I may have already blogged this, but it never hurts to be sure.

A Perfect Punchline Steve Martin's got a new girl, a hit movie and a second date with Oscar

Karen S. Schneider Julie Jordan, Kwala Mandel and Ruth Andrew Ellenson in Los Angeles, Shermakaye Bass in Austin and Rachel Felder and Liza Hamm in New York City

People
March 24, 2003 Vol. 59 No. 11
Page: 75+
Section: Update


Steve Martin is a careful man. He keeps his collection of modern art meticulously catalogued in his laptop computer, and when playing craps with his longtime pal and gambling buddy Tony Andress, a Houston oilman, he arranged his money, says Andress, "in little stacks of ones and fives and tens and twenties." He is mindful to remember the birthdays of friends, to answer their e-mails promptly--and to keep his word. "If I call him on a bad day he'll just say, 'Let's talk Friday at noon,'" says Leigh Haber, editor on two of his three bestselling books (Cruel Shoes, Pure Drivel and Shopgirl). "And that's what happens. You talk Friday at noon."

Though comedian pal Rita Rudner calls him "by nature a disciplined, organized man," now and then he's compelled to take a break--as he did for a scene in the comedy Bringing Down the House, when he put on gold chains and busted moves at a hip-hop club. But once director Adam Shankman called "Cut!" Martin, 57, was back to his New York Times crossword puzzle and a world where Eminem is just a chocolate candy. The culture he got a taste of in House, he says with a laugh, is " foreign to me, and it shows."

But it also pays. The movie, featuring Martin as an uptight attorney whose life is upended by a foulmouthed, bighearted convict played by Queen Latifah, topped the box office with a $31.1 million opening weekend. Collecting Picassos and Seurats, writing for The New Yorker and hosting the Oscars (he'll do his second gig March 23) may make Martin happy, but so does falling funny into a pool. House gives him a chance to do the kind of physical comedy he enjoys as much as he did some 30 years ago, when he first wowed a Tonight Show audience by playing his banjo with a gag arrow stuck through his head. Says Shankman: "The first day of shooting he came up to me and said, 'I forgot how much fun this is.' He was like a kid; he was giddy."

A rare state for the native of Waco, Texas, who grew up in a house where, he's said, "there was not a lot of hugging and kissing. We were not vocal or loud." A lifetime later, ensconced in his Manhattan apartment or in what Shankman calls his "warm, homey" house in L.A., Martin is far more content--but hardly more vocal. Friends like Frank Oz, who directed him in Bowfinger, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Housesitter and Little Shop of Horrors, know better than to inquire about, say, the details of his dating life. In December he was stepping out with New Yorker staffer Anne Stringfield, 30; now he is seeing Manhattan humor writer Patty Marx, 49. A Pennsylvania native who was one of the first female writers for Saturday Night Live as well as for the Harvard Lampoon, Marx uses Martin's books to teach comedy writing at New York University. She will confirm that they have a more personal connection only with a "Yeah, sorta." As for Oz: "I don't ask him about personal stuff." But as his House daughter Kimberly J. Brown, 18, discovered, Martin himself knows no such bounds. "He asked a lot about how young people go on dates now, like 'Who pays? Do you meet the parents?' It was odd," she says, "but sweet."

Maybe it was just research. After all, the comic has been getting joke material from just about everyone else he knows. According to friend and former Monty Python member Eric Idle, Martin has been in a "panic" for the past few months, preparing to make 50 million or so viewers at the Academy Awards laugh. Whether over dinner with friends or in his frequent e-mail chats, "he'll try out material on us," says Idle. "We're like his test audience. It's a nightmare for Steve, a terrifying experience. The fact that he's done it before doesn't stop the angst."

What might? A night at home with his yellow Lab Roger and the new banjo Queen Latifah gave him. Says Shankman: "He gets this really relaxed look on his face when he plays." And in truth, not even a gold statue can compare with that.

COLOR PHOTO: PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL BIRT "There's a side of him that's extremely private, where he just wants to be by himself," Frank Oz says of his pal Martin.

COLOR PHOTO: BOB D'AMICO/ABC Martin (as host in '01) can "think quickly on his feet," says Oscar producer Gil Cates.

COLOR PHOTO: TIMOTHY WHITE/TOUCHSTONE PICTURES The House star (with Queen Latifah) was "chatty, collaborative," says its director.

COLOR PHOTO: ALEC MICHAEL/GLOBE Even at the Super Bowl, "Steve was trying out" jokes for Oscar night, says friend Eric Idle.



- posted by sookeyjane 6/22/2003 08:44:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



Steve will be signing books --Tthe Pleasure of His Company

you can go here to reserve tickets

http://www.nyisbookcountry.com/
New York is Book Country
NYIBC presents The Pleasure of HIS Company

Steve Martin

Steve Martin, one of our country's most acclaimed and beloved entertainers and author of the bestseller Shopgirl, discusses his latest novella The Pleasure of My Company. Presentation followed by Q&A.

Copies of The Pleasure of My Company will be available for sale at the event.

Mr. Martin will be signing for 30 minutes following the event. If you wish to obtain a signature you must purchase a "premium" ticket. There will be 50 of these tickets available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Saturday, September 20,
Presentation: 1:30pm-2:30pm,
Book Signing: 2:30-3:00pm.
The Equitable Center

- posted by sookeyjane 6/22/2003 08:04:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



There's only a bit in here about Steve's reception by Hyperion... but here tis

http://publishersweekly.reviewsnews.com/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA304903&display=breakingNews&publication=publishersweekly

The Last Roundup: Some Final Thoughts and Reflections on BEA 2003
by Edward Nawotka, PW Daily for Booksellers -- 6/11/2003
BreakingNews


We'd like to extend a big thank you to all of you who sent us thoughts and reflections about this year's BookExpo America in Los Angeles.

Mark Suchomel, president of IPG, probably summed up the sense of the show best when he said: "There wasn't much excitement, but business was good from beginning to end."

Overall, you liked the energy on the floor but had mixed reactions to the show, especially the convention center, which many attendees found a) inconvenient and b) expensive.

Certainly the two small Starbucks stands that routinely had lines 30 or 40 deep seemed inadequate to serve the many thousands of coffee-addicted publishing people. Our business is fueled on caffeine. Not only that, but it's hard not to feel a little exploited when paying $2.50 for a lukewarm cup of java.

And who didn't go home with a number of $25+ taxi receipts? I suppose those who rented cars...

Some other assorted reaction reactions from the BEA fray:

About the venue...

Chuck Kim, editor at Welcome Rain Publishers, complained about signage: "The way the banners were hung [in the South Hall] made many people think the hall was only for children's and remainders. In the meantime, there were other banners that people couldn't see. In the West Hall, you immediately saw Harcourt and Thompson and immediately knew you were in a big hall." Carol Chittenden, bookseller at Eight Cousins Bookstore in Falmouth, Mass., concurred with Kim. She called the signage "some of the worst ever" and said it "cost valuable time, which made me, as the Germans say, stinksauer."

Kim found a silver lining in the lack of traffic: "We got to spend more time with people who came by. We gave away copies of The Tao of Bada Bing , 90 of which were gone by 12:30 p.m. on Friday, and we actually got to meet some of the people."

About a new exhibitor...

One of the most enthusiastic responses to the show came from Nicholas Weir-Williams, publishing director of the new Reed Press: "I've done probably 20 Frankfurts, I remember London when it was still in a hotel in Park Lane, and now 11 Book Expos. But never before this year have I been launching a new press as this year with Reed Press. And I've never enjoyed a book fair so much either. I tend to love these events anyway, the adenalin rolls and meeting old friends from five publishing cities I've worked in is always tremendous. And I like the atmosphere of Los Angeles at BookExpo time and at least the promise of going to a beach after the show. But perhaps it was being at the hottest booth in the show, our new distributors Sourcebooks, or perhaps having a huge banner with our name at the entrance to the show,or perhaps having our first book (The Complete Book of Oscar Fashion: Variety's 75 Years of Glamour on the Red Carpet ) take off in front of our eyes and triple its print run in two and a half days. Whatever it was, the show rocked for me and for Reed Press and I had to be dragged away from the place at 4.00 p.m. on Sunday--even though we did get to the beach before the red-eye. It also I think was a true watershed in publishing in this country; every independent publisher was ecstatic, about their reception at the show and their year so far; and the big guys were out on their feet. It's been a long time coming, but a change is gonna come..."

About the seething hoards of galley grabbers...

Judy Boliver, buyer at the Hornet Bookstore at the California State University of Sacramento, was annoyed by the rush to grab galleys off the show floor. She told PW Daily , "I did not make it till after 11 a.m., and there was not much of anything available after the hoards went through." She was disappointed because she has "a lot of telephone reps and was hoping to look at finished product. No such luck."

She felt that it was the smaller publishers, such as Welcome Rain, that were more "approachable" and complained about "publishers who were too busy talking to their co-workers to answer questions."

Fittingly the two books that left an impression on Judy Boliver were two with the biggest galley distributions of the show (and likely among the few she got her hands on): Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven (Hyperion) and Retribution (Penguin).

One publicist expressed relief that this year there were "no 400-lb. people in wheelchairs stealing books."

About the crowd...

"A dweeb convention," wrote Anthony Flacco, screenwriter and author of A Checklist for Murder (Dell). He continued, "Take no offense, dweebs and dweeb-lovers; I number myself among you. Not the computer geek variation of dweeb, though some may be, rather generations of bookworms. Young dweebs, old dweebs, dweebs of color and dweebs as pasty and white as snow. These were nicely dressed dweebs, for the most part, but they were entirely lacking in Flash. Not a tennis ball-shaped breast anywhere to be seen. Imagine, a Los Angeles media event devoid of platinum hair! 99 and 44/100ths percent bimbo-free. You had to love them."

Flacco went on: "In this land of porcelain teeth, silicone body parts, spa-pumped muscles and expensive toupees so good that nobody can detect them 'even up close!' (except for where they never quite match in the back), here were wave upon wave of those slightly rumpled and vaguely distracted intellectual types who probably went through high school sitting in the back of the classroom and seldom laughing at the class clown's disruptive humor--the genus of dweeb who always wrote their take-home essays many pages longer than the teacher required. Their school's intelligent jocks secretly admired them and the dumb jocks hated their guts. Many were the class wimps--guys rejected by the town's hot chicks, girls too verbal and smart to garner attention from the It crowd. You had to love them. Plenty of women with butts as big as all outdoors and men with abs about as firm as grandma's down pillow."

(Not if you attended the book party for Gigi Levangie Grazer's Maneater, where yours truly shared a very narrow bench with both Hilton sisters and looked on as Laura Flynn Boyle--with limbs no more substantial than the stripped branches of a birch tree--gave confession to the gossip columnist from People Magazine.)

About the Hotel California...

Both Steve Bercu, owner of Book People in Austin, Tex., and Maryelizabeth Hart from Mysterious Galaxy Bookshop in San Diego, Calif., gave the thumbs up to publishers promotions and pool parties at the official ABA hotel. Bercu called it a "good idea...It facilitated meetings and probably made things easier for publishers to get in touch with the people who sell their books."

About the books...

Amanda Tobier, buyer at Third Place Books in Seattle, Wash., bestowed her personal "best in show" ribbons on "Yale University Press' book of Chip Kidd's book jackets--a great one for the true bibliophile; the Dog Yoga book from Chronicle--the best holiday gift ever for your hip doggy friends (maybe they should combine it with knitting too)." Two novels make the list as well: The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson (Little, Brown)--"excellent for the Melissa Bank/ Meghan Daum fans"--and Jamesland by Michelle Huneven (Knopf)--"kind of Anne Tyler-ish, with a character who is the descendant of William and Henry James." Incidentally Tobier will soon be moving back to New York City and is happy to talk to any potential employers about a job...

Jerry Bilek of the St. Olaf Bookstore in Northfield, Minn., was taken with new books from MacAdam/Cage: "["They] really have it together, good books, nice presentation, and great people." He praised the MacAdam/Cage afternoon cocktail parties as good mixers, citing the fact that they drew Mike Perry (author of Population 485), bestseller Dennis Lehane and Western writer Tom Franklin, whose forthcoming book, Hell at the Breech (Morrow), was one of Bilek's favorites reads of the year.

Algonquin publicist Michael Taeckens wrote in to say that he couldn't pinpoint a single book of the show. He wrote that Algonqin hosted "two author dinners with about 15-20 major indie booksellers at each, and everyone seemed to be talking about a different new book."

Maryelizabeth Hart spotlighted The Salt Road by Nalo Hopkinson and Laura Lippman's Every Secret Thing as well as Jonathan Lethem's Fortress of Solitude (the apparent consensus pick).

About the parties...

Barbara Peters, owner of the Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scotsdale, Ariz., was impressed by Hyperion's bash for Steve Martin at the Bel Air Hotel, which she described as a "scene of my childhood." She wrote, "It hasn't changed (which is good, it's fabulous as is) in its magical place and setting--great gardens--for 50 years. Food was exceptional, so was the friendly Mr. Martin (also seen, Madeleine Albright whose new book comes from Miramax, also distributed by Time Warner, and bestseller James Patterson). And Mitch Albom, doubtless others, I was too busy soaking up the atmosphere to people-watch." Ted Heinecken, president of the Heinecken and Associates (which employs this year's PW Rep of the Year Wes Caliger), reserved his highest praise for Book Sense's Celebration of Bookselling. He wrote, "My wife was loath to go, but afterwards grateful that I dragged her there. Everything about it was heartwarming and fun, and was one of those rare events that made me proud to be in my profession.

Tobier relayed this anecdote told by Clyde Edgerton at the restaurant owned by the Two Hot Tamales: "Roy Blount was on tour, exhausted from the schedule, woke up in a hotel room, stumbled into the bathroom looked in the mirror and shouted 'I've been shot in between the eyes!!' and then realized he was so tired that he'd fallen asleep on the chocolate left on his pillow!"

Southern writers...you can't live with 'em, you can't shoot them.

From the authors...

Vendela Vida, author of And Now You Can Go (Knopf, August), who was minding the McSweeneys/The Believer booth, told PW Daily, "It was my first time at BEA--the only book convention I've been to before was several years ago, in, of all places, Belgium (long story)--and I managed to pick up and pack up some galleys of great books: Julie Orringer's How to Breathe Underwater (Knopf), Jonathan Lethem's Fortress of Solitude (Doubleday) and Ayelet Waldman's Daughter's Keeper (Sourcebooks). These authors have put so much work and talent into crafting these books and it was wonderful to see their publishing houses standing so sturdily behind them."

The last word goes to Jhumpa Lahiri, author of The Interpreter of Maladies and one of the most anticipated books of the year, The Namesake , who said, "It was a kind of fashion show for books. It was a thrilling atmosphere. I wished I'd had a chance or more opportunity to go through it and take it all in... as it was, I was in my booth signing my stuff. I was led from place to place and just glimpsed. What I saw was beyond my expectations or what I had imagined. It was so mammoth; I was really stunned by how many books are published every year in the this country. There was a really nice feeling. The booksellers are such amazing people and very important and I liked talking to them. They love books in a way that's not the way readers love them, or reviewers. They have a special bond with them that's protective and warm. I was touched and appreciative of their excitement."

One final nod to the graphic novelists and comics aficionados, who had their best BEA ever. Well... 'Nuf said.

This article originally appeared in the June 11, 2003 issue of PW Daily for Booksellers.

- posted by sookeyjane 6/20/2003 04:31:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



Bad news, blogees.

My best source for finding out of the way articles has just gone blooey. Which means that my ability to find tidbits is going to be much diminished. Alas.

I'm reduced to more astrology.


http://www.astroadvice.com/community/hot/story.asp?ifut=1000&ID=123
Friday June 13, 2003
Steve Martin
August 14, 1945
Waco, Texas

Leo born Steve Martin has made his fans laugh for years. But I do not believe that his true talent is making people laugh. There is no doubt that Martin is entertaining and colorful but with his natal Mercury in the sign Virgo his true forte is writing and coming up with material that is funny, satirical, slapstick and sometimes even a little bit absurd. Martin will always come back to staring in movies, not because he is the funniest or the best in his field but because he enjoys that aspect of the business. Being a star is where his heart is but his talent is far deeper then him fooling around in front of the camera. With his natal Venus and Saturn in the sign Cancer you can well imagine the dark side of this very funny man. I'm sure he harbors plenty of thoughts that never make it into his writing. With his natal Moon in Scorpio he is very deep, caring and thoughtful and would probably never burden anyone with his problems. With his new movie staring Queen Latifah and Eugene Levy behind him what's next for this talented well liked actor, comedian, writer, producer and director. I believe he has just come into a different phase in his career, a revival so to speak. Almost as if he has done it all so lets go back and do what he enjoyed doing the most. For Martin things are looking pretty good however he may have to watch out for some minor setbacks where health and his personal life are concerned this year and next. If he can keep on top of these two areas of his life he will continue to come up smelling like a rose.

- posted by sookeyjane 6/13/2003 08:35:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



For those of you who are astrology buffs -- an article about Steve and his first Oscar host night


http://www.stariq.com/Main/Articles/P0002333.HTM

Steve: That Wild and Crazy Guy
by Ronnie Gale Dreyer

When the presentation of the 73rd annual Academy Awards takes place on Sunday evening, March 25, the familiar face of seven-time host Billy Crystal will be missing from the live telecast due to scheduling conflicts. In his place will be none other than Steve Martin, whose selection to take on this most challenging task seems an almost perfect choice. After all, Martin, like Crystal, is not simply a comedian, but a talented and prolific writer who has penned and starred in his own films. Additionally, Martin has written an off-Broadway play, published a book of essays that appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List and in October 2000 published his first novella, Shopgirl. In fact, it does not seem that there is much in the entertainment business that Martin can’t do.

The Creative Workaholic
Steve Martin’s ability to be wildly creative as both a comic and a writer lies first and foremost with his Sun, which represents self-expression, in egocentric and entertaining Leo. This fixed fire sign, which is also the sign on Martin’s Ascendant (outer personality), is the mark of the consummate performer, due to its need to command the stage, as well as its generosity to the audience.

Fire signs (Aries, Leo and Sagittarius) thrive on endless activity, and Leo in particular enjoys being the center of attention. But while Leos enjoy the flattery and publicity of being in the spotlight, they often want it on their own terms. As a fixed sign, Leo the lion needs creative (fire) control (fixed) in its professional life. What better way for someone in the performing arts to do this than to write scripts, screenplays or adaptations that showcase their own natural talents? Many of Martin’s best-known acting credits are in films like The Jerk, Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, The Man with Two Brains and Parenthood, which he wrote or produced.

The Power of Mercury in Virgo
Martin’s mastery of words and his ability to create characters such as “Wild and Crazy Guy” and “King Tut” in which detailed physical transformation accompanies skits and songs, combines his Leo panache with communicative and witty Mercury placed in analytical, meticulous and skillful Virgo. Having the Sun and Mercury in their own signs strengthens both these planets (the Sun is associated with Leo and Mercury with Virgo), and assures us that Martin will not only captivate the crowd on Oscar night with an inventive and hilarious monologue, but also that he will be ready to improvise at a moment’s notice should the need arise. Mercury’s placement in this self-conscious and often shy sign can also make him uncomfortable in intimate situations, a clue to the “other side” of Steve Martin.

Dark Side of the Moon, and Pluto Too
While Leos tend to cultivate a distinct public image, they are often quite guarded about their private lives. Though Martin has been a hit with the public since his standup days in the 1970s, perhaps the one thing he is known for more than anything else is not being known. Many performers’ lives—including all the affairs, divorces and stays at drug rehab clinics—are an open book, yet interviews and biographies deal mostly with what Martin does—his work—and there is little to let us in on private feelings, or to inform us about important events or people that may have shaped his life.

Martin’s need to keep the private separate from the public is greatly enhanced by the placement of the emotional and habitual Moon in passionate, secretive Scorpio, a fixed sign that, like Leo, needs enormous control and privacy, especially when it comes to one’s innermost feelings. What seals this attitude even more is the fact that Scorpio’s ruler, Pluto, the zodiac’s intense loner, is closely conjunct Martin’s Ascendant (his personality), putting a firm but polite barrier between Martin and all but his closest friends and relations.

Martin’s Neptunian Evening
Since major transits always reveal the mood of the moment, it is no surprise that on March 25, transiting Neptune, planet of glamour, illusion and film, will be at 8 degrees of Aquarius, and sitting right on Steve Martin’s Descendant (the cusp of the Seventh House), which signifies partners and public contact. While we can only speculate about whether Martin is involved in a wildly romantic (Neptune) relationship (Descendant), we do know with absolute certainty that on Oscar night, viewing audiences around the world will not only be celebrating cinematic glory, but will also be embracing Steve Martin’s wild, crazy and endearing public personality. If alluring Neptune has its way, Martin will attract a new generation of fans who missed his standup comedy and his Saturday Night Live impersonations, and he will remind older fans that he is here to stay.




- posted by sookeyjane 6/10/2003 05:13:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



The scoop on that party Steve Hosted during the BookExpo

Los Angeles Times
June 8, 2003 Sunday Home Edition
Sunday Calendar; Part 5; Page 5; Calendar Desk
SOCIAL CLIMES;
Calling it as she sees it
BY: Gina Piccalo, Times Staff Writer

Writer Gigi Levangie Grazer was a splash of much-appreciated color amid a pack of dark-suited agents and publishing types.

It was still early. Lara Flynn Boyle and the Hilton sisters hadn't yet arrived. The champagne, petite filet mignon hors d'oeuvres and Grazer's trenchant morsels were still plentiful. She pointed to her burgeoning midsection and quipped: "This isn't a liver disorder. I'm pregnant."

The May 29 party was a very Hollywood affair, held at the midcentury-modern home of Creative Artists Agency's Bryan Lourd and co-hosted by William Morris President Jim Wiatt, Vivendi Universal Entertainment President Ron Meyer, Steve Martin and Rita Wilson to celebrate Grazer's new novel, "Maneater" (Simon & Schuster). The book is a salty ode to a very specific type of L.A. woman -- what Grazer calls "the manipulant savant." These are, she says, "girls who are sort of trained to manipulate men from a young age. They're sweet. They can be really nice. But they tend to have an agenda."

A quick survey of Lourd's living room (large Ed Ruscha, beige velvet couches, orange leather chair, fire in the fireplace) and backyard (concrete patio and green lawn overlooking lush private canyon) turned up more booksellers, publishers, actor-writers (Martin) and actor-couples (Calista Flockhart and Harrison Ford) than femme fatales. Granted, the party was held the day before BookExpo America opened at the Convention Center. And party publicists Harrison & Shriftman generously shuttled folks from downtown Los Angeles to Lourd's Beverly Hills/Bel-Air-adjacent home (designed by Wallace Neff).

But as Grazer astutely observed, "when it gets a little darker, the human candy comes out." Sure enough, just as the sun set, model Heidi Klum appeared and Boyle's throaty laughter could be heard echoing off Lourd's Ruscha. Soon after, Paris and Nicky Hilton arrived, the inexcusably tanned, midriff-baring sisters stalked to a cocktail table and whipped out their cell phones, a sure sign that they were not long for this scene.

A scruffy-looking young man walked in -- actor Stephen Dorff -- and Grazer's husband, producer Brian Grazer, exclaimed as if narrating the moment. "Dorff shows up to Gigi's party!" he shouted. "Hi, Dorff!"

It was a scene that could easily have appeared in Gigi Grazer's novel. Yet guests at this party were smart enough not to admit it.

Grazer's main character, a 32-year-old "sociopath-in-training" named Clarissa Alpert, chooses a husband and plans their wedding before she even meets the man. A series of only-in-L.A. episodes ensue, written with savage wit from an insider's point of view.

There is the scene at the Grill: "Commotion as Arnold Schwarzenegger, a rare sighting, but with a movie opening that day, walks in; the dye job is respectable this time." The run-in at the Ivy: "Tooth enamel-peeling enthusiasm was the only acceptable greeting mode in Hollywood, especially in the case of enemies." Grazer's definition of a magazine editor: "Calista-Lara-week-old-cadaver thin, smokes like Matthew Perry in a recovery ward, and works, baby, works her fingers to her mean, chilly bones."

"She writes things that I would never say," Brian Grazer said. "I'm too thin-skinned!"

Although she moves easily within the Hollywood sphere, Gigi Grazer was born outside it and worked her way in. She grew up near Vermont Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard, an area of Los Angeles dominated by Koreans, Filipinos and Armenians. "I can swear in Tagalog," Grazer bragged. Her mother was a principal at an East Los Angeles school, and her father stayed home and raised the kids. She graduated from Hollywood High School, got a political science degree from UCLA, and went to work for Fred Silverman developing TV shows.

"I feel like I know the city well," she said. "I was the girl who had to take two buses to UCLA. I was not the girl who was driving the Rabbit Cabriolet. But I'm not bitter."

"Maneater" was inspired by a real-life friend who used Clarissa-style tactics, Grazer said, and "got her husband to marry her without his consent. She'd be saying, 'What floral arrangements do you see on the table? What colors do you like?' "

Of course, in Hollywood, this plot could mean only one thing: "It had a five-letter word written all over it," said producer Peter Guber. "Movie."

Guber, who has shepherded many books to the screen, among them "This Boy's Life" and "The Color Purple," bought the film rights to Grazer's novel for a reported $1 million six months ago, even before the first galleys had been printed. Universal bought the rights from him and will release the film with his Mandalay Pictures.

As for the lead? Grazer is willing to cast a wide net: "Anyone from Jennifer Lopez to Reese Witherspoon." In other words, A-list all the way.
- posted by sookeyjane 6/09/2003 04:37:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



It's old and it's from the National Enquirer, but in the interests of completeness...

http://www.nationalenquirer.com/stories/gossip.cfm?instanceid=17280

STEVE MARTIN ANGRY OVER AD-LIBBED STUNT

DUMB STUNT:
In a fight scene for the movie "Novocaine," actor Scott Caan infuriated star Steve Martin when he deviated from the script and smashed a bottle over a stuntman's head -- instead of breaking it on the bar! The bottle was a breakaway prop, so the shocked stuntman wasn't hurt, but Caan -- who sheepishly admits he got carried away -- says Martin refused to speak to him for days, angrily insisting that ad-libbing a stunt is ALWAYS a bad move!

Published on: November 9, 2001

- posted by sookeyjane 6/05/2003 12:25:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 



Steve sighting! He hosted a book party

Newsday (New York)

June 2, 2003 Monday ALL EDITIONS
NEWS, Pg. A8
Photo Causes O'Reilly-Franken Fray
By Aileen Jacobson

Los Angeles -
**** [deleted stuff i don't care about regarding BookExpo America.]

Earlier, a party Thursday night in Beverly Hills was co-hosted by Steve Martin for the Hollywood satire "Maneater," by Gigi Levangie Grazer (wife of producer Brian Grazer). Harrison Ford, Calista Flockhart, Heidi Klum and other A-listers rubbed shoulders with bookstore owners from Vermont and Oklahoma. Martin, in a chat, revealed that he "dared to go 10 pages longer" on the comic novel he just completed, "The Pleasure of My Company," than he did in his slim novella "Shopgirl."
- posted by sookeyjane 6/02/2003 06:52:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS