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Restaurant Loses Effort to Have Ex-Delivery Workers\' Suit Dismissed

A lawsuit brought by former delivery workers against an Upper West Side restaurant that deducted money from their tips to pay the service fees of food-delivery Web sites can proceed, a federal judge has ruled.

The ruling came in a suit filed against Indus Valley, on Broadway at West 100th Street, where eight former delivery workers say the restaurant kept 12 to 15 percent of their tips when customers placed their orders through services like Seamless and Grubhub.com.

Indus Valley admitted to withholding the workers’ tips but said the practice was permissible to recoup fees charged by online delivery sites, in the same way that restaurants are allowed to deduct a percentage from tips left via credit card to cover credit card companies’ fees for converting those tips to cash.

But the jude, Alison J. Nathan of United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, rejected both Indus Valley’s argument and its request to dismiss the suit. A representative from Indus Valley declined to comment.

The judge, quoting from a case the restaurant itself had cited in making its arguments, wrote that tip deductions “were only permissible to the extent that they ‘did not enrich [the employer], but instead, at most, merely restored it to the approximate financial posture it would have occupied if it had not undertaken to collect credit card tips for its employees.’”

The service agreements with the delivery Web sites included charges for commissions and “advertisement fees,” in addition to  credit card processing fees. The agreements, Judge Nathan wrote, “suggest that Indus Valley deducted from gratuities costs beyond those incurred as the result of converting credit card gratuities to cash.”

A lawyer for the workers, ! Jane Chung, said that labor law bars restaurants from taking from workers’ tips without an explicit exemption, and said that the judge’s ruling effectively declares Indus Valley’s practice illegal.

She said the restaurant unlawfully retained almost $17,000 and compared the practice to passing on the cost of rent or materials to delivery workers.

“These are business expenses,” she said Tuesday. “To be using that as a basis to be taking from tips â€" it’s a travesty.” The restaurant pays its workers less than minimum wage, which it is allowed to do because the workers receive gratuities, Ms. Chung said. She said the workers were paid a flat rate of $125 a week plus tips.

“They were paying us very little, but when they started taking our tips it became an important matter of justice,” Silvano Caballero, one of the workers, said through a translator. Indus Valley began withholding tips from workers in 2007, Ms. Chung said, though the suit was not filed until 2012.

If ndus Valley is found to have illegally deducted money from the workers, the workers will be entitled to double the amount they were denied, according to Ms. Chung.

Mr. Caballero said he thought other restaurants in New York engaged in similar practices.

But a lawyer for the New York State Restaurant Association, James Versocki, said: ”We don’t believe this is widespread in the industry. We think that the operators largely understand that New York State law strictly prohibits the misappropriation of tips from employees.”



Prosecutors Ask Judge to Revoke Chris Brown\'s Probation

Chris Brown.Jonathan Alcorn/Reuters Chris Brown.

A Los Angeles prosecutor told a judge on Tuesday there is no credible evidence that the singer Chris Brown completed the community service he was ordered to do as part of his sentence for assaulting Rihanna four years ago, The Associated Press reported.

In court papers, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office requested that Mr. Brown’s probation be revoked and that he be ordered to repeat six months of manual labor in Los Angeles to comply with his sentence.

The motion also cited several violent outbursts by M.. Brown that have not led to arrests or charges to support the motion to revoke his probation. Among those incidents was a fight last month between Mr. Brown and Frank Ocean over a parking space. An investigator’s report included in the motion said Mr. Ocean had told the police that Mr. Brown had threatened to shoot him during the fistfight.

The court motion said records submitted by the police in Richmond, Va., where Mr. Brown claimed to have completed his sentence, were full of discrepancies and showed the singer had been unsupervised for most of the time. The motion raised questions about Mr. Brown’s claim that he worked overnight cleaning and waxing floors at a daycare center where his mother once served as director. Prosecutors said a professional floor cleaner had told investigators he cleaned the floors during the months wh! en Mr. Brown worked there.

“This inquiry provided no credible, competent or verifiable evidence that defendant Brown performed his community labor as presented to this court,” Deputy District Attorney Mary Murray wrote. He added the records submitted by the Richmond police were “at best sloppy documentation and at worst fraudulent reporting.”

Mr. Brown is expected to appear in court on Wednesday for a probation hearing. He was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to perform six months of community service after he pleaded guilty in 2009 to assaulting Rihanna in a car after a party the night before Grammy Awards. The judge allowed him to do the community service in his home state of Virginia.

Rihanna recently told Rolling Stone that she has forgiven Mr. Brown and has resumed seeig him romantically. Both singers are nominated for Grammy Awards and are expected to attend a televised ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday.



Mean Streets to Grub Street Scorsese Films New York Review\'s 50th Anniversary

Having captured the mean streets of Little Italy and the 19th-century gangs of New York, Martin Scorsese is currently aiming his cameras at a more high-brow Gotham subculture: the New York Review of Books.

On Monday evening, at a small private party commemorating the magazine’s 50th anniversary held in its Greenwich Village offices, Mr. Scorsese, accompanied by a film crew of about a half dozen, interviewed various current and former writers and dropped boom mikes into clusters of casual cocktail chat. A crew will also be filming an event at Town Hall Tuesday night featuring Joan Didion, Michael Chabon, Daniel Mendelsohn, John Banville and other longtime contributors, as well as the magazine’s editor and co-founder, Robert Silvers.

“The party last night and the event this evening are being documented for possible future use to commemorate our 50th anniversary,” Rea Hederman, the magazine€™s publisher, said in an email. “Martin Scorsese, a longstanding reader and admirer of the Review, is lending his time and energy to the project.” Mr. Scorsese’s publicist did not respond to request for comment.

The Town Hall event is unlikely to offer pyrotechnics in the vein of Keith Richards spitting out a lit cigarette mid-solo, a visual high point of Mr. Scorsese’s documentary about the Rolling Stones, “Shine a Light.” But the story of the magazine, which was famously dreamed up during the 1963 New York newspaper strike by Robert Lowell, Elizabeth Hardwick, Jason Epstein, and Barbara Epstein (Mr. Silvers’s fellow founding editor, who died in 2006) as they we! re all sitting around Ms. Hardwick and Mr. Lowell’s dining room table, has its own share of smoke-filled drama.

In a reminiscence posted on a special 50th anniversary section of the magazine’s Web site, Janet Coleman, who joined as a 21-year-old editorial assistant a few months after the release of the first issue, recalled the tension surrounding Mary McCarthy’s famous 1966 trip to Saigon to report on the war in Vietnam, which the magazine strongly opposed.

“They had sent her a telegram from the Lowells’ and she agreed to go, and now we were waiting to find out when,” Ms. Coleman wrote. “Barbara: smoking like Bette Davis. Bob: peering at, throwing around, stashing away books. Everyone in the room: lighting up, stubbing out, inhaling, coughing, exhaling. The phone rang. I stopped typing. The excitement was great. Bob and Barbara said, “Mary!€ in a fraction of a beat. Within an hour, McCarthy was booked.”

McCarthy was also among the contributors to the magazine’s first issue, a facsimile of which will be distributed at Town Hall Tuesday night and included in the magazine’s regular August edition. The inaugural issue â€" hailed by the New Yorker as “the best first issue of any magazine ever” â€" also featured contributions from Norman Mailer, W.H. Auden, Susan Sontag, Irving Howe, Adrienne Rich, Gore Vidal, William Styron, Lowell, Hardwick and a dozen other eminent writers, none of whom were paid.



Kids Draw the News: Your School Bus Strike Drawings

The Last Assignment

There is still no end in sight to the New York City school bus strike. But these three weeks with no buses have yielded a bumper crop of Kids Draw the News pictures â€" you sent in more than two dozen of them. Thanks to all who answered our call. Your pictures may be seen in the slide show that accompanies this post, and even more can be viewed here.

Active Assignments

Bonnie Skiena's unit.

The Museum of the City of ew York has an exhibit about the city’s plans for very small apartments. Recently, it invited children to design their own tiny apartments as shoebox dioramas. Here is an article about tiny apartments that will be built in New York City. Build your own shoebox apartment and submit a photo of it for our special, 3-D assignment for Kids Draw the News.

And don’t forget about your assignment to draw Mallory Hagan, the first Miss America from New York City in nearly 30 years. Here is an article about Mallory Hagan. Please draw a picture showing Miss America in Brooklyn.

To submit drawings by children 12 years of age and under, follow the instructions here: Submit Artwork Â'



2 Pulled From Pond in Central Park After Falling Through Ice

Updated, 2:56 p.m. | Two people were rescued from the frigid water of the pond in Central Park after falling through the ice around 2 p.m. Tuesday, the Fire Department said. A firefighter in a wet suit entered the pond, in the southeast corner of the park near 59th Street and Fifth Avenue, and helped pull them to safety.

The firefighter and another first responder, possibly a police officer, were being evaluated at the scene, officials said. Fire officials initially said that three people had fallen into the pond, but later amended that to two.

The people who were rescued were taken to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Ceter in stable condition, a fire official said. No further information was immediately available about them.



2 Pulled From Pond in Central Park After Falling Through Ice

Updated, 2:56 p.m. | Two people were rescued from the frigid water of the pond in Central Park after falling through the ice around 2 p.m. Tuesday, the Fire Department said. A firefighter in a wet suit entered the pond, in the southeast corner of the park near 59th Street and Fifth Avenue, and helped pull them to safety.

The firefighter and another first responder, possibly a police officer, were being evaluated at the scene, officials said. Fire officials initially said that three people had fallen into the pond, but later amended that to two.

The people who were rescued were taken to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Ceter in stable condition, a fire official said. No further information was immediately available about them.



2 Pulled From Pond in Central Park After Falling Through Ice

Two people were rescued from the frigid water of the pond in Central Park after falling through the ice around 2 p.m. Tuesday, the Fire Department said. A firefighter in a wet suit entered the pond, in the southeast corner of the park near 59th Street and Fifth Avenue, and helped pull them to safety. The firefighter and another first responder, possibly a police officer, were being evaluated at the scene, officials said.

The people who were rescued were taken to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in stable condition, a fire official said. No further information was immediately available about them.



2 Pulled From Pond in Central Park After Falling Through Ice

Two people were rescued from the frigid water of the pond in Central Park after falling through the ice around 2 p.m. Tuesday, the Fire Department said. A firefighter in a wet suit entered the pond, in the southeast corner of the park near 59th Street and Fifth Avenue, and helped pull them to safety. The firefighter and another first responder, possibly a police officer, were being evaluated at the scene, officials said.

The people who were rescued were taken to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in stable condition, a fire official said. No further information was immediately available about them.



More Concerts Coming to Hudson River Park

The Bowery Presents will produce eight outdoor concerts this summer on the rebuilt Pier 26 in Hudson River Park, including a show on July 22 featuring the pop-rock trio Fun. and the Canadian duo Tegan and Sara.

An independent concert promotion company based in New York, the Bowery Presents produced more than 20 outdoor concerts last summer in the region, including shows in Central Park, Prospect Park, Pier 63 and on Pier A in Hoboken, N.J. But this is the first time that the company has put on a series of waterfront concerts on the Hudson waterfront in Lower Manhattan.

“Pier 26 is very accessible for fans coming from all over, and we are confident the lineup will be top notch,” said John Moore, a partner at the Bowery Presents.

Sarah Weiss, a spokeswoman for the promoter, said the other seven concerts have yet to be booked. The concerts will be for-profit ticketed events, and the rent will help pay for the par’s operating expenses.

In recent years Pier 26, on West Street near North Moore Street, has been shored up through $70 million in financing from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and is now structurally sound, said Keri Lyon, a spokeswoman for Hudson River Park.

But unlike the adjacent Pier 25, which has green space, a beach volleyball court, and a mini-golf course, Pier 26 has not yet been developed as a park. A dog run is slated to be built near its entrance this spring, but most of the pier remains a bare concrete platform jutting out into the Hudson, closed to the public. “It’s a great way for us to use the pier,” Ms. Lyon said of the concert series. “We haven’t been able to do a lot with it.”



Woman Fatally Struck by a Truck in Midtown Manhattan

An elderly woman was hit by a truck in Midtown Manhattan on Tuesday morning and died later from her injuries, according to the police.

The police were searching for the driver of the truck, who fled the scene.

The 69-year-old woman, whose name was not immediately released pending notification of her family, was crossing 41st Street shortly after 10 a.m. when she was hit by the truck, which was making a right turn from Ninth Avenue.

The woman was taken to St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center, where she was pronounced dead.

This post has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: February 5, 2013

An earlier version of this post misstated the day that the woman was struck by a truck. It was Tuesday, not Monday.



Dressing for the Bitter Cold, but Still Observing the Sabbath

In New York's City's Hasidic neighborhoods, men find a variety of ways to dress to ward off the elements during winter, including plastic covering to protect their black hats. Robert Stolarik for The New York Times In New York’s City’s Hasidic neighborhoods, men find a variety of ways to dress to ward off the elements during winter, including plastic covering to protect their black hats.

Hasidim have hoodies too â€" though theirs are intended for winter Sabbaths.

I began to be enlightened about the nuances of Hasidic garb last summer when an editor dispatched me into the Hasidic enclave of Borough Park, Brooklyn, because he was curious about how the insular Hasidim keep cool in summer given their custom of having men wear three-piece dark suits and women calf-length skirts, long-sleeved blouses and thick stockings. The answer is that they don’t really keep cool, but the heat doesn’t seem to bother them as it does most New Yorkers. They cool themselves with the satisfaction of obeying the letter of God’s law.

More recently, this same editor wanted to know if there was anything different about how Hasidim dress in freezing weather. The answer is yes, though the distinctions are nuanced. One distinctive feature is the hoodie, as Alexander Rapaport, a Hasid who directs a food pantry, wryly calls the hooded plastic raincoats Hasidim wear on top of their overcoats on the Sabbath in snow, sleet or rain.

The hood attached to the raincoat’s collar is large enough to cover the round fur shtreimel that married Hasidic men traditionally wear on the Sabbath. They can cover the black hats they w! ear on ordinary days with a transparent plastic sheath or even a shopping bag, but on the Sabbath that covering is forbidden because many Hasidim believe donning an accessory that is not part of standard garb constitutes carrying, a type of work not permitted on the Sabbath. But a hood attached to a raincoat gets around the prohibition and has the added benefit of safeguarding a man’s shtreimel, which can cost over $1,000.

Plastic raincoats for sale in a store in Brooklyn are popular with Hasidic men because they come with an attached hood that allows wearers to cover their hats and not violate special Sabbath customs. Robert Stolarik for The New York Times Plastic raincoats for sale in a store in Brooklyn are popular with Hasidic men because they come with a attached hood that allows wearers to cover their hats and not violate special Sabbath customs.

Six days a week in winter, a long overcoat coat is standard for men â€" always black â€" and so are three-piece suits underneath. The hats too are the same black, high-crowned, wide-brimmed homburgs worn year-round. Some Hasidim, however, prefer tall fur astrakhans â€" called kuchmas â€" in winter. Footwear is standard too, always black, though the men in some Hasidic sects may wear high boots as their ancestors did in Europe. Women wear long coats and various styles of hats that emphasize modesty.

What is different is what Hasidim wear in winter on the Sabbath, the day for which food, clothing, furnishings and customs all have special and sometimes elegant variations. To lend the day its distinction, Hasidic men wear a satiny coat known as a reshvulka, made of genuine silk for the few who can afford it but glossy polyester for the majority who cannot.

The cheaper version is usua! lly made ! in China and comes with a zip-out lining made of either artificial down or artificial fur and costs about $200, said Samuel Dresdner, a salesman at GB Clothing in Brooklyn. The store dispatches supervisors to China to make sure the clothing is manufactured according to Hasidic traditions and Jewish laws, which for one thing forbids mixing wool and linen.

What makes the reshvulka particularly Sabbath-like is that it has no pockets â€" pockets could imply carrying â€" and the buttons are hidden by a seam, a custom that some Hasidim say harks back to centuries ago when coats worn in Eastern Europe were robelike.

“It’s the Hasidic way,” Mr. Dresdner said as he showed off an elegant reshvulka.

The grand rabbis and other Hasidic dignitaries may wear a reshvulka all week in winter often adorned with wide fur collars known as “pelts” as signs of their status. In January, Hasidic newspapers and blogs had photographs of the Grand Rabbi of Viznitz, Menachem Mendel Hager, whose seat is in Isael, receiving visits in Williamsburg from the Grand Rabbi of Spinka, Isaac Horowitz, and from one of the two Grand Rabbis of the Satmar sect, Zalman Teitelbaum. All three leaders wore pelt collars so wide they looked like stoles.

When it’s biting cold, a Hasidic man will also wear ear muffs over his ears or a band known as an ear warmer â€" both come only in black. The gloves are also black. But a Hasid will not wear gloves on the Sabbath, according to Jacob Feder, manager of Crown Dry Goods in Brooklyn, because that constitutes carrying. So coats are styled with extra-long sleeves, which allow a man to draw in his hands against an icy wind.

Grand Rabbi of Viznitz, Menachem Mendle Hager, during a visit in Brooklyn in January wore a special winter coat with a distinctive wide fur collar that is symb! olic of h! is status. Yehoshuah Fruchter Grand Rabbi of Viznitz, Menachem Mendle Hager, during a visit in Brooklyn in January wore a special winter coat with a distinctive wide fur collar that is symbolic of his status.

The rules for women do not seem to have as many nuances because they can wear a good coat of any kind on the Sabbath as long as it comes in muted colors and covers their arms and much of their legs. However, married women will wear plastic see-through bonnets to guard their wigs against snow or rain and so forestall an expensive appointment with a stylist.

Wearing a bonnet, explained several customers at Silksation Plus, a women’s clothing store, is not seen as a violation of the prohibition against carrying on the Sabbath because a wig is considered virtually part of the body â€" if it gets wet the skull gets wet â€" and so a bonnet is entirely permissible, unlike the man’s plastic covering for the head.



In Performance: Will Chase of \'The Mystery of Edwin Drood\'

“The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” now in a Roundabout Theater revival on Broadway, is set in a Victorian music hall where actors are putting on a performance of Charles Dickens’s last, unfinished novel. In this scene, Will Chase, who plays the actor Clive Paget (who portrays the villain John Jasper), puts a country twist on the number “Both Sides of the Coin.” The show continues through March 10 at Studio 54.

Recent videos include Gia Crovatin in a scene from Neil Labute’s short play “In the Beginning” and America Ferrera in a scene from Laura Marks’s drama “Bethany.”

Coming soon: Tina Packer in a scene from her Shakespeare-themed show “Women of Will.”



In Performance: Will Chase of \'The Mystery of Edwin Drood\'

“The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” now in a Roundabout Theater revival on Broadway, is set in a Victorian music hall where actors are putting on a performance of Charles Dickens’s last, unfinished novel. In this scene, Will Chase, who plays the actor Clive Paget (who portrays the villain John Jasper), puts a country twist on the number “Both Sides of the Coin.” The show continues through March 10 at Studio 54.

Recent videos include Gia Crovatin in a scene from Neil Labute’s short play “In the Beginning” and America Ferrera in a scene from Laura Marks’s drama “Bethany.”

Coming soon: Tina Packer in a scene from her Shakespeare-themed show “Women of Will.”



Elizabeth Meriwether Answers Your \'New Girl\' Questions

Zooey Deschanel and Jake Johnson in last week's episode of Ray Mickshaw/Fox Zooey Deschanel and Jake Johnson in last week’s episode of “New Girl” on Fox.

Previously we heard from the creators of “Modern Family,” “Homeland” and “Justified.”

Last week Fox’s “New Girl” effectively ended any will-they-or-won’t-they chatter about the flirty roommates played by Zooey Descanel and Jake Johnson (they did). This week, Elizabeth Meriwether, the series’s creator and show runner, addresses concerns that she ruined the show in the process.

“Oh no! You’re right! It was too soon! I messed up,” she writes (joking).

Ms. Meriwether, a veteran of New York’s downtown theater scene who has also written movies like “No Strings Attached,” responded to questions from Times readers about “New Girl.” Below, in addition to parsing the mechanics of The Kiss, she reveals her favorite scenes for each character, where to find the rules for “True American,” the show’s convoluted drinking game, and which of the often outlandish Schmidt plot lines were actually based in reality.

Q.

Why, oh why, did you go down the Jess and Nick road Everyone knew the attraction was always there under the sur! face, but now that they kissed, it is going to be so awkward. - Mnoelle, New York

A.

Oh no! You’re right! It was too soon! I messed up. What should I do now Maybe I can make that episode into an elaborate dream sequence.

Elizabeth Meriwether.Josh Haner/The New York Times Elizabeth Meriwether.

But seriously folks. I’ve found that the kiss has actually invigorated the show and the characters. As opposed to letting the tension out, it’s added spark and conflict and helped us focus. It’s been fun to write the aftermath, and I know the actors are having fun with the new dynamics. It’s not going to lead to immediate happiness for everyone, if that’s what you’re worried abut. Don’t you find, in real life, that kissing leads to more comedic situations not less I like awkwardness. “New Girl” thrives on awkwardness. But I hope you keep watching. Don’t give up on us yet. We might actually figure it out.

Q.

Just give me some reassurance: Please don’t make Nick and Jess the new “Ross and Rachel” (the comparison is running rampant in the blogs). - Amanda, South Carolina

A.

I think Nick is going to be the new Rachel, and Jess is going to be the new Ross. Women everywhere are going to be asking their hairstylists for “The Nick.” If we’re keeping score, Schmidt is obviously Monica, and Winston is a sort of Chandler/Phoebe hybrid, if such a thing can exist. Cece is George Clooney’s character from “ER” mixed with the neighbor on “Home Improvement.”

Q.

Hi Liz, just a question about ! filming t! he kiss of Nick and Jess: did you tell them how to kiss, like with the small pecks in the end or did they just improvise, like they felt for their characters to be right at that moment - Newgirlfangirl, Germany

A.

Embarrassingly, I actually did try to tell them how to kiss. I walked up to Jake Johnson between takes and said: “I want you to kind of take her, and then do thisâ€"” (I demonstrated by making my fingers kiss each other) “Then wait and do that again, but kind of like thisâ€"” (more finger kissing). He just stared at me for a beat, and then, to his credit, nodded and said, “I think I got it.”

Giving actors direction on how to kiss or have sex on camera can be deeply absurd. I’ll never forget watching Ivan Reitman explain how many thrusts the actors were supposed to do in the sex scene in “No Strings Attached.” The truth is, anything that physial is like a dance routine, it requires precision and timing, and both actors need to know what goes where when. The challenge is waiting to giggle until your hand is in front of your face, and you can pass it off as coughing.

Q.

Is Schmidt’s casual racism ever going to be addressed I know that it’s meant for edgy laughs, but it seems particularly more offensive this season. - Kerissa Ward, New York, NY

A.

I know. I’m sorry. I’m going to try and get him to shut up, but he can be such a jerk. I apologize on his behalf for any offense he’s caused. He also makes fun of women, fat people, poor people, Jewish people, and the movie “The Hobbit” if that helps at all.

Adam Taylor/FOX Max Greenfield as Schmidt.
Q.

Is there any chance of you telling us Schmidt’s first name - Jamie, NY

A.

Unfortunately, the word is unprintable in The New York Times.

Q.

You had a rather successful career as an off-Broadway actress and playwright (“Heddatron,” Mistakes Madeline Made). Has your experience in New York’s downtown theater scene prepared you for life in Hollywood and as the creator of a successful TV show And if so, how - Mr. Frazier, Harlem, NY

A.

Please god, I hope my experience in downtown theater isn’t over, because I’d love to keep making weird plays. I can’t wait for Charles Isherwood to call my next play “si-com-y” and tell me to stick to writing television. But, yes, I learned everything working in theater. I learned the importance of community â€" I was constantly going to play readings, stand-up nights, improv nights. I went to one of the earliest workshops of “Gatz” by the Elevator Repair Service. I sat through a seven-hour play at Lincoln Center that was entirely in French and mostly performed on skateboards. I got to work with incredible people (Alex Timbers, Evan Cabnet, Sam Gold, Marsha Norman, Chris Durang, Jenny Gersten, Naked Angels, Ars Nova), and my work got better by proximity to all of the energy, weirdness, and insanity. Now, whenever I feel stuck, I try to get out of my own head and go see something new. Laugh at someone else’s jokes. Open myself up to the artists around me. It makes it less hard. So that’s one of the things I learned in New York. (“The Things I Lea! rned In N! ew York” sounds like a bad one-woman show actually. I hope I never write that.)

Q.

Zooey Deschanel is great. would your show have succeeded without her or, to put it another way, did you find yourself shaping the show around her personality Also, how much of the tone of the show did you pick up among fellow students while at Yale - ponsoldt, athens, georgia

Ms. Deschanel in the episode Patrick McElhenney/FOX Ms. Deschanel in the episode “Cabin.”
A.

Would the show succeed without Zooey That’s easy. Hell no. The character and the actress have merged together in a great way, and Zooey’s spirit and talent are absolutely at the heart of everything we do. (And hi, Mr. Ponsold.. Good to hear from you.)

Q.

Are there any particular female comedians who inspired you when you created Jess’s role - Hannah, New York, NY

A.

While I was trying to figure out what the show was going to be, I fell down a Hulu Hole with this British series (or should I say “programme”), “Green Wing.” Procrastination Yes. But I just fell in love with the lead actress Tamsin Greig (who now stars in Episodes on Showtime). It’s an amazing show â€" hugely broad physical comedy, commedia dell arte, mixed with real characters, real emotion, and a great love triangle. I was very much inspired by that character and the crazy tonal shifts the show pulled off. Why do British people make such good TV It’s so annoying. Stop it. Is it because they have free health care Uggh.

Also Diane Keaton. She’s so massively, heart-wrenchingly funny, and she is never just pl! aying one! thing. Whenever we get criticized that the Jess character is too this or too that, I think about Diane Keaton. Funny women aren’t feminist symbols. Funny women are honest women. I guess that’s also true for men, but no one ever asks me if my male characters are presenting a negative image of masculinity. (As if that were possible… men are AMAZING.)

Q.

I absolutely love your show! It reveals so much about the culture of young adults that I wouldn’t otherwise know, since I am a 70 year old grandmother of three. The only question I have is how much is script driven and how much comes from your amazing cast member’s contributions - SeniorSues, Minneapolis, MN

A.

That’s so good to hear. You just warmed my cold comedy writer’s heart. Thank you so much.

And to answer your question, we have a really loose set. We shoot extra jokes that we call “alts.” The actors, who are all great on their feet, build on those extra jokes or jst riff on the ideas that are in the scene. The “alt pack” is a thick packet of extra jokes for that day’s work that our tireless, ridiculously talented writing staff slave away on and hate with a passion. When it’s all cooking, the collaborative, anything-goes energy of set translates to the screen and makes it feel real and alive.

The trouble with making a single camera comedy (a comedy that doesn’t have a laugh track and isn’t performed in front of a studio audience) is that you’re forced to make a judgment call if something is funny based only on your instincts instead of actual laughter. The playwright in me wishes we were performing the show live, because I could hear if something was working or not. But my experience sitting in audiences and listening to real laughs (and horrible silences) has been helpful in the editing room. My co-showrunners, Dave Finkel and Brett Baer have worked on everything from “Animaniacs” to “United States of Tara” to “30 Rock” and Ste! ve Welch,! our editor, is a wizard of comedic pacing. Between all of us, we try to figure it out. But there are some real stinkers in there too. What can you do Just keep trying. If you’re lucky, you get to make twenty-four episodes a season and completely stop sleeping or showering. Unfortunately, one continues to eat.

Q.

Is it more important for you to adapt for the voice of the actor or stay strong to the voice of the character - Alex Tucci, Oakville Ontario

A.

When I was talking to Jake Kasdan about directing the pilot, one of the first things he said was to cast actors that I love and write towards their strengths. He told me not to be precious with the characters I’d created in the pilot â€" on a television show running for years, the character and the actor start to fuse into one thing, and if you’re constantly fighting what the actor naturally does or trying to shoehorn the wrong person into some dream of the character in your head, you wil end up with a bad show. He was right. Our scripts are important, but I think the most important thing is what’s happening on set â€" what’s working or not working with the actors. Our actors are very much a part of the creative process, not joke-reciting robots. (Although, I’ve actually written for a joke-reciting robot in “Heddatron,” and that had its own joys.)

Q.

The striking thing about “New Girl” is that under all the comedy, there’s something about the emotions and reactions that feels very real â€" much more real than other sitcoms. Like â€" maybe everybody is sort of laid bare in different ways. Was this the plan for the show To make it a completely different type of comedy - JL, Chapel Hill

A.

Yes, that was the hope, but Jake Kasdan brought that tone (or “vibe” as we say in California) to the show. He blended comedy and! emotion ! beautifully on “Freaks and Geeks,” and that was one of the main reasons I wanted him to direct the pilot so badly. It’s a tough tone to maintain though, and we struggle with it all the time. We’re lucky to have actors and writers who can find the real emotion under the stupidest joke, and find stupid jokes in the most emotional scenes. Our show works best when you’re laughing, but you’re a little sad about it. You’re welcome, America.

Q.

One of my favorite episodes this season is “Models,” where we saw flashbacks of the history of friendships of Nick/Schmidt and Jess/Cece. Will we get more episodes like that - Carl, The Philippines

A.

We actually have an episode coming up that celebrates the ten-year anniversary of Nick and Schmidt living together as roommates €" their tin anniversary. This came from a passing reference in “Models” we thought would make a funny episode. So we did it. None of the characters are related, so it’s been important to see their histories in flashbacks. These are probably my favorite things to write on the show.

From left, Jake Johnson, Max Greenfield and Lamorne Morris.Greg Gayne/FOX From left, Jake Johnson, Max Greenfield and Lamorne Morris.
Q.

At what point in our nation’s racial consciousness-raising will Winston get to carry an A-plot - Kate Ryan, Cary, NC

A.

Yeeeeesh. Okay. He has been in A-stories, but point taken. Lamorne Morris is fantastic, and we all love writing for him.

Q.

! I’ve he! ard/read that Jess is based on Zooey, but what about other characters (I’m basically asking if there’s a real-life version of Schmidt.) - Jemi, Edmonton

A.

There was no one “Schmidt” in my life when I first wrote the character, but since then, I’ve heard a bunch of stories about real-life Schmidt’s. Which makes me both sad and happy. My favorite real-life Schmidt stories come from my friend Mark in London. In the Season Two premiere, Schmidt throws himself a “re-branding party” and that actually came from a true story Mark told me about his friend. God love him.

Q.

What is the one scene that you would say is your “favorite” I know that sounds boring but if you were forced to pick one scene at gunpoint â€" I don’t know why someone so violent would make you ever choose a favorite “New Girl” scene â€" which would be the scene you’re proudest of - Sarah, alligator pit

A.

It’s funny to imagie a situation where someone is holding me at gunpoint and asking me that question. Like a very strange, unpopular episode of “Law and Order: SVU.”

Okay, by character. For Jess: The scene in “Bad in Bed” when she chokes Justin Long as he does a sexy Jimmy Stewart impression. For Nick: The scene in “Menzies” when he slowly opens up to the old Asian man on the bench and ends up telling him that he’s afraid of dying. For Winston: The scene in “Secrets” when he gets rid of Nick’s sorority girls by doing a monologue as his alter ego Theodore K. Mullins. For Cece: The scene in “Fancyman Part Two” when she admits she has feelings for Schmidt while naked in the back of Winston’s car. For Schmidt: The scene in “Eggs” where he explains his methods for pleasuring women to Sadie, the lesbian gynecologist. So there. Please don’t shoot.

Q.

My question for you is mostly related to costume designs and fashion. Are you aware of the many websites that! search t! o find exact or close to matches for Zoe’s on set wardrobe How do you pick the clothes for these characters- are they dictated by vendors of the actors personal styles - BillieRose, Long Island, NY

A.

Deb McGuire is our unbelievably talented costume designer. She designed the costumes for all ten years of “Friends” (which means she’s responsible for some terrible fashion choices I made in high school â€" a lot of baby-tees and vests). Zooey obviously has a fantastic sense of style and innovative taste, and the two of them cook it all up. I wear pajamas and sweatpants every day and try to stay out of the way. I think my personal style has inspired a lot of Nick Miller’s outfits.

Q.

We are hardcore “New Girl” nerds and we were wondering if you ever plan on going more in depth with the game “True American.” Like maybe a bok of rules or more footage of a game played or just a way for us to make it as legitimate as possible. We’re pretty darn serious about this. I mean, we’re planning customized bowling shirts for our pro True American team. - Christina & Amanda, Florida Panhandle

A.

That’s amazing. I love you guys. We’ll work on some rules for you, but I would just trust your hearts, get really wasted, and look inside yourselves. I think you’ll find the rules were there all along.

Thank you for sending in questions. I was really excited and moved by the opportunity to talk directly with our audience. Keep watching. We’ll get better, I promise.



Elizabeth Meriwether Answers Your \'New Girl\' Questions

Zooey Deschanel and Jake Johnson in last week's episode of Ray Mickshaw/Fox Zooey Deschanel and Jake Johnson in last week’s episode of “New Girl” on Fox.

Previously we heard from the creators of “Modern Family,” “Homeland” and “Justified.”

Last week Fox’s “New Girl” effectively ended any will-they-or-won’t-they chatter about the flirty roommates played by Zooey Descanel and Jake Johnson (they did). This week, Elizabeth Meriwether, the series’s creator and show runner, addresses concerns that she ruined the show in the process.

“Oh no! You’re right! It was too soon! I messed up,” she writes (joking).

Ms. Meriwether, a veteran of New York’s downtown theater scene who has also written movies like “No Strings Attached,” responded to questions from Times readers about “New Girl.” Below, in addition to parsing the mechanics of The Kiss, she reveals her favorite scenes for each character, where to find the rules for “True American,” the show’s convoluted drinking game, and which of the often outlandish Schmidt plot lines were actually based in reality.

Q.

Why, oh why, did you go down the Jess and Nick road Everyone knew the attraction was always there under the sur! face, but now that they kissed, it is going to be so awkward. - Mnoelle, New York

A.

Oh no! You’re right! It was too soon! I messed up. What should I do now Maybe I can make that episode into an elaborate dream sequence.

Elizabeth Meriwether.Josh Haner/The New York Times Elizabeth Meriwether.

But seriously folks. I’ve found that the kiss has actually invigorated the show and the characters. As opposed to letting the tension out, it’s added spark and conflict and helped us focus. It’s been fun to write the aftermath, and I know the actors are having fun with the new dynamics. It’s not going to lead to immediate happiness for everyone, if that’s what you’re worried abut. Don’t you find, in real life, that kissing leads to more comedic situations not less I like awkwardness. “New Girl” thrives on awkwardness. But I hope you keep watching. Don’t give up on us yet. We might actually figure it out.

Q.

Just give me some reassurance: Please don’t make Nick and Jess the new “Ross and Rachel” (the comparison is running rampant in the blogs). - Amanda, South Carolina

A.

I think Nick is going to be the new Rachel, and Jess is going to be the new Ross. Women everywhere are going to be asking their hairstylists for “The Nick.” If we’re keeping score, Schmidt is obviously Monica, and Winston is a sort of Chandler/Phoebe hybrid, if such a thing can exist. Cece is George Clooney’s character from “ER” mixed with the neighbor on “Home Improvement.”

Q.

Hi Liz, just a question about ! filming t! he kiss of Nick and Jess: did you tell them how to kiss, like with the small pecks in the end or did they just improvise, like they felt for their characters to be right at that moment - Newgirlfangirl, Germany

A.

Embarrassingly, I actually did try to tell them how to kiss. I walked up to Jake Johnson between takes and said: “I want you to kind of take her, and then do thisâ€"” (I demonstrated by making my fingers kiss each other) “Then wait and do that again, but kind of like thisâ€"” (more finger kissing). He just stared at me for a beat, and then, to his credit, nodded and said, “I think I got it.”

Giving actors direction on how to kiss or have sex on camera can be deeply absurd. I’ll never forget watching Ivan Reitman explain how many thrusts the actors were supposed to do in the sex scene in “No Strings Attached.” The truth is, anything that physial is like a dance routine, it requires precision and timing, and both actors need to know what goes where when. The challenge is waiting to giggle until your hand is in front of your face, and you can pass it off as coughing.

Q.

Is Schmidt’s casual racism ever going to be addressed I know that it’s meant for edgy laughs, but it seems particularly more offensive this season. - Kerissa Ward, New York, NY

A.

I know. I’m sorry. I’m going to try and get him to shut up, but he can be such a jerk. I apologize on his behalf for any offense he’s caused. He also makes fun of women, fat people, poor people, Jewish people, and the movie “The Hobbit” if that helps at all.

Adam Taylor/FOX Max Greenfield as Schmidt.
Q.

Is there any chance of you telling us Schmidt’s first name - Jamie, NY

A.

Unfortunately, the word is unprintable in The New York Times.

Q.

You had a rather successful career as an off-Broadway actress and playwright (“Heddatron,” Mistakes Madeline Made). Has your experience in New York’s downtown theater scene prepared you for life in Hollywood and as the creator of a successful TV show And if so, how - Mr. Frazier, Harlem, NY

A.

Please god, I hope my experience in downtown theater isn’t over, because I’d love to keep making weird plays. I can’t wait for Charles Isherwood to call my next play “si-com-y” and tell me to stick to writing television. But, yes, I learned everything working in theater. I learned the importance of community â€" I was constantly going to play readings, stand-up nights, improv nights. I went to one of the earliest workshops of “Gatz” by the Elevator Repair Service. I sat through a seven-hour play at Lincoln Center that was entirely in French and mostly performed on skateboards. I got to work with incredible people (Alex Timbers, Evan Cabnet, Sam Gold, Marsha Norman, Chris Durang, Jenny Gersten, Naked Angels, Ars Nova), and my work got better by proximity to all of the energy, weirdness, and insanity. Now, whenever I feel stuck, I try to get out of my own head and go see something new. Laugh at someone else’s jokes. Open myself up to the artists around me. It makes it less hard. So that’s one of the things I learned in New York. (“The Things I Lea! rned In N! ew York” sounds like a bad one-woman show actually. I hope I never write that.)

Q.

Zooey Deschanel is great. would your show have succeeded without her or, to put it another way, did you find yourself shaping the show around her personality Also, how much of the tone of the show did you pick up among fellow students while at Yale - ponsoldt, athens, georgia

Ms. Deschanel in the episode Patrick McElhenney/FOX Ms. Deschanel in the episode “Cabin.”
A.

Would the show succeed without Zooey That’s easy. Hell no. The character and the actress have merged together in a great way, and Zooey’s spirit and talent are absolutely at the heart of everything we do. (And hi, Mr. Ponsold.. Good to hear from you.)

Q.

Are there any particular female comedians who inspired you when you created Jess’s role - Hannah, New York, NY

A.

While I was trying to figure out what the show was going to be, I fell down a Hulu Hole with this British series (or should I say “programme”), “Green Wing.” Procrastination Yes. But I just fell in love with the lead actress Tamsin Greig (who now stars in Episodes on Showtime). It’s an amazing show â€" hugely broad physical comedy, commedia dell arte, mixed with real characters, real emotion, and a great love triangle. I was very much inspired by that character and the crazy tonal shifts the show pulled off. Why do British people make such good TV It’s so annoying. Stop it. Is it because they have free health care Uggh.

Also Diane Keaton. She’s so massively, heart-wrenchingly funny, and she is never just pl! aying one! thing. Whenever we get criticized that the Jess character is too this or too that, I think about Diane Keaton. Funny women aren’t feminist symbols. Funny women are honest women. I guess that’s also true for men, but no one ever asks me if my male characters are presenting a negative image of masculinity. (As if that were possible… men are AMAZING.)

Q.

I absolutely love your show! It reveals so much about the culture of young adults that I wouldn’t otherwise know, since I am a 70 year old grandmother of three. The only question I have is how much is script driven and how much comes from your amazing cast member’s contributions - SeniorSues, Minneapolis, MN

A.

That’s so good to hear. You just warmed my cold comedy writer’s heart. Thank you so much.

And to answer your question, we have a really loose set. We shoot extra jokes that we call “alts.” The actors, who are all great on their feet, build on those extra jokes or jst riff on the ideas that are in the scene. The “alt pack” is a thick packet of extra jokes for that day’s work that our tireless, ridiculously talented writing staff slave away on and hate with a passion. When it’s all cooking, the collaborative, anything-goes energy of set translates to the screen and makes it feel real and alive.

The trouble with making a single camera comedy (a comedy that doesn’t have a laugh track and isn’t performed in front of a studio audience) is that you’re forced to make a judgment call if something is funny based only on your instincts instead of actual laughter. The playwright in me wishes we were performing the show live, because I could hear if something was working or not. But my experience sitting in audiences and listening to real laughs (and horrible silences) has been helpful in the editing room. My co-showrunners, Dave Finkel and Brett Baer have worked on everything from “Animaniacs” to “United States of Tara” to “30 Rock” and Ste! ve Welch,! our editor, is a wizard of comedic pacing. Between all of us, we try to figure it out. But there are some real stinkers in there too. What can you do Just keep trying. If you’re lucky, you get to make twenty-four episodes a season and completely stop sleeping or showering. Unfortunately, one continues to eat.

Q.

Is it more important for you to adapt for the voice of the actor or stay strong to the voice of the character - Alex Tucci, Oakville Ontario

A.

When I was talking to Jake Kasdan about directing the pilot, one of the first things he said was to cast actors that I love and write towards their strengths. He told me not to be precious with the characters I’d created in the pilot â€" on a television show running for years, the character and the actor start to fuse into one thing, and if you’re constantly fighting what the actor naturally does or trying to shoehorn the wrong person into some dream of the character in your head, you wil end up with a bad show. He was right. Our scripts are important, but I think the most important thing is what’s happening on set â€" what’s working or not working with the actors. Our actors are very much a part of the creative process, not joke-reciting robots. (Although, I’ve actually written for a joke-reciting robot in “Heddatron,” and that had its own joys.)

Q.

The striking thing about “New Girl” is that under all the comedy, there’s something about the emotions and reactions that feels very real â€" much more real than other sitcoms. Like â€" maybe everybody is sort of laid bare in different ways. Was this the plan for the show To make it a completely different type of comedy - JL, Chapel Hill

A.

Yes, that was the hope, but Jake Kasdan brought that tone (or “vibe” as we say in California) to the show. He blended comedy and! emotion ! beautifully on “Freaks and Geeks,” and that was one of the main reasons I wanted him to direct the pilot so badly. It’s a tough tone to maintain though, and we struggle with it all the time. We’re lucky to have actors and writers who can find the real emotion under the stupidest joke, and find stupid jokes in the most emotional scenes. Our show works best when you’re laughing, but you’re a little sad about it. You’re welcome, America.

Q.

One of my favorite episodes this season is “Models,” where we saw flashbacks of the history of friendships of Nick/Schmidt and Jess/Cece. Will we get more episodes like that - Carl, The Philippines

A.

We actually have an episode coming up that celebrates the ten-year anniversary of Nick and Schmidt living together as roommates €" their tin anniversary. This came from a passing reference in “Models” we thought would make a funny episode. So we did it. None of the characters are related, so it’s been important to see their histories in flashbacks. These are probably my favorite things to write on the show.

From left, Jake Johnson, Max Greenfield and Lamorne Morris.Greg Gayne/FOX From left, Jake Johnson, Max Greenfield and Lamorne Morris.
Q.

At what point in our nation’s racial consciousness-raising will Winston get to carry an A-plot - Kate Ryan, Cary, NC

A.

Yeeeeesh. Okay. He has been in A-stories, but point taken. Lamorne Morris is fantastic, and we all love writing for him.

Q.

! I’ve he! ard/read that Jess is based on Zooey, but what about other characters (I’m basically asking if there’s a real-life version of Schmidt.) - Jemi, Edmonton

A.

There was no one “Schmidt” in my life when I first wrote the character, but since then, I’ve heard a bunch of stories about real-life Schmidt’s. Which makes me both sad and happy. My favorite real-life Schmidt stories come from my friend Mark in London. In the Season Two premiere, Schmidt throws himself a “re-branding party” and that actually came from a true story Mark told me about his friend. God love him.

Q.

What is the one scene that you would say is your “favorite” I know that sounds boring but if you were forced to pick one scene at gunpoint â€" I don’t know why someone so violent would make you ever choose a favorite “New Girl” scene â€" which would be the scene you’re proudest of - Sarah, alligator pit

A.

It’s funny to imagie a situation where someone is holding me at gunpoint and asking me that question. Like a very strange, unpopular episode of “Law and Order: SVU.”

Okay, by character. For Jess: The scene in “Bad in Bed” when she chokes Justin Long as he does a sexy Jimmy Stewart impression. For Nick: The scene in “Menzies” when he slowly opens up to the old Asian man on the bench and ends up telling him that he’s afraid of dying. For Winston: The scene in “Secrets” when he gets rid of Nick’s sorority girls by doing a monologue as his alter ego Theodore K. Mullins. For Cece: The scene in “Fancyman Part Two” when she admits she has feelings for Schmidt while naked in the back of Winston’s car. For Schmidt: The scene in “Eggs” where he explains his methods for pleasuring women to Sadie, the lesbian gynecologist. So there. Please don’t shoot.

Q.

My question for you is mostly related to costume designs and fashion. Are you aware of the many websites that! search t! o find exact or close to matches for Zoe’s on set wardrobe How do you pick the clothes for these characters- are they dictated by vendors of the actors personal styles - BillieRose, Long Island, NY

A.

Deb McGuire is our unbelievably talented costume designer. She designed the costumes for all ten years of “Friends” (which means she’s responsible for some terrible fashion choices I made in high school â€" a lot of baby-tees and vests). Zooey obviously has a fantastic sense of style and innovative taste, and the two of them cook it all up. I wear pajamas and sweatpants every day and try to stay out of the way. I think my personal style has inspired a lot of Nick Miller’s outfits.

Q.

We are hardcore “New Girl” nerds and we were wondering if you ever plan on going more in depth with the game “True American.” Like maybe a bok of rules or more footage of a game played or just a way for us to make it as legitimate as possible. We’re pretty darn serious about this. I mean, we’re planning customized bowling shirts for our pro True American team. - Christina & Amanda, Florida Panhandle

A.

That’s amazing. I love you guys. We’ll work on some rules for you, but I would just trust your hearts, get really wasted, and look inside yourselves. I think you’ll find the rules were there all along.

Thank you for sending in questions. I was really excited and moved by the opportunity to talk directly with our audience. Keep watching. We’ll get better, I promise.



Surplus Paint From the Brooklyn Bridge Now Could Be Yours

Protesters marched across the Brooklyn Bridge in January.Peter Morgan/Associated Press Protesters marched across the Brooklyn Bridge in January.

The Brooklyn Bridge may not be for sale, but surplus paint from the span is.

If you’re looking for 500 or so gallons of chocolate brown semi-gloss enamel and about 100 gallons of buff, they could be yours for as little as $3 a gallon. That was the highest bid pending Tuesday with one day left in the public surplus auction by New York’s Department of Citywide Administrative Services.

The city is selling unused paint in some other colors, too, including Pulaski red and aluminum green.

A Transportaton Department spokesman explained that most of the paint being auctioned was purchased a decade ago for a short-term touch-up of the bridge’s steel superstructure. Some time later, the city decided it would be more efficient to cover the entire span with a more durable paint after scraping away the old layers to the bare steel.

Some of the other surplus paint, the spokesman said, includes colors that are no longer used on city bridges and cans that have exceeded their recommended shelf life.



Surplus Paint From the Brooklyn Bridge Now Could Be Yours

Protesters marched across the Brooklyn Bridge in January.Peter Morgan/Associated Press Protesters marched across the Brooklyn Bridge in January.

The Brooklyn Bridge may not be for sale, but surplus paint from the span is.

If you’re looking for 500 or so gallons of chocolate brown semi-gloss enamel and about 100 gallons of buff, they could be yours for as little as $3 a gallon. That was the highest bid pending Tuesday with one day left in the public surplus auction by New York’s Department of Citywide Administrative Services.

The city is selling unused paint in some other colors, too, including Pulaski red and aluminum green.

A Transportaton Department spokesman explained that most of the paint being auctioned was purchased a decade ago for a short-term touch-up of the bridge’s steel superstructure. Some time later, the city decided it would be more efficient to cover the entire span with a more durable paint after scraping away the old layers to the bare steel.

Some of the other surplus paint, the spokesman said, includes colors that are no longer used on city bridges and cans that have exceeded their recommended shelf life.



New Bridget Jones Novel Coming in November

Renée Zellweger as the title character in a scene from Laurie Sparham/Universal Studios Renée Zellweger as the title character in a scene from “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.”

It has been some 14 years since Bridget Jones last put pen to paper (or fingertips to a keyboard) to record her weight, her caloric intake and her shags in her celebrated diary. Now that celebrated, self-deprecating literary protagonist (and sometime alter ego of the author Helen Fielding) will return in her first novel since the publication of “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.”

A new Bridget Jones novel written by Ms. Fielding, whose popular nespaper column for The Independent of London spawned the best-selling novel “Bridget Jones’s Diary” and a sequel, “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason,” will be released by Alfred A. Knopf in November, the publisher said on Tuesday.

A title for the new book was not immediately announced, but the publisher said in a news release that it would take place in present-day London and “represents a totally new phase in Bridget’s life.” “My life has moved on,” Ms. Fielding said in a statement, “and Bridget’s will move on, too.”

Sonny Mehta, the Knopf chairman and editor in chief, said in a statement: “Few writers can rival Helen Fielding when it comes to fully capturing the modern woman. Her writing is both funny and heartfelt, and her observations about life are piercing and mordantly rendered. I have been waiting a long time to see what’s next for Bridget Jones, and I am beyond thrilled that she’! s back.”

“Bridget Jones’s Diary,” published in 1996, and “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason,” published in 1999, have sold more than 15 million copies in 40 countries, Knopf said. They were adapted into movies starring Renée Zellweger as the title character and Hugh Grant and Colin Firth as her romantic rivals Daniel Cleaver and Mark Darcy.

Knopf said that Ms. Fielding would appear as a breakfast speaker on BookExpo America in New York on June 1, ahead of the release of the new novel.

(There was no immediate comment from Ms. Zellweger.)



Rendez-Vous With French Cinema Puts Focus on Renoir

A score of films ranging from drama to comedy by established and rising talents, as well as a selection of work by and about Jean Renoir will make up the 18th edition of Rendez-Vous With French Cinema, a series presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Unifrance Films, an entity sponsored by the French government, the society announced Tuesday. The showings, scheduled to take place not only at Lincoln Center, but also at the IFC Center, BAMcinematek and the Paris Theater, will begin Feb. 28 and run through March 10.

The festival’s opening night, at the Paris, will feature the American premiere of “Populaire,” a social comedy starring Deborah Francois and Romain Duris. Set in the 1950s, it is the tale of a high-speed typist and her debonair boss. In a sign of the film’s commercial potential, the Weinstein Company will release it in the United States in July.

Several other North American or U.S. premieres are also included in the RendezVous program, among them “Therese Desqueyroux,” a new adaptation of Francois Mauriac’s novel about a woman suffocating in her marriage, with Audrey Tautou in the title role. An earlier version, from 1962, will also be shown, starring Emmanuelle Riva, nominated this year for an Oscar for best actress for her performance in “Amour.”

Several other films are about or by the eminent director Jean Renoir, beginning with Gilles Bourdos’s “Renoir,” a biopic focusing on the young filmmaker’s relationship with his father, the painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The director’s masterpiece “The Rules of the Game” will also be shown, with an introduction by Mr. Bourdos, as will “The River,” his first color film, and “Boudu Saved From Drowning,” the inspiration for “Down and Out in Beverly Hills.”

Besides Mr. Bourdos, several other actors, actresses and directors are scheduled to appear, including Ms. Tautou and Niels Arestrup, the star of “You Will Be My Son.” That! film, an almost Shakespearean drama about generational intrigue and conflict in the wine-producing business, will close the festival.



Rendez-Vous With French Cinema Puts Focus on Renoir

A score of films ranging from drama to comedy by established and rising talents, as well as a selection of work by and about Jean Renoir will make up the 18th edition of Rendez-Vous With French Cinema, a series presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Unifrance Films, an entity sponsored by the French government, the society announced Tuesday. The showings, scheduled to take place not only at Lincoln Center, but also at the IFC Center, BAMcinematek and the Paris Theater, will begin Feb. 28 and run through March 10.

The festival’s opening night, at the Paris, will feature the American premiere of “Populaire,” a social comedy starring Deborah Francois and Romain Duris. Set in the 1950s, it is the tale of a high-speed typist and her debonair boss. In a sign of the film’s commercial potential, the Weinstein Company will release it in the United States in July.

Several other North American or U.S. premieres are also included in the RendezVous program, among them “Therese Desqueyroux,” a new adaptation of Francois Mauriac’s novel about a woman suffocating in her marriage, with Audrey Tautou in the title role. An earlier version, from 1962, will also be shown, starring Emmanuelle Riva, nominated this year for an Oscar for best actress for her performance in “Amour.”

Several other films are about or by the eminent director Jean Renoir, beginning with Gilles Bourdos’s “Renoir,” a biopic focusing on the young filmmaker’s relationship with his father, the painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The director’s masterpiece “The Rules of the Game” will also be shown, with an introduction by Mr. Bourdos, as will “The River,” his first color film, and “Boudu Saved From Drowning,” the inspiration for “Down and Out in Beverly Hills.”

Besides Mr. Bourdos, several other actors, actresses and directors are scheduled to appear, including Ms. Tautou and Niels Arestrup, the star of “You Will Be My Son.” That! film, an almost Shakespearean drama about generational intrigue and conflict in the wine-producing business, will close the festival.



New Director Named for National Portrait Gallery

As of April 1st, the National Portrait Gallery in Washington will have a new director: Kim Sajet (pronounced SAY-et), the current president and chief executive of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Ms. Sajet, who was born in Nigeria, raised in Australia, and is a citizen of the Netherlands, will be responsible for a staff of 65, an annual budget of about $9 million, and 21,000 objects that include Gilbert Stuart’s famous unfinished portrait of George Washington, photographs of Abraham Lincoln before his assassination and videos of more recent presidents.

Ms. Sajet, who developed two Web sites and a social communications program while at the historical society, is perhaps better known in the museum world for helping arrange the joint $68 million purchase of Thomas Eakins’ painting “The Gros Clinic,” when she worked at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Wayne Clough, who as secretary of the Smithsonian Institution oversees the National Portrait Gallery, said in a statement that he chose Ms. Sajet based on the recommendations of a search committee. “Kim is a solid manager who blends extensive art expertise with business and fundraising acumen,” he said. The previous director, Martin Sullivan, stepped down last June, and in the interim, the gallery has been under the leadership of a curator, Wendy Wick Reaves.



FEMA to the Rescue

Dear Diary:

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is always criticized for its slow response to emergencies, but I had a different experience.

It happened last November, three weeks after Hurricane Sandy wrecked New York City. I had parked my car on the Lower East Side on a dead-end street. Two days later, I remembered I had to move it somewhere else or risk getting a ticket. It was very dark, windy and cold when I went to look for the car around 8 p.m. But when I found it, the battery was dead. Either my daughter or I had left the dome light on.

Nobody was around and the neighborhood was not very safe. I walked to the entrance of the street, hoping I could stop someone and ask for a jump-start. Usually, $20 can get a taxi driver to do the job; but on this cold and windy evening, I stood there for 20 minutes without any luck.

Suddenly, I saw two ladies turn into the street. Though they didn’t look like drivers, I mustered up my courage and said, “Excuse me!” but no answer Apparently, they didn’t want to stop for a stranger around here. Then farther away I saw two men walking over.

I ran up and asked, “Did you park your car here” One of the men looked at me suspiciously. “Yes”

I asked very excitedly; “Can you please give me a jump”

Silence…. I quickly added, “I will pay you!”

Luckily the same man asked, “Do you have a cable”

“Yes! Yes!” I answered quickly. So I fetched my cable and they moved their Jeep over next to my car. It took quite a while to move close enough to connect our batteries. As it turned out, the two ladies and these two gentlemen were together, so they all had to wait patiently in cold wind for my battery to come to life.

When my car started, I was so happy, I took out $20 and said, “Please get some hot coffee for everyone.” To my surprise, the man said, “No, it’s O.K.” I didn’t know what to say, so I just thanked them again.

As we said our goodbyes, the secon! d gentleman, a small man who hadn’t said anything the whole time, quietly turned to me and said, “We are from FEMA. We have a temporary station just two blocks away. Come to see us if you need help.”

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\'Walking Dead\' Man Walking: An Exit Interview With Glen Mazzara

Behind a fence, the walkers of Gene Page/AMC Behind a fence, the walkers of “The Walking Dead.”

On  “The Walking Dead,” there are no guarantees which members of its still-living ensemble will stick around from one week to the next â€" and that goes for the creative team as well. Glen Mazzara, the show runner of this hit AMC survival-horror drama, is the latest to leave the show: after steering “The Walking Dead” through its  second and third seasons, Mr. Mazzara, a former producer of “The Shield,” announced in December that he was parting ways with MC and with “The Walking Dead” â€" having taken over the show from Frank Darabont, who developed it from the comic-book series and was deposed after its first season.

Glen Mazzara, who is departing as show runner of Ramak Fazel for The New York Times Glen Mazzara, who is departing as show runner of “The Walking Dead.”

As “The Walking Dead” returns from hiatus on Sunday to finish its third season, Mr. Mazzara spoke with ArtsBeat on Monday  about his departure and his vision for his final episodes. These are edited excerpts from that conversation.

Q.

Does it feel strange to  be tal! king about the show  now

A.

No, not at all. I’m excited about the show. The whole season was designed for a 16-episode arc, and I don’t think it’s any different from when people are talking about a movie coming out. It’s something that we’ve worked hard on, and I’m incredibly proud of it. There’s no question about the material in Season 3. AMC and I had creative differences moving forward into Season 4. There’s no tap-dancing or anything related to Season 3. It’s all something we fully embrace.

Q.

Can you say what you wanted to do going forward, and where it didn’t mesh with what the network wanted

A.

I want to talk about Season 3. I don’t want to talk about those creative differences. Feel free to ask other people about that. People have been very, very supportive of what I’ve been able to do with the show this year, but I want to stay focused on the work and ot let this become a distraction. We have eight terrific episodes coming out, and those elements that we  love about “The Walking Dead” â€" the pacing, the horror, the characters that we cry for when they’re in danger or killed off â€" that’s still there every week.

Q.

Season 2 was a  success numerically, but there was some outcry that narratively, it felt stagnant. Was that anything you took into consideration as you started planning this season

A.

There’s an expectation with a horror show like this that you never know what’s coming around the next corner. So if you look at, particularly, the first half of this season, that’s what you get. Our season premiere was very little dialogue â€" no dialogue in the opening scene â€" and we see how everyone’s advanced, how they’ve bonded and kept each other alive. Then our story takes over â€" boom, they’re trying to take over that prison. And then just as they spend two episo! des with ! the challenge of taking over the prison, the next curveball comes, and Andrea and Michonne find the Governor. By the end of those first eight episodes, the Governor and Rick â€" who still have not seen each other â€" are fully aware and have fallen into a war. Now in the back half of Season 3, you have shifting allegiances, you have people questioning loyalty and swapping sides. People wondering if they have to sacrifice one another to stay alive.

Q.

Knowing that the Governor would be a major character this season, did you plan that Rick would develop along a parallel path, as he becomes an almost Governor-like figure to his own group of survivors

A.

Rick has to wrestle with not only keeping his sanity, as he’s placed under more and more pressure, but a central question in the back half of this season is, How do we retain our humanity under such dire circumstances That’s something that Rick has to face not only for himself but also for his so and for the group that he’s sworn to protect. You have these people being forced with choices that make them act in an inhumane way to the people they’re at war with. Is it worth it Is survival worth it if it costs you your humanity

Q.

You’ve done so much to build up the Governor as a human adversary to Rick. But your seasons have tended to tell self-contained stories. Should we be fearing for the Governor’s longevity

A.

Well, I’m not going to give away any spoilers. [laughs] But I do think you’ll see a satisfying ending to this chapter of Rick’s story.

Q.

Are there things you will miss about the show

A.

I’m going to miss a lot of people I’ve worked with. It’s top-notch talent.  I’m looking forward to creating other shows and working on my projects. I’d love to bring some of these people into those projects when they’re available.

Q.

Is there a single moment from the show that you’re most proud of

A.

When people write to me and they say, for example, the scene where Maggie says goodbye to Hershel â€" they say that’s the same experience I had saying goodbye to their parents. Or Lori’s speech to Carl, when she’s saying goodbye before she sacrifices herself, and people write to me and say, “That really meant something to me.” I lost my mom last year, and I said  goodbye to my mom over the phone, while she was in a bed. And then I wrote that scene: Maggie saying goodbye to Hershel was, almost verbatim, what I said to my own mother. And Lori’s speech to Carl was what I wanted to hear back from my own mother. The emotional weight of that and the way it affected so many people, that’s why I became a storyteller. That’s worth all the late nights and the dozens of revisions.

Q.

I assume you’ll still tune in, as a viewer, for the rest of your episodes

A.

Well, I’ve seen the episodes a thousand times. [laughs] So when the shows air, I actually read the Twitter feed, because it’s immediate feedback and it lets me know what scenes worked and what scenes didn’t work. It’s a lot of fun. It’s also terrifying because people are brutally honest. I don’t watch the show live, because I’ve seen it all.

Q.

And you’ll still be watching those tweets, even though there’s no more that you can do

A.

But I’m proud of my work, and I think that work stands for itself.  If people don’t like something, they’ll tell me and I’ll take my lumps. It used to be that I didn’t like when my shows aired and were written about in the press. But this is a fun show and it’s fun to hear people discuss it and debate what’s going to happen next. Meanwhile, I know what’s going to happen next. Sometimes I feel like Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, and everybody’s talking! about wh! at they think’s going to be under the tree. I’ve got the goodies in my bag.

Q.

When Season 4 comes around and you’re just a civilian, will you still keep up with the show

A.

I believe so. I have a tremendous amount of friends on the show. Of course I wish them all the luck and success, and I’ll be rooting for them.



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