The Transom Also Hears (April 10, 1999)

... "I just want you to know that unless I'm inspired, I can't sculpt," Lynn Pressman Raymond told 26-year-old Ethiopian Olympic runner Haile Gebrselassie at Le Colonial on May 3. The gentle-natured Mr. Gebrselassie was the guest of honor at a party in honor of Endurance, a documentary about the long distance runner, which was produced by Ms. Raymond's son, film producer Edward Pressman and director Terrence Malick. At the party, the 86-year-old Ms. Raymond, former chief executive of Pressman Toy Corporation, unveiled a bronze statue she sculpted for Mr. Gebrselassie. Ms. Raymond, who wore a jaunty wide-brimmed hat, told The Transom that the last time she had been inspired to mold a big piece of metal was following Harvey Keitel's performance in Bad Lieutenant. "A real man," she said, of Mr. Keitel. The resulting statue of a man and woman in flagrante delicto depicted "actual penetration," Ms. Pressman said, adding, "I'm a naughty lady!" The Transom can only hope that Mr. Pressman's mom will be likewise moved by her little boy's next cinematic project, American Psycho.

... All those young socialites who look for any excuse to don a loincloth may be crestfallen this summer. At the April 27 dinner party that Le Sportsac mogul Tim Schifter and his wife, Helen, threw for Bret Easton Ellis, socialite Pia Getty told a group-which included writers Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne, agent Amanda Urban, mountain climber Sandy Hill and the newly engaged socialite-writer Marina Rust-that she and her husband Christopher Getty aren't planning to rent in the Hamptons. Over past summers, the Gettys have thrown theme parties for Mr. Getty's July birthday. Last year, the motif was Tarzan and Jane; the year before, gender bending. This time, the couple plans to summer in Corsica or Majorca.