WTF?

Britney Spears' trashtastic hubby Kevin Federline couldn't find a label lame enough to release his rap single, so he's distributing it on his own.

K-Fed is dropping the song "PopoZao" on New Year's Eve, according to a mass e-mail sent from his myspace.com page. Federline cryptically notes, "I love you all. The ones that Love and the ones that Hate. The ones that Fight and those who Bite."

"PopoZao" is presumably the track in which Federline has been reported to say "Pavarotti" when he means "paparazzi." The single will be available on his Web site, kevinfederline.com, which promises, "I am coming."

Source: New York Post

Diggin' for Clams

Paris, on her recent holiday trip to Hawaii, digs for, um, clams:

Source: Popsugar

No Baby Gift From the Ex

Chris Klein says he won’t be sending ex-fiancee Katie Holmes a gift or a congratulatory card after her baby is born.

“No, I don’t think so,” the 26-year-old actor told AP Radio in a recent interview.

“Her and my relationship is a time in the past. And it’s a time that I’ll always look back with in fondness, but her and I have moved on, and she has a separate life and I have a separate life. And it’s better that we keep it that way.”

Source: MSNBC

Poor Mike

What's wrong with Mike Myers?

We all know that he and his wife are divorcing. Entries from various Myers-spotters via Gawker Stalker reveal a troubled actor:

October 26th, 2005
Saw Mike Myers walking with head down, looking normal but self-conscious, on Bleecker and Bank Street.

Novemeber 22, 2005
Spotted a disheveled, bloated Mike Myers today (11/19) passing by the MoMa design store in Soho with a gay artiste-type friend. Couldn't decide if the companion was more Karl Lagerfeld or Andy Warhol but he definitely upped the hip factor of homeless-looking Austin Powers.

December 12th, 2005
Last night outside Webster Hall at around 7:30, Mike Myers of SNL/Shrek fame stumbled past us, then proceeded to stumble up 11th street toward 4th Avenue, lingering on the block while looking terrible and talking on a cell phone. Perhaps he was practicing for his upcoming role as Keith Moon, but the man looked as bad as its possible to look, and after about 20 minutes of awkwardly bumping into walls and such, hopefully found his way somewhere safe.

December 27th, 2005
Saw Mike Myers yesterday (12/20) at Tea and Sympathy in the West Village with 3 friends. He looked very grumpy the entire time. Couldn’t see what he was eating, but about halfway through the meal a very loud and obnoxious cell phone rang, getting everyone’s attention. He scrambled to get it, and apologized to everyone for the disturbance. Still looked grumpy, with a silly fur hat with ear flaps when he left.

Source: The Apiary

Jess Buys New House

Jessica Simpson is moving on – literally.

Less than two weeks after filing for divorce in Los Angeles Superior Court on Dec. 16, Simpson has begun her new life – by purchasing a $3 million Beverly Hills home and moving in.

"She's happy to have a house that's hers," someone close to the pop star said. "This is the first time she's making her own decisions." Among them: keeping the divorce proceedings as quiet as possible by requesting the case be assigned to a private judge and not aired in open court.

Source: People

Lots of Comments on Lennon

Who knew that yesterday's Sean Lennon post would have generated so many comments?

Click here to take a look.

Watts Trying For a Baby?

Hollywood couple Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber are at the center of pregnancy rumors after she was spotted visiting a fertility specialist in Australia.

The King Kong actress, 37, and The Sum Of All Fears actor, 38, have been dating since April and are currently visiting Watts' family in Sydney. During her current stay in Sydney, Watts was seen visiting Chinese herbalist and fertility expert Lily Liu, according to the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.

Watts recently admitted she was desperate for children, but was worried she had waited too long to conceive. She said, "I wish it could have happened a little bit sooner. I have wanted a family since I was 19 - certainly to have children."

Source: Teen Hollywood

Police Report

Click here to view the police report from the Eva Longoria/Tony Parker traffic stop incident.

In the report, Parker is referred to as "AP," which stands for "Arrested Person." Longoria is referred to as "FC," or "Field Contact." Through a publicist, Longoria later denied saying such nasty stuff. Parker was cited for impeding traffic and failing to present a valid Texas drivers license.

Eva is now planning to file charges against the Texas traffic cop who cited her and boyfriend Tony Parker. The actress claims the police officer acted badly when he pulled her and Parker over for impeding traffic in her home state. The cop is currently under investigation for misconduct. The officer left Longoria outraged when he accused her of making derogatory racial comments about him.

Sources: The Smoking Gun and IMDB

Janice Is Back!

The Oxygen network has greenlighted a new reality series starring former "America's Next Top Model" judge Janice Dickinson, per Daily Variety.

Tentatively titled "The Janice Dickinson Project," the show will revolve around the former supermodel's attempts to launch a modeling agency in Hollywood while raising her two kids. In addition to her stint on "Top Model," the 52-year-old Dickinson was also one of the celebs featured on the fifth season of VH-1's "The Surreal Life." Her new show is slated to begin airing next spring.

Source: ET

Worst Movies of 2005

MovieHole.net has named its worst films of 2005 and picked The Mask sequel Son Of The Mask as the top turkey of the year. The film, starring funnyman Jamie Kennedy, has been dubbed "an abomination" by MovieHole editor Clint Morris, who names John Waters' movie A Dirty Shame as his runner-up. Also named and shamed on the new list are Stealth, Cursed and sequels XXX 2 and The Ring 2.

The top 10 is:

1. Son Of The Mask
2. A Dirty Shame
3. Stealth
4. Cursed
5. Boogeyman
6. Deck Dogz
7. The Ring 2
8. XXX 2
9. The Fog
10. Be Cool

--I haven't seen one of them.

Source: Teen Hollywood

Brangelina Buy Yves Home?

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have reportedly paid $25 million to acquire Château Gabriel, the 127 year-old Anglo-Norman house on the Normandy coast in Deauville that, for the last 27 years, has served as the summer home to Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé.

A call to Emile Garcin Paris, the company representing the residence, was not immediately returned.

Nestled on 75 acres of park-like grounds, the 9,000-square foot, five-story estate—the largest property with a view of the ocean—boasts nine bedrooms, eight bathrooms, a summer salon, billiard room, and servants’ quarters. Each bedroom, in fact, is named for a character from Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past. If the celebrity couple ever ties the knot, the Russian-style vacation cottage, where the designer sketched many of his collections, is surrounded by a birch grove and would be perfect for the in-laws. A waterfall, lake, apple orchard, stables, and extensive gardens that feature Japanese and English-style plantings round out the compound.

Saint Laurent and Bergé purchased the residence in 1978, after it was abandoned following WWII. Inside, Jolie and Pitt will luxuriate in first-floor rooms that mimic the blue-green colors of Monet’s “Waterlilies,” said to be a favorite of Saint Laurent’s. Extensive personal security aside, an entrance flanked by sphinxes will undoubtedly provide some additional deterrence to what will surely be eager paparazzi.

Source: Fashion Week Daily

Lauper Heads To Broadway

Eighties pop star Cyndi Lauper is Broadway bound after signing up to replace The Sopranos star Edie Falco in The Threepenny Opera.

The singer will make her New York stage debut in March as part of an all-star cast, featuring Alan Cumming, Jim Dale and quirky pop star Nellie McKay. Lauper will play Jenny Diver in the Roundabout Theater Company's upcoming revival of the Kurt Weill/Bertolt Brecht musical. Falco was originally announced for the part, but had to withdraw from the show due to a scheduling conflict. Designer Isaac Mizrahi is among the show's production team.

Source: IMDB

Donna's Engaged--AGAIN

Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott have gotten engaged, the couple confirmed. "We're so incredibly happy and in love. We cannot wait to start our lives together," they said in a joint statement.

McDermott proposed to the former Beverly Hills 90210 star at a Christmas tree farm on Christmas Eve in Toronto, Canada. Dean's sister put out lights for half a mile leading to a table for two surrounded by decorated Christmas trees. McDermott and Spelling rode up in a horse-drawn carriage, then he presented his fiancée with a diamond and sapphire ring. "It was so magical. All the stars aligned. I have never been happier in my life," McDermott said.

Spelling, 32, and McDermott, 39, met earlier this year in Canada while working together on the TV movie Mind Over Murder.

In September, Spelling announced she was splitting from her husband, actor-writer Charlie Shanian, after a year of marriage. The couple wed on July 3, 2004, in an extravagant wedding hosted by Tori's father, television mogul Aaron Spelling, at his 56,000-sq.-ft. Los Angeles mansion, McDermott filed for divorce on Sept. 9 from his wife of 12 years.

--How classy.

Source: People

Meet The Newest Barker

Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and his wife, actress Shanna Moakler, both 30, welcomed their second child together, on Christmas Eve.

The baby girl, Alabama Louella Barker, was born at 12:22 p.m. and weighed in a 7 lbs., 1oz. In May, when news of the pregnancy was first announced, Barker said: "Hopefully it will be Christmas Eve. I'm hoping for a girl." He got his wish.

The couple, stars of the MTV reality show Meet the Barkers, have a 2-year-old son, Landon. Moakler also has a 6-year-old daughter, Atiana, with her ex-fiancé Oscar De La Hoya.

Source: People

Bottoms Up, Bree

Bottoms Up, Bree:

Pour another glass of wine for Bree on "Desperate Housewives." Better yet, just hand over the bottle.

The ABC show's creator, Marc Cherry, says Marcia Cross' character - who became a widow following her husband's poisoning and then watched her flipped-out fiance die of an overdose - isn't reacting well to changes. "We're starting her descent into alcoholism," Cherry tells TV Guide in its Jan. 2 issue, on newsstands Thursday. He says there are some alcohol-fueled moments with her fellow housewives where "it gets pretty ugly."

It shouldn't entirely be a surprise for fans of the show, since Cherry says he's been hinting about Bree's future ever since "Desperate Housewives" began a year ago. "When Bree has tension, she grabs a glass," he says. "Chart it back and you'll see so many moments where she just goes for the wine."

--I'll be interested to see how this plays out. Since Marcia and Felicity are the only ones who can truly act on that show (ok, you might be able to sway me on occasion with regard to Teri, but Eva is terrible, and that's that), I think this can be done really well.

Source: New York Daily News

Desperate Times Call For...

Sean Lennon is determined to kick off the New Year with a new girlfriend - and he's asking the New York Post to help him find one.

"Any girl who is interested must simply be born female and between the ages of 18 and 45," John Lennon's singer/songwriter son, 30, told them. "They must have an IQ above 130 and they must be honest. They must not have any clinical, psychological disorders . . . and a kind heart. Clearly beautiful - but beauty on the inside is more important - but no deformities, third legs, fifth nipples . . . I'm completely alone and I'm completely miserable. So please send your request to [Page Six]."

Source: New York Post

Films Named To Nat'l Film Registry

Films that helped usher in a new era of censorship, changed the way Hollywood thought about the audience, provided a first-hand look at one of the nation's great disasters and introduced the world to the word "gnarly" are among the 25 films the librarian of Congress named to the National Film Registry on Tuesday.

Among the films selected by James H. Billington for inclusion in the registry are the 1933 Barbara Stanwyck film "Baby Face," whose racy content inspired the Hays Production Code, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," which took audience participation to another level, and "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," which gave use "gnarly buds," were all included in the registry.

"The films we choose are not necessarily the 'best' American films ever made or the most famous, but they are films that continue to have cultural, historical or aesthetic significance," Billington said. Billington made his selections from more than 1,000 titles nominated by the public after lengthy discussions with the library's motion picture division staff and members of the National Film Preservation Board.

Also included in the film list are some of Hollywood biggest hits of the 1970s and early 1980s including "The Sting"; "Cool Hand Luke"; "The French Connection" and "Fast Times at Ridgemont High."

--"Rocky Horror Picture Show" is fantastic. Truly genius. I have the entire movie soundtrack on my iPod.

Source: Yahoo

Jack's Lost Weekend

As if a giant ape weren't enough to get Jack Black going in "King Kong," the actor says he let loose one time while making the film.

"I had a bit of a lost weekend while we were doing `King Kong,'" Black says in the January issue of GQ magazine. "Overall I'm very responsible on set. I'm not one of those dudes who come drunk to the set."

"But there was a lost weekend where I had a little time off and I did some Ecstasy and I went on a kind of crazy rampage and I started smoking (again)," he says. "Me and another member of the cast, who will remain nameless, just running around, dancing around, drinking and Ecstasizing, smoking like a chimney. And then it was over."

The 36-year-old actor says he's since quit smoking and is on a strict diet. In "King Kong," he plays Carl Denham, a filmmaker who traps Kong and brings him to New York.

Source: New York Daily News

Sweet Christmas

David Beckham has bought wife Victoria a chocolate fountain for Christmas.

Sweets and fruit can be dipped into the melted Belgian chocolate as it pours over the sides.

He ordered the fountain using a personal shopper at Harrods.

Source: Ananova

RIP

Michael Vale, the actor best known for his portrayal of a sleepy-eyed Dunkin' Donuts baker who said "Time to make the doughnuts," has died. He was 83.

Vale died Saturday in New York City of complications from diabetes, according to son-in law Rick Reil. Vale's long-running character, "Fred the Baker," for the doughnut maker's ad campaign lasted 15 years until he retired in 1997.

Canton, Mass.-based Dunkin' Donuts said in a statement that Vale's character "became a beloved American icon that permeated our culture and touched millions with his sense of humor and humble nature."

Source: IndyStar

Did Brad Get Angelina Pregnant?

Life and Style claims Angelina is pregnant:

Life & Style claims new evidence points to pregnancy for Angelina Jolie. When the actress returned to the set of The Good Shepherd in early December for a few days of reshoots after a two-month break, the crew immediately noticed a problem: The costumes no longer fit over Angie’s suspicious stomach bump. “Her body had changed so much,” an on-set insider tells Life & Style, “that her wardrobe had to be refitted to give her extra room in the tummy area. Several dresses had to be altered.”

Causing even more speculation: “Angelina nearly fainted several times and had to be taken off to the side to rest,” says the insider. “People on set were thinking, She’s obviously pregnant! All signs point to that.”

Source: Life and Style

Cliu

George Clooney and Lucy Liu appear to have rekindled their romance, at least briefly.

The "Syriana" star and Liu left NYC's Cipriani the other night and began lip-locking in his waiting limo. "She looked like she was going to devour him," a witness said of the 37-year-old starlet. She and Clooney reportedly hooked up in 2000. Asked about the reunion, Liu's flack, Steve Huvane, eloquently responded, "It's none of your business."

Source: New York Post

More KFed

Because one can't get enough KFeddy, I announce to you the launch of KevinFederline.com.

It's apparently going to be "homebase" for all of his music fans. Ummm...yeah.

Jetillo

The odds were against ladies' man Derek Jeter heading into a third season with Vanessa Minnillo and it looks like the oddsmakers were right - at least for now.

The Yankee captain, who was recently spotted with Scarlett Johansson, and the sultry "Total Request Live" hostess are going through an "off" phase in their off-and-on relationship, sources said. They've been dating since late 2003 and had recently returned from a romantic trip to Hawaii. Minillo's rep wouldn't comment.

Source: New York Post

Jennifer Affleck

Jennifer Garner has changed her name to Jennifer Affleck, so she can share her surname with her baby daughter Violet.

In a recent donation made by Garner to Democrat hopeful Deval Patrick's local government campaign, the film star signed her name as Jennifer Affleck.

Source: Contact Music

Money Doesn't Buy Cleanliness

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow will think twice about renting a romantic getaway home for her and husband Chris Martin after a recent dream break turned into a nightmare.

The 33-year-old star decided to treat Martin to a two-week break in East Hampton, New York, after he completed Coldplay's North American summer tour and rented a palatial ocean-side property without checking it out first. She recalls, "The place was filthy when we got here. I went to use the cheese grater and there was still cheese on it."

--That constitutes a "nightmare?"

Source: IMDB

Celebrity Breakups 2005

In case you had as much trouble as I did keeping track of of the Celebrity Breakups of 2005, Glitterati has a great summary for you.

Source: Glitterati

Crow Still Friends With Clapton

Sheryl Crow claims she's still good friends with ex-boyfriend Eric Clapton.

The singer, who is now engaged to cycling champ Lance Armstrong, insists she still maintains a good relationship with the rock legend. She revealed: "I did have a relationship with Eric Clapton, though we were never engaged as was reported. He's a good friend now. I'm friends with lots of people I've dated."

Sheryl, who once dated actor Owen Wilson, also says Eric was a mentor to her, as is Bob Dylan. She added to Britain's You magazine: "Like Eric, Bob Dylan has also been a great mentor and invited me to sing with him. It doesn't get any better than that."

Source: FemaleFirst

Oprah's Plane Hits Bird

Oprah Winfrey's private GulfStream jet was forced to return to California's Santa Barbara Municipal Airport after its windshield cracked because it hit a bird, officials said.

Winfrey and boyfriend Stedman Graham were not injured, though the bird apparently was. As was the plane, which will remain grounded until its windshield can be repaired, Santa Barbara Fire Department spokesman John Ahlman tells the Associated Press.

The collision occurred around 12:30 p.m. Monday just after take off. "This is not a totally unusual thing," Ahlman said of the cracked windshield. "We see these things pretty frequently." Winfrey lives near Santa Barbara in a Montecito mansion that sits on 42 acres in the hills. She bought the property five years ago.

Source: People

• The LLama Butchers linked with Christmas Week at Rancho Non-Sequitor
  
  

Porter Home Gets Makeover

The birthplace of composer Cole Porter is getting a winter makeover. The 1860s-era house, which has about 21 rooms, had fallen into disrepair over the years. It had been split into several apartments, and police found a methamphetamine lab in one of the apartments two years ago. The renovations will include repairing the foundation, rebuilding four porches, replacing wiring and plumbing and installing heat and air conditioning.

The new owners, the Ole Olsen Memorial Theatre group, plan to open the home as a museum and bed and breakfast when the work is done. Nearly $52,000 has been donated toward the renovations, which organizers say will cost about $105,000. The museum plans to sell fudge made with recipes from the now-closed Arnold's Candies of Peru. At his shows, Porter gave away boxes of the candy as presents.

"It's really important this historical landmark be saved," said Mildred Kopis, curator of the Miami County Museum where much of Porter's memorabilia is displayed. "It's an honor to have his birthplace (here) and we should promote it."

Porter was born in 1891 and lived in the house until he was 10. The town of Peru is about midway between South Bend and Indianapolis. Porter, who died in 1964, wrote more than 1,500 songs for stage, movies and television, including such standards as "I Get a Kick Out of You," "Night and Day" and "Anything Goes," and his life was portrayed in the 2004 film "De-Lovely."

--This one's for you, PJDJD.

Source: New York Daily News

RIP

Vincent Schiavelli, the droopy-eyed character actor who appeared in scores of movies, including "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Ghost," died Monday at his home in Sicily. He was 57. He died of lung cancer, said Salvatore Glorioso, mayor of Polizzi Generosa, the Sicilian village where Schiavelli resided.

The New York-born Schiavelli, whose gloomy look made him perfect to play creepy or eccentric characters, made appearances in some 150 film and television productions, according to the Internet Movie Database. In "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," he played the science teacher Mr. Vargas, who was married to the character portrayed by Lana Clarkson.

Schiavelli also appeared as Salieri's valet in "Amadeus," as "Cuckoo's Nest" patient Frederickson, the subway ghost in "Ghost," the organ grinder in "Batman Returns" and as Chester in "The People vs. Larry Flynt." He was selected in 1997 by Vanity Fair as one of the United States' best character actors.

Source: Foxnews

Dern, Harper Marry

Actress Laura Dern and her longtime partner, musician Ben Harper, married Friday in a small private ceremony at their home in Los Angeles, a source said.

Dern, 38, and Harper, 36, have two children together, a 4-year-old son and a 1-year-old daughter. The couple met at one of his concerts in the fall of 2000 while he was separated from his wife of four years, Joanna. (They divorced in 2001.) His children with Joanna – son Charles and daughter Harris – visit him often. At the time she and Harper met, Dern was rebounding from a broken relationship with former-fiance Billy Bob Thornton.

Source: People

Yes, Virginia

Eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of New York's Sun, and the quick response was printed as an unsigned editorial Sept. 21, 1897. The work of veteran newsman Francis Pharcellus Church has since become history's most reprinted newspaper editorial, appearing in part or whole in dozens of languages in books, movies, and other editorials, and on posters and stamps.

DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, 'If you see it in The Sun it's so.' please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?
VIRGINIA O'HANLON
115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measure by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus. He exists certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias.
There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest man that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia,
in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank GOD! He lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

--I wish you all the best for the holidays. :) Lawren

You'll Shoot Your Eye Out

Get ready for your yearly dose of Ralphie, as TBS' 24-Hours of "A Christmas Story" starts TONIGHT at 8 p.m.

You might be surprised at what Ralphie (Peter Billingsly) is up to now.

He's now a movie producer and frequent collaborator with close friend Jon Favreau on films like "Zathura," "Made" and the Vince Vaughn-Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy "The Break-Up," due out in June. In the '90s, the semi-recognizable Billingsley used to get then-struggling actor pals Vaughn and Favreau past the velvet ropes at L.A. nightclubs — where all their skirt-chasing glories went directly into Favreau's breakthrough screenplay "Swingers"? Yes, it's true. In the parlance of "Swingers," Billingsley was "the guy behind the guy behind the guy."

"We'd go up to the bouncers, like seven dudes," he remembers, "and Vince would be like, "Perhaps you know Peter Billingsley from 'A Christmas Story,' and they'd look at each other and then let us through. We worked that scam for a while."

Billingsley was roommates in a house of five that included Vaughn, whom he met shooting an after-school special called "The Fourth Man." Billingsley was the fourth man on a high-school track relay team who took steroids to keep up, and Vaughn played his star teammate. "There was a whole thing where my dad liked him more than me, because I took after my mother and I was a science kid," laughs Billingsley. "So I started taking steroids to impress my dad." "I, of course, got the heart condition and the four-page diagnosis from the doctor about how my n - - s were gonna fall off."

Billingsley also soon became a working partner with Favreau, with whom he's also co-produced the roundtable "Dinner for Five" chat show on IFC, and the two became close friends. "He's an ace in the hole," Favreau says "We went to a USC [football] game this year, and he got us into the coaches' parking lot. The guy at the gate didn't know me, but he recognized Peter. People get a kick out of him."

--This is my favorite Christmas movie. :)

Source: New York Post

Liar, Liar Pants on Fire

Britney Spears asked for a fight, and she's going to get one. The pop tart has sued Us Weekly, claiming she and hubby Kevin Federline never screened a sex tape of themselves for their sniggering lawyers, as Us has reported.

But the weekly's editrix, Janice Min, has told pals she is ready for a fight — and can't wait for the depositions. "Britney is not exactly truthful all the time," said a source. "She thinks if she says something, it is true. But often it's not."

This has happened before. When the New York Post broke the news of Spears' engagement and pregnancy, she denied both stories, only to announce later that they were true.

Source: New York Post

Simpson Asks for New Judge

Jessica Simpson's lawyers filed court papers Wednesday requesting a new judge in her divorce from Nick Lachey, claiming the current judge in her case could be "prejudiced" against her or her attorney, TV's Extra reports.

Simpson attorney Lance Spiegel filed the papers, which say she "cannot have a fair or impartial trial" with Judge Michael P. Linfield presiding. As for why Simpson's camp made the request, a source close to the pop star said: "It's a legal technicality. It is important to note this is coming from her attorney, not her."

Another source said the request is merely a formality, as Simpson and Lachey are in talks to have a private judge take over the case. "The goal is to have a private judge because both sides want this to be amicable and private," the source said.

Source: People

Wedding Attire?

Posh pulls out her skankiest ensemble for Elton's wedding:

Source: Pink is the New Blog

Folsom Prison To View Cash Biopic

Johnny Cash biopic Walk The Line is to be screened at California's Folsom Prison, 38 years after the country star recorded a live album there.

The film, which stars Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon as the late Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, has been nominated for Golden Globe Awards and is tipped for Oscar glory in February. Prison bosses hope the movie, which follows Cash's career and struggles with drink an drugs, will show prisoners they are not without hope.

Joe Avila, California executive director of the nonprofit Prison Fellowship, tells the Hollywood Reporter, "We invited 20th Century Fox to screen Walk the Line at Folsom because the lesson of Johnny Cash is that it's never too late for a man to turn his life around, and that's a story these men need to hear." Phoenix, who will be at the January 3 screening, adds, "(Cash) believed in the power of redemption and offered his unique gift to anyone who needed to find it within them, and in the process, he inspired millions. I can think of no greater way to honor him than to carry on his legacy of using music to connect to all people."

Source: IMDB

Micholette?

Nicollette Sheridan searches for the perfect Christmas tree with singer Michael Bolton in Los Angeles recently. The pair, who dated seriously from 1992 to 1995, were later spotted dining at the Ivy in Beverly Hills. Sheridan split from fiancé Nicklas Soderblom in October.

--Hmmm...

Fast Food Nation

Avril Lavigne has agreed to make her acting debut in the new film Fast Food Nation.

The film is a screen adaptation of Eric Schlosser's best selling book reports IOL.com. Patricia Arquette, Bobby Cannavale, Luis Guzman, Ethan Hawke, Greg Kinnear, Kris Kristofferson and Wilmer Valderrama, will also star in the film.

The film, based on the book which exposed secrets of the fast food industry, is set to be released next year.

Source: Ananova

Surprise

Yes, Chris Rock, there is a Santa Claus. Parents with young children who happened to watch "Everybody Hates Chris" in the past week had some explaining to do when the character of Rock's brother suddenly told his younger sister that Santa doesn't exist.

"Everybody knows there's no Santa Claus," Drew said to Tonya on the UPN sitcom. "Come here, let me show you something. I'm taking you to the toys ... Santa doesn't come down the chimney. We don't even have a chimney. We have radiators." Disillusioned, she stomps out of the room.

But wait. It gets worse. Put on the spot, Tonya's dad Julius tells her the Easter bunny and tooth fairy don't exist, either. "Somebody better give me my teeth back," the girl fumes.

A blindsided UPN received "a handful" of complaints about the Santa expose on its sitcom based loosely on comic Rock's life growing up in Brooklyn, a spokeswoman said. This is a series whose use of the n-word in its first episode passed with relatively little notice.

Source: New York Daily News

Happy Anniversary, Madonna

Madonna's plans for a romantic Highland anniversary with husband Guy Richie have been dashed - by a broken plane.

The couple were set to fly to Scotland's Skibo Castle, where they were married in 2000, to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary - but their jet suddenly developed technical problems. After waiting for two hours for the aircraft to be mended the disappointed pair decided to call of their trip.

Madonna's spokesperson is quoted in Scotland's Daily Record newspaper as saying: "They were due to make a private visit to Scotland but the plane developed a technical fault and the trip was cancelled."

Earlier this week, it was revealed the singer is determined to inject a little festive cheer into her family Christmas - by stocking up on her favourite beer. The singer has ordered 300 pints of award winning Folly ale for herself and Guy.

Beer fans describe the ale as a "traditional, full-bodied Yorkshire bitter", and one Folly drinker said: "I'm not surprised she fell in love with Folly because it's a wonderful pint." Bosses at the Wharfedale brewery in Skipton were only too happy to deliver the booze to Madonna's mansion in Wiltshire - 275 miles away.

Source: FemaleFirst

2005's Catch Phrases

Click here for 2005's best catch phrases.

Some of my faves:

--Blackberry thumb
--George Bush doesn't care about black people.
--Flee-ance
--Globesity
--And of course, Brangelina, TomKat, and KFed.

No Thanks

According to The Sun, the animal-loving Mariah Carey recently received a gift of eight fur coats from a Russian businessman.

However, Mariah was definitely not impressed. She sent the pelts straight to anti-cruelty campaigners PETA.

Source: Ananova

Sad

Please keep your thoughts and prayers with Indianapolis Colts Coach Tony Dungy and his family.

Source: Indianapolis Star

Love, The Hiltons

Makes you all warm and fuzzy:

Source: A Socialite's Life

Desperate Housewives News

Desperate Housewives News:

--According to Marc Malkin, of The Insider, Jessica Simpson may be making a guest appearance on the worst show on television, Desperate Housewives. Simpson was having lunch with Housewive's Eva Longoria (her treat, by the way) at Cha Cha Cha restaurant in L.A. last week. Of course, there is no official confirmation, since publicists never do thier job right.

"Thanks for making me laugh," Simpson said to Longoria, a fellow diner reports. "You know how much I need that right now."

--The producers of Desperate Housewives have lived up to their promise to find bigger story lines for Eva Longoria—the second series sees her seduce Felicity Huffman's onscreen husband Doug Savant.

The Latina beauty was furious when she was the only Housewife not to receive a Golden Globe nomination for her role in the hit series last year, and TV bosses pledged to find meatier scenes to aid the sex symbol's quest to prove her talents.

The 30-year-old will sizzle on TV screens as her character Gabrielle Solis has a raunchy affair with Savant's character Tom Scavo. Savant says, "When we come back, Eva Longoria is kissing me! I had a hellacious day on set with just hours and hours of Eva kissing me."

Sources: Egotastic and Hollywood.com.

Paris Banned From LAX

Did Paris Hilton get the boot from an L.A. nightclub for dissing her ex-pal Nicole Richie?

The partying heiress was told to leave LAX in Beverly Hills for talking trash to sis Nicky about her former best friend, who had dated the D.J. at the club, according to the forthcoming issue of In Touch Weekly.

“No one will admit it,” an “insider” told the mag, “but Paris is now banned from LAX.”

Source: MSNBC

Ha

The Top Ten Signs You're A Gay Cowboy

10. "Your saddle is Versace"
9. "Instead of 'Home On The Range', you sing 'It's Raining Men'"
8. "You enjoy ridin', ropin', and redecoratin'"
7. "Sold your livestock to buy tickets to 'Mamma Mia'"
6. "After watching reruns of 'Gunsmoke', you have to take a cold
shower"
5. "Native Americans refer to you as 'Dances With Men'"
4. "You've been lassoed more times than most steers"
3. "You're wearing chaps, yet your 'ranch' is in Chelsea"
2. "Instead of a saloon you prefer a salon"

1. "You love riding, but you don't have a horse"

Source: A Socialite's Life (recapping the "Late Show With David Letterman)

Turtle Inspiration Dies

Donnie Carroll, the Dorchester rapper and inspiration for the character "Turtle" in Mark Wahlberg's hit HBO comedy, "Entourage," died over the weekend, reportedly of an asthma attack.

Carroll, 39, who was known as "Donkey," collapsed in his fiancee's arms Sunday night. He was rushed to the hospital, where he died.

--To quote my friend, PJDJD, "I loves me some Turtle." Sad.

Source: New York Post

B.I.G. Stabbing

Three people were stabbed early Wednesday at a Manhattan club that was hosting a record-release party for a new collection of duets featuring slain rapper Notorious B.I.G.

Detectives also were investigating a shooting near the club, named Exit, that occurred around the same time. It was unclear if the two incidents were related. Authorities could not confirm reports that the party was attended by Sean "Diddy" Combs and Notorious B.I.G.'s mother, Voletta Wallace. The two co-produced the new "Duets" record, which pairs the rapper's vocals with Eminem, Jay-Z and other artists.

Police said that at 3:10 a.m. patrol officers heard gunfire at a parking garage near the club. Inside, they found three men with gunshot wounds; all were taken to the hospital in stable condition. Moments later, police received a 911 call reporting a stabbing at the club. Officers found three victims - two men who were slashed in the face and one who was stabbed in the stomach; all were hospitalized.

There were no arrests. Detectives were questioning the occupants of a car spotted fleeing the scene shortly after the shooting.

Source: AZ Central

Celebrity Romance News

--King Kong beauty Naomi Watts is reportedly set to wed her beau Liev Schreiber.

The couple have enjoyed a low-key relationship, with British-born Watts only recently breaking her silence on the romance. And while representatives for the screen stars have yet to comment, pals say Schreiber has already proposed. A source says, "Naomi not only said yes, but she wants to get married as soon, and as secretly, as possible. Liev doesn't want to waste any time. He is absolutely thrilled Naomi is going to marry him. He says it's something he's been wishing for almost since their first date. And he's already told her that he wants to have lots of babies. Right away!"

--The Princess Diaries star Anne Hathaway has embarked on a new romance with a real estate developer.

The 23-year-old actress arrived at the December 6 New York City premiere of her acclaimed movie Brokeback Mountain with Raffaello Follieri on her arm And the beauty admits she's thrilled with their life together. She says, "We're pretty laid back people. We love to travel and eat and spend time with our dogs." Next month, the couple will travel to Ethiopia, where Hathaway will carry out charity work.

Source: IMDB

Courtney's Broke

Courtney Love is broke and wants to raise cash by selling her rights to the song catalog of her late husband, Kurt Cobain, and Nirvana.

Sources say Love, whose Crosby Street apartment was in foreclosure earlier this year, is looking for $100 million. This should come as salt in the wounds of Nirvana's Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Chad Channing, who fought with Love for years over control of the songs and over royalties.

Source: New York Post

George Wants Six

George Clooney has revealed he would like to get married and have kids next year.

According to OK! magazine he said: "I want to be married with six kids by next year. "I want six little sextuplets around but I don't really make New Year's resolutions. "I have a pretty good life and I enjoy the things I've been able to do."

--Something tells me the "eternal bachelor" was being sarcastic...

Source: Ananova

Broadway Heads To "24" Set

Two Broadway stars have signed on for the new season of Fox network's action-drama "24."

Tony winner Stephen Spinella and two-time Tony nominee Jayne Atkinson have joined the cast of "24" for its fifth season, the network announced.

The four-hour, two-part season premiere of "24," which stars Kiefer Sutherland as U.S. counterterrorist agent Jack Bauer, will air Jan. 15-16 (8 p.m. EST). Atkinson, who won Tony nominations for "The Rainmaker" and "Enchanted April," will play Homeland Security official Karen Hayes and Spinella, who won a Tony for "Angels in America," will play Miles, Hayes' subordinate.

Source: New York Daily News

Anyone? Bueller?

Charlize Theron has turned down the chance to be the next Bond girl - leaving producers of upcoming film 'Casino Royale' in a panic.

The stunning blonde is the latest big-name actress to snub the role opposite new Bond, Daniel Craig. Angelina Jolie and Scarlett Johansson also turned down the role - leaving film bosses with only a month to find a top female star for the movie.

--Who do you think should play the next Bond girl? I think I'd choose Uma or Jessica Alba.

Source: FemaleFirst

Griffen Gets Canned From E!

E! President and CEO Ted Harbert is the grinch who stole Kathy Griffin's Christmas.

Just a week before the holiday, Harbert informed Griffin's lawyer her services would no longer be needed at E! To make it worse, she found out she'd been axed only because her lawyer called asking "what the deal was" with the upcoming Golden Globes.

The tart-tongued redhead brought a much needed sparkle to the E! awards show coverage ever since Joan Rivers left for greener pastures at the TV Guide channel. Griffin, whose latest special, "Allegedly," is airing on Bravo, told Page Six: "I asked my reps, 'What's going on? The Golden Globes are in three weeks.' "

When Griffin's people called Harbert, "Apparently Ted told my reps that the E! red carpet is a puzzle and I am a piece of the puzzle, which is a wonderful puzzle piece, but I don't fit this particular puzzle and that when I see the puzzle, I will get it. I am a piece that doesn't understand only because they can't tell me who will take over.

"They kept saying, 'When you see the new puzzle, you will know it is not a personal insult.' I was like, are you kidding? I got canned, bottom line. I can't even be like Star Jones and be like, 'Oh, I have a book tour coming up!' " Jones briefly worked with Griffin at E! covering the red carpet events, but was criticized for being too much of a suck-up to the stars. When her contract wasn't renewed, Jones claimed it was because she needed to publicize her book, "Shine," out next month.

Griffin also got into trouble on the red carpet when she joked that Dakota Fanning was in rehab — prompting Fanning's reps to threaten to sue E!

Source: New York Post

UPDATE: Griffen's replacement? Ryan Seacrest. Gross.

Newlyweds

Matt Damon and Luciana Bozan – sporting their new wedding rings – arrive Monday in Miami, Fla. (They'd been in London, where he's filming the CIA thriller The Good Shepherd.) The couple, who wed on Dec. 9 and are expecting their first child together, share a 9,500-sq.-ft. mansion in Miami Beach.

Source: People

Jessica Strikes Back

71% of People magazine readers and 76% of Star magazine readers say that the break up of Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey was all her fault. Of course, not content to let public opinion run it's course, the Simpson camp is said to be gearing up for a massive PR offensive, says the New York Daily News.

Rumor has it that Simpson's PR man, Rob Shuter at Dan Klores Communications (which also reps the Daily News), has been calling nearly every gossip reporter in town with tips about Nick - alleging everything from greediness to lechery.

Reports a spy: "Rob's been shopping around stories that Nick was messing around, and has been trying to take any woman that was in the same room with Nick and passing that off as a torrid affair. Now he's pushing that A.J. manager story. It's all bull."

And if that wasn't enough to give you a taste for celebrity feuding, there are also stories that Nick is trying to parlay his side of the story into a cash deal with OK! magazine. Yesterday, a certain somebody apparently planted an item in a gossip column about Nick shamelessly selling his side of the story to OK! magazine for $300,000 - an item that coincidentally just so happened to tout another Klores client, the New York club Pacha. To which OK! magazine resonded: "We have not done a deal for Nick Lachey's story. We have no deal nor are we looking to do a deal for Nick's story."

Source: Egotastic

Trouble In Sin City

It doesn't look like George Clooney is going to make that big financial score in Las Vegas as he did in "Ocean's Eleven."

Sources tell The Post's Braden Keil that his much-ballyhooed, $3 billion Las Ramblas condominium and entertainment project on 25 acres in Sin City is in trouble and may be scrapped.

Clooney and partners, who include Rande Gerber and Miami builder Jorge Perez, made big news last summer when the plan was announced, with the Hollywood heartthrob saying he'd donate his share of profits to charity. But the Vegas housing market is already experiencing a condo construction glut.

Source: New York Post

Scarnett

Scarlett Johansson's relationship with Josh Hartnett is going so well, she's reportedly moved into his New York City apartment.

The couple began dating in April after meeting on the set of Brian De Palma's forthcoming thriller The Black Dahlia in Bulgaria. According to gossip site PageSix.com, the 21-year-old actress is now living at the 27-year-old heart-throb's TriBeCa apartment.

Source: Teen Hollywood

Fox Heading Back Again?

Michael J. Fox is heading Back To The Future for a fourth time-traveling movie.

The actor, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, admits he's in negotiations for a final film in the series - but only if they make his character as old as he is in real life.

The former Spin City star wants to take over Christopher Lloyd's eccentric scientist character, Doc, in the sequel. He tells movie website Moviehole.net, "The only way it would work would be if I played Doc. I'm 44-years-old now and I'm not interested in running around on skateboards! I think after 1, 2 and 3 we all kind of felt we had done it. And I think if they did it again now they would do it with a younger cast and just do a different realisation of it, which would be fun."

Source: IMDB

Melodrama

Michelle Rodriguez, a star on ABC's Lost, complained after her arrest for drunken driving earlier this month that police were taking away her freedom.

Officers pulled Rodriguez over early on Dec. 1 after spotting her black Mercedes allegedly weaving down Pali Highway in the Honolulu-bound lanes from Kailua. Another Lost star, Cynthia Watros, was arrested 15 minutes later on the same road when police saw her car also moving erratically. Both allegedly failed sobriety tests. Rodriguez had a blood alcohol level of 0.145, nearly twice the legal limit of 0.08, according to documents obtained by KITV-TV.

KITV quoted court and police documents that said Rodriguez was "very argumentative" and kept interrupting the officer who was explaining drunk driving sanctions to her.

"I don't (expletive) belong here! Why don't you just put a gun to my head and shoot me! You've already taken my freedom! You might as well take my life too!" she said, KITV reported Friday.

The officer who took Rodriguez in a police car to the Kailua substation quoted her as saying "Just take my car and I'll walk all the way to the North Shore but don't leave me in the back of this car poppie."

Source: Jam!

Elton John Ties the Knot

Pop star Elton John and his longtime love David Furnish became one of England's first legally bound gay couples Wednesday in a low-key ceremony followed by celebrity-studded bash.

John, 58, and Furnish, 43, were among hundreds of same-sex couples taking advantage of a new British law offering same-sex couples a legal status similar to marriage. The law took effect on Wednesday in England and Wales. Ceremonies were held earlier this week in Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Fans turned up before sunrise in the cobbled streets around Windsor's town hall, the Guildhall, where Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles wed in April. Cameras flickered as the couple - John wearing purple spectacles and a black suit - walked out arm-in-arm, waving to the crowd.

The couple drove off in a black Rolls Royce for a lunch followed by a glitzy reception to be attended by more than 700 guests. "I think it's amazing - it's brilliant," said Tim Alcock, 43, one of dozens of onlookers.

Prime Minister Tony Blair, speaking to reporters at a news conference, wished the couple well and congratulated them for exercising their newfound legal right. Gay rights activists saw the union as milestone in gay rights movement.

Peter Tatchell, spokesman for the gay and lesbian human rights group OutRage! said the wedding "would raise the profile of gay love and commitment." "Their same-sex civil partnership ceremony will be reported all over the world including in countries where news about gay issues is normally never reported," he said. "This will give hope to millions of isolated, vulnerable, lesbian and gay people especially those living in repressive and homophobic countries."

Source: New York Daily News

Headin' To Space

Moby is set to become the first pop star to go into space.

He's reportedly booked a £115,000 seat on Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic space flight.

Moby has set the date of his outer space flight for sometime in 2010. Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro has also booked on for a later flight, while Robbie Williams has also expressed an interest, reports Undercover.

Source: Ananova

Disney + M.A.C.?

Vintage cartoon kitsch and grown-up makeup meet for M.A.C., as they launch a new lip tint this week.

Five original Disney characters, from classics like Bambi and Pinocchio, have leant their faces to the line, dubbed “Tint Toons," with colors ranging from soft neutral pink to soft caramel to pinky-coral.

Source: Fashion Week Daily

Breaking News

Love.Angel.Music.BABY:

Gwen Stefani, nominated for five Grammy Awards including album of the year for “Love.Angel.Music.Baby.,” is pregnant with her first child, according to Us Weekly.

The 36-year-old pop star and Gavin Rossdale, 38, were married three years ago. The baby is due in June, the magazine reported Tuesday. “We are delighted,” Us Weekly quotes Rossdale’s father, Douglas, as saying. Stefani’s mother, Patti, also reportedly confirmed the pregnancy to the magazine.

An e-mail from The Associated Press to Stefani’s representative wasn’t immediately returned Tuesday. Rossdale has a 16-year-old daughter, Daisy Lowe, from his relationship with fashion designer Pearl Lowe. He discovered he was the father in 2004 after taking a DNA test.

Source: MSNBC

Brit Brit Sues

Britney Spears sued Us Weekly magazine for libel on Monday, accusing the publication of fabricating a story that she and husband Kevin Federline made a sexually explicit video and feared it might be released to the public.

The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, seeks $10 million in damages and $10 million for misappropriating Spears's name and image to promote sales. It also seeks unspecified punitive damages, the Associated Press reports. The magazine says it is standing by its story, which ran in October, about a month after Spears, 24, gave birth to her first child, Sean Preston. She and Federline, 27, married in September of 2004.

"Us Weekly has a credible source, and we stand by our reporting," an Us spokeswoman told Reuters. According to Spears's lawsuit, Us Weekly reported that the couple told their lawyers that "a member of their entourage had threatened to release raunchy footage of the two," and that Spears feared that "an X-rated tape starring the two may go public." The magazine also reported that the couple watched the tape with their lawyers and were "acting goofy" during the viewing.

The entire story is false, Spears's legal papers say. "There was no laughter, disgust or goofy behavior while watching the video in the company of lawyers because they did not watch any video, and because there is no such video," her suit reads.

The pop star's attorney, Martin Singer, tells Web site TMZ.com: "Britney has finally decided to take a stand to put a stop to people fabricating these malicious lies about her."

Source: People

How Do I Get An Invite?

Nicole Richie has agreed to attend a star-studded "We Hate Paris Hilton" festive party.

The Simple Life star, who fell out with Paris earlier this year, will join Mary-Kate Olsen and Bijou Phillips for the bash at the end of this month.

Mary-Kate announced that she was no longer speaking to Hilton earlier this week, claiming that she stole her boyfriend Stavros Niarchos. Meanwhile, Bijou has clashed with Paris several times while on the party scene.

Guests have been encouraged to dress as the hotel heiress, perform her song Screwed and vote on her most cringeworthy moment of the year. A source told the Daily Star, "You can't help feeling a bit sorry for poor old Paris. They are even considering filming the party and putting clips of it on the internet."

Source: Digital Spy

A New Ben

Ben Affleck has a new job: starring with Jeremy Piven in "Smokin' Aces."

Piven plays a Vegas magician, co-star Ryan Reynolds tells the Chicago Sun-Times: "He rubs shoulders with a mobster about to turn state's witness and ends up in Tahoe for a binge of hookers. I'm an FBI agent looking for him. Five assassins are also after him at this hotel casino." Alicia Keys plays a contract killer out to whack Piven, while Affleck plays the bail bondsman. "You'll be shocked to see a very different Ben Affleck in this movie," Reynolds says.

Source: New York Post

Giamatti's Not Betting on Himself

Actor Paul Giamatti remains pessimistic of his chances of picking up a Golden Globe next month, despite his Best Supporting Actor nomination for his performance in Cinderella Man.

The Sideways star, 38, is set to fight George Clooney (Syriana), Matt Dillon (Crash), Will Ferrell (The Producers) and Bob Hoskins (Mrs. Henderson Presents) at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's annual award ceremony in Los Angeles.

Giamatti says, "What do I think of my chances? Oh God, I mean, I don't see it happening, so I would say my chances would be - I wouldn't give myself any chances. I don't see myself actually winning anything."

Source: IMDB

"Spamalot" The Movie?

With "Rent" and "The Producers" both on Broadway and in movie theaters this holiday season, can last season's Tony-winning "Spamalot" be far behind?

Pixar chief John Lassiter checked out the show the other night, perhaps considering an animated version of the hit musical. Lassiter and his kids visited backstage with stars Hank Azaria, Tim Curry and David Hyde Pierce who lent his voice to Slim in Pixar's 1998 "A Bug's Life." Also in the house were "Spamalot" director Mike Nichols with playwright Tom Stoppard.

Source: New York Post

MacLaine Praises Aniston

Shirley MacLaine has hailed Jennifer Aniston the heroine of 2005 because of the younger actress' brave and admirable behavior during her very public divorce from Brad Pitt.

The star worked with Aniston on new movie Rumor Has It during the disintegration of her marriage, and she credits the former Friends star with enduring the difficult period exuding grace and professionalism.

She says, "She has come through what must be one of the most painful and difficult requirements of any human being, much less a young person - to live their life in a spotlight like this is so painful and to have to work and do three pictures a year. "I'm really proud of her for the way she is handling this. She has been trampled in public, but her emotional discipline is extraordinary and I really want to compliment her for that."

Maclaine is also impressed by her pal's determination to show the world she's keen to move on, without judging or passing blame for her relationship failure. She adds, "She's teaching everybody a real lesson, stating, 'Where is my role in this? How have I contributed to this?' She's in a very spiritual place, instead of blaming - and that's a huge step and really hard."

Source: Female First

WTF?

Taking a page from Kevin Federline's playbook, former "Desperate Housewives" actor Page Kennedy has released a rap track telling his version of why he was fired from the hit ABC show.

In the song, "Hold On," Kennedy takes issue with the widely reported story that he was axed for exposing himself to cast members — but doesn't really offer an alternative explanation.

He raps: "My departure was part of a particular incident that I'm done mentioning / What else could I say, they went another way, they recast me right after they unmasked me / And actually it wouldn't have been as bad as it is, if the tabloids would have been spreading bull— about what I did."

Then there's an alarming bit where he implies he considered suicide: A gunshot is heard and a little girl yells out "Daddy? Daddy!"

Kennedy raps that reports of him flashing colleagues "were complete lies" and that "the media seems to stick together like fat guys and super-sized fries." . The 29-year-old actor has been circulating the track among radio and club deejays.

Source: New York Daily News

Sharon's Going Smaller (Again)

Sharon Osbourne, who has already splashed out hundreds of thousands of dollars in cosmetic surgery, is opening up her wallet yet again for another boob job.

Sharon, 52, first had a breast reduction 20 years ago. In July, she had a boob job to give her a 34DD chest. Now she's planning another op to make them smaller again - even though her husband Ozzy loves them.

Source: Ananova

Bice Hospitalized

Bo Bice has been hospitalized again, after coughing up blood on Sunday in Las Vegas, Teen People reports.

"In what appears to be a complication from a previous surgery, Bo was rushed to the hospital yesterday," according to a statement from his rep at RCA Records. "He is doing fine and is returning home for treatment. He is canceling his performance on the Radio Music Awards and Jimmy Kimmel Live."

Bice, 30, suddenly fell ill while attending a radio forum at the Aladdin hotel-casino in Las Vegas on Sunday. After coughing up blood, he was taken out on a stretcher and brought to Desert Springs Hospital, where his wife Caroline kept him company through the night.

"Bo is really bummed. His record is just coming out and he was so excited to perform," a friend tells Teen People. Bice's illness is believed to be a complication from emergency surgery he underwent in August to remove an intestinal blockage. He was hospitalized in Las Vegas just hours before an "American Idols Live" tour performance.

Source: People

Remaining Celibate

Weezer lead singer Rivers Cuomo is continuing his celibacy past his self-declared deadline.

The 35-year-old frontman earlier vowed to remain celibate for two years. Although that deadline expired six months ago, Cuomo still doesn't expect to jump back in the sack anytime soon. "It's been two and a-half years now, actually," Cuomo tells Blender magazine in its new issue, on newsstands Tuesday. "The vow is over, but I wanted to keep cruising."

Though he's a lead singer for a popular rock band, the bespectacled Cuomo says it's not difficult to manage restraint. "Abstinence doesn't require as much self-discipline anymore," he says. "We never had any serious groupies, anyway. Our generation got screwed."

Source: AZ Central

MovieNews

Sacha Baron Cohen is set to star in a fact-based movie about a Hasidic Jew and a grizzled rock musician who form a band.

The Ali G star will play the Hasidic Jew in Curly Oxide and Vic Thrill, reports Variety. Mean Girls writer Tina Fey wrote the script; Lorne Michaels and John Goldwyn are producing.

Source: Ananova

Divorce Drama

Watch out, Jessica Simpson — rumor has it that her estranged soon to be ex-hubby, Nick Lachey, may be trying to sell his side of the story to your former friends at OK! magazine for a whopping $300,000.

Spies say Lachey's pal A.J. DiScala — who got dumped by his client/wife, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, after she reportedly caught him cheating — has approached the mag on behalf of the pop singer. Another venture that Lachey and DiScala are said to be in on together is as investors in the skeevy new club Pacha where scantily clad women writhe in a shower. This has lead some to speculate that DiScala is co-managing Lachey along with his brother Drew.

A spy added: "[Lachey] wants to keep it quiet. But it's genius — it's like Donald Trump owning a modeling agency!" A rep for the club said: "We don't disclose our investors." Shawn Sachs, who is acting as a rep for Lachey said, "Drew Lachey — Nick's manager — has not spoken to OK! magazine about any interview deal.

And in other Nick and Jessica divorce news, click here to view to actual divorce papers Jessica filed.

Source: New York Post

TomKat's Travels

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes took their traveling party to Miami, Fla., this weekend.

The engaged pair, who spent Thursday dining, shopping and ice-skating in New York City to celebrate Holmes turning 27 on Dec. 18, arrived in Miami on Friday afternoon. Also in town: Will Smith (in the city to perform at the Y-100 Jingle Ball on Saturday) and wife Jada Pinkett Smith, Cruise's costar in the 2004 movie Collateral.

Early Friday evening, sources say, Cruise watched Will Smith rehearse at The BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fl.; later, Cruise, Holmes and the Smiths dined at Miami Beach eatery Barton G. The Restaurant. At about 1:20 a.m., the two couples hit the South Beach rock club Snatch, where they chilled for nearly an hour in a roped-off area on the second floor. Holmes, who is expecting her first child with Cruise, kept her arms around her fiancé, even hugging him from behind as they all left through a back door. (The next night, says a source, when a well-wisher asked why Holmes hadn't ridden the club's mechanical bull, Cruise joked, "If she wasn't pregnant, she would have been on the bull.")

On Saturday, the four friends spent the afternoon on a private yacht touring the bay off the Florida coast, and stopped for lunch on the exclusive Fisher Island. Later, Cruise and Holmes headed to the BankAtlantic Center for the Jingle Ball. As they hung out backstage waiting for Will Smith's performance, they took photos with all who asked.

Finally, Smith took the stage, arriving via a sleigh that "flew" over the audience on wires. After two songs, he brought out his wife and their daughter Willow, 5, as well as Cheryl Romero, whom he described as a woman "who had a tough time this year." He handed her several gifts, then said, "I have another Christmas present for you and the audience. I want to bring out someone who has never been to Miami before: Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes."

As the crowd exploded in applause, the couple walked out hand in hand. "How's it going?" Cruise asked the audience. "This is my first time in Miami and I love it. Is it always like this?" Smith replied, "It is every time I come here." "Then I can see why you keep coming back," Cruise said. Before he and Holmes left the stage, he added, "I'd like to wish you all a happy holiday and Merry Christmas and just a great year."

--I'm sorry, but the way he's holding her hair in the pic as she blows out her candles in NYC kind of creeps me out.

Source: People

French Flub

Mariah Carey made an embarrassing gaffe during a recent visit to a French restaurant.

A prankster pal told the singer that the French phrase, "Ce repas était si excitant que je me suis fait dessus" meant, "That meal was wonderful, I'll have to come here again."

Unfortunately when Mariah used her new-found French vocabulary to thank some waiters, she was really telling them, "That meal was so thrilling, I've just wet myself."

A source told the Daily Star, "Mariah wanted to impress the waiters by speaking their language. But she couldn't understand why they looked so shocked whenever she spoke to them."

Source: Digital Spy

The Last of Hanks?

Tom Hanks is convinced his movie career is about to end, because he has survived too long on luck alone.

The Forest Gump star has sustained a successful and prolific movie career for more than two decades now, while many co-stars and contemporaries have fallen on the Tinseltown scrapheap.

But the double Oscar winner fears his luck could soon run out. Hanks says, "I look around and know that I am going to pay for it, big time." "The knives will be out one day. There are quite a few people no longer getting hired who were big stars as recently as 10 years ago."

"So I've already overstayed my welcome. Someone is going to turn round and say, 'See - you are not such a smarty-pants after all, are you?' And although I know that many actors say they've had luck, I've had more than my share. I've had it by the bucketload."

--It's a sad day when morons like Johnny Knoxville are getting parts, and true actors like Hanks are not.

Source: Teen Hollywood

Nice Nip Slip Recovery

Rachel McAdams looks stunning at the Guggenheim Artist Ball. Nice followup from the nip slip dress she wore to her movie premiere.

Source: Smart

BosBloom Engaged?

Hollywood stars Orlando Bloom and Kate Bosworth have sparked rumors they have become engaged to be married, after perusing London's top jewelers this weekend.

The Kingdom Of Heaven actor, 28, has enjoyed an on/off relationship with the 22-year-old beauty since January 2003, after they met filming an advertisement for clothing giant Gap.

An onlooker tells British newspaper The Sun, "They were picking out engagement rings and she was trying them on. They popped into lots of flash jewelers on New Bond Street. But they were in Bulgari and Van Cleef & Arpels for the longest period. They had huge smiles on their faces and were kissing and cuddling."

In September Bloom denied engagement rumors but hinted he would soon be ready for marriage, saying: "None of that stuff is ever true. But that doesn't mean I don't love someone and that I'm not going to get engaged one day."

Source: IMDB

Time's Person of the Year

Time magazine has named Bill and Melinda Gates and rock star Bono its "Persons of the Year," citing their charitable work and activism aimed at reducing global poverty and improving world health.

The magazine said 2005 was a year of extraordinary charity in which people donated record amounts in response to extreme natural disasters, from the tsunami in South Asia to Hurricane Katrina.

"Natural disasters are terrible things, but there is a different kind of ongoing calamity in poverty and nobody is doing a better job in addressing it in different ways than Bill and Melinda Gates and Bono," said Jim Kelly, Time's managing editor. The 2005 "Person of the Year" package hits newsstands today.

"For being shrewd about doing good, for rewiring politics and re-engineering justice, for making mercy smarter and hope strategic and then daring the rest of us to follow, Bill and Melinda Gates and Bono are Time's Persons of the Year," the magazine said.

Source: AP

Berry's Battle With Diabetes

Hollywood beauty Halle Berry once fell into a coma for seven days.

The star, 39, fell seriously ill on the set of TV show Living Dolls in 1989, and it was only after she regained consciousness, she was diagnosed with diabetes.

Berry recalls, "I felt tired but couldn't take a breather. I felt I needed energy but I didn't even have a minute to pop out and get a chocolate bar. "I felt more and more tired and one day I passed out and I didn't wake up for seven days which is obviously very serious. "They told me I might lose my eyesight, or I could lose my legs. I was scared to death, I thought I was going to die."

The Oscar-winning actress is now forced to test her blood sugar levels twice a day and injects herself with insulin. She explains, "Because no one expects you to be doing it, no one really notices."

Source: FemaleFirst

Xtina's Early Xmas

Christina Aguilera and her new husband Jordan Bratman got into the holiday spirit early while on their honeymoon - they exchanged gifts and decorated a Christmas tree in their hotel room.

The singer exchanged nuptials with Bratman on November 19 and the newlyweds spent their honeymoon in Bali and Japan. And while in Japan, they decided to celebrate the holiday season a month early.

Aguilera says, "It was amazing! "I got him some sweaters, but he totally outdid me. He made a scrapbook of our pictures from Bali... We drank hot cocoa and cuddled and had the best time that night!"

Source: Teen Hollywood

Mad For Plaid

A Hoosier Will Be at the Helm of Burberry:

Angela Ahrendts, a 45-year old from New Palestine, will leave for London next week to begin her stint as CEO of the luxury label company Burberry Group PLC. She will rely on the savvy and aggressive retail style that carried her to the top of the industry's most successful companies, including president of Donna Karan and, most recently, executive vice president of Liz Claiborne.

Ahrendts' salary package at Burberry is worth as much as $27.4 million over three years, including $8 million in cash and restricted stock not linked to her performance. Even so, leaving the job she was "in love with" at Liz Claiborne wasn't easy. She almost turned Burberry's offers down and said this was one of the toughest decisions emotionally that she has had to make in her career.

"One night a little voice in my head said, 'If you don't do this, will it ever come along again?' " Ahrendts said from her home in the Tribeca area of New York City. "There are not a lot of CEO opportunities for women in the world."

She and her husband were high school sweethearts at New Palestine. She left Ball State one class short of a degree to pursue her fashion career in New York City. She later was given an honorary degree.

Source: IndyStar

Jessica Files For Divorce

Jessica Simpson has filed for divorce from Nick Lachey in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The singer cited "irreconcilable differences" and requested that her last name be officially changed back to Simpson.

She also asked that the court not award spousal support.

Source: People

Sad News

John Spencer, who played vice presidential candidate Leo McGarry on NBC's "The West Wing," died of a heart attack Friday, his publicist said.

Spencer, 58, died at a Los Angeles hospital, said publicist Ron Hofmann. Hofmann released no other immediate details.

Spencer's work on the show earned him an Emmy Award for supporting actor in a drama series in 2002, as well as a Golden Globe nomination.

Source: FoxNews.com

--I loved him as Tommy on "L.A. Law." Very sad.

Hell To The No

Being Bobby Brown will be back, but only for a half-hour holiday special. On Dec. 21, Bravo will air a half-hour episode titled “Christmas with the Browns,” which hopefully has nothing to do with Whitney pooping.

In a statement, Bravo’s president explained why they’re bringing back the show for a half-hour, besides, you know, ratings-whoring: “Bravo couldn’t let 2005 come to an end without indulging viewers with another helping of ‘Being Bobby Brown’. This holiday special will take a look at how this very public family spends their private holiday time together.”

Judging by the press release’s headline, which includes the phrase “Bobby Claus,” that has something to do with Bobby Brown dressing up as Santa.

Source: Reality Blurred

--I wonder if there will be "snow" and mistletoe.

Shoppin' With Slater

Eva and AC Slater?

Eva Longoria and Mario Lopez tote their new purchases – a set of iPods – at the Grove shopping center Tuesday in Los Angeles.

--I doubt she'd dump Tony Parker for this clown. I'm guessing they're just friends.

What Really Happened

Stavros Niarchos never paid a homeless man $100 to pour a cup of soda over his head just for laughs. That's what Us Weekly reported a few weeks ago.

The Greek shipping heir, boyfriend of Paris Hilton, actually offered $100 to a passer-by if he'd drench a nearby paparazzo who was videotaping him. After screening the footage, Page Six reports that Niarchos, in an SUV with his head largely hidden under a hood, started off offering just $10.

"Do it now. You have nothing to lose. I swear to you on my life," he pleads. When the man hesitates, Niarchos say, "I'll give you $100. Don't be a p - - - y . . . You have 5 seconds." As Niarchos counts down, the man hurls the drink at the cameraman.

Source: New York Post

No Tracksuits, Please

Madonna’s fashion sense has come under fire — from her nine-year-old daughter Lourdes.

The singer, 47, admits Lourdes sometimes gets embarrassed by what she wears and wants her “to be a normal mum”. She said: “My daughter is critical. Sometimes she totally disapproves of what I wear. She doesn’t want me to look too strange. “If I pick her up from school she instructs me to dress normally. She goes, ‘No tracksuits please’.

“My daughter has a new routine too ... she goes, ‘Why can’t you just be like normal mothers’?”

The singer’s son Rocco, five, does praise his mom's dress sense. Madonna said: “He tells me I look beautiful no matter what.”

Madonna — who criticized the Iraq war while on tour — told Radio 1’s Jo Whiley: “I’m getting Rocco weapons of mass destruction for Christmas. He’s a fan of guns, unfortunately.”

Source: The Sun

Cruisazy

Continuously Cruisazy:

Tom Cruise, actor and Scientology devotee has urged New York City firefighters injured in the September 11 terrorism attacks to quit using their medication and inhalers - and start drinking cooking oil!

"More than 500 individuals have recovered health and job fitness through this." The so-called purification program also advises them to take large doses of niacin and indulge in plenty of sauna sessions. Not surprisingly, the unorthodox program has been slammed as ridiculous and potentially harmful by members of the medical profession.

Source: ABC.net

Spidey To Propose?

Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire is reportedly planning to propose to his girlfriend of two years, Jennifer Meyer.

According to friends of the 30-year-old actor, the decision to pop the big question came when he learned that his best pal Leonardo DiCaprio's romance with Gisele Bundchen had fizzled out.

A source says, "Leo is still down about losing Gisele, and he told Tobey that if he really loves Jen, he should step up to the table and not twiddle his thumbs about marriage. He told me he absolutely wants to marry Jennifer in the coming year. He doesn't want to lose her! I think she'd marry Tobey in a second!" Meyer, 28, is the daughter of Universal Studios president Ron Meyer.

Source: IMDB

Toussauds Is Team Aniston

Of all the people who've had their say on the Aniston-Pitt-Jolie love triangle, who would have thought Madame Tussauds would get involved?

But so they have, with an indication of how they feel in their Christmas celebrity display. The London tourist attraction displayed out a group of celebs in a festive and humorous display for their visitors' amusement. But it also reveals that they are firmly in the Aniston camp.

Jen has been made over as the innocent Snow White, whilst Angelina Jolie is the Wicked Stepmother.

And what is Brad Pitt's role in it all? Why, Prince Charming of course.

Source: Sky

Another Reality Trainwreck

A new reality series featuring Michael Jackson's brothers Tito and Jermaine as well as sister LaToya is being pitched to several cable networks, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Music producer Cory Rooney is shopping the proposed pilot that would revolve around Tito's sons seeking success in the music industry while trying to overcome such obstacles as the notoriety their uncle Michael faced during his recent trial. It has yet to be determined if Michael himself will participate in the project.

Source: ET

Morgan Says...

Morgan Freeman says the concept of a month dedicated to black history is "ridiculous." "You're going to relegate my history to a month?" the 68-year-old actor says in an interview on CBS' "60 Minutes" to air Sunday (7 p.m. EST). "I don't want a black history month. Black history is American history."

Black History Month has roots in historian Carter G. Woodson's Negro History Week, which he designated in 1926 as the second week in February to mark the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Woodson said he hoped the week could one day be eliminated - when black history would become fundamental to American history.

Freeman notes there is no "white history month," and says the only way to get rid of racism is to "stop talking about it." The actor says he believes the labels "black" and "white" are an obstacle to beating racism. "I am going to stop calling you a white man and I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man," Freeman says.

Source: New York Daily News

Carry It With You

Their phones aren't the only things vibrating:

The buzz on Japan's streets nowadays is that just about any young woman is carrying around her own vibrator, according to Shukan Post.

Instead of the old days when aids were referred to as "adult toys" and carried a sleazy image, sex aids are now called "adult goods." It's apparently become so common that it's almost as though there's a vibrator in every handbag.

"In the past, nearly all our customers used to ask us to disguise the labeling on our packages so they looked like they were cosmetics or something, but now we get much fewer of those type of requests," Norie Oda, operator of the Happy Woman adult aid shop, tells Shukan Post. "I suppose people just don't see them as such a big thing anymore."

Eiko Yamada, proprietor of Shesta, another adult good shop targeting women, says there's more good vibrations around than a Beach Boys album, with the number of adult aid users skyrocketing, particularly among women in their late 20s to early 30s. "Our sales are almost 200 percent what they were last year," Yamada tells Shukan Post.

Sanae Takahashi, CEO of Merci, another company in the same line of business, explains what has brought about the change. "Before, there only used to be seedy stores that existed only for guys. But, over the past few years, (ubiquitous) discount store chains like Don Quijote have started selling sex aids over the counter and online sales are doing well, too," Takahashi says. "There has been a really rapid increase in the number of our single women customers, and those who come to the store as a couple. We did some marketing and monitoring and made sure we stocked cute shapes and colors that would appeal to women."

Source: Mainichi Daily News

Box Office Blues

A box-office jolt from the magic kingdoms of Kong, Narnia and Hogwarts will close Hollywood's year with some holiday cheer, though not enough to offset the biggest decline in movie attendance in 20 years.

Domestic revenues at movie theaters may fall below $9 billion for the first time since 2001 after averaging $9.3 billion over the last three years. Factoring in higher admission prices, the number of tickets sold is expected to finish at about 1.4 billion, the lowest since 1997.

Before Thanksgiving, attendance had been running 8 percent behind 2004's. Huge crowds for "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," the fourth installment of the boy conjurer's adventures at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, helped to whittle that deficit down to 7.3 percent by early December, according to box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

Even with the last-minute surge from two other fantasy epics, "King Kong" and "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," movie attendance likely will be down 6 percent or more for the year.

That marks the largest drop since admissions fell 12 percent in 1985.

Souce: New York Daily News

Spederline Update

I know you've just been DYING to know what's going on in the world of Spederline:

--Rumors are making the rounds that KFeddy had this to say to In Touch Magazine: "I love her. But ask me now about life apart from Britney, and all I can say is, 'Can it be any worse than living with her?' I am doing what she wanted, getting out of the house and trying to find work, but I do that and she trashes my efforts. She just wants me at her beck and call as a little house husband. Marriage is something you don't go into lightly. She has to learn she can't just pick me up and dump me off, like her first husband."

Of course, he and his rep deny it all.

Source: Gabsmash

--Click here to check out DivorceKevin.com, a website created by 107.7 Little Rock DJ Jason Cage (who is also the creator of FeedLindsay.com. Some of the comments on the K-Fed Up Petition are hilarious.

--A tabloid is reporting that while partying with pals in Las Vegas during the week of Britney’s 24th birthday, Kevin told a reporter that he has already consulted his lawyers and would demand a “$125 million” settlement if the marriage was to end.

“I don’t like lawyers,” the aspiring rapper said as he was leaving the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on December 3. “But in this situation, I have to get protection." Kevin’s even told friends that he’s been advised that the prenuptial agreement he signed is “not worth the paper it is written on.”

Source: National Ledger

Ashley Crosses Lagerfeld

Don't cross Karl Lagerfeld!

The legendary designer was miffed when Ashley Olsen was late to the Chanel show at his flagship store the other night and then didn't even recognize his famous face.

The show was held up for half an hour while the Olsen twin raced uptown, but she was still too late, and the diminutive actress had to view the collection from backstage. To make things worse, when Lagerfeld waved at Olsen and tried to talk to her, a source reports that "She cringed away from him like he was a stalker. Her person had to tell her who he was, but he had already whispered something nasty in French about her and was very mad."

A better and more prompt guest was Lindsay Lohan, who, rumor has it, is in the running for the next Chanel campaign.

Source: New York Post

--Oh come on, Ashley. Even I know what Lagerfeld looks like. It's not like he's "ordinary" looking:

Paris and Nicole To Rekindle Friendship?

Paris Hilton has reportedly extended an olive branch to former best friend Nicole Richie - saying she wants to be pals again.

The sexy socialite got on stage at a friend's Christmas party and sent a message to Nicole - who she has been feuding with for months.

Hilton says she sympathizes with Nicole following her split from fiancé Adam Goldstein last week - and wants to patch up their troubled relationship. Paris - who recently split from fiancé Paris Latsis - reportedly said: "I'm really sorry to hear about Nic's engagement. I went through the same thing.

"With Christmas coming up, I realize I really miss her and want to get in touch again."

Source: FemaleFirst

And speaking of the breakup, Nicole is having a hard time after DJ AM broke up with her.

Goldstein left Richie because "it was just something that he knew he had to do," said a pal of Richie. The split was unexpected and the day of the break-up, Goldstein and Richie were "still making plans together for trips and business ventures. It really did come right out of left field for Nicole." Richie is said to be devastated and very hurt.

Source: New York Post

Mrs. B.

Christina Aguilera, who married music executive Jordan Bratman on Nov. 19, says that her friends now call her Mrs. B – and that Aguilera is just her professional name.

"(Aguilera) is definitely my stage name, I am still going by it professionally," she told Access Hollywood in an interview that airs Wednesday. "But 'Mrs. B' has been the cute thing that my friends like to call me."

Source: People

Christina's a Cheater

We know that Christina Applegate and her hubby, Jonathan Schaech, announced their split earlier this month.

The reason? The "Sweet Charity" star has been seeing Alaskan fisherman/rocker/skateboarder Lee Grivas, according to Us Weekly. The two were seen at a New York bar together last month and are now dating seriously.

Source: The New York Post

Giselle's New Man

Giselle moves on from Leonardo:

She's seen here relaxing in Honolulu on Monday with her new man, champion surfer Kelly Slater.

Liomi

Australian actress Naomi Watts has finally broken her silence over her relationship with Liev Schreiber, declaring "we understand each other very well".

The Ring star, 37, and The Manchurian Candidate actor, 38, started dating in May after meeting at the New York's Museum Of Modern Art's Costume Institute Gala. Watts reveals she feels completely comfortable with the American actor, who she will spend the next few months with, filming The Painted Veil in China.

She says, "He's just a solid guy and he's complex, which I love. And has a brilliant mind, which I am totally in awe of. And he's incredibly funny - you just have to laugh. For some people that's not such an important thing, but I need that. We understand each other very well and we're at very similar places in our lives."

Source: IMDB

Spoof Single Life Shirts

Nicole Richie has inspired a new range of T-shirts, following her split from her fiance Adam 'DJ AM' Goldstein.

Nicole and her beau announced the end of their engagement last week and a group of fans are already marking the occasion by wearing a Simple Life spoof T-shirt.

The shirt reads, "Nicole - Adam = The Single Life."

Source: Teen Hollywood

Four Times Upon a Mattress

For Carol Burnett, once around with "Once Upon a Mattress" was far from enough.

Before Burnett established herself as one of television's great comedians, she made a sparkling Broadway debut in the 1959 musical. She revisited it in a 1964 black-and-white TV special and in another broadcast version in 1974. But her fondness for the tale, a peppy spoof of the tale of the princess and the pea, remained undiminished. So Burnett is taking a fourth crack at it, with a twist: she's graduated from the role of princess to that of queen, as well as executive producer.

The new version airs 7-9 p.m. EDT Sunday on ABC's "The Wonderful World of Disney," with Burnett in fine form as the overbearing Queen Aggravain. With overblown motherly devotion, she has contrived to keep her son, Prince Dauntless, from marrying and living happily ever after.

"It's been kind of roiling around in my mind for 10 years now, redoing it, playing the queen, having a part in the production," Burnett said. "I felt a lot of people now watching television have never seen `Mattress.' There have been two or three new generations."

For a fair number of TV viewers, however, it will be familiar material. A Broadway revival (in 1996, with Sarah Jessica Parker) had a lackluster run, but "Once Upon a Mattress" remains among the most-performed musicals at schools and community theaters.

Source: New York Daily News

Prior's Request to Indiana Sheriff

Just a week before his death, Richard Pryor and his wife sent a letter to an Indiana county sheriff expressing outrage about an animal cruelty case.

They sent the letter after learning that a St. Joseph County police officer, Curt Seufert, was placed on administrative leave last month while state police investigated whether he killed his girlfriend's dog. The Pryors' letter called the reported circumstances shocking.

"We respectfully ask you to not let this be 'swept under the rug,'" read the letter, signed by the groundbreaking comedian and his wife, Jennifer.

Sheriff Frank Canarecci said a police report indicated Seufert and his girlfriend, Jennifer L. Radican, 27, a corporal with the South Bend Police Department, had argued on Nov. 25. The next day, Radican returned home to find one of her two dogs dead in the basement.

Source: New York Daily News

Whoa

Good Lord...I almost didn't recognize Aretha:

Source: Saving Face

McGosling Engaged?

The Notebook co-stars Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams have sparked reports they are getting engaged, after being spotted shopping for rings.

The couple were romantically linked in June when they re-enacted their passionate kiss from the romantic epic as they picked up Best Kiss at the MTV Movie Awards. A friend of the couple tells the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper, "Not only does it look like they're living together, but they've been talking to top private jewelers about engagement rings."

Source: IMDB

Top Style Moments

Click here for People's Top Style Moments of 2005.

My fave? The Martha "Coming Home" poncho. (Even though I despise ponchos, I couldn't believe how many people went out and bought it the next day). Nothing says "Freedom" like something crocheted.

Jenna and the Coke Dealer?

Jenna Bush’s infamous ID-gate videotape is raising more questions.

According to a source who has seen the footage—which features a self-described downtown coke dealer relating his late-night run-in with the First Daughter, and brandishing her college ID as a souvenir—the man insinuates that the two shared more than just drinks.

A well-informed source, who has a DVD copy of the interview shot by tbirdshow.com’s Travis Poston, says that at one point the dealer claims that the young, blonde Jenna Bush with the Texas accent he hung out with that night (and who happened to leave behind Jenna Bush’s belongings) had been “helping [him] clean up” the bar after a long night of partying.

(A publicist for First Lady Laura Bush has unequivocally denied that her daughter has ever been to the Chinatown bar, Happy Ending, even though we hear the UT-Austin ID card displayed in the film clearly shows the hard-partying political liability’s name, picture and student ID number.)

According to the New York Post’s Page Six, the Secret Service are reportedly taking the tape seriously enough to investigate, and we hear they’re not the only ones. When Fresh Intelligence emailed tbirdshow.com about securing selected clips to host on this site, we received the following curt response: “There are about ten top papers fighting for that footage. Get in line.”

Needless to say, “if a coke dealer has your ID it doesn’t look so good,” quipped the source.

Source: Radar

Too Hot For Prime Time

Pamela Anderson and pole dancing proved too hot for NBC, which dropped a number featuring the actress in a sexy big-screen an Elton John special.

"Elton John: The Red Piano," a Las Vegas extravaganza taped at Caesars Palace, aired Monday night without the segment in which John sang "The Bitch is Back" while an oversized screen behind him displayed a scantily clad Anderson.

The actress moved suggestively around a dance pole in the number, which was included in preview copies sent out to critics. After an assessment by its standards and practices department the network decided the material didn't mesh with the time slot. "We believed the content was not appropriate for 8 p.m.-7 central time and decided to pull the song from the special," NBC said in a statement Tuesday.

Source: Yahoo

Don't Mess With Dad

Sienna Miller's dad has warned her wandering fella Jude Law he will kill him if he cheats on his daughter again.

The threat emerged as Sienna talked for the first time about her man’s infidelity, admitting: “If you are in love with someone, you stay with them regardless of what happens.” The actress and Jude were with her family at a dinner in New York to celebrate the premiere of her movie Casanova.

Mr. Miller explained how Sienna took Jude back after he did some serious soul searching. He added: “He did a lot of hard work, trying to figure out who he was. “And I told him if he did anything like this again, I’d kill him.” Sienna said Jude was “just too close to cut out of my life, he’s my best friend.”

She said she was delighted they had patched things up after he admitted cheating with his children’s nanny, Daisy Wright, in July. Sienna added: “I’m part of a huge majority of people that have experienced infidelity in a relationship. “I’m not the first person and I won’t be the last. “He is just too close to me to cut out of my life. “If you love someone and they are your best friend and you have a giggle it is worth saving.”

Source: The Sun

Odd Couple

Bono and Jesse Helms? Not only are they friends, but the Irish rocker and archconservative former North Carolina senator also share a common cause: fighting AIDS in Africa.

Before U2 opened to a raucous crowd of 17,000 at the city's new downtown arena, Bono had dinner with Helms. "He (Bono) called us a couple of weeks ago and said he wanted to see his old friend the senator," said John Dodd, president of the Jesse Helms Center, who accompanied Helms and other family members to Monday's meeting.

Since they were introduced several years ago, the Republican Helms and Bono have become close allies in the fight against the AIDS epidemic in Africa. Helms, who is 84 and suffers from a number of serious health problems, arrived backstage before the show and was joined by Bono for a casual meal. On the menu: grilled chicken, roast beef and salmon.

"It was nothing fancy," Dodd said. "They ate in the cafeteria with the roadies and the rest of the crew." The two men talked for a few minutes about their work and what they have been able to accomplish and what still needs to be done, Dodd said. Bono briefed the senator on DATA — or Debt, AIDS, Trade in Africa — a nonprofit organization he helped found in 2002 with other activists to increase awareness of the crises in Africa.

Source: Yahoo

Wisteria Snub

The drama on Wisteria Lane is unending, especially when it comes to awards nominations. "Desperate Housewives" actress Nicollette Sheridan was left out when Tuesday's Golden Globe bids were announced, although castmates Teri Hatcher, Marcia Cross, Felicity Huffman and Eva Longoria all received nominations.

The scenario was reminiscent of another "Housewives" omission, when Longoria failed to get either a Globe or Emmy Award nomination after the show made its hit debut last season. In the previous Golden Globe and Emmy go-around, Cross, Hatcher and Huffman all received best actress bids, while Sheridan was nominated for best supporting actress for the Globes. Huffman won the Emmy, with the Globe trophy going to Hatcher.

In the Globes' odd grouping of entries, Sheridan faced tough competition. While the four "Desperate Housewives" leads competed for best actress in a musical or comedy, Sheridan vied for supporting actress in a broader category that includes series, miniseries and movies. She was squeezed out by nominees Candice Bergen of "Boston Legal"; Camryn Manheim, "Elvis"; Sandra Oh, "Grey's Anatomy"; Elizabeth Perkins, "Weeds" and Joanne Woodward, "Empire Falls."

It is up to each actress to decide if they want to compete in the lead or supporting category, a spokeswoman for the show said Tuesday. Also overlooked in the supporting category was series newcomer Alfre Woodard.

A call seeking comment from Sheridan, who plays sexy schemer Edie, was not immediately returned Tuesday. Others connected with the show accentuated the positive, which included a best-series bid from the journalists' organization in charge of the Globes. "What a great ending to a magical year!" Longoria said in a statement. "The nomination is made all the more sweet by the fact that I'm in the company of my dear friends and co-stars."

Source: New York Daily News

Roberts To Model For Ferre

In a major coup for Gianfranco Ferre, the Italian fashion house has confirmed signing Julia Roberts for its next ad campaign.

Matter of fact, Roberts is busy shooting the campaign right now in Los Angeles, with Mario Testino on the other side of the camera. The deal covers the European Union, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Japan, the Far East and Oceania, but does not include the US.

The campaign marks a major departure for Ferre, who has traditionally used models in his ads. "I think the time for muses has come and gone. My source of inspiration is modern-day reality, women who live in today's world. Yet there are some who better than others match my own purely personal ideal of femininity. In the now so multifaceted realm of glamour and allure, both as a woman and as a personality Julia Roberts in my eyes reflects a total affinity with this ideal of mine," Ferre explained.

The American star's Ferre ads are for the Spring-Summer 2006 season and will roll out in magazines internationally starting February.

Source: Yahoo

URGE

MTV Networks Inc. said Tuesday it has partnered with Microsoft Corp. to develop an online music service to launch early next year.

The service, dubbed URGE, will be integrated into the next version of the software maker's Windows Media Player and offer more than 2 million tracks for sale individually or as part of a subscription package. The service will also offer music over online radio.

Microsoft will build the technology behind URGE, which Viacom Inc.'s MTV Networks will own and operate. MTV Networks declined to give details on URGE's pricing, but users can expect to pay different tiers for a la carte downloads, subscriptions and for moving rented tracks to a portable music player, said Jason Hirschhorn, the company's chief digital officer.

Source: New York Daily News

Levi's and Warhol Collaboration

Even in a season of unusual fashion collaborations, a venture involving Levi's jeans and Andy Warhol stands out.

But on reflection, there's a certain logic to Warhol Factory X Levi's, a partnership between the venerable denim line and the late pop artist's foundation. "Andy only wore Levi's while he was working, and they were kind of the artist's jean of that time," brand rep Amy Gemellaro points out. "The line really represents the best of both of us."

The collection, which debuts early next year, features hand-painted jackets, cashmere tees, and, of course, jeans, all emblazoned with memorable Warhol images, including his famous Marilyn Monroe portrait.

They're an artful way to differentiate yourself in a sea of indistinguishable blue—and a fitting tribute to the man who once said, "Fashion wasn't what you wore someplace anymore, it was the whole reason for going."

Souce: Men.Style.com

Dean Museum To Close

A museum chronicling the short life of "Rebel Without a Cause" star James Dean will close Dec. 31.

Owner David Loehr moved the James Dean Gallery to Gas City from Fairmount, where Dean attended high school, less than two years ago. Although attendance had increased, it wasn't enough to match the cost of maintaining the temperature-controlled building, Loehr said Monday.

"The operating expenses and upkeep and payments are just more than we can handle," he said. "I'm just getting further into debt and I just can't do it anymore."

Dean, who was born in Marion in 1931, was killed in a car crash in Cholame, Calif., in 1955 at age 24. His movies also included "East of Eden" and "Giant."

Source: New York Daily News

Golden Globe Nominations

The cowboy romance "Brokeback Mountain" led Golden Globe contenders Tuesday with seven nominations, among them best dramatic picture and honors for actors Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams and director Ang Lee, positioning itself as a key Academy Awards competitor.

Other best drama picture contenders were the murder thriller "The Constant Gardener," the Edward R. Murrow tale "Good Night, and Good Luck," the mobster story "A History of Violence," and the infidelity drama "Match Point."

The Globes have a separate category for musical or comedy films. Nominated there were the theater tale "Mrs. Henderson Presents," the Jane Austen costume pageant "Pride & Prejudice," the Broadway musical "The Producers," the divorce story "The Squid and the Whale," and the Johnny Cash film biography "Walk the Line."

Along with Ledger, who plays a family man concealing a homosexual affair from his family, best dramatic actor nominees included three actors playing real-life figures: Russell Crowe as Depression-era boxer Jim Braddock in "Cinderella Man," Philip Seymour Hoffman as author Truman Capote in "Capote," and David Strathairn as newsman Murrow in "Good Night, and Good Luck." The fifth nominee was Terrence Howard as a small-time pimp-turned-rap singer in "Hustle & Flow."

"Good Night, and Good Luck" was tied for second-most film nominations with four, along with "Match Point" and "The Producers." The Murrow tale earned a best-director nomination for George Clooney, who also had a supporting actor movie nomination for the oil industry thriller "Syriana."

Felicity Huffman received two nominations, best dramatic actress in a film for her role as a man preparing for sex-change surgery in "Transamerica" and best actress in a TV musical or comedy for "Desperate Housewives." Her "Desperate Housewives" co-stars Marcia Cross, Teri Hatcher and Eva Longoria also were nominated.

Other best dramatic film actress nominees were Maria Bello as a wife learning painful secrets about her husband in "A History of Violence," Gwyneth Paltrow as an unstable math genius' daughter in "Proof," Charlize Theron as a woman leading a sexual harassment lawsuit in "North Country" and Ziyi Zhang as a poor girl who becomes the belle of Japan's geisha houses in "Memoirs of a Geisha."

Based on a short story by Annie Proulx, "Brokeback Mountain" grabbed a supporting actress nomination for Williams as Ledger's wife, who chooses to ignore his affair with a man (Jake Gyllenhaal) to hold her family together. The movie also scored a directing nomination for Lee and received nominations for best screenplay, score and song.

For best actor in a movie, musical or comedy, Globe voters nominated Pierce Brosnan as a burned-out hit man in "The Matador," Jeff Daniels as a husband unglued by divorce in "The Squid and the Whale," Johnny Depp as candyman Willy Wonka in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," Nathan Lane as a Broadway con man in "The Producers," Cillian Murphy as a cross-dressing Irishman in "Breakfast on Pluto," and Joaquin Phoenix as country legend Cash in "Walk the Line."

Best musical or comedy film actress nominees were Judi Dench as a 1930s British dame who opens a nude theatrical review in "Mrs. Henderson Presents," Keira Knightley as the romantic heroine in "Pride & Prejudice," Laura Linney as a divorcing wife in "The Squid and the Whale," Sarah Jessica Parker as a woman hated by her fiancee's relations in "The Family Stone," and Reese Witherspoon as country singer June Carter in "Walk the Line."

Besides Lee and Clooney, the directing contenders were Woody Allen for "Match Point," Peter Jackson for "King Kong," Fernando Meirelles for "The Constant Gardener," and Steven Spielberg for "Munich."

In addition to Clooney, supporting movie actor nominees were "Matt Dillon for "Crash," Will Ferrell for "The Producers," Paul Giamatti for "Cinderella Man," and Bob Hoskins for "Mrs. Henderson Presents."

Supporting actress nominees were Scarlett Johansson for "Match Point," Shirley MacLaine for "In Her Shoes," Frances McDormand for "North Country," Rachel Weisz for "The Constant Gardener," and Williams for "Brokeback Mountain."

The Globes are handed out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a relatively small group of about 90 reporters for overseas news outlets. Yet with a nationally televised awards ceremony on NBC and a historically solid knack for picking eventual Academy Award winners, the Globes wield a fair amount of sway among the 5,800 Oscar voters.

Winners of the Golden Globes will be announced Jan. 16, five days before polls close for Oscar voters. Oscar nominations come out Jan. 31, and the awards will be presented March 5. Anthony Hopkins will receive the group's Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime

Farrell Checks Into Rehab

Colin Farrell is being treated for exhaustion and dependency on prescription medication, his publicist said.

The medication was prescribed to the Irish actor after a back injury, publicist Danica Smith said in a written statement Monday. The statement said Farrell had checked himself into a treatment center, which wasn't identified.

"No other comments (are) to be made at this time," the statement said.

Source: Foxnews

WTF?

Dennis Rodman's lookin' fine these days:

Source: Dlisted

Tookie Gets Executed

Convicted killer Stanley Tookie Williams, the Crips gang co-founder whose case stirred a national debate about capital punishment versus the possibility of redemption, was executed Tuesday morning.

Williams, 51, died at 12:35 a.m. Officials at San Quentin State Prison seemed to have trouble injecting the lethal mixture into his muscular arm.

The case became the state's highest-profile execution in decades. Hollywood stars and capital punishment foes argued that Williams' sentence should be commuted to life in prison because he had made amends by writing children's books about the dangers of gangs and violence.

In the days leading up to the execution, state and federal courts refused to reopen his case. Monday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger denied Williams' request for clemency, suggesting that his supposed change of heart was not genuine because he had not shown any real remorse for the killings committed by the Crips.

About 1,000 death penalty opponents and a few death penalty supporters gathered outside the prison to await the execution. Singer Joan Baez, M*A*S*H actor Mike Farrell and the Rev. Jesse Jackson were among the celebrities who protested the execution.

Source: Foxnews

I Call BS

George Michael has said Princess Diana was "very attracted" to him and that they nearly got together.

"There were certain things that happened that made it clear she was very attracted to me," he claimed. "There was no question.” "We clicked in a way that was a little bit intangible," said the singer. "We nearly got together on that St. Tropez boat trip. I was supposed to go on the boat and I'm quite glad I didn't, because it would have been so fresh when she died."

Source: Digital Spy

Get A Grip, Nerd

Hayden Christensen, currently shooting "Awake" with Jessica Alba, was leaving his trailer to do a scene inside Bellevue Hospital the other day when a fan approached.

But instead of asking Christensen for an autograph, the fan yelled, "You ruined the 'Star Wars' movies!" A set-side source says the annoyed Anakin Skywalker "chased the guy down the street and scared him away."

Source: New York Post

Still Longing For Angelina

Angelina Jolie's former lesbian lover Jenny Shimizu still has feelings for the Girl, Interrupted beauty even though Jolie is now dating Hollywood heart-throb Brad Pitt.

The model/actress first became close to Jolie when they co-starred in 1993 movie Foxfire - and she tells The Sun they developed a deep emotional and sexual relationship over the following decade.

Shimizu says, "There has never been an ending to her and I. I think there never will be. I think we will continue to have a deep relationship. It really does go beyond just the sex.

"She's always had lovers that she relies on. If she can ring you and you can meet up then she can take care of her sexual needs. Whenever she calls me up I go and visit her. "It's not always the case that we get together and have sex. Sometimes we go to her property in Cambodia and explore the jungle. It's definitely more of a deeper friendship. She's the person that I'll always care about and always help and always be there for."

Source: Handbag

More Awards

Brokeback Mountain, director Ang Lee's sweeping yet intimate romantic tale of two cowboys – played by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal – continued its award-winning roll on Monday when the New York Film Critics Circle named it best picture of the year, Lee director of the year and Ledger best actor.

The New York Circle, generally considered the most prestigious of the nation's reviewing groups, also named Reese Witherspoon best actress for her role as June Carter Cash, the second wife of Johnny Cash (played by Joaquin Phoenix), in Walk the Line.

In awarding Brokeback Mountain its highest honor, the New York Circle echoed the weekend decisions by Los Angeles and Boston critics' groups in selecting the western as the year's finest. In addition, the Critics Choice Awards nominated the film in eight categories, including best film and best actor Ledger.

The National Board of Review on Monday, however, named George Clooney's documentary-like drama Good Night, and Good Luck, about CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow's bringing down Sen. Joseph McCarthy, its best picture.

The board, organized in 1909 and the oldest film organization in the business, also named Philip Seymour Hoffman as Truman Capote in Capote its best actor, and Felicity Huffman as a preoperative transsexual in Transamerica its best actress. Supporting acting awards went to Gong Li for Memoirs of a Geisha and to Gyllenhaal for Brokeback Mountain.

Source: People

Prince is Back!

Prince has confirmed details of his next album release.

The star will release '3121' during 2006, though has yet to confirm a specific schedule. However, the first single from the record will be 'Te Amo Corazon', a video for which was filmed recently in Marrakech.

Directed by actress Salma Hayek, the clip will be available to download from the Npgmusicclub.com site on December 13, Billboard reports.

Source: NME.com

House Huntin'

The birth of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner's daughter Violet on December 1st has delayed the couple's plans to buy a new house together.

The Daredevil co-stars, both 33, exchanged vows in June and had planned to buy a property where they would raise their new family, but with the arrival of their bundle of joy, they put it all on hold.

Affleck moved into Garner's Brentwood, California, home and struck a deal to sell his old five-bedroom home in the same area - which he'd purchased from Melissa Etheridge in January - for $5 million.

Source: Teen Hollywood

Fake Is Flattery

Louis Vuitton designer Marc Jacobs says knockoffs are the highest form of flattery even though he doesn't approve of pirated luxury goods, a newspaper reported Saturday.

"Louis Vuitton as a company won't feel good about that (fake goods) ... but as a designer, I feel flattered," Jacobs was quoted as saying in Hong Kong in the South China Morning Post Saturday.

Source: New York Daily News

Hottie To The Rescue

Matthew McConaughey is said to have rescued a little girl from a coyote.

The actor is said to have spotted the animal circling the terrified child and her mom as he walked through a Los Angeles park. The star scared off the coyote by shouting and running at it, according to a report in Britain's News of the World newspaper.

Source: Monsters and Critics

Didn't She Learn?

The Single Life?

Jessica Simpson is considering signing up for a reality show which would follow her life as a single woman.

The actress, who ended her three-year marriage to Nick Lachey last month, believes that the MTV program would help her to get through the split. A source told the Daily Star, "Her fans saw every moment of her marriage in Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, so it makes sense that they should see the aftermath."

Source: Digital Spy

"Dirty Dancing:" Geriatric Style

Patrick Swayze has confessed he would love to make a third instalment to 'Dirty Dancing'. The actor - who shot to fame in the dance movie - says he'd consider reprising his role if the right offer came along.

He revealed: "It's an interesting thought and definitely a possibility. I'm open to any kind of offer." He told Britain's Now magazine: "It did wonders for my career and still has a loyal following."

Source: FemaleFirst

--NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Demi Sings

Demi Moore is turning into a jack of all trades.

The woman who once took up stripping for her role in "Striptease" is now taking up singing. Moore has been spending time in a Los Angeles studio recording "Louie Louie" for her role as Virginia Fallon in "Bobby" — the story of the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy.

"She is actually pretty good. Her voice is not bad," said a source. A rep for Moore confirmed "Louie Louie" is one of two songs she is recording.

Source: New York Post

Keith's Naughty Bits

Australian country singer Keith Urban wishes he could turn back time because he regrets posing nude for Playgirl magazine.

The 38-year-old musician, who is currently romancing Australian actress Nicole Kidman, was able to maintain his modesty with the help of a guitar, but still looks back on the April 2001 photoshoot with disgust.

He says, "I look back on it and I go, 'That probably wasn't a great idea.' But I was sort of swayed by the record company that this would be a good thing.
"It's not the full monty and, hey, it could get a whole load of people going out and buying your record, they told me. "But I look back now and wish I hadn't done it. There are some things in your career you wish you hadn't done, so there it is."

Source: FemaleFirst. Pic source: Pink is the New Blog

Officer Shaq

Shaquille O'Neal was sworn in as a reserve police officer last week, with the Miami Heat center choosing to skip a public event in favor of a quiet, no-frills ceremony.

"Officer O'Neal is very considerate toward the other officers, and he was afraid if he was there he would have taken away from that moment for other officers," department spokesman Robert Hernandez said. "This is a very special time for them and their families." The former Laker was a reserve officer in Los Angeles before moving to South Florida.

He spent the past year training as a Miami Beach police reserve officer and can now add the $1-a-year salary to his $100 million, 5-year contract with the Heat. The 7-foot-1 player will be able to carry a gun, wear a badge and make arrests, but with his celebrity status he most likely will not walk a beat or go undercover. He will work as time permits in the volunteer position.

Source: Concrete Loop

Zzzz

Paula Abdul has announced her plans to release an autobiography.

The American Idol judge was encouraged to do so after meeting with Richard Branson. "I reconnected, after 16 years, with Richard Branson, who's publishing my life story," eecho.ie quotes Paula as saying. "It's so exciting."

--I'm sure there will be a whole chapter on how she "almost died" from a bad manicure.

Source: Digital Spy

"Sopranos" Actor Accused In Police Shooting

A young police officer dying from a bullet to his chest shot two burglars early Saturday, one of them identified as an actor who played a misfit mobster on "The Sopranos."

Officer Daniel Enchautegui, 28, collapsed in the driveway of his Bronx home and died shortly afterward. The wounded suspects were quickly captured. Investigators identified one as Lillo Brancato Jr., an actor who got his break in the Robert De Niro-directed film "A Bronx Tale" in 1993, and played doomed mob wannabe Matt Bevilacqua during the 1999-2000 season of "The Sopranos." Brancato, 29, of Yonkers, was also arrested in June for alleged heroin possession.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said the actor and another man were breaking into a vacant home when Enchautegui, who had just finished a late-night shift, heard the sound of smashing glass next door. Enchautegui was off duty and in his street clothes, but he alerted his landlord and dialed 911 to report a possible burglary in progress. Then he grabbed his badge and a gun and went out to investigate. His landlord heard Enchautegui shout, "Police! Don't move!" followed by a burst of gunfire, Kelly said.

The alleged gunman, Steven Armento of Yonkers, was shot four times and was in serious condition. Brancato, who police said was unarmed, was shot twice and was in critical condition.

Source: CNN--Thanks for the tip, Rev.

• The LLama Butchers linked with Life imitating art imitating life
  
  

AFI's List

Steven Spielberg's "Munich," which centers on the aftermath of the killings of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics, and the oil-industry thriller "Syriana" were named Sunday among the American Film Institute's 10 best movies of 2005.

The other films AFI selected were: "Brokeback Mountain," "Capote," "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," "King Kong," "Crash," "Good Night, and Good Luck," "The Squid and the Whale" and "A History of Violence."

The institute also named its 10 best television programs, with honorees including "24," "Battlestar Galactica," and "Lost."

The AFI Awards honor film and television creative ensembles as a whole, both in front of and behind the camera. A luncheon recognizing the honorees will be held Jan. 13.

Source: New York Daily News

RIP

Richard Pryor, the groundbreaking comedian whose profanely personal insights into race relations and modern life made him one of Hollywood's biggest stars, died of a heart attack Saturday. He was 65.

Pryor died after being taken to a hospital from his home in the San Fernando Valley, said his business manager, Karen Finch. He had been ill for years with multiple sclerosis, a degenerative disease of the nervous system.

Music producer Quincy Jones described Pryor as a true pioneer of his art. "He was the Charlie Parker of comedy, a master of telling the truth that influenced every comedian that came after him," Jones said in a statement. "The legacy that he leaves will forever be with us."

Source: Foxnews

Brookswood

Country stars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood married in Oklahoma on Saturday, Brooks's publicist has told Access Hollywood.

"It's the perfect Christmas gift to each other. We could not be happier," Brooks said in a statement. News first began circulating about their impending nuptials when they filed for a marriage license in Oklahoma's Rogers County in Claremore on Friday morning.

Brooks and Yearwood first met in the late 1980s when Yearwood was an opening act on Brooks' tour, and this will be the second marriage for him and the third for her. Her previous husbands were musicians Chris Latham (to whom she was married from 1987-91) and Robert Reynolds (1994-2000). Both unions ended in divorce. She has no children.

Source: People

Overused Words

Here's one university's take on words/phrases from the past year that should be banned:

BLUE STATES/RED STATES – Who’s who, anyway? “I remember when I was a kid and Georgia was purple,” says Peter Pietrangelo, Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. “A good map has more than two colors.”

FLIP FLOP/FLIP FLOPPER/FLIP FLOPPING – They belong at the beach, not in a political dialogue. “Republicans used it; Democrats used it back. Flip-flop back and forth it goes.”

POCKETS OF RESISTANCE – “Are we talking about someone not buying a round of drinks or people shooting at each other?” “Sounds like someone having trouble pulling their hands out of their pants pockets.”

ENEMY COMBATANT – “Makes no sense. Do we have friendly combatants? Neutral combatants? Or how about enemy bystanders? If they are your enemy, just say so.”

CARBS – low carbs, high carbs, no carbs, carb-friendly… Meant ‘carburetor’ in a previous life. Needs to be purged from our system.
“You’re not fat because you eat bread; you’re fat because you eat too much!”
“What’s the point of low-carb beer? A person that concerned about ‘carbs’ shouldn’t even be drinking beer.”

YOU’RE FIRED! – “…and the little hand movement, too!”

‘IZZLE’ – SPEAK – By far, the abomination that received the most nominations. Some sort of ‘Rap-Latin’ suffix, as in fa’shizzle, which means ‘for sure.’ “It was clever for about five minutes, or should I say five ‘minizzles?’”

WARDROBE MALFUNCTION – “Janet Jackson’s bodice did not ‘malfunction.’” “Justin Timberlake pulled too much and too far and I could hear the cogs turning in his publicist’s head trying to come up with that excuse!”
“It wasn’t the wardrobe’s fault!” “Sure to be this generation’s Watergate, misapplied to all situations both imaginable and not so.”

BLOG – and its variations, including blogger, blogged, blogging, blogosphere. Many who nominated it were unsure of the meaning. Sounds like something your mother would slap you for saying. “Sounds like a Viking’s drink that’s better than grog, or a technique to kill a frog.”

BODY WASH – “Also known as ‘soap.’”

Source: LSSU

Mr. and Mrs. Pitt?

Rumors are swirling in the gossip blog world that Brangelina has tied (or will tie this evening) the knot at the Ritz-Carlton in Sarasota, Florida.

We'll see if this one pans out...stay tuned.

Source: Pink is the New Blog and Perez Hilton.

UPDATE: The story is total BS.

Daddy Damon?

"Access Hollywood" is reporting that actor Matt Damon and his fiancee Luciana Barroso are expecting a child.

This will be the first child for Damon, who has been romantically linked to actresses Claire Danes, Minnie Driver and Winona Ryder. Barroso, a former bartender at the Miami nightclub, Crobar, has a daughter from a previous marriage. The couple got engaged in September.

"Access Hollywood" is also reporting that Barroso is approximately three months along in her pregnancy.

Source: Teen Hollywood

UPDATE: Matt Damon and his girlfriend of two years, Luciana Bozan, were married Friday morning in a private ceremony in Manhattan, his publicist confirmed. Source: People.

Like, For Sure

Mary-Kate Olsen has opened up to W on why she dropped out of NYU and moved back to Los Angeles.

"I'm happy that I kind of realized that, OK, I just need to take care of myself right now," she told the fashion monthly. "I need to be able to go to yoga and work out and just read scripts and go on auditions, because that's what makes me happy. You know? Like, papers don't really make me happy."

--Like, papers didn't really make me happy either. But, like, I did it anyway.

Source: New York Post

"Dancing With the Stars" Lineup

"Dancing with the Stars" returns to ABC on Thursday, January 5 with a new bevy of wannabe ballroom stars.

Tying on their tap shoes for the second cycle are Tia Carrere, journalist Giselle Fernandez, George Hamilton, WWE diva Stacy Keibler, Nick's brother Drew Lachey, Kenny Mayne, Tatum O'Neal, Super Bowl champ Jerry Rice, Lisa Rinna and Romeo.

Each will be paired with a professional dancer and perform choreographed routines.

Source: ET

No Boob Job For Mischa

Mischa Barton says she would never have a boob job - because she's scared she would be too sexy.

When asked if she would prefer bigger boobs and more curves like co-star Rachel Bilson the gorgeous 'The OC' actress said: "No! I feel tall and lanky next to her, but I'd be scared of having her boobs and voluptuousness!

"I would never have a boob job. I like being understatedly sexy. Rachel's curves make her more overtly sexual than I am."

Source: FemaleFirst

Ponch Returns

The TV series CHiPs is set for the big screen.

That '70s Show star Wilmer Valderrama is set to star as Ponch, the role originally played by Erik Estrada.

CHiPs ran from 1977 to 1983 it followed the pursuits of California highway patrol officers reports Variety. Warners still has to cast the role of Baker, as well as a director.

Source: Ananova

Umm

Joaquin Phoenix took Method acting to extremes while channeling Johnny Cash in "Walk the Line."

Rumor has it that Phoenix had a steamy on-set fling with Ginnifer Goodwin, who played Cash's first wife, during filming. But he supposedly broke it off the day that the two actors shot an emotional break-up scene.

Source: New York Post

Ross Hits Broadway

David Schwimmer will make his Broadway debut in a revival of "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial," Herman Wouk's stage adaptation of his best-selling novel that later became a hit movie.

The courtroom drama will open May 7 at a theater to be announced, with preview performances to begin April 14. Schwimmer will play the role of Lt. Barney Greenwald in the production, which will be directed by Jerry Zaks.

Zeljko Ivanek will co-star as the infamous Lt. Com. Philip Francis Queeg, a role played in the movie version by Humphrey Bogart. Schwimmer, one of the stars of the long-running television series "Friends," has extensive stage credits, particularly in Chicago where he was a co-founder of the Lookingglass Theatre Company. "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial" originally opened on Broadway in 1954 starring Henry Fonda as Greenwald and Lloyd Nolan as Queeg.

Source: AP

Matthew Says...

Matthew McConaughey, always reticent to talk about his love life, really must be in love.

He's gushed forth about how fabulous Spanish lady friend Penelope Cruz is - and how 'poetic' their relationship is.

Although Penelope has starred in several Hollywood movies, the Madrid-born star still speaks in heavily-accented English. But Matt told Now magazine the little issue of language doesn't get in the way.

"It's amazing how much better you can communicate when you get rid of all those damn words!" he said. "You start behaving like you do with a child who can't speak yet - you do charades. And it really works. "I know a little bit of Spanish - I can get a noun and a verb - and then I act out the rest. You're more able to say what you mean by talking less. "And then sometimes when you are talking, you don't say what you're meant to say and it becomes kind of poetic."

"The first thing I noticed was that she's pretty easy on the eye," he told Now. "The second was that she has a lot of respect for herself: her history, her past, her family. She's proud of where she comes from - which you don't see often. "She's a full Latin woman and there's an earthiness to the Latin blood."

Source: Ananova

Porsche Products

Time is on the side of free-spending Porsche lovers.

A $150,000 titanium Porsche watch — the world's first with a digital automatic chronograph — will be unveiled today at Tourneau on Madison Avenue. Each watch has 800 moving parts and takes a week to create — only 50 are made each year. The watch will be sold at Porsche Design's new flagship Manhattan boutique, which is set to open this February at Madison Avenue and 59th St.

The store is part of a new group of interactive Porsche Design stores around the world that use technology in unique ways. The Manhattan store, designed by Matteo Thun, pioneers what Porsche Design Group CEO Siegmund Rudigier calls "night shopping."

The storefront becomes a limited Internet store after hours, when shoppers can touch arrows on the windows to learn more about Porsche products inside. The store expands Porsche's brand into lifestyle products, selling everything from $50 pens to the $150,000 watch. "But the $50 pen is an exception," Rudigier told The Post. "We are really oriented toward high-end luxury products."

Source: New York Post

Lagerfeld's Newest Show

Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld is planting a seed in the minds of soon-to-be holiday travelers: Dress up.

Lagerfeld packed his own (many) trunks and arrived in Manhattan for two special fashion shows Wednesday of Chanel's Paris-New York collection - one show was for the fashion press, the other for celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan, Claire Danes and Ashley Olsen.

The Chanel boutique was decorated with vintage luggage tags and airmail stamps, and the models had their hair styled in wavy bobs and wore bright red matte lipstick. Other 1940s touches were round-toe shoes, fur hats and, dark pantyhose.

The clothes were chic, feminine and classic Chanel and without any hints of outrageousness that Lagerfeld sometimes uses in an attempt to move the iconic brand forward. Almost every look was black or white, with occasional flashes of gold or silver.

An outstanding black skirt suit featured quilting - like Chanel's signature handbags - and a white bow tie at the neck, while a check-pattern pantsuit had fringe at the trousers' hemline. That was paired with a pleated white blouse. A jeweled leather jacket in winter white had puffed sleeves; a sportier take was a leather ski jacket.

Source: AP

"Today's" Still on Top

The "Today" show's stars wanted to talk about the past: A glorious 10-year winning streak. But what about the future: Is Katie Couric, the broadcast's leading lady, about to jump ship?

"There really is nothing to announce and nothing to report," said Couric at the outset of Thursday's teleconference.

Even as NBC's "Today" marks an unprecedented 520 weeks beating its morning competition - notably ABC runner-up "Good Morning America" - the rumor mill has focused on this key member of the winning team: Will Couric, who began her "Today" hosting chores in April 1991, be staying? Or might she leap to CBS to anchor its evening newscast?

"I know there's been a great deal of speculation in the press," Couric said. "My contract ends in May, and I'm trying to figure out what I'm gonna do. "I'm fortunate to have a couple of opportunities that I'm thinking long and hard about," she said. "But in terms of any imminent announcement, there won't be one."

Source: New York Daily News

Wedding is Off

The Simple Life star Nicole Richie and her fiancé, "DJ AM" Adam Goldstein, have broken off their engagement, her rep said.

"They have called off the engagement," publicist Cindy Guagenti confirms, saying the decision was mutual.

Richie, the 24-year-old daughter of Lionel Richie, and Goldstein, 32, announced their engagement in February after dating for a year. By then the pair had already moved into a Hollywood Hills home together.

--I have to say, I'm a little surprised by this one.

Source: People

Goodbye, Earl

So, Sean Preston's birth certificate has been released:

Um, who is surprised that KFeddy's middle name is Earl? "Goodbye.....Earl!"

Source: Pink is the New Blog

The Donald Says...

Donald Trump may have landed in hot water with his five-months pregnant wife, Melania, during his appearance on Sirius Satellite Radio-bound Howard Stern's K-Rock show yesterday.

"You know, they just blow up, right?" Trump said of his burgeoning bride. "Like a blimp — in the right places. In her case, the right places. I mean she really has become a monster — in all the right places."

After some ribbing from Stern and co-host Robin Quivers over the word "monster," the blustery billionaire corrected himself: "I mean monster in the most positive way. She has gotten very, very large — in all the right places." OK, we get it — she's stacked!

Trump also opined that supermodel Heidi Klum, who recently gave birth, doesn't look quite as alluring as she used to. "I looked at her the other day, and it's off," Trump declared. "There's no question."

Then Stern played an old clip in which Trump dissed Nicolette Sheridan's figure ("very flat-chested"), Carmen Electra's implants ("they look like two light bulbs") and broke down Halle Berry thusly: "From the midsection to the shoulders, she's a 10. The face is a solid 8. And the legs are maybe a little bit less than that."

Source: New York Post

Kanye and His Ego

Ego Much?

On Monday, when Kanye West performed a special high school concert, the rapper spouted to MTV News backstage about predictions he'd heard that his Late Registration LP would be a likely contender for Album of the Year — but wouldn't win because of West's tendency to run his mouth (particularly his comment that "George Bush doesn't care about black people").

"If I don't win Album of the Year, I'm gonna really have a problem with that," said West. "I can never talk myself out of [winning], you know why? Because I put in the work. I don't care if I jumped up and down right now on the couch like Tom Cruise. I don't care what I do, I don't care how much I stunt — you can never take away from the amount of work I put into it. So I don't wanna hear all of that politically correct stuff. You put the camera in front of me, I'm gonna tell you like this. I worked hard to get here. I put my love, I put my heart, I put my money [into Late Registration]. I'm $600,000 in the hole right now on that album and you tell me about being politically incorrect?

"People love these songs," he continued. "You talk to somebody whose grandmother just died and listens to 'Roses,' and you tell me about being politically incorrect. I'm talking about history. I never got five mics [top rating] in The Source, I never got five stars from Vibe. They said it's not a classic. So 'Jesus Walks' is not a classic? 'Roses' is not a classic? 'Gold Digger' wasn't song of the year? 'Oh, but Kanye, you can't say that.' Why? Who are you? I don't know you."

West mocked artists who "love everybody except themselves," calling it "cliché media training." He also made it clear he's not planning to shut up anytime soon.

"I said I was the face of the Grammys last year. I'm 10 times that [this year]," West said. "Get your cameras ready. Two things: Do not let me get up on that stage and do not let me get up on that stage. Either way, we going crazy!"

Grammy noms come out today.

Source: MTV News

UPDATE: Kanye's album did, indeed get nominated for Album of the Year. Mariah cleaned up w/ 8 noms.

Violet?

This is supposedly the first pic of Ben and Jen's little Violet:

Source: Jossip

Botched Batch?

For you Vodka lovers out there:

Vodka drinkers have noticed a sour taste in their Ketel One. And some bars, after having martinis rejected, stopped stocking the Dutch brand.

"The bartender said Ketel One made a bad batch," one cocktailer shared, a rumor that has circulated as far as Tokyo. Bill Eldien, president of Ketel One's parent, Nolet Spirits, said the deviant flavor was the result of a batch that had a "higher wheat content, with more of a wheat flavor." But he assured us Ketel One is now safe to drink, as all of the wheaty stuff was recalled.

Source: New York Post

Gap Commercial.

Click here to watch a hilarious new Gap commercial.

It's specifically tailored to the renovations being done to the 59th and Lex store in NYC. But, regardless of whether you live there or have been there, it's funny.

Source: A Socialite's Life

Ashanti's Denim Line

R+B star Ashanti has become the latest celebrity to enter the fashion world, after launching her own denim collection.

The singer unveiled her new Delicious Curves denim collection by Mudd at New York City department store Macy's, and she hopes it will encourage women to embrace their shapely bodies.

She says, "It's a wonderful idea to let girls know that women's curves are beautiful. Don't be ashamed to show them." And even though the singer enjoys having her own curves, she does admit, "I wish I had a little more of this and a little less this."

Source: Teen Hollywood

Lohan Dishes on Wilmer

Lindsay Lohan has hinted she split from Wilmer Valderrama after finding love letters written by an ex-girlfriend in an awkward TV interview.

The actress/singer, who publicly split from the actor last year, was talking about songs on her new album Raw on TRL on MTV when she was quizzed about the song Black Hole, in which she sings about finding love letters from an ex.

Lohan squirmed when she was asked if the song was about a specific person or just made up, and giggled, "Dammit! A little bit of both. I mean I incorporate everything." But when TRL host Vanessa Minillo pressed for more information, explaining, "It's an ex so it's already (past)," Lohan begrudgingly added, "Obviously some of it was from Wilmer. Fine."

Source: FemaleFirst

Mariah Engaged?

Mariah Carey has sparked rumors she is engaged to mystery boyfriend Mark Sudack - by sporting a huge sparkling ring on her engagement finger at the Billboard Awards.

The singer, who picked up an astonishing five awards at the ceremony in Las Vegas, Nevada, was last week rumored to have accepted a proposal from Sudack, the record executive who helped relaunch her career.

Rumors suggest she plans to step down the aisle next June.

Source: Teen Hollywood

Movie Marketing

The word "geisha" may conjure up images of beautiful Japanese courtesans, but for American retailers it means only one thing: ka-ching!

Sony, whose new movie "Memoirs of a Geisha" is based on Arthur Golden's best-selling novel of the same title, has managed to turn geisha chic into a key holiday look, thanks to high profile tie-in partners like Banana Republic and Fresh cosmetics.

"I think people have a long fascination with Asian culture," said Fresh co-founder Alina Roytberg, whose company began selling its "Memoirs of a Geisha" line back in September. "What we wanted to sell is not just a beauty product, but the process that a geisha must undergo before she can go out."

And the full process is just what Fresh offers: Geisha Rice Face Wash, $32, Geisha Bath with Sake, $42, Flower Petal Face Mask, $35, eau de parfum, $48, and Geisha Beauty Face Palette, $38, were all inspired by actual products mentioned in Golden's book. "The fragrance is probably the No. 1 seller and then comes the Beauty Palette," Roytberg said.

Companies like Banana Republic and luxury alchemy company D.L. & Co. are also profiting from their official tie-ins to the movie. From black kimono dresses and wrap tops to Asian-inspired quilted bags, Banana Republic has put a modern — and commercial — twist on geisha style, giving Americans the allure minus the full-on geisha regalia.

Source: Foxnews.com

The CaCee Factor

The CaCee Factor:

Rumor has it that the twentysomething CaCee (pronounced "Casey") Cobb - who now finds herself the object of a quasi-custody battle between Jessica Simpson and her estranged husband, Nick Lachey - has been blabbing to friends about Simpson's alleged infidelities and voicing her sympathy for Nick's plight.

"CaCee can't get past the fact that Jessica cheated," reports a spy close to the situation. "She feels badly for Nick and is very vocal about missing him. She saw Jessica abuse him all along. Ever since 'Dukes of Hazzard,' Jessica hasn't been good to Nick, and no one saw this more clearly then CaCee."

While it has been widely speculated in print that Simpson had affairs with her "Dukes" co-star Johnny Knoxville and "Jackass" alum Bam Margera, the Lowdown insider claimed that Jessica also had a fling with Maroon 5 front man Adam Levine. Levine's rep denied it yesterday.

"CaCee knows her loyalty belongs to Jessica, but she still resents her for hurting Nick so much," said the spy.

Cobb apparently hasn't been silenced, even by such extravagant gifts from Simpson as the $40,000 BMW bestowed a few days before Simpson announced her separation from Lachey. But yesterday Simpson's spinmeister Rob Shuter insisted that everything is peaches and cream.

"None of this is true," he E-mailed. "Saturday night was CaCee's birthday. We all had dinner and then went out to the Roosevelt Hotel [in L.A.]. Jess paid for everything. Jess also bought CaCee a vintage Rolex watch. Jess and CaCee love each other. CaCee is still friends with Nick."

Source: New York Daily News' Lowdown

Sketchy

Never forget that "fan" is short for "fanatic."

At Monday night's benefit concert for Peter Gabriel's charity, Witness, cosponsored by Best Life, Angelina Jolie stopped to pose for a photo with a striking young female guest. What Jolie missed moments later was the woman flashing her backside to revelers, revealing an 8-inch tattooed image of — Angelina Jolie.

Source: New York Post

--Now that's "sketch"-y. HA! I kill myself... ;)

GosAdams

Not sure how many of you liked The Notebook as much as I did, but I love that these two seem to still be a couple.

Jen Burns Memories of Brad

Rumor du Jour:

Jennifer Aniston has burned the dress she wore when she married her now ex-husband Brad Pitt.

The actress was joined by friends to witness the ritual outside her Malibu beach home. According to Grazia magazine the actress, who is believed to now be dating actor Vince Vaughn, was sipping champagne and laughing with friends as her wedding dress went up in smoke.

Other items on the fire were love letters from Brad as well as T-shirts and CD’s belonging to him. Aniston was planning to give the Lawrence Steele designed gown to charity but decided to burn it instead, forgetting rid of her marriage demons once and for all.

Source: Entertainmentwise

Sound of Crying

Art Garfunkel and his wife, Kim, are the proud parents of a baby boy named Beau who was born through a surrogate mother.

"He's eight weeks," Garfunkel said at his wife's Monday night cabaret performance at Manhattan's Makor Center Cafe. This is the second child for the couple. Their son, James, was born in 1990, two years after the Garfunkels wed.

"It's intoxicating" Garfunkel, 64, says of his role as dad. (Usually, he's known as half of the legendary folk duo Simon & Garfunkel.) "You're being pinched out of normal life. You are going to be chumped and made silly and startlingly ecstatic." But, he insists, "I'm doing pretty good. The baby's pretty good. We have good help."

Source: People

King Kong Fashion Disaster

Here's Naomi Watts at the premiere of her new movie, King Kong:

Oh, dear. I really like her, but her whole look is a disaster. Her hair looks like she just got done filming the "top of the Empire State Building" scene. Did her brush get stolen? Did someone give her an Ogilve home perm? I'm confused. And the dress...is wretched. The color washes her out, and it looks way too June Cleaver.

Kanye Performs at High School

Kanye West's first album is titled "The College Dropout" and his lyrics often extoll the benefits of a real-world education.

But Monday found the 27-year-old rapper at Santa Monica High School, performing a rousing, six-song set and answering questions after students won a local radio contest.

"Me? I use real life, I learn from real people," West said as he sat in a classroom, waiting to go onstage. "The great thing about school, and the bad thing about it, is that you can just sit there in the back of the room and not pay any attention. In real life, being shy is not going to get you anywhere. I get educated every day."

West's visit began with a contest that radio station KPWR-FM announced in November. The rules were simple: West would perform for the Southern California student body that cast the most votes for its school on the contest Web site.

Source: New York Daily News

Pitt's Adoption Challenges

Brad Pitt is facing a stream of legal red tape in his attempts to adopt Angelina Jolie's two children - because he's not yet married to the sexy actress.

It was recently announced the 41-year-old actor was in the process of filing for legal guardianship of his Mr. and Mrs. Smith co-star's adopted children, Maddox, four, and Zahara, 11 months. But his decision to adopt the youngsters will result in months of paperwork, in-home supervision and a high fee, which he could avoid if he exchanged nuptials with the twice-wed beauty.

David Baum, president of the Academy Of California Adoption Lawyers, says, "This is not the easiest way of doing things. Frequently what you do if you are in a relationship with someone and you want to adopt their children, you marry them and do a step-parent adoption. There are extra requirements when you are not related by marriage to the children you are adopting."

In Los Angeles County, the fees for a step-parent adoption are $775, and the process takes approximately three to six months, Baum says. But with Pitt filing as a second parent, the star, ex-husband of Jennifer Aniston, can expect to pay a home study fee of $2,950 and face far more scrutiny. The county will also seek letters of reference, which will remain confidential to protect the children.

Source: IMDB

Elton Picks a Place

Elton John and his long-term lover will get hitched in a civil partnership ceremony at the very same register office where Prince Charles and Camilla got married.

The superstar and his Canadian film-maker partner will exchange vows on December 21st at Windsor's Guildhall. The same registrar who wed Charles and Camilla will be officiating too.

Elton and David's ceremony will be a private affair, with only Elton's mom and stepdad and David's parents there as witnesses.

But the star will then throw a lavish bash at his Old Windsor mansion for 700 guests, including Rod Stewart, Liz Hurley and Victoria Beckham.

Source: Ananova

--If it's good enough for Chuck and Cammie, it's good enough for Elton!

Breakups and Hookups

It's hard to keep track of the hookups, breakups, and backtogethers:

Christina Applegate's husband of four years, actor Johnathon Schaech, filed for divorce Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court.

According to a statement released by their publicist: "After four years of marriage, actors Johnathon Schaech and Christina Applegate have filed for divorce. The decision is mutual. We have no further comment at this time."

Schaech, 36, who appeared in the movie That Thing You Do! and is in pre-production with Road House 2: Last Call, cited irreconcilable differences, say the court papers. Applegate, 34, whose credits include Married ... With Children and last year's Anchorman, is currently on Broadway in a revival of Sweet Charity, which will run until the end of this month. Her debut in the show last spring was delayed when she sprained her ankle during out-of-town tryouts. She earned a Tony nomination for the role.

--Valerie Bertinelli and her rock star husband, Eddie Van Halen, are divorcing after 24 years of marriage, Bertinelli's publicist confirmed Tuesday.

"Yes, that's true. They have been separated for four years and it's amicable," Bertinelli spokeswoman Heidi Schaeffer told The Associated Press. She said the actress would have no further comment.

A divorce petition that Bertinelli, 45, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court Tuesday cited irreconcilable differences. The couple wed on April 11, 1981, and have one son, 14-year-old Wolfgang Van Halen. According to the petition, they separated on Oct. 15, 2001.

-- Rap superstar Eminem told a radio show Tuesday that he is back together with his ex-wife and may remarry. Eminem went through an ugly divorce and custody battle over his young daughter with Kimberly Mathers. They married in 1999, and their divorce was finalized in 2001.

"We have reconciled and are probably going to remarry," Eminem told Detroit radio station WKQI-FM's "Mojo in the Morning" show. During the interview, he referred to Kimberly Mathers, 30, as "my wife Kim."

Sources: People and AP.

The Christmas Classic That Almost Wasn't

When CBS bigwigs saw a rough cut of A Charlie Brown Christmas in November 1965, they hated it.

"They said it was slow," executive producer Lee Mendelson remembers with a laugh. There were concerns that the show was almost defiantly different: There was no laugh track, real children provided the voices, and there was a swinging score by jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi.

Mendelson and animator Bill Melendez fretted about the insistence by Peanuts creator Charles Schulz that his first-ever TV spinoff end with a reading of the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke by a lisping little boy named Linus.

"We told Schulz, 'Look, you can't read from the Bible on network television,' " Mendelson says. "When we finished the show and watched it, Melendez and I looked at each other and I said, 'We've ruined Charlie Brown.' "

Good grief, were they wrong. The first broadcast was watched by almost 50% of the nation's viewers. "When I started reading the reviews, I was absolutely shocked," says Melendez, 89. "They actually liked it!"

And when the program aired Monday on ABC, it marked its 40th anniversary — a run that has made it a staple of family holiday traditions and an icon of American pop culture. The show won an Emmy and a Peabody award and began a string of more than two dozen Peanuts specials.

Last year, 13.6 million people watched it, making it the 18th-most-popular show on television the week it aired; CSI was first.

Source: USA Today

KFed Boozes in Sin City

So, KFed is in Vegas. One would think it would be to make up with his wife. It doesn't appear that that is on his mind.

Source: Popsugar

Justin Tries To Shed Choir Boy Voice

Justin Timberlake is taking vocal lessons – to make his squeaky voice more manly.

The former child star of Disney TV’s Mickey Mouse Club has hired a vocals guru to help him sound more manly. The singer used his distinctive high-pitched voice to his advantage on hit album Justified. He also squealed all the way through single Cry Me A River — and landed a No. 2 hit.

But, now he wants to make it in the movies, and Justin has missed out on two Hollywood film roles because casting directors thought he sounded too much like a boy. But he was picked to record the voice of Artie, the young King Arthur, in Shrek 3, out next year.

Source: The Sun

Maybe he should call the Vienna Boys Choir.

Theron New Bond Girl?

Charlize Theron is apparently set to play the new Bond girl in the adaptation of Casino Royale being made this year.

The Daily Mirror has revealed that the South African star was director Martin Campbell's first choice. She was offered big money to star alongside the new Bond, Daniel Craig.

Source: Digital Spy

No Butts About It

Supermodel Gisele Bundchen has a clause in her contracts that she doesn't have to bare her bottom.

"I make a point about that because I don't want my booty [to show]," she tells British Vogue. "I can't wear like a nun outfit, or something like that, but I make sure that they understand that my booty has to be covered. It's my booty and I feel like when you're walking on the runway, God knows where they're looking. It's not that I feel self-conscious, it's that I feel like my booty should be shown on special occasions, for special people."

Source: New York Post

Lockbora Still Happy

Rocker Richie Sambora and his actress wife Heather Locklear has slammed tabloid reports their marriage is in trouble, insisting their normal, happy family life is "boring, but true."

Recently, several publications claimed the Bon Jovi guitarist, 46, and former Spin City star, 44, were arguing over having a second child, with Locklear preferring to concentrate on her career. However, the couple insist their marriage is as strong as ever and they are looking forward to celebrating their 11th wedding anniversary on December 17.

In a joint statement to the New York Daily News, the couple say, "The real story is that there is no story. The truth is that after 11 years together, we are still happily married. Boring but true."

Source: IMDB

Luke Proud of Bulge

Movie star Luke Wilson is proud of gaining 18 pounds to fill his character in new movie The Family Stone, because he is convinced many leading actors would not be prepared to change their physique for a part.

The actor pokes fun at his peers, including Jamie Foxx and Matthew Mcconaughey, because they are too proud of their fine muscle definition to consider taking on a different kind of role.

He says, "It was actually brave of me. I put on about 18 pounds for the movie, which a lot of your younger actors, they're a little too vain to do that." "Your Jamie Foxxs, your McConaugheys, they could be playing WC Fields (portly silver screen icon) and they'd have a six-pack. They're not willing to go the distance."

Source: Teen Hollywood

Springfield's Back In Soaps

For singer Rick Springfield, it's a little strange to be back on his old soap-opera stomping grounds.

"I don't know if there has ever been a character that reoccurred after 23 years," he says. Springfield is back as Dr. Noah Drake on "General Hospital," a role he first played in the early 1980s, when his hit song "Jessie's Girl" was a radio staple.

The singer-actor was looking for innovative ways to promote his new album, "The Day After Yesterday," and started pursuing guest appearances on several soaps. "General Hospital" liked the idea of his return but asked him to leave the band at home. "I thought about it," Springfield says, "and it seemed like it was too good an opportunity to miss."

He made his first appearance Friday and is set to be in about a dozen episodes. He'll save the singing for his tour dates in Japan this month and in the United States next year.

Source: AZ Central

Celebs to Face Chanel and Prada

Hollywood actress Selma Blair is the new face of French fashion house Chanel.

The star, 33, appears in the advertising campaign - shot by designer Karl Lagerfeld- for the Chanel Vision line of sunglasses, which starts next spring.

Blair wore Chanel for her January 2004 marriage to Frank Zappa's musician son Ahmet Zappa. Blair enthuses, "I have a lovely relationship with Karl. It's different to be shot by him. I'm so comfortable in front of him. "Sometimes when I work with other photographers, they say, 'Give me more Selma, more, more.' But they don't really know who I am. With Karl, he's capturing something that's more - my personal flaws, the way I am as a girl, not a model."

Academy award-winning actress Kim Basinger has been enlisted by Italian fashion designer Muiccia Prada to model her new spring/summer Mui Mui collection.

Basinger, 51, who was a successful model before turning to acting, is the latest middle-aged female star to be chosen by highly acclaimed fashion houses, including Madonna, 47, and Demi Moore, 42, who both starred in recent Versace campaigns.

A source tells British newspaper The Daily Telegraph, "Basinger's just finished shooting the spring/summer 2006 Miu Miu campaign in Paris. "Muccia chose Basinger for the intellectual sensuality she has, which is quite unique. "She was also a cover girl before she became an actress, so she's no stranger to modeling."

Sources: Contact Music and Hollywood.com.

BabyTime

Adam Sandler is going to be a real-life Big Daddy. The comedian's wife Jackie is expecting the couple's first child, due next spring, a source said.

On Friday night, Sandler had his annual holiday party at a rec center in Burbank with food, bowling and ice skating. His wife was there, and "she looked radiant," the source says.

Angela Bassett and her husband, fellow actor Courtney B. Vance, are also going to be parents.

"They are expecting twins via a surrogate," says a source close to the 47-year-old star of How Stella Got Her Groove Back and What's Love Got to Do With It. The source adds: "The babies are due in a couple months." A publicist for Bassett had no comment.

The two have been a couple since the fall of 1996, when Vance (The Preacher's Wife) ran into longtime acquaintance Bassett at a play in Los Angeles.

Source: People

ESPN On Your iPod

Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN cable sports network is looking into distributing some of its television programs on Apple's iTunes music and video service, possibly joining its corporate cousin in a landmark deal, ESPN and ABC Sports president George Bodenheimer said on Monday.

Although ESPN has not held talks with Apple Computer Inc. yet, the top rated cable sports network plans to offer its diet of original shows and game clips to "any pipe, any device," Bodenheimer said at the UBS global media conference. "We're not just in the TV business anymore ... We're going to the table as a sports media company," Bodenheimer said.

Source: Yahoo

ESPN could join Walt Disney Co.'s ABC television networks, which announced a deal a few weeks ago to offer recently broadcasted episodes of hit shows "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives" for $1.99 per episode on Apple's service.

Hit the Road, Fed

KFeddy Got the Boot?

Britney Spears recently kicked professional slacker-hubby Kevin Federline out of their Malibu house, the New York Daily News reports.

A source tells the paper that one of Federline's pot-puffing pals showed up at the house, sparking Brit's temper. "Britney turned around and fired two of her longtime security guards for letting what she called 'the weedman' into the house," the source says. "She just seemed crazy with anger."

Another article reports Brit has had secret meetings with lawyers to discuss divorcing husband KFeddy.

The fed-up singer called them to her Malibu mansion earlier this week as her marriage crumbled. But it didn't stop there—she also sent back his Ferrari 360 Modena to the dealers and got it towed away.

A source close to the singer, 24, said: "Britney has gone through hell and back recently with Kevin.

"He's been going out and partying, leaving her at home with their son Sean Preston. "Britney has given him a lot of space but he's been taking advantage and doesn't seem to care. "She called in the lawyers because she's had enough. "It was her birthday on Friday and she flew to Vegas with friends to celebrate without Kevin."

Sources: AZ Central and News of the World. Pic from Popsugar.

TomKat

The latest TomKat sighting:

Ang Says...

Ang Lee, the director of the much-talked-about gay cowboy flick "Brokeback Mountain," couldn't give a damn about anything but his movie.

Asked by the San Francisco Bay Times whether he thought the gay subject matter could have a negative impact on the careers of Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, Lee responded, "I don't care if this movie dooms the rest of their careers . . . All I cared about was that they performed for me."

Source: New York Post

La Isla Vomita

Former Knight Rider and Baywatch star David Hasselhoff is allegedly planning to release his own version of the Madonna hit La Isla Bonita.

Hasselhoff first did a cover of the Madonna track on his 2004 album 'David Hasselhoff Sings America' and has decided to release the single after it received a massive reaction from his German fans. Hasselhoff enjoys a huge following in Germany.

"It's the one track that gets talked about by my fans, so why not?" the 80s star mused.

Source: Digital Spy

Honest Mistake

The hookers may be gone from the Meatpacking District, but the police are still on the lookout - as RuPaul found out last week

RuPaul was shooting his latest movie, "Whitepaddy," on West 13th Street in NYC recently. According to a production source: "Since it's a small-budget indie film, we weren't using any lights for the scene. Ru was on his knees simulating [oral sex] on someone in plain view when a cop pulled over." The officer was quickly set straight.

Source: New York Post

Bid 2 Beat AIDS

Click here to bid on a Lindsay Lohan signed Heinz ketchup bottle.

The auction is part of Bid 2 Beat AIDS, an eBay auction benefiting LIFEbeat, the Music Industry Fights AIDS. LIFEbeat provides HIV/AIDS information directly to hundreds of thousands of young people every year, and reaches millions more with its public service and awareness campaigns.

Diddy Surprises Cancer Patient

Sean "Diddy" Combs made a surprise visit to Chris Evert's charity tennis tournament to meet a teenage cancer patient.

For Chalon Keen, 17, of Sunrise, who has been fighting for two years a cancer that creates tumors in her muscle cells, Saturday's visit was a dream come true. Chalon, a patient at the Chris Evert Children's Hospital at Broward General Medical Center, met Combs through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Ava Keen, Chalon's mother, said her daughter cried the whole time. The meeting lifted the teen's spirits as she and her family prepared to travel to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota to undergo tests for a possible bone marrow transplant. "I was just so choked up, she was so excited," Ava Keen said.

Evert's annual event has raised more than $13 million to fight drug abuse and help neglected and abused children in south Florida. Comedian Jon Lovitz, supermodel Frederique, tennis star Sebastien Grosjean, NBC news anchor Stone Phillips, singer Michael W. Smith and actor Alan Thicke also attended the event.

Source: AP

Mariah Evacuated In Robe

Mariah Carey had to be evacuated from a London hotel yesterday - while she was wearing just a robe.

The singer, who is in the UK to promote a new album, was in the bath when the fire alarm went off. She was forced to pull on a bathrobe before hurrying down a fire escape.

An onlooker told the Sunday Mirror, "It was incredible - seeing one of the world's most beautiful women just running around in a dressing gown." After 30 minutes, Mariah was allowed to return to her hotel room.

Source: Digital Spy

Manson Weds

Rocker Marilyn Manson married his longtime girlfriend, burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese, on Saturday in front of some 60 guests as fans and well wishers gathered outside.

The ceremony took place in Kilsheelan, County Tipperary, Ireland, at Castle Gurteen, the home of the couple's friend, artist Gottfried Helnwein. Contrary to rumors that the pair would exchange their blood during the ceremony, they actually traded vows they wrote for each other.

Manson (real name Brian Warner), 36, gave Von Teese (real name: Heather Sweet), 33, a wedding band from William Harold Jewelers in Newport Beach, Calif., where he also got her 7-carat, antique, European round-cut diamond engagement ring. The groom's wedding band is a custom-made platinum ring with onyx inlay from Dana Schneider.

The rocker wore a John Galliano black silk taffeta tuxedo with velvet trim and a Stephen Jones hat, while Von Teese donned a royal purple silk taffeta Vivienne Westwood gown complete with train and petticoats worn over a Mr. Pearl couture corset. Her outfit was accessorized with a tri-corn hat by Stephen Jones and shoes by Christian Louboutin.

Art film director Alejandro Jodorowsky, a longtime friend of the groom, married the couple in the non-denominational ceremony. German singer and bandleader Max Raabe provided the music. The guests included Lisa Marie Presley and C.S.I.'s Eric Szmanda.

"Everyone expected Manson and Dita to have some sort of crazy vampire wedding, but anyone who knows the couple knew it would be the classy, stylish affair that it was," a wedding guest said. "They are totally in love."

Source: People

More "Sex?"

Sarah Jessica Parker is keen to star in another series of her TV show Sex And The City - despite her advancing years.

The 40-year-old actress, currently in London to promote new movie The Family Stone, won two Golden Globes and one Emmy award for her role as New York City columnist Carrie Bradshaw.

She says, "I wouldn't be opposed to it in the future. But we'd be quite old."

Source: Teen Hollywood

Woody Hits Oktoberfest

Woody Harrelson has confessed he agreed to help launch a new German TV station under false pretences - he only traveled to Europe so he go to a famous beer festival.

The actor stopped off in Munich in October on his way to London - where he is about to star in a West End play - to help push new network Das Vierte.

But the party-loving former Cheers star had more on his mind than professional obligations - he was desperate to experience the city's famous Oktoberfest. He says, "I gotta admit the main reason I was psyched out to go was not out of my big allegiance to Das Vierte, but out of my desire to hit Oktoberfest again after some 10 years."

Source: Yahoo UK

Papa Pitt

Brad Pitt has started the process to adopt Angelina Jolie's two kids, the actor's publicist informed the Associated Press on Friday.

A legal petition seeking to change the names of the children to Zahara Jolie-Pitt and Maddox Jolie-Pitt was filed in Los Angeles, publicist Cindy Guagenti said in a written statement.

"We are confirming that Brad Pitt is in the process of becoming the adoptive father of both children," the statement said. "No further comment is being made."

Donna's Pregs?

Rumor du Jour:

Tori Spelling is supposedly pregnant with her Canadian lover, Dean McDermott's baby.

Um, she's not even divorced from her husband yet. Lovely.

Source: The People We Love to Hate

Ticked Violet

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck are first-time parents, with the birth of their daughter Thursday night in Los Angeles, their reps confirm.

Affleck's publicist, Ken Sunshine, and Garner's spokeswoman, Nicole King, said the child was born at 6:26 p.m. ET Thursday, after several news outlets erroneously reported Garner had already given birth nearly five hours earlier. "Mother, father and baby are doing great," the reps said in a statement. No further details were released.

However, E! News says the couple had named her Violet.

Source: People

Thanks, Dad

When Kimberly Stewart, 26, unveiled her 5-carat engagement ring from Talan Torriero, 19, a week ago, most people assumed Stewart had financed it herself — after all, Torriero has no job besides his stint on the "Laguna Beach" reality show. Wrong!

Torriero did indeed buy the $75,000 bauble. During a shoot for the Bongo clothing line this week in L.A., Torriero was overheard telling pals he used his dad's credit card. Now that the brief engagement is off, "I should be able to get a full refund," he said hopefully.

Source: New York Post

Vaughniston Pull-Over

Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston might not be an official Hollywood couple, but they're certainly hanging out together in the northeast Valley, according to Scottsdale police.

Vaughn - who was driving with Aniston - was pulled over Tuesday at 12:20 a.m. near Indian Bend and Scottsdale roads by a patrol officer who observed a "demolished" registration sticker on the license plate of the actor's rental SUV, Scottsdale police Sgt. Mark Clark said.

The officer reportedly detected the smell of alcohol in the car, and Vaughn was asked to take a field sobriety test. The star of Swingers and Wedding Crashers was found to be under the legal limit, police said, though he was asked not to drive.

Source: AZ Central

Maria?

Christina Aguilera says she may change her name to Maria Bratman. The singer married music executive Jordan Bratman earlier this month.

Speaking to OK! magazine, she said: "I'll probably always be Christina Aguilera professionally, but I'm thinking of changing some legal things and going by middle name, Maria, and his last name."

The couple are currently on honeymoon in Bali.

Source: Ananova. Pic from Oh No They Didn't.

Around Her Neck?

Jessica was seen wearing her wedding ring around her neck:

So Carrie Bradshaw.

Source

Selleck's Back

Former Magnum, PI star Tom Selleck is making a return to the small screen in a forthcoming episode of Boston Legal.

The 60-year-old, who shot to fame as mustachioed Hawaii detective Thomas Magnum in the smash 1980's show, will play the ex-husband of Candice Bergen's character Shirley Schmidt. The episode will air on ABC in February and marks Selleck's first TV show appearance since he last cameoed in Friends in 2000, writes the New York Daily News.

Source: IMDB

Sure She Will

Paris Hilton will reportedly marry boyfriend Greek shipping heir Stavros Niarchos in Hawaii at Christmas.

Hilton has invited her mother and father, Kathy and Rick, along with sister Nicky and other close family and friends to stay at a hotel on the island of Maui for the holiday season, according to the New York Post.

The 24-year-old socialite told the paper, "We all stay at a hotel in Maui for Christmas, and then I'm hosting a party at Tao for New Year's with Nicky. Then I'll go skiing."

In October, Hilton called off her planned wedding to her boyfriend Paris Latsis, also a Greek shipping heir. She was also previously engaged to Tommy Hilfiger model Jason Shaw from 2002 to 2003.

Source: Ananova

Hot Dads

Reese Witherspoon's hunky husband Ryan Phillippe has been voted Hollywood's hottest dad in a new magazine poll.

The Crash star beat Will Smith and Johnny Depp in the new list, which was voted for by readers of In Touch magazine.

The full list is:

1. Ryan Phillippe
2. Will Smith
3. Johnny Depp
4. Brad Pitt
5. Benjamin Bratt
6. Matthew Fox
7. Tom Cruise
8. Jude Law
9. Guy Ritchie
10. Charlie Sheen

Source: Teen Hollywood

Couric To Move To CBS?

Rumor as it that CBS is to announce that Katie Couric will take over as anchor of "CBS Evening News" any day now.

The Los Angeles Times reports, "CBS News President Sean McManus has been doggedly courting Couric to switch networks" and take Dan Rather's old slot. Her $13-million-a-year contract with NBC doesn't expire until May. Sources also say "Good Morning America" co-host Charlie Gibson will get the anchor chair of the late Peter Jennings at ABC's "World News Tonight."

Source: New York Post

Coke In His Undies

Traces of cocaine were found on Michael Jackson’s underwear during a police raid, it was revealed.

The discovery emerged as the troubled singer faced new claims that he is abusing and trafficking drugs. Cops are secretly investigating allegations by former aides that Jacko, 47, is hooked on anti-depressants and painkillers. They say he pops up to 40 pills a day — and was seen falling flat on his face after injecting himself with a mystery drug.

Source: The Sun

Buy Tom a Gravy Boat

If you had to think of a celeb who was in desperate need of a gravy boat, chances are your first guess wouldn't be Tom Cruise.

But according to The Sun, a sneak peak at Tom and Katie Holmes' wedding list suggests otherwise. Mega-wealthy Tom and the future Mrs. Cruise are after a whole host of household essentials for their marital home.

The Sun has revealed that as well as the gravy boat, Tom and Katie are short of a dinner service, wine glasses and a coffee pot.

Guests, including Victoria and David Beckham, John Travolta and Kelly Preston and Kirstie Ally, can buy their gifts online from Neiman Marcus.

The list also pins down the date for the star-studded nuptials as October 21st, 2006.

Source: Ananova

SPF To Play Jesus

Britney Spears new son, Sean Preston, is to play the baby Jesus in his very own nativity scene this Christmas.

The pop princess, and husband Kevin Federline, have transformed his bedroom into the nativity setting in celebration of his first festive holiday. The singer has splashed out on the lavish decorations - which include six waxwork models and several life-size toy donkeys and cattle.

The 23-year-old singer is so excited about her first Christmas as a mom she has even bought a cherrywood style manger for her baby.

A source close to the star is quoted by Britain's Daily Star newspaper as saying: "It cost an absolute fortune. But at least she didn't have to buy a baby Jesus - because Sean is playing the part."

Source: FemaleFirst

--Something tells me KFeddy isn't playing one of the wisemen.

Cruise Grabs Cellphone

Tom Cruise got grabby while in Shanghai on Wednesday.

When a reporter in the middle of a press conference took a phone call, the star reached over and removed the cell phone from the journalist's hand – and started speaking to the surprised woman on the other line.

"Hello. Xie xie. Ni hao. How are you?" said an amused Cruise, dressed in black, exhausting his limited Chinese vocabulary before going on to ask if the woman – the reporter's wife – was at work and about her marital status, the Associated Press reports.

Source: People

Levigne To Hit Big Screen

Avril Levigne, who recently wrapped a world tour, is taking a break from music for a part in "The Flock," an upcoming Richard Gere/ Claire Danes movie.

Lavigne will be in New Mexico this week to film her handful of scenes, according to a spokesperson for her management, who said the 21-year-old singer is just testing the waters with a few lines in the indie crime drama. Lavigne went through the standard audition process to land the role in the movie, in which Gere plays a federal agent who has to track down a missing girl he is convinced has a connection to the paroled sex offender he is tracking.

Source: MTV News

Stapp Goes on Drunk Rampage

Ex-Creed frontman Scott Stapp created a ruckus on the set of Spike TV's "Casino Cinema" this week.

Stapp, who's promoting his new solo album, "The Great Divide," showed up "drunk," according to witnesses, and "was totally wild on set — cursing and giving the finger and dissing Bono and Dave Grohl."

The uproar was caught on camera and airs next Tuesday, including Stapp calling fellow guest Beth Ostrosky, Howard Stern's lissome girlfriend, a "bimbo." "Beth and Steve Schirripa were the total professionals, though, and made the best of the situation to get the filming done," the insider added.

Source: New York Post

Additions Named to Roberts Play

Actors Paul Rudd and Bradley Cooper have signed up to join Julia Roberts on the New York stage in the revival of Richard Greenberg's Three Days Of Rain.

The play, which will mark Roberts' Broadway debut, will begin previews on March 28 and open on April 19 at New York City's Bernard B Jacobs Theatre. The limited run ends on June 18.

Source: IMDB

WTF?

You'll soon all be able to take 50 Cent home with you. Well, kind of.

The rapper is planning to release his own line of condoms and sex toys that he claims are modeled on him. Fiddy, 30, says: "I need to make a 50 Cent condom and a motorized version of me, which will have to be waterproof so you could utilize it in the tub.

"Blue is my favourite color, so it would probably be blue. But I don't know how big. I don't know if big is better because I'm not sure a man wants his woman playing with a really big dil--. "But I want to do something like that, to create something that's popular and exciting sexually for women."

Source: 3 am Girls

Jewel Comforts Simpson

Singer Jewel has become Jessica Simpson's guardian angel, as she battles her way through her split with husband Nick Lachey.

Last week, Simpson and Lachey ended months of relentless speculation when they announced that they were going their separate ways after three years of marriage. And as the tabloids continue to pick her private life apart, Simpson is leaning on singer Jewel as a confidant.

She says, "Jewel said to me, 'I want to shield and (protect) you.' She wanted to take care of me, and everybody needs someone like that. "I can talk to my parents, but they will never understand what it feels like to be the one booed. (My sister) Ashlee and I are closer than we've ever been in our lives because of that. We have this way to relate to each other that brings us closer."

Simpson is also jotting down her thoughts each day in a diary. She explains, "It's a way for me to know myself, my problems and my issues. If I don't do this, I'll push everything back until I explode."

Source: Teen Hollywood

Gotham Awards

"Capote" was named best feature at the 15th annual Gotham Awards on Wednesday, and Bennett Miller was hailed as breakthrough director for his critically acclaimed biopic about late author Truman Capote.

Kicking off the year-end awards season, the event, staged by the New York-based Independent Feature Project at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers, also singled out the gritty wheelchair gladiator film "Murderball" as best documentary.

Director Noah Baumbach's domestic drama "The Squid and the Whale" took the prize for best ensemble cast. The film's lineup includes Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney, Jesse Eisenberg, Owen Kline, William Baldwin and Anna Paquin. The family drama about two divorcing New York intellectuals on Tuesday picked up a leading six nominations for the rival Independent Spirit Awards, including nods for Daniels, Linney and Eisenberg.

Amy Adams won breakthrough actor for her performance as a cheerful Southern wife in Sony Classics' "Junebug," a day after she also received an Independent Spirit nomination. Caveh Zahedi's autobiographical docudrama, "I Am a Sex Addict," took home a prize carrying the title Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You, awarded to a film without theatrical distribution.

Source: People

Simpson Suit

What's in a name? In Jessica Simpson's case, at least $15 million.

A company that markets celebrities' names says it set up the deal that got Jessica Simpson Brand Management LLC $15 million for worldwide rights to her name to market certain merchandise, including clothing.

But the company, Icon Licensing Group LLC, says it wasn't paid its commission and has filed a lawsuit to get it. In papers filed in Manhattan's state Supreme Court, Icon says it is owed at least $180,000 by the JSBM company.

Icon's court papers say the company entered into an agreement May 9, 2005, with Andrew Kirpalani, owner and manager of JSBM, in which Icon would get a percentage commission if it successfully finalized a sale of Simpson's name.

Source: USA Today

RIP

Actress Wendie Jo Sperber, who starred opposite Tom Hanks on TV's "Bosom Buddies" and who in his words became "a walking inspiration" after she contracted cancer, has died. She was in her 40s.

Sperber died at home Tuesday after an eight-year battle with breast cancer, publicist Jo-Ann Geffen said Wednesday. A Los Angeles native, Sperber appeared in dozens of television shows and movies, including all three "Back to the Future" films.

Sperber also had roles in Steven Spielberg's "1941," Robert Zemeckis' "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," and Neal Israel's "Moving Violations" and "Bachelor Party." Her television credits include "Murphy Brown," "Private Benjamin," "Will & Grace" and "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter."

After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997, the actress became an advocate for cancer care. In 2001, she founded the weSPARK Cancer Support Center, which provides free emotional support, information and social activities for individuals and families affected by cancer. Sperber helped unveil and promote a breast cancer stamp for the U.S. Postal Service in 1998, Geffen said.

"The memory of Wendie Jo is that of a walking inspiration," Tom Hanks said in a statement. "She met the challenges of her illness with love, cheer, joy and altruism. We are going to miss her as surely as we are all better for knowing her."

Sperber is survived by a son and daughter, her parents, two sisters and a brother.

Source: New York Daily News

--I totally loved "Bosom Buddies" back in the day.

Not a Couple

Kirsten Dunst has dismissed rumors she is romancing Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine - insisting they are just friends.

The actress was linked with Levine after the pair were spotted dirty dancing at a Los Angeles nightclub. And while onlookers claimed the stars only had eyes for each other, Dunst reveals Levine is just an old pal.

A spokeswoman for the star says, "Kirsten has known him for several years, and they have been friends."

Source: Teen Hollywood

Expecting

Law & Order: SVU actress Mariska Hargitay and husband Peter Hermann are expecting their first child together.

"I can confirm that she is expecting," Hargitay's publicist, Erwin More, tells Reuters. No other details were immediately available.

Hargitay, 41, who plays NYPD Det. Olivia Benson on NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, met Hermann, 38, on the show, where he has a recurring role. The couple wed in Santa Barbara, Calif. in August 2004 in front of 200 guests.

Source: People