Jumping The Broom Mondays - JTB is in Italia

My friend Annie just sent me an email saying JTB is in Italy on PPV (2.50 or 5 euros) for those who have SKY Cinema.

It's on Channels 362/363 and HERE is the schedule for the next days.

The logline called it an explosive comedy. So dramatic.

EMMYS

I woke up at 1:55 a.m. to watch the EMMYs.

An intense thunderstorm rolled through Rome around 3ish and the cable went down for a few minutes. I didn't get to see Peter Dinklage's win.

Overall, I thought Jane Lynch was funny. She had some great one liners.

I was confused by Charlie Sheen's comments. Dude, it's not about you. Clearly, he's doing his apology tour. I wonder what brought the change of heart. New publicist?

Can wait for the new season of MAD MEN. When will it air, 2017?



Some favorite moments:

When the women nominated for Best Actress Comedy ran up on stage.

The MAD MEN sketch during the opening montage.

Ashton saying he was looking for the half man during THE OFFICE sketch.

I fell out over the Michael Bolton (!!) Akon/Maya Rudolf mash up.

My former boss Don Cheadle looking sharp.

Guy Pearce winning. He is one of the nicest people in the biz.

Julie Bowen, who played Amy in our movie, surprise win.

Ty Burrell's great acceptance speech.

Seeing Idris in a tux. Bummed he didn't win. LUTHER is amazing. I heard nothing but negative things about THE KENNEDYS mini-series. Did you see it? I was surprised to see how many nominations it received.

Loved Sofia, Kate and Lea's red dresses and the color of Dianna Agron's dress.

I think Gwyneth's dress would have been gorgeous if it were one piece.

I was perplexed by Julianna Margulies' dress. I just started watching THE GOOD WIFE. Great show.

COMMITTED by Elizabeth Gilbert, A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD by Jennifer Egan, THE CARRIE DIARES by Candace Bushnell and a few other summer reads

I read a few excellent/good books this summer. Below are a couple of them:


COMMITTED by Elizabeth Gilbert
I zipped through this book.

After her Brazilian-born Australian citizen boyfriend Felipe (they met toward the end of EAT, PRAY, LOVE) is arrested in the U.S. at the airport, they faced a tough choice. Either get married or Felipe would be barred from entering the U.S…. forever. Both Felipe and Elizabeth had gone through tough divorces. While they were committed to each other, they swore they would never marry again. The United States of America thought otherwise.

Elizabeth writes about marriage and the strain on their relationship as they live outside the U.S. waiting for Felipe’s paperwork. One little thing that jumped out at me was her comment that they were living off the fumes of her last book. While all this drama was going on, Felipe’s business was severely damaged. EAT, PRAY, LOVE had not been released yet. While Elizabeth was a respected writer (her book THE LAST AMERICAN MAN is excellent), her life completely changed after EPL became a phenomenon. As a broke writer her story gives me hope. You never know what the future holds.


A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUARD by Jennifer Egan
The winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Price for Fiction. I get the hype. Egan wrote one of my favorite articles about the fashion industry, “Jamie Is A Girl” years ago, but this is the first novel of hers I’ve read. The book chronicles the lives of a group of friends as life takes them in unexpected directions. It jumps around in time, past, present and near future. Most of the characters are connected somehow with music, but it’s not about the music industry Some say AVFTGS more of a series of short stories and the narrative is confusing at times. The “power-point” chapter told from the POV of 12 year-old Alison Blake is brilliant.

The book has been optioned for a series by HBO. Egan said THE SOPRANOS was one of her inspirations. Can’t wait.



THE CARRIE DIARIES/SUMMER IN THE CITY by Candace Bushnell
Yes, I read these YA books and loved them. I’m not into sparkly vampires, but books about nerdy/geeky girls trying to fit in… I’m there. These books are a wonderful palate cleanser for those who sat through SATC 2. The 17 year-old Carrie had more depth, and intelligence than the 45 year-old knucklehead caricatures in the movie.

TCD takes place during Carrie’s senior year in high school in a small town in Connecticut. Her mother has died. Her father is a good dad, but overwhelmed raising three girls alone.

SITC is set during the summer before her freshman year in college. Carrie is in NYC for a summer writing program. She meets Samantha (the older cousin of a high school classmate) and Miranda, a very opinionated young feminist. Both books have been optioned for a series on the CW. Writer Amy B. Harris is adapting. I would so watch that series.


ONE FIFTH AVENUE by Candace Bushnell
Ms. Bushnell is kicking butt this year. This book was just optioned for a series on ABC. Unlike SATC, Bushnell will be a producer on both projects. People assume she made a bunch of money on SATC. She did not. Once she sold the TV rights, she was not involved with the series.

OFA is about a very chic building in NYC and the lives of several women who live (or want to live) there. Good, soapy fun. I loved hating the humorless Mindy character. And Lola reminded me of many obsessed with becoming famous early-20 somethings I met in L.A.



FALLING MAN by Don DeLillo
This was tough read. It’s a fantastic novel about September 11th. Keith is a lawyer who escapes the rubble. He was recently separated from his wife. His young son is having major problems, post 9/11. Keith’s struggle to reclaim his life is haunting, but hopeful. Somewhat.


THE ART OF ACTING by Stella Adler
A good resource for actors and writers. The book is a little dated. However, there’s a reason Stella Adler is considered one of the most important teachers of acting in America.



DELUXE: How Luxury Lost Its Luster by Dana Thomas
This is an excellent book on the $157-billion luxury industry, globalization, class and culture. I am very anti-fakes anyway, but reading about how some sweat shop factories break the legs of kids so they can’t leave made me sick. Thomas writes about how several luxury brands are not selling luxurious well-made items anymore, but just the brand. The portrayal of LVMH is scathing.

One luxury brand that walks the talk is Hermès. It’s not surprising it’s one of the few brands that is still family owned and operated. LVMH wants to buy them. I think that would dilute the brand and basically kill it. Why the heck would anyone pay serious money for a Birkin or a Kelly bag if they are no longer made by hand? In order to meet the profit margins demands of a big multi-national, Hermès would have to use cheaper labor/raw materials.

More books next week.

When in Rome...

Well, at least my blog will be on vacation for Ferragosto.

I have to finish my novel and work on a TV pitch. No vacation for me.

My neighborhood is very popular with tourists and drunk American exchange students so it won't be as quiet as other areas in Rome.

Most of my favorite places are closed until September and the majority of my friends are out of town as well.

This summer has been stressful, but I'm optimistic something great is going to happen soon.

Buon Ferragosto! See in you September.

Flashback Friday - Larry Hagman and Diana Ross - Yes, really

This has got to be one of the most random pairings of all times. I know it was done in the early '80s, but still.

Buon weekend!

The new trailer for Jersey Shore reminds me of the drunk idiots I see every night in Campo

Mamma mia. Drama.

I still don't know why MTV decided to go to Florence. There's no beach.

Judging from the trailer, Season 4 is going to be a big hit. I wonder what the Italian press will make of the show.

Flashback Friday - A little High School Musical for Shelley, An American In Rome

I am very happy to report that the lovely Shelley is back!!

Many remember her blog reallyrome.com which then became Un Americana a Roma.

Three years ago Shelley returned to the United States of America.

I can't wait to read about her reentry to the Bel Paese. It's a big move from the country (in Washington State) back to a city of four million.

I first met Shelley in person back in March 2007. I cannot believe that was four years ago.

Shelley, along with a few other expat friends, really paved the way for my move. They were inspiring, but also realistic. By the time I arrived, I was prepared.

I've met expats who moved here with the idea of an Under The Tuscan Sun-type paradise. Then they get mad at Italy, because living here and being on vacation here are two very different things.

Shelley, this cheeserific song is for you!

The Jersey Shore Cast Has Landed In Italy

Florentines must be so excited.

Jezebel.com has a nice write up HERE with a clip from the Today Show.

I still don't understand why the show is shooting in Florence and not a beach town like Rimini.

Help! I'm addicted to The Rachel Zoe Project.

The show has recently started airing in Italy on E! Italia. I cannot stop watching it.

Ms. Zoe grew up in the same area as me (I've already discussed how much I love Short Hills Mall) and I totally hear her slight, suburban Northern New Jersey accent.

I'm pretty sure Zoe (like myself) has been saying "bananas" before Gwen Stefani's "Holla Back" song. Once that song came out I had to make an effort to drop "bananas" from my vocabulary. It made me salty as bananas was one of my favorite words. It's so useful. Living in L.A. and now Rome, I constantly find myself in situations that can only be described as "BA-NAN-AS". As in, getting a driver's license in Italy is bananas.

Zoe gets a lot of flack, even from her husband sometimes, about how serious she takes her career. It's dismissed as "only" fashion. Sorry, but I respect people who have a passion for what they do. I hate that the creative arts/crafts are not respected in America unless you make a lot of money.

There are many very talented and smart people who work in fashion. Clothing is the one thing that touches almost every single person's life, unless they walk around naked.

Yes, some people are over the top but so freaking what? Fashion should be fun. With all the horrific things going on the world, it's great to get excited about something that speaks to you, whether it's a photograph, a painting, a film, a song or a beautiful dress.

A clip from the show. Everything is so DRAMATIC! I do remember seeing Cameron's Chanel dress and Eva's Dior dress on the red carpet and thinking they were gorgeous. It's interesting to see how the outfits came together.



An interview with Harper's Bazaar.


This spoof cracked me up. The two have met and did a video together. It's good to see Zoe has a sense of humor. Too many people in Hollywood do not.

Can we talk about the deliciousness that is Chef Eric Ripert?

I've been watching "Top Chef" Season 5 on LEI (the Italian version of Lifetime...television for women). It's down to the final four.

Chef Ripert was one of the guest judges on an earlier episode. He's the head chef and co-owner of Le Bernardin in NYC. This four star restaurant is known for fish and is considered one of the best restaurants in America.

I love his accent. I could listen to him read the United States Capital Gains tax bill.

I get down right giddy when he and his best friend Anthony Bourdain show up on my favorite cooking and travel shows.

It cracks me up that in the video below, Chef Ripert says his recipe for sauteed cod with pea shoots and ginger-lemon scallion broth is easy.

Flashback Friday - In Living Color's Men On Football

The hat Damon's wearing kills me.

I wonder what happened to Tommy Davidson's career? In Living Color kicked off the careers of Jim Carrey, Damon Wayons, Jamie Foxx, etc.

Have a great weekend.

What the heck....Doesn't Don Draper know I don't smoke?

I just noticed the vespa. ha




I can't wait for Season Four.

Flashback Friday - Mad Men crew sings - Bye Bye Birdie

Hilarious.

Brings back memories of singing with our movie crews during brutal night shoots.

How cute is Jon Hamm and the actor who plays creepy Henry Francis looks completely different.

Have a great weekend.

I love André Leon Talley

I stopped watching ANTM because Ty Ty got on my nerves. Also, let's get really, most of the winners do not become a mid-level model, much less a top one.

I read the Italian version is one of the most realistic. I believe it. The contestants on that version look like they could actually have a modeling career.

When I heard ALT was going to be the show, I was so excited. I saw clips of the first episode and can't wait for the show to air here. The panel discussions for this cycle are going to be hilarious. I noticed Noted Fashion Photographer Nigel Barker was giving André the side-eye.

One of my friends gave me ALT's autobiography as a gift. It was very interesting to read about his upbringing. I wish he had opened up a little more, but I can understand why he was a little guarded.

In the book he mentioned how he was shunned by the Jack and Jill set (he was too dark and too poor). I wonder if he runs into those people on his trips back home.

I know some people like to dismiss him and fashion as being silly. I love that he has passion for what he does. He's a very smart man and I have much respect for someone who is curious about the world.

ALT was raised by his grandmother who worked as a maid. This was back in the day in North Carolina. She did not have an easy life. However, she inspired his appreciation for beauty, had style, manners and dignity.

ALT also talks about Diana Vreeland, who was the other major influence in his life.

Yes he's a little larger than life but so what? He's a big, tall, gay, black man with a Masters in French from Brown, who grew up in the Jim Crow south. Of course he's going to stand out. Why not do it wearing a fabulous cape?

This CLIP from a recap on Jezebel.com, cracked me up. Perhaps one day I will own a home with a sal-on. ha

Flashback Friday - 1989 Oscar opening featuring Snow White and Rob Lowe

Oh man!!

What was the late Alan Carr smoking when he created this opening? It was ripped to shreds and Mr. Lowe is lucky this went down pre-Twitter/Facebook etc.

I like the tribute to Old School Hollywood. The rest? I have no words.

Have a great weekend.

Roger Ebert is dying.

This article in Esquire was one of the most moving pieces I've read in a long time.

Ebert might be best known for saying "Two Thumbs Up" but he was the first film critic to receive a Pulitzer for his work.

I knew he had cancer but no idea he had lost the ability to eat or to speak. That half his jaw is gone.

That he is slowly dying and aware of it.

What would most people do? Ebert does what he loves. Watches films and writes about them.

GLEE Italian Style!

Great promo for the show. I wish I was there on that day. I cut through that building's lobby all the time.

One of the funniest moments on the show had to be the Acafellas singing the Bell Biv DeVoe classic,"Poison". Hilarious.

Flashback Friday - GLEE - "Don't Stop Believing"

The hit American TV show GLEE just started airing in Italy.

After hearing all the hype and my even my jaded film industry friends rave about the show, I finally got to see it.

Ryan Murphy who created the shows POPULAR and NIP/TICK created this show based on his own high school experience.

Are the students cliches? Yes I think that's the point. Of course the football jock is dating the head cheerleader. But then he's blackmailed into joining the GLEE club. ha

It's great the show is introducing younger viewers to songs from different genres and eras. The actors are crazy talented and kudos to casting for picking people who can actually sing.

Jane Lynch plays the very mean cheerleader coach She's hilarious.

This video is from the ending of the pilot episode. It warms my geeky music loving heart. I love the energy and joy.

Have a great weekend.

Build A New Life, No Going Back, and Selling A House Abroad.

These are the English titles for several shows on Discovery Travel and Living.

Every episode features a British couple or person who has decided to leave the city and buy property in the country or overseas. I'm addicted to these shows.

The prices in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal are much cheaper than in the UK and the weather is better so I understand the attraction of moving. I also get that train wrecks make for better TV but some of these are folks are freaking nuts.

Usually things do work out at the end but the process! What drama. These shows are educational in that they show you what NOT to do.

• Always get a survey/inspection.
Who buys a house without doing a survey? I realize some places don’t require one but given how much thought I put into buying a pair of shoes, you best believe my anal self will be asking lots of questions and will have someone look at the property before I buy. One couple in Normandy bought a house full of termites, which were discovered after they moved in. Another couple in Southern France found out that the previous owner didn’t have proper sewage facilities. This weaken the property’s foundation. Sewage had been leaking out into the yard for years. Yuck.

• Budget enough for your renovations.
Call me crazy but 5,000 pounds (around $9,000) is probably not enough money to renovate an old Tuscan farmhouse that doesn’t have plumbing, or electric.

• Hire professionals unless you actually are a builder.
Just because you can put together some furniture from IKEA doesn’t mean you can put up a roof, wire electrics, pour concrete floors by yourself, etc. I really wouldn’t mess around with wiring. A badly painted wall is not the end of the world. Jacked up electrical can be a fire risk.

• Don’t pay builders in full before the job is done or use their lawyer to draw up your contract.
This seems to be more of a Spain problem, since most of the properties there are new builds. In fact, there are more new builds in Spain than in France, Italy, and Portugal combined. I do not want to buy a new house so I tend to ignore those episodes. I did get sucked in with one couple from the UK who paid in cash before the job was done. The contractor didn’t finish the house. There were several couples who found out after they signed the papers that their houses were illegal builds (again big problem with new developments popular with expats along the coast), or a highway was going to put in next door, or that the person who sold them the house really didn’t have the rights. Hire an independent lawyer folks.

• Have a back up plan/save enough money.
Watching these poor people living in small caravans while their renovations go over budget or are delayed, I wonder why they assumed everything would go smoothly. It’s construction, in a different country. The ones who quit their jobs and think they will be able to renovate quickly and make money from vacation rentals have the toughest time, especially if they have kids. There were several near divorces. One couple renovating a houseboat did in fact get a divorce. The marriage couldn’t survive the stress.

• Get references.
Don’t hire a builder because they are cheaper than the others. They might be cheap for a reason.

• Learn the language.
Or at least make sure your project manager or architect can communicate with the builders.

• Find out what the zoning laws are.
If you are moving to the country for some peace and quiet, you might want to make sure there are zoning laws. This one woman paid for a villa in Spain with mountain views and the developer built these ugly ass condos right behind her. She’s stuck since she can’t sell the property and she doesn’t want to live there anymore.

• Find out before you buy the property if there are restrictions on renovations.
Many older homes are protected. Try to get all your building permits lined up before you actually hire a builder. There were several shows where people started renovations only to be told they had to halt all work because they didn’t have the right permits.

Here's a clip of George Clarke. He's the host of "Build A New Life" and easy on the eyes.

The Balloon Boy hoax

When is this reality TV craze going to end? I was working in an office so I missed the play by play that riveted millions not only in the States but made international news.

From the very beginning some were questioning the story. It turns out there is no way the balloon would have been able to hold the weight of six year old Falcon.

This "balloon boy" hoax should be a wake up call but it won't be. I hope this dumb ass dad gets the book thrown at him. If you want to be famous, whatever, but to tell a six year old to tell a big lie like that? No words.

I'm sure somewhere Jon Gosselin is relieved. Richard Heene has taken over the "most disliked" realty TV dad title away from him.

Why are parents taping their babies and putting it on YouTube? So if you get enough hits you get to sit down with Matt Lauer and talk about what a special snowflake your child is? Does the child have any say in this?

Anyway, the Sheriff is going to press charges.

Here is the story in the NY Times.