Fashion Expert Stacy London Advises to Just Be Yourself

Photo of Stacy London courtesy of Getty Images

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
Fashionista Stacy London told a crowd at 92nd Street Y in the Upper East Side last night that the expectations put on women by the fashion industry to look a certain way sends out the wrong message.

"One of the things we need to remember is the impossible standard that's being set up before us," London said. "Aspiring to that standard denies us the opportunity to realize and experience how unique we all are."

She added, "There is nobody comparable to you. Not on any level really. You can never be somebody else. You can try your hardest -- gain weight, lose weight, cut your hair, change your lipstick -- I don't care. You're still going to be you and that's who you should be."

London is the co-host of the styling reality show "What Not To Wear," alongside Clinton Kelly, and said they live by the rule that trends are not the most important.

"You don't have to worry about the trends because trends are going to come and go," London said. "As long as you are dressing yourself in the best shapes and styles for your body, you're always going to look good."

While most people pass judgement on others, based on appearances, within the first three seconds of meeting and also judge their own appearance, London says she likes to have a different approach.

"My sister taught this to me -- don't judge, just notice," London said. "Judging is not what I want you to do with your body. I want you to notice and I want you to be really honest with yourself about what you like and don't like because then you can decide what you want to highlight and what you want to camouflage."

She also advised all women to remember to embrace who they are and dress for their bodies, not an unrealistic model walking down a fashion runway.

"If we don't aspire to what's realistic, we'll always have a sense of failure," London said. "If you are busy comparing yourself to an unrealistic standard of beauty, what hope do you have of actually dressing yourself?"

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.

Whoopi Goldberg Says Working With Barbara Walters is "Amazing"

Whoopi Goldberg and Barbara Walters

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
Whoopi Goldberg is known for her standout performances in films like "Ghost," "The Color Purple," and "Sister Act," and now as a television host. She began her current role as co-host and moderator of the daytime talk show "The View" in 2007 and revealed to Niteside last night that, even after all this time on the show, she still gets awe-struck sitting across the table from Barbara Walters.

"I sometimes sit across from her and think, 'Wow, am I really hanging out with you?'" Goldberg said. "The most amazing thing is that, you think back to what she did and you kind of get blown away by it, because she really was the first. You don't get to meet many firsts in your life, so it's kind of amazing."

Goldberg has her own status as one of the rare recipients of all four major performance awards - an Emmy, an Oscar, a Grammy, and a Tony. Her name was recently left off a list of past black Oscar winners published in The New York Times, despite her win in 1991 for her role in "Ghost," and she has not hidden her disgust for this omission.

"Oh no, I don't think you read about me there," Goldberg said, rolling her eyes, at the mention of the article during a talk at the 92nd Street Y in the Upper East Side.

The New York Times released a statement on Monday responding to Goldberg's upset, saying that the "point of the piece was not to name every black actor or actress who has been awarded an Oscar" but instead to compare the number of winners prior to those who have won since.

Goldberg produced "Sister Act: The Musical," which will open on Broadway this March. The show originally began in London in 2008, which forced Goldberg to travel abroad - something she doesn't typically do since she doesn't like to fly.

"I didn't fly for 15 years - I have my bus," Goldberg said. "But Tom [Leonardis] says to me, off the cuff, 'We're going to London next month for the show' and I said, 'We're going to have to get an anesthesiologist."

Now that her fears are somewhat under control, thanks in part to modern medicine, Goldberg announced Thursday that she will be heading back overseas in the coming months for a royal interview.

"I'm being interviewed by Prince Edward at Windsor Castle," Goldberg said. "I know him, so it's a comfortable situation for me, and for him too."

As for if she'll return to England again for the upcoming nuptials between Prince William and Kate Middleton -- don't count on it.

"I'm not going to the wedding," Goldberg said. "I don't want to go -- no hot dogs."

As a well-known activist for equality and gay rights, Goldberg has participated in many LGBT rallies and also helped with the launch of Cyndi Laupers "Give a Damn Campaign," and says she doesn't understand those who oppose any marriage.

"I don't understand this idea that you have to separate it and it can't be called marriage," Goldberg said. "My feeling is, if you don't like gay marriage, don't marry a gay person."

A version of this story also ran on NBCNewYork.com's Niteside.

Oscar Predictions at the 92Y

Photo by: Brooke Niemeyer

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
According to New York's film elite, "The King's Speech" is the movie to beat.

A panel including some of the city's top film critics discussed the top Oscar contenders at the 92nd Street Y last night. Guests watched clips of nominated films and panelists predicted the winners.

Panelists included New York Times film critic A.O. Scott, film publicist Amanda Lundberg, Entertainment Weekly contributor Mark Harris, and author and film critic Molly Haskell.

While all the panelists agreed that "The Kings Speech" and "The Social Network" both deserved a nomination for best picture, they all agree the award will go to the former.

"A month ago I would've said 'The Social Network' seemed to have the momentum and al the finger on the pulse of the times," Harris said. "But I find it a little more cautious and a little more usual than 'The Kings Speech.'"

The panel also addressed the fact that comedies never get nominated -- despite the expansion of best picture nominees from five movies to 10.

While comedies like "The Hangover" or "Easy A" don't get Oscar nods, Lundberg said it doesn't mean they aren't filled with good performances.

"What's interesting is that the films are nominated by members of the Academy who are in the business and know how hard it is to make a good comedy," Lundberg said. "Just because they're silly doesn't mean they're not well done."

Coming off her Golden Globe win, Natalie Portman is favored to win the Oscar for best actress for her role in Black Swan -- although not everyone thought she deserves it.

"I did not like [the film] and I did not like her in it," Haskell said. "But I think that it's something to have her up there and pregnant with this divine man she'll be married to. But of course, look at what happened to Sandra Bullock last year. She won the award and she lost her guy."

Panelists pointed to the dreaded Oscar curse: Bullock, Reese Witherspoon, and Halle Berry all split with their husbands after winning the Oscar for best actress.

The Oscars will be held on Feb 27.

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.

Former Aide to Tony Blair: GOP Presidential Nominee "Won't Be Expected"

Jonathan Powell, the former aide to Tony Blair.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
America will be surprised by who the Republican Party nominates for the presidential election in 2012, the former chief of staff to Tony Blair predicted last night.

"I have no clue who it will be," Jonathan Powell said at an event at the 92nd Street Y in the Upper East Side. "But it won't be the expected candidate. It will be someone who isn't big yet - not [Sarah] Palin or [Mitt] Romney."

With the upcoming nuptials between Prince William and Kate Middleton, Powell explained what his top concerns as chief of staff would be for a royal wedding.

"First of all, I'd be worried about a terrorist attack," Powell said.

After safety concerns were addressed, Powell said that making the wedding marketable would also be a priority.

"I would try to get popularity on the back of it," Powell said. "But lucky for them, this royal wedding seems to have done that on its own, especially with Americans."

Powell recently released his second book, "The New Machiavelli: How to Wield Power in the Modern World," and believes the Italian philosopher would certainly have an opinion about Wikileaks if he were around today.

"Surely he wouldn't approve of it," Powell said.

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.

'The New Yorker' Editor: "I Think Obama Will Be Re-Elected"

Editor of The New Yorker, David Remnick

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
David Remnick, the editor of "The New Yorker," revealed his prediction of who will win the presidential election in 2012.

"I think that Obama will be re-elected," Remnick said during an event at the 92nd Street Y in the Upper East Side last night. "Right now, with nine percent unemployment, he still has a popularity rating of now high 40s and I don't see him losing."

He also listed a few candidates for the Republican nomination, but said he doesn't expect any of them to be able to beat Obama.

"I can't see Mitt Romney doing it," Remnick said. "And as many nightmares as I've had in my life, I can't see Sarah Palin either."

Remnick, who wrote the 2010 biography, "The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama," said he doesn't find fault with Obama for not having any CEO's in his first cabinet.

"I have to say that the people who feel underrepresented in the economic policy-making of the United States do not seem, to me, to be investment bankers and CEO's," Remnick said. "I think those interests are pretty well taken care of. Those people were rescued."

"I think the people in America who are underrepresented, who are angry and who are suffering, are the unemployed, the people who are graduating from college and are taking on jobs that they never could have imagined, the people who had their houses foreclosed. I find this so-called rage among the CEO's and business class, who feel somehow ignored and betrayed, to be comical."

Remnick said the constant news cycle changed the media, but that there's no point in reflecting on a time when we didn't have it.

"You can't wish away technology," Remnick said. "There's crap on the Internet and there's very good things on there too. It just is what it is."

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.

Fashion Guru Diane von Furstenberg: My Fans Are "Better Than Botox"

Fashion legend Diane von Furstenberg

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
Fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, who is best known for the iconic wrap dress she designed in the 1970s, said that her loyal fans and clientele are the ones keeping her young.

"The older I get, the younger my fan base is and that's very flattering," von Furstenberg said at the 92nd Street Y last night. "It's better than Botox."

Von Furstenberg is keeping busy with designing, but has also been working on a new retrospective happening in Beijing this April called "Journey of a Dress."

"It's a retrospective of my work in fashion, but it's also art," von Furstenberg said. "There are four vignettes with clothes, clothes, clothes. They are the four sides of the woman that I've been: one is American Dream, another is Studio 54, the third is Luxe, and the fourth one is Working Girl."

She says she's in her "second career," which started after her re-launch of DVF in the late '90s.

"The first time around I did everything by instinct," von Furstenberg said. "Now I do everything by experience, but I know my instincts were right."

Even though her line has expanded past fashion and into handbags and luggage, don't expect her to branch into creating anything for men's wardrobes any time soon.

"My mission in life is really to empower women," she said, "and to make us confident and sexy with clothes."

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.

Kevin Spacey: New "Superman" Will be "Very Dark"

Actor and director Kevin Spacey

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
Kevin Spacey, well known for his role as Lex Luther in "Superman Returns," revealed details about the next "Superman" film.

"To my knowledge, there is going to be another 'Superman' movie," Spacey said. "I think they have decided to reboot it and they are going very dark, from what I understand."

While he doesn't expect to play a role in that action film, he does have others in the works. An exclusive audience at the 92nd Street Y in the Upper East Side last night was privy to a screening of Spacey's latest film, "Casino Jack."

The drama is based on the alleged fraud scandal of Washington D.C. lobbyist Jack Abramoff, played by Spacey.

Spacey said that when he went to the prison to meet Abramoff for the first time, he wasn't concerned of being manipulated by the former lobbyist.

"I think he was so bitterly disappointed that Brad Pitt wasn't playing him," Spacey said. "So, seducing me wasn't a priority for him."

With Spacey's film credits ranging from the popular dramas "21" and "American Beauty" to the science-fiction film, "Moon," he says that no matter what role he's playing, he always finds a thrill in developing a character that audiences will become involved with and enjoy watching.

"One of the great pleasures of being an actor is that you're like a detective," Spacey said. "You've got all these clues about who the person is and you try to sift through them and create a film that is entertaining and fun."

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.

Rivals Joy Behar, Bill O'Reilly Pal Around at White House Christmas Party

Co-hosts of 'The View' Barbara Walters and Joy Behar

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
'Tis the season to bury the hatchet.

"The View" co-host Joy Behar said she and outspoken pundit Bill O'Reilly came face to face at President Obama's Christmas party at the White House last week and were able to move beyond their bitter back-and-forth stemming from O'Reilly's remarks about 9/11 that caused the daytime talk show host to walk off the set of her ABC show in October.

"I took a picture with him and I even gave him bunny ears," Behar said Sunday night during an appearance at the 92nd Street Y. "Let bygones be bygones."

During the Christmas party, she also lobbied Michelle Obama to get the commander in chief to make a cameo on the show.

"I said, 'Listen, he was on a show called 'Myth Busters' last week and now he needs to come on my show,'" Behar quipped. "She told me, 'I'll see what I can do.'"

Behar, 68, is best known for sitting alongside Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg, Sherri Shepherd, and Elisabeth Hasselbeck as co-host on the daytime talk show "The View," a group she calls a "big family." She and Goldberg both walked off the set after the Fox News host said, "Muslims killed us on 9/11." The incident led to both sides trading barbs in the weeks to follow.

"Barbara didn't like it, but I did it anyway," Behar said of her walk out. "It was a complete impulse in a moment of rage."

She added: "They're my family and that's one of the reasons I'll never leave. It's fun mostly. I don't feel stressed about that job."

Aside from doing "The View," Behar started her own celebrity and news commentary show on CNN called "The Joy Behar Show." She says that if she could have any guest on her show, dead or alive, she would pick Jackie Kennedy.

"I probably could never get her on the show though," Behar said. "But Barbara could get her. You know her... she's relentless."

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.

Robert DeNiro Is "Spiritual Magnet" of Tribeca Film Fest, Says Co-Founder

Tribeca Film Festival co-founder Craig Hatkoff.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
Tribeca Film Festival co-founder Craig Hatkoff said fellow founder Robert DeNiro has unique pull when it comes to the 10-year-old film fest.

"Bob is the spiritual magnet of this project," Hatkoff said Friday at the 92 Street Y in Tribeca. "When Bob is in New York and not shooting a movie, he is at a lot of the events. He likes going and he goes quietly and often won't tell anyone he's coming. He just shows up and supports it."

Hatkoff, wife Jane Rosenthal, and DeNiro created the festival to help revitalize Lower Manhattan in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. The idea was conceived when Hatkoff and his wife were having dinner in Little Italy shortly after the attacks, he said.

"We originally projected it would be something small, maybe a couple dozen films," Hatkoff said. "We never imagined to have the 160 films like we did or the 150,000 people show up."

With the integration of "Tribeca Film on Demand" this year, Hatkoff says he is happy they had the opportunity to have the films seen by more people. But nothing can replace the experience of watching films in the theater, he said.

"Nothing will ever replace being in the room when the lights go down," Hatkoff said. "Watching the films at home can be inferior as long as it gets the job [of reaching more people] done."

The 2011 festival will run April 20 through May 1.

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.

Tim Gunn Defends Book's Unflattering Anna Wintour Depiction

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
"Project Runway" host Tim Gunn defended his decision to keep the controversial anecdote about Anna Wintour's diva behavior in his book during a talk in Manhattan last night.

"[It's in there] because of the aftermath," Gunn told the audience at 92nd Street Y in the Upper East Side Sunday evening. "There are three aspect to it: don't bully, don't threaten and accept responsibility."

In his tome "Gunn's Golden Rules: Life's Little Lessons for Making it Work," the fashion guru details how Wintour allegedly had her bodyguards carry her down the stairs rather than take the elevator following Peter Som's 2006 fashion show at the Metropolitan Pavilion.

Gunn also confessed he "never dreamed" he'd be part of the wildly successful fashion reality TV show in which his wry use of phrases such as "Carry on" and "Make it work" became part of the zeitgeist.

"I never dreamed that I would be part of it," Gunn said. "No one was more shocked about it than I."

He added, "I loved taping season one. It was entirely a new life experience for me. I had never been part of anything like that."

Gunn also said fashion reality TV contestants aren't guaranteed fame like many in the reality TV music industry.

"I don't for a moment want to trivialize 'American Idol,' so forgive me in advance," Gunn said. "If you are an alumnus or an alumna of 'American Idol' you could potentially hang your shingle outside, fill this beautiful auditorium and sing to them. For a fashion designer, it's much more complex. The designers who have been on the show can only achieve as much as their ambitions and their resources really allow them to."

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.

My story lead the NBC New York home page and was linked up in the celebrity entertainment section in the other nine NBC local-media markets: Miami, Washington DC, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Connecticut, and Dallas-Fort Worth. 

"What Not To Wear's" Clinton Kelly Reveals Secret to New Book: Tourists!

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER

Fashion guru and "What Not to Wear" co-host Clinton Kelly told the crowd at 92nd Street Y last night that many of the style mistakes mentioned in his latest book came from an afternoon he spent sitting by the window at a Times Square Starbucks.

"I just watched all the tourists go by," Kelly said during the final stop on the tour for his new book, Oh No She Didn't: The Top 100 Style Mistakes Women Make and How to Avoid Them. "I kept writing down fashion mistake after fashion mistake after fashion mistake. In the time it took me to drink one tall latte, I had 85 of the 100 mistakes."

Kelly also addressed his relationship with "WNTW" co-host Stacy London.

"Stacy and I get along really well," Kelly said. "We are great friends at work and we make each other laugh every single day. I guess we're lucky like that."

Kelly divulged his fashion do's and don'ts, drawing on stories from the show as well as his latest tome.

"Sweat pants are the devil," Kelly said. "They will only make your life worse. Only wear sweat pants when you are sweating."

He also advised all women to only use fashion magazines as a tool to learn about the latest trends, not to define your personal style.

"Style is how you take fashion and make it your own."

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.