Saturday, April 9, 2005
Duff sisters to go material
NEW YORK -- In inspirational film news, Variety says venerated American thespian Hilary Duff ("A Cinderella Story"), will team up -- for the first time! -- with her older, but slightly less accomplished sis, Haylie Duff, to make a movie inspired by "Material Girl," the classic '80s song by distinguished composer Madonna. "Material Girls" will demand that the Duffs flex their already well-toned acting muscles to play a pair of sisters who are, um, quite "material." Drama ensues when a corporate scandal leaves the celebutante heiresses virtually penniless.
Combs must pay support
NEW YORK-- Hip-hop star Sean "P. Diddy" Combs has been ordered to pay more than $21,000 a month in child support to an ex-girlfriend with whom he has an 11-year-old son. The order, issued Thursday by the New York Supreme Court's Appellate Division, came after Combs appealed a Westchester Family Court ruling last year that he should pay $35,000 a month. He currently pays about $5,000. The ex-girlfriend, Misa Hylton-Brim, had sued for higher monthly payments and about $398,000 in back support for their son, Justin. The appellate court judge awarded a lower but undisclosed amount in back support and ordered Combs to pay Hylton-Brim's legal fees. The judge set monthly support payments at $21,782. Rob Shuter, a spokesman for Combs, said Combs would appeal the decision to the state Court of Appeals. While separated from girlfriend Kim Porter, Combs, 35, was also sued for child support for their son, Christian. He pays Porter, a model, about $30,000 a month.
Kidman: I'm not pregnant
NEW YORK -- No, she's not pregnant. But, as reported by MSNBC, which quotes Australian TV, Nicole Kidman, whose angelic radiance could radiate a medium-size city, wouldn't mind if she were: "I would love to have a baby next, that would be a lovely thing." And no, Nicole, who has reared two children she adopted with former husband Tom Cruise, says she's not marrying her trillionaire film producer boyfriend Steve Bing.
Lost without role on 'Lost'
NEW YORK -- What's half of "devastated"? Because that's probably what Ian Somerhalder is feeling these days. The "Lost star, who's got a pair of very arresting eyes, which [we imagine] makes women feel all gooey inside, told Entertainment Weekly he was "devastated" by his untimely death. That'd be his character, rich-boy Boone, who was not spied k-i-s-s-i-n-g in a tree, but rather f-a-l-l-i-n-g off it on Wednesday night's episode of the ABC show. But Boone is not totally lost -- he'll be featured in future episodes via narrative temporality's great gift to humankind, flashbacks. The devastation factor is further ameliorated by the fact that Somerhalder has signed a one-year deal to star in yet-to-be-figured-out ABC show. Variety also reports he'll star in "Breed," an indie flick set on a remote and mysterious island.
Madonna, husband just don't speak kids' language
LONDON -- Like many parents, Madonna and Guy Ritchie are having a hard time understanding their own children. But in their case, it's because they speak in French all the time, reports Ananova.com. Movie director Ritchie's grandfather says Rocco and Lourdes have all but shunned English at home. The two have been attending the posh Lycee Francais School in west London, where they study the language. And with Lourdes now fluent -- and Rocco well on the way -- their folks are clueless as to what they are saying. "They talk to each other in French all day, chatting away nonstop," said John Ritchie. "It's very funny. Neither Guy or Madonna speak a word of the language so they cannot understand anything."
Elton is big Eminem fan
NEW YORK -- Elton John says that Eminem is on par with Jimi Hendrix and Mick Jagger. In the new issue of Rolling Stone, the rapper is listed in the magazine's second "Immortals" edition, featuring another 50 of the greatest figures of rock 'n' roll with appreciations written by other artists. In his immortalizing of Eminem, John writes that he got goose bumps when he first rehearsed with him for their performance at the 2001 Grammy Awards. "From the start, I've always admired Eminem's thinking," John writes. "That's the reason I wanted to appear on the Grammys with him when I was asked, despite all the nonsense talked about his being homophobic.
Notable death
PENNGROVE, Calif. -- Dale Messick, whose long-running comic strip "Brenda Starr, Reporter" gave her entry into the male world of the funny pages, has died. She was 98. Messick's strip ran in 250 newspapers at its peak in the 1950s. She died last week.
Today's birthdays
Actor Harry Morgan is 90. Actor Max von Sydow is 76. Actress Liz Sheridan is 76. Actor Omar Sharif is 73. Author David Halberstam is 71. Sportscaster John Madden is 69. R & amp;B singer Bobbie Smith (The Spinners) is 69. Sportscaster Don Meredith is 67. Reggae artist Bunny Wailer is 58. Actor Steven Seagal is 54. Folk-pop singer Terre Roche (The Roches) is 52. Actor Peter MacNicol is 51. Rock musician Steven Gustafson (10,000 Maniacs) is 48. Singer-producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds is 47. Rock singer-musician Brian Setzer is 46. Rapper Afrika Bambaataa is 45. Actor Jeb Adams is 44. Olympic gold medal speed skater Cathy Turner is 43. Rock musician Tim "Herb" Alexander is 40. Actor-comedian Orlando Jones is 37. Blues singer Shemekia Copeland is 26. Actor Ryan Merriman is 22. Singer Mandy Moore is 21. Actor Haley Joel Osment is 17.