Editor’s note: Welcome to The Fug Report! Each week our fashion blogger friends Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan, the sartorial geniuses behind Go Fug Yourself, will feature some of the most memorable looks of the week in this space. We hope you enjoy it!
1. Last night, while co-hosting the 2011 Mayor’s Awards for Arts and Culture at Lincoln Center, the always adorable Alec Baldwin introduced himself as the city’s mayor, much to Bloomberg’s feigned dismay. All joking aside, a run for office definitely seems to be in the 30 Rock star’s future plans, wouldn’t you say? [via NYDN]
2. James Franco has signed on to play a drug dealer (again!) in a new Harmony Korine film called Spring Break; the story “follows four college-aged girls who rob a fast food restaurant to afford spring break in Florida, only to get arrested upon their arrival.” Franco’s character bails them out, and convinces them to kill his arch-rival… a murderer named Arch. [via Slashfilm]
3. After bombing in Abduction (which is currently at 4% on Rotten Tomatoes), Twilight star Taylor Lautner is teaming up with director Gus Van Sant on an indie film that’s based on an unspecified nonfiction article from The New Yorker. Lautner will also produce the project. [via THR]
4. Rick Ross says that those recent seizures that led to his hospitalization in mid-October were caused by lack of sleep, and that he’s totally healthy now. [via NME]
5. Following an alleged 30-second tryst backstage at one of his concerts last year, a 20-year-old woman in California is claiming that Justin Bieber is the father of her 3-month-old baby, and is now suing him for child support. [via NYP]
After cutting the ribbon at the newly-expanded Brooklyn Brewery yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg celebrated his 69th birthday by lending his support to the RUSH Philanthropic Arts Foundation, a non-profit organization co-founded by Russell Simmons that assists arts education in New York City’s public schools. In appreciation for the mayor’s support and the Bloomberg Family Foundation’s contributions to RUSH’s arts education program, 12-year-old Brooklyn RUSH Kid Seth Novick presented “hizzoner” with a patriotic portrait, depicting Bloomberg surrounded by stars — without stripes — of the American flag.
In related news, the Bloomberg Family Foundation announced today that it plans to distribute a whopping $32 million to arts organizations over the next two years. The foundation will send letters to 250 small to mid-size groups around the city inviting them to apply, with individual grants ranging from $25,000 to $350,000.
1. Interesting fact: only 13 percent of Wikipedia’s contributors are women, reports the New York Times. The Wikimedia Foundation vows to increase the number of women contributors to 24 percent by 2015.
2. After taking home top honors at last night’s SAG Awards, The King’s Speech is now considered the front-runner for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. [via Vulture]
3. Meet your next Superman: British actor Henry Cavill — who was previously cast as the Man of Steel in a JJ Abrams-scripted version of the film — will star in Zack Snyder’s franchise reboot. We were hoping for Jon Hamm. How about you? [via Slashfilm]
4. Bright Eyes’ forthcoming album The People’s Key — which comes out on February 15th — is now streaming in full over on NPR where they’re calling it “a career-defining work of art.”
5. We’re curious what Mayor Bloomberg thinks of this week’s Valentine’s Day-themed cover of the New Yorker, a drawing called Bloom in Love by Barry Blitt. Also worth checking out from a few issues back:Excerpts from Bloomberg’s snow diaries, a humor piece by John Kenney.
On Monday night, the New York Public Library held their largest event of the year — its annual Library Lions dinner —at the main branch on 42nd street. Candles lined dramatic marble staircases that were strewn with rose petals as socialites and celebrity guests made their entrances. We were there rubbing elbows with Bryant Gumbel (who looks a lot meeker in person) and Henry Kissinger (who looks surprisingly vital for an old war horse). The event honored three NYPL librarians alongside Mayor Bloomberg, Hilary Knight, and Annie Proulx.
