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A host of celebrities joined ASHTON KUTCHER and DEMI MOORE to air their 2009 New Year’s resolutions and pledges to the new U.S. President BARACK OBAMA on Monday (19Jan09).
Stars like Eva Mendes, Nicole Richie, Ashlee Simpson, Courteney Cox, Eva Longoria Parker all agreed to make pledges on camera for a new MySpace.com campaign backed by Kutcher.
Inspired by the new President, in the video Simpson pledged to be "a great mother," Mendes offered to "volunteer more of my time to help children battling serious illnesses," and Longoria Parker promised to "plant 500 trees this year to help our planet." Kutcher, who himself pledged on camera to "always represent my country with pride, dignity and honesty," says, "We are honoured to be working with MySpace to rally the entertainment industry to answer President-elect Barack Obama’s call to service.
"The Presidential Pledge is a platform for people across the nation and throughout the world to make a first-person commitment of service to our new President, articulating a specific intent or action to become an agent of positive change." And his wife Moore, who produced and directed the MySpace.com video, perhaps took on the biggest pledge of all when she stood before the camera and stated, "I pledge to free one million people from slavery in the next five years."

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British moviemaker TERRY GILLIAM is still fighting reports his pal HEATH LEDGER was experimenting with drugs at the time he died a year ago (22Jan09) - because the actor was "clean".
Ledger died from an overdose of prescription drugs he was taking to try and cure insomnia, but many suggested he was on much stronger narcotics - and the speculation continues as the anniversary of the tragedy approaches.
But Gilliam, who was working with Ledger on his final film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus when the star died, is desperate to set the record straight.
He tells Entertainment Weekly magazine, "The insomnia was really getting to him. He’d arrive (on set) in the morning looking really shattered… (but) he’d just whip the thing up into another gear very quickly and off we’d go.
"They (media) tried to hard to pin (drug abuse) on him, but they couldn’t because Heath was as clean as you could be.
"We know about the pills, but he had stopped smoking. Marijuana was no longer in his life… He wasn’t drinking. Nothing. This was a body that had cleansed itself for over a year of anything."

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AMY WINEHOUSE’s father MITCH is delighted his troubled daughter is turning her back on drink and drugs and getting clean in St. Lucia - because she almost died twice last year (08).
The singer’s dad insists the Rehab hitmaker really is serious about cleaning up her act, despite reports to the contrary - and is now revealing just how close the waif-life star came to death at the height of the problems.
He tells Hello magazine, "Stories about my troubled daughter are selling newspapers and magazines. They don’t want her to get better. But she is better.
They didn’t see her lying in bed for days in a dark room. She was close to death twice. We have been working a lot to get her to where she is right now."

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JOHN TRAVOLTA’s GREASE co-star OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN has urged the media to leave her pal alone as he grieves the death of his son.
The actress/singer has been in touch with the devastated star in recent days, and now she’s keen to keep the press away from Travolta and his wife Kelly Preston.
Jett Travolta, 16, succumbed to a seizure disorder while the Travolta family were vacationing in the Bahamas on 2 January (09).
Newton-John says, "I think it’s time to leave people alone when they are grieving. And I just send him a lot of love. It’s the worse thing that can happen to a parent. I send love to him and Kelly."

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Hollywood actor BEN AFFLECK is so determined to get the best seat at Tuesday’s (20Jan09) Presidential Inauguration, he’s contemplating camping out in Washington D.C.
The Barack Obama supporter is just one of a number of stars flocking to the U.S. capital to see the Democrat sworn in as the 44th president.
And he’s prepared to fight for the best position with the estimated two million Americans expected to boost the city’s population for the big day.
Affleck says, "I’m going to camp out. I’ll bring a tent - and a heater!"

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Actress KATE WINSLET is preparing an acceptance speech for next month’s (Feb09) British Academy awards (BAFTAs) - after she was caught off guard by her double win at the Golden Globes.
The British star was forced to improvise onstage twice at the Hollywood bash this month (Jan09), when she was named Best Actress for Revolutionary Road and Best Supporting Actress for The Reader.
And Winslet has been left so embarrassed by her emotional and out-of-breath acceptance speeches - during which she forgot she was nominated against Angelina Jolie - she is determined to be better prepared next time.
The 33 year old is nominated twice in the Best Actress category for the BAFTAs, and reveals, "Well, clearly, I should prepare a speech because I didn’t think that was going to happen at the Golden Globes." But she insists she won’t be disappointed to miss out at the BAFTAs - she’s just happy to be nominated alongside Angelina Jolie, Kristin Scott Thomas and Meryl Streep.
Winslet adds, "I’m just so excited to be included this year, I mean, I really am. It’s been a remarkable two years, I think, for films in general and there’s some absolutely stunning performances out there so to be up there with those heavyweights is really amazing."

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Tattooed actress JAIME KING is planning an ambitious new body art project - she wants an etching of her favourite literary quote.
The Sin City star currently sports her name, a star and a fairy on her back and a diamond and spade on her wrists.
In an interview with Inked magazine, King reveals the Emily Dickinson quote she wants permanently etched: "If I can stop one heart from breaking
. I shall not live in vain; If I can ease one life the aching; or cool one pain, or help one fainting robin unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain." But King admits there are drawbacks to her body art: "As an actor, you have to spend a lot of time in the make-up chair covering them up."

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Sony studio bosses have gone all black in the snow at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, signing up a pair of gritty urban movies and negotiating to take on rapper LIL WAYNE’s new documentary THA CARTER.
The studio has snapped up the distribution and marketing rights to blaxploitation satire Black Dynamite for $2 million (£1.3 million), according to blog The Envelope after making the first big splash of the indie movie spectacle on Saturday (17Jan09) by signing up director Antoine Fuqua’s Brooklyn’s Finest.
And Sony are now in negotiations to wrap up a deal on Tha Carter after the rap documentary premiered at Sundance on Saturday night (17Jan09).

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BARACK OBAMA’s big day has inspired the relaunch of an uplifting album which celebrates American diversity.
Shortly after Obama is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States on Tuesday (20Jan09), Yes We Can: Voices of a Grassroots Movement is to be launched via shopping channel QVC.
The new version of the album features two new tracks, Dave Koz’s I Can, featuring BeBe Winans, and Jill Scott’s Golden.
The LP also features songs from Stevie Wonder, John Legend and Sheryl Crow, who performed at Obama’s free Lincoln Memorial tribute show in Washington D.C.
on Sunday (18Jan09).

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COURTNEY LOVE is terrified of making the move to New York City - because she has no idea where to live.
The rocker is keen to leave Los Angeles, but has bad memories of the Big Apple - which is to be her new home in 2009.
Love’s past drug problems led to a forced rehab stint in New York.
She says, "I’m dreading moving to New York… I f**king hate L.A., but I’m just dreading it. What neighbourhood do you live in? "You kind of have to live under a rock not to know that they (authorities) kind of took me to Bellevue. It was just so awful." Love reveals her daughter Frances already has her heart set on one place in the West Village, but she fears her mother’s reputation will cost her the dream home.
The rocker tells Heeb magazine, "The house that Francis wants the most, it is not a co-op board. It is two old people, and they have to approve us.
"I’ve tried to tell Francis that impeccable credit makes a huge difference but (she says), ‘No, we’re never going to get it, with my last name and your reputation.’ I’m like, ‘Francis? With perfect, perfect credit, we’ll get it.’" But, even if she gets Frances her dream home, Love is nervous about living in the trendy West Village: "Gwyneth (Paltrow) got driven out of the West Village.
She moved to another neighbourhood because I guess there is Sex & The City tourism in the West Village now."

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Actor/rapper NICK CANNON honoured his former school principal at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Friday (16Jan09) - by giving her a prestigious Teacher of The Year prize.
Retired teacher Margaret Verritti was presented with her award at the Creative Coalition Luncheon, and Cannon left his wife Mariah Carey on the ski slopes at Sundance to pay a special tribute to his favourite headmistress.
The actor revealed he was a troubled kid at school and he now appreciates what Mrs. Verritti did for him while he was a student at Avocado Elementary School in Spring Valley, California.
He explains, "I was ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) - the high def version - and I wasn’t a very good kid. I spent a lot of time in the principle’s office. I got into a lot of trouble.
"I had trouble fitting in because I was one of only five African-Americans at Avocado." But, Mrs. Verritti took the young Cannon under her charge: "He had a big smile and, although he was rarely out of trouble at school, he was one of my favourites." Cannon admitted lessons his principal taught him helped him to become a better person and put his energy to good use: "I learned to strike up a conversation to distract people away from trouble. I realised I needed to get out of my own way, so I’d do projects and help other kids." And he used the presentation to urge other teachers to find ways to inspire troubled kids - and lead them away from mischief.
He added, "I was bored because I wasn’t challenged. I needed teachers to intrigue me, engage both sides of my brain to start working really hard. The learning process can be fun.
"I’d encourage teachers, whatever the subject, to simplify things: Tell me and I’ll forget, show me and I might remember, but involve me and I’ll be a part of it."

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Rockers DAVE GROHL and EDDIE VEDDER are among the stars fronting a new tribute album to late singer/songwriter NICK DRAKE.
The untitled covers album will also feature Drake fans Norah Jones and Jack Johnson and Heath Ledger’s version of the singer’s Black Eyed Dog, which he recorded for an art exhibit but never released.
The album will be released on Johnson’s Brushfire Records.
The recording sessions have been filmed for a DVD release.
Brit Drake was 26 when he died in 1974.

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Songwriter DAVID FOSTER and hip-hop icon will.i.am have joined forces to pen an unofficial anthem for President-elect BARACK OBAMA’s inauguration on Tuesday (20Jan09).
The pair premiered America’s Song on Oprah Winfrey’s daytime talk show on Monday (19Jan09).
The uplifting new anthem features verses sung by country star Faith Hill, Bono, Mary J. Blige and Seal.
Black Eyed Peas star will.i.am admits the odd couple wrote the song after having dinner at his house recently.
He recalls, "He wrote the chords and he said, ‘It’s getting late, I’m gonna go home. Is this all you’re writing?’ "I said, ‘I’ll have a treatment by four o’clock in the morning.’ He said, ‘Yeah, right!’ I said, ‘I bet you a hundred bucks.’" Foster adds, "Five o’clock in the morning. Of course I wasn’t up; he was." Talking on Winfrey’s show, cheeky will.i.am said, "It’s a recession; I need my hundred bucks." The song only came together in the past week - will.i.am and Foster flew to Tennessee to record Hill’s segment on Wednesday (15Jan09) and will.i.am recorded Bono’s bit on Saturday (17Jan09).
Meanwhile, Blige recorded her part on Sunday (19Jan09) after performing at Obama’s pre-inauguration concert and tribute at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. and Seal flew in from Cannes, France over the weekend to add his vocals.
The song is available as a free download on inauguration day.

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COURTNEY LOVE was shocked by a recent visit to PARIS HILTON’s home - because the socialite has photos of herself everywhere.
The rocker reveals she couldn’t even go to the restroom without Hilton beaming down on her from the wall.
Love tells Heeb magazine, "I like Paris, she’s funny… but what’s weird is that Paris had so many pictures of herself everywhere. I mean, she has not only got a grand piano with - I swear to God - maybe a thousand pictures of herself, but I was in the bathroom, and there were pictures of her everywhere.
"I’m just trying to pee and there’s just f**king Paris (sic)." And the rocker insists that if her heiress pal was to come to her home, she’d be pushed to find a snapshot.
Love adds, "I don’t have any pictures of myself other than a few snapshots, like with my band… I kind of don’t have pictures of Kurt (ex-husband, Cobain) around much (either)… A lot of celebrities do."

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KEVIN FEDERLINE’s ex SHAR JACKSON has confirmed reports the rapper/dancer is serious about his new volleyball star lover - because he’s already introduced her to his kids.
Britney Spears’ former husband has been seen out and about with sexy Victoria Prince for weeks, but has yet to comment on the blossoming romance.
But his ex-girlfriend Jackson, who is mother to two of Federline’s children, has revealed the romance is for real.
She tells HollyScoop.com, "I met her (Prince) once and she was really cool.
But that’s as far as I want to get involved in that. But the kids have spent a little time with her and thought she was pretty cool. So that’s all that matters, as long as they think she’s cool." Jackson recently told Life & Style magazine, "If I decide to date someone, it will be a while before my kids meet that person, and it’s the same with Kevin."

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KIEFER SUTHERLAND’s recent Hollywood Walk of Fame star honour was an emotional affair for the actor because he had no idea the entire cast and crew of his hit show 24 would be there.
The star learned on the day that producers had agreed to shut down shooting on the drama for half a day, so cameramen, sound guys, directors and co-stars could honour the 24 star.
But the big turn-out left Sutherland confused at first.
He recalls, "My first instinct was, ‘Oh no, I’ve gone to the wrong location and I’m in the wrong place.’ I looked around and saw our director… and I just started to see our whole crew. And basically, 120 people that I work with shut down work for three hours to come to that thing.
"They’re like family to me, we’ve been working together for eight years. So, that, combined with my real family… It was a really really nice day." The actor unveiled the 2,377th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on 9 December (08).

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STING stunned fans at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah at the weekend (18Jan09) when he showed up unannounced to support a pal’s rainforest preservation documentary.
The rocker and longtime rainforest activist stepped up to the stage at a Gibson Guitars-sponsored suite to perform hits with a house band.
But he was keen to point out that he never intended to play at Sundance - the bearded star was there to back Joe Berlinger’s movie Crude, which chronicles the plight of Ecuador residents who are battling the bosses of oil giant Chevron for allegedly contaminating water supplies around the headwaters of the Amazon River.
Sting’s wife Trudie Styler stars in the film, and the rock singer is featured.
He told the thrilled Sundance crowd, "I have a walk-on in this film and nothing else. I’m here to support the missus… I think it’s a great battle to fight.
"All the things we’ve been arguing against and about are involved in this film. The right to breathe clean air, to drink fresh water, to feed your children and have a healthy life. No one has the right to stand in the way of that." The film is not Berlinger’s first connection to rock royalty - he also directed Metallica: Some Kind of Monster.
The documentary follows Styler into Ecuador, where she met the plaintiffs in the 15-year court battle with Chevron - and she admits the experience compelled her to do as much as she could to support them.
She explained, "I’m used to seeing great environmental and humanitarian tragedies and problems… but I didn’t bargain for the devastation I saw when I got there. I was speaking with mothers who were nurturing their children with murky, brown, petrol-smelling, horrible water containing many contaminants…
They are in dire need of help." The plaintiffs claim bosses at oil firm Texaco, which Chevron took over in 2001, left an environmental catastrophe after decades of oil drilling.
Sting and Styler’s Rainforest Foundation has offered to help those in the worst-hit areas by collecting rainwater and clean water for the locals to drink.

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Movie veteran ERNEST BORGNINE ended his 32-day marriage to Broadway star ETHEL MERMAN after he overheard his new wife complaining to her parents about her "terrible" husband.
The actor wed the Broadway star in 1964 and the couple headed off to Hawaii and the Far East for their honeymoon, but by the time they returned to mainland America, their romance was in tatters.
And Borgnine insists his wife’s insatiable ego and her complaining ways turned the honeymoon into a honey-moan! He recalls, "We went on our honeymoon from Beverly Hills to Hawaii to Kyoto, Tokyo and Hong Kong. During that time people knew me and they would say hi. I would introduce my wife Ethel Merman, and they’d say, ‘Who?’ ‘You know, the great singer.’ And they’d say, ‘Oh sure, how do you do?’ "She was getting angrier and angrier. Her ego had been hurt. When we were in Hawaii, she called her mother and dad and I heard on the telephone, ‘This man has been terrible,’ and this and that.
"When we got back to L.A. I said, ‘This is it, I can’t take it.’ That was the end of it."

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