By Steve Huff 9/25/12 12:22am

celebrities and drugs

Lady Gaga, not thinking of the children. (Screengrab)

Staten Island Borough President Molinaro Calls Lady Gaga a ‘Slut’ [Video]

James Molinaro may know who Lady Gaga is but he probably isn’t aware of her fandom, the “little monsters,” and how they might react to an NY1 report that Mr. Molinaro referred to the pop star as a “slut” while launching an anti-drug campaign Monday night.

The performer’s fans are fiercely loyal and may not take well to the Staten Island Borough President’s characterization of their idol, whom Mr. Molinaro said was part of a celebrity culture that promotes drug use, among other things. Read More

By Rex Reed 7/11/12 10:41am

movies

Kitsch, Lively and Johnson in Savages.

Savages: From Hashish to Ashes, Cannabis Flick Can’t Stay Lit

What I know about the internecine workings of Mexican drug cartels you could fill in an egg cup—and still have enough space left over for the egg. But this I know: It’s a subject and a subculture that has got to be more fascinating than anything in gonzo director Oliver Stone’s deadly, hateful, preposterous and cliché-riddled movie Savages. He even makes the violence look dull.

Based on one of those Don Winslow carnage epics that appeal to grown men who still read comic books, Savages boogies to the beat of an assault weapon, cutting back and forth between the cold-blooded drug lords in Tijuana and the stoner gringos of Southern California, fighting it out for billions in the Baja Peninsula. The convoluted plot, which would be difficult to decipher with the aid of a microscope, is as familiar as any one of a thousand cable network television series—and Mr. Stone’s dialogue is as wooden as a rocking chair, possibly because his script was co-written by the dubious Shane Salerno (Alien vs. Predator) and novelist Don Winslow, whose grasp of the way real people talk is as phony as reality TV. Read More

By Rex Reed 6/13/12 12:17pm

movies

Fonda in Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding.

Peace, Love, & Nana’s High in a Timeless Fonda’s Latest

Jane Fonda is always a welcome antidote to the hackneyed drivel of today’s movies, even when she’s relegated to sharing the screen with also-rans like Jennifer Lopez and Lindsay Lohan. In her career zenith, she could always be counted on to bring both complexity and nuance to the least deserving roles. At 74, she hasn’t forgotten a thing. With a wonderful, careful and admiring director, she gives even a routine picture unbridled energy, craft and an extra dash of class above and beyond the script. All reasons to embrace Bruce Beresford’s warm, polished, feel-good comedy Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding.  Read More

By The Editors 6/05/12 7:05pm

opinion

Common Sense on Pot

The illogic of New York’s marijuana laws has been evident for some time and was summed up nicely by Governor Cuomo.

If you’re caught with a small amount of pot—25 grams or less—in your backpack, the penalty is a $100 fine (for the first offense). But if a police officer asks you to empty your pockets and you pull out a small bag of weed, you are subject to arrest on a misdemeanor. Why? Because by taking the pot out of your pocket, you exposed it to “public view.”

It just doesn’t make sense, especially when you consider the police officers routinely order people to empty their pockets during stop-and-frisk operations. Mr. Cuomo’s proposal will correct this inequity by decriminalizing possession of 25 grams or less in public view. Legislators should pass this measure quickly. Read More

By Kat Stoeffel 3/22/12 1:47pm

Publishing

hungrygirl

$70,000 Worth of Marijuana Shipped to Nonexistent St. Martin’s Press Employee

Federal agents intercepted eleven pounds of marijuana bound for St. Martins Press’s Flatiron headquarters earlier this month, reports The Smoking Gun. The two parcels, addressed to a fictitious St. Martins employee named Karen Wright, were seized at a post office in California after they were sniffed out by a drug detection dog.

A company operator told The Smoking Gun no one by that name works at the company.

Because the Feds did not attempt to smoke out “Karen Wright” with a controlled delivery, the excitement is pretty much over for the moment, except on Twitter, where someone with the handle @KarenWright_SMP has been asking if anyone has seen the day’s mail and soliciting tips for coming up with $70,000 fast. Hypothetically speaking. Read More

By Emily Witt 4/12/11 5:19pm

The Chronic

He Means It When He Says Alternadad

Neal Pollack is either just a stoner or he’s addicted to marijuana, but he can’t decide. Today, on The Fix, he consults The Pot Book, an anthology that he also contributed to. He reads everything but “the boring bits” of the book, and still can’t decide if pot is bad for him or not. Read More