Film, Friends, Food, Fun

I am back from my trip and exhausted. I saw a few good films (more on that later), had productive meetings and a very good time with some old friends.

I will say, being in NYC brought "my sexy back." I had to crack up laughing several times at some of the lines men were throwing my way.

Thursday night met a friend at Bar Pitti (Bleecker and Ave. of the Americas, aka 6th ave.). I had heard mixed things about this place next door to the infamous Da Silvano. Maybe the trick is to go early. The food was delicious and the service good. It isn't a place to linger. They do turn over the tables quickly. Anyway it was great to see JCinNYC. Very cool woman with exceptional tastes in music. :)

Friday's weather was not good, rained most of the day. For lunch I went to Sant Ambroeus (Perry and W. 4th). The orginal is in Milan and the first one opened on the Upper East Side. I heard that one is very, well, Upper East Side. My lunch (penne with Bolognese sauce), was very tasty. I loved the decor and the vibe. I stayed and read a script, everyone was very friendly. After my filmmaker meetings I met a friend at Pescetore (51 & 2nd). We met in DC over 16 years ago. She is married with two boys and is one of the smartest and funniest women I know. She is also stunning but I won't hold it against her. She has a very intense job (a lawyer) and still manages to have a life. I don't have kids and can barely find time to do my laundry. Over very good fish and a bottle of wine we caught up and laughed our asses off. She told me living in L.A. has warped my brain (how I see myself) and I need to move before it's too late. I heard that a couple times over the last four days. Ha.

Saturday brunch with my sister at Bubby's (Houston and No. Moore). I used to love this place but I do think it's overpriced. Come on $25 for breakfast and all I had were some damn pancakes? I had my last JFK jr. sighting there. He lived around the corner and used to come in there all the time, when it was smaller and more of a local spot. He was a stunning man. One of my friends worked on a fundraiser with him and said he was so nice and down to earth. Now Bubby's is twice the size and always crowded. I will have to find another brunch place.

I saw Julie Delpy's movie 2 DAYS IN PARIS. Very funny! She wrote, directed, edited and scored the movie. Not sure when it's coming out but it does have distribution. Adam Goldberg plays her boyfriend and her real parents (big actors in France) play her parents. On the way back to New York City from a vacation in Venice, they stop by her Paris apartment. She lives right upstairs from her parents. This doesn't sit too well with her boyfriend, nor does the fact that she is still friends with her ex-lovers/boyfriends. There are language barriers, the movie pokes fun at American and French stereotypes and Delpy and Goldberg are great together.

I also saw a doc directed by Michael Apted called THE POWER OF THE GAME. It was the priemere and distributors were invited. I hope someone picks it up. I enjoyed it. The doc follows serveral teamns/people to the 2006 World Cup. One of the most fascinating stories was about a female sports journalist from Tehran. In Iran women are not allowed to go to the stadiums to see men play. Apted also spent a lot of time in South Africa and spoke to the soccer and government officials about what hosting the games means to their country.

Unfortunately, one of the American officials sounded like a jack ass when he bragged how they manipulated the tickets for the Mexico vs. Untied States qualifying game. When Mexico plays against the U.S. in Los Angeles, out of 70,000 fans, more than 60,000 are rooting for Mexico. So they moved the game to Ohio and did something funky with the tickets.

Saturday night, in NYC? Amazing. I went to the after party at Tribeca Grand with a friend. She is the one who used to live near me out here then abandoned me and moved back to NYC. (ha) We were going to go to dinner but the food was surprisingly good at the party and there was open bar. One of my former co-workers during my NYC days and a good friend was working the party and came to chat with us for a while. An agent from William Morris met us, then we went to the Soho Grand to pick up a friend who just arrived in from L.A. for the festival. As we waited for her Amy Winehouse walked in to check in. She is tiiiiiny! Big hair very petite.

The four of us walked over to Lucky Strike (Grand and West Broadway) one of my old stomping grounds. Years later, it's still going strong. I had some proscecco and fries. Maybe I shouldn't have had that last glass of alcohol. I had 2 and 1/2 glasses of wine at the party.

We talked for hours and had an Andy Garcia sighting (he is staring in one of the movies showing at the festival). It was a long day.

I need to get back to unpacking. I'll wrap up tomorrow.