Mia Farrow to Webcast ‘Darfur Olympics’ in Protest of China
Footage will highlight conditions in refugee camps to be aired during games
By Matthew B. Zeidman
KHARTOUM, Sudan (Hollywood Today) 8/8/08 – While millions around the world watch the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing today, actress Mia Farrow hopes to draw attention to the plight of Darfur’s refugees with a webcast of her own. According to the Associated Press, Farrow will broadcast the “Darfur Olympics,” a series of clips highlighting the stories of those fleeing bloodshed in that part of Sudan, each day during the first week of the games, including the time the opener is scheduled.
“I think it’s appropriate, since Beijing has chosen to underwrite genocide in Darfur,” Farrow told the New York Sun. “For many, many months now, Beijing has made excuses for their close business partner in Khartoum and failed to persuade them to stop their attacks on civilians.”
Farrow has long been an activist for human rights, particularly in Darfur and its surrounding regions. Her op-ed piece published in the Wall Street Journal in March 2007 eventually led to legendary director Steven Spielberg’s withdrawal from his role as China’s advisor on the Olympics’ opening and closing festivities.
Though Farrow was critical of President Bush for deciding to attend the opening ceremony, which she labeled propagandist, she told the New York Sun she was excited for the sporting events, themselves, saying she “celebrate[d] athletes” and would watch the games via TiVo when she returned to the United States from Africa.
Disney dodges a bullet, Eva nipple censored, Paris for Prexy and Heath-Olsen laid to rest by DEA
By Jody Babydol Gibson
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 8/7/08 –EVA’S BREASTS
Gas prices are giving us pain at the pump, IndyMac’s breaking the bank, our homes are in foreclosure, and now they’re not letting us see gorgeous Eva Mendes’s nipple too? That does it! What is the world coming to?!
Apparently, Calvin Klein who brought us Marky Mark’s abs along with the big bulge in his underwear during those earlier controversial billboard ads is making news again with his new televised commercial for Obsession perfume which has the networks in such an uproar they have it banned in some places! The ad features a luscious Eva sprawled out on the bed in a sexy negligee and just when you think you’ve seen it all out comes Eva’s nipple! I say bring it on. Paleez! Americans are under enough pressure trying to get through the John McCain ads- don’t take Eva’s nipple away from us too! Maybe the sponsors will shed some mercy on us and agree to show it after 10pm when the little ones are asleep…
PARIS’ POSSE
Who is writing Paris Hilton’s material?! Move over Tina Fey- you’ve got some competition. “I’ll see you at the debates, bitches,” she said to U.S. presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama, according to Reuters. Paris gets an A+ for marketing and let’s face it guys she looked hot, hot, hot announcing her candidacy in a revealing one piece leopard suit. This week the talk was Paris Hilton’s commercial with a satirical attempt to ingratiate herself into the political arena and her opening line “Some white haired dude featured me in his commercial so I guess that means now I’m in the race” was absolutely priceless!
And of course the added mention of “But I’ll just have to change the White House pink” had me on the floor! Rumor has it her mom is the one who writes a lot of her material which at the very least is not only scandalous, but so very, very Paris! Watch out Mad TV someone’s got a director’s chair with your name on it!
HEATH LEDGER”S MARY LAID TO REST
This week the news was that the Feds plan to drag poor Mary Kate Olsen all the way down there in her tight skinny jeans to testify in the death of heartthrob actor Heath Ledger. Perhaps the Feds think they were more than “friends” since it had been reported that they were dating and let’s face it she’s no novice having been linked with that hot billionaire young Greek shipping heir Stavros Niarchos III, also known as the former boyfriend of Paris Hilton.
But what does all this have to do with the price of tomatoes in Bangkok? Well, everyone knows more top secret information has been passed through “pillow talk” which is more powerful than any military strategy so maybe the Feds feel Mary Kate might have been privy to some Top Secrets here too…We’ll just have to stay tuned to find out.
At presstime, the controversy surrounding Mary-Kate Olsen’s involvement in Heath Ledger’s death has come to a close.
The Drug Enforcement Administration has decided to suspend its criminal investigation into the source of the narcotic painkillers that contributed to the popular actor’s overdose death, relieving Olsen of the need to testify before a grand jury.
DISNEY’S MIRAMAX BARELY ESCAPES “PORNO” RATING
Director/actor Kevin Smith, known for his highly popular teen films like “Clerks, “Chasing Amy” and “Jay and Silent Bob (him) Strikes Back,” barely dodged an NC-17 rating this week for his latest film, “Zack and Miri Make a Porno,” with Seth Rogen (“Superbad,” “Knocked Up,” Pineapple Express”) and Elizabeth Banks. That’s almost the equivalent of an “X” rating and would have killed the film off to its primary audience.
The film, about a down-and-out couple trying to make ends meet with an adult film, is more a bright spoof of those movies, and hardly hard-core. The movie board Read the rest of this Hollywood Today story »
Mary-Kate Olsen will not be called before Grand Jury
By Matthew B. Zeidman
NEW YORK (Hollywood Today) 8/7/08 – Almost as abruptly as it began, the controversy surrounding Mary-Kate Olsen’s involvement in Heath Ledger’s death has come to a close. The Drug Enforcement Administration has decided to suspend its criminal investigation into the source of the narcotic painkillers that contributed to the popular actor’s overdose death, relieving Olsen of the need to testify before a grand jury.
The DEA involvement may have started as certain drugs like powerful painkillers are “triple-script,” meaning the DEA gets one copy of the prescription. This is to keep tabs on those who may go to multiple doctors, or unscrupulous doctors who are prescribing too many of a specific class of drugs, especially those with a street value.
Earlier in the week, AP reported Olsen had refused to speak with federal investigators unless she was granted immunity from prosecution and that a subpoena had been issued requiring her to answer questions during a court hearing. The agency’s decision to discontinue the case Wednesday invalidated the order.
Olsen was a close friend of Ledger and the first person called by a personal masseuse who found him unresponsive in bed in his SoHo Manhattan loft the afternoon of Jan. 22, AP reported shortly after the actor’s passing. In a statement Monday, the Olsen’s attorney reiterated his client’s ignorance as to the source of the painkillers taken by Ledger and stressed his client’s prior cooperation.
Will paint White House pink in joking (?) media announcement
By Jeffrey Jolson
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 8/6/08 — You think in the news business, you’ve seen it all, but never have we seen a presidential candidate strip to a bikini to announce her run for the leader of the free world.
Yet Paris was being typically Paris, and responding to John McCain’s use of her in his most recent political TV ad. She was rumored to be considering a lawsuit against him, but responded in an apparently whimsical way in an Internet commercial.
Yet she spoke of a real political agenda to the media.
The millionaire jumped into the U.S. election campaign, calling Republican candidate McCain a “Wrinkly white-haired guy” and offering her own energy policy.
Hilton, dressed in a leopard print swim suit and gold pumps, jokingly declared her own candidacy in a video posted on the website Funny or Die, saying: “I want America to know that I’m, like, totally ready to lead.”
DEA official says subpoena has been issued to star of ‘The Wackness’
By Matthew B. Zeidman
NEW YORK (Hollywood Today) 8/6/08 – Mary-Kate Olsen will have to go before a Grand Jury in the Heath Ledger death, by order of the DEA. She was the first person called by the Oscar-nominated actor’s staff when he was found overdosed in January.
Yet that does not usually call for the Drug Enforcement Agency to issue a Grand Jury subpoena on what was reportedly an accidental overdose of legal drugs, which Ledger could have received from any doctor.
Olsen may have requested immunity from prosecution before potentially discussing the source of some of the drugs that caused Heath Ledger’s death, but she now may have no choice but to speak on the record. According to Access Hollywood, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has issued a subpoena, requiring the star of “The Wackness” to go before a grand jury.
On Monday, Olsen’s lawyer, Michael C. Miller, addressed his client’s cooperation with the government agency through a statement, claiming that the famous twin had already given all relevant information to investigators and that she had no knowledge of the origin of the powerful painkillers in Ledger’s system, for which the late thespian had no prescriptions.
The Associated Press cited an anonymous government official Monday, claiming that Olsen had declined twice to discuss the painkillers with the DEA. When called before the grand jury, Olsen would still be able to refuse to answer officials’ questions under the Fifth Amendment if answering would constitute an admission to an illegal act.
Olsen became involved in the investigation due to her close friendship with the newest actor to play Batman nemesis the Joker and the fact that Ledger’s masseuse, who originally found him unresponsive in his Manhattan apartment, called Olsen several times before calling 911.
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 8/5/08 — There has been a major backfire with presidential candidate John McCain’s TV ads comparing Barack Obama’s rock-star status and intelligence to celebrities Paris Hilton and Britney Spears.
Not only has the highly- influential Hilton family struck back (who once donated to McCain’s campaign) about the affront to their offspring, fans across the nation are riled by the commercials offending the women, no matter how controversial they may be.
Moreover, Paris can possibly sue McCain in states that have “right of publicity laws.” Simply stated, you cannot use a person’s image to sell anything without their approval and likely a large check. Try using Michael Jordan’s face in your TV ad without permission and see how many lawyers call by 9 a.m..
The question will be is selling votes a sale? Political speech, like HT has First Amendment rights to run a public figure, yet TV ads may be an exception – yet this may be a question for the Supreme Court. Obama may wish to run a Bruce Springsteen song or face on his ads, but he can’t without permission.
A spokesman for Paris Hilton complained that “Miss Hilton was not asked, nor did she give permission for the use of her likeness in the ad.”
Paris may be blond, but like Madonna, she is anything but dumb. She has multiple corporations, a fashion line, makes her TV appearances and board meetings on time and has kept out of trouble. She is still young and rich, so subject to any rock star-like messes – but she can be cool as any CEO.
It is similar with Britney, who is worth as much many women in business. Yet McCain played them as bimbos and compared them to Obama as one. McCain on Friday denied that his campaign had taken a negative turn, saying, “We think it’s got a lot of humor in it, we’re having fun and enjoying it.”
Paris Hilton’s mother doesn’t share McCain’s frivolity. On Sunday, Hilton’s mother, Kathy Hilton, a McCain donor, registered her disapproval, calling the ad “a complete waste of the money John McCain’s contributors have donated to his campaign.”
Kathy Hilton and her husband donated a total of $4,600 to McCain’s campaign earlier this year.
‘Full House’ star will only speak with officials on condition of immunity
By Matthew B. Zeidman
NEW YORK (Hollywood Today) 8/5/08 – Though the initial shock of actor Heath Ledger’s death has worn off since his untimely passing on Jan. 22 of a prescription drug overdose, there are still unanswered questions regarding the tragedy that investigators hope close friend Mary-Kate Olsen can answer. Though the former “Full House” actress has spoken with officials regarding the day in question before, she refused twice through her lawyer to discuss the possible source of painkillers taken by Ledger with the Drug Enforcement Administration without immunity from prosecution, the Associated Press reported.
“We have provided the government with relevant information,” Olsen’s attorney, Michael C. Miller, said in a statement released yesterday, “including facts in the chronology of events surrounding Mr. Ledger’s death and the fact that Ms. Olsen does not know the source of the drugs Mr. Ledger consumed.”
Because of Miller’s reiteration that Olsen had no knowledge as to the source of the drugs, it was unclear if Olsen’s request for immunity, reported to AP by an anonymous government source, was related to the drugs’ origin, some of which Ledger was not prescribed. Non-painkillers taken by Ledger, such as prescription anti-anxiety and sleeping pills, were legally obtained through the “Casanova” actor’s doctors.
Though Olsen was not in New York at the time, a masseuse who discovered Ledger unresponsive in his Manhattan apartment spoke with the Hollywood starlet three times by telephone before calling paramedics, prompting her to send local security personnel to the building, police confirmed to AP.
Ledger’s penultimate film, “The Dark Knight,” was released on July 18 to overwhelmingly positive critical reviews and has grossed nearly $600 million worldwide as of Aug. 3, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com. Olsen is currently starring in “The Wackness,” a film set in 1994 New York, also featuring Ben Kingsley, Josh Peck and Olivia Thirlby among others.
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 8/4/08 — The “Swing Vote” starring Kevin Costner as Bud, a typical American, operates on the premise that a single person could determine the entire result of an election. Delivering at the end a speech worthy of a Jimmy Stewart, Costner who revealed to HT, that he wrote it, the film surprises its audience to the end. As he puts, “ We got more action than the Mummy”.
“Swing Vote” delivers the difficult feat of an inspiring film and thought-provoking first rate satire.
Playing opposite Costner are The Candidates, even in Hollywood numbering at two, played to perfection by Dennis Hopper and Kelsey Grammer, with Nathan Lane and Stanley Tucci as their campaign managers. But stealing the show is Madeline Carroll, who plays Bud’s precocious 12-year old daughter, and sets in motion a series of catalytic event which places her father in this position of power. Read the rest of this Hollywood Today story »
TUPELO, Mississippi (Reuters) - Oscar-winning U.S. actor Morgan Freeman was hospitalized in serious condition on Monday after the car he was driving careened off a rural highway and rolled several times, authorities said.
Freeman, 71, was airlifted late on Sunday night to a Memphis, Tennessee, hospital, about 100 miles from the accident scene, which is near a home he keeps in Charleston, Mississippi.
“The vehicle went off the edge of the road and flipped several times,” Mississippi Highway Patrol Sgt. Ben Williams said. No other car was involved in the accident.
From the direction Freeman was traveling, he appeared to be headed toward his home, Williams said.
Williams said it was “possible” that Freeman, who co-stars in the current blockbuster Batman movie the “Dark Knight,” had fallen asleep at the wheel, but he added that authorities had ruled out alcohol as a factor in the wreck.
Freeman was conscious and talking to arriving officers afterward, Williams said, adding that no citation had been issued in the accident.
A spokeswoman at Regional Medical Center in Memphis said Freeman was in serious condition but gave no further details.
Both Freeman and a female passenger, identified as Demaris Meyer, were wearing seat belts, but the air bags did not deploy in the 1997 Nissan Maxima registered to Meyer, Williams said. He said he did not know the extent of her injuries.
HOLLYWOOD (Hollywood Today) 8/4/08 — If there’s one thing LA can’t get enough of, it’s the repeat or the sequel. If you liked it, even a little bit, or better yet, if you showed up for it, then expect it to come back at ya’ again and again and again.
Swag in this cinematic town is no different. It doesn’t need to be high season or big awards season to show its freebie face and when it comes around every one is town comes a running.
The celeb suites have more significance than the free rhinestone-studded cell phone case. It gives the small businessman, who cannot afford LeBron James’ breakfast, a chance to play the game and be part of the sports and TV scene – maybe a photo opp with a star with whom they couldn’t do an endorsement deal, even putting in 10 years of their sunscreen income, or a mention in a newspaper, like we do here. At HT, we are offered enough shampoo and mineral water for the century, but we actually feel its more important not to let Nike and Ford Motors to own every celebrity.
Although this summer is a seemingly low season for swag, it is high season for sun, sand, sport and your basic BQ and clambake. So, this season swag was served alongside the summers best barbecues, seaside parties and sporting events.
Here’s a quick pic of who showed up where and who snagged what swag.
Its not whether you win or lose the game, its how you swag that counts
ESPN stormed in to town (the land of the LA) for their annual sporty summer fest with JT at the helm kicking it old school, a true playa flexing his funny with a Jessica and Tony cameo.
Pre JT, the real game took place at The StandardHotel in downtown LA. This sleek boutique hotel’s security was so tight you had to be benching 350 just to get past the beefy bodyguard with the bad attitude. Luckily a plucky, thin intern walked by and vouched for my game.
Academy Award winning actor Morgan Freeman was seriously injured in a car accident in Mississippi on Sunday night according to the Mississippi Highway Patrol.
Police report that Freeman, 71, was driving eastbound on Highway 32 near the town of Ruleville, Miss., around 11:30 p.m. when his car left the road and flipped several times.
Police say Freeman and a female passenger had to be extracted from the vehicle and the actor was flown to Regional Medical Center in Memphis, Tenn., where spokeswoman Kathy Stringer said he was listed in serious condition. There was no word on the condition of the passenger.
‘Gossip Girl,’ ‘Juno,’ the Jonas Brothers among the night’s big winners
By Matthew B. Zeidman
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 8/4/08 – Clearly, it isn’t just the elementary school set that idolizes Miley Cyrus. The “Hannah Montana” star took home the choice TV Actress Comedy and Choice Music Female awards Sunday night at the taping of the 10th annual Teen Choice Awards, the Associated Press reported. The Disney sitcom that launched her to mega-stardom also won Choice TV Show Comedy.
But why?
Cyrus’ red-hot colleagues, the Jonas Brothers, put their Disney chum’s total awards to shame, claiming Choice Music Single (“When You Look Me in the Eyes”), Choice Breakout Group, Choice Music Love Song (“When You Look Me in the Eyes”), Choice Summer Song (“Burnin’ Up”), Choice Male Hottie and Choice Red Carpet Fashion Icon Male.
“Juno” star Ellen Page got her belated dues in spades, winning Choice Movie Actress Comedy and Choice Movie Breakout Female. The extraordinarily popular and high-grossing 2007 indie film about a pregnant teenager marching to the beat of her own drum took the Choice Movie Comedy category.
“Gossip Girl,” the CW teen drama infamous for its explicit source material and promotions, but lacking in traditional TV viewership, made a splash, bringing home the bacon with Choice TV Show Drama and Choice TV Breakout Show. Its stars weren’t lacking in acknowledgement by the young voters, either, who named headliner Blake Lively Choice TV Actress Drama and Choice TV Breakout Star Female, co-star Chace Crawford Choice TV Breakout Star Male and portrayer of evil Ed Westwick Choice TV Villain.
Musician Chris Brown had a good night, as well, winning five awards, one of which he shared with Jordin Sparks and another with Lil Mama and T-Pain, while actor Will Smith was lauded for two of his recent works: “I Am Legend” and “Hancock.”
Other honorees included “High School Musical” star and avid spokeswoman Vanessa Hudgens (Choice Female Hottie), “Heroes’” Hayden Panettiere (Choice TV Actress Action Adventure) and “The Eye’s” Jessica Alba (Choice Movie Actress Horror/Thriller). Brand new ABC Family series “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” Read the rest of this Hollywood Today story »
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