The Hollywood Reporter – 28.02.2018

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THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 62 FEBRUARY 28, 2018

BALL, SHATTER: ISTOCK. NATE: FG/BAUER-GRIFFIN/GC IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES. KING: HARMONY GERBER/GETTY IMAGES. SIEGAL: COURTESY OF SU

BJECT. VINAITE:

MATT WINKELMEYER/GETTY IMAGES. VENIT: ALEKS KOCEV/BFA/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK. BULLOCK: ASON MERRITT/GETTY IMAGES. JAFFA: NICOLE IIZUK

A.

Heard Around Hollywood

About Town

Will Nate ’n Al Close? Larry King Is Worried
“If Lew Wasserman was alive today, he’d buy it,” says Larry King about
the possible closure of Nate ’n Al Delicatessen. Keening practically
erupted in Beverly Hills after news spread that owners Mark and David
Mendelson were close to selling the 73-year-old eatery and that com-
mercial broker Jay Luchs was helping to negotiate the deal.
(Both parties declined comment.) “Like everybody else, I’m
hearing mixed information,” says talent manager Richard
Arlook, a deli regular. “Some gives me hope, some of it
makes me very sad.” Former Beverly Hills Mayor and City
Councilman John Mirisch, who is pressing for landmark
status, says a consortium of high-powered showbiz execs may swoop in
with a bid to preserve it. King, who used to eat there seven days a week
but now only Saturdays, is all for an industry savior to step in. “Who
eats there a lot? Les Moonves. Why wouldn’t he buy it? What the hell. It’d
be fun,” King says. — PETER KIEFER

Power

Dining

Jaffa

The Quick Pitch

The vogue in New

Israeli cuisine hits

Beverly Grove at this

high-spirited ode to

the revived port town

adjoining Tel Aviv.

Chef Anne Conness

doles out Niman Ranch

lamb couscous and

turmeric pickles. The

place’s essence can

be found in its desserts,

especially the poppy-

and-almond frangipane

hamantaschen.

The Inside Dish

Aly Iwamoto, previ-

ously of The Varnish, is

responsible for a cock-

tail program with

nonalcoholic options as

inventive as its liquored

libations. 8048 W.

Third St. — GARY BAUM

Hollywood regulars are awaiting the fate of the beloved Beverly Hills deli.

Sherry Lansing sat

with Adam Venit at

Mr Chow. ... All five

members of *NSYNC

including Justin

Timberlake reunited

at Le Petit Paris. ...

Gal Gadot said hello

to Fauda star (and

fellow Israeli) Lior Raz

at Angelini Osteria.

... Sandra Bullock

had dinner at Paley.

Separately, Keanu

Reeves enjoyed drinks

at the bar. ... Halle

Berry stopped by

Bacio di Latte. ... Larry

David brunched at

Farmshop. ... Over at

Cape Seafood, Amy

Schumer, Aziz Ansari

and Seth Rogen were

in separately. ... Emma

Watson was at Tasting

Kitchen. ... Julie Bowen

dined at Sunset Tower

Hotel’s Tower Bar.

Rambling Reporter

By Chris Gardner

‘Atomic’ Siegal sent this to pals for V-Day.

Venit

Bullock

An Awards Maven’s
Gun-Toting Valentine
Peggy Siegal — the New York
publicist and event planner
who specializes in awards cam-
paigns — teamed with Lionsgate
marketing president Tim Palen
for a second collaboration on
her much anticipated Valentine’s
Day card. Sent to thousands of
industry insiders, including Oscar
nominees Meryl Streep, Daniel
Day-Lewis and Christopher Nolan,
the card features Siegal packing
heat. “I said, ‘Tim, I cannot send
out a Valentine’s card holding a

creative control.” Siegal and Palen

met during the campaign for La

La Land, which Lionsgate distrib-

uted. The publicist, who has been

mailing V-Day cards for 10-plus

years, says that this year’s version

“got the most response from any

I’ve ever sent. People just howled.”

Kevin Hart’s All-Star Wish List

for Jumanji 2

Rebooting Sony’s Jumanji has

paid off: The Jake Kasdan-directed

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,

starring Dwayne Johnson, Jack

Black, Kevin Hart and Karen Gillan

just inched past $900 million in

worldwide box office. If Hart has

his way, the next installment,

which already is in the works, will

be locked and loaded with A-list

villains even as the main cast

remains intact. “Put Brad Pitt in

as the villain in the jungle,” Hart

told THR during NBA All-Star

Weekend. “You know who else?

Denzel Washington.” Matthew

McConaughey, Bruce Willis and

Joe Pesci are other fantasy cast-

ings. “I can go all day.” No word on

what The Rock has to say about

these action rivals. — BRIAN PORRECA

The Florida Project Director’s

Next Goal: ‘Pay Rent’

Nobody would fault The Florida

Project’s Sean Baker for graduat-

ing to bigger-budgeted studio

fare after putting together a run

of five successful, acclaimed

indie features. Perhaps a super-

hero flick? Nope! “Everybody is

like, ‘What’s next?’ I always say

I have no idea. ... It will prob-

ably be in the same wheelhouse,”

the Spirit Awards directing and

best feature nominee tells THR.

“I’m not the type to jump into

a $20 million film just to do it.

I might even disappoint some

people by staying in this $2 mil-

lion to$3 million range. As long

as I can pay rent, that’s all I care

about.” Baker’s Florida Project

star Bria Vinaite, for one, is glad.

“He can tell stories about real

people in a way that’s not judg-

mental,” she says. “He is the

type of director who can change

people’s perspectives.”

gun,’” says the awards strategist

of Palen, the card’s photographer.

“But he asked me to trust him

because this is the whole Atomic

Blonde thing — female empower-

ment.” Palen says with a laugh

that he agreed to work on this

year’s card “as long as I had full

HOT NEW

RESTAURANT

Vinaite

King