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trade roundup
If Will Smith Won't Come to Manhattan, Manhattan Will Come to Will Smith
Today there is news of: Will Smith and a new awful-sounding sappy movie, New Line's new lady policy, a Steppenwolf legend going to TV, and Michael Moore has made a big fat new movie about fat cats. More » -
knowing your audience
Women: They All Love Project Runway
Fashion design competition show Project Runway is soon returning to us after a long hiatus, on the Lifetime network for ladies. And, in a new promo, the network makes very certain you know one thing: Good women watch Project Runway. More » -
cattle call
Be an Important Part of Project Runway!
Now that the Project Runway Wars are over, it's time to get on with the business of casting for the fashion show's seventh season. The application is due April 24th. Which isn't much time! More » -
resolved
Project Runway Deal Signed, Harvey Weinstein Returns to Bashing NBC
Harvey Weinstein's gracious-in-defeat couldn't last long. After paying off NBC to take his Project Runway to Lifetime, the mogul had "personally" congratulated the network. Now, he's calling NBC chairman Ben Silverman a big naked-arm-wrestling homo. More » -
peace
VPR Day: Project Runway Armistice Declared
NBC Universal has released a statement declaring an end to the bloody Project Runway Wars. The statement, sent by NBC, claims Harvey Weinstein has congratulated Jeff Zucker. So, it could be an April Fools' prank:
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that darn spat
Kenley Collins Says Ex Can Keep That Cat She Just Threw at Him
After the former Project Runway contestant was arrested for assaulting her ex-bf with a cat, Collins has said that the fella, Zak Penley, will have full custody of the poor creature: More » -
that darn spat
Terriblest Project Runway Contestant Ever Throws Cat at Person
The constantly hissing and mewling Runway contestant Kenley Collins is in legal trouble. While fighting with her ex-boyfriend, the fifth-season finalist threw several peculiar things at him: a computer, apples, and a cat. More » -
project runway
'Project Runway' Displays Anticipated Final Looks By Quiet Waif, The Villain, And Fab Gay
Though the new season of Project Runway hasn't aired yet (thanks, Weinsteins!), the show was forced to present its mysterious final collections today at Fashion Week, regardless. What kind of catchphrase-spouting designers should we expect? More » -
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project runway
How Will The 'Project Runway' Show At Fashion Week Make It Work?
Typically, Project Runway rolls into Fashion Week with a huge swath of catchphrase-aspiring designers already cut. However, ongoing legal battles are forcing the new, still-delayed season to employ some subterfuge for Friday's big show. More » -
fashion
"The new [Project Runway] season will air later this year."
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project runway
Hollywood PrivacyWatch: Election Day Edition! 11/4 — Are we bragging about reality-TV "celebrities" we voted with? Because RAMI KASHOU from Project Runway is in line ahead of me. I'm at Logan Street Elementary in Echo Park. While my girlfriend gives him the benefit of the doubt, I suspect he showed up early in order to enjoy looks of vague recognition as the numerous voters walk by. [Hollywood PrivacyWatch is written by and for Defamer readers; send your sightings to tips@defamer.com.] -
Dept Of Blasphemies
Halloween Overachiever Heidi Klum Upsets Hindus Over Goddess Costume
Fashion-dreams-snuffer Heidi Klum hosted her annual Halloween bash in New York over the weekend, and once again went over the top with her costume. Almost as disturbing as last year's Snake-Infested Giant Apple (inset) was this year's decision to come as the Goddess Kali— a sacred Hindu deity that has Hindu-American leaders outraged and demanding an apology: More » -
project runway
Weinsteins and Bravo Plot Second Season of 'Project Runway: The Lawsuit'
The Weinsteins are continuing their world-record pace for industry alienation this week, now leveling a lawsuit against Bravo alleging the network deliberately sabotaged season five of Project Runway. It's roughly the 22nd chapter in this year's tortured history between the brothers and Bravo's parent company at NBC Universal since the pair attempted to sneak PR off to Lifetime (a judge issued an injunction against the move last month following Bravo's own suit), yet wielding all the climactic juice that last week's season finale seemed to lack. Which is exactly the problem, according to Harvey and Bob. More » -
project runway
Runway Producers Pissed At Bravo 'Copycat'
When NBC Universal poached executive producers from TV fashion competition Project Runway in May, we wrote the move would "enable [NBC's] Bravo to create something very similar to Runway," which producer Harvey Weinstein was in the midst of moving to Lifetime. That seems to be precisely what has happened, per a Bravo casting call on Craigslist for "talented designers where the winner will win a large cash prize." The likes of Weinstein are none too happy that NBC is moving ahead with a copycat show while the Weinstein Company is enjoined by court order from doing anything with Runway. Poor Harvey is going to get clobbered! Says Page Six: More » -
project runway
'Project Runway' Crowns Its New Christian (And It Isn't Kenley)
On last night's first all-girl-powered (no, the Season One trio of Jay McCarroll, Kara Saun, and Wendy Pepper didn't count) Project Runway finale, contestants Korto, Leanne, and the vociferous Kenley duked it out for ultimate Bryant Park tent supremacy. The spoils would ultimately fall to low-key Nerd We'd Like to Play Frisbee With, Leanne, and her pleat-orgy collection of flappywear. (As the judges noted, she was the only one who offered a unified vision that incorporated both form and function: Every skirt offered a minimum of 40 of places to hide your wallet!) More » -
television
Television's Mid-Fall Report Card
It is already October 15th! How did that happen? I guess you could say that the Earth rotated around the sun a specific number of times and that days winnowed into nights which bled into days and so on and so on in the circle game. I think that's it. So, how have we been spending these ever-marching autumn hours? Watching TV, of course! Lots and lots of TV. Some has been good (Mad Men, The Daily Show), some has been bad (90210), and some has just been puzzling (Two and a Half Men?). So as we approach the ever-important November Sweeps Week—when networks set their ad rates based on inflated, extraordinary episodes that don't actually reflect typical week-in, week-out quality—let's take a second to give a quarter term report card. How has television been faring, you know, quality-wise (because we already know that ratings are in the toilet)? We'll analyze after the jump.
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wga
Unruly WGA Mob Protest 'Project Runway' Rodeo Drive Shoot
A Defamer operative going about his daily Rodeo Drive chores let us know about a standoff that went down this morning between the forces of good (underpaid and undervalued reality show writer-producers) and evil (Heidi Klum, and anything—sorry Tim Gunn fans!—Heidi Klum-adjacent). He writes: More » -
project runway
Kenley Collins: 'Runway' Villainess Ascendant
Well, despite ourselves, we still managed getting sucked into another season of Project Runway, if only a little late in the game. (What ever happened to that methlicious guy? He was a hoot!) And as any Runway addict can tell you, a great season always includes a great villain: More » -
project runway
Lifetime's Plan to Poach 'Project Runway' From Bravo Just Got Snipped
Designers, gather round: we've got an announcement. Though the sixth season of Project Runway is filming right now in downtown LA, it may be a long time before the episodes see the light of day — if ever. Already pushed to January 2009, Runway has just been rocked by a new development in the contentious lawsuit hatched when the Weinstein Company moved the show to Lifetime over the fierce protestations of proud gay parent Bravo. Now, the judge in the case has ruled against the Weinsteins, unraveling their plans like an errant thread pulled too far: More » -
christian siriano
Christian Siriano’s Fashion Sense Decidedly Not A Hot Tranny Mess
While we concede that Project Runway is a good-to-great show (even if you include this current supes boring season), isn't it a bit troubling that it's utterly failed in its mission to produce a great designer? You never see anyone sporting a Jay McCarroll outfit or a Chloe Dao handbag, do you? Perhaps the show is better at creating personalities than people who can actually cut the mustard in the fashion industry. At least that seemed to be the case until everyone’s favorite gay mullet-headed pixie unleashed his Spring 2009 collection on an unsuspecting New York City. That’s right, Christian Siriano just had a runway show and people cannot stop raving. More » -
24
At this point, 24's seventh season has been hit with more obstacles than the beleaguered Jack Bauer — so what's one more? After suffering through a WGA strike, a one-year delay, and a stint in jail for lead Kiefer Sutherland, the Fox drama is once again shutting down production, says EW. Producer Howard Gordon tells the mag that he was unhappy with the scripts for hours 19-24, so the show will power down until writers can start from scratch. Still, thanks to the eight episodes banked before the strike, producers don't expect the season premiere to be delayed any further — which is more than can be said for the Lifetime debut of Project Runway, now pushed back to January 2009. Originally slotted for this fall, where it would have followed quickly on the heels of its Bravo swan song, producers couldn't make the abbreviated schedule work. The delay lends Lifetime the extra time it will need to craft an all-important needlepoint challenge and secure the participation of "fashion legend" Meredith Baxter Birney as final judge at NY Fashion Week. [EW] -
project runway
Emergency Drag Squad Called In To Rescue Lamest 'Runway' Cast Ever
Whatever investment we still had in Project Runway—the once-great, now-irritating sartorial decathlon presided over with an iron fist by Teutonic Sealfucker Heidi Klum—it was quickly sapped away by last (Lipstick Jungle!) week's corporate synergistic (Lipstick Jungle!) episode guest-judged by Brooke (Lipstick!) Shields (Jungle!). Still, challenges are at hand, models require fittings, and various Its are in need of being made to Work; so we trudge ever onward, swallowing our basest designophobic tendencies as we endure a violently unlikable bunch. More » -
project runway
Did 'Project Runway' Apply Too Much 'Lipstick' Last Night?
Perhaps cognizant of the fact that this is their last season to milk Project Runway for all it's worth, Bravo parent company NBC Universal has been cramming the show with so much obvious corporate synergy that you can practically hear Tim Gunn muttering, "This concerns me." Still, last week's challenge to create an outfit for the Olympics (currently being broadcast on NBC and NBC-owned channels!) was just a drop in the fierce, organza-draped bucket compared to the corporate chutzpah on display during last night's episode. With guest judge Brooke Shields in the house, the designers were challenged to create a look for her character on season two of the barely-renewed NBC drama Lipstick Jungle. Thanks to Molly McAleer, we've assembled a video of all the times the show's title was uttered last night — even when it sounded suspiciously ADR'd in! Who could have known that "Lipstick Jungle" would surpass "licious" and "Holla at your boy!" to become this season's biggest catchphrase? [Bravo] -
project runway
'Project Runway' Lawsuit Reveals That Tim Gunn Was Forced To 'Make it Work' For Free
It's hard to place a value on irreplaceable Project Runway mentor Tim Gunn, and once upon a time, the Weinstein Company didn't even try. According to testimony this month from beleaguered mogul Harvey Weinstein (who's currently being sued by Bravo in the wake of Runway's network hop), Gunn was reimbursed during the first season of Project Runway for the low, low price of $0 per episode: More » -
project runway
New Batch Of 'Project Runway' Contestants Desperate To Coin Next Sassy Catchphrase Sensation
The fifth season of Project Runway premiered last night—something you might have easily missed, considering a scorned Bravo did everything in their power to sabotage the Lifetime-headed series short of retitling it People Sitting At Sewing Machines Acting Bitchy and burying it after a 4 a.m. Shamwow! infomercial. In any case, despite all the essentials being in place—i.e. Tim, Heidi, Michael, Nina, and even a surprise cameo by Season One breakout fop Austin Scarlett—there was no mistaking it: the bloom is off this rose. Case in point, the designers blatantly solicitous attempts at establishing themselves as this season's Christian Siriano, whose arsenal of Christianisms—we won't even bothering repeating them here, you know the ones—helped propel him to become the breakout sensation of Season Four. "Girlicious?" "Suede is gonna rock it?" Subpar Tim Gunn impressions? Please. Make it stop. More » -
bravo
Bravo TV Provides A Historic Solution To All Your Anal Lubricant Needs
It's no secret that Bravo is a gay friendly network. They've got Kathy Griffin, Project Runway (at least for a little while longer) and shows about people getting their hair did. Plus, who could forget about their great big sexy bear, Mr. Tom Colicchio? But if you happened to tune into Bravo on Monday night, you may have bore witness to an historic milestone: The first ever gay personal lubricant ad to appear on television! Check out the video after the jump. More » -
harvey weinstein
How Harvey Weinstein Squeezes Millions Out Of Project Runway
$8 million. Does that seem like a lot of money for a company to pay to have mediocre models use their hair products on a mediocre cable show for a few seasons? It kind of does. But that's how much The Weinstein Company, run by entertainment mogul Harvey Weinstein, is trying to squeeze out of L'Oreal for three seasons of sponsorship of Project Runway. Of course, Weinstein has a long history of pimping out the fashion reality show to every company on earth willing to pay a dime to be on it, using it as a profit machine to support his company's less sure-thing ventures. And he's still milking it for every cent. How do we know? Because he left all the evidence in a public trash can:
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project runway
Is Bravo Trying to Kill Off 'Project Runway' Before It Heads to Lifetime?
It hit us last night while watching the season premiere of Shear Genius (yes, we watch it): is Bravo trying to drive Project Runway's stock down before it makes the leap to Lifetime in the fall? Though the cable channel is advertising its final season of the show (which premieres July 16), Runway's been unceremoniously bumped to a 9pm timeslot, while Shear Genius will claim Runway's traditional 10pm stomping grounds. In an even clearer sign that Bravo is loathe to give the lame-duck series more attention, the Season 5 ads are recycled clip jobs; though Bravo has always mounted a splashy new ad campaign for each iteration of its reality shows, it's apparently going to send Runway off into the sunset without shooting any new footage. Check out the half-hearted Season 5 clip after the jump. More » -
harvey weinstein
Surprise Tony-Winner Harvey Weinstein Milks 'Runway' and Broadway For Fun and Profit
Congratulations go out today (we think) to Harvey and Bob Weinstein, whose 2008 Mogul Comeback Tour finds them diversifying yet again en route to reclaiming some kind of surly, deep-pocketed mojo. It all starts on television, apparently, where the brothers plan to renew their old Miramax TV experiment with a full slate of new programming drawing on the success of Project Runway. One show, the late Anthony Minghella's No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, has already found traction at HBO; the rest, however, comprises a mixed bag ranging from retreads to stillbirths — and that's before we even get to their plans for Broadway: More » -
harvey weinstein
Is Harvey Weinstein On The Ropes?
The Weinstein brothers' strip-mining of Project Runway—the powerhouse fashion contest they own—is in keeping with the guiding principle they've stuck with since their heyday at Miramax. Harvey's critical successes were funded by profits from his brother's B-movies; and now the irascible film producer is milking reality television for the same purpose. Fine—except the Weinsteins' demands for payment from Marie Claire for the privilege of association with Project Runway (which we reported yesterday) are extreme even for them. And their motives may have less to do with greed and more with desperation. Hollywood insiders speculate the brothers' $1bn launch financing isn't as much of a buffer as it seems: the investment bank and other investors may pull some of the funds at the end of the year.
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Annals Of Incoherent Acceptance Speeches
Bravo's Presentation Of The A-List Awards Now Pauses Briefly For Lauren Hutton To Lose Her Mind
Held last night in New York and scheduled to air next Thursday, Bravo's A-List Awards are billed as a night celebrating "the best in Food, Fashion, Beauty, Design and Weatherman Lap-Dance Dispensation." BravoTV.com has already started building buzz by leaking highlights online, including Lauren Hutton acceptance speech for a "beauty icon" award. In it, she first admits to having been "up for 46 hours," before launching into a stream-of- sleep- deprived-consciousness which encompassed, in no particular order, her thoughts of guacamole-preparation, the ozone layer, and the promiscuity-engendering properties of testosterone. So confounding was her monologue that during the commercial break, it took the combined efforts of Tom Colicchio, Santino Rice, and Carson Kressley just to pry apart the paralyzed furrows in a deeply perplexed Tim Gunn's brow. [BravoTV.com] -
economics
How Reality Television Will Get Even Cheaper
Television networks, still reeling from strike-related ratings slips, have gone and broken the glass on their last-resort failsafe. They're cutting costs on reality shows. Executives are looking to further streamline the already seductively cheap 'n easy (that's why there are so many of 'em!) younger siblings of scripted programming by cutting down on non-studio filming and long editing times. Expect more shows, like the odious hit game show Moment of Truth (where contestants reveal terrible secrets while drooling for cash), that really only amount to "two people sitting in chairs onstage." More expensive reality shows like Hell's Kitchen need to be overseas hits before American networks will consider producing their own versions, which doesn't happen every day. What could this mean for reality favorites like Top Chef, Project Runway, and America's Next Top Model? We have some grim forecasts after the jump.
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reality tv
A Quick Guide to David Cook and This Season's Other Instant Stars
Well, in the end it goes to Cook in a landslide. I am surprised! I thought the squealing masses of girls and soft dulcet tones of Archie's "Imagine" repeat on Tuesday night would win over middle ground voters who might have found Cook to be too edgy. But no, in a 12 million vote landslide, our combovered pal from Kansas City tearily took the crown and Simon and company rejoiced. I guess 19 and the judges were behind Cook all along. Perhaps the over the top Archie plaudits were just a calculated bait and switch. Or maybe there's nothing so cynical about American Idol after all. Good for Cook. Instant fame! Who else has won grand television prizes this year, on shows like America's Next Top Model and Project Runway? After the jump, take a tour through this year in winning things, starting, of course, with Mr. Cook.
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defamer
Drama At The Met: Wedding Rings Gone MIA, Honcho Snubs And Catfights Galore
Mixing two high-profile sects like A-list stars and fashionistas will inevitably result in a bit of drama, but at Monday night's Costume Institute Gala, drama took on a whole new meaning. Catfights! Divas! Public Displays Of Aggression! From Christina Ricci's early departure to Peacock King's Jeff Zucker's bitchy avoidance of Darth Weinstein on the red carpet, everyone's claws were out on Monday night. Adding fuel to the fire, one married actress decided to show up to the event sans wedding ring amid rumors of a pending divorce. All the details, including Jennifer Aniston's fling-of-the-week's comments on whether or not the whole mushy affair is for real, after the jump. More » -
defamer
TLC Becomes Only Network Not To Pass On Jennifer Lopez's Next Reality Show
Remember when The Learning Channel was proudly cheesy? Back when they featured all those low-budget Baby Stories and Wedding Stories and any kind of Story that would set housewives' hearts aflutter? Well, it looks like those TLC-loving housewives are in store for something a bit more glamorous. According to the NY Daily News, diamond-drenched new mother of twins Jennifer Lopez is gearing up to invite us into her and vampire-like husband Marc Anthony's home to "deliver a slice of [Lopez's] life that audiences have never seen before, as she takes on her career and launches a new fragrance while trying to juggle her new responsibilities as a first-time mom." While we couldn't be more excited to watch Lopez cook enchiladas that Anthony will eventually purge, we're noticing a trend. Namely, that previously straight-laced networks like TLC and Lifetime have taken notice of Bravo's success and, thus, are beginning to follow their bold footsteps by greenlighting programs that strongly appeal to the gay and lesbian community. More » -
defamer
Jeff Zucker's Wife and Kids Nervous About Harvey Weinstein's 'Runway' Restitution
Some days we're so full of love for Harvey Weinstein that our weak, arrhythmic blogger hearts nearly explode. It was one thing last week when he brazenly moved Project Runway to Lifetime, pulling the rug out from a supposedly unwitting NBC. It was another thing entirely on Monday when Harvey rolled the rug up and started whacking NBC boss Jeff Zucker over the head with it: More » -
defamer
More Fallout For Controversy Magnet Harvey Weinstein As 'Runway' Heads To Lifetime
Spring 2008 hasn't been kind to Harvey Weinstein and his little production company. First, his close friend Anthony Minghella passed away (prompting a highly critical piece penned by New York Magazine film critic David Edelstein), then he butted heads with the Marley family over his planned biopic on the reggae singer, and now the portly producer finds himself at the center of NBC and Lifetime's battle for Project Runway. Moments after Lifetime announced their five-year $150 million deal with the Weinstein Co. to take over the helm of Bravo's signature show, Jeff Zucker and his peacocked lawyers immediately responded by suing Harvey and his goons for breach-of-contract. And insiders at NBC aren't keeping mum about their feelings towards the money-hungry Weinstein:"Harvey hates us passionately, always did...He despises Bravo because he thinks we didn't pay him enough."
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defamer
Craig Ferguson's Conversation With Christian Siriano: Needs More Fierceness
Project Runway winner Christian Siriano made an appearance on down but not out Craig Ferguson's show last night. As the awkwardness of the fierce tranny hot mess of a 21-year old fashion wunderkind attempting to make conversation with the pinstriped Scot gradually began to fade, conversation predictably shifted towards hair. Christian has made great use of his mullet-meets-Warhol 'do, and after lazily beginning to describe what it's all about for the umpteenth time, silly ol' Ferguson suddenly went into a state of hysterics at the thought of both he and Christian going platinum blonde together. Apparently, you see, Craig had tried to get producers at hipper than hip CBS to allow him to bleach his salt-and-pepper 'do. Their response? "They were like, no way girl!" We still have absolutely no idea how to react to this claim, or to Ferguson's Howard Dean-like scream, so we'll just let you watch and share in our confusion. More »















































