Donald Trump and Martha Stewart do promo campaign for both "Apprentice" shows.
Before her version of The Apprentice began, Martha Stewart thought she was saying "you're fired" to Donald Trump. While The Apprentice: Martha Stewart hasn't done well in the ratings, Stewart initially had much higher hopes -- even that her NBC reality show would eclipse Trump's original. "I thought I was replacing The Donald," Stewart says in the Nov. 14 issue of Fortune magazine, on U.S. newsstands Nov. 7. "It was even discussed that I would be firing The Donald on the first show." When did Trump learn that she intended to bump him off his own show? "I don't think he ever knew," Stewart tells the magazine. Instead, Trump remained for a fourth season, and he has recently suggested that his show has been diminished by Stewart's. Trump's Apprentice has been averaging around 10 million viewers a week, down four million from last season. Stewart's Apprentice is drawing closer to seven million viewers. "I think there was confusion between Martha's Apprentice and mine, and mine continues to do well and... the other has struggled very severely," Trump said recently on a radio program. "I think it probably hurt mine and I sort of predicted that it would." Stewart also reveals in Fortune another unrealized business plan: to buy Kmart. In 2002, while the retail giant was going bankrupt, Stewart floated the idea -- dubbed Kmartha -- of buying the company, which sells her Martha Stewart Everyday brand. Stewart, 64, also says she plans to sell Turkey Hill, her famous Westport, Connecticut, home. "I hardly ever go there anymore. I don't miss it." After serving five months in jail for lying about a 2001 stock sale, which was followed by nearly six months of house arrest, the lifestyle guru says she feels resilient.
Chic women in New York wear ruffles and everything else
Photo: Glittery tunic by Frenette
While flirty ruffles and feminine lace were front and centre at many shows last week, the collections ranged from creative to commercial, arts-and-craftsy to sophisticated and accomplished. Here's a look at what's in store from Montreal designers for next spring and summer. Marie Saint Pierre: What a pro! Every season, Saint Pierre tweaks her signature style to reflect the trends. This time, the designer worked mainly in black, white and champagne, punctuated by gold-studded black ties. Knockout pieces included a champagne trench, a painted white pouf dress with black bodice and a Japan-esque black evening coat. And, of course, there was plenty of magic in mesh, mainly in black and white. Falbala: Sisters Melanie and Sophie Veilleux are riding high, just having opened a boutique on Bernard St. W. in Mile End from which to sell their feminine fashion. Melanie described this collection as more coquettish, fresh, frivolous and flowery than ever. It's for the girl who knows she's sexy but doesn't have to flaunt it, Sophie said. Look for apple green dresses, ruched in all the right places, a pretty paisley sun frock with magenta trim, lace overlays and, that staple of the season, ruffled skirts. All of this femininity comes in happy brights. Fairyesque: Katrin Leblond and Nicole Picard, in their fifth collection, put real women, with significant floral hairpieces, on the runway. There were cute pieces, including flared skirts with glitter insets, fruit and flower prints, and gauchos, which we think will be a hit next summer in Mile End, where the designers' studio is based. By Eve Frede
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Cruise on Barbara Walters' top-10 list
New York grapevine whispers that Tom Cruise, Teri Hatcher and Kanye West are among the names on Barbara Walters's list of the 10 most fascinating people of 2005. The list of the year's most prominent names in entertainment, politics and sports also includes Lance Armstrong, Michael Jackson's lawyer Tom Mesereau and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, ABC has announced. Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2005 will air Nov. 29 (10 p.m. EST). The No. 1 most fascinating person of the year will be revealed on the special, now in its 12th year.
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Pam's ex Kid Rock to appear on Stacked
Kid Rock and ex-fiancée Pamela Anderson are getting back together -- but only for a night -- when the rap-rock star makes a guest appearance on Anderson's comedy series, Stacked. Rock, whose real name is Bob Ritchie, will guest star as a delivery man on the Nov. 9 season premiere of the Fox show, according to a statement posted on his website. Anderson and Ritchie became engaged in the Las Vegas desert in April 2002, but never set a wedding date. Their romance ended in 2003. They began dating in April 2001, when they met backstage at VH1's salute to diva Aretha Franklin at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
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NEW YORK GOSSIPS:
TRUMP, MELANIA KNAUSS AND CHRISTIAN DIOR
When Melania Knauss walks down the aisle to marry real estate mogul Donald Trump, she'll be wearing a sumptuous gown by Christian Dior. Knauss chose the gown during the haute couture shows in Paris with help from Vogue editors Sally Singer and Andre Leon Talley. She models the voluminous strapless gown -- which took 550 hours of labour just to do the embroidery -- on the cover of Vogue's February issue and Singer chronicles the shopping trip over 14 pages inside. "Melania definitely got what she was looking for: a dress that would be absolutely special and a dress that could only be worn to one's wedding," Singer told The Associated Press on Monday. Knauss will marry Trump on Saturday in Palm Beach, Fla. It will be the third marriage for Trump, host of the NBC reality show The Apprentice. Knauss, like many brides-to-be, thought she wanted something a little more modern, but eventually realized she wanted a more theatrical dress, Singer said. "The dress also had to hold its own against the massive ballroom they've built at Mar-a-Lago (the Trump estate in Palm Beach)," Singer said. The room is in the ornate Louis XIV style and the visual theme of the wedding is white, gold and jewelry -- meaning diamonds. Singer, who will be a guest at the wedding, said she couldn't begin to estimate the gown's price tag. "Some of these couture gowns, they are showpieces. No one really expects someone to order them. ... I'm sure it cost a lot." The Vogue fashion and features director said she "believed" Trump had purchased the gown because she couldn't imagine Dior giving away something so expensive, but she didn't know the arrangements. Knauss, 34, wasn't intimidated by the hunt for her wedding dress or the ceremony of haute couture.
Paris Latsis has only kind words for his ex-fiancée, Paris Hilton
The New York engagement has been called off, but Paris Latsis has only kind words for his ex-fiancée, Paris Hilton. The 22-year-old Greek shipping heir called Hilton "the most incredible woman I have ever met in my life," in a brief statement released Monday through Hilton publicist Elliott Mintz. "I respect her decision and appreciate the very kind and generous manner in which she is handling her very difficult decision," Latsis said. "This was the best experience of my life and I will always be grateful for it." Hilton, 24, announced over the weekend that she had ended their four-month engagement because she's "not ready for marriage" and didn't want it to end in divorce. There were earlier reports the two families had been concerned about Latsis's lack of a job and Hilton's busy social life. Latsis's father, Gregoris Kasidokostas, declined Saturday to say why the couple had broken up, but earlier had called a wedding postponement "common sense," according to People magazine's website. Latsis "is young and he should wait (for marriage)," Kasidokostas told People last week. The couple became engaged in late May. Latsis gave the hotel heiress/reality TV star a 24-carat, $5-million diamond engagement ring. A private sex tape of Hilton and an ex-boyfriend surfaced in 2003 just before the start of her Fox reality series, The Simple Life. She has said she was embarrassed and humiliated that the tape ever became public.
New Yorker authors knew FBI agents, mobsters and real life adventures.
Among new thrillers are those that feature an assistant district attorney, a mobster and an undercover FBI agent, and the head of Britain's Security Service - not as characters, but as their authors. Linda Fairstein, Bill Bonanno and Joe Pistone, and Stella Rimington - all of whom have since left their respective professions -- have written books that are among the latest hardcover novels of mystery and suspense, which also include works by John Grisham, Lilian Jackson Braun, Ed McBain and W.E.B. Griffin. For 25 years, Fairstein was an assistant district attorney in Manhattan's sex-crimes unit, the same post held by the fictional Alexandra Cooper in Entombed (Scribner), seventh in Fairstein's series. Old crimes resurface when workers dismantling a 19th-century brownstone find the body of a young woman who was buried alive in a brick wall, and a long-inactive serial rapist resumes his crime spree. New York in the 1980s is the crime scene in The Good Guys (Warner Books). Bonanno, a one-time mob member, and Pistone, former FBI agent, have cooked up a story in which two FBI agents monitoring a wiretap at a mob hangout learn that a Columbia University professor has vanished. For some reason, the mob wants to find him -- and now, so do the FBI agents. The Broker (Doubleday) in Grisham's story is Joel Backman, former Washington, D.C., attorney serving a long sentence in federal prison for attempting to broker a deal to sell a top-secret satellite surveillance system on the international marketplace. Six years into his sentence, though, Backman is unexpectedly pardoned by the outgoing president and is whisked away to Italy. Once the CIA has set him up with a new identity, it leaks Backman's whereabouts to see if any of his potential "customers" make contact. Braun's 27th novel featuring newspaper columnist Jim Qwilleran and his curious Siamese cats, Yum Yum and Koko, is The Cat Who Went Bananas (Putnam). All seems well in small-town Pickax, as Qwilleran writes a book and the townspeople anticipate the opening of a new bookstore and the premiere of the theatre club's next play.
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New California law targets paparazzi.
Official and public figures in New York are seeking similar laws. YA RIGHT!New York Grapevine told the INA in New York that Paparazzi who commit assault in their pursuit of celebrity photographs could be hit with hefty civil penalties in California under a new law. The law would allow people who are victims of paparazzi assaults to file lawsuits seeking up to three times the damages they suffered. The plaintiffs could also ask for punitive damages and a court order requiring the photographer to give up any income earned from the pictures involved. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the bill Friday. It goes into effect Jan. 1. Several celebrities have been involved in accidents while being pursued by photographers. In May, actress Lindsay Lohan received cuts and bruises after a photographer rammed his van into her car. The photographer faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon. "This bill hits the paparazzi where it hurts: the wallet," said assemblywoman Cindy Montanez who proposed the measure. "Money is their motivation, so taking away their money will be the solution." She said the bill would protect Hollywood stars as well as bystanders who might be injured in chases involving paparazzi. Actress Scarlett Johansson had a minor crash in August while being followed by paparazzi, and Reese Witherspoon said she was chased by photographers who she believed were trying to force her from the road in April. No charges or injuries resulted from either case. Schwarzenegger was involved in an incident in 1998 involving paparazzi who used their cars to surround the then-actor's vehicle as he and his wife picked up their child from school. Official and public figures in New York are seeking similar laws. YA RIGHT!
A.L.S. 8th Annual Fundraising Event
Photo:
Katie Couric and
Joely Fisher Katie Couric at ALS event in New York.
The highlight of New York last week social events was the ALS 8th annual New York City fundraiser Tomorrow is Tonight, hosted by the dynamic Katie Couric. The event took place at Cipriani on 42nd street. The Who's Who personalities and Manhattan socialites glittered amid charity and fundraising affairs, and bien sure, juicy gossips. However, it was a social success. ALS project is a noble cause. It was founded in 1998, by Jenifer Estess and her sisters to raise awareness and contributions toward the treatment and a cure for this hideous disease, known as the Lou Gehrig’s disease. Among the distinguished guests were Cari and Matthew Modine, Valerie Estesse, Meredith Estess, Robert Kaplan, Elizabeth Guest, Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia et al...
HIGHLY RATED CELEBRITIES
Every week, Google.com publishes the Zeitgeist, an index that tracks the popularity of search requests fielded by Google's industry-leading Internet search engine. As Google's label suggests, the lists capture "the spirit of the times." Here are the most intriguing entries in the current installment. HURRICANE WILMA You would think Internet surfers would be weary of tales of devastating hurricanes by now. But there were enough people curious about how Florida, Haiti, Mexico and Jamaica had fared after being visited by Hurricane Wilma that the storm became the week's top search term. The answer to Googlers' question is mixed. According to the Guardian, only about 31 people are believed to have been killed by whirlwind Wilma (14 in Florida, 12 in Haiti, four in Mexico and one in Jamaica). That makes Wilma far less deadly than her predecessor Katrina, which took more than 1,300 lives (with the help of extensive flooding in New Orleans). But Wilma has nonetheless caused her fair share of damage, including projected insured losses in the range of US$6-billion to US$10-billion and a host of Floridians now struggling without access to power, food, fuel or potable water. And not to boast, but Hurricane Wilma was actually a more powerful storm than Katrina, breaking records with her intensity and low atmospheric pressure. Still, it is likely to be Katrina, not Wilma, that goes down in the history books simply because she caused more harm. Same old story: the destructive ones get all the glory. MADONNA Is the Kabbalah-loving pop star raising her kids right? Fellow musician Jon Bon Jovi doesn't think so. He recently criticized Madonna for dragging her kids into the media spotlight and parading them around at film premieres. Madonna's publicist Liz Rosenberg quickly snapped back that the Madonna brood has never attended a single premiere (which is lucky for them, given the quality of father/stepfather Guy Ritchie's last movie, Revolver). Rosenberg then professed sarcastic delight "to hear what an authority Mr. Bon Jovi is on Madonna's talents as a mother. "But there is no denying that Bon Jovi has a point when he observes, "I've been in this industry for 22 years and no one has any idea what my four kids look like." The same cannot be said for Madonna's unfortunately named offspring, Lourdes and Rocco. And while I can't prove it, I have a strong suspicion that buying one's child a pricey Posh Tot mini-mansion (US$6,500-US$125,000), as Madonna did for Lourdes a couple of years ago, is not the best way to bring up a grounded kid. Although maybe Madonna was sensible enough to refrain from outfitting the mini-mansion with running water and cable (options Posh Tot offers), allowing Lourdes to learn to rough it a little bit when playing house. Still, you have to wonder if Madonna's youngsters would not be better off running around a makeshift plywood tree house like a bunch of anonymous Bon Jovis. Or at least be having more fun.
QUAKE 4 Did you think this entry was going to be about hurricanes again? Fear not. Quake 4 has nothing to do with Wilma or Katrina. It's a computer game. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't take it seriously. There is money to be had for those who master this fourth instalment of one of the most popular first-person shooter games around. Later this month, the Dreamhack computer festival in Sweden will host the first ever Quake 4 professional tournament, with up to US$6,000 to be won by the most skillful players. You can try to get yourself qualified as a standby entrant for the Quake 4 contest by registering online at www.viacga.com (the first-stringers have already been selected by invitation). But do train hard before you book your ticket. The highly acclaimed all-female online gaming team "girlz Of destruction" will be on-hand at the Swedish event, and they are never easy to beat.
eBay's Whitman tops most powerful list
Photo:
For the second year in a row, Meg Whitman, the 49-year-old chairman and
CEO of eBay, has come in first place on Fortune magazine's 50 most
powerful women in the U.S.
For the second year in a row, Meg Whitman, CEO of eBay, was named the most powerful woman in the United States, according to the latest issue of Fortune magazine. Meanwhile, Barbara Stymiest, chief operating officer of RBC Financial, came in at No. 34 on Fortune's international list. Carly Fiorina, who long held the No. 1 spot, and who was No. 2 last year, dropped off the U.S. list after leaving Hewlett-Packard. Martha Stewart, who wasn't even on the list last year, returned at No. 21. Rounding out the top ten on the U.S. list were Anne Mulcahy, Chairman and CEO, Xerox (No. 2); Brenda Barnes, President and CEO, Sara Lee (No. 3); Oprah Winfrey, Chairman, Harpo (No. 4); Andrea Jung, Chairman and CEO, Avon (No. 5). So how did Meg Whitman retain the No. 1 spot? "The empress of eBay still rules Silicon Valley," according to the magazine. "Though the stock has had a tough year, down about 30 per cent, revenues and profits are strong." According to a Fortune article, Whitman has gone shopping, buying seven new businesses for more than $1.3 billion. Up next: the controversial $2.6 billion acquisition of Skype."
NEW YORKER MONICA CROWLEY IS ALWAYS NO.1
In 2003, World Art Celebrities Journal http://www.worldartcelebritiesjournal.com conducted survey on the most popular faces of the American media. Monica Crowley came first. In 2004, The International Herald Daily News http://www.internationalheralddailynews.org in Paris and London did the same thing. And Crowley scored again. She topped the list. This year INA conducted an international poll on the prettiest and brightest women in the American media. Here are the results: The five brightest women are Monica Crowley, Diane Sawyer, Christianne Amampour, Paula Zhan and Catherine Crier and Nancy Grace, both in five place. The prettiest are Monica Crowley, Deborah Norville and Paula Zahn in third place.
Photos from L to R: #1. Monica Crowley. #2. Diane Sawyer. #3. Deborah Norville. Gorgeous women of the American media.
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FASHION.
DESIGN
King Karl takes Gotham
New York Chanel show captures Roaring Twenties
A model wears a grey and black flowered print ruffle blouse with matching scalloped skirt.
Karl Lagerfeld took his show on the road to New York recently in the latest chapter of a remarkable ride in the annals of current fashion. The Chanel designer seems to be nearing the iconic status of Coco herself, with his trademark immaculate white ponytail, shades and rock star attire. For the grand Gotham event, Lagerfeld attracted models, muses, Hollywood stars and well-heeled, well-pearled socialites to the 57th Street flagship store. Amazingly, the boutique remained closed for more than two days during the height of the Christmas shopping frenzy for the showing of an even more expensive than usual collection of bejewelled, embroidered and feathered confections. The evening show was small, and everybody was a front-rower. There was thin-as-a-reed Lindsay Lohan, loving Chanel in a vintage day dress strewn and trimmed with seed pearls. "I've been wearing Chanel all day," the actress said in her throaty voice. Diane Kruger made haute couture her own in a jazzy beaded dress worn with cut-off leggings, while Ashley Olsen carried a darling red quilted bag and supermodel Helena Christensen stood out in the sea of black by wearing head-to-toe crimson, including sparkly red strappy sandals. On the runway, models with crimson lips, smoky eyes and pinned-under wavy bobs looked like Roaring Twenties dolls as a folksy trio led by Devendra Banhart sat on the floor at the end of the runway and serenaded the crowd. Banhart, a young, bearded man, wore a cream Chanel skirt suit over pants. The clothes -- and steamer shiploads full of accessories -- called on all the Chanel signatures. A cream, quilted leather jacket with puff sleeves was decorated with coloured jewels for an Elizabethan look. Also regal were black velvet jackets with glittering crystal beading in the form of tiaras on the sleeves. Tweed skirt suits were worn over satin stovepipe pants, while a wool suit had soft camelia motifs and Pierrot-like flounces. Swirling crystal T-strap shoes and piles of costume jewelry completed the outfits, almost all of which were black and white. The collection, positioned between pret-a-porter and haute couture, draws on the work of five Parisian ateliers Chanel has bought over the past decade. They include the legendary Lesage house for embroidery, Massaro for shoes and Desrues for buttons and jewelry. You can credit Lagerfeld for recreating the Chanel mystique and every one of its signatures -- the camellia, tweed suit, quilting, and double-C logo. And he brought the Chanel sensibility to popular culture through H&M with a low-cost line, while establishing further recognition for himself. In fact, one of the collectibles from the H&M line is a T-shirt with a Warhol-esque image of Lagerfeld. Now, Stella McCartney has gone the H&M route, and there is talk of a Prada line, too. "It's a part of modern life," Lagerfeld said. "Chanel and H&M can very well co-exist. I like the idea that people who have not a lot of money can buy what I do."-By Eva Fred.
New
York's Cocktail dresses are the toast of the town this season
Photo: Lagerfeld Gallery's cocktail dresses take traditional details, such as a sheer overlay, and twist them to make them more modern.
They're the solution for any party and most can be adapted either for daytime or black-tie occasions." The return of the cocktail dress is really about fashion's love affair with all things feminine and retro-inspired," says Gregg Andrews, fashion director at Nordstrom. The 1940s and '50s seem to be particularly influential, he says. "We're seeing a fitted bodice, fuller skirt -- often knee-length to mid-calf -- with a raised or natural waist, a very defined waist." Other details are ruching, ruffles, beading and even attached brooches. Lace and chiffon are popular fabrics for dresses as are sheer or "illusion" fabrics that allow you to see the skin through "a veil of fabric," Andrews says. "It's not as overtly sexy while still being alluring." Hints of the 1920s can be seen in straighter-shaped dresses with dropped waist and asymmetrical or handkerchief hems and a little bit of beading. It can be magical when a woman wears a "real" cocktail dress, one that was designed to be both chic and easy for when a woman was indeed drinking, designer Karl Lagerfeld says. "It's an image very much from the '50s. Chanel, Jacques Fath and Balenciaga were famous for 'cocktail dresses.' Women always wore hats then," Lagerfeld says. His fall-holiday Lagerfeld Gallery collection features a dramatic one-shoulder sheer overlay with a high waist over a strapless beaded sheath, and a brown sleeveless dress with a pleated hemline, beaded waistband and white high-neck collar. "Women are becoming more and more comfortable with the idea of dresses because more dresses are available to them. They don't offer the flexibility in fit that separates do, but the variety of styles makes up for it," says Andrews. "Women are enjoying dressing in the more feminine way that is so fashionable now." Banana Republic executive vice president of design Deborah Lloyd is one of the converts. "I'm wearing dresses all the time now," she says. "I love the fact that you don't have to think so much. The top and bottom are already together. I find them easy." One of Banana Republic's cocktail looks is a pleated taffeta dress. "It's just one of those dresses that works," Lloyd says. "It's very easy to wear. Who would've thought that of a pleated cocktail dress?" Pleats can indeed be hard to wear, but, first off, these pleats are vertical, not horizontal. Lloyd explains that because the pleats are fine, they create a flattering feminine line "and they'll hide things underneath." There also is a sheen to the fabric and the taffeta isn't too heavy, so the dress has movement. "This dress is nice because if you wear with denim jacket and boots, you can wear it in the day as well," Lloyd adds.
Black is the predominant colour on retail racks. Jewel tones, especially ruby red and teal blue, are another option, as are metallics, including light gold and bronze. "I like dresses that aren't too colourful. I like colours that are non-colours. They allow you to wear the dress. You can be chic and beautiful, but people won't see the dress walk in," Lloyd says. But with all the choices available, Andrews suggests trying something other than the round-neck, sleeveless black sheath that's become the standard "little black dress." "There's nothing wrong with that dress -- it always looks good -- but it's not this season's black dress." Andrews predicts that dresses will be popular for the next few fashion cycles. "We're definitely seeing dresses coming into spring 2006," he says.-By S. Grichell.
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NEW YORK'S SOCIALITES: Most talked about in New York Manhattan high society in pictures...They are la crème de la crème of New York society. People love to be seen in their company, for they are famous, wealthy, sophisticated, chic, powerful, well-connected, fun...and mon cher ami, they throw the best parties in town. Sometimes, they are in print because of their contributions to charitable organizations, appearances they made at major social functions, controversy they steered up, in brief, they were written up in the paper for meaningful and justified reasons. But, sometime, silly stuff, gossips they create and vanity displays do the trick as well, for instance, "her husband bought her $4 million diamond ring", or "she is having an affair with monsieur x or monsieur z or all the alphabets", sometime, because he "continues to name everything after his name, hotels, casinos, TV shows and now a university..." or simply because he or she "insulted a rabbi" or created a Kaballah formula to grow hair where it is not needed. But generally, they steal the show and make people talk about them because they are good at what they do. Wealth has a lot to do with celebrity status in New York. You could tell me "Isn't the same thing everywhere?", you bet it is! In Washington, DC, socialites are fueled by and within embassies receptions and The White House affairs, occasionally the Kennedy Center honor galas and almost 90% au tour fancy social gatherings in Georgetown for quite unnecessary reasons. In New York city, it is everything. Everything and anything that glitters, especially, money, real estate big time deals, financial scandals, trials, sophisticated vernissages, premieres, Broadway's grand entrance and grand finale, fall down and fallout of a tycoon or a powerful celebrity, ad infinitum...Grosso mode, what makes New York city a most unique social rosary is the geographically rich faces, demeanors, spirit, sophisticated blend of an unheard of Martini cocktail, a $9,000 handbag and refined intellectualism on the verge of absurd chic.
Photo from left to right: A lucky and most unique photo for famous social figures including Dame Elizabeth Esteve-Coll, Melanie Clore, Lady Sainsbury, Colleen and Javier Baz.
Photo from left to right: #1. Carroll Petrie, Marco Maccioni, and Jamee Gregory. #2. Bobby Liberman and Barbara Liberman.
Photos from left to right. #1. Patrick McCarthy, Chairman and Editorial Director of Fairchild Publications. #2. Joanie Schnitzer Levy and Candy Hamm. #3. Aileen Mehle.
Photos from left to right: #1. Steven Rockefeller and Kimberly Rockefeller. #2. Olicia Chantecaille. #3. Patricia Duff.
Photos from left to right: #1. Evelyn Lauder. #2. Bob Kerry. #3. Kitty Hawks.
Photos from left to right: #1. Joanne de Cardiola. #2. Victoria Hagan. #3. Mary Snow.
Photos from left to right: #1. Jamee Gregory. #2. Michele Herbet.
Photos from left to right: #1. Monica Crowley. #2 Donald Trump.
Photos from left to right: Queen Noor of Jordan. #2. Mayor Bloomberg. #3. Laura Savini.
Photos from left to right: Janet Wallach. #2. Madonna. #3. Cornelia Guest.
Photos from left to right: #1. The late Nan Kempner. #2. Libby Pataki. #3. Bettina Zilka.
Photos from left to right: #1. Darren Walker. #2. Debbie Bancroft. #3 Leonard Lauder.
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Isi Tenenbom, spokesperson of the Jewish Theater of New York sent the International News Agency, the following press release. We are hereby publishing it in its entirety without taking side.
"Ron Kuby to Represent The Jewish Theater of New York in Response to Threatened Lawsuit by Stern Family Lawyers, Pryor Cashman Sherman & Flynn LLP
Photo: Actress Emily Stern, daughter of Howard Stern and former leading star of "Kabbalah", a play produced by the Jewish Theater of New York. The show came to an end, when Stern walked out, fearing that fans might maliciously use her alleged nude photos taken from her performance on stage.
Following the shameful attempt by the lawfirm representing the Stern
family, Pryor Cashman Sherman & Flynn LLP, to take this theater to
court on baseless grounds, The Jewish Theater of New York announces
that it has engaged the services of the renown New York attorney, Mr.
Ron Kuby, to defend it against this atrocious act. In his response
letter to attorney Stephen F. Huff of Pryor Cashman, Mr. Ron Kuby
writes, in part: "I represent the Jewish Theater of New York, a
not-for-profit theater group dedicated to the artistic exploration of
Jewish issues and Jewish philosophy. The Jewish Theater of New York
prides itself on artistic excellence and creative exploration while
eschewing personal profit—concepts alien to your firm, but about which
you may have read or heard. The production of Kabbalah, in
which Ms. Stern sought and was awarded the lead, took over a year to
research and produce. Dozens of actors and production personnel spent
thousands of unpaid hours devoted to making the production a success.
Your client referred to the show, in an e-mail dated December 31,
2005, as 'the most wonderful show I have been a part of.' All of that
time and work was wasted when your client, in a snit because some of
her father’s lewd and lunatic fans discovered she was Emily Stern,
abandoned her commitment to the production. Apparently concerned that
she might become the fantasy object of her father’s carefully
cultivated fan base of masturbatory adolescents, Emily Stern runs to
the planet’s most expensive intellectual property firm to bully the
very theater that gave her the opportunity she so craved. Ironically,
your firm is an expense she can afford only because her father has so
successfully created the very following of drooling jerk-offs from
which she flees. Now that is a story worthy of theater!" In the latter
parts of the response, attorney Kuby goes over other details of the
KABBALAH story and challenges Mr. Huff's threats against this theater.
The Jewish Theater of New York, the only English-speaking Jewish
theater company in New York, will fight with all its might against
attempts by people (Jews, in this case--and sadly so) who try hard to
crush it with the power of their limitless financial resources,
infamous celebrity status, and sheer viciousness.
The Jewish Theater of New York is grateful to Mr. Ron Kuby for once
again standing on the side of justice. Contact: Isi Tenenbom,
212.494.0050 "
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Isabelle Huppert takes New York by storm
Photo: Isabelle Huppert is respected for not shying from challenging roles.
New York- The 52-year-old French film star has just made her New York stage debut in a play written by the late British playwright, Sarah Kane. 4.48 Psychosis is a harrowing meditation on mental illness and suicide - a virtual monologue delivered in French with minimal supertitles. "When desperation visits," the character says, "I shall hang myself to the sound of my lover's breathing." But audiences here in the United States adored her stark rendition. "It's not the Folies-Bergere," Huppert had observed. But perhaps what these theatregoers loved was the sheer proximity to her. New York, it seems, is in the grip of all things Huppert at the moment. As well as her theatrical debut, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is running a major retrospective of her films; she has made more than 70 in three decades. This selection celebrates her work with filmmakers great and good, from Jean Luc Godard to the French master of mystery, Claude Chabrol, as well as the American auteur Otto Preminger. And if that is not enough, this weekend, an exhibition entitled La Femme Aux Portraits will open at MoMA's sister museum, PS 1 Contemporary Arts Center in Queens. It features portraits from legendary photographers like Henri Cartier-Bresson, Helmut Newton and Robert Frank. The images run the gamut from freckled teenager to tragic beauty. But what does all of this adoration mean to Isabelle Huppert? What does it mean to be feted like this, tagged as legendary, an icon? "I think these are just words," she says. "I think it's an exterior perception, but if it becomes your perception of yourself, then you are in bad shape, I would say." Huppert has earned this stateside status through her body of work, not necessarily by showbiz outings on the red carpet. "She is not a star in the traditional western or Hollywood sense of being a celebrity," says Laurence Kardish, the MoMA curator who put together the Huppert retrospective. "She is a star by virtue of her passion. A Hollywood celebrity might choose roles that enhance their image, but Isabelle Huppert chooses roles that make her vulnerable."
Photo: Isabelle Huppert has long been revered in her native France.
Tour de force: Huppert has played many women who are seemingly quite placid but who quietly burn with hidden desire. Her latest film, Gabrielle, is another tour de force which just premiered at the New York Film Festival. It is a period drama based on a Joseph Conrad story that explores the collapse of an upper class marriage; the relationship deteriorates rapidly when Gabrielle decides to leave her proud husband. But she returns on the very same day to excavate her loveless marriage. Huppert sees the role as a cousin to Madame Bovary, perhaps the quintessential anti-romantic heroine which she played in 1991. "These women go very far in trying to seek a certain truth about themselves and their desires," she says. More recently, Huppert won the best actress award at Cannes for her role in the disturbing 2001 film, The Piano Teacher, in which she plays a woman with hidden sado-masochistic desires. In each case, it is alarming to see how she transforms silent despair into something so charged and potentially violent.
Photo: Isabelle Huppert has been making movies for more than 30 years.
"Horrifyingly honest': So what makes her want to act? "I just expect to forget, to have pleasure. It's a very personal and private experience. But I don't think I learn," she says. "I would say on the one hand I know who I am, and on the other hand, whatever I don't know about myself I don't think I will find out from acting." In the United States, Huppert is known primarily for her film work, but her stage debut is a reminder to American audiences that she comes from a background in theatre; she trained at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Art in Paris. Her performance in 4.48 Psychosis has revealed yet another side to this actress - and even the tabloids could not resist chipping in. Although some critics here were not thrilled by this chilly French production, most seem to agree that Huppert delivered a pitch perfect performance - "horrifyingly honest" said one. "It's more like breathing for me to act," says Huppert, a few hours before one of the sold-out performances which are part of a season-long Act French Festival. "It's not difficult; it's not a big effort. But it's a big effort for me to pursue what I want to do, so that's the effort. When I act, it's just a relief. It's just a respiration." -Damian Foler
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Publishing icon Korda to exit top job
New York's Michael Korda, publishing's master raconteur and an institution as editor of Richard Nixon, Larry McMurtry, David McCullough and countless others, will relinquish his full-time position at Simon & Schuster, the publisher announced Wednesday. "After 47 years, I felt it was time to get off the stage, or at least into the wings," said Korda. After stepping down as editor in chief at the end of the year, he will hold the title "editor in chief emeritus" and continue to edit McCullough, Mary Higgins Clark and others, but otherwise will concentrate on his own books. "I won't be going to meetings anymore. That alone will free up a lot of time," he said with a laugh. Since joining Simon & Schuster in 1958, he has had one of the remarkable careers in publishing, both for the time spent with just one company and for the people he has worked with, whether former presidents such as Nixon and Reagan, Pulitzer Prize winners such as McCullough and McMurtry, or brand names such as Jacqueline Susan and Harold Robbins.
As his own books have proved, including Charmed Lives and Another Life, he is also a born storyteller with enviable material. As the son of English actress Gertrude Musgrove and the nephew of film impresario Alexander Korda, he grew up around artists and celebrities, including Vivien Leigh, David Selznick and Graham Greene, whom he later edited. His years as an editor enabled him to offer further portraits of the famous: Joan Crawford fuming about the white flowers in her hotel room; Nixon referring to himself in the third person during a private dinner with a Chinese delegation; a faultlessly polite Reagan offering up a plate of cookies to his guests, wishing in vain that he will get to eat the last one. "Michael combines European sophistication, show business glamour, a well-trained intellect, and a deep regard and respect for the text to remarkable effect," according to a statement issued Wednesday by Simon & Schuster.
"He is one of the few in our industry who has forged an identity outside Publisher's Row, becoming a well-known public figure in his own right." Asked to cite a highlight of his long career, Korda hesitated, then mentioned the publication of McMurtry's Lonesome Dove, winner of the Pulitzer for fiction in 1986 and a bestseller that became the basis for a beloved TV miniseries. "He would write book after book that I liked, and at every meeting I would get up and say, 'One of these days Larry McMurtry is going to write the great novel of the American West, the Moby Dick of the Plains.' And Lonesome Dove fulfilled everything I had been saying about him." Korda has had health problems in recent years, including prostate cancer and a heart attack, but has remained active as an editor and a writer. He and wife Margaret have just published a pair of books, Horse Housekeeping and Cat People, and he is planning a "big, big" biography of Dwight Eisenhower and a work on the Battle of Britain.
"I know plenty of people who think the magic in publishing is gone, but I don't," he said. - By Hilel Italli
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FROM HOLLYWOOD TO NEW YORK
City keeps close eye on Stone 9/11 film
Photo: Oliver Stone is treading on still-sensitive turf as he films a movie about 9/11 in New York.
Oliver Stone has begun shooting one of the first Hollywood films about Sept. 11 in New York -- without recreating the large-scale devastation that's all too familiar to residents who lived through the 2001 attacks. After months of meetings with community and family groups, producers of the untitled movie have promised to tread carefully on sensitive ground. Most of the major action portraying the World Trade Center collapse will be shot on a Los Angeles sound stage. And although news footage of the towers themselves will be shown during the film, it will play on television screens in the background. "We're not doing the Towering Inferno-Titanic version," said Michael Shamberg, who's producing the Paramount film with his partner, Stacey Sher.