AFP - The guitarist for Scottish band Texas is "critical" in hospital after suffering a brain haemmorhage, the group's singer was reported as saying Saturday.
Juliette Binoche, the Academy Award-winning screen star, has veered into new artistic directions, appearing in a modern dance work in New York and mounting an exhibit of sketches and... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 12 Sep 2009 | 3:09 am
AP - A unique series of Andy Warhol pieces portraits of Muhammad Ali, Jack Nicklaus, Pele, Dorothy Hamill and other athletic superstars has been stolen from a collector's home.
AP - Since the collapse of the World Trade Center on 9/11, many people have helped rebuild New York City in different ways. Rapper Jay-Z did it his own way: headlining a star-studded concert at Madison Square Garden.
AP - Since the collapse of the World Trade Center on 9/11, many people have helped rebuild New York City in different ways. Rapper Jay-Z did it his own way: headlining a star-studded concert at Madison Square Garden.
___ ABC's "This Week" _ Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius; Sens. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and Mary Landrieu, D-La.; Gov. Tim Pawlenty, R-Minn. ___ CBS' "Face... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 12 Sep 2009 | 1:26 am
Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, John Mayer, Pharrell, Kid Cudi and Santigold also join Hov onstage at Madison Square Garden.By Shaheem Reid Kanye West, Jay-Z and Rihanna perform in NYC Friday night ... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 11 Sep 2009 | 11:57 pm
nightclub owner, co-owner of the New Jersey Nets and Beyonce's husband - but more than anything, the entertainer is showing the world he's a proud New Yorker. The 39-year-old performed Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 11 Sep 2009 | 10:53 pm
Shawne Merriman may have sacked criminal charges, but it's not "lights out" just yet.
Hours after the San Diego District Attorney's office closed the case against the NFL...
York Fashion Week. Abs were on full display on Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week's second day on Friday. There were bra tops at Charlotte Ronson and a cropped men's style shirt at Cynthia... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 11 Sep 2009 | 10:47 pm
MINNEAPOLIS - Humorist Garrison Keillor has been released from the Mayo Clinic's Saint Marys Hospital after suffering a minor stroke earlier in the week. Keillor spokesman David... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 11 Sep 2009 | 10:42 pm
2009 has been Jason Wu's year — so what does 2010 bring? New York's fashion director Harriet Mays Powell stopped by the designer's show at the St. Regis today ("a classic New York institution," he said, which was something he really wanted in a venue) to chat with the young fellow about his inspirations for spring, such as the Nightmare before Christmas (one of his favorite movies, jot that down for trivia night). He's also into the artist Tara Donovan, whose sculptural works with cups and straws inspired him to take "the normal and making them incredible." Click to watch him reveal more about what went into his biggest show to date.
Hundreds of retailers participated in Fashion's Night Out on Thursday night. And even if you hit two or three stores on your tour de fashion, there's no way you could be everywhere at once (unless you were Anna Wintour, whose poor driver must have had some sort of voodoo or witchcraft going for him in order to beat all that traffic). That's why we pooled 137 of the best pictures from the night for you to relive all the excitement. Check out Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen shaking up cocktails at Barneys New York, Zac Posen hand-painting clothes in Bergdorf Goodman's windows, Taylor Momsen rocking out for Teen Vogue, Kenneth Cole jamming with Matisyahu, Sarah Jessica Parker singing with Oscar de la Renta and Barbara Walters, and Kate Hudson signing autographs at Stella McCartney — all these moments and more in our definitive Fashion's Night Out slideshow.
We're pretty sure Brazil Bronze can do this for your torso, too!
As we were walking into the Monarchy show on Friday afternoon, we saw one of the PR girls grab another and hiss, “Is Whatsherface here yet?” It seemed like an apt question. We’d heard rumors that the show was going to be attended by such luminaries as Paula Abdul and two of the New Kids on the Block — just as though we’d all fallen and landed in 1989 — but they were nowhere to be found. You can imagine our disappointment at not being able to use the “Hanging Tough” and “Step by Step” puns we had prepared in advance. Not to mention the delightful uncertainty that comes from being in a room with Paula Abdul! So invigorating. Maybe, we hoped, the elusive Whatsherface would make us feel better about missing out on all the old-school fun.
But the true identity of Whatsherface sadly remained a Deep Throat–like secret. We did spy Janice Dickinson — surely everyone knows Janice’s name — mugging in the front row with a deeply tanned and bony Lizzie Grubman. While the concept of those two teaming up gives us the shakes, we must admit that the World’s First Supermodel was looking pretty fierce — and that we’d be too scared to say otherwise even if she didn’t.
Emerging last from backstage were AnnaLynne McCord of 90210 — wearing a black dress open nearly to her navel — and someone we referred to in our notes as “Pretty Brunette Girl” before realizing she was Shannon Elizabeth of American Pie fame. (Shannon Elizabeth: Apparently, you’ll always be Whatsherface to us.) Obscure gossip alert: Shannon and AnnaLynne were seated in the same row as Kellan Lutz (whom you may know from Twilight). Kellan and AnnaLynne have allegedly been having an on-again, off-again amour, and last we read on the Internet, the lovebirds were on the outs. They were definitely not seated next to each other, but it was frustratingly hard to tell from our vantage point if they acknowledged the other in any way: Did they make out? Did she slap him? Did he give her the cold shoulder? Were they taking it, say, step-by-step, or were the lovers hanging tough? And where can we send our thank-you notes for giving us an opening to use that material? So many unanswered questions. Thank God we’ve got a lot of Fashion Week left ahead of us in which to search for the answers.
Andrews appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on Friday in a 10-minute segment taped Aug. 27. This was her first interview on the topic and it was part of the show's kickoff to its 24th... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 11 Sep 2009 | 9:35 pm
As promised, Oscar de la Renta really did sing with Barbara Walters — oh, and Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker — in his Madison Avenue store for Fashion’s Night Out. SJP, who arrived a bit late, straight from the SATC 2 set, insisted she was pressed into the chorale unwittingly. “I didn’t know there was going to be singing here, period. So I certainly didn’t know that Mr. de la Renta could sing,” Parker told us after the performance. Walters said she and De la Renta had planned a duet, and they even rehearsed at her house once: “But, of course, we had Sarah Jessica and Bette, so forget the duet, we had the two huge stars.” Midler praised her fellow singers, saying, “They’re right up there with the greats.” Walters laughed and gave her own appraisal: “I don’t think that we’re going to be an opening act for Bette, unless she wants her show to immediately close down.” Witness the insanity in our exclusive video.
Reuters - A collection of Andy Warhol paintings valued in the millions of dollars has been stolen from the home of a Los Angeles businessman, police said on Friday.
Japanese bondage is having a moment. Lady Gaga appears in the latest bondage-themed issue of Japanese Vogue Hommes And today, Preen designers Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi showed a Japanese bondage–inspired spring 2010 collection in Milk Studios. Many pieces with Preen's signature curved and twisted lines came embellished with thick mats of ruffles. "The inspiration started with a piece of rope wrapped around the body and twisted," Justin explained after the show. "Then we looked at Japanese bondage, where they wrap and they twist, but then it became really soft and silky." They also revisited their Victoriana pieces of the nineties, which is where the idea for the ruffles came from. "The ruffles originally started as a piece of rope wound up and then eventually developed into these very controlled topiary-like ruffles," Justin explained. "Frills can be so girlie. We still wanted it to be quite strong and cool." Mission accomplished.
Humorist Garrison Keillor has been released from Mayo Clinic's Saint Marys Hospital after suffering a minor stroke earlier in the week. Keillor spokesman David O'Neill released a brief... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 11 Sep 2009 | 8:30 pm
Big week for Audrina Patridge—Sorority Row premiere, Maxim cover, live-tweeting with E! Online...a stalker scare?
In documents filed today in Los Angeles Superior Court,...
LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - When the members of AFI began work on their 2006 album, "Decemberunderground," they "tried really hard not to think about it as the follow-up to a big successful... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 11 Sep 2009 | 8:08 pm
Nicky Hilton's distracting eyelashes, Jessica Stroup's healthy glow, and Monet Mazur's ... we don't even know.
“All the people here are DIPSHITS! I’m going to STEAL SOMEONE’S SEAT,” announced the woman behind us at Charlotte Ronson today. While crime is never the answer, we do sympathize. There seemed to be serious seating issues at the show: No one in our section could actually take their assigned place (rumor had it the seats had been filled prematurely with students), and we overheard actress Monet Mazur bitch to a friend that her seat had been changed “fifteen fucking times.” As perhaps you may have gleaned from the quote, she was not happy. Maybe Ronson’s PR girls just didn’t care for her studded cutoff-jean shorts and top hat.
We found the whole experience incredibly disappointing for other reasons, namely that Lindsay Lohan did not burst in at any point, screaming or otherwise. This was probably a huge relief to all the Ronsons in attendance — Mark, looking super-dapper in a blue-checked suit; half-sister Annabelle Dexter-Jones, who walked in the show (to great applause); Lindsay’s ex Sam, who D.J.’ed; and, of course, Charlotte herself — but personally, we’re sorry we didn’t get to witness the next chapter in the soapy saga that is Lindsay Lohan’s personal life.
Also a bummer: We hallucinated Kirsten Dunst in the front row, sitting next to a really cute boy and taking pictures on her iPhone. Yeah, that was just some blonde girl, which isn’t nearly as fun. Not to mention the fact that it’s way too early in Fashion Week for us to be having visions. Just a few seats down from Faux-Kiki, though, was the actual Nicky Hilton, wearing an acid-washed, sleeveless denim minidress and distractingly fake eyelashes. Although we overheard Nicky sighing to her seatmate Ally Hilfiger that she was “sooo jet-lagged,” Hilton the lesser managed to pull it together enough to give a reporter the juicy scoop about how she’s really over “hippie headbands.” Wonder how Nicky felt about that quote after Charlotte Ronson befitted each of her models with one — even though Ronson’s headbands were more Flashdance than Hair.
Nicky had a lot of visitors. Russell Simmons came over to say hello before returning to his seat with Keri Hilson — who looks seriously cuter at every show and always seems to be enjoying herself, which we appreciate in our celebrities. Nicky was also visited by a girl who looked so much like Olivia Palermo that we actually witnessed her turning to a photographer and snapping, “I’m NOT Olivia Palermo.” It must be hard to be constantly mistaken for someone so good-looking. We hate it when people think we are Gisele.
Speaking of socialites, we also spotted Tinsley Mortimer, whom we’ll never get used to seeing with perfectly straight, blown-out hair. We can’t imagine the Tinz would ever go out in one of Ronson’s pantless ensembles, even if she is revamping her image, but stranger things have happened. Also unlikely to embrace pantlessness — we hope — is 90210’s Jessica Stroup, who looked adorable (and healthy) in a patterned strapless dress. As pretty as she looked, Stroup seemed a little wistful during the show itself. Some might theorize that she was just concentrating on the clothes, but we’re pretty sure she was disappointed with the show’s glaring lack of Lindsay Lohan, too. We hear you, girl.
A collection of original Andy Warhol artwork worth millions of dollars has been stolen from a private collector's home in Los Angeles, according to police. The collection -- which... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 11 Sep 2009 | 8:03 pm
Some of the artwork of US pop art artist Andy Warhol is pictured prior an exhibition in July. A collection of original Warhol artwork worth millions of dollars has reportedly been stolen from a private... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 11 Sep 2009 | 8:03 pm
Katie Lee, whose supposed affair with sexy straight New York designer Yigal Azrouël just as supposedly contributed to her split from Billy Joel, was nowhere to be seen at Azrouël's show in the tents this morning. But Yigal, who wasn't taking personal questions backstage afterward, has other muses. "I have somebody that I work with that I love who is always my inspiration. Her name is Kathy. But somebody that I love is always Kate Moss," he explained to the woe of every female fashion editor who gets hot and bothered every time he takes a bow at the end of a runway. Yigal wasn't sure if Kate's ever worn his pieces, but he loves "just kind of how she can wear anything, like a short with a jacket over, the short little dresses — she kind of has that rough look."
Yigal wasn't able to attend Fashion's Night Out last night, because he was doing fittings, but he thought the initiative was a success. "I have to say, it was incredible. The store was so busy," he said. Did people shop a lot? "Yeah, it was actually the best day of the year." He declined to provide a sales figure.
Reuters - First-time feature film director Kevin Tancharoen grew up watching the movie "Fame." Now, the 25-year-old dancer, choreographer and video director -- who has worked with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera and who directed the MTV series "Twentyfourseven" and "DanceLife" -- presents his contemporary take on the classic tale of the pursuit of dreams. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 11 Sep 2009 | 7:16 pm
While Anna swanned around Queens, the Olsens bartended for the sequined crowds at Bergdorf Goodman, and Alexander Wang taught crowds how to walk a runway, Sam Shipley and Jeff Halmos were tucking into some ice-cold PBRs and pedaling their personally tricked-out bikes on a course they’d charted. “We don't have our own store, so we were trying to think of a way to make [Fashion’s Night Out] work,” said Halmos as he prepared to head uptown. We followed his and Shipley’s movements, on their own bicycles, all night. Herewith, a time line.
6:15 p.m.: Halmos’s bike gets an emergency repair. 6:30: S+H head to Pas de Deux for a quick glass of Champagne. 6.45: Shipley reveals that he and Halmos are secret athletes: “There’s a lot of them out in the fashion world. Robert Geller plays soccer every Saturday; he always invites us.” 7:25: We take off for Barneys in midtown, via First Avenue. 7:40: Sam almost killed by rogue black car as we make a wrong turn onto the Queensboro Bridge entrance ramp.
7:55: Pull up to Barneys — MOB SCENE! Francisco Costa happily offers to sign their FNO T-shirts in front of Calvin Klein. 8:00: S+H drink the only PBRs in a two-mile radius. 8:10: S+H consider getting as many designers as they can to sign their shirts but then think better of it: “At this point, it’s going to have to be Lagerfeld or bust.” 8:15: S+H talk shop with Barneys: “We’re way ahead of last year,” says Halmos. “The stores are really selling it! We’re thrilled,” says Lam Nguyen, men’s sportswear buyer at Barneys Co-op. (He also says fall markdowns won’t start until early December!) 8:20: Women in elevator to S+H: “You know, Mary Kate and Ashley are bartending on 3. We’re going.” S+H, unfazed, continue to ground floor. 8:25: Leaving Barneys. Sam: “This whole thing is a scene out of Zoolander.” 8:30: Indignant woman: “OH, MY GOD, I almost got run over by Shipley and Halmos!” 8:45: RAIN! 9:00: Stop at Billy Reid for oysters — all gone. But the boys breathe easier back in PBR territory. 9:15: Sidetracked from Fashion by Hunger. Try to get the free tacos from the Smile. MOB SCENE! Halmos buys the Cut a burger, God bless him. 9:45: Running late! S+H scheduled to be in the dunk tank in Williamsburg, but FNO is almost over and we still have to go to Odin. 10:10: RAIN! Do we bike over the bridge? Of course. 10:30: Williamsburg! We head over to see what’s left of the Block Party at Bird. 10:40: Disco is pumping, but the booze is out and the bouncers are taking away people’s I.D.’s for being outside. 10:45: S+H tuckered out, the dunk tank long gone. 10:50: Lisa Mayock of Vena Cava is tuckered, too. She just wants her tofu taco. It’s been a long night. 11:05: The Cut sleepily bikes back over the bridge. S+H dissolve into the crowd.
Reuters - An album featuring the Black Keys and some of the biggest names in hip-hop will be released November 27 (the so-called "Black Friday" after Thanksgiving) under the name Blakroc, Billboard.com has learned. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 11 Sep 2009 | 7:14 pm
Reuters - Reminding one of the worst excesses of agitprop theater during the late '60s and '70s, "Leslie, My Name Is Evil" is a strident, awkward piece constructed around the murder trial of Charles Manson and his "family." Its underlying message is that when it comes to mass murder, Manson was small potatoes compared to the U.S. military's rampage in Vietnam, a proposition so morally absurd it's hardly worth a debate. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 11 Sep 2009 | 7:13 pm
Reuters - The words, "social activist," "selfless humanitarian" and "deep thinker" don't usually come to mind when describing Playboy empire founder Hugh Hefner, but filmmaker Brigitte Berman intends to rectify that situation with her surprising documentary, "Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel." Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 11 Sep 2009 | 7:12 pm
Less enthused was supermodel Trish Goff, though it wasn’t the clothes that bothered her. Instead, when one of the models walked past Goff’s front-row seat, we saw her turn to her companion and say, “She’s way too skinny.” We just report these things, but isn’t it nice to know that someone still cares?
While summer won't officially turn to fall for a few more weeks, things sure started feeling positively autumnal this week, wouldn't you say? Let's take a look back to remember where we were when we broke our fall coats out of the closet.
"'Drain You' is aight, but 'Heart-Shaped Box' is the bomb ... "
Just in case you, like us, have a hard time telling one young, oversexed contemporary male R&B singer with a forgettable name (Mario, Trey Songz, J. Holiday, etc.) from another, we remind you that Lloyd is the man behind last summer’s pretty great Lil Wayne collaboration “Girls All Around the World.” Auspiciously, his new single “Pusha” also features Weezy (the original version with Juelz Santana was mysteriously scrapped, we guess). In this pre-Rebirth age, we celebrate every Lil Wayne appearance that has no crappy guitars or crappy singing, so this would be a minor victory no matter what, but this verse is no-mitigation-necessary enjoyable: In between dubbing himself the “Lloyd-song killer,” the emcee runs with the love-as-addiction analogy, once again making his own well-documented reliance on codeine and cough syrup charmingly harmless (“This is your Wayne on drugs”). Meanwhile, Lloyd breaks up his predictably spotless, slightly snoozy performance by jumping full force into Disrespect–Kurt Cobain’s–Legacy Week with six simple words — “Cobain, Cobain, she blows my brain” — complete with an actual gunshot noise.
AP - Larry Gelbart, the award-winning writer whose sly, sardonic wit helped create such hits as Broadway's "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," the films "Tootsie" and "Oh, God!" and television's "M-A-S-H," is dead.
• Jonathan Benno, Per Se's acclaimed chef de cuisine, has confirmed his plans to move on: He'll be part-owner and executive chef at a new (and as-yet unnamed) restaurant under construction in the plaza of Lincoln Center. [NYT] • Has Minetta Tavern stopped accepting reservations from people who don't happen to be close, personal friends of owner Keith McNally? [GS, Eater] • If you don't have a credit or debit card, don't go to Commerce. As noted previously, it's one of the only NYC eateries where cash isn't welcome. [WSJ] • The '21' Club auctions off 640 rare bottles of wine at Christie's tomorrow. [BN] • Yet another cupcake bakery chain is planning to open its doors in NYC. [VV]
• Another peek around Los Feliz, the taco/tequila restaurant/lounge by the people who brought you Spitzer's Corner, Fat Baby, and the Darkroom, which opened this week in the former Suba space on Ludlow Street. [Eater] • The 2nd annual NY Craft Beer Week begins today, just so you know. [TONY] • A look at Saltie, which opens next week in Williamsburg. [GS] • Looking for a Lebanese food pick? Outgoing Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack (who is of Lebanese descent) is a fan of the Flatiron's Ilili, apparently. [NYT] • Tom Colicchio's ties to the sons of Bernie Madoff: revealed! [Dealbreaker]
In town promoting his latest album, Imperial Blaze, Sean Paul dropped by the Rosa Chá swimsuit show at Bryant Park yesterday. But he wasn't just there to admire the skimpily attired models — he's a budding designer! He told us he's considering doing a line of his own of baseball caps. He showed us the one he was wearing, featuring a tree he drew with a Sharpie and had embroidered into the fabric (see photo). “I’ve done a couple of designs, and I’m planning to do some hats for next year,” he said. But that’s where his fashion aspirations stop — don’t expect a William Rast anytime soon. The caps were “just something for me to draw on while I was in planes and waiting on stuff. You wait a lot in this career.”
"I was in a room full of dicks today," Lady Gaga announced after spending part of the day working as a day trader at BGC, the brokerage firm Cantor Fitzgerald rebuilt following the World Trade Center attack, raising money for its annual celebrity charity event. Clad in a demure — for her — YSL pantsuit, Gaga worked the phones, singing "Poker Face" to floor traders in exchange for more money and then telling them she loved them. "This was a very intense environment, and I was okay," she said. "We did some pretty massive trades." Gaga was raising money for Mercy House, a charity that supports young women and families in the South Bronx. The charity is close to her heart, she said, partly because her best friend from high school runs it. "She was the girl in school who, no matter how many girls made fun of me or didn't get my eccentric style or my ambitious personality, she always stood by me." Plus, it doesn't hurt to take a break out from Fashion Week: "Vanity is only skin deep," she said.
Reuters - Part musical, part love story, part family melodrama, part inspirational treacle, Tyler Perry's latest movie, "I Can Do Bad All by Myself" is something of an unholy mess. Alternately stupefying and entertaining, the film does benefit from a strong cast. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 11 Sep 2009 | 5:18 pm
Oh no! Are Disney fans turning on Miley Cyrus? Today in the 5,000-person exhibition hall at the Anaheim Convention Center, she received a less than warm reception from attendees of the D23 Expo...
John Travolta made a surprise appearance with his wife and daughter at Disney's D23 Expo in Anaheim today to promote their new movie, Old Dogs. This is the first public event for Travolta...
Lizzie Grubman appears to have landed a hot new PR client: Vince Shlomi, the man better known as Vince the ShamWow guy (and someone who, like Lizzie, has faced his share of high-profile legal trouble in the past: As you may recall, Vince was arrested earlier this year for beating up a hooker in a Miami hotel room.) Over the summer, Shlomi said he was planning to branch out with a swimwear line, which probably explains why he attended Fashion Week shows both yesterday and today accompanied by Grubman (and managed to leer at the models on the runway both times). But if anyone can redeem the dishrag/blender huckster and ex-Scientologist and turn him into a hot ticket on fashion scene, it's probably Grubman! A couple of additional photos of Lizzie and her new BFF (and a special bonus!) below.
Last night at Fashion's Night Out, after the Pretty Reckless show on Perry Street, we found ourselves loitering outside Taylor Momsen's trailer. (Don't ask why, you would have done the same thing.) We were startled to be joined in short order by The Beautiful Life star Mischa Barton, mostly because the gang on the sidewalk was just us and some Pace University students waiting for autographs. Naturally, we tried to get an interview with Barton. But the former O.C. star, cigarette in hand, said, "Now's not a good time." Still, she did gamely pose for pictures. Is the 23-year-old model-actress merely a fan of Taylor Momsen's? Or was something more sinister afoot? We guess we'll never know.
Well, that didn't take long.
Despite her best efforts to tweet a victory in the court of public opinion, looks like Tila Tequila won't get her shot in a court of law at San Diego...
Whoo-hoo!
ABC Family confirms to us exclusively that the network has picked up the back 10 episodes of 10 Things I Hate About You's first season! According to show runner Carter...
Finally, some goodish news on the Michael Jackson death front.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has wrapped its two-month investigation into whether the coroner's...
Kevin's a robot? Angela's a gold digger?
Uh-oh. Someone is spreading some dirty rumors around Dunder Mifflin in the season-six premiere. And while dirty might be too strong of a...
According to Paul J. J. Payack, a speech analyst with the Austin-based Global Language Monitor, Obama's health-care speech this week was constructed at a ninth-grade reading level, which was the level at which Lincoln crafted the Gettysburg Address. But that was back when rhetorical flourishes were in vogue. The closest modern equivalent has been Ronald Reagan, whose folksy speeches belied their own competent, clever construction. Read more in Chris Bonanos' piece from next week's New York.
Review in a Hurry: Oops! A Theta Pi prank goes too far, and the girls wonder if other Greeks know what they did last summer! With way-hip casting—Briana Evigan (Step Up 2: The Streets),...
Morgan Stanley's outgoing CEO hosted a meeting for employees this morning, where people shared their feelings about the transition. "Yes, there were tears," an employee said. [DealBook/NYT]
Ed and Lisa's clothing line: Closet Freak.
Hey, I'm all for any reality star using the opportunity to promote their business, but I tell everyone the same thing: It better be...
Writer and producer Larry Gelbart, known for his work on the hit television series "M*A*S*H," died Friday in his Beverly Hills, California, home, his wife said.
Is that prejudiced? Against people named Julius Andreas Gimli Arn MacGyver Chewbacca Highlander Elessar-Jankov?
If so, I hereby apologize to all Julius Andreas Gimli Arn MacGyver Chewbacca Highlander Elessar-Jankovs. Seriously. Some of my best friends are Julius Andreas Gimli Arn MacGyver Chewbacca Highlander Elessar-Jankov. Also black.
On Wednesday, a pair of writers from Comedy.com finagled their way into a dress rehearsal for NBC's The Jay Leno Show (it premieres Monday) and they've posted a review. The verdict? "There's not enough innovation ... more imitation comedy gruel." Which should come as excellent news for fans of Jay's gruel-based Tonight Show, to which the Leno Show sounds predictably identical, save for the few differences you already know about (there's no desk, the new stage is large enough to accommodate cars, and the show will most often close with a comedy bit instead of a musical guest). But what about the part of the show that we're most excited for — Jay's deadly "green" racetrack, on which beloved celebrities will (presumably) meet their ends in massive, fiery explosions?
Guest Selma Blair was the test case at Wednesday's dress rehearsal, and she apparently survived:
"The Ford-sponsored concept of a 'green' race track was really funny, only because Jay didn't seem into it at all! It was essentially a long Ford commercial — sounds hilarious, right? Not so much. Selma Blair changed and was put in an Electric Ford Focus, which couldn't look less like a race car ... Selma had two minutes to go around the track twice. She made it in 58 seconds ... that felt like an hour."
Since we like Selma Blair, we'll let it slide. We guess.
Always be closing. Ivanka Trump recently closed a deal to marry Jared Kushner, and today, working as a "celebrity trader," the Donald's daughter closed stock trades for a good cause. She participated in BGC Partners' fifth annual Charity Day, in which celebrities, under the watchful eyes of licensed brokers, execute investment trades with BGC's clients. The commissions from the trades are then donated to the celebrity's designated charity. The charity event takes place every September 11 — BGC used to be partnered with Cantor Fitzgerald. The scene on the downtown trading floor was chaotic, as celebs like Whoopi Goldberg, Bernie Williams, Lorraine Bracco, Brian Leetch, Kathy Lee Gifford, and Lady Gaga worked the phones and executed trades. Amazingly, despite the mini Hope Diamond on her finger, Ivanka was able to hold up the phone and the ring with just one hand.
AFP - Fashion designer Tom Ford made his directorial debut at the Venice film festival Friday, joining the fray for the coveted Golden Lion with his much anticipated "A Single Man."
The one photo you've ever seen of Joe Wilson where he wasn't yelling.
Love him or hate him, you have to appreciate President Obama's willingness to forgive and forget. From bringing Hillary Clinton into his cabinet after a brutal primary battle to welcoming Joe Lieberman back into the Democratic fold when many in the party were itching for punishment, Obama doesn't seem one to hold a grudge, if only for pragmatic political purposes. Yesterday was no different. "I'm a big believer that we all make mistakes," he said, accepting Joe Wilson's apology for turning his speech to Congress into a town hall. "He apologized quickly and without equivocation, and I'm appreciative of that." But while Obama stays above the fray, someone close to him is busy losing the moral high ground: an anonymous senior adviser is quoted by Richard Wolffe today calling either the Wilson incident or Wilson himself — it's not entirely clear — "a pimple on the ass of progress," which, a Google search shows, is how Secretary of State Alexander Haig referred to the Falkland Islands after they were invaded by Argentina in 1982. Hopefully, the present dispute will end with less bloodshed.
Here’s Edward Norton in Africa training for the New York Marathon with the Kenyan equivalent of Mickey from the Rocky movies (I imagine):
Yep, even in Kenya they couldn’t believe how dated those special effects looked. That’s not my opinion, it’s just what the guy is saying. Look at the speech bubble.
Too bad Norton isn’t adopting babies there or I could be all like “Who does he think he is, Angelina Jolie???” and we could all LOL together through to Monday. Man that would have been funn-ayyyy.
After the jump, two more Norton in Kenya pics — it’s like The Hulk meets Rocky IV meets Out Of Africa, but better than all three movies (especially that cheesy half-assed Out of Africa):
When we (rhetorically) asked that very same question last year, we couldn't really come up with any solid reasons why anyone should bother watching a show that was seemingly broadcast direct from some ratty old high-school auditorium. This year, however, there are certainly a few reasons for you to postpone your normal Sunday-night activity of watching True Blood (at least temporarily). For starters, Janet Jackson is set to kick off the night with her highly-anticipated, yet shrouded in secrecy, tribute to her late brother Michael. No one, not even the all-seeing, all-knowing gossipmongers over at TMZ, seems to have any idea exactly what her routine is going to look like, but judging from Janet's past performances on live TV, obviously anything can happen.
While we wish we could say we were fired up to see some of the evening's musical performances (which range from Taylor Swift to Lady Gaga to Jay-Z), the other thing that we're most excited to see on Sunday night is the world premiere of the trailer for the exceedingly ghoulish Michael Jackson documentaryThis Is It. We've heard nothing but glowing reviews thus far of the material that Sony paid $60 million to acquire, but that said, the only people who have seen the footage to date are people who have a fiscal stake in raising the public's interest level in the project. This trailer could go a long way to either heightening the already staggering expectations for the film or knocking them down: We'll have to wait and see which way things go!
And oh, yes, there's the small matter of the host, one Russell Brand. We're well aware that not everyone feels themselves drawn to his particular brand of comedy, but we thought that he did a bang-up job at last year's festivities. Plus, we're kind of excited to see whether he keeps his promise to impregnate Lady Gaga while onstage. Or, if Gaga isn't game, perhaps Sherri Shepherd would do the trick? After all, the two got along famously during Brand's appearance on The View the other day.
Actress Amanda Seyfried speaks onstage at the "Jennifer's Body" press conference held at the Sutton Place Hotel in Toronto, Canada. Nasty girls should have their own place in the horror movie genre alongside... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 11 Sep 2009 | 1:58 pm
Perhaps it’s due to the crappy weather in New York as of late, or maybe it’s that my stone-cold cynical heart is finally thawing… but this commercial for Traveler’s Insurance (which has been on the air for a couple of months) might be the saddest damn thing I have ever seen. It’s the story of one dog and his most prized possession: A single, delicious bone. And as though the ad needed more sentimentality, it is set to the soundtrack known as “Staring out of the window into the storm as your reflected tears blend in with the rain”, also known as Ray LaMontagne’s “Trouble”.
The Lovely Bones hopes to be half this emotional. It’s like the Titanic of insurance ads.
Late yesterday, Cityfile.com reported that Camille Hughes, the headband-wearing Blair Waldorf–wannabe of Bravo's NYC Prep, would not be continuing this fall at the Nightingale Bamford School. It was reported months ago that the school was displeased with her participation in the reality series. But according to Cityfile, it wasn't that the school kicked her out. According to a Nightingale rep, they were "expecting her back this fall" — though some school-community members whispered that she was politely asked not to return — but her family decided to send her instead to the Professional Children's School. PCS is a place that claims to be dedicated to offering "an academic, college preparatory education to students who are preparing for, or already pursuing, careers in the performing arts, entertainment, or competitive sports, or who are drawn to a creative environment supportive of the arts." Which is sort of like catering to reality stars, but hopefully the main goal is a bit loftier.
A rep for PCS told us that they don't comment on their students, but that attendance there doesn't necessarily rule out a student's chances to gain admission to a school like Harvard, Camille's dream destination. "We're a college-preparatory school with an academic program that prepares our students for admittance to the most competitive schools in the universe," spokesman John Tucker told us. They do not, he laughed, have a "reality-television program."
Either way, being on the reality show, and attending PCS, very well might end up hurting Camille's chances of getting into Harvard. But considering that the school accepts only about 7 percent of its applicants, this all may just add up to an excellent, comforting excuse as to why Tufts ends up being the school for Camille in the end.
It was looking pretty bleak there for awhile, but Annie Leibovitz appears to have been rescued from the brink of financial disaster. She's reached a settlement with Art Capital Group over the $24 million loan it provided her last year. Terms of the agreement weren't disclosed, but at least there's only one less Condé Nast photographer headed to a courtroom in the near future. [BN]
Citigroup is dusting off some old plans to rejuvenate its online banking and Internet services. The dudes at Bloomberg are all excited about it because, internally, the project is called "Bank of the Future," which means they get to refer to CEO Vikram Pandit as the "Marty McFly of banking" and come up with an extended metaphor about how the bank is "reaching to the past to reinvent itself" (though they don't really go all the way with it, like they somehow miss wrapping in how Jamie Dimon, who actually kind of looks like Biff, once called Pandit a jerk on a conference call, and obviously they don't have Photoshop). But what intrigued us was this:
Bankers have long assumed that "people who like online banking have no money, and people with money don't like online banking," said Seamus McMahon, a former regional president for HSBC Holdings Plc's U.S. banking unit. Now "there is a group of people who were in their 20s and are now in their 30s and actually have some money."
Wait: They do? Bankers say that? All this time we thought we loved online banking because of how convenient it was, like it makes it super-easy to move $10 from your savings to your checking account so that your rent check doesn't bounce. We had no idea we actually liked it because we were poor.
After at least two days of haggling, photographer Annie Leibovitz has struck a deal with Art Capital, the lender that was threatening to assume control of her photographs and real estate unless she repaid her $24 million loan by September 9. The terms of the deal were not made public, but we'd wager a guess that they included Leibovitz publicly praising the lender — which has come across as somewhat unsavory in media coverage of the affair — because the two just issued a joint statement in which she said the following: "In these challenging times, I am appreciative to Art Capital for all they have done to resolve this matter and for their cooperation and continued support. I also want to thank my family, friends, and colleagues for being there for me and look forward to concentrating on my work." If only we could work out a deal like that with our credit-card company. [Bloomberg]
Remember the Daffy's apartment contest? A few weeks ago, the discount clothing chain announced that it planned to give one lucky New Yorker a $7,000-a-month apartment rental for $700 a month. Contestants had to record a 30-second video explaining why they deserved the pad; Daffy's would pick the best entries and ask the public to select a winner.
Daffy's collection of finalists is now online if you'd like to register your vote. In the meantime, though, the store has posted a mash-up of losing entries on YouTube.
Ever watch American Idol and feel sorry for the poor people whose public humiliation only goes to put millions of dollars in the pockets of people Simon Cowell and Ryan Seacrest? Don't be surprised if you experience something similar when you see a collection of unfortunate New Yorkers explain to Daffy's that they need the apartment because they're homeless, widowed, divorced, or unemployed.
Here is Rihanna, showing off the latest trend in haute couture fashion at the Fashion Night Out celebration at the Intermix Soho:
For those of you wanting to achieve this sexy, futuristic look, there are a number of options. You could:
1. Save up roughly $50,000 to buy an authentic paid of studded and crystalled sunglasses from the Stevie Wonder line of “I Can’t See Anything At All Right Now”, then drape yourself in yards of black fab;
2. Go the budget route, and drop about $100 on this Medieval Crusader Halloween Costume, replete with chainmail hood;
3. Give Grace Jones a 9-hour long piggy pack ride for the day.
We’re happy to see Rihanna showing us her softer, more feminine side.
"I read in some interview she did in something called Interview magazine that she likes obscene rap music. When I read that, it was, like, 'Oh, shit, she would love the shit I got right here on this album!' It was wild, 'cause I remember her as the little girl in The Professional, and now she's all about the wild shit. Yo, if you see her, give her my number. Tell her we gotta make some music together." —Ghostface Killah wants Natalie Portman to call him [Page Six/NYP]
"I'm the one to say something is too crass. I turn into the house prude. I'll say, 'This is just nasty.'" —David Duchovny is the resident square on the set of Californication [Female First]
"I refuse to watch that particular clip. It's just too personal, the process you have to go through to get there. I've only watched the action scenes."—Mickey Rourke can't watch the scene in The Wrestler where he admits to his shortcomings [Contact Music]
"What I need is numerous sets of identical twins to be in an art work I made in 1992, which is going to be in a show at the Tate gallery. Identical twins are a crazy aberration, you know, they make you look again and sort of this idea that they are connected. What I need them to do is sit in front of two spot paintings which are two different random arrangements of the same colored dots. The identical twins need to be wearing the same clothes and have similar haircuts and you can sit stand talk read or do anything else but whatever they do, they need to be doing the same thing. And just be yourselves. For a few hours of the day you can be immortalized in an artwork by Damien Hirst." —Damien Hirst on his next art project, involving the aberration that is identical twins [Guardian UK]
"Yes, he's jacked. It's absolutely crazy. He's definitely not on steroids." —Kristen Stewart on Robert Pattinson's naturally super-toned bod [Showbiz Spy]
"Everyone goes through tough times and the second that I decided I wanted to be in front of the camera. I think I always kind of aspired to be like Britney Spears. I wanted to be in the tabloids when I was in middle school. It's kind of something you sign up for in the beginning and if you really want it, you know what comes with it." —Lindsay Lohan probably could've used some alternate role models [Showbiz Spy]
It’s Fashion Week here in New York, and you know what that means: Posh Spice’s alien ship has lowered its ramp in Bryant Park, revealing her latest reincarnation… Victoria Beckham, the Coquettish Alien. She’s all “I’d love to meet your leader, if, you know, you have a few seconds to take me there.” (Cue Geisha Eyes)
But even dolled up as the lead singer of Tokyo Police Club, Vic is still working that cam lens, burnt sienna and all:
AMC's Mad Men blog has an interview today with Sally Draper–playing actress Kiernan Shipka, who is hilariously articulate for a 9-year old: "I think throughout the years, I got to know Sally better. All in all, it's been great to play her ... Matthew Weiner is such a brilliant writer. You know, you're not surprised with how brilliant he is, because he's done it so many times, but you're surprised with what he writes for you." If we were Grandpa Gene, we'd probably have let her drive a car, too. [Mad Men blog/AMC]
John Mack announced plans to step down as Morgan Stanley's CEO at the end of the year. He'll won't be departing the bank entirely: Mack will become Morgan's chairman on January 1, and the chief executive role will be handed over to James Gorman, the former McKinsey consultant and Merrill Lynch exec who joined Morgan Stanley four years ago and now heads up the firm's brokerage business. Mack has been making plans to retire long before the financial crisis battered the bank. But the events of the past year certainly played a role in the change in power, and what sort of legacy Mack will leave behind remains an open question.
Reports the Times:
Mr. Mack presided over an era of unprecedented profits—and then record losses. Only a year ago, Morgan Stanley nearly foundered like Lehman Brothers. It was saved, like so much of Wall Street, by a multibillion-dollar bailout and other government aid.
Wall Street has rendered a harsh judgment on Mr. Mack's stewardship. On his watch, Morgan Stanley's share price lost nearly a third of its value, while the stock of its archrival, Goldman Sachs, has gained. After skating so close to the edge, Mr. Mack retreated from the high-risk businesses that almost cost him his bank. To many, Morgan Stanley seemed to lose its old swagger.
Mack's decision to step down wasn't welcomed by many of the bank's board members; several reportedly urged him to consider staying on. But the last year had taken its toll on Mack, it seems, and he was ready to get off the hot seat. And he'll ultimately leave Morgan Stanley in a reasonably dignified fashion, which is something that probably won't be said when Citigroup's CEO, former Morgan Stanley exec Vikram Pandit, finally decides to step down. (Or Citigroup's board finally wakes up and realizes its needs new leadership.)
Then again, who knows? Maybe, as Bloomberg reports today, Pandit really is the "Marty McFly of banking"! Maybe he'll manage to undo his disastrous tenure as CEO by turning Citigroup into the "bank of the future"! Maybe hiring someone the person responsible for the airline reservations site Travelocity will help it "reinvent itself"!
Fashion Wire Daily - "Casual, easy and accessible," was how Gwen Stefani described her Spring 2010 collection for her seven-year-old fashion brand L.A.M.B., a smart and safe sentiment that she successfully executed in her 40 look series presented for an intimate audience at the M.A.C and Milk venue in downtown New York on Thursday, Sept. 10, the first day of New York fashion week.
Reuters - International designers and stars descended on Moscow on Thursday night, oozing confidence that the glitzy Russian capital famed for its love of excess had got back its groove.
Has it really never been discussed? Jermaine Jackson, ironically the most germane of the living Jackson brothers, is in the news as of late, as the former member of the Jackson 5 attempts to put together a Michael Jackson Tribute Concert (which has now been postponed to 2010).
But can we take a moment to focus on the real issue at hand: What is up with Jermaine’s painted on do? That’s some Groucho Marx eyebrow sh*t right there. As our friend Stephen Lenz at Urlesquepoints out, he’s looking quite the Bicentennial Man these days. Though, we’re catching a more Duracell Battery Putterman Family vibe:
Much like God’s timeless clouds, Jermaine Jackson is whatever you want to see. So tell us: Who does Jermaine remind you of?
Reuters - Fashion's Night Out, a string of events in New York and cities around the world to revive the recession-hit industry, turned out the crowds but it was unclear whether people would start spending, participants said.
This minute-long Sears commercial aired during last night’s eventually-thrilling Steelers/Titans NFL opener last night, and as much as we’ve all ripped on Brett Favre the past couple offseasons (and seasons), I have to admit, as biting, subversive Sears ads go, it is pretty funny.
My friend Matt quickly wet-blanketed my enthusiasm, reminding me that it won’t be funny when we see it for the 850,000th time during NFL Week 2, but for the time being, I’ll give Favre a pass (into triple coverage):
Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl said in a joint statement Thursday that they were "dismayed and very disappointed" that an avatar of the late Nirvana frontman could be used to play songs by other artists Source: FOXNews.com | 11 Sep 2009 | 10:34 am
The mayor of Mount Vernon, Washington, thought his plan seemed simple enough: honor a local citizen who progressed from humble roots to national stardom.
The Media Development Authority (MDA) announced the lifting of the ban on "Singapore Rebel" on its website, saying the documentary no longer violates the revised Films Act. Previously, the 26-minute documentary... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 11 Sep 2009 | 10:07 am
Natalie Portman was spotted by some Israeli Paparazzi (which is apparently a thing) eating dinner while in Tel Aviv, Israel. And in very un-Natalie-like fashion, the actress is giving us a double-helping of camel toe:
Muhhhhliterally. Natalie, someone who has to try very, very hard to look anything but gamine and beautiful, was seen sporting a dress from the Yogi Bear line of “Pic-a-nic Dresses”, and the dreadedNike Air Rifts, shoes that really hug a woman’s big toe for the world to admire.
These photos come on the heels of news that Wu-Tang Clan’s Ghostface Killah is dedicating a song off of his new album to Natalie, a fan of hardcore rap. Ghostface Killah had this brilliance to spout to Page Six:
I read in some interview she did in something called Interview magazine that she likes obscene rap music. When I read that, it was, like, ‘Oh, [bleep], she would love the [bleep] I got right here on this album!’ It was wild, ’cause I remember her as the little girl in ‘The Professional,’ and now she’s all about the wild [bleep]. Yo, if you see her, give her my number. Tell her we gotta make some music together.
Note to Natalie: *whispered* That means he wants to have sex with you.
More photos of Natalie enjoying a relaxing dinner on a balmy Tel Aviv night ahead…
British singer Jamie T performs on stage in Paris in early August. The south London musician, who is expected to score a top ten UK chart position with his newly released second album "Kings &... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 11 Sep 2009 | 9:06 am
Fashion Wire Daily - Pairing a conceptual designer with a beach wear collection would, ordinarily, seem like a very odd proposition, but in the case of Alexandre Herchcovitch's debut for Brazilian label Rosa Cha on Thursday, Sept. 10, in New York, it turned out to be a thought-provoking and probably profitable idea.
US director Tom Ford poses during a photocall during the Venice film festival. The Venice film festival entered the home stretch as Ford made his directorial debut with his much anticipated "A Single Man... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 11 Sep 2009 | 8:12 am
Reuters - In theory, digging into the RKO archives for remake possibilities is a fine idea, but this redo of Fritz Lang's 1956 film noir "Beyond A Reasonable Doubt" is no improvement on a potboiler that was no great shakes to begin with. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 11 Sep 2009 | 8:03 am
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet poses with Chilean filmmaker Miguel Littin (right) and actor Benjamin Vicuduring the avant premiere of the movie "Dawson, Island 10" in Santiago on September... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 11 Sep 2009 | 7:26 am
Happy birthday, Catherine Zeta-Jones. You are turning 40 this month, joining Renee Zellweger, Jennifer Aniston, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez and Cate Blanchett, who are marking the same milestone this year. Has anything changed for women hitting 40 in an industry obsessed with youth?
Los Angeles County sheriff's investigators have finished an inquiry into whether coroner's employees illegally leaked or sold private information related to the investigation of Michael Jackson's death. Source: FOXNews.com | 11 Sep 2009 | 5:48 am
Fashion Wire Daily - As the latest fashion week in New York got underway on Thursday, Sept. 10 - over the course of the next week over 200 designers will show their Spring 2010 offerings - the million dollar question facing the fashion industry is, "What will customers buy?"
AP - Gwen Stefani is rocking the '80s well into 2010, presenting a LAMB collection on Thursday that included off-the-shoulder "Flashdance" tops and acid-wash jeans.
Reuters - Meet the Piggy Shoppers, the Discount Rats and the Bloodsuckers -- all of them customers who shop at fine stores, terrorize the sales staff and now are exposed in a new book, "Retail Hell." Source: Yahoo! News: Fashion News | 11 Sep 2009 | 3:31 am
Drivers in Forsyth, Georgia got an eyeful as they drove past the intersection as the shapely young stars were doing a promotional shoot Source: FOXNews.com | 11 Sep 2009 | 3:05 am
Shawne Merriman may have sacked criminal charges, but it's not "lights out" just yet.
Hours after the San Diego District Attorney's office closed the case against the NFL...
Big week for Audrina Patridge—Sorority Row premiere, Maxim cover, live-tweeting with E! Online...a stalker scare?
In documents filed today in Los Angeles Superior Court,...
Oh no! Are Disney fans turning on Miley Cyrus? Today in the 5,000-person exhibition hall at the Anaheim Convention Center, she received a less than warm reception from attendees of the D23 Expo...
John Travolta made a surprise appearance with his wife and daughter at Disney's D23 Expo in Anaheim today to promote their new movie, Old Dogs. This is the first public event for Travolta...
Well, that didn't take long.
Despite her best efforts to tweet a victory in the court of public opinion, looks like Tila Tequila won't get her shot in a court of law at San Diego...
Whoo-hoo!
ABC Family confirms to us exclusively that the network has picked up the back 10 episodes of 10 Things I Hate About You's first season! According to show runner Carter...
Finally, some goodish news on the Michael Jackson death front.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has wrapped its two-month investigation into whether the coroner's...
Kevin's a robot? Angela's a gold digger?
Uh-oh. Someone is spreading some dirty rumors around Dunder Mifflin in the season-six premiere. And while dirty might be too strong of a...
Review in a Hurry: Oops! A Theta Pi prank goes too far, and the girls wonder if other Greeks know what they did last summer! With way-hip casting—Briana Evigan (Step Up 2: The Streets),...
Ed and Lisa's clothing line: Closet Freak.
Hey, I'm all for any reality star using the opportunity to promote their business, but I tell everyone the same thing: It better be...
These photos come on the heels of news that Wu-Tang Clan’s Ghostface Killah is 
