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SIDEWAYS star VIRGINIA MADSEN fears she’s responsible for scaring a producer out of a luxury hotel room - after imploring the spirits haunting her suite to leave her alone and bug her neighbour instead.
Madsen and the cast and crew of The Haunting In Connecticut stayed at the creepy Fort Garry hotel in Winnipeg, Canada while they were shooting the horror film, and the actress didn’t want to take any chances of coming face to face with a spook.
So she had a heartfelt chat with the spirits upon arrival at the old place.
She explains, "When I first walked into my room I set my bags down and I had a little chat with the hotel room ghost and I said, ‘Now listen, I’ve got a lot of work to do. I need my sleep. I am the mother of this movie. I’m not saying I believe in you, but, out of respect, if there are any entities, can you please haunt the other room?’" Madsen slept like a baby, but her neighbour - a producer on the film - had such a terrible first night, he checked out.
She adds, "I believe the spirits went to my producer’s room and frightened him, and caused him to leave! "He wouldn’t talk about what happened but he was so frightened that he left the hotel and would not stay there. Instead, he stayed at a real dive hotel, which is unusual for a producer." And he wasn’t the only one kept awake by things that go bump in the night at the Garry - Madsen’s movie son Kyle Gallner also became a magnet for the hotel’s unwanted guests.
She reveals, "He insisted on staying in one of the haunted rooms on one of the haunted floors and every day there was some new haunting that happened to him in the night.
"He’d be like, ‘Listen, Virginia, I’m not kidding but there were voices coming out of the vent.’ I’m like, ‘Kyle there’s another room on the other side, so of course there’s voices coming from the vent!’ He said, ‘No, I’m telling you something got out from underneath the bed and crawled into the bed with me!’ I was like, ‘Were you out at a bar last night or something? You’re underage!’ He was quite adamant that all these things were going on at the hotel."

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The Broadway bosses suing JEREMY PIVEN over his departure from a New York production of SPEED-THE-PLOW have vowed not to leak his medical documents to the press.
The actor pulled out of the show in December (08), suffering severe fatigue. He was diagnosed with toxic mercury poisoning and blames a sushi meal for his medical woes.
But furious Broadway producers, who were forced to replace Piven with William H. Macy at the last minute, weren’t convinced the actor was ill and filed a complaint with the Actors Equity Association, complaining their star’s departure jeopardised show earnings.
The two parties are due to meet at an arbitration hearing with union bosses in June (09), and the producers have requested access to Piven’s medical records and documentation of his activities "both during and after the run of the show".
In return, they have vowed not to leak the information, insisting in a statement, "The producers recognise that most of this information is of a highly sensitive nature. Therefore, they have proposed to the union that all of the information that is turned over be subject to a strict confidentiality agreement."

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The 2010 Winter Olympics has bumped the Oscars into March next year (10).
The Academy Awards will be handed out on 7 March, so the big night isn’t competing with skiing and skating.
Nominations will be announced early on 2 February (10).
An Academy spokeswoman says, "Our intention is to return to a February date in 2011 and beyond."

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

TAYE DIGGS has been named U.S. TV’s Sexiest Body in a new magazine poll.
TV Guide readers picked the former Ally McBeal star ahead of Tricia Helfer and Christina Hendricks (Mad Men) as part of the publication’s new Sexiest Stars issue.
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles character Derek Reese (Brian Austin Green) was named Sexiest Badass and the stars of 90210 claimed the Sexiest Cast honour, ahead of Gossip Girl and Grey’s Anatomy.
And there’s some good news for ailing Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay, following her recent collapsed lung medical issues - her character Olivia Benson is the Sexiest Female Cop. Her partner Elliot Stabler, played by Chris Meloni, has been named Sexiest Male Cop.

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ZAC EFRON is in negotiations to bring back the dead in a dramatic new film, which will see him reteam with 17 AGAIN director BURR STEERS.
Efron is being lined-up to star in the movie adaptation of The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud, a book by Ben Sherwood.
The novel is about a caretaker at a cemetery who has weekly meetings with the ghost of his younger brother, whose accidental death he blames on himself.
The news comes just days after Efron pulled out of the starring role in the remake of family movie remake Footloose.
Production on The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud is scheduled to begin in July (09), reports Daily Variety.

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NATASHA BEDINGFIELD was thrilled when the paparazzi gatecrashed her wedding to MATT ROBINSON at the weekend - because the uninvited snappers transformed the event into a movie set.
The couple tied the knot in a secret sunset ceremony in Malibu, California on Saturday (21Mar09).
Bedingfield, 27, reveals their attempts to keep the nuptials from the prying eyes of the press failed - but she insists she didn’t mind the intrusion.
The singer tells Us Weekly, "Somebody must have tipped off the paparazzi, because there were helicopters circling. It felt like an action movie. It added to be the intrigue."

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GAVIN ROSSDALE and GWEN STEFANI have put their plans for more babies on hold, so they can catch up on lost sleep.
The singing couple have two sons; two year old Kingston and seven-month-old Zuma.
Rossdale admits he and Stefani would love to try for a daughter - but are too tired to contemplate having another kid right now.
He says, "Well that would seem logical, but then again, so would sleep! A bit of selfish time would be nice."

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BRITNEY SPEARS has rented out a new pad in New Jersey, so she and her kids don’t have to stay in hotels while she tours America’s east coast.
The singer has taken over a colonial-style seven-bedroom mansion in Alpine, according to Life & Style magazine.
A source tells the publication, "She wanted a home away from home, especially for the boys - something close to Manhattan. They talked about Long Island, but she wanted something closer that could feel like home for (sons) Sean and Jayden." Dennis McCormack, a broker with Prominent Properties Sotheby�s International Realty, which represents the home owner, says, "The place is very spacious, so there�s lots of room for her kids to run around and play." He tells Life & Style the property is on the market for $8 million (£5.7 million), but a Spears insider claims the pop star is renting it for $30,000 (£21,400) - for one month.
She won’t be the only star living in Alpine - Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, Chris Rock and Mary J. Blige all have homes in the peaceful suburb.

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DEVO rocker MARK MOTHERSBAUGH has a secret alternative career - writing music for commercials.
When he’s not performing with the new wave band, Devo is creating jingles for some of the world’s best known brands and products - and he admits he gets a kick out of slipping secret messages into his commercial endeavours.
Mothersbaugh tells Blender magazine, "I have written music for around 400 commercials, with clients that range from Coke, BMW, Mercedes, Pepsi, Target, McDonald’s, Burger King to Taco Bell - probably a good majority of the evil empire. When I was younger, and occasionally today, I include subliminal messages, which is shockingly easy to do. Things like, ‘Choose your mutations carefully’, ‘Are we not men?’, ‘Question authority’ and many others."

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Rapper JIM JONES has reached out to his estranged DIPLOMATS crewmember CAM’RON, offering to bury their differences and hit the studio together.
Cam’ron has been largely absent from the mainstream hip-hop scene since his 2006 offering Killa Season, after falling out with Diplomats stars Jones, Juelz Santana and Freekey Zekey amid allegations of questionable business dealings.
The Oh Boy hitmaker recently revealed he and Jones had spoken on the phone for the first time in over a year - and now Jones has taken steps of his own to repair their damaged friendship.
Speaking to DJ Funkmaster Flex on New York’s Hot 97 radio station, Jones admitted he has avoided broaching the possibility of a reunion for a while, but is now ready to make amends for the sake of their fans.
He says, "I’ve been selfish about a lot of things, due to my own selfish ways, me feeling that it was the right thing to do.
"But at that same time it’s not about me all the time, and there is a lot of other people that’s involved. And for the most part (we) came up together for a long time, so I’m just extending my hand to the contribution of getting this Diplomats business done. So if Cam is listening maybe we can you know sit down and get this business together and give the people what they want."

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R&B star ASHANTI has hinted she will marry her rapper lover NELLY in 2009.
Just four months after the couple went public with its four year romance, the singer has confessed she is planning to walk down the aisle with Nelly.
When asked if wedding bells were on the horizon for her, the Happy hitmaker tells Us Weekly, "Absolutely. It’s in the cards for me. I believe that I have a couple more things I need to do before that happens." But Ashanti urges fans not to believe all the gossip that’s written about her and Nelly - despite the media correctly predicting their relationship, years before they admitted it to the world.
She adds, "I should have had six or seven kids, been married three times and secretly engaged now. But none of it’s true."

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Former producers of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical RAGTIME have been convicted for participating in large-scale accounting fraud.
Garth Drabinsky and Myron Gottlieb, who founded Toronto, Canada-based theatre company Livent in the 1990s, were convicted on two counts of fraud and one count of forgery on Wednesday (25Mar09).
Ontario Superior Court Justice Mary Lou Benotto ruled Drabinsky, 59, and Gottlieb, 65, knowingly overstated their company’s financial position to investors from 1994-1998.
The fraud was revealed in 1998 when Livent filed for bankruptcy - the same year their production of Ragtime won the Tony for Best Original Score, Book, and Orchestrations and Best Featured Actress for Audra McDonald.
The pair was indicted in the U.S. in 1999 on charges that they had misappropriated millions of dollars from American investors; they still face charges in the country.
Canadian authorities charged Drabinsky and Gottlieb in 2002. They face a maximum of 14 years in prison when they are sentenced at a later date.

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WATCHMEN actor JEFFREY DEAN MORGAN has discovered he’s the father of an ex-girlfriend’s four year old son.
The 42-year-old met his child for the first time just weeks ago, after discovering his actress/producer ex Sherrie Rose had given birth in secret.
Rose confirms to Us Weekly magazine, "Yes, I have a four year old son with Jeffrey." And Morgan is ready to make amends for his absence in the boy’s early years, with a source telling the magazine, "He wants to be in the child’s life." Morgan’s representative has yet to respond to the reports.

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Basketball superstar KOBE BRYANT has been dragged into a lawsuit filed by a former housekeeper who accuses his wife VANESSA of verbally abusing her at work.
Maria Jimenez is suing for wrongful discharge, invasion of privacy and emotional distress in a lawsuit filed in Superior Court in Orange County, California.
According to TMZ.com, Jimenez’s lawyers claim Vanessa "badgered, harassed and humiliated Maria by yelling and screaming at Maria and criticising her in front of Bryant, the couple’s children, employees and other people in the household".
Jimenez claims she attempted to quit but was persuaded to continue her employment by the Los Angeles Lakers star.
Her resignation came after Vanessa allegedly demanded that she put her hand in a bag of dog faeces to retrieve a price tag from an expensive blouse she’d mistakenly put in the washing machine, when Bryant’s wife allegedly demanded Jimenez "had to work until payday to pay for the $690 (£470) blouse, which she did".
Jimenez is seeking unpaid wages in the suit. No further information regarding the housekeeper’s length of employment with the Bryants was available as WENN went to press.

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Actor STACY KEACH is to return to the stage on Friday (27Mar09) - 10 days after suffering a mild stroke.
The Mike Hammer star was hospitalised last week (17Mar09) and spent six days under observation. He returned home on Monday (23Mar09) and will pick up his role as President Richard Nixon in a tour of hit play Frost/Nixon at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles.
The 67 year old has missed 11 performances of the show, which was turned into a hit film last year (08), and he can’t wait to get back before an audience.
He tells the Los Angeles Times newspaper, "I canâ��t tell you how grateful I am and relieved. I feel deeply blessed." Recalling the events which led up to his stroke, Keach explains he felt "a little tingling" in his right arm during a performance of the play in Cincinnati, Ohio earlier this month (Mar09) and it returned during the play’s first night in Los Angeles last week.
Keach says, "I quickly tried to focus and refocus." The actor knew he had a big problem when he found himself slurring his speech during a radio interview the following morning: "I realised I wasnâ��t making sense… I knew something wasnâ��t happening properly with my motor response.â�� A doctor gave him a shot of vitamin B12 and Keach figured his health issues had passed as he appeared in five weekend performances and then hosted a cast get-together at his home in Calabasas, California on 16 March (09).
The following morning he awoke with severe pain in his right arm, and his wife called the paramedics, who took him to hospital. After a series of tests he was told he’d suffered a series of minor strokes.
Keach insists the health scare has forced him to take better care of himself - he has vowed to stop smoking and he’ll be taking more rest days on the Frost/Nixon tour. He won’t appear in the upcoming weekend matinees.
The actor, who has been playing Nixon onstage since September (09), hopes to complete the tour, which ends in May (09).

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Tragic actress NATASHA RICHARDSON’s organs were removed for transplant following her death last week, according to reports.
The British stage and screen star died in a New York hospital on Wednesday (18Mar08) from an epidural hematoma - bleeding between the brain and skull - two days after she hit her head in a fall during a skiing lesson at a Canadian resort.
Friends tell People.com the 45-year-old was a strong advocate of the transplant programme and her family insisted her organs were harvested after her life support machine was switched off.
A source says, "She spent so much time fighting the stigma of AIDS; someone like that would naturally donate her organs. At least by donating her organs something good could come out of (the tragedy)." Family insiders, meanwhile, add that Richardson’s widower Liam Neeson and the couple’s two sons Michael, 13, and Daniel, 12, are "doing okay" following the tragedy.
Close friend Blaine Trump says, "It takes a while to absorb this. But he says the family needs to move forward. They will take it one step at a time. With good friends by their side they will get through the tough days ahead." Richardson was laid to rest in New York state on Sunday (22Mar09).

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RYAN O’NEAL and FARRAH FAWCETT’s son REDMOND has pleaded not guilty to drug charges following his arrest last September (08).
The 24-year-old and his actor father were taken into police custody after a raid on the Oscar-nominated star’s Malibu, California home. A search of the property turned up methamphetamines in Ryan’s bedroom as well as on Redmond’s person.
Ryan, 67, was sentenced to 18 months of drug rehabilitation in January (09) after pleading guilty to drug possession.
However, Redmond - who has a history of drug abuse - insists he is innocent.
During a hearing at a Malibu court on Wednesday (25Mar09), he denied a felony count of methamphetamine possession, two misdemeanour counts of possession of drug paraphernalia and one misdemeanour count of illegal possession of pepper spray.
The younger O’Neal, who underwent a stint in rehab in 2004, was on probation at the time of the drug bust following his conviction for a misdemeanour driving under the influence (DUI) charge last June (08).
Redmond is due back in court on 14 May (09).

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MICHAEL JACKSON has blasted accusations his representatives threatened an auctioneer with violence in a bid to stop a sale of the pop superstar’s personal memorabilia.
Jackson’s attorneys are embroiled in a legal battle with Julien’s Auction House executives after they announced plans for the sale, which included his concert costumes from the 1980s and the gates to his Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara, California.
The Thriller hitmaker’s legal team filed suit against the auction house earlier this month (Mar09), alleging bosses are not "entitled to retain possession of Michael Jackson’s personal property".
Company executives hit back, insisting the singer had given them permission to proceed with the 21 April (09) plans.
Julien’s Auction House bosses have since been allowed permission to continue advertising the sale, but only until the case goes before a Los Angeles judge on 3 April (09).
Auction house president Darren Julien claims Jackson’s team has gone to extreme lengths to halt the auction - even threatening to take violent action against him.
In a sworn statement, Julien says, "Michael Jackson wanted to give the message to us, that our lives are at stake and there will be bloodshed." But Jackson’s lawyer has dismissed the claims, branding the statement a "scurrilous attack", reports the New York Post.
If allowed to proceed, the auction is estimated to bring in up to $20 million (£13.7 million).

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