Superiorpics.com: Entertainment News Sunday, February 10, 2008

BECKHAM NO-SHOW FUELS SPICE GIRLS RIFT RUMOURS

VICTORIA BECKHAM has fuelled rumours of a rift between her and the other SPICE GIRLS, by staying away from bandmate MELANIE C's solo concert in New York on Saturday (9Feb08).

Victoria Beckham and son Cruz David Beckham enjoy a day of shopping at 'FAO Schwarz' and 'Dylan's Candy Bar'. New York City, USA - 09.02.08

The other members of the girl group, Emma Bunton, Geri Halliwell and Melanie Brown, stunned fans at the Manhattan Center when they appeared to support Sporty Spice.

They whooped, cheered and gave the singer a standing ovation at the end of her set, performed to a half-empty auditorium.

But Beckham was notably absent, despite having attended New York Fashion Week earlier in the week (begs4Feb08). The Spice Girls are also all due to appear onstage in nearby New Jersey on Sunday (10Feb08) for the first of three gigs in the state, as part of the U.S. leg of their comeback tour.

Beckham's absence comes amid growing speculation it was her decision to cancel gigs in China, South Africa, Australia and Argentina, so she could spend more time with her family.

The band have denied claims of a bust-up between Beckham and the rest of the group, insisting the rumours are "rubbish" - but Posh Spice's bandmates refused to respond when asked why she had stayed away on Saturday.

Mel C has also revealed she was sad the band cancelled the concerts, releasing a statement saying, "Melanie would like to make it perfectly clear that at no point has she refused to continue with the Spice Girls Tour.

"She is disappointed that the tour isn't continuing at this stage."

Source: WENN

| Sunday, February 10, 2008

WINEHOUSE'S HUSBAND: 'DON'T LEAVE ME AMY'

AMY WINEHOUSE's jailed husband BLAKE FIELDER-CIVIL has severed all ties with his family in a bid to prove his love and dedication to the soul star.

BLAKE FIELDER-CIVIL and AMY WINEHOUSE

Fielder-Civil, who is currently behind bars in London's Pentonville Prison, reduced the Rehab singer to tears during a jail visit earlier this week (ends08Feb08) when he gave her a handwritten letter pleading with Winehouse not to dump him.

Winehouse was reportedly furious with her spouse after he revealed all about their tempestuous relationship, via his mother Georgette, in a British tabloid last Sunday (03Feb08).

In the interview, Fielder-Civil revealed how he had warned the singer she'd be dead within three months if she didn't check herself into rehab, while he also admitted the star had fallen asleep on more than one occasion when she came to visit him.

But in a heartfelt two-page apology to Winehouse, Fielder-Civil claims to have disowned his supportive family to show how willing he is to save their nine-month marriage.

He says: "Baby, oh darling. Please don't leave me Amy. I'm so worried that now you're thinking straight you'll realise I'm not worthy of you... I'll do anything to show you my heart and loyalty is with you...

"Me and my family are finished for good. No visits, phone calls, nothing. I love my new family and can't wait to show them I'm not just a f**king loser and that I can look after their daughter.

"Your (sic) family now, if you'll all have me. Pls (please) don't leave me Amy, pls."

Fielder-Civil, 25, has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice and will stand trial in June (08).

The 25-year-old is accused of attempting to fix the outcome of a previous trial for grievous bodily harm.

Source: WENN

| Sunday, February 10, 2008

FRANKLIN HONOURED AT GRAMMYS TRIBUTE

Soul legend ARETHA FRANKLIN has been honoured at a music industry tribute as part of this month's Grammy Awards celebrations.

ARETHA FRANKLIN

John Legend, Herbie Hancock, Shirley Caesar, the Blues Brothers and Bill Cosby all took to the stage in Los Angeles on Friday (08Feb08) to pay tribute to the 65-year-old, who was named 2008's Person of the Year by MusiCares, a Recording Academy charity supporting music education.

Civil rights leader Reverend Al Sharpton told guests, "There may be a debate about who is the president, but there is no doubt about who is the queen."

Franklin is set to perform at the Grammy Awards on Sunday (10Feb08), where she is nominated for her 18th award for Best Gospel Performance for a duet with R+B star Mary J. Blige.

Source: WENN

| Sunday, February 10, 2008

PARTON: 'LEAVE MY FAMILY + FRIENDS ALONE'

Country icon DOLLY PARTON warns new friends about their ties to her, explaining they could become tabloid targets.

DOLLY PARTON

The caring singer admits she gets mad when the media takes aim at her family and friends to get stories related to the star.

She tells the upcoming issue of Ladies Home Journal magazine, "Sometimes they hurt members of my family. It's embarrassing. They don't know how to deal with it.

"I just say, `Hey, you think I like this? I am truly, truly sorry. This is what you get for being my buddy. So please accept my apologies.' There's not a thing I can do about it.'"

Source: WENN

| Sunday, February 10, 2008

NO COUNTRY AND JUNO LEAD WGA AWARDS

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN and JUNO have been honoured with the top prizes at the Writers Guild of America (WGA) Awards this weekend (09Feb08).

Ellen Page and Olivia Thirlby in 'JUNO'

Joel and Ethan Coen won the Best Adapted Screenplay award for their Oscar-nominated thriller, while Juno writer Diablo Cody took home the Original Screenplay prize for her quirky film about a pregnant teenager who chooses to give up her baby for adoption.

Meanwhile, Alex Gibney was praised for his work on Taxi to the Dark Side, winning him Best Documentary Screenplay, and U.S. TV hits The Wire and 30 Rock were honoured as Best Dramatic Series and Best Comedy Series respectively.

Other winners of the WGA Awards include The Sopranos (The Second Coming) for Best Episodic Drama; The Office (The Job) for Best Episodic Comedy, The Colbert Report for Best Comedy/Variety; The Young + the Restless for Best Daytime Serials, and Mad Men for Best New Series.

The WGA announced the winners of their annual awards on Saturday (09Feb08), after cancelling the ceremony because their members are on strike.

Source: WENN

| Sunday, February 10, 2008

WILLIAMS SPLASHES IN SEA AT LEDGER'S WAKE

LATEST: HEATH LEDGER's former fiancee MICHELLE WILLIAMS joined friends and family of the late actor to celebrate his life on Saturday (09Feb08) by jumping into the ocean at his favourite beach.

MICHELLE WILLIAMS and HEATH LEDGER

The joyous wake at Cottesloe Beach on Saturday (09Feb08) in the Brokeback Mountain star's hometown of Perth, Australia, followed a sombre memorial service in the morning, which was attended by more than 600 family members, friends and fans of the tragic star.

This was followed by a private funeral for immediate family at Fremantle Cemetery, where the actor's body was cremated.

Williams did not bring her and Ledger's two-year-old daughter, Matilda, with her to the memorial.

Ledger was found dead at his New York apartment on 22 January (08), aged just 28. Toxicology results released earlier on Wednesday (06Feb08) revealed he was killed by an accidental overdose of prescribed medications.

Source: WENN

| Sunday, February 10, 2008

HUDSON WANTS MORE KIDS

Actress KATE HUDSON Is desperate to have more kids - even if she has to be a single mother.

KATE HUDSON

The Oscar-nominee split from ex-husband Chris Robinson - the father of her four-year-old son Ryder - in October (07).

Hudson insists she's not looking for love again yet, but enjoys motherhood so much, she's already thinking about having more babies.

Hudson says, "It is still the greatest thing in the world. I can't wait to have more. It's the best thing ever."

Source: WENN

| Sunday, February 10, 2008

RATATOUILLE SWEEPS ANNIE AWARDS

RATATOUILLE swept the board at the animation industry's Annie Awards in Los Angeles on Friday (08Feb08), taking home 10 prizes.

Remy and Linguini in a scene from 'Ratatouille'

The International Animated Film Society chose the rodent tale for the year's top honour of Best Animated Feature, beating Bee Movie, Surf's Up, The Simpsons Movie and Persepolis.

Ratatouille also scooped best writing and directing credits for Brad Bird, best voice acting for Ian Holm, best music, character animation and production design.

The Disney/Pixar 2007 film, about a rat in Paris, France, which dreams of becoming a chef, is nominated in five categories - including best original screenplay - at this month's (Feb08) Academy Awards.

Source: WENN

| Sunday, February 10, 2008

BALDWIN'S BATTLE OVER POLITICS

ALEC BALDWIN and his acting brothers regularly come to blows over their political beliefs - because they're all passionate Republicans and Democrats.

ALEC and STEPHEN BALDWIN

The Cooler star Alec and brother William are both fervent Democrats, while youngest Baldwin Stephen, a born-again Christian, is a die-hard Republican.

And Stephen, who is backing evangelical Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee in the ongoing U.S. race for the White House, says, "Alec said to me recently, `My youngest brother, a Christian conservative Republican. My God, how did that happen?'

"But he's pretty cool with me. I'm the youngest. Sometimes I'm just a dummy or an idiot in his mind about everything. But he still loves me.

"William, though, we can sometimes mix it up (fight) a bit."

Source: WENN

| Sunday, February 10, 2008

FAVREAU SHEDS WEIGHT

Actor/director JON FAVREAU lost a staggering 40 kilograms (90 pounds) while shooting his new movie IRON MAN.

Robert Downey Jr. and Jon Favreau in a scene from 'Iron Man'

The Swingers star had piled on the pounds and weighed in at 132 kilograms (290 pounds) when he decided to trim down last March (07).

And Favreau found it easy during his film shoot - he just looked at pictures of himself looking fat, and steered clear of on-set catering.

He says, "Usually you gain weight when you're making a film. But instead, I didn't go near catering. My nice assistant Karen brought me food measured every time I had a meal. And I lost, during shooting, 80 or 90 pounds."

Source: WENN

| Sunday, February 10, 2008

BARDEM WINS GOLD AT BAFTAS

Spanish actor JAVIER BARDEM has added another prize to his collection after winning the Best Supporting Actor gong at the British Academy of Film and Television Awards (BAFTAs).

JAVIER BARDEM

The star's critically-acclaimed role in the Coen brothers' No Country For Old Men beat competition from his co-star Tommy Lee Jones, There Will Be Blood's Paul Dano, Philip Seymour Hoffman for Charlie Wilson's War, and Tom Wilkinson for Michael Clayton.

Accepting the honour at the London ceremony on Sunday (10Feb08), he said: "I want to thank the mummy and daddy of, not mine, (but) Joel and Ethan Coen, because without them there would be no film..."

Meanwhile, German drama The Lives of Others triumphed in the Best Foreign Language Film category, after being chosen ahead of movies including La Vie En Rose and The Diving Bell And The Butterfly.

However, The Diving Bell And The Butterfly won gold in the Best Adapted Screenplay category, with the award going to writer Ronald Harwood.

This Is England was also an early winner at the BAFTAs - the Shane Meadows-directed drama, about a group of young skinheads in the U.K. in the early 1980s, beat competition from Atonement, The Bourne Ultimatum, Eastern Promises and Joy Division biopic Control to take home the Best British Film gong - the first award of the night.

Transformers star Shia LaBeouf was also honoured at the ceremony, after beating Sienna Miller, Sam Riley, Ellen Page and Tang Wei to the Orange Rising Star Award.

The honour, which praises up-and-coming Hollywood actors, is the only one of the BAFTAs voted for the public and was established in honour of late casting director Mary Selway, who died in 2004.

Source: WENN

| Sunday, February 10, 2008

ATONEMENT TRIUMPHS AT BAFTAS

ATONEMENT has won the top prize at the British Academy of Film and Television Awards (BAFTAs) on Sunday (10Feb08), landing the gong for Best Film at the London ceremony.

Keira Knightley and James McAvoy in 'ATONEMENT'

The romantic epic, starring James McAvoy and Keira Knightley, triumphed over German filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's The Lives of Others, the Coen brothers' No Country For Old Men, Ridley Scott's American Gangster, and Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood to claim the coveted prize.

But McAvoy and Knightley were overlooked in the Leading Actor and Actress categories, with awards going instead to Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood and Marion Cotillard for La Vie en Rose respectively.

Meanwhile, Spanish star Javier Bardem was named best Supporting Actor for No Country for Old Men, and British actress Tilda Swinton was honoured as best Supporting Actress for her role in legal thriller Michael Clayton.

Accepting his award at the capital's Royal Opera House, Bardem said: "I want to thank the mummy and daddy of, not mine, (but) Joel and Ethan Coen, because without them there would be no film..."

Joel and Ethan Coen also added to their growing collection of awards after they were presented with the Best Director prize for the Academy Award-nominated thriller No Country For Old Men.

The full list of winners is as follows:

Best Film - Atonement

Best Director - Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country For Old Men

Leading Actor - Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood

Leading Actress - Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose

Supporting Actor - Javier Bardem, No Country For Old Men

Supporting Actress - Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

Best British Film - This Is England (Mark Herbert/Shane Meadows)

The Carl Foreman Award for Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer in their First Feature Film - Matt Greenhalgh, Control

Best Original Screenplay - Diablo Cody, Juno

Best Adapted Screenplay - Ronald Harwood, The Diving Bell And The Butterfly

Best Foreign Language Film - The Lives of Others (Quirin Berg/Max Wiedemann/Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck)

Best Animated Film - Ratatouille (Brad Bird)

Music - La Vie en Rose (Christopher Gunning)

Cinematography - No Country For Old Men (Roger Deakins)

Editing - The Bourne Ultimatum (Christopher Rouse)

Production Design - Atonement (Sarah Greenwood/Katie Spencer)

Costume Design - La Vie en Rose (Marit Allen)

Sound - The Bourne Ultimatum (Kirk Francis/Scott Millan/David Parker/Karen Baker Landers/Per Hallberg)

Special Visual Effects - The Golden Compass (Michael Fink/Bill Westenhofer/Ben Morris/Trevor Wood)

Make-Up + Hair - La Vie en Rose (Jan Archibald/Didier Lavergne)

Short Animation - The Pearce Sisters (Jo Allen/Luis Cook)

Short Film - Dog Altogether (Diarmid Scrimshaw/Paddy Considine)

The Orange Rising Star Award - Shia LaBeouf.

Source: WENN

| Sunday, February 10, 2008

WINEHOUSE ALMOST QUIT REHAB

AMY WINEHOUSE is struggling to remain drug-free in rehab - she almost quit the programme earlier this week (ends08Feb08), according to her father.

AMY WINEHOUSE with her father MITCH

The Back To Black singer checked into a private London rehabilitation facility last month (Jan08) in a bid to kick her drug demons - but has found staying clean more difficult than she thought.

Her dad Mitch Winehouse says, "Amy has been through cold turkey but the worst is over. She had a wobble on Tuesday and wanted to leave.

"She'd started to feel better and thought, 'What the hell am I doing here?' That's the danger period.

"The staff called me in and we spent time together. It was like she was a little baby and had started packing. I sat with her all night. We both cried a lot and Amy agreed to stay."

And Mitch admits he grew so worried about his daughter's heavy drug use in the weeks before she agreed to enter rehab, he thought about having her sectioned under the U.K.'s Mental Health Act.

He adds, "I was so concerned for Amy's life I looked at the possibility. She was killing herself - but I now think rehab has been the best thing for her."

Winehouse left the clinic where she is being treated for drug addiction on Friday (08Feb08) to begin preparing for her performance via satellite at Sunday's (10Feb08) Grammy Awards.

But her spokesperson confirmed the star would continue to receive treatment and remain "under full medical supervision".

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Source: WENN

| Sunday, February 10, 2008

FANS WALK OUT OF ALLEN'S TV SHOW

Pop star LILY ALLEN disappointed the studio audience of her new talk show - over a third walked out complaining of boredom.

LILY ALLEN

Over 150 fans selected from the singer's "friends" on social networking website MySpace attended the taping at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, England on Friday (08Feb08) and watched as the 22-year-old struggled to read handwritten cue cards after a teleprompter broke.

One attendee says, "Everyone really, really wanted it to work for Lily. She is such a lovely person but all the jokes fell flat and she seemed very nervous.

"It just did not work. I do think she's got a nice voice but she didn't sing at all. I think everyone was expecting she would."

And after playing a series of Internet videos showing animals having sex, Allen seemingly failed to impress even her celebrity guests, with actor Cuba Gooding Jr commenting, "I don't know what's sicker, animals having sex or you clapping."

Source: WENN

| Sunday, February 10, 2008

CELEBRITIES' LONDON HANGOUT RAVAGED BY FIRE

A London pub regularly frequented by the likes of soul star AMY WINEHOUSE and supermodel KATE MOSS has been ravaged by flames after a fire broke out in the area on Saturday (09Feb08) evening.

The blaze, which is believed to have been caused by a gas cylinder explosion, ripped through north London's Camden Town pub The Hawley Arms and caused major damage to the building.

The pub is renowned for its celebrity clientele including British rockers Liam Gallagher and Razorlight, and was also a favourite with Hollywood actress Kirsten Dunst while she was dating the America hitmaker's frontman, Johnny Borrell, last year (07).

Source: WENN

| Sunday, February 10, 2008