May 18, 2024
The Best
of
The
News
from
Abroad
No. 253
Weekend
Edition
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at 6:00 AM
In This Week’s Issue
WHERE THERE’S A WILL, THERE’S A RELATIVE

The riches of the late Italian playboy and senator Mario D’Urso were supposed to go to a gay lover—until an American claiming to be D’Urso’s daughter turned up …

APOCALYPSE NOW OR NEVER

Francis Ford Coppola fears his $100 million opus Megalopolis may never reach theaters, as Hollywood bigwigs refuse to take a chance on filmmaking’s patron saint …

WRITING ON THE HALLS

Twenty years ago, an underground documentary revealed an anti-Israel bias in Columbia’s Middle Eastern–studies department. Was it a warning sign for the current campus unrest? …

BURN THE BOATS!

France, Spain, Portugal, and Mexico are just a few of the sought-after destinations for Americans contemplating an exodus abroad if Trump wins the presidency …

DODGY LODGINGS

Spewing invectives at women, drinking on the job … John Dixon Hart’s transgressions as Britain’s most notorious hotelier are inspiring comparisons to Basil Fawlty …

WEDDING PLANNING

Three decades after its triumphant premiere, Richard Curtis, Simon Callow, and other cast and crew from Four Weddings and a Funeral revisit the comedy classic, Rowan Atkinson’s “holy goat” and all …

THE WHITE-GLOVE TREATMENT

Ashley Baker sits in on the Hôtel du Cap’s “Palace Attitude” employee-training program and reveals the secrets to bringing the elegant ways of the world’s finest hotel into your home …

BUT, WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

In Miami, a restaurant bubble on the brink … an homage to Judith Jones, the editor behind The Diary of Anne Frank and Julia Child … the riskiest solo sea crossings in history … Alfonso Avincola, set photographer extraordinaire, remembered … the force behind Brazil’s popping artisanal ice cream … Vote in this week’s Attention-Whore Index Poll! …

But First …
Issue No. 253

The View from Here Why Francis Ford Coppola should be cherished for being the last great dreamer in Hollywood

By Sam Wasson
Read On
Barry Blitt’s Sketchbook
Aristo Chronicles

The Secret Daughter A battle over the estate of Mario D’Urso—the Italian banker and senator who epitomized the 1970s jet set—gets complicated when a daughter he didn’t know he had enters the picture

By James Eli Shiffer
Read On
Past is Prologue

The Long War at Columbia University In 2004, a short Internet documentary accusing particular professors of anti-Semitism provoked a local furor. Today, some see it as an unheeded warning

By Cathy Young
Read On
Air Supply

The Graduate

Hats off to the class of 2024! Whether you’re applauding the academic achievements of a soon-to-be freshman or newly minted alumnus, AIR SUPPLY is here to help you mark this significant milestone. While the future may still be uncertain, rest assured: these commemorative keepsakes are sure to be a roaring success
Shop
Photo: Embassy Pictures Corporation/Photofest (Bancroft)
Guest Edit

Todd Nickey and Amy Kehoe’s Favorite Things Ahead of the New York City opening of home-furnishings store Nickey Kehoe, the interior designers share small touches that make for a stylish life

Shop
Photo: Yoshi Makino (Nickey and Kehoe)
Beauty and Wellness

Eye of the Beholder Most skin-care companies churn out new serums every season. Not so at Vintner’s Daughter, a three-product line that beauty savants refuse to live without

By Linda Wells
Photo Illustration by Chop Choppish Shop
Read On
Apocalyptic Thinking

The Great Escape With the ever increasing danger that Trump might win the election, many Americans are planning their exit strategies

By David A. Andelman
Read On
T.G.I.S.

The Attention-Whore Index Harry and Meghan are delinquent, Kristi Noem can’t stop fibbing, and Donald Trump would probably like to eat your liver. Plus, the strangest news from around the world

Read On
Little Britain

The Not So Suite Life Bloodstained sheets, smashed windows, animal feces, and an abusive proprietor. Welcome to the worst hotel in Great Britain

By Stuart Heritage
Photo Illustration by Chop Choppish Shop
Read On
Small Talk
“Hi, handsome, how about an appletini?”
“Hi, handsome, how about an appletini?”
Q&A

The AIR MAIL Survey A quiz on the most important issues of the day …

By John Ficarra
Read On
Best
DINE Sale e Pepe Dining in Knightsbridge can be a fraught proposition, especially during the summer and winter holidays, when the neighborhood… STRUT Dries Van Noten Dries-lovers, the time is now. As designer Dries Van Noten’s retirement approaches after 38 years at the helm of his Antwerp… READ Skies of Thunder During World War II, it was imperative that the Allies ferry supplies to China to keep Chiang Kai-shek’s forces on their side… SHOP Porta x Object & Thing How can Porta make their Brooklyn storefront, showcasing elegant tableware and furnishings… READ What Makes Sammy Jr. Run? Ezra Pound said, “Literature is news that stays news.” In editor Alex Belth’s scintillating collection… TREAT London Borough of Jam London was finally granted a few consecutive days of sunshine, and I celebrated with… DINE Sale e Pepe Dining in Knightsbridge can be a fraught proposition, especially during the summer and winter holidays, when the neighborhood… STRUT Dries Van Noten Dries-lovers, the time is now. As designer Dries Van Noten’s retirement approaches after 38 years at the helm of his Antwerp… READ Skies of Thunder During World War II, it was imperative that the Allies ferry supplies to China to keep Chiang Kai-shek’s forces on their side… SHOP Porta x Object & Thing How can Porta make their Brooklyn storefront, showcasing elegant tableware and furnishings… READ What Makes Sammy Jr. Run? Ezra Pound said, “Literature is news that stays news.” In editor Alex Belth’s scintillating collection… TREAT London Borough of Jam London was finally granted a few consecutive days of sunshine, and I celebrated with…
Behind the Scenes

The Oral History of a Summer Classic Thirty years on, the cast and crew of Four Weddings and a Funeral, Britain’s most successful—and delightfully profane—romantic comedy ever, look back on the highs and lows

By Blanca Schofield
Read On
Rules of Civilité

Faultless Towers The staff of the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc undergoes a unique training course to make their high-flying guests feel like royalty: “Palace Attitude”

By Ashley Baker
Read On
The Restaurant World

The New Swampland? Since 2020, branches of restaurants from New York, Los Angeles, London, Mexico City, and elsewhere have opened in Miami. But the bubble may be ready to pop

By Eric Barton
Read On
Listen

Lunch with Ellen Barkin On this week’s episode of Table for Two, the Bronx-born actress recounts an unfortunate on-set merkin incident, waiting tables for the likes of Terrence Malick, and other adventures in Hollywood …

Read On
Inside Story

A Most Wanted Man Was M.I.6 agent Dick Ellis one of the worst traitors of the 20th century—or an unsung hero who first sounded the alarm on Pearl Harbor?

By Jesse Fink
Read On
Books
Ruth Peltason On

The Editor: How Publishing Legend Judith Jones Shaped Culture in America

by Sara B. Franklin
Read On
Jonathan Darman On

Sailing Alone: A Surprising History of Isolation and Survival at Sea

by Richard J. King
Read On
Fly-Fishing

The Saltwater King When it comes to learning the art of fly-fishing for striped bass, New York’s editors, writers, and chefs all turn to the same puckish guide and former reality-TV star

By David Coggins
Read On
Open Studio

One-Frame Films Set photographer Alfonso Avincola captured some of the 20th century’s greatest actors, from the divas of Italian neo-realism to the Young Turks of New Hollywood

By Sam Kashner
6
Jane Fonda as Barbarella, 1968.
Top, Marcello Mastroianni on the set of The Stranger (1967); above, Pier Paolo Pasolini and Silvana Mangano on the set of The Decameron (1971).
Enrico Montesano and Isabella Biagini on the set of Boccaccio (1972).
Top, Luchino Visconti on the set of The Stranger; above, Ira von Fürstenberg and Patrick O’Neal on the set of Matchless (1967).
Jack Hawkins in character for Waterloo (1970).
Tamara Baroni on the set of Boccaccio.
Read On
Small Talk
“He loved self-referential humor.”
“He loved self-referential humor.”
Listen

From Jet-Set Playboy to Secret Papa On this week’s podcast, the incredible story of Mario D’Urso and his American love child

Read On
Highlight
Not for laundry.

Pot Heads and Basket Cases

For the past 45 years, Polly Adams Sutton has been making baskets at her home studio, in Seattle’s Beacon Hill neighborhood. She collects scraps of bark from western red cedars growing along the estuaries surrounding the Puget Sound, which are then soaked and dried, cut into thin strips, and split by hand into even thinner layers. Finally, they’re woven onto a base made of twill and wire. READ ON

Not for laundry. Read On
Close-up

Edoardo Tonolli The force behind Bacio di Latte, Brazil’s biggest artisanal-ice-cream chain, is expanding his gelato empire in California

By Elena Clavarino
Read On
View With a Room

Garden Party Cheerful design, fair prices, and extreme comfort make for a winning formula at La Fantaisie, a new hotel in Paris’s Ninth Arrondissement

By Linda Wells
Read On
Small Talk
The Seasoned Traveler

Helen Smith The co-C.E.O. of the Dorchester Collection reveals her travel routine

Read On
Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s Sketchbook
“Over Under Sideways Down”: The Yardbirds performed this song on Ready Steady Go! in 1966. In a rehearsal, 21-year-old Jeff Beck, a friend, moved away from the band a little, over to where I was standing, and extended the guitar break for fun … or like a gift. The skin rose on my arms; goose bumps followed. Never before—or since—have I felt so enraptured by musical sound. It came to an end, and Jeff raised his head, tossed a lock of his black hair out of his eyes, gave me his lady-killer’s smile, and rejoined his bandmates.
Is Edited By

Graydon Carter and Alessandra Stanley

Creative Director

Angela Panichi

Deputy Editors

Ashley Baker Ash Carter Chris Garrett Nathan King Julia Vitale

Chief Technology Officer

John Tornow

Editor at Large

George Pendle

Books Editor

Jim Kelly

Arts Intel Report Editor

Laura Jacobs

Senior Editors

Elena Clavarino Jensen Davis Clara Molot

Photo Director

Ann Schneider

Copy Editor

Adam Nadler

Research & Legal Editor

Matt Kapp

Production Editor

H. Scott Jolley

Associate Editors

Carolina de Armas Lucy Horowitz Jeanne Malle Paulina Prosnitz Jack Sullivan

Art Director

Paloma Huerre

Senior Photo Editor

Emine Gözde Sevim

Designer

Zoé Gillette

International Editor

Isabelle Harvie-Watt

London Editor

Bridget Arsenault

Communications Director

Harrison Vail

Columnists

Dana Brown Cazzie David Lisa Henricksson
Walter Isaacson Pico Iyer Rachel Johnson
John Lahr Jonathan Margolis Linda Wells
James Wolcott

Writers at Large

Lili Anolik Johanna Berkman Joseph Bullmore Vassi Chamberlain William D. Cohan Rich Cohen Michael Hainey Stuart Heritage George Kalogerakis Sam Kashner James Kirchick Alexander Lobrano Alexandra Marshall Daphne Merkin Sam Wasson

Contributing Artists

Monica Ahanonu Barry Blitt André Carrilho Pip Carter Paul Davis David Downton Andrea Ferolla Josh Gosfield Cathy Graham Eric Hanson Angelica Hicks Hilary Knight Danielle Kosann Michael Lindsay-Hogg Ross MacDonald Joe McKendry James McMullan Donald Robertson Charles Dare Scheips Grant Shaffer Ed Sorel Ralph Steadman

Contributing Photographers

Jonathan Becker Justin Bishop Alex Board James Emmerman Marcos Fecchino Daniel Paik Art Streiber Sharon Suh Justin Weiner

Architectural Consultant

Basil Walter

Head of Audience Development

Rachel LeSage

Audience Growth Manager

Merritt Johnson

Cartoon Editor

Bob Mankoff

Music Supervisor

Randall Poster

Technology

Brooks Oakley Justin Rubaloff

Intern

Gasper Tringale-White

OUR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AND CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER ARE

Bill Keenan and Emily Davis

Air Supply General Manager and Brand Partnerships

Anjali Lewis

Advertising Director

Michael Pescuma

European Sales Director

Selim Mataraci

Financial & Business Operations

Marc Leyer

Chief Strategy Adviser

Adam Mendelsohn

Chief Merchant

Jennifer Noyes

Shop Editor

Zoe Ruffner

E-Commerce Manager

Isaac Metlitsky

E-commerce Associate

Lilly Schoenbaum

In Memoriam

Peter Bogdanovich Duncan Hannah Douglas McGrath Richard David Story André Leon Talley

Issue No. 253
May 18, 2024
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Issue No. 253
May 18, 2024
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