Berry Reveals October 31, 2007

Oscar winning actress Halle Berry has opened up about her troubled childhood and said she had to endure watching her father beat her sister and mother. The actress says she is guilty she couldn’t do anything to stop that, mirror.co.uk reports. She said: ‘It was the worst year of my life. The hard part for me was that he never abused me. I felt like a coward because I didn’t do anything and couldn’t do anything.’ Berry grew up in Cleveland with her mother and father until her parents divorced when she was four. But her father moved back when she was 10 because her mother thought she needed a father figure.

Action, Adventure Thrill Priyanka Chopra October 31, 2007

Former Miss World Priyanka Chopra may have done more roles as the docile love interest in Bollywood films, but the dusky beauty says it is adventure sports and action scenes that get her adrenalin pumping. “I freak out if I can go for some adventure sports,” Chopra told Reuters. “I’m too lazy to play cricket or football or even to run. I would rather enjoy jumping off a cliff.” Like most Bollywood heroines, Chopra, 25, has acted mostly in films where the girl has to look good and be able to lip-sync and dance. But of late, she has starred in fast-paced action roles in films such as “Don” and “Krrish”. She says she fell in love with action roles while shooting for the slick remake of the hit gangster film “Don” and was now trying out some tough and strenuous acts in her forthcoming movie “Drona”. “Like adventure sports, action excites me anytime now,” she said. “In ‘Drona’ I am doing some great action stunts and I’m loving it thoroughly.” “Drona” is expected to open next year.

Mallika Sherawat Replaces Tabu October 31, 2007

Mallika Sherawat has replaced Tabu in writer-turned-director Sanjay Chhel’s latest venture ‘Maan Gaye Mughal-e-Azam’. Apparently the producers of the film were unwilling to pay the price Tabu asked for. Obviously the role has undergone critical modifications to suit altered conditions. Chhel disagrees: “I’m a writer. So I know exactly how to place an actor into a character. Yes, Tabu was to do the role. But the way I look at it now, the role is perfect for Mallika. If Naseeruddin Shah had done Black wouldn’t it have been different from the way Amitabh Bachchan played the character?” In the past too, the industry has had some incredible casting makeovers, like Tabu stepping into Rani Mukherjee ’s space in Mira Nair ’s The Namesake and Lisa Ray getting into Deepa Mehta ’s Water , originally earmarked for Nandita Das . Chhel asserts that his film isn’t a spoof on the classic “Mughal-e-Azam”. “No one in his right mind would satirise that all-time classic. My film is about a theatrical repertoire. Everyone — Rahul Bose, Kay Kay Menon, Mallika — has a comic role.” Rahul and Mallika hit it off like a house on fire during Pyar Ke Side Effects. While Pritish Nandy Productions is still planning a sequel, Chhel has gone and got the unlikely pair together again. It would be interesting to see Mallika do yet another role, after ‘Pyar Ke Side Effects’, where she is not cast in her sex-bomb image.

Kareena Kapoor to Don Bikini? October 31, 2007

If rumours are to be believed, Kareena Kapoor is all set to turn hot for Tashan. Though Kareena has played a number of glamourous roles in her acting career, she has never exposed beyond a limit. Now, that limit might be redefined. Tinsel town is abuzz with talk that Kareena will wear bikini for a few portions of the Yashraj Films presentation ‘Tashan’ that has Bebo pairing with her new beau Saif Ali Khan . It is learnt that director Vijay Krishna Acharya and producer Aditya Chopra want to present Kareena in an entirely new avatar in ‘Tashan’. Aditya was previously instrumental in presenting Aishwarya Rai and Bipasha Basu in hot avatars in Dhoom 2 . Now he is apparently doing the same to Kareena. Reports say the reason why Kareena has been shedding her flab and getting in shape in the last few months is for the bikini scenes that will be shot in February next year. However, there has been no official confirmation of this either from Kareena or from the film’s makers. Apart from Kareena and Saif, ‘Tashan’ also stars Akshay Kumar and Anil Kapoor.

Tons of Sex’ Secret Behind Kelly’s Figure! October 31, 2007

Strictly Come Dancing star Kelly Brook has revealed the secret behind her striking figure – “having tons of sex”. In an interview for the December issue of ‘Company’ magazine, the model and actress also disclosed that fighting and fantastic lighting keeping the passion in her relationship alive. “Fight a lot. Even if you agree pretend you don’t. It’s about mentally stimulating each other as much as it is about the physical and emotional side,” the Daily Mail quoted Brook, as saying. “Fantastic lighting! When you redecorate, make sure everything’s on dimmers. Either that or candlelight,” she added. However, she confessed that her looks didn’t quite help her to find work. “I have to audition for things. They don’t just hand it to me because I look hot. I wouldn’t keep working if it was just about looks. I’m 27 and there are tons of hotter girls who are 10 years younger than me,” she said. Brook also slammed girls who marry soccer stars for the moneyed lifestyle. “I’m not saying all girls who shack up with footballers do. But I would hate to be a girl thinking, ‘What am I going to do when I leave school?” she said. “I’ve done it all on my own,” she added.

Tweed Skirts, Brown Shoes Made Mirren Cry October 20, 2007

Actress Dame Helen Mirren has revealed that she wept when she realised that she had to wear tweed skirts and brown shoes for her role as Elizabeth II in the film ‘The Queen’. The Brit actress, who won an Oscar for the role, said that she found it hard not to like the royal, but the costumes really made her cry. “The Queen is so much a part of my parents’ generation and so much a part of the history and culture of Britain that although they were fervent antimonarchists it was very hard not to like her. But when I came to the costume fittings I literally cried,’ Times Online quoted Dame Helen, as saying at The Times Cheltenham Literature Festival. Besides, after playing Elizabeth I in the TV series on the monarch, she reveals, she was in a sort of fantasyland since for the series she wore ostentatious stones. “I’d just done Elizabeth I – that had been a trip into fantasyland. We shot it in Lithuania and they had made all this jewellery, pearls and diamonds and sapphires and they laid it out on a table in my dressing room. I dressed myself up like a Christmas tree,’ she said. “To go from that to the brown shoes and tweed skirts, Barbour jackets and Hermes scarves, I found it very hard to be someone who chose to wear these clothes. I thought I would never be able to understand this woman,” she added. However, the actress added that the costume designer as good and the tweed skirt was the best one could make. “We had a very good costume designer and if it was a tweed skirt it was the best you could get, had a lining inside of beautiful silk and fitted me to the millimetre with a bit of padding that I was wearing. The fit of everything was perfect and then I understood what it felt like to be the Queen,” she said. “I absolutely grew to love portraying someone unlike me who is not vain on that level in the slightest. She has all the diamonds in the world but she is at her happiest in old wellingtons and an old Barbour,’ she added.

Kashmira Gets Good Luck October 20, 2007

Separation hasn’t brought any bad vibes between Kashmira Shah and her ex husband Brad Listermann. Kashmira and her boyfriend Krishna are gearing up for their performance on ‘Nach Baliye 3’ contest. And just a few days back, Kashmira got a surprise call from Brad in the US. Brad called in to wish Kashmira good luck for her performance. Moreover, he even spoke to Krishna. Kashmira says she was pleasantly surprised to hear from Brad. She adds that Brad still continues to be a friend of her even though they have separated. Kashmira and Krishna have been practicing very hard for the ‘Nach Baliye’ contest. They are having troubles working on their dance steps because both their choreographers are down with injuries. The couple faces tough competition from other contestants.

Neha Dhupia October 20, 2007

Neha Dhupia recently collapsed on the sets of Saurabh Shukla’s upcoming film ‘I’m 24′ due to sheer exertion. “I was overworked. Even before I could realise anything, I collapsed on the sets. Saurabh was quite concerned and gave me a break for three hours to rest. Believe me I was really happy to get a break after a long time,” Neha told a news agency. The 26-year-old actress, who bagged the Miss India Universe title in 2002 and made her Bollywood debut in Qayamat a year later, admits that beauty contests are a gateway to the film industry but doesn’t guarantee success. “Yes … beauty contests give aspirants a great platform and loads of media visibility, which helps you in bagging films. However it doesn’t stamp success on your debut. To be successful one has to really work hard on one’s acting skills and personality,” she said. “For grooming oneself, any type of experience is good. These days newcomers learn acting in acting institutes and it helps them greatly,” Neha said. While some of her contemporaries are signing projects in Hollywood, Neha frankly says that she hasn’t got any such offers and that she has no immediate plans to test her fate outside Bollywood. “I haven’t been offered anything from Hollywood as yet. And I don’t want to make noise unnecessarily,” Neha said. “I am waiting for the right offer to come my way. Till that moment I am happy in Bollywood and enjoying my work here.”

Michelle Rodriguez May Face Jail Time October 20, 2007

Actress Michelle Rodriguez violated probation again in a drunken driving case by failing to complete her community service and not following an alcohol education program, prosecutors said. Rodriguez went to court Friday to answer to the latest claims by the city attorney’s office, which said the former “Lost” actress submitted a document stating she performed community service on Sept. 25, 2006, but later admitted she was actually in New York City that day. The document was required as part of the 30 days of community service Rodriguez was ordered to serve for violating probation in a 2003 drunken driving case, according to court papers filed Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. If she is found to have violated terms of her probation, Rodriguez could face between 477 to 537 days in county jail and a $2,000 fine. Rodriguez, 29, kept quiet in court as her attorney, Richard Beale, argued that she performed 30 days of community service and said “a clerical error” caused the discrepancy in the paperwork. Superior Court Judge Daviann L. Mitchell granted Beale’s request to call two county sheriff’s supervisors who signed off on her community service forms to testify. The judge set a hearing for Oct. 12 and ordered Rodriguez to spend 30 days doing road maintenance work after finding that she did not complete an alcohol education program. He also admonished Rodriguez to take her probation more seriously. “I’m not impressed with your completion schedule,” Mitchell said. “There were 55 people here in court today and all but very few have completed their responsibilities. They work on much less flexible schedules than you do.” Rodriguez was placed on three years’ probation after she pleaded no contest to hit-and-run, driving on a suspended license and drunken driving in connection with two incidents that occurred in Hollywood in 2003. She was found to have violated terms of her probation after she was arrested in Hawaii on a drunken driving charge. When she returned to Los Angeles, Rodriguez was ordered to spend 60 days in jail, but she served less than a day because of jail overcrowding. She was then ordered to perform community service and remain on probation until June 2009. Rodriguez appeared in one season of ABC’s “Lost.” Her film credits include “The Fast and The Furious,” “Blue Crush” and “Girlfight.”

Stiller Finds Heartbreak at Box Office October 10, 2007

There’s something about a reunion of Ben Stiller and the Farrelly brothers that audiences didn’t want to see. Stiller and the Farrellys’ “The Heartbreak Kid” pulled in a modest $14 million during opening weekend, coming in at No. 2 behind “The Game Plan,” which remained the top flick for the second-straight weekend with $16.3 million, according to studio estimates on Sunday. Paramount and DreamWorks had expected more from “The Heartbreak Kid,” which reteamed Stiller with Peter and Bobby Farrelly. The trio collaborated on 1998’s smash “There’s Something About Mary.” The studios had gotten positive reaction from audiences at advance screenings, but reviews for “The Heartbreak Kid” came in much harsher than expected, said DreamWorks spokesman Chip Sullivan. “We were surprised,” Sullivan said. “The reviews hurt us. We love the movie. We’ve seen it play great. But I think reviews do matter on an R-rated movie.” An update of the 1972 comedy written by Neil Simon and directed by Elaine May, “The Heartbreak Kid” stars Stiller as a man who marries an incompatible bride, then meets the perfect woman on his honeymoon. “The Heartbreak Kid” did manage to come in slightly ahead of the $13.7 million first weekend of “There’s Something About Mary,” which lingered in theaters for months and became one of 1998’s top hits at $176.5 million. Movies hung around longer then, but today’s films tend to live or die based on their opening weekends, analysts said. That bodes ill for “The Heartbreak Kid,” which would need to hold strongly in coming weeks to make good on its $60-million-plus production budget. “The shelf life of films is so much shorter today than it was 10 years ago,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. “You have to make your mark early to sustain yourself in today’s marketplace.” “The Heartbreak Kid” also played much wider — 3,229 theaters, about 1,000 more than “There’s Something About Mary,” which still managed to pack in far more viewers. Based on today’s higher ticket prices, “There’s Something About Mary” pulled in nearly 3 million people over opening weekend, compared to just over 2 million for “The Heartbreak Kid.” In limited release, George Clooney’s acclaimed legal drama “Michael Clayton” opened strongly with $704,000 in 11 theaters, a promising lead-in for the film’s nationwide rollout on Friday. Released by Warner Bros., “Michael Clayton” stars Clooney as an attorney at a huge Manhattan law firm dealing with personal financial ruin while trying to salvage a class-action case for a corporate client. Disney’s “The Game Plan,” a football family tale starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, held up strongly in its second weekend, raising its total to $42.8 million. Overall revenues were down for the third-straight weekend, with the top-12 movies taking in a meager $65.7 million, off 35 percent from the same weekend last year. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released on Monday. 1. “The Game Plan,” $16.3 million. 2. “The Heartbreak Kid,” $14 million. 3. “The Kingdom,” $9.3 million. 4. “Resident Evil: Extinction,” $4.3 million. 5. “The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising,” $3.7 million. 6. “Good Luck Chuck,” $3.5 million. 7. “Feel the Noise,” $3.4 million. 8. “3:10 to Yuma,” $3 million. 9. “The Brave One,” $2.3 million. 10. “Mr. Woodcock,” $2 million.