PopHampton: A Pop Culture Labor of Love in the Hamptons
It’s hard to believe the summer is almost over. It feels like only yesterday that everyone was freaking out about Gwyneth Paltrow’s blog post on goop.com about her “conscious uncoupling” with husband Chris Martin—or maybe I’m just thinking about that fiasco because the second chapter in the Paltrow-Martin marriage saga is currently unfolding. Martin is said to be dating 24-year-old Jennifer Lawrence, and Paltrow is reportedly supportive of the pairing! The jury’s still out as to whether or not Paltrow is being sincere or secretly hoping that Lawrence’s film career goes the way of Lindsay Lohan’s, but we’re always appreciative of Paltrow and Martin’s drama to keep us going when things are about to get boring.
Oh, and did you hear about all that crazy drama with the Kardashians? Neither did I—apparently their stay in the Hamptons, which started with such fanfare, turned out to be a boring publicity stunt. Maybe they’ll surprise us when Kourtney & Khloé Take the Hamptons premieres, but I’m not holding my breath.
On Friday, August 22, Guild Hall presented Celebrity Autobiography, a comedy/theater production in which several stars gave dramatic readings of other stars’ autobiographies and memoirs. As you can imagine, the results were hysterical. Jerry O’Connell, Alec Baldwin, Tony Danza, Christie Brinkley and Susan Lucci were among the stars present, reading works from modern celebs such as Justin Bieber, as well as legends like Elizabeth Taylor. Lucci, who played Erica Kane on the soap opera All My Children for its entire run, was absolutely phenomenal as the iconic Liz, and her persona has often been likened to that of a “daytime” Elizabeth Taylor.
Speaking of TV stars, I am not going to lie: I am super-psyched for the fall season, especially the new season of ABC’s Revenge. May’s finale was stunning, making up for an uneven third season. In the first promo trailer released by ABC, it seems like the focus might be shifting from Emily’s perspective to Victoria’s! This would make for a great twist, since we’ve heard Emily’s melodramatic narration for the past three years. It’s also been confirmed that there’s not going to be a “Labor Day” mystery like past seasons, so don’t expect a murder on the beach, a boat explosion or wedding night shooting to kick things off. My early predictions for Season 4: Emily and Jack finally get together, Charlotte gets written out, Daniel finds redemption, Nolan meets a love interest who is only a little crazy (as opposed to the usual psychopaths) and David Clarke ends up being the main villain. As for Showtime’s The Affair, early reviews are saying good things about the moody Montauk-set drama, so my DVR is going to be working overtime this fall.
And before we go—did you complete the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge? I am hereby nominating everyone who reads this column to make an ice bucket-dumping video and share it for the world to see. Several of the Dan’s staff participated, and it’s all the rage with East End celebrities. Among the local stars to take the challenge: Bridgehampton’s Christie Brinkley, who nominated daughters Alexa Ray Joel and Sailor Brinkley Cook and Jack Brinkley Cook, as well as Jim O’Hare, Adam Scott and Rob Lowe; Sagaponack’s Jimmy Fallon, who was nominated by Justin Timberlake and nominated the New York Jets; Hamptonite Matt Lauer, who challenged East Hampton’s Martha Stewart; Paltrow (nominated by Stewart), who nominated estranged hubby Martin; Amagansett’s Stella McCartney and Cameron Diaz; Bethenny Frankel; and Anna Wintour. If these stars and starlets can do it, certainly you can, too!
Have a happy and safe Labor Day, and we’ll be back soon with more Hamptons pop culture gossip. And stay tuned to DansPapers.com for the latest on Revenge, The Affair and more!