Archive for February, 2009
Spears’ Circus tour gets a little old school magic
Forget Britney. I might head to the “Circus” tour to catch Ed Alonzo. Better known as the owner of The Max from “Saved By the Bell,” the illusionist/comedian is appearing on the singer’s new tour and talked about it with E! News.
“Right away, she got into the boxes and into the magic contraptions to learn the stuff, and she’s so excited about this tour and all the elements that are in it,” said Alonzo.
The pop star will serve as Alonzo’s assistant in the bit.
“We’re going to be doing the classics of magic but a little high-tech,” he said. “We’ll be doing a little dissection, transposition, a vanish, an appearance – and if I do a trick, she doesn’t just hold the props, she’s actually getting inside the big boxes or I am slicing her up.”
Alonzo made the tricks easy for her, but they look pretty good.
“There are some complicated things that she is doing that you would think a contortionist would have to do, or a trained magician’s assistant,” Alonzo said. “But because … she’s a dancer, it really makes sense to put her in the magic, and it works and she’s really, really good at it.”
“Some of it’s pretty scary, but she gets right in there with no reservations,” he added.
“It’s going to be an amazing concert for people to watch,” he said. “It’s like watching a big Cirque du Soleil high-tech circus, but with a really focused star in the middle of all of this.”
Barenaked Ladies lose their lead singer
Bespectacled “Barenaked Ladies” frontman Steven Page has left the group.
According to the band’s Web site, “By mutual agreement, Steven Page will be parting company with the remaining members of Barenaked Ladies” and plans to pursue solo projects, including theatrical opportunities.
The rest of the band, Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Ed Robertson, and Tyler Stewart will continue recording and touring together as Barenaked Ladies.
Page says “These guys are my brothers. We’ve grown up together over the past twenty years. I love them and wish them all the best in the future.”
The band also wish Steven well in all of his endeavors. Ed Robertson says: “It’s the start of a new chapter for all of us. Here’s to the future!”
The news comes several months after drug charges against Page were dropped in the U.S. Page, his girlfriend and her roommate were charged with drug possession in July after police found cocaine at a New York apartment in New York state. In late October, all three secured a deal to have charges dropped if they stayed out of trouble for six months.
The band was formed in Toronto and released 12 albums, producing hits such as “If I Had $1,000,000,” “One Week” and “Pinch Me”
Audrina Partridge posts break-in footage
Audrina Partridge has aired a real reality video – the surveillance footage of a break-in at her house.
“The Hills” star posted video Tuesday on her blog of the incident that took place over the weekend.
The footage shows a young man and woman, apparently aware of at least one camera, running around her Hollywood hills home in the dark. Patridge was not home at the time.
Partridge wrote Tuesday in her blog that the robbery was “pretty devastating,” but that most of the items taken are replaceable. She asks anyone with information to call police.
Britney Spears’ ex charged with assault
Good things do not come to Britney Spears’ exes. Former boyfriend and potential harasser Adnan Ghalib has been charged with three felonies, including assault with a deadly weapon.
Ghalib allegedly struck a process server with his car outside his apartment on Jan. 30. The server was trying to deliver the paperwork regarding the restraining order that Britney Spears’ father and attorneys are seeking against him.
According to a news release, the process server clung to the hood of Ghalib’s car to avoid being pinned and broke his wrist. Ghalib has not yet been arrested and also faces battery and hit-and-run charges.
He didn’t appear for a Monday hearing on the restraining order. In the meantime, despite his alleged efforts to dodge the paperwork, Ghalib is also required to stay at least 500 yards away from Spears. The restraining order is in effect until at least tomorrow, when the parties are due back in court.
Clay Aiken’s family affairs
Clay Aiken may have lost his record label, but he certainly hasn’t lost hope for his musical career.
He’s got connections, family connections. His baby mama is Jaymes Foster, who gave birth to Parker Foster Aiken in August. And Jaymes is the sister of mega-producer David Foster, who produced hits for Whitney Houston, Madonna and Celine Dion.
“Clay is family,” David told E! News. “And because Clay is family, if he needs my help, I’m happy to help him.”
David’s girlfriend, Yolanda Hadid, gushed over Aiken’s new job as a dad.
“He’s the best father,” Hadid said, showing off a photo of Parker on her Blackberry. “It’s a beautiful baby. It’s a happy family. There’s absolutely nothing bad to say.”
Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green engagement terminated
Boys (and girls who swing that way), brace yourselves. Megan Fox is back on the market.
The “Transformers” star has split from fiance Brian Austin Green.
The couple, who each have tattoos of the other’s name, met in 2004 and had been engaged since 2006.
“The relationship had run its course,” a source told UsMagazine.com.
Star reported last month that the two had a wicked fight and Fox headed to the Golden Globes alone, where she promptly flirted the night away with Zac Efron.
“(Megan and Brian) had a nasty fight, and Brian refused to go to the Golden Globes with her to retaliate,” a friend told Star at the time. “Megan decided to go ahead and forget Brian for the night.
“She’s also been upset that he’s been dragging his feet about marriage, despite their being engaged for two years.”
And last summer, Star reported that Megan had stopped wearing her engagement ring.
It’s completely amicable, and they are remaining friends,” claimed the source. “(They) are both focusing on their careers”.
‘Slumdog Millionaire’ kids go to Disneyland
Forget the Oscars, the kids from “Slumdog Millionaire” visited the happiest place on earth. The young cast hit Disneyland the day after the Academy Awards ceremony.
The group, pictured counter-clockwise from Mickey: Madhur Mittal (older Salim), Tanvi Ganesh Lonkar (middle Latika), Azhar Mohammed Ismail (young Salim), Ayush Mahesh Khedekar (young Jamal), Rubina Ali (young Latika), Tanay Hemant Chheda (middle Jamal) and Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala (middle Salim) – visited the theme park and rode the rides, including the classic It’s a Small World.
The night before, they were getting autographs from glitterati like Brad Pitt and “Twilight” star Robert Pattinson, as well as signing some things of their own.
“It’s like the biggest night of our lives!” said Tanay Hemant.
“At this time it’s very important to be grounded because everyone is asking for autographs,” Tanvi told PEOPLE. “It’s really great!”
Kristen Stewart denies costar hookup (again)
Don’t worry, Natalie Portman, Kristen Stewart is quashing rumors of a hook up with costar Robert Pattinson in a cover interview with Nylon Magazine and generally making herself sound as petulant and snobbish as possible.
She admits that the press part of the job isn’t her favorite and it’s not something she’s good at (yes, Kristen, we’ve noticed).
“I feel like I have nothing to say on those shows (like Letterman),” Stewart said, referencing her memorable appearance last year. “I’m not good at the funny thing. Most people are really great on those shows. I don’t have a contrived personality that (I can) just pump out (for) a five-minute segment, so I end up sitting there and looking kind of baffled. Embarrassing.”
Of the insanity of Twifans and general Twilight madness, she said, “Anywhere we’d go for Twilight was a psychotic situation. The sound was deafening, and it’s thoughtless, as well … You get a slew of all these bullshit questions like, ‘What’s it like to kiss a vampire?’ and ‘How much do you love Robert?’ Then you’ll get one that’s actually real, but you’re like, ‘No, I can’t right now, I can’t even consider (it).”
Yes, Ms. Stewart, you’ve established how above it all you are. Congratulations that you are too good to speak to people in public or do your contractually obligated grunt work on the press lines.
But she does say one good thing. She and Pattinson are definitely not an item.
“It’s just totally false … Rob and I are good friends. We went through a lot together, so we feel very close. But if we go out in public, every little detail is scrutinized, like the way I stand next to him. And it’s like, I know this guy really fucking well (laughs). It’s only natural that we’re sort of leaning on each other, because we’re put in the most fucking psychotic situations.”
Octomom Nadya Suleman goes toe-to-toe with her mother
Radar Online posted a heated exchange between Nadya Suleman, the California woman who gave birth to octuplets in January, and her mother, Angela Suleman. The interaction was taped last week and a portion hit the site Monday. It’s good to know that at least on person in Nadya’s life is talking sense to her.
“I’m not going to destroy the embryos, period. Done, done, done,” Nadya Suleman told her mother.
“You can’t go back and alter the past,” said Nadya.
The two talk over each other throughout the video and Nadya insisted that she doesn’t understand her mother’s “inflexibility’ and tells her to “stop stagnating”
Angela, however, stresses that other options were available to Nadya.
“They were frozen and you did not have to do anything,” Angela Suleman said in reference to the embryos
Nadya responded, “They were lives. You either use them or destroy them.”
Her mother countered that the embryos could have been adopted, but her daughter refused, saying she would never have considered donating the embryos to someone else.
“I couldn’t even fathom the idea of having my own children out in the world … and not know them,” she stated.
But, her mother says (echoing the thoughts of the sane portion of the country), “You should have considered your six other children.” Of the newborns, the grandmother adds, “I feel sorry for them.”
Nadya replies that there is no reason to feel sorry for the babies, who are “healthy and thriving.”
She claims she needs to let go of her need to control everything and take the help that’s being offered.
No, honey, you need to think before you have a child (or 14) that you can’t provide for. Work on that life lesson first.
Part two of the interview will be up later today.
Portia de Rossi denies IVF rumors
No baby carriage for Portia and Ellen. Actress Portia de Rossi is denying reports that she’s planning to undergo fertility treatments in order to have kids with partner Ellen DeGeneres.
Star Magazine reported last week that the newlyweds were planning to have a biological child and that de Rossi was preparing to undergo in vitro fertilization treatment to give her wife a child.
But the “Better Off Ted” actress denies the rumors.
She told Access Hollywood, “There’s a story around right now about me that could not be further from the truth. (The IVF story) was just completely made up. The baby thing comes around annually. I find …once a year, you know, whether I deny it or not … It doesn’t make any difference.”
Rourke to get new pooch
No dog can take Loki’s place in Mickey Rourke’s heart, but he’s going to try. The Oscar nominee plans to get a new dog and he plans to name it in honor of his Oscar nomination.
Before the ceremony, Rourke put the awards into perspective. “It’s bittersweet. I said to myself I’d rather have Loki for another two years than an Oscar. And I told her that. But she stayed as long as she could, you know,” he said.
Rourke wore a pendant with a photo of the chihuahua on the red carpet.
The 18-year-old old chihuahua died last week in the actor’s arms and RadarOnline said he plans to get a new pooch to replace him this week.
A friend of Rourke’s tells the website, “Mickey has other dogs but he misses Loki terribly. He doesn’t want to wait long either – he wants to get his new pooch this week.
“The new dog won’t replace Loki but by naming it Oscar Mickey says he’ll make his comeback year even more special.”
Natalie Portman making eyes at Robert Pattinson?
Natalie Portman may have joined tween girls around the nation with a love of scruffy “Twilight” hottie Robert Pattinson.
E! News reports she was at his side during the Vanity Fair Oscar Party.
“(Portman) seemed really into him, and went right up to say hello once she spotted him,” the site quoted a close friend of Pattinson, who was at the party.
Pattinson and Portman both presented at the ceremony and the on-screen vampire was feeling a bit nervous about the ceremony.
So how did he get over his nerves?
“Whiskey and Natalie Portman,” claimed the pal.
Pattinson had no date, but spent time flirting with Portman, looking pretty in pink fuchsia.
The two were spotted flirting outside on the patio and E! sources claim RPatt was loving every minute of it and that Portman dominated his attentions most of the night. The “Twilight” star didn’t seal the deal, however. He left alone that night, much to the relief of Twifans everywhere.
Peter Falk’s daughter gets meeting
Even famous people are dysfunctional. A judge has granted Peter Falk’s daughter a meeting with her ailing father, “Columbo” star Peter Falk.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Aviva K. Bobb on Monday said Catherine Falk may have a 30-minute supervised meeting with her father within 30 days. Bobb also forbade the parties from discussing the meeting publicly.
Catherine’s attorney claims she has not seen her father in about six months. She filed paperwork to establish a conservatorship for her father, who she said has Alzheimer’s disease.
Catherine Falk gave the thumbs-up sign and said “Thank God” after hearing Bobb’s ruling.
Barkley to serve time
Charles Barkley is headed to jail. The retired NBA star pleaded guilty to drunk driving charges Monday.
According to Scottsdale court records, Barkley faced two misdemeanor charges related to the same drunken driving arrest.
He’ll serve five days, pay more than $2,000 in fines and attend an alcohol treatment program. The sentence begins March 21 and under Arizona law, Barkley will also be forced to install an ignition interlock device on his vehicles.
The TV analyst was stopped by police on New Year’s Eve after leaving a Scottsdale nightclub. He was arrested after failing a sobriety test. His blood-alcohol level was .149 percent, about twice the legal limit. The fact that he told officers he was speeding toward a blow job also tipped them off.
He took a six-week leave of absence as a studio analyst for TNT and returned to the broadcast booth last week.
“This is just my bad, no excuses,” Barkley said in an interview with TNT colleague Ernie Johnson posted on NBA.com.
“I think that a DUI is unacceptable,” he added. “That can’t happen and I’ve got to challenge other people, not just celebrities or jocks. You have to really think before getting behind the wheel after you’ve been drinking.”
Barkley conceded at the time he could face jail time.
“I think it’s going to be good for me, to be honest. I need to make sure drinking is not a problem for me,” he said. “I just want some professionals to talk to me about it.”
If they tell him to stop drinking, “then I’ll have to stop drinking,” he said.
Asked if he could do that, he replied, “I feel I can do anything that I put my mind to.”
Jamie Spears says Lutfi is a ‘predator’ and lashes out in court
Oh, snap! Jamie Spears, Britney Spears’ father and conservator, launched back at Sam Lutfi, calling him a “predator” in testimony Monday in a Los Angeles court as he tried to get a restraining order against him made permanent.
Jamie related a disturbing account of his care of Britney in the process, however. Under his care and control, Britney Spears now lives a prison-like protected life and even her access to telephones is strictly restricted.
The 27-year-old singer obtained a prepaid cell phone recently and her security team confiscated it from her purse while she was at a dance practice. When the team confronted her, she said the phone was given to her by Sam Lutfi and former boyfriend Adnan Ghalib (also included in the restraining order) during a hotel stay.
Jamie Spears argued that the men are harassing Britney (which I don’t believe) and are trying to undermine Jamie’s legal control over her life (which I do).
“When (Lutfi) was in so-called control, she’d lost everything – her kids and career,” Jamie said at the hearing. “I believe he’s a predator, I believe he’s very dangerous to her … and causes her a lot of anguish and disbelief. We’ve asked him to go away before, and now he’s coming back. We just want the man to go away. Just leave us alone.”
Despite Lutfis protests, Jamie testified that he received a series of “threatening” text messages last month from someone with the screen name “citygalin310,” who he was later “100 percent” sure was Lutfi.
Spears said the texts appeared to be someone “trying to extort my daughter.” He replied to the messages by saying, “What are you looking for? Our family has been through so much.”
Fifteen minutes later, Jamie said Lutfi called him. “(Sam) began to cry and he basically fell apart on the phone,” said Jamie.
The former manager complained that the Spears family’s statements against him “were giving him a bad name,” Jamie said. “He went on and on. He said he knew what was wrong with (Britney).” Lutfi asked to meet with Jamie to discuss Britney, but Jamie refused and told Lutfi to talk to his lawyer, Jamie testified.
The testimony also revelead why Britney locked herself in a a bathroom with her son, Jayden, an incident that got her hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center last year.
“She was told by Lutfi she could have her children for another night,” Jamie said. Instead, one of Kevin Federline’s bodyguards showed up to get the kids and she flipped out.
“She didn’t want to let her kids go because she thought she could have them for another night,” Jamie said.
That night, Jamie said his daughter was “kind of wild” and “just very messed up.”
Before he took legal control, he testified, Britney’s life “was pretty well a disaster. She had nothing going on, just mostly (being) in the tabloids.” Now, though, she’s “very stable, making her meetings, taking care of her babies, doing things she’s supposed to do,” he said.
In cross-examination, Lutfi’s attorney Bryan Freedman pointed out that Spears’s father only knew of one outgoing call to Lutfi’s number. Spears testified that he didn’t know whether Lutfi answered the line or not.
The hearing will resume Wednesday with more testimony from other witnesses.
‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ – the horror edition
Amazing how fast a trailer can take a movie from a silly comedy to a horror thriller. And, uh, I think I actually prefer “Mrs. Doubtfire” this way:
Sam Lutfi’s side of the story
Sam Lutfi is fighting back against the restraining order extended by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge today. The ex-manager said that he is not a threat to her safety and denies harassing Spears.
In fact, the one-time-confidant says it’s the other way around – that Britney has been reaching out to him, sending text messages despite the restraining order.
Court documents filed Friday affirm that Lutfi passed messages to the singer through her hairdresser and others, including ex-boyfriend and paparazzo Adnan Ghalib. He claimed those messages weren’t harmful in any way.
“I have not, in any alleged communications with Britney, her hairdresser or any other person, threatened any act of violence against Britney or her family,” he stated in the papers. Lutfi is suing the Spears family for defamation and battery.
Lutfi allegedly sent a text message to the hairdresser saying, “I’ve done everything I can to free her from )the conservatorship). Very close to getting her free now.”
“I don’t think anyone would want to have on public record allegations of behavior that weren’t committed,” Lutfi’s lawyer Bryan Freedman told PEOPLE. “A restraining order to is protect someone against stalkers and people who want to commit violence, and that description doesn’t fit my client.”
Lutfi’s lawyer argues in the filing that Spears and her father, Jamie, haven’t provided evidence of any emotional distress from Lutfi’s indirect contact.
In his request for the restraining orders, daddy dearest accused Lutfi of working with Ghalib and a lawyer to “disrupt the conservatorship with utter disregard for Ms. Spears’s health and well being.”
Nicky Hilton attacked, makes a citizen’s arrest
It was a hoppin’ weekend for Nicky Hilton. The heiress and designer was allegedly the victim of an assault Sunday outside the IHOP in West Hollywood.
The incident happened at 5 a.m., according to TMZ.com. Authorities report that a male transient pushed Hilton to the ground. Uninjured, the heiress held the assailant at bay, then made a citizen’s arrest while someone called the police and they arrested the man.
According to TMZ, the man claimed he was her friend.
Mel Gibson talks about Britney Spears’ breakdown
In other Britney news, Colonel Sanders Mel Gibson said he was involved in her recent turn around. During the post-Oscars edition of “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” Gibson appeared and talked about how he took the singer out to dinner for a private chat in March and brought her out to his vacation home in Costa Rica in May.
“She’s a nice kid, ya know. She was just going through a rough patch,” he said. “You see kids that you know in the industry. I just felt like this poor kid she’s lining up to be stoned. … I just thought, ‘I wonder if anyone is reaching out to her,’ so I just called her and she’s doing great now.”
He gives her father the bulk of the credit.
“It’s got nothing to do with me,” he said. “She pulled herself out of this, and her dad … he’s the real hero.”
But Mel wasn’t around for fellow Aussie Heath Ledger and, for some reason, holds himself a little accountable for his death last January of an accidental overdose:
“I shoulda called him years before,” he said. “Not that I really know the ins and outs of what’s up with him, but I don’t believe it was just an accident.
“Maybe I coulda called him … When you see sort of an impending tragedy or something that might go wrong, it just felt like I should do something about it.”
Rapper N.O.R.E. arrested
It wouldn’t be a Monday if there wasn’t a rapper arrested. Police report that rapper N.O.R.E. was arrested after a fight with a customer at a Miami Beach hamburger restaurant.
Formerly known as Noreaga, his real name is Victor Santiago and he was arrested early Sunday.
According to reports, the rapper caused a disruption at the Fatburger. He yelled at another customer, ripped up a bouquet of flowers and threw a cup filled with a yellow liquid at the customer.
Authorities said N.O.R.E. punched the man in the face, and yelled “Do you know who I am?”
Yup, you’re the guy getting arrested for misdemeanor battery and disorderly conduct.
He was taken to the Miami-Dade county jail and released.
