There are many ways to measure talent in Hollywood. But for the authors of “Hollywood Babylon: It’s Back,” size is everything.
Borrowing the title of filmmaker Kenneth Anger’s classic scandal bible, authors Danforth Prince and Darwin Porter have dared to publish the pictures and stories too explicit and actionable for even the pulpiest supermarket tabloids.
Among those featured in full-frontal shots are Mick Jagger, Daniel Radcliffe, Ewan McGregor, John Malkovich, James Woods, Richard Gere and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. We leave it to you to decide whether all the snaps are authentic.
The authors also write about the reputed size of many other stars in the book, due June 1. Johnny Depp was known as “donkey d-”, they say. Sean Connery posed nude for art studies, and one student said:”It was the biggest I’ve ever seen. It made me drop my charcoal pencil.”
Dishing with abandon, the authors spare no one - especially not the dead, who can’t sue. Lack of sources don’t stop them from claiming:
Marilyn Monroe had an affair with Ronald Reagan. The authors also claim Monroe had a tryst with Joan Crawford but refused to make it an ongoing affair. “She had bad breath,” Monroe allegedly told roommate Shelly Winters. “Besides, she wanted to do things to me that no woman should do to another woman.”
James Dean showed a disconcerting interest in a 12-year-old boy in the early 1950s. Director Elia Kazan believed the tale: “I’ve known many actors who have been twisted up in their sex lives, but never anybody as sick and unhealthy as Dean was.”
Elvis Presley had a gay old time with Nick Adams, who played Johnny Yuma in the hit TV series “The Rebel.”
Lucille Ball launched herself into show business as a hooker, and her husband Desi Arnaz had a fling with Cesar Romero.
Cary Grant had an incestuous relationship with his stepson, Lance Reventlow.
Sir Winston Churchill got “musical” with actor and songwriter Ivor Novello.
Strange things happened to Judy Garland’s body (this in the chapter on “Fan Worship and Necrophilia”).
Police believed Bette Davis killed her second husband, Arthur Farnsworth, by hitting him on the head and causing a hemorrhage that lead to his death two weeks later. But a grand jury - six men who confessed to being ardent fans - found her innocent.
The Way We Were (1973) Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford play a couple who fall for each other because of their differences, then break up because of them, too. This scene catches them at the height of their doomed romance and begs the question, if a nice Jewish girl and a hot WASP can’t make it happen, who can?
The Blue Lagoon (1980)
Ever tell a guy, “I wouldn’t sleep with you if you were the last man on earth?” Luckily for Emmeline (Brooke Shields)—stranded on a deserted island with Richard (Christopher Atkins)—the last man around was hot.
An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)
A handsome young Navy pilot-in-training (Richard Gere) picks up a local girl (Debra Winger) in a bar. Takes her to a motel. Rips off her clothes. Devours her. Rewind!
Risky Business (1983)
Tom Cruise plays a college-bound teen seduced by a call girl (Rebecca De Mornay). Their steamiest liaison: on a train. And, no, he didn’t jump up and down on the seat afterward to proclaim his love for her.
Dirty Dancing (1987)
After a summer of flirtation, the oh-so-innocent Baby Houseman (Jennifer Grey) finally gets up the nerve to say “Dance with me” to beefy Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze). Dancing, et cetera ensues—emphasis on the et cetera. No matter how many times you’ve seen this scene, it’s always hot. The time of her life, indeed.
Say Anything… (1989)
After John Cusack pulls out all the stops to woo the object of his obsession (who could forget the scene in which he held a boom box over his head and serenaded her with In Your Eyes?), he finally gets to kiss the girl. It’s enough to make anyone want to go find her own devoted nerd.
Ghost (1990)
Shortly before he’s killed in a tragic mugging, a man (Patrick Swayze) seduces his wife (Demi Moore) while she’s sculpting pottery and shows just how skilled his hands are. How many women signed up for ceramics class after this aired?
Love Jones (1997)
When a photographer (Nia Long) gets turned on by shooting a couple making out on a bridge, she heads home and ambushes her boyfriend (Larenz Tate) while he’s on the phone. Without saying a word, she starts undoing his belt buckle—reminding women everywhere of the power of the silent seduction.
Titanic (1997)
As star-crossed lovers on the ill-fated ship, Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio fall for each other on an epic scale. But it was this scene, in which they make love after he sketches her nude portrait, that kept our love for Leo afloat for the next 10 years (including that unfortunate pasty, bloated period).
How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998)
On vacation in Jamaica, a Type-A stockbroker (Angela Bassett) has a torrid affair with an islander (Taye Diggs). When they get into a fight, she follows him into the bathroom to apologize and steps into the shower with him, fully clothed. Five ultra-sexy minutes later, she does get her groove back—and so did we.
Shakespeare in Love (1998)
In order to act in a play during an era in which women weren’t allowed on stage, an enterprising young woman (Gwyneth Paltrow) poses as a man. When the writer (Joseph Fiennes) discovers her true identity, he seduces her, takes off her clothes and utters the classic Shakespearean line, “Wowza!” (or something like that).
The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)
When Andy Stitzer (Steve Carrell) finally gets to have sex with the love of his life (Catherine Keener), it’s without any tooth-knocks, fumbling hands or awkward facial expressions. Just a sweet, happy moment of shared intimacy: Oh, yeaaaah.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)
By the time this movie premiered, the world knew Brad had fallen in love with Angelina for real. So how could you not watch this scene and feel like you’d just been given front-row-seats to a very private moment?
The Departed (2006)
This Best Picture Oscar winner also had the year’s hottest love scene, in which an undercover cop (Leonardo DiCaprio, looking H-O-T again) hooks up with his shrink (Vera Farmiga)—who’s moving in with her boyfriend (Matt Damon). Yes, complicated. Loads of bad guys and good guys to keep track of. Lucky for viewers, Leo’s a little bit of both in this scene.
A court issued arrest warrants for Hollywood actor Richard Gere and Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty on Thursday, saying their kiss at a public function “transgressed all limits of vulgarity“.
Judge Dinesh Gupta issued the warrants in the northwestern city of Jaipur after a local citizen filed a complaint charging that the public display of affection offended local sensibilities, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
Gupta earlier viewed television footage of the event, which he called “highly sexually erotic,” saying the pair violated India’s strict public obscenity laws.
Gere and Shetty “transgressed all limits of vulgarity and have the tendency to corrupt the society,” PTI quoted the judge as saying.
Such cases against celebrities - often filed by publicity seekers - are common in conservative India. They add to a backlog of legal cases that has nearly crippled the country’s judicial system.
Gere left India shortly after the kissing incident and it was not immediately clear how the warrant would affect him.
Gere is a frequent visitor to India, promoting health issues and the cause of Tibetan exiles. The Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has his headquarters in the north Indian town of Dharmsala.
Under Indian law a person convicted of public obscenity faces up to three months in prison, a fine, or both.
Last week, crowds in several Indian cities burned effigies of the 57-year-old star of “An Officer and a Gentleman,” “American Gigolo” and “Pretty Woman” after he embraced Shetty and kissed her several times on her cheeks during an HIV/AIDS awareness event in the Indian capital.
Photographs of the clinch were then splashed across front pages in India - where public displays of affection are largely taboo.
The judge lambasted Shetty for not resisting Gere’s kisses and ordered her to appear in his court May 5, PTI said. A spokesman for Shetty declined comment.
The event’s organizer, Parmeshwar Godrej, called the controversy a distraction from more important issues.
“It has detracted from and undermined the value and success of the event, which was concerned with creating AIDS awareness and promoting AIDS prevention among truck drivers,” CNN-IBN quoted her as saying.
Shetty, 31, has said the embrace was not obscene and that the media should instead focus on HIV/AIDS awareness.
“I understand this is his culture, not ours. But this was not such a big thing or so obscene for people to overreact in such manner,” she told PTI last week.
“I understand people’s sentiments, but I don’t want a foreigner to take bad memories from here,” PTI quoted her as saying.
Shetty, already well-known in India, became an international star after her appearance on the British reality show “Celebrity Big Brother” - another controversial public appearance. A fellow contestant, Jade Goody, sparked international headlines by making allegedly racist comments to Shetty. Mobs took to the streets of India to denounce Goody, and Shetty went on to win the competition.
He may have a reputation as a ladies man - but Richard Gere is now public enemy number one in India. Maybe he should have stopped with kissing her hand.
Effigies of the Hollywod actor have been burned after he repeatedly kissed Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty at an AIDS awareness event.
He had joined Shetty, the winner of the “Celebrity Big Brother” in a safe sex campaign for lorry drivers.
The 58-year-old shouted in Hindi to thousands of truck drivers who roared with delight and whistled loudly as Gere swooped down to kiss Shetty to kiss her on her hand and a number of times on one side of her face.
But it started to go wrong when groups of men turned on him and started shouting “Down with Richard Gere”.
They burnt the Hollywood star’s effigies and kicked the smoking remains in the northern Indian cities of Kanpur, Meerut and Varanasi as well as in the central city of Indore.
The protesters said Gere’s kissing of Shilpa was against Indian culture.
Some burnt Shetty’s posters, shouting “Death to Shilpa Shetty”, and danced around the smouldering ashes, TV footage showed.
The kissing scenes were repeatedly being run on TV news channels with viewers commenting on the Hollywood star’s actions.
Others said there was too much fuss over a few kisses.
“I think he responded as an actor. He was playing to the gallery,” said Anjali Gopalan, head of Naz Foundation India, an anti-AIDS prevention and care group.
“I don’t see anything bad,” she said on Headlines Today television.
Shetty’s spokesman said TV networks were going overboard.
“The media should concentrate on promotion of the cause of AIDS awareness rather than make ‘issues’ out of Richard Gere’s kisses,” Dale Bhagwagar said.
Singer Usher made a spectacular Broadway debut in the musical Chicago. He was cast as the lawyer, Billy Flynn (played by Richard Gere in the movie version). Unfortunately, the singer’s participation was cut short, due to a severe case of strep throat.
Said show producer Barry Weissler: “Usher made a spectacular Broadway debut, bringing a great dedication, work ethic and his amazing talent to the show. We all hope that he might return at some point for the many fans that were unable to see his wonderful performance as Billy Flynn.”
Weissler added, “Usher has found a new home on Broadway and is welcome back anytime.”
A case of strep throat has brought an abrupt end to Usher’s run in the Broadway revival of the musical Chicago, which saw a spike in ticket sales after he joined the cast.
The 27-year-old R&B star – who was playing shyster lawyer Billy Flynn for a two-month engagement – took ill on Oct. 6 and has not performed in the show since, his mother and manager, Jonnetta Patton, tells the Associated Press. He was due to give his farewell performance Saturday night.
The New York Post reports that Usher’s absence has cost the production an estimated $400,000 in refunds to disappointed ticket buyers.
“Usher has had an amazing time on Broadway and loved every minute of performing on stage with the entire cast of Chicago,” Patton told the AP. “He expresses his sincere apologies to all of his fans who purchased tickets to see him in Chicago this final week and appreciates all of their love and support.” source
Judge Dinesh Gupta issued the warrants in the northwestern city of Jaipur after a local citizen filed a complaint charging that the public display of affection offended local sensibilities, the Press Trust of India news agency reported. 
Effigies of the Hollywod actor have been burned after he repeatedly kissed Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty at an AIDS awareness event. 
