Entertainment News

Bolivia lashes at Sean Penn over jailed American

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:57:29 -0400

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivia's culture minister calls it actor-activist Sean Penn's "worst performance" ever. He isn't talking about a movie.

Minister Pablo Groux is slamming Penn's proposal to a U.S. congressional subcommittee Monday that Bolivia be cut out of the Dakar motor sport rally unless it frees a U.S. citizen under house arrest two years after he was jailed without charge in a money-laundering probe.

Penn suggested that unless Jacob Ostreicher is freed, sponsors should drop their backing for the January event — which is to include Bolivia for the first time.

The New York man invested in a rice-growing venture and, once jailed, fell prey to an extortion ring that allegedly included the Interior Ministry's top lawyer.

Penn helped get Ostreicher out of prison. But the case is stalled in court.

Zach Galifianakis invites formerly homeless pal to premiere

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:49:22 -0400

Actor Zach Galifianakis turned heads at the Los Angeles premiere of his new film The Hangover Part III on Monday night when he invited a formerly homeless friend as his date.

The actor met Elizabeth 'Mimi' Haist at a laundromat in Santa Monica, and after recently discovering the elderly lady had no place to call home, he took it upon himself to find an apartment for the 87 year old and cover all her costs.

And, on Monday, Galifianakis gave his pal a taste of the good life by asking Haist to accompany him to the glitzy Hollywood party at the Westwood Village Theatre, where she was able to meet the actor's "cute" co-star Bradley Cooper.

This isn't the first time the actor has invited Haist to a movie premiere - he took her to the opening night of The Hangover Part II and The Campaign, but she was never properly identified and often mistaken for his grandmother.

She tells the New York Daily News, "If he's in town, he takes me. Otherwise he lets me take a friend. I dress up nice and a friend helps me with my makeup. It's fun, not something I've ever dreamed I'd experience. The limo takes me home afterwards."

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Model-turned-actress Angie Everhart now cancer-free

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:45:17 -0400

Model-turned-actress Angie Everhart has been given the all-clear after undergoing surgery to treat cancer last week.

Joe Pesci's former fiancee recently revealed that she had been diagnosed with the disease in her thyroid gland and she went under the knife last Tuesday to remove the cancerous cells.

Tests conducted following the operation have since come back negative - and the 43 year old couldn't be happier.

Taking to her Twitter.com page over the weekend, she wrote, "MY DR CALLED ME ON A SAT. MORNING TO TELL ME I AM CANCER FREE!!!!!".

Expressing her gratitude for her fans' well wishes, she added, "THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE!!! You have all been soooo kind and I'm over the moon relieved this nightmare is over!!!"

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Drew Barrymore puts California home on the market

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:43:38 -0400

Actress Drew Barrymore has put her Montecito, California home, where she exchanged vows with husband Will Kopelman, on the market.

The six bedroom property is up for sale at $7.5 million.

RealEstalker.com reports the actress purchased the estate in June, 2010 for $5.7 million. She wed art consultant Kopelman there in June 2012.

The Chester Carjola-designed main house was built in 1937, and comes with a detached, two-storey guest property.

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Harry Potter actress lands role in Marvin Gaye biopic

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:42:21 -0400

Harry Potter actress Elarica Gallagher has been cast as Marvin Gaye's wife in director Julien Temple's much-anticipated biopic about the tragic soul legend.

Gallagher, who appeared in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, has joined a cast that features Brendan Gleeson and S. Epatha Merkerson, who will play Gaye's mother. Jesse L. Martin will portray the soul man.

The untitled project is among the films being presented to buyers at the Cannes Film Festival in France.

Temple's film will focus on the 18 months Gaye spent in Belgium recording the album Midnight Love.

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Ratings show decline for Fox's 'American Idol'

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:27:58 -0400

NEW YORK (AP) — For the past decade, the "American Idol" season finale has been one of television's biggest events of the year. Now it's not even TV's biggest event of the week.

The Nielsen company estimated that 14.3 million people watched Candice Glover's victory over Kree Harrison in last week's final episode of the season. Both the CBS drama "NCIS" and comedy "The Big Bang Theory" had more viewers last week.

The fall for "Idol" is startling. Just two years ago, the show drew 29.3 million people for its season finale, more than double what it had this year. Big changes are expected for the show going forward.

The "American Idol" high water mark was the 38.1 million who watched the season conclusion in 2003.

Harry Potter book with author notes sold for $228K

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:50:48 -0400

LONDON (AP) — A first edition copy of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" that contains author J.K. Rowling's notes and original illustrations has sold for 150,000 pounds ($228,000) at a London auction.

Sotheby's said the work, offered as part of a charity book sale jointly organized with the writer's association English PEN, was sold to an anonymous bidder by telephone late Tuesday.

Rowling peppered the book with about two dozen illustrations and many personal annotations, including editorial decisions and a note on how she came to create the game of Quidditch.

Other participating authors in the charity sale included Kazuo Ishiguro, Ian McEwan, Seamus Heaney, Lionel Shriver and Yann Martel.

The funds raised will benefit English PEN, which promotes the freedom to read and write.

Muppets creator's items head to NY museum

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:24:49 -0400

NEW YORK (AP) — The Muppets may have taken Manhattan, but they're getting a spiffy new home in Queens.

Muppet creator Jim Henson's family is donating about 400 puppets, costumes, props and other items to the Museum of the Moving Image.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg was on hand for the announcement Tuesday.

The museum plans to build a new gallery to house the new contributions. The city is chipping in $2.75 million toward the $5 million project.

The donation also includes objects from other shows and films on which Henson worked, including "''Fraggle Rock" and "The Dark Crystal."

The new exhibit is expected to open in 2014.

The 1984 film "The Muppets Take Manhattan" depicted the fuzzy, winning Muppet crew striving to stage a Broadway musical.

The museum is marking its 25th year.

Lost watch from James Bond film may fetch nearly $100k

Tue, 21 May 2013 13:51:06 -0400

A long-lost watch worn by James Bond in 007 movie Thunderball is expected to sell for up to $93,000 after it was discovered at a market in the U.K.

The luxury Breitling was sported by Sir Sean Connery in the 1965 movie and doubled as a Geiger counter helping him to trace missing nuclear bombs by measuring radioactivity.

The timepiece, bought for just $39 at the time of filming, vanished after the cameras stopped rolling and was considered lost forever. But it is now set to go up for auction after it was found at a sale of second-hand goods in Britain.

Bosses at Christie's auction house in London expect the watch to fetch between $62,000 and $93,000 when it goes on sale on June 26.

A Christie's spokesman says, "This is a great opportunity for collectors to acquire a unique piece of James Bond memorabilia."

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Michael Douglas reduced to tears at Cannes Film Festival

Tue, 21 May 2013 13:48:58 -0400

Veteran actor Michael Douglas was overcome with emotion as he promoted his new movie Behind the Candelabra at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday.

The actor, who plays flamboyant pianist Liberace in the drama, cried as he discussed his role at a press conference during the seaside event in France.

Douglas told reporters the film is close to his heart as he began shooting "right after my cancer", referring to his battle with throat cancer in 2010, and thanked director Steven Soderbergh and Matt Damon, who plays Liberace's gay lover, for their support.

He called the part "a beautiful gift" and told the pair, "I will be eternally grateful," prompting a round of applause from the crowd.

The Wall Street star also played down reports that Hollywood studio bosses snubbed the project due to its gay plot line.

He said, "It's a difficult time for smaller independent pictures. Things seem to still be led by gambling on very large-budget movies with large marketing budgets. I don't think the problem they had was with the gay issue, it (is) that they don't like to be bothered with smaller pictures."

The film will air on HBO later this month.