Do you ever have a moment when you feel bad for Goopy Paltrow? I do, every once in a while. Mostly I just laugh at her for being so smug and snotty, but on occasion, there's a crack in the armor and you get just a passing glimpse of the real Gwyneth, the one who is married to a man she barely sees or knows, the one who probably spends his free time boning Kate Bosworth amongst other icy, snotty blondes, the one who seems supremely annoyed with all things Goop. I'm annoyed by Goop too, and I don't want to spend any time with her - but I didn't marry her and have babies with her, so Chris Martin should perhaps grow a set and spend more than a few days a year with his wife. Anyway, my pity party for Goop starts with Gwyneth telling a story about how she had to learn how to play the guitar for her role in Country Strong - and how Chris Martin didn't even deign to give her any lessons:
Gwyneth Paltrow has revealed she was reduced to tears from the pain of trying to learn to play the guitar for her role as a country and western singer. The actress said her hands were ‘bleeding and cramped’ from hours of instruction before she could begin filming Country Strong.
A session musician - rather than her rock star husband Chris Martin from Coldplay - was her teacher.
‘I played all the time, and my hands were bleeding and cramping,’ she said. ‘It sucked. I cried five times at various points over the four months. It’s really f***ing hard. It’s much harder than it looks.’
Paltrow revealed just how well she has mastered playing the instrument during her sensational appearance at last week’s Country Music Awards in Tennessee. She sang the title song from the film Country Strong and said she had prepared for her Nashville debut by downing a pint of Guinness.
Paltrow, 38, began guitar lessons at her London home four months before starting filming. British session musician Mark Jaimes, who has played with Simply Red, was her tutor. He told a US magazine that despite being married to a musician she did ‘not even know how to hold the guitar’.
Paltrow said she had 20 lessons and joked that her husband was too busy to help but was ‘encouraging’.
‘Like he has time to be my guitar teacher,’ said Paltrow. ‘I think he’s doing okay with his day job. I’m not sure he is going to take up guitar teaching. But he was encouraging.’
Paltrow had to learn the guitar for the final scene in the film which also stars real life country music star Tim McGraw. She said she was determined not to ‘fake’ the scene.
‘I was going into such another world, and I wanted it to be as authentic as possible.’
Despite her new found skill Paltrow said she has no ambitions to form a group.
‘I’m not going to make a guitar-band album or anything like that,’ she said. ‘But it’s useful for kids’ birthdays.’
I mean… she's trying to be smug about her busy, rock-star husband, but instead she reveals that he couldn't be bothered to involve himself in anything to do with her. I really wonder if Chris gives a sh-t at all. I really doubt it.
I'm sure it was hard for Goop to learn a new skill like that - although I kind of wonder how much she really learned about actually playing, or if she just learned how to "fake it." Because when I saw her perform at the CMAs, I noticed that it didn't really look like she was doing much with her prop guitar other than fake-strumming it occasionally. You couldn't even hear it.
Scarlett Johansson has been named GQ's "Babe of the Year" - it's like GQ's version of saying that she's the woman of the year, which is a lot better than their old system of recognizing the odd woman as "Woman of the Year" or "Obsession of the Year" on their traditionally "Man of the Year" November or December issue. I remember Jennifer Aniston getting the WOTY title, and there being some confusion because it seemed like GQ was naming her "Man of the Year". So, in that frame of reference, referring to a girl as "Babe" seems nicer, I suppose, as opposed to a "Seriously, is this chick a hermaphrodite?" way. Eh. The full slideshow is here, at GQ. Here's GQ's summary of why they love her so much:
At 26, she remains fresh-faced, curious, trying on new moods and outlets of expression as easily as she changes her hair color. This is what we love about Scarlett: that she’s game, that she’s good, that she can try on all these guises without seeming to try too hard. And all the while still seem genuinely like the observant, inquisitive (and very cute) girl in transition we fell for in Lost in Translation.
I guess ScarJo is getting recognized because of Iron Man 2, in which her part was overly hyped and really boring, and because she won a Tony for appealing on Broadway, maybe. And because she's got big boobs and blonde hair.
By the way, I don't mean to be nasty to GQ, who were so nice to send us these pretty hi-res images of ScarJo's photo shoot, but the Photoshopping on ScarJo's face is tragic. She's a pretty girl, albeit a crappy model who only seems to know how to open her mouth and stare vacantly. But she's pretty - there's no reason to 'Shop her face until she looks like… who is it? A fem-bot Brigitte Bardot?
Olivia Wilde is gearing up to start promotion on Tron, where she is the female lead. I don't really know how to describe her role - and I don't really care, either. Whatever. Anyway, Olivia scored herself a Playboy interview, and Blast Magazine has some excerpts. Hey, did you know that OLIVIA IS A PRINCESS?!?!? She only talks about it in every single interview she's ever done. Sorry, I mean Olivia talks about how BEING A PRINCESS isn't that big of a deal and she doesn't know why people bring it up so much and did she mention that SHE'S A PRINCESS?? Yeah. Otherwise, the interview is slightly boring.
"The great thing about doing movies with lots of stunts is that it feels as if I'm having the athletic experience I never had in high school," says Olivia Wilde when asked about filming action scenes for her upcoming film "TRON: Legacy" in Playboy's December 20Q. The brunette beauty goes on to explain, "I was a theater nerd, and I always envied my friends on the field hockey and soccer teams. They had a relationship with their coach that was so supportive…working with these movie stunt teams, I'm finally able to experience that. You can show up weak and scrawny for a movie, with 80 percent body fat, and they'll say, 'You can do these stunts!' For actors who weren't athletes in high school that's an amazing feeling."
Wilde, oft deemed one of the sexiest women in Hollywood, sat down with Playboy Contributor Eric Spitznagel to discuss her upcoming movies — "TRON: Legacy," which opens on December 17, and "Cowboys & Aliens," which comes out in July 2011; being married to an Italian prince; her opinion of blondes; Jeff Bridges; Hillary Clinton; and Megan Fox. Following are selected quotes from the interview:
On the skintight suit she wears in TRON: Legacy: "My costume is actually the toughest, most bada*s thing I've ever seen…It would be difficult to be a stripper in that suit because it's almost impossible to get it off. It would be a three-hour striptease and you'd need at least five assistants onstage with you."
On her TRON: Legacy co-star Jeff Bridges: "The thing about Jeff is, in a lot of ways he really is the Dude [from The Big Lebowski]. He has an inner peace I tried to learn from and this easy-going, come-what-may, go-with-the-flow attitude that's such a joy to be around. Nothing really fazes him. With Jeff it's all going to be okay."
On Megan Fox's declaration that Olivia is so sexy it makes her "want to strangle a mountain ox": "I thought it was a witty, clever choice of words. There are a lot more boring ways to compliment someone, and it's rare when actors in this business compliment each other…Shortly after Megan said that, a writer on House who's also one of my best friends drew a mountain ox on my dressing room mirror and underneath it wrote SAVE ME, OLIVIA! PLEASE MAKE OUT WITH MEGAN!"
On how she's made her onscreen lesbian kisses believable: "Acting is acting. It's not as if I play myself most of the time and kissing a woman is one time I depart from that. It's fun to play things that are different from you."
On her wedding, which took place on a school bus: "The bus was the only place we could be completely alone. The wedding was a secret, and we wanted to do it someplace where we could hide with our best friends. It was all about the intimacy of the promise we were making. When I go to weddings it's usually all about the party and the place settings and the dress and the flower arrangements. Our wedding wasn't about any of that. I mean, come on, we got engaged at Burning Man. We were hippies. We lived on that bus for months."
On being an Italian princess through marriage: "I never call myself [a princess]. I occasionally get mail that says 'Principessa.' It's all part of being this lucky person who has been welcomed into an interesting family with a long history…How many people get to say 'This castle has been in our family since the 1400s'?"
On her parents, both of whom are journalists who travel to war-torn countries: "They still travel to some amazing places. In fact, my mom's getting ready to go to Yemen for 60 Minutes. It's actually kind of adorable; they try to pretend my job is more interesting than theirs. We'll have conversations and they'll act as though fighting fake aliens in a movie is more exciting than my mom going to Yemen."
On changing her last name from Cockburn to Wilde when she was a teenager: "I always thought having a pen name was so romantic. I honestly didn't foresee that people would look at it as a sexy name, like 'She's wiiiild!' Anytime a story is written about me, the title is usually some pun on my last name – 'Born to Be Wilde' or 'Take a Walk on the Wilde Side.' (laughs) I don't mind it; it's just not something I ever considered when I picked the name."
On whether or not blondes have more fun: "No, that's bullsh*t. It's not true at all. But I have to give credit to blondes. Having been raised by one and being one, it's great to surprise people when they have low expectations. Often stupid people expect nothing from a blonde, and then the blonde can shock them by being Hillary Clinton. I'm pretty sure she has fun. I mean, she gets to travel everywhere, eat amazing food in all these different countries – you know she's having a great time. And she probably enjoys being underestimated just so she can blow people away."
On winning a pancake-eating contest in Australia by eating 33 pancakes: "I entered the contest only because they said a woman could never win, and that's a surefire way to get me to do something. I've always had a huge appetite and don't get full easily, so I guess I was meant to be a competitive eater, the way some people are born to be long-distance runners. But I'd never do it again."
On her dream car: "I think I own it – a 1958 Chevy Biscayne. It's cool because I grew up wanting the 1954 Bel Air, but that car is almost too perfect. There's something about the Biscayne that's a little funkier…The great thing about driving one of these cars is that it makes other drivers happy. People smile at you and let you cut in. It's as if they're grateful you're still driving it. But the cars are not exactly discreet. My life has changed so that I try to blend in more…Now the last thing I want to do is drive down the street and call attention to myself. That's what driving my Biscayne does."
Olivia has those same qualities that annoy me about people like Jessica Biel, Megan Fox and Jessica Alba, and even Katherine Heigl. Basically, I get the impression that Olivia thinks she's God's gift, and while having a healthy ego is fine and dandy, it helps if you've proven yourself and your talents in some substantial way. Olivia hasn't, in my opinion (neither have Alba, Biel, Fox or Heigl, although Heigl has more "wins" than anyone else). Olivia comes across as mostly hype, and like she believes her own hype. It's not enough to make he dislike her, but she does annoy me significantly. Is she pretty? Sure. But is she more than just a chick on House, famous for making out with chicks?
Saturday was my beloved's 41st birthday. Instead of flying down here to finally propose to me and whisk me off to my own private dongfest, Gerard Butler chose to celebrate in NYC, with his own private douchefest. Yes, Gerard brought in his 41st year of Scottish mooby hotness with JOHN MAYER. Ugh. Jesus, Gerry.
Scottish actor Gerard Butler celebrated his 41st birthday in style by performing an outrageous version of “Mustang Sally” with John Mayer. The heartthrob movie star took over new restaurant The Darby on Saturday night with a dinner and put on a series of shows for 100 guests, including Adrien Brody, Kate Hudson, Bono and Jay-Z.
Onstage, Butler joined the 14th Street dinner club’s ‘mistress of ceremonies,’ cabaret star Lady Rizo a k a Amelia Zirin-Brown, who said: “Some of you know him as Gerry, other as Gerard. I know him as Mistress Butler.”
A spy told us: “Australian comedian James Smith toasted Gerry. He then went on to make fun of him saying: ‘Gerard has been out so much he’s now just constantly on Page Six. Gerry is on Page Six so much they have to make it Page Seven.’ Smith also joked that Butler and Jennifer Aniston had “as much sexual chemistry as Regis and Kelly” in “The Bounty Hunter.”
“Gerry also sang Oasis hit ‘Wonderwall’ with Lady Rizo and Mayer played guitar. They then followed it up with ‘Mustang Sally.’ He had a pretty good voice — it wasn’t what you’d expect from the guy from ‘300.’ It was epic. He was also in the deejay booth a lot and got the deejay to play a lot of rock, ’80s and funk. Gerry announced to the crowd that Mayer was going to sing for them, but John replied he just wanted to play guitar while Lady Rizo sang. So he had the crowd cheer to hear Mayer perform. Mayer then sang his hit “Who Says.”
Other guests at the dinner club, which officially opens on Wednesday, included skateboarder Tony Hawk, Jason Statham, Melissa George, Russell Simmons, Sante D’Orazio, Jeffrey Ross, Paul Haggis and a gaggle of models. A rep for Butler didn’t get back to us.
Do I begrudge him these birthday celebrations? Honestly, yes, I do. It sounds like a perfectly nice/douchey time, but I'm sure he would have had more fun at home with me, with me cooking Mistress Butler something special, like vagina parfait.
Also: since Gerry has been disappointing so much lately, can I just admit something? The fact that Gerry is tight with John Mayer disgusts me, and if I didn't love Gerry so much, I would say that it speaks volumes about his (lack of) character. Isn’t that weird? I can handle his constant trolling for strange, I can take the man-handling of blondes, I can take the finger-up-Aniston’s-ass, but John Mayer is The One Douche Too Far.
Tiger Woods’ first known mistress Rachel Uchitel has an epic interview with The Daily Mail in which she gives us even more evidence that she’s a self absorbed piece of work. It’s pretty phenomenal how narcissistic and full of herself she comes across, and I’ve read priorinterviews with her and had the lowest expectations. In this interview, Rachel tries to portray herself as this victim of circumstance on one hand (her fiance died in the Twin Towers on 9/11) and as a bootstrapping entrepreneur on the other. She only manages to come across as completely superficial and willing to use whatever excuses she can to justify her behavior.
On how she would be “fat and happy” if 9/11 never happened “People have called me all sorts of names, but they don't know me. I am not the same as the other girls and I never ever imagined in my wildest dreams that I would be caught up in a scandal like this. If things had been different and 9/11 had never happened, my life would have taken a different course. I'd be fat and happy, living in a big house in Long Island with a load of kids. I'm only telling my story now so that people can discover what sort of girl I am and learn the truth about me. If they still choose to hate me, then so be it. But I never set out to hurt anyone.”
Interviewer on how she constantly asks if she’s fat In person, Rachel is tiny. Like so many women in Los Angeles, she has generously proportioned artificial breasts, plumped-up lips and a body kept whippet-thin with daily two-hour sessions in the gym (she's clearly obsessed by her weight and constantly asks me if she looks fat). She has bought a pretty floral dress especially for our photoshoot but admits: 'It is not something I would normally be caught dead in. But I want to show a different side of me. I've been branded as a scarlet woman but I am much, much more than that.'
Claims she’s a love addict, will never sleep with a married man again “People don't really understand love addiction, but I think a lot of women will relate to it. Instead of filling themselves with booze or drugs, love addicts become emotionally invested in a series of bad relationships. Since I lost Andy, I have always been looking for the perfect man. I wanted a man who would marry me, give me the house and children I long for. I plunged headfirst into relationships which I should never have been in.”
I ask her if she regrets sleeping with a married man: “Yes, of course,” she snaps. “I will never, ever do that again.”
On how she coped after her fiance died “I sat in the closet in his clothes just to smell him. The doctors gave me pills to sleep. That's when my addiction to Ambien started (Rachel allegedly introduced Tiger to the sleeping drug he took before he crashed his car). Andy's credit cards were returned, burned, in the mail. Every day they would find bits of his life, a burned driver's licence or whatever, and I would have to open the envelope.
“I went through hell. I fell to pieces. When the one-year anniversary of 9/11 happened, most of his friends had moved on. People we knew had married and were starting families. I felt robbed.”
On how she got a job as a club promoter After that, Rachel says: “I had to leave New York and move on with my life for my own sanity. I had to reinvent myself.” She loaded her belongings into her car and headed west to Las Vegas, where her grandfather had a house.
Within months she had landed a job as head of VIP operations at Tao Nightclub in The Venetian casino. She later acted in a similar role at other clubs in Vegas, including The Bank at Bellagio.
“I am not a whore, nor am I a girl impressed by money or fame,' she says. 'I have a brain and I came from money. I never needed any man's money.'
On how she knew bigwigs and got them hookers “I still have my little black book and it has 5,000 men in there who are pretty much the men who run the world,” she says grandly.
“My life became one of private jets. My job was to get the high-rollers, or whales as we called them into the club and give them anything and everything they wanted to have the best night of their lives – guys who would order 100 bottles of Cristal champagne in a night or even blow $500,000 [£300,000] on one night of partying.
“If they wanted steak, they got steak. If they wanted a certain song, I”d get it played on a loop all night. A Saudi prince loved Uptown Girl so I sent someone out to get it and that prince had Uptown Girl all night.
“And if they wanted girls, I'd get them girls, though you have to understand I never got involved in that side of things. Of course, some of the girls were hookers. And others would sleep with men for gifts. But I didn't force anyone to do anything. These were consenting adults. I was there to work and make money. It was strictly business.” She claims she earned £300,000 a year: “I was paid well and got huge tips. I deserved it. I was good at my job.”
It’s as if she had no other options after losing her fiance than moving to Vegas, becoming a club promoter and glomming on rich men. She supposedly worked as a television producer at Bloomberg beforehand. It goes on, but I’ll spare you. Rachel refuses to talk about her rumored $10 million settlement from Tiger, but the interviewer notes that Rachel has purchased an over $3 million penthouse in New York and that she still owns a condo in Vegas. Oh and Rachel also puts in some digs at Tiger’s other mistresses, calling Mindy Lawton (the HoJos hostess) “poor Mindy” and saying of Jaimee Grubbs “The poor girl had a tooth missing. Honestly! She was toothless!” These other girls are “poor” to Rachel because they weren’t “smart” enough to blackmail Tiger as effectively as she was. She “never needed any man's money” but she sure took a huge chunk of it when the opportunity presented itself.
Here’s Rachel with her date Jason “Gummi Bear” Davis at a charity event on 10/23/10. Maybe she’s with him because she knows he could never make her look fat. Credit: WENN.com
Jessica Simpson's rep has confirmed Jessica and Eric Johnson's happy engagement news to everybody at this point, and without any sense of shame or awkwardness at having a big announcement just nine days after Nick Lachey and Vanessa announced their engagement. Jessica even flashed her ring at a mall appearance on Friday - a ruby with two diamonds, set in yellow gold. No disrespect to Zales, but Eric has tacky style if he picked out this ring. Anyway, beyond the confirmation from Jess's rep, I was waiting for Jessica's father to say something. After all, this is the man who so obviously prefers (worships) one daughter over the other. This is a man who talks freely about the size of his daughter's boobs. This is a man who seems to compulsively c-ckblock his daughter, in business and in life (the thought of c-ckblocking Jess turns him on, I think). So… as you can imagine, Papa Joe was probably weeping at the thought of Jessica getting married:
Someone sure sounds excited about walking his daughter down the aisle!
Just days after Jessica Simpson accepted a ruby-and-diamond engagement ring from her boyfriend of five months, football player Eric Johnson, the bride-to-be’s father, Joe Simpson, posted his good wishes on Twitter.
“So very happy for Jess and Eric,” he posted Sunday night. “May they have a lifetime of joy and happiness.”
Joe joined Johnson, 31, at the filming of Jessica’s Thanksgiving PBS special last month, where the singer, 30, gushed to PEOPLE about her relationship with her beau, which she termed “just normal, thank God. He’s very, very supportive.”
She added that she “couldn’t ask for a better man in my life right now.”
Does anyone want to take bets on Jessica and/or Papa Joe f-cking this engagement up? I can see it going in one of two ways: either Eric has been fully prepared for every step of this engagement-to-wedding day famewhore extravanganza, and this is totally what he signed on for, OR Eric is going to run screaming in about two months, after Jessica's millionth interview where she talks about Eric "loving her curves" and "being so smarty-pants" - and after the millionth time of Papa Joe making some kind of comment about his beautiful daughter's massive rack. Ugh. This family. I want to hear from Tina.
UPDATE: Now I feel dumb for not seeing this one coming. According to PopEater’s gossip guy, Papa Joe and Jessica are already fighting over whether or not she needs a prenup. Not to Jess: You need a prenup! I’m with your daddy on this one. According to PopEater’s sources, “Nick walked away with over $10 million of her money when they divorced, because they had no prenup. You would think she would have learned her lesson. But where romance is concerned, Jess follows her heart not her head. At the moment, Joe is sitting back and being a great father, supporting his daughter and his future son-in-law… However, you can bet after all the excitement has died down, Joe is going to do everything in his power to make sure Jessica doesn’t walk down the aisle until Eric signs away any right he might have to Jessica’s enormous fortune.” Jess is worth an estimated $100 million, if not more.
These are new photos of Angelina Jolie on the Budapest set of her untitled film over the weekend. Two things to note: Angelina finally wore something other than black, and she finally took off those f-cking sunglasses. Hurray! I used to have a very similar sweater to Angie's, and now I'm wondering where it went. I used to get lots of compliments on it - it made me look booby, but not TOO booby. Where the f-ck did it go? I haven't seen it in years.
In additional news about the production, Indie Wire is reporting (from Hugarian sources) that Brad Pitt likely has a cameo in the film. …the hell?
She may be one of the biggest female stars on the planet, potentially circling/being offered the likes of "Snow White and the Hunter" and a 3D version of "Cleopatra," but, as first reported in the summer, Angelina Jolie has spent the past few months making her directorial debut, a currently untitled love story set during the Bosnian war, focusing on a romance between a Muslim woman and a Serbian man.
After a slight hiccup when Jolie was denied a permit to film in Bosnia itself (which was later granted), the film, which is not only directed but also written by Jolie, with backing from Graham King's GK Films, has been underway for weeks now, with Zana Majanovic ("Snow"), Rade Šerbedžija ("Snatch") and a host of actors from the region in the cast—an admirable level of authenticity, considering the pressure Jolie was likely to be under to cast big names, or even star in it herself.
Except now she's gone and cast her partner, international movie star Brad Pitt, in a cameo role in the film. Hungarian site [Origo] filmklub visited the set and, while our Hungarian is a little rusty, and Google Translate is never ideal, it's clear that Pitt was on set, and not just to look after the kids: the reporter saw a costume with Pitt's name on it, and later watched the actor film two scenes (you can check more set photos of Pitt at the link).
Pitt's scenes were shot with a second-unit crew in an abandoned military facility near the town of Kiskunlacháza on Saturday. There is no word yet on his role—we assumed that with the camera and tripod he's playing a photojournalist—but we have been told he's been snapping pics on set for his personal use as well, so it remains unclear how he will factor into the story or what his character will be.
And it seems like an odd choice, somehow—Pitt will be by far the biggest name in the cast, and we can't see how him cropping up in a handful of scenes will be anything other than hugely incongruous (although we would imagine that distributors will be much more interested in the film's prickly subject matter now that they have a major star they can hang marketing around). With the film likely to bow in the festival season next fall, we'll see if we're proven wrong.
Well… Brad has been on the set quite a bit, but I thought he was just the official set photographer. Perhaps he's playing a photojournalist during the war? It could be possible, although I think IndieWire is right, it will be off-putting to see Brad in the film.
Jolie is scheduled to move the film production to Bosnia within the next week. And I'm really wondering when the production is going to end and when Angelina is going to come home and promote The Tourist. Surely she won't leave all the promotion to Johnny Depp, right? RIGHT?!?
With all the things that President Clinton could be doing - like his charity work and charging six figures for speeches about building bridges, he’s chosen to take a cameo role in a comedy film. Bill Clinton will appear in Hangover 2, a film that was dangerously close to showcasing Mel Gibson’s “comeback,” but replaced Mel with Liam Neeson when cast and crew complained about it. Bubba will appear in the film as himself, and fingers crossed that there will be a few well-placed jabs at his sex scandal.
First Mike Tyson and now … Bill Clinton?
Sure enough, that will be the former president sharing screen-time with the fun-loving guys in The Hangover 2, now filming in Thailand, a Clinton source confirms to PEOPLE.
Clinton, who’ll play himself in the comedy, shot his brief appearance on Saturday in Bangkok, where part of the production takes place. He was in the capital city to deliver a speech on clean energy.
Fans of the first Hangover will remember Mike Tyson’s memorable performance in that movie last year, while this sequel recently made news for the coming and going of Mel Gibson, whose cameo role will now be filled by Liam Neeson.
Directed by Todd Philips, the sequel, like the original, also stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis and Justin Bartha.
I wonder how this all came about. Like I imagine the director and some of the cast were getting blasted in the hotel bar when they saw Clinton there and got up the courage to invite him over. They all hung out, had a few beers, and Bill like “sure, I’ll shoot with you guys tomorrow, what the hell?” Now we have a two time President making a cameo in an R-rated comedy. I would say that he should be above such things, but times have changed for sure. That said, do you think he got paid for it?
Now here’s a celebrity sponsorship that makes sense. Snooki, the squattest alcoholic among the Jersey Shore’s reality star cast, is having her 23rd birthday party next weekend sponsored by Lifestyles Condoms. This news is in the NY Post, which quotes a source who claims that Snooki turned down booze sponsorships because she “doesn’t want her friends to drink cheap booze.” It’s not like any high end brands are clamoring to be associated with her. It sounds like Lifestyles isn’t footing the entire bill, either.
Snooki is planning a huge New York birthday blowout — sponsored by a major condom firm. The MTV “Jersey Shore” star is throwing the bash in a VIP room at Pacha on Saturday night. And she’s got some major backing — LifeStyles — as the party’s sponsor. A source told us: “Snooki is an advocate for safe sex, and so was happy to have them as her party sponsor. They’ll probably have a booth at the party giving out condoms to guests. But this party is really for Snooki’s close friends, and she is personally paying for most of it. She has turned down a lot of liquor sponsors because she doesn’t want her friends to drink cheap booze.” A rep for Snooki, who turns 23 next week, confirmed Saturday’s bash was sponsored by LifeStyles, and added: “Her message is if you are going to have sex, do it safely. It is going to be a great party.”
That’s interesting that Snooki turned down booze sponsorships. You would think that she would do so out of concern for her image, since she has an arrest for public drunkenness, but she just doesn’t want to be associated with “cheap” liquor. And she works so hard not to look cheap. I would bet the only other offer she got was from Mad Dog 20/20. She learned at a young age that the cheapest crap gives you a wicked hangover.
The squashed pumpkin has a new boyfriend. Snooki was seen at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, with her new man, Jionni LaValle, over the weekend. It must be serious as her parents were there too. Hope they’re using protection, or maybe Snooki wants a baby so she can have a follow up for her upcoming dating show. It worked for Kendra Wilkinson.
Header image from 11/7/10 credit Target/Fame Pictures. Below images credit: WENN.com. Snooki is the Queen of Pickles or some sh-t in that green outfit on 10/30
I love some Helen Mirren, but the bitch says dumb sh-t all the time. If you ever want to hear someone you admire say something really stupid, just ask Dame Helen about hookers, nursing or rape. So, with that in mind, Dame Helen has decided to give her views on humor - specifically, how much she hates "British humor". Basically, Helen hates her own country's particular brand of humor, which she calls "harsher, more scathing, more cruel and more surreal". She said this all to a French publication, probably not thinking that it would be picked up by the British press, who likely want her head at this very moment.
The actress told a French magazine that the tradition of British decency is in decline.
“I’m under the impression that this notion is disappearing from our society, where conflicts are made worse on cinema and on television, where people are nasty and cruel on the internet and where, in general terms, everybody seems to me to be very angry.
“This causes me a lot of pain,” she said.
She singled out British comedy as an example. “I prefer the finesse of French humour. English humour is harsher, more scathing, more cruel and more surreal too, as illustrated by Monty Python and the TV series Little Britain, where situations are far-fetched and over-the-top.”
The 65-year-old actress, who won an Oscar for her role in The Queen, said her home country had become too Americanised.
“England is constantly threatened by a savage assimilation. This isn’t the case with France which remains furiously protective of its culture.”
Dame Helen lives in Los Angeles with her American husband, Taylor Hackford.
Asked if she took an active interest in British politics, she replied: “Less and less. I see the wheel turn and turn without essential change. I don’t see myself as a political person but above all as a humanist, and I have the same positive attitude towards the future as my parents did. But the violence of the past can return, and I fear it.”
A love for the French way of life goes back to Dame Helen’s teens. She told Paris Match magazine: “I read Rimbaud and Verlaine, whom I found extremely romantic. I smoked Gitanes to appear cool, and I dreamed of being French. But not just any French woman - I wanted to be an elegant bourgeoisie or an artist just like Juliette Greco.
“From the age of 15, I desperately wanted to be Brigitte Bardot and to go and live in St Tropez. But I was just a small and plump English girl with spots. Then I had a French boyfriend called Jean-Louis with whom I’m still friends.”
Granted, I'm an American who likes British humor as an outsider looking in - Helen probably has to deal with "British humor" in a whole different way. Also: I really think Helen was trying to suck up to the French, and didn't think her comments would be picked up. She thought she was gossiping behind Britain's back. But… is Helen right? Is "British humor" getting more scatological, eccentric, cruel and nasty? Or does Helen just not get it? Or is she just tired of being the butt of so many jokes after she says crazy sh-t?
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