Matt Damon Hated the Third 'Bourne' Movie
Welcome to the Smart Set. Every morning we bring you the gossip coverage, filtered. Today: Matt Damon tells GQ that Tony Gilroy's first draft of The Bourne Ultimatum could have been a "career-ender," Mikhail Prokhorov prepares to submit a bid on a media company, and Dnaiel Day-Lewis did not steal Richmond's Christmas
Matt Damon was not all pleased with screenwriter Tony Gilroy first (and final) draft for 2007's The Bourne Ultimatum, but he doesn't blame Gilroy for turning in a shoddy product. It's those Hollywood suits that gave him lots of money to write a threequel. Damon explains: "It's the studio's fault for putting themselves in that position. I don't blame Tony for taking a boatload of money and handing in what he handed in. It’s just that it was unreadable. This is a career-ender. I mean, I could put this thing up on eBay and it would be game over for that dude. It's terrible. It's really embarrassing. He was having a go, basically, and he took his money and left." Damon apparently regretted the harsh words, and called Gilroy before the interview came out to "preemptively clear things up," according to The Hollywood Reporter. Damon would later rationalize: "If I didn't respect Gilroy and appreciate his talent, then I really wouldn't have cared. My feelings were hurt. That's all. And that's exactly why I shouldn’t have said anything." For those among us who have steadfastly maintained that the second and third Bourne movies are overrated and incoherent, this is a most pleasing development [The Hollywood Reporter]
It's an indelicate question to ask, but did Miley Cyrus get breast implants? We bring it up only becuyse The New York Post's Page Six consulted with three "experts" on the subject of her bustline during an appearance at the Shrine Auditorium this weekend, and they all seem to the agree the singer has had some work done. We'd like to add that we can't tell and we're really looking. But more importantly: where does the Post find these seers who immediately know if an actress goes under the knife or if the Yankees are going to get squeezed on balls and strikes before a series even begins? Its feels like something we should take Page Six's word for, because they're Page Six and this is what they do. But Cyrus has already denied having the procedure in a message posted to her Twitter account. Just wait until the experts hear about that. As for the picture of Cyrus, feel free to draw your own conclusions [Page Six]
Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck is planning to shut down the Beverly Hills location of Spago for six to eight weeks next summer so he can complete a renovation that will allow guests to eat their endive and heirloom apple salads in a more aesthetically pleasing space. But the planned changes aren't sitting well with Puck's ex-wife Barbara Lazaroff, who co-founded the restaurant with her husband in 1997 and was the original interior designer. In a Facebook post that "went out to 3,000" of her friends, Lazaroff complains: "Why would my ex want to tear this restaurant apart? Change for change sake? A waste of money … but actually all ego?" Her other grievances involving the renovation include the removal of a skylight ("[W]hy rip out this gorgeous skylight and replace it with a flat clear one … who will clean the bird poop off it every day?") and the removal of all the paintings she commissioned for the restaurant ("[W]hy not compromise and leave one painting?") She also doesn't approve of the bar floor being changed from stone to carpet. "Who does carpet in the main entry in a high traffic area? Oh he was going to cut in stone into the stone, but when he found out it was too difficult (he) thought about this dysfunctional option." Oh, and she also doesn't like the plans for the restaurant's new striped awning, because it looks like it came "out of a Chicago's Godfather bar." The Puck's have been divorced since 2002, but Lazaroff remains a partner in the restaurant. " Does it need refreshing? Absolutely," she writes. "We need new carpeting, new chairs. But I want to have enough money to fix things in the kitchen. I don’t want to see money wasted." Or, apparently, old paintings cast aside. [The Hollywood Reporter]
Could Kanye West and Jay-Z actually be considering a follow-up collaboration to Watch the Throne when they reportedly weren't even speaking to each other during a large chunk of the album tour? "It depends on how this thing finishes up," Jay told MTV. "We — I say 'we' because I'm in Throne mode — we're in a great place creatively. You might see a Jay, then Kanye and a Throne album next year. You know, we're really in a great place creatively. We really found our zone." Back in July, Jay told reporters he has two songs recorded for his as-yet-untitled new studio album. Kanye didn't discuss the possibility of a solo album or collaboration yesterday, perhaps because he was not in Throne mode or was fed up with his collaborator's "stone-cold businessman" approach to touring that irked him back in August. [MTV News]
Buckingham Capital chairman Larry Leeds hopped out of his Mercedes and asked "Is this the Box?" last Saturday while looking for the nightclub that was hosting hedge funder-turned-direct jewelry supply company empress Julie Maclowe's 35th birthday party on Saturday night. After confirming he was where he was supposed to be, Leeds entered the nightclub, where Maclowe was celebrating both her birthday and the forthcoming launch of her cosmetics company. The in-house entertainment was provided by Sean John, who performed songs off his next album. [Page Six]
New Jersey Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov is getting set to load up on Russian media companies as he prepares to challenge Vladimir Putin in March's presidential election. Prokhorov's spokesperson has already confirmed that he plans to make a formal offer to acquire "Kommersant publishing house from Alisher Usmanov," even though Usmanov says he has no plans to sell. Kommersant is "a leading media holding" in Russia, and Prokhorov will likely need its reach to off-set the "blanket positive coverage from state-controlled television networks, and some of the print media" towards Putin. Prokhorov's expected to make a formal offer for Kommsersant today. [NYDN]
The annual lighting of the Christmas tree in Richmond -- which was called off this year so Steven Spielberg could use the capitolsteps as a stand-in for the White House in his precious Lincoln movie -- is back on. It seems the "film crews have been cleared out" (including, apparently, the deep in-character Daniel Day-Lewis), a tree is going up on the south portico next week and Gov. Bob McDonnell "announced Monday that he and the first lady will preside over a 'small' lighting ceremony on December 20." Assuming Lewis doesn't make some sort of method actor nest in the tree first, that is. [The Reliable Source]
