AP - He's Italian premier, media mogul and one of the country's richest men. Now Silvio Berlusconi can add "Rockstar of the Year" to his caps. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 25 Nov 2009 | 3:19 am
Reuters - Michael Morpurgo has been writing award-winning children's books for decades but he has lost none of his passion for storytelling or his fascination with taking a real-life event and fusing it with fiction. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 25 Nov 2009 | 2:35 am
Reuters - Michael Morpurgo has been writing award-winning children's books for decades but he has lost none of his passion for storytelling or his fascination with taking a real-life event and fusing it with fiction. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 25 Nov 2009 | 2:35 am
Police say a convicted murderer who once served as the personal assistant to the duchess of York is back in custody after she escaped from a low-security British prison. Police say Jane... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 25 Nov 2009 | 2:31 am
AP - Ben Kingsley, famous for his Oscar-winning portrayal of Indian independence hero Mohandas Gandhi, is reaching deeper into the country's history with a new role as the Mogul emperor who ordered the construction of the Taj Mahal.
HONG KONG - More than a decade after Disney made a blockbuster animated film out of a folk tale about a young woman in ancient China who takes her father's place on the battlefield, a... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 25 Nov 2009 | 12:36 am
Ben Kingsley, famous for his Oscar-winning portrayal of Indian independence hero Mohandas Gandhi, is reaching deeper into the country's history with a new role as the Mogul emperor who... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 25 Nov 2009 | 12:32 am
PRAGUE, November 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Casinos Watcher - href="http://www.casinoswatcher.com">http://www.casinoswatcher.com , is a new gambling directory focusing on... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 25 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am
TORONTO - In his usual role as the outspoken star of CBC's "Coach's Corner," Don Cherry is hardly shy about going after players for lousy sportsmanship or half-hearted play. So when... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 24 Nov 2009 | 11:44 pm
A-Muse-Ing: Move over Scarlett Johansson, Woody Allen has found a new muse. Her name is Carla Bruni and she's the first lady of France. She's also set to star in Allen's next film. “He offered me a role in his next movie,” Bruni told Bloomberg News. “I don’t know for what character, but I said yes. I’m not an actress at all. Maybe I will be terrible. But, in my life, I cannot let such a chance go.” More than her performance, we're looking forward to the inevitable Allen/Sarko throwdown over Bruni's heart. [Bloomberg]
Quay Cowboys: Invictus scribe Anthony Peckham has signed on to write the script for Deep Sea Cowboys, an adaptation of a Wired article about a salvage crew trying to recover a capsized Japanese cargo ship. The story will take place in real-time as the crew fights to salvage the ship's cargo so it can claim the reward, which may or may not be a valuable cache of Japan's favorite commodity — poop hats. [THR]
On Notice: USA Network has renewed Burn Notice for a fourth season. The hour long drama about a Miami-based spy has been one of the cable channel's biggest shows in 2009. Produced by Fox Television Studios, Burn Notice joins Psych as the second show renewed by USA in as many days, proving that not all of America takes a nap the week before Thanksgiving. [Variety]
Continue Lying: Fox has picked up Lie to Me for a full season, ordering an additional nine episodes of the Tim Roth drama. The show hasn't performed exceptionally well in its post-House slot, but it did enough to not get canceled. And these days, that's success. [Variety]
Wait, Kathy Ireland was on this show? What the heck is Tom DeLay doing here?!
Oh right, the Dancing With the Stars finale is when a whole season's worth of contestants come out of...
Democracy for America, a liberal P.A.C. founded by Howard Dean, is preparing to sink its claws into what it calls the “Insurance Industry Democrats,” those swarthy Dems who haven't come out full force for the Senate's health care bill. Watch out Blanche Lincoln and Ben Nelson, you're on the list! [Prescriptions/NYT]
More than a decade after Disney made a blockbuster animated film out of a folk tale about a young woman in ancient China who takes her father's place on the battlefield, a Hong Kong... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 24 Nov 2009 | 10:27 pm
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Donny Osmond danced his way to victory on Tuesday, winning the 9th season of the hit ABC television show "Dancing With the Stars" after wowing the judges with his... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 24 Nov 2009 | 10:16 pm
Reuters - Donny Osmond danced his way to victory on Tuesday, winning the 9th season of the hit ABC television show "Dancing With the Stars" after wowing the judges with his irrepressible determination and final tango. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 24 Nov 2009 | 10:16 pm
Donny Osmond was declared the new champion of "Dancing with Stars" on Tuesday night, taking home the show's mirror ball trophy in the season finale of the ABC contest reality program. ... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 24 Nov 2009 | 9:54 pm
AP - Donny Osmond was declared the new champion of "Dancing with Stars" on Tuesday night, taking home the show's mirror ball trophy in the season finale of the ABC contest reality program.
AP - First lady Michelle Obama chose to wear a gleaming silver-sequined, cream-colored gown Tuesday night to the first state dinner held by her husband's administration. She was tending to her hostess duties in a strapless silhouette with the beads forming an abstract floral pattern that was custom-made by Naeem Khan.
Dancing With the Stars crowned Marie Osmond's brother the champion of its ninth season earlier tonight after he beat out Mya and Kelly Osbourne by stomping a blistering Argentine tango. Well done Donny. And welcome back to temporary relevance. [ABC News]
Reuters - The narrative behind "The Princess and the Frog" is that Walt Disney Animation has rediscovered its traditional hand-drawn animation, which has been supplanted by computer-generated cartoons. But this misses the point about what allowed Pixar -- which Disney now owns -- DreamWorks and other CG-animation companies to upstage the one-time king of the animation world. It's a thing called story. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 24 Nov 2009 | 9:36 pm
The first stop on tonight's soiree schedule is Maxim's bash for covergirl Ashley Greene at Avenue in New York City.
Avenue is same spot where I spotted Rob Pattinson and...
Yesterday when Fred Thompson asked Lou Dobbs if he was weighing a presidential run, the former CNN anchor said, "Yes is the answer." Couldn't really be much clearer than that. But there is one thing that remains unclear — what party would Dobbs attach to his name?
Sure, he seems like a natural Republican, what with the fiery opposition to illegal immigration and the distaste for President Obama. But would he pass the party's purity test? Bay Buchanan, whose brother Pat ran for president as a Reform Party candidate in 2000, thinks the man who calls himself "Mr. Independent" may fit best in a third party. And so do a bunch of others.
"I would assume he's going independent, since he's made a very strong case that that's where he is," Buchanan told 'Politico'. "There's enormous movement out there, I think more so than when Pat ran. I think they've really given up on Republicans, they've given up on Democrats; so he would be stepping into something where a path had been laid. I think he can win."
Former Sen. Dean Barkley, the founder of the Minnesota Reform Party and the man responsible for Jesse Ventura's political career, thinks Dobbs would be a perfect candidate for his nascent party. "We were hoping he would have run last time," he said.
Clay Mulford, who ran Ross Perot's third-party campaign in 1992, thinks Dobbs's views put him in perfect position to steal votes from both Democrats and Republicans.
"There's a populist streak in the voting public that spans both left and right, and so you've got the combination of this protectionist element and immigration on one hand, on the right. And on the left you've got this anti-bailout, Wall Street, focus-on-Main Street kind of sentiment," Mulford said. "That streak in American politics is something that's often ignored."
A third party does seem like the way to go for Dobbs, if only because it would make for some mind-bending Palin/Obama/Dobbs debates in 2012.
Jersey Shore is a new MTV reality show combining elements of The Real World with elements of Hot Chicks with Douchebags. Some people are very excited about this. And others, especially UNICO, an Italian-American service organization, are not. The group's president Andre Dimino has asked MTV to pull the show because it perpetuates the stereotype of young Italian men as mindless drunk oafs with more hair gel than brain cells.
"Trash television sells, and they'd be more interested in making money than how they're offending a great group of people," Dimino says. Weighty ethnic issues aren't really our thing, so here's the show's trailer so you can decide for yourself.
For the second time in five days the jury in John "Junior" Gotti's racketeering trial has declared itself deadlocked. And once again Judge Kevin Castel told them to get back to work. After the jury delivered a note to the judge saying it was "unable to reach a unanimous verdict," Gotti's lawyers asked for a mistrial. As Gotti blew a kiss to his supporters Castel denied the request and reminded the jury that even if this trial ends in Gotti's fourth mistrial, there will likely be a fifth trial. "This trial has been conducted at considerable expense and human effort to both the government and the defendant," he said. "If your deliberations do not end in a verdict, in all likelihood it would have to be tried again before another jury." [NYP]
Ojani Noa says he's moved on since his brief marriage to Jennifer Lopez more than a decade ago.
Minus the 12-year-old home movies he's peddling and his desire to make a...
Thanks to a highly rated World Series and its most solid lineup in years, Fox is set win November sweeps for the first time ever. And if the network's projections are right, it will be the largest sweeps victory margin in five years. Fox's 3.6 adult demo rating for the month leads ABC's 3.1, CBS's 3.0 and, in last place, NBC's 2.6. The network's newfound success is due to strong nights of crude-animation Sundays, cranky doctor Mondays and sing-song dance Wednesdays. And with brilliantly conceived shows like Our Little Genius coming up in the spring, things are only going to get better.
How can Michael Lohan keep leaking taped phone calls and not to go jail?
—Brandee, via the Answer B!tch inbox
Oh, he could go to jail, all right.
Michael...
Fox's hit medical-mysteries series House is mixing it up next week, and you Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) fans are going to love the twist!
Instead of Gregory House (Hugh...
Reuters - Since they are old dogs, there are no new tricks in Walt Disney's "Old Dogs," a shamelessly predictable, overly broad comedy aimed at the family audience starting Thanksgiving weekend. One could debate whether John Travolta or Robin Williams have reached an age to be mistaken for grandfathers, but they certain don't shy away from jokes their grandfathers would have groaned about. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 24 Nov 2009 | 7:18 pm
Reuters - During the last U.K. stop of her "I Am..." tour at the Trent FM Arena in Nottingham, England, Beyonce announced that she plans to release a new album next year.
• Bones: Approximately six million years after we all started begging her, Zooey Deschanel is finally guest starring on her big sister Emily Deschanel's show, Bones. Zooey plays...
The White House released the list of the luminaries, dignitaries and shiny, famous folks expected to eat arugula with the president at tonight's state dinner and it's full of the names you'd expect. Most of the media types, political types and Hollywood types in attendance were early supporters of the President back when he was that Senator from Illinois. David Geffen and his boyfriend landed plum seats at Obama's table, along with Sen. John Kerry, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Ambassador to India Tim Roemer and PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi. Oprah, notably, will be absent. But she sent Gayle King in her stead. All in all, it's an impressive list of powerful people who you'd expect to get to do things like eat dinner with the president, with the exception of one: M. Night Shyamalan. Who let him in?
A creepy old man in Michigan went all vampire on a 17-year-old girl's neck after a showing of Twilight: New Moon last weekend. Police are looking for the unshaven, 45-year-old man, who would be forgiven for thinking the girl was into older men. After all, he's 64 years younger than that "dreamboat" Edward Cullen. [Cinematical]
AP - A national Italian-American organization based in New Jersey says an MTV reality show that depicts Italian-American beachgoers as the "hottest, tannest, craziest Guidos" is offensive and should be scrapped before it airs. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 24 Nov 2009 | 6:19 pm
The Washington Post plans to put plywood on the windows of its Los Angeles, Chicago and New York bureaus at the end of the year, leaving the paper with one domestic office in D.C. In a clear cost-cutting move, the paper will re-assign six reporters to Washington and lay off three news assistants. "The fact is we can effectively cover the rest of the country from Washington," Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli said. [Washington Post]
Mediaweek.com - -Yesterday's Winners:
Dancing With the Stars (ABC), House (Fox), Two and a Half Men (CBS), The Big Bang Theory (CBS), Find My Family (ABC), CSI: Miami (CBS) Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 24 Nov 2009 | 6:12 pm
The Visitors are leaving for a while. (You know what they say about guests and fish stinking after three days.) Tonight is the last new episode of V's premiere pod of episodes, and it's a...
Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones premiered in London last night and, astonishingly, not everyone is as enthusiastic as Harry Knowles. Total Film and the Sun loved it, but the Guardian gives it two stars, apparently because it does not feature enough rape and murder: "[Lovely Bones] is so infuriatingly coy, and so desperate to preserve the modesty of its soulful victim that it amounts to an ongoing clean-up operation." [Sun, Total Film, Guardian, Screen Daily via In Contention]
OK, so apparently, all the TV networks simultaneously noticed Tuesday nights have been a bit of a dead zone in terms of hipster TV. Yes, CBS has lots of high-rated shows that night, and FX has had...
She spoke as if she were reading a crystal ball when we chatted at the American Music Awards before Adam Lambert's...
As you wait with bated breath for True Blood season three to show up sometime in 2010, why not fill the dreadful void in your life by pre-ordering this ultrahunky bust of Eric Northman? Sadly, tin foil is sold separately. [Dread Central]
The website for GDS International, an "events and publishing company" headquartered on Wall Street, contains a highly energetic and entertaining recruitment video, in which staff effusively praise the company for providing "continuing support" to employees through their "really innovative" training techniques. And those techniques are innovative indeed, a lawsuit filed by 26-year-old former GDS employee Lobna Abdelrehim reveals.
From the Post:
One was entitled "Using your SEX to Sell and the Boulevard to Bombshell Bitchiness," which included tips such as "flirt to get what [you] want" and how they "can get away with being aggressive because its sexy," the suit says. Salespeople were also often given "pep talk chants" by their managers, such as, "Stop being a f---ing p----y" and, "Close the deal you c---" on the open sales floor, the suit says.
Now, okay. We get why that might be offensive to some people. But this company is headquartered in Wales. Those people drop the word "cunt" as often as Americans use the word "the"! The company has yet to respond to our calls for comment, but we have to wonder: Is it possible that they weren't being sexist, they were just being British? And Lobna Abdelrehim, an American, didn't understand them? Like, for instance, when she says she received a mass e-mail from her boss that wasn't "respectful towards women" because it was entitled, "There's Grass on the Wicket — It's Time to Play Cricket"? Doesn't she know that cricket is a — wait. Oh.
This summer, R. Kelly described the creative process for his new album, Untitled (out December 1), like this: "For three months straight, I threw a party at my house every weekend. … Like 200 girls come over … Then I'd play the music and see how they would react … If they didn’t feel it, I’d go back downstairs and rework it." While we don't doubt that this is exactly what happened, we do have a question: At what point in the evening did his new single, "Pregnant," spin? A half-finished version of the track has been bouncing around for a while, but the official one is now here, with verses from fellow R&B heavyweights The-Dream and Robin Thicke (we don't know who invited Tyrese, though). As usual, Kellz doesn't play: As the song's chorus makes clear, he is so thoroughly impressed with your charms and booty that he'd happily give up a life of philandering to get you pregnant. We bet he played this near the end of those parties, then.
Last week, reps from Wtold Jezebel they "did not do anything unusual or out of the ordinary on Demi Moore for the photo on the cover of W." Many had wondered what exactly the magazine did to allow Demi's left hip to cut in farther than her left thigh. Noting, secondly, the lack of any sort of wrinkle on Demi's face or body, particularly the armpit area (so normal for a 47-year-old), a professional retoucher and friend of the Cut suspected a lot of retouching had been done. Now, cover conspiracy theorists on blogs Oh No They Didn't and Pop Culture Madness suggest W Photoshopped Demi's face onto the body of Anja Rubik, as shot on the runway in the spring 2010 Balmain show.
Jezebel notes there is no need for the magazine to do that when they did their own shoot with Demi Moore and have the world's best retouchers at their disposal. Our retouching expert notes celebrity heads are often only Photoshopped onto models's bodies for advertisements.
When putting together his list of the top-ten television shows of the decade, The Hollywood Reporter's Barry Garron somehow decided that ABC's Modern Family warranted a spot on his list. As if that weren't appalling enough, he also neglected to show the proper respect for Cavemen! [HR]
Michelle Obama spoke at a preview for the State Dinner at the White House today wearing the same sparkly J.Crew cardigan she wore in London in April, paired with a Rachel Roy pencil skirt. Looks like she's dusting off those holiday sweaters. Here's hoping she avoids any and all items she may have bearing snow scenes. See the full look in the Michelle Obama Look Book.
Attention, Avatar fans! We guess since you've already traded sexual favors for tickets, driven all the way to a multiplex, stood in line for hours just to watch a fifteen-minute clip of the film on Avatar Day, and endured months of ridicule from your more skeptical friends for insisting that its blue protagonists do not look silly, it isn't too much to ask for you to download and install the complicated software required to view the movie's new "interactive trailer," which Fox made available today. Once you get it up and running, the program allows you to watch Avatar's original, mostly maligned, non-interactive trailer, which will occasionally pause itself so you can view short interviews with the movie's cast and crew. It's interesting, we suppose, but once this movie's released and life on earth is changed forever, will it always take so much work just to be advertised to?
Carla Bruni says she's taken Woody Allen up on his offer to appear in one of his films. "I don't know for what role but I said yes," she said. "Perhaps I will be very bad." We'd expect nothing less from a woman who wrote a song called "My Junk," in which she croons about rolling up her guy, the president of France, and smoking him. Watch her do a sex scene. And then watch France smoke cigarettes and not care. [WSJ]
Goldman Sachs bankers are going to be out buying new Porsches and weekend homes in East Hampton just as soon as they collect their record year-end bonuses. But that's not what the rest of us are going to be getting this holiday season, at least according to Goldman Sachs. The firm's retail analysts say that most Americans—the ones that aren't getting seven-figure sums in a few weeks—should expect to see lots of crummy sweaters under the tree this Christmas. Thanks for rubbing it in, guys. [WSJ/Marketbeat]
Last night, Olivia Palermo and Gabourey Sidibe took pretty different sartorial approaches at the after-party for Me and Orson Welles. Olivia dressed up and Gabourey dressed down.
“I try not to let any of that stuff penetrate my sphere of consciousness,” the musician and heir to the Seagram's fortune, who lives in Bed-Stuy because he chooses to and not because he has to, told the Observer, whilst "sitting on the edge of a wicker couch in the dim light of the Bowery Hotel Bar’s back patio with a glass of Malbec and a Winston." What stuff was he talking about? We don't know. Most stuff, probably. That's the best part about being rich, that you get to think about what you want to think about, and not have "stuff" gunking up your brain all the time, like will I get fired and if so will I have to live in New Jersey and/or and did I pay my cell-phone bill and can I keep not knowing who Adam Lambert is or is it important that I know? Meanwhile, Bronfman's fiancée, the entirely hot and likable Grammy-nominated singer Maya Arulpragasam, a.k.a. M.I.A, "was across town doing a photo shoot for Vogue."
It a rare occasion when there's good Lindsay Lohan news to report, but today is one of those days. The CEO of Emanuel Ungaro, Mounir Moufarrige, says the fashion has no plans to drop LiLo as its "artistic adviser" even though her debut in Pairs last month was panned by critics and it's been rumored that retailers haven't exactly been lining up to carry the collection. Of course, the final decision is in the hands of Ungaro's owner Asim Abdullah—and he may not be on the same page with Moufarrige—but let's focus on the positive, shall we? [Reuters]
Since launching their line rag & bone in 2002, Marcus Wainwright and David Neville have opened three stores in New York. Their latest is a spacious shop on Mercer Street in Soho. The long, airy space has high ceilings and sleek, industrial details, like exposed beams and old ladders. The label, whose name references an old British term for junk collectors, is consistently edgy, but with a tailored, timeless look. We especially love the dark-leather bomber jackets, the slim, colorful rayon dresses, and the warm men’s puffer jacket that conveniently turns into a vest. Both men’s and women’s items, as well as accessories and traditional shaving supplies, are carried at rag & bone’s newest outpost, with a comfortable sitting area in the back, ideal for trying on the label’s chic shoes. We visited the store in the month following its opening and picked out our favorite items.
Rag & bone, 119 Mercer St., nr. Spring St.; 212-219-0631
Daul in a September 2009 Japanese Vogue editorial.
The Daily Beast reports that Daul Kim, who was found dead in her Paris apartment last week in an apparent suicide, instant-messaged with a close friend on the morning of Thursday, November 19, just hours before her death.
She was depressed, she wrote, according to a transcript of the chat seen by The Daily Beast. She and her boyfriend had just had another brutal physical fight. She’d punched him in the face; he’d yanked her hair. But she was afraid to leave him, afraid to suffer the agony of being apart. The last time they separated, she hadn’t been able to eat, dropping from 112 to 99 lbs. Her friend begged her to leave town, book a job, call her mother. No, she said. She’d miss her dog. She ended the conversation abruptly, saying she was going off to clean the house.
Hours later, her body was discovered by her boyfriend. This week, Kim's family closed her blog to the public and questioned whether her death was really a suicide. Concerns have been raised over how quickly French authorities came to this hypothesis.
Someare speculating about the effect her Korean background may have had on her emotional well-being. The Daily Beast continues:
“Daul was the face of Korea on a worldwide scale, and when someone represents Korea on that level, there is pressure,” says Joy Yoon, Kim’s friend and a fellow Korean. “Though Daul had an extremely bright future ahead of her, I don’t think she could cut loose from her background and the pressures of it. The loneliness she must have felt must have been suffocating. Did her agencies really have her best interests at heart? I know she wanted stability and somewhat of a normal life and even complained about it. Isn’t that a sign? A cry for help?”
Suicide — that's the conclusion of state police and the FBI after completing their exhaustive investigation into the mysterious death of census worker Bill Sparkman, who was found hanging from a tree with his hands bound and the word "fed" scrawled in marker across his chest. It's believed that Sparkman was trying to make his death look like a murder because his life-insurance policies didn't cover suicide. "This is one of the most thorough death investigations that turned out to be suicide that I've ever seen," said Kentucky State Police Captain Lisa Rudzinski.
The model of King Kong featured in the original 1933 epic film is displayed at Christie's auction house in London. The figurine reportedly sold for more than 120,000 pounds Tuesday in London. Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 24 Nov 2009 | 2:06 pm
The economic pain that has crushed the media, advertising and real estate industries is taking a toll, clearly. Newspaper reporter, advertising account exec, and real estate agent are among the eight most stressful jobs in America, according to a new survey. [NYDN]
Has the absence of a new episode of Gossip Girl last night, plus the added dampener of no new reality index this morning, left you feeling listless and empty? Purposeless? Adrift in a sea of Real News? As though the narrative of your own life has been interrupted? Well, God. What kind of shallow loser are you? Ha, just kidding! We missed those overly made-up CW hussies, too. Which is why today we've decided to hold a Gossip Girl caption contest. Above is a shot from next week's episode (which appears to be Thanksgiving-themed, despite the holiday being this week — minus 10 in advance). Come up with a caption or a short description of what could be going on at this probably awkward holiday meal and stick it in the comments. The winner, which we'll announce by 1 p.m. tomorrow, gets the Claw, courtesy of Daily Intel.
AP - "The Imperial Cruise: A Secret History of Empire and War" (Little, Brown and Company, 400 pages, $29.99), by James Bradley: Theodore Roosevelt is one of the most admired figures in American history.
HAIR
• New L'Oréal hair-product commercials starring Cheryl Cole have come under fire because the singer is wearing hair extensions in them, which critics call misleading. However, because the commercials include a disclaimer ("Styled with some natural extensions"), they have not been pulled off the air. [FabSugar]
SKIN
• Rihanna reportedly requested that her tattoo artist, Josh Lord, attend her Rated R album-debut party tonight in case she wants to spontaneously get new ink. [Page Six/NYP]
• Cate Blanchett showed off her flawless complexion last night at a dinner for the Sydney Theatre Company. She uses the Facial Treatment Mask by Japanese skin-care brand SK-II a few times a week, which would be an expensive habit if she weren't the face of the company. [Beauty Counter/Style.com]
MAKEUP
• Lancôme is changing up its line of Juicy Tubes for the tenth anniversary of the collection next year. The company plans to make a four-color range of glosses out of 100 percent natural ingredients, including honey. [Independent UK]
FRAGRANCE
• Bottega Veneta is working on its first fragrance, which will be created by the brand's creative director, Tomas Maier. [WWD]
PLASTIC SURGERY
• A transgender prisoner in Massachusetts, who was convicted of murdering his wife in 1990, wants the state to pay for electrolysis. [Daily Beauty Reporter/Allure]
As if retailers weren't already panicky about Black Friday and the upcoming holiday shopping season, now they have worry about fire alarms sending shoppers to the exits. Racked is reporting a fire on Broadway south of Prince Street has forced Mango, Hugo Boss and Sephora to evacuate customers and employees. [Racked]
Sometimes, writers of pun headlines don’t have much to say about a particular story, so they’re forced to resort to using nonexistent vague insult words like “frillies” and Photoshopping baseball players in cheerleader outfits.
Sometimes, though, the pun headlines write themselves. Like, literally write themselves. The headlines come to life, sprout hands, and physically write themselves, like that M.C. Escher painting with the hands.
Let’s talk this through. A player. For a team whose name includes the participle “fighting” in it. Was punched. By a fan of the team whose name includes the participle “fighting” in it. Because he was mad about how badly the team whose name includes the participle “fighting” in it was playing football. Punched. In an alcohol-serving establishment. Fighting. Irish. Words. Stuff. Things.
Is it possible to write a headline about this occurrence that doesn’t sound like a joke? Wonder if someone has the guts to step up and just write “PLAYER INVOLVED IN ALTERCATION”…
Bernie Madoff may not be the only member of the family to see his property fall into the hands of new owners. The Real Deal reports Mark Madoff may be forced to sell his Nantucket "getaway" in the near future. [Real Deal]
After weeks of rumors about Lindsay Lohan either not getting paid or getting fired from the house of Emanuel Ungaro, where she was installed as artistic director earlier this year, the label's chief executive says he's keeping her. "Yes (she's staying on), she has a job to do," Mounir Moufarrige told Reuters at the Milan Fashion Global Fashion Summit.
Moufarrige acknowledged that maybe the glitter heart-shaped nipple pasties weren't the best choice for a Paris Fashion Week high-fashion runway.
"The criticism was harsh. I am sure we can do better in the collection to be honest but I think it was harsh ... But it did sell well," Moufarrige said.
He added that future Ungaro collections needed to be "more tight, more identity driven."
Though Net-a-Porter and Neiman Marcus dropped Ungaro for the spring season, Moufarrige doesn't blame this on Lindsay.
"There is more buzz definitely but we are in a recession," he said.
He adds that Bloomingdale's, Harvey Nichols, and Japanese stores have "shown interest," according to Reuters. But what exactly has Lohan been doing for Ungaro since the show? Yesterday, she mentioned the label in her Twitter feed: "Purple Magazine shoot with Terry Richardson and Olivier [Zham, Purple editor]! Ungaro and ali lohan !!!!" Oh God. Sounds terrifyingly uncomfortable, but presumably this kind of thing is in her job description? We cannot wait for that issue.
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.
A Taylor Lautner photo where you can only KIND OF see his abs!
“Teen Wolf”? Really? Prepare to get Wolfsued, Rolling Stone. That’s like regular being sued but the judge is wolves.
I can also picture Matt Taibbi buying this magazine and going “Nine full months of painstaking financial research, but finally, my ‘Obama’s Wall Street Sellout’ cover story WILL BE HEARD — Awwww dammit!”
Ben Bronfman (or "Ben Brewer" as he previously known) is the son of billionaire media mogul Edgar Bronfman Jr., the husband of singer (and cheese lover) M.I.A. (they're the parents of an eight-month-old son named Ikhyd Edgar Arular Bronfman), and the founder of the Green Owl, which is billed as the "Earth's first green music label" (and is backed by his father who happens to own Warner Music).
(He's also brother of Hannah Bronfman, who will be appearing on Tinsley Mortimer's forthcoming reality show.) So how does Ben, who grew up in one of New York's richest families but is nothing like the rest of the Bronfman clan now that he lives in Bed-Stuy (gasp!), deal with the press attention that occasionally comes his way?
He doesn't. "I try not to let any of that stuff penetrate my sphere of consciousness," Bronfman tells the Observer while sipping a glass of Malbec at the Bowery Hotel. If you grew up in New York counterculture, I think it's relatively easy to filter out all the bullshit.
We loved the gray Moschino sheath she wore last night at the presentation of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award in the White House. This morning, the First Lady received Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the White House wearing an orange dress and coat by Isaac Mizrahi. See the full looks in the Michelle Obama Look Book.
All this week our Best Day Ever comics are bringing you the ridiculous pop culture moments from 2009 they are thankful for in special Thanksgiving edition episodes. It’s a tradition as old as the Mayflower! (Note: “Mayflower” is our new office goldfish)
Grab yourself a side of yams and enjoy the first helping of delicious 2009 moments. Save a leg for Mike Britt:
If you're stressed about being treated unfairly at work—and you happen to be male—you'd be well advised to find a way to release your frustration. According to a bunch of Swedish scientists at something called the Stress Research Institute, men who let things pass without saying anything are five times more likely to suffer a heart attack. (They're also more likely to turn up at the office one one day with a loaded AK-47, aren't they?) Strangely, the study didn't bother to mention what women are supposed to do in these situations, so you're female and your boss is torturing you, you'll have to keep it bottled up for the time being. [Reuters]
When college friends Humberto Leon and Carol Lim decided to open Opening Ceremony in New York in 2002, they had no idea that just seven years later they’d have two more stores, in Los Angeles and Tokyo. The original Opening Ceremony on Howard Street is now better than ever, with several collaborations in the works and a focus on up-and-coming designers from around the world. After viewing his stellar spring 2010 collection, we sat down with co-owner Humberto Leon to discuss their Olympic inspiration, how every woman should own a million dresses, and an extensive list of designers who shaped his love for fashion.
Opening Ceremony features a visiting city each year. What’s up next?
We have featured a city or country every year since opening. This year, since we opened our store in Tokyo, we decided to celebrate a year of partnerships. We did collections with Chloë Sevigny, Pendleton, Betsey Johnson, Keds, Timberland, Where the Wild Things Are, Trash and Vaudeville, and others. This will continue until fall 2010.
The store’s name references the Olympics, so what were your favorite Olympic Games?
We always use the Olympics as a source of inspiration. The 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles are the most memorable and epic to date.
How do you decide what to stock in the store?
Carol and I always think of occasions, because occasional dressing is the most fun. Whenever we pick anything, we think about the scenario for wearing it. The great thing is that we are on all buying appointments together, so we can always reference the collections we choose.
What is the aesthetic you’re striving for?
Fun, special, unique, classic, forever, nerdy, cool, dressy, functional, and multipurpose.
You’ve done some amazing collaborations. Anything coming up that we can look forward to?
There are some fun ones coming up, but Robert Clergerie is the only one I can talk about.
Inside Opening Ceremony.Photo: Melissa Hom
Describe your favorite piece, or pieces, in stock right now.
My favorite pieces are a Pendleton meets Opening Ceremony patchwork shirt and the Chloë Sevigny for Opening Ceremony Bass loafers.
What was the first designer item you bought or wore?
Some fond memories include a white Wilsons leather jacket, a Forenza sweater, Zodiac buckle shoes with an elastic strap that I wore to prom, and Doc Martens. My first expensive pair of shoes came from Miu Miu's first men's collection. They were square-toe shoes with a Velcro strap and futuristic soles.
Who are some of your favorite designers, then and now?
Growing up, my favorite designers were Levi's, JimmyZ, Maui and Sons, Mossimo, Chess King, Esprit, Gap, Banana Republic, J.Crew, Benetton, Club Monaco, Ralph Lauren, JNCO, Peanuts, UFO, Final Home, Vexed Generation, Walter Van Beirendonck, Agnès b., A.P.C., Helmut Lang, Stussy, Calvin Klein, Prada, Miu Miu, Burberry, Raf Simons, Dries Van Noten, Cloak, Patrik Ervell, Band of Outsiders, N.Hollywood, Lad Musician, Barbour, and Supreme.
What pieces or labels do you wear most?
I always revolve around the same ideas of mixing functional outdoor clothing with dressier suiting-type pieces. I’ve been heavily influenced in style by the late-nineties successful Internet guy — the guy who wore New Balance sneakers with anything he wanted.
Where do you shop most in NYC, other than your own store?
I love shopping at other stores, as well as my own. I shop at Barneys, Bergdorf Goodman, Atelier, Seven, and Tokio7.
What are you coveting these days?
I want a Lanvin coat and a Margiela suit.
What trends are you into this season?
I don't really believe in trends, but I’m into baggier trousers for guys. I’m also really getting into corduroy. I think it is the most appropriate all-season fabric.
Any trends you wish would just disappear?
Jeans worn low to show your underwear and silk-screened T-shirts with tattoo prints.
What should every man stock in his closet?
A perfect suit, a perfect shirt, a perfect pair of shoes, great, hole-free socks, underwear that feels good, T-shirts from your childhood (even if they are ironic), a Pendleton flannel, gray slacks, great khakis, jeans that make you look good, a Barbour coat, New Balance sneakers, Rod Lavers, a Supreme hat, and too many others to name.
Every woman?
A million dresses for all different occasions: short, long, tight, and full. A great oversize cardigan, the perfect silk blouse, killer heels, awesome flats, comfortable tops, Alaïa skirts, and anything Balenciaga.
Finish this sentence: I never leave the house without …
My carabiner of keys, my BlackBerry, my wallet, and my Brookstone windproof umbrella.
Personal letters, first edition copies and even a suicide note penned by 19th century French poet Charles Baudelaire, seen here in an undated archive photo, go on sale next week in Paris. Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 24 Nov 2009 | 11:49 am
Now that we’ve had a day for everyone to catch up on their DVRs and reflect on the Seinfeld reunion, might as well start the discussion — what did people think of the Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 7 finale? (Seven? Wow. Two full seasons occurred after Larry died and went to heaven.)
Personally, I watched through the finale never quite not enjoying it, but when it was over, I realized I hadn’t actually laughed at any of it. The episode’s token Curb awkward dilemmas — not tipping, not using a coaster — seemed like they should’ve been covered in like, the third episode of the series (and there was another tipping dilemma in the Swan episode just three weeks ago), and nothing unexpected came out of them other than the show’s insistence on repeating the terms “Mocha Joe” and “respect wood” as jokes.
Then we got to witness the Seinfeld reunion show, including almost six full minutes of material that…
1) Was a completely standard, average Seinfeld episode, with nothing special about it even attempted other than a couple modern references. And that…
2)We had already seen the actors rehearse and perform in prior episodes. Just not projected inside a television screen.
Was Curb banking on people being so instantly enamored with the Seinfeld cast back together, they didn’t need to do anything unpredictable? Or was the reunion designed to be deliberately anticlimactic, poking fun at peoples’ eagerness for a reunion by showing one happen and having it not really be anything special? Are people still that eager for a Seinfeld reunion? It is on tv fifteen times a day.
Having said that… not to be totally negative here about a finale that was for all intents and purposes fine, I was pleasantly surprised by two aspects of the season:
1) I can’t believe how well Jerry Seinfeld handled himself with the unscripted Curb banter. Given how awkward he is as an actor, and how any talk show interviews with him devolve into him testing out scripted standup bits, I never would’ve thought he would walk into the Curb world and not only completely fit with the informal dialogue style, but thrive.
2) We all knew the Michael Richards awkward racial moment was coming from the day the reunion was announced, but it was still really funny when it happened. Also, no J.B. Smoove in the finale at all? Might’ve been problem #1 right there.
As for the very end, I thought Larry David walked an interesting line with the ‘getting back with Cheryl’ plot, tempering a self-awareness of that ending’s potential cheesiness (which he even calls out when telling the cast he rewrote the script) with a not-too-bombastic conclusion, climatically kissing Cheryl then insisting that she call Julia Louis-Dreyfuss about ruining her table. Larry David reminds us yet again that no matter what happens, he’s still Larry David, which, ironically, may have been both the best and worst aspects of Curb remaining on the air for seven seasons.
Alright, enough overanalysis about a lighthearted thirty minute comedy series that doesn’t take place in Scranton — what did people think of the Curb finale and the Seinfeld reunion season in general? Favorite/least favorite parts? Praise/rant away in the comments.
Playboy, which has been struggling in the digital age, said Tuesday it will outsource publication of the iconic magazine to American Media Inc. in a cost-cutting move. Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 24 Nov 2009 | 11:11 am
Australian heartthrob Hugh Jackman, seen here in September 2009, is joining forces with Steven Spielberg in a futuristic movie about robot boxers, entertainment industry press reported Tuesday. Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 24 Nov 2009 | 10:46 am
Lady Gaga is continuing on with her non-stop promotional tour of “The Fame,” even taking time to stop by NBC’s Titanic lifeboat, the S.S. Jay Leno, for a quick “Bad Romance” jaunt. Last night’s theme seemed to be “S&M Plane Makes Water Landing,” as a group of Pulp Fiction gimps did the Thriller dance behind Gaga, wearing a jacket with built-in headrest. Still love this song, but it should be noted that the back-up dancers totally steal the show. J-ing off and Riverdancing? Yes and yes.
This was pretty good, but nowhere near as good as my new favorite jam (admittedly from ‘07) discovered while perusing RuPaul’s Celebrity Playlist on Itunes. (NSFW)
AP - "Delilah" (St. Martin's Press, 384 pages, $25.99), by India Edghill: There's no surprise ending in India Edghill's new novel about Samson and Delilah. Blinded by the Philistines, Samson pulls down the temple in Gaza, killing himself and the idolaters trapped with him.
A general view of the Pompidou Centre modern art museum taken in June 2009 in Paris, during a private visit of US President Barack Obama and his family. Staff at the Pompidou Centre decided Tuesday to... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 24 Nov 2009 | 10:23 am
Spanish tenor Placido Domingo, pictured on November 11, will give a free, open-air concert in Mexico City next month to celebrate Christmas, city authorities said Monday. Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 24 Nov 2009 | 10:22 am
Reuters - Hollywood wild child Lindsay Lohan is staying on as artistic adviser at fashion house Emanuel Ungaro despite her debut collection being panned by critics, President and Chief Executive Mounir Moufarrige said on Tuesday.
It’s almost Thanksgiving. Which means that PETA – that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals — will do whatever is in their power to stop you from enjoying your delicious turkey dinner. So they’ve made a commercial, which has already been “banned” by the networks, likely PETA’s intention to turn the ad viral on the web.
There are so many options when it comes to turning people off to turkey on Thanksgiving. For example, why don’t you talk about how mean turkeys are, PETA? Mean and stupid. Turkeys are literally so stupid (their brains are the size of a Lemonhead, i.e. tiny.) By convincing the masses that turkeys are just terrible animals, we can almost guarantee people refraining from buying them. Why associate a holiday about family and thanks with a creature so undeserving of all the attention?
But honestly, PETA, is this the best you could do? Frankly, everything you’re saying still sounds pretty delicious. Burnt feathers? Stomping on little turkey heads? Chemicals, dirt and poop? Honestly, Thursday night cannot get here soon enough.
We’ve all been there: You get really hammered one night, then at 5 am you decide it’d be an awesome idea to complete the New York Times crossword, so you get a pen out, try to cram “HEMINGWAY” into five different places, pass out, and wake up with the pen sticking out of your eye. It happens.
But Zachary Quinto appears to be sober in this picture and he’s still barely flinching with the pen in his eye, and that’s impressive:
Additional pic from Heroes: The Pen Saga, after the jump:
Hulk Hogan, how it usually works is, you live your life, THEN a movie comes out about you. I’m not sure why you’ve decided to turn your life as literally as possible into the movie The Wrestler, but apparently, you’ve decided you have to always be this bloody to get us to notice you:
If he doesn’t clean himself up and get back to that deli counter, Todd Barry’s gonna be pissed.
Below, some more pics of the latest leg of the Hulk Hogan / Ric Flair “Bloody Old Men” world tour, featuring the two bloody wrestlers giving an interactive demonstration about hemophilia precautions (this is the “what not to do” segment):
Little Richard is an American Icon, a delicacy of flamboyance and performance and sequins. And this week, the man responsible for making a scream his national catchphrase is asking for something in return after years of thanklessly entertaining the public: Prayer for recovery.
The Rev. Bill Minson, a family friend, says the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer had been in some pain leading up to the surgery but continued to maintain a rigorous performing schedule.
Minson says the 76-year-old asked him to tell fans “to get ready to rock ‘n’ roll with him in the new year because he’s coming back strong.”
Praying for Little Richard seems like the least we could do as a people. In fact, allow us to use this video of Aretha Franklin, Billy Preston, a Gospel Choir and Little Richard as inspiration. Our boy rolls in at 3:25.
Ah, to be a fly on the wall the night Precious met Fabulous. That’s actress Gabby Sidibe meeting international treasure Joan Collins at a birthday party for socialite Jack Rich. As you can see in these photos, these two seemed to hit it off marvelously, giving yet even more hope for the future all time best buddy cop movie of all time.
And that woman to the right? That’s Nikki Haskell, self-described “diet advisor and socialite”, whose own Wikipedia page calls her out for being fake as hell and using steroids to lose weight. She also dresses like a literal cougar. And frankly, the last thing we want to see around our beloved Gabby is some old ass, rich, leathery “nutrition” expert. Thanks, Nikki Haskell, for ruining a photo that would have otherwise been perfection.
Thankfully, the photographer knew to crop her out of some other shots, below.
France's first lady, singing ex-supermodel Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, seen here in Doha earlier this month, has agreed to star in US auteur Woody Allen's next movie, she told a television interviewer. Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 24 Nov 2009 | 4:00 am
Wait, Kathy Ireland was on this show? What the heck is Tom DeLay doing here?!
Oh right, the Dancing With the Stars finale is when a whole season's worth of contestants come out of...
The first stop on tonight's soiree schedule is Maxim's bash for covergirl Ashley Greene at Avenue in New York City.
Avenue is same spot where I spotted Rob Pattinson and...
Ojani Noa says he's moved on since his brief marriage to Jennifer Lopez more than a decade ago.
Minus the 12-year-old home movies he's peddling and his desire to make a...
How can Michael Lohan keep leaking taped phone calls and not to go jail?
—Brandee, via the Answer B!tch inbox
Oh, he could go to jail, all right.
Michael...
Fox's hit medical-mysteries series House is mixing it up next week, and you Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) fans are going to love the twist!
Instead of Gregory House (Hugh...
• Bones: Approximately six million years after we all started begging her, Zooey Deschanel is finally guest starring on her big sister Emily Deschanel's show, Bones. Zooey plays...
The Visitors are leaving for a while. (You know what they say about guests and fish stinking after three days.) Tonight is the last new episode of V's premiere pod of episodes, and it's a...
OK, so apparently, all the TV networks simultaneously noticed Tuesday nights have been a bit of a dead zone in terms of hipster TV. Yes, CBS has lots of high-rated shows that night, and FX has had...
Ben Bronfman (or "Ben Brewer" 
Now that we’ve had a day for everyone to catch up on their DVRs and reflect on the Seinfeld reunion, might as well start the discussion — what did people think of the Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 7 finale? (Seven? Wow. Two full seasons occurred after Larry died and went to heaven.)
Then we got to witness the 
1) I can’t believe how well Jerry Seinfeld handled himself with the unscripted Curb banter. Given how awkward he is as an actor, and how any talk show interviews with him devolve into him testing out scripted standup bits, I never would’ve thought he would walk into the Curb world and not only completely fit with the informal dialogue style, but thrive.
It’s almost Thanksgiving. Which means that PETA – that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals — will do whatever is in their power to stop you from enjoying your delicious turkey dinner. So they’ve made a commercial, which has already been “banned” by the networks, likely PETA’s intention to turn the ad viral on the web. 
Little Richard is an American Icon, a delicacy of flamboyance and performance and sequins. And this week, the man responsible for making a scream his national catchphrase is asking for something in return after years of thanklessly entertaining the public: Prayer for recovery.
