Lifestyle
A Quirky Auction to Support Crew Members Affected By the Writers Strike
A typical Hollywood charity auction, like the Baby2Baby Gala, might consist of beauty sessions with sought-after dermatologists, autographed books and set memorabilia, and the occasional five-minute photo op. It might also be closed to the public, available only to those connected individuals who can afford to bid richly.
The charity auction organized by the Union Solidarity Collective, a group of writers and directors who came together this year to help crew members affected by the Writers Guild strike, is trying something different: It offers dozens of quirky experiences, many featuring hidden talents of celebrities that have little to nothing to do with their current career paths. (For example: The “Oppenheimer” actor David Krumholtz has pledged to donate a three-song Zoom serenade to the highest bidder.)
The strike, now in its fourth month, has left writers and crews without paychecks and health care coverage. All of the net proceeds from the T.U.S.C. charity auction will go to the Motion Picture & Television Fund’s crew health care fund. Qualifying crew members (those with less than $10,000 in assets) can enroll for a $350 grant, which — depending on their income — can help cover most if not all of their monthly insurance costs.
“Right now the W.G.A. is on strike, and SAG is on strike. At the end of the day we’re going to get a better contract that’s going to give us different levels of money,” said the actor and comedian Paul Scheer, who donated a meet-and-greet for his popular podcast “How Did This Get Made?” “But the crew members who are not negotiating with us because they’re on a different cycle — they’re just losing work and there’s no benefit there.”
Many of the listings have bids of thousands of dollars. Ms. Dunham’s mural, which must be painted in Los Angeles, New York or London, is currently going for $5,100. “I really hope whoever wins my mural is prepared to give me a lot of coffee, tell me about their life in detail so I can translate that into colors and shapes — and that it can be its own new bonding experience,” Ms. Dunham said in an email.
John Lithgow, the Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning actor who donated an original watercolor dog painting, said he’d painted numerous pet portraits for other silent auctions. “I was going to be an artist until I heard too much applause, and then I became an actor,” he joked.
The set crews, he said, “work harder than we do: They’re two hours before we arrive and they leave an hour or two after we’re finished, and they don’t have a trailer to retire to 20 times a day.”
The auction, which started on Sept. 13 and runs for 10 days, is one of the many ways in which the members of T.U.S.C. have tried to help their projects’ crew members stave off financial hardship. In July, the group organized a fund-raiser in Los Angeles featuring a performance by the band Fishbone, which, coupled with another small celebrity auction on the website Give Butter, raised $315,000. .
T.U.S.C. is a “scrappy, very democratic organization” with “no hierarchy and nobody in charge” said the writer and producer Liz Benjamin, whose credits include “Dead to Me,” “Bridgerton” and “The Black List.”
Ms. Benjamin, the actress and filmmaker Amy Seimetz the writer Aviva Yael and the filmmaker Moira Fett have been helping to plan, organize and advertise the T.U.S.C. auction, courting celebrity contributions and working with Matchfire, an auction management service, to get each item up and running.
Other items and experiences up for bidding include having Mr. Lithgow paint a watercolor of your dog, a half-hour visual story basics lesson from Ms. Dunham and Spike Jonze, and an in-person dinner with the “Mr. Show” creators David Cross and Bob Odenkirk, which is currently going for more than $9,000. “I cannot believe how unique and special each item is,” Ms. Benjamin said.
Ms. Benjamin said T.U.S.C. is planning to continue to add listings in the coming days, including an “online experience” with the actress Nicole Kidman and the director Lulu Wang, and the chance to play 30 minutes of online Mortal Kombat I with the Hollywood couple Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon.
Having the auction be uncharacteristically open to the public is part of T.U.S.C.’s marketing strategy. “The fan base of a Brit Marling sweatshirt goes so far beyond people who work in Hollywood,” said the director Susanna Fogel. “They’re probably just big fans of the show who live anywhere, and now they can have access to information about what our work force is striking for.”
As with anything celebrity related, the listings come with plenty of fine print: “The winner may invite up to two additional friends and the session can be recorded but please no questions about personal lives,” reads the listing for Ms. Dunham and Mr. Jonze’s master class.
“Respect for talent and their staff will be expected at all times,” all of the listings warn. “Inappropriate behavior or solicitation for personal gain by the winner could result in the immediate conclusion of the experience with no refund. The talent has the right to end the experience at any time, for any reason, with no refund. A background check for the winner may be required.” Bidders willing to spend more than $2,000 must also undergo a prequalification process run by Matchfire.
Of course, the auction has spawned plenty of reactions (and memes); some featured Photoshopped listings people wished would be auctioned off.
Even the T.U.S.C. members participating in the auction have their own dream listings. “I know that I suggested this: Would Nicole Kidman walk through an AMC theater with someone?” Mr. Scheer said, referring to Ms. Kidman’s widely beloved (and oft-imitated) AMC movie monologue. “And maybe we’ll get her to do it. But if you could walk through that theater and just take a couple pictures with her — that’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
The auction has been up for about 48 hours, and it has already raised more than $93,000. “Our goal was $150,000,” Ms. Benjamin said. “I think we’re going to go well past that.”
Lifestyle
Neil Gaiman has responded to sexual misconduct allegations
Neil Gaiman, one of today’s most influential and commercially successful novelists, has been accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct. The author has denied the allegations. This is what you should know.
- Gaiman’s books include the graphic novel The Sandman, the children’s novella Coraline and a novel he co-wrote with Terry Pratchett, Good Omens. The British author has won prestigious literary honors, including multiple Hugo, Locus and Nebula awards and the John Newbery Medal. His works have inspired movie and TV adaptations. Time magazine included him in its list of the 100 Most Influential People of 2023.
- The sexual misconduct accusations, stretching back decades, first became public in the summer of 2024 in a six-episode series from Tortoise Media called The Master: The Allegations Against Neil Gaiman. In the podcast, five women accused the writer of unwanted sexual behavior, some of it alleged to be violent in nature. Gaiman denied the accusations. No charges have been filed. The podcast included interviews with the women, plus what it said were WhatsApp messages and phone call recordings between Gaiman and two of his accusers. In one conversation, Gaiman allegedly says he “obviously f*** up” and offers to pay an accuser, who goes by the name “Claire,” $60,000 to cover the cost of her therapy. NPR has not been able to independently verify the recordings because “Claire’s” identity is not public.
- More women have now accused Gaiman of sexual misconduct in a New York Magazine cover story published Monday. Some of the alleged behaviors include violent sexual assault and sexual misconduct that occurred while his young son was in the room. Gaiman has denied this. Gaiman’s accusers are adults, but much younger than the author, 64, including one who is nearly 40 years his junior.
- Gaiman responded to the allegations on Tuesday in a lengthy post on his website. Gaiman wrote that he watched the news of the allegations “with horror and dismay”: “As I read through this latest collection of accounts, there are moments I half-recognise and moments I don’t, descriptions of things that happened sitting beside things that emphatically did not happen. I’m far from a perfect person, but I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone. Ever.” He also denied “there was any abuse.”
- Recent fallout has included the suspension of screen adaptations of Gaiman’s works. Deadline reported that Amazon will end production of Good Omens with a 90-minute final episode to be produced this year, instead of a full third season. “Gaiman contributed to the writing of the series finale but will not be working on the production and his production company the Blank Corporation is no longer involved,” Deadline said. Disney paused an adaptation of The Graveyard Book.
- Trade magazine The Bookseller reported that Gaiman hired the crisis management firm Edendale Strategies and lawyer Andrew Brettler, who has represented Danny Masterson and Prince Andrew. Neither party has responded to NPR’s request for comment.
Jennifer Vanasco edited this story. Beth Novey produced the web build.
Lifestyle
Upcoming Benefit Concert For L.A. Wildfires Gets Overwhelming Response From Artists, Bands
The upcoming benefit concert for Los Angeles wildfire victims will be exciting, engaging and will raise a ton of money … and big-name artists and bands are clamoring for a chance to help out.
TMZ has learned … there’s been an outpouring of interest from musicians who want to get involved … so much so, organizers are expanding the scope of this event.
We’re told more than 50 artists and bands have asked to participate … and right now, there are only 24 slots … though organizers are trying to add slots to accommodate the overwhelming response.
The benefit concert, dubbed FireAid, was first announced as being held at the new Intuit Dome in Inglewood, CA … but our sources say it will also be held at The Forum … which is just down the street. That’s how big this is getting.
We’re told the performances will also be live streamed.
The full lineup is still being finalized and we don’t have any names right now … but we’re told all of the performers are based in Los Angeles.
We do know Taylor Swift and Beyoncé — two of the biggest acts in music — will not be involved … but that’s fair, considering they aren’t really rooted in L.A. despite having homes here.
There’s a huge pool to draw from and this concert is going to be HUGE … and it’s going to help lots of folks who are starting from scratch.
TMZ.com
Thousands have been displaced by the Palisades and Eaton Fires and Los Angeles is now tasked with rebuilding over 12,000 structures lost in the inferno.
People lost their homes, their businesses, their cars and basically all of their possessions in the fire … and the rebuilding effort will be massive.
So too will this benefit concert.
Stay tuned!!!
Lifestyle
A Couple Kisses That Sealed the Deal
When Olivia Christine Snyder-Spak matched with Elias Jeremy Stein on Hinge in September 2021, she was a decade into online dating but had never found an ideal partner. “I had probably gone on at least a few hundred first dates, sometimes even doing two in a day,” she said.
Mr. Stein was less versed in internet matchmaking and had been on only a handful of dates over the previous year. “I wanted a serious relationship and decided to try the online route since meeting people in person during Covid was harder,” he said.
At the time, Mr. Stein, 35, was renting an apartment in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn; Ms. Snyder-Spak, 36, lived on Manhattan’s Lower East Side.
The two exchanged messages for a week about their shared love for cooking classes and art projects and exchanging funny stories. Then, Mr. Stein asked Ms. Snyder-Spak on a mini-golfing date.
When they met, in mid-September, at the Putting Green mini-golf course in Brooklyn, Mr. Stein was struck by Ms. Snyder-Spak’s energy. “She was super cute and seemed bubbly,” he said.
They played golf for an hour, chatting about their backgrounds and professions as they navigated the course. “We laughed a lot because Olivia kept hitting the ball far away from the hole,” Mr. Stein said. “The conversation was so good that I asked her for drinks afterward.”
They walked to the nearby Other Half Brewing, sat outside and continued talking over beers for the next several hours. “We were easy with each other, and it was clear we had clicked,” Mr. Stein said.
Eventually, it started to rain heavily. As they waited for their Uber rides, Mr. Stein asked Ms. Snyder-Spak if he could kiss her. “I said yes, and when he smooched me, it felt like a movie kiss,” she said, describing it as “very romantic.”
They settled into a dating cadence almost immediately, seeing each other several times a week for activities like sushi-making, comedy shows and museums. On Halloween, they went to Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. “The spookiness of a cemetery seemed fitting, and the fact that Eli felt the same way was a big sign that he was going to be a great teammate, down for whatever,” Ms. Snyder-Spak said.
A vacation to Turks and Caicos Islands in January 2022 solidified their commitment. “Our flight back got canceled because of bad weather and a staffing shortage, and the two we booked after that also got canceled,” Mr. Stein said. “We eventually ended up in Miami and got bumped on our flight home.”
Nevertheless, they had fun. “That’s when I knew that Olivia was the one.”
The experience made Ms. Snyder-Spak “realize that I wanted to do hard things together with Eli forever,” she said.
Mr. Stein grew up in Durham, N.C. He is a product manager on the software development team at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York and the founder of Admissions Intelligence, a college admissions platform that uses artificial intelligence. He has a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Vassar College.
Ms. Snyder-Spak is from Woodbridge, Conn., and works as the director of nonfiction at the entertainment production company Topic Studios, in New York. She has a bachelor’s degree in film from Dartmouth.
After their Turks and Caicos trip, the couple began spending several nights a week at one of their two apartments. In July 2022, they began renting a place, which they’ve since bought, in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
Their bond grew as they decorated their home and traveled to places like Brazil, Portugal and Costa Rica. “My love for Olivia was getting stronger, and it was the right time to propose,” Mr. Stein said.
[Click here to binge read this week’s featured couples.]
On Dec. 13, 2023, during a nighttime picnic in Prospect Park, Mr. Stein asked Ms. Snyder-Spak to marry him as the Geminids meteor shower brightened the skies. As they kissed after she said yes, they caught a glimpse of a shooting star.
More than a year later, on Dec. 29, they wed on the front stoop of a Park Slope brownstone owned by Rabbi Yael Werber, a friend of the couple and the ceremony’s officiant. Rabbi Werber is affiliated with Congregation Beit Simchat Torah. Afterward, they walked to Mille-Feuille Bakery Cafe in Prospect Heights and indulged in three desserts.
In September, Mr. Stein and Ms. Snyder-Spak had hosted a six-day, pre-wedding celebration in Asheville, N.C., for 140 guests; it included activities such as solving a murder mystery, visiting local breweries and tubing down the French Broad River. The festivities culminated in a symbolic wedding ceremony on Sept. 1 at Yesterday Spaces, an event venue in Leicester, N.C.
“All my online dating before Eli was worth it because I found the guy I was looking for all along,” Ms. Snyder-Spak said. “I remember the hard work, but now everything feels like magic.”
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