mary-rambin

Is Julia Allison's Reality TV Show Dead?

Ryan Tate · 09/30/08 05:35AM

With Julia Allison on its cover this past July, Wired confirmed longstanding rumors the internet fameball had a deal with Bravo for a reality show called IT Girls, based on her antics with handbag designer Mary Rambin and self-professed geek Meghan Asha. The development deal was to begin with just a pilot show, and it sounds like it might not go any further. In a roundup of some of Bravo's reality TV experiments this morning, Page Six said "one show starring three New York wannabes who start a Web site 'probably won't make the cut,' said a source." Embarrassing: Allison and her sidekicks recently leased a photogenic apartment because "we anticipate significant filming." Also, look who they may have lost out to:

Julia Allison's Crew Having A 'Meltdown' Too

Ryan Tate · 09/24/08 03:52AM

The financial system is having one of its occasional bouts of uncertainty and depression but, hey, cheer up American economy, because fameball Julia Allison is too! In her on-again, off-again, oh-God-just-make-up-your-mind-already relationship with her own self promotion, Allison seems to be swinging toward another period of doubt and introspection. Perhaps you don't care because you're worried about starving in the street or whatever. But there's an honest-to-God company built on Allison's whims now, and according to her business partner Megan Asha there's now a "mini-meltdown" going on over whether the venture launched too soon. Imagine the horrifying revaluations that could ripple through the subprime protocelebrity markets as a result!

Five Socialite Reality Shows That Will Soon Be Upon Us

Richard Lawson · 09/15/08 12:44PM

Mad Men is collecting dust on my DVR queue. There I admit it. I've fallen like three or four episodes behind. It's not that I don't like it. I do! It's wonderful (if slightly, horribly depressing)! It's just that I have so much television to watch for work. And, unfortunately, Mr. Hamm & co., it's not going to get any better. A spate of reality shows—some old, some new—will soon be tumbling out of the gate and into our living rooms. Many of these shows, sadly, feature layabout socialites like Olivia Palermo and Kelly Killoren Bensimon. I've compiled a little rundown of these shows for you after the jump because, well, who doesn't like a Monday listicle.

How To Grow Microcelebrities In The Comfort Of Your Own Second-Tier City!

Moe · 08/25/08 07:07PM

Do you live in one of those "second-tier" cities that seems woefully bereft of despicable and/or overprivileged and whatever the case self-promoting social climbing youngs? Ever find yourself reading, say, a blog…and feeling just a twinge or a pang or whatever of envy for New York's thriving industry of microcelebrity manufacture? [JUST SAY NO.] But Kate Carraway, a writer in Toronto reflecting on that lofty matter of Jessica Roy, actually claims she does. "We have no Julia Allison, the current Wired cover star, and centre of much debate on media celebrity; no Sloane Crossley…" [sic] she laments. Nor do they have a Keith Gessen nor an Emily Gould nor even much, like, blow! "The NY media circus is ordered and replenished by an anxious, aggressive, semi-twisted sense of value, but value nonetheless," she writes, calling for "a collective pursuit of something better and more worthwhile." Well, Kate Carraway, if this is what you deem "better and more worthwhile," allow me to get service-y with you for a minute and and share with you an abridged and hastily-told tale of a group of anxious, semi-twisted twentysomethings who tried to do exactly what you aspire to do in their own "lesser" city.

Mary Rambin Attacks A "Stupid Bitch" To Spice Up Her Lifestream

Ryan Tate · 08/17/08 11:08PM

Even those who care nothing for the "lifestreaming" website NonSociety, the Bravo reality TV show pilot being spun off from it or the fameballs behind it can appreciate the fundamental truth on display on the site this weekend: Conflict is central to any "reality" driven broadcast. Without conflict, reality television would be watched mainly by sociology professors and prison inmates. That's why producers in the genre tend to seek out dramatic clashes of any sort, going so far as to line up racists, sexists and just overall idiots for their casts. It's also why the most interesting thing posted so far to NonSociety, one month in, is recently-insecure designer Mary Rambin's tiff with bitch-blogger Frangy over... well, over whether two streets intersect. Spoiler: Things do not end well for poor Mary.

Inside The Nonsociety Cattle Call

Hamilton Nolan · 08/08/08 12:50PM

We asked for spies to infiltrate (far too dramatic a term, really) the Julia Allison/ Nonsociety pilot show shoot yesterday. We know the event caused a good deal of drama amongst the fameballs themselves; but what was it like for the average attendee, drawn in by the heady promise of proximity to Mary Rambin and co.? Gawker commenter Rolls Royce Revenge obliged by sending us a full report on the doings. The full tale of the "profoundly weird" experience (and JA's "steaming heaps of charisma"), after the jump:

Nonsociety's Fake Launch Party Ends in Secret Tension

Sheila · 08/08/08 10:11AM

Oh no! The fake launch party for the website of dating columnist Julia Allison and her fameball girlfriends—filmed for a pilot that will probably never air for their alleged reality show—ended in drama. Luckily, the girls have their lifecasting blogs to express their feelings. (We hope they've signed up for group therapy as they launch their business—crying it out is important!)

Oh Noes Patrol!

Richard Lawson · 08/08/08 08:43AM

Do you see Mary Rambin—fashion person/socialite/Mary Rambin's biggest fan—as a human being, rather than say a dolphin or a china hutch? She doesn't think you do. "Sometimes I don’t think people see my humanity," she keens on a most likely vanilla vodka-induced 1am post on her NonSociety girl business feelings blog.

The Inevitable Parody Of Julia Allison's Startup

Ryan Tate · 07/16/08 12:19AM

If you're annoyed by internet fameball Julia Allison and Non Society, the "lifecasting" startup she just launched with partners Mary Rambin, Megan Asha and (effectively) Wired magazine, you could always wig out and publish your extensive thoughts on every last reason the site is a grotesque monument to talentless celebrity and that the people involved are annoying. Or you could make like Topher Chris, aka Christopher Price, and resign yourself to the fact that your life will never be as amazing and action-packed and CRAZY as those of Allison & Co., and will consist entirely of doing pedestrian things that no one in their right mind would want to watch, totally unlike Allison and her buddies (ahem). Then you could set up a site called, say, Non Exciting, based on this shockingly honest premise. And then you might even find, in the end, that you've actually created (intentionally or not) the most clever send-up of Allison's fame to date. After the jump, a side-by-side comparison of the Non Exciting and Non Society intro videos.

Julia TV: Confirmed

Ryan Tate · 07/15/08 04:16AM

Wired posted its profile of Julia Allison, the Time Out New York dating columnist and onetime protocelebrity (now in the process of crossing over into the real thing). Yes, the cover story (preceded by the cover itself) retreads much that Gawker readers already know about Allison, and many of you will, no doubt, find the piece altogether too friendly, a celebratory, rather than judgmental, distillation of her techniques for self-promotion and attention whoring. But there is news. Confirmation, for one, of Allison's long-rumored reality TV show for Bravo, IT Girls. Wired said the deal was signed in June, though it's clearly been in the works for much longer. Then there's a terrifying new wrinkle to Allison's new "lifecasting" Web venture, Non Society:

Nonsociety's Video Remix: Valtrex Edition

Sheila · 07/14/08 11:15AM

Gawker videographer Richard Blakeley noticed that if you re-mix the embarassingly bad Nonsociety video (dating columnist/publicity whore Julia Allison & Friends' new "online business" with actual investors) it syncs up perfectly with... a Valtrex commercial. Watch it! In related "defending your online reputation" news...

Julia Allison's Crazy Web Show

Ryan Tate · 07/14/08 01:03AM

So Julia Allison and fellow internet fameballs Meghan Asha and Mary Rambin have launched their big new project thing, Non Society, which they describe as "YOUR WINDOW INTO OUR CRAZY LIVES." On the site, they are each "lifecasting," which consists of taking the Tumblr blogs they already had and turning them sideways, so they scroll horizontally. CRAZY. Also, they made a four-minute video in which Allison rides on the lap of a zamboni driver, Asha poses topless with an iPhone and Rambin buys merchandise without insurance. CRAZY. The video is filled with the sort of footage the trio was already shooting, but heavily-edited, MTV style, and with an Aerosmith song in the background ("Pink"). This is the "online show" Allison talked about after she was fired from Star magazine, the one for which she lined up outside investment? That actually is truly crazy. Intro video after the jump.

Snark Break

Sheila · 07/03/08 01:57PM

Julia Allison's bestfriend, "handbag designer" Mary Rambin, has lost her dog in the Hamptons. He's escaped! No snark here! Have you seen how cute he is? Update: He's been found! (Wandering near the highway, yikes!) [Guest of a Guest]

Mary Rambin Videoblogs Her Colonic

Sheila · 06/24/08 02:03PM

Hey, have you guys ever heard of a colonic? Dating columnist Julia Allison's best friend, "handbag designer" and failed-reality-show veteran Mary Rambin, has a very important public-service announcement to make: colonics are good for you! She made a video about them! [Style by Mary] Update: Oh, copycat! Tracie from Jezebel did this months ago.

Mary Rambin NIPPLE ALERT

Sheila · 06/03/08 02:05PM

Whoa. If you have a personal blog that's routinely flensed on website like this one, it might not be a good idea to post a totally oversharey pic where we can seriously almost see your nipple and most of your breast. Then again? Considering that the handbag designer has an upcoming reality show with her friends, including dating columnist/Star mag's Julia Allison... it might just be genius. Checkmate! (Click for the, um, nipple.)

Mary Rambin Reads Gawker! Out Loud!

Richard Lawson · 05/29/08 10:59AM

Yesterday I posted an item about the sad Sex and the City ballad of handbag designer (and bestie of cewebrity Julia Allison) Mary Rambin. You see, the fetching young lady was viciously not allowed into the film's premiere and abandoned by her two friends, Julia and socialite Meghan Asha. Mary, as it turns out, bothered to read the claptrap and has decided to post a rebuttal. Well, OK, not so much a rebuttal as a Vimeo video in which she reads (sort of) the whole post aloud while Jules throws compliments at her from off-camera. I'm not really sure if she's being sarcastic or being a good sport and playing along or what, but I love it! This should happen more often. It's like books on tape. Except instead of being read by Jim Dale, the posts are read by drunk (hopefully! "glaze"!) New York City It girls. So the first installment of Audio Gawker, Mary Rambin Shot Down at 'Sex and the City' Premiere produced by Julia Allison and read by Mary Rambin, awaits you after the jump. Also, Tinsley Mortimer! If you're reading this, please please please do one. I could die happy.

Mary Rambin Shot Down at Sex and the City Premiere

Richard Lawson · 05/28/08 09:38AM

Amid all the glamor and glitz and lady empowerment, an unsisterly tragedy struck at the Sex and the City movie premiere last night. Three friends, we'll call them Julia Allison, Meghan Asha, and Mary Rambin, got all gussied up and trotted off (with their upcoming reality show camera crew in tow) to enjoy a night of fabulousity and star gazing at the much buzzed about event. Julia the dating columnist (just like Carrie!) and Meghan (tech heiress and socialite) got in without a hitch, as they already had their tickets secure. But then, the clouds darkened and the low keening of travesties of old lilted across the red carpet, dancing grimly with the spring breeze. Mary, the handbag designer and big sister of actress Leven, was denied entrance and abandoned by her gal pals.

Julia Allison in Las Vegas

ian spiegelman · 04/27/08 10:40AM

Star magazine editor-at-large Julia Allison and handbag designer Mary Rambin at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas yesterday.

Julia TV Gets The Green Light

Nick Denton · 04/23/08 01:43PM

Our culture cannot be so debased as to give a television platform to a woman who pretends to be a Star magazine journalist, one who claims to design handbags, and the third an heir to a Sun Microsystems dynasty that we've never heard of. But, of course, it has. That rumored reality television project, one of the few things that Star's Julia Allison has ever kept secret, has been greenlit by Bravo, we're told by people familiar with the cable network. The show, tentatively called IT Girls, begins shooting this summer.