AP - All four of the guys who lost to Taylor Swift for entertainer of the year at the Country Music Association Awards made a tactical error: They asked the crossover sensation to open for them in their concerts.
AP - All four of the guys who lost to Taylor Swift for entertainer of the year at the Country Music Association Awards made a tactical error: They asked the crossover sensation to open for them in their concerts.
AP - All four of the guys who lost to Taylor Swift for entertainer of the year at the Country Music Association Awards made a tactical error: They asked the crossover sensation to open for them in their concerts.
(Reuters) Reuters - Haute couture has come to the tea cup, with a luxury tea retailer launching collections to complement the colors, scents, trends and tastes of each season. Source: Yahoo! News: Fashion News | 12 Nov 2009 | 12:05 am
Award-winning Chinese director Zhang Yimou has engineered another career shift with his latest movie -- a comedy remake of a Coen brothers thriller with a theme song rapped by the filmmaker Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 12 Nov 2009 | 12:01 am
Award-winning Chinese director Zhang Yimou (pictured in 2006) has engineered another career shift with his latest movie -- a comedy remake of a Coen brothers thriller with a theme song rapped by the filmmaker... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 12 Nov 2009 | 12:01 am
When you're 19 and a whole association tells you they love you, you ought to believe them.
A certain awkward moment Taylor Swift had in 2009 turned into a distant memory when she...
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Britney Spears has a message for the critics who savaged her performance during her first tour of Australia -- it's all for the fans. Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 11 Nov 2009 | 11:17 pm
Can Robert Pattinson's smoldering good looks set off a fire alarm?
Probably not, but could a rabid Twilight fan?
A fire alarm went off Wednesday at The Dorchester hotel in...
Nicole Richie was too sick to attend her own party, but the House of Harlow launch at Bebe in Beverly Hills went on without her.
The fashionista has some kind of flu, but was feeling...
Focked Up:Harvey Keitel has joined the cast of the Little Fockers, the completion of the Meet the Parents trilogy. The film will focus on the Focker children and Keitel will play a contractor employed by Mr. Gaylord Focker himself. How they'll fit in the cursing and blood and guns that Keitel brings with him to every movie, we do not know. [THR]
Aww Nuts: Holding fast to his commitment to no longer direct humans, Robert Zemeckis will helm a computer-generated version of The Nutcracker. The film will be an adaptation of E.T.A. Hoffmann's novel The Nutcracker and the Mouse King rather than the Tchaikovsky ballet. It will focus both on the war between dolls and mice as well as the nutcracker's back story. Like, what happened in his childhood that caused him to want to crack all those nuts. [Cinemablend]
Drug Pedaler:Jason Priestley has optioned the rights to Death of a Freerider a Rolling Stone story about a 22-year-old mountain biker who took up drug smuggling to earn some extra money and ended up dying along the way. Since Priestley is 40 and Hollywood only allows actors within ten years of a character's age to play said character, he's not going to be able to star. [Variety]
Where No Man has Gone Before:Zachary Quinto is close to landing his first post Star Wars role in the romantic comedy Whirligig. Quinto would play a man who tries to woo an older woman and ends up becoming buddies with her son in this Canadian indie. Quinto has been super selective about his next film role and several contingencies must be met before he officially signs on. The first: casting Jennifer Coolidge as the older woman. [Risky Business/THR]
Fahrenheit 2009:Ray Bradbury will make a miniseries out of six of his short stories for White Oak Films. The Bradbury Chronicles will be a six hour event on a yet-to-be-determined network. It's not yet known what Bradbury stories will be used, but it is known that they'll be awesome. [Variety]
On his show last night, Sean Hannity admitted to using video from Glenn Beck's 9/12 rally to illustrate a story on a GOP health care protest that took place last week. Jon Stewart pointed out the "inadvertent mistake," as Hannity called it, on The Daily Show last night. "It pains me to say: Jon Stewart was right," Hannity said last night, before adding that he would have gotten away with it, if it wasn't for that meddling comedian. [Media Decoder/NYT]
Mollee Gray and Nathan Trasoras' devoted fanbase made all the difference this week on So You Think You Can Dance. Had Mollee and Nathan's fans not voted their couple safe during last...
In a move that's pretty much guaranteed to piss off every Guns N' Roses fan who still cares about the band, Slash has re-recorded "Paradise City" with the help of Fergie and Cypress Hill. The song is on a Japan-only two-song single and honestly, given this strange combination, it could sound a whole lot weirder! “Until now, not too many people have heard Fergie sing rock & roll but she sings it better than most dudes I know. She’s a screamer at heart,” Slash tweeted yesterday. Of course, true GNR fans will know that Fergie and Slash have played together before. And it was glorious.
Taylor Swift was already off the stage when it happened, but...
Did Carrie Underwood try to steal some of her thunder at the 43rd Annual CMA Awards?
"How 'bout...
(AP)
AP - Taylor Swift made history at the Country Music Awards, becoming the youngest person to win entertainer of the year and the first solo female to win it in a decade.
NASHVILLE (Reuters) - Teenage singing sensation Taylor Swift claimed a piece of music history on Wednesday when she became the youngest artist ever to win the coveted title of Entertainer... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 11 Nov 2009 | 9:36 pm
Reuters - "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" has stormed into the No. 1 position on the national DVD sales charts. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 11 Nov 2009 | 9:33 pm
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" has stormed into the No. 1 position on the national DVD sales charts. Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 11 Nov 2009 | 9:33 pm
Reuters - Andy Warhol's monumental silkscreen "200 One Dollar Bills" sold for $43.76 million at Sotheby's contemporary art auction on Wednesday, quelling fears that deep-pocketed collectors remain skittish during the weak economy. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 11 Nov 2009 | 9:29 pm
_ Entertainer of the Year: Taylor Swift _ Single: "I Run to You," Lady Antebellum _ Album: "Fearless," Taylor Swift _ Song: "In Color," Jamey Johnson, Lee Thomas Miller, James Otto Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 11 Nov 2009 | 9:20 pm
Stormy Daniels, the porn star challenging lady-loving Louisiana Senator David Vitter, has no chance of winning a seat in the U.S. Senate. But she has a very good chance of being one of the most entertaining political candidates in long while. This interview with Marie Claire shows why:
Q: How much will your résumé be a factor?
A: It's actually starting to work in my favor — I have nothing to hide. A sex tape of me isn't going to pop up and shame me; there are 150 of them at the video store.
Q: Do you think you're more qualified than Senator Vitter?
A: Absolutely not. But in one movie, I did play a Secret Service agent marooned on an island controlled by North Korea. I butt heads with dictator Kim Jong-il and come out on top.
Q: If you're elected, will you quit porn?
A: Probably, but only because of HD...and gravity.
Darius Rucker's transition from adult-contemporary radio mainstay into country music superstar is complete. He was just awarded the best new artist award at the CMA Awards. Maybe now people will finally stop calling him Hootie. [People]
AP - CNN's Lou Dobbs, a lightning rod for criticism following his transition from a business journalist to an opinionated anchor on such issues as illegal immigration, told viewers on Wednesday that he was quitting his nightly show to pursue new opportunities.
Mike Tyson. Now there is someone you want to piss off.
The former boxing champ was arrested Wednesday afternoon at Los Angeles International Airport after allegedly punching a paparazzo...
According to a 15-word post on The Drudge Report, Fox News has landed an interview with President Obama just one day after the White House announced the imminent departure of Anita Dunn, its general in the war against the network. The interview is to take place with Major Garrett next week in China. Except that it's not, says the White House. "We've not committed to doing any presidential interviews during the trip to Asia with any outlets at this point," an official told Politico. If Drudge is to be believed, it would be quite the reversal for the White House, which recently "informed Fox News not to expect to bump knees with the president until 2010." Of course, if Obama was going to bump knees with anyone at Fox, Garrett would be a good choice. He's already had swine flu!
Think the art market is dead? Think again! Andy Warhol's silk-screen painting "200 One Dollar Bills" sold for $43.8 million at Sotheby's today, more than four times its estimated selling price. The seven-and-a-half-foot wide canvas is one of Warhol's earliest works and looks like just what you'd think — 200 one dollar bills.
Warhol’s ‘200 One Dollar Bills’ Fetches $43.8 Million in N.Y. [Bloomberg]
Fox just announced a new reality show called Our Little Genius in which brilliant kids between the ages of six and 12 answer questions to win "life-changing money" for their families. Their parents will decide when it's time to stop answering questions and walk away with the cash. They'll also decide how long to ground their children when they get a question wrong. [Media Decoder/NYT]
Bad news! Con Ed is raising its rates. The utility company has submitted two plans to the state's Public Service Commission to help it close up a $160 million budget shortfall. One plan would raise rates 6.6 percent over three years and the other would shoot them up 9.1 percent over one year. Weird, because we just reading that Con Ed profits are up 85 percent. [NY1]
This evening's episode of Lou Dobbs Tonight was the last, the CNN anchor announced shortly after his program started at 7pm. The outspoken opponent of illegal immigration said he's leaving the network "to pursue new opportunities." What those opportunities are, he does not yet know, or at least he's not saying. But there was this:
"Over the past six months, it has become increasingly clear that strong winds of change have begun buffeting this country and affecting all of us, and some leaders in media, politics and business have been urging me to go beyond the role here at CNN and to engage in constructive problem-solving as well as to contribute positively to a better understanding of the great issues of our day and to continue to do so in the most honest and direct language possible."
He went on to list those issues (job creation, health care, immigration policy, the environment, climate change and the military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan), which he said are defined "by partisanship and ideology rather than by rigorous, empirical forethought, analysis and discussion." And wherever Dobbs finds himself in the future, he hopes to change that.
Adam Lambert and his boyfriend, Drake LaBry, may have recently called it quits, but that doesn't mean the singer is on the market.
"I'm so busy with all this stuff and with...
Lou Dobbs is taking his gripes elsewhere.
The longtime CNN personality announced on the air Wednesday that, not only is he leaving the network, but that it would be his last...
• Lou Dobbs is leaving CNN! Tonight's his last show! Happy Wednesday! [NYT] • Condé Nast magazines have lost a collective 8,359 pages of advertising in 2009, which represents a 31 percent decline from a year earlier. [NYT] • One thing that Hearst has going for it: lots of cash in the bank. [NYP] • Banker-turned-media investor Jimmy Finklestein is reportedly buying the Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Adweek, and a few other Nielsen titles. [Wrap] • Current TV is keeping current with the times and laying off 80 staffers. [LAT] • TV: Joss Whedon's Dollhousehas been canceled by Fox; meanwhile, ABC has decided that Kelsey Grammer comedy series Hankwill exist no longer. • Détente? President Obama has agreed to give Fox News an interview. [HP] • The New Yorker sure has lots of writers and editors! [NYO] • Reality TV is slowly killing us. So says Vanity Fair's James Wolcott. [VF]
Long-time CNN anchor Lou Dobbs has resigned, effective immediately, the network has confirmed to the Times. His last program will be tonight, in its usual 7 p.m. time slot, whereupon we assume we'll find out the reason why he's leaving so abruptly, two years before his contract expires. Worth noting: Dobbs met with Roger Ailes just last month. [Media Decoder/NYT]
When will celebrities learn that if they step foot inside the crappy Upper East Side Italian restaurant Nello's, owner Nello Balan or one of his lackeys will dial up the New York Post six minutes later and make up an entertaining—but completely fictitious—story about them to drum up some press? When will Nello Balan realize that if he continues to sell out his customers, his already-struggling business will soon have to rely exclusively on tourists hoping to catch a glimpse of someone famous? Who knows, but New York's sleaziest restaurateur is at it again. This time the victim was Billy Joel and the Post's Cindy Adams aided and abetted Balan.
Here's Cindy Adams' account from today's Post:
Billy Joel. At Nello's bar. Alone. A week ago Monday night. Wearing jeans and a baseball cap. It might come off to an untrained eye that he maybe would have been there maybe one drink too long. Possibly.
So. This large party, lots of ladies, arrives. In from Ireland for the marathon, they neither saw, recognized, cared nor knew that the Piano Man Himself was a G clef away. However, their lilting accents carried, and he struck up a conversation. They were friendly. They did not know who he was. In fact, in repeating their tale they referred to him as "Jo-ell." They subsequently noted he seemed—and their word passed along to me was—"distraught." Also, he appeared "lonely."
They ordered spaghetti and prawns. He joined their table. He stayed two hours. Didn't leave until they left. He was on red wine. And drowning his sorrows. Telling these strangers he was unhappy, had nobody, his wife was divorcing him which would cost him a lot, and sort of he felt sorry for himself. And on and on.
And on and on! Thank goodness those chatty Irish tourists who didn't even recognize Joel had the presence of mind to get in touch with Adams and recount all, huh? We contacted Joel's publicist for comment; she declined to do so. But needless to say, this appears to be yet another case in which Balan's imagination shifted into overdrive and the Post gobbled up his fairy tale regardless. Of course this sort of thing will continue as long as celebrities insist on eating at Nello's and the Post insists on propping up Balan. In the meantime, here's hoping Balan's financial problems finally catch up to him, a real estate broker gets a lovely new listing on Madison, and Col Allan has to begin paying for his own dinners.
After deliberating slightly more than two hours, a jury Wednesday found a man guilty of capital murder and other charges in the October 2008 death of Arkansas television anchor Anne Pressly, according to CNN affiliate KARK.
The Weinsteins have announced a deal with their old friends at Disney to cross-promote next month's Oscar-contending Nine by writing the movie into upcoming episodes of All My Children, One Life to Live, and General Hospital. Additionally, Nine's "Be Italian" will soundtrack a dance number on next Tuesday's Dancing With the Stars, with contestants wearing outfits from the movie (Donny Osmond has already called dibs on Penélope Cruz's costume at left). [Variety]
One day after getting dumped by ABC, television's leading bad-luck charm got dumped by her boyfriend, How I Met Your Mother's Josh Radnor. We're guessing this news means that we can effectively rule her out as the titular mother of Radnor's hit show. Also, does anyone know if Ian Ziering is still single? [People]
Given the extraordinary anticipation swirling around "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2," the follow-up to the 13 million-unit-selling military shooter game from 2007, living up to the hype might seem like an impossible mission.
Developer Joe Sitt, who spent years accumulating key real estate in Coney Island and battling the city for four years over the right to develop it, has finally sold 6.9 acres of land along the boardwalk to the city. The price was $95.6 million. Last year, he asked the city for $165 million for the full 10.5 acres he owns in the area, so it seems like New York made off decently — though launching a huge development in these times is ambitious to say the least, and the nearly $300-per-square-foot price tag is a good price on the current market, according to the Post. Sitt, for his part, still has plenty of space to build condos or hotels, as he'd hoped. Mayor Bloomberg is expected to announce tomorrow that he hopes to pick an amusement-park operator by the end of the month. Coney Island, which has been sadly bare of late, will rise again! Like a phoenix! Or like a rickety wooden roller coaster that leaves you bleeding but joyful after every plunge!
The conflicts of interest between the New Museum and billionaire mega-collector Dakis Joannou have hit the fan. When it was announced in October that the New Museum would showcase Joannou’s famous collection of contemporary art — which includes stars like Maurizio Cattelan, Jeff Koons, Terrance Koh, and Urs Fischer — that it would occupy three floors of the museum, and that it would be curated by none other than Mr. Koons (who has 40 works in Joannou’s collection), the art world cringed at the insiderness of it all. But people were also deeply intrigued and excited: Everyone has been hearing about this fabled collection for years. It was fervently hoped that the New Museum knew what it was doing getting this deep inside the belly of the market beast.
Museums have always depended on the kindness of collectors and shown their art. No biggie. As long as shows like this are done with transparency, there’s no problem. In this case, many didn’t like the facts as they were displayed. Bloggers, particularly Modern Art Notes’s Tyler Greene, harped on the lack of ethics, saying it was wrong for the New Museum to engage in this sort of exhibition at all. Then what might have seemed like whining turned serious.
An A1 New York Times story today dissecting the whole business cited a belief among critics that the museum now maintains “a dizzyingly insular circle of art world insiders.” In this case, the circle looks something like this: Joannou, a New Museum trustee, is friendly with Lisa Phillips, the museum’s director. Her curator, Massimiliano Gioni, has worked previously with Joannou, and he oversaw the current three-floor Urs Fischer show. Urs Fischer has curated shows for Joannou; Joannou also owns a good deal of Fischer’s work. Fischer’s art dealer is Gavin Brown, who also represents Elizabeth Peyton, Jeremy Deller, and Steven Shearer, all four of whom have had solo shows at the New Museum since it re-opened less than two years ago. I like that the art world isn’t regulated. I have seen Joannou’s collection and it is incredible. Still, when you add in Koons as the curator here the whole thing just breaks down. If only the museum would have either curated the collection itself or gotten someone else to do it ... (Right now at the UCLA Hammer Museum, artist Robert Gober has organized a show of visionary painter Charles Burchfield which is fantastic and totally untainted.)
It is a joke, by the way, to think that Joannou’s collection will increase in value after being shown here. If anything, using three floors of the New Museum will overexpose the art and decrease its value.
I love that we have an institution that is essentially saying, “Damn the rules. Other museums aren’t putting enough great contemporary art on view, so we’ll do it any way we can!” This important institution has grown with the times. It is thankfully not the New Museum of old. This is as it should be. I sorely want to defend the New Museum for making such a brazen move. Unfortunately, the museum may have outsmarted itself, and in an effort to eclipse other local institutions and fill a hole, it acted with hubris, leaving itself open to bitter complaints of dodgy, decadent soul-selling. I trust the New Museum. Sadly, it may now have a problem with its credibility. Earlier this year Phillips told Green, “In Dakis’ case ... challenge and experimentation have been part of his approach, which is similar to ours.” Regrettably, the art world now thinks that the “experimentation” the New Museum is engaging in is somewhat mad, and that the institution has been badly compromised. I hope this is untrue.
Blake Lively is so pretty and wonderful! Her flawless "I don't work out" figure, her creamy smooth skin, her radiant smile. She is the same species of human as Heidi Klum — somehow they're always photographed looking perfect. But perhaps the most wonderful thing about Blake Lively is her hair, which hairstylists across the city agree is the new "Rachel." Everyone wants her "extra long, ultra-shiny blond with a mussed-up tussle frolicking through the ends," according to the Times.
“It’s aspirational hair,” said John Barrett, whose salon sits atop Bergdorf Goodman in Midtown Manhattan.
Clients, Mr. Barrett said, “don’t just want the hair, they want the life.”
The ever-gracious Blake is relatively modest about what "the life" is like.
“I didn’t really realize the extent of it,” Ms. Lively said of her hair’s popularity, though she had an inkling: fashion forerunners like Vogue staffers routinely approach her at events and fixate on her hair, she said.
And we thought Vogue staffers only ran around petting the furs on their own backs!
Jennifer Johnson, who styles Blake's hair for Gossip Girl, said all she does is frequently apply a conditioning masque and let Blake's hair "dry in a simple chignon." Except there is no way that is all that goes into it. We've seen the show — there is definitely product in there, and probably some curling iron action, too.
If you want Blake Lively's signature Gossip Girl style, you can buy it. Bumble and bumble. can style you wavy for $35. Or you can go to John Bartlett's salon, where he'll add removable extensions for $1,200 to $1,500 per piece, give you a cut for $500, and provide you with other various conditioning treatments and heat styling for around $1,200 a month. But what no one expressly tells the Times is, if you don't have the genes for naturally wavy hair, getting the look will not be easy. If you don't have $2,000 to $3,000 a month to spend on hair styling, you could always try not showering or brushing for a few days. Bedhead is better than dated straight hair (like what Olivia Palermo had on The City last night — we hope we're not the only ones who remember that).
Over at his official-ish website, frequent cancellation victim Joss Whedon has spoken out on Fox's axing of Dollhouse this afternoon:
I don't have a lot to say. I'm extremely proud of the people I've worked with: my star, my staff, my cast, my crew. I feel the show is getting better pretty much every week, and I think you'll agree in the coming months. I'm grateful that we got to put it on, and then come back and put it on again.
I'm off to pursue internet ventures/binge drinking. Possibly that relaxation thing I've read so much about. By the time the last episode airs, you'll know what my next project is. But for now there's a lot of work still to be done, and disappointment to bear.
Thank you all for your support, your patience, your excellent adverts. See you again. -j.
So it sounds as though we might finally get a Dr. Horrible sequel? And another small bit of good news: According to the Hollywood Reporter, Fox is still reportedly planning on shooting and airing all thirteen episodes of Dollhouse's second season (they're currently in the middle of shooting the eleventh now) with the finale tentatively scheduled for January 22. Even so — sad emoticon!
We admit it. Like many of his peers and colleagues, we feel a small amount of professional jealousy toward Times wunderkind Andrew Ross Sorkin, especially after reading this week's profile of him in New York, which reveals that the preternaturally ambitious, 32-year-old DealBook editor has an insane work ethic in addition to a powerful, high-profile job and a bestselling book. Ever since we read it we've been thinking to ourselves: How can we be more Sorkin-like? Or at least, how can we write a book that will become a bestseller like his? No, that will sell better than his? Something Sorkin-y in scope but that retains Daily Intel's particular joie de vivre. And then it came to us: Too Big to Fail and Zombies! We haven't sold it yet, but we're sure it's a winner. Here's an excerpt, from our soon-to-be-bestselling work of finance fiction.
This scene takes place in early September. Then-Treasury secretary Henry "Hank" Paulson and then–New York Federal Reserve president Tim Geithner have called the CEOs of the top Wall Street firms to a meeting at 33 Liberty Street, the New York Federal Reserve Building, to discuss the plague that has infected Lehman Brothers and its CEO, Richard "Dick" Fuld.
If there had been any question about the subject of the gathering, it was readily apparent before Paulson ever said a word. Conspicuous by his absence was the longest member of their tribe, Dick Fuld.
"Dick is in no condition to make any decisions," Paulson announced, with a tinge of derision, explaining why Fuld wasn't present. "He is in denial," Paulson continued, before calling him "distant" and "dysfunctional." The bankers knew what those euphemisms meant: Fuld had succumbed to the plague. His gorging on mortgage-backed securities had turned him into an empty shell, and if the people in this room couldn't find a way to save him, Fuld would no longer be a master of the universe. He wouldn't even be human. Just an undead sack of blood and guts, staggering around, like the rest of the hordes that had lately crowded the streets, wailing and hungry.
It was Geithner's turn to speak. He looked hard at the group. "If you don't find a solution, it's only going to make the situation worse for everybody here." The problem was evident: Lehman had barely any cash. If there was no solution by Monday, the risk was that investors would demand what little money was left and drive the firm out of business by the opening bell. That, in turn, would put the financial system as a whole at risk.
The plague would spread.
Lloyd Blankfein and Jamie Dimon countered that they believed the risk inherent in a Lehman bankruptcy was being overstated, at least from their respective firms' points of view.
Geithner took their opinions in without responding, and instructed the bankers to break up into two working groups. The first group would assess how to carve up Lehman's barely sentient corpse, so that other banks could save themselves by feasting on the remains. The second would determine whether there was any way Lehman could be saved by some kind of bank-to-bank transfusion.
In case there was any confusion, Geithner reiterated Paulson's decree: "There is no political will for a federal bailout." As he spoke those words, a subway train passed underneath the room, rumbling ominously as if to underscore his point.
SEC chairman Christopher Cox, as impeccably dressed and coiffed as ever, made a brief statement, telling everyone in the room they were "great Americans" and impressing upon them "the patriotic duty they were undertaking."
Most of the bankers rolled their eyes at the sentiment; they regarded Cox as a lightweight and would later describe him as "cryogenically frozen."
In fact, he was.
Then, Vikram Pandit of Citigroup spoke.
"I assume we are going to talk about AIG?" he asked. The room grew quiet.
Geithner shot him a harsh look. "Let's focus on Lehman," he said firmly.
"You can't deal with Lehman in isolation," Pandit persisted. "We can't find ourselves back here next weekend."
Dimon jumped in. "We're there at AIG. Our team is there," he said, explaining that JPMorgan was advising the insurer, and that they were working to find a solution.
"You know, Jamie," Pandit replied brusquely, "we've got a team there, and I don't think it's as under control as you think." He recounted the horrors employees had told him of. The desiccated bodies piled in the lobby. The screams rattling the windows. The dark liquids gushing under the doors and the wails that could be heard coming from the building late at night.
Geithner insisted that the Fed had AIG under control and again attempted to move the conversation along. But Pandit pressed on.
"What about Merrill?" he asked.
It made for an awkward moment, as Merrill CEO John Thain was only seats away. He was likely the next to get the plague, the executives well knew, as his firm was full of the deathless monsters. He had remained notably silent during the exchanges.
"You guys get this done for me, and I'll make sure I can take care of AIG and Merrill," Paulson replied. "I'm a little uncomfortable talking about Merrill with John right in the room." He glanced uneasily at Thain, whose face, everyone suddenly became aware, had taken on a deathly pallor. "John," said Paulson hesitantly. "Have you been bitten?"
It was then that Thain let out a gutteral animal howl. Half-rising from his chair, he lunged toward Pandit. "BRAINS!" he moaned.
"Holy shit!" exclaimed Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack, who was sitting in between the men. He rolled his chair out of the way.
Geithner ran out of the room, screaming like a little girl.
Pandit was struggling, his arms over his head. "No, no!" he shrieked. The group watched, dumbstruck, as Thain sank his large, square jaw over Pandit's head and then pulled back, his mouth full of gore. Blood spattered onto the wall of the conference room of the building Margaret Law, a critic for Architecture magazine, had once described as "epic." Pandit jumped up, holding the side of his head, and ran to cower in a corner, his shrill screams echoing through the limestone corridors.
"Is that his brain? Is that his fucking brain?" Mack said. His normally melodious, Southern-tinged voice seemed higher by several octaves.
"I think it's just his ear," Paulson said. The Treasury Secretary was trying to keep his cool, and was rummaging through the silverware drawer in the newly renovated room's china cabinet. "The sharpest thing in here is a butter knife," he muttered. Holding it high, he advanced toward Thain, who was still focused hungrily on Pandit. As Thain lunged in for another attack on Pandit, Paulson brought the butter knife down into his eye and ground it in sharply.
Thain issued a terrible roar, and then, to everyone's surprise, grabbed Paulson's arm and twisted him to the floor, pulling Paulson's arm straight out of its socket in the process. Paulson lay on the floor, howling in pain. Thain looked down at him, the gore from his demolished eye socket dripping onto Paulson's glasses, and took a step forward.
"God save us," Paulson said. Behind him, Lloyd Blankfein responded to his call. Jumping up onto the table, he harnessed all the power in his tiny body to hurl himself onto Thain's back, gripping him around the waist with both legs and fastening his arms around his neck. Lying on the floor, Paulson blinked through the blood on his glasses and registered that the Goldman CEO, despite being a nattier dresser than he had been in his early years, still wore tube socks. Above him, the zombified Merrill Lynch CEO yowled in displeasure as he batted at the Goldman honcho, who tried to keep his hold by gripping Thain's lush head of hair. This, alas, was a terrible misjudgment: Thain wore a wig, a fact Blankfein might have known had he not been an upstanding individual who scrupulously avoided rumormongering and all types of gossip. Losing his grip, Blankfein was thrown to the floor into the pool of blackish purple plasma that was rapidly gathering near Paulson's severed arm. Thain, now hairless and more frightening than ever, leaned over the both of them, licking his lips. His eyes were empty, they noticed. Emptier even than usual. (After all, this was the man known on the Street as "I-Robot.")
Sensing the end was near, Blankfein attempted one last quip: "Think you've got to get a waiver to be this close to me?" he said to Paulson. The Treasury Secretary smiled wanly.
Then, suddenly, Thain's head above them was gone, replaced by the grinning, golden face of Jamie Dimon. In his hand was a massive gold bar. Blankfein looked to the right, where Thain's body lay beside him, his head was crushed like a grape and dripping with brain matter. Blankfein watched as he exhaled one last time, then fell silent.
The JPMorgan CEO extended a hand each to Blankfein and Paulson. "Can you call a doctor for Hank?" he asked John Mack, who was still sitting in his chair, stunned.
"No, I don't need one," said Paulson. "I'm a Christian Scientist."
"You can call one for ME," Vikram Pandit bleated from the corner, where he had been holding his ear and whimpering.
"Where did you get that gold bar?" Blankfein managed to ask Dimon.
"I've been taking one everywhere lately," Dimon answered seriously. "In this economy, you can't be too careful."
The Academy today released the list of twenty submitted films expected to be considered for this year's Best Animated Feature award, indicating that March's 82nd Oscars will be just the second to feature five nominees in the nine-year-old category (rules mandate that, to have five slots, sixteen eligible animated films must be submitted). Yup, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel is totally going for it.
Here's the list:
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
Astro Boy
Battle for Terra
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Coraline
Disney’s A Christmas Carol
The Dolphin: Story of a Dreamer
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Mary and Max
The Missing Lynx
Monsters vs. Aliens
9
Planet 51
Ponyo
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure
A Town Called Panic
Up
If you put us on the spot, we'd wager actual nominees will include Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Coraline, The Princess and the Frog, and Ponyo, all of which will definitely lose to Pixar's Up. But thanks for playing, everybody!
Anthony Weiner is finally admitting that he'd probably be New York City's mayor-elect right now if he hadn't made the decision last spring to remain on the sidelines. Not that he has any regrets, of course. Had he elected to run, he would have totally neglected his responsibilities in Washington and then he wouldn't have been able to play such a central role in passing health care legislation. Obviously! Weiner also says that if he'd jumped into the race, Mayor Bloomberg would have been forced to spend $150 million on his campaign (instead of the $90 million he spent going up against Bill Thompson), since Bloomberg's advisers "were afraid" of him. So Weiner saved the mayor $60 million? Sounds like someone deserves a gift, Mr. Mayor. [NYT]
This week, Zac Posen eliminated the position of vice-president of communications. Posen's mom, Susan, and longtime employee Alexandra Smith are handling public relations for the house. However, an "insider" tells the Daily News that more layoffs are expected. The paper reports that "major layoffs" are expected at Gucci as well. [NYDN]
According to a new survey, the average man only buys new underwear when he's about to start a new relationship. "Men only take responsibility for buying their own underwear for about 17 years of their lives. The rest of the time it falls to their mothers, and later to their wives or girlfriends," reported researchers. If you've ever wondered why men's underwear is marketed with beefcake photos of David Beckham, now you have your answer. And if come home one day and notice that your husband or boyfriend has just stocked up on a new supply of boxer briefs, yes, it means he's cheating on you. [Telegraph, NYDN]
HAIR
• David Roemer shot Chanel Iman for the latest cover of Deutsch magazine. For the spread inside, hairstylist Fernando Torrent put her in a blonde wig. [Design Scene]
• Frédéric Fekkai introduced Fekkai Sensuelle this holiday season, a limited-edition collection of shampoo, conditioner, hair spray, and perfume that contains a special scent crafted by the perfumers from Grasse. [Beauty Counter/Style.com]
FRAGRANCE
• Scarlett Johansson finds a way to look and sound sexy while sitting in a kitchen talking about beauty for Dolce & Gabbana's latest L’eau the One fragrance commercial. Because women belong in the kitchen or because we're supposed to be able to stand the heat? [Sassybella]
SKIN
• Sammy Sosa's skin has become significantly lighter, and therefore controversial. His response: "I use a cream to keep my skin smooth and soft. I apply it before I go to bed. When I was playing for Chicago all those years, I was in the sun a lot for 1 o'clock games. The flashes (from the cameras) also made my skin look lighter." [NYDN]
• If your face feels gross and itchy from the winter, Ahava's $28 Intensive Hydration Mask cream might help you. [Teen Vogue]
Though Madonna is no longer the face of Louis Vuitton, the label hasn't formally confirmedLara Stone for the spring 2010 ad campaigns. However, last night at Vuitton's 2010 cruise collection launch, intrepid party reporter Tina Peng prodded Daniel Lalonde, the label's president and CEO, for more information. Their exchange:
Madonna's not doing your campaign anymore — can you tell us a little about that decision?
Well, as you know, Madonna worked with us for two campaigns. We have a tendency to always change the person responsible, the ambassador for each campaign. So it's a very natural, organic thing for us.
And can you tell us why you decided on Lara Stone?
I think she's very fresh and someone who embodies a lot of the values of the brand, and a lot of talent and a lot of beauty. I think it makes a lot of sense for the fashion part of our campaign, in addition to working on another part, which is the core values part of our campaign, with the astronaut, Sean Connery, that whole side. I think it balances really the duality of Louis Vuitton, being based in travel and fashion at the same time.
So it sounds like Lara for Vuitton for spring is pretty much a done deal.
Goldman Sachs is on track to turn in its most profitable year ever, and the bank's near collapse last fall—along with the financial system as a whole—is quickly becoming a distant memory for Goldman chief Lloyd Blankfein. So why is he giving less money to charity than he did before the downturn?
In 2007, back before the financial crisis battered Goldman, the Lloyd & Laura Blankfein Foundation handed out $1.58 million to some 50 non-profit organizations. For the most recent fiscal year ended January 31, 2009, the Blankfeins gave out $950,000, a nearly 40 percent decline.
Blankfein clearly has a ways to go if he expects to keep up with his peers on Wall Street. Although it's been Blankfein on the hot seat the last few months—and he probably stands to benefit the most by portraying himself as a big giver—JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon gave away far more money last year as part of his personal foundation. Compare and contrast below.
"Don't ask, don't tell," the policy against gays serving openly in the military, will likely be part of the Department of Defense authorization in Congress next year, says Barney Frank. "Military issues are always done as part of the overall authorization bill," he told The Advocate. "'Don’t ask, don’t tell' was always going to be part of the military authorization." Frank also let slip that General Gates's change in verbiage earlier this year from "if we repeal DADT" to "when we repeal DADT" happened after a firm phone call from White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel. [Advocate via Politico]
AP - Cataclysmic disaster and apocalyptic doom, as foretold by Hollywood, have a way of bringing together broken families, revealing the unseen heroism of deadbeat dads and neatly disposing of their rivals.
Michelle Obama wore an aqua dress and coat for the wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns on Veterans Day at Arlington National Cemetery today. She paired the outfit with tall, black, flat boots. Update: Later, Michelle changed into a jacket she's previously worn by Maria Cornejo, plus gray pants, to speak at George Washington University. See the full looks in the Michelle Obama Look Book.
Ambie Stapleton works for Rick Owens, and very much looks the part. She's decked out almost head-to-toe in the designer: "The only things that I have on that aren't Rick Owens is my scarf, my sneakers, and my tights ... and my iPhone." But she has her roots in a simpler place (sartorially) — Texas. "I admire people in Texas. They keep it simple. It's like workwear, Americana, simple. I like that too." Find out what her other influences are by watching the video.
Singer opens up about his new band (Madonna's guitarist!) and his
album's Radiohead moment
In our new
issue, Adam Lambert tells Rolling Stone how whiskey
and David Bowie influenced his debut album, For Your
Entertainment. American Idol's first real rock star
also opened up about working with Muse and writing one of the
record's most tender ballads. Here's more from Jenny Eliscu's
conversation with the man RS dubbed a
glam-rock sex god during his fantastic Idol run:
Tell me about the process of making this
record.
We did some recording on tour,...
Disgraced ex-Times reporter Jayson Blair isn't the only unlikely figure giving ethics seminars these days. Former governor Eliot Spitzer is scheduled to speak at Harvard's Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics tomorrow. Not quite as surprising: Tickets are still available. [NYDN]
Marc Jacobs spoke to the London Times about why Louis Vuitton is doing so well in the recession. Well, magic, obviously. Demystifying the brand's power wasn't easy for Jacobs. He tells the paper:
It took me years to work out what was so special about Vuitton. But when you go to the workshops outside Paris and see how everything is crafted, it is pretty impressive. Added to that, it’s easily identifiable and I guess human instinct is to want to be part of an exclusive club that’s also highly recognisable.
But magic only works on a certain person — an "almost crazy" cult-following person.
In terms of what’s selling at Louis Vuitton, the recession hasn’t changed anything. I’ve cut back, because my partner Lorenzo and I are buying a house in the West Village in New York. And obviously there are a lot of people suffering out there, but our sales are up and I haven’t noticed that people’s tastes have got more subdued. They may be buying less, but if anything, they want it to be even more special. There’s this huge cult following of almost crazy people at Vuitton who just want whatever they buy to be exclusive. The charity angle also means that people feel more comfortable about spending openly.
He forgot one thing: "almost crazy" rich people want their four-figure bags to be exclusive. But exclusive to the cult, because many of these people carry around the same bags.
EVENTS TODAY
• Topshop hosts a holiday style event, complete with Champagne, hors d'oeuvre, a D.J., and Topshop style advisers (including assistance from New York fashion director Harriet Mays Powell). Merchandise will be 20 percent off during the event. RSVP here. Topshop, 478 Broadway, nr. Broome St. (212-966-9455); 6:30–9:30.
TOMORROW
• Meet The City's Olivia Palermo, Elle creative director Joe Zee, and Ports 1961 creative director Tia Cibani as they present the Ports 1961 pre-spring collection. Bloomingdale's, 1000 Third Ave., at 59th St., fourth fl. (212-705-2000); 6–8.
• Helianthus hosts a shopping party at its West Village location, including Champagne, food, goody bags, and deals. During the event, buy one item and get a second one for 50 percent off. Each customer will also be entered in a raffle to win a gift certificate to the store. 552 La Guardia Pl., nr. W. 3rd St. (212-677-6888); 6–9.
• Check out Lab Series Skincare for Men's new pop-up shop. Receive a complimentary skin-care consultation, preview new products, and enjoy grooming services, nail buffing, and shoe shines. Through 11/14. 43 E. 42nd St., nr. Madison Ave.; daily (7–7).
• Attend the opening reception for photographer Corey Arnold's exhibition, Fish Work, at Dunderdon. Mulled wine, hot apple cider, and other fall treats will be served, and all fall/winter 2009 merchandise will be 10 percent off. RSVP to press@pressofficenyc.com. 25 Howard St., at Crosby St. (212-226-4040); 5–8.
• Celebrate the opening of new fashion, art, and furniture boutique Trunk in Dumbo and view new works by local artists and designers. 68 Jay St., nr. Front St., Ste. 101, Dumbo, Brooklyn (718-522-6488); 6–10.
• See the work of more than 60 artists at Kidrobot's Munnyworld Custom Toy Show, featuring five winners from the Munnyworld Custom Contest. The collectible vinyl figures will be available for purchase at the event. Eloquent Delinquents Gallery, 41 Wooster St., nr. Broome St.; Th (8–10), F–Su (noon–7).
• New shoe boutique NOS teams up with Mackage to host a fashion show and shopping event. Receive 15 percent off all Mackage fall/winter outerwear and 10 percent off all shoes and accessories. RSVP to RSVP@nosboutique.com. 68 Jay St., nr. Front St. (718-422-0095); cocktails, 6:30–9, Mackage fashion show, 7:30.
SALES STARTING TOMORROW
• Find deals on boots, bags, scarves, wallets, and tees at the Salvor Projects 2009 studio sale. Through 11/14. 120 W. 28th St., nr. Sixth Ave., Ste. 4K (646-241-4823); noon–7.
• Shoes start at $100 at the (formerly secret) Manolo Blahnik sample sale. The sale is open to V.I.P. customers and press only in the morning and extends to the public in the afternoon. Through 11/12. The Warwick New York, 65 W. 54th St., nr. Sixth Ave. (212-247-2700); open until 4 p.m.
• Bathing suits start at $30 and men's button-down shirts start at $50 at the Kathleen Cook and Orlando Carreras sample sale. Through 11/13. 147 W. 35th St., nr. Sixth Ave., Ste. 1003; Th (10–8), F (10–7).
• Merchandise from Martin Margiela, DSquared, and Viktor & Rolf is discounted at the Staff USA sample sale. Through 11/13. 220 W. 19th St., nr. Seventh Ave., eleventh fl.; Th–F (10–7).
• Receive up to 65 percent off handbags and womenswear at the Bulga and Sarah Pacini sample sale. Through 11/14. 42 Greene St., nr. Grand St., second fl.; Th–F (10–8), S (10–7).
ENDING TOMORROW
• Boots and shoes are $80 to $150 (originally $250 to $650) at the Butter, Tibi, and Something Bleu footwear sale. 307 Seventh Ave., nr. 27th St., Ste. 2307 (212-366-1822); M–Th (10–7).
• Silk dresses are $120 (originally $372), bombers are $140 (originally $350), and skirts are $90 (originally $310) at the Lauren Moffatt sample sale. 214 W. 29th St., nr. Eighth Ave., Ste. 1503 (212-465-0839); T–Th (9–7).
• Cashmere V-necks, crewnecks, and turtlenecks are $85 (originally $220), cashmere tees are $50 (originally $125), and cashmere scarves are $80 (originally $175) at the White + Warren sample sale. 80 W. 40th St., nr. Fifth Ave., third fl.; T–W (8–7), Th (8–3).
• Merchandise is up to 70 percent off at the Susana Monaco fall sample sale. 263 W. 38th St., nr. Eighth Ave., fifteenth fl.; W–Th (9–7).
• Womenswear, swimwear, and denim are up to 75 percent off at the Shoshanna and Anlo fall sample sale. Spring dresses are $150 (originally $350), tops are $100 (originally $250), and jeans are $75 (originally $200). Shoshanna Showroom, 23 W. 39th St., nr. Seventh Ave., Ste. 422 (212-719-3601); W (10–6:30), Th (10–5:30).
Angelina Jolie has picked the latest far-flung country from which she plans to pluck another child. And the winner is Syria! According to OK!, which first broke the news of Jolie's latest acquisition, Brad Pitt has decided to sit this one out, since he thinks six kids is plenty. But the people of Syria sure are thrilled!
According to the Arab news channel Al Arabiya, Jolie's decision to adopt a Syrian baby may very well change how American view the Middle Eastern nation from now on: "After making it on America's infamous 'axis of evil,' Syria will now become synonymous with Angelina Jolie's brood."
And as for Jolie's decision to move ahead despite Pitt's objections, Al Arabiya offered up this theory: "Maybe Jolie is insisting because she seemed to have fallen in love with the Syrian people on her trip to the historical country." Maybe! But who cares about the specifics, really? The biggest party Damascus has ever seen is going down tonight. (Just be sure steer clear of the ceremonial gunfire.)
Anne Heche taking a walk with her nine-month-old son Atlas ... Kate Winsletpicking her kids up from school ... Michael Douglas and Shia LaBeouf walking on the set of Wall Street 2 in Battery Park ... Rihanna arriving at JFK before catching a flight to Europe ... David Duchovny walking down Third Avenue this morning in sunglasses and sweatpants ... Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes walking on the set of The Romantics on Long Island ... Hugh Jackman picking up daughter Ava from school ... Anna Paquin walking on the gym on Long Island ... Emily Blunt filming scenes for The Adjustment Bureau ... Sienna Miller walking her dog downtown ... and Gerard Butler standing next to his bike downtown.
All that unbridled sexual energy at the Standard has a downside, it seems. A guest staying at the hotel was arrested on Saturday after he forced himself on a maid and has since been charged with attempted rape, sexual abuse and unlawful imprisonment. Needless to say, when the hotel was informing guests that the Standard was "all about sex all the time" and "you're our star," this wasn't quite what they had in mind. [NYP]
AP - "Women In Trouble" follows a day in the life of 10 different females, united by their uncanny ability to look fabulous in their underwear while in the throes of emotional crisis. Imagine Russ Meyer directing a Lifetime movie and you get an inkling of the film's high camp, though that still might not prepare you for a full 90-minute session with writer-director Sebastian Gutierrez's Victoria's Secret School of Philosophy.
A 89-year-old survivor of an Austrian WWII Nazi concentration camp shows his internee number tattooed onto his arm in May 2009. With the number of those who lived through the Holocaust fast dwindling,... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 11 Nov 2009 | 10:04 am
A survivor ofan Austrian WWII Nazi concentration camp at Ebensee tells his story to a group of pupils in May 2009. With the number of those who lived through the Holocaust fast dwindling, researchers scoured... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 11 Nov 2009 | 10:04 am
AP - Sex, booze and poetry in the Restoration-era 17th century might have been almost as heady as the 1960s combination of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll.
Reuters - Luella Bartley, the young British designer whose quirky yet feminine designs have adorned model Kate Moss and singer Lily Allen, has become the latest fashion casualty of the recession. Source: Yahoo! News: Fashion News | 11 Nov 2009 | 8:00 am
Some reviewers have called "Saving Private Ryan," Steven Spielberg's World War II film about D-Day and the search for a soldier, one of the greatest war movies.
When you're 19 and a whole association tells you they love you, you ought to believe them.
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Taylor Swift was already off the stage when it happened, but...
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"How 'bout...
Mike Tyson. Now there is someone you want to piss off.
The former boxing champ was arrested Wednesday afternoon at Los Angeles International Airport after allegedly punching a paparazzo...
Adam Lambert and his boyfriend, Drake LaBry, may have recently called it quits, but that doesn't mean the singer is on the market.
"I'm so busy with all this stuff and with...
Lou Dobbs is taking his gripes elsewhere.
The longtime CNN personality announced on the air Wednesday that, not only is he leaving the network, but that it would be his last...
When will celebrities learn that if they step foot inside the crappy Upper East Side Italian restaurant Nello's, owner 
