August 4th, 2005

 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory opened B–I–G despite the carping by some movie goers—devotees of the 1971 version of the quirky Roald Dahl novel that starred Gene Wilder, himself one of the more vocal critics of Tim Burton’s darkly comic film. Wilder’s film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, had music, and even provided a hit song for Sammy Davis, Jr., The Candy Man. But when we spoke to Johnny Depp at the after party following the film’s premiere, he reminded us that this new film is truer to the spirit of the Roald Dahl novel, something that was echoed by most of the movie’s critics.

Golden Ticket-holding guests at the premiere at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood were whisked away via SUVs to the after party at the nearby Jim Henson Company’s lot, the former home of A&M Records and before that, Charlie Chaplin’s film studio. The lot had been turned into a kid’s fantasyland, a replica of the Willy Wonka chocolate factory, complete with a chocolate waterfall. There were video-game booths and candy stations flanking the area and a tent with more game booths, candy stations loaded with Wonka bars, laffy taffy, gobstoppers, and plush sofas that begged to be sat upon.
This is where we saw Britney Spears and Kevin Federline. Britney was outfitted in a wife-beater (the new “in,” but politically incorrect name for a tank top) with “I Have the Golden Ticket” in script across the front with an arrow pointing to her swollen belly (something that was pretty obvious even without the arrow). Both were grazing on Wonka Bars, getting into their sugar rushes. Britney begged off chatting with us as she continued to wolf down candy bars (after all, she is eating for two). We told her no problem, we were looking for Johnny Depp anyway.
We found the Candy Man himself, who was delighted to see us and hoped we were enjoying ourselves. “I don’t even like chocolate myself,” he confessed, something that caught us a bit off-guard. We’d read in London’s Daily Telegraph that Gene Wilder had really badmouthed Charlie, quoting him as saying of Burton’s film, “It’s all about money. It’s just some people sitting around thinking, ‘How can we make some more money?’ Why else would [anyone] remake Willy Wonka?” After reading Wilder’s unwelcomed remarks, we went to the Internet’s IMDb and checked out Willy Wonka’s costs and grosses. It cost $5 million and earned $6 million at the box office. That’s 1971 dollars, but still...Johnny, an avowed and unabashed fan of the original, said he was “taken aback” when he heard about Wilder’s remarks, calling them, “very disappointing.” Depp said he was at a loss to understand why Wilder would say “they just did this for the money.” “Well, hey, man,” he offered, “when didn’t they ever do anything for the money? Nobody’s ever made a film in the history of cinema where they weren’t expecting some return on their dough.”

We’re sure Johnny has addressed a subject that we’ve wondered about ever since we became die-hard fans: Why, with his extremely good looks, does he hide behind strange wigs, fake teeth, vocal gymnastics, and campy ripostes? “I think it’s an actor’s responsibility to alter his looks, his voice, and personality according to the dictates of the character he’s portraying—not only for himself and the people he’s working with but for the audience, too,” he said. “If you go out and deliver the same dish every time, it’s meatloaf again. You’d get bored; I’d get bored.” With that, he said he was off to see other people. We thought we’d take note of some of the people chatting around a revolving bar, a lollipop display rotating overhead.
We saw the film’s producers, Brad Grey and Richard D. Zanuck, chatting up director Tim Burton, who said about the party, as he looked about approvingly, “I’m having a flashback to the days on the set.” Also there, were Warner Bros. execs Jeff Rovinov and Kevin McCormick, composer Danny Elfman and his mother Clare, the beautiful Vanessa Paradis (Mrs. Johnny Depp), screenwriter John August, Larry and Shaun King, and Melanie Griffith with her daughter Stella, and Emma Roberts, Eric Roberts’ daughter, chatting with Depp’s young costar, Freddie Highmore.
We thought Depp was just having fun with David Letterman when he admitted to the late-night talk-show host that he was going to launch the remains of gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson into the stratosphere using a 50-foot cannon. Where in the hell, Letterman wondered, is he going to get a cannon with those outsized dimensions? Johnny quipped, “Build it. If you build it, they will come.” Well, it turns out that Johnny, who portrayed Thompson in the screen adaptation of the author’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, wasn’t kidding and he hired an event planner to oversee the send-off of Thompson’s ashes from a 150-foot-tall tower behind the late writer’s home in Woody Creek, Colo. The launch takes place on August 20. We didn’t ask Johnny, but we wonder if the ashes will achieve orbit or if they’ll simply burn up. But then, we’re not rocket scientists.
London came calling on Paris recently when Hedi Slimane threw himself a raucous birthday party. Not only did Hedi bring in his two favorite bands, The Paddingtons and The Others, but he also arranged for two Eurostar carriages full of beer-fueled young trendies to join him. All eyes were on the hottest couple of the moment—Pete Doherty and Kate Moss—who ambled into the party loaded for bear.
After smooching with Pete on the sofa and chatting with the likes of David Furnish, Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant, and Daphne Guinness, Kate plucked a bottle of Dom Perignon from a passing champagne bucket and plowed her way to the dance floor. There, she took a friendly twirl with her ex, Jefferson Hack. The night before, we hear Kate and Jefferson popped into the Hemingway Bar and ordered Ritz Side Cars, which, at 400 Euros (about $475), is listed in The Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s most expensive cocktail. The contents consist of lemon juice, Cointreau, and 150-year-old cognac. No, we don’t know the proportions. We’re still reeling at the price.
At lens-lady Melanie Pullen’s photo exhibit, High Fashion Crime Scenes, we were happy to see Drew Barrymore and her fiancé, Fabrizio Moretti, the drummer for the Strokes. The press material on the show emphasized the photographer’s intent: to point out the ability of haute couture to disguise and distract, or to draw (our) attention away from the otherwise...shocking crime scene subjects. Didn’t Faye Dunaway navigate these risky waters with her role as a fashion photographer more than 25 years ago in the Eyes of Laura Mars?
Drew told us she was freshly returned from her European trip where she attended the Dior couture collection in Paris, her first such experience. “It was all very new to me,” she explained. And contradicting reports in European papers, she said, “I was not shopping for a wedding dress. Christina Aguilera was, not me.” Drew also told us that the collections pulled in a lot of star wattage: Tina Turner, Usher, Molly Sims, Matt Dillon, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Anna Wintour, to mention some of them. Also Rita Wilson was there while husband Tom Hanks is filming The Da Vinci Code. We learned that Paltrow will be posing for a cover shot for Vogue to coincide with the release of her new film, Proof. The paparazzi were like cockroaches scurrying after food crumbs when Charlize Theron made her entrance at the Dior show. She just wrapped principal photography of Class Action about the first big sexual-harassment case in the U.S. and was in Paris for the photo shoot of her ads for the new Dior fragrance, J’adore.

Was Drew’s experience at the couture collections this year strong enough to make her want to come back to Paris next year? “Most definitely. You know the Balenciaga exhibition opens at the Louvre in July, don’t you? I don’t think I could miss that,” she said. By the way, Drew’s betrothed Fabrizio Moretti designed the cover of Schools That Rock, the new book from Jann Wenner Books by contributing editor of Rolling Stone, Jeffrey Eliscu. It is due out this month.
While many of Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey’s friends celebrated the blonde bombshell’s splashy, 25th birthday blast at her parents’ L.A. home —including Jake Gyllenhaal, Joaquin Phoenix, Mandy Moore, Quentin Tarantino, Eva Mendes, Christian Slater, Topher Grace, and Scott Sartiano, the N.Y.C. club owner and once constant companion of Ashley Olsen, but now pre-occupied with Jessica’s sister, Ashlee—the birthday gal and her handsome mister were tucked cozily away at the restaurant at the Bel-Air Hotel, celebrating the seminal occasion alone together, having an oh-so-romantic dinner, appearing ecstatically happy, with hand-holding, tender kisses, and sweet nothings whispered in one another’s ears.
There was even the obligatory birthday cake with Nick joining in with the wait-staff singing Happy Birthday. Jessica said, “Twenty-five is going to be a very good year for me.” We certainly couldn’t disagree, what with a wonderful marriage, a burgeoning film career, more CDs, and a clothing line (Sweet Kisses). What’s next, we wondered. And Jessica’s answer was as unexpected as anything she might have said: “Possibly a barbeque joint, serving my signature chili and cornbread. I just want people in Hollywood to have really good barbeque.” While other celebrities have opened successful restaurants—Justin Timberlake and Ashton Kutcher, for instance—there’ve been others that have their share of problems, like J-Lo’s family dining spot, Madre’s (though we’ve heard it was sailing a steady course after some earlier legal wrangles), and Britney Spears’ disastrous Manhattan eatery, NYLA. Maybe a barbeque joint will work. We hope so.

A few sentences back, we got sidetracked before we finished telling you about the 1980s-themed birthday bash that mom and dad Tina and Joe Simpson threw for the very absent Jessica. Amid flaming tiki torches, guests boogied until three in the morning to Jessica’s favorite ’80s cover band, The Spazmatics, on the tennis courts that had been turned into a dance pavilion. Not among the party animals was renowned party animal Johnny Knoxville, Jessica’s co-star in The Dukes of Hazzard, nor the other Duke cousin, Sean William Scott. It seems that Knoxville’s wife put her foot down and refused to give her permission. (Johnny jokes that his wife would like nothing better than to pepper spray Jessica, so convinced is she of the truth of the rumored on-the-set hanky-panky between the two stars.) Jay Chandrasekhar, Dukes director, did however make an appearance at the festivities. Some of you are probably wondering if Jessica and Nick also made a late appearance after their romantic gastronomic getaway. Well, the answer is no. The happy couple checked into a suite at the Bel-Air and didn’t check out until the next night. Sounds like a happy marriage to us.
“I love you, too,” yelled a happy, triumphant Antonio Villaraigosa, L.A.’s new mayor, responding to a thundering, standing ovation from the crowd as he opened the 23rd Outfest Film Festival at the historic Orpheum Theatre in Downtown L.A. It was a true hero’s welcome for the handsome mayor, the first Latino to head the Los Angeles city government since 1872 and the only chief executive to attend Outfest in all its 23 years of existence. He assured the audience, “The honor is mine, not yours,” but he also kept his priorities quite clear: “Spend your money in the city of Los Angeles. I have a day job and I’d like to keep it.” The crowd roared its approval.
Filmmaker Gregg Araki, recipient of the 2005 Outfest Achievement Award, said, “My family came to surprise me. Everyone I know is here. It’s a very This is Your Life moment.” The award was presented to Araki by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Brady Corbet, stars of Araki’s Mysterious Skin, surrounded by such stars from Araki’s films as Rose McGowan and Kathleen Robertson. Directors Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau introduced the opening-night film, Cote d’Azure, which was followed by a late-night block party.
It was here that we caught up with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 24, and best remembered as the smart-mouthed, youngest member of the alien family in NBC’s surprise hit of several seasons ago, 3rd Rock from the Sun. After the cancellation of that series, Joseph decided to take a break from acting, which is what he’d been doing since he was six years old. “I stopped because I wasn’t even sure why I was doing it any more,” the still youthful-looking actor confided. After leading a more normal life in New York, where he attended Columbia University, he decided that he cared about acting after all. “I also cared about the world and felt the best way for me to contribute is to do what I was good at.”
So, we asked, what was it about Mysterious Skin that you decided that this is the film in which you’d make your comeback? “It was because the author Scott Heim put a lot of care and love into writing the novel it’s based on,” Thomas explained. “He is such a beautiful guy and the story is so dear and close to him.” Araki agrees wholeheartedly. “I read the book 10 years ago and from that moment on, I knew I had to make the film. My reaction to the material is the strongest I have ever felt,” Gregg told us.
As all of you know, producer Holly Wiersma has made us associate producers of Factory Girl, the film that details the rapid rise and sudden fall of Andy Warhol “superstar” Edie Sedgwick. So many actresses have been mentioned for the role, but we can now definitely confirm that Sienna Miller is back on board. (No, we didn’t even broach the subject of her wandering Jude when we spoke with her from her London home.) We started calling everyone associated with the Edie project and told them the wonderful news that Sienna is back. Our friend Brigid Berlin, who’ll be playing Edie’s grandmother, was thrilled when we called her with the news, as were Wiersma, director George Hickenlooper, and writer Captain Mauzner.
A few months ago when it was announced that Sienna had to withdraw from the film, some nasty rumors began to circulate that she was dropped in favor of Katie Holmes. An out-and-out lie! The start-date of our film was delayed and Sienna had to honor the commitment she made to appear on the London stage in As You Like It. Then Holmes was in, then out, in the wink of an eye (this was during “The Tom and Katie Show,” if you’ll recall, which preceded the release of their summer films). And now with her successful run in the West End about to end, Sienna is back and we’ve got her! The movie’s cast is taking shape marvelously: Guy Pearce as Warhol, Sienna as Edie, Hayden Christensen as “a rock star based on a composite” of two or three musicians with whom Edie was romantically involved. Brigid Berlin gained notoriety as “Mrs. Andy Warhol” and as a member of the Warhol acting troupe and she’s suggested that Maggie Gyllenhaal would be ideal to portray her.
Speaking of Brigid, the other morning, at around six, we received our daily phone call from her with her comment on the report she’d just heard: That it is harder to get into some New York City or Hollywood night clubs than it is to get into this country. Said Brigid: “If Steve [Rubell] were alive, he would have made the best head of Homeland Security. He wouldn’t have let anybody into this country unless they were cute.”

There’s one club we don’t have any trouble getting into: Amanda Demme’s fabulous Tropicana Bar at the Hollywood Roosevelt, whose rebirth has been hailed as miraculous. Joining the Tropicana is another venue, the just-opened, supper club/chop house Dakota at the south end of the historic hotel’s lobby. Opening night, the very stylish Lisa Eisner arrived with an entourage to listen to her husband, Eric, who moonlights as a guitarist with the house jazz band. Standing out in the crowd was Sophie Dahl, granddaughter of Roald Dahl, the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory author, and Tatiana von Furstenberg.
Sophie, who apparently got the Dahl writing gene, told us she’s just finished her second book, and first novel (the title’s a secret) and that she signed with Bloomsbury to publish it. Also, stopping in the Tropicana Bar, we encountered tow-haired thrush Gwen Stefani, who showed us her Dior Charistal Grise watch, a gift from designer John Galliano. Gwen said she was happy to hear that Sienna Miller was back in Factory Girl. We don’t want to jinx it, but Gwen will probably be portraying Richie Berlin in the film, with Gwen’s hubby Gavin Rossdale playing Gerard Malanga. (If you didn’t know, Richie Berlin is Brigid’s younger sister and a one-time roommate of Edie Sedgwick.)
Back to the Tropicana: Designer Matthew Williamson and Jacqui Getty kept the Veuve Cliquot flowing throughout the night for Liz Goldwyn, Rosetta Getty, Sara Foster, and Amanda De Cadenet and her boyfriend, Strokes guitarist Nick Valeasi. Matthew Williamson was in town to see celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe Rosenzweig. The two were picking out Emmy dresses for Jennifer Garner—something more womanly, less girlish, for Jennifer. We got to talking about style icon Diana Vreeland, who’s given the grand treatment in a wonderful new book by Eleanor Dwight, published by HarperCollins—300 illustrations and photographs. (More about our conversation with Matthew in a future column, we promise.)
We caught Naomi Watts lunching with some of her gal pals at Mariposa, the wonderful restaurant at Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills. Naomi told us she had been seeking a children’s charity to support and heard about Usalama through her manager. When she was in Africa for her Tanzania safari vacation following the King Kong shoot, she visited the rural Usalama near Nairobi. Nothing could have prepared her for some of the 134 of the village’s orphans, many of them children of AIDS victims. Because of a lack of clean water, much of the population is at risk for typhoid. The nearest source is an hour’s walk, round trip, and, according to Naomi, you need two buckets a day for each man, woman, and child—for washing, cooking, and drinking. Naomi aims to raise awareness of this dire situation and money to sink a well. “Water is the key to everything,” she said.
While at Neiman’s, Naomi purchased several pieces from Oscar de la Renta’s and Carolina Herrera’s fall collection. Also at lunch at Mariposa—but all at separate tables—were Betsy Bloomingdale, Connie Wald, and Linda Bruckheimer, with other ladies who lunch. We heard while we were there that Karl Lagerfeld may soon count Neiman Marcus as a client for his passionate sideline avocation—photography—shooting fashions for the store’s catalogs and print ads.
The opening of James Perse’s new surf-inspired store at the Malibu Country Mart brought out the Hudson kids, Oliver, and sister Kate, who said she is not, repeat NOT, upset about husband Chris Robinson’s upcoming tour with his old band, the Black Crowes, despite the tabloid reports to the contrary. “He’s a rock musician and I’m a rocker’s wife, for crying out loud,” a clearly annoyed Kate told us. “Those stories are just so ridiculous!”
Kate’s upcoming film, The Skeleton Key, a thriller that takes place in a creepy Southern gothic mansion, stars Gena Rowlands, John Hurt, and Peter Sarsgaard. It is quite a change of pace for the pretty blonde actress, who usually is cast as a perky character. “Actually, it is more difficult to play ‘perky’ than it is to play serious, because you’re not always happy every day,” Kate said. Also at the opening of James Perse’s new surf emporium, trading in their shoes for flip-flops, were Woody Harrelson, Famke Janssen, Michele Trachtenberg, Universal’s Scott Stuber, Revolution Studio’s Todd Garner, and Casey Wasserman. Howdy’s Taqueria in Malibu provided a range of fruity margaritas and some Mexican nibbles while everyone watched the sun sink into the Pacific Ocean.
We decided to join Nikki Haskell at nearby Nobu, just a few steps down from the James Perse party. Adam Brody and Rachel Bilson were there and said their summer apart has made their relationship stronger than ever. Adam was in Vancouver, filming In the Land of Women. He mentioned that his band, Big Japan, had just played at The Troubadour in West Hollywood and that his The O.C. cast mates were there in mass to listen and watch.
David and Courtney Cox Arquette were also at Nobu—with Matthew Perry, no doubt to console him following the June breakup of his two-year relationship with Rachel Dunn. It seems that nurturing broken hearts comes quite easily to the Arquettes and their Malibu home has become a refuge for those recovering from lost loves. Jennifer Aniston certainly received solace from them.
We don’t expect new dad Matt LeBlanc to darken the Arquettes’ door, happy in his marriage to Melissa McKnight and fatherhood, even with things a bit bleaker for his solo series, Joey. Another one who won’t be showing up at the Arquettes’ is Lisa Kudrow. She’s busy as all with her new HBO series, The Comeback. Nicky Blair, the 20-year-old son of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, is interning as a production assistant on The Comeback, and will return to his studies at Oxford University in the fall. Lisa has been like a mother-hen to Nicky, inviting him to dinner and introducing him to her A-list friends, including Jennifer Aniston. Lisa gave the young Brit a private screening of her new film, Don Roos’ Happy Endings, which has received great buzz. Five years ago, Roos made a spectacular directorial debut with The Opposite of Sex, a surprise critical and financial success.
We want to applaud Courtney Cox for her recent public comments about her own bout with post-partum depression, and her defense of Brooke Shields in the recent ugliness with Tom Cruise, who may have a Ph.D. in movies but knows absolutely zilch about post-natal depression. (The last time we heard, he is an adoptive father, not a biological one.) Courtney credits her recovery from PPD to medication, the support of her husband, David, and getting back to work.
Her new film, November, was shot in 15 days on a budget of $150,000. It is an art-house thriller that Courtney is very proud of. Finally, a word about Courtney’s charity, the Epidermolysis Bullosa Foundation, which is wholeheartedly supported by Kinerase Skincare, for which she’s the spokesperson. The Armand Hammer Museum courtyard near UCLA was the scene of a recent screening of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to benefit EB.