Nicole Ritchie & DJ AM
The title of Hollywood's most on-again, off-again couple is up for grabs and Nicole Richie and DJ AM are claiming their stake for the prize!
Replacing rapper Eminem and two-time ex-wife Kim Mathers, Nicole and DJ AM (real name Adam Goldstein) have called it quits again — for the second time in five months — Star has learned. "Adam basically dumped Nicole," a source tells Star.
"He didn't want to keep going when it was going nowhere. He wanted out for a couple of weeks." Nicole's rep, Cindy Guagenti, tells Star, "We are not commenting." The telltale signs were there in the days leading up to the split.
Nicole, 24, looked sad and alone at California's Coachella Valley Music Festival on April 29 when she stood backstage by herself. And on May 10, Nicole rode rollercoasters by herself during a solo trip to the Magic Mountain amusement park in Valencia, Calif.
Ironically, Adam and Paris Hilton, 25, Nicole's former best friend, attended a private VIP party at Magic Mountain just two days later.
Nicole and Adam have battled major problems in the three years they've been an item — with most of the fights focusing on her partying and eating habits. While Adam has been sober for years, she was often a frequent fixture in the L.A. club scene.
And despite promises to add weight to her frail frame, she never did. The pair, who have a history of fighting and making up, split — seemingly for good — last December, after a 10-month engagement. But the skinny couple was seen kissing on New Year's Eve 2005 in Las Vegas.
By early 2006, Nicole, who briefly dated Jackass star Steve-O, 31, announced she was still in love with Adam and even moved in with him. Star reported that they were planning a July wedding. But the relationship began to cool, and the couple were rarely seen together in recent weeks.
The two lived together for most of 2005 in a Hollywood Hills home, but DJ AM, who has a full-time gig spinning records at Pure nightclub in Caesars Palace, now spends most of his time in Nevada.
Source
Madonna Aims to Shock in New Tour
MaDonna
Madonna launched her first world tour in two years Sunday with a Los Angeles concert in which she hanged herself on a cross, dressed in S&M gear and screened images of President Bush juxtaposed with Adolf Hitler, among others.
The enthusiastic crowd at the Los Angeles Forum included Nicole Richie, Rosie O'Donnell and Madonna's Kabbalah guru, Rabbi Yehuda Berg. During the two-hour concert – which began 50 minutes late – Madonna, 47, performed songs from her new album, Confessions on a Dancefloor, as well as such old hits as "Like a Virgin," "Ray of Light" and "Lucky Star," Reuters reports.
The "Confessions" tour will continue for two months in North America, then resume on July 30 in Wales for a five-week stadium swing through eight European cities. Shows in Japan are also scheduled for mid-September.
On Sunday, Madonna made her entrance lowered from the ceiling in a giant disco ball. Outfitted in dominatrix-like riding gear, she sang her new song "Future Lovers" accompanied by shirtless male dancers with ball gags in their mouths.
During "Live to Tell," she wore a crown of thorns and hung from a giant mirrored cross as video screens showed scenes of third-world poverty. Another video montage mixed images of Bush and Tony Blair with footage of Adolf Hitler and Osama bin Laden.
Midway through the new song "I Love New York," she cracked a joke about Bush and oral sex. There was no encore.
Source
New Arrest in Natalee Holloway Case
Natalee Holloway
Dutch police have arrested a new suspect in the year-old case of the Aruba disappearance of American teen Natalee Holloway.
The new suspect, who has not been named, has not been formally charged. His lawyer, Gerard Spong, said he would fight extradition to Aruba, ABC News reports. "My client is indicted of murder and manslaughter," said Spong.
"He has never met (Holloway). He claims that he has never seen her and he claims that he is completely innocent."
According to ABC News, the suspect was working in an Aruba casino when Holloway, an 18-year-old Alabama native, vanished in May 2005.
The suspect claims he does not know another suspect, Joran van der Sloot, who has admitted he kissed Holloway the night she disappeared. But Van der Sloot's lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, said, "Joran knew this individual casually, both from the tennis club and from seeing him out and about … and certainly hasn't spoken to him in the last six months or so."
Holloway's mother, Beth Twitty, said she and her family are trying not to be overly optimistic: "With each arrest and question and release, we have been totally just been devastated numerous times during the investigation, so we really have to just stop, take a minute and see what happens."
Authorities have arrested eight suspects in the case, including Aruba teen Geoffrey van Cromvoirt last month, and released all of them for lack of evidence.
Source
MTV Shows Off J. Lo's "Moves"
Jennifer Lopez
MTV is impressed by Jennifer Lopez's "Moves."
The network has given the greenlight to a new dance-based reality series executive produced by the multihyphenate diva.
In something of a Real World meets Solid Gold premise, the show will follow the lives of six aspiring dancers as they struggle to make it in the competitive world of professional dance.
The smooth-moving hopefuls include Staci, a former Pussycat Doll who wants to become a singer; Jersey, who hopes her dance moves will elevate her out of debt; Nolan, who has struggled with personal problems to make it to where he is now; Blake, the cocky guy, who makes sure everyone is well aware of his prowess on the dance floor; Kenny, a former baseball player and heavy party animal; and Celestina, who thinks of dancing as the first step in building her own hip-hop empire.
"There are very few people who have attained the level of success Jennifer has. Across music, film and more, she is recognized worldwide, and it all began with dance," Lois Curren, MTV's executive vice president of entertainment and programming, said in a statement.
"Now she will share her experience and knowledge with a new generation of dancers, and we'll find out if they have what it takes to stand up to her expectations."
Lopez, who took an active role in selecting the show's participants, is also slated to make cameo appearances over the course of the season.
"I started out as a dancer and I know what that world is," Lopez said in a statement. "These dancers have dedicated their lives to this and, honestly, the glory is not always there.
It's something they do only out of love. It's a tough life and I want to show that struggle."
The show's eight-episode run is scheduled to kick off this winter.
Meanwhile, if the rumor mill is to be believed--which J. Lo's camp insists it isn't--the singer-actress might currently have another project in the works. Call it a joint production with husband Marc Anthony, if you will.
In Touch magazine reports in its latest issue that Lopez is three months pregnant and expecting her first child in December.
Signs of her supposed pregnancy include a so-called belly bulge and visible gray roots--an indication that she may be avoiding dying her hair at the advice of her doctor.
Fueling suspicions even more, Lopez recently called off her world tour scheduled for this spring, according to a statement posted by Mirage Promotions on its Website.
Even so, reps for the Monster-in-Law star maintain she is not in the family way.
Source
"Da Vinci Code" Unlocks Millions
Russian Orthodox protesters stand in front of the Pushkinsky cinema where the premiere of "The Da Vinci Code" opened in Moscow, Thursday, May 18, 2006. The participants in the picket denounced the movie as insulting to Christians.
After all the mystery and controversy, The Da Vinci Code was finally unlocked for the public.
There was nothing cryptic about what was found. It was a hit.
Domestically, the film adaptation of Dan Brown's super popular novel earned an impressive $77 million, while raking in a huge $224 million worldwide.
Expressing delight, Rory Bruer, president of distribution for Sony Pictures, said the derisive reception given the work of director Ron Howard and star Tom Hanks at the $125 million's production's Cannes Film Festival premiere, as well as threats of boycotts by religious groups, clearly hadn't hurt business.
In fact, all the press coverage was probably a boost to an already high profile because of the success of Brown's thriller, which is built around a thesis that Jesus and Mary Magdalene's offspring live on, and that certain factions of the Roman Catholic Church are very, very unhappy about that. Unhappy enough to kill.
"I think basically this was certainly a film that audiences were going to make up their own minds about. Having a lot of newscasters from TV and radio and from newspapers asking audiences what they thought, raised awareness. And certainly we had some very high profile critics who liked the film. And probably our most important critic of all is Dan Brown--and he loved it!"
The PG-13 movie skews towards an adult audience, which bodes well for continued business during the upcoming weeks.
"Adult films tend to hold up better. They tend to play off over a period of time and certainly here in the U.S., with Memorial Day coming up next weekend, prospects are very good for a strong hold-over," said Bruer, who called the domestic gross above what the studio had anticipated and the worldwide gross "incredible."
"Audiences decide for themselves," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations, Inc., the company that tallies studio grosses. He also noted that media reports of controversy about both the content and critical response undoubtedly created additional "awareness," which made even people who hadn't bought the book, "want to see what the fuss was about."
The movie, which also stars Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen, Alfred Molina and Paul Bettany, as the albino killer monk, earned $29 million on Friday, $27.5 million on Saturday, and $20 million on Sunday, averaging a very impressive $20,616 per screen at 3,735 sites throughout North America.
That only added up to enough to be the 13th best domestic opening, but gave both Howard and Hanks their best ever openings. (The record for the number one domestic opening is held by Spider-Man's $114.8 million.) Internationally--playing in 90 markets--the gross added up to the second best opening ever, reportedly surpassed only by Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, which this time last year opened at home with $108.4 million, part of its whopping record $253 million worldwide.
A considerable way back in second place this weekend was Over the Hedge, the latest critter cartoon. But the DreamWorks pic's $37.2 million opening was slightly above studio expectations, according to Jim Tharp, president of motion picture distribution for Paramount Pictures, which now releases DreamWorks product.
"It's funny," said Tharp, citing the family friendly appeal of the PG-rated CGI tale about a pushy raccoon (voiced by Bruce Willis) who leads a bunch of furry pals on raids against humans whose suburb has encroached on their wilderness. Opening at 4,059 theaters, it averaged $9,172.
Also opening wide was yet another Lions Gate horror flick, the R-rated See No Evil. At 1,257 sites the pluck-out-your-eyes gory stuff, starring wrestler Glen "Kane" Jacobs, scared up $3,461 per screen for $4.3 million, only enough for sixth place.
The arrival of the two new hits pushed Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible III down to third place as it dropped 56 percent in its third week. But by earning $11 million, the action sequel edged past the significant $100 million mark to reach $103.2 million.
That's respectable, especially when compared to another recent expensive production Poseidon. Never successfully afloat, the big boat a-sinking drama sank 58 percent in its second weekend, taking in just $9.2 million to bring its current gross to merely $36.7 million.
At just one theater The King, ThinkFilm's R-rated religious themed drama starring Gael Garcia Bernal and William Hurt, kicked off with $9,100.
Although this weekend was up 80.1 percent over last weekend, it wasn't better than this time last year. The combined top 12 gross of $153.1 million was actually 2.1 percent below the $157.6 million generated when Revenge of the Sith hit screens 12 months ago.
Next weekend, which sees the arrival of Fox's X-Men: The Last Stand, has a chance to be a very successful Memorial Day weekend if business for this week's top entries hold up as expected.
Final figures are due Monday. The estimated top 10 domestic grosses for this weekend follow:
1. The Da Vinci Code, $77 million
2. Over the Hedge, $37.2 million
3. Mission: Impossible III, $11 million
4. Poseidon, $9.2 million
5. RV, $5.1 million
6. See No Evil, $4.3 million
7. Just My Luck, $3.3 million
8. An American Haunting, $1.6 million
9. United 93, $1.4 million
10. Akeelah and the Bee, $1 million
Source
Elton John says photographers "should all be shot"
Elton John
British pop star Elton John launched an expletive-laden tirade against the press in Cannes late on Saturday while presenting an award to a young actor during the annual film festival.
At a ceremony held by luxury jeweler Chopard, everything seemed to be going smoothly enough as John presented the Chopard Trophy to young Canadian actor Kevin Zegers, who co-starred in the film "Transamerica" with Felicity Huffman.
"He (Zegers) is only 21 years old, already he showed incredible talent and maturity," said John, wearing dark glasses and accompanied by actress Elizabeth Hurley.
"I sincerely believe he will be a huge star and a great actor for many, many years to come."
Then, as photographers called out during his address, he launched a volley of expletives at them, adding that they "should be all shot."
After handing the award to a smiling Zegers, he added: "They are a nightmare."
John, who is 59, is no stranger to strong language. Most recently, viewers complained when he swore during the Paul O'Grady Show on British television.
Source
