Results tagged “hollywoodelsewhere”

Should a restaurant indulge a diner's request for utensils so he can eat dessert he brought with him? Movie blogger Jeffrey Wells thinks so, and he's unleashed one of his signature, off-topic rants on Hollywood Elsewhere to slam West Village restaurant Sant Ambreous. Wells says he sensed something off about the place immediately, in part because "the waiters wore pink shirts with black ties. Village restaurants should always use waitresses who look like Sylvia Plath and who wear black leotard tops or somewhat tight sweaters." And after dropping $62 on dinner for two, the manager refused to let him eat a piece of Dean & Deluca cake he'd brought. Wells says, "I saw red. I told him I would never return to his place, and that I would do what I can to dissuade others from visiting." His diatribe's sparking a heated debate, dividing those who think "it is the absolute height of low-thread count when you try to eat your own food in a fucking restaurant," and others who think it's outrageous for a restaurant to impose a fee on outside desserts—such as a "cake cutting" fee during birthday parties. Who's right?

There is tons of speculation all over the Internet about the Oscar nominations for films released in 2006. As an Oscars fiend, we're not going to digress about the calculus of vote-splitting. Instead, we'll point out a couple things we noticed:

When we woke up this morning, Gothamist hoped last night's Oscars were only a dream. Because the idea that Crash won still hurts our head so much that we haven't been able to really read all the nitty-gritty (because we know our eyes will start bleeding) - we can't believe we frigging liveblogged that shondah! Forget conspiracy theories about Jack Palance being wacked out and mistakenly reading Marisa Tomei's name as Best Supporting Actress in 1992 (maybe over Judy Davis) - this will bet he conspiracy theory to talk about for ages. Or maybe everyone in Hollywood really does love Don Cheadle, even though he wasn't allowed a producer credit at the Oscars. We don't know - and just to spite you, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, Gothamist will be attempting to only watch movies on DVD whenever possible - screw you and your horrible voting tactics. But we'll see you next year, with clenched teeth, some ibuprofen and a hotline to our shrink.

It's unfortunate that we have to read all these wonderful stories about Jerry Orbach in the many obituaries today, but Gothamist is heartened by the fact that many people, from fans to critics, as well as his peers, found him to be a great actor and a wonderful person. Gothamist thinks that was part of why we love Jerry so much, whether he was Detective Lennie Briscoe or Lumiere or Harry McGraw: He was wise and approachable. A few of the quotes we like:

The hilarious thing is that on the Sci-Fi website for the documentary, there are links to other papers noting how M. Night suddenly took away access, but no links (natch) to anything to reveals the true story. Wells ends his thoughts on The Village wanna-be buzz with:

I would be lying if I didn't admit that this episode has totally pissed me off, and that I would love to repay the favor by trashing THE VILLAGE any which way I can. I'm not going to say it's not a good film if I think otherwise after seeing it. But I think this episode should be read as a big green light by all entertainment journalists to dump on THE VILLAGE in any way possible. You know....because it'll feel good.

Ah, sweet revenge. Gothamist has seen trailers for The Village, but it just looks like The Crucible with some aliens and some paint. Anyone know anything else? And one of the co-directors of the non-controversial documentary is Nathaniel Kahn, who directed the Oscar-nominated My Architect about his father, Louis I. Kahn.

One variation on the self-centered-person-with-child film that actually works is About a Boy, based on the Nick Hornby novel. And there are tons of TV shows about this, like My Two Dads and A Family Affair.

- From Washington Post film critic Stephen Hunter's review of The Last Samurai. [Via Jeffrey Wells' Hollywood Elsewhere]

Scroll down to "Role Playing" - I'm noted! Movie Poop Shoot: Hollywood Elsewhere - October 30, 2002