Natalie Portman Attached to ‘Edgy’ Remake of Snow White

From Vulture:

"Natalie Portman will not rest until she has made an edgy version of every classic story you grew up reading! Riding high off her Black Swan buzz, Portman is reportedly eyeing the Jean-Pierre Jeunet film Brothers Grimm: Snow White, and that's in addition to David O. Russell's adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which she'll produce and star in. Meanwhile, the Playlist claims that another revamped classic has fallen apart: the Emile Hirsch–starring Hamlet, which was supposed to be directed by Catherine Hardwicke. Instead, Hardwicke will continue work on the Amanda Seyfried–toplined The Girl With the Red Riding Hood, proving that edgy fairy tales are in, while edgy Shakespeare, not so much. [Pajiba, Playlist]

Read more posts by Kyle Buchanan 

Filed Under: remakes, brothers grimm: snow white, emile hirsch, hamlet, movies, natalie portman"

Edgy Shakespeare is in! Look at Taymor's Tempest. Whatever--moral of the story: Natalie Portman will grace us with edgy versions of everything. I, for one, don't relish this Pride and Prejudice and Zombies nonsense. I don't like the whole weird Austen turn that's happening. Makes me long for Clueless, the best Emma going.

Mexican journalists, seeking mercy from the merciless

From the Globe and Mail:

"A remarkable front-page editorial in a Mexican newspaper pleads of the drug cartels, “What is it you want from us?” The note of desperation is understandable, but it should be obvious what they want."

Remarkable indeed. Could you imagine a newspaper in the U.S. making that kind of appeal? Unlike the author of this article, I'm less convinced Calderon, however earnest, can do anything more than cosmetic. We need to seriously rethink the Drug War, folks.

Meredith Kercher's family say 'Foxy Knoxy' film starring Hayden Panettiere is 'insulting'

From Telegraph:

"The family of Meredith Kercher have attacked plans to make a film of her death starring the Heroes actress Hayden Panettiere as her killer, Amanda Knox."

And a Lifetime movie, no less. I have to agree with the Kercher family, especially as the focus will undoubtedly be on Knox, not Kercher. And the film will also, undoubtedly, be bad.

Storm's tragic hero

From New York Post:

"In two days, he was to marry his love and set sail on a honeymoon cruise. But a hero bus driver who tried to save a woman fatally crushed by a toppled tree in last week's tornado has died from an aneurysm brought on by the rescue attempt --..."

I don't care what anybody says, but the Post has the best human interest stories going. Maybe that's because New Yorkers are the best human beings.

Stephanie Seymour and Peter Brant Are, Amazingly, Back Together

From Daily Intel:

"He had an affair with a 24-year-old. She allegedly had a dalliance with a pool boy. He forced her to sleep in the maid's quarters. She smashed his car window with a baseball bat. He removed art from her bedroom walls. She broke into their mansion to steal it back. He called her a drug addict and an unfit mother. She said he was 'playing dirty.' He literally burned money so that he would not have to give it to her. She posed nude in a national magazine to make him jealous. And in the end? What this told them was that they truly loved each other. 

Obviously.

Seymour and her billionaire, paper-magnate husband Peter Brant walked into Middletown Superior Court hand-in-hand, much to the amazement of reporters, before facing a judge. 

Instead of the start of a bitter divorce battle, the couple said they had called off the divorce and planned to stay together. 

Asked by a reporter what Seymour planned to get out of the hearing, the Victoria's Secret model said, 'Peace.'

Also, there was no prenup. 

Model Stephanie Seymour, mogul hubby call off divorce [NYP]

Read more posts by Jessica Pressler 

Filed Under: wtf, amazing things, great divorces, peter brant, stephanie seymour"

CRAZY. That there was no pre-nup goes a little way to explaining such an alarming volte-face, but only a little. They'll be back.

Zadie Smith to Write Book Column for Harper’s

From Daily Intel:

"White Teeth author Zadie Smith has been tapped to replace Benjamin Moser as the writer of the Harper's 'New Books' column, the magazine announced this afternoon. Moser will continue on as a contributing editor. Smith, meanwhile, also recently started teaching writing classes at NYU."

Still haven't gotten around to reading White Teeth. Or, for that matter, her slim little book, On Beauty, I think it was, that came out a couple years back. I have seen some odds and ends of hers from the NYRB. She once wrote an absolutely stunning appreciation for Katharine Hepburn in the Guardian, my favorite actress of all time.

Like most magazines, Harper's is pretty moribund. Maybe she'll liven the place up. I am sure she'll have some followers at NYU, especially of the amorous kind..

Anna Wintour, Naomi Campbell, Daphne Guinness, and More Attend Alexander McQueen’s Memorial in London

From Cut:

"This morning, St. Paul's Cathedral in London hosted a memorial service for Alexander McQueen, who took his own life on the first day of New York Fashion Week in February. Sarah Jessica Parker, Naomi Campbell, and Kate Moss were among the luminaries to turn out. Anna Wintour also attended, and gave an address, recalling McQueen's Dante collection of the late nineties, which included the famous 'bumster' pants:

'One (model) turned to give me an extremely prominent close-up of her mostly naked back view,' Wintour told a congregation of more than a thousand people. 'Well, after that collection it was a done deal. Everybody lowered their trousers everywhere.'

Björk performed, wearing angel wings and a silver helmet, and the service closed with a performance by a chorus of bagpipe players dressed in tartan kilts. See the celebrity attendees, dressed in their finest somber McQueen, in the slideshow.

London Pauses to Remember McQueen [NYT]

Read more posts by Amy Odell 

Filed Under: r.i.p. mcqueen, alexander mcqueen, anna wintour, bjork, daphne guinness, designers, hamish bowles, kate moss, models, naomi campbell, pam hogg, sarah jessica parker, slideshow

Compelling service. Even the joke (assuming she didn't screw up the delivery) does Wintour credit.

Guyanese Tourist Killed By Drunk Driver In Brooklyn

From Gothamist:

"A Guyanese visiting family in Brooklyn was fatally struck by a drunk driver in Brooklyn last night, just hours after he arrived in New York. Enrico Graves had been out at a karaoke bar with his wife and family when the driver came up Linden Boulevard near Church Avenue. Graves pushed his sister out of the way, but was too late to save himself. One witness told the Daily News, 'The car just smashed into him. He [flew] up to the stoplight.' The driver, Kelvin Hall, was arrested and failed a Breathalyzer test. He was charged with DWI."

Oh DAMN IT. New Yorkers break my heart.

Is Natalie Portman Headed to Space With Alfonso Cuarón?

From Vulture:

"It pays to (allegedly) give the performance of your career! Owing to strong buzz out of Venice and Telluride (here's A.O. Scott with more) for her work in Darren Aronofsky's winged-ballerina thriller Black Swan, Natalie Portman has been offered the much-coveted lead role in Alfonso Cuarón's Gravity, in which a first-time astronaut is stranded alone aboard a space station during a deadly debris storm. Angelina Jolie passed on the part twice, and Cuarón has flirted with casting Blake Lively or Scarlett Johansson, but based on glowing reviews for Swan, Warner Bros. has given the director the green light to hire Portman without a screen test (bonus: She works way cheaper than Jolie). She'll read the most recent draft of the screenplay this week, says The Hollywood Reporter's Risky Business blog, and make her decision shortly. 

Natalie Portman offered lead in Alfonso Cuaron’s ‘Gravity’ (exclusive) [Risky Business/HR]

Read more posts by Lane Brown 

Filed Under: gravity, alfonso cuaron, movies, natalie portman, robert downey jr."

She's since passed on this role, and it's gone--of all people--to Sandra Bullock.

Liz Phair’s Early Demos Get Official Release

From Vulture:

"Three never officially released Liz Phair demo tapes known as Girlysound — the ones that helped land Phair a deal at Matador records to put out 1993's Exile in Guyville — will finally get a proper rollout on October 19. Unfortunately, Girlysound will come packaged with Phair's Funstyle, the not-much-liked album from this summer in which she raps/talks over music. Yet again, Phair is really hammering home the wisdom of a particular TV theme song: You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have, the facts of life Phair. [Pitchfork]

Read more posts by Willa Paskin

Filed Under: liz phair, funstyle, girlysound, music"

Hmm, these never leaked, interestingly enough. I'll have to see what kind of review Pitchfork gave them. She's long been a punching-bag and Pitchfork, if nothing else, sure likes to punch.

Tyra Banks and André Leon Talley Are Searching for that Uhh Factor

From Cut:

Earlier today, Tyra Banks and Vogue’s André Leon Talley held a breakfast to celebrate the 15th cycle of America’s Next Top Model, which kicks off tonight at 8 p.m. on the CW. Banks says the competition's prize this year is 'beyond exciting': The winner will get a contract with IMG Models and CoverGirl Cosmetics, a fashion spread in Italian Vogue, and a spread and cover of Beauty In Vogue.

Pretty sweet deal, but contrary to popular belief, not one ANTM judge and Tastemaker Talley can take all of the credit for. “He is the beginning of high fashion for Top Model,” says Banks. "I had this vision to take it to the next level and I wanted André there from the beginning, from day one, but he turned me down... [then] he finally said yes." Banks also pointed out that she already had a relationship with Italian Vogue editor-in-chief Franca Sozzani 'because I did the black issue.' At the breakfast, Banks also revealed that not only will there be a cycle sixteen, but another girl is likely to see her face in the pages of Italian Vogue: “The big shock and surprise for me was how dedicated [Sozzani] is to [the show]. I called her after we announced the winner and I was like 'Want to do this again?' and she was like 'Yes, darling, I will do this again for you. I have a good time.' So she's on for cycle sixteen.”

One person who won’t be returning to his regular seat behind the judges’ table is Miss J. Explains Banks: “Miss J said he's all about his legs, and because he’s stuck behind a desk, he wants to get out...When the girls are walking down the runway and his name is plastered on their forehead and if they’re not walking right, then he feels like it’s a bad reflection on him. So he’s actually within the episodes, working with the girls as opposed to being stuck behind the desk.'

And of course, no Banks encounter would be complete without receiving some of that requisite model-meets-mom advice she doles out to her girls on the show: 'Sometimes the prettiest girl goes home on Top Model, first or second or third, but it’s the one who has that fierceness, that uhh, that I feel any woman could have. Tips, tricks, and then that uhh.”

Read more posts by Sally Holmes

Filed Under: tyra and andre, america's next top model, andre leon talley, tv, tyra bank

I wouldn't presume to call myself a regular follower of ANTM, but I've seen a few episodes from at least two cycles after reading a profile on Banks in the NYT Magazine that made me regard her differently and I didn't mind the program at all. I find her crazy antics quite endearing--and even her weirdly idiosyncratic  brand of female empowerment. Her daytime talk show, since departed, was dreadful, but still, oddly compelling (and a gold bonanza for the Soup).

Oh, and it should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway: I think she's one of the most beautiful women alive. She's been a mainstay of my Top 5 for years and is one of the few women I'd propose marriage to on the spot.

Stevie Nicks Is Not Too Old to Make a New Rock Album

From Vulture:

Songstress Stevie Nicks is collaborating with the Eurythmics's Dave Stewart, whose very name puts 'Sweet Dreams' firmly inside our heads for the day, on a new album. 'I haven't been this excited about anything I've done since [1981's] Bella Donna,' she told Rolling Stone, in an interview not yet online inside this week's issue. Nicks hopes to have the record ready by March or sooner, and it'll include "rock & roll reminiscent of her best solo work," according to Rolling Stone. Nicks explained: 'At a certain point, I'm going to get too old for this, but making this album really shows that I'm not done yet.' [Stevie Nicks News, RS] 

Read more posts by Mike Vilensky 

Filed Under: white winged dove, dave stewart, eurythmics, music, stevie nicks"

OF COURSE she isn't. I'll have to keep an eye out for this one--especially with Dave Stewart in play.

Another Olsen Sister Enters the Acting World

From Vulture:

Elizabeth Olsen, Mary-Kate's and Ashley Olsen's 21 year-old sister, has been cast in the indie film Martha Marcy May Marlene, alongside John Hawkes, Sarah Paulson, Hugh Dancy, and Brady Corbet. Olsen will play a young woman who escapes a cult and goes to live with, incidentally, her big sister. The latest Olsen will also be in the upcoming film Peace, Love & Misunderstanding with Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Catherine Keener. With her older sisters largely out of the acting spotlight, the new girl will probably be greeted with intense interest by fans. [PopWatch/EW] 

Read more posts by Mike Vilensky 

Filed Under: elizabeth olsen, martha marcy may marlene, olsen twins"

Didn't even know there was another Olsen. I'll have to keep out for these films--interesting casts (even without the Olsen) in both cases..

Is Robyn Appearing on Gossip Girl?

From Vulture:

"It appears that frustratingly under-the-radar pop star Robyn may soon be getting some wider exposure. The singer tweeted a picture of herself on the Gossip Girl set Tuesday evening, indicating Robyn may be appearing or performing on the show. The image of Blair on a screen in the background of the picture suggests she'll be showing up at something awesome like Blair’s birthday party rather than, say, a Vanessa-organized potluck. In any event, here’s hoping she gets more airtime than she did on the VMAs. [Twitpic/@RobynKonichiwa]"

Finally, Gossip Girl may be good for something. I still can't fathom why New York Magazine--who should know better--celebrates this show so strenuously. In an interview with the always compelling Gothamist, Whit Stillman put it best:

Have you seen Gossip Girl? I don't mean to be flippant but in terms of culture there's this dominant, sexcapade-y, exclusivity thing now pinned to private school life. It's the usual garbage. And people describing, inaccurately, things they don't know anything about. Unfortunately, garbage creates more garbage. People imitate it because that's the way they feel like they should act. I think Metropolitan is the antithesis to Gossip Girl.

I think so too. Metropolitan, which I just saw (after hearing about it for ages) is breathtaking, devastating, tonally perfect, and so's, since she's whom occasioned the post, Robyn.

Mary-Louise Parker Has Never Smoked Weed

From Vulture:

"Mary-Louise Parker gave a wonderfully raw interview to Vanity Fair, where she admitted she's basically too hip to smoke weed and prefers 'punitive' sex. Despite starring on a show that (sort of) revolves around the plant, Parker explained

I don’t do drugs, but I’m really suggestible. So I imagine if I did, I’d be smoking all day long. I’ve never smoked it. It was never an effective or interesting form of rebellion for me, because everybody did it. If I’d been popular in high school, I’m sure I would have wanted to do it. But I wasn’t ... I’m not saying pot is a bad thing. I know plenty of people who should be smoking pot. I’m just not one of those people.

After talking about drugs, she moved on to sex. Have you noticed that Parker's sex scenes in Weeds have become increasingly dark? Well, the actress likes it that way:

I think for [Nancy Botwin], sexuality is something that she wields. And she needs sex to be somewhat punitive. You know what I mean? I think a lot of people have so much guilt wrapped up in sex, they almost can’t tell the difference. There’s a scene we did for this season that gets pretty explicit. It was just supposed to be sex in a bar, but I really wanted it to be almost abusive. Because I think she needs it that way. And that’s really informative.

Mary-Louise Parker, without even doing drugs — still incredibly cool. 

Mary-Louise Parker Does Not Smoke Weed, but She Has Licked a Pot Lollipop 

Read more posts by  Mike Vilensky

Filed Under: mary-louise parker, tv, weed, weeds, wonderful people

WORD. Mary-Louise Parker is the biggest badass going. I am so excited to see her in Red. Everybody's been talking what a casting coup it was to get Helen Mirren--which is true--but securing Mary Louise Parker was no mean feat either. Informative or not, the sex scene in Weeds I could do without, however--and the darker tone more generally.

Jill Lepore: Chronicling the Great Migration.

From the New Yorker:

"In May of 1939, Ralph Ellison, who was twenty-six at the time, asked an old man hanging out in Eddie’s Bar, on St. Nicholas Avenue near 147th Street, “Do you like living in New York City?” The man said: Ahm in New York, but New . . ."

Beautiful piece from the New Yorker. Ostensibly a review, but a powerful brief for cultural memory. It makes me want to read the book. And shake Ms. Lepore's hand.

Mark Zuckerberg, Sylvester Stallone, Ann Coulter Would Not Dance With the Stars

From Vulture:

"What do Mark Zuckerberg, Sylvester Stallone, Condoleezza Rice, Erin Brockovich, Tim Allen, Suzanne Somers, Ann Coulter, and Richard Branson have in common? None of them wanted to appear on the upcoming season of Dancing with the Stars! All were reportedly asked to appear on the show and turned down an offer to go head-to-head with Bristol Palin, Audrina Patridge, the Situation and the Hoff. Not above Dancing, however, is Melanie Griffith, who apparently “tries to get on every season,” to no avail, which makes us feel sad. [HR]"

Best. List. Ever. My dream lineup.

It is, of course, a crying shame that DWTS is the most watched show in America. Let's get a more accurate ratings system that tells us that's not true.

Emma Stone to Play Mary Jane Watson in Spider-Man

From Vulture:

"Easy A star Emma Stone will be offered the role of Mary Jane Watson in Spider-Man 'imminently,' according to Deadline. Marc Webb's Spider-Man movie will allegedly follow the comics more closely, introducing Gwen Stacey as Peter Parker’s initial love interest, with Stone's Mary Jane Watson closing in on his heart later in the series. Mia Wasikowska, Glee's Dianna Agron, Georgina Haig, and Dominique McElligott are all reportedly auditioning to play Gwen Stacy and give Andrew Garfield an onscreen kiss. A solid young cast of soon-to-be megastars, so far. [Deadline]"

Much better choice than Kristen Dunce--sorry, but it's true. It sounds like they might get the reboot right. I was happy to see Spider-Man on the big screen and I thought Tobey Maguire was a particularly inspired choice for our webhead, but each film was too mawkish, weird, boring, overwrought, the third, in particular, execrable.

Can Black Swan Win Natalie Portman an Oscar?

From Vulture:

"Says Lodge:

Portman has never been so cannily cast, nor so cunningly exposed, on screen ... [L]ong a lissome, delicate screen presence, she has sometimes struggled with conveying intensity or purposefulness. Here, the role cleverly forces the actress into her most pinched, peaky mannerisms — even her little-girl voice is piched an octave higher than usual — only to undercut them as the character gradually loses her self-awareness; the resulting performance is as dangerous, and oddly touching, as Portman has ever allowed herself to be."

I liked it when the Vulture was more snarky, less respectful (or at least neutral), of the hype this movie was receiving, which has now gone into overdrive. Oh dear... 

Don't get me wrong: I love Natalie Portman (one of the few women I would, on sight, propose marriage to) and I even think she's a talented actress, though a little too much the hipster naif, but I am sorry: one must draw the line somewhere. Throw me in with the prudish Academy voters who will nominate but not, finally, award.

Seinfeld's Uncle Leo victim of prank calls

From NYPOST:

"Uncle Leo, hell-llo!

Actor Len Lesser, best known for playing Jerry Seinfeld's annoyingly friendly and intrusive Uncle Leo, was the victim of a prankster who posted the actor's home phone number on Facebook, bringing him a slew of unwanted calls.

Lesser, 87, couldn't take all the calls and reported it to Burbank, Calif., cops on Wednesday, but that hasn't stopped his phone from ringing off the hook.

'I can't figure out half the things they're saying. You can hear them laughing, talking to other people and saying, 'Is this Uncle Leo, is this Uncle Leo?' ' Lesser told The Post."

Oh, poor Uncle Leo.

You know, for whatever it's worth, I've always believed Marty Funkhouser from Curb owes something to Leo.

What is School of Seven Bells?

From NYPOST:

"School of Seven Bells quickly gained attention two years ago with its debut, “Alpinisms,” a hazy, dreamy collection of synth, gentle guitars and clear, unaffected harmonies that drew connections to shoegazers My Bloody Valentine and Cocteau Twins. This summer, the band released a follow-up, “Disconnect from Desire,” which explores more of the same. But to really get a sense of what this music is all about, we leave that up to our award-nominated Algorhythm system.

Take the careful harmonies and soaring vocals of Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 classic, “Rumours.” Then add …

The Eastern-tinged, dream-like qualities of the Beatles’ 1966 album “Revolver.” Then add …

The laid-back electronics-angelic vocal combination on Zero 7’s 2004 breakthrough, “When It Falls.” The result?

School of Seven Bells sophomore album, “Disconnect From Desire.”"

School of Seven Bells in the NYP?! Oh man, what a mindfuck. Even crazier, the description is pretty accurate. 


UPDATE: I've been listening to this album quite a bit lately and I'd throw Jem into the mix, too.

Is Tina Brown Going After 'Newsweek'?

From The New York Observer:

"No one will comment, but one source says yes!


Now might be a good time to quote from Alessandra Stanley's profile of Ms. Brown after the collapse of Talk magazine in 2002. ''I am still Tina Brown,' she said. ''I have been swimming in a howling sea of schadenfreude for the past three years. I am used to it.''"

I didn't hear anything more about this, so I am guessing it wasn't true, after all. I have been falling down on news coverage recently, so perhaps I just missed the update. Either way, Newsweek is, in a moribund magazine business, practically a corpse. So who cares? Didn't they recently lose that Zakaria, probably the last big name left on its masthead, to Time? Also, I have a hard time seeing Tina Brown--intellectually chichi though she is--doing anything that with the magazine that is A) interesting or B) able to reverse its decline into irrelevance. Great quote, though.

Can John McEnroe's Tennis Academy Lift U.S. Talent?

From Time:

"After this year's U.S. Open, John McEnroe, the American tennis icon, broadcaster and former superbrat, will open up a tennis academy in New York City in hopes of reviving America's fortunes on the courts. 'It's somewhat frustrating,' says McEnroe, who won seven Grand Slam titles, including four U.S. Opens. 'I'd just like to be a part of bringing some energy, bringing some life back into tennis.'"

God, why not? It certainly can't make us suck more.

MoMA's exhibition of smart, stylish London transit posters.

From Slate Magazine:

"It's been a good summer for transport design wonks. First Yale's Center for British Art mounted a large exhibition of London subway posters called Art for All (a show sadly not accessible to me by subway). And now the Museum of Modern Art is displaying Underground Gallery: London Transport Posters 1920s-1940s, which features a thin but highly representative slice of the so-called 'golden age of London transport graphics,' culled from the museum's sizable holdings.

'No exhibition of modern painting, no lecturing, no school teaching,' argued the architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner in 1942, 'can have anything like so wide an influence on the educationable masses as the unceasing production and display of London Underground posters over the years.' While transit posters are enjoying a bit of renaissance at auction houses, the MoMA show reminds us these were more than pretty pictures or clever visual jokes, but rather part of a sweeping and exceedingly well-thought-out branding campaign—encompassing everything from posters to station architecture to the design of garbage cans—that made the London Underground a model case for transit systems worldwide."

Open nostalgia in Slate? I'll take it. For they are absolutely right. I love illustration from that era.

Satchmo, the Backstory, in Louis

From Village Voice:

"Director Dan Pritzker's playful silent comedy features beautiful women cavorting in frilly lingerie, a jazzy score overseen by Wynton Marsalis (which he'll perform with an ensemble at the film's Apollo Theater screening), and a shooting style that mimics the look of pre-talkies cinema. So why isn't Louis more fun? In 1907 New Orleans, six-year-old Louis Armstrong (Anthony Coleman) dreams of escaping poverty by becoming a musician."

Aw, a shame, if true. And I have a feeling it is true. Oh well--points for creativity.