With thanks to Keith (follow him on Twitter): Liz Rosenberg and Interscope (Warner who?) have dropped an info-packed press release on all of Madonna's accomplishments of the week: Madonna by the numbers!
Most interesting to me:
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Madonna gets teary thanking her late mom
I was invited to cover the red carpet for Madonna's W.E. premiere at the Ziegfeld earlier tonight. Then I was uninvited. (Space.) Then I was re-invited. I wound up getting to go, and it was a blast of epic proportions. There was a very light turn-out of fans in the cold rain, but the press was packed into a long tent leading into the theater. I was placed two slots from the bitter end, which turned out to be a nice position because anyone who did the red carpet had to pass us to get inside.
I've had front row before but A-1...I'd be riding her dress train!
I made friends with a woman covering for Pink Is the New Blog, but she was whisked away ("first, they came for...") to a spot in the lobby so I wound up bonding with Matt from Hard Candy Music. As I told him, we were probably the lowest men on the totem pole so as such would be lucky to sniff Madonna's stardust as she breezed by. Which meant anything else would be a cause for joyous celebration. We also chit-chatted with a sexy, dark-haired (they have those there?) Swede named Pablo (they have those there, too?) who shoots for Vogue. He was much nicer than you'd expect for a Vogue shooter, and him saying, "One shot for Vogue?" had the effect of a brick wall, stopping nearly every celeb who breezed by. (Patti Smith was not impressed, but I was fucking impressed that Patti Smith walked past me, let alone that she was attending a movie by Madonna.)
The carpet got off to a slow start, but the tip sheet was insane! Check out all the names:
Some of these people didn't do press or didn't show
The first star on the carpet seemed to be one of the film's two male leads, dreamy James D'Arcy, who looks even better with a shaved head that he does with his foppish blond Edward 'do.
Julia Stiles is miles of smiles—for Vogue
Ewan told this reporter the answer to her question was HIS business
Andrew McCarthy was born to run
Patti Smith— love to know her opinion of her fellow Downtown doyenne
It's Diane von Furstenberg, y'all!
"Mine is even younger than yours, dahhhling!" With Calvin Klein!
Guy Oseary said "too stressed!" when I asked if I could quiz him
Spartacus sexpot Lucy Lawless with Liam McIntyre; she unceremoniously plopped her coat on the carpet to pose. She was fab!
Big, unaffiliated stars slipped past most of the press, namely Ewan McGregor (who was at one point attached to do this film), Julia Stiles (who was having absolutely none of any press except for a shot for Vogue), Andrew McCarthy (who gamely answered my question about a fantasy Madonna collaboration: "A duet, of course!"), a stunning Lucy Lawless with equally stunning Liam McIntyre (she gave me a great answer, he sort of avoided making eye contact rather than give us a "no") and then still others who I only saw fleetingingly like Diane von Furstenberg, Guy Oseary (Madonna's manager said he was too stressed to answer my question), Donna Karan, Calvin Klein (big kiss for and from Madonna and some conspiratorial chatting amongst them, perhaps about hot young guys!), Lady Bunny (I was impressed, too), Zac Posen, Ivanka Trump (pretty, actually) Jack McCollough & Lazaro Hernandez (hotness) and several people even I didn't recognize. (Not Z-listers, more like fashion A-listers.)
Out is offering up a "pool party" showing models parading in the latest swimsuits, but isn't calling attention to the obvious fact that famous significant others Nick Gruber (top) and Lorenzo Marton (bottom) are among them.
Prove it!
As of midnight last night, it was exactly six years since my first post. It's been a tough thing to keep up with a dayjob and outside activities, and just when I think I might walk away, a valuable connection or interesting opportunity or a kind word comes my way. Thank you all for reading me.
Of whom are you more jealous?
Here are my favorite 100+ posts out of nearly 11,000. Please take some time to read (or re-read!) a couple and tweet or Facebook any you like.
xoxo Matt
The pocket pool championships were intense this year
BOY CULTURE
FROM BOY TO MAN: BC B.C. (2007): The entire history of my novell and novel Boy Culture as well as the movie version; might be my ultimate post.
Jonathon Trent & Derek Magyar make an Allan Brocka sandwich
BOY ON FILM (2006): An account of the NYC launch party for Boy Culture as it played the TriBeCa Film Fest.
I was left "Reeling" by the experience
FRIENDS AND "FAMILY" (2006): The movie version of Boy Culture hits Chicago.
No one would've mistaken me for Taylor Lautner
RAPT PUPIL (2006): The final night of Outfest with Boy Culture; I was fat but on the other hand got to meet Bryan Singer.
MY ART
Construction worker (shot this week) vs. James Dean
GUYDAR (since at least January 17, 2008) & ENDS OF THE WORLD (since at least January 13, 2008): Attractive men of the world—I got your backs. Your fronts, too.
Unaltered iPhone image that still blows me away
"Your pictures suck" (2008): An art critic attacks me, but not without sustaining some hits in return.
DRAWN TOGETHER (2008): How my desire to draw related to my secret desire. One of my absolute favorite posts.
The shirtless one
LOST ANGELES (2009): My favorite photographic travelogue of L.A.
Even then, New Yorkers feared 9/11 was the beginning of the end
ART IMITATES LIFE (2006): My 9/11 and my distaste for grief tourism.
ME
Death of the party—Jeff in high school, already halfway through his life
BURNING MAN (2007): Tribute to my late high school friend and first romance.
Signed, sealed (eventually) delivered
LOST BOY FOUND (2011): There is a book in here somewhere.
Be Italian
CIAO HOUNDS: OUR TRIP TO ITALY (2011): Finally got José to Europe.
ILLINOIS DEATH TRIP (2007): Ruminations on death while revisiting a past home, and the past.
Life is short...and meaningful
PASSING BY (2008): Mourning the loss of a person I only met once.
Lots more...
Madonna & Brahim Zaibat
That cougar who traveled from South Dakota to Connecticut had nothin' on the cougar named Madonna, who traveled from Michigan to New York with only spare change and a dream, and who has since visited most of the countries in the world and many of its continents.
Fashion designer Tyler Rose moonlilghts as a photographer—which I need to do...anyone want to mentor me?—and sends me these samples of his shoot with Francisco, a model who returned to the industry after leaving to "make babies and drive a truck." I'm not sure if Francisco speaks softly, but...you know the rest.
Check out Tyler's work here and here.
Nick Gruber is turning 21, so his sugar-granddaddy Calvin Klein is throwing him a birthday bash. The actual invite refers to it as:
"...the hottest ticket for New York's gay and fashion elite."
A party that announces its own hotness sounds dreadful. I wonder how I can get in?
Does fashion and cologne magnate Calvin Klein's new May/December-of-the-following-year romance pass the smell test?
Calvin Klein's new boyfriend, Nick Gruber, has been IDed (NSFW link) as a porn actor for NextDoorMale.com and MasonWyler.com under the name Aaron Skyline (!). DudeTube points out that Nick's done straight porn and in the gay stuff "doesn't kiss, suck dick, bottom or top in any of his videos. He's strictly the object of the other guy's attention," leading them to ask if Calvin's gay lover is a gay-for-pay lover.
CK may be 67 and lacking a vagina, but he's still got something that everybody wants.
Eat yer heart out, Madonna—Calvin Klein's boytoy Nick Gruber is younger (20!) and arguably cuter than yours, plus Calvin's cheeks are bigger!
Best Gawker comment:
I attended the Eclipse premiere in L.A., and while I was not around for this exchange, Kellan Lutz flashed his CK waistband for inquiring reporters. I have it on good authority he then said, "Thank God I'm wearing something today!" So the legend of his freeballing becomes fact.
