Daniel D'addario
No brand, it seems, is immune from the dubious charms of viral internet marketing--not even the chain diner where you can get eggs at 2a.m. Denny's, known for its history of racial tensions more than its comic potential, has launched a partnership with hip stars Will Arnett and Jason Bateman, best known, of course, for Arrested Development (the pair now produce digital content through their production company DumbDumb).... MORE >
Plenty happens each day. But the devil's in the details. How much do you remember? -Who may plead the insanity defense for a recent high-profile crime? -Who's in the running to become the new John Galliano? (Chief designer of Dior, that is, not--all the... MORE >
New York Times Metro reporter Lisa W. Foderaro takes on an enigma--the academic life of James Franco, Yale doctoral student. The timing of a still-breathlessly-impressed ("James Franco, movie star, had rushed back on the red-eye to play his other big role") profile of Mr. Franco's enthusiasms is curious, given the widely criticized lack of enthusiasm the student brought to his Academy Awards hosting last weekend. The world is finally beginning to get over Mr.... MORE >
The 1990s are back, baby! Harvey Weinstein is the target of a lawsuit from the filmamkers beind a never-released film, Escape From Planet Earth, who claim Mr. Weinstein's alleged incompetence and erratic decision-making sabotaged the production. Tony Leech and Brian Inerfeld further claim they received a $500,000 payout from Mr. Weinstein to hush them up until after the Oscars. Money well spent, we'd... MORE >
Last night, Poets & Writers hosted its annual benefit dinner in honor of Farrar, Straus and Giroux publisher Jonathan Galassi, poet Maria Mazziotti Gillan, and authors John Grisham and Elizabeth Nunez. The gala was held in Capitale, the Chinatown enclave. In an upper room, removed from the hubbub downstairs, where hundreds milled about in the grand columned hall waiting for dinner, emcee Paul Rudnick hobnobbed with Mr. Galassi. Was he nervous about hosting? "There... MORE >
On Monday evening, a near-capacity crowd gathered at the 248-seat Players Theatre in the Village to watch an industry reading of The Fatman Cometh, a play about the death of former Saturday Night Live star Chris Farley. The stage, a bare-bones representation of Farley's dressing room at 30 Rock, was set with two end tables covered in papers and Budweiser cans. Later in the performance, one of the tables would... MORE >
When it comes to the world's most oppressed peoples, there's no such thing as bad publicity. That seems to be the thinking of Robert Thurman, cofounder and president of the cultural-preservation charity Tibet House, which is holding its annual benefit concert at Carnegie Hall tomorrow night. (Interested parties may buy tickets by appearing at the Carnegie Hall box office, or calling Carnegie Hall at 212-247-7800.) Mr.... MORE >
Anjelica Huston--the only Hollywood heiress we know of to win an Oscar and get implicated in Roman Polanski's trial--is set to write a memoir for Scribner, for publication in 2013. Big names bedeck the project, which Nan Graham, Scribner editor-in-chief, will edit and acquired from Bill Clegg.... MORE >
Natalie Portman, who wore Rodarte to pick up her Academy Award despite her status as a Dior spokeswoman, has issued a statement condemning Dior chief designer John Galliano's Paris rant in praise of Hitler. Via Cathy Horyn at the New York Times, Ms. Portman (born in Jerusalem)... MORE >
11:41pm. Melissa Leo closes the night by toting her Oscar to the sky. And then she floated over the rainbow, and was never heard from again. 11:39pm. Also, this school-choir music is what I hear when my sleepytime nightmare begins, a la Edith Piaf in Inception.... MORE >
30 Rock last night satirized both Jezebel--recast as "JoanOfSnark"--and the blog chatter about Tina Fey's failures as a feminist. The episode dealt with protagonist Liz Lemon's struggles with a new, disconcertingly flirtatious female writer--and ended up at the conclusion that there are many different ways to be feminist, and that Liz hasn't mastered it yet.... MORE >
With the seeming success of the "Carpetbagger" blog, everyone at the New York Times seems to be getting into the Oscar-coverage game: Manohla Dargis and A. O.... MORE >
Plenty happens daily in this town. But the devil's in the details. Let's see what you remember! How did "nerds" figure out how to handle Valentine's Day? What will be the least dreadful airport hotel ever? Who does Gore Vidal want as President in... MORE >
James Franco, perpetual student, loves college campuses. Do college campuses love James Franco? In an effort to forcibly make the film a cult hit, Universal Pictures has announced that a college will host the world premiere of Your Highness, the punnily historical/stoner comedy starring Franco and Natalie Portman.... MORE >
From the front seat to the White House: James Earl Jones, currently starring in Driving Miss Daisy, has signed on to star in The Best Man, Gore Vidal's 1960 political drama, reports Playbill. The lead role--that of an embattled former president choosing which candidate to endorse--was, incidentally, portrayed by a white actor, Charles Durning, in the show's last production in 2000.... MORE >
