International Show, Film & Celebrities News
NICOLE KIDMAN loved making fantasy movie THE GOLDEN COMPASS and is praying it succeeds at the box office, so she can make a sequel.
The film, about a girl’s quest to rescue children from a parallel universe, is based on the first of three Philip Pullman novels.
The actress reveals, "We have to wait and see if this film does well first."
Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)
British singer JOSS STONE has branded ex-boyfriend BEAU DOZIER a "psycho" for seducing her as a teen.
The soul star was just 16 when she dated the son of Motown composer Lamont Dozier - and has accused him of statutory rape because he was 24.
She says, "He was totally being illegal. Of course he was. He knew he was. I was 16, he was 24; that’s weird. At the time I didn’t think it was weird. I thought he was lovely and mature, but he was weird. "He’s not really a very stable person and I was kind of afraid to be with him. He was scary; he scared the sh*t out of me."
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KYLIE MINOGUE was humiliated after waxwork specialists Madame Tussauds debuted a sculpture of the singer in a racy position. The international museum chain depicted the pop star on all fours with her backside in the air - and the 39-year-old insists she would never have approved the seductive model if she had been consulted by Madame Tussauds.
She says, "I did not approve that! I absolutely did not. I was absolutely mortified! I arrived back from somewhere, I was in the car with the papers and I was just… I felt so humiliated. Absolutely! "I’m still offended by it. I really didn’t think it was funny! And there was nothing we could do about it." The sexy statue was replaced with a more modest model earlier this year (07), making Minogue the second person after Britain’s QUEEN ELIZABETH II to have had four statues made in her likeness.
Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)
SIR PAUL McCARTNEY once fell out with MICHAEL JACKSON because he refused to give him a pay raise.
The pair became close friends after recording a string of hit duets in the 1980s but fell out when Jackson - who purchased The Beatles’ catalogue of songs Northern Songs in 1985 - refused to increase the songwriter’s royalty rates.
But McCartney eventually realised he was financially sound so let go of his grudge against Jackson.
He says, "(Michael Jackson) was like a family friend. Bite to eat, hang out and all of that. We fell out once he got Northern Songs. I put it to him and said, ‘Look you are now historically placed to really give the Lennon/McCartney writing duo their just desserts. They’ve been working for this company 30 years, they’ve never had a rise.’ "I must have put it to him about three times. And I just never heard back. So it was like, ‘Oh, well fine, if you’ve not any comment on that, then I’m afraid I sort of become a disgruntled employee.’ "It wouldn’t have needed much, it was just a kind of gesture of goodwill.
So… I just changed my mindset, said, ‘You know what? I’m fine, I’ve got enough."
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Hollywood producer JERRY BRUCKHEIMER has loaned his personal photographs of the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN set to help raise funds for a damaged ship in the U.K.
The Oscar winner’s series of more than 30 photos will be on display in Greenwich, London in the visitors’ centre of the Cutty Sark, a ship and popular tourist attraction that was severely burned in a fire earlier this year (21May07).
Bruckheimer, 62, says, "I love taking pictures, which I’ve been doing since I was six. One of my favourite things about being a film producer is it allows me to indulge in my passion for photography on movie sets." The vessel’s officials have said they need a further $28 million (£14 million) to complete the repair.
Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)
Stunning actress ZIYI ZHANG refuses to lead a life of celebrity debauchery in Los Angeles or New York, opting instead for a cosy family life.
The Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon star has shunned the more corruptive influences of fame and fortune, and she cites her "ordinary" upbringing as the reason the fact-paced Hollywood scene holds no appeal.
She says, "I grew up in the most ordinary way in Beijing. My parents are devoted to my brother and me and we take care of each other." The Asian beauty snubs other cities in favour of her homeland, which she deems to be the most serene place in the world.
She adds, "I am Chinese and Beijing is my home. I can’t imagine living anywhere else. I love to travel but there is nothing like coming home. The familiar way of life with its smells and sounds and patterns are far too nourishing and important to me to uproot myself from."
Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)
DENNIS LEARY loves shooting sex scenes - and calls stars who claim to hate them liars.
The actor recently jumped into bed with Rescue Me co-star Callie Thorne in the show - and had the time of his life.
Leary tells New York gossip column PageSix, "It’s a blast. Any actor who says it’s not fun is lying. Besides having sex, pretending to is the next best thing."
Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)
PENELOPE CRUZ learned to act by watching women transformed in her mother’s hairdressing salon.
The Spanish star spent much of her childhood helping out at Encarna Cruz’ salon in the capital Madrid.
Cruz reveals, "I always say my first acting school was that salon. All those women who’d go in looking for a transformation, trying to look more like the image they had of themselves. So many of them were playing characters."
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DUSTIN HOFFMAN modelled his latest film role on eccentric novelist TOM WOLFE.
The actor plays a 243-year-old toy shop owner in Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium - and he insisted on having a say on his character’s spectacular appearance.
Hoffman says, "It was modelled on Tom Wolfe.
"I had a hand in that. I was always jealous of men who dressed ostentatiously because I never had the guts to do that."
Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)
Five top Hollywood studios are suing a Chinese-based website and an internet cafe they claim help web users illegally download movies including PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN.
Twentieth Century Fox, Walt Disney, Paramount Pictures, Columbia Pictures and Universal Studios have teamed up to take on Jeboo.com and a Shanghai internet cafe.
They claim Jeboo created the software for the cafe - and are seeking $432,000 (£216,000) in compensation.
Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)
GIRLS GONE WILD creator JOE FRANCIS has accused Oklahoma prison guards of threatening to strap him naked to a chair for 48 hours.
Francis also accuses the officers at Grady County Law Enforcement Center of denying him food and blankets during his three week stay at the prison after his conviction for using steamy video footage showing two 17-year-olds in the shower for his adult movie series in 2003.
Oklahoma prison officials deny claims of abuse, telling a regional newspaper Francis was "treated like every inmate that comes through the Grady County Law Enforcement Center," reports website TMZ.com.
Francis is currently being held in a Nevada jail for other legal problems, including accusations of performing sex with a minor and being party to a tax fraud of $20 million (£10 million).
Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)
OASIS frontman LIAM GALLAGHER has credited his abusive father and uneasy childhood for bringing an angry passion to his music.
The 35-year-old says elder brothers Paul and Noel Gallagher bore the brunt of the alcoholic’s rage - but the experience was so traumatising that it still fuels his performances today.
He says, "You wish these things don’t happen but they happen for a reason, I suppose, and that’s where my anger is and that’s what makes me f**king attack that mike when it’s there. "’Cause it’s just all boiled up. I maybe kept a lid on it. I’m glad it’s not ever been resolved, in a way. ‘Cause that’s what makes me wanna f**king get in there. I wouldn’t change a thing, man."
Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)
Rocker IAN BROWN has refused to hire someone to manage his career - because he can do the job better himself.
The former Stone Roses frontman, who has been without representation since 2004, is also reluctant to pay staff - preferring to keep the profits all to himself.
He says, "Managing yourself is a bit like representing yourself in court. You can get away with more. I can tell the record company to eff off and they just laugh, whereas if a manager did that it would be more serious. "I’ve been doing it myself since the end of 2004 and things have gone up for me since then. It seems pretty easy. I don’t have to pay some guy 20 per cent, there’s no need for two conversations, no one’s bulls**tting me and I know what’s happening." Brown is currently touring the U.K. to promote his fifth solo album The World Is Yours.
Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)
Rap mogul RUSSELL SIMMONS’ estranged wife KIMORA LEE is planning children with her new man, actor DJIMON HOUNSOU.
The couple have been dating since the model-turned-designer ended her eight-year marriage to Simmons. And she is already planning to expand her family before her divorce from the entrepreneur is finalised.
She revealed her baby plans at a recent trip to a New York hospital to visit sick children. A source tells New York gossip column PageSix, "When she was asked what’s on her Christmas list, Lee responded, ‘A baby!’"
Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)
AMY WINEHOUSE’s husband BLAKE FIELDER-CIVIL has been refused bail and remains in custody accused of assaulting a barman in London.
Fielder-Civil, 25, appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court in London on Friday (23Nov07) also charged with perverting the course of justice.
He was remanded in custody at London’s Pentonville Prison and has been ordered to reappear on 18 January (08).
Winehouse was in court to hear proceedings. She mouthed "I love you" at him and blew him kisses from the public gallery. Fielder-Civil and co-defendant Michael Brown, 25, have pleaded not guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm during the alleged attack in June 2006. A trial is expected to take place at Southwark Crown Court in June next year (08).
Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)
Scottish actor SIR SEAN CONNERY has vowed his retirement from the movie industry is for good this time - but his wife’s not convinced.
The James Bond legend, 77, has snubbed the previous five $40 million (£20 million) projects offered to him, including the latest Indiana Jones film directed by Steven Spielberg - and he’s adamant his door will remain closed to all future propositions.
He vehemently says, "It’s over. I will never do another film." However, Connery’s wife of 30 years, Micheline Roquebrune, has little faith in her husband: "He’s said that twice before!"
Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)
JENNIFER GARNER is looking forward to adding to her brood with husband BEN AFFLECK.
The couple are smitten with Violet - who turns two in December (07) - and are planning more before long.
Garner confirms, "I always wanted to have several. And Violet needs a sibling. But I’m not pregnant, and we’re not trying yet."
Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)
The head of a leading African AIDS charity has blasted philanthropic efforts by the likes of SIR BOB GELDOF and BONO for helping to increase problems in the continent instead of relieve them.
Jobs Selasie, from African Aid Action, claims campaigns like Geldof’s Band Aid, Live Aid and Live 8 do well in raising money for their cause, but ultimately only serve to increase corruption and make Africa more dependant on foreign aid.
According to African Aid Action, the number of people surviving on charity handouts has risen five-fold since 1984’s Band Aid campaign, while African governments are now relying on contributions to make up 70 per cent of their annual budget - up from the previous 20 per cent.
And Selasie has called on Africans to do more to better their own situations.
Selasie says, "Aid has failed because campaigners, charities and governments do not have the right plan and excluded African entrepreneurs and grassroots organisations from being part of the solution.
"You can’t impose change from without (outside). It has to come from within and we won’t end poverty with handouts. Africans need to fight corruption and work hard."
Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)