I really would like to find a reason to NOT like Christina Aguilera...I really would, I hated the old her where she looked like a trashy $2 hollywood hooker, I didn't like being her personal gynecologist along with the rest of the world....but since she got married and cleaned up her image to sexy sultry....I can't hate her. She sounds incredible, she looks fantastic. Dammit. People, this is the new queen of pop. She is now the standard to be met, not only by Brittney's comeback (if that ever comes) but by everyone else.
enjoy!
Saturday, August 26, 2006
WTF?
I'm personally left speechless. It had to happen one day but....
off of TMZ.com:
Bai Ling Actually Shuns Attention!
Posted Aug 25th 2006 5:48PM by TMZ Staff
Actress and flashbulb magnet Bai Ling, not generally known for her aversion to attention, kept the public at bay during a dinner at L.A.'s ASIA Los Feliz last week.
According to a TMZ source, the vamp-happy actress indulged in the sleek eatery's Zen-inspired cuisine, partaking of the Three Flavor Eggplant -- a stir-fry combination of, yes, three flavors of eggplant -- and sipping on tea served in a silk tea bag.
Ling, who appears in the recently-released "Edmond" with William H. Macy, was with a civilian (i.e, non-celebrity) companion, and, according to our source, didn't engage in any particularly unruly behavior, but was uncharacteristically stern, refusing to speak with anyone who approached her.
Luckily for Ling, the restaurant's acoustics -- specially designed by the restaurant's owners, who are longtime music-industry vets -- allow patrons to converse normally but not have to worry about spoiling the tranquility of the setting.
But Bai Ling scorning the spotlight? Now that, friends, is news.
Is somebody trying to kill CSI?
off of People.com:
K-Fed to Make His Acting Debut on CSI
FRIDAY AUGUST 25, 2006 10:00PM EST
By Marisa Laudadio and Cynthia Wang
Kevin Federline, who made his nationally televised rap debut last Sunday at the Teen Choice Awards, is going for another first – his debut as a TV actor on America's top-rated drama, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, PEOPLE has learned exclusively.
As Federline tells PEOPLE while on the set of the CBS show, "This is pretty much my first time acting. It's the first time I've actually had a speaking role." He adds that the offer came about quickly. "I was doing stuff for the Teen Choice Awards," he says, "and got the call while we were rehearsing and I pissed in my pants! I was excited right off the bat. It's the only show that I really, really watch."
Federline, 28, started shooting his part in Los Angeles on Thursday night. He will play a menacing, arrogant teen who harasses investigators Nick Stokes (George Eads) and Warrick Brown (Gary Dourdan) on a job. The episode is tentatively scheduled to air in October.
Fans of Federline and his wife, Britney Spears, 24, may remember their last foray into broadcast TV – their own reality show, Britney & Kevin: Chaotic, which aired on UPN in 2005. But to take on CSI, Federline will rely on his instincts. "I just read the script," he says. "They told me they wanted it to be more of a natural thing that comes to me."
Earlier in the day, the CSI producers announced another star addition to their lineup: Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter John Mayer, who will make a cameo in the two-part season premiere, airing Sept. 21 and 28. In a scene set in a Las Vegas nightclub, Mayer will sing his single "Waiting On the World to Change" and "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room," both tracks off his third studio album, Continuum.
Federline's first album, Playing with Fire, will drop in October, but he gave a glimpse of it at the Teen Choice Awards, where he performed the track "Lose Yourself." Afterward, he told PEOPLE, "I'm happy. I think I pulled if off pretty well. September 5, we're launching the video. There's a lot of good things going around here."
For the love of Sanity, NOOO!!!
I think, personally, this is a horrible idea....taking kids on the road with you? What, is she gonna change dirty diapers on stage in the middle of a song?
and you can just HEAR the gum-chomping reading this interview too...
***
off of the bosh:
Britney Spears plans to take her kids on tour
Britney Spears plans to take her kids on tour after struggling to leave son Sean Preston at home reports Digital Spy.
The singer said she had been recording and was finding it increasingly hard to tear herself away from Preston.
"I've been going to the studio lately, and we've been trying out different nannies," she said. "It's hard to leave Sean… I'm so torn right now."
She added that – when her second child, expected next month, is born – she will take them both away with her on future tours. She commented: "I think it will be good to have a sibling there with Sean Preston on tour."
Meanwhile, Britney Spears has vowed to get into shape so that she can go a world tour next year reports postchronicle.
Spears says: "I feel like I've been pregnant for ten years .... I can't wait to get back in shape. I'm so excited to really be able to sweat like I used to."
Cruise shopping
I still say the formula is star = bankable + recognizable. IF you're no longer bankable, then nobody wants you. Why is Cruise shopping for a new place to go? Makes you wonder. Maybe Sumner was a little harsh but if you lose your contract studio lots of $$$ like millions, then you're gonna get dumped.
off of SFGate:
Cruise's Secret Yahoo! Meeting
Reuters / Kiyoshi Ota
Tom Cruise isn't wasting any time in turning his business fortunes around after parting ways with Paramount Studios -- he's making waves at Internet media giant Yahoo!
The movie star secretly met with Yahoo! bosses in Santa Monica, Calif., yesterday -- and took wife-to-be Katie Holmes along with him.
Dressed smart but casual in jeans, a shirt and a blazer, Cruise looked happy as he left his three-hour meeting at Yahoo! hand in hand with Holmes, who was dressed for winter in a coat and boots on a sweltering 100-degree California summer day.
The actor refused to discuss what the meeting was about or what plans he has with Yahoo! executives.
The meeting followed a six-hour briefing Cruise hosted with selected studio bosses at trendy restaurant Orso in Los Angeles on Wednesday night.
Cruise was reportedly dumped by Paramount boss Sumner Redstone earlier this week.
Redstone said the studio ended the 14-year relationship with Cruise's production company because he did not approve of the actor's much-publicized antics in the last 12 months, including a sofa-jumping incident on the "Oprah" show and a stern attack of psychiatry on breakfast show "Today."
Cruise and his business partner have refuted the reason for the split.
Friday, August 25, 2006
Houston Exclusive! Jessica Simpson dish!
This morning on MIX 96.5, Jessica Simpson made an appearance at about 6:30 am for the promotional effort they had on giving away tickets to see her. While at the studio, the Midget had to be reminded where she was (in Houston, TX).....now granted, 6:30 in the morning is pretty early to expect ANYONE to think, let alone perform normally....but of course, they talked about her birthday party last month in Mexico. And of course, the Midget was asked what her favorite drink was there. Her answer? Patron......in marguaritas with lime and Splenda.
yeah.
Interfering wife behind the whole thing?
Perish the thought! A personal opinion influencing thought? Well, whatever it takes to wake up batshit crazy Tom. sorry for no pics, they all seem to copyrighted on this topic.
***
off of dailymail.uk:
Cruise firing triggered by studio head's trophy wifeBy RICHARD SIMPSON
Last updated at 14:14pm on 25th August 2006
The unknown trophy wife of a Hollywood film executive has been revealed as the unlikely driving force behind Tom Cruise's dramatic firing this week.
Paula Fortunato, 43, the wife of 83-year-old Sumner Redstone, the Viacom chairman who sacked Cruise, took a dislike to the actor after he publicly criticised the actress Brooke Shields for using post-natal anti-depressants.
An 'incensed' Fortunato advised her ageing husband that the comments Cruise made live on television, which are in line with his Scientology beliefs, had forever turned female fans off him.
On Wednesday of this week Paramount Pictures - the film division of Viacom - dropped the 44-year-old actor, calling an abrupt end to one of the most lucrative partnerships in film history.
Redstone made the extraordinary move of speaking out publicly to blame Cruise's 'unacceptable conduct' off-set for his decision.
Redstone said: "As much as we like him personally, we thought it was wrong to renew his deal. His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount."
Redstone estimated that Cruise's off-screen behaviour cost his latest movie, Mission: Impossible III, between £50 and £75 million in lost box office revenues even though the film was, he said, 'the best of the three movies' in the action series.
It had been understood that the 'recent conduct' Redstone had been referring covered the past year, which had been a public relations fiasco for Cruise.
Cruise's obsessive devotion to Scientology has seen him demand that his young fiancee Katie Holmes should go through the agonising process of childbirth in silence.
There followed speculation that Miss Holmes's conversion to Scientology at Cruise's request has caused her estrangement from her own family, while wildly varying reports have questioned the very existence of their four-month-old daughter Suri since to this day she is yet to be seen in public.
His allegiance to the cult has itself stirred controversy, it being based on the belief that humans are an exiled race from outer space called Thetans.
Cruise's behaviour in public in recent months has also become increasingly erratic. He became the butt of jokes after declaring his love for Miss Holmes in his infamous couch-hopping appearance on America's Oprah Winfrey Show.
But Hollywood insiders have now made the intriguing discovery that Redstone's decision was linked almost entirely to the feelings of his wife - who is 40 years his junior, who 'had his ear' and, he believed, was the best barometer of how the female public felt about the actor.
According to an insider, Fortunato, was 'incensed' by Cruise's criticism of Brooke Shields, who wrote about how prescription drugs relieved her postnatal depression.
"Here is a woman - and I care about Brooke Shields because she is an incredibly talented woman - where has her career gone?" Cruise ranted on national television. "These drugs are dangerous. I have actually helped people come off them. When you talk about postnatal depression, you can take people today, women, and what you do is, you use vitamins."
Sources say Fortunato told her powerful husband, "I never want to see another Tom Cruise movie again".
Viacom spokesman Carl Folta confirmed the story last night, telling a New York newspaper: "It is true that Mrs. Redstone disagrees with Tom Cruise's views, but she and Mr. Redstone see every Paramount film."
Cruise is understood to be incensed that his entire career risks crashing around him due to the whisperings of Miss Fortunato, who until recently was an unknown New York primary school teacher. Miss Fortunato met Redstone while he was still married to his first wife of 55 years, Phyllis Gloria Raphael, and married him three years later in April 2003.
***
off of dailymail.uk:
Cruise firing triggered by studio head's trophy wifeBy RICHARD SIMPSON
Last updated at 14:14pm on 25th August 2006
The unknown trophy wife of a Hollywood film executive has been revealed as the unlikely driving force behind Tom Cruise's dramatic firing this week.
Paula Fortunato, 43, the wife of 83-year-old Sumner Redstone, the Viacom chairman who sacked Cruise, took a dislike to the actor after he publicly criticised the actress Brooke Shields for using post-natal anti-depressants.
An 'incensed' Fortunato advised her ageing husband that the comments Cruise made live on television, which are in line with his Scientology beliefs, had forever turned female fans off him.
On Wednesday of this week Paramount Pictures - the film division of Viacom - dropped the 44-year-old actor, calling an abrupt end to one of the most lucrative partnerships in film history.
Redstone made the extraordinary move of speaking out publicly to blame Cruise's 'unacceptable conduct' off-set for his decision.
Redstone said: "As much as we like him personally, we thought it was wrong to renew his deal. His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount."
Redstone estimated that Cruise's off-screen behaviour cost his latest movie, Mission: Impossible III, between £50 and £75 million in lost box office revenues even though the film was, he said, 'the best of the three movies' in the action series.
It had been understood that the 'recent conduct' Redstone had been referring covered the past year, which had been a public relations fiasco for Cruise.
Cruise's obsessive devotion to Scientology has seen him demand that his young fiancee Katie Holmes should go through the agonising process of childbirth in silence.
There followed speculation that Miss Holmes's conversion to Scientology at Cruise's request has caused her estrangement from her own family, while wildly varying reports have questioned the very existence of their four-month-old daughter Suri since to this day she is yet to be seen in public.
His allegiance to the cult has itself stirred controversy, it being based on the belief that humans are an exiled race from outer space called Thetans.
Cruise's behaviour in public in recent months has also become increasingly erratic. He became the butt of jokes after declaring his love for Miss Holmes in his infamous couch-hopping appearance on America's Oprah Winfrey Show.
But Hollywood insiders have now made the intriguing discovery that Redstone's decision was linked almost entirely to the feelings of his wife - who is 40 years his junior, who 'had his ear' and, he believed, was the best barometer of how the female public felt about the actor.
According to an insider, Fortunato, was 'incensed' by Cruise's criticism of Brooke Shields, who wrote about how prescription drugs relieved her postnatal depression.
"Here is a woman - and I care about Brooke Shields because she is an incredibly talented woman - where has her career gone?" Cruise ranted on national television. "These drugs are dangerous. I have actually helped people come off them. When you talk about postnatal depression, you can take people today, women, and what you do is, you use vitamins."
Sources say Fortunato told her powerful husband, "I never want to see another Tom Cruise movie again".
Viacom spokesman Carl Folta confirmed the story last night, telling a New York newspaper: "It is true that Mrs. Redstone disagrees with Tom Cruise's views, but she and Mr. Redstone see every Paramount film."
Cruise is understood to be incensed that his entire career risks crashing around him due to the whisperings of Miss Fortunato, who until recently was an unknown New York primary school teacher. Miss Fortunato met Redstone while he was still married to his first wife of 55 years, Phyllis Gloria Raphael, and married him three years later in April 2003.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Amazingly....Cruise isn't going to sue!
Like I've always said...the formula for a star is bankability + recognizableness and if you lose one of those...you no longer have a job. On The Awful Truth they are talking about how Cruise really needs an image makeover, Cruise knows this and that's why he's cuddling up with Katie's family.
sorry for no pics
***
off of defamer.com:
Moments after grumpy, 168-year-old Viacom mogul Sumner Redstone fired his now-infamous "That Tom Cruise Character Is Far Too Nuts To Ever Work For My Company" Shot Heard 'Round The World across the pages of the Wall Street Journal, chatter almost instantaneously commenced that the notoriously thin-skinned Cruise would dispatch his legal strongman, Scary Hollywood Lawyer Bertram "Bert" Fields, to devour Redstone's children.
But rather than paralyze his quarry with a quick dose of poison, unhinge his jaw, and slowly swallow his retaliatory prey down until the clearly discernible shape of Shari Redstone bulged from his grotesquely distended belly, Fields instead announced that Cruise has "no intent" to call in a hit, telling The Hollywood Reporter, ESQ:
"We have no intent to sue Sumner Redstone over his pompous and inane statements about Tom Cruise's conduct as a reason for not re-signing him," Fields said by phone from his vacation home in France when asked whether a claim for defamation or other causes of action was in the works. "This is not something that will be solved in some court proceeding." [...]
"What's he talking about?" Fields said of Redstone. "Tom jumped up and down on Oprah Winfrey's couch because he's wildly in love with Katie Holmes. He spoke out that people, especially children, shouldn't use mind-altering drugs. To say that's conduct that's unacceptable to Mr. Redstone? In the history of the film business, this will be remembered as the self-destruction of a movie mogul -- he's either lost it all or he's getting very bad advice."
Fields, of course, is nothing if not a pragmatist willing to work both sides of an issue, and we imagine that now his trip to France has become a working vacation, he's drafting an ever-so-slightly altered version of his statement, just in case Redstone wants to retain him: "Tom jumped up and down on Oprah Winfrey's couch because he's wildly pretending to be in love with Katie Holmes. He spoke out that sick people, especially children, shouldn't use mind-altering quality-of-life-improving drugs. To say that's Such conduct that's is unacceptable to Mr. Redstone?. In the history of the film business, this will be remembered as the self-destruction of a movie mogul star -- he's either lost it all or he's getting very bad advice from his Scientology handlers."
sorry for no pics
***
off of defamer.com:
Moments after grumpy, 168-year-old Viacom mogul Sumner Redstone fired his now-infamous "That Tom Cruise Character Is Far Too Nuts To Ever Work For My Company" Shot Heard 'Round The World across the pages of the Wall Street Journal, chatter almost instantaneously commenced that the notoriously thin-skinned Cruise would dispatch his legal strongman, Scary Hollywood Lawyer Bertram "Bert" Fields, to devour Redstone's children.
But rather than paralyze his quarry with a quick dose of poison, unhinge his jaw, and slowly swallow his retaliatory prey down until the clearly discernible shape of Shari Redstone bulged from his grotesquely distended belly, Fields instead announced that Cruise has "no intent" to call in a hit, telling The Hollywood Reporter, ESQ:
"We have no intent to sue Sumner Redstone over his pompous and inane statements about Tom Cruise's conduct as a reason for not re-signing him," Fields said by phone from his vacation home in France when asked whether a claim for defamation or other causes of action was in the works. "This is not something that will be solved in some court proceeding." [...]
"What's he talking about?" Fields said of Redstone. "Tom jumped up and down on Oprah Winfrey's couch because he's wildly in love with Katie Holmes. He spoke out that people, especially children, shouldn't use mind-altering drugs. To say that's conduct that's unacceptable to Mr. Redstone? In the history of the film business, this will be remembered as the self-destruction of a movie mogul -- he's either lost it all or he's getting very bad advice."
Fields, of course, is nothing if not a pragmatist willing to work both sides of an issue, and we imagine that now his trip to France has become a working vacation, he's drafting an ever-so-slightly altered version of his statement, just in case Redstone wants to retain him: "Tom jumped up and down on Oprah Winfrey's couch because he's wildly pretending to be in love with Katie Holmes. He spoke out that sick people, especially children, shouldn't use mind-altering quality-of-life-improving drugs. To say that's Such conduct that's is unacceptable to Mr. Redstone?. In the history of the film business, this will be remembered as the self-destruction of a movie mogul star -- he's either lost it all or he's getting very bad advice from his Scientology handlers."
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
OMG!!! Touche!!!
Oh SNAP! Batshit Crazy Tom gets kicked out by Paramont and Paramont picks up the Sout Park guys!!!
That's gotta hurt! Hope TC's ego is well-bruised!
***
off of ONTD:
"South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have set two live-action films at Paramount.
Parker and Stone, who have re-christened their Par-based shingle Important Pictures, will first make the Jeff Roda-scripted high school comedy "My All-American." They plan to follow with "Giant Monsters Attack Japan!," a film scripted by J.F. Lawton ("Under Siege") that will combine live-action with the "rubber suit" techniques made popular in Asian imports like "Godzilla."
Parker will direct each film and Stone produce; both will work on the scripts with the writers. Sean Daniel and Nickelodeon will also be producers on "Giant Monsters."Parker and Stone are aiming for a 2007 production start, timed to a hiatus from "South Park," which this week launched its 10th season.
"My All-American" will sport a young cast, marking the first time Parker and Stone have worked with real actors since the pre-"South Park" features "Cannibal: The Musical!" and "Orgazmo.""Neither of these movies feel like vehicles for big stars, but this will be our opportunity to find out if there are any actors left who want to work with us," Stone said.
The duo is determined to beef up its Important shingle, with topper Jennifer Howell and longtime series producer Anne Garefino spearheading the search for project acquisitions.
"We learned from the last two films that these can't all be self-generated," Stone said. "Trey and I are script whores, so we'll be very involved in shaping these projects. We've averaged a movie every five years. We'd like to make more and produce films that give other directors a chance."
SOURCE
Now this is just GROSSS
Hope they have an oil pump out back for him.....just ICK! Paris is so full of shit and such a liar. Publically. Like we weren't going to find out.
***
off of MSNBC.com:
By Jeannette Walls
MSNBC
That's...hot? Hilton, ‘fire crotch’ heir shack up
So much for Paris Hilton’s recent claim that she’s giving up on men.
The crooning heiress is living with Brandon Davis, according to Life & Style weekly. Davis is the oil heir who introduced the phrase “fire crotch” to the public when his ramblings about Lindsay Lohan were caught on tape. Earlier this month, Hilton declared, “I’m not doing it with anyone [for a year]. I just want to concentrate on work.”
Davis has been living with Hilton at her Hollywood Hills home since leaving rehab in July, according to the mag. He went into rehab after his infamous "fire crotch" quote was made public, although earlier this month he climbed on stage in Miami during Hilton’s record launch and used the same phrase with regards to Lohan.
“His family is selling their home, so Brandon’s been shacking up with Paris at her place off the Sunset Strip,” an “insider” tells L&S. “All his clothes, his toiletries and even some of the artwork he owns.”
But the arrangement is reportedly more than temporary. Says the source: “They’re hooking up, but she doesn’t want anyone to know about it. It’s being kept very hush-hush.”
We All Know the real story...
I'm inclined to believe Paramount....Of COURSE Batshit Crazy Tom is going to try to make himself look good. He's in a bad spot....like a bad break up in high school, you come back with, "well I already started seeing other people. I was going to dump you anyway."
We all know. What's scary is that now he can make movies all exclusively funded by the C of $.
sorry for no pic.
***
off of CNN.com/Time:
Paramount and Tom Cruise Split, But Who Stands to Lose the Most?
Paramount's parent CEO Sumner Redstone publicly slams Cruise's off-screen behavior, but the actor/producer still pulls in millions at the box office
By SONJA STEPTOE/LOS ANGELES
Posted Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2006You're fired! Hey, you can't fire me, because I quit!
That's the gist of the war of words between Tom Cruise's production company and Paramount Pictures following news from film studio's parent late Tuesday that it was severing ties with Cruise/Wagner Productions after 14 years.
Sumner Redstone, chairman of Paramount owner Viacom, told the Wall Street Journal, which first broke the story on its website, that Cruise's "recent conduct has not been acceptable." Redstone cited the actor's public comments defending Scientology and criticizing psychiatry. "As much as we like him personally, we thought it was wrong to renew his deal," Redstone is quoted as saying in the Journal.
But in an interview with Time.com Tuesday night, Paula Wagner, Cruise's partner, said that days before Paramount's move, the two producers had already decided to leave the studio, accept an offer of a $100 million-a-year revolving fund from a group of private investors and produce their future film projects independently. (Under terms of its "first-look" deal with Paramount that recently expired, Cruise/Wagner was paid an annual chunk of money to cover salaries, overhead and development costs — a sum estimated by sources at the studio to be around $10 million, although Wagner insists it was much less than that. In return, the studio got first dibs on releasing the pictures Cruise/Wagner produced.) "A few days ago, we instructed our agents to cease negotiations (on a new deal) with Paramount," Wagner told Time.com. "We decided that it was best for us to do something where we lead the way in terms of where the film industry is going. We're very excited to be making films independently."
The decision by Paramount to end a business relationship with an A-list star like Cruise comes as all of the major studios are sweating out the gate receipt tallies every weekend, aggressively cutting the sizes of star-driven production deals and all other costs, as well as looking for ways to mitigate financial risks. It's a reflection of just how sensitive their publicly traded corporate parents have become about any issue that could pose a threat to the bottom line. It probably wasn't lost on Paramount executives that about half of the people queried in a USA Today/Gallup poll several months ago had an unfavorable opinion of Cruise, in the wake of his controversial public statements and puzzling behavior such as using Oprah Winfrey's couch as a trampoline while declaring his love for future wife Katie Holmes.
And coming just weeks after Disney's decision to drop out of a Holocaust TV miniseries project with Mel Gibson following the torrents of negative publicity about Gibson’s anti-Semitic comments during his DUI arrest, it's an indication that in this celebrity-gossip-saturated age, even stars with stellar box-office records are no longer immune from career reverberations when they get entangled in controversy and public opinion turns against them. "This bespeaks something about where the industry is and where it's going," lamented one producer.
Officials from Paramount and Viacom declined requests to elaborate on Redstone's comments to the Journal, or to react to Wagner's version of events. However, when told about her contention that she and Cruise walked away before being cut loose, a source close to the studio responded dismissively, "Whatever."
Wagner called the remarks about Cruise's behavior attributed to Redstone in the Journal "unprofessional, offensive and undignified" and "not good business." She complained that references to his off-screen actions created a mis-impression that their deal with the studio covers Cruise as an actor as well as a producer, when it actually only involves him as producer. "As an actor, he has never had an exclusive deal with any studio," Wagner said.
Nevertheless, she said the success of the films he has made for Paramount attest to her partner's enduring appeal. According to Cruise's publicist, during the past decade, "Cruise has made six films for Paramount with worldwide box-office totals of $2.4 billion, accounting for 32% of Paramount's total income for the six years he had a film in release." The publicist added that Cruise's last two films, War of the Worlds and Mission Impossible 3, have grossed $977.8 million worldwide. "As an actor, Tom is responsible for almost $3 billion in box office revenue for Paramount," said Wagner. "That's more money than any other actor has made for any single studio in history."
The source with knowledge of Paramount's thinking replied, "You have to factor in how much he cost them. His production deal was expensive and he was providing diminishing returns, based on his box office performance and the [off-screen] behavior that the studio executives felt was impacting it."
Still, the decision to end its association with Cruise isn't risk-free for Paramount. It's a testament to the ongoing strength of the Cruise/Wagner brand that their company attracted such a huge amount of private capital. Moreover, two of Hollywood's biggest producers are still fans of Cruise the actor. Wagner says JJ Abrams, who directed Mission Impossible 3 and just inked big production deals of his own with Warner Bros and Paramount, still wants to work with him.
Jerry Bruckheimer, producer of Cruise blockbusters Days of Thunder and Top Gun, says, "I'd love to make as many films with him as I can.
First of all, Tom gives you big openings no matter what, which is what it's all about. You always have to be careful about what you do, no matter what profession you're in. But I don't think Tom has done anything that would change people's movie-going habits if he's got the right material because he's a brilliant actor."
And in ending the relationship in such a public and messy way, Paramount could wind up alienating other talent, industry insiders warn. "As a movie studio, your business is to attract filmmakers and artists," said one, who is a Cruise ally. "Why would you say something about an important movie star when it could make his friends and colleagues [think twice] about working at a place that attacks artists?"
The combatants are going their separate ways, but the war might not be over
We all know. What's scary is that now he can make movies all exclusively funded by the C of $.
sorry for no pic.
***
off of CNN.com/Time:
Paramount and Tom Cruise Split, But Who Stands to Lose the Most?
Paramount's parent CEO Sumner Redstone publicly slams Cruise's off-screen behavior, but the actor/producer still pulls in millions at the box office
By SONJA STEPTOE/LOS ANGELES
Posted Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2006You're fired! Hey, you can't fire me, because I quit!
That's the gist of the war of words between Tom Cruise's production company and Paramount Pictures following news from film studio's parent late Tuesday that it was severing ties with Cruise/Wagner Productions after 14 years.
Sumner Redstone, chairman of Paramount owner Viacom, told the Wall Street Journal, which first broke the story on its website, that Cruise's "recent conduct has not been acceptable." Redstone cited the actor's public comments defending Scientology and criticizing psychiatry. "As much as we like him personally, we thought it was wrong to renew his deal," Redstone is quoted as saying in the Journal.
But in an interview with Time.com Tuesday night, Paula Wagner, Cruise's partner, said that days before Paramount's move, the two producers had already decided to leave the studio, accept an offer of a $100 million-a-year revolving fund from a group of private investors and produce their future film projects independently. (Under terms of its "first-look" deal with Paramount that recently expired, Cruise/Wagner was paid an annual chunk of money to cover salaries, overhead and development costs — a sum estimated by sources at the studio to be around $10 million, although Wagner insists it was much less than that. In return, the studio got first dibs on releasing the pictures Cruise/Wagner produced.) "A few days ago, we instructed our agents to cease negotiations (on a new deal) with Paramount," Wagner told Time.com. "We decided that it was best for us to do something where we lead the way in terms of where the film industry is going. We're very excited to be making films independently."
The decision by Paramount to end a business relationship with an A-list star like Cruise comes as all of the major studios are sweating out the gate receipt tallies every weekend, aggressively cutting the sizes of star-driven production deals and all other costs, as well as looking for ways to mitigate financial risks. It's a reflection of just how sensitive their publicly traded corporate parents have become about any issue that could pose a threat to the bottom line. It probably wasn't lost on Paramount executives that about half of the people queried in a USA Today/Gallup poll several months ago had an unfavorable opinion of Cruise, in the wake of his controversial public statements and puzzling behavior such as using Oprah Winfrey's couch as a trampoline while declaring his love for future wife Katie Holmes.
And coming just weeks after Disney's decision to drop out of a Holocaust TV miniseries project with Mel Gibson following the torrents of negative publicity about Gibson’s anti-Semitic comments during his DUI arrest, it's an indication that in this celebrity-gossip-saturated age, even stars with stellar box-office records are no longer immune from career reverberations when they get entangled in controversy and public opinion turns against them. "This bespeaks something about where the industry is and where it's going," lamented one producer.
Officials from Paramount and Viacom declined requests to elaborate on Redstone's comments to the Journal, or to react to Wagner's version of events. However, when told about her contention that she and Cruise walked away before being cut loose, a source close to the studio responded dismissively, "Whatever."
Wagner called the remarks about Cruise's behavior attributed to Redstone in the Journal "unprofessional, offensive and undignified" and "not good business." She complained that references to his off-screen actions created a mis-impression that their deal with the studio covers Cruise as an actor as well as a producer, when it actually only involves him as producer. "As an actor, he has never had an exclusive deal with any studio," Wagner said.
Nevertheless, she said the success of the films he has made for Paramount attest to her partner's enduring appeal. According to Cruise's publicist, during the past decade, "Cruise has made six films for Paramount with worldwide box-office totals of $2.4 billion, accounting for 32% of Paramount's total income for the six years he had a film in release." The publicist added that Cruise's last two films, War of the Worlds and Mission Impossible 3, have grossed $977.8 million worldwide. "As an actor, Tom is responsible for almost $3 billion in box office revenue for Paramount," said Wagner. "That's more money than any other actor has made for any single studio in history."
The source with knowledge of Paramount's thinking replied, "You have to factor in how much he cost them. His production deal was expensive and he was providing diminishing returns, based on his box office performance and the [off-screen] behavior that the studio executives felt was impacting it."
Still, the decision to end its association with Cruise isn't risk-free for Paramount. It's a testament to the ongoing strength of the Cruise/Wagner brand that their company attracted such a huge amount of private capital. Moreover, two of Hollywood's biggest producers are still fans of Cruise the actor. Wagner says JJ Abrams, who directed Mission Impossible 3 and just inked big production deals of his own with Warner Bros and Paramount, still wants to work with him.
Jerry Bruckheimer, producer of Cruise blockbusters Days of Thunder and Top Gun, says, "I'd love to make as many films with him as I can.
First of all, Tom gives you big openings no matter what, which is what it's all about. You always have to be careful about what you do, no matter what profession you're in. But I don't think Tom has done anything that would change people's movie-going habits if he's got the right material because he's a brilliant actor."
And in ending the relationship in such a public and messy way, Paramount could wind up alienating other talent, industry insiders warn. "As a movie studio, your business is to attract filmmakers and artists," said one, who is a Cruise ally. "Why would you say something about an important movie star when it could make his friends and colleagues [think twice] about working at a place that attacks artists?"
The combatants are going their separate ways, but the war might not be over
Monday, August 21, 2006
Does he realize that Whitney's just a crack ho now?
Osama wants Whitney Houston. Go on, laugh your ass off, I know you want to!
***
off of ONTD:
Osama bin Laden lusts for...Asian News International
New York, August 21, 2006
Al Qaeda chief and the world's most dreaded terrorist, Osama bin Laden had a crush on singer-cum-actress Whitney Houston and wanted to make her his wife after killing her husband Bobby Brown.Sudanese poet and novelist Kola Boof (37), who claims to have once been bin Laden's sex slave, writes this in her autobiography - Diary of a Lost Girl.
“He told me Whitney Houston was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. He would say how beautiful she is……….what a nice smile she has, how truly Islamic she is but is just brainwashed by American culture and by her husband - Bobby Brown,” Page Six quoted her as saying.
According to her, Osama often talked about killing Brown, and couldn't stop talking about his favorite singer for whom her had “lofty plans”.But, she adds, the 9/11 terror mastermind hated Whitney’s hairstyle, saying. "Why do you wear your hair braided?…….only monkeys did that.”
As he had a liking for the white skin, Osama was also dismissive of black women. According to her, he used to say to her: "African women are only good for a man's lower pleasures……..What need do you have for a womb?"
Honestly
It's sad but really, would anybody be THAT surprised if they broke up?
***
off of ONTD:
Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt, they are often refered to as the sexiest couple in Hollywood, but family and friends are afraid that Brad and Angelina will not be 'Brangelina' for that much longer. Hollywood's do-gooder duo have reportedly not been keenon the constant fights and scraps that have been putting an increasing amount of strain on their relationship, reports Zee News.
Angelina is said to be cracking under the pressure of not only post-natal depression, but also the stress caused induced by her mother's illness, not to mention the relentless media attention on them and their brood.
Angelina Jolie recently indicated that she desired to escape the media circus surrounding her, and spend time travelling Africa while teaching her children to be 'citizens of the world' - an idea Brad has nor been real happy with.
"My concern is that Angelina thinks Brad is completely on the same page and wants the same things, and I don't think he does. There's no doubt he is in love with her, but she carries a lot of baggage .... She is most definitely not normal and that's one of the appealing things about her, but I think it takes someone pretty special as a partner to be able to deal with that. I think she just wants to run away," a pal is quoted by the U.K.'s Daily Mail.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
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