AP - Harvard University has acquired the manuscripts, correspondences, and other papers of two-time Pulitzer Prize winning author John Updike, a member of the university's class of 1954. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 7 Oct 2009 | 4:35 am
AP - A premiere NBA Finals matchup features basketball's two best teams going at each other shot-for-shot, rebound-for-rebound in an all-out quest for dominance. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 7 Oct 2009 | 4:29 am
(AP) AP - Efforts to film Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez's latest novel are meeting resistance in Mexico, where an anti-prostitution group is seeking to block production, charging the movie will promote child prostitution. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 7 Oct 2009 | 3:44 am
AP - Efforts to film Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez's latest novel are meeting resistance in Mexico, where an anti-prostitution group is seeking to block production, charging the movie will promote child prostitution. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 7 Oct 2009 | 3:44 am
Not only was Chuck Liddell's zombie-town samba with Anna Trebunskaya the...
The 1983 Chevy Chase classic National Lampoon's Vacation is gearing up for another go-round, according to The Hollywood Reporter's Heat...
E!'s own Chelsea Handler sits down with the new stars of The Girls Next Door to talk about life at the...
(Reuters) Reuters - The title character of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" doesn't actually appear until the second scene. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 6 Oct 2009 | 8:10 pm
Front Page: '24' director takes on first studio feature -- DreamWorks is revving up again on "Motorcade," setting as director Jon Cassar, best known as co-executive producer and a prolific helmer of the Fox TV drama "24."
Front Page: 'Pianist' star steps into Schwarzenegger role -- In a surprise, Adrien Brody has been set by 20th Century Fox to play the heroic mercenary who battles alien hunters in "Predators," the reinvention of the "Predator" franchise that is being creatively spearheaded by Robert Rodriguez.
Front Page: Michael Bay's genre division gets first-look pact -- Paramount Pictures has signed a first-look producing deal with Platinum Dunes, the genre division run by Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form.
Front Page: Actor joins Downey Jr., Galifianakis in comedy -- Warner Bros. has set RZA to star alongside Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis in "Due Date," the Todd Phillips-directed comedy.
After declaring last week that he won't publicly discuss his sexual relationships with staffers again, David Letterman continued his mea culpa Monday night -- apologizing to his wife who, he said, had been "horribly hurt by my behavior."
Lit boy Tao Lin — who may or may not author the blog Hipster Runoff — now has a musical project with his possibly fictional blogging cohort called “Jesus Christ.” (the indie band). For all the tiresome quotation marks, both literal and figurative, swirling around this project, it has resulted in one straighforwardly excellent song, “Is This Really What You Want?” which pairs Lin’s IM-derived poetry with a fittingly dumb beat, and delivers it in the form of an abstracted conversation that, to its credit, would not be mistaken for spoken word. It’s the greatest new talky music track since, well, last week. The song’s off a forthcoming EP that Lin promises will be “available digitally, physically, and emotionally.” This kid might be a real writer yet!
In case the first dozen didn't satisify your desire to smell like a pop star past her prime, Jennifer Lopez has another perfume coming out this week called "J. Lo Glow." (Be sure not to confuse it with previous scents like "Glow by J. Lo," "My Glow," "Sunkissed Glow," or "Miami Glow.") As part of the ad campaign for the new perfume, People reports that "Jennifer naturally assumes a maternal role in domestic scenes meant to reflect the coziness of the new floral fragrance." So to achieve this natural maternal role—and convey what Lopez says is a natural feeling of "intimacy and love"—Lopez must have posed with her own twins, right? Naturally, no. They're actors. [People]
Rumored Martin Margiela replacement Haider Ackermann's spring collection included beautiful draping, bright yellow, and a surprising half-topless finale look. Giambattista Valli showed fiery feathers. Meanwhile, Junya Watanabe showed a black-and-white collection paired with flats and twisted turbans. See those collections and more in our latest runway slideshows from Paris Fashion Week.
Maybe you're apathetic about swine flu. Maybe you're just like, "I am a healthy New Yorker who goes to the gym six days a week, and I'm not going to let some hick virus that probably grew up on a farm take me down." Or perhaps you're like, "Whatever will be, will be." Or maybe you're just thinking, Well, if I get it, at least I won't have to go to work for a few days, in which case :(. But you'd better start caring. Because this swine flu means business. It is not afraid of anyone or anything. How do we know this? Because it's already taken down some of America's strongest, most important, most indefatigable personalities: celebrities.
The numbers are startling. The tally so far:
Rupert Grint, of the Harry Potter movies, was an early victim. Soon after, Rachel Maddowsuccumbed to the "stanky" flu. Dr. Sanjay Gupta contracted the new H1N1 virus while in Afghanistan, and wrote on his blog that it was the "sickest he'd ever been," and in short order, it was rumored that Anderson Cooper and Harry Smith were also afflicted. Marilyn Manson contracted it around the same time. "I know everyone will suggest that f***ing a pig is how this disease was obtained," he wrote on his MySpace page, which is exactly what everyone was thinking. "However, the doctor said, my past choices in women have, in 'no way' contributed to ... me acquiring this mysterious sickness." Perhaps not coincidentally, Kermit the Frog was also rumored to have swine flu around this time.
And today Backstreet Boy Brian Littrell, whom you'll remember as soon as you see his face, was forced to cancel several appearances with his old band after being felled by the illness.
In fact, it almost seems like more celebrities have had swine flu than normal people we know. Why might this be? A comment from famed Days of Our Lives star Lisa Rinna, whose entire family was afflicted, on Entertainment Tonight may hold a clue. "We had it before it came out," she said.
Hilary Mantel's novel Wolf Hall, about Henry VIII's adviser Thomas Cromwell, won Britain's prestigious Man Booker prize at a London ceremony tonight. Mantel was heavily favored — a prominent London bookie gave her 10/11 odds, the shortest-ever odds for a nominee — and beat out previous winners A.S. Byatt and J.M. Coetzee, dashing Coetzee's hopes for a Booker hat trick. In your face, J.M.!
From left, leggings by Robert Rodriguez ($198), Mara Hoffman ($286), Nuit ($850), and Alexander Wang ($1,175).
The pants of the season are leggings (we only consider them half-pants, but these days when it comes to bottoms, we'll take what we can get). Designers are churning out all sorts of styles, from sheer to patterned to embellished to suede. Leggings are doing things they've never done before! If their diamante patterns don't alert you to how special they are, their prices sure will. The price tags on leggings at Shopbop have blogger Cheap JAP in a tizzy. The mesh variety pictured here, by Robert Rodriguez, are $198. Cheap JAP:
Were one million spiders required to weave them? Had they too graced the legs of a socialite? No and no; apparently, two-hundred dollars is the going rate for designer-sanctioned mesh these days.
Patterned opaque leggings by Mara Hoffman cost even more, at $286. An even-sillier sequined pair by LaRok — called I Am a Rockstar Leggings — are $348 and sure to draw light to your every bulge!
But the truly must-have leggings of the season are leather, perhaps suede. A leather pair with mesh insets that have the potential to be very slutty, by Nuit, cost $850. Alexander Wang's (refreshingly opaque by comparison) Stretch Suede Combo Leggings cost $1,175. The prices on the leather pairs — excluding the sheer-paneled pair — don't seem completely absurd to us. After all, they're leather, right? We have seriously considered paying retail for a leather pair because they go with everything, should keep you reasonably warm, look cool, and are as close to pants as leggings come. Stare at fashion on the Internet all day every day and, eventually, paying four figures for all those things along with the designer label seems reasonable. This is why we are grateful for bloggers like Cheap JAP who bring us back down to earth when our mother isn't around to ask us if we're crazy. If we want leather leggings or mesh leggings or leggings with weird insets and cutouts and bedazzling, we may as well go to a sex shop, where they are cheap and we can get affordable thigh-high boots to go with them. And if we are high enough on fashion one day to think tight sequined pants are going to do us favors, we will try to remember to go to Forever 21, where they should cost $15 and fall apart at the same rate they go out of style.
Front Page: CBS president may move to big picture position -- Nancy Tellem is thinking about the future, both her future at the Eye and the future of television programming and distribution.
Two weeks ago, we asked if the hypothetical success of self-distributing, entrepreneur-pussyhound Tucker Max's I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell might make him the next Tyler Perry. Turns out there was no need to worry: After eleven days in release, in as many as 210 theaters, Hell has grossed but a measly $881,891, with a per-screen average that topped out at an unimpressive $3,058. Still, if his next movie makes $25 million in its first weekend and stars Max as a bespectacled African-American woman in a dress, remember who called it.
In our continuing pre-postseason series, Will Leitch analyzes the stakes for Yankees manager Joe Girardi. Sure, he's never managed a team into the playoffs before, but that doesn't mean any inevitable screwups won't be placed right on his head. [The Sports Section]
Possibly? While there are a great number of bands — Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails immediately spring to mind — that have ditched the traditional means of working with record labels in an attempt to harness the powers of the interwebs to engage their fanbases, it's safe to say that the direction that Public Enemy is taking with their new album is without precedent. Rather than trying to sell their fans on an expensive box set that's filled with exclusive goodies like bonus tracks and merch, Public Enemy has partnered with the newish website Sellaband in an attempt to get fans to foot the bill for the entire production of their new record. Their goal? To try and raise $250,000 in $25 increments. While it's not entirely clear if fans who pony up will get a copy of the record for their troubles, Sellaband's policy is that "proceeds are split between the artist and the believers." Again, the terms of this deal have not been released, so it's tough to say exactly what that split will be, but this much is certain: Those huge clocks that Flavor Flav wears around his neck don't come cheap.
The density of celebrities in New York and the fact that pretty much everyone walks everywhere means the chances of a civilian-celebrity encounter are dangerously high. Sometimes, these encounters can be exhilarating or heartwarming. Almost always, they are awkward. Today, New York's Rebecca Milzoff wanders into an area in Tribeca where Gossip Girl is filming, pops into a restaurant for lunch, and finds herself in the middle of a New York celebrity maelstrom. Feelings were hurt, but there were several Brushes With Greatness.
Notes: We go into Bubby's and see lots of paparazzi outside but don't see any actors. Then, once we're seated, we see Blake Lively and Chace Crawford with what seem to be Chace's mom and grandma, eating at a table totally in the middle of one of the rooms at the restaurant. Chace was drinking iced tea and coffee, and wearing a navy V-neck sweater, looking normal and adorable. Blake had her hair in a braided ponytail, with scarf, blazer, wacky netted tights and boots. Everyone seemed to be laughing and having a good time and no one was wearing sunglasses or anything. Meanwhile, the paparazzi outside were increasing in number. Then, actress Lindsay Sloane (from last week's episode of How I Met Your Mother, and an old fave from Sabrina the Teenage Witch) comes in with a friend, and proceeds to look really confused and annoyed about all the cameras at the window. We almost felt sad for her as she gradually realized they weren't there for her — she looked a little emotionally bruised.
• Beyoncé understands Kanye was just "standing up for art" when he interrupted Taylor Swift. But still, "it ended up being a great night, and Taylor Swift did get...
The FTC just passed some new regulations that require bloggers to disclose when something they're writing about is actually free swag a company sent them for publicity. Wirednotes that the world of wine blogs will take a pretty hard hit; fashion blogs could, too. Full disclosure: People send us free stuff sometimes. Everything from laundry detergent to nail polish to moisturizer samples to eyeshadow to toothpaste to handbags to jeans. Do we write about these things? At the risk of screwing ourselves out of more freebies: no. We don't feel obligated to invite people we don't like to our birthday parties and we don't feel obligated to write about things just because someone sent them to us for free. However, smaller, independent blogs that focus on products — say, fragrances or handbags or skin creams — surely receive lots more free products to review. They don't often tell readers, "Someone sent me this for free and I happened to like it so I'm telling you I like it." If a company pays a blogger to say nice things about their products, the blogger must likewise admit that in the post, according to the FTC's new rules.
The basic premise of the new regulations is great. People deserve to know when anyone is endorsing something simply because it's free. But what about print publications? They may borrow clothes and send them back (though not even every article of clothing is returned), but that's not the case for beauty products, which companies send to bloggers with no expectation that they'll come back. (What would they do? Send them out again? "Dear Marie Claire, Enclosed is a jar of our BRAND NEW MOISTURIZER containing REAL PEARL SHAVINGS and THE BLOOD OF SEAHORSES that Vogue and Elle editors have already sampled. Thought you might enjoy a third go at it! Cheers, YOUTHFUL LOTIONS OF THE SEA.")
But if the FTC will impose fines on people who so much as tweet about products they're getting paid to endorse without saying so, they should also crack down on affiliate links. Many blogs covering products include links to where you can buy that product online. Those sites then give the referring blogs a cut of the profits for the recommendation. In the fashion blogosphere, that is probably a bigger problem (if it is a problem — people do have to make a living) than is bloggers endorsing freebies they happen to actually like, or even getting paid for the vote of confidence. The FTC is yet to clarify these regulations. Maybe they should "get online," as they say, start a Twitter account, and throw us a tweet when they've come up with a revised set of rules that makes more sense.
When we ran into Chris Rock last night at a screening of his new film Good Hair — a documentary about his quest to understand the $9 billion black hair industry — we asked him to tell us the strangest thing he learned while filming. "It's weird when you see the hair in India — it's got bugs in it," he told us. "Going to a hair plant is almost like going to a slaughterhouse: You don't want to see them make the sausage, as they say, and you don't want to see them make the weaves, either." See more in our Party Lines slideshow.
Last night, Conan introduced a bit by telling his audience, "Of course, everybody right now is talking about the biggest scandal in the country, involving a late-night host. Accusations are flying. It's getting really nasty. All of America is gripped by this story … that's right, I'm talking about my feud with the mayor of Newark, New Jersey." And you know what? If not for Letterman's admitted affairs and alleged extortion, maybe we would be talking about this awesome Conan versus Cory Booker battle. So let's talk about it, shall we?
Since you're probably not watching, we'll summarize: It started when Booker responded to Conan's slagging of Newark in a monologue joke ("The mayor … wants to set up a citywide program to improve residents' health. The health-care program would consist of a bus ticket out of Newark") by banning O'Brien from Newark Airport. Then, after a few sharp back-and-forths, Conan wound up banned from New Jersey altogether.
Which brings us to last night's segment! Apparently, the mayor of Newark's neighbor Elizabeth, New Jersey, Christian Bollwage, has broken rank and offered Conan safe haven. This prompted Conan to declare, "Mayor Booker, now that I've established a beachhead, I'm going to begin my campaign to surround and crush you — I'll do it by shamelessly sucking up to your municipalities … [including] Jersey City, home of the Holland Motor Lounge, which Hotels.com user Chris P. described as having 'a good location.' Way to go, Jersey City!"
Isn't it a little sad that Conan's finding his Tonight Show footing while nobody's paying attention? Is he just more comfortable while Letterman is the main focus? Who cares! More Booker slams, please.
Family Guy is one of the nation’s most polarizing issues (after whether or not frisee is delicious — and you all know where I come down on that issue.) And while I rarely watch an entire episode from beginning to end, I do enjoy small clips of it on Youtube here and there.
But when Hulu featured a recent episode with this image…
…with the title Family Goy, I couldn’t resist checking it out. After all, as a Jewish person, I love when cartoons incorporate Judaism. Sadly, the only time this has really ever happened in my lifetime was with the classic animated film An American Tail and Tommy Pickles on Rugrats. Of course, the two main characters were a mouse and a small, bald baby, but we take what we can get, America.
But Peter Griffin as a Jew? With a thicket of Israeli chest hair? Surely, this would be worth my 22 minutes.
This isn’t the first time Family Guy has broached the topic of Judaism. During the show’s 3rd season back in 2000, creator Seth MacFarlane greenlit an episode called “When You Wish Upon a Weinstein”, which centered around Jews being good with money. The episode wasn’t necessarily that offensive (for Family Guy standards especially), and featured this charming little song by the name of “I Need a Jew”:
Funny and true! But believe it or not, way way way back at the turn of the Millennial century, executives at Fox feared the episode was too offensive and anti-Semitic, and canned it from airing. It eventually saw the light of day years later on Cartoon Network’s “Adult Swim”, and since then, on Fox.
Now you would think: Another Family Guy episode focusing on Judaism would have to outdo the first one created (and banned) 9 years ago, right? Well, outdo is one way to put it. But not with “cleverness” or “good writing” or “humor”. Rather, with lazy Jewish stereotypes and old jokes that stopped being funny once Spaceballs came out. Making fun of Jews is A-OK by us — we love a good LOLocaust — but at least make it clever (see: LOLocaust), and not offensive for the sake of lame “shock value”.
We won’t tell you about the pointless Schindler’s List reference (ps: Just making a reference to something? Not a joke.) or Peter’s laaaaame Hebrew name joke that literally was the first joke ever written (in Hebrew). How Fox let “Family Goy” air is beyond us, not only for the offensiveness, but for the lameness. Unless you’re an anti-Semite, in which case this is like your MASH finale.
Ahead, a note to Seth MacFarlane, and the entire episode , which you can see and Judge Jewdy for yourselves.
Just consider this a note, Seth MacFarlane: Next time you want to write a funny episode about Jews, consider hiring one to do your dirty work. Unless writer Mark Hentemannis Jewish (I wouldn’t know, what with his last name not being Moneygrabber or Bagelhookthiefnose and all), in which case, for shame. Shame on you and shame on Fox, for letting the balls drop on this one. (It’s a good think they’ve got Glee to cleanse my Jew palette because otherwise this would be seriously unforgivable.)
Most importantly, shame on you Seth MacFarlane, you lazy, alcoholic son of a bitch.
ps Let’s not even talk about the breast cancer jokes. Let’s just not.
Law & Order: SVU star Ice-T says he was ambushed into making a prominent appearance in Chris Rock's documentary Good Hair. "I didn't even know I was in a movie," Ice-T told us when we congratulated him after the Cinema Society screening last night. "Hanging around with Chris, he always has a video camera, and he's like, 'I'm gonna ask you some questions about hair.'" Ice says the filming occurred at least three years ago, and since he and Rock are friends, he was candid. And hilarious. "I talked a lot, but that turned out to be, uh, funny, I guess."
While he wears his hair short now, the rapper's longtime ponytail was created with the kind of chemical relaxers detailed in Good Hair. "I had a perm and when guys have it straightened, they put the rollers in their head, you know, so you get that Super Fly look," Ice explained. When he was in high school in L.A., he used to actually wear rollers to school, which, believe it or not, was a sign of toughness. "See, there's a level of gangster where you can do things that you're really saying: 'Don't say nothin' about it,'" he says. "It's like the biker who might put a ribbon in his hair, like: 'What? I'm waiting on you.' So you have to have a certain level of credibility, but a lot of the cats were wearing perms and had rollers in their hair and we would get away with it."
Ice pointed out that TMZ misread this very gangsta code when they spotted him wearing a pink suit in Vegas last year. "I had on a pink suit; a clean, pink Versace suit. And they were like, Ice-T lost his street cred. And I'm like, do you know how much street cred you got to have to wear a pink suit?"
Robert Pattinson is finally getting the biographical documentary he deserves.
Seriously, after 23 years of total hotness—yeah, we're even counting the toddler...
Letterman's on-air admission of staffer sex last Thursday scored him 5.8 million viewers, and last night he apologized his way to a 4.2 rating — higher than anything in NBC's prime-time lineup. Why didn't he try this before? [Variety]
AP - What's so funny about so many black women wanting "white" hair? Plenty, it turns out, in Chris Rock's surprisingly insightful documentary, "Good Hair."
We can see Lloyd Blankfein in one of these things.
The days of the status car are so over. Bentleys, Hummers, all of those big, hulking, look-at-me-I'm expensive behemoths — in the cold post-crash light, they just seem superficial. Silly. These days, the wealthy car-shopper is looking for something a little more low-key to drive. Something small and less gas-guzzly, but that still makes a unique statement about them. Happily, Neiman Marcus introduced the perfect model in their Christmas catalogue this morning: Cupcake Cars. Priced at a recession-friendly $25,000 a pop, they're environmentally friendly (they can't actually go on the street) and easily customizable. "The artist will make it with whatever topping you choose," Neiman Marcus spokeswoman Ginger Reeder — who discovered them when the artist, California-based Lisa Pongrace, showed them at Burning Man, of all places — tells Daily Intel. Best of all for competitive New Yorkers, these suckers are going to be really hard to get. "Well, she's an artist," Reeder said, when we asked about the wait time. "I'd give her three months." Get your order in before Paolo Pellegrini does.
NAILS
• Peter Philips, creative director of Chanel makeup, debuted the label's spring 2010 nail color at the ready-to-wear show today, and it was a mix of purple khaki and mushroom taupe. Is this the new jade? [All Lacquered Up]
FRAGRANCE
• The footwear label Jimmy Choo signed a deal to launch a fragrance starting in 2010. [WWD]
• Jennifer Lopez's new fragrance campaign for My Glow features the singer cuddling up to babies, because maternity inspired the perfume. But let it be known, the children in the photographs are not her own. [StyleWatch/People]
HAIR
• Pete Wentz declared that his "emo swoosh" was officially dead, which basically means that he shaved off his man bangs. Rejoice. His barber was Mark Hoppus of Blink-182. [StyleWatch/People]
• Kristen Bell wore a complicated updo to the premiere of Couples Retreat in Los Angeles last night that looked curled, twisted, braided, then pinned up — basically something you could never replicate yourself. [Girls in the Beauty Department/Glamour]
MAKEUP
• Pat McGrath painted faces at Lanvin with slightly undone eye makeup, while Guido Palau twisted hair in messy updos. [Daily Beauty Reporter/Allure]
Some people have been a little troubled by the news a shady Russian billionaire is now buying up a local sports franchise (the Nets), as well as part of the arena that will eventually be the team's new home in Brooklyn. But not Jamie Johnson. The pharmaceutical heir and filmmaker thinks it's, like, the greatest news ever:
"Russian mineral and oil wealth has been marching from Moscow westward through many of the world's most vibrant international cities for more than a decade, and inevitably it will find a secure position in New York," he writes. "Personally, I welcome the change. This land could use an infusion of fresh money and new perspectives."
There's no question we could use the money, clearly. And just think of the "new perspective" members of the team will adopt when the prospect of having a pinch of Polonium 210 dropped into the team's Gatorade cooler is added to the mix! Get ready for a newly incentivized team—and a championship season!
In this week's magazine, New York's senior art critic Jerry Saltz contends that, despite much doomsaying, the city is actually in the middle of an art boom. To prove it, he visited the Larry Gagosian, Mary Boone, Luhring Augustine, and Hasted Hunt galleries, trailed by Vulture videographer Jonah Green, and found that "money may have left the party, but the party is still going on."
As we wrote about yesterday, SNL opened its show this weekend with a sketch slamming President Obama for so far accomplishing "nothing" that he promised during the campaign. We pointed out that at least a couple of their criticisms were pretty dubious — Obama never said forces would be out of Iraq by now, and Congress has begun to work on global-warming legislation. So strike those two. But Politifact has pinpointed further inaccuracies.
For one, Obama never promised torture prosecutions, so those shouldn't have been expected in the first place. On the issue of rolling back executive power, Obama has actually limited the way he's used signing statements. As for Afghanistan, Politifact writes that so far Obama has done what he's promised, which is to send two additional brigades of troops (although clearly the situation there is pretty dire).
Look, we know SNL isn't the Times, and that some people might consider it ridiculous to fact-check one of their skits. But political satire isn't legitimate if it's not based in truth. It's not that SNL's disenchantment with Obama is unsupportable; they just picked some faulty evidence to support it. If you're going to skewer Obama for all the things he hasn't done, it might be better to make sure that, you know, he hasn't done them. Especially since, after witnessing the lasting impact of its Sarah Palin caricature last year, we can probably stop pretending that SNL is "just a comedy show" with no real influence.
After some internal server issues, Show Studio got the live stream of Alexander McQueen's spring 2010 show up and running. It's a bit choppy, but oh, the clothes look magnificent. And the models look wet. And the shoes look terrifying. And there are moving machines on the runways and images of swimming naked people playing behind the models. Plato's Atlantis, indeed. Stay tuned for more images. You might not be in Paris, but you don't have to be!
If you missed the first live stream don't miss the second showing on Show Studio at 4:30 p.m. EST.
U.K. video distributor Revolver has picked up Robsessed, a documentary about Twilight star Robert Pattinson, presumably made without his knowledge or participation. They're planning a release to coincide with New Moon's next month, and they'll sell it packaged with DVD copies of 2006's Haunted Airmen, a movie Pattinson made before he became the world's most salable person. Then, everyone who works at Revolver, including the interns' janitorial staff, will retire to their own private tropical islands. [Screen Daily via Playlist]
Were you waiting to hear that David Paterson has decided to drop out of the race for governor in 2010? That hasn't happened yet, but he has come to a decision on another matter of great political import. The governor declared yesterday that he wholeheartedly endorses the selection of Jay-Z as MTV's "Hottest MC" for 2009:
Jay-Z is not only an outstanding hip-hop artist, but a dedicated philanthropist as well. Having just attended his September 11th benefit concert in Madison Square Garden a few weeks ago, I can personally attest to his commitment to New York and the impact he has on New Yorkers of all ages. He is most definitely deserving of the top MC of 2009 title.
Too bad he didn't ask the "dedicated philanthropist" to extend the state a small loan? If he had, he could have totally avoided having to deliver this bit of bad news today.
When a breast-cancer diagnosis forced Maura Tierney to depart from NBC's Parenthood, the network first approached Emmy- and Oscar-winner Helen Hunt about taking on the role. However, according to Michael "Raisin Bran" Ausiello, "talks between the actress and NBC fell apart" (which is code for NBC's unwillingness to pay Hunt what she was asking). Now, NBC is said to be determining whether or not Lauren Graham (of Gilmore Girls fame) will be a more affordable option. We approve! [Ausiello Files/EW]
Beginning today, select Club Monaco stores around the world will be carrying a carefully curated collection of vintage jewelry ranging from bracelets, necklaces, and earrings to sweater pins and shoe clips. As longtime fans of the store's own jewelry line, a constant source for on-trend, affordable pieces, we were thrilled to hear the news that their trusty fashion team was now offering vintage items as well. This past summer, the Club Monaco crew scoured antique fairs all across the country in search of the best vintage jewels, and they returned with a wide selection of sparkly pieces from the early- to mid-twentieth century. The prices vary from $39 for smaller items up to $595 for bigger, statement pieces. And not one but two New York locations will be carrying the vintage baubles: 160 Fifth Avenue and 6 West 57th Street.
Vintage Jewelry, $39 to $595 at Club Monaco, 160 Fifth Ave, at 21st St.; 212-352-0936 and 6 West 57th St., nr. Fifth Ave.; 212-459-9863.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
A verdant landscape filled with beautiful animals of all kinds, harp music, cumulus clouds in a bright-blue sky, and happy people conversing pleasantly, sipping cold sake from homemade bamboo cups. —Martha Stewart, Vanity Fair, November 2009
"The sake is not really that cold. It's more like cool, or even room temperature, I think. Here, taste it. Does that taste cold to you? Oh, Jesus Christ! Well, there goes that pair of pants. Who made these bamboo cups? Because the thing just fell apart right in my hand. Did you use the Chimonobambusa marmorea variegate like I asked? Or did you use the Chinese Goddess? Well, there you go. What? I'm sorry, I can't quite hear you over the harp music. Say again? Jesus Christ. Okay, can someone get the harpist to stop for a second? Now what? What is so important that you're going to ruin my Day of Perfect Happiness with it? Well. Well, that's pretty sad. I'm sorry that Francesca and Sharkey ripped your pet bunny to pieces and splattered rabbit gore over my otherwise verdant lawn. How did that happen? Hmmm. Well, to be honest, you probably should have been watching him more closely. I know this is supposed to be a perfect day, but animals are animals and you should have been more vigilant. You know what? You should just get a new rabbit. And is there any pelt left? If there is, I can show you how to cure it and make a tea cozy. A tea cozy. What the fuck is wrong with you? How can you not know what that is? They're wonderful; you put them on your teapot to keep your tea the right temperature. Drinks should always be the exact right temperature. Unlike this sake, which is really now around borderline warm. Wait. What is that? Is that a fucking cirrus cloud? I wanted cumulus clouds. This day is ruined."
The man accused in the weekend slaying of a Real Housewives of Atlanta star will be spending some quality time in a Georgia jail.
Fredrick Richardson is currently being held in Fulton...
Elizabeth Taylor takes a licking but keeps on ticking.
The two-time Oscar winner announced on Twitter today that she's checking into a hospital for a heart procedure. But...
Not much really to say about this joyous photo celebrating Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics. Other than that it looks like the dog actually GOT a Brazilian for this photo shoot. Because it looks like he has a giant dog V.
Photographer Joel Meyerowitz was born in the Bronx in 1938, a time and place that conjures images of two-sewer stickball-hitters and spraying fire hydrants on hot days. In fact, though, the thirties Bronx was not yet fully built out, and a certain amount of greenery and wildlife poked through the developing city. Meyerowitz has spent his life documenting that city in multiple ways, and Legacy: The Preservation of Wilderness in New York City Parks echoes the relatively pastoral Bronx of his youth. Meyerowitz's camera — and therefore you, the viewer — goes to dozens of places that most of us would never recognize as New York. In many of them, not a manmade object is visible; in others, there's a hint of human presence, say in a distant building poking up hazily behind the trees. They make us grateful for previous generations' foresight (imagine Manhattan as it was laid out in 1811, without Central Park!) and ever more firmly committed, as this generation has been, to restoring and tending what we have.
Images are on view at the Museum of the City of New York from October 9 to March 10, and in Aperture's accompanying book.
In an incident that could have ended with more than one person in the hospital, but which just resulted in some bruised egos and scratched car paint, a taxi driver and pedicab cyclist got into a public brawl this morning outside of the Ed Sullivan Theater in Times Square. The entire incident, from the moment the taxi and pedicab collided to when the pedicab owner cycled away quickly to avoid police, was caught on camera by Fox 5. Here are the moments when the incident is at its most dangerous:
1. When the pair run after one another into oncoming traffic.
2. When they remain on the ground, brawling, exposing themselves to traffic from another direction.
3. When the pedicab driver hoists a green metal public trash can and throws it at the taxi driver.
Here are the moments when it is at its most hilarious:
1. When you can see tourists, lined up for Letterman tickets, marveling at the true New York experience that is unrolling before them.
2. When Fox 5 reporter Reid Lamberty, who probably relishes remaining in front of the camera as news goes on behind him, has to go over and try to break the two up.
3. When they do that thing that non-expert combatants do, where, in mid-fight, they just end up flopped on top of one another, barely moving, with their shirts around their necks and their butt cracks exposed. That's reality, people.
"Nearly one-third of Americans say they are less likely to watch Late Show host David Letterman following the funnyman's admission that he has had affairs with women who work on his CBS show, according to a poll released today." Really? But what will all these people watch on TV instead?
Naturally, Bill O'Reilly is a no-go, since he was sued for sexually harassing a producer on his show. Bill Maher? He's obviously unwatchable considering he was sued by a former girlfriend (and former Playboy model) for making "insulting, humiliating and degrading racial comments" (the case was later dismissed), and went on to date a notorious former stripper and porn star. And tuning into Larry King is going to be dicey since the fact he's been married eight times now casts some doubt on his status as a model husband.
And those were just the first three people that came to mind. Clearly, for one-third of America, a series of very difficult decisions are ahead!
When Sad Panda went missing this past summer, we feared the worst. But we are pleased to report that authorities can now call off the mission to drag the bottom of the Hudson River and bring in the hounds charged with sniffing around Central Park for a rotund body whose scent matches a certain tuft of plush: A Gothamist reader spotted Sad Panda in Bowling Green this morning, looking, it seems, actually kind of vivacious. Promises?
Alexander McQueen's show is supposed to stream live on Show Studio starting at 2:15 p.m. EST. However, the site seems to be crashing because of all of the traffic! BOO. [SHOW Studio]
2:32 p.m.: We still can't access the live stream, but where other people's servers fails us, Twitter shall save us! Lady Gaga just tweeted, "SUPRISE! ALEXANDER MCQUEEN PREMIERE'S MY NEW SINGLE "BAD ROMANCE" AT PARIS FASHION SHOW NOW." She added minutes later, "BAD ROMANCE in Mcqueen's paris show in 30 minutes." So maybe there's time to fix the tech glitch? Alexander McQueen shared a shot of his tech room on Twitter about an hour ago, which right now feels like staring at a giant condensation-covered water cooler while dying of dehydration. DAMN OTHER PEOPLE'S SERVERS.
2:41 p.m.: The live stream appears to be recovering. There is hope yet!
Lyndsey Scott is taking Europe by storm. After starting her spring 2010 run in New York at Vera Wang, DKNY, and Monique Lhuillier, she continues to land on major runways in London, Milan, and Paris. The 18-year-old — who first made headlines last season by being the first black model to score a Calvin Klein exclusive — booked Pringle of Scotland, Jaeger London, and Topshop Unique in London, and appeared at Gucci, Blumarine, and Alberta Ferretti in Milan. And she wowed audiences at Prada by being the only black model to walk that show. The New Jersey native is in Paris right now sealing the deal on her rising-star status, already strutting at Giambattista Valli and Costume National, and even closing the Loewe show. We caught up with the Click model to talk about diversity on the runways, pre-show rituals, and more.
You're appearing at some high-profile shows. How's that going?
I’m happy with how things have gone so far this season, but I haven’t really felt the effects yet. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens when I get back to New York.
Since you walked in Prada, do you hope to land the Prada campaign?
Right now, I’m just very happy I was given the opportunity to walk in the show. I haven’t really thought about all that yet.
Do you think there is more diversity on the runway this season?
I do notice that more brand-new ethnic models than usual are being booked for big shows. I think that’s a really good thing.
Do you feel that you have "made it" as a model?
I don’t at all feel as if I’ve made it yet. I still have a lot of work to do and I’m looking forward to it.
What is your favorite part of modeling?
I like to travel and meet new people. And I love both walking the runway and shooting editorials. Runway is exciting for me because I enjoy the whole live-performance aspect of it all. Editorial is exciting because it gives me the opportunity to experiment and be creative.
What is your favorite look or trend this season?
High-heeled gladiator sandals. I almost never had to worry about having a shoe fall off on the runway because most were strapped to my ankles.
What city have you liked best so far?
Milan, because I went there with so few expectations and was very pleasantly surprised.
What do you usually do before a show?
I normally talk to other models, relax, and spend a good amount of time at the food table.
What do you like to do for fun?
I like to watch movies, read books, spend time outdoors, and, more than anything, I love to try new things.
What are your post-fashion week plans?
Sleep! And spend time with my friends and family.
What does your family think of your career?
I don’t think they completely understand the fashion world, but they’re very excited for me. My parents came to Calvin Klein last season and they enjoyed it very much.
Finish this sentence: I never leave the house without ___.
Lip balm.
Model Profile:Lyndsey Scott Plus: Browse over 530 of modeling's hottest in our ever-growing Model Manual.
Dominick Dunne—chronicler of crime and society, best-selling author, Vanity Fair contributor, and cable television host—died in August after a long battle with cancer. His weekend house in Connecticut is now up for sale. The three-bedroom home in Lyme, which was once featured in Architecural Digest (above) and which, according to the broker, is "immediately recognizable from Mr. Dunne's television shows and documentaries," is listed for $2.1 million. You'll find a few photos of the house below.
Mark Wahlberg, seen here in June 2009, is to star in an English-language remake of Icelandic thriller "Reykjavik-Rotterdam," entertainment industry press reported Tuesday. Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 6 Oct 2009 | 12:17 pm
Reuters - Russian fashionistas lapping up Paris fashion week say that a recovery at home has made them hopeful that the world's fourth largest luxury buyer may be regaining ground after a hard hit from the financial crisis.
Oh dear Jesus yes thank you. Yesterday, we told you about The Big Top Cupcake, a cake pan that turns your average, old, regular delicious cakes into brand new, completely not average, delicious cupcakes. This ad said: “Cupcake bigger than this? We f**king dare you.”
Bad News, BTCC: Someone took your dare. And has created the most magical thing ever…
A $25,000 CUPCAKE CAR.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the future is here!!! For the low, low price of $25,000, you can own a giant cupcake that you can drive around at maximum speeds of 7 miles per hour — slow enough to be noticed, but fast enough to outrun your local hallucinating obese person.
This incredible offering is part of Neiman Marcus’ Annual Christmas Catalog (which is just heavy enough with which to beat a homeless person with.) The catalog has got some real doozies this year — including a $200,000 dinner with John Lithgow and other literary types (seriously) and His & Hers Sports Aircrafts for a cool quarter of a mill — but it’s the Cupcake Car that really takes the over-privileged a-hole cake. (Our favorite kind.)
The Neiman Marcus provided description reads like bakery fan fiction. Slip this on and take a read:
Put on your matching hat, slip under the muffin top of your Cupcake Car, and let the world figure itself out for awhile. Get (or give) the sheer, joyful chaos of a gift that is mind-blowing, triple-dog-dare, double-infinity forever cool. Make the kids or grandkids literally squeal with joy. Bring it to work and buzz the breakroom. Crash parades! Putter about the ‘hood. Ever had a crowd of kids chasing after you just for the crazy gleeful heck of it? (No worries, the top speed is a comfy-safe 7 mph.) What’s it made of? A 24-volt electric motor, a heavy-duty battery, sheet metal, wire, fabric, wood…and mad genius. Launched at Burning ManSM as a cooperative art car project, the Cupcake Car sprang from the fevered mind of Bay Area artist Lisa Pongrace and her less-rules-more-laughs posse of artists and techno geeks. Yours will be tricked out with your favorite topping, so start thinking flavors.
Mine will be flavored like money with a faint hint of “What college loans?”
After the jump, “LOL” video evidence that these things actually exist!
Not only is NYC's calorie-posting law annoying—who wants to be reminded that the drink they're about to order is not only overpriced but is packed with 400 calories, too?—it doesn't encourage people to eat (or drink) healthier either. Although nine in ten people who saw the calorie counts posted claimed they "made healthier choices as a result," when researchers at NYU and Yale "checked receipts afterward, they found that people had, in fact, ordered slightly more calories than the typical customer had before the labeling law went into effect, in July 2008."
So what can we learn from this little experiment?
"I think it does show us that labels are not enough," Brian Elbel, an assistant professor at the New York University School of Medicine and the lead author of the study, said in an interview.
Not enough? Frankly, we're not sure what the good professor means by this. If posting the number of calories isn't enough to discourage people from ordering things they probably shouldn't be eating, does this mean he's suggesting the city consider taking more drastic steps? Maybe restaurants should be required to post pictures of what people will look like if they continue with their unhealthy diets, sort of the way some cheap Chinese restaurants post pictures of the dishes on their menus? Or maybe chains should be forced to install a scale in each of their locations, so we all have to pass a weight test before we're allowed to place our orders? We can't say we'd be too surprised if we find ourselves debating the merits of either one of those plans this time next year. Although any law that could potentially cut down on this terrible phenomenon should probably be encouraged, shouldn't it?
A visitor looking at the painting "Apostle Peter" by El Greco. An art exhibition that explores European history through depictions of its patron saints is set to open in Rome this week. Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 6 Oct 2009 | 11:26 am
Fashion Wire Daily - No serious student of fashion can consider their education to have been complete if they have not attended a runway show by Chanel, whose Spring 2010 collection presented Tuesday, Oct. 6, in Paris was a brilliant tour de force of style, presentation and proof that ecology can be not only politically correct, but cool.
Mischa Barton hailing a cab (or simply stretching her arm?) in the East Village ... Christy Turlingtonpicking up daughter Grace from school ... Famke Janssen riding a bike and walking her dog at the same time ... Kate Gosselin leaving her hotel ... Keri Russellhanging out with her son and husband in Brooklyn ... Matt Damon and Emily Blunt shooting scenes for The Adjustment Bureau ... Kelly Clarkson picking up lunch at a deli downtown ... Sienna Miller walking with a friend in the West Village ... Hugh Jackman playing with his kids outside ... Blake Lively filming scenes for Gossip Girl with Chace Crawford in Central Park ... and Orlando Bloom eating lunch with Miranda Kerr at the Central Park Boathouse.
US comedian Jerry Seinfeld poses at a photocall for "The Marriage Ref" a six-episode reality series at the 25th four-day MIPCOM market in Cannes, France, on October 5. Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 6 Oct 2009 | 10:24 am
Visitors stand by Cannes' Palais des festivals during the 25th four-day MIPCOM. Some 12,000 TV executives trek to the French Riviera this week to eyeball new programmes up for grabs at the MIPCOM market,... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 6 Oct 2009 | 10:24 am
Spanish director Alejandro Amenabar, seen here posing during a photocall of his new film "Agora" in Madrid, said Tuesday he was "a bit nervous" ahead of the world premiere of his latest film, an historical... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 6 Oct 2009 | 10:16 am
A replica of the Nobel meda.This year's Nobel Literature Prize could go to a poet for the first time since 1996, Swedish literary circles say as speculation mounts ahead of Thursday's announcement. Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 6 Oct 2009 | 10:05 am
Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa poses during the presentation of his new book "Sables y Utopias" in September 2009 in Madrid. A Spanish language author has not won the Nobel Prize since 1990, so it... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 6 Oct 2009 | 10:05 am
Many moons ago, word traveled across the Atlantic and directly into my earhole that if there was a single food I was to avoid for the rest of my human eternity, that food should be Tabasco Brand Pepper Sauce. My source went on to say that this famous spicy sauce is made on Avery Island, a small island off the coast of Louisiana which manages to defy all FDA plant checks, resulting in Ratatouille stirring the batches up with a poo spoon. (Allegedly, of course.)
This information, of course, has not stopped hundreds of millions of people from using this red menace on nearly everything they eat, including my own father, who basically brushes his teeth with it. And frankly, we would never have even spread this information if it wasn’t for Tabasco’s latest advertising campaign, which ranks somewhere in between Killer Clowns from Outer Space and Invaders From Mars on my sliding scale of “Things I Will Discuss With My Therapist Once I Am Able to Afford One.”
Why’s that? Oh, no big deal really. It’s just that said ad campaign features A SINGING BARERSHOP QUARTET OF NIGHTMARES STICKING OUT OF PEPPERONI SLICES ON A PIECE OF PIZZA. For this, Tabasco, we will never forgive you.
This commercial might be America’s most divided issue (sorry health care). People either love it or hate it. There is no middle ground when it comes to singing pepperoni faces, is there?
And to put this entire thing into perspective, my aspiring actor friend Mike would like to point out that each one of those pepperoni faces probably made $75,000 for this. Chew on that.
Front Page: Contrite David Letterman scores with viewers -- A record cable audience of 21.84 million tuned in to ESPN's "Monday Night Football" this week to see Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings defeat his old team, the Green Bay Packers.
Jon Gosselin took time off of his “cleansing ladies vaginas” schedule to attend the ceremony of his own milkshake flavor at “Millions Of Milkshakes”. We don’t know what’s in the Jon Gosselin milkshake, but we’re guessing it’s vinegar, water, lychee, milk, rape juice, all topped with a Cadburry flake.
Leave your own Jon Gosselin Milkshake recipes in the comments.
I haven’t been able to sit through a full episode of Entourage since about 2007 (I have a severe allergy to people standing on a balcony and “cheersing”), but it seems Matt Damon did an inspired cameo during Sunday’s finale. This video ran after the credits in place of the “Next week on Entourage” promo, which hopefully means they’re just replacing it with the hilarious spin-off Voicemails From Damon.
[NOTE: Video contains some NSFW language and crying Oscar winners]
*This still does not make up for the last three seasons of Entourage Source: Best Week Ever | 6 Oct 2009 | 9:15 am
Despite all his successes as a screen fixture in the 1980s Mickey Rourke isnt afraid to admit he was a has-been who hit rock bottom in the dark world of addiction and abuse. Source: FOXNews.com | 6 Oct 2009 | 9:12 am
The arrest warrant used to detain filmmaker Roman Polanski in Switzerland was valid, the Swiss Justice Ministry said Tuesday, making clear it will fight the director's appeal against his detention over a 1977 sex case.
Chances are, it’s not only David Letterman whose life has been rocked by his admission late last week to sleeping with his staffers. That’s because his Late Show writers have also been served the greatest challenge of their Letterman-era lives: Make this sex scandal funny. Shouldn’t be too hard, and certainly not uncharted territory. The only difference being, of course, that this is THEIR BOSS we’re talking about, and that all of America will be tuning in to find out how, exactly, Letterman is planning on handling this affair, so to speak. The pressure is on.
And did they deliver? They most certainly did. Last night’s monologue was perhaps one of the funniest we’ve ever heard Letterman deliver. Subtly delivered, clever, self-effacing, humble… it hit all the right notes for a man trying to prove he’s not a, you know, creep. No wonder all those barely legal broads wanted to sleep with the guy.
By the way, the entire episode was brilliant: Steve Martin, hilarious as always, made all the better with a cameo fromMartin Short (who starred in our favorite movie of all time…. Clifford), and Lea Michelle, aka Musical Theater Jones on Glee. Check CBS.com in the coming few days for the entire episode.
Nicole Richie was involved in a minor car accident. Which made us reminisce for the years when people actually cared about what happened to Nicole Richie.
Fashion Wire Daily - Brainy is one good way to describe the fashion created by Stefano Pilati, whose latest collection for Yves Saint Laurent on Monday, Oct. 5, in Paris was an experimental exercise that managed to create fashion of great wit, and probably real influence.
Reuters - Chanel turned its fashion show into a country fete on Tuesday, with singer Lily Allen bopping along to a barnyard band and models in folk dresses frolicking in the hay. Source: Yahoo! News: Fashion News | 6 Oct 2009 | 6:38 am
AP - "A Change in Altitude" (Little, Brown and Company, 320 pages, $26.99), by Anita Shreve: No one is better at gently, but thoroughly probing the interior life of her characters than Anita Shreve.
AP - "An Artist in Treason: The Extraordinary Double Life of General James Wilkinson" (Walker, 392 pages, $27), by Andro Linklater: Born into a Maryland plantation family a bit less grand than George Washington's or Thomas Jefferson's in Virginia, James Wilkinson became a founding stepfather of the American republic.
AP - Sixteen-year-old Jenny learns the ways of the world in the coming-of-age drama "An Education," but there's a revelation in store for us, as well. We get the pleasure of meeting an exciting young actress who surely deserves to become a star.
• Beyoncé understands Kanye was just "standing up for art" when he interrupted Taylor Swift. But still, "it ended up being a great night, and Taylor Swift did get...
Now you would think: Another Family Guy episode focusing on Judaism would have to outdo the first one created (and banned) 9 years ago, right? Well, outdo is one way to put it. But not with “cleverness” or “good writing” or “humor”. Rather, with lazy Jewish stereotypes and old jokes that stopped being funny once Spaceballs came out. Making fun of Jews is A-OK by us — we love a good LOLocaust — but at least make it clever (see: LOLocaust), and not offensive for the sake of lame “shock value”.
Robert Pattinson is finally getting the biographical documentary he deserves.
Seriously, after 23 years of total hotness—yeah, we're even counting the toddler...
The man accused in the weekend slaying of a Real Housewives of Atlanta star will be spending some quality time in a Georgia jail.
Fredrick Richardson is currently being held in Fulton...
Elizabeth Taylor takes a licking but keeps on ticking.
The two-time Oscar winner announced on Twitter today that she's checking into a hospital for a heart procedure. But...
"Nearly one-third of Americans say they are less likely to watch Late Show host David Letterman following the funnyman's admission that he has had affairs with women who work on his CBS show, according to a poll released today." Really? But what will all these people watch on TV instead? 
Not only is NYC's calorie-posting law annoying—who wants to be reminded that the drink they're about to order is not only overpriced but is packed with 400 calories, too?—it doesn't encourage people to eat (or drink) healthier either. Although nine in ten people who saw the calorie counts posted claimed they "made healthier choices as a result," when researchers at NYU and Yale "checked receipts afterward, they found that people had, in fact, ordered slightly more calories than the typical customer had before the labeling law went into effect, in July 2008."
