Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



"'If Elton had only made music, that would have been a big enough gift to the world,' Bill Clinton said. 'But what he and the Elton John AIDS Foundation have done is truly remarkable.' The former President was referring to the fundraising and stigma-fighting accomplishments of the musician's charity initiative, which held its annual benefit, An Enduring Vision, last night. Among this year's honorees: Clinton himself, along with Sharon Stone, Lily Safra, and Evelyn and Leonard Lauder. With the majority of the fashion world at Skylight Studios for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards, the crowd was heavy on politicos and entertainers. Mayor Bloomberg opened the night's festivities with Anderson Cooper, and after the speeches from the honorees—Stone accepted her award 'on behalf of the 33 million people suffering from AIDS today'—there was a live auction. Daniel Craig bid up a William Blake print, but the biggest lots were an original Elton John song and a day with Clinton, which went for $160,000 and $300,000, respectively. Of course, no gala is complete without a fashion crisis, and last night's belonged to Courtney Love. Arriving late, she explained that she missed the cocktail hour because her stylist 'must have been kidding' when he sent a white dress with an intentional stain down the back and bangles that looked like bandages to wear on her arms. 'I totally would have worn it if I didn't like the people here,' she explained of her last-minute dress swap. 'But I like Elton and I love Bill Clinton.'" (NYMag)



"The 200 women who answered a Rome modeling agency’s advertisement for tall, attractive party guests thought they would be attending an elegant soirée on Sunday. They were — only the host turned out to be the Libyan leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, and instead of hors d’oeuvres he offered them copies of the Koran and urged them to convert to Islam, the Italian news media reported Monday. The women, all between the ages of 18 and 35, assembled in a Rome hotel before being screened by both metal detectors and the fashion police, who turned away anyone in a miniskirt or provocative clothing, according to Paola Lo Mele, a journalist for the ANSA news agency, who answered the modeling agency’s request and went undercover to the event. The women were each paid $75 to attend. Colonel Qaddafi and other world leaders are in Rome for the World Summit on Food Security of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The women who made the cut were bused to a villa in Rome, ANSA reported, where they waited an hour, unsure of what was to follow, before the famously late Libyan leader arrived. 'All the girls expected a party with a gala dinner,' Ms. Lo Mele reported. Instead, Colonel Qaddafi “made a 45-minute speech on Islam and women’s role in Islam.” He gave the women a copy of the Koran and said that he would pay for them to visit Mecca, the duty of every Muslim, if they converted." (NYTimes)



"By now, most serious readers will have some idea of the story behind the publication of The Original of Laura, and most everyone will also have an opinion about whether it should have been published – from the most cynical (they did it for money) to the overly generous (it is a work of incomparable genius). Mine, as a huge Vladimir Nabokov fan and the editor at Penguin Classics who looked after the book, is the result of almost 18 months of wondering in isolation. As the reviews have begun to pour in, it's fascinating, and sometimes alarming, to see what others have thought. Some have pieces been thoughtful and careful (particularly Martin Amis's in The Guardian, Sam Anderson's in New York Magazine, and Michiko Kakutani's in The New York Times); others have been more dismissive of the work, treating it as a completed novel, when it's not. I can tell you that Nabokov's son Dmitri did not publish this book against Vladimir's wishes because he wanted money for a sportscar. Dmitri is 76, and in a wheelchair. This was a question, among other things, of legacy and of keeping the decision in the family." (Guardian)



"The Michael’s Lunch. Lunch with an old friend to discuss the state of the financials – always interesting since my friend is brilliant and sensible and experienced. I’m late. I sit down and look around the room to see who is there. I see Leonard Lauder and another man chatting with people at another table while making their way out. I see Herb Siegel, the media tycoon (Chris Craft) with his back to us and his wife Jeanne sitting across from him, along with Fred Silverman, the one fabled production head of CBS, under whose aegis was fostered many classics, such as All In the Family, Mary Tyler Moore, M*A*S*H, The Waltons, Cannon, Barnaby Jones, Kojak, The Sonny and Cher Show. Those were the days; I’ll say. Also at table one in the corner, three tables down the line from me, was a big dark skinned man who looked very familiar. Shaved head; small head for a big frame (maybe 6’1”), a charming almost boyish innocence to his face; wearing an open collar bright chartreuse shirt which was casually stylish and suited him. He had the elegance of ease of someone who’d had celebrity, so I knew he was famous. He was with another man and a woman whose name I’ve been told but have forgotten, who is an important television producer. I couldn’t identify him. A few minutes later, the guys at the table next to him got up to leave but stopped and said hello. Joe Armstrong and Harold Ford Jr., the former Tennessee Congressman who is Vice Chair of Merrill Lynch. The man in the chartreuse shirt stood up to shake their hands. Very tall, wide frame; naturally gracious and welcoming. Somebody. Then Armstrong and Ford were passing our table on their way and out, and stopped to say hello. 'Who was that guy you were just talking to?' I asked Harold. 'Darryl Strawberry.' Aha!" (NYSocialDiary)



"It’s hard to believe that it was a little more than a year ago that People magazine made headlines by forking over $14 million—in partnership with the fabloid Hello!—for the first, exclusive photos of Brad Pitt and Angelina’s newborn twins, Vivienne and Knox. The sale was more than three times what People paid for the couple’s firstborn, Shiloh. Back then, in June of 2008, it was still boom times for the paparazzi business, which grew in exponential leaps and bounds in the new millennium, as celebrities, one by one, imploded, and a growing number of media platforms emerged to chronicle each train wreck. More recently, however, the celebrity media bubble has burst—destroyed by the recession, among other factors—leaving hordes of paparazzi, the agencies that employ them, and the magazines and Web sites that showcase their wares, facing a new, very bleak reality .. 'Lindsay photos are not rare to get,' (Brandy Navarre, co-owner of photo agency x17) said. 'She doesn’t really hide. So unless she does something really surprising or sensational—snorting coke, kissing Samantha—her images are between $500 and $1000.' It’s also a world in which magazines are spending far more cautiously, as opposed to tossing money at every picture of an Olsen twin leaving her apartment.'" (TheDailyBeast)



"'Thank you for the greatest show you've ever seen!' screamed electronica goddess Merrill Nisker, aka Peaches, before stepping off the stage Saturday night at Terminal 5. Never one for modesty, the 43-year-old former elementary school teacher known for her provocative performances, explicit lyrics, and all around bad-ass allure, put on a great show with Brooklyn's Jessica 6 and Philly's self-proclaimed 'hottest-muthafucka-on-the-whole-damn-block' Amanda Blank. Backed by her Berlin-based band Sweet Machine, Peaches' set and double encore were a sexually-charged gender-bending spectacular that featured all of her classics. The crowd went wild for numbers like 'Operate,' 'Boys Wanna Be Her,' and, of course, feel-good, sing-along hit 'Fuck the Pain Away.'" (Paspermag)



"She's the mom of twin boys, an entrepreneur and the author of a New York Times best-seller. Jenna Jameson did it all without coming anywhere near corporate America. This blonde bombshell made her fortune in the sex industry. Jenna says she had one goal in mind since she bared all for her first adult film role in the early '90s—to become the number one porn star in the world. And that's exactly what she did. "I felt very sexual all my life," she says. 'And I just applied it.' Over the years, Jenna starred in more than 100 soft- and hard-core adult films, one of which became the best-selling adult DVD of all time. As her popularity grew, so did her paycheck. At the height of her career, Jenna says she made $60,000 for a day and a half of work, and at one time, her company, ClubJenna, earned a reported $30 million a year ...In March 2009, Jenna gave birth to their sons, Jesse and Journey. Today, she's a retired, stay-at-home mom juggling 7-month-old boys." (Oprah)



"Since every memo leaks in this annoying modern age, the way to handle potentially embarrassing corporate moments is what they used to call 'in person,' which means "face to face.' Smart policy! That's what we hear Vanity Fair's managing editor Chris Garrett just did, when she went around to inform all the magazine's assistants that they were not allowed any personal items on their desks. Apparently not even back issues of the magazine are allowed upon these flat surfaces? This is odd, as the assistants' desks are behind cubicle walls, so you can't even see their desktops from the aisles. This policy was not necessarily in the service of general Graydon Carter insanity, but towards making the some recently emptied desks look as equally empty as those occupied by actual remaining employees." (TheAwl)



"Lorenzo Martone and Ryan Brown understand the power of brand name beauties. Last night in SoHo they launched Arc New York, a talent PR agency that debuted with bi-time models/clients like Lydia Hearst, Alessandra Ambrosio, Jessica White and Julie Henderson. It was a cozy-chic affair at Arc NY's stylish offices with Magnolia cupcakes, Pop burgers and lots of champagne. Also there: Martone's fiance Marc Jacobs, Henderson's beau Russell Simmons and the divine Olivia Palermo. Admiring the knockout supermodels and eating bright blue icing is totally my kind of party." (Peter Davis/Papermag)


"If it’s Tuesday—or any day of the week lately for that matter—it must be time for Rupert Murdoch to hit the tube. Today’s conduit: his own Fox Business Network. The News Corp chairman and CEO hit some of the usual subjects, but with a few variations .. Asked if News Corp. is moving towards an exclusive deal with Bing, Murdoch replied: 'I don’t know if they can afford to do that. If they were to pay everybody for everything they took, from every newspaper in the world and every magazine they wouldn’t have any profits left.'" (Staci D. Kramer/Paidcontent)