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BlackBook/New York

‘Twilight’ Screenwriter Cautious Not To Kill Stephenie Meyer’s Child

By

Bridgette Bek

‘Twilight’ Screenwriter Cautious Not To Kill Stephenie Meyer’s Child By now you must have seen it in the air or heard it in the wind—a preview, a poster, a blog, an Entertainment Weekly cover (or ten), hysterical girls, a Today Show appearance, and women, from their early teens to late thirties, flailing and wailing at the mere mention of the name Edward Cullen. It's Twilight mania, and it hits full fury this weekend--as if we had to tell you. We caught up with the film's screenwriter and Dexter producer Melissa Rosenberg, who had the daunting task of adapting author Stephenie Meyer's sprawling saga to the screen, without losing the book's appeal or inciting bloodlust from legions of fans.

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Did William S. Burroughs Murder Amy Winehouse, Minnie Mouse?

By

Ben Barna

Did William S. Burroughs Murder Amy Winehouse, Minnie Mouse? I don't speak or read any Portuguese, but there's something about the way the letters cling together to former words and phrases that is aesthetically appealing, independent from any meaning. Today, during my daily perusal of all websites written in Portuguese, I discovered an unsettling picture of what looks like a dead Amy Winehouse, lying next to an also dead Minnie Mouse on BBCBrasil.com. Not being able to understand what the article said, I googled "amy winehouse dead," and the first two things that came up were amywinehousedead.com and whenwillamywinehousedie.com. Morbid. So with the article being all I had to go by, I scoured it for clues.

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Robert Pattinson’s Amazing Hair Confronts Fans

By

Ben Barna



The owner of the best head of hair in Hollywood and one of EW's breakout stars of 2008 was in Rockefeller Center today for another chapter in what is easily the batshittiest month of his life. Meredith Vieira was interviewing the star of Twilight on the Today Show when she asked him to come outside and field questions from various bridge & tunnel vamp fanatics. Notice the rabid glint in their eyes. It's the hair, so flawless in its flaws. Kristen Stewart was there too, but since no one else paid any attention to her, we won't either.

The New Old New Women of TV: Still Ditzes and Bitches

By

Rohin Guha

imageNew York magazine sent readers of all stripes into a fits of hysteria by claiming that both Sarah Palin and Hilary Clinton set women back a few decades by reinforcing reductive stereotypes -- specifically, the ditz and the bitch. But similar pundits are also waxing philosophical on the link between Barack Obama's election and the potential upswing for more diversity on TV. So if television is indeed the window into the American psyche (and let's be honest, who can contest otherwise?), then what sort of change are the ditz/bitch forces of Palin and Lady Clinton supposed to embody?

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Kanye West Replaces Murakami with KAWS

By

Ben Barna

Kanye West Replaces Murakami with KAWS If you frequent Kanye West's blog, which I can proudly and defiantly say I do, you'll know that he's perched on the cutting edge of everything design-oriented. Houses, skirts, cars, bookshelves, commercials -- you name it, if it's at all forward-thinking, then Kanye's got a handle on it. The guy knows art and design, and to prove it once more, has commissioned Brooklyn artist and toy designer KAWS to decorate his new record 808's and Heartbreak. This comes after West introduced many Westerners to pop artist extraordinaire Takashi Murakami with the artwork from his previous album.

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‘Nerve’ Compilation Sexes Up Your Coffee Table

By

Rohin Guha

imageCoffee table books are a not-so-subtle way of informing your friends, "Hey you, look, I'm sophisticated, edgy, artsy and not afraid of sex!" And in its collection of raunchy photography, interviews, and prose by some of the classiest members of the contemporary literati, Nerve: The First Ten Years is not only a perfect social accessory, it's even worth a few prolific page-flips. Sure, while it purports to explore the wide range of absurd sexuality, most of the photography of its nearly 200 pages represent pretty people positioned in said absurd scenarios.

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Obama Soap: Hope on a Rope

By

John Clarke Jr.

Obama Soap: Hope on a Rope Now's your chance to take a shower with President-Elect Barack Obama. The Washington Post spotted this creepy version of soap on a rope offered by Dugshop. The 10.5-ounce chunk of purple-headed Obama looks amusingly distorted or horrifyingly offensive, depending on your political sensitivities. "He smells like a breath of fresh air, because, well, he is a breath of fresh air!" Naturally, 33% of all profits go to Habitat for Humanity. Oh, and it's vegan-friendly.

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Marvel & Josh Schwartz Prove Us Right with New X-Men Flick

By

Ben Barna

Marvel & Josh Schwartz Prove Us Right with New X-Men Flick Hate to say we told you so, but after yesterday's big, breaking, news that O.C. and Gossip Girl honcho Josh Schwartz is set to write an updated teen version of the X-Men franchise, I can't help but feel frustrated to the bone. We broke this story months ago! Back then, it wasn't a done deal, and when Schwartz casually spilled the beans to a colleague and I at Coffee Shop in New York, we were all, "wait, are we allowed to write about this?" Of course, we didn't actually ask him that, out loud, in so many words. A huge hissy fit ensued, a threat or two were lobbed our way, and then poof, the story was gone (although not quick enough to spare the ferocious mocking of fanboys who were livid that Wolverine would turn their beloved superheroes into spoiled brats). Another case in a disturbing trend of publicists (and/or their clients) not being entirely truthful. So disappointing.

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‘GQ’ Elects Men of the Year

By

Rohin Guha

imageHere's a toplist with a difference, courtesy of GQ. It's topically relevant, it's functional, it's their pick for "Men of the Year." The magazine casts a wide net in drafting "athletes, actors and newsmakers" and consequently ends up running the gamut from hipstery coolness to brazen impudence to extraordinary humanity. The roster includes Shepard Fairey, Mad Men's Jon Hamm, the guys of MGMT, the Boston Celtics, and naturally, our incoming President. More telling, however, are entries for M.I.A. and Megan Fox -- a pair of women whose subversive inclusion echoes the far more interesting roster --i.e., which ladies rocked the "Men of the Year" party.

Anna Wintour Preparing to Escape?

By

John Clarke Jr.

imageCould Vogue editrix Anna Wintour really be retiring? Sources tell Page Six that the editor is tired, deflated after recently shuttering three titles (including Fashion Rocks, Teen Vogue, and Men's Vogue), and she doesn't have the fight in her anymore. The recent speculation centers around her contract coming up soon for renewal, or lack thereof. "She's thinking of retiring," an unnamed source said. "She feels she's done it all and had enough. She has been putting out feelers to intimate friends recommending a possible replacement to S.I. Newhouse. She's so tired out, she just let Men's Vogue close instead of fighting for it." A Conde Nast rep said the reports are "completely unfounded." And publicists never lie.