Brian Cashman (Who?) at Darien Starbucks

My friend just tweeted that she saw Brian Cashman at the Darien Starbucks and I thought I'd share.

I had to google the dude. Evidently he is a Yankees exec. I do the OPPOSITE of following baseball, so don't count on me for spotting baseball figures around town!

Justin Bieber's Mom Hearts Greenwich!

OMGeeeeee I am seeeeeeriously freaking out, people!

Justin Bieber in Old Greenwich!?!?

I quote my favorite local celeb gossip columnist, Susie Costaregni, whose name I can now proudly spell correctly:
Scene ... Justin Bieber, the 16-year-old Canadian pop star, was seen water-skiing around Greenwich Harbor and at Darlene's Heavenly Desires Chocolates and Ice Cream on Sound Beach Avenue in Old Greenwich with his mother Pattie Mallette and manager, Scott "Scooter" Braun. Were they house-hunting? Rumor is Bieber wants to buy his mom a house.

Yes, I DO think they were house-hunting! OG is super cute, plus it's right by the train- perfect for Bieber's Mom to go in to the city to see her teeny bopper star son. And perfect for Justin to zip out and do some water-skiing. Or even kayaking.

If you don't know who Justin Bieber is, that's because you don't teach tweens like I do. I know FAR more about Justin Bieber than I ever expected to. I'm OK with that, but I'm not ok with his music. It's terrible. You may have heard Justin's horrifyingly annoying song, "And I said Baby, Baby, oooh Baby Baby" or something like that. It's just awful.

I'd like Justin Bieber's Mom to move into Greenwich. I don't want to meet Justin Bieber, but a lot of my students do, so this would make them happy, and I'd like that.

Celeb Gossip: Near Napa Sightings 'n Awkward Stuff

I LOVE "The Dish" by Susie Costaregni. I hope I am spelling her name right. I refuse to spellcheck it, because if an excellent speller like me can't get your name right, well, there is something wrong with your name.

First cool tidbit from Susie:

Scene ... Actor Michael Douglas, his wife, actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, and their two children, son Dylan and daughter Carys, who are renting a home in Bedford, N.Y., were seen last Sunday night in downtown Stamford near Napa & Co. Zeta-Jones won a Tony Award last week for Best Actress in a Musical for her role of Desiree in "A Little Night Music" on Broadway.

What the hey! Why couldn't I have spotted them? I wonder what they were doing. Were they at Napa and Co?

Second tidbit:

Scene ... Riverside residents and TV personalities Kathie Lee and Frank Gifford and son Cody were recently seen having dinner at Terra Ristorante on Greenwich Avenue. On the other side of the restaurant were TV personalities Regis and Joy Philbin, who came in for dinner but left shortly after being seated.

Toooootally awkward. I love it. I love awkward stuff.

Oh and also? Is Terra really that great? I've been there once and it was OK... but that was for lunch. Maybe for dinner, with the wine flowing, it's a beautiful romantic little space. Because really, the appeal of Italian food, no matter how good... is the wine that goes with it!

Laura Linney Blocks Off Long Ridge...

For her Showtime series "The Big C" (C as in cancer) filming in Stamford.

And I'm totally ok with it even though it was tooootally the evening rush hour!

Tuesday, as I was picking up the kid from daycare, the light at Roxbury and Long Ridge was blocked by cops. I figured it was an accident, knowing how fast people drive on that road, but a friend told me via a comment on the blog that she had actually seen a blond woman being filmed in a car that was on a flatbed truck and that it was probably Laura Linney... cool!

So this is a probably, not definitely Laura Linney, but I bet it's right, because none of the characters in the Kevin movie are blond.

Plus Suzy what's her name from the Advocate gossip column said Laura Linney was spotted at- where else?- Napa recently!

I don't want to trash talk Laura Linney in case I actually get to meet her in my set stalking this summer, so I'm just gonna say I could not STAND her character in Love, Actually, which is otherwise the best chick flick/Christmas movie ever.

John C. Reilly Mentions Stamford Karaoke on Daily Show!

I was pleasantly surprised last night during dinner (I wasn't feeling good so was letting John Stewart entertain the toddler) to see John C. Reilly stroll onto the show... and shocked when he mentioned doing karaoke in Stamford CT. It seems like he likes Stamford, if you ask me! Maybe the karaoke crowd was cool, like they let him do his thing and didn't act like a bunch of dorks.

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Photos: Tilda Swinton on "Kevin" Movie Set

Thank you to reader Tim, who sent some great photos of the Springdale movie set of "We Need to Talk about Kevin." I can't believe we may see our very own Dairy Inn (which I've never been to) in a movie! And I am dying to know what they used Vinny's for. Tilda's hair looks long in one of the photos, as opposed to the short cut I saw in some movie stills online.



Click read more to see three more photos.

More Movie News: JCR on Vinny's Roof

My friend reports via text that her husband reports that John C. Reilly was filming on the roof of Vinny's. He's not sure if JCR is still there, but they are still filming. Sigh. I'm stuck here trying to get a toddler to sleep who's climbing all over the furniture while eating Goldfish.

I cannot believe they chose that humble shopping center for this movie shoot. Pretty cool.

Stamford Movie News: We Need to Talk About Kevin

I got emails from readers and friends yesterday letting me know that there was "We Need to Talk About Kevin" movie action in Springdale, but I was way too busy with work and baby to post. (OK, I also squeezed a jog in since I'm doing the C25K program with the iPhone app, then friends came over to watch the Bigger Loser finale on TiVo, then baby was of course a raging lunatic until 10pm because he's working on another ear infection and having friends over had him totally wired. In any case, I never sat down at a computer, and Lord knows Blogger makes it IMPOSSIBLE to blog from your iPhone.)

Anyway, here's the scoop, plus timeline:

Tues 730 pm: Kevin of Always Home and Uncool let me know that Tilda Swinton was filming a scene in front of Dairy Inn in the Springdale shopping center about 6:30 p.m. Evidently they had been there all day. Here's a really terrible pic he sent me. Hey, it's better than nothing!

(My phone was actually screwing up that night. I'm bummed I missed his message because I might have headed over there.)

Wed 8am: My friend emailed me this pic of a fake travel store front RIGHT beside Vinny's, the go-to burger place for people with young kids.


Wed 10:30am: a friend posted on facebook that they were filming INSIDE Vinny's! I'll have to ask them about it next time I go there.

Wed 1:25 pm: Kevin let me know that they were still filming out by the Dairy Inn as of 1 p.m. He didn't see Tilde or JCR. They were setting up a shot with a guy in a wheelchair.

Wed 9pm: a reader posted a link yesterday afternoon on my previous post about my botched attempt to stalk the movie set at it's location at Wright Tech, letting me know they were filming inside CVS Springdale.

It really stinks that I have a JOB, or else I could properly stalk this movie and report back to you! You know, like when I first started this blog. That was an idyllic time. Now I have a JOB, which I love, but it keep me really busy. I'm doing a major (and really cool) writing project with my students, so I'm busy at work keeping track of them, and I need to get myself into bathing suit shape for a friend's wedding in late summer- oh and plus there's my BABY, who can now CLIMB ONTO ALMOST ANYTHING, and he's really fast, so virtually nowhere is safe. I'd be OK with that, but I'm afraid he's going to break his arm like one of our baby friends did. I didn't know that babies could like, break their arms.

Looking forward to this summer, when I'll have a little more brain space for blogging, and the baby and I are going to be out and about a lot, so we should be able to have some adventures.

Just 5 more weeks of school left! It's been a great half-year with my students, actually. They've done some excellent writing, and that always makes me very, very happy.

John C. Reilly Really Sang Karaoke at Black Bear Stamford!!!

Oh my goooooood if I didn't have a really bad cough, I'd laugh out loud.

I am so thankful to the reader who took time out of his day to send me this.

I mean, really, what else is there to say. This picture is fantastic!

I am SO BUMMED I was not there. I think the karaoke might be even cooler than watching DeNiro. I'd trade my DeNiro scene watching for John C. Reilly karaoke singing watching.

John C. Reilly All Over Stamford/Old Greenwich...

... which I think is pretty cool!

My friend saw JCR in Binney Park last Friday (4 days ago). Her son toddled up to him and nearly stole his sandwich.

Cook and Craft, a cookware store in Old Greenwich, tweeted that same day that JCR and Tilda Swinton strolled by their store.

I also hear reports that JCR was at Tigin in Stamford over the past few days, so keep your eyes peeled, people!

Send me your sightings at stamfordtalk (at) gmail (dot) com.
I don't know if I'd get spammed if I wrote out my whole email, but that's how I see the internet folk doin' it.

Actual Star Sighting in Stamford: John C. Reilly!

As my husband and I were driving back from a wedding anniversary dinner at Market (very good!) I saw a guy in a teeny Subaru with his wife and kid in the Bull's Head shopping center.
Me: "I think that's a famous person." I gave him a good stare to be sure (because the other day I thought I saw Montel Williams at Donut Delite on High Ridge and turned out I was wrong) and added excitedly, "That's definitely a famous person! You know, the guy with the curly hair, and big nose? Renee Zellweger killed him in Chicago?"

My husband peered to look and said, "Oh yeah, I know that person. Why is he driving that crappy car?"

Me: "Maybe he's in town filming that Kevin movie?"

I immediately logged on facebook via my iPhone and some helpful people confirmed that the name of the actor is John C. Reilly, and he's filming "We Need to Talk about Kevin" in Stamford. You'll spot some "Base Camp: Kevin" signs around town- I saw one today on W. Broad St. near the hospital. Or somewhere. My life is sort of a blur as I'm constantly exhausted. It was somewhere, that sign, today.

Gotta run take care of the tired, ear-infected, coughing, fussing kid. He's a dear, really, just not when he's reached the end of the night and is fighting sleep.

WHAT Local Biz is Obama Gonna Visit Today?

I have no clue. What ONE local business is worthy of a stop by Obama? Guesses? Umm, Colony Pizza? Ummm, St. Luke's Lifeworks? UBS? RBS?

I need to get a good tip so the baby and I can make a sign that says "We Love Obama"- no- "Kick Butt Barack." Yeah, that's a good message. It expresses my support, rather than unabashed, unconditional love, and encourages him to keep his nose to the grindstone to solve our nation's problems.

If you don't believe I will make a sign, you don't know me at all.

Local Celebs for Whom I'm on the Lookout

This snippet from the Greenwich Time's gossip column made me think about what celebs I need to be keeping a better eye out for: Pound Ridge, N.Y., residents and actors Richard Gere and Carrie Lowell were seen at the Avon Theatre in Stamford on March 31.

I've started a list of local celebs:
Regis Philbin
Gene Wilder
Stephanie Seymour
Tom Bergeron of Dancing With the Stars

Who else should I be looking out for in the Greenwich/Stamford area... besides the visiting celebs who always go to Napa and Co?

Willie Nelson and Billy Bob Thornton in Town Tonight! Eyes Peeled Today!

What the heck? Why haven't *I* ever seen a celeb at Napa?
Last night at 8:21 a reader posted an anonymous tip that Willie Nelson and Billy Bob Thornton were dining at Napa. Seriously, you can't make that up!
Willie is performing tonight at the Palace Theatre. I am stymied by the Billy Bob presence, but- actually, wait- doesn't Billy Bob have an album out? Perhaps he's a guest performer? Yes! I just checked the Palace website. Billy Bob is indeed performing. Awesome. There was some hubbub a few days ago with Billy Bob canceling his performances in Canada and acting crazy on a talk show, so this could be an interesting concert!
Even if you don't go to the show, keep your eyes peeled today in downtown Stamford. You might see Willie or Billy Bob!

I'll be home watching Biggest Loser if the kid cooperates. Baby Stamford Talk goes to sleep anywhere from 8pm to midnight, so we'll see if he feels like letting me watch my fave show.

I Finally Saw DeNiro on Set!

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeay! I finally saw a famous actor on a film set! DeNiro is a surprisingly trim little man, but what I care about is how cool the crew is. They are intense and focused, but they seem like they're happy to be here. They're obviously the best of the best if they’re working with Bob. You know. Bob.

I owe Jorge BIG time for the tip on Everybody's Fine filming at the train station. I didn't go to the station to see the filming; coincidentally, I had to pick up my mom tonight at 630 pm on Amtrak from Virginia. I didn’t see any film crews when I got there, which was OK with me, because it’s easier if I don’t have to finagle my way up to a set and figure out how to justify blowing off the people in my life so I can spend an hour or two doing something totally useless... totally useless, but therefore so very freeing and enjoyable.

My mom’s train was running an hour late, so I plunked down, opened the laptop, did some writing and people-watched. I saw a lady in green stiletto mules reading The Secret, a woman with a gigantic butt licking a popsicle stick (like, a 400 calorie Dove Bar popsicle) and a blonde 8 year old in a white tennis skirt and pink sweater.

Then, I sensed someone striding by faster than normal and carrying no bags. I looked up to see the set manager I had run into when I went to the North Stamford location. I asked where they were filming and he unenthusiastically told me they were in the bus area. (I must seem like a run of the mill hanger on, plus he didn’t know I was there waiting for my mom, so he probably had an Uma Thurman moment.) I zipped on down and picked an unobtrusive place to watch.

The DeNiro double was sitting on a covered bench at a bus stop under I-95. After much waiting and the setting of the sun, the double got the hell out of the way and DeNiro strode on to do his stuff. A fake bus conductor came out, saw DeNiro sitting alone, and told him he missed the bus. Then DeNiro walked off with his rolly suitcase. It looked sad. I feel bad for men waiting for buses alone.

Anyway, it was awesome. Pedestrians didn't mind being rerouted on the way to the station and seemed excited about the movie. Stamford drivers behaved relatively well. The Stamford police on set were deft as ever, balancing the importance of keeping the set organized and safe with being relaxed at a cool event.

I wished I could have stayed longer, but I had to bring my mom (and sister who came home on the 9pm train) home. I wanted to go back out to watch some more, but my husband forbid me because supposedly I’ve been acting bitchy recently because I stay up too late blogging, watching Friday Night Lights and doing crossword puzzles. I love staying up late, and I really wanted to go out again and be outside and watch DeNiro try to catch a bus labeled “Salt Lake City.” But no. I have to wake up at 6am and go make money while maintaining a good mood. Damn you, real life, damn you.

Oh. I totally should have worn my black shirt. I stuck out like a sore thumb in my white tank and cropped seersucker jacket. Since I was being discreet, I didn't take any pics once things got going. The few pics I took could not be worse if I tried. Here is a bad picture of the set, pre-sunset and pre-anything happening:

A few of my other movie posts:

--April 20, 2008- Movie Stars in Town: Let's Keep in Touch!
--April 22, 2008--
Cast YOUR Lot at a Stamford Casting Company
--May 1, 2008--
I Finally Saw Some Movie Action!
--May 2, 2008--
Gray Day, Bad Mood, Everybody's Fine in Stamford
--May 14, 2008--
Everybody's Fine Filming at UConn Stamford