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Joseph Abboud: Men’s Fashion Advice Given While Everyone Eats

Roger Friedman
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Here’s the thing about my meeting men’s fashion guru Joseph Abboud. While we discussed the vents in suits, two or three button coats, and his work with Hickey Freeman, we also ate. We ate very well, indeed. having met by chance at Leslie Lampert’s famous foodie heaven in Mt. Kisco, New York called Cafe of Love. This is the hard core hot spot dining destination in upper Westchester Country for anyone who wants four star meals at reasonable prices. (www.cafeof loveny.com)

And while Leslie served her chick pea popcorn drenched in truffle oil to my hosts, writer Jill Brooke and her husband Gary Goldstein, Joseph Abboud told me a lot of interesting things. Mind you, this wasn’t even an interview but a by chance meeting. He ordered the mussels. And told us all about Hickey Freeman and Hart Shaffner Marx. They’re owned by the same corporation, they are American with long backgrounds. The former is outfitting Mitt Romney. The latter has Barack Obama. Joseph Abboud, who sold his company years ago, along with his name, is now guiding all of them.

So what: Abboud says three button jackets are not dead. There’s a new version of it, the buttons are lower, it’s ok. This was a relief. Also, side vents are still in fashion, but non vent jackets may come back sooner than we think. Also, good news. Abboud has two daughters, finishing high school and going into college. Will they follow in his footsteps? “I want them to do whatever they want to do,” he says.

What else, I asked, as the succulent seared foie gras was succeeded by bouillabaisse? And we also tried the meatballs, which apparently have become quite famous. The chef hails from Danny Meyers’ famed Union Square Cafe.

Joseph Abboud, whose name is in lots of my jackets and pants, is from the Boston area. He recently bought a big spread up there near his home town of Roslindale. “The older you get, the more you want to go home,” he said. I agreed, and although Mt. Kisco is lovely and the surroundings were bucolic, I got back in the car and hurried to Manhattan before Leslie Lampert could hit me with one more dessert. My Joseph Abboud suits are going to be very tight this week.

PS Thank goodness for GPS. How do people live without numbered streets? That’s what I want to know!

The Best Movies of 2011, And A Few Others

Roger Friedman
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The Best Movies of 2011, And A Few Others

Here are my picks, and there are  more than 10.

1. The Artist–No surprise here. From the moment we saw it in Cannes, it was clear that Michel Hazanavicius had made a unique, refreshing piece of art. A silent film? Black and white? Who wants to see that? And yet, some people who’ve seen it were convinced they heard talking.  Ha ha. That’s because Hazanavicius’s characters and the story are so well drawn that the audience is never bored, only completely entertained. The fun, too, is in picking out all the other cinema references. And the more times you see it, you realize that Berenice Bejo, James Cromwell, and John Goodman are as important to the piece as Jean DuJardin and Uggie.

2. Moneyball–The best movie from the Toronto Film Festival, where there was a lot of competition from George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, et al. But Bennett Miller has given Brad Pitt the greatest gift–he’s let him be a character actor in a lead role. I do believe this is Pitt’s Sandra Bullock year. As Billy Beane, he’s able to be the hero and the underdog. He IS this movie and you can’t take your eyes off of him. He carries the whole film, and not because of his looks. Miller, meantime, has made a lasting baseball movie that captures the poetry and agony of the sport.

3. Midnight in Paris-Woody Allen, much written about. A luscious, pleasing dessert.

4. War Horse- Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of the Michael Moopongo children’s book is every bit as good as the stunning theater presentation with puppets. Spielberg gets knocked a lot. He makes all this stuff look easy. After all, he also has “Tin Tin”– and in different medium. Drat. Well, Spielberg has succeeded. It’s very annoying. And “Lincoln” will be great next year. But for now “War Horse” remains a stunning achievement. 

5. The Ides of March/The Descendants— two movies bound together by George Clooney. What a year for him! He directed and co-starred in the first, starred in the second. “Ides” disappointed some because it seemed tame. But Clooney got a lot of great performances from an all star cast. Not just Ryan Gosling, but Paul Giamatti and Philip Seymour Hoffman in the same film. It’s like watching Batman and Superman work together. As for The Descendants–it’s an exceptional drama, on a par with “Kramer vs. Kramer,” “Shoot the Moon,” and “Ordinary People.” Judy Greer, Shailene Woodley and Beau Bridges make it even more impressive.

6. Beginners/Martha Marcy May Marlene–The two best entries from last year’s Sundance Film Festival gave hope to the independent film world. Mike Mills’ sweet story of his father has produced accolades for Christopher Plummer, now the lead candidate for Best Supporting Actor. And Sean Durkin’s rough tale of a girl trapped in a cult turned Elizabeth Olsen into a surprise budding star. Now, if only the upcoming Sundance can give us more or better, we’ll be lucky(and equally surprised).

7. Hugo – Martin Scorsese’s passion for film history and film preservation gave us this innovative–and popular–3D tale about a boy and a famous filmmaker. Those flying papers really make it. And so do (much too small) cameos from Emily Mortimer and Sacha Baron Cohen.

8. The Help— Not a great  book, but a damn good movie. So many terrific performances–Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, Bryce Dallas Howard, Emma Stone. There are criticisms that it’s the white girl’s take on the stories of the help, but you know what? At least it was told. Maybe there will be more elaborations from African American writers. But for the time being, “The Help” is well made and well told.  

9. A Dangerous Method/Shame– This was the breakout year for Michael Fassbender, who also appeared in X Men: First Class. David Cronenberg’s “Method” is a small movie, but it’s also a gem. Fassbender, Viggo Mortenson, and Keira Knightley are excellent. “Shame” is a another story altogether. Steve McQueen II is an auteur who is an acquired taste. “Shame” is brutal, boring, fascinating, and frustrating. Sex has never seemed so dull. At least we know Fassbender gets to the gym. But I don’t think anyone ever wants to see it again.

10. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol— Okay, I really liked this big commercial studio film. Tom Cruise is fine, but the additions of Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, and Simon Pegg really made Cruise so much more tolerable. And Brad Bird’s direction is superb. “Ghost Protocol” is fun and even though it’s preposterous–it’s okay. It was nice to see commercial product placements too. Who thought that would ever happen?

11. Movies that didn’t quite work, but had some great performances too: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Rooney Mara), J. Edgar (Leonardo DiCaprio and Armie Hammer), Drive (Ryan Gosling and Albert Brooks), The Tree of Life (Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain), Win Win (Paul Giamatti), My Week with Marilyn (Michelle Williams and Kenneth Branagh), The Iron Lady (Meryl Streep and Jim Broadbent), Exremely Close and etc (Max von Sydow) and –yes!– The Devil’s Double, a cool film that was dropped by Lions Gate like a hot potato, with a terrific turn from Dominic Cooper.

 

Elaine’s Famous Eatery Immortalized on Cover of New Mystery

Roger Friedman
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Elaine’s Famous Eatery Immortalized on Cover of New Mystery

Stuart Woods always starts novels in Elaine’s, and very often Elaine Kaufman is a character in the books. But now that Elaine has departed this Earth for bigger hostess duties, and the buildings that housed the place have been off for nearly $9 million (make way, Dunkin Donuts or Picasso Nails, or both), Woods has a dilemma. His answer can be seen on the cover of his new one, “Unnatural Acts.” The new cover is seen to the left. This new Stone Barrington mystery will be published by Putnam on April 24, 2012. Meantime, some regulars of Elaine’s are helping put together an Elaine Kaufman Foundation, already registered as a 501 c3 charity. Details are forthcoming. In Kaufman’s will, she specified that her estate set up a foundation for childhood literacy. But this group is independent of that. Kaufman was famous for nurturing writers, letting them run up huge bar and food tabs, and then ripping them up.

Top Oscar Contenders–The Artist, Midnight in Paris–Long for Each Other’s Worlds

Roger Friedman
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Top Oscar Contenders–The Artist, Midnight in Paris–Long for Each Other’s Worlds

Isn’t it interesting that the top Oscar contenders–“The Artist” and “Midnight in Paris”–want what the other has? “The Artist” is made by French filmmakers who long for Hollywood’s yesteryear and made the film in Los Angeles. They don’t send it up. They love it, and breathe it. The movie is so flawless in its execution by Michel Hazanavicius that you fell all of them–the act0rs and the characters–have stepped into the world of silent film in Hollywood in the late 1920s.

And then there’s the Woody Allen film, made by Hollywood people in Paris. They long for Paris in the 20s so much that Owen Wilson‘s Gil simply slips back in time to Paris at roughly the time Jean DuJardin’s George Valentin is making his movie in Hollywood. Indeed, if Valentin had gone home to Paris during a break from filming his silent movies, he might have run into Gil, Hemingway, the Fitzgeralds, Picasso and his mistress Adrianna.

Of course, the kicker in “Midnight in Paris”–and why Woody Allen’s movie is so insightful–is that everyone yearns for a better time in the past. Gil wills himself into Paris of the 1920s. But Adrianna, who lives in the 1920s, only wants to be part of Paris’s Belle Epoque in the late 1890s. When she and Gil arrive there, Gaugin, Degas, and Toulouse Lautrec grumble about how unimaginative their era is to them. And then the best laugh of the season–and I hope one that is used as a clip for one of the awards shows–the modern day detective hired by Gil’s father in law to be, wandering by accident into the Louvre, disturbing Napoleon and Marie Antoinette and Louis the 16th having dinner. “Sorry, I took a wrong turn,” he says. It’s the best punch line of 2011.

A lot of the films of 2011 are about longing for the past. “Tree of Life” is about the 1950s in Texas (and the formation of the universe in mind numbing detail). “War Horse” is set in World War I. “Hugo” also comes from the earlier part of the 20th century. It’s probably a coincidence, but inadvertently it does say something about needing an escape from the present. How nice to see a bunch of films in which no one can flip open a cell phone, or discover the answer to a question by consulting a handheld device. The Academy responds to these films just as much as the audience. I think last year it had a lot to do with “The King’s Speech” being so warmly received, while “The Social Network” failed to resonate with Oscar voters. There’s something to be said for embracing a moment in time.

 

Van Halen Looks Ready for Grammy Week Launch

Roger Friedman
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Van Halen Looks Ready for Grammy Week Launch

Get ready, because 2012 is going to seem like 1984. Van Halen is coming back. You remember Van Halen: Eddie and his brother Alex. Only back in 1984, when David Lee Roth was the lead singer, Eddie was married to reigning TV queen Valerie Bertinelli. Their son, Wolfgang, was born in 1991. Now hear this: Van Halen the band, with a reunited Roth, Eddie’s brother Alex, and Wolfgang, have finished a new album for Interscope. It was recorded all year — especially last winter and then mixed, and remixed–at Henson Studios in Hollywood with producer John Shanks.

Going by the enigmatic art work they’ve unveiled, the album will be released on February 7th, the Tuesday before the Grammy Awards. All signs point to a “surprise” appearance on the Grammy broadcast the following Sunday, February 12th. You can absolutely imagine producer Ken Ehrlich salivating over a show that opens with the first notes of “Jump”–especially since the rest of the show is going to be overrun by this week’s chart “acts.” (Maybe he can get the Van Halens to play with every group.)

The definite news: Van Halen tour tickets go on sale January 10th. All of this should be quite amusing considering that Roth, who always fought with Bertinelli, is said to despise her son. According to my sources, during the long, long time it took to make this album, Roth wouldn’t even speak to young Wolfie. (He turns 21 in March 2012, by the way. Feel old?) When they were recording last winter, the word was that Roth would not be in the studio when Wolfie was laying down bass guitar tracks.

So this should be as much fun as the Police reunion from several years ago, which also launched on the Grammy show. The only upside I can think of with a new Van Halen album and tour? That Roy Orbison‘s estate will get a lot of money for “(Oh) Pretty Woman,” which Van Halen covered in its heyday. The big question? Will the Van Halens let Roth, now 90 years old, perform his previously ironic medley (because he was young and they were songs associated with an older generation) “Just a Gigolo/Ain’t Got Nobody”?

There are many variables here, by the way. Van Halen had been rumored to appear on the Grammy nominations show on November 30th. But that was scotched and then denied. Their infighting is so notorious that it’s still possible none of this will come off as planned. The album that’s coming was almost on Columbia/Sony after not being on Warner Bros., their old label.

And the other irony: the Grammys are really a production of AEG Live at the Staples Center, an AEG house. But Van Halen is a Live Nation act. But it’s only rock and roll.  As they sing in “Jump”: “You got to roll with the punches and get to what’s real.”

By the way two identical websites — www.van-halen.com and www.davidleeroth.com–tour the new tour tickets and direct to each other.

Sinead O’Connor’s Latest Husband: Something Compared to Him

Roger Friedman
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Sinead O’Connor’s Latest Husband: Something Compared to Him

In Sinead O’Connor‘s most famous song, “No One Compares 2 U,” she sings: “It’s been seven hours and fifteen days/Since you took your love away.” Now  reports come that Sinead’s most recent marriage–in Las Vegas, with lots of hoopla–is over after just about that amount of time. The marriage lasted 18 days, according to her website. Something apparently compared to Barry whatever his name was.

She writes: “Dear friends, I had for reasons u will all understand, wished to keep this private but have been told today it is to be leaked in the next few days despite my best efforts. So I must now leak it myself so as the record is straight.

“Within 3 hours of the ceremony being over the marriage was kyboshed by the behaviour of certain people in my husband’s life. And also by a bit of a wild ride i took us on looking for a bit of a smoke of weed for me wedding night as I don’t drink. My husband was enormously wounded and very badly effected by that experience and also by the attitude of those close to him toward our marriage. It became apparent to me that if he were to stay with me he would be losing too much to bear.”

O’Connor notes, “A woman wants to be a joy to her husband. So.. U love someone? Set them free.”

She finishes her advisory: “He is a wonderful man. I love him very much. I’m sorry I’m not a more regular woman. I truly believe though it is painful to admit, we made a mistake rushing into getting married, for altruistic reasons, and weren’t aware or prepared for the consequences on my husband’s life and the lives of those close to him. He has been terribly unhappy and I have therefore ended the marriage. I think he is too nice to do so. And too nice to trap.”

And so Sinead beats Kim Kardashian and Kim Humphries, winning the title of shortest celebrity marriage of 2011. It wasn’t an easy task, coming in at the very end of the year. But this should prove that perseverance always pays off.

Box Office: Monday Was Huge, with “Mission: Impossible” and “War Horse” Booming

Roger Friedman
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Box office: Christmas weekend was desultory. But Monday, the day after, was a win win for nearly every film in release except for “Extemely Loud and Incredibly Close.” All other films were way up on Monday over Sunday, with “Mission Impossible 4–Ghost Protocol” increasing its audience 23% over the previous day.  “MI4” has almost $77 million banked after 11 days. And folks Steven Spielberg‘s “War Horse” ponyed up $7.5 million for the second day in a row, give the film $15 million in two days. “War Horse” has now established itself on the inside track. Meanwhile, Oscar buzzed “The Artist” directed by Michel Hazanavicius had a great day in its limited release on Monday. with a 25% increase over Sunday. “The Artist” is going to be an interesting release, because once people sit down and see it, they love it. And movies for kids went crazy on Monday, with both “The Adventures of Tin” and “The Muppets Movie” almost doubling their Sunday figures. I still think that the Oscar race is shaping up between “The Artist” and “War Horse.” They also have the best soundtracks.

The Artist:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2CUVBAS0Nk&feature=related

War Horse:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybQ1AriiEIc&feature=list_related&playnext=1&list=SPF988AC5BE88CADB8

Box Office Surprise: Spielberg’s “War Horse” Number 1 Original Film Christmas Day

Roger Friedman
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Box Office Surprise: Spielberg’s “War Horse” Number 1 Original Film Christmas Day

Steven Spielberg‘s having a nice holiday. According to Disney, his film version of “War Horse” came in at number 3 on Christmas Day. On its first day of release, “War Horse” was second only in per screen averages to “Mission Impossible.” It took in $7.5 million and came in third overall behind the sequel to “Sherlock Holmes.” And since “War Horse” is an original film, and “MI” is the fourth in its series, the Spielberg film was technically the #1 new film at the box office.

And Spielberg accounted for two of the top original films since his stop capture animated  “Adventures of Tin Tin” is doing well, too. But “Tin Tin” already made its money internationally, with around $250 million banked. “Tin Tin” was released abroad first and raked in its money because Paramount and the producers knew the characters were known and popular there. Here in America, “Tin Tin” is a specialty story; audiences are just learning about the characters. It was genius, really, to go take Europe first.

“War Horse” is a cinch for many Oscar nominations, by the way, having already picked up some Golden Globe nods and various other inclusions on top 10 lists. There’s talk of Joey the horse competing with Uggie the Dog from “The Artist.” This would make the Oscars a dog and pony show for real!

Lady Gaga Raunchy F-Rated Lyrics Even Mention Justin Bieber

Roger Friedman
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Lady Gaga Raunchy F-Rated Lyrics Even Mention Justin Bieber

Here are the lyrics to Lady Gaga’s new song, “Stuck on Fucking You.” They’re from her website. It’s a fun song, but parents of younger teens and smaller kids who’ve come to idolize all the fun of Lady Gaga may be a little shocked. Imagine explaining this to your kid. Remember when this kind of thing was an underground bootleg that was hard to find? Now it’s advertised as a Christmas gift to the world. The song even mentions Justin Bieber, another teen icon. Kids, those days of innocence are over!

Got no plans, got no clothes
Got no piano, we got no shows
No, I got nothing to do
But to be stuck on you

Got no flights outta here
Got no TV shows until next year
No, I got nothing to do but to be stuck on you

Baby, you’re my liquor
I’m addicted to you
So I’ll just be stuck on, stuck on fucking you
Stuck on fucking you

I don’t ever want just another boy or a girl
Baby you and I, baby you and I could change the world
I don’t ever want just another boy or a girl to love
I’m stuck, stuck on you

Got all night, no cameras
We’ve got no champagne but we’ve got drugs
No, I’ve got nothing to do
But to be stuck on you

Purple sheets, cymbal clock
Gonna spend my time rocking on top
Yea, I got nothing to do
But to be stuck on you

Baby you’re my Johnny Walker, baby it’s true
So I’ll just be stuck on, stuck on fucking you
Stuck on fucking you

I don’t ever want just another boy or a girl
Cause baby you and I, baby you and I could change the world
I don’t ever want just another boy or a girl to love
I’m stuck, stuck on you

Got no plans, got no flights
Out of here, no t.v. shows
But we got mice in the kitchens
So we don’t care cause we’re in love

You’re in the shower, I meet you there
I buy you some hippie shit from the Deli downstairs
Lovin on my man’s space, so good

Don’t forget me baby
Don’t forget me when I leave and go outdoor
Cause I know your laugh will be a sore
You’ll be on stuck fucking this hooker/whore
This hooker, who who

Got no nothing, you’re in the next room
You fell asleep on my .. bed
But me and Fernando and Paul will just spend the day of making music
But I missed you

The fridge is broken but drinking warm champagne
But we don’t care cause we’ll in Minnesota
And we sold our show again

She´s too young and crazy too
He´s too old and torn out through
He is broken not ill insured
Her life´s a monster like on extacy
But if you think they will not do
Their path to heaven bogaloo
You´re just lost as non believer
And have to go to justin bieber…

“Tower Heist” Failure: Is that the End of Eddie Murphy?

Roger Friedman
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“Tower Heist” Failure: Is that the End of Eddie Murphy?

The tragedy of “Tower Heist”: a star packed action flick that’s made a disappointing $125 million worldwide. It should have made twice that number. And it had to, with big paydays for Eddie Murphy, Ben Stiller, director Brett Ratner, decent checks to Matthew Broderick, Casey Affleck, et al. The production budget came  to around $125 million. After all, they re-staged the Macys Thanksgiving Day parade here in New York.

And what does it mean for Eddie Murphy? He was/is one of the most effective comedians ever. His one man stand up shows in the 1980s were amazing. Even his smallish role in  “Tower Heist” showed glimmers of his genius. But as a movie star, it does seem like he is done as leading man. His presence in the “Tower Heist” promotions didn’t do much to help the film. Its $75 million US take (and its $50 million international) suggests that for Eddie, his name means less than it ever did to audiences as incentive for spending money at the box office.

Murphy has not had a real hit of his own since 2003 with “Daddy Day Care.” Prior to that. two sequels– to “The Nutty Professor” and “Dr. Dolittle”–in 2001 and 2000, were just over $100 million hits respectively. Hard to believe but those years were a decade ago.

But look at the rest of his resume–“Imagine That,” “Meet Dave,” “Pluto Nash,” “I Spy,” “Showtime”– it’s a list that isn’t even wanted in bins of $2 DVDs. “Pluto Nash” made under $5 million–isn’t that what Eddie spends on vacations? If it weren’t for the animated, ensemble “Shrek” films, his name would have disappeared a long time ago. Granted, “Dreamgirls” was a hit and garnered him an Oscar nomination. But Murphy didn’t seem to get it, or to like it very much. When he lost the Oscar, he got up and exited the Kodak Theater in a huff.

And Murphy made no effort to follow up “Dreamgirls” with a project that signaled his interest in extending his career or capitalizing on the momentum. The dreadful “Norbit” came out during his Oscar campaign and made $95 million by piggybacking on the Oscar press. But it was also considered the reason he lost the Oscar to Alan Arkin in “Little Miss Sunshine.”

Long long ago no are the days of “Beverly Hills Cop,” “48 Hrs,” their sequels, and “Trading Places.” Murphy is probably very, very rich so none of this matters financially to him. His next film, called “A Thousand Words,” doesn’t seem like it will do much to help the situation. The plot sounds like it’s a reworked “Liar Liar” (the old Jim Carrey comedy). And it’s leftover from Dreamworks’ Paramount deal.

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