Woody Allen

By now you've probably heard that Woody Allen is suing American Apparel for damages in excess of $10 million for using his likeness in a billboard. Reuters quotes the lawsuit as stating, "Allen does not engage in the commercial endorsement of products or services in the United States."

That wasn't always the case.  read more »

Celebrity power lunch at Michael's! Well, sort of. In honor of April Fool's, Page Six is reporting that Michael's will have a table where celebrity impersonators of Amy Winehouse, Eliot Spitzer, Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie and baby Harlow (don't worry, it's a doll, not a hired baby look-alike) will appear to be having lunch. [P6]

For more festivities, Joey Scaggs will apparently lead his annual April Fool's parade down Fifth Avenue that will be led by a George Bush impersonator, who will get a head start and then get chased by an angry mob. The parade will also feature Michael Vick on a dog-fighting float and a Tourette's syndrome float with Don Imus, Ann Coulter and Dog the Bounty Hunter yelling obscenities at the crowds. Fun! [P6]  read more »

The Weinstein Company will continue their love affair with Woody Allen and distribute his next movie, the romantic comedy/drama Vicky Cristina Barcelona, slated for release this fall. The company has released six of his films, including Cassandra's Dream, which is currently in theaters. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Vicky and Christina (Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson), two Americans vacationing in the title's Spanish city, become part of a chain of romances involving an artist (Javier Bardem) and his nutty ex-wife (Penelope Cruz). A "steamy menage a trois sequence" between Mr. Bardem (yum!), Ms. Cruz and Ms. Johansson was the buzz abount town when the film previewed at the American Film Market in Santa Monica in November. Woody, some advice: Don't leave that scene on the cutting room floor!

Woody Allen sat down with MTV to discuss his new crime-drama Cassandra's Dream, starring dreamy team Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell as two brothers caught up in their uncle's mess. Mr. Allen rattled off his usual self-depreciating humor ("You would think there are certain parts around that I'd be a natural for: a college teacher, a shrink or a lowlife") and also admitted he would like to work with Reese Witherspoon and Cate Blanchett. ("They're two people I'm extremely high on. I'd love to find something I could do with them.")

More highlights after the jump.  read more »

So those Golden Globes were kind of a bust, right? We’re still so furious with NBC for the faux-show put-on by creepy Billy Bush (Why is he on TV? Why?) and Nancy O’Dell, as opposed to just letting the Hollywood Foreign Press Association do their press conference (yay, Jorge Camara!), that we’re going to continue not to watch American Gladiators. So there. More disturbing news from movieland: The Bucket List, which sort of made us feel bad just from watching the trailer, was No. 1 this weekend. Et tu, America? Sigh.

   read more »

Woody Allen and Scarlett Johansson are together again, working on a new project that is. Ms. Johansson will make her directorial debut in New York, I Love You, according to Page Six.  read more »

Okay, so this is kind of random, but worth a minute of your time.  Have you ever wondered about the first time that now-famous New York names like Donald Trump, Woody Allen, and Michael Bloomberg appeared in The New York Times?  We hadn't either.  But now that you're thinking about it, you're kind of curious, right?  Satisfy your curiosity here.  read more »

With his first collection of pieces in over 25 years, Woody Allen is reclaiming the attention that his recent movies have done so much to dissipate.  read more »

Olivia Wilde, 23, about to open Off Broadway, made out with Mischa Barton on The O.C., but weirdest of all, she’s the rare showbiz beauty that comes from … journalists.  read more »

Arthur Gelb, fabled New York Timesman and man of many words, grows oddly reticent when the subject o  read more »

My favorite still from a movie made in New York is not in this book.  read more »

My favorite still from a movie made in New York is not in this book.  read more »

A nightmare week for the Upper East Side continues. NY1 reports that there's been an enormous fire at Coach president Reed Krakoff's new $17 million home.

Earlier this year, Michael Calderone wrote:

When Mr. Krakoff purchased his new 30-foot-wide townhouse on East 70th Street, between Park and Lexington avenues--the same tony block that director Woody Allen now calls home--it was reported that the fashion executive would have about $2.5 million in renovations in front of him.

After it took 140 firemen to put out the main blaze, the FDNY said: the fire "appears suspicious."

UPDATE: WCBS-TV is reporting that authorities are suspicious because (a) the fire "began at around 2:30 in the morning" and (b) the townhouse "was not occupied; it was in the process of being renovated." - Max Abelson

In today's New York Observer:

• The staff of legendary Upper East Side red-saucery Gino (a favorite of Gay Talese, Frank Sinatra, Wes Anderson and Woody Allen) are threatening to walk out over a contract dispute, according to our new guy on the beat, Chris shott--and the owners say they'll shut down before giving in to their demands. Says co-owner Salvatore Doria: "For not much more can you sell a dish of pasta, you know? This is it!" Talese says it's an "unhappy occasion."
• The Slope Opera continues, with Suzy Hansen writing about Stuart and Wright, the first really expensive boutique to open up in Fort Greene. This gives Brooklyn gals more ways (Butter! Bird! Diane T! Do these names mean anything to you?) to dress in $500 outfits while paying $1500 rents on $25,000 salaries. And a way to look like a real original in Manhattan--even if that black flannel dress is its own price tag walking down Smith Street.
• Michael Calderone breaks down the breakdown of the new newsroom being built for The New York Times: "For generations, the layout of the old Times Building has served as the physical manifestation of the organizational culture: From the back-of-the-newsroom clerks to the Sulzberger on the 14th floor, Timesmen have known their place by knowing their places." No more!
• After selling their 63-acre compound in Alpine, N.J. for $58 million about eight months ago, Emily T. Frick and Dr. Henry Clay Frick II, the grandson of the legendary steel magnate, have bought a co-op at the Old Family Names Only, Please address of 3 East 77th Street for $3.9 million.
• Painter Ryan McGinness has bought himself a "sanctuary" in the noisy, dangerous and now completely outre Meatpacking District for a shade under $900,000.
• And Andrew Heiberger, founder of CitiHabitats, solved a difficult political situation with his old firm by kicking back a little work to a dejected would-be partner.
- Tom McGeveran  read more »
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For some reason, flights heading toward a place always seem to be filled with people from that place  read more »

In the annual festival of humidity, it’s hot enough without so many dismal movies polluting the oz  read more »

In the annual festival of humidity, it’s hot enough without so many dismal movies polluting th  read more »

KARA: When it comes to travel, I'm like Woody Allen. I'm afraid of plane crashes. I'm afraid of rare tropical diseases. I'm afraid of food poisoning. I'm afraid of getting into a cab in a place where I don't speak the language, being driven to a secluded location and being forced to marry into a local tribe and forage for food for the rest of my life. The closest I get to foraging for food now is the express line of my jam-packed local deli, and when they don't have the newest issue of Us Weekly, I get testy. When it comes to roughing it, well...I don't.

Brian and I just booked our honeymoon to Maui. We picked Maui because it seemed like a fair compromise between Australia (his choice) and the comfort of our living room (mine). Who wouldn't want to spend ten days frolicking in crystal blue waters? Good question. I should probably mention that in addition to being paranoid, I'm also a miser. But why should we spend thousands of dollars traipsing through airports and security lines, dishing out big bucks to stay in sterile hotel rooms, when we could save all that cash and stay home? Thanks to my fat collection of takeout menus, I have the culinary world at my fingertips.

Spa treatments? Queen Helene's Mint Julep face masque, $3.99 at CVS, thank you very much.

Entertainment? Netflix plus HBO. You can't really do better than that.

Annotated index for And You Thought Abercrombie & Fitch Was Pushing It?, by Jaime Wolf, The New York Times Magazine, April 23, 2006. A Abercrombie & Fitch (clothing manufacturer), 58 Adbusters (magazine), 61 Adult Video News (a/k/a AVN), 61 Allen, Woody (director), 63 (See: Hannah and Her Sisters) Alonzo, Iris, American Apparel creative partner, 62 American commodity manufacturing, Charney fixation on, 62 American Apparel, 58-63 Araki, Nobuyoshi (photographer), 60; 63 Asymmetrical features, 60 (see also: ethnic, mixed-race, imperfect bodies, blemished skin, and visible sweat stains) B Baby Boomers, 62; 63 Bare chest, Dov Charney's, sometimes visible in American Apparel ads, 61 Benetton (retailer), multiculturalism of, 63 Blogosphere, location for advertising, 60 Brady, Marsha (supervisor of décor), 62 Broadband venture, 60 Burlington, VT, 60 C Canada, as birthplace of Marshall McLuhan, 60 Chanaye, 18-year-old self-professed hippie of Afro-Cuban descent, 60 Charney, Dov, 58-63 Chicago (Illinois), location of sexual harassment suit against Charney, 63 Concise 48 Laws of Power, The (author, Robert Greene), 60 Consumerism, yoked to political gestures and activism, 61 (see: Political gestures) Cwir, Weronika, law school drop-out, American Apparel theorist, 63 D Dawson's Creek (TV series), 60 Dixon, Willie (blues songwriter), 61 E Echo Park (Los Angeles), location of American Apparel store, 60; as home of Dov Charney, 60 (see: Lower East Side) Email, photographs sent via, 62; input through, 62 Eisenhower, generation of, 62 F Fantastic Man (obscure art-hipster publication), 61 Fonda, Jane (actress), enlarged photo of, 63 Florida, location of Charney's childhood vacations, 62 Frankfurt (Germany), location of American Apparel store, 60 Fruit of the Loom (brand), 62 G Gap, model for American Apparal, 60; Gap, rules of, 60; Gap, standards of sandblasted, bland notion of good-looking young Americans, 60 Gawker.com, pop-culture site, 60 Girl Next Door, The, 61 Girls Gone Wild, stupidly raunchy phenomenon, 61 Goldin, Nan (photographer), 63 H Hannah and Her Sisters, 80s film, 63 (See: Woody Allen) Hanes (brand), 62; 63 Hefner, Hugh (publisher), Charney reminiscent of, 61; expanded definition of sexuality of, 61; Sexual relationships with employees of, 61; Subtlety of, 61 Henley shirt, origins of, 62 Hepburn, Audrey, 62 Hilton, Paris, 61 Hollywood, standards of glamour of, 61 I Instant-messaging, input through, 62 J Jacques-Charley, pet project of Charney and Alonzo, 63; French pronunciation of, 63 (See: Zhac-Sharlee) Jane (magazine), revealing profile of Charney in, 63 (see: Claudine Ko) Job definitions, fluidity of in American Apparel, 62 K Knits, clingy, 60 Ko, Claudine (magazine writer), revealing profile of Charney written by, 63 Kuczynski, Alex (reporter), 60 L L.A. Weekly (alternative newspaper), 61 Levi's 501's, iconic, 62 London (England), location of American Apparel store, 60 Los Angeles, location of American Apparel store, 60; location of sexual harassment suit against Charney, 63 Lower East Side (New York), location of American Apparel store, 60; 62; as home of Dov Charney, 60 (See: Echo Park) M Makeup, unacceptability in American Apparel ads, 62 McLuhan, Marshall, 60 Mexico City, location of American Apparel store, 60; next cool city, 62 Mexico City Monthly (bilingual publication), available at American Apparel stores, 62 Miami Beach (Florida), location for American Apparel store, 63 Minimum wage, American Apparel workers paid double, 60 Montreal, birthplace of Charney, 62 Monogamy, non-preoccupation with among new adult generation, 63 MySpace (social network), 60 N Na pograniczu kiczu i absolutnego piekna, Polish translation of, 63 Nafta (North American Free Trade Agreement), life in Canada before, 62 Naked people, beauty of, 60 National Geographic, style of cheesecake, 60 O O.C., The (TV series), 60 Onion, The (alternative newpaper), 61 Oui (magazine), used as in store displays, 60 P Page, Bettie, 60 Paris (France), location of American Apparel store, 60 Penthouse (magazine), used as in store displays, 60 Pizzaroni, Luca, friend of Charney, 60 Piercings, unacceptability in American Apparel ads, 62 Platonic ideals, T-shirts exemplified, 60 Pleasure, heightened state of in American Apparel ads, 60 Political gestures, yoked to certain modes of consumerism, 61 (See: Consumerism) Plucked and trimmed eyebrows, unacceptability in American Apparel ads, 62 Polynesia, girls of, 60 Purple Fashion (obscure art-hipster publication), 61 Q R Richardson, Terry (photographer), 61 Russell Athletic (T-shirt), 62 S Safde, Moshe (architect), uncle of Charney, 62 Safdie, Sylvia (painter, sculptor), mother of Charney, 62 Santa Cruz, U.C. (American university), 62 Schmatte business, 60 Seoul (Korea), location of American Apparel store, 60 Sharper Image (retailer), vision of hipster version of, 63 (See: 7-11) 7-Elevan (retailer), for hipsters, 63; (See: Sharper Image) Sexual harassment (lawsuit against Charney), 60; 63 Short hair (female), unnaturalness of, 62 Soprano, Tony (TV character), 63 Sperry Top-Sider (shoes), 62 Spunt, Alexandra, American Apparel senior content advisor, 62 Suicide Girls (website), 61 T Tattoos, unacceptability in American Apparel ads, 62; possibility of Charney falling in love with a girl who has, 62 Tel Aviv (Israel), location of American Apparel store, 60 Tokyo (Japan), location of American Apparel store, 60 Tighty Whitey (underwear), impressive achievement of style resurgence, 63 Tufts University (American university), education of Charney at, 62 U Underwear, Charney's pride in adult film star wearing, 61 V Vanity Fair (magazine), favorably compared to Vice, 61 Vertical Integration, business model, 60 Vice, anti-P.C. lifestyle magazine; 61; "Our Vanity Fair," 61 Village Voice, The (alternative newspaper), 61 Vintage T-shirt, 'rad'-ness of, 62 W Warhol, Andy (artist), early hand-painted works, 60 Whole Foods (grocer), 61 Wolf, Howlin' (blues singer), 61 X Y Yonehara, Yasumasa (photographer), 60 Young Metropolitan Adults, definition of, 61; Aggressively sexualized world of, 61; Z Zhac-Sharlee, French pronunciation of Jacques-Charley, 63 (See: Jacques-Charley)  read more »

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Earlier this year, The Observer spent plenty of time on what is widely considered Manhattan's best townhouse block, East 70th Street, between Park and Lexington Avenues.

On Jan. 19, The Observer first reported that director Woody Allen had signed a contract on a 20-foot townhouse that was listing for $25.9 million. A week later, a few more details emerged in Manhattan Transfers.

Sure, the final selling price on Mr. Allen's future home is still unknown, but several luxury brokers offered their expert estimates to The Observer, with the prevailing opinion being that it will most likely sell for below asking--somewhere in the $20 million to $22 million range.

Indeed, the townhouse has now closed for a few million dollars less than asking, as the New York Post reported this past weekend. Final price: $22.625 million.  read more »

- Michael Calderone

The guy who sold Woody Allen his East 70th Street townhouse is moving across the street: he's bought the famous Mellon mansion for about $25 million.

A really unbelievably huge house in a New Jersey estate area popular with hip-hop moguls makes $40 million look like a bargain.

Christie's owner Francis Pinault has finally found a buyer for his 5,000-square-foot apartment: Financier Menachem Sternberg and his wife, Liora, are dropped $22 million on the place.

Not everyone believes the assurances the Hudson River Park has enough money to keep going.

Robert DeNiro's old Tribeca Grill chef, Don Pintabona, needs to keep his hand on the saltcellar and his eye on the clock at his latest venture, Dani.

Even in the Upper East Side real-estate market, where already-astronomical prices continue to climb  read more »

In Husbands and Wives, Mia Farrow’s character memorably tells her husband, played by Woody Allen,  read more »

In Husbands and Wives, Mia Farrow’s character memorably tells her husband, played by Woody All  read more »

Fresh off his critical success with Match Point, director Woody Allen is treating himself to a $25.9 million townhouse, according to a source with knowledge of the deal.

Last week, the acclaimed filmmaker signed a contract for a 20-foot-wide, Georgian-style townhouse on East 70th Street, which had been listed with broker Louise Beit, of Sotheby’s International Realty. Designed by Trowbridge & Livingston in 1901, the stunning 16-room home includes 11-foot ceilings, ornate moldings, 10 fireplaces, and a Georgian staircase. In addition, there are five bedrooms, formal dining room, library, family room, media room, staff room, and a garden.

Certainly, Mr. Allen is no stranger to exquisite Manhattan properties.

In 1999, he paid $17.7 million for a 40-foot-wide mansion on East 92nd Street. The palatial home measured in excess of 15,000 square feet. About five years later, he sold the Carnegie Hill townhouse to former Goldman Sachs executive Barry Volpert, for $24.5 million.

However, the years spent in Carnegie Hill were not completely idyllic. Mr. Allen and some of his well-heeled neighbors (including Sony chief Howard Stringer and author Peggy Noonan) attempted to block the construction of a 10-story luxury condominium nearby. However, the state’s highest court ruled against them.

Since moving out, Mr. Allen has searched for an Upper East Side home, albeit smaller than the mansion he owned previously, according to real estate sources. In July 2004, Mr. Allen was reportedly under contract for a different East 70th Street townhouse; however, it was later reported in September that the deal fell through.

In the mean time, Mr. Allen has been reportedly renting a single-family residence at Madison and 85th Street for $25,000 a month.  read more »

Representatives for Mr. Allen did not offer any comment, as of this morning. Ms. Beit declined to comment on the listing.

-Michael Calderone

“Bergman said the worst thing would be to die on a sunny day,” said Woody Allen on Dec.  read more »

“Bergman said the worst thing would be to die on a sunny day,” said Woody Allen on Dec.  read more »

Oh yes: they're over 70, rich, devil-may-care, and they run the bloody hell out of this town. Ya don't retire anymore when you've got the goods. They're the Power Geezers. Don't know where to dive in to our crotchety year in review? Try Gay Talese, who's finally publishing again after 13 years, or smoking with super-socialite Pat Buckley, or out with Woody Allen on his 70th birthday, or Woody'a favorite hostess, Elaine Kaufman, or New York's first and still tartest architecture critic, and, oh, well, there's much much much more.  read more »

New Yorkers will forgive each other almost anything, but the one thing they won’t forgive is h  read more »

New Yorkers will forgive each other almost anything, but the one thing they won’t forgive is havin  read more »

I'm looking to make restitution. For a primal violation of New York etiquette.  read more »

Before you ask me how Woody Allen's Melinda and Melinda compares to his earlier films and whether it  read more »

The opulent Upper East Side duplex ownedby Tyco International that had been home to its former chief  read more »

The Myth of Moral Justice: Why Our Legal System Fails to Do What's Right , by Thane Rosenbaum.  read more »

Last September, when Woody Allen placed his 40-foot-wide Georgian townhouse on the market for $27 mi  read more »

MakingAmericans:Jewsandthe Broadway Musical, by Andrea Most.  read more »

New Queen of the Indies-Shattered Glass, The Brown Bunny, Dogville-wants to be … Nicole Kidman Par  read more »

When Woody Allen put his massive East 92nd Street townhouse on the market for the ungodly sum of $27  read more »

Wednesday 8th Da-do-diddy-run-run: P.  read more »

Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation , from her own screenplay, has been universally acclaimed as a t  read more »

"The only thing I ever wanted was a loft in New York City," said Chris Meloni, who plays both sides  read more »

Wednesday 6th Make vroom!  read more »

This year, movies are like botany.  read more »

Has Jane Pauley been taking lessons on how to win friends and influence colleagues from her famously  read more »

Woody Allen's Hollywood Ending solves some of his recent problems by coming up with the brilliantly  read more »

Celluloid Skyline: New York and the Movies , by James Sanders. Alfred A. Knopf, 496 pages, $45.  read more »

A Small Treatise on the Great Virtues , by André Comte-Sponville.  read more »

Woody Allen's TheCurse of the Jade Scorpion made many people laugh during the screening I  read more »

Night Operation Yields Lineup of Love's Losers Some might consider the price of sex as much a philos  read more »

"Yo, George!  read more »