Breaking Hanukkah Special: ScarJo Half Jewish!But she’s so icy and Scandinavian, right? Only half! Other dreidl spinners: Jennifer Connelly! Shia Labeouf! And Cindy is misbehaving in London. In the Judeo-Christian gossip roundup.
A-Rod Has ‘the Heart of a Poet’He’s been writing Madonna love notes. Also gross: Raffaello Follieri is tormented by rat poop in prison, and Artie Lange spanked it eavesdropping on Christina Applegate. All in the gossip roundup!
Is McCain Just Too Tired to Do the Debate?Someone at the debate rehearsal overheard him saying he’s ‘exhausted.’ Well, yeah, but you’re running for the Big Job, John — you have to rally! And other gossip…
Naked Pictures of Gisele and Carla Bruni Sell for Big BucksWhich one of these models is worth nearly $100,000 more than the other naked? What recently divorced Romeo is already trying to get his new lady knocked up? And did the tabloids miss out of Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s wedding because they couldn’t get pictures? Or are they racist? All this and more in our daily gossip roundup.
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Bloomie and McCain: A Ticket Made in Independent Heaven?John McCain may or may not ask Mike Bloomberg to be his running mate. Harvey Weinstein belted out “New York, New York” at his daughter’s 10th-birthday party at Spotlight Live. Recently married Vogue editor and socialite Lauren Davis wants to find a “gestational carrier” for her baby. First daughter Barbara Bush watched the Giants win at the Village Pourhouse with 40 friends. Josh Hartnett went to Freemans and the Beatrice Inn on Thursday, while Helena Christensen just went to Freemans. Andy Samberg went to BAM to watch harpist girlfriend Joanna Newsome perform.
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S.J.P. and M.B. Have a Spat on the C/EMatthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker got into a fight on the platform of the downtown C/E train at 23rd Street. Alpha Media head Kent Brownridge married Hearst publicity head Alexandra Carlin at the Gordon Ramsay restaurant. Artie Lange tried unsuccessfully to get four Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders to disrobe on the Howard Stern show. A lot of foodies showed up at the preview of Alain Ducasse’s wine-themed restaurant, Adour, in the St. Regis. Bruce Springsteen waited a half hour for a lunch table at the Turning Point in Long Branch. Cindy Adams says Heath Ledger once tried to avoid her by saying, “You people from the press are not nice to me,” but that he smiled while saying it. Liz Smith approves of the fact that Jenna Bush is getting married in Crawford, Texas, and not the White House.
party lines
Celebrities Skipping Out at SundanceHey, have you noticed how the celebrity supply in New York has been depleted these past few days? (Thankfully, we still have Tom Brady wearing a boot in the West Village.) It’s because all of the actors and directors are at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. But it seems like even in the celebrity fustercluck that is Park City right now, planners still can’t get enough star power to fuel their events. Apparently, Sundance schedules are so jam-packed with appointments, parties, and swag-suite visits that it’s no wonder they don’t make half the events they (well, their publicists) say they will.
Of course, some no-shows you can see coming: Robert De Niro and Quentin Tarantino “expected” at a dinner for 50 Cent sponsored by VitaminWater? Um, sure. And we look forward to seeing Paris at the poetry reading.
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Mary Jo Buttafuoco Fires Back at Amy FisherMary Jo Buttafuoco, who is working a memoir about being shot by Amy Fisher, thinks the Long Island Lolita is trashy for cashing in on the fame she got from almost killing her. Patricia Clarkson and Gone Baby Gone actress Amy Ryan have seen each other “butt-ass naked.”
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Robert De Niro Pulls Out the Big Guns Against Art GalleryRobert De Niro sued an Upper East Side art gallery that gave twelve of his father’s paintings to a gallery in Rome as part of a debt-payment arrangement. Jason Binn had another kid. NBA commish David Stern, Derek Jeter, and Donald Trump showed up at the wedding of Ahmad Rashad and Sale Johnson, but estranged daughter Casey Johnson did not. Chris Noth and Steve Walter are thinking of moving their jazz club Cutting Room to Hell’s Kitchen. Ashlee Simpson begged photographers not to take her picture when she was smoking outside Angels and Kings. Theodore Sorensen, the lawyer who wrote JFK’s famous “Ask Not…” inaugural address, just bought at $10.75 million condo at 15 Central Park West.
gossipmonger
Heath and Michelle: Everything’s Wrong!Michelle Williams may be leaving Boerum Hill because the brownstone she lives in is too big for just her and the baby. A pregnant Nicole Richie smoked a cigarette outside Da Silvano. Ed Westwick, a.k.a. Chuck Bass on Gossip Girl, likes playing the bad boy. (Also, he’s British!) Ryan Gosling shopped for flannel shirts at the Urban Outfitters on West 14th and also set off the store alarm. Jennifer Hudson canoodled with New York Jets free safety Kerri Rhodes at Cipriani. Joan Rivers claims her apartment was once haunted by a Jewish ghost from Larchmont. Natalie Portman couldn’t flirt her way to a table at LES restaurant Apizz. The launch party of the Supper Club at the National Arts Club was way too hot.
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Joe Bruno Thinks Albany Stalemate Is FunnyJoe Bruno thinks the stalemates in Albany, partially caused by his own grandstanding, are funny. TV and radio reporter Penny Crone is turning in the mike for a broker’s license. Jessica Seinfeld may have plagiarized some of her recipes. Ron Burkle, like all rich people, still gets a mortgage when he buys a house. Steve Stoute is about to make a whole lot of money on the sale of his company. The Clintons are about to ruin somebody’s wedding.
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Richard Gere’s Sell-Buy ConundrumRichard Gere may buy the penthouse in Julian Schnabel’s West Village building, if he can sell his Sullivan Street townhouse for $12 million first. Henry Kissinger, Michael Eisner, and Barry Diller were among the power players who ate at Michael’s for lunch yesterday. Some designers are refusing to use the Earth Pledge’s ecofriendly “Sea Leather” because it’s actually made out of dead fish skin. Ivana Trump’s new engagement ring, from daughter Ivanka’s jewelry line, costs $250,000. Anderson Cooper told Conan that he has a “fatty deposit” under his eye that is visible in high definition. NBC refused to run a Larry Craig–inspired political commercial, though CNN picked it up. (Perhaps it had something to do with Matt Lauer’s interview with the disgraced senator?)
gossipmonger
Gore ’08!Michael Moore may support Al Gore for president. A theater in the HBO building was named for former network chief Michael Fuchs, and Fuchs gave a weird, bad, awkward speech at the ceremony. Jerry Seinfeld is very excited about his upcoming Bee Movie. 50 Cent is very excited about playing a drug dealer opposite Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in his upcoming movie. A lot of racehorse owners are not pleased with Eliot Spitzer’s plan for Aqueduct to be government-run. David Burke took home $10,000 after beating Bobby Flay and Sam Talbot in a poker tournament in Aspen. Jimmy Fallon wants to lose weight. “Utter pandemonium” broke out, says a “Page Six” source, after Debra Messing, Mike Nichols, and other guests were rained upon during the Public Theater’s premiere of Romeo and Juliet in Central Park. (Actually, we thought it was pretty fun.) Ian Claus dedicated his first book to Chelsea Clinton.
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The Dirty PigMario Batali’s Spotted Pig received 34 health-violation points. Robert De Niro ditches Nobu biz partner in a new hotel venture. A Vegas madam claims Bill Clinton and Shaquille O’Neal have used her services. Mary-Kate and Ashley finally turn 21. Nicole Richie might be carrying Joel Madden’s baby. Hulk Hogan is Father of the Year. Kelly Clarkson cancels her summer tour because of low ticket sales.
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Oh, J-Vanka!Jared Kushner was caught making out with Ivanka Trump while bowling. While hanging with some ex-CIA spies, Robert De Niro hit the sauna with KGB colonels and fired guns with Taliban warriors. An aide in the Israeli U.N. mission quit after being outed as a DL gay-porn star. NBC paid $2.5 million for the rights to air a Princess Di tribute concert in July, which may have been the reason they also scored an interview with the princes. Surprising Time “100 Most Influential People” includee John Mayer will also perform at the party. Paris Hilton appears in court today for her DUI charges. Jon Stewart and Tom Brokaw helped raise $72 million from hedge-fund bigwigs at a Robin Hood Foundation charity event.
gossipmonger
De Niro and Bowie, Kushner and Trump, Wenner and Nye Make NiceRobert De Niro and David Bowie were cordial at Vanity Fair’s party for the Tribeca Film Festival, despite reports that De Niro is mad that Bowie’s High Line Festival comes right after Tribeca. Also at the party: “Friends” Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump (as we told you yesterday). And Jann Wenner, with cuckolded boyfriend Matt Nye. Amy Sacco will open a hotel in the financial district. CBS’s Bob Schieffer and Lesley Stahl may have been behind a hit piece on Katie Couric in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Speaking of Couric, her cell phone ringtone is the Pussycat Dolls’s “Don’t Cha.” Bill Clinton is going to a party at Gabriel Byrne’s house to fundraise for Hillary. Les Moonves went to go see his son’s rock band play at the Plumm.
gossipmonger
Cautious CooperAnderson Cooper showers in his underwear at the gym to ward off camera-phone-wielding fans. Tyra Banks and Russell Simmons dined-and-dashed at the Brooklyn Diner. Robert De Niro may be mad at David Bowie because the rock star is kicking off his High Line Festival three days after Tribeca ends. (As New York’s Vulture reported yesterday.) LL Cool J may star in a revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Taki Theodoroacpulos won the U.S. National Judo Championship in 70-to-75 age bracket. In his upcoming tell-all, Michael Strahan compares playing pro football to being stabbed repeatedly. Former O.C. stars Adam Brody and Benjamin McKenzie witnessed a fight at Gold Bar. Susan Sarandon’s daughter, Eva Amuri, is pleased with her two sex scenes in Fred Durst’s directorial debut, The Education of Charlie Banks.
vulture
This Town Is Not Big Enough for Two Arts Festivals, SurprisinglyIs there trouble a-brewin’ among the city’s springtime arts festivals? Off-and-running Vulture has word today that Robert De Niro is miffed that the newfangled and aggressively edgy High Line Festival, which starts in two weeks, is stealing some thunder from his Tribeca Film Festival, the established (if not yet old enough to be called stalwart) downtown movie extravaganza that begins tomorrow. What are they fighting over? For starters, who gets the services of Stephen Rubenstein as their press rep. (Second prize? Two weeks with Rubenstein. Hey-oh!) The whole story awaits at Vulture.
De Niro vs. Bowie. Fight! [Vulture]
cultural capital
Tribeca Film Festival: Pricey
Our little Tribeca Film Festival is all grown up — and about to start charging some very grown-up prices to prove it. The fest’s 2007 edition will see a 50 percent ticket-price hike, to $18 per screening, from last year’s $12. This brings it more or less in league with the heavyweights like Sundance ($15) and way past uptown’s picky New York Film Festival ($10 for regular screenings) — which, compared to the Tribeca glitz blitz, is slowly beginning to look like a night out at the Anthology Film Archives. The difference, of course, is that Tribeca overbooks wildly — this year’s roster is some 200 movies — and most of its picks end up in regular release within minutes of the red-carpet premiere. So, while the price hike makes the fest feel like more of a big-ticket event, it also makes it just a teeny bit of a nuisance.
Tribeca Ticket Prices Jump 50% for Upcoming Fest [Indiewire]
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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.
