Behind the Velvet Rope

By Joe Alexander

With photos by Patrick McMullan

March to the Movies

        Hail, Caesar! stars three of Hollywood's sexiest men . This satiric comedy from the Coen Brothers captures 1950s Hollywood in all its manufactured glory. George Clooney revealed  "The Coen Brothers like to smack me around in their movies. When they send me a script, I'm usually playing an idiot. " Clooney died his hair black for the role and said. "It made me feel 'young and lively'." Channing Tatum, who plays a dancing, singing sailor who dances with other sailors confessed  "The more you try to look sexy, the lamer it is, so you just have to commit to the comedy." adding "I recently had my first Elvis moment. A gang of young girls was jumping all over me. It was kinda scary. And totally flattering." This film is filled with hilarious clichéd moments including: an unmarried pregnant starlet, a dopey singing cowboy, black listed communists and a pair of riotous gossip columnists based on Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons played by Tilda Swinton.  Josh Brolin who plays the studios "Mr. Fix It " snarked of Tilda's role  " For some people dirt is good for them because they want to have something to print." At last, he understands how Tinsel Town's reporters work. …… Kung-Fu Panda 3 star Jack Black opined "You have to mind your Ps and Qs a little bit," while working on children's flicks ….Zac Efron who stars in Dirty Grandpa said "My favorite character is played by Robert De Niro.  He was fully committed to letting go." DeNiro countered, "I only go to Los Angeles when I am paid for it."

Ryan Reynolds breaks out of his superhero roles in the cinematically avant-garde thriller/comedy Deadpool.   Ryan shows off his edgy, sardonic side in a captivating performance that his him talking directly to the audience in unexpected places. This is a career 360 for Reynolds that allows him to be sexy and self-deprecating "This is a nasty piece of work. It's based in so much emotional filth. It's like 'Barfly' if it were a superhero movie." Said Ryan ….Ben Foster's new adventure movie The Finest Hours is based on a true-life event from 1952.   Four brave members of the Coast Guard rescue 30 stranded sailors from a sinking oil tanker in the middle of one of New England's worst storms. Co –star Chris Pine reflected on what he learned during the shoot. "A lot of tragedy can befall us, but there's always something else; there's always hope." The tumultuous ocean all but steals this movie from the actors.

Fashion Week Fetes

Neil Patrick Harris' favorite L.A. underwear designer Andrew Christian headed to the East Coast to host a fashion show and search for his next tighty-whitey model at 42 West in the Out Hotel. On another night, in the same performance space, Academy Award winner, Jennifer Hudson who starred as Effie with Beyonce in the film adaptation of Dreamgirls, cheered on her pal Rema Webb who's in the Broadway hit The Color Purple and Jennifer Holliday, who played the original Effie on Broadway. The show was a benefit for Arts For All.arts-for-all.org Holliday's closing number from Dreamgirls "And I am Telling You" brought the entire audience to their feet, many of whom were in tears. The show was produced by Jacob Langfelder. 42west.net …….Kelsey Grammar's daughter, Greer Grammar, made her modeling debut alongside Anderson Cooper and Gloria Vanderbilt's cousin Consuelo Vanderbilt Costin at designer Malan Breton's show. Breton's fans include Ariana Grande, Scarlett Johansson and Kerry Washington. The edgy collection was inspired by Studio 54. 'Consuelo who has launched a pearl and diamond jewelry collection for HSN and been named the brand ambassador for Michaela Rigguci Shoes also performed her single 'Feel So Alive to open Vivienne Hu's show. costinmusic.com hsn.com…… Pals Naomie Harris, Riley Keough, Olivia Munn and Sofia Crokos graced the front row at the Michael Kors Show. Michaelkors.com……..  Dale Noelle, the CEO of TRUE Model Management hosted a "Winter Warm Up" cocktail with a 100 of her models at Proper West. Guests included Nicole Ferrell, of WE-TV's Ex-Isle, Chris Carroll, Sharon Quinn, designer Daniel Silverstein,,  Anny Amado, Janel Koloski, the Winner of the Next Travel Channel Star, Broadway's Lilli Cooper and Erica Ellis. The '90's hip-hop jams got everyone in the mood to shake off the cold. Attendees donated gently worn coats to New York Cares. newyorkcares.org/coat-drive In the heady mix were Tashina Zamlowski, Melanie Resha, Andrea Webster, Anthony Higgins, Dina Khoury, Christina Maldari, Christina Krasnyuk, Asta Masedunskaite and Catherine Schuller. Models Prefer cosmetics and TRUHair sponsored the fete. truemodel.net

Haven Rooftop

Seth Meyers, Karina Smirnoff, and Carmen Electra are all fans of Brandon and Hank Freid's Sanctuary Hotel, which unveiled its Ski Chalet at Haven Rooftop. The winter themed roof will have a rack of skis that will hold tequila shots named after Andy Cohen who made them famous on his TV show, Watch What Happens Live. Booths named Aspen, St. Moritz and Courchevel are serviced by sexy female waitresses in stretch pants, faux fur boots and fitted turtlenecks. Sancturayhotelnyc.com

SIR IVAN's Birthday Bash

Top Ten Billboard recording artist and philanthropist SIR IVAN celebrated his 6oth birthday in Miami at the Nautilus Hotel. Famous for throwing lavish parties at his Castle in the Hamptons, this one did not disappoint. With over 600 guests and the party in full swing, SIR IVAN pulled up in his Peacemobile covered in 60s flower images and the slogan "Make Love Not War." The party king wore his signature white Peace cape-suit and a crown of gold and rubies. SIR IVAN made his grand entrance, flanked by two gorgeous models on leashes. They were body painted as lionesses and wore black patent leather go-go shorts, spiked collars and stilettos. Guests left with a DVD of his critically acclaimed documentary SIR IVAN: I Am Peaceman. Sirivan.com  

Hamptons Heart Ball

Jean Shafiroff threw open the doors of her far flung Park Avenue aerie to kick off the 20^th Anniversary of The American Heart Association's Hamptons Heart Ball.  Guests included Dr. Jeffrey Moses, Liliana Cavendish, plastic surgeon Dr. Barry Weintraub, Jill Sand, Sharon Bush, food festival and event marketer Herb Karlitz, interior designer Geoffrey Bradfield and stem cell guru and longevity doctor Christopher Calapai. The benefit, co-chaired by Consuelo Vanderbilt Costin, Nicole Noonan, Tracy Stern and Randi Schatz, will honor Shafiroff in Bridgehampton on June 25^th. heart.org

NameFace.com

Kelly Bensimon, Odd Mom Out creator Jill Kargman and DJ Mad Marge hosted a party for photographer Steve Eichner and German tech-start-up personality Daniela Kirsch to launch their new venture, NameFace.com  at No.8. This game-changing web solution identifies the names of VIPs through facial recognition technology. Eichner, a professional event photographer, whose work  has appeared in The New York Times, Rolling Stone and WWD, spotted the missing link between photographers and the metadata of their photos and decided to create an online data base. NameFace has a vast archive of faces and names that can help photographers and the media match a face to a name on the red carpet.  Kirsch said, "NameFace can even tell the difference between Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen!"nameface.com