Thomas Pierce, executive producer of “The Brutalist,” is thrilled the three-and-a-half-hour film was nominated for 10 Academy Awards.
“I just knew in my gut it would be received well,” he told me.
The movie was in the works for six years. Pierce was just about to start shooting when COVID hit. As things slowly returned to normal, “we had to reassemble with a new cast.”
Leading man Adrien Brody, who will probably win Best Actor at this year’s Academy Awards, is a “wonderful person,” Pierce said.
As if he weren’t busy enough, Pierce is organizing a week’s worth of events in Aspen, Colo. to benefit the Children’s Oncology Support Fund which fights children’s cancer.
The week will peak Feb. 8 when the Aspen Snow Ball, hosted by Jay Leno, honors Christie Brinkley.
“I lost a friend to cancer. It rocked my world,” Pierce said. “I felt I had to put my Rolodex to work.”
Next up for Pierce is “The Wizard of the Kremlin,” which just started filing in Latvia with Jude Law playing Vladimir Putin.
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Academy Award winners can get political in their acceptance speeches, but they “they shouldn’t be dismissive, they should be informative,” said Linda Ann Watt, international acting coach.
Watt, author of “The Actor’s Manifesto,” said Robert De Niro didn’t inform anyone of anything when he said, “F–k Trump!” at the 2018 Tony Awards and later called the president a “clown.”
“Those comments didn’t stop Trump from becoming president,” she told me.
In 1973, Marlon Brando boycotted the Oscars when he won Best Actor for “The Godfather,” and Sacheen Littlefeather took the podium to decry the treatment of Native Americans at Wounded Knee.
“American Indians were depicted more fairly since then,” Watt said. “That was all because of her.”
Though she is a fan of Rick Gervais, Watt understands why he was not invited back to host the Golden Globes after telling the winners to “thank your agent, thank your god, and f–k off” instead of making political speeches.
“Everybody has a strong moral code. They should be able to say what they feel, but it shouldn’t be divisive,” Watt said. “One voice can really spark change.”
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Dorothy Carvello is looking forward to her day in court.
The longtime record exec, who wrote “Anything For a Hit,” sued the estate of Ahmet Ertegun, Warner Music Group and its subsidiary Atlantic Records two years ago.
Last week, New York State Supreme Court Court Judge Mary Rosado ruled the sexual abuse case will go to trial.
“I’m excited. They’ve been trying to erase me for 34 years,” Carvello told me. “We’re going to pull back the curtain.”
Dorothy’s case exposes allegations of institutionalized sexual abuse as a part of a broader #MeToo reckoning for the music industry.
A mural of Ahmet Ertegun, who died in 2016, still graces a wall at Atlantic Records. “He invented the culture they celebrate,” Carvello said.
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Isaac Mizrahi is happily performing — singing and telling funny stories — and isn’t in a rush to return to fashion.
“If an offer crossed my desk, I wouldn’t dismiss it,” he said.
But he’s busy onstage. “Before designing I was a performer.” His one-man show “Les Mizrahi” bowed 25 years ago.
Isaac is being honored and will speak at H.O.W.’s (Hearing the Ovarian Cancer Whisper) 23rd Annual Time Is of the Essence Luncheon in Palm Beach on Monday, co-chaired by Andy Stark and Eddy Taylor.
His cabaret show at Café Carlyle debuts Feb. 4. “It’s the most fun I have all year,” he said. “I suffer from stage fright, but at the Carlisle it’s like my living room. People understand what they are coming to see.”
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Kevin Costner and Jennifer Lopez are not dating.
Both recently divorced their spouses, and both hung out at a hotspot in Aspen last month. But there is no romantic interest, just professional.
“The meetup was to say hello,” said a source, “and keep each other in mind for future projects.” Costner thinks J.Lo is underrated.
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Out & About: Isabelle Bscher’s Galerie Gmurzynska is exhibiting works by Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, Tom Wesselmann and Egon Schiele at The Winter Show at the Park Avenue Armory until Feb. 2 … The Hope for Depression Research Foundation’s Audrey Gruss and Scott Snyder will serve as grand marshals for the Race of Hope in Palm Beach on Feb. 15 … Naturally Serious skin care mavens Rochelle and June Jacobs have joined the board of the Crohns & Colitis Foundation, where they were honored last year for their work as advocates for the organization … “The Golden Bachelorette” star Joan Vassos and her fiancé Chock Chapple attended a performance of “Left on Tenth” on Broadway, starring Julianna Margulies and Peter Gallagher. The play, based on Delia Ephron’s memoir, shows one is never too old to fall in love.
