Matthew Fox Has Got a Fever, and the Only Prescription Is More Cow Balls!During our extensive research in preparation for the premiere of the new thriller Vantage Point, we observed that Matthew Fox, the not-bad-to-look-at star of Lost, grew up on a horse ranch in Wyoming. We kept this in mind as we prepared to interview Vantage’s stars on the big night, thoughtfully studying our list of questions, prioritizing some and eliminating others (probably there would be technical difficulties involved in asking Mr. Fox to remove his shirt, for instance). By the time Matthew, who we will always remember as Charlie on Party of Five, reached us on the red carpet, he was overwhelmed by reporters with tape recorders. They all were assaulting him with questions about his role as a Secret Service agent. At a lull, we took a deep breath and jumped in with the number-one question on our finely honed list.
New York: Mr. Fox, you grew up on a horse farm?
Fox: On a ranch, yes. [Ed: Hey, we live in the city. We think every farmer has a “dell.”]
New York: Then you must have eaten Rocky Mountain Oysters. [The reporters around us look perplexed. Why didn’t we want to know what his summer plans were?]
Fox: [Grinning slightly] Yes, I have. They were very good.
Victory! Another celebrity admits to eating bovine testicles! —Bennett Marcus
Related: Traver Rains Loves Him Some Cow Balls
white men with money
New York Conservatives Actually Having an OrgasmIt’s fun enough that New Yorkers stand a good chance of snagging both major-party presidential nominations in 2008. As it turns out, NYC’s invasion of the capital has already begun. Judge Michael Mukasey — George Bush’s somewhat conciliatory pick of an attorney general to succeed Alberto Gonzales — is as far from the president’s Texas-gang talent pool as it gets. In fact, he’s a born-and-bred conservative Jewish New Yorker; the sound you just heard was the New York Sun editorial staff having a collective orgasm.
in other news
A-Oh-HellAs you may have heard, AOL is coming to Manhattan, and bringing G-d knows how many Virginians with them. To Astor Place, no less, where, like everyone else who comes to this city from down there, they will attempt to reinvent themselves — as a hip company with a new focus on online advertising. We’ve been ignoring this news because it is frankly kind of embarrassing for everyone involved: AOL’s trying to be hip sort of reminds us of that episode of Entourage where Johnny Drama tried to impress his young co-stars on Five Towns by buying the hat with the pot leaf on it. We just want to look away. The move is also embarrassing for downtown New York City. But enough about them! Let’s talk about you. How will having a trying-to-be-hip AOL in your midst affect your life?
in other news
The ‘Times’ Descends Into DisgustDidn’t you just love today’s Times article about the evolution of morality? (What, you don’t read “Science Times” until your first trip to the privacy of the Handicapped Bathroom?) This was our favorite line: “Imagine visiting a town where people wear no clothes, never bathe, have sex ‘doggie style’ in public, and eat raw meat by biting off pieces directly from the carcass,” psychologist John Haight described to the paper, explaining the evolution of the emotion “disgust.” According to Nexis, this is only the second time in history the Gray Lady has allowed the expression “doggie style” into print, not counting service pieces about pet-grooming places. We can only imagine what the negotiations with the copy desk were like. Did reporter Nicholas Wade have to be all, “Dude, it’s been in the vernacular since 1993, when Snoop Dogg released his seminal album.” Was there a debate over “doggy” versus “doggie”? Were the copy editors like, “Ooookay. But we’re going to put it into scare quotes, just so everyone is clear that while other people may say this, no one at the Times would ever say, or do, anything of that nature. EVER.”
Is ‘Do Unto Others’ Written into the Human Genetic Code? [NYT]
gossipmonger
Michael Jackson Is in New YorkDavid Chase is “heartbroken” that James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, et al didn’t win Emmy; Bill Maher isn’t sad he lost for the nineteenth time. Naomi Campbell told the Blacks in Fashion panel last week that she’s repeatedly been refused the cover of British Vogue, despite the fact that she’s posed eight times. Rosie O’Donnell declined to hawk her book on Oprah, instead opting for a Diane Sawyer interview. Brad Pitt and Angelia Jolie drop off and pick up Maddox at the Upper East Side’s Lycée Français themselves. Marilyn Manson didn’t carry girlfriend Rachel Evan Woods’s luggage as the two strode through JFK. Judith Giuliani went shopping for Manolos at Bergdorf Goodman. Michael Jackson is allegedly holed up in a fancy midtown hotel and has left only once to take part in a photo shoot.
in other news
Rudy and Hillary Consider FisticuffsUsually, when politicians get in little catfights — like Reagan and Tip O’Neill — you can sort of tell that behind the vitriol, they’re secretly buddies and afterward will probably, you know, retire to some to damask-covered room where they’ll drink cognac and smoke cigars and chuckle about how awesome it is to be in power. But with Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani, it’s so not like that.
neighborhood watch
Herman Behr Mansion on Sale for $12 MillionBedford-Stuyvesant: Councilman Al Vann, have you responded yet to those irate letters about that trash-strewn lot on Throop between Jefferson and Hancock? It sure looks pretty nasty. [Bed-Stuy Blog]
Brooklyn Heights: The Herman Behr Mansion on Pierrepont Street, which has housed a survivor of the Titanic, prostitutes, and Franciscans monks, is on sale for $12 million. [Brooklyn Eagle via McBrooklyn]
Greenpoint: Acid-tongued blogger Miss Heather can’t decide which she hates more: this Fedders-type eyesore on North Henry Street or the Brooklyn Paper. [Newyorkshitty]
Midtown East: Oh, no! This Sunday is the last day for Madison Avenue’s Dahesh Museum of Art, which features nineteenth- and twentieth-century European artists. Dahesh, we hardly knew ye. [NewYorkology]
Upper East Side: This area single gal is disgusted with new TV show Gossip Girl’s depiction of her hood … and wants today’s vapid girl teens to have more role models like Condi Rice. [Upper East Side Informer]
Williamsburg: It’s not fair that East River State Park closes so early that you have to watch the sunset through locked gates, is it? [I’m Not Sayin’, I’m Just Sayin’]
cultural capital
Naomi Campbell, Serious Actress
Guess who stopped glaring at the help just long enough to look at a screenplay? Why, Naomi Campbell, that’s who! As she revealed to British Vogue, the fiesty supermodel has signed a contract to work with Spike Lee on his new WWII movie about a regiment of black soldiers based in Tuscany. “I’ll do anything for Spike,” she said. Normally we ignore the things Naomi says, seeing as she’s got some issues and all, but this makes a little sense, as we saw Spike last week in Fort Greene, surrounded by a ton of rather delicious-looking young men (in numbers and hotness great enough to suggest some sort of cast gathering). But what might Naomi’s role be in this new project? Was Spike inspired to hire her because of her fierceness with a BlackBerry, and thus create a Just One of the Guys–like role in which she dresses up as a dude to fight for her nation?
Naomi Signs With Spike Lee [British Vogue]
