A story went around a while back that Paramount flubbed the catering at its Star Trek premiere , sending out for Whole Foods hummus instead. Not true, the studio says. Who can afford Whole Foods anymore?

In another of the New York Times' endless stream of stories about How We Live Now (Poorly), the cratering economy of Hollywood is discussed. The Star Trek anecdote comes up, but the Whole Foods angle is refuted by a spokeswoman from Paramount:

But when the television cameras were turned off, and it was time for the after party, Paramount turned down the glamour. Aside from a 27-beam light show at the party's entrance, decorations were sparse, and the food consisted of salad and hummus, causing blog chatter that it came from Whole Foods.

Paramount said no grocery store was involved. The original catering company got the date wrong, a Paramount spokeswoman said, and a stand-in had to be hired at the last minute.

Because Hollywood is, in fact, miserable and broke, Paramount can't afford no damn Whole Foods, even if it is for their screwed-up biggest premiere of the year. Sigh.

That last minute stand-in? We're betting Ralphs.