| Star: Brad Pitt is spending time with his attractive assistant in his trailer Posted: 31 Aug 2011 08:57 AM PDT 
This week's tabloids take this whole "Brad Pitt must be boning his attractive assistant" story to its logical conclusion. At least, I hope this is the conclusion, although I guess I could see it going further. Previously, we've heard about Angelina Jolie getting pissed that Brad has an attractive assistant on World War Z - the chick's name is Lara Marsden. Brad continued to be photographed with Lara, and then the tabloids got into Lara's MySpace account and got their hands on lots of her bikini photos. Now Star Mag reports this week that Lara is spending lots of one-on-one time with Brad in his trailer. When Angelina heard about this, she pushed Brad, smacked him around a little bit, and then kicked him out of the house. Angelina Jolie stole Brad Pitt from Jennifer Aniston on the set of Mr. & Mrs. Smith and now Angie is worried that his 25-year-old assistant Lara Marsden will steal Brad while he films World War Z! "Brad spends a lot of time with Lara when he isn't filming," a source tells Star. "Lara looks after Brad, making sure he is well taken care of and getting him whatever he needs. She even bring tea to his 25-foot white luxury trailer in between scenes." And the people around them definitely thing something is going on. "You can definitely hear snickers and giggles from the crew members when Lara visits Brad's trailer alone," the source adds. You can bet this isn't making Angelina too happy. "Angie's been making her feelings about Brad's relationship with Lara known for months," another insider explains. "So when she found out Brad was still getting cozy with her, Angelina absolutely flipped!" Things got physical, according to the source, when Angelina confronted Brad — she pushed him against the wall and pointed her finger in his face! "Angelina was so upset she even kicked Brad out of their house, screaming 'Get out!,'" the source continues. "She was ranting and raving, threatening to pack up and take the kids away. Now she's barely speaking to him."
[From Hollywood Life] Here's what I believe: Brad could and would cheat, and he, like many men, think that he could get away with having a little fling with an assistant (or intern, or secretary, etc). I believe that Lara Marsden probably LOVES being Brad's assistant, and she might even be the one who is seeking him out for all of this alleged one-on-one time. Now, here's what I don't believe: that Brad would leave Angelina for some PA, or that Angelina would violently attack Brad, unless it was part of some sexual act. I also don't think Angelina is kicking Brad out of the house, now or ever. I also wonder if Angelina and Brad have some kind of clause in their relationship, where they can both get a little strange every now and then as long as it's never serious. Here's some extra stuff from Angelina's Vanity Fair cover thing. Rich Cohen, who interviewed Angelina, was on the Today show, plus I screen capped an additional image from the VF photo shoot. 
Photos courtesy of Fame & PCN.
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| Alex Skarsgard on filming w/ Kate Bosworth: ‘We were just good friends at the time’ Posted: 31 Aug 2011 08:36 AM PDT 
True Blood hottie Alex Skargard is one of the cover models for this month’s BlackBook Magazine, along with his ex girlfriend, Kate Bosworth, who is on a separate cover for the same month. They’re both promoting Straw Dogs, a remake of 1971 Dustin Hoffman film about a woman who returns to her country roots and is confronted by the angry ex boyfriend she left behind. BlackBook has put Alex’s interview online, and he comes across as just as thoughtful and well spoken as he always does. He really seems like a decent well-rounded guy and he’s even very gracious and sadly a little reserved when he’s talking about Bosworth. He doesn’t get into their now-over relationship at all, and just praises her as an actress and says he doesn’t want to reveal too much of his personal life. It sounds like they didn’t get together as a couple until after filming wrapped.
There’s plenty more in the article (along with some mild spoilers for upcoming True Blood episodes, so beware) and here are the highlights: 
 On the rape scene in Straw Dogs (spoilers)
The rape scene, which caused a stentorian uproar when the original Straw Dogs first screened four decades ago, is no less difficult to watch in the remake. After violating Amy, whose mix of pleasure and pain while being assaulted lends the scene a layer of uncomfortable ambiguity, Charlie sits back and watches as one his hulking cronies follows suit. "It f’ing breaks his heart, watching her get raped by someone else," says Skarsgård, the gaze of his piercing greenish-blue eyes difficult to match in this moment. "It's not like he ever says, 'Yeah, f&#k her!' In a way, he feels like she's his territory. He thinks, 'You're my woman. I offered to protect you for the rest of my life, but you didn't want that, did you? If you don't feel this passion, this real thing we share, then fine, you're on your own.' It's definitely more complicated than him f’ing her because he can't have her."
On Kate Bosworth
The set of Straw Dogs, the production of which Skarsgård admits was "exhausting on an emotional level," seems an unlikely place for romance to blossom—nonetheless, it's where he met Bosworth, whom he dated for two years until they broke up in July. "Kate is such a great actress, and she's so much more than a good-looking Hollywood starlet. We were just really good friends at the time," says Skarsgård, who lives on his own in a rented house in the Hollywood Hills. "But we shared a really special experience on that film." (Although I didn't know it at the time, Skarsgård was safeguarding a secret—the dissolution of his relationship with Bosworth had yet to become public fodder—which partly explains why our easy banter atrophied into guarded responses so quickly when the subject was broached. It didn't last long. A downright neighborly guy, he generously explained, "I make it a rule not to talk about myself and Kate. I so desperately try to keep my private life out of the tabloids because becoming a celebrity rather than an actor can really get in the way of a good performance.") On his Melancholia director, Lars Von Trier, getting banned from Cannes
Unfortunately, Von Trier's knack for eliciting career-topping performances from his actors was overshadowed when he uttered three little words during a press conference at Cannes: "I understand Hitler." Shaking his head at the foolishness of it all, Skarsgård says, "Lars isn't a racist, but he likes to provoke people. It's almost like he has Tourette's. If he'd been drunk and yelled it at someone—if it had felt genuine—that would be one thing, but it's just bullshit he says because he's trying to be funny. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, and it definitely didn't this time." Stephen Moyer acts like he’s giving Skars a beej
Before the cameras begin rolling, Skarsgård walks up to his mark in the center of the room, Moyer kneels in front of him—his character is picking something up off the ground when the shot begins—and the director watches them from his chair in front of a camera monitor. While waiting in their places, Skarsgård looks down at his costar and says dryly, "It looks like he's sucking me off," to which Moyer responds by bobbing his head vigorously. Skarsgård closes his eyes and starts moaning with the intensity of a slash-fiction hero, after which Moyer stands up and wipes imaginary fluids from his mouth with the back of his hand. He scans the crowd and after taking a slight bow says, "And the Emmy goes to… " A crew member whispers to no one in particular, "Now that's what I call 'Action.'" He’s nice to fans, but won’t bite them
Later that night, the fourth season of True Blood officially wrapped, Skarsgård returns home to shower before meeting me at the Hollywood Roosevelt for a burger and a few ice-cold bottles of IPA. Over two hours, he draws more than a few glances from a group of Australian tourists and even from social gadfly Rumer Willis, the daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore. "It's you, Eric, isn't it?" says one particularly guileless man, as if testing the waters before introducing Skarsgård to his wife. "Would you please take a picture with her?" He graciously obliges, wrapping his arm around the woman's waist and smiling for the camera. "Would you… bite her?" This he does not oblige. When the couple retreats back to a far corner of the restaurant, Skarsgård says, "That's one thing I'll never really understand. But the main reason I don't ever do it is because if I do it just once, every single person will be like, 'Bite me! Bite me! Bite me!'"
[From Blackbook via ONTD] 
Whenever I read or see an interview with this guy my crush is renewed. He’s not just playing some Hollywood game, he really does seem like he’s striving for normalcy and like he’s genuinely nice. The article has a little more on his thoughs on L.A. and the paparazzi. He says that “LA is such a one-trick pony—80% of the people here talk exclusively about managers and agents,” and that being photographed when he’s out seems “strange, and I want it to be strange—I don't ever want to feel like that's normal.” At least he’s willing to pose for photos like these, where we get to see him wear the hell out of suit and stare into our souls with those piercing blue eyes. They could have mixed up the poses for him a little more, though. These look too homogeneous in that he’s making the same intense face in every shot.
Straw Dogs is out in the US on September 16th. I’m still waiting to see how Alex and Kate handle the red carpet together, but you know he’ll be game for posing with her. He’s just that kind of guy.
Photos via Blackbook. Note that their site does not appear properly on Google Chrome.  |
| Evan Rachel Wood in D&G: too androgynous or is she a mini-Cate Blanchett? Posted: 31 Aug 2011 08:13 AM PDT 
I know, I just did a George Clooney-related post a little bit ago, but now we have even more photos! And not just of Clooney - these are photos from the Venice Film Festival photo call for The Ides of March. Unfortunately, there's no Gosdong (boo!). But there is some fashion porn happening with Evan Rachel Wood. All of a sudden, she's giving me Cate Blanchett vibes. I know, I know, that comparison isn't fair to either of them. But you can see a resemblance, right? And this Dolce & Gabbana suit looks like something Blanchett would wear (and work the hell out of). Does ERW pull it off? I think she does. I think Clooney thinks she does too: 
Am I going to have to worry about Clooney and ERW? Er… I think I might. Evan once said in an interview that Clooney had come up to her and told her, "You're really good at going from innocent to sexy in the drop of a hat." And then he hired her for his movie. And then he invited her to Lake Como. And then… God knows. More photos… I love Marisa Tomei, and I think she's beautiful and she's aging naturally. But she looks like hell here. Part of it is the fug dress, but part of it is just bad lighting and bad makeup. 
Philip Seymour Hoffman!!!! I keep forgetting he's in The Ides of March. He looks so hot. I would jump on him before Clooney. I'd jump on PSH before Ryan Gosling too, by the way. 
Photos courtesy of WENN.
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| Daryl Hannah arrested during a protest at the White House over an unbuilt pipeline Posted: 31 Aug 2011 08:00 AM PDT Daryl Hannah is an interesting one, alright, and I’m never quite sure what to make of her other than the fact that she’s a wee bit flaky. Don’t get me wrong — I absolutely loved her in Splash, and she made a magnificent display of badassery as Elle Driver in the Kill Bill movies. However, she’s not been doing terribly well in Hollywood lately and blames her acting downfall on a very severe case of agorophobia. Yet I’m not sure whether or not to believe her because she often skirts the truth on other issues. Just last year, CB reported on her absurd plastic surgery denial, wherein she sat there with a face full of botox and cheek implants while proclaiming that cosmetic procedures make one look like a “Muppet.” Really. Today, Daryl is making headlines for a very different reason though. She was arrested (as you can see in the above video) during an environmentally-related protest in front of the White House: Much-arrested Hollywood actress Daryl Hannah was taken away from the White House in restraints Tuesday afternoon. Hannah was taking part in an ongoing protest against the unbuilt Keystone XL oil pipeline. “Sometimes it’s necessary to sacrifice your freedom for a greater freedom,” Hannah said in Lafayette Park before her arrest. “And we want to be free from the horrible death and destruction that fossil fuels cause, and have a clean energy future.” With dozens of others, Hannah sat on the sidewalk in front of the White House and refused three requests from the Park Police to move. The group organizing the protest, Tar Sands Action, has said the Keystone pipeline — which will stretch from Canada to the Gulf — is among the most important environmental decisions that confront the president. An estimated 100 people were arrested outside the White House Tuesday. In Minneapolis, more than 20 protesters held up signs outside the American Legion national convention, at which President Barack Obama spoke Tuesday. The protest over the oil pipeline started during the weekend of Aug. 20, when more than 100 were taken away by Park Police. During those protests, Sgt. David Schlosser said the Park Police made the arrests for the violation of White House demonstration rules. He said demonstrators are required to stay in the center portion of the sidewalk in front of the White House. Hannah has been arrested while advocating for environmental causes in the past, from stopping traffic in West Virginia over coal mining to protecting urban gardens in Los Angeles.
[From NBC Washington] In the aforementioned video, Hannah almost looks pleased to be arrested, although I’m not sure why the arresting police officers would play into the game by choosing her first out of the entire crowd of protestors. Perhaps that was part of her intention in joining the protest because she knew that her celebrity, however minor at this point, would attract much more attention than any other of the other names to this cause. One thing is for certain — Hannah’s love of nature is genuine. Here she is in June with her really hairy boyfriend at Paradise Cove. 
Photos courtesy of Fame     |
| Matthew Fox is formally charged with assault for that biscuit-punching incident Posted: 31 Aug 2011 07:29 AM PDT 
On Saturday, Matthew Fox got completely and utterly wasted in Cleveland, Ohio. Once he was fully blitzed, he tried to board a private "party bus" with a female bus driver named Heather Bormann. Heather tried to stop Matthew from boarding the bus, considering it was only for paying guests. Matthew then began punching Heather in the boobs, stomach and biscuits. Heather punched him back in self-defense, landing a giant wallop to his face. Fox was handcuffed, detained and released. Since then, prosecutors have heard Heather's story and they've investigated her side of the story, and they decided to go ahead and charge Matthew Fox with assault. A party-bus driver filed assault charges against Matthew Fox Tuesday afternoon, two days after the “Lost” actor allegedly punched her repeatedly in an incident outside a Cleveland, Ohio, nightclub. “He got me pretty good,” Heather Bormann, 29, told CNN as she described an early Sunday morning fight with Fox. Representatives for Fox, who is in Cleveland to film a movie, have not responded to repeated CNN calls for comment on the allegations. Police who investigated the incident Sunday did not arrest Fox and instead let him take a taxi back to his hotel, according to a police report. The Cleveland prosecutor’s office said it was reviewing Bormann’s complaint against Fox. The prosecutor’s office did photograph bruises on Bormann’s legs and arms that she said she suffered from Fox’s blows. “He was swinging at my legs and, ultimately, my chest and my crotch area,” Bormann said in an interview Tuesday. She suffered a wrist injury when she punched him back, Bormann said. The fight started when Fox tried to board her bus, which had been rented for a bachelor party that he was not part of, Bormann said. Fox had one leg in the bus and one leg on the ground when she warned him to step off, which he refused, she said. That’s when he started throwing punches at her, she said. “He reeked of liquor,” Bormann said. “You could just smell it coming off of him. He had glassy eyes and a blank stare the whole time.”
[From CNN] "He had glassy eyes and a blank stare the whole time.” It sounds like Matthew was black-out drunk, right? I wonder if he even remembers punching this poor woman in the vadge. Not that I consider being blackout drunk a mitigating circumstance. Matthew Fox is 45 years old! He should know how to hold his liquor by now, because the thought of a 45-year-old drunk blacking out and then assaulting a woman is just sad and pathetic. 
Photos courtesy of WENN.
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| Britney Spears is grateful to her dad for “saving her life,” might marry Jason Posted: 31 Aug 2011 06:44 AM PDT 
Radar Online has a kind of heartwarming article about Britney Spears and how she’s grateful to her father for stepping in and saving her career and life with that conservatorship following her breakdown. It’s a nice reminder of how far Britney has come since she was carted away by ambulance in early 2008 and placed on a 5150 hold. I was blogging back then and I remember following her bizarre behavior closely. She was overmedicated, in my office chair physician’s opinion, and she needed someone to make sure she was on the right dosage and drugs for her condition. Her most talked about incidents at the time were when she shaved her head and later went after a paparazzo with an umbrella, but she also just used to drive around aimlessly, speak in a British accent and sit on the curb outside her house crying and fight with that evil dude who was trying to control her, Sam Lutfi.
After Britney’s dad took over there were plenty of stories that she resented it and just wanted some freedom, but she supposedly now knows that it was the best thing for her. Radar also reports that Britney’s beau, Jason Trawick, wants to propose but is waiting for the right time. The conservatorship could be lifted next year. Here’s more: Jamie became Britney’s conservator almost three years ago, after a series of very public meltdowns by his troubled daughter, who has since turned her life around and is back on track and back on top. “Britney now recognizes that if her father hadn’t stepped in and taken the action that he had, well…. Britney is now crediting Jamie for saving her life,” an insider tells RadarOnline.com. “Britney is on top of the world right now. She is getting ready for the next leg of her world tour, which will be on September 22 in Moscow. Her father will be with her for some of the European performances, along with her mom. “Britney’s relationship with her dad is in a very, very good place now. She was extremely emotional backstage before leaving for the VMAs and kept telling her daddy how much she loves him.” Three years ago, Britney had a now infamous and much ridiculed performance at the VMAs in which she appeared out of shape and unable to perform her signature dance moves. “Britney always knew she would have a comeback. She just didn’t know it was going to be on this level,” the source reveals. Meanwhile, there will be a routine hearing for Britney’s conservatorship on Tuesday morning to deal with accounting issues. “After Britney’s tour concludes, which will be at the end of this year, her doctors and advisers are going to meet and confer about how much longer the conservatorship should go on for,” the source tells RadarOnline.com. “There is a very good chance that a decision could be made to pull the plug in early 2012. “It’s likely that Britney’s business affairs will still remain under control of the conservatorship though, even if they determine that she no longer needs it for herself personally. The idea is that this will be a gradual transition for Britney to return to her life, on her own.” Britney might also have another reason to celebrate in the new year. “Jason (Trawick) is very, very serious about Britney,” the source shares. “Jason has made it known that he wants to marry Britney. It’s just a matter of timing of the engagement — and if the conservatorship is lifted off Britney personally, well, it makes it a lot easier for Jason to propose. He doesn’t want her to feel pressured, it will happen when the time is right.”
[From Radar Online] Does she really need to remarry? I mean I’m happy for her and everything but maybe she should be on her own, legally, for some time before she takes on another husband. Given Britney and Jason’s storied history, it just doesn’t seem like a great idea for them to marry, or for Britney to marry in general. Getting back to the conservatorship issue, it’s so nice to see Britney doing well and having completed two successful big tours after her very serious, very publicized problems. I would actually love to see Lindsay Lohan get clean and have a minor comeback of sorts. (Nothing too major, just enough to show she’s sober and totally embarrassed about her past.) Yes she’s awful and entitled and addicted, but it’s sad that there’s no one in her life who would help her, like Britney’s dad did, to get sober without trying to exploit her. 
     photo credit: WENN.com  |
| Giuliana Rancic vs. LeAnn Rimes: battle of the skinny twits Posted: 31 Aug 2011 06:08 AM PDT 
After writing that title I keep picturing LeAnn Rimes and Giuliana Rancic in a slap war flailing their arms around at each other and then getting tired from the effort. In reality they’re probably both tough as beef jerky and scrappy bitches, but they look like they would barely be able to land a punch. (My money would be on Rimes, though.)
So Giuliana, who has some very well documented body image issues and the disordered eating that goes along with that, recently told the Huffington Post that LeAnn Rimes had lost weight recently and looked better with some extra meat on her bones, basically. Giuliana should totally know better than to say that to a fellow starver. We’ve seen Giuliana get all worked up on several different occasions when people have publicly told her to gain weight. So predictably, LeAnn took to Twitter to tell Giuliana that she does eat and that they should share a meal together they could later exercise off. Really, that’s almost exactly what she Tweeted. Giuliana Rancic and LeAnn Rimes might be headed for a showdown — and there won’t need to be a weigh-in for this one! The heat stems from Rancic’s recent comments about Rimes’ slight physique, after the 35-year-old E! host told The Huffington Post she thinks the bikini-loving singer needs to put some meat on her bones. “She lost a lot of weight from all the stress in her life,” Rancic told the website. “She seems a little thin right now and I think she looks great when she’s a bit curvier.” Rimes was none too happy, calling out Rancic on Twitter quicker than you can say "Brandi Glanville." She wrote, “@GiulianaRancic hey, we should go to dinner sometime. You get criticized all the time for how small you are. You can see just HOW much I eat and maybe put a stop to this crazy 'shrinking' once and for all. “Then we should workout together! Good luck with your restaurant!!!!” When one of Rimes’ followers asked the singer to clarify her comments, Rimes softened her stance, tweeting: “I just don’t appreciate her comments, so I really would love for her to hang with me, see who I am. “I am a person you know.”
[From Radar Online] These two need to hang out. They have so much in common, namely a warped body image, a very unhealthy singular focus on eating and exercise, the need to get as much attention as possible and the ability to get incredibly offended at even the slightest perceived insult. They could be best friends if they were capable of anything other than extreme narcissism. 
Photo credit: WENN and Fame  |
| If Kim Kardashian wants to take her sex tape off the market, it will cost $30 million Posted: 31 Aug 2011 06:07 AM PDT 
These are some newish photos of Kim Kardashian, Kourtney and Kris Humphries in NYC yesterday. They got pap'd by a million different photographers all day. By the way, Kim and Kris also got "pap'd" on their honeymoon, shock! Us Weekly has the exclusive photos here - it's basically just a honeymoon photo shoot, professionally done, glossy and Photoshopped. There's also a threatening quote from a source claiming that Kim is the "the kind of bride who’d be thrilled if she had gotten pregnant on her honeymoon." KATFACE BABIES. Anyway, did you hear about Kim's sex tape and how "someone" wants to get it off the market? I think this might be less about Kim and more about Kris Jenner though: Someone is looking to buy the rights to the Kim Kardashian sex tape from Vivid Entertainment … claiming they’re willing to pay big bucks to “completely remove it from the market.” TMZ has learned the mystery buyer has hired a lawyer in Tennessee — who fired off a letter to Vivid honcho Steve Hirsch yesterday which reads, “I was approached by a private party who has asked us about looking into the possibility of acquiring all rights of the Vivid, ‘Kim Kardashian Sex Tape.’” The lawyer adds, “The party we represent does not intend to distribute or broadcast the ‘tape,’ but hopes to completely remove it from the market.” The buyer also wants to purchase all of the raw, unused footage (sex tape outtakes) that never made it to the DVD. The lawyer never identifies his client — but leaves a giant hint … writing, “We would purchase any other footage you may have control of that involves Ms. Kardashian.” The lawyer NEVER mentions the other person in the tape — Ray J. Sources close to Kim wouldn’t tell us if the reality star is the mystery buyer … but did reveal that Kim has previously shown interest in buying the rights to the tape.
[From TMZ] The guy in charge of Vivid, Steve Hirsch, tells TMZ that is this "someone" really wants to get the tape off of the market, he'd be willing to sell it for $30 million. Hirsch says, “Based on its long term value, it looks like $30 million would be a starting point for a discussion on all of the rights. I have no idea who is behind this offer … but If it’s Kim, I have a tremendous amount of respect for her. She has my number and can call me any time.” You know that for all of her tears and whining, Kim still signed the release for the tape, and she still profited from the sale, right? My only two theories are that Kim honestly wants the tape off the market now that she's "legit" OR Kim and her "team" (her mom) just want to remind everybody about the tape because… they're dumb. 
Photos courtesy of Fame.
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| Robert Downey Jr. & Susan are expecting (update: confirmed!) Posted: 31 Aug 2011 05:57 AM PDT 
I hope this is one of those odd times when Star Magazine/Radar has gotten it right - they're declaring, in an exclusive report this week, that Robert Downey Jr. and his wife Susan are expecting their first child together. RDJ already has an 18-year-old son, Indio, from his first marriage - and he and Indio are very close. But if this is on with RDJ and Susan, this will be her first child. Previously, Robert has discussed makin' babies with his wife, and there have been rumors that Susan and Robert have been trying to conceive for more than a year. So… I really hope this is true! Robert Downey Jr. and his wife of six years are expecting their first child together, Star magazine is exclusively reporting. The Iron Man star and wife Susan Downey — a film producer — are due in February, and family members say they're thrilled. "I think it's wonderful that she's pregnant," Susan's aunt, Nancy Miller, told Star in an exclusive interview. "The baby is due in February. Susan's father, my brother, called me about three weeks ago with the good news. Her parents are over the moon about it." Robert, 46, has an 18-year-old son, Indio, from his previous 12-year marriage to actress/singer Deborah Falconer. "It [doesn't] really matter if it's a boy or a girl," Miller added. "What really matters is that the baby is healthy." Robert is currently filming The Avengers with Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner.
[From Radar] RDJ and Susan have been married for… six years? They met in 2003 and they married in 2005. Susan is a powerful producer in her own right, and she's often credited (partially) with RDJ's career resurgence when he found sobriety. Susan keeps RDJ sane, and she just seems like a really cool, smart woman, and it seems like Robert worships the ground she walks on. And now they might be expecting! Fingers crossed that it's a girl. UPDATE: People Magazine just confirmed it! His rep says: “Robert and Susan could not be more excited over this news. They can’t wait to welcome this new baby into their wonderful family.” I think RDJ wants a girl too. *squeal* Also… I’m just sayin’. *side-eye at Jude Law* 
Photos courtesy of WENN.
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| Eliza Dushku tells the Daily Mail to suck it after they question Hayden Panettiere Posted: 31 Aug 2011 05:46 AM PDT 
Hayden Panettiere is apparently making appearances at conventions and charging fans $30 a pop for her autograph and $45 to take a picture. I guess this is standard procedure at this kind of event, but the Daily Mail went after her for it and questioned whether she needed the money and if this signified that her career is in the sh*tter. It wasn’t a bad question given the circumstances, and I’ve rarely heard a good word about Hayden or her attitude so she’s fair game in my book. Eliza Dushku penned an open letter to the Mail on her official blog in response to the article, slamming them for questioning Hayden but not signing their full name to the story or something. It didn’t make sense to me, because that was one of the milder editorials I’ve seen in that rag. Here’s Eliza’s letter:
Dear Sir, I write to you because the piece of your paper that concerns me was anonymous. The piece was 27th August titled "Are times that tough Hayden?" ridiculing and attacking the actor Hayden Panettiere for participating in a Toronto Expo fan gathering where fans are charged money (Oh shock! Oh shame!) in exchange for autographs, signed pictures, and the chance for a bit of face time with their favorite celebrity. My dear editor, how does Hayden's action differ from what you do for much of the content of your "news" paper? There we have celebrities exchanging their name (sometimes willy-nilly, no permission asked), their time, and their pictures in exchange for a bit of publicity for their work. At least the fan shows (such as the current Toronto Expo one) are honest and up front about the exchange. In addition, at these shows both fans and celebrities get some precious small contact with each other as real people. Your paper does not provide that value. Yes, you will have to tell me where you think you get off attempting to diminish a young actor who is attempting to reach out to fans in one of the only practical ways provided by the entertainment industry, an industry your paper is a part of and largely dependent on. It is particularly shoddy that the author scoffs at Hayden's lack of "Harry Potter" or "Spiderman" fame while leaving himself unnamed as "Daily Mail Reporter." Talk about being a parasite! Does Daily Mail Reporter want to shoot down Hayden's career, just at it's beginning, and then take a salary for doing so. Seriously, Sir, for shame.
[From Eliza Dushku's blog via SFX, ONTD] Yes the Daily Mail sucks, but it does seem ridiculous to charge $30 to $45 just to meet a minor celebrity from a television show. I think I know why Eliza is defending Hayden so staunchly. Eliza was at that exact same Fan Expo in Toronto signing for cash. I can’t verify how much she charged there, but she was charging $50 for fans to take a photo with her at a convention last year. So she’s all “this is common practice and you’re just as bad” while never admitting that she does the exact same thing and that’s why she’s taking this article so personally. I guess you have to do what you have to do when you’ve got a mortgage and car payments and your last steady television gig was canceled over a year ago. 
Photo credit: WENN.com  |
