BITS AND PIECES 12/15 Part 1
PUSSSYKATT
--Being editors in chief of their own magazine wasn't enough for Mary-Kate and
Ashley Olsen. The twin teens are slated not only to star in but also produce
their own series for the Fox Family Channel, in which the two
play--surprise!--sisters. Fox Family has already ordered a full 26 episodes of
the untitled series, whose premise finds the two sibs stuck between separated
parents--a no-nonsense business mom and a crunchy-granola dad.
--Susan Sarandon could be feeling some red heat in her next project, Rialto.
Sarandon is in talks to star in the independent flick as a 1950s woman whose
mysterious past casts her into suspicious light with her neighbors, who think
she's a Communist. Filming occurs before the looming actor and writer strike.
--Philip Seymour Hoffman may prove that, while Hollywood can bank on him, he's
not necessarily good with money. Hoffman is set to star in Owning Molony, a
film based on the real life of bank manager Brian Molony--a man who stole
millions of dollars from his job during an 18-month period to support an
out-of-control gambling habit. Filming dates depend on Hoffman wrapping two
earlier commitments.
--Brat Pack survivor Judd Nelson is joining the fray in Kevin Smith's next
comedy, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. No word on what character Nelson plays
in the hush-hush film, the fifth and final movie featuring the New Jersey
slacker. No production dates have been set.
--No crossword puzzle is too difficult for director John Boorman (Deliverance)
now that he's helming The Professor and the Madman. The flick recounts the
creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, a collaboration between a university
professor and a doctor locked in an insane asylum. Mel Gibson is producing and
is still considering acting in the film.
E! ONLINE....by Victoria Withey
--Metallica is ready to bang some more heads in court. The band is threatening
to sue someone else over its trademarked name, it was reported December 14.
This time the target is a furniture store in Waco, Texas, called Metallika.
Even though the store is spelled with a "k", the band's lawyer says the names
are phonetically the same and cause consumer confusion. The furniture maker and
shop owner, Kim Hodges, says he won't fight in court and finds it amusing that
Metallica would bother with a "piddling" company. Metallica has previously sued
Neiman Marcus over its Metallica brand perfume and Victoria's Secret over a
line of lip pencils called Metallica.
--O.J. Simpson's lawyers were in a federal courtroom in Los Angeles December 14
asking the 2nd District Court of Appeals to reverse the $33.5 million
wrongful-death judgment against him. Simpson, who was charged with the 1994
murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman, was
acquitted of the murders, but found liable for their deaths in a civil trial in
1997. He was ordered to pay $8.5 million in compensatory damages and $25
million in punitive damages. Simpson's lawyers argue the judge should not have
permitted evidence about domestic-violence incidents involving Simpson because
it tainted the jury.
--Tony Bennett commemorated what would have been his late pal Frank Sinatra's
85th birthday December 12 by announcing plans for the Frank Sinatra School of
the Arts--a performing-arts high school in Queens. The school is set to open at
a temporary site in September with an initial enrollment of 250 but plans to
eventually accommodate 1,000 students in grades 9-12.
--Former Laverne & Shirley star Cindy Williams filed for divorce from her
husband, William L. Hudson, December 14, citing irreconcilable differences. The
couple were married for 18 years. Williams is seeking joint legal and physical
custody of the couple's 14-year-old son, Zachery. Hudson has two other
children, Kate and Oliver, from a previous union with Goldie Hawn. Williams is
also asking the court to not award spousal support to Hudson. The couple's
assets and debts will be settled later.
NY POST/MICHAEL STARR....
--WCW wrestlers Buff Bagwell, Booker T. Huffman and Scott Steiner will go
mano-a-mano with the "Charmed" sisters Piper (Holly Marie Combs), Prue (Shannen
Doherty) and Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) on the Feb. 1 episode. The trio will play
wrestlers named Slammer, Thunder and Megaman in "Wrestling with Demons," in
which Prue tries to help an old friend. Meanwhile, WCW wrestler Goldberg makes
"Maury" guest Calijah Winchester's dreams come true Sunday when he treats
Calijah - born with no left arm - to ringside seats at the "Starrcade" PPV
event. They met on a "Maury" segment.
--President Clinton, career-maker? Clinton, an honoree of Time Warner's "A
Christmas in Washington" telecast (Sunday at 8 on TNT), approached 12-year-old
crooner Billy Gilman after Gilman's performance, telling him, "I think you've
got a future!" Other guests include Marc Anthony, Chuck Berry, The Coors, and
Jessica Simpson. Sarah Michelle Gellar hosts.
--VH1's "A Diva's Christmas Carol," starring Vanessa Williams, became VH1's
highest-rated original movie Wednesday night, snagging a record 2.1 million
viewers.
--On tonight's "20/20": Bob Brown ponders the question of who really was Mary,
the mother of Jesus Christ.
NY POST/PAGE SIX...
--AMY Madigan portrays Peggy Guggenheim in the new flick "Pollock," but she's
no fan of the art patroness. "Despite her trust fund, she was famously cheap -
would serve the cheapest bourbon, invite friends over to make meat loaf and ask
them to bring ground beef," Madigan tells W magazine. "She would also wear the
same outfit several days in a row, and there's that infamous story that she
didn't like to wear underwear and one day asked a cabdriver to pull over so she
could p-- over a sewer gate."
--BONO and his U2 bandmates posing for photos with the regulars at Fanelli's on
Prince Street and drinking Guinnesses with Guggi, the former lead singer of the
Virgin Prunes who is now the hottest abstract artist in Dublin . . .
--CHRIS O'Donnell demonstrating his prowess on the rock-climbing wall at Reebok
Sports Club for an ESPN segment promoting his latest, "Vertical Limit" . . .
--CHRIS Weinke celebrating his Heisman Trophy win at China Club with previous
winners Jim Plunkett and Johnny Rodgers . . .
--SPIKE Lee arriving with his wife and two kids for lunch at the Parkway Diner
in Stamford, Conn., in a spiffy silver Jaguar.
--MATT Damon can do lots of things, but don't ask him to break dance. At the
"All the Pretty Horses" screening last Sunday, Damon told Webster Hall curator
Baird Jones, "There is this myth that I used to break dance under the name
Matty D in Harvard Square for spare change. First of all, I never break-danced
in my life. Secondly, I never danced for money, and third, I never went under
the name Matty D. Ben [Affleck]'s younger brother Casey loves making up these
yarns about me and Ben just to screw up our interviews. He told that tale to
People magazine two years ago, they printed it, and ever since then talk show
hosts have tried to get me to show them a few of my break-dance moves. Enough!"
Despite Damon's insistence, a few feet away, Casey Affleck was busy telling
guests, "Matt is always trying to make me stop telling people about the way he
was a break-dancer because he says it hurts his acting career by making him
look like an idiot. Matt says my story provokes people to ask him to dance and
spin on his head, but it happened, and I won't shut up about it."
--Jack Nicholson had a nice surprise the other night when one of his
girlfriends arrived in the pouring rain at his Mulholland Drive house. When he
helped her off with her raincoat, she was wearing nothing underneath but her
boots . . .
--Sean "Puffy" Combs and Jennifer Lopez tested the new no-fur policy at Spa.
Lopez's fake fur coat made the cut, while Combs had to leave his real fur coat
in the car.
--NOT everyone is thrilled by Sophie Dahl's nude ad for Yves St. Laurent's
Opium perfume. In a billboard version hanging in West London, self-appointed
censors have nearly scribbled over the model's body, leaving just her knee and
left arm uncovered, reports British Vogue online. Britain's Advertising
Standards Authority has gotten more than 200 complaints about the ad. YSL
designer Tom Ford isn't apologizing. "This is all about excess," he explained
at the campaign's start. "This is about a woman who has had too much of
everything. Too much food, too much sex . . . ."
--HE plays lovable lug Joey Tribbiani on "Friends," but in real life Matt
LeBlanc claims to be a two-fisted terror. Leblanc tells FHM magazine how he
turned the tables on a mugger when he was a struggling actor living in
Manhattan. "I got jumped one time outside," LeBlanc recalls. "It was just one
guy, and I don't know what happened to him, but hopefully he made it to the
hospital. He was a bleeping mess by the time I walked away."
NY POST/NEAL TRAVIS....
--THE addition of Dennis Miller to the booth for ABC's failing "Monday Night
Football" hasn't done a thing for the ratings, but it has brought in at least
one new viewer. This week, Miller did one of his existentialist rants in which
he suggested CNN's legal analyst, Greta Van Susteren, sounded like the '50s
cartoon character "Clutch Cargo." Greta took time off from the election
imbroglio a couple of nights later to respond. "For all of you who don't
remember it, the show's animators used the unusual technique of superimposing
real, moving human lips on an unmoving drawing of the silver-haired,
globetrotting adventurer," she told her viewers. "Now you know who Clutch Cargo
is. But I have a question: Who is Dennis Miller?"
NY POST/CINDY ADAMS...
--REMEMBER the old song, "It's so nice to have a man around the house?" Well,
as soon as they're not around the house anymore, they're definitely around. The
newly separated Harrison Ford (gray hair, gray beard, glasses), whom nobody
ever saw before at gin mills, saloons or trendy eateries, was at Mercer
Kitchen. Restaurateurs will tell you, divorce is good for business.
--Werner Klemperer left us last week. For 21 years, the Col. Klink of "Hogan's
Heroes" begged Kim Hamilton to marry him. She's an actress. Independent.
Stunning. Married before. With kids. She loved him, but she'd
been-there-done-that and wasn't eager to do it again. Over many years, usually
at Christmas time, I'd beg gorgeous Kim to say yes. He'd say, "Make her say
‘yes.'" She'd say, "I will - just not now." Two years ago she did. Result? "I
lost my career," she told me. "He became so ill I had to care for him 24 hours
a day, seven days a week. It's a blessing he left. He could not have continued
the way he was." As we speak his daughter is taking his remains onto a boat in
L.A. and sprinkling them on the ocean.
--NATASHA RICHARDSON is a considerate lunch guest. At a Celine luncheon, the
menu hadn't been served yet, Natasha was late for her next appointment, so the
caterer did a picnic basket with the main course, appetizer, bread, butter,
drink, dessert and all. He forgot only disposable plates and cutlery. So on her
way she went with an entire china place setting, silverware included. Next day
a messenger returned the dishes and knives and forks. They'd been washed, too.
--JOHN LENNON's ex-girlfriend May Pang has her own Web site . . .
--A waiter at Letizia asked Rob Reiner: "Antipasto?" Reiner replied: "I'm not
anti anything. Just bring the food." . . .
NY POST/LIZ SMITH...
--Next week's Enquirer cover screams "Yasmine Bleeth is a coked-out mess!"
Subtle, they are not. And we'll see what poor Yasmine has to say.
--HERE'S A story making the Hollywood rounds. The veteran actor Robert "R.J."
Wagner was telling the director of directors, Billy Wilder, about the wonders
of Viagra. His wife, the beautiful Jill St. John, sat nearby as R.J. raved on
about how many times the prescription drug enabled him to perform. Wilder,
eating a bowl of soup, looked at R.J., spoon in midair, and asked, "And did she
wake up?"
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Craig Smith
>--Werner Klemperer left us last week. For 21 years, the Col. Klink of "Hogan's
>Heroes" begged Kim Hamilton to marry him. She's an actress. Independent.
>Stunning. Married before. With kids. She loved him, but she'd
>been-there-done-that and wasn't eager to do it again. Over many years, usually
>at Christmas time, I'd beg gorgeous Kim to say yes. He'd say, "Make her say
>?yes.'" She'd say, "I will - just not now." Two years ago she did. Result? "I
>lost my career," she told me.
Wow, *she* sounds like a compassionate person.
Craig
Ron Turner
>--Metallica is ready to bang some more heads in court. The band is
>threatening to sue someone else over its trademarked name, it was reported
December 14.
>This time the target is a furniture store in Waco, Texas, called Metallika.
>Even though the store is spelled with a "k", the band's lawyer says the names
>are phonetically the same and cause consumer confusion. The furniture maker
>and shop owner, Kim Hodges, says he won't fight in court and finds it amusing
>that Metallica would bother with a "piddling" company. Metallica has
previously sued Neiman Marcus over its Metallica brand perfume and Victoria's
Secret over a line of lip pencils called Metallica.
Will it ever end. This arrogance is really killing their career. Fans are
already pissed with the silly Napster feud.
>--HE plays lovable lug Joey Tribbiani on "Friends," but in real life Matt
>LeBlanc claims to be a two-fisted terror. Leblanc tells FHM magazine how he
>turned the tables on a mugger when he was a struggling actor living in
>Manhattan. "I got jumped one time outside," LeBlanc recalls. "It was just one
>guy, and I don't know what happened to him, but hopefully he made it to the
>hospital. He was a bleeping mess by the time I walked away."
Will he ever come out of the closet and stop playing macho.
**************************************************
Hooked on the Food Network
Reading the "Sword of Shannara" by Terry Brooks
Bird Lady
> --No crossword puzzle is too difficult for director John Boorman (Deliverance)
> now that he's helming The Professor and the Madman. The flick recounts the
> creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, a collaboration between a university
> professor and a doctor locked in an insane asylum. Mel Gibson is producing and
> is still considering acting in the film.
>
It's too bad Robert Downey Jr. won't be playing the Madman role. Lord,
he'd be wonderful, I can't think of anyone else who could pull it off.
bel
dustbunny
Ron Turner <rbt...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20001215130008...@ng-cm1.aol.com...
> >E! ONLINE....by Victoria Withey
> >--Metallica is ready to bang some more heads in court. The band is
> >threatening to sue someone else over its trademarked name, it was
reported
> December 14.
> >This time the target is a furniture store in Waco, Texas, called
Metallika.
> >Even though the store is spelled with a "k", the band's lawyer says the
names
> >are phonetically the same and cause consumer confusion. The furniture
maker
> >and shop owner, Kim Hodges, says he won't fight in court and finds it
amusing
> >that Metallica would bother with a "piddling" company. Metallica has
> previously sued Neiman Marcus over its Metallica brand perfume and
Victoria's
> Secret over a line of lip pencils called Metallica.
>
> Will it ever end. This arrogance is really killing their career. Fans
are
> already pissed with the silly Napster feud.
I know...like anybody is going to confuse a *furniture* store in Waco with
the band. Give me a break :P
Evelyn
nerdboy mikey
>
> E! ONLINE....by Victoria Withey
> --Metallica is ready to bang some more heads in court. The band is
threatening
> to sue someone else over its trademarked name, it was reported December
14.
> This time the target is a furniture store in Waco, Texas, called
Metallika.
> Even though the store is spelled with a "k", the band's lawyer says the
names
> are phonetically the same and cause consumer confusion. The furniture
maker and
> shop owner, Kim Hodges, says he won't fight in court and finds it amusing
that
> Metallica would bother with a "piddling" company. Metallica has previously
sued
> Neiman Marcus over its Metallica brand perfume and Victoria's Secret over
a
> line of lip pencils called Metallica.
>
I'm sorry, but Lars, James, and you other two guys... YOU AREN'T AS
IMPORTANT AS YOU THINK YOU ARE. Damn, Metallica used to be the epitome of
anti-pop... now they're just greedy corporate puppets. I mean, why sue a
furniture STORE (not even a chain) over a name (that's spelled differently)?
It's not like they're trying to feign a connection to the band to drum up
more business or something. What's next? Changing the names of all
metallic paints?
mike
dis-liking the band more and more with each passing minute
http://members.nbci.com/nerdboymikey
JazGrrrl
>are
>already pissed with the silly Napster feud.
I think some of these other lawsuits are silly, but I do understand the Napster
thing. Their music is getting stolen every day in a huge way, and this is true
for any musican/"artist" who happens to have their stuff distributed on
Napster.
I think the thing that really set them off was "I dissapear" going out on
Napster and more or less having to make it a single before the song was
actually finished. Metallica's philosohy is that they OK bootlegging at their
concerts and consider their live performances fair game, but their compositions
in their initial form are theirs and are what they work for.
Either way anyone you uses Napster or the like needs to be honest with
themselves that they are stealing artists' music.
Also unless you are doing an Aerosmith size tour, most tours actually lose
money.
Metallica themselves may not be losing a lot on this, but musicians who work
ten or twelve years of their lives to only get one or two hits are, and they
don't have the legal right to protest based on publishing issues.
I ocassionally steal songs myself, but at least I'm willing to admit it's
dishonest and in most cases (except for a CD I can't get) if I like the song I
do eventually buy the disc.
Jeg7777
> --Werner Klemperer left us last week. For 21 years, the Col. Klink of
"Hogan's
> Heroes" begged Kim Hamilton to marry him. She's an actress. Independent.
> Stunning. Married before. With kids. She loved him, but she'd
> been-there-done-that and wasn't eager to do it again. Over many years,
usually
> at Christmas time, I'd beg gorgeous Kim to say yes. He'd say, "Make her
say
> 'yes.'" She'd say, "I will - just not now." Two years ago she did. Result?
"I
> lost my career," she told me. "He became so ill I had to care for him 24
hours
> a day, seven days a week. It's a blessing he left. He could not have
continued
> the way he was."
And she wouldn't have taken care of him if they weren't married?
--
Joe
"Hmm. Let's see here. X-Rated Girls, already bookmarked...Dial X For
Sex...Mr. X? Hmm, shall I cross the final frontier?" - Comic Book Guy
"I am not a number! I am a man, and don't you ever...oh wait, I'm Number
Five. Ha-ha! In your face, Number Six!" - Homer Simpson
MLM
girlfriends arrived in the pouring rain at his Mulholland Drive house.
When he
helped her off with her raincoat, she was wearing nothing underneath but her
boots . . .
Wait, it hasn't rained in California for months. Either someone put up
some sort of stunt rain or this is just taking the fun out of gossiping.
-Marcella, Who truly hasn't been out of So. Cal in about 3 years and
knows exactly when it rains and it doesn't rain often.