KEY POINTS:
"You sound so alive," said the bestie who checked in last night for a quick debrief chat on my weekend away to MTV's Snow Jam gig at Terrace Downs in Canterbury.
I'd only just arrived at Auckland Airport, in from Christchurch, and bestie was phoning with questions laced with a rhetorical irony: "Was it fun?" "Did you party hard?" "Any hotties?"
Bestie knows me well. He knows I belong to the work hard, party harder brigade. Work junkets are never a bore. I can always find some element of fun. And the fun quota was off the scale at Snow Jam. Two nights/two days of unadulterated celebration in a five-star resort with good friends and complete strangers who were all there for one purpose: to welcome in a unique music gig (that allegedly cost half a million dollars) in the most unique surroundings.
I don't want to divulge too much just yet - all the exclusive piccies and goss will be revealed in Spy in the Herald on Sunday this weekend - but suffice it to say, as a weekend junket away, it's up there on my mini-break memory bank.
Mind you, it's fair to say I've whole-heartily enjoyed every MTV party I've travelled to. Last year's Snow Jam at Snowpark in Wanaka was memorable for the terrifying bus ride down the icy mountain road and the bloke from Oz with the rugged tan and piercing blue eyes; the 2007 AVMA's were impressive for getting up close and personal with a surprisingly down-to-earth Jared Leto who shared clothes with Jay Reeve; and this year's Mile High gig was unforgettable for Scribe's speaker-burning performance, and the narcissistic music exec who entertained with non-stop (I'm not joking) hilarious tales about - surprise, surprise - himself.
Jeremy, my photographer who flew down from Auckland with me to snap the Snow Jam party, was in his element: getting cool photos of cool people. The cheap-looking promo girls who litter most parties in Auckland are persona non grata at MTV shindigs. MTV parties are about mixing the uber-cool and the non-obvious.
US rap super-star Lil Jon was Spy-ed sipping a cup of tea through his bling tooth grate in front of the fire post-concert; Donavon Frankenreiter gave away the clothes off his back (literally) at the after-party; spunky MTV Australia VJ Darren McMullen introduced me to Jagermeister, again; Leigh Hart (aka That Guy) absconded with a golf cart and used his room key to start it; Home and Away star Mark Furze and co were Spy-ed dancing to P-Money on the decks who was remixing Whitney Houston and 70s disco classics; Opshop's Matt Treacy became a hairdresser and gave his manager a shocking impromptu cut; and gorgeous Johnny Sonic from The Potbelleez offered me the bottle of vodka the band and mates were sculling from.
All good fun. All good memories. Alas, today it's back to the grindstone and back to reality. Don't you hate the morning after a brilliant weekend away? Check out Spy this Sunday for the complete and exclusive coverage of MTV's fabulous Snow Jam gig.
Lord of TriBeCa
Peter Jackon's NY pad out-prices celebrity neighbours He's reportedly spent a whopping $23 million on a lavish penthouse in the trendy Tribeca district of New York, but Peter Jackson is staying mum about it.
However, the New York Observer reported that the Oscar-winner's personal assistant Matt Dravitski and his Kiwi lawyer Michael Stephens are listed on city records as being behind the two penthouse condominiums at the Sugar Loaf complex bought through Loft Properties Limited.
The buyer is listed anonymously but the address given is reportedly listed as Stephens' address in New Zealand.
The two penthouse apartments that have 10 bedrooms, a 740sq m space, and a 370sq m outside terrace, were bought separately and are considered one of the most expensive real estate purchases in the area. This is telling because Jackson is rubbing shoulders with some Hollywood heavyweights not short of a bob or two.
His neighbours include the likes of Meryl Streep, Casey Affleck, Mariah Carey, Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro, who owns local hotspot eatery Nobu, the boutique Downtown Hotel, and runs the world-famous Tribeca Film Festival.
Entertainment mogul Jay-Z reportedly married Beyonce at their renovated Tribeca penthouse earlier this year. The hip-hop star bought the lavish apartment for $9.7 million. Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin were reportedly guests at the private nuptials. They live in the area too. The actress and her Coldplay frontman hubby sold their 12-bedroom Tribeca condo last year for $18 million and bought a smaller one in the area at Tribeca's River Lofts development for $7 million.
Jackson's whopping sum paid far out-prices the Hollywood princess and the hip-hop mogul.
Jarret's romantic proposal in Kiwi back yard
Last week, we predicted Our Rach and her Jarret Stoll may be getting hitched, and we were right.
The couple have confirmed they are now officially engaged and Hunter has been seen sporting some serious bling on her ring finger.
Stoll's professional hockey salary would have more than covered the cost of the ice, never mind the fact Hunter, 38, and toyboy Stoll, 26, share a 12-year age gap. Stoll confided to a radio station that the "the proposal was romantic". So romantic, we hear, the American sports star got down on bended knee in the rain-soaked back garden at Mollies Hotel last weekend to ask Rachel to marry him.
Aw, bless. The couple and Hunter's teenage children were staying at the luxury boutique hotel. They flew home on Friday after a break at the plush Huka Lodge in Taupo.
Despite the cougar jokes, Hunter, who has not rushed back into marriage since her divorce from Hot Rod 10 years ago, may have, like any woman, worried about whether her toyboy would stick around.
The engagement seals the deal now, and would offer her comfort and security in their relationship, which is probably welcome news to Hunter since she was humiliated by media around the world for putting on weight during her stint on Celebrity Circus recently.
Rachel Glucina
