Saturday, March 07, 2009

Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



"Before she was president of the CFDA, Diane von Furstenberg was a reigning priestess of the European social scene. The present-day style set was reminded of this Thursday night when Paris' finest poured into Le Montana to fĂȘte von Furstenberg's turn as Purple Fashion's latest cover girl. 'I can remember, back in the seventies, when everyone used to come here,' von Furstenberg cooed from a booth in the recently revamped club's very crowded basement. Wedged between Marisa Berenson and Lady Amanda Harlech, the designer continued, 'This is where Claude Montana decided on his last name, in fact.' Indeed, nostalgia was in the air: Betty Catroux, at the bar with fellow blondes Vanessa Bruno and Lauren Santo Domingo, talked about the sale of her "dear friend" Yves Saint Laurent's art collection last week. 'All the memories, all the art," she sighed. "And not a single piece of junk. It was breathtaking.'" (Style)

"Give or take the odd Balkan war, the 'end of history' (as coined by Francis Fukuyama) has lasted twenty years in Eastern Europe. But today it’s the resurrection rather than the death of history that has caste its shadow over the region. Those dark clouds on the East European horizon are the impending storms of economic collapse. The political and economic situation in much of Eastern Europe—particularly in Latvia, Hungary and Romania—is about to turn very nasty. Multiply the consequences of the current American recession several times and you have an idea of what lies in store for much of the region." (TheDailyBeast)

"Warner Bros' superhero doomsday thriller Watchmen opened to a blockbuster $25.1 million Friday for what's shaping up as a $55M weekend. But that's lower than the $60sM which the studio was hoping for. Exit polling showed that the audience was overwhelming male (70%) and older (65% over the age of 25), but didn't necessarily like the movie (as shown by a Cinemascore of only 'B'). " (DeadlineHollywoodDaily)

"HOW come Patrick McMullan, the photographer with the world's largest archive of living subjects, didn't shoot the Vanity Fair Oscar party this year for the first time since the magazine began throwing it in 1994? Turns out the Getty/WireImage photo agency had exclusive rights to cover the star-studded bash. 'They had the monopoly. I could have gone to the party, but I couldn't have shot it,' McMullan told Page Six. 'They're trying to take over the world. It's like 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers.'" (PageSix)

"For The record I got a lot of love for Vanilla Ice .." (MCHammer/Twitter)

"The question is, Why are the men and women who toiled in the sitcom mines so quickly dispensed with once they get a multitude of candles on their birthday cakes? I have a friend, also a television writer, who, at a very early age was hired on “M*A*S*H,”, undoubtedly one of the finest half hours that ever aired on television. He took that credit off his resume a few years ago because he didn't want TV execs and studio people to think he was 100 years old. My friend remains very funny, and I know his writing skills have not forsaken him, and yet he struggles to find employment, perhaps because IMdb ratted him out over of his association with the revered, but 'ancient' show. He might as well have 'Old Guy' stenciled on his forehead. The first show I worked on in Los Angeles was for the fledgling network FOX, starring the Swiss Army Knife of actresses, Tracey Ullman. One of the executive producers was the legendary Jerry Belson. Jerry used to muse in the Writers Room about how he had watched a few off-network sitcoms and decided that once it was all over for him in prime-time, he could probably get hired on those 7 p.m. syndicated shows (where he felt they would be thrilled to have him) and that it wasn't the worst fate a TV writer could have. I didn't understand what he was worried about, he was one of the most desired comedy scribes out there and there would certainly be a place for him, always. 'No babe, that's not the way it works. I'm getting up there.' That was the first time that I became aware of a television writer’s shelf life." (TheWrap)

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