This and that 7/25/02 Part 1
Jaime Jeske
Perry rehab didn't hurt film, director claims
By Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith
Matthew Perry's unexpected departure from the "Servicing Sarah" film
last year - to check himself into a rehab for Vicodin addiction - did
not hurt the feature, insists "Sarah" director Reginald Hudlin. The
filmmaker, on hand for New Line's star-studded Hollywood premiere of
"Austin Powers in Goldmember," reports that test screenings for "Sarah"
"have been awesome. The audiences are laughing their heads off."
The comedy had to be shuttered just two weeks from completion when Perry
decided it was time to kick his habit. And "Sarah" co-star Elizabeth
Hurley has been quoted saying that Perry was a totally different person
when cast and crew returned to finish the film after his rehab stay.
However, Hudlin assures that when "Sarah" opens Aug. 23, audiences will
not be able to detect a difference between Perry's pre-rehab and
post-rehab performances.
Hudlin was impressed with the latest "Austin Powers" saga. "They managed
to come up with some wonderful new gags for the film. They didn't just
rest on their laurels." Indeed, a truly inspired scene with Nathan Lane
acting as a beard for Beyonce Knowles' Foxxy Cleopatra character
prompted a burst of applause from the audience that included such stars
as Robert Downey Jr., Eric McCormack and Jon Voight.
ALAN'S ON THE BALL: If "Slap Her... She's French" scores a hit when the
Piper Perabo flick hits 2,000 screens Aug. 30, director Melanie Mayron
will be giving some of the credit to Alan Ball of "Six Feet Under" and
"American Beauty" renown.
The comedy that's been called an "All About Eve" set in high school was
penned by Lamar Damon and Robert Lee King. However, along the way, Ball
did an uncredited rewrite on it, and "once you know that, you can really
see his influence in there. He took it and skewed it," says the
actress-cum-filmmaker.
The script itself has gained a bit of cult status, landing on a number
of Best Unproduced Screenplay lists on the Internet. The movie was a
favorite at the USA Film Festival in Dallas. Melanie tells us, "I feel
like I'm on the speed-walk at the airport waiting to get off," as she
awaits response to its theatrical unveiling. With "The Baby-Sitters
Club" feature, numerous TV episodes and such telepics as Kirstie Alley's
"Toothless" to her credit, the onetime "thirtysomething" actress has a
burgeoning directing career - but stresses she has no intention of
giving up acting.
IT'S GETTING DOWNRIGHT EMBARRASSING: VH1 has alerted media to the L.A.
press conference it's staging today - for "Liza and David," the
twosome's planned musical reality series, with the advisory that the
show-business legend and the "award-winning producer are the world's
most celebrated couple." Celebrated couple of what?
DR. MADD VIBE: Rock star Angelo Moore expects the 40-city tour he and
his legendary funk/punk/ska band Fishbone are kicking off Friday in
Tucson, Ariz., to be "like a day in the park." He explains, "Having
performed on stage lately as something of a one-man band makes you
realize how lucky you are when you have supporting players around you."
Moore has been working out performance kinks and worries via his alter
ego, Dr. Madd Vibe, with a series of spoken word/slam poetry dates
around Los Angeles. Fishbone's latest CD, "Live at the Temple Bar," is
currently in stores. The band will play L.A.'s Key Club in mid-August.
NEW JEOPARDY: Alex Trebek, who started taping the 19th season of
"Jeopardy" this week, will be broadening his duties on the game show
this season by taping clues on location. "I'm going on safari in Africa
with the family and will do some clues there and will do more later," he
says. "In the past I've done them on rare occasion but will do more this
season. We keep trying to hone the show without alienating hard-core
fans."
The debonair, erudite game-show host still can't get over the interest
generated by the public and media over his shaving off his mustache last
season. He says he finally told a group of interviewers, "'You've got to
get a life. The world is falling apart, and you guys are devoting all
this space to a mustache that can be regrown in three months.'" When
it's noted that he seems to have been presenting a lighter, more
humorous facade on the show since the mustache came off, he responds,
"I've always cracked jokes on the program, but I guess that before, I
looked too stern to go over." He adds, "When I address a group on stage,
I can tell the same jokes as Robin Williams and not get laughs. No one's
expecting them. A lot has to do with expectations."
With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Erick Johnson. The Celebrities
column appears Monday through Thursday. To find out more about Marilyn
Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the
Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.
"The New York Times"
Thursday, July 25, 2002
BOLDFACE NAMES
Familiar Face, Unfamiliar Name
By JAMES BARRON
A woman identified in court papers as P. Ann Cohen was having landscaper
trouble in Greenwich and did not want to talk about it.
P. Ann Cohen? Make that PAULA ZAHN, the CNN anchor, whose lawyer
maintained that she should not be questioned because to do so would
exploit her celebrity status.
The landscaper, MEMRIE M. LEWIS, sued Ms. Zahn (identifying her only as
P. Ann Cohen) and her husband, RICHARD D. COHEN, saying they owed more
than $108,000 for work done at their Connecticut house. Last week, a
lawyer for the Cohens filed an affidavit from Ms. Zahn that said she
knew nothing about the dispute and had never talked with her husband "or
anybody else" about Ms. Lewis's landscaping.
Exactly, Mr. Cohen said yesterday.
"I'm the one who negotiated and signed the contract and dealt with the
contractor on the renovation, not Paula," Mr. Cohen said in a statement
relayed by CNN. "I had a very clear written agreement, which was
violated. This is a simple case of being overcharged by a contractor."
He also accused Ms. Lewis of "exploiting Paula's public position."
Mr. Cohen's lawyers said in court papers that Ms. Lewis had charged 33
percent on subcontractors' fees, as opposed to the agreed-upon 25
percent, and had promised to refund the overcharges. Mr. Cohen's side
said she had not done so. Ms. Lewis's lawyer, ERIC R. POSMANTIER,
countered that she had made no such promise.
In February, JUDGE KEVIN TIERNEY ordered the Cohens to set aside
$132,557 in the event they lost the case.
Yesterday, lawyers for both sides said that they had agreed on a
settlement. A lawyer for the Cohens, ROBERT M. DOMBROFF, said that Ms.
Lewis would receive "far less than she asked for," but he would not
discuss the details.
Owning Part of Woody's World
DAN MEADER says he did not intend to buy the props from the last 10 or
so WOODY ALLEN movies; he just wanted to appraise them. But he not only
bought them, he also moved them from Queens to Massachusetts, filling a
dozen 24-foot-long trucks. Now he is selling everything.
Mr. Meader, an antiques dealer from Haverhill, Mass., bought the
contents of the warehouse in Astoria where the props had been stored. "I
tried to talk them into selling it to other people because it would have
been closer," he said, adding that the sale was brought about by the
settlement of Mr. Allen's suit against his longtime producer, JEAN
DOUMANIAN. The suit was settled in June. Mr. Allen had claimed that Ms.
Doumanian and her companion, JAQUI SAFRA, had cheated him out of at
least $12 million in profits from eight movies.
Mr. Meader would not say how much he spent for the props. Half of what
he paid went to Mr. Allen, half to Ms. Doumanian, he said.
So he owns objects that include the wall safe Mr. Allen tried to break
into in "Small Time Crooks," old-fashioned desks and manual typewriters
from "Bullets Over Broadway," the lamps from a funeral parlor scene in
"Everyone Says I Love You." There are also bags of autumn leaves,
Manhattan street signs and refrigerators that were old long before the
first of their frost-free descendants rolled off the assembly line.
He never met Mr. Allen - "Oh, no, no, no," Mr. Meader said - and he does
not sound like a big Allen fan. "Personally, I don't know if I go along
with some of his personal problems," Mr. Meader said, "but he's
brilliant as far as a director goes. I appreciate the films. The only
one out of the films I have here that I don't like is `Celebrity.' "
He Knows Pop, and Real Estate
The singer LUTHER VANDROSS has sold his 7-room condominium apartment at
610 Park Avenue for $4.5 million, $700,000 more than he paid for it
three years ago. His apartment, on the 11th floor, has four and a half
baths and 3,200 square feet, making it medium-size among its neighbors
in the building, the former Mayfair Hotel.
"He really, truly enjoyed living there," said his real estate broker,
SILVANA MANDER, a vice president of William B. May, whose husband is Mr.
Vandross's lawyer. "A few months ago, he called and said, `You know
what? I'm ready for something else.' "
"The Chicago Sun-Times"
Thursday, July 25, 2002
Halle stands by her man after he strays
BY BILL ZWECKER SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST
Rumors about troubles in Halle Berry's marriage to her husband, Eric
Benet, have circulated for quite a while. Most have focused on Benet's
alleged straying, but now we hear the musician has done something to try
and fix things.
Word has it, Oscar- winner Berry is giving her hubby another chance--in
the wake of his seeking treatment at the Meadows rehabilitation clinic
in Wickenburg, Ariz. Meadows is a center well known for the treatment of
sex addiction.
According to a report in the New York Post, Benet checked himself into
Meadows after Berry learned he was cheating on her with groupies who
follow him from concert to concert.
Through it all, the actress is keeping mum and concentrating on her
career and keeping her marriage intact. A close friend of Berry's tells
this column she is ''as focused as anyone can be on maintaining. ... She
knows relationships have their ups and downs and she is working like
hell to avoid another divorce.''
Berry was previously married to Major League slugger David Justice. The
actress revealed in a Barbara Walters interview that following their
1997 divorce, she became so depressed she contemplated suicide.
''Halle's stronger now in many ways, but she does not want to lose this
guy,'' her friend says.
An added incentive for Berry likely is her close relationship with
Benet's 10-year-old daughter, India, for whom Berry's become a surrogate
mother. The child's mother--Benet's girlfriend-- died in a car crash
when India was 15 months old.
Without much ado, Benet jetted to his wife's side after his release from
Meadows--joining her on the set for the final days of shooting on the
upcoming James Bond film, ''Die Another Day.'' From her 007 duties,
Berry immediately went into production on ''X-Men 2.''
No comment from her spokeswoman regarding the Benet rehab story.
'HAMLET' HALTED: Mel Gibson's dream of directing a special stage
production of ''Hamlet'' is well-known in theatrical circles in London
and New York. But it looks as though the superstar's dearest
wish--casting Robert Downey Jr. in the title role--has been put on the
back burner.
Gibson has been one of Downey's biggest boosters as the troubled actor
has battled drug problems over the past few years, and the Oscar-winning
director and actor says Downey would be ''great as Hamlet, but I don't
know if he believes that. I think it terrifies him.'' Ironically, when
Downey was at his lowest ebb--with no one in Hollywood willing to hire
him--Gibson announced his proposed ''Hamlet'' production, saying the
jailed actor would be the ''perfect'' person to portray Shakespeare's
tragic Prince of Denmark.
The two men have just finished working together on another project,
''The Singing Detective,'' a big-screen version of the English series
that Gibson produced.
CHICAGO PEOPLE: Austin neighborhood native Jean Doumanian is on a roll
after settling that big legal battle with Woody Allen. Her production of
''Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune'' (starring Edie Falco and
Stanley Tucci) begins Broadway previews Friday. Plus, Doumanian has
teamed with Whoopi Goldberg to produce ''Amour'' (also on Broadway),
with Malcolm Gets and Melissa Errico as headliners. That show opens
Sept. 20.
* Although she's only 24, Naperville native Jordan Sheehan has landed a
plum gig in Hollywood as personal assistant to Oscar-nominated director
Ridley Scott (''Gladiator,'' ''Black Hawk Down'') on the set of his new
feature for Warner Bros., ''Matchstick Men,'' a comedy-drama filming in
L.A. and starring Nicolas Cage and Sam Rockwell (''Charlie's Angels,''
''Heist'').
Sheehan graduated from North-western's school of film/theater/television
before relocating to Los Angeles less than two years ago, where she got
her first professional job at Creative Artists Agency.
SOBER TALE: Along with Jennifer Lopez's more obvious assets, friends of
Ben Affleck say there is another, more subtle reason Affleck finds J. Lo
so appealing. The singer and actress rarely drinks--and *never* does so
in Affleck's presence. For a man in recovery, that's a major plus and a
huge help in aiding his ''one day at a time'' approach to sobriety.
TV DEJA VU? Does this sound familiar? Former ''Mad About You'' star Paul
Reiser is executive-producing a half-hour pilot about a New York couple
and their quirky family and friends. Sound like a rehash of Reiser's
once-hot sitcom, co-starring Helen Hunt? Not exactly. Reiser himself
will serve as narrator of the show about a wardrobe stylist and her film
editor husband who face a marital crisis when she discovers he's been
cheating.
Thursday, July 25, 2002
Spilling ink over Angelina's private parts
BY BILL ZWECKER SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST
Now that Angelina Jolie has filed for divorce from Billy Bob Thornton,
the Oscar-winning actress is facing some serious pain--but of the
physical, as well as emotional, variety.
According to several sources, Jolie has interviewed more than a few
plastic surgeons--seeking opinions on the best way for her to remove her
Billy Bob tattoos. The largest one--featuring a dragon and seen by
millions as the couple lovingly worked various award show red
carpets--will be difficult to remove, due to its size. It's assumed
Jolie's doctors will employ either a laser or chemical peel to remove
the left arm tattoo.
However, the second ''tribute'' to Thornton is reportedly inked into
Jolie's skin in a very private part of her anatomy. Removing that one
may be trickier, and possibly extremely painful-- using the methods
above.
''Of course, since it's not visible to anyone but Angelina and whoever
sees her naked, she might just elect to skip that one,'' said a former
associate and friend.
"The Boston Globe"
NAMES
By Carol Beggy and Stephanie Stoughton, Globe Staff, 7/25/2002
LAW DEGREE Former au pair Louise Woodward, who as a teenager made
international headlines because of the death of an 8-month-old Newton
boy in her care, received a law degree on Monday from the South Bank
University in London, according to a London newspaper. In 1997, a
Middlesex Superior Court jury found Woodward guilty of murder in the
death of Matthew Eappen. The verdict was reduced by Judge Hiller Zobel,
who has since retired, to involuntary manslaughter, and the sentence to
time served. Yesterday's Daily Mail said Woodward, now 23, attended the
ceremony and got a ''lower second class law degree'' and plans ''to
forge a career as a solicitor.''
THE LATEST EDITION After homegrown New Edition wrapped up its Boston
concert and a Roxbury party with fans, the group flew to New York to
meet with Black Entertainment Television, which will feature the singers
in an upcoming show, set to air sometime next month, said New Edition
manager Brooke Payne. A good portion of the filming took place in the
Boston area this week, and it continued yesterday in New York. Also, we
told you earlier this week that Sean ''P. Diddy'' Combs showed up Sunday
at FleetBoston Pavilion to hear New Edition's Ronnie DeVoe, Ricky Bell,
Michael Bivins, Ralph Tresvant, and Johnny Gill, but we didn't know why.
Payne says they're all pals from way back. In addition, Combs helped
produce the group's album ''Home Again'' and will work on an upcoming
and as-yet unamed New Edition CD.
WHERE WILL HE GET THE MONEY? Local attorney David Rosenthal said he was
surprised yesterday when he read he was being sued for $15 million by
the Giving Back Fund, which he represents. ''Are my creditors going to
be concerned?'' he cracked. Actually, it's a little boo-boo in the
current issue of Us magazine. Boston's Giving Back is suing another
attorney, Mark Steverson, in US District Court, allegedly for sabotaging
the nonprofit's relationships with pop stars Britney Spears and Justin
Timberlake. But the easygoing Rosenthal chalked up the mistake to a typo
that gave him a good morning laugh. ''I don't care,'' he said.
Joseph P. Kahn of the Globe Staff contributed to this column. Names can
be reached at names at globe.com or at 617-929-8253. This story ran on
page D2 of the Boston Globe on 7/25/2002.
"The Atlanta Journal-Constitution"
Thursday, July 25, 2002
Thursday Peach Buzz:
Buckhead buzzing over 'Today' haircut
If the male "comb-over" hairstyle is becoming an endangered species, we
have "Today" show host Matt Lauer and Who's Who Salon & Spa in Buckhead
to thank. Earlier this summer, the heat and Lauer's retreating hairline
combined to convince the NBC morning show fixture to try a
military-style buzz cut.
After he caught some on-air flak from co-workers, eight young guys at
Atlanta's BBDO South advertising firm with similar stunted hair growth
decided to follow Lauer's lead to show support. "Today" show cameras
were in the house this month when the cut-a-thon took place at Who's Who
Salon, and to Lauer's surprise, the piece was then featured on "Today."
"Response has been wild," Who's Who owner Mudd Merrihew told Buzz
Wednesday. "A lot of men don't want to face the problem of receding
hairlines, and Matt is opening up that door for discussion."
It didn't exactly hurt Who's Who's business, either, for Lauer to
inspect the tape and proclaim that he liked the shop's buzzed and gelled
style more than his.
Merrihew has one piece of advice for men getting a little thin on top:
"You have to be psychologically prepared to have your hair buzzed off.
Still, it's better than the alternative. Long hair and bald spots are
just so unacceptable."
Tardy Tyson
Of all the "scarlet" women crowded into the fur salon at Rich's-Lenox
Square Tuesday afternoon, the most mysterious among them was actress
Cicely Tyson. Tyson was supposed to be the keynote speaker at the runway
show Rich's held in honor of Delta Sigma Theta's sorority sisters, whose
national convention in Atlanta concludes today. But Tyson arrived more
than 30 minutes after the show -- previewing late summer and early fall
styles -- got under way. The proceedings were interrupted so she could
be introduced and conduct an impromptu question-and-answer. "Ask me
anything," Tyson told the crowd of 300 crimson- and cream-clad Deltas.
"From how old I am, to what I'm taking, to what I'm working on." But
when asked her age, Tyson -- who was made an honorary Delta a decade
ago -- replied: "Nineteen? Two hundred? Pick a number!" Tyson also
allowed the crowd an exaggerated count of "just three seconds" to take
photos of her.
Jaime