By Daniel D'Addario 8/24/12 8:00am

the eight-day week

vanna

To Do Friday: Memoirs of a Gala

We’ve been Out East for a couple of weeks (we’re “working remotely”—checking emails at 1 p.m. and segueing into cocktail hour!), and wouldn’t you know it, all of our trashy beach reads are depleted. We’re especially craving a new memoir by someone like Paris Hilton (Confessions of an Heiress was way too long ago!), and “Celebrity Autobiography,” a reading at Guild Hall, will likely scratch that itch, as the likes of Alec Baldwin, Christie Brinkley and Tovah Feldshuh read from the literary works of Vanna White, Sylvester Stallone and the Jonas Brothers. Don’t make too much fun, Alec—we haven’t forgotten that book you put out about the Kim Basinger years! Read More

By Daniel D'Addario 7/20/12 9:00am

the eight-day week

alec

To Do Saturday: Hamptons Double-Header

We’ll be lazing around the manse today, awaiting delivery of the antiques we snapped up yesterday—but we’re just conserving energy, as we have a busy evening ahead! The artist Ross Bleckner is hosting a benefit for the AIDS Community Research Initiative of America at his home; the Champagne, we understand, is provided by Veuve Clicquot. Read More

By Daniel D'Addario 6/21/12 2:00pm

Party Report

Woody Allen (Patrick McMullan)

Woody Allen Had to Accept His Oscar, and More Notes from the To Rome With Love Premiere

Last night, Woody Allen and wife Soon-Yi Previn arrived promptly for the The Cinema Society, Piaget, and Hollywood Reporter-hosted screening of Mr. Allen’s new European romp, To Rome With Love; while star Penelope Cruz sipped a soda nearby and paparazzi-embattled star Alec Baldwin breezed past the press into the theater, Mr. Allen walked the rope line of journalists, Ms. Previn trailing closely behind.

Given the sheer volume of stars with whom Mr. Allen has worked–in this film alone, Mr. Baldwin, Ellen Page, Jesse Eisenberg, Greta Gerwig, and Ms. Cruz–we asked Mr. Allen who’d done the best job of playing “the Woody Allen part.” You know, the shy young nebbish Owen Wilson played in Midnight in Paris or that Mr. Eisenberg played in this film? Mr. Allen demurred: “They’re very different! Owen Wilson is a sweet kid from Texas, speaks slowly, serves my script great! I would have played that part, but Owen played it better than I ever could have. Jesse Eisenberg is a fast mover, talks kind of like me–and he was great!

“The truth is they’re both better actors than me. I’m a writer who can play his own material. They’re actors who can play Chekhov.” Read More

By Spencer Rothman 6/07/12 2:15pm

Movie premieres

Rock of Ages director Adam Shankman, Padma Lakshmi and Julianne Hough. (Paul Bruinooge/PatrickMcMullan.com)

At Last Night’s New York Premiere, We Found the True Stars of Rock of Ages: the Simian Sidekick, Mary J. Blige’s Weaves, and Tom Cruise’s Belly

Something you should know: Showgirls is one of our favorite films. It isn’t a cinematic masterpiece, but it’s always fun to watch and count how many times Elizabeth Berkley storms out of the room flailing. Should you choose to watch the new Tom Cruise vehicle Rock of Ages adapted from the Tony-winning musical of the same name, I highly suggest having similar expectations.

Last night The Observer headed to the Landmark Theaters Sunshine Cinema for the New York premiere of the film, attended by leading lady Julianne Hough and director Adam Shankman.

Mr. Shankman made the following pronouncement before the film rolled: “I just want to let you all know that this movie was made all out of fun. Everyone sing along! Please, dance in the aisles! The theater is going to kill me for saying this, but someone pull a chair out of the ground and throw it at the screen in true rock and roll style!” Read More

By Daniel D'Addario 5/03/12 8:45am

the eight-day week

Alec Baldwin (Getty Images)

To Do Thursday: Dancing Tweens

Our feet are sore from all that skating (those skates pinch!), but thankfully our dancing shoes are forgiving. The National Dance Institute celebrates its 35th anniversary tonight, and we’d never pass up an opportunity to meet honorary chair Alec Baldwin. His voice … it’s so mayoral! The evening features a performance by the kids who Read More