Our favorite comments of the week are after the jump. Pretty much everyone did well this week, as always, but here in America we like to reward the few and ignore the many. Enjoy.
The 1987 vampire classic Near Dark has been on the industry's equivalent of death row for a while, with Michael Bay producing a remake for Rogue Pictures. But Twilight just issued a stay of execution.
High camp has no enemies. Besides—humorless scolds (like Anita Bryant, or Chuck Norris) produce unwitting camp through their very opposition. But what happens when it's camp vs. camp?
It appears real estate mogul Richard Mack has finally taken note of Manhattan's faltering real estate market. This afternoon Corcoran's Carrie Chiang dropped the price of Mack's townhouse on East 94th Street from $59 million to a more modest $49.95 million. That's still substantially more than what he paid for the former home of Spence-Chapin: Mack picked up the 24,463-square-foot building for a mere $23 million in 2007. Then again this property comes with a view of Lyor Cohen's townhouse across the street, so maybe the occasional Russell Simmons or Tory Burch sighting will make up the difference. [NYO, Corcoran, previously]
All you have to do to win this exciting opportunity to drive to Canada is enter a curling competition in Bryant Park! Tell us more, Canadian Tourism Board.
Paula Abdul is now freely admitting she was scared shitless the day she came face-to-face in the Idol audition room with a longtime obsessive fan who'd later commit suicide outside her home.
Look, a "note from Arthur." He probably wants to wish us merry Christmas, right? No, he is announcing that he will give none of you a raise in 2009.
12/11 — Saw SHENAE GRIMES at the Woods last night. I had actually met her at Happy Ending a few weeks ago. Real nice and undiva-seeming. For all the negative reports you think she'd be hanging around douched out spots like Les Deux and etc. No, I am not her publicist. [Hollywood PrivacyWatch is written by and for Defamer readers; send your sightings to tips@defamer.com.]
• A list of the saddest restaurant closings of 2008. Sad, indeed. [NYDN]
• Rumor has it Macao Trading Co.'s downstairs lounge is opening tonight. [GS]
• Patisserie Claude has reopened under new ownership. [VV]
• Video of David Chang shopping for cookbooks. [men.style.com]
• Philippe Express is offering a meal plan for NYU students. For $1,995. [Eater]
• Not surprisingly, sales of bourbon and scotch are on the rise. [F&W]
Meryl Streep and Amy Adams crashed The View today to court a bit of opening-day goodwill for their new film Doubt. Oscar support would be lovely, too, but, you know, only if you want to.
If you thought that carbophobes were tedious to be around because they talk incessantly about their noble refusal of french fries, bread, pizza, pasta and all the other food that makes life worth living, it turns out there's another reason: Cutting out carbohydrates actually interferes with mental function and causes memory loss, according to a new study. All the more reason that certain people might want to consider eating a sandwich. [Daily Mail]
It's Silicon Valley's fairytale romance: Girly-girl nerd worth hundreds of millions meets fellow with a job who looks good in a tux. And now Marissa Mayer and Zack Bogue are getting married, a tipster says.
