A Little Of The Old In And Out



(image via latimes)

In: Will Harvey Survive? We appear to be in the midst of a genuine Harvey Weinstein moment. There was a time when Harvey Weinstein Moments were also known as The Oscars. That was then this is now.

Choleric film producer Harvey Weinstein is "in the shit." The ministudio is not on the best financial footing. His post-Gwynnie Muse Penelope Cruz was felled by food poisoning rendering her unable to promote clips from her upcoming Weinstein Company musical, Nine. A bad omen? From Sharon Waxman:

"At the Weinstein Company penthouse party in Cannes on Tuesday evening, the champagne flowed from magnums, the breeze blew gently over the marble terrace, and Harvey Weinstein sported his leaner, post-Miramax physique beside a fetching Marion Cotillard.

"All seemed flush in the house of Bob and Harvey, despite the rumors of their imminent demise that lately have risen to a fever pitch.

"The company, say the rumormongers, has run out of capital. There is no cash to release fall movies like 'Youth in Revolt.' Weinstein has been serially seen in the company of billionaires, desperate to raise more funds to replenish the $1.2 billion he has raised -- and apparently spent so far, without a blockbuster hit in sight.

"Even Weinstein company executives acknowledge the rumors are rampant.

"That only makes the Cannes debut on Wednesday of Quentin Tarantino’s World War II magnum opus, 'Inglourious Basterds,' all the more significant."

Harvey's future may depend on how the 3-hour "Inglorious Basterds" is ultimately received. But for the moment, Big Harv is the man of the hour.



Out: Glenn Beck. What is wrong with Glenn Beck. Does he not know that grown men should not cry -- and in, of all places, broadcast television? And then there are the lies. Boborigamous are his lies. From TVNewser:

"Sometimes when Fox News personalities, like Bill O'Reilly, make a stop at 'The View,' there are heated discussions, but today's appearance by Glenn Beck was in a different category.

"Beck was immediately confronted by Whoopi Goldberg and Barbara Walters about a story he told after the White House Correspondents Dinner on the radio about an Amtrak encounter with 'The View' hosts. Beck admitted he 'misspoke,' but Goldberg had another term: 'You sat there and you were a lying sack of dog mess.'

"'You don't like me,' said Beck."

It reminds us of Mary McCarthy's quote about Lillian Hellman.



(image via Caroline Torem Craig/Papermag)

In: Papermag's "Rebranding America" Party. This blogger, your humble scribe, attended last night's Paper party at the Tommy Hilfiger store on West Broadway. We stayed briefy (too claustrophobic inside; weather too nice outside), and, unfortunately, didn't get to have a drink with Matthew Modine (see above), who was so amazing in Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket." From Papermag:

"Fun was the key word last night at the Tommy Hilfiger store for a party celebrating PAPER's May Design Issue feature Rebranding America. The store, so American in its decor, had an additional flair thanks to the various posters from the issue lining the walls. Ronald McDonald as portrayed by Ron English -- who was in attendance -- was my personal fave! There was no such thing as a 'plus one' going on here, as coming through the door all night were groups of five, six and seven revelers at a time. There was also no need to waste good party time waiting for the beverages, as multiple waiters were circulating the room with delicious Absolut Vodka bevvies and good ol' American Bud."

Paper is always good on the party innovations: waiters with with constantly refreshed, constantly evaporating drinks on platters (cutting down on anarchic bar waits), quick entrance to events (no slowing the line to a glacial pace with bourgois ID checks). If Paul Allen has metamorphosed the party into a technology (see below), with Paper it is a well-designed work of art, crafted in years of extensive hands-on research.



Out: Arnold. Gag him with a fork, The Governorof Ca-LEE-forn-EE-ahhhhhh *EEw* appears to have achieved climax. There always hung about him, cloyingly, a wildebeesty musk. Not unlike a nimbus of fucking hormone residues. Oily. Organic. Glandular. From the Telegraph:

"Arnold Schwarzenegger was facing up to the ruin of his political legacy last night after a dismal defeat at the hands of the Californian electorate.

"The Governor’s proposed package to balance the budget in the economically stricken state was resoundingly rejected, marking a new low for the former bodybuilder and action movie hero.

"Mr Schwarzenegger, 61, is facing a growing budget shortfall, currently put at $21.3 billion, and a system that he has been unable to reform since taking office six years ago. California’s collapsing economy has caused the budget deficit to balloon. Personal income has shrunk for the first time since 1938 amid the recession and double-digit unemployment, dragging the tax income down.

"Mr Schwarzenegger, for whom the dream of running for the White House — if a constitutional ban on foreign-born candidates could be overturned — once seemed plausible, now looks set to abandon mainstream politics once he leaves office in January 2011.

"'Arnold’s governorship was supposed to be an action movie. Now it’s a disaster movie,' John Pitney, a political scientist at Claremont McKenna College, told the Christian Science Monitor."

Wretched excess! Not unlike a cocktail of desiccated beef liver tablets. Arnold Shwarzenegger is not to be tossed aside lightly, he must be thrown with great force! *The Corsair jocularly snaps a towel at the blogosphere*