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| April 14, 2007 |
| Gwen Stefani: 'I've Always Been on a Diet' |
You can excuse a girl a bit of vanity – even Gwen Stefani. "If you had paparazzi outside your house, you'd make sure you looked good, too," the singer and fashion designer tells Harper's Bazaar in its May issue.
Stefani, 37, says she was "dying to get out of the house" when she was pregnant last year, but says: "I had to sneak into the back of my brother Todd's car – eight months pregnant – and lie down on the floor. Just so we could go to Target."
Baby Kingston was born in May 2006 and Stefani immediately set about losing her pregnancy pounds. "It's so much work afterward to get the weight off," she says. "If you just do it, it comes off. And when you're nursing, like I am, your metabolism is like whoosh!"
Still, Stefani admits that she struggled to keep her size 4 figure even before her pregnancy. "I hate talking about it, but it's true," she says. "I've always been on a diet, ever since I was in the sixth grade. It's an ongoing battle and it's a nightmare. But I like clothes too much, and I always wanted to wear the outfits I would make." She adds with a laugh: "And I'm very vain."
She says she contents herself with "all the healthy stuff" most of the time, "but I let myself cheat once or twice a day with a cookie or pizza."
Stefani can expect quite a workout when she embarks on her two-month U.S. tour to promote her new album, The Sweet Escape, on April 21 in Las Vegas. After that? Well, she did tell Ellen DeGeneres in February she was "ready to go" for another child. "Now I'm in a repeater zone," she confirms to Bazaar. "I just want to make babies and make records."
Luckily, she's got help from her husband of more than four years, Gavin Rossdale. "I even wrote in a song, 'You seem like you'd be a good dad,' " she says. "So, yeah he's lived up to my expectations, more than. He has always been very loving and romantic." |
posted by viraks @ 7:30:00 AM  |
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| Why Reese Witherspoon Fell for Jake Gyllenhaal |
After her painful split from Ryan Phillippe last year, Reese Witherspoon didn't see a relationship coming – but her nascent romance with Jake Gyllenhaal is the real thing, friends say.
At first they seemed like an unlikely match: Gyllenhaal, her costar in the upcoming CIA thriller Rendition, was already an acquaintance – he was an old workout buddy of Phillippe – and they didn't have much screen time together while filming for eight weeks in Morocco.
But during a reshoot in L.A., "Jake went and reintroduced himself to Reese," a source close to both stars tells PEOPLE in its new issue.
And from there, what a friend of Witherspoon's calls "their little flirtation" just took its course. "Things slowly progressed, but it was never something she thought would happen from the start. She just kind of developed this little crush over time."
One that is looking a lot like a real romance – even when the duo are apart. While Witherspoon, 31, spent Easter Sunday with daughter Ava, 7, and son Deacon, 3, at her Episcopal church in Beverly Hills, Gyllenhaal, 26, strolled around Venice, Calif., with his parents. According to a source close to both him and Witherspoon, familial devotion is a big part of their connection: "Jake finds it attractive that she's such a great mom. He really loves kids and wants a family."
Indeed, the pair would seem to be a perfect match: Both enjoy good books, killer workouts – and Indian takeout. At dinner at L.A's Il Sole restaurant on March 23, says a witness, "there was definitely some canoodling going on!" They also recently shared a quiet dinner at La Ripaille, near Gyllenhaal's apartment in New York City.
Still, their mutual determination to protect their privacy may be their strongest bond. Gyllenhaal's romance with Kirsten Dunst ended a year ago in large part because, says a longtime friend of the actor's, "Kirsten wanted to go out and have fun and he wanted to stay in, watch a movie and cook dinner. ... He's very into his work, health and family. Reese is perfect for him."
For a woman whose idea of a party is "to stay home with friends," the feeling is mutual, says Witherspoon's friend. "She was happy to meet someone in this town who shared those priorities." Gyllenhaal's pal agrees: "They're super together – this thing is for real." |
| posted by viraks @ 7:08:00 AM |
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| Justin Timberlake: I Called Britney Spears |
Justin Timberlake was so concerned about Britney Spears, who entered rehab in February, that he reached out to her, he has revealed.
"I called her because I worried about her," Timberlake, 26, said recently at a press day for his new movie Shrek The Third.
But Spears, who checked out of Malibu's Promises treatment center in March after nearly a month, is on the right track, Timberlake said.
"She's a great woman. I'm rooting for her," he said. "[It] seems like she's getting everything under control now."
Timberlake, who in January split with Cameron Diaz (his costar in Shrek, who also attended the press day), said being single has its ups and downs.
"The advantages are that you don't get in as many arguments, and the disadvantage is that you're talking to yourself," he said.
But he isn't exactly lonely. Timberlake spent time with Jessica Biel, 25, at a barbecue party at his L.A. house last week, PEOPLE reports in its new issue.
Things between the pair got "hot and heavy," says a source in the singer's circle.
This isn't the first time Timberlake and Biel have been spotted together: In January they went snowboarding with a group of friends in Park City, Utah, and hung out backstage at one of Timberlake's concerts in San Diego.
And at Prince's Golden Globes party that month, Timberlake and Diaz had a spat after Diaz saw Timberlake chatting with Biel.
As for Biel, when it comes to Timberlake, a source tells PEOPLE the actress is "crazy about him." |
| posted by viraks @ 7:01:00 AM |
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| Taye Diggs: 'Great Chemistry' on Grey's Anatomy Spinoff |
The cast of the Grey's Anatomy spinoff starring Kate Walsh and Taye Diggs is really clicking, Diggs tells PEOPLE.
"They're great. We have really great chemistry," Diggs, 36, said of his castmates Thursday at the opening of the new club Runway in New York City.
The initial episode has "just finished" filming, he said, "and we're hoping people dig it."
ABC plans to test out the show with a "back-door pilot," an expanded two-hour episode of Grey's, Reuters reported in February. No air date for the episode has been set.
Diggs, who said he plays a "general practitioner" on the show, was coy when asked if he could reveal any key plot details.
"Plot what? Secrets?" he said. "I can't tell you! It's a secret."
Grey's creator Shonda Rhimes is writing the first episode, which, according to USA Today, will feature Kate Walsh's character, Dr. Addison Shepherd, mulling an out-of-town job offer. |
| posted by viraks @ 6:54:00 AM |
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| Tom DeLay & Rosie O'Donnell Trade Insults |
Rosie O'Donnell has another feud on her hands.
In a posting on his Web site Friday, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay called for her to be suspended from her duties as co-host of The View.
In the posting, entitled "If the Left takes Imus, We'll take Rosie," the Republican politician writes: "Where are the repercussions for Rosie O'Donnell's hateful, idiotic accusations that President Bush was behind the 9/11 attacks? And her ignorant parody of the Chinese language? Or her comparison of conservative Christians to Islamo-fascist terrorists?
"Why has ABC not suspended her from The View? Why has she not been frog-marched up to some radio show to apologize?"
(Don Imus, of course, was fired by CBS Radio on Thursday after insulting the Rutgers University women's basketball team; he later apologized on the Rev. Al Sharpton's radio program.)
O'Donnell responded on her blog in her usual haiku style:
tom delay
sad slug
of rosie odonnell me – he said
"she accused the president
of orchestrating 9 11"
wrong sir – again
O'Donnell has recently been vocal about her desire to investigate and seek "a rigorous truth" about the September 11 terrorist attacks.
On her blog, she also reprints an article about DeLay's 2006 resignation in the wake of an alleged violation of campaign finance laws, and writes: |
| posted by viraks @ 6:51:00 AM |
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| Alicia Silverstone: My Diet Was Steak and Doughnuts |
Clueless star Alicia Silverstone is into healthy eating and living close to nature – but that wasn't always the case.
"Steak and doughnuts" were among her staples before she cleaned up her eating habits and went vegan, she tells the new InStyle Home.
"Now I'm a total health nut," says Silverstone, 30. "I don't get sick very often and when I do it's for a short period."
She attributes her health to her diet and active lifestyle. "It's empowering to know that you're responsible for how you feel each day because of the way you treat your body."
One of her favorite workouts? Jumping on the trampoline in the backyard of the Los Angeles home she shares with her husband, musician Christopher Jarecki, 36. "It's great exercise and really makes you giggle,"she says.
She's also passionate about being environmentally responsible. She drives a hybrid car, uses energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs and has solar panels on the roof of her house.
"I love living this way," she says. "It's so satisfying and inspiring."
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Next: Tom DeLay & Rosie O'Donnell Trade Insults |
| posted by viraks @ 6:46:00 AM |
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| Larry Birkhead vs. Virgie Arthur: No Decision in Custody Case |
A Bahamas court adjourned Friday without coming to a decision on custody of Anna Nicole Smith's 7-month-old daughter Dannielynn.
In a brief statement outside the courthouse, the baby's current guardian, Howard K. Stern, said that nothing had been decided, but revealed that he's working with Larry Birkhead, who is the child's biological father, to make a transition, TMZ.com reports.
"He's doing a great job," said Stern, who also said that Birkhead has taken on diaper duty.
Before the hearing, Birkhead and Smith's mother, Virgie Arthur, had reportedly been working behind the scenes to hammer out a custody arrangement. Lawyers for both parties met privately on Thursday, the Associated Press reports.
After DNA test results on Tuesday confirmed that Birkhead is the baby's father, the Los Angeles-based photographer, 34, told the Today show that he didn't plan to share custody.
"It would imply that I'm unfit as a parent, which I'm not," he said. But he also said he hoped to avoid a court dispute: "We might go from one fight to another, but I'm hoping that's not the case because, you know, there's only one dad, and I have no problem with anyone that has good intentions being allowed to visit the baby and see the baby and be a part of the baby's life."
Arthur's lawyer said she would fight for joint custody if talks fail, the AP reports. "We intend to proceed on that application unless something else comes along that causes us not to have to take that course of action," said attorney Debra Rose.
After the DNA test results were announced on Tuesday, Arthur told reporters, "I'm happy that Dannielynn will know who her real father is. I look forward to working with Larry raising my granddaughter."
Dannielynn has been living in the Bahamas with Stern, who was her late mother's companion and is listed on her birth certificate as her father. Stern told reporters after the DNA hearing: "We're gonna do what we can to make sure that the best interests of Dannielynn are carried out. And I'm going to do whatever I can to make sure that [Birkhead] gets sole custody." |
| posted by viraks @ 6:10:00 AM |
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| Prince William, Kate Middleton Split Up |
Prince William has split from his girlfriend Kate Middleton, PEOPLE has confirmed.
The breakup was "amicable," according to a friend of the couple.
The prince, 24, and Middleton, 25, have been dating for nearly five years, after meeting at St. Andrews University in Scotland.
A spokesman at the prince's office at Clarence House says they will not be commenting. "We don't comment on Prince William's private life," the rep says. Britain's The Sun newspaper first reported Saturday that the pair had reached an "amicable agreement" to separate.
The pair are said to have grown increasingly independent of each other since their university days. William is currently taking an armored corps commander course in Dorset, around 125 miles west of London, and it has kept him from Middleton and her new life in London.
Middleton, who is an accessories buyer for the British fashion chain Jigsaw, also was having difficulties with the media pressure that came with being his long-term girlfriend. (Speculation continued over whether the couple would get engaged.)
Although she has been "brave," as one friend tells PEOPLE, the attention was an ongoing source of trouble. Earlier this month she won a public apology from a British newspaper after it printed a photograph of her heading to work.
The engagement talk peaked in December, when she appeared at his graduation from military college, sitting in a prominent seat along with her parents and two of his closest friends. |
| posted by viraks @ 6:02:00 AM |
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| Jon Cryer of Two and a Half Men to Wed in Summer |
on Cryer of Two and a Half Men plans to marry television journalist Lisa Joyner in June in Mexico, his rep tells PEOPLE.
Cryer, 41, announced his engagement to Joyner, an entertainment reporter and host of the TV Guide Channel's inFANity, in January on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Cryer also had brought Joyner as his date to last summer's Emmy Awards, telling PEOPLE, "I have to say the highlight was doing the red carpet with my girl."
Cryer plays the plays neurotic divorcee Alan Harper on the hit CBS comedy. In real life, he has a 6-year-old son Charlie from his first marriage to actress Sarah Trigger, which ended in 2004. |
| posted by viraks @ 5:55:00 AM |
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| Rumors true: LaBeouf will be in 'Indiana Jones 4' |
After months of building Internet buzz, this can finally be reported as fact: Shia LaBeouf has been cast in the upcoming "Indiana Jones" movie.
Producer George Lucas and director Steven Spielberg announced Friday that LaBeouf will appear alongside Harrison Ford in the fourth installment of the adventure franchise, scheduled for release May 22, 2008. Production is set to begin in June.
"We are excited about bringing Shia into our Indy family," Spielberg said in a statement on the "Indiana Jones" Web site. "His talent has impressed not only his audiences throughout his young career but the directors, producers and fellow actors who have worked with him in his television career and now his film career."
Paramount, a division of Viacom Inc., declined Friday to say what role LaBeouf would be playing.
The 20-year-old actor told The Associated Press in March that the persistent Internet rumors about his casting in the film were just that -- rumors.
"The way that thing started, it's just wild how it snowballed," LaBeouf told the AP then. "I don't have a deal on the table, it's just a rumor. Would I do it? In a second. It'd be working for a legend and working with legends. Who wouldn't? But is it something I'm doing right now? No. I'm an out-of-work actor."
It's a busy weekend for the up-and-coming actor. He stars in "Disturbia," a high-tech, teen version of "Rear Window," which opened Friday; then he's hosting NBC's "Saturday Night Live" on Saturday.
LaBeouf also co-stars in this summer's "Transformers" movie for Spielberg's DreamWorks Pictures, and provides the voice of one of the penguins in the animated "Surf's Up." His previous films include "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints," "The Greatest Game Ever Played" and "Holes." He also won a Daytime Emmy in 2003 for the Disney Channel series "Even Stevens." |
| posted by viraks @ 5:48:00 AM |
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| Stern sues Anna Nicole Smith's mother's lawyer |
Howard K. Stern, Anna Nicole Smith's attorney and partner, filed a defamation lawsuit Friday against the lawyer for Smith's mother.
The suit, filed in federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida, alleges John O'Quinn, attorney for Virgie Arthur, defamed Stern in statements made on television after the actress' death in February.
"The lawsuit focuses on Mr. O'Quinn's recent appearances on a number of national television shows in which he has made public accusations of murder and other misconduct against Mr. Stern in connection with the Anna Nicole Smith case," according to a statement released by Stern attorney L. Lin Wood of Atlanta, Georgia.
Wood specifically cited a February 21, 2007, interview from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for the Fox News show "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren."
"As stated in the complaint filed today, Mr. O'Quinn's accusations against Mr. Stern are false and Mr. Stern seeks to hold him accountable through the civil justice system."
O'Quinn could not be reached for comment Friday.
In the Bahamas on Friday, attorneys in the custody case surrounding Smith's 7-month-old daughter said the judge wants Larry Birkhead -- declared Tuesday to be the child's father -- and Arthur to come up with a plan regarding access to the child.
The two were supposed to meet Thursday but did not. The judge told the parties to get together and appear in court next Friday.
O'Quinn told CNN's "Larry King Live" earlier this week that Arthur would not seek any sort of guardianship for baby Dannielynn after Birkhead's paternity was revealed.
After the custody hearing, Stern said Birkhead has been visiting Dannielynn at Stern's home, where she has been staying since Smith's death.
"At least informally, the transition period has already begun," Stern said. "Larry spent the majority of the last days over at the house getting to know Dannielynn. He's been changing diapers, he's been feeding her, he's been playing with her, and if you ask me, he's been doing a great job."
Stern, who is listed as the girl's father on her birth certificate, initially was battling Birkhead in court over paternity until DNA results proved the child was fathered by Birkhead.
A hearing regarding the formal transfer of custody is scheduled for next Friday.
"If it were up to me, the formal order in terms of giving Larry full custody would have occurred today, but unfortunately it didn't," Stern said. |
| posted by viraks @ 5:40:00 AM |
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| Madonna denies adoption reports |
Singer Madonna has denied reports that she is returning to Malawi to adopt a second African child.
The US star sparked a furore when she adopted one-year-old David Banda from a Malawi orphanage last year.
"She is overseeing the building of a children's healthcare centre," her spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg said. "She is absolutely not adopting another baby."
David is living with Madonna and her family in London after the pop star was granted an interim custody order. In November, the 48-year-old told the BBC's Newsnight programme she would consider adopting another child from abroad.
"I wouldn't rule it out... but I would like to experience David for a while and see how it works out," she said.
Donation Ms Rosenberg said she did not know whether David would join Madonna on the trip to Malawi.
"She's going back to continue her work with Raising Malawi Organisation," she told the Reuters news agency. The singer helped set up the Raising Malawi charity, which aims to provide accommodation, food, education and other support to orphans in the country. In August, she said she would donate $3m (£1.5m) to the country via the organisation.
Some critics have accused Madonna of using her wealth and celebrity to fast-track the adoption process in Malawi, something which she strongly denies.
Under the current court order, David can live with the singer for 18 months, during which time his progress will be reviewed by Malawi officials.
In December, the couple accepted a High Court ruling allowing a coalition of human rights groups to monitor the adoption.
In January, she told US talk show host David Letterman she was "saving a life" by taking the child to the UK.
As well as her adopted son, Madonna has a 10-year-old daughter, Lourdes, and a six-year-old son, Rocco. She is married to British film director Guy Ritchie. |
| posted by viraks @ 5:34:00 AM |
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| Lennon's son sells Beatles stake |
ulian Lennon has sold a "significant" stake of his share in the songs his father John wrote for The Beatles.
John Lennon's songwriting royalties passed to his family when he died, and Julian has sold a slice of these to US music publishing company Primary Wave. The firm will now receive payments when Lennon's compositions are sold on CD, performed live or played on the radio. But it does not mean Primary Wave owns the songs or recordings themselves and it cannot decide how they are used.
The catalogue includes classic tracks such as All You Need Is Love, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, which was inspired by a picture Julian drew as a child.
"We are thrilled to be partnering with Julian Lennon and to own a piece of music history," Primary Wave's chief executive Larry Mestel said.
The company, which will also market Julian Lennon's new music project, declined to reveal how much the deal was worth.
Julian Lennon said: "I felt it was the appropriate time to take on a partner for both my interest in my father's legendary music and for my future music endeavours."
Julian Lennon has had mixed fortunes with his own music career - he is his best-known chart hits were Too Late For Goodbyes in 1984 and 1991's Saltwater. His new album is due out later this year.
Primary Wave owns several other music catalogues including those of Kurt Cobain and Nirvana, which it bought last year.
The rights to The Beatles' recordings are owned by EMI, while the publishing rights are jointly held by Michael Jackson and Sony. |
| posted by viraks @ 5:24:00 AM |
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| April 8, 2007 |
| Tom Cruise’s 9/11 Detox Fundraiser |
Always in the thick of things, Tom Cruise will host a gala fundraiser for a controversial detox process aimed at helping 9/11 workers recover from symptoms resulting from the tragic day.
The ‘Mission Impossible’ star is a “co-founder of the New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project, which provides those exposed to toxic agents in the rescue and clean-up at the World Trade Center site to a detoxification procedure developed by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology,” CBS statements reveal. The scoop on the treatment… it is said to take place over a period of three to four weeks, incorporating “vitamin and mineral supplements and cold-pressed oils, as well as aerobic exercise and saunas, rather than traditional medicines. The process, administered by the Foundation for Advancements in Science and Education (a Scientology research group), releases toxins trapped in the fat tissues of subjects.”
According to Cruise’s detox program Web site, more than 750 men and women have “recovered quality of life and job fitness through detoxification,” since the program began in September 2002.
The controversy comes in the fact that the detox regimen is tied to the Church of Scientology. Up until the Foundation’s links to the Church of Scientology were revealed, the program was heavily endorsed and set to receive funding. According to CBS, “Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) was one of several who released letters in support, who later backed off.”
Meanwhile, representatives of the policemen’s and paramedics’ unions are participating in the fundraiser, serving on the host committee.
The Post talked to Ed Mullins, the Sergeants Benevolent Association president. Mullins said “he was impressed after speaking to several firefighters who had taken the detoxification program who claimed it had reduced their dependence on some medications.”
As a result, Mullins told the Post, “I’ll do anything to help my members. I’ve got to try to do something because no one else is doing it.” |
| posted by viraks @ 6:12:00 AM |
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| Got What It Takes? Bartiromo Sure Does! |
Maria Bartiromo is one of the main anchors for financial channel CNBC. We don’t expect you to know her by name (we didn’t), but the story reported by the NY Post is so amusing… we just had to include it!
It appears that Bartiromo offered up some “eye-popping quotes” about getting ahead in life in a new book on personal growth by veteran TV personality Bill Boggs. While it is uncertain what context Bartiromo’s quotes came in, Page 6 definitely has given the answers a sexual spin. “‘Stamina, for me, is just coming back and coming back and doing it again and again,’ Bartiromo pants in ’Got What It Takes?‘. The CNBC anchor, who weathered a backlash over reports of her ‘rides’ with a male Citibank exec on the bank’s corporate jet by refusing to talk about it - also shares the mental tricks she uses to stay strong. ‘You have to be mentally tough,’ she says. ‘You must keep the finish line in focus . . . You call it emotional endurance.’”
‘Got What It Takes’ seems to be quite an interesting book, and is due out next week. Some other excerpts offered up by the Post include:
* Donald Trump says sobriety is one key to success: “I don’t drink alcohol, so I don’t have impaired speech or make mistakes due to inebriation, and I don’t have hangovers. I’m always ready for the next morning, seven days a week.”
* Matt Lauer tells Boggs that talent makes up just 40 percent of the equation for success, the other 60 percent being a combination of “luck, serendipity, timing, flukes.”
* Diane von Furstenberg likens success to good cooking, with luck and timing being important ingredients. “But at the end . . . it’s like making a chocolate cake. You forget the sugar, it doesn’t taste the same. You bake it too long, it doesn’t taste the same.”
* Former Gov. Mario Cuomo says a good mantra for success is: “Just sit there and say to yourself, ‘I’ve got a limited number of years. What do I want to do with them? Do I want to change the world? Do I want to have a family? Do I want to have fun? . . . Try thinking yourself into a commitment to some purpose. Just try it.”
* Novelist Anna Quindlen, who started her writing career as a reporter at The Post, said looks play no part in success: “I think I look like a generic woman . . . You know, no one looks at me and thinks, ‘God, if I were thin and blond, I could write a best-selling novel, too.’ “ |
| posted by viraks @ 6:06:00 AM |
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| Kirsten Dunst Jetting New Man To Tokyo |
The Kirsten Dunst - Johnny Borrell relationship keeps on plowing ahead, with Spider-gal Dunst adamantly determined not to let geography keep her from her new man.
In the latest on the two, Kirsten is reportedly flying the Razorlight frontman to Japan so he can be by her side for the April 16th premiere of Spider-Man 3 in Tokyo.
It has been a whirlwind romance for the recently unpredictable actress and 26-year-old Johnny, who met at a Razorlight concert in LA on March 9th. Since then, the couple have been spotted enjoying each other’s company in both the U.S. and London.
“Everyone raised their eyebrows when they first got together as they seemed an odd couple,” a source close to the pair revealed to Britain’s Daily Mirror, adding: “But it’s the real thing.”
According to Hello! magazine,"After they hit the road together on a Harley Davidson for a trip down California’s west coast, Kirsten then tagged along to see her new flame play Austin’s South by Southwest music festival, before jetting over to see him perform at the Voices of Slavery charity gig at the Forum in London last Sunday. They were also seen enjoying a pint or two and traditional British fare, including bangers and mash, in pubs around the British capital.”
Now it’s on to Tokyo! |
| posted by viraks @ 6:01:00 AM |
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| Hefner reminisces about Anna Nicole Smith |
Take Hugh Hefner out of the running.
"I can make clear at this time," he says, "that I am not the father of the child."
The Playboy magnate enjoys his laugh about the paternity uncertainties still swirling around Anna Nicole Smith, but his feelings about the former Playmate turned pop icon are no joke. In serious fashion, his bunny empire will offer three upcoming Smith tributes: a 10-page pictorial in the magazine's May issue, an hourlong retrospective on Playboy TV and an online memorial on Playboy.com.
Smith, who first appeared on the magazine's cover in March 1992 and was named Playmate of the Year in 1993, was 39 when she died of an accidental drug overdose in February.
So what was it about the buxom blonde Texan that Hefner found so alluring?
"It was her presence in front of the camera," he told The Associated Press Thursday, chatting in the library of his famed Playboy Mansion. "She was one of those who loved being in front of the camera and came alive in front of the camera. There was very clearly a Marilyn Monroe quality about her and that aspiration was clear from the very beginning. She talked about Marilyn Monroe all the time."
Smith often posed like Monroe, he said. At a Halloween party in 2004, she came dressed in a "Marilyn Monroe-type outfit" accompanied by three men in tuxedos: her attorney Howard K. Stern, boyfriend Larry Birkhead and son Daniel.
"The irony in terms of Anna Nicole's fascination with Marilyn Monroe is how successful she was in building a similar kind of career, not through acting but simply through celebrity itself," said Hefner, in his usual silk pajamas and smoking jacket. "The tragedy is she lived large as Marilyn did and died in a very similar way."
She was still Vickie Smith when she first caught the eye of Playboy editors, who argued over whether to include her in the magazine.
"She came here and she weighed about 160 pounds," Hefner recalled. "We like the voluptuous ladies but not that voluptuous. It was a wonderful statement for the simple fact that beauty has no limitation in terms of size. You can be a big lady and a beautiful lady, and she was."
With three tributes, might Playboy be opening itself to criticism for profiting from Smith's death? Not the case, Hefner quickly replied. "It's quite frankly celebrating her in a way that she would appreciate." |
| posted by viraks @ 5:59:00 AM |
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| A brilliant 'Hoax' |
The two-bit distortions in "A Million Little Pieces" that landed squirming memoirist James Frey on Oprah Winfrey's couch of shame last year were chump change compared with the million-dollar lies served up by Clifford Irving some 35 years ago.
Back in 1971, Irving, an unexceptional novelist known best, if at all, for his biography of an art forger, dazzled the fancy New York publishing world with the memoirs he wrung from top secret interviews with legendarily reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes.
Only the author never met Hughes. Not once. He made the whole book up, served a prison sentence of 14 months, then went on to write his own memoir about making up the memoir.
Silver-foxy Richard Gere is not the first suave Buddhist I'd think of to play dark, curly, Jewish New Yorker Irving, but the quick-witted Gere who schemes and fast-talks his way around the snappy, plugged-in scam saga "The Hoax" is like no Gere I've seen before. (For that matter, creator of "Chocolat"-coated Hollywood dessert movies Lasse Hallstrom isn't the first filmmaker I'd think of to exhibit such adult zing, but this is the best thing the director has done since "What's Eating Gilbert Grape.") Permed and dyed to verisimilitude, a bit pouchy of build and packed into jackets that mean to look sharp but only look eager to look sharp, Gere takes to the outlandish liar he plays with what might well be called impassioned honesty.
There's no understanding what made Irving do what he did or, indeed, how he managed to get as far as he did -- how he sold his brazen blarney to a publisher as upstanding as McGraw-Hill, how he forged Hughes' handwriting, or how he bedazzled and bullied his devoted, needy best friend Dick Suskind (Alfred Molina, reaching greatness in the portrayal of pathos) into participating as researcher and henchman.
But Gere is terrific at suggesting the kind of addictive cocktail of excitement, panic, chutzpah, creativity, and naked hunger for fame and megabucks that might inspire such big, fat lies. Marcia Gay Harden, for her part, uses spare strokes to paint a vivid picture of Irving's Swiss-German wife, Edith, who was in on the money shenanigans. Julie Delpy plays Irving's sometime mistress Nina Van Pallandt, who would (in a neat bit of Buddhist karma) later go on to appear opposite the young Richard Gere in "American Gigolo." |
| posted by viraks @ 5:56:00 AM |
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| Exciting 'Grindhouse' a wild ride |
When filmmakers talk about how great the movies were back in the 1970s, they're usually thinking about "The Godfather," "Chinatown," or "Dog Day Afternoon."
But when Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez wax lyrical about that period, they have something else in mind: Filipino shoot-'em-ups, Italian slasher films, Mexican vigilante movies and Roger Corman girls-behind-bars flicks. This kind of exploitation cheapie would play on the drive-in circuit or in seedy inner-city theaters, promising sleazy thrills and no refunds.
Those days are gone, and "Grindhouse" -- the directors' supercharged attempt to resurrect the illicit B-movie double feature -- will have to play sterile, sanitary multiplexes alongside such respectable mainstream fare as "Wild Hogs," "TMNT" and "300," all of which wear the imprint of exploitation cinema with pride (the biker movie, kung fu picture and gorefest, respectively).
The truth is, the trash movies Tarantino champions have long since gone mainstream, albeit with bigger budgets and watered down for MPAA approval. That goes for "Grindhouse" too, which cost a reported $50 million to produce, and which anyone under the age of 17 can enjoy with an enabling adult in tow.
Still, the dynamic duo do their utmost to transport us back to the good old bad old days: the package includes irresistible faux trailers for Rob Zombie's "Werewolf Women of the SS" and Eli Roth's seasonal slasher movie "Thanksgiving," among others.
In the first feature, Rodriguez's "Planet Terror" -- a campy contribution to the zombie genre -- the director (who shot on digital) has gone to the trouble of defacing his print, adding the scratches, warp and weave you would expect from beaten-up second-run celluloid. (Tarantino very pointedly shot on film, but has a harder time replicating the effect.) At one key point he even cuts to a "Reel Missing" slide, making for one of the best jokes of the film.
Adolescents of all ages will get a kick out of Rose McGowan's voluptuous one-legged go-go dancer, Cherry, stomping around with a submachine gun stuck into her stump. Apparently she can fire at will, without the bother of manually pulling the trigger. (It's that kind of picture.) She's the linchpin in an unlikely band of survivors battling it out with rampaging flesh-eating mutants in a Tex-Mex border town. |
| posted by viraks @ 5:51:00 AM |
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| Spelling 'reconciles' with mother |
Actress Tori Spelling has revealed that she reconciled with her mother, Candy, weeks before she gave birth to her first child last month.
Speaking to the magazine, US Weekly she said: "It was mutual. We both reached out at the same time by phone in the weeks before I had Liam." The 33-year-old had reportedly not spoken to her mother in nine months.
Spelling claims the pair fell out after they both started reading stories in the press about each other.
'No feud' "I think we both thought, 'Does she hate me? Did I do something?' We were both scared to reach out to each other," the actress said.
"Now that we're together, we realize that there is no feud," she added. Mrs Spelling ended up going to the delivery room with her daughter, who gave birth by Caesarean section at a Los Angeles hospital. "When she walked through that hospital door when I was in labour, it was like I had just seen her yesterday."
"We both started to cry and hug, and I said, 'I love you, Mommy,' and she said, 'I love you.' That was it. I wish my dad got to see it, but I think he is looking down on us," she said.
Her father, Aaron Spelling, best known for producing Beverly Hills 90210, died last June after suffering a stroke.
Spelling and her husband, Dean McDermott, currently star in the reality series Tori & Dean: Inn Love. |
| posted by viraks @ 5:48:00 AM |
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| Jackson memorabilia to go on sale |
Michael Jackson memorabilia, which includes handwritten lyrics and a fedora he once wore, is being auctioned off in Las Vegas next month.
The collection, made up of about 2,000 items, spans the career of Jackson and his family from the mid-1960s through to the early 1990s.
However, a spokesman for the star, told Associated Press he was considering legal action to stop the auction. Raymone K Bain claims her client is "extremely upset" about the sale.
The collection is currently on display at New York's Guernsey's auction house.
A price tag has not been put on any of the items, although Guernsey's president, Arlan Ettinger expects some of the pieces will generate a lot of interest. "Buyers will be of every description, from the most dedicated fans to the corporate buyer who sees this as interesting material to display," he said.
The collection made news in 2004 when some of the items, including Jackson's underwear, were turned over to investigators as evidence in a child molestation case.
Jackson was acquitted in California in 2005, after being accused of sexually abusing a 13-year-old.
The trial was sparked after British journalist Martin Bashir made a documentary in which Jackson admitted sharing his bed with children. Fans can also bid for the items on eBay at the time of the live auction. The sale will take place at in Las Vegas on 30-31 May. |
| posted by viraks @ 5:45:00 AM |
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| Chan scouts out new action stars |
Actor Jackie Chan has launched a TV show in China aimed at scouting out fresh action film talent.
The 53-year-old stuntman claims 100,000 people have already signed up to take part in the programme.
"A lot of actors are good at fighting but (their style) is not beautiful," he told an audience in Beijing.
The TV show - whose English title is The Disciple - will run from March to October, with 10 winners appearing in a movie which will be produced by Chan.
In January Chan set up a new production company in China with plans to make 10 films.
He has appeared in more than 100 films, including the popular Rush Hour series.
Chan is also famous for doing his own stunts in elaborate fight sequences.
In December he was hurt during filming a scene for the upcoming Rush Hour 3. |
| posted by viraks @ 5:43:00 AM |
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| Superman suit soars at US auction |
A Superman costume worn by Christopher Reeve in the 1978 blockbuster film has sold for $115,000 (£58,000) in a Hollywood film auction.
The sale, put together by the firm Profiles in History, sold more than $2m (£1m) worth of film and TV memorabilia, including scripts and posters.
The Superman outfit was expected to fetch just half the amount it reached.
Other items sold included a Batsuit and an alien costume that was worn in the iconic 1979 movie, Alien.
The Batsuit, which was used in the 1995 film Batman Forever, went for $63,250 (£32,000), with the Alien costume selling for $126,500 (£64,000).
A rare Winkie costume, which was worn in the 1938 movie The Wizard of Oz, was sold for $115,000 (£58,000). |
| posted by viraks @ 5:42:00 AM |
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| Connery is 'considering' Indiana |
Actor Sir Sean Connery is still deciding whether to appear in the next Indiana Jones film, according to trade magazine Variety.
Directors George Lucas and Steven Spielberg are hoping the 76-year-old will feature in the fourth instalment.
Sir Sean, who has not appeared in any films since 2003, has apparently said he would consider returning if he liked the script.
Harrison Ford has already signed up to return as the daring archaeologist.
'Character piece' Sir Sean played Ford's father, Professor Henry Jones, in the 1989 film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett has recently been in talks to star opposite Ford, and British actor Ray Winstone has also been approached to appear.
Shooting is due to begin in June with the film expected to open in May 2008. The original Indiana Jones trilogy was a tribute to Saturday morning B-movies, and made more than $1.1bn at the box office in the 1980s.
The first two films were Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), followed by Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984).
The fourth instalment has been in development for more than 10 years. Earlier in the year, Lucas said it would be "a character piece" including some "very interesting mysteries". The screenplay was written by Jurassic Park and War of The Worlds scribe David Koepp |
| posted by viraks @ 5:34:00 AM |
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