out and about
Updated: June 7, 2009, 4:33 am	Share    Print    Email

Two ugly family disputes involving prominent Hamptonites are going to get nastier by all reports and the behind-the-scenes chatter. Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook will be face-to-face in their open to the public divorce hearing in early July. Christie fought to have everything out in the open - all Peter's tawdry affairs - including with a young Southampton teen who we now learn was paid $300,000 to keep quiet. But pay-offs don't trump a subpoena, so you can expect to hear all the smarmy details when Diana Bianchi takes the stand. Friends of Christie can't wait until Peter gets his just desserts and even former husband Billy Joel is in her corner on this one.

Then there is the whole Ron Perelman - Patricia Duff battle that just won't go way. Reportedly, the Revlon titan's legal eagles are going ballistic and supporting the pair's daughter, Caleigh to turn against her mother in the courts. I don't get it, a young girl using the legal system to get her way.

Angelina Jolie, in the now famous stained glass print Nicole Miller dress, with Brad Pitt in Cannes, France. Photo by Celebuzz

Whatever happens, you know the tabloids and television crews will have a field day in the Hamptons this summer. It's just so sad for the kids involved.

Angelina Jolie is definitely a good luck charm for Nicole Miller. Several years ago when she and Brad Pitt were at a press conference just at the point when the status of their relationship was raising eyebrows and intense media scrutiny, the sultry Jolie was wearing one of Nicole Miller's dresses printed with Celtic knots. Within days, they sold over 10,000 of the fabulous frocks. At the Cannes International Film Festival, Angie was once again in a gown by Miller. Not taking any chances, the president of her company ordered every available roll of fabric with the same print. Now it looks like lightening has struck again as the stores have been swamped with shoppers carrying a picture of Brangelina looking for THAT dress - you rock, Nicole!

And speaking of red carpet faves, I just learned that Patricia Field of "Sex and the City" fame has cut a big deal with Home Shopping Network for a new line created by her, called Destination New York Style. Patricia, who made Carrie Bradshaw the best dressed and most well shod journalist in town, is now recreating the look craved by millions - at HSN prices. Even one of Carrie's numbers from the film is included in the collection. She'll start selling in late September, just in time for you girls to do a wardrobe makeover for fall.

The private school preppy look was in all over town this week, especially up on Hill Street in Southampton. Guests at the Southampton Inn got an unexpected treat when the cast and crew of CW11's ultra-hot series "Gossip Girl" checked in for a couple of days while shooting scenes for their second season. Hottie Chase Crawford and castmates Penn Badgley and Ed Westwick had the teens in the lobby swooning. Chase spent some buddy time with young actor on the rise, Southampton's Emanuel Sylvano who appears in this episode. Sylvano, who is slated for the lead in a new Spanish soap opera set in the Hamptons created by Brian Alesssandro and Tony Vargas got some acting tips from Crawford in exchange for tips on the area's hottest spots. A group of Trinity, Seminary, Buckley, and Spence students - "Gossip Girl" prototypes all - made reservations at the Inn's new restaurant OSO to try and catch a glimpse of the stars, but alas the boys had headed off to Coopers Beach.

Looks like Dylan's Candy Bar is coming of age. The hip wildly colorful sweetshop run by Dylan Lauren, as in daughter of Ralph Lauren, expects to start serving up candy-flavored martinis alongside the all-day suckers in the coming weeks as soon as she gets her liquor license. Part of the shop's second floor will be turned into a cocktail lounge, the perfect place for stroller moms to lap up a peppermint schnapps libation while the kiddies float through the Candyland of their dreams. Dylan will use the New York operation as a model for expansion to other cities including Chicago, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas.

Heather Mills may have negotiated a $50 million settlement from her marriage to Paul McCartney, but how will she fare on "Celebrity Apprentice?" Producers have asked the former model to become a contestant on the NBC show next season, says my spy. I'm told Donald Trump really likes her, but it's unlikely she'll give up the time to be a contestant and may just appear as a surprise guest on an episode to run one of the tasks. It would be convenient for Mills, who just bought a $5 million apartment in Greenwich Village.

My favorite heiress Lydia Hearst has more serious worries than reality TV. Lydia has been dating cutie pie Matt Rains, brother of Traver Rains, as in the famed Heatherettte fashion house helmed by Traver and Richie Rich. Matt, who is in the Army, has just been deployed for his first tour in Iraq. Lydia, who made no secret of her feelings against the war, now has even more reason to be lobbying to bring the troops home.

Hamptonite Devi Kroell, who has developed a major following for her shoes and accessories, is really stepping up to the big time. Devi will not only open her own store on chic Madison Avenue but she will also be launching her own full fashion line.

Across the pond, Naomi Campbell was convicted and will have to do community service - again, Martha Stewart was refused entry to the UK because of her felony conviction, and on a brighter note Anna Wintour made the Queen's Birthday List Honors. She has been named an OBE, or Officer of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. Wintour received the award for services to British journalism and British fashion in the United States.

Steven Spielberg, who has made no secret of his dissatisfaction with his deal with Viacom's Paramount Pictures, seems to have found an unlikely ally in the form of Indian billionaire Anil Ambani, a major Bollywood player looking to get a toehold in Hollywood. Word is Ambani's Reliance Entertainment might come up with a big chunk of the $2 billion that Steve and his Dreamworks partners are seeking to get out from under the Viacom control. DreamWorks, founded by Spielberg, Jeffery Katzenberg, and David Geffen, became part of the Viacom empire in 2005. Relations quickly soured, reaching a boiling point last September, when, according to reports, Viacom Chief Executive Philippe Dauman told investors that DreamWorks would be able to cope very well even if Spielberg was no longer with it. Spielberg's reported to have been looking for an escape route ever since.

Chase Crawford and Emanuel Sylvano on the Southampton set of "Gossip Girl". Photo by Ann Watt

In May, during the Cannes Film Festival, Reliance announced its first step into Hollywood, by providing "development funds" to eight production houses, including Nicolas Cage's Saturn Productions, George Clooney's Smokehouse Productions, and Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment.

Congrats to actress Joy Bryant who will tie the knot this weekend with beau movie stuntman David Pope in a beachside ceremony at the home of friends in Amagansett. Joy will wear a dress created by Angela Missoni for the ceremony and another less formal floral Missoni for the reception for about 100 pals. David will don a pale grey Calvin Klein suit. No long honeymoon for this pair, Joy is heading right back to begin filming her new TV show, "Virtuality."

Celebrity jeweler Jacob Arabov, known throughout the hip-hop world as "Jacob the Jeweler," has been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for lying to investigators in a case involving the laundering of drug profits. Arabov pleaded guilty in October 2007 to falsifying records and giving false statements as part of a deal with federal prosecutors.

Prosecutors asked for a minimum sentence of three years and one month. The judge, however, sentenced Arabov to a total of two years and six months, citing Arabov's extensive charity work. He also ordered Arabov to pay a $50,000 fine and to pay $2 million to the government.

It's been almost a year since I first reported that Rachael Ray was buying a Southampton mini-compound (and over six months since she went to contract), the cooking-show host/donut queen and her husband, John Cusimano, have finally closed on the property that had a $2.9 million asking price. The property, located by the Southampton Golf Club, has a pool, a pond, and multiple gardens.

Prior to the contract signing, the golf club and the property's owner were at odds over the exact placement of the property line. After both retained legal counsel, an agreement was finally reached last December for an undisclosed settlement. The property encroachment issue caused a delay in Ray and Cusimano's mortgage process. But ultimately, it worked out in their favor because they ended up getting a better mortgage rate. Hopefully, she and John will be barbecuing by Labor Day.

"Buddha Wild Monk in a Hut," directed and narrated by Hamptonite Anna Wilding, is launching the Film Center Cinemacafe Buddhist Film Series in Santa Fe next month. Director Wilding told me she is "honored Buddha is screening in Santa Fe. My film is a joyous and an apolitical film. However, I hope that with the film screening now, people will gain a greater insight and understanding into the lives of monks throughout Asia and the rest of the world, many of whom are going through a difficult and turbulent time right now."

Seen Around the Villages:

Almoncello was the dining choice for Keith Hernandez and his wife on one evening and some real heavies over the weekend, including U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey with his family while Goldman Sachs CEO and Chairman Lloyd Blankfein held court at another table.

Molly Sims' pooch, Chloe, should stop eating sand - the Yorkshire Terrier was admitted to East End Emergency Veterinary Hospital in Riverhead for an overnight stay on Tuesday and spent the night. Sims picked her up Wednesday back in perfect condition.

Chelsea Clinton is easing back to her own routines now that her long stretch on the campaign trail for mom Hillary has ended. She hit the Hamptons last weekend with beau Marc Mezvinsky. They were spotted laughing and holding hands at the John Varvatos boutique in East Hampton. "They were being very affectionate. She was adjusting his jacket and kept getting him things to try on in the dressing room," said our eyes on the scene.

True to form, Nick & Toni's had some celeb eye candy every night last week. On Wednesday, Patrick Demarchelier dropped by. On Thursday, "Pushing up Daisies" producer Barry Sonnenfeld and wife Susan Ringo, Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten, Robert Benton, and Sybil and David Yurman had reservations. Friday night saw Keith Hernandez, and then on Saturday, Leslie and Chuck Close with Lorne Michaels and John Alexander chowing down on the Mediterranean fare on Sunday.