PR-Inside.com Entertainment News

SOPRANOS star JAMES GANDOLFINI landed a role in a new Broadway play after "begging" producers to cast him.
The multiple Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning actor fell in love with God of Carnage during a performance in London, and approached producers backstage with a copy of his resume.
He confesses, "I enquired as to whether they were moving it (to New York). They said they were and I begged to be in it, and they said, ‘Ok you can do it.’" Gandolfini will star alongside Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis and Marcia Gay Harden in the play, about two warring couples, which kicks off its New York run next Month (Mar09).

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

TYLER PERRY’s new comedy movie MADEA GOES TO JAIL has shot to the top of the U.S. box office chart, with huge opening weekend takings of $41.1 million (£29 million).
The film, about an African American matriarch’s run-ins with the law, scored Perry’s biggest ever opening weekend takings, and is on course to become his largest hit.
Nearest contender Taken had to settle for second place - the Liam Neeson thriller managed $11.4 million (£8 million), taking its four-week total to $95.2 million (£67 million).
Animated film Coraline came in third with $11 million (£7.74 million); ahead of He’s Just Not That Into You with $8.5 million (£6 million) and Oscars Favourite Slumdog Millionaire, with $8 million (£5.6 million).

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

MEL GIBSON begged firefighters to save his two Oscars when a wildfire threatened to torch his California home.
The actor lives in sun-kissed Malibu, a dry area regularly affected by blazes.
And when one particular fire came close to his sprawling estate, Gibson’s first concern was the statuettes he won for Braveheart.
He says, "When the house was threatened by fire in the canyon, I told the firemen, ‘Don’t let the boys burn.’ They thought I meant my kids."

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

AL PACINO was delighted he missed out on an Oscar in 1974 for cop drama SERPICO, because he was so drugged and drunk at the ceremony he would never have made it onstage.
The star secured his second nomination for his role as honest cop Frank Serpico, but he missed out on the Best Actor prize to Save the Tiger star Jack Lemmon.
But Pacino wasn’t disappointed. He says, "It was booze, pills, stuff to alter my mood. I thought, ‘If I get this who knows if I’ll be able to make it to the stage.’ As Jack Lemmon won I smiled and applauded like the happiest man on the planet".

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

Movie star JAVIER BARDEM will miss his girlfriend PENELOPE CRUZ’s big night at the Oscars on Sunday (22Feb09) - due to work commitments in Europe.
As a winner last year (08), the Spanish star was expected to be among the presenters at the 2009 Academy Awards, where his actress partner and Vicky Cristina Barcelona co-star is expected to pick up the Best Supporting Actress award.
But he’s too busy to attend, according to the latest reports.
Instead, Bardem will be shooting Biutiful with director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu in Barcelona, Spain.
At past Academy Awards, the previous year’s Best Supporting Actor (Bardem) has presented the night’s Best Supporting Actress winner.

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

GOOD CHARLOTTE star JOEL MADDEN is celebrating after learning his partner NICOLE RICHIE is pregnant with the couple’s second child.
Madden and Richie, who welcomed daughter Harlow Winter Kate in January 2008, are preparing to become parents for the second time, the rocker confirmed on his band’s official website on Saturday (21Feb09).
And the singer insists he was thrilled by the news.
In an entry entitled "Better than winning an OSCAR!", Madden announces: "What’s better than winning an Oscar? I am so happy to tell everyone that Harlow is going to be a big sister! "God has truly blessed my family. Hope your (sic) all feeling as good as i am right now………"

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

ASHTON KUTCHER is intrigued by the ‘leaked’ list of supposed Oscar winners - and is planning to use it to gamble on the big event.
The ‘winners-list’ appeared online over the weekend (21-22Feb09), claiming Mickey Rourke, Kate Winslet, Heath Ledger and Amy Adams will lift the top acting prizes at the awards ceremony on Sunday night (22Feb09).
It even bears the ’signature’ of Sid Ganis, the president of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
Academy bosses have dismissed the document as a fake, insisting ballots are still being counted and that even Ganis isn’t told of the winners before the ceremony takes place.
But Kutcher will have it on standby as the ceremony rolls, and plans to use it to correctly predict the early winners.
The actor writes online, "This has to be bogus. If not im tracking the first 4 then I’m making wagers."

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

England soccer ace DAVID BECKHAM has become the unwitting star of a Chinese television commercial - where he appears to promote a range of Viagra-style impotence capsules.
A dubbed voice accompanies some old interview footage of the star in the unlicensed ad, made possible because of relaxed image rights in the Asian country.
In a jokey reference to his Spice Girl wife, the voiceover says, "Want to know how I can keep being strong and running on the football field? USA Selikon capsules help me a lot. It’s also the secret weapon with which I can satisfy Victoria." Other stars of the commercials include actors Keanu Reeves and Sean Connery - who seems to say, "With the help of the capsules, I’m James Bond, forever 25."

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

COLDPLAY frontman CHRIS MARTIN was drafted in to help rocker DAVID BYRNE write his new album, after the former TALKING HEADS star was struck with writer’s block.
The Scottish-born star teamed up with producer Brian Eno to create 2008 album Everything That Happens Will Happen Today.
But Byrne confesses he laboured over several tracks, prompting Eno - who also produced Coldplay’s last album - to turn to Martin for help with one particular song Byrne reveals, "I think Brian gave that one to him because it took me a long time time to get started. I had some of the tracks sitting on my computer for almost a year, thinking about it. I felt a little bit of a burden, that there’d be expectations." But Martin turned down the offer after he was blown away with what Byrne had already written - telling Eno, "I can’t do better than that."

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

BRITNEY SPEARS’ father JAMIE has officially been summoned to court after his daughter’s former manager had a lawsuit hand-delivered to him.
Sam Lutfi is holding the singer’s parents Jamie and Lynne Spears responsible for damaging his reputation by allegedly leaking false information about his conduct to the press.
In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles court, Lutfi also claims breach of contract and assault, alleging he is owed more than $800,000 (£559,000) for the time he was employed as Spears’ manager.
And after filing suit for compensation in a Los Angeles court, Lutfi hired a process server to ensure the legal documents were handed over, reports X17.com.
Spears was confronted by Lutfi’s employee at his San Fernando Valley, California home and said nothing as he accepted the papers.

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

Actor JEFFREY DEAN MORGAN will become one of THE LOSERS for a big-screen adaptation of the popular comic book series.
The P.S. I Love You star is in talks to join the film, about a group of black ops commandos who seek revenge on the government after being betrayed.
The Losers, to be directed by Stomp The Yard filmmaker Sylvain White, will be Morgan’s second movie based on a graphic novel - he also stars in new film Watchman.

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

Hollywood’s leading ladies are ditching high glamour in favour of cut-price couture at this year’s Academy Awards, as Tinseltown feels the effects of the global economic crisis.
It’s not unaccustomed for top actresses to stroll the Oscars red carpet wearing dresses, shoes and jewellery worth millions of dollars.
But as the world suffers amid a financial meltdown, showbiz’s top designers are "toning down" this year’s fashion.
Stuart Weitzman - who famously loaned actress Anika Noni Rose a pair of $1 million (£705,000) shoes for the 2007 ceremony - tells the New York Post, "We’ve all made the decision to tone it down. It’s more chic and simple, as opposed to overadorned." And designer Jean Paul Gaultier’s spokeswoman Lisa Lawrence claims the 2009 ceremony will lack the hype of previous, more extravagant events, adding, "There’s no excitement. It’s just not as buzzed as it normally is. It seems like the economy has everyone in sombre mood."

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

Bosses at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) have rejected the "last, best and final offer" from Hollywood’s biggest film studios for a new contract.
The union, which represents approximately 120,000 actors, voted by nearly 75 per cent to turn down the offer over the studios’ demand that the contract begin from when it is signed.
The national governing board of the Screen Actors Guild wants the deal to start from when the last one expired in June last year (08).
SAG said in a statement: "The (studios’) last-minute, surprise demand for a new term of agreement… is regressive and damaging and clearly signals the employers’ unwillingness" to negotiate a deal.
But the studios, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, maintain they cannot offer SAG a "better deal" than the one accepted by other Hollywood trade unions in 2008.
The rejection adds to the threat of strike action Hollywood has been facing since the last labour deal with SAG ended in June.

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

THE X FACTOR winner ALEXANDRA BURKE was left shaken after a furious row with her ex-boyfriend.
The singer was with producer pal Ben Adams when former beau Russell Brooks arrived at her plush north London apartment in the early hours of Wednesday (18Feb09) morning.
Brooks was reportedly furious when he discovered Adams at the property - and British tabloid the News of the World alleges he launched into a foul-mouthed tirade.
A source tells the newspaper, "Alex split up with Russell in September, just before things heated up with The X Factor. He certainly was not over her at the time and still isn’t now.
"Hours before the incident, Alex had been talking to Russell on the phone. When she told him she’d been hanging out with Ben, he lost it." Burke won the British TV talent show in December (08) and has since topped the U.K. charts with her cover version of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah.

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

Australian pop star NATALIE IMBRUGLIA has sparked speculation of a fledgling romance with British royal PRINCE HARRY - after she was reportedly overheard calling the young heir "sexy and charming".
The pair has been friends since Imbruglia’s divorce from rocker Daniel Johns last year (08).
Now sources tell Britain’s Mail on Sunday both were giggling and talking "for ages" at Imbruglia’s 34th birthday party in London earlier this month (Feb09).
Harry, who recently split from student Chelsy Davy, is said to be in regular contact with Imbruglia via text messages - despite friends insisting he is "not her type".
One source tells the publication, "Natalie’s single at the moment. She’s a totally gorgeous girl and very down to earth and lots of fun. It seems that Harry has joined her very long list of admirers. Natalie wasn’t exactly avoiding his attentions. Harry was being very charming, which probably made her feel very fabulous and young." The source adds, "At one point she was in the ladies’ loos (toilets) with a girlfriend fixing her make-up. She said she thought Harry was sexy and very charming and kept asking her friend if she looked alright and if her bottom looked big, which of course it didn’t. She is stunning."

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

The inaugural scholarship established in late actor HEATH LEDGER’s name has been awarded to Australian performer OLIVER ACKLAND.
The $10,000 (£7,000) fund, established by Ledger’s ex-fiancee Michelle Williams and friends following his death last year (08), was given to Ackland at a party for Australian Oscar nominees at Hollywood’s Chateau Marmont Hotel on Friday (20Feb09).
Ackland was hand-picked from a pool of 150 applicants by The Dark Knight star’s pals and colleagues, including actress Rachel Griffiths.
In presenting the award, filmmaker Greg Jordan, who directed Ledger in Two Hands, told the crowd: "Rachel Griffiths said ‘How do we judge this? Are we looking for the next Heath Ledger?’ "We all said ‘No. There is no next Heath Ledger, but there’s plenty of other people.’" And for rising star Ackland, 29, the prize was especially meaningful - Ledger has always been one of his role models.
He said: "The fact that it is in his name means the world. I admired Heath and I admired the work that he chose, the path he created for himself. It shows a lot of integrity on his behalf." Australian stars Nicole Kidman, Naomi Watts and Hugh Jackman all contributed to the bursary, which includes flights to Los Angeles and introductions to agents and casting directors.

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

JESSICA SIMPSON has received words of encouragement from her idol DOLLY PARTON after she was recently mocked by the press for her fuller figure and stage blunders.
Simpson attracted criticism when she was pictured looking notably curvier on-stage at a concert last month (Jan09).
The pop star made headlines again days later when she broke down onstage while supporting Rascal Flatts in Michigan, forgetting her lyrics and eventually walking off in tears.
But Parton, who collaborated with Simpson on her country album Do You Know, is defending her fellow superstar, insisting she has been victimised by the media.
The 9 To 5 hitmaker tells U.S. talk show host Larry King, "I say people always treat her bad. They always talk bad about her. I just recorded a song with her a few months ago. And I’ve never had - I’ve never been around a person any sweeter in my life. And she’s a great singer.
"And I’ve been fat and I’ve been skinny. And I’m not about to say something about somebody else’s weight because I know how hard it is when you gain, you know, five or six pounds, and certainly 10 or 12…
"But I know that Jessica is a good girl. She’s beautiful to me. And I’m sure that she’s going to get some weight off just because people won’t leave her alone." Parton also defended Simpson’s stage antics: "I think every entertainer’s had nights when things go wrong. I mean you can’t remember everything all the time, and especially if you’re having hard times personally."

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

SIR PAUL McCARTNEY’s ex-wife HEATHER MILLS has opted to shun attorneys and represent herself as she goes head to head with a former nanny in court.
The ex-model will present her defence case in a hearing over Sara Trumble’s constructive dismissal and sexual discrimination claims later this year (09).
Trumble alleges she was expected to work as late as midnight, blow dry Mills’ hair at 7.30am and even give her naked spray tans while employed as a carer for Beatrice - Mills’ daughter with McCartney.
Mills represented herself in her high-profile divorce from the former Beatle, which saw her awarded $35 million (£24 million).

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