At the New York Film Festival premiere of Broken Embraces:

● PENELOPE CRUZ - Favorite restaurant in New York? "Oh, I have many because I love food so much!" And in Madrid? "I go to many that are out in the countryside, but whoever goes there for the first time should go to Botin. It's the oldest restaurant in the world." What did you like about it? "Everything!"

● PEDRO ALMODOVAR - Favorite restaurant in New York? "Mr. Chow's -- we had dinner there the other day, and it was really very impressive." And in Madrid? "In Madrid, there are many. Casa Lucio is one of my favorites."

Another rainy weekend had people deploring summer and its summery traditions -- with the Hamptons at the top of the seasonal hitlist. Some would even go as far to call Manhattanites' favorite weekend destination "the universe's vortex of suck," and with the recent velvet-rope antics at Matt Levine's Hamptons outpost Georgica, that seems to be a growing sentiment. Levine, best known for his tight door at The Eldridge in the Lower East Side, called for Georgica's awning to be rolled up, allowing potential patrons patiently awaiting entrance to get left out in the pouring rain. Seems heartless, but Levine has an explanation. PlumTV's wet video and Levine's take after the jump.

Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to buy whole buildings with a single check. Ivan Wilzig -- or as he likes to be known, Sir Ivan -- is an eccentric guy. He wears a meticulously tailored "peace cape." He owns a castle in the Hamptons where legendary parties rival those seen in the movies. He lives a life described to me like Dudley Moore’s Arthur without all the drunkenness. He is focused on his music and his image. I run into him everywhere, and he always has time to chat. Despite the legendary wealth, Eyes Wide Shut castle, and the eccentricities of his caped attire, Sir Ivan is a very accessible guy. He’s keenly aware that walking around in a cape with a sequined peace sign on it will provoke a response -- often “That guy's nuts.” I wonder who is more nuts ... Ivan or the fools who chain themselves to desks every day to pay for 500 square feet with a refrigerator and a TV. Ivan Wilzig is certainly out there, and instead of sitting on piles of money on a beach somewhere, he gives a lot of it to charities and spends a lot of time entertaining people. His Sir Ivan character is making music about peace, man.

The economy is in the toilet. Banks are failing, and Chrysler is now officially owned by Fiat. Grand dames are reduced to selling their jewels and sending the children to public school. What better time, then, to escape into a world where opulence is still the norm and people are holding on to their private jets. The new series Royal Pains, which premiered last week on USA, takes us back to that time, not so long ago, when the Hamptons really was this fabled neverland of ostentatious and unapologetic wealth. And as much as we might have envied and even cursed the Hamptons elite as we piled onto the Jitney every Friday, we know we’ll miss the antics of the fabulously wealthy. Royal Pains takes us back to a simpler time, when aging cougars had to worry only about their malfunctioning surgical enhancements, not their Madoff-depleted bank accounts.

Summer, it seems, has arrived. There are sailors coasting down the streets of Manhattan like zombies riding Segways. All roads to the sleepy hollow of Amagansett and beyond are packed with two-seaters and Luxury Liners. But, the most salient sign that things are heating up: the Richards sisters have come out to play. Last Sunday, to celebrate the launch of Social Life magazine's latest issue featuring cover-girl and royal-rock progeny Alexandra Richards, Italian accessories monolith Sergio Rossi invited a handful of editors and celebrities to an exclusive dinner and cocktail party at Solé East in Montauk. We went (sort of).

Headed to the Hamptons this weekend? Got an iPhone? And curious about the Axe Lounge you've heard so much about? Then download the free BlackBook Guide for mobile, and you can get into Dune Southampton for no charge. Just display the BlackBook Access perk on the Dune Southampton screen on your iPhone, and you're in like flynn.

● Lily Pond (East Hampton) - The 1Oak family will be hosting this Saturday and will have special events here all summer. The Grand Opening on Saturday has DJ Lee Kalt on the decks, and Sunday kicks off "1OAK at Lily Pond Blue & Cream" with DJ Jus Ske.
● Dune (Southampton) - AXE Lounge features DJ Phresh Friday night, DJ Mel DeBarge on Saturday, and Kiss & Fly hosts on Sunday night with DJ Berrie.

One of the most buzzed-about Hamptons openings this summer is actually a re-opening of sorts. A group led by Andrew Chapman, who owns August in the West Village (the group's also rumored to include Jon Bon Jovi, Ronald Perelman and Renee Zellweger -- but you may as well throw in Jimmy Hoffa, the Montauk Monster, and Jackson Pollack) is resurrecting The Blue Parrot in East Hampton. The opening's been set back a few weeks (as just about every restaurant opening since the birth of the Candy Kitchen has been), but when it arrives, the Parrot promises to bring back the "Killer Mexican" still touted on the wooded sign out front, even though the place has been empty since 2006.

● Want to live like Jack Nicholson? Well, for the summer, you can rent his summer place in the Hamptons for a mere $400,000. [Newsday]
● The Kills singer Alison Mosshart would like everyone to know she didn’t get into a bar brawl with new Dead Weather bandmate Jack White. [NME]
● Morgan Freeman proves he’s a badass in the latest Vogue by doing an editorial with "it" model Lara Stone down in the Big Easy, shot by the great Bruce Weber. [Models]

Sandra Ardito heads sales, marketing and special events for KO Hospitality Management (Cooper Square Hotel, Empire Hotel, Hotel on Rivington, and Chelsea Hotel in Atlantic City). We met the hospitality connoisseur at the Cooper Square Hotel to get the scoop on the Hamptons Memorial Day hotspot, the Reform Club Inn (suites and private cottages in Amagansett), working for Ian Schrager, and why we should stay at Cooper Square (besides the fact that it's the location of the Bjork's afterparty tonight).

Is this the first hotel KO has developed?
No, we did the Empire Hotel on 63rd Street, and we did the Chelsea Hotel in Atlantic City for Paul Sevigny and Matt Abramcyk. For those hotels, I would describe us as the hired guns.