"On Monday, Sept. 15, mere hours after Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy in New York City, Sotheby’s was throwing open the doors of its London headquarters for the most extravagant sale in the auction house’s history. The sale, of 223 new artworks by Damien Hirst, brought in more than $200 million — nearly 10 times the total receipts of the previous record-holder for a single artist, a 1993 auction of 88 Picassos that reaped around $20 million. It was a level of consumption that, particularly when viewed against the concurrent collapse of the financial-services industry, almost immediately acquired a nostalgic air, the last gasp of the art boom. In the audience sat the men of the Mugrabi family — the patriarch Jose and his sons, Alberto and David — New York art dealers for whom the evening was not so much a transitional moment as simply another high-stakes day at the office." (NYTimesMagazine)
"I go out for a while and Redstone finally restructures his massive $1.5 billion debt. The announcement came this afternoon that his National Amusements will have a repayment extension to December 31st, 2010 with certain repayments coming in 2009 and 2010. The good news for Sumner is that he won't have to sell more of his controlling interests in CBS or Viacom. The continuing bad news is that the share prices of both those companies are treading water." (DeadlinHollywoodDaily)
"Washington and Jerusalem are bracing for a flare-up on the Syrian and Lebanese borders with Israel as the international tribunal prosecuting Rafiq Hariri's assassins starts sittings next Sunday, March 1. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has engineered a delay by insisting on tight security measures for the court. But Washington has refused to postpone its hearings which Syrian president Bashar Assad sees as a ticking bomb for his regime. He may therefore retaliate. DEBKAfile's military sources report that Israel's armed forces, the four Syrian divisions arrayed along Lebanese and Israeli borders, the Lebanese army, the United Nations peace force and Hizballah are all in a high state of suspense for trouble. On the surface, hectic US diplomatic activity presages a thaw in relations with Damascus. But when it comes down to brass tacks, Barack Obama is not letting the Syrian president off the hook on longstanding bones of contention: Damascus' support for terrorist groups, its acquisition of nuclear and nonconventional weaponry, interference in Lebanon, ties with Iran and worsening human rights." (Debkafile)
"Looking for a sponsor for the Kevin Pollak Chat show. doing a 10 show run with good celebs. need someone to take a $10k flyer on it. anyone?"(JasonCalacanis/Twitter)
(Alexis Clark and Seema Mehta via atyle)
"At Thursday night's Young Fellows Ball, the Frick Collection blossomed into a party space straight out of a Fragonard canvas. From the trellised entrance bursting with citrus fruit to the mock swing, the annual Upper East Side soirée was an homage to rococo fecundity. Done-up guests including Ivanka Trump, Byrdie Bell, and Cecilia Dean sipped Champagne among the topiary and, if they so desired, toured the galleries. No drinks allowed near the art, though, which meant most attendees were found in a rotunda off the atrium getting down to New Order and Justin Timberlake." (Style)
"In an historic visit to one of America’s most entrenched adversaries, a delegation of Hollywood dignitaries led by the president of the motion picture academy Sid Ganis is in Tehran on Saturday and Sunday for a cultural exchange. The delegation was led by Ganis and included Annette Bening, Frank Pierson, the former president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science, and producer William Horbert. Ganis’s wife, Nancy Hult Ganis, said in an email that the State Department had approved a small delegation from Hollywood “for cultural purposes only.' But AMPAS spokeswoman Leslie Unger told the AFP that the visit was a 'completely private initiative for educational and creative exchange and with no political agenda,' Any visit to Iran would need approval from the State Department because the United States has no diplomatic relations with that country, and maintains sanctions against it." (TheWrap)
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