PR-Inside.com Entertainment News

LIZA MINNELLI introduced ELIZABETH TAYLOR to the horrors of the AIDS epidemic after realising their mutual friend ROCK HUDSON had contracted the killer disease.
The CABARET star was shocked by Hudson’s appearance when she invited the late actor and Taylor to a concert and then met the stars backstage.
She realised that his look was similar to that of gay friends of hers in New York - and revealed her shock to Taylor, who has since become a leading HIV and AIDS activist.
Minnelli recalls, "I hadn’t seen him (Hudson) in a long time… (and) he looked different. I thought that he looked like just a couple of friends that I had seen lately in New York, who had this new disease.
"I said to Elizabeth, ‘There is something called AIDS, and I don’t know, but I think Rock may have it.’ She said, ‘He looks ghastly, what is it?’ "I explained it to her as much as I knew and she said, ‘We have to do something."

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

US comedian and chat show host JAY LENO isn’t laughing about a new joke book series after discovering it features many of his own gags.
The host of America’s THE TONIGHT SHOW is suing author JUDY BROWN and her publishers, claiming she has plagiarised from his stand-up routines.
And he isn’t alone - other comics, including RITA RUDNER and JIMMY BROGAN are also seeking unspecified damages and a permanent injunction against Brown’s 19 books.
In the lawsuit, lawyers for Leno and TV network NBC claim, "Her (Brown) books credit the comedians who wrote the jokes, which only serves to make the copyright violations more egregious.
"The books sell precisely because they include jokes by famous comedians.
"Ms. Brown has even sent representatives to comedy clubs to record comedians’ routines, so she can then copy the jokes into her books and profit from the original comedic works of others."

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

Brazilian tourist officials are employing a little damage control after watching screenings of new horror film TURISTAS, which focuses of a group of US holidaymakers stranded in the rainforest.
The film, which was shot on location in Brazil and stars MELISSA GEORGE and JOSH DUHAMEL as backpacking surfers, suggests the South American country is far from vacation perfect.
The holidaymakers are drugged and robbed by locals and then find themselves trying to escape from a mad doctor determined to remove their organs.
And tourist bosses only hope US filmgoers realise the movie is fictional.
In a statement from the Brazilian Tourism Board, released to coincide with the film’s debut yesterday (01DEC06), a spokesman writes, "This is a fictional story created for those who enjoy horror movies.
"We hope moviegoers will be inspired to learn more about Brazil because of the breathtaking setting, which is true to life, unlike the people and the events of the movie." Meanwhile, Duhamel took time out of his appearance on THE TONIGHT SHOW on Thursday (30NOV06) to apologise to the Brazilians.
He said, "I guess there’s a bit of a stink about the way the movie portrays Brazil but our intention was not to deter people to go to Brazil (sic)… It’s a beautiful country."

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

PAUL BETTANY’s son STELLAN almost landed the British actor in a French jail cell on Wednesday (29NOV06) after convincing airport authorities he was LUKE SKYWALKER.
The three-year-old STAR WARS fanatic baffled airport security when he insisted he was Luke and Bettany was super-villain DARTH VADER.
Bettany’s wife and Stellan’s mother JENNIFER CONNELLY reveals, "They were in Nice and they were coming home and they got to the airport and went to passport control and Stellan has an American passport and Paul has a British passport.
"Stellan’s photo was taken when he was about a week old and he’s now three years old, so it’s completely unrecognisable.
"So they march up to passport control and Stellan announces, ‘I’m Luke,’ and the woman at passport control goes, ‘Excuse me.’ "She brings someone else over and they ask again, ‘Who is this person? Is this your father?’ and he goes, ‘No, that’s not my daddy.’ And then they call the police.
"They said, ‘Well, who is this man? What is this man’s name?’ and he says, ‘That’s Darth Vader!’ "It so happened that they were , like, probably the only three people in the world who hadn’t seen Star Wars, so this went on for a little while before someone finally figured it out."

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

MEL GIBSON has hit back at critics who claim his new historical epic APOCALYPTO is too violent, insisting he showed great restraint when it came to the film’s ancient Mexican torture scenes.
Film fans and critics who have seen early screenings of the film, which chronicles the struggles of the ancient Mayan race, were left wincing during harrowing scenes of sacrifice and torture.
But the actor/director reveals he stopped short of getting too authentic with the scenes - because he feared cinemagoers wouldn’t be able to cope with the true violence.
He says, "I was actually merciful when it comes to the violence… They used to chop the heads, hands and feet off and sometimes they’d rip out their entrails and quarterise (sic) them to keep them alive as long as possible."

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

Top pin-up VIDA GUERRA is set to out-sexy THE PUSSYCAT DOLLS with her own all-girl supergroup.
The curvy model, 27, launches her pop career in 2007 and she’s busy creating a back-up band of drop-dead gorgeous dancers and singers.
The calendar queen and recent Playboy pin-up says, "I wanted hot girls with great bodies.
"The choreographers were like, ‘Wow, that’s good. Other artists usually pick ugly girls because they want to be the one who shines onstage.’ "I want eye candy. I got an Asian girl, and Indian girl, two Spanish girls, two black girls… and a white girl. I’ve got the best of everything."

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

Rocker PETE TOWNSHEND is convinced he was a mystical Sufi in a former life after ‘finding himself’ during a "Muslim mission".
The guitarist admits meeting spiritual leader MEHER BABA had a profound effect on him and prompted him to give up substance abuse. But his studies of Islam since that meeting have led Townshend to believe his spirit is passed down from a mystical Muslim.
He explains, "After Monterey Pop (festival) I got very disturbed by acid and I started to get very sickened by LSD and psychedelia.
"I went off on a little kind of seeking mission. The teacher who I happened upon was Meher Baba, who said continued use of drugs would lead to madness, death and insanity.
"I was attracted to his interest of the Persian poets, so I went off to Islam and read a lot of Sufi writing and became utterly convinced in some previous life I’d been a Sufi.
"It explained why I do all that turning, which is done in Islamic prayer, on stage, and the windmill thing with my arm." The guitarist admits he wishes his more peaceful endeavours were publicised because he insists there’s so much more to him than a wild man of rock.
He adds, "I thought a bit like I was engaged in some kind of sabotage. I was inside this macho group that smashed its guitars and had a reputation for being quite rebellious and here I was trying to spread this message of love and peace."

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

SHERYL CROW is turning to her country roots to record an album detailing her personal battles over the past few years.
The breast cancer survivor, who now lives close to Nashville, Tennessee - the world’s country music capital - admits the traditional tunes of THE CARTER FAMILY have inspired her to turn her back on rock and pop on her next album.
She explains, "I’m going to produce myself again and I’m working on an old-school country record in the style of The Carter family.
"A lot of the stuff I’ve written, like IF IT MAKES YOU HAPPY, are just country songs, so I’m in that world of trying to strip it down and make something that feels honest and steeped in American influence.
"I had a lot of things happen to me in the last five years that I feel compelled to write about." As well as her cancer battle, Crow also romanced Tour De France cycling champion LANCE ARMSTRONG. The couple broke off their engagement at the beginning of this year (06).

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

BRITNEY SPEARS’ former love rival SHAR JACKSON has accused the pop star of keeping her estranged husband KEVIN FEDERLINE away from his kids.
The actress claims Spears was so needy when she became a mum to Federline’s son SEAN PRESTON, she wouldn’t entertain the thought of the rapper spending time with the two kids he had with Jackson.
She says, "He was in a relationship where he had to respect boundaries. And the other person probably felt that their family should be the focus of what goes on in their household.
"He couldn’t come over as much as he would like to. If he wasn’t working he would come over to see the kids two or three times a month." Federline, who split from Spears last month (NOV06), is already trying to make up for lost time with his children by Jackson - he reportedly spent Thanksgiving Day (23NOV06) with his ex-girlfriend and their kids.

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

Hardcore heavy rocker GLENN DANZIG is keen to take the law into his own hands after a tour truck carrying his stage equipment was stolen on Thursday night (30NOV06).
Danzig and his namesake band DANZIG were relaxing after a show in Los Angeles when the equipment vehicle was stolen.
As well as asking fans for information, angry Danzig is planning his revenge on the thieves.
He fumes, "I should be able to kill somebody if they f**k with me."

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

BRITNEY SPEARS and KEVIN FEDERLINE’s exes have joined forces again to chat about the couple’s recent split on US TV.
JASON ALEXANDER, who was briefly married to Spears, and SHAR JACKSON, who is the mother of two of Federline’s children, have both spoken briefly about the pending divorce battle, but now they’ve sat down with TV talk show host DR KEITH ABLOW to comment further.
The couple, who were once linked romantically earlier this year (06), taped the interview yesterday (30NOV06). It will air on Monday (04DEC06).
During the chat, Jackson reveals she thinks her ex will fight hard for custody of the two sons he had with Spears.
She says, "He loves his kids and I’m sure he’s probably scared that Britney might take the kids and go back to Louisiana or go somewhere and he might not see them." Alexander reveals he spoke to Spears just after the split was announced, when she called to urge him to watch what he said to the media.
He recalls, "Actually, it was really short. How’d she put it: "Don’t say anything you’d regret."

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

LATEST: GUNS N’ ROSES’ manager has weighed into the spat between the rockers and their support act THE EAGLES OF DEATH METAL insisting JESSE HUGHES’ group was dumped from the bands’ US tour.
Roses frontman AXL ROSE and Hughes himself seem to have agreed that the Eagles of Death Metal quit the tour after playing just one show last week (24NOV06) following derogatory comments Rose made about them during his set.
But now Guns N’ Roses manager MERCK MERCURIADIS insists Hughes didn’t quit, he was fired.
In an angry statement released yesterday (01DEC06), Mercuriadis reveals, "The Eagles Of Death Metal were asked to leave the tour not only because Guns N’ Roses’ audience hated them, but because they could not handle the response.
"They were supposed to play a 60-minute set but left the stage after 42 minutes due to the hostile reception." The manager’s comments come just days after Rose apologised for calling his former support group "the pigeons of s**t metal" and invited them to rejoin the tour.

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)