BITS AND PIECES 11/04 Part 2
PUSSSYKATT
--Die Another Day star Rosamund Pike may be one in a long line of Bond girls,
but being part of the steamiest love scene ever to appear in the hit franchise
has made her unique. The English actress, who plays Olympic fencer Miranda
Frost in the film, is proud of the scene which will raise temperatures the
world over when the Bond film is released later this month. And she admits
raunchier versions of the encounter were cut to adhere to the film's rating.
She says, "There was a steamier scene, actually, which has been cut. It was
actually too steamy for the story. You see this is Lee Tamahori directing. He's
bringing Bond into a new age. He shot an X-rated Bond film probably, although
it's still PG and all that will have to come out."
--British film legend Christopher Lee is disgusted by media reports that he
will replace the late Richard Harris in the forthcoming Harry Potter movies.
The Dracula star, who stars as Saruman in the Lord Of The Rings films, was
seemingly lined up to play Professor Albus Dumbledore last week, just days
after Irish actor Harris lost his battle with Hodgkin's Disease on October 25.
Lee fumes, "I wasn't approached about replacing Richard and it also wasn't true
that the role in the first film only went to Richard after I turned it down. I
was never asked, and I don't know where these rumors have come from, but I find
it all a bit distasteful so soon after his death. The only thing that is sure
is that I will be in both of the next two Lord Of The Rings movies, and I am
considering three of four other interesting roles."
--Salma Hayek thrilled late night TV viewers in America by dressing up as a
hirsute man for her Halloween appearance on Late Night With Conan O'Brien. The
sexy actress donned a business suit and tie as part of her cross-dressing treat
for show host Conan O'Brien. And she didn't stop there - the make-up artist who
created her unattractive unibrowed look in new movie Frida made her look even
more manly with a real moustache. Salma grew a moustache for the role and
simply didn't wax for a week before her appearance on the show. She said, "All
we had to do is put some mascara on it." The Mexican star admits she's getting
used to her furry top lip, and so is boyfriend Edward Norton. She adds, "You
can always wax it, but you'd be surprised how many men like a moustache, and
they don't talk about it." The unibrow wasn't for real - it was enhanced with
fake hair, but Salma admits it brought back memories from her youth. She says,
"I used to have the one eyebrow when I was younger but then I started plucking
them and they got a divorce and now they're separated."
--My Big Fat Greek Wedding star Nia Vardalos is preparing to spend her millions
after learning that her own personal take from the hit film could be as much as
$10 million. The actress, who wrote and starred in the hit comedy, was paid
just $500 for her screenplay and another $150,000 to play frumpy Toula
Portokalos in the film. But she also took a healthy cut of any profits from the
$5 million movie, which has raked in a staggering $180 million and counting in
the US alone.
--The Santa Clause 2 star Tim Allen has become the latest Hollywood star to
sport braces on his teeth after Tom Cruise convinced him it was a good idea.
The actor showed up at Friday's The Santa Clause 2 premiere in Hollywood
wearing the teeth accessories. He explains, "I asked Tom Cruise about his when
we met on a show. I wanted to know if anyone could get them. He said, `Sure,'
and convinced me they're comfortable. But it is uncomfortable. I can finally
relate to my 12-year-old but I don't like it when people mention it."
--South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are bringing back hooded
cartoon character Kenny McCormick. The animators killed unlucky Kenny for what
they said was the last time in the finale of the hit show's fifth season. But
Parker and Stone have relented and now say they're bringing him back for the
new series, which begins in America on November 6.
FOX NEWS/Roger Friedman
--You know how crazy the Winona Ryder case is, right? On her jury is former
Sony Pictures honcho Peter Guber, famous for "shoplifting" the entire Sony
corporation in the late 1980s and now sort of a deposed dictator in Hollywood.
He's one of Winona's peers. Jury selection may begin this week in the case
against Michael Jackson for allegedly abandoning agreed-to Millennium concerts
at the end of 1999. His accuser is Marcel Avram, an old friend and convicted
German tax evader. Avram says Jackson owes him $20 million for agreeing to
perform and then backing out. Avram also says that Jackson wanted him to pay
his German doctor bills. No one knows what the bills were for or why Michael
couldn't pay them. (Of course, we know his situation after having seen
Michael's financial papers in his other ongoing case involving former business
manager and friend Myung Ho Lee.) Zia Modabber, Michael's famous and intrepid
lawyer, will take the case in the Santa Barbara courts, vs. Skip Miller,
Avram's representative. Jackson himself may be compelled to appear in court
seeing as it's not far from Neverland. But who, we wonder, will be considered
his peers? Former black men with little pink noses, who have three children who
look nothing like him, and who has mannequins of children in his bedroom —
who calls himself the King of Pop and has sold 100 million albums? This jury
selection should take a while.
--Right now, besides Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York, the two movies no
one's seen but would like to are Steven Spielberg's Catch Me if You Can and
George Clooney's Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. If movie trailers tell any
story at all, these two movies look they've got a lot going for them. Catch Me
stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a sort of Great Pretender character who cons a lot
of people with an inordinate amount of charm. Tom Hanks is the Joe Friday type
who chases him. Hanks can be so subtly good that it's hard to tell from the
trailer what he's doing here that's different than what he did in Dragnet. But
Leo already seems to shine in the clips, and this may turn out to be his
breakthrough adult role. Spielberg also looks like he may be doing some new
work here — light-hearted, yet full of style. For DiCaprio there's talk of a
Best Actor nomination, which alleviates the problem he has with Gangs of New
York: It's Daniel Day-Lewis' movie, and his eventual nomination for Best Actor
is a dead certainty. As for Confessions, I don't know about Oscars, but the
trailer does show that George Clooney has at least made sense of game show host
Chuck Barris' crazy story. Miramax has been sending out "Top Secret"
promotional material for the last two weeks from a fake CIA-type organization,
delineating Barris's "dangerous" mind. It's tantalizing to say the least. Star
Sam Rockwell (Welcome to Collinwood) is on the verge of his own breakthrough,
and Confessions looks like it may be it.
ASSOCIATED PRESS...
--A silver oyster plate used by Marilyn Monroe during filming of "The Misfits"
sold at auction for $1,000. Robert W. Otto, president and CEO of a Chicago
human resources consulting company, made the highest bid for the plate from the
former Mapes Hotel in Reno, where Monroe stayed in 1960 during shooting. The
plate was among more than 600 items auctioned off Saturday at Lightning
Auctions. "I flew in from Chicago just to bid on the oyster plate and I had no
intent to lose," Otto said. "I had its worth pegged at $5,000 and I was
prepared to go that high." The 55-year-old Otto owns about 500 pieces of Monroe
memorabilia, including a ring with an "MM" monogram on the inside once worn by
Monroe and the first dress she wore to studio interviews at age 18. Filmed
almost exclusively in the Reno area from July to November 1960, "The Misfits"
was the only movie Monroe and Clark Gable appeared in together and the last
complete film for both. Many of the items auctioned off belonged to the late
Charles Mapes Jr., who built the downtown Reno hotel, which was demolished in
2000.
--Music legend Ray Charles was honored at the 20th annual Media Access Awards
for raising awareness about disability issues in the entertainment industry.
The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists presented Charles, 72,
with the Disability Awareness Award at a Universal Studios ceremony on
Saturday. Charles, who lost his sight at age 7, has won 13 Grammy Awards,
including a Lifetime Achievement Award. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of
Fame in 1982 and was one of the original inductees to the Rock and Rock Hall of
Fame in 1986. Classic songs include "I Got a Woman," "What'd I Say" and
"Georgia On My Mind." People with disabilities make up 20 percent of the U.S.
population, but less than 2 percent of TV and film characters have
disabilities, according to the California Employment Development Department.
--The stately halls of Yale University got a shot of Hollywood glamour this
weekend with Julia Roberts in town to shoot scenes for her new movie, "Mona
Lisa Smile." Yale stands in for the Massachusetts campus of Wellesley College
in 1953 for the movie about an art history professor, played by Roberts, who
helps young female students find themselves. Giant tents have been set up on
the New Haven Green to accommodate the film crew. Shooting will take place in a
Yale classroom, library and art museum. The movie also stars Kirsten Dunst and
Julia Stiles.
--Tim Robbins is doing his part to help buy Christmas presents for children in
state care. The actor and director handed a $11,000 check Friday to the
Children's Holiday Gift Fund, run by the Social Services Department, on behalf
of nonprofit organizations that helped raise the money. The fund buys gifts for
children with disabilities who are in state care and don't have families.
Robbins, director of "Dead Man Walking" and star of "The Shawshank Redemption,"
was in the Boston area shooting the movie "Mystic River."
--Actors Michael Clark Duncan, "The Rock" and Rosario Dawson were among the
honorees Sunday at the 10th annual Diversity Awards. The event, presented by
the Multicultural Motion Picture Association, gave its Integrity Award to
Duncan, an Academy Award nominee for "The Green Mile." "The Rock," whose real
name is Dwayne Johnson, received the 2002 Nova Award as the voters' choice for
the best rising star of the year. Johnson's movie credits include "The Scorpion
King" and "The Mummy Returns." Rosario Dawson, who was featured in "Josie and
the Pussycats," was honored with the Female Nova Award given to an
up-and-coming actress. Erika Christensen, who starred in the movie "Swimfan,"
received the Spirit Award. Lifetime Television received the Diverse Network
Programming Award. The awards are intended to raise awareness of different
cultures and ideas in the entertainment industry. The honorees were chosen by
the 1,200 voting members of the association.
--Ever since "Dr. No," the first James Bond movie caper in 1962, Agent 007 has
been known by the female company he keeps. Those so-called Bond Girls are
James' conquests and foils, not to mention the eye candy he shares with the
films' devoted fans. Just in time for this month's premiere of the latest Bond
film, "Die Another Day," AMC presents a companion documentary, "Bond Girls Are
Forever," Wednesday at 8 p.m. EST. The host is Maryam d'Abo, who played Kara
Milovy in "The Living Daylights" (1987). She visits and compares notes with
sorority sisters including the newest Bond Girl, Halle Berry; the most famous,
Honor Blackman (Pussy Galore in 1964's "Goldfinger"); and the first, Ursula
Andress, who 40 years ago set the standard for every Bond Girl who would
succeed her. But Andress had no idea as she pondered whether to accept the role
of Honey Ryder in "Dr. No." In the best line from "Bond Girls are Forever," she
recalls why she said yes to what she saw as a dubious project. "If I accept
that script," Andress reasoned, "at least it's not going to be my fault that
the film is bad."
--NBC Inc. said on Monday it will buy Cablevision Systems Corp.'s Bravo cable
television network in a deal valued at $1.25 billion, giving NBC an important
entertainment outlet on cable.
--Legendary "King of Skiffle" Lonnie Donegan has died at the age of 71 after
collapsing while on a British tour, his publicist said on Monday.
--NBC is looking to the comedy of couples therapy for its next alternative
project. The network is developing "Significant Others" -- an unscripted comedy
that features improv actors posing as couples in therapy -- with an eye toward
a summer 2003 debut. "Every year I like to use my 'alternative' title to do
something really, well, alternative," Jeff Gaspin, NBC's executive VP of
alternative series, specials, longform and program strategy, told Daily
Variety. "Last year we did the 'Rerun Show,' and this year we're doing
'Significant Others."' The project is based on a 14-minute short by commercials
director Robert Roy Thomas. Casting is under way on "Significant Others," which
will feature "familiar faces but not household names" talking with an
off-screen therapist, Gaspin said.
--"Frasier" star Kelsey Grammer's production company, doing well with the UPN
comedy "Girlfriends," is developing a "Three's Company"-style sitcom for Fox.
Dubbed "Ex-Factor," the show is about a twentysomething man who moves in with
two of his ex-girlfriends. Feature scribes Adam Epstein and Andrew Jacobson
("Not Another Teen Movie")Epstein and Jacobson will write the pilot and serve
as producers on the project, along with Grammer via his Paramount-based
Grammnet Prods.. The project is targeted for fall 2003.
By Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith
--Barry Manilow will be spending quite a bit of time in the spotlight through
the holidays. He has a duet with Barbra Streisand, "I Won't Be the One to Let
Go" (written by Manilow and Richard Marx), about to break on her Nov. 26-
debuting "Duets" album -- available today as a "first listen" on AOL. And
Barry's "Christmas Gift of Love" album is soon to appear in stores. He expects
to hit "a few talk shows and some Christmas goings-on' to promote his disc,
which he calls "a feel-good Americana holiday album." Meanwhile, Manilow's just
finishing work producing Diane Schuur's next album. And he reports his and
Bruce Sussman's "Harmony" musical "is just waiting for a theater" to make its
Broadway bow. Financing is in place, and a fall 2003 debut is expected. The
show's based on the true story of a group of six young singers, "the 'N Sync of
their day, who were trying to make music in the most discordant time in
history," Barry says. "They were called the Comedian Harmonists, and they were
incredibly popular in 1930s Germany -- a music and comedy group that was sort
of a combination of the Manhattan Transfer and the Marx Bros. But as soon as
Hitler rose and the Nuremberg rallies took place, everything about them
disappeared. Three of the members were Jews, and three were Gentiles. This
follows what happens to them."
--"Alias" father figure Victor Garber shrugs off the series' weakening ratings.
"ABC seems to be pleased," he says. "Some executives do want to change our time
slot, and others don't, but in general, the network seems happy the way things
are going." The way things are, the Canadian-born actor who's achieved repeated
acclaim on the Broadway stage is having a heavier workload on "Alias' than he
did last season. With Lena Olin now aboard as Jennifer Garner's mother, "the
writers are focusing more on the family dynamic. We're going on missions
together, and it looks like they will stay on that path for a while. I love it,
but I am worn out."
--Look for Jennifer Aniston to have a new office mate on "Friends" -- a
debonair, witty and slightly devilish Hugh Grant-ish sort with whom she will
clash. "Friends" creative forces have been talking to British, Australian and
American actors to find the fellow to play the recurring character. Could be a
major career break.
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