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Dina Lohan Celebrates Lindsay’s House Arrest in the Hamptons

Roger Friedman
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There’s no use wringing hands and worrying about what you can’t change. So Dina Lohan spent Memorial Day weekend in the Hamptons while daughter Lindsay did her house arrest in Los Angeles. Hey–every family is different! Dina was seen at the scene at 75 Main Street in Southampton over the weekend. Also spotted there was Jonah Hill — soon to be to seen in “21 Jump Street” the movie–and Sports Illustrated models Jessica White and Lisalla Montenegro. If you go to Southampton, this restaurant, with its open air cafe, is the place to be seen, trust me. It’s the locus of Prada, shmatta, and yada yada.

But there was more going on all weekend in what my pal Billy Norwich used to call the “Cashhamptons.” Newly opened Southampton Social Club was THE hotspot this Memorial Day Weekend with celebrities including TV host Chelsea Handler with hotelier beau Andre Balazs, model Beth Ostrosky (Mrs. Howard) Stern, R&B Singer Estelle, soap star Tika Sumpter, actor Kyle MacLachlan with his wife, publicist/producer Desiree Gruber, “Inside the Actors Studio” host James Lipton, musician Matt White and New York Philanthropist Jean Shafiroff, Chair of this summer’s 53rd Annual Southampton Hospital Summer Party; all seen toasting to the 2011 summer season at the restaurant and lounge…New York Socialite Olivia Palermo and boyfriend, German-born model Johannes Huebl, and Matt Lauer’s beautiful wife, Annette, all went shopping for deluxe cashmere at Christopher Fischer East Hampton– even though it was like 90 degrees outside…Meanwhile: Miami Dolphins and The Related Group owner Stephen M. Ross, with business partner Jorge Perez, Executive Vice President of the New York Giants’ Steve Tisch and TV star/ad exec Donny Deutsch all dined at  T-Bar at Savanna’s.

And there’s more: so called reality stars– “real housewives”–they are everywhere, soaking up publicity, trying to get their names in everywhere. I won’t report it.  All of them, not just the housewives but the proliferation of attention seekers who shouldn’t be on TV–it’s why that asteroid in Lars von Trier’s “Melancholia” is coming for us. The Hamptons, believe it or not, used to be better than this! I wish I could say that the Hamptonians of, say, 1975, were all out and about, like Joe Heller, Kurt Vonnegut, and James Jones, who wrote about the horrors of war, not fruity cocktails and dieting.

NY Times Calls Microsoft Billionaire Paul Allen “Overgrown Kid Playing with His Money”

Roger Friedman
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Wow. Microsoft’s billionaire cofounder Paul Allen got ripped in the New York Times Book Review over the weekend. Allen recently published a memoir called “Idea Man” in which he took his former partner Bill Gates to task and pretty much promoted himself as a friend of celebrities. He entertains them regularly on his gigantic yachts and his Beverly Hills mansion, where he plays guitar with his hired rock band. The Times Book Review’s freelance review, Gary Rivlin, didn’t much like “Idea Man” and went after Allen mercilessly.

In the review Rivlin writes:  “He’s [Allen is] like Forrest Gump in his own autobiography. There’s [Mick] Jagger chatting about gardens and Bono cajoling Mick to join in on a jam. But who’s that bland-looking bespectacled fellow in the picture? Oh, it’s his boat, his guitars. Allen is never so interesting as when he’s quoting others. He has only just met Paul McCartney but reports Sir Paul as saying, “Everyone wants to talk about John, John, John. You know, I wrote some songs, too.” That might have been a moment for the author to delve into his own psyche (“Bill, Bill, Bill, but I wrote some code, too, you know”). The book is supposedly a “memoir” — the word is right there on the cover — yet the author reveals almost nothing about himself. Peter Gabriel, he tells us, is the kind of person who will offer you a spot of afternoon tea. But after 350 pages, it’s not clear what kind [of person] Allen might be.

That’s not all: Rivlin also accuses Allen of not being very philanthropic, which I guess is true, kind of. Allen did give away $14 million in 2009 from his personal charitable foundation. But compared to Gates, it’s a drop in the bucket. As I noted last week in Cannes, Allen brings his 414 foot yacht to the film festival, invites celebrities and miscellaneous groupies, and is the only big name not raising money for a good cause.

And: I’m pretty sure Allen doesn’t mention in “Idea Man” how in the summer of 2008 he spent millions hiring helicopters and photographers to find a new born litter of wild dogs in Botswana. (By coincidence, this reporter and his friends stumbled on them for free and got the pictures.)

Rivlin writes: “Gates might have played his old high school chum at the birth of Microsoft, but at least he is trying to do good with all those extra billions that ended up in his pocket. Allen, in contrast, is the accidental billionaire who reveals himself to be little more than an overgrown kid playing with his money.”

Ouch!

Maria Shriver Sends Apt Memorial Day Tweet

Roger Friedman
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Maria Shriver is sure making lemonade out of lemons this Memorial Day. Considering what she’s been through in the last few months, Shriver is proving to be resilient. She sent out this very apt Tweet this afternoon: “We don’t know what is going on inside of most people. On this #MemorialDay, when so many are grieving in obscurity or silence, let’s keep that in mind. Be kind so many people are grieving.”

Is Shriver talking about herself? Though she’s offering hope to lots of other people, there is no doubt a personal message there too. Her “be kind” is a nice way of saying to the press and everyone in the world gossiping about her terrible situation with Arnold Schwarzegger to back off. We don’t know everything–just what’s come spilling out in the tabloids. Shriver no doubt has a longer more detailed story. And she is grieving for a lost 25 year marriage, a friendship, and the trust she thought she had–despite numerous public warnings that Arnold’s behavior with women was quite bad.

Box Office: “Hangover” Soars, “Pirate” Slows, Woody Crows

Roger Friedman
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The record breaking Memorial Day weekend box office brings some surprises. “The Hangover Part II” is a gigantic hit, bigger than its predecessor with a $118 million take from Thursday through Sunday. Add in Monday, tomorrow, and the comedy lands at around $138 million. That does mean we’ll see a part III, and maybe even IV and V. You can bet “The Hangover” will be a franchise that never ends.

At the same time, “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Distant Shores,” is not so popular in the US. With just $152 million domestically, “Pirates” has had to depend on foreign sales to make it a blockbuster. Abroad, this “Pirates” made an astounding amount of money–nearly $500 million.  But here, the Johnny Depp-Penelope Cruz adventure is lagging waaaaay behind its predecessor from 2007.  Disney probably doesn’t care, as those international figures are booming. So what the heck? And the movie promotes Disney World and Disneyland and Euro Disney, so it’s all good.

And then there’s Woody Allen. “Midnight in Paris” is turning into Woody’s biggest hit ever. The time travel comedy, perhaps the first film of the year to be a possible Best Picture nominee, is captivating audiences. “Midnight” has made over $2.8 million in the U.S. on only 58 screens. Sony Pictures Classics is taking its release slowly, which is wise. But at this rate, “Midnight” –when it goes into wide release– will eclipse Woody’s biggest hit, “Vicki Cristina Barcelona,” which did an impressive $23 million.

A couple more box office observations: Morgan Spurlock’s “POM Wonderful Presents The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” has not worked out at the box office. It’s such a refreshing and funny doc, but I guess the hook didn’t catch on. In six weeks it’s made only $566,000. And “Twilight” star Robert Pattinson didn’t do much to help “Water for Elephants.” Even though the dramedy will probably make a little money in the end, Pattinson’s teen idol status didn’t draw anyone in.  The “Twilight” doesn’t seem to extend beyond itself for its popular stars, as “The Runaways” didn’t bring out Kristen Stewart’s supposed legion of fans.

Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster “Beaver” Struggles to Make A Million Dollars

Roger Friedman
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It’s possible that at this point “The Beaver” won’t make a million bucks domestically. So far it’s taken in less than $700,000. The number of theatres that the Mel Gibson-Jodie Foster calamity is playing in has been reduced now for Memorial Day weekend. On the bright side, according to boxofficemojo.com. “The Beaver” has been a hit in Italy, with $450,000 in ticket sales. I don’t know what this says about the Italians, who I thought were smarter than that. Maybe it’s been a slow spring. Anyway. “The Beaver” cost at least $21 million, not counting prints, publicity, ads, and travel. Not since Kevin Costner’s “The Postman” has money been flushed down the toilet in such an egregious way. From the terrible title (I mean, really, “The Beaver”? Couldn’t they have called it “I’m Your Puppet”? That was a good song) to the whole business of trying to prop up Gibson by exploiting his own personal melodramas, this was a disaster. I guess the producers who put up the money– Jeff Skoll’s Participant Media and a fund out of Abi Dhabi–won’t miss $25 million or so.

Gil Scott-Heron, Legendary Musician and Poet, Dead at 62

Roger Friedman
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Gil Scott-Heron is dead at 62, probably of something connected to drugs. It’s very sad. He passed away yesterday in New York after reportedly not feeling well following his return from Europe. Scott-Heron had struggled with drugs, and spent time in prison and rehab according to reports. But he was so much more than that. Before rap and hip hop, Scott-Heron invented a new genre of soul with his spoken word “songs.” He probably invented rap. “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” was his seminal work, but he went on to create a vibrant library of songs all through the 1970s. I remember seeing him in the summer of 1977 at Pall’s Mall in Boston, a basement jazz club on Boylston Street. He was the shit. Gil Scott-Heron released four independent albums from 1970 to 1974 including his first, and seminal, “Small Talk at 125th and Lenox,” in 1970. But starting in 1975, he put out nine albums in a row with — guess who?– Clive Davis, at the same time Clive was releasing Patti Smith’s work on Arista. RIP, Gil Scott Heron. The video for “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” is in the video player below.

Blondie and Debbie Harry: New Single, Video, Album after 8 Years

Roger Friedman
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Blondie and Debbie Harry: New Single, Video, Album after 8 Years

Blondie is back! Their first new single and video, “Mother,” is below in the video player. Their new album, “Panic of Girls,” hits stores in the UK on June 1st and is available through amazon.co.uk. It seems like the US release is set for July, although this is unclear. There are just three original members of Blondie–Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, and Clem Burke. But their sound remains fresh as ever. And “Mother” sounds like a winner. Can’t wait to hear the album, whenever it comes out and on whatever label. Viva Blondie! It’s kinda cool to know that 30-plus years later, Blondie, Elvis Costello, David Byrne, and Chrissie Hynde are all still working and putting out great music.

“Spider Man”: The American Idol Performance Not from Broadway Show

Roger Friedman
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“Spider Man”: The American Idol Performance Not from Broadway Show

Very exciting on the “American Idol” finale: Bono, The Edge and Reeve Carney performing something called “Rise Above” from the show “Spider Man: Turn off the Dark.” Only, it wasn’t “Rise Above” from that show. It’s a song called “Rise Above 1.” The song is also now a single on ITunes and amazon.com (although it refuses to download from the latter). And it’s not “Rise Above” from the aforementioned musical. To promote what’s left of “Spider Man,” the trio has recorded a different version of the song than the one in the show. That’s what was on “American Idol.” Hence, I guess, the “1′ in the new title. Why they’ve done this is a mystery–the new version has different, meaningless lyrics that have nothing to do with the show. They’re also fairly banal and have no context. Why didn’t Bono, Edge, and Carney just sing the song from the show? Who knows? Maybe they’re tired of it. But it’s interesting that “Rise Above”–even after publicized added songs–remains the most hummable tune in the troubled show.

Elaine’s: The End Comes with Celebs and Toasts

Roger Friedman
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Elaine’s: The End Comes with Celebs and Toasts

The final night of Elaine’s ended at 4:20am Friday morning with the clanking down of metal gates and the last patrons out on the sidewalk, in the dark. It was a crazy night, though, that had started around 6pm Thursday. For hours–and I mean, hours, until 1am–a long line of people who wanted to get a drink at the famous bar queued up along Second Avenue. Most of them were not let in.

Photographers and film crews set up on the sidewalk. Occasionally, stranded guests or old-timers had to be fished from the crowd by someone inside who knew them. One of those people was Mary Jane Lardner, Elaine Kaufman‘s original partner in 1962, and the niece of the famed writer Ring Lardner, Jr. She and her now ex husband Donald Ward put up $5000 in 1962, matching Elaine’s contribution. They started the restaurant hoping writers would be their customers. Then, as it happens with writers, they had to float them for months at a time on tabs.

The crowd inside Elaine’s grew perilously close. For hours there was gridlock in the narrow front room, with patrons jammed into seats. Luckily, former police commissioner Bill Bratton (with his broadcaster wife Rikki Klieman) and retired fire marshall Louis Garcia were on hand–although they didn’t dare move in any direction. Incongruously, Alec Baldwin--sporting a white beard–and “Preppy Handbook” author Lisa Birnbach snaked through the crowd with equipment from National Public Radio, interviewing customers.

I don’t know how many they got to, but in the crowd over the many hours were lots of well known faces. including Sirio Maccioni, the 79 year old owner of Le Cirque, who came uptown when his place closed to pay his respects, accompanied by his son, Mauro; and: famed photographers like Harry Benson and Jonathan Becker, novelist Stuart Woods, socialite Daphne Guinness, actor Michael Murphy–who starred in Woody Allen‘s classic, “Manhattan,” shot right there in the restaurant in 1977. Carl Bernstein ate in the side room, where Gay Talese was entertaining a crowd from the New York Times put together by Metro editor Pete Khoury. The writer Bruce Jay Friedman, also at that table, exclaimed that he’s never eaten in the side room–aka Siberia–in 47 years. Dr. Ruth Westheimer, the sex expert, dined with Josh Gaspero, her old publisher. Kathryn Altman, widow of director Robert and Elaine’s great pal, had her own table, as did James Lipton of “Inside the Actors Studio.” Caroline Hirsch and Andrew Fox, of Caroline’s Comedy Club, chowed down with actress Missy Hargreaves, whose husband, Jeff Ross, produces Conan O’Brien’s TV show.

There were toasts–from Father Pete Colapietro, from Pete Khoury, from yours truly, and from headwaiter Gianni Adamo. Famed photographer Jessica Burstein snapped away, and made a short toast to all the women of Elaine’s.

Who was missing? Why, only Elaine herself, who would have loved this crowd, the excitement, the waiters carrying meals five at a time on one arm, magically, defying physics and gravity through a throng, a scrum, that also featured former New York Governor David Paterson, one time Deputy Mayor Sid Davidoff and his New York Post writer wife Linda Stasi, writers Fred Morton and Charles Kipps, David Fisher and David Black,  producers Fred Rappaport and Judy Gordon, pr man Gary Springer, who grew up at Elaine’s with his late dad, John, the famed press agent, and five time Tony nominated choreographer Pat Birch.

Was this the end? Yes. Despite rumors of a re-opening in nine months, or some other restaurant taking the space, Elaine’s is done. The end came with a cast of characters and subplots that would have made a great Robert Altman movie. But in the end, Elaine is gone. And without her, no matter how you figure the odds, it was near impossible to keep Elaine’s going. More will be written in the future. But for now, we just celebrate this amazing woman who connected all of our lives.

Meredith Vieira Is A Movie Producer Now

Roger Friedman
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Meredith Vieira Is A Movie Producer Now

In Cannes, I was surprised to see that Meredith Vieira is now a movie producer. A film she produced called “Return” was the only American feature in the Director’s Fortnight. Directed by Liza Johnson and starring Linda Cardellini of “ER” fame. The film was much better than I thought–quite riveting, and Cardellini is excellent. So are real life husband and wife John Slattery and Talia Balsam, as well as hot as a pistol Michael Shannon.

Our Leah Sydney caught up with  the departing “Today” show anchor at the Alliance for Women in Media’s 36th Annual Gracie Awards at the Beverly Hilton.  “I have a production company called Meredith Vieira Productions. Original, right?  I was the executive producer on a film called “Return,” written and directed by Liza Johnson which was in the Directors Fortnight in Cannes, where it was beautifully received.  We’re looking for a distributor now. .I’ve always been interested in behind the scenes work-and this project came to us through the Sundance Lab.   Next project is James Braly’s  one man show called, “Life in a Marital Institution.”  He did it off Broadway and did very well, and now we’re hoping to turn it into a feature.“

Vieira talked about leaving “Today,” too:

“It’s bittersweet.  It was a tough decision to make-but I had to follow my heart. When I first signed on with Jeff Zucker, I said at the time four years. Jeff-that’s  it-I’m not a morning person. When the four years was up, I wasn’t ready to leave so I signed for a fifth year.  But I knew this past January that it was time. I really want to spend time with my family, that’s important to me.  The Today show is phenomenal, I  love everybody , but you really are controlled by the show.  It’s a news show-when the bell rings you have to go-and every morning I’m up  at 2:30am.  As much as I love it, but I want a little bit more flexibility at this time in my life. I reached the point in my life and career where I’m very comfortable with the decisions that I make. They may not be the conventional ones, but that’s ok. “

Vieira could imagine moving to Los Angeles for her new career. She told Sydney:

“I love LA and I would in a second.  My husband is a real east coast person, though. He told me to go if I want and take the kids and the dog.  I love it here, but I love my husband more.”

Also toasted at the lunch: Linda Ellerbee, Joan Lunden, Chelsea Handler ( who was with main squeeze Andre Balaz) , Peggy Fleming, NBC Reporter Anne Thompson, Shaun Robinson.

 

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