Out Personalities: May 2008 Archives

If you are a "Sex and the City" fan then ya gotta go out and buy the new issue of "Entertainment Weekly." It's got 63 pages of "Sex" including a recap and grade for every single episode of the show's six-year run.

I'll be puling stuff from it all week is my guess and will start by sharing some of Mario Cantone's short interview. He, of course, started as Charlotte's (Kristin Davis) wedding planner on the show and evolved into her personal stylist and more.

On hitting the big screen: "I did 10 days on it and have lots of chunks of funniness throughout it. It was a blast. It happened very quickly. I was just glad to be a part of it."

On strange fan encounters: "The men are always like, 'My girlfriend loves you.' And I'm like, 'And you? And what about you?'"

On our "Sex"-crazed culture: You go to Italy and people are talking to you in Italian and pantomining a TV box and pointing at you. It's so weird."

...oh heck, it looks like he's probably just with a trainer but, MADE YA LOOK! Lance is seen here coming out of the Equinox gym in South Beach...Happy Friday!

It is so fun to see all the attention Rami Kashou got and continues to get after his top-four finish on "Project Runway." I've known Rami socially for 3-4 years and from the very beginning, was so impressed with his drive and his passion. He's also a fantastic cook!

We did our first on-the-record chat at the GLAAD Media Awards a few weeks ago that I want to share but first some bio from Rami's MySpace page: Known for his dramatic red carpet gowns, Rami Kashou has draped the silhouettes of celebrities and trendsetters such as ,Jessica Alba, Jennifer Lopez, Portia De Rossi, Fergie, Amy Smart, Lucy Lui, Tracee Ellis Ross, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Penelope Cruz and Shiva Rose to name a few. His designs have been seen on the pages of In Style, Flaunt, Vogue, Lucky, Elle, Angelino, Interview, People and Us Weekly. Kashou was also commissioned to design the costumes for the March 2005 America's Next Top Model ad campaign that resided on billboards across the nation.

Greg: This is Rami who I knew way back when. So how is this whole fame thing working out for you?
Rami: You know, I see it as recognition, like being recognized for what it is that I do. So in a way, it's great. I don't view it so much as fame. People like my work and my product and being recognized for that is such an honor.

Greg: How has business changed for you? (I remember when Rami worked out of his apartment!)
Rami: A lot of things are happening fast. Working with new celebrities. One new client who I love is Heidi Klum which is amazing. I just designed something for her. I dressed for a the Hot Hollywood Party."

Rami told me he will appear on HSN on May 15 with Scoop Boutique where he will be selling one of his exclusive designs. He was set to meet with Becki Newton of "Ugly Betty" last week and just dressed Kelly Ripa.

"There's been all these wonderful things," Rami said. "And other things are in the making."

At this point, a handler grabs Rami and drags him to the Bravo interviewer so we agree to do another on-the-record chat soon. Meanwhile, here is a clip of Rami's appearance on "The Tyra Banks Show" where "young designers to watch" were profiled:

The very animated and enthusiastic Ross Mathews - best known as Ross the intern from "The Tonight Show" - called me Wednesday morning just moments after making his first appearance on "Good Day LA."

"I had co-hosted 'The View' and couldn't for the life of me get booked on 'Good Day LA,'" he said as he was being driven home from the studio (yes, they send a driver). "When I moved out to LA all by myself, they were like the first thing that felt familiar."

Ross didn't have to worry about the camera adding 10 pounds. It's been more than a year since he finished shedding a whopping 70 pounds by participating on VH1's "Celebrity Fit Club."

"To maintain it, I have to eat healthy," he said. "One Cheeto and I'd plump right back up."

Ross, 28, ate a lot of his meals at a Koo Koo Roo restaurant where he was particularly fond of the squash. He was horrified to go in one day and discover they had taken it off the menu! He blogged out it and the chain was flooded with feedback.
"I thought they were going to call their lawyers but instead, they told me they were bringing it back, calling it "Ross Squash," and wanted me to be their spokesman," Ross
squealed. "Right now, I'm on 40 busses throughout LA. I feel like I'm president of the company, I want it to go nationwide!"

He still has his day job on Jay Leno's show though. He was an intern while in college and at the last minute was sent to cover the premiere of "Ocean's 11" where his giggly persona was a hit with viewers and with Jay.

It changed his life. He's gone shopping with Gwyneth Paltrow in London, interviewed Elizabeth Taylor, gone skydiving and on May 14, guest stars on the NBC soap "Days of Our Lives." His dream is to be a talk show host but acting is also a lot of fun.

"I always say every Oprah has their 'Color Purple,'" he said. "They wrote the part for me and 'Days' shoots right down the street from my office so I told them, 'Any time you want me I'll just pop on down.' I have no shame!"

Ross thinks he knows why that first appearance on Leno's show has stretched into a years-long gig. He also produces and hosts a web-show on nbc.com with Tonight Show announcer John Melendez called "The John & Ross Show."

"I honestly think it's about the fact that I'm always honest and I'm sort of like the underdog, not the norm," he said. "I'm here in this city which can be hard for people, I've
somehow made my way in. I'm honest about feeling like I don't belong sometimes."

So I'm listening to the tape of my conversation with designer Tom Ford from the GLAAD Awards and all I can say is that you have to do so many back-to-back-to-back interviews on the red carpet that sometimes you just blurt things out. That's my excuse for the following exchange and I'm sticking to it.

Greg: "Here's Tom Ford, THE Tom Ford. Oh, you really are this handsome.
Tom: Awe...you're a FLIRT! Good! Go ahead! Flirt away!

I quickly regain my professional composure and we start to chat about his being at the awards to present an award to the late photographer Herb Ritts which was accepted by his friend, Cindy Crawford. Tom himself was honored by GLAAD last year.

I had to know, "Tom, are you glad there's GLAAD?"
Tom: "GLAAD is a great organization. GLAAD helps promote a fair view of a broad range of people with different lives, different personalities - gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender. It helps breaks down stereotype, it helps break down prejudice through promoting the fair depiction of people who might be, you know, different from one another. All of us in our culture and in our society deserve to be who we are and that's key."

I remarked on how visible Tom has been lately, appearing on the cover of Vanity Fair and the cover of OUT. Is he enjoying the higher profile?
Tom: "Before, I was working for another company and now I have my own brand and my own company and I am in a certain sense the face of my brand. I'm also the spirit of my brand. It's my company! Of course it's fun. I love my job, I love what I do but I'm not taken in or fooled by it. What I love doing is designing beautiful things, I love working, I love building things, I love making things. The rest of it is a kind of benefit. But it's not something that drives me. I'm not driven to see my face on the cover of a magazine."

Greg: But we like it there!

Good God! Yes, I said that. Real cool huh? They are gonna start keeping me away from celebs, I'm starting to act like Lucy Ricardo when she met William Holden!