Another Paris Hilton Bathroom Tale
Paris Hilton continues to astound. Guests waiting to use the bathroom at the after-party for 30 Years to Life at Sundance last week were none too pleased when the sad-eyed hotel heiress swooshed past them into the loo. According to a witness, when one partyer let Paris know that she had cut the line, the 19-year-old shrieked, “I’m just here to look at myself!” and proceeded to apply her makeup. One gentleman in the unisex bathroom then inquired who Paris was. Hilton immediately informed the man that she was too young for him, the source says, and then “just started rambling. She said she was an actress, bi-coastal, a model, that she’s starting a modeling company next month and a makeup company.” After observing Hilton’s outfit – high-heeled boots, fishnets, tiny skirt, and mandatory denim jacket – the guy asked, “Does Dolce & Gabbana sponsor your career?” Hilton didn’t seem to notice the question, the tipster relates, but let him know that “I’ve got a couple of deals in place. My parents take care of everything. They’re just looking for the right publicist for me.” Hurry.
For Media Elite, the Sky’s No Limit
The upcoming Tom Cruise flick Vanilla Sky will have more media heavies in it than a Steven Brill fantasy. Recently showing up on the Los Angeles set of the Cameron Crowe-helmed film to shoot cameos were Steven Spielberg, Dennis Publishing president Stephen Colvin, Jane magazine editor-in-chief Jane Pratt, Jersey Films honcho Stacey Sher, and author Elizabeth Wurtzel (pictured). Colvin tells us that Cruise, who plays a publishing magnate, hit him up for character tips. “He said, ‘I want to hear some of your rap.’ ” After the two had a little face time, Cruise expressed his gratitude, giving Colvin “a quasi-hug.” Wurtzel says she spent her day before the cameras being interviewed by the board of directors of Cruise’s fictional company. “They asked what I was up to,” she reports. “It was really fun.” And fun is Cruise’s middle name.
Halle Berry’s Secret Third Eye
A lot of actresses use body doubles for nude scenes, but leave it to Halle Berry to use a stand-in when someone wants a close-up of her eye. While the ever-fascinating Berry’s face is clearly good enough for almost any product, a young model’s eye was recently used to take the place of the actress’s during filming of a television spot for, of all things, Revlon mascara. The gal with the fetching ocular organs is Q Model Management’s Annette Rosario (pictured at left), a 21-year-old New Jersey native. One reason for the eye switch could be that Rosario had to endure ten hours of makeup on just her right peeper before it was deemed camera-ready. The model’s rep says she was thrilled to get the work, since just a year ago she was answering phones for a living. And some models can’t even do that.
The Nastiest Cabana Boy in L.A.
An Annie Leibovitz Sex and the City photo shoot at the celebrity-heavy Peninsula hotel in Los Angeles nearly turned into a full-on brawl. The star shutterbug chose a spot with Grecian columns and a drop-dead view of the city on the hotel’s roof for her location, but after setting up her camera, she decided that the pic wouldn’t work and selected a poolside cabana instead. Unfortunately, a very wealthy and finicky regular guest had already rented the cabin, and it had been outfitted to his specifications. Sunbathers report that when the fat cat arrived to find the shoot taking place, he became apoplectic and threatened to rip apart Leibovitz’s set if the cast didn’t vacate his poolside space pronto. “He pushed his way through her crew and began screaming, ‘I want them out of the way! I’ll kick this equipment out of the way!’ ” reports one witness. Before he could get physical, the Peninsula’s public-relations rep rushed over to head him off at the pass. Sources camped in a neighboring cabana say the hotel apparently made him an offer he couldn’t refuse: It agreed to pick up the cost of his suite for the night in exchange for his allowing the shoot to continue. Not a bad sublet.
Dershowitz vs. Bush: A Supreme Battle
If the Supreme Court decision in Gore v. Bush still has you seeing red, Alan Dershowitz feels your pain. The hotshot lawyer and Harvard prof is at work on a book about the legal debacle that put Dubya in the White House titled Supreme Injustice. Dershowitz tells us his book is for “anyone who was outraged by the decision. This will explain why they are right to be outraged.” Supreme Injustice, Dershowitz notes, is not likely to win over many converts. “I don’t expect that I’m going to get a lot of Republicans on my side who love the fact that the court elected the president,” he says. “But there is something really, terribly wrong with this decision, and this will explain what it is.” The firebrand attorney further guarantees that no one on the hardest bench in the land will escape his wrath: “Each one of these justices has something to answer for, even the dissenters.” Tim Bartlett, who will edit the 250-pager for Oxford University Press, assures us that “it’s going to make a lot of people angry. It’s going to be fun.” You go, boys.
All the Nudes Have Fits in Print
Celebrities who thought they had put their racy pasts behind them now have another reason to be on the defensive. A literary insider says that a tell-all about Plato’s Retreat – the notorious late-seventies, early-eighties swingers’ club – could be headed to bookstores, and it’s said to feature a laundry list of boldface names, including Richard Dreyfuss, Jesse Ventura, and Sammy Davis Jr. Jon Hart, who wrote a 1998 Village Voice article on “King of Swing” Larry Levenson and the club that rocked Manhattan, has a book proposal in the works titled Naked City: The Rise and Fall of Plato’s Retreat, and editors aren’t the only ones eager to get their hands on a copy. According to Hart, Showtime is working on its own version of the salacious story, also based on his Voice piece. A rep for the cable network would not comment on any plans for the project. Our suggested working title? Bi As Folk.
Heidi Klum Resists an Offer
It looks like Matt and Ben aren’t good enough for at least one model. A Hollywood insider tells us that runway and print superstar Heidi Klum was offered a part in Kevin Smith’s latest film, but the bombshell said no thanks. The movie, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, is the latest installment in the red-hot director’s so-called “New Jersey Chronicles” and stars Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, George Carlin, Chris Rock, and a slew of other A-listers. Smith was impressed by Klum’s comic turn in the upcoming Miramax flick Blow Dry, so he reached out. But Klum’s rep confirms that she declined the role because it would coincide with a cover shoot for Arena and commitments for her new fragrance. “She’s a model,” says her spokesperson. “To be in L.A. for six weeks doesn’t make sense, especially because this film is shooting in February and March. She hopes to get a movie in spring or summer.” Let’s hope it’s during swimsuit season.
The Lost George Cover
Had George magazine not met its demise, readers would have gotten an eyeful of one of the most stunning politicos in recent memory. The issue that was bagged when the mag folded in January would have featured as its cover girl New York congressman Anthony Weiner’s camera-friendly press secretary, Serena Torrey. Her pic would have accompanied a story about 50 up-and-coming politicos. Also set to appear in the shot were Tennessee congressman Harold Ford Jr., MSNBC’s Norah O’Donnell, and Billy Baldwin. In fact, George had gone as far as renting studio space at Chelsea Piers and hiring makeup artists, but the magazine went under just three days before the scheduled shoot. Torrey – a lovely 25-year-old who first attracted attention as a volunteer for Bill Bradley during the New Hampshire primaries – is philosophical about the cover that never happened: “It always seemed too good to be true.” Kind of like the Clinton administration.
The Art World’s Sexiest Canvases
The worlds of downtown art and street sports are coming together to celebrate something truly magnificent: breasts. The grassroots group Boarding for Breast Cancer is looking for women of all shapes and sizes to donate their breasts to raise funds for cancer research. Actually, the gracious volunteers are having their breasts plaster-casted, and the resulting molds are being painted by artists such as Futura, pro skater Lance Mountain, and Shepard Fairey, the guy behind those Andre the Giant images that were all over town a while back. The finished casts, 65 in all, will be auctioned off at the Inhumane Shop on Mulberry Street beginning February 28, as well as online at modart.com. About 50 women have already let themselves be slathered in plaster, and we’re told it’s quite an experience. “It feels really nice,” says modart.com designer Shaney Jo, who is co-chairing the project. “It’s very relaxing.” We must try it sometime.
Designing Jock
Game plans aren’t the only pictures basketball player Kevin Garnett is sketching these days – you just might spot him jotting down ideas for his new clothing line on the sidelines. A source close to the well-compensated Timberwolves star tells us that he’s ready to make his fashion debut, designing a fall collection for his label, OBF (Official Block Family). Garnett and his childhood friends turned business partners are producing a line of denim and leather duds, which they refer to as “upscale contemporary.” OBF debuts in February with a series of events in Las Vegas. At least Garnett won’t have to spend a bundle of cash for a celebrity spokesman.
Rock Lobster
Guess what B-52’s front man Fred Schneider collects? We hear the pop icon has developed a taste for the Nordic. Schneider has put a hunk of his collection of mid-century Danish “glacial” jewelry – made of sterling silver and quartz crystal – up for auction. The baubles will go to the highest bidder at the New York City Opera’s Screw Ball atop the Puck Building on February 5. Also scheduled to hit the auction block are one of Imitation of Christ’s reconstituted garments and two gowns Vera Wang culled from her own collection.
Additional reporting by Paige Herman.
Contact the Intelligencer here.