Cruise-Holmes wedding spurs site speculation

Cruise-Holmes weddingspurs site speculation
ROME -- From George Clooney's estate on Lake Como to Mussolini's former residence on Garda Lake, press speculation on where in Italy Hollywood's most high-profile betrothed couple will tie the knot has only one consistent element: A lake. The likely site of the wedding of Tom Cruise to Katie Holmes, who are set to marry in an undisclosed Italian location Saturday, now appears to have been narrowed down to the Odescalchi Castle on Lake Bracciano, near Rome. The romantic, 15th-century castle -- with its halls, gardens, and even a chapel nearby -- can host up to 1,400 guests and has become the focus of the latest speculation. As international press began gathering in the quiet town Friday, local officials and residents remained tightlipped. "The only thing we have received in the past days is a request to clear the square in front of the castle," Bracciano Mayor Patrizia Riccioni told Associated Press Television News.
Blanchett's new role
SYDNEY, Australia -- Cate Blanchett hinted Friday that her acting career may take a back seat to her new role as the artistic director of a leading Sydney theater company. The Oscar-winning actress and her playwright husband, Andrew Upton, have agreed to become co-artistic directors of the Sydney Theater Company starting in January 2008. "The acceptance for the role of co-artistic director of this company is not a dalliance," Blanchett told reporters in Sydney on Friday, after officially accepting the position. "It's an absolutely firm commitment, and it is not one that Andrew nor myself have made lightly," she said. The Australian-born actress said the artistic director role would become her new full-time job, although she and Upton would be free for three months each year to pursue their own projects. Blanchett and Upton will write and act with the Sydney Theater Company, and will steer its programming.
Today's birthdays
Rhythm-and-blues singer Jimmy Hayes (Persuasions) is 63. Rock musician Booker T. Jones (Booker T. & amp; the MGs) is 62. Singer-songwriter Neil Young is 61. Rock musician Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (Blue Oyster Cult) is 59. Actress-talk show host Megan Mullally is 48. Olympic gold medal gymnast Nadia Comaneci is 45. Figure skater Tonya Harding is 36. Actress Radha Mitchell is 33. Singer Tevin Campbell is 30. Actor Ryan Gosling is 26. Actress Anne Hathaway is 24. Pop singer Omarion is 21.