Gossip Central

Harry Connick Jr.’s Midnight Serenade

Hundreds poured into the Grand Ballroom of the Plaza Hotel on Wednesday night after a screening of Lifetime tv’s “Living Proof” that will air on October 18, about the development of the drug Herceptin, a successful treatment for breast cancer. Grabbing a champagne glass here and a lamb chop rib there, Neil Simon, Bebe Buell, Ivana Trump, Harvey Weinstein, and several doctors who told me that they liked the movie’s accurate depiction of the phases of scientific testing, found their places for an elegant seated dinner and a performance by the movie’s stars Harry Connick Jr. and Bernadette Peters. The hunky Harry Connick Jr. plays Dr. Dennis Slamon, the tireless doctor who refuses to give up on research when his funding dies out. Bernadette Peters, along with Trudie Styler and Tammy Blanchard who also attended the swank opening, superbly portray cancer patients who participated in the experiment. Ron Perelman, his Revlon company instrumental in the critical funding, took a bow at the screening as did Amanda Bynes who plays the doctor’s assistant. Introduced by one of the movie’s executive producers, Renee Zellweger, Bernadette Peters sang while Harry Connick Jr. played the movie’s original “Song of Hope” included in his upcoming Christmas CD. The hardest thing about playing this role, he quipped, was learning how to talk like a white guy. And everyone settled down to continue the party, Zellweger stunning in a lace sheath, a magnet for every man in the room. But the performance did not end there. ‘Round midnight, as the crowd dwindled, a couple was seen dry humping against the stage. Yes, this is a hotel and amused onlookers thought to suggest they get a room, but it was clear that no one, not even the Plaza’s security, would be able to break up this public display that had now progressed as the woman lifted up her knit dress, shifted the position of her pantyhose wrapping her legs around the man. Prodded by his wife, model Jill Goodacre, who offered to pay him, Harry Connick Jr. leapt onto the stage and played “Endless Love” for the couple. The man took a breather to give him a thumbs up, and security finally stopped the swooning. Perhaps they were moved by one theme in “Living Proof:” Live every minute.

Regina Weinreich 

Graphic Design: Salpeter Ventura

The Lucky Ones

Tim Robbins, Rachel MacAdams, and Michael Pena play three soldiers on leave from duty in Iraqin the new movie, “The Lucky Ones,” opening this Friday. Each has been physically damaged and the movie sorts out the more concealed toll the war has taken. Facing the difficulties of travel home to friends and family, they form an unholy alliance on a road trip west. You could say this is one of the first films to take on the still too current topic of the Iraq War, but the film is really more about three people finding a way to survive--with lots of laughs as they cross the country in a rental car. Tim Robbins was on hand for a private screening last Thursday night. He was the first to jump onboard when writers Neil Burger and Dirk Wittenborn showed him their script. Burger also directed, while Wittenborn whose new novel “Pharmakon” was recently published, is a producer. Still, even with first-rate writing and these charismatic stars, a movie on this subject was hard to make. At the post-film dinner at the Plaza Athenee, Robbins hunkered down with Bob Balaban and Sy Newhouse over steak and fries. Stephen Schiff,  Nan and Gay Talese, Mike Taibbi, and cinematographer Ellen Kuras were among the celebrants, Kuras breaking away from a screening of her own directorial debut, “The Betrayal,” to join the party. Robbins is so affable, everyone wanted to chat with him.  A long drink of water, as the saying goes, you only hoped he would not take the empty seat in front of you at the screening. The “lucky ones” in the movie may have been the soldiers who make it home, but at dinner, the lucky ones were those who survived the turbulence of the stock market.

Regina Weinreich 

Graphic Design: Salpeter Ventura

The Lucky Ones (trailer)

Frozen River/Wendy and Lucy

Academy Award winning actress Marcia Gay Harden (for her role as Lee Krasner in "Pollack") seemed to be passing the baton when she introduced Melissa Leo at a private viewing of " Frozen River" at the Sony Screening Room on Monday evening, declaring that she "loved, loved, loved " this movie when she saw it at Sundance. Even though the movie made its New York debut at New Directors/New Films last spring, and had opened during the summer to rave reviews and robust box office, a diverse crowd including Karen Akers, Tatum O'Neal, Gay Talese, Rory Kennedy, and John Guare celebrated first-time filmmaker Courtney Hunt and what Harden called, "the little movie that could." Not only is Leo's performance one of the most raw I've ever seen---from the first shot of her wiping way tears, her bare feet in the show—but I predict Hunt's direction and tight original script should garner much award recognition. Shot in muddy, economically challenged Plattsburgh, New York, the film's theme is true to its setting: Hunt's family inherited a house there and so, the film reflects the spirit and ambience of this upper  New York state community so close to the Canadian border, the locals obsessed withsmuggling illegal immigrants. From that she fashioned the fiction of two women, one white, the other Indian—mothers-- in an unusual partnership. You cannot take your eyes off Melissa Leo's unadorned face in the film. She did her own makeup, she said, and in fact, you see her applying mascara, that wears off and streaks realistically as her conditions worsen. This is in fact one of the least glamorous roles in a year that is marked by brave roles for women. (See Penelope Cruz become ill in "Elegy.") The same day at a screening of "Wendy and Lucy," a new feature starring Michelle Williams opening at the New York Film Festival and soon to have a run at Film Forum, director Kelly Reichart spoke about the highly unglamorous role she offered Williams fresh out of shooting Todd Haynes' biopic of Bob Dylan. With close ups in almost every frame, Wendy is a young woman who sleeps in her car in this film shot in Oregon "I told her she couldn't wash her hair for 20 days."

Regina Weinreich 

Graphic Design: Salpeter Ventura

Frozen River (trailer)

Charlotte Ronson/Project Runway

You will always hear complaints of a lackluster Fashion Week. To the naysayers, I point out the sheer triumph of Charlotte Ronson's debut in the Bryant Park tents. Off the shoulder tees, calf high socks, jumpers, knickers, separates that could be endlessly redefined mark this designer's faith in the creativity of the wearer. Yes, Lindsay Lohan attended. She is after all dating the designer's sister. But the real star was the line itself. Heidi Fleiss, Michael Kors, Harvey Weinstein and the other judges walked the runway to their front row seats for the finale of the fifth season of Project Runway. The tent was abuzz, packed! Hey, this is television. A boom loomed overhead. The six finalists would present their collections and the stakes were high. But of course, just getting here is the prize. Just ask Christian Siriano, seated in the front row who had an off-site show the night before. You don't need me to tell you that Fleiss is gorgeous. She graciously kissed Weinstein, a rugged, bear of a guy who she called adorable, and introduced the show's own Tim Gunn as judge, now replacing Jennifer Lopez who backed out the day before because of a bruised ankle. Gunn said he would set aside his prejudices, his personal fave regarding Jerell, Suede, Joe, Kenley, Korto and Leanne. Airing this week, the show will have fans at the edge of the couch. But I have just one word for you: Leanne.

Regina Weinreich 

Graphic Design: Salpeter Ventura

Front Row with The Blonds

Bespectacled Robert Richards wore a neat camouflage suit for the spectacle that is the Blonds fashion show. Ever dapper, he was dressed! Faun-like Andre J. was meticulously bare-chested, his dark six-pack only half-way covered by a flesh toned plastic breast rigged over his left shoulder. Large-boned Lady Bunny in sequins squeezed into a front row seat blocking the boys in the bleachers with her out-sized bouffant. Porn star Michael Lucas, in a kilt flashed Lady Bunny who flashed back with her camera of course.  Kenny Kenny and Patrick MacDonald wore their signature hats, Kenny's cigarette girl cap cocked, their singular styles now a staple of this show of shows: Swarovski crystal studded bustiers, loop beaded mini dresses, lame gowns with turtle necks and low backs, or deep cleavage worn by models who had none. Sultana, Dirty Martini and a dozen men bleached to look like Billy Idol gazed as they paraded in long blond tresses including Phillipe Blond, the last to sashay down the runway.  A real blond, Katrina Bowden of 30 Rock, seated in the front row, paled in the platinum glow

Regina Weinreich 

Graphic Design: Salpeter Ventura

Veruschka and Jackie Rogers: Through the Roof

Friday, pre-hurricane. The excitement before the storm. Rooftop on 10th Avenue Assouline hosted a book party to celebrate a monumental tome, Veruschka. The epitome of fashion in her day, the model Veruschka, now 69, still looks amazing, even wearing a retro look that had no immediate style reference: black harem pants, black jacket, and a black felt helmet-like hair-hugging cloche. Famed Warhol partner and filmmaker Paul Morrissey and designer Diane von Furstenberg, each interviewed for the book, were on hand, as were Sylvia Miles, Patrick MacDonald, Maurizio Padilla, and Lady Bunny. Von Furstenberg greeted the legendary twice Oscar nominated Miles, seated on a white sofa. Miles wanted to see her dress. Von Furstenberg shrugged as if to say, no big deal, and parted her coat. Pretty, said Miles wearing her signature black leggings and a heart sequined cap; she was perhaps expecting something a bit more jazzy for this party that reminded her of the heyday of the '70's. The eclectic crowd marveled at the book, the balmy night, and the view to the neon New Yorker Hotel sign juxtaposed with the Empire State Building. Meantime, that afternoon, rooftop at midtown's Kitano Hotel, the intimate Jackie Rogers runway show, Evening of the Lotus, featured models sporting Madame Butterfly and Lieutenant Pinkerton inspired obis, lime, tangerine, and pink organza strapless cocktail dresses, with military pockets and Japanese linen jackets over wide leg pants, kimono influenced gowns in florals and brocades. As in haiku, Jackie Rogers' work reflects a depth and elegance, perfection in craft and sensibility. Harsh weather may come, but spring, when it follows, will be beautiful.

Regina Weinreich 

Graphic Design: Salpeter Ventura

Keith Tyson's Fractal Dice and Andres Serrano's Shit

The sculptures littering the floor of PaceWildenstein's 22 Street Gallery in Lego colored red, yellow, blue, green, black and white have the feel of sophisticated toys. At the crowded opening reception, a visitor could easily knock a block across the room—no big deal! British artist Keith Tyson simply sent Marc Glimcher an equation and the show was set. Read Glimcher's excellent catalogue essay to understand the math, the way the work is assembled using the roll of the dice. The art is no more arbitrary than say that of Bob Ross or Jackson Pollock, governed by the rules of the artists' origination. Arriving late, Keith Tyson, wearing a gray cloth hat, a cross between a baker's cap and an elf's beanie, was easy to spot in a room that included Jeff Goldblum and Chuck Close. In his specially rigged wheel chair that can rise up on its hind wheels so the artist can chat at eye level, Chuck Close asserts, the cool artists always arrive late to their shows. He himself is not cool, he says, preferring to see who shows up. Meantime at Yvon Lambert Gallery, Andres Serrano exhibited state of the art glossies of –yes, shit—lots of it in its infinite variety. In gorgeous, sumptuous saturated colors and hoary shapes, this scatological subject was raised to exalted heights. But for the real spiritual deal, Piss Christ, hung in its own red space. Fortunately, Rudy Guiliani was stuck in St. Paul with the Republicans.

Regina Weinreich 

Graphic Design: Salpeter Ventura