Nora Ephron and Alex Witchel Feel Bad About Hillary ClintonLast night, while voters expressed their doubts about Hillary Clinton in the Potomac primaries, director Nora Ephron did the same on the Upper East Side. Ephron, en route to Paris for her new film, Julie and Julia, made a stop at the 92nd Street Y to discuss The Spare Wife, a new book from Times reporter (and Ephron pal) Alex Witchel. Their dialogue mostly focused on the perils of growing up middle class in Scarsdale and the benefits of wearing all black, but once the Q&A began, talk turned — as it inevitably does these days — to Hillary Clinton. “If she’s nominated, I will be wildly excited at the prospect of a woman nominee,” said Ephron. “But I’ve lost my beating heart for her.” Ephron recalled meeting the Clintons at a New York party in the early eighties. “He spoke, and blew the room away. Afterward, she came up to me and introduced herself,” Ephron said, noting that both she and Clinton are Wellesley grads. “We started talking, and I thought, This woman is a pistol – she’s great; she’s fantastic.” But now, Ephron said, “I do believe she’s a different person. She was permanently changed by her early years in the White House, and it disappoints me that she’s so careful.” When asked whether or not Clinton’s measured persona might be in reaction to the overzealous scrutiny both she and her husband face in the press, the former journalist responded, “It’s not easy to be one of those people, but I did not ask them to do it.” Witchel was more empathetic. “To be Hillary Clinton must be one of the hardest things in the world,” she said. — Kate Dailey
gossipmonger
Bill Clinton Made Rosie O’Donnell CryRosie O’Donnell burst into tears after Bill Clinton called her and apologized for being unfaithful to his wife. The guy who won the marathon said he did so by refraining from sex and eating pasta. Katie Holmes said her marathon run was “hard, but good.” (She also wore a velvet Hermès gown to a Museum of the Moving Image event honoring her husband.) Damien Hirst installed a bunch of dead sheep carcasses in formaldehyde tanks at Lever House. Ousted Citigroup chief Chuck Prince didn’t say hi to Sandy Weill at the Four Seasons. Annie Lennox gave a bunch of fans the finger. Governor Spitzer, Governor Corzine, and Nora Ephron went on a triple date to Cafe Boulud.
company town
The Bancroft Family High Jinks: Ongoing!MEDIA
• The Bancrofts are so dysfunctional that they missed the deadline for choosing their representative to the new Dow Jones board. Murdoch then vetoed two family nominations before agreeing to Natalie Bancroft, a 27-year-old opera singer and journalism neophyte. Family member Crawford Hill concluded: “This entire, sad and pathetic final episode is a fiasco. No wonder we lost Dow Jones!!” [WSJ]
• With the Times hiring former sex writer Susan Dominus as the newest “Metro” columnist, will the section be heading toward the look of “Sunday Styles”? [NYO]
• Nora Ephron: Blogging makes us better writers. Hey Nora, can you call our boss? [Mixed Media/Portfolio]
gossipmonger
A Money-er Honey?CNBC “Money Honey” Maria Bartiromo is jealous of co-worker Erin Burnett because Burnett is becoming more popular than she is. An upcoming book about Katie Couric claims she planned to leave NBC a year before she actually did and that the staff of 60 Minutes thinks she’s a “lightweight.” State Senator Carl Kruger is not a fan of fellow Democrat Eliot Spitzer. Jeremy Shockey took a bunch of Giants teammates to Scores. The woman who blogged about Keith Olbermann’s bedside manners is no longer maintaining her blog. Naomi Watts finally gave birth. Nora Ephron has spent a lot of time giving her breasts a workout. Christie Brinkley is spending $10.9 million to buy the house in North Haven next door to the one where Peter Cook had an affair.
gossipmonger
Ellen Barkin Did Not Sleep With George Clooney, ProbablyEllen Barkin claimed she slept with George Clooney; she was kidding. Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton went to a party together. Shaquille O’Neal saw The Departed, groaned loudly. If Diddy (Puffy? Sean? whatever) gets married, it’ll be to Kim Porter, he says. Denise Richards sleeps with her dogs. Mort Zuckerman fired Lloyd Grove to save money. The Shah of Iran’s son got a phone number at the Plumm. Steven Spielberg’s self-proclaimed niece dropped his name for fashion-show tix, didn’t get them. Luke Janklow had a party, made stair-climbers remove their shoes. Demi Moore will be the face of Helena Rubinstein cosmetics. A Mets fan got beat up at Dodger Stadium, and Tommy Lasorda called him to apologize. Cialis advertises on Keith Olbermann’s show. (We don’t understand how that’s news.) Lowell Weicker is leaving Connecticut. Club owner Michael Ault, with his mom but without Alex Haley, is going to Europe to research his roots. No one sang at El Morocco, apparently. Random women dig Dave Navarro. Nora Ephron feels bad about her hair, too.
gossipmonger
Robert De Niro Lives the Good LifeRobert De Niro closed on Harvey Weinstein’s ex-wife’s CPW apartment for $21 million; Grace Hightower bought him a Rolls. Hillary lost eighteen pounds, threw a party at the Roxy. Tom Ford had margaritas in London with VF’s Elizabeth Saltzman and filmmaker Chris Weitz. A former Playmate Alice Denham shtupped many fifties and sixties Village figures including Norman Mailer, James Dean, and Philip Roth, who didn’t want to talk about her book. Latest Bachelor Prince Lorenzo Borghese went to party, hit on women. Mick Jagger gets caviar facials. Yusuf Islam, the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens, may or may not be able to get into the U.S. to promote his new album. Queens councilman Eric Gioia will throw party in Manhattan. Alex Kuczynski had plastic surgery, wrote about it, pissed people off. Nora Ephron went to a play, wore a scarf. Brandon Davis bounced a check; other family members sold their homes. Moby, Lisa Ling, others partied at a store opening. Janet Jackson’s boyfriend says it’s her label’s fault her album tanked. Mel Gibson’s movie is coming out, so he’s visiting synagogues and making Jewish friends. Leo DiCaprio, his mom, his grandmother, and his girlfriend flew from Paris to Rome on a private plane. New Yorker film critic Anthony Lane gave a “master class” in the Condé Nast auditorium, made jokes that presumably were funnier in person than on the page. Zach Braff writes thank-you notes on an antique typewriter.
