The pregnant young mum has had yet another mishap - this time outside the New York City Ritz Carlton hotel. Leaving the hotel’s cafe, she tripped while carring baby Sean and holding a glass of water at the same time. Onlookers watched as the Toxic singer, who was trying to manoeuvre her way through a crowd, managed to regain her balance with the help of her security guards. Eight-month-old Sean’s head snapped back, although he didn’t seem harmed by the incident.
Understandably annoyed, Britney was heard saying, “This is why I need a gun,” as she fought her way past dozens of staring eyes.
I’m not sure how a gun would help her coordination. But, yes, I could see why she’d be annoyed at every incident being scrutinized in the press.
Britney Spears stumbled outside a Manhattan hotel, nearly dropping her 8-month-old son and further fueling the ever-growing media scrutiny of her parenting skills. In photos splashed across the front page and inside the New York Post on Friday, the 24-year-old pop star is shown exiting The Ritz-Carlton hotel with Sean Preston in one hand and a glass in the other. As her bodyguards walked Spears to her car, she stumbled — her long pants apparently getting tangled in her open-toed shoes — and bent low as Sean Preston’s head flung backward, knocking off his orange hat. Spears, though, was able to keep her balance and hold on to her son, with help from a bodyguard, who reacted quickly.
Britney Spears’ child-care techniques seem to be growing positively “Toxic” - she nearly dropped her 8-month-old son on his head yesterday as she tottered out of a posh Manhattan hotel with a glass in one hand and the tyke in another.
The baby-bobbling bungle began at about 6 p.m., as the “Not That Innocent” pop tart left the Ritz-Carlton Hotel on Central Park South, holding her kid, Sean Preston, and what witnesses said was a tumbler of water and ice (photo, far left). While heading to a car, her long pants appeared to get tangled in her open-toed shoes (inset, far left) just as she stepped past a pothole, witnesses said. Then - oops! - Britney started to tumble. Sean Preston’s head whipped back in what a witness called a “violent manner,” his chubby arm swung up and his little hat went flying off.
“Her bodyguard had some good reactions,” an onlooker said of the quick catch . “[He] grabbed the baby before he hit the floor.”
Despite the tumble, Britney managed not to spill a drop of her drink. Then she muttered to fotogs in her Louisiana accent, “This is why I need a gun.”
The incident left her clearly shaken up - afterwards she was seen in tears at FAO Schwarz (right inset).
The referenced photos are not in the online edition.
Update: Miu has post-near-drop photos of Spears crying. Here is a video of the incident:
Update: trikc thinks TMZ missed a good opportunity to riff on a Spears song for the lead-in.
Update: Hollywood Rag has yet more photos, including a closeup of the offending shoes. It occurs to me that Spears is not accustomed to walking in shoes, so that may indeed be the root cause of her clumsiness.
The buzz is flying from Hollywood to Namibia and back again that “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” co-stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie could be new parents any minute! In fact, sources tell “Extra” that Angelina could go into labor in the next 48 hours.
[...]
On Thursday, Brangelina’s security in Namibia was tighter than ever. One newspaper report claimed Angelina may opt for a home birth with a private aircraft on standby.
Baby Brangelina isn’t even born yet, but the little one is already creating buzz from coast to coast. “Brad, you know it doesn’t seem like he needs too much of my advice,” Will Smith said. “He’s got it going on.”
Of course, any earlier story by the same source said Jolie was already in labor. And it was dated yesterday.
Update: A commenter points out that Hooker is dead. That was my recollection as well (he died June 21, 2001) but I often think celebrities are dead that aren’t. At any rate, this duet is apparently from their 1997 collaborative album “Don’t Look Back.”
Mike Wallace, the iconic star of CBS’s “60 Minutes,” reveals all manner of secrets in a farewell performance with his co-stars that airs Sunday night. Matt Drudge has a preview:
Mike Wallace was too rough? He’s sorry? An actress flirted with him off and on camera? His depression was worse than he’s ever admitted? The grand inquisitor himself fesses up when his own colleagues ask him the questions in a special edition of 60 MINUTES dedicated entirely to the program’s legendary correspondent. These personal revelations and many of Wallace’s most controversial and engaging interviews can be seen and heard when Morley Safer, Ed Bradley, Steve Kroft and Lesley Stahl interview Wallace in “I’m Mike Wallace: A 60 MINUTES Tribute.” The special edition of 60 MINUTES will be broadcast Sunday, May 21 (7:00-8:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.
Among the more surprising admissions is this one: some prodding from fellow Correspondent Lesley Stahl and 15 years of a guilty conscience finally make Wallace admit he was rough on Barbra Streisand. “That was mean. It was mean,” a stern Stahl charges. “Yes it was [rough]. But [Streisand] needed to have control,” says Wallace. But in the end, a repentant Wallace makes a sincere on-camera apology to Streisand.
Wallace doesn’t apologize to Shirley MacLaine, with whom he was just as rough about her belief in reincarnation and in life on other planets. “I adore her, and she was interested in me, too,” Wallace says of MacLaine. The actress openly flirts with Wallace in her response to his question about aliens “visiting you on your porch.” “You don’t have to be that unpleasant. It doesn’t become you,” the actress practically purrs. Wallace tells Stahl that MacLaine had a thing for him back then and that he and his wife, Mary Yates, before they married more than 20 years ago, “triple dated” with her. “You mean a threesome,” says Stahl. “Yes, but only at dinner,” says an amused Wallace.
Not so surprising — because he has openly and readily discussed his depression for years, but shocking for its candidness — is Wallace’s story of attempted suicide. Safer asks the question that he says he and others had suspected all along. “Did you try to commit suicide at one point?” asks Safer. Wallace answers yes and says, “I don’t know why the hell you asked me that question, because other people have…it’s the first time I have answered it honestly.” After the story of the attempt to take his own life, Wallace says that the years since that time 20 years ago “have been the best in my life.”
Other Mike Wallace moments include: his testy exchanges with world leaders like Vladimir Putin of Russia, Zhang Zemin of China and Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini; and his extraordinary interviews with news figures like Paul Meadlo, who recounts shooting women and babies at the My Lai massacre, mobster Jimmy Fratianno, who calmly recalls murdering a man in his living room, and John Ehrlichman of Watergate infamy.
Wallace, 88, announced in March that he would retire from regularly scheduled appearances on 60 MINUTES. He becomes a CBS News correspondent emeritus at season’s end, appearing occasionally on CBS News programs.
Wallace’s career was long and storied. It’s not surprising that he has a few regrets.
The image of a 68-year-old Wallace having a threesome with Shirley MacClaine, however, I could have done without.
Brett Ratner, director of “X-Men: The Last Stand,” might not be dating her at the moment, but he seems to have a thing for 19-year-old Lindsay Lohan. “I’ve shot a lot of guys - I want to shoot some girls,” the 37-year-old Ratner told Lowdown at a party celebrating his other career as a portrait photographer. “Mariah Carey is like the only woman I’ve shot. I want to shoot some women. Halle Berry would be cool. And Lindsay Lohan.”
Ratner added that what he’d really like to do is photograph them naked. “I’d like to shoot the Pirelli calendar. Wouldn’t that be awesome? Hot!” Ratner gushed, referring to the famed calendar featuring nudes.
[...]
Speaking of women in their birthday suits, he had nothing but praise for “X-Men” star Rebecca Romijn: “She was naked, and she looked great in the blue makeup.”
I’ve never seen Halle Berry or Lindsay Lohan nude and painted blue before, but I’m sure they’d look okay.
The wedding between John Mason and “Runaway Bride” Jennifer Wilbanks is off again — and this time it’s not Wilbanks doing the running.
A year ago Jennifer Wilbanks bolted into tabloid infamy as the “Runaway Bride” when she faked her own kidnapping for three days on the eve of her wedding in Duluth, Ga. To the amazement of many, fiancé John Mason quickly took her back, with the couple even moving into a large new home in an Atlanta suburb and talking about taking a second run at marriage.
But in early May Mason’s camp let it be known that any nuptials were off – and suddenly the woman who couldn’t take “I do” for an answer seems to be having a problem with “I don’t.” “I’m not confirming or denying the breakup,” Wilbanks, 33, told PEOPLE May 14. “John and I have some things to work out.” But to Mason’s family and friends there is no doubt that this time the split is for good. “I think John realized there were some fundamental differences in their personalities that he wasn’t going to be able to deal with,” a friend says of Mason, 33, who runs his family’s Duluth medical-care business.
And it took a year to figure that out? I don’t believe I’d buy any medical supplies from this man.
The folks at Gawker received an email with the subject: ON THE NEXT “ACCESS HOLLYWOOD:” MISCHA BARTON CONFIRMS HER CHARACTER ON “THE O.C.” DIES AND REVEALS WHAT THE SHOW HAS IN STORE FOR FANS.
Sometimes-boyfriend Ryan (Benjamin McKenzie) was driving her in his new Land Cruiser to the airport so she could meet her dad in Greece, where they would do some big-time bonding working on a yacht together all summer. Kevin Volchok (Cam Gigandet), drunk and ticked off that Marissa broke up with him, pursues them in his car, swerving all the way.
Sadly, Ryan loses control of the SUV and crashes. He is able to get Marissa out of the flipped-over vehicle before it catches fire, but she dies in his arms along the side of the road.
Despite Fox’s previews for The O.C.’s season-three finale that intone that “someone doesn’t make it out alive,” it had been reported for some time that Barton was ready to change zip codes.
And Barton didn’t seem to care who knew it. “My character has been through so, so much and there’s really nothing more left for her to do,” she told Access Hollywood.
Considering nobody ever heard of Misha Barton–or any of the O.C.’s cast–before the show made them famous, one would think a little professional courtesy was owed. But, hey, this is Hollywood.
Rachel Stevens and David Schwimmer are the hottest Jewish woman and man, respectively, according to a recent survey. TMZ:
PEOPLE has its beautiful people and Maxim has its Hot 100. And now UK dating service SomeoneJewish.com has a list of the hottest Jewish celebrities.
The news from the web site’s survey is A LOT better for men than it is for women. On the list of 10 Jews whom other Jews would like to date, British pop star Rachel Stevens tops the female list, followed by Caprice from VH1’s ‘The Surreal Life’ and Oscar-winner Rachel Weisz. The male ranking is a much more mixed bag. ‘Friends’ star David Schimmer tops that list, followed by … Woody Allen. ‘Ali G’ star Sacha Baron Cohen comes in third.
SomeoneJewish, whose tag line is “It’s easy to make simchas happen and your mother happy,” interviewed 200 men and women on the streets of popular Jewish neighborhoods in London.
Not exactly a scientific study. But, surely, there are some hotter Jews than this?
* David Schwimmer
* Woody Allen
* Sacha Baron Cohen
* Anthony Costa
* Jeff Goldblum
I’ve never even heard of Caprice Bourret. And there’s not a more desirable Jewish man on the planet than David Friggin’ Schwimmer? With Woody Allen nipping at his heels?!
Media giants CBS and Time Warner are hoping that one plus one will add up to five. The two companies, who announced in January that they were merging their UPN and WB networks to create a new network called the CW, unveiled the fall schedule for the CW on Thursday at an event in New York.
Despite several hits, neither the UPN nor the WB was able to become more than a niche network catering largely to younger viewers and, in the case of the UPN, an African-American audience. Separately, ratings for the UPN and WB paled in comparison to that of the big four networks: ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC. But by taking the best shows from both the UPN and WB to create a new lineup, executives from the CW expressed optimism at the network’s inaugural upfront presentation for advertisers. “Determining this lineup was like playing fantasy football but with TV shows,” said Dawn Ostroff, the CW’s president of entertainment at the upfront event.
The 2006-2007 schedule for the CW includes six popular shows from the old WB and six from the UPN, including “Everybody Hates Chris,” “Veronica Mars,” “Smallville” and “The Gilmore Girls.” Only two new shows will debut on the CW this fall.
[...]
“It looks like they put together a strong lineup. The network should do better together than the UPN and WB did separately,” said Mark Fratrik, vice president with BIA Financial Network, a strategic consulting firm for the media and communications industries.
Well, yeah, running only successful shows should help. After all, if NBC and CBS merged, they’d do better, too. But can’t we just add the ratings of these shows together to compare them to the big networks to guess how they’d do in the short run?
The more important matter is whether they will develop interesting content down the road, once the starter crop of established shows start going off the air. At some point, they’re just a single network with one creative team.
During the presentation, Ostroff also highlighted how viewers will be able to view CW shows and related content through the Web, cell phones and on Apple’s iPod media player. Ostroff added that the CW’s website will feature several interactive and social networking elements catering to the network’s mostly younger audience. She also introduced a concept that the network called “content wraps”: mini-shows that would appear three times a night during commercials that could be sponsored by advertisers and feature product promotion.
Each “content wrap” would tell a story. The example Ostroff gave was of two people going on a blind date.
Ouch, that’s a bad analogy. I suppose it’s better than “like kissing your sister.” But just barely.
One media buyer said that the concept was interesting and that if done effectively could keep viewers from using digital video recorders (DVRs) to fast forward through ads. “The content wraps looked smart. It’s the type of opportunity that marketers want,” said Brad Adgate, senior vice president of corporate research for Horizon Media, a marketing firm. He added that younger viewers in particular may be interested in these types of mini-shows.
Frankly, I’ll be reaching for my remote. And, if they figure out how to put shows on where it’s too hard to distinguish the commercials from the programs, I’ll stop watching the programs. Or wait to get the DVDs on Netflix.
And along those lines, Ostroff said the CW intends to have a “laser-focus” on the 18-34 year old demographic and claimed that it is the only network with such a commitment to this group.
That is a matter of debate, though. On Tuesday, News Corp. (Research) showcased the programs for its new network called MyNetworkTV. MyNetworkTV, like the CW, has agreements with affiliate stations which will allow it to reach more than 90 percent of the country and will be exclusively showing soap operas on a nightly basis that feature mostly young casts and appears to be targeted at exactly the same audience the CW is going after.
I’m am safely outside the target demo; indeed, the only show on either network that I watch now that “Enterprise” is off the air is “Smallville.” Still, I can’t imagine a soap opera network will be much competition for CW.
In a close vote, Abdul’s favorite finalist, Elliott Yamin — an “Idol” underdog and blue-eyed soul singer — was bounced off the Fox talent contest during Wednesday’s elimination show. The exit of the 27-year-old Richmond, Va., resident cleared the path for a final showdown between gray-haired Taylor Hicks and sultry Katharine McPhee. The winner will be crowned May 24.
During Wednesday’s program, Yamin told host Ryan Seacrest he felt “truly blessed.” “I hope it doesn’t stop here,” he said of his music career.
Yamin, who is 90 percent deaf in his right ear, was considered the show’s best — and most sensitive — male singer. When “Idol” featured a segment on Wednesday documenting his return home to greet fans in Virginia, he broke down in tears. Abdul also wept.
Judge Simon Cowell seemed to sense Yamin’s impending departure on Tuesday’s program. “Your songs are not going to carry you through to next week — that’s the problem,” Cowell told Yamin, who had performed a cover of Ray Charles’ “I Believe To My Soul.” “However, you are a great guy. You are a great singer. And whatever happens, you will make your mom very proud for what you’ve achieved for this competition.”
The nature of the competition is that someone who is a great genre singer–think Josh Grasin–can not win. The show rewards versatility and the ability to do at least reasonably well in a wide variety of formats. That has very little to do with actual musical stardom, where few artists stray too far from their comfort zone. The true greats like Ray Charles and Elvis Presley, are rare exceptions.
Britney Spears’ child-care techniques seem to be growing positively “Toxic” - she nearly dropped her 8-month-old son on his head yesterday as she tottered out of a posh Manhattan hotel with a glass in one hand and the tyke in another.
