SoCal home, Katherine Jackson has taken them to Uncle Jermaine's nearby estate, presumably to play with their cousins. Jermaine has six children, including two under 13.
Melissa Rycroft has officially rebounded.
Barely four months after enduring a nationally televised breakup with indecisive Bachelor Jason Mesnick, Rycroft is engaged to fellow Texan Tye...
Nielsen SoundScan's sales numbers won't be released until Wednesday (July 1) morning, but industry prognosticators indicate that three of Jackson's albums -- "Number Ones," "The Essential Michael Jackson" and "Thriller" -- each sold around 100,000 copies last week.
Front Page: Sean and Bryan Furst are set to produce film -- Dimension Films is developing a remake of "An American Werewolf in London," setting up the project with producers Sean and Bryan Furst.
ESSENCE.com correspondent Roland S. Martin talks with Marlon Jackson, brother of Michael Jackson and a member of the Jackson 5, about the death of his younger brother, the King of Pop.
UPDATE: E! News has exclusively learned that after taking the three children for a visit at Uncle Tito's SoCal home, Katherine Jackson has taken them to Uncle Jermaine's nearby...
Michelle Obama wore the silver Givenchy belt she last wore publicly to meet Carla Bruni in France again today in D.C. This time she wore it over a jacket, with black trousers. It's clearly one of her favorite accessories, but is it growing on you? See the full look in the Michelle Obama Look Book.
Jon and Kate Gosselin have imposed a gag order on themselves.
Finally in agreement for a change, the estranged duo issued a joint statement Monday informing us that they plan to live...
Following Michael Jackson's sudden death last week, 750,000 fans are expecting refunds for their tickets to 50 concerts that were scheduled in London, but owing to extraordinarily complex legal issues, they may be waiting some time. AEG Live, the Los Angeles–based company that operates the O2 Arena where the concerts were to be performed, has claimed that an announcement regarding refunds will come later this week, but questions regarding the extent of their insurance coverage have led to strong doubts as to their ability to survive the payout. Though it seems certain that fans will eventually get their money, it looks increasingly doubtful that AEG or its insurers will come out of this worst case scenario entirely intact. [AP]
The reversal of fortune starts Wednesday.
Concert promoter AEG Live says that it will start doling out refunds on July 1 to the thousands of disappointed fans who had snatched up an...
Many dresses at the BET Awards last night were painfully short. As though the ladies were allergic to clothes that would comfortably conceal their lower halves without making onlookers nervous every time the wind blew or they sat down or walked up a step. Beyoncé, Cassidy, Melody Thornton, and Teairra Mari all appeared to be victims of this affliction. Pants made only a feeble showing. Tyra Banks scrounged up a satin pair while Monica wore leather leggings. See all those looks and more in the slideshow.
State Supreme Court Justice Joseph Teresi ruled in favor of David Paterson this afternoon, declaring that when the governor calls a "special session," every member of the 62-person State Senate must present him- or herself at the same time — not, he noted, in the Democrat-Republican shifts with which they've been handling the situation thus far. "You have a unique opportunity as elected officials to take the high road; do the right thing for the greater good," Teresi said, according to Elizabeth Benjamin at the Daily News. "Otherwise there are those citizens of the public who would conclude, if they have not already concluded, that these members have placed their own interests ahead of all other citizens of this state to the benefit of their own personal and selfish interests, and that those same people may also conclude and define that conduct as rude, inconsiderate and egotistical." (Who could "those people" possibly be?) Of course, lawyers for both Democrats and Republicans immediately vowed to appeal this ruling, and when they do so, the decision will be suspended until a higher court addresses it.
So now, essentially, what Republicans and Democrats are doing is fighting, with all their legal might, to avoid actually having to sit down with one another in a big room together. Let's play the pros and cons of having them all meet at once.
Pros:
• A power-sharing agreement could be discussed.
• If it was discussed, it would be done so openly, and not between leaders of both warring factions behind closed doors. Everyone could have a say.
• Maybe even someone could turn on the video feed, so voters could see exactly the kind of deal-making that goes on. You know, how they do it in a democracy.
• If an agreement was reached, the Assembly might actually agree to reconvene so that some bills could actually be passed.
• Paterson would probably agree to stop trying to prevent the Senate from being paid.
• Mayoral control of schools, which expires tomorrow, could be addressed and resolved.
• So could the many other bills that need to be passed by tomorrow, including but not limited to: New York City's adjusted sales tax, which is needed to balance the city budget; a bill to renew federal support for special education; and a bill to allow the city to continue to sell bonds to raise money.
• They could put to rest the contentious issues of vacancy decontrol and gay marriage.
• They could stop making the Empire State look like a fool in front of the rest of the nation.
Cons:
• The State Senate might actually have to show up and do some work this summer.
Remind us, again, why we aren't highly paid lawyers?
Making friends in New York can be hard. It's especially hard if you're a gentle soul, someone who has been taken advantage of in the past. Like this woman who has taken her search for a few good platonic female friends to Craigslist: "Sometimes life here can feel kaleidoscopic, with ever-changing people shifting in and out of your life, almost like a bad acid trip of human personalities," the anonymous writer ruminates in an epic post that eventually swells into 4,000 words. Here's what she isn't looking for in a pal:
"Bitchiness, cattiness, cruelty, liars, “attitudes”, condescension, anyone who would “ditch” someone on NYE or ever, who views friends or people as disposable, judgment, competition, unnecessary criticism or veiled personal attacks, people only looking for a “going out buddy” or “filler” friend, people who would not include me (once friendship-approved) in birthday parties and celebrations, people who think seeing a shrink is for “psychos” ... people who are too “normal”, people who gang up on others, people who already have 10 million friends, people who have a problem with the fact that I grew up *upper middle class, and/or people who "hate the rich", people who have a problem with the fact that I am currently (very) lower middle class, and only working part-time at the moment (not really by choice), snobs, people chasing the upper crust lifestyle, anyone who would criticize the underemployed or unemployed given the current state of our economy, people who think having a car is betraying urbanity (I've lived in nyc for 10 years, am a native ny'er and was carless for a few of those, so...), people who would rudely snivel up their nose when looking at my car because it's old (it’s happened), people who are too into appearances in general (looks/clothes as personality) people who are not intending to settle in nyc…I have to add, NO OVERACHIEVERS/ PERFECTIONISTS (accomplished is fine), "walking resumes", or heavy social climbers. PLEASE NO ANOREXICS/EATING DISORDERED PEOPLE (I think that's a reflection of other, deeper, internal issues)."
When One Tree Hill returns in the fall, what's in store for Sophia Bush's Brooke and Austin Nichols' Julian? Will they hook up or break down? Plus, how far forward is this season's...
As we type this, U2 is performing a dress rehearsal for their upcoming 360 Tour in Barcelona, and the good people at U2gigs.com are live-tweeting the set list. The show is only halfway through at the moment, but they have been focusing mainly on material from their last three albums, though they have revived "The Unforgettable Fire," and Bono snuck in a snippet of Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" after a rendition of the soulful oldie "Angel of Harlem." [U2gigs/Twitter]
It's true. ABC confirms that Drea de Matteo has joined the cast of Desperate Housewives for season six.
With Edie (Nicollette Sheridan) dead and another housewife getting married,...
We’ve always found Kanye West tedious, but with this video for “Street Lights,” he’s really raised his drab game up. The song itself is a dud, of course — Auto-Tuned or not, he’s one of the most limpid singers going, and the beat’s tentative when we suppose it’s meant to be tense. And watching the video, a 3-D animation with a tired eighties-Miami vibe, is akin to waiting for a bashful player to give you a turn at Vice City. We’ve seen more sophisticated flip books. May we suggest you watch this or this instead?
Lindsay Lohan hosted an early celebration for her 23rd birthday at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino this weekend wearing bikini briefs with a studded waistline, an oversize black tee, and Alexander Wang booties.
Front Page: Tuner aims to open on Broadway in 2010-11 -- Jerry Lewis will helm a new legit tuner adaptation of "The Nutty Professor," aiming to land on Broadway during the 2010-11 season.
The Source claims that Jay-Z threatened to cancel his performance at last night's BET Awards if Chris Brown was allowed to perform his scheduled tribute to Michael Jackson. Though Brown had rehearsed for the show three days in advance, Jay-Z used his considerable influence to shut him down, most likely as a form of revenge against the singer, who has been charged with domestic abuse against Rihanna. As a result of this last-minute decision, Ne-Yo and Jamie Foxx were forced to play extra songs to fill up time in the broadcast. [Source]
“Sheila is the skunk at the picnic,” the liberal economist and former American Prospect editor Robert Kuttner tells The New Yorker this week. He meant it in a nice way! When it comes to Wall Street, he said, the FDIC chairwoman is the "often the only voice on the other side,” i.e. the only person with balls big enough (metaphorical balls, as Sheila is of course a lady) to shut down the questionable plans of banking behemoths. Case in point: Today The Wall Street Journal reports how Sheila sprayed her stink juice all over Citigroup and other big banks' plans to game Tim Geithner's public-private investment program by using TARP cash to buy their own toxic assets, bringing that picnic to an unceremonious end.
AP - Ballet fans tend to choose favorites among dancers, debating their attributes ad nauseam. But during Nina Ananiashvili's 16 years with American Ballet Theatre, there was little debate. She was at the top of nearly everyone's list.
J. Lindeberg founder Johan Lindeberg has cut ties with his namesake label. Johan said he hasn't been very involved with J. Lindeberg since it was bought out by Swedish investment firm Proventus in 2007. But he, along with his wife, Marcella, have been keeping busy: Justin Timberlake recruited the couple to work on William Rast over three seasons ago, and retailers have been salivating over their creations, acid-wash among them, ever since.
Meanwhile, drama brewed at the house of Lindeberg. A new design director was appointed without Johan's input and the womenswear line that was supposed to relaunch for fall 2009 — designed by Marcella — never happened. So with much reluctance, Johan and Marcella left the label. And they're launching a brand-new label for fall 2010 called Paris68. It offers made-to-measure tailoring, high-end denim, and leather jackets for men, and "crafty" handmade knits, dresses, and leather jackets for ladies. It almost sounds like a high-end Rast. But it's good to hear that although they moved from New York to L.A. to be closer to Justin (no small sacrifice, that), William Rast is evidently not the be-all, end-all of their careers. If only we could say as much for our hearts.
Whispers over supposed problems at 23 East 22nd Street, the cantilevering Rem Koolhaas–designed building in Madison Square Park, and its sister project, the lanky, 60-story One Madison Park, have grown louder in recent days. We hear that buyers are grumbling about the lobby — "It's not looking the way [some buyers] want," says one source — while others are complaining that the entrance will apparently be on the less-pretty 23rd Street side, as opposed to quieter 22nd Street. Now comes word, via Curbed.com, that Koolhaas's design has been guillotined, its size now shrunk to eleven stories. Some wonder if Koolhaas will be attached to the project at all, or if all of the promised amenities will be delivered, which may drive some buyers in contract to rethink their plans.
"I would think that a significant change in construction details in the offering plan raises the likelihood of more deals not closing," muses one veteran of the residential-real-estate industry. "At a time when developers are trying desperately to close out the units they've already sold, this is a significant problem." (We're still waiting to hear from the Buildings Department about whether proposed amendments to the plan are actually significant.) The developers and brokers say not to worry — it's still Rem's building. "The final size of the Rem Koolhaas–designed south tower is still undetermined, but all the Koolhaas-designed amenities in the base of the building (lobby, pool, gym, club room, wine storage, screening room) are moving forward as planned," says Brown Harris Stevens's Wilbur Gonzalez, who's repping the building with colleague Wendy Maitland. In other words, your quality of life won't decline, but they'll get back to you on the quality of the architecture.
Tagline: "Mark Bellison will discover the truth about lying."
Translation: It's like Liar Liar, only in reverse.
The Verdict: When it comes to Ricky Gervais, we don't think we're playing the hyperbole card when we label him a comic genius. After all, Gervais proved his talents as both a creative force and an actor in The Office and Extras, two programs destined to go down as some of the sharpest in the history of television. That said, we're not entirely sure film is the right medium for him. It's not that we disliked his first turn as a leading man in last fall's Ghost Town — or, for that matter, his supporting work in the Night at the Museum films — but to us, what makes him so great are the subtle nuances he's able to bring to his characters over the course of a television season, versus the grander dramatic gestures film actors specialize in. Just us? Either way, Gervais wrote, directed, and stars in The Invention of Lying, a high-concept film that asks the audience to buy into the idea that human beings never developed the art of lying.
MAKEUP
• Ed Westwick wears ergonomic Eos lip balm. Now you know. [Spoiled Pretty]
• Alicia Keys was so inspired by her recent trip to Morocco that she asked her makeup artist to design a Moroccan-inspired look for the BET Awards last night. [All About the Pretty]
• Tarte Cosmetics launched its own channel on YouTube featuring tutorials on how to apply makeup. How helpful. [Beautiful Makeup Search]
From left, Henrik Vibskov, Comme des Garçons, and John Galliano.
John Galliano's men's shows mark two of the greatest events on the fashion calendar each year. And his spring 2010 collection has just arrived and proves no exception. The show included music by Michael Jackson, and the clothes were inspired by Napoleon. But surely the bronze body makeup and leopard skin gave that away. See the the more clothed Galliano models in the runway slideshow (epic layering, as usual). And don't miss the rest of our new runway slideshows from Paris Men's Fashion Week, which sadly ends today.
Front Page: Actors sign up for two more years of 'Law and Order' -- Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay have finally sealed a deal that will keep them on "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" for the next two seasons.
Sasha Pivovarova is putting her artistic abilities to good use. The model was asked by none other than Karl Lagerfeld to create an illustration for the Chanel show that was restaged in Moscow recently. Pivovarova delivered a drawing inspired by "seeing fairytale characters coming to life in one of the main theatres of Moscow, the city where I was born." Her Russian characters are apparently big fans of the label: One woman she painted wears interlocking C's on her lapel and hat, while another is in a little black dress. And this isn't a one-time deal. Lagerfeld has enlisted the beauty to work on a book of illustrations inspired by Russian fairy tales. [Chanel News via Fashionologie]
AP - The problem with "Bruno" is Bruno himself. Compared to Borat and it's impossible to avoid the comparison there simply isn't enough to the character to build an entire feature-length film around him.
Katherine Jackson arrives at the rented Holmby Hills home of her late son. Michael Jackson's mother was named temporary guardian of his three children by a Los Angeles judge Monday, four days after the... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 29 Jun 2009 | 6:00 pm
A wax statue of Barack Obama was unveiled in front of the Eiffel Tower today after a few last-minute touches…
“Ohhhh, THAT’S why everyone was saying this was a ‘historic’ election. I thought it was cause he was the first ‘Barack,’ or something. This is a little embarrassing…”
Four more Robama wax statue pics (he looks like a robot) after the jump:
The disgraced financier Bernie Madoff has been sentenced to the maximum 150 years in prison for masterminding a $65bn fraud that wrecked the lives of thousands of investors.
The US district judge Denny Chin described the fraud as “staggering” and said the “breach of trust was massive” in the fraud and that a message was being sent by the sentence. There had been no letters submitted in support of Madoff’s character, he said. Victims in the courtroom clapped as the term was read out.
At 71, Madoff will prrrrrobably be living out the rest of his life in prison, provided he doesn’t either discover the alien pool from Cocoon, make a wish to be turned “Small” at a mysterious carnival wishing booth, or swap lives with Zac Efron a la Seventeen Again then naturally live to age 168.
Either way, it’s nice to finally get some good news — thanks go out to the judge for this intentionally humorous sentence, though if he’d gone the extra mile and just done “A Million Billion Years,” I don’t think anyone would’ve really complained.
Fashion Wire Daily - If any designer in Paris can walk away feeling justifiably good about himself after the just finished menswear season it is Kris Van Assche, whose subtle collection for Dior Homme in Paris on Sunday, June 28, and edgy fare with his own label both bore one indelible trademark - his own.
AEG Live has announced that full refunds will be given to fans who purchased tickets through authorized agents to Michael Jackson's 50 planned concerts at the O2 Arena in London, according to a news release from the promoter, which operates the O2 Arena. The refunds will include service fee charges.
The EuropaCorp Logo. EuropaCorp was found guilty of manslaughter on Monday over the death of a cameraman during a car chase scene in the action comedy "Taxi 2." Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 29 Jun 2009 | 4:20 pm
Airplay for Michael Jackson's biggest hits, and some of his overlooked gems (including a few dozen spins for some of the Jackson's Christmas songs), blanketed airwaves from coast to coast immediately after his death on Thursday, and continued throughout the weekend.
Jackson died of cardiac arrest Thursday, but almost the exact same scenario played out in 2004 when his brother Randy found him unconscious Source: FOXNews.com | 29 Jun 2009 | 2:46 pm
Fashion Wire Daily - If any collection best captured the current state of play in men's fashion it was Lanvin, whose exhilarating show Sunday, June 28, in Paris was probably the coolest collection of clothes in the most assuredly staged show.
The star-studded BET Awards got under way without "the greatest star in the world," Joe Jackson, father of the late Michael Jackson, said on Sunday night. "I wish the world had recognized him when he were living," Joe Jackson told CNN's Don Lemon outside the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California.
A judge has granted Michael Jackson's mother limited control over some property in her son's estate after she expressed concerns about ensuring that his three children are its beneficiaries, after she was awarded temporary custody of the kids. Source: FOXNews.com | 29 Jun 2009 | 2:01 pm
TV infomercial pitchman Billy Maysshockingly died Sunday at the age of 50. If you’re a celebrity who’s even slightly recognizable, you might want to spend the rest of June ‘09 in a bulletproof hyperbaric chamber, because this is ridiculous.
Someone hacked into Britney Spears’ Twitpic account this weekend and wrote that Britney had died. Any other week, this would’ve been an obviously fraudulent internet rumor…
Playmate Kendra Wilkinson and Eagles wide receiver Hank Baskettgot married this weekend, and VH1 and E! clunked their heads together scrambling to approach the couple about a reality show.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen grossed $112 million this weekend, which isn’t the saddest or most surprising pop culture story of the past week, but still…
The Oscars altered their rules for the Best Song category and will not award an Oscar to anyone if none of the songs are deemed “not good enough.” No word on how the ceremony plans to fill the vacant 55 minutes to make sure it still goes way past midnight.
Reuters - Italian fashion house Versace saw an improvement in sales in May and June compared with previous months, chairman Santo Versace said on Monday. Source: Yahoo! News: Fashion News | 29 Jun 2009 | 1:59 pm
The question of whether or not Michael Jackson had a valid will at the time of his death just got a little more complicated.
Yesterday, parents Joe and Katherine Jackson sought control...
Much was made of Billy Mays's rough landing the day before he died. But according to a Florida medical examiner, the TV pitchman's death didn't have to do with any airplane...
• Chris Brown is supposedly peeved not to have performed at the BET Awards Sunday, and all kinds of rumors are swirling about why that was. Some are claiming his participation in...
Melissa Rycroft has officially rebounded.
Barely four months after enduring a nationally televised breakup with indecisive Bachelor Jason Mesnick, Rycroft is engaged to fellow Texan Tye...
UPDATE: E! News has exclusively learned that after taking the three children for a visit at Uncle Tito's SoCal home, Katherine Jackson has taken them to Uncle Jermaine's nearby...
Jon and Kate Gosselin have imposed a gag order on themselves.
Finally in agreement for a change, the estranged duo issued a joint statement Monday informing us that they plan to live...
The reversal of fortune starts Wednesday.
Concert promoter AEG Live says that it will start doling out refunds on July 1 to the thousands of disappointed fans who had snatched up an...
When One Tree Hill returns in the fall, what's in store for Sophia Bush's Brooke and Austin Nichols' Julian? Will they hook up or break down? Plus, how far forward is this season's...
It's true. ABC confirms that Drea de Matteo has joined the cast of Desperate Housewives for season six.
With Edie (Nicollette Sheridan) dead and another housewife getting married,...
TV infomercial pitchman Billy Mays 