If there's one person out there who knows that it takes star power to generate interest in a new luxury development, it's Extell's Gary Barnett. Or maybe it's Michael Shvo. Or maybe it's Cipriani. Whatever. Anyway, after trotting out Seal to make a big splash (heh.) for the Avery, Barnett went over the top for his Altair projects just off Fifth Avenue, inundating the sales office with celebrities staring at pictures of celebrities. On display this month, a series of portraits of famous people shot by X-Men 3 director Brett Ratner (right), an "exhibition" that kicked off a few days ago with a celeb-studded party attended by a not-divorced-looking Russell and Kimora Lee Simmons, Kelsey Grammar, Barry Diller and of course, Ratner and Barnett themselves. We say why not? After all, Extell already went the nudity route to try and sell these things. Is Kelsey Grammar really that far off?
· Photo set: Extell Development Company presents Portraits by Brett Ratner [patrickmcmullan.com]
· Photo set: Gary Barnett of Extell Development Company and Russell Simmons Present the Premiere of Photography by Brett Ratner [WireImage]
· Listings: Altair 18 & Altair 20 [Corcoran]
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