Despite the fact that rapper Kanye West is coming out with a book of "Kanye-isms", Thank You and You're Welcome (co-authored with philosopher J. Sakiya Sandifer), on July 7, West brashly promoted his "non-reader" status this week. "I am a proud non-reader of books," he told Reuters. "I like to get information from doing stuff like actually talking to people and living real life." We all know he's the country's most notorious college dropout, but... seriously?
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The past few weeks have been tough—to say the least—for the child actors from Slumdog Millionaire. Two of the young stars have lost their homes due to razing of Mumbai shantytowns, and this week, director Danny Boyle decided enough was enough. The Oscar-winner and his producer, Christian Colson, pledged $100,000 to purchase new homes for Rubina Ali, 9, and Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, 10. And to make sure they send the message home, Boyle and Colson also donated $747,500 to a charity that continues to advocate for Mumbai's slum children—perhaps by casting as many as possible in Oscar contenders?
Rajanish Kakade / AP Photo
Remember that mysterious Crayola color that wasn't quite pink, wasn't quite purple, and yet magically seemed to appear in every box? Well, magenta is finally having its moment, or so fashion critics would have you believe—The Wall Street Journal reports that the fuchsia hue is the new color for fall, popping up in both men's and women's wear. Fashion editor Anamaria Wilson said that people are clamoring for brighter colors to stave off the recession, at least in dress: "I don't mean to sound obvious, but there's a whole optimism thing going on here." So if you see a man wearing a hot pink tie, just think, now there's a guy who wants to look really, really happy.
Zak Brian, Sipa / AP Photo; Miguel Villagran / Getty Images; Jason Merritt / Getty Images
Scarlett Johansson wants you to take her very, very seriously as a singer. First she recorded Anywhere I Lay My Head, a cover album of Tom Waits songs, and now, she will release Break Up, an album of duets with respected songwriter Pete Yorn, in September. The news broke this week, and according to Rolling Stone, Yorn was inspired to work with Johansson while dreaming about the French: "'I have to make a record inspired by Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot and it has to be like that.'" He thought. "So who is Brigitte Bardot? And I was like, Scarlett Johansson could be the Brigitte Bardot type." OK yes, we see it.
Tim Whitby / Getty Images; AP Photo
A great profile of actor Dan Aykroyd in the New York Times this week revealed that the Ghostbusters star is working on a video game version of the poltergeist-busting film. Ghostbusters: The Game will come out on June 16, with fellow busters Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson lending their voices to the project. A much-hyped third installment of the film franchise is in the works (from writers for The Office), but for now, fanatics will have to settle with the Atari version. And if it doesn’t sell, no worries—Aykroyd admitted that as one half of the Blues Brothers act (with Jim Belushi), he makes up to $1 million per gig.
Columbia Pictures / Everett
Usually the world of poetry is quite mundane, but not this week! Oxford University’s first ever female professor of poetry (a prestigious post there), fell to Charles Darwin’s great-great-granddaughter Ruth Padel after the initial nominee, Derek Walcott, was investigated for past charges of sexual harassment while a professor at Harvard University. After she was appointed, Padel decided to step down, admitting that she had a hand in bringing Walcott down and tipped off journalists to his shady past. This sort of drama deserves a good quatrain.
Sang Tan / AP Photo; Vittorio Zunino Celotto / Getty Images
Fancy apothecary Malin + Goetz have now released the ultimate home fragrance— Eau de Cannabis. The candle, as we learn from Nylon Magazine, has top notes of orange, lemon, and fig, but let's be honest—this is a joint in a jar. That said, at $48, it will probably smell better than your college dorm room, and is advertised to give off a sense of "well being" when burned. As expected.
Courtesy of Malin + Goetz
Just in time for the Tony Awards (Sunday, June 7), some good news for the Great White Way. Broadway has turned a profit this year—and not only that, it's a record profit. Turns out, in hard times, people still love the glitter and glitz of the theater. Now, on to revive Vaudeville.
Alastair Muir
A big OMG in the comic book world—in the 600th issue of Archie, the longstanding love triangle between Archie, Betty, and Veronica will finally come to an end, when Archie is rumored to propose to Veronica after 65 years (it's about time!). This is even more momentous as the "Love Showdown" storyline in 1995, when Archie Comics rumored that Archie might finally choose between the two women—but no dice. So will he finally go through with it this time? And what is going to become of Betty? We will all have to wait until August to find out.
Newscom
Most Grey's Anatomy castmates have been threatening to walk at one point or another, but T.R. Knight (aka Dr. O' Malley) will officially be the next one to go. Knight will not return in the fall; insiders say there has been high tension with creator Shonda Rhimes about his lack of an exciting storyline this season. Katherine Heigl, the show's other reigning drama queen, will still be sticking around as the show limps softly into (jumping) shark-infested waters.
Eric McCandless / ABC
Broadway tickets are already selling like gangbusters, but the theater is going to get an even bigger boost in the fall. This week, news broke that Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman will co-star in the drama A Steady Rain, by Keith Huff, about two Chicago cops working in a poor neighborhood. The play is supposed to be devastatingly sad, but we don't think that will keep away the masses. As one insider told the New York Post, "Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman in police uniforms? All the boys will be there!"
Eric Charbonneau, WireImage / Getty Images
Obama promised change, and he is bringing it to the White House walls. As the Obamas update their art collection—they have reportedly started collecting pieces from Jasper Johns, Richard Diebenkorn, Robert Rauschenberg, and Ed Ruscha (Obama chose one of Ruscha's text paintings, with the words "I think maybe I'll..."). The first couple has been interested in art for years—the WSJ reports that they featured many photographs in their past home, and one of their first dates was even at a museum (classy!). Now, they are searching for works by minority artists and have requested over seven loans from the Hirschhorn Museum in Washington, D.C. To make way for all this new art, however, some of the old pieces had to come down. For instance, Georgia O'Keeffe's famous Jimson Weed painting, one of Laura Bush's favorites, hung in the dining room during the reign of W. Now, the oil has been shipped back to its official home in New Mexico.
John Smock, Sipa / Newscom
Several artists, such as Richard Prince and Takashi Murakami, have moved their works from gallery walls onto Louis Vuitton handbags. But now, it'll be the other way around: Louis Vuitton has received its own museum show. The Hong Kong Museum of Art has opened "Louis Vuitton: A Passion for Creation," a new contemporary exhibit featuring the work of Murakami, Prince, and Stephen Sprouse—all artists who have designed for styles for LVMH. The works are on loan from the Fondation Louis Vuitton pour la Création, the Frank Gehry-designed arts center currently under construction in Paris. Vuitton designer Marc Jacobs attended the 700-person opening of the show last week, but retired early, explaining to WWD: "I don't deal well with jet lag."
Tyrone Siu, Reuters / Landov
