ozgossip

Hard Work Is Needed

2008-06-03T17:05:00.000+08:00

"Ten years ago, I came up with the idea for fashionable and fitted maternity clothing. I opened my own one-room shop and did everything: I waited on customers, got them water, packed the FedEx boxes - there were extremely difficult customers who'd go mad if their clothes were a day late. It would just destroy me. The reality is, to get where you want to be in your career, you're going to have to do a lot of stuff you don't think big-shots do."

Liz Lange, Founder and CEO of Liz Lange Maternity, on Hard Work

Source: Glamour Magazine

Ben In Anti Drug Stand

2008-05-24T09:50:00.002+08:00

WBA Super Middleweight champion Anthony Mundine and former Australian rules footballer and Brownlow Medalist, Ben Cousins, talk at a media conference in Sydney on February 6, 2008. Cousins and Mundine spoke alongside rugby league champion Sonny Bill Williams and Olympic gold medallist Nova Peris to campaign an anti-drugs message at Tony Mundine's gym.

The Hands of a Seinfeld

2008-03-17T20:07:00.002+08:00

How coule he?? Make an ad for HP - The Hands of a Seinfeld

Jerry Seinfeld is an American Treasure. There is no amount of celebrity, however, that makes it ok for him to repeatedly drench us in a river of shameless self promotion. Ok, we get it: You're wife has a cookbook and you made an animated movie about bees. You're life is awesome.

All we're saying is, next time Seinfeld is on screen for more than a minute, it better be as part of a Seinfeld reunion show.

Heath Ledger - Dead at 28

2008-01-22T11:25:00.000+08:00

The Death of Heath Ledger - City Room - Metro - New York Times Blog:

"according to the New York City police. Some signs pointed to an accidental overdose or a suicide, although no note was found, police sources said. Mr. Ledger was 28.

At 3:31 p.m., January 22nd, 2008, according to the police, a masseuse arrived at the fourth-floor apartment of the building, at 421 Broome Street, between Crosby and Lafayette Streets in SoHo, for an appointment with Mr. Ledger. The masseuse was let in to the home by a housekeeper, who then knocked on the door of the bedroom Mr. Ledger was in.

When no one answered, the housekeeper and the masseuse opened the bedroom and found Mr. Ledger naked and unconscious on a bed, with sleeping pills — both prescription medication and nonprescription — on a night table. They attempted to revive him, but he did not respond.

They immediately called the authorities. As the news reports spread quickly, throngs of people gathered in the neighborhood.

The police said they did not suspect a crime."

Hugh Jackman Aussie Superstar

2007-12-25T20:46:00.000+08:00

Hugh Jackman is a Tony Award-winning Australian acting phenomenon, who has commanded both silver and small screens since his 1994 debut on the Law of the Land series.

Since then, Hugh has starred in a series of both commercial as well as critical successes, including the X-Men-trilogy, Kate & Leopold, Van Helsing and The Prestige.

In addition, Hugh has established himself an honorable reputation on Broadway, portraying e.g. Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz - a performance which was universally praised.

Spice Girls reunion worth 9 year wait

2007-12-19T13:51:00.000+08:00

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - It has been nine years coming, but some early reviews of the Spice Girls' world reunion tour that kicked off in Vancouver, Canada, on Sunday said it was worth the wait.

"The solid gold Spice Girls," said London's Evening Standard, a reference to golden outfits the "girl power" quintet sported during the show, one of several costume changes on the night.

The reviewer called the performance "ebullient pop music of a very high standard, presented with panache, and highly unlikely to provoke any attendance at the refund window."

Despite the sassy young singers who stormed the pop world in the 1990s all now being in their 30s, four of them with children, they had yet to pass their sell-by date.

"There seems no diminution in the energy they are prepared to expend, or the lengths they will go to please the audience."

Hugh Jackman Bio

2007-11-27T20:54:00.000+08:00

Born October 12, 1968 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, of English parentage.

Hugh was raised in the suburbs of Sydney as the youngest of 5 children.

He has a Communications degree with a Journalism major from the University of Technology Sydney.

Attended ‘The Journey’, a 1 year workshop at the Actor’s Centre Sydney, after which he enrolled at the WAAPA, Perth. Here he did courses like ‘Voice’ and also ‘Artiste’, what helped him to earn money as a clown at children parties, whilst studying. He majored in Drama after 3 years.

Immediately after his graduating he got offered a starring role in an ABC TV mini series: the prison Drama ‘Correlli’. Here he met his future wife, the lead actress of this series and also Australian movie star: Deborra-Lee Furness.

Several TV guest roles followed, as an actor and variety compere.

An accomplished singer, HJ has starred as Gaston in the Australian production of ‘Beauty & the Beast’, where Trevor Nunn saw him and so he also starred as Joe Gillis in the Australian production of ‘Sunset Boulevard’ and in the Royal National Theatre’s production of ‘Oklahoma!’.

After filming 2 feature films in between, he visited the USA for the adoption of his son Oscar Maximillian (born 15. May 2000) and got a call: to replace the unable to play Dougray Scott as Wolverine, 4 weeks into the production of the ‘X-Men’ movie. That was the start for his career in the USA / international movie market.

Now he and his family (meanwhile they had adopted their daughter Ava Eliot, born 10 July 2005) travel between Australia, U.K., Canada and the USA, depending on the locations of his and Deborra-Lee’s movies.

Crowe's South Lose to Warriors

2007-11-27T20:08:00.000+08:00

Russell Crowe donated the following artwork to the Heart Foundation (Australia).

It raised over $7,000 (AUST) for the charity in an online auction. Cindy D., the winning bidder, has been kind enough to let Maximum Crowe to show it on Maximum Crowe fan website

Russell Crowe - New Yory City 2000

2007-10-27T20:21:00.000+08:00

National Board of Review / Annual Film Awards
(New York City, Tavern on the Green, January 19, 2000)

Crowe Excels as Stunt Man

2007-09-27T20:29:00.001+08:00

Throughout the filming a number of scenes required him to be up in the rig, and he did every bit of that climbing and those stunts himself.

You’ll see a scene in the movie filmed from a helicopter where Russell and James D’Arcy are both at the top of the Mainmast above the topgallants.

It's easy to see that it really IS them, and that there would have been no easy way to fake that shot.

Russell Crowe circa 1989

2007-08-27T20:37:00.000+08:00

Russell Crowe has spent years trying to escape the cricketing image associated with his famous cousins. His image is very different indeed ... as Jean Norman found out.

RUSSELL Crowe has flashing green eyes, a sultry pout and an aversion to being known as the "singing cousin of the cricketing Crowes".

He is Martin and Jeff's cousin and he is a musician but Russell Crowe deserves better than the popular description.

At 24 he has just finished playing the lead role in a Sydney play for which he received rave reviews and which led to him appear on the cover of an Aussie glossy. He is about to star in a major new musical and he has just recorded a demo tape with EMI.

"I'm not going to do some rock star trip," he sighs as he goes off into a cute sulk and says, "I hate talking to reporters but I really was perceived wrongly when I was working in New Zealand."

Well, well. Really? How?

It all started when as a student at Auckland Boys Grammar, Russell hated having to wear roman sandals and objected to the way a pupil's worth was apparently judged not by creativity but by their prowess (or lack of it) at rugby and cricket. Being a Crowe meant there were some pretty high expectations aimed at him.

"Sure I had the potential to possibly play in an under-11 side but not really the ability or the desire and, besides, everyone else was bigger than I was.

"I wasn't expelled or anything but let's say it was a very amicable parting."

The acting bug, as they say, had already bitten and bitten deep. His parents were location caterers in Australia so as a child Russell hung around a lot of film sets. "It was a case of being in the right place at the right time and I was soon playing kiddie roles. I was in Spyforce when I was six and The Young Doctors when I was 12. 1 played this kid who lives down the road from the hospital and his parents are never there so he hangs around the hospital.

New Zealand Women Weekly 1989 Article by Jean Norman

Heath Ledger about the paparazzi

2007-07-15T11:14:00.000+08:00

"Most of the time you don't even know they're there. Now, that's the scary thing. It's really strange and invading, but I'm still working it all out. I try to not let it bother me. I really try and find the humour in all of it. And if I want to swim naked in my pool, I'm still going to do it. I certainly don't want to feel that I have to change everything in my life that I do to cater to them. I just won't let it happen."

Heath Ledger
National Post, May 2001

The Nation Ratings Slump

2007-07-09T17:32:00.000+08:00

Comedian Mick Molloy’s new TV show The Nation, which airs on the Nine Network, is on struggle street after its ratings hit a new low last night.

On the same day Nine launched Sea Patrol, the most expensive drama in Australian TV history, The Nation returned an audience of 575,000 viewers.

The Nation jokingly gate-crashed the elaborate Sea Patrol launch yesterday on the HMAS Sydney in attempt to drum up support for its own show.

It seems any little bit would have helped.

The paltry audience numbers in the 9.30pm timeslot, where one million viewers is considered a good result, fell even lower than the show’s figures for the past fortnight, which have just topped 600,000 viewers.

Last night’s episode, which featured a spoof of MTV car makeover show Pimp My Ride called Pimp My Coffin, was outrated by All Saints on Seven, Numbers on Ten and most shockingly, Foreign Correspondent and First Tuesday Book Club on the ABC.

Its poor performance also contributed to Nine making a rare appearance in third place overall for the night behind Seven and Ten.

Explosive Expose - Who Killed Channel 9?

2007-07-08T17:42:00.000+08:00

With Kerry Packer at the helm, and with a host of stars and personalities that made it the envy of its rivals, Channel 9 dominated the airwaves, consistently winning the ratings battle and fostering a unique esprit de corps within its ranks. But in a few short years, it's gone from top dog to also ran - with rock bottom morale, mass redundancies and a resurgent opposition mainly staffed with vengeful former Nine management.

Where does the blame lie, and who's brave enough to expose the dysfunction, mismanagement and more than occasional act of bastardry that reads as a how-to of how not to run a business?

In this extraordinary book, Gerald Stone gives a truly eye-opening inside account of the death of a television network. The result is a drama far more riveting than anything on television, played out by an incredible cast of characters, most of them household names, some of them business legends, and all of them as you've never, ever seen them before.

Muddy hell as Kidman homestead set flooded

2007-07-07T17:44:00.000+08:00

Sink or swim: Faraway Downs, on the set of Baz Luhrmann's film Australia, is being left to dry out while stars Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman film scenes in Sydney.

Choice

2007-06-12T16:38:00.000+08:00

You need only choose...then keep chossing as many times as necessary. That is all you need do. And it is certainly something you can do. Then as you continue to choose, everything is yours... - Vernon Howard

Averages

2007-06-11T16:25:00.000+08:00

I am not judged by the number of times I fail, but by the number of times I succeed; and the number of times I succeed is in direct proportion to the number of times I can fail and keep on trying. - Tom Hopkins

To begin to think with purpose, is to enter the ranks of those strong ones who only recongnise failure as one of the pathways to attainment... - James Allen

Attitude

2007-06-06T16:36:00.000+08:00

A man is not hurt so much by what happens, as by his opinion of what happens.
MICHEL EYQUEM DE MONTAIGNE

What happens to a man is less significant than what happens within him.
LOUIS L. MANN

Kate Richie Wins Gold Logie

2007-05-07T15:30:00.000+08:00

Home and Away actor Kate Ritchie has become the queen of the nation's small screen with the Gold Logie for Australia's most popular TV personality. The top gong followed her second consecutive award as most popular actress - in the role of Sally Fletcher, which she has played for almost 20 years, her entire career. It was Ritchie's second time to be nominated for both awards.

"I am forever having people approach me and telling me they've watched me on tele and feel like they know me, and for a long time I felt like I needed to be the person that everybody else thought I was."

In the past year Richie has branched out beyond her long time Home and Away role to sing on the show, It Takes Two, and appeared on regular afternoon radio in Sydney.
"Over the last year I've come to realise it's much more rewarding just to do exactly what you feel is right... tonight proved to me I must be on the right track."

Beyonce Down Under

2007-04-23T10:44:00.000+08:00

Due to a tight schedule, Knowles flew in on the same day as she began her five-date Australian tour at Acer Arena, Olympic Park.

"It was great,'' she said when asked how her flight had been.

"I feel wonderful. I'm looking forward to entertaining my Australian fans.''

Despite having flown more than 12 hours direct from Los Angeles, her flight landing at 6.25am, Knowles looked glamorous and energised.

Clearing Customs in about 25 minutes and whisked through Sydney Airport's VIP exit, Knowles had obviously spent some time freshening up.

Wearing jeans, a white T-shirt, black hoodie and scarf, Knowles looked as though she could have jumped up on stage there and then.

Knowles' American rapper boyfriend Jay-Z was rumoured to be travelling with the singer, although he was nowhere to be seen at the airport.

Patient fans, sisters Tina, 20, and Helen Szilagy, 23, asked for a photograph but the singer only stopped briefly to sign an autograph.

"We love her music and she was so friendly,'' they said.

"We were quite lucky to get her autograph - it was the highlight of our week.''

Knowles plays the Brisbane Entertainment Centre today and has a day off tomorrow.

She then performs three days straight - Tuesday in Adelaide, Wednesday in Melbourne and Sydney again on Thursday, before heading for Europe.

Music world farewells Lobby Loyde

2007-04-23T10:13:00.000+08:00

Musician Lobby Loyde, who taught rock legend Billy Thorpe how to "really" play the guitar, is dead.

Loyde died in a Melbourne hospital on Saturday night after a long battle with cancer.

He was 65.

Loyde made his mark on the Australian pub rock scene in the 1970s, playing alongside Thorpe in his band the Aztecs, and also with the Coloured Balls.

Celebrated for his plectrum guitar technique, he died with his family and his favourite black Gibson guitar by his side.

In a death notice in the Herald Sun, Loyde was described as the "grandfather of Australian rock n' roll" who performed his "final orchestra with humour and magnificence".

"We have lost one of our time's most eccentric and unique souls," the tribute read.

"The intervals (sic) over so go up and start your second set. Rock the balls out of heaven."

Friends and fans said the fact he battled cancer for as long as he did was a testament to his courage.

Pop music guru Molly Meldrum told News Limited it was typical of Loyde to have outlasted the experts' diagnosis.

"He was very, very sick and he was very brave in the way he handled it too," Meldrum said.

"Lobby was one of those amazing characters. I mean, he was a brilliant guitarist and he was also just an incredible character.

"Family and friends were very important to him, and he had some great friends in his family as well."

Meldrum said Loyde and his good friend, Thorpe, who died in February, laid the foundations of the Australian rock music scene.

"We were talking about this at Billy's funeral. What became pub rock, they more or less paved the way for it," Meldrum said.

"They set a scene, and Melbourne became the rock capital of Australia - whether Sydney liked it or not.

"Once you took him off the stage and away from his guitar there was a different person.

"A very thoughtful and a very intelligent person, quite frankly.

"And that combination, plus the brilliance of him as a musician, people just absolutely revered him."

Higgins steers her way back to the top

2007-04-23T09:56:00.000+08:00

Australian songstress Missy Higgins has leapt back into the charts after the astounding success of her first album, The Sound of White, in 2005.

Higgins' new single Steer debuts at number one on the Motorola ARIA singles chart this week.

RnB diva Beyonce's single Beautiful Liar debuts at number five, ahead of her five-day tour of Australia this week.

Australian rock favourite Silverchair hold on to the top spot on the album charts, ahead of Avril Lavigne's The Best Damn Thing which debuts at number two.

Big Brother launched on the Gold Coast

2007-04-23T09:40:00.000+08:00

Beautiful, 20-something and with a dominant personality.

That is what the casting call could have read for this year's first wave of contestants who have entered the Big Brother house on the Gold Coast.

A cast of 12 people, six men and six women aged between 20 and 32 years, were introduced and unleashed in a new environmentally-friendly house during a recording on Saturday night which was screened on Sunday night.

Production was delayed twice at the Dreamworld complex due to members of the audience streaming the recording live onto the internet.

The website Behind Big Brother also posted profiles of the housemates, stealing a small amount of Big Brother's thunder for the big launch.

A show's spokesman confirmed that three young men were removed during filming because they were taking live footage of the show.

The show's host Gretel Killeen said one of the men had "been welcomed into our rehearsals" during the afternoon, and was ejected before it was demanded that all mobile phones be turned off.

But regardless, Big Brother was back. On the surface though, little had changed from previous years despite a number of promises during the hype-filled lead-up.

Killeen had said this year's contestants would be more beautiful on the inside than out, while producers had promised a more worldly cast.

That was in response to the criticism which followed some unsavoury action in the house last year, including the "turkey slapping" incident which saw two male contestants kicked off the show.

But as the female contestants who were introduced to the house first lined up on a couch it looked like a scene straight out of a central casting audition: Aleisha (Vic), 20, the cute hairdresser from a small country town; Emma (NSW), 24, a personal trainer; Hayley (Vic), 24, a former champion body sculptor and lawyer; Kate (Vic), 25, a champion debater; Rebecca (QLD), 23, a Life Be In It coach and Mormon; and Theresa-Jane, or TJ, (NT), 22, a barmaid and the only non-blonde.

Then came the men: Jamie (Vic), 29, a self-confessed nerd, karaoke host and orphan; Bodie (WA), 24, an electrical designer and former underwear model; Andrew (Vic), 28, a fireman; Joel (SA), 24, a restaurant manager and Young Liberal Party member; Thomas (WA), 27, a real estate agent with a degree in chemistry and human biology; and Travis (Vic), a 32-year-old father of one.

The Big Brother team had again promised a number of trademark twists.

Killeen told the audience she couldn't reveal the identity or nature of a mystery individual labelled Mr X but she did confirm to the live audience that contestants would not start with any prize money - the assumption being that they will have to compete for it during the course of the series.

Also, it was revealed that there are two sets of two people in the house who share a previous relationship that at least one of the pairs may not know about.

An extra six potential housemates were also introduced, two of whom home viewers will choose to enter the house.

As for the promise of a "green" house, Big Brother didn't disappoint, even including a bicycle-powered washing machine.

No reference was made to the dramas of 2006 which prompted Communications Minister Helen Coonan to launch an inquiry into reality TV.

While producers haven't delivered on the promise for a wider age gap or less model-like contestants, a source guaranteed deeper conversation, saying this year's contestants had been "around the block and back" with no shortage of skeletons in their closets which will be revealed throughout the show.

It is believed Big Brother is saving its biggest secret for Monday night.

Kylie Returns to the Screen

2007-04-23T09:22:00.000+08:00

Kylie Minogue is reportedly set to return to the small screen as a cyberwoman out to snare Dr Who on the British television show's Christmas special.

The News of the World said filming would start in July on the Dr Who special which could revive the Australian pop singer's TV career.

"Kylie jumped at the chance to be in the show and is really looking forward to acting again," the newspaper quoted an unnamed BBC insider as saying.

Minogue made her name as Charlene in Neighbours before leaving the Australian soap in 1987 to concentrate on her pop career in the UK.

In recent years, Minogue made a brief return to her television roots when she guest-starred in the popular Australian comedy series, Kath and Kim.

Far from the suburban adventures of Kath and Kim, Dr Who is a science fiction series depicting the adventures of the Doctor, who travels through time in a phone box known as the Tardis and fights foes, the most famous of which are the daleks and the cybermen.

In 2005, the BBC resurrected the series, which originally ran from 1963 to 1989.

Billie Piper featured as Dr Who's companion, Rose Tyler, in the revived series but has since left the popular show.

New Princess for Denmark

2007-04-23T09:13:00.000+08:00

Denmark's Crown Princess Mary gave birth to the royal family's first daughter since 1946 at the weekend.

The Tasmanian native's husband Frederik was beaming as he addressed reporters outside the hospital.

"It's a unique thing to have a daughter. I feel truly great about it. She has dark eyes and very dark hair — lots of it!" he said.

Following Danish tradition, the girl will not be named until her christening in coming months. She will be third in line to the Danish crown, behind her father and 18-month-old brother, Prince Christian.

Christian hasn't met his sister yet, but his father said the toddler is excited to welcome her and can already say the word "baby".

Frederik said that for him, going through the birth was easier the second time around.

"One wasn't as scared as the first time around," he said.

"It seems fair to say that the father's grasp of the situation was better than the first time.

"I feel great joy and great happiness ... and I can only say it's a relief, but full of happiness and love."

Frederik said he would let Mary decide when she was ready to leave the hospital.

"We leave it up to the mother to decide ... so you can get your sleeping bags out," he quipped.

Prime Minister John Howard led the chorus of congratulations from Australia yesterday after the birth was announced.

"On behalf of all Australians I send them my very warm congratulations. He (Frederik) looked a very happy father on the television," Mr Howard told reporters in Sydney.

Tasmanian Premier Paul Lennon said the state government would announce details of how it will mark the birth in the coming days.

"I'm sure I speak for all Tasmanians when I say we are delighted to hear the royal family's news," Mr Lennon said in a statement.

"Obviously, the link between Tasmania and Denmark has become very strong, and we share the joy of the Danish people as they celebrate the arrival of the first daughter to be born into the Danish royal family since 1946."

In a statement, the Danish royal court said the princess — who had been expected at the beginning of May — weighed 3.35kg at birth and was 50cm long.

"We're very excited, very happy, very healthy baby. A lovely new addition to our family," Mary's sister Jane Stephens told the Ten Network.

News of the birth of Mary's daughter was "fabulous and exciting", the Royal Danish Consulate in Tasmania said.

"It's just fabulous news and I think it's very exciting for the family," honorary vice-consul for Denmark, Judy Benson, said.

"Although the baby arrived a couple of weeks early, it is wonderful news ... from the perspective of a young family having one each, that's fabulous."

Ms Benson said news of Mary's baby daughter would be celebrated across the Apple Isle.

"Tasmanians love Mary and Frederik and this is a wonderful occasion."

The Danish heir to the throne met Mary during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney and married her four years later.

- Nine MSN

De Wedding of De Year

2007-03-26T15:42:00.000+08:00

Melbourne born actress Portia de Rossi and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres are reportedly planning to get married around June this year. A source told the National Enquirer,“Portia has demanded that Ellen marry her.
After lots of talk and plenty of hints, Portia finally confronted Ellen right after the Oscars about making a commitment.” Rumour has it the happy couple are so far planning to say their vows in their Californian home but as yet have not planned their honeymoon.

Bassingthwaighte for Big Screen

2007-03-26T15:32:00.000+08:00

ROGUE Traders singer Natalie Bassingthwaighte is conducting her showbiz career to the beat of a new drum, having just signed on to star in her first feature film.

After successfully making her mark on the small screen and the Australian pop charts, the pocket-rocket performer with the huge ambition now has her sights set on the bright lights of Hollywood.

The former Neighbours resident is in final negotiations for the lead role in supernatural horror flick Prey, to be shot in Australia in late June. Bassingthwaighte will star alongside Jesse Johnson, the 24-year-old son of Miami Vice star Don Johnson.

Veteran director George Miller, whose credits include The Man From Snowy River - and who should not be confused with the Oscar-winning director of the same name - is at the helm of the $3.5 million project.

Bassingthwaighte is due to fly back to Melbourne for the shoot after the Rogue Traders' UK tour. But she's far from putting the electro-rock outfit on the back burner - the day after film production wraps in July, the multi-talented star will fly to the US to launch the Rogue Traders' first single in the lucrative US market.

The band, signed to Sony/BMG in Australia, recently finalised a deal with record giant Universal Music in the US and the trip will mark their first assault on the red, white and blue.

While she's there, the go-get-em rock chick is also planning to seek further acting opportunities.

"I am so many different people and I guess that the grass will always be greener - when I am singing, I will want to be acting and when I am acting, I will want to be singing," she said recently.

Garrett to Head Protest Rock Concert

2007-03-26T15:29:00.000+08:00

Labor MP and Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett will head a Rockin' For Rights concert following a protest march against the federal government's new industrial relations laws in Sydney's CBD next month.

Aussie bands including Youth Group, The Screaming Jets, Something for Kate, You Am I and the Hoodoo Gurus will perform at the event staged by Unions NSW.

The protest rally from Hyde Park to the Sydney Cricket Ground will be held on April 22 and is limited to the first 40,000.

Punters will need to purchase a wristband for $5 to participate in the march and get access to the concert.

Wristbands are available through various stockists throughout Sydney.

"Never before has there been a more critical time to get out and rock for our rights," said Garrett, the shadow minister for climate change, environment, heritage and arts.

Garrett will MC the concert.

"This incredible line up of Australia's best will bring punters from far and wide whose future work experience is up for grabs under the Howard government's Work Choices legislation," he said.

"I reckon this will be a mighty event."

Bra Boys Smashes Box Office Record

2007-03-26T15:25:00.000+08:00

Notorious surf gang members Sunny, Koby and Jai Abberton are riding the wave of success with their controversial film, Bra Boys, grossing a record breaking $900,000 at the Australian box office.

The brothers, from the Sydney beachside suburb of Maroubra, and part of the local clan the Bra Boys, have smashed a 17-year-old record to officially have the most successful Australian, non-IMAX documentary-style film in history.

The previous record was held by Cane Toads, a documentary detailing the spread of Hawaiian sugar cane toads through Australia in a botched effort to introduce them as counter pests, which grossed $650,000 during its 1988 to 1989 run.

Bra Boys launched in just 47 cinemas nationally on March 15 and took $90,000 in its first public outing.

Since then the film has gained spectacular momentum, with box office figures released on Monday showing Bra Boys raked in a cool $325,000 over the weekend.

"I am so proud that Bra Boys has broken this record," said writer, director and producer Sunny Abberton, 37.

"I can't really believe it. We are getting emails and letters every day from people telling us how much they love the movie. I am just stoked."

The 90 minute film, narrated by Oscar winner Russell Crowe, centres around the turbulent and troubled lives of the brothers.

The tale of the Abbertons, two of whom faced charges linked to murder while filming, also shows bloody footage of street brawls and showcases the Boys' quest to find Australia's biggest wave.

A firm believer in the film, Crowe has acknowledged Sunny's directorial debut as remarkable.

"Sunny Abberton has gone to the top of the list of Australian documentary film-makers with this film," Crowe told AAP recently.

Troy Lum, managing director of film distributor Hopscotch says they are shocked by the overwhelming response to the flick.

"We continue to be stunned by the performance of Bra Boys, the figures hardly dropped at all over the weekend which shows that people are really enjoying the film," Lum said.

"The movie is working in multiplexes that usually play action films so maybe this is a new genre - the action doco."

Rove Returns to Channel Ten

2007-03-26T15:22:00.000+08:00

The return of Rove McManus to live television may be earlier than many expected following the death of his wife Belinda Emmett, but friend and sidekick Peter Helliar believes the timing is "perfect".

Rove, which has dropped the Live from its name, returns to Network Ten on Sunday at 8.30pm in one of the week's most hotly contested timeslots.

It will be less than six months after his actress wife of 18 months succumbed to cancer, aged 32.

"Obviously, Rove needed some time," said Helliar, a close friend of McManus and the popular presenter's sidekick since the show began on the Nine Network in 1999.

"A lot of people who work on the show needed time. And there was no pressure from anyone on when to come back. But he's ready, we're all ready."

Emotions aside, Rove will get a chance to ease into its Sunday slot when it starts during a break in the ratings battle over easter.

Rove's competition from Seven will be a Grey's Anatomy repeat and the Sam Neill movie Merlin while Nine will air CSI: Crime Scene Investigation repeats in the next two weeks.

It is hardly intimidating competition for Rove and will give fans a chance to make their judgment on the new version of the show.

Helliar said there haven't been any dramatic changes to the show's format but previous guests including Dave Hughes, Hamish Blake, Andy Lee and Carrie Bickmore have been promoted to "regular" status.

"The show's been on the air a long time now and there's some people we like working with and we're keen to get those people involved a bit more," he said.

"It's not just myself and Rove and whoever is around to promote their new movie, it's going to be a bit about a regular cast which you'll see most weeks."

He said the return of the show is being viewed within Rove Live's extended family as an exciting and well-timed challenge.

"We're just looking at it as a new challenge, I think sometimes you need that when you go through something like this, this is going to be perfect for us," Helliar said.

"We're really happy for the change of environment as well. We've been on Tuesday nights for a while and obviously there's some big competition there.

"We'll just run our own race and for people who aren't necessarily interested in McDreamy or the CSI guys, I think we'll provide a nice option."

Kylie, Danni send Webber off with kiss

2007-03-19T10:27:00.000+08:00

Pop star Kylie Minogue and sister Danni sent Aussie racing driver Mark Webber on his way with a hug and a kiss at Sunday's Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne.

But the best wishes of the country's premier pop diva only helped Webber, the only Australian driver in Melbourne's season-opening opening F1 race, into 13th place in his Red Bull car.

The GP went to Finland's Kimi Raikkonen - having his first drive in a Ferrari.

World champion Fernando Alonso, driving for McLaren, was runner-up, while his rookie teammate Lewis Hamilton was third.

More than 105,000 people were at Albert Park for the race, all on their best behaviour with police reporting no arrests.

While the race proved an outstanding success, it may be in for a major change with the Victorian government to consider making it the first GP in the world to be staged at night.

Victorian Premier Steve Bracks says he is open to the idea, but will firstly consider the benefits the move which would require the lighting of the entire track as well as extensive modifications to grandstands and other viewing areas.

"We've got a very open mind about lights and night-time races, we'll have to look at the costs and benefits of that," Mr Bracks told reporters after the F1 race.

He said staging the race to coincide with daytime television viewing across Europe would see the Australian event attract increased interest from international sponsors and advertisers.

He said the extra revenue must be considered against the extra costs of lighting the track.

"If it stacks up it will be something that is persuasive, but we'll have to wait and see," he said.

GP organiser Ron Walker said talks were held with the drivers about any added safety risks that might be posed by a night-time race.

"We've had extensive discussions with the drivers and there doesn't appear to be any push back," Mr Walker said.

"It's in its embryonic stage, there's a lot of work to be done ... it's just another idea."

Kidman not making trip home with Urban

2007-03-19T10:21:00.000+08:00

While Australian country crooner Keith Urban embarks on a promotional tour of Australia, his Oscar-winning wife Nicole Kidman will be on the other side of the world finalising commitments for three US films.

It was widely tipped that Kidman, 39, would accompany Urban for a week-long promotional tour of his latest offering Love, Pain and the Whole Crazy Thing, in Sydney this week.

The couple, who married in June last year, had planned to visit their homeland together because it coincided nicely with Kidman beginning production on the Baz Luhrmann epic Australia, starring Hugh Jackman.

However, with production for the film pushed back to April, Kidman will remain in Los Angeles to complete publicity for US films The Golden Compass and The Invasion, both of which she appears opposite Casino Royale's Daniel Craig, plus comedy Margot at the Wedding, featuring actor Jack Black.

"She is still in LA finishing her commitments to films she has made over the last 12 months, before she leaves to come back to Australia for an extended period to make Australia," said Kidman's Australian publicist Wendy Day.

"She is very, very, very excited about coming back home. Obviously she can't be going back to America for any commitments while she is here filming Australia, so that all has to be finished first."

Plans for Urban to promote his seventh album and make a guest appearance at the 2006 ARIA awards in October were cancelled last year after the musician checked himself into a US rehabilitation centre for alcohol addiction.

The 39-year-old spent three months in the prestigious Betty Ford Centre in Palm Springs, California.

Following his whirlwind publicity visit to Australia, which begins on Tuesday, Urban will return for a national tour commencing in Brisbane on May 11, before playing concerts in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and wrapping in Perth on May 22.

It is expected Kidman will support Urban during the tour, her Australia filming schedule permitting.

"I presume she is going to want to try (to get to Urban's concerts), I guess it just depends on the schedule and where she is," Day said.

"I suppose she has to ask Baz whether he can let her off or not. Once you sign onto a film, that's your commitment ... it's not her call."

Cate Blanchett to Star in Next Indiana Jones

2007-03-19T09:48:00.000+08:00

She was seduced by a school student in her last flick - and it looks like the age gap won't be much different for Cate Blanchett's next potential on-screen affair. The sultry siren, who played high school teacher Sheba Hart in Notes on a Scandal, has just signed on to star alongside ageing Harrison Ford in an upcoming addition to the Indiana Jones series.

While the specifics of Blanchett's role are being kept under wraps - along with David Koepp's screenplay - it is believed the 36-year-old beauty will feature prominently in the flick.
However, it has been revealed Ford will definitely be reprising the title role he made famous in the '80s - though, at 64, it's unsure whether he will be more convincing in the role of intrepid archaeologist or one of his fossils more than a quarter of a century after the original hit the big screen.

Not that he is likely to be the oldest cast member on set, with Sean Connery also linked to the project - reprising his role as Indiana's father.

Steven Spielberg will direct the flick - currently known simply as Fourth Instalment of the Indiana Jones Adventures - when it starts shooting in June, with Star Wars creator George Lucas signing on to produce.

Blanchett received an Oscar nomination for her role in Notes on a Scandal, in which she had to act out love scenes with 18-year-old up-and-comer Andrew Simpson. Her Hollywood star has been constantly on the rise since picking up the best supporting actress Oscar in 2004 for The Aviator.

Fredrik's Reunion With His Ex

2007-03-13T11:34:00.000+08:00

The pregnant princess is devastated over Frederik rekindling an old flame. Princess Mary was reportedly reduced to tears over Prince Frederik's emotional meeting with one of his former flames.

It's rumoured that pregnant Mary broke down after Fred's reunion with ex-girlfriend Marie Montell at a recent charity event.While the Crown Prince was happy for the media to cover the National Charity Day benefit, he banned photographers from capturing his warm embrace with singer Marie."They were genuinely excited to see each other," says a source. "The chemistry was still there."Prior to his marriage to Mary, Marie was considered "the one that got away", having broken Fred's heart when she ended their two-year relationship.

Stallone Tried to Import Human Growth Hormones

2007-03-13T11:21:00.000+08:00

Actor Sylvester Stallone tried to bring 48 vials of human growth hormone into Australia, a Sydney court has been told.

The 60-year-old movie star did not appear in the Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday where charges against him for importing a banned substance were briefly mentioned.
The Australian Customs Service has charged Stallone with one count of importing a prohibited import.

The maximum fine for the offence is $110,000, but the maximum financial penalty a local court can impose is $22,000. Stallone was in Sydney last month for the premiere of his new film Rocky Balboa and left after three days.

Magistrate David Heilern adjourned the matter to the same court for a plea on April 24.
Stallone is excused from attending on that occassion if he is represented by his lawyer, Robert Todd.

Gwen Stefani to tour Australia

2007-03-09T10:58:00.000+08:00

American songbird Gwen Stefani with her trademark bleach blonde hair and red lips will visit Australia later this year.

The singer, who rose to stardom as the frontwoman of Grammy award winning group No Doubt, will bring her Sweet Escape world tour to Australia from July 28.

The 37-year-old will play concerts in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, before concluding in Perth on August 7.

The energetic performer broke away from No Doubt, who launched hits including Don't Speak, Sunday Morning and Let Me Blow Your Mind, in 2004 to release her debut album Love. Angel. Music. Baby.

The album produced chart-topping tunes including Rich Girl, Hollaback Girl and Cool.

In December, she launched her second solo album The Sweet Escape.

Stefani is expected to bring her nine-month-old son Kingston James McGregor Rossdale and guitarist husband Gavin Rossdale on the tour.

The talented showgirl says she enjoys performing arena spectaculars and is excited about bringing her tour abroad.

"It's so much fun," she said.

"I love the idea of being able to go into my theatrical side.

"To hear and see people singing the songs back to me, they bought the record, they know the songs; you see yourself in them, in the crowd. It kind of makes it worth it, so I have to go on tour."

Tickets for the tour go on sale March 23 through Ticketek.

Nicole and Keith's Oscars Bust-up

2007-03-07T13:44:00.000+08:00

Tensions between Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban boiled over at the Oscars last week, adding fuel to rumours their eight-month marriage is all but over.

After weeks apart, the Aussie couple did their best to keep up happy appearances at Hollywood's night of nights, but things turned icy at the Vanity Fair after-party.

"There was no mistaking the growing divide between them," says a spywitness. "Nicole wasn't herself all night. She was miserable, especially when Keith was around."

City laneway 'to honour Dame Edna'

2007-03-07T13:30:00.000+08:00

A Melbourne city laneway has been renamed in honour of celebrated housewife Dame Edna Everage.

Melbourne Lord Mayor John So was on Wednesday joined by 10 Dame Edna look-alikes to unveil Dame Edna Place in a homage to the legendary gladioli-carrying Moonee Ponds housewife, created by Barry Humphries.

Mr So said the dame had helped put Melbourne on the map for half a century and it was now time to return the favour.

"After 50 years, Dame Edna continues to sell out theatres and conquer new territories," he said.

"However, despite her fame and global accolades, Dame Edna remains a Melbourne girl at heart."

Dame Edna Place, off Little Collins Street between Swanston and Elizabeth streets, will be added to street directories and maps.

Mr Bean dips his toes in Bondi Surf

2007-03-07T13:26:00.000+08:00

A leisurely day out for Mr Bean and his famous friend Teddy has caused organised chaos at Sydney's Bondi Beach.

In a stunt to promote his new film, Mr Bean's Holiday, Rowan Atkinson's alter-ego Mr Bean, wearing his trademark tweed jacket and red tie, dipped his toes in the surf at the well-known Australian beach on Wednesday morning.

Arriving by bicycle, the popular international star was all smiles as he waved to a growing group of gobsmacked onlookers, before setting up post at the beach.

Known as a man of few words, the English-born phenomenon managed to utter his delights at visiting Australia.

"It's very nice here," he grinned.

"The weather's hot, but the water's very cold."

Asked what he thought of Bondi Beach, which played host to hotel heiress Paris Hilton earlier this year, Mr Bean gave it two thumbs up.

"Oh, I love it. It's the best Bondi Beach I've ever been on ... it's a nice place for a holiday."

Surrounded by a troupe of lifesavers, Mr Bean wasn't shy of getting into the Aussie spirit, wriggling into a pair of Speedos before taking time out to meet one of his youngest fans, two-year-old Jackie Lawrenson.

The toddler from North Bondi was taking a stroll with dad Gordon when they spotted her idol Mr Bean.

While the tot appeared terrified as she sat cradled in Mr Bean's arms, Gordon said his daughter was the actor's number one fan.

"She is a bigger fan then me and has been since she was little," Mr Lawrenson said.

"She might have looked scared ... but I have no doubt tonight she will be saying Mr Bean, Mr Bean over and over again. She loves him."

Mr Bean last caused waves Down Under 10 years ago when he walked the red carpet for his first film Bean.

Mr Bean's Holiday will be released nationally on March 29.

Ledger's Devil Contest

2007-03-06T15:03:00.000+08:00

Heath Ledger is competing with James Bond star Daniel Craig to play Satan in one of the biggest book-to-film adaptations ever made.

The two leading men are the top choices of producers behind the upcoming $130 million feature film Paradise Lost, based on John Milton's 17th-century epic poem which tells the story of Lucifer's fall and the temptation of Adam and Eve. The film is deliberately moving away from Milton's 400-page Old English text in favour of the war of archangels - the battle in Heaven between God's and Satan's armies.

Ledger is currently playing The Joker in the next installment of the Batman franchise called The Dark Knight, which began shooting in Los Angeles last week.

D List Part 5

2007-03-06T10:08:00.000+08:00

These blogs have the no follow link disabled from the comments, which means that if you comment on these sites, you will get an actual link. If you would like to be included here, please let me know.

If you find this list useful, please consider linking to it.

This DoFollow Blog list is courtesy of Courtney Tuttle and was created originally by Coleen as the D-List.

Bonnie Writes

Pink Poison Store

Gator Byte

How Can I Do That?

The Official Mrs. Rugged

That's what she said

my daily snippets

Culture Shiok!

Good Enough Mom

TotalDismay.com

LittleAmerica.us

Prudence and Madness

Just A Touch of Sweetness

PAULA NEAL MOONEY

Simplify Every Obstacle

Life in the Fast Lane

Nanashi-Inc.net

Ask Jason

Work At Home Musings

High Strangeness Altoona

Listening..Learning..Living

The Chronicles of My Life

The Millionaire Secrets

Live Life Organics & Your Health

House of Freebies

TodayGadgets

Scuttlebutt Pipeline

Luna Tail

Accentuate the Positive

My Muddled Mind

Blogging made devilishly simple

Wild in London

go get global news & views

Ask Laane

Debt Free Living

Ask Jason Business

Tip Tail - From Agility to Zen!

New Century Politics

ShowMeMoneyBiz.com

Selenas Musings About Travel and Culture

Picture Clusters

The Ruff Draft

Opinionated

ShowMeHealthBiz

Musings of a Learning Wife and Mother

The Tech Inspector

Scribble On The Wall

Confessions of an Everyday housewife

Ask Jason Marketing

Journal of My Simple Life

Into the Bit

Chief Prognosticator

Selenas Musings About Life

She Rambles On

Thoughts Out of My Head

The Article Writer

Pegs AZ Life

The Wired Kayaker

JOIN - Do Follow Bloggers **

Aaron Roselo

Surviving NJ

Step away from the cake

Mom's Chatterbox

Ramblings Of An Undisturbed Mind

Blank Canvas

Marisas Dandelion Patch

Movies of My Life

RavensBarrow.com

By the Sea

PBriscoe.com

Laurigami.com

Table for Five

gimme a break

My Home Recipe

SQKIKs Simple Tech

Women Mumbles

Shopping Flavor

A Writers Words, An Editors Eye

Candid Quips

No Average Mom

Pencil Thin

Sophistishe.Org Personal Blog

Wild Crazy Ride

Cheffin' It!!

genki desu yo

Genki!!

Home Office Women

The Sun-Flower Family

Buy better - Have a Better Life

The Fibromyalgia Experiment

Down Memory Lanes

Magical Rose Garden

Midlife Musings

Life Passion Travel & More

DorisGoShopping.com

JMH Techtronics

chonksworld

BenSpark 2: Electric Boogaloo

Flatwater Tech

The Pond

Winding Threads

My Road

MomReviews.net

Whats All This Then!

My Opinion Counts

The Sassy Southerner

Elements of Fishing

Aylee bits

Chief Prognosticator 2

Ask Jason Personal Tech

Selenas Musings About Raising Children

tales from the ballpark: 2007

The passionate ailurophile

Adapt, Adopt, and Improve

Internet. Serious Business

Wanders World

Ordinary Folk

My Happy Place

MomCooks

Xillys Blog

Callias Pixels Blog

The Raw Review

The Raw & The Cooked

The Way It Is

Sysadmin News

http://www.it-everyday.com/index.php

Not just any ordinary blog

Chimeric Daydreams

Rinsems Rink

A Prairie View

A Mothers Horizon

The Talking Fingers on the Web

Life in General

Advanced Wellness Solutions

Callias Food

OnTheWebEd.com

Christy's Coffee Break

Writer's Reviews

Fanaticspace - Blog

Successful Blogging With Random Shock

Life With Heathens

Forever Parents

pinay g-spot

Is It So?

Bloggers for Dollars

Pixie Tail

Chanceless

Blog Avenues

cyberst0rm

The Birds & The Beads

Muffin Mumblings

Infektia.net

Cactuus

DRiNK . a . MOChA !

Call Me When You Get There

Mslovelys Blog Palace

Kalamaf Drackonsbane

On the Horizon

gone shopping!

girls day out

Im Blogging That!

Polliwogs Pond

An Unschooling Life

My Happy Place

the so called me

Yourmoneyinfo.com

Healthy Living

Laane on the World

homemadehealthypetfood.com

That Bitchy Chick

Casual Blogging

TutorialsPortal - Photoshop Tutorials ...

My Adventures into The Street

A Geek Mom's Net Journey

pamibe

pinay.ws

Twas Brillig

ForumFinderBlog

Julies Journal

UtterlyGeek.com

campingcoop.org

Rumours Swirl Around Blanchett's Stolen Bag

2007-03-02T10:02:00.000+08:00

Actress Cate Blanchett says the handbag she planned to take to the Oscars was stolen — worth a staggering $US100,000 ($127,000), but there may be more to the story.

The Best Supporting Actress nominee, and previous Oscar winner, says the diamond and alligator handbag was stolen from her hotel room the day before the awards' ceremony.

But according to US reports, the theft has left to bitchy rumours in fashion circles.

The one-of-a-kind bag was intended for her red carpet appearance by Palm Beach designer Lana Marks.

Reportedly, friends of the actress say Giorgio Armani — a friend of Blanchett's — pressured her to carry one of his bags because he had designed her dress.

Columnist Ben Widdicombe said: "So some find it mighty suspicious that the Marks bag suddenly went missing from the closet in her suite at the Four Seasons, 'solving' the problem."

Blanchett's spokesperson had no comment.

Wally Lewis makes return to the footy field

2007-03-02T09:57:00.000+08:00

A 5cm by 3cm piece of the King's brain might be in the hospital waste bin, but the rest of Wally Lewis is back.

Sporting a scar from brain surgery which he underwent less than two weeks ago, Wally Lewis reportedly made a shock appearance at a Storm training session in Melbourne yesterday.

The 47-year-old former Australian captain surprised the team by strutting onto the football field, still wearing his hospital wristband, The Daily Telegraph reports.

Lewis slipped into a jersey and chatted with Storm's Queensland State of Origin representatives: Cameron Smith, Dallas Johnson, Greg Inglis, Billy Slater, Mick Crocker and Brisbane product Cooper Cronk.

"Wally was a hero of mine growing up, and it was great to see him back up and about," Cronk said.

Yesterday was the first time Lewis had been sighted out and about since the February 21 operation, which was designed to control his epilepsy.

Lewis went public with his condition last year after he had two on-air seizures in as many weeks while reading Nine's local sports news.

He will remain in Melbourne for several days before returning to Queensland with wife Jacqui.

It could be up to 12 months before doctors know if the operation, during which surgeons removed a piece of a 5cm by 3cm piece of his brain, has been a complete success.

- Ninemsn

Naomi Watts Boyfriend Confirms Pregnancy

2007-03-01T09:50:00.000+08:00

Talk show host Conan O'Brien let the stork out of the bag Monday night — by congratulating Liev Schreiber for expecting a baby with Naomi Watts. "Yes, I'm going to be a dad," Schreiber said in response to the announcement by the Late Night host. "Very exciting."

Before that, the couple had been officially mum on the subject. However, a publicist for the Escada fashion house, which designed Watts's Oscar gown, revealed the news Sunday in a press release. It read, in part, "The ESCADA gown set off her most precious new asset — the baby she is expecting with longtime boyfriend Liev Schreiber."
Schreiber jokingly told O'Brien that he "gave grief" to Watts — whom he described as "normally a wallflower" — for her suddenly being so sociable and going to the Oscars. (Schreiber, meanwhile was back on the East Coast during Oscar night, as he is starring in the Broadway revival of Talk Radio). "And she said, 'No, no — it's a very auspicious thing that our embryo is going to be at the Oscars,'" said Schreiber.

When it comes to selecting a name for the child, "I'm trying to stay out of it all," he adds. "I'm trying not to make any decisions, [because] everything that I try to do in service of her or the coming baby is wrong. So I really don't even go to my house much anymore." One thing for sure, however: The baby will not be named Liev. "It's an awful name," said Schreiber. "It's probably the most oft-mispronounced name in showbiz."

Rise of the ABC 'it' Girl

2007-03-01T09:38:00.000+08:00

SPICKS And Specks has built up a loyal following, now if only they'd recognise captain Myf Warhurst. She's the ABC's accidental "it girl". Down-to-earth presenter Myf Warhurst can be seen on Spicks And Specks, is a regular on Saturday morning show JTV and co-hosts Triple J's breakfast show. Warhurst is a star on the rise, even if the general public hasn't quite come to terms with who she is.

"People just look at you like they know you, but they don't know where they know you from," Warhurst says of being noticed on the street. "I think people have been disappointed when they meet me. It's like, 'You don't look anything like the girl on the telly'. And I'm like, 'C'mon'," she says in an exasperated voice. It's the success of Spicks And Specks which has made Warhurst the reluctant star. Now in its third year, the music trivia show, which is hosted by comedian Adam Hills and features Alan Brough as Warhurst's opposing team captain, remains music to the ears of viewers. Last year, it saw off a music quiz show imitator in Seven's Sunday night disaster, You May Be Right, hosted by catty Dancing With The Stars judge Todd McKenney.

This year, Spicks And Specks does battle in its own timeslot with Heroes and House, two of the biggest shows in the world. That it managed to attract one million viewers in its debut episode was a major achievement. "We were rapt," Warhurst says. "We didn't know how we were going to go, but we've gradually built up an audience and it's proved they're pretty loyal." From what Warhurst can tell from the audience which turns up to the taping of episodes at the ABC's Melbourne studio in Elsternwick, and from the general feedback the show gets, there is a healthy cross-range of regular ABC watchers, music fans and families. And unlike its competitors on rival networks, Spicks is very interactive.

"They (viewers) love it. They can yell answers at the telly. We make it very easy to yell at the telly, particularly me." Warhurst says she has mental blanks on set. And she still has nightmares over the night she failed to recognise Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit, a rock song from the '90s which many identify for its distinctive opening riff. "I had the lights and cameras on me, there was all this pressure and I just sat there and went, 'I've got nothing,' and it was absolutely humiliating," she says. "I don't go home and cry like I used to."

Billy Thorpe Service to be Held on Sunday

2007-02-28T14:30:00.000+08:00

A public service will be held in Sydney on Sunday to honour rock legend Billy Thorpe, who has died of a heart attack. Thorpe, 60, died in Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital about 2.30am (AEDT) on Wednesday, with his family at his side. His long-time friend and manager Michael Chugg says a public service will be held in Sydney on Sunday afternoon, March 4.

Australia's music industry is mourning Thorpe's death, with peers describing him as a global phenomenon and a generous bloke. The 60-year-old awoke with chest pains just after midnight (AEDT) on Wednesday at his Darling Point home in Sydney's east.

"Shortly after that he had a massive heart attack, the paramedics were called to the house, they worked very hard in hospital," Mr Chugg told Channel Nine, choking back his tears.
His band, Billy Thorpe and The Aztecs, became a rock sensation in the late '60s and early '70s with hits including, Most People I Know (Think That I'm Crazy). Chugg said Thorpe's family had been "blown away" by the public response to his death, including phone calls from some of the world's greatest acts shocked by Thorpe's death.

"He was a very loving, giving person who cared about everybody and always delivered 105 per cent in everything he did," Chugg told AAP. "It's obvious from what's happening now, just how shocked the whole country is and the messages and phone calls coming in from overseas is unbelievable."Chugg, who described his mate as a "global phenomenon", said Thorpe was the kind of bloke "who gave everything to everybody".

Music historian and journalist Glenn Baker said Thorpe defined the Australian pub rock scene and was a breed apart from the rest of '60s rock bands. "After he was a teen idol he went to Melbourne for a few years ... he completely re-orientated himself and then turned Australian rock on its ear with a thunderous, pulverising music," Baker told ABC Radio.

Fellow '60s rock star and friend Normie Rowe remembers Thorpe's unique style and his energy to inspire other musicians through the decades. Rowe said Thorpe was the driving force behind the music documentary Long Way To The Top in 2002.

"It certainly inspired me to get my act together and get back into it," Rowe also told ABC Radio.
Legendary '50s band Col Joye and the Joyboys preceded The Aztecs but frontman Joye became mates with Thorpe and remembered his "cacophony of sound". "He had the first 1,000-watt amplifier I ever saw," Joye told Macquarie Radio. "When he started to play all of the needles on our console ran away and hid."

Singer/songwriter and keyboard player Brain Cadd, who performed with Thorpe, said his resilience in the music industry came from his commitment to rock and roll and his diversity as a performer. Federal opposition MP and former Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett said Thorpe would be missed by his family and friends in the music industry.
"The thing about Thorpie and the Aztecs ... was that they were loud and proud and very Aussie and when they played at Sunbury (music festival) they got up as a bunch of Aussie blokes and just really did it full frontal," he told the Nine Network.

Prime Minister John Howard praised Thorpe for his valuable contribution to Australian rock music. "It was a huge loss because he was a very distinctive figure in rock," Mr Howard told Sky News. Mr Howard said Billy Thorpe was very capable guitarist and the character of his music would be remembered as "overpowering ear-splitting volume and sound".

Olivia & Daughter Chloe's Brave Battle

2007-02-28T12:59:00.000+08:00

In her brief 21 years, Olivia Newton-John's daughter Chloe Lattanzi has endured more heartache than most people experience in a lifetime.

As a child she watched helplessly while her mother fought breast cancer, followed a year later by her parents' divorce. Switching between schools, Chloe had occasional bouts of depression that eventually led to an eating disorder. Her slow recovery process received a major blow when her mother's long time boyfriend Patrick McDermott mysteriously disappeared off a boat 18 months ago, never to be seen again.

Putting all her woes behind her, today Chloe has emerged strong and poised, excited to finally debut her album Lonely Nights In Paradise.

- Woman's Day

Rock Legend Billy Thorpe Dies

2007-02-28T08:37:00.000+08:00

Australian rock legend Billy Thorpe has died after suffering a major heart attack, a spokesman for Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital said this morning. He was brought into hosptial around 2am this morning. Ambulance staff tried to revive him on the way to hospital.

"He woke at 1am feeling terrible. Shortly after that he had a massive heart attack, the paramedics were called to the house, they worked very hard in hospital," Thorpe's manager Michael Chugg told the Nine Network. "In the next 24 hours, the family will make a statement with details of funeral services and everything."

An obviously distraught Chugg, said he was devastated by Thorpe's death. He said Thorpe had just finished recording a new album and had just finished an acoustic tour. "His tour manager Norm Sweeney told me that yesterday that everybody around him was blown away by how happy he was and how great the future was looking and for this to happen is just a terrible tragedy." Former Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett told the Today Show Thorpe's death was a "terrible, terrible loss".

"He had this vitality and dynamism and he was an incredible singer," Garrett said. "When he and his band played at Sunbury they really played loud and proud . . . he was a very fine artist."
Close friend Glenn Shorrock said Thorpe's death had taken him by surprise, because he hadn't mentioned any heart problems.
"I've got other friends who are dealing with it [their health], but Billy wasn't one of them. He was uncompromising with his music and his life," Shorrock said. "He was a wonderful man."

Thorpe was born in England but emigrated with his family to Brisbane in the 1950s.
He moved to Sydney in 1963 and recorded his first song the next year with his band Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs. They went on to perform at sellout venues across Australia and had a string of hits in the 60s and 70s, including Most People I Know.

His music career spanned five decades and he also wrote two autobiographies.
He is survived by his wife Lynne, and daughters Rusty and Lauren.

Aussie Rockers Welcome Return of Genre

2007-02-23T09:50:00.000+08:00

Eskimo Joe, Wolfmother, The Living End and Something For Kate are among the growing number of local bands flying the rocker banner.

In Sydney for the sixth annual ARIA Number One Chart Awards, Something For Kate frontman Paul Dempsey said he was happy music lovers were enjoying good old-fashioned rock again. "It was a big year for rock (last year). There seems to be a lot more rock out there which is great," he said.

Eskimo Joe frontman Kavyen Temperley agreed with Dempsey and said the shift was evident everywhere. "I was walking around the shops the other day and rock music was playing out of every store, it's great," Temperley said. "Pop used to be playing. Now it's rock."

The two bands, along with 15 Australian solo artists and groups received awards on Thursday, recognising their record sales. The winners racked up 18 separate entries at number one positions on the Motorola ARIA charts for albums, singles and DVDs over the past 13 months. The Australian Idol phenomenon showed no signs of fading with past winners Damien Leith and Kate DeAraugo, plus finalist Lee Harding all producing hits.

Irish crooner Leith said he did not expect his debut single The Night Of My Life to go number one. "No I didn't (expect it to go to number one) ... I didn't have that idea in my head," the 31-year-old said. "I took Idol with the whole 'Will I make it through, maybe I won't make it through this week' and I looked at the number one in the same way. I didn't want to get my hopes up to get knocked down."

Australian performers Kylie Minogue and John Farnham, as well as the recently re-formed Crowded House, also won awards for their concert DVDs. Dance outfit TV Rock's single Flaunt It! parked itself the longest on the charts, staying for five weeks. Country singer Kasey Chambers, band Human Nature, 12th Man star Billy Birmingham, Youth Group and The Living End also won awards. Melbourne hip-hop trio the Hilltop Hoods received two ARIA awards last October and added another gong - for their album The Hard Road.

"You never expect an ARIA or a number one, that's not what we have been about, but it's great when you get one," said Dan Smith aka DJ Pressure, who admitted their next step was to be successful abroad. "Definitely we are making plans to get inroads into the overseas market ... we are looking forward to the challenge of it."

The ARIA Number One Chart Awards differ from the annual ARIA music awards in that they are based solely on retail sales between December 2005 and December 2006.

Shelf Stacker Helps Kylie

2007-02-21T07:55:00.000+08:00

AUSTRALIAN pop princess Kylie Minogue is getting help on her new album from a one-time supermarket shelf stacker.

Minogue has drafted in Scots DJ Calvin Harris to bring his particular sound to her next record.

Harris, 23, was discovered after building up a cult following on Internet site MySpace.

Now the DJ who previously worked at retail chain Marks and Spencer has been writing lyrics and music for the Aussie singer.

It is understood Harris, from Dumfries, had been sending demos to record companies for years in the hope of getting noticed.

He had virtually given up on getting a big break when he turned to the web.

But his tunes caught the attention of a top producer, who handed his details on to the Spinning Around star.

A spokesman for Minogue said: "She has been working on some tracks with Calvin. Kylie heard stuff he'd done and liked it. Things are going well."

Harris has signed to Sony BMG and his debut single, Acceptable In The 80s, is being released next month.

He is then due to support dance act Faithless on their UK tour.

Press Association

Melbourne's Blaze of Glory

2007-02-21T07:51:00.000+08:00

SCENES of Melbourne are lighting up cinemas around the world as Ghost Rider becomes an international hit.

The made-in-Melbourne comic book adaptation made it to No. 1 in 21 of the 24 countries where it opened last Thursday.

It led in the US, where it made $56.4 million last weekend, according to early studio estimates.

The Nicolas Cage film is also No. 1 in Australia, making $2,474,478 last weekend and helping the box office to a 34 per cent rise on the previous weekend's takings.

It also holds the top spot in Russia, Mexico and Spain.

The film - co-starring Peter Fonda and Eva Mendes - was shot last year, with Telstra Dome, the Southgate footbridge, Melbourne General Cemetery and the plains outside Yanakie all getting their moment in the spotlight.

Ghost Rider held off strong competition from the Drew Barrymore/Hugh Grant romantic comedy Music and Lyrics in Australia, and beat Eddie Murphy's latest comedy, Norbit, in the US.

Herald Sun

Perth Director's Take on Oscar

2007-02-21T07:46:00.000+08:00

PERTH'S own Oscar nominee has queued with Eddie Murphy, had lunch with Peter O'Toole and got his tongue-twisted over Spanish language films.

It’s all part of a mad month in Hollywood that short film Oscar nominee Peter Templeman is recording in his blog for the WA Film and Television Institute.

Templeman and producer Stuart Parkyn have been nominated for an Academy Award in the Live Action Short Film category for their short film The Saviour. Written and directed by Templeman, the film tells the story of Malcolm, a Mormon evangelist, who falls in love with a married woman and uses his bible in a very practical way to bring her to conversion.

On his blog, Templeman displays the wit and insight that have won his four short films (The Saviour, Splintered, Milkmen and Gifted Thumbs) 37 awards at various film festivals around the world.

Templeman on meeting Peter O’Toole: “When Mr O’Toole sat down next to me, it wasn’t that I didn’t know who he was. I was absolutely certain without any doubt that he was ‘Someone’. That was obvious. But it was years since I’d seen Lawrence of Arabia... Thankfully by the time we had eaten, and had each received our individual certificates, I knew both his name and that he was excellent company, apart from the fact that he kept drinking my water. I let him.”

And a towering miscommunication: “The guy on my left was Guillermo DelTorro. He’s a pretty famous South American director so I told him it was an honour to meet him and that I loved his film. He said thanks and that he didn't think it had been released in Australia yet. I said “Sure it is, I saw it last week. Tell me, why do they keep pronouncing it 'Babble' over here? Isn't it pronounced 'Baybel'? He looked at me plainly, and said "No it's pronounced Pan's Labyrinth."

Chemical at Heart of Ice Hell

2007-02-21T07:38:00.000+08:00

THE lead singer of chart-topping rock band Grinspoon has become the first Australian celebrity to succumb to the evil of ice.

Frontman Phil Jamieson is undergoing treatment for addiction to the insidious drug as the ice epidemic continues to claim thousands of victims from all walks of life.

Jamieson was last week admitted to Odyssey House's detox unit at Ingleburn, in Sydney's southwest.

The singer/songwriter left the centre yesterday to complete a four to six-week rehabilitation program at a private clinic.

His wife, Julie Fitzgerald, is expecting their second child in four weeks.

The frontman for the ARIA award-winning band admitted himself for treatment after an intervention by his wife and family, who had become concerned about his erratic behaviour.

While the singer has a reputation for embracing the rock'n'roll lifestyle, those close to him said yesterday they could barely recognise him when he was on the addictive drug.

The songwriter has also penned several songs about drugs - including the band's breakthrough hit Chemical Heart - and the band drew their name from Harvard Medical School professor and marijuana supporter, Dr Lester Grinspoon.

Grinspoon manager Gregg Donovan yesterday issued a statement on behalf of the band members and Jamieson's family.

"Grinspoon frontman Phil Jamieson has voluntarily admitted himself to rehab in relation to substance abuse issues,'' Donovan stated.

"Grinspoon will be releasing their fifth studio album (Alibis And Other Lies) later this year. The band has spent the last few months in the studio recording it and all are very excited by what has come out of these sessions.

"Everybody in the Grinspoon camp and his family are supportive of Phil's movements in getting himself into rehab, and can't wait to have him back on board.''

A source told The Saturday Daily Telegraph Jamieson had kept to himself while undergoing a medicated withdrawal treatment at Odyssey House.

"He came in low key,'' the insider said.

"He's looked a lot better but he is still recognisable. One resident recognised him but was told by staff to keep quiet. He just keeps to himself.''

Oddysey House is dealing with an "ice epidemic''.

"We are getting hundreds of people coming through. We've got 19-year-olds in here who can't even say their own names,'' the insider said.

A recent report by the Australian National Council on Drugs found 1.5 million Australians had tried methamphetamines - including speed and ice.

Daily Telegraph

Kidman and Watts to film again

2007-02-21T07:28:00.000+08:00

NICOLE Kidman and Naomi Watts are planning to immortalise their best friendship on film, with the girls teaming up to star in Hollywood thriller Need.

Nip/Tuck creator Ryan Murphy is "firming plans'' to direct the drama which is set to pit the best buddies against each other when they are cast as arch-enemies.

The two North Shore-schooled actresses - friends since their early days growing up in Sydney - have reportedly been searching for a project to join together on, and apparently Need fits their needs.

According to Tinsel Town bible Variety, Watts will be cast as a psychiatrist and Kidman as her off-the-wall, husband-stealing patient in the sexy thriller.

Some US reports are labelling Need as being Kidman and Watts' first shared celluloid project, but we know better - who can forget the pair as prissy private schoolgirls in the 1990 homegrown drama Flirting?

While they are in talks with producers, the Aussiewood duo are yet to sign on the dotted line for Need - both stars have important commitments looming ahead of the shooting start date at the end of the year.

Kidman is currently wrapping The Invasion before returning to Oz for Baz Luhrmann's outback epic Australia.

Naomi Watts' upcoming projects include a much talked-about re-make of The Birds but her biggest role to date - motherhood - will soon take precedence over any Hollywood flick.

Friends recently confirmed she was in the second trimester of her pregnancy, with partner Liev Schreiber reportedly thrilled by the news.

Customs Raids Sylvester Stallone's Hotel Room

2007-02-20T07:48:00.000+08:00

Customs officials raided the hotel room of US movie star Sylvester Stallone on Monday day as members of his entourage were seen throwing items out of the window, it has been reported. The Daily Telegraph Online website reports the Rocky star's private jet was also searched, delaying Stallone's departure from Australia by three hours on Monday night.

The actor and his party were stopped at Sydney airport by Australian Customs Service officers on his arrival on Friday night. They were delayed for about two hours after routine X-rays of their luggage revealed several prohibited items. Customs would not confirm the nature of the items, but it is believed banned body building drugs could be among them.

The website reports the investigation was stepped up after a visit to Stallone's Sydney hotel room revealed further evidence relating to the investigation over the importation of illegal substances. A senior Customs source told the Daily Telegraph the investigation was fast-tracked after occupants of Stallone's room at the Park Hyatt Hotel were seen throwing items out of the window.

Customs officials had visited the Hollywood star to issue him with a summons to answer charges on the prohibited substances, which would have required a court appearance by him or his legal representative at a later date, the website said. A Customs spokesman said investigations were ongoing and they were aware that Stallone had left the country as planned on Monday evening.

When quizzed about the incident at the Sydney premiere of his latest film, Rocky Balboa, on Saturday night, the 60-year-old laughed it off.

"That was just a misunderstanding," Stallone said. "Customs is doing a great job. I just didn't understand some of the rules here."

When asked on the red carpet what was in his luggage, he joked, "My wife".

Will Sydney Get Snoop Dogg?

2007-02-19T09:26:00.000+08:00

In town to play the Melbourne and Gold Coast Good Vibrations festivals, the dogfather of hip hop Snoop Dogg has been spotted out-and-about in Sydney, taking time to visit Bondi Beach and play a round of cricket.

Although organisers issued a press release earlier this month stating Snoop would not be appearing at the Sydney leg of the festival, an empty spot on the official Good Vibrations online timetable - and the fact Snoop and his entourage were spotted leaving Sydney's Sony BMG office as recently as this afternoon - leaves all those lucky enough to have secured a ticket to tomorrow's event hopeful that Snoop D.O. Double G will indeed be droppin' by.

Ledger and Harper in Tune with New Label

2007-02-16T10:26:00.000+08:00

Heath Ledger has teamed up with singer/songwriter Ben Harper to start new music label Masses Music Co. Ledger unveiled the label's first act, Australian teen Grace Woodroofe at the February 9 opening of Los Angeles lounge Edison.

A source tells American publication Us Weekly the Aussie actor personally signed Woodroofe to his new label, after he "fell in love with" her voice. Ledger is taking a hands-on approach with his new signing, and even shot her new music video. No doubt Harper will have a valuable input.

Ledger is currently in Los Angeles but will soon start work on the Batman sequel The Dark Knight with Christian Bale and Michael Caine — Ledger is set for the role of the Joker.

Last month The New York Post reported that he and Michelle Williams had married in a secret ceremony after the actor was spotted "wearing a wedding band on his ring finger". The couple met in 2004 on the set of Brokeback Mountain and have a 15-month-old daughter, Matilda. (whose godfather is sexy single Jake Gyllenhaal).

Meanwhile, Ledger's new label buddy, Ben Harper, toured Australia last year to support his album Both Sides of the Gun and will be back in April with his band the Innocent Criminals to headline the East Coast Blues and Roots Festival (April 5-9). "I travel a lot and very few places are like Byron Bay. The people, the clean air, the culture, the ease of life. It's tops. I can't wait to get back there."

The Grammy Award-winning artist hopes to make the hippy town a future home for his wife Hollywood actor Laura Dern, and their two children, son Ellery, five, and daughter Jaya, two. No doubt the Ledgers will be looking for a place there too.

Crowe embraced indie role, says Polson

2007-02-16T08:40:00.000+08:00

Australian actor/director John Polson was apprehensive when he sent his latest film script to Oscar winner Russell Crowe. Polson, who starred alongside Crowe in Blood Oath in 1990 and The Sum Of Us in 1994, wanted Crowe for a supporting role in the independent film Tenderness. He says while the two have remained friends he was unsure if Crowe would work on the film.

"From what I can tell it's his first supporting part for a very long time and his first independent film for a long time too, so it was a long shot," said the 41-year-old who has arrived in Sydney from his base in New York. "I think he responded to the script. It's a great part and he is incredible in the film."

In Tenderness Crowe, 42, portrays a detective who works to determine whether a violent teen, played by little known American actor Jon Foster, 22, murdered his family. Polson said the young cast members learned a lot from veteran Crowe.

"It was great to see him (Crowe) working with these young actors and being incredibly supportive," said Polson, whose directorial credits include Siam Sunset, Swimfan and the 2005 horror flick Hide and Seek starring Robert De Niro.

Filmed on a $US10 million ($A12.91 million) budget, Tenderness is due for release in October this year.

"He (Crowe) was a bit of a mentor to them. I am looking forward to it coming out, it's exciting."

While Polson's life in the spotlight began in acting, that side of showbiz has taken a backseat while the Sony Tropfest creator focuses on directing and writing. Polson is back in Australia ahead of the 2007 Tropfest winner announcement live from Sydney's Domain on Sunday.

"We had a lot of well-known filmmakers and some well-known actors, but a lot of the times, to be perfectly frank, they just don't get through," Polson admitted. "It's certainly not reverse discrimination, the judges are pretty adamant about what they are looking for and unfortunately being famous just isn't enough."

Sydney to host a Climate Change Concert

2007-02-16T07:20:00.000+08:00

Environmental activists led by former US Vice President Al Gore have announced plans for a worldwide string of pop concerts in July. These will feature Sheryl Crow, Red Hot Chili Peppers and scores of others to mobilise action to stop global warming.

The Live Earth concerts on July 7 will take place in Sydney, Shanghai, Johannesburg, London and cities to be decided in Brazil, Japan and the United States. The shows will feature more than 100 of the world's top musical acts, organisers said.

In addition to Crow and the Chili Peppers, US artists who have signed up include Black Eyed Peas, Bon Jovi, Kelly Clarkson, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw and rapper Snoop Dogg. Organisers of the concerts and the new campaign Save Our Selves (SOS) hope to reach a global audience of some two billion people through concert attendance, radio, television and internet broadcasts.

"In order to solve the climate crisis, we have to reach billions of people," Gore said. "We are launching SOS and Live Earth to begin a process of communication that will mobilise people all over the world to take action. "The climate crisis will only be stopped by an unprecedented and sustained global movement. "We hope to jump-start that movement right here, right now, and take it to a new level on July 7, 2007," Gore said.

Gore, who lost his bid for US president in 2000, has since become one of the most visible activists on global warming. His An Inconvenient Truth documentary has been nominated for an Oscar at the February 25 Academy Awards. The Live Earth concerts follow the model of the 1985 Live Aid and 2005 Live8 international concerts organised by Irish rock star Bob Geldof.

"We are moving from what Al has done for thousands and the movie for millions, we will put together two billion sets of eyeballs on a global basis," Wall said at a news conference. Wall said each concert will last from four to eight hours and at any given time in the 24-hour period two or three shows will be running simultaneously. The line-ups also will include local talent to appeal to the regional audiences.

Crowe joins world American Chopper craze

2007-02-15T11:53:00.000+08:00

Oscar winner and motorcycle enthusiast Russell Crowe will follow in the footsteps of fellow actors Will Smith and Bill Murray when he leathers up to work with the stars of US reality TV series, American Chopper.

The world-famous custom bike-building family of Paul Senior, Paulie and Mikey Teutul, are in Australia to film three episodes of their hit show. The trio will spend two weeks travelling across Australia to gather inspiration for an Australian-themed bike, which will eventually be sold at a charity auction. Crowe and the Teutuls will spend time at Crowe's farm at Nana Glen, Coffs Harbour, brainstorming ideas for the feature bike.

"It's going to be cool to hang out with Russell, I am definitely a fan ... I do like his movies," 32-year-old Paulie told AAP. "He is probably your (Australia's) biggest celebrity, so to be able to hang out with him and appreciate what he does, because it turns out he enjoys our show as well, it's a mutual thing. "We will go out, have dinner with him and kind of shoot the breeze. It will be great to get his input."

Broadcast on the Discovery Channel, American Chopper chronicles the raw drama of the Teutul family. Each episode follows the trio through heated arguments and creative setbacks as they battle mounting deadlines to design and produce their motorcycles. More than 300 million households worldwide tune into the weekly episodes, which are shown in over 160 countries.

Jetlagged after a 30-hour flight from the US, the Teutuls held a press conference in Sydney on Thursday to promote their visit. As well as filming their regular series a cartoon based on American Chopper is in the works. The children's show will broadcast on a Saturday mornings in the US.

"We will have a cartoon in the States, we have just started working on it," Paulie said. "It's really good ... because we do have so many kids that are fans. We can give them something they can relate to even more."

Their two-week touring blitz will also include a live event in Sydney on February 24. Already 10,000 tickets have been sold for the event, which will feature bike-building demonstrations, a question and answer session and a trade show.

Yanks to get American-style Kath and Kim

2007-02-15T09:51:00.000+08:00

Their names are Kath and Kim, but they'll speak with American accents.

They don't live in Fountain Lakes, but their plain-brick abode will sit in the urban sprawl of Phoenix, Arizona, the fastest growing city in the US.

Instead of Footy, Franks and Tiny Teddies, Kim scoffs down Cheetos and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

Love or hate the idea, US TV network NBC is moving ahead with its plan to make an American version of Australia's favourite sitcom, Kath and Kim.

The pilot episode is set to be shot in mid-July and is pencilled in to be on the air in the US in late 2007 or 2008.

March is Tinseltown's crazy pilot season, where the major TV production houses churn out dozens of pilots in the hope the major American networks - NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox and HBO - will pick them up.

Silverman says NBC realises how important it is to cast the perfect American actresses to play Kath and Kim.

He said the pressure was on because Jane Turner and Gina Riley played the characters so well in Australia.

Turner and Riley will be executive producers of the US show, but will not be the stars.

"It's a big challenge because the original is so good," said Silverman, explaining the decision to push the pilot shoot back to mid-July.

"We want to take our time and work outside of the pilot frenzy. "Right now, there's just so many shows casting and hiring so we talked with the network and we agreed that we would shoot it in the (US) summer so we can take our time to get the best cast possible. "Clearly, so much of it has to be dependent on those two women."

Silverman and NBC are aiming high, with some of America's top female comedic actresses to be pursued. The other sensitive issue is how to repackage the distinct Australian humour and slang of Kath and Kim to suit the American audience. South Park screenwriter Nancy Pimental, who also wrote the 2002 romantic comedy, The Sweetest Thing, starring Cameron Diaz, was recruited to pen the US Kath and Kim pilot script.

The US producers picked the sprawling desert city of Phoenix because its vast new residential areas will create the same working-class feel as the new estates of Melbourne's Fountain Lakes.
Some Aussie lines, such as "you big hunk of spunk" are expected to remain in the script, which should have American viewers scratching their heads. The lead characters in the American version will be similar to the Australian sitcom, although there is some tinkering.

Lara and Michael — will their love last?

2007-02-15T09:15:00.000+08:00

She's been implicated in the break-up of one sports star's marriage, but Lara Bingle came out of hiding for new beau Michael Clarke.

All eyes were on a clearly nervous Lara as she stuck tight to her new love, cricketer Michael Clarke, during their first official appearance as a couple at the Allan Border Medal award night in Melbourne.

"They're like two teenagers in love for the first time," said one guest.

Lara and Michael let go of their inhibitions, showing their affection for each other on cricket's night of nights.

But will their love last?

Lily Fights with Australian Rock Band

2007-02-15T08:51:00.000+08:00

Lily Allen’s rarely out of the news, and she’s not afraid to voice her opinions on other bands, so another row won’t surprise anyone. Lily was playing at Australia’s Big Day Out Festival when she got into a backstage altercation with rockers Jet. ‘The drummer flicked a cigarette at me, so I threw a bottle at him,’ she hissed.

Writing on her blog, the outspoken singer revealed how she got into a drunken row with both bands during her recent appearances at the Big Day Out in Australia.

She wrote: "I wound Chris (Cester) the (Jet) drummer up the wrong way and he flicked a cigarette at me, I then threw a bottle at him which luckily missed and all hell broke loose, I have no recollection of the whole event.

According to Allen it was down to her new found friends Kasabian that she managed to get out of trouble.

She added: "The Kasabian boys were dragging me off him, saying: 'Stop it, Lily! You're being an idiot'. They're such a good influence on me."

The singer also admitted that she thinks she has no chance of winning at this year's Brit Awards, despite getting four nominations.

No Valentine for the Hoff from Aussies

2007-02-14T08:33:00.000+08:00

Entertainer David Hasselhoff has proved the least popular celebrity date this Valentine's Day, receiving no votes from 5,000 Australians polled in an online survey.

The survey, conducted by accommodation website Wotif.com asked people who they would most like to take on a romantic Valentine's Day getaway.

The top response was their partner, with other popular responses being Desperate Housewife Eva Longoria, tennis player Maria Sharapova and actors Johnny Depp and Daniel Craig.

But not one person chose the former Knight Rider and Baywatch star who is now a cult figure after a recent Hoffmania campaign in which email inboxes and television and radio shows were bombarded with jokes promoting "the Hoff".

He was even pipped by the Seven Network's Sunrise presenter David Koch, "The guy from (TV game show) Deal or No Deal" (Andrew O'Keefe), and "The guy on the train in the morning", who each received one per cent of the vote.

Are Divas Hitting Sour Note

2007-02-13T10:48:00.000+08:00

IDOL spin-off The Young Divas have pulled out of a tour with Westlife amid rumours they are on the verge of imploding.

The girl group had been booked as a warm-up act for the boy band's Oz tour but cited scheduling conflicts for withdrawing before the show hits Sydney this month.

Though industry rumours are rife that Ricki-Lee Coulter is set to walk out on the Divas and pursue a solo career amid clashing egos and infighting, manager David Champion denied there was a rift.

While he conceded her solo commitments was one of the reasons the Westlife gig was cancelled, he also claimed the girls' growing popularity meant they were now too "successful" to be a support act.

"Rikki-Lee will be out of the country - that's a factor," he told Confidential.

"(But) given The Young Divas have been so successful, instead of supporting Westlife they're big enough to headline their own tour, which they'll be doing later this year."

He said Coulter had already filmed the video clip for the Diva's next single and wouldn't be leaving the group any time soon, but couldn't confirm how long she'd be hanging around for.

"In pop, the long term is the next six months - it depends on how things go," he said.

"She's definitely doing the second album and the tour."

Meanwhile, fellow Idol product Anthony Callea has no concerns that he is too successful to support Westlife. Despite holding the record for the highest-selling single Down Under with The Prayer, the pint-size popper was more than happy to jump on the tour bus to replace the girls.

PETA wants Dame Edna for Campaign

2007-02-13T09:59:00.000+08:00

Celebrities Sir Paul McCartney, Pamela Anderson and Pink support animal welfare group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and now the group wants Australia's super-star housewife Dame Edna Everage.

In Australia to create awareness of the US-based group, PETA's vice-president Dan Mathews says flamboyant Everage, portrayed by comedian Barry Humphries, is their latest target.

While in Australia, Mathews hopes to lure Everage for a campaign entitled Fur Is A Drag - a runway parody of a fashion show, with drag queens wearing furs and accessories including traps and slogans.

Everage would act as commentator.

"PETA likes to do public events ... with a bit of irony and a bit of a sense of humour," said Mathews in Sydney.

"We have done these shows in New York and London, and it was such a sensation. The campaign is about shaping new incarnations and we would love to do a catwalk parody with Dame Edna making fun of the models. It would be perfect."

Mathews said the international star was yet to accept his offer and admitted that without the help of celebrities the non-profit organisation would flounder.

Australian personalities who have supported PETA policies include singers Missy Higgins, Jimmy Barnes, Natalie Imbruglia and her husband, Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns.

"One of the ways PETA has put things on the pop culture radar, especially for young consumers, is getting celebrities involved ... It's now central in the world we live in," Mathews said.

PETA created headlines in December when US rock star Pink withdraw her support for the group's campaign against sheep mulesing.

Mathews said he felt bad about criticism Pink received after appearing in a gory video condemning the trade.

"We are certainly sorry about the way she was targeted (by the Australian wool industry)," Mathews said.

"But she has not backed down ... she has not asked us to take the video down.. she believes in what we are doing."

In the video, Pink called on fans worldwide to boycott Australian wool products as she spoke out against mulesing - a practice in which farmers cut skin from around a sheep's tail to prevent potentially deadly fly strike.

She retracted her comments last month following a wool industry and political outcry in Australia, saying she was not told of plans to phase out mulesing by 2010.

"She never did a backflip, she just wasn't prepared, especially with her up-coming tour, to get behind a boycott of the entire Australian wool industry," Mathews said.

"Pink appreciates PETA because we are cutting edge, we don't look in the other direction, we jump up and down and do anything to get people's attention to cause enough pressure to stop it."

Ramsay Street Targets Hotties

2007-02-12T14:56:00.000+08:00

RAMSAY Street is set to sizzle this year with producers importing a male pin-up to the Neighbours lot - and another local teen Idol linked to the long-running show.

While Kylie Minogue may have helped to make the show a hit in Britain, it was her little sister Dannii who played her part in securing a mate this latest job.

English model Benjamin Hart, who starred in fashion campaigns for Dolce & Gabbana and on the popular British soap, Hollyoaks, will join the cast next month after his former Home & Away star friend introduced him to her Aussie agent.

"I've been to Australia a few times with Dannii and kept saying to her next time I am here I will definitely see an agent," Hart said.

"I was due to fly out that day to London, but on my way to the airport I went to see Jan Russ (Neighbours' casting boss) and within 10 minutes of leaving her office, they called and offered me the part," Hart said.

Meanwhile Australian Idol heart-throb Dean Geyer has also been mooted as a new soap stud.

Having seen his TV star rise on Channel 10's sing-off, he watched it fall when he missed out on the hosting gig on Video Hits last year.

While that job went to Nathan Sapsford, TV executives have been keen to find a place for the teen favourite

Kylie Minogue - Leave Olivier Alone

2007-02-12T14:19:00.000+08:00

Kylie Minogue has urged fans to ease up on her former actor lover Olivier Martinez, who has been labelled a love rat in the wake of the glamour couple's split. In a statement on her website, www.kylie.com the 39-year-old pop princess labelled as unfair the media treatment of their break-up announced last week."As for the treatment Olivier has received of late, I can only reiterate that he simply does not deserve the kind of harassment or vitriol to which he has been subjected," a note signed Love Kylie said.

Martinez and Minogue released a joint statement last week announcing they were no longer an item and hit out at accusations that Martinez had been unfaithful during their four-year relationship.

The Australian singer also praised Frenchman Martinez for the support he gave her after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in mid-2005. "He didn't hesitate in cancelling work and putting projects on hold so he could be with me. He's the most honourable man I have ever met," she said.

In the latest statement, she reiterates her feelings.
"I would ask of you, my fans, to show your support for both Olli and myself as a separation is never easy," she wrote.

Australian Idol Leith to Publish Novel

2007-02-12T09:28:00.000+08:00

Australian Idol winner Damien Leith is about to become a published author.

Harper Collins has announced a deal to publish the Irish crooner's debut fiction novel.

The signing comes after a year of communications between Leith and Harper Collins, the publisher said in a statement.

Fiction publisher Linda Funnel, who was introduced to Leith by a mutual friend, says she was impressed by his writing skills before he achieved fame as an Idol winner.

"I was first drawn to Damien's writing well before his Idol victory, so I know Damien first as a writer," she said.

"Damien contacted me back in 2005 and I read an early draft of his novel. I thought it had terrific potential - a really strong story - and gave him some feedback for rewrites.

"Then the whole Idol thing happened and I thought the novel would be on the back burner.

"So it's wonderful to have the chance to publish it now."

The currently untitled novel is an "inspiring story of courage and hope", Harper Collins said.

It is scheduled to go on sale in October.

Irish-born Leith became a minor celebrity after winning the 2006 series of Australian Idol.

He is currently performing shows for his number one album, The Winner's Journey.

Leith recently became an Australian citizen.

Wolfmother Triumph at Grammys

2007-02-12T09:19:00.000+08:00

Aussie hard-rock trio Wolfmother have beaten some giants of the international music scene to take a performance Grammy in LA.

The retro rockers won the Best Hard Rock performance for Woman, against competition such Nine Inch Nails, System of a Down, and Tool. Also expected to shine at the ceremony is fellow Australian Keith Urban, who has struggled out of drug addiction to begin performing again.

The Australian-raised country music superstar will join the likes of Justin Timberlake, Stevie Wonder, Beyonce Knowles, James Blunt and Sting inside the 20,000 seat Staples Centre indoor stadium in downtown Los Angeles.

Another Australian, 51-year-old guitar maestro Tommy Emmanuel, is up for a well deserved Grammy in the best country instrumental performance category.

The Muswellbrook-born Emmanuel, considered one of the world's great guitarists, was nominated for his medley, Gameshow Rag/Cannonball Rag.

Emmanuel was last nominated for a Grammy in 1998 when he teamed up with another guitar great, American Chet Atkins.

The world's media will turn the spotlight on Urban, who announced last month he had completed a three-month stint for alcohol abuse at the Betty Ford clinic in Palm Springs, California.

The 39-year-old, who was raised in the Queensland farming town of Caboolture, was nominated in the male country vocal performance category for his hit Once in a Lifetime.

Urban won the category last year, beating Willie Nelson and Toby Keith.

The competition will be just as tough, with Urban competing with Vince Gill and George Strait.

Urban has kept a busy schedule since completing rehab, with promotional events in Europe, the US and Australia to publicise his upcoming tours.

Toni Collette Tour Dates Announced

2007-02-12T08:05:00.000+08:00

CELEBRITY actor-turned-singer Toni Collette and her band The Finish will tour Australia this March.

After a brief sellout showcase tour in late 2006 taking in Sydney and Melbourne and culminating in a performance at the Homebake festival before 10,000 people, Toni Collette and The Finish have announced a national tour in March.

The band will play in South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland for the first time, kicking off on March 1st.

Media and audiences praised Collette for the band's first first performances last year. She says she felt more than comfortable on stage and "had an absolute ball".

The tour coincides with the release of the stunning Look Up, the second single from the band's independently released debut album Beautiful Awkward Pictures.

Beautiful Awkward Pictures was released on Hoola Hoop Records via MGM in October last year and has received positive reviews nationwide. Collette wrote all 11 tracks.

Augie March guitarist Glenn Richards, who plays on the album, is not able to tour this time around, and his place has been taken by Peter Fenton, (who fronted the band 'Crow') who is joined by David Galafassi (drums), Pete Farley (bass), David Lang (piano) and Amanda Brown on everything else.

Kylie Keen to Adopt a Baby

2007-02-12T07:28:00.000+08:00

KYLIE Minogue has asked Madonna for advice about adopting a child from Africa, according to a British newspaper.

The Daily Mail yesterday quoted an unnamed friend of heartbroken Minogue, who broke up with long-term boyfriend Olivier Martinez last week, saying the singer was keen to adopt.

"She has been contacting adoption agencies in Australia and in the UK as well, regardless of her not having a partner,'' the friend said.

"In the last few days she has even been talking to Madonna, asking her advice on adopting a child from abroad. They were talking about Malawi and the other African countries.''

Friends claim Minogue has been gorging on chocolate and attending extra yoga classes to help get over her split from Martinez.

The singer looked radiant when she attended the launch of her perfume at Harrods yesterday.

She told reporters that Martinez, 41, had been a faithful partner.

"None of the rumours about Olivier cheating are true. I don't believe any of it,'' she said.

"Olivier and I still care about each other and there's still a lot of love between us. I still speak to Olivier and you never know what will happen in the future.''

Keith turns Down a Drink with Nic

2007-02-12T07:24:00.000+08:00

NICOLE Kidman has hosted a party for some of her closest Australian celebrity friends, but there was no sign of her troubled husband Keith Urban.

The Oscar-winner put on an intimate cocktail party in Los Angeles on Friday night to celebrate the Oscar nomination of Australian director George Miller's animated comedy Happy Feet.

The country singing star was expected to be there and organisers yesterday could not explain his absence.

The couple are yet to appear at a public event together since Urban was released from a 90-day stint of rehab for alcoholism in January.

Urban last night appeared on US television in a pre-taped episode of Saturday Night Live and he is scheduled to attend the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles tonight, where he has been nominated for best male country vocal performance for his single Once In A Lifetime.

Kidman appeared relaxed and happy at the party, which was organised by cinema group Australians In Film.

Perth actor Melissa George was there, along with Kate Beahan, Josh Janowicz and Emilie de Ravin.

- Sunday Times

Anna Nicole stole the show in Australia

2007-02-09T07:29:00.000+08:00

American Anna Nicole Smith will be remembered in Australia for her outrageous appearance at the inaugural MTV Australia Video Music Awards in Sydney in 2005, when she bared her breasts on stage.

The former playmate and former stripper who loved to shock has died at the age of 39, collapsing in a Florida hotel room.

Smith's death comes just five months after her 20-year-old son, Daniel Smith, died in the Bahamas following the birth of her daughter.

The buxom blonde's appearance in Australia also made headlines.

Presenting an MTV award at Sydney's Luna Park in March 2005, the notorious widow pulled her dress down to her waist to reveal 32DD-size breasts with pink MTV stickers on her nipples.

Later, at a press call, Smith again exposed her breasts - this time without the MTV stickers.

If organisers were looking for an outrageous publicity stunt, they got it.

Smith's behaviour in Australia followed controversy at the 2004 American Music Awards, where she was escorted off stage after rubbing her chest with her hand and asking the audience if they liked her body.

Prior to her Australian performance, she asked reporters at a news conference to promote the awards: "Y'all want me to strip, just let me know."

Smith also caused a sensation at a party in Sydney, arriving with two camera crews to record her appearance for a documentary before taking a shine to Packer magazine advertising executive Cameron Hoy.

"It was pretty hot," said one eyewitness later. "She was trying to get his shirt off at one stage."

The couple left together, dining at a swish Sydney restaurant before Smith surfaced the next day, nursing a hangover but declaring she was impressed with Australian men.

Mr Hoy later resigned from Packer's ACP magazine company.

Smith, who was born Vickie Lynn Hogan and raised in the small Texas town of Mexia, grew up emulating screen legend Marilyn Monroe.

She met elderly oil billionaire J Howard Marshall while dancing at a Houston strip club and married him in 1994, when she was 26 and he 89.

Marshall died the following year and Smith spent much of the following decade battling members of his family over his estate. In May 2006 the US Supreme Court ruled that Smith could pursue her case in federal court.

Smith, who modelled Guess Jeans, was named Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Year in 1994 and had film roles that year in The Hudsucker Proxy and Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult.

She later starred in her own self-titled reality-style television show.

Cheerleaders unsettle Souths fans: Crowe

2007-02-09T07:13:00.000+08:00

Cheerleaders have been scrapped by the South Sydney Rabbitohs because it made their fans, including male supporters, uncomfortable, club co-owner and actor Russell Crowe says.

The NRL team made the decision to scrap the pom-poms this season and replace them with a drumming band for their home matches.

Crowe has told News Ltd newspapers the decision was about trying to make the games a positive experience for the crowd.

"It (cheerleaders) makes women uncomfortable and it makes blokes who take their son to the football also uncomfortable," he told News Ltd.

"But we are thankful for the time and effort the girls put in and some of them probably will be disappointed."

Crowe said he had a positive reaction from fans, particularly women and his own wife Danielle Spencer when they heard the news.

Wolfmother set to play at Australian GP

2007-02-09T07:07:00.000+08:00

The Australian Formula One Grand Prix is shaping up to be a showbiz bonanza, with Australian band Wolfmother taking centre stage at the event next month.

A bevy of popular bands is expected to play during the Grand Prix when it kicks off on March 15.

"Formula One fever is starting to take hold of this city," said Australian Grand Prix Corporation boss Tim Bamford.

"Our team has been working hard to make sure that this year's event will be bigger and better than ever before."

- National Nine News
Wolfmother, who have sold more than 400,000 copies of their self-titled debut album, will perform their hit singles including Woman and Joker and The Thief on March 17.

Joining Wolfmother is New Zealand band Evermore which will showcase hits Running and Light Surrounding You, following the main event on March 18.

Sydney dance maestros Sneaky Sound System will also cut a groovy beat when they perform popular dance tracks Pictures and I Love It for rev-heads at the Grand Prix's dance party space, Traction.

More star power is expected on the final day of racing when 26 celebrities get behind the wheel for the annual Celebrity Challenge.

So far, Getaway presenter and former Dancing on Ice contestant Jules Lund has signed up, along with radio duo and comedians Hamish Blake and Andy Lee.

Ian "Dicko" Dickson to return to Australian Idol in 2007

2007-02-08T13:52:00.000+08:00

His contract with Seven is about to expire and rumor has it that the once Idol judge turned host of My Restaurant Rules and Celebrity Survivor - not to mention contestant on Dancing with the Stars - is about to return to Network Ten for the fifth season of the Australian Idol.

Dicko's return to the Idol set, however, will mean that a fourth spot will need to be made on the judging panel as Kyle Sandilands will also be retained alongside Marcia Hines and Mark Holden.

Fresh Celebrity News

2007-02-08T13:20:00.000+08:00

Fallen action star Jean-Claude Van Damme has horrifed Kylie Minogue by publicly claiming they had an affair on the set of their 1994 movie Street Fighter. "I had a mini affair with Kylie Minogue," he boasts. "If you ever see her, say hello for me."

The revelation is said to have come as a shock to Kylie, who isn't a fan of the Belgian waffler. When asked in a 1995 interview whether it was true he is a 'pig', the singer replied," He has his ways. He does fancy himself as a ladies man".

But did Kylie fancy him? "Not enough! I tried to be polite. Being Australian, I just said, 'Oh, come on, Jean-Claude.' He has this thing about being the big man on the set. Whether its covering up for something, I don't know."

Wedding Ring of Truth

2007-02-08T13:07:00.000+08:00

Just how long can Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams go on denying they're hitched? The Actor flashed his wedding band - again - while walking baby Matilda in Brooklyn.

Kidman Photographer Case Adjourned

2007-02-08T10:27:00.000+08:00

The case involving a photographer charged with planting a listening device outside Hollywood star Nicole Kidman's Sydney mansion has been adjourned until next month.

Photographer Jamie Fawcett is accused of possessing a listening device outside Kidman's house in the Harbour-side suburb of Darling Point.

Security staff found the device covered in plastic wrap, submerged in water and hidden by foliage across the road from the Kidman's home, in January last year.

Fawcett was charged last October with its possession.

Neither Fawcett nor Kidman appeared in the Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday.

Fawcett's barrister Gehane Ghabrial asked Deputy Chief Magistrate Paul Cloran for a four-week adjournment to have the listening device independently examined.

"At this stage we need an independent assessment of the listening device," she said.

While the prosecution had provided its own assessment of the listening device, Ms Ghabrial said Fawcett's defence could not accept this "at face value".

The matter was adjourned to March 8 in the same court, when a hearing date would be set.

- The West Australian

Naomi Watts pregnant: reports

2007-02-08T08:34:00.000+08:00

Naomi Watts and boyfriend Liev Schreiber are reportedly expecting their first child.
The "Aussie" actress who was born in England became pregnant by accident, In Touch Weekly reports.

"They'll probably be married before the baby is born."
Watts and Liev, who are not — as far as we know — engaged, have been dating for almost two years. In Touch reported that Watts, 38, is beginning to look visibly pregnant as she enters her second trimester.

A friend of the couple said Watts will not be taking on any acting roles until after the baby is born. "She'll be such a great mom," the pal said.

Geiger Keeps Bases Covered

2007-02-07T11:02:00.000+08:00

AMERICAN singer Teddy Geiger is already making plans for the day his rising star starts falling.

The 18-year-old musician and songwriter is back in Australia to tour with his debut album Underage Thinking, released here last year.

Underage Thinking and the first single, For You I Will (Confidence), were well received in Australia and the album has reached number eight on the competitive US Billboard chart.

He knows achieving so much so young may leave him burned out, but says he is content as long as he is able to continue working in the music industry.

"I always want to work with music - even if the whole artist thing ends up fading out, I still want to write songs and produce," Geiger said in Sydney today.

"But I've been really grateful to have the opportunities that I have."

Geiger plays the piano, guitar, bass and drums on Underage Thinking, and wrote or co-wrote 11 of the 12 songs on the album.

But, he says, he has the most fun producing.

"The thing that attracted me to music was the whole production side," said Geiger who will co-produce his next album with famed producer Billy Mann.

"It's kind of like almost painting the picture and creating a whole atmosphere."

Tune overkill is also something Geiger will consider when producing his next offering.

"I realised I'm going to have to play this song like 600 times," he said.

"I'm definitely going to be more careful about what I put on the next album.

"There's stuff that I'm going to really want to be playing every single night."

While music is Geiger's primary passion, he also is making waves in the TV industry too, appearing in the US drama Love Monkey last year.

He hopes to mix and match the two creative outlets to broaden his industry knowledge.

"Justin Timberlake has been in some movies and he put out his latest album last year - he's definitely synergising very well," Geiger said.

"I don't think you have to choose, as long as you think about it and you plan it.

"But I want to make sure that if we do do something it works so that it's not going to take away from the music.

"The music definitely comes first."

Cate Blanchett is Old School

2007-02-07T10:52:00.000+08:00

Days after playing an alluring English art teacher, Cate Blanchett adopted a German accent to transform herself into an enigmatic Second World War prostitute in a performance some liken to Marlene Dietrich.

Such transition is not unusual for the Australian actor hailed for her work ethic, intellect and cool charm emblematic of leading figures of a Hollywood era long gone.

Film professionals say Blanchett, 37, who won a best supporting actress Academy Award for portraying Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator, has a long career ahead similar to some of Hollywood's greats.

She has three new roles touted as Oscar contenders: the already released Babel opposite Brad Pitt, The Good German co-starring George Clooney and Notes on a Scandal, in which she plays an art teacher opposite Judi Dench.

"She seems sort of other-worldly," says Steven Soderbergh, director of The Good German, noting Blanchett's short preparation time for the film shot in black and white in a tribute to 1940s Hollywood films including Casablanca.

"It seemed to appear just out of nowhere," Soderbergh said of her performance while in New York to promote the movie recently. "I have never seen anything like that."

Clooney told reporters she was "Spencer Tracy-like" for her ability to slip in and out of character on set.

And Variety said Blanchett "summons shades of Dietrich, to be sure."

Blanchett said, "I had to use my own resources and invent my own version, because what was the point of imitating Marlene Dietrich, she does it perfectly herself."

While Blanchett has yet to achieve the status of a Dietrich or Garbo, Soderbergh says her desire to play different characters will ensure a long reign in movies.

"We are eventually going to compare other people to her," Soderbergh says.

Blanchett says playing opposite Dench, 72, in Notes on a Scandal was a career highlight.

Looking at the endurance of the respected British actress, Blanchett said she would be satisfied "if I can have the diversity and length of her career and half of her talent," but viewed her own career choices as "erratic and random."

"I'd like to say I have a five-year plan but I am not that Stalin-esque," she said.

But just as Blanchett cemented a place opposite leading men such as Pitt and Clooney, she recently announced she will take over running the Sydney Theatre Company starting on a three-year basis with playwright husband Andrew Upton in 2008.

Blanchett doesn't care to explain the move to those obsessed with making big-budget Hollywood films.

"Popcorn films and big pay cheques are not necessarily things I have done," she said, and called the move her biggest opportunity so far.

"After the announcement people were talking about what some enormous sacrifice we were making," said Blanchett. "I feel galvanised by it."

After her recent theatre-directing debut with the company, she says will continue to make films through a clause in her contract that allows her to take a three month break per year.

The Melbourne-born mother of two says her return to Australia was a natural calling - "it is home" - after living in England where "whilst one can reference the culture, you are not culpable for it in the same way."

As for any Oscar buzz, Blanchett doesn't feel entitled to win nor look at her past performances.

"I inevitably just see the holes," she says. "I don't analyse it, I don't look backwards, I just move forwards."

Notes on a Scandal is set for Australian release on Feb 15. The Good German screens from March 8.

Portia de Rossi - Mother to Be!

2007-02-07T10:49:00.000+08:00

ELLEN DeGeneres and her partner Portia de Rossi want to have a baby, but cannot decide which of them will give birth to the child.

The chat show host and the former Arrested Development star have been together for two years and would like to become parents, but must first decide who will carry the baby.

Portia told W magazine: "We would like to have children some day. Ellen would carry."

Ellen replied: "That will never happen!"

Meanwhile, Ellen can't decide what to wear when she presents the Oscars because she has been inundated with outfits.

She said: "Everybody's sending me stuff. Gucci sent me this amazing package with all kinds of designs and different kinds of fabrics. They're making me something. Zac Posen sent me a gorgeous tuxedo. Viktor and Rolf is making me something."

Ellen recently revealed she does not like walking down the red carpet next to 34-year-old Portia as she feels "like Tom Cruise" because she is so much shorter than her girlfriend.

She said: "When we're together and she's in her heels, I always feel like Tom Cruise next to Nicole Kidman."

- News.com.au

India's Asha Bhosle wants second Brett Lee duet

2007-02-07T10:26:00.000+08:00

Legendary Bollywood singer Asha Bhosle wants to record a second duet with Australian pace bowler Brett Lee - perhaps when she visits Australia next month.

Lee scored a pop hit on the Indian music charts with his song, You're The One For Me, recorded with Bhosle during a cricket trip to the sub continent late last year.

In the song and video, Lee plays the part of a blond Westerner trying to win the heart of a Hindi-speaking young woman by singing and playing guitar. Bhosle translates for him and then teaches him to speak and sing Hindi himself.

The film track superstar says a reunion with Lee is on the cards next month when she pays her first visit to Australia in 20 years.

"Why not? The song is going extremely well," the 73-year-old told AAP in an interview, translated by her son Anand from their home in India.

"He is such a huge cricket star and you know how crazy we all are about cricket ... but not only that, he is a pop star here now."

Bhosle warned that Lee should expect a phone call from her soon.

"We have his telephone number and he said to give him a shout and he will try and catch up," she said.

"Brett is a really great guy. I really had fun with him and I look forward to doing that again."

Bhosle may be out of luck, however, as Lee is soon set to leave for the West Indies for cricket's World Cup. Australia's first warm-up match is on March 6.

Back in Australia, Bhosle will play with the Grammy-award winning Kronos Quartet for concerts at the Sydney Opera House on March 9, before playing at the WOMADelaide (World of Music and Dance) festival in Adelaide and wrapping her tour at the Melbourne Arts Centre on March 16.

With a career spanning six decades, Bhosle is considered one of the most versatile singers in the world, with her range including pop, traditional Indian classical music and folk.

She also has sung in more than 14 languages including Hindi, English, Russian and Malay.

In Australia Bhosle will showcase some of her classic hits including Take A Toke, You've Stolen My Heart and Lover Come To Me Now.

Bhosle said she hoped people would enjoy a more "subdued" tone to her Australian shows, which will be entirely different to her usual glitzy Bollywood extravaganzas.

"It's with the Kronos Quartet and they are classical musicians so the Bollywood show that I usually do with dancers and a big pop show won't happen this time," she said.

"It will be nice to concentrate on the music rather than all the razzamatazz. It will be more refined and subdued."

Record Sell-Out

2007-02-07T10:19:00.000+08:00

The Australian premiere of Rocky Balboa at Sydney's OpenAir Cinema has sold out in a record 27 minutes.

The 1,200 tickets to the film premiere on February 17 went on sale at 9am (AEDT) on Tuesday and sold out within half an hour.

The star of the Rocky films, Sylvester Stallone, will attend the premiere, to be held under the stars at Mrs Macquarie's Point.

Stallone wrote all the scripts and directed five of the six Rocky films including the latest one.

The first Rocky film was made over 30 years ago in 1976, and the long-awaited Rocky Balboa is the first Rocky film made since Rocky V in 1990.

The sixth instalment of the series follows a washed-up has-been Balboa running a restaurant and reliving old glories 30 years after his prime. He gets a second chance to prove himself in the ring by taking on the reigning heavyweight champion almost half his age.

Rocky Balboa opens nationally on February 22.

London Museum Devotes Show to Kylie

2007-02-07T10:10:00.000+08:00

Kylie Minogue made an exhibition of herself as one of Britain's most venerable museums staged the first show it has ever dedicated to a pop star.

The Australia pop diva's leopard-skin catsuits and pink-bejewelled corsets were draped across the halls of the Victoria and Albert Museum whose advance bookings record has been broken by the Kylie show.

"I was absolutely speechless," Minogue said after touring the exhibition which displays lavish dresses and outlandish hats from her nine tours.

"It is a very strange feeling, I am honoured and overwhelmed," she said after being given a private viewing before an opening night show which was more like a glitzy film premier than a museum launch.

For critics who asked if the exhibition qualified as art, the 38-year-old Minogue said: "Art is what you like or what you don't like."

The exhibition tops a tumultuous two years for Minogue, forced to abandon a world tour in 2005 after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

She underwent successful surgery in Melbourne in May 2005 and a course of chemotherapy in Paris where her former boyfriend, French actor Olivier Martinez has a home.

The couple announced last weekend that their four-year romance had ended, saying the split was "mutual and amicable".

Reporters in the line-up outside the museum were under strict instructions not to mention her private life and all she would say when asked about how she felt was "I'm here tonight ... It's all good."

Among the displays were the overalls she wore in 1988 as Charlene in the Australian soap opera Neighbours which first propelled her to stardom.

Also on display were the gold lame hot pants she sported in the video for her 2000 hit single Spinning Around.

Exhibitions chief Vicky Broackes paid tribute to the staying power of the Grammy-award winning singer, a pop chameleon who has constantly re-invented her image.

"She is the only star apart from Madonna to have had number one hits in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s," Broackes told Reuters.

Wearing a purple backless gown, Minogue posed for photographers on a freezing winter's night before signing autographs for fans and joining guests served champagne by waiters in cut-away T-shirts and feathered masks.

Minogue rang her mother in Australia to tell her about the exhibition "and she was in tears".

In a big statement displayed across the entrance to the exhibition, Kylie pays tribute to her parents who followed her around on tour, scooping up glittery outfits from the dressing room floor after performances.

"Were it not for my parents, I'm sure this collection would be the size of a suitcase rather than an exhibition space."

- Ninemsn

Keith Urban sues Keith Urban over site

2007-02-07T10:06:00.000+08:00

Australian country singer Keith Urban has filed a lawsuit against a US painter of the same name, claiming that the lesser known Keith Urban's website infringes trademark and cyber-squatting laws.

Singer Urban filed the suit in US District Court in Nashville, Tennessee, on Friday against the New Jersey painter who uses the website address www.keithurban.com to advertise oil paintings for sale.

The entertainer, who married Australian actor Nicole Kidman last year and who recently ended a stint in rehab for alcohol abuse, says in the lawsuit that the website is being used "in a manner likely to deceive the public into believing that the website has a connection to plaintiff that does not exist".

Urban's own website address is www.keithurban.net.

The singer, 39, wants the other website to be shut down and its domain name transferred to his ownership. He also seeks unspecified monetary damages.

The New Jersey painter could not be reached for comment.

Olivier Dumped Kylie by Phone

2007-02-05T07:52:00.000+08:00

Olivier Martinez dumped Kylie Minogue by phone just hours before stepping out in Los Angeles with a mystery woman, a British newspaper claimed.

News of the Australian singer's split from her boyfriend of four years emerged this weekend when the pair released a joint statement saying their decision to go their separate ways was mutual and amicable. The Sunday Mirror reported Martinez wept to his parents, Rosemarie and Robert, in France after calling Minogue, who is in Mexico, to end their relationship on Friday morning US time.

"We have been having a lot of rows. We have outgrown each other."
His mother was quoted as saying she and the actor's father were "devastated" by the news.
"It is terrible and we hoped they had a future together," she told the paper. "Olivier was dreadfully upset."

According to the Mirror, Martinez was spotted in LA just hours later with a mystery brunette.
They apparently spent three hours at actress Salma Hayek's mansion before Martinez returned to Hollywood's Chateau Marmont hotel. The woman was said to have gone to the same hotel a short time later. The night before, he was seen having dinner with Sarai Givati, the Israeli model he was photographed with in Paris in November. On Wednesday night, he reportedly met with Lost star Michelle Rodriguez, with whom he has been seen in LA recently.

An unnamed source told the paper it was as though Martinez had tried to provoke Minogue into dumping him "to avoid being labelled 'the cad who dumped Kylie after her cancer struggle'".
"Now, he has dumped her - down a telephone line," the source said. "He couldn't even do it face-to-face." The story conflicts with that of another British tabloid, the News of the World, which claimed it was Kylie who dumped Martinez.

Minogue, who has just completed her comeback tour after recovering from breast cancer, is due in Britain on Tuesday for the launch of an exhibition of costumes, accessories and photographs celebrating her career at London's Victoria and Albert Museum.

Delta in hospital with 'mystery illness'

2007-02-02T11:16:00.000+08:00

Delta Goodrem has reportedly been rushed to an Irish hospital with a mystery illness that may be appendicitis.

The Irish Independent reported that Goodrem, 22, was taken to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin on Sunday after she complained of stomach pains.

Goodrem's partner, former Westlife singer Brian McFadden, cancelled his flight to the couple's home in London after Goodrem became ill, the paper said.

Doctors were reportedly still unsure if a ruptured appendix was causing Goodrem's pain and planned to keep her in the hospital overnight.

The former Neighbours star had a long and public battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma and was forced to suspend her singing and acting career in 2003.

Her album Innocent Eyes cracked the top 10 in Japan's international music charts in November last year.

Farnham's Knickers Cause Upset

2007-02-02T08:01:00.000+08:00

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa thought it was shocking female fans threw knickers at John Farnham, but when he collected them as "some sort of trophy" the opera singer took it personally, a court has been told.

"It was something that was disrespectful, to me in particular," Dame Kiri told the NSW Supreme Court.

"I would not do that to anybody."

The New Zealand-born soprano has told the NSW Supreme Court she pulled out of a series of planned concerts with the Australian pop singer after watching footage of a live show in which female fans threw underwear at the stage.

"I was concerned about the knickers or underpants and underwear apparel being thrown at him and him collecting it and obviously holding it in his hands as some sort of trophy," she said.

"How could I, in my classical form, perform in this way?"

Dame Kiri oozed confidence as she gave evidence at a hearing into whether she breached her contract by pulling out of a series of concerts with Farnham in 2005.

The shows, scheduled to be performed in Melbourne and Sydney, were to be billed as "Two Great Voices," but the dame withdrew from the planned performances in March 2004.

Leading Edge Events is suing Dame Kiri, her company, her former agent Nick Grace and his company for breach of contract, breach of contractual warranty equities and misleading conduct.

The promoter is seeking up to $2 million in compensation - $600,000 plus 25 per cent of the shows' potential profits.

When Dame Kiri was approached in 2003 to take part in the shows, she had only met Farnham "briefly", outside an airliner's toilet in the late 1980s, she said.

Dame Kiri said she was travelling with her daughter from England to Australia when she was introduced to Farnham.

"(We met) outside the toilet in the aeroplane, that's how brief," she said.

"I'm sorry, I'm not being rude, but that's how I met him because my daughter recognised him."

Despite the court previously hearing Dame Kiri had described Farnham's show as "absolutely horrendous", the soprano said she had respect for the singer.

"I have great respect for Mr Farnham's talent and for his celebrity," she said.

Leading Edge Events claims Dame Kiri breached her contract, but the dame says she pulled out of negotiations before that stage was reached.

She said while she agreed to a $200,000 fee per concert, she had not been concerned about financial discussions because the project did not progress that far.

"It's not interesting to look at the finances before the project, the project to me is far more exciting," she said.

The 62-year-old, who now lives in London, told the court she preferred to be addressed as Dame Kiri.

"(To address me by) first name would be inappropriate," she told Justice Patricia Bergin.

She admitted to being "disappointed" when Farnham failed to front a planned meeting in Auckland in 2004 because bad weather prevented his plane taking off.

"A lot of other passengers left, I don't see why their plane couldn't leave," she said.

But Dame Kiri denied she had spoken rudely to wait staff and said her demeanour did not change.

"I'm a nice person," she said.

Dame Kiri said she pulled the pin on the project shortly after the Auckland meeting.

"I'd lost confidence in the project," she said.

The hearing continues.

Sophie Monk Engaged!

2007-02-02T07:22:00.000+08:00

Good Charlotte's Benji Madden and Australian actress Sophie Monk are engaged, her rep tells PEOPLE exclusively.

"Benji proposed to Sophie in Australia on Christmas Eve," says Monk's publicist, Kacey Spies. "They are very excited and enjoying this time with family and friends."

Madden gave Monk a Neil Lane platinum diamond ring.

In September, Madden and Monk, both 27, were spotted kissing over lunch at L.A.'s Newsroom Café. That night, they stepped out again for dinner at The Ivy.

In October, Madden's twin brother, Joel, who recently split with Hilary Duff, told PEOPLE of Monk, "I love (Benji's) girlfriend. She's so cool. I hang out with her, we have a great time. She's really similar to me – she's very care-free."

Added Madden, "(Love is) "the most rewarding thing in the world. It makes everything else in your life more rewarding. Your work, your family. Home, everything. It's great. It's a singer/songwriter thing – we're just hopeless romantics."

Monk appeared in Date Movie and Click and stars in the comedy Spring Breakdown, in theaters April 13. Good Charlotte's next album will be released on March 20.

Keith Urban To Play Saturday Night Live

2007-02-01T13:42:00.000+08:00

Keith Urban has been announced as the musical guest on an upcoming episode of the long-running US comedy show 'Saturday Night Live'.

Mr Kidman is set to appear on the February 10 episode, which will be hosted by Golden Globe-winning actor Forest Whitaker. Urban will be playing songs from his recent 'Love, Pain and the Whole Crazy Thing' release.

It will be an important appearance for Urban, propelling him back into the spotlight after a well-publicised three-month stint in rehab. He entered the Betty Ford clinic in California on October 19.

- Daniel Zugna Undercover.com

Wedding Band Fuels Heath Marriage Rumours

2007-02-01T11:22:00.000+08:00

Heath Ledger has reportedly married partner Michelle Williams in secret.

The media-shy star recently applied for a marriage licence in Brooklyn where he owns a house, according to The New York Post.

The new family have avoided the spotlight following Ledger's now infamous run in with water-pistol shooting paparazzi.

Ledger reportedly sold his Bronte mansion due to press intrusion and the couple are now based in Brooklyn where they own a home on Cobble Hill.

Rumours of a low-key wedding have been circulating for some time with friends saying the pair would marry at a local church and then have a party at River Cafe.

A source told the US tabloid that Ledger has been seen wearing a wedding ring while taking the couple's daughter Matilda for a walk.

Representatives for the couple were unavailable for comment.

- National Nine News

Australian Idol's Healthy Reception

2007-02-01T10:50:00.000+08:00

Forgotton Idol Casey Donovan is working as a receptionist to help bankroll her fledgling music career.

While fellow products of the TV music factory rocked out at a lavish concert backed by Sony BMG this week, Donovan was starting a new gig behind the desk of a Sydney medical centre.

Since being dumped by the record label in July last year, the competition winner has been forced to pay her own way in the world of professional music.

Enjoying none of the benefits of her signed cohorts, the talented songstress has had to fork out for six months of studio time while working on her upcoming EP as well as covering all her own touring costs.

However, the upbeat battler is not jaded about her split with Sony BMG and insists being part of the work force helps keep her grounded.

"It's good, it keeps me busy and allows me to get back to normality," she told Confidential after yesterday. "But it definitely makes me want a career in music even more."

The down-to-earth singer hopes her current project will propel her back into the music industry and is busy spending her spare time in the editing booth making final adjustments to the independent EP.

"I call it 'tweaking' ... I wanted to have it finished already but there is still a bit more tweaking to do," Donovan said.

Her personal fortunes could also do with some "tweaking" this year, after a rough 12 months that also included a public weight battle.

The medical centre job sounds like a healthy place to start.

- Sydney Confidential

Are Shane Warne, Simone on the way to a reunion?

2007-02-01T10:09:00.000+08:00

If pictures published by a women's magazine are any indication, Australian cricketer Shane Warne and his former wife Simone Callahan are moving towards a reunion, after nearly one year of separation.

In its latest issue, the magazine 'New Idea' has reportedly published pictures showing the retired Test cricketer, who has had love affairs with several women in the recent past, sharing some intimate moments with Simone during a holiday in Fiji.

The pictures show the blond couple rubbing suntan lotion on each other at an island resort in Fiji.

The pair was photographed sharing breakfast together on Jamie Packer's million-dollar boat on Sydney Harbour earlier this month after Australia's resounding Ashes victory against England.

Recently, Warne flagged the possibility of reconciliation with his former wife, even though he described his divorce as inevitable. "I have not ruled out getting back together but we both have to work out if that's what we want," he had reportedly said.

Simone split from Shane after British newspaper reports in 2005 exposed the cricketer's inability to resist the bait of two girls who secretly recorded the love rat's love triangle, a sex-romp story they then sold for an undisclosed sum.

Newton 'Gouged' Girlfriend

2007-02-01T07:50:00.000+08:00

Actor Matthew Newton allegedly goughed at the face and eyes of his girlfriend of six years, former Neighbours actress, Brooke Satchwell, ignoring her when she begged him to stop.

According to the Daily Telegraph, police also have accussed Newton or repeatedly punching Satchwell, 26, to the head on two occasions, at one stage yelling: "I'm gonna kill you, you f...ing c..."

Newton has pleaded not guilty to two counts of common assault, assult occasioning actual bodily harm and stalking or intimidating Satchwell.

It is alleged Newton, the son of showbiz legends Bert and Pati, gouged at Satchwell's eyes and face before pushing her to the ground during a late night argument in the house they shared in Rozelle, in Sydney's inner west, Last Sptember 13.

Satchwell was allegedly punched by Newton during another arguement on October 6, during which, police allege, Newton made "serious threats" against Satchwell and her family.

One witness interviewd by police heard Newton say: "I'll kill her, I'm going to kill Brooke", though the witness did not beleive he would carry out the threats,

Court documents also allege Newton, 30, spent time in a psychiatric facility attached to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, where police served him with an apprehended violence order after taking a statment from Satchwell.

Newton will face charges at a hearing in June.

- The West Australian

Nicole Kidman in Car Accident

2007-01-25T15:42:00.000+08:00

Nicole Kidman was briefly hospitalized in L.A. early Thursday after a stunt car crashed into a light pole on the set of her movie 'The Invasion', police said. She suffered no serious injuries and was scheduled to return to the set later Thursday.

"There was an accident involving a rigged camera vehicle on the set of 'The Invasion' Wednesday night in Los Angeles," Warner Bros. said in a statement Thursday. "Nicole Kidman was in the vehicle at the time of the accident and was taken to the hospital for evaluation. She was released shortly thereafter."

No other actors were involved. According to police, a total of eight people were brought to the hospital and later released. The studio said two crew members suffered minor injuries. "The production took the appropriate steps following the incident to ensure the safety of the cast and crew," the studio said in the statement.

The accident occurred shortly before 12:25 a.m. in downtown Los Angeles. An ambulance was sent to the scene, but not needed. "There were no life-threatening injuries," the Los Angeles Fire Department said in a statement. "They conducted a medical exam but the persons involved sought their own medical attention."

Kidman's husband, Keith Urban, was on set at the time, photos show. Earlier in the day, Kidman's children Isabella, 14, and Conner, 11, were on the set, but had left before the accident.

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OzGoss Disclosure Policy

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This policy is valid from 1st February 2007

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This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.

The compensation received does not influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content.

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This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

Disclosure Policys are a great idea, as they let the blogs readership know exactly what is behind the content and resaoning for the blog entries. I feel that this is a way of letting my readers know exactly what they will find on my blog site, the moral code I operate this blogsite by, and why I write about what I do.

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