OMG, it’s finally here! The Sex and the City movie premiered today in London, because that totally makes sense, what with the movie being based in New York City and all. As expected, Sarah Jessica Parker stole the spotlight — much to the other stars’ dismay — with a ridiculous bird on top of her head.
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New York’s new tax breaks for film and television productions already have camera crews sprouting like Pinkberrys all over Manhattan, meaning this summer could be perfect for heckling actors until they punch us and we call our lawyer. (We’re back, baby!)
Of course, as is always the case, one man’s fortune is another man’s shit luck. Much as we despise Hollywood types, it’s terrible that they’re finding it harder and harder to get work.
That’s why we’re publishing the full-page ad the recently fired production crew of Ugly Betty took out in tomorrow’s Variety. We love New York and want her citizens to live well, but we’re always in for some righteous Schwarzenegger bashing.
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NY BEATS LA YET AGAIN “ABC’s ‘Ugly Betty’ is about to get a make-over that has nothing to do with Betty’s bushy eyebrows or shiny braces. The production is planning to pack its designer bags and leave Los Angeles for the Big Apple, where the fictional Mode magazine where Betty works as an assistant to an emotionally needy editor is supposed to be based. Cast and crew members learned of the move at a meeting Monday … About two-thirds of the show’s 150 crew members … are expected to lose their jobs. … Two weeks ago, New York’s governor signed into law a bill that tripled the amount of the state’s film tax credit. Feature films, television series, pilots, and TV movies and miniseries that complete at least 75% of their stage work at a qualified production facility are eligible for a 35% refundable tax credit.”
In its annual, consistently wrong Hot 100 list, Maxim magazine names Ashley Olsen the world’s 47th “hottest” woman, but fails to include Ashley’s twin sister, Mary Kate, anywhere on the roster.
We think Mary Kate’s omission is due to the fact that Maxim’s Hot 100 list is arbitrary and stupid, but leave it up to the New York Post to subtly suggest that it could have something to do with the young lady’s involvement in Heath Ledger’s death.
Click through for the Post’s copy.
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Diddy got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this weekend. Finally. To celebrate his total LA domination, he threw himself a “From Harlem to Hollywood!” party, where he proceeded to spew out the best Diddy quote of all time: “I think that it’s important for me to mature and evolve as an artist. I’m trying to get my Black Bruce Willis on.”
Just a reminder: This guy will be remembered forever thanks to his new star.
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Yesterday 70 musicians gathered at Grand Central Station in the hope of becoming one of 20 new, New York City-certified subway buskers. Certified buskers, unlike all the other ambitious but uncredentialed musicians playing in New York’s guts, get placed at the most lucrative spots in the subways, places where tourists gather and stand right in your goddamn way to hear “Hey Jude” for the 200,000th time.
As usual, The New York Times covered this story rather inelegantly, focusing their video attention on a guy who calls his music “retro acoustic rock,” and thus not giving any coverage to Kip Rosser, who played Duke Ellington covers on a theramin. Nice one, Times.
Balla Tounkara, a talented Malian player of the traditional instrument the kora who was briefly highlighted, told the paper: “You can do O.K. in the subway with tips, but it’s still very tough to make it here as a musician, unless you’re a big star like Snoop Doggie.” So, that’s pretty depressing. Good morning.
• Selfish prick Al Sharpton figures the best way to protest the acquittal of the three police officers who killed Sean Bell is by “shutting down” New York City, home to 8 million people with lives and issues of their own. Thanks, Al. [SH]
• “One actor asked the woman why she loves [Clay Aiken] so much, she answered the only way a crazed Claymate would answer, ‘He is the Savior.’” [DListed]
• According to the gays, Ugly Betty is the best comedy on television. Blue Collar TV was robbed again! [PS]
• What does Elizabeth Hurley do? Is she a model? Is she a zombie? [HT]
• James Bwunt huwt his wittew fingew! [INO]
• The Iceman is melting. (We don’t know how we do it. It just comes to us.) [ICYDK]
• Heather Locklear was caught momentarily making an unattractive face. Now everyone’s making fun of her. Being famous sure is awesome, huh? [Yeeeah]
• Reese Witherspoon has cut out her plastic bag consumption, which is nice of her. [CityRag]
This is a photograph of a dog peeing on Natalie Portman in New York City yesterday. We could go into the beauty of the inherent irreverence of animals and all that, but, for once, we’ll not cloud the picture with too many words. Enjoy.
We weren’t even aware that Lindsay Lohan was in New York City this weekend, but apparently she was here tagging along with maybe-lesbian lover Samantha Ronson, who worked the DJ booth at Times Square’s Hawaiian Tropic Zone (which just sounds douche-y).
And, naturally, Linds enjoyed multiple Grey Goose and Red Bull cocktails until 4:15 a.m. Because that’s the 13th step, right?
Unfortunately for everyone in attendance, the alcohol forced her to dance like she was having a seizure, as described by a traumatized eye-witness: “Lohan really got into the music, tossing her hair around and doing full body rolls — even throwing her hands in the air and singing along to Madonna’s new song ‘4 Minutes.’ She also sang along and pumped her chest to ‘Soulja Boy.’”
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This week’s Real Housewives of New York City episode was the season finale, and it’s a shame, because we were just getting to like one of the characters. Francois, the poor American child with a French name and pretentious parents, stole our hearts as he told people he’s too smart for them and stabbed a $30 burger, rendering it inedible. It’s — in a word — glorious.
Cord is likely depressed that he missed the PR machine promoting Juno (his favorite movie) today in New York City.
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Mario Lopez busted out his best dance moves while rehearsing for A Chorus Line today in New York City.
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From W magazine’s Cameron Diaz cover story:
I’m done with L.A. Those guys [the paparazzi], you can’t get away from them. You have no options because everybody’s in a car. Here, I can walk down the street like everybody else. Not everybody is there to be rich and famous or attach themselves to rich and famous people. People want nothing from you. They just want to say, like, ‘Hey, how’s it going, Cameron?’ I like that interaction. I like to be in a place where I can be open to people and not worry about the consequences.
These women thought they were half-naked and rubbing down a fancy car for a commercial advertising Sunset Tan, E!’s most forsaken reality show about a bunch of crazy people in LA. Actually, this is a shoot for New York City’s newest tourism campaign, tagline: “Had enough of this shit?”
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Rich people have problems, too: Moby is trying to sell his four-story El Dorado penthouse in Manhattan’s Central Park West neighborhood, but nobody’s willing to fork over the $7.5 million needed to buy it. We know what you’re thinking: “Poor Moby. I wish I could help him.” Well, you’re in luck.
On Friday, Moby emailed his friends with this teaser: ‘If you find someone to buy the apartment I’ll happily give $75,000 to you or your favorite charity.’ When we contacted him, he agreed to extend the same offer to MainStreet readers.
Sounds great in theory, but nobody who desperately needs that $75,000 runs around with the millionaires rich enough to buy that stupid apartment. But we’re praying for you Moby, because heaven forbid you have to lower the asking price.
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Top Model continued top modeling last evening, this time with a trite music theme for which the contestants dressed as genres. “Grunge” and “emo” were represented, but not hip-hop. In Brooklyn, New York. With graffiti everywhere. Nice.
How do I know they were in Brooklyn? By God if they didn’t stage the photo shoot in a park not two blocks from where I bathe and go to sleep at night. I thought Greenpoint looked more despondent than usual.
Click through for the photos.
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As New York watches its Lower East Side, homeless junkie population gradually dwindle, it’s also seeing its Lower East Side, wealthy slummer population grow. Are the two reciprocal? Perhaps, but don’t go thinking that rich addicts aren’t also crawling all over the LES and messing up the inverse correlation. Look out hep cats, here comes the Olsen twins:
Lower East Side pub crawlers, who tend to hop from bar to bar on skateboard, were a little surprised to see two black Escalades roll up to Orchard Street dive bar Sweet Paradise at 2 a.m. Sunday. Passing up standard hot spots, Mary-Kate Olsen and her posse slummed it up with some die-hard hipsters.
Reportedly, asked by a bystander which Olsen sister was inside, someone replied, “I think it was the fat one.”
Editor
