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TRANSFORMERS star TYRESE GIBSON has fast plans for 2009 - he’s keen to recreate his car racing scenes in DEATH RACE for real.
The actor/model played Machine Gun Joe Mason in the high-octane 2008 movie and he has laid down a road challenge to his co-star and pal Jason Statham.
He explains, "I’ve been on his head ever since we did Death Race. He’s in all these big movies and I’m like, ‘Yo, let’s just jump on the freeway and do this for real.’ "He keeps saying, ‘You’re not ready brother, you’re not ready.’ I’ve called him out and he still hasn’t stepped up to the plate."

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Dashing Aussie actor SIMON BAKER is about to go public with his biggest plans for 2009 - he’s hoping to become an American citizen.
The star of hit new U.S. drama The Mentalist tells this weekend’s (03-04Jan09) Parade magazine in America that he and his wife were spurred on to become U.S. citizens after Barack Obama’s historic election win in November (08).
He tells the publication, "The morning after… I said to my wife Rebecca, ‘You know, I’m thinking about becoming an American,’ and then she said that she felt the same way.
"I don’t follow sports here, but politics has sort of taken its place. I followed the race closely. It’s a tricky area, because I don’t want to be offensive, and I had no party loyalty. But electing Obama was this country being very grown-up. It was such a positive step for the U.S. to become a part of the world again after the last eight years.
"Our two sons were born here, so they’re already Americans, but myself, Rebecca, and our daughter Stella are still Australians."

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SEX AND THE CITY star CHRIS NOTH is closing the doors to his New York nightclub - 10 years after opening the venue in the city where the hit TV show was set.
The Cutting Room, a performance venue known for hosting endless A-list events and impromptu celebrity jam sessions, will close on 13 January (09) with sharp-tongued American comedienne Joan Rivers giving the final show.
Noth’s partner, Steve Walter, insists business has been good, and hopes to reopen another venue in downtown Manhattan by the summer (09).
He tells the New York Post, "Our rent has tripled since we opened 10 years ago. Our lease was up in September. We tried negotiating with the landlord but couldn’t work something out.
"We don’t want to lose the momentum." Noth previously announced his plans of expanding his empire, telling Interview magazine in May (08): "New York is pretty much commercialised to the point of no return… I want to take the club to Vegas. I think a Cutting Room would be great in Vegas. I just haven’t really had the time to go out there and schmooze people and try to get them to invest millions of dollars."

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Indian actress FREIDA PINTO will be honoured at the 2009 Palm Springs Film Festival for her breakthrough performance in DANNY BOYLE’s film SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE.
The 24-year-old actress will receive the honour at the 20th annual awards gala next month (06Jan09) - celebrating her first lead role after starting her career as a model and TV correspondent in her native Mumbai.
Pinto plays a young orphaned girl in the movie - a love story between her character Latika and an 18-year-old boy from the Mumbai slums, played by Dev Patel.
Previous Breakthrough Awards have gone to French actress Marion Cotillard and American actresses Jennifer Hudson and Felicity Huffman.

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DIRTY SEXY MONEY star BLAIR UNDERWOOD has confirmed the struggling U.S. show is set to be axed - despite network executives refusing to admit it’s been cancelled.
The show, which airs on American network ABC, is reportedly one of several shows the broadcaster is considering for the chop, including Eli Stone - which stars Angelina Jolie’s ex Jonny Lee Miller.
Pushing Daisies executive producer Bryan Fuller announced in November (08) his show had also been cancelled from ABC’s schedule due to poor ratings.
And although TV bosses haven’t officially stated the show will end, actor Underwood, who plays Simon Elder in the show, confesses the cast and crew have called it a day.
He tells E! Online, "As far as I’m concerned, we’re not doing any more shows.
"ABC officially doesn’t want to use the C-word, cancelled, but we’re not on the schedule. I would pretty much say we’re cancelled." The show, which focuses on the lives of a wealthy New York family, first appeared on the small screen in September 2007.
Last month (Nov08), the show’s star William Baldwin appealed to Dirty Sexy Money’s fanbase to write to ABC in a bid to save to ailing show.

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Author TERRY PRATCHETT has been left "totally astonished" after receiving a knighthood in the British New Year Honours list.
The writer, best known for his Discworld series of comic fantasy novels, has been awarded the honour for services to literature.
He has sold more than 55 million books worldwide, with many adapted for stage, TV and radio, since his first novel The Carpet People was published in 1971.
And Pratchett, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2007, is delighted to receive the recognition from the British monarchy.
He tells U.K. newspaper The Times, "There are times when phrases such as ‘totally astonished’ just don’t do the job. I am of course delighted and honoured and, needless to say, flabbergasted."

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TWILIGHT star ROBERT PATTINSON reportedly blew his top at a comedy club in Los Angeles - when a funnyman performed a routine about HEATH LEDGER.
An unnamed act at the Improv in Hollywood shocked the audience with his impersonation of the late Dark Knight star, which included collapsing onstage and faking convulsions, according to reports.
A witness at the event on December 16 (08) insists Pattinson and his pals booed the comic, yelling out: "F**k you! You suck! Leave Heath Ledger alone!" A source tells Us Weekly magazine, "Robert and his friend went nuts yelling at him… The comic didn’t know who it was, but I’m sure he found out later!" Ledger died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs at his Manhattan home in January (08).

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THE QUEEN star MICHAEL SHEEN is looking forward to meeting the real Queen Elizabeth II - after he was named in the British New Year Honours list.
The actor starred as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, opposite Dame Helen Mirren as the U.K. monarch, in the Oscar-winning film.
And Sheen is delighted he will now get the chance to meet genuine British royalty when he accepts an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to drama.
He says, "It’ll be nice to meet the real one at last. This is a huge honour.
I am both thrilled and slightly mystified."

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DANE COOK’s half-brother DARRYL McCAULEY is due in court on suspicion of embezzling million of dollars from the U.S. comedian.
McCauley, who is also Cook’s business manager, was reportedly arrested in Massachusetts on Tuesday (30Dec08), accused of siphoning off funds from the stand-up and movie star.
According to the New York Daily News, McCauley allegedly transferred Cook’s funds into his own personal accounts without permission, and is also accused of forging a $3 million (£2 million) cheque to himself.
McCauley, of Wilmington, Massachusetts was scheduled to appear at Woburn District Court on Wednesday (31Dec08) morning charged with larceny and forgery.
Cook’s lawyer Joseph Zwicker declined to comment. No further details were released as WENN went to press.

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Former EURYTHMICS star DAVE STEWART is hoping to spice up fans’ sex lives in the new year (09) with a new $1,400 (£933) diamond-encrusted vibrator.
The Little Steel Tonight sex toy features "a satin finish” and a band of 28 diamonds.
The odd gift comes with a plectrum, and the lyrics of Stewart’s latest track, Let’s Do It Again, are embossed on the toy.
The rocker launched his sex toy line in 2008.

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Rapper T-PAIN stunned fans at a pre-Christmas Los Angeles show last week (22Dec08) when he brought out mini-BRITNEY SPEARS for a number.
Only it wasn’t the real Spears - but a Toxic doppelganger.
Fans at the Universal Amphitheater were stunned as little person Terra Jole, a famed Spears impersonator, stepped out to perform with the rap star.
T-Pain teased the crowd with, "There’s an artist I’d like to introduce. They have an album called Circus , and they’ve joined me on tour."

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Punk pioneers the SEX PISTOLS were investigated by cops in Ireland in the 1970s amid concerns their music breached obscenity laws.
Official papers made public for the first time reveal police considered prosecuting record stores in 1978 for selling the band’s first album, Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols.
The record was referred to Ireland’s censorship board, with the Irish deputy assistant chief state solicitor confirming it possibly contravened the Indecent Advertisements Act.
But the case was not proceeded with as the likely punishment - a small fine would not justify the manpower required.
The state papers on the incident include a quote from an inspector of the Garda Siochana, the Republic of Ireland’s police force: "The title on the sleeve… would indicate that the contents of the record is obscene."

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The city of Los Angeles and its airport police force are facing legal action from a decoy they allegedly ordered to help protect BRITNEY SPEARS’ sister JAMIE LYNN.
Cops at Los Angeles International Airport tried to divert paparazzi from following Jamie Lynn on September 11 (08) by flanking impromptu doppelganger Adessa Eskridge and escorting her to baggage claim.
Eskridge, who was flying on the same plane as Spears, claims authorities told her, "You’re going to help us with something" as she disembarked the aircraft, according to her lawyer, Chuck Vernon.
He alleges the eight cops treated his client as though she was being taken into custody, before leading her into a scrum of paparazzi who proceeded to swamp her.
Spears was able to leave the airport undetected by the media, reports TMZ.com.
Eskridge has filed a claim for money from the city. Vernon has vowed to file a lawsuit citing false arrest and negligent infliction of emotional distress if the claim is rejected.

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SEAN ‘DIDDY’ COMBS gave the new NOTORIOUS B.I.G. biopic the authentic touch when he signed on as the movie’s fashion consultant.
Derek Luke, who portrays the rap mogul-turned-designer in the film, admits having Diddy on set was a big boost in the wardrobe department.
He tells WENN, "Sean was a fashion consultant on this movie. The clothes really told the era. I remember in the wardrobe truck, the process was I would try on clothes and they would send the pictures over to Sean and he would approve it.
"It was like having the fashion police on the project."

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Buskers and world musicians from South Africa, Russia and Brazil have teamed up for a stirring new charity version of soul classic STAND BY ME.
The song and video featuring the likes of aged New Orleans street musician Grandpa Elliot, New Mexico’s Twin Eagle Drum Group, South African vocal group Sinamuva and Russian cellist Dimitri Dolganov appears on Bono’s new online charity magazine (RED) WIRE.
The stars all performed solo and then their sections of the Ben E. King tune were pieced together in the studio and on film.
Bono launched his new charity initiative on World Aids Day (01Dec08), hoping that subscribers to the exclusive videos, tracks and celebrity messages released weekly would help to pay for new medicines and healthcare for those suffering from Aids in the Third World.
So far, the online magazine has featured U2’s version of Christmas classic I Believe In Father Christmas, complete with video, messages from Yusuf Islam and actor Djimon Hounsou, and the Killers’ collaboration with Elton John and Pet Shop Boys star Neil Tennant on Joseph, Better You Than Me.

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LED ZEPPELIN frontman ROBERT PLANT has been made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the British New Year Honours list.
The legendary singer has been awarded the status by Queen Elizabeth II for services to music and the entertainment industry after a hugely successful career spanning 40 years.
Led Zeppelin split in 1980 after becoming one of the biggest rock bands in the world with album sales of more than 200 million.
Plant has since gone on to enjoy success as a solo artist and was recently praised for a collaboration with U.S. singer Alison Krauss.
Also named in the New Year Honours List is jazz musician Courtney Pine, who has been awarded a CBE.
Singer-songwriter John Martyn, who has worked with top artists including Eric Clapton and Phil Collins, has been made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

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JENNIFER LOPEZ and MARC ANTHONY have dismissed reports they are on the verge of divorce just two months after renewing their wedding vows - insisting the reports have "no merit".
The couple, who share 10-month-old twins Max and Emme, sparked reports they were on the verge of a split when photos surfaced of the pair without their wedding rings.
And the rumours reached a high on Monday (29Dec08), when the New York Daily News claimed the couple was planning to announce a St. Valentine’s Day (14Feb09) split onstage at Anthony’s upcoming New York show.
But Lopez’s spokesperson Leslie Sloane Zelnik insists the claims are false, telling E! News, "There is no merit to the article." Anthony’s spokesperson has also shrugged off the allegations, adding, "None of the rumours are true." The couple wed in June 2004 and renewed their wedding vows in a secret Las Vegas ceremony in October (08).

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TERENCE STAMP owes an astrologer for his distinctive voice because he would never have taken vocal and breathing lessons if she hadn’t told him he was destined to become a great speaker.
The British star admits he spoke very badly as a child and feared he’d never become a fine-voiced actor.
But that all changed when director Federico Fellini’s astrologer agreed to read his chart on the set of Histoires Extraordinaires.
Stamp recalls, "She was my interpreter and she told me all kinds of things I didn’t know about myself. Patricia, the astrologer, told me I had the moon in Taurus, which means potentially you have a wonderful voice.
"At age 27, I went back to school, gave up marijuana and addicted myself to voice and breathing." And Stamp quickly had a major test of his speaking skills - when he was asked to narrate the Airborne Symphony for a Leonard Bernstein celebration in London.
He adds, "It was the most frightening thing in the whole world because it had only been done once before by Orson Welles, who played the narrator at Carnegie Hall. It was one performance and Lenny (Bernstein) was in the audience.
"When I stepped up to the microphone, it felt like I was standing on a barrage balloon that was being inflated. It was only after that show that I started getting asked to do voice-overs and read books on tape." (KL/WN&RXM/ZN) CORRECTION: In a story contained in WENN’s 1st feed on 30 December (08), headlined "MAMET’S TRAINING METHODS DETAILED IN NEW BOOK" we claimed playwright DAVID MAMET directed actor JEREMY PIVEN in Broadway’s SPEED-THE-PLOW. Mamet wrote the play, which is directed by NEIL PEPE. Please amend this information in your databases and on your websites. Sorry for any inconvenience. WENN Editor.

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