Julian Schnabel’s Hands Would Like ‘GQ’ to Run a Correction
Julian Schnabel has a bone to pick with Andrew Corsello’s Schnabulous profile of him in GQ this month, one Boston Globe reporter found when he went to interview the director of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Perhaps, you might say, Schnabel took issue with being called a “fat, famous, hairy, rich, name-dropping blowhard”? Not so much. What troubled him was something else.
“Look at these hands,” he urges, laying them flat on the table. In the profile, Andrew Corsello describes Schnabel’s hands as “thick, unpretty, blue-collar” and his fingers as “scratched, filthy with dirt and paint, medium-sized.”
“Do these look blue collar?”
Even after the Globe reporter assures him that Corsello was way off and honestly in the dark someone might mistake his fingers for those of Muffie Potter Aston, Schnabel is still clearly obsessing.
He puts out his hand for a shake, and then holds on. It’s actually not much of a handshake. In his grasp, Schnabel keeps the embrace for a good 10 seconds, making sure he’s able to show the softness of the skin.
“These are delicate hands,” he says.
Big Man on Canvas (screen, too) [Boston Globe]
Earlier:Julian Schnabel is Numero Uno!
company town
Let the Bear Blame Game BeginFINANCE
• Bear Stearns followed up yesterday’s Morgan Stanley announcement with its own $850 million loss, again the first quarterly deficit in the bank’s history. [DealBook/NYT]
• Is former Bear Stearns exec Ralph Cioffi, the guy behind the two Bear funds that imploded this summer, the main culprit in the subprime crisis? New reporting suggests his team set off the plague of dirty debt that cost Citi and other top banks billions. Oh, and Cioffi’s under investigation for pulling out a couple mil before anyone else got the chance. [Business Week]
• What a mensch: David Rubenstein, the former lawyer turned Citadel private-equity master, decided to keep his new copy of the Magna Carta on display at the National Archives. Rubenstein paid $21.3 million — chump change for a guy worth around $2.5 billion. [Law Blog/WSJ]
early and often
George Bush Is a Little Mad About DadWhen President Bush’s press conference came on this morning, we were frankly a little grateful for the interruption during the fourth hour of the Today show. The vague chipper bitterness of those last few cooking segments has really begun to wear on us. Our favorite moment of the press conference was when a reporter asked Bush about Bill Clinton’s Monday statement that the first thing Hillary would do as president would be to send Clinton and the former President Bush (“41”) around the world “to tell them that America is open for business and cooperation again.” So, what did the current President Bush think of that?
“41 didn’t think it was necessary,” he laughed coldly. “Sounds like it would be a one-man trip.”
Wait, it’s like we’re back watching Today again! Everybody’s smiling, but why is the air crackling with bitterness? We suspect we know: Ever since the uncomfortable lovefest between Bush 41 and Bill Clinton began, Bush the younger has been totally jealous. And then Bill tried to steal the president’s dad for his own team! Such melodrama. We can’t wait until Showtime makes this into a historical mini-series.
Bill Clinton: George H.W. Bush Will Help Hillary [CNN]
early and often
Hillary Clinton Is Way Beyond Being Damaged By Her Deadbeat BrotherToday’s Post is very proud of itself for breaking the story that Hillary Clinton’s brother, Anthony, is behind on alimony and child-support payments. The story is full of innuendo that this news will affect her presidential race. It “won’t be a welcome development for Hillary Clinton, coming as the too-close-to-call battle for the Democratic presidential nomination reaches a fevered pitch,” the paper explains. But what we can’t help but appreciate is that this story probably won’t matter for Hillary. Sure, it’s a good story – the ex-wife that Anthony Rodham is stiffing is the daughter of California Senator Barbara Boxer. That’s gotta lend itself to some awkward Democratic holiday-party chatter. But stories like this (Mike Huckabee’s Son Killed a Dog! Rudy’s Daughter Is Voting for Obama! Obama’s Real Estate Buddy Is Shady! Mitt Romney’s Son Is a Little Gay-Seeming!) just don’t seem to take hold this year.
white men with money
Morgan Stanley Loses $9.4 Bil; Mack Gets KnifedJohn Mack thought that by offing co-president Zoe Cruz last month, he himself might be spared the guillotine over Morgan Stanley’s mortgage-related losses. But lo, it is not so easy. It’s dark times out there on Wall Street; the cobblestones are stained with blood. And after Mack’s announcement yesterday that Morgan Stanley would be taking a $9.4 billion write-down, the people are clamoring for a new sacrifice, and the writing is on the wall for John Mack. Also, it’s in the papers.
“He’s a chronic destroyer of value,” Kevin Murphy, a retired Morgan Stanley airline analyst who recently sold his stock, told the Wall Street Journal today. “He’s a nice person, but you put this guy in the corner office and there’s an x factor where he hurts himself.”
intel
A Very ‘Gossip Girl’ ChristmasOur mind-shatteringly detailed guide to what in this week’s episode of Gossip Girl could pass for real-life New York experience, what seemed kinda fake, and what really put the “Jesus Christ” back in our Christmas.
gossipmonger
Underwear Model Hits the FloorA publicist for model Annabel Vartanian claims that the model fainted at a La Perla party because “she wore herself out,” not because she has an eating disorder. Kim Cattrall is donating all the furs she wore in the Sex and the City movie to PETA, which in turn will give them to charity. Cindy Adams is taking credit for breaking Enquirer’s John Edwards–is–having–an–affair story. East Village landmark dive bars Sophie’s and Mona’s are both going up for sale after the holidays. Police commish Ray Kelly says he won’t make a decision about running for mayor until after the presidential scrum plays out. Donald Trump will be David Letterman’s first guest back when he goes live on January 2. Model Selita Ebanks, who may have been dating James Blake, was at a Knicks game with Giants lineman Osi Umenyira.
ink-stained wretches
Christopher Hitchens Is Bad SantaAre you hating this Christmas season? Feeling Scrooge-like, or just fat? Well, then, you might enjoy this uncomfortable-making video in which Christopher Hitchens, smooth-balled author and proud heretic, entertains the crowd at Reason magazine’s “Secular Christmas” party Monday night. The Hitch arrives with a Santa hat perched on the large decorative gourd that is his head, but he’s drunk and he clearly hasn’t brought any presents. So, he entertains them the best way he knows how — with song. Click the image to view.