Hugh Hefner Chips in to Save Hollywood Sign

Land behind icon will be off-limits to development

(NEWSER) - An environmental group has a deal in the works to protect the land around the “Hollywood” sign from being turned into luxury homes, and will cover up the iconic sign Thursday to draw attention to the scheme. "The Hollywood sign cannot be separated from its untrammeled setting of hiking trails and wildlife corridors," says the CEO of Tiffany & Co., which donated $1 million towards the $12 million price tag. More»

(NEWSER) - Hugh Hefner’s ex-girlfriend Holly Madison has quit her job as “Playmate Editor” at Playboy, citing a long commute and an “awkward” work environment, Us Magazine reports. “It got to be routine, which was sad for me, since I was initially so passionate,” Madison said in a blog post. Working with her ex was no fun, and traveling from the Las Vegas home of her new beau, Criss Angel, wasn’t worth it. More»

Matt Damon, Gene Simmons, and others who are disappointed

(NEWSER) - President Obama was quite popular with Tinseltown's biggest stars four years ago, but as he seeks reelection, he's fallen out of favor with some Hollywood liberals. The Week lists eight who have criticized the prez:

• Gene Simmons: The Kiss rocker now regrets supporting Obama in '08, because he believes the president hasn't done enough to help the economy. Who does he like this year? Mitt Romney.
• Matt Damon: He also doesn't think Obama has done enough (his beefs are with Wall Street as well as policies from the George W. Bush era), and said in December that "a one-term president with some balls" would have been better.

Marston Hefner allegedly beat up Playmate of the Year Claire Sinclair

(NEWSER) - Hugh Hefner's son is making headlines, but not for a good reason: Marston, Hef's 21-year-old son, was arrested last night for allegedly attacking last year's Playmate of the Year … who also just so happens to be his girlfriend. Police were called to the California pad where the younger Hefner lives with Claire Sinclair, 20, after a Sinclair family member called 911. Sinclair was visibly injured, law enforcement sources tell TMZ , and she told police Hefner punched and kicked her and then blocked her from leaving. Hefner admitted to an argument, but denied hitting Sinclair, whom he has been dating on-and-off since 2010. More»

$5K being asked for shots of woman posing with gruesome find

(NEWSER) - A photo agency that usually sells paparazzi shots is trying to sell photos of the severed head found near the Hollywood sign earlier this week. One of the dogwalkers who found the head posed for photos with it and is smiling in at least one of them, reports Gawker , which declined to pay the agency $5,000 for the pictures and, after calling around, found that RadarOnline, the Smoking Gun, and the New York Post weren't interested either. More»