The sight of big star Tom Hanks and the specter of big writer Nora Ephron brought Hollywood and Vine onto Broadway and 44th for the Broadhurst’s opening of the New York-centric play “Lucky Guy.”
Following Meg Ryan, who’d been in Nora’s film “How Harry Met Sally,” came Emmy Rossum: “I was born in ’86, so I don’t remember the ’80s, which is what this play’s about. But my LA house is where Nora once lived.”
Ellen Barkin was in black and snapping candid pix. Angela Bassett was in black and wearing leopard shoes. Mike Bloomberg, not in black, was in heaven. Done the Yankees, done the Mets, now the theater.
Charming cuddly Larry David stopped chewing gum enough to recall his ’80s life. “Broke. Didn’t have a nickel. I’d drink one bottle of Tropicana slowly over a plate of ravioli.” Then, backing away: “I don’t like people. I don’t talk to anybody.” Really? No kidding. I leave polar bears to appreciate Larry David’s warmth.
Model Chrissy Tiegen, John Legend’s longtime woman. In a tighttight-tight purple sheath. Tight. So tight, no panty line on her perfect behind. I wanted to touch it. She said: “Be my guest. Feel my ass.” So I ran my hand over it. Nice.
Martin Short: “I know you’re probably dying to feel my washboard abs.” . . . Bobby Cannevale, now in previews in B’way’s “The Big Knife”: “I can’t help always being in the papers. I’m just doing my job.” . . . Holland Taylor, now in B’way’s one-woman show “Ann”: “I tell everyone, don’t tell me who’s out front. It’s scary.”
Spike Lee wore sneakers and a huge backpack. Nia Vardalos pulled a coat around her see-through skirt “because I packed so fast I forgot the slip.”
Rosie Perez: “In the ’80s I went to clubs six nights a week when it was fun.” . . . Richard Kind: “In those days I lived on 21st between Eighth and Ninth. No money. I remember getting [subway] tokens with what I had just before a homeless guy asked me for change.”
Rita (Mrs. Hanks) Wilson: “Tom was relaxed today. I was more nervous. I only remember, as he left, I shouted, ‘Merde.’ ”
TENSION between House and Senate Democrats and Obama-ville is what’s to watch. With the kind of tough legislation that voters considered unpopular, they feel our hoops-Player-In-Chief is again missing the basket. After backing 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in 2009 and 2010, the once-majority House Democrats became the House minority in 2011. Now damned Dems hold only a five-seat majority with seven senators up for re-election in Romney territory. Remember today’s non-Speaker Pelosi?
It’s little confidence he’ll help put them back in the majority come 2014. They’re between Barack and a hard place.
SCIENCE is progressing. Archaeologists in western Mongolia’s Gobi desert just unearthed a pair of 8,000-year-old sandals. On one a piece of 8,000-year-old toilet paper was stuck to the bottom.
ITALIAN appeals court ruled that Amanda Knox undergo another legal session. If it’s upheld on further appeal, one more trial is mandatory. Lawyer Michael J. Griffith, who repped US prisoners in 25 countries, says that, to prevent it, our extradition treaty allows only political intervention by our Justice Department. Doing so might set a precedent they would not favor in other cases.
SAOIRSE Ronan. Irish actress. Speaks with a lilt. In the new film “The Host,” she plays what?
“Two roles. A human and an alien coupled with one another in one body. Two souls. One wants to take the other over. At the end’s a scene where one of us sacrifices the other so one of them can live.”
Right. Sounds like a musical. Meanwhile, lone human Saoirse wore spike heels with red soles, no stockings, a huge ring and kept fixing her bra strap as we spoke.
This was a Cinema Society screening. No skirt above the belly button. Goats had less leather than what people wore. Young ’uns featured pink platform shoes with spangles. Old broads with necklines below their expectations. Guys arrived in baseball caps. Felt like I was in a parallel universe.
Said Saoirse: “I don’t really like watching the movie. I don’t like to watch anything I’ve done. When filming finished, they had a band and gave me an 18th birthday party on-set. Dad’s with me. Mom’s home in Dublin watching the dog. I’m not even buying anything. I just want to chill with friends. They’re good. They don’t get excited with my acting. And I want to play with our border collie.”
ZOSIA Mamet on daddy David’s wisdom relative to casting agents. “He says: ‘Don’t listen to anything after “No,” because they don’t know what they’re talking about.’ ” . . . Fox News’ Shepard Smith: “If media were food, I’d be obese. I’m eating a lot of their fat.” . . . Roseanne Barr: “I have more money than God. Just not as much as Oprah.”
A quarterly real estate tax assessment was just received by a resident. The resident’s condo is on West 57th Street. The assessment is by New York’s Finance Department. His NYC tax is to be sent to them in Newark, NJ.
Only in New York, kids, only in New York.