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SEAN PENN has hit out at anti-gay demonstrators who lined the streets outside the Academy Awards on Sunday (22Feb09) to protest against same-sex marriage.
The star won the Best Actor Oscar at the ceremony for his portrayal of assassinated gay politician Harvey Milk in biopic Milk.
And backstage at the prizegiving, he criticised those who support the banning of gay marriage in California.
When asked what he would tell the protestors, he responded: "I’d tell them to turn in their hate card and find their better self.
"It’s very sad in a way, because it’s a demonstration of such emotional cowardice, to be so afraid of extending the same rights to your fellow man as you would want for yourself."

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EVAN RACHEL WOOD and MARILYN MANSON have sparked speculation their relationship is back on after the rocker was reportedly overheard calling the actress his "girlfriend".
The pair, who dated from 2006 until October last year (08), was allegedly spotted leaving the W hotel in Los Angeles together hours before The Wrestler actress appeared at the Oscars on Sunday (22Feb09).
According to New York gossip column Page Six, Manson emerged from the building first and "said he was waiting for his girlfriend".
Wood then appeared and the two climbed into a car together.

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The head of celebrity news website TMZ.com has defended publishing a picture of RIHANNA following her alleged bust-up with CHRIS BROWN - insisting it’s important to show "both sides" of the story.
Singer Brown was charged with making criminal threats following an incident earlier this month (Feb09) which reportedly left the Umbrella hitmaker needing hospital treatment.
Staff at TMZ later published a photo of a battered woman they allege is Rihanna following the incident - and Los Angeles police launched a probe over the leaking of the picture.
Now website chief Harvey Levin has defended running the "horrifying" shot, adding that his staff are "not convinced" the image was taken by cops investigating the incident.
He tells Fox News, "It is a photograph of Rihanna that was taken shortly after the alleged beating a couple of weeks ago. We, obviously, believed at the time, convincingly, that it was Rihanna and put it up on the site… I’m not saying anything bad at all about the LAPD. I mean, what they needed to do, they felt, was conduct an internal affairs investigation because they felt there was a leak. In so doing … they did authenticate the picture.
"Chris Brown is not going to just say, ‘I’m going to lie down on this one and not fight’. I guarantee you that Chris Brown is going to mount a defence in this case. I know that. He will mount a defence in this case.
"So, the picture is not the be-all and the end-all, as far as he’s concerned… But what it does do is it puts a face on what both sides really have been kind of leaking out over the last couple of weeks… Well, the bottom line is, here’s the photograph, here’s the end result. And frankly, I think it’s pretty horrifying."

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BRITNEY SPEARS’ father JAMIE has blasted her former manager SAM LUTFI - accusing him of spiking the singer with drugs and wrecking her life.
Jamie Spears, the co-conservator of his daughter’s estate since January 2008, is seeking to extend a restraining order against Lutfi and the Toxic hitmaker’s ex-boyfriend Adnan Ghalib, making it a permanent injunction.
And in an astonishing outburst, he told a court in Los Angeles Lutfi was a "predator" who had given Britney cookies laced with drugs, had tried to "extort" the singer, and fed her lies about her custody case with ex-husband Kevin Federline which led to her hospitalisation early last year (08).
He described his daughter’s life under Lutfi’s management as "pretty well a disaster", adding: "When (Lutfi) was in so-called control, she’d lost everything - her kids and career.
"I believe he’s a predator, I believe he’s very dangerous to her… and causes her a lot of anguish and disbelief. We’ve asked him to go away before, and now he’s coming back. We just want the man to go away. Just leave us alone." Referring to the events leading up to Britney’s hospitalisation in January last year, he said: "She was told by Lutfi she could have her children for another night. She didn’t want to let her kids go because she thought she could have them for another night." Jamie also alleged Lutfi had tried to contact Britney by text message, and told the court: "Sam put drugs in (Britney’s) biscuits." The hearing is due to resume on Wednesday (25Feb09).

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NAOMI WATTS is eager to follow in the footsteps of Oscar winner PENELOPE CRUZ - she has signed to star in WOODY ALLEN’s latest movie.
The Aussie actress has been cast in the as-yet-untitled film alongside Josh Brolin and Anthony Hopkins and will start shooting the project in London in Summer (09).
Cruz received critical acclaim for her turn in Allen’s latest film Vicky Cristina Barcelona - winning the Best Supporting actress trophy at the Oscars on Sunday (22Feb09).

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Actress/singer HILARY DUFF has turned into an Ice Hockey fanatic since dating NHL star boyfriend MIKE COMRIE.
The Lizzie Maguire star admits she found it difficult to relate to fans of the sport when she first began dating Ottawa Senators idol Comrie in 2007.
But Duff is now hooked on the sport - and insists she is not afraid to stand up for her boyfriend when he comes in for abuse from fans.
She tells Us weekly, "I like to sit in the audience, you know I don’t sit up in a box or anything, and people started to know that I’m sitting there, and they’ll be like ‘Mike sucks!’ Or (they) try to rile me up. And I’m like, ‘Hey, watch it! I’ll come up there, you know.’ I try to not be that crazy girlfriend.
"The first couple of games I went to, I’m like, ‘These people are nuts,’ They are, like, so into it. And then, I got really into it once I started learning about the game."

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THE KILLERS rocker BRANDON FLOWERS once stormed off-stage in the middle of a concert after the crowd got out of hand.
The frontman, currently touring Europe with the band, refuses to tolerate rowdy revellers at his gigs and was once so enraged he abandoned a show when an audience member hurled a towel at him.
He explains, "Over-enthusiastic girls and boys throw things like flags at us. I caught about five flags the other night.
"(Once) I couldn’t sing because my throat wouldn’t let me. We did this Killer karaoke thing and two girls came up to sing Mr. Brightside. Someone balled up a towel and hit me in the face. That was my exit."

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Pop star MELANIE CHISHOLM is reportedly planning a career hiatus so that she can focus on raising her newborn daughter.
The former Spice Girl welcomed her first baby Scarlet Starr on Sunday (22Feb09).
The singer continued to perform even when heavily pregnant - but now she is putting aside her singing to concentrate on her child.
A source tells Britain’s Daily Mirrror, "Her priority at the moment is Scarlet - her music will have to take a backseat for a while."

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JENNIFER HUDSON is turning her back on her pop music roots - she’s set to record a gospel album, according to reports.
The Spotlight singer shot to fame on American Idol in 2004 and her self titled debut album was full of R&B and pop hits.
But now Hudson is turning to gospel for her second album, which she’ll start recording this spring (09), reports MediaTakeOut.com.
A source tells the website, "(Jennifer) has always wanted to explore different genres and she’s recorded gospel before, so it makes a lot of sense."

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Bosses at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) have denied giving U2 free publicity by airing a series of programmes about the band.
Heads of the publicly-funded network have come under fire for broadcasting a string of shows about the Irish rockers across its radio and TV stations just days before the U.K. release of the group’s new album No Line On The Horizon on 2 March (09).
They even have a section of the BBC’s website dedicated to the sale of tickets for an upcoming U2 tour.
British politician Nigel Evans has called the coverage "the sort of publicity money can’t buy", adding: "Why should licence fee-payers (public audiences) shoulder the cost of U2’s publicity?" But the BBC maintains the shows fall within broadcasting regulations about promotional appearances.
A spokesperson says, "We take extreme care in making fair decision about how we make popular artists accessible to our audiences, especially when the timing is around the release of a new album, book, film.
"U2 are one of the world’s most popular bands who have a diverse fanbase and we are reflecting this in our content."

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The mother of TUPAC SHAKUR is suing a film production company for alleging she backed out of a deal to sell the rights to the late rapper’s life story for a movie adaptation.
Amaru Entertainment, which is run by Afeni Shakur, the star’s mother and the executor of his estate, is being sued by film production company Morgan Creek, which claims a written contract was in place for the rights to the California Love hitmaker’s life story.
Bosses alleged in papers filed last week (begs16Feb09) that the star’s mother backed out of negotiations, which began in November (08), and is refusing "to honor and perform a contract of a production of the film based on the life of Tupac Shakur".
Lawyers for Amaru denied existence of any such deal with Morgan Creek and claimed the production company only filed the writ to sabotage talks with other movie studios about adapting Shakur’s life story.
And now representatives for Afeni Shakur have hit back, filing a counter-lawsuit against Morgan Creek over the movie and sabotage allegations.
A spokesperson for Amaru Entertainment says, "Sadly, Morgan Creek decided to take advantage of this situation and attempt to frustrate our project by interfering with our business relationships. We will not be frightened by Morgan Creek’s tactics and we are absolutely confident that the movie will be produced and released.
"Tupac’s story is what Hollywood legends are made of - and we want to make sure that the movie tells Tupac’s story like it should be told and lives up to everyone’s expectations." The star’s mother tells AllHipHop.com, "Tupac touched so many people in his brief life and it makes me feel honoured in keeping his message alive. And I want to do so with integrity - in the right way with the right people…That’s what Tupac would have wanted."

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GOSSIP GIRL star TAYLOR MOMSEN is set to fulfil her rock’n'roll dreams by hitting the road with her band this spring (09).
The actress-turned-singer has been busy developing her sideline project - a rock group called The Reckless - and now she is ready to show fans her musical talents.
She says, "It’s really exciting - we’re called The Reckless. We’re putting out our album this year and hopefully starting to tour around April." And the star insists the group is one of her greatest passions: "I do write it (the songs) all 100 per cent myself. I’m the lead singer and I play guitar and I totally oversee it. It’s a huge passion and totally important to me. It’s really exciting and probably not what people are gonna expect. Kinda dark, a little bit heavier - but we have our lighter, fun stuff too."

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MICKEY ROURKE is planning to get a new dog following the death of his beloved Chihuahua LOKI - and he plans to name it in honour of his Oscar nomination.
The Wrestler star was left heartbroken when his 18 year old pet passed away last week (17Feb09).
Rourke frequently credited his precious dogs with saving his life during his years in the Hollywood wilderness, following a series of bust-ups with film makers and run-ins with the law.
And now he is so lonely without little Loki, he is planning to get a new pooch, reports RadarOnline.
A friend of Rourke’s tells the website, "Mickey has other dogs but he misses Loki terribly. He doesn’t want to wait long either - he wants to get his new pooch this week.
"The new dog won’t replace Loki but by naming it Oscar Mickey says he’ll make his comeback year even more special." Rourke missed out on the Best Actor Academy Award to Sean Penn.

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Ailing COLUMBO star PETER FALK is to have a meeting with the daughter who is fighting to become his legal guardian.
Catherine Falk has petitioned a Los Angeles court for conservatorship, alleging the actor is too ill with Alzheimer’s disease to care for himself.
She claims she has not even seen the TV favourite for six months - and at a court hearing on Monday (23Feb09), a judge granted her a 30-minute supervised visit with Falk during the next 30 days.
A decision on the conservatorship case is yet to be reached.

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Actress EVAN RACHEL WOOD will play WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’s JULIET in her brother IRA’s debut as a stage director.
The actress will hit the stage opposite an unnamed Romeo during the upcoming Theatre In The Park season in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Both Wood and her brother are Raleigh natives and their father is the Executive and Artistic Director of Theatre In The Park.
The actress’ dad, also called Ira, will play the role of Capulet in the production.
It won’t be Evan Rachel Wood’s Raleigh debut - she once played Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker at Theatre In The Park.
Romeo and Juliet is scheduled for May (09), with auditions set for this week (24-25Feb09).

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R&B star NE-YO has reached out to RIHANNA since the alleged incident between her and CHRIS BROWN - and insists the pop singer is doing "fine." Brown was arrested and charged by Los Angeles police with making criminal threats following the alleged attack on 8 February (09), which is said to have left Rihanna needing hospital treatment.
A photograph of what appears to a be a badly bruised Rihanna was later posted on celebrity website TMZ.com.
Rihanna has been keeping a low profile since the alleged altercation but Ne-Yo, who is close friends with the pair, insists she is coping well.
He tells MTV.com, “I spoke to Rihanna. She says she’s fine. She didn’t go into detail about what happened. I understand it’s a painful situation; I didn’t push." And the Miss Independent hitmaker also expressed his anguish over the situation - and plans to speak to Brown to find out exactly what happened and offer him relationship advice if necessary.
He adds, “I saw the picture. That just really - that hurt me to my heart, man. Again, I still don’t know what happened, ‘cause I haven’t had the opportunity to talk to Chris yet. But to take it to that level really hurt my heart.
“All I can say is, I’m praying for both of them. They’re both in my prayers. I haven’t had a chance to talk to Chris yet. I just wanna sit down and talk to that dude and just explain if he doesn’t understand: ‘That’s not something that’s excusable, bruh (sic). You have to get a little smarter about whatever it is going on in your relationship. You have to get a little smarter about how you handle certain situations.
“I’m not going to crucify him. I’m not going to do that. That’s still my homeboy at the end of the day. For it to go to that level was wrong. I won’t say who was responsible. I won’t pick no sides. I’m just saying it was wrong."

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HUGH HEFNER is hoping to convince Oscar-winning actress KATE WINSLET to bare all in his Playboy magazine.
The Brit star is renowned for stripping off in her films - she has shed her clothes in many of them, including Titanic and 2008’s The Reader.
Winslet recently vowed never to bare all on the big-screen again - but Hefner still hopes to convince the beauty to feature as a centrefold in his magazine.
He says, "There’s no question we would be interested in Kate. It’s a competitive market, more than it used to be, so she would be a most welcome addition in our pages."

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Former JAMES BOND star ROGER MOORE has pledged to donate money to the AIDS-devastated Southern African country Swaziland.
The British actor will hand the proceeds from an appearance at the Eilat Chamber Music Festival, which kicked off on Sunday (22Feb09), to the Jerusalem AIDS Project (JAIP) - an Israeli program that encourages male circumcision as a way of reducing AIDS and HIV in Africa.
Moore hopes his monetary gesture will help to pay for Israelis to train natives in the art of performing circumcisions - an estimated 185,000 of Swaziland’s 1.1 million population are HIV positive.
He says, "Who better than Jewish and Muslim doctors (from Israel) to carry out this procedure? Because they do it by the thousands."

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