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British moviemaker PAUL HAGGIS is refusing to back down after detailing his defection from the Church of Scientology in a hard-hitting New Yorker magazine article, insisting the piece was necessary.
Haggis’ profile caused a storm of controversy when it was posted online last week (ends18Feb11) - because it contained details of his 35 years with the celebrity church, which boasts Tom Cruise and John Travolta among its members.
The writer/director, who dubbed the church "a cult" in the article, tells USA Today, "I had a lot of friends that I knew who were upset. It was hard. Because those are really good friends." In the article he particularly attacked the church’s distaste for homosexuality, explaining that two of his daughters are gay.
He says, "Two of my daughters called me after the article (came out), because they said a couple of things were hard to hear. I told them, ‘Yeah, it was really hard to read those things, but it was the truth. And never be afraid to speak the truth.’" Crash director Haggis has revealed the article almost didn’t happen - because his chat with journalist Larry Wright was never meant to be: "I didn’t mean to do it… Larry Wright calls me, and I’m editing my movie, and they said they want to do a profile of me in The New Yorker. And I go, ‘Oh, me? A profile? The New Yorker? Oh, OK.’ "I don’t even think it’s about Scientology. So he interviews me for a day and at the end of the day he says, ‘So, Scientology.’ And I go, ‘Oh that’s what this is about….’ "I talk to him for a half an hour, I say a few things that worked for me, a few things that didn’t work for me or upset me. And he said, ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’ I said, ‘Tomorrow? How long are you going to take on this?’ And he said, ‘I don’t know, seven, eight, 10 months.’ And he did.
"I stand by it (article). He’s a wonderful guy. He did a good job. A wise man said never be afraid to hurt someone for a just cause. I knew it was going to hurt a lot of friends, but you gotta do what you gotta do."

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Generous CHARLIE SHEEN has spent almost $900,000 (£600,000) on cars for pals and his soon-to-be ex-wife in the past four weeks, according to new reports.
The Wall Street actor’s spending spree has included a $160,000 (£106,600) Mercedes for Brooke Mueller and sports cars for two porn star pals.
He also bought new his girlfriend a top-of-the-line Mercedes S63, according to Access Hollywood Live.

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Actor DAVID ARQUETTE has opened up about a family intervention which sparked his post-Christmas rehab stint, revealing he arrived home from a Christmas (10) party trip to Miami, Florida to find his actress sister PATRICIA and estranged wife COURTENEY COX at his bedside as he awoke from a nap.
Arquette checked into rehab at the beginning of January (11) and has now spoken about the moment he knew it was time to get sober during a taped chat with Oprah Winfrey, which will air on TV in America on Thursday (24Feb11).
He explains, "I came back from Miami and I’d taken a nap and I woke up and Patricia and Courteney were at my bed.
"Courteney had a cup of coffee and I was like, ‘What are you two doing here together?’ Like I already knew… And Courteney’s like, ‘Do you mind coming out into the living room for a second?’ "I peep my head around the corner and my best friend… is there and my business partner and some guy I don’t know, and I go, ‘What up turkeys? I guess this is my intervention.’" That took place on 30 December (10) but Arquette reveals he still attended a New Year’s Eve party the following night - because he had promised he would be there. But he didn’t drink.
He adds, "I was sober at the New Year’s event. It was at this club I was putting on… I had already been sober and so I went there because it was something I was planning on doing and I wanted to see if I could do it sober, if I could still entertain and dance around. And I could and I had a great time." In the hard-hitting chat with Winfrey, Arquette admits he drank his first beer when he was four and already had a "serious" drinking problem by the time he started high school. He also told the talk show host he stole marijuana from his father when he was eight.
Arquette’s sisters Patricia and Rosanna will be part of the show when it airs.

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MADONNA’s artist brother CHRISTOPHER CICCONE has teamed up with his musical muse to create a new multi-media project.
The interior designer and painter has come up with an art show inspired by the music of Tallulah Rendall.
The pair has courted some of London’s best artists, jewellery designers, aerial performers and painters and created a visual showcase that will be available at Rendall’s upcoming shows, beginning with a concert at London’s The Tabernacle in Notting Hill on 4 March (11).
Much of the art on display will feature on Rendall’s upcoming album.
Ciccone says, "Her music has inspired my art like no one else has in years."

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Former BAUHAUS and LOVE & ROCKETS star DAVID J has revisited Hollywood’s infamous Black Dahlia murder in a thrilling new avant-garde theatre piece.
The rocker’s The Chanteuse and the Devil’s Muse will feature his music, which he’ll perform with Ego Plum when the drama debuts during Los Angeles’ upcoming Broadway 100 celebration at the end of March (11).
It will be David J’s first major theatrical piece in his adopted Los Angeles since he staged Edie Sedgwick drama Silver for Gold.
The Black Dahlia murder remains a mystery - aspiring actress Elizabeth Short’s body was found cut in half in a vacant lot in Hollywood in 1947. It was assumed that she had died the previous day. The murder started one of the most intense investigations in Los Angeles history, but no arrests were ever made and the case still remains unsolved.

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Rare recordings by NEIL DIAMOND at the beginning of his career are to be released on a new CD to mark his induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame next month (Mar11).
Neil Diamond: The Bang Years 1966-1968 features 23 "career-defining" tracks the crooner wrote and recorded when he was a struggling artist at independent label Bang Records.
The album, which will be released on the eve of his Hall of Fame induction (08Mar11), features "extensive and revelatory liner notes" written by Diamond himself.
In one extract, he writes, "I realised that something was happening that had never happened before for me. My new songs contained something that none of my previous ones had… They contained me and my life at their core.
"I had finally found, on the crossroads of desperation and opportunity, the understanding of what I needed to do to write truly affecting songs - I had only to be open and honest, dammit, about my own life and experiences and to stop trying to make up silly songs about made up people, situations and relationships for singers whose lives and feelings I knew nothing about." The tracks include the restored original mono recordings of Solitary Man, Shilo, Girl You’ll Be a Woman Soon and I’m a Believer, which became a big hit for The Monkees.

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JUSTIN BIEBER was left starstruck on daytime TV on Wednesday (23Feb11) when the singer’s ice hockey hero, WAYNE GRETZKY, paid him a surprise visit on the set of U.S. chat show THE TALK.
The Baby hitmaker, 17, was playing a game of air hockey on air with co-host Holly Robinson Peete when she called for some help - and introduced the Canadian great onstage.
The retired sportsman, who was accompanied by his young daughter Emma, took over from the actress and the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
Gretzky then presented Bieber with his very own replica jersey, bearing the sporting legend’s name on the back with his number 99, complete with an autographed message.
A stunned Bieber gasped, "No way", before shaking hands with Gretzy.
He later joked with The Talk presenters, including Sharon Osbourne and Leah Remini, "Why’d you do that to me? You made me look like a huge groupie or something! No, I’m a huge fan. It was great and that was awesome." But it wasn’t Bieber’s first time meeting Gretzky - he came face-to-face with the sports great at the age of six, when the singer was playing in a local hockey competition: "I played in Bradford, where he’s from, and he was there at the tournament."

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Scotland’s T in the Park festival this summer (11) looks like it’ll be a little tense backstage after the frontman of Irish group THE SCRIPT slammed fellow act PULP’s comeback.
Jarvis Cocker’s group reformed last year (10) and have announced a series of 2011 festival appearances, but singer/songwriter Danny O’Donoghue insists he won’t be in the crowd watching the Common People hitmakers when both acts hit the stage at the festival.
He tells the Daily Record newspaper, "I am not a big Pulp fan. Jarvis Cocky (sic). I’m not into him at all. I don’t like his style. I don’t like his music. I won’t be steering clear of him, but he should be steering clear of me.
"I have watched his career. I’d like to think Pulp are coming out with a new album or that he wants to really do a job in the music industry, but I am sure they will release a single, do a tour, make their money and go home."

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Rockers QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE once performed an emergency appendectomy on a female fan in Germany, according to the band’s guitarist TROY VAN LEEUWEN.
The group had just finished a concert in Munich when Leeuwen and his bandmates were called upon to help a sick fan.
The rocker insists he knew what he was doing - but was too drunk to do it properly.
He tells FasterLouder.com, "We forgot the anaesthesia. I do know how to perform these operations, but I’d had too much to drink that day. But she’s OK.
"It’s actually a legal matter… It’s a medical, slash legal matter and I can’t say much more than that."

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FOO FIGHTERS frontman DAVE GROHL dedicated his NME Godlike Genius Award to his late NIRVANA bandmate KURT COBAIN in London on Wednesday night (23Feb11).
The drummer was handed the accolade during the star-studded ceremony at the O2 Academy in Brixton, where famous friends like Sir Paul McCartney, Jack Black and his Them Crooked Vultures bandmates Josh Homme and John Paul Jones paid tribute to the rocker in video messages.
After letting a standing ovation subside, Grohl joked, "You guys realise they gave this one to a drummer, right? This one’s for the drummers!" He then recalled an incident when he once sneaked into the venue, previously called the Brixton Academy, with his Nirvana bandmates to watch the Pixies perform.
He finished his acceptance speech by dedicating his award to Cobain, who died in 1994.
Grohl told the crowd, "This one’s for Kurt." The Foo Fighters then took to the stage and launched into a full set, inviting The Who’s Roger Daltrey onstage to join them for a rendition of Young Man Blues.
Grohl announced, "Oh, and by the way, they asked us to play tonight and we thought, ‘Yeah, ok sure’. And they said, ‘Why don’t you do four or five songs?’ and I said, ‘F**k that, why don’t we play for two f**kin’ hours!’ And I also said, ‘Why don’t we play a song with an actual godlike genius, Mr Roger Daltrey?’"

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Rocker PJ HARVEY has infuriated animal rights campaigners after confessing she castrated farmyard lambs when she was growing up.
The British musician was raised in a rural area of south England and spent her childhood learning the family farm business.
That meant learning how to remove the testicles of young sheep, using elastic bands.
In an interview with Mojo magazine, the singer/songwriter says, "That’s what you do on a farm. You have to because you don’t want every male lamb to turn into a ram. You only want the best looking lambs: the ones you think are going to be strong, and turn into good sires.
"The others, you have to conserve their energy to go into the meat. You don’t want them expending their energy, wanting to mate… It’s a very delicate operation: you need to hold the lamb in the right position, because it is painful for them.
"I didn’t particularly like doing it, but if you work with animals, there are things you have to do which you don’t like doing: you follow in your mother and father’s footsteps." The admission has upset officials at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), who have slammed the practice.
A PETA spokeswoman tells WENN, "Castration with a rubber ring inflicts incredible pain on an animal, and is sadly just one of a range of mutilations that animals raised for their flesh are subjected to… If anyone abused dogs or cats in the same manner, they’d be locked up."

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U2 guitarist THE EDGE has confirmed the band will be headlining at this year’s (11) Glastonbury festival - a year after they were forced to pull out of a historical performance at the English event because of BONO’s bad back.
The Irish band were replaced by Gorillaz last year (10), while Bono underwent surgery to fix severe compression of the sciatic nerve.
But now Bono’s better and The Edge has ended months of speculation by stating the Irish rockers will close the opening night of the festival on 24 June (11).
He made the big announcement during a video message played at the NME Awards in London on Wednesday night (23Feb11), when Glastonbury picked up a third successive Best Festival prize.
The Edge said, "Congratulations to (founder) Michael and Emily (Eavis) and the rest of the team for the continued success of Glastonbury. It’s more a way of life than a festival.
"I have to say there is something really special and iconic about that stage. So, we’re all looking forward to coming back to pick up where I left off. U2 will be playing June 24. And we’re so excited to get to play in front of the world’s greatest festival audience. We’ll see you there!" Beyonce and Coldplay have also been confirmed as headliners at this year’s (11) festival.

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MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE were the big winners at the annual NME Awards in London on Wednesday night (23Feb11) after picking up two of the night’s biggest trophies.
The rockers, who opened the ceremony at the O2 Academy in Brixton, claimed Best International Band and Best Video for Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na).
Other big winners on the night included Muse, who were named Best British Band, while frontman Matt Bellamy was named Hottest Man.
Scottish rockers Biffy Clyro walked away with the Best Live Band honour, Glastonbury was named Best Festival for the third consecutive year and Arcade Fire, who were unable to attend the event, won the Best Album Award for The Suburbs - just over a week after the Canadians stunned the Grammys by winning the same prize.
The Best New Band title went to Hurts, British rapper Professor Green’s Jungle was named Best Dancefloor Filler and Laura Marling continued her success by winning Best Solo Artist
. Foals were surprise winners - they landed the Best Track award for Spanish Sahara, over nominees including Mark Ronson, Gorillaz and Cee Lo Green.
It wasn’t a great night for Justin Bieber or the Jonas Brothers - Bieber was named Least Stylish and his My World 2.0 landed the Worst Album dishonour; the Worst Band award went to the Jonas Brothers.
But it was Dave Grohl who walked away with the highest honour, after being handed the NME Godlike Genius Award
. The Foo Fighters frontman closed the ceremony with a full set, performing songs from his band’s forthcoming album Wasting Light.
The full list of winners is as follows: Best British Band: Muse Best International Band: My Chemical Romance Best Solo Artist: Laura Marling Best Live Band: Biffy Clyro Best New Band: Hurts Best Album: Arcade Fire - The Suburbs Best Track: Foals - Spanish Sahara Best Video: My Chemical Romance - Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na) Best Festival: Glastonbury Best Dancefloor Filler: Professor Green - Jungle Best TV Show: Skins Philip Hall Radar Award: The Naked & Famous Teenage Cancer Trust Outstanding Contribution To Music: PJ Harvey John Peel Award For Innovation: Crystal Castles Godlike Genius: Dave Grohl Best Film: Inception Hero: Lady Gaga Villain: (British Prime Minister) David Cameron Most Stylish: Brandon Flowers (The Killers) Least Stylish: Justin Bieber Worst Album: Justin Bieber - My World 2.0 Worst Band: Jonas Brothers Hottest Man: Matt Bellamy Hottest Woman: Alison Mosshart (The Kills) Best Album Artwork: Klaxons - Surfing The Void Best Blog: Hayley Williams (Paramore) Best Book: John Lydon - Mr Rotten’s Scrapbook

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Former FRIENDS star MATTHEW PERRY’s musical tastes have always set him up for ridicule - because he loves mournful female singer/songwriters.
The actor admits he has always been teased about his love for singers like Tori Amos and Sarah McLachlan.
He says, "If you’re a woman and you’re in any kind of emotional duress at all and you sing a song about it, I will buy it and listen to it over and over again.
"I got beaten up for this in school." He reveals his first concert was Culture Club, adding, "If you’re a boy, dressed as a woman in emotional duress, boy do I like you."

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JEREMY IRONS has his sights set on starring in a quirky comedy by the FARRELLY BROTHERS after meeting them during an appearance on U.S. talk show LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON.
The Oscar winner was joined Peter and Bobby Farrelly as a guest on Tuesday’s (22Feb11) late-night programme, and used the opportunity to lavish praise on the Dumb and Dumber directors’ work.
Irons told the filmmakers, "I think you guys are really lovely, I think your films are wonderful, I think I’ve seen every one of your films again, and again, and again." The British actor, known for his theatre work in classic Shakespeare plays, then expressed his desire to test his comedy skills on screen - and inadvertently appealed for work with the siblings.
He added, "They never come to me for comedy. I don’t know why. They go to Jim (Carrey), they go to a lot of other people, you know, Steve Martin. They never come to Jeremy Irons."

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Actor KELSEY GRAMMER plans on serving up a feast to remember when he weds fiancee KAYTE WALSH in New York on Friday (25Feb11) - reports suggest he’ll be spending $215 (£143)-a-head on high-priced food items.
The Plaza Hotel reception will feature ginger prawns, goat cheese truffles, braised beef short ribs, wild mushrooms and lobster, according to TMZ.com.
The cake will be designed by Sylvia Weinstock.
Grammer recently divorced ex-wife Camille Grammer after splitting from her last year (10).

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Troubled oil heir JASON DAVIS has been charged with felony possession of a controlled substance following his arrest in California last month (Jan11).
The grandson of billionaire businessman Marvin Davis, who was part of the last series of U.S. reality show Celebrity Rehab, was picked up by cops in Newport Beach on 27 January (11) for alleged drug possession and placed on $20,000 (£13,330) bail.
Now he has been formally charged for the offence, and was also charged with misdemeanours of being under the influence of a controlled substance and possessing drug paraphernalia, reports TMZ.com.
According to legal documents from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, Davis was allegedly high on a "central nervous system stimulant (prescription medication) and narcotic analgesic (painkillers)" at the time he was arrested.
He faces up to three years behind bars if he is convicted of all the charges.
Following his arrest Davis released a statement accusing his family members of calling cops and releasing details to the press in a bid to boost their own public image.
The day before his run-in with police Davis also appeared on a live reunion episode of Celebrity Rehab, in which he insisted he had been clean since completing treatment last year (10).

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One of CHARLIE SHEEN’s porn star pals is no longer pregnant after following through plans to have an abortion.
Kacey Jordan was one of five adult actresses who attended a wild bash at the Two and a Half Men star’s home in January (11). The party hit the headlines after paramedics were called to take Sheen to hospital to receive treatment for a hernia.
Jordan, who then spoke out about the party and the host’s alleged alcohol and drug intake, subsequently discovered she was expecting a baby - although Jordan admitted she had no idea who the father of the child was.
The busty blonde, who was bombarded with death threats after hinting she was going to terminate the pregnancy, now tells TMZ.com, "I don’t have a baby anymore." When pressed about the possibility of Sheen being the baby daddy, she says, "I really don’t know."

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