By Kathy McCabe
IT'S back on again: Madonna is expected to tour Australia in September.
Now the dust has settled on her divorce, her Madgesty confirmed on her website yesterday she was extending the Sticky And Sweet world tour, The Daily Telegraph reports.
While the official statement confirms she is "looking forward to an amazing summer in Europe", prospective concert dates in Japan and Australia were leaked on her international promoter's site before being quickly pulled.
But not before they were sighted by eagle-eyed fans, who posted the dates on fan blogs.
The leaked itinerary featured four Australian concerts with Madonna scheduled to perform at Sydney's ANZ Stadium on September 26.
A Madonna show at Melbourne's Telstra Dome has been pencilled in for September 29 and is tipped to be confirmed this week.
The Telstra Dome date - a Tuesday - would not clash with the venue's AFL commitments.
Fans may have to shell out $150 for the cheapest seats, given the falling Australian dollar and Madonna's high production costs.
Seats closest to the stage could sell for as much as $400.
The website also listed shows in Brisbane and Perth, as well as Europe and Japan, before being swiftly removed.
The last time Madonna performed in Australia was for the 1993 Girlie Show tour at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Also leaked and then removed from the same Live Nation website were details of the next leg of Britney Spears' world tour - and it looks like the comeback pop princess and Madonna will both be in Australia in September.
Spears was slated to perform three concerts at Sydney's Acer Arena - right next door to the ANZ Stadium where Madonna is booked.
While their proximity would fuel a frenzy of speculation about cameos at each other's shows, it is unlikely Madonna or Spears' jam-packed schedules would allow for an Australian duet.
Local fans and promoters have been willing the dollar to improve to safeguard Australia as a must-do destination on the international touring circuit for the huge stadium acts.
With sales of more than 400,000 tickets for more than 40 shows, Pink has singlehandedly demonstrated that music fans here are determined to be entertained despite hard economic times.
Rock fans remain optimistic that AC/DC, Bruce Springsteen, Metallica and U2 also add Australian legs onto their international tours this year.
source : news.co.au
Madonna and Britney Spears both touring Australia this year
LIl WAYNE AT COX: Electrifying, erratic
Lil Wayne wants to be a rock star in a really big way.
Never mind that the man born 26 years ago in New Orleans as Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. is already the most popular and prolific hip-hop star in the land. And never mind that he scored the best-selling album of 2008 in any genre with "Tha Carter III," which sold nearly 3 million copies and earned him a field-leading eight Grammy Awards, including one for Album of the Year.
Because Weezy, as he is fondly known by fans, clearly has his eyes set on a more rocky path, in both senses of the word. Accordingly, his eye-popping concert Tuesday night at SDSU's Cox Arena featured enough explosions and bursts of flame to rival Metallica's sold-out show at Cox in December.
There was so much pyrotechnic razzle-dazzle at times, on stage and on the multiple LED and video screens behind and above it, that the titles of at least two of the songs Wayne energetically performed -- 1999's "Da Block Is Hot" and 2005's "Fireman" -- almost seemed redundant.
Moreover, rather than simply relying on a record-spinning DJ or two to produce his live musical accompaniment, as has long been de rigueur for most rappers on stage, he also featured a hard-rocking four-piece band that was ably anchored by Elephant 6/Gnarls Barkley bassist Heather McIntosh.
And, rather than have the band almost completely hidden from view, as Kanye West opted to do on his 2008 "Glow in the Dark" tour, Wayne had his four band members and DJ each perform on separate metal platforms that could rise as high as 20 feet above the stage.
This enabled all five to drop down or rise up, sometimes several times during the same song. It was a novel approach that was alternately inviting and distracting, initially clever but less interesting and effective as the show progressed.
The same might be said of Wayne, who was by turns riveting and indulgent, electrifying and erratic, on the second-to-last date of his modestly titled "I Am Music" tour. His performance followed a lively turn by the rap-rock band Gym Class Heroes, two songs by East County's Dago Braves and an energetic but inconsequential 14-minute set by the unbilled El Cajon Tex, the Dago Braves' protege.
Wayne, who only a year ago was headlining the 1,000-capacity House of Blues nightclub in downtown San Diego, exuded charisma from the moment he popped out --. literally --. from beneath the stage.
At his best, the diminutive rapper easily held the rapt attention of the enthusiastic audience of 6,800 at Cox, which holds twice as many when full. He opened strongly with "Mr. Carter" and "Money On My Mind." He concluded with the rousing "A Milli," on which he rapped behind a cannonlike flamethrower before showing a clip from the Martin Lawrence sitcom "Martin," after which Wayne sang the chorus of Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You."
The problems came in between, especially when Wayne left the stage several times to change clothes. It was a momentum-killing move, especially since the lulls were taken up by, in order, a dance sequence, an array of at best so-so acts signed to Wayne's Young Money record label, and a DJ set.
Wayne happily shared the stage for vocal duets with Keri Hilson and Drake,
who both crooned with unconvincing results. He twice "played" an electric guitar, but it was inaudible. And he debuted "Prom Queen," a sub-marginal song from his upcoming first "rock" album, which was so lame as to suggest that Lil Wayne might do well to count his blessings as a rapper -- and simply leave it at that.
source : street
Dreamspace artist was 'negligent'
Two women killed when an inflatable artwork flipped over in a County Durham park died as a result of the creator's negligence, a court has been told.
Maurice Agis is accused of manslaughter and a breach of the Health and Safety Act following the Dreamspace incident in Chester-le-Street in July 2006.
The 77-year-old, of Bethnal Green, east London, denies all charges.
Newcastle Crown Court was told that in 1986 another of his artworks broke free from its moorings during strong wind.
Prosecutor Paul Sloan QC told the jury at Newcastle Crown Court that Mr Agis was guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence.
He said the artist was "well aware" of the dangers that strong gusts of wind posed to Dreamspace.
The sculpture was set up on 18 July by Mr Agis and event organisers Brouhaha International, and secured by ropes attached to metal pegs hammered into the ground.
On 23 July, the day of the incident, an employee of Brouhaha reported to Mr Agis that the left-hand side of the structure had lifted up while she was inside it.
Another employee later noticed that the wind was getting underneath and lifting it up several feet.
Mr Sloan said that the normal procedure in such a case was to evacuate the structure immediately, and an evacuation began.
But Mr Agis, having taken a look, said that it was all right for members of the public to re-enter.
"He did, however, instruct two Brouhaha International employees to attach some more ropes to pegs around the structure," Mr Sloan said.
"They put some extra ropes at the front, to the left of the entrance, and along the left-hand side of the structure.
"They were then interrupted by the defendant, Maurice Agis, who told them to resume duties at the entrance dealing with members of the public, so that he and his partner could enjoy a refreshment break.
"As a result, no additional ropes and pegs were attached to the rear of the structure."
The artwork was lifted into the air at about 1530 BST that afternoon.
Claire Furmedge, 38, from Chester-le-Street and 68-year-old Elizabeth Collings, from Seaham, died and 13 people were hurt.
The jury was also told that at an earlier hearing, Chester-le-Street Council and Brouhaha International admitted breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act, 1974.
source :BBC news
'Thriller' director sues Michael Jackson
By ANTHONY McCARTNEY
Director John Landis sued Michael Jackson and a Broadway producer on Wednesday, claiming the pair lack the proper rights to adapt a stage production based on "Thriller."
Landis, who co-wrote and directed the groundbreaking music video, sued the pop star and producer James L. Nederlander's company over the possible show. Nederlander announced earlier this week that it had acquired the rights to "Thriller" and songs from Jackson's blockbuster album of the same name.
Landis' lawsuit seeks a judge's order that Jackson lacks the adequate rights to transfer to Nederlander, and that the producer doesn't have the authority to create a stage show based on the video or documentary that Landis directed.
Landis' attorney, Miles J. Feldman, said the director would seek to stop the show "if it becomes necessary."
Phone messages seeking comment from Nederlander and a New York attorney who has represented Jackson were not returned Wednesday.
Landis claims Jackson, who recently moved back to Los Angeles, was paid more than $400,000 for the rights Landis owns.
Wednesday's lawsuit came days after the "An American Werewolf in London" director sued Jackson, claiming he hadn't been paid royalties on "Thriller" for at least four years.
Landis is personally suing Jackson over the Broadway production; the suit over royalties is on behalf of his company, Levitsky Productions Inc.
The earlier suit states Landis is owed 50 percent of profits from "Thriller" projects and alleges Jackson continues to license rights to video games, toys and comic books based on the 14-minute music video and a documentary. The lawsuit also seeks an accounting of the video's profits.
source :AP Associated press
Springsteen lightens music for Obama era
By Walker Simon
After years of excoriating the Bush administration for what he believed was the hijacking of American values and ideals, Bruce Springsteen is welcoming the Obama era with a noticeably lightened tone, both political and musical.
Springsteen's "Working On A Dream" album, released a week to the day after President Barack Obama's inauguration, turns inward and addresses relationships and aging in lush arrangements with a sound evocative of classic 1960s pop music.
"In terms of lyrics, it's a much more personal album, focusing on themes like romance and maturity rather than expressing outrage sparked by government policies," said Entertainment Weekly music critic Simon Vozick-Levinson.
The album stands in stark contrast to 2007's "Magic," on which he railed against the war in Iraq and the erosion of civil liberties. Touring for that album, he told fans that America was now known for voter suppression and illegal wiretapping.
"MOMENT OF OPTIMISM"
The new album isn't the only thing to raise the Boss's profile lately. Springsteen appeared at Obama's pre-inaugural concert, won a Golden Globe award for the title song for independent film The Wrestler, and will be the halftime act at Sunday's Super Bowl.
Experts say the new record and more relaxed approach to politics is simply a reflection of the changing times.
source : BBC news
Tuesday’s Idol: Kara vs. Simon!
where Katharine McPhee was awarded the golden ticket that changed her life. But the hour was dominated by the judges, in particular by Simon and frosh player Kara DioGuardi. A rapid montage showed them sniping through one audition after another. It was a fairly even match, unlike Simon versus Paula, which is more like Roger Federer against a chipmonk.
Kara (frustrated by one of Simon’s decisions): “You have a heart of COLD.” Simon (unmoved): “I have a REALISTIC heart.”
It reached a peak of sorts with the bizarre audition of Akilah Askew-Gholston , 26, who came with sheaves of tattered charts and illustrations of a singer’s anatomy. She hung on for so long — one might say Simon allowed her to hang on — Kara finally hugged her and gently but firmly shoved her in the direction of the door. Then she turned on Simon: “How can you yell at certain people and then certain people you let run on?”
Because it creates tension! Drama! Humor! Pathos!
Just twelve golden tickets were inevitably issued, but there wasn’t much footage from the truly successful auditions. Standouts:
Best: Adam Lambert, 26. After the musical-theater performer sang “Bohemian Rhapsody,” there was discussion among the judges whether his is the right voice for Idol — but in Paula’s opinion, “He’s the best we’ve seen.” (He, by the way, said he’d seen her in concert when he was 10.)
Sweetest: Kai Kalama, 26. The musician has deliberately slowed his career to care for his ailing mother, who has a seizure disorder. The judges liked his voice but thought his stage presence was a bit sheepish. “Watch me,” suggested Simon, for pointers on confidence. Yes, that would help.
Unlikeliest: Tatiana del Toro, 23. The singer, who presented the judges with her very own press kit, came on way too strong, and laughed manically, which is never good. She was one of those rare auditions so overbearing they end up getting you to root for them — which seemed, overall, to be what the judges were thinking too. – Tom Gliatto
source : People TV watch
For TV’s Newest Crime Fighter, the Lips May Lie, but the Face Tells the Truth
By GINIA BELLAFANTE
During the past decade, Fox has rarely been the place to go looking for the lessons in collectivism manifest on series like “The Unit” and “Lost” and “Law & Order,” all of which pay tribute to collaborative problem-solving on networks not owned by Rupert Murdoch. Fox doesn’t smell like team spirit. It is a Randian territory of lone saviors (Jack Bauer, John Connor, Gregory House) bushwhacking through impending catastrophe with the weaponry of a singular genius.
The latest addition to the stable is the human polygraph Dr. Cal Lightman (Tim Roth). His gift is determining the criminality of white supremacists, wayward teenagers, Congressional ethics committee chairmen and any and all dubious-seeming Homo sapiens on the basis of shifting body language — “micro-expressions” — which has the effect of turning him into a one-man F.B.I.-municipal police force-Department of Homeland Security on the new series “Lie to Me” (beginning Wednesday).
In addition to his law enforcement efforts, Lightman appears to be a hot ticket on the lecture circuit, where he offers a delicious flashback pageant of public impropriety and heinous misconduct, producing PowerPoint images of Kato Kaelin, O. J. Simpson, Eliot Spitzer, Saddam Hussein, whose sneers and sniggers and pursed lips he has studied like a rabbinical student hunkering down with the Book of Job.
Lightman himself is a fruit basket of stereotype — cocky, infallible, petulant, divorced, burdened by his proficiencies — who has spent decades reading faces and pronouncing certainties: “If your suspect is surprised for more than one second, he is faking it.” The show further embeds the network’s individualist ideologies with a view that suggests private industry can always go the government suits one better. No line item for the Office of Management and Budget, Lightman operates under the auspices of his own consulting firm, the Washington-based Lightman Group, which the feds reluctantly seek out when they are tripped up, presumably by their own inexorable incompetence.
The government minions forced to deal with Lightman on the ground swallow the idea like children forced to take castor oil. “Personally, I think what you do is a joke,” one of them lets him know. But Lightman has his own minions, and thus his own devotees, the people who work for him in his all-white-and-steel, airy-truth-palace of an office. Chief among them is Gillian Foster (Kelli Williams), a behavioral analyst saddled with the task of speaking in earnest exposition and made not to drink Lightman’s Kool-Aid so much as gulp it from the tap.
“Lie to Me” is an invitation to follow her lead, and in some sense it isn’t all that easy to decline the offer. There is an appealing cheekiness to the show’s insistence on dressing up hunch work as the purview of serious science. And there is some legitimacy to the claim: the series is based on the research of Paul Ekman, a professor of psychology at the University of California, San Francisco, who is a specialist in nonverbal communication and what his publishers call deception strategies.
Nancy Drew was pretty good at breaking down deception strategies, too. So was Reese Witherspoon in “Legally Blonde.” Throughout the history of modern popular culture we’ve gone in and out of defining female intelligence in terms of intuitive displays. I’m not sure what it means that television’s reigning intuitionists are now male (Lightman joins the strike force of Adrian Monk and “The Mentalist’s” Patrick Jane). And I’m not sure whether the regendering is a democratizing net positive for feminism or whether we should take offense that women’s intuition translates somewhere along the spectrum of cute while its male counterpart is meant to suggest the power of a mind brilliantly deducing.
Against my better judgment, I suspect I’ll keep watching “Lie to Me” until I figure it out.
source : The New york Times
Real life adds drama to 'The Beast'
By Matthew Gilbert
It's hard indeed to talk about "The Beast" without talking about Patrick Swayze's illness. For months now, promotion for the new A&E cop drama has been inextricably bound up with news articles about Swayze's pancreatic cancer and his energy level on the set. The show has become a gateway for fan sympathy and for morbid curiosity, as we scan Swayze's face for sunken cheeks and a protruding jaw line.
I tried to watch "The Beast" as a thing-in-itself, to keep the onscreen and backstage separate. And it was next to impossible. Turns out the Swayze narrative is as much a part of the value of "The Beast" as Mickey Rourke's personal redemption tale is in his movie "The Wrestler." The show, which premieres tonight at 10, gives us an actor in a life-threatening situation playing a weary but driven FBI agent who flirts with death every day. The resonance is inescapable.
As the cool Charles Barker, Swayze seems to bring a new aura of authenticity to his screen persona. For the first time, I could imagine him eventually following the veteran career path of a Clint Eastwood or a Tommy Lee Jones, all haggard dignity and earned wisdom. Barker is written as the stereotypical rogue cop who crosses the line into illegality, but Swayze's presence is complex enough to add mystery and weight that aren't in the script. He's a lot more compelling than he should be, given the show's profusion of stock, crime-time lines about making choices and getting the job done.
Really, take Swayze and his gravitas out of the picture, and "The Beast" is a mediocre series that would probably lurk on the cable TV lineup without much notice. It's a sidewalk knock-off of "The Shield," lousy with genre cliches and sometimes baffling plot logic. The show's parade of drug dealers, mobsters, and humorless cops is straight out of central casting. To distract us from the uninspired storytelling, producer-creator William Rotko leans heavily on grim Chicago atmosphere, which only serves to push the wannabe gritty realism into oppressive unrealism.
"The Beast" is also undermined by an uneven costarring performance by Travis Fimmel, who plays Ellis Dove, a rookie agent teamed with Barker. Fimmel, a former model who starred in the short-lived WB series "Tarzan," has potential as a dramatic actor, but he doesn't seem quite ready to navigate the character's ambivalences. As the victim of Barker's hazing, forced to get his partner coffee and bring the car around, he captures the humor of the situation. But in the more dramatic scenes, when his cover is challenged by a bad guy or when his loyalty to Barker is tested, he just seems to be randomly emoting, without much specificity.
There are hints in the first two episodes of "The Beast" that a serial plot involving Barker will gain momentum as the season progresses. Let's hope the writers veer in that direction, which is more promising than the villain-of-the-week material. Swayze has shown up, and this time he has come to act.
source : Boston.com
'Fantasy Island' Star Ricardo Montalban Dies at 88
By BOB THOMAS
Ricardo Montalban, the Mexican-born actor who became a star in splashy MGM musicals and later as the wish-fulfilling Mr. Roarke in TV's "Fantasy Island," died Wednesday morning at his home, a city councilman said. He was 88. Montalban's death was announced at a city council meeting by president Eric Garcetti, who represents the district where the actor lived. Garcetti did not give a cause of death.
"What you saw on the screen and on television and on talk shows, this very courtly, modest, dignified individual, that's exactly who he was," said Montalban's longtime friend and publicist David Brokaw.
Montalban had been a star in Mexican movies when MGM brought him to Hollywood in 1946. He was cast in the leading role opposite Esther Williams in "Fiesta," and starred again with the swimming beauty in "On an Island with You" and "Neptune's Daughter."
But Montalban was best known as the faintly mysterious, white-suited Mr. Roarke, who presided over a tropical island resort where visitors were able to fulfill their lifelong dreams — usually at the unexpected expense of a difficult life lesson. Following a floatplane landing and lei ceremony, he greeted each guest with the line: "I am Mr. Roarke, your host. Welcome to Fantasy Island."
The show ran from 1978 to 1984.
More recently, he appeared as villains in two hits of the 1980s: "Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan" and the farcical "The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad."
Between movie and TV roles, Montalban was active in the theater. He starred on Broadway in the 1957 musical "Jamaica" opposite Lena Horne, picking up a Tony nomination for best actor in a musical.
He toured in Shaw's "Don Juan in Hell," playing Don Juan, a performance critic John Simon later recalled as "irresistible." In 1965 he appeared on tour in the Yul Brynner role in "The King and I."
"The Ricardo Montalban Theatre in my Council District — where the next generations of performers participate in plays, musicals, and concerts — stands as a fitting tribute to this consummate performer," Garcetti said later in a written statement.
source : ABC news
'Sopranos' star James Gandolfini joins Broadway mob
by :Joe Dziemianowicz
James Gandolfini is famous for playing a Tony.
A new role could win him one.
Producers of "God of Carnage" said the "Sopranos" heavy will star in the play by Yasmina Reza ("Art"), which begins previews on Feb. 28. It opens March 22 at the Bernard Jacobs Theatre.
The plot involves two married couples who meet to talk after their boys get into a playground brawl.
Don't expect polite conversation from Gandolfini or his three castmates - Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis and Marcia Gay Harden, none of whom were in last year's London staging.
Press notes describe the play as "a comedy of manners without the manners."
No doubt all that bad behavior as crime boss Tony Soprano and in film roles, such as the sadistic enforcer in "True Romance," will come in handy.
"Carnage" marks Gandolfini's return to Broadway after 14 years. He made his debut there in a small part in "A Streetcar Named Desire" in 1992 and appeared three years later in "On the Waterfront."
That was four years before "The Sopranos" debuted and catapulted the burly Gandolfini into a superstar with an ardent fan following.
The three-time Emmy winner joins Broadway's ever-expanding list of TV and film stars whose celebrity is a draw for audiences that might not typically come to the theater.
Julia Roberts' stardom offset soggy notices for "Three Days of Rain" in 2006. Katie Holmes proved bankable in the just-ended "All My Sons."
And before he suddenly left "Speed-the-Plow," citing mercury poisoning from eating too much sushi, Jeremy Piven helped sell tickets to the Mamet revival.
The Piven incident could be a lesson to Gandolfini: Swim with the fishes. Just don't eat them.
source : Daily News
Spectral Irish singer Lisa Hannigan steps out of the shadows
Lisa Hannigan started her recording career as a ghost. She hovered around the edges of songs written and performed by one of Ireland's most promising young stars, Damien Rice, haunting his music with her spooky, wounded moans.
Hannigan made the ideal companion for Rice, who's not exactly a party animal himself. She even sang the first and last lines on Rice's latest CD (late 2006's "9"), framing his sullen phrases with her own broken cries.
Yet anyone entranced by Hannigan's sound had to eventually wonder: Could a singer who merely roamed the edges of a song ever hold its center? Could a cameo artist become a star?
Hannigan probably had to pose the question to herself sooner, and more urgently, than she would have wanted. Two years ago, Rice fired her from his band without warning and with little explanation - at least not one Hannigan has offered to the press.
Now she's making the case for her own talents on her solo debut, "Sea Sew." Happily, it not only proves Hannigan worthy of the star slot, it places her firmly in the company of a whole clique of emerging young Irish acts, from the Frames to the Thrills to Bell X1 to a project called Cake Sale, which involves members of all three.
Listeners drawn to Rice's hesitant, acoustic ballads won't be disappointed by anything on Hannigan's debut. She's still singing in hushed tones, though in far more varied ones than Rice's music allowed. In fact, Hannigan's music shows how many different ways a person can sing softly.
In "I Don't Know," her voice has an expectant quality, with a hint of flirtation. In "Ocean and a Rock" there's great yearning in her long, lingering phrases, while for "Keep It All" she sings into her chest to create a sense of mystery.
The music - all originals, save a take on Bert Jansch's "Courting Blues" - also involves more instrumentation than Rice's. But it remains understated and uncluttered. Hannigan proves herself a poetic lyricist, making eager use of Ireland's literary bent for alliteration and onomatopoeia (see "Splishy Splashy," "Sea Song"). Even so, Hannigan's words manage to convey clear meaning.
She writes mainly encouraging and romantic songs, in contrast to Rice's somber broods. In "Ocean and a Rock" Hannigan pledges eternal allegiance to a long-distance lover, while in "I Don't Know" she composes a virtual personal ad of a song, fired by more anticipation than wariness, which shows the durability of her hope. But here's the best news: Hannigan hasn't just crawled out of Rice's shadow so she can imitate him. Instead she gave his introverted sound her own concentrated allure.
source : Daily News
Ledger Globe will go to daughter
Heath Ledger's parents say his posthumous Golden Globe for The Dark Knight should go to his 3-year-old daughter Matilda.
Speaking from the late actor's family home in Perth, Australia, Ledger's father Kim said he watched the awards ceremony with "bittersweet pride".
The actor died of an accidental drug overdose prior to the film's release.
His role as the Joker has also won a Critics Choice award and is expected to get an Academy Award nomination.Ledger received a standing ovation from the audience when he was named best supporting actor. The award was accepted on his behalf by director Christopher Nolan."A standing ovation breaks you up," said Kim Ledger.
He added: "That really goes to the heart, you know."
In an interview with People magazine, Ledger's mother, Sally Bell, said: "I should imagine that eventually it will be going to Matilda.
"It will belong to her because she is part of him."
She has described the recognition the 29-year-old actor had been getting for his work as an "emotional rollercoaster".
"There is a lot of emotion tied up in this and we have to deal with that emotion first before we can relax and enjoy the moment," she said. Matilda is the daughter of Ledger and actress Michelle Williams.
The couple separated a few months before his death and the child is being raised by Williams.
Meanwhile, the 2009 Golden Globes saw a 27% slump in viewers since the last ceremony in 2007.
It averaged 14.6 million viewers, down from 20 million two years ago and the lowest since 1996.
Last year's ceremony was cancelled due to the Hollywood screenwriters strike.
source :BBC News
Sharon Osbourne: Dannii Minogue wanted to f*** Simon Cowell
by Lucy
Sharon Osbourne has fuelled her feud with Dannii Minogue, saying the Australian singer got her job on The X Factor because she wanted to sleep with Simon Cowell.
Sharon left her post on the talent show’s judging panel in June after pay negotiations stalled but when asked why she quit the series in a recent interview, she placed the blame solely on Dannii’s head.
She explained: “[I quit because of] Dannii Minogue.
“All Dannii wanted to do was f*** Simon Cowell. That’s why she’s on the show.”
A source added that Sharon only asked for £2million paypacket so she would be forced to quit: “They offered £1.6million but she ‘couldn’t bear to sit next to Dannii six more months’.”
Sharon was replaced by Girls Aloud star Cheryl Cole; Cheryl’s act Alexandra Burke won the series in December and her debut single ‘Hallelujah’ became the fastest selling single of all time in the run up to Christmas and has now sold more than 1million copies.
source : fametastic
Gisele Bündchen & Tom Brady get engaged?
Gisele Bündchen and boyfriend Tom Brady have reportedly got engaged.
New England Patriots star Tom Brady was rumoured to have popped the question last month but the couple’s families denied the rumours. However, now sources close to the pair claim he proposed in Los Angeles on Friday.
A source told People magazine: “He asked and she accepted.”
The couple are said to have told family and friends over the weekend and are now making their preliminary wedding plans: “The couple is discussing a huge fashionista event in the spring or a more intimate and quicker ceremony in Costa Rica, where Gisele has a home.”
The couple began dating in 2006, shortly after Tom split from the then-pregnant mother of his child Bridget Moynahan.source : fametastic
`Idol' returns with the good, the bad, the bikini
By LYNN ELBER
The flat notes, the sweet surprises, the pleas of the rejected are all intact as "American Idol" returns for its eighth season of first-class karaoke.
A new twist is the bikini-clad contestant who splits the judges straight down the gender line in the debut episode.
Fox previewed the show Monday night for TV critics who simply couldn't wait 24 hours to see it air. The rest of America can judge for itself from 8-10 p.m. Tuesday.
The episode opens with auditions taped in Phoenix and features newcomer Kara DioGuardi, who joins Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson on the judging panel.
DioGuardi immediately distinguished herself by throwing down with the willowy woman in the very orange, very small bikini. DioGuardi, a songwriter-producer who also knows how to belt a tune, sang a few bars to show the contestant how it should have been done.
"Honestly, you don't have the chops to sing that song, sweetie," DioGuardi told her.
"But your demonstration wasn't any better," the woman snapped back.
Not diplomatic, Abdul cautioned, jumping into the fray.
But the male judges were definitely impressed.
"Beautiful," Cowell pronounced after hearing just a few bars.
From Jackson: "I think you have a have a lot of potential. I'm going to say yes."
That bikini is going to Hollywood and the next round of auditions.
Not so lucky was the extremely nervous man who was sweating as if he knew the executioner's ax hovered.
"You look like you're in pain or something," Cowell told him.
The British music producer was his usual amusing, acidic self. Jackson appeared loose and eager for another season, chair-dancing to the rhythm of more than one bad singer.
Definitely no, Jackson told one contestant, then added gleefully, "Man, that was wild!"
A pink cowboy-hatted teenager pleaded for another shot.
"Please, I'm shaking in my boots here," she pleaded, charmingly.
Boots, it turns out, are not as persuasive as a bathing suit.
source :Washingtonpost.com
Golden Globes Fashion: The Best ... And The Worst
Anne Hathaway looks classic, Brangelina look relaxed and Miley Cyrus looks too grown-up.
The Golden Globes have officially kicked off the 2009 awards season. After last year's ceremony was canceled, the stars made sure they really kicked it up a notch — or three.
There were lots of one-shoulder gowns, shades of blush and nude, and a bouffant or two. The guys pretty much stuck to the standard black-tie garb with lots of tuxedos, which makes any guy look dapper and handsome.
There were also some stand-out choices that made us say, "Wow!" — in good and bad ways. So here's a look at the best- and worst-dressed at the 2009 Golden Globes.
(For a by-the-minute recap of the fabulous and faulty fashions, check out our Golden Globes red-carpet blog.)
Let's get the bad out of the way first: America Ferrera looked silly. She was trying to be avant-garde, but ended up looking like she was trying out for a live-action "Jetsons" movie. Amanda Seyfried at first appeared lovely in her one-shoulder dress, but it was ill-fitting on second glance. "Office" star Jenna Fischer's floral frock failed to impress. Miley Cyrus' dress was confusing and didn't do anything for her. She might be 16 now, but the dress was too old for her. Drew Barrymore wore a gray Galliano gown. He's known to do out-there stuff, but the only thing out-there about Drew was her hair.
Both Eva Longoria and Beyoncé looked like their dresses were too small. J.Lo looked tired in her flashy gown; it just feels like she's done it a million times before. One look that stood out (in a questionable way) was Marisa Tomei's pirate-inspired getup. The Golden Globes feel like a strange place to debut that sort of look.
Now, let's talk about who rocked the carpet. Maggie Gyllenhaal always makes an attempt to stand out, and sometimes it doesn't work. Then again, sometimes it does. Her blue leopard-print Lanvin dress this year worked. Anne Hathaway loves looking classic, and there's no better classic designer than Armani Privé. Her navy dress was stunning and worked well with her pale skin. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt looked relaxed and cool. She wore silver, which is different for her, and she deserves some props for it.
Eva Mendes' white gown had a huge bow at her hip, proving that she loves to look like a bombshell. Kate Winslet's whimsical neckline on her strapless gown took something ordinary and made it extraordinary. And our belle of the ball was Amy Adams, who literally made us stop breathing when she showed up on the carpet in her Oscar de la Renta ball gown. It was flawless.
source :MTv
Winslet and Slumdog sweep Globes
Kate Winslet has won two awards at the Golden Globes in Los Angeles, winning best actress for Revolutionary Road and best supporting actress for The Reader.
"Is this really happening?" she asked as she collected her second prize.
Slumdog Millionaire was named best film drama, one of four awards Danny Boyle's Mumbai-set movie received.
Heath Ledger was given a posthumous supporting actor prize for The Dark Knight, while Mickey Rourke was named best actor in a drama for The Wrestler.
Other British recipients included Sally Hawkins, named best comedy actress for her role in Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky.
The Globes - which recognise both film and television - are often regarded as an indicator of the movies and actors who will go on to win honours at the Academy Awards.
'Pulsating affection'
Winslet had been expected to be named best supporting actress for The Reader, in which she plays a former Nazi prison guard who has an affair with a teenager.
But her second win for Revolutionary Road - in which she plays a frustrated housewife living in 1950s America - came as a surprise.
Winslet, 33, apologised to her fellow nominees for winning and paid tribute to her "spectacular" co-star Leonardo DiCaprio.
She also thanked her husband Sam Mendes for directing Revolutionary Road and "killing us every single day".
Boyle was named best director for Slumdog Millionaire, which also picked up prizes for Simon Beaufoy's screenplay and for AR Rahman's score.
"Your mad, pulsating affection for our film is much appreciated," said Boyle as he collected his individual award.
'Sadness and pride'
Ledger's honour was accepted by Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan, who said the late actor would be "eternally missed but never forgotten".
"All of us who worked with Heath accept with an awful mixture of sadness but incredible pride," he continued.
Irish star Colin Farrell was named best actor in a musical or comedy for his role as a hit man in black comedy In Bruges.
Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona, meanwhile, was named best comedy, ahead of Happy-Go-Lucky and Mamma Mia.
source : BBC news
Tom Cruise's great uniform
Tom Cruise says the Nazis "had great uniforms" The US actor plays Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, a Nazi who led an internal plot to assassinate Hitler during World War two, in his latest film 'Valkyrie'. While he says Nazi uniforms were well designed, he also found they encouraged strong feelings in him. Tom, 46, told Britain's Daily Mail newspaper: "I have to tell you, they had great uniforms, great designs. But there was a perversion with those things. "They took symbols that were good and they inverted the aesthetics. My immediate response was, 'I hate this uniform.' But I had to get used to seeing myself wearing it, although it was disturbing to look at the world from that perspective." For his role in the film, Tom also had to wear an eye patch and hide his hand to emulate injuries sustained by Stauffenberg in an air attack. He adds that his uniform raised eyebrows when he first wore it, at a read-through of the script in Metro Goldwyn Mayer's Los Angeles offices. He said: "There I was, dressed in full German officer's uniform, walking out of the conference room and down the corridors to get to the bathroom. It was surreal. I could see the guys in the offices looking at me and wondering what the hell was going on." 'Valkyrie' is released in European cinemas throughout January and February. source : m&c
Leonardo DiCaprio's marriage wish
Leonardo DiCaprio wants to get married. The 'Revolutionary Road' star previously maintained he doesn't believe in marriage, but has now changed his mind and "grown up." Leonardo, 34, said: "I absolutely believe in marriage. In saying that I realise I am contradicting everything I've said before. Yes, I want to get married and have children." The US actor - who is reportedly dating Israeli model Bar Rafaeli - puts his previous views down to inexperience. He added: "It sounds like the ignorance of youth to me. When did I say those things? Three or Four years ago? Hey, we grow up real fast." Leonardo also said the media attention and scrutiny which came with his huge success as an actor in films such as 'Romeo and Juliet' and 'Titanic' had a huge impact on how he saw the world around him. He continued: "'Titanic' was a period of rebellion for me. I was portrayed as the world's number one poster boy, a heart-throb. It wasn't what I wanted to be at 24. "It was never the recognition I wanted. The whole experience was so shallow and empty. That's why I took a break. I was conscious that I needed to do something different." 'Revolutionary Road' is released in European cinemas this month. source :m&c
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