Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



"Warner Bros. had a billion-dollar summer after all. Against all odds, the studio hit the magical milestone with an unexpectedly strong finish during the season-concluding Labor Day weekend. A week earlier, Warners domestic distribution president Dan Fellman had said it was highly unlikely its industry-leading domestic summer tally would top $1 billion. As things turned out, the studio did -- by $10,269. Warners was helped by its 3D horror pic 'The Final Destination,' which topped the North American boxoffice for a second consecutive weekend to arrive at a $50.4 million cume through 10 days of release. Warners missed matching its industry-record performance from summer 2008, a period fattened by historically strong grosses from Batman blockbuster 'The Dark Knight,' by less than $20 million. The studio has topped market-share rankings the past two summers, corralling 23% of domestic boxoffice during the latest swimsuit season with 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,' 'The Hangover' and other recent releases." (THR)



(image via nbcny)

"Where can you find The Virgins, Queen Latifah and Liza Minnelli--all on the same stage? At Paper Magazine's 25th anniversary party, naturally. Last night, everyone from Park Ave. princesses (Genevieve Jones, Byrdie Bell and Paper cover-girl Lydia Hearst all made brief appearances) to drag queens (think Amanda Lepore and Kenny Kenny) put on their heels and danced the night away at The New York Public Library, where the indie 'zine teamed up with Hewlett Packard to celebrate '25 Years of Paper and Ink.' 'Paper throws the best parties,' attested Betsey Johnson, sipping a pumpkin-colored cocktail which matched her metallic skirt. 'I read it from the first issue when it was just a fold-out,' reminisced Isaac Mizrahi in his dapper white bowtie. Lynn Yaeger also revisited the old format, and recalled her favorite issue. "It was a fashion issue with Isabella Blow on the cover. I loved it a lot.' With the dress code defined as 'creative black tie,' outfits ranged from feather coats to top-heavy turbans to Amber Rose's metallic visor, but Taylor Hanson, one of the 25 starlets under 25 years old chosen to grace the anniversary issue's cover, kept it simple in a sharp tux ... Mischa Barton, a self-proclaimed Paper fan, posed on the patio in a shimmering Dior jacket. Not far away, Virgins front man Donald Cumming, who was covered in paint and pleased with his performance, admitted, 'I don't read magazines often, but I grew up looking at the cover of Paper. There's always somebody on there that looks interesting.' Sean Lennon could be found outside with the ThreeAsfour crew. 'I've always loved them,' said the Beatle baby of Paper." (Fashionweekdaily)



"Dressed in Isabel Toledo, Crystal Renn glowed last night for the celebration of her book, Hungry: A Young Model’s Story of Appetite, Ambition and the Ultimate Embrace of Curves. As she was surrounded by friends and fellow Ford family, she toasted the brand-new tome, which took her about eight months to write. 'I just want to make people aware,' said Crystal of her decision to speak out. 'I want to see all variety of women on the runway and in ads. I think we should have variety because all women have different hair colors, different skin colors, different body types, and I think we should represent all of them.' And Crystal is doing just that. She’s been snapped for the pages of multiple editions of Vogue, walked for Jean Paul Gaultier, and posed for a Dolce & Gabbana ad campaign to name simply a few, and she has one main person, besides herself, to thank. 'Steven Meisel made my career. He’s the one who first saw me. Even though I’m a size 12, he didn’t care and he booked me for American Vogue. I’m completely grateful to him. His work is the first photographer that I had ever seen and why I became a model in the first place.'" (Modelina)

"Fall brings some dark horses into Mark McKinnon’s 2012 GOP contender rankings, including a general (Petraeus), a whack job (Bachmann) and a congressman-turned-TV host: Joe Scarborough. The lower President Barack Obama’s approval ratings drop, the more names we will see surface as possible contenders for the GOP 2012 nomination. The latest crop includes the unlikely, the improbable, the impossible, and the plausible." (TheDailyBeast)



"I got mail yesterday about Mickey Avalon, the kid who sang at Dana Hammond’s end of summer party last Saturday night. He was very controversial. His lyrics were controversial." (NYSocialDiary)



"Paper magazine celebrated its 25th anniversary Tuesday evening with a party at the New York Public Library. Kanye West, Kid Cudi and Janelle Monae were all in attendance as Queen Latifah, the Virgins, DJ Mark Ronson and Liza Minnelli performed. The Virgins opened the loosely enforced black-tie affair, which mixed a crowd of fashionistas, musicians and socialites. Lead singer Donald Cummings hit the stage with his face covered in what looked like black ink that had dripped from his scalp. He asked the crowd to forgive the band for not sound-checking as they proceeded to jump straight into their set. The downtown dance-rock outfit performed a variety of songs — some of which have appeared on 'Gossip Girl' — from their self-titled debut album. Queen Latifah hit the stage next, dressed in all black with yellow Reebok Classics. The legendary MC began listing off various fellow famous New Jersey artists, including the Jonas Brothers and Bruce Springsteen, before she performed 'The Light' off of her new hip-hop album, Persona. Latifah raised the tempo with the album's first single, "Fast Car," and continued with mostly new material, though she did perform her classic "U.N.I.T.Y," much to the crowd's liking. Broadway legend Liza Minnelli closed the show, but not before Andrew W.K. could invite Paper founders Kim Hastreiter and David Hershkovits onstage." (MTVNews)



"The first of two Raekwon album release parties happened last night at a very packed Santos Party House in NYC (8/8). Not surprisingly, all advertised guests didn't show up. Talib Kweli was on the flyer, but I guess they forgot that Talib already had a scheduled gig for last night... with Mos Def... at House of Blues in Boston. Hilarity aside, Raekwon's new album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II is one of the best hip hop albums of the year, and there was craziness inside Santos last night." (BrooklynVegan)

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