First 1,000 VIP Members at HIPHOPHOF.COM December Launch Get Free Gifts & Ticket to 'Unveiling Party' During Hip Hop HOF Awards TV Week in March '10 NEW YORK, Nov. 24... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 24 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am
Reuters - Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer have been given the keys to "Uncharted: Drake Fortune." Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 24 Nov 2009 | 1:58 am
Reuters - Regis Philbin will be taking a leave of absence from his long-running ABC daytime talk show to undergo a hip replacement surgery. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 24 Nov 2009 | 1:57 am
AP - Mya is poised to take the "Dancing With the Stars" title after finishing three points away from perfect during the final night of competition Monday.
AP - Julie Walters and Ben Whishaw took the top acting awards as British TV productions won five International Emmys on a night that saw Brazil get its first ever for a Bollywood-style telenovela.
"Ninja Assassin" _ When considering the meager merits of this blood-splattered bone-snapper, it's best to remember the words of John Goodman's PC-challenged character in "The Big Lebowski": Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 24 Nov 2009 | 12:12 am
Reuters - A popular conservative newspaper critical of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been closed down for carrying a photograph of a temple of the banned Baha'i faith, media reported on Tuesday. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 24 Nov 2009 | 12:01 am
Brazilian actress Juliana Paes at the International Emmy Awards in New York. Britain has scooped five of the prizes, including for best performances, while Brazil joined the television elite for the first... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 23 Nov 2009 | 11:35 pm
Britain walked away with five International Emmy Awards on Monday, including for best performances, while Brazil joined the television elite for the first time at a gala ceremony in New... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 23 Nov 2009 | 11:35 pm
"Singularly distasteful."
The Parents Television Council on Adam Lambert's American Music Awards leash demonstration? Close. The Sept. 16, 1956, New York Times on Elvis...
NEW YORK - TV Guide Channel says it will air a special program starring Scottish singing sensation Susan Boyle next month. The one-hour documentary, "I Dreamed a Dream: The Susan Boyle... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 23 Nov 2009 | 11:35 pm
The Robotic Stallion: Early last month we heard that Hugh Jackman was in talks to star in a mind-blowingRocky-esque movie about boxing robots. Now it's official. Shawn Levy will direct Real Steel, which is based on a Richard Matheson short story, for DreamWorks. It focuses on a boxer who has to figure out how to remain relevant when robot boxers replace humans. So he becomes a trainer and works with a scrap-heap of a robot who can't seem to lose. Along the way he discovers an 11-year-old son (who's human) and they bond as the roboxer works his way to the top. At some point the robot will likely chase a chicken. [Variety]
RAAAAAAAANDY: Judd Apatow and Universal Pictures have picked up three comedy pitches from Aziz Ansari and fellow Human Giant alum Jason Woliner. Ansari is slated to star in all three, and Woliner will direct. The projects are: Let's Do This, a road movie about two employees for a motivational speaking company; an untitled film about a shamed astronaut who must return to space to regain respect; and another untitled project about "RAAAAAAAANDY" of Funny People fame. “We didn’t expect all three to work,” said Ansari. “We had a breakfast meeting with Judd and pitched them. We were like, ‘Which one do you like?’ He wanted all three.” For some people, it's that easy. [Variety]
In the Cards: USA has given the greenlight to a sixth season of Psych, set to air in 2010-11, which will make it that network's longest-running show still in production. This news came as no surprise to star James Roday, who knew it would happen all along. [Variety]
Thor Gets a Kat: Kat Dennings is the latest to join the cast of Thor. Marvel isn't saying who Dennings will play but the gentlemen at Slashfilm looked into it, and their educated guess says Marcy Lewis, the smirky intern for a scientist. Dennings has smirky down. [THR]
Horsing Around: Katherine Brooks has signed on to direct Freak for Gravity Films. The story is based on the life of Julie Krone, the first female jockey to win a Triple Crown race and the first female jockey inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of fame. Brooks previously directed The Osbournes but she decided working with animals would be a make for a less stressful career. [Variety]
That was the debate on the final day of former New York State Senate leader Joe Bruno's corruption trial yesterday. Prosecutors portrayed Bruno as a tough-guy who used his position in the State Senate to benefit the clients he kept as a part-time lawyer. Prosecutors also said he took steps to hide the conflicts between his private business activities and his public duties. Then William Pericak, one of two U.S. attorneys prosecuting the case, started talking about Bruno and calling him "Tiny," for some reason:
“Some people give their lunch money to Tiny. Some people fight for it. Some people run away. He’s the weight of Albany. That’s what he’s there for," Pericak said.
The defense told a different story, about a man who worked hard as a part-time legislator and followed the rules as best as he understood them. But their version of Bruno was also named "Tiny":
"Tiny was in the playground,” Lowell said. “But Tiny wasn’t alone. The principal was there. The teachers were there. The hall monitor was there. The school superintendent was there.”
At this point in his career, Ben Stiller is kind of an enigma. Just when you think all he's got left are Night at the Museums and Heartbreak Kids, he turns in a badass performance in Tropic Thunder. Now he's teaming up with Noah Baumbach in Greenberg and flipping the script once again with an indie flick about a middle-aged guy trying to find himself (yeah, another one). As the trailer shows, Stiller plays an aging Gen-Xer who still hasn't given up on that whole slacker thing. (Though he's building a dog house, which, to be fair, seems pretty difficult.) And Mumblecore vet Greta Gerwig (love interest), Rhys Ifans (buddy) and LCD Soundsystem (soundtrack) help Greenberg deal with his choice to "do nothing" in life. It's been a while since Stiller has tried his hand at semi-drama (The Royal Tenenbaums is probably the last to qualify) and he certainly doesn't look lost here. But don't look for him to take a full dramatic turn just yet; his next movie will complete the Meet the Parents trilogy.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Television veteran David Frost received an honorary International Emmy on Monday at the annual awards for TV produced outside the United States, with five of the prizes Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 23 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm
Unlike us, some people were willing to shell out $19.99 to examine Levi Johnston's naked body and US has collected their reviews. Experts include a Chippendales dancer, the general manger of Scores and the editor-in- chief of The Advocate, among others. Their opinions range from disappointed ("His body is a little soft.") to the pleased ("I do appreciate the tan lines.") but most seem to agree on the superiority of one feature: that face. [US]
Reuters - A copy of the book "Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There" that belonged to the British girl who inspired author Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" will be sold at an auction next month, the company behind the sale said on Monday.
When the Republican National Committee gets together in January to talk about the things they talk about, the "Resolution on Reagan's Unity Principle for Support of Candidates" will come up for a vote. The goal of the resolution is to subject Republican politicians to a test that measures their support for ten basic party principles. If someone disagrees with three or more of the policies, the resolution's supporters want to withhold party money and endorsement. The 80 percent threshold comes from a famous Reagan quote: "The person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally — not a 20 percent traitor."
So, what does the test look like?
(1) Smaller government, smaller national debt, lower deficits and lower taxes by opposing bills like Obama’s “stimulus” bill
(2) Market-based health care reform and oppose Obama-style government run healthcare
(3) Market-based energy reforms by opposing cap and trade legislation
(4) Workers’ right to secret ballot by opposing card check
(5) Legal immigration and assimilation into American society by opposing amnesty for illegal immigrants
(6) Victory in Iraq and Afghanistan by supporting military-recommended troop surges
(7) Containment of Iran and North Korea, particularly effective action to eliminate their nuclear weapons threat
(8) Retention of the Defense of Marriage Act
(9) Protecting the lives of vulnerable persons by opposing health care rationing and denial of health care and government funding of abortion
(10) The right to keep and bear arms by opposing government restrictions on gun ownership
If you would have told someone suffering through a midnight showing of Glitter eight years ago that Mariah Carey would one day win the Palm Springs Film Festival's Breakthrough Performance Award, they may have slapped you across the face. And you would have deserved it. But you would also have been right. Carey will accept the award on January 5th for her role as a mustachioed social worker in Precious. [Idolator]
Kate Gosselin never wanted it to be this way. But since it is this way...
Having to shut down its cash cow thanks to Jon Gosselin's gripes, TLC made sure that its litigious former...
More than 1,500 Americans were so upset by Adam Lambert's mock fellatio and man kissing at last night's American Music Awards that they picked up their phones and complained to ABC about it. Some, presumably, called on their own, while others were likely sent ABC's way by the Parents Television Council, which asked its members to complain to both the network and Dick Clark Productions, the show's producer. In a joint statement both companies distanced themselves from the scandalous performance, saying, "We did not expect the impromptu moments." Which makes sense, since that would be impossible.
Despite all the uproar, Lambert has not backed down:
"Female performers have been doing this for years — pushing the envelope about sexuality — and the minute a man does it, everybody freaks out. We're in 2009; it's time to take risks, be a little more brave, time to open people's eyes, and if it offends them, then maybe I'm not for them."
That last point seems like one everyone can agree on.
Way back in April 2008, a naked photo of Carla Bruni sold for a jarring $91,000 at Christie's. Today, another print of that same photo didn't sell at all. After bidding reached 5,800 euros (about $8,600), the collector who owns the piece withdrew it. And with that, a new economic indicator was born. [HuffPo]
Reuters - Any staging of the musical "Dreamgirls" has a lot of history to contend with. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 23 Nov 2009 | 7:04 pm
Reuters - The increasing adventurousness of Broadway producers is well demonstrated by "Fela!," the high-powered musical about legendary African performer Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. A smash hit Off Broadway, this wildly entertaining show will need all the help it can get to attract mainstream audiences, though the late addition of producers Jay-Z and Will and Jada Pinkett Smith will surely help. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 23 Nov 2009 | 7:03 pm
About New Moon: With all these pots of money the movie is earning, does the cast get to share in the windfall? At the very least will they gets cars or Rolexes or something? And are these kids...
• A list of restaurants that just opened or are opening shortly. [Eater, TONY] • A peek around the East Side Social Club, which opens tonight. [TONY] • Brunch is getting a boost thanks to the sour economy, apparently. [Time] • The In-N-Out knockoff that opened last week is no In-N-Out, clearly. [AHT] • If you're an alcoholic in search of a Thanksgiving meal, look no further. [NYP] • Martha Stewart says she has no beef with Rachael Ray. Phew! [EMD]
In between starting websites, binge drinking and napping, Joss Whedon will need to make some time to accept the Producers Guild of America's Vanguard Award, which honors achievements in new media and technology. It should also honor achievements in good jokes. Like this one: "This is an honor I didn't expect and probably don't deserve," Whedon said. "The truth is, I've never actually guarded a van." [THR]
Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee responsible for recovering money for Bernie Madoff's victims, may be universally hated, but at least he's getting rich. Today he, his lawyers, and a few other firms helping make sense of Madoff's estate submitted a bill for almost $25 million to a federal bankruptcy court. That brings the price tag for sorting through Bernie's Ponzi scheme to a hefty $40 million. Or what Bernie used to spend on lunch.
Khloé Kardashian and Lamar Odom finally have a roost to call their own.
E! News confirmed Monday that the newlyweds have purchased a seven-bedroom home in Tarzana,...
Do Leona Lewis and Vivienne Westwood have some sort of exclusive fashion agreement? Or is the singer just gunning for Pamela Anderson's modeling gig?
Leona has worn the British...
You talk to E! about it, naturally!
At least,...
A.J. Jewell did not have sickle-cell anemia, according to a spokesman for...
Consequence is a marginally famous rapper, but he's the best kind of marginally famous rapper: the kind who's friends with Kanye West. That means he not only gets Kanye-produced singles, but also only the most talented video girls and, eventually, star-studded remixes. Which brings us to "Whatever You Want (G.O.O.D. Music Remix)," a smooth slice of fast-life rap featuring verses from 'Ye, Kid Cudi, and Big Sean, a crooned bridge courtesy John Legend, and an awkward Kate Hudson/A-Rod reference from Common... plus Consequence! It's pretty great, but it is, for the record, only our second-favorite Kanye song masquerading as a Consequence track, after this one.
Emma Rosenblum talks to Emily Blunt about her role in The Young Victoria, but not about Michael Bublé. Logan Hill previews nine of the biggest movies opening during the holidays this year. Logan also wonders if both Colin Farrell and Jude Law would be better off just sticking with supporting roles. David Edelstein reviewsBroken Embraces, Mammoth and New Moon. Jerry Saltz describes the work in Gerard Richter's latest show as the "most majestic, haunting, voluptuous, and vulnerable of his career." Scott Brown enjoyedIn the Next Room or the vibrator play, but the same cannot be said for Stephanie Zacharek's experience with Ragtime. Speaking of vibrator plays, Boris Kachka talks to Laura Benanti. Amy Lorocca profiles the Pied Piper of Craft, Todd Oldham. From The House of the Dead left Justin Davidson wanting more.
Natalie Portman knows from fanboys. First, there were the Star Wars prequels. Now, there's Thor.
So what exactly attracts an Oscar-nominated actress to comic-book fare? A love...
AP - When considering the meager merits of the bone-snapping, blood-splattered "Ninja Assassin," it's best to remember the words of John Goodman's PC-challenged character in "The Big Lebowski": "The man in the black pajamas, Dude. Worthy ... adversary."
Laura Day doesn't call herself a psychic. She prefers the term "intuitionist." Whatever you call whatever she has, actors, studio heads, and corporate and financial titans pay her $10,000 a month for 24/7 access to it.
In Tom Ford's upcoming A Single Man, Colin Firth stars as a closeted college professor mourning the death of his male lover, played by Matthew Goode. So when the Internet first saw the movie's poster, featuring Firth in bed with female co-star Julianne Moore, some wondered if Man's distributor, the Weinstein Company, might be trying to downplay the film's gay themes. (Further arousing suspicion was a recut trailer that excised a shot of Firth kissing Goode, full-on Adam Lambert-style.) And today, TWC released a new, not-much-gayer poster (see above) that we don't imagine will squelch the controversy. Last night, though, we ran into the ever-charming Harvey Weinstein himself following a screening of Single Man at the Lighthouse Screening Room and asked if he could help clear things up for us. After the jump, the transcript of our discussion.
Is it difficult to to market a movie about a gay romance?
No, Brokeback Mountain did pretty well. Midnight Cowboy did pretty well. If you know how to market, you can market. There's an audience for it.
The poster seemed to play down the gay part.
I'm good. You got enough. Thank you.
"I adjust my glasses in a way that shows that I am serious."
Rupert Murdoch, who has for ages been muttering about putting all of the content produced by News Corp. behind a pay wall in order to keep it away from Google, is attempting to force the company to change its attitude toward new media using a decidedly old-fashioned tactic: making them nervous about the competition. According to the Financial Times, Murdoch has been talking to Microsoft about being paid to remove its news content from Google’s search engine and making it available on Microsoft's search engine, the relatively uncool Bing. Says the FT:
Philippe Jannet, chief executive of Le Monde Interactif, said News Corp’s move was “crafty”. “Murdoch is playing on competition between Bing and Google. What he is doing is remarkable because it is a commercial solution. The French media, on the other hand, instinctively turn towards the state [for help].”
Even if Murdoch doesn't really have any intention of going through with a Microsoft deal (there are all kinds of issues, among them that barely anyone in America uses Bing), putting the rumor of a dalliance out there can only serve to enhance both of their statuses. The old man's still got it in him.
When we ran into Herbie Hancock at Diddy's 40th birthday party last week at the Plaza Hotel, we asked him what he would call himself if he ever became a rapper. "I don't know, Herb Dawg?" he told us. "That wouldn't fit me, though. I'm not an intimidating person. I don't think I am. "I don't know, 'get out of my way, get out of my face.'" But then he changed his mind! "Hey, that's a good idea. Maybe that should be my name: Get Outta My Face. If a guy can call himself 50 Cent, I'll call myself Get Outta My Face." See more in our Party Lines Slideshow.
The New Yorker has an interesting look into the very complicated world of Lady Gaga's clothing. Last week she performed in L.A. at a benefit for the financially troubled Museum of Contemporary Art, wearing a hat designed by Frank Gehry, at the behest of Italian artist Francesco Vezzoli. Ultimately, none other than Prada made Gehry's sketch a reality. Gehry explains:
"Since I’ve never designed a hat before, I was afraid she wouldn’t be able to walk,” he said. “I did have an idea that involved people with sticks holding it up, walking behind her. I didn’t know how far I could go with this thing.”
In the end, Gaga wore the hat differently from its original incarnation — folded in on itself — because, as Gehry explains, "She has a thing about showing her eyes — she doesn’t like to — so she closed it up." It seems her self-proclaimed No. 1 fan, Perez Hilton — who often accompanies her to parties and events and isn't bashful about taking advantage of the free booze available, from what we've seen — takes after her in this regard.
“The public persona of me is so different from who I really am,” he said, gesturing at his ensemble. “I wouldn’t wear this, Perez would wear this. I don’t wear sunglasses inside, Perez does. This is acting! It’s also good because if I see Rachel Zoe or someone I don’t want to look at I don’t have to make eye contact.” He paused, and took a swig of red wine. “She’s here.”
Later, he introduced Gaga to Pharrell Williams. Evidently, theirs is a two-way relationship.
AP - There's enough material for several plays in "The Starry Messenger," Kenneth Lonergan's sluggish, soggy, mid-life-crisis tale starring Matthew Broderick as an ineffectual astronomy instructor, husband, father and lover.
We know you can't be everywhere at once, and that's why you have us: The latest edition of our concert slideshow, "Out on the Weekend," features photos from performances by Devo, Bishop Allen, Dinosaur Jr., Javelin, Sonic Youth, Sleigh Bells, the Feelies, tUnE-YaRdS, and Dirty Projectors, with awesome surprise appearances by Curren$y, Mos Def, and David Byrne. Clicking through is like actually being there, but with less sweat and cheaper beer.
Christian Louboutin: “I prefer shoes that undress to shoes that dress. A successful shoe is a shoe that accentuates nudity. The woman remains entirely nude when she wears those shoes. The shoe becomes the privilege of nudity ... If you are very chic you might not need an extra drop of chicness, so you go for the sexy side and buy my shoes because they are ... tarty. We get very smart women coming in and buying a pair to feel a little more sluttish. And then, thank God, we also get the hookers coming in the store, who buy my shoes because they are superchic. You see, whatever you have, if you add a drop of the opposite, then it just becomes a little more sexy.” [Times UK]
Khloe Kardashian and basketball player Lamar Odom have found themselves a newlywed love nest.
On Saturday, a gaggle of 11-year-olds gathered in the Samantha Thavasa store on Madison Avenue for a tea party sponsored by Christian Dior Beauty to raise money for New Yorkers for Children. Host Tinsley Mortimer, Samantha Thavasa designer, socialite, and Dior beauty ambassador (she has her own shade of lip gloss), said every 11-year-old wants to wear makeup. Although Tinsley's effortless nighttime look takes fourteen products, including two kinds of mascara, and fifteen steps, she wanted the kids to ease into it. "We're showing them how not to overdo it. At that age you don't want to put on too much, you want to do a little mascara, [keep it] simple," she said. "The Tinsley look has a little more going on. There's no fake lashes on these girls today." She added she doesn't usually wear "that much" makeup, but was doing so Saturday because she had just been filming her reality show for the CW. "I like to do a little mascara on a regular basis, even with sweatpants," she explained.
She can't get enough mascara. "I get some stuff and my sister and my mom come over to my house and they always take my stuff! I'm like, Where'd it go? And they say, 'Well Tinsley, you work at Dior.' And you I'm like, 'No, you don't understand! This is like gold! You may not take it!'" she continued. "That and then gloss in every color — well, like a pink, you know — I find those things missing all the time. But I'm also always throwing them in handbags to go out at night and can't find them again. I go through a lot of tubes, definitely."
We wondered what happened to Tinsley's signature blonde waves. "Well I changed my style with everything going through my personal life," the recent divorcée told us. "I needed a big change. So I cut bangs and when I cut the bangs, doing the curl didn't really look good with the bangs — it was too many things going on. So I'm growing them out and kind of getting back into doing some curls. It was just too much going on." Further complicating her getting-ready routine is the addition of a stylist, which she's never used until recently. "I did work with a guy named PJ, who's a friend of mine who doesn't normally do this, but he knows my style really well and knows exactly what I would want and not want," she said. "But we needed so many outfits that it was just impossible to do it on your own. You couldn't even — even if I had a lot of money to go to the store and buy outfits — it still was just impossible, our schedule was so grueling. But I've never, ever had a stylist."
Cancel your Thanksgiving plans of swimming in Battery Park! A fisherman downtown apparently caught a sand shark today off the esplanade. Developing. [BatteryPark.TV]
First of all, stare at this screencap for a good 4 minutes. And don’t be confused… it’s not a still of Clint Eastwood at the end of Gran Torino (took me a while too):
Well ladies, get your nursing bras on, because things are about to get a lot sadder. That’s because not only is this baby orangutan named Kiss Kiss so weak and child-like (he wakes up and wants to hug the doctor, seriously), but also his mother was shot and killed in what can only be described as the saddest gee-dee, em-effing tee (thing) we’ve ever heard in our lives. Also, all of their homes are burning down. If you EVER needed a reason to “Go Green,” this video will give you what Al Gore and the rest of his political cronies never could:
A heart.
Do not say we didn’t warn you. Also, does anyone want to give us a baby? Human or the monkey kind? Beep us ASAP. That includes you, Lester Holt, you fine piece of serious man.
Perhaps Tom Ford is a control freak, but he'd prefer not to be called one. "I hate that word," Ford admitted to us on the phone this morning from his hotel room in New York. Last night he screened A Single Man at the Lighthouse Screening Room, where pals like Zac Posen and Mike Nichols were visibly moved by Ford's film. "But, in my life, I've often been called a control freak. There needs to be a better word for it. 'Control freak' makes it sound like you're crazy. " As an iconic designer, a sex symbol, and now a filmmaker, the man's got a lot to control. "If your name is on a shoe, then the heel is the way you want it and the toe is the way you want it and the leather is exactly the quality you want it. A lot of the furniture [on the set of A Single Man] was from my own house. I painted the paintings that were hanging on Charlie's [Julianne Moore's character] wall. If it's not your movie, what's the point? When you're creating something that is expressive, that's the point — it represents your point of view. So, yes, I was an extremely hands-on director."
Ford recently described his time at Yves Saint Laurent as "misery," since Yves and his partner, Pierre Bergé, were "so difficult and so evil." He pointed out, however, that Laurent and Bergé weren't actually his bosses: "We bought Yves's company, and Yves had nothing to do with it — he was totally gone and out of the company. I didn't work with Yves. I said that while I was working at Saint Laurent, they made my life difficult, because they did." So is he an easier man to work with? "Well, I don't think any place I've ever worked in has ever been difficult for the people who work there, because I don't throw temper tantrums. I'm a very rational, compassionate, organized guy. Working in a pleasant environment is very important to me."
Ford called writing and directing A Single Man "the most personal thing I've ever done in my life." He explained, "Fashion is a commercial endeavor for me. By its very nature, designing clothes is more of a surface industry. You're making clothes that make a woman's body look good and whether she looks good or not is what determines whether she buys your pair of pants. This [film] was the most purely artistic thing that I've ever done. I wasn't trying to design a film that would be commercial. If I was trying to do that, I would have put in a prom scene and made it Terminator 12. I wasn't trying to make something that competed with Twilight." Though, for the record, "I like Twilight," he added. "I liked the first one, and I'm dying to see the new one. But it's a different side of life."
Michael J. Fox joined Elvis Costello, Steven Tyler, and Blues Traveler’s John Popper onstage at the “A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Cure Parkinson’s” benefit in New York. Wait, that’s seriously what it’s called? It’s super inconvenient to say, plus the event has nothing to do with Broadway musicals or comedy – who came up with that?
Cumbersome charity names aside, there’s little doubt that this is one of the most simultaneously random & awesome supergroups this side of a Grammys Bo Diddley tribute. “Rawsome,” if you will. (Not to be confused with “Jawsome”).
Here’s Michael J. Fox with Steven Tyler presumably belting out “Johnny B. Goode” and bewildering a 50s high school crowd:
Below, some more pics of MJF with Elvis Costello and John Popper presumably…singing “Johnny B. Goode” again and continuing to bewilder a 50s high school crowd:
Everyone in New York dressed up as Sarah Palin for Halloween 2008. Apparently, it took this long for the trend to migrate to Noblesville, Indiana. And they say the Internet has changed everything.
Last week, I received a box in the mail. Unlike my usual, ticking, livewires-sticking-out-of-crevices packages that usually arrive at my doorstep, this one seemed quiet. Almost too quiet. I cracked it open to find a hardcover book featuring my last 30 days of Tweets. It was hardcover — a slightly unnecessary feature — and shiny, and looked not unlike some of my favorite books as a child. Inside, my tweets were printed with reckless abandon. There was the night I did Dirty Marmar keg stands in the West Village, there were pages dedicated to #balloonboy, and even Tweets sent fro 10,000 feet in the air made it in. Hyperlinks were rendered useless on these newfangled “paper pages”, and once again, I was reminded that my undiagnosed possy autism is still very much a threat. I put the book down and went about my merry life.
So, just to clarify. Yes, I am on Twitter. Yes, I was sent a “Tweetbook.” Yes, I have exactly 0 dollars invested in this project. And yes, I have e-mailed their administrator to remove my name from said photo/website. Look, I know, I was quoted on the back of an “Oy Vey! My Son is Gay” postcard, and blog-checked ina Vanity Fair article about “Cuteness.” (3rd para from the bottom.) I get “it.” I’m the internet’s go to person for re-re-ness. But please: I am a person, not an object. Let’s leave me and my Twitter handle out of such proprietary matters.
In other news, how many of you would actually drop coin on a Tweetbook? Don’t even front, because I know some of you would.
"I don't really know what to say about that," the socialite said coyly when we asked her about the recent photos of her engaged in an intimate moment with Constantine Maroulis of American Idol (at Samantha Thavasa's tea party in support of New Yorkers for Children this weekend). "He's a really nice guy, and yes, we did meet in the course of filming the show. He's so talented, and he's a cool guy." So, yeah, it's fake.
Of all the elaborate holiday displays that light the city's main shopping drags this time of year, Bergdorf Goodman's windows are widely considered to be the pinnacle of the spectacle. Though the store’s windows span five streets, the main event is made up of the five Fifth Avenue–facing windows of the women’s department, at 58th Street. The meticulous mind behind the magic is that of David Hoey, Bergdorf’s director of visual presentation, who tackled the storied windows for the thirteenth time this year. The theme is "Compendium of Curiosities," loosely inspired by Alice in Wonderland author Lewis Carroll, but Hoey admits he’s more concerned with "dazzling and spoiling people" than conveying a particular story (the windows are "deliberately overstuffed," as he puts it). The scenes are both over-the-top and obsessive in their construction: A library scene is made entirely of intricately cut pieces of paper; another display, of winding staircases, is made of antique wood; and a third contains murals made from shattered and reassembled Venetian mirrors. All serve as awe-inspiring backdrops for gowns by Pamella Roland, Alexander McQueen, Monique Lhuillier, Marc Jacobs, and more. The tarps are off today — watch the video for a behind-the-scenes look.
If this past Fashion Week didn't teach you that trying not to be extravagant out of respect for the economic climate and the hardships induced on much of the population is a thing of the past, the Victoria's Secret fashion show is here to remind you! The show, which taped last Thursday in New York, included 35 models along with host Heidi Klum, 1,034 guests, and one $3 million Harlequin Fantasy Bra worn on the runway by Miranda Kerr. Designed by Damiani, it includes more than 2,300 diamonds in various shades. The total cost for the whole affair? About $10 million (not including the bling bra, presumably). But to be fair, they do two tapings.
If you didn't attend either taping or the after-party and were not one of the 100 million people let backstage to fawn over the naked women getting their makeup done, don't worry, because you can still be part of this annual parade of winged bras: The voting hasn't closed in the Victoria's Secret Model Search. Finalists Kylie Bisutti and Jamie Lee Darley both walked in the show, but Victoria's Secret will cut the loser out when it airs on CBS on December 1. The people get to pick the winner, so vote here, because it's a slow week and you probably need things to do anyway. We're pulling for Kylie, only because she is still updating her MySpace page, which is a pretty special thing nowadays.
Alberto Gonzales, pilloried for allegedly misleading Congress about the Bush administration’s warrantless eavesdropping program, has been exonerated — sort of. According to public records and interviews with federal law-enforcement officials, the Justice Department has concluded that there’s insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against the former attorney general. His critics might groan, but they have some solace: The Justice Department’s inspector general, who conducted the investigation, concluded that his testimony before Congress about the eavesdropping program was “confusing,” “incomplete,” and had the “effect of misleading” both Congress and the public. Surely Jon Stewart can do something with that.
Gonzales also remains under investigation by the Justice Department for matters connected to the wiretaps and the firings, thought to be politically motivated, of nine U.S. attorneys — scandal aplenty. But it’s been allegations about his eavesdropping testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee that put him in the greatest legal jeopardy by far. A major reason he escaped criminal charges, according to people close to the investigation, was that he finally admitted what he never would have before, when he seemed the most loyal of George W. Bush’s servants: that many of his most controversial decisions (first as White House counsel, and later, as attorney general) in authorizing, overseeing, and concealing the eavesdropping program were done at the specific direction of the former president. In other instances, Gonzales and his attorneys argued that his actions were done in furtherance of the Bush administration’s policies — meaning, for what it’s worth, that he did not act with personal intent to do wrong.
“He was willing to be a lightning rod in the past for the president,” said one legal source close to the investigation. “He has done that during the entire course of his career. But it was pressed upon him that that was not going to work in this instance — and he did what he had to do.”
Ironically, in finally talking to investigators about the president, Gonzales might actually have been protecting his old boss, as well as himself. A senior Bush-administration official familiar with the matter told me that Fred Fielding, the White House counsel in the closing days of the Bush presidency, feared that the Justice Department’s probe of Gonzales’s misleading testimony might morph into a special prosecutor’s investigation not only of Gonzales, but also of the conduct of others in the Bush White House — including perhaps Bush himself. (The Justice Department can refer an investigation to the attorney general for a criminal or special prosecutor to take over.) Fielding quietly counseled Gonzales’s cooperation, and Gonzales’s legal team, headed by George J. Terwilliger III, a deputy attorney general during the presidency of the first President Bush, made an early decision to fully cooperate with the inspector general.
Fielding declined to comment for this article. But a former Bush-administration official who worked closely with him said Fielding called the possibility of a special prosecutor investigating the eavesdropping program “the nightmare scenario.” Gonzalez has pulled this feint before: One factor in his decision to resign in August 2007, senior Justice Department officials speculated at the time, was to avoid the appointment of a special prosecutor.
Bush’s “nightmare scenario” apparently averted, Gonzales remains under investigation by the Justice Department he once led for two matters: the firings of those nine U. S. attorneys, and — this should sound familiar — whether Gonzales and other government attorneys acted properly in authorizing and overseeing the eavesdropping program. (The latter case is being brought by the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility.) Little could be learned about those investigations, but it has long been widely believed that Gonzales’s most serious legal charges were the ones he now seems to have dodged. Give the guy credit — he’s a lawyer, after all.
Because the art world couldn't possibly be expected to dial things back two years in a row, Art Basel Miami Beach, which kicks off next week and runs through December 6, is expected to be bigger and better than ever!
Unlike last year when art scenesters could be seen moping around and complaining about sub-par sushi, "the period of noble abstinence for this hedonistic set is apparently over," reports Alexandra Peers in this week's New York. And while some of the official sponsors of the normally glitzy event have been trying to tone things down due to the ongoing recession, lots of unofficial parties have been planned, collectors are expected to arrive in droves, and hotels are commanding reasonably high rates again. Yes, the "art world is feeling flush again." Even if it's really just an illusion. And even if it the buzz has little to do with art:
Who's paying for all this? By and large, real-estate developers whose empty towers still ring the city like Stonehenge, hotels, banks, and corporations that are betting that, good or bad times, they'll rarely get access to a crowd this moneyed, relatively young, and globe-trotting.
Come for the art, pick up a condo that's been discounted by 90 percent, and everyone goes home happy!
Fashion Wire Daily - Bondage may be the new look for the holidays if the outfits onstage at the American Music Awards held Sunday, Nov. 22, at the Nokia Theater in downtown Los Angeles were any indicator.
SKIN
• According to new research from the deodorant company Bionsen, a woman uses 515 different synthetic chemicals on her body each day just from her regular grooming, skin, and makeup routines. [Daily Mail UK]
• A new study says that skin color affects how healthy and attractive people appear. Researchers determined that a rosy, yellowish hue is the target color to appear healthiest. They suggest achieving this with a healthy diet. [Science Daily via Spoiled Pretty]
HAIR
• Eva Mendes is the master of the updo. Is she leading the pack in glamorous Hollywood hair? [In Style UK]
• The Rahua nut is poised to become the most popular Amazonian beauty ingredient since the açai berry. While the berry is known for its antioxidant powers, the Rahua is known for restorative oils, especially for hair. [Beauty Counter/Style.com]
• Would you use a face cream that contains an ingredient "derived in a European lab using proteins from the skin of a human fetus that was aborted"? [Girls in the Beauty Department/Glamour]
NAILS
• Nubar is releasing a new collection in January named Prism, which promises to include holographic glitter in each of its eight new colors. An early test shows that they go on smooth, unlike many glitter nail polishes. [Beauty Xpose]
It’s time to play everybody’s FAVORITE game I just made up and called everybody’s favorite in the same sentence:
GUESS! THE! GUNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(I wanted to call it “Guess The Gunzz” but I just didn’t think America could handle something that zany.)
Today’s contestant – These guns:
To whom do these muscles belong? Take in the clues and leave your guesses in the comments.
Or just look at the answer after the jump and act like you guessed it right. We’re not picky:
It’s 58-year-old Sting, flexing it up and acting like he didn’t know a picture was being taken at that moment, even though he tagged the picture himself on Facebook as we all do (probably).
King of Pain? More like, King of NO PAIN NO GAIN (the method by which he made his muscles large!)
Every Little Thing He Does Is Muscles? Ehhh, the first one’s way worse, so I’m sticking with that.
(Michelle adds, “Every Single Thing He Lifts Is Dumbbells”)
Irving Picard, the man in charge of liquidating Bernie Madoff's assets, is asking for $22.1 million in fees for the last five months of work he and his firm have put in on the case, on top of the $14.6 million he's already been paid. But that includes a 10 percent "public interest discount," so don't even think of suggesting Picard isn't generous. [Bloomberg]
The decorations are up, the seasonal soundtracks are blaring, and the holiday shopping season kicks off in full force on Friday with a slew of post-Thanksgiving discounts. Check out our comprehensive shopping map to see which sales are worth rousing early for from your food coma. Some notable recent additions: 41 percent off all merchandise at Kenneth Cole for the first four hours, half-off handbags at MCM, 30 percent off Yigal Azrouël and Helmut Lang at Blue & Cream, and up to 70 percent off designer bridal gowns at Wedding Atelier.
Extra! Extra! Jerk off about it! The Levi JohnstonPlaygirl Pics have been revealed! The folks over at the 96.1 Morning Show were secure enough in their masculinity to post a handful of shots from the highly manticipated photo shoot.
The good news: Levi Johnston is really clean. He knows how to scrub those oft-forgotten nooks and craisins that leaves a man smellin’ reaaaauw gwood. The bad news: There really isn’t anything sexy about these pics. They look like Polaroids found in the home of Mr. Hornton’s house on Diff’rent Strokes. We wanted Playgirl hokiness! Levi laying on a bear rug, sipping champagne by the fire with an Ugg boot placed comfortably on his D. Levi riding sidesaddle on a horse, in nothing but a cowboy hat and spurs. Levi, splashing around in the ocean while keeping his delicates free from crabs. Not some sterile B&W shots of the kid grinning like a dumb-ass in the shower.
Having said that, Larry David, I will still print some of them out and post them on my office wall “as a joke.” Take a look at some of them in our new and improved gallery, below, Sarah Palin, who we know is reading.
If you want to check out the rest of the photos — including many more ass shots but nary a Johnston Johnson in sight — head over to the NSFW Playgirl.com, which thankfully has plenty of other penii to keep you well occupied until morning.
Last night, divas gathered together to sing, dance, and give and receive American Music Awards. Lady Gaga didn't win an award, but she won in terms of stage performance and wardrobe, if you ask us. Rihanna, perhaps feeling the Gaga pressure like Beyoncé, attempted to raise her fashion game by wearing a bodysuit consisting only of thin white pieces of fabric. We have a theory about this ensemble, which you can read in the slideshow, along with our thoughts on Jennifer Lopez, Adam Lambert, and some of the other divas in attendance.
Can an overpriced cocktail dispensed by a mixologist prevent you from getting the flu, or make you feel better if you already have it? (Presumably a drink like the Flu Shot, which is on the menu at the East Village's Drop Off Service, isn't designed to appeal to the taste buds: It's a mixture of "garlic-infused honey, jalapeño-infused tequila, orange-lemon-ginger purée and a few drops of liquid echinacea.") No, it won't, says one doctor. But "if it makes you feel better"—or you need an excuse to keep boozing when you should probably quit—"go for it." [NYT]
AP - "Pirate Latitudes" (HarperCollins, 320 pages. $27.99), by Michael Crichton: It's pointless to complain about the cardboard characters, dreadful action-movie dialogue and wildly improbable plot points in Michael Crichton's latest — and last — book, published posthumously.
Last night were the American Music Awards. Which are sort of like the Grammys, but even less important, putting them somewhere between the Cable Ace Awards and the World’s Best Grandma on the scale of “trophies that don’t mean anything.” But any excuse for live performances is A-OK by us, especially when that excuse includes the first televised live performance by Adam Lambert since his single “For Your Entertainment” debuted. And Lambert was ready: Before a single note came out of his 24K-Gold mouth, even his hair seemed on the edge of its scalp-seat. The spikes on his tasteful shoulderpad quivered with anticipation.
Then, it began. And what slowly unfolded in front of our eyes seemed less techno dance number from Mars and more uncensored deleted scene from Eyes Wide Shut. It was like the Cunnilinling Brothers Circus rolled into town, and everyone in the audience was given a bag of circus penis. (Too many sexual circus puns? Totally.) And Adam was there at the helm, the Whorecerer’s Apprentice controlling these puppets with literal harnesses.
Things you never thought you’d see on ABC: Lambert pulling a man on a leash, grinding his crotch into another man’s face, grinding his face into another man’s face, snapping a dancer’s leotard directly back into her v-crack, a painful looking stop, drop and roll. These, ladies and gentlemen, were the highlights, and the effect was less sexual than it was hilarious. You couldn’t help but laugh: The entire thing was so effing unbelievable. Which, one can guess, was the point.
Now, of course, the downside: If you think taking place in a cross-country orgy is tiring, try doing it while singing a robotic dance tune. What we learned, folks, is that it is damn near impossible, as even Lambert, who we know has a God-given vocal gift, had trouble pulling it off. Then again, have you ever tried singing while a person’s face was in your crotch? We have, and allow us to assure you, “It’s All Coming Back To Me Now” sounds much better when you can really focus on the material at hand. Singing while aroused is the equivalent of operating heavy machinery while medicated: It’s a risk, and someone might die, but at least the job’s getting done.
Was this Adam’s finest performance? No, it wasn’t. Was it his most outrageous? Yes, by far. We know the guy has talent off the charts, and much of his album speaks for itself, so in a way this AMA performance was exactly the right move. Not his best vocally, but entertaining and confusing and funny and over-the-top and perhaps distasteful… exactly what will get people talking and keep Lambert culturally relevant, surviving past the usual expiration date for Idol graduates.
In conclusion, Lambert will have many more opportunities to fine tune his over-the-topness to give us that exact mix of raw sexuality and musical expertise that propelled him to the top of the Idol pack. The good news is, knowing that Lambert has a pretty great sense of humor, he’s probably enjoying this post-performance hoopla more than you think. And the very good news is: We’ll be chatting with Adam this week (albeit for around 120 seconds, but still) as he stops by MTV to promote his new album. Now, we’re just trying to figure out exactly how much vodka we’ll need to feed him to get a live reenactment of last night’s carnal cruise.
How many of you saw the movie Up and couldn’t pay attention to all the crazy balloon action because you were too busy wondering what the retirement home orderlies were doing after they came to pick up Carl Fredrickson and he flew away?
None of you, because you were too busy still crying? Yeah me too. But if for whatever reason you HAD wanted to see what happened to the orderlies — George and AJ are their names, if you happen to not be the 2009 “Up” Quiz Bowl champion — here’s a new Pixar kind-of-animated short to finally tie up that loose end:
AP - "Science as a Contact Sport: Inside the Battle to Save Earth's Climate" (National Geographic, 295 pages, $28), by Stephen H. Schneider: Stephen H. Schneider, winner of one of those $500,000 genius grants, has written a witty, informative and impassioned account of perils he sees in global warming and what to do about them.
Not quite as many people are planning to travel over the long weekend. But don't assume that means you'll have an easier time leaving the city if you do plan on traveling. A new report indicates LaGuardia, JFK, and Newark Airports ranked as the three worst airports in the nation for on-time arrivals through the first nine months of the year. [NY1, AP]
Paula Deen is an American treasure to most. But not to God, who has tried to thwart her obesity encouraging ways by knocking her out with a giant Christmas ham. There is really no other explanation for where this magical ham appeared from, other than from up on high. The food… it’s becoming self-aware.
Everyone is still shaken up by the news Oprah is going off the air just a mere two years from now. While you may be tempted to throw out your soon-to-be-useless TV set, James Franco’s stint on General Hospital has arrived just in time to numb the pain. Check out his debut on this episode of Best Day Ever with Gabe Liedman:
Starting TONIGHT at 11pm on VH1, all your favorite Best Day Ever comics will be sharing some of the moments they are thankful for from 2009. Be sure to tune in to see if your favorite clips were included.
Christy Turlingtonwalking with son Finn and their two dogs in the Village ... Woody Allen and Soon-Yi strolling down Madison ... Jodie Foster walking to the gym in the West Village ... Alec Baldwin having brunch yesterday at Five Points with a mystery blonde ... Susan Boyle arriving at JFK ... Miranda Kerr going to lunch at Friend of a Farmer on Irving Place ... Gayle Kingleaving Jean Georges after having lunch ... Katie Holmes taking Suri to see The Lion King on Saturday ... Harvey Weinstein eating at Sarabeth's on Madison Avenue ... George Lucas walking down Madison Avenue with his girlfriend ... Hugh Jackman walking in the West Village with his wife and kids ... Jimmy Smits having dinner at Cafe con Leche on the UWS ... Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts riding bikes downtown ... Tyra Banksleaving MTV studios in Times Square ... Katharine McPhee crossing the street while talking on her phone ... and Jude Law walking in the East Village.
When you hear "AOL," you think of the dial-up Internet service that your elderly aunt still uses, right? Prepare for all of that to change! Now that AOL is being spun off by Time Warner, it's developed a new logo, dropping the all-caps and going with "Aol." which, in case you missed it, tacks on a period after the letters. America's perceptions will shift in no time! [PaidContent, WSJ/Digits]
An aerial view of the Georges Pompidou center. The Pompidou Centre was forced to shut down on Monday after staff went on strike to protest planned job cuts at the Parisian mecca of modern and contemporary... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 23 Nov 2009 | 10:41 am
Susan Boyle?s album ?I Dreamed A Dream? has become the most pre-ordered CD in the history of online retailer Amazon. Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 23 Nov 2009 | 10:08 am
AP - "The Lacuna" (Harper Collins, 464 pages, $26.99) by Barbara Kingsolver: With her love for sprawling, complicated plots and colorful detail, no wonder it took Barbara Kingsolver 10 years to write her latest novel.
Palestinian film director Elia Suleiman, seen here in October 2009, is scheduled to attend Lebanon's sixteenth annual European Film Festival from Thursday. Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 23 Nov 2009 | 9:23 am
Bono of U2 performs on stage at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on November 5. Irish rockers U2 will headline Glastonbury Festival next year, making their first appearance at the British arts and music... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 23 Nov 2009 | 5:19 am
"Singularly distasteful."
The Parents Television Council on Adam Lambert's American Music Awards leash demonstration? Close. The Sept. 16, 1956, New York Times on Elvis...
Kate Gosselin never wanted it to be this way. But since it is this way...
Having to shut down its cash cow thanks to Jon Gosselin's gripes, TLC made sure that its litigious former...
About New Moon: With all these pots of money the movie is earning, does the cast get to share in the windfall? At the very least will they gets cars or Rolexes or something? And are these kids...
Khloé Kardashian and Lamar Odom finally have a roost to call their own.
E! News confirmed Monday that the newlyweds have purchased a seven-bedroom home in Tarzana,...
Do Leona Lewis and Vivienne Westwood have some sort of exclusive fashion agreement? Or is the singer just gunning for Pamela Anderson's modeling gig?
Leona has worn the British...
Natalie Portman knows from fanboys. First, there were the Star Wars prequels. Now, there's Thor.
So what exactly attracts an Oscar-nominated actress to comic-book fare? A love...
Last week, I received a box in the mail. Unlike my usual, ticking, livewires-sticking-out-of-crevices packages that usually arrive at my doorstep, this one seemed quiet. Almost too quiet. I cracked it open to find a hardcover book featuring my last 30 days of Tweets. It was hardcover — a slightly unnecessary feature — and shiny, and looked not unlike some of my favorite books as a child. Inside, my tweets were printed with reckless abandon. There was the night I did Dirty Marmar keg stands in the West Village, there were pages dedicated to #balloonboy, and even Tweets sent fro 10,000 feet in the air made it in. Hyperlinks were rendered useless on these newfangled “paper pages”, and once again, I was reminded that my undiagnosed possy autism is still very much a threat. I put the book down and went about my merry life.
Because the art world couldn't possibly be expected to dial things back two years in a row, Art Basel Miami Beach, which kicks off next week and runs through December 6, is expected to be bigger and better than ever!
(via 
