Last Thursday night, a bevy of cool kids (from magician David Blaine to actor Michael Pitt to Chairlift's Caroline Polachek) headed to the W Hotel Downtown to celebrate the launch of the Four Stories Film Series, a contest spearheaded by W Hotels, Intel and director Roman Coppola. (Aspiring filmmakers take note: write a screenplay for a short film which is set in a W Hotel and features Intel's newest computer, the Ultrabook, then upload it here and hope that your script is one of three selected by a panel of judges that includes Roman Coppola, Chloe Sevigny, and Michael Pitt. Coppola's production company, The Director's Bureau, will make the winning screenplays into ten-minute shorts to be played alongside one of Coppola's own.)At the party, we took Coppola aside for a moment to chat about his new movie, A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III (which stars Charlie Sheen), how he feels about Westerns, and which breakup movies he thinks really get it right.
So how did you become involved in Four Stories?
I was just asked to participate [in the series] to be a judge and a director, to try to encourage interesting things to happen. I am a person who's very curious about stuff so when people approach me to do something I haven't done before I am always curious. It seemed like a good time to try to do something different.
What is it about hotels that makes them such a popular subject for films?
Well, I think when you travel, when you stay at a hotel, it is always filled with adventure. It defines it -- seeing new places, meeting new people, unknown circumstance, surprises, different cultures.
Tell me about your upcoming movie, A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III.
The story is about this very dynamic guy who's a lover of women and has some child-like qualities, and is going through a personal meltdown because his girlfriend breaks up with him. I'm very delighted with my cast. Charlie Sheen is someone who is a fascinating personality, but also is a great actor, and I'm very proud that I got to show his talents in that way. And Jason [Schwartzman], someone I really love as a person and as actor, and Bill Murray, similarly. It's a very personal movie, made very much from my heart.
Does the film touch upon Sheen's meltdown?
There are, perhaps, some similarities, and people can draw their own conclusions from Charlie's real persona. But I was drawn to him, for one because he is a tremendous actor, and two because he's a friend. We were friends as kids, we knew each other and always had a good rapport. I wanted to use him much prior to the public stuff. In fact that was kind of a distraction, because it made people confused about who he was. So I'm very hopeful that people will see the film and say, "Well, wow. This guy is very good actor." There are more sides to him than just the one, you know, abbreviated version that we got on the web.
You told Interview magazine that the movie a male-centric look at a breakup.
It's based on the personal experience of a break up. My friend was breaking up with his wife when I wrote it. We would just talk about it all day long, like "Oh she did this," or "Yeah, did she do that?", "She stopped paying attention," "I know." There was a lot of bullshitting and shooting the breeze, the process of trying to figure it all out. And you know that brain-melting, kind of flip-flopping that happens as you go through it. The only really male thing about it is that there are a lot of guy characters, and it's seen from their point of view. But a friend, a woman, who saw my movie, said, "Oh, wow. I related to it so much." So I don't think it's guy-centric to a fault, it just happened to have a lot of guy characters talking about relationships for an hour and a half.
I also read that there's a Western sequence in Charles Swan. Are you particularly drawn to Westerns?
I'm not particularly drawn to Westerns, I'm drawn to Hollywood imagery. So, my film has a certain touchstone that relates to the classic B-list serialized Westerns from the '30s, and other kinds of Hollywood imagery that I find very beautiful and interesting. The guy's in a depression, so he fantasizes about all this fantastical imagery. Similarly, in Hollywood, that golden era of all that magical filmmaking happened in the deep pits of the Depression. So, it's kind of your instinct to fantasize and reach beyond where you are at. I think there's a correlation there.
Are there movies that stand out to you as portraying breakups very well?
Well, Annie Hall, very much so. That's a big iconic movie. So great. That's the ultimate one that comes to mind. A movie like All That Jazz is something I love very much, that's inspired me. Or Fellini movies, like 8½.
I know you've talked about doing a Bugsy Malone-esque film. Have you made any headway with that?
One of these days I hope to get the chance to do a kids movie. I love children, everyone loves children, and I like the idea. I'd get a big thrill out of making a movie for children and having a premiere with only children allowed to attend. I think that would be fun.
For those thinking about entering the Four Stories contest, what makes for a good short film?
Well, a good film is obviously something -- it's very generic to say -- that evolves, and sparks your imagination in some way. It has something you feel an emotional connection with. But, I'm partial to things that are inventive, and unusual and playful. I like the sensation of being delighted, of being surprised. I like things that have a sense of mirth or whimsy. So, you know, the ultimate thing would have, it would be moving, but also be playful. You know, like Fellini, one of my favorite filmmakers -- something that sort of embodies those qualities. That's very playful and stupid and crude, child-like, but also very moving. That's kind of my thing.
If you haven't already, please run -- don't walk -- to 
Always the do-gooder, Beyoncé performed at the UN for World Humanitarian Day on August 19.
It's Blue Ivy (well, her backside!) holding it down in her dad's tour shirt.
Still life with a sick bracelet, purple nails and a hot green pepper.
Equally adorable: Solange's seven-year-old son Julez.
It's always a rare treat to see the super-private Beyoncé and Jay-Z share an intimate moment. Here's Jay-Z pushing Beyoncé on a swing in a very nicely-manicured backyard. Also, hello there Chocolate Lab, what's your name?
Beyoncé and her friend browse the Kashi aisle at the grocery store.
We really want to hula-hoop with Beyoncé.
Here's Solange and B posing together while riding in some kind of private jet/car. Ah, the good life.
1) This was posted on Barack Obama's 
8) Three kangaroos escaped from a zoo in Frankfurt,Germany recently via holes dug by some of their fox and boar friends. Two of the three kangaroos have been captured. One remains at large. God speed. [
Metajournalist Robert Anasi knew Williamsburg before it was cool and rent was over $300. No, really. His fascinating memoir, The Last Bohemia, Scenes From the Life of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, chronicles the neighborhood's vastly different scene during the 90's. It reflects on the massive changes (for good and bad) that the area has gone through. Don't miss his reading tonight at Word. [
Scottish post-punk band, Franz Ferdinand, is back. They're touring to support the release of their not-yet-titled upcoming album. See them tonight at The Glass House with Bleached and Carnivores. [
Caddywhompus, the noisy indie band from New Orleans, will be performing at The Burlington in support of their new album, Maze Demos. [
John Maus is quite the artist He is a keyboard player for Panda Bear and Ariel Pink, released a well-regarded and super catchy synth-pop album in 2011, We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves, and is also working on his PhD. He also looks like an '80 preppy but most of his frenzied performances involve him standing on stage with a microphone, screaming and hitting himself. Check him out tonight at Scala with The Pheromoans and Trash Kit. [
When asked about the Kanye West-Kim Kardashian relationship, 50 Cent reportedly 
Behold, Models Who Look Like They Just Farted. [
Sleepovers c. 2012. [via 
We 
Ice-Scream. [via 
James McAvoy Lying On Things. (And you can even make your own!) [via 
One of the founders of Crocs was busted for a DUI and when police pulled him over, he incoherently blamed the incident on his "girlfriend, Taylor Swift." And no, he was not wearing Crocs at the time. He was wearing flip-flops. [via 
In honor of the Spice Girls performing at the Olympics Closing Ceremony on Sunday, here's a -- wait a minute. [via 
Happy 100th Birthday, Julia Child! Although there seems to be almost as many celebrity chefs on TV these days as there are reality TV stars, we can't think of anyone who has as much fun in the kitchen as the late Julia Child did. We always loved watching her show because it seemed like she truly took pleasure in cooking and eating and never took herself too seriously while doing either. PBS has another cute "Remixed" auto-tune video (we also recommend you watch earlier versions they made for 
Check out these cool jewelry pieces by designer Laura Lombardi, launching today with online vintage store Market Publique. [via 
Werk it, Condi! The former Secretary of State made her modeling debut for NFL's women's apparel line, sporting a Cleveland Browns jersey (her favorite football team). The campaign also features Melania Trump and Serena Williams, among others. [via 
Topshop is hosting a pop-up boutique at Montauk's Surf Lodge (183 Edgemere St.) starting this Friday 8/17 through Sunday 8/19. Live music, including guest DJs and Chairlift, will perform each night of the weekend from 7-10pm. Sounds fun! 
Here's that Azealia Banks cover for Dazed & Confused that was banned in seven countries. Personally, we prefer 
A judge dismissed a lawsuit against Alexander Wang that claimed his Chinatown factory was a sweatshop. [via 
What the what? A Chinese designer created a "scent-capturing postcard printer" for Sony that uses pattern recognition technology to identify an image and then transfer the associated scent via aroma-based inks onto the card. [via 
Check out the Fab Five (minus Gabby Douglas) out of their 
1. Anthony Bourdain is embarking on his first North American tour
come November, making stops in Nashville, TN; Birmingham, AL; Houston,
TX; Baltimore, MD and more. Details are a little fuzzy about what the
'show' will be like but we're assuming it'll be a night full of his bon mots and a Paula Deen/Sandra Lee diss or two. [via 
3. Tonight's the opening for Spencer Sweeney's "Nerds," on view for 24 hours at Tribeca's Home Alone Gallery (54 Franklin St.), a space curated by artists Nate Lowman, Hanna Liden and Leo Fitzpatrick that solely consists of a storefront window displaying art for pedestrians on the street to view. We're not 100% sure what Sweeney's piece will look like on display but, judging from the invitation, we're guessing it may resemble Sweeney's 2000 work "I Hate Fucking Nerds" (above). As for the gallery, T has an 
4. We're a little befuddled by these Comedy Central x Urban Outfitters "Indecision" tees. On the one hand, we get that they theoretically appeal to UO's "young, irony-inclined, liberal customers" but on the other hand, the company's 
5. Artist Mickalene Thomas will have not one but two firsts this fall: her first documentary will screen at the opening of her first solo show, Mickalene Thomas: Origin of the Universe, at the Brooklyn Museum in late-September. According to Thomas' gallery, Lehmann Maupin, the doc, Happy Birthday to a Beautiful Woman, is "a celebration of the artist's mother and muse, Sandra Bush," who, sadly, is currently suffering from illness and kidney failure. In a statement of her own, Thomas says that she "want[s] my work to capture the reality of who she is, but I also want to capture her strength and beauty." As for the rest of the exhibit, you can expect 93 pieces of the artist's work from the last two years, which, similar to the documentary, will include Thomas' "signature portraits of vibrant black women in photographs, paintings, and collages," as stated in a Brooklyn Museum press release. [via 
6. Word is that Abby Elliott will be the latest cast member to leave SNL following announcements that Kristen Wiig and Andy Samberg are moving on. Jason Sudeikis is also rumored to be leaving and all of your finger-crossing that he'll stay on and continue playing Mitt Romney during the election 
Amadou and Mariam, the blind Malian couple making complex and enchanting African-infused folk pop have collaborated with everyone from members of TV on the Radio to Santigold to Theophilus London. You won't want to miss their show tonight at Santa Monica Pier. [
Sebadoh, the 25-year-old side project of Dinosaur Jr.'s Lou Barlow, is aging pretty well. They're back and touring in support of their new EP, Secret. See them tonight at Schubas. [
Baltimore shoe-gazers Lower Dens rock out at the Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen tonight. [
The delightful Twitter rapport between Britney Spears and the Mars Curiosity Rover. These two should host a morning show together. [
Behold: 
Yayesssss: John Slattery is going to appear on multiple episodes of the now-filming resurrection of Arrested Development. [
Jon Hamm, Nala; Nala, Jon Hamm. ... [
A Redditor planted watercress in their co-worker's dirty keyboard (while that person was away on vacation) and posted a bunch of photos of the growth process. [
"Public Beach" felt collage by artist Jacopo Rosati. [
Gahh! A baby Pudu, the world's smallest deer, at Bristol Zoo Gardens in the U.K. [