Dear Gossips,
I interviewed Andre Agassi for etalk on Saturday while he was in Toronto promoting his book. As a lifelong tennis fan, particularly during the halcyon days of the Agassi/Sampras rivalry, this was a big deal. Agassi is very intense and it was early morning so maybe he was more intense than usual, having stayed up the night before for an appearance at a book store with 800 fans. I almost withered under the eye contact. He never breaks. I wouldn’t say he’s super warm, not the friendliest individual, rather guarded in fact, even though he lays it all out in the book. But Agassi is honest and articulate and he is his own person. Did not arrive surrounded by sycophants and an entourage of handlers. He takes care of himself, he doesn’t need to be coddled or protected from the tough questions, and is willingly shouldering his beats – about the meth use, about his hair weave, about his fragile ego, all of it totally Open, his aptly titled autobiography that I powered through this weekend.
It’s good. Really good. It’s the best sports memoir I’ve ever read and not only because of the scandalous details, but because of who helped him write it. LOVE J.R. Moehringer. The Tender Bar is one of my favourite books of all time. And this is what elevates Agassi’s Open above the others. The stories are there, sure. But J.R. Moehringer frames them so beautifully, it reads like something entirely different.
If you follow tennis, you’ll love the tennis details: the match play, the locker room dynamic, the training, even how he strings his f-cking racket – all fascinating. And yes, the gossip too. I’ll never feel the same way about Pete Sampras again. Dude, he’s CHEAP.
So here’s how Peter Travers described 2012:
“Sheer, cynical, mind-numbing, time-wasting, money-draining, soul-sucking stupidity.”
You know what’s coming…
2012 exceeded flop predictions and opened with an impressive $65 million domestic box office and another $150 million internationally which means it’s already made back its budget. Translation: sequel. Conclusion: bad taste continues to prevail.
It’s Monday. And it was a busy smutty weekend. Am posting all day, check back often.
Yours in gossip,
Lainey
PS. Don’t forget Vancouver – tonight it’s the Insiders at the Stanley Theatre with key players from the film and tv industries sharing their experience at an event in support of the Performing Arts Lodge. See you there? More information, click here.
