6 the review DGR THE TIMES Saturday October 30 2010 THE TIMES Saturday October 30 2010 DGR the review 7 It’s notpossibletopredict what form the literary ephemera of our greatest writers will take.Will we ever gaze back on streams of America underthe lens ‘‘tweets, or threads of Facebook statusupdates? Alex Clark, Books, page 9

TERRY RICHARDSON /ART PARTNER; GLOBE PHOTOS /ALPHA; NEW YORK TIMES”/REDUX /EYEVINE; LENNOX MCLENDON /AP Hotpants, blazersand ‘Anythingand sexism —insidethe real everything worldofHarvard clubs PHOTOMONTAGE: SCOUT TUFANKJIAN /POLARIS; BIG PICTURES Howaccurate is TheSocialNetwork? can, anddoes, Hermione Hoby hustles herway into Harvard’sfinalclubs t’smidnightinCambridge,Massachu- happen here’ setts, and lights are flashingfromthe windows of aporticoedtownhouse, while Lady Gaga blasts through its 104-year-oldwalls. Twoyoung I women trot up the steps to the door, whichisopenedbyanimprobablytall Twonew filmsare takingusbehindthe velvet youngman inablazer. Once inside, they removetheir to reveal tiny hotpants and cropped ropeofAmerica’s mostsecretive establishments tops. Ahead of them liesagrand sweeping staircase, aseriesofwood-panelledrooms —its narrowturrets and black spiresrise done in real lifebefore him. The character andaswathofmeninchinos,loafersandOx- John Belushi and out of the exotic foliage above the Sunset wasnodoubt partly inspiredbythe so- ford . It’s party night at Harvard’sOwl Strip likesome diabolical vampire’slair. called“HollywoodHellcats”whotookover Club,one of the eight exclusive all-male Helmut Newton Which,in away,itis. the placeafewyears back, when Lindsay societiesknownas“finalclubs”(undergrad- “Every room in the Chateau feels like Lohanwasapermanent—andpermanent- uateclubs). The codeisWhiteTrash diedthere,Led someone diedinit... probably because ly strung-out—resident,and aderanged —butapparentlyonlyforthewomen. someonedid,”ishow aBritishscreenwriter reportedly sat in the dining Thesesemi-secretclubshavealwayshad going clubbing Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, made Zeppelin rode their friend of mine put it (he didn’t want to use room one night and smearedher entrée all acertain mystique, but this year they are famous by The Social Network;Jesse Eisenberg, whoplayed his name forfear of makingitontothe overherface,forwhichshewasthrownout. subjecttoparticularscrutiny, thankstoThe Mark Zuckerberg in the film; and The OwlClub hotel’s blacklist, which is supposedly cross- Somewhere,ofcourse, is aredemptive Social Network,David Fincher and Aaron Harleysthrough W referencedatcheck-in, alongsidemug- story, because even artfilms madebythe Sorkin’s fast-pacedtale about the creation shots of well-known tabloid reporters and Oscar-winningdaughters of famous direc- of Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg, the ‘There wasstuff about Harvard itscorridorsand paparazzi). torsmustadheretocertainsaleableconven- website’sfounder,isportrayedasasocial hen Jean-Paul Sartre wrotethat famous And yetheadded:“It’s also one of those tions. Hence the plot involvesJohnnyget- outsider,obsessedwith gainingentryto final line of his, “L’enfer c’est les autres”(“Hell is placesthat’s completelyunique.Ye s,it’s un- tinganunexpectedvisit from his 11-year- oneof theseancientandelitistsocieties. handcuffingpeople nowSofia Coppola other people”), it wasobvious that he had friendly.Yes,it’sas***hole when youget olddaughter,playedbyElle Fanning, and Right now we are in the midst of “punch clubs neverbeento theChateauMarmont. pastthe lobby. But to me, it’s one of the being“forcedtolookatthequestionsevery season”, the recruitingperiod when to akeg of beer and is layingbare Hell, afterall, has far more in common strangest,mostbeautifulspotsin LA.” father has to confront”, before emerginga students go to extraordinarylengths to Porcellian(1791) with Hollywood’smostnotorious hotel, AllofwhichhelpstoexplainwhytheCha- different man,orsothefilm’s blurbgoes. gain admission to the clubs. There are they have to finish it Theoldestfinal Hollywood’s home built in 1927 as an apartment complex, but teau, located at 8225Marmont Lane in the But while guestsmight be able to change plentyofyoungmen who would dearly club.Urbanlegend quickly transformedduringthe Great lower Hollywood Hills, has found itself the their ways, usually beginningwith atrip to love to be where Iamnow —insideThe before they canleave’ saysthatif Depression intoaflophouse forthe rich, co-star of Somewhere,Sofia Coppola’s new the checkout desk in the lobby(nextto Owl —and, lookingaround, it’s obvious they have to finishitbefore they canleave membersdon’t of hedonism, the petulant and morbidly overindulged— movie, which premieredthis week at the those stacks of Variety and their rehab- why. Three girls have “Censored” stickers the room.”Isheproud of having belonged earnamillionby which it remains to this day, almosta BFI London Film Festival (having already inducingbox-office figures), there is no across their breasts. Another takes aswig to the club?There’salongpause. He says, age40, theclubwill Chateau Marmont. centurylater. wonthe Golden Lion at the 67th Venice such hope forthe establishment itself. No, from an industrial-sizedbottle of vodka finally: “There are certainly ways in which giveittothem. TheChateau isn’t so much aplaceto stay InternationalFilmFestival). the Chateau, with its heavy tile floors, while repeating: “I’m not even goingto I’m happyIjoined, but the whole thing is a Fly(1836) By ChrisAyres in LosAngelesasaholdingfacility; astop- Theotherco-starisStephenDorff,inthe oppressive wood and almosttoo peaceful remember this in the morning!” Sorkin has bitquestionable.” Thesecondoldest, overonthefasttracktoeternaldamnation. role of JohnnyMarco,atypically unre- garden café —itoffers the promise of food, been criticisedoverthe film’s sexism, much Later, in the Thirsty Scholar,the pub in knownforits It even looks evil: modelledafter the strainedChateau guest who drinks, eventually,ifanyone canbearsedtoget it of which residesinthe final clubs and their which Zuckerberg gets dumpedinThe rugby/soon-to-be Château d’Amboise in the Loire Valley in smokesand humps his wayaround those —isbeyondanykindofmoral salvation. hyper-sexualisedparties. Onesceneshows Social Network’s openingscene, agroup of WallStreetset. France —with touchesofmedieval Gothic thick-walledcorridors likesomanyhave It might now be ownedbyAndré Balazs, female guestsstrippingonatable postgraduatestudents sit around atable. I F. D.Roosevelt thetannedandslickhotelier—alsothepro- surrounded by whoopingyoungmen. tell one of them that I’m goingtotry to get wasamember. prietor of NewYork’sMercer Hoteland Sorkin insistedthat he wassimply depict- intoafinal club party that night —what A.D.(1836) SunsetBeachintheHamptons—butthere ingwhatheknewto betrue. wouldhisadvicebe?Lookingmeintheeye, Beganasahighly ismorehopeofbanishingsinitselffromthe Harvard severedits tieswith these hesays,grimly:“Lookvulnerable.” secretivesociety, Sunset Strip than changingthis hotel’s na- archaic clubs in 1984 to comply with anti- Ithink of this later that night when I’m knownasthe ture. Unless the Devil stamps his feet hard sexdiscriminationlegislation.(Untilnotso insideThe Owl, takinginthe party.Asthe “Haidee”,afterthe enough to cause the foundations to crack longago,clubs also did not admit black, girls in the hotpants I’d seen earlier taketo collegeboat. and fall intoaseismic abyss, the Chateau Jewish, gay or disabledmen either.) This the dancefloor,dozens of youngmen Delphic(1848) will foreverbethe placewhere money, means that the clubs are independent and whoop them on. Acrowd gathers around a Foundedby J. P. rabidly grindinggirl-boy-girl sandwich. Morganfromanold I’m shufflingawkwardly onthe edge of the fraternitywhen JimMorrisonofthe Three girls have mêlée when, unannounced, aman starts blackballedbyhis ramminghishipsintomefrombehind.AsI firstchoice.A Doors triedtouse a ‘Censored’ stickers lookup, Imeet the stare of the Arnie soccer-jockclub. Hammer lookalike, who’s sayingsome- Spee(1852) drainpipe to swing across theirbreasts. thingtohis friend as he frowns at me. I Thefirstclub leave. toaccept from theroofintohis Another swigsfrom Outside,thereismusiccomingfromThe African-Americans, Fly near by,the second oldest of the final andisopento room —and missed abottleofvodka clubs. Twoburly youngmen answer the JewishandCatholic fameandtemptation gettogetherinHolly- are exemptfromthe university’s door and Ifib my wayin. Forsome reason members.It’sstill woodto do verybadthings. supervision. they think that I’m afriend of someone consideredthe LikemanyAngelenos, I’vehad my own The combinedvalue of the eight final calledKrauss. mostdiverse. fair share of Chateau Marmont clubs’mansions, all basedaround Mount The Fly proves even grander than The Phoenix-SK experiences.Theonethatmoststicksinthe AuburnStreet,isthought to be roughly Owl. Aman namedTeddy takes me on a (1897) mindiswhenItookmygirlfriend,nowwife, £20 million. Early in the day, as the photo- tour,proudly gesturingacross ahuge Hasareputationfor to aparty thrown by HBO forthe 2004 grapher and Iskirtthe impressively grand book-lined, wood-panelledden, in which a parties.Facebook Golden Globes. Walkingintothe hillside buildings, this strikes me as aconservative fewyoungmen, all lookinglikeRalphLau- co-founder driveway,guarded (as usual) by radio- estimate. ren models, are smokingondeep brown EduardoSaverin wired bouncers, we were greeted by a At The Owl Club,ayoungman emerges leather sofas by alog fire. They are all in wasamember. doubled-over“Stop”signand acar-shaped who looks uncannily likeArmie Hammer, chinos, loafers, shirts and , except Fox(1898) dent in aretainingwall, nexttowhich fresh who in the film playsthe Winklevoss twins forone stocky man in ared dress —some Formermembers flowershadbeenplaced. —Olympic rowers from awealthyfamily sortofforfeit. Even in aflimsy frock he T. S.EliotandBill Hours before, we soon learnt, who are, of course, members of one of the exudes the same aggressive assurance as Gatesboostits Newton, the photographer — clubs.He pusheshischinintheairandasks: his friends. They frown at me. “This is statusasatheatrical noted fordismembering achicken in ajew- “Can Ihelp you?” Isay I’m writinganarti- Krauss’s friend,” tells them, by way andintellectualclub. elleryad, amongother things —had cle. “It’snot our policytotalk about it,” he ofexplanation. Owl(1896) emergedfromthe subterranean carpark, says. Asimilar response comesfroma Afterawhile Isneak upstairs, to awood- The“PhiDelta Psi inexplicably flooredthe accelerator,and tweed-clad Boris Johnson lookalike panelledhall, empty despitethe music Club”became“Owl” crateredintothe landscapingright there, namedFelix, whosweeps out of the door of blaringthrough it. Ihaven’t seen one in1916.Edward M. dyingatthe wheel. No one knew the hows the Porcellian Club and meets inquiries woman and,ever scaredthat Krauss might Kennedywas a or whys, although with Newton being 83 it with amechanical, repeated:“Iamnot at show up and declare me no friend of his, I member. wasthought that he had sufferedaheart libertytosay.” retreatdownstairsandletmyselfout. attack.Thepartywentonregardless. establishment’s history:Howard Hughes longest paparazzi lenses. It’s still the case isalready threeorfourcocktails in. there with her son. Indeed, Wainwright “She waslearningascript,”hesaid. do disturb Theveryexistenceof theclubsinfuriates Newton, of course, wasbynomeans the spying on poolsideactressesfromthe attic that “anything and everythingcan happen Ofcourse,therearethosewhoclaimthat still fondly remembers nearly drowning in “Then shegoes, ‘OhmyGod, what hap- Clockwise from asectionofthestudentpopulation.Sabrina firstcelebritytobid adieuatthe Chateau. with prism binoculars; Greta Garbo not here and does”, as the author A.M. Homes, theChateau,inspiteofalltheseidiosyncra- thepoolasachild,onlytobesavedbyBetty penedtoyour face?’ Isaid to her,‘What do : Kim Gharib Leelastyear wroteanarticle in a Some22yearsearlier,in1982,JohnBelushi, leaving her room fordays; Vivien Leigh, who livedthere, observed. That same level sies,isstillwaytoocorporatethesedays,pri- Buckley,star at the time of hit television youmean?’ And shesaid, ‘Did yougo Kardashian, campus magazine detailinghorrifying the SaturdayNight Live comedian, diedin Laurence Olivier’s former wife, covering of privacyismaintainedinside, hence the marily thanks to the buyout by Mr Balazs seriesEightisEnough. through acar windscreen?’ Inearly went photographed experiencesatclub parties. “Writingthat Bungalow No.3from what the LA coroner everysurface in Suite5Dwith picturesof sub-zerotemperature of the stafftowards backin1990. Still,asidefromafewdiehards,theupdat- f***ingmad.” by Terry article,”she says, “tunedmeintohow termed“acutecocaineandheroinintoxica- herformerhusband... thosewithnon-billboard faces. Iremember once goinguptothe joss- ed,more luxurious Marmont doesn’t Having such unschooledstaffcan also Richardson; powerfulthese institutions are and how tion”. He wasallof 33yearsold. Thereisnosuggestion,ofcourse,thatthe The comforts forhard-living celebrities stick-scentedroomofanunhappyrockstar appear to have put offthe A-listclientele. work to guests’ advantage, however.Take Gnarls Barkley in scaredpeople are to talk about it.”One Earlier in the night,hehad hungout in hotel encouragessuch insanity. It simply don’tend there: foryears it waspossible to —with whom Iwas workingatthe time on Over recent weeks, sightings have includ- my Britishscreenwriter friend, forexam- front of a source describedbeinggropedinthe dark hisroomwith Robin Williams,whoreport- attractsthat type of individual and does its smoke insidethe lounge area, thanks to a awritingproject—andlisteningtoatirade ed everyone from Bono to Radiohead’s ple. Notlongago he neededtoorganise a bungalow; a and beingatpartieswhere pornplayedon edly told him, jokingly: “If youeverget up best,withinthelaw, to accommodatethem. possiblymade-upbylawthatallegedly des- about the yuppieswith iPhoneswho had ThomYorkeandScarlettJohansson. stag party forawealthyfilm producer,so poolside scene large-screentelevisions. again, call.”RobertDeNirohad also The design of the entrance and the garage ignated it an outdoor area. Drunkenness is infestedthelobby, killingitsvibe. It’s almostimpossibletogo thereandnot he touredaround afew of the city’sfiner from the new Menare inhibited about speakingout droppedbybuthadn’tstayed. —inwhich apristine burgundy Morgan+4 more or less inevitable thanks to the speed Herroom, incidentally,was shabbyand meetsomebodyfamous.Whenacolleague establishments,tryingto bookasuite. SofiaCoppola againstthe clubs because, Leesays: There have been several near-deaths at is alwaysparked —makes it possible to of the kitchen, which typically won’tman- quitebare,andnotwhatyoumighthaveex- turnedupfor adrink recently,for example, All of them actedwith extreme suspi- film Somewhere; “There’sawidespreadbeliefthatpeopleare the Chateau, too. F. ScottFitzgerald had a enterandleavebeyondthesightofeventhe age to deliveramain course until the diner pected forthe nearly $1,000 (£630) anight. shetookaseat in the lounge to wait forher cion,however,notwantingtoplayhosttoa LedZeppelin, in onlycritical of finalclubsifthey don’tgetin small heartattackthere before he died But that wasn’t whythis particular rock’n’ friend and studiedthe facesaround her group of rowdy, boozed-up men. The 1969 to them.”The clubs are also one of the few from abigger one in 1940; later,inthe rollercheckedout indisgust. while listeningtothe pianistinthe corner Chateauwasdifferent. places where students under 21 canget 1960s, JimMorrison of the Doors usedup “This placeusedtobeway more of a tinkleoutafewoldjazzstandards. “They took me straight up to the pent- alcohol. what he called“the eighth of my nine lives” s***hole,”she complained. “A proper Foramoment,she couldn’t believethat house and said, ‘Isthis forabachelor Eventually,Idomanage to speak to a when he attemptedtouse adrainpipe to s***hole.Ilikedit muchbetterthen.” shedidn’t recognise asingle person. But party?’ Isaid, ‘Well, yeah’. So the guy took former club member overthe phone who, swingfromthe roof intohis room window There’scertainlysometruthtotheallega- then the piano player stoppedand turned me to one sideand said, ‘Look, youknow again, is at pains to remain anonymous. He —andmissed.Onyetanothernotoriousoc- tionthattheChateauisalittlelesspurgato- around...It wasJeffGoldblum. we’vegot abackentrance, don’tyou? If describesthe initiation ritual of “being casion, the members of Led Zeppelin rode rial than it usedtobe. Imean, granted,the ButeveniftheChateau’s notadumpany- there’sanything, um, in particularthat you punched” as “really overblown —drawn their motorcyclesthrough the lobbyasa hotelwasalwayshigh-end,andinthe1940s more, and even if the celebritiesare now want to bringuptoyour room, justlet us outto seemimportant”. Afterhavinghand- prank, causingsignificant damage but, it took overthe housingdevelopment next moreHollywoodthanrock’n’roll,theplace know’. Ipresume he meant strippers. Or writteninvitations slippedunder their amazingly,nofatalities. And John Frus- door —hence the nine cottagesand four canstillbeas infuriatingasiteverwas—as thatkindofthing.” doors, “punchees”,heexplains, attend four ciante, the former guitaristwith the Red checking out bungalows(No.2hostedthefirstreadingof Gordon Ramsaydiscoveredwhen he Andwasthereanything,um...inparti- orfive events foreachclub they’retrying to HotChili Peppers, also nearly killedhim- Officers remove RebelWithout aCause)—makingiteven stayed there forayear whilebringing Hell’s cularhe neededtobringuptotheroom? get into. There are grim rituals: “There was self with speedballs (the same mixture fa- the body of posher still. But by the 1960s and 1970sit Kitchen to America. When he firstordered “That’s the beautyofthe Chateau,”my stuffabout people beinglocked in aroom vouredbyBelushi)whilearesidentthere. John Belushi had fallen far enough forhippiessuch as room service, he told me, the waitress who friendreplied.“Noonewilleverknow.” and having the same music played to them All this is in addition to the justplain from Bungalow 3 Kate McGarrigle, the Canadian folk singer cametohisroomkeptmumblingunderher Somewhereopens nationwidefrom foralongperiod of time,”herecalls. “Or weirdness of other gueststhroughout the in 1982 and mother of Rufus Wainwright,tocrash breath,untilhefinallyconfrontedher. December10 handcuffingpeople to akeg of beer and