10 posts tagged “news”

Pamela Anderson and Rick Salomon

Pamela Anderson isn't the only one claiming fraud in her brief marriage – now estranged husband Rick Salomon is making the same allegation.

'Idol' finalist White a beauty-school dropout

The "American Idol" contestant never imagined herself on stage -- period.
Her dreams took place behind a chair.
"She's probably the most successful beauty-school dropout," said Heather Harris-Torriente, who enrolled in beauty classes with White at age 16 and remains one of her closest friends.
Though the stylist track took for Harris-Torriente, White stopped after a year and a half to focus on music.
But performing wasn't always natural for her.
As a sophomore, White was too nervous to audition for Heritage Academy's production of "Meet Me in St. Louis." Heather Harris-Torriente, a hair dresser and still one of White's closest friends, said it took a handful of friends and the choir teacher at the charter school to get White to try out.
"She went and auditioned and got the lead role. We were mere background people. We didn't even get parts," Harris-Torriente said, laughing. "That's when she really found confidence in performing and really working and gaining in it."
Now, the 24-year-old, sweet-tempered blonde has her biggest lead role yet as one of 11 finalists braving the weekly pressures of "Idol." Besides her vocal talent, White has also shown deft hands with instruments. Last week, Simon Cowell called her interpretation of the Beatles' "Let It Be" on the piano one of the best performances of the night.
Raised in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa, White and her three younger siblings were brought up with high moral standards by parents Brad and Kaylene, friends and former teachers say. Drama teacher Gary Helmbold directed White in the school musical and recalls having to break the news to her of a kissing scene.
"When I first talked to her about it, she said 'Oh, but Mr. Helmbold, I've never kissed anyone before except my Mom and Dad,' " Helmbold said. "We handled it very gingerly."
Although a high school musical can be a breeding ground for catty behavior, Helmbold said White could not have been more gracious.
"Often times, the lead separates themselves from the rest of the cast," Helmbold said. "She was everybody's friend. She was always the first to arrive and the last to leave."
About four years ago, White went to study voice at the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles, Harris-Torriente said. She has lived there since with her husband, Dave. In 2005, she released an album independently. When "Idol" began, White was working as a nanny to twin baby girls.
For students at her old high school, it's been refreshing to see a hometown girl make it big without compromising herself.
"Seeing people on TV, you think you can't do that. It's a totally different world," said Chiara Spence, 17. "She shows you can do anything that you set your mind to."
Every Tuesday, Rick Dalton, White's former history teacher, who first taught her to play the guitar, reminds all his students to watch the show and vote for White. He even uses her performances as material for giveaway extra credit questions.
"If anybody deserves it, it's her," said Dalton, his voice breaking with emotion. "Whatever she gets, she'll use it to bless others."
Friends say nobody is better prepared than White to handle the ensuing celebrity that comes with a juggernaut like "American Idol." Harris-Torriente said it's always been about the music, not the fame."She could sing in front of two people at the piano or 2 million, it wouldn't make a difference," Harris-Torriente said. "I think she's generally humbled by the whole experience. I don't think she needs recognition to feel good about herself. She is real star!

Jennifer Lopez and her twins

PEOPLE world exclusive! Here's your first glimpse of Jennifer Lopez and her twins, Max and Emme, born Feb. 22 in Long Island, N.Y.
This week's issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, features 12 pages of new photos of the pop star with husband Marc Anthony and their 1-month-old bundles of joy inside their Long Island home and nursery.
The happy new parents spoke candidly to PEOPLE about the pregnancy, addressing everything from Jennifer's weight gain to rumors of infertility. For all the details, pick up the new issue, on newsstands Friday.

Fashion

Fashions are social phenomena common to many fields of human activity and thinking. The rise and fall of fashions has been especially documented and examined in the following fields:

    * Architecture, interior design, and landscape design
    * Arts and crafts
    * Body type, clothing or costume, cosmetics, personal grooming, h irstyle, and personal adornment
    * Dance and music
    * Forms of address, slang, and other forms of speech
    * Economics and spending choices, as studied in behavioral finance
    * Entertainment, games, hobbies, sports, and other pastimes
    * Etiquette
    * Management, management styles and ways of organizing
    * Politics and media, especially the topics of conversation encouraged by the media
    * Philosophy and spirituality (One might argue that religion is prone to fashions, although official religions tend to change so slowly that the term cultural shift is perhaps more appropriate than "fashion")
    * Social networks and the diffusion of representations and practices
    * Sociology and the meaning of clothing for identity-building
    * Technology, such as the choice of computer programming techniques
    * Hospitality industry such as designer uniforms custom made for a hotel, restaurant, casino, resort or club, in order to reflect a property and brand. see "uniforms"

Of these fields, costume especially has become so linked in the public eye with the term "fashion" that the more general term "costume" has mostly been relegated to only mean fancy dress or masquerade wear, while the term "fashion" means clothing generally, and the study of it. This linguistic switch is due to the so-called fashion plates which were produced during the Industrial Revolution, showing novel ways to use new textiles. For a broad cross-cultural look at clothing and its place in society, refer to the entries for clothing and costume. The remainder of this article deals with clothing fashions in the Western world.

Madonna

From ripped denim street-punk, lipstick lesbian, English countrywoman, stage actress, yummy mummy, children's writer, bendy disco diva to Kabbalah devotee, mother of re-invention, as far as her image goes, Madonna has left no stone unturned.
Now on the verge of turning 50, she could be forgiven for slowing down a little.
But there is one thing eluding the eternally driven Queen of Pop: a successful film career.
Apart from a role in Evita, for which she won a Golden Globe best actress award, Madonna's contribution to the film world can be, at best, described as forgettable.
She has worked on a string of notorious flops including "Shanghai Surprise," "Body of Evidence" and "Swept Away," directed by husband Guy Ritchie.
Madonna also has a record haul of Golden Raspberry awards for Worst Actress, with 15 nominations and nine wins. Two years ago, fans breathed a sigh of relief when she vowed never to star in another film again.
She told Hollywood.com: "I hate to admit it, but I've decided to give that up. What film can survive people saying it's going to be a bomb from the second it's announced?"
Yet, like an indefatigable phoenix rising from the ashes, Madonna is back making movies and more determined than ever to make her mark.
Only this time, she is behind the camera.
And in typical confident Madonna fashion, she compares herself to great European directors like Godard and Fellini.
Unveiling her directorial debut, "Filth and Wisdom," at the Berlinale Film Festival last month, Madonna said: "I have always been inspired by the films of Godard, Visconti, Pasolini and Fellini and hope that I may one day make something that comes close to their genius."
Described as a romantic musical comedy, "Filth and Wisdom" tells the story of a Ukrainian immigrant who finances his dreams of becoming a rock star by moonlighting as a cross-dressing dominatrix.Set in London it stars Eugene Hutz, the lead singer of wildly popular New York gipsy punk band Gogol Bordello, in the main role of a philosophizing S&M escort. Other characters include Holly, a ballet dancer who works as a stripper and pole-dancer at a local club and Juliette, a pharmacy assistant who dreams of going to Africa to help starving children.
Madonna compared the characters' struggles to her own early career. "One of the themes that I explore in the film is struggle, and if I look back to the beginning of my career, I can recall those moments of struggle like it was yesterday," she said.
But with the depressing predictability that follows the words "Madonna" and "movies," the reviews have not been kind.
Peter Bradshaw of Britain's Guardian newspaper said: "She has made a movie so incredibly bad that Berlin festivalgoers were staggering around yesterday in a state of clinical shock, deathly pale and mewing like maltreated kittens."
In Germany, Die Welt proclaimed: "Time and again she thrusts herself on to the big screen, and each time she is spurned and ridiculed by audiences and critics alike."
The London Evening Standard's Derek Malcolm suggested the Material Girl had some way to go "before she can breathe the same air as Godard, Pasolini, Fellini and Visconti."
But The Hollywood Reporter's Ray Bennett was a little kinder, saying "the film's cockeyed optimism and likable leads conspire to bring a smile by the time it's done."
Known for her remarkable chutzpah, the fiercely ambitious Madonna is unlikely to be deterred by this wave of criticism for her directorial debut.
She has several film projects in the pipeline including a documentary about Malawi, "I Am Because We Are," which will be shown at the Cannes film festival in May.
"It's definitely not a one-off," Madonna said in Berlin. "I made the film because I wanted to learn how to make films and I've wanted to be a filmmaker for many years. I had to find the right moment. 'Filth and Wisdom' was essentially my way of putting myself through film school."
But for now this debut is unlikely to see a cinema release and will go straight to iTunes as Madonna believes the low-budget movie will be a bigger hit as an Internet download.
Despite her relative lack of success in the movies, you cannot doubt Madonna's incredible drive.
Eugene Hutz told CNN working with her was "fantastic because she has a lot of energy ... For me, it's a key part to work with anybody, to have a very open and flowing brain-storming. That's when some of the best stuff happens."
Ultimately what makes Madonna a successful artist is her uncanny knack for reading the musical pulse and choosing the best producers like Mirwais, William Orbit and Stuart Price, thereby making her relevant to a young audience.
But what works in her music does not necessarily translate to the big screen.
It is telling that all the critics agree that the "Filth and Wisdom" soundtrack, which features some of her music plus Britney Spears' "Hit Me Baby One More Time," is excellent.
Her latest album, "Hard Candy," also features production by hip producers like Pharrell Williams, Timbaland and an appearance by Justin Timberlake, and which Madonna says will "kick our ass."
Shame the same cannot be said for Madonna's forays into the movies

Ashlee red head! Redheads Have More Fun!

Lately a lot of celebrities have been changing the color of their hair, like Jessica Biel going uber-blond. My personal favorite (and this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone) is Ashlee Simpson going red! Now Ashlee has tried every color under the sun. She has gone for the dark-goth look, the bubbly blond (like her big sis, Jessica), soft chocolate brown, dirty blond and now a deep red. This color just suits her. It makes her long hair look healthy (not stringy as too-long blond hair often does). Plus, the rich shade brings out color in her cheeks, and makes her green eyes pop!

Ashlee seems to be having more fun than ever lately. She's been out promoting her latest album, Bittersweet World, which drops on March 18. Every photograph of Ashlee shows her smiling, laughing and just having an all-around fabulous time. And she has that adorable arm candy, Pete Wentz. So not only does she has the most-desired hair color (ok, in my opinion), but she has a stylish and trendy boyfriend. Lucky girl! Now we can't wait to hear her new sound. Welcome to the redhead club, Ashlee!

George Clooney

Seems like George Clooney is caught in a web of a lot of rumors. As we reported earlier today, there were reports stating that the Oscar winner had offered Grammy winner Amy Winehouse $1 million dollars to perform at this years New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute gala.
Hollyscoop contacted Clooney’s rep Stan Rosenfield who stated that the story is F A L S E.
The event will take place on May 5th and will exhibit a superhero theme. George Clooney and Julia Roberts are co-chairs of the gala along with the Devil who loves to sport Prada, Anna Wintour.
We’re guessing with a superhero theme the last person they would have perform is a girl who sings about not wanting to go to rehab. Maybe the rumor stemmed because Giorgio Armani is the host of the event and is also good friends with Winehouse. 

Neverland

If you're planning a trip to Neverland Ranch, don't get too excited about visiting the petting zoo, because there aren't any animals left. Jackson was this close to losing the entire property, but found a way to make it work last minute. But the animals had to go. They're all kicking it right near the Grand Canyon now. Voices of the Wild Foundation, a non-profit based in Arizona that provides sanctuary to abandoned exotic animals (random), has adopted Jacko's giraffes, parrots, pythons, and whatever else he had living on the compound.
The foundation doesn't blame Michael Jackson on for abandoning his animals. The say it was a financial situation, and they were caught in the middle of it. They are encouraging Michael to visit his former pets anytime.