“I Mean…What?!?” – Abe Gurko

The celebrity-turned designer situation has turned into a real situation and I don’t mean that “The Situation” situation, but a real situation that brings new meaning to the word situation. I just read that CAA, Creative Artists Agency, the powerhouse talent firm in Los Angeles, has jumped into the fray of the schmatta business.  Women’s Wear Daily reports today that CAA is buying into J Brand Jeans, that hot denim brand that probably grew too fast for its own britches. Since every celebrity is designing their own line of clothing or accessories, and celebrity capsule collections are falling off trees,… Read More »

One thing is getting to Hollywood; the other is staying here. You can’t just stay here in the hopes of becoming a celebrity and take a job at a bank or some other menial office job in the Valley. Heaven forbid. … Read More »

What’s with the teary goodbyes to Oprah? OK, so her afternoon chat show is going dark after 25 years, but surely Oprah is not about to pull a Greta Garbo and veer off into obscurity. Trust me, she does not want to be alone. On the contrary. Be prepared to see more of Oprah in the weeks, months and quarter centuries to come. Unless you have been living under a rock, you will know that Oprah has created her OWN Network, which is her own network, a.k.a. Oprah Winfrey Network. When you create a network like when Ted Turner started… Read More »

Remember when Alec Baldwin allegedly threatened to leave the United States if George Bush Jr. got elected in 2000? I believe Barbra Streisand said something similar. Clearly they never left but that’s not why I am bringing this up. Rather, I am dumb struck watching and listening to the horrendous crop of candidates running for Senate and Congress. The reality that our country might be taking the kind of turn to the right…and I mean far right….I mean so far right that I can not breathe…is making me rethink living here. I lived in Los Angeles during 9-11 and it… Read More »

The papers are trashing Jennifer Aniston for her newest bomb The Switch, which you could have seen coming a mile away by the premise alone. Who walks around with the sperm intended for the hoo-ha. Your biological time clock is ticking…what’s with the celebration before the fact? Hurry up girl…shove it in. Here’s how the casting of this role went down. INT. CAA OFFICES – DAY CAA AGENT: Here, Jen, do this movie, it’s called The Switch. JENNIFER: Who is the director? CAA AGENT: (Thinking to himself) Who does she think she is…Bette Davis? JENNIFER: Is it yet another comedy?… Read More »

Last night I went to a screening of A Single Man, Tom Ford‘s maiden voyage into film making. There has been plenty of hype around his wanting to be a director since the day he left Gucci five years ago. He made all the right moves, too. Bought a fierce house in the desert near Palm Springs, schmoozed up Bryan Lourd at CAA and totally made the scene in Los Angeles, yet chose New York to launch his signature clothing company. Ford’s return to the schmatta business was a subtle hint that Hollywood was not waiting for the fashion superstar… Read More »