NEW York — where what happens nowhere else happens every night — premiered “Fantastic Mr. Fox.” The handmade, stop-motion ani mated film, from Roald Dahl’s 1970 children’s story featuring rats, rabbits, badgers, moles and possums, stars George Clooney, Meryl Streep. Only they’re not in it. Just their voices. Its party was at Bergdorf’s. Only nobody knew why.
And what is a handmade, stop-motion animated movie?
PHOTOS: ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ premieres in NYC
“Took a year to prep, a year to shoot,” said director Wes Anderson. “We made a script from the original story. Then a storyboard of the action, like a penciled version of the whole film. This we edited. Filming itself is the process of replacing the penciled version shot by shot. For the voices, I picked Clooney because he plays heroic figures and in this he’s a hero. And Meryl because she’s an iconic woman and strong like her heroine character who’s the conscience of the film. To record them, I took my whole cast to a farm in Connecticut since the movie takes place on a farm.”
Then why a party on supersophisticated 58th and Fifth?
“Oh, is this 58th Street?”
“Yes. Bergdorf’s for Men, which is where we are and whose windows reflect your movie, is on 58th Street.”
“Oh, I didn’t know. I don’t know much about what’s on 58th Street. I live on 13th Street.”
Not wanting to get into the Manhattan grid, I then asked simply, “If your film’s set in a farm, why, specifically, is its party in Bergdorf’s for Men?”
“Oh. I really don’t know.”
Onward. Glorious-looking Meryl Streep in a low-cut flowered Prada, “which I own,” how did she come by this movie?
“Well, the chance to work with Wes Anderson and the chance to fly to Paris, where I did my work, with some extra recording done in Connecticut. When I did my lines, Wes played the other character speaking back to me, which helps give a feel for the action. Very important because reactions and the way your body moves defines your voice. So when I was working, George was on some of the tracks and Wes on some.”
And why’s the party at a men’s store?
“Oh, no idea.”
Two p.r. people dredged up answers. One: “Because it’s about a male. Mr. Fox. So the party’s in a men’s store.” Said another: “What do you mean, why Bergdorf’s for Men on 58th Street? Because that’s what we could get, that’s why!”
Finally I understood.
PHOTOS: “Fantastic Mr. Fox” premieres in NYC
NOW, the other end of movies open ing in NYC. “Fix.” Stars Olivia Wilde. Having already had its gala someplace, it’s out a week from Friday. Dark tale of drugs, jail, rehab, housing projects, the Watts neighborhood in LA, rural wastelands, police stations, chop shops, people on the run. Considering Olivia’s glamorous, sexy photos in magazines, doesn’t seem her cup.
“There’s two parts of me,” she laughed. “I’m trying to take complicated life with a boulder of salt. Approaching it with humor like Carrie Fisher. People always seem surprised when I have actually something intelligent to say. But you can be attractive, stylish and still have a brain. You don’t have to sacrifice principles just because you put on a nice frock.
“I’m not one of those superlative sexpots. I haven’t that Hollywood competitive gene. I’m into truth-telling. I want someday to write. My family were journalists. Even my grandparents. I’m soaked in it. I appreciate their passion for the profession and therefore scripts that teach something. It’s a huge factor in how I approach this world.
“I made no money with ‘Fix.’ An indie film by my husband Tao Ruspoli, we worked weekends. I’d have made more in an off-Broadway show. The craft services on any other movie cost more than our whole budget. I didn’t even have hair and makeup. Every imperfection showed. When I saw it I thought, ‘You have to do CPR on my skin!’ It was tragic. My husband said it was wonderful because I looked ‘raw and real.’ I guess it helped me fashion the character. I’m just glad I’m married seven years to a man who thinks I’m wonderful without makeup!”
DEREK Jeter‘s all-time record- breaker months back brought the idea to give him a parade. The mayor said, “After my re-election.” Came the re-election, and Derek’s parade turned into the whole World Series Yankee championship team . . . Ivan Reitman, producer on son Jason‘s “Up in the Air” and heavily drum-beating it, will direct “Ghostbusters 3,” which means now the kid will do p.r. for the dad . . . The holiday treats: Harry & David, the groceterias, are shipping award-winning chocolates, baked goodies, Moose Munch and an 88-page book about their 75-year-old company. And Figueroa Brothers is shipping sauces from the House of Blues, Francis Ford Coppola‘s resort in Belize, and something called Melinda’s Original Habañero Pepper Sauce. Which I don’t think you should throw on the turkey.
BRUCE Littlefield saw this sign in the 170 W. 23rd St. bagel shop: “CPR kit located near Lotto machine.”
Only in New York, kids, only in New York.