Ricky Martin fights human trafficking (AP)

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Pop star Ricky Martin has taken his fight against child trafficking to Cambodia.

Martin, who arrived in the country Wednesday, met with Interior Minister Sar Kheng and visited various projects run by non-governmental organizations fighting child trafficking and sexual exploitation.

"This is a fact-finding mission for us," Angel Saltos, executive director of the Ricky Martin Foundation, told The Associated Press on Saturday. "He wanted to see for himself."

Martin learned of Cambodia's child trafficking problems in February during a three-day United Nations conference in Vienna. He joined Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson, Egyptian first lady Suzanne Mubarak and other dignitaries in calling for action.

Some 2.5 million people are involved in forced labor as a result of trafficking, and 161 countries -- on every continent and in every type of economy -- are affected by the crime, the U.N. said.

Most victims are between the ages of 18 and 24, and an estimated 1.2 million children are trafficked each year, U.N. figures show.

The Ricky Martin Foundation does most of its work in Latin America.

Country star Sara Evans gets engaged (AP)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Sara Evans, who finalized a bitter divorce last year, is engaged to former University of Alabama quarterback Jay Barker.

"The couple are enjoying their engagement and look forward to their upcoming nuptials," Lori Genes, the singer's publicist at Sony BMG Nashville, said Tuesday.

No date has been announced for the wedding.

The 37-year-old country singer filed for divorce from husband Craig Schelske in October 2006 after 13 years of marriage. The divorce was completed last September.

Barker, 35, led Alabama to a national championship in 1992 and hosts a morning radio show in Birmingham.

Barker, who's also divorced, has four children while Evans has three.

Evans made her recording debut in 1997 and her 2000 album "Born to Fly" went double-platinum. Her hits include "Perfect," "Suds in the Bucket" and "Real Fine Place to Start."

She was a contestant on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" but pulled out when she filed for divorce.

'Tale of Two Cities', the Musical, to Open on Broadway in September (Playbill)

No director has been announced, but its not hard to guess that Warren Carlyle, who is fresh out of choreographing the Old Globe Theatres world premiere musical, Dancing in the Dark - and who choreographed the hit tryout of Tale at Asolo Repertory Theatre in Florida in fall 2007 - is on the wish list to helm the teeming epic.

Executive producers Barbra Russell and Ron Sharpe announced the Broadway plan March 25.

Many of the Florida cast members are expected to be invited back, although no casting has been announced. Carlyle choreographed in Florida, where Michael Donald Edwards directed. Edwards is artistic director of Asolo Repertory Theatre, where A Tale of Two Cities was a sold-out smashzilla for his troupe last fall.

The "sweeping musical epic" marches into the house that will be vacated in June by Curtains.

A Tale of Two Cities is "set against the epic backdrop of the French Revolution and based on the classic Dickens novel." Its a musical "about injustice, vengeance and the redemptive power of love."

Broadway newcomer Santoriello penned the shows book, music and lyrics, drawing from the famed 1859 novel that jumps between London and Paris. The piece - with a score that recalls humanity-rich, soaring musical epics such as Les Miserables and Jane Eyre - has been in development for several years.

According to production notes, "When Dr. Manette is released from the French Bastille after 17 years, he must be resurrected from the brink of madness by his daughter, Lucie. In England they meet two very different men: the exiled French aristocrat, Charles Darnay, whom Lucie marries, and the drunken cynic, Sydney Carton. Soon family secrets and political intrigue combine to draw Lucie and her family back to Paris. At the height of the Reign of Terror, the musical finds an unlikely hero in Carton."

The musical is being designed by Tony Walton (scenery), David Zinn (costumes), Richard Pilbrow (lights), Carl Casella and Domonic Sack (sound).

Orchestrations are by Edward B. Kessel and Bob Krogstad; arrangements are by Edward B. Kessel and Wendy Bobbitt Cavett.

A Tale of Two Cities is being produced by Barbra Russell and Ron Sharpe (executive producers), Bernard Brogan, Sharon A. Fordham, Theatre Associates/David Sonnenberg, The Monagle Group, Fanok Entertainment, Mary Laminack, Gasperino Entertainment, Vincent Russell (producers), and William Broderick, Harry Casey, David Bryant (associate producers).

For more information, visit www.talemusical.com.

Kapur subs for Minghella on "New York" film (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - The director who brought Elizabethan England to the big screen will carry on the legacy of a modern British institution.

Shekhar Kapur, the Indian-born helmer of "Elizabeth" and "Elizabeth: The Golden Age," will direct one of the last pieces of writing from the late Anthony Minghella, a segment of the urban ode "New York, I Love You."

Minghella, the Oscar-winning director of "The English Patient" who died in a London hospital last week after a short illness, had written but not cast or shot his segment of the episodic film, which was to have begun shooting in April in Manhattan.

According to Kapur, Minghella had asked him to carry out his vision shortly before going in for cancer surgery two weeks ago.

"He told me his film was about the value of life and how people sometimes just throw away their lives, unable to look beyond into the real beauty of it," Kapur wrote on his blog. "I will direct the film now -- with Anthony in my heart and in presence of his soul."

Two of the films producers, Marina Grasic and Emmanuel Benbihy, confirmed the Kapur attachment.

"Anthony chose Shekhar Kapur to direct the segment he wrote for our film knowing that Kapur would have the deepest respect for his vision. We look forward to working with Shekhar Kapur," they said.

The film, which was to have starred Minghellas son Max before the young actor bowed out several weeks ago, will be set on New Yorks Upper East Side and can be described as a "spiritual love story," producers said.

Kapur is best known for his twin "Elizabeth" pictures, which earned a pair of Oscar nominations for star Cate Blanchett. He also is attached to direct the adaptation of Isaac Asimovs "Foundation" series for Fox.

The status of several other Minghella film projects -- including the Weinstein Co.s "The Ninth Life of Louis Drax" and Miramaxs "The Resurrectionist" -- remains uncertain.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

DC's Shakespeare Theatre Announces Cleo, Antony and Caesar Casting for "Roman Rep" (Playbill)

The Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, DC, announced that its upcoming "Roman Repertory" of the related Shakespeare plays Antony and Cleopatra and Julius Caesar will feature Helen Hayes Award winner Andrew Long as Marc Antony in both productions.

Acclaimed British actress Suzanne Bertish (HBOs "Rome," Broadways Nicholas Nickleby, and multiple productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company) will play Cleopatra.

Julius Caesar will be played by Dan Kremer, a regular at the Oregon and Utah Shakespeare festivals.

Additional casting will be announced. The productions will play The Shakespeare Theatres new Harman Hall, in repertory, April 26-July 6.

Artistic director Michael Kahn directs Antony and Cleopatra, which begins April 26. David Muse directs Julius Caesar, which begins April 27. Associate artistic director Muse makes his mainstage directing debut.

According to The Shakespeare Theatre, "Featuring some of the most sublime poetry of love and loss ever written, Antony and Cleopatra is a dark, intimate portrait of an ill-fated love affair. The play begins two years after the events of Julius Caesar, with civil unrest roiling imperial Rome. The aging Marc Antony, one of the empires three rulers, lives a decadent life in Egypt, carousing with Queen Cleopatra. As Rome reasserts its claim on him, Antony struggles between his sense of duty to his country and his consuming love for Cleopatra."

Julius Caesar, billed by the company as "swift and enthralling as a political thriller," focuses on "the life-and-death struggle for power in Rome. Fearing that Caesars growing strength and constitutional ambitions threaten the Republic, a faction of politicians plots to assassinate him. But when Caesar is killed, chaos engulfs Rome. Alive with stunning rhetoric, Julius Caesar investigates the intoxicating effects of power and the dangers of idealism. In Caesar, Brutus and the young Marc Antony, Shakespeare created three fascinating, dynamic characters."

Shakespeare Theatre Companys Sidney Harman Hall is located at 610 F Street NW, Washington, DC.

For more information visit www.shakespearetheatre.org.

*

Shakespeare Theatre Companys current production is George Bernard Shaws Major Barbara, through March 23.

Diddy denies LA Times' Tupac story (AP)

LOS ANGELES - Sean "Diddy" Combs has denied a report by the Los Angeles Times that his associates were responsible for the 1994 robbery and shooting of Tupac Shakur at a New York recording studio, and that he knew about the attack in advance.

"The story is a lie," the hip-hop mogul said in a statement Monday. "It is beyond ridiculous and completely false. Neither (the late rapper Notorious B.I.G.) nor I had any knowledge of any attack before, during or after it happened. ... I am shocked that the Los Angeles Times would be so irresponsible as to publish such a baseless and completely untrue story."

The 1994 shooting triggered the celebrated feud between East and West Coast rappers that led to the killings of Shakur and B.I.G.

The Times said its story was based on FBI records, interviews with people at the scene of the 1994 shooting, and statements to the FBI by an informant. None of the sources was named. The story says associates hoping to curry favor with Combs -- who was overseeing B.I.G.'s white-hot career at the time -- lured Shakur to the studio because of his disrespect toward them.

The story said that talent manager James Rosemond and promoter James Sabatino arranged the assault. They and Combs declined to be interviewed for the story, which appeared on the Los Angeles Times Web site but not in its paper publication.

Rosemond called the story a "libelous piece of garbage."

"In the past 14 years, I have not even been questioned by law enforcement with regard to the assault of Tupac Shakur, let alone brought up on charges," he said in a statement. "Chuck Philips, the writer ... has reached a new low by employing fourth-hand information from desperate jailhouse informants along with ancient FBI reports to create this fabrication. I simply ask for all rap fans and fans of Tupac to analyze this fiction for what it is."

The story, written by Chuck Philips, was the first investigative report published as a Web exclusive, said Meredith Artley, editor of LATimes.com.

"This piece was perfect for the Web," Artley said. "The Web audience skews younger. We had all these great multimedia elements, and we said we really don't need to wait to fit this in the paper."

A "smaller version" of the story may still run in the paper, she said.

___

On the Net:

http://www.latimes.com

McCartney campaigns against kangaroo cull (Reuters)

CANBERRA (Reuters) - A British animal protection group is using the face of former Beatle Paul McCartney in an international campaign against a planned cull of hundreds of kangaroos on an Australian military base.

As demonstrators on Wednesday promised human shields to protect the animals, McCartney appeared on a website set up by the British animal welfare group Viva! to condemn the cull of up to 500 animals using tranquilizer darts and lethal injection.

"There is an urgent need for action to protect kangaroos from a barbaric industry which slaughters them for meat and leather," McCartney said in an undated message.

"Please do all you can to help Viva! end this shameful massacre."

The eastern grey kangaroos, which feature on Australias coat of arms, are living on a military communications base in the nations capital Canberra.

Authorities say the animals, on death row since May last year, threaten other local species through overgrazing.

Wildlife Protection Association spokesman Pat OBrien said the cull of animals synonymous with Australia could damage tourism and promised human shields to protect them, with barricades and demonstrations to be set up on Thursday.

"Im sure there will be people standing in front of the dart guns," OBrien told Australian radio.

Viva!, or Vegetarians International Voice for Animals, said it had launched a Europe-wide campaign against the cull and by Wednesday had gathered more than 1,300 protest signatures from 36 countries on an Australian-based web page.

The petition, which had photographs of kangaroos in rifle crosshairs, included supporters from Spain, England, the United States, Switzerland, France, Canada, South Africa and Germany.

In 2004 there was an international outcry over the shooting of 900 kangaroos at a dam supplying water to Canberra. The animals were causing erosion problems through grazing.

Environment Minister Peter Garrett, a former head of Australias conservation movement, said he would not intervene.

"Programs like this, humanely and properly administered, are sometimes necessary," he told reporters.

The cull, Garrett said, would not damage Australias anti-whaling campaign, which has angered Japan amid international efforts to close a loophole permitting scientific whaling.

But Australian Greens Senator Bob Brown said it would bring "further notoriety" for Australias treatment of wildlife.

"(Prime Minister) Kevin Rudd could begin by saving those kangaroos and making sure they are transported to a safe haven ... rather than be given a deadly injection and left as a heap on the ground," he said.

Reuters

Judge says Fairplay must amend lawsuit (AP)

LOS ANGELES - Reality TV figure Jonny Fairplay will have to provide a court with more details about his tooth-busting dust-up with Danny Bonaduce before his lawsuit against producers of an awards show can go forward. "I think more facts should be set forth," Superior Court Judge Michael C. Solner ruled Tuesday.

Solner gave Fairplay, whose real name is Jon Dalton, 20 days to amend his complaint to explain why the producers of Fox Reality Channel's "Really Awards" were negligent and involved in the alleged battery.

The lawsuit stems from an October 2007 altercation in which Fairplay, a competitor on "Survivor: Pearl Islands," jumped into Bonaduce's arms on stage during the awards show to give him a hug.

Bonaduce, 48, responded by tossing Fairplay over his shoulders. Fairplay landed face first, losing one tooth, breaking another and loosening two more.

Fairplay, 34, sued Bonaduce, Fox Reality Channel and the show producers for battery, negligence and emotional distress. He claims the producers encouraged Bonaduce to go on stage uninvited, did not provide security and failed to provide prompt medical care afterward.

Vicki Greco, a lawyer for Fox and the producers Natural 9 Entertainment, said Bonaduce's actions were unplanned and the companies were not responsible for the incident.

Fairplay's lawyer, Daniel C. Lapidus, claimed Bonaduce told the producers "what he wanted to do and they told him to do it."

Bonaduce, a child actor on "The Partridge Family," starred in the 2005 reality show "Breaking Bonaduce."

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for May 12.

NBC divides responsibilities for digital media (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - NBC Universal said on Monday it expanded the jobs of three executives, splitting up the responsibilities previously held by Beth Comstock, who stepped down as the companys president of integrated media.

General Electric Co, the majority owner of NBC Universal, is bringing back Comstock as its chief marketing officer, it said earlier Monday.

With her departure, NBC Universal said Salil Mehta, president, business operations, strategy and development, will assume oversight of NBC Universals Digital Media team.

Mike Pilot, president, sales and marketing, will add executive responsibility for the companys research department, and Jeff Gaspin, president of the Universal Television Group, will take on interim responsibility for iVillage, the Web site, and oversight of a newly created virtual womens network.

(Reporting by Paul Thomasch; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

New Brangelina baby photos worth $10 million

Brad and Shiloh in her first photo shoot
Somewhere, Jennifer Lopez is seething. Page Six is reporting that first photos of the baby or babies currently gestating in the womb of Angelina Jolie could be worth $10 million.

THERE'S no limit to how much money celebrities are being paid to pimp out their babies in the magazines and tabloids.

After paying Christina Aguilera a reported $1.5 million in February for shots of her newborn, Max, People shelled out a whopping $6 million to Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony for the first photos of new twins, Max and Emme.

One magazine editor who asked to remain anonymous said, "It's at the point now where some stars might decide to have more kids just to collect the money from their photos."

Pregnant stars are now "treating this like a game," said National Enquirer Executive Editor Barry Levine.

"It's become big business now," Levine said. "It's outrageous, they've gotten very sophisticated. The rights are bought up now even before the celeb enters the hospital. They hire extra security so it's impossible to obtain a photo illegally."

Levine said stars now realize that having a child is "akin to getting a role in a movie." And the glossies don't mind paying because they recoup the money over time with magazine sales, Web hits, and by re-selling the photos overseas.

Angelina Jolie, rumored to be carrying twins, could nab up to $10 million for selling the first exclusive photos of the babies, Levine estimates.

This is something we've been discussing here at CB for a while now- when does this sort of baby bargaining go over the edge? How badly to readers of gossip magazines really want to see those newborn pics- and is it worth the multi-million dollar price tags for these mags?

"That's where the market is right now," he said. "When I was the editor of Star in LA, we bought photos of Lisa Marie Presley's baby back in 1989 for $100,000, and at the time I thought it was outrageous. Now it's chump change." He added, "I'd like to see more people like Sarah Jessica Parker standing outside the hospital and giving the shot away for free."

American Media Editorial Director Bonnie Fuller said the payouts just keep escalating. "If J.Lo really did get $6 million, then I think Angelina can now command $8 million," Fuller said. "The magazines must look at it as a long-term investment, but I think it'll cap out at a certain point."

Halle Berry, who just gave birth to a baby girl, falls below Jolie in terms of interest. "I can't think at this point who could command more money than Brangelina," said Fuller.

[From Page Six]

We live in a world where celebrity babies are a big business. A lot of celebrities figure that doing a formal photo shoot is better for them and their new baby than being stalked by paparazzi, but that doesn't explain the outrageous price tag attached to it- and it certainly doesn't stop the paps. These are people who are, in many cases, making millions of dollars per movie or project anyway. I think it's rather tacky and unsavory to make that kind of profit from a baby picture, but that's just me. And I have to wonder if magazines like People and OK! really make that money back from magazine sales. Magazines are a dying medium and most of us get our celeb gossip from the Internet anyway. And as we've seen, these "exclusive" pictures often get leaked online before they hit newsstands. So, who's really raking in the cash in these million-dollar baby photo deals? The celebs.

Here are Shiloh's debut photos from June, 2006.

Jessica Lange?s rep denies that she?s had plastic surgery

Jessica Lange on 1/15/08
I don't want to knock a woman for getting work done. I'm 35, and in about fifteen years I will be getting a face lift despite my husband's objections. I will age semi-naturally and not get a lot of injections and touch up work, but I'm planning on surgery. It already bothers me that I have lines around my eyes and my face is looking sort of old. My mother had a face lift after her best friend did it, and her best friend is in her 70s and looks like she's 50 without any feline characteristics. To me it is a personal decision and it's not a personal failing if you decide to get surgery and/or botox or restylane. You shouldn't go overboard with it and it's a fine line between having an operation or two and looking like you're wearing a kabuki mask.

When you're famous and it's obvious, though, you should either admit to it, maybe in a roundabout way or in general terms like saying you're not ruling it out, or you should not address it. If someone asks you, you can say you don't want to comment. Don't deny that you've had plastic surgery when we can all see the evidence.

Jessica Lange's rep has denied that the 58 year-old actress has had plastic surgery. All I could think of when I saw her face up close in Big Fish was that she looked really pulled and strange. She's a great actress, but she's not doing herself any favors with this fib:

Jessica Lange in "Tootsie," 1982

The National Enquirer recently speculated, with photos and commentary from a Michigan plastic surgeon, that Jessica Lange has undergone plastic surgery that didn't necessarily result in a change for the better.

"It's absolutely not true," Lange's PR rep Carrie Gordon told me from NYC on Tuesday. "And Jessica will not comment on it because it's not true."

In our first conversation, before Gordon presumably contacted Lange to say I was seeking a comment, Carrie asked how I could write this after admitting that I'm a huge fan of Jessica's work. Because I'm not blind?

The Enquirer asked Detroit-area plastic surgeon Dr. Tony Youn to analyze before and after photos of Lange and her "Bonneville" co-star Joan Allen, who has suspiciously smooth skin.

Youn gave the Enquirer precise observations about Lange's "overly arched brows," and unnatural Catwoman-like appearance.

But haven't Lange's eyes always had a cat-like quality?

"To an extent she has," said Youn when I interviewed him. "Are her eyes a little more tilted than the average person's? Yes. But not to the extent that we see now in her."

[From The Star Tribune via Huffington Post]

The article goes on to talk about how hard it is to cast these very plastic-looking women in films because they can't play average older women. They could play more affluent older women who have had plastic surgery I guess.

They quote a radio personality as saying that if you have plastic surgery at "39, you never have to get it again. You've matured into your face and your bone structure and skin are good." It also matters whether you got to a good surgeon who works on giving you natural results of course. Is that true? Not that I'm asking for personal reasons or anything.

Compared to Priscilla Presley and Kathie Lee Gifford, she's looking pretty good. Looking through older photos of Lange, I would vote for bad plastic surgeon over too many face lifts.

Christina Aguilera and Jordan Bratman keep the neighbors awake with loud pool sex

New parenthood means late nights, but usually those nights are spent changing diapers, cleaning spit-up off your clothes, and waking up every few hours to feed a screaming baby. Not at the Aguilera-Bratman household, though: the couple has been making quite a racket recently with their skinny-dippin' sex sessions.

Having a new baby at home hasn't extinguished the sparks between Christina Aguilera and Jordan Bratman!

The new parents are so determined to keep their two-year marriage red-hot that they've taken to skinny-dipping by moonlight. The couple, who welcomed son Max into the family on Jan. 12, can be heard loudly frolicking in the pool of their $11.5 million Beverly Hills mansion around midnight.

"They don't just splash around — they laugh, scream, swear and make sexy noises," says a source. "We're happy that they're happy, but we wish they'd keep it down a bit. There are a lot of old people who live around here, and they don't like noise after the dinner hour."

Still, the 27-year-old pop singer and her record producer husband, 30, are preferable to the house's former owner, Ozzy Osbourne, adds the source. Ozzy — who sold the Mediterranean villa after wrapping up his MTV show, The Osbournes — would blast "horrific, ear-splitting rock music."

[From Star Magazine]

I dunno, if I paid $11 million for my house, I'd be as loud as I pleased every damn minute of the day. Old people are mostly deaf anyway- if they don't like it, they can just turn up the volume on "Murder, She Wrote," and drift off to sleep. They're probably just jealous that these two young people can still actually enjoy themselves. Besides, they should be used to the screaming and the swearing from the Osbourne family. This story is funny and would even be kind of hot if Christina's husband weren't a troll.

NOTE BY CELEBITCHY: I remember watching The Osbournes and seeing them throwing shit over the fence at the neighbors, whom Sharon hated. I don't remember what kind of feud they had going on but it sounds like these same neighbors are talking to the tabloids about Aguilera. Christina told Ellen that a lot of tour buses stopped by her house due to the popularity of the Osbournes' show, but that the back, with it's waterfall and pool, was completely secluded and made it feel like she was on vacation. Maybe she should have watched the show more carefully to see what assholes the neighbors were.

Christina Aguilera and Jordan Bratman and friends are shown outside a sushi restaurant on 3/16/08, thanks to WENN.

Baron Cohen?s character Bruno causes security scare at Wichita Airport

WENN is reporting that security at a Wichita, Kansas airport was put on "red alert" when a "European man" was "[stripped] down to tight shorts and [danced] in the lobby of Wichita Airport."

Baron Cohen is filming a movie as his flaming Austrian TV personality Bruno, and the Wichita locals didn't take kindly to his half-dressed invasion of the airport. They also had no idea who he is. I found the original story about this on Kansas.com, and there's no mention of Baron Cohen or Bruno, so it's safe to say that more people are fooled by this character than his better-known Kazakh incarnation, Borat:

Officials at the Wichita Mid-Continent Airport are rewriting their policy on commercial filming inside the terminal after a film crew stripped down and started dancing at the airport.

The crew had permission from the airport to film a scene on March 18 based on a "European man" visiting America.

But security workers became concerned when they began dancing in tight short shorts, kissing and fighting in the lobby.

Security couldn't find anything illegal about the performance, but asked the crew to leave.

Brad Christopher, assistant director of airport operations, says it won't be as easy to film at the airport in the future.

[From Kansas.com]

I love how this is reported completely straight-faced, and they have no idea that it was comic Baron Cohen, calling him a "European man."

At least one celebrity was said to be fooled by Bruno for the upcoming film. Mike Walker reports in the current issue of the National Enquirer that Ben Affleck called up comedian Sarah Silverman and told her that he did an interview with an "openly gay European fashion journalist" who asked him inappropriate questions like "how do you like (n-words)?" Sarah clued him in that it was Sacha Baron Cohen in his Bruno character. I'm not so quick to believe that Affleck wasn't in on it, but maybe we'll see how good an actor he is once the movie comes out.

Here's a clip of Bruno interviewing some Christian guys, thanks to Hollywood.tv for linking it. It really is religion day today.

Katie Holmes in talks to perform on Broadway

Just when you thought she was about to succumb to the mind-numbing effects of too much niacin, Katie Holmes may make her debut on Broadway. The Daily Mail is reporting that she's in final talks to star in a revival of Arthur Miller's dramatic play, "All My Sons." John Lithgow and Dianne Wiest have already committed to the play, and it sounds like Katie is about to sign on:

Katie Holmes is in final negotiations to make her professional stage debut on Broadway.

The producer of a revival of All My Sons, Arthur Miller's heartbreaking, post-World War II family drama, is clearly hoping Holmes (aka the third Mrs Tom Cruise) will create some sizzle at the box office later this year.

It would be the first major revival of a Miller play since the dramatist's death three years ago.

All My Sons, to be directed by British-born Simon McBurney, would also allow Holmes to be more than "Mrs Tom Cruise" for six nights a week.

The actress has committed to taking part in a private workshop of the play in May. She will play the part of a woman who visits her former neighbours, the family of a missing pilot she once loved.

Producer Eric Falkenstein has already cast Broadway veterans John Lithgow and Dianne Wiest, which has had the desired effect of making Ms Holmes more comfortable about taking on her first play since high school.

Holmes has told McBurney and Falkenstein that she is serious about working in the theatre.

[From The Daily Mail]

Do you think Katie Holmes has the chops to star on Broadway? I read through the plot synopsis on Wikipedia (spoilers), hoping that there would be a kissing scene that would cause Tom to reject her bid for Broadway, but unfortunately that doesn't seem to be the case. Like Miller's other work it's not a very uplifting story, but it's probably moving and thought-provoking. I think Katie will play the character Ann Deever, who is a 26 year-old woman interested in the brother of a man she used to date who is missing in action. It takes place during WWII and involves a family torn apart by the war and an ethical dilemma.

Doesn't Katie have a $35 million mansion to decorate and thousand dollar shoes to buy? She doesn't have the time or the energy to play a character on Broadway. Maybe she can hire a more talented actress to do the role for her and slip in for the end part where she bows on stage. There are plenty of other mousy women that look just like her. She could get away with it.

Katie Holmes is shown on 3/16/08 after having lunch, when she stumbled and Star made a cover story about it. Thanks to WENN for these pictures.

Mills accused McCartney of flying daughter coach, but she did that

Heather Mills never ceases to amaze me with her delusional, self-absorbed deceitful behavior. The woman received a $48 million dollar settlement for four years of marriage and yet she still faulted her ex husband for not providing enough child support for their daughter, who will have to get by on a paltry $70k a year. In Mill's rambling speech outside the courtroom on Monday, she said that "Beatrice gets �35,000 a year. She is meant to travel B-class when her father travels A-class. But obviously I will pay for that.”

It looks like Heather was lying through her capped teeth, because she's the one who made her daughter Beatrice, four and a half, and the nanny fly home coach. Mills will enjoy the extra leg room and constant access to snacks and entertainment up in the first class section of another flight.

Mucca slammed ex Sir Paul McCartney on Monday for forcing the four-year-old to travel B Class after their bitter divorce -- while he flew A Class.

She haughtily vowed to pay for Beatrice's first-class travel herself.

But details obtained by The Sun show the one-legged gold-digger has ALREADY failed to live up to her pledge.

Heather, dubbed Pornocchio after her divorce judge branded her a scheming liar, jets to New York this weekend to rest after her court war with ex-Beatle Paul, 65.

But she is sending Bea home early with a minder and nanny in the �409 seats at the back of a Virgin jet.

Mucca, 40, will fly to LA the same day for a further three weeks before jetting home alone — in a �3,348 Virgin Upper Class berth.

[From The Sun via The Huffington Post]

Little kids don't care whether they fly coach or not and most people endure the cramped conditions and annoyances of flying coach. Still, it's less than sincere to bash your husband for making your daughter fly coach when you're the one doing it, and you have the means to have her charter an entire plane if you wanted to.

Mills was caught out in another lie this week. She implied that she would donate her entire "Dancing With The Stars" earnings to charity. She earned $220,000 but only gave $100,000 to vegan activist group VIVA. It's still a lot of money, but that's chump change to Heather.

In her court documents declaring annual living expenses Heather cited annual costs of $80k for wine and $60k for horses along with over a million for security costs and $1.29 million for her properties and staff. The judge pointed out that Heather doesn't drink or ride horses any more and called her demands "unreasonable" and "exorbitant." [from People]

Maybe Heather is trying to cut back - by making her daughter and the nanny fly coach. She can't be expected to give up throwing lavish parties and serving expensive wine.

Angelina and Brad did not buy a villa in France

The "Angelina and Brad buy a French villa" story is false, according to the guy who owns the estate. This week's Star Magazine features "exclusive photos" of "Brad & Angelina $20M French Dream Home," but In Touch talked to the owner, who says he only wishes Brad and Angelina would take that money pit off his hands and doesn't know how the rumor got started:

Although US Weekly reported that the couple made an offer on the 850-year-old Mas de la Chappelle St. Sixte in the Provence region, the real owner, James Butler, tells In Touch "I wish that it were true, but it's completely false. Don't know where they got that one. Our house is for sale, though. They are welcome to come look at it!"

[From In Touch, print edition, March 31, 2008]

This story had a lot of people, including us, speculating that Angelina would give birth to the Shiloh sequel(s) in France. US Weekly even added the convincing detail that "According to a second source, Jolie, 32, has had 'long conversations' with the American Hospital of Paris about delivering there."

It looks like US Weekly's "source" was wrong and that Angelina may chose a stateside location for the birth instead. OK! Magazine had the story in their March 17th issue that Angelina was probably planning to give birth in the suburb of Austin, Texas where the family is holed up while Brad shoots the film Tree of Life. OK! didn't claim to have much insider information, and just said that "it seems highly likely that the rapidly approaching birth of the second Jolie-Pitt biological baby will occur on American soil."

The Jolie-Pitts are also said to be building a house in Berlin, Germany and they already own an apartment there. Until the magical moment comes, we don't know where in the world the baby(ies) will be born and if Angelina will be inking domestic or foreign digits on her upper arm, or if she will be adding one line or two.

X17 paparazzi beat rival photographer unconscious on Britney watch

Britney surrounded by paparazzi earlier this year. It looks like that's Silva to the right of her.
Photographer Alison Silva is suing paparazzi photo agency X17 after he was beaten unconscious by their photographers outside Britney Spears' house. On March 5, Silva says he was parked a block away from Britney's house when three photographers working for X17 ganged up on him, beating and kicking him while he lay on the ground. He had to go to the hospital for treatment for a broken nose and head trauma.

Alison Silva told MTV News that on March 5, he had parked one block away from Spears' home when three X17 photographers — whom he identified as Thomas Madiana, Carlos Madiana and Max Rinadelle — allegedly approached him and said, "You should not be here. Only X17 gets these shots." Silva claims that one of the photographers punched him and knocked him to the ground, then the three kicked him to the point where he passed out. When he came to, he claims they were kicking him in the face. "I didn't know what was going on," he said.

Three witnesses called 911, and Silva was taken by ambulance to the emergency room with a police escort, according to the police report. One of the witnesses told police officers that he heard one of the attackers say, "Let's go f-- him up, there are 10 of us here," saw one of the attackers go get a metal tube from his car for that purpose, and heard another attacker say, "Don't kill him! Don't kill him!", according to the report

"They kicked and punched me almost to death," Silva said. "I was beat up for doing my job. Most people think, 'Oh, he's just a paparazzo, he's nothing.' But this is not nothing. This is a big business, and if it weren't for people like me, those pictures wouldn't be in the magazines you enjoy."

Silva asks for unspecified general and punitive damages in his suit, in which he accuses X17 of battery; assault; false imprisonment; intentional infliction of emotional distress; negligent infliction of emotional distress; negligence; and negligent training, supervision and retention of unfit employees.

[From MTV News via Gawker]

Gawker points out that it's not like X17 owners denied that the beating occurred. Owner Brandy Navarre is quoted as saying the suit won't hold up because the photographers are freelancers, not employees, and that "They give me their pictures but whatever they do on their own is their own business."

In February there was a story that photo agencies were hiring gang members to muscle out competition and get access to shots of Britney, and given this latest accusation that story doesn't seem so far off.

Photographers may be getting desperate for another reason. Britney isn't driving around aimlessly all day or getting in mishaps now that she's under her father's care and that's bad for the paparazzi's business. Yahoo's OMG! quotes X17 photographer Felipe, as saying that "After [Britney's dad] took over the conservatorship, it got really, really slow for us." Owner Brandy Navarre is quoted as telling Access Hollywood that "The subject of the photo is just not as interesting as it once was, so the prices do go down." She also says they have only three photographers down from ten on Britney now, and that "We're moving on to other celebrities like Brad and Angelina and Jamie Lynn Spears."

The quotes from X17's owner remind me of the end of the Britney Spears South Park episode, in which the townspeople hone in on their next target to ritualistically sacrifice. At least Britney really hasn't been photographed to death, and has managed to rebuild some semblance of a normal life.

Britney had a relatively quiet Easter. She spent the holiday at her old home in Malibu with her mom and dad, and they were seen walking along the beach. Just stay boring, Britney.

?Heidi Montag is a feminist hero? Links

- HEID MONTAG declared a "feminist hero" by the NY Times. This would mean that the NY times has actually reviewed this faux reality show. [DListed]
- DA BRAT and MARIAH CAREY leaving a club together [Bossip]
- Drillbit Taylor: predictable but fun [Pajiba]
- HEATH LEDGER was supposedly only worth $145k when he died [Celebslam]
- AMY WINEHOUSE trying urine ointment to treat facial eruptions [yeeeah]
- COURTNEY LOVE Relocating To England [I'm Not Obsessed]
- TARA REID Hosts Party at Studio 54 in Las Vegas [Bastardly]
- JESSICA ALBA & CASH WARREN at Baron Davis’ birthday party [ICYDK]
- PAMELA ANDERSON isn’t Granny Pammy Yet [Hollywood Rag]-
JOHN MAYER made a funny [Seriously? OMG! WTF?]
- Mass pillow fight in NYC [Agent Bedhead]
- hot HEIDI KLUM photoshoot [The Blemish]
- LINDSAY LOHAN'S grandmother hit a tree with her car [Crazy Days and Nights]
- MADONNA and GUY RICHIE at a Kabbalah costume party. keeping up appearances [Lainey Gossup]
- CAMERON DIAZ wears her Easter pants [PopSugar]
- CLAUDIA SCHIFFER Lingerie Pictures for GQ [The Grumpiest]
- New MARC JACOBS ads makes VICTORIA BECKHAM look meh [Holy Moly]
- World's Tallest Man rides oversized bicycle [Best Week Ever]
- What happened to DAVID SCHWIMMER'S career? [Celebritology]
- VICTORIA BECKHAM and EVA LONGORIA are shopping buddies [Evil Beet]

Famed director John Hughes left Hollywood in 1995; Almost no one can find him

80s director John Hughes is responsible for the concept for the new film Drillbit Taylor, written by Seth Rogan and Kristofor Brown, but his name appears nowhere in the credits. The film is based on one of his old ideas, and a producer who still keeps in touch with him, Tom Jacobson, got his permission to use it. Jacobson is the husband of Donna Arkoff Roth, who produced Drillbit along with Judd Apatow.

The thing is, this Jacobson guy is just about the only person who knows how to contact Hughes, 58. When Hughes left Hollywood in 1995 after creating teen classics like Weird Science, Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and The Breakfast Club, he shut that world out entirely and never looked back. Hughes lives in Chicago now but no one knows where. Even director Kevin Smith says he can't get in touch with him for a little fanboy Q he quit directing in 1991, moved back to Chicago in 1995 and has basically stayed out of sight ever since.

"He's our generation's J.D. Salinger," says Smith, whose film "Dogma" shows its heroes, Jay and Silent Bob, on a pilgrimage to Shermer, Ill., a mythical town that only exists in Hughes' films. "He touched a generation and then the dude checked out. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be doing what I do. Basically my stuff is just John Hughes films with four-letter words."

Smith says whenever he's in Chicago promoting a film he asks his local publicist if they know how to find him, to no avail. The one person who made contact was Vaughn, who grew up in the North Shore suburbs and met with Hughes when shooting "The Break-Up" in the area in 2005. It's in keeping with this aura of mystery that while Hughes came up with the idea for "Drillbit Taylor," the Owen Wilson comedy that opened Friday to lackluster reviews, his name isn't anywhere on the film. But his handprints are everywhere.

[From The LA Times via The Huffington Post]

If Hughes never made those amazing 80s movies that defined my generation, we might not have all the quirky characters and excellent coming of age films now. It's nice to hear these younger directors say he's their primary influence.

You wonder what kind of incredible films this guy could have produced if he kept working, but maybe he assumed that his best work was already out there and he got sick of the Hollywood scene. Hughes also directed Planes, Trains Automobiles, Uncle Buck and Home Alone, and his work branching out into adult comedies was not as well received.

According to The John Hughes Files, Hughes moved to Northbrook, Illinois, at the age of 13. He started out working as an ad copy writer and ended up writing for National Lampoon magazine, where his short story "Vacation '58 became the basis for the Chevy Chase film.

Wikipedia notes that Hughes has not granted any interviews since 1994. He did record a director's commentary in 1999 for the Ferris Bueller's Day Off DVD, and there was a photo taken of him in 2001 visiting his actor son on a set.

Fan Site The John Hughes Files claims he is still working as a writer behind the scenes for Disney, but that news seems to be old because he is not listed with many writing credits after the late 90s.

This story really intrigues me and I would like to see Kevin Smith and Judd Apatow be able to do a joint interview with him. He probably thinks he's just a boring regular guy and doesn't want to make a big deal out of his success, but his self-imposed exile comes off as such a mystery.

"Catcher In The Rye" Writer JD Salinger is still alive at 89, but no one has interviewed him since 1980 and he has not published anything since 1965. It might be little early to compare Hughes to Salinger, but there are definite parallels, as Kevin Smith mentioned.

A Sixteen Candles user-created trailer:





Here are some clips from The Breakfast Club set to "Don't you forget about me"





And Weird Science. (NSFW boobies) I must have seen this movie 20 times.

Brad Pitt and Bill Clinton Break Ground for ?Make it Right? Project

Former President Bill Clinton and actor Brad Pitt broke ground for the Make it Right project in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans. The Make it Right Project is building 150 green homes for New Orleans residents affected by Hurricane Katrina, and Pitt states that it's "not about a handout, but a hand up."

Pitt has contributed $5 million dollars to the project along with real estate developer and film producer Steven Bing. Bill Clinton was there to represent the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund, which has contributed $1 million. Former President George H.W. Bush was not able to attend the ceremony.

600 students from around the world were also on hand to volunteer and help clean up. They were there are part of the first meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative University. The meeting was held at Tulane University and hopes to gather student and university staff to help address the world's problems.

Brad Pitt looked dashing in his trademark newsboy cap and a white dress shirt with jeans while President Clinton wore a red sleeveless polo and brown pants. Pitt vowed to stop wearing that hat for New Year's but doesn't seem to have been able to get rid of it. He was said to be selling the hat to benefit the charity, but currently the only hat available on the MakeItRightNola website is a baseball cap. You can't blame Pitt for trying to hide that crew cut he got for his most recent part.

Story details from PRNewswire. Thanks to Splash News for these pictures from Sunday.

Brandon Davis steals $100k watch from Scott Storch

Bradon Davis stayed at music producer Scott Storch's mansion and Storch noticed that a watch worth $100k was missing right after Davis took off the next morning. Storch told Davis that he knew the item was stolen and that he caught it all on tape. Davis bawled his eyes out, begged Storch not to tell anyone, and returned the watch.

The other night, "Brandon and Scott went out and Brandon went back to Scott's place and crashed on the couch," a source said. "The next morning, when Scott got up, Brandon was already gone — and so was Scott's $100,000 diamond encrusted watch that had been in the same room the night before. Scott called Brandon and told him the watch was missing but, 'It's OK — I just got a new security system, so everything's on tape.' " After learning he'd be caught, Davis "started crying hysterically and saying, 'Please don't tell anyone — I'll bring it back.' Scott felt bad for him and got his watch back like an hour later, so he didn't call the police."

When Page Six asked Storch about the episode, he would only say, "I heard about this. Give peace a chance." Davis couldn't be reached.

[From Page Six]

Davis was recently robbed of a watch worth $49k in Barcelona, Spain in late February. The thieves also go away with $4,000 in cash and left him with a black eye.

Maybe Davis thought his richer friend wouldn't miss an expensive watch like he did. Instead he got busted and is probably not welcome at another friend's house. He has reportedly been couch surfing since his family cut him off last year for being a public douche. He got into a huge fight at his brother's wedding last July and was said to be knocking over chairs and flower arrangements. Davis was crashing at Paris Hilton's house for a while, but I think it's safe to say he fell out with Paris after harassing Paula Abdul and Courtney Love at her birthday party.

Now Davis has alienated what may be one of his last remaining friends. And the guy showed him mercy and didn't call the cops or make a statement against him. It seems that Davis does a good enough job sabotaging himself on his own.

Header image via Celebrity Mound.

Eddie Murphy won?t see daughter because he was ?tricked? into pregnancy

Eddie Murphy just cannot be anything other than a complete jerk when it comes to his baby daughter with Spice Girl Melanie Brown. Murphy has never seen little Angel Iris, and claims that he never will – at least until she’s much older and they can meet without any interference from Melanie. It seems to be more of a matter of principle than anything – Murphy claims he was tricked into the pregnancy. Supposedly Mel B told him she was on birth control – but let’s be real here, birth control is not 100% effective, so she may well have been on it. Anytime you have sex, you know a baby could still come out of it. What a lame way to try to make it sound like he’s not a total jerk. You are Eddie, you are.

The Nutty Professor star claimed 32-year-old Mel insisted she was on birth control, and revealed they only had sex three times, according to a US report. "What was supposed to be a casual relationship ended with her having his baby and taking him to court for millions," a source told The National Enquirer.

Although Eddie accepts that Angel is his daughter, he has said that he won't see the little girl, because he doesn't want to set eyes on Mel. A source said: "He says he will have to wait until Angel is older before he can get to know her without any interference from her mother."

Secrets behind the couple's doomed three-month fling have been revealed in legal papers in which Eddie, 46, states that Mel allegedly asked him for a $9million (£4.5million) house, plus living expenses for 18 years in exchange for her silence while she was pregnant. But Eddie baulked at the demands and it is claimed he has since refused to see the baby and the Spice Girl.

[From the Daily Mail]

Something tells me that waiting to see Angel until she’s older (because of all those “interferences” by her mother) will present a million more problems than seeing her now. But it all works out well for Eddie, because those problems will all be Angel’s, not his. If Eddie sees her now, he has to deal with Mel B and all that drama. But if he avoids her, Angel gets to grow up knowing her dad doesn’t want to see her. So it’ll probably be easier on Eddie in the short run, and harder on Angel for the rest of her life. Awesome. I’m pretty sure Eddie Murphy may be one of – if not the – most selfish people in show business. And that’s saying something. Here’s to hoping he gets caught with another tranny hooker.

Here’s Melanie carrying daughter Angel Iris Murphy en route to her Newark, New Jersey concert on February 12th. Images thanks to Splash.

Celebrity on-set cheaters

AOL Moviefone has an online gallery of the "Top 25 Hookups on Set," and while some of the actors were both single when they found solace in the arms of a co-star the examples are also full of notorious celebrity cheaters. We can all guess the couple named as number one. One of them was cheating probably and the other was widely blamed for it. Their film was ironically named "Mr. and Mrs. " and although they became one of the most famous celebrity couples with a bunch of kids in a short period of time, they have yet to make it official. Given the many historical examples, these two won't be the last or the most high profile. Workplace romances are common and often break up relationships.

Here are my favorite cheaters, with some examples from classic films. As much as Brad and Angelina are chastised now, it was much worse for the celebrities in the not-too-distant and more puritanical past. Thanks to AOL Moviefone for compiling the larger list of on-set hookups.


Clark Cable and Loretta Young
"The Call of The Wild" (1935)


Robert Rodriguez and Rose McGowan
"Grindhouse" (2007)


Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini
"Stromboli" (1950)


Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise
"Days of Thunder" (1990)


Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck
"Gigli" (2003)


Ali McGraw and Steve McQueen
"The Getaway" (1972)


Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall
"To Have and Have Not" (1944)


Russell Crowe and Meg Ryan
"Proof of Life" (2000)


Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor
"Cleopatra" (1963)


Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
"Mrs. and Mrs. Smith" (2005)

On-set romances involving non-cheaters include Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams on the set of "The Notebook" in 2004, Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams for "Brokeback Mountain" in 2005, and Matthew McConaughey and Penelope Cruz on 2005's "Sahara." The best examples of non-cheating celebrity on-set hookups that have stood the test of time are unmarried older couples Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, who met while doing "Swingshift" in 1984, and Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon who hooked up in 1988 while filming the hot baseball film "Bull Durham."

Julia Roberts met her then-married future husband Danny Moder on the set of "The Mexican" in 2000. Modor was a cameraman not her co-star, though, so these two didn't make the list.

Check out the full list on AOL Moviefone.