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Home , Ian Schrager, Reggaeton, Steve Rubell

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but that had no standing at Studio whatsoever. If you’re talking about something from 40 years ago that’s still compelling today then there’s got to be some underlying social reason. Section Section Section m: What about the door policy, the line – it was infamous. Was that something that you and Steve planned or did it just happen and you decided it worked for you? is: It was definitely part of the idea. To me we were trying to do in the public domain what everyone else does in their private domain: to get an alchemy and an energy; we were trying to curate the crowd and we wanted it to Adam Schull be a mixture that had nothing to do with wealth or social

Iamge: standing, it had to do with creating this combustible energy every night. When you are doing a door policy I wasn’t in then but I remember the tail-end that doesn’t have a rational objective criteria other than of that before it was cleaned up; it was very distinctive. instinct, then mistakes get made and people get infuri- TELEVISION / AUSTRIA Here, a rundown of the ladies: It’s a lost analogue world too – if you notice in the film, ated by it but we didn’t understand that because it was the telephones on Ian’s desk are rotary dial and that was really quite honest. You know, a doesn’t have Violent femmes 1. the feeling I wanted to get across with the archive I used. any discernible product that’s different from every other Record numbers of Nicoletta ‘Nico’ Huber I was also astonished by how covered was on nightclub other than the experience that you create there the TV; there was almost constant coverage on the local and part of that is the people. It was instinct and Steve was Austrians are tuning in to Blonde, curvy, single, fast-talking and the Section Section Section only Weib who works outside the home, news right up to Walter Cronkite himself. It showed what a master at it and nobody ever got mad. Most of the time. a television show to enjoy a Nico starts the series by selling counterfeit a major story this was. particularly guilty pleasure. designer clothing in the posh suburban m: What did Studio 54 do for the future of New York? boutique she owns; she gets caught (also m: New York was practically bankrupt in the late mt: The fact that Warhol was there almost every night writer Kimberly Bradley in an affair with a friend’s husband) and 1970s. Was the club a reaction against that? tells you a lot about Studio 54. Warhol put Steve on the it only gets more complex from there. is: Yes. You know what? Every great city has its moment cover of Interview; he had a sense that Studio was import- German television series such Austrian actress Nina Proll works her – Rome had the 1950s, London had the 1960s and in the ant. I think Warhol and Studio are culturally and themat- as Berlin Babylon have generated oddball appeal here to great effect. Gem 1970s it was New York’s time. Everyone who didn’t have ically tied; a harbinger of celebrity culture and all these plenty of hype of late. But in televi- quote: “Sometimes I get so nauseous with roots in the rest of the world rolled in and everyone who things that were coming up in society, the meritocracy. I sion, as with so many other things, myself that I have to vomit.” didn’t have roots on the West Coast rolled in, so New think Warhol loved the randomness of the door; I think Germany’s southern neighbour is York was the epicentre. This gritty city was so much more he loved that Steve was such an unlikely social arbiter often overlooked. One Austria-made 2. bohemian than it is today, everybody wasn’t a hedge-fund and had found this extraordinary role for himself. Ian, series, however, has broken viewing Maria Schneider manager, there was an artistic presence and nobody had you say in the film that Studio was a social experiment records in the country and is ripe for anything to lose – and Studio was a vehicle for that; it and no one is saying that about anything else from 40, 30 binge-watching (and export). At first Maria seems prudish and naive. But things change as she finds out secrets represented an absolute freedom to people, they felt pro- or even 20 years ago. Vorstadtweiber (loose transla- about her neglectful husband (Georg tected and that’s a human ideal. I think even though what tion: “Broads from the Suburbs”) doesn’t fly to Dubai every week after was done at Studio had never been done or seen before is: You see, Matt; when you say that it makes me smile. is Austria’s answer to Desperate all). Maria is easily the most surprising and we hit the level of sophistication that we’d aimed for Housewives, launching with a bang character and, as the episodes unfold, her there was also an element of being the right guys, willing m: Ian, is the film that rare thing: a fitting tribute to in 2015 and just finishing its third passive aggression turns active: let’s just to take the chance, to break the rules and being in the your best friend? season on ORF, the Austrian state say Georg ends up in a wheelchair and right place at the right time. is: Yes, I think it is; there were things in there that Steve broadcaster. The so-awful-it’s-great it’s not an accident. Actress Gerti Drassl might have felt very exposed about and might not have series’s first season saw 30 per cent won a German Acting Prize for her role as Maria in 2017. m: What about Studio 54 in the context of the city? liked but I think the film was very, very well done and I audience share, the best for any show You are also telling the story of a specific period in enjoyed my connection with it and I’m sure Steve would in Austria in 20 years (ratings since New York’s history, right? feel the same way. then are down a bit but more than 3. mt: Absolutely but I hadn’t really thought about it that 800,000 Austrians still watch the Waltraud ‘Walli’ Steinberg way until I started to unpack the story. I certainly knew Studio 54 will be released on 15 June show each week; Austria has around Walli is the toughest talking character with FILM / USA said about Studio 54 and there’s even been a feature film that 54th Street around 8th Avenue was a sleazy part of eight million people). The show is a a big dose of entitlement: she says she about it. I think when it comes to documentary, a gift is the city then but I didn’t know how bad a neighbourhood hit even in Germany, which, for an has a noble title but delivers the juiciest, a story that people think they know but they don’t really it was, how unlikely it would be to open a major nightclub Austrian production, is practically most streetwise lines. After her estranged know and this falls into that category. What defined the on that particular block. For me, the time travel back to unheard of. husband Josef sends her beloved horse project for me was not making a film out of newspaper a New York where a part of Midtown was dangerous and Written by Uli Brée, Vorstadt- away to be made into meat, she plots inferno clips or reminiscences of people with bold-face names Clockwise from a risky place to make a big investment and stake all your weiber is a mix of soap opera, comedy revenge – all the while having an affair back in the 1970s. I wanted to get it from Ian because Ian top left: Schrager dreams was interesting. A major theatre from the early and drama – but where it shines with Maria’s teenage son. But it’s not Walli We’ve all heard of Studio 54 – but have we heard the truth? A documentary, created it with Steve and it was his perspective that I was leads Bianca 20th century was just sitting empty, all this is part of a is in its satire of Viennese culture. who kills Josef. Actress Maria Köstlinger is interested in. It’s really him that’s telling you the story Jagger’s birthday fascinating story about the evolution of New York and its The complex social hierarchies of perfect in the role. produced in collaboration with co-founder , promises to set the without the help of Diana Ross or Liza Minnelli chiming horse through the urban decline in the 1970s but there was a cultural rise the wealthy Viennese and Austria’s “I think 4. record straight. We spoke to him and the film’s director about the club’s legacy. in. I cared much less about what their experience was, I club; Liza Minnelli, happening at the same time. Warhol real-life political intrigues are here cared what Ian and Steve’s experience was. Jagger, Warhol and in utterly exaggerated, fictionalised Caroline ‘Caro’ Melzer Halston; Grace writer Robert Bound m: And it took two guys from Brooklyn to do it? and Studio splendour. Viewers can also enjoy Jones mid-party; Caro is the youngest housewife, married m: And there’s a lovely texture in the film with all mt: Well, there was another thing going on: the old aris- the sweeping views of the beautiful “Disco Sally” in 54 are to Hadi, the oldest husband, a banker who Studio 54 is the definitive new documentary telling the him before when he was at Vanity Fair writing architec- the TV news footage that puts it into its era so well. action; Schrager tocracy of Edith Wharton and Henry James novels was on culturally city and the dead-on – and often left his wife for her. Delicately beautiful story of the New York nightclub that opened in 1977 and ture and design stories and I trusted him. I was com- mt: Yes, I wanted to have it feel like the period and the and ; its way out and the meritocracy was on its way in, which and hilarious – Viennese dialect. and played by Vienna-born actress enjoyed just three years of life – but which continues to fortable with Matt and with John Battsek [the film’s period’s so distinctive. In movie terms I think of films modern-day gave a great opening for people like Ian and Steve who Those who stick out the first Martina Ebm, she’s the hardest nut to influence everything from nightlife and hospitality to producer]. Because I’d been quiet for so long a lot of like The French Connection and Taxi Driver – all that grit. Schrager wereComment smart guys from Brooklyn. They went from obscu- thematically Review five episodes (season one starts crack but slowly grows up over the two celebrity culture and even city-planning and regenera- people had taken liberties with what happened but Steve rity to become kings of the city or, as Bob Colacello, my tied; a slowly) are treated to bizarre plot first seasons. Caro, who we discover grew tion. Founded by Ian Schrager and the late Steve Rubell and I were the only ones who really knew. I might as well Vanity Fair colleague, said, “No, kings of the world”. New twists, secrets that take whole sea- up on a farm, isn’t nearly as dumb as she – two unlikely fresh princes from Brooklyn – the club tell an accurate, truthful version. York allowed that to happen. Also, Studio 54 is a story harbinger sons to uncover, murders, gigolos, first appears. blazed like a beacon in a bankrupt, dangerous and dirty of adaptive re-use, taking something that was no longer of celebrity a grandma on the lam and general New York. The party ended in a debacle as Schrager and m: Truthful in terms of your’s and Steve’s legacy useful to the city in its original context as an opera house culture and treachery culminating in – spoiler 5. Rubell were investigated by the IRS and jailed for fraud. and the rough legal fallout with the club? and then as a TV studio and then Ian and Steve – princi- all these alert – all five of the main female Sabine ‘Sabi’ Herold Both were later pardoned by president in is: I am still embarrassed with what happened and have pally Ian because he was in charge of design and concept characters in jail together at the end 2017. Ahead of the documentary’s release, we spoke to trouble talking about it with my family; it impacts me still – ended up being definitive for what you could call the things of season one (they get out and two Dumped and kicked out of the posh Schrager and the film’s director Matt Tyranauer to cele- in business today. It was kept very close to home. A cata- urbanism of New York – that ripple effect that we’re still that were Review fall pregnant in season two). Then villa she once shared with her straying brate some myths and debunk others. lyst was that, after 40 years, there was so much continued feeling today. there’s a new young chancellor in husband, Sabine lives in a garden shed coming up and works odd jobs as a cleaning lady or fascination among people with that happened at Studio. season three. It’s all supposed to be in society” in catering until she meets Bertram, a monocle: Ian, you’re maybe the only person in the There was something about it that was still so alluring for is: It’s an interesting thing with the idea of the meritoc- soapy satire but it might be art imi- German who is a lobbyist in Austria (but world who hasn’t been that interested in telling the people, like a social phenomenon. racy and aristocracy; I always felt that they resented the tating life in Austria, just a little. is really cooking up corrupt deals). Played definitive story of Studio 54 – why now? feeling that they had no standing at Studio in terms of Anyone with a special connec- by German actress Adina Vetter, Sabine’s ian schrager: It probably took 40 years to heal the m: Matt, we associate that time with a swashbuck- getting in; that being wealthy and powerful gave you no tion to Vienna, its people and its wily ways emerge fast once she moves out wound; I still have the scar but I feel a little bit better ling, maverick era in New York. Is that what you standing when it came to Studio. I always felt that the politics will find this a guilty plea- of the shed. By the end of season one she about it. I just decided that I wanted to go on record, to found? Wells Weston resentment by all those big shots found its way to an Review sure. The “broads” are sometimes has an important government job. Sabi’s set the record straight. I wanted my kids to know what matt tyrnauer: I didn’t have any preconceived notion institutional outlet with us getting into trouble. I mean, caricatures but… it’s still hard to let best line: “Austria is an ass and Vienna is happened and I wanted to tell the story with my own of the story but Ian’s reluctance to talk during all these Allan Tennebaum we were guilty, we did things wrong but there was such a go. It’s Melrose Place decades later, in the hole, and here we are, two Germans, surrounded by haemorrhoids.” voice. I had known Matt a long time and worked with years was to my benefit. So much has been written and Photographer: Image: groundswell of resentment from people who ran society Austria. Servus.

Every single song in the Colombian top 10 1. feat. Ozuna feat. FILM / GLOBAL FILM / GLOBAL is a blockbuster, with several million views That Summer Time Trial and listens across all the major streaming 2. feat. X platforms. The rise and rise of 3. Nio Garcia feat. Darell Te Bote LISTEN directed by Göran Hugo Olsson directed by Finlay Pretsell and was one of the big stories 4. Zion Y Lennox La Player in the music industry last year due to the 5. Dura Monocle 24: Our writer Robert Bound writer Robert Bound incredible success of “”. 6. Wolfine feat. MalumaBella round-the-clock radio 7. Sebastian Yotra feat. Lary Over The top 10 boasts a few homegrown service and audio Colombian acts but the star of the show feat. Luis FIgueiroa Por Perro To know Grey Gardens, Albert Maysles’ original delve under David Millar was a hot young British cyclist before MUSIC / GLOBAL COUNTDOWN platform, serving up great the hysteria and wisteria of Montauk royalty the Beales, was Wiggins and Froome took the titles and accolades. He here is , which I like to call the 8. feat. Paulo Londra Te Amo to love it. Now the director of The Black Power Mixtape has won stages of the big tours (France, , Italy) and was The sounds of Sweden of when it comes 9. Greeicy Mas Fuerte tracks and top- got his skilful hands on some more archive footage and away a definite contender until he was busted and suspended to music because of the incredible number 10. J Balvin Ambiente programmes. For more we go to the grand yet increasingly pestilent Beales palace. for doping in 2004. This strange, beguiling and hypnotic of artists and music producers, who come Fernando’s recommendations film, art and music tune Olsson’s film is topped-and-tailed by the artist Peter Beard, at film – helped along by a stupendous electronic soundtrack Fernando Augusto Pacheco from the small island. There for your playlist: in to The Monocle Culture first handsomely at play among the dunes with Lee Radziwill, from Dan Deacon – spends time strapped to Millar’s han- are seven Puerto Rican acts in the top 10. *Greeicy’s “Mas Fuerte” is the kind of Show, premiering live on the Jaggers and a childlike, non-urban , and dlebars as he careers down mountain passes in the rain; gets totally tropical. Music-wise, the Colombian chart is song that grabs your ear and means you Mondays at 19.00 gmt. later in reminiscence of it as an old dude still making collage records him bunking-down with team-mates and snatch- a mix of sexualised reggaeton and more might well be caught along after photographs with mud and blood and memories of youth and ing a chat with the peloton as he sweats upwards and classic Latin American ballads. Colombian hearing it a few times. Lend us your ears. Africa. In between are Little Edie and Big Edie, fractious, onwards inevitably for weeks, going mad in the process. megastar J Balvin features on two songs, *An example of pure reggaeton, “Dura” monocle.com/radio funny, eventually wearisome. More art and we’d have had a Millar himself is an impish guide: quotable, smart and a the first one with Nicky Jam (who is by Daddy Yankee is addictive. This masterpiece. What we get is to slip through a crack in time and bit of a two-wheeled Icarus who got to tell the tale rather also singing the official anthem of this earworm is from the same man who take a holiday on the weird side, halfway between Studio 54’s than sink in the sea. A beautiful and unusual addition to year’s World Cup in Russia) and his new sang with on “Despacito”. mainstays and the old world that it was railing against. the canon of sport on film. tropical-infused single “Ambiente”.

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