April 7th , 2005

  Reese Witherspoon’s husband, Ryan Phillippe, has been flexing his acting muscles in a new drama, Crash, in which he stars as an L.A. cop alongside Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Thandie Newton, and Brendan Fraser. The film marks the directing debut of Paul Haggis, who adapted the script for Million Dollar Baby. By the way, did you know that Sandy Bullock turned down the role in that film (M$B), which Hilary Swank then grabbed and copped an Oscar for?
  Speaking of Hilary, we received word that husband Chad Lowe has been pressuring her to start a family. A friend of the couple said that simply is not true. Hilary herself said, “Now that I’m embarking on my 30s, I am hoping—knock on wood—that they will bring kids and family.” We never believed the reports and, having met Chad numerous times, we are sure that pressuring Hilary for a family is just not his style. He is a great guy and very smart and we think that Hilary and he are one of the nicest couples in a town well known for its dearth of truly nice folks.
  Chad and Hilary are quite excited about producing their first film together. It is called Beautiful Ohio and is based on the novel by Ethan Canin. Chad will direct. And Hilary? While gender-bending roles have been very kind to her, she’s determined to show herself also to be a femme fatale, albeit a beleaguered one, as she limns the role of Elizabeth Short, the bit-part actress who was sensationally murdered in what was dubbed by the press of the day as the Black Dahlia. James Elroy’s best-selling book of the same name is the basis for the noir thriller.
  “It’s going to be a fun challenge,” Hilary says. No, she doesn’t get that surprise response when she goes out looking all sexy and feminine. “I’m not getting any of that ‘oh, she’s really a girl’ stuff anymore,” she says, adding, “nobody’s confused by my gender or my bosom anymore.” Chad Lowe says about his wife, “Hilary can put on the most beautiful couture outfit and look like a supermodel. And within 10 minutes of coming back home, she’ll be in fuzzy slippers and sweats reading a gardening magazine or design book.” The Lowes were spotted recently at Mordigan’s Nursery in Hollywood, loading the back of a pickup truck with lots of rose bushes and perennials. Hilary really likes to do her own gardening and even mows her own lawn. She recently was heard to remark, “I do have a need to save money. It’s how I was raised. I clip coupons, love specials, and believe in buying discounted items.” Old habits die hard, especially if they are good ones.

  Fashion Week in L.A. can be a killer and one night—trying to get to three or four events—we may have overdone it. We started the evening with Amy Lumet, attending the Lauren Bacall book signing of the second volume of her continuing autobiography, My Life and Then Some, at a bookstore in Hollywood. Amy’s dad, Sidney Lumet, directed Bacall in Murder on the Orient Express, so we figured that gave us access. And we figured right. When Amy told the clerk to tell “Miss Bacall that Amy Lumet would like to see her,” we were ushered right in to the signing table of the still-glamorous actress who taught Humphrey Bogart how to whistle in To Have and Have Not. (“Just put your lips together and blow.”)
  We heard she signed some 400 books for the store and because of the crush, we really didn’t have much time to chat, but she couldn’t have been more gracious when Amy introduced us to her. Had time permitted, we’d like to have asked her if we could submit the script of Holly Wiersma’s Factory Girl to her for the against-type role of Julia Warhola, a young Andy Warhol’s mother. Amy Lumet loved the idea and offered to submit the script the next day to Bacall.
  Those of us who’ve followed Lauren Bacall’s remarkable career remember that she once portrayed heiress Doris Duke in a television movie. Now we hear that Nicole Kidman, Bacall’s costar in two films (Birth and Dogville) will be essaying the life of Duke in a feature film. We recently wrote of Nicole’s commitment to researching the life of photographer Diane Arbus for a hoped-for biopic, Fur. Well, she’s at it again and is doing the same, preparing for her impersonation of Doris Duke. Not only has Kidman found time to fly to Newport, R.I., to view the just-opened Newport Restoration Foundation’s exhibition, Jet-set to Jeans: The Wardrobe of Doris Duke, but she is visiting the Duke’s home in Newport, Rough Point, and Duke Farms, in Somerville, N.J. She’s also arranging to interview friends and family members of the trend-setting, mad-cap millionairess.
  We had the good fortune to know Doris Duke quite well and remember her magnificent wardrobe designed by the likes of Madame Gres, Mariano Fortuny, and Balenciaga, to name only three of many. We spent lots of evenings during the ’70s and ’80s at Doris Duke’s Park Avenue penthouse. The place was awash with silver wall-coverings and black-enameled floors, a lot like the look of Studio 54, where we would also dance the night away with the tall, tawny, doe-eyed beauty, and on one memorable evening with Rudolph Nureyev, who accompanied us back to the penthouse from the Studio. Duke’s digs also featured mirrored walls and huge sofas, covered in faux fur. The point of all this is to let Nicole Kidman know that we can provide her with a lot of really good stories about our good friend, Doris Duke. All she has to do is whistle.

  About the time that the news broke that Sarah Jessica Parker was “out” and Joss Stone was “in” as GAP’s spokeswoman, we ran into the beautiful, blonde Brit having dinner in Beverly Hills with, among others, Kate Moss. Joss told us that she was in town shooting GAP’s summer 2005 television campaign, to hit the small screens April 28. And as to the tabloid reports that she would be portraying singer Janis Joplin in a film (replacing Renee Zellweger), Joss said, “not so.” Joss said she attended a private trunk show and luncheon for designer Derek Lam hosted by Jacqui Getty (who, we’re told, bought up half the fall collection). The balance of the collection, California Dreaming on a Winter’s Day, was bought up by Jacqui’s ultra-chic pals: Zooey Deschanel, Shiva Rose McDermott, Colleen Bell, Maria Bell, Crystal Lourd, and Liz Goldwyn.

  Ralph Lauren is almost as well known for his collection of rare, vintage automobiles as he is for his seasonal clothing collections. “I’ve always seen cars as art-moving art,” says the fashion titan. “While friends of mine were collecting paintings, I felt that owning a rare and magnificently designed car allowed you to enjoy its visual qualities and also just get inside and enjoy driving it.” This month the Boston Museum of Fine Arts opened Speed, Style and Beauty: Cars from the Ralph Lauren Collection, an exhibition of 16 of the designer’s most important automobiles built between the ’20s and the ’60s, representing high-water marks in both engineering and design.
  Lauren spokes-model Penelope Cruz and her boyfriend, Matthew McConaughey, flew to Boston to view the exhibit and, we understand, when it closes, Matthew will be the proud owner of the low-slung 1955 Jaguar XKD—an engagement gift from Lauren to the couple. As for the tabloid reports that Tom Cruise has been hell-bent to break up the couple, close friends of Penelope and Matthew were saying it’s “simply hogwash.” They are currently on movie screens in the action flick, Sahara, and recently signed to costar for a second time in The Loop, which starts filming in September.
  While back east for the Lauren exhibit in Boston, Matthew and Penelope took in another exhibit, the Salvador Dali retrospective at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Penelope has purportedly been developing a screenplay about the relationship between Dali and his wife, Gala. Penelope, naturally, would play Gala, who is seen in many of Dali’s paintings.
  Before flying off to Jacksonville, Fla., to begin principal photography for Holly Wiersma’s Lonely Hearts, Salma Hayek had a girls’ night out with her distaff posse, one of whom is her best gal pal, the very same Penelope Cruz. One of their stopping points was the Geisha House, where Salma was wrongly blamed for a major blockage and overflow of a toilet. Imagine her relief when she found out she’d been “had” by her friend Penelope, who’d conspired with Ashton Kutcher, one of the restaurant’s owners, to arrange the mishap as a practical joke for Kutcher’s television show, Punk’d.
  In Lonely Hearts, Salma explores Charlize Theron territory, playing a real-life, sex-obsessed serial killer by the name of Martha Beck, circa the ’40s. The murderous woman finds her victims in newspaper personal ads. John Travolta and James Gandolfini portray the detectives out to get her.

  Our good friend Patrick McMullan came to L.A. for Fashion Week and to promote his books. There were a slew of parties in his honor, including a tea at Betsy Bloomingdale’s home and a sit-down dinner for 40 at the aforementioned Geisha House, hosted by Ryan Tasz. Among those toasting Patrick with Pierrier Jouet Champagne were artist Kenny Scharf and his beautiful Brazilian wife, Teresa. Kenny was happy to hear that Leonardo DiCaprio just purchased one of his paintings from an art gallery.
  Also at the dinner were Amy Lumet, who says she wants to direct films like her dad Sidney; and Melissa George, the great-looking actress and one-time national roller skating champion from Oz who told us she just scored her first movie lead in the re-make of The Amityville Horror. Melissa has been in the states for about six years and she says she perfected her American accent watching old episodes of The Brady Bunch. Next up for her is a co-starring role in the psychological drama Derailed, starring Jennifer Aniston and Clive Owen.
  Rarely do pet projects go un-discussed at gatherings such as this and such was the case that night as we sat with Holly Woodlawn and her date, Alan Mendel, her director in Milwaukee, Minnesota, and HBO’s Colin Callander and his wife Elizabeth. Holly told us that Paris Hilton wanted to play Candy Darling in her film, A Lowlife in High Heels. Just as we were mulling over that bit of info, Alan Mendel stunned the group by saying he thought Ashton Kutcher should play the Warhol superstar. (“Did you see Ashton as Julia Roberts when he hosted Saturday Night Live?” Gorgeous!) Our waiter overheard the mention of Ashton Kutcher and he said, “He’s having dinner downstairs right now.” With that, Holly bolted from the table and caught Kutcher downstairs dining with friends, sans Demi, and, as only Holly can, presented him with the idea. He told Holly, “Sounds good to me. Send your script and your book to my agent.” Stay tuned.

  Some of the others we saw at Patrick’s dinner party were Tony Goldwyn, Wendy Stark, The Argyle’s Jeff Klein, Daisy Fuentes, Viacom’s Tom Freston and wife Kathy, Angela Janklow and Rebecca de Mornay (both in Dolce & Gabbana), and manager Jason Weinberg. We later caught up with Ashton and congratulated him. “You mean about my two new films, Guess Who? and A Lot Like Love, don’t you? Because Demi’s not pregnant and I am not going to be a father,” the tall, good-looking actor responded, a sly grin spreading across his face. What we were actually congratulating him on was the success of Geisha House, but since we realized he was promoting his films and we already knew that Demi was not knitting tiny garments, we answered in the affirmative, “But of course. Congratulations!”

  Ashton told us that Amanda Peet, his costar in A Lot Like Love, wrote “Punk’d” in shaving cream on his Escalade SUV in retaliation for his T.P.-ing her front yard during a party. “I was baby-sitting Demi and Bruce’s girls that night,” explained Ashton, who says he likes to teach them “the miracle of two-ply. Besides, they were getting bored and that’s how I entertain them.”


  There was a long valet line, lots of traffic, and a mob inside the party for the opening of Marc Jacobs’ new store in Hollywood and we briefly considered forgoing the hassle. But after checking out the queue and spying Cornelia Guest, Anna Wintour, and Debbie Harry waiting (more or less) patiently, we decided to join them. Anna Wintour was in town to host a dinner for legendary lensman Mario Testino and also to join Angelica Huston in hosting the Rodeo Drive street party where Mario and the late Herb Ritts received the Walk of Style Award.
  Selma Blair told us she just wrapped Pretty Persuasion and had just returned from Paris where she and her sister Elizabeth attended Mark Jacobs’ Louis Vuitton show. It would appear that Selma’s fashion star is rising. Marc Jacobs has named one of his coveted hand bags of the season after the starlet and since Marc just doesn’t go doling out his pricey bags to every actress seen in his clothes, Selma can now add “muse” to her fashion resume. Well, Marc Jacobs’ new muse got whisked inside the party by two publicists and moments later, the fire marshal announced, “No one else is getting inside.”

  Meanwhile, over at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Hugo Boss was throwing a poolside bash and fashion show. Nip/Tuck’s Julian McMahon was there and told us he just got back from Australia. (Julian is the son of the late Australian PM, Sir William McMahon and Lady Sonia.) Julian said he had some social obligations in Sydney, declaring he’d not seen “anything like it since Princess Diana took the country by storm” on her visit to the land down under. Julian was talking about Denmark’s vivacious Crown Princess Mary’s return home, her first since her marriage last year to Denmark’s dashing Prince Frederik. Julian attended charity dinners with the royal couple, including the Red Cross Ball and a dinner to benefit the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, the same organization for which Princess Di attended a ball on her last official visit to Sydney in 1996.

  Speaking of Princess Diana: How would you like to stay at her ancestral home? Apparently, there is no end to her brother Charles Spencer’s desire to capitalize on the public’s fascination with his late, beloved sister. It seems you can rent out the 500-year-old place if you are an American Express Centurion card member. Up to 30 guests can stay together at the castle, which is the Princess of Wales’ final resting place. We heard that Desperate Housewives star Teri Hatcher has rented the ancient digs for a week during her summer hiatus. Sounds like a terrific way to spend some of that lucre she’s earned from ABC’s Sunday-night hit—$275,000 per episode is the amount we’re told.

  But back to Princess Mary of Denmark: “The whole city was mad for Mary,” Julian McMahon enthused. And although Prince Charles was also there at the same time, it was Denmark’s Princess Mary who was getting all the attention. We’re sure it didn’t phase Britain’s heir apparent one whit, since his thoughts were obviously on the events in which he makes Camilla Parker Bowles his wife (and Britain’s future queen, a title, she declared recently, which she has no interest in).

  Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward are back in their Westport, Conn., home from Wales, after attending the very low-key wedding of their daughter Nell to Gary Irving. Nell runs the family’s Newman’s Own organic food empire, which gives all of its profits to charity. Nell and Gary met in California because of their mutual interest in surfing. He worked in a surfboard shop and she bought a board from him. The small, non-religious affair (only 35 guests) was held in a small hotel in the Welsh village of Swansea, where Gary grew up. The wedding was kept a secret to avoid any celebrity hoopla. No paparazzi in sight. Gary is said to want an acting career. Perhaps fellow Welsh rarebit Catherine Zeta-Jones will hire him.
  Paul Newman and Robert Redford, who made movie history in their two films together—Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting—are reportedly in talks to re-team in the film version of Bill Bryson’s novel, A Walk in the Woods. Rumors have persisted for years about a Newman/Redford project, and Redford recently said, good-naturedly, we’re sure, “It might be something for Paul and me—if Paul can hang on long enough before he gets in a wheel chair.”