• Model Karen Mulder allegedly made threatening phone calls to her plastic surgeon. Yesterday police arrested and questioned her in Paris. [Telegraph UK, British Vogue]
• Nicole Richie is designing a capsule maternity collection for A Pea in the Pod. [Off the Rack/People]
• Victoria Beckham's dress collection will go on sale at Net-A-Porter.com this week. [Grazia]
• When Michelle Obama visited France with her daughters recently, the U.S. Embassy arranged for shops to stay open on Sunday to accommodate them. Usually shops are closed on Sundays. [NYDN]
• Coco Rocha reported for E! News during Fashion Week. Here is the first clip of her work. [FWD]
• What Not to Wear host Stacy London was caught with her thong hanging out in Carroll Gardens. It happens to the best of us. [NYP]
This week's episode of NYC Prep was all about teaching the adult viewers of the show new teenage euphemisms. For example, we learned that "going and talking French" to someone means that you are going to hook up with them. And we learned that "hooking up" is anything from pecking on the lips on the sidewalk to briefly tonguing on the sidewalk (further downtown). Oh, and "I need a drink!" is a euphemism for "I want a Diet Coke." We found ourselves having to seriously unlearn some things.
Of course, the king of euphemisms is PC. Let's examine the things said by and about him, all of which obviously — but obliquely — indicate one thing and one thing only:
• "I find that to be one of the hardest things is to look inside yourself and open yourself up." —PC
• "It's very hard for me to connect with someone." —PC
• "I broke up with him because we were at very different points in our lives, and he needs to get more comfortable with himself." —Amanda, PC's ex
• "What I'm craving for is to really just do something different and not be with the same people and the same reputation." —PC
• "I don't need that gorgeous girl that has a nice rack." —PC
• "Prep-school kids like to work out and stay in shape." —PC
All of these things, we learned last night, are euphemisms for: "I/He really, really needs to get it over with and date a cougar already." (No?) Luckily, his 25-year-old friend knew just the woman for a blind date. Unluckily, she stood him up — which may have won him the episode. Onward, to our winner's tally!
Bravo producers continue to decline us the pleasure of seeing another side of Sebastian's ever-shifting Rubik's Cube of a personality. What sort of interior life is going on behind his Bumble and bumble.–groomed, Young Michael Skakel–like exterior? Does he cry himself to sleep at night on the Jitney back to the Hamptons? Does he read books, too, or does he just ask girls about them because it turns them on? (And does going on one date still mean that you are "dating" in high-school terms? Seriously, we want to know.) The boy is a sphinx! Until he breaks down in a televised therapy session and the obviously complex personality is revealed, Sebastian will never win this game.
Camille gave a strong performance in last night's episode, starting with the way she let Kelli get herself worked up over the Sebastian and Taylor romance. Her resolution to do recon on the Taylastian relationship (live with it) and come back to share juice with Kelli was the most teenagelike thing that happened on the episode (even though they were in a hot tub at a spa wearing mud masks as they plotted it). Her deadpan response to Kelli saying she didn't like to gossip, however, was startlingly adult. "You're not a gossiper, wow, I feel out of it," she said, without even a roll of the eyes, whereas we would have ripped the mask off our face and said, "You are SUCH a liar! You just said that because the cameras are there! You're the BIGGEST GOSSIP THERE IS." Satisfyingly for her and us, Kelli couldn't stop gossiping for the rest of the episode. But our favorite Camille moment was the way she held it together when Sebastian pointed out at the party and incidentally on national television that she had something in her teeth, proving PC's statement that all the girls on the Upper East Side "cry when they lose their eyeliner."
Most people on NYC Prep like monochrome booties. Jessie likes leopard print. Also, she likes scaring girls, but does not like being seen as a bitch. And you know what really pisses her off? People being intimidated by her. "Like what the eff!" she says to her long-suffering downtown friend Zoe, after being told by PC that she acted bitchily toward Kelli and Camille at last episode's party. "Like, you don't know me." If they did, she reasoned, if they had any sense whatsoever, they would know that she is 17 years old and has a career to build and a life to conduct. "I was networking. I don't have time to dillydally. Fashion is cutthroat." But you know what? It doesn't matter to Jessie what they say about her, even though she's spent the last twenty years of our life talking about it: "I don't CARE what they think of me," she tells the camera later. "I don't care what anyone thinks of me." Sigh. Once again, Jessie's bitchiness was so obviously a cover for her extreme vulnerability and insecurity that we couldn't help but feel for her, even as she slapped us in the face time and time again with her Prada bag. The sole amount of delusion it took to hear "they said you were a bitch" when it was, in fact, PC who said "you were kind of a bitch" to her tugged at our heartstrings, and when she "sassily" asked PC if he wanted to make out, we had to put our head under our sofa blanket and cringe. But ultimately, whether she is on the inside or not, Jessie does act like a bitch, and when she said she only comes downtown to go to Blue and Cream and did the Mean Girls thing of telling Zoe she "loved" the creaky old elevator in her loft only to turn around and tell the camera twenty seconds later that it was "the most dangerous thing I have ever been in my life," she lost the episode.
Kelli's crush on Sebastian really startled us this time around, as she seemed pretty blasé about it last episode. Still, the boy has clearly mastered the art of the guy-friend flirt, which is well known to render all teenage girls incapacitated and vulnerable. We found it endearing when she revealed that one of her "things" is being "obsessed" with cupcakes, even though she felt she had to say, "Like, I like them more than I like cake." (Duh, everybody likes them more than they like cake. That's like having to explain that you like jelly beans more than you like beans.) And we liked it when she slipped in, almost inaudibly, that she went to a French restaurant with her dad, and it was Per Se.
But still, until Kelli steals Sebastian back, she'll continue to lose to Taylor, who was charmingly nervous and overwhelmed throughout the entire show. Sure, she did that thing that we all do around hot guys, which is to act like she is stupid. (Why do we do that? Is it because cavemen liked the women best who were easiest to bonk on the head and drag back to the fire pit?) She was reading One Hundred Philosophers, for fun, and she made it sound like it was the latest Stephanie Meyer novel. And we sincerely suspect that she actually speaks French better than Sebastian, and she really, really should know in this day and age that ordering a salad with no dressing is pretty lame. But all in all, we liked her demure gutsiness, but her awareness of money and class made us uncomfortable — like when her friends at the thrift store asked which of her suitors had more money. Though we suspect this position is being forced upon her by the producers, it still lost her the episode.
That honor, however, was saved for PC, who delivered some of the most subtle and unsubtle lines about himself from the beginning to the end of the episode. "I flush the toilet before I'm done peeing, maybe I'm a little impatient," he tells his therapist, whom he's clearly just met and who probably should be disbarred or whatever for letting this be filmed. "I used to play ice hockey, and I wanted to be a professional ice-hockey player, but I wasn't the best at it in the league, so then I stopped playing." These are deep things, people — and they demonstrate that at least he knows he's supposed to provide good television. Some other times, though, his age showed through, like when he griped about the bendy straw that a waiter had put in his drink because it was a Shirley Temple. But by the end of the episode, when he realized it was "karma" that he got stood up on his date, we realized that there were two shows going on. The one that involved Kelli, Taylor, Sebastian, and Camille, and the one that involved PC and Jessie tearing herself to pieces over him. For now, it's the latter one we want to keep watching.
Auxiliary Winners:
• That adult gay who cruised PC at Blue and Cream
• The female sales associate at Blue and Cream, who has now appeared in two episodes and is practically a character
• Cercle Rouge, Hiro, Blue and Cream, Juvenix Spa, Clay Health Club, Intermix, Alife
• Audrey, PC's therapist, who is caught on camera halfway through the session realizing what a bad idea this was
• PC's trainer, who is caught on camera halfway through the session realizing what a GREAT idea this was
• Cole, who is every ex-boyfriend, ever
At this point, we've heard from nearly everyone who had a close relationship to Michael Jackson; Janet Jackson spoke at the BET Awards, Joe Jackson had a sit-down with Larry King last night, and Lisa Marie Presley wrote a huge blog entry about their life as a married couple. However, leave it to our man Paul Dergarabedian to land an exclusive interview with ... wait for it ... April 2001 Playboy Playmate of the month, Katie Lohmann! While it may be true that Miss Lohmann never actually met MJ (darn you, Hef!), that doesn't mean that the interview is anything short of compelling. [Hollywood on the Run/Hollywood.com]
Beyoncé and her mother, Tina Knowles, have noticed something: The words "House of Dereon" don't mean anything to potential customers. (It sounds made-up and insignificant, but according to Wikipedia, the name Dereon comes from Beyoncé's grandmother Agnez Dereon, who worked as a seamstress.) "Sasha Fierce," however, resonates with young (possibly misguided) girls who might buy Beyoncé and Tina's clothes. So they're launching a new line for back-to-school called Sasha Fierce, inspired by Beyoncé's stage presence. Tina describes the collection as a reinterpretation of Beyoncé's Thierry Mugler costumes.
However, conceptually the collection differs greatly from Sasha Fierce's stage costumes in that the clothes are "subdued" to draw attention to the accessories. They include:
... a one-shoulder dress, black bodysuit, fake leather jacket with oversize collar, leggings, and destructed jeans with mesh and lace details lining the ripped material.
Emphasis ours, because nothing's sure to wow an eleventh-grader's love interests — and teachers — like Beyoncé's signature black bodysuit, which is the only outfit that can take a girl from second period to triathlon practice to a bank robbery. Tina describes the accessories as "really over-the-top." They include the usual shades, chains, and shoes, all as oversize, embellished, and metallic as possible. It all sounds perfect, except the merchandise list lacks two key elements: the metal glove and the money fan.
Clooney Out:George Clooney has taken Smokehouse, the production company he runs with Grant Heslov, from Warner Bros. to Sony for a two-year first-look deal. There are still a bunch of Smokehouse films in production at WB, including John Grisham adaptation The Innocent Man and Aaron Sorkin legal drama The Challenge, and no imminent plans at Sony. There’s been no reason given for the split, although Variety implies it has to do with Smokehouse's track record of having an easier time making movies outside of WB than inside. We think it’s the goddamned frog’s fault. [HR]
Cornelius Crane Does TV: Indie movie The Kids Are Alright has added a few name actors to its cast. The flick stars Josh Hutcherson and Mia Wasikowska as a brother and sister who seek out their same-sex parents’ sperm donor, who then upsets the family unit once he is found; Annette Bening and Julianne Moore play the parents, and Mark Ruffalo the donor. Be prepared for the possibility that Ruffalo’s stubble will be set to extra scruffy in order to fully communicate “shadiness.” [Variety]
Done Deal:Jay-Z has cleared up the confusion over who, exactly, his imprint Roc Nation is affiliated with: The label is being distributed through Sony, while Blueprint 3, his upcoming Roc Nation release, will be distributed through Atlantic with old Hova pals Lyor Cohen and Kevin Liles on board. In related news, how awkward is Jay-Z’s lefty jumper in the "D.O.A." video? [Billboard]
Tucci In Charge:Stanley Tucci will direct on Broadway for the first time with Lend Me a Tenor, a revival of the Ken Ludwig comedy that originally played Broadway in 1989. Set in 1934, the plot revolves around a disastrous performance of Otello by the Cleveland Opera Company in which the star bows out at the last minute and the general manager convinces his assistant to put on blackface and perform the role. Grey’s Anatomy's T.R. Knight will be making his Broadway blackface debut. [Variety]
TV's Don: More big names hitting Broadway, this time for the front of the stage. Laura Linney will star in Time Stands Still, a production originally slated for an Off Broadway theater, as a war photographer returning to a more normal life in New York. Meanwhile, the British staging of Hamlet, starring Jude Law, will be touching down Stateside this fall. Tucci and Knight, consider your Broadway thunder stolen. [Variety, Variety]
Scammed:The Nightman Cometh musical might come to New York! A one-time transfer of the stage show, a version of the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia episode of the same name, which premiered at the Troubadour in L.A., is being mulled over by the cast. Also, in decidedly less awesome news, Sunny’s Charlie Day is shooting the best-friend role in a Drew Barrymore–Justin Long rom-com. [Variety]
Fourth of July weekend is rapidly approaching, which means most of New York will be congregating at rooftop barbecues or park cookouts. This glass chiller carafe from Sur La Table provides a portable alternative to lugging around an old-school cooler. Just stow the base in the freezer the night before, pop the carafe on at the barbecue, and your white wine or sangria will stay cool for four hours (without getting watered down with ice cubes). After grilling season ends, the carafe can be used without the base for pouring red wine.
Journalists jostled for position today near the Neverland Ranch two days before a public viewing for pop icon Michael Jackson. Meanwhile, a registered nurse said she rejected Jackson's plea for the powerful sedative Diprivan. "I told him this medication is not safe," nutritionist Cherilyn Lee said.
(AP)
AP - Gwyneth Paltrow speaks almost perfect Spanish and she does it with an Iberian accent.
Gwyneth Paltrow speaks almost perfect Spanish _ and she does it with an Iberian accent. The Oscar-winning actress says she traveled to Spain as a teenager, fell in love with the country, Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 1 Jul 2009 | 1:49 pm
E! Online - Review in a Hurry: Johnny Depp and Christian Bale star in a karaoke version of a gangster epic. You'll recognize the melancholy tones, but the whole thing is off-key and forced.
Jackson's music dominates the Top Pop Catalog, Digital Albums, Digital Songs and Top Comprehensive Albums charts.By James Montgomery Michael Jackson's <i>Thriller</i> ... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 1 Jul 2009 | 1:27 pm
Looks like her NFL hubby isn't the only one fluent in the play-by-play.
Newlywed Kendra Wilkinson, who tied the knot with Philadelphia Eagle babby daddy Hank Baskett at the Playboy...
Review in a Hurry: Johnny Depp and Christian Bale star in a karaoke version of a gangster epic. You'll recognize the melancholy tones, but the whole thing is off-key and forced.
The...
• Bradley Cooper is a rumor mill king. After attending a week's worth of parties with Lake Bell and having a romantic dinner with Jennifer Aniston, the Hangover star is supposedly...
ROCKFORD, Mich., July 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (NYSE: WWW) expects to release financial results for its fiscal 2009 second quarter on Wednesday,... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 1 Jul 2009 | 1:00 pm
ANAHEIM, Calif., July 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Today SIONIX Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: SINX) Chairman of the Board, John Pavia, participated in a studio TV interview at... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 1 Jul 2009 | 12:46 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 | 1 Jul 2009 | 12:44 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 | 1 Jul 2009 | 12:44 pm
Leaders in Outdoor and Fly Fishing Content Come Together to Broaden Entertainment Experience for Anglers TEMECULA, Calif., July 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Outdoor Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 1 Jul 2009 | 12:37 pm
A 'dream come true' for engaged couples, new guide offers comprehensive help and local expertise on achieving the perfect wedding day SEATTLE, July 1... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 1 Jul 2009 | 12:25 pm
Also Viewable on iPhone and Android, Al Jazeera English's Unique Coverage of World Events is Available Right in the Palm of the Hand KIRKLAND, Wash., July 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 1 Jul 2009 | 12:00 pm
AP - Cassy Hayes and Jasmine Coleman were among the first fans to arrive outside the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles where Michael Jackson was brought and later pronounced dead.
(Reuters) Reuters - Award-winning author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a professional eavesdropper: she admits a lot of what she writes is based on what she's overheard. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 1 Jul 2009 | 5:31 am
Reuters - The likes of Bogey and Bergman are nowhere to be seen in Nour Eddine Lakhmari's tour through the nocturnal underbelly of Casablanca, or "Casanegra," as the city's underclasses call it. Lakhmari picked up the prize for best director at the Taormina festival for this film about two childhood friends, young men striving to rise above the surrounding squalor. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 1 Jul 2009 | 4:36 am
Reuters - In the aftermath of 9/11, more than 1,200 men, many of South Asian descent, were detained by U.S. authorities, according to the ACLU. Of these, more than 1,000 were released months and years later for lack of evidence. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 1 Jul 2009 | 4:27 am
AP - A celebrity fashion designer has crashed her car through the front window of a hardware store in San Diego, injuring a customer inside. Source: Yahoo! News: Fashion News | 1 Jul 2009 | 3:17 am
Front Page: Bening, Moore, Ruffalo set to star in film -- Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Josh Hutcherson and Mia Wasikowska are set to star in "The Kids Are All Right."
The documents haven't been filed yet, but that hasn't stopped the paper shuffling.
Reports are circulating that Michael Jackson's 2002 will gives custody of his three...
Farrah Fawcett was due for a heavenly sendoff at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.
Around 200 friends, colleagues and family members, including Fawcett's otherwise...
The Los Angeles Police Department is turning up the heat on their investigation into Michael Jackson's untimely death—by actually packing heat for what was supposed to be another meeting...
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, the Orthodox Jewish rabbi who is known for his secular outreach and TLC show "Shalom in the Home," was friends with Michael Jackson for several years.
The man who kept Neverland Ranch from being auctioned off to the highest bidder (or the person with the biggest U-Haul) isn't yet sure what will become of the mammoth estate. But he wants to...
A few Fridays ago, your friendly Vulture editors challenged you, the friendly Vulture commenters, to compose a witty and elegiac haiku that sums up the life and times of one Britney Jean Spears. The prize? Two VIP tickets to Brit-Brit’s August 24 show at Madison Square Garden. Needless to say, we were blown away by both the volume and the quality of the responses. While we are still huddling together to determine the winner (which will be announced tomorrow), we'd like to shine a spotlight on what we felt were the top ten strongest entries. Give yourselves a pat on the back, people!
Here they are, presented in chronological order:
Gives us what we crave
Ass-shaking, meltdowns, rebound
Without thinking twice
By BarbaP on 06/20/2009 at 7:45pm
Blond baby. Lone mom.
Who wants to be a popstar?
Butterfly. Take Two.
By kathynyc on 06/21/2009 at 1:03am
Leave Britney alone.
She has feelings and a soul
And thighs that won't quit.
By philipdawkins on 06/21/2009 at 2:40pm
Like a summer storm,
she thunders, blows and flashes.
Oh what a circus.
By dmax on 06/22/2009 at 11:05am
my life, a circus
you love to watch me decay
hundred dollar seats
By hershy on 06/23/2009 at 10:24am
She wanted stardom
But the machine worked too well
Stumbled. Now she's back!
By shrpasamrble on 06/23/2009 at 4:41pm
Bald schoolyard vixen
I can't believe that you breed.
What hath Disney wrought?
By mp225 on 6/24/2009 at 12:03pm
A slave 4 scandal
Your Cheeto libido drives
This toxic joy ride
By ktfania on 06/24/2009 at 12:46pm
Shaved, Enslaved, Bizarre
Who would want a sane pop star?
Gimme gimme more
By amajorscaler on 06/26/2009 at 11:16am
With MJ now gone,
the world must look elsewhere for
batshit and awesome.
By mp225 on 06/26/2009 at 4:44pm
Our hearty congratulations to all of the above, and thank you to everyone who took the time to submit an entry!
Front Page: Studio lays off 31 production staffers -- The shakeup at the top of Paramount Pictures continued Tuesday with the layoffs of 31 production staffers, including a number of division heads.
From left, Viktor & Rolf, Bernhard Willhelm, and Maison Martin Margiela.
Paris Men's Fashion Week has ended, but our new galleries are still coming. Don't miss the newest runway slideshows of spring 2010 menswear, and our newest backstage and details galleries.
Dr. Arnold Klein is officially mum. But Debbie Rowe says she is officially mom.
In response to increasingly persistent rumors and theories regarding both the paternity and maternity of...
The Los Angeles County coroner's office estimates that toxicology tests on the body of Michael Jackson could take six to eight weeks. Why does it take that long and what are they looking for?
Now in its eighth year, the New York Asian Film Festival has specialized in bringing some of the most artfully effed-up films in the world to the city’s eager audiences. This past weekend, we got to sit down with three of the festival’s honored guests, each of them an iconic figure in Japanese cult cinema. Yoshihiro Nishimura, a legendary director and effects artist who was premiering his latest film, the gore-drenched (and awesome-looking) Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl; Tak Sakaguchi, an action director and star who was premiering his directorial debut, Be a Man! Samurai School; and Noboru Iguchi, the director of such insane films as Machine Girl and RoboGeisha (we’re not being hyperbolic; check out the trailer for RoboGeishahere). They even brought props!
You’ve described Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl as “a splatter movie for beginners.” What did you mean by that? Nishimura: Compared to Tokyo Gore Police, this film has a lot less splatter in it. It’s fundamentally a high-school romantic comedy. It’s a funny splatter movie — very light.
Is it harder to make a movie like this, where you’re mixing genres and trying to show the audience something totally new and original, as opposed to a straight drama or comedy or horror movie? Nishimura: Since we work in independent low-budget films, we have to show people something that’s new and exciting. If we just made straight dramas or comedies or whatever, nobody would come see our films because they could just as easily go see a big-budget Hollywood film or TV show.
Where does the biggest chunk of your budget go? In the U.S., it would probably be toward actors. Nishimura: Actors take a huge chunk of the budget in the Japanese film world as well. In what we do, however, we don’t allot a huge portion of our budget to actors. We can’t.
Sakaguchi: In Japan, people usually go see a movie because of who’s starring in it. But in the case of Nishimura-san and Iguchi-san, a lot of fans will go see a film because they worked on it. But that’s a pretty special thing.
You yourself just directed your first feature, Be a Man! Samurai School. What was the biggest adjustment you had to make in crossing over? Sakaguchi: I had been working as an action director for many years, so I was used to working on set. As an action director, though, you’re ultimately supporting a director, so you can’t just come up with something that doesn’t fit that director’s style or what they’re trying to do. The action shouldn’t come from the action director, it should come from the director. Now I think it’ll be hard for me to watch and let other directors do their thing without really having to offer some input.
But I also got really worn out by directing. At one point, I was running a fever of 105 for four days. But I couldn’t stop — we were shooting in the mountains and we had little time. I didn’t even have time to go to the hospital and get checked out.
What’s the craziest thing that’s happened on one of your sets? Iguchi: There was one actress who had a part in my film Sukeban Boy. Nobody — not even her manager — had told her what her part would be in the film. They just told her she’d be in a scene set at a hot spring. But she actually had to do a number of action scenes completely naked. So she turned up on set, and once she found out what the scene was, she said, “I don’t want to be a part of this” and started running away. We had to calm her down, capture her, and convince her to do the job.
“Capture her”? Iguchi: We made it so she could not leave the set. I’m sure if we had the same legal system as America we would have been sued.
Nishimura: I haven’t had too many traumatic experiences like that on set, but I plan on doing crazier and crazier things in the coming years. I forget things very quickly.
Sakaguchi: Nishimura-san doesn’t sleep, he doesn’t stop. He’s actually the craziest thing on set. I saw him during the filming of Vampire Girl, where he had to hose down his actresses with fake blood. He was laughing as he was doing it. It gave me goosebumps, actually.
So, you brought some props with you to the screenings? Nishimura: Yes. This is a blood-spurt weapon. In Vampire Girl, when a character turns into a vampire, he sees humans walking around, but he only sees their blood vessels.
Sakaguchi: Where did you come up with this childish idea? How does blood spurt become a weapon?
Nishimura: When people cut their wrists, the blood spurts out, then it hardens and becomes weaponized, so you can use it as a sword. There’s no budget, so I spent two weeks just on that effect.
Sakaguchi: Why are you so obsessed with wrist-cutters? It’s very unusual in Japan for someone to have such an interest. In America it’s taken as a serious problem.
Nishimura: I’ve been obsessed with them for a long time. A lot of people in Japan like to cut themselves. I know at least three people close to me who are into cutting. There’s a scene in my movie that’s inspired by this girl who works at my company who brought us chocolates one day. I bit into it, and it was filled with her blood. She was giving it to us like some kind of offering. I ate two of those.
Only a few short months ago, the very mention of AIG could bring the blood of its shareholders — by which we mean the entire American public — to a frothing, rolling boil. But by the sound of reports of today's AIG shareholders meeting, most of the country has moved on to the can't-cry-anymore stage. No Code Pink protesters materialized outside of the soon-to-be-sold building at 72 Wall Street to hound beleaguered, soon-to-be-departing chairman and chief executive Edward Liddy, and only a scarce amount of reporters and TV cameras were on hand. "I was expecting more of a crowd," one Kenneth Steiner, of Great Neck, New York, told the AP, assessing the crowd of approximately 80 shareholders and scattered employees. "With the stock as low as it is, I expected more."
But other than a brief rally of excitement over the ousting of six members of AIG's board, who did not attend the meeting — "[t]hey left like rats leaving a sinking ship," Steiner gloated. "Goodbye and good riddance!" — it seems to have been a somber event.
At one point, a pair of retired septuagenarians stood to ask Liddy if he thought the stock, which is now hovering around $1.16, would ever appreciate.
"What should I do?" she asked.
Liddy apologized for the couple's losses, but declined to offer more specific directions.
"I'm such a bad stock picker," he said. "I'm hesitant to give you advice."
As the dialogue continued, he said that AIG stock could recover, but that it's "not a black and white answer" about how the couple should handle the stock.
"But I wish you luck," Liddy said, drawing audible groans from the audience.
Employees looked on morosely: "It's like watching your house burn down," one former employee told Bloomberg, after the meeting. "The emotional toll has been worse than the financial toll, if you can believe that. It's an American tragedy."
An increasing number of parents are trying to get their babies into the modeling business in the U.K. You know, that savory industry that makes everyone feel good about themselves, always. Baby-modeling agents, which are essentially baby dealers, posit that parents might be doing this to earn extra money in the recession, which is perhaps the tackiest way to solve budget woes ever. Babies don't sit still, even for very important baby photographers, and those impatient folk won't stand for it on shoots.
Some photographers find novel ways round the sitting-still problem. I know one who worked on a well-known television ad that depicted 100 babies, all rooted to the spot. How did the director achieve this marvel? Simple: by gluing the seat of each baby’s nappy to the studio floor while their mothers were detained in another room.
Oh, what a jolly solution to a dwindling bank account! Hand your child over to strangers and let them glue their butts to the floor.
Once I asked an art director if she wanted me to brush Ava’s hair. She replied: “No, she’s modeling nightwear. We want her to have a relaxed, tousled look.”
Everyone knows "tousled" really means "sexy." And if the babies don't get out of the biz before they understand everything going on around them, it's all downhill:
I attended one shoot involving child models, at which a pair of heavily made-up five-year-olds were sitting in a waiting room discussing work: “Did you go for the Tesco job?” “Uh-huh. I got a recall but Jemima got it in the end.” “Oh yes, Jemima’s got a very strong look.”
We can hardly wait for this generation to grow up.
Front Page: 'Ice Age,' 'Enemies' light fuse on July 4th sparklers -- "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" and "Public Enemies" hope to light up the Fourth of July frame.
Seems like not all contemporary hip-hop stars are opposed to Chris Brown paying Michael Jackson respect — on his hastily constructed tribute track “Better on the Other Side,” the Game has (boldly?) enlisted Brown for hook duty. But this being the Game, there are far more interesting things to talk about here: Between insanely clunky lines (“Who’s Michael Jackson? / You’re Michael Jackson / I’m Michael Jackson / We all Michael Jackson”), specious-sounding personal stories (in the misappropriated words of Seth Meyers — really, Game, MJ called you out of the blue to beg you to stop beefing with 50? Really!?!), and highly questionable images (two words: bathtub, candlelight), our head is practically spinning. But you know what? We kind of love this — it’s totally awkward, yes, but all the more sincere for it, coming off as nothing more than another tribute from a gushingly overeager shaken-up MJ fan, albeit one with a major media platform. Once again, the Game proves why being the most emotionally unstable mainstream emcee alive is a great thing.
This afternoon an appellate judge upheld yesterday's State Supreme Court ruling that when Governor Paterson mandates a special session of the State Senate, every single senator from both parties has to actually show up. At the same time. So another session has been called by the governor for seven this evening, and everyone will have to be in the same room together. Since neither party recognizes the leadership of the other party, neither will regard anything accomplished in this session as legitimate. And so nothing will get done, again, and at midnight tonight Mayor Bloomberg's legal authority to run our school system will expire, and nobody will be in charge, and summer-school kids will get to realize their childish dreams of running around in open fire hydrants and sticking bubble gum on the seats of public buses rather than getting the extra schooling and self-discipline they need to get ahead in life.* Thanks a lot, senators.
An Appellate Win For Paterson: No Stay [NYDN]
*This is a slight exaggeration. In the vacuum of leadership coming from upstate, the mayor has said that, at least for now, school will just continue on as though someone were actually in charge up there.
Tameka Raymond says she didn't see it coming.
Usher's soon to be ex-wife states in a new court filing that she and the R&B star have not been separated since July 2008...
Fans of Michael Jackson lined the streets outside Harlem's Apollo Theater on Tuesday for a chance to pay their respects to the late "King of Pop" at the hall that helped launch his career.
SKIN
• Germany's government passed a law that states that no one under the age of 18 can use tanning beds because of the skin-cancer risks. [Daily Beauty Reporter/Allure]
HAIR
• Chace Crawford finally ditched his boy bangs, giving the world a chance to see his forehead. [StyleWatch/People]
• Legendary hairdresser Vidal Sassoon is releasing an autobiography next fall. [British Vogue]
• Lily Allen has been spotted in blonde, pink, purple, and blue wigs in recent weeks, and the British fashion critic Hilary Alexander loves the look. [Telegraph UK]
• Is a man's sexiness tied to his eyebrows? Zac Efron's are perfectly tweezed, while Robert Pattinson's are just the right amount of bushy. Who's hotter? [Beauty Blogging Junkie]
The longtime NYC resident and Bill Pullman, whom you'll recall as the dashing man who saved the human race from extinction in 1996's Independence Day, will be starring in a production of David Mamet's Oleanna on Broadway this fall. The two have been working side by side for some time now; the show is currently playing in Los Angeles and runs through July 12. A word of advice to Stiles, though, as she prepares for the grueling challenge of performing Mamet on Broadway: Stay as far away from tuna rolls as humanly possible! [AP]
What's the difference between a Michael Jackson appearance and a Michael Jackson tribute? What's about as rare as American Idol not finishing No. 1? Are two Disney Channel stars bigger...
"I betcha I'd have more endurance ... My one claim to fame in my own little internal running circle is a sub-four marathon. What I lacked in physical strength or skill, I made up for in determination and endurance." —Sarah Palin to Runner's World, talking about how she'd beat Barack Obama in a race. But not, you know, necessarily that kind. [AP]
Last week, when the Academy upped the number of Best Picture nominations to ten, we noted that the move was still unlikely to increase the chances of non-depressing, crowd-pleasing movies being honored unless it came with a radical overhaul of AMPAS's famously snobby admissions policy. Turns out, it did not. Variety today has the names of the artists and executives invited to join as voting members in 2009, and since there are only 134 of them, we don't expect this to move the needle much (the overall membership is around 6,000). Among the famous invitees are stars who either hosted, won trophies, or helped out at last year's Oscar ceremony — Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Seth Rogen, James Franco, Dustin Lance Black, and Danny Boyle among them. How this will affect the awards is impossible to say, though we're pretty sure Jackman will vote for Nine.
Remember the Little Show That Could called Project Runway? Before a bunch of legal drama between the Weinstein Co. and NBC threatened its very existence? Of course you do! Leanne Marshall, the most recent winner of the show, may not be at parties every night working the step and repeat like it's her day job (because it's not, don't forget!), but she says her business has expanded "a thousandfold" since the show. "You don’t see me because I’m constantly in my studio working and sewing. You know, I make all my own samples — I experiment with these things. I don’t just sketch something and hand it off to somebody," she said this afternoon at the photo shoot for her Bluefly collection, which is about to launch. Her Bluefly line has taken longer to produce than those of previous Runway winners. Leanne said designing on this scale is much different than designing one-of-a-kind pieces on her own in her apartment in Portland. She moved to New York earlier this year and spent months sorting out which manufacturers to use. "At first it was just incredibly overwhelming," she told us. "I learned this stuff in school but when I’m actually doing it as opposed to ‘I’ll just whip this up myself,' it’s an entirely different method. It was an incredible learning experience. You know, next time it’s going to be so much easier."
With her Bluefly line pretty much done, Leanne's working on producing the fall collection for her namesake label, Leanne Marshall, and designing the spring collection, which she plans to show during Fashion Week. She said response from buyers has been good, but she's still waiting on purchase orders so she doesn't know which boutiques will sell her fall line. Meanwhile, her custom-wedding-dress business has exploded since the show.
And yes, Leanne keeps in touch with her season-five cast mates, including Korto and Jarrell, but mostly Suede, who lives upstate. "Suede’s just become one of my really great friends since I’ve been here," Leanne said. Tim Gunn still mentors her. She talked to him yesterday on the phone. What about? "Where I want to go as a designer. It’s really important for me to establish myself as just a designer. You know, I think the show’s been an incredible tool for getting my name out there and I don’t regret doing it for a minute. It’s rewarded me for so many different opportunities and the exposure alone has been incredible. But I really want to focus on my skills as a designer and get to a point when I can show at Bryant Park season after season. Well, I guess it will be Lincoln Center in the future," she said. She also just designed her first maternity dress, for Heidi Klum, so she hopes the Klumster will wear it on the seventh season of Runway, currently shooting in New York.
See Leanne's complete Bluefly collection in the slideshow.
James Lipton stopped by the Vera Wang Bridal House yesterday to celebrate the launch party for Jodi Della Femina's new book By Invitation Only. Since the novel is set in the Hamptons, we asked the television host if he ever indulged in any excessive behavior of his own while on Long Island. "That problem’s been solved, hasn’t it?" he asked us. "I doubt that there’s an excess of money anywhere, even in the Hamptons." View our Party Lines slideshow for more.
Fans of Ugo Rondinone's cheekily exuberant "Hell Yes!" sign on the front of the New Museum can breathe a sigh of relief — we've learned that the colorful work, which has adorned the building since it opened on the Bowery in 2007, won't be coming down next month as planned. Originally loaned for a two-year exhibition, the piece was recently purchased for the museum by a group of image-conscious trustees. It will now remain up for at least another year, "as it has become an iconic part of the New Museum’s branding," says spokeswoman Gabriel Einsohn. Clearly the museum's leadership has picked up a lesson or two from the gen-Y-ers in its "Younger than Jesus" show, which closes tonight July 5: In today's uprooted, multi-platform art world, it's all about the brand.
"For a long time, Ephron kept a picture of the mobster John Gotti on her desk, taken during the trial that sent him to prison for the rest of his life. 'He was walking out of the courthouse in the most perfect suit, and he looked so great,' Ephron told me. To her it symbolized a spunky defiance that she could appreciate: self-confidence in the face of humiliation and defeat. 'I don't mean you can't have your feelings hurt or that you can't sit at home and feel sorry for yourself briefly,' Ephron said. 'But then I think you just have to start typing and do the next thing." [NYer]
Next month, Tabitha Simmons's new shoe line will land exclusively at Bergdorf Goodman. Simmons, a former model and wife of photographer Craig McDean, has worked as a stylist for years, collaborating on shoots for Vogue and Another Magazine and for collections such as Givenchy, Fendi, Calvin Klein, and Alexander McQueen. Her new footwear line features a range of looks, from fringe ankle boots to strappy stiletto sandals. There's also a pair of the season's requisite style: the thigh-high boot (this one comes in black leather and suede with sexy lacing up the back). The shoes are mostly done in dark, fall shades like black, chocolate brown, and smoky gray, but there are rich, bright hues like canary yellow and blood red mixed in to spice it up. For comfort purposes, Simmons has added a hidden platform to many of the higher-heeled pairs and several styles have thin layers of gum sole lining the bottoms for traction. The line, which is made in Italy by master cobblers, is indeed elegant and well crafted, but the prices are very steep, with pairs retailing for $795 to $2,200. The collection arrives at Bergdorf in July, though no exact date is specified yet.
This one comes to us via Anne Schroeder Mullins at Politico.com. Watch as, in this 2002 gubernatorial ad, the South Carolina governor effortlessly sets himself up to be toppled by his own folly and dishonesty a mere six years later. A guy who ran on "Christian values, character, and honesty" is now admitting that he "crossed lines with a handful of women other than mistress Maria Belen Chapur, but "never crossed the ultimate line" (that's sex, guys) with anyone but the Argentine beauty. Again, this could happen to any philandering politician, Democrat or Republican. But try to count how many times Sanford's fellow "values politicians" would cringe watching this ad now.
More bad news from the world of music journalism: Hot on the heels of news that Vibe has folded, we're hearing that at least six staffers — if not more — have been let go from the tiny masthead at Spin. Ugh. Rolling Stone, please just lay low for a day.
Blake Lively wore a backless white Roberto Cavalli dress to a party this week. She chose it all by herself. “It would probably help if I had a stylist, but I don’t. I enjoy the process,” she said. “I enjoy scrolling through the shows or fashion magazines and picking looks straight from the runway. I also like to think of things I haven’t done yet. For example, I’ve never worn Cavalli but I saw this dress in a magazine and thought, I think I need to get in on this.” [WWD]
AP - The old West may have been a slower, dustier time, but it was chock full of danger, and the era is well portrayed in "Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood," an engaging new first-person shooter title from Ubisoft.
A fan pays tribute next to Michael Jackson's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, California. Footage of Michael Jackson rehearsing for his planned comeback concerts in London exists and... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 30 Jun 2009 | 8:33 pm
Front Page: Actor moves Smokehouse Pictures to Sony -- George Clooney has parted ways with Warner Bros., moving his Smokehouse Pictures shingle to Sony.
Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer says he wrote his new book, "Hit Hard: A Story of Hitting Rock Bottom at the Top," in order "to be entertaining, but at the same to...help people."
Turns out the guy that tried to sell me a rap CD out of his backpack in Times Square yesterday was actually Mariah Carey. She donned an Eminem-like outfit while shooting her new video for “Obsessed.”
The song blasts Eminem for claming the two have hooked up, and the video is sure to spark a back and forth between the two artists… Either that or he will just continue knocking reality show stars like Brett Michaels and Kim Kardashian with that incisive Eminem wit (Actually, I’ve been meaning to hear his thoughts on Jon & Kate for some time now).
Anyway, does anyone else think dude-Mariah looks like a thugged-out Sam Rockwell?
It was reportedly the best-selling poster of all time. With her famously thick blond hair, red swimsuit, and smile as big and bright as the California sun, Farrah Fawcett was the epitome of the wholesome, all-American girl. Now Fawcett's image, which was considered racy at the time, is a huge part of nostalgia.
Bono, lead singer of the Irish rock band U2, performing in 2006. Some 90,000 fans in Barcelona Tuesday were anxiously awaiting the launch of the world tour of Irish rock megastars U2. Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 30 Jun 2009 | 4:33 pm
Workers install the custom-built U2 stage set created for the "360 degrees" world tour at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on June 26, 2009. Some 90,000 fans in Barcelona Tuesday were anxiously awaiting the... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 30 Jun 2009 | 4:33 pm
Scottish actor Sean Connery is pictured as James Bond in 1982. A top European court rejected Tuesday legal action by holders of rights to the James Bond films to stop a German media company registering... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 30 Jun 2009 | 4:11 pm
Young Chinese mourn the death of Michael Jackson in Beijing on June 26, 2009. Chinese music pirates have issued a set of Michael Jackson commemorative DVDs less than a week after his death, with the pop... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 30 Jun 2009 | 4:11 pm
A mourner lays flowers in memory of late US singer Michael Jackson outside the O2, in east London, on June 29, 2009. The organisers of Jackson's comeback tour in London have announced they would offer... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 30 Jun 2009 | 4:11 pm
Michael Jackson's body will be driven to his Neverland Valley Ranch in central California as early as Thursday with public viewing being set for later this week, according to media reports on Tuesday.
As you can see, the new site’s up, and as you would probably point out if it were possible, the comments are not currently working. Please bear with us, we’re still moving a bunch of stuff over, but it should be up and running shortly. In the meantime, we will simply attempt to imagine your brilliance, were that possible.
In the meantime, here is some news and also jokes with the news!
Us Weekly reports that Michael Jackson’s L.A. Dermatologist Arnold Klein is the true biological father of his children, and that he and Jackson signed an agreement never to reveal the truth to the world. This piece of news was also turned into seven basic cable movies as I was typing it.
Chris Brown’s performance was pulled from the BET Awards last night and the singer refused to show up to the ceremony. Apparently, the network didn’t want someone with such a questionable legal history to be honoring Michael Jackson.
Sales of ‘crooked’ playhouses have skyrocketed since the airing of Jon & Kate Plus 8. Also skyrocketing? Beating your children probably.
AEG Live will begin refunding peoples’ Michael Jackson concert tickets on Wednesday, but ticketholders also have the option of receiving special “Souvenir” tickets instead of their money back. It’s kind of like that time the Apple Store encouraged me to keep my broken “Souvenir” iPod.
Finally, and unrelatedly, I nominate Shadow Boxing as the next Pixar short. I have the power to do that, right?
Check out what happens when you combine 'So You Think You Can Dance' with 'The Biggest Loser' to get a weightloss competition like no other Source: FOXNews.com | 30 Jun 2009 | 3:48 pm
Record producer Chris Ivery and 'Grey's Anatomy' starlet Ellen Pompeo have only been married since November 2007, but have things already gone sour between the two Hollywood lovers? Source: FOXNews.com | 30 Jun 2009 | 2:44 pm
Reuters - Although the legions of actors and writers dreaming of their big score won't have much sympathy for Nia Vardalos, her predicament can't be easy.
Longtime family biographer reveals MJ had been working behind the scenes with eldest son to prepare him to sing and dance on stage Source: FOXNews.com | 30 Jun 2009 | 1:53 pm
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Looks like her NFL hubby isn't the only one fluent in the play-by-play.
Newlywed Kendra Wilkinson, who tied the knot with Philadelphia Eagle babby daddy Hank Baskett at the Playboy...
Review in a Hurry: Johnny Depp and Christian Bale star in a karaoke version of a gangster epic. You'll recognize the melancholy tones, but the whole thing is off-key and forced.
The...
• Bradley Cooper is a rumor mill king. After attending a week's worth of parties with Lake Bell and having a romantic dinner with Jennifer Aniston, the Hangover star is supposedly...
The documents haven't been filed yet, but that hasn't stopped the paper shuffling.
Reports are circulating that Michael Jackson's 2002 will gives custody of his three...
Farrah Fawcett was due for a heavenly sendoff at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.
Around 200 friends, colleagues and family members, including Fawcett's otherwise...
The Los Angeles Police Department is turning up the heat on their investigation into Michael Jackson's untimely death—by actually packing heat for what was supposed to be another meeting...
The man who kept Neverland Ranch from being auctioned off to the highest bidder (or the person with the biggest U-Haul) isn't yet sure what will become of the mammoth estate. But he wants to...
Dr. Arnold Klein is officially mum. But Debbie Rowe says she is officially mom.
In response to increasingly persistent rumors and theories regarding both the paternity and maternity of...
Tameka Raymond says she didn't see it coming.
Usher's soon to be ex-wife states in a new court filing that she and the R&B star have not been separated since July 2008...
What's the difference between a Michael Jackson appearance and a Michael Jackson tribute? What's about as rare as American Idol not finishing No. 1? Are two Disney Channel stars bigger...
