I spent a good chunk of time yesterday sifting through images from Games 1 and 2 of the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks series after I read that directors McG and Brett Ratner were sitting with each other, because I figured that photo would be a goldmine for FilmDrunk, if not us. But the gods did not favor me this time, friends, as all I could find was one image of Brett Ratner throwing up the peace sign or, more likely, ordering two trays of cheeseburger nachos. But I came across the image above, and I sat still for a moment and wondered: 1) Who the hell is that blonde? and 2) Aw, her grandfather took her to a game.
The blonde is 25-year old Danish model Amalie Wichmann, and you can view plenty more of her over at Ted Williams’ Head, as they did a great job showcasing her assets. That’s not her grandfather, though, and I’m sure that most Lakers fans – and probably most diehard NBA fans – know that leather pants lothario as James Goldstein. As I’ve only ever referred to him as “that old leathery cowboy who looks like the old guy from Poltergeist” I thought I should take a look at who he is, what he does, and why he’s hanging out with breasts that seem to mock Isaac Newton.
It turns out that Goldstein is sort of a mystery. He’ll talk to the media and lord knows he’ll show up in thousands of paparazzi photos from some of the biggest events in the world, but he won’t divulge any details of his life regarding how much money he has, how he’s made that money, or even how old he is. All we basically know is that he loves fashion, the NBA and smoking hot models.
In an interview with the aptly-named Interview Magazine, Goldstein said of his fame: “I get a kick out of it. I’m not doing it for any monetary reason. I’m doing it for fun.”
That fun, mind you, is attending more than 100 NBA games throughout the country – but mainly the Lakers and LA Clippers – each season, as well as attending every major fashion show in Paris and Milan. As for the NBA games, though, he’s not even a Lakers fan. He attends every Lakers home game, sure, but as he told Interview, he always cheers against them.
No! I’m not a Lakers fan. I actually pull for the visiting teams. I consider myself an NBA fan because I follow every team equally. I just happen to live in L.A. I think that no matter where I lived, I would not be a fan of the home team. If everybody is favoring one team, I always go the other way.
Regardless of which team he pulls for, even David Stern recognizes his stature: “James Goldstein is our largest investor in NBA tickets in the world. And, he’s the most uniquely dressed fan.”
He’s also very well known for his John Lautner-designed home in L.A., as it was used in Charlies Angels: Full Throttle and, much more importantly, The Big Lebowski. But even though his house is being used in films, he doesn’t have much respect for the entertainment industry because of “a preponderance of women who are short and have breast implants”. That’s why he prefers long legs of a girl like Amalie Wichmann, who might have the power of convincing me to eat my own hand.
The common belief is that Goldstein made his fortune in real estate in the 1970s, but other than that he’s a mystery. That makes him pretty awesome. Well, that and the slew of hot models that he’s always hanging out with.
“Seriously, still waiting on my cheeseburger nachos.”
