RHONY, Season 5 (Bravo)

Last week it looked like The Real Housewives of New York City could get shut down for good when all six of the cast members refused to sign their contracts. Shooting for the series was supposed to commence last Wednesday (according to several news outlets), but was delayed when negotiations stalled.

Thank goodness it might not be over. According to Deadline, RHONY ladies Carole Radziwill, Ramona Singer, LuAnn de Lesseps, Heather Thomson, Aviva Drescher and Sonja Morgan all received modest pay increases, though how "modest" that money is definitely on a case-by-case basis; Ramona Singer made $500,000 last season and was holding out for a million, while a source close to the negotiations told The New York Observer that The New York Post’s quoted "average" payout for a housewife--$65,000--was "in the ballpark" of what was being offered this time around.

According to an industry insider, however, none of the ladies have officially signed their contracts yet, so don't be jumping for joy just yet.

According to another source, Bravo waited until the last minute even to send around the contracts with the numbers, leaving only two weeks before filming began for the women to try to negotiate for higher wages.

But the industry insider scoffed at that idea, saying that there would never be a planned shooting schedule before the ladies signed the contracts. "Things need to be in place, Bravo needs to know their availability, and the reps need to sign the contracts," said the insider.

"You have to remember, there are no unions for housewives," another source told The Observer, explaining that shooting can last all day on some episodes, with only a short break for lunch. Then there are the costs of the job: hair, makeup, and clothes are not provided, and if someone has a scene inside a house, the cast member also has to pay for all the cleaning costs to make her home presentable.

"A lot of the ladies end up in the red after the money they put toward being on the show," our source told us.

But our insider disagreed, saying that RHONY was about showing women leading their everyday lives, hence it would be ridiculous to pay for the extra perks. (Though for some red carpet events and special occasions, the person noted, the ladies may be afforded their own hair and makeup.)

According to the Deadline article, the new (unsigned) contracts "threw in a few more contractual baubles like covering expenses for additional hair and make-up for the cast."

Several other sources who wished to remain anonymous told The Observer that the problem was that the money simply wasn't there. They complained that Bravo they didn't spend nearly as much on advertising as they had the previous seasons, and the show was put in a more competitive time slot, moving from Thursday nights to Monday. "Of course the show would see lower ratings if you pit it against American Idol or something," one individual close to the negotiations remarked.

But Monday night's lineup is shattering the network's internal ratings, according to Nielsen.

The Real Housewives. (Bravo)

Good ladies of RHONY, we knew thee well. According to several outlets, the stars of Bravo's The Real Housewives of New York City have refused to ink contracts on the sixth season of the stalwart show, with all six main cast members holding out for a better deal.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the issue is, as always, money problems:

Production on the sixth season was set to begin on Wednesday, but none of the six women made herself available for filming. A Bravo representative declined to comment.

The cast members all negotiate separate deals and are paid different amounts, depending on how long they have been with the show. However, each cast member is said to have expressed displeasure with Bravo's financial offer. Negotiations are said to have begun about three weeks ago but little progress has been made. "We're still pretty far apart," the source says.

The issue with raising the salaries of these ostensibly already wealthy (though that grand illusion has been shattered time and time again) women, is, as Page Six tells it, that Bravo would have no qualms about canceling the show all together than belabor a negotation that has already stalled production.

And we know that the network can be heartless when it comes to slicing up the cast--as it showed when it fired three members before last season--though dooming the entire program to cancelation would still seem like a pretty desperate measure, especially since the cast already receives such disperate salaries. (An average member earns $65k per season, though Ramona Singer has been rumored to make $500,000 and has been holding out for a million.)

Which leaves us wondering: What has Bravo been doing with these contract problems since the last season, giving all the money to the guys at Million Dollar Listing: New York?

I'll Have Another washing off for the big show.

It’s June, and yet we’re still wearing our London Fog raincoats and carrying around our Brollys. It’s almost as if New York’s weather gods didn’t get the memo that it’s Hamptons season, and some of us don’t like getting soaked waiting for the Jitney.

Another thing seasonal annoyance for New Yorkers is traffic created by out-of-towners, and this week’s double-whammy of President Barack Obama’s visit on Monday and that of his wife, Michelle Obama, later this week has the city grumbling about how to get crosstown. A little respect for our POTUS? Not during 6 p.m. rush hour, darling. Your cab ride will end up costing you more than a private trip on Air Force One.

Of course the sniping about this dilemma was the loudest—where else—at Serafina, during a party for Ramona Singer and Sonja Morgan. This week was the premiere of the fifth season of The Real Housewives of New York City, and after several tours around the charity circuit, we’re inclined to believe that these ladies might be offering us the most “real” reality television on offer, which is to say that there are is a vast amount of white wine spilled in their wake, no matter what the occasion. Now that the show has Aviva Drescher, Heather Thompson and Caroline Radziwill, the claws have come out: Ms. Drescher has one leg! Ms. Thompson talks too much! Ms. Radziwill is a Kennedy by marriage! This can only foretell tragedy and pathos. We can almost hear Andy Cohen gleefully rubbing his hands together and laughing.

Speaking of ladies on bad behavior, Gwyneth Paltrow, that shining beacon of all that is good and urbane in the world, managed to slip the n-word into a tweet yesterday. Just confirming our suspicions that celebrities shouldn’t tweet without running it by their publicity team first, Ms. Paltrow put up a picture of Jay-Z and Kanye West performing in France under the caption “Ni**as in paris for real.” Ms. Paltrow was somewhat saved by record producer The Dream tweeting from his personal account that he was the one who had made the inflammatory remark from Ms. Paltrow’s phone. That’s why friends don’t let friends tweet for them! Or another possible lesson: Don’t tweet out the names of songs that have the n-word in them, even if you think you are being complimentary. Perhaps she believed she had immunity from racial slur blowback because she happens to be making an album with her “good friend” Jay-Z. But we don’t think it works that way.

But one thing this week we won’t be complaining about: the Belmont Stakes, where I’ll Have Another will attempt to become the first Triple Crown winner since the late ’70s. After winning the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, I’ll Have Another is on course to become the next Seabiscuit. Or perhaps SeaTriscuit, since this chestnut horse has lower doses of sodium and at least half the calorie count as the original. Of course, you never know what goes into these horses ... especially right before the races. (Something that HBO’s Luck tried to expose in its drama about horse racing before it fell victim to a severe case of dramatic irony and was shut down over the mistreatment and death of at least of three its own horses.) I’ll Have Another’s trainer, Doug O’Neill, has been found guilty of drugging his horses with carbon dioxide in 2010, and he’ll be facing a 45-day suspension from the racetracks. But of course, this won’t go into effect until after the Belmont.

On the other hand, I’ll Have Another’s jockey, Mario Gutierrez, is a real underdog hero, the type Hollywood and Stephen Spielberg would love to get their hands on. Starting as a jockey in Mexico City, Mr. Gutierrez made his way up to Vancouver, winning titles for racing along the way. His first reaction to seeing his champion partner? Well, that varies. He’s told the BBC, “From the first time I met him, I knew he was the one.” Other stories have the introduction less glamorous, with Mr. Gutierrez saying, “I don’t even know who that horse is, but he’s a freak.”
Harsh words, Mr. Gutierrez. Maybe you should audition for next season of Real Housewives?

Housewives drama! (Bravo)

Last night at the Harboring Hearts Spring Gala at the Rubin Museum, Real Housewives of New York star Sonja Morgan sniped about her new co-star, Aviva Drescher, calling the latter out for only joining charities after she knew she would be on the show.

"We all went to one of her SoulCycle events, but she wasn't really involved with any charities," the ex-wife of JP Morgan told The New York Observer. "I ran into her ex-husband (Harry Dubin) and he was just as surprised; he said Aviva never did any philanthropy."

This was quite surprising, as we had interviewed Ms. Drescher prior to her Housewives announcement, and the three causes she was involved with played a major role in her story.

"She just told you that because she knew she was going to be on the show," Ms. Morgan sneered.

We called Ms. Drescher for a response. "That's about as silly as saying that I have two legs," said Ms. Drescher, who has worn a prosthetic leg since she was a child.

"It's absurd. I've been helping people who were amputees, one-on-one, since I was 20. I've been the national spokesperson for One Step Ahead for approximately five years."

"Besides, Sonja Morgan is an alcoholic," Ms. Drescher added. "She has to be carried out of every party."

It's fair to say that we've marked down June 4th for the Bravo premiere of The Real Housewives of New York City for what is sure to be an amazingly back-stabby season.

Bye-bye Simon!

Stop the presses! Four of the ladies from Bravo's The Real Housewives of New York City have been cut from the new season, so Alex McCord, Kelly Bensimon, Jill Zarin, and Cindy Barshop will no longer be around to air all their crazy drama and terrible brand image over the airwaves (unless they, like Bethenny Frankel, get a spin-off show). That leaves only two of the original NYC'ers in the cast, Countess LuAnn de Lesseps and Ramona Singer. Also avoiding the chopping block is Sonja Morgan who is bankrupt, which is a known requirement for being on a Housewives show.

But the real tragedy will not be losing these four women -- who we're sure will be replaced by equally entertainingly desperate social-climbers -- but the lack of Simon van Kempen, who has been the best part of the show since its inception.

With the exception of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, most of the husbands of Bravo's cattiest women are either divorced, distant, or nonexistent. "Housewives," we've long-ago learned, is kind of a flexible term in the world of Andy Cohen. Many of the women aren't wives, and with all the financial problems surrounding the ladies, actually having a house isn't necessarily a requirement either.

But Mr. van Kempen was different. If anything, he overshadowed his wife in terms of eccentricities and drama-making. Plus, he wore a ton of pink and had a funny accent, leading viewers to speculate on his sexual orientation, a very important component of any reality show.

Plus, there was this:

Mrs. McCord and Mr. van Kempen spoke to Us Weekly about the cuts yesterday, which comes across like couple is getting a divorce from Bravo:

"After four seasons on Real Housewives of New York City, Simon and I are moving on. It's a completely friendly departure and while it was their decision and not ours, we are in close communication with both Bravo and the production company about our next move, in addition to fielding outside offers."

So it's not that mommy and daddy didn't love Bravo, it's just that they're having some problems right now and will be sleeping on the couch for awhile. Oh well. Hopefully the lack of cameras mean that Mrs. McCord and Mr. van Kempen will now become fixtures in New York's socialite gadfly scene, and we'll have a chance to rub elbows with Simon at whatever hotel consultancy gala is going on this week.

New York Ranger Brandon Dubinsky was among the earliest arrivals, looking as clean and eager as if en route to an ocean-themed high-school prom. [corrected]

Did he know what World Oceans Day was? “Sort of,” Mr. Dubinksy said. “I guess if there was an ocean, I’d go jump in it.”

The Real Housewives, meanwhile, wore, their environmental awareness on their sleeves. “An ocean-blue dress, for tonight,” said Ramona Singer (of New York), in David Meister. Ms. Singer also noted the skin-care value of algae. Danielle Staub (of New Jersey) called her BCBG dress “water friendly.” Meditation is her favorite seaside experience: “You can go and be alone with your thoughts, and as the tides go out, it washes away the negative,” Ms. Staub said. “It’s really my euphoria.”

Scheduled to sing later in the festivities, performer Estelle rolled up to the eco-benefit in an unpolitically correct SUV. She said she’d recently been in Aruba. “So good.” Eat any jellyfish? “I’m just now getting into calamari!” Burp.

Actor Ted Danson, founder of American Oceans Campaign, was stuck on the set of HBO’s Bored to Death and didn’t show, but model Amber Valetta, the event’s co-host, ably wore the mantle of activist celebrity. A longtime surfer, she recommended honoring World Oceans Day by taking a swim.

Country singer Kellie Pickler is a bit of a skirt chaser.

“I think it’s sexy,” the platinum blond 22-year-old former American Idol contestant told the Daily Transom. “I think it’s great. Real men wear kilts!”

Ladies, not so much! Ms. Pickler wore a non-plaid Gwen Russell-designed red gown to the “Dressed to Kilt” fashion show, organized by the Friends of Scotland and hosted by the hilly country’s reigning king, the actor Sean Connery, at the M2 Ultra Lounge in Chelsea on Monday night, March 30.

Mr. Connery, who himself sported a kilt for the same event three years ago, was noticeably hiding his still-sturdy 78-year-old stems this time around.

The Daily Transom was stunned to learn that the famed Scot has never actually worn the traditional man skirt in any of his movies, a secret the original James Bond divulged as he zipped along the red carpet. (Turns out, the actor George Lazenby was the only 007 to slip into a kilt on screen.)

“I’m going to be shy and wear my underwear,” said 21-year-old actor Ed Westwick of Gossip Girl fame, a self-confessed kilt virgin, prior to his maiden bare-legged voyage down the catwalk.

Mr. Westwick was joined on the runway by fellow actors Andie MacDowell and Mike Myers, among others, who strutted their stuff in front of a panel of judges that included New York Social Diary’s David Patrick Columbia, former Project Runway contestant Laura Bennett, and restaurateur Angus McIndoe, a legitimate Scotsman!

Before her catwalk, Ms. MacDowell informed the Daily Transom of her deep Scottish roots, which dated back to at least the 1700s, when her ancestors were lords of a region called Galloway (look it up).

But had she ever worn a kilt? No. Her young daughter wanted to. "But she wanted it to be short,” the matronly Ms. MacDowell said. They wore full-length dresses instead.

Alex McCord, co-star of the Bravo series The Real Housewives of New York City, came clad in a short-length tartan dress that she has proudly owned since the age of 19. It still fits!

Her husband, Simon Van Kempen, on the other hand, does not possess a similar predilection for Celtic fashion. He doesn’t own a single kilt.

That doesn’t mean Ms. McCord didn’t enjoy the evening’s ample views.

“As long as the man wearing the kilt has good legs, I am very happy to look,” she said, “especially if there is a gust of wind.”

Do the Hilton sisters need books on staying thin? "They're in the book!" said Ms. Frankel. "You know, I used to baby-sit Nicky and Paris. Actually, you're the first person I've told that to."

Come again?

"Kathy Hilton's sister, Paris and Nicky's aunt, is a very, very good friend," said Ms. Frankel.

So what were the Hilton sisters like to baby-sit? "It's all in the book, it's all there," she said. "I included them because they're such a good example of good eating. You know, they're not obsessed with food-they sometimes eat a cheeseburger."

Of course, this is a show that's predicated on cattiness and social climbing, so it was unsurprising when Housewife Ramona Singer, smugly clutching her husband's arm, told us that she's thinking about writing a book about the rules of being happily married. Then she leaned in and whispered, pointing to Housewife Bethenny Frankel: "She wrote one. She failed them all."

Ms. Frankel did bring "a gorgeous date," as she referred to him. But "he's probably broken up with me by now," she told us. "Because I've been here [talking to the press] for 45 minutes."

Last season, Ms. Frankel was the only single Housewife; this season, with the addition of newly single Kelly Killoren Bensimon, she has a partner in crime. (Or at least, crimes of the heart.) Ms. Killoren Bensimon thought the show was "a great opportunity for a single mom to explore this amazing life that I've created for myself and show of my amazing friends," she told the Daily Transom. "If anything, the others are veterans, and I'm not. But that doesn't make it less fun for me. You know, life is a roller coaster—you've just got to buckle in and go for it. You only live once. We are not cats."

Housewife LuAnn "The Countess" de Lesseps seemed not very eager to dish any dirt; she does, after all, have an etiquette book coming out later this year. But she did allow that she is not afraid (or so she says!) that her appearance and behavior on the show could in any way undermine her position as self-appointed authority on good manners. "I think it will help people relate to me. They will see: She is a countess, but she's also only human."

According to all the Housewives, season two is bigger and better; there's more drama, they say, and since they know each other better, the fighting is much more intense. When we asked Ms. Zarin about her incident with Ms. McCord, she seemed to harbor few illusions about what was in store. "I'm anxious to see what was said behind my back," she said.

A cursory glance at the list seems to suggest that that's more money than anyone else running statewide.

A list of some of those contributors is after the jump.

-- Azi Paybarah

ANDREW CUOMO FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL, INC.
28-OCT-06
RICHARD BRUCE
$10,000.00

ANDREW CUOMO FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL, INC.
28-OCT-06
VICTOR HESCHELES
$10,000.00

ANDREW CUOMO FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL, INC.
28-OCT-06
BORIS TEPER
$10,000.00

ANDREW CUOMO FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL, INC.
28-OCT-06
NINTH DECADE FUND
$5,000.00

ANDREW CUOMO FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL, INC.
28-OCT-06
DOMENICO PINTO
$10,000.00

ANDREW CUOMO FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL, INC.
28-OCT-06
IRMA GIUSTINO WEISS
$2,500.00

ANDREW CUOMO FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL, INC.
28-OCT-06
BETTY COTTON
$2,500.00

ANDREW CUOMO FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL, INC.
28-OCT-06
BRUCE RICHARDS
$10,000.00

ANDREW CUOMO FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL, INC.
28-OCT-06 THOMAS POELKER
$1,500.00

ANDREW CUOMO FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL, INC.
28-OCT-06
O'CONNOR ASSOCIATES, LP
$5,000.00

ANDREW CUOMO FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL, INC.
28-OCT-06
DAVID WIND
$2,000.00

ANDREW CUOMO FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL, INC.
28-OCT-06
S L GREEN LEASING, LLC
$33,900.00

ANDREW CUOMO FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL, INC.
28-OCT-06
S L GREEN MANAGEMENT, LLC
$16,100.00

ANDREW CUOMO FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL, INC.
28-OCT-06
NANCY KONIPOL
$2,000.00

ANDREW CUOMO FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL, INC.
28-OCT-06
JEFFREY P. CITRIN
$2,000.00