PR-Inside.com Entertainment News

FRASIER star KELSEY GRAMMER was so impressed with how universal the X-MEN movies are, he didn’t hesitate to sign up for third movie THE LAST STAND.
The classically trained actor, who plays DR HANK McCOY/THE BEAST in the sequel, admits the franchise is vastly different to what he is normally associated with.
But Grammer was blown away by how everybody can relate to the X-Men films.
He says, "What’s great about the story is that, whatever you are, you can probably decide that’s what the characters are.
"You can relate if you are gay, or an arty type, or a nerd, or have been teased in a school. If you ever felt like an outsider, then you identify with the mutants, and you can identify with the X-Men.
"So every human being on the planet can identify with the X-Men."

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HUGH JACKMAN, EWAN McGREGOR and MICHELLE WILLIAMS are teaming up for THE TOURIST, a psychological thriller set in clandestine New York City sex clubs.
The picture revolves around an accounting consultant (McGregor) who, while passing from one job to another, meets a charismatic, womanising lawyer (Jackman) who personifies everything the accountant wishes he could be.
Jackman’s character then introduces him to a mysterious sex club known as The List, but McGregor’s character soon becomes the prime suspect in a woman’s disappearance and a multi-million dollar heist.
Production begins 13 October (06) in New York.

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Actress DIORA BAIRD has decided never to make another horror movie, after shooting THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: THE BEGINNING left her frightened for "a long time".
The 23-year-old star plans on distancing herself from her breakthrough role as BAILEY in the scary prequel - even though she is currently inundated with horror film scripts.
Baird says, "I don’t want to be in that genre. I’ve now been offered quite a few horror movies, but I don’t want to do any more of that. Texas Chainsaw will be my first and last, you can mark my word on that.
"I’m not a big fan of scary movies because they scare me. Plus, it’s a lot harder than you’d imagine. It’s a lot of emotional distress and work that I don’t ever want to have to go through again.
"I had a hard time breaking out of that character because everything was so realistic that I kind of got lost in it. I was scared for a long time. I had to go to very dark places."

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Film-maker STEVE ZAILLIAN is "shellshocked" following the US box office failure and negative critical reaction to his star-packed movie ALL THE KING’S MEN.
Zaillian, who won an Oscar in 1994 for his SCHINDLER’S LIST screenplay, is amazed his film starring SEAN PENN, KATE WINSLET, JUDE LAW, SIR ANTHONY HOPKINS and JAMES GANDOLFINI has flopped so spectacularly.
All The King’s Men made just $3.8 million (£2.1 million) in its opening weekend in America last month (SEP06). It cost $55 million (£30.5 million) to make.
Zaillian says, "It’s a bit of a surprise - a surprise like getting hit by a truck. I don’t know what to make of it.
"Maybe down the road I’ll figure it out. We’re all a bit shellshocked. I feel like (assassinated US Senator) HUEY LONG must have felt - you try to do good and they shoot you for it."

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Tony Award-winning actress ISABEL BIGLEY BARNETT has died of pulmonary disease in Los Angeles. She was 80.
Barnett passed away on Saturday (30SEP06) at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Her funeral will be held in Beverly Hills this Saturday (07OCT06).
Born in the Bronx in New York City, Barnett played the original SARAH BROWN in GUYS AND DOLLS on Broadway between 1950 and 1953. She won a Tony Award for her performance.
Barnett is survived by her husband, six children, 16 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

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DENNIS HAYSBERT was furious when he found out that his character on 24, President DAVID PALMER, was being assassinated and told producers he would refuse to tape the scene.
The star argued over the storyline for months because he felt killing the president would send out a dangerous message to viewers.
Haysbert appeared on US chat show THE VIEW today (03OCT06) where he explained how he left the show saying, "They did it as a stunt to get ratings and it worked.
"It started at the end of season four when I did the last six episodes. Then I thought I was done.
"I was right in the middle of the fourth episode I was doing when they called me up at lunch time to talk to me and said, ‘Dennis, on the first show of next season, we’re going to shoot you.’ "I said, ‘Good luck with that. What’s it going to be a CNN (news) report? Because I won’t shoot it.’ "So we went back and forth and back and forth and the season ended and all during the summer the fellows kept calling and then they sent their mercenary, one of my best friends on the show, the show runner HOWARD GORDON, whom I love, and I have to tell you before I go any further that I love the guys on 24, both in front of the camera and behind it.
"We have a legacy of killing our leaders in this country and I said, ‘Guys, don’t do it.’ "Howard basically said, ‘Dennis, look I understand how you feel. I believe you, I believe in what you’re saying, but we need it to start the show, because without it, we don’t have a season.’" Haysbert eventually gave in and went on to star in the TV series THE UNIT about a top secret United States Special Operations Force.

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TERRENCE HOWARD and his HUSTLE & FLOW director CRAIG BREWER are moving from rap to country to bring the story of singer CHARLEY PRIDE to the big screen.
As JOAQUIN PHOENIX did in WALK THE LINE, Howard will sing the country icon’s songs and play guitar in the drama.
Pride was born in Mississippi to sharecroppers and played in baseball’s Negro League before joining the Army. After his discharge he worked in construction and continued to play minor league baseball.
After moving to Nashville, Tennessee, Pride became a country music sensation - between 1966 and 1984, 51 of his 54 singles cracked the country top 10.
Although Pride achieved success during the civil rights movement, black Americans did not celebrate him and he struggled with the knowledge that many of his fans were white and racist.
According to Brewer, "When (baseball player) JACKIE ROBINSON broke the barrier, there was a flood of talent that came after him, but Charley was alone." The film will also explore Pride’s relationship with his wife ROZENE, whose savvy financial skills and real estate investments made the couple extremely wealthy.

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Country star BILLY RAY CYRUS has penned an emotional tribute to the three members of LYNYRD SKYNYRD who died in a 1977 plane crash, after a phone conversation discussing the tragedy with drummer ARTIMUS PYLE.
Cyrus was chatting to Pyle about the accident, which cost the lives of singer RONNIE VAN ZANT, guitarist STEVE GAINES, his backing singer sister CASSIE GAINES and road manager DEAN KILPATRICK.
Pyle told Cyrus how he clambered out of the wreckage in Louisiana swampland and staggered to find help with several broken ribs, only to be shot in the shoulder by a farmer who was frightened of the long-haired and bearded rocker covered in blood.
And Cyrus was so moved he immediately wrote THE FREEBIRD FELL - named after Lynyrd Skynyrd’s epic track FREEBIRD - for his new album WANNA BE YOUR JOE.
He says, "When they crashed, Artimus climbed out of the wreckage and crawled to a farmer’s house to get help.
"Artimus was telling that story to me over the phone, and I just said to him, ‘Well, I think I was in the 10th grade at the time, and I never will forget the day the Freebird fell.’ He said, ‘Cyrus, if I could write a song, that would be the one I’d write.’ I said, ‘Well, let me see if I can go to work on it.’ "That evening, I started thinking about that particular album (STREET SURVIVORS) that just came out at the time of the Skynyrd crash. It was the one with the band on it that had flames in the background. And all of a sudden the song just started coming to me.
"Then I thought, ‘You know what? To have a tribute to Ronnie Van Zant and the fallen members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, it’s got to be authentic Southern rock, and nobody does it better than (former Skynyrd guitarist) Ed King.’ So I called Ed King, and he came out to the house and we finished it up."

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LATEST: The photojournalist claiming to be the father of ANNA NICOLE SMITH’s baby daughter alleges in court documents that Smith was taking methadone and is hiding out in the Bahamas to keep her baby from being tested for drugs.
LARRY BIRKHEAD filed court papers in Los Angeles on Monday (02OCT06), attempting to establish paternity and obtain legal custody of the child. Birkhead began legal proceedings after learning that Smith’s close friend and attorney HOWARD K STERN, who she wed in a commitment ceremony last Thursday (28SEP06), is also claiming to be the father.
The lawsuit alleges Smith was taking methadone, which is normally used to treat heroin addiction, and that Stern has been facilitating her habit.
Birkhead also claims Smith is hiding out in the Bahamas to keep her baby from being tested for drugs. He says Stern is claiming to be the baby’s father for his own financial gain and that Smith had asked a third unidentified man to say that he was the father of her child - a plan which he says didn’t work out because the man had already had a vasectomy.
Birkhead requested in his petition that Smith and her daughter undergo drug testing.
According to Birkhead’s attorney, DEBRA OPRI, "The public will be very surprised when they learn of the details of the lifestyle this baby is going to be faced with if she remains in the current situation." Smith’s 20-year-old son DANIEL died of a heart attack on 10 September (06) caused by a lethal combination of antidepressants and methadone, three days after Smith gave birth to her daughter.

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Big League Entertainment president MIKE GREEN has threatened to "sue the hell out of" rapper TI and his manager for breach of contract over a performance in New York City last month (SEP06).
Green alleges that TI, real name CLIFFORD HARRIS JR, violated an agreement with the promotions company when he performed at New York’s Radio City Music Hall for Boost Mobile Rock Corps volunteers.
TI was scheduled to headline Saturday’s (30SEP06) Hot 97 concert co-sponsored by Back to School Jam, which instead ended with rapper DMX’s abbreviated set and a fan injury.
Green tells MTV News, "People think TI didn’t show up that night, but I didn’t allow him to make it.
"He did a show in the area just a week before and breached what he had with us, because he wasn’t supposed to perform in the area for 30 days before our show.
"So I didn’t allow him to perform. I’m going to sue the hell out of him."

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SIR ELTON JOHN and a cast of thousands will mark the start of the fifth annual Daniel Pearl World Music Days on Friday (06OCT06).
The festival will honour the slain journalist and musician and will include a world premiere of STEVE REICH’s DANIEL VARIATIONS in London and New York City.
Other events include performances by orchestras in London, South Africa, Israel, Los Angeles, Alabama and Qatar; a BO DIDDLEY and Friends concert in Louisiana; and a youth performance at San Francisco’s Hardly Strictly bluegrass festival.
Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter, was murdered by terrorists in Pakistan in 2002. World music days honouring him will run through to 15 October (06).

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Eighties pop group DURAN DURAN have been forced to radically alter their recording style to keep up with collaborators JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE and TIMBALAND on their new album.
Frontman SIMON LE BON, currently in a New York studio taping the disc, was shocked at how spontaneous Timberlake and hip-hop producer Timbaland are.
He says, "(Justin) works very quickly. We’re usually slow as snails. It’s quite a challenge, and we had to change the way we play, really.
"Particularly me. I had to be able to come up with ideas very quickly on the microphone. Just do it. Have new lyrics the next day - or the next evening.
"This is the best thing that could have happened to us. It relights your fire. The stuff is great. We know we already have two singles."

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British playwright ALAN BENNETT insists the huge success his quintessentially English comedy THE HISTORY BOYS has had in America is no surprise.
Earlier this year (06) the play snatched six prizes at the Tony Awards in New York, after winning rave reviews on its Broadway run.
Now Bennett hopes the movie version, which premiered in front of British royal PRINCE CHARLES yesterday (02OCT06) will be a hit in US cinemas too, despite dealing with the classroom struggles of a group of students vying for a place at England’s Oxford and Cambridge universities.
Bennett says, "Parents there have the same problems and aspirations with education as we do.
"They’re concerned to get their children into good schools and universities, but there’s an antagonism between getting qualifications and education for life.
"When you reflect on that, it’s not surprising the success it’s had in America."

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SIR BEN KINGSLEY credits new girlfriend DANIELA LAVENDER with rekindling his faith in love - two years after finding out his wife cheated on him.
The pair have been a couple since January (06), shortly after Kinglsey found out his third wife ALEXANDRA CHRISTMANN had been unfaithful. He saw a picture of her with another man on the internet.
The GHANDI actor, speaking after a screening of the 1987 German film WINGS OF DESIRE last night (02OCT06), admits he was moved to tears within 10 seconds in the cinema, and realised how lucky he is with his new love.
Kingsley says, "This film urges you not to give up on love - and I didn’t.
"And I am now sitting here with the woman I was looking for all those years ago. I don’t know how I found her but I did."

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DAVID HASSELHOFF has launched his own clothing line after coming to the realisation he’s "as popular as Elvis".
The former BAYWATCH heart-throb insists he’s constantly hounded by fans, who even sport signature T-shirt ‘Don’t Hassel The Hoff’.
Now he’s keen to cash in on the fashion trend with his own surfing line under the label Malibu Dave.
He says, "It’s just going to be supercool, laid back surfing gear. Everywhere I go, there are all these guys, like 400 guys, wearing the ‘Don’t Hassel The Hoff’ shirt.
"There are guys who turn up dressed like me. It’s a bit weird. I’m like Elvis, only alive.
"Although just between you and me, Elvis is alive. He’s living at my home."

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A veteran Indian actor has controversially been cast as Pakistan’s former military ruler in a new TOM HANKS movie about the CIA.
Bollywood’s OM PURI will play General MUHAMMAD ZIA-UL-HAQ in CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR, which details the US agency’s role in arming rebels in Afghanistan.
But despite strained relations between Pakistan and India making Puri an odd choice, the actor insists he’ll do the character justice.
He says, "The film discusses the entire political scenario of the time.
"I appear as a well-settled Pakistani President who strikes a deal with the Americans that money and arms to the Afghans must flow through his country." Zia ruled Pakistan from 1977, after seizing power in a bloodless military coup. He died in 1988 in a mysterious plane crash.
As well as Puri and Hanks, JULIA ROBERTS is also slated to appear in the drama.

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DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES star NICOLLETTE SHERIDAN has defended her decision to promote her new lingerie range on shopping channel QVC - insisting it’s a way of connecting with her audience.
The TV star, engaged to crooner MICHAEL BOLTON, will design the sexy lingerie range herself but is more excited about going on the popular shopping channel to flog her underwear.
Sheridan says, "It means I can connect with the audience who are buying the goodies.
"There is no shame in it. I’m totally thrilled with it all."

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British royal PRINCE CHARLES was left red-faced last night (02OCT06) when cheeky actor STEPHEN FRY joked about enjoying a game of strip poker with him.
Fry addressed a packed cinema audience at the London premiere of new movie THE HISTORY BOYS, where the Prince had asked him to introduce a short advertisement for his charity The Prince’s Trust.
But a reluctant Fry revealed: "There were only two of us who could have spoken tonight. We decided on a game to decide who - the winner got to sit and enjoy the film without a speech.
"He (Charles) suggested polo. In the end we settled on strip poker. He saw my low pair and for the first time I understood what a royal flush was." Prince Charles was joined by his wife CAMILLA, DUCHESS OF CORNWALL.

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