Entertainment Magazine News

I'm so glad that Keanu Reeves has finally made another flick. It's been a while since I've last seen his handsome stony looks, so I was definitely thrilled when I learned that he is paired with Sandra Bullock with this new romance movie "The Lake House".

Warner Brother's "The Lake House" is a story of a romance formed between two estranged people as they are able to connect with each other through a certain mailbox. I can't say if such theme is unique in Hollywood films, since I haven't heard any films that used such "a thing connects two people". News, however, said that the film is basically patterned after a South Korean film in 2000. The movie talks about how love was formed between Kate (Bullock) and Alex (Reeves). In the movie, they apparently meet via a house mailbox. And by the way, Alex and Kate both reside in a same house. The only difference is that Kate is two years advanced from Alex's time. I guess that's just how the plot goes in the story. Unusual love story? I can say that it is not common, but very predictable.

Now, if you prefer to watch this cheesy romance flick, you need to address it in a fairy tale story type, in which a traveling mailbox is the center stage. In addition, the film also has lapses in terms of questionable scenes regarding both character's communication. However, I still appreciate the fact it's brave enough to come up with a supernatural storyline like the movie "Ghost". I also think that adventurous romantics, who want to explore how love is both blissful and poignant will fancy such cheesy and tacky love story.

Whenever we hear the word Hollywood, we always think about movie stars, movie sets, fame, fashion, glamor, etc. But little do we know, that the origin of that place where we go to see all of our favorite movie stars had a history that was quite different from what we might expect. Here are the three key points to the establishment of this place as the home of the famous stars.

Years before it became what it is today, Hollywood was a barren land, which was bought by a couple to become what was supposed to be a community that would preserve and reflect their own beliefs. The name Hollywood was actually a borrowed name when they got acquainted with a person who has used the name Hollywood before.

During this time, the growing film industry was still focused in New York. However, because of some issues they had there, people from the now growing industry moved to Los Angeles to escape. This proved to be one of the greatest advantages the West was able to offer to the industry of film making.

Los Angeles offered everything that was needed for the business to prosper. It had a suitable climate that allowed films to be shot outdoors because it was always sunny. It also offered a great new landscape. In addition to this, there was an abundance of workers.

Incidentally, the very first studio that was established that would start the beginning of a mushrooming of others was put up by David Horsley on Sunset Boulevard.

These were the three events that brought together what we now call Hollywood.

Last weekend, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie along with their newborn child and two older kids left Namibia after staying at the beautiful region for 2 months. Erongo's governor Samuel Nuuyoma confirmed the departure of the family, yet he declined to give further details. During a news conference held on Wednesday last week, the couple thanked the Namibian government as well as its people for the privacy and peace they enjoyed during their stay.

The news conference was the couple's first public appearance after Angelina gave birth to Shiloh Nouvel on May 27 at a private clinic in Walvis Bay. The healthy baby girl then weighed 7 pounds. Prior to Angelina's labor, the two famous Hollywood stars sought for privacy in Namibia with the help of the government. The couple was accompanied by older children Maddox (4 year old adopted from Cambodia) and Zahara (16 months old).

It must be noted that the surnames of both kids were legally changed to Jolie-Pitt after the actor announced his intention of adopting them too. Needless to say, the two stars denied the rumors of an approaching wedding. Brad and Angelina developed their romance during the filming of their hit movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

The Canadian actor playing the role of Jack Bauer in the hit TV series “24” is all happy to hear the news of a film adaptation of the Fox series. Keifer Sutherland, famous for his portrayal in the movies “ A Time to Kill” and “A Few Good Men,” revealed in an interview with the BBC that the talks on making a film version of the counter-terrorism thriller are well on its way to being closed. Playing the role of Jack Bauer was one of the most rewarding roles in the career of the male actor.

Sutherland plays the lead role in “24”. Incidentally, he is also the series' executive producer. The filming and production have been scheduled to start for the spring and summer of 2007. The show's writers: Robert Cochran and Joel Surnow have both agreed to write the scripts for the movie.

Sutherland has signed with Fox to do 3 more seasons of the hit series. The contract is said to value at $40 million making him the single highest-paid actor for a drama series on TV. He won a Golden Globe award in 2002, the Screen Actor's Guild Awards in 2004 and 2006 for the series.

Wardrobe or costume supervisors are commonly hired in big-budgeted productions in Hollywood. These talented people are often in charge with overseeing the costumes or wardrobes including the accessories that are to be used in the set . They work even before the actual production starts brainstorming on ideas and concepts related to costumes to be worn by the actors and actresses in the film.

A pool of people that are responsible for the costumes such as designers, design assistants, and standbys make sure that all the costumes are maintained and function properly. In addition, they also do research on a particular type of costume worn in a period in history associated with the film. They also organize the costumes in order to remain faithful to the movie's sequence of scene. Likewise, the costume supervisor also takes care of the budget allocated for the costumes. While there are some productions that require a good number of costume designers and supervisors, they also need the service of standbys or dailies.

This job requires an ounce of highly technical skills in wardrobe designing as well as organizational and budgeting skills. While it may also be physically demanding, this job also has its good side.

Following the birth of the first offspring of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, pictures are what would make it into the industry's headlines. Jolie chose to give birth in Namibia, apparently to escape the media and controversy. Following the birth, the couple donated $300,000 to two maternity wards in the country, which would help in the improvement of these hospitals. This was a charitable gesture from the couple, after being exposed to the condition of the people there, because of poor health standards in the country.

But the good gesture of the couple would not end there. Their being exposed to the sad truth about real life outside the comforts brought about by fame and fortune of Hollywood, has led the couple to some very self-actualized realizations. Despite being joyous about the birth of their first born, Jolie and Pitt were also saddened because they have realized that millions of babies in the world either die within a few hours after their birth because of inaccessible satisfactory medical facilities, or are living well below the poverty line. The couple is now selling the rights to the photos of their new born baby, Shiloh Nouvel, to raise money that would later on be donated to charitable institutions. The official distributor of the photos, Getty Images, expect to be able to get millions from the very much anticipated photos.

One of the more famous Chinese actresses in Hollywood today, Ziyi Zhang, famous for her portrayal as a Japanese geisha in “Memoirs of a Geisha,” is currently in talks with a film distributor to do three movies. The Weinstein Company, responsible for films, television and theatrical productions in Hollywood, is set to produce three movies with Zhang in the lead role. Among them is a Hollywood remake of the legendary film by Akira Kurosawa, “The Seven Samurai.”

Agents of the Chinese actress have said in reports that the talks transpired before the Cannes Film Festival last month and is still far from being closed. Zhang is inspired to play the “Samurai” role of a poor girl who dresses in boy's clothings just to free away from bandits. Weinstein got the rights to “Samurai” for Miramax in 2002, although no director, writer, or co-stars have made it is the list yet. Harvey Weinstein, the company's co-founder worked with Zhang in 2004 in the epic movie “Hero.” In addition to her Samurai role, there were also talks of making a film adaptation of the Walt Disney animated film “Mulan” where Zhang is said to play the role of Hua Mulan.

We are a bunch of meddlers as we love to pry into other people's lives. We read autobiographies and other real-life accounts on Hollywood celebrities, political and historical figures, saints and the not-so-saintly. What do we get from them? Nothing really, we just love to sit back, curl up in bed and read. For us, it's plain old entertainment.

I read this book about the life of the most-loved female celebrity in Hollywood today, Julia Roberts. Written by Paul Simpson and published by Reynolds & Hearn, it's one of the three real-life recountals I've read in my life. I must say this one is a good read not because it features a very popular celebrity who happens to be my idol but because of the way the story was told. I advise you to read this one for yourself.

The book follows the life of one of the highest-paid actress in Hollywood from her roots as a little girl who grew in Atlanta. Everybody knows who Julia Roberts is, what we don't know is how exactly did she climb to top of the Hollywood ladder. This Pretty Woman and Oscar-award winning actress has everything under her feet yet she manages be a simple person far from the complexities of celebrity life.

The new romantic comedy "The Break-Up", featuring real-life romantic couple Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn, has created a record in the Hollywood box office debuting at the top spot in North America. The ticket sales for the Universal Pictures release was reported to value at $38.1 USD for its first three opening days despite being scowled at by critics. Not bad for a $52 million USD project and not bad for someone like Aniston who had evidently spread her wings and busied herself with several projects after the Brad breakup.

The movie is about the story of a couple whose relationship is turning sour, but remained to stay together in their Chicago apartment. The story was co-written by Vaughn. The plot of the story prompted women to watch it. A large chunk, which is 67%, of the moviegoers were women.

Unexpectedly, "X-Men: The Last Stand" which made a recent history by landing as a weekend top-grosser, slipped down to # 2 in its second weekend. The animated movie "Over The Hedge" stayed at the constant # 3 spot while "The Da Vinci Code" slipped two notches down at # 4. The thriller movie released by Columbia Pictures, however, ranked # 1 abroad making a total of $51 million USD for a worldwide total of $172.7 million USD.

"X-Men: The Last Stand" proved its strength in the box office earning an estimated $120.1 million dollars in its opening week, making it the fourth biggest weekend gross in history. Produced by 20th Century Fox, "X-men 3" is another sequel which puts an end to the trilogy. The movie received mixed reviews, but it managed to gain a spot in box office history, bashing other big movies like "The Da Vinci Code". It joins the pack of weekend top-grossers in history like "Spider-Man", "Star Wars: Episode III" and "Shrek 2".

"The Last Stand" is about the 'cure' for mutants and the revelation of the Dark Phoenix story. Like all adaptations, the movie failed to be faithful to the Marvel X-men comic book. Even though I have personal gripes when it comes to the plot and conflict resolution, that Golden Gate bridge thing is still awesome! It was very entertaining, overall. The star-studded cast added to its appeal. Hugh Jackman played Wolverine, actress Halle Berry played the role of Storm, Ian Mckellen played Magneto, Patrick Stewart played Professor X, and a lot more additions to the whole X-men franchise cast. It was directed by Brett Ratner, with a script by the team of Simon Kinberg and Zak Penn.

More than just prop or background creators, set designers are artists. We all know that artists play a major role in the entertainment industry. These people are responsible for designing sets for TV shows, movies, music video and even TV ads or commercials. Competition in this area is also fierce since there are lots of talented young men and women who are creative geniuses, while others get their style and techniques through education. Requirement on education is very specific, too. Production outfits for TV and movies require set designers to have a degree in art and design, theater arts, TV or film production or other relevant degrees.

In the United States, this job requires you to work in major entertainment areas such as in New York or Los Angeles. But if you're deciding to be a set designer for TV, then you have more opportunities to be working in different TV networks around the country.

Set designing is a very rigorous and serious job. It requires a lot of skills and talents. There's much painstaking research that has to be done to come up with a design that can please your boss. Although it's a very laborious and demanding profession, set designers receive good compensation.

If there's a Hollywood director that's worth putting up a monument for then that would be Robert Zemeckis. Popular for his movies “Back to the Future” and “Forrest Gump,” Zemeckis was an Academy Award-winnind director. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Zemeckis graduated from the University of Southern California's School of Cinema-Television.

His first film success was “Romancing the Stone” which stars actor Michael Douglas and features an action and adventure story spanning some of the exotic places in the world, particularly in the desert areas of the Middle East (or was it Egypt?). The film made it big in the box office. “Back to the Future” followed suit. These films were Zemeckis' stone in the Hollywood edifice. He became one of the best directors in the film industry.

Zemeckis made an innovative approach in film-making by combining special effects and animation with live action. The first film to feature the technique is “ Who Framed Roger Rabbit.” The drama starring award-winning actor Tom Hanks, “Forrest Gump” also used the technique. You can see historical figures that seem to be alive in the scene of the film. He won an Academy Award for the movie. 2004's “The Polar Express” was the director's most recent film. It's an animated movie adaptation of the children's book written by Chris Van Allsburg.

Here comes the year's most anticipated birth next to Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Brangelina baby is born. The new addition to the Jolie-Pitt family is a girl named Shiloh Nouvel born in Namibia, in a hospital chosen by the hot couple. Jolie chose the country to keep the media far from reach. The paparazzis were foiled by the Namibian police and the couple's bodyguards. A Namibian Governor was asked by the couple to give the name. The baby was even offered a Namibian citizenship, but whether the parents accepted it is still out of my knowledge at this time.

The baby was very lucky to have survived considering that infant mortality rate in the country is pretty high. Knowing this dire condition, the couple donated $300,000 US dollars to two state hospitals in the country: one in Swakopmund and the Walvis Bay area. The donation was meant to improve the facilities for the maternity wards in the two hospitals.

Shiloh Nouvel was Pitt and Jolie's first biological child. Jolie adopted Maddox, a Cambodian in 2002 and Zahara from Ethiopia last year. The two children's surname was later changed to Jolie-Pitt.

Raggea music, a genre in the current music scene more commonly associated with the sensational star Bob Marley has lost another one of its beloved superstars. Desmond Dekker, made popular by his hit single "Israelites" in 60s died of what was believed to be caused by a heartattack.

Dekker was recognized when he came up with the hit single mentioned, which topped the US and Britain charts during the time. This was as a matter of fact the beginnings of the popularization Jamaican rooted sound - he actually paved the way to the more contemporary Bob Marley and the Wailers, as well as the others that followed the raggae scene.

During his time, the songs that he wrote were rooted on the more celebrated culture of violent street thugs, with songs such as "Rude Boy Train" and "Rudie Got Soul" - a single that made it through the soundtrack of the Jamaican film, "The Harder They Come".

Sadly though, his music was overridden by the sound and beat of more popular reggae sensations, but nevertheless, his music still remains in history as the catalyst by which the Jamaican sound became known to the world, as well as the success of his predecessors who became more popular than he did.

The soul man from Alabama won the fifth season of the widely popular American Idol. Taylor Hicks won the majority vote out of a staggering 63.4 million votes last May 24,2006. He bested Katharine McPhee from California in a star-studded 2-hour finale night at the Kodak Theater. A surprise appearance from Prince capped the night off but he wasn't the only celebrity who performed. Among them were Toni Braxton, Mary J. Blige, MeatLoaf and many others.

Hicks who is now 29 went home with the prestige of being and American Idol along with the show's past winners: Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino and Carrie Underwood. The gray-haired singer brought home a new Ford Mustang. Both Hicks and McPhee are expected to receive recording contracts from BMG Music Group which includes their own debut albums to be released later this year.

Fans of AI have set an all-time record fro the highest votes cast which is 64.3 million. During the entire season, viewers cast a total of 580 million votes. An estimated 200 million viewers around the world have watched the season finale.

Many cynics would claim that writing is not a lucrative profession. In fact most of the writers in history only earned fame and fortune, posthumously. But despite this bitter fact, many people still find joy in writing. Authors of endearing books have become well-accepted by their own niche in the market, some even reach the point of getting a film adaptation in Hollywood.

Among our contemporary writers, I would have to give two thumbs up to James Patterson, not only for his best-sellers but for the fact that he was an unusual writer. This author-multimillionaire will belie the preconceived idea that writers are poor people. Patterson who is now 59, was able to produce 39 books to date. Almost half of which landed at top spot of the list of New York Times Bestsellers. His books reached over 100 million in sales and has earned for himself a billion dollars in the US alone. His major titles include Along Came a Spider, Kiss the Girls, Cat and Mouse, Jack and Jill among others. The first two were made into movies while more Hollywood projects are at his doorstep.

Beyonce Knowles flies to South France for the 59th Cannes Film Festival to promote her film, Dreamgirls, a musical which is founded on The Supremes story. Knowles plays the role of Deena Jones, along with co-stars Jennifer Hudson (the 'American Idol' finalist) and Anika Noni Rose who plays Effie and Lorrell, respectively. The musical film is originally a Tony-award winning Broadway and critics were given an exclusive 20-minute sneak peek.

Beyonce (who was wearing a blue dress designed by mom, Tina Knowles) revealed that she lost 20 pounds for the movie but said the film is so important to her she would do anything. Also among the cast of Dreamgirls are Oscar award winner Jamie Foxx and Eddie Murphy. Among the Hollywood stars who were also spotted at the festival are Sir Ian McKellen and Penelope Cruz.

The film tells the story about a female soul trio. Their talent was discovered by Curtis Taylor Jr. (Jamie Foxx) and offered them to be the backup singers for musical sensation James Early (Eddie Murphy). Soon, the trio were catapulted to stardom and eventually, the spotlight centered on Deena. The movie will make its big screen debut on December 21.

Just when the story is all fired up, that was where Mischa Barton's character, Marissa Cooper, in the Fox series "The OC" was killed. The series ended it's third season with a twist: Marissa got killed in a car accident just right after their high school graduation. Call that tragic, but the untimely farewell of Barton in the show prompted everyone to wonder why when she plays a very important role in the story. There were rumors that Barton was all set to resign from her OC character.

The car accident happened when her boyfriend Ryan drove her to the airport in his brand new Land Cruiser, a gift from his parents. Marissa was set for a trip to Greece to work for his father's yacht. While on the road, the two came across a drunken Volchok. Ryan lost control of his driving and crashes, leaving the car in flames. He managed to pull Marissa from the wrecked car but it was too late.

Barton who is now 20 has a line of movies which are set to film next year. Before playing her now defunct role, Barton has graced several films like in the horror movie The Sixth Sense and the series "Once and Again."

In the entertainment scene wherein the latest fad is babies-- I mean, come on, Katie Holmes giving birth, Britney Spears pregnant, Brangelina baby-- it came somewhat of a surprise to learn that Paul McCartney's split up with four-year spouse Heather Mills is hitting the headlines. The couple were wedded on June 2002 at the Northern Ireland (four years following McCartney's ex-wife Linda Eastman's death) and had a two-year-old daughter named Beatrice. The marriage had been besieged by controversy, reasons include the couple's 25-year age gap. Now, the couple still tackles rumors surrounding their break up.

Most of the rumors circulating is that Heather Mills was just after the riches of the former Beatle. This could be true, considering that McCartney is worth around $1 billion. But McCartney dismisses the malicious speculations, saying that Mills is an altruistic person who spends most of her time helping the needy.

Indeed, McCartney met the model-turned-advocate Mills in 1999 in one of the events for her own charity. Then on, people have second-guessed a relationship between the two but they have kept it on the hush-hush until Paul confirmed it in 2000. Now that they have separated, and without a prenuptial, McCartney might just need a good personal lawyer specializing in divorce.

The year has been good for Sarah Jessica Parker. After years of starring in the HBO original series "The Sex in the City" which ended in 2004, Parker has been very busy doing films here and there. This Golden Globe nominee recently starred alongside actor Matthew McConaughey in the romantic comedy movie "Failure to Launch."

This time Parker is doing a film with his real-life husband, Hollywood actor Matthew Broderick. "Strangers with Candy" is a comedy directed by Paul Dinello is expected to be released this year. She is also doing another film and this time it's a thriller. "Vacancy" will start for production sometime this year.

The Sex and the City actress who even won an Emmy Award in 2004 for playing the part of sex columnist Carrie Bradshaw, has finally spoken about the rumors that the series is set to head fro the big screen. Although, there were plans of doing a film version and there was even a script written for it, Kim Catrall, the show's co-star has declined the idea for some reason. It's been two years since the show ended, but the blonde actress admits that she still keeps in touch with her former co-stars in the show.

If you're an aspiring fashion model, what would you do to be on the next cover of Elle Magazine? Being the winner of "America's Top Model" Danielle Evans walked away with not just that but a modeling contract from Ford modeling agency, and CoverGirl deal worth $100,000, and a photo shoot with famed fashion photographer Gilles Bensimon to be in the next issue of one of the hottest fashion magazines on Earth.

"America's Top Model," now in its 6th, is a reality series hosted by no other than Supermodel Tyra Banks. The show follows the lives of young women who all aspire to become the next top model in the US following the steps of Tyra Banks, Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, among others.

Danielle, who is just twenty years old did everything to win the contest. She even went to a dentist to close the gap between her two front teeth. Some of the girls even dyed their black hair to strawberry-blonde. Tyra and the other judges evaluated the girls base on their performance on the runway, their ability to carry fashion, and of course their looks.

Britney Spear's pregnancy came to be perceived in different ways by different people. To some it was perceived to be one of the greatest turning point in her life. It was a chance for her to become alive again, to live her life fully, as a mother. And to others, it was the biggest career mistake she had committed, as if her whole life only revolves around her career. But taken all together, it seems as though she is bound to stick to being a mother - that is especially because less than a year after giving birth to her first born, Preston, she is once again brooding one more being to populate the earth.

And just like the many different perceptions about Britney Spear's career, or life move, Daniel Edwards latest creation, "The Birth of Sean Preston" was also perceived in different ways. This life-size statue featuring a very much pregnant Britney Spears, buck-naked and positioned sensually in a birthing position was, like its real-life model, also perceived in different ways by different people. To some, it was a statement - a monument to pro-life. And yet to some, it had elicited negative comments and perceptions. But to the artist, well it was simply his interpretation of a beautiful young woman and the wonderful event of child-birth.

The movie adaptation of Dan Brown's best-selling novel “ The Da Vinci Code” is getting a lot of attention from the media lately. This may be or may not be a publicity stunt for the upcoming movie but most raves were centered on the religious theme of Ron Howard's masterpiece. The movie which stars award-winning actor Tom Hanks and the new sensation French girl, Audrey Tautou.

In India, Muslim groups are demanding that the movie be banned from the public claiming that the movie was a plain insult to Christianity. Creating protest all over Asia, Christian leaders are likewise fearful of the effects that the movie may spread misinformation about their religion. They are boycotting the movie and even attempted to barricade the movie's pre-screenings in Hong Kong. Even the head officials in Vatican is taking the movie seriously and even plans to file a lawsuit worried about the deleterious messages that the movie may impart. The film may cause unending debates among religious groups and other critics of the movie, pros or contras, but as they say the show must go on.

Though there are sudden claims of Tom Cruise's gaunt appeal to viewers, "Mission Impossible 3" still topped the box office last week, drowning over the movie "Poseidon" who came only as second.

With a disappointing lower opening and more than 40 percent decline in the succeeding week, the MI series, directed by J.J. Abrams, earned $25 million for its first week, which is merely sufficient to topple the $22.2 million figures of the remake of a boat-to-disaster 1970 story of Poseidon. Moreover, MI3 earned an average of $6,161 at more than 4,000 theaters, which resulted to a gross of $85.1 million in just 10 days.

While both seemed to progress disappointingly, both flicks are still good compared to Sony Films's "RV", a romantic comedy casted by Robin Williams, which came in third. The film got an average of $2,814 at more than 3,500 theaters, that is just about a down of 14 percent. On the other hand, Lindsay Lohan's "Just My Luck" movie showed no luck after all as it ran only as fourth. Lohan's flick only managed to acquire $2,240 at 2,500 sites in its coming out week.

At last week's American Idol episode, we saw rocker Chris Daughtry sing his final song leaving only three AI hopefuls to battle it out in the finale night which is going to air on May 24. Judge Paula Abdul couldn't believe to see Daughtry leave the stage crying her heart out that she couldn't even say a word. Even a half-expectant Simon Cowell was left flabbergasted at how the events turned out that night. Daughtry's elimination shocked the whole audience as well.

With Daughtry stepping out of the circle, that means it's tree on tree among the remaining contenders. Who will the next American Idol be? Will it be one of the two Southern gentlemen: Elliott Yamin and Taylor Hicks or the pretty California girl, Katharine McPherson?

On May 16, Tuesday the three remaining finalists will perform live for the nation, vying for the American Idol title. Each of the contestants will sing their hearts out in hopes of winning America's vote and the coveted opportunity to compete in next week's season finale. Each contestant will sing three songs: one song of the contestant's choice, one song chosen by the Judges and one song chosen by legendary music producer Clive Davis.