MANHATTAN PLAZA GETS ITS CLOSE-UP

A Manhattan apartment complex that’s had its share of actors and artists in its hallways will be the subject of a documentary.

The New York Post says in its Sunday edition that “The Miracle on 42nd Street” will celebrate Manhattan Plaza, a two-building complex that’s been home to all kinds of artistic folk, including Alicia Keys and Angela Lansbury.

The documentary is being put together by a group of filmmakers.

Actor Christian Slater’s mother says people are eager to participate. Mary Jo Slater lived there from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s.

Associated Press

SAG AND AFTRA TO NEGOTIATE SEPARATELY

Two unions representing Hollywood actors said they will separately negotiate labor contracts with film and television studios, a move that may slow talks and increase the chances for a second industry strike this year.

Studios and some stars are pressuring the unions to begin talks as soon as possible to head off another strike after the three-month walkout by writers that ended in February.

The actors’ contract is set to expire June 30, and studios already are scaling back plans for films that would begin shooting after April 15 to avoid being left with unfinished movies, an entertainment attorney, Jonathan Handel, said. Studios said in an e-mailed statement that they will start negotiations with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists immediately.

The Screen Actors Guild and AFTRA both represent actors in certain prime-time television shows and had initially agreed to negotiate with the studios jointly. Generally, the guild handles network dramas and comedies and AFTRA handles syndicated programs.

On March 10, AFTRA reached a preliminary agreement with the major television networks covering actors and crews who work on daytime soap operas and reality shows. Prime-time dramas and comedies are covered separately in the contract expiring in June.

The Screen Actors Guild has about 120,000 members, and AFTRA has 70,000, including actors, singers, and other types of performers. The two rosters include about 40,000 people who belong to both unions.

Bloomberg News

CARLA BRUNI STRIPS, CAMBODIAN CHILDREN BENEFIT

The sale of a nude photograph of France’s first lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, is to benefit charity and not its owner, Christie’s International said yesterday.

Art collector Gert Elfering has decided the proceeds from the picture’s sale at a New York auction on April 10 will go to the Fondation Kantha Bopha, a Swiss charity that supports sick children in Cambodia, Christie’s said.

The gelatin silver print was taken in 1993 by photographer Michel Comte and consigned for sale by Mr. Elfering when the former Italian model was not even engaged to President Sarkozy, a Christie’s spokeswoman, Milena Sales, said in an e-mail.

She said the decision to give the money to charity was “in light of recent events.” The picture produced headlines around the world as the Sarkozys went on a two-day state visit to the United Kingdom. The auction house estimate for the photo is $3,000 to $4,000.

Mr. Sarkozy married the singer and former model Carla Bruni in February after divorcing his second wife, Cecilia, in October.

Bloomberg News

WINE-FOR-CASH IN PARIS

There’s a long, international tradition of pawning jewelry and electronics for cash. Now, Parisians looking to make fast money may want to raid their wine cellars. The wine-centric Web site decanter.com is reporting that pawnshops in Paris are accepting bottles of wine worth about $95 or more in exchange for payment. Since the initiative was launched by the Crédit Municipal de Paris last week, more than 350 bottles, with a combined worth estimated at nearly $95,000, have been pawned; that includes a bottle of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti from 1985, valued at about $7,900, according to Decanter. The Crédit Municipal, the city agency in charge of pawnshops, has agreed to store up to 90,000 bottles in cellar conditions of about 53 degrees Fahrenheit and 80% humidity. Clients will receive 50% of the wine’s value as a cash loan. Unredeemed bottles will be sold at auction.