Some of the world's biggest stars have revealed how they like to spend the festive season.
Jada Pinkett Smith said she and husband Will Smith gather the children around and make it an all-family affair.
"We spend Christmas in the snow every year, we spend it together. Sometimes we have a full one with the extended family and everyone but this year it will be pretty intimate," she said.
Narnia star Ben Barnes said he likes a traditional Christmas: "I get very fervent about it being traditional. I want the tree in the same place, in the same corner, in the same room.
"I want to sit in the same chair and listen to the same music. It's very, very boring but I like it a certain way."
Noel Edmonds also said a family Christmas is on the cards.
Speaking with his wife he said: "It will be a family Christmas at our home and we will thoroughly enjoy sitting down and crying our eyes out watching Christmas movies."
Sir Ben Kingsley said he is hoping for snow.
"We are going to have a very tall Christmas tree. We live in the countryside so we hope it snows. And Daniella, my wife's Mum, is coming so it will be very traditional," he said.
Chat show host Graham Norton has been named as the replacement commentator on the Eurovision Song Contest, taking the reins from Sir Terry Wogan.
Fellow Irishman Norton will take the role in the 2009 contest, which will be hosted in Moscow.
Veteran presenter Sir Terry, 70, had cast doubt on whether he would be involved in covering the event again at this year's contest.
He said it was "no longer a music contest" and that prospects for Western European participants were "poor".
The show has been dogged by accusations of bloc voting, which was blamed by some for leaving Britain's 2008 contestant, Andy Abraham, with only 14 points.
Sir Terry, who has spent more than three decades guiding viewers through the contest, said he would be "sad to leave it all behind".
He said: "I've had 35 wonderful years commentating on the Eurovision for radio and television.
"From my first, in a small music-hall in Dublin, to my last, in the huge arena in Belgrade, it has been nothing but laughter and fun."
Norton, a long time Eurovision fan, described it as "an amazing job and a huge honour".
He said: "Sir Terry is nothing less than legend and is an impossible act to follow, but somebody must and I just couldn't say no.
"I can't wait to get to Moscow. With a combination of cheap vodka and a language barrier what could possibly go wrong?"
Sir Cliff Richard said he likes the fact that speculation about his sexuality makes him "an enigma after all these years".
I like being enigmatic, says Cliff In a BBC interview he said that he understood that the fact he has never married had given rise to intense curiosity about his relationships.
"I know but I don't care, that's the thing," he said.
To applause from an invited audience in a Songs of Praise special, he said: "It is just none of your business."
Speaking to Sally Magnusson to mark his 50th year in showbusiness, he said: "This year has been a huge watershed in my relationship with the press. I'm an enigma and I love it. I love that after all these years they still don't think they know everything about me."
He said that his recent autobiography in which he explained his views on same-sex relationships had been interpreted by some as a statement about his own sexuality.
"I was trying to be very philosophical about a lot of things, including same-sex relationships. There have been changes within my faith, I was at one time quite judgmental."
The committed Christian singer performed some of his favourite religious songs and hymns, including Faithful One and Little Town.
Leona Lewis made history when sales of her new number one single Run became the fastest-selling digital release ever.
The song, a Snow Patrol cover version which Lewis never planned to release as a single, stormed straight to the top of the Official Singles Chart.
Knocking Take That's Greatest Day off the top spot gave the former X Factor winner her third UK number one single.
Fans fell in love with the track after she performed it in Radio 1's Live Lounge in November 2007. It was the high demand for the song that led to a last-minute decision to release it as a single.
Run became available, as a download only, from midnight on November 30 and in its first two days sold 69,244 units.
The previous record for the biggest-selling digital-only number one was held by American Boy, by Estelle featuring Kanye West, which sold 51,857 units in a week.
Lewis's chart-topper exceeded this figure in just two days. Run has now sold 131,593 copies, according to Official Charts Company data.
Despite their single falling to number two, Take That also had cause to celebrate after their fifth studio album, The Circus, became one of the fastest selling albums ever. Fans snapped up 432,000 copies in its first seven days on release last week, the Official Charts Company said.
This represented the third biggest first-week sales total in history, after Oasis's 1997 album Be Here Now and Coldplay's 2005 release X&Y.
Take That said in a statement: "It's just an incredible feeling to have the new album do what it's done this week. We set out to make a record that each of us was really proud of and we did that. To then have it fly off the shelves like it did this week has been just amazing."
A 13-year-old's signature just became worth £2.3 million – that's how much record label Universal paid for a recording contract with Faryl Smith. The schoolgirl was among the runners-up on Britain's Got Talent, the show created by Simon Cowell, and the music empresario had been hoping to sign her.
Her rendition of Ave Maria was so moving Simon described her as "the most talented youngster I've ever heard".
In the end, though, her parents chose to go with Universal because they were impressed with the way the company has backed classical music sensation Katherine Jenkins.
The mezzo soprano became Faryl's champion three years ago after watching her win Wales' prestigious Llangollen International Eisteddfod. And on Tuesday her mentor looked on with pride at the Royal Albert Hall as the talented teen put her name to the contract.
"I'm honoured to be joining such a fantastic record company, especially since it's where Katherine started," said Faryl. "She's been brilliant, and she will always take my calls. I feel much better knowing she is around."
With a prediction that her earnings will reach £20m by the time she's 20, the teenager from Kettering, Northamptonshire, has got used to answering questions about what she'll do with her fortune.
"My family are all Manchester United fans, but we can't quite afford that so my Dad is thinking of buying Kettering Town instead!" she joked.
LA guitarist Joe Satriani is suing Coldplay, claiming the Grammy-nominated band plagiarised one of his songs.
Satriani alleges Coldplay's Viva La Vida, or Death And All His Friends, "copied and incorporated substantial original portions" of his 2004 guitar instrumental If I Could Fly from his album Is There Love in Space?.
Coldplay's single went straight to number one in the UK charts when it was released in June and spent six weeks in the top spot. The hit also formed the title track of the band's first album in three years.
On Thursday, the Chris Martin-fronted group nabbed seven Grammy nominations, including the coveted record of the year award.
At the same time, 52-year-old Satriani was filing his lawsuit, and requested a jury trial, damages and "any and all profits" attributable to the alleged copyright infringement.
Coldplay - Martin, bassist Guy Berryman, guitarist Johnny Buckland and drummer Will Champion - were accused of plagiarism in June by New York-based Creaky Boards.
They claimed Martin attended one of their gigs before his band went on to use one of their melodies for Viva La Vida.
A Coldplay spokesman said the track was written in March last year, more than six months before the US band claimed Martin went to see them, and totally refuted the Creaky Boards' claim.
Thousands of screaming teenage girls braved the freezing cold for the premiere of vampire love story Twilight.
The stars of the film Robert Pattinson, 22, and Kristen Stewart, 18, walked a black carpet blasted with dry ice for atmosphere in London's Leicester Square.
The film is based on the first novel in Stephanie Meyer's series about high school girl Bella Swann who falls in love with vampire Edward.
In its first weekend at US cinemas Twilight outsold new James Bond film Quantum of Solace and High School Musical 3.
Director Catherine Hardwicke said: "We love London even though it's so cold. These fans are braver because they're out here and it's freezing so they are heartier souls."
Harry Potter star Robert said of his hysterical fans: "It's absolutely mad. I'm in a daze. They're here for the character, not for me. I don't know what to do. I'm terrified of doing the sequel."
Kristen Stewart, who plays Bella, claims some feminist groups disapproved of her character falling for a dominant vampire. She said: "It's a love story about two people who would die for each other. Bella has very innately female qualities, she really trusts herself. It takes a really strong person to subject themselves to that.
"A lot of feminist groups have problems with her which I don't understand because it takes someone very strong to be able to give that away."
Director Hardwicke said when casting Robert for the role of Edward it was an easy decision.
She said: "Robert and Kristen have this amazing sexual chemistry between them. We could see it in the audition. That's why we cast them. You can't create that. It has to be there."
Leona Lewis made history when sales of her new number one single Run became the fastest-selling digital release ever. The song, a Snow Patrol cover version which Lewis never planned to release as a single, stormed straight to the top of the Official Singles Chart.
Knocking Take That's Greatest Day off the top spot gave the former X Factor winner her third UK number one single.
Fans fell in love with the track after she performed it in Radio 1's Live Lounge in November 2007. It was the high demand for the song that led to a last-minute decision to release it as a single.
Run became available, as a download only, from midnight on November 30 and in its first two days sold 69,244 units.
The previous record for the biggest-selling digital-only number one was held by American Boy, by Estelle featuring Kanye West, which sold 51,857 units in a week.
Lewis's chart-topper exceeded this figure in just two days. Run has now sold 131,593 copies, according to Official Charts Company data.
Despite their single falling to number two, Take That also had cause to celebrate after their fifth studio album, The Circus, became one of the fastest selling albums ever. Fans snapped up 432,000 copies in its first seven days on release last week, the Official Charts Company said.
This represented the third biggest first-week sales total in history, after Oasis's 1997 album Be Here Now and Coldplay's 2005 release X&Y.
Take That said in a statement: "It's just an incredible feeling to have the new album do what it's done this week. We set out to make a record that each of us was really proud of and we did that. To then have it fly off the shelves like it did this week has been just amazing."
Britpop pioneers Blur are getting back together for a concert in London's Hyde Park.
The full line-up of Graham Coxon, Alex James, Dave Rowntree and Damon Albarn will be onstage together for the first time since their Royal Festival Hall performance in 2000.
The concert will take place on Friday July 3, and tickets will be on general sale from 9am this Friday at www.livenation.co.uk.
Coxon left Blur six years ago and the band's last album, Think Tank, was released in 2003.
In a joint interview, Albarn and Coxon explained that they had put their differences behind them.
"It just felt it was right again," said Albarn.
"It somehow feels like there's something for us to do again, we're not completely useless or pointless, we've got a reason to exist."
Coxon said the band were "making public what's been going on a little bit privately".
There have been reports of further dates including a possible appearance at next year's Glastonbury festival.
Albarn promised fans that there were more shows on the horizon.
"We'll do something in London because that seems sensible," Albarn told the NME, "but we're also playing in other parts of the country, working up to there."
Formed in Colchester in 1989, the band have recorded seven studio albums and had a string of top 10 singles including two number ones with Country House and Beetlebum.
Blur hit the height of their fame as the poster boys for Brit Pop in the mid 1990s, and were known for their chart battles with contemporaries Oasis.
Albarn has since gone on to form virtual band Gorillaz, to huge commercial and critical success.
His projects have included supergroup The Good, The Bad & The Queen and the much-lauded Monkey: Journey To The West.
Guitarist Coxon released solo work since quitting the band and has collaborated with Pete Doherty.
Bassist Alex James swapped his bad boy image to become a Cotswolds cheese maker and is a talent judge on Channel 4's Orange Unsigned Act.
Drummer Dave Rowntree made an unsuccessful bid to become a Labour councillor last year.
Comedian Alan Carr has apologised for dedicating a comedy award to kidnapper Karen Matthews. Carr, who was condemned as "sick" by a government minister, said: "I realise what I said about Karen Matthews was insensitive and am very sorry for any offence this may have caused."
At Saturday night's British Comedy Awards, Carr said that Matthews was a "gay icon", adding: "People like a bit of rough don't they?"
Junior Justice Minister Shahid Malik said the timing of Carr's remarks could not have been worse.
Mr Malik, who is also MP for Matthews' constituency of Dewsbury, said: "I think Alan Carr can be funny on occasion but I think last night he really let himself down.
"The timing couldn't be worse. I think most people think it to be both sick and insensitive and people will be disgusted with him at a time when many people are looking very closely at the comic/comedian profession anyway."
He added: "This isn't a helpful contribution either to the sad case of Shannon Matthews where we've only just got a conviction, and Michael Donovan and Karen Matthews haven't even been sentenced yet."
Matthews and Donovan were convicted last week of the kidnap of her nine-year-old daughter Shannon. The youngster was drugged and imprisoned for 24 days in a desperate plan to claim £50,000 in reward money.
On Saturday night, Carr spoke to reporters backstage after being awarded Best Comedy Entertainment Personality for his Friday Night Project and Sunday Night Project shows.
He said that he originally planned his Celebrity Ding Dong sketch to feature Rough Women not Fashionistas.
"It didn't work out because they couldn't cast it. I suppose it is a bit difficult to find rough women. I suppose Shannon Matthew's mum was busy," he said.
"Oh yeah, she would be my dream guest. I think she's a gay icon. People like a bit of rough don't they?"
Carr added: "I must be obsessed with her actually if you look at my Google searches. So I should dedicate this award to her."
When Jo Wood confided to HELLO! that her social life had been a frantic whirl of late, she neglected to mention that one of the dates in her diary included a meeting with royalty and Dolce&Gabbana model David Gandy. Ronnie Wood's estranged wife was the star attraction at a Save The Children charity event presided over by the organisation's president Princess Anne. Many of the guests, the 6ft 2in Scottish model hunk included, were apparently tripping over themselves to chat with her.
David, an object of admiration to millions of women thanks to a starring swimsuit-clad role in a D&G perfume ad, caught up with 53-year-old Jo by the champagne bar.
Not that the former rock chick would have been indulging in any festive tipples, these days she limits herself to organic foods and drinks – which may go some way to explaining her youthful glow.
Jo, who looked fabulous in a floral maxi-dress, had designed a bespoke Christmas tree to be auctioned off at the event.
The tree, one of several contributed by celebrities, reflected her love of natural produce, featuring red and white papier-mâché decorations, strings of popcorn and bundles of fragrant cinnamon sticks.
GMTV presenter Kate Garraway has come out top in an annual poll of women men secretly lust after. Men's magazine Nuts named Garraway the UK's third annual WISA of the Year (Woman I Secretly Adore), pipping last year's slimmed-down winner Fern Britton.
Garraway scooped more than a fifth of the vote in Nuts's poll of more than 2,000 men.
Loose Women's Jackie Brambles came second and BBC News presenter Sian Williams came third.
Nuts editor Pete Cashmore said: "This poll shows how men have an appreciation of women that is as broad and varied as woman herself, challenging the stereotype of us guys only lusting after young pneumatic twentysomething models."
The moment a terminally ill man takes his own life will be screened in a television programme tonight. Sky TV Documentary makers were allowed to film the final moments of 59-year-old motor neurone disease sufferer Craig Ewert at controversial Swiss clinic Dignitas.
The Sky Real Lives programme Right to Die?, shows Mr Ewert drinking a fatal dose of barbiturates, which have been prescribed by a local doctor.
Within 30 minutes of the overdose he is dead.
Before making the journey, he said: "If I go through with it I die, as I must at some point.
"If I don't go through with it, my choice is essentially to suffer and to inflict suffering on my family and then die.
"Possibly in a way that is considerably more stressful and painful than this way."
Mr Ewert, who lived in Harrogate, feared the disease would end up choking him to death.
His widow, Mary, has defended the decision to allow the cameras inside the clinic, which helps people to commit suicide.
Assisted suicide is legal in Switzerland with certain conditions. But it is illegal in Britain.
The programme comes as a coroner recorded a verdict of suicide following the death of another British man at Dignitas.
Paralysed rugby player Daniel James, 23, was injured when a scrum collapsed on him. The promising hooker lost the use of all of his limbs.
According to his parents, Mr James found his life unbearable. They helped him travel to Zurich in September this year.
The Director of Public Prosecutions has decided not to pursue a case against the couple.
Dignitas was set up by Ludwig Minelli, a lawyer who rarely gives interviews. He said a dignified death is a human right.
The clinic has helped more than 100 people from Britain to end their lives.
But, to some religious and ethical groups, assisted suicide is wrong.
Dr Rob George, from Care Not Killing, said Mr Ewert's death was barbaric and that "a natural death is nothing to fear".
"The vast majority of patients with motor neurone disease do not have a choking, unpleasant, suffocating death. That's just not true. So I feel sad and quite angry about that. This man need not have gone through this."
Paula Abdul has accused her American Idol bosses of exposing her to the crazed fan who committed suicide outside her California home. Abdul claims producers on the show allowed Paula Goodspeed to audition on three separate occasions, knowing she had stalked the star for 17 years.
And she accuses broadcaster Fox of shooting footage at her home, which effectively showed fans how to get access to the Sherman Oaks estate.
Speaking on talk show host Barbara Walters' Sirius Satellite radio show on Monday night, Abdul said, "She came to the audition. I said, 'This girl is a stalker of mine. Please do not let her in.' I was shaking.
"The producers thought, for entertainment value, it would be funny. Fun for them to cause me stress. It would make good television.
"If you look at the audition on YouTube, you'll see I couldn't even look up.
"But it wasn't just once. She showed up again in Las Vegas and she showed up the following year."
Abdul adds, "(Then) Fox broadcasting literally went to my house and gave my address away and showed how easy it is to break in."
The 45-year-old also reveals Goodspeed, 30, wrote her disturbing letters threatening her life.
Abdul told Walters, "The letters that were written were about bodily harm. She said that the only way I will serve my purpose is when I am up in heaven being her guardian angel."
When Walters asked why Abdul was still working on the show she replied, "Well, I'm still under contract."
Footage of a man ending his own life will be broadcast on TV later.
Suicide film to be shown on TV The film shows Craig Ewert drinking a mixture of sedatives at the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland and turning off his own ventilator using his teeth.
The 59-year-old American suffered from motor neurone disease and chose to die rather than endure what he described as 'torture'.
The footage forms part of a documentary filmed by Oscar-winning director John Zaritsky called Right to Die?
The broadcast comes a day after the parents of paralysed rugby player Daniel James were told they would face no action over his assisted suicide at Dignitas at the age of 23.
The film, which is on Sky Real Lives at 9pm, shows Mr Ewert bleakly outlining his options as "death, or suffering and death".
Before his suicide, Mr Ewert said: "I'd like to continue. The thing is that I really can't.
"I can't take that risk, that's choosing to be tortured rather than end this journey and start the next one.
"If I go through with it, I die as I must at some point.
"If I don't go through with it, my choice is to suffer, for my family to suffer and then die.
"The fact that I know the date I'm going to die simply makes definite what was previously indefinite.
"When you are completely paralysed, can't talk, can't walk, can't move your eyes, how do you let someone know that you are suffering?"
In a moving letter to his two adult children, who appear in the programme, he wrote: "This is a journey I must make.
"At the same time I hope this is not the cause of major distress to my dear sweet wife, who will have the greatest loss, as we have been together for 37 years in the greatest intimacy."
Sky defended the decision to broadcast Mr Ewert's suicide.
Barbara Gibbon, Head of Sky Real Lives, said: "This is an issue that more and more people are confronting and this documentary is an informative, articulate and educated insight into the decisions some people have to make.
"I think it's important that TV broadcasters, and particularly Sky Real Lives, can stimulate debate about this issue through powerful, individual and engaging stories and give this subject a wider airing."
Mark Ruffalo's brother Scott was killed after playing a deadly game of Russian roulette, according to the prime suspect in the case. Scott was found outside his Beverley Hills home with a gunshot wound to the head during the weekend. He was taken off life support on Monday.
Shaha Adham turned herself in to the authorities after police issued a warrant . She was seen leaving Scott's house on the night of the incident. After viewing the surveillance footage, police have identified another man Brian Scofield as a "person of interest" in the case. Adham has told police Scott shot himself while playing a game of Russian roulette. She also alleges that the hairdresser was under the influence of controlled substances at the time. Her lawyer Ronald Richards told the New York Post, "We expect the coroner's report to show the shooting was a result of the victim's chronic playing of Russian roulette and his dangerous playing with firearms while under the use of controlled substances. "My client was a good friend of the victim and is very sad for the loss of his family. However, she played no role whatsoever in his accidental death." Zodiac actor Mark recently thanked his fans for their support. A statement read, "Mark Ruffalo and his family deeply appreciate the outpouring of prayers and support during this most difficult time of the passing of Scott Ruffalo, beloved son, brother and husband."
Awards season is upon us. And the first gongs have gone to the world of animation. The Los Angeles Film Critics named Disney Pixar's Wall-E as the best film of 2008, the first time the marquee award has gone to an animated flick in its 33-year history.
British director Danny Boyle was named best director for Slumdog Millionaire, his acclaimed story of a boy growing up in the Mumbai slums. And further British success came for Sally Hawkins, who won best actress for her role as the perrennially chirpy teacher in Happy Go Lucky. Heath Ledger scooped a posthumous award for his supporting role as The Joker in The Dark Knight, which also came second in the best film and director categories. It marked a change for the LA Critics, who have generally rewarded more highbrow fare. Sean Penn got the best actor nod for the murdered gay politician Harvey Milk in Milk. Penn was one of eight nominations for Milk from the Critics choice Awards, which were also announced yesterday. Milk tied for the most nominations with The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, the forthcoming David Finch film in which Grad Pitt is born old and gets steadily younger.
Will Smith has set his sights on playing the new US president Barack Obama. Smith is a big fan of the president-elect, and is desperate to play him in a big screen biopic.
However, Smith will wait until Obama finishes his stint at the White House before he makes the movie. Asked by MTV if he'd fancy the role, he replied, "That would be fantastic. There are so many aspects of that story that people don't know — that people would love to. I'm going to give him eight years, though. I don't know if I'll be too old in eight years, but we'll give it a shot." (Re-electing him already, Will?) The I Am Legend actor also revealed why he's perfectly cast to play Obama. Pointing to his prominent ears, Smith joked, "It's right here. That's the key. America loves ears, you know? Mickey Mouse started it; Goofy and Dumbo followed behind. And America just loves the ears."
Paramount Pictures has taken the bold move to search for a lost city with one Mr. Brad Pitt! "We Own the Night" helmer James Gray is set to direct "The Lost City of Z" according to reports in Variety. Gray will take his lead from an as yet unpublished David Grann book for Brad Pitt to star in as British soldier and spy, Percy Fawcett. The nonfiction book by Grann, a staffer at the New Yorker, will be published in April by Doubleday. Paramount acquired the rights to it earlier this year for Pitt to produce through his Paramount-based Plan B.
Fawcett left Victorian society to explore in the Amazon, and he became obsessed by the idea of an advanced civilization he called 'Z', which he believed existed in the depths of the jungle. Along with his son, Fawcett headed into the jungle in 1925 in search of Z and was never seen again. "This is a terrific opportunity to do something entirely different for me," Gray said. "It is a story that will be told with an epic scale, with a main character who is larger than life."
Brad Pitt is to head into The Lost City of Z. The actor will star in true story of a man's obsession with a rumoured advanced civilisation in the Amazon. Based on a forthcoming non-fiction book by David Grann, it tells the story of British solider Percy Fawcett (Pitt) and his quest to find the advanced people he called Z, reports Variety.
He set off into the jungle with his son and both were never seen again. We Own The Night's James Gray is on directing duties. He said, "This is a terrific opportunity to do something entirely different for me. It is a story that will be told with an epic scale, with a main character who is larger than life."
NEW YORK - Before the world knew her as Marilyn Monroe, Norma Jeane Baker so captivated photographer Andre de Dienes at her first modeling assignment that he later recorded their meeting in his diary: "An earthly sexy-looking angel! Sent expressly to me!" De Dienes simultaneously captured the innocent exuberance and seductiveness of the young model in a series of photos that day in 1949 as she frolicked on a Long Island beach.
They are among more than 100 Monroe images being offered for sale in three sessions on Dec. 16-17 at Christie's auction house. They are expected to bring from $811,000 to $1.1 million.
The photographs represent a chronicle of Monroe's short life, from obscurity to Hollywood sex goddess. They capture her in all her manifestations — playful, sexy, innocent, insecure and anguished — as recorded by some of the biggest names in photography, including Tom Kelley, Richard Avedon, Bert Stern, Gary Winogrand, Elliott Erwitt and Cornell Capa.
A set of four portraits from the Tobey Beach series, showing Monroe with long, curly tresses and her trademark winning smile, is estimated to sell for $7,000 to $9,000.
"She is one of the most iconic figures in the history of American culture of the past 100 years," said Josh Holdeman, head of Christie's 20th century art.
Among other highlights is a group of photos known as the "Last Sitting" and taken by Stern for Vogue in 1962, just weeks before Monroe's death at 36.
The eight-page feature was shot during three long sessions at the Hotel Bel-Air in Beverly Hills. As the issue was going to press, Vogue learned that the actress had died. An emergency meeting was called and it was decided that the photo layout should run just as planned — as a memorial tribute to Monroe.
Fifty-nine key images from the shoot — including an uncharacteristically forlorn-looking Monroe in a black dress that conceals her body — are estimated to bring $100,000 to $150,000.
A 1957 portrait of a crestfallen-looking Monroe in black halter dress — in which photographer Richard Avedon turned "the subject from a star into a mere mortal" — is estimated to fetch the sale's highest price for a single photo, up to $35,000, Christie's said.
Avedon "banished every trace of the erotic charm and effervescence for which the actress was celebrated. ... Behind the beautiful face, her spirits sag as gravely as the body beneath the sequined dress," the auction house said.
Christie's said the sale represents the largest collection of Monroe photos to come on the market. Many of the images were featured in the "I Wanna Be Loved By You" Monroe exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in 2004.
New York collectors Leon and Michaela Constantiner are selling the photos plus 250 other images representing fashion, glamour and celebrities by such art-world stars as Andy Warhol, Helmut Newton, Irving Penn and Robert Mapplethrope.
The collection also has an unusually large number of sexually explicit prints as well as nude photos of actors and models such as Kate Moss, Patti Hansen, Charlotte Rampling and Nastassja Kinski.
Buyers from around the world have expressed interest in the Constantiner collection, one of the largest of its kind, said Holdeman.
"For them to have embarked on a journey far before it became in the public eye critically important, it's incredibly prescient and ambitious," Holdeman said.
NEW YORK - Want to raise money for a good cause? Recruit the Jonas Brothers.
The sibling sensations top Charity Folks' list of the 10 hottest celebrity draws on the online charity-auction Web site.
The brothers Kevin, Joe and Nick raised $450,000 in an online charity auction by charityfolks.com, which arranged VIP tickets and meet-and-greets in exchange for donations to the band's Change for the Children Foundation.
Billy Joel is second on the Charity Folks list with $400,000 earned from a private New York concert. Bruce Springsteen came in third with $300,000, followed by Morgan Freeman, Howard Stern sidekick Robin Quivers and the cast of "The Sopranos."
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Oscar-winner Angelina Jolie has proven again how handsomely it pays to combine gun-wielding action with serious roles, as she topped The Hollywood Reporter's list of highest-earning actresses on Friday.
But salaries are plummeting for top actresses and still lag the earnings of leading men, the trade paper said.
Jolie, 33, earned $15 million for the action movie "Wanted" this year and she could make $20 million to star in a possible sequel, it said.
Jolie played dramatic roles in 2007's "A Mighty Heart" and in this year's "Changeling." The mother of six and partner of actor Brad Pitt last month talked about eventually fading away from acting to spend more time with her family.
Oscar winner Julia Roberts, 41, claimed the No. 2 spot after a long absence from the screen, making more than $15 million for "Duplicity," which comes out next year.
Actors are also earning less, with the exception of Will Smith, star of blockbusters "Hancock" and "I Am Legend," who is riding high with up to $25 million per movie.
"Everyone else's prices have gone down," an unidentified talent agent told The Hollywood Reporter.
Reese Witherspoon, 32, who topped the female list last year after winning an Oscar for her role in the 2005 movie "Walk the Line," dropped to No. 3. She earned $14 million for appearing in the comedy hit "Four Christmases" that opened last week.
Cameron Diaz, Katherine Heigl, Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway and Jennifer Aniston rounded out the list, with 39-year-old "Friends" star Aniston earning more than $8 million for the comedy "Marley & Me" opening on Christmas Day.
Big stars such as Halle Berry and Nicole Kidman -- both Oscar winners -- are no longer able to earn $10 million a movie.
Compare that with Pitt and Johnny Depp, who according to The Hollywood Reporter make between $15 million and $20 million per film.
CHICAGO - A prosecutor alleged Wednesday that Jennifer Hudson's brother-in-law killed three of her relatives — with a gun stolen from one of the victims — because he was angry his estranged wife, the singer's sister, was dating another man. William Balfour appeared in court for the first time in connection with the deaths and was denied bond. His attorney said authorities have no forensic evidence linking Balfour to the killings, but prosecutors said witness statements and the suspect's own lies and threats helped lead them to him. Balfour was charged with murder Tuesday after being held for weeks on a parole violation. The slightly built man, wearing a yellow jump suit, stood quietly Wednesday as prosecutor LuAnn Snow described how he allegedly killed his 7-year-old stepson, Julian King, Hudson's mother, Darnell Hudson Donerson, and Hudson's brother, Jason Hudson. Snow said Balfour had been at the Hudsons' South Side home early Oct. 24 and confronted his estranged wife, Julia Hudson, about a birthday present he believed she had received from a boyfriend. Balfour, Snow said, also had shown up to Julia Hudson's workplace earlier in the month to confront her about dating another man. "He told her at the time that her family would suffer if she saw other men," Snow said after Wednesday's hearing. Balfour threatened Julia Hudson again that morning at the home, Snow said, adding that Hudson did not take the threat seriously because he "had not followed through on any of those threats" before. The two left the home together that morning, with Hudson driving away as she saw Balfour walking toward his own car, according to documents prosecutors filed with the court. But Balfour's car broke down and two acquaintances gave him a ride to a gas station — during which time Balfour told them he had a handgun, but had left it in his car, Snow alleged. In fact, the prosecutor said, the gun belonged to Jason Hudson and Balfour allegedly stole it during the summer. "Several people observed defendant with the gun in the late summer of 2008," Snow said. Balfour was taken back to his disabled car after the trip to the gas station, "although he was offered a ride to other locations," Snow told the court. In the stark language of a legal document she was reading from, Snow described what allegedly happened next: "Defendant then entered the home at 7019 S. Yale at gunpoint," she read. "He shot Darnell Donerson several times while she was in the living room area. He then went into Jason Hudson's bedroom and shot him two times in the head." Jason Hudson, she said, was still in bed when he was shot. Balfour allegedly then took 7-year-old Julian and put him in Jason Hudson's white SUV. "Defendant shot Julian King in the head while the 7-year-old was laying behind the front seat of the Suburban," Snow read. His body was found three days later in the SUV. Balfour's attorney, Joshua Kutnick, criticized the first-degree murder and home invasion charges against his client, saying no fingerprint, blood or other forensic evidence links the 27-year-old to the slayings. "There is no direct evidence of Mr. Balfour committing these crimes," he said, adding that a girlfriend who claims Balfour confessed to her and asked her to provide him with an alibi is "highly suspect." Snow said there is evidence linking Balfour to the crimes, including gunshot residue on the steering wheel of the car that had broken down. Further, she said, Balfour has made statements to authorities that detectives have disproved. For example, while Balfour claimed he used a transit card to ride a train from the Hudson residence to his home, "The card was last used two days before the murders," Snow said. Balfour also does not appear on surveillance video of the train station he said he rode to, Snow said. Cell phone records and gas station surveillance video show Balfour was in the immediate vicinity of the Hudsons' home until shortly after 9 a.m., according to the court documents. Snow said Balfour claimed he was at his West Side home at 10 a.m. the morning of the killings but cell phone records show he did not return there until just before 1 p.m. Kutnick argued that none of that means his client killed anyone. He told the judge Balfour has not confessed and no one has come forward saying they saw him commit the crimes. As for the gunshot residue, Kutnick said after Wednesday's hearing that Balfour's car had been left unattended the day of the killings and it wasn't known if anyone else had used it. He also said witnesses linking Balfour to Jason Hudson's stolen gun are unreliable. Balfour previously went to prison for seven years for attempted murder and vehicular hijacking. His next court date in the murder case is set for Dec. 30. Jennifer Hudson was a finalist in the 2004 season of "American Idol" and won her Oscar in 2007 for her film debut, a supporting role in "Dreamgirls." She has mostly stayed out of the spotlight and close to her family since the killings. Her publicist said Wednesday that the actress would not offer any comment
NEW ORLEANS - It was a bittersweet moment for Brad Pitt, walking through the Lower 9th Ward neighborhood where families were preparing to spend their first holidays since Hurricane Katrina. Those families are moving into the first six houses built through Pitt's Make It Right foundation. One home was already strewn with green garland, lights, wreaths and red bows. Still, Pitt is restless. "I'm really happy for the families that are going to be here, but I can't help but think about the families that aren't," Pitt said Monday. "It's a push-pull for me. The excitement is that it's being proven, that it's working. The frustration is that we have a long way to go." Make It Right was launched by Pitt a year ago. The program calls for construction of 150 energy-efficient homes in a section of New Orleans washed away when Katrina broke levees Aug. 29, 2005. So far, six homes have been built. Two more are under way, and construction on another 14 begins in early 2009. Pitt smiles, gets a little giddy even, when talking about where the project will be in another year. "You're going to see 100 homes here, mark my words," he said. "It's nice to see a few, but I'm anxious to see 100, 150, 1,000." Pitt said that by December 2009, the Lower 9th Ward should be one of the nation's largest "green" neighborhoods. "It's amazing," he said. "This place that suffered such injustice and so much death can become one of the primary examples of a high-performance neighborhood. It really is amazing." Inez Converse, 71, isn't concerned about her area setting any records. She's just happy to be back in the neighborhood she lived in for more than 35 years before Katrina. And she said she was glad she had the chance to thank Pitt personally. "He didn't have to do this," she said. "I'm just grateful he is doing it." Monday was a busy day for Pitt and partner Angelina Jolie, who appeared at a screening of Pitt's new film "The Curious case of Benjamin Button." The couple — Pitt in a suit and tie and Jolie in a form-fitting cream L'Wren Scott dress — was the highlight of the red-carpet event. The film, which also stars Cate Blanchett, opens Dec. 25. But because it was filmed in New Orleans in 2006 and 2007, Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. held a special screening here. "It's a gorgeous, gorgeous film," said Pitt, who in the movie plays a man who begins life as elderly and grows younger with time. "It's a film that makes you want to hug your kids and call your folks." Pitt also described the movie as "a love letter to New Orleans." "There's a sense of magic here, so it made this fantastic story almost believable," he said. Pitt said his fondness for the city led him and Jolie to buy an early-1830s masonry mansion in the French Quarter. Pitt said the home was recently renovated to accommodate the needs of the couple and their six children. He quashed recent rumors that the couple had sold their home. While the homes built by Pitt's project are more contemporary than the Creole cottages and shotgun-style homes typical of New Orleans, they incorporate some elements used in the area for generations, such as high ceilings and shaded porches. The homes also have solar panels and other features that help cut energy bills by at least 75 percent, Pitt said. Other architectural elements address challenges of the area, including ventilation and mold- and termite-resistant materials. "The misunderstanding of architecture is that it's all about aesthetics," Pitt said. "It's not. First and foremost, it's about function." The homes, costing $150,000 on average, are for property owners who can pay insurance and taxes. Monthly payments are based on applicants' income and subsidized by Pitt's foundation. Pitt said his motivation to see this project through stems from a lot of things, among them his "love for architecture, a love for technology, a love for fairness and justice." But it also stems from his love "for all things New Orleans." "There's just something about this place," he said.
2008: Britney got better, Paris outwitted John McCain and Lindsay became involved in a stable relationship. With all eyes on the economy and the election, it was a quieter year for Tinseltown's stalwart cast of troublemakers and their followers.
The business of celebrity gossip is still going strong, but happy endings are now the fashion. As doom is foreshadowed on the news, the public wants to see brighter things from the tabloids, and it may be in the best interests of the stars and their publicists to indulge the fans.
"I think that celebrities realize that it's more in vogue to have your life together," says Lori Levine, chief executive of talent brokering firm Flying Television. She feels stars may be more aware that if they act inappropriately in their private lives, they "actually won't be able to make money and in this economy, that bottom line is very, very seductive."
That doesn't mean everyone's cleaned up his or her act. Take Kanye West, the musician who made headlines this year for two scuffles with paparazzi photographers. West cleverly tried to take control of the spin by posting about the incidents on his blog, protesting the invasive danger that photographers pose.
Another celebrity who took the headlines into her own hands was Bai Ling, who was arrested last February in the Los Angeles International airport for stealing magazines and batteries. She claimed the incident was the result of a bad breakup and plead guilty to disturbing the peace but not before posting on her blog, "Life happens to you, either you liked it or not; sometimes I feel you have to be so brave to stand in front of the world and just hope that people will have a tender heart toward you," which some saw as a veiled response to the incident.
First person recounting of the ups and downs of fame seems to be one more tactic that stars have used recently to connect emotionally to their fans. The candidness becomes even more effective when stars show a desire to turn their lives around.
"We love second acts," says Howard Bragman, chairman of Fifteen Minutes, a strategic media and public relations agency. "We're willing to forgive bad behavior."
That's certainly the case with Josh Brolin. In July, while filming the Oliver Stone biopic "W," Brolin was arrested for getting into a bar fight in Shreveport, La. Charged with a misdemeanorfor interfering with police, he's scheduled to appear in court Dec. 2. While his mug shot was plastered across celebrity media pages, the incident hasn't slowed his streak of roles in critically acclaimed films. Up next in limited release: "Milk."
Amy Winehouse is banking on fans' hope for a second act after repeated rounds of drug abuse, violence and divorce rumors marred the musician's reputation. Authorities held her this past year for allegedly slapping a man and for suspicion of possessing a controlled substance. While neither incidents ended in formal charges, her husband Blake Fielder-Civil was sent to jail for assaulting and attempting to bribe a barman in 2007 and was recently released for rehabilitation.
While the "Dark Knight" buzz was still building, star Christian Bale was arrested in London after allegedly assaulting his mother and sister. The charges were subsequently dropped and any public memory was likely shadowed by the pic's industry-saving box office pull.
Levine says some Hollywood stars have hit a period of reputation rebuilding. Fame in America often means a progression of rising fast, falling fast and then an inspirational climb back to renewed fame and success. "We're tired of the bad news," says Levine. After watching the press highlight panty-less nightly escapades and DUI charges, the public wants some positive news. "We're tired of the roller coaster."
But, as the paparazzo isn't backing down, it's up to the stars to keep their illicit deeds out of the tabloid papers and blogs. "The only way you can control the press is to control your behavior," says Bragman.
MELBOURNE, Australia -- Late actor Heath Ledger won a posthumous trophy for Best Actor at the Australian Film Institute awards on Saturday.
Heath won for his role as the Joker in "The Dark Knight," a performance that's garnered him considerable Oscar buzz.
His sister Kate and his parents accepted the award on his behalf.
"It has been without a doubt the most difficult year, losing such a loved family member," Kate said, according to Reuters.
Other winners at the ceremony included Cate Blanchett, who won Best Actress for her titular performance in "Elizabeth: The Golden Age," and "The Black Balloon," an Australian film starring Toni Collette that swept several major categories.
The Australian actor, who earned an Oscar nomination for his role in 2005's "Brokeback Mountain," died at the age of 28 of an overdose of prescription drugs in his New York apartment in January.
According to reports, "The Dark Knight" will be briefly re-released theatrically on January 23 - the day after both the announcement of the Oscar nominations and the one-year anniversary of Heath's death.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. heiress Martha "Sunny" von Bulow died on Saturday at a Manhattan nursing home after spending nearly 28 years in a coma, media reported.
Von Bulow was either 76 or 77. She was found lying in a bathroom in her mansion in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1980 and never regained consciousness.
She was married to an Austrian prince and then later to a Danish-born lawyer, Claus von Bulow, who was convicted and later acquitted of twice trying to kill her with insulin injections. He now lives in London.
The story was recounted in a 1990 movie, "Reversal of Fortune," starring Glenn Close and Jeremy Irons, based on a book by Alan Dershowitz, a law professor who defended Claus von Bulow.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- It'll be a game-time decision for M.I.A. come February 8 - baby or Grammys?
"[They're] due the same day!" the musician wrote on her MySpace blog on Friday.
M.I.A., whose real name is Maya Arulpragasm, just received a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year for her summer hit, "Paper Planes," and is also pregnant with her first child.
"So either way I figured I'll win," she wrote.
But if she gets a Grammy, the outspoken London-by-way-of-Sri Lanka artist promised to keep quiet on one thing.
"OMG if I get it, I will never diss the Grammys evr again!" she wrote.
The song, from 2007 album "Kala," caught fire after its inclusion in the "Pineapple Express" trailer in June, peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard charts. And though she and fiance Benjamin Brewer have a baby on the way, the busy artist - who also has a fashion line and co-wrote a track on the "Slumdog Millionaire" soundtrack, which is being released on her own label, N.E.E.T. - isn't slowing down.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Hollywood actor and former British soccer player Vinnie Jones was arrested after a bar fight in downtown Sioux Falls, authorities said.
His movie credits include "Snatch," "Gone in Sixty Seconds," "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels," and "X-Men: The Last Stand" as the character Juggernaut.
Police said Jones, 43, got into a scuffle late Thursday at Wiley's Tavern and suffered cuts on his face from a beer glass.
A police sergeant said Jones apparently charged at Jesse Bickett of Montrose, who hit Jones with the glass.
One of Bickett's roommates, Juan Barrera, said they were playing pool when Jones asked to join, then got offended when one of them asked if he was "that guy from X-Men." Barrera said he was punched by the actor, who is mostly known for his tough guy roles, and countered with one or two of his own.
"He got offended by that, and he started pushing my other friends around," Barrera said.
Bickett, 24, was arrested on a charge of aggravated assault.
Authorities said Jones was treated at a hospital, then charged with simple assault and posted bail Friday morning.
Bickett's mother, Deb, said her son had to have surgery for his injuries.
"He (Jones) doesn't want to run into me," she said.
Jones' manager, Alex Cole, said Friday that the actor hadn't answered his phone calls. Cole had said Jones was on vacation.
Barrera said one of Jones' companions indicated he was in the state to hunt.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Victoria and David Beckham are one of the most photographed celebrity couples in the world. But while plenty of celebrities regularly express their displeasure with the roving snappers, Posh admits she brought the attention on herself.
"I don't complain about paparazzi because I've put myself in that position, and so has David," Victoria told the January issue of Harper's Bazaar. "But I always say to the boys, someone is going to take your picture because you're handsome or you're smart or because you're so good at soccer. But every now and again, [our son]Romeo might pick up one of David's cameras and say, 'Victoria, Victoria, over here!' And his attitude is sort of angry."
As a mother of three boys, Victoria has had to get used to a lot of things. She admitted she gets bruises playing goalie with her children in the Beckham backyard and she also sometimes dresses down at home - to an extent.
"I run around the house in a tracksuit sometimes," Posh admitted. "A fabulous one."
But don't expect the fashion maven to step out of the house in such attire, even if it is "fabulous."
"If I go to the supermarket looking like sh**, that affects my work. I am selling an image," she told the mag. "Plus, I have fun with it."
Another thing Victoria is having fun with is perfecting what used to be her famous red carpet pout.
"I have started smiling," she admitted of her new out-and-about look. "I've mastered this smirk; it's a smile that isn't a smile."
Posh said she is now able to crack a grin due to the confidence that comes with age - she's now 34.
"I used to get so nervous, and when I got on the red carpet, I'd freeze up. I've had so many things said about me over the years, like a public bullying," she said. "The older you get, the more comfortable you become with yourself, and you accept what you have physically. Also, the fact that my business is doing very well... makes me feel a little more confident, too."
Another thing that's going well for Victoria - her marriage to David.
"We've had a lot of ups and a lot of downs," Victoria revealed of her union with the soccer star. "We've been married for nine years. I love him more now than when I first met him... Back then, there was a certain innocence. I look back and think if only I knew then what I know now. I've toughened up a lot."
One of the things Posh has toughened up on are the erroneous reports in the tabloids about her - like ones suggesting she is pregnant. These days, Posh laughs about them with pals Katie Holmes, Eva Longoria and Kate Beckinsale.
"You get a little water retention; it's not news," she said. "Me, Katie, Eva, and Kate always joke about how one of us is allegedly pregnant, but no, we're just a little bloated today! None of us is pregnant."
HAVANA - Actor Benicio del Toro says protesters at the Miami screening of "Che" should have watched the film first.
Del Toro plays Argentine-born Ernesto "Che" Guevara, a hero of the Cuban revolution and global icon. He says the role was difficult and took a lot of time.
Cuban exiles protested the movie in Miami last week. Many opposed Guevara for executions of officials from Fulgencio Batista's government, which was toppled in 1959.
But del Toro says "a lot of the people protesting the movie hadn't seen it."
He spoke Saturday as about 1,500 people attended the screening of the movie by director Steven Soderbergh at a film festival in Havana.
The Puerto Rican actor won the Cannes Film Festival's best-actor prize for his performance.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Just weeks after the announcement of former "Full House" star Jodie Sweetin's divorce from husband Cody Herpin, court papers obtained by Access Hollywood have unveiled what seems to be a turbulent union.
"Our marriage has been rocky," Jodie stated in divorce documents filed in Orange County Superior Court on November 19. According to the documents, the couple separated on November 18. They were married over a year earlier, on July 14, 2007.
But it wasn't just the relationship that had problems, she asserted.
"Our house is in foreclosure, our water has been shut off twice... Currently, all of our other utilities are overdue," she alleged in the papers.
Jodie alleged that Cody, who she stated was a driver and transportation coordinator when they met, stopped working after they were married except for the month of October 2007, and "kept finding one excuse after another for his failure to even attempt to find employment."
"He had to sell his car to pay bills and is now without transportation, unless it is a rental," she continued.
The couple has a child, 7-month-old daughter Zoie Laurel Mae, who Jodie has asked for joint legal and physical custody of, with primary custody going to her.
"I believe that he is going to try to prevent me from seeing our daughter," she wrote, citing an alleged incident that found Cody telling her he would call the police if she left their home with Zoie.
She asked for a court order to pick up certain items from the couple's home
"[Cody] will become very emotional and possibly erratic" if she returned to the residence, the papers alleged.
However, in an interview with People on Friday, Cody painted a different picture
"I still have no idea what this is about. None of this makes sense," he told the mag.
According to him, the actress has returned to their residence four times since the split and won't return his e-mails - and, he alleged, his unemployment was due to her busy schedule.
"I was the stay-at-home dad, my job was taking care of Zoie," he said.
His lawyer, Robert Benavente, told People that Cody has been cooperative with his estranged wife - and he alleged that she hasn't been entirely truthful.
"Some of [her other claims] are false," Benavente said. "We will address those in court documents."
A court date is set for the morning of February 9, 2009.
This Oct. 17, 1987 file photo shows actress Beverly Garland. Garland, the actress who starred in 1950s cult hits like 'Swamp Women' and 'Not of This Earth' and who went on to play Fred MacMurray's TV wife on 'My Three Sons,' died Friday Dec. 5, 2008. She was 82. (AP Photo/PA)Associated Press LOS ANGELES - Beverly Garland, the B-movie actress who starred in 1950s cult hits like "Swamp Women" and "Not of This Earth" and who went on to play Fred MacMurray's TV wife on "My Three Sons," has died. She was 82.
Garland died Friday at her Hollywood Hills home after a lengthy illness, her son-in-law Packy Smith told the Los Angeles Times.
Garland made her film debut in the 1950 noir classic "D.O.A.," launching a 50-year career that included 40 movies and dozens of television shows.
She gained cult status for playing gutsy women in low-budget exploitation films such as "The Alligator People" and a number of Roger Corman movies including "Gunslinger," "It Conquered the World" and "Naked Paradise."
"I never considered myself very much of a passive kind of actress," she said in a 1985 interview with Fangoria magazine. "I was never very comfortable in love scenes, never comfortable playing a sweet, lovable lady."
Garland showed her comedic chops as Bing Crosby's wife in the short-lived sitcom "The Bing Crosby Show" in the mid-'60s.
She went on to be cast in "My Three Sons" as the second wife of MacMurray's widower Steve Douglas during the last three seasons of the popular series that aired from 1960 to 1972.
Her television credits also include "Remington Steele," "Scarecrow and Mrs. King," "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman," "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" and "7th Heaven."
Garland was born Beverly Fessenden in Santa Cruz, Calif., in 1926, and grew up in Glendale. She became Beverly Garland when she married actor Richard Garland. They were divorced in 1953 after less than four years of marriage.
In 1960, she married real estate developer Fillmore Crank, and the couple built a mission-style hotel in North Hollywood, now called Beverly Garland's Holiday Inn. Garland, whose husband died in 1999, remained involved in running the North Hollywood hotel.
She was the honorary mayor of North Hollywood and served on the boards of the California Tourism Corp. and the Greater Los Angeles Visitors and Convention Bureau.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Adam Sandler has welcomed a new addition to his family - a baby girl.
The "Don't Mess With the Zohan" star confirmed his wife Jackie, 34, gave birth to the couple's second daughter, Sunny Madeline, on Sunday, November 2.
"Everyone is happy and healthy," read a message on Sandler's Web site.
Sandler, 42, first confirmed news that Jackie was expecting in May on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."
"We're having another baby," Adam told Jay.
He also pointed out at the time how supportive he was as a husband.
"In the beginning, I would rub her back and go, 'It's worth it. We're going to have another beautiful baby, I love you, thanks for doing this,'" Adam said.
Sunny's older sister, Sadie Madison Sandler, was born in May 2006 in Los Angeles.
Sandler is due up next at the box office in the comedy "Bedtime Stories," due out later this year, and "Funny People," set for release in 2009.
LONDON - Kanye West is to music what Michael Jordan was to basketball at least that's what West thinks, in his humble estimation.
"I realize that my place and position in history is that I will go down as the voice of this generation, of this decade, I will be the loudest voice," he said in an interview on Wednesday. "It's me settling into that position of just really accepting that it's one thing to say you want to do it and it's another thing to really end up being like Michael Jordan."
The Grammy-winning rapper-producer said Justin Timberlake had a chance to be music's MVP, but hasn't put out enough material. (Timberlake's last album was in 2006, while West released a CD last year and is releasing his latest "808s and Heartbreak" on Nov. 24.)
"There were people who had the potential to do it but they went on vacation, so when Justin went on vacation I made albums," he said. "And it just came out to be that."
West, 31, said life has been difficult since his mother's death. Donda West died last November after having plastic surgery.
"I'm just going through balancing that. And I always used to have that support system, you know. My mom would be there; no matter what, she was there before everything," he said. "We were together for like 30 years. And you know now when I'm on that stage and I look out and I say, 'What am I going to do with the rest of my life?' Like when does a real life start?' Because I have sacrificed real life to be a celebrity and to give this art to people, which is great. It is great that I was able to do that, I'm not trying to shun that in any way, but it's definitely a Catch-22 and it's bittersweet."
Michael Vick lives in a prison in Kansas, making 12 cents an hour while plotting his return to the NFL. His houses and farms will soon be gone, the two yachts are history, and he’s down to his last couple of Range Rovers. A race horse he bought for $60,000 died of colic, the Atlanta Falcons are still trying to hit him up for millions they paid him, and the IRS and the state of Georgia want nearly $1 million in back taxes. In 2006 he made nearly $15 million. Recently he reported total income of $12.89 for an entire month. That’s $12.89 as in 12 dollars and 89 cents. This from someone who, before things went terribly bad, categorized a $1,000 check to his mother as “chump change.” The numbers are cold, but they have to warm the heart of any animal lover sickened by what once went on at Vick’s Bad Newz Kennels. To many, seeing Vick stripped of the material things he and his fellow millionaire athletes like to enjoy is almost as good as watching him go to prison in the first place.
Best of all, the dogs who survived the terror of Vick’s dogfighting ring are having the last laugh. They’re the stars of a recent National Geographic Channel television special. They live in comfort in a Utah ranch, thanks to $928,000 Vick agreed to contribute to finance their care. And now they have their own wine. Yes, there’s Meryl, looking anything but ferocious on a bottle of Syrah. And there’s Lewis, peeking out from the front of another Vicktory Dog bottle. Maybe Vick can pick up a $40 bottle when he gets out of prison next July, assuming things go as planned. If he’s careful about not spending his prison earnings in the commissary, he could be paroled with enough to buy a couple of them. He shouldn’t drink too much, though. Because he’s still got some football to play. Buried in the hundreds of pages of paper detailing Vick’s financial woes the other day in federal bankruptcy court was the declaration that not only does Vick expect to be reinstated in the NFL upon his release but also believes he will “be able to earn a substantial living” playing quarterback once again. Good luck with that. Just what team he believes will employ him to do so wasn’t mentioned, but the Falcons are surely out. They severed their ties with the quarterback they once were sure would lead them to a Super Bowl and are now being led by a quarterback who has been so good in his rookie season that he just might. Vick is supposed to be released July 20, so he could be out just in time for the opening of preseason camps. But how many teams are so desperate for a quarterback that they would risk the ire of PETA-types and other animal activists to sign an ex-con who admitted to doing some heinous things? The other question is how much would they risk for a quarterback who has a career passing rating of 75.7, fumbles the ball once every 10 times he carries it, and hasn’t played a down in two years. Quarterbacks who could run were once the rage in the NFL, but most teams today look for the traditional pocket passer. If a team did take a chance on Vick, it would likely be for little or no guaranteed money with incentives kicking in only if he produces—something that can never be certain in the NFL, where injuries and age can quickly take their toll. Even then, Vick won’t keep all his salary because under his bankruptcy plan he must pay part of any future earnings to creditors. Indeed, Vick’s financial mess is as much a cautionary tale to his fellow athletes as his criminal woes are. He has assets of $16 million but owes creditors $20.3 million. His attorneys had to hire forensic accountants to find out where the money went, $18 million of it over the last two years alone as Vick bounced from one business deal to another and seemed to hire financial advisers he met standing in line at the supermarket. Flush with bonus money from the Falcons, Vick bought houses by the handful, invested in a rental car franchise in Atlanta and poured money into a liquor store and restaurant. He hired friends, gave away money and cars, and could never say no to his mother, who got $700 for an Easter Egg hunt one year and $317,000 for a new church building the next. Now he sits in a prison in Kansas after a staggering and quick fall from the top. Once a favorite of fans who couldn’t buy enough of his No. 7 jerseys he’s now vilified and hated by millions who will never forgive the despicable things he and his buddies did to their dogs. A comeback is still possible, but my guess is that this story will not end well. Upon his release from prison, the odds are Vick will spend more time dodging creditors than defensive linemen. The dogs are a different story. Those that survived will live in comfort the rest of their lives. And for that, we should all raise a glass of Lewis red in celebration.
All press is good press, the old adage goes. This does not apply to Paris Hilton. The celebutante's every move, from her club-hopping to her jail stint to her search for a new best friend has proved fodder for the flashbulbs and celebrity press. But what has the incessant coverage garnered her? Eye rolls -- and worse, audience disinterest.
In fact, 65% of the U.S. population would use the term "overexposed" to describe Hilton, according to Los Angeles-based E-Poll Market Research, which provides "appeal" rankings for nearly 4,500 celebrities. To put that in perspective, most celebrities average between 3% and 7% on the E-Poll celebrity index during the peak of their careers. But Hilton isn't the only star to have worn out her public welcome. Audiences have tired of Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, and Pamela Anderson, among others. And while overexposure may have less to do with the precise number of headlines than it does the public's perception, the 10 celebrities on our list have proved that familiarity can, and does, breed contempt. So who's to blame for the media onslaught and the fatigue that follows? "Is it the paparazzi's fault? They contribute," says Lori Levine, chief executive of talent brokering firm Flying Television. "Is it the insatiable appetite of the American public? That contributes. Is it the invention and obsession with YouTube? Yes, that contributes too." More galleries on Forbes.com
And don't forget the growing list of spotlight-seeking stars that chase the flashbulbs as much--if not more--than the flashbulbs chase them. Consider Lohan, third on our list, who seems to make a habit of migrating to paparazzi stalking grounds like Les Deux, Villa and trendy eatery Katsuya. Star Editor-in-Chief Candace Trunzo says that if celebrities don't want to line the pages of her magazine, they don't have to. "By and large, if you really want to be a private person and live a private life, you can do it," she says, citing Johnny Depp as an example. But many crave the limelight for good reason. Unlike Depp, they don't have a steady stream of projects keeping them in the public eye. Rather, they rely on media attention to keep them relevant -- and famous. Take "The Hills'" best friend-turned-best enemy Heidi Montag, who lands at No. 10 on our list. With both her music and fashion forays proving flops, she has managed to parlay her on-again-off-again relationships and outings with MTV co-star Lauren Conrad and bad boy beau Spencer Pratt into tabloid-worthy fodder. (Had we expanded our list, Pratt would have ranked No. 12). "Heidi and Spencer have turned overexposure into an art form," says In Touch Editor-in-Chief Richard Spencer, who marvels at the flashbulb-focused lovers' vast numbers of petty feuds and photo ops. Levine agrees. "Heidi and Spencer are the ones that really understand, more than anyone else, what it takes," she says. "They're unabashedly unashamed about being completely overexposed." And their reward for it: Still more exposure.
Jennifer Aniston doesn't want anyone's pity over her love life."This whole 'Poor lonely Jen' thing, this idea that I'm so unlucky in love?," she says in her buzzed-about December Vogue interview. "I actually feel I've been unbelievably lucky in love...I'm right where I'm supposed to be."Her marriage to Brad Pitt simply "didn't work out," she says.
"Whoever said everything has to be forever," she explains. "That's setting your hopes too high. It's too much pressure. And I think if you put that pressure on yourself that's unattainable."Post-Pitt, she says she has met many lovely guys.Vince Vaughn helped her bounce back."I call Vince my defibrillator," Aniston says. "He literally brought me back to life ... He was lovely and fun and perfect for the time we had together." Even with her on-again beau John Mayer, the actress says, "I deeply, deeply care about him; we talk, we adore one another. And that's where it is."
Still, she stresses, she refuses to live her life for a man."I never liked Sex and the City, the kind of thing where women only feel empowered once they find the Man," Aniston says. "It is just not up my alley. I don't believe in it."I'm going to have children," she declares. "I just know it."
NEW YORK – Comedian Katt Williams has been arrested on weapons charges in midtown Manhattan after police say they pulled him over for driving a car without license plates.
The 35-year-old performer was released on bail Thursday in time to make it for his show at Carnegie Hall. He told the audience that he "just got out of jail."
Police say a handgun was found in Williams' car after he was stopped for the alleged traffic violation.
His attorney, Charles Ross, did not immediately return a call requesting comment early Friday.
Williams is best known for his role in the movie "Friday After Next" and for his appearances in rap videos. He also voices "A Pimp Named Slickback" in "The Boondocks" animated television series.
NEW YORK – Last winter, Nobel laureate Toni Morrison received a phone call from Sen. Barack Obama, then the underdog to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Obama had contacted Morrison to ask for her support. But before they got into politics, the author and the candidate had a little chat about literature.
"He began to talk to me about one of the books I had written, `Song of Solomon,' and how it had meant a lot to him," Morrison said in a postelection interview from her office at Princeton University, where for years she has taught creative writing.
"And I had read his first book (`Dreams From My Father'). I was astonished by his ability to write, to think, to reflect, to learn and turn a good phrase. I was very impressed. This was not a normal political biography."
For Morrison and others, the election of Obama matters not because he will be the first black president or because the vast majority of writers usually vote for Democrats. Writers welcome Obama as a peer, a thinker, a man of words — his own words.
"When I was watching Obama's acceptance speech (Tuesday night), I was convinced that he had written it himself, and therefore that he was saying things that he actually believed and had considered," says Jane Smiley, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning "A Thousand Acres" and other fiction.
"I find that more convincing in a politician than the usual thing of speaking the words of a raft of hack speechwriters. If he were to lie to us, he would really be betraying his deepest self."
"Until now, my identity as a writer has never overlapped with my identity as an American — in the past eight years, my writing has often felt like an antidote or correction to my Americanism," says "Everything Is Illuminated" novelist Jonathan Safran Foer.
"But finally having a writer-president — and I don't mean a published author, but someone who knows the full value of the carefully chosen word — I suddenly feel, for the first time, not only like a writer who happens to be American, but an American writer."
"Dreams From My Father" and Obama's "The Audacity of Hope" have each sold millions of copies and have been praised as the rare works by politicians that can actually be read for pleasure. Obama's student poetry was even lauded — and compared to the work of Langston Hughes — by the most discerning of critics, Harold Bloom.
Morrison, whose novel "A Mercy" comes out next week, endorsed Obama in January, even though she was a friend and admirer of Hillary Rodham Clinton and had famously labeled Bill Clinton the country's first black president. As if reviewing a new book, Morrison released a statement citing Obama's "intelligence, integrity and rare authenticity," and his "creative imagination which coupled with brilliance equals wisdom."
Morrison finds herself wondering how some of her late friends would have reacted, like James Baldwin ("How I miss him now," she says), who in the 1960s had scorned as condescending Robert Kennedy's prediction that the United States would have a black president in 40 years. Were "Invisible Man" author Ralph Ellison still alive, he would have renamed his classic novel "Visible Man," Morrison joked.
Ayelet Waldman, whose novels include "Daughter's Keeper," is an Obama fan dating back to when both attended Harvard University. Her husband, novelist Michael Chabon, came to support him through "his writing, the quality of his prose," Waldman says. They in turn persuaded author and former Hillary Clinton supporter Rick Moody.
"I heard an Obama speech on NPR, sometime before the New York primary, and was moved to tears. At that point, I suppose I did start thinking of him as a writer, in the sense that he had, and has, a very good ear for le mot juste," says Moody, whose novels include "The Ice Storm" and "The Diviners."
"But I think the larger issue is cultural. There's a trickle down from the top in the way art exists inside and outside of the culture as a whole. Here in the USA, you could feel in the Bush years how little regard there was for it. People who disliked art, literature, dance, fine arts, they had a lot of cover for this antipathy. There's reason to believe that we are in for a much better period."
LOS ANGELES – One of Hugh Hefner's live-in girlfriends is trading the grotto for the gridiron.
The Playboy mogul said in a statement Thursday that "The Girls Next Door" co-star Kendra Wilkinson is engaged to Philadelphia Eagles receiver Hank Baskett. The 23-year-old model-actress has lived with Hefner since 2004 and currently co-stars as one of his three girlfriends in the E! reality series.
"I have given her my blessing and will be giving her away at a very special wedding ceremony at the Playboy Mansion this coming June," Hefner said.
The 82-year-old publisher's love life has been in flux. Last month, he and "No. 1" girlfriend Holly Madison called it quits. Twin 19-year-olds Karissa and Kristina Shannon are currently living with Hefner.
Los Angeles (E! Online) – If there's one thing we can count on from Madonna, it's the making of a little music history now and again.
Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake will be performing alongside the Material Girl Thursday when her Sticky & Sweet tour touches down at Dodger Stadium, E! News' Ryan Seacrest has learned.
"They are going to be onstage performing with Madonna," Seacrest said on KIIS-FM host DJ BoyToy Jesse's Wednesday afternoon show.
Of course, while Timberlake and Spears have both collaborated with Madge individually, the exes haven't been spending much quality time together in recent years.
"If Justin and Britney end up on that stage with her...I don't know if I've ever seen anything quite like that before," Seacrest said. (And he's seen a lot—remember Céline Dion performing with hologram Elvis on American Idol?)
Seacrest said he should have more details on his KIIS morning show tomorrow: "Expect some real serious surprises."
Madonna has a history of sharing the stage with hot young thangs: It was the veteran diva who brought Spears and Christina Aguilera together at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, when the popster duo teamed up for "Like a Virgin" and "Hollywood" and then took turns smooching the queen bee.
Now, if Madonna ends up working that kind of magic with Brit and J.T., watch out.
The Material Girl celebrated Barack Obama's victory Tuesday night with a glittering rally of her own, leading thousands of fans at her concert in San Diego with a rousing introduction to her song "Express Yourself."
In a video posted on YouTube, Madonna claps her hands and declares, "This is a historical evening! ... We are lucky to be sharing it with each other!"
Other celebrity supporters of Obama echo Madonna's good cheer.
Oprah Winfrey, who cried during the celebration in Chicago's Grant Park, told the TV show "The Insider": "I was so, so, so excited and then just sort of a calm came over me. It feels like it actually is kind of real, so it feels great."
Asked what this means for the country, she said, "It means democracy at its finest. It's just the best. We did this. America did this."
George Clooney said in a statement: "I congratulate President-elect Obama on his historic victory, and now it's time to begin unifying the country so we can take on the extraordinary challenges that this generation faces."
Actress Scarlett Johansson, who stumped for Obama throughout his campaign, said the "overwhelming hope that Obama inspires is infectious."
"I've always maintained a strong faith in the power of Obama's positive campaign and am so proud of every citizen who took a stand, participated in the political process and insisted their voices be heard," Johansson said in a statement.
Singer John Mellencamp reflected on the election on his Web site, saying he never thought he'd see the day when "a man of color could be president of the United States. But today I am so proud of America."
Singer Colbie Caillat, who cried when Obama won, said she thinks "our country is in safe hands."
Stars including Lindsay Lohan, Michael Moore and Kanye West posted messages online.
Reacting on her Myspace page, Lohan gushed, "OBAMA IS OUR PRESIDENT!" and said that everyone who voted, "no matter their choice ... should be proud for voting in the first place."
West, whose mother Donda died last November, posted a portrait of the president elect on his blog with the message: "HI MOM, OBAMA WON!"
Meanwhile, director-provocateur Moore responded on his Web site, saying, "Who among us is not at a loss for words? Tears pour out. Tears of joy. Tears of relief. A stunning, whopping landslide of hope in a time of deep despair."
Even more stunning: a concession from John McCain supporter Elisabeth Hasselbeck, who said Wednesday on TV's "The View" that she'll follow Obama's lead.
"I will jump in that line and support our president because that is what as an American I believe we should do," said Hasselbeck, who received a fist bump from co-host Whoopi Goldberg.
LOS ANGELES – Ellen DeGeneres says she is "saddened beyond belief" by the passage of a constitutional amendment in California banning gay marriage.
The talk show host said in a statement Wednesday to The Associated Press that she, "like millions of Americans, felt like we had taken a giant step toward equality" by electing Barack Obama as president.
DeGeneres says that with the passage of California's Proposition 8, "we took a giant step away."
DeGeneres wed actress Portia (POR'-shuh) de Rossi in August, following a May Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage in California.
She contributed $100,000 to fight the amendment on Tuesday's ballot.
DeGeneres asserts she will "continue to speak out for equality for all of us."
LOS ANGELES – It's a most excellent outcome for Keanu Reeves: The "Matrix" actor doesn't owe a dime to the paparazzo who sued him.
After deliberating for less than three hours, jurors unanimously rejected the civil lawsuit Monday, ruling that Reeves is not responsible for the photographer's alleged injuries. Alison Silva had asked the jury to award him $711,974, which includes medical bills, lost wages and punitive damages.
"I respect the jury's decision," Silva told reporters outside the Los Angeles County Superior Court after the verdict was read. "That's what we were here for since the beginning."
Silva said he would continue to work as a paparazzo despite the jury's decision. Would he ever attempt to snap Reeves' photo again?
"Why not? It's business," he responded. "I wish Keanu is happy in his life. I have nothing against Keanu."
Silva claimed that the star of "The Matrix," "Speed" and "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" struck him with his Porsche in March 2007, causing him to fall and injure his left wrist.
Jurors heard how Silva gave contradictory statements about what happened and even saw a video of the celeb shooter using his supposedly damaged hand to scale down a chain link fence after getting video of Britney Spears.
"We obviously felt from day one that Mr. Reeves was not negligent," said Reeves' attorney, Alfred Gerisch, after the verdict. "It's unfortunate that this lawsuit was brought and it's unfortunate that we had to go this far — a lot of time, a lot of effort and obviously a lot of money."
The actor waited for the verdict outside the courthouse's cafeteria on the roof but declined to comment after the decision.
Attorneys issued closing arguments Friday, the jury deliberated about five minutes before leaving for the weekend, and resumed their work Monday morning. All 12 decided to reject the case; civil trials in California only require nine jurors to be in agreement.
The panel of jurors — six men and six women — was a decidedly Hollywood bunch. One of the jurors said he is an animator for "The Simpsons," while another helps coordinate movie shoots in public parks. A pair of actresses and a former voice-over artist were eliminated from the jury pool.
Reeves, who stars in the upcoming remake of "The Day the Earth Stood Still," testified early on. He remained in the courtroom throughout the five-day trial, occasionally conferring with his lawyers and signing autographs in the hallway.
Los Angeles (E! Online) – Taylor Swift is dragging out all her Joe Jonas baggage this week. The pair, who were never officially dating until Taylor recently confirmed the split, broke up last month over the phone. "Yeah, it's not fun—it was a 27-second phone call, yeah!" the ringleted country singer tells E! News.
And we're not the only ones she's complaining to. In a MySpace video she points to one of those creepy Joe Jonas dolls and says, "See, this one even comes with a phone so he can break up with other dolls," and completes that with her best "Oh, snap!" face.
But failed relationships are all about learning and growing or whatever, and both parties did some of that...
Taylor told Ryan Seacrest on his KIIS-FM show Wednesday morning that she learned not to date people who are "not allowed to go out in public with me" or guys who "don't think my sense of humor is funny." Aww, that makes us think his 27-second phone went something like this: "I'm breaking up with you. You're not funny. All those times I laughed, I faked it. All. Of. Them. Oh, and I hated it that one time you danced in the fake rain. Peace!"
As for Joe, we're guessing he must have learned not to break up with girls who have new albums to promote.
And being an ex-JoBro groupie isn't all Taylor's got going for her—she also has a song about Joe! "I did a last-minute recording session, so there's a track on the record about it. It's called 'Forever & Always,' " she further revealed to Ryan.
So we have that to look forward to next week in addition to another five days of public Joe Jonas flogging. And yeah, we're kinda enjoying it—he deserves it for that a-hole move.
LOS ANGELES – Samuel L. Jackson doesn't feel normal promoting his latest film "Soul Men" without costar Bernie Mac.
In the movie, which opens Friday, Jackson and Mac play former bandmates who embark on a zany cross-country road trip to perform at the memorial concert for their deceased lead singer. Mac died of complications from pneumonia in August after production on the film ended.
"It's even weirder that he never saw the movie," Jackson said.
The "Lakeview Terrace" and "Snakes on a Plane" star called Mac a friend and said the "Ocean's 11" co-star would attend and perform comedy at Jackson's golf tournament in Bermuda. Outside of filming "Soul Men," Jackson said he didn't get to spend much time with Mac, who starred "The Bernie Mac Show," the Fox comedy series that aired from 2001 to 2006.
"We used to talk about blowing up and being famous and doing all this stuff and all of that," said Jackson. "Then, when he got famous, he was here in L.A., and I never saw him because he was too busy doing his TV show every day. I didn't go by and bother him, but I would run into him at functions, and we got to get together."
The end of "Soul Men" features a dedication to Mac and Isaac Hayes — "two real soul men." The singer, who died in August after suffering a stroke, appears in the film as himself. Among the footage is Mac cracking up extras with an impromptu standup routine and an interview with Mac discussing his career in which the comedian says he cherishes "each doggone moment" of his life.
"I haven't quite processed that Bernie is gone," said "Soul Men" director Malcolm D. Lee. "I see the movie. I know in my head that he is gone, but it will probably hit me most at the premiere when everyone is around. Right now, I have just been concentrating on making the best film possible on top of that paying homage to him and Isaac (Hayes) at the end of the movie. When it's all finished and said and done, and I get it out to the public, I think that's when I will realize he is gone."
Los Angeles (E! Online) – With record turnout expected in tomorrow's presidential election, Paris Hilton is ready to accept a big thank-you from the winner.
Speaking at the press day for her new organ-harvesting musical horror flick Repo! The Genetic Opera, Hilton told E! News that her Paris for President videos totally helped herd young folks in the booths.
"It's exciting to be involved in the biggest election in history," she said. "It encourages a lot of young voters to speak their voice and to vote."
Not only did she help mobilize the masses, but she managed to get, like, all kinds of important stuff and things into their heads.
"I was talking about issues and actually making sense but still playing with my image at the same time," she explained. "Doing it in a ditzy way, but actually saying things I think can really help it along."
Any advice, then, for tomorrow's winner?
"Whoever becomes the next president has a lot on their hands," she said. "It's going to be hard for anyone."
Los Angeles (E! Online) – A new headache for the Hulkster.
Hulk Hogan's soon-to-be ex-wife, Linda Hogan, has dropped a bombshell in the ever-acrimonious split, announcing she pulled the plug on their 24-year union because the former wrestler had an affair with their daughter's former BFF.
"When Linda discovered Hulk had [an affair] with Brooke's best friend, Christiane Plante, she made the decision to call it quits on the marriage," Linda's new publicist, Gary Smith, says in a statement to E! News.
A rep for the 55-year-old grappler, whose real name is Terry Bollea, declined to comment.
"Hulk Hogan is saying anything he can conjure up to make Linda look bad in the media. Hulk has even implied that the VH1 hit show, Hogan Knows Best, was the cause of split in his marriage," Smith continues.
"Almost every statement that comes out of Hulk's mouth is a diversionary tactic to deflect attention away from the real reason Linda filed for divorce, two words: HULK'S CHEATING!"
The broadside reflects an increased vitriol in their estrangement and is a marked departure from legal documents Linda filed in January, which blamed Hulk's "legal shenanigans" and "suspicious behavior" for triggering her filing for divorce a year ago.
The 33-year-old Plante, who worked with Brooke on her 2006 album, had been spotted on numerous occasions on the arm of Hulk Hogan. Earlier this year, she told the National Enquirer that the Hogans marriage was basically over and that she was just helping raise his, er, spirits.
Linda Hogan, meanwhile, has been getting in touch with her inner cougar, spending quality time with 19-year-old Charlie Hill, who went to the same high school as she and Hulk's children. She has also just hired Hill his very own flack.
"That's what a publicist is for," says Smith. "Charlie is now in the public eye and he needs a rep just like every other public person, nothing wrong with that."
Los Angeles (E! Online) – Julianne Hough would love to just get up and dance. Alas, she still has a bit of recovering to do, from a condition that she says was much more serious than anyone previously thought.
The two-time Dancing With the Stars winner, who underwent surgery last week for appendicitis and complications from endometriosis, tells E! News that she hopes her experience sends a message to women who might be too nervous or embarrassed to seek help if they feel something might be wrong with them.
"I've always been honest, and to be honest, I think it can help other girls who ignore pain," Hough says. "You don't have to ignore pain."
Already, DWTS newcomer Lacey Schwimmer was motivated to get checked out for similar symptoms and ended up being diagnosed with endometriosis, which she is currently managing with medication.
Hough, as it turns out, suffered in silence for five years before enough became enough.
"I didn't want this whole drama with, like, the cameras filming you," Hough said when asked why she didn't seek medical treatment sooner this season. "I kept going through the show and I was just kind of quiet, and through the show it just kept getting worse and worse."
The 20-year-old Utah native finally decided that a hospital visit was in order on Oct. 21, when she hightailed it to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center following that night's live-performance show.
"Right after the show, I came back and just curled up in a ball and I was just sobbing," Hough recalls. "And there were cameras, and I'm like, 'I love you guys, but I did not break my foot. This is something personal. Do not film this.'"
Although at first she attributed the drama to "a bad stomach," even returning to dance the following week, the fan favorite ultimately revealed that she had been diagnosed with endometriosis, which arises when uterine-lining (endometrial) tissue grows outside the uterus.
Hough initially told her doctors that she wanted to hold off on surgery until this season of Dancing With the Stars was over.
"I wanted to be there for Cody [Linley, her partner]," she says. But the doctors said, "'You know, Julianne, we really recommend you do this now.' It's actually a really good thing I did."
Doctors ended up removing cysts from her left ovary, her bladder and other areas in the pelvic region, and also took out her appendix after diagnosing a mild case of appendicitis.
"I actually didn't know I had endometriosis, but I've had it for a while," Hough says, calling her condition "definitely genetic and hereditary." Her mother and sister have it too, she adds.
But now she would really like to just get back to doing what she does best.
"I want to be back this week, but it may be another week just because we don¹t want anything to rupture or the stitches to fly out," she tells E! In the meantime, fellow pro Edyta Sliwinska has stepped in to dance with Linley. And whether she's dancing or not by then, Hough has signed up to sing her current single, "My Hallelujah Song," on DWTS' Nov. 18 elimination show.
Speaking of hallelujahs, Hough says that boyfriend Chuck Wicks has been by her side throughout the whole ordeal.
"When somebody can take care of you, and really care to take care of you, instead of someone taking care of you because you have to, you can tell they're a keeper," she says.
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