BITS AND PIECES 04/11 Part 1
PUSSSYKATT
--Actress Melanie Griffith has been accused of ruining her skin by undergoing
too much plastic surgery - and husband Antonio Banderas won't allow her to go
under the knife again. But, according to experts, the hunky actor's ban has
come too late - sun and surgery have already irreparably damaged the Working
Girl star. Cosmetic dermatologist Dr. Hilary Allen admits she has taken her
passion for facial enhancement too far. He says, "She's had too much Botox,
mainly around her eyes which has given her that frozen look. The injections in
her lips have clearly left them traumatized and the redness on her face, neck
and chest looks due to serious sun damage."
--Hollywood couple Kirsten Dunst and Jake Gyllenhaal's relationship has gained
so much strength, the pair have now taken to lifting weights together.
Spider-Man beauty Dunst, 20, and 22-year-old The Good Girl hunk Gyllenhaal, who
have been dating for fourth months, recently worked out together at the Easton
gym in Los Angeles, where they alternated between lifting weights with a
trainer and using the treadmill. An onlooker says, "When she was running, she
would look at him across the gym and make funny faces. They were so adorable.
They couldn't take their eyes off each other."
NY POST/MICHAEL STARR
--Sally Jessy Raphael, who's kept a low profile since her show went off the
air, will reappear on "Lighten Up!," the new Food Network series starring
Christina Deyo and Janette Barber. The show was taped at Raphael's old stomping
grounds - the Unitel studios on West 57th. Raphael did the show as a favor to
Deyo, who used to work for Sally as a supervising producer. The show on which
Raphael appears? "TV Dinners," natch. "Lighten Up!" dubbed a "food makeover
show," airs Tuesday (5:30 p.m.), Friday (12:30 p.m.) and Sunday (11 a.m.).
--So just why is Modern Bride editor- in-chief Antonia van der Meer in L.A.
with "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" star Melissa Joan Hart and her fiancee, Mark
Wilkerson? Well, Hart and Wilkerson are planning their wedding and, in this age
of reality TV, the planning period will be turned into six "unscripted" (read:
reality) specials, "Tying the Knot: The Wedding of Melissa Joan Hart and Mark
Wilkerson," which will air on ABC Family in July. Van der Meer won't be part of
that show, but she will be featured in an E! segment, shooting today, in which
she takes Hart's mother, Paula Hart, to try out hairstyles for the wedding.
--"Hairspray" star Harvey Fierstein and several of his on- stage colleagues
posed for pictures yesterday in Fierstein's dressing room during intermission -
with plenty of puppies in tow. The pups, looking for homes from the North Shore
Animal League, were toted out on stage at the end of yesterday's show, with
Fierstein telling the audience about the benefits of pet adoption. The
dressing-room scenario and an interview with Fierstein is scheduled to air on
tonight's "Access Hollywood". North Shore is in the midst of its "Tour For
Life" campaign, which promotes pet adoption across the country.
--Tonight's "Entertainment Tonight" will feature the world premiere of the
trailer for "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle". "ET" has the entire trailer and
will run the whole shebang, which features Demi Moore and a fight scene between
her character and "Angel" Natalie Cook (Cameron Diaz), plus scenes featuring
Owen Wilson, Matt LeBlanc, Bernie Mac and Justin Theroux. The soundtrack
features The Knack and Prodigy. In other movie trailer news, the "Matrix
Reloaded" trailer makes its exclusive broadcast network premiere this Sunday at
3 p.m. on NBC's AFL games. Keanu Reeves stars.
NY POST/PAGE SIX...
--JULIANNE Moore being tickled by boyfriend Bart Freundlich on Gansevoort
Street . . .
--MARY Kate and Ashley Olsen at the intermission of "Hairspray," discussing
which Ivy League school they'll attend in the fall . . .
--ANDY Warhol would be so proud. A company called Photowow.com is selling what
look like Warhol's brightly colored silkscreen portraits, which it makes by
digitally altering snapshots customers send in. Printed on what looks like
canvas, and framed, the "pop art" portraits sell for $222 to $847 depending on
size. And Warhol isn't the only artist being ripped off, or honored, depending
on how you look at it. A press release boasts, "customers can choose from
Warhol-style panel pop art, Roy Lichtenstein's comic-styled images, David
Hockney's chopped effect, Picasso's Cubism look . . ."
--BILL Clinton was booed Wednesday night when he took the stage at the Beacon
Theater at the start of a Willie Nelson concert. "The place went wild when
[Clinton] was announced," said our spy. "There was loud booing and yelling."
Clinton "seemed angered" and made a comment about "angry Republicans," which
stirred the crowd on more. "There was so much anti-Clinton booing and yelling
that when Willie came back out, he asked if everyone was all right . . . the
concert was taped for a Memorial Day showing on the USA network, but even with
serious editing, it will be hard to use the Clinton part at all." A Clinton
aide acknowledged some booing, but added: "There was so much applauding that he
had to quiet them down so he could introduce Willie. [Clinton] was not upset at
all. They gave him quite a rousing ovation and he was mobbed by all the talent.
He had just flown in from Mexico and went straight to the event." Lyle Lovett,
Sheryl Crow, John Mellencamp, Kris Kristofferson, Kenny Chesney, Elvis Costello
and Norah Jones were also there to wish Nelson a happy 70th birthday.
--BILL Paxton loves his hillbilly smile. At the premiere of James Cameron's 3D
"Ghosts of the Abyss," the "Titanic" star told Webster Hall curator Baird
Jones, "I'm proud of the gap between my front teeth. I think it gives my face
personality." Paxton says he and fellow "gap-endowed" actors Woody Harrelson
and Willem Dafoe have a mutual admiration society: "They never cover up their
gaps for roles either." In fact, the gap's appeal is global. Paxton says a
Moroccan once rubbed his shoulder for good luck after glimpsing his gaping maw.
--SEAN Penn went to Baghdad to prevent gunplay, but he is armed and dangerous
himself. On Tuesday, as Penn lunched with his assistant at the Venus restaurant
in Berkeley, Calif., a thief drove off in his black 1987 Buick Grand National -
along with his loaded 9mm Glock handgun and unloaded Smith & Wesson revolver.
Paranoid Penn has a permit to carry concealed weapons.
--DON'T expect Shannen Doherty to check into a Hilton hotel any time soon. The
rabble-rousing actress - who allegedly attacked heiress Paris Hilton outside a
Los Angeles nightclub a few weeks ago - was on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" on ABC the
other night, denying she had beat Paris up. "But I think [the Hilton sisters]
deserve a good [butt]-kicking," Doherty told Kimmel. For good measure, Shannen
called the sassy siblings "the Easy 8, open all night hotels," which we take to
mean that she was questioning their virtue. But then fans of the Hiltons would
respond that Shannen is just jealous of Paris' friendship with her estranged
husband, Rick Salomon.
--Naomi Campbell kicked in the last $18,000 to the March of Dimes so it could
reach its goal of $1.15 million at the 28th Annual Million Dollar Beauty ball
at the Waldorf . . .
--Cher's 1994 black Harley Davidson Fatboy motorcycle will be auctioned off
Sunday at Capitale to benefit the New Museum, and is expected to fetch $20,000
.
--some idiot on Seventh Avenue, who doesn't realize that the dictator of Cuba
is about as popular with his people as the dicator of Iraq was with his, has
come out with a Fidel clothing line. Ads show a cute brunette in a tank top
with the Fidel logo across her chest.
NY POST/CINDY ADAMS...
--MATTHEW McConaughey, red hot after "How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days," getting a
shot at not only starring but producing a similar romantic comedy, "Dear
Delilah," about an advice-to-the-lovelorn Dear Abby thing . . .
--Remember Doris Day? She's sending out notes saying: "Pets are here on earth
to teach us. They have taught me to be patient and taught me about love. I've
never found in a human being loyalty compared to that of any pet." . . .
--Listen, I don't know why but Quentin Tarantino's proud he still drives the
first car he ever bought. A 12-year-old red Hyundai Excel which no longer
excels. Always breaking down . . .
--Vilnius, Lithuania, Frank Zappa's root city, building a marble statue to him.
NY POST/LIZ SMITH.....
--NOW that Cher is finished with concert touring, I say, quick - back to making
movies! (In fact, in between concert stops, she has been filming a movie with
Matt Damon, "Stuck On You," though she is "only" playing herself.) . . .
--NOT TRUE: Tabloid reports that Elizabeth Taylor has ended her friendship with
Michael Jackson because he "stood her up." For good or ill, this odd couple
remain close.
--NICOLE KIDMAN and Jim Carrey (can't you just see those names in lights?)
dined together recently in TriBeCa. But don't count on romance. It was
business. Nicole is supposed to star in a big screen version of TV's classic
"Bewitched." And wouldn't Jim make a perfect Darren, the hubby who was
perpetually put out over Samantha's nose-twitching antics?
NY DAILY NEWS/RUSH AND MOLLOY.....
--New Yorkers will get two chances to chat with Al Pacino during the Tribeca
Film Festival next month. The elusive actor will talk about his movie "Chinese
Coffee" May 8 at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center, at Manhattan Community
College (tickets are $25). And on May 10, Pacino will share his love for
Shakespeare's "Richard III" when he meets with high-school students to discuss
his movie "Looking for Richard." Organizers have also added a children's film
fest. Check out http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org/opencms/opencms/tff/.
--Baghdad may be under coalition control, but some in Hollywood are holding
their kudos. "What now?" Parker Posey asked Wednesday at the Tribeca Ball in
the Gotham Hall. "It's not enough to go in there and knock a statue down." Liev
Schreiber told us, "I'm relieved at the possibility of the fighting stopping.
But it seems like there's still a way to go." More optimistic is Baz Luhrmann,
who's "sure [President Bush] has a plan." As you might expect from the buoyant
director of "Moulin Rouge" on film and "La Boheme" on Broadway, Luhrmann
encourages everyone to "get out and drink wine, read books, be with friends."
Friends, in his case, includes Nicole Kidman, who joined Luhrmann at the party
(even though she was two hours late). The usually chatty Nicole briskly denied
she'll play Katharine Hepburn in an upcoming film and slammed her car door
without answering whether she's really dating Jim Carrey. "She had a bad day,"
Luhrmann told us. Nicole's rep played down the badness, insisting that the
actress simply had a long haul on the New York set of "Birth." "It's a very
intense thriller and she really throws herself into her films."
--Suge Knight is hoping 2003 will be his year. "I did five years in prison and
missed five Christmases, then I ended up going back to jail and missed
Christmas 2002," the Death Row records founder told us. "I read the Bible, and
there was a guy who was a powerful king [Nebuchadnezzar] who [dreamt] the Lord
drove him into the wilderness, and he lived among the wild animals, and, in the
seventh year, he was allowed back. This is my seventh year." On April 22,
Knight will release the soundtrack to Eddie Griffin's "Dysfunktional Family"
with cuts by Ja Rule, Crooked I, Ashanti, Korupt, and Nina - the late Lisa
(Left Eye) Lopes - on his label, Tha Row Records. In September, Penguin Books
will publish his autobiography. The one-time Compton, Calif., man, who claims
that only his label has true ghetto credibility - says he'd give up everything
he's earned if it meant there were no more ghettos. "I'm not an
African-American, I'm an American. And I support the President on the war. But
he [wants $80] billion [for] the war. If only he would just take 1% of that and
put more into the community. More Americans are getting killed in the streets
than in Iraq."
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