George Clooney might have a gazillion bucks in the bank but he’s apparently a union man through and through.
In a two-page letter released Thursday, Clooney adopted a neutral stance in the dispute between the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the Screen Actors Guild.
“What we can’t do is pit artist against artist,” he wrote.
AFTRA has already reached a tentative agreement with Hollywood studios. SAG wants AFTRA members to vote against the deal, saying its approval will handcuff SAG at the bargaining table. Both unions’ current contracts are set to expire Monday, leaving Hollywood on edge about a possible replay of the 100-day writers strike that ended in February. Results of the AFTRA vote are expected July 8.
Tom Hanks, Alec Baldwin and others have joined hundreds of actors in signing an online petition urging actors to ratify the AFTRA pact. Meanwhile, Jack Nicholson, Viggo Mortensen and Holly Hunter have endorsed a SAG ad calling for AFTRA to return to the negotiating table to get a better deal.
Clooney called the fight counterproductive. “Because the one thing you can be sure of is that stories about Jack Nicholson vs. Tom Hanks only strengthens the negotiating power” of the studios, he said.
Clooney also called on higher-paid actors to chip in a greater share of union dues and for 10 A-listers — “people that the studio heads don’t often say ‘no’ to,” he suggested, listing only Nicholson and Hanks by name — to sit down with studio heads once a year to “adjust the pay for actors.”
The idea of millionaire actors unionizing, let alone going on strike, has always struck me as ludicrous. But Clooney’s instinct here is right: if they’re going to organize, the big money stars ought to take care of the little guys. It makes sense to have a system in place for the folks struggling for scale jobs trying to get regular employment. Not so much one that has the likes of Clooney and Hanks walking a picket line.
Aging movie star Jack Nicholson tried to put together a video endorsement of Hillary Clinton using clips from his old movies, but just ended up creating this weird creepy thing that doesn’t really help the struggling Democratic presidential nominee.
The idea was that Nicholson’s characters would say things that, ripped from the original context, sound vaguely supportive of Hillary. But of course no one can forget the original context.
“I, by choice, am not an activist at this point,” Nicholson said. “I think Sean Penn is the greatest living American in a certain way, because he’s a man of action. … I feel by being a neutralist in this area, in my actual field of endeavor I can be more effective.”
#25 - “You only lie to two people in your life, your girlfriend and the police. Everybody else you tell the truth to.”
— Jack Nicholson in the April 1994 issue of Vanity Fair.
#24 - “These people are not parenting. They are buying things for their kids — $500 sneakers for what? And won’t spend $200 for Hooked on Phonics.”
— Bill Cosby, addressing a Washington, D.C., crowd in 2004.
#23 - “The virginity issue. There are so many emotions involved that I would like to be able to wait until I know I’m with the right person and I’m married.”
— Britney Spears in a 2002 interview with Britain’s Daily Star.
#22 - “I just want one day off when I can go swimming and eat ice cream and look at rainbows.”
— Mariah Carey on MTV’s TRL in 2001, before entering rehab for exhaustion.
#21 - The jury “was not my class of people. There was not a producer, a press agent, a director, an actor.”
— Zsa Zsa Gabor to People in October 1989, after a jury found her guilty of slapping a Beverly Hills cop.
#20 - “That’s hot.”
— Paris Hilton’s trademark, dating back at least to the first season of The Simple Life in 2003. She eventually had the expression copyrighted.
#19 - “What are you looking at, sugar-tits?”
— Mel Gibson, to female deputy last summer after being pulled over for speeding and drunken driving.
#18 - “And if they want to hear that I’m dead, sorry, folks. I’m not. And I don’t plan on it.”
— Elizabeth Taylor on Larry King Live, May 30, 2006.
#17 - “I am sorry if anyone was offended by the wardrobe malfunction during the halftime of the Super Bowl. It was not intentional and is regrettable.”
— Justin Timberlake, in a statement after the 2004 Super Bowl spectacle with Janet Jackson.
#16 - “I’m in shock. And I’m so in love with my brother right now.”
— Angelina Jolie, thanking brother James Haven while accepting the supporting actress Oscar for 1999’s Girl, Interrupted.
#15 - “For an actor, there is no greater loss than the loss of his audience. I can part the Red Sea, but I can’t part with you, which is why I won’t exclude you from this stage in my life.”
— Charlton Heston on Aug. 9, 2002, revealing he has Alzheimer’s.
#14 - “Psychiatry is a pseudoscience. … You don’t know the history of psychiatry. I do. … Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt, you don’t even — you’re glib. You don’t even know what Ritalin is.”
— Tom Cruise to Matt Lauer on NBC’s Today, June 24, 2005.
#13 - “I’m too much of an erratic moody baby! I don’t have the passion anymore, and so remember, it’s better to burn out than to fade away.”
— Kurt Cobain’s suicide note from April 5, 1994.
#12 - “Retire? I’m going to stay in show business until I’m the only one left.”
— George Burns, at his 90th birthday tribute, George Burns 90th Birthday Special, taped Jan. 11, 1986.
#11 “Crack is cheap. I make too much money to ever smoke crack. Let’s get that straight. OK? We don’t do crack. We don’t do that. Crack is whack.”
— Whitney Houston in 2002 on ABC’s Primetime.
Seriously, “What are you looking at, sugar-tits?” for the win!!
#10 - “The heart wants what it wants. There’s no logic to those things. You meet someone and you fall in love and that’s that.”
— Woody Allen in Time in 1992, about his relationship with Soon-Yi Previn, the daughter of former girlfriend Mia Farrow.
#8 - “I never wanted to be the lesbian actress. I never wanted to be the spokesperson for the gay community. Ever. I did it for my own truth.”
— Ellen DeGeneres in Time magazine, April 14, 1997, just before her Ellen sitcom character came out as gay, too.
#7 - “This town is a back-stabbing, scum-sucking, small-minded town, but thanks for the money.”
— Roseanne Barr, in an ad she took out in The Hollywood Reporter for the magazine’s 60th anniversary in October 1990.
#6 - “In the end, you have to come clean and say, ‘I did something dishonorable, shabby and goatish.’”
— Hugh Grant to Jay Leno on The Tonight Show, July 10, 1995, explaining his June arrest for lewd behavior with a Los Angeles prostitute.
#5 - “Well, I can wear heels now.”
— Nicole Kidman to David Letterman on Aug. 2, 2001, after her split from Tom Cruise.
#4 - “I can only tell you that it has been an honor and a privilege to come into your homes all these years and entertain you … I bid you a very heartfelt goodnight.”
— Johnny Carson, saying his final goodbye on The Tonight Show, May 22, 1992.
#3 - “Why can’t you share your bed? The most loving thing to do is to share your bed with someone.”
— Michael Jackson, defending his practice of letting boys share his bed in a Feb. 3, 2003, interview with BBC/Granada’s Martin Bashir.
#2 - “I’m tough. I’m ambitious. And I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, OK.
— Madonna in People, July 27, 1992.
#1 - “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.”
— Princess Diana, in a 1995 BBC interview, on her marriage to Prince Charles. They divorced in 1996, and she died a year later. The third party, Camilla Parker Bowles, became Charles’ wife in 2005.
source: Top 25 Celebrity Quotes of All Time [usa today]
An unauthorized biography of Jack Nicholson, titled ‘Five Easy Decades’ and releasing this October, claims that, in addition to the six children he is known to have, Jack also has a handicapped son who he has kept hidden.
The book claims,
“There are two other possibles whom those closest to Jack whisper about, including one young man who lives with handicaps brought on by his actress mother’s drug abuse . . . These are among the closely held secrets he has generally succeeded in keeping from his fans.”
For his part, Jack is denying this shocking claim. His lawyer, Abe Somer, tells Page Six,
“The allegations of the handicapped son are false and inaccurate. There is no handicapped son of Mr. Nicholson.” He declined to comment on McDougal’s allegation of a second unknown love child, adding, “Let’s respect his privacy.” Somer also said Nicholson has four, not five, illegitimate kids.
Author Dennis McDougal says his information “comes from a very good source, but she … would not let me use her name.”
Jack’s children were born as follows:
His first child, Jennifer, was born during his six-year marriage to actress Sandra Knight.
After a fling with his ‘Five Easy Pieces’ co-star, Susan Anspach, Jack had a son named Caleb in 1970. Caleb was later adopted by ‘Lost in Space’ star Mark Goddard, who married Anspach four years later.
Jack had a daughter with a former Monkey Bar waitress, Jennine Gourin, and according to McDougal, bought her silence with a settlement “rumored to be in the mid-six-figures.”
Lorraine, 16, and Raymond, 15, were born to Jack’s ex-girlfriend, actress Rebecca Broussard.
Jack has admitted to sleeping with lots and lots of women, once stating, “I’m interested in sex. I’m preoccupied with sex. I love it.” He also revealed his dislike for condoms, saying using them was like wearing a “warm garbage bag.”
Sarah Silverman regrets poking fun at Paris Hilton on the eve of her June jail stint after watching footage of the MTV Movie Awards. Silverman, who hosted the awards show, joked about Hilton’s prison term, while the hotel heiress sat awkwardly in the audience.
Cameras captured a hurt Hilton as she squirmed in her seat - just hours before she began her prison sentence for a probation violation at Century Regional Detention Center - and Silverman admits she has felt terrible ever since.
“I thought, ‘She’s got to know there’s going to be a joke about her,’ so I went for it.
But then I looked down and saw a man in her face with a camera. I was there to be funny and I was, but that doesn’t mean I can’t feel bad about it.”
A forgiving Hilton admits she knows Silverman was just trying to land a few laughs:
“She’s a funny comedienne and hopefully she won’t be as mean the next time she sees me.”
More than anything I just wanted to post the joke because it was so damn funny:
Update (Allie): I must admit, I look for reasons to post this video as well. I also like to bring attention to the look on Jack Nicholson’s face, cause it’s priceless!
I know Jack Nicholson is rich and has that whole dark sunglasses, you can’t handle the truth thing going on, but how can this be? The man is surrounded by beautiful young women on a boat in the South of France looking like he got bigger breast implants than Brooke Hogan.
The Dark Knight isn’t set to release until July 2008, but Warner Brothers has already begun their marketing campaign. We posted this picture not too long ago, but it was discovered to be a fake.
They launched a site called IBELIEVEINHARVEYDENT.COM, which is a fake site for one of the film’s characters. In addition to that, they have launched a second site from The Joker perspective, called IBELIEVEINHARVEYDENTTOO.COM. That website features a closer look at what Heath Ledger may look like in the movie.
source: ONTD
UPDATE (Allie): Now this is seriously creepy!
In what seems to be a guerrilla campaign by Warner Bros., a comic book shop owner reports that they’ve found Joker cards, mysteriously planted all over the store. The cards say, “I Believe in Harvey Dent Too!”
It seems that this has now been verified by the emergence of another website, IBelieveinHarveyDentToo.com, which shows a version of the Harvey Dent campaign poster defaced by Joker graffiti.
The mini site also asks for an e-mail, which when entered shows a bloody message saying “Check Your Email. You Have 5 Minutes to Play.”
When you do, you’ll receive an email saying, “I always say, you never know what a man is truly made of until you peel the skin off his face one piece at a time.”
Looks like the Joker is very much at large and not happy with a certain DA.
I know that I’ve said this before, but I adored Jack Nicholson in this role. He is such an animated actor, with animated features, which made him perfect for the role. Heath Ledger’s version looks like it’s going to be terrifying. When I first saw the picture, it made me think of the horror movie, Saw.
The new Batman movie, The Dark Knight, is set for a July 2008 release date.
Synopsis: Batman and Gordon find alliance with a newly appointed DA Harvey Dent to stop a vicious killer with a warped sense of humor known only as The Joker, a threat to both the good, and the evil of Gotham City.
Here is the first reported picture of Heath Ledger as The Joker.
I fear a big let down… Jack Nicholson was the ultimate in this role.
source
The editors at Maxim have waded through the footage and nominated 10 Earth-Shattering Nude Scenes 2006.
10. Diora Baird in Wedding Crashers
It was kind of a “blink and you missed it” moment, but we’re betting there were a lot of dry eyes in the house when Diora flopped down topless on a bed during the “wedding sluts” montage. You remember her, she was the one with assets big enough to satisfy as many Wilson brothers as the movie was willing to throw at her.
9. Ali Larter in Varsity Blues
While not technically nude, Ali and her strategically-placed whipped cream instantly became the stuff of legend and dessert-based fetishes. Of course, leave it to Dawson’s Creek to fumble the play—dude, you’ll never get such a golden opportunity to offer a girl a banana for her split again. Way to go, forehead.
8. Heather Graham in Boogie Nights
Reason #4,562 why hanging out with Burt Reynolds rules: With the wave of a finger, he can make Heather Graham slip out of everything but her rollerskates and mount you on a fine Corinthian leather sofa. That’s class! And Heather’s anything but shy about showing the goods, which is why we love her.
7. Kathy Bates in About Schmidt
Kathy Bates and Jack Nicholson buck naked in a Jacuzzi. Now, if this were 1968…actually, it’d still be pretty gross. Yes, we’re kidding. Consider this a palate-cleanser before we move on to #6. We didn’t want you getting all hot and bothered at work. All set? Good. Let’s move on… [Editor's note: Disgusting. Photo omitted.]
6. Reese Witherspoon in Twilight
OK, this isn’t exactly a comedic romp and, honestly, the only thing notable about this movie is Reese’s topless scene. And the only thing notable about Reese’s topless scene is that, well, this is it, fellas. She’s a Serious Actress™ now, so she won’t be flaunting the sweater puppies ever again. Grab the opportunity while you can.
5. Denise Richards in Wild Things
Neve Campbell can keep her no-nudity clause, because even she couldn’t dampen our appreciation of Wild Things’ champagne-drenched threesome. Richards had no problem getting down and dirty, which is why we’re still talking about her today. Campbell? Not so much. And before you say Wild Things isn’t a comedy, we defy you to watch it without laughing.
4. Rebecca de Mornay in Risky Business
She was way too much woman for a high school kid to handle—especially a high school-aged Tom Cruise—but her full-frontal nude scene made a man out of every guy who was of appropriate age in 1983, and you know who you are. Not to mention Rebecca also made prostitution cool long before Julia Roberts.
3. The Pi Delta Pi Girls in Revenge of the Nerds
Yes, every last one of you. When the nerds get the brilliant idea to hook up surveillance cameras in the Pi sorority house, we’re treated to a parade of naked, perky extras. This one went for quality and quantity, and scored on both counts. And let’s just say Takashi wasn’t the only one who learned what “hair pie” meant.
2. Phoebe Cates in Fast Times at Ridgemont High
The standard against which teen movie nudity is measured. It may not be the most graphic or revealing, but it had all the key elements: A hot young actress you’ve been dying to see topless (erm, Phoebe), a completely gratuitous set-up (Judge Reinhold’s masturbatory day dream), and a hilarious pay-off (she walks in on him mid-jerk). It’s bulletproof, and it’s a classic.
1. Shannon Elizabeth in American Pie
A question for the ladies: If you find yourself in a teenage boy’s bedroom and he happens to leave the room for a second, do you immediately take off all your clothes and admire yourself in his mirror? No? Exactly. That’s why Nadia changed the way we look at movie nude scenes. And that’s why you aren’t Shannon Elizabeth. Well, that and probably some other things, too.
Now, you might have noticed, with the exception of the Ali Larter photo, none of those above actually depict the nude scene in question. Well, it isMaxim, you know.
Gone Hollywood goes above the call, though, and searches out the images in question. They’re thumbnailed below the fold. Merry Christmas.
Janice Dickinson wants to do dirty things to Angelina Jolie’s body:
The model, who rose to fame in the 1970s, has a long list of celebrity conquests to her name including Sylvester Stallone and Jack Nicholson. But now Janice has her sights set on Brad Pitt’s other half. Despite the fact that Angelina has three children – adoptive kids Maddox and Zahara, and tiny Shiloh Nouvel with Brad - Janice still wants to make the gorgeous actress an offer. Janice, 51, said: “She’s gorgeous. She could have my babies.” She added: “I’d do her in a heartbeat!” source
Yeah… she’s gorgeous. If I was a man, I’d have her poster up on my bedroom wall… I’ll admit it. [heh]
In her new book, Annie Leibovitz, our most famous photographer, places celebs side by side with surprisingly personal images of love and loss.
Take Leibovitz’s Jack Nicholson picture. Whenever she was busy setting up a shot inside his Mulholland Drive house, he’d disappear out back to drive golf balls–and that became the photograph.
Annie Leibovitz is tired and nursing a cold, and she’ s just flown back to New York on the red-eye from Los Angeles, where she spent two days shooting Angelina Jolie for Vogue.
Like so many of her photo sessions, there was nothing simple about it. “I talked with Angelina before the shoot,” says Leibovitz, who’s famous for her preparation. “She felt like she was coming back from having the baby and she felt very sexy and ready to go.” Jolie, a pilot, suggested shooting on an old airfield near the desert, with motorcycles and small planes among the props. (She flew herself to the location and the next day, Brad Pitt buzzed up in his plane.) They also spent a day shooting in the dunes near Death Valley, where the mercury hit 104, and the wind whipped so hard that everyone was peppered with sand. There were 50 people on the set, and racks of clothes from the New York spring collections to be tried and styled. It was as if Leibovitz were directing a small movie. Read More…
Expect Angelina Jolie to grace the November 2006 or December 2006 issue of Vogue.
In a two-page letter released Thursday, Clooney adopted a neutral stance in the dispute between the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the Screen Actors Guild.
“I, by choice, am not an activist at this point,” Nicholson said. “I think Sean Penn is the greatest living American in a certain way, because he’s a man of action. … I feel by being a neutralist in this area, in my actual field of endeavor I can be more effective.”
“I thought, ‘She’s got to know there’s going to be a joke about her,’ so I went for it. 
In what seems to be a guerrilla campaign by Warner Bros., a comic book shop owner reports that they’ve found Joker cards, mysteriously planted all over the store. The cards say, “I Believe in Harvey Dent Too!”
