When THR asked director Steven Soderbergh which of his leading men, Brad Pitt or George Clooney, his money's on in this year's best-actor horse race at several ceremonies, he scoffed.
Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images; Michael Buckner/Getty ImagesNew York Housewife Goes Beverly Hills: Looks like Jill Zarin, let go by Bravo before The Real Housewives of New York hit season five, won’t be absent from your TV screen for long. THR hears Fox is in talks with Zarin about her own show to be titled The Beverly Jillbillies, based on a fish-out-of-water move to Los Angeles. The show’s producers and Fox could not confirm, and Zarin would say only that she is house-hunting in L.A.
CAA’s Sunset Tower Heist
This year, we hear CAA asked the Sunset Tower Hotel — where the agency holds its major awards-show parties, including its well-attended Golden Globes bash — not to book any other film-related parties for two weeks leading up to the Globes. Numerous events had to look for new homes.
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TV Exec on the Tube
It’s ultra-rare to see a serious Hollywood exec on a reality show. But Family Guy writer-producer Gary Janetti gets his close-up on Bravo’s It’s a Brad Brad World as the real-life live-in boyfriend of stylist Brad Goreski, formerly of The Rachel Zoe Project. “If I didn’t do it, he wouldn’t have anyone to talk to — he works where he lives,” explains Janetti. “It was very odd to be on the other side, working all day on a show and then walking into your home seeing a crew and craft services.”
Pitt vs. Clooney: The Pits
When THR asked director Steven Soderbergh which of his leading men, Brad Pitt or George Clooney, his money’s on in this year’s best-actor horse race at several ceremonies, he scoffed: “I don’t bet on shit like that. … Do you think it’s fun for them? I think both of them hate it. When we were shooting Ocean’s Thirteen, George and Brad walked out of a hotel in Europe, and the photographers elbowed George out of the way to get to Brad!” So we asked Clooney about squaring off against his oft co-star and pal. “Soderbergh’s right — we hate the idea of there being any sort of competition,” he said at the Palm Springs film fest. “I’ve already voted for the SAGs, and I voted for Brad. He gave two of the best performances of the year.”
Mock Cover Star
What does it take to get noticed in this town? If you’re Andy Hoff, it’s your mug on the cover of THR — even if he had to create a fake one. The actor, who has appeared on Justified and Mad Men, hired a designer to create a faux THR cover and two pages of inside content, including his own About Town page. He fastened them around copies of the Nov. 25 edition, which he mailed to 60 companies including Brillstein and Anonymous Content. How has the stunt worked out? “I’ve received several calls, with my first meeting set for this Thursday [Jan. 12],” says Hoff, who included a fine-print admission that THR‘s intellectual property was “used without permission just to get your attention. Please don’t sue.”
Pia Is Still Golden
Pia Zadora, now residing in Las Vegas, will be in town Jan. 17, two days after the Golden Globes, for an engagement at swanky supper club Vibrato, where she’ll belt out standards. But the gig wasn’t planned to coincide with the Globes; she won’t go near the ceremony. “Are you kidding? That would be dangerous,” laughs Zadora, 57, who notoriously won a Globe for Best New Star of the Year for 1982’s Butterfly, opposite Orson Welles. Many believe her then-husband, producer Meshulam Riklis, bought the award by mounting a heavy promotional campaign. Thirty years on, Zadora remains bemused. “The award wasn’t specifically for acting,” she says. “It was for who had the most potential.” She has since focused on singing, for which Zadora earned a Grammy nom in 1984 for her song “Rock It Out.” “Guess what?” she says. “You can’t ‘buy’ a Grammy nomination!”
Power Lunch
On Jan. 8, the day after the Palm Springs International Film Festival gala, Adrien Brody and Charlize Theron each brunched at Norma’s at the Parker. Publicists Jeff Hill and Karen Fried were there as well. … FIG at Santa Monica’s Fairmont Miramar Hotel was particularly popular during the holidays. Robert Plant, Michael Keaton, Chris O’Donnell and LL Cool J stopped by separately, along with director Gary McKendry and Sony Music head Doug Morris. In addition, Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez dined together. … At Culina, NBCUniversal cable chief Bonnie Hammer sat on the patio. Aaron Sorkin took a chair inside on another occasion. … Hammer also visited Il Covo. One Friday, Leslie Moonves and Tom Freston broke bread at the restaurant, but not at the same table. The following day, rockers Joe Walsh and Jeff Lynne dined together. Other recent patrons: producer Alan Greisman, writer Dick Clement and music manager Phil Carson. … In Malibu, Pierce Brosnan visited Savory one day, and Shirley MacLaine journeyed there another. … Martin Short tucked into a penne pasta dish at Locanda del Lago. … Joel McHale checked out Osaka. … Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen explored the haute-Chinese menu at Wolfgang Puck’s WP24 in downtown L.A.
