Dead Dawn

They say all good things come to an end, well next Friday “the Twilight Saga” will prove that all bad things do as well. It’s strange to think that just a few years ago, back in 2008 that this “phenomenon” didn’t even exist. And, yet in five years the franchise has exploded and made household names out of Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and pretty much everyone else involved. I knew that the franchise had a polarizing power when after seeing the first movie, my friend Dana ran out to buy the book series. I myself am an avid reader, and had given the books a shot. But, I had never seen Dana read a book, never mind four. Before long she was obsessed and became a full-fledged Twihard. In the years since Dana was first bitten, I have been to five of Robert’s “Today” appearances, three midnight screenings, weathered two casting dramas and one Robsten break up. While I have made no secret of the fact that I am not a fan of the series, being along for the ride with Dana and my other friends has been fun. But, this past week as the cast and the fans geared up for the final stretch before the film’s release I was surprised to see how calm the ride was.

My “Twilight” week started Wednesday morning, as Dana and I walked up to the “Today Show” plaza. Kristen Stewart was slated to make an appearance and I was prepared for the anarchy I have come to expect. Camping out, barricades being tested, chasing cars – it’s all fair game in this fandom. So when Dana and I walked down W48th street I was shocked to see 18 people lined up for Bella Swan herself. Now, last year I waited overnight to get Dana a spot so she could see Rob. And similar measures had to be taken in years before, not by me, but by others. So to show up at 6 AM and find less than 20 people on line was shocking. As things worked out, we didn’t get to meet Kristen Stewart. She was brought over to us and told us yes to our various requests. However, these girls could not get their camera sorted out and cost us facetime with KStew. We fared better with Nikki Reed who was also on the show that morning. She is sweet, gracious and so beautiful. I will never understand why she is not seen in a more favorable light by the fans. The next morning, Rob Pattinson was the star on the plaza and just over 25 people showed up to see him. Now, you’ll say “Brian, it had snowed.” And yes that’s true it had. But, his fans did chase him all around the five boroughs while he filmed “Remember Me” in sweltering summer heat. I thought his fans were weather proof. I will admit, the plaza did fill up slightly more after showtime. But, still we are talking about a fanbase that camps in the street for weeks before movie premieres. This kind of turn out was unheard of. It worked to our advantage because we did get to meet Robert. He was incredible, he came outside in the freezing cold and took photos with pretty much everyone. That is amazingly kind of him and I thank him.

Kirsten Stewart, so close but so far away.

We did get to meet the wonderful Nikki Reed.

Rob works a noticeably smaller crowd on the “Today” plaza.

Now while I have come to expect anarchy and chaos wherever Kristen and Rob go. I have come to expect the opposite where Taylor Lautner goes. In the film he plays proverbial third wheel Jacob Black. And just like Jacob is a better fit for Bella, Taylor is a better fit for the fans. He is nicer and much more patient and comfortable with his fame. In years past, the crowd he has drawn has been significantly smaller than his co-stars. This year? The line was over 50 people when we arrived and doubled to 100 before we were let in. It was so crowded in fact, that Taylor didn’t have time to get to everyone and we left empty handed. We of course had some back-up plans in place and got to meet Taylor later but still it was surprising. Now, all of this begs the bigger question. Where are the Twihards? How is it that a movie franchise that has made over a billion dollars and has created a level of fame that hinders Pattinson’s ability to leave his house is not drawing a bigger crowd as it draws to a close. I mean over the course of the eight Harry Potter films there were times the films were not huge in terms of press and attention. But, when the eighth and final film was released it was a firestorm.

Robert and I at the Today Show.

Taylor and I after his appearance on “Live! with Kelly and Michael”.

When we walked out of the theater last November, I turned to my friends and said one more and we’re done. As I said that I imagined the media blitz Summit was planning. A primetime special about the film’s success, a look-back with former cast members and the inescapable presence of the film’s three stars with a massive crowd of people following their every move. Instead the film seems poised to go out with a whimper, not a bang. The three stars of the film are pretty much done with their television invasion. Robert’s on-screen siblings Kellan Lutz and Ashley Greene have a few things coming up but nothing like the cast’s omnipresence of years past. Even Dana’s annual midnight release is drawing less people with many of our friends choosing to see it down the line. A peak at the box office receipts for the series shows they have been on a decline since “New Moon” so I wonder how this last go will fare. I guess I knew that regardless of what Edward told Bella, nothing could last forever. However, I did think that things could at least last until they ended.

Miracle on 59th Street

June, Kathy, Lauren and I at Bloomingdales.

I have often said that Fashion’s Night Out is my favorite holiday, but last night solidified that it is in fact holiday-like. Because whatever holiday you celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, Ramadan, etc. there is always that year that your celebration is a disaster. Yesterday I was ahead of schedule at 4:30 and decided to run to my local drug store to print some photos. Only, I couldn’t find my camera. After an hour of searching, which led to me literally shaking and sweating because the last 9 months of my life is on that memory card I had to stop looking, get dressed and leave. I put the camera drama behind me, and headed to Longchamp in Rockerfeller Center. Before long, I had met up with Kathy and Lauren and we were sipping champagne and enjoying macaroons while awaiting Coco Rocha’s arrival. When she arrived, looking stunning in Diesel and carrying a bag from Longchamp she mingled for a bit before debuting her new campaign film “Oh! My Bike”. The film was really cute and the event at Longchamp was amazing. When I spoke to Coco, I congratulated her on her fabulous write up in the New York Times and even got her to tell me she may be making an appearance at NYFW for a very special show.

My favorite model Coco Rocha and I at the Longchamp store’s premiere of “Oh! My Bike”.

If I had known what awaited me at my second stop of the night, I think I would have stayed at Longchamp and drank champagne and chatted with Coco forever. Kellan Lutz was appearing at Bloomingdales for an event for Charisma bedding. The event was due to run from 7 – 9 and we got there around 7:40. When we arrived, we were informed the line was closed and we would not be allowed to meet him. A manager came over and told us to wait it out, and if they could get us up to see our pal Kellan, they would. An hour and thirty minutes later, after we waited in line in a store with NO food or drinks being served they told us to leave. Now, I have no problem being told that something is going to work in my favor. Okay, that’s a lie. But, the way in which this bib-necklace wearing Zoe Saldana wannabe said it rubbed me the wrong way. At first she suggested we hit another event in the store, when we informed her they were all over she told us “go walk up fifth avenue and find something else to do”. What kind of customer service is that? To tell people to leave your store and hit a different one? She then went on to tell us that she was in charge of the event, that she was in PR, and berate us with insults for waiting. When I politely pointed out to her that the night was pretty much over and we had waited so long here that we wanted to see this through she backed down. When Kellan got up from the event was about to head out, I called out to him and he came right over to me. I said to him Kellan, they wouldn’t let us into your event. He pushed his pointer into my shoulder and laughingly said “well then why did you guys get here so late?” I considered telling him about my need to see Coco, but kept mum as he pulled me in for a big hug.

This photo of Kellan and I nearly didn’t happen. It’s kind of a miracle it did.

Kellan always a gentleman, took photos with all of us and then headed off to an interview. The victory of getting to see him, after rudely being told I would not was satisfying. But, the pacing of the event ate up our entire night. My plans to see Jessica Chastain at Jeffrey and Allison Williams at DVF were ruined. This also marks the first time I have not seen my Queen Anna Wintour at any point of the night. But, the thing is somehow I still had fun. I mean how could I not? Running around the city with my friends, all of us dressed to the nines and drinking champagne (when we could find it) and seeing some of our favorite stars. Even if the customer service and staff at Bloomingdales wasn’t magical, they were unable to dampen a magical night.

An amfAR Gala “Gossip” Round Up

The evening's fabulous host SJP.

Spotted: Wall Street reoccupied. The financial district has been taken over once again, but this time instead of tents, protests and the 1%. It was all black tie, ball gowns and celebrities and it was 100% fabulous. Pardon me, but after last night’s Leighton Meester run in I couldn’t help but speak like our favorite UES insider. But, we’ll get to that in a second. Last night, amfAR held their annual Fashion Week kick off gala to raise money for AIDs research. Held at Cipriani Wall Street it was the event to see and been seen at last night. Sarah Jessica Parker was the host of the fundraiser and she looked beautiful in a flowing Oscar de la Renta chiffon gown paired with a Theory leather jacket. The bad ass leather jacket juxtaposed with the feminine gown worked wonderfully in a very SJP way. As you know Fashion Week starts today, so there were plenty of designers afoot with Rachel Roy, amfAR chairman Kenneth Cole and Roberto Cavalli all lending their fashionable names to this great cause. When I arrived downtown at Cipriani with my friend Lauren in tow, we gathered with the big crowd of spectators right next to the arrivals tent. There was quite a crowd, as nothing gets mid-level Wall street professional to stop and gawk like a 15 foot long celebrity filled red carpet.  To their credit there was quite a lot to gawk at.

Leighton Meester in Louis Vuitton.

After the red carpet wrapped up, the real fun began as the celebrities started to trickle out. One of the first people to depart was Gossip Girl’s Queen Bee Leighton Meester. Decked in head to toe Louis Vuitton and looking amazing she made her way over to the small crowd of fans. After taking pictures and signing autographs, I got the chance to talk to her for a bit as she waited for her car. I took the chance to express how fabulous I thought the Gossip Girl wedding was, as much as I don’t like Prince Louis I did enjoy the spectacle surrounding his wedding to Blair. When I asked what it was like to film, Leighton said the wedding was a lot of fun to shoot but that the custom made Vera Wang gown became a hassle because they had filmed the episode over the course of three days. That makes sense as wedding gowns are designed to be worn for one day only. When I asked her if she wanted to share any details on what was going to happen regarding the predicament our resident Queen B had gotten herself into, Leighton coyly responded “well, there’s always divorce.” I’m not sure what that means for Dan and Blair, which is something we seem to be heading towards but hopefully this means that the dreadful Prince of Monaco will be leaving the UES soon.

Aside from chatting with my high school spirit animal Blair Waldorf, I got to meet some of the other fabulous guests lending their name to this cause. Twilight star Kellan Lutz, my favorite member of the “Bridesmaids” bridal party Rose Byrne, supermodel Cindy Crawford and the amazing Gloria Estefan all were so kind to the fans. Kellan was one of a very few people who stopped to say hi on his way into the event. He is always just the nicest guy, its hard to believe that someone can be that handsome and also so nice. Rose Byrne was kind of quiet, but was so sweet to have stopped at all as it was had been flurrying on and off all night, but was snowing rather heavy when she left. Her character Helen in Bridesmaids was my favorite, obviously. And, while its always nice to see Kellan I was most thrilled to meet Gloria Estefan. My friend Dana is a bigger fan, but we both really love her. It should also go without saying, Cindy Crawford looks absolutely stunning. I don’t look as good as she does and I’m not even 25.

Overall, it was a super fun night. The snow was a bummer but when you’re getting spoilers about your favorite TV show from the actress who plays your favorite character, getting to see stars strut their stuff in their red carpet best and also meeting some of your favorite actors and musicians you can overlook a few flurries. Fashion Week is now in high gear. I hope to have more fabulous nights out and will be sure to keep you posted.