Harvey Weinstein Wants Asian!Many of the items in gossip columns we suspect are exaggerated if not totally made up, but there are some that sound wholly true. Try to guess which is which in today’s New York gossip roundup!
Giants Player Has ‘Abandonment Issues’New York Giant Osi Umenyiora, who is dating Victoria’s Secret model Selita Ebanks, says he’s a difficult guy to love because he has “abandonment issues.” Andrew Giuliani, son of Rudy, was arrested for doing 39 mph in a 30 mph zone in Florida. An upcoming reality show on the Mojo Channel forces a handful of semi-prominent New Yorkers to survive without their cell phones and computers. Julia Stiles sat down and ordered a bunch of food at Indochine but requested that it all be doggy-bagged so she could take it home. CNN has been getting better daytime ratings than MSNBC over the past two months, though Fox News still does better than both. Georgina Chapman on fashion: “I’m like a magpie. I like anything that sparkles.”
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The Nine Media Lives of Tina BrownTina Brown signed a deal to develop story ideas and shows for HBO. Donny Deutsch celebrated his 50th-birthday party at the Jazz at Lincoln Center with lobster tail and foie gras. Harvey Weinstein and Georgina Chapman are having trouble yachting around on their Caribbean honeymoon because there’s a massive fuel strike on St. Barts. (Weinstein’s friends also sent him a lot of video congratulations on the day of his wedding.) Lydia Hearst is mad that her name is being attached to Darfur awareness events without her permission. Gay activist Allen Roskoff keeps George Bush toilet paper at his Jane Street apartment.
in other news
Georgina Chapman and Harvey Weinstein Take the Celebrity Wedding to Connecticut (Updated)Today People brings us all the details of the glamorous nuptials of Marchesa designer Georgina Chapman and producer Harvey Weinstein. They do a pretty decent job, as wedding announcements go. Guests at Harvey’s Westport estate included Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Cameron Diaz, Renée Zellweger, Naomi Watts, Anna Wintour, Rupert Murdoch, Ron Perelman, Quentin Tarantino, Graydon Carter, Karolina Kurkova, and Helena Christensen. Yeah, it was one of those. “The wedding was the most elegant, loving affair I’ve ever seen,” one guest (no doubt a socialite friend of contributing reporter Jeff Slonim) told People. “The room was full of incredible people who were there to toast the couple, who looked totally in love.” The party tents were decorated with fir trees, crystal chandeliers, mirrors, and pink flowers. A ten-minute fireworks show erupted after the couple exchanged their vows, lighting up Long Island Sound.
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Georgina Chapman Has a Secret Rocker PastRemember when Georgina Chapman was best-known for dating Harvey Weinstein, and people thought it was cute that she thought she could be a designer? And then it turned out that her Marchesa evening gowns were a big hit with Weinstein’s celebrity friends and even Anna Wintour has taken interest? Well, it seems all her whimsical career experiments weren’t as successful. While at high school in England, the onetime model-actress started a band, even though she admits to being “completely unmusical.” “It’s very embarrassing,” she told New York at the premiere of Control, Anton Corbijn’s film about late Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis. Chapman started her own band with a young gal pal. “We called ourselves Jesus and Mary Jane, and we sang in our school chapel at night in boarding school,” Chapman admitted. “We were 13, and we thought we were 20.” Too bad ol’ Harv wasn’t around back then to make some calls. Or, you know, thank God.—Amy Odell
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Marchesa to Anna Wintour: ‘How High?’As with all things in this world, during Fashion Week, Anna Wintour giveth, and she taketh away. When the Vogue editor-in-chief cracked a bona fide smile at yesterday’s Erin Fetherston show, the world knew Wintour was silently bestowing her priceless blessings on the young designer. But beyond the light, Her Vogueness also brings darkness.
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Albrecht Out at HBOHBO chairman Chris Albrecht was forced to resign last night after allegedly beating up his girlfriend Sunday, likely because this wasn’t his first domestic assault. Harvey Weinstein had to explain to girlfriend Georgina Chapman that Elie Wiesel was notable for being “in a concentration camp” at the Time 100 fête. And Jessica Simpson dressed conservatively at the event to not draw attention from boyfriend and honoree John Mayer. Cameron Diaz went to a sex show at the Box the night before appearing on the Today show. Josh Hartnett and Helena Christensen sang karaoke together. Lorne Michaels sang karaoke at oil heir William Hess’s bar mitzvah. Nancy Grace is trying to get on The View now that she’s out at Court TV. NBC News’ David Gregory may be Don Imus’s replacement.
show and talk
At Marchesa Show, Harvey’s Girl Wishes Halston Well
The Bergdorf Goodman parade of trunk shows continues, and today it was Marchesa’s turn. Designers Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig were there to talk about their line of feathered, beaded gowns, seen often at red-carpet events. But we were more interested in asking them about a different label. Chapman dates Harvey Weinstein — which might have something to do with why you see their designs on those red carpets so frequently — and Harvey just bought Halston. A new opportunity for the Marchesa girls, perhaps? “That’s nothing to do with us,” Craig was quick to say. And Chapman was quick to position it as someone else’s project. “I’m very excited for them,” she said of the new Halston family. “I think Tamara” — that’s Tamara Mellon, the fashion exec Weinstein installed to run the brand — “is a fantastically talented woman. I mean, what she’s done with Jimmy Choo is just incredible, and, um, I keep my fingers crossed for them.” Got that? For them. Not for her. —Kendall Herbst
Earlier: Proenza Schouler Comes to Bergdorf Goodman, Finally
it just happened
Can Harvey Resurrect Halston?
So Harvey Weinstein bought Halston. The move puts the iconic seventies designer’s name — Halston was best known for his drapey jersey dresses, early adoption of Ultrasuede, and regular spot between Liza and Bianca at Studio 54 — back in the hands of a canny, culturally aware, media-manipulating New Yorker. Things haven’t been going well lately for the once-powerful brand; there have been so many different designers and corporate owners since Roy Halston Frowick died in 1990 that the label is today unrecognizable.
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And He Was Telling Her She’s Still GoingJennifer Hudson tried to back out from performing at the Soul Train Awards in L.A., until Clive Davis gave her a stern talking to. Leonardo DiCaprio is in Israel visiting the family of girlfriend Bar Rafaeli. Lindsay Lohan has been hanging out with Jude Law in New York, but it’s unclear whether they’re dating. (Lindsay’s dad also gets out of jail today.) Eddie Vedder joined the band of teenager Miles Robbins, son of Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon, for an impromptu jam session at a bar. Harvey Weinstein is trying to buy fashion house Halston, but not for girlfriend Georgina Chapman. Marc Jacobs is in rehab in Arizona, and “Page Six”-ers are annoyed they didn’t get the scoop. Foxy Brown is banned from Junior’s in Brooklyn for dining-and-dashing on a $53 bill and then lying about it.
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Helpful HarveyHarvey Weinstein doesn’t help his designer girlfriend Georgina Chapman get coverage — well, except for that meeting with Anna Wintour when she was starting out. Fashion Week interlopers were able to buy tickets to Bryant Park shows on Craigslist. Food Network star Paula Dean had a run-in with a naked man in the hallway of the Regency Hotel. Later, skaters: The Roxy closes for good on March 10. Lynyrd Skynyrd will perform tonight at Snitch, accompanied by a dozen strippers. Lindsay Lohan will attend Robert Altman’s memorial service in L.A. after skipping the one in New York. Megaproducer Scott Rudin won’t return Cindy Adams’s calls.