Fumarama

Ever since I heard about this movie I have been wondering, if the movie came about because a bunch of suits sat around a room and where like what is in now? cooking. Which is how they decided to build a rom com around cooking. And then they continued in thier seats and were like, you know what else is in? Taking movies from other countries and remaking them in English. And so came about No Reservations, based on a German film. It just felt so convenient that this movie came up just as there were like 3 reality tv cooking competitions on tv at once.

As for the movie itself, it was ok. I mean I liked it but I like some bad shit. Catherine Zeta-Jones is so beautiful. (People sometimes ask me if I could look like anyone, who would it be? there is your answer). But her character isn't written like any human being. I think she is supposed to be uptight, but then suddenly she is running around New York with Aaron Eckhart and getting into pillow fights with her 11 year old adopted niece. There is not really any period of transformation. One minute she has a stick up her ass, and then it disappears and we the audience don't get to see the operation. The other actors are great. One of the reviews said that Eckhart without the evil is just not as good, but I disagree. His character was written blah but his acting made him strange and hilarious and great. Abigail Breslin was fantastic too. Also, snazzy dresser. I totally wished I could dress like her in this movie: colorful hats, and scarfs, and skirts, and stocking, and red boots.

I have had another celebrity-spotting. This one included speaking.

I was on an Amtrak to DC when Amanda Peet asked me to switch seats so that she, her mother, and her baby could all sit in one set of seats. I obliged (this was before I realized who it was). And then I looked up and realized who it was. She is tiny. At first I thought she was a teenage mother, it was only on seeing her face (and she has a pretty distinctive face) that I realized who she was.

Anyway, I sat across the aisle from them. I spent the train ride thinking it was odd that I knew so much about this woman, like where she went to college (Columbia!) and the name of her kid (ok, i can't remember the name of her baby but i know I saw it when it was published in EW) and I pretended this was a normal interaction with a stranger.

I also thought about how she got to live my greatest dream, being a character in Aaron Sorkin's imagination. Sadly, at this point, his imagination began to suck.

I believe I may have celebrity-spotted Judd Apatow, a week ago (Thursday July 19) in the Jamba Juice on Houston and Mercer. I am not entirely sure it was him. I think it was him because his hair and beard were much like they are in the picture at this url.
http://i.imdb.com/Photos/Events/4325/JuddApatow_Grani_7280943_400.jpg. Which is to say he had dark longish hair and a beard. He walked in with another nerdy looking Jewish guy but then said hi to some 6 foot tall beautiful woman who had no business talking to just a regular guy. But then again Judd Apatow is 40, and this guy looked like early 30s to me. Also, doesn't Apatow live in LA, if he was visiting New York, why would he be in a random neighborhood jamba juice? and finally, I kept staring at him trying to figure it out and he noticed and did not seem aloof. Most celebrities I see seem so used to be looked at that they don't seem to notice or if they do, roll their eyes and look away.

Anyway, if this was a true celebrity spotting, it might be my best one yet. There is something poignant now about the activity since I only have 10 or so more days as a New Yorker. So here they are...they were supposed to be in order I thought was most exciting to least, but blogger won't let me cut and paste inside a post so here they are in order i remembered them.

Alan Rickman -- A couple of months ago I was walking down McDougal towards Bleeker (to my then favorite pizza place which has since closed down because there was a shooting there) and suddenly look up at this man who is looking at me meanly. And I am like: seen that mean face before, oh my god it is Snape.

Adam Brody -- restaurant on like 22 or 23 between 5th and 6th somewhere. It was during the first season of the OC so it was very exciting. It retrospect it seems kind of lame.

Paul Rudd -- on the subway in college. At the time I thought he was the best looking person I had ever seen in person. I saw him again recently at the Of Motreal Karoke show (seeing celebs at shows where their friends are performing does not count) and I no longer thought so.

Julianna Margulies --3rd and Laguardia, like 3 days after I saw Snape. She seemed very serene.

Harold from Top Chef -- all the time. His restaurant is around here.

Daniel of Project Runway -- In Grey Dog. I saw someone actually go up and ask to take a picture. It seemed very ballsy. I just stared.

Julia Stiles -- University and something, talking on her cell. She is cute but she looks like any other girl living in the village who would be working for PR, or an I-Bank or something. But she looks normal not like someone you would instantly hate.

Milo Ventimiglia -- this was last year, pre-heroes, but post Gilmore Girls, post break up with actress Rory. I saw him at the Bleeker street 6 subway station. He has black hair and was wearing all black, but has blue eyes so he was actually quite striking. I was like oh, good looking guy. But short. Then I did a double take being like...huh and then turned away, and then did a triple take. I kept waiting for someone else to go up and ask for a pic or something. Or at least for other people to be starting. But that is what made it so wierd, it was like no else recognized him. I, however, as a once adamant Jess fan was very excited.

John Waters -- Walking down 6th ave saw a strange looking, tall wiry man. Kept walking. Then got pretty excited.

Jonathan Taylor Thomas -- My first ever celebrity spotting of a celebrity who did not go to Columbia. (Those don't count so they are not mentioned here). I had bizzarely decided to walk from my job which was south of the former world trade center (this was in early october of 2001) until Columbia, which is at 116th. Around Tribeca, I spotted JTT. He was racing somewhere and was very short. We were the only people on the street and i was looking pretty intently at him and he did not seem to notice. That is how I was certain he was famous.

Ryan Hansen -- He plays Dick Casablancas on Veronica Mars. If you still don't who that is, I urge you to go rent the first season of that show right now! You will thank me. I went to see the drowsy Chaperone and as I was leaving, there he was. We were sitting near the very top and so I was surprised to see an arguably famous person nearby. He was wearing this scarf around his neck that his fictional alter ego would make fun of him for

David Schwimmer -- In Murrays Cheese, a great cheese place in the village, on Monday. I know that this is after my possible Apatow sighting but I started this post Sunday night and I know for sure it was Schwimmer. He walked in and kind of stood by the counter and the guy was like oh hi and then he got a bunch of personal service in the cracker section. He was a big guy. I don't just mean tall, built too. I always perceived Ross as being a skinny, nerdy Jewish guy so I never realized how big the actor really was.

I spent all day watching Live Earth (while studying for the bar). Rravo had it on all day. And in between the performances that they selected to show they had celebrities doing 30 second spots about what you can do to "join the movement" (turn off the lights when leaving the room! recycle!). Each of these ads and every commercial break ended with the letters SOS and then the two Ss would disappear to reveal a sphere (globe-like) and then the morse code distress code, three dots, three lines, and then three dots). This goes on all day.

Now I know all day that Police in slated to close the New York concert, but it is not until they hit the stage at 11 that I am like, wait, don't the Police have that song about sending out an SOS because they are on an island or something and this is a message in a bottle. And I am like, no it can't be, the whole theme of this show cannot exist so that the Police can appropriately end with that song. But sure enough, at 11:23, Sting (god, he is still hot) invites John Mayer and Kanye West on stage and they all sing that song.

But here was my thought, besides shock that i had not figured it out eariler, I know that the Police just reunited or whatever, but were they really so big that the whole day had to be dedicated to their song? I mean Madonna closed the show in London. Couldn't the show be named after one of her songs? say (Organic) Material girl. She could have ended the show in London singing it along with other London performers the Pussycat Dolls and the Beastie Boys. I would have found it funny although I guess anything that is not the bar is funny at this point.

Another highlight of my Live Earth watching was mixing up Keith Urban with Toby Keith. I read the list of people performing in New York and i was like wow, I did not think Toby Keith would play a concert for the environment or one organized by Al Gore. I guess people are interesting and surprising. But then I realized I was wrong and my optimism about people's ability to surprise me was shot down. It has been a tough week with Paris Hilton, and Scooter Libby and not Toby Keith letting me down.

Do you think maybe now that Scooter Libby barely escaped going to jail he will go out and advocate for more merciful prison sentences?

A. I know this is about politics, a Fumarama no no, but it so nicely parallels my thoughts on Paris Hilton
B. Even if he could do it, would he have any credibility at this point?

Back in college when i loved the West Wing, and my biggest dream was to be a character in Aaron Sorkin's imagination, I remember having a discussion with my roommate on how it has always struck me as a little disconcerting that so many of my favorite tv shows are written by committee. I thought the West Wing model was better, one genius sitting in a room producing brilliant stories and writing, like a novel. Like with a novel, I liked the idea of connecting to another person's imagination or mind or something through a medium, in this case a television screen, as opposed to connecting with a mini-beaurocracy as you do with most shows. Now that i have sat through every god awful episode of Studio 60, I have changed my mind. Maybe if Sorkin had another mind to bounce against he would have produced a less obnoxious view on religion, or war, of for fuck's sake, comedy.

Take for example the whole Harry trying to explain to Matt and Danny about prayer. Her arguments just sounded off to me. I felt like Sorkin does not pray, he is not religious, he actually has no idea how to create a realistic Christian character and explain the virtue of prayer. I mean if only he had a writer on staff who did understand and could have actually written that section himself or herself.

Now that Paris Hilton is a changed person I keep hoping that she will do something really interesting like advocate for better mental health services in jail, or start an offender reentry program, or at least give money to an organization that advocates for a fairer criminal justice system. Of-course, none of this is happening, she is taking on the easy causes. You know Paris now likes children and puppies and kittens and hates cancer.



What I always found interesting about Paris Hilton is that her extreme wealth made her powerful enough that it really did not matter what people thought of her. Unlike her counterparts (Linday Lohan, Britney Spears) who get their money from the entertainment industry and so need the public to like them at least enough to buy records and movie tickets, Paris does not need our money nor our affection. If she wanted to start doing good, Paris would not have to limit herself to the type of work that is purely uncontroversial. I mean I am kidding myself because for all her power, Paris is just not original enough to do something off the beaten charity path. But that is the problem. If Paris is suddenly going to become a "good girl," she will be an awfully boring one.