Our Plan To Save Annie Leibovitz's Finances
Annie Leibovitz has been sued—again--for passing off another photographer's work as her own. She allegedly stitched a portrait she took onto a background he took and passed it off as her own shot. Which gave us an idea! Italian photographer Paolo Pizzetti sued Leibovitz last week for copyright infringement. According to Bloomberg, Leibovitz hired Pizzetti last year to scout locations for a calendar she was shooting for the Italian coffee company LavAzza. Leibovitz did indeed shoot photos for the calendar, which was supposed to be themed "The Italian Espresso Experience," but she couldn't actually make it to Italy to photograph the models. No problem—she just shot her models in New York and then pasted them onto photos taken in scenic Italian backgrounds. No muss, no fuss, the check cleared. But Pizzetti wasn't in on the joke, apparently, and was shocked to find his background shot actually in the calendar—that's the photo at issue. Our reaction: Who knew how easy it is to be a celebrity international photographer? You don't even have to go anywhere! And while we were waiting to for news from the passing of today's deadline for the repayment of Art Capital Group's $24 million loan to Leibovitz (spokespersons for both Art Capital and Leibovitz had no comment on the deadline), it occurred to us that photoshop-whoring some of her more iconic shots could, with the click of a mouse, make those money troubles go away. We thought we'd get her started. MORE >>
Charlie Sheen's Fantasy 9/11 Truther Grilling of the President
What do celebrities dream of? If you're Charlie Sheen and Heidi Fleiss' been out of business for decades, your fantasies likely revolve around interviewing President Obama and nailing him to the floor over the Pentagon's secret role in 9/11. Obama may be about to throw Van Jones overboard, but in somewhere out there, in an alternative universe, Charlie Sheen is striking back for the Truthers. In a breathtaking piece of fantasy journalism just posted on the web by the Two and a Half Men star, Sheen fleshes out his dream interview with the leader of the Free World in which he makes him confront the government's lies about the attack. Sheen begins with an admirable piece of verisimilitude, in keeping with the mores of great fan fiction. Truly putting himself in the role of crusading journalist, Sheen swallows deep and reckons with the shackles placed on his imaginary profession: I requested 30 minutes given the scope and detail of my inquiry; they said I could have 20. Twenty minutes, 1200 seconds, not a lot of time to question the President about one of the most important events in our nation's history. The following is a transcript of our remarkable discussion. The stage is set. The odds against Sheen are a bazillion-trillion to one. How in a mere 20 minutes will a sitcom star break down the most eloquent speaker and glibbest debater the world has ever seen. At first, it looks like Sheen's imaginary editors have sent him out on Interview Impossible. The President attempts to charm Sheen with flattery, and then after conceding, of the 9/11 Commission that he was "aware of certain "in fighting" during the course of their very thorough and tireless investigative process," the slippery Obama attempts to swat Sheen away with snide air-quoted references to the "facts" contained in the volumes of research the star has brought along for their encounter. On the ropes, Sheen gets up, stands on his feet and charges ahead into the lion's den, speaking shame to power. PBO – Mistakes were clearly made but we as a people and as a country need to move forward. It is obviously in our best interest as a democratic society to focus our efforts and our resources on the future of this great nation and our ability to protect the American people and our allies from this type of terrorism in the coming years. CS – Sir, how can we focus on the future when THE COMMISSION ITSELF is on record stating that they still do not know the truth?? PBO – Even if what you state, might in some capacity, begin to approach an open discussion or balanced debate, I can't speak for, or about the decisions certain commission members made during an extremely difficult period. Perhaps you should be interviewing them instead of me. Wait, don't tell me; I was easier to track down than they were? CS - Not exactly sir, but let's be honest. You're the President of the United States, the leader of the free world, the buck stops with you. 9/11 has been the pretext for the systematic... MORE >>
Proof Anna Wintour Was a Club-Hopping High School Hipster
Did Anna Wintour ever strike you as the type who was a precocious teenager, hanging out in the "discotheques" of mod 1960s London? Suspicions confirmed! We have a copy of a nightlife review a 17-year-old Wintour wrote in 1966. Thanks to a tipster (whose mother went to school with Wintour), we got some scans of the 1966 North London Collegiate School Magazine which contains one of the Vogue editor's early works: a review of the places people like us could never dream of getting into. Ironically, it's first two words of the article on "London's Discotheques" are "in vogue." It's like the Magic Eight Ball told her where she would end up! It only gets more delicious from there. In vogue at the moment are the Garrison, the Scotch of St. James and Dolly's. The Garrison, run by smooth, dinner-jacketed waiters is ostensibly where the upper crust of London's rich young jet set while away time between flights...The Scotch of St James (actually it's in Mason's Yard) is small and crowded to near suffocation point...The pessimistic are already gloomily predicting that the Scotch will soon be passee but its popularity among the uninitiate is still high. Wow, looks like Anna was hipper than hip. We just love the idea of her running around swinging '60s London in a mod miniskirt like a little Gossip Girl, not even out of school but living the high life. It makes her seem, not only human, but fun! [At] Dolly's...the most way-out outfits are the expected uniform and the kinkiest of gear is accepted without the blinking of an eyelid Sounds just like fashion week. As for the writing, it's pretty good (minus that unfortunate "blinking of an eyelid" cliche). It also holds all the hallmarks of her new regime at Vogue. During the recession she's trying to make the magazine a little friendlier for readers on a budget, she does the same here. After giving us the insider details on the hottest celeb hangouts, she enumerates some clubs "for the masses." That's so sweet to throw the little people a bone! It's like when Vogue uses a skirt from The Gap. MORE >>
Obama's Next News Cycle: A Breakdown
Barack Obama went into this Labor Day weekend amid a firestorm of controversy over his back to school speech. That firestorm was fanned a bit by Van Jones' resignation. So, what can Obama expect as the news cycle begins anew? MORE >>
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