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RSVIP: Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks Fete "The Next Three Days"

Filed under: Events

Prepare to hold your breath and feel the seconds tick as the action ratchets up in "The Next Three Days," starring Russell Crowe and his fetching wife in the film, Elizabeth Banks, far right, who plays a convict.

Two years ago in Paris, Luxist happened to catch a small French thriller called "Pour Elle ('For Her')." The plot: Diane Kruger, a loving mother, is accused of murder and sent to jail. With no legal means left to get her out, her husband becomes involved with French criminals and creates a clever plot to break her out of prison. Kruger is ravishing in the film and speaks flawless French. When RSVIP was invited to the premiere of "The Next Three Days," a film by the Oscar-winning director Paul Haggis, a few details instantly recalled "Pour Elle." But Haggis had embellished the story and the chase scenes. Crowe plays the male lead, and Elizabeth Banks takes Kruger's role.

Olivia Wilde, wearing Celine on the carpet, who plays a mom Crowe meets on a playground, said that she had seen both features, French and American. "Diane is extraordinary in the original," said Wilde.

What's different? "Russell Crowe is one of the best living actors. My heart was pounding harder. They upped the stakes, upped the intensity."

Banks, wearing a unique black Versace getup with a clear plastic panel at her waist, also gave Kruger a nod. "Yes, I have seen the French version. Diane Kruger is great. I think she's an incredible actress," said Banks. "But we really have a totally different movie. The main thing that is different is the prison system in France. Apparently, they allow you to wear whatever you want, because she wore jeans and a sweater throughout the movie. And I'm in full prison garb . . . a serious drag. I'm not sure I'm pulling it off in a lot of scenes. She got to look much lovelier."

RSVIP: Diane Keaton and Harrison Ford at "Morning Glory" Premiere

Filed under: Events

In "Morning Glory" her most endearing onscreen pairing since she fell for Jack Nicholson in "Something's Gotta Give," Diane Keaton, right, teams up with Harrison Ford, who plays an intractable veteran news anchor, to host a troubled network morning show. Keaton, playing a former Miss Arizona, is pitted against Ford, and the duo give off an embattled chemistry that lights up the big screen.

At Sunday's premiere of "Morning Glory" at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York, Ford's white hair had the Tinsel Town messy on purpose look. Up close, the craggy neck doesn't quite match the boyishly smooth face. Scars on his chin from a car accident in 1968 and a metal stud in one earlobe add machismo. The loafers and red socks were borrowed from his newsman character.

"The early mornings," Ford said, describing the news gig to reporters. "That's the easy part."

And while he made a sensational anchor on camera, he said he wasn't willing to try news as an occupation. "I like the job I have, thank you."

That said, Hoda Kotb, of the "Today Show," not in the film, mentioned that she'd love to work with Ford. "Can you imaging co-hosting with Harrison Ford? Nothing would be better. He's in my top five list."

Rick Younger, who plays a producer in the film, told Luxist that Ford was generous on the set. "One day, he shared something he had learned from Marlon Brando," said Younger. "As an actor, a lot of times we think that things going on under the surface can't be seen. And Brando had told him that that the camera sees all."

RSVIP: Brad Pitt and Tina Fey At "Megamind 3-D" Premiere

Filed under: Events

For children who have everything, presumably not unlike the Brangelina progeny, Maddox and Pax Pitt, and Tina Fey's daughter, Alice, all of whom attended the New York premiere, may we recommend "Megamind 3-D"?

The pitch: It's a spin on the old Superman story, executive-produced by Ben Stiller, far right, who also turned up at the three-story AMC IMAX 13 Lincoln Square Theater on Wednesday. But what if not one, but two superheroes arrive on Earth from faraway worlds? One, Metro Man (Brad Pitt), is taken in by a well-heeled family and ends up working for good. The other, Megamind (Will Ferrell), lands in a maximum-security penitentiary, where his brilliant mind and powers are focused on evil. When Megamind, in blue, an inept villain, wipes out his nemesis, he ends the comfortable historic standoff.

Boredom sets in for Megamind. While attempting to create yet another superhero to fight, Megamind accidentally creates an evil superjerk known as Titan (Jonah Hill).

Tina Fey, above, meanwhile, plays a kind of Lois Lane figure, Roxanne Richi, a possible love interest of all three main characters.

RSVIP: Women's Wear Daily Toasts 100th Anniversary at Cipriani 42nd Street

Filed under: Events

Buckle your seat belts, and get ready to clink Bellini flutes with over 1,000 fashionistas. On Tuesday, November 2, WWD, Women's Wear Daily, America's fashion bible, invited their rather extensive and starry inner circle to Cipriani 42nd Street to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the daily publication, including the designing Olsen twins, right.

The drama began that morning at 5:30 a.m., when a 40-ton semi braked at the New York venue to unload original art by John Galliano. After much head-scratching, the elephantine signed canvas-cum-ballgown had to be removed from the stretcher and rolled to make it fit through the doors of the palatial former bank building. Lord knows how the Jeep Grand Wagoneer with faux wooden paneling, auction item lot 22202, with black watch seats designed by Tommy Hilfiger, rolled inside.

But by 6:00 p.m., a forest of fall foliage had taken its place in tall vases papered with the pages of WWD. And the vintage Jeep was parked at the center of a half-acre carpet. A shower of umbrellas decorated with a decoupage of fashion news cascaded down from the 80-foot-high ceiling.

Men and women in white linen jackets soon began taking coats and yet another crisp team passed hors d'oeuvres: croque-monsieur, porcini in phyllo, American caviar, crab canapé, and later, coffee mini éclairs.

RSVIP: Janet Jackson at Tyler Perry's "For Colored Girls" Premiere

Filed under: Events

Even a gritty film that offers viewers several full-force emotional kicks in the stomach deserves a glamorous movie premiere.

"For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf" is a play, built from 20 poems, that first opened at a woman's bar in Berkeley, California, and won a Tony Award on Broadway in 1976. While director Tyler Perry has frequently worked with all-star, mainly female African-American casts, he has never attempted such challenging material--long, poetic speeches punctuated at times by eye-shielding violence.

Perry, right, wearing a distinct three-piece suit with broad pin stripes, said he didn't originally jump at the project. "I got a phone call about five years ago, he mentioned at the Ziegfeld in New York on Monday. "Somebody said, 'What about "Colored Girls"?'

"Whoopi Goldberg, who is in the cast, called him "a couple of years after that . . . somebody else called, somebody else called. . . . and I don't need a brick to fall on me," he indicated.

"I saw the original Broadway production," Phylicia Rashad, who plays a central character, told RSVIP. "It was disturbing. I'd never seen anything quite so raw."

And does Rashad, who was wearing a sparkling tunic, and bejeweled shoes by Beverly Feldman, think that Perry did a good job translating the landmark work to the big screen? Yes . . . and the poetry hasn't been sacrificed. He opens things up, so you can see as you listen and hear."

Macy Gray, who plays a role in one of the more disturbing scenes in the film, also performs one of the songs on the all-star soundtrack. "Tyler liked my song "Stand Up," which summarizes the film. 'No matter what happens, get back up on your feet and live and survive.'"

"I've already seen the film. And I thought it was fascinating . . . very heavy," said Gray who accented her eyebrows with small crystals. "But it's definitely a movie you should see. It's well-crafted, well-acted, and important."

"Janet makes me schvitz," offered fellow cast-member Kerry Washington, patting her face with a white handkerchief as she stood next to Janet Jackson.

RSVIP: Hugh Jackman and Wife Launch 1.4 Billion Reasons DVD

Filed under: Auctions, Events, Charity, Big Givers

Decorating an event meant to combat world poverty presents issues that only a seasoned expert such as Yale educated party planner Bronson Van Wyck, who volunteered his time, would be prepared to tackle. Fabulous hors d'oeuvres and expensive lighting wouldn't have been the right message for Wednesday's event at the Museum of Modern Art in New York to benefit the Global Poverty Project, Aussie Hugh Evans' fast-track plan to end extreme poverty.

"I met Hugh Evans at the Australia 2020 Summit, which was a conference about ideas that the Prime Minister held," Hugh Jackman, far right, who hosted the fete with his wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, told RSVIP.

"He was so young I thought he was one of the waiters," continued Jackman, who said he had waved Evans over, hoping to get a drink. "Two hours later, he was still telling me all of these ideas. This young guy was so switched on. . . ."

"The look tonight," explained Van Wyck, while scruffy actor Gerard Butler wandered in wearing frayed jeans and a biker jacket, "is pared-down chic."

"It's really about the message," says Van Wyck, who hails from Arkansas. "It's about the cause. Everything went toward getting the people here. I'm donating my time and even the red carpet. I believe in what they're doing."

Several of Jackman's famous friends pitched in unique auction items, including a lunch with Rupert Murdoch, which was already going for $7,000 on http://www.charitybuzz.com/gpp. And it wasn't just a friendly lunch; the winner of this lot is invited to pitch the billionaire media mogul business ideas at the table. Murdoch's wife, Wendi, explained that not even she has full access to her husband's hectic lunch agenda.

"He's always busy," she said. In fact, the couple rarely meet for lunch, "as I also have no time," she indicated with a laugh.

RSVIP: Book Bash For "Dylan's Candy Bar: Unwrap Your Sweet Life"

Filed under: Dining, Events, Books


Charlie and his chocolate factory have nothing on new author, candy expert, and sweets purveyor par excellence Dylan Lauren (above, left).

Scarlet balloons hugged the ceiling of Dylan's Candy Bar, her sugary eponymous department store in Manhattan. Lilanne Becker, an adult dressed as a fairy princess with a satin gown, white gloves and tiara, stood beside a table stacked with books and brandished a colorful copy of Dylan Lauren's new coffee-table tome, "Dylan's Candy Bar: Unwrap Your Sweet Life" (Clarkson Potter). Downstairs, Aundre Seals, a Halloween Dracula with some white face paint skewered Rice Krispie treats and marshmallows shaped like ghosts, drenched them in a triple-tier chocolate fountain, and handed them to salivating onlookers.

For adults, cocktails with lime rock-sugar swizzle sticks and gummy spider garnishes were spiked with VeeV, an açai-based spirit and tonic water. Red licorice decorated yet another cocktail made with raspberry liqueur.

In a basement brimming with vintage candy, including a bathtub filled with gumballs, a line of adoring fans snaked towards a cheery Dylan Lauren, wearing an acid green shirt with candy-tone Rep tie and signing books.

Sure I'm proud," said designer Ralph Lauren, Dylan's famous dad (above, right), wearing a blue-and-gold bomber jacket. "I'm so happy for her. She created something she loves and is happy to share it with many people who love candy!"

RSVIP: Cinema Society Toasts "the social network" with Justin Timberlake

Filed under: Events

Barreling down the red carpet at The Cinema Society New York screening of "the social network," Oscar-winning actor Adrien Brody ("The Pianist") grappled hands firmly with RSVIP and stated categorically that while he is not on Facebook, "There is a bogus me on there."

A breakout success, "the social network" is based on a book by Ben Mezrich called "The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook."

Mezrich also wrote "Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions," made into the hit film "21."

In "the social network," pop icon Justin Timberlake plays Napster founder Sean Parker, a dangerously slick character who arranged considerable early funding for Facebook. "Justin was always the suave one," former fellow 'N Sync band member Lance Bass told Luxist on his way into the theater. "Even at 13, he was Mr. Joe Cool. He's been ready for this role ever since he was a kid."

At the theater, Timberlake wore a sleek, double-breasted sweater and Clark Kent glasses. "We had a lot of fun making this movie together," he mentioned at the side of his new BFF, Jesse Eisenberg, far right.

"Never met the guy," Timberlake answered a reporter when asked if he had ever encountered Parker.

"500 million members becomes a phenomenon," continued Timberlake. "And this movie is the catalyst . . . the story of how [Facebook] came to be."

The film depicts Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg as brilliant, conflicted, and socially awkward in the extreme. But the truth may be more complex. "Dozens and dozens of lawyers have vetted this script within an inch of its life," explained Aaron Sorkin, who penned the screenplay and indicated that some insightful scenes had to be cut.

RSVIP: Anjelica Huston Hosts "Red Night by Marrakech" in New York

Filed under: Events

Many tourism dinners backfire. Long, less than exuberant speeches can drain the life from even the most exotic destination. But with the trademarked "Red Night by Marrakech" campaign, with its key hole-shaped gates set up about Manhattan, Morocco has touted itself elegantly . . . leaving their worldly hostess, Anjelica Huston, to impart the glamour of her favored travel destination.

With the help of PR guru Vanessa von Bismark, on Tuesday, September 28, Mr. Hamid Addou, CEO of the Moroccan National Tourist Office, transformed Skylight Studios in New York, a behemoth, blank white space into a red-lit Moroccan kasbah. An acre of red plush carpet, striped couches, ornate lanterns, and shiny silver coffee services decorating star-shaped metal tables, added a touch of Marrakech souq or marketplace to the cocktail hour.

Countess LuAnn de Lesseps mentioned having traveled to Marrakech and Casablanca often. "My ex-husband was always entering his Aston Martin in the rally of Morocco," the Countess told Luxist. "I remember driving across the Atlas Mountains, getting sideswiped by a van, and losing a door."

Nearby, our stately hostess, Anjelica Huston, wore a shimmering red dress by Pamela Barish. "I love Morocco," she said. "Gateway to the East . . . beautiful, mysterious, romantic . . . great shopping."

RSVIP: Mercedes-Benz NYC Fashion Week at Lincoln Center (Part II)

Filed under: Apparel, Events

During the inaugural fashion week at Lincoln Center, the Mercedes-sponsored tents where the shows take place were almost identical to the old structures at Bryant Park, but more airy, with a glass atrium in the center and 30 percent more space.

The monolithic rectangle in the far left corner of the plaza at Lincoln Center that introduces the tents looks as if it were carved from white stone and balanced on a tornado shaped point. But the structure is an optical illusion. It is a metal box, stabilized from behind and covered with white vinyl that looks like marble.

Inside the tents, fresh computers print out paper tickets for the tide of fashionistas and celebrities who are invited to shows-Carmen Electra, Kelly Rowland, Rumer Willis.

The private Mercedes lounge was designed by interior guru Carlos Mota using Iman's new fabric line; colorful zebra-skin and peacock-feather patterns upholster couches and ottomans. Photos of Iman by Bruce Weber and Peter Beard on the walls are from Iman's private collection.

Across the street at an atrium space, WWD (Women's Wear Daily) would later showcase its 100th anniversary by featuring retro designs by Thakoon and other hip designers to be sold by Gilt Groupe.

RSVIP: Mercedes-Benz NYC Fashion Week at Lincoln Center (Part I)

Filed under: Apparel, Events

While it seems inconceivable that such a publication exists, RSVIP has been told by designers that a kind of fashion playbook can be bought each season that lists upcoming trends. Of course, the very best designers lead the march of fashion every season or even decades in advance. But, oddly enough, to play it safe, some simply present their version of items on the trend list.

RSVIP's first show at the new tents at New York's Lincoln Center was Christian Siriano, the "Project runway" winner on Thursday, September 9. Backstage, Siriano spoke of mixing cultures and ethnicities. But on the runway, we spotted several trends that would be hammered home again and again this season: tan leather skirts, jackets, and dresses in the style of the original "Planet of the Apes"; thin rope belts; big, fat double-clasp leather belts; sheer fabric as an overlay; colorful prints; mixing belts with ball gowns; and dynamic, arty prints. And while Siriano hit these notes, one couldn't help but feel that if the gigantic fluffy ball gowns that he ended the show with, right, had been made by Oscar de la Renta's tailors, they would have been a fashion editor's dream. Sand and taupe, by the way, are the new black.

At 6:00 p.m. that day at Milk Studios, on West 15th Street, a serious jaunt from Lincoln Center, designer Jen Kao covered the runway with mandala-like sand drawings. And the collection included sandy desert hues. The stringy sandal straps snaked up the legs of models. And we saw macramé, large leather patches sewn onto dresses, and much sheer tied on and sewn over sheer pants, sheer skirts, and flowing sheer shirts.

And while some of the clothes appeared overwrought in person, they photograph beautifully. RSVIP spotted Kelly Rowland in the front row, but it was tricky to chat before the show without disturbing the sand.

RSVIP: Starry Karl Lagerfeld Relaunch of the Chanel Boutique in Soho

Filed under: Apparel, Events, Architecture & Design, Luxury Shopping

The economy didn't appear to be an issue when Chanel reopened their boutique at 98 Wooster Street in Soho on Thursday night with an effervescent Euro budget. Champagne and trays brimming with bits of foie gras just kept coming on the wide black walkway built around the side of the building with louvered walls open to the cobbled street.

Also served to celebrities on trays were black cans marked Chanel that looked as if they held spray paint. Instead, the device shot infrared to create graffiti on slick black wall monitors. "All right," said Claire Danes, aiming her can. "We need to do some graffiti!"

Graffiti has never looked quite so elegant.

With a bejeweled, shimmering black jacket over her shoulders, Sarah Jessica Parker mentioned that only her shoes and the bag were not Chanel.

Peter Marino, in head-to-toe black-leather, said that he had designed the new Chanel Boutique with Karl Lagerfeld. He described the interior as "only black-and-white, no beige."

"Beige is the color of Chanel," said Marino. "But this is strikingly youthful. And there is a lot of artwork by up-and-coming artists: works by Robert Green, Gregor Hildebrandt-- he melted old 45 records into cake pans. Richard Woods did the black-and-white faux-brick columns." Up high, fluorescent lights wrapped in rubber were also art.

RSVIP: Anthony Shriver Hosts Best Buddies Gala at Ashgrove Farm

Filed under: Events

anthony shriverA meaningful cause can turn an elegant evening into a transformative event. Co-host Anthony Shriver's charisma, Kennedy-family good looks, and passion for Best Buddies, an organization that encourages friendships with mentally and physically challenged individuals, as well as career training and job placement, turned the organization's third annual Hamptons gala into a kind of upbeat epiphany for guests.

Leafy bamboo in pots swayed in the breezy tents that housed the Southeast Asian-themed Best Buddies Gala at Ashgrove Farm in Watermill on Saturday, August 21. During cocktails, tables packed with silent-auction items also beckoned: tickets to watch the New York Rangers, to catch the "Addams Family" on Broadway, or see Jimmy Buffett in concert. Travel items included a round-trip flight to and from the Hamptons and brightly colored luggage so plentiful, the woman who won it wondered if it would fit into her car.

The famed Robbins Wolfe "eventeurs," caterers in common parlance, served up Masala crab cakes with pomegranate chutney, toasted coconut kahuku shrimp, and Portabello tempura. Yum. Filigreed metal lanterns with votive candles lined the covered walk to the dinner tent, where eight stems of purple orchids in jade bowls were surrounded by shimmering gold chargers on every table.

Anthony Shriver admitted that it wouldn't have been so easy to get his little daughter Carolina to fly down from Hyannis Port with him to Long Island for the Best Buddies Gala except that "Anne [Hearst McInerney, above right] gave her a little baby rabbit the last time we came." He then kidded that Hearst McInerney would provide chickens in the gift bags.

RSVIP: Target Turns Standard Hotel into a Starry Close Encounter

Filed under: Apparel, Events

If you were turned away at the Standard Hotel on Wednesday, August 18, blame Target.

The hip and successful, if downscale, fashion purveyor rented all the rooms on the south face of the architecturally spectacular hotel that straddles the High Line, a set of defunct railway tracks turned into an above-ground park in Manhattan's Meatpacking District. For one night only, Target transformed the rooms of the hotel into a Spielberg-worthy light, fashion, and dance spectacular.

"It's a really fun twist on a traditional fashion show," explained Trish Adams, Sr., Vice President of Merchandising, Apparel and Accessories for Target. "Yes, we rented the hotel, we booked the rooms, and it is a fashion show and light show choreographed to music with 66 dancers working in the windows of the hotel rooms with a runway show at street level."

For celebrities such as Mary-Louise Parker of "Weeds" fame, "Gossip Girl" hunk Penn Badgley and 30 Rock's Katrina Bowdin, grandstands cushioned with yellow pillows were built across the street from the edgy-stylish Standard Hotel Biergarten. And a tower modeled after the hotel was added as a runway for models wearing Target fall fashion.

But, do the glitterati even shop at Target? Apparently, yes. "I shop there for the entire family," admitted Nina Garcia, a judge on "Project Runway," now pregnant with her second child. And as for Garcia herself, "I love Liz Lange," she said, referring to the queen of maternity wardrobe, who designs that entire Target department.

RSVIP: "Eat Pray Love" Debuts at the Ziegfeld

Filed under: Events

javiar bardem and julia robertsGiant white letters spelled out "Eat," "Pray," and "Love" repeatedly in the weave of the red carpet at the premiere of "Eat Pray Love" on Tuesday at New York's Ziegfeld theater. Topiary shrubs in the shape of corkscrews flanked billboards framed in gold of Julia Roberts tucking into gelato. "This little thing?" "Eat Pray Love" author Elizabeth Gilbert responded to Luxist when we asked about her fluffy ethereal ball gown amid the din of photographers. "Just a little Oscar de la Renta number that I picked up for my red-carpet debut."

Remarkably, Gilbert, who wrote the tale of her epic travels to Italy for cuisine, India for spiritual guidance, and Bali for love, has the same thin, impossibly broad smile as Roberts. "She's lovely like a candle," said Gilbert. "She's like a little flickering flame." No one says Gilbert can't turn a phrase. In fact, that night, her runaway best seller made it to the big screen, one of Manhattan's very biggest, with an after fete at New York's gilded era Metropolitan Club on Fifth avenue. Think soaring ceiling, much marble and a sea of ballroom chairs.

To my left on the carpet, Bardem, in a blue suit, blue suede shoes, and some gray scruff, was telling a camera that he had known "the work" but hadn't known Julia Roberts "the person" before this project and that they "laughed and laughed" on location, where, by the way, he was joined by his soon-to-be wife, Penelope Cruz. Moving stealth from crew to crew, Roberts was dressed like a publicist in black but with a short skirt or shorts and long black jacket. We overheard her mentioned how lucky she was to "bring her kids to work" and that she had tried to distance herself from the "popularity of the book."

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