James King
Pineapple Express is the new comedy from the Judd Apatow movie powerhouse. When stoner Dale Denton (Seth Rogen) visits his dealer Saul Silver (James Franco) he’s introduced to a new incredibly rare strain of weed called Pineapple Express. While smoking the new strain in his car Dale witnesses a murder committed by a cop and a powerful drug lord. He panics and drops the rest of the joint he was smoking, and crashes his car in an attempt to get away, bringing the attention of the murderers. Dale and Saul run for their lives in fear of the drug lord tracing them through the joint Dale left at the scene. They soon find that they aren’t just paranoid from the weed, ruthless killers really are hunting them down.
Read the Rest of Nick’s Review of Pineapple Express
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August 7, 2008 at 1:32 pm | main | No comment
Pineapple Express is the new comedy from the Judd Apatow movie powerhouse. When stoner Dale Denton (Seth Rogen) visits his dealer Saul Silver (James Franco) he’s introduced to a new incredibly rare strain of weed called Pineapple Express. While smoking the new strain in his car Dale witnesses a murder committed by a cop and a powerful drug lord. He panics and drops the rest of the joint he was smoking, and crashes his car in an attempt to get away, bringing the attention of the murderers. Dale and Saul run for their lives in fear of the drug lord tracing them through the joint Dale left at the scene. They soon find that they aren’t just paranoid from the weed, ruthless killers really are hunting them down.
Read the Rest of Nick’s Review of Pineapple Express
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August 7, 2008 at 1:32 pm | main | No comment
“Nightline” will focus on the humanitarian crisis in the Congo with the help of an unusual correspondent - Ben Affleck.
The 35-year-old actor took a “Nightline” crew on his recent fact-finding mission to Africa with the goal of spreading the word on a story that gets relatively little notice in the United States. His essay airs 11:35 p.m. Thursday on ABC.
He’s been to the Congo three times in the past year. He said his motive was to learn about the war and hunger that have killed thousands of people per month in the past decade in hopes that the outside world would be moved to help, and his celebrity opened some doors.
“It’s fairly clear that in the modern age that there is a currency to celebrity, or celebrity is a currency, really,” Affleck told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “I’ve discovered that you can spend it in a lot of ways, or you can squander it. You can be taxed, as well. I really started thinking long and hard about how to use that currency as long as I had it.”
His representatives approached “Nightline” with the idea of reporting on his journey. Affleck said he was impressed by “Nightline” stories in 2005 where “Hotel Rwanda” actor Don Cheadle visited that country.
“Nightline” executive producer James Goldston admitted to skepticism. ABC News took heat a decade ago for letting Leonardo DiCaprio interview President Clinton, and the idea of a concerned celebrity taking on a world problem has become a news staple.
“I was quite persuaded by how candid he was about the cliche of it, or the potential cliche,” Goldston said.
Affleck deals with that issue in the opening of his essay: “I want to try to bring people along to learn and if they might not tune into this unless there was some celebrity involved in it, either because they’re interested in the celebrity or because they want to see the celebrity kind of make a fool of himself, then so be it,” he says.
He doesn’t act as a reporter, Goldston said. The idea was to present the story as a personal journey, following Affleck as he met with survivors of the conflict, relief officials and even some warlords.
“Nightline” hasn’t done its own story on the Congo since 2002, although Cynthia McFadden recently took a trip to Africa to report on several issues there.
Affleck said one “Nightline” piece isn’t likely to change much, but the goal is to spread the word and hope that people in the United States can identify with some people who are suffering.
Perhaps then they could be moved to help, he said. Affleck hasn’t identified himself with any particular relief organization that is helping the Congo.
He believes people will respond to this approach.
“I don’t think people respond particularly well to being hectored, or being made to feel guilty, or being made to feel as though they’re kind of callow or insensitive for the life they’ve been leading up until then,” he said.
June 26, 2008 at 7:49 am | main | No comment
Seal escapes and evades
While leaving a store in L.A. today, Seal was ambushed by paparazzi. To escape the onslaught, he hopped in his new Bentley and drove backwards out of the parking lot and then backwards down a residential street into oncoming traffic. It was straight out of a James Bond movie if James Bond was retarded. I know the paparazzi was chasing him and I know they were acting pretty reckless, too, but maybe Seal could have pulled out of the parking lot and oh, I don’t know, driven forwards? I know, I know, wild idea, I’m just thinking out loud here.
June 18, 2008 at 2:00 am | main | No comment
A paparazzo who pressed charges against Britney Spears after her car allegedly ran over his foot was himself to blame for any injury it may have caused, prosecutors said in refusing to pursue the case.
After reviewing police records and a videotape of the incident last year, Deputy District Attorney Joseph D. Shidler wrote Friday that the “only way the victim’s foot could have been where the video indicates it to be was by the victim placing it in that location.”
The photographer, who was not identified in the report, filed a criminal complaint against Spears in early May, nearly six months after the alleged incident. A copy of the police complaint was not immediately available Monday, but it sought a felony charge of failing to stop after an accident involving an injury.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley’s office reviewed a videotape and photos of the incident, which don’t show the photographer being hit. The report also describes a chaotic scene surrounding Spears, with photographers on all sides of her car and “a lot of noise and confusion.”
The report describes Spears’ as “driving at an extremely slow rate of speed and in a straight path.”
The 26-year-old pop star has had her share of trouble behind the wheel, including a highly publicized incident in 2006 where she was photographed driving with her son on her lap.
A misdemeanor hit-and-run charge stemming from a 2007 parking lot crash was dismissed after she settled with the car’s owner. In October, she pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of driving without a valid license, and earlier this year was involved in a minor fender-bender on a Los Angeles freeway.
Also Monday, documents were released detailing a request from Spears’ father for payments relating to his conservatorship arrangement.
The document filed on behalf of James Spears seeks an undisclosed amount of money for helping his daughter shop for groceries, handle custody issues with her husband, Kevin Federline, and visiting her in the hospital in February and March. The filing also states that he held meetings to shore up security at Spears’ homes and occasionally cooked meals.
James Spears has temporary control of his daughter’s finances. A hearing about that conservatorship is scheduled for Tuesday morning in Los Angeles.
June 17, 2008 at 8:03 am | main | No comment
A paparazzo who pressed charges against Britney Spears after her car allegedly ran over his foot was himself to blame for any injury it may have caused, prosecutors said in refusing to pursue the case.
After reviewing police records and a videotape of the incident last year, Deputy District Attorney Joseph D. Shidler wrote Friday that the “only way the victim’s foot could have been where the video indicates it to be was by the victim placing it in that location.”
The photographer, who was not identified in the report, filed a criminal complaint against Spears in early May, nearly six months after the alleged incident. A copy of the police complaint was not immediately available Monday, but it sought a felony charge of failing to stop after an accident involving an injury.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley’s office reviewed a videotape and photos of the incident, which don’t show the photographer being hit. The report also describes a chaotic scene surrounding Spears, with photographers on all sides of her car and “a lot of noise and confusion.”
The report describes Spears’ as “driving at an extremely slow rate of speed and in a straight path.”
The 26-year-old pop star has had her share of trouble behind the wheel, including a highly publicized incident in 2006 where she was photographed driving with her son on her lap.
A misdemeanor hit-and-run charge stemming from a 2007 parking lot crash was dismissed after she settled with the car’s owner. In October, she pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of driving without a valid license, and earlier this year was involved in a minor fender-bender on a Los Angeles freeway.
Also Monday, documents were released detailing a request from Spears’ father for payments relating to his conservatorship arrangement.
The document filed on behalf of James Spears seeks an undisclosed amount of money for helping his daughter shop for groceries, handle custody issues with her husband, Kevin Federline, and visiting her in the hospital in February and March. The filing also states that he held meetings to shore up security at Spears’ homes and occasionally cooked meals.
James Spears has temporary control of his daughter’s finances. A hearing about that conservatorship is scheduled for Tuesday morning in Los Angeles.
June 17, 2008 at 8:03 am | main | No comment
Tim Russert’s chair was empty on “Meet the Press” on Sunday, two days after his unexpected death.
But Russert was very much present on the full-hour tribute to this giant of political journalism who hosted NBC’s public-affairs program for more than 16 years.
“His voice has been stilled,” began Tom Brokaw, who led the conversation, “and our issue this sad Sunday morning is remembering and honoring our colleague and our friend ….”
Brokaw and a half-dozen others were seated in front of the “Meet the Press” set and its angular table, left vacant, where Russert had presided as recently as last week.
Brokaw noted that Russert had a large wooden sign in his office that read: “Thou Shalt Not Whine,” which Brokaw then supplemented with “Thou shalt not weep or cry this morning. This is a celebration.”
But a bit later he choked up, recalling Russert’s words of awe at how far a working-class kid from Buffalo like himself could rise: “What a country!” he would marvel.
Among those gathered were presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin and political pundit Mary Matalin, with Maria Shriver - the former NBC News correspondent and currently California’s first lady - on a remote hookup.
All agreed that Russert was tough but fair in his interviewing, and that he, as a former political operative himself, loved politics and politicians.
What he didn’t like, said consultant-pundit James Carville, was an elected official or anybody else who wasn’t prepared to face him.
“The biggest insult to him was someone who came on and … didn’t take the show seriously,” Carville said.
It was a mistake they quickly regretted, because Russert took his stewardship of “Meet the Press” as a sacred trust.
“He would spend all week preparing,” said executive producer Betsy Fischer.
PBS’ Gwen Ifill, a former NBC correspondent, called the program “The Church of Tim.”
“I would actually get a pass from my own pastor to not be in church on Sunday if I was gonna be on `Meet the Press,’” she said with a smile.
MSNBC commentator Mike Barnicle added that Russert’s son, Luke, had told him the day before that the program was “Tim’s second son.”
However fitting Sunday’s tribute, it was a cruel irony that Russert had become the big story, particularly in the midst of a like-no-other presidential race that he was covering with his customary gusto. Guests he had planned to grill Sunday were senior officials from both campaigns.
All that changed with Russert’s death from a heart attack Friday. He was stricken while preparing for the broadcast at his network’s Washington bureau.
NBC aired a prime-time tribute Friday night, then devoted Saturday’s “Today” show to his life and career. His passing dominated rival cable-news networks and news-talk shows.
St. Albans School in Washington said a wake was scheduled there Tuesday evening.
Wednesday at 4 p.m. EDT, a private memorial service from Washington’s Kennedy Center will be televised by MSNBC and made available for airing by other outlets, the network said.
Russert was the face of political news for NBC as well as cable sibling MSNBC, serving as chief political analyst, a frequent correspondent and an election-night fixture, besides his off-camera duties as NBC News’ Washington bureau chief.
He had become almost synonymous with the top-rated “Meet the Press,” the TV institution he reinvented while becoming an institution himself. He had been its host since 1991 when the show, the longest-running on television, already was in its 45th year.
Several tape montages on Sunday’s tribute displayed Russert in action, pressing subjects from Ross Perot to Louis Farrakhan. Politicos including John Kerry and Hillary Rodham Clinton were seen telling Russert they had no interest in running for the White House.
The abrupt void Russert leaves is unprecedented in network TV news. Even the tragic death of ABC News anchor Peter Jennings in 2005 followed his much-publicized battle with lung cancer and his four-month absence from the airwaves.
There was no immediate word on who would host “Meet the Press” next week, or in the weeks after that.
Drawing the program to a close, Brokaw observed “this would not have been just another Sunday for Tim: This is Father’s Day.” Any regular viewer of “Meet the Press” knew Russert was a devoted son (of “Big Russ,” about whom he wrote in a best-selling memoir) and father (to Luke).
But the final moments - eerily yet aptly - were of Russert signing off from his host’s chair, proud and cheery, with Father’s Day greetings to all. For an instant, viewers might have wondered: Who will Russert be grilling next week?
June 16, 2008 at 6:48 pm | main | 1 comment
In a new interview with Parade conducted from his oceanfront Hawaii home, Pierce Brosnan said that he, wife Keely Shaye Smith and their two sons Dylan Thomas, 11, and Paris Beckett, 7 are leading “a very simple life” — and they wouldn’t have it any other way. Moving to the island from the mainland has afforded his family a “very insular” and “rewarding” lifestyle, Pierce said. He added:
It has allowed me to be a father who can sit quietly with my two young sons, Dylan and Paris. I paint, and they paint. And we play guitar. We play ukulele. My wife is an ace gardener, and the kids get in the mud with her.
But this quiet lifestyle is somewhat of a result of the fickle fates of being an actor. The now 55-year-old actor tells Parade:
“It’s a hard game, the movie game. You’re judged constantly. You have to be as tough as old boots. You have to keep up as an actor—physically, emotionally, spiritually, mentally—just to be there, because, when the opportunity comes around, the door can close so quickly. ‘Do you sing?’ Of course I sing. ‘Do you sky-dive?’ Of course I do. ‘Do you fight?’ Yeah. ‘Are you a lover?’ Are you kidding? ‘What are you?’ So that’s ingrained in me, as an actor, to be prepared, I suppose.”
Brosnan wasn’t prepared when he got a phone call out of the blue about four years ago saying his tenure as 007 was done. Daniel Craig would take over the part of James Bond. “I didn’t see that coming,” he says. “I thought we were going to do a fifth film. And I was going to take a gracious bow off the stage. Instead of that, you are just told, ‘Goodbye.’ That’s the way it goes down in life. It’s as hard and as fast as that. I had done my contract. They had invited me back, and they changed their mind. It’s business.”
The implication was that Brosnan, was too old for the part. Women in the movie business are used to hearing that, but not a guy who’s still a leading man. “That was a shock, yes,” he says with a laugh. “I never thought of myself as being too old. It was startling to hear such things said about oneself, especially when you thought you were going down that particular avenue, and then the door gets slammed in your face.”
So though he loves his laid-back life in Hawaii, Brosnan admits he’s ready to go back to the mainland. “I’m a worker,” he says. “Every job I got I had to fight for. I’ve been lucky, but I’ve worked hard at it. I love making movies. I love the adventure of being an actor. I have to stay sharp.”
Brosnan has adjusted and shown his range in roles from suave to seedy in movies like Evelyn, The Matador, and Seraphim Falls. Soon we’ll see him take the biggest stretch of his career when he serenades Meryl Streep in the screen version of the popular musical Mamma Mia! It opens July 18.
June 16, 2008 at 5:26 pm | main | No comment
“They all got notes stating they needed to move their cars because Johnny wanted to park his trailer in a private lot,” said one local, who added that Universal paid the parking fees for displaced motorists. Later, when people were hanging around trying to get a look at Depp during a scene, a crew member told residents to step inside their apartments because, “JD is arriving, and I don’t mean James Dean.”
(source)
June 15, 2008 at 7:16 am | main | No comment
Sean Connery has reportedly been hospitalised in upstate New York after fracturing his ankle. The 77-year-old movie star fell and injured himself during a game of golf in Mount Kisco on Friday. The former James Bond star was taken to Northern Westchester Hospital for treatment.
In more positive news. Connery is set to launch his autobiography “Being A Scot” on Aug. 25th—the day of his 78th birthday - at the Edinburgh Book Festival. The Book Fair kicks off Aug. 9 and is considered one of the publishing world’s biggest events. More than 800 authors will participate in 750 events, among them Salman Rushdie and Margaret Atwood.
But having Connery on hand is extra special because it’s also the centennial of James Bond creator Ian Fleming’s birth. A new adventure featuring the superspy, entitled Devil May Care and penned by Sebastian Faulks, just hit book stores last month to commemorate the occasion.
estival director Catherine Lockerbie said that: “this book has gone through more permutations than James Bond has had shaken-not-stirred martinis: different co-writers, different publishers.” The memoir, she continued, will chronicle Connery’s life before, during and after 007 in a film career that spanned more than 50 years.
The Untouchables star quietly retired from the big screen after 2003’s box office dud The League of Extraordinary Gentleman. Connery subsequently turned down an offer by director Steven Spielberg to reprise his role as Indy’s father in a cameo in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, saying he found retirement “just too damned much fun.”
June 14, 2008 at 7:51 pm | main | No comment
Paul Newman, the legendary actor and philanthropist, is battling cancer, his longtime neighbor and business partner said Wednesday. Newman, 83, has recently appeared gaunt in photos, and dropped plans to direct a play in his Connecticut hometown.
Writer A.E. Hotchner, who partnered with Newman to start Newman’s Own salad dressing company in the 1980s, said the actor told him about the disease about 18 months ago. He did not specify what kind of cancer, but said Newman is in active treatment.
“I know that it’s a form of cancer,” Hotchner told The Associated Press. “It’s a form of cancer and he’s dealing with it.”
Newman issued a statement late Tuesday that he’s “doing nicely” but didn’t specifically address questions about cancer. A call was placed to his spokesman Wednesday seeking comment.
The Oscar winner appeared to have lost weight when he was photographed during practice for the Indianapolis 500 auto race last month. Martha Stewart, in an entry dated June 6, posted a photo on her blog of herself with the actor, who looked thin, at a luncheon to benefit the Hole in the Wall Gang camps for critically ill children. (The Hole in the Wall Gang was led by Newman’s affable outlaw character, Butch, in the 1969 film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.”)
Newman won an Oscar for his leading role in 1986’s “The Color of Money.” His screen credits also include “Hud,” “Cool Hand Luke,” “The Verdict” and “Road to Perdition.”
Hotchner said Newman had an operation a few years ago. “It was certainly somewhere in the area of the lung,” he said.
“He’s battling,” Hotchner said. “He’s doing all the right stuff. Paul is a fighter. He seems to be going through a good period right now.”
Asked about his prognosis, Hotchner said, “Everybody is hopeful. That’s all we know.”
In 1982, Hotchner and Newman started a company to market Newman’s original oil-and-vinegar dressing. Newman’s Own, which began as a joke, grew into a multimillion-dollar business selling popcorn, salad dressing, spaghetti sauce and other foods. All the company’s profits are donated to charities. By 2007, the company had donated more than $200 million, according to its Web site.
Last month, officials at Connecticut’s Westport Country Playhouse cited unspecified health issues when they announced that Newman would not direct “Of Mice and Men” this fall.
Newman lives in Westport with his wife, Joanne Woodward.
Two friends said Tuesday that Newman appeared to be doing well.
“I think he’s feeling quite well,” said actor James Naughton, who spoke to Newman on Monday night. “As far as I can tell he’s doing very well.”
Newman had an infection over the winter, but seems to have that under control, Naughton said. He was lively at this month’s Hole in the Wall Gang camp fundraiser, he said.
Michael Brockman, Newman’s racing team partner, said Newman told him recently that he wants to get back into his race car for a test run and possibly another competition. His last race was last fall, he said.
“I think he’s doing better than he was,” Brockman said, noting that Newman had regained most of the weight he had lost.
“I think he looks great,” said Brockman, who saw Newman last weekend. “I wish I looked that good.”
Brockman called Newman “one of the best guys I ever met.”
“He’s just a regular guy,” Brockman said. “He’s humble.”
June 12, 2008 at 7:43 am | main | No comment
Bestselling author J.K. Rowling’s 800-word hand-written new story sold for 25,000 pounds ($49,000) at a charity auction on Tuesday. Reportedly described as a prequel to the Harry Potter boy wizard books, the story is set three years before Harry Potter is born and features the characters Sirius Black and Harry’s father James.
It opens with a youthful Sirius and James cornered by two irate policemen at the end of a high-speed motorcycle chase.
After an exchange of words with the policemen, the two teenagers make their escape using a touch of magic.
The card concludes with the words “From the prequel I am not working on — but that was fun!,” an apparent reference to continued speculation that Rowling is planning or has already begun an eighth Harry Potter adventure.
“I had great fun writing the card and I’m absolutely delighted that it has raised 25,000 pounds for two such worthy causes,” the 42-year-old said in a statement.
Thirteen writers and illustrators donated original short stories on notebook-sized pieces of card to Waterstone’s book store chain which sold them to benefit English PEN, which champions freedom of expression, and Dyslexia Action.
Other contributors to the charity auction included Nobel laureate Doris Lessing, whose story fetched 3,000 pounds, playwright Tom Stoppard (4,000 pounds), illustrator Axel Scheffler (2,700) and novelist Sebastian Faulks (2,500).
Rowling’s tale accounted for more than half the night’s proceeds of 47,150 pounds, although it could yet be considered a literary bargain. Even so Hot Momma thinks someone got a terrific bargain as this little hand written story is going to be worth a small fortune someday.
In December, a hand-written, illustrated book of wizardry by Rowling fetched 1.95 million pounds at another charity auction, nearly 40 times its expected price.
All the stories from the auction will be available to read at www.waterstones.com starting Wednesday (June 11th according to our sources).
June 11, 2008 at 7:33 pm | main | No comment
Wee Man at LAX yesterday
+ Kim Kardashian and Carmen Electra play naughty dress up [Hollywood Tuna]
+ Paris Hilton lounging on her balcony in nothing but a towel [Drunken Stepfather]
+ Megan Fox Wants Sex All the Time [Egotastic!]
+ The greatest Jessica Alba ass pic in the history of Jessica Alba ass pics [College Humor]
+ What the fuck is Victoria Beckham wearing? [Bastardly]
+ Paparazzi heart Hayden [I’m Not Obsessed]
+ What the fuck is Lily Allen wearing? [Dlisted]
+ Top 10 deadliest human weapons in film [Maxim]
+ Lindsay’s parents reunite! . . . in court [A Socialite’s Life]
+ Christina Stefanidi is the sexiest Greek woman alive [Double Viking]
+ Sexy Bond babe Olga Kurylenko [F-Listed]
+ Behind the scenes at Marisa Miller’s Maxim lingerie shoot [Popoholic]
+ Patridge! Fox! Celebrity Boob Showdown 2008! [NinjaDude]
[BauerGriffinOnline]
June 4, 2008 at 9:00 pm | main | No comment
Not one for arriving on time to visit her husband in prison, Amy Winehouse today spent more than an hour in court supporting her husband who faces charges of assault and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
The troubled star sat in the front row of the public gallery as Snaresbrook Crown Court, east London, and smiled lovingly at Blake Fielder-Civil, who smiled back at her from the dock.
Winehouse wore a short blue spotted dress in a clear effort to look smart for her husband’s trial, but the classy clothes failed to hide her alarmingly bad skin.
The singer’s ragged appearance shocked onlookers as she arrived at court.
During the hearing, she leaned forward with her arms crossed, listening intently to legal arguments ahead of Fielder-Civil’s trial.
Occasionally she played with the lower reaches of her famous beehive hairdo, and a silver chain around her neck, as she followed the proceedings.
At one point she mouthed ‘all right?’ at Fielder-Civil, who frequently smiled reassuringly at her.
On another occasion she patted the chair next to her and mouthed “come and sit here next to me”.
When the judge, David Radford, was giving his ruling on a point of legal argument, she looked at her husband and inclined her head questioningly towards the judge.
She was led into court by an usher, and sat alone in the front row of the gallery, twice moving to different seats.
Fielder-Civil, who was wearing a grey jacket, black polo shirt and blue jeans, was allowed to leave the dock briefly at one point when she was there to use the toilet.
At one point she took a paper with some writing on it out of her bag, and tore a piece off to give to a court official - presumably a message to be given to Fielder-Civil.
Winehouse left the court after 80 minutes, with legal arguments still continuing.
Outside the court, she was asked: “How’s Blake looking?” She replied: “As gorgeous as f ***. You seen him before?”
Fielder-Civil, 26, of Jeffrey’s Place, Camden, north London denies causing grievous bodily harm with intent to pub landlord James King of The White House, Risley Hall, Risley, Derbyshire.
He also denies an allegation that he conspired with his alleged victim to pervert the course of justice.
James Kennedy, 19, of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, is also accused over the case.
The legal argument is taking place ahead of an expected trial.
Winehouse is know for not turning up to the Pentonville prison where her husband is being held.
On many occasions the singer was unable to see her husband as she turned up late for her visitation.
On other occasions she did not even arrive at the prison.
Amy who was wearing a blue dress with the collar turned up tried to mask her scaly skin with make-up could have also been trying to cover up a loveb-bite that was spotted on the singer on Friday when she performed to a crowd of 9,000 in Portugal.
It was the first concert performance since she cancelled a series of gigs last November after her husband was first imprisoned.
Winehouse took to the stage with what appeared to be a love bite on her neck.
The mysterious body marking appeared to suggest Winehouse had received a souvenir from her visit to Fielder-Civil at Pentonville Prison in north London just hours before flying to the Portuguese capital.
During the gig, Winehouse made repeated references to her husband of one year.
As well as a heart-shaped ‘Blake’ tribute in her hair, Winehouse changed the lyrics of Cupid from ‘I love a girl who doesn’t know I exist’ to ‘I love a man you know who’s banged up in jail’.
(source)
June 3, 2008 at 6:39 pm | main | No comment
Kimbo Slice takes EliteXC (Elite Xtreme Combat) Mixed Martial Arts mainstream tonight on CBS as he will fight Britain’s James Thompson. Saturday Night Fights will get underway at 9:00pm EST in a move that CBS is hoping brings a younger audience to the network.
Thompson brings a 14-8 record into tonight’s match against the 2-0 Kimbo. The crowd is likely to be very much on the side of Kimbo, who is an You Tube internet legend and fan favorite. Kimbo will have to deal with Thompson’s size and youth if he wants to walk away the winner.
So who is this Kimbo Slice dude that EliteXC is banking on to take the sport to its biggest audience on CBS. Here is a quick glimpse into the story of Kimbo:
His given name is Kevin Ferguson, once a football player of modest renown at Miami-Palmetto High School. In the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew, Ferguson entered the ranks of the homeless. Down to little more than his natural skill set ??? “been fighting since I was 13,” he says ??? he found a way to make ends meets as a bouncer and a bodyguard. With the requisite aura of menace, he served as an escort for the aforementioned producers whose videos sought to bring an illusion of prurient realism (ie. desperately hot mommies) to the masses. But his big break came as a street fighter, having administered spectacularly brutal beatings in backyards, alleys and garages.
Actually, it was his great good fortune that these unsanctioned bouts turned out to be anything but private. Filmed on hand-held cameras ??? a video porn man’s weapon of choice ??? his beatdowns became YouTube sensations. “I had no idea it would take off like this,” said Kimbo, 34, a father of five who reportedly does not own a computer. (see video below of Kimbo fighting on YouTube)
The under card includes impressive matches between seasoned veterans Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith. Laura Croft hottie Gina Carano will take on the multi-skilled Kaitlin Young in the token female match of the night. Loud mouthed Phil Baroni will battle Joey Villasenor who has been extremely impressive to date. And don’t forget the battle of unique hair between Brett Rogers and Jon Murphy.
EliteXC Photos, Video and Stats Below:
(more…)
June 1, 2008 at 7:38 am | main | No comment
Clint Eastwood at the Hotel du Cap Eden-Roc in Cap d’Antibes, France (5/23)
+ More slutty Miley Cyrus pics surface [Drunken Stepfather]
+ Ashlee Simpson Bikini Pictures and Baby Bump [Egotastic!]
+ Which one’s the wax figure? [Just Jared]
+ Jessica Simpson cheated on Tony Romo with 2 dudes [F-Listed]
+ Megan Fox being naughty in FHM UK [Popoholic]
+ Jenna Jameson is just like Angelina Jolie [The Blemish]
+ Jennifer Aniston is asstastic [Attuworld]
+ Amy Winehouse is going to Israel for rehab [Cele|bitchy]
+ Shay Laren is super freaking hot [Horny Oyster]
+ Nicole Richie wins a motherhood award [ICYDK]
[BauerGriffinOnline]
May 24, 2008 at 6:15 am | main | No comment
Lily Allen put on a show for the photographers, and made a complete spectacle of herself as she hung out at the Cannes Film Festival where her father Keith Allen was showing his documentary about Princess Diana.
Allen over the past while has seemed to be courting publicity and disaster with equal ardor: getting drunk, falling over and forgetting to wear her clothes in public.
It culminated being photographed as she passed out in a taxi on the way back to her hotel; her father holding her by the scruff of the neck to keep her from nose diving into the floor boards. A few hours previously, she was found face down on her table next to a rather splendid floral arrangement, after enjoying vodka and lychee cocktails at a screening of the movie How To Lose Friends And Alienate People. Earlier at the party she was seen (and I mean graphically photographed) sitting cross legged in a see-through dress without underwear flipping someone off.
The previous day she had been strutting about in a bikini, which she went on to remove in full view of the paparazzi at the Eden Roc hotel in Antibes. After unsuccessfully hooking up with anyone at Cannes Allen attended the Vanity Fair party where she wore a gold and silver dress to schmooze with the likes of Will Smith wife Jada, Bono, Penelope Cruz and Mick Jagger.
At one point Allen said in earshot of many: “Everyone is married or gay - where’s all the cute guys?”
But perhaps this stint of public hedonism which goes back before the Cannes festival is an escape from some demands that are crushing in on her.
Allen is reportedly close to completing her long-awaited second album.
The songstress, who also hosts her own chat show for BBC3, Lily Allen and Friends and is rumored to be working on a sketch show with James Corden from Gavin and Stacey, has been hard at work in the studio and told reporters that she is almost finished.
She was recently quoted as saying: “I’ve worked so hard. My next album is nearly finished. I’m on a two-week break and then I’m starting a massive promotional tour.?
Adding that she is not sure when she will get a holiday next so is making the most of this break. Hopefully her recent behavior is at least partly due to the career pressures she’s dealing with. But until a few weeks ago, Lily was enrolled at a private residential clinic fighting serious depression, and some insiders say that she remains “terribly sad” following a miscarriage in January. Hopefully she is acting out a little and not on the road to a breakdown or stint in rehab.
Source
May 20, 2008 at 2:29 am | main | No comment
Kevin Federline’s attorney can’t complain about the intense interest in his client’s child-custody battle with Britney Spears.
He doesn’t grumble about the television trucks and news reporters swarming the courthouse every time there’s a hearing, or the paparazzi who hound the pop princess every moment there isn’t. And he’s certainly not opposed to the TV reports, tabloids and Web sites that have documented every shred of the case that has consumed him for the past 18 months.
After all, the attention has saved his side some major cash.
“If I had to hire an investigator or investigators to provide me with the intelligence about what’s going on, where they are, how are they doing,” said Mark Vincent Kaplan, “it would be north of half a million to a million dollars … as opposed to buying People magazine for $3.95 on Thursday morning or going on TMZ.”
On May 6, the 61-year-old attorney emerged from Superior Court in Los Angeles where, for the first time in months, there was positive news to report about the former couple’s custody tug-of-war: Spears was to have longer visits with her children.
The change, he said, was “recognition of the progress that has been made, a progress in structure and stability.”
Days later, he sat down with The Associated Press at his high-rise office near Beverly Hills, letting on that those inside the case were viewing it through the same prism as the rest of us.
“Everyone who had a big toe in this case at every level followed what was going on by looking at the Web sites,” he said.
Spears has always been an irresistible media target, but the 26-year-old’s split from Federline launched a series of antics that amplified coverage of her life. The pop star appeared in public without underwear, shaved her own head at a suburban salon and beat a car with an umbrella. She checked in and out of rehab, got into fender-benders, inexplicably spoke with a British accent and made a paparazzo her personal companion.
Twice she was rushed by ambulance to local hospitals, drawing hordes of helicopters each time.
“No other case has had the media addiction and frenzy that surrounded this case and these people 24-seven,” he said. “There’s never been anything like this, and there probably won’t be for a while.”
Each bizarre episode formed a new wrinkle in her custody dispute, and each twist prompted a new round of news reports. The press swarmed whenever Spears was allowed to see 2-year-old Sean Preston and 1-year-old Jayden James, and she was not averse to trotting the tots through known paparazzi hot spots.
In January, after her second hospitalization, Spears’ visitation rights were suspended completely; her father, Jamie Spears, legally took over her personal and financial affairs in a conservatorship - a legal designation normally reserved for cases involving the elderly and infirm.
But in the ensuing months, she has avoided the harsh spotlight, instead spending time with family and even finding success in a cameo role on television’s “How I Met Your Mother.”
The scene at the May 6 hearing was so low-key as to be almost anticlimactic. The tide had apparently turned, not only for Spears, but also for the horde that was feeding off months of high drama.
It was a long time coming.
“In order for a high-profile case not to be high profile, everybody’s got to want it not to be high profile,” Kaplan said. “That wasn’t happening for a while.”
While the frenzy may have abated, it hasn’t completely dissipated, in part because the case is continuing in open court rather than before a private judge, where celebrities often choose to settle their private affairs. Kaplan says that’s happening for reasons he can’t discuss.
One of the effects, however, is an evolution of Federline’s public image - from the guy who caused the downfall of America’s pop princess, to the more stable, responsible parent in an ugly situation.
“I think when the media saw that here’s a guy who stepped up to the plate, not just because he had to but because he wanted to … I think they gained a respect for him and that really turned them around a lot,” Kaplan said. “The mission involved - wanting to change the wrongful impression that was generally perceived for my client - without the media being a willing participant, it would have been impossible.”
That “mission” is why Kaplan says he took the case. Kaplan prepared Federline’s prenuptial agreement, and the two reunited when Spears filed for divorce.
“It was at that time that I knew that this was someone that I believed in who was taking on a cause that I believed in,” Kaplan said. “I realized that, in order to achieve the goal that he had regarding custody, that we couldn’t get from point A to point B without passing right through the center of the American dream.”
With A-list resources, Spears has employed a revolving door of representation, including four family law firms and some 15 attorneys throughout the case, while Kaplan and his partner, Jim Simon, have been the only two fighting for Federline. Spears was forced to pay most of his legal bills, and as of last month, Kaplan was still due $343,834.
When Federline, who has two other children from a previous relationship, won sole legal and physical custody of Sean Preston and Jayden James in January, it was a victory for Kaplan & Simon, LLP. And it was merited, said Connoly Oyler, a veteran Los Angeles family law attorney who is not involved in the Spears-Federline matter.
“In Spears’ case, with the emotional breakdown that she had, that’s a legitimate reason for one parent to say, ‘I want sole legal and sole physical (custody), because the other parent is not physically or psychologically able to take care of the children,’” he said. “There is good reason for Kevin Federline doing what he did, legally.”
Despite the overabundance of drama and media, the Spears-Federline case does share one thing with other custody disputes, Kaplan said: It’s a battle over the welfare of children who don’t grasp what’s going on around them.
“The bottom line is you’ve got two kids … who don’t know and don’t care and should never have to care about who their parents are,” he said. “They just want to be safe and secure, nurtured and bonded with their parents just like any other kids. … That’s really what’s at the core of this just like any other case.”
Kaplan said he’s proud of what he and Simon have accomplished for Federline. The case is arguably among the most significant in the attorney’s 34-year career, and Kaplan said it has inspired personal satisfaction and professional growth.
“We’ve expanded and everyone’s coming and wanting to hire me,” he said. “I’m seen as, in a lot of ways, taking on Goliath.”
“Very few lawyers get the opportunity that this case has presented on every possible issue you can think of,” he continued. “Even fewer lawyers recognize the opportunity, and even a smaller percentage of those have the (guts) to go for the opportunity.”
Of course being around celebrity has perks of its own.
“It’s made it possible to not have to make reservations at a restaurant,” he said, “but that too shall pass.”
May 19, 2008 at 8:30 am | main | No comment
Here’s an interesting situation where a movie might not get finished because of financing issues. Temperamental director David O. Russell’s saucy political comedy Nailed has been put on hold while shooting in South Carolina because of funding issues. Nailed is based on the novel Sammy’s Hill authored by Al Gore’s daughter Kristin who co-wrote the script with Russell. The film focuses on a naive small town waitress (Jessica Biel) who gets a nail lodged in her head and discovers a new-found sexual drive. When she travels to Washington to fight for better health care for the “bizarrely injured”, she meets an unscrupulous U.S. congressman (Jake Gyllenhaal) who attempts to take advantage of her. James Brolin plays the U.S. Speaker Of The House. The Indie film cast also stars James Marsden, Catherine Keener, and Tracy Morgan.
The filming predicament is solely related to its financing, not to budget overruns or its director David O. Russell who is known for turbulent shoots. Already on Nailed, James Caan quit two weeks ago after he and director Russel couldn’t agree on the best way for the actor to choke to death on a cookie during a scene. Not exactly what you would expect to be a make or break scene. Caan was later replaced by James Brolin. And for gossip sake let’s mention Russell has also had well-documented differences with George Clooney (the two came to blows on the set of Three Kings) and Lily Tomlin (profane exchanges on the set of I Heart Huckabees).
Nailed which began filming in April was shut down by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) on Friday because of insufficient funds on deposit with the guild. Money issues for David Bergstein’s Capitol Films which is financing the film may be behind the problems. Nikki Finke of Deadline Hollywood reports the Columbia, S.C. shoot is also in trouble with both IATSE and Teamsters, and some of those union members have left the beleaguered $25 million budgeted production. Rumors also are circulating that the state of South Carolina could withdraw its incentive monies because of the financing problems. Filmmakers hope to resolve the cash crunch and re-start shooting next week since principal photography is only at the halfway point. An inside source on the pic says:
“I am confident we will finish. The financing on this like most indies is based on bank loans and bridge loans. This is a matter of waiting on the bridge loan. Hopefully, it will all be resolved.
Meanwhile co-stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Biel and the other name actors are all standing by to see if the movie can continue to completion.
Additional Source
May 11, 2008 at 11:00 pm | main | No comment
One-time Australia’s richest man, James Packer is said to be over Scientology and ready to quit.
Packer, Scientology’s wealthiest member, was introduced to the cult by good bud, Tom back in 2002.
Packer’s friends have revealed that he’s quietly distanced himself from Scientology, was no longer undertaking Scientology courses and has told them he no longer “needs it”.
Packer got sucked into the cult when was overweight and depressed, his marriage to his first wife, Jodhi Meares, had ended and he was left looking like a goose after losing $350 million of daddies money in a bad business investment.
The one time Packer spoke about his involvement with the cult, he said:
“I think it has been very good for me,” he said. “It has been helpful. I have some friends in Scientology that have been very supportive. But I think it’s just helped me have a better outlook on life.”
Packer’s expanding casino empire looks like the reason for his departure, with Scientology frowning on gambling.
Scientology will be losing a lot of money on this one, as each member has to donate a lot of their income to the group.
May 10, 2008 at 3:00 pm | main | 1 comment
One-time Australia’s richest man, James Packer is said to be over Scientology and ready to quit.
Packer, Scientology’s wealthiest member, was introduced to the cult by good bud, Tom back in 2002.
Packer’s friends have revealed that he’s quietly distanced himself from Scientology, was no longer undertaking Scientology courses and has told them he no longer “needs it”.
Packer got sucked into the cult when was overweight and depressed, his marriage to his first wife, Jodhi Meares, had ended and he was left looking like a goose after losing $350 million of daddies money in a bad business investment.
The one time Packer spoke about his involvement with the cult, he said:
“I think it has been very good for me,” he said. “It has been helpful. I have some friends in Scientology that have been very supportive. But I think it’s just helped me have a better outlook on life.”
Packer’s expanding casino empire looks like the reason for his departure, with Scientology frowning on gambling.
Scientology will be losing a lot of money on this one, as each member has to donate a lot of their income to the group.
May 10, 2008 at 3:00 pm | main | No comment
LeBron James might be the ‘King of Akron’ but he is not going to have too many waiters lining up to serve him and his posse in Cleveland if he continues to tip 1.25% on $800 tabs.
Here is how it all went down:
It went down like this: LeBron pulls up in his Mercedes outside XO. People stop and try not to stare, but c’mon, it’s LeBron James. He enters the restaurant with a group of friends. On this special occasion, the King decides to dine late. He keeps his group there until around 3:45 a.m. During this time the waiter obsequiously pours drinks and fetches anything else His Greatness needs.
The final bill comes to $800. By the feudal laws of decorum, which stipulate that the affluent should administer a 20 percent gratuity, staffers figured they’d be pocketing an extra $160. But when they fetched the autographed bill after His Heinousness bolted back to Akron, their expectation turned to disbelief, then anger.
LeBron stiffed them with a meager $10 tip.
LeBron is making over $13 million dollars in salary alone this year. He is making another $20 million plus in endorsements. So LBJ is making around $33 million bucks and he is still tipping like he is out in middle school with his girl at Denny’s.
Come on King that is just bad form and only adds to certain stereotypes. The BumpWife has been out with Michael Jordan when he was throwing down several Franklin’s on a much smaller tab. If you want to be great then be great off the court to those staying open hours after closing time who are making min. wage or less + tips.
May 9, 2008 at 9:27 am | main | No comment
Britney Spears‘ was back in court for a custody hearing with ex-husband Kevin Federline. Britney’s been making steady progress with her battle with Bi-polar disorder and the court rewarded her expanded visitation rights with sons Sean Preston and Jayden James.
There was no change in custody, but Spears will now get three days supervised visitation a week and visitation on Mother’s Day, TMZ.com reported.
It represents a cautious step forward, rewarding Brit’s progress.
The next progress hearing is set for July 15.After the hearing, Britney was spotted smiling and leaving with her parents. That’s a sentence that hasn’t been used in many years. This in many ways is a story of redemption. As Britney’s relationship with her parents deteriorated over the last few years after her bitter divorce, she has been in a downward spiral unable to make it on her own or choose the right people to surround herself with.
Since her breakdown and the court assigning her dad Jamie as a co-conservatorship Britney’s life has slowly turned around. Her relationship with her parents and family seems to be improving, she’s back with her old manager and there are even signs she has made peace with K-Fed. Britney has a life-long battle on her hands with her mental illness but will soon be well enough to be back in charge of her own life again. Hopefully she will make better decisions this time around.
May 7, 2008 at 5:28 am | main | No comment
At first glance it may seem she had forgotten to get dressed.
But bra, shorts and ballet slippers almost count as overdressed for Amy Winehouse these days.
However, the singer had definitely left something behind when she walked out of the front door that morning.
About 12 inches of beehive to be exact.
Without her usual black hairpiece, Miss Winehouse, 24, looked a little softer and of course, quite a bit shorter.
As she relaxed with friends in Henley, Oxfordshire, it seemed she couldn’t resist a little hairdressing of her own.
While chatting on her phone, drinking wine and smoking, she used a home hair dye kit to bleach part of her fringe.
She has been working with her producer Mark Ronson on the theme tune for the new James Bond film, Quantum Of Solace, which is out in November.
The movie, the second to feature Daniel Craig as 007, is said to focus on Bond’s vengeance for the death of his lover Vesper Lynd in the last film Casino Royale.
Onlookers expressed fears for Miss Winehouse’s health because of her alarmingly thin figure.
“She looked really emaciated,” one said. “It looked like they had all been drinking but there was no sign of any food at the table.”
Meanwhile husband Blake Fielder-Civil is reported to be planning to run away with a secret mistress and will claim a chunk of the singer’s £10million fortune.
Jailed husband Blake, 25, is said to be reeling from the news that his wife has been cheating on him with manager’s assistant Alex Haines.
And according to The Sun, he has vowed that if Amy has “cheated on me, don’t worry - we’ll be millionaires.”
The mystery woman is described as blonde, and is also said to be a friend of Amy’s.
However, the new reports cast doubt on Amy’s assertion that her marriage is fine, and that she and Blake are still happily in love.
(source)
May 6, 2008 at 6:52 pm | main | No comment
Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson are developing a theme song for Quantum of Solace, the next Bond film, he has confirmed.
But as the song has not been officially signed up as the theme for the 22nd Bond movie, there are no guarantees the 60s-inspired sounds of Winehouse and Ronson will soundtrack the upcoming exploits of England’s most lethal weapon.
“Hopefully it will get used. We’re working on it and we’ll see happens,” Ronson told BBC 6 Music.
“They asked Amy, and I think Amy said that if she did it, she’d want to do it with me. So hopefully something will come of it,” he told the station’s Music Week’s show.
“The demo sounds like a James Bond theme, hopefully. But I don’t know if it’ll get used.”
Though rumours have long been persisted that Winehouse is to join the likes of Sheena Easton, Wings, Carly Simon, Tina Turner, Dame Shirley Bassey and Madonna in singing a Bond theme, Ronson stressed that no decisions have been made and that competition is likely to be fierce.
He added: “I’m sure there are loads more really famous people that probably we’re competing with and we don’t know about. I’m not sure.
“But hopefully I’ll still be alive for at least 12 more Bond themes. If we don’t get this one maybe we’ll get another one.”
Quantum of Solace is released on October 31st.
(source)
April 29, 2008 at 7:14 pm | main | No comment
Jeremey Piven and “friend” at Malibu Beach (4/27)
+ Jennifer Love Hewitt doing her hubby up the butt [Drunken Stepfather]
+ Keeley Hazell “Sings” in “Voyeur” Music Video [Egotastic!]
+ James Bond’s girlfriend has a pretty nice tramp stamp [Just Jared]
+ Expect Britney to be rocking these by Summer [Lossip]
+ Lisa Marie Scott is your afternoon pick-me-up [F-Listed]
+ Miranda Kerr has a nice backside [Derek Hail]
+ Greatest SFW porn scene EVER [Horny Oyster]
+ Erica Campbell in all her glory (NSFW) [Attuworld]
+ Ashton Kutcher needs toilet training [ICYDK]
[Pacific Coast News]
April 29, 2008 at 7:00 am | main | No comment
Here is Bumpshack’s 2008 NFL Mock Draft. There are only 2,585,111 mock drafts already on the net so this one should disappear into the abyss pretty quickly, especially with the draft just 12 hours away from starting.
| # |
Team |
Player |
College |
| 1. |
Miami Dolphins |
OT Jake Long |
Michigan |
| 2. |
St. Louis Rams |
DE Chris Long |
Virginia |
| 3. |
Atlanta Falcons |
DT Glenn Dorsey |
LSU |
| 4. |
Oakland Raiders |
RB Darren McFadden |
Arkansas |
| 5. |
Kansas City Chiefs |
DT Sedrick Ellis |
USC |
| 6. |
New York Jets |
DE Vernon Gholston |
Ohio State |
| 7. |
New England Patriots |
OL Brandon Albert |
Virginia |
| 8. |
Baltimore Ravens |
QB Matt Ryan |
Boston College |
| 9. |
Cincinnati Bengals |
LB Keith Rivers |
USC |
|
| 10. |
New Orleans Saints |
CB Dominique Cromartie |
Tennessee State |
| 11. |
Buffalo Bills |
CB Leodis McKelvin |
Troy |
| 12. |
Denver Broncos |
OT Ryan Clady |
Boise State |
| 13. |
Carolina Panthers |
RB Rashard Mendenhall |
Illinois |
| 14. |
Chicago Bears |
OT Jeffrey Otah |
Pittsburgh |
| 15. |
Detroit Lions |
OT Chris Williams |
Vanderbilt |
| 16. |
Arizona Cardinals |
CB Agib Talib |
Kansas |
| 17. |
Minnesota Vikings |
DE Derrick Harvey |
Florida |
| 18. |
Houston Texans |
CB Mike Jenkins |
South Florida |
| 19. |
Philadelphia Eagles |
WR Devin Thomas |
Michigan State |
| 20. |
Tampa Bay Bucs |
WR James Hardy |
Indiana |
|
| 21. |
Washington Redskins |
DE Phillip Merling |
Clemson |
| 22. |
Dallas Cowboys |
RB Felix Jones |
Arkansas |
| 23. |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
OT Gosder Cherilus |
Boston College |
| 24. |
Tennessee Titans |
WR Limas Sweed |
Texas |
| 25. |
Seattle Seahawks |
LB Jerod Mayo |
North Carolina |
| 26. |
Jacksonville Jaguars |
DT Calais Campbell |
Miami |
| 27. |
San Diego Chargers |
S Kenny Phillips |
Miami |
| 28. |
Dallas Cowboys |
WR DeSean Jackson |
California |
| 29. |
San Francisco 49ers |
DT Kentwan Balmer |
North Carolina |
| 30. |
Green Bay Packers |
CB Antoine Cason |
Arizona |
| 31. |
New York Giants |
RB Jonathan Stewart |
Oregon |
|
April 26, 2008 at 2:24 pm | main | No comment
I saw some interesting and not so flattering comments today about Al Pacino and Robert De Niro and the acting choices they make today, and it sparked a memory.
Francis Ford Coppola was interviewed by GQ magazine a while back and he also badmouthed Pacino and De Niro, the stars of Coppola’s immortal “Godfather” films. He got a little too personal in some ways but the gist of his criticism toward the two legendary actors was for taking parts for the money and losing their passion for doing great work. At the time I kind of questioned Coppola for his remarks but now I am not so sure.
Back in the day (the 70’s) Pacino and De Niro were Hollywood, heroes to a generation of young actors and filmmakers, with the electrically charged work they did in such films as “Serpico,” “Dog Day Afternoon,” “Mean Streets” and “Taxi Driver.”
It’s not easy being an older actor in Hollywood, where the juiciest roles are written for a narrow age range that pretty much begins with Will Smith and ends with George Clooney.
Al Pacino has made a string of bad films lately, including the famously awful “Gigli,” and “Two for the Money.” But Of the dozen or so movies that opened in theatres on Friday, including a bloodfest called “Zombie Strippers” (with adult film star Jenna Jameson!) and a gruesome murder-mystery about a gang of psycho medical students called “Pathology,” the worst of the bunch might be “88 Minutes.” 88 is a hapless thriller, staring Pacino as a hotshot forensic psychiatrist stalked by a mysterious killer. The critics have had a field day, resulting in it being the second-lowest-rated movie of the year on Metacritic.com.
Throughout the film, Pacino, who turns 68 on Friday sporting a dusky orange tan that suggests a George Hamilton look, is surrounded by nubile young actresses who play students lusting after or enamored by him. Vanity be thy name Al. Insiders familiar with the project say Avi Lerner, the colorful Israeli producer who has made hundreds of B movies over the last 20 years, paid Pacino $9 million to do the picture, knowing Pacino’s presence in a commercial thriller would allow Lerner to offset the cost of the film by selling it overseas. Lerner pocketed $6 million more by selling domestic distribution rights to Sony Pictures.
Lerner has another big investment on Pacino, who returns this fall in “Righteous Kill,” a serial killer thriller (picture above) that teams Al with Robert De Niro as New York City cops on the trail of an unsolved murder. With Avnet at the helm again (also directed 88 Minutes), expectations for quality are low.
Speaking of De Niro his selectivity in choosing roles lately is questionable too. He has seemingly abandoned serious dramatic work for a spate of forgettable horror and crime thrillers and lowbrow comedy high jinks like “Meet the Fockers” and “Analyze That.”
De Niro’s most recent film, “What Just Happened?,” an inside-the-movie-biz comedy, got such an abysmal reception at Sundance that it limped out of the festival without a sale. De Niro cut his longtime ties with CAA last week, defecting to Endeavor, inspiring a venomous response purportedly from one CAA agent that was e-mailed all over Hollywood. The poison note claimed that De Niro asks for a $1-million production fee on his pictures to help fund his Tribeca empire in New York: “Bobby held us responsible for his own greed, his own avarice and his own megalomania. And it’s just like the studios now ask us: Why should we pay this guy — who doesn’t open a movie — the payoff to his production company, just so he can add his name as a producer?”
The e-mail also attacked De Niro’s career choices, pointing out that he could’ve “gone the [Jack] Nicholson route — very selective, very particular, protect the brand — or go out sending himself up in tripe like ‘Analyze This,’ which made money but turned him into that ‘old psycho guy.’ ”
I recall a few Nicholson clunkers as well, but he also picked his spots, doing movies with Martin Scorsese, Alexander Payne and Sean Penn. Perhaps Coppola had a point after all in that GQ interview.
Source
Al Pacino Celebrity Gossip Robert De Niro
April 22, 2008 at 8:44 pm | main | No comment
Sandra Bullock and her husband were unhurt after a head-on crash with a drunken driver, police said Saturday.
The actress and her husband, Jesse James of TV’s “Monster Garage,” were being driven in a sport-utility vehicle Friday night when a station wagon crossed the center line and hit them, said Gloucester police Lt. Jerry Cook.
Both vehicles were totaled, but no one was hurt. The vehicles were traveling 15 to 20 mph, Cook said.
The other car was driven by Lucille Gatchell, who registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.20 percent, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08 percent, Cook said.
She was held by Gloucester police overnight and released Saturday on personal recognizance. She is to be arraigned Tuesday in Gloucester District Court.
Gatchell did not immediately return a call seeking comment Saturday. Calls to representatives for Bullock were not immediately returned.
Bullock, 43, was “gracious” and concerned about whether Gatchell was OK, Cook said.
The actress, who starred in such films as “Speed” and “Miss Congeniality,” is in Massachusetts filming the romantic comedy “The Proposal.”
April 20, 2008 at 11:58 pm | main | No comment
Sandra Bullock and her husband, Jesse James, were hit head-on by a drunk driver in Gloucester, Mass. last night.
Thankfully, nobody was injured, but 64-year-old Lucille Gatchell who was behind the wheel of the ‘other’ vehicle, was arrested after she blew a .20 on the breathalyzer - two and a half times the legal limit.
Sandy and Jesse were in a rented SUV that was being driven by someone else. The Gloucester Police Lt. said as he approached the scene, James and Bullock were hugging each other. They said they were fine, they didn’t need medical attention. There were quite a few people snapping pictures of them.”
“Mrs. Bullock was very personable and was concerned for (Gatchell’s) well-being.”
Source
Sandra Bullock
April 20, 2008 at 2:06 pm | main | No comment
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