Saturday, November 11, 2006


I am having a very slow morning..last night flew out to Vegas and saw Prince at the Rio..He was really good although toned down from his past..The show did not even start until midnight and was over a little after 2am so if you go, be prepared..got back to LA about 5, and in bed by 6am and yes, now am in the office...well working from home today, but still working..I know I owe you the crack actress story and am working on it to make sure I do not reveal more than I can or should and also combine it with some thoughts on how publicists can ruin my life with what they say about my clients before they know all the facts..But ran into someone last night and thy were basically bad mouthing MK and Ashley Olsen and has never even met them and is just going by what they read..I hate that kind of crap..So here is the REAL inside scoop on MK and Ashley from someone who has met them..

The first time I met them was about 4 years ago I guess and like all my times meeting with them it was related to a business deal with their company or something they were trying to do or license, etc..When I first met them they were just barely teenagers and did not really participate vocally in the meeting, but you could tell they were very interested in what was going on and very intelligent and attentive..They were and still are the exceedingly sweet, kind and polite and always know exactly what they are doing. Since that first meeting I guess I have met them a half dozen times or so and nothing they have done has ever changed my initial impression of them..As they have got older, their participation at these meetings has grown and now they ask questions and expect answers. They are just like any other business person who cares about their company and has a very personal stake..I am not going to sit here and pretend they are my lifelong friends or anything..They know my name, and who I am, and would and do say hi when they see me but we do not hang out or anything..For one thing I am not in their age group, and for another thing they for the most part like me avoid the drama of Hollywood and just prefer to be with their friends..In their case, someone like Cory is a really good friend and it shows what kind of people they are by the company they keep..

Everyone is always criticizing their fashion choices (especially MK) but honestly what she wears is her style, not the style that is readily available to anyone by going to the mall..She is no different from any other person with a sense of individualism you would see in the Village or Berkeley or the West End in London..When it is required by the situation they are in, they do dress to fit the occasion, as in the business meetings I mentioned above and when I have seen them at premieres or other charity functions..

As I said before, these two women are very intelligent business wise, publicity wise and understand the nuances of the entertainment world as well..Like myself, they will do almost anything for their friends and it shows in the way their friends care about them and talk about them and not some jerk backstage at a concert in Vegas who thinks he knows them because he saw them across a room 2 years ago and was ignored..

I think that is enough for today..last night a pap guy I represent (yes, they need attorneys also) told me a really good story so I need to make sure to pass it along sometime this week..If I write it down here it helps me to remember..

Friday, November 10, 2006

So....after eating, went over to the Tenacious D premiere because I have some clients involved in that..one thing about my practice is that I really do not do much talent representation..I generally refer all that out to ICM or CAA, etc..but I still have some clients who have been with me when I did do that and so like to keep an eye on them..(one of the reasons I hate doing it is because I already have enough I have to keep an eye on and I hate kissing ass and sucking up which is necessary..) my clients are my friends and so know that they are welcome to leave at anytime and that I am only willing to kiss ass and suck up because they are my friends..I would do anything for my friends..

recap: Jack Black is hilarious..the entire Stiller clan was there, and Ana de la Reguera is incredibly beautiful..It was the first time I had met her in person and she was exactly everything I had been told..

So at this point I want to go home as I need to bill my clients a few more hours so I can afford to take E & E out to dinner again..Oh, before I get to the rest of the night..I got some e-mails about how much K-Fed or Fed-Ex is going to have to spend and why he will not go very far with this..California is an easy state to get a divorce in and really it is all about filling out paperwork unless there has been some horrible misdeed as alleged by "meth" (see earlier post)..In San Diego say for a divorce between two people with two kids and no major issues, an attorney is going to ask for say $2500 upfront and the whole thing will cost you about $5000 with NO issues..add issues, add $$$..In LA, the price is not much higher, except when dealing with people who expect to pay higher amounts such as celebs..I charge about $500 an hour usually and would end up charging K-Fed about $50,000 the way I see things NOW..things change, but as I see them now..There is nothing incredible that we do and I am sure there are better family law/divorce attorneys in LA especially those who specialize in it, but they do not get to charge the same fees because not many people can afford to pay $50,000 to get a divorce when there are no real issues to decide...just like not too many people want to go to the Ivy to pay $30 for a burger no matter how good and it is REALLY good..

OK..so back to the story..I want to go home, but they are saying pleeeeeeeese, lets go to the Genetic Denim party at Area..I have no desire to go..none, nada, zilch..you will also not see me at Hydes or anything else similar....then E, not to be confused with the other E says she heard Jamie - Lynn Sigler is going to be there and that is a weakness..big crush on her..so I relent and make a call to make sure we can get in and it ends up taking 3 calls..(losing my touch I guess)..so we get there and I recognize Ken Paves and point him out to Karen and say we should go say hi so he can look at his work again, and the deer in the headlights look is right there in her eyes and I realize she name dropped..she probably got it done at Supercuts but that would not be LA and so she just said "Ken" not knowing of course that she would run into him...on a mystery date no less...PRICELESS..

p.s yes, Jamie Lynn looked fabulous and was her gracious, classy self as always..the problem of course is that we are friends, but that is all she sees me as, and nothing more..plus, I was on a mystery date and as much as I knew there was not going to be a 2nd date, I am still a nice guy and would never disrespect someone by abandoning her like that, especially after how red and embarrassed she got with the "Ken."

So I already had e-mails last night about my mystery date..(sounds better than blind date doesn't it?) Last night was typical for when you are out with "friends" in LA...Everyone met up at my place because I live in downtown in a loft which is kind of my way of remaining connected to my east coast roots and also because I hate traffic..Anyway, my "friends" E & E brought over my set up for the night and she ( we will call her Karen) was very attractive, but also very empty inside..She was intelligent which I love, but it just seemed as if she had no soul at all..She was all about LA and could not stop talking about her new bob haircut (thanks Britney) that "Ken" had done for her..I am a guy, so really hairstylists are not really in my blackberry, but I assumed she meant Ken Paves as anyone would in that situation and had no reason to doubt it until later (trust me, I will get to it)...away to the Ivy as she had never been and as I predicted E & E knew I would pay..(could you at least make a grab for the check? a little effort?)

For those of you outside of LA who have never been to the Ivy....hmmm, how can I describe it? If you are a celeb or psuedo celeb you are treated like gold and if not, well you are treated indifferently..think of the way an American versus a Frenchman would be treated in a Paris restaurant and you kind of have the idea....I love the food ( great job Mr. Irving) and am treated well because of who I have been with and because I go so often, because again, I like the food..E & E have been many times but are thrown in the indifferent category and so like to go with me..As mentioned above Karen had never been...

Celebs and the Psuedos go there for one of three reasons..(1) they like the food and honestly do not care if they are on the patio or not (2) they need some attention and so go there because the pap are ALWAYS there, or (3) they are with someone who wants the attention but must tell the other person that in advance and not just tell them it is because they like the food...(crab cakes, burger and chopped salad are the best)

One of my favorite things to do in the world is people watching..Because of what I do for a living, I get to people watch not only "regular" people, but also watch the drama being played out in front of me on a daily basis by the celebs and their handlers..See, one school of thought is that you have to be in front of the press everyday to keep your name out there and to make yourself marketable, especially when you do not have something current to promote. I can empathize with that and think it is ok to use the pap for that and to create some drama to keep up the exposure....The other school of thought is that if you are talented enough, or on a big enough roll, you do not need to attract the drama and therefore can lead an uneventful life until the next thing you have to promote..

Then, there is the final school of thought which is that you have nothing to promote, and have done nothing of substance but you still manage to keep yourself famous by creating drama and keeping yourself in front of the press as long as possible....I am sure most of you are thinking about Miss Hilton right now, but I would disagree....It is actually people who were say on a reality show and have no hopes of a further acting career or music or whatever, but do whatever it takes to stay in the public eye, or just be the boyfriend or girlfriend of someone and that is your only claim to fame and when that is over, doing your best to stay in the public eye..

This has been a long post and I have more to say about last night and "Ken" as well as the Genetic Denim party and the Tenacious D premiere..and some thoughts about the Olsens later and of course CK..(another veg taco please)..need to do some work...and don't let me forget to tell you about my former A list client who almost got arrested for crack..last weekend..

Thursday, November 09, 2006

I swear I tried to talk her out of going to court and gave her all the usual reasons like nothing will happen, this will take forever, you will have to get up at 7 to make it to court on time (np she said..the meth again..) and of course the old standby it will cost a fortune..doesn't matter..she is all over it...oh well..it was fun seeing her jacked up after being awake for 30 hours straight so court should be fun anyway when it comes around..

Wanted to say something about the money thing..When you see crap like K-Fed or Fed-Ex or whatever they are calling him and you see his court docs, you have to know why he is doing it..(1) makes him look good when he says he wants sole custody of the kids---didn't want it from Shar though did he?? REAL REASON---If he gets sole custody, he will get child support from Britney because he makes less and would have the kids more..(2) Arguing in court over kids costs a ton of money especially at the rates we charge and so look for him to settle really quickly because he does not want to spend the $$ in court..it is going to have to last him a lifetime..(betcha he ends up with some visitation and the Ferrari and maybe a little bonus $$)

I noticed Paris' publicist got called at 330am to hear the latest rantings from Lindsay..glad to know I am not the only one....going to the Ivy tonight..being set up by friends...I think they just this up so I would pay for all of them..cheap bastards..

Forgot to link earlier to Cory's blog...(you owe me one, but I will settle for a veg taco)

http://corykennedy.blogspot.com/

I no sooner finish posting that she had not called and whammm there she is actually in the office..My office is about fity feet from the reception area and I can still hear that voice....got to go..she is waiting..will let you know what happens..

So last night, my cell rings at 3am...(actress/movies B-C list) obviously drunk or otherwise whacked out and wants to know what she can do because her ex (producer/ used to be big, now just pretends) dropped off their child 20 minutes late back at her house and now she wants to go to court and change all the visitation agreements and wants me to do it first thing in the morning....she says it is for the kid, but what it really is about is getting some attention from the ex who she still has not got over and who is living with a 20 year old UCLA student who may or not be female (really deep voice),..and thinks that since Britney (her lawyer is a hottie) and Reese (wanted Britney's lawyer?) and everyone is in the news with their problems this week that she will get a mention or two in the blogs and therefore still be relevant unlike her last few movies which is why she is on the CUSP of Kathy Griffin land..see this is why I have twenty cell phones because of crap like this..I have phones I do not even remember the numbers too, but they still ring.....five calls after 3am in a month means I have given out the # too many times...I told her to call me in the morning hoping she would sleep it off and not remember and so far so good..no calls..although really, she does not usually wake up until 1p or 2p anyway which was a real big problem when she has to be in court at 9am...(another story for another time but why she thinks meth is wonderful)

p.s Cory Kennedy's Halloween blog is funny as hell..I think I represented the guy who chased her off the bus..

I originally wanted to start this blog to try and share some stories about celebs from a side that is not usually talked about and think it would be interesting for everyone..My only problem is the attorney client privilege so most of the time there will not be names used, just nicknames and nothing too specific either..Of course if it something I heard from another attorney, then all bets are off..lol...There are so many good stories everyday that run across my path, into my office and out on the street..I am in the unique position of being able to tell you what really goes on behind the scenes and what even the gossip magazines can't find out....Hope you enjoy....

p.s It will also delve into my personal life and my interactions with friends, girlfriends, celebs and pseudo celebs that are not my clients but that I deal with and have dealt with professionally, and any other thing that could be remotely interesting..

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