Anne Hathaway’s Humiliation Will Go OnThe beloved actress has an interview coming out in the next ‘In Style’ in which she gushes over her disgraced ex-boyfriend Raffaello Follieri. That, and the rest of today’s gossip in our daily column roundup.
company town
Ben Bradlee Believes in Rupert MurdochMEDIA
• Legendary Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee on Rupe’s play for the Journal: “I think Murdoch is a better journalist than the rest of you do. Well, I think because he’s smart, and he’s not going to fill it up with pussy stories. And he’s going to get good reporters. I think he does not want to fail on this.” [Radar]
• Ted Kennedy sold his memoir to Grand Central Publishing for $8 million, but the deal first has to be cleared by the Senate Ethics Committee. Something tells us the chapter on Chappaquiddick won’t be too long. [NYT]
• The Times bagged their first refugee from the Journal, though it’s not a very big catch: John Harwood, the veteran CNBC Washington correspondent and occasional contributor to the Journal, will now take his part-time work to the Gray Lady. [NYO]
company town
Did Aaron Charney Only Get 100K From Sullivan?LAW
• Will Aaron Charney ever have to work again? More than likely — he may not have gotten more than $100,000 in his sexual-harassment settlement with Sullivan & Cromwell. [PrawfsBlawg via Above the Law]
• Should law schools be more like business schools? One law prof thinks so, and he looks a little like Justin Timberlake, so he must be right. [Law Blog/WSJ]
• Do Cravath’s two rounds of bonuses signal Big Law strength and more money for associates, or is the firm just hedging so they aren’t locked in to paying the same amount next year? [NYT]
company town
Will Dick Parsons Pull a Bloomberg?MEDIA
• Rumor has it that Richard Parson’s will announce his departure at Time Warner as early as this week. Jeff Bewkes, longtime No. 2, is set to take over as CEO. Does this mean a Parsons run for mayor? [Times of London]
• Radar cooked up a clever quiz: Fox News anchor or porn star? You decide. Wait, no, Murdoch decides. [Radar]
• Jim Cramer matched Rupert Murdoch’s legendary subtlety: “We have a competitor now in Fox and it is really important to destroy and mutilate them.” [Broadcasting & Cable]
in other news
Tom Ford: Naked, Again
We’ve been seeing a lot of designer Tom Ford lately, what with his aggressively sweaty, chest-bearing perfume ads. But apparently for Tom, that wasn’t enough exposure. The 45-year-old strips down for a new boxing-themed photo shoot in the November issue of Out magazine and jumps in the shower with two burly boy models. (The above is a “before” shot.) Ford said he made sure to compliment his fellow models’ natural endowments in the shower but assured the mag that it didn’t make the pair uncomfortable. “They sense from me that I’m not going to give one of them a blow job,” he said. “I just don’t do that.” After the jump, much more tan line than you’re used to seeing on a Monday morning in October.
gossipmonger
Paul Wolfowitz, Meet KarmaPaul Wolfowitz and his girlfriend, Shaha Ali Riza, broke up. Harvey Weinstein and Luc Besson argued over Weinstein’s treatment of Besson’s film. AA member Lindsay Lohan is having a vodka company sponsor her 21st-birthday party. Gwyneth Paltrow covered her daughter’s head with a black veil to ward off paparazzi. Kevin Spacey snapped at an audience member whose cell phone went off during a play. Tom Ford and Anderson Cooper had lunch at the Four Seasons. Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez is giving Danny Glover $18 million to make a movie about Haiti, and Haitians aren’t happy. Britney Spears was jeered at an impromptu performance at a Miami club. Paris Hilton was photographed at her local bookseller purchasing a Bible and self-help book The Power of Now. Oprah’s dad’s book is now on hold.
gossipmonger
Who’s Afraid of the Wall of Sound?The judge in the Phil Spector case informed a law-school symposium that Spector better not lie under oath. Edward Albee once stole a typewriter. Tom Ford thinks he’s getting too old to care about sex. John Mayer hit on a bunch of girls at Stereo but left solo. Among the items in the gift bag at the Museum of Sex benefit last week: a vibrator and a Mandy Moore single. Burglars who broke into Michael Cox Witmer’s penthouse neglected to take any of his valuable paintings. Kid Rock left a party at Cannes because Pam Anderson was there. Jennifer Esposito may have dined and dashed. Taylor “MMMBop” Hanson mused on Paris Hilton. Drew Carey is an excellent tipper. Jennifer Tilly gets free biscuits at Popeye’s because of her star turn in Bride of Chucky. A story in L’Uomo Vogue claims that Tipper Gore and Bob Dole used the same plastic surgeon.
gossipmonger
RIP, IsabellaThe death of Isabella Blow by either cancer or suicide dominated conversation at the Costume Institute Gala last night. (We’ve got a Costume Institute slideshow and a tribute to Blow by Harriet Mays Powell and Amy Larocca.) Tom Brokaw won’t return to the anchor’s seat at NBC News despite the network’s slip in the ratings. While out shopping, Owen Wilson and Kate Hudson had difficulty getting into Tom Ford’s new store. The widow of Dr. Robert Atkins is embroiled in a legal battle for her late husband’s $100 million trust. Rosie O’Donnell is angling for the host slot on The Price Is Right. Amy Poehler and Will Arnett upgraded their West Village digs. Dan Abrams broke some cuff links, so he had to use dental floss to fasten plastic clips on his shirt. Like every other actor in New York, Cynthia Nixon will appear on an episode of Law & Order.
gossipmonger
Breakups and the CityFormer Sex and the City partners Candace Bushnell and Darren Star are no longer speaking after Star sold a show similar to the one Bushnell was working on to a different network. Matt Lauer once had an awkward bathroom experience with Tom Brokaw. Kate Moss will launch her clothing line at Barneys on May 8. Alt Coffee on Avenue A is being turned into a stroller shop. Britney Spears may give Allure a tell-all regarding her family infighting. Lesley Stahl denies being the source of anti-Katie Couric rumors. On her way back to New York City, real-estate queen Barbara Corcoran boarded the wrong flight and ended up in Syracuse. Tyra Banks ate with Clay Aiken at Jean Georges. Andy Dick accosted two employees at a Chelsea club.
intel
Sneak Peek: In New Store, Tom Ford Loves Beaver
The first-ever Tom Ford store at Madison Avenue and 70th Street, set to open Thursday, is a sprawling, two-story, 10,000-square-foot uber-bachelor pad and the flagship for his new collection of men’s clothing, a collaboration with Ermenegildo Zegna (even if only Ford’s name appears on it.). Early this afternoon, Ford, dressed in a three-piece suit and pocket square, gave a private tour to select reporters. Cathy Horyn and Eric Wilson from the Times were both there; so was Time Style & Design editor Kate Betts, a former Harper’s Bazaar chief. The place is quintessential Ford, dripping with sex. There are beaver rugs throughout — wink, wink — and a giant metalwork sculpture in the foyer that’s also very beaverlike. The place is designed to look like and feel like a fancy residence — there are butlers and housekeepers (dressed in traditional uniform) who circulate. There’s a hidden elevator with upholstered walls, fireplaces, a bar and, you guessed it, smoking jackets. Except Ford calls them dressing gowns. They’re patterned silk and cost a cool $3,900.
—Jonathan S. Paul
gossipmonger
There’s Plenty of Bill to Go Around, BoysFormer DNC chair Terry McAuliffe says he once had a fight with Harvey Weinstein over Bill Clinton; Weinstein denies it. Madonna didn’t fire back at Angelina Jolie over her adoption comments, but she did defend Rosie O’Donnell. Speaking of which: Rosie and Howard Stern used to be enemies but are now friends. Macy Gray was almost arrested in Barbados for cursing on stage. Lindsay Lohan’s mom is not exactly the best role model for Lindsay. New York Giant LaVar Arrington, on the other hand, is a good role model. An aide of City Council Speaker Christine Quinn senses some vulnerability in Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi’s hold on his seat, and may run for it. Dolce and Gabanna have a pictorial spread in W that some say is a cheap knockoff of a spread Tom Ford had in the same magazine. Disgraced former Miss Nevada might bare all (or, at least, more than you’ve seen) for Playboy. Stephen Dorff uses text messaging to try to pick up Australian model Miranda Kerr. The son of John Phillips and brother of Bijou Phillips wants to be famous. Sharon Stone’s Basic Instinct 2 was proclaimed the “Worst-Reviewed Movie of the Year” by Rotten Tomatoes. George Takei is too old to run marathons anymore. Rev. Ted Haggard’s former male prostitute, Mike Jones, is writing a book. Liz Smith enjoyed Rupert Everett’s autobiography.
gossipmonger
Someone Please Keep Diane Sawyer BusyDiane Sawyer will take over World News from Charlie Gibson after the presidential election, but how will she entertain herself till then? Frank Capra wanted to make a sequel to It’s A Wonderful Life. Rod Stewart told Rolling Stone his daughter has a serious liver condition from partying too hard; she denies it. The owner of Cafe Fuego in the East Village, who’s also the boyfriend of Halle Berry, behaves just like all the ill-behaving ex-boyfriends of Halle Berry. Billionaire Russian heiress Anna Anisimova ditches New York for the warmer climes of L.A., plans to start a perfume company. Stephen Baldwin misbehaved on an airplane. Denis Leary made fun of Mel Gibson at the New York Comedy Festival. Borat had a few issues at the Wellington Hotel when he stayed there while filming a scene for his movie. Peter Cook still likes ‘em blonde. The makers of a documentary about the difficulties American soldiers after having readjusting to life at home are unable to get the Armed Forces to show it. Stylist Rachel Zoe angered Tom Ford when she left a dinner party he was throwing in L.A. Liz Smith has some advice for Britney Spears: Go on Oprah and tell the world, “I was unconscious for two years.” Evidently, Paula Abdul is Jewish.
gossipmonger
Tom Ford, CommandoTom Ford doesn’t wear underwear. Foxy Brown may get dropped from Def Jam, though this would come as news to her. Former flames Derek Jeter and Mariah Carey are set to meet this Friday, and it could be awkward. Chelsea Clinton recently got a job at a hedge fund, and her boyfriend may be her stockbroker. Is the Times playing favorites with suspended reporter Lola Ogunnaike and op-ed columnist Maureen Dowd? “Page Six”, ironically, lectures a company about freebies. (Also, it turns out Harvey Weinstein didn’t actually “swig” champagne on Halloween, as the “Six”ers reported. And that the “stripper” he was chatting up was actually Margherita Missoni. Whoops.) Ron Perelman is now dating designer Tory Burch, though she’s yet to finalize her divorce. Former Martha Stewart broker Peter Bacanovic tried to avoid getting his picture taken, failed. Lauren Bacall was denied backstage entry at the Metropolitan Opera. Guitarist Al Di Meola is a bad father. Tara Reid was drunk, again. A politician cheated on his wife in Albany, a married director got another woman pregnant, and the daughter of a retired news anchor got busy with a female fashion designer in a car, though names aren’t named. Joshua Jackson defended Lindsay Lohan. And her dad, who has thus far been unable to help himself, wants to write a self-help book.
show and talk
The Fashion Emperors’ New ClothesHelmut Lang and Tom Ford came back into circulation this week, and here’s the thing: Neither of them had clothes. Link Theory Holding (parent of Theory) owns Lang’s name now, and the Helmut Lang S/S 07 collection is being designed by Nicole and Michael Colyvos, themselves ex-Habitual designers. The new line lacks the old Helmut’s transgressive touches, and in a way, that’s appropriate. One of the reasons Lang was so beloved by the Zara–Club Monaco–Gap supply chain is that his minimalism was really easy to reproduce in more commercial form — just remove the kinky leather harnesses and bondage straps, leaving fitted trench coats, neatly geometric dresses, slim trousers, and narrow jackets. They probably won’t be smoothing out Lang anymore, because Theory has already done it.
