Movie star Bruce Willis has been appearing in ads for Sobieski vodka for the last few month but now he's ready to take a more active role. He will be joining the board of directors of the French drinks group Belvedere, the owner of the Polish-made Sobieski vodka brand. A statement from the company said that Willis "expressed his wish to become a shareholder of reference alongside its management and to be fully associated with the group's marketing strategy." If approved, je will officially become part of the board at the next general meeting of shareholders. The company isn't doing that well. It currently has debts of around $800 million and was placed under bankruptcy protection by a French court. Shares of Belvedere rose to their highest rate in months after the news was announced.

Send over those moving boxes to Hollywood superstar Bruce Willis, who, with wife Emma Heming, is headed for the exclusive crescent-shaped building in Westwood known as The Carlyle Residences, Luxist.com has learned. Willis has purchased one of the building's 78 units -- all with private elevators -- in the newly constructed high-rise, also known as The Carlyle on Wilshire. The star of the "Die Hard" franchise bought one of the upper units in the exclusive building, where the penthouse was listed at $5.4 million.

Willis' residency no doubt will ratchet up the building's already soaring cache. The three-bedroom, three-bath unit that Willis bought is about 5,000 square feet and has city views. The centerpiece of the building is the grand lobby, lavishly appointed in exotic woods and stone and with a $1 million Dale Chihuly chandelier as a focal point. There is also a 24-hour concierge, dining room, wine cellar, pool and gym-spa. The units are equipped with Poggenpohl kitchens and baths, soaring ceilings and walls of glass. The project was developed by ELAD Properties, which also developed New York's Plaza Hotel. Luxury real estate broker Valerie Fitzgerald is the head of sales for the project, according to the MLS and other sources. A spokesman for The Carlyle could not be reached for comment.

From the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties:
--Nascar driver Jimmie Johnson has put his New York city condo on the market for $4.4 million. He bought the loft in 2007 for $3.98 million. The listing is here.
--Bruce Livingstone, who founded online stock-photography provider iStockphoto has paid $2.5 million for a landmark midcentury Los Angeles home. Livingstone bought the house in an all-cash deal that included much of the artwork and furnishings.
--Prison-industry veteran Tom Beasley has put his Tennessee ranch, shown above, on the market for $10 million. The listing is here.

From Cityfile's Buyers and Sellers:
--Philanthropists Amnon and Caren Heller Barness have cut the price of their four-bedroom penthouse at Trump Park Avenue. It was listed last year for $15 million and is now $12.5 million. The listing is here.
--via the Real Deal, author Gary Shteyngart's one-bedroom apartment at 575 Grand Street, which he put on the market for $450,000 and was most recently listed at $425,000 has gone to contract.
--Developer Charles Yassky has put his townhouse back on the market. He bought 122 East 78th Street in mid-2008 for $13.2 million, put it back on the market with Paula Del Nunzio just two weeks later for $18.9 million, before dropping the price to $16.9 million in November but now it is back for $18.9 million. The listing is here.
--via the Real Deal, Roberta Campbell, the wife of former Intuit CEO William Campbell, has paid $17.5 million for an 11th-floor condo at 15 Central Park West.
--via the NY Times, Peter Rockefeller, a Rockefeller heir and managing director at Berkshire Capital, and his wife Allison have picked up a duplex apartment at 130 East 67th Street for $3.5 million, 56 percent less than what the 10-room co-op was first listed for in June 2008.


From the NY Observer's Manhattan Transfers:
--Celebrity divorce attorney Robert Cohen and his wife, Stephanie Stiefel have paid $4.4 million for a two-bedroom apartment at One Beekman Place.
--Arlene Farkas, the ex-wife of real estate heir Bruce Farkas, has dropped the price of her 14-room duplex at the River House from $15 million to $13.5 million. The listing is here.
--The New York City apartment where Josh Hartnett was recently living is now for sale for $2.1 million. The listing is here.
--Miami trial lawyer James Ferraro has paid $8.175 million for Related chairman David Wine's 2,600-square-foot penthouse apartment at the Park Imperial on West 56th Street.
--Jeff Urwin, the former co-head of investment banking at Bear Stearns, has taken $6.75 million off the price of his townhouse at 15 East 80th Street. The 21-foot-wide house is now listed for $26 million. The listing is here.
--Brokers from top Manhattan brokerages were recently brought to Bernie Madoff's NYC penthouse to audition for the right to the listing. It should be up for sale soon.

From Newsday's Real LI:
--Swan Cove, the East Hamptons estate that belonged to late actress Mary Howard de Liagre has gone to contract. The six-bedroom house had been listed for $22.5 million. The listing is here.
--The 2009 Hampton Designer Showhouse in Water Mill, New York has gone into contract for close to its $8.495 million asking price.
--A nearly 25-acre compound in Shelter Island owned by the Passionist order of priests has gone on sale for $19.9 million. The Passionists decided to leave the property because they no longer have the personnel to operate the center and need to sell the land to help pay for health care for their aging members.

From the NY Post's Gimme Shelter:
--Bruce Willis and his wife lingerie-model wife Emma Heming have been spotted apartment hunting around Columbus Circle.
--The first lot of Sagaponack Greens -- a 40-acre subdivision in the Hamptons-- is finally in contract. Sagaponack Greens consists of eight lots, ranging from 1.4 to 2.3 acres, plus a 25-acre agricultural reserve. The largest of the lots went for around $5 million last week.
--Goldman Sachs executive Gerald Messier just rented the penthouse at 20 Pine St. in the Financial District at $10,500 a month for a year. The owner of the condo is radio psychologist Dr. Joy Browne.

From the LA Times Hot Property:
--British pop singer-songwriter Natasha Bedingfield has purchased a home in the Los Feliz area for $2.3 million.
--Actress Melissa Joan Hart has sold her Sherman Oaks home for close to $2.5 million.
--Dreamwork producer David Lipman is selling his Hollywood Hills residence that he calls "the house Shrek built." It is listed at $2.195 million.

From the Real Estalker:
--: Alexander McQueen has listed his home in East London for : £1,700,000.

It looks like aging action hero Bruce Willis, 54, and his new supermodel wife Emma Heming, 32, are trying out to be the next Brad and Angelina. The pair just shot a sizzling cover feature for the new W magazine with a decidedly kinky S&M theme. (Click here for all the pix which fyi include a couple of rather risqué shots.) The couple, who got married married in the Turks and Caicos in March, are in amazing shape, which makes sense considering Heming is a lingerie model and they met at the Los Angeles gym of their trainer, Gunnar Peterson, in 2005. Photographed by Steven Klein, the saucy shoot is of course peppered with luxury clothing and accessories, including above a Dior leather jacket, Eres lingerie and half of a Giorgio Armani tuxedo. You can read the accompanying cover story here and learn about what went on behind the scenes at the shoot here.

Like his celebrity friend, Sylvester Stallone, actor Bruce Willis has a lucrative deal promoting vodka. Willis has signed with Belvedere brands to back Polish Sobieski vodka. Polish sources say that Willis has signed a four-year contract worth a cool $16 million. The ad campaign should start this month and will appear in Spain, France, the Baltic States, Ukraine and China but not the U.S. Sobieski isn't well known here but according to one ranking it is currently the seventh most popular vodka brand in the world. And Belvedere hopes that Willis will push it up a few notches.Ads won't appear on TV or on billboards due to legal restrictions but Willis will appear in a print campaign and attend key vodka events in these countries.

Bruce Willis is auctioning off some classic cars at the Bonhams auction being held at the The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles on October 25. The sale, which also includes Steve McQueen memorabilia and a diamond-covered matchbox car, will auction off five "muscle" cars from the collection of Bruce Willis. The most expensive is a 1968 Shelby Mustang GT500 convertible which has been carefully restored and is estimated to sell for $150,000 - 175,000.

The latest celebrity to open a restaurant is Bruce Willis. Willis, who was a bartender before he rose to fame, was also part of the Planet Hollywood restaurant chain. His new project is a partnership in Bowery Wine Co., a wine bar opening in the East Village area of New York City. The NY Post quotes owner Chris Sileo as saying that the new venue is upscale and loungy and will serve paninis, salads and desserts.

Many celebrities have gone into the restaurant business, some with limited success (remember Britney Spears's brief turn as restaurateur?). Many more however have added to their wealth by being a partner in a restaurant group or one restaurant. Check out the gallery below for a list of some of the successful celebs in the restaurant business.