Very soon after Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins announced their split late last year, Susan was immediately rumored to be bangin’ 31-year-old Jonathan Bricklin (he could be 32 years old at this point, I can’t find his birth date). Bricklin is/was best known as the dude who ran a ping-pong club, and as a New York hipster. Neither Jonathan nor Susan really protested or denied that they were dating, and now we have our first photos of the couple, where they’re looking rather coupley. I should point out – there were photos of the two of them hanging out every so often in the past few months, but they were always with other people, and you know, it didn’t seem like ZOMG BOYFRIEND.
But these photos do seem very coupley, in my opinion. Susan and Jonathan (his HAIR, Jesus) are walking around Italy together. Susan brought him to Italy for the Giffoni Film festival in Ravello. Sexy Italian times with her hipster boy-toy? Oh, Susan. I love you, girl. Of course – they could just be “working” – Susan is producing a ping-pong reality show with Bricklin, maybe. More likely she’s just hittin’ it until she moves on to someone younger, hotter and cooler, though. Because that’s the way La Sarandon rolls.
Susan and Jonathan on July 26, 2010. Credit: Fame.
Susan Sarandon kept pretty quiet after her split with long-time partner Tim Robbins became public in December. Even though she was still promoting The Lovely Bones, she really didn’t do many interviews and she never really gave any reasons publicly for their split. Neither did Tim, for that matter. However, just days after their split became public, many sites (including ours) ran with the rumor that Susan was already bangin’ a 31-year-old dude named Jonathan Bricklin. You see, Susan is an investor in a Ping-Pong club that Bricklin co-owns or operates or something. And they had been seen together several times, usually looking flirty or friendly. The rumors are still floating around, by the way. And Susan and Jonathan are still turning up at the same places at the same times (spooky!).
Anyway, Susan has a new interview in Entertainment Weekly and she’s not doing much to dispel those cougar rumors. Which, by the way, she loves it when you call her a cougar. And she also describes her life post-Tim Robbins as “exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.” Interesting!
In the new issue of Entertainment Weekly, Susan Sarandon talks about life since splitting with her partner of two decades, Tim Robbins. When asked how things have changed for the 63-year-old Oscar winner since they parted ways, Sarandon said, “I did a movie a long time ago where I had to fly in a glider. You get towed up in the air by a plane, and it’s loud and annoying. And at some point you pull the cord and you’re suddenly floating, and in your mind it makes absolutely no sense. But it’s exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. That’s where I am now.”
When asked if she’s dating anyone now (Sarandon’s been linked in the gossip columns to one of the partners in her New York ping pong club, SPiN, 31-year-old Jonathan Bricklin), she shut down the line of questioning with a playful “no comment”.
But, she added: “It’s a long time to not be dating and then go back into it. I certainly love the idea of being in love, and I love the idea of companionship. Whatever happens next in terms of romance and partners, I don’t know. But it’s exhilarating and terrifying. I think the point is just keep moving, and to just say yes to life.”
The actress also says she doesn’t mind being called a cougar one bit. “No, I love that!”
Yeah, I think she and Bricklin are going at it. She’s probably got a few other young dudes on the side too. Because that’s just the way Susan rolls. You know what I’m finding bizarre, though? We really haven’t heard anything about Tim since the split became public. I’m starting to wonder and worry about him. Do you think there’s something else going on with him?
Susan on an Italian talk show on February 27, 2010. Credit: WENN.
For all the vehement denials issued by Susan Sarandon’s reps – and even her mom – it looks like the rumor about her young entrepreneur boyfriend may be true. The Oscar-winning actress has been pulled into a court dispute between Jonathan Bricklin, with whom Sarandon has been spending a great deal of time since her split with Tim Robbins, and his business partners at an upscale ping pong club in NYC. Bricklin’s partners have named Susan Sarandon as a witness – and possibly a little bit more.
Susan Sarandon — who recently separated from Tim Robbins — is caught in the middle of a legal battle involving her new boyfriend, Jonathan Bricklin, and his two biggest investors in SPiN, the pingpong club in the Flatiron District.
The majority investors in SPiN, Bill Mack and Iwona Herdzik, claim in a suit filed last week in Manhattan Supreme Court that the club’s founders — Bricklin, Andrew Gordon and Franck Raharinosy — have frozen them out of the business.
Mack and Herdzik, who together poured more than $1.5 million into SPiN, allege that Bricklin, Gordon and Raharinosy issued additional shares of the company to third parties without their approval, mismanaged SPiN’s finances and threatened to shut the club and file bankruptcy.
Not in the suit are statements sources made to Page Six that Bricklin and minority partner Sarandon, who invested $50,000 in the club, are in cahoots to run the business without consulting Mack and Herdzik. The sources say Sarandon and Bricklin met at a Naked Pingpong party in February, 2008, and later became romantically involved as they worked on a video for Robbins’ 50th birthday. Sarandon’s rep did not respond to a request for comment.
Herdzik and Mack claim they tried to resolve things through arbitration, but Bricklin and his fellow co-founders allegedly refused and threatened to close the club and give the keys to SPiN’s landlord — which would have lost the investors all their money.
A rep for SPiN responded: “Bill and Iwona attempted to take control of SPiN New York, but the judge flatly denied that request. There is zero truth to the allegations that the club is seeking bankruptcy protection.
“They tried to work out their differences with Bill and Iwona over a heated table tennis match at SPiN, but they ended up in court, which is a lot less fun.”
Hmm. Naked Ping Pong. Now that’s an icebreaker! This guy might be fun for now, and Susan is probably getting her groove back and all, but there seems to be some baggage accompanying this relationship in the form of a bad business deal that is about to get a lot uglier. It would be nice if Susan could step away from all this cougar/table tennis/boy toy drama and get in front of a movie camera again. She’s way too classy a lady to get dragged down by this stuff.
Since announcing her split with her partner of 23 years, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon’s possible love connections have been the subject of some quiet but consistent gossip. Immediately following the split, the most likely candidate for “Susan’s boy-toy” was named as her business partner, a 31-year-old hipster named Jonathan Bricklin. Sarandon is one of the investors in the ping-pong club Spin, which Bricklin runs with two other partners. Both Sarandon and Bricklin denied a romance, and after a week or so, Sarandon was seen out and about with yet another young dude. Meanwhile, MSat covered the possibility that it wasn’t another man that split up Tim and Susan, but politics.
Now People Magazine, that bastion of publicist-driven spin, is sort of calling Susan out. They’re running a story about how Susan and Bricklin have been spotted together a few times, and that Susan is “enjoying the single life.” Code for: hittin’ it.
Two weeks after announcing her split from longtime partner Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon is not slowing down: In fact, the 63-year-old single star has been spotted out at several New York City nightspots.
One of Sarandon’s favorite hotspots is SPiN, the ping-pong club where she’s an investor. On Tuesday night, she strolled into the place just before 8:00 p.m., wearing a slouchy black newsboy cap and sneakers to chat with one of her partners at the lounge, Jonathan Bricklin, and a few friends. Rumors have swirled of a romance between Sarandon and 32-year-old Bricklin, but reps for both have denied it. Still, Sarandon seems to be enjoying the single life.
Here’s how she’s surviving the break-up!
Hanging out with Younger Guys
Sarandon spends a lot of evenings hanging out at her club SPiN with the young crowd that frequents the place – including Bricklin. On Tuesday, she popped in for just 20 minutes before she was out the door – perhaps to check out another late night hotspot.
Staying Out Late
On Dec. 28, Sarandon was spotted at Manhattan’s Creperie, a tiny crepe joint in the West Village. The same night, she and Bricklin, checked out Mermaid Oyster Bar, a casual seafood restaurant just down the street. The kitchen was closed – so they just had drinks. “He drank two Jamesons and she had tequila,” says a source. They left at around 1:30 am.
Flirting with Dave Letterman
On Dec. 22 – one day before announcing her split from Robbins – Sarandon appeared on The Late Show with Dave Letterman to promote her upcoming role in The Lovely Bones. She chatted about her two Pomeranians and learning to pole dance with her daughter, Eva, who learned the skill for a guest spot on Californication – and Sarandon showed off a new tattoo around her wrist.
With her late night prowling, maybe 63 really is the new 30.
63 is the new 30? Um, no. I’ll buy that Susan is still relevant and sexy and cool, but I will not buy that she’s the representative of “63 is the new 30.” Why can’t “63 be incredible on it’s own without comparing it to another age”? That being said, I do think Susan and this Jonathan Bricklin kid are hittin’ it, and I think People Magazine thinks so too. I know he beeps on some people’s gaydars, but to me he just seems slightly hipster-effete. Probably right up Susan’s alley. Screen-cap of Bricklin, below:
Susan Sarandon at the Sydney premiere of ‘The Lovely Bones’ on December 10, 2009. Credit: WENN. Screen-cap of Bricklin.
Forgive me. After I got over the shock of Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins’ split (which was announced late Wednesday), some of my first thoughts/guesses were that Tim Robbins might have some young piece on the side. I thought that because this seems to be the year for men dumping their partners for younger, grosser girls. But, as it turns out, it might be Susan Sarandon who has the young piece on the side. Is it any different if it is Susan and not Tim? I have no idea.
So, Page Six was one of the first to run with this particular rumor (and seriously, this is all rumors and suppositions at this point). It involves Susan and a 31-year-old hipster named Jonathan Bricklin. Now, some of you might be like “Dude, how do you know this guy is a hipster?” Trust me. First, his hair. Second, he runs Spin, a ping-pong club in the Flatiron District of Manhattan. That was actually how Susan and Jonathan met – she’s an investor in the ping-pong club, Spin. Here’s what Page Six says:
Sarandon was recently rumored to be involved with 31-year-old Jonathan Bricklin, a partner in Spin, the Flatiron District pingpong club Sarandon invested in. Before opening Spin in September, Bricklin was known for hosting Naked Ping Pong, an occasional party at a TriBeCa loft attended by models, hipsters, and celebs as diverse as 50 Cent and Salman Rushdie.
Reached for comment earlier this month, Bricklin denied to Page Six that he and Sarandon were anything but professional, calling her his “friend and business partner.”
Yeah, a “business partner” in your pants. The Observer also ran a profile earlier this year about Bricklin, his partners, and Spin. The Observer claims that Susan and Bricklin met in April 2008, when she came to one of their ping-pong parties and “she ended up hiring the boys to make a tribute video for boyfriend Tim Robbins’ 50th birthday.” Here’s Gawker’s summary, with added unnamed sources!
What caused the breakup? A theory: Sarandon wanted to pursue ping pong entrepreneur Jonathan Bricklin.
A source tells us Sarandon, 63, is now in a relationship with the 31 year-old Bricklin. Which, first of all: Holy sh-t. Second of all: This suggests Sarandon’s investment in Bricklin’s Ping Pong social club, Spin, was not only motivated by her professed love of the game.
Bricklin is a filmmaker whose latest (first?) film is a documentary about his father, the founder of Subaru of America. He’s also one of three principals in Spin, which opened this September in the Flatiron and offers unlimited ping pong playing and hobnobbery for a modest $100/month membership fee. (Filmmakers Franck Raharinsoy and Bill Mack are the other two founders.)
If the rumor is true, the unlikely couple’s relationship was probably sparked by their mutual appreciation for thwacking a little plastic ball across a net. According to the Observer, Sarandon and Bricklin first met in 2007 at one of the celebrity-studded “Naked Ping Pong” parties Bricklin and his two filmmaking buddies hosted in their Tribeca loft. (Alas, no actual nudity was involved.)
Sarandon then hired the trio to make a video for Robbins’ 50th birthday. (Whoops!) According to our source, “The rest is history.”
A quick trip down Google lane finds Bricklin to be a cuddly hipster Ping Pong nerd, haplessly forehanding his way into the pages of Vogue, the Times and New York Social Diary. In 2008, he tried out for the Beijing Olympics in what must have been a joke.
His level of play was described by USA Today as “marginally better than some pickup pingpong match in a college dorm rec room.” (He lost in the first round, 4 sets to nil.)
We’ll see if Sarandon and Bricklin are spotted playing any heated doubles matches in the near future.
This is totally throwing me for a loop. Would Susan Sarandon really dump Tim Robbins just to break off a piece of this Bricklin guy? That seems… out of character, yes? I mean, I get that she’s a cougar and she loves young guys, but would she really dump her partner of 23 years for this? Here’s video of Bricklin being interviewed about Spin and stuff. Okay… he’s kind of hot when he talks. And he has pretty eyes. He seems a little full of himself though.
