Scene in the Tropics

Alex Rodriguez sells Miami Beach manse to a mystery Palm Beach celeb for $30M

TMZ reports that ARod has left the building--that is, his 9 bedroom, 11 bathroom Miami Beach manse, which he just sold for $30 million. Though the Yankee slugger took an $8 million pay cut in the price of the home, originally listed at $38 mil, he bought it in 2010 for $7.4 million, raking in a pretty impressive profit nonetheless. The buyer, TMZ says, is a Palm Beach celeb. Rush Limbaugh? Rod Stewart? G-d forbid Donald Trump?  No one knows--yet. Says our real estate mole, "It's a couple from Palm Beach." The home is not so far from Matt Damon's, which is currently on the market for the bargain basement price of $20 million. True high rollers, however, may want to consider the Versace mansion, which just dropped its asking price today from $100 million to $75 million.

Miami's not the only city with a Jersey Shore allergy

 
Seen posted outside Republic, a live music venue in New Orleans. 'nuff said.

Fashion weak: The Sham Wow guy and his Miami muses

 
Seen here at the launch of Lamborghini Energy Drink at Club 50 at The Viceroy: Vince "ShamWow" Shlomi, no stranger to our city and its industrious women. He behaved last night, but we wonder if he heard us and decided to start making the wearable Sham-Woww as inspired by Jersey Shore's J-Woww as seen here on his lady friends, sporting the more, uh, business-like pieces of the collection? "It's like a chamois, a towel, a sponge, evening wear!"

Photo:/Manny Hernandez/thescenemiami.com

Exclusive! The Hangover 2 starts pre-production in Miami

The Hangover's hilarious Zach Galifianakis had dinner at Michael's Genuine Food & Drink with a group of six last night. Apparently it wasn't his first time, having been in a few days earlier, dining at the bar with his assistant. Galifianakis, who will host SNL on March 6, wasn't just lingering from the Super Bowl, either. He's in town working pre-production of The Hangover 2 for the next four to six weeks. Bradley Cooper swoon alert:production starts in October. At last, an actual comedy being filmed down here as opposed to the comedies of errors to which we've grown so accustomed.

Doorman to Roger Daltrey: Who are you?

Some doormen at The Florida Room last Saturday were singing a familiar tune to The Who's Roger Daltrey as he attempted to get into the slam placked club to check out a live set by Snoop Dogg. Says our source, "Daltrey was turned away at the door because it was too crowded." We believe that. Had it been the night after The Who's not so well received half time show, we may have thought it was something more personal. 

Jersey Shore creeping closer to South Beach & some other reality show rumors

 

Tanning salons, laundromats, Wet Willies and Mango's shouldn't get too excited over the rumors that Jersey Shore's second season on South Beach is a done deal---yet. Despite reported rumors that a house near Lincoln Road is being renovated for the inexplicably popular MTV reality smash, we can 100 % squash that one and tell you that said house is being all pimped out possibly for  HGTV's Color Splash instead. In fact we hear the show's comely host David Bromstad has moved here for it. That said, we do know locations are being scouted close to or on Ocean Drive for Jersey's most controversial gang since The Sopranos. In fact, some of the show's scouts were seen sniffing around The Clevelander recently. As much as some tourism officials may not want to admit it, Ocean Drive screams Jersey Shore. A better location may not exist for them down here, really. Think The Birdcage meets Saturday Night Fever with a bit of Night at the Roxbury thrown in and, if they continue to fry their faces in the tanning beds, Scarface, too. Says our uber inside source, the chances of the show being filmed here are "Looking solid, but not one hundred percent." 

And based on the amount of fist pumping going on at STK Miami last night when Shore-mates The Situation and Pauly D. showed up, we have a feeling South Beach, despite some protests like those made by Mynt owner Romain Zago, who refused to allow Shore scouts to film inside his club, will embrace them with open fists. According to our sources, The Sitch and Pauly "snapped pictures with every female that approached them." And, scarily, there were a lot. While Pauly stuck with water, The Sitch guzzled Grey Goose and Red Bull. The duo was overheard yapping about how much fun they had in Florida, and "how beautiful the tan ladies are." What, you expected Kafka?

Meanwhile there's an even bigger South Beach connection to Jersey Shore and that's the person responsible for Snooki, The Situation and co. None other than former crobar doorman Doron Ofir, now a hugely successful reality show casting agent, was responsible for that original-in-more-ways-than-one cast. He sure knows how to pick 'em and, if they do come down here, we guess everything really does come full circle, though he probably would never have let 'em into crobar way back when. Only now will those velvet ropes part like the Red Sea for them. Except at Mynt, of course.

In other news, although its inaugural season was not even one percent watchable, Miami Social, we hear, is not entirely dead in our waters, but if Bravo were to ever consider breathing life back into that mess, it will be with a completely new cast.  Also rumored: more Hogans in Miami, another E! reality show, and, of course, Kardashians, because Miami without them is like Miami without sand and palm trees. Stay tuned for more developments as we get them.

Snooki's popularity at Miami bash delivers big blow to bawling beau

 
Thanks to our pals at Hollywoodlife.com, we did not have to personally endure the absurdity that was Snooki's Super Bowl party last night at Finnegan's River in downtown Miami. And though the game, according to our colleague Glenn Garvin, had the biggest audience in TV history, it seems that Snooki may have experienced the biggest audience in her 21-year history. According to Hollywood Life, after watching his girlfriend be mobbed by men, boyfriend Emilio Massella fought with Snooks and then started to cry. "She got up on stage and did her thing, and Emilio was still being a tool, so she told him that he either had to chill out or leave," a source told HL. "And that's when he started to cry. He was blubbering, 'I don't want to fight!'" Either did Snooki when she got punched in the face, so they have that in common at least.

Who dat? Why, that's Brangelina, that's who!

 
Photo/Mike Jachles via Page2Live

Women all over South Florida were dejected to discover that Brad Pitt didn't fly solo to the Super Bowl but with none other than (un)common law wife Angelina Jolie and son Maddox. At last, a game changer in the tiresome list of mediocre celebs all week/end! The best was saved for last, clearly. We had a feeling Pitt would be here, but not entirely sure about Jolie considering the recent rumors of an on-the-verge-of-ending relationship. Eclipsed by the Brangelina star, but still A minus list themselves: Demi Moore and hubby Ashton Kutcher, just off his 32nd birthday night hosting gig at SNL. Props to our former Star colleague, Palm Beach Post gossip columnist  Jose Lambiet, who got the scoop (and picture) of the Bowl, reporting how the couple held hands the entire time. Our own celebrity-stalking-as-sports correspondent affirms that, saying "They looked very much still in love. Or at least they were playing it up for the crowds." Jolie, after all, does have an Oscar, and Pitt was nominated for a few. But, nah. Looks like Brangelina is totally solid and looks like the ladies of the night tonight are just going to have to go after Wilmer Valderrama instead. We hear he's available.

This just in: We can also report exclusively that the happy family supped together at low key South Beach restaurant Joe Allen Saturday night, where, according to our source, they were just like a normal family--except for "that ugly beard."

Game Over: Stupor Bowl 2010 party wrap up. Plus: Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Brad Pitt!

Although Lindsay Lohan's train hasn't yet pulled into the station, where she's expected to host a party at the W tonight for 1OAK, and Snooki's still getting all pumped and bronzed up for her party at Finnegan's River, as far as we're concerned, Super Bowl is over.

With the exception of a few noteworthy events, the Audi party, the DirecTV Celebrity Beach Bowl, the uber private, exclusive, bizzy CAA party, and Michael Bay's Big Game Big Give benefiting The Giving Back Fund, we found the oversaturated celebrity party scene to be a bit lackluster, diluted and, frankly, washed up. What we witnessed was a Febreze-sponsored, Bud Light-lit, Bacardi pouring frenzy, turning compulsive scene chasers into frat boys and girls on a weekend bender and turning some stars into overexposed victims of their own (or their publicist's) self promotion, boredom, or the likeliest, quid pro quo. Not all pay for their gas, food and lodging out of their own pockets, you know.

As for Bay's event at his waterfront sprawl formerly lived in by Hulk and the Hogans, a  motley slew of celebs from the now ubiquitous Kellan Lutz, AnnaLynne McCord, Ed Westwick, Chace Crawford (channeling Gossip Girl costar Westwick's Chuck Bass sipping Dewar's),and Russell Simmons, to the less visible, on a completely different level kind of celebrity like famed attorney Alan Dershowitz. The biggest star in Bay's living room, however, was his massive Mastiff, the object more pix and fawning than everyone else in the house. Maybe that's why we saw Lutz doing a lonely boy's walk of shame across the courtyard and straight to the exit.

And the week wasn't without some titillation. There was the Twilight drama, Warren Sapp's arrest, Jared from Subway, Lutz getting rejected by Maxim, some snowboarder getting rejected by Playboy, and Justin Bieber's hair.

Then at the nth hour, there was Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Cameron Diaz (see below), Nick Lachey, Carrie Underwood (proving she can dance more than a two step) Wilmer Valderrama, Timbaland, A-Rod, Derek Jeter and Kate Walsh at the very industry-heavy CAA party at the W. But compared to 2007 when Cruise channeled his inner thetans and boogied down with his Holmes-girl at the Marc Anthony concert and Mokai, for those of us not there to witness it, sounds like one big Ice Blended orgy at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Which, for some, ahem, is a delicious thing.

Then there's A-list latecomers (see below) John Travolta and Brad Pitt, who came on game day. Better late than never, we guess. But still, there were many more somewhat amusing tidbits, from Adam Sandler showing up late, late night to STK Miami solo and helping staff clean up, to the missing swag bags lifted accidentally by the security detail of Snoop Dogg and Nick Lachey.

And though we saw our fair share of losers, there were some huge winners, such as LIV, which not only had the likes of Diddy, Rihanna and J-Lo, but bigger than that, it reeled in record breaking profits, busting the million dollar mark. Other big winners: the working girls, who sources tell us were raking in $1,000 an hour at the higher end hotels.

As for the Kardashian factor, to our delight, it wasn't as big as expected. Yes, Kim shopped at The Webster, dined with Reggie Bush at his last supper at Prime 112 in a dress allowing even those not in Miami to see as much of her as we have, hosted her own event, Leather and Laces, and showed up to a few more, but she wasn't the most ubiquitous. Not even close. In fact, we think poppet Bieber flipped his Breck Shampoo commercial hair more times than Kardashian sashayed on the red carpets. That award would go to a few people, including our beloved DJ Irie, who we're convinced has a clone to help him spin himself everywhere from The CBS Early Show and the Hennessy Black Penthouse to, well, pretty much everywhere else. Other frequent sightings included Ludacris, Pete Wentz, Nick Lachey, the aforementioned Lutz, McCord, Simmons and Westwick, Wyclef, assorted beefy former and current NFL players whose names are like Farsi to us, and, oh yeah, those kids from them thar Hills.

And, of course, at the Playboys, Penthouses, Hotel 944's, and Maxims of the week/end, lots of skin. And not of the football kind. Thanks for the mammaries, Super Bowl XLIV, it's been fun-ish. And with that, we present you with a constantly updated list (just like that ridiculous Super Bowl party on steroids list we did) of amusements as they trickle in, spanning most of the party circuit in case you, unlike us, haven't tired of it just yet. Because even though the game hasn't been played yet and Lohan has yet to crash onto the scene, as far as we're concerned, the whole thing at this point is, well, played out.

*Just like in 2007, brothers in Scientology Tom Cruise and John Travolta are both in town for the big game. Clearly the two are big football fans, because why else would they come? Certainly not to party, although both did their fair share when the 'Bowl was in town in 2003. This year, though, TomKat boogied down at Wall, while Travolta brunched it up Sunday at his fave Miami hotel, The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, where our spies saw him eating with a sizeable posse.

*Thanks to Grey Goose, the CAA party at Wall at the W South Beach had everyone up and dancing on banquettes, but none as enthusiastically as Tom, Katie and Cameron, though Carrie Underwood demonstrated some rhythm of her own. While the usual Super Bowl celebrity suspects were also there, so were some fresher, not so tired, faces: Benji Madden, Eli Manning, Harry Connick, Jr. and Andy Roddick.

*Now it all makes sense. All the heavy hitters come in just for the game. Which means Brad Pitt can't be too far behind, reportedly already in Miami with son Maddox to cheer on their adopted home team the New Orleans Saints. Last time Pitt was here, he was with his dad for the 2005 Orange Bowl between the USC and Oklahoma, during which time we uncovered his hotel check in pseudonym, Bryce Pilaf, which surely has been retired since.

*E Online reports that Cameron Diaz was all over A-Rod at the CAA party at the W. If we believe the pre-fabricated hype , it's as if A-Rod is impregnated with love by osmosis as soon as he sees a blond he likes. We don't even know if this is worth investigating but, par for our course, we're on it even though A-Rod and his blondes, famous and non famous, are becoming as cliche as a Kardashian. Photo/Getty.

*Though Jennifer Lopez did make good on her concert at LIV Saturday night, when it comes to the press waiting for her midnight red carpet arrival, Jenny's on the chopping block because, well, she bypassed the red carpet completely and went straight in, pissing off many a media outlet which had fifty other places to be besides stranded on a red carpet.

*Overheard at Jim Carrey's and Jenny McCarthy's Saturday Night Spectacular benefiting autism non profit Generation Rescue at the Bank of America building downtown:Creed lead singer Scott Stapp discussing plans to attend the Super Bowl with Florida Marlins president David Samson. Rumor has it the Marlins are going the way of the Dolphins and Stapp's in talks with the baseball franchise to develop projects synergizing music and entertainment in the upcoming season. And giving Carrey some serious comedic competition last night: E!'s Chelsea Handler, who was there as were magician David Blaine, Shannon Elizabeth, Cheryl Burke, Jason Derulo and Mary McCormack. On Super Bowl Sunday, Carrey and McCartney left their hotel room in a white stretch limo with two SUV's and three motorcycle cop escorts. A motorcade, really. No wonder we have police issues down here.

* For those wondering why it took The Black Eyed Peas so long to get to their own Playboy after party, here's why. Developer John Turchin chartered a yacht and took the entire band and backup dancers direct from the back of the American Airlines Arena and back to his Dilido Island home where they partied with Turchin's friends and family, including Turchin daughter Ashley and boyfriend/biz-man Philip Levine. Only after partying there did they go to their own party. Par for the course, all of the Peas expressed great interest in buying homes at Turchin's Eagle's Nest in North Carolina. Four peas in a posh pod, indeed.

* At the Tao party at the W South Beach Friday night, Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter sat across from each other as DJ and Alicia Keys fiance Swizz Beats had Empire State of Mine on instant replay. Thing is, neither Yankee said a word to each other the entire night.

* Also at the Tao party, Chris Rock, who arrived asking for good friend Jamie Foxx, who was not yet in the house. Rock sat with the diminutive David Spade until Foxx finally arrived and, guess what, jumped on the mic, joined by Rock in an apropos-ish duet of Run DMC's King of Rock.

*At Club Play Saturday night: DJ Joe Dert, Tommy Lee and T-Pain all took turns on the turntable while Chris Brown, Keri Hilson and Nelly showed up to look and listen. Apparently T-Pain was shocked that Brown showed up. We're not. And while the irony of being in the same room as someone named T-Pain may have been lost on Brown, it wasn't with the everyone. As for, uh, Pain's spinning skills? All hip hop. Lee's? "Crackhead techno." Drama? "T-Pain went on first which he was so not happy about."

*While Wyclef played a 90 minute set at The Florida Room Friday night for "free" along with guests Queen Latifah and Robin Thicke, our sources tell us TFR made a donation to 'clef's charity in lieu of a performance fee. If you can call it 'in lieu of.'

*Wyclef again performed a monster set at Hotel 944 at Eden Roc Saturday night. When things started wrapping up, none other than Shaggy appeared and at 944 co-publisher Alan Roth's request, jumped on stage and joined the former Fugee for some playful duet-ing. When Roth noticed legendary rap pioneer turned NCIS star LL Cool J. standing by the stage, he asked him to join in and after some hesitation he did just that, doing an impromptu version of his classic Mama Said Knock You Out. And knocked out they were, ending the show around 3:30 a.m.

*Ubiquitous Twilight star Kellan Lutz must've partied himself out Friday night because he missed his spa appointment early Saturday morning. A class act or the product of wise handlers, Lutz, who reportedly was refused entry into the Maxim party Saturday due to a guest list snafu, tipped the spa for the services he never received.

*The Hills Audrina Patridge freaked out en route from LA to MIA when she realized she forgot to pack her panties. After calling stylist to the stars Joey Tierney in a panic, Patridge had her panties, conveniently purchased by Tierney at the ALENE Too Pop Up Boutique Poolside Bungalow at the Eden Roc Renaissance Miami Beach. The Hills were alive all over town, in fact, stopping by that J-Lo concert at the Axe Lounge at LIV where, unlike Lopez, they, of course, stopped and posed for multiple pix. Photo/Seth Browarnik, Red Eye Productions.

*Gossip Girl's resident Brit Ed Westwick, who also made quite the rounds over the weekend, arrived with a group of friends at Coco deVille and was peeved to find out the club's tables were all sold out for the night. That said, Westwick was all smiles after one of the hosts brought him to the bar and ordered him rounds of drinks.

*Melrose Place 2.0 starlet Katie Cassidy's publicist had some strict rules for SushiSamba Thursday night, telling them her client was a vegan. Turns out the clueless publicist confused vegan with "watching her carbs." Whatever the case, Cassidy ate all sorts of things and didn't look an ounce bigger. Speaking of bigger, Ross "the Intern" Matthews was also seen at the Lincoln Road sushi spot and later at Midtown sister restaurant SUGARCANE raw bar grill.

*Party politics: Seen at Sun Life Stadium: Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, a huge football fan and scholar who was once urged to take the NFL Commissioner's gig; and passionate Democratic strategist/pundit and New Orleans native James Carville, who even made it onto the field along with--who else--Kim Kardashian and mom Kris Jenner, who'd throw themselves into a fiery inferno just to get on TV. Maybe they thought Kim would get her ring at that moment too? 

*Nick Lachey did much more this weekend than posing with Captain Morgan. Thanks to his and Jimmie Johnson's 3rd Annual Super Skins Celebrity Golf Classic at the Biltmore Friday, close to $300,000 was raised for over 20 different charities.

*This may be the picture of the week in a very twisted way. Chris Brown with Keri Hilson at The Axe Lounge at LIV. Is that a black eye on Hilson's shirt or is she just creeped out to see him? Photo: Seth Browarnik, Red Eye Productions.

 

To be continued...

From Tom Arnold to Twilight, DirecTV's beach football game was a mixed bowl

 
Us Miami folk are used to strange sites, but the one today at the DirecTV Celebrity Beach Bowl was among the strangest as the bold faced and the beautiful battled it out for an afternoon of live TV coverage and whimsy. Being football-illiterate, we won't even go into the game itself and get right into the scene. First to arrive looking all serious and sporty was Twilight's Kellan Lutz, who actually took some time to practice or at least look like he was doing so, throwing a ball with a handler on the sidelines. Focusing completely on that ball, Lutz ignored his on-again, off-again girlfriend AnnaLynne McCord, who was prancing around in a tight-fitting t-shirt and yellow bikini bottom. Yep, her pants were on the ground and her boyfriend didn't even flinch. At some point after realizing she was the only one pant-less, McCord put on a pair of tiny DirecTV short shorts.  Wearing the pants was Jennifer Lopez in white jeans and standing on the sidelines but, to our knowledge, never getting her feet sandy. No Louboutins, either, just sneakers. And then, like a gladiator emerging from the bowels of the Coliseum,  came Lutz's Twilight co-star, the beloved, very carefully manipulated Taylor Lautner,whose spiked head we managed to capture somewhat in the above picture. Again, no inter-Twilight love, though the two did play on the same team. Lautner seemed to be playing a serious game, taking a tumble or two much to the squeals of his bleachers of fans. A highlight for us was when Lautner was inadvertently standing next to teammate, Clean House star/comedian Niecy Nash (!), who was sporting her trademark Lady Day flower in her hair throughout the game. Also looking pretty sporty was Gossip Girl pretty boy Chace Crawford, containing his trademark man bangs underneath a baseball cap. He took the cap off to reveal matted down Miami-ed mangs and quickly put it back on. Good move. Showing up late were off-again, on-again real life Gossip Girl couple Ed Westwick and Jessica Szohr. While Westwick wasn't wearing any bowties or ascots, Szohr was rocking her hair extensions. Following the game, the couple hit the Gansevoort South where they got cleaned up and changed and were overheard asking if they could get a room there for the night. No such luck as the hotel was sold out but word is they aren't too pleased with wherever they are staying as it's not directly on the beach. Perhaps that explains why the couple arrived late to the game. Back on the sand, model Marisa Miller won MVP and did impress by smacking down newlywed Tom Arnold, who revealed his new bride wasn't in town and that he hasn't talked to ex-wife Roseanne Barrin 17 years There were some other celebs, Playboy models, lackeys from the Ellen DeGeneres Show flying flags with DeGeneres's face over the stands, and football players including Eli Manning and Mark Sanchez who coached the teams, and Heisman-trophy winner Desmond Howard, who scored a touchdown. Following the game was a concert by All American Rejects and a mass exodus of celebrities off the sand and onto their next contracted gigs and appearances.

Audi Super Bowl soiree delivers big on celebs, shows signs of Twivalry between Twilight stars Kellan Lutz and Taylor Lautner

The Audi Super Bowl party in the penthouse of the W South Beach Saturday was interesting on so many levels. Just when it looked like it was going to be a parade of prostitutes and spare parts, Hilary Swank, of all people, walked in, hand in hand with boyfriend and former agent John Campisi. Not exactly breaking news, especially considering the duo were polite as can be, saddling up to the bar to order some cocktails. But then Swank's ex brother in law Rob Lowe walked in with his two young sons and in 0 to 60, Audi started accelerating. As Swank hung on tight to her man, Lowe exchanged pleasantries with Private Practice star Kate Walsh, telling her he just came from "Joe's Crab," to which Walsh replied, "Ooooh, Joe's!" in regards to Miami Beach landmark Joe's Stone Crab.

And just when you thought the party was stuck in cruise control with cool, calm, collected celebs and Swank and Lowe staying at opposite ends of the penthouse, in walks Twilight heartthrob Kellan Lutz, sporting a shirt, tie and short curly hair. Lutz was also pretty pleasant, surrounded by a man and a woman whose sole purpose, according to our source, was to get "Lutz laid." That said, Lutz's on-again, off-again girlfriend AnnaLynne McCord, was said to be en route to Miami for a Saturday arrival. And because this wasn't a free-for-all mob scene of a party like, say ESPN over at the Fontainebleau, Lutz wasn't mobbed by fans, stalkers or even his fellow celebs. He was just, like, there. So were a few football players marveling at the eye candy.

All was well at this classy celebrity cocktail confab until Twilight's second in command it boy (Rob Pattinson being chief) Taylor Lautner walked in, brushed by us, followed by his own entourage of handlers. Those of us expecting a big Twilight high five were disappointed when, within not even five minutes, Lautner's handlers repositioned their tweeny client towards the door. All of a sudden, Lautner was gone! Just like that! No hand shake, no high five, no hello happened between Lutz and Lautner, and thanks to our keen hearing, now we know why. 

Apparently Lautner's people think their client is so elevated in the celebrity stratosphere, and he may very well be, that they do not want him anywhere near Lutz. So with that, Lautner was gone, Lutz went onto the balcony and in walked Jessica Alba and Lance Bass who, like everyone else, were pleasant enough, but not nearly as titillating as the Twivalry we witnessed a few minutes earlier.  Big props to Audi for delivering on their promises of a delightfully random assemblage of quality celebrities (and unexpected drama and tension) this Super Bowl weekend so desperately needed.