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Drew Grant

By Drew Grant 7:12pm

Reality Bites

Ryan Serhant, at home and on TV.

Million Dollar Day: Riding Along with Real Estate Reality Star Ryan Serhant

7:45 AM: Ryan Serhant, the former hand model/soap opera actor-turned-real estate superstar, beats The Observer to his Tribeca office by an hour. “I’m always the first one in,” brags the 28-year-old broker at Nest Seekers International, a boutique real estate brokerage firm.

He has been up since 4:23 a.m, was at the gym by 5 a.m. and in the office shortly thereafter. When we offer to go for a bleary-eyed coffee run, he yells from his office, “Don’t forget to write about how you were an hour late!” Read More

By Drew Grant 6:30pm

Party Time

The Kanye Pyramid. (Wireimage c/o Adult Swim.)

Adult Swimming with Kanye West

“Tru$t U$,” read the sign behind the bar of the Roseland Ballroom last Thursday night, as a couple hundred reporters, ad sales reps, financial backers and celebrities crammed into the performance space to see the Adult Swim upfronts. Well, that wasn’t exactly true—most people weren’t there to see the new lineup of shows that will air on Cartoon Network, or to rub elbows with Lake Bell (Childrens Hospital), Paul Scheer (Filthy Sexy Teen$), Seth Green (Robot Chicken) or Aziz Ansari, who will be doing a voice cameo on Venture Bros. Instead, they were there to see the night’s entertainment: Kanye West.

Somehow, Adult Swim, owned by Turner Broadcasting, has always managed to book the most impossible talent for its upfront events. Two years ago, Jay-Z performed a 50-minute set; last year, T.I. was the main draw. But something about booking Mr. West—who had been the star guest and musical entertainment at the Met Gala the previous week, and would be closing out the season of Saturday Night Live two days later, and whose new album (the title leaked to the press: Yeezus) drops June 18—was an extra-special get. Read More

By Drew Grant 3:31pm

Hate crime

10 Photos

US-CRIME-PROTEST-GAYS

Photos: Thousands March in Memorial of Hate Crime Victim

(Photos via Getty Images)

Last night, New Yorkers came together to mourn the death of 32-year-old Mark Carson, a gay man who was shot in the head this weekend in Greenwich Village; the victim of an alleged hate crime. Crowds gathered at the LGBT Center on West 13th and marched to 8th Street and Sixth Avenue, the location of the shooting, where a rally/vigil was held to memorialize Mr. Carson and express the outrage of the city’s denizens. Read More

By Drew Grant 5/20 6:01pm

Hate crime

Speaker Quinn Divides March for Greenwich Hate Crime Victim

The horrific, cold-blooded murder of 32-year-old Mark Carson in Greenwich Village Friday night has shocked New Yorkers into action. In what is believed to have been a hate crime, Mr. Carson, a homosexual man, was stalked and gunned down for what he was wearing, mere blocks away from the site of the historic Stonewall riots. The suspect, Elliot Morales, allegedly laughed when cornered by the police, boasting, “I shot him in the face.”

An outpouring of sentiment followed as hundreds left vigils at the site of the crime over the weekend. This evening, you can find organizers from GLAAD, along with city officials and New Yorkers–gay and straight–in a solidarity march starting at the LGBT Community Center of New York at 5:30PM and ending with a rally at the murder site, where friends, family, community leaders and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn will read from prepared statements.

However, not everyone wants the mayoral candidate using this tragic incident as a stumping ground, and have organized their own event in solidarity with Mr. Carson. Read More

By Drew Grant 5/20 12:45pm

The Real Housewives of New York City

The cast of RHONY, approximately. (Bravo)

Real Housewives of New York City Will Go On: Cast Filming in NYC, But What’s the Headcount?

Despite the finger-biting anxiety of the last two weeks, when negotiations between Bravo and the members of The Real Housewives of New York City broke down, causing the network to threaten cancellation, it looks like all’s well in the RHONY world after all.

Reports have seen the women out and about together with a camera crew at various NYC locales, including the studio of celebrity trainer Will Torres.

But the question remains: will all the Real Housewives be making it back for the next season? Read More

By Drew Grant 5/20 12:10pm

Saturday Night Live

Video

The end of the hottest night clubs in New York. (NBC(

Bill Hader, Seth Meyers and Fred Armisen Bid Adieu to Saturday Night Live (Video)

Perhaps Semisonic said it best: “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”

This weekend marked the 38th season finale of Saturday Night Live, arguably one of the best runs the NBC variety show has seen in recent years. This is thanks in large part to fresh featured members like Cecily Strong and Kate McKinnon as well as the new repertory cast of Taran Killam, Vanessa Bayer, Bobby Moynihan, and Nasim Pedrad. These relatively young comedians were able to fill the hole made last season by the departures of heavy-hitters Kristen Wiig, Andy Samberg and Abby Elliott, and gave the show, in the words of Bill Hader, “a new sensibility.”

“There’s a joy in seeing a new move from somebody and going, ‘Oh, she can do that,’” Mr. Hader told The New York Times last week. Read More

By Drew Grant and Alex Bedder 5/20 9:15am

Game of Thrones

Illustration by Alex Bedder.

Five Essay Questions for Game of Thrones 3×8: ‘Second Sons’

Our guest essay answerer this week is none other than our GoT illustrator, Alex Bedder! Give him a hand!

These questions regard last night’s episode of HBO’s Game of Thrones. Please answer the prompts with specific examples from LAST NIGHT’S EPISODE, though supplementary material will be accepted as a secondary source. Please write legibly. No. 2 pencils only. You have an hour to finish this test. See below for questions and sample responses.

1. We like to say “Seal it with a kiss” (or, at least, Britney Spears does), but the more appropriate term for our characters in this week’s episode might be “Seal it with some sex.” What special significance does tonight’s episode put on doing (or not doing) the nasty? Things to consider: Religious rituals that had seemingly nothing to do with sex and everything to do with kinky leeches, Tyrion’s dilemma of honor vs. self-preservation (strategically, he’d be much, much better off having sex with Sansa and getting her pregnant) and Dany’s renewed policy of giving it up to whichever dude kills the most jerks for her? Read More

By Drew Grant 5/16 4:48pm

movie pitches

Video

Violet & Daisy: a chick-flick for psychopaths.

The Best Film Pitch Ever Sent Out Via PR Blast: VIOLET & DAISY

Have you ever just glimpsed at a film review, or poster, or what have you and thought, “I need to see that movie, immediately?” That just happened to us when we passed by IFC on West 4th and saw the poster for Shane Caruth’s Upstream Color. (It’s like Primer, but with worms living under your skin!)

That feeling of excitement is rare, and should be treasured for the moment of cinematic magic that it is.

However, sometimes you see a review, or in this case, a pitch over email, for a film and you think “This is perfect, but not intentionally.” It’s also a rare moment of celluloid joie-de-vivre, but very different from its cousin in the first example.

VIOLET & DAISY is a film of the second category, which we last heard about as the movie that Buddy Fletcher used Louisiana public pension funds to fund. There are so many parts of it that make us laugh out loud, we’re not sure if maybe this was just someone messing with us.

Take a look at the email, her in its entirety: Read More

By Drew Grant 5/16 12:04pm

electric bikes

Banning e bikes? Same old story.

Wheel Estate: City Council Tries to Ban Electric Bikes With Bill That Just Adds Confusion

Hey, remember all the crazy state, federal, and city statutes regarding the definition of an electric bicycle? Yeah, we don’t want to delve into that particularly confusing string again either–just thinking about that whole “e bike or scooter” controversy makes us want to stick our mouth around an exhaust pipe–but sadly, we must. As New York City Council decided to “crack down” on ebikes with three bills that would increase fines and illiminate loopholes that have kept e bikes on the streets as well as create an “interactive crime map” for citizens with nothing better to do, the issue is back on the docket.

Only problem? Neither bill, which Mayor Bloomberg signed yesterday, gets to the real problem. Let’s take a look. Read More