FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 Leo Potma

Aachen art “The Great Virtuoso from Amsterdam: Jacob Adriaensz Backer (1608/09-1651)” shows about 40 paintings and 20 drawings by the Dutch painter. Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum March 12-June 7 % 49-241-4798-00 www.jacob-backer.de Amsterdam design “Animal-Inspired Bags” presents bag designs based on animals, including work by Beverly Feldman and Corine Haacke. Museum for Bags and Purses—Tassenmuseum Hendrikje March 16-Aug. 23 % 31-20-5246-452 www.tassenmuseum.nl Antwerp art “Goya, Redon, Ensor—Grotesque Paint- ings and Drawings” shows a selection of works by the three painters. Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten March 14-June 14 % 32-3-2387-809 www.kmska.be fashion “Paper Fashion” showcases a collec- tion of 1960s paper dresses from the Atopos collection. Modemuseum Until Aug. 16 % 32-3-4702-770 www.momu.be

Berlin Private collection, photo: Lars Engelhardt/Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde art ‘Karin and Esbjörn’ (1909), by Carl Larsson, in Stockholm; above, leopard skin handbag made in Botswana, 1962, by an unknown designer, on show in Amsterdam. “The Art of Interpretation—Italian Re- productive Prints from Mantegna to Carracci” shows drawings, paintings, works by Irish artist James Coleman www.ok-centrum.at by the Irish born painter (1909-1992). exhibits photography by Swedish printing plates and faience works. (born 1941), featuring works from the Museu Nacional del Prado photographer Bengt Wanselius Kupferstichkabinett 1970s up to the early 2000s. Ljubljana Until April 19 (born 1944). Until June 14 Irish Museum of Modern Art archaeology % 34-91-3302-800 Dansmuseet % 49-30-2662-951 March 7-April 26 “Pre-Columbian Mexico: Eternal Life” www.museodelprado.es Until April 19 www.smb.museum % 353-1-6129-900 brings together some of the most im- % 46-8-4417-650 www.modernart.ie portant archaeological finds recently Paris www.dansmuseet.nu art discovered in Mexico. archaeology “Picturing America: Photorealism in Edinburgh Cankarjev dom Cultural and “The Gates of Heaven—Visions of art the 70s” presents 32 large-scale real- photography Congress Centre the World in Ancient Egypt” is a ma- “Carl Larsson” presents 100 works ist paintings by 17 artists. “Helmand: Faces of Conflict” presents March 10-July 24 jor exhibition of 350 ancient Egyp- by the Swedish artist Carl Larsson Deutsche Guggenheim a series of haunting portraits showing % 386-1241-7299 tian artifacts in their social, religious (1853-1919). Until May 10 British soldiers in the Helmand prov- www.cd-cc.si and artistic context. Prince Eugens Waldemarsudde % 49-30-2020-930 ince of Afghanistan by photographer Musée du Louvre Until May 31 www.deutsche-guggenheim.de Robert Wilson. London Until June 29 % Building 46-08-5458-3700 National War Museum, art % 33-1-4020-5050 www.waldemarsudde.se Bonn Edinburgh Castle “Gerhard Richter Portraits” shows por- www.louvre.fr photography Until Jan. 31, 2010 traits by the German artist Gerhard Turin “Czech Photography of the 20th Cen- % 44-131-2257-534 Richter (born 1932) from the 1960s to art film tury” exhibits photographs by Czech www.nms.ac.uk the present. “Italian Primitives” displays 50 “Rodolfo Valentino: The Seduction artists, ranging from avant-garde to National Portrait Gallery works by Italian masters of the of the Myth” pays tribute to the Ital- photojournalism. Until May 31 13th, 14th and 15th centuries. Frankfurt ian-American actor (1895-1926). Kunst- und Austellungshalle art % 44-20-7306-0055 Musée Jacquemart-André a new look Museo Nazionale del Cinema March 13-July 26 “Darwin: Art and the Search for Ori- www.npg.org.uk March 11-June 21 Until May 24 % 49-228-9171-0 gins” exhibits 150 paintings, drawings % 33-1-4562-1159 % 39-011-8138-564 www.kah-bonn.de and lithographs by artists with an in- Maastricht www.musee-jacquemart-andre.com www.museonazionaledelcinema.org terest in the natural sciences. art Big-name architects Budapest Schirn Kunsthalle “Jordaens—The Making of a Master- Sofia art Until May 3 piece” exhibits the restored master- film Vienna “A Land of Myths—The Art of Gustave % 49-69-2998-820 piece ‘The Tribute Money: Peter Find- “Sofia International Film Festival design start designing fashion Moreau” displays 120 works by the www.schirn-kunsthalle.de ing the Silver Coin in the Mouth of 2009” shows more than 100 fea- “Jean Prouvé: The Poetics of the French symbolist painter (1826-1898) the Fish” by Flemish Baroque painter ture films, 30 documentaries and Technical Object” presents furniture depicting mythological figures. Linz Jacob Jordaens (1593-1678). two programs of short films. and architecture by the French de- Museum of Fine Arts art Bonnefanten Museum Sofia International Film Festival signer. Until May 3 “Biennale Cuvée 09” showcases a se- March 13-June 14 March 5-March 15 Hofmobiliendepot % 36-1-4697-100 lection of artistic projects from the % 31-43-3290-190 % 359-2952-6467 March 11-June 21 www.szepmuveszeti.hu most important international biennials www.bonnefanten.nl www.cinema.bg/sff/2009/eng % 43-1-5243-357 of 2008. www.hofmobiliendepot.at Dublin OK Center for Contemporary Art Madrid Stockholm art Until April 26 art photography Source: ArtBase Global Arts News “James Coleman” shows a selection of % 43-732-7841-780 “Francis Bacon” presents 78 paintings “Stockholm—Tokyo and in between” Service, WSJE research. Choreographer Jonathan Burrows Behind the scenes of ‘Watchmen’ W16 FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 | WEEKEND JOURNAL v Taste 8-9 | Cover story Fashion 10-11 | Food & Drink A difficult love affair with Barolo U2’s Latest Experiment in Sound Contents Building a new look 3 | Fashion Sibling rivalry makes great liqueur By Jim Fusilli U2 adds dance beats to fatten the known Caller.” In some songs, the tained guitar. “Unknown Caller” forgiveness where forgiveness is groove on “Achtung Baby” (1991), most prominent lines are played develops patiently to a big cho- not/Only the lamb as white as Big-name architects 12 | Travel As its new album, “No Line on home to the masterpiece “One,” a on synthesizers rather than on the rus, as Bono sings over raw, echo- snow.” Said to be the thoughts of Mixed messages in Milan design fashion the Horizon” (Universal), demon- simmering down-tempo ballad. It Edge’s guitar or Mr. Clayton’s bass, ing guitars and a syncopated per- a dying soldier in Afghanistan, the strates, U2 is the only rock band marries rock and electronica on and at times Bono seems like he’s cussion pattern. “Cedars of Leba- song concludes with “If only a 4 | Top Picks An unsung Florida getaway of its stature and authority that “Zooropa” (1993) and “Pop” fighting the tumult rather than non” is whispered and spoken by heart could be as white as snow.” is so willing to toy with its for- (1997), and with “Rattle and gliding through a cleared, shining Bono over snappy drumming by In “Breathe,” he writes: “Sing your 13 | Books mula for success. Hum” (1988) takes on the Beatles, path. It’s controlled chaos, and Mr. Mullen and whistling strings. heart out, sing my heart out/I’ve Art as interior design By the standards of today’s Bob Dylan, gospel and the blues. when all the pieces fit—as in the It’s easy to comb the lyrics of found grace inside a sound.” iPod shuffle mentality, “No Line” All this is accomplished with extraordinary “Magnificent”—it’s “No Line” for allusions to Bono’s Even when the reference isn’t Translating the Holocaust is a great album, though it has no one of rock’s most inventive exhilarating. globetrotting politi- explicit, the words can be inter- ‘Dr. Atomic’ is hot consistent flow and no musical rhythm sections: bassist Adam The title track, cal adventures. preted as spiritually minded. In Clayton, drummer Larry Mullen which opens the al- When the They’re there in “I’ll Go Crazy,” whose lyrics open | arc. Rather than presenting a co- 14 Sports hesive statement, it’s a collection Jr., and the guitarist known as the bum, is a charging subject of ‘No small doses and as as a standard slice of rock rebel- 5 | Dance of songs held together by an effec- Edge—a distinctive musician capa- piece of rock that ex- often as not are self- lion, Bono asks, “Is it true that per- Golf Journal: Sponsorship trouble tive and slightly experimental ble of playing plodes rather than Line on the deprecating. When fect love drives out all fear?” “Mo- sound. It tops the band’s most re- exactly what the develops, and “Get Horizon’ isn’t the subject of “No ment of Surrender” may be about Taking dance a few steps farther cent recordings, “How to Disman- performance re- On Your Boots” and Line” isn’t love, lust romantic love, or about man’s eter- tle an Atomic Bomb” (2004) and quires. Bono’s “Stand Up Comedy” assorted good and assorted other nal link to God, or a tribute by The sound of one finger pulling “All That You Can’t Leave Behind” soaring voice place the band in con- times, it’s good times—still Bono to his late father, who was a Collecting: A preview of Tefaf (2000). But, like them, it features and tenacious text: During the the meat of the singer: “I was born to sing for 15 | Taste memorable performances along- personality give verses of the former, spiritual rock ’n’ roll vocabu- you/I didn’t have a choice but to side others that fall a bit short. the band its op- the melody mimics exploration. lary—it’s not geopol- lift you up/And sing whatever song 6-7 |Film “No Line” also fits in the contin- eratic qualities Mr. Dylan’s “Subterra- itics. It’s spiritual you wanted me to/I give you back U2’s latest reinvention uum of U2’s recorded work, which and superstar nean Homesick exploration, even if my voice/From the womb’s first stretches back three decades. The status. Blues” and Elvis Costello’s “Pump the song’s subject is derived from cry, it was a joyful noise.” Is the A producer of superheroes “3:33” mentioned in “Unknown 16 | Time Off band has always experimented— Working It Up” until it slides into a slinky a geopolitical event, as in “Ce- sometimes tweaking its approach Bono again with long- chant-along; on the latter, the Edge dars of Lebanon” and “White as Caller” a reference to a Bible verse to pop music, other times just time collabora- seems to draw inspiration from the Snow.” Throughout the band’s ca- or merely the time on a clock? Morgenstern on ‘Watchmen’ Our arts and culture calendar about discarding it altogether. tors Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois— Beatles’ late-period guitar sound. A reer, U2’s songs have referenced A dozen albums into its career, The album “The Unforgettable and with Steve Lilywhite contribut- powerhouse rocker, “Breathe,” a spiritual journey inspired by its U2 shows no signs of compla- Fire” (1984), best remembered for ing to three songs—U2 on “No kicks off with heavy percussion members’ Christianity. cency. With an abiding commit- On cover, Cosmos shoes designed by Rem D. Koolhaas for United Nude. the stirring “Pride (In the Name Line” has a new sound that is and metal-like guitars; Mr. Clayton, Here, the exploration contin- ment to substance and an admira- WSJ.com of Love),” is characterized by a dense, almost cluttered at times who excels throughout the disc, ues. In “White as Snow,” based on ble taste for adventure, the band brooding underpinning. Opening with the bottom bleeding into the gives it a formidable spine. a hymn inspired by Isaiah 1:18 and provides a new work that offers with three monster rock hits, mid-range, yet thoroughly appeal- Ballads provide the CD’s high with new lyrics by Bono, Mr. Eno much to enjoy and deliberate over. Builder’s remorse Fashion statement String trio theory “The Joshua Tree” (1987) also con- ing. The band’s customary chiming points. In “Moment of Surren- and Mr. Lanois, Bono sings: “Once Craig Winneker Editor tains songs that seem to borrow brightness appears infrequently, der,” a cello yields to a bubbling I knew there was a love di- Mr. Fusilli is the Journal’s rock Several luxurious new A new style statement for Time for Three, Barbara Tina Fuhr Deputy editor from South African mbaqanga and most notably on “I’ll Go Crazy if I synth riff and a choir formed by vine/Then came a time I thought and pop music critic. Email him sports stadiums are Washington, D.C., as more a ‘classically trained garage Fahire Kurt Art director the music of the American West. Don’t Go Crazy Tonight" and “Un- Bono’s voice and the Edge’s sus- it knew me not/Who can forgive at [email protected]. Kathleen Van Den Broeck Assistant art director opening in tough times. people wear fur. band,’ defies genres. Matthew Kaminski Taste page editor WSJ.com/Sports WSJ.com/ Lifestyle WSJ.com/Lifestyle Questions or comments? Write to [email protected]. Please include your full name and address. How I Spent a Few Days in Palladio’s World

By Hugh Pearman above the habitable rooms are would have designed Monticello the wealthy landowners of the and repeated the same designs THE JOURNAL CROSSWORD / Edited by Mike Shenk 61 Bodega Bay’s county Down 47 Small car, perhaps 83 Set off great attic granaries; below the and the University of Virginia, Veneto. In these he reached a peak with variations everywhere. It 63 Not able to take it easy 1 Comparable to a hornet 48 Hägar’s dog 84 Quarterback Drew I am standing on a moderately raised ground floor are storage and directed the extension of the with the Villa Capra (also known was his later followers, particu- Across 22 Seat of Hawaii 32 River near 46 One who is bad 64 Takes it easy or a hatter 49 House hangover 87 Union member grand porch, complete with col- cellars. Later, Palladio was to be- White House, very differently. as La Rotonda) of 1566-70 outside larly in the 18th and early 19th 1 Introduction County Balmoral Castle to verse? 66 Relentlessly gloomy 2 One of Donald’s nephews 50 Deli loaves 89 Cardinal toppers umns, capitals and pediment. It’s come the most famous, most influ- The original drawings and Vicenza. Cruciform in plan, with a centuries, who elevated Palladian- to Romeo 23 Homemade Irish 33 Threat of a 51 “Ars gratia ___” 68 Some Best Buy buys 3 Ollie’s partner as a tiller 53 Juan’s wife 91 Big name in ratings a kind of outdoor room, properly ential architect in the world. But later models in the Royal Acad- central two-story hall capped with ism to the heights. 5 Baldwin and side dish? malpractice suit? (MGM motto) 70 Way to the summit of the soil? 57 Grenade propeller 92 First last name tag called a loggia, poised at the top at the time he designed this emy exhibition make it clear why a dome, it has four identical Ionic Something of that rustic plain- house for a local landowner, he Palladio was such a Protean tal- porticoes (Ionic being the classical ness of the Veneto is paradoxi- Guinness 25 Part with 37 One meaning of x 52 Heckled 71 Source of sage advice 4 PDA entry 58 Old Finnish coin 93 Makeup of an of a flight of steps. I’m looking outward, and I can see precisely was still close to his roots as a tal- ent, someone who could both order with “rams-horn” capitals to cally apparent in one of the most 10 Respect, in slang 26 Shrinking sea 38 Fit for a king 54 Proscribed acts 74 Poke around 5 Whatever 59 Some synthetics underwater forest nothing—nothing but thick, swirl- ented stonemason with a love of study and explain the architec- the fluted columns). Each portico lavish and successful 18th-cen- 15 Dirty Harry’s org. of Asia 40 Patriots’ Day mo. 55 Right to decide 76 One explanation for not 6 Argentine article 95 Beat sheet, for short 60 Clown College home ing fog. And it is quite wonderful. Ancient Greece and Rome. That ture of the past, and apply it in has a noble flight of steps leading tury English country houses, 19 Ivory trade 27 “We ___ please” 56 Scaly squeezers wanting to go to a movie 7 Splash 99 Walk in the park 41 1965 Beatles 62 Jersey sound I am in the damp fen country youthful vigor is apparent. novel ways, developing his own up to it, facing the four points of Holkham Hall outside Wells-next- 20 When la luna 28 Neighborhood concert venue 57 Exterminator at 80 Rustic stopovers 8 “Cuchi-cuchi” entertainer 65 Sung syllables 100 Leafy lunch of the Veneto region of Northern A few weeks later, and I’m at signature style. In his “Four the compass. This was a rich the-Sea in Norfolk. It was de- shines 30 One might be Parliament? 81 Nickname for a plodding 9 Urban alligator’s home ___ 42 Like some 67 Show a second time 101 “There stupid Italy, the stamping ground of mas- the press preview of a 500th-anni- Books” he interspersed his own man’s summer retreat. Palladio signed by Burlington’s pupil, Wil- cited measures 60 Except for pirate? 21 Recap 10 They’re elementary in NYC questions” versary exhibition of Palladio at buildings with those of the an- had come a long way from farm- liam Kent, and it is one of my fa- 85 Helpless? 69 “That’s terrible” ter Renaissance architect Andrea 11 Home of the Wildcats 102 “Keen!” Palladio, who designed this villa London’s Royal Academy, a cient world, and set out the math- house extensions. vorites of the period—Palladio in- Dispossessed by Randolph Ross 86 Bird hunted to extinction 71 Milquetoast / 12 Syndicated astrologer 103 Johnny Appleseed, e.g. ematical flated to pal- by the Maori 72 “Are you ___ out?” unique gallery where art and ar- 1234 56789 1011121314 15161718 Sydney 104 Correspond chitecture have coexisted since principles of ace scale, 87 Less likely to start a 73 Escargot’s universe? 13 Make baby food, perhaps 105 Pakistani river Andrea Palladio: the 18th century. It’s a Palladian proportion but retain- 19 20 21 22 conversation 75 Bend at the barre 14 Contractor’s detail 107 Plumber’s helper His Life and Legacy building, originally the town that gov- ing a cer- 88 The answer is blowin’ 77 Opinion that ladies 23 24 25 26 15 Less on the level 108 Wee ones house of the Earl of Burlington, a erned both. tain auster- in the wind can be as profane as 16 Instrument for an Royal Academy of Arts fervent disciple. Few architects The exhi- ity. Kent 27 28 29 30 31 89 Dancer’s teammate gentlemen? 110 1954 sci-fi classic emergency responder? Through April 13 indeed have styles or movements bition feels also de- 90 Place to wash up in a 78 Robert who played 113 Lhasa ___ 32 33 34 35 36 37 17 Geometry setting named after them, and fewer still like an old- signed the graphic arts shop? A.J. Soprano 116 Endeavor 18 Boneheads nearly half a millennium ago. Be- make it into everyday language. fashioned delightful 38 39 40 41 94 Front runners? 79 Wee ones 118 Laudatory lines 24 “Miracle Mets” manager hind me, its lamps are shining yel- But “Palladian” is the dictionary museum gal- Horse 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 96 Creative sort 82 Foot, to Flavius 119 Just painted Guards 29 Hurry-up order low through the fog. Merry definition of a style of refined lery. It 97 Word of wonder voices ring out. I turn and stroll classical architecture that was makes few building in 51 52 53 54 55 31 Community character 98 Continental divide back into the big hall with its col- adopted all over the world and is concessions Whitehall 34 Stick in the water Last Week’s Solution 56 57 58 59 60 99 Balance sheet entry orful frescoes. I can hardly be- still alive today. to modern and was 35 Humidor item

101 Turns at bat in Anaheim? AGASS I DEC IMAL SAWYER lieve it. For a few days, at the in- technology Alberto Carolo one of 61 62 63 64 65 Palladio lived from 1508 to 106 Grounded flier 36 USN rank OILCAN AVARICE ORIOLE vitation of a friend, I am staying 1580, and some believe that he or populism. A model of Villa Capra, representing the peak of the architect’s country-villa designs. those who 66 67 68 69 70 109 One may be tapped 39 Season segments LATERDUDERANCH DELUDE here. (The house is rentable represents architecture’s high The hand worked on NA I LS CLAP ADDED 111 Profitable Internet business 41 Hit the jackpot through The Landmark Trust, point. Not just through his own drawing, the wooden model and Neither the Ancient Greeks Burlington House itself. 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 LAOT IAN UPREARS WEARS 42 Soft touches www.landmarktrust.org.uk.) the oil painting are deployed in a nor Romans had ever built Palladianism reached near-per- 112 Looking like a lion ENDS APR I OR I ALARM surviving buildings, but because 80 81 82 83 84 85 decidedly academic manner, and houses remotely like this—in- fection around the time of the 114 Lesage’s “Gil ___” 43 Switch ending EDD WI SEGUYSMI LEY ACE The next day, the sun breaks his teachings—enshrined in a se- through, and our awestruck house ries of coveted volumes called even the audio guides are schol- deed, Palladio was mistaken in American Revolution, which is 86 87 88 89 115 Compassion 44 Suit material? DIFFER LES BMW ANAX SEEDT IME ANTES FRONT party, gathered here to celebrate “The Four Books of Architecture,” arly in tone. This is an exhibition thinking that they ever applied why it graces such important 117 Jargon from a 45 Duane and Nelson 90 91 92 93 94 95 LASSO VIEIRA SITFOR for devotees, then, yet it is made temple-like porticoes to their buildings on both sides of the At- bereaved wife? a birthday, strolls around the first published in 1570—came to WSJ.com OWL P E E P I N G T OMM I X L E A building. And this is where Palla- be regarded almost as Holy Writ accessible by the wonderful large houses at all. That does not mat- lantic. So, happy 500th birthday 96 97 98 120 Oxford feature PHONOS ASSISI ELATE dio becomes endearing, because by architects all over Europe. cutaway models, showing key ter. He understood the underlying year, Andrea di Pietro della Gon- 121 Script direction 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 Crossword online TOWI T D I ETS STATETAX this early house—the Villa Sa- The Palladian movement accel- buildings inside and out. Who principle of “harmonic propor- dola, dubbed Palladio, meaning IOTA JEN EAT GENTLE 122 Practice piece For an interactive raceno, near Vicenza, from the erated until, in the late 18th cen- needs computer wizardry? tion.” To this day, the best classi- “Wise One.” As monickers go, his 109 110 111 112 113 123 Sushi bar offering CPR FASTBUCKNAKED EON version of The Wall AL I B I ENTENTE ARNO 1540s—is relatively humble, little tury, the architect was the presid- Palladio designed and built cal architecture is the most inven- was spot-on. 114 115 116 117 118 119 124 Unspoiled spot Street Journal Crossword, HIVES STRASSE STASSEN more than a large extension to an ing spirit behind the golden age many religious and civic buildings, tive. Though as one of today’s Pal- 125 Temperamental WSJ.com subscribers I DEAS T I ER PEARS existing farmhouse. Its propor- of both American and British especially in Vicenza and Venice— ladians, the English architect Mr. Pearman is architecture critic 120 121 122 123 126 Button for bowlers can go to T A L K U P MAMA S BOY G E ORG E tions are excellent, but its details country-house building and much but arguably his greatest contribu- Francis Terry, notes, once Palla- of the Sunday Times, and editor 124 125 126 127 127 Groundbreaking WSJ.com/WeekendJournal CHEERS OVERALL UNROLL are plain to the point of crude- else besides. Without Palladio’s tion to the history of architecture dio had established his style, he of the Journal of the Royal Insti- discoveries? HORDES REDANTS PAT I OS ness. It’s a working building, too: silent guidance, Thomas Jefferson was the country villas he built for essentially stopped inventing, tute of British Architects.

W2 FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 | WEEKEND JOURNAL WEEKEND JOURNAL | FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 W15 v Sports v Fashion No entertaining, please—it’s golf Designers send mixed messages in Milan

ORMALLY, A POSTING by how the drying up of corporate ATCHING FROM THE helm lection at London’s Natural History sultants Zeta Interactive, based in the celebrity Web site TMZ outings to golf resorts, mostly for of the Gucci Group luxury Museum. New York City, to use their Zeta Nand the state of the econ- fear of projecting the wrong im- W empire, Robert Polet sees Mr. Black created the cape with Buzz technology to measure the so- omy have few points of connec- age in the current economic envi- longtime patterns changing. “Peo- multiple uses in mind, pitching it as called buzz surrounding a handful tion. But last week they collided ronment, was creating travel bar- ple don’t have the impulse to buy,” practical, to a certain point: “You of high-profile Milan shows on to create a golf-related scandal of gains for the rest of us. But it is the CEO said last week at Milan’s can wear it with skinny jeans, you more than 100 million blogs, mes- sorts. also devastating the golf resort fall 2009 fashion shows. “They can wear it with an evening dress,” sage boards, social media posts and The TMZ posting last Tuesday, and hospitality industry. The same think about purchases more.” he said. other Internet outlets. concerning the title sponsorship holds true for the drying up of cli- That’s a vexing problem for the Another suit had been hand- Prada had the highest overall of the Northern Trust Open at the ent entertainment at golf and European designers who are pre- painted to achieve the mineral-like volume of chatter, with Bottega Ven- Riviera Country Club near Los An- other sports events. senting the clothes that will appear look he desired. Mr. Black said he is eta coming in second, according to geles, read to me like a parody in “It’s not the clients and com- in stores next fall. Foot traffic is braced for selling fewer items to his Zeta. When it came to the tone of the Onion satire magazine of a lo- pany executives who suffer if com- down in luxury stores everywhere. wealthy clients than before, so he the posts, though, Bottega Veneta cal news outlet pouncing on a sup- panies cancel their events. They’ll With the Dow industrials below wants each one to pack a wallop. had the most positive posts—98% posed outrage. “We’re told North- find other fun things to do that 7000 for the first time since 1996 “One of the sad things about this were positive. Gucci had the worst ern Trust paid millions to sponsor weekend. It’s the 20 guys who va- downturn is that ladies’ husbands tonal rating, with 61% positive. the PGA event which ended Sun- let-park cars for minimum wage have cut their budgets,” he said. And despite the inarguable skill plus tips, the 15 cooks in the On Style No matter who is picking up the involved in the design and tailoring kitchen, the six dishwashers, the CHRISTINA BINKLEY bill, shoppers may balk at some of of many of these garments, many Golf Journal rigging guys who put up the stage, the 1980s looks on the runways. store buyers were looking for alter- the housekeepers who make up Quite a few Milan designers natives to the ’80s look by week’s JOHN PAUL NEWPORT Wireimage/Getty Images the hotel rooms where people and the CAC-40 Index in Paris down seemed to think that creating ex- end. As a colleague and I left Left, Scott McCarron at the Northern stay,” said David Israel, a TV pro- 17% since the beginning of the year, citement required outlandish de- Versace’s early show on Monday day, but what happened off the Trust Open; above, singer Sheryl Crow ducer who is involved in the how is a fashion designer to sell ex- signs based on that decade’s exag- night, Bloomingdale’s fashion direc- golf course is even more shock- in another performance. sports economy as vice chairman pensive clothes? gerated lines. We saw multiple tor Stephanie Solomon was racing ing,” TMZ said. of the California Horse Racing In Milan, there seemed to be two takes on huge, wide shoulders. into the later show. “How was it?” Northern Trust wasn’t just Commission and past president of conflicting approaches to this ques- Ferré designers Tommaso Aquilano she called. “Don’t tell me more treating clients to Diet Cokes Fargo, a $25 billion TARP fundee the Los Angeles Memorial Coli- tion. Some designers drilled to and Roberto Rimondi did them ’80s!” while they walked around the which took over sponsorship of a seum Commission. their cores. Giorgio Armani re- Bottega Veneta squared off with a fold of fabric That might be why the Jil course. It staged “lavish parties,” PGA Tour event at the end of Mr. Israel was a guest at the turned to the sleek executive lines offered subtlety wrapped from back to front—ex- Sander collection, designed by Raf “a fancy dinner” and concerts for April when it acquired Wachovia, Sheryl Crow concert and noted he is known for, with capes, cardi- (left) while Graeme traordinary tailoring. Gucci did Simons, was well received. The first clients “with famous singers” such said it would seriously cut back that it was not particularly lavish: gans and slim pants in pewter and Black went for them on cropped jackets, exaggerat- part of the collection was pure Jil as Sheryl Crow and Earth, Wind spending at that event. decent but not great food, room various other shades of gray. ‘luxe’ (right). ing the Amercican football-player Sander daywear to the core—mini- and Fire. TMZ’s reporters spotted Golf, with its traditional fat-cat to stand but not sit as Ms. Crow Versace went for all-out, body-hug- look. Dolce & Gabbana did them big mal, strong lines on suits and courtesy cars (standard at PGA image, is an easy target for abuse, sang, and a crowd that consisted ging sex—just what the brand is and poofy—more Elizabethan than dresses of fine melton wool and Tour events) driving onto and off some of it deserved. I’m one who largely of volunteers and guests of known for. Bottega Veneta showed ’80s. Waists were often pinched un- wool crepe—with flat shoes. What the Riviera property with people has long believed the game skews the nonprofit organizations for winning looks for a woman who mal grain of the Milan shows, der the huge shoulders. Pants were followed was an artist’s take, in- inside. Guests were reported to too fancy for its own good. But which the tournament has raised wants to be subtle about the excel- where designers generally present cropped at the ankle and pleated at spired by the late French ceramist have left various functions with Icon Sports Media the trouble with the rabble-rous- $3 million in the past two years. lence of her clothes. a lot of wearable clothes. With the the hip—not a flattering look on Pol Chambost. The clothes curved goodie bags. O’Reilly hopped on the bandwagon entertainment events.” ing, apart from whatever damage “It seems to me that if the goal In fact, Tomas Maier’s collection biggest economic challenge of their many women as it shortens and like sculpture, some supported by Building up business by devel- last Thursday, commending Sen. Understandably spooked, Mor- it does to the effective business is to get the financial system work- for Bottega was outstanding— lifetimes facing them, these design- broadens their legs. whalebone hoops, using materials oping closer relationships with cli- John Kerry of Massachusetts (an gan Stanley, which received $10 practices of banks and other trou- ing normally again, you’ve got to softly colored, supple wools and ers seemed to be trying to create Investment dressing it was not. including starched wool, techno ents is, of course, the main reason unlikely bedfellow) for proposing billion in TARP funds, quickly an- bled companies, such as the auto let businesses do what they know silks, such as a graceful silk jac- clothes that would feel worth the in- The fashion world has been toying foams, scuba jerseys and a wool many companies sponsor golf tour- legislation that “would prevent nounced that while it would con- makers, is the chill it casts over how to do best to make money,” quard trench coat and a soft, dou- vestment. While this is an exciting with the 1980s for the past year, tweed coated with gold dust. naments. Northern Trust’s agenda any recipient of TARP funds from tinue to sponsor the Memorial the entire microeconomy of golf, Mr. Israel said. ble-faced cashmere coat. approach, it’s also risky, and it re- ever since Marc Jacobs sent out a The patterns required such pre- also included seminars for clients, hosting, sponsoring, or paying for tournament in June, it would not and of sports in general. Email me at golfjournal@wsj. Miuccia Prada, who is consis- mains to be seen which of these de- playfully ’80s-inspired collection a cision that Mr. Simons brought out such as one on the credit crunch. conferences, holiday parties and entertain clients there. Wells A few weeks ago I wrote about com. tently independent of the trends signers will have hits on their year ago. But I can’t help thinking his pattern cutter for a bow. For In undertaking such commitments, chased by other designers, rediscov- hands. the clothes will look entirely out of such elaborate work, Mr. Simons sponsors tend to be rigorous in ered the suit—creating slightly off- Brian Atwood’s designs for Bally date within a year, maybe two. said, “We have to honor them.” their analysis of the substantial kilter, woodsy suits that were still included memorable shoes with That’s what happened with my own Ms. Golden, the boutique owner, costs versus the benefits, just as authoritative enough to be snapped elaborately carved metal heels. Mr. suits and jackets from the 1980s, agreed. “The beautiful tailoring they are for all marketing and ad- up by working women. Atwood said he didn’t concern him- which wilted like cut flowers when seen at Prada and the luxurious fab- vertising layouts. As business “Women always wear suits,” the self with keeping costs down for that era was over. The ’80s weren’t rics at Jil Sander are great exam- propositions, underwriting tourna- influential designer said after her the “fashion collection” whose role flattering to women’s figures, and ples of the understated elegance In Austria, the sound of one finger pulling Getty Images ments can make sense on many show. Though she’s known for her is to draw attention. (Bally’s less many women later recalled them that my clients will be seeking out levels, especially for companies By Patti McCracken pull. The table is marked with artistic independence, she made a showy “pre-collections” were cre- with a shudder. during this challenging economic like Northern Trust, which cater Special to The Wall Street Journal black lines showing how far the point of saying that her suits would ated with costs kept in check, execu- “My clients won’t go for the lit- time,” she said. to high-net-worth individuals and HREE Lederhosened Salzburg- wrestler has to pull his opponent work “from a commercial point of tives said.) “I think it’s what women sented at his Milan showroom, was eral translation of the ’80s looks on Email [email protected] for whom personal relationships Ters stand outside in the quiet before he can be considered the view.” wanted,” Mr. Atwood said. “Espe- half the size of his previous sea- the runways,” says Kelly Golden, are central. of a tiny Alpine hamlet in Austria. winner. Many other designers threw cau- cially now, you really have to in- sons, and he’s been working to cut owner of the high-end Neapolitan WSJ.com But never mind all that, be- The loser is sometimes yanked tion to the wind, creating collec- spire.” his prices sharply. But there wasn’t boutique in Chicago. “They want One of the men folds his arms On the catwalk cause last year Northern Trust ac- across his sturdy belly, sure and entirely across the table, landing tions of flamboyant, indelibly Designer Graeme Black, of his a single item that didn’t attempt to something that they can wear now See more looks from cepted $1.6 billion from the U.S. strong. His son next to him mimics noisily in a heap on the other side. unique clothes and avoiding items impossibly expensive eponymous deliver a knockout punch, including and in future seasons.” Milan fashion week, at Troubled Asset Relief Program, de- his father’s stance, and both seem Villages lend space in their that could be accused of being “com- label, said, “That’s my only weapon— a $3,976 black cocoon cape that was To get a read on consumer re- WSJ.com/OnStyle spite record profits of $795 mil- aware of the imposing power they town halls for training, and bars mercial.” That went against the nor- luxe.” Mr. Black’s collection, pre- inspired by a visit to the mineral col- sponse to the shows, I asked con- lion and a solid balance sheet. possess. The third man, his head have been known to be particu- The bank, in a letter to sharehold- topped with a traditional Tyrolean larly accommodating, but Mr. Bau- ers last week, said it didn’t seek hat, breaks the winter quiet with mann gets a crowd of about a Arbitrage the funds but accepted them to ac- the cracking of a joke involving dozen who meet weekly at his commodate “the government’s something to do with schnapps. Af- house, and more often in the days goal of gaining the participation ter some hearty laughter that before a match. Some get busy Hourly rate for a A stylish celebration for grandmother of all major banks in the United shakes off the sleepiness of the crushing tennis balls with their States.” place, they all three lumber down Silvia Linecker hands. Others do finger pull-ups, plumber to fix a By Teri Agins long or three-quarter sleeves. Try Whatever the reason, taking into a damp cellar to practice pitch- Fingerhaklers Leo Enthammer (left) and Johann Spitzwieser (right) face off, or heave ridiculously heavy stones Y GRANDMOTHER is turn- a matching flowing chiffon skirt the money changed everything. It ing each other across a wooden ta- with referee Georg Wimmer in the middle. hoisted with a pulley. Ming 90 this year, and we’re that’s “tea length,” stopping well turned all of the bank’s business ble using the strength of one sin- “It’s also good mental train- leaky kitchen sink having a semiformal party for her above the ankles. Bridal shops practices, especially those that gle finger. ing,” says Gottfried Eder, a in June. She is short (1.47 meters) carry many versions of this style. smack of cultural excess, into red The men are training to be- the 53-year-old machinist keeps Mr. Baumann brought his son 63-year-old chemical plant re- City Local currency Œ and weighs about 56 kilograms. Have the outfit altered to fit. Be- meat for politicians and others come champions of finger wres- an orange metal recipe box into the fingerhakeln fold as a tiree. Mr. Eder, whose wife, son Can you recommend any looks cause your grandmother is short, looking to direct public outrage tling, or fingerhakeln, a little- jammed tight with handwritten small boy. Now at 18, Georg Jr., is and grandson are also fingerhak- Singapore† S$60 Œ31 that would make her feel like a the tailor may have to raise the about the state of the economy. known, ancient Alpine sport with records of every Austrian finger- accumulating his own win/loss lers, has outfitted his own garage queen for the day? Heels are not neckline and shorten the sleeves. Within hours of the TMZ re- a long and robust history. This is hakeln battle that has gone down record, with a card in the orange with a 90-kilo stone that the finger- Rome Œ35 Œ35 an option. Choose her footwear with port, Rep. Barney Frank of Massa- not thumb wrestling, arm wres- during the last 30-plus years. box to prove it. wrestling family likes to take Frankfurt* Œ40 Œ40 —L.M., Long Island, N.Y. care. Try gold or silvery shoes— chusetts wrote a letter to North- tling, wife carrying or log rolling, He flips to 1977. “Here’s Georg A fingerhakeln match goes turns pulling. sandals, if she’s amenable—with ern Trust, co-signed by 17 others, but a sport that Austrians and Ba- Wimmer’s records,” says Mr. Bau- something like this: Two oppo- All that pulling can make a fin- What a perfect way to cele- flat or inch-high, wedge heels. Brussels Œ50 Œ50 Victoria Roberts demanding that it return to the varians take quite seriously. mann. “He won more than 1,000 nents, usually clad in lederhosen ger massive, and some get to brate your grandmother’s mile- She should wear them around the federal government all the money Tournaments are held fre- competitions. One of our all-time (or dirndls, for the damen finger- nearly twice their normal size. In- Paris Œ50 Œ50 stone birthday! Glam her up in a house a few times so that they feel perhaps do light makeup and a it “frittered away on these lavish quently, with the next one coming champions.” haklers), sit across from each juries are a danger, even in a sport classic mother-of-the-bride en- broken in. She would look more el- manicure—quickly, to avoid tir- events” at the golf tournament. up on March 29. Mr. Baumann takes out the other at a wooden table. that requires the use of only one New York $92 Œ73 semble that flatters all body types egant without a corsage (though ing her out before the party. Don’t The New York Times op-ed colum- Georg Baumann has turned worn, ink-smudged card, which The wrestlers each lock a fin- digit. and isn’t too fussy. The two-piece her wishes reign if she wants bother with a handbag; skirts nist Maureen Dowd wrote a sarcas- part of the cellar in his family has been painstakingly filled in ger (usually the middle one) “Torn tendons and fractures London £95 Œ106 outfit is typically pastel (consider one). Don’t forget sparkly ear- with cocktail suits usually have tic column the next day headlined home into a makeshift finger- with dates of Mr. Wimmer’s wins through a leather band roughly are not uncommon,” says Mr. peach or violet ) with a long jacket rings. hidden pockets. Note: Prices, including taxes, as provided by plumbers “I Ponied Up for Sheryl Crow?” hakeln gym. Next to the stairwell, and losses. the size of a bracelet and start to Eder. “Fingers do get bloody.” in each city, averaged and converted into euros. that is beaded or spangled with Hire a pro to style her hair and Email [email protected]

Fox News commentator Bill *Doesn’t include a traveling fee †No hourly rate Newscom

W14 FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 | WEEKEND JOURNAL WEEKEND JOURNAL | FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 W3 v Top Picks v Books Portrait of the artist as interior designer Translating the Holocaust

Wolfsburg, Germany: “Inte- By Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg owned by Lagardere SCA’s Hachette Book nities in the Caucasus. rior/Exterior, Living in Art” at the UBLISHING A BOOK in translation can Group that published “Infinite Jest.” Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg asks an be difficult, but Jonathan Littell’s “The The American-born Mr. Littell, who has Q: How difficult was it to focus on the interesting question: What hap- PKindly Ones,” a brutally graphic novel served as an aid worker in Afghanistan, Chech- death squads in the Ukraine and various pens when artists start designing about the Holocaust narrated by Max Aue, a nya and Bosnia, wrote the book in longhand in concentration camps? objects and designers come up former Nazi officer, presents a particularly French. (It was translated by Charlotte Man- When you write, you don’t think about the with works of art? This enormous daunting challenge in the U.S. dell.) Both major bookstore chains in the content, you think about the sentences, the and exciting show deals with the Although the novel, Mr. Littell’s second, U.S.—Borders Group and Barnes & Noble— grammar, the syntax, the rhythm. It’s like a interaction between art and inte- won two major French literary awards after it say that they are supporting the novel, which painter. Hieronymus Bosch was able to paint rior design from the 19th century was published in 2006, it has already been the will likely have to sell at least 150,000 copies Hell by thinking how this black would go with to the present. Works by more subject of harsh reviews in Amercian publica- for Harper to turn a profit. Mr. Littell was in- that red. It’s the same with writing. than 70 artists and designers, in- tions. The fact that Mr. Littell, the 41-year-old terviewed by phone. cluding such icons as Henri Mat- son of thriller writer Robert Littell, lives in Q: Do you interview any former Nazis? isse, Marcel Breuer, Ludwig Mies Barcelona and isn’t expected to visit the U.S. Q: Why pick this topic? No, I didn’t try. I didn’t think a former Nazi van der Rohe and Zaha Hadid, to promote the work will make it that much It evolved slowly. I wanted to write about would tell me anything interesting. Also, I make up the exhibition. harder for the book to find an audience. the war initially and then the emphasis fo- don’t speak German, so that’s a problem. I Strangely for a show that deals Harper, an imprint owned by News Corp.’s Har- cused on the genocide. I knew I wanted to do it wasn’t set up for tracking people down. I with interior design, the first perCollins Publishers, paid an estimated $1 first person. I didn’t have any hesitation. I’ve didn’t have the contacts or resources. AFP/Getty Images work to confront museum visitors million for the book. News Corp. also owns been in dark places a good part of my life. Author Jonathan Littell’s nearly 1,000-page novel © Museum Frieder Burda, photo: Gunter Lepkowski is Caspar David Friedrich’s “Bohe- © Kunstmuseum Basel, photo: Martin P. Bühler The Wall Street Journal. Q: Whom did you interview? ‘The Kindly Ones’ was first published in French. mian Landscape with Mount Mille- Left, ‘Scene from Ibsen’s “Ghosts”’ (1906), by Edvard Munch; right, ‘Living Room III’ (1968), by Almut Heise, both on show in Wolfsburg. Mr. Littell’s novel, like David Foster Wal- Q: What was the process? In the Ukraine I found two survivors of schauer” (1808). The idyllic land- lace’s “Infinite Jest” (1996) and Jonathan I started on this full time in 2001, but I’d Babi Yar, one of whom was 13 at the time, so he scape symbolizes man's reaching Franzen’s “The Corrections” (2001), is meant been thinking about it for a dozen years. The had a very good memory. He was literally in I drew on my own way of seeing things. I beyond the boundaries of the com- ‘Spring Awakening’ to appeal to readers who are drawn to research was done very systematically. I the massacre. He survived by hiding in a cul- based him mostly on myself, not anybody else. fortable home toward the outer weighty, controversial titles. “There’s a vast drew up a long reading list. I then divided it vert. He hid, and everyone marched over his world. This 19th-century attempt Princess Margaret, larger than life is no garden variety audience looking for intellectual fare, for a thematically and read chunk after chunk. head, including his parents. Q: Will you travel to the U.S. to promote to enlarge one’s personal cosmos voice that captures the world in a way that Along the way you find out about new books your book? ultimately ends in the glass London: Looking at Pietro An- high-school musical hasn’t been captured before,” says Michael Pi- and one topic leads to another. I also fit in Q: How did you prepare to get inside No. I don’t do that kind of thing. I don’t con- houses of the 21st century. nigoni’s 1957 portrait of the late Prin- etsch, publisher of Little, Brown, the imprint trips along the way, including Jewish commu- Max’s head? sider it my job. There are many more surprises cess Margaret (1930-2002) you’d London: It’s hard to think of a ahead. From Sigmund Freud’s never guess how tiny the sitter was more unlikely subject for a musical couch (shown as a miniature (only 1.55 meters). Of course all than an 1891 German drama about model) to his “Psychotope,” the royal portraits have to impute some the tortured psyches of adolescents cramped breeding ground of psy- majesty to their subjects, but An- growing up in a rigid bourgeois en- DISTINCTIVE PROPERTIES &ESTATES chosis so keenly portrayed in Ed- nigoni’s romantic painting of the vironment that leads them to act vard Munch’s “Scene from Ibsen’s queen’s sister in a rose garden gives out on stage their sexual fantasies. ‘Ghosts’” (1906). Félix Vallotton’s her the graceful, slender, long neck From the desperation of a 14-year- black-and-white woodcuts of a taller woman. old girl to know how babies are (1897-98) depict just such The rarely seen painting is being made, to the perverse desires of cramped interiors in his scenes of lent to the National Portrait Gallery 15-year-olds, this is not your usual, seduction and separation. A room by her son, Viscount Linley, and is easy-sing stuff. from Viennese architect Adolf displayed alongside some revealing However, with book and lyrics Loos’ “Müller Villa” (1928-30) re- photographs, starting with one by Steven Sater and music by Dun- veals the awakening of modernism taken in about 1939 by Marcus Ad- can Sheik, this production of Frank and echoes his battle cry “orna- ams. This shows a soulful nine-year- Wedekind’s “Spring Awakening” ment and crime,” with which he old child, with blunt, round features, has arrived at the Lyric Hammer- sought to ban the decorative os- holding a posy of flowers. smith, generously and justly gar- tentation of Victorian interiors. A color photograph taken by Dor- landed with awards from New Interiors are recreated using othy Wilding in the summer of 1953 York. authentic furniture and art. shows a woman with an unflatter- Christine Jones’s terrific Gym- Donald Judd’s minimalist Soho ingly severe hairstyle, sitting in a nasium bare set and Susan Hilfer- loft tells us more about the artist gilded chair. ty’s period costumes make possi- than a portrait could. Photographs Cecil Beaton’s earlier 1950 black- ble the dichotomy between the his- show real interiors like designer and-white bromide print is much toric matter of the play and the Wolfgang Joop’s red-and-white- more romantic, but also makes his soft-rock music. In a sweetly Brech- striped bedroom (2002). In some subject look like a taller, slimmer tian gesture of theatrical alien- cases room-sized photographs pro- person by posing her against a soar- ation, the kids reach into their vide the background for real furni- ing arch. 19th-century shirts or blouses to ture like Henry van der Velde’s The truer image, it seems to me, extract the hand-held mikes that Art Nouveau dining room. Piet is Norman Parkinson’s 1978 portrait, signal 21st-century music. Mondrian’s studio is a full scale with its sensuous eyes and generous While the score could be a copy filled with original art. mouth. This is a woman with a keen good deal more daring, it serves The show’s view of the future, sense of humor, who enjoys a gin- its purpose, and is far more inter- Clouds-Nests-Soup Bubbles, in- and-tonic and would be fun to meet esting than anything written re- cludes Werner Sobek’s house R at a party. You look at the other pic- cently by Andrew Lloyd Webber. 129, and Ronan and Erwan Bour- tures and wonder: Who said the cam- When the full company let loose oullec’s room-sized Styrofoam era never lies? —Paul Levy © Viscount Linley with “Totally F2," it’s an utterly sculpture “Clouds” (2002). Until March 8 ‘HRH The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon’ (1957), timeless rebellious schoolkid an- —Mariana Schroeder www.npg.org.uk by Pietro Annigoni, on show through this weekend in London. them. Of course the music kills off Until April 13 any hint of tragedy in the original www.kunstmuseum-wolfsburg.de play, though the musical version still deals with death from a botched abortion, the agonies of The nuclear opera: ‘Dr. Atomic’ aims for greatness puberty and suicide. The supremely distinguished London: John Adams’s latest op- night ensemble was poor in this Eng- ter witnessing the test, rather than choreography of Bill T. Jones era, “Dr. Atomic,” based on the Faus- lish National Opera production. have Japanese cities and civilians leaves you with indelible, graceful tian tale of how J. Robert Oppenhei- But even the libretto has its mo- destroyed by using it? images of young people scarcely mer led the team that developed ments of greatness, as when Oppen- Mr. Sellars and the production bound by gravity, as they leap and and tested the atomic bomb heimer (the superb Canadian bari- team manage, too, to portray the fe- frolic about the spacious stage. dropped on Japan in 1945, is more tone Gerald Finley, who created the brile atmosphere of Los Alamos, Moreover, the casting has resulted musically complex and satisfying role) sings his beautiful aria based where Oppenheimer brought to- in some superb performances by than his “Nixon in China.” And, like on John Donne’s “Holy Sonnet XIV,” gether the most distinguished col- director Michael Mayer’s U.K. com- that show, it is certain to become asking for the destruction of the lection of human intellects ever ap- pany, especially the two Welsh part of the operatic canon. speaker’s personality, in order for it plied to the solution of a single prob- boys who play the leads, Aneurin As a composition, it has only a to be reconstructed: “Batter my lem. Barnard and Iwan Rheon. single obvious fault, which is Peter heart, three-person’d God.” Finally, Mr. Adams has written a Anyway, who of my generation Sellars’s thorny libretto, largely as- Mr. Sellars has done an artful job ticking-clock dramatic finale, of can dislike a teenage musical in West Virginia CAYMAN ISLANDS sembled from historic documents of capturing the dramatic tension of Wagnerian length and Wagnerian which an entire scene consists of Distinctive Properties & Estates COLORADO and from poetry associated with testing the first bomb. Will the time- bass-instrumental menace, ending a recitation of the beginning of 3000 Acres, 6 miles river frontage. Spectacular 100% Freehold plots each of the characters. The opening, table insisted upon by the military in both bangs and whimpers. Virgil’s Aeneid in Latin? views. 8 million tons coal, $100+million charita- with residential planning consent, Catherine Ashmore in which the chorus sings the text of be messed up by the weather? Will —Paul Levy —Paul Levy for more information call, ble tax write-off. $15,000,000 Change - Not Chains from £29,500 with 0% finance available Gerald Finley as J. Robert a protest letter by Leo Szilard, is ex- “the Gadget” even detonate? Should Until March 20 Until March 14 Tel:44-20-7842-9600 or 49-69-971-4280 770-434-4343 x105 Tel +44 208 349 1456 or Oppenheimer in ‘Dr. Atomic.’ tremely difficult, and the opening the enemy be invited to surrender af- www.eno.org www.lyric.co.uk [email protected] SECRETSOFTHECOLORADOSANJUANS.COM www.islandsblue.co.uk

W4 FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 | WEEKEND JOURNAL WEEKEND JOURNAL | FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 W13 v Travel v Dance An unsung Florida getaway Taking dance a few steps farther

By Laura Landro By Sarah Frater to only work with one other artist. INGER GLORIA ESTEFAN Special to The Wall Street Journal Jonathan Burrows And that’s what I do with Matteo. made her first foray into Flor- ALLET IS OFTEN viewed as a (left) and Matteo We have no infrastructure. No of- Sida hotels in 1992, when she classical, even old-fashioned Fargion perform ‘The fice. We make all our work in Mat- bought the landmark Cardozo on siz- Bdance form, yet a training in Quiet Dance.’ teo’s kitchen. It’s cheaper than hir- zling South Beach’s Ocean Drive. ballet can often be a springboard for ing a studio, and we don’t like work- She’s opened her latest resort on an the most innovative of artists. ing in studios anyway. And he is a Ocean Drive as well—in an unlikely Consider Jonathan Burrows. The very good cook, which helps the outpost about 240 kilometers experimental movement-maker work enormously. north: sleepy Vero Beach, with little trained at the Royal Ballet School, sizzle but plenty of old-style Florida and danced with the Royal Ballet, Q: You’ve just moved to Brus- charm. but his collaborations with Italian sels. Far from the bustle of overbuilt composer Matteo Fargion have It’s the heart of contemporary South Florida, Vero Beach lies on a earned him a reputation as one of dance in Europe. It’s good to be stretch of Atlantic turf aptly dubbed the most original and amusing cho- where the work isn’t questioned. the Treasure Coast, in a transitional reographers of the past decade. climate zone where oak trees and His works “Both Sitting Duet” Q: What are you doing next? pine forests thrive alongside the (2002), “The Quiet Dance” (2005) I never know. It’s a terrible weak- palms and colorful tropical flora of and “Speaking Dance” (2006) fea- ness, but one I’ve had to accept. balmier points south. Indian River Mike Beck ture Messrs. Burrows and Fargion Lagoon divides the city into sec- Clockwise from left: the sitting on chairs, talking nonsense Q: If no specific plans, what tions on the mainland and a barrier Costa d’Este Beach Resort; a and waving their arms around. They are your creative interests? island. It all makes for spectacular pelican; the pool at the Costa also walk across the stage and de- I’m fascinated by the relation- fishing, kayaking, bird-watching d’Este; the resort’s scribe dance—without actually ship between the performer and and boating, as well as kilometers of restaurant, Oriente. dancing. The hybrid pieces—part the audience. And I want to know white sand beaches where you can dance, part experimental theater, how to go forward as a performer walk for a long time and encounter part tribute to music and dance— as I get older. I love performing. I no one. were made separately but are often would carry a spear if that’s all I But one can also dive into a performed together, and have been could do. Mickey Mouse-shaped pool and plying your way through the islands a considerable success. To date, the have pancakes with Goofy and and bird refuges of the lagoon, duo have given more than 150 per- Q: Can you describe being a friends at a Victorian-style Disney which is part of the Intracoastal Wa- formances in 36 countries and will performer? time-share resort a few kilometers terway and is described by the be touring Europe and Australia Most performers are actually out of town. (It’s on a real beach, as oceanographic institute at Florida this spring and summer, with com- quite shy. It’s not about projecting opposed to the ersatz ones at the Or- Atlantic University as the most bio- ing dates in Maasmechelen, Bel- your larger-than-life personality. lando flagship.) Closer to town, Ms. logically diverse estuary in North gium (March 17-19); Dartington, It’s a self-investigation, and it’s a Estefan’s new Costa d’Este Beach Re- America. You can rent canoes, kay- U.K. (April 22 and 23); Châlons-en- high, especially when you can hear sort, with its whitewashed façade aks or paddle boards to stand on. Champagne, France (May 12); and Alastair Muir and feel the audience is alive to and elegant cascading entry foun- But it’s worth spending a little extra Istanbul (May 19 and 20). duet, we didn’t have anything to man being and not a higher being in sity of observation and pressure what you are doing. tain, sits next door to the quirky, his- to go out solo or in a group with a Jonathan Burrows was born in do, so we made a second one. We in- a remote place. that was potentially damaging. toric Driftwood Inn, a time-share re- knowledgeable guide like Kayaks 1960 in County Durham, England. Af- cluded all the things we did in the Having said that, everything I do is Q: Some bodies look better on sort known for its weathered tim- Etc.’s Kristen Beck, a naturalist with ter his time with the Royal Ballet, first duet, only with walking as Q: How did your interest in dif- built on the principles of coordina- stage than others. Is that what au- bers and antique artifacts, some sal- a degree in marine science. where he is remembered for his well. Our only principle was that it ferent types of choreography tion it taught me. diences connect to? vaged from old mansions and ho- On a recent outing, she provided work with the renowned choreogra- mustn’t be boring. With the third come about? One of the revolutions in contem- tels. Elsewhere on the island, the my friend Nancy and me with solo pher Kenneth MacMillan, he formed piece we included speech. And When I was with the Royal Bal- Q: Can you describe that? porary dance is allowing different Vero Beach Hotel features West In- kayaks and paddled alongside us in his own company in 1988 to present when we ran out of words, we con- let I met the experimental choreog- The reason ballet works for audi- body types on stage, which is a huge dian décor in a more low-key up- her own, pointing out great blue her- his own work. High-profile collabo- tinued by whatever means neces- rapher Rosemary Butcher. I have a ences and will go on working is not relief to audiences. Instead of see- scale hotel-condo managed by Costa D'Este Beach Resortons, (3) snowy egrets and the big thrill: rations followed, including a film sary, which included mouth organs, daughter, who I had very young, because of its theatrical aspects, ing a super-being, which reduces Kimpton Hotels. the beach. But after back-to-back in shadows from the buildings by 2 attract Floridians who want a “stay- a trio of roseate spoonbills flamingo- with Sylvie Guillem (1996), a piece shouting, clapping, arm-waving. who I took to a play park. Rosemary but because the coordination be- them to a lesser being, they see The nearest major airports in Or- hurricanes pulverized it, they de- p.m., Ms. Estefan says. When she cation” getaway at reasonable rates pink as they soared overhead. Ms. for William Forsythe’s Ballett Frank- took her son to the same park, and tween arms and legs is so unex- themselves. It’s a quality that Mat- lando and West Palm Beach are cided to start from scratch, spend- was set to open last June, some lo- and within driving distance. Though Beck knows how to spot dolphins furt (1997) and an associate director- Q: You perform at small ven- we got talking. One day she asked pected. You always want to know teo and I bring to our perfor- more than an hour and a half’s drive ing $50 million to build a modern cals feared that “we’d come in here the clientele isn’t the fashionable, from afar and find the massive man- ship at the National Theatre, Lon- ues. me if I’d perform in one of her what happens next. mances. An acceptance of failure. away, but Vero is no backwater. 94-room resort with an Art Deco bringing that ‘come on, shake your soignée crowd you might see in atees off Round Island. When we don (2008). It’s not that I don’t like large works. And I said, “But you’ve The more we fail, the funnier it gets. There’s an art museum and regional flair. The couple, who also own body baby, do the conga’ thing to South Beach, the scene was pleas- came close to one, I was a little Mr. Burrows was recently ap- spectacle. I was a member of the never seen me dance,” and she Q: What happened when you theater. In Vero, two very distinct seven restaurants in Florida and this quiet community,” she says, re- ant and low key on a Sunday after- freaked out by its sheer size, but Ms. pointed resident artist at the Kaai Royal Ballet for 13 years, and en- said, “No, but I like talking to you.” left the Royal Ballet? Q: But audiences can tell you and yet interdependent communi- Mexico, were drawn to the area by ferring to her hit “Conga.” “But we noon, and the hotel’s Oriente restau- Beck promised me it wouldn’t cap- Theatre in Brussels, where he now joyed being part of and watching I studied with the composer are a trained dancer. You have ties, linked by bridges over the la- its natural beauty, conservationist just want to enhance all the great rant, overseen by Cuban-American size my kayak. lives. We talked to him at St. Pan- big theatrical effects. But my most Q: Did your Royal Ballet Kevin Volans. And then I formed ease and speed, and an ability to goon, co-exist: on the mainland, the ethos and small-town feel. things they already have in Vero,” chef David Rodriguez, already has a For those who don’t want to get cras International in London as he powerful experiences in the the- School training help? my own company and worked with connect steps that Matteo historic town center surrounded by “This reminds me of the way Mi- she adds. local following. in the water, there’s the 11-kilome- waited for his train to the Belgian ater have been in smaller spaces When I was there in the 1970s dancers, but I wasn’t very good at doesn’t have. working citrus groves, farms, ami used to be when I grew up,” be- Besides guests from out of state By far the best way to spend time ter Jungle Trail along the lagoon, a capital. where I felt the performer was a hu- children were subjected to an inten- looking after people. So I decided I hope so! sprawling housing developments fore parts of the beach were already and overseas, Ms. Estefan hopes to in Vero is in and around the water, boardwalk over a tidal mangrove and trailer parks, and on the barrier habitat and a chance to stand a few Q: How did you come to create island, a wealthy enclave. Vero’s meters from pelicans hoping to work like “Speaking Dance”? dual communities make for an inter- steal a meal away from the fisher- I used to think that artists esting mix; there are biker bars, sea- men at Riverside Park. choose the work they make. But the food joints and kitschy surf shops Trip planner: Beaches and manatees The Kennedy Space Center, the older I get the more I realize that art- Optimism ahead of Maastricht fair alongside chi-chi restaurants and de- Navy Seal Museum in Fort Pierce ists don’t choose what they want, signer boutiques. Where to stay: Rooms at Costa ational activities, including div- and the McKee Botanical Garden are but what they can. EFAF HASN’T BEEN hit by the He notes that one-third of the Conoid Studio walnut and hickory Monied snowbirds and retired d’Este, which has a spa, start at ing and snorkeling spots. Atten- in reasonable driving distance. Se- Teconomic gloom yet: The lead- pieces in his Maastricht catalog bench from the Rockefeller Japa- CEOs, many of whom arrive at a $289 for a studio, $329 for an tion art buffs: The Vero Beach bastian and other towns in Indian Q: The work chooses them? ing fine arts and antiques fair will are already under reserve, up from nese House, Pocantico Hills, N.Y., nearby municipal airstrip on pri- oceanfront double through Museum of Art has a show of Ital- River County offer fishing, water Sort of. see a record 239 international gal- last year. He also sees the success from circa 1974 (price: $300,000). vate planes, have flocked to gated April. At the Vero Beach Hotel, ian landscapes with paintings on sports and camping. Hardy day-trip- leries offer art covering the an- of last month’s Yves Saint Lau- International dealer Daniella communities. One, John’s Island, guests have privileges at the pri- loan from the Uffizi Gallery in pers can even tackle Disney World, Q: It’s not what you expect rent/Pierre Bergé auction, where Luxembourg has chosen a grip- broke ground in 1969 and now has vate Indian River Golf Club; Florence until March 15. about a two-hour drive away. from a ballet-trained dancer. 95.5% of lots sold for Œ373.9 mil- ping topic for her first show at 1,362 homes. The newer, and consid- room packages begin at $220. The region’s attractions have led When you describe it, it’s diffi- Collecting lion, as a good omen. Tefaf: disasters. The art will in- erably younger, Windsor Club fea- For a budget beachfront stay, Where to eat: Oriente at Costa many visitors to put down roots for cult to see how it would work. We’re MARGARET STUDER Welcoming visitors to the Jans- clude works about war and terror- tures a new-urbanist style with a vil- The Driftwood’s sea-view rooms D’Este features tapas and special- at least part of the year. Besides the two middle-aged men sitting on sens stand will be a pair of dra- ist violence. Artists will include lage-like setting. Controlled by start at $140. ties like fried Cuban-style corn art museum and Riverside Theater, chairs and waving our arms. The matic Chinese pottery figures Pablo Picasso, Anselm Kiefer and tight zoning rules, the “beachside” tamales and cod fritters; the wealthy residents have supported first duet we made, “Both Sitting cient to the modern world next from the Tang Dynasty (618-906), Joseph Beuys, with prices ranging part of Vero is so exclusive that a re- What to do: Kayaks Etc.’s ca- “Chef for a Day” package (from new hospitals, environmental-pro- Duet,” came about because we week. Objects, with an estimated depicting warriors standing on from $100,000 up to the millions. cently launched local weekly news- noe and kayak trips start at $35 $387 per room) includes cooking tection groups and relief programs wanted to translate a piece of music combined value of more than $1 bil- bulls (price: in the region of A baroque yet contemporary Courtesy of Otto Jakob paper aimed at the high-end market per adult and $10 per child, pri- lessons with Chef David Rod- to rebuild homes that were dam- by the American composer Morton lion, will spread over an area of Œ150,000). feel is evident at German jeweler is named after its postal code: Vero vate tours at $50 per adult and riguez. The Ocean Grill on the aged in the 2004 hurricane season, Feldman called “For John Cage” roughly four football fields in the For the first time, Tefaf will Otto Jakob. “I only ever wanted to Above, ‘Wolodja’ earrings Beach 32963. (A mainland resident, $35 per child (772-794-9900 or beach, in a weathered wood says Bob Gibb, president of John’s Is- into gesture. Feldman’s music is Dutch town of Maastricht from have a special section devoted en- be at Maastricht where art and jew- by Otto Jakob; price: Œ57,600. in a letter to the editor, accused the kayaksetc.com). For a faster and building circa-1941, features sea- land Real Estate Co. They like the an- very gentle and quiet, but we some- March 13 to 22. tirely to modern design. Among elry are together,” says Mr. Jakob. paper of “pandering to the beach more adventurous ride—and pos- food, steaks and appetizers like 1 Vero Beach Hotel onymity, the privacy and the light how made something jolly and Tefaf's enormous diversity of the exhibitors will be Sebastian & Invited in 2007, he jumped at the Eisenstein’s silent film “The Battle- crowd…without so much as a ges- sible alligator sightings—try an bubbling crab dip; entrees from 2 Costa d’Este traffic when it comes to eating out. funny. If you work with rhythm you objects makes it a barometer for Barquet of New York, a gallery chance: “We had great sales. But ship Potemkin” (price: Œ57,600). ture to a mainland which makes airboat tour with airboatadven- $20.95. 3 Kayaks Etc. are dealing with time, and you cre- collector markets. Ben Janssens, which recently opened a second that was before the financial cri- Among the old master paint- WSJ.com their lives possible.”) turetours.com or stumpknocker. Other options: Indigo at the 4 Museum of Art ate an expectation. If you don’t de- the Tefaf chairman and London- space in London and views Tefaf sis. This year is an adventure.” ings on offer at Tefaf is “Black Stal- Ms. Estefan and her husband, com, $40 per person. Vero Beach Hotel, Maison Marti- liver, it’s doubly funny. based oriental art dealer, says that as an important part of its expan- Among his pieces will be lion and His Groom” (1605) by 5 Riverside Theater A sunshine state producer Emilio Estefan Jr., live in The Verobeach.com Web site nique at the Caribbean Court Ho- See more photos from a few months ago he was careful sion into the European market. On “Wolodja,” exotic gold, diamond Dutch master Roelandt Savery at Q: Did you set out to make a Miami but own a second home in has information on fishing, in- tel, and The Tides; Bobby’s for Vero Beach in an audio slideshow, at about his expectations for the fair, the stand will be Japanese-Ameri- and enamel earrings with faces of Paris gallery De Jonckheere cluding charters, and other recre- sports fans. trilogy? but now he feels “very positive.” can designer George Nakashima’s Russian cadets, inspired by Sergei (price: around Œ600,000). Vero, and in 2004 decided to pur- WSJ.com/Travel chase and renovate an old hotel on No. After we made the first

W12 FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 | WEEKEND JOURNAL WEEKEND JOURNAL | FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 W5 v Film What sibling rivalry has wrought Comic-book-loving producer specializes Less than cordial relations between brothers produce two exceptional small-batch liqueurs

CCASIONALLY, A NEW li- John Cooper’s ginger liqueur By Jamin Brophy-Warren queur will come along that Cooper Brothers also took time to develop. His fa- ATE IN THE AFTER- Ogets a boost from being ther had imported a Chinese gin- NOON in Los Angeles, used in a fashionable cocktail. Cocktail ger liqueur, Canton, for a few Thomas Tull, chief ex- Where would Galliano be if not for 45 ml bourbon years in the 1990s, and it never ecutive officer of Leg- the Harvey Wallbanger? Whither found a following. But given the endary Pictures, has Kahlúa without the Black and 15 ml St-Germain elderflower number of bartenders making snuck out of his office White Russians? But rare is the liqueur fresh ginger syrups for use in orig- Lto read comic books. new liqueur that becomes a go-to inal cocktails in the past few 7 ml Domaine de Canton “You want to know what’s re- ingredient for bartenders creating years, and the trend in pan-Asian ally cool?” says Mr. Tull as he a host of new drinks, the sort of ginger liqueur cuisine, John recognized that the walks through a comic-book store versatile essential that Cointreau Stir, stir, stir with ice and time for a fancy ginger liqueur in the chic Silver Lake neighbor- then strain into a stemmed had finally arrived. The challenge hood. He points to titles that his was to get a true ginger flavor cocktail glass. Twist a piece company has made into movies. How’s Your Drink? that would be stable. After plenty of orange peel over the top of “‘Watchmen.’ ‘Dark Knight.’ ‘300.’ ERIC FELTEN of experimentation, he found the We made all of those,” he says. the drink. Garnish with a right formula in a maceration of He’s read each of those comics a fresh orange twist. both fresh and caramelized gin- half-dozen times. became in the 1920s, when it was ger. There’s a name for people who, used in every third or fourth cock- For all that St-Germain and Do- like Mr. Tull, are singularly de- tail. And yet, in the past two was wowed by the exotic taste. El- maine de Canton have in common, voted to comics or some other years, two new liqueurs have been derflower syrup proved to be a they are very different liqueurs. pop-cultural pursuit: fanboys. This widely adopted by the demanding trend—first with London’s elite St-Germain is only lightly sug- week, as executive producer, he’ll bartenders who call themselves bartenders, and then with many in ared, and its delicate flavors are help bring to the big screen his fa- “cocktailians.” New York and San Francisco—and friendly and easily accessible to vorite comic book: “Watchmen.” St-Germain elderflower liqueur Robert Cooper thought it would casual drinkers. Domaine de Can- The 38-year-old Mr. Tull is part hit the scene in 2007 and quickly be a natural as a liqueur. (The fla- ton, by contrast, is intensely of a new generation of film and gained near-ubiquity in high-end vors in sugar syrups can deterio- spiced with ginger and then hon- TV executives who were raised on © Warner Bros. Entertainment, Paramount Pictures Corporation bars, finding its way into a flock rate quickly, but the alcohol in a eyed heavily enough to keep the videogames and comics and are of original modern cocktails; Do- liqueur acts as a preservative.) ginger heat from scorching. now turning those childhood ob- get audience of teen boys from Above (from left), Patrick Wilson as his basement—has decided that maine de Canton ginger liqueur While still at the family com- Sky Cooper says he’s proud of sessions into big-budget realities. seeing it at all. The movie fea- Nite Owl II, Malin Akerman as Silk catering to the fanboys makes got going in earnest last year and pany, he worked at developing the both sons, but adds that there is a Last year’s “The Dark Knight” is tures a long scene of superhero Spectre II and Jackie Earle Haley as business sense. Many of the same is on a similar trajectory. liqueur for several years without downside to their success. “You the second-highest grossing film sex and a number of violent Rorschach in ‘Watchmen’; above right kind of fans that once flocked to Both liqueurs are made in much encouragement. “My father have two sons you love” who are ever in the U.S., bringing in more scenes throughout, including some and below, images from “Star Wars” will be waiting on small batches in France, both are would come along and say, ‘Are competing with each other, which than $500 million at the box of- particularly bloody ones in a comic-book-inspired films produced by opening day for “Watchmen.” Typi- presented in elegantly executed you still working on that flower “from a standpoint of family isn’t fice there and $1 billion globally. prison-escape sequence. It’s also a Legendary Pictures: ‘The Dark Knight’ cally young and male (although trophy bottles, and both have s2?’” Now, Robert says, “My always great.” He’s planning to Popular TV shows like “Heroes,” long film, clocking in around 2µ and ‘300’; left, Legendary’s CEO, growing numbers of females have been enthusiastically praised (in dad’s eating a little crow.” convene a family meeting to see if “Lost,” and “Smallville” draw hours. Mr. Creutz doesn’t think Thomas Tull. joined their ranks), the fanboy set 2007, St-Germain was judged best “He’s proven me wrong,” says there is a way to reunite the enter- heavily on the imagery and the film will bomb, and notes that is omnivorous—consuming com- liqueur at the San Francisco Sky Cooper. “I didn’t realize how prises. themes of comic-book culture. Di- “300” faced similar hurdles. But ics, TV, film and videogames. It’s a World Spirits Competition; in good it would be.” In the spirit of bringing fami- rectors such as Joss Whedon and he says that if “Watchmen” isn’t a ally abandoned its plans and Mr. notoriously fickle group—movies 2008, Domaine de Canton took the And it did take some time to lies together, I tried my hand at writers like Brian K. Vaughan blockbuster, “I think Warner Bros. Gordon took the project to multi- such as “The Spirit” have bombed prize). Remarkably, these back-to- develop. Batches made from fro- creating a cocktail using both li- jump back and forth between com- might be disappointed.” ple studios, including Universal when they failed to live up to fan- back successes were executed by a zen flowers weren’t any good. But queurs. After playing around with ics, movies and other media and The comic-book version of and Paramount, before landing at boy expectations. “This is my pair of brothers, John and Robert even when using fresh blossoms, various base spirits, I settled on

attract thousands of fans at enter- “Watchmen,” a dark tale about a Warner Bros. Last year, Fox al- group,” says Mr. Tull. “They like Cooper. More remarkable still, Dylan Cross for TheRobert Wall Street Journal couldn’t capture the elu- bourbon as the drink’s backbone. tainment conventions. Hollywood world where superheroes are leged that Mr. Gordon failed to ob- stuff I like.” they didn’t do it together. Each sive fruitiness he had tasted in In adding the two liqueurs, I used has embraced these executives be- banned and must operate under- tain the rights for the film from it Legendary Pictures, which is has his own liqueur company, and For his part, Robert Cooper, 32, half of whatever I built.” the London bar’s homemade elder- Domaine de Canton sparingly, cause they have the inside track ground, was written by Alan and in December, a federal judge housed on the Warner Bros. lot, their triumphs seem to be born of says that “I thought we should all It’s our good fortune that Rob- flower syrup. He finally discov- given its more aggressive flavor. on a coveted audience: teenage Moore and illustrated by Dave Gib- agreed to hear the case. With an- started in 2004, when Mr. Tull a sibling rivalry that isn’t always climb to the top of the mountain ert struck out on his own, because ered that the bitter flavor wreck- The result I call a Cooper Broth- boys. bons. First released as a series in other delay looming in an already signed a five-year, 25-picture cordial. together.” But once it became his excellent elderflower liqueur ing his prototypes was coming ers Cocktail. “Watchmen” is the greatest pro- 1986 and 1987, it was hailed for its two-decade-long process and a agreement with Warner Bros. to The Cooper brothers grew up clear that his brother was going might never have seen the light of from the stems of the flowers. He Robert and John may be fessional challenge yet for Mr. subversion of comic-book clichés. Warner Bros. ad campaign in full finance feature films (the pact in the liqueur business. After Pro- to start his own company, Robert day as a Jacquin product. In 2001, found that if the elderflower locked in vigorous competition Tull, who, among other things, Superhero tales typically focus on swing, the two studios reached an was subsequently extended to hibition, their grandfather bought says, he also decided to stop work- promoting Chambord in Britain, bunches were pressed ever so with one another, but their li- Brad Swonetz/Redux for The Wall Street Journal used to be in the coin-laundry battles between good and evil. agreement last month. Terms of about 40 films). Similar to outfits the rights to a venerable Ameri- ing for his father. “If I continued Robert went to a London bar that slightly, the petals would give up queurs make good partners. business before launching Legend- The characters in “Watchmen,” Mr. Tull first read “Watchmen” the agreement weren’t disclosed, like Village Roadshow Pictures can liqueur brand, Charles Jacquin to work in the family business, was making cocktails with a syrup their flavor but the bitter juice in Email Eric Felten at eric. ary. The company, which has a pro- however, are flawed and complex, in college. He loved the charac- but reports have said it involves a (“The Matrix”), Legendary is an et Cie. Their father, Norton J. someday my brother would have made from fresh elderflowers and the stems would stay put. [email protected]. duction deal with Warner Bros., and the moral choices they make ters, particularly Rorschach, the cash payment to Fox and a cut of independent production company. “Sky” Cooper, kept the brand go- put up about half of the $100 mil- are difficult and messy. The com- book’s dysfunctional antihero. the film’s box-office gross. (Fox is When he first began raising ing but made his real fortune in- lion budget for “Watchmen.” Un- ic’s serpentine story is laced with “He’s so violent and uncompromis- a unit of News Corp., which also money for Legendary, Mr. Tull con- troducing Chambord, a French like “Dark Knight,” which featured references to poetry, philosophy ing,” Mr. Tull says. owns Dow Jones & Co., publisher sulted financial models to see if raspberry liqueur, to the U.S. heroes and villains such as Bat- and music, and features numerous The comic has a tortured his- of The Wall Street Journal.) he could make money creating Both of the brothers worked man and the Joker who are fami- tangents, including a subplot tory in Hollywood. 20th Century After years of stops and starts, films for fanboys. These models for years marketing that liqueur, Wind power lar to people who don’t read com- about a sailor lost at sea. “We Fox bought the rights in the 1980s many comic-book fans are eager analyzed recent films, looking at in its distinctive globe-shaped bot- ics, the new film doesn’t rely on were doing things that hadn’t for producer Lawrence Gordon for “Watchmen” to finally be re- dozens of factors like potential tle; both were left to figure out Singer-songwriter Neko Case on her new album ‘Middle Cyclone’ any well-known characters. And been seen before in the superhero (“Die Hard,” Field of Dreams”) leased. Mr. Tull—who owns some revenue lines and international what to do next when, in 2006, while “Dark Knight” starred Chris- genre. I mean, we had a full-fron- who oversaw the writing and re- 100 action-figure statuettes and success. “You look at these films— their father sold Chambord to Neko Case didn’t want to appear ‘This Tornado Loves You’ ‘People Got a Lotta Nerve’ tian Bale and Heath Ledger, tal nude male,” says Mr. Gibbons. writing of the script. Fox eventu- stores hundreds of comic books in they’ve become consistent and Brown-Forman—the liquor behe- on the cover of her new album, but A guitar sets a twitchy pace for Featuring an elephant in a concrete “Watchmen” doesn’t feature any have a very clear audience. You’re moth behind Jack Daniel’s—for her record label was adamant. So sweeping piano and choir as Ms. cage and a killer whale that takes half big-name actors. not getting ‘Under the Tuscan about $250 million. she compromised—by going over Case gives voice to a force of nature. of someone’s leg, this upbeat song For the movie industry, “Watch- Sun.’ It’s not their business,” says The brothers were well posi- the top. In a photo, the flame- The song “came from a dream I had explores what Ms. Case calls a double men” is the first big test of the financial adviser Roy Salter, tioned to make their own go at haired singer brandishes a sword that I met a tornado. I was very scared standard for wild animals: People year. Financing films has become whose firm produced the data. Mr. selling liqueurs—they had experi- while crouching barefoot on the of it. The tornado wanted me to read a admire their power but act dismayed increasingly difficult as the global Tull is quick to note that making ence in the production and market- hood of a 1967 Mercury Cougar. book. It couldn’t read or hold the book,” when they lash out. “People expect credit-crunch has tightened wal- films “is not the widget business” ing of cordials; connections with Ms. Case’s tongue-in-cheek she says. In the song, the tornado’s them to have the same moral codes as lets. But despite the recession, box- and doesn’t solely rely on data. distributors, retailers, bars and attitude creeps through the cryptic violence—“smashed every transformer us. I like to celebrate nature’s ups and office returns in 2008 were about Many studios are betting on su- bartenders; and no little capital love songs and transcribed dreams with every trailer ’til nothing was downs,” she says. She sings on the even last year compared with the perhero films. Last week, Marvel from their shares of the Cham- on the album, “Middle Cyclone,” standing,” Ms. Case sings—seems to be chorus, “I’m a maneater, but you’re previous year, in part due to the Entertainment’s Marvel Studios bord sale. which builds on her roots in the the result of unrequited love. surprised when I eat ya.” success of “Dark Knight.” So far (which focuses on the genre and “You do what you know,” says alternative country movement and this year, box office is up about released last year’s hit superhero John Cooper, who is 34. But he her collaborations with the rock ‘Don’t Forget Me’ 14%, according to Box Office Mojo. film “Iron Man”) announced that wasn’t eager to do what he knew collective New Pornographers. On her version of this 1974 Harry Although Warner Bros. has mar- its net income more than doubled as part of the family company, Writing the album, “I got really pianos delivered to her Vermont Nilsson ballad, Ms. Case didn’t attempt keted “Watchmen” heavily and it in the fourth quarter after it be- partly because, as he puts it, when into weather and nature, not even barn, only six could be properly tuned to replicate the songwriter’s lush faces little competition upon its gan producing its own films in- you grow up you don’t necessarily metaphorically, but literally,” says (“There’s no such thing as a free piano,” instrumentation. Instead she created release, the film is not a sure stead of licensing them. Warner want to keep sharing a house with Ms. Case, who is moving to a farm she says), so the recordings were her own “low-fi orchestra” using free thing. Doug Creutz, vice president Bros. has started mining the cata- your siblings. “I wish my brother in Vermont. The singer discussed looped and layered for an effect pianos from Craigslist. Of the eight that she calls “clumsy and ambling.” of equity research at Cowen & Co., log of DC Comics, which published well,” he says, before giving a sim- songs from “Cyclone.” says the movie’s R rating and “Watchmen.” Coming Warner ple explanation of why a partner- —John Jurgensen Listen to clips from Neko Case’s ‘Middle Cyclone,’ at WSJ.com/Lifestyle. graphic content could deter some Bros. films based on DC Comics ti- ship wouldn’t have worked: “We Jason Creps moviegoers—and prevent the tar- tles include “Green Lantern.” “We don’t get along.” © Warner Bros. Entertainment (2)

W6 FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 | WEEKEND JOURNAL WEEKEND JOURNAL | FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 W11 v Food & Drink A difficult love affair with Barolo in superheroes E RECENTLY VISITED our favorite secret-hideaway, Wcash-only, little Italian The 2004 Barolo index joint, where the owner sometimes sells wine cheap from his special cel- In a broad blind tasting of Barolo from the 2004 vintage, these were our lar and you pour your own darn bot- favorites, all of which are made in small quantities. Some Barolo producers tle. The special that night was a have relationships with small importers or local stores, so distribution is 1997 Barolo for $60. This was a deal haphazard. Specific labels can be hard to find, but good merchants will have we found impossible to refuse. We at least some Barolo from 2004. These will age well for many years. Barolo ordered the wine and it was terrific— is good with roasts and other special meals. These are powerful wines, earthy, soulful, powerful and proud. especially in their youth, but not overly alcoholic. Every wine in our tasting Even with our spicy chicken dishes, was 14.5% alcohol or less. the wine seemed a masterful match. © Warner Bros. Entertainment We lingered over it forever, but nei- VINEYARD PRICE RATING COMMENTS Above, Billy Crudup as Dr. Manhattan in ‘Watchmen’; below, Harrison Ford (foreground) and Jamison Haase in ‘Crossing Over.’ Giacomo Grimaldi $53* Very Good/ Best of tasting and best Tastings ‘Sotto Castello Delicious value. This is Barolo—intense, DOROTHY J. GAITER di Novello’ serious, powerful. Chocolate, raisins, some dried cherries and AND JOHN BRECHER marvelous earthiness. Worth every penny and more. We also Extrasensory overload liked the regular Grimaldi ($40). ther of us took a single sip for ATCHMEN” PRESENTS mediocrity to distinctive dreadful- granted. The wine kept telling us, two great challenges— ness. But how does it succeed in fail- “Attention must be paid,” and we Attilio Ghisolfi $35.99 Very Good Real focus and nice edges. getting your mind ing so fully? Many movies, after all, did. The Barolo made the entire Highly personal, with huge fruit ‘W around it, and getting your head out are afflicted with dim characters de- meal special, transporting us not that’s so pure and real it’s easy to drink despite its size. from under it. The first was to be ex- claiming dumb dialogue, and Harri- only to the hills of Piedmont, but to Quite a wine. pected. The source material, a son Ford, who plays an immigration a different time. It made us realize graphic novel by Alan Moore and agent in this one, is no more morose how much we miss Barolo. Corino $65* Very Good Lovely flavors, with cherry- Dave Gibbons, is a work of unusual than he was last year as Indiana We love Barolo, the great wine ‘Vigna Giachini’ chocolate tastes and a intricacy, visual power and narra- Jones. The key is runaway connec- from Italy made from the Nebbiolo lingering, mouth-coating finish. tive ambition. Doing full justice to tivity. Never mind “The Curse of the grape, and we always have. Because Maintains its tight fruit from such a classic in a single movie was Mummy’s Tomb.” What we have it ages so well for so long, we used to beginning to end. have a basic overall philosophy of silly real quick,” he says. clearly impossible, though hun- © The Weinstein Company here is the curse of “Crash” and “Ba- collect many vintages of it. We en- trying to make event films—large Mr. Tull lives in a quiet town dreds of artists and technicians led or will not, save the world from nu- bel.” Good/ joyed Barolo so often that we even Marcarini ‘La $55* More relaxed than most, more films for a broad-based audience,” called Calabasas about 25 minutes by the director, Zack Snyder—his clear annihilation: Patrick Wilson’s The common denominator of Very Good stored some at our favorite restau- Serra’ elegant, with some complexity says Barry Meyer, CEO of Warner outside of Los Angeles and some- previous film was the violent Spar- Nite Owl (don’t blame Mr. Wilson, those two overpraised but influen- rant in Coral Gables, Fla., so we and food-friendly acidity. Bros. Entertainment. “With comic times drives a Toyota Prius to tan morality saga “300”—have rev- who actually does some acting); Ma- tial films was their jigsaw-puzzle Earthy, with chocolate, cherries could drink it with dinner there and characters, they have some of the work. Raised by a single mother lin Akerman’s statuesque Silk Spec- structure—disparate lives tied to- and minerals. Longtime favorite. share it with the owner. This restau- greatest appeal for a moviegoing in the small city of Binghamton, tre (“Omigod,” she exclaims during gether by tentacles of coincidence, rant was the first place we took our audience.” N.Y., Mr. Tull often watched two Film that interlude, “we’re on Mars!”); or convenience, that reached across daughter Media. She was two Mauro Veglio $58* Good/ Nicely balanced and confident. Legendary suffered some early or three VHS movies a day Matthew Goode’s Ozymandias (as a sprawling city in the first case and ‘Vigneto Arborina’ Very Good Real guts, with rich, dark-fruit JOE MORGENSTERN months old, sitting in her carrier on setbacks. The company’s 2006 (“Jaws” and “Close Encounters of the smartest person on earth, he across the whole world in the sec- tastes. Meaty. the table, and we opened one of our movie “Superman Returns” under- the Third Kind” were favorites) gets smart-aleck lines like “I’m not a ond. The meaning was clear—we’re Barolos in her honor. We have often Note: Wines are rated on a scale that ranges: Yech, OK, Good, Very Good, Delicious and Delicious! *We paid $59.99 performed. It funded two more while his mother worked as a den- erently moved great dollops of the comic-book villain”) and Billy all related, whether we know it or said that, if stranded on a desert is- for Grimaldi, $69.99 for Corino, $48 and $67 for Marcarini and $55 for Veglio, but these prices appear to be more flops back-to-back that year: “Ant tal hygienist. Abandoning plans to book to the big screen. Crudup’s godlike Dr. Manhattan not—but the bloodless technique land with one bottle of wine, we’d representative. Prices vary widely. Bully,” an animated film featuring become a lawyer after college, he The second is essential to sus- (the only one who possesses true su- made a mockery of E.M. Forster’s hu- want Barolo. It is so soulful and life- Shira Kronzon for The Wall Street Journal Julia Roberts and Nicolas Cage, owned a chain of laundromats and taining sanity. Unless you’re heavily perpowers). manist injunction “Only connect.” affirming that, with one glass, we’d We set a price limit at $70 to see that impressive. You can’t imagine can become more and more majes- Fortunately, we tasted a few that and “Lady in the Water,” a sus- car-repair centers, although he invested—as countless fans and fer- Unlike “300,” which combined In the case of “Crossing Over,” just know we’d be rescued—and we if we could find 50 at that price, and our shock and disappointment. tic with time, but these generally reminded us how wonderful Barolo pense title directed by M. Night didn’t have a passion for either vent fanboys are—in the novel’s live-action characters with com- which seems to have more strands wouldn’t care if we were. we had no trouble doing that. The Flight after flight left us cold. They are not majestic wines, and they will can be. “Powerful, with great fruit, Shyamalan. The Monday after business. He later became presi- flawed superheroes, its jaundiced puter-generated sets, this film uses than a fiber-optic cable, would-be But we haven’t drunk much wines included so many old friends, weren’t bad. They were pleasant never be. “If you don’t pay attention plenty of earth, dried cherries and “Lady” opened to poor reviews dent of Convex Group, a media in- take on heroism and its alternate vi- physical settings as well, and it’s all immigrants are connected by their Barolo in a while. Somehow, it be- from Silvio Grasso to Pio Cesare. We enough. But with wine after wine, with every sip, it’s not Barolo,” John chocolate. Dry and raisiny, with face- and slow sales, Alan Horn, operat- vestment company, where he over- sion of American history, watching to the good; the production as a common desire to gain resident sta- came a special occasion wine to us. had not conducted a Barolo tasting we used a word that should never be said at one point—and too many of slapping intensity. Serious stuff,” ing chief of Warner Bros., called saw projects like purchasing the “Watchmen” is the spiritual equiva- whole is impressive. So is the eclec- tus in the U.S., whether legally or Partly it’s the price—it’s hard to find in four years and we looked forward used to describe Barolo: simple. It’s these were not worthy of much at- we wrote of one, which turned out Mr. Tull to reassure him about the Web site howstuffworks.com. lent of being whacked on the skull tic soundtrack, which ranges from not. Beyond that, though, they’re hy- one for less than $50 and it’s possi- to this with unusual anticipation. not that they were made in more of tention. Too many tasted diluted— to be Giacomo Grimaldi. Other good future of their partnership. At a dinner in Los Angeles in for 163 minutes. The reverence is in- Philip Glass and Leonard Cohen to perlinked in arbitrary ways—mar- ble to pay far more. But it’s more Dottie cooked a special meal each an “international” style, with softer thin around the edges; overly ones reminded us of black olives Legendary’s luck started to 2003, an executive at Metro-Gold- ert, the violence noxious, the my- Bob Dylan (performed by Jimi Hen- riage, family, romance, adultery, pro- than that. Barolo is so regal, so seri- night—including, of course, her own tannins and a smoother taste, grapey; soft; and even, in some and very ripe though very tight turn around when director Zack wyn-Mayer piqued Mr. Tull’s inter- thology murky, the tone grandiose, drix) and Paul Simon (“The Sounds fessional partnership, a fender- ous, so powerful that it’s hard to version of beef Barolo, which we though that was sometimes the cases, creamy. While it’s possible fruit, the kind of fruit that seems to Snyder showed up at Mr. Tull’s of- est in Hollywood after complain- the texture glutinous. It’s an alter- of Silence” plays over a haunting bender in the spirit of make time—and an appropriate first enjoyed with Bruno and Mar- case. It’s that the bar, overall, that we set our price limit too low, explode in our mouths and make our fice with an idea to make Frank ing about the difficulty involved nate version of “The Incredibles” mi- scene in a Brooklyn cemetery). At “Crash”—that only serve to meal—for it in a busy world. Yes, it cello Ceretto more than two decades seemed lower than it has been. The we expect wines from a fine vintage toes tingle. The finish on the good Miller’s graphic novel “300,” vio- in financing films. Mr. Tull, nus the delight. the same time, the martial arts, heighten the absurdity of their indi- happens to us, too. ago at Marcello’s home in Piedmont. wines lacked soul and intensity. We to show well, generally. Consider ones was long, dry and earthy, with lent historical fiction about the spurred by his love of movies, quit The story starts with the brutal along with some crucial special ef- vidual stories. The ’97 reminded us what we We tasted the wines in blind expect greatness, or at least a reach the inexpensive red Bordeaux from a lovely balance of dark fruit and last stand of a band of Spartans his job at Convex and spent a year murder of a brutish antihero called fects, are inelegant to say the least. Mr. Ford’s immigration agent, were missing. A few days later, we flights over several nights and.... for greatness, from Barolo. Yes, they 2005, for instance, which we found acidity that lingers. There were vari- against Persian invaders. Mr. Sny- on the road raising money largely “The Comedian,” then quickly turns But then elegance isn’t Zack Sny- Max Brogan, is a good guy caught in took a 1964 Ceretto Barolo to our fa- Darn it. They really just weren’t were very young, and fine, Barolo impressive at $20 and less. ous tastes from basil to chocolate, der had pitched the idea to a from private-equity firms. Eventu- into a paranoid thriller as a crazed der’s bag; a certain sort of impact is. bad circumstances. (The helpful vorite “bring-your-own-bottle” not to mention mouth-puckering dozen studios, but executives had ally, he raised about $500 million vigilante, Rorschach, searches for “Watchmen” establishes him as Hol- script tells us that he’s a good guy in place. When we opened the wine at tannins, that made the wines com- told him that “sword-and-sandal” in initial financing to launch Leg- the killer and uncovers an apocalyp- lywood’s reigning master of psychic the very first scene, when he tries to 6:40 p.m., it was slightly dusty and plex, interesting and substantial, flicks were passé—or that they endary. Mr. Tull pushed for the tic plot. (Rorschach wears a mask suffocation. protect a comely young Latina seemed tired. Two hours later, with muscularity and depth. had similar projects in the pipe- company to take a hands-on ap- with inkblots swirling beneath its ‘Crossing Over’ worker during a raid on a Los Ange- though, it had pulled itself together Would we rush out and buy a line. Mr. Tull, a fan of Mr. Miller’s proach to its movies. “We treat surface, and narrates the voice- les garment factory and a fellow into an ephemeral, soft treat, still Wine Notes: Is ‘Old Tokay’ OK? 2004 Barolo? No. But all love affairs comics, signed on immediately. each film like a start-up,” he says, over, sounding like a nut-job Bat- “Crossing Over” has its heart in agent says testily, “Everything is a with a core of intact, sweet fruit and hit rough patches. We have no de- The film went on to have one of because he regularly pores over man besotted by Raymond Chan- umpteen places and its head stuffed humanitarian crisis with you.”) An- rich earth. It sang both with Dottie’s HEN WE WENT into my more than a hundred years ago only 175 by 1956. sire to divorce Barolo and we’re not the biggest openings of 2007, scripts and consults with direc- dler. He’s played by Jackie Earle Ha- with dramatic claptrap. Wayne other crisis involves an Australian duck and John’s mango chicken. Wgrandfather’s house many and “Sierra Madre Winery, at La- John Melville wrote in the going to. If anything, all of this re- grossing nearly $500 million tors. ley, who is genuinely frightening on Kramer’s interlocking saga of immi- actress’s attempt to score a green Naturally, those two yummy ex- years ago we found a bottle of manda Park, today part of Pasa- 1960 edition of “Guide to Califor- minded us how very special those world-wide. “I think [Mr. Tull] un- Legendary is currently develop- the few occasions when he sheds his gration in 21st-century America def- card and the efforts of her agnostic periences nudged us to conduct a “Old Tokay” from the Sierra Ma- dena, is the best example. The nia Wines” that California Tokay good bottles can be. But before we’d derstands whether it’ll make ing a film version of the popular mask.) The film, like the novel, leaps initely crosses over, from workaday boyfriend, a British musician, to broad blind tasting. The good news dre Vintage Co. in Lamanda, Ca- first vineyards were planted in is “a hybrid of little charm unre- spend that kind of money, we’d money, because he looks at it as a Gears of War videogame fran- back and forth in time and space— pass himself off as a religious Jew. is that the well-regarded 2004 vin- lif. The bottle is sealed in wax 1871 and the winery built in 1885 lated in any way to the renowned make sure we had a merchant we fan,” says Mr. Snyder. chise; the company is also work- one dreamy interlude takes place on WSJ.com His story provides the first and tage has recently arrived, but we fig- and has been stored on its side by Albert Brigdon and J.F. Clark. Tokay wines of Hungary. Califor- trusted who has a good selection of In the wake of the success of ing on a remake of “Clash of the Mars—but the action is set mainly only whiff of intentional humor: La ured that might be the bad news, at least for the last 20 years. The red table wines produced nia Tokay, amber pink in color, is a Italian wines. “300,” Mr. Snyder approached Mr. Titans,” and a film adaptation of in the parallel universe of a 1980s Migra requires the boyfriend to re- too: We assumed that these wines, We guess that it’s around 80 here won numerous awards, in- blend of angelica or other neutral And, most certainly, before lay- Tull about making “Watchmen.” “Where the Wild Things Are.” America where the Cold War has Opening this week in Europe cite the Kaddish in the sternly judg- never inexpensive, would be crazy years old. What can you tell us cluding a gold medal in Paris in wine, sherry to give a slightly ing any down—and that is what Mr. Tull was initially skeptical Mr. Tull aims to branch out. reached the boiling point, the n Confessions of a Shopaholic mental presence of an orthodox expensive for such a good vintage, about it? 1900. An 1895 Zinfandel tasted in nutty taste, and port to lend it most Barolo lovers do—we would about the idea. “I looked at him He’s creating a digital department doomsday clock is approaching mid- Germany, Netherlands rabbi. For the rest, the film relies on especially considering that just —Daniel Harris, 1976 was ‘Still fruity and com- color. Occasionally, the Flame taste them to make sure we liked and said ‘Really?’” Mr. Tull remem- for future Web ventures, and the night and formerly prominent super- n Gran Torino Italy, Netherlands silly happenstance, superheated ba- about the entire 2002 vintage was Fayetteville, N.Y. plete, old but still alive,’ accord- Tokay grape, which makes such a them even in their infancy so we bers. “I’m not saying its unfil- company will become more in- heroes have woven themselves into n He's Just Not That Into You Sweden nalities and a frenzied, cross-cut- ruined by bad weather, including ing to the tasters.” He says the brilliant display of its foliage in au- wouldn’t be disappointed as they mable, but it’s heady stuff.” But he volved in videogames. everyday life. n Marley and Me Belgium, ting climax that plays like a parody hail. As we looked around, though, We are often asked questions winery closed in 1923. By the way, tumn around Lodi, is used in the mature. gave the film the green light and At the comic-book store in Sil- That setting is amusing, up to a Czech Republic, Estonia, U.K. of “The Godfather.” Some immi- we found that the economic mess is like this. One good place to re- in “A History of Wine in America,” wine’s production.” stayed in contact with Mr. Snyder, ver Lake, however, Mr. Tull is still point. A Cyrano-nosed Richard n Slumdog Millionaire Croatia, Estonia, grants make it while others don’t, clearly keeping demand for Barolo, search old wineries is the book “A Thomas Pinney notes that “Los Our guess is that this “Old WSJ.com tweaking the script and reviewing thinking about his coming movie. Nixon is serving a third term in the Finland, Romania some are deserving while others are Companion to California Wine” Angeles County, the place where Tokay” was a sweet wine and sketches of the characters. He was He eyes the store clerk. “So, let White House. A Henry Kissinger not, but that’s the extent of the and therefore prices, down. We The Italian job n The International Belgium, France even saw sales on the 2004s. Not by Charles L. Sullivan. In it, he California winegrowing origi- sweet wines can age well, so it’s al- particularly concerned with mak- me ask you a question,” he says, growl-alike sports a Slavic accent. script’s wisdom. Confronted by one Watch John and Dottie taste and talk Source: IMDB that the wines are inexpensive, but writes that Southern California nated, still had some 4,700 acres ways possible that this still tastes about 2004 Barolo, at ing sure the costumes would placing his stack of comics on the Yet an all-pervasive joylessness of the central dramas of our time, produced high-quality wines of vineyard as late as 1940,” but something like wine. work. “If someone’s running checkout table. “What do you guys makes it impossible to care about WSJ.com subscribers can read reviews of “Crossing Over” has nothing to de- it’s possible they could still be good WSJ.com/Tastings these films and others at WSJ.com/FilmReview values if they are transcendent. around in spandex that can get think about ‘Watchmen?’” the big costumed cheeses who will, clare.

W10 FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 | WEEKEND JOURNAL WEEKEND JOURNAL | FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 W7 v Fashion

Designs by Zaha Hadid (from far left): leather shoes for Melissa; the Icone bag for Louis Vuitton; the Chanel Mobile Art container.

kle-high leather boots. The shoes— By Isis Almeida one pair black, the other black- and-white, with buttons running down the side—sell in J.M. Weston boutiques for Œ1,400. ASHION IS archi- “As a young architect, I was fas- tecture,” Coco cinated by fashion,” Mr. Gehry Big-name Chanel once said. says. “The J.M. Weston project “It is a matter of was a great opportunity not only proportions.” to explore something new and architects Top fashion de- that I was interested in, but also signers have often taken inspira- to work in partnership with my start designing From left: David Grandorge; Werner Hutmacher; Marc Gerritsen tion from architecture, bringing to son.” their catwalks techniques, materi- For the French luxury shoe- fashion als and structures used in cutting- maker, Mr. Gehry was an obvious edge building design. The works of choice since his style matches the British-Turkish designer Hussein brand’s own design emphasis on Chalayan (who once created a col- contemporary and pure shapes, contract when wrapped around his architectural style: clean, light, “I was invited to create a bag Far left, Ron Arad with his lection in which chairs and tables said Michael Blanchard, a spokes- the foot to create the fluid forms minimalist and functional. for Notify Jeans about two years Kenzo perfume bottle; left, became garments), Belgian Martin person for J.M. Weston. that follow the contours of the “Architecture has always been ago, but the first ideas didn’t re- the designer’s Margiela (who uses elements of de- “We feel there is a close syn- foot.” an important discipline for Lutz & ally take off,” Mr. Arad says. “It sometimes-see-through contructivism in his avant-garde ergy between the worlds of archi- The shoe’s ergonomic shape Patmos, since our collections are was only when [fashion model] bag for Notify Jeans. collections) and Japanese Issey tecture and shoe design,” Mr. Blan- emphasizes utility, a characteris- inspired in architectural shapes,” Linda Evangelista told me that Miyake (whose pleats and cantile- chard says. “They share similar tic the architect believes is essen- says Tina Lutz, the label’s founder. she’d would wear one of my arm- completely different concepts,” vers practically quote architec- qualities through technique, de- tial to both fashion and architec- “Moreover, our idea of fashion is chairs under her arm that the she says. “We’ve developed ture) are just a few examples. sign and shape.” ture. not the ephemeral designs that right idea really flourished.” projects that we wouldn’t have Until recently architects have Mr. Gehry’s boot design is not American architect and Pritz- come and go every season. For us, The bag features a button that, otherwise because they were cre- dabbled in the fashion world only the first collaboration between a ker Prize-winner Richard Meier fashion, like architecture, has to when pressed, makes a round ated by a guest designer.” by designing stores for luxury fashion house and an architect. also highlights the functionality last.” opaque panel in the center of the Ms. Hadid also stresses the brands looking to make a distinc- The Iraq-born Ms. Hadid, whose aspect of both disciplines. “Both Another designer whose signa- bag turn transparent. “This mecha- role architects play in introducing tive statement. Zaha Hadid cre- distinctive building designs in- architecture and fashion serve a ture style features prominently in nism will allow you to see what’s new ways of thinking into the uni- ated Neil Barrett’s flagship store clude the Bridge Pavilion in Zara- function and that is their first re- his fashion collaborations is Ron inside when you are searching for verse of fashion. “There is a lot of in Tokyo; Rem Koolhaas and his goza, Spain, and the Rosenthal sponsibility,” he says. “If they Arad. The Israeli-born, London- something,” the designer says. fluidity now between art, design nephew Rem D. Koolhaas designed Center for Contemporary Art in don’t function, then no one based industrial designer and ar- “It’s functional.” and architecture—a lot more cross- Jaïr Sfez Fabienne Nury the Prada store in New York; Cincinnati, Ohio, is already a vet- wants to use them, no matter chitect’s most recent fashion cre- Another product that mirrors pollination in the disciplines,” she Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meu- eran in the field. Known for her what they look like.” ation—an ergonomic, elliptical Mr. Arad’s irreverent style is the says. “It is essential to find key ron the Prada store in Tokyo; and swooping buildings, she designed Mr. Meier, the architect be- shoulder bag for the French label limited edition perfume bottle he the forefinger. Thinking beyond the limita- collaborators to work on new dis- Kazuyo Sejima the Christian Dior an iconic bag for Louis Vuitton hind the Getty Center in Los An- Notify Jeans—is based on his fu- created for Kenzo. The bottle will “We invited Ron Arad to de- tions of the fashion world is one coveries and push them into the shop in Tokyo. (though it wasn’t meant to be geles and the Barcelona Museum turistic armchair designs. (The be available only in Paris, velop this product because he had of the main reasons why luxury la- mainstream.” But now “starchitects” are tak- sold), a necklace for Swarovski of Contemporary Art, was a bag, along with Mr. Arad’s other Marseille, Brussels and New York never designed a perfume before bels have become interested in the Pushing new architectural de- ing the trend a step further, mak- and a pair of shoes for Brazilian guest designer for the 2008 fashion collaborations, can be starting next week for Œ188. Play- and his work fitted in well with work of architects. For Tina Lutz, signs into the mainstream is just ing the move into designing fash- shoemaker company Melissa that spring collection of New York- seen in an exhibition entitled “No ing with ergonomics and targeting the Kenzo universe: a world of inviting an architect to design what Dutch architect Rem D. Kool- ion themselves, bringing some will be available in stores this au- based luxury knitwear brand Lutz Discipline” at the Centre Pompi- a generation that grew up on curves, with a mineral, ergonomic, clothes is a way of bringing in haas has been trying to do. His characteristics of their work to a tumn. Her latest fashion design is & Patmos. He designed two cardi- dou in Paris until March 16, and at video games and iPods, the archi- emotional, warm dimension,” said new ideas and of pushing limits first design, the Möbius shoe, was new discipline. The latest to do so a pair of slip-on leather shoes for gans—one for men and one for the Museum of Modern Art in tect designed a bottle that fits per- Patrick Guedj, creative director of further. “Guest designers are not inspired by Ludwig Mies Van Der is Frank Gehry, Pritzker Prize-win- Lacoste, inspired by a series of women—in partnership with his New York from Aug. 2-Oct. 19. It fectly in the palm of the hand and Kenzo Perfumes. “We wanted a dif- familiar with the technical restric- Rohe’s Barcelona chair created in ning architect and celebrated de- landscapes that have been em- daughter Ana, a fashion designer. will go on sale during the MOMA has a spray mechanism that is ferent design concept, outside reg- tions of fashion and therefore are 1929. signer of the Guggenheim Museum bossed onto the leather. The achromatic sweaters reflect show.) pressed with the thumb instead of ular codes.” able to create garments based on “After inventing the Möbius, I in Bilbao and the Walt Disney Con- “I have always been interested traveled around trying to sell my cert Hall in downtown Los Ange- in the concepts of abstraction and designs to some of the most presti- les. Invited by French luxury shoe explosion and the dynamic fluid gious fashion houses, but without company J.M. Weston, Mr. Gehry grids of the Lacoste design are di- Richard Meier and his daughter luck,” the Hong Kong-based Mr. partnered with his son Alejandro, rect evolution of these ideas,” Ms. Ana Meier wearing the Koolhaas says. “Then I was intro- an artist, to create two pairs of an- Hadid says. “The grids expand and cardigans they designed (detail duced to Galahad Clark, a seventh- at far left); left, the architect’s generation shoemaker who was Jubilee Church in Rome. young and naïve enough to take Right, Frank Gehry’s the chance of starting a new leather boot for J.M. brand with me.” Weston; below, Rem D. In 2003, the two men founded Koolhaas’s Möbius shoe. the footwear label United Nude. Each of the shoes they produce is a reinterpretation of an architec- tural object, a transformation of shapes and a play with the forces of gravity. The Möbius, for in- stance, defies conventional geome- try: a single strip forms the sole, heel, foot-bed and upper. The Cosmo challenges the force of gravity by placing its 11-centime- ter heel in the central part of the shoe. It looks as if if might not support the wearer, but like one of his or his uncle’s building de- United Nude signs, its engineering functions Alan Karchmer/Esto

Wolfgang Ludes perfectly.

W8 FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 | WEEKEND JOURNAL WEEKEND JOURNAL | FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 W9 v Fashion

Designs by Zaha Hadid (from far left): leather shoes for Melissa; the Icone bag for Louis Vuitton; the Chanel Mobile Art container.

kle-high leather boots. The shoes— By Isis Almeida one pair black, the other black- and-white, with buttons running down the side—sell in J.M. Weston boutiques for Œ1,400. ASHION IS archi- “As a young architect, I was fas- tecture,” Coco cinated by fashion,” Mr. Gehry Big-name Chanel once said. says. “The J.M. Weston project “It is a matter of was a great opportunity not only proportions.” to explore something new and architects Top fashion de- that I was interested in, but also signers have often taken inspira- to work in partnership with my start designing From left: David Grandorge; Werner Hutmacher; Marc Gerritsen tion from architecture, bringing to son.” their catwalks techniques, materi- For the French luxury shoe- fashion als and structures used in cutting- maker, Mr. Gehry was an obvious edge building design. The works of choice since his style matches the British-Turkish designer Hussein brand’s own design emphasis on Chalayan (who once created a col- contemporary and pure shapes, contract when wrapped around his architectural style: clean, light, “I was invited to create a bag Far left, Ron Arad with his lection in which chairs and tables said Michael Blanchard, a spokes- the foot to create the fluid forms minimalist and functional. for Notify Jeans about two years Kenzo perfume bottle; left, became garments), Belgian Martin person for J.M. Weston. that follow the contours of the “Architecture has always been ago, but the first ideas didn’t re- the designer’s Margiela (who uses elements of de- “We feel there is a close syn- foot.” an important discipline for Lutz & ally take off,” Mr. Arad says. “It sometimes-see-through contructivism in his avant-garde ergy between the worlds of archi- The shoe’s ergonomic shape Patmos, since our collections are was only when [fashion model] bag for Notify Jeans. collections) and Japanese Issey tecture and shoe design,” Mr. Blan- emphasizes utility, a characteris- inspired in architectural shapes,” Linda Evangelista told me that Miyake (whose pleats and cantile- chard says. “They share similar tic the architect believes is essen- says Tina Lutz, the label’s founder. she’d would wear one of my arm- completely different concepts,” vers practically quote architec- qualities through technique, de- tial to both fashion and architec- “Moreover, our idea of fashion is chairs under her arm that the she says. “We’ve developed ture) are just a few examples. sign and shape.” ture. not the ephemeral designs that right idea really flourished.” projects that we wouldn’t have Until recently architects have Mr. Gehry’s boot design is not American architect and Pritz- come and go every season. For us, The bag features a button that, otherwise because they were cre- dabbled in the fashion world only the first collaboration between a ker Prize-winner Richard Meier fashion, like architecture, has to when pressed, makes a round ated by a guest designer.” by designing stores for luxury fashion house and an architect. also highlights the functionality last.” opaque panel in the center of the Ms. Hadid also stresses the brands looking to make a distinc- The Iraq-born Ms. Hadid, whose aspect of both disciplines. “Both Another designer whose signa- bag turn transparent. “This mecha- role architects play in introducing tive statement. Zaha Hadid cre- distinctive building designs in- architecture and fashion serve a ture style features prominently in nism will allow you to see what’s new ways of thinking into the uni- ated Neil Barrett’s flagship store clude the Bridge Pavilion in Zara- function and that is their first re- his fashion collaborations is Ron inside when you are searching for verse of fashion. “There is a lot of in Tokyo; Rem Koolhaas and his goza, Spain, and the Rosenthal sponsibility,” he says. “If they Arad. The Israeli-born, London- something,” the designer says. fluidity now between art, design nephew Rem D. Koolhaas designed Center for Contemporary Art in don’t function, then no one based industrial designer and ar- “It’s functional.” and architecture—a lot more cross- Jaïr Sfez Fabienne Nury the Prada store in New York; Cincinnati, Ohio, is already a vet- wants to use them, no matter chitect’s most recent fashion cre- Another product that mirrors pollination in the disciplines,” she Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meu- eran in the field. Known for her what they look like.” ation—an ergonomic, elliptical Mr. Arad’s irreverent style is the says. “It is essential to find key ron the Prada store in Tokyo; and swooping buildings, she designed Mr. Meier, the architect be- shoulder bag for the French label limited edition perfume bottle he the forefinger. Thinking beyond the limita- collaborators to work on new dis- Kazuyo Sejima the Christian Dior an iconic bag for Louis Vuitton hind the Getty Center in Los An- Notify Jeans—is based on his fu- created for Kenzo. The bottle will “We invited Ron Arad to de- tions of the fashion world is one coveries and push them into the shop in Tokyo. (though it wasn’t meant to be geles and the Barcelona Museum turistic armchair designs. (The be available only in Paris, velop this product because he had of the main reasons why luxury la- mainstream.” But now “starchitects” are tak- sold), a necklace for Swarovski of Contemporary Art, was a bag, along with Mr. Arad’s other Marseille, Brussels and New York never designed a perfume before bels have become interested in the Pushing new architectural de- ing the trend a step further, mak- and a pair of shoes for Brazilian guest designer for the 2008 fashion collaborations, can be starting next week for Œ188. Play- and his work fitted in well with work of architects. For Tina Lutz, signs into the mainstream is just ing the move into designing fash- shoemaker company Melissa that spring collection of New York- seen in an exhibition entitled “No ing with ergonomics and targeting the Kenzo universe: a world of inviting an architect to design what Dutch architect Rem D. Kool- ion themselves, bringing some will be available in stores this au- based luxury knitwear brand Lutz Discipline” at the Centre Pompi- a generation that grew up on curves, with a mineral, ergonomic, clothes is a way of bringing in haas has been trying to do. His characteristics of their work to a tumn. Her latest fashion design is & Patmos. He designed two cardi- dou in Paris until March 16, and at video games and iPods, the archi- emotional, warm dimension,” said new ideas and of pushing limits first design, the Möbius shoe, was new discipline. The latest to do so a pair of slip-on leather shoes for gans—one for men and one for the Museum of Modern Art in tect designed a bottle that fits per- Patrick Guedj, creative director of further. “Guest designers are not inspired by Ludwig Mies Van Der is Frank Gehry, Pritzker Prize-win- Lacoste, inspired by a series of women—in partnership with his New York from Aug. 2-Oct. 19. It fectly in the palm of the hand and Kenzo Perfumes. “We wanted a dif- familiar with the technical restric- Rohe’s Barcelona chair created in ning architect and celebrated de- landscapes that have been em- daughter Ana, a fashion designer. will go on sale during the MOMA has a spray mechanism that is ferent design concept, outside reg- tions of fashion and therefore are 1929. signer of the Guggenheim Museum bossed onto the leather. The achromatic sweaters reflect show.) pressed with the thumb instead of ular codes.” able to create garments based on “After inventing the Möbius, I in Bilbao and the Walt Disney Con- “I have always been interested traveled around trying to sell my cert Hall in downtown Los Ange- in the concepts of abstraction and designs to some of the most presti- les. Invited by French luxury shoe explosion and the dynamic fluid gious fashion houses, but without company J.M. Weston, Mr. Gehry grids of the Lacoste design are di- Richard Meier and his daughter luck,” the Hong Kong-based Mr. partnered with his son Alejandro, rect evolution of these ideas,” Ms. Ana Meier wearing the Koolhaas says. “Then I was intro- an artist, to create two pairs of an- Hadid says. “The grids expand and cardigans they designed (detail duced to Galahad Clark, a seventh- at far left); left, the architect’s generation shoemaker who was Jubilee Church in Rome. young and naïve enough to take Right, Frank Gehry’s the chance of starting a new leather boot for J.M. brand with me.” Weston; below, Rem D. In 2003, the two men founded Koolhaas’s Möbius shoe. the footwear label United Nude. Each of the shoes they produce is a reinterpretation of an architec- tural object, a transformation of shapes and a play with the forces of gravity. The Möbius, for in- stance, defies conventional geome- try: a single strip forms the sole, heel, foot-bed and upper. The Cosmo challenges the force of gravity by placing its 11-centime- ter heel in the central part of the shoe. It looks as if if might not support the wearer, but like one of his or his uncle’s building de- United Nude signs, its engineering functions Alan Karchmer/Esto

Wolfgang Ludes perfectly.

W8 FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 | WEEKEND JOURNAL WEEKEND JOURNAL | FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 W9 v Food & Drink A difficult love affair with Barolo in superheroes E RECENTLY VISITED our favorite secret-hideaway, Wcash-only, little Italian The 2004 Barolo index joint, where the owner sometimes sells wine cheap from his special cel- In a broad blind tasting of Barolo from the 2004 vintage, these were our lar and you pour your own darn bot- favorites, all of which are made in small quantities. Some Barolo producers tle. The special that night was a have relationships with small importers or local stores, so distribution is 1997 Barolo for $60. This was a deal haphazard. Specific labels can be hard to find, but good merchants will have we found impossible to refuse. We at least some Barolo from 2004. These will age well for many years. Barolo ordered the wine and it was terrific— is good with roasts and other special meals. These are powerful wines, earthy, soulful, powerful and proud. especially in their youth, but not overly alcoholic. Every wine in our tasting Even with our spicy chicken dishes, was 14.5% alcohol or less. the wine seemed a masterful match. © Warner Bros. Entertainment We lingered over it forever, but nei- VINEYARD PRICE RATING COMMENTS Above, Billy Crudup as Dr. Manhattan in ‘Watchmen’; below, Harrison Ford (foreground) and Jamison Haase in ‘Crossing Over.’ Giacomo Grimaldi $53* Very Good/ Best of tasting and best Tastings ‘Sotto Castello Delicious value. This is Barolo—intense, DOROTHY J. GAITER di Novello’ serious, powerful. Chocolate, raisins, some dried cherries and AND JOHN BRECHER marvelous earthiness. Worth every penny and more. We also Extrasensory overload liked the regular Grimaldi ($40). ther of us took a single sip for ATCHMEN” PRESENTS mediocrity to distinctive dreadful- granted. The wine kept telling us, two great challenges— ness. But how does it succeed in fail- “Attention must be paid,” and we Attilio Ghisolfi $35.99 Very Good Real focus and nice edges. getting your mind ing so fully? Many movies, after all, did. The Barolo made the entire Highly personal, with huge fruit ‘W around it, and getting your head out are afflicted with dim characters de- meal special, transporting us not that’s so pure and real it’s easy to drink despite its size. from under it. The first was to be ex- claiming dumb dialogue, and Harri- only to the hills of Piedmont, but to Quite a wine. pected. The source material, a son Ford, who plays an immigration a different time. It made us realize graphic novel by Alan Moore and agent in this one, is no more morose how much we miss Barolo. Corino $65* Very Good Lovely flavors, with cherry- Dave Gibbons, is a work of unusual than he was last year as Indiana We love Barolo, the great wine ‘Vigna Giachini’ chocolate tastes and a intricacy, visual power and narra- Jones. The key is runaway connec- from Italy made from the Nebbiolo lingering, mouth-coating finish. tive ambition. Doing full justice to tivity. Never mind “The Curse of the grape, and we always have. Because Maintains its tight fruit from such a classic in a single movie was Mummy’s Tomb.” What we have it ages so well for so long, we used to beginning to end. have a basic overall philosophy of silly real quick,” he says. clearly impossible, though hun- © The Weinstein Company here is the curse of “Crash” and “Ba- collect many vintages of it. We en- trying to make event films—large Mr. Tull lives in a quiet town dreds of artists and technicians led or will not, save the world from nu- bel.” Good/ joyed Barolo so often that we even Marcarini ‘La $55* More relaxed than most, more films for a broad-based audience,” called Calabasas about 25 minutes by the director, Zack Snyder—his clear annihilation: Patrick Wilson’s The common denominator of Very Good stored some at our favorite restau- Serra’ elegant, with some complexity says Barry Meyer, CEO of Warner outside of Los Angeles and some- previous film was the violent Spar- Nite Owl (don’t blame Mr. Wilson, those two overpraised but influen- rant in Coral Gables, Fla., so we and food-friendly acidity. Bros. Entertainment. “With comic times drives a Toyota Prius to tan morality saga “300”—have rev- who actually does some acting); Ma- tial films was their jigsaw-puzzle Earthy, with chocolate, cherries could drink it with dinner there and characters, they have some of the work. Raised by a single mother lin Akerman’s statuesque Silk Spec- structure—disparate lives tied to- and minerals. Longtime favorite. share it with the owner. This restau- greatest appeal for a moviegoing in the small city of Binghamton, tre (“Omigod,” she exclaims during gether by tentacles of coincidence, rant was the first place we took our audience.” N.Y., Mr. Tull often watched two Film that interlude, “we’re on Mars!”); or convenience, that reached across daughter Media. She was two Mauro Veglio $58* Good/ Nicely balanced and confident. Legendary suffered some early or three VHS movies a day Matthew Goode’s Ozymandias (as a sprawling city in the first case and ‘Vigneto Arborina’ Very Good Real guts, with rich, dark-fruit JOE MORGENSTERN months old, sitting in her carrier on setbacks. The company’s 2006 (“Jaws” and “Close Encounters of the smartest person on earth, he across the whole world in the sec- tastes. Meaty. the table, and we opened one of our movie “Superman Returns” under- the Third Kind” were favorites) gets smart-aleck lines like “I’m not a ond. The meaning was clear—we’re Barolos in her honor. We have often Note: Wines are rated on a scale that ranges: Yech, OK, Good, Very Good, Delicious and Delicious! *We paid $59.99 performed. It funded two more while his mother worked as a den- erently moved great dollops of the comic-book villain”) and Billy all related, whether we know it or said that, if stranded on a desert is- for Grimaldi, $69.99 for Corino, $48 and $67 for Marcarini and $55 for Veglio, but these prices appear to be more flops back-to-back that year: “Ant tal hygienist. Abandoning plans to book to the big screen. Crudup’s godlike Dr. Manhattan not—but the bloodless technique land with one bottle of wine, we’d representative. Prices vary widely. Bully,” an animated film featuring become a lawyer after college, he The second is essential to sus- (the only one who possesses true su- made a mockery of E.M. Forster’s hu- want Barolo. It is so soulful and life- Shira Kronzon for The Wall Street Journal Julia Roberts and Nicolas Cage, owned a chain of laundromats and taining sanity. Unless you’re heavily perpowers). manist injunction “Only connect.” affirming that, with one glass, we’d We set a price limit at $70 to see that impressive. You can’t imagine can become more and more majes- Fortunately, we tasted a few that and “Lady in the Water,” a sus- car-repair centers, although he invested—as countless fans and fer- Unlike “300,” which combined In the case of “Crossing Over,” just know we’d be rescued—and we if we could find 50 at that price, and our shock and disappointment. tic with time, but these generally reminded us how wonderful Barolo pense title directed by M. Night didn’t have a passion for either vent fanboys are—in the novel’s live-action characters with com- which seems to have more strands wouldn’t care if we were. we had no trouble doing that. The Flight after flight left us cold. They are not majestic wines, and they will can be. “Powerful, with great fruit, Shyamalan. The Monday after business. He later became presi- flawed superheroes, its jaundiced puter-generated sets, this film uses than a fiber-optic cable, would-be But we haven’t drunk much wines included so many old friends, weren’t bad. They were pleasant never be. “If you don’t pay attention plenty of earth, dried cherries and “Lady” opened to poor reviews dent of Convex Group, a media in- take on heroism and its alternate vi- physical settings as well, and it’s all immigrants are connected by their Barolo in a while. Somehow, it be- from Silvio Grasso to Pio Cesare. We enough. But with wine after wine, with every sip, it’s not Barolo,” John chocolate. Dry and raisiny, with face- and slow sales, Alan Horn, operat- vestment company, where he over- sion of American history, watching to the good; the production as a common desire to gain resident sta- came a special occasion wine to us. had not conducted a Barolo tasting we used a word that should never be said at one point—and too many of slapping intensity. Serious stuff,” ing chief of Warner Bros., called saw projects like purchasing the “Watchmen” is the spiritual equiva- whole is impressive. So is the eclec- tus in the U.S., whether legally or Partly it’s the price—it’s hard to find in four years and we looked forward used to describe Barolo: simple. It’s these were not worthy of much at- we wrote of one, which turned out Mr. Tull to reassure him about the Web site howstuffworks.com. lent of being whacked on the skull tic soundtrack, which ranges from not. Beyond that, though, they’re hy- one for less than $50 and it’s possi- to this with unusual anticipation. not that they were made in more of tention. Too many tasted diluted— to be Giacomo Grimaldi. Other good future of their partnership. At a dinner in Los Angeles in for 163 minutes. The reverence is in- Philip Glass and Leonard Cohen to perlinked in arbitrary ways—mar- ble to pay far more. But it’s more Dottie cooked a special meal each an “international” style, with softer thin around the edges; overly ones reminded us of black olives Legendary’s luck started to 2003, an executive at Metro-Gold- ert, the violence noxious, the my- Bob Dylan (performed by Jimi Hen- riage, family, romance, adultery, pro- than that. Barolo is so regal, so seri- night—including, of course, her own tannins and a smoother taste, grapey; soft; and even, in some and very ripe though very tight turn around when director Zack wyn-Mayer piqued Mr. Tull’s inter- thology murky, the tone grandiose, drix) and Paul Simon (“The Sounds fessional partnership, a fender- ous, so powerful that it’s hard to version of beef Barolo, which we though that was sometimes the cases, creamy. While it’s possible fruit, the kind of fruit that seems to Snyder showed up at Mr. Tull’s of- est in Hollywood after complain- the texture glutinous. It’s an alter- of Silence” plays over a haunting bender in the spirit of make time—and an appropriate first enjoyed with Bruno and Mar- case. It’s that the bar, overall, that we set our price limit too low, explode in our mouths and make our fice with an idea to make Frank ing about the difficulty involved nate version of “The Incredibles” mi- scene in a Brooklyn cemetery). At “Crash”—that only serve to meal—for it in a busy world. Yes, it cello Ceretto more than two decades seemed lower than it has been. The we expect wines from a fine vintage toes tingle. The finish on the good Miller’s graphic novel “300,” vio- in financing films. Mr. Tull, nus the delight. the same time, the martial arts, heighten the absurdity of their indi- happens to us, too. ago at Marcello’s home in Piedmont. wines lacked soul and intensity. We to show well, generally. Consider ones was long, dry and earthy, with lent historical fiction about the spurred by his love of movies, quit The story starts with the brutal along with some crucial special ef- vidual stories. The ’97 reminded us what we We tasted the wines in blind expect greatness, or at least a reach the inexpensive red Bordeaux from a lovely balance of dark fruit and last stand of a band of Spartans his job at Convex and spent a year murder of a brutish antihero called fects, are inelegant to say the least. Mr. Ford’s immigration agent, were missing. A few days later, we flights over several nights and.... for greatness, from Barolo. Yes, they 2005, for instance, which we found acidity that lingers. There were vari- against Persian invaders. Mr. Sny- on the road raising money largely “The Comedian,” then quickly turns But then elegance isn’t Zack Sny- Max Brogan, is a good guy caught in took a 1964 Ceretto Barolo to our fa- Darn it. They really just weren’t were very young, and fine, Barolo impressive at $20 and less. ous tastes from basil to chocolate, der had pitched the idea to a from private-equity firms. Eventu- into a paranoid thriller as a crazed der’s bag; a certain sort of impact is. bad circumstances. (The helpful vorite “bring-your-own-bottle” not to mention mouth-puckering dozen studios, but executives had ally, he raised about $500 million vigilante, Rorschach, searches for “Watchmen” establishes him as Hol- script tells us that he’s a good guy in place. When we opened the wine at tannins, that made the wines com- told him that “sword-and-sandal” in initial financing to launch Leg- the killer and uncovers an apocalyp- lywood’s reigning master of psychic the very first scene, when he tries to 6:40 p.m., it was slightly dusty and plex, interesting and substantial, flicks were passé—or that they endary. Mr. Tull pushed for the tic plot. (Rorschach wears a mask suffocation. protect a comely young Latina seemed tired. Two hours later, with muscularity and depth. had similar projects in the pipe- company to take a hands-on ap- with inkblots swirling beneath its ‘Crossing Over’ worker during a raid on a Los Ange- though, it had pulled itself together Would we rush out and buy a line. Mr. Tull, a fan of Mr. Miller’s proach to its movies. “We treat surface, and narrates the voice- les garment factory and a fellow into an ephemeral, soft treat, still Wine Notes: Is ‘Old Tokay’ OK? 2004 Barolo? No. But all love affairs comics, signed on immediately. each film like a start-up,” he says, over, sounding like a nut-job Bat- “Crossing Over” has its heart in agent says testily, “Everything is a with a core of intact, sweet fruit and hit rough patches. We have no de- The film went on to have one of because he regularly pores over man besotted by Raymond Chan- umpteen places and its head stuffed humanitarian crisis with you.”) An- rich earth. It sang both with Dottie’s HEN WE WENT into my more than a hundred years ago only 175 by 1956. sire to divorce Barolo and we’re not the biggest openings of 2007, scripts and consults with direc- dler. He’s played by Jackie Earle Ha- with dramatic claptrap. Wayne other crisis involves an Australian duck and John’s mango chicken. Wgrandfather’s house many and “Sierra Madre Winery, at La- John Melville wrote in the going to. If anything, all of this re- grossing nearly $500 million tors. ley, who is genuinely frightening on Kramer’s interlocking saga of immi- actress’s attempt to score a green Naturally, those two yummy ex- years ago we found a bottle of manda Park, today part of Pasa- 1960 edition of “Guide to Califor- minded us how very special those world-wide. “I think [Mr. Tull] un- Legendary is currently develop- the few occasions when he sheds his gration in 21st-century America def- card and the efforts of her agnostic periences nudged us to conduct a “Old Tokay” from the Sierra Ma- dena, is the best example. The nia Wines” that California Tokay good bottles can be. But before we’d derstands whether it’ll make ing a film version of the popular mask.) The film, like the novel, leaps initely crosses over, from workaday boyfriend, a British musician, to broad blind tasting. The good news dre Vintage Co. in Lamanda, Ca- first vineyards were planted in is “a hybrid of little charm unre- spend that kind of money, we’d money, because he looks at it as a Gears of War videogame fran- back and forth in time and space— pass himself off as a religious Jew. is that the well-regarded 2004 vin- lif. The bottle is sealed in wax 1871 and the winery built in 1885 lated in any way to the renowned make sure we had a merchant we fan,” says Mr. Snyder. chise; the company is also work- one dreamy interlude takes place on WSJ.com His story provides the first and tage has recently arrived, but we fig- and has been stored on its side by Albert Brigdon and J.F. Clark. Tokay wines of Hungary. Califor- trusted who has a good selection of In the wake of the success of ing on a remake of “Clash of the Mars—but the action is set mainly only whiff of intentional humor: La ured that might be the bad news, at least for the last 20 years. The red table wines produced nia Tokay, amber pink in color, is a Italian wines. “300,” Mr. Snyder approached Mr. Titans,” and a film adaptation of in the parallel universe of a 1980s Migra requires the boyfriend to re- too: We assumed that these wines, We guess that it’s around 80 here won numerous awards, in- blend of angelica or other neutral And, most certainly, before lay- Tull about making “Watchmen.” “Where the Wild Things Are.” America where the Cold War has Opening this week in Europe cite the Kaddish in the sternly judg- never inexpensive, would be crazy years old. What can you tell us cluding a gold medal in Paris in wine, sherry to give a slightly ing any down—and that is what Mr. Tull was initially skeptical Mr. Tull aims to branch out. reached the boiling point, the n Confessions of a Shopaholic mental presence of an orthodox expensive for such a good vintage, about it? 1900. An 1895 Zinfandel tasted in nutty taste, and port to lend it most Barolo lovers do—we would about the idea. “I looked at him He’s creating a digital department doomsday clock is approaching mid- Germany, Netherlands rabbi. For the rest, the film relies on especially considering that just —Daniel Harris, 1976 was ‘Still fruity and com- color. Occasionally, the Flame taste them to make sure we liked and said ‘Really?’” Mr. Tull remem- for future Web ventures, and the night and formerly prominent super- n Gran Torino Italy, Netherlands silly happenstance, superheated ba- about the entire 2002 vintage was Fayetteville, N.Y. plete, old but still alive,’ accord- Tokay grape, which makes such a them even in their infancy so we bers. “I’m not saying its unfil- company will become more in- heroes have woven themselves into n He's Just Not That Into You Sweden nalities and a frenzied, cross-cut- ruined by bad weather, including ing to the tasters.” He says the brilliant display of its foliage in au- wouldn’t be disappointed as they mable, but it’s heady stuff.” But he volved in videogames. everyday life. n Marley and Me Belgium, ting climax that plays like a parody hail. As we looked around, though, We are often asked questions winery closed in 1923. By the way, tumn around Lodi, is used in the mature. gave the film the green light and At the comic-book store in Sil- That setting is amusing, up to a Czech Republic, Estonia, U.K. of “The Godfather.” Some immi- we found that the economic mess is like this. One good place to re- in “A History of Wine in America,” wine’s production.” stayed in contact with Mr. Snyder, ver Lake, however, Mr. Tull is still point. A Cyrano-nosed Richard n Slumdog Millionaire Croatia, Estonia, grants make it while others don’t, clearly keeping demand for Barolo, search old wineries is the book “A Thomas Pinney notes that “Los Our guess is that this “Old WSJ.com tweaking the script and reviewing thinking about his coming movie. Nixon is serving a third term in the Finland, Romania some are deserving while others are Companion to California Wine” Angeles County, the place where Tokay” was a sweet wine and sketches of the characters. He was He eyes the store clerk. “So, let White House. A Henry Kissinger not, but that’s the extent of the and therefore prices, down. We The Italian job n The International Belgium, France even saw sales on the 2004s. Not by Charles L. Sullivan. In it, he California winegrowing origi- sweet wines can age well, so it’s al- particularly concerned with mak- me ask you a question,” he says, growl-alike sports a Slavic accent. script’s wisdom. Confronted by one Watch John and Dottie taste and talk Source: IMDB that the wines are inexpensive, but writes that Southern California nated, still had some 4,700 acres ways possible that this still tastes about 2004 Barolo, at ing sure the costumes would placing his stack of comics on the Yet an all-pervasive joylessness of the central dramas of our time, produced high-quality wines of vineyard as late as 1940,” but something like wine. work. “If someone’s running checkout table. “What do you guys makes it impossible to care about WSJ.com subscribers can read reviews of “Crossing Over” has nothing to de- it’s possible they could still be good WSJ.com/Tastings these films and others at WSJ.com/FilmReview values if they are transcendent. around in spandex that can get think about ‘Watchmen?’” the big costumed cheeses who will, clare.

W10 FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 | WEEKEND JOURNAL WEEKEND JOURNAL | FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 W7 v Film What sibling rivalry has wrought Comic-book-loving producer specializes Less than cordial relations between brothers produce two exceptional small-batch liqueurs

CCASIONALLY, A NEW li- John Cooper’s ginger liqueur By Jamin Brophy-Warren queur will come along that Cooper Brothers also took time to develop. His fa- ATE IN THE AFTER- Ogets a boost from being ther had imported a Chinese gin- NOON in Los Angeles, used in a fashionable cocktail. Cocktail ger liqueur, Canton, for a few Thomas Tull, chief ex- Where would Galliano be if not for 45 ml bourbon years in the 1990s, and it never ecutive officer of Leg- the Harvey Wallbanger? Whither found a following. But given the endary Pictures, has Kahlúa without the Black and 15 ml St-Germain elderflower number of bartenders making snuck out of his office White Russians? But rare is the liqueur fresh ginger syrups for use in orig- Lto read comic books. new liqueur that becomes a go-to inal cocktails in the past few 7 ml Domaine de Canton “You want to know what’s re- ingredient for bartenders creating years, and the trend in pan-Asian ally cool?” says Mr. Tull as he a host of new drinks, the sort of ginger liqueur cuisine, John recognized that the walks through a comic-book store versatile essential that Cointreau Stir, stir, stir with ice and time for a fancy ginger liqueur in the chic Silver Lake neighbor- then strain into a stemmed had finally arrived. The challenge hood. He points to titles that his was to get a true ginger flavor cocktail glass. Twist a piece company has made into movies. How’s Your Drink? that would be stable. After plenty of orange peel over the top of “‘Watchmen.’ ‘Dark Knight.’ ‘300.’ ERIC FELTEN of experimentation, he found the We made all of those,” he says. the drink. Garnish with a right formula in a maceration of He’s read each of those comics a fresh orange twist. both fresh and caramelized gin- half-dozen times. became in the 1920s, when it was ger. There’s a name for people who, used in every third or fourth cock- For all that St-Germain and Do- like Mr. Tull, are singularly de- tail. And yet, in the past two was wowed by the exotic taste. El- maine de Canton have in common, voted to comics or some other years, two new liqueurs have been derflower syrup proved to be a they are very different liqueurs. pop-cultural pursuit: fanboys. This widely adopted by the demanding trend—first with London’s elite St-Germain is only lightly sug- week, as executive producer, he’ll bartenders who call themselves bartenders, and then with many in ared, and its delicate flavors are help bring to the big screen his fa- “cocktailians.” New York and San Francisco—and friendly and easily accessible to vorite comic book: “Watchmen.” St-Germain elderflower liqueur Robert Cooper thought it would casual drinkers. Domaine de Can- The 38-year-old Mr. Tull is part hit the scene in 2007 and quickly be a natural as a liqueur. (The fla- ton, by contrast, is intensely of a new generation of film and gained near-ubiquity in high-end vors in sugar syrups can deterio- spiced with ginger and then hon- TV executives who were raised on © Warner Bros. Entertainment, Paramount Pictures Corporation bars, finding its way into a flock rate quickly, but the alcohol in a eyed heavily enough to keep the videogames and comics and are of original modern cocktails; Do- liqueur acts as a preservative.) ginger heat from scorching. now turning those childhood ob- get audience of teen boys from Above (from left), Patrick Wilson as his basement—has decided that maine de Canton ginger liqueur While still at the family com- Sky Cooper says he’s proud of sessions into big-budget realities. seeing it at all. The movie fea- Nite Owl II, Malin Akerman as Silk catering to the fanboys makes got going in earnest last year and pany, he worked at developing the both sons, but adds that there is a Last year’s “The Dark Knight” is tures a long scene of superhero Spectre II and Jackie Earle Haley as business sense. Many of the same is on a similar trajectory. liqueur for several years without downside to their success. “You the second-highest grossing film sex and a number of violent Rorschach in ‘Watchmen’; above right kind of fans that once flocked to Both liqueurs are made in much encouragement. “My father have two sons you love” who are ever in the U.S., bringing in more scenes throughout, including some and below, images from “Star Wars” will be waiting on small batches in France, both are would come along and say, ‘Are competing with each other, which than $500 million at the box of- particularly bloody ones in a comic-book-inspired films produced by opening day for “Watchmen.” Typi- presented in elegantly executed you still working on that flower “from a standpoint of family isn’t fice there and $1 billion globally. prison-escape sequence. It’s also a Legendary Pictures: ‘The Dark Knight’ cally young and male (although trophy bottles, and both have s2?’” Now, Robert says, “My always great.” He’s planning to Popular TV shows like “Heroes,” long film, clocking in around 2µ and ‘300’; left, Legendary’s CEO, growing numbers of females have been enthusiastically praised (in dad’s eating a little crow.” convene a family meeting to see if “Lost,” and “Smallville” draw hours. Mr. Creutz doesn’t think Thomas Tull. joined their ranks), the fanboy set 2007, St-Germain was judged best “He’s proven me wrong,” says there is a way to reunite the enter- heavily on the imagery and the film will bomb, and notes that is omnivorous—consuming com- liqueur at the San Francisco Sky Cooper. “I didn’t realize how prises. themes of comic-book culture. Di- “300” faced similar hurdles. But ics, TV, film and videogames. It’s a World Spirits Competition; in good it would be.” In the spirit of bringing fami- rectors such as Joss Whedon and he says that if “Watchmen” isn’t a ally abandoned its plans and Mr. notoriously fickle group—movies 2008, Domaine de Canton took the And it did take some time to lies together, I tried my hand at writers like Brian K. Vaughan blockbuster, “I think Warner Bros. Gordon took the project to multi- such as “The Spirit” have bombed prize). Remarkably, these back-to- develop. Batches made from fro- creating a cocktail using both li- jump back and forth between com- might be disappointed.” ple studios, including Universal when they failed to live up to fan- back successes were executed by a zen flowers weren’t any good. But queurs. After playing around with ics, movies and other media and The comic-book version of and Paramount, before landing at boy expectations. “This is my pair of brothers, John and Robert even when using fresh blossoms, various base spirits, I settled on

attract thousands of fans at enter- “Watchmen,” a dark tale about a Warner Bros. Last year, Fox al- group,” says Mr. Tull. “They like Cooper. More remarkable still, Dylan Cross for TheRobert Wall Street Journal couldn’t capture the elu- bourbon as the drink’s backbone. tainment conventions. Hollywood world where superheroes are leged that Mr. Gordon failed to ob- stuff I like.” they didn’t do it together. Each sive fruitiness he had tasted in In adding the two liqueurs, I used has embraced these executives be- banned and must operate under- tain the rights for the film from it Legendary Pictures, which is has his own liqueur company, and For his part, Robert Cooper, 32, half of whatever I built.” the London bar’s homemade elder- Domaine de Canton sparingly, cause they have the inside track ground, was written by Alan and in December, a federal judge housed on the Warner Bros. lot, their triumphs seem to be born of says that “I thought we should all It’s our good fortune that Rob- flower syrup. He finally discov- given its more aggressive flavor. on a coveted audience: teenage Moore and illustrated by Dave Gib- agreed to hear the case. With an- started in 2004, when Mr. Tull a sibling rivalry that isn’t always climb to the top of the mountain ert struck out on his own, because ered that the bitter flavor wreck- The result I call a Cooper Broth- boys. bons. First released as a series in other delay looming in an already signed a five-year, 25-picture cordial. together.” But once it became his excellent elderflower liqueur ing his prototypes was coming ers Cocktail. “Watchmen” is the greatest pro- 1986 and 1987, it was hailed for its two-decade-long process and a agreement with Warner Bros. to The Cooper brothers grew up clear that his brother was going might never have seen the light of from the stems of the flowers. He Robert and John may be fessional challenge yet for Mr. subversion of comic-book clichés. Warner Bros. ad campaign in full finance feature films (the pact in the liqueur business. After Pro- to start his own company, Robert day as a Jacquin product. In 2001, found that if the elderflower locked in vigorous competition Tull, who, among other things, Superhero tales typically focus on swing, the two studios reached an was subsequently extended to hibition, their grandfather bought says, he also decided to stop work- promoting Chambord in Britain, bunches were pressed ever so with one another, but their li- Brad Swonetz/Redux for The Wall Street Journal used to be in the coin-laundry battles between good and evil. agreement last month. Terms of about 40 films). Similar to outfits the rights to a venerable Ameri- ing for his father. “If I continued Robert went to a London bar that slightly, the petals would give up queurs make good partners. business before launching Legend- The characters in “Watchmen,” Mr. Tull first read “Watchmen” the agreement weren’t disclosed, like Village Roadshow Pictures can liqueur brand, Charles Jacquin to work in the family business, was making cocktails with a syrup their flavor but the bitter juice in Email Eric Felten at eric. ary. The company, which has a pro- however, are flawed and complex, in college. He loved the charac- but reports have said it involves a (“The Matrix”), Legendary is an et Cie. Their father, Norton J. someday my brother would have made from fresh elderflowers and the stems would stay put. [email protected]. duction deal with Warner Bros., and the moral choices they make ters, particularly Rorschach, the cash payment to Fox and a cut of independent production company. “Sky” Cooper, kept the brand go- put up about half of the $100 mil- are difficult and messy. The com- book’s dysfunctional antihero. the film’s box-office gross. (Fox is When he first began raising ing but made his real fortune in- lion budget for “Watchmen.” Un- ic’s serpentine story is laced with “He’s so violent and uncompromis- a unit of News Corp., which also money for Legendary, Mr. Tull con- troducing Chambord, a French like “Dark Knight,” which featured references to poetry, philosophy ing,” Mr. Tull says. owns Dow Jones & Co., publisher sulted financial models to see if raspberry liqueur, to the U.S. heroes and villains such as Bat- and music, and features numerous The comic has a tortured his- of The Wall Street Journal.) he could make money creating Both of the brothers worked man and the Joker who are fami- tangents, including a subplot tory in Hollywood. 20th Century After years of stops and starts, films for fanboys. These models for years marketing that liqueur, Wind power lar to people who don’t read com- about a sailor lost at sea. “We Fox bought the rights in the 1980s many comic-book fans are eager analyzed recent films, looking at in its distinctive globe-shaped bot- ics, the new film doesn’t rely on were doing things that hadn’t for producer Lawrence Gordon for “Watchmen” to finally be re- dozens of factors like potential tle; both were left to figure out Singer-songwriter Neko Case on her new album ‘Middle Cyclone’ any well-known characters. And been seen before in the superhero (“Die Hard,” Field of Dreams”) leased. Mr. Tull—who owns some revenue lines and international what to do next when, in 2006, while “Dark Knight” starred Chris- genre. I mean, we had a full-fron- who oversaw the writing and re- 100 action-figure statuettes and success. “You look at these films— their father sold Chambord to Neko Case didn’t want to appear ‘This Tornado Loves You’ ‘People Got a Lotta Nerve’ tian Bale and Heath Ledger, tal nude male,” says Mr. Gibbons. writing of the script. Fox eventu- stores hundreds of comic books in they’ve become consistent and Brown-Forman—the liquor behe- on the cover of her new album, but A guitar sets a twitchy pace for Featuring an elephant in a concrete “Watchmen” doesn’t feature any have a very clear audience. You’re moth behind Jack Daniel’s—for her record label was adamant. So sweeping piano and choir as Ms. cage and a killer whale that takes half big-name actors. not getting ‘Under the Tuscan about $250 million. she compromised—by going over Case gives voice to a force of nature. of someone’s leg, this upbeat song For the movie industry, “Watch- Sun.’ It’s not their business,” says The brothers were well posi- the top. In a photo, the flame- The song “came from a dream I had explores what Ms. Case calls a double men” is the first big test of the financial adviser Roy Salter, tioned to make their own go at haired singer brandishes a sword that I met a tornado. I was very scared standard for wild animals: People year. Financing films has become whose firm produced the data. Mr. selling liqueurs—they had experi- while crouching barefoot on the of it. The tornado wanted me to read a admire their power but act dismayed increasingly difficult as the global Tull is quick to note that making ence in the production and market- hood of a 1967 Mercury Cougar. book. It couldn’t read or hold the book,” when they lash out. “People expect credit-crunch has tightened wal- films “is not the widget business” ing of cordials; connections with Ms. Case’s tongue-in-cheek she says. In the song, the tornado’s them to have the same moral codes as lets. But despite the recession, box- and doesn’t solely rely on data. distributors, retailers, bars and attitude creeps through the cryptic violence—“smashed every transformer us. I like to celebrate nature’s ups and office returns in 2008 were about Many studios are betting on su- bartenders; and no little capital love songs and transcribed dreams with every trailer ’til nothing was downs,” she says. She sings on the even last year compared with the perhero films. Last week, Marvel from their shares of the Cham- on the album, “Middle Cyclone,” standing,” Ms. Case sings—seems to be chorus, “I’m a maneater, but you’re previous year, in part due to the Entertainment’s Marvel Studios bord sale. which builds on her roots in the the result of unrequited love. surprised when I eat ya.” success of “Dark Knight.” So far (which focuses on the genre and “You do what you know,” says alternative country movement and this year, box office is up about released last year’s hit superhero John Cooper, who is 34. But he her collaborations with the rock ‘Don’t Forget Me’ 14%, according to Box Office Mojo. film “Iron Man”) announced that wasn’t eager to do what he knew collective New Pornographers. On her version of this 1974 Harry Although Warner Bros. has mar- its net income more than doubled as part of the family company, Writing the album, “I got really pianos delivered to her Vermont Nilsson ballad, Ms. Case didn’t attempt keted “Watchmen” heavily and it in the fourth quarter after it be- partly because, as he puts it, when into weather and nature, not even barn, only six could be properly tuned to replicate the songwriter’s lush faces little competition upon its gan producing its own films in- you grow up you don’t necessarily metaphorically, but literally,” says (“There’s no such thing as a free piano,” instrumentation. Instead she created release, the film is not a sure stead of licensing them. Warner want to keep sharing a house with Ms. Case, who is moving to a farm she says), so the recordings were her own “low-fi orchestra” using free thing. Doug Creutz, vice president Bros. has started mining the cata- your siblings. “I wish my brother in Vermont. The singer discussed looped and layered for an effect pianos from Craigslist. Of the eight that she calls “clumsy and ambling.” of equity research at Cowen & Co., log of DC Comics, which published well,” he says, before giving a sim- songs from “Cyclone.” says the movie’s R rating and “Watchmen.” Coming Warner ple explanation of why a partner- —John Jurgensen Listen to clips from Neko Case’s ‘Middle Cyclone,’ at WSJ.com/Lifestyle. graphic content could deter some Bros. films based on DC Comics ti- ship wouldn’t have worked: “We Jason Creps moviegoers—and prevent the tar- tles include “Green Lantern.” “We don’t get along.” © Warner Bros. Entertainment (2)

W6 FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 | WEEKEND JOURNAL WEEKEND JOURNAL | FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 W11 v Travel v Dance An unsung Florida getaway Taking dance a few steps farther

By Laura Landro By Sarah Frater to only work with one other artist. INGER GLORIA ESTEFAN Special to The Wall Street Journal Jonathan Burrows And that’s what I do with Matteo. made her first foray into Flor- ALLET IS OFTEN viewed as a (left) and Matteo We have no infrastructure. No of- Sida hotels in 1992, when she classical, even old-fashioned Fargion perform ‘The fice. We make all our work in Mat- bought the landmark Cardozo on siz- Bdance form, yet a training in Quiet Dance.’ teo’s kitchen. It’s cheaper than hir- zling South Beach’s Ocean Drive. ballet can often be a springboard for ing a studio, and we don’t like work- She’s opened her latest resort on an the most innovative of artists. ing in studios anyway. And he is a Ocean Drive as well—in an unlikely Consider Jonathan Burrows. The very good cook, which helps the outpost about 240 kilometers experimental movement-maker work enormously. north: sleepy Vero Beach, with little trained at the Royal Ballet School, sizzle but plenty of old-style Florida and danced with the Royal Ballet, Q: You’ve just moved to Brus- charm. but his collaborations with Italian sels. Far from the bustle of overbuilt composer Matteo Fargion have It’s the heart of contemporary South Florida, Vero Beach lies on a earned him a reputation as one of dance in Europe. It’s good to be stretch of Atlantic turf aptly dubbed the most original and amusing cho- where the work isn’t questioned. the Treasure Coast, in a transitional reographers of the past decade. climate zone where oak trees and His works “Both Sitting Duet” Q: What are you doing next? pine forests thrive alongside the (2002), “The Quiet Dance” (2005) I never know. It’s a terrible weak- palms and colorful tropical flora of and “Speaking Dance” (2006) fea- ness, but one I’ve had to accept. balmier points south. Indian River Mike Beck ture Messrs. Burrows and Fargion Lagoon divides the city into sec- Clockwise from left: the sitting on chairs, talking nonsense Q: If no specific plans, what tions on the mainland and a barrier Costa d’Este Beach Resort; a and waving their arms around. They are your creative interests? island. It all makes for spectacular pelican; the pool at the Costa also walk across the stage and de- I’m fascinated by the relation- fishing, kayaking, bird-watching d’Este; the resort’s scribe dance—without actually ship between the performer and and boating, as well as kilometers of restaurant, Oriente. dancing. The hybrid pieces—part the audience. And I want to know white sand beaches where you can dance, part experimental theater, how to go forward as a performer walk for a long time and encounter part tribute to music and dance— as I get older. I love performing. I no one. were made separately but are often would carry a spear if that’s all I But one can also dive into a performed together, and have been could do. Mickey Mouse-shaped pool and plying your way through the islands a considerable success. To date, the have pancakes with Goofy and and bird refuges of the lagoon, duo have given more than 150 per- Q: Can you describe being a friends at a Victorian-style Disney which is part of the Intracoastal Wa- formances in 36 countries and will performer? time-share resort a few kilometers terway and is described by the be touring Europe and Australia Most performers are actually out of town. (It’s on a real beach, as oceanographic institute at Florida this spring and summer, with com- quite shy. It’s not about projecting opposed to the ersatz ones at the Or- Atlantic University as the most bio- ing dates in Maasmechelen, Bel- your larger-than-life personality. lando flagship.) Closer to town, Ms. logically diverse estuary in North gium (March 17-19); Dartington, It’s a self-investigation, and it’s a Estefan’s new Costa d’Este Beach Re- America. You can rent canoes, kay- U.K. (April 22 and 23); Châlons-en- high, especially when you can hear sort, with its whitewashed façade aks or paddle boards to stand on. Champagne, France (May 12); and Alastair Muir and feel the audience is alive to and elegant cascading entry foun- But it’s worth spending a little extra Istanbul (May 19 and 20). duet, we didn’t have anything to man being and not a higher being in sity of observation and pressure what you are doing. tain, sits next door to the quirky, his- to go out solo or in a group with a Jonathan Burrows was born in do, so we made a second one. We in- a remote place. that was potentially damaging. toric Driftwood Inn, a time-share re- knowledgeable guide like Kayaks 1960 in County Durham, England. Af- cluded all the things we did in the Having said that, everything I do is Q: Some bodies look better on sort known for its weathered tim- Etc.’s Kristen Beck, a naturalist with ter his time with the Royal Ballet, first duet, only with walking as Q: How did your interest in dif- built on the principles of coordina- stage than others. Is that what au- bers and antique artifacts, some sal- a degree in marine science. where he is remembered for his well. Our only principle was that it ferent types of choreography tion it taught me. diences connect to? vaged from old mansions and ho- On a recent outing, she provided work with the renowned choreogra- mustn’t be boring. With the third come about? One of the revolutions in contem- tels. Elsewhere on the island, the my friend Nancy and me with solo pher Kenneth MacMillan, he formed piece we included speech. And When I was with the Royal Bal- Q: Can you describe that? porary dance is allowing different Vero Beach Hotel features West In- kayaks and paddled alongside us in his own company in 1988 to present when we ran out of words, we con- let I met the experimental choreog- The reason ballet works for audi- body types on stage, which is a huge dian décor in a more low-key up- her own, pointing out great blue her- his own work. High-profile collabo- tinued by whatever means neces- rapher Rosemary Butcher. I have a ences and will go on working is not relief to audiences. Instead of see- scale hotel-condo managed by Costa D'Este Beach Resortons, (3) snowy egrets and the big thrill: rations followed, including a film sary, which included mouth organs, daughter, who I had very young, because of its theatrical aspects, ing a super-being, which reduces Kimpton Hotels. the beach. But after back-to-back in shadows from the buildings by 2 attract Floridians who want a “stay- a trio of roseate spoonbills flamingo- with Sylvie Guillem (1996), a piece shouting, clapping, arm-waving. who I took to a play park. Rosemary but because the coordination be- them to a lesser being, they see The nearest major airports in Or- hurricanes pulverized it, they de- p.m., Ms. Estefan says. When she cation” getaway at reasonable rates pink as they soared overhead. Ms. for William Forsythe’s Ballett Frank- took her son to the same park, and tween arms and legs is so unex- themselves. It’s a quality that Mat- lando and West Palm Beach are cided to start from scratch, spend- was set to open last June, some lo- and within driving distance. Though Beck knows how to spot dolphins furt (1997) and an associate director- Q: You perform at small ven- we got talking. One day she asked pected. You always want to know teo and I bring to our perfor- more than an hour and a half’s drive ing $50 million to build a modern cals feared that “we’d come in here the clientele isn’t the fashionable, from afar and find the massive man- ship at the National Theatre, Lon- ues. me if I’d perform in one of her what happens next. mances. An acceptance of failure. away, but Vero is no backwater. 94-room resort with an Art Deco bringing that ‘come on, shake your soignée crowd you might see in atees off Round Island. When we don (2008). It’s not that I don’t like large works. And I said, “But you’ve The more we fail, the funnier it gets. There’s an art museum and regional flair. The couple, who also own body baby, do the conga’ thing to South Beach, the scene was pleas- came close to one, I was a little Mr. Burrows was recently ap- spectacle. I was a member of the never seen me dance,” and she Q: What happened when you theater. In Vero, two very distinct seven restaurants in Florida and this quiet community,” she says, re- ant and low key on a Sunday after- freaked out by its sheer size, but Ms. pointed resident artist at the Kaai Royal Ballet for 13 years, and en- said, “No, but I like talking to you.” left the Royal Ballet? Q: But audiences can tell you and yet interdependent communi- Mexico, were drawn to the area by ferring to her hit “Conga.” “But we noon, and the hotel’s Oriente restau- Beck promised me it wouldn’t cap- Theatre in Brussels, where he now joyed being part of and watching I studied with the composer are a trained dancer. You have ties, linked by bridges over the la- its natural beauty, conservationist just want to enhance all the great rant, overseen by Cuban-American size my kayak. lives. We talked to him at St. Pan- big theatrical effects. But my most Q: Did your Royal Ballet Kevin Volans. And then I formed ease and speed, and an ability to goon, co-exist: on the mainland, the ethos and small-town feel. things they already have in Vero,” chef David Rodriguez, already has a For those who don’t want to get cras International in London as he powerful experiences in the the- School training help? my own company and worked with connect steps that Matteo historic town center surrounded by “This reminds me of the way Mi- she adds. local following. in the water, there’s the 11-kilome- waited for his train to the Belgian ater have been in smaller spaces When I was there in the 1970s dancers, but I wasn’t very good at doesn’t have. working citrus groves, farms, ami used to be when I grew up,” be- Besides guests from out of state By far the best way to spend time ter Jungle Trail along the lagoon, a capital. where I felt the performer was a hu- children were subjected to an inten- looking after people. So I decided I hope so! sprawling housing developments fore parts of the beach were already and overseas, Ms. Estefan hopes to in Vero is in and around the water, boardwalk over a tidal mangrove and trailer parks, and on the barrier habitat and a chance to stand a few Q: How did you come to create island, a wealthy enclave. Vero’s meters from pelicans hoping to work like “Speaking Dance”? dual communities make for an inter- steal a meal away from the fisher- I used to think that artists esting mix; there are biker bars, sea- men at Riverside Park. choose the work they make. But the food joints and kitschy surf shops Trip planner: Beaches and manatees The Kennedy Space Center, the older I get the more I realize that art- Optimism ahead of Maastricht fair alongside chi-chi restaurants and de- Navy Seal Museum in Fort Pierce ists don’t choose what they want, signer boutiques. Where to stay: Rooms at Costa ational activities, including div- and the McKee Botanical Garden are but what they can. EFAF HASN’T BEEN hit by the He notes that one-third of the Conoid Studio walnut and hickory Monied snowbirds and retired d’Este, which has a spa, start at ing and snorkeling spots. Atten- in reasonable driving distance. Se- Teconomic gloom yet: The lead- pieces in his Maastricht catalog bench from the Rockefeller Japa- CEOs, many of whom arrive at a $289 for a studio, $329 for an tion art buffs: The Vero Beach bastian and other towns in Indian Q: The work chooses them? ing fine arts and antiques fair will are already under reserve, up from nese House, Pocantico Hills, N.Y., nearby municipal airstrip on pri- oceanfront double through Museum of Art has a show of Ital- River County offer fishing, water Sort of. see a record 239 international gal- last year. He also sees the success from circa 1974 (price: $300,000). vate planes, have flocked to gated April. At the Vero Beach Hotel, ian landscapes with paintings on sports and camping. Hardy day-trip- leries offer art covering the an- of last month’s Yves Saint Lau- International dealer Daniella communities. One, John’s Island, guests have privileges at the pri- loan from the Uffizi Gallery in pers can even tackle Disney World, Q: It’s not what you expect rent/Pierre Bergé auction, where Luxembourg has chosen a grip- broke ground in 1969 and now has vate Indian River Golf Club; Florence until March 15. about a two-hour drive away. from a ballet-trained dancer. 95.5% of lots sold for Œ373.9 mil- ping topic for her first show at 1,362 homes. The newer, and consid- room packages begin at $220. The region’s attractions have led When you describe it, it’s diffi- Collecting lion, as a good omen. Tefaf: disasters. The art will in- erably younger, Windsor Club fea- For a budget beachfront stay, Where to eat: Oriente at Costa many visitors to put down roots for cult to see how it would work. We’re MARGARET STUDER Welcoming visitors to the Jans- clude works about war and terror- tures a new-urbanist style with a vil- The Driftwood’s sea-view rooms D’Este features tapas and special- at least part of the year. Besides the two middle-aged men sitting on sens stand will be a pair of dra- ist violence. Artists will include lage-like setting. Controlled by start at $140. ties like fried Cuban-style corn art museum and Riverside Theater, chairs and waving our arms. The matic Chinese pottery figures Pablo Picasso, Anselm Kiefer and tight zoning rules, the “beachside” tamales and cod fritters; the wealthy residents have supported first duet we made, “Both Sitting cient to the modern world next from the Tang Dynasty (618-906), Joseph Beuys, with prices ranging part of Vero is so exclusive that a re- What to do: Kayaks Etc.’s ca- “Chef for a Day” package (from new hospitals, environmental-pro- Duet,” came about because we week. Objects, with an estimated depicting warriors standing on from $100,000 up to the millions. cently launched local weekly news- noe and kayak trips start at $35 $387 per room) includes cooking tection groups and relief programs wanted to translate a piece of music combined value of more than $1 bil- bulls (price: in the region of A baroque yet contemporary Courtesy of Otto Jakob paper aimed at the high-end market per adult and $10 per child, pri- lessons with Chef David Rod- to rebuild homes that were dam- by the American composer Morton lion, will spread over an area of Œ150,000). feel is evident at German jeweler is named after its postal code: Vero vate tours at $50 per adult and riguez. The Ocean Grill on the aged in the 2004 hurricane season, Feldman called “For John Cage” roughly four football fields in the For the first time, Tefaf will Otto Jakob. “I only ever wanted to Above, ‘Wolodja’ earrings Beach 32963. (A mainland resident, $35 per child (772-794-9900 or beach, in a weathered wood says Bob Gibb, president of John’s Is- into gesture. Feldman’s music is Dutch town of Maastricht from have a special section devoted en- be at Maastricht where art and jew- by Otto Jakob; price: Œ57,600. in a letter to the editor, accused the kayaksetc.com). For a faster and building circa-1941, features sea- land Real Estate Co. They like the an- very gentle and quiet, but we some- March 13 to 22. tirely to modern design. Among elry are together,” says Mr. Jakob. paper of “pandering to the beach more adventurous ride—and pos- food, steaks and appetizers like 1 Vero Beach Hotel onymity, the privacy and the light how made something jolly and Tefaf's enormous diversity of the exhibitors will be Sebastian & Invited in 2007, he jumped at the Eisenstein’s silent film “The Battle- crowd…without so much as a ges- sible alligator sightings—try an bubbling crab dip; entrees from 2 Costa d’Este traffic when it comes to eating out. funny. If you work with rhythm you objects makes it a barometer for Barquet of New York, a gallery chance: “We had great sales. But ship Potemkin” (price: Œ57,600). ture to a mainland which makes airboat tour with airboatadven- $20.95. 3 Kayaks Etc. are dealing with time, and you cre- collector markets. Ben Janssens, which recently opened a second that was before the financial cri- Among the old master paint- WSJ.com their lives possible.”) turetours.com or stumpknocker. Other options: Indigo at the 4 Museum of Art ate an expectation. If you don’t de- the Tefaf chairman and London- space in London and views Tefaf sis. This year is an adventure.” ings on offer at Tefaf is “Black Stal- Ms. Estefan and her husband, com, $40 per person. Vero Beach Hotel, Maison Marti- liver, it’s doubly funny. based oriental art dealer, says that as an important part of its expan- Among his pieces will be lion and His Groom” (1605) by 5 Riverside Theater A sunshine state producer Emilio Estefan Jr., live in The Verobeach.com Web site nique at the Caribbean Court Ho- See more photos from a few months ago he was careful sion into the European market. On “Wolodja,” exotic gold, diamond Dutch master Roelandt Savery at Q: Did you set out to make a Miami but own a second home in has information on fishing, in- tel, and The Tides; Bobby’s for Vero Beach in an audio slideshow, at about his expectations for the fair, the stand will be Japanese-Ameri- and enamel earrings with faces of Paris gallery De Jonckheere cluding charters, and other recre- sports fans. trilogy? but now he feels “very positive.” can designer George Nakashima’s Russian cadets, inspired by Sergei (price: around Œ600,000). Vero, and in 2004 decided to pur- WSJ.com/Travel chase and renovate an old hotel on No. After we made the first

W12 FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 | WEEKEND JOURNAL WEEKEND JOURNAL | FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 W5 v Top Picks v Books Portrait of the artist as interior designer Translating the Holocaust

Wolfsburg, Germany: “Inte- By Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg owned by Lagardere SCA’s Hachette Book nities in the Caucasus. rior/Exterior, Living in Art” at the UBLISHING A BOOK in translation can Group that published “Infinite Jest.” Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg asks an be difficult, but Jonathan Littell’s “The The American-born Mr. Littell, who has Q: How difficult was it to focus on the interesting question: What hap- PKindly Ones,” a brutally graphic novel served as an aid worker in Afghanistan, Chech- death squads in the Ukraine and various pens when artists start designing about the Holocaust narrated by Max Aue, a nya and Bosnia, wrote the book in longhand in concentration camps? objects and designers come up former Nazi officer, presents a particularly French. (It was translated by Charlotte Man- When you write, you don’t think about the with works of art? This enormous daunting challenge in the U.S. dell.) Both major bookstore chains in the content, you think about the sentences, the and exciting show deals with the Although the novel, Mr. Littell’s second, U.S.—Borders Group and Barnes & Noble— grammar, the syntax, the rhythm. It’s like a interaction between art and inte- won two major French literary awards after it say that they are supporting the novel, which painter. Hieronymus Bosch was able to paint rior design from the 19th century was published in 2006, it has already been the will likely have to sell at least 150,000 copies Hell by thinking how this black would go with to the present. Works by more subject of harsh reviews in Amercian publica- for Harper to turn a profit. Mr. Littell was in- that red. It’s the same with writing. than 70 artists and designers, in- tions. The fact that Mr. Littell, the 41-year-old terviewed by phone. cluding such icons as Henri Mat- son of thriller writer Robert Littell, lives in Q: Do you interview any former Nazis? isse, Marcel Breuer, Ludwig Mies Barcelona and isn’t expected to visit the U.S. Q: Why pick this topic? No, I didn’t try. I didn’t think a former Nazi van der Rohe and Zaha Hadid, to promote the work will make it that much It evolved slowly. I wanted to write about would tell me anything interesting. Also, I make up the exhibition. harder for the book to find an audience. the war initially and then the emphasis fo- don’t speak German, so that’s a problem. I Strangely for a show that deals Harper, an imprint owned by News Corp.’s Har- cused on the genocide. I knew I wanted to do it wasn’t set up for tracking people down. I with interior design, the first perCollins Publishers, paid an estimated $1 first person. I didn’t have any hesitation. I’ve didn’t have the contacts or resources. AFP/Getty Images work to confront museum visitors million for the book. News Corp. also owns been in dark places a good part of my life. Author Jonathan Littell’s nearly 1,000-page novel © Museum Frieder Burda, photo: Gunter Lepkowski is Caspar David Friedrich’s “Bohe- © Kunstmuseum Basel, photo: Martin P. Bühler The Wall Street Journal. Q: Whom did you interview? ‘The Kindly Ones’ was first published in French. mian Landscape with Mount Mille- Left, ‘Scene from Ibsen’s “Ghosts”’ (1906), by Edvard Munch; right, ‘Living Room III’ (1968), by Almut Heise, both on show in Wolfsburg. Mr. Littell’s novel, like David Foster Wal- Q: What was the process? In the Ukraine I found two survivors of schauer” (1808). The idyllic land- lace’s “Infinite Jest” (1996) and Jonathan I started on this full time in 2001, but I’d Babi Yar, one of whom was 13 at the time, so he scape symbolizes man's reaching Franzen’s “The Corrections” (2001), is meant been thinking about it for a dozen years. The had a very good memory. He was literally in I drew on my own way of seeing things. I beyond the boundaries of the com- ‘Spring Awakening’ to appeal to readers who are drawn to research was done very systematically. I the massacre. He survived by hiding in a cul- based him mostly on myself, not anybody else. fortable home toward the outer weighty, controversial titles. “There’s a vast drew up a long reading list. I then divided it vert. He hid, and everyone marched over his world. This 19th-century attempt Princess Margaret, larger than life is no garden variety audience looking for intellectual fare, for a thematically and read chunk after chunk. head, including his parents. Q: Will you travel to the U.S. to promote to enlarge one’s personal cosmos voice that captures the world in a way that Along the way you find out about new books your book? ultimately ends in the glass London: Looking at Pietro An- high-school musical hasn’t been captured before,” says Michael Pi- and one topic leads to another. I also fit in Q: How did you prepare to get inside No. I don’t do that kind of thing. I don’t con- houses of the 21st century. nigoni’s 1957 portrait of the late Prin- etsch, publisher of Little, Brown, the imprint trips along the way, including Jewish commu- Max’s head? sider it my job. There are many more surprises cess Margaret (1930-2002) you’d London: It’s hard to think of a ahead. From Sigmund Freud’s never guess how tiny the sitter was more unlikely subject for a musical couch (shown as a miniature (only 1.55 meters). Of course all than an 1891 German drama about model) to his “Psychotope,” the royal portraits have to impute some the tortured psyches of adolescents cramped breeding ground of psy- majesty to their subjects, but An- growing up in a rigid bourgeois en- DISTINCTIVE PROPERTIES &ESTATES chosis so keenly portrayed in Ed- nigoni’s romantic painting of the vironment that leads them to act vard Munch’s “Scene from Ibsen’s queen’s sister in a rose garden gives out on stage their sexual fantasies. ‘Ghosts’” (1906). Félix Vallotton’s her the graceful, slender, long neck From the desperation of a 14-year- black-and-white woodcuts of a taller woman. old girl to know how babies are (1897-98) depict just such The rarely seen painting is being made, to the perverse desires of cramped interiors in his scenes of lent to the National Portrait Gallery 15-year-olds, this is not your usual, seduction and separation. A room by her son, Viscount Linley, and is easy-sing stuff. from Viennese architect Adolf displayed alongside some revealing However, with book and lyrics Loos’ “Müller Villa” (1928-30) re- photographs, starting with one by Steven Sater and music by Dun- veals the awakening of modernism taken in about 1939 by Marcus Ad- can Sheik, this production of Frank and echoes his battle cry “orna- ams. This shows a soulful nine-year- Wedekind’s “Spring Awakening” ment and crime,” with which he old child, with blunt, round features, has arrived at the Lyric Hammer- sought to ban the decorative os- holding a posy of flowers. smith, generously and justly gar- tentation of Victorian interiors. A color photograph taken by Dor- landed with awards from New Interiors are recreated using othy Wilding in the summer of 1953 York. authentic furniture and art. shows a woman with an unflatter- Christine Jones’s terrific Gym- Donald Judd’s minimalist Soho ingly severe hairstyle, sitting in a nasium bare set and Susan Hilfer- loft tells us more about the artist gilded chair. ty’s period costumes make possi- than a portrait could. Photographs Cecil Beaton’s earlier 1950 black- ble the dichotomy between the his- show real interiors like designer and-white bromide print is much toric matter of the play and the Wolfgang Joop’s red-and-white- more romantic, but also makes his soft-rock music. In a sweetly Brech- striped bedroom (2002). In some subject look like a taller, slimmer tian gesture of theatrical alien- cases room-sized photographs pro- person by posing her against a soar- ation, the kids reach into their vide the background for real furni- ing arch. 19th-century shirts or blouses to ture like Henry van der Velde’s The truer image, it seems to me, extract the hand-held mikes that Art Nouveau dining room. Piet is Norman Parkinson’s 1978 portrait, signal 21st-century music. Mondrian’s studio is a full scale with its sensuous eyes and generous While the score could be a copy filled with original art. mouth. This is a woman with a keen good deal more daring, it serves The show’s view of the future, sense of humor, who enjoys a gin- its purpose, and is far more inter- Clouds-Nests-Soup Bubbles, in- and-tonic and would be fun to meet esting than anything written re- cludes Werner Sobek’s house R at a party. You look at the other pic- cently by Andrew Lloyd Webber. 129, and Ronan and Erwan Bour- tures and wonder: Who said the cam- When the full company let loose oullec’s room-sized Styrofoam era never lies? —Paul Levy © Viscount Linley with “Totally F2," it’s an utterly sculpture “Clouds” (2002). Until March 8 ‘HRH The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon’ (1957), timeless rebellious schoolkid an- —Mariana Schroeder www.npg.org.uk by Pietro Annigoni, on show through this weekend in London. them. Of course the music kills off Until April 13 any hint of tragedy in the original www.kunstmuseum-wolfsburg.de play, though the musical version still deals with death from a botched abortion, the agonies of The nuclear opera: ‘Dr. Atomic’ aims for greatness puberty and suicide. The supremely distinguished London: John Adams’s latest op- night ensemble was poor in this Eng- ter witnessing the test, rather than choreography of Bill T. Jones era, “Dr. Atomic,” based on the Faus- lish National Opera production. have Japanese cities and civilians leaves you with indelible, graceful tian tale of how J. Robert Oppenhei- But even the libretto has its mo- destroyed by using it? images of young people scarcely mer led the team that developed ments of greatness, as when Oppen- Mr. Sellars and the production bound by gravity, as they leap and and tested the atomic bomb heimer (the superb Canadian bari- team manage, too, to portray the fe- frolic about the spacious stage. dropped on Japan in 1945, is more tone Gerald Finley, who created the brile atmosphere of Los Alamos, Moreover, the casting has resulted musically complex and satisfying role) sings his beautiful aria based where Oppenheimer brought to- in some superb performances by than his “Nixon in China.” And, like on John Donne’s “Holy Sonnet XIV,” gether the most distinguished col- director Michael Mayer’s U.K. com- that show, it is certain to become asking for the destruction of the lection of human intellects ever ap- pany, especially the two Welsh part of the operatic canon. speaker’s personality, in order for it plied to the solution of a single prob- boys who play the leads, Aneurin As a composition, it has only a to be reconstructed: “Batter my lem. Barnard and Iwan Rheon. single obvious fault, which is Peter heart, three-person’d God.” Finally, Mr. Adams has written a Anyway, who of my generation Sellars’s thorny libretto, largely as- Mr. Sellars has done an artful job ticking-clock dramatic finale, of can dislike a teenage musical in West Virginia CAYMAN ISLANDS sembled from historic documents of capturing the dramatic tension of Wagnerian length and Wagnerian which an entire scene consists of Distinctive Properties & Estates COLORADO and from poetry associated with testing the first bomb. Will the time- bass-instrumental menace, ending a recitation of the beginning of 3000 Acres, 6 miles river frontage. Spectacular 100% Freehold plots each of the characters. The opening, table insisted upon by the military in both bangs and whimpers. Virgil’s Aeneid in Latin? views. 8 million tons coal, $100+million charita- with residential planning consent, Catherine Ashmore in which the chorus sings the text of be messed up by the weather? Will —Paul Levy —Paul Levy for more information call, ble tax write-off. $15,000,000 Change - Not Chains from £29,500 with 0% finance available Gerald Finley as J. Robert a protest letter by Leo Szilard, is ex- “the Gadget” even detonate? Should Until March 20 Until March 14 Tel:44-20-7842-9600 or 49-69-971-4280 770-434-4343 x105 Tel +44 208 349 1456 or Oppenheimer in ‘Dr. Atomic.’ tremely difficult, and the opening the enemy be invited to surrender af- www.eno.org www.lyric.co.uk [email protected] SECRETSOFTHECOLORADOSANJUANS.COM www.islandsblue.co.uk

W4 FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 | WEEKEND JOURNAL WEEKEND JOURNAL | FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 W13 v Sports v Fashion No entertaining, please—it’s golf Designers send mixed messages in Milan

ORMALLY, A POSTING by how the drying up of corporate ATCHING FROM THE helm lection at London’s Natural History sultants Zeta Interactive, based in the celebrity Web site TMZ outings to golf resorts, mostly for of the Gucci Group luxury Museum. New York City, to use their Zeta Nand the state of the econ- fear of projecting the wrong im- W empire, Robert Polet sees Mr. Black created the cape with Buzz technology to measure the so- omy have few points of connec- age in the current economic envi- longtime patterns changing. “Peo- multiple uses in mind, pitching it as called buzz surrounding a handful tion. But last week they collided ronment, was creating travel bar- ple don’t have the impulse to buy,” practical, to a certain point: “You of high-profile Milan shows on to create a golf-related scandal of gains for the rest of us. But it is the CEO said last week at Milan’s can wear it with skinny jeans, you more than 100 million blogs, mes- sorts. also devastating the golf resort fall 2009 fashion shows. “They can wear it with an evening dress,” sage boards, social media posts and The TMZ posting last Tuesday, and hospitality industry. The same think about purchases more.” he said. other Internet outlets. concerning the title sponsorship holds true for the drying up of cli- That’s a vexing problem for the Another suit had been hand- Prada had the highest overall of the Northern Trust Open at the ent entertainment at golf and European designers who are pre- painted to achieve the mineral-like volume of chatter, with Bottega Ven- Riviera Country Club near Los An- other sports events. senting the clothes that will appear look he desired. Mr. Black said he is eta coming in second, according to geles, read to me like a parody in “It’s not the clients and com- in stores next fall. Foot traffic is braced for selling fewer items to his Zeta. When it came to the tone of the Onion satire magazine of a lo- pany executives who suffer if com- down in luxury stores everywhere. wealthy clients than before, so he the posts, though, Bottega Veneta cal news outlet pouncing on a sup- panies cancel their events. They’ll With the Dow industrials below wants each one to pack a wallop. had the most positive posts—98% posed outrage. “We’re told North- find other fun things to do that 7000 for the first time since 1996 “One of the sad things about this were positive. Gucci had the worst ern Trust paid millions to sponsor weekend. It’s the 20 guys who va- downturn is that ladies’ husbands tonal rating, with 61% positive. the PGA event which ended Sun- let-park cars for minimum wage have cut their budgets,” he said. And despite the inarguable skill plus tips, the 15 cooks in the On Style No matter who is picking up the involved in the design and tailoring kitchen, the six dishwashers, the CHRISTINA BINKLEY bill, shoppers may balk at some of of many of these garments, many Golf Journal rigging guys who put up the stage, the 1980s looks on the runways. store buyers were looking for alter- the housekeepers who make up Quite a few Milan designers natives to the ’80s look by week’s JOHN PAUL NEWPORT Wireimage/Getty Images the hotel rooms where people and the CAC-40 Index in Paris down seemed to think that creating ex- end. As a colleague and I left Left, Scott McCarron at the Northern stay,” said David Israel, a TV pro- 17% since the beginning of the year, citement required outlandish de- Versace’s early show on Monday day, but what happened off the Trust Open; above, singer Sheryl Crow ducer who is involved in the how is a fashion designer to sell ex- signs based on that decade’s exag- night, Bloomingdale’s fashion direc- golf course is even more shock- in another performance. sports economy as vice chairman pensive clothes? gerated lines. We saw multiple tor Stephanie Solomon was racing ing,” TMZ said. of the California Horse Racing In Milan, there seemed to be two takes on huge, wide shoulders. into the later show. “How was it?” Northern Trust wasn’t just Commission and past president of conflicting approaches to this ques- Ferré designers Tommaso Aquilano she called. “Don’t tell me more treating clients to Diet Cokes Fargo, a $25 billion TARP fundee the Los Angeles Memorial Coli- tion. Some designers drilled to and Roberto Rimondi did them ’80s!” while they walked around the which took over sponsorship of a seum Commission. their cores. Giorgio Armani re- Bottega Veneta squared off with a fold of fabric That might be why the Jil course. It staged “lavish parties,” PGA Tour event at the end of Mr. Israel was a guest at the turned to the sleek executive lines offered subtlety wrapped from back to front—ex- Sander collection, designed by Raf “a fancy dinner” and concerts for April when it acquired Wachovia, Sheryl Crow concert and noted he is known for, with capes, cardi- (left) while Graeme traordinary tailoring. Gucci did Simons, was well received. The first clients “with famous singers” such said it would seriously cut back that it was not particularly lavish: gans and slim pants in pewter and Black went for them on cropped jackets, exaggerat- part of the collection was pure Jil as Sheryl Crow and Earth, Wind spending at that event. decent but not great food, room various other shades of gray. ‘luxe’ (right). ing the Amercican football-player Sander daywear to the core—mini- and Fire. TMZ’s reporters spotted Golf, with its traditional fat-cat to stand but not sit as Ms. Crow Versace went for all-out, body-hug- look. Dolce & Gabbana did them big mal, strong lines on suits and courtesy cars (standard at PGA image, is an easy target for abuse, sang, and a crowd that consisted ging sex—just what the brand is and poofy—more Elizabethan than dresses of fine melton wool and Tour events) driving onto and off some of it deserved. I’m one who largely of volunteers and guests of known for. Bottega Veneta showed ’80s. Waists were often pinched un- wool crepe—with flat shoes. What the Riviera property with people has long believed the game skews the nonprofit organizations for winning looks for a woman who mal grain of the Milan shows, der the huge shoulders. Pants were followed was an artist’s take, in- inside. Guests were reported to too fancy for its own good. But which the tournament has raised wants to be subtle about the excel- where designers generally present cropped at the ankle and pleated at spired by the late French ceramist have left various functions with Icon Sports Media the trouble with the rabble-rous- $3 million in the past two years. lence of her clothes. a lot of wearable clothes. With the the hip—not a flattering look on Pol Chambost. The clothes curved goodie bags. O’Reilly hopped on the bandwagon entertainment events.” ing, apart from whatever damage “It seems to me that if the goal In fact, Tomas Maier’s collection biggest economic challenge of their many women as it shortens and like sculpture, some supported by Building up business by devel- last Thursday, commending Sen. Understandably spooked, Mor- it does to the effective business is to get the financial system work- for Bottega was outstanding— lifetimes facing them, these design- broadens their legs. whalebone hoops, using materials oping closer relationships with cli- John Kerry of Massachusetts (an gan Stanley, which received $10 practices of banks and other trou- ing normally again, you’ve got to softly colored, supple wools and ers seemed to be trying to create Investment dressing it was not. including starched wool, techno ents is, of course, the main reason unlikely bedfellow) for proposing billion in TARP funds, quickly an- bled companies, such as the auto let businesses do what they know silks, such as a graceful silk jac- clothes that would feel worth the in- The fashion world has been toying foams, scuba jerseys and a wool many companies sponsor golf tour- legislation that “would prevent nounced that while it would con- makers, is the chill it casts over how to do best to make money,” quard trench coat and a soft, dou- vestment. While this is an exciting with the 1980s for the past year, tweed coated with gold dust. naments. Northern Trust’s agenda any recipient of TARP funds from tinue to sponsor the Memorial the entire microeconomy of golf, Mr. Israel said. ble-faced cashmere coat. approach, it’s also risky, and it re- ever since Marc Jacobs sent out a The patterns required such pre- also included seminars for clients, hosting, sponsoring, or paying for tournament in June, it would not and of sports in general. Email me at golfjournal@wsj. Miuccia Prada, who is consis- mains to be seen which of these de- playfully ’80s-inspired collection a cision that Mr. Simons brought out such as one on the credit crunch. conferences, holiday parties and entertain clients there. Wells A few weeks ago I wrote about com. tently independent of the trends signers will have hits on their year ago. But I can’t help thinking his pattern cutter for a bow. For In undertaking such commitments, chased by other designers, rediscov- hands. the clothes will look entirely out of such elaborate work, Mr. Simons sponsors tend to be rigorous in ered the suit—creating slightly off- Brian Atwood’s designs for Bally date within a year, maybe two. said, “We have to honor them.” their analysis of the substantial kilter, woodsy suits that were still included memorable shoes with That’s what happened with my own Ms. Golden, the boutique owner, costs versus the benefits, just as authoritative enough to be snapped elaborately carved metal heels. Mr. suits and jackets from the 1980s, agreed. “The beautiful tailoring they are for all marketing and ad- up by working women. Atwood said he didn’t concern him- which wilted like cut flowers when seen at Prada and the luxurious fab- vertising layouts. As business “Women always wear suits,” the self with keeping costs down for that era was over. The ’80s weren’t rics at Jil Sander are great exam- propositions, underwriting tourna- influential designer said after her the “fashion collection” whose role flattering to women’s figures, and ples of the understated elegance In Austria, the sound of one finger pulling Getty Images ments can make sense on many show. Though she’s known for her is to draw attention. (Bally’s less many women later recalled them that my clients will be seeking out levels, especially for companies By Patti McCracken pull. The table is marked with artistic independence, she made a showy “pre-collections” were cre- with a shudder. during this challenging economic like Northern Trust, which cater Special to The Wall Street Journal black lines showing how far the point of saying that her suits would ated with costs kept in check, execu- “My clients won’t go for the lit- time,” she said. to high-net-worth individuals and HREE Lederhosened Salzburg- wrestler has to pull his opponent work “from a commercial point of tives said.) “I think it’s what women sented at his Milan showroom, was eral translation of the ’80s looks on Email [email protected] for whom personal relationships Ters stand outside in the quiet before he can be considered the view.” wanted,” Mr. Atwood said. “Espe- half the size of his previous sea- the runways,” says Kelly Golden, are central. of a tiny Alpine hamlet in Austria. winner. Many other designers threw cau- cially now, you really have to in- sons, and he’s been working to cut owner of the high-end Neapolitan WSJ.com But never mind all that, be- The loser is sometimes yanked tion to the wind, creating collec- spire.” his prices sharply. But there wasn’t boutique in Chicago. “They want One of the men folds his arms On the catwalk cause last year Northern Trust ac- across his sturdy belly, sure and entirely across the table, landing tions of flamboyant, indelibly Designer Graeme Black, of his a single item that didn’t attempt to something that they can wear now See more looks from cepted $1.6 billion from the U.S. strong. His son next to him mimics noisily in a heap on the other side. unique clothes and avoiding items impossibly expensive eponymous deliver a knockout punch, including and in future seasons.” Milan fashion week, at Troubled Asset Relief Program, de- his father’s stance, and both seem Villages lend space in their that could be accused of being “com- label, said, “That’s my only weapon— a $3,976 black cocoon cape that was To get a read on consumer re- WSJ.com/OnStyle spite record profits of $795 mil- aware of the imposing power they town halls for training, and bars mercial.” That went against the nor- luxe.” Mr. Black’s collection, pre- inspired by a visit to the mineral col- sponse to the shows, I asked con- lion and a solid balance sheet. possess. The third man, his head have been known to be particu- The bank, in a letter to sharehold- topped with a traditional Tyrolean larly accommodating, but Mr. Bau- ers last week, said it didn’t seek hat, breaks the winter quiet with mann gets a crowd of about a Arbitrage the funds but accepted them to ac- the cracking of a joke involving dozen who meet weekly at his commodate “the government’s something to do with schnapps. Af- house, and more often in the days goal of gaining the participation ter some hearty laughter that before a match. Some get busy Hourly rate for a A stylish celebration for grandmother of all major banks in the United shakes off the sleepiness of the crushing tennis balls with their States.” place, they all three lumber down Silvia Linecker hands. Others do finger pull-ups, plumber to fix a By Teri Agins long or three-quarter sleeves. Try Whatever the reason, taking into a damp cellar to practice pitch- Fingerhaklers Leo Enthammer (left) and Johann Spitzwieser (right) face off, or heave ridiculously heavy stones Y GRANDMOTHER is turn- a matching flowing chiffon skirt the money changed everything. It ing each other across a wooden ta- with referee Georg Wimmer in the middle. hoisted with a pulley. Ming 90 this year, and we’re that’s “tea length,” stopping well turned all of the bank’s business ble using the strength of one sin- “It’s also good mental train- leaky kitchen sink having a semiformal party for her above the ankles. Bridal shops practices, especially those that gle finger. ing,” says Gottfried Eder, a in June. She is short (1.47 meters) carry many versions of this style. smack of cultural excess, into red The men are training to be- the 53-year-old machinist keeps Mr. Baumann brought his son 63-year-old chemical plant re- City Local currency Œ and weighs about 56 kilograms. Have the outfit altered to fit. Be- meat for politicians and others come champions of finger wres- an orange metal recipe box into the fingerhakeln fold as a tiree. Mr. Eder, whose wife, son Can you recommend any looks cause your grandmother is short, looking to direct public outrage tling, or fingerhakeln, a little- jammed tight with handwritten small boy. Now at 18, Georg Jr., is and grandson are also fingerhak- Singapore† S$60 Œ31 that would make her feel like a the tailor may have to raise the about the state of the economy. known, ancient Alpine sport with records of every Austrian finger- accumulating his own win/loss lers, has outfitted his own garage queen for the day? Heels are not neckline and shorten the sleeves. Within hours of the TMZ re- a long and robust history. This is hakeln battle that has gone down record, with a card in the orange with a 90-kilo stone that the finger- Rome Œ35 Œ35 an option. Choose her footwear with port, Rep. Barney Frank of Massa- not thumb wrestling, arm wres- during the last 30-plus years. box to prove it. wrestling family likes to take Frankfurt* Œ40 Œ40 —L.M., Long Island, N.Y. care. Try gold or silvery shoes— chusetts wrote a letter to North- tling, wife carrying or log rolling, He flips to 1977. “Here’s Georg A fingerhakeln match goes turns pulling. sandals, if she’s amenable—with ern Trust, co-signed by 17 others, but a sport that Austrians and Ba- Wimmer’s records,” says Mr. Bau- something like this: Two oppo- All that pulling can make a fin- What a perfect way to cele- flat or inch-high, wedge heels. Brussels Œ50 Œ50 Victoria Roberts demanding that it return to the varians take quite seriously. mann. “He won more than 1,000 nents, usually clad in lederhosen ger massive, and some get to brate your grandmother’s mile- She should wear them around the federal government all the money Tournaments are held fre- competitions. One of our all-time (or dirndls, for the damen finger- nearly twice their normal size. In- Paris Œ50 Œ50 stone birthday! Glam her up in a house a few times so that they feel perhaps do light makeup and a it “frittered away on these lavish quently, with the next one coming champions.” haklers), sit across from each juries are a danger, even in a sport classic mother-of-the-bride en- broken in. She would look more el- manicure—quickly, to avoid tir- events” at the golf tournament. up on March 29. Mr. Baumann takes out the other at a wooden table. that requires the use of only one New York $92 Œ73 semble that flatters all body types egant without a corsage (though ing her out before the party. Don’t The New York Times op-ed colum- Georg Baumann has turned worn, ink-smudged card, which The wrestlers each lock a fin- digit. and isn’t too fussy. The two-piece her wishes reign if she wants bother with a handbag; skirts nist Maureen Dowd wrote a sarcas- part of the cellar in his family has been painstakingly filled in ger (usually the middle one) “Torn tendons and fractures London £95 Œ106 outfit is typically pastel (consider one). Don’t forget sparkly ear- with cocktail suits usually have tic column the next day headlined home into a makeshift finger- with dates of Mr. Wimmer’s wins through a leather band roughly are not uncommon,” says Mr. peach or violet ) with a long jacket rings. hidden pockets. Note: Prices, including taxes, as provided by plumbers “I Ponied Up for Sheryl Crow?” hakeln gym. Next to the stairwell, and losses. the size of a bracelet and start to Eder. “Fingers do get bloody.” in each city, averaged and converted into euros. that is beaded or spangled with Hire a pro to style her hair and Email [email protected]

Fox News commentator Bill *Doesn’t include a traveling fee †No hourly rate Newscom

W14 FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 | WEEKEND JOURNAL WEEKEND JOURNAL | FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 W3 v Taste 8-9 | Cover story Fashion 10-11 | Food & Drink A difficult love affair with Barolo U2’s Latest Experiment in Sound Contents Building a new look 3 | Fashion Sibling rivalry makes great liqueur By Jim Fusilli U2 adds dance beats to fatten the known Caller.” In some songs, the tained guitar. “Unknown Caller” forgiveness where forgiveness is groove on “Achtung Baby” (1991), most prominent lines are played develops patiently to a big cho- not/Only the lamb as white as Big-name architects 12 | Travel As its new album, “No Line on home to the masterpiece “One,” a on synthesizers rather than on the rus, as Bono sings over raw, echo- snow.” Said to be the thoughts of Mixed messages in Milan design fashion the Horizon” (Universal), demon- simmering down-tempo ballad. It Edge’s guitar or Mr. Clayton’s bass, ing guitars and a syncopated per- a dying soldier in Afghanistan, the strates, U2 is the only rock band marries rock and electronica on and at times Bono seems like he’s cussion pattern. “Cedars of Leba- song concludes with “If only a 4 | Top Picks An unsung Florida getaway of its stature and authority that “Zooropa” (1993) and “Pop” fighting the tumult rather than non” is whispered and spoken by heart could be as white as snow.” is so willing to toy with its for- (1997), and with “Rattle and gliding through a cleared, shining Bono over snappy drumming by In “Breathe,” he writes: “Sing your 13 | Books mula for success. Hum” (1988) takes on the Beatles, path. It’s controlled chaos, and Mr. Mullen and whistling strings. heart out, sing my heart out/I’ve Art as interior design By the standards of today’s Bob Dylan, gospel and the blues. when all the pieces fit—as in the It’s easy to comb the lyrics of found grace inside a sound.” iPod shuffle mentality, “No Line” All this is accomplished with extraordinary “Magnificent”—it’s “No Line” for allusions to Bono’s Even when the reference isn’t Translating the Holocaust is a great album, though it has no one of rock’s most inventive exhilarating. globetrotting politi- explicit, the words can be inter- ‘Dr. Atomic’ is hot consistent flow and no musical rhythm sections: bassist Adam The title track, cal adventures. preted as spiritually minded. In Clayton, drummer Larry Mullen which opens the al- When the They’re there in “I’ll Go Crazy,” whose lyrics open | arc. Rather than presenting a co- 14 Sports hesive statement, it’s a collection Jr., and the guitarist known as the bum, is a charging subject of ‘No small doses and as as a standard slice of rock rebel- 5 | Dance of songs held together by an effec- Edge—a distinctive musician capa- piece of rock that ex- often as not are self- lion, Bono asks, “Is it true that per- Golf Journal: Sponsorship trouble tive and slightly experimental ble of playing plodes rather than Line on the deprecating. When fect love drives out all fear?” “Mo- sound. It tops the band’s most re- exactly what the develops, and “Get Horizon’ isn’t the subject of “No ment of Surrender” may be about Taking dance a few steps farther cent recordings, “How to Disman- performance re- On Your Boots” and Line” isn’t love, lust romantic love, or about man’s eter- tle an Atomic Bomb” (2004) and quires. Bono’s “Stand Up Comedy” assorted good and assorted other nal link to God, or a tribute by The sound of one finger pulling “All That You Can’t Leave Behind” soaring voice place the band in con- times, it’s good times—still Bono to his late father, who was a Collecting: A preview of Tefaf (2000). But, like them, it features and tenacious text: During the the meat of the singer: “I was born to sing for 15 | Taste memorable performances along- personality give verses of the former, spiritual rock ’n’ roll vocabu- you/I didn’t have a choice but to side others that fall a bit short. the band its op- the melody mimics exploration. lary—it’s not geopol- lift you up/And sing whatever song 6-7 |Film “No Line” also fits in the contin- eratic qualities Mr. Dylan’s “Subterra- itics. It’s spiritual you wanted me to/I give you back U2’s latest reinvention uum of U2’s recorded work, which and superstar nean Homesick exploration, even if my voice/From the womb’s first stretches back three decades. The status. Blues” and Elvis Costello’s “Pump the song’s subject is derived from cry, it was a joyful noise.” Is the A producer of superheroes “3:33” mentioned in “Unknown 16 | Time Off band has always experimented— Working It Up” until it slides into a slinky a geopolitical event, as in “Ce- sometimes tweaking its approach Bono again with long- chant-along; on the latter, the Edge dars of Lebanon” and “White as Caller” a reference to a Bible verse to pop music, other times just time collabora- seems to draw inspiration from the Snow.” Throughout the band’s ca- or merely the time on a clock? Morgenstern on ‘Watchmen’ Our arts and culture calendar about discarding it altogether. tors Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois— Beatles’ late-period guitar sound. A reer, U2’s songs have referenced A dozen albums into its career, The album “The Unforgettable and with Steve Lilywhite contribut- powerhouse rocker, “Breathe,” a spiritual journey inspired by its U2 shows no signs of compla- Fire” (1984), best remembered for ing to three songs—U2 on “No kicks off with heavy percussion members’ Christianity. cency. With an abiding commit- On cover, Cosmos shoes designed by Rem D. Koolhaas for United Nude. the stirring “Pride (In the Name Line” has a new sound that is and metal-like guitars; Mr. Clayton, Here, the exploration contin- ment to substance and an admira- WSJ.com of Love),” is characterized by a dense, almost cluttered at times who excels throughout the disc, ues. In “White as Snow,” based on ble taste for adventure, the band brooding underpinning. Opening with the bottom bleeding into the gives it a formidable spine. a hymn inspired by Isaiah 1:18 and provides a new work that offers with three monster rock hits, mid-range, yet thoroughly appeal- Ballads provide the CD’s high with new lyrics by Bono, Mr. Eno much to enjoy and deliberate over. Builder’s remorse Fashion statement String trio theory “The Joshua Tree” (1987) also con- ing. The band’s customary chiming points. In “Moment of Surren- and Mr. Lanois, Bono sings: “Once Craig Winneker Editor tains songs that seem to borrow brightness appears infrequently, der,” a cello yields to a bubbling I knew there was a love di- Mr. Fusilli is the Journal’s rock Several luxurious new A new style statement for Time for Three, Barbara Tina Fuhr Deputy editor from South African mbaqanga and most notably on “I’ll Go Crazy if I synth riff and a choir formed by vine/Then came a time I thought and pop music critic. Email him sports stadiums are Washington, D.C., as more a ‘classically trained garage Fahire Kurt Art director the music of the American West. Don’t Go Crazy Tonight" and “Un- Bono’s voice and the Edge’s sus- it knew me not/Who can forgive at [email protected]. Kathleen Van Den Broeck Assistant art director opening in tough times. people wear fur. band,’ defies genres. Matthew Kaminski Taste page editor WSJ.com/Sports WSJ.com/ Lifestyle WSJ.com/Lifestyle Questions or comments? Write to [email protected]. Please include your full name and address. How I Spent a Few Days in Palladio’s World

By Hugh Pearman above the habitable rooms are would have designed Monticello the wealthy landowners of the and repeated the same designs THE JOURNAL CROSSWORD / Edited by Mike Shenk 61 Bodega Bay’s county Down 47 Small car, perhaps 83 Set off great attic granaries; below the and the University of Virginia, Veneto. In these he reached a peak with variations everywhere. It 63 Not able to take it easy 1 Comparable to a hornet 48 Hägar’s dog 84 Quarterback Drew I am standing on a moderately raised ground floor are storage and directed the extension of the with the Villa Capra (also known was his later followers, particu- Across 22 Seat of Hawaii 32 River near 46 One who is bad 64 Takes it easy or a hatter 49 House hangover 87 Union member grand porch, complete with col- cellars. Later, Palladio was to be- White House, very differently. as La Rotonda) of 1566-70 outside larly in the 18th and early 19th 1 Introduction County Balmoral Castle to verse? 66 Relentlessly gloomy 2 One of Donald’s nephews 50 Deli loaves 89 Cardinal toppers umns, capitals and pediment. It’s come the most famous, most influ- The original drawings and Vicenza. Cruciform in plan, with a centuries, who elevated Palladian- to Romeo 23 Homemade Irish 33 Threat of a 51 “Ars gratia ___” 68 Some Best Buy buys 3 Ollie’s partner as a tiller 53 Juan’s wife 91 Big name in ratings a kind of outdoor room, properly ential architect in the world. But later models in the Royal Acad- central two-story hall capped with ism to the heights. 5 Baldwin and side dish? malpractice suit? (MGM motto) 70 Way to the summit of the soil? 57 Grenade propeller 92 First last name tag called a loggia, poised at the top at the time he designed this emy exhibition make it clear why a dome, it has four identical Ionic Something of that rustic plain- house for a local landowner, he Palladio was such a Protean tal- porticoes (Ionic being the classical ness of the Veneto is paradoxi- Guinness 25 Part with 37 One meaning of x 52 Heckled 71 Source of sage advice 4 PDA entry 58 Old Finnish coin 93 Makeup of an of a flight of steps. I’m looking outward, and I can see precisely was still close to his roots as a tal- ent, someone who could both order with “rams-horn” capitals to cally apparent in one of the most 10 Respect, in slang 26 Shrinking sea 38 Fit for a king 54 Proscribed acts 74 Poke around 5 Whatever 59 Some synthetics underwater forest nothing—nothing but thick, swirl- ented stonemason with a love of study and explain the architec- the fluted columns). Each portico lavish and successful 18th-cen- 15 Dirty Harry’s org. of Asia 40 Patriots’ Day mo. 55 Right to decide 76 One explanation for not 6 Argentine article 95 Beat sheet, for short 60 Clown College home ing fog. And it is quite wonderful. Ancient Greece and Rome. That ture of the past, and apply it in has a noble flight of steps leading tury English country houses, 19 Ivory trade 27 “We ___ please” 56 Scaly squeezers wanting to go to a movie 7 Splash 99 Walk in the park 41 1965 Beatles 62 Jersey sound I am in the damp fen country youthful vigor is apparent. novel ways, developing his own up to it, facing the four points of Holkham Hall outside Wells-next- 20 When la luna 28 Neighborhood concert venue 57 Exterminator at 80 Rustic stopovers 8 “Cuchi-cuchi” entertainer 65 Sung syllables 100 Leafy lunch of the Veneto region of Northern A few weeks later, and I’m at signature style. In his “Four the compass. This was a rich the-Sea in Norfolk. It was de- shines 30 One might be Parliament? 81 Nickname for a plodding 9 Urban alligator’s home ___ 42 Like some 67 Show a second time 101 “There stupid Italy, the stamping ground of mas- the press preview of a 500th-anni- Books” he interspersed his own man’s summer retreat. Palladio signed by Burlington’s pupil, Wil- cited measures 60 Except for pirate? 21 Recap 10 They’re elementary in NYC questions” versary exhibition of Palladio at buildings with those of the an- had come a long way from farm- liam Kent, and it is one of my fa- 85 Helpless? 69 “That’s terrible” ter Renaissance architect Andrea 11 Home of the Wildcats 102 “Keen!” Palladio, who designed this villa London’s Royal Academy, a cient world, and set out the math- house extensions. vorites of the period—Palladio in- Dispossessed by Randolph Ross 86 Bird hunted to extinction 71 Milquetoast / 12 Syndicated astrologer 103 Johnny Appleseed, e.g. ematical flated to pal- by the Maori 72 “Are you ___ out?” unique gallery where art and ar- 1234 56789 1011121314 15161718 Sydney 104 Correspond chitecture have coexisted since principles of ace scale, 87 Less likely to start a 73 Escargot’s universe? 13 Make baby food, perhaps 105 Pakistani river Andrea Palladio: the 18th century. It’s a Palladian proportion but retain- 19 20 21 22 conversation 75 Bend at the barre 14 Contractor’s detail 107 Plumber’s helper His Life and Legacy building, originally the town that gov- ing a cer- 88 The answer is blowin’ 77 Opinion that ladies 23 24 25 26 15 Less on the level 108 Wee ones house of the Earl of Burlington, a erned both. tain auster- in the wind can be as profane as 16 Instrument for an Royal Academy of Arts fervent disciple. Few architects The exhi- ity. Kent 27 28 29 30 31 89 Dancer’s teammate gentlemen? 110 1954 sci-fi classic emergency responder? Through April 13 indeed have styles or movements bition feels also de- 90 Place to wash up in a 78 Robert who played 113 Lhasa ___ 32 33 34 35 36 37 17 Geometry setting named after them, and fewer still like an old- signed the graphic arts shop? A.J. Soprano 116 Endeavor 18 Boneheads nearly half a millennium ago. Be- make it into everyday language. fashioned delightful 38 39 40 41 94 Front runners? 79 Wee ones 118 Laudatory lines 24 “Miracle Mets” manager hind me, its lamps are shining yel- But “Palladian” is the dictionary museum gal- Horse 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 96 Creative sort 82 Foot, to Flavius 119 Just painted Guards 29 Hurry-up order low through the fog. Merry definition of a style of refined lery. It 97 Word of wonder voices ring out. I turn and stroll classical architecture that was makes few building in 51 52 53 54 55 31 Community character 98 Continental divide back into the big hall with its col- adopted all over the world and is concessions Whitehall 34 Stick in the water Last Week’s Solution 56 57 58 59 60 99 Balance sheet entry orful frescoes. I can hardly be- still alive today. to modern and was 35 Humidor item

101 Turns at bat in Anaheim? AGASS I DEC IMAL SAWYER lieve it. For a few days, at the in- technology Alberto Carolo one of 61 62 63 64 65 Palladio lived from 1508 to 106 Grounded flier 36 USN rank OILCAN AVARICE ORIOLE vitation of a friend, I am staying 1580, and some believe that he or populism. A model of Villa Capra, representing the peak of the architect’s country-villa designs. those who 66 67 68 69 70 109 One may be tapped 39 Season segments LATERDUDERANCH DELUDE here. (The house is rentable represents architecture’s high The hand worked on NA I LS CLAP ADDED 111 Profitable Internet business 41 Hit the jackpot through The Landmark Trust, point. Not just through his own drawing, the wooden model and Neither the Ancient Greeks Burlington House itself. 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 LAOT IAN UPREARS WEARS 42 Soft touches www.landmarktrust.org.uk.) the oil painting are deployed in a nor Romans had ever built Palladianism reached near-per- 112 Looking like a lion ENDS APR I OR I ALARM surviving buildings, but because 80 81 82 83 84 85 decidedly academic manner, and houses remotely like this—in- fection around the time of the 114 Lesage’s “Gil ___” 43 Switch ending EDD WI SEGUYSMI LEY ACE The next day, the sun breaks his teachings—enshrined in a se- through, and our awestruck house ries of coveted volumes called even the audio guides are schol- deed, Palladio was mistaken in American Revolution, which is 86 87 88 89 115 Compassion 44 Suit material? DIFFER LES BMW ANAX SEEDT IME ANTES FRONT party, gathered here to celebrate “The Four Books of Architecture,” arly in tone. This is an exhibition thinking that they ever applied why it graces such important 117 Jargon from a 45 Duane and Nelson 90 91 92 93 94 95 LASSO VIEIRA SITFOR for devotees, then, yet it is made temple-like porticoes to their buildings on both sides of the At- bereaved wife? a birthday, strolls around the first published in 1570—came to WSJ.com OWL P E E P I N G T OMM I X L E A building. And this is where Palla- be regarded almost as Holy Writ accessible by the wonderful large houses at all. That does not mat- lantic. So, happy 500th birthday 96 97 98 120 Oxford feature PHONOS ASSISI ELATE dio becomes endearing, because by architects all over Europe. cutaway models, showing key ter. He understood the underlying year, Andrea di Pietro della Gon- 121 Script direction 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 Crossword online TOWI T D I ETS STATETAX this early house—the Villa Sa- The Palladian movement accel- buildings inside and out. Who principle of “harmonic propor- dola, dubbed Palladio, meaning IOTA JEN EAT GENTLE 122 Practice piece For an interactive raceno, near Vicenza, from the erated until, in the late 18th cen- needs computer wizardry? tion.” To this day, the best classi- “Wise One.” As monickers go, his 109 110 111 112 113 123 Sushi bar offering CPR FASTBUCKNAKED EON version of The Wall AL I B I ENTENTE ARNO 1540s—is relatively humble, little tury, the architect was the presid- Palladio designed and built cal architecture is the most inven- was spot-on. 114 115 116 117 118 119 124 Unspoiled spot Street Journal Crossword, HIVES STRASSE STASSEN more than a large extension to an ing spirit behind the golden age many religious and civic buildings, tive. Though as one of today’s Pal- 125 Temperamental WSJ.com subscribers I DEAS T I ER PEARS existing farmhouse. Its propor- of both American and British especially in Vicenza and Venice— ladians, the English architect Mr. Pearman is architecture critic 120 121 122 123 126 Button for bowlers can go to T A L K U P MAMA S BOY G E ORG E tions are excellent, but its details country-house building and much but arguably his greatest contribu- Francis Terry, notes, once Palla- of the Sunday Times, and editor 124 125 126 127 127 Groundbreaking WSJ.com/WeekendJournal CHEERS OVERALL UNROLL are plain to the point of crude- else besides. Without Palladio’s tion to the history of architecture dio had established his style, he of the Journal of the Royal Insti- discoveries? HORDES REDANTS PAT I OS ness. It’s a working building, too: silent guidance, Thomas Jefferson was the country villas he built for essentially stopped inventing, tute of British Architects.

W2 FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 | WEEKEND JOURNAL WEEKEND JOURNAL | FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 W15 FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 Leo Potma

Aachen art “The Great Virtuoso from Amsterdam: Jacob Adriaensz Backer (1608/09-1651)” shows about 40 paintings and 20 drawings by the Dutch painter. Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum March 12-June 7 % 49-241-4798-00 www.jacob-backer.de Amsterdam design “Animal-Inspired Bags” presents bag designs based on animals, including work by Beverly Feldman and Corine Haacke. Museum for Bags and Purses—Tassenmuseum Hendrikje March 16-Aug. 23 % 31-20-5246-452 www.tassenmuseum.nl Antwerp art “Goya, Redon, Ensor—Grotesque Paint- ings and Drawings” shows a selection of works by the three painters. Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten March 14-June 14 % 32-3-2387-809 www.kmska.be fashion “Paper Fashion” showcases a collec- tion of 1960s paper dresses from the Atopos collection. Modemuseum Until Aug. 16 % 32-3-4702-770 www.momu.be

Berlin Private collection, photo: Lars Engelhardt/Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde art ‘Karin and Esbjörn’ (1909), by Carl Larsson, in Stockholm; above, leopard skin handbag made in Botswana, 1962, by an unknown designer, on show in Amsterdam. “The Art of Interpretation—Italian Re- productive Prints from Mantegna to Carracci” shows drawings, paintings, works by Irish artist James Coleman www.ok-centrum.at by the Irish born painter (1909-1992). exhibits photography by Swedish printing plates and faience works. (born 1941), featuring works from the Museu Nacional del Prado photographer Bengt Wanselius Kupferstichkabinett 1970s up to the early 2000s. Ljubljana Until April 19 (born 1944). Until June 14 Irish Museum of Modern Art archaeology % 34-91-3302-800 Dansmuseet % 49-30-2662-951 March 7-April 26 “Pre-Columbian Mexico: Eternal Life” www.museodelprado.es Until April 19 www.smb.museum % 353-1-6129-900 brings together some of the most im- % 46-8-4417-650 www.modernart.ie portant archaeological finds recently Paris www.dansmuseet.nu art discovered in Mexico. archaeology “Picturing America: Photorealism in Edinburgh Cankarjev dom Cultural and “The Gates of Heaven—Visions of art the 70s” presents 32 large-scale real- photography Congress Centre the World in Ancient Egypt” is a ma- “Carl Larsson” presents 100 works ist paintings by 17 artists. “Helmand: Faces of Conflict” presents March 10-July 24 jor exhibition of 350 ancient Egyp- by the Swedish artist Carl Larsson Deutsche Guggenheim a series of haunting portraits showing % 386-1241-7299 tian artifacts in their social, religious (1853-1919). Until May 10 British soldiers in the Helmand prov- www.cd-cc.si and artistic context. Prince Eugens Waldemarsudde % 49-30-2020-930 ince of Afghanistan by photographer Musée du Louvre Until May 31 www.deutsche-guggenheim.de Robert Wilson. London Until June 29 % Building 46-08-5458-3700 National War Museum, art % 33-1-4020-5050 www.waldemarsudde.se Bonn Edinburgh Castle “Gerhard Richter Portraits” shows por- www.louvre.fr photography Until Jan. 31, 2010 traits by the German artist Gerhard Turin “Czech Photography of the 20th Cen- % 44-131-2257-534 Richter (born 1932) from the 1960s to art film tury” exhibits photographs by Czech www.nms.ac.uk the present. “Italian Primitives” displays 50 “Rodolfo Valentino: The Seduction artists, ranging from avant-garde to National Portrait Gallery works by Italian masters of the of the Myth” pays tribute to the Ital- photojournalism. Until May 31 13th, 14th and 15th centuries. Frankfurt ian-American actor (1895-1926). Kunst- und Austellungshalle art % 44-20-7306-0055 Musée Jacquemart-André a new look Museo Nazionale del Cinema March 13-July 26 “Darwin: Art and the Search for Ori- www.npg.org.uk March 11-June 21 Until May 24 % 49-228-9171-0 gins” exhibits 150 paintings, drawings % 33-1-4562-1159 % 39-011-8138-564 www.kah-bonn.de and lithographs by artists with an in- Maastricht www.musee-jacquemart-andre.com www.museonazionaledelcinema.org terest in the natural sciences. art Big-name architects Budapest Schirn Kunsthalle “Jordaens—The Making of a Master- Sofia art Until May 3 piece” exhibits the restored master- film Vienna “A Land of Myths—The Art of Gustave % 49-69-2998-820 piece ‘The Tribute Money: Peter Find- “Sofia International Film Festival design start designing fashion Moreau” displays 120 works by the www.schirn-kunsthalle.de ing the Silver Coin in the Mouth of 2009” shows more than 100 fea- “Jean Prouvé: The Poetics of the French symbolist painter (1826-1898) the Fish” by Flemish Baroque painter ture films, 30 documentaries and Technical Object” presents furniture depicting mythological figures. Linz Jacob Jordaens (1593-1678). two programs of short films. and architecture by the French de- Museum of Fine Arts art Bonnefanten Museum Sofia International Film Festival signer. Until May 3 “Biennale Cuvée 09” showcases a se- March 13-June 14 March 5-March 15 Hofmobiliendepot % 36-1-4697-100 lection of artistic projects from the % 31-43-3290-190 % 359-2952-6467 March 11-June 21 www.szepmuveszeti.hu most important international biennials www.bonnefanten.nl www.cinema.bg/sff/2009/eng % 43-1-5243-357 of 2008. www.hofmobiliendepot.at Dublin OK Center for Contemporary Art Madrid Stockholm art Until April 26 art photography Source: ArtBase Global Arts News “James Coleman” shows a selection of % 43-732-7841-780 “Francis Bacon” presents 78 paintings “Stockholm—Tokyo and in between” Service, WSJE research. Choreographer Jonathan Burrows Behind the scenes of ‘Watchmen’ W16 FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 6 - 8, 2009 | WEEKEND JOURNAL