Controversy clouds Awards though doesn’t rain on “Little Miss Sunshine’s” four awards By Jeffrey Jolson
‘Little Miss’ shines
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 02/23/07 — “Little Miss Sunshine” is no longer an underdog for Best Picture at the Oscars as it will steam into the Oscars having swept the controversial, indie-centric Spirit Awards on Saturday. The wins cap a streak of top industry awards for the film from the Actors, Writers and Producers Guilds.
However Film Independent’s Spirit Award for Best Feature may be the kiss of death for “Little Miss’” chance to shine as Best Picture at the Oscars, as no Spirit winner has ever captured the Big Prize. Oscarwatch.com points out the jinx foretold the Academy Award best pic nix for Spirit toppers “Brokeback Mountain,” “Sideways” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”
That wasn’t the only trouble brewing under the beach tent in Santa Monica where the Spirit Awards were presented Saturday. The Film Independent’s televised event was the subject of a scathing article on the front page of the Los Angeles Times for being a $1.3 million-plus celebrity bash “subsidized by taxpayers as a charitable service, much like the Red Cross or skid row soup kitchens.” It quotes a charity observer who calls the Award’s use of its non-profit status “perverse” and accuses them of “dirty whitewashing of their financial forms” after a Times probe of their tax returns encouraged the group to reclassify income items. Read the rest of this Hollywood Today story »
Four-time Academy Award winner Clint has no time for fake heroes when war is so real By Gayl Murphy
Anti-hero looks for real heroes today
In an era where anyone can garner 15 minutes of fame, legendary actor/director Clint Eastwood says he’s tired of seeing undeserving people obtain celebrity status.
“Now everyone is considered a hero,” Eastwood said, adding that in his day, it required “extraordinary feat” to be deemed heroic.
“People are [even] stars who are just heiresses now; I won’t say a particular name that comes to mind,” he said, obviously referring to the infamous Paris Hilton.
Yet Clint believes some heroes have always existed – war heroes. While the feats of those risking their lives may remain constant, the director – whose two battle films “Flags of Our Fathers” and Best Picture hopeful “Letters to Iwo Jima” and are nominated for Academy Awards on Sunday – says war itself has changed. Read the rest of this Hollywood Today story »
Nervous as a nominee on Oscar night? More Oscar tips from those who have held one.
Black Billy BT
By Gayl Murphy
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 02/24/07 — Billy Bob Thornton, who won an Oscar in 1996 for “Sling Blade,” warns Oscar nominees to watch out for flying Italians. He remembers his Academy Awards moments quite clearly which is remarkable as you just KNOW he’s had a lot of late nights since then.
“I took my best buddy Dwight Yoakum, who was mother’s escort,” said the grizzled actor. “And I remember my mother and Dwight whispering to each other, cause they’re good buddies. And that was so amazing and that was my strongest memory of the first time I went. And how cool it was to have my mother there and my friend, and he was her escort and for her that was a big deal because, you know Dwight’s like this heartthrob for young girls and here was my mom with him. It was pretty cool.”
He noted the sense of connection several past Oscar winners mentioned to Hollywood Today for this series. “l remember Gregory Hines and Glenn Close were sitting right in front of me and I remember them congratulating me and I’d never met either one of them. I remember feeling like such a part of it, you know the thing that you’ve seen on television all your life and it was pretty amazing.” Read the rest of this Hollywood Today story »
New Suits Being Filed as Anna Nicole Circus Packs its Tents for Bahamas By Jeffrey Jolson
Young Anna Nicole
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 02/23/07 — New lawsuits and papers are fast being been filed and Anna Nicole Smith’s baby Dannielynn could even become a ward of the Bahamas on Monday, as the whole Anna Nicole Circus packs up its tents in Florida and moves to Nassau, body in tow.
The fairly riveting sideshow is over now that Judge Seidlin tearfully declared Anna Nicole’s body would be shipped to the Bahamas and laid to rest beside her son Daniel. Center ring action is about to begin despite the warring parties’ proverbial group hug on the courthouse steps.
Within minutes of Smith’s mother Virgie Arthur, companion Howard K. Stern and ex-boyfriend Larry Birkhead saying they had all gotten together for the good of Anna Nicole, their lawyers were sharpening their knives for fresh kill.
The fate of five-month-old Dannielynn is now in full play with millions at stake, whether she inherits the fortune of billionaire Howard Marshall or not.
Attorneys for Birkhead immediately filed emergency papers in the Bahamas, and prepared for a court appearance there on Monday where they will “ask for immediate custody and the DNA determination so that the biological parents can take custody of Dannielynn,” said Birkhead’s lawyer. Read the rest of this Hollywood Today story »
Battle for Hollywood continues as poll shows public divided on role of celebrities in Politics By Sarah Ingersoll
Hillary pitches CAA
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 02/23/07 — The major entertainment talent agencies are used to fighting over the big names in film, but never have they staged a tug-of-war for the next President of the United States. Yet that’s what happened as Hollywood powerbrokers CAA, William Morris, UTA and Endeavor have all now held court with various presidential hopefuls.
Senator Hillary Clinton, undaunted by recent attacks from DreamWorks mogul David Geffen, attended a meeting with Creative Artists Agency while Endeavor hosted a reception for Senator John Edwards.
The actions come after Barack Obama pitched at UTA and William Morris in a presidential campaign ploy termed “savvy and unprecedented” by Hollywood Today’s Political reporters. (HT 2/21).
All of this jockeying is happening despite the public’s ambivalence towards the mixing of Hollywood and politics as reported by a new CBS poll. While the poll does not examine the issue of fundraising per se, it does offer some insight on how torn Americans are about whether Hollywood celebrities should be involved in politics. According to the poll, 47 percent think celebrities should be involved but an almost equal number, 48 percent, believe they should not. Interestingly, the younger you are the more likely you are to support the mix of star power and politics. Read the rest of this Hollywood Today story »
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 2/22/07 — In his latest movie “Black Snake Moan,” Samuel L. Jackson finds himself confronted with a nearly naked Christina Ricci throughout the film. Not a bad acting gig, huh? Jackson says, “Get your mind out of the gutter, it wasn’t nearly as R-rated as you think.”
“After about I guess an hour of looking at Christina in those little panties and that shirt, you kind of get over it because that’s what she had on every day and she didn’t put on a robe between shots and hide herself.” Ricci, he says, “Just kind of hung out, so you get over it pretty quickly. The great thing was that during rehearsals we developed this really interesting bond and trust that allowed her to go anywhere she wanted to and I supported her.” And so would half the men in Hollywood! (Gayl Murphy)
Disturbed pop princess Britney Spears enters rehab for third time in move to save self and children By P.J. Stratton
Britney well groomed
for rehab living
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywoood Today) 02/22/07 — Troubled Britney Spears may have shed her hair and her husband but she doesn’t want to lose her kids. She entered rehab for a third time in just over a week when faced with the possibility of estranged spouse Kevin Federline taking full custody of the couple’s 17-month and five-month-old babies if she does not stay at least 30 days this time.
She’s back in the Promises Malibu Treatment Center after leaving the facility early Wednesday, according to reports from her mother, Lynne Spears, who drove her to the center later evening.Fans and friends pray the third time is a charm for the 25-year-old pop princess, who seems in a hurry to outdo herself. As recently as last week, Spears was in a Caribbean treatment center, where she checked out after just one day before flying to Los Angeles where she shaved her head in what some called “a cry for help.” Read the rest of this Hollywood Today story »
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 02/22/07 — Circus? What circus? There was testimony Wednesday on unmarked graves, accusations implying a double murder, post-mortem profiteering, methadone use during pregnancy, conspiracies galore and tears that ran from the witness stand to the bystanders. And that was before lunch, when family and friends (?) viewed the reportedly decomposing remains of one Anna Nicole Smith — whose celebrity in life couldn’t hold a candle in the wind to her superstardom as a hotly-contested corpse.
Anna Nicole’s mother Vergie Arthur broke down in tears and said “My grandson did not overdose. Howard was there when Daniel died and Howard was there when my daughter died. And he has my granddaughter now and I’m scared for her life.”
She added “I said to Anna on national TV when Danny died, ‘You’re going to be next. Please be careful of what and who is around you.”
Howard K. Stern had an ominous day in court. Besides being accused essentially of murder or at least complicity by Smith’s mother, the judge took him repeatedly to task on Anna Nicole’s methadone use, his role in supplying her and profiteering. Stern squirmed under the judge’s scrutiny and repeatedly asked his own defense attorney to object to this, object to that. Read the rest of this Hollywood Today story »
Leo takes a lesson in dancing through danger while filming “Blood Diamond” in Africa By Gayl Murphy
Blood Diamond is third best actor nod for Leo
Proving time and again that he is not just another pretty face, Leonardo DiCaprio returns to the Academy Awards, behind his third nomination. It has been a stellar year for the actor, as Oscar buzz grew to a dull roar following the release of “Blood Diamond,” right on the heels of his virtuoso turn in “The Departed.”
DiCaprio shines as Danny Archer, a South African mercenary in 1990’s war-torn Sierra Leone, a center for “conflict diamonds” — stones used to finance regional war lords’ regimes. A controversial spark plug, the film sent the diamond industry into a public relations tailspin, and right around the holidays, too. But when the always-gracious DiCaprio spoke with Hollywood Today, he avoided the tendency to sermonize that often goes along with acclaimed topical performances.
The film’s subtly is what, in fact, lured DiCaprio in the first place. “It has to convey a message without the audience feeling preached to and this story accomplished that. They brought the political aspects of the diamond trade into the story in a way I didn’t feel was preachy. I thought it was authentic,” explained the actor. “Here was this character exploiting people less fortunate than him dealing in the black market and not really being conscious of the world he lived in and I thought he was a really powerful character.” Read the rest of this Hollywood Today story »
Oscar tips from those who have held one By Gayl Murphy
Cooper says chill
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 02/22/07 – Oscar week finds Hollywood denizens biting their nails and pulling their hair even if they’re not nominees. We found a few folks who discovered a little calm in eye of the hurricane, even if it didn’t last.Chris Cooper, who won the best supporting actor Academy Award for “Adaptation” in 2002 said nominees should chill with loved ones rather than waste Oscar week on industry schmoozefests.
“I had heard from so many other actors, “Oh, the night went by and I didn’t remember a thing,’ and I wanted to make a point of remembering it. The greatest advice I can give to anybody is don’t listen to anybody’s suggestion of where and when and who you should be with the days before the Oscars. As it happened for me I had a terrific time the day before. We were staying at the Chateau Marmont, my wife and I and we used one of the goodie bag certificates and hired this mobile massage group that came to the chateau and set up music and lights, two massage tables and these two pretty girls gave my wife and me a massage. The next morning we had a leisurely breakfast outside with some good friends of ours and talked until three or four in the afternoon and then got ready for the event. I remember it completely.”
The hottest new productions coming to the Great White Way will be “The Pirate Queen, “Legally Blonde,” “Deuce” and “Talk Radio,” according to Robert Diamond, expert in all things Broadway. He should know, because he can make it so — his influential BrodwayWorld.com website runs about 1,000 stories per month from 50-plus writers. With “Dreamgirls” and “Chicago” breaking the movie world’s decades-long streak of mishandling stage material, the Hollywood-Broadway connection is alive again. Diamond says stage folk are a little sceptical of Johnny Depp and Tim Burton’s ability to import “Sweeney Todd” to the big screen, though John Travolta and Queen Latifah’s film version of “Hairspray” looks like a winner.
Star-studded gala raises $1.3 million as Hollywood Primaries heat up for all candidates By Jeffrey Jolson
Rock star Obama at LA rally before fundraiser
Like a young star with a hot script, Sen. Barack Obama pitched himself at Hollywood talent agencies William Morris and UTA yesterday in a savvy move that was unprecedented for a presidential candidate. The big agencies have direct access to both stars and deep-pocketed filmmakers being courted now by virtually every major candidate.
Obama’s Tinseltown instincts also showed last night as he raised $1.3 million a star-studded fundraiser hosted by DreamWorks honchos Steven Spielberg, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg. Celebrity sizzle was provided by attendees including Oscar nominee Eddie Murphy, Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston, Morgan Freeman, Ron Howard and Natalie Maines.
Absent were some stars that have previously been counted in Hilary Clinton’s camp such as Tom Hanks, Chris Rock, Jennifer Lopez, Billy Crystal and Bette Midler, setting up a Celebrity Showdown in Hollywood for the democrats. Sen. Clinton will hit Hollywood on Thursday and return March 24 for a big-ticket gala at the home of supermarket billionaire Ron Burkle.
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 2/22/07 — In his latest movie “Black Snake Moan,” Samuel L. Jackson finds himself confronted with a nearly naked Christina Ricci throughout the film. Not a bad acting gig, huh? Jackson says, “Get your mind out of the gutter, it wasn’t nearly as R-rated as you think.”
The hottest new productions coming to the Great White Way will be “The Pirate Queen, “Legally Blonde,” “Deuce” and “Talk Radio,” according to Robert Diamond, expert in all things Broadway. He should know, because he can make it so — his influential BrodwayWorld.com website runs about 1,000 stories per month from 50-plus writers. With “Dreamgirls” and “Chicago” breaking the movie world’s decades-long streak of mishandling stage material, the Hollywood-Broadway connection is alive again. Diamond says stage folk are a little sceptical of Johnny Depp and Tim Burton’s ability to import “Sweeney Todd” to the big screen, though John Travolta and Queen Latifah’s film version of “Hairspray” looks like a winner. 