Awards Season Gets Underway

Quvenzhané Wallis gives her director Behn Zeitlin a big hug.

IFP Gotham Awards Ceremony Lights Up Dark Night

The red carpet was aglow with the incandescent twinkle of Hollywood’s stars on Monday night at the 22nd annual Independent Film Project Gotham Awards. With Oscar winners Matt Damon and Marion Cotillard amongst the evening’s honorees and the likes of Jack Black, Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, John Krasinski and so many more blazing a trail through the double doors of Wall St.’s Cipriani’s, it was no wonder that the less glamorous side of the velvet rope was a veritable press feeding frenzy. Lucky for us, then, that we had sharpened our claws.

As the guests took their seats for the ceremony, The Observer was whisked upstairs to a private viewing room, lest we cavort too rambunctiously with the delicate A-List crowd. There we watched over the evening’s events like demi-gods looking down from the heavens upon the cherubs pecking away at their meals, with eight year old nominee Quvenzhané Williams and 13 year old Jared Gilman leading the underage coterie.

The awards soon got underway, much to the delight of the recipients. Honoring their intentions as champions of independent cinema, the jury not only rewarded the biggest Hollywood names but the industry’s up-and-comers for their contribution to film. Beasts of the Southern Wild writer and director Benh Zeitlin was undoubtedly the big winner of the night, scooping statuettes – well, glass cuboids – for Breakthrough Director alongside the Bingham Ray Award, dedicated to the late film executive. Read More

Fashion Week Spring 2013

The after party for the special screening of "Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's" in celebration of their 111th Anniversary.

A Storied Turn for Bergdorf’s Window

“I hope I have a job tomorrow.” That was personal shopper Betty Halbreich’s reaction to the Sept. 12 preview of Matthew Miele’s fashion documentary Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s. Ms. Halbreich explained, “I spurt things without thinking!” But to others, her brutal honesty and WASPish sense of humor made her one of the film’s firm favorites. Gossip Girl costume designer Eric Damon spoke for all when he said, “It’s all about Betty.”

Ms. Halbreich, The Observer thinks you’ll be just fine.

As Fashion Week comes to a close, the celebration of Bergdorf Goodman’s 111th anniversary stepped into the spotlight. Swapping Lincoln Center’s front rows for the old-style stadium seating of The Paris Theater, a confluence of fatigued fashionistas enjoyed a show that for the first time in seven days allowed them to remain in their seats for more than 10 minutes. Read More

Movie premiere

13 Photos

Courtney Love, not tweeting.

The World Premiere of Scorcese’s Hugo

The Ziegfeld Theatre was the chosen venue for the world premiere of Martin Scorcese‘s Hugo, his first venture into 3D cinema. Cast and crew, along with the finest that New York has to offer, turned out in full force to watch this epic.

The evening began with the anticipation of the long walk down the red carpet for the likes of Steve Buscemi, Courtney Love and Ewa Da Cruz at least one of which was (hopefully) going to be adorning the red and blue 3D glasses. Unfortunately for us, and for them, they waited until they were in the confines of the theater, thus banishing us to use nothing but our imagination.

Here are some pictures of them (and everyone else) without any eyewear to help you along the way. Read More

Movie premiere

10 Photos

Ellen Barkin

Another Happy Day For A Premiere

We had high hopes for an energetic evening on Monday night when we arrived at The Sunshine Cinema for the New York Premiere of Another Happy Day, an indie film about a dysfunctional family starring Ezra Miller and Ellen Barkin and written and directed by Sam Levinson. The Observer arrived eager to meet and greet the stars of the winner of the Sundance Prize for Best Screenwriting, but the night delivered a more low-key evening than we anticipated. Read More