Carlos Leon, Madonna, Luck

some guys have all the luck

This blogger has always wondered why no philosopher has ever done a -- or even the -- definitive work on Luck. Luck, or as the ancients called it "Fortuna," fascinates me. It is present in the Tarot deck; it was a goddess in ancient Rome; and it is present, sporadically, throughout the history of Western thought. The first political scientist -- as opposed to political philosopher -- Niccolo Machiavelli actually considered it a force to be carefully navigated by all statesmen when maneuvering in politics.

Does it even exist? And, if it does -- and this blogger believes that it truly does -- how does it operate? Does it have laws: are those laws astrological? Are some people -- and this is the key question -- more lucky than others? Is this all just bunk? Tragic Thomas Hardy heroine Tess of the D'Urbervilles -- more on that later -- wasn't lucky. From Liz Smith in NYSocialDiary:

"THE OTHER night in Manhattan, fashion’s Rachel Roy and actress Freida Pinto co-hosted a special screening of Pinto’s new film, 'Trishna' at the IFC Center. This is director Michael Winterbottom’s take on Thomas Hardy’s 'Tess of the D’Urbervilles.' (A very loose take, might I add!) Circa, the jewelry people, also had a hand in the event.
"Winterbottom, an eclectic filmmaker, is best known for fare such as 'Welcome to Sarajevo,' 'Wonderland,' Jude” and '24 Hour Party People.” For this one, he has placed his version of Thomas Hardy’s put-upon heroine in modern India. As if the original Tess of 1890’s England didn’t have enough problems.

"...Afterward, most everybody who wasn’t too bummed out by the film’s climax, traipsed over to Jimmy (at the James Hotel) on Thompson Street.  ...Among the tranquil: Calvin Klein ... Melissa George ... Fern Mallis ... Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia ... Russell Simmons ... Rob Morrow ... Dana Delany ... Linda Yellen ... Carlos Leon.
"If Mr. Leon’s name rings a familiar pop-music/gossip bell, he is the actor/trainer who was Madonna’s companion for several years, and the father of M’s first child, Lourdes. I always considered Carlos the nicest guy Madonna ever knew. He is just a doll. He still looks as hot as when he caught Madonna’s eye, and that night just happened to be his birthday.
"Cinema Society founder Andrew Saffir knew this, and arranged for a big cake and a hearty rendition of 'Happy Birthday.' Carlos was genuinely surprised and touched.

"An even better birthday present came during his chat with director Linda Yellen. She had wanted Carlos for her planned film 'The Hive,' which is based on a true story of a group of world famous painters, all living in the same Parisian apartment complex in the early 1900s (Picasso, Modigliani, Chagall, Soutine.) He remembered, and Linda said, 'But you look exactly the same. I’d still want you for Diego Rivera!' They exchanged numbers. "

Which brings us full circle from the tragically beautiful Tess of the D'Urbervilles and the fortunately handsome Carlos Leon. It is hard to imagine anyone more lucky in a pop cultural sense than Leon. And not just because Liz Smith caught that lucky bastars essentially getting another film role just for showing up at a fucking party for a film role. His mega-luck began when he met Madonna riding a bike in Central Park, fathered her child, and essentially became rich and famous for simply being good looking and in the right place at the right time (1994) and not contesting custody of Lourdes. Is it that Carlos Leon is pretenaturally lucky or that he is pretenaturally attractive and thus gets treated extra well?

From Cuba to the South Bronx to film. Some guys have all the Luck.

some girls get all the blame ...