After nearly a half-century in the jewelry business and 44 years in the party-throwing game, Henri David knows how to keep a secret. So, no, he isn’t about to tell you or me much about what his costumes will be for his legendary annual Halloween Ball at the Sheraton Center City (17th and Race). They’re always towering, always garish, always complex and always memorable. David famously assigns different pieces of his baker’s dozen costumes to different designers and crafts-people, so no one tailor or nailer (some of these outfits are more like small houses) knows too much. While secretiveness holds true (the Oct. 31 party doesn’t have a Facebook event or website — you have to call 215-732-7711) there is one changeup. “I put a single clue in the body of the poster hung around town as to what one of my costumes will be,” says Halloween’s favorite host. Figuring that out could be a treat (but it might be a trick).
Awesome Dudes Printing (Sixth and Reed) isn’t just a place where guys in beards drink beer, worship Andre the Giant and make wild prints. Sometimes they give beers away, as they will with the Cans for Cans deal they’ve got going with Bar at 13th and Sansom. Bring some canned foods to either location (AD HQ or Bar) and someone’ll give you a brew in the Dudes’ honor. One can a day, man. Be generous — donations go to Philabundance — not a drunky pig. Plus, this weekend Awe-Dudes open their warehouse to the public with a yard sale of awesome tchotchkes, kissing-booth busses and, just guessing here, beer.
David O. Russell’s next Philly-filmed adventure is the subject of some Hollywood scuttlebutt this week. Russell was in this city last week, casually eyeing locations for the Abscam-themed flick (once titled American Bullshit), talking tax-credit business with area politicos hitting up Thursday’s Philadelphia Film Fest premiere of his locally lensed Bradley Cooper vehicle Silver Linings Playbook. Along with Cooper on Russell’s Abscam ride (set to roll camera in spring) is Christian Bale, a name that’s been in and out of the project since its inception. But is Mark Wahlberg, another Russell vet (The Fighter) and Philly-film favorite (Invincible, Lovely Bones), worming in too? A rumor, but a fun one.
I, A.D., your humble Icepack narrator, will be a judge at Oct. 27’s morning Rittenhouse Row Halloween Costume Contest with Sen. Larry Farnese, Tom Drayton (Fox 29), Michael Klein (Inky) and more at Radisson Plaza’s Warwick Hotel. While kids vie for prizes, adults can sip on morning cocktails and sup on brunch from Di Bruno Bros., Schlesinger’s and Termini Bros. If you think I’m a monster with adults, you oughta see how witchy I’ll be on these kids. … Mwahaha.
More American bullshit at citypaper.net/criticalmass.
