No Aznar, but Plenty of Paella at Nathans
Thursday, February 15, 2007; Page C03
The former prime minister of Spain abruptly canceled a luncheon speaking engagement at Nathans in Georgetown after learning that the restaurant was going to admit Spanish reporters, desperate to quiz him about an unfolding scandal back home.
The last-minute decision by Jose Maria Aznar left restaurant owner Carol Joynt scrambling yesterday to wave off 80 paying guests -- and to get rid of all the paella Nathans had made.
  Former Spanish prime minister Jose Maria Aznar abruptly canceled a luncheon speaking engagement after learning there would be reporters present. (Reuters) |
Joynt insists the lunch was no inquisition, just one in her longtime series of Q&As featuring various VIPs. The gatherings are generally polite -- the former newswoman screens all questions. But things have been tense for the former PM since news broke this week about Spanish police interrogating Guantanamo detainees during his term in office. Carlos de Vega, with the Spanish TV network Quattro, said that he and other journalists tried to get Aznar's response after a speech at Georgetown University, where he is a visiting professor, but that he ducked them. So they decided to catch up with him at Nathans.
Joynt said that on Tuesday night, while firming up the next day's plans, she let Aznar's adviser Rafael Bardaji know that press would be there. He called off the lunch. Bardaji told us yesterday that Aznar had no fear of facing the media but that the ex-PM felt misled about the nature of the event. Joynt denied it. "There were never any ground rules offered or asked for," she said. "It's very clear anyone can come. . . . Maury Povich spoke here at the height of his scandal. If you don't like a question, you just don't answer it."
Meanwhile, the incident has been great publicity for Nathans -- in Spain, where news of the broken lunch date hit all the papers.
Sen. Leahy Votes on the Nominees
Ten days before Hollywood hands out those cute gold statues, which means it's time to share Oscar predictions from D.C. experts. First up: Sen. Pat Leahy, Senate Judiciary Committee chairman and big movie buff. Leahy was among the 400 extreme film fans at the Regal Gallery Place Stadium 14 who braved snow, sleet and icy roads to see their choice of six nominated movies at Tuesday night's benefit for Tracy's Kids, a pediatric cancer program.
The Vermont Dem went with the front-runners for Best Director, Actor and Actress: Martin Scorsese, Forest Whitaker and Helen Mirren."For Best Picture, I wouldn't be surprised if it was 'The Departed.' " Seen it? "No," he admitted, before heading off to watch "The Queen." "I can't take violence."
LOVE, ETC.
Engaged: Howard Stern -- no, not the lawyer/squeeze/maybebabydaddy of the late Anna Nicole Smith, but the unrelated radio host of the same name who used to be the more famous one -- to his longtime girlfriend Beth Ostrosky, after a super-romantic proposal in which he asked her to strip, presented her with a 5.2-carat diamond, and described the whole evening for listeners of his Sirius radio show. Second marriage for the shock jock, 53; first for the 34-year-old model.
THIS JUST IN . . .
QUOTE
"When I'm away and I see those crack houses, I'm homesick. Not everyone likes tall ships. I hate tall ships."
-- John Waters, kitschmaster laureate of Baltimore, discussing the gritty pleasures of watching HBO's "The Wire" on NPR's "Fresh Air" yesterday.
