I know I'm supposed to be totally jaded by celebrities by now. But I've decided that Kate Winslet and I could really be friends. Yesterday, I was given 20 minutes to sit down with the actress at the SoHo Grand, and in that time I realized we share the same love for good food, we both adore Narciso Rodriguez and we are both addicted to Lancome mascara (for real!). And how could anyone not love a woman who's so comfortable talking about her butt? During our session, I think she only lied to me once (see first question). Just kidding, Kate! See? I'm joking around, just like friends do!
 
How did you get into such amazing shape?
Oh, I haven't done a thing, it's just stress. I haven't lost weight -- my clothes fit the same. I mean [grabbing her stomach], I'm soft! Look!

Maybe you're dressing differently?
Maybe. Someone told me, "God, Kate, you've got really good legs. You should get them out." But when you put on a shorter outfit, that outfit has to be tight. For me, it's all about tailoring and fabric and simple, clean lines. It works on anybody who has tits and an ass.

I have to say, your butt looked pretty great in The Reader.
I was really, really pleased [when I saw it in the film]. But that's just really great lighting, a little bit of makeup to take care of the bumpy little areas. But just at lunch today, I said, "God, I've really learned to love my ass." Not that I look in the mirror and say "I love my bum," but I'm completely fond of it. I don't feel the need to cover it up anymore. I think it's just age. Accepting who I am. Live with it, gang.

What relaxes you?
I love to cook, especially for my kids. I brined a turkey this year, which was fantastic. The kids thought it was so funny putting this massive turkey into a bag and leaving it outside... I find cooking very therapeutic.

What do you hate?
Tarragon. Hate it. And I hate being late, particularly in the morning. The kids never actually are late for school, but I always feel like we're just cutting it a little fine.

What else?
I don't like competing. Awards season is so exciting, but it's profoundly bizarre because I'm not an inherently competitive person. It is really thrilling to be celebrated, but I also feel bad for the other people because I know what that feels like. It really sucks to feel like you're the loser.

Who made the blue dress you wore to the SAG awards?
Narciso. I really love Narciso because his dresses are comfortable but his tailoring is outstanding. He's up there with Valentino. The lovely thing about going into his showroom, you will not find a size below a 4 -- he barely makes them. I get really frustrated when I'm looking for a six and they just have twos or zeros. I just walk away if they have to go look for a six.

Who does your haircolor?
Nicola Clarke at John Frieda in London. She did my color for Revolutionary Road and The Reader. I don't fly her into America, but whenever I go to London, if I have an hour, I'll go in.

You also have great eyebrows. Who does them?
I don't touch my eyebrows. I'm really lucky. Both my sisters and I are lucky that we got our mother's shape.

Wow, not fair. Okay, time for the plug. What's your favorite Lancome product?
High Definition Mascara. It does what its says it's going to do. It's not heavy, so if you've curled your eyelashes, it doesn't make them drop. It's thin enough that you can build it without it going clumpy and it doesn't flake. Once it's on, it's on.

Photo: Getty Images

A few weeks ago, we received an invitation from the David Zwirner gallery to view their latest show, "One Million Years," by Japanese conceptual artist On Kawara. It was similar to any other gallery invite, except for one anomaly: interested parties were invited to inquire about "participating" in the project.

A week later, I found myself sitting next to a stranger in a soundproof box in the middle of the Chelsea gallery, doing my part for art. (That's me in the photo below.)

"One Million Years" is a performance piece that calls for volunteers to read aloud the years one million years into the past and one million years into the future. A female volunteer reads the even numbers and a male reads the odd ones. Portions of the project have been recorded several times before at Dia and David Zwirner, and performed at venues around the world. (The last recordings were sold to the tune of $1,000 per CD box set.)
 
My reading partner (a former Dia intern) and I sat side-by-side in the booth, where we read out of giant binders listing the dates. I picked up where the last volunteers had left off, "36,656 AD."   My partner answered me with "36,657 AD," and so on and so forth. We felt a bit like fish in a fishbowl, with gallery hoppers curiously peering into our booth.
 

Not all went smoothly:  I was fighting a bad cold, and at one point I broke out in a coughing fit.  The years were printed in brutally small type and my partner misread a number.  We tripped up a few more times along the way until we hit our final date, 38,657 AD. We were fairly distraught about our performance until the sound technician assured us that we were much better than a previous team, who had flubbed numbers left and right. (Then again, maybe he says that to all the readers.)

I must admit, I was mostly relieved when the two straight hours of reading were over. But I did come away with a faint Zen-like sensation and the sense that I had earned -- well, among a certain crowd at least -- some bragging rights. Our recording will make up one CD of the box sets that David Zwirner plans to sell of the recordings. (The show is up through February 14.)

Alas, participants do not receive royalties.


Installation view of On Kawara's One Million Years at David Zwirner,
Photography by Cathy Carver, courtesy David Zwirner gallery

More reviews from the Paris haute couture. To see the coverage from Chanel, Dior, Armani Prive and Valentino, click here.

JEAN PAUL GAULTIER: 

Sharp lines and rapturous curves--they comprise both calligraphy and couture. So perhaps it makes sense that Jean Paul Gaultier, a master at working a theme, connected the dots. The result was a collection that was often beautiful, even though multiple subplots weakened the core message. Where once Gaultier might have had his way with feathers and embroideries, here he ornamented the clothes with bold graceful strokes, swirling florid lines around the seductive, leg-baring slash of a cocktail dress or the border of a sweeping white gown.... click to continue

GIVENCHY: Riccardo Tisci married two artsy inspirations, the work of 19th-century painter Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, who fancied a thick carpet of rose petals perfect for sensual lounging (Tisci petaled his floor in lovely homage), and Pina Bausch's delicate dance costumes. Hence the palette of nude-to-pink tones and the languid drapiness of the cuts.... click to continue 

See all the reviews here on WWD

Photos by Giovanni Giannoni

This week the fantasy world of haute couture continued apace. Read the full coverage at WWD.

CHANEL:  When most people have a good idea, they put it down on paper. Karl Lagerfeld cuts it out of paper. At least that's what he did for his spring haute couture collection, a show brilliant in more ways than one. "The idea was a white page," Lagerfeld said days before his show. But there are white pages and white pages. For his, Lagerfeld commissioned a floral paradise crafted from 4,000 meters of plain, pristine paper... click to continue

CHRISTIAN DIOR: John Galliano is a master deconstructionist who can impose his way on a concept as remarkably as on a piece of cloth. The Dior couture collection he showed Monday offered a dazzling case in point. Galliano worked from an apparently limitless budget for a lineup rooted in New Look extravagance yet inspired by the Dutch Masters, from whom he pilfered a rich Vermeer palette (set against plenty of white), a stately "sittings posture" and gracefully flamboyant portrait chapeaux... click to continue

GIORGIO ARMANI PRIVE: The collection was an ode to a China, Armani said after the show, "that does not exist anymore." Touché, as it was all about cropped-wig living dolls and hobble-skirted, baby-step seduction. But the biggest problem was neither the politics of the message nor the absence of the kind of brooding romance that might have hooked us in. Nope. It was those shoulders... click to continue

VALENTINO: Many of the clothes that Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli showed on Wednesday looked appealing enough: trim suits, mostly a megahomage to Valentino's white collection; coats detailed beautifully, either with embroideries or intricate constructions; an extensive, quite Val-like pitch to the red-carpet set. These were impressively executed, lacking neither flourish nor couture-quality craftsmanship. But too many could have been sourced right out of the house pattern archive .... click to continue
All photos by Giovanni Giannoni

So many staffers weighed-in with their mid-winter pick-me-ups that we needed to spread the love between two separate blog posts. Today, we're giving a shout-out to festive new purses, great sample-sale scores, happy peppy bedding and lots of beauty products.

From left, Louis Vuitton's "Mini Lin" Speedy bag; a look from the Thakoon for Target line.

On my end, three new items have been floating my boat. I'm loving the wide-brimmed vintage Jean Barthet hat I nabbed at the POSH sale last summer, which is chic in an Amish farmer kind of way. Another hit is the lightweight canvas Louis Vuitton "Mini Lin" Speedy hubby gifted me for the holidays. And of course I raided the Thakoon stash at Target. Who could resist those splash-print dresses? They're like wearable Rorschach tests.

"As a complete credit card debt cliché, I shouldn't be shopping," says Jessica Iredale. "But my season-long quest for a winter coat recently brought me to the Stella McCartney sale, where the coats weren't my style but a short black tulip skirt was. I wore it yesterday. Got lots of compliments. Suze Orman would not approve."

Another Stella fan is Priya Rao, who scored two navy blue dresses at the sale. "One is pleated with cap sleeves and a teeny tie-belt. And the other is preppy-slouchy with fleur de lys buttons," she says. "They're lightweight, so they're good for year-round. That makes me feel a little bit better about splashing out."

"I went to Crate & Barrel right after the holidays and picked up super-bright Marimekko sheets—on sale!—because my apartment was feeling a bit bland but I didn't want to do anything drastic," says Sarah Haight.  "Somehow, it felt like a more `grownup' investment. They're lemon yellow and very cheerful."

Though she's been eyeing a new BMW and an Andrew Wyeth (kidding), Treena Lombardo is opting for beautifiers instead. "For me, it's been the cheap fix of beauty products," she says. "Like rose toner, which I obsessively spray on my face. And any kind of essential oil for before, during or after a bath.  No need to exfoliate since the wind does that for you! I seem to need soothing at the moment."

From left, Crate & Barrel's Marimekko sheets; Jurlique's Rosewater Balancing Mist

"My favorite purchases lately have been Shiseido anti-aging face cream to keep dewy skin in this dry weather, an Undercover feather sweater dress (a splurge for my birthday "month") and summer clothes from the other side of the hemisphere—Topshop Singapore," saysKathy Lee. "I popped in for a few things over the holidays because I'm in total winter-denial. The cold is just so depressing."

Exactly.

Push, an earth-scorcher of a film directed by Lee Daniels won two awards at Sundance this weekend, leaving one to wonder why it hasn't been picked up for distribution.  Deals were brisk this past week -- in fact the first to be struck was for a film that was less than well received, Antoine Fuqua's disappointing Brooklyn's Finest.  The film's gritty and ultra-violent
subject matter is not an easy sell, and so presumably Sony, the picture's new distributor, paid $2 million for its cast (Richard Gere, Don Cheadle and Ethan Hawke) and a director it could promote. (Indeed, one can already hear the trailer's voice over: From the director of Training Day, starring the Oscar-nominated...) 

Push, on the other hand, is an all-around triumph with no major stars, unless you count an unrecognizable Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz, who convincingly takes on the role of a male nurse. Based on a novel by the poet Sapphire, it tells the story of Precious Jones (played by newcomer Gabourey Sidibe) who is 16 years old, pregnant with her second child (both fathered by her father), illiterate, abused and physically, well ... zaftig. Her enormous face sits atop shoulders only slightly wider than her head, leaving little room for a neck. Her eyes two narrow slits, her mouth set in a permanent parenthesis (think the 'sad' symbol in e-mail shorthand), she gives a performance that is both absorbing and unforgiving, reminiscent of Hillary Swank, Halle Berry and Charlize Theron in their Oscar-winning roles.

 Equally dazzling is the comedian Mo'Nique, who plays Precious's abusive mother, while Mariah Carrey is terrific in the role of a welfare officer.  While this grim slice of urban life is not easy to watch, Daniels (who produced Monster's Ball), in his second outing in the director's chair (the first, Shadowboxer came and went) somehow manages to engage without oppressing, and even brings moments of hilarity by visualizing Precious's dreams (her fantasies include being  a Connecticut housewife married to her math teacher; a supermodel; and a classical film actress fluent in Italian). The film won both the Grand Jury prize and the Audience Award at the festival, and yet Push sits on the sidelines waiting for a brave acquisitions exec to take a leap of faith.  

Photo: top left: Mo'Nique,  Lee Daniels and Mariah Carey at Sundance (John Shearer, WireImage.com); above: Gabuorey Sidibe in Push. More…

As exciting as it was, let's face it: last week's inauguration hoopla is bookended by some serious January blahs. To get through this decidedly dreary month, we've been shopping (or at least raiding our closets, attics, etc.) Today's installment features our favorite frost-defying college-era boots, sweaters, cozy coats and other must-haves.

From left: L.L. Bean boots, Nicole Brundage booties.

"In true recession style, I discovered my old Sorel boots in my parents' garage when I was home for Christmas," says Sarah Taylor. "I bought them 12 years ago when I worked the chairlift lines in Aspen. They're grungy-chic and lined with shearling. I'm waiting for enough New York snow to bust them out with tights and a mini."

Jane Larkworthy is also tapping into nostalgia. "I've been trying to break my L.L. Bean boots in," she says. "Unfortunately, they still look ridiculously new. But I love to wear them because they take me right back to college. Makes it tough to resist the urge to dig up my other Bean faves, like Ragg sweaters. Also, wool tights from H&M are the best buy in town. And I can't forget my Columbia fleece pants. I like to think that when I'm wearing them, I look like one of those women in an old postcard from Gstaad, posing at the top of a mountain."

"I've been getting great use out of my Maria Cornejo `cuddle coat,'" says Brooke Magnaghi. "So cozy."

Jamie Rosen seconds that emotion. "For me, it's all about coats," she says, "like the shiny,  puffy Spiewak that I purchased last year for entirely utilitarian reasons. But I've come to love the humongous hood and the fact that I can dress schleppy underneath and still have a semblance of chic. I also absolutely adore my Nicole Brundage black stiletto ankle boots. They keep my feet covered and I can walk forever in them."

"It's safe to say that I've been living in Inhabit sweaters," says Rebecca Ramsey. "And I'm so happy with my H&M hat."

Several years ago I witnessed Harvey Weinstein give a major publicist a particularly harsh tongue lashing, a stream of un-Shakespearan prose spilling out of him without any pause for breath.  It was my first experience of this kind of behavior, and once the publicist had left the room, I asked Harvey how he could do such a thing.   "Because I can," he growled.
 
And so just when you thought it was safe, Harvey Weinstein is back in the game, proving once again that he can, scoring six Academy Award nominations, among them best actress for Kate Winslet (The Reader), best supporting actress for Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), best director for Stephen Daldry (The Reader) and the big one -- a best picture nomination -- also for The Reader. It's been five years since Harvey saw his name associated with the home stretch of the Oscar race -- his last nomination was a best pic nod for Gangs of New York -- and it's been slow out of the gate for the big guy since setting up his Weinstein company along with his brother Bob in 2005.
 
Both VCB and The Reader are reminiscent of the movies Weinstein made at the top of his game back when he ran Miramax, and perhaps their success can be credited to a more humbled Harvey, one that has forced him to return to his famous instincts. The Reader in particular was heavy lifting from the get-go: delays in pre-production, which forced its original star, Nicole Kidman, and the great cinematographer Roger Deakins to bail; the unfortunate deaths of two of the film's producers, Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack; well-documented disagreements between Weinstein and producer Scott Rudin; and the less well-documented creative tension with writer David Hare and director Stephen Daldry over a voice-over.  On release, the film received a withering review from the New York Times, while the New York Post called it "holocaust porn." 

The nomination for best picture is particularly surprising because it edged out the hugely successful (critically and commercially) Dark Knight as well as Gran Torino, both of which had  expected to get a best pic nod.

And so here we go again, Harvey proving that once again, he's doing it "because he can."   Welcome back.

Photo by Steve Eichner.

The Oscar nominations came out today, and Hollywood's ritualized adoration of its top talents put me in mind of—believe it or not—an exhibition currently at the Getty Center here in L.A. called "Captured Emotions, Baroque Painting in Bologna, 1575-1725."  It may sound stuffy, but the high Renaissance was time of inflamed passions, melodramatic imagery and—as I was reminded by these paintings of saints, sinners, popes and pagan gods—it was the Age of Fabric. Nearly every painting in the show offered a flourish of billowing cloth. Walking through the galleries the other day, I found myself thinking there was a lot that modern-day actresses could learn about Oscar dressing from these long-dead dignitaries.

In deference to the trinity of actresses in Doubt—Meryl Streep, Amy Adams and the remarkable Viola Davis—let's begin with the cautionary example of Guido Reni's 1625 Portrait of Cardinal Roberto Ubaldino (above, left). It's only incidentally a picture of His Eminence, as all the elaborate garments end up stealing the show. (The starched collars, moiré silk robes, pin-pleated linen, et al.) Note to all actresses: don't let yourself be upstaged by your gown. Try to be more like the opulently bedecked superstar in Guercino's The Suicide of Cleopatra (1621) (above, right). She's got the robes and the jewels, but the moment is all about her. (Looking at the portrait, I was also reminded of Davis's turn in Doubt as a woman bearing sorrow with immense dignity.)

From left: Disegno and Colore, Winslet, a look from the Dolce & Gabbana spring 2006 runway show.

The Old Masters weren't afraid to go over the top, and they did so with virtuoso flair. Check out the masterful styling in Guercino's Disegno and Colore (1640), which dramatizes the debate between the role of drawing (disegno) and color (colore) in painting. Advocating one point of view, an old man holds up a pencil drawing of cupid, while the other side is of the argument is represented by a voluptuous beauty—think Kate Winslet—who paints the same image in life-like color. She of course steals the show, thanks in no small part to her fabulous get-up: a celestial blue gown with the hem turned back to reveal a hot orange lining; an ivory blouse with voluminous sleeves in pale hyacinth; a mustard-brown shawl as weightless as shatoosh and edged in somber vermillion, and then, literally topping it all, a cap with circus stripes of pure blue and red. Guercino had a couturier's eye for colore and I only wish he were still here to style Winslet or Benjamin Button's Taraji Henson, who unfortunately tends to bland herself out in neutral-tone sheaths.

Anne Hathaway (above, right) looked good at the Globes, but for great make-up, she might ponder Guido Reni's Saint Cecelia (1606) (above, left) to learn the secrets of a perfect chaste-sexy look: pale porcelain skin, natural eyes, a hint of blush and then those sensually flushed lips.

Those are the fashion Dos. Under the category of fashion don't is Francesco Albani's Holy Family with Angels (c. 1613-15) (above, left), which proves definitively that strawberry blondes—hink Melissa Leo (above, right) in Frozen River—should stay away from red dresses. The poor Madonna looks positively washed out. Red is for the Penelope Cruzes and Marissa Tomeis of the world.

And finally, a lesson in comportment comes from Reni's Saint Apollonia (c.1623) (above, left). She's perfectly attired in a shell-pink shift, and although she's about to have her teeth pulled by a masochist with giant iron pliers—the prelude to her martydom—Apollonia maintains a look of graceful forbearance in the face of her adversity. This masterpiece demonstrates how a lady should comport herself while enduring an aggressive media assault on the red carpet. Take note, Angelina.

Incidentally, the timeless lessons that "Captured Emotions" had for men were much simpler: 1) buff up, since both sinners and saints look best with a gym-toned physique and 2) a fitted jacket in understated black is always the surest bet. Unless you're man enough to don ecclesiastical robes.

All paintings courtesy of the Getty. Photos: Kate Winslet: Donato Sardella ; Hathaway: Getty Images; Jolie: WWD staff.

A few of our thoughts upon hearing the Oscar nominations today:

-- "Melissa who?" When Melissa Leo's name was announced alongside the other best actress nominees, the question was understandable. Her film, Frozen River, a gritty tale of single mothers in dire circumstances, opened back in August and had grossed just $2.3 million by the end of the year. Now, thanks to the nomination, the film will resurface at LA's Laemmle Music Hall next Wednesday for an open-ended run and that Sony Pictures Classics will have the DVD out in February.

-- Warner Woes The grumbles are echoing across the Warner Bros lot today. The Dark Knight and Gran Torino, the studio's two Oscar hopefuls (and presumed shoo-ins), were both nearly shut out of all the big awards. (Heath Ledger's nod in the best supporting actor category was the only major.)  More salt in the wounds: While Warner Bros does share distribution rights for multi-nominated Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the film will be seen a triumph for Brad Grey and Paramount.

-- Big Score for Overture No such gloom and doom at the West Hollywood offices of Overture films, in business just a year. One of CEO Chris McGurk's first moves was to acquire The Visitor at last year's Toronto Film Festival, and the film's star, Richard Jenkins, [see W's recent profile of the actor] earned them a nomination in the best male actor category. 

-- Go Groundswell Also feeling pretty good right now is Michael London, whose Groundswell productions came up with the financing for both Milk (8 nominations) and The Visitor. This low-key but highly effective producer was also behind previous Oscar-nominated films Sideways and The House of Sand and Fog.
  
-- Short and Sweet Two of the supporting actor nominations were for roles with notably short screen time: Doubt's Viola Davis and Revolutionary Road's Michael Shannon. [see our recent story on Revolutionary Road's director Sam Mendes] The last time this happened was when Judi Dench got a nod for her eight-minute performance in Shakespeare in Love.