Spears mayhem prompts call for 'personal safety zone' for celebs
Los Angeles Times Feb 2, 08 6:09 AM CST
(Newser)
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A Los Angeles councilman is pushing for a "personal safety zone" for celebs after a 12-cop police escort—cost to the city, $25,000—was needed to get Britney Spears past paparazzi to a hospital this week, the Los Angeles Times reports. Councilman Dennis Zine said camera-toting hoards present a real danger. "We are in a celebrity town," he said. "Celebrities have a right to live in peace and freedom."
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Actor faces up to 3 years for failing to
file tax returns
Los Angeles Times Feb 1, 08 8:05 PM CST
(Newser)
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Wesley Snipes is off the hook for tax fraud—but a federal jury in Florida today convicted him on 3 counts of failing to file returns, the Los Angeles Times reports. For the misdemeanors, the actor faces up to 3 years in prison, but he escaped a possible 13 more. The "Blade" star’s two co-defendants were found guilty of tax fraud and conspiracy.
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Housekeeper calls cops on paparazzo looking for Pitt's house
E! Online Jan 31, 08 4:15 AM CST
(Newser)
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A man calling himself a freelance reporter was arrested outside Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's Hollywood Hills home yesterday, reports E! News. The pair weren't home at the time, but their housekeeper called the cops after noticing a car blocking their driveway and a man asking people which house belonged to Pitt. The 25-year-old man, who was not identified by police, was taken into custody.
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'Sopranos' still kills, grabs three big honors
People Jan 28, 08 5:48 AM CST
(Newser)
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The Coen brothers' powerfully bleak No Country for Old Men captured the honor for best film and best supporting actor huzzahs for Javier Bardem at the Screen Actors Guild's awards ceremony last night. And in a surprise win, stars James Gandolfini and Edie Falco of the now-defunct HBO hit series "The Sopranos" both grabbed best actor honors. "This was so not supposed to happen," quipped Falco.
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Study overestimated students' illegal grabs
Associated Press Jan 23, 08 5:55 PM CST
(Newser)
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College students aren't such movie thieves after all. Hollywood laid heavy blame for illegal downloading on colleges when a 2005 study alleged that 44% of domestic industry losses came from students downloading films. Now the industry has revised to 15%, citing "human error" in the study. Critics, however, say even the new figure also looks fishy, the AP reports.
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Bill to be tested; no visible residue found
Associated Press Jan 23, 08 4:18 PM CST
(Newser)
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A rolled-up $20 bill was discovered close to Heath Ledger’s body, the AP reports. No illegal drugs were found in the New York apartment where the 28-year-old Australian actor was found dead yesterday, and a police official said there was no visible drug residue on the bill, which will be tested in a crime lab.
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'It's not going to be canceled' by scribe strike, producer says
Los Angeles Times Jan 19, 08 6:35 PM CST
(Newser)
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ABC is determined to make the Academy Awards happen, with or without striking writers and boycotting actors, the LA Times reports. “I don’t want to say, ‘Read my lips,’ but it’s not going to be canceled,” said producer Gilbert Cates, fresh from chairing successful Directors Guild negotiations with producers. “There are enough clips in 80 years of Oscar history to make a very entertaining show.”
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Agreement could put pressure on
striking Hollywood writers
Wall Street Journal Jan 17, 08 4:46 PM CST
(Newser)
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The Directors Guild of America has cut a deal with the major Hollywood studios, the Wall Street Journal reports, ratcheting up pressure on the striking Writers Guild either to accept a similar contract or risk alienating its members. The DGA ironed out a 3-year agreement to compensate members for work presented over the Internet—a prime sticking point for writers.
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Writers ask stars to honor their picket line
Variety Jan 15, 08 5:33 AM CST
(Newser)
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The Writers Guild of America has asked members of the Screen Actors Guild to refrain from crossing their picket line at the Feb. 10 Grammy Awards, the second major awards show likely to be hurt by the union's strike. Stars are expected to avoid the presentations if they proceed as planned. Grammy nominees Bruce Springsteen, the Beastie Boys, Joni Mitchell, John Mellencamp and Steve Earle have not yet crossed picket lines, reports Variety .
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Stars don't come out
for event punctured
by writers strike
People Jan 14, 08 3:33 AM CST
(Newser)
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A Golden Globes ceremony scaled down by the writers strike to a press conference in a mostly empty ballroom yesterday awarded best picture honors to Atonement and Sweeney Todd, and best actor nods to Johnny Depp, Marion Cotillard, Julie Christie and Daniel Day-Lewis. None of the stars, reluctant to cross the writers, were on hand to receive their awards, reports People magazine.
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First Sunday debuts in second as Juno holds strong at third
Variety Jan 13, 08 3:33 PM CST
(Newser)
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The Bucket List kicked National Treasure: Book of Secrets from top spot this weekend in the best-ever debut for a Rob Reiner flick, Variety reports. First Sunday nabbed a close second and Juno kept crowds giggling in third. Tonight's toned-down Golden Globes will not help Juno as expected, but the quirky laffer has almost passed Sideways as Fox Searchlight's best-grossing film.
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Insiders hope they'll make a deal the scribes can stomach
Variety Jan 12, 08 9:33 AM CST
(Newser)
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Hollywood directors start official contract talks with producers today, after several months of informal sessions, Variety reports. Insiders predict a speedy deal, as the Directors Guild of America doesn't usually start formal negotiations until most of the big issues are ironed out. Hopes are that a DGA agreement will provide a framework that will get striking writers back to the table and Hollywood back at work in time for the Academy Awards.
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Academy, keenly aware of Golden Globes' fate, is behind schedule
Hollywood Reporter Jan 9, 08 1:53 PM CST
(Newser)
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After the threat of picketing writers shut down the Golden Globes, organizers of the Academy Awards know they're on thin ice, the Hollywood Reporte r writes. "Our hope is we can work something out or that the strike is resolved in time," Academy executive director Bruce Davis said of the planned Feb. 24 event, already behind schedule.
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