By Sarah Grothjan 8/13/12 11:30am

Movie making

Roman Coppola. (Daniel Torok/PatrickMcMullan.com)

Roman Coppola and Michael Pitt Launch the “Four Stories” Screenplay Competition at the W Downtown

“I’m looking for a strong voice and somebody that’s completely original,” actor Michael Pitt told The Observer last Thursday. “Something crazy. Something I haven’t read before.” He was referring to the benchmark that vying screenwriters must reach in order to nab a winning spot in the Four Stories screenplay competition, of which he is a judge.

A cocktail hour at the W New York Downtown commenced the competition, which beckons burgeoning scribes to submit work in a global contest sponsored by Intel and the W and curated by director Roman Coppola.

Despite the abundance of circulating champagne glasses, we noticed the cocktail-less Mr. Pitt was out of step with of his Boardwalk Empire character, the typically imbibing Jimmy Darmody.

“I learned a very long time ago that when somebody’s got a tape recorder in their hand you shouldn’t have a drink in yours,” Mr. Pitt told us coyly. Read More

By Sarah Grothjan 6/27/12 5:20pm

New York in Film

Isaac Mizrahi and Derek Blasberg at W New York Downtown.

Grand Classics “New York in Film” Series Starts with a Screening of Isaac Mizrahi’s Pick: Sweet Charity

Last night, a group a fashion moguls, designers, models and perfectly dressed men and women, made their way to the W New York Downtown hotel to view the first film screening in in the Grand Classics series “New York in Film.”

The evening commenced with a cocktail hour, rife with fashion editors and a lingering music crowd. It was a fitting precursor to the film screening of Sweet Charity–a personal pick by Isaac Mizrahi, a New York fashion icon who knows all about sexy.

“There’s a difference between when you put air quotes around something, and it’s actual meaning, you know what I mean? So it’s like ‘sexy’ is not as good as sexy, and this is a really sexy movie,” Mr. Mizrahi told The Observer, sincerely. Read More