Tacos with a Side of Statue

Carpinteria TV host Conan O’Brien is hosting the next Oscars.

Announcing Taco Bell’s new Cheesy Chalupa Supreme, O’Brien then said: “In other news, I’m hosting the Oscars.” He told his fans at the weekend.

It will be his first time as Oscars host.

He has emceed other high profile shows like the Emmy Awards in 2002 and 2006, and the White House Correspondents dinner in 1995 and 2013.

O’Brien is known for his late-night talk show Late Night with Conan O’Brien and Conan.

The Oscars will air live on ABC on March 2.

Imagine the Mini Bar Costs?

Beanie Baby billionaire Ty Warner’s personal part-time Manhattan residence is now the most expensive hotel suite in the Big Apple commanding a hefty $80,000 a night, plus taxes.

When his Four Seasons Hotel on the Upper Eastside reopened at the weekend for the first time in more than four years, the ritzy I. M. Pei-designed hostelry’s luxury rooms from the 20th to the 52nd floor, including the 52nd floor penthouse, were opened for business.

The hotel is also launching “extended stay” rentals on the fifth to 19th floors, according to the New York Post.

Warner’s penthouse encompasses 4,300 square feet, larger than most houses, and has stunning views of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline.

It also has three personal elevators and is filled with original art. It also comes with four cantilevered glass balconies, a curated 700 square foot library with a 20-foot cathedral ceiling, and a Bösendorfer baby grand piano.

There’s also a private spa and a Zen Room with a waterfall that pours from the ceiling to the floor.

Before COVID the penthouse used to rent out for $50,000 a night.

Tales ‘From Under the Truck’

Montecito actor Josh Brolin has just published his new memoir From Under the Truck.

The 240-page autobiography recounts the start of his acting career in The Goonies filmed at Warner Bros. in Burbank, just one of many anecdotes in the witty tell-all tome about his tumultuous life and varied career.

Brolin, 56 – son of actor James Brolin, husband of singer Barbra Streisand – was brought up on a ranch in Paso Robles before his family moved to our Eden by the Beach at the age of 11, spending his teenage years working as a cook in an Italian restaurant.

He won an Oscar nomination in 2008 for the biopic Milk with Sean Penn as the principal character. He also had a career resurgence in No Country for Old Men, the 2007 crime film.

Episodes with drugs, drink and bouts in jail are recounted with tales of his travels and his battle with booze.

Brolin is currently starring in Dune Part Two on HBO.

Quite the character…

Paperback Version Available

Prince Harry’s new paperback version of Spare is languishing in 73rd place in the U.K. rankings after selling just 3,400 copies in its second week of publication.

The Riven Rock-based Duke of Sussex chose not to give any interviews to publicize the paperback edition of his bestselling autobiography which came out Oct. 24.

His publisher Penguin Random House confirmed the book was not updated from its hardback version, which is somewhat unusual for an international bestseller.

The hardback edition came out in January 2023, breaking records at bookshops to become Britain’s bestselling book last year, with more than 700,000 copies sold.

Naughty or Nice?

Montecito actress Gwyneth Paltrow has just released her famous Goop Christmas Gift guide.

The list is as outrageous as ever with 11 vibrators and a Kiki de Montparnasse GOOP exclusive kit that includes sex toys.

Sex oil is available for $55, and a sex pillow, and there also items of jewelry in gold and diamonds for $18,000.

For Goop gourmands there’s Russian Ossetra caviar for $630 and a loaf of bread from Italy costing $65.

Don’t all rush…

Umm… ‘Yellowstone’ Spoilers

Carpinteria actor Kevin Costner has weighed in on the death of his Yellowstone character John Dutton after deciding to leave the popular Paramount series.

The Oscar winner, 69, broke his silence after his character died in Series 5, Part 2 last week.

“Well, I’m going to be perfectly honest,” says Costner. “I didn’t know it was actually airing last week,” he said on Sirius Radio’s The Michael Smerconish Program.

“That’s a swear to God moment, I swear to God. I’d seen ads with my face all over the place. Gee, I’m not in that one, I’m not in this. But I didn’t realize that yesterday was the thing. Then somebody said, ‘It played last night.’”

At the start of the episode Dutton is found dead from a gunshot wound. His death was initially thought to be a suicide.

However, it was later revealed Dutton was murdered in a plot orchestrated by lawyer Sarah Atwood, who is sleeping with Jamie Dutton, played by Wes Bentley.

It’s a Boy!

My congratulations to Montecito-based actor Chris Pratt and his wife Katherine Schwarzenegger on the birth of their new baby boy Ford Fitzgerald Schwarzenegger Pratt, a nod to the Kennedy side of the family, with Katherine being the daughter of former TV anchor Maria Shriver and actor and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose Hyannis wedding I covered for London’s Daily Express.

The tony twosome also share two daughters, Lyla and Eloise, born in 2020 and 2022 respectively.

Sightings

Warbler Katy Perry at actor Leonardo DiCaprio’s 50th birthday bash in Los Angeles… Oscar winner Kevin Costner partying with athlete Rainy Castaneda in New York… Singer John Legend noshing at Tre Lune.

Pip! Pip!