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LATEST: A high-profile auction featuring items owned by WHITNEY HOUSTON actually included many possessions that didn’t even belong to the singer.
A New Jersey storage company applied for a court order to sell Houston’s belongings after she failed to pay $150,000 (£76,000) in fees.
According to PageSix.com, many of the items being stored were the property of former chief of Warner Music MICHAEL FUCHS and US TV network HBO.
Fuchs decided to sell the contents of the warehouse after the star failed to make payments.
Sources say the priciest possessions, including pianos, studio equipment and instruments, actually belonged to members of Houston’s tour group.
The source explains, "A lot of the items didn’t even belong to her. They were owned by back-up musicians and small vendors." Fans snapped up hundred of items this week (begs08JAN07) which they believed belonged to Houston, including a clear Schimmel grand piano which sold for $20,000 (£10,300).

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

FRIENDS stars COURTENEY COX and JENNIFER ANISTON are set to team up on TV again in Cox’s hit new drama DIRT.
The actress has persuaded pal Aniston to make a guest appearance on her new show, in which Cox plays a ruthless tabloid magazine boss.
Now all she has to do is create the right part for the star.
Cox reveals, "We talk about it all the time - what kind of character she should play? Should she play herself or should we write some great thing for her?"

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

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, CHRISTINA AGUILERA and BOB DYLAN scored the lion’s share of the votes in the newly-announced Rolling Stone magazine 2006 Reader’s Poll.
The DANI CALIFORNIA hitmakers claimed the Best Album (STADIUM ARCADIUM) and Best Band honours, while Aguilera claimed the Best R&B Artist and Best Female Performer gongs.
Dylan claimed the Artist of The Year title and finished a runner-up in Best Male Performer, Best Single (SOMEDAY BABY) and Best Album (MODERN TIMES).
The Rolling Stone dishonours went to SEAN ‘DIDDY’ COMBS (Most Unwelcome Comeback), BLACK EYED PEAS (Worst Song for MY HUMPS) and KEVIN FEDERLINE, who beat PARIS HILTON and ASHLEE SIMPSON to the Worst Act prize.

The full list of Reader’s Poll winners is:
Best Album - STADIUM ARCADIUM by RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
Best Single - CRAZY by GNARLS BARKLEY
Artist of The Year - BOB DYLAN
Best Male Performer - JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
Best Female Performer - CHRISTINA AGUILERA
Best New Artist - THE RACONTEURS
Best Band - RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
Best Tour - A BIGGER BANG by THE ROLLING STONES
Best Comeback - THE WHO
Best Dressed - GWEN STEFANI
Best Hip-Hop Artist - OUTKAST
Best R&B Artist - CHRISTINA AGUILERA
Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Band - EVANESCENCE
Best Indie Act - YEAH YEAH YEAHS
Best MySpace Artist - LILY ALLEN
Most Unwelcome Comeback - SEAN ‘DIDDY’ COMBS
Worst Song - MY HUMPS by BLACK EYED PEAS
Worst Act - KEVIN FEDERLINE.

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New 24 star ADONI MAROPIS relished playing a freedom fighter in the upcoming sixth season of the tense drama after recalling how his father forgave the terrorists who almost killed him.
The HIDALGO star’s father, a native of Crete, was caught up in a terrorist attack at Athens airport in Greece during a trip home when Maropis was just a child in the early 1970s.
And Maropis used his father’s recollection of the day he almost died to shape the character of 24 agent JACK BAUER’s latest adversary ABU FAYED.
Maropis says, "Thank God he saw this thing flying in the air and thought it was a football. (It) hit him in the knee, bounced a couple yards away (and) exploded.
"He had a shaving kit that had a metal like ashtray, like an antique that would save his life, supposedly. The person in front of him died immediately and my dad survived. He said… it seemed like they were aiming at him. They brought out machine guns. They were shooting down everybody.
"I hated these people, the PLO, the Palestine Liberation Organization. But my dad said to me, he understood their plight and he understood where they were coming from.
"I was a little kid and I said, ‘Wow, my dad got shot up and he understood the plight of these people that were after him… That just always affected me."

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THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS director ROB COHEN is set to direct the third installment of the popular MUMMY series of movies.
BRENDAN FRASER and RACHEL WEISZ have also been in discussions to reprise their roles in MUMMY 3.
STEPHEN SOMMERS directed the first two installments, released in 1999 and 2001, which had a combined worldwide gross of $849 million (£435 million).
The film is being targeted for a 2008 release.

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

Former FRASIER star KELSEY GRAMMER is set to hit the stage in a new New York Philharmonic production of musical MY FAIR LADY.
Grammer will portray grammar pedant PROFESSOR HENRY HIGGINS in four semi-staged performances of the beloved LERNER & LOEWE musical, adapted from GEORGE BERNARD SHAW’s PYGMALION, in March (07).
The former TV psychologist will join CHARLES KIMBROUGH and BRIAN DENNEHY in the production, which will be performed with the musicians of the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall.
Award-winning Broadway conductor ROB FISHER will wave the baton.

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Golden Globe Awards organisers at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) have ditched their lavish presenter gift baskets due to a tax hitch.
HFPA officials and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have reached a "mutually satisfactory agreement" over taxes due on past event gift baskets, and the Golden Globe organisers have become the first major award bosses to end the practice of handing out expensive treats.
Meanwhile, after voluntarily approaching the IRS last year (06) seeking to clarify the tax issues surrounding the presenter boxes, the HFPA will send all presenters who took home a gift basket last year (06) "informational tax forms" urging them to be "responsible for satisfying their income tax obligations".
HFPA president PHILIP BERK states, "We are pleased to have reached an agreement with the IRS. We thought it only proper that we assume the tax burden for 2004 and 2005; we felt it didn’t seem fair to ask those who had donated their services to pay additional tax after they had already filed tax returns for those years."

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DAVID and VICTORIA BECKHAM are one step closer to moving to the US after news broke that he will be leaving his Spanish soccer team at the end of the summer (07).
Real Madrid Director of Sport PREDRAG MIJATOVIC told Sky Italia the former England captain would not be signing a new contract with the club.
He said, "Beckham will leave us, we will not renew his contract." The report has fuelled speculation Beckham and his former SPICE GIRLS wife will take up residence in the US.
The team had initially offered the ex-Manchester United star a new two-year contract, but Beckham refused to commit himself to the club after having fallen out with coach FABIO CAPELLO.

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ANNA NICOLE SMITH has transferred the pain of 2006 to her shoulders by having tattoos of her dead son and new baby girl etched on her back.
The busty model/actress showed off her odd new body art during a recent trip back to America from her home in The Bahamas.
On her left shoulder, the buxom blonde boasts a large tattoo of herself and her late son DANIEL with his birth and death dates and the words ‘My Pumpkinhead.’ Meanwhile, she sports an image of motherhood with baby DANNIELYNN, who was born in The Bahamas three days before her big brother died in September (10SEP06) of a drug overdose, on her right shoulder.

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LATEST: Actor JOHN CUSACK is slamming reports he isn’t supportive of longtime friend JEREMY PIVEN’s recent career successes.
Piven was quoted in America’s Best Life magazine saying the pair had a falling out after Cusack became jealous of his new found fame.
Piven had played supporting roles in many of Cusack’s films, including SAY ANYTHING, GROSSE POINTE BLANK and RUNAWAY JURY, before landing a role on the hit series ENTOURAGE, for which he won an Emmy Award last year (06).
Cusack hits back at the claims he isn’t thrilled about his friend’s success telling American publication People, "It’s quite the contrary. I am very happy for Jeremy. I wish him the best and always have." The pair first studied acting together at Chicago’s Piven Theatre Workshop in Illinois, which was run by Piven’s parents.

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KATE BOSWORTH isn’t wasting any time moving on from her broken romance with ORLANDO BLOOM - she was spotted enjoying a romantic meal with new beau JAMES ROUSSEAU at Las Vegas restaurant Tao last night (09JAN07).
The actress and her date made a commotion when they asked staff at the swanky diner to help them pick from the menu - as neither had ever visited Tao before - but skinny Bosworth didn’t eat.
A Tao source says, "She asked the server for suggestions from the menu and decided on crispy tuna, chicken satay, edamame, miso soup and two Coronas (beer).
"But when the meal arrived, she didn’t touch anything except the miso soup while the guy ate the rest… She looked really thin." The SUPERMAN star didn’t leave Tao staff in any doubt that her dinner date was her new love.
The insider adds, "Kate snuck in a little smooch with this guy and didn’t seem to care who saw it. They seemed very happy and much more than just friends." Generous Bosworth will be welcomed back to Tao - the bill came to $80 (£41) and she left a $25 (£12.80) tip.

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PENELOPE CRUZ has laughed off reports she is having a gay relationship with best pal SALMA HAYEK.
The two have been close friends for the past six years and Hayek posed for a series of pictures for Cruz which were recently published in Interview magazine in the US. The pair also posed together for one provocative shot showing Cruz grabbing Hayek’s backside, which fuelled rumours that the two were romantically involved.
The VANILLA SKY star appeared on LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN on Tuesday night (09JAN07), where she defended the photo when the host showed it to the audience.
She explained, "You know what they’ve been saying because of that picture? We are like sisters and we have some sense of humour…
"We did that in front of 100 photographers and the story now is that apparently we are lovers. I’m sorry to say, that is not the case!"

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Former BAYWATCH hunk DAVID CHARVET and his fiancee, US model-turned-TV presenter BROOKE BURKE, are celebrating after becoming parents to baby HEAVEN RAIN CHARVET.
The little girl was born in Santa Monica, California on Monday (08JAN07).
It’s the third child for 35-year-old Burke, who has two kids by former husband, TV plastic surgeon GARTH FISHER.
Burke’s publicist NANCY IANNOIS says, "Mother and child are doing great and resting at home now.
"Brooke had a very smooth delivery, with her fiance David by her side. They are thrilled to be back at home now with their gorgeous baby girl. It’s a very exciting time for them." Burke and Charvet were engaged last summer (06). They’re planning to wed this spring (07).

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TV stuntman STEVE-O has launched a one-man campaign against circus giants the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey after deciding it’s time to reveal all about the animal abuse he witnessed while training to be a clown.
In an angry rant during a recent internet interview with animal activists at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the JACKASS wildman, real name STEPHEN GLOVER, calls the circus bosses "a bunch of d**ks." He says, "The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus has been abusing animals since the 1800s, and I’m sick of it." Steve-O graduated from Ringling’s Clown College several years ago, but the horrors he saw when he started his career under the big top have tormented him ever since.
He particularly remembers how he squirmed as he watched trainers routinely strike performing elephants with steel-tipped bullhooks.
He adds, "You read about a lot of elephants going berserk in the circus, and it’s obvious why they go berserk. It’s because they’re fricking tortured every day. I saw it myself."

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DREW BARRYMORE has ended her relationship with boyfriend FABRIZIO MORETTI after nearly five years together.
Barrymore, 31, appears on the cover of the latest US issue of Harper’s Bazaar magazine gushing about her relationship with Moretti, 26, but friends claim their differences eventually drove them apart.
A source close to the actress tells American publication US Weekly, "Drew said they needed some time off." A friend of Moretti’s confirms, "Fab is now living back in his old apartment." Rumours of a rift began in February 2005 when Barrymore was noticeably absent from Strokes frontman JULIAN CASABLANCAS’ wedding and a few months later the couple got into a very public argument in Santa Monica, California.
A friend of Barrymore’s explains, "He’s younger, and she’s more worldly. He doesn’t like the Hollywood stuff. He doesn’t get her friends." Although it looks like the relationship is over, there is still some hope of a reconciliation.
The source adds, "She broke up with him twice before this. This is exactly what happened last time they took a break."

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The DREAMGIRLS movie soundtrack has completed its steady rise to the top of the US album charts after five weeks, by claiming the new number one with just 66,000 copies sold.
In one of the weakest sales weeks ever on the US Billboard chart, Dreamgirls registers the lowest sales total for a number one album since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking data in 1991.
It becomes the first film soundtrack to rise to the top since O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? in 2002.
AKON’s KONVICTED stays firm at number two, while DAUGHTRY, the rock act featuring AMERICAN IDOL star CHRIS DAUGHTRY, re-enters the top 10 at three with its self-titled debut.
Meanwhile, R&B star OMARION’s 21, which topped the chart last week (03JAN07), falls to number 10 on the new countdown.
And the only new entry in the top 50 is CARLY SIMON, who debuts covers album INTO WHITE at number 15.

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KENNY CHESNEY, BROOKS & DUNN, GEORGE STRAIT and WILLIE NELSON will headline California’s new country music festival Stagecoach this May (07).
The two-day weekend event, which will take place on the site of the world-famous Coachella Music & Arts Festival a week after the annual rock gathering, will also feature ALAN JACKSON, RICKY SKAGGS, SUGARLAND, EMMYLOU HARRIS, KRIS KRISTOFFERSON and LUCINDA WILLIAMS.

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GWEN STEFANI was desperate to get back in the studio after the birth of her son KINGSTON, because she didn’t want to stop her lucky streak when it came to creating hit songs.
The star hated the thought of slowing down her career and decided to get back to making music as soon as possible with producer PHARRELL WILLIAMS.
She explains, "I’ll never be as pure as I was when I wrote TRAGIC KINGDOM.
Once you’ve had a hit, there’s no going back because it’s so addictive.
"It’s a drug. I felt I was going back and getting more Pharrell, HOLLABACK GIRL 2.
"As you would! It’s not like being ambitious is a bad thing!"

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