Reuters - The last major new role on the upcoming third season of HBO's "True Blood" has been filled. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 5 Feb 2010 | 2:48 am
(AP) AP - Christie's auction house is selling one of Jasper Johns' iconic American flag paintings from the collection of "Jurassic Park" author Michael Crichton. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 5 Feb 2010 | 2:05 am
Christie's auction house is selling one of Jasper Johns' iconic American flag paintings from the collection of "Jurassic Park" author Michael Crichton. Crichton was an avid art collector Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 5 Feb 2010 | 1:48 am
Reuters - A thematically ambitious drama about television news and its manipulation by corporate and political interests, and by the ever-more-desperate race for ratings, "Rann" ("Battle") has none of the Bollywood musical trappings that stateside audiences have come to expect as the default. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 5 Feb 2010 | 1:40 am
Reuters - Hard-hitting action marks "District 13: Ultimatum," a satisfying sequel to "District B13." Disillusioned rebel Leito (parkour expert David Belle) teams again with double-crossed cop Tomasso (Cyril Raffaelli) to save a walled-off Parisian slum from nuclear annihilation. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 5 Feb 2010 | 1:39 am
Congressman Anthony Weiner visited his old roommate Jon Stewart last night and, when asked about his chances in a mayoral election, claimed he "would have beaten Bloomberg like a rented mule," had he run in the fall. There was more strange diction on The Late Late Show, where Tina Brown's description of the web as a "hot" medium turned out to be only slightly related to pornography. Sen. Scott Brown (no relation) was the subject of David Letterman's Top Ten and on The Colbert Report Henry Louis Gates Jr. revealed Stephen Colbert's genealogy as part of his Faces of America project. It turns out that Stephen Colbert has more in common with his character than he knew. Watch our compilation to see what you missed.
A story on Page 1 of Tuesday's Telegraph quoted a White House official explaining that a Q-and-A session with dozens of teenagers in Nashua High School North on Monday was "off the record." However, the explanation about the talk being "off the record" was, it turns out, also "off the record" and should not have been quoted.
...and here's the bewildering skeleton of a corrected story, now bearing the headline "Staffers Visit, White House Remains Mum." [via BoingBoing] [Pic via Inju's Flickr]
Cohen, a millionaire pawnbroker, managed to gloss over reams of domestic violence allegations until after he won the Illinois Democratic Party's primary for Lieutenant Governor this week. Once the Cohen floodgates opened on Thursday, though, they wouldn't stop. Here are all the terrible things we learned about him in the last 24 hours:
According to ex-wife Debra York Cohen, Scott's abuses included beating her, choking her, and trying to rape her.
Petitioning for a restraining order during their 2005 divorce, Debra said Scott abused illegal drugs and anabolic steroids, the latter of which he admits to be true.
For all the steroids, though, Scott claims he never roid raged at his children, which Debra says he did. He explained in court that he's just a shitty dad:
Although I may have taken steroids and or performance enhancing drugs in the past I have not utilized any of these drugs in the last two weeks … Although from time to time I have screamed and yelled at my children, that is my parenting style and my prerogative. I have never abused my children, I have never hurt my children and I have never done any harm to them
After the divorce, Cohen dated a convicted prostitute employed by a Glenview "massage parlor." She called the cops after a fight in which she claims Scott held a knife to her throat. The charges were dismissed; here's how he explains it now:
I was going through a divorce, and I started running with a fast group. I was in a tumultuous relationship with a woman I was dating. We had a fight, but I never touched her.
He is very persuasive, because he somehow convinced Debra to accompany him on television (photographed above) where she said he'll be a fine lieutenant governor in spite of it all: "It was a short period of time and it's certainly not something that the people of Illinois need to be concerned with."
How did this sterling gentleman land a critical role in Illinois' 2010 landscape? (a.) The lieutenant governor primary is usually a tiny, low-budget race. Cohen threw $2 million of his own money on the campaign, making him the only candidate with popular name recognition. (b.) Despite the boatloads of money, local Dems and media didn't take him seriously until it was too late, probably because he was a total unknown, politically. Cohen explains,
I tried to tell everyone about this early on. I wanted to talk about all of these issues, but everyone wrote me off, and said I didn't have a chance to win. Now that I'm the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor, the day after the election, there are questions. I am happy to answer any and all questions.
"No one in my campaign staff told me anything about it and I don't think anybody knew about it, at least I didn't," Quinn said. "I had no idea of these matters and I learned reading the papers, watching TV. I consider them very, very serious and grave matters. I think any citizen would feel the same."
Quinn says Cohen has an "obligation to step aside," but since Cohen won the primary fair and square (albeit by a tight margin) the Democratic Party's hands are tied. Last time a gubernatorial candidate found himself in this position, it was Adlai Stevenson III in 1986, when a follower of Lyndon LaRouche won the Democratic Party's Lieutenant Governor candidacy. Adlai ended up stepping down and inventing a whole new political party so he could have a better running mate, and ultimately lost to the Republican. [ChicagoTrib] [ChicagoTrib] [Politico]
Daddy Issues:Eric Bana is in negotiations to join Saoirse Ronan in Hanna, the tale a 14-year-old girl whose father raises her to be a killer. After discovering what life is like for those who aren't killing machines, she is dragged back into her old life and must fight her way to freedom. Bana will play her father in a return to ass-kicking action a briefly delving into sci-fi in A Time Traveler's Wife. [Heat Vision/HR]
Draw!: CBS Films is currently in the casting-stage for its Gunsmoke movie and is having trouble deciding who should play leading man Marshal Matt Dillion. They need someone to play "an action hero who also has depth and period cachet" and the top contenders are Brad Pitt and Ryan Reynolds. But we're not sure why they don't just make this easier on everyone and cast Matt Dillion. [LA Times]
Joe Knows:Joe Simpson, patriarch of the powerful and influential Simpson family, has landed his own show on Nickelodeon. The comedy series, which Simpson will executive produce, is loosely based on his real-life experience of raising two girls in Texas. Only in the fictionalized version, he'll keep them both far away from John Mayer. [HR]
Knock Out:Jonathan Demme and Walter Mosley are teaming up for HBO to co-write a pilot based on the novelist's new detective series The Long Fall. Demme will direct the pilot, which will introduce an ex-boxer turned private eye. Both Mosely and Demme will executive produce, along with Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman. Mike Tyson, who couldn't really display his acting chops any more than he already has, will, if there is just God, star. [Deadline]
Reality Bites: VH1 has given the greenlight to an untitled movie from Queen Latifah's production company. The untitled comedic drama is about two best friends, one an aspiring fashion mogul and the other a music video dancer. The pick-up is part of VH1's attempt to balance its heavy reality lineup with some scripted material. Music videos, however, are not an option [Variety]
LOS ANGELES - Michael Jackson's doctor plans to surrender to authorities Friday, regardless of whether prosecutors had filed a case against him, a spokeswoman said Thursday. The... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 5 Feb 2010 | 12:14 am
LOS ANGELES - Michael Jackson's doctor has agreed to surrender to authorities Friday to face a criminal case stemming from the singer's death, his lawyer said Thursday. Attorney Ed... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 5 Feb 2010 | 12:09 am
Nigerian-British singer Sade is pictured performing at the Olympia in Paris, during the 16th 'Victoires de la Musique,' in 2001. Longevity is rare in an industry full of ready made stars and one-hit-wonders,... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 4 Feb 2010 | 11:46 pm
Longevity is rare in an industry of ready-made stars and one-hit-wonders, but Sade of "Smooth Operator" fame is back after a decade away with a new album out February 9. Before "Soldier... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 4 Feb 2010 | 11:46 pm
We couldn't say it any better than Niecy Nash so we'll just let Niecy Nash say it: "Gracious!" That's how the Reno 911! star and host of the home makeover show Clean House reacts to the clutter inside of Lindsay Lohan's home on The Insider. As its title indicates, The Insider takes us inside Lindsay's house where she has enough clothes and shoes stored to start her very own Goodwill. Anything not covered in clothing is covered in trash, junk or cat statues (seriously, watch for the cat statue). Clearly, Lindsay is shamed by this mess and in a bit of denial. But for as bad as she feels for being a "secret celebrity hoarder," Lindsay should at least be proud of her shoe organization system. That's damn impressive.
A spokeswoman for Michael Jackson's doctor says he will surrender Friday whether he's been charged in the singer's death or not. Spokeswoman Miranda Sevcik said Thursday that Dr. Conrad... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 4 Feb 2010 | 11:29 pm
AP - Miranda Kerr says an Australian banker left red-faced when a live TV broadcast showed him looking at her scantily clad photos at work shouldn't be fired.
Twentieth Century Fox continued its war against bootleggers yesterday by filing six lawsuits against dozens of people that it says sold bootleg DVDs of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Marley & Me, Avatar and Bride Wars. In order to catch the pirates Fox sent its employees undercover and had them buy DVDs on sites like Craigslist, iOffer.com and Sell.com. The sellers were scattered all across the country, from California to New Jersey and now they might owe Fox as much as $150,000 for each infringement. Or, if they choose, they can be disemboweled by Wolverine's claws.
By now you've seen the result of Brittany Murphy's initial autopsy results. But what does it really mean?
Despite subtle differences in language, a medical expert...
•Nelly Furtado is about to become the most famous Candian singer-songwriter to star in a musical about Hockey, ever. Furtado will be starring in Score: A Hockey Musical as a hockey fan whose hockey buzz is harshed by her mean mom (Olivia Newton-John). Look for the sequel: Curling: A Curling Musical. Or something? [THR]
Now we hear Joe Simpson, father of Jessica and Ashlee Simpson Wentz, is developing a television comedy for Nickelodeon based on his life...
Wait a second. Check that. It's actually Johnny Depp making a documentary about Keith Richards. Depp told the Serbian magazine Politika that he plans to start shooting next week. This is Depp's second attempt at directing after his 1997 drama The Brave, which no one really saw. But that was a long time ago and Depp says he's ready to jump back behind the camera. And who better to do it with than Richards, the objects of his bro-fection. [Variety]
According to an upcoming issue of Men's Health, New York is among the "least drunk" cities in the country. Fresno, California, finds itself atop the list, while Boston is the number one least drunk city, seven spots ahead of New York. Getting beaten at anything by Boston is not really something this city stands for. So it's tea and Shirley Temples this weekend guys. Let's beat Boston's ass! [USA Today via Runnin Scared]
Plans have been canceled for Dr. Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson's personal physician, to turn himself in to authorities Friday, law enforcement sources said.
(But unlike those other guys, it's all just a big 'ole joke to us.)
As of now, Michael Jackson physician Conrad Murray will not be arraigned tomorrow on a charge of involuntary manslaughter, a source...
After round one of Jon Stewart v. Bill O'Reilly last night, we were pretty disappointed that there were no punches thrown. But we had hope! There would be another segment tonight and surely that's when the fists would fly. Or the chairs. Or at least a falafel ball. No such luck. O'Reilly and Stewart debated as civilly as they did last night, digging into topics like global warming, Iran and the 9/11 terror trials. But if we had to pick a winner it would have to be O'Reilly for delivering the line of the night: "You're a Jewish guy, right?"
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - A Malaysian court has charged three teenagers with trying to torch Muslim prayer rooms after attacks on churches in a dispute over the use of the word "Allah" in... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 4 Feb 2010 | 9:04 pm
Twenty-four hours ago, the premiere for Lost's final season ended and already an Avatar mash-ups have arrived. Sure, it's an old school jpeg, but it's also awesome. [Slashfilm]
The Roots' ?uestlove revealed today via Twitter that the NBC cafeteria had made the rather unfortunate choice of serving stereotypical black people food in honor of Black History Month. The chef who set the menu—who is black—didn't understand why it caused a media uproar. Wanda Sykes took a different view.
"I'm scared to know what they were having for dessert," said Sykes. "I hope they at least took it off the rind." Jay Leno looked genuinely very uncomfortable! Good job, Wanda Sykes.
When Scott Brown was sworn in this afternoon, Democrats officially lost their supermajority in the Senate. So what did its leaders, in this case President Obama, do to celebrate? Talk about health care, of course.
At a party fundraiser earlier tonight, Obama called on Republicans to bring their ideas to the table and combine them with the legislation that emerges from the House and Senate bills that were passed last year. He thinks, for some reason, that this is going to lead to progress rather than bickering and grandstanding.
"What I'd like to do is to have a meeting whereby I'm sitting with the Republicans, sitting with the Democrats, sitting with health care experts, and let's just go through these bills -- their ideas, our ideas -- and walk through them and in a methodical way so that the American people can see and compare," Obama said.
"And then I think we've got to go ahead and move forward on a vote," he added. "We've got to move forward on a vote."
Yes, a vote. That's what we all need. Either pass it or don't. And then, for the love of G.O.B., move on.
Miranda Kerr says an Australian banker left red-faced when a live TV broadcast showed him looking at her scantily clad photos at work shouldn't be fired. Macquarie Bank worker Dave Kiely Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 4 Feb 2010 | 8:15 pm
When he's not busy stealing lightning, Logan Lerman, the star of Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, is busy starting rumors that he's the new Spider-Man. The baby-faced actor told Billy Bush today that "there have been a few discussions" about him starring as a young Peter Parker in the Marc Webb-directed reboot of Spider-Man. He added, "It's definitely something I'm looking into." Unfortunately, Lerman seems to be looking into it a bit harder than the movie's studio, Columbia Pictures. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the studio has a list of potential actors and Lerman is just "on that list." A Columbia rep said, “No offers have been made, nor have any business discussions been made with Lerman.” Thanks to his premature disclosure, he can probably count on that not changing.
Miranda Kerr has come to the defense of Australian banker David Kiely, who has been suspended from his job after local news cameras captured him examining the model's nude body on his computer. Kerr says that she hopes Kiely's employer, Macquarie Bank, doesn't fire him and has offered to sign a petition to save his job. In the interest of keeping you, the reader, fully informed, here's a link to the pictures, which should be used to make you a more informed citizen and for no other reason. [Herald Sun]
Alas, there would be no blood. There was just Jon Stewart holding forth on a bunch of pressing political issues. Topics ranged from global warming (O'Reilly: "You're frightened of it. You want to flee.") to Iran (Stewart: "Thank you guys for ratcheting up the fear on this.") to Sarah Palin (Stewart: "I'm not crazy about the whole real America vibe.") There was the cheap thrill of hearing some charismatic dude state clearly opinions you agree with, but all in all it was not the apocalyptic tour de force killfest we were secretly hoping for.
We really were planning on declaring Jon Stewart the winner of television tonight. We had the title of this post already picked out and everything: "Jon Stewart Wins Television Forever <3." It would have gotten a million hits! And, like a brilliant golden wreath, we would have laid this blog post about Stewart's neck as he stood astride Fox News' bloodied corpse, scoring another notch in his heavy studded belt. He would have looked up, still winded from the struggle of battle, his shirt torn in a sexy way that revealed only his left nipple and some of the left side of his abs. We would catch his eye. Then we would lift our own shirt in a sexy way to reveal the The Daily Show tattoo on the 'tramp stamp' area of our back. And then—but we are getting off topic!
Instead, the best we could do was nod and say "good point, Jon," at the exact opposite moments 'real' Fox viewers were nodding and saying "good point, Bill." But, man, we nodded hard. We nodded the shit out of it. And in this way? We won.
We should try KSM in New York. *NOD*
Preemptive war is bad. *NOD*
Here's the full interview, courtesy of Mediaite:
(Reuters) Reuters - Changes that Google Inc and the Authors Guild made to an ambitious plan to create a massive online library were inadequate because they fail to address antitrust and copyright concerns, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 4 Feb 2010 | 7:11 pm
AP - The movie is called "Dear John," and, yes, there's a character named John and, yes, he's a soldier who, sure enough, receives dozens of letters from his sweetheart back home, including one emotionally wrought missive that begins "Dear John" and ends with his vowing to permanently switch to e-mail.
All the women who are independent, throw your hands up at me! Especially, um, if your name happens to be Betty Suarez.
Ugly Betty is coming to an end this season, and sources are...
Same goes for the follow-up to Star Trek, the other sci-fi hit she was in this...
This morning, we were reunited with our old friend, Snoop Dogg, with whom we once spent a very memorable evening. (That is, until he generously handed over a blunt and we couldn't remember anything that happened afterwards.) This time, we waited outside in Soho with a horde of crazed sneaker-heads until Snoop and a bunch of Storm Troopers reenacted the Imperial March down Wooster St. to the Adidas store for the dramatic unveiling of limited-edition Star Wars sneakers: The Skywalker and The Yoda. Once there, Snoop fake-shopped for the cameras as event planners filled the room with smoke (from the smell of things, he added his own smoke later). We talked to the man for a hot minute and learned what kind of Star Wars character he'd like to be. The answer, we think, proves Snoop has never seen Star Wars. Enjoy!
Every now and then little gems plop into our in-boxes. Such as:
[Name Redacted],
I hope you are having a great 2010 so far! If you are around New York City for Fashion Week please be sure to accept this TOP SECRET invitation to an exclusive fashion show featuring over 8 designers from New York and Los Angeles. It is a 2 - 3 hour event at a great nightclub near Union Square.
About 200 - 300 people are expected at the event, which is great because it will not be packed, but not overwhelming. We also expect a hefty amount of press, so please come looking your best!
Because this party is invitation only, and only being publicized to targeted individuals - we are not telling our anyone where the party is. RSVP to the party, and on February 5, 2010 go between 105 w16th Street (Laundrymat) and the 14th Street Station. A picture and map to the location are on the events website [redacted].
When you arrive at the location, look for our hostess who will be wearing a bright colored bandanna on her arm. She will not be hard to spot - she will likely also have a clipboard and a walkie talkie. She will check if you are on the list - so PLEASE RSVP.
Tell the hostess the secret password "TOAST" and she will escort you in small groups into the party location. This means no lines, and fast tracking into the club. Make sure you bring a valid ID.
The party is 21+ BUT I have worked out an exception for this event only. If you or someone you know under 21 BUT OVER 18 would like to attend please email me and we will be able to have them attend (obviously, they will not be served alcohol). My email address is [redacted] and you can call / text me for this party at [redacted].
Hopefully I will see you there! Be sure to RSVP @ [redacted].
You can also see my other New York events and TOP SECRET parties at [redacted].
How much do celebrities get paid to attend shows during Fashion Week? More than you might expect!
Fashionista did a little asking around and found that some bigger name stars like Rihanna and Beyoncé can earn upwards of $100,000 for what amounts to about an hour's worth of work; even more B-listy people like Gossip Girl's Blake Lively and Leighton Meester still do pretty well for themselves, commanding $50,000 and $40,000, respectively.
As for why Jennifer Lopez doesn't look so thrilled to be sitting in her front row seat at Fashion Week last year, that might be because she's seen her value plummet in recent years. Back in 2005, she was getting $80,000 to attend a show. This year, the poor thing can only expect to walk away with a check for $30,000.
The West-Park Presbyterian Church, built in the 1880s and designed by Leopold Eidlitz and Henry Kilburn, was designated a landmark by the Landmarks Preservation Commission last month by a unanimous vote. Awkwardly, it was the congregation leadership itself (including Pastor Robert Brashear) who had hoped to team up with a developer in order to transform the deteriorating sandstone structure into something new. [The Architect's Newspaper]
• Interesting theory: Taylor Lautner is sort of the teen version of Tom Cruise with this overeagerness and leather jackets. More evidence here.
• Sarah Silverman told David...
Bruce Springsteen is the boss of his own music—and a man of the people.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is demanding that his name be removed from a lawsuit filed by the American...
Brooke Mueller isn't leaving on a jet plane yet, but she will be soon.
Mrs. Charlie Sheen's mom, Moira Fiore, tells E! News that reports of her daughter checking out of Two...
Zac Posen exploded as a red-carpet design darling several years ago. He admits his fast rise to the spotlight inflated his ego as a young designer. In some ways that may be a bad thing. But his brazenness led him to do something amazing last April. He was at a dinner at La Grenouille to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Cartier. Editors from magazines in which Cartier advertises were there, of course, including Glenda Bailey from Harper's Bazaar. Posen sat down next to her and asked why the magazine was apparently slighting his work. They rarely featured his clothes, but wanted him to appear in a spread of fashion designers posing with Sesame Street characters.
From the Times:
“I didn’t want to model with the Count,” Mr. Posen said. “She said that was the only way my clothes could be in the magazine as a non-advertiser. I think she was surprised I wouldn’t take the part, but I stood my ground and I still do.”
Posen does not like to be referred to as a "young" designer, so of course he wouldn't want to be aligned with Sesame Street. In December, he went into what he called "survival mode." Investors cut funding, two top executives left the company, and the media had a small field day over it.
Yet Posen is adapting. He's launching a lower-priced line for Saks called Z Spoke and did a one-off collection for Target for spring. He's also considering keeping a greater distance from the media. To save money, he'll stage his Fashion Week show at 9 a.m. on February 15 in a way that will allow the clothes, not the designer, to be the star. In the meantime he's busy draping his own dresses in a tent set up in the middle of his Tribeca studio. The Times doesn't explain the tent — did he erect it himself? Is it from Eastern Mountain Sports? — but maybe it helps show he can still be eccentric with his ego tucked away. It may also make for a handy hiding place for when reporters drop by.
It's about to get all music industry insidery up in here. Earlier today, Scott Borchetta, the head of Taylor Swift's record label, felt the need to defend his star from all those mean...
You know, like everyone else we shook our heads at Citigroup's new "blog," which launched yesterday and features little news updates and interviews with executives at the company. We thought it sounded like a lame, corporate marketing ploy, not to mention the sort of thing that they really shouldn't be spending money on at this juncture. But as it turns out we were wrong — people are really responding to this little form of outreach. They're even leaving comments! Like on Vikram Pandit's video post, which is entitled, "The Cornerstone of a new Citi: Responsible Finance," a commenter called Boohunney wrote: "Too bad it wasn't part of the old Citi."
Just another loner, tired of life in the hinterlands, taking a chance on making it in the big city. Sure, she may get stuck modeling for sketchy photographers who happen to stop her on the street at first. She may run with punk rockers and junkies for a while, dating one loser after another who promises her it all. But one day — one day she's going to make it. She's going to start performing in clubs and get that recording contract. The world will know her by first name only, just you wait. She'll start a revolution. Then, just for kicks, she'll take her limo down to her old haunts on Avenue B, picking up Latin boys and bringing them home to dirty up her fabulous new life. She'll date artists, kiss a black Jesus, and marry a bad-boy movie star. And for at least one gorgeous, sexually outrageous decade, before she becomes a sad caricature of herself and what she once stood for, she'll be a star.
The second part of Michelle Obama's Today Show interview aired this morning. Matt Lauer had to suck up his anti-fashion sensibilities and ask her how she selects her clothes each day. She said she sometimes picks out two weeks' worth of outfits at a time, and she has "people" to help her and lay her clothes out for her each day. Also, she doesn't think too much about what bloggers like us will write about them. She just wears what she likes and finds comfortable.
No WAY is Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis going to be the only one to answer for the acquisition of crappy Merrill Lynch and its crappy bonuses, "a person close to Lewis's defense team" (who may or may not be Ken Lewis himself) tells Charlie Gasparino today on the Daily Beast. NO WAY will he be a scapegoat, alone, for the people who twisted his arm to go through with the Merrill deal by telling him he would be fired if he didn't. "If this thing goes to trial you can expect both Paulson and Bernanke to be on the witness list." If he's going down, he's bringing them down, too. Bringing them down to Chinatown. Order in the court!
Naomi Campbell is staging a fashion show during New York Fashion Week to benefit Haiti. It's going to be a spectacle — Charlotte Ronson had to bump her spot to let Naomi in — with Naomi and her entourage of famous people expected to descend on the Bryant Park Tents on February 12 at 7 p.m.
The show, which is also scheduled to walk in London, will feature looks from designers that she personally solicited, which will then be sold on Net-a-Porter.com starting next month. Celebrities are also expected to attend and model in the show. But here's the thing: It's not for fashion people. You can see it for yourself! Now that the Tents are basically open to anyone, from QVC to Jersey Shore crashers, why not open it to the public, too? At least this is for a great cause. Tickets for the show range from $100 to $150 and go on sale starting tomorrow for American Express cardholders through Ticketmaster.com. Proceeds, which are expected to reach $100,000, will be donated to Fashion for Relief.
"More good press for NBC today! At [left] is a photo snapped and posted on Twitter by Questlove, drummer for the Roots, NBC employee, and leader of the Late Night With Jimmy Fallon band. [NYM]
As ABC announced last week, "Bachelor" producers are busy preparing for the Jason Mesnick-Molly Malaney nuptials on March 8 -- the first-ever wedding to come out of the seven-year-old series (Ryan and Trista Sutter met on The Bachelorette).
When we caught up with Henry Louis Gates Jr. at a screening of Faces of America, a new series about genealogy that premieres February 10 on PBS, we wondered what he thought of new Massachusetts Senator-Elect Scott Brown. "I watched him on Leno the other night and I was thinking, I had to hold my arm down to keep from voting for the guy," he told us. "He is very personable and very charming." Yes, but would he have a beer with him? "I've had my last beer for a long time." View more in the Party Lines slideshow.
There seems to be a lot of controversy over the aboveSports Illustrated, featuring the anal workout regimen preferred by USA Olympic Ski hopeful Lindsay Vonn. The controversy, it seems, is that there is no gold medal for doing it doggy style. Right? Because otherwise, we’re not really sure what the problem is…
We here at BWE.tv don’t see anything wrong with the cover. She’s a skiier, in a ski position, wearing ski clothing. It’s not like she’s reenacting Basic Instinct interrogation on the bunny slopes… (missed opportunity, there, SI, you could have single-vagedly saved the publishing industry.) Sure, the photo is provocative, but on the bright side, now you know who Lindsay Vonn is: The US Skiier You Want To Have Kinky Sex With.
This post officially kicks off our coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics, which will be in depth and work intensive. Check back!
Sidenote, from an earlier tweet of mine that I thought necessary to share with the world once again: “I accidentally Google Image searched my new favorite magazine “Sporks Illustrated.” On the plus side, I found this:
Of all the actresses nominated for Oscars this year, Sandra Bullock is the one most likely to generate sales for the label who dresses her, reports The Wall Street Journal. (Vulture has a slideshow of Bullock's recent red carpet looks.) The website StyleSpot.com tracks a famous person's ability to sell things by monitoring the number of click-throughs to sites where people can buy the clothes. Sandra Bullock's Vivienne Westwood dress at the People's Choice Awards generated the most click-throughs to retail sites of all red-carpet appearances this year.
So you would think labels would be angling to dress Bullock for the Oscars. They probably are, but she might not be as hot a commodity as Carey Mulligan, whose red-carpet style fashion people adore. Yet Mulligan doesn't motivate sales, according to StyleSpot. Bullock may not have the best red carpet fashion sense (she may have skinned and waxed Barney for her Golden Globes gown), but she's relatable on top of being pretty, and this is what matters to the masses. It seems that if you can you hold up an InStyle cover, you can probably generate sales. Case in point: A lot of people tried to buy the spring 2010 Burberry shoes Jessica Alba wore to the People's Choice Awards (they couldn't because they're not available yet, so they bought similar styles, which kind of screwed Burberry, but then again not, because the label is rolling in it anyway). Kate Hudson, Drew Barrymore, and Penélope Cruz are also top sellers, according to StyleSpot.com.
Vogue's Hamish Bowles posits that Meryl Streep will be a top generator of sales after the Oscars, as could be Gabourey Sidibe.
Ms. Sidibe, the star of "Precious," is "an alternate paradigm for the red carpet, but she can carry these very strong colors," says Mr. Bowles. What's more, the plus-sized market is one of fashion's fastest growing.
Meanwhile Woody Harrelson, a Best Supporting Actor nominee, could generate the most click-throughs for menswear. Fine. But he better not wear one of those hats he always wears and continue to fool men everywhere into believing they should do that, too.
A new season of Real Housewives of New York City is coming soon. And so Kelly Bensimon has unveiled a brand new website which features not only a blog, but there's also an "online shop" where you'll find Kelly selling underwear that depicts Kelly posing in her underwear. How meta!
Marc Jacobs's business partner, Robert Duffy, has only been tweeting for several days, but he's on such a roll. He remains unfazed after his initial debacle with the technology, when he had to remove tweets in which he asked followers what the set design should be for Marc's show because he had "no idea" and just a week to come up with something. Throughout the week he's been sharing Twitpics of Marc and his team working on the fall 2010 collection. We love this sort of thing because designers are always so stingy about sharing anything they're planning. But thankfully, Marc Jacobs's house is the people's house. (They're also live-streaming the fashion show — one of the most coveted tickets of the entire season, all four fashion capitals combined.) You can't see a whole lot of the clothes in the early Twitpics (though some neutral fabrics are visible in the pressing room), but you can see Marc wearing socks and sandals as he holds some kind of oatmeal-colored knitted swatch.
Anonymous industry sources reveal Rihanna fetches $100,000 or more for attending a fashion show. Beyoncé makes less, at around $80,000 to $100,000. The Olsens could each make $80,000 a show, Julianne Moore $60,000, and Blake Lively $50,000. Meanwhile Kristen Bell will go for free as long as hair, makeup, and clothing are provided. Maybe she should go to fewer shows to increase demand. Basic economics, darling. [Fashionista]
The Los Angeles County Coroner has ruled actress Brittany Murphy's death an accident, saying she died of pneumonia, anemia and multiple drug intoxication.
MAKEUP
• Robin Doyle, head of the makeup department for Kristen Stewart's new movie The Runaways, revealed the secret to Kristen's makeup routine: "Sometimes we’d apply Kristen’s eyeliner at night, then she’d sleep in it, and it was in all the right creases in the morning when she came to the set." [Daily Beauty Reporter/Allure]
• M.A.C & Milk isn't just a Fashion Week venue. The two companies collaborated to release a collection of fourteen essential backstage products (think clear mascara, eye cream, and kohl pencils). They are only available until February 22. [Beauty Snob]
SKIN
• Lady Gaga got a new tattoo on her arm. It says "Little Monsters," which is the nickname she gave her fans. She debuted her new ink via Twitter, writing: "look what i did last night. little monsters forever, on the arm that holds my mic. chola tattoo from shamrock, so proud." That must be Monster speak. [NYDN]
FRAGRANCE
• Beyoncé appeared at Macy's Herald Square last night to promote her new fragrance, Heat. The scent generated $60,000 in sales after just one day in the Macy's flagship store. Terry Lundgren, Macy's chairman, says Heat has the potential to become the No. 1 fragrance of the year. Coty, which makes and distributes the fragrance, expects sales to reach $100 million. [WWD]
PLASTIC SURGERY
• Some doctors are now using a four-armed laser device named the Zeltiq that promises to reduce the size of thighs and love handles without surgery. It takes six 40-minute treatments and costs over $3,000. Some people who have tried it say it works. [NYT]
HAIR
• The Cheap Monday fashion show at Stockholm Fashion Week featured models wearing gray hair — both men and women. [Refinery 29]
Remember the banker that got busted for looking at racy photos on his computer because one of his colleagues was being interviewed on TV at the time? The woman he was looking at pictures of—Victoria's Secret model Miranda Kerr—has now stepped in and offered to sign a petition to help him try and save his job. [Herald Sun/NYP, previously]
Louis Vuitton makes handbags for spring that resemble trash bags with leather handles. The Raindrop Besace purses retail for $1,960 each. Refinery 29 reminds those interested in owning the bags of these words, spoken by DJ Pauly D: "And in walks this girl with like garbage bags. I thought that was kinda like ghetto, and like ... weird." We knewJersey Shore style would catch on!! [Pipeline/Refinery 29]
Band-aid heiress Casey Johnson died of diabetic-related complications, the LA County coroner's office announced this afternoon. As for Brittany Murphy, who died a couple of weeks before Johnson, the cause of death was pneumonia "complicated by an iron deficiency, anemia and multiple drug intoxication." The drugs found in her body weren't of the illegal variety, though. It was a "a mixture of prescription and over-the-counter medications." [AP, Reuters]
Our friend andFallon blogger Sara Schaefer, well aware of my love for the eminently squeezable animals known as sheep, knew exactly how to ruin my day: By sending me the following video and instructing me to watch all the way through to the end.
More information, you say? Sure.
There’s a heated Senate race happening in California.Carly Fiorina is a Republican looking to beat fellow Repub Tom Campbell in the election primary. And if we were basing our votes on “Demented Sons of Bitches,” Carly would be winning by a mile. That’s because she threw together the following smear ad using God’s most innocent and most pilluh-like creature — ADORABLE SHEEP.
The beginning is almost hilarious, created by the same special effects house that put together Anaconda (we think), and using sheep to their utmost hilarious advantage.
But the last 30 or so seconds take a turn for the “WHAT THE F*CK NONONO.” We don’t want to ruin the surprise, but we will say that this is our personal Silence of the Lambs. In fact, we’d prefer to spend the rest of our lives basting ourselves in fava bean flavored chianti vs. running into star of this video in a dark barn somewhere…
You know what are three things I love Sonic The Hedgehog is one and Harry Potter is also one and also I love Barack Obama check out my backpack yeeeeeaaaaahhhhh!!!!!!
Did I mention flowers oh yeah flowers too definitely need flowers on there awesome!!!
Anyone wanna trade one one of these for my Urkel backpack?
Kate Winsletshopping in SoHo with her son ... Jonathan Rhys Meyers walking into the Mercer Hotel with girlfriend Reena Hammer ... Bono and wife Ali Hewson at a bakery on Madison Avenue ... Channing Tatum getting in an SUV at JFK ... Ashley Olsenarriving at ABC studios for an appearance on Good Morning America ... Blake Lively carrying her dog inside her coat on the set of Gossip Girl ... Paris Hilton getting out of a car in front of the Late Show with David Letterman ... Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz attending a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden ... and John Travolta leaving the Plaza with Kelly Preston and daughter Ella.
Brittany Murphy’s cause of death has been determined — an accidental death caused by “community acquired pneumonia,” iron deficiency anemia, and multiple drug intoxication.
The L.A. County Coroner concludes on the subject of “How injury occurred” — “Drug intake.”
Still a sad story, but not exactly the world’s biggest surprise. I’m no betting man, but if I were, I wouldn’t have laid my money on “Heart attack at age 32.”
Meet Wendy Whitfield. She’s the owner of an adorrrrable owl named Twixx (owl cookie center = delicious). Twixx is hard up to get laid by another owl (Snickerzz? 100 Grandd?), and until his owl cravings be satisfied,he’s hooting up a storm much to the chagrin of Wendy’s neighbors…
And now Wendy’s only solution seems to be…
KILL THE OWL.
We don’t get it… Can’t she figure out a way for him to, you know, MATE? She claims there’s a comely young owl who responds to his hoots right outside his cage. Solution: OPEN THE DOOR TO HIS CAGE AND CUE THIS MUSIC. Why do you have to go and kill Twixx?
Before taking a look at the gallery, let it be known that I tried to find a video of owl sex, to show the world how beautiful it could be. Instead, I found this, clearly the inspiration for Will Ferrell’s “Luvah” character:
This post will hopefully explain to my Twitter followers the following Tweet: “How are there like no videos of owls having sex on the internet?” Thank you for reading, and please look through the following gallery for hilarious pics of Twixx looking for action…
SAVE TWIXX!
• Actress/TV producer Polly Draper and her husband Michael Wolff, the jazz pianist and composer best known as the bandleader on the Arsenio Hall Show, have put their full-floor apartment at 43 Fifth Avenue on the market. The 13-room, five-bedroom spread is listed for $25 million. [Curbed, AW] • Texas-based restaurant kingpin Bradley Blum, who's headed up operations at Olive Garden and Burger King and now serves as CEO of Romano's Macaroni Grill, has picked himself up a pied-à-terre. Blum paid $3.7 million for a two-bedroom apartment at the newly-renovated 141 Fifth Avenue. [NYO] • Paul Greenwood, the former money manager and Islanders co-owner, has put even more property in Westchester up for sale. In addition to the 16-acre estate in North Salem that he listed last month, Greenwood, who was accused of securities fraud last year, is also looking to sell his 300-acre horse farm nearby for $29 million. [NYP, V&W]
• Former Jets defensive back John Dockery and his wife Anne have paid $4.575 million for a three-bedroom apartment at the One Brooklyn Bridge Park building on the border of Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO. [NYP] • Hedge fund manager Theodore Petroulas has put his five-bedroom Westchester mansion on the market for $9.5 million. He originally bought the 14,000-square-foot spread from David Weinreb, a former salesman for Bloomberg LP who pleaded guilty to wire fraud in 2004, and his wife Karen for $1.9 million. [NYP, Sotheby's]
Little is known about the upcoming digitally animated movie A.D. — so little that we couldn’t even find an IMDB page for it. What we DID learn, however, is that it’s a digitally animated movie about zombies that will make you long for the simpler days of Tom Hanks’ terrifying cartoon mug saying “All aboard!” (vague Polar Express reference? Check.)
The information we’ve gathered (via Buzzfeed and our new favorite website Zombieinfo) has taught us this: The folks behind a digitally animated zombie flick are very serious about scaring the sh*t out of you. Watch this teaser for the film, and then sort of hope it never comes out because you will surely never be the same.
I came across this Blender list of the 5 Most Ridiculously Awesome Mashups Ever this morning, and now, after having watched each one and still never tired of the internet’s endless capacity for creative and technically brilliant pointlessness, I am charitably passing it along.
As an appeteaser (I just mashed up “appetizer” and “teaser”!!!), here’s David Lee Roth and the Fab Four performing “Runnin’ With The Beatles”. You can watch the rest here:
Avatar has officially passed up Titanic to become the highest-grossing film in domestic box office history after already setting a new international box office record last week. The film is slated to break baseball’s all-time home run record sometime next week.
Mo’Nique will host Shaquille O’Neal Presents: All-Star Comedy Jam, a standup special on Showtime. Seems like the logical career progression – “Daughter raped and impregnated by father movie” followed by “Laughin’ it up with Shaq!”
A Giacometti statue sold for an absurd, all-time record $104.3 million at a Sotheby’s auction Wednesday. If you’re not familiar with Giacometti, it’s an art term meaning “made of heroin.”
AP - Naomi Campbell called on the fashion world to do its part for the Haiti relief effort — and the fashion world answered: There will be a charity catwalk show pairing top models and designers at New York Fashion Week. Source: Yahoo! News: Fashion News | 4 Feb 2010 | 8:27 am
An auctioneer takes bids on Alberto Giacometti's sculpture "L'Homme qui marche I" at Sotheby's in London. The iconic sculpture by Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti smashed the world record for an art work... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 4 Feb 2010 | 3:51 am
"L'Homme qui marche I" ("Walking Man I"), a sculpture by artist Alberto Giacometti on display at Sotheby's in London. An auctioneer takes bids on Alberto Giacometti's sculpture "L'Homme qui marche I" at... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 4 Feb 2010 | 3:51 am
A sculpture by Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti has smashed the world record for an art work at auction, selling in London for $104.3 million (65 million), Sotheby's has said. It beat the previous record... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 4 Feb 2010 | 3:51 am
By now you've seen the result of Brittany Murphy's initial autopsy results. But what does it really mean?
Despite subtle differences in language, a medical expert...
All the women who are independent, throw your hands up at me! Especially, um, if your name happens to be Betty Suarez.
Ugly Betty is coming to an end this season, and sources are...
• Interesting theory: Taylor Lautner is sort of the teen version of Tom Cruise with this overeagerness and leather jackets. More evidence here.
• Sarah Silverman told David...
Bruce Springsteen is the boss of his own music—and a man of the people.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is demanding that his name be removed from a lawsuit filed by the American...
Brooke Mueller isn't leaving on a jet plane yet, but she will be soon.
Mrs. Charlie Sheen's mom, Moira Fiore, tells E! News that reports of her daughter checking out of Two...
It's about to get all music industry insidery up in here. Earlier today, Scott Borchetta, the head of Taylor Swift's record label, felt the need to defend his star from all those mean...
• Actress/TV producer Polly Draper and her husband Michael Wolff, the jazz pianist and composer best known as the bandleader on the Arsenio Hall Show, have put their full-floor apartment at 43 Fifth Avenue on the market. The 13-room, five-bedroom spread is listed for $25 million. [
