Journalism: February 2008 Archives
As I was checking in to the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley with my family this weekend, I saw a familiar face sitting in the lobby -- Michael Pollan, the now well known author of such books as "The Omnivore's Dilemma."
I haven't seen Michael in several years (I still think of him as "Mike Pollan" from high school) -- I had heard from a mutual friend that he was living in Berkeley and teaching at the University there -- and of course, I'd seen the great reviews he had been getting for his new book "In Defense of Food" usually accompanied by a picture -- so I knew what he looked like.
Still, I wasn't sure it was him. So I looked once and looked twice and finally had to walk over -- As I did he had that look that combines two questions: Do I know this person or is this person going to harass me? -- but as soon as I held out my hand and started to say my name -- well, suddenly we were back on familiar footing.
My Hungarican Soul Brother Lawrence Karman ("Doc" to everyone in the film biz; Latzi to me) coined the expression "The Teicholz effect" for his conviction that no matter where I land, I will run into someone I know within two hours of arrival. So having run into Pollan I could rest easy on that front.
Pollan mentioned that he was going to be down in LA this Monday night (tonight) to speak as part of the Aloud series at the LA Public Central Library. We both immediately said nice things about Louise Steinman who runs the program (I profiled Steinman in my column "The Salonistas of LA" -- by the way, the interview I did for ALOUD with Nathan Englander is available on www.LA36.org here).
When I went to the Aloud series website I learned that Pollan was in conversation with Barry Glassner, a good choice, given his own book on food (My column on Glassner can be read here). I also learned that the evening was already practically sold out, with only standby room available.
STOP THE BLOG-- I was about to launch into a whole discussion of the Pollan oeuvre and why he is respected, admired and yes, envied by his fellow writers -- but I am sensing a potential Tommywood column in all this. So I will hold off, and in the event that a column is not forthcoming, I will return to blogging about him later on.....
I haven't seen Michael in several years (I still think of him as "Mike Pollan" from high school) -- I had heard from a mutual friend that he was living in Berkeley and teaching at the University there -- and of course, I'd seen the great reviews he had been getting for his new book "In Defense of Food" usually accompanied by a picture -- so I knew what he looked like.
Still, I wasn't sure it was him. So I looked once and looked twice and finally had to walk over -- As I did he had that look that combines two questions: Do I know this person or is this person going to harass me? -- but as soon as I held out my hand and started to say my name -- well, suddenly we were back on familiar footing.
My Hungarican Soul Brother Lawrence Karman ("Doc" to everyone in the film biz; Latzi to me) coined the expression "The Teicholz effect" for his conviction that no matter where I land, I will run into someone I know within two hours of arrival. So having run into Pollan I could rest easy on that front.
Pollan mentioned that he was going to be down in LA this Monday night (tonight) to speak as part of the Aloud series at the LA Public Central Library. We both immediately said nice things about Louise Steinman who runs the program (I profiled Steinman in my column "The Salonistas of LA" -- by the way, the interview I did for ALOUD with Nathan Englander is available on www.LA36.org here).
When I went to the Aloud series website I learned that Pollan was in conversation with Barry Glassner, a good choice, given his own book on food (My column on Glassner can be read here). I also learned that the evening was already practically sold out, with only standby room available.
STOP THE BLOG-- I was about to launch into a whole discussion of the Pollan oeuvre and why he is respected, admired and yes, envied by his fellow writers -- but I am sensing a potential Tommywood column in all this. So I will hold off, and in the event that a column is not forthcoming, I will return to blogging about him later on.....
Vanity Fair has canceled its Oscar party -- Given that the party had gotten so big and had become such a big production, taking a year off must come as a relief to many, certainly at Vanity Fair.
The stated reason is the writer's strike -- a feeling that regardless of the outcome, even if the strike has ended and the Oscars go on as planned, the strike will color the festive mood. Canceling the party was made to seem to be an act of solidarity with the writers. And I'm sure that's true.
However, given the late date and the fact that Morton's, where the party was traditionally held, is now under renovation to become the LA branch of Soho House -- I'm sure there were all sorts of logistical issues Vanity Fair is happy not to deal with. Also I'm sure people will be relieved not to have to sweat whether they are in or out, invited to dinner or not, invited at 10 or 11 --
At the same time photographers and gossip/ celebrity journalists will be sorry -- The Vanity Fair party was like shooting fish in a barrel. And of course the attendees will miss it too -- there are less social opportunities for so many stars to mix and for others to see them than you might think. And although it has been several years since I attended (and several since I was invited to attend), I will miss it too.
The Vanity Fair party was launched in the Tina Brown era and it was an extension of Brown's concept of the magazine as a great dinner party. mixing the subjects of articles with their Vanity Fair writers, Hollywood stars and executives, and letting power brokers and advertisers bask in the relflected glory of bold face names.
I was invited to the early Vanity Fair parties in great part thanks to the kindness of Jane Sarkin.
Jane and I had worked together at Interview -- a bonding experience if ever there was one. She left Interview for Vanity Fair early in the Tina Brown administration and rose to become supreme talent booker, arranger of photo shoots, keeper of the Vanity Fair Oscar party invite list -- and a thousand other tasks that were, or are, on balance, critical to Vanity Fair's success. So much so that you may notice that the recent cover stories/interviews with Tom Cruise and Julia Roberts were by Jane Sarkin. Not bad for a Jersey girl!
In time the party grew in importance as the event that you had to visit on Oscar night. Like RIck's Cafe, everyone came by at some point. In the years I attended, I saw, as the old the expression goes, more stars than in the heavens at night, You may be surprised to hear this, but Brad Pitt is a good looking guy; Demi Moore looks younger than her actual years; Nicole Kidman is tall, and pretty but seems somewhat cold; Penelope Cruz is not tall, in fact she has a taller and prettier sister, but she is more attractive; Audrey Tatou is tiny. And so goes the night -- matching reality to the pictures in the magazine and on the screen.
For my part, I was happy to hang out with other writers I knew, gossip columnists of all stripes, my other fellow former Interview staffers, cosmetic and advertising execs -- we would commandeer a booth, enjoy the cocktails and sit back and enjoy the show.
Getting to shake the hands of Muhammad Ali and Stevie Wonder were memorable moments. Hanging out with Dominick Dunne and hearing his stories of Hollywood in the day was great fun.
And yes, I was there the night that Ellen met Anne. Although they had just met, boy, they seemed friendly.
Some years my friends and I would close out the place and then go over to the Miramax after party -
Eventually, and understandably, I dropped off the list.
Which was just as well because I had come to a point, where, as much as I enjoyed being there -- I had lost the belief I once had that attending such evenings was transformative. That way of thinking belongs to a different stage of the game. So I let it go.
I have no idea whether the Vanity Fair party will, in fact, return next year and if it does whether it will still be as much fun. I can't even tell you whether I will wish I was there.
The stated reason is the writer's strike -- a feeling that regardless of the outcome, even if the strike has ended and the Oscars go on as planned, the strike will color the festive mood. Canceling the party was made to seem to be an act of solidarity with the writers. And I'm sure that's true.
However, given the late date and the fact that Morton's, where the party was traditionally held, is now under renovation to become the LA branch of Soho House -- I'm sure there were all sorts of logistical issues Vanity Fair is happy not to deal with. Also I'm sure people will be relieved not to have to sweat whether they are in or out, invited to dinner or not, invited at 10 or 11 --
At the same time photographers and gossip/ celebrity journalists will be sorry -- The Vanity Fair party was like shooting fish in a barrel. And of course the attendees will miss it too -- there are less social opportunities for so many stars to mix and for others to see them than you might think. And although it has been several years since I attended (and several since I was invited to attend), I will miss it too.
The Vanity Fair party was launched in the Tina Brown era and it was an extension of Brown's concept of the magazine as a great dinner party. mixing the subjects of articles with their Vanity Fair writers, Hollywood stars and executives, and letting power brokers and advertisers bask in the relflected glory of bold face names.
I was invited to the early Vanity Fair parties in great part thanks to the kindness of Jane Sarkin.
Jane and I had worked together at Interview -- a bonding experience if ever there was one. She left Interview for Vanity Fair early in the Tina Brown administration and rose to become supreme talent booker, arranger of photo shoots, keeper of the Vanity Fair Oscar party invite list -- and a thousand other tasks that were, or are, on balance, critical to Vanity Fair's success. So much so that you may notice that the recent cover stories/interviews with Tom Cruise and Julia Roberts were by Jane Sarkin. Not bad for a Jersey girl!
In time the party grew in importance as the event that you had to visit on Oscar night. Like RIck's Cafe, everyone came by at some point. In the years I attended, I saw, as the old the expression goes, more stars than in the heavens at night, You may be surprised to hear this, but Brad Pitt is a good looking guy; Demi Moore looks younger than her actual years; Nicole Kidman is tall, and pretty but seems somewhat cold; Penelope Cruz is not tall, in fact she has a taller and prettier sister, but she is more attractive; Audrey Tatou is tiny. And so goes the night -- matching reality to the pictures in the magazine and on the screen.
For my part, I was happy to hang out with other writers I knew, gossip columnists of all stripes, my other fellow former Interview staffers, cosmetic and advertising execs -- we would commandeer a booth, enjoy the cocktails and sit back and enjoy the show.
Getting to shake the hands of Muhammad Ali and Stevie Wonder were memorable moments. Hanging out with Dominick Dunne and hearing his stories of Hollywood in the day was great fun.
And yes, I was there the night that Ellen met Anne. Although they had just met, boy, they seemed friendly.
Some years my friends and I would close out the place and then go over to the Miramax after party -
Eventually, and understandably, I dropped off the list.
Which was just as well because I had come to a point, where, as much as I enjoyed being there -- I had lost the belief I once had that attending such evenings was transformative. That way of thinking belongs to a different stage of the game. So I let it go.
I have no idea whether the Vanity Fair party will, in fact, return next year and if it does whether it will still be as much fun. I can't even tell you whether I will wish I was there.
Earl Butz, the former Secretary of Agriculture in the Ford administration, who resigned over racist comments he made aboard a plane trip after the Republican convention, died on Saturday at 98. He also was convicted and did jail time for misstating his speaking income in 1978.
Butz's remarks were reported by John Dean in Rolling Stone, but Dean did not name Butz. It fell to Tony Schwartz, then at New Times, to call up every person he could on that flight, until he identified Butz as the source of the comments. Schwartz had gone to my high school (his younger brother was in my class) and as I was starting in journalism he was always kind to talk or see me. I may have even visited him at New Times (can't remember anymore).
In the follow-up to this brouhaha, Schwartz took a job as a columnist at Dorothy Schiff's New York Post. Schwartz's first column was a personal about how strange it was to be a (gossip) columnist. The following week the Post was purchased by Rupert Murdoch. As is Mr. Murdoch's way he promised not to change the Post --except he said, that any columnist working for him is not going to apologize for being a columnist. Schwartz left shortly thereafter.
Butz's remarks were reported by John Dean in Rolling Stone, but Dean did not name Butz. It fell to Tony Schwartz, then at New Times, to call up every person he could on that flight, until he identified Butz as the source of the comments. Schwartz had gone to my high school (his younger brother was in my class) and as I was starting in journalism he was always kind to talk or see me. I may have even visited him at New Times (can't remember anymore).
In the follow-up to this brouhaha, Schwartz took a job as a columnist at Dorothy Schiff's New York Post. Schwartz's first column was a personal about how strange it was to be a (gossip) columnist. The following week the Post was purchased by Rupert Murdoch. As is Mr. Murdoch's way he promised not to change the Post --except he said, that any columnist working for him is not going to apologize for being a columnist. Schwartz left shortly thereafter.
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