Naomi Watts at The NYC Ballet

                               With photographs by Patrick McMullan www.patrickmcmullan.com

When actors Attack! Naomi Watts & Sarah Jessica Parker go for each other's throats

WHILE  her co-star from the film Edgar, Leonardo DiCaprio is winning hearts and minds in Sydney on the set of The Great Gatsby, Aussie actress Naomi Watts has been hitting the social circuit in New York. Last week she attended the world premiere of Paul McCartney's Ocean Kingdom for the New York City Ballet 2012 Fall Gala, McCartney's first original orchestral score for dance.

Stella McCartney, Naomi Watts, Sarah Jessica ParkerJessica Seinfeld

Apart from Edgar ( a surety for Oscar nominations ) due for release in 2012, Watts has two films due around the same time -The Impossible and Movie 43 a comedy with Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet and Uma Thurmann.

Critics haven't been too kind to McCartney with his first ballet score. The Huff Post says it's "a ballet not much worth cheering" and of the A-List opening night crowd "Every single person in that theater ... is there for one reason -- not for the ballet, because of Paul ".

Paul McCartney & Nancy Shevell

The New York Time's says “Ocean’s Kingdom,” is in no way an important addition to the corpus of ballet music, but it deserves a better staging than the one it’s been given by New York City Ballet."

The New York Observer says : "Ocean’s Kingdom is a fairy story with no subtext, no resonance—it’s not about anything except its water-logged plot. " Ouch!. 

James McCartney & Lorne Michaels

Still, the after party was great fun from all reports and that's what matters to us here on the Shuttle.

Dylan Lauren, Ralph Lauren, Ricky Lauren, David Lauren

The event was a family affair with Paul's kids  Stella McCartney and James there to cheer on their dad's show as was soon-to-be bride Nancy Shevell.
 Also on hand, a host of Laurens with the newly married David Lauren and his dad Ralph Lauren.

Paul McCartney takes a bow at the opening night of Ocean Kingdom

All photographs by Patrick McMullan (C) www.patrickmcmullan.com

Stepping Out in the Big Apple



Rose Byrne



The delectable Aussie export Rose Byrne wearing a delicious pale pink Ralph Lauren  gown was at the uber smart Ciprianos on Wall Street, New York on Thursday evening for a ball to launch this year's New York Fashion Week. Rose arrived on the arm of honorary Aussie citizen actor Liev Shreiber.

No scandal here- Liev did the gentlemanly thing and escorted Rose a good pal of his wife Naomi Watts who had filming commitments and couldn't make the event. Rose is currently filming X-Men: First Class while Naomi is filming the bio-pic J.Edgar  which stars Leo DiCaprio as the famous cross dressing FBI boss J.Edgar Hoover.



On the same night in the same town Geoffrey Rush was being honoured for his role in The King's Speech at a dinner at the 5 star Mandarin Oriental hotel in Columbus Circle. Amongst the gum-leaf mafia were 2 of New York's newest residents Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin who moved to the Big Apple last September so Baz could work on his next project The Great Gastby.

 Luhrmann shot down in flames the recent claim that his movie had been shelved and told the Shuttle's mole that he had 2 studios after the project- Sony and Warner Brothers and that he would be making a decision on which studio to go with as early as the end of next week.The Great Gatsby also stars Leo DiCaprio in the lead role.                                                    

Meanwhile closer to home our gal Jackie Weaver who is being wined and dined from New York to Santa Monica and winning awards on the strength of her Oscar nomination for the film Animal Kingdom  is the recipient of another accolade.

Proudly displayed at the concierge counter at the smart Horizon building in East Sydney where any number of well known Sydneysiders lay their heads including Weaver, a large framed photograph of a beaming Jackie is displayed with a congratulatory note from the building's management.