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Thursday, December 04, 2008
Cosmas Binyavanga, RIP
My grandfather Cosmas Binyavanga just died. We actually don't know how old he was (He was born in a rural area pre-British colonization), although we have a general idea. Here's an excerpt from a story in The Sunday Vision -- sorry, can't find a link -- where grandfather discusses his childhood that captures his magic, which was old school East African:
Cosmas Binyavanga, RIP.
My grandfather Cosmas Binyavanga just died. We actually don't know how old he was (He was born in a rural area pre-British colonization), although we have a general idea. Here's an excerpt from a story in The Sunday Vision -- sorry, can't find a link -- where grandfather discusses his childhood that captures his magic, which was old school East African:
"'In the beginning when I was born,' he started, 'there were no Europeans, no religion and no civilisation as we see it today. All these hills were covered in forest. Wild beasts like lions, leopards, gorillas, hyenas and hippos roamed this place freely. It was dangerous. Then human population started growing. I witnessed the last lion being chased from here. It had such bushy mane. It feigned death when hunters wounded it, but then it pounced on one hunter, wrestled him to the ground and bit off his buttocks before taking off for good.
"'I was the head of the herdsboys in 1914 when the British, Belgians and Germans camped here to fight over territory.'"
Cosmas Binyavanga, RIP.
Shiba Inu Puppies
Apparently, Shiba Inu Puppies equals blog hits. We're game for that shit. From Fashionweekdaily:
Bring on the hits. An array of formidable boldface names topped off with Shiba Inu puppies. Genius.
Apparently, Shiba Inu Puppies equals blog hits. We're game for that shit. From Fashionweekdaily:
"If the mob scene outside the Raleigh hotel last night was any indication, Art Basel Miami Beach was bigger than any recession-concerned naysayers could have predicted. T's Stefano Tonchi, Design Miami's Ambra Medda, and Andre Balazs threw a rowdy bash to in the Raleigh Penthouse to open the sure-to-be raucous week of art, shopping, and-of course!-party hopping.
"Tonchi and his deputy Horacio Silva greeted guests as they emerged from the elevator. Naomi Campbell, fresh from the party for her retrospective at Art Photo Expo Miami, was in jovial spirits as she caught up with Calvin Klein. Newly single art dealer Jay Jopling was the life of the party alongside Takashi Murakami -- who showed up in his flowerball costume before ditching the get-up for more civilian attire. Pharell couldn't stop posing for the cameras, while photographer Todd Eberle made an appearance in a skirt. Been taking fashion tips from Marc, perhaps? Consuelo Castiglioni and her daughter earned a personal escort from the underlings of Karla Otto, who had also orchestrated the Marni store opening hours earlier. When guests had tired of the packed party, they headed downstairs to the Raleigh's veranda to drink quietly or grab a late-night bite. 'The Raleigh is Miami's version of the Kunstalle bar in Basel,' said New Museum curator Benjamin Godsill, who sat at a table with dealer Paul Judelson. 'The worry about the economic catastrophe's affect on the contemporary art market has made everything feel more familial.'
"At the next table over, Russian art princess Dasha Zhukova lounged with a bevy of male companions. There was talk of art, but perhaps a more important topic on the table's mind was the internet craze surrounding Shiba Inu puppies."
Bring on the hits. An array of formidable boldface names topped off with Shiba Inu puppies. Genius.
Media-Whore D'Oeuvres
(Linda Fiorentino via photobucket)
"Mark Rossini, 46, was a favorite go-to guy for national security reporters when he worked in the FBI's media relations office. He had come to the job after several years working with the CIA and other intelligence agents at the National Counterterrorism Center, in Virginia. Tall, handsome and gregarious, Rossini enjoyed schmoozing with reporters over good cabernet and cigars at Les Halles, a French restaurant around the corner from the FBI headquarters on Pennsylvania Avenue. Over the past year the recently divorced counterterrorism specialist had also been squiring his raven-haired actress girlfriend, Linda Fiorentino, to the Palm and other top restaurants in Washington and New York .. And now Rossini finds himself in an unwanted leading role with his actress girlfriend, a head-turning star in some 30 thrillers, murder mysteries and comedies, including 'Men in Black.' He is accused of accessing FBI computer files for information about Anthony Pellicano, a notorious Hollywood private eye now serving time for illegal wiretaps and possession of explosives." (SpyTalk/CQPolitics)
"The long-feared Viacom pre-post holiday layoffs are here, and they're not pretty. We heard earlier that as many as 300 layoffs might be coming at MTV today, but the total, Viacom-wide numbers are even worse: 850 people are being cut, about 7% of the company's global staff. And top management is 'suspending salary increases' next year, if it makes you peons feel any better." (Gawker)
"'He's a bit hard of hearing, but completely adorable,' murmurred one guest at Asprey's Madison Avenue flagship last night. The man in question was Lord Ian Balfour, whose new tome Famous Diamonds was toasted by the crème de la 10021 .. He chatted up other token royals -- namely, Queen Lavinia DuBois and King Joseph DuBois of Liberia." (Fashionweekdaily)
(Jann Wenner and Theodora Richards via Caroline Torem Craig/Papermag)
"In keeping with a R&R anthem, AC/DC's 'Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap' the opening party of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex in SoHo last night featured a plywood wall for guests to sign; beer, pretzels and hot dogs; and lots of something that looked like pizza but was actually funnel cake. The first class portion of the event featured acoustic performances by Dave Mason (of Traffic fame) and the legendary Debbie Harry. Next to PAPERMAG on the red carpet were three really young, really cute reporters from Life & Style, US Weekly and Page Six, who were strangely detached and frozen in space. One of them explained why, saying, 'I'm only here to get Taylor Momsen.' When Taylor arrived, the reporter asked her, 'Is this work or play for you?' to which she responded, 'No comment.'" (Papermag)
(VF covergirl Tina Fey and Andrew Cuomo via Observer)
"Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has a sense of humor described as dry, at best, but he apparently got the crowd roaring yesterday when his Democratic conference convened in Brooklyn. Silver had a secret plan to bring in 30 Rock star and Palin-impersonator Tina Fey, but was coy all day about who exactly was coming. 'When he did bring in the special guest, he said it was the first time he had ever brought in a Republican,' said Assemblyman Mark Schroeder. Some confusion ensued, then Fey emerged, and the audience got the joke. 'He set the thing up perfectly, and as she walked in everybody got a big kick out of it,' Schroeder said." (Observer)
(Linda Fiorentino via photobucket)
"Mark Rossini, 46, was a favorite go-to guy for national security reporters when he worked in the FBI's media relations office. He had come to the job after several years working with the CIA and other intelligence agents at the National Counterterrorism Center, in Virginia. Tall, handsome and gregarious, Rossini enjoyed schmoozing with reporters over good cabernet and cigars at Les Halles, a French restaurant around the corner from the FBI headquarters on Pennsylvania Avenue. Over the past year the recently divorced counterterrorism specialist had also been squiring his raven-haired actress girlfriend, Linda Fiorentino, to the Palm and other top restaurants in Washington and New York .. And now Rossini finds himself in an unwanted leading role with his actress girlfriend, a head-turning star in some 30 thrillers, murder mysteries and comedies, including 'Men in Black.' He is accused of accessing FBI computer files for information about Anthony Pellicano, a notorious Hollywood private eye now serving time for illegal wiretaps and possession of explosives." (SpyTalk/CQPolitics)
"The long-feared Viacom pre-post holiday layoffs are here, and they're not pretty. We heard earlier that as many as 300 layoffs might be coming at MTV today, but the total, Viacom-wide numbers are even worse: 850 people are being cut, about 7% of the company's global staff. And top management is 'suspending salary increases' next year, if it makes you peons feel any better." (Gawker)
"'He's a bit hard of hearing, but completely adorable,' murmurred one guest at Asprey's Madison Avenue flagship last night. The man in question was Lord Ian Balfour, whose new tome Famous Diamonds was toasted by the crème de la 10021 .. He chatted up other token royals -- namely, Queen Lavinia DuBois and King Joseph DuBois of Liberia." (Fashionweekdaily)
(Jann Wenner and Theodora Richards via Caroline Torem Craig/Papermag)
"In keeping with a R&R anthem, AC/DC's 'Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap' the opening party of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex in SoHo last night featured a plywood wall for guests to sign; beer, pretzels and hot dogs; and lots of something that looked like pizza but was actually funnel cake. The first class portion of the event featured acoustic performances by Dave Mason (of Traffic fame) and the legendary Debbie Harry. Next to PAPERMAG on the red carpet were three really young, really cute reporters from Life & Style, US Weekly and Page Six, who were strangely detached and frozen in space. One of them explained why, saying, 'I'm only here to get Taylor Momsen.' When Taylor arrived, the reporter asked her, 'Is this work or play for you?' to which she responded, 'No comment.'" (Papermag)
(VF covergirl Tina Fey and Andrew Cuomo via Observer)
"Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has a sense of humor described as dry, at best, but he apparently got the crowd roaring yesterday when his Democratic conference convened in Brooklyn. Silver had a secret plan to bring in 30 Rock star and Palin-impersonator Tina Fey, but was coy all day about who exactly was coming. 'When he did bring in the special guest, he said it was the first time he had ever brought in a Republican,' said Assemblyman Mark Schroeder. Some confusion ensued, then Fey emerged, and the audience got the joke. 'He set the thing up perfectly, and as she walked in everybody got a big kick out of it,' Schroeder said." (Observer)
Who Is Mickey Rourke?
Fierce forces are his state. This blog continues, woozily, in its fascination with Mickey Rourke because he is like some sort of Platonic cautionary tale of a fine actor that somehow got derailed from his fixed aim, his noble vocation and got caught up in the plastic game of Hollywood celebrity. And a "star" is a different kettle of fish altogether from an "actor." Actors get their greatest joy from the immediacy of the stage, they pay their mortgages with screenwork; shooting Stars get alighted by the speed of magazine covers and boldface mentions of moist canoodling at trendy joints with other heavenly bodies (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment).
Rourke once relied on $200 a week from a pal so he could get McDonald's food. That is a sobering fact for an actor who could once command princely salaries for playing a lord of Greenwich Village. So, do you think the nation's most fascinating tale of redemption would end with Mickey grasping his second chance, in Shakespearean manner, being a better, more humble regent?
Fat chance.
As this weekend's NYTimes Sunday magazine story proves, Mickey has come a long way from handouts from pals. A long way down. In this installment the former Prince of Greenwich Village harasses his assistant for lozenges and ice cubes like a Little Lord Fauntleroy. What a catface:
And, later:
He seems to be playing it rather well, if assily, if you ask us.
More here.
Fierce forces are his state. This blog continues, woozily, in its fascination with Mickey Rourke because he is like some sort of Platonic cautionary tale of a fine actor that somehow got derailed from his fixed aim, his noble vocation and got caught up in the plastic game of Hollywood celebrity. And a "star" is a different kettle of fish altogether from an "actor." Actors get their greatest joy from the immediacy of the stage, they pay their mortgages with screenwork; shooting Stars get alighted by the speed of magazine covers and boldface mentions of moist canoodling at trendy joints with other heavenly bodies (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment).
Rourke once relied on $200 a week from a pal so he could get McDonald's food. That is a sobering fact for an actor who could once command princely salaries for playing a lord of Greenwich Village. So, do you think the nation's most fascinating tale of redemption would end with Mickey grasping his second chance, in Shakespearean manner, being a better, more humble regent?
Fat chance.
As this weekend's NYTimes Sunday magazine story proves, Mickey has come a long way from handouts from pals. A long way down. In this installment the former Prince of Greenwich Village harasses his assistant for lozenges and ice cubes like a Little Lord Fauntleroy. What a catface:
"ROURKE WAS SUFFERING from a sore throat. He summoned his personal assistant, J. P., and sent him to the drugstore for throat lozenges."
".. J. P., the assistant, returned with the lozenges. Rourke popped one into his mouth just as his little black pug shuffled into the parlor. 'Get the hell away from me,' Rourke snapped at it. 'Go on.' The pug cringed by my feet, and I petted it. Rourke said the pug was 'the dumbest dog on the planet.'"
And, later:
"Rourke didn’t notice when his pug jumped onto the sofa while he was talking. Rourke called out to J. P., 'Get me some ice cubes.' J.P. entered the room with a bowl of ice cubes and handed them to Rourke. Rourke sucked on one to soothe his sore throat, then said: 'I resented all the money and what came with it, the way people treated me in a special way. I didn’t know how to play the game.'"
He seems to be playing it rather well, if assily, if you ask us.
More here.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
The Fake Rockefeller
Remember the fake Rockefeller? No, not Jay-Z, silly -- the con man known as Clark Rockefeller, aka Christopher Rocancourt, aka Christian Gerhartsreiter. He's fascinating in that overcoated Robert Stack emerging from the rambling mists on "Unsolved Mysteries" kind of way. Creepy, yet oddly compelling. Vanity Fair, a magazine which always seems to be at its best when covering the nexus where high power and criminality, has a story on him in the January issue. From the press release:
And:
There's a thin line between charming Old Money eccentric and The-eccentric-goddam-batshit-crazyface. More here.
Remember the fake Rockefeller? No, not Jay-Z, silly -- the con man known as Clark Rockefeller, aka Christopher Rocancourt, aka Christian Gerhartsreiter. He's fascinating in that overcoated Robert Stack emerging from the rambling mists on "Unsolved Mysteries" kind of way. Creepy, yet oddly compelling. Vanity Fair, a magazine which always seems to be at its best when covering the nexus where high power and criminality, has a story on him in the January issue. From the press release:
"(Vanity Fair contributing editor Mark Seal) reports that Clark told Henry his parents were killed in a car crash when he was 16, and that he never ate in restaurants, 'because you can’t trust the kitchen.' His diet consisted mainly of cucumber-and-watercress tea sandwiches—only on Pepperidge Farm bread with the crusts removed—and Pepperidge Farm cookies, preferably the Nantucket variety, and he said his favorite food was haggis, and his drink of choice was Harveys Bristol Cream sherry. 'You just think, Oh, well, he’s a Rockefeller, he’s eccentric,' Henry tells Seal."
And:
"A friend of Clark’s from the Boston area tells Seal that Clark seemed to find solace in impressing women (and men), telling one that he was the model for the effete and phobic Dr. Niles Crane character on Frasier."
There's a thin line between charming Old Money eccentric and The-eccentric-goddam-batshit-crazyface. More here.
President-Elect Obama: I Thought The Rugged Western Beard Was Working For Bill Richardson
That was then --
-- This is now. (image via google via ap)
President elect Barack Obama broke the chain of not calling on Fox News reporters at his presser in Chicago today in unveiling Governor Bill Richardson as his Commerce Secretary designate. From Swamppolitics:
No word yet on whether or not former President Bill Clinton has forgiven Richardson for not endorsing his wife in the Democrat party primary.
That was then --
-- This is now. (image via google via ap)
President elect Barack Obama broke the chain of not calling on Fox News reporters at his presser in Chicago today in unveiling Governor Bill Richardson as his Commerce Secretary designate. From Swamppolitics:
"At the recently completely press conference at which President-elect Barack Obama officially named Gov. Bill Richardson his choice for Commerce Secretary, Obama called on Fox News's White House reporter.
"... After being called on, (Wendell Goler, Fox News's reporter) thanked the president for calling on him. The reporter then asked one serious and one not-so-serious question.
"What would Obama's reaction be if Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr. dipped into the second half of the $700 billion bailout funds even before Obama is sworn in? And Goler's light-hearted question directed to Richardson: 'What happened to the beard?'
"This was the second interesting thing about Goler's question. Obama decided to answer it first.
"'I'm going to answer this question about the beard. I think it was mistake for him to get rid of it. I thought that whole western rugged look was really working for him. For some reason, maybe because it was scratchy when he kissed his wife, he was forced to get rid of it. But we're deeply disappointed with the loss of the beard.'"
No word yet on whether or not former President Bill Clinton has forgiven Richardson for not endorsing his wife in the Democrat party primary.
Pam Grier's 1970s
People of The Corsair's generation are always wondering what it was like to come of age in the freewheeling 1970s. What was it like to do a bump of "Vitamin C" of Bianca Jagger's ass? Was Diane von Furstenberg really quite the freaky-freaky back in the day, picking up hott chicks for Jack Nicholson? And while we are not so enamoured of Disco, per se, we would almost all collectively have liked to have tied one on with Liza and Halston at Studio 54.
Ubervixen Pam Grier's Colorado 1970s memories in Swindlemagazine set a compelling tone of that sepia-colored era:
More here.
People of The Corsair's generation are always wondering what it was like to come of age in the freewheeling 1970s. What was it like to do a bump of "Vitamin C" of Bianca Jagger's ass? Was Diane von Furstenberg really quite the freaky-freaky back in the day, picking up hott chicks for Jack Nicholson? And while we are not so enamoured of Disco, per se, we would almost all collectively have liked to have tied one on with Liza and Halston at Studio 54.
Ubervixen Pam Grier's Colorado 1970s memories in Swindlemagazine set a compelling tone of that sepia-colored era:
"In 1975, I went home to Colorado, and I was skiing in Aspen with Jack Nicholson and Hunter S. Thompson and Ed Bradley, the late CBS correspondent who went up there and bought a home. At that time we were listening to 'Hotel California,' Funkadelic, Philly soul and Motown. It was still acid and coke and weed and music and just a wonderful communion. And then the ‘80s came, with the business and the stock market, and that’s when it all changed."
More here.
Happy Birthday, Michael Musto
(image via nymag)
To sir, with love. Happy 53rd to Village Voice columnist Michael Musto, one of our formative writing influences. How else could we have gotten through college in Annapolis, MD and Vermont without a weekly helping of La Dolce Musto?
(image via nymag)
To sir, with love. Happy 53rd to Village Voice columnist Michael Musto, one of our formative writing influences. How else could we have gotten through college in Annapolis, MD and Vermont without a weekly helping of La Dolce Musto?
Media-Whore D'Oeuvres
"The stars of Cadillac Records, Beyonce Knowles, Adrien Brody, Columbus Short, Mos Def, Jeffrey Wright, and Emmanuel Chriqui celebrated the flick’s New York City release Monday night at hotspot Marquee with family and friends including Jay-Z, Russell Simmons, Aimee Phillips, Cedric the Entertainer, Tocara, Ne-Yo, Daniel Abreu and Adrien Brody’s gal pal, Elsa Pataky." (Guestofaguest)
"Chatter about big layoffs at Viacom and its MTV unit have been in the air for weeks, with firings at the latter recently expected Wednesday or Thursday of this week. Hell, the bloodletting may already have begun. But the latest gossip says the worst is yet to come: A gobsmacking 300 people coast to coast let go by the end of the week, one tipster claims." (Gawker)
"Britney is back! And tonight proved to be important in my party-hopping career. First off it was the first time I had a pseudo (but very hot) celebrity grab my arm and correct me on who he was, and second I saw Brit Brit out and about with my very own eyes. I arrived at Tenjune an hour into the party around 10 p.m. after leaving the Victoria’s Secret Store Opening ..On one end I saw Ciara (who was also at the Victoria’s Secret Event) and Heidi Klum, and on the other was Lance Bass, Jamie Spears, and the guest of honor Britney Spears who looked absolutely amazing in a very cute mature black dress .. I tried to make the rounds and mingle with guests in the extremely packed venue. At some point during the night I made my way upstairs to check my phone messages and a man I recognized walked in with his posse I immediately yelled 'Omg! It’s Tyrese!' only to have him grab my arm and kindly tell me that his name was Tyson Beckford. Embarrassing!"
"For the sixth time in 10 weeks, 60 Minutes cracked the top 10 network prime time shows. Last Sunday it was #3. 18.64 million viewers watched a joint investigation with The Washington Post in which Steve Kroft exposed cheating in the online gambling industry as well as a profile of U.S. Olympic swimming gold medalist Michael Phelps by CNN's Anderson Cooper." (TVNewser)
"The Kooks celebrated their show at the Camden Roundhouse with a mega booze-up at Whisky Mist. The band splashed out on magnums of Dom Perignon champagne and bottles of Grey Goose vodka, but had to put up with the attentions of Jade Jagger, Peaches Geldof and Kimberly Stewart. We're told: 'Kim was all over The Kooks singer Luke Pritchard, telling him it was time he got himself a girlfriend.'" (Thisislondon)
"The call to establish a 'league of democracies' was one of the hottest policy proposals this past election season. Advocates contended that creating a club open exclusively to the world's liberal democracies would enhance the ability of like-minded states to address the challenges of the twenty-first century .. Nonetheless, the next occupant of the White House should shelve the idea of establishing a league of democracies. Such a club is not needed to secure cooperation among liberal democracies -- they are already regular partners -- and it would draw new lines between democracies and nondemocracies, thus compromising their relations just when adapting the international system to the rise of illiberal powers is becoming a paramount challenge." (ForeignAffairs)
"Between $2.5 billion and $2.7 billion were spent on political ads this election season, according to figures from ad measurement company TNS Media Intelligence. Television scored the biggest dollars: $2.2 billion. National cable and national networks was around $200 million." Print, radio, online and local cable is expected to share the remaining $200 million to $400 million. A lot of it had to do with the Democrats' 50-state presidential campaign strategy." (DeadlineHollywoodDaily)
"The stars of Cadillac Records, Beyonce Knowles, Adrien Brody, Columbus Short, Mos Def, Jeffrey Wright, and Emmanuel Chriqui celebrated the flick’s New York City release Monday night at hotspot Marquee with family and friends including Jay-Z, Russell Simmons, Aimee Phillips, Cedric the Entertainer, Tocara, Ne-Yo, Daniel Abreu and Adrien Brody’s gal pal, Elsa Pataky." (Guestofaguest)
"Chatter about big layoffs at Viacom and its MTV unit have been in the air for weeks, with firings at the latter recently expected Wednesday or Thursday of this week. Hell, the bloodletting may already have begun. But the latest gossip says the worst is yet to come: A gobsmacking 300 people coast to coast let go by the end of the week, one tipster claims." (Gawker)
"Britney is back! And tonight proved to be important in my party-hopping career. First off it was the first time I had a pseudo (but very hot) celebrity grab my arm and correct me on who he was, and second I saw Brit Brit out and about with my very own eyes. I arrived at Tenjune an hour into the party around 10 p.m. after leaving the Victoria’s Secret Store Opening ..On one end I saw Ciara (who was also at the Victoria’s Secret Event) and Heidi Klum, and on the other was Lance Bass, Jamie Spears, and the guest of honor Britney Spears who looked absolutely amazing in a very cute mature black dress .. I tried to make the rounds and mingle with guests in the extremely packed venue. At some point during the night I made my way upstairs to check my phone messages and a man I recognized walked in with his posse I immediately yelled 'Omg! It’s Tyrese!' only to have him grab my arm and kindly tell me that his name was Tyson Beckford. Embarrassing!"
"For the sixth time in 10 weeks, 60 Minutes cracked the top 10 network prime time shows. Last Sunday it was #3. 18.64 million viewers watched a joint investigation with The Washington Post in which Steve Kroft exposed cheating in the online gambling industry as well as a profile of U.S. Olympic swimming gold medalist Michael Phelps by CNN's Anderson Cooper." (TVNewser)
"The Kooks celebrated their show at the Camden Roundhouse with a mega booze-up at Whisky Mist. The band splashed out on magnums of Dom Perignon champagne and bottles of Grey Goose vodka, but had to put up with the attentions of Jade Jagger, Peaches Geldof and Kimberly Stewart. We're told: 'Kim was all over The Kooks singer Luke Pritchard, telling him it was time he got himself a girlfriend.'" (Thisislondon)
"The call to establish a 'league of democracies' was one of the hottest policy proposals this past election season. Advocates contended that creating a club open exclusively to the world's liberal democracies would enhance the ability of like-minded states to address the challenges of the twenty-first century .. Nonetheless, the next occupant of the White House should shelve the idea of establishing a league of democracies. Such a club is not needed to secure cooperation among liberal democracies -- they are already regular partners -- and it would draw new lines between democracies and nondemocracies, thus compromising their relations just when adapting the international system to the rise of illiberal powers is becoming a paramount challenge." (ForeignAffairs)
"Between $2.5 billion and $2.7 billion were spent on political ads this election season, according to figures from ad measurement company TNS Media Intelligence. Television scored the biggest dollars: $2.2 billion. National cable and national networks was around $200 million." Print, radio, online and local cable is expected to share the remaining $200 million to $400 million. A lot of it had to do with the Democrats' 50-state presidential campaign strategy." (DeadlineHollywoodDaily)
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Did Mickey Rourke Put A Guy In A Coma?
(image via Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin/NYTimes)
The more that Mickey Rourke talks to journalists touting his uniquely Hollywood story of redemption and the new film which may or may not have Oscar buzz, the more untrue his True Hollywood Story becomes ...
According to the upcoming December 2008 issue of Maxim, Rourke almost put a man in a coma. The man was a dealer who, according to Rourke, raped his ex wife Carre Otis. Rourke told Maxim that Times Square priest Father Pete Colapietro talked him out of "committing two mortal sins," namely killing the man and committing suicide.
But in the New York Times Sunday magazine this weekend, the story gets more colorful, taking it a step further. From The NYTimes Sunday magazine:
Do actors have a higher propensity for lies than the average mortal because they deal with make-believe reality?
So, what is it? Did Mickey Rourke put a man in a coma or is he a liar?
Perhaps, on second thought, "liar" is too harsh (though accurate). In a story in Entertainment Weekly, Chris Nashawaty caught Rourke in a fib when discussing something the actor said with his director Darren Aronofsky. From EW:
The world according to Mickey Rourke.
(image via Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin/NYTimes)
The more that Mickey Rourke talks to journalists touting his uniquely Hollywood story of redemption and the new film which may or may not have Oscar buzz, the more untrue his True Hollywood Story becomes ...
According to the upcoming December 2008 issue of Maxim, Rourke almost put a man in a coma. The man was a dealer who, according to Rourke, raped his ex wife Carre Otis. Rourke told Maxim that Times Square priest Father Pete Colapietro talked him out of "committing two mortal sins," namely killing the man and committing suicide.
But in the New York Times Sunday magazine this weekend, the story gets more colorful, taking it a step further. From The NYTimes Sunday magazine:
"Mickey Rourke is, after all, an actor. The roles he has played and the life he has lived have so blurred one into another in his mind’s eye that even he doesn’t seem to know when he’s acting or when he’s being real. He has spent his entire adult life playing not fictional characters but an idealized delusional fantasy of himself.
"So what? The police stopped him from protesting at a pet store in Miami Beach. He has been a rescuer of abused dogs because he saw in their abuse the kind of abuse he says he suffered at the hands of his stepfather. He told me he beat up his wife’s heroin supplier and put him in a coma."
Do actors have a higher propensity for lies than the average mortal because they deal with make-believe reality?
So, what is it? Did Mickey Rourke put a man in a coma or is he a liar?
Perhaps, on second thought, "liar" is too harsh (though accurate). In a story in Entertainment Weekly, Chris Nashawaty caught Rourke in a fib when discussing something the actor said with his director Darren Aronofsky. From EW:
"It's then that Rourke hints at another conversation he had with Aronofsky before they started shooting, in which the director promised that if he worked harder than he ever had, he'd get nominated for an Oscar. 'That's a made-up story,' laughs Aronofsky. 'I told Mickey if he did his work, then people would recognize it. I think Mickey interpreted it however he interpreted it.'"
The world according to Mickey Rourke.
Law And Order In Pakistan
The title of this blog post appears on first glimpse to be wholly misleading -- Pakistan seems at first glance anything but a zone of international "Law and Order." And the last week's terrorist attacks are changing the political paradigm in the region even more towards the direction of disorder. Still, there is a robust Pakistani lawyer's movement, though we rarely hear about it on these shores. In June 2007, for example, 7,000 lawyers, journalists and opposition activists staged a sit-in protest in Pakistan urging then-President Musharraf to step down after his illegal suspension of their Supreme Court Justice. The principle of law is particularly strong in Pakistan.
Unfortunately in our foreign policy dealings with that south Asian nuclear power, the United States tends to throw money at the military out of a fear of instability and almost entirely forgets the popularity of the independent judiciary movement, which is also critical to Pakistan's long-term stability. Oftentimes our actions, in matters international as well as in the personal sphere of individual life, are governed by fear and insecurity. Decisions undertaken under a cloud of fear and insecurity are almost uniformly unwise. Pakistan's nuclear capability and their central location in the war on terror has resulted, since 9/11, in $10 billion in aid from the United States. Is there any accountability, one wonders, as to where precisely that money went? Clearly the Pakistani Intelligence services -- who may or may not be under civilian control, or may in fact be rogue -- got a taste of those monies. And, quite possibly, the ISI may have involvement with Lashkar-e-Taiba in this weekend's terror attacks. Finally, despite all that aid, Pakistan, in any case, has replaced Iraq as the locus point in the war against Al Quaeda. Is that what one gets for $10 billion in aid?
Unilateral missile attacks on militants in Pakistan enrage the populace. America clearly does not need the enmity of the people of Pakistan, whose help in routing out the Taliban is necessary. And yet American foreign policy since 9/11 has dealt with the civilian government and the military at the cost of our credibility to the Pakistani street. Is this a wise long-term strategy? At what point does popular discontent on the Pakistani street become so great that it hinders our efforts in the War on terror. We are still, unfortunately, in the dying throes of Donald Rumsfeld's hard power sticks-without-carrots style of "diplomacy." Rumsfeld, when asked about "soft power" in 2003 tellingly replied "I don’t know what it means." It doesn't get more meaningful than that, folks.
The incoming Obama administration has signaled that it will send 20,000 reinforcements sometime next year. "Some additional troops in Afghanistan could protect local populations while the police and the administration develop," write Barnett R. Rubin and Ahmed Rashid in the November/December 2008 issue of Foreign Affairs. "They also might enable U.S. and NATO forces to reduce or eliminate their reliance on the use of air strikes, which cause civilian casualties that recruit fighters and supporters to the insurgency." Why not also use our political leverage -- in the form of those American billions -- to pressure President Asif Ali Zardari to reinstate Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, who was dismissed last year by then-President Pervez Musharraf in his imposition of emergency rule in the country? Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was unconstitutionally dismissed along with 50 other judges under the rule of Musharraf. An independent judiciary in Pakistan moves the nuclear-capable country closer to the goal of long term stability. An independent judiciary is also a de facto bullwark against Muslim fundamentalism.
Pakistan, under President Zardari's government, has, according to Stephen Cohen at the Brookings Institution, brought about greater measure of stability. "It has formed a stable government at the center, and stable coalitions in most of the provinces. It is an amazing accomplishment given how far gone Pakistan was just a few months ago," said Cohen.
And while we have to engage Pakistan's military because they are a nuclear power in a dangerous neighborhood with a destiny that may or may not involve stability, we must not forget the country's legal institutions.
Part of what motivates Asif Ali Zardari is the desire to cleanse his name from the charges of corruption, of being "Mr. 10 Percent." It would greatly behoove Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to stress the point in dealing with President Zardari that reducing the powers of his civilian government in favor of an independent Pakistani Judiciary would go great lengths to providing a sterling legacy.
From the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan's commencement address at Harvard in 2006:
The cycle of escalation between India and Pakistan over the past six decades leads, inevitably, to a nuclear confrontation unless the two Asian powers engage each other and hammer out an agreement to co-exist as neighbors peacefully. Last week's terrorist attacks will serve either as the best opportunity in decades to push for such a diplomatic engagement, or just another catalyst bringing that region to the brink of an inevitability that never had to be inevitable in the first place.
If anyone can navigate the choppy waters of advocating for an independent judiciary should not be seen as weakening President Zardari's civilian government it is Secretary of State designate Hillary Rodham Clinton, international superstar. let's hope this idea is on her political radar.
The title of this blog post appears on first glimpse to be wholly misleading -- Pakistan seems at first glance anything but a zone of international "Law and Order." And the last week's terrorist attacks are changing the political paradigm in the region even more towards the direction of disorder. Still, there is a robust Pakistani lawyer's movement, though we rarely hear about it on these shores. In June 2007, for example, 7,000 lawyers, journalists and opposition activists staged a sit-in protest in Pakistan urging then-President Musharraf to step down after his illegal suspension of their Supreme Court Justice. The principle of law is particularly strong in Pakistan.
Unfortunately in our foreign policy dealings with that south Asian nuclear power, the United States tends to throw money at the military out of a fear of instability and almost entirely forgets the popularity of the independent judiciary movement, which is also critical to Pakistan's long-term stability. Oftentimes our actions, in matters international as well as in the personal sphere of individual life, are governed by fear and insecurity. Decisions undertaken under a cloud of fear and insecurity are almost uniformly unwise. Pakistan's nuclear capability and their central location in the war on terror has resulted, since 9/11, in $10 billion in aid from the United States. Is there any accountability, one wonders, as to where precisely that money went? Clearly the Pakistani Intelligence services -- who may or may not be under civilian control, or may in fact be rogue -- got a taste of those monies. And, quite possibly, the ISI may have involvement with Lashkar-e-Taiba in this weekend's terror attacks. Finally, despite all that aid, Pakistan, in any case, has replaced Iraq as the locus point in the war against Al Quaeda. Is that what one gets for $10 billion in aid?
Unilateral missile attacks on militants in Pakistan enrage the populace. America clearly does not need the enmity of the people of Pakistan, whose help in routing out the Taliban is necessary. And yet American foreign policy since 9/11 has dealt with the civilian government and the military at the cost of our credibility to the Pakistani street. Is this a wise long-term strategy? At what point does popular discontent on the Pakistani street become so great that it hinders our efforts in the War on terror. We are still, unfortunately, in the dying throes of Donald Rumsfeld's hard power sticks-without-carrots style of "diplomacy." Rumsfeld, when asked about "soft power" in 2003 tellingly replied "I don’t know what it means." It doesn't get more meaningful than that, folks.
The incoming Obama administration has signaled that it will send 20,000 reinforcements sometime next year. "Some additional troops in Afghanistan could protect local populations while the police and the administration develop," write Barnett R. Rubin and Ahmed Rashid in the November/December 2008 issue of Foreign Affairs. "They also might enable U.S. and NATO forces to reduce or eliminate their reliance on the use of air strikes, which cause civilian casualties that recruit fighters and supporters to the insurgency." Why not also use our political leverage -- in the form of those American billions -- to pressure President Asif Ali Zardari to reinstate Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, who was dismissed last year by then-President Pervez Musharraf in his imposition of emergency rule in the country? Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was unconstitutionally dismissed along with 50 other judges under the rule of Musharraf. An independent judiciary in Pakistan moves the nuclear-capable country closer to the goal of long term stability. An independent judiciary is also a de facto bullwark against Muslim fundamentalism.
Pakistan, under President Zardari's government, has, according to Stephen Cohen at the Brookings Institution, brought about greater measure of stability. "It has formed a stable government at the center, and stable coalitions in most of the provinces. It is an amazing accomplishment given how far gone Pakistan was just a few months ago," said Cohen.
And while we have to engage Pakistan's military because they are a nuclear power in a dangerous neighborhood with a destiny that may or may not involve stability, we must not forget the country's legal institutions.
Part of what motivates Asif Ali Zardari is the desire to cleanse his name from the charges of corruption, of being "Mr. 10 Percent." It would greatly behoove Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to stress the point in dealing with President Zardari that reducing the powers of his civilian government in favor of an independent Pakistani Judiciary would go great lengths to providing a sterling legacy.
From the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan's commencement address at Harvard in 2006:
"As the United States reacts to the mass murder of 9/11 and prepares for more, it would do well to consider how much terror India endured in the second half of the last century. And its response. It happens I was our man in New Delhi in 1974 when India detonated its first nuclear device. I was sent in to see Prime Minister Indira Gandhi with a statement as much as anything of regret. For there was nothing to be done; it was going to happen. The second most populous nation on earth was not going to leave itself disarmed and disregarded, as non-nuclear powers appeared to be. But leaving, I asked to speak as a friend of India and not as an official. In twenty years time, I opined, there would be a Moghul general in command in Islamabad, and he would have nuclear weapons and would demand Kashmir back, perhaps the Punjab.
"The Prime Minister said nothing; I dare to think she half agreed. In time, she would be murdered in her own garden; next, her son and successor was murdered by a suicide bomber. This, while nuclear weapons accumulated which are now poised."
The cycle of escalation between India and Pakistan over the past six decades leads, inevitably, to a nuclear confrontation unless the two Asian powers engage each other and hammer out an agreement to co-exist as neighbors peacefully. Last week's terrorist attacks will serve either as the best opportunity in decades to push for such a diplomatic engagement, or just another catalyst bringing that region to the brink of an inevitability that never had to be inevitable in the first place.
If anyone can navigate the choppy waters of advocating for an independent judiciary should not be seen as weakening President Zardari's civilian government it is Secretary of State designate Hillary Rodham Clinton, international superstar. let's hope this idea is on her political radar.
Three Way Tie At Independent Spirit Award Nominations
(image via brooklynvegan)
Wouldn't it be interesting if Anne Hathaway and Mickey "catface" Rourke won the Independent Spirit Awards for Best Actor and Best Actress, respectively, and then went on to win the same awards at the Oscars? Just a thought/wish. How would that be for the perfect Hollywood double-redemption story? From Indiewire:
(image via brooklynvegan)
Wouldn't it be interesting if Anne Hathaway and Mickey "catface" Rourke won the Independent Spirit Awards for Best Actor and Best Actress, respectively, and then went on to win the same awards at the Oscars? Just a thought/wish. How would that be for the perfect Hollywood double-redemption story? From Indiewire:
"Courtney Hunt's 'Frozen River,' Lance Hammer's 'Ballast' and Jonathan Demme's 'Rachel Getting Married' topped the 2009 Film Independent's Spirit Award nominations, grabbing six nods apiece. All three were nominated for best feature, where they will compete against Darren Aronofsky's 'The Wrestler' and Kelly Reichardt's 'Wendy & Lucy.'"
Jesse Jane: I Had Sex With Tommy Lee While Paul Oakenfled Was DJing
Occasionally even the thoroughly man-skankish Tommy Lee (Eew)can surprise. While the perpetual headbanging adolescent "dated" porn star Jesse Jane -- no surprise there -- he engaged in an act of public sex, at a club, quite possibly endangering his own fledgeling-quixotic DJ career in the process (at least at that particular location). From Men's Athletic Quarterly magazine:
With Tommy Lee it is always the spider room, even when you are not actually in the spider room, no? If Kafka's Samsa metamorphosed into a bug how long before Motley Crue's Tommy Lee transforms into a fully blown man-Chimp? We await that inevitable occurrence with rapt attention.
Occasionally even the thoroughly man-skankish Tommy Lee (Eew)can surprise. While the perpetual headbanging adolescent "dated" porn star Jesse Jane -- no surprise there -- he engaged in an act of public sex, at a club, quite possibly endangering his own fledgeling-quixotic DJ career in the process (at least at that particular location). From Men's Athletic Quarterly magazine:
"MAQ: What is your craziest public sexual experience?
"JJ: Probably at Avalon up in the spider room when I was dating Tommy Lee. We had sex while Paul Oakenfold was spinning. We did it in front of everybody in the VIP room watching the crowd dance below us. It was crazy."
With Tommy Lee it is always the spider room, even when you are not actually in the spider room, no? If Kafka's Samsa metamorphosed into a bug how long before Motley Crue's Tommy Lee transforms into a fully blown man-Chimp? We await that inevitable occurrence with rapt attention.
David Gregory Gets The Russert Slot?
Big scoop -- if it is true -- for the newly wealthy Huffington Post, which is reporting that NBC chief White House correspondent David Gregory beats out geek fave, the understated Chuck Todd, NBC's political director, to get Tim Russert's slot at NBC's Meet The Press. From HuffPo:
Chuck Todd was recruited to NBC News by Russert and was widely considered as having been Russert's choice as his successor. Alas.
Big scoop -- if it is true -- for the newly wealthy Huffington Post, which is reporting that NBC chief White House correspondent David Gregory beats out geek fave, the understated Chuck Todd, NBC's political director, to get Tim Russert's slot at NBC's Meet The Press. From HuffPo:
"David Gregory will take the reins as moderator of NBC's 'Meet the Press,' the Huffington Post has learned. Gregory has been a leading contender for the permanent spot since Tom Brokaw stepped in as interim moderator following Tim Russert's death in June.
"In recent weeks, a short list including Gregory, Andrea Michell, Gwen Ifill, and Chuck Todd had been considered the top candidates for the position, while Katie Couric and Ted Koppel were viewed as dark horses.
"Brokaw will conclude his duties as interim moderator this weekend, when he will interview President-Elect Barack Obama."
Chuck Todd was recruited to NBC News by Russert and was widely considered as having been Russert's choice as his successor. Alas.
Media-Whore D'Oeuvres
(image via thedailybeast)
"Kanye got engaged to his longtime girlfriend Alexis Phifer in 2006, but last April they called it off. 808s, released last week, is an impassioned, despondent, bellicose dumper’s response. This is Kanye’s moment to yell directly at the woman he loved, but now feels emotionally betrayed him. Just as women are more open with their feelings than men, female singers have long given us tales of heartache. But how often do we hear a man singing about a broken heart?" (Touré/TheDailyBeast)
"MADONNA and Alex Rodriguez are quietly shopping for love nests on the Upper East Side and on the East End, sources told Page Six. A knowledgeable real estate source tells us the kabbalah-crazed pop queen and the skirt-chasing power hitter are 'discreetly looking at properties between Fifth and Park avenues, from just above 60th Street through the 80s. Madonna personally came to look at one house a couple of months ago, and Alex has been looking recently,' the insider said. 'We're talking about private, double-width mansions in the vicinity of $30 million to $60 million.'" (PageSix)
(Fran Lebowitz and Paloma Picasso via JH/NySocialDiary)
"Down at Tiffany’s, there was a dinner for 130 in honor of John Loring who is 'retiring' after thirty years as Design Director of Tiffany .. There was Arlene Dahl. There was Fran Lebowitz. There was Paige Rense and Ken Noland, and there was Paloma Picasso and her mother Francoise Gilot. A wide array of New Yorkers and the world .. At the end Wendy Moonan of the New York Times said she believed the evening marked the 'end of an era.' I wasn’t sure what she meant although I know she observes the history of things with a practiced eye." (NYSocialDiary)
"Last Friday, the coolest of the London hipsters gathered at the Electric Lofts in Hackney (yes, the neighborhood famous for stabbings) for The Freaky Jason 'Fauvoteque' fete. The Freaky Jason is a free magazine all about art and music created by London's less-than-mainstream and super-talented creative community. It's an interesting read and features surprisingly beautiful photography. They heart bands like Dirty Three, Beirut, Whitest Boy Alive, Grosvenor, Bat For Lashes and Kate Bush, and the not-to-be-missed section of the mag is 'The Glossary,' which unravels the theme of the issue via short snippets, bios and photos. Or as they put it, 'It's where you find out what the fuck we are talking about.'" (Papermag)
"Barack Obama's choice to shun the Democratic senatorial candidate in Georgia can be viewed as reaching across the political aisle, I suppose, but what a wimpy move to avoid helping his party by personally campaigning there. Apparently, the Obama team thinks there is too little chance for defeating Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss in today's vote to risk having the President-Elect show up there. That's smart politics for Obama, perhaps, but what a lesson it is for Democrats who think that he might ever risk his own winning image to help political friends in dire need." (Craig Crawford/CQPolitics)
"It's been fashionable to compare Barack Obama's presidential transition favorably to Bill Clinton's 16 years ago, which was supposedly a model of chaos and disorganization. This is somewhat unfair to the former president, whose popularity didn't really take a hit until after he was sworn in. But Clinton did make at least one blunder that Obama has avoided: getting involved in a Georgia Senate run-off. In late November '92, weeks after eking out a victory of his own in the state, President-elect Clinton made a last-minute campaign appearance (after first dispatching Vice President-elect Al Gore) with Senator Wyche Fowler, who was facing Republican Paul Coverdell in a run-off. Victory was certainly within reach for the Democrats - Fowler had led by a point in the preliminary vote - but when Coverdell pulled out a two-point win the next day, it was trumpeted as a slap in the face to the incoming president." (Observer)
"Financial news outlets are reporting that Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone is starting to try to unravel his financial mess. He sold his 87% stake in video game maker Midway Games for a mere $100,000. Why so low? To help restructure debts that threaten his family business." (DeadlineHollywoodDaily)
"Howard (Stern) started off the show saying his hair was changing in a way his hairdresser Toni calls 'hormonal.' Howard added that so far he's been blessed with good hair - but now the entire back of his head has lost its curl: 'It's stick-straight hair. Toni has to take a curling iron to it.' She has even suggested that Howard perm the affected area, but Howard refused .." (HowardStern)
"Sen. Joe Lieberman, the maverick lawmaker from Connecticut, has praised President-elect Barack Obama’s national security team after criticizing Obama’s ability to lead during wartime earlier this year." (TheHill)
"CNBC, high on its viewership numbers as the markets continue to nosedive, is in for its own downturn possibly by Q1 of next, a long cover story in the latest issue of B&C says. 'Despite the yuks and the huge numbers, the network is now in the process of slashing as much as 10% from its budget. People at the network, says one staffer, are ‘scared s---less.’.." (Paidcontent)
(image via thedailybeast)
"Kanye got engaged to his longtime girlfriend Alexis Phifer in 2006, but last April they called it off. 808s, released last week, is an impassioned, despondent, bellicose dumper’s response. This is Kanye’s moment to yell directly at the woman he loved, but now feels emotionally betrayed him. Just as women are more open with their feelings than men, female singers have long given us tales of heartache. But how often do we hear a man singing about a broken heart?" (Touré/TheDailyBeast)
"MADONNA and Alex Rodriguez are quietly shopping for love nests on the Upper East Side and on the East End, sources told Page Six. A knowledgeable real estate source tells us the kabbalah-crazed pop queen and the skirt-chasing power hitter are 'discreetly looking at properties between Fifth and Park avenues, from just above 60th Street through the 80s. Madonna personally came to look at one house a couple of months ago, and Alex has been looking recently,' the insider said. 'We're talking about private, double-width mansions in the vicinity of $30 million to $60 million.'" (PageSix)
(Fran Lebowitz and Paloma Picasso via JH/NySocialDiary)
"Down at Tiffany’s, there was a dinner for 130 in honor of John Loring who is 'retiring' after thirty years as Design Director of Tiffany .. There was Arlene Dahl. There was Fran Lebowitz. There was Paige Rense and Ken Noland, and there was Paloma Picasso and her mother Francoise Gilot. A wide array of New Yorkers and the world .. At the end Wendy Moonan of the New York Times said she believed the evening marked the 'end of an era.' I wasn’t sure what she meant although I know she observes the history of things with a practiced eye." (NYSocialDiary)
"Last Friday, the coolest of the London hipsters gathered at the Electric Lofts in Hackney (yes, the neighborhood famous for stabbings) for The Freaky Jason 'Fauvoteque' fete. The Freaky Jason is a free magazine all about art and music created by London's less-than-mainstream and super-talented creative community. It's an interesting read and features surprisingly beautiful photography. They heart bands like Dirty Three, Beirut, Whitest Boy Alive, Grosvenor, Bat For Lashes and Kate Bush, and the not-to-be-missed section of the mag is 'The Glossary,' which unravels the theme of the issue via short snippets, bios and photos. Or as they put it, 'It's where you find out what the fuck we are talking about.'" (Papermag)
"Barack Obama's choice to shun the Democratic senatorial candidate in Georgia can be viewed as reaching across the political aisle, I suppose, but what a wimpy move to avoid helping his party by personally campaigning there. Apparently, the Obama team thinks there is too little chance for defeating Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss in today's vote to risk having the President-Elect show up there. That's smart politics for Obama, perhaps, but what a lesson it is for Democrats who think that he might ever risk his own winning image to help political friends in dire need." (Craig Crawford/CQPolitics)
"It's been fashionable to compare Barack Obama's presidential transition favorably to Bill Clinton's 16 years ago, which was supposedly a model of chaos and disorganization. This is somewhat unfair to the former president, whose popularity didn't really take a hit until after he was sworn in. But Clinton did make at least one blunder that Obama has avoided: getting involved in a Georgia Senate run-off. In late November '92, weeks after eking out a victory of his own in the state, President-elect Clinton made a last-minute campaign appearance (after first dispatching Vice President-elect Al Gore) with Senator Wyche Fowler, who was facing Republican Paul Coverdell in a run-off. Victory was certainly within reach for the Democrats - Fowler had led by a point in the preliminary vote - but when Coverdell pulled out a two-point win the next day, it was trumpeted as a slap in the face to the incoming president." (Observer)
"Financial news outlets are reporting that Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone is starting to try to unravel his financial mess. He sold his 87% stake in video game maker Midway Games for a mere $100,000. Why so low? To help restructure debts that threaten his family business." (DeadlineHollywoodDaily)
"Howard (Stern) started off the show saying his hair was changing in a way his hairdresser Toni calls 'hormonal.' Howard added that so far he's been blessed with good hair - but now the entire back of his head has lost its curl: 'It's stick-straight hair. Toni has to take a curling iron to it.' She has even suggested that Howard perm the affected area, but Howard refused .." (HowardStern)
"Sen. Joe Lieberman, the maverick lawmaker from Connecticut, has praised President-elect Barack Obama’s national security team after criticizing Obama’s ability to lead during wartime earlier this year." (TheHill)
"CNBC, high on its viewership numbers as the markets continue to nosedive, is in for its own downturn possibly by Q1 of next, a long cover story in the latest issue of B&C says. 'Despite the yuks and the huge numbers, the network is now in the process of slashing as much as 10% from its budget. People at the network, says one staffer, are ‘scared s---less.’.." (Paidcontent)
Ice T: "I'm Far From A Muthafuckin Cop"
(image via about)
Law & Order regular Ice T appears in Swindle Magazine's third annual Icon issue. Omar Mazariego asks Ice T some of the questions we have always wanted to know, like how does an ex-pimp who wrote a song about cop killing end up playing a cop in a Dick Wolf procedural? How does that work:
(image via about)
Law & Order regular Ice T appears in Swindle Magazine's third annual Icon issue. Omar Mazariego asks Ice T some of the questions we have always wanted to know, like how does an ex-pimp who wrote a song about cop killing end up playing a cop in a Dick Wolf procedural? How does that work:
"Omar Mazariego: You think cops hold a grudge (for "Cop Killer")
"Ice T: I'm sure some of them do. But I made a point that I was singing against brutal police. I never had anything truly against the police even when I had broken the law. 'Cop Killer' was a protest record. It was written about LA back in the day when the LAPD was totally out of control.
"Swindle Magazine: So how do you make a song called 'Cop Killer' and then play a cop on TV?
"Ice T: In Hollywood they like to cast cats from the other side of the street to the other. If you're a street cat they wanna cast you as an attorney. It's too cliche to cast me as a gangster. I tell people all the time 'I'm far from a muthafuckin; cop.;
"Swindle Magazine: So what would you say the achievement you're most proud of?
"Ice T: Transition. Getting out of the game and becoming legit. Anybody who's on the other side of the field knows it's not easy. I went broke and I went through what they call huster's withdrawal. But once I crossed over, I told myself I'd never go back."
Monday, December 01, 2008
How To Save Nicole Kidman's Career
(image via celebrityandworld)
The magnificent failure of Baz Luhrman's "Australia" will, unfairly, fall at the foot of Nicole Kidman's Ferragamos. The backlash has already started. Melanie Reed writes with real venom in The Times:
Bullshit, with all due respect to The Times. Has Melanie Reed -- a critic and not an actor, we cannot fail to note -- ever seen The Others? It would be instructive if she did. Kidman carries the film, holding the almost unbearable mood of slow menace through nearly three hours. And Nicole -- can we call her Nicole? -- did this while she was getting a divorce from the film's executive producer after suffering a miscarriage. If that's not evidence of talent deserving of our respect as smart observers, then The Corsair does not know what is.
Nic Kidman -- can we call her "Nic" -- is a perfectly lovely woman. So far as we know she has never, with the possibility of a vague slight to her ex-husband's height, spoken badly of another actor that she has worked with (or, that she has not worked with). Still, that hasn't stopped the press, the blogosphere, and seemingly everyone else from attacking Kidman's alleged use of botox and sometimes stretching those literally skin-deep critiques into some larger argument about her supposed lack of acting ability.
WTF?!
Clearly Kidman is in need of some career reconnoitering. When Mickey Rourke calls you, unprompted, "an ice cube," you need to shake things up, bitchslap the management team.
Nicole Kidman is not cold. She is a mother who has adopted two kids -- one African-American -- that supports a number of charities and is pals with Naomi Watts and Thandie Newton. She has dated the racy Q-Tip, among others (all, we cannot fail to note, fairly hunkish). Nicole's debut in the sleeper hit "Dead Calm" was red-hott, suspenseful, launching the soft hero a the proto-sympathetic damsel-in-distress with a spleen of iron. From whence did this image of "Ice Princess" come from? Some advice on countering that image:
-- Be Political. At this point in time, Nicole Kidman has nothing to lose. It would behoove her to become the bete noir of waterheads like Rush Limbaugh. Her work with charities is well-documented. Closely held political positions humanized Al Gore who, previous to his environmentalism was regarded as wooden. How better to thaw an image as being cold-blooded than to espouse sharp political beliefs?
-- We would counsel that Kidman does SNL. Nicole hasn't been on the not-yet-ready-for-Prime-Time players since 1993, back when Norm Macdonald was a castmember. That needs to change with the quickness. Appearing on the show would: a) show that she is not too "A-List" to visit the small screen, b) Give Kidman a chance to ridicule the botox, the "Hours" nose and the plastic surgery talk, and c) Take Nicole off the covers of the Conde Nast fashion and beauty magazines where she seems ethereal and annoying and make her appear more human (which, mirabile dictu, she happens to be).
-- Do "30 Rock," as well on the same principle. It did wonders for the calculating Jennifer Aniston, whom we actually really do dislike (sniff-sniff). If a one-dimensional robot like Jennifer Aniston can come off as a living, breathing, sexy human being after "30 Rock," imagine what the madcap sitcom could do for a multi-dimensional actress like Kidman. Kidman needs to act comedically opposite Alec Baldwin, who can make anyone look good. That aggressive Irish bastards got the gift of gab (sometimes too much).
Could you imagine Kidman, poking fun of her "icy" image, playing, with meta-winks and studies curtsies, the jungle-feverish love interest of our favorite train wreck Tracy Morgan? And what if Kidman slipped accents throughout the show poking fun at the psychological homelessness of playing so many period pieces. Kidman could play the ultimate comedic psycho. Comedy, on the small screen, could not inconceivably be Nicole Kidman's "special friend," transforming her from icon into "round the way girl."
-- No more sweeping, romantic epics. That stuff is the shits. Everyone in the world has been on a date and seen Nicole Kidman on the screen staring back wondering if we were going to get lucky. No more date movies! With the exception of "Cold Mountain," the romantic period pieces don't really do much for Kidman beyond the critics. Nicole Kidman has done enough sweeping epics to say goodbye to that thankless, godawful genre.
-- Enough with the Conde Nast covers. Okay, we get it -- Nicole Kidman is glamorous. Cool. Oversaturating the Conde covers, however, is as typecasting as, say, performing in 1,001 sweeping, romantic epics.
The failure of "Australia" is bound to bring out the Kidman haters. We hope someone somewhere passes some of this advice to Kidman's "people."
(image via celebrityandworld)
The magnificent failure of Baz Luhrman's "Australia" will, unfairly, fall at the foot of Nicole Kidman's Ferragamos. The backlash has already started. Melanie Reed writes with real venom in The Times:
"Kidman is one of those women who turns other women off. And no, not just because she's pretty and we're jealous. It is because we perceive, and men don't, that she's one of the most overrated actors in the world, a woman who has been the kiss of death in practically every movie she has starred in.
"Kidman is exquisitely accomplished at being awful. Did anyone see Cold Mountain? The sweeping American epic (note: another epic) foundered on the rocks of her gormless mirror-gaze. She can't act."
Bullshit, with all due respect to The Times. Has Melanie Reed -- a critic and not an actor, we cannot fail to note -- ever seen The Others? It would be instructive if she did. Kidman carries the film, holding the almost unbearable mood of slow menace through nearly three hours. And Nicole -- can we call her Nicole? -- did this while she was getting a divorce from the film's executive producer after suffering a miscarriage. If that's not evidence of talent deserving of our respect as smart observers, then The Corsair does not know what is.
Nic Kidman -- can we call her "Nic" -- is a perfectly lovely woman. So far as we know she has never, with the possibility of a vague slight to her ex-husband's height, spoken badly of another actor that she has worked with (or, that she has not worked with). Still, that hasn't stopped the press, the blogosphere, and seemingly everyone else from attacking Kidman's alleged use of botox and sometimes stretching those literally skin-deep critiques into some larger argument about her supposed lack of acting ability.
WTF?!
Clearly Kidman is in need of some career reconnoitering. When Mickey Rourke calls you, unprompted, "an ice cube," you need to shake things up, bitchslap the management team.
Nicole Kidman is not cold. She is a mother who has adopted two kids -- one African-American -- that supports a number of charities and is pals with Naomi Watts and Thandie Newton. She has dated the racy Q-Tip, among others (all, we cannot fail to note, fairly hunkish). Nicole's debut in the sleeper hit "Dead Calm" was red-hott, suspenseful, launching the soft hero a the proto-sympathetic damsel-in-distress with a spleen of iron. From whence did this image of "Ice Princess" come from? Some advice on countering that image:
-- Be Political. At this point in time, Nicole Kidman has nothing to lose. It would behoove her to become the bete noir of waterheads like Rush Limbaugh. Her work with charities is well-documented. Closely held political positions humanized Al Gore who, previous to his environmentalism was regarded as wooden. How better to thaw an image as being cold-blooded than to espouse sharp political beliefs?
-- We would counsel that Kidman does SNL. Nicole hasn't been on the not-yet-ready-for-Prime-Time players since 1993, back when Norm Macdonald was a castmember. That needs to change with the quickness. Appearing on the show would: a) show that she is not too "A-List" to visit the small screen, b) Give Kidman a chance to ridicule the botox, the "Hours" nose and the plastic surgery talk, and c) Take Nicole off the covers of the Conde Nast fashion and beauty magazines where she seems ethereal and annoying and make her appear more human (which, mirabile dictu, she happens to be).
-- Do "30 Rock," as well on the same principle. It did wonders for the calculating Jennifer Aniston, whom we actually really do dislike (sniff-sniff). If a one-dimensional robot like Jennifer Aniston can come off as a living, breathing, sexy human being after "30 Rock," imagine what the madcap sitcom could do for a multi-dimensional actress like Kidman. Kidman needs to act comedically opposite Alec Baldwin, who can make anyone look good. That aggressive Irish bastards got the gift of gab (sometimes too much).
Could you imagine Kidman, poking fun of her "icy" image, playing, with meta-winks and studies curtsies, the jungle-feverish love interest of our favorite train wreck Tracy Morgan? And what if Kidman slipped accents throughout the show poking fun at the psychological homelessness of playing so many period pieces. Kidman could play the ultimate comedic psycho. Comedy, on the small screen, could not inconceivably be Nicole Kidman's "special friend," transforming her from icon into "round the way girl."
-- No more sweeping, romantic epics. That stuff is the shits. Everyone in the world has been on a date and seen Nicole Kidman on the screen staring back wondering if we were going to get lucky. No more date movies! With the exception of "Cold Mountain," the romantic period pieces don't really do much for Kidman beyond the critics. Nicole Kidman has done enough sweeping epics to say goodbye to that thankless, godawful genre.
-- Enough with the Conde Nast covers. Okay, we get it -- Nicole Kidman is glamorous. Cool. Oversaturating the Conde covers, however, is as typecasting as, say, performing in 1,001 sweeping, romantic epics.
The failure of "Australia" is bound to bring out the Kidman haters. We hope someone somewhere passes some of this advice to Kidman's "people."
A Film Conclusion For HBO's Rome?
Bruno Heller, the co-creator of HBO's magnificent "Rome" -- and, more recently, the creator of the CBS hit procedural "The Mentalist" -- is considering taking the sanguinary and sexually charged chronicle of the Julio-Claudian dynasty to the big screen for its conclusion. It's about time!
The cancelling of that show was one of the more bone-headed programming decisions of the decade. Yes, it was quite expensive (Estimated total budget for first 12 episodes: $100 million). But the imperial parallels with America were astonishing (and hugely relevant); it was also a certifiable hit among an educated and affluent demographic (the HBO crowd). Finally, The Soprano's -- HBO's franchise -- was about to conclude. Instead of building on "Rome," an established hit, HBO quixotically went the route of "John From Cincinnati." WTF! For a while HBO probably ceded the title of "the edgiest" to Showtime.
The pendulum swings. Now with the rise of "True Blood" -- and Anna Paquin's incredible breasts (Sookie "Stack"-house, indeed) -- the tide may be turning back. From TheHollywoodReporter:
More Atia of the Julii! The full story here.
Bruno Heller, the co-creator of HBO's magnificent "Rome" -- and, more recently, the creator of the CBS hit procedural "The Mentalist" -- is considering taking the sanguinary and sexually charged chronicle of the Julio-Claudian dynasty to the big screen for its conclusion. It's about time!
The cancelling of that show was one of the more bone-headed programming decisions of the decade. Yes, it was quite expensive (Estimated total budget for first 12 episodes: $100 million). But the imperial parallels with America were astonishing (and hugely relevant); it was also a certifiable hit among an educated and affluent demographic (the HBO crowd). Finally, The Soprano's -- HBO's franchise -- was about to conclude. Instead of building on "Rome," an established hit, HBO quixotically went the route of "John From Cincinnati." WTF! For a while HBO probably ceded the title of "the edgiest" to Showtime.
The pendulum swings. Now with the rise of "True Blood" -- and Anna Paquin's incredible breasts (Sookie "Stack"-house, indeed) -- the tide may be turning back. From TheHollywoodReporter:
"Bruno Heller says he wants to produce a theatrical wrap-up to his critically beloved and prematurely canceled HBO drama 'Rome.'
"'There is talk of doing a movie version,' he said. 'It's moving along. It's not there until it is there. I would love to round that show off.'
"The lavish period drama ran for two seasons on HBO, which co-produced the series with the BBC. With the final season of 'The Sopranos' as its lead-in, the first season was solidly rated, but high production costs presented the network with a tough call on the pickup. HBO opted for a second season to help get more value from its initial investment but not a third, effectively canceling the show in summer 2006 before the second season debuted the following January. The 'Rome' sets were destroyed, and the actors were released from their contracts, making the decision all but irreversible.
"Season 2 of 'Rome' was a surprise. Although slightly lower rated than the first, the show did remarkably well without a 'Sopranos' lead-in. The first season received four Emmy Awards, and another seven Emmys were heaped upon the final season.
"Suddenly 'Rome' was a Greek tragedy: a hit show with no future. The broadcast nets quickly snatched up the show's leads for top fall pilots.
"HBO executives have since admitted that axing the show probably was a mistake."
More Atia of the Julii! The full story here.
The Advantages Of Hillary Clinton
(image via nysocialdiary)
The disadvantages of Senator Hillary Clinton as United States Secretary of State in an Obama administration are many, and have been recounted here as well as other media outlets unfavorable to the Clintons. We will not bore you again with the catalogue of grievances. What about the advantages? Among which are:
-- Hillary Clinton is an international superstar, a global icon, a known commodity with a track record among women, children and the poor around the world. President-elect Obama is, similarly, an international superstar, especially in the rising second world as well as the Third World. Together -- combined with the backroom influence of former President Bill Clinton, the third most-influential global humanitarian after Mandela and Gates -- they present the highest possible wattage of soft power humanly imaginable. Whether in South Africa or Russia or Latin America, America's foreign policy interests will be received with not only the rapt attention of world leaders (and the editorial boards of their newspapers), but with the sympathies of large percentages of the internal populations, especially in the Second and Third World.
-- Bill Clinton. Hillary Clinton is a buy one get one free Secretary of State. Her husband's influence will be felt, his volumnous Rolodex will be utilized, but taxpayers won't have to foot the bill. Bill Clinton owes Hillary, if not the Presidency, at least a Nobel Peace Prize -- and that works to the advantage of the United States.
-- 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling. Hillary Clinton ran a spirited campaign, garnered 18 million votes, alighted the hopes of women -- and girls -- everywhere (and she didn't do so bad among the elderly and working class whites). When the race was over, Clinton did not mope Achillean: she instead did her job and helped elect the ticket, taking on the most difficult tasks, making the case for Obama among her base, and making a measurable difference in the final vote tally.
-- SecState diminishes Clinton's run in 2012. With a bow to the Machiavellian fundament of electoral politics, it can not have escaped President-elect Obama entirely that Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State diminishes the possibility (and political viability) of a primary run in 2012.
From Bloomberg:
(image via nysocialdiary)
The disadvantages of Senator Hillary Clinton as United States Secretary of State in an Obama administration are many, and have been recounted here as well as other media outlets unfavorable to the Clintons. We will not bore you again with the catalogue of grievances. What about the advantages? Among which are:
-- Hillary Clinton is an international superstar, a global icon, a known commodity with a track record among women, children and the poor around the world. President-elect Obama is, similarly, an international superstar, especially in the rising second world as well as the Third World. Together -- combined with the backroom influence of former President Bill Clinton, the third most-influential global humanitarian after Mandela and Gates -- they present the highest possible wattage of soft power humanly imaginable. Whether in South Africa or Russia or Latin America, America's foreign policy interests will be received with not only the rapt attention of world leaders (and the editorial boards of their newspapers), but with the sympathies of large percentages of the internal populations, especially in the Second and Third World.
-- Bill Clinton. Hillary Clinton is a buy one get one free Secretary of State. Her husband's influence will be felt, his volumnous Rolodex will be utilized, but taxpayers won't have to foot the bill. Bill Clinton owes Hillary, if not the Presidency, at least a Nobel Peace Prize -- and that works to the advantage of the United States.
-- 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling. Hillary Clinton ran a spirited campaign, garnered 18 million votes, alighted the hopes of women -- and girls -- everywhere (and she didn't do so bad among the elderly and working class whites). When the race was over, Clinton did not mope Achillean: she instead did her job and helped elect the ticket, taking on the most difficult tasks, making the case for Obama among her base, and making a measurable difference in the final vote tally.
-- SecState diminishes Clinton's run in 2012. With a bow to the Machiavellian fundament of electoral politics, it can not have escaped President-elect Obama entirely that Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State diminishes the possibility (and political viability) of a primary run in 2012.
From Bloomberg:
"The activists needn't worry, said Steve Clemons, an analyst at the Washington-based New America Foundation. Obama retains the final say, and appointing experienced centrists like Clinton, Gates and Jones actually gives the new president more room to pursue fresh approaches, he said.
"'By bringing Hillary on to achieve his policy vision, he protects himself from those prepared to call him 'appeaser-in- chief,' Clemons said. 'He's putting together a diverse team that covers the bases politically.'"
Arianna Huffington Raises $25 Million, Third Round Funding
Despite the tumultuous economic times, Arianna Huffington has managed to find funding for HuffPo -- an in a political off-season! We're not surprised, that sexy Greek accent weilded like a stiletto could charm anyone, including Jersey City Mayor Cory Booker, into virtually anything. Anything! From Paidcontent:
The full story here.
Despite the tumultuous economic times, Arianna Huffington has managed to find funding for HuffPo -- an in a political off-season! We're not surprised, that sexy Greek accent weilded like a stiletto could charm anyone, including Jersey City Mayor Cory Booker, into virtually anything. Anything! From Paidcontent:
"After weeks of denials and 'no comments,' political blog The Huffington Post has closed a $25 million third round funding from Oak Investment Partners, the company said in an e-mailed press release this morning. We reported earlier about a $20 million and above round with post-money valuation in the $110 million range. This probably puts it right at $115 million.
"The company said it planned to use the proceeds to support general growth efforts and for 'focused acquisitions.' HuffPo also wants to build up its in-house ad sales team, as even the internet is succumbing to the wider economic turmoil. The three-year-old HuffPo had previously raised roughly $12 million from Softbank Capital, Greycroft Partners, co-founder Ken Lerer and Bob Pittman.
"On the content side, the $25 million will go towards the jump-starting of a new investigative journalism initiative, expanding its video offerings and a rollout of local versions of the HuffPo aimed at an unspecified number of cities. It already has a Chicago-centric site."
The full story here.
Tina Fey: Adultery Is A Dealbreaker
Take that, Sarah Palin. (image via vanityfair)
Jeff Richmond, Tina Fey's husband, has some interesting things to say about their relationship in her Vanity Fair cover story (the interview is conducted by Maureen Dowd; photographs by the controversial Annie Liebowitz). From Vanity Fair:
Curiously the interview -- MoDowd interviewing Tina Fey, two of the funniest women around -- is in the very same magazine, exactly 2 years later, where Christopher Hitchens asserted that women, generally, aren't funny.
More here.
Take that, Sarah Palin. (image via vanityfair)
Jeff Richmond, Tina Fey's husband, has some interesting things to say about their relationship in her Vanity Fair cover story (the interview is conducted by Maureen Dowd; photographs by the controversial Annie Liebowitz). From Vanity Fair:
"'I know how she feels about some things,' Richmond tells me over coffee one day at an Italian place around the corner from his house. 'Like, we never had to deal with any of this, but: adultery. Just looking at examples from other people’s lives, we know that anything like that, messing around, is just such a complete No to her. And she has her principles and she sticks to her principles more than anybody I’ve ever met in my life. Like that whole idea of, if you are in a relationship, there are deal breakers. There’s not a lot of gray area in being flirty with somebody.' She’s very black-and-white: 'We’re married — you can’t.' He calls their marriage 'borderline boring — in a good way.' And she concurs: 'I don’t enjoy any kind of danger or volatility. I don’t have that kind of I love the bad guys thing. No, no thank you. I like nice people.'"
Curiously the interview -- MoDowd interviewing Tina Fey, two of the funniest women around -- is in the very same magazine, exactly 2 years later, where Christopher Hitchens asserted that women, generally, aren't funny.
More here.
Media-Whore D'Oeuvres
(image via stuff)
"JAMES Franco says Sean Penn pushed the gay sex scenes in 'Milk' further than he expected. 'In the original script I read, there was only one real kissing scene,' Franco tells next month's Elle. 'A month after [director] Gus [Van Sant] asked me to do it, they sent me another script, and on Page 5 there was a full-on love scene. And I was like, 'Gus, what the heck?' He says, 'Well, it was Sean's idea.'" (PageSix)
"His side of the marital bed is barely cold but Madonna is already airbrushing Guy Ritchie from history - and her London home. While she's happy for their kids to see him, Madge is adamant she won't be constantly reminded of his beaming mug or dulcet tones ..We're told: 'She's removed all photographs of the pair of them, leaving only the ones featuring Guy with the children. The joint answering machine message has been replaced with a neutral one.'" (3AMGirls)
"There was Thanksgiving Day at the Four Seasons with David and Helen Gurley Brown and their longtime friend Charlotte Kelly Veal. Mrs. V and Mrs. B go way back to when Helen was a copywriter for Foote, Cone and Belding in Los Angeles before she wrote 'Sex and the Single Girl.' David was living on Hollywood too (Los Angeles/Beverly Hills, etc.) .. This is the eighth or ninth year I’ve shared Thanksgiving dinner with the Browns as their guest. Always at the same table in the Pool Room. Both have had stellar professional careers in media and entertainment, having met and known everyone all over the world and gone practically everywhere. For a number of years Cosmo was the Hearst moneymaker supporting many other titles (and business plans) .. The Four Seasons was packed and it looked as though that was the case for the three or four seatings. It’s glamorous hometown New York, the kind out-of-towners might dream it to be, the closest you get to the Hollywood version .." (NYSocialDiary)
"I read in the papers .. that my old friend Dennis Blair is up for the top intelligence job in the Obama administration. They used to be called 'Director of Central Intelligence,' but then it was decided that we need someone more even more central, and if possible, more intelligent, so our top spook is now called 'Director of National Intelligence.' Calling Admiral Blair 'my old friend' is probably putting it a bit strongly, inasmuch as I haven’t spoken with him since February 1983. Our friendship, if it could ever have been called that, really just consisted of spending nine days on Air Force Two together ..In February 1983, Vice President was dispatched on a hand-holding mission to our allies in Europe .. this was a vice presidential mission .. the White House sent along Commander Blair, to keep an eye on things and — we figured in West Wing paranoid fashion—to report on us ..I was informed that I would have to 'clear' my speech drafts with him ..He had given me back the draft of speech number two. I went through it, page by page, and then found it had two extra pages. He had accidentally paper-clipped something to the bottom of my draft. What was this? I read. My eyes widened. My jaw dropped. This was no boring, bureaucratic jibber-jabber. Au contraire — it was a TOP SECRET/CODEWORD document of sizzling import. My little hands practically melted, just holding it." (Christopher Buckley/TheDailyBeast)
"Insiders tell us NBC won’t be picking up Rosie O’Donnell’s variety show, 'Rosie Live.' Despite the good-luck jigsaw puzzle piece that her partner, Kelli Carpenter, slipped into Rosie’s bra before the show, low ratings may force network co-chairman Ben Silverman to dash O’Donnell’s hopes for a Christmas special aboard the Intrepid, says a source." (RushMolloy)
"Britney Spears's long-awaited visit to London was branded a disaster after her diva behaviour upset fans and TV bosses..Britney was in London for 24 hours before her album Circus is released on her 27th birthday. She flew out at 10.30am yesterday. Earlier on Saturday evening, she was accused of lip-synching through her appearance on The X Factor - performing her new single Womanizer - and snubbing both the contestants and judges. She reportedly banned them from going to her room and posed for one picture with the judges in the corridor." (Thisislondon)
"CELEBRITY chef Gordon Ramsay revealed to mistress Sarah Symonds that he had TWO other lovers. The married TV star, who this week denied cheating, confessed to extra flings during his seven-year affair with Sarah - who today tells her sensational story .. Last week Ramsay, 42, tried to brush aside our revelations of his long affair with Sarah during a BBC cookery demonstration attended by his wife and mother. He told the audience: “I didn’t do it! Mum, I love you' .. The Welsh beauty—who had a fling with shamed top Tory Jeffrey Archer and then kissed and told—admits she’s no angel herself. Her reputation as a professional mistress was cemented by her book Having An Affair? A Handbook For The Other Woman — which she says Ramsay loved and promised to promote." (Newsoftheworld)
"The suits at NBC are doing far more agonizing over who should fill Tim Russert’s shoes on Meet the Press than Obama is over appointing his cabinet. They're taking more time over it, too. I guess that’s because the president-elect has something the NBC front office doesn’t have: self-confidence. Unlike him, they’re so terrified of making a mistake they can't make a decision. That’s why they have tortured the long-suffering Tom Brokaw — who has gallantly occupied the transition chair—with a refusal to let him go back to his ranch in Montana and work on a book. Brokaw has done a stately job of holding the show together for the last five months but now that the election’s over you can see the boredom flaring from his iconic nostrils as he quizzes Senator Joe Lieberman or former Secretary of State James Baker while he waits for the brass to make up their goddamn minds. One of the problems for NBC that was showcased during Russert’s media version of a state funeral in June is the way the chair of Meet the Press has become above all a Washington social and status position and only secondarily a journalistic assignment." (Tina Brown/TheDailyBeast)
"Waistlines expanded on Thanksgiving Day, and this 3-day weekend and 5-day holiday shaped up as big for moviegoing, too. Maybe it's because of the grim economy that audiences wanted laughs, but the mediocre PG-13 comedy Four Christmases, helped by a short 80-minute running time, knocked off Twilight for No. 1 on T-Day and easily stayed on top all weekend. The expected frontrunner from New Line/Warner Bros starring Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon overperformed for $31.6M for the 3-day weekend (which is far better than Vince's last seasonal outing of $18.5M in the just plain awful Fred Claus) and $46.7M for the 5-day holiday." (DeadlineHollywoodDaily)
"Losing an election by just a little can create a lot of temptation for a candidate to try again, figuring that an earlier start, a change in strategy or some other campaign tweak will produce a victory on the second try. That is why there typically are several rematch contests in each congressional election cycle. But the second time, it turns out, is rarely the charm for challenging candidates, and their track record in this year’s round of rematches was no exception. Eighteen races in which the same major-party candidates faced off for the second consecutive election were rated as at least somewhat competitive by CQ Politics. And in 15 of those 18 contests, the same candidate won both elections. In fact, the defeated challenger candidates in a dozen of those races actually lost ground, with the incumbents winning more handily in the second round. Of the three exceptions to the rule, the one with the highest profile came in New Hampshire’s race for the U.S. Senate. In this year’s only Senate rematch, Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, a former governor (1997-2003), defeated one-term Republican Sen. John E. Sununu, reversing the outcome of their first showdown in a 2002 open-seat race. Shaheen, who lost in 2002 by 4 percentage points, this time won by 6 points." (CQPolitics)
"President-elect Barack Obama has raised $1.170 million from 1,776 donors to help bankroll his presidential transition effort. He is releasing the named of his donors at his transition web page. He's not taking any more than $5,000 from individuals. This fund is separate from the money Obama is raising to help pay for his inauguration festivities." (LynnSweet/Sun-Times)
(image via stuff)
"JAMES Franco says Sean Penn pushed the gay sex scenes in 'Milk' further than he expected. 'In the original script I read, there was only one real kissing scene,' Franco tells next month's Elle. 'A month after [director] Gus [Van Sant] asked me to do it, they sent me another script, and on Page 5 there was a full-on love scene. And I was like, 'Gus, what the heck?' He says, 'Well, it was Sean's idea.'" (PageSix)
"His side of the marital bed is barely cold but Madonna is already airbrushing Guy Ritchie from history - and her London home. While she's happy for their kids to see him, Madge is adamant she won't be constantly reminded of his beaming mug or dulcet tones ..We're told: 'She's removed all photographs of the pair of them, leaving only the ones featuring Guy with the children. The joint answering machine message has been replaced with a neutral one.'" (3AMGirls)
"There was Thanksgiving Day at the Four Seasons with David and Helen Gurley Brown and their longtime friend Charlotte Kelly Veal. Mrs. V and Mrs. B go way back to when Helen was a copywriter for Foote, Cone and Belding in Los Angeles before she wrote 'Sex and the Single Girl.' David was living on Hollywood too (Los Angeles/Beverly Hills, etc.) .. This is the eighth or ninth year I’ve shared Thanksgiving dinner with the Browns as their guest. Always at the same table in the Pool Room. Both have had stellar professional careers in media and entertainment, having met and known everyone all over the world and gone practically everywhere. For a number of years Cosmo was the Hearst moneymaker supporting many other titles (and business plans) .. The Four Seasons was packed and it looked as though that was the case for the three or four seatings. It’s glamorous hometown New York, the kind out-of-towners might dream it to be, the closest you get to the Hollywood version .." (NYSocialDiary)
"I read in the papers .. that my old friend Dennis Blair is up for the top intelligence job in the Obama administration. They used to be called 'Director of Central Intelligence,' but then it was decided that we need someone more even more central, and if possible, more intelligent, so our top spook is now called 'Director of National Intelligence.' Calling Admiral Blair 'my old friend' is probably putting it a bit strongly, inasmuch as I haven’t spoken with him since February 1983. Our friendship, if it could ever have been called that, really just consisted of spending nine days on Air Force Two together ..In February 1983, Vice President was dispatched on a hand-holding mission to our allies in Europe .. this was a vice presidential mission .. the White House sent along Commander Blair, to keep an eye on things and — we figured in West Wing paranoid fashion—to report on us ..I was informed that I would have to 'clear' my speech drafts with him ..He had given me back the draft of speech number two. I went through it, page by page, and then found it had two extra pages. He had accidentally paper-clipped something to the bottom of my draft. What was this? I read. My eyes widened. My jaw dropped. This was no boring, bureaucratic jibber-jabber. Au contraire — it was a TOP SECRET/CODEWORD document of sizzling import. My little hands practically melted, just holding it." (Christopher Buckley/TheDailyBeast)
"Insiders tell us NBC won’t be picking up Rosie O’Donnell’s variety show, 'Rosie Live.' Despite the good-luck jigsaw puzzle piece that her partner, Kelli Carpenter, slipped into Rosie’s bra before the show, low ratings may force network co-chairman Ben Silverman to dash O’Donnell’s hopes for a Christmas special aboard the Intrepid, says a source." (RushMolloy)
"Britney Spears's long-awaited visit to London was branded a disaster after her diva behaviour upset fans and TV bosses..Britney was in London for 24 hours before her album Circus is released on her 27th birthday. She flew out at 10.30am yesterday. Earlier on Saturday evening, she was accused of lip-synching through her appearance on The X Factor - performing her new single Womanizer - and snubbing both the contestants and judges. She reportedly banned them from going to her room and posed for one picture with the judges in the corridor." (Thisislondon)
"CELEBRITY chef Gordon Ramsay revealed to mistress Sarah Symonds that he had TWO other lovers. The married TV star, who this week denied cheating, confessed to extra flings during his seven-year affair with Sarah - who today tells her sensational story .. Last week Ramsay, 42, tried to brush aside our revelations of his long affair with Sarah during a BBC cookery demonstration attended by his wife and mother. He told the audience: “I didn’t do it! Mum, I love you' .. The Welsh beauty—who had a fling with shamed top Tory Jeffrey Archer and then kissed and told—admits she’s no angel herself. Her reputation as a professional mistress was cemented by her book Having An Affair? A Handbook For The Other Woman — which she says Ramsay loved and promised to promote." (Newsoftheworld)
"The suits at NBC are doing far more agonizing over who should fill Tim Russert’s shoes on Meet the Press than Obama is over appointing his cabinet. They're taking more time over it, too. I guess that’s because the president-elect has something the NBC front office doesn’t have: self-confidence. Unlike him, they’re so terrified of making a mistake they can't make a decision. That’s why they have tortured the long-suffering Tom Brokaw — who has gallantly occupied the transition chair—with a refusal to let him go back to his ranch in Montana and work on a book. Brokaw has done a stately job of holding the show together for the last five months but now that the election’s over you can see the boredom flaring from his iconic nostrils as he quizzes Senator Joe Lieberman or former Secretary of State James Baker while he waits for the brass to make up their goddamn minds. One of the problems for NBC that was showcased during Russert’s media version of a state funeral in June is the way the chair of Meet the Press has become above all a Washington social and status position and only secondarily a journalistic assignment." (Tina Brown/TheDailyBeast)
"Waistlines expanded on Thanksgiving Day, and this 3-day weekend and 5-day holiday shaped up as big for moviegoing, too. Maybe it's because of the grim economy that audiences wanted laughs, but the mediocre PG-13 comedy Four Christmases, helped by a short 80-minute running time, knocked off Twilight for No. 1 on T-Day and easily stayed on top all weekend. The expected frontrunner from New Line/Warner Bros starring Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon overperformed for $31.6M for the 3-day weekend (which is far better than Vince's last seasonal outing of $18.5M in the just plain awful Fred Claus) and $46.7M for the 5-day holiday." (DeadlineHollywoodDaily)
"Losing an election by just a little can create a lot of temptation for a candidate to try again, figuring that an earlier start, a change in strategy or some other campaign tweak will produce a victory on the second try. That is why there typically are several rematch contests in each congressional election cycle. But the second time, it turns out, is rarely the charm for challenging candidates, and their track record in this year’s round of rematches was no exception. Eighteen races in which the same major-party candidates faced off for the second consecutive election were rated as at least somewhat competitive by CQ Politics. And in 15 of those 18 contests, the same candidate won both elections. In fact, the defeated challenger candidates in a dozen of those races actually lost ground, with the incumbents winning more handily in the second round. Of the three exceptions to the rule, the one with the highest profile came in New Hampshire’s race for the U.S. Senate. In this year’s only Senate rematch, Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, a former governor (1997-2003), defeated one-term Republican Sen. John E. Sununu, reversing the outcome of their first showdown in a 2002 open-seat race. Shaheen, who lost in 2002 by 4 percentage points, this time won by 6 points." (CQPolitics)
"President-elect Barack Obama has raised $1.170 million from 1,776 donors to help bankroll his presidential transition effort. He is releasing the named of his donors at his transition web page. He's not taking any more than $5,000 from individuals. This fund is separate from the money Obama is raising to help pay for his inauguration festivities." (LynnSweet/Sun-Times)
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