The Insider: Contributed by ryanmerket

Celebs Funny High School Pix

ryanmerket — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 23:20:49 GMT

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Daughter, 5, of Christian Music Star Steven Curtis Chapman Killed by SUV Driven by Teen Brother

ryanmerket — Thu, 22 May 2008 19:20:30 GMT

(AP) NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The 5-year-old daughter of Grammy-winning Christian music star Steven Curtis Chapman was struck and killed Wednesday by a sport utility vehicle driven by her brother, authorities said. The girl, Maria Sue, was hit in the driveway of the family's home Wednesday afternoon by a Toyota Land Cruiser driven by her teenage brother, said Laura McPherson, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Highway Patrol. The brother, whose name and exact age weren't available, apparently did not see the girl, McPherson said. No charges are expected. "It looks like a tragic accident," she said. Several family members witnessed the accident, which happened in Williamson County just south of Nashville. The girl died later at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, hospital spokeswoman Laurie Holloway said. In a statement, Velvet Kelm, a publicist for Chapman, said Maria was the Chapmans' youngest daughter. Chapman, who is originally from Paducah, Ky., and his wife have promoted international adoption and have three daughters from China, including Maria. They also have three biological children. /**/ The singer's Web site says the couple was persuaded by their oldest daughter to adopt a girl from China. The experience led the family to adopt two more children and create Shaohannah's Hope, a foundation and ministry to financially assist thousands of couples in adoption. The Chapmans did missionary work at Chinese orphanages in 2006 and 2007, according to the Web site. "After our first trip to China, my wife and I knew our lives were changing -- our eyes and hearts were opening to how big God really is, and we have wanted to experience more of that," Chapman says on the Web site. "We've really wondered whether or not we should just go to China and stay there. But I don't think so. I believe God is saying, 'I want you to go, get your heart broken, your eyes opened, and then take this story back to the church in America and around the world."' The 45-year-old singer also has released a book about being a father titled "Cinderella: The Love of Daddy and his Princess." He has won five Grammy awards and 54 Dove awards from the Gospel Music Association, according to Kelm. /**/

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'Top Model 10' accused of causing $500,000 in damage to NYC loft

ryanmerket — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 21:05:37 GMT

They may not be successful models just yet, but America's Next Top Model's current crop of contestants apparently unleashed some diva-esque behavior on the tenth-season's New York City loft. "These girls not only destroyed the floors, it appears they had food fights. There's ketchup and coffee splattered all over the landlord's $20,000 white drapes. There's lipstick on the walls," an insider told The New York Post in a Monday report. "They moved in furniture and made holes all along the walls." Top Model production company Anisa Productions rented the Lispenard Street loft from Michael Marvisi, and the insider told The Post the landlord was promised that any damage would be minor. Instead Top Model's production crew and the tenth-season contestants caused an estimated total of $500,000 worth of damage to the 4,200-square-foot loft, according to The Post. "The landlord is devastated," the insider told The Post. "Three other shows approached him [to use the loft] and he turned them all down for Top Model. And a tenant was supposed to move in a week ago, but when the place wasn't ready, they pulled out. Tyra Banks should be ashamed of herself." During their 10-week stay at the $6 million TriBeCa loft, The Post reported the contestants were responsible for damaging a $15,000 chandelier beyond repair and ruining the bathroom with water damage -- causing it to be tested for mold. "A plumber had to come fix the toilet and the water caused $90,000 worth of damage to the electrical store on the first floor," the insider told The Post. Top Model's production crew is also accused of having "punched hundreds of holes in the ceiling to hang lighting equipment," according to The Post. The crew also reportedly wrecked the loft's Brazilian wood floors -- meaning new flooring had to be installed when the contestants vacated the loft three weeks ago. In addition, Top Model also "skipped out on" a $1,500 electrical bill, The Post reported. While Top Model offered to settle for $125,000, the insider told The Post Marvisi has yet to be paid any money and now plans to file a lawsuit against the show. An Anisa Productions representative offered "no comment" when contacted by The Post. A Banks' representative did not return The Post's calls for comment.

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Paula Abdul Plotting Comeback Album

ryanmerket — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 07:41:41 GMT

Jonathan Cohen, N.Y. After re-launching her music career with an appearance on fellow "American Idol" judge Randy Jackson's new album, Paula Abdul is getting busy on her first new album since 1995's "Head Over Heels." The as-yet-untitled project will include remixes of Abdul's best-known hits, plus a host of new songs. In addition, Abdul tells Billboard that Paul Oakenfold and Akon are preparing remixes of "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow," her contribution to Jackson's album. The artist has already chosen three new tracks to accompany the remixes. "I will always be grateful for Randy getting me back into even the idea of helping me do this," says Abdul. "I didn't realize how much I missed it." For the artist, whose last new single was 1995's "Crazy Cool," the collaboration with Jackson consummated several years of vague conversations about working together. But during "Idol" auditions last July in San Diego, "Randy kept saying to me, 'I've got the perfect song for you. It sounds like you, like now, it's like a nod to you and your past, but it's you now,' " Abdul says. "And he played it, and it was after the first two bars, I knew it was a hit. I knew it was a total smash." "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow" was produced by Jackson and the Danish duo known as Deekay. Oliver Leiber, who wrote and produced Abdul's "Forever Your Girl" and "(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me," did some additional vocal production. Abdul, who scored her biggest hits with Virgin, now finds herself a free agent amid a music business that has changed drastically since her glory days. "I'm already getting interesting phone calls," she says. "I want to have the ability to expand on my other talents. I want to be more of a partner." Abdul is hoping "to have another single out by the end of 'Idol.' I could have another single out, and another single after that, and then have an album out before Christmas. It's the best of all worlds." Also on the horizon: a return to live performance. Abdul says she's been offered the opportunity to make guest appearances during the annual "American Idol" summer tour, but she says she's aiming higher. "For me, I have to have the visuals and the staging. That's what people expect from me, and the 'Idol' tour doesn't allow for that," she observes. "I have a whole plan. I do things that are very different and I'm all about setting a new trend and exploring. I have a lot of cool ideas." Source: billboard.com

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Angelina Jolie's Beautiful New Photos

ryanmerket — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 01:04:54 GMT

Angelina Jolie is looking like a glamorous old school movie star in her new ad campaign photographs! Jolie is modeling the new range of clothing from St. John brand - an American luxury label, which she signed on with back in 2005. The photo shoot was done several weeks ago, before the 32-year-old mother of 4 began showing her baby bump, confirming her current pregnancy. Angie, besides modeling the clothing line, is a spokesperson for the company's charity division, which was created in support of children's issues and causes. "She's a mother, actress and a philanthropist," said Richard Cohen, chief executive officer of St. John. Angelina was very excited about the project, saying: "I am a working mother who has set goals to accomplish a lot in this world. "I want my wardrobe to be beautiful, sexy and comfortable — all at the same time. St. John is all of those things."

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Patrick Swayze Diagnosed with Cancer

ryanmerket — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:54:31 GMT

Patrick Swayze, who starred in Dirty Dancing and Ghost, has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, his doctor says. "Patrick has a very limited amount of disease and he appears to be responding well to treatment thus far," Dr. George Fisher says in a statement. "All of the reports stating the time frame of his prognosis and his physical side effects are absolutely untrue. We are considerably more optimistic." The actor's rep adds: "Patrick is continuing his normal schedule during this time, which includes working on upcoming projects. The outpouring of support and concern he has already received from the public is deeply appreciated by Patrick and his family." Swayze, 55, started his career as a dancer before turning to acting. His breakout role was as a Catskills dance instructor opposite Jennifer Grey in 1987's sleeper hit Dirty Dancing. He also starred opposite Demi Moore in the 1990 blockbuster Ghost. On Broadway in the '70s he played the lead role of Danny Zucco in Grease – he returned to the New York stage in December 2003, for a brief stint in the revival of Chicago – before making his movie debut in 1979's Skatetown, U.S.A. Among his other screen roles were 2001's Donnie Darko and 1995's To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar, which he played in fabulous drag. And while Swayze has been happily married to the same woman, Lisa Niemi, since 1975, only last month Scarlett Johansson said quite seriously during her Hasty Pudding roast at Harvard that the man to whom she'd most like to be linked with romantically is, "Probably Patrick Swayze. My dream come true." Swayze's diagnosis was initially reported by the National Enquirer and New York Post, which both characterized the cancer as more severe than Swayze's doctor has. Each year about 33,000 individuals in the United States are diagnosed with cancer of the pancreas (a large organ that lies horizontally behind the lower part of one's stomach), according to the Mayo Clinic. Calling the condition "one of the most serious of cancers," the facility's Web site also states, "Pancreatic cancer spreads rapidly and is seldom detected in its early stages, which is a major reason why it's a leading cause of cancer death."

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Heath Ledger's death caused by accidental overdose

ryanmerket — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 18:05:45 GMT

(CNN) -- Heath Ledger died from an accidental overdose of prescription medications including painkillers, anti-anxiety drugs and sleeping pills, the New York City medical examiner's office said Tuesday. Actor Heath Ledger, 28, died January 22 at an apartment in Lower Manhattan. "Mr. Heath Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine," the office said in a short statement. "We have concluded that the manner of death is accident, resulting from the abuse of prescription medications." Hydrocodone and oxycodone are painkillers. Diazepam is an anti-anxiety drug commonly sold under the brand name Valium; alprazolam is also an anti-anxiety drug, sold under such names as Xanax. Temazepam, sold under such names as Restoril and Euhypnos, is a sleeping agent, as is doxylamine. Ledger died January 22 at an apartment in Lower Manhattan. The Oscar-nominated Australian actor, best known for his role as a stoic, closeted cowboy in the 2005 film "Brokeback Mountain," was 28. An autopsy done on the actor January 23 was inconclusive. In a statement released through Ledger's publicist, Ledger's father, Kim, said Wednesday: "While no medications were taken in excess, we learned today the combination of doctor-prescribed drugs proved lethal for our boy. Heath's accidental death serves as a caution to the hidden dangers of combining prescription medication, even at low dosage." Deadly cocktailHere are the drugs found in Heath Ledger's body: • Oxycodone -- narcotic/pain killer; trade names: OxyContin, Percodan • Hydrocodone -- narcotic/pain killer; trade name (combined with acetaminophen): Vicodin • Diazepam -- anti-anxiety drug; trade name: Valium • Alprazolam -- anti-anxiety drug; trade name: Xanax • Doxylamine -- sleep medication; trade name: Unisom • Temazepam -- sleep medication; trade name: Restoril -- Source: Drugs.com "Families rarely experience the uplifting, warm and massive outpouring of grief and support as have we, from every corner of the planet," his family added in the statement. "This has deeply and profoundly touched our hearts and lives. We are eternally grateful." Ledger's family returned to Perth, Australia, Tuesday for the actor's funeral, according to The Associated Press. Arrangements were private. Ledger had talked about his difficulty sleeping after back-to-back roles as a Bob Dylan persona in "I'm Not There" and the Joker in "The Dark Knight," the latter of which is due out this summer. "Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night," Ledger told The New York Times in November. "I couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going." In the hours leading up to Ledger's death two weeks ago, a housekeeper, identified as Teresa Solomon, arrived at the apartment about 12:30 p.m., a police source with knowledge of the investigation said. She saw Ledger lying on a bed face down with a sheet pulled up around his shoulders and heard him snoring, the source said. Masseuse Diana Wolozin arrived at the apartment about 2:45 p.m. to give Ledger a massage, according to the police source. About 15 minutes later, when he had not come out of the bedroom and the door remained closed, she went in, saw him lying in bed and set up a massage table. She shook Ledger, but he did not respond, so she used his cell phone to call actress Mary-Kate Olsen, a friend of Ledger's, in California, the source said. Wolozin told Olsen that Ledger was unconscious, according to the police source. Olsen reportedly told her that she would call private security people in New York. At 3:26 p.m., Wolozin called 911 and told authorities Ledger was not breathing. While on the phone with dispatchers, Wolozin tried to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Ledger, but he was unresponsive. Emergency personnel arrived seven minutes later, according to the police source, at about the same time as a private security person summoned by Olsen. The medical technicians performed CPR on Ledger and used a cardiac defibrillator, but their efforts were in vain and he was pronounced dead at 3:36 p.m. By then, two other private security people summoned by Olsen had arrived as well as police. His former fiancée, actress Michelle Williams, has asked the public to respect the need for her, the couple's 2-year-old daughter, Matilda, and others "to grieve privately." "My heart is broken," Williams said in a statement issued last week via her publicist. "I am the mother of the most tender-hearted, high-spirited, beautiful little girl who is the spitting image of her father. All that I can cling to is his presence inside her that reveals itself every day. His family and I watch Matilda as she whispers to trees, hugs animals, and takes steps two at a time, and we know that he is with us still. She will be brought up in the best memories of him." Condolences poured in from Ledger's friends and co-stars. "He was a wonderful guy, he was a wonderful actor, he had a wonderful future ahead of him, and I liked him," said actor Eric Roberts, who worked with Ledger in "The Dark Knight," the latest installment in the "Batman" series set to open in July. Colleagues on Terry Gilliam's film "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," which Ledger had been shooting in England, said the actor apparently had been suffering from a respiratory ailment in the days before he died. Christopher Plummer told Entertainment Weekly that Ledger had a "terrible, lingering bug in London, and he couldn't sleep at all. We all -- I thought he'd probably got walking pneumonia." Ledger's first American film was the teen comedy "10 Things I Hate About You" in 1999. He passed up several scripts before taking a role in the Revolutionary War drama "The Patriot" in 2000 and "A Knight's Tale" in 2001. He also played a supporting role in "Monster's Ball." But Ledger was perhaps best known for his portrayal of Ennis Del Mar in "Brokeback Mountain," Ang Lee's film about two cowboys who had a secret romantic relationship. The role earned Ledger a best actor Oscar nomination.

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Katie Holmes storms out on Tom over Scientology

ryanmerket — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 17:58:01 GMT

A distraught Katie Holmes has stormed out of a crisis meeting with her husband Tom Cruise, furious over damaging publicity about his Scientology beliefs, and humiliated over the disastrous reaction to the movie he told her to make. The actress is said to be inconsolable after a string of leaked Scientology videos, featuring her husband saluting a portrait of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, declaring war on psychiatry and claiming that members of his religion are "the only ones who can really help" accident victims, have flooded the Internet and divided Hollywood. "Oh, I'm going hard on those guys and their reign … psychiatrists," says Tom in one disturbing video. "It's disgusting to me. No mercy … none. Psychiatry doesn't work. "When you study the effects, it's a crime against humanity." Katie had already been forced to fend off questions about Andrew Morton's controversial book Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography. While at first Katie put on a brave face, declaring that she and Tom weren't bothered by the book, after this new scandal she can no longer ignore the Hollywood backlash… Read the full story in Woman's Day (on-sale January 28, 2008)

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