Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



"THAT Helena Christensen is in her birthday suit for the cover of Citizen magazine's 'Supermodel Issue,' following in the footsteps of Heidi Klum and Penelope Cruz" (PageSix)

"Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc has been the busiest destination by far all week long, and Sharon Stone and Kenneth Cole were just the latest to arrive yesterday to join familiar New York faces like Andrew Saffir and Daniel Benedict. The Daily's spotted Robert Pattison in the lobby there on few occasions, and the actor most certainly wins the paparazzi obsession of the week award. He's currently shooting a sequel to Twilight in Italy and told us that he had 'four days of maddening vacation.' Carine Roitfeld and Patrick Demarchelier, meanwhile were each other's dates to the French-themed Wild Grass premiere." (Fashionweekdaily)



"I looked at the new W which came in the mail a few days ago. I go all the way back to the beginning with W, when it was first a re-published mix of WWD’s editorial over a fortnight. It was a foldout/foldover -- format Andy Warhol also used on his original Interview. Those were the days when Seventh Avenue became the fashion world and 'designers' were just beginning to become celebrities (and rich). John Fairchild, son of the man who started the Fairchild Publications, was the boss-man and he encouraged irreverence a/k/a bitchiness, along with wit and humor in the editorial. The word 'walker' was coined in that publication during the Fairchild era. It was used in reference to a man named Jerry Zipkin, a wealthy real estate heir of a certain age who could be described as either hostile or pretentious. Bitchy. Never a pretty boy, he was quite self-possessed in presence, and as he grew older, he became a senior advisor of sorts to Nancy Reagan who often had him to the White House." (NYSocialDiary)



"Michael Haneke’s 'The White Ribbon' (Das Weisse Band) won the Palme d’Or tonight as the Cannes Film Festival came to a close. The festival’s coveted top award was presented by jury president Isabelle Huppert, star of his 2001 film 'The Piano Teacher,' which won three awards at the Cannes Film Festival eight years ago. Jacques Audiard’s 'A Prophet' won the Grand Prix runner-up prize ... Austrian-born director Haneke is a nine-time veteran of Cannes ('Ribbon' being his sixth film in competition). His somber black and white story is set in a pre-war German village. Eric Kohn called the film 'Bergmanesque' in his review for indieWIRE earlier in the fest. Told through the voice of the town’s teacher, it is a deliberate study of the people in the village and their families and how they navitage the mystery surrounding accidents and strange occurences that are happening around the children in the village. 'It’s about the roots of evil,' Haneke explained here in Cannes a few days ago about the film. 'I wanted to present a group of children on whom absolute values are being imposed.'" (IndieWIRE)



"It's another big win for a family film after a dry spell filled with too many sci-fi movies. Twentieth Century Fox's Night at the Museum 2: Battle Of The Smithsonian not only was the clear No. 1 at the North American box office this weekend, but also Ben Stiller's biggest live-action opener ever. After opening to $15.3 million Friday, NATM2 received the family bump (+36%) for $20.6 million Saturday and $18.3 million Sunday to easily win the 3-day weekend with $53.5M. The pic finished the 4-day holiday with $70M, an impressive haul with so many half price kiddie tickets. Once again, Fox put together a massive global release: 4,095 theaters in North America, plus 8,100 runs in 93 territories internationally. IMAX showings generated $4.1M (8% of weekend) on 160 screens. Museum 2 is the first all-audience comedy since Race To Witch Mountain way back in March, and Mall Cop: Paul Blart back in January." (DeadlineHollywooddaily)

"The White House is planning to revive President Obama’s 13 million-member grassroots campaign network, largely dormant since last year’s election, as it rolls out it first Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, today. Senior Obama aides tell The Daily Beast that the network, which revolutionized fundraising and online political networking during the 2008 campaign, will be an important factor in a series of high-profile struggles unfolding over the next two months. Besides the Supreme Court fight, the senior aides say they expect to bring universal health-care to the president’s desk, while simultaneously making significant progress on global-warming legislation, including a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases .. All three initiatives would move ahead before Congress disappears for its month-long August recess, and all three face intense opposition from a conservative movement desperately seeking to rally its own supporters. The revival of Obama’s grassroots machine represents not only an effort to neutralize any Republican onslaught, but also something of a diversionary tactic. By drawing fire to its Supreme Court nominee, Obama’s aides believe that health-care and environmental politics may face less-intense opposition. In any case, Obama’s online machine—now known as Organizing for America—has already started to re-energize its supporters for a June 6 launch of its health-care-overhaul campaign." (TheDailyBeast)



"Philippe Martinez is one of those people who make the movie business worth writing about. The super-sized, baby-faced, would-be mogul rode into town four years ago, boasting of his plan to upend the Hollywood independent studio system and replace it with what he knew audiences wanted: better films. With financing from the City of London, he dropped millions to cast the likes of Richard Gere and Michelle Pfeiffer in pet projects, and beat out established indie studios to buy the hot new film at the Toronto Film Festival, David Ayer’s 'Harsh Times.' But, classic story: the films failed, the financing collapsed, and Martinez found himself holding the bag for $100 million in debt. And yet, here he was, swanning around the Carlton Hotel in Cannes with a big, fat cigar and the same adorable smile that charmed people (along with his open wallet) just a few years back. Martinez has reinvented himself as a movie director and producer, the head of Cinepro Pictures, where instead of releasing eight to 12 films a year, he is making just one picture at a time. Meanwhile his former studio, Bauer-Martinez, named for his family, slowly pays down its debt. 'I’ve reduced the debt to $10 million,' said Martinez. 'I didn’t want to declare bankruptcy. I don’t owe money to any actors, any crew, any bond companies.'" (TheWrap)

"CELEBRITIES and socials kicked off the East End summer without a recession care over Memorial Day Weekend. Things got wild Sunday night at Surf Lodge in Montauk, where Alexandra Richards deejayed for Eliza Dushku, chef Sam Talbot and Liam McMullan. Our source reports, 'The whole crowd was dancing until late, and everyone was half-naked by the end of the night.' Over at new outpost Montauk Yacht Club on Saturday, John Legend was spotted getting cozy with his model girlfriend, Chrissy Teigen. 'She was rocking a pair of short shorts and sitting on his lap over lunch,' said our tipster. Bethenny Frankel was there shilling her new book, 'Naturally Thin.'" (PageSix)



"While at Penthouse, I met and married a fellow porn reviewer. It wasn't as sexy as it sounds. We kept our work lives separate from our sex life. What might've been a carnal bonding experience never actually was. He was encouraged to slam the vids he watched for his publication while I was required to be upbeat and positive. This meant he screened things like C*m Dumpsters Volume 12, and I stuck to films I thought I might actually enjoy. I spent most of my smut-consuming time fast-forwarding to the sex scenes or through them. While it certainly occurred to me that I could mix business with (self) pleasure, watching porn was just a job. The first time vocation finally converged with entertainment was after I'd separated from my husband and found myself on a ski trip with my to-be boyfriend, Jim. I was down to the wire on my deadline and had to watch a film called Airgazmic. 'Why not give it a whirl with company?' I mused. There were a few moments when I sat with my back to the TV so I could observe Jim and our other male friend watching. This was, I must admit, considerably more stimulating than Airgazmic turned out to be." (Abby Ehmann/YourTango)