New York, December 17, 2009 – Robert Downey, Jr. is a fierce action hero in his turn as the legendary detective in Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes.  “He’s really lean and tough.  He does this stuff every day,” co-star Mark Strong said at the movie’s New York premiere.  “A day before we were going to do the fight scene, I heard this slapping noise coming from the corner of the studio, and I turned around, and he and his martial arts trainer were beating the hell out of each other,” added Strong, who plays Holmes’s nemesis. 

Downey says his martial arts background was indeed a big help in this role.  “I started studying martial arts earnestly five years ago.  And if I had just decided that I’d do a little martial arts choreography, I probably would have wound up in the hospital,” Downey told us.

Jude Law explained his sexy take on Holmes’s sidekick Watson: “I was intrigued because my preconceived notion of Watson was probably like everyone else’s: this guy with a wastepaper basket stuck on his foot, you know, a large belly and falling over,” Law said.  “And I went to the source material and realized there was this incredible character that hadn’t really been mined before, and I liked the challenge of bringing that to film.  And I liked the idea, too, that there was a kind of tougher, rougher edge to their adventures.” 

New York, December 15, 2009 – Nine may be the most star-packed movie in recent memory, and most of them were on the red carpet at the musical’s New York premiere.  Sophia Loren disappointingly did not attend, so we made do with Judi Dench, Penelope Cruz, Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Fergie (the only cast member who is actually a singer-dancer,) Marion Cotillard and Kate Hudson.  Not a bad turnout – and that was just the cast. 

Family and friends like Hudson’s mom, Goldie Hawn, Fergie’s husband, Josh Duhamel, Kidman’s good pal Naomi Watts and Cruz’s longtime friend and collaborator Pedro Almodovar added star wattage to the evening.  And then there were just curious A-list hangers on like Madonna and her daughter Lourdes, Julian Schnabel, Tobey Maguire, Tony Bennett, Rudy Giuliani and Neil Simon. 

How's that for a guest list? After the screening at the Ziegfeld Theatre, buses transported the glamorous folks to the after party at nightspot M2.

New York, December 16-17, 2009 – Celebrities are doing their part to keep the economy afloat this holiday season.  Kim Kardashian and her sister Khloe stocked up on gifts at the Under Armour pop-up shop in Manhattan.  Among the items Kim chose for her boyfriend Reggie Bush was Under Armour’s M Series Boxer Jock.  (We know – too much information…) 

Kelly Bensimon made like a real housewife and went shopping at Whole Foods, and her groceries included an all-natural soda called Cascal.  Do you think she cooked dinner later that night?

At his Lower East Side music club, Gavin DeGraw toasted Santa and some sexy elves with Mike’s Hard Punch.  Don’t worry, Santa wasn’t driving his reindeer that night. 

Kardashian, Bensimon photos: Michael Simon

DeGraw photo: Johnny Nunez/Nubuzzphoto

New York, December 11, 2009 – This year’s Z100 Jingle Ball was star-studded, as usual, with performances from acts like Taylor Swift, John Mayer, The Fray, Boys Like Girls and pint-sized sensation Justin Beiber, who clomped around with one foot in a cast.  American Idol was well represented with Adam Lambert, Kris Allen, Jordin Sparks and Alison Ireheta all in the house. 

Just as impressive were the celebrity guests who roamed backstage at Madison Square Garden and grazed for goodies in the gift lounge.  Twilight’s Peter Facinelli popped in (New Moon is raking in money - does he really need free stuff?)  Facinelli said if he were to find a golden ticket in the Wonka candies, he’d go to Mars.  “And I’d be the first, no one’s been there yet.” 

Adam Lambert grabbed Wonka Nerds, but confessed, “I’m on such a diet.”  He worked some of it off pedaling the Duracell Power Rover which will help power Times Square on New Year’s Eve 2010.  And Lambert already uses Moroccanoil hair products on his famous mane - “I have it in my bag,” he said. 

Judah Friedlander grabbed a New York Health & Racket Club membership, and said he’s going to lose weight this year - if he “gets his ass in there.” 

Tween heartthrob Justin Beiber shook the hands of all of the LIV Fashion dolls and said “so nice to meet all of you…my sister’s gonna flip when she sees you,” which was kind of weird, actually. 

H&M’s recession-friendly merchandise was a big hit, and LeSportsac handily provided bags for the celebrities to pack all their swag.

New York, December 8, 2009 – The music industry made a move to consolidate eyes online with the launch of VEVO, a Web site designed to view high quality music videos.  With Sony Music, Universal Music and EMI Music behind it, marketable stars like Bono, Mary J. Blige, Ricky Martin and Sheryl Crow gathered at downtown Manhattan’s Skylight Studio for the launch.  And the stream of superstars didn’t seem to end: Shania Twain, Rihanna, John Mayer, Pete Wentz and John Legend were all in the house.  A laughing Mariah Carey waltzed in hand-in-hand with husband Nick Cannon. 

A crop of this year’s younger top-selling artists like Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and baby faced Justin Beiber attended, rounded up by recording industry heavyweights like Clive Davis. 

Reviews of the VEVO site were mixed, with glitches and spotty performance, but obviously, the ailing music industry is looking to compete with YouTube and Hulu, and most likely trying to figure out how to profit from putting their content online. 

Las Vegas, December 4-5, 2009 – One thing was different at this year’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion’s party – the locale, the drivers partied in Las Vegas for the first time. This year's champion, Jimmie Johnson, was the same, for the fourth time. At Lavo nightclub on Friday night, a four foot ice sculpture encasing Johnson’s car number, 48, greeted guests including skateboard legend Tony Hawk, Hero's Masi Oka and My Name Is Earl's Nadine Velazquez. 

Samantha Ronson DJ’d and American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi, who was also celebrating her birthday, danced with her new hubby Mike McCuddy.  Dioguardi said she’d had lunch earlier that day with her new Idol co-host Ellen DeGeneres, and is excited to be working with her. 

Photos: Denise Truscello/LAVO

New York, December 2, 2009 – A slew of stars turned out for the New York premiere of The Lovely Bones, a drama based on the best-selling novel by Alice Sebold.  Patricia Clarkson, Courtney Love, John Leguizamo, Rachel Dratch, violinist Joshua Bell, Helena Christensen and Nick Rhodes were among those who turned out to see how director Peter Jackson handled the sensitive material. 

Stanley Tucci stars as a creepy murderer and 15-year-old Saoirse Ronan, who was Oscar-nominated for her role in Atonement, plays the victim.  Tucci said he did a lot of “horrifying” research for the role, and yes, he admits that working with such material was, at times, depressing.

Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz and Michael Imperioli also star. Susan Sarandon provides comic relief as the glamorous, booze-swilling, chain-smoking grandmother.  The Lovely Bones, which opens on December 11, marks Peter Jackson’s departure from mega-blockbusters like the Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong. 

New York, November 30, 2009 – The movie awards season got its official start on Monday with the IFP’s Gotham Independent Film Awards.  Big stars like Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Willem Dafoe and Ryan Reynolds gathered at Cipriani Wall Street to celebrate indie movies like Big Fan, A Serious Man and The Hurt Locker. 

The evening’s funniest shtick was from presenters Rosie Perez and Anthony Mackie, who opened with a shout out to the host, comic Kumail Nanjiani: “That guy - I don't know how to pronounce his name - but you're a funny motherf---er,” said Perez, stunning the audience into silence.  “We can curse right?” she asked innocently, and then rambled on hilariously on everything from having once married a Breakthrough Director winner, but being embarrassed because they are now divorced, congratulating the Yankees on their winning season, and toasting a mortified Willem Dafoe on his large member in the movie Antichrist.

Not all of the nominees were unknowns – Chris Rock, the Coen brothers, James Toback and David Strathairn were all up for awards.  Receiving Gothams special tributes were director Kathryn Bigelow, actors Natalie Portman and Stanley Tucci, and producers Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner.