Thread: S'more Gossip ...

OZZY SUED OVER SHOW IDEA

A Hollywood producer has sued Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, claiming the couple stole the reality-TV show idea from him.

Gary Binkow claims to have met with the couple and Miramax TV execs several times in 1999 and 2000 to discuss creation of a "real-life docu-sitcom" based on the Osbournes' everyday life. The family just signed a $20 million contract with MTV for a second season of "The Osbournes," which chronicles the bizarre goings-on in the family's Beverly Hills home. An Osbourne spokesman declined comment, other than to dismiss Binkow's allegations.



FILM STUDIOS CRACK DOWN ON ILLEGAL DOWNLOADS

Hollywood studios say a new weapon they're using in their battle against illegal movie and video swapping on the Internet is working. Special software that searches the Web for copyright-protected movies has led to more than 100,000 legal notices warning Internet service providers to take action against illegal downloads. The Motion Picture Association of America says ISPs have demanded users stop the practice or shut off service violators. MPAA chief Jack Valenti says the crackdown is justified, citing estimates 400,000 to 600,000 films are illegally downloaded from the Internet every day.




BIG STARS SEEK CHET BAKER ROLE

Some of Hollywood's top leading men are interested in playing the part of jazz trumpeter Chet Baker in the film version of James Gavin's "Deep in a Dream: The Long Night of Chet Baker." Producer Harry Gittes says he has heard from representatives of Josh Hartnett, Matt Dillon, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jim Carrey about taking the role. Baker's talent and good looks made him a quick favorite in the jazz world of the early 1950s. But heroin use dominated his life, up to his death in a fall from a window in 1988.



MARGOT KIDDER HAPPY BACK ON STAGE

Margot Kidder went from the arms of "Superman" to a bizarre mental breakdown, only to recover and appear onstage in "The Vagina Monologues." Kidder has appeared in the wildly successful production in 13 cities and opens this week in Denver. Calling herself a poster child of mental health, the 54-year-old Kidder says nutrition-based therapy, not drugs, brought her back from manic depression and schizophrenia. Kidder said the "Monologues" script seemed "old hat" at first, but then realized that frank and open discussion of female sexuality is less common among young women today than a generation ago.



BLAKE DAUGHTER GETS CUSTODY OF OTHER DAUGHTER

The latest phase of the Robert Blake story plays out better than a Hollywood script. Blake's adult daughter Thursday was given custody of her half-sister, Rosie, the 2-year-old girl Blake had with Bonny Lee Bakley, whom he's accused of killing last year. Thirty-five-year-old Delinah Blake was granted temporary custody of Rosie in May and won permanent custody Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court. The elder Blake daughter, a psychologist, said in court documents she's been taking care of the little girl since the child was 3 months old. This week Blake was denied bail, a ruling that will keep him behind bars on murder charges in the May 2001 shooting death of Bakley. that poor baby





BRAD PITT'S NEW CHIN-DO

Actor Brad Pitt showed up at this week's premiere of his latest film, "Full Frontal," wearing a beard he likens to that of a mighty unpopular dude. He said he started the growth when he agreed to do the sci-fi epic "The Fountain," which is stalled while budget issues are work- ed out. The beard grew, Pitt said, and "Next thing I know I've got this bin Laden on my face."





J-LO, DANCER HUBBY TO DIVORCE

One day after her 32nd birthday, Jennifer Lopez filed divorce papers in Los Angeles following less than a year of marriage to dancer Cris Judd. The documents cited irreconcilable differences but a joint statement said the two will remain friends. The couple, who met while working on Lopez's music video, "Love Don't Cost A Thing," separated in early June. The New York Post reported Lopez and actor Ben Affleck, with whom she is co-starring in the upcoming film "Gigli," were chummy at Lopez's surprise birthday party in the Big Apple on
Wednesday.

OZZY TOUR BREAK FOR SHARON'S CHEMO

Heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne is on a three-week break from his OzzFest concert tour to be with his wife, Sharon, for her first round of chemotherapy. Sharon's first treatment was scheduled for Monday, nearly a month after she was diagnosed with colon cancer. Tests later showed that the cancer had spread beyond her colon. Ozzy left the tour after Sunday night's performance in Atlanta and will re-join as headliner of OzzFest on Aug. 22 in Denver. System Of A Down will head-
line in Ozzy's absence. Sharon has arranged for each fan to receive a "free special treat" from food concessions on the 11 dates Ozzy is not performing.



MISS N.C. QUITS OVER NUDE PHOTO THREAT

Miss North Carolina Rebekah Revels has dropped out of the Miss America competition after her former boyfriend told pageant officials about nude photos of her. The 24-year-old Revels told ABC's "Good Morning America" that the Miss America pageant would not let her compete after receiving an e-mail from her former boyfriend that suggested they "ask about two nude photos." She said the photos, taken while she was changing clothes, show her nude from the waist up revealing her breasts and face. Revels did not identify the former boyfriend, but said he was physically and emotionally abusive. ABC reported that pageant officials said she resigned on her own, but Revels described it as a pre-emptive strike.




BENJI'S TRAINER DIES

Longtime Hollywood animal trainer Frank Inn, whose four-legged celebrities include "Benji" of movie fame, died over the weekend at age 86. Inn was also credited with training Arnold Ziffle, the pig in the TV sitcom "Green Acres," and Tramp, the Douglas family dog in "My Three Sons."



MARILYN'S JEWELRY SOLD AT AUCTION

Costume jewelry and a silk dress once worn by Marilyn Monroe are being auctioned off Tuesday in London. The sale at Cooper Owen offers some of Marilyn's costume jewelry -- a ring, earrings and bracelets -- and her Pucci geometric patterned silk dress. The items were from the collection of her foster-sister Eleanor 'Bebe' Goddard.

SIR PAUL, LIZ AMONG KENNEDY HONOREES

Former Beatle Paul McCartney, actresses Elizabeth Taylor and Chita Rivera and actor James Earl Jones will receive 2002 Kennedy Center Honors. Since 1978, the honors salute performing artists who have made "a lifetime contribution to American culture." The 2002 winners were picked by a 103-person panel of fellow artists. On Dec. 8, the honorees will meet President Bush and the first lady at the White House prior to a gala dinner and performance at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.





AOL TIME WARNER CONFIRMS FEDERAL INVESTIGATION

Entertainment giant AOL Time Warner has confirmed its accounting practices are the object of an investigation by the Justice Department. The company said in a statement "it's not surprising" that government agencies would want to do some checking when questions are raised about a corporation's accounting. Last week, the media titan revealed the Securities and Exchange Commission had launched a "fact-finding inquiry" into its accounting. This followed stories in The Washington Post the company's America Online unit inflated its ad revenue with "unconventional transactions" from 2000 to 2002.
AOL maintains its accounting is in line with accepted practices.





SHAQ GOES BIG IN REAL ESTATE

Hoops star Shaquille O'Neal has made a $100 million deal with Urban Inc. to purchase 21 low-income housing developments in Colorado. The 7-foot-1-inch L.A. Lakers center said he'd rather put his money into low-income housing than invest in homes around a golf course or buy strip malls. O'Neal began investing in Colorado real estate four years ago.




JACKO CLAIMS FORGERY ON $13 MILLION PACT

Michael Jackson claims someone forged his signature on an agreement that he give his ex-business manager $13 million in back pay. The former manager, Myung-Ho Lee, claimed in a Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit that Jackson signed papers last September promising to pay for his business counseling. Court documents filed by Lee say Jackson is a "financial time bomb waiting to explode."
In newly filed court papers, Jackson says he signed no such agreement.

ERIN BROCKOVICH TO HOST LIFETIME SERIES

Erin Brockovich, the woman played by Julia Roberts in a movie about her now-famous legal fight, reportedly will host a reality-drama series on the Lifetime TV cable channel. Variety reports the show, called "Final Justice," is scheduled to begin early next year, with a commitment for 13 episodes.
Brockovich gained fame for her discovery of a cover-up involving contaminated water that made residents sick. Her work with a neighbor led to a class-action lawsuit that ended in a $300 million settlement.




BRITNEY EARLY EXITS MEXICO CITY GIG

Britney Spears left the stage only five songs into her Mexico City concert on Sunday night, but she says bad weather -- not bad behavior -- was to blame. Organizers say thunderstorms in the area made it too dangerous for the pop icon to continue. A local newspaper said Spears told the crowd as she left, "I'm sorry, Mexico. I love you. Bye." The paper said some of the 50,000 fans expressed their displeasure, throwing Britney Spears merchandise and yelling "fraud, fraud." Spears took some heat last week after making an obscene gesture to photographers when she arrived at the Mexico City airport. Later she explained the gesture was not aimed at her fans, but photographers that crowded her car.




NUDE SHOTS IN ANNA NICOLE'S REALITY SHOW?

With the debut ex-playmate Anna Nicole Smith's reality sitcom on the E! cable network this Sunday, producers are trying to find a way to sneak a few nude shots past censors. In the mountains of footage collected since shooting began last May are numerous shots showing the buxom blonde naked, producers told the New York Post. Executive producer Jeff Shore said they're trying to use footage that follows the show's story line --- and can get past E! censors. Smith, who once made her living dancing and posing nude, will star in the first
reality sitcom to be aired since the MTV smash "The Osbournes" last spring.
Liza Minelli and her new husband may star in VH1's version.



BUGS BUNNY TOP CARTOON CHARACTER: TV GUIDE

Hey, doc. Guess what's up?

TV Guide has rated Bugs Bunny the greatest cartoon character of all time. The "wascaally wabbit" is the only Top 10 cartoon character to have pre-dated television. Bugs Bunny first appeared in "Porky's Hare Hunt" in 1938. No. 2 is Homer Simpson, the father on Fox's "The Simpsons," followed by "Rocky and Bullwinkle," "Beavis and Butt-head" and Dr. Suess's "Grinch." Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble of "The Flintstones" also made the Top 10, as did Angelica Pickles of "Rugrats," Charlie Brown and Snoopy of "Peanuts" and various "South Park" characters.

'ED' COSTAR BUSTED FOR SMOKING CRACK

Police say actor Josh Randall, a costar on the primetime series "Ed," was busted for smoking crack with a homeless man in Brooklyn Wednesday night. The New York Daily News says Randall, who plays Tom Cavanagh's best friend, Dr. Mike Burton, in the NBC series, was arrested after an undercover narcotics agent caught him and the other man smoking crack. Both were charged with misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance. A conviction could land the 30-year-old in jail for up to a year.


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REGIS RETIRING?

TV fixture Regis Philbin says he's "thinking about" retiring. While chatting with Kelly Ripa during Wednesday's "Live With Regis & Kelly," Philbin cited study findings of widespread uncertainty among people about their retirement. "One in three people suffer from retirement anxiety ... well, I do (and) I've been thinking about it," Philbin said, adding he wouldn't know what do by 9 a.m. if he retired. The remarks come as the 71-year-old Philbin re-negotiates his contract with ABC.



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SHARON SENDS OZZY BACK TO ROAD

Heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne had such a rough time watching wife Sharon's first chemotherapy session she has sent him back to touring as headliner of OzzFest. Last week Ozzy began what he thought would be a three-week break from the road trip so he could be with Sharon for her initial round of chemo. A message on his Web site, however, says he nearly passed out during the session and was taken into a
recovery room. Realizing Ozzy would be better off on the road, Sharon told him to re-join OzzFest in time for the performance in Clarkson, Mich., next Wednesday. Sharon Osbourne underwent colon cancer surgery early last month. Later doctors found the cancer had spread beyond her colon and scheduled chemotherapy that started Monday.


KELLY OSBOURNE MAY BE UP FOR FILM ROLE

Kelly Osbourne, the teenaged daughter of Ozzy and Sharon, may take her music/TV career to the big screen. Variety reports the 17-year-old Osbourne daughter is in talks to play a supporting role in a remake of the 1976 flick, "Freaky Friday." The movie, which originally starred Jodie Foster and Barbara Harris, is about a woman and her daughter who argue most of the time -- only to wake up one day with switched identities. Osbourne would play the lead character's best friend and contribute at least one song, Variety said.

WAYNE BRADY TO HOST 'MISS AMERICA'

Funnyman Wayne Brady's quick wit and improvisation on ABC's "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" has won him a spot as emcee of this year's Miss America Pageant on Sept. 21. The 30-year-old Brady is the first African-American to host the beauty pageant in its 81-year history. The nation's premiere beauty contest has crowned five black women, all since 1984, although 1984 winner Vanessa Williams turned in her crown after Penthouse magazine published nude photos of her taken years earlier. Brady's daytime variety show --- The Wayne Brady Show --- is slated to debut Sept. 2 on ABC.
I might actually watch it just to see him ....


AOL: YOU'VE GOT MORE TROUBLE

AOL Time Warner stock took another hit Friday amid reports federal investigators were widening their investigation of the company's accounting. Shares dropped 6.4 percent after the Wall Street Journal reported the Securities and Exchange Commission was reviewing transactions between AOL and software firm PurchasePro.com. The SEC and Justice Department began investigating the entertainment giant after questions were raised about AOL's ad revenue practices with several companies, including PurchasePro.com.



ELTON JOHN TO PERFORM AT RENO FUND-RAISER

Pop legend Elton John is set to perform at a $500-per-ticket fund-raising event for former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, who is running for governor of Florida. The Reno campaign says John and Reno met while she was serving as attorney general in the Clinton administration. The event will be held Sept. 18, eight days after the Florida primary in which Reno is seeking the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.
There are no plans for Reno to sing with John at the event.

LOL ! The mental image that conjures up !!!!





TED TURNER SUES SLAVE DESCENDANTS

Media titan Ted Turner has sued elderly black residents of St. Helena's Island, S.C., claiming they are trespassing on his land. Forty-seven island inhabitants -- direct descendants of slaves -- claim they own the 68-acre patch of land through inheritances. Lawyers for Turner argue the residents should have spoken up in 1973 when the land survey was drawn or when the deeds were filed in 1979. Turner, the vice chairman of AOL Time Warner, declined comment.

DISNEY PAYS MINERS $1.5 MILLION FOR STORY RIGHTS

Disney has shelled out $1.5 million for book and TV rights to the nine men who were rescued from a flooded Pennsylvania coal mine.

Disney-owned ABC begins work immediately on the made-for-TV feature to be aired next season while Hyperion Publishing, also a Disney company, takes over book rights.

The miners -- who have become known as the Quecreek Nine -- agreed to work together rather than sell their stories separately. The miners reportedly received more than 120 offers for their story rights.




WEIRD GEORGE MICHAEL SONG NO HIT IN U.K.

British music fans have turned up their noses at George Michael's song that suggests a homosexual relationship between President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The New York Post says "Shoot the Dog" has sold a measly 3,000 copies in England, where it was released last week. The song implies that Bush and Blair are gay lovers and also rips the United States for its war against Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network.

Michael has said he will not release the song in the United States.


wise choice - might give a new meaning to "wham"




ELVIS RESORT IN THE WORKS?

A developer says he's trying to buy the 155-acre Elvis Presley Ranch just down the road from Graceland and turn it into an Elvis-inspired resort. J.D. Stacy of Atlanta said he envisions a place where fans could gather for conventions, do the things Elvis did and spend their honeymoon -- just like the King and Priscilla did.

Stacy wants to buy the ranch in Horn Lake, Miss., from supermarket tycoon William Floyd McLemore and purchase 650 adjacent acres to develop the resort. Elvis Presley Enterprises and the King's daughter, Lisa Marie, say not so fast -- they're not about to issue a license. But Stacy says his plan does not infringe on the Elvis trade-
mark. Stacy says he's throwing a kickoff party for the project next week and plans to serve an Elvis favorite -- fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches.

TONYA HARDING IN ALCOHOL TREATMENT

Ex-figure skater Tonya Harding says she has a drinking problem and is getting help. A judge in Vancouver, Wash., Monday deferred prosecution of charges the 31-year-old Harding drove under the influence of alcohol, stipulating she stay in an outpatient treatment program for two years. Harding said she attends sessions at a clinic three days a week and goes to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings twice weekly. She was arrested in April after police found her behind the wheel of a pickup in a ditch; her blood-alcohol count was twice the legal limit. At the time of her arrest, Harding was on probation for beating her ex-boyfriend with a hubcap two years earlier. She is scheduled to appear in another court Thursday on the parole violation, and could end up going to jail for five months if that judge finds evidence she drank.




NBC AIRS 'LOVING YOU' TO MARK ELVIS'S DEATH

NBC plans to broadcast Elvis Presley's 1957 film "Loving You" on Aug. 17 to mark the 25th anniversary of his death. The network, which bought the film from Paramount in 1968, will air a digitally restored version of the movie in high definition and with CD-quality sound. It's the first such treatment given to a Presley film. "Loving You" is a fitting memorial to Elvis, as it tracks the rise of a young delivery truck driver named Deke Rivers under a manipulative manager, not unlike his real-life handler, Col. Tom Parker.




SHAKY AOL ONLINE UNIT GETS NEW BOSS

AOL Time Warner has named an outsider to run its struggling online division. The entertainment giant Tuesday appointed Jonathan Miller, who once headed the interactive elements of USA Networks, as chairman and chief executive officer of its America Online division. Before joining USA Networks in 1997, 45-year-old Miller ran the international television operations of Nickelodeon. Miller comes aboard as the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice investigation AOL Time Warner for accounting practices related to ad revenue at America Online.

SARAH JESSICA: JFK JR. 'REALLY BEAUTIFUL'

Actress Sarah Jessica Parker all but swoons when she hears the name of onetime flame John F. Kennedy Jr. Now expecting a child, Parker says she's committed to husband Matthew Broderick but she tells Elle magazine the late son of former President John Kennedy was "really beautiful" and "beyond being a sexual person," not to mention an "extremely American handsome boy-man." Parker said 90 percent of her was able to forget that she was sitting across from an icon.


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EMI SAYS AOL TIME WARNER RIPS OFF SONGS

EMI Music Publishing has accused AOL Time Warner of illegally using songs from film classics like "Singin' in the Rain" and "The Wizard of Oz" for promotional purposes on America Online and Turner Broadcasting. In a copyright infringement lawsuit that was to have been filed this week, EMI seeks monetary damages and injunctive relief that it said could add up to millions of dollars. The company contends negotiations with the entertainment titan failed to reach a licensing deal. AOL Time Warner had no comment. The dispute is related to EMI's longtime contract United Artists and MGM.


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OSBOURNES SUED AGAIN OVER SHOW

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne have been sued for the second time in as many weeks over their wildly successful reality series on MTV. Threshold.tv claims the Osbournes and MTV are violating an intellectual property rights agreement between Threshold and the couple's company, Monowise. The company seeks unspecified damages, as well as ownership of the series "and all derivatives therefrom." Last week producer Gary Binkow sued the Osbournes, claiming they stole his idea for the series that became a hit on MTV. The Osbournes recently signed a $20 million contract for a second season.


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CONGRESS GETTING IMPATIENT WITH MARTHA?

A House panel probing Martha Stewart's sale of her stock in ImClone System reportedly has, for the first time, asked for records from her own company. The New York Times said investigators for the House Energy and Commerce Committee asked the domestic diva for e-mail messages and records of a business manager for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin, R-La., sent Stewart a "strongly worded" letter late Tuesday asking for the records by August 20. Stewart has said the ImClone stock sale is a personal matter. A committee spokesman said the panel has tried to set up a meeting with Stewart but none has been scheduled. Stewart sold 4,000 shares of ImClone a day before the company announced the government turned down its application for approval of a cancer drug.

MAG RIPS MCCARTNEY'S NEW WIFE

Heather Mills, Paul McCartney's new wife, reportedly took six years to register her landmines victim charity. An article in the current New York magazine says Mills, who lost a leg in an accident with a police motorcycle, is a "shameless self-promoter who turned the accident ... into a business opportunity." Her charity, the Heather Mills Health Trust, was not registered with the British government until 2000, six years after she began collecting money, and Mills can't account for those years, the magazine says. Royalties from McCartney's 1999 single "Voice," which were supposed to go to the charity, don't appear anywhere in the trust's accounts, the story said. Mills denied the allegations and said she is "honest and trustworthy."



CANCELED ELVIS CONCERT HELD 25 YEARS LATER

In August 1977 Elvis Presley died before thousands of fans were to have watched him perform in Portland, Maine, but they'll have the opportunity to see "The Concert That Never Happened" this weekend. Elvis impersonator Jack Smink -- he prefers to be called an Elvis Tribute Artist -- will perform at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland Saturday night to mark the 25th anniversary of Presley's death. The center promises "Two hours of music and entertainment featuring nationally acclaimed tribute artist Jack Smink performing Las Vegas style!" Promoters promise discounts to anyone holding original tickets to the 1977 concerts.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/mot...iestley_crash/

'Remarkable improvement'

Actor Priestley shows mobility, talks with doctors, family
Updated: Tuesday August 13, 2002 8:47 PM

INDIANAPOLIS (CNN) -- Actor Jason Priestley showed "remarkable improvement" Tuesday as he continues to recover from a weekend race car crash that left him with a fractured spine and other injuries, his doctor said. Priestley, 32, responded to doctors, talked with his family and showed more mobility.

"Mr. Priestley is currently in guarded condition, but showing remarkable improvement. He is a strong-willed young man who is doing great. We expect him to continue to do so," said Dr. Scott Bjerke with Methodist Hospital. The doctor said he expects Priestley to remain hospitalized for 10 to 14 more days, although that could change. "He's surprised me so far, so I expect it may be even less if he has his wishes," Bjerke told reporters.

Bjerke said Priestley would undergo further surgery, but he did not elaborate. He also said the actor would likely be able to resume racing if he wants. "I see no reason why he can't get back to racing and driving on city streets in the near future," Bjerke said.

Lorne Priestley, the actor's father, said it was good to talk with his, and he was glad to see him improving so well. "It's very gratifying to get that reaction because a couple days ago it was worse," the father said. "The whole family, we feel better as that happens." He said he has always supported his son's racing ambitions, but "it's always in the back of your mind" that an accident can happen.

Asked if his boy would continue to race, the father said, "I don't know. That's for later."

Priestley, who starred as Brandon Walsh in the 1990s television series Beverly Hills 90210, was taken Sunday to a hospital in Louisville after his race car crashed in the final practice session for the Infiniti Pro Series at Kentucky Speedway. Priestley suffered a moderate concussion, fractured spine and feet, facial bruises and cuts and a broken nose in the wreck.

He was transferred Monday to the Indianapolis facility.