Her Madgesty: 2009-02-22

Saturday, February 28, 2009

IT'S FOR THE BEST

February 28, 2009 --

MADONNA'S ex-husband, Guy Ritchie, reportedly has been dissing the Material Girl (above) behind her back by referring to her as "It." London's Sun newspaper quoted a source: "Guy will say, 'Oh, It's in a bad mood today.' " The British director adopted the nasty nickname even before the couple officially split. "Even towards the end of their marriage, he would call her It. He told people, 'We can't make It angry.' There is absolutely no love lost between them," the source told the paper. MADONNA's rep, Liz Rosenberg, shot back to Page Six: "It hasn't been in a bad mood since the divorce was finalized."
*******

Nice one, Liz! ;)

Madonna 'dwarfs' Gwyneth

Female First

Gwyneth Paltrow says Madonna's problems "dwarf" her own.

The 'Iron Man' actress insists she has a lot of respect for the 'Hung Up' singer because she has overcome many obstacles in her private life.

Gwyneth said: "She's been through everything. And she's a real survivor. Every problem that I've had, she's had 10 problems worse that dwarf my own issues."

In recent years, Madonna has endured a bitter divorce from Guy Ritchie, seen her brother Christopher Ciccone write a damning tell-all book about their relationship and face a barrage of criticism over her adoption of Malawian boy David Banda.

Gwyneth, 36, insists the public perception of Madonna as a feisty, demanding diva is far from the truth. In reality, the blonde actress says her 50-year-old friend is warm and thoughtful.

Gwyneth said: "She's a very interested, caring woman. She's pretty great. She's Madonna and she comes with all this stuff but she's pretty incredible."

Gwyneth and Madonna have been friends for 10 years, with the singer turning to Gwyneth for support after split from Guy last year.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Jenny Shimizu on Madonna

Lify & Style (Via Just Jared)

Your Wikipedia entry says you dated Madonna during your heyday. What is dating?

"Madonna’s a wonderful woman. When I first got to New York, I knew very little, and she knew all about the city — she was a wonderful kind of tour guide."

Cyndi Lauper Applauds Madonna’s Tadpoling

New York Magazine

At "Defying Inequality: the Broadway Concert for Equal Rights," the other night, nubile young New York intern Ross Urken asked Cyndi Lauper what she thought about Madonna's post-divorce flings with youthful boy toys like A-Rod and Jesus Luz, and Cyndi, who takes equal rights extremely seriously, set him straight. "What's your issue?" she demanded. "You know how many old geezers do you see with young women. What's the double standard? Who cares? You know, they're both adults. Who cares? What's good for the goose is good for the gander." Oh, obviously; girls, they want to have fun.

A party thrown by Madge - that's got to be magic!

Daily Mail

Nicole Kidman was manning the door and helping to take guests' coats and shawls.

Sharon Stone was chowing down on onion bhajis, while Cameron Diaz was mopping up the vegetarian curry with naan bread.

There was a definite Slumdog Millionaire theme at the late-night, post-Oscar party Madonna threw with Demi Moore at the mansion owned by Madge's manager, Guy Oseary.

Spread out in the kitchen were traditional Indian dishes including chicken tikka masala and various biryanis.

There were other goodies, too. One guest even jokingly (I hope) asked for a deepfried Mars bar. I gather he had once spent a drunken night in Glasgow and claimed to have tasted the Scottish delicacy.

Sean 'Diddy' Combs was the DJ and MC. When best supporting actress Oscar winner Penelope Cruz sashayed in, he announced: 'Penel-o-p-e Cruuuz is in the house!'

Most people party-hopped from the Vanity Fair bash and Elton John's charity event to end up at Madge's, where the tennis courts had been covered over and topped with a marquee. Sofas and chairs were provided for the weary to rest themselves on.

And there were plenty of mints in little bowls, for those who didn't want early morning curry breath.

Building on the Abs of Madonna

THIS is the woman responsible for Madonna’s arms.

Tracy Anderson pulls down on resistant elastic bands strung across the ceiling; dances around the room; endlessly circles her arms. She moves her torso back and forth and sideways to strengthen the abdominals, and then lies on her — of course — taut belly for a series of butt-toning leg lifts.

To spend an hour working out with Ms. Anderson, with an iPod blasting and the heat cranked up, is to get a taste of what it’s like to prepare for a grueling concert tour, striving for that sinewy muscle tone. Or so you can tell yourself. Maybe this is how it feels to sweat like Gwyneth Paltrow, bopping around your blond-wood home gym in the Hamptons, losing the pregnancy pounds with Ms. Anderson’s mat exercises and dance routines. “You really are how you move,” Ms. Anderson said.

Ms. Anderson, 33, worked out with a reporter recently in a rented space in Midtown, demonstrating her signature muscle strengthening and cardio dancing, which have won her two devoted clients in Madonna and Ms. Paltrow. With those celebrity names lofting her reputation, she is preparing to open a high-end $900-a-month workout studio in TriBeCa.

But those who join probably won’t be grunting and lunging alongside Ms. Paltrow or Madonna — Ms. Anderson trains them privately — and her employees will lead most workouts, not her.

Looking as if she subsists on birdseed, the pixie-ish trainer said she actually has “a big appetite.” (Don’t all thin people say that?) She is partial to cupcakes — anything with butter cream frosting — and, while she is now very mindful of nutrition, maintains that when she started out in the fitness business she was still a junk-food junkie, dunking Oreo cookies in containers of Pillsbury icing. “I was kind of like a doctor who smoked,” Ms. Anderson said.

It was about three years ago, while running a studio in Los Angeles, that Ms. Anderson came to the attention of Ms. Paltrow, who then told her friend Madonna. Now the bulk of Ms. Anderson’s time is devoted to the two stars: she essentially moves in with one, depending on whose career is in higher gear, while working with the other through video chats and custom DVDs, or by dispatching one of her associate trainers.

When Madonna was preparing for her “Sticky and Sweet” tour last year, for example, Ms. Anderson lived with her for nine months and then accompanied her on the road. Last summer, she trained Madonna during the day in Manhattan and took the train almost every day to the Hamptons to put Ms. Paltrow through a workout in the evening.

“Tracy Anderson is my savior,” Madonna said in an e-mail message. “After two Caesareans, three hernia operations and one riding accident that left me with 10 broken bones, she was the only one who could pull my body back together into one piece.”

Read the entire article at the NY Times Website

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Madonna & Jesus: The Red String Diaries

It appears Madonna is making good on reports that she’s gotten her 22-year-old Brazilian pal, Jesus Luz, hooked on Kabbalah.

The hottie model was spotted attending services with Madge Saturday morning at the Kabbalah Center on Robertson Boulevard in Los Angeles.

I’m told he got along quite well with Madonna’s kids. “He was playing around more with Rocco than paying attention to Madonna,” a source reports.

The Madonna-Jesus Hollywood tour started on Thursday night at Cecconi’s in West Hollywood, where they appeared quite close and cuddly but not exactly romantic.

While Luz was nowhere to be found when a solo Madonna hit the Vanity Fair party on Sunday night, they were later seen (as I first reported) locking lips at her second annual VIP-only Oscar soiree she hosted with Demi Moore and Guy Oseary.

“They weren’t making out, but just a kissing a little bit,” a source explained.

Then on Monday, the two were back at the center, says another source, to mark “the new moon in Pisces."

Sources down in Brazil still insist there’s nothing more than a friendship going on between the two. “I’m sure Madonna is laughing about it,” another source said. “It’s not like they’ve ever confirmed they were dating.”

Madonna's camp also says this is no steamy love affair. "Clichéd as it sounds, they're really just friends," her rep tells me. "I know it doesn't make for a juicy story, but it's the truth."

The two met through photographer Steven Klein when Luz was featured in a photo spread Klein shot of Madonna for W magazine in Rio de Janeiro.

Prior to landing on the West Coast, Madonna and Luz also attended Kabbalah services in New York City.

Why Madonna Wore the Beckham Dress... and more

W Magazine

Costume designer Arianne Phillips, the stylist behind "Blame it on Rio," has been collaborating with Madonna for more than a decade, from the star's geisha-inspired period to her Patty Hearst look for American Life. Phillips, who also masterminded the clothing for Madonna's two previous epic photo portfolios for W (2003's "Madonna Unbound" and 2006's "Madonna Rides Again"), talked to us about the looks she chose for their latest collaboration.

The black zippered dress is so prominent in the story. What made you choose it and what did its designer (Victoria Beckham) have to do with it, if anything?
I initially chose this dress for the classic 50s-60s slim silhouette, which was what I was after for our story. I was also intrigued since it is from Beckham's debut collection -- I liked the "story" of one pop star to another. And I was pleasantly surprised at the high quality of the dress. The fabrication, details and fit are very well thought out.

Tell us about that graphic sequined dress. All the credit says is that it's vintage and from The Way We Wore, the vintage store in LA.
The dress is reminiscent of our initial inspiration for the shoot, the 1963 Jeanne Moreau film The Bay of Angels. It's from the select archives of Doris Raymond, the owner of The Way We Wore. Madonna had specifically requested I include some vintage 50s and early 60s garments to mix with the contemporary designer fashions, and Doris is my "go to" person for vintage. She has an amazing eye and unique sensitivity to vintage.

What are the sunglasses Madonna wears in so many of the shots?
I believe those are D&G. We loved them.

What's with the little lace gloves?
With styling I find it's always about balance -- not over accessorizing, while still being able to create a character. There was a finished, formal quality to the way women dressed in the 50s and 60s. Their outfits were complete with hat, gloves, jewelry and hosiery, and there was a modesty and femininity to the way women dressed. I found that the little lace gloves finished her character perfectly, as they're both demure and provocative.

What's up next for you?
I designed the costumes for Tom Ford's directorial debut, A Single Man, starring Colin Firth and Julianne Moore, which is forthcoming this fall. Right now I'm helping refurbish and create some new looks for Madonna's summer tour extension and I'm getting ready to attend the women's collections in Paris.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Katy Perry sporting the M Red Nose Day top, while performing in Copenhagen

Photo: fadedyouthblog

About M's Post-Oscar bash

E!

Madonna, Demi Moore and Guy Oseary cohosted their second annual postawards-show party at Oseary's house. So who was there?

Everyone, including Madge's ex-hubby Sean Penn, Nicole Kidman, Leonardo DiCaprio, Anne Hathaway, Gwen Stefani, Josh Brolin, Diane Lane, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Sharon Stone, Mick Jagger, Adam Sandler, Jerry Seinfeld, Jessica Alba and Milk screenwriter and Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black, among many others.

Who was Madonna dirty dancing with? Lindsay Lohan!

And who was Madonna kissing? Jesus Luz, her 22-year-old Brazilian rumored-to-be boy toy.

Moore hubby Ashton Kutcher Twittered about the Jeffrey Best-produced celebrity extravaganza, which took place under a temporary atrium adjacent to the house that was lit by chandeliers. "Coolest moment of the night…Meeting Jack [Nicholson] holding penelopes oscar and watching Joe Pesci send back 3 martinis because they were sub par," he posted at about 4 a.m.

Diddy's night apparently ended quite well. "I'm holding an oscar rt now and takin a bubble bath!!!!" he Twittered this morning. "God is great!!!"

Small update (coming from The Daily News): At her own post-Oscars fete, Her Madgesty spent an hour dancing up a storm with the 22-year-old Brazilian model during Diddy’s surprise deejay set.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Madonna Surprises Orphanage with Care Package

People

Talk about haute couture hand-me-downs.

Madonna recently sent boxes of clothes belonging to her 3-year-old son, David Banda, back to his former orphanage in Malawi.

The Home of Hope Orphanage Centre was a beehive of activity thanks to the arrival of the surprise package, labeled "from David Ritchie to friends at Home of Hope – Malawi." Included in the boxes were clothes, children's books – with autographed copies of Madonna's children's book, English Roses – and an assortment of toys.

"These are clothes David can no longer use; they say he is quite a big boy now so he cannot use most of the clothes Madonna bought him immediately after he was adopted," said a source close to the orphanage. "The children were excited to receive the clothes."

Friends Across the Globe

Lucy Chipeta, director of the orphanage, confirmed receiving a surprise package for the kids but would not confirm it came from Madonna. "We have lots of friends across the globe who send us stuff from time to time," she said.

Home of Hope, founded by retired Presbyterian cleric the Rev. Thom Chipeta, looks after about 500 orphans. David's farmer father, Yohane Banda, 33, surrendered his son to the orphanage in 2005, when the boy was one month old. David's mother, Marita, died of complications form childbirth a week after David was born.

Madonna found David at the orphanage through Raising Malawi, a charity the singer set up. Home of Hope is one of the six orphanages Madonna is assisting in Malawi through her charity.

Madonna to perform in Udine on July 16

Madonna Tribe

Madonna does the double in Italy, as the Sticky & Sweet Tour stops at the Stadio Friuli in Udine on Thursday, Juky 16, two days after visiting Milan.

The new show has been officially announced this morning by Live Nation and local promoter Azalea, the company who's bringing to the beautiful city in the North East acts such as Bruce Springsteen and Coldplay this Summer.

A dedicated fan club presale will start tomorrow, February 24. Please check madonna.com for details.

The general public sale starts on ticketone.it on February 27 at midnight and at the authorized ticket points from Azalea Promotion, BoxOffice and TicketOne from 9 AM on the same day.

The stadium will have a conventional set-up for the Madonna concert with the stage placed in front of the south tier and the pitch divided between Prato A and Prato B.