My Blog

Life’s Good for Damian Lewis and Helen McCrory

Pay — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 03:33:51 +0000

Life star Damian Lewis and his wife, actress Helen McCrory were spotted out for a walk with their kids — daughter Manon, 2 ½, and son Gulliver, 17 months — in Marina Del Rey, Calif. on Thursday. Despite the relaxing scene in the photo, the British couple — perhaps best known in the US for their work in Band of Brothers and The Queen — will be keeping quite busy in the coming months. Damian’s show, Life, is a hit, while Helen’s performance as Narcissa Malfoy is expected to be a highlight of the final three Harry Potter films. Damian pushes a Mountain Buggy Urban Double ($749).

Jenna Jameson Welcomes Twin Boys

Pay — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 03:48:31 +0000

Tiffany Rose/WireImage

Jenna Jameson and UFC star Tito Ortiz are proud parents to twin boys, her rep confirms to Us Weekly. The former adult film star, 34, delivered her sons this morning, Monday, March 16th in Newport Beach, Calif. Despite being premature, the twins are “in very good health.”

Announcing the pregnancy in August and confirming it was twins the following month, Jenna was overjoyed to be expecting after previous fertility battles. “I can’t even express the extreme serenity that came over me once I saw my children inside me,” she said. “It has been my dream to have children for an extremely long time, and I truly feel like finally… the time is right and God has blessed me. I have never felt more like a woman, or more alive.”

Jenna told CBB her official due date was May 3rd, but she and Tito expected the twins some time in April — “you know how twins are!” If true, that would make the boys seven weeks early.

Source: AVN; Us Weekly

Sister is hotter than Girls Generation’s Soo-young

Pay — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 08:52:56 +0000

Generally, the reason why stars are stars is that they are better looking than than their siblings. But not in the case of Soo-young of Girls Generation.

The older sister, Choi Su-jin (right), with her big doe eyes, high cheekbones, creamy skin and easy smile, can easily steal the limelight away from her younger more famous sibling.

The sisters were featured on the MBC program, “Star’s Friends” on February 7th. After the program, we wouldn’t be surprised if an entertainment company wanted to sign her up.

Dancing with the Stars

Pay — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 08:37:35 +0000

Dancing’s Season Eight Cast Is Revealed!

In a new twist, the season eight cast of Dancing with the Stars was revealed during commercial breaks in between ABC’s Sunday night primetime lineup.

The “namedropping” of the 13 contestants began at the eight o’clock hour when Extreme Makeover: Home Edition aired, and continued throughout the telecasts of Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters.

For the first time on the show, a celebrity couple — singer Jewel and her husband, rodeo star Ty Murray — will compete against each other. In another first, two-time Dancing champ-turned-country-singer Julianne Hough will compete with her boyfriend, country singer Chuck Wicks.

“It’s the most diverse cast we’ve had,” Deena Katz, Dancing’s Senior Talent Producer tells PEOPLE. “The women are phenomenal and the men are such great characters.”

“Julianne is the cutest thing you’ll ever meet and she’s one of the toughest teachers,” says Katz. “I keep warning Chuck, ‘you see this loving side, but she is tough.’”

Real-life pro couple Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff, who got engaged last December, will compete against each other with their respective celebrity partners.

Rounding out the celebrity lineup will be the youngest contestant ever on the show, Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson, 17. Also ready to rumba are pop star Belinda Carlisle, actress Denise Richards, former NFL star Lawrence Taylor, rapper Lil’ Kim, Jackass star Steve-O, Apple computer co-founder Steve Wozniak, actors David Alan Grier and Gilles Marini, and Access Hollywood co-host Nancy O’Dell.

An ABC spokesperson says the remaining professional dancer/celebrity pairings will be announced on Thursday, February 12.

Dancing’s eighth season premieres March 9 on ABC. –Monica Rizzo

Jessica Leccia Rediscovers Love of Ice Cream

Pay — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 05:31:15 +0000

Howard Wise/JPI As Valentine’s Day nears, Guiding Light star and expectant mom Jessica Leccia is just happy that her husband Brian Malloy makes “me feel like I’m still attractive on a daily basis.” In fact, she believes that “that’s the most romantic thing anyone can do for a pregnant lady,” jokingly adding that “he’s required to tell me” how attractive she is. Kidding aside, the actress knows that “I do require a lot of attention these days” but that Brian is “really good at giving it to me, so I’m very, very thankful.” The expectant mom doesn’t need romance right now, instead “what’s important to me are foods, snacks, belly rubs.” Cravings are a big part of pregnancy for many women, and Jessica is no different. She is currently rediscovering her love for ice cream. “I started eating ice cream again. I hadn’t eaten it in awhile, but I’m back on it, like a drug. Recently, it’s been chocolate chocolate chip. It’s bad, but it’s so good.” Jessica, 33, has portrayed the character of Natalia Rivera since joining Guiding Light on April 25, 2007. She and Brian were married May 3rd, 2008 in Puerto Rico. This will be their first child.

3 New posters from the RB team

Pay — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 06:45:29 +0000

Featuring the new skate and the new team. These are a really solid skate call if you have any q’s

Holder Confirmation ‘Doubtful’ After Indictment Threat

Pay — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 05:50:50 +0000

Holder: Judiciary Committee Republicans ‘Soiled Themselves’

After one of the most combative confirmation hearings in recent memory, political pundits and analysts from both sides of the aisle are mostly in agreement that Eric Holder, as several put it, “today blew whatever chance he may have had to be confirmed as our next Attorney General.”

The real reason for the delay in a vote by the Judiciary Committee was not made clear until last Friday afternoon when, just in time for normally high profile weekend news coverage, Committee Member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) issued a press release on his website criticizing his Republican colleagues for the delay, saying, among other things, that “Republicans on the Judiciary Committee have asked Eric Holder to make a commitment, before he is even confirmed, that he will not prosecute any Bush Administration officials for their involvement in acts of torture during the last administration.” (To see full press release, click here.)

When asked for a response to their request, a defiant Holder told the Committee:

“I am shocked that you would suggest any law enforcement official make a prosecutorial decision without first examining the relevant facts of the case. I find your request to be as reprehensible as it is unconscionable. The only evidence I have seen thus far would compel me, whether confirmed or not, to seek indictments against those committee members who, for strictly partisan reasons, have attempted to obstruct justice even before the two hallowed ceremonies when the next Attorney General will be sworn in. You have soiled the Justice Department, you have soiled the good name of this Committee, and from the way many of you are squirming, I also believe you have soiled more than just your own reputations.”

At this point, ranking Republican Member Arlen Specter requested a recess. Shortly after the Committee retired to chambers, aides were dispatched to, “retrieve items including 2 inhalers, 4 coated aspirins, 6 Tylenol gelcaps, 8 Valium tablets, and 8 pairs of men’s boxer shorts,” according to a Committee staffer.

One dissenting voice, however, believes that, “Holder’s bold action all but ensures his swift confirmation.” New York based political analyst and saxophone player Arthur ‘Big Cat’ Davis explained, “Now that he has called their bluff, they’re in a very tough spot. There is very little chance of getting any prospective future nominee to go along with such a precondition, and I wouldn’t think they’d try. It’s my guess that they will withdraw their request, apologize to Mr. Holder, confirm him as early as Wednesday, and hope he’ll let bygones be bygones. Remember, these are United States Senators. Given a choice between helping their former leader, their friends, and their colleagues, or saving their own butts, we know what we can expect them to do.”

“The fact that such a request was even made doesn’t bode well for former President Bush and key members of his administration,” according to Harvard Law Professor Christopher Toomey, “To put it in laymen’s terms, it’s comparable to a husband’s best friend telling his wife, ‘Of course he’s been honest and faithful to you. Now promise me that you won’t follow him tomorrow…’ What do they expect people to believe?”

Allie From the City Is Also a Real Model

Pay — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 04:46:48 +0000

Whitney Port’s new friend on The City is another member of the cast who actually does what they say they do. In this week’s episode of The City, Allie leaves New York for a modeling gig. And she apparently leaves often, leaving her boyfriend, Adam, to get involved with non-Allie activities. This leads to cheating, lies, and gossip. Somehow many people are still not enjoying the show.

Perhaps you will enjoy seeing Allie in her real element. She was in a music video called “No Promises” by Shayne Ward. She looks a lot better than she did in The City. She looks pretty good in the video.

What keeps Barack Obama up at night? – and other questions I asked the President today

Pay — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 04:38:15 +0000

President Barack Obama is interviewed by Anderson Cooper on Tuesday.

Editor’s Note: See Anderson’s full interview with President Obama tonight on AC360° at 10PM ET.

Anderson Cooper

The Oval Office is smaller than I thought it would be. Maybe it’s just because it was filled with lights and some of the furniture was moved around for the cameras, but it was more intimate than I had imagined. I’d heard President Obama likes to keep the Oval Office warm, but I was still surprised to feel the heat emanating from the open door. Katie Couric was just finishing her interview when I got there, “Wow, it really is hot in there,” I mentioned to David Axelrod who was standing nearby. “They’ve actually cooled it down a bit,” he said.

I’d met then-candidate Obama a couple times over the course of the campaign. I moderated the YouTube debate that he took part in, and I spent a day with him on the campaign trail, but this was my first time talking with him as President. I never interviewed President Bush. I’m not sure if it was my coverage of Hurricane Katrina or what, but the Bush White House never seemed to respond to our requests for interviews. Go figure.

Today, like all the other network anchors, we were told we only had ten minutes to interview President Obama, so I stayed up late last night and spent most of today whittling down a long list of questions. I also consulted with a number of our great political correspondents to see if they had questions they would want asked. I went into the interview with eighteen questions written down, but the truth is once the conversation started I found myself asking things I hadn’t planned on, and ignoring other questions I was sure I was going to ask. I think the best interviews are genuine conversations, and with the President I tried to just listen, and then respond based on things he brought up. Sometimes I watch interviews on tv and I feel like the questioner has a list of topics to cover and is simply checking them off as they go along.

In addition to asking him about Tom Daschle, and the economic stimulus plan, I also wanted to hear him talk about some subjects he hasn’t discussed lately. I asked him what if anything keeps him up at night, and was surprised by his candid response, a response he actually came back to later in the interview to talk more about. It’s rare for a President to ever say he made a mistake. President Obama not only said that today, he said, “I screwed up” when talking about the Daschle nomination. That surprised me. Though it was clearly a tough day for him politically, the President, in person, is remarkably poised. “Cool” is the term often used, and it does apply. The other words I found myself thinking about to describe him were, “calm,” “sharp,” “on point.” He was dressed neatly, and his nails trimmed. I still occasionally bite my nails, and long-term nail-biters like me tend to notice when someone else doesn’t.

When you interview the President someone stands in your line of sight and gives you hand cues counting down the minutes. It can be distracting. At times as you are listening to the President respond, you want to ask him to hurry it up so you can get in a few more questions, but thankfully I resisted the impulse. At the end I wanted to make sure to save a few minutes to ask him some lighter more personal questions. I called it a lightning round, and he was nice to play along. I asked him about the dog search, what he likes most about his new high tech car, and whether or not he’s had a cigarette since becoming President. I think you will be interested to hear his answer to those and many other questions tonite on 360 at 10pm.

Lee Hyori’s red runners sell out

Pay — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 04:30:22 +0000

We already know that Lee Hyori has the power to get stuff flying off the shelves. And again, the pop diva proves her golden touch. On a recent episode of the weekend variety show, “Family Outing,” the 29 year old’s ruby red New Balance sneakers were caught on camera during a full body stretch with Kim Jong-gook.And soon after, all the ruby reds were sold out. Those who were desperate had to settle for the purple ones.

However, good news for those still hankering for the same runners? New Balance will be releasing a “Lee Hyori Valentine’s runner.”

[HOT POPS is our new feature that spots what’s hot]