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Monday was a night full of surprise guests. Steve Nash, point guard for the Phoenix Suns, turned up with his wife, Alejandra, at a fundraising dinner for the new Ghetto Film School in the Bronx. The party, held at the Time Warner Center, was one of many this year to help get the high school off the ground come September. Nash, who’s 35, is smartly already looking to a future beyond basketball. He’s started a production company in Phoenix, and is making a documentary about Terry Fox for ESPN…Anderson Cooper also put in appearance ‘ he’s on the board of the Ghetto School, which is led by Joe Hall. Also on the board and very excited about the school: IFC Channel and Sundance Channel chief Evan Shapiro…
Miramax Films gave a really nice premiere last night for Stephen Frears’s sexy new film, “Cheri.”
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After the premiere screening at the Directors Guild, the studio took over the Hudson Hotel and tossed a lovely get-together. Almost everyone came ‘ Frears plus cast members Kathy Bates and Rupert Friend. But star Michelle Pfeiffer must have decided it wasn’t for her. She came to the screening, took a bow at the start, then skipped out and was never seen again. Maybe she doesn’t like finger food.
The premiere did draw an eclectic crowd including Jean Reno, Dana Delany (on shore leave from “Desperate Housewives”), Bob and Lynne Balaban, and Donald Trump with wife Melania. Frears introduced the film, based on a novel by French legend Colette. As usual the director of “The Grifters” and “The Queen” ‘ among others ‘ has made a beautifully crafted, compelling piece of cinema. It’s almost like a sequel to his “Dangerous Liaisons,” except, as he pointed out to me, it’s not. It’s just that Pfeiffer is the star again, Christopher Hampton translated and adapted the story.
“The two have almost nothing to do with each other,” he told me. “When we made that movie, we were children.” It was 20 years ago, believe it or not. “This one was hard. It’s a chamber piece. And maintaining the tone was the biggest problem.”
Well, he did it. “Cheri” is the nickname of Friend’s foppish young man who sleeps around Paris in the early 1900s until he falls for the older Pfeiffer. She’ s a retired courtesan with a lot of money. Cheri’s own mother is a retired whore with money, played to perfection by Kathy Bates. The affair unfolds until, well, it doesn’t.
“Cheri” is one of those rare films that builds interest as it develops. If only Pfeiffer had come to the party, we would have told her that. Ah well. At least we got to talk to Kathy Bates. And the lambchops were terrific!
P.S. Outside the DGA Theatre on West 57th St. a’ well spoken young woman stopped Dana Delany. She said, “I’m from Germany, but I learned all my English from ‘China Beach’ and ‘The Cosby Show.’ My mother and I used to watch ‘China Beach’ all the time and studied how you spoke.”
Delany was a little concerned since her character cursed a lot and was a borderline alcoholic. But that’s the power of American TV. She told the woman she was honored.’ Nice.
P.P.S. “Cheri” boasts rare appearances by two women closely associated with the history of rock, of all things. Anita Pallenberg, famously Keith Richards’s ex, makes a cameo as a fellow courtesan. The scene was shot in Maxim’s in Paris. And Frances Tomelty, first wife of Sting, and mother of his two eldest children, plays Pfeiffer’s maid. Tomelty works regularly in British TV and theater but we rarely see her in films released here. Neat casting in both cases.
Michael Richards, the Emmy winning actor who played Kramer on “Seinfeld” to acclaim, is a new man according to Larry David.
Richards, one of the funniest actors in TV history, hit bottom a few years ago after Seinfeld went off the air. He wound up in a career-stopping scandal that involved two alcohol-fueled rants ‘ one racist and the other anti-Semitic ‘ during November 2006 stand up routines at Los Angeles comedy clubs.
Neither event was the Richards any of his friends recognized. It was liquor and anger.
But now Richards, and Kramer, are back. In fact all of the ‘Seinfeld’ stars ”Richards, Julia Louis Dreyfus, Jason Alexander and Jerry Seinfeld ‘ appear later this summer in about half the episodes of the new season of David’s ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ on HBO.
I’m told that the Seinfeld cast appears about midpoint in the season and takes the show to its season conclusion.
Neither Larry nor Jeff Garlin, a show producer who plays Larry’s agent, would tell me much more about it.
But Larry did say that Richards ‘is like a new man. He really went through something [with that incident]. He used to be very angry and bitter. He’s completely different now. You can see it, and he can feel it. I’m very happy for him.’
The most I could glean from David and Garlin ‘ and this is just adding a lot of supposition ‘ is that somehow the gang decides to do a reunion show or revive the ‘Seinfeld’ series in some fashion. We can only imagine for now that it doesn’t work out, and fails spectacularly.
‘I told Larry, I said, I can’t believe we haven’t done this before. It’s a natural,’ Garlin told me the other night. (By the way, viewers will see that Garlin has lost a lot of weight. How did he do it? ‘I stopped eating, and I exercised. It actually works.’)
As for David, he opens on Friday in Woody Allen’s really wonderful and funny ‘Whatever Works.’ Old time Woody Allen fans are going to really enjoy this return to a New York comedy. David is a gem, and actresses Patricia Clarkson and Evan Rachel Wood are cinches for Oscar nominations. There are also great, smaller turns by Ed Begley, Jr. and ‘Tudors’ star Henry Cavill.
Mriah Carey is finally getting back at Eminem. Her revenge for his ranting and raving about their alleged “affair” is a witty, biting new single called “Obsessed.”’ You can hear it at www.mariahcarey.com.
Good for Mariah, who’s had to put up with Eminem’s lunatic name calling for the last couple of years. Then, just to get publicity, Eminem took more swipes at her on his new CD in a song called “Bagpipes from Baghdad.”
In the “song” ‘ a term used loosely ‘ the execrable Eminem calls Carey the “c word.” *(This is what your kids are spending millions on, folks. Wise up.)’ He not only attacks the singer but her husband, Nick Cannon, and long ago boyfriend Luis Miguel.
Mariah’s comeback is funnier, catchier, and more likely to be a bigger hit. “Why are you obsessed with me?” she sings to one of the best hooks in her storied history. “You’re delusional/you’re confused/you’re losing your mind,” Mariah continues. “Lyin’ that your sexin’ me.” Ouch!
And the winner is: Universal Music Group. Both performers record for them. And a feud is always good for business! “Obsessed,” by the way, is the first single from Mariah’s new album, due August 25th, to be called “Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel.”
Billy Joel’s divorcing 3rd wife, Katie Lee. Surprise! Not. It was a very’ unpopular marriage. Billy’s daughter, Alexa, couldn’t stand Katie Lee, and vice versa. I am told that Katie Lee also lived in the shadow of Alexa’s mom, Christie Brinkley, who remains friendly with Billy. There were rumors of infidelity. It was more of a mess than one of Katie’s southern recipes.
Apparently the New York Daily News’s George Rush went with the story that most of us knew was coming soon. More than a month ago I was told by Joel’s pals that the marriage to the very much younger cookbook author (well that’s what she became) was burnt to a crisp.
Katie Lee’s youth turned out not to be asset in this, Billy’s third marriage (after Elizabeth Weber, whose brother caused Billy financial nightmares, and Christie Brinkley). She was too young to be smart enough to stick to his side, a rule known by rock wives around the world. If you want to stay married to a rock star, you have to tour with them, be in the recording stdio, and never let them out of your sight.
Instead of touring with Billy, she wanted her own life, her own career, and her own friends. She should have asked Heather Mills ex-McCartney how successful she was with this plan. Rock’s long marriages don’t work this way. Linda McCartney was never seconds away from Paul. Trudie Styler — with her own career and lots of interests–puts Sting first. Patti Scialfa, likewise with Bruce Springsteen despite rumors.
Katie Lee had her own issues. She was forever on the arms of other men while Billy was away. The National Enquirer tagged her for possibly to being too close to a fashion designer. According to my sources, Billy went ballistic when he saw the bad publicity. When he returned from the first part of his tour with Elton John, he tried to reconcile with Katie Lee. But the marriage was over, say insiders.
The timing of the divorce is no shock either. The couple was married on October 2, 2004. In the pre-nup world, a five year deadline was coming up. If Joel gets out now, the money he gives to Katie Lee is no doubt substantially reduced. It’s a smart move financially.
For Katie Lee, 27, this may be the end of her fifteen minutes of fame. She’s made some inroads in New York media and society, but possibly not enough to sustain her as a solo act without a brand name husband. Her story is right out of the pages of the great novelist Dawn Powell, who wrote about these things in the 1930s. Nothing has changed.
You might find an unusual ad this morning on the front page of the New York Times’s website. It’s from the CIA, aka Central Intelligence Agency.
The ad reads: National Clandestine Service Careers. “Business Professionals: Central Intelligence Agency. The Work of a nation. The center of intelligence.”
At first glance, you’d think it was placed by The Onion, the satirical newspaper, and not by the nation’s spy organization. But it’s real. Times must be tough.
My favorite part of the website, once you click into it, is the Kids Page. There are actually kids’ pages for K-5th grade and 6th-12th grade. You get different kinds of explanations for appropriate age groups. There’s no mention, however, of overthrowing governments, assassinating heads of state, or infiltrating terrorist organizations. They might be leaving that for a possible still to come “college age” distinction.
So what is “National Clandestine Service”? According to the site:
“Our people in the NCS love to travel and they have a great curiosity about the world and its different cultures. They love to work with people from all over the world and they can adapt to any situation. They’re highly educated and highly motivated, and many of them can speak other languages.”
It’s just like being a flight attendant, except with a Luger. School kids should note however that “A late report here doesn’t mean a flunking grade; it means possibly endangering our country and her citizens.”
On the plus side, especially for the K-5 set, the CIA is looking for : “People that are good at puzzles or solving mysteries succeed in these jobs.”
Get out that Clue board and start practicing, kids!
Okay. We expected a fair share of celebrities last night for the premiere of Harold Ramis’s summer comedy, “Year One.”
The stars came’Michael Cera and Jack Black. Gia Carides, who plays a Queen, was accompanied by her famous actor husband Anthony La Paglia. Oliver Platt, fresh from the closing night of “Guys and Dolls” on Broadway, brought his co-star from the show, Lauren Graham. Jeff Garlin, of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” fame, showed up. So did Andy Samberg from “Saturday Night Live” and the “Real Housewives of New Jersey,” whoever they are. “Men in Black” and “Addams Family” director Barry Sonnenfeld played it low key.
But expect the unexpected in New York. Rihanna, the current reigning pop goddess, and subject of an unabated scandal since February, just showed up with some friends at the AMC Lincoln Square theater, skipped the red carpet, and took seats up front for the show.
Rihanna
Why was she there? We couldn’t figure it out at first. She loved the film, laughed a lot, had a good time, and left when it was over.
At the post-party on the Empire Hotel roof, publicists said she’d simply called up, asked if she could attend, and came on over. No one asked her why. The flacks said she was coming to the party. And she did, eventually.
Unfortunately, Cera and Black did not make their own party. Reps said they each had to fly off to movie sets. In Black’s case that would be “Gulliver’s Travels.” In Cera’s, he’s filming “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.”
So when Rihanna and co. did show up at the Empire, I do think she was disappointed. But one week before her scheduled public hearing with boyfriend Chris Brown in Los Angeles, the pop star looked stunning, showed no evidence of a winter and spring of tabloid headlines and police interviews. She wore four inch heels and her hair was so high that she totalled about five foot eleven. (She is tiny in reality.)
Why was she there, I asked when we met?
“I love Michael Cera. I love his sense of humor, his sarcasm. So I wanted to see it. And I love Jack Black, too.”
It was that simple. She needed a laugh, wanted to go to the movies, and here she was. We talked for a couple of minutes about her music. I mentioned that a lot of singers were looking to copy her “Umbrella” success by using her songwriters and producers. Rihanna said, “I’m always looking for new producers, you know.” She’s starting work on a new album.
In the end, she got her picture taken with director Harold Ramis, who she may or may not have known starred in “Ghostbusters.” But it didn’t matter. Out on the terrace, Jeff Garlin told jokes. We also got to meet Eden Riegel, Emmy winner from “All My Children,” who makes her motion picture debut in “Year One” and acquits herself nicely. Riegel plays the most famous lesbian on TV, Bianca, daughter of Susan Lucci’s Erica Kane, on “AMC.” But the “Year One” producers didn’t know that when they cast her. “And now I play the first lesbian in history,” joked the married (to a nice guy) beauty. One thing’s for sure: this is going to be the first of many film roles for Eden.
And Rihanna? I know you want me to say she seemed “troubled,” or was “bearing up nicely.” But you know, she seemed just fine.’Whatever happened back on February 8th doesn’t seem to have haunted her in any way. Good for her.
By the way, the whole thing reminded me of a scene from long ago. Jackie Onassis and Maurice Templesman took in a showing of Richard Pearce’s stunning film, “Heartland,” at the famed Paris Theater, circa 1980, across from the Plaza Hotel. When the film ended, no one in the house moved. Finally, someone asked Jackie in a loud voice, “Why are you here?”
Without hestitation she replied, “I have to go to the movies, don’t I?”
Sunday would have been New York writer, novelist, essayist and short story writer Laurie Colwin‘s 65th birthday. This is unbelievable. Laurie died in 1992 at age 48, unexpectedly, of a heart attack. All of her wonderful books are still in print, including “Happy All the Time,” “Another Marvelous Thing,” “Shine On Bright and Dangerous Object,” and “Family Happiness” — as well as her essays “Home Cooking” and “More Home Cooking.” Laurie’s death was one of those inexplicable tragedies, but her legacy lives on in her work and in her daughter, Rose Jurjevics, a contributing writer to the San Diego Reader. Someone should look into turning Laurie’s stories into films. Actresses from Scarlett Johansson to Jennifer Connelly to Rachel Weisz would be perfect fits for her lead characters. FYI: ‘Happy All the Time’ is one of the funniest novels ever written. Laurie, you remain sorely missed.
Yes, that was New York Governor David Paterson paying a visit to Elaine’son the Upper East Side last Thursday night. The governor and an aide came from a fundraising dinner/birthday tribute. (The gov’s actual birthday is May 20.)
Of course, in New York, the state government is in disarray. One of the prime culprits is a Democratic State Senator named Hiram Monserrate. Last week he jumped sides and took up with Republicans in what looked like a political coup.
I don’t know if Paterson knows that it’s Monserrate who backed a controversial Scientology program for detoxing firemen who who became ill in the September 11th/World Trade Center tragedy of 2001.
It’s the same Monserrate accused of beating up his girlfriend, Kara Giraldo, last year. He was indicted this past March on three counts of felony assault. In that case, Monserrate, according to published reports, has also been accused of soliciting funds for legal defense from a lobbyist.
Said Paterson, with a sigh: ‘I can’t catch a break here.’
He added that he was definitely running for election when his term is up in 2010. Paterson succeeded Elliott Spitzer as New York governor in 2008 after the latter’s infamous hooker scandal. This isn’t the first time I’ve run into him. Last August he took a Jet Blue flight back from the Democratic Convention in Denver. Everyone on the plane applauded him. His approval rating has dropped considerably since then.
Also at Elaine’s on a packed Thursday night: theater producers Jimmy Nederlander (with beautiful wife Margo) and Terry Allen Kramer; actor Bob Balaban; record producer Phil Ramone; rock cult hero Garland Jeffreys; documentary filmmakers DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus; movie producer Marty Bregman; ‘Law & Order SVU’ actress Tamara Tunie and husband singer Gregory Generet.
Yoko Ono loves to support worthy causes concerning peace, love, and understanding. But she rarely puts money where her mouth is.
Yoko Ono
Even though Ono is a toweringly wealthy woman thanks to John Lennon‘s estate, in recent years her actual charitable donations have dwindled.
For a long time Ono gave money through her Spirit Foundation. But a look at the most recent tax filing for Spirit shows that she’s slowed down to a trickle.
In 2007, Ono made donations through Spirit totaling $273,000 to a Japanese group that builds classrooms in the Far East and Third World countries ($227,559); Bailey House in New York ($25,000), and London’s National Holocaust Memorial Day Trust ($20,000).
It’s not much money despite the fact that, according to the 2007 tax filing for the Spirit, Ono has $4,225,000 invested for the foundation in T-bills.
The foundation lists $1,170,734 as the fair-market value of all its assets.
A source who knows Ono’s business dealings says, ‘Yoko is very generous. She gives a lot more money than that. For tax reasons, she doesn’t give it all through the Spirit Foundation.’
We’ll take their word for it.
The source also adds that Ono is not as wealthy as she once was, and certainly nowhere near Paul McCartney. ‘John never got to have a big solo career, or tour around the world dozens of times. Paul’s had all that. Even when John was alive he didn’t tour and put out few records.’
The other defense given is that Lennon and McCartney do not control their own publishing. That belongs, famously, to Michael Jackson and Sony/ATV Music Publishing. But thanks to a 1927 law, Ono’as Lennon’s heir’receives Jackson’s portion of ownership of the Lennon-McCartney songs, whereas McCartney does not.
Still, the Lennon estate, thanks to the Beatles, is a gold mine. What with the Beatles music continually throwing off revenue from movies like ‘Across the Universe’ and the Las Vegas ‘Love’ show, not to mention this fall’s “Rock Band” release and the re-launch of the whole Beatles catalog, ‘no one,’ says a source ‘will be throwing Yoko a telethon anytime soon.’
But it’s the lack of any real charitable vision that’s surprising. Ono has never found a specific cause with which she could use Lennon’s fortune to help people. Her giving is scattershot, at least through Spirit. In 2006, she gave $10,000 to a local school in Harlem, which was nice. In 2005, she sent a measly $5,000 to the Citizens Advice Bureau in the Bronx to serve meals to the poor in that bureau. She must have been interested in hunger that year since she also sent $100,000 to America’s Second Harvest.
Earlier years’ donations weren’t much better. The Spirit Foundation gave away a rather small amount from 2000 through 2005: a total of $2.6 million.
Oddly, the annual John Lennon Songwriting Contest’the deadline for which is today’is not part of the Spirit. That group, which sends a bus around to rock concerts all summer, is funded by commercial sponsors.
