Flirting With Royalty

Prince Charles exchanged pleasantries with Nicole Kidman and the cancan dancers at the British premiere of Moulin Rouge. Charles offered up a ``Hooray!'' when the scantily dressed line dancers confirmed that they would be performing at the West End screening. According to Associated Press. Charles then said to Kidman, ``I'm interested to see what these ladies have to do, did you have to do it, too?'' to which she calmly replied ``Yes, but I'm not doing it tonight.''
Hasn't she ever heard of a Royal Command Performance?

A No Hitter For Grisham

John Grisham and director Hugh Wilson are puzzled over the controversy surrounding their film Mickey. It seems that the story is amazingly similar to the real life story recently in the headlines of a Little League pitcher discovered as having concealed his real age in order to throw a no-hitter in the World Series tournament. Grisham claims he wrote the story over four years ago. Harry Connick Jr. stars as the father who falsified his son's birth records.

Grisham and Wilson are preparing to work together again on a holiday venture called Skipping Christmas, as they shop for distribution on their recently completed film.

Heche Marries Cameraman

Anne Heche, formerly one-half of Hollywood's highest-profile lesbian couple, married cameraman Coley Laffoon Saturday. The wedding comes a little more than a year after she and Ellen DeGeneres ended their relationship. According to Reuters, Heche reportedly met Laffoon last summer while (ironically) working on a documentary about Ellen's return to stand-up comedy.

It is the first marriage for 32-year-old Heche, but it certainly isn't her first male companion. Prior to her relationship with DeGeneres, the star was linked to Steve Martin and actor Richard Burgi. According to Heche's publicist the ceremony took place near downtown Los Angeles in front of 73 friends and family members, and DeGeneres was not on the invite list.

Lewis Rakes In The Bucks

In his 36th year of raising money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, comedian Jerry Lewis, raised a record $56.8 million to go towards the fight against neuromuscular diseases. The telethon was broadcast for just shy of 24 hours on about 200 TV stations around the nation during the Labor Day weekend. As usual, the variety show featured celebrity co-hosts, including Ed McMahon, Norm Crosby and Casey Kasem.

Lewis was excited to beat last year's total of $54 million, and has vowed to conduct the telethon each Labor Day until a cure is found for neuromuscular diseases.

Hollywood, Networks come together

On Friday, September 21st - a little over a week since the tragic events of the 11th - major entertainers from Hollywood geared up for an impressive telethon to benefit the victims of the devestating attacks. For the first time in television history, all four major networks (NBC, CBS, ABC, and Fox) and a slew of other cable channels such as VH1 and MTV, simulcast this commercial-free event to raise funds for the relief effort. Among those scheduled to appear at the event were Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Jim Carrey, George Clooney, Sheryl Crow, Cameron Diaz, the Dixie Chicks, Robert De Niro, and Clint Eastwood - among many others.

R.E.M.'s Stipe Comes to the Rescue

R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe came to the aid last week of a soot-covered woman near the disaster scene, helping her friends and family know that she was okay. After first making sure the woman was unhurt, Stipe offered to call her family from his cell phone to reassure them of her safety. Once the woman got home, her family informed her that "this nice young man named Michael called and told us you were okay."

The Grinch's heart gets bigger

Jim Carrey, one of Hollywood's biggest stars, has warmed the hearts of thousands of New Yorkers by donating $1 million to the families of the victims lost in the World Trade Center tragedy. The actor remarked that he hoped his donation would encourage others around the film industry to do the same. Carrey is one of many other performers who took part in the Tribute to America broadcast on all the networks Friday night.

An Odyssey Returns to Theaters

A digitally restored and enhanced 70mm print of Stanley Kubrick's classic film 2001: A Space Odyssey will return to theaters on October 5th and run until the end of the year, it was announced by Warner Brothers. The film will initally appear in limited run, premiering in Seattle before moving on to San Francisco, Hollywood, and Washington, D.C, before hopefully expanding release to other parts of the country.

"More than 30 years after its initial release, 2001: A Space Odyssey remains a favorite of movie fans," Warner's Dan Fellman said in a statement by the studio. "We are extremely pleased to offer this brand new print with superior sound to a legion of devoted fans and introduce a new generation of moviegoers to this extraordinary film at the highest level of quality."

A landmark film for 1968, 2001: A Space Odyssey quickly became a classic piece of work in the history of cinema, nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Director and Screenplay.

Grant up for some "Secrets"

Dashing British star Hugh Grant is set to join the cast of the follow up to the new Harry Potter film, opening this Thanksgiving. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is already going into pre-production as the first film based on J.K. Rowling's popular series of books hits the screen this holiday season. According to The Daily Mail, Grant is set to play the role of Professor Gilderoy Lockhart, a charming wizard whom Harry befriends in the story. The actor will apparently be dying his traditional brown, wavy hair blond for the role.

Jolie offers some goodwill to refugees

Sultry young star Angelina Jolie, who was recently appointed U.N. Goodwill Ambassador, has travelled to Pakistan to visit some of the refugee camps of the people driven out of Afghanistan in order to escape the Taliban rule. In response to the United Nations' appeal for aid, Jolie has donated $1 million towards helping the refugees. The U.N. hopes to raise upwards of $270 million for humanitarian relief in and around the drought- ridden country of Afghanistan.

Jackson goes "XXX"

Having completed principle photography on next summer's blockbuster-in-the-wings Star Wars, Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Samuel L. Jackson has joined Vin Diesel in the cast of the upcoming film XXX. According to reports, the film is about an "extreme" spy in training (Diesel), who is mentored by a government agent (Jackson). XXX is set to begin shooting in November, and should be ready for a summer 2002 release.

Now you see him...now you don't

Due to rising costs in production, the film Smoke & Mirrors, which was to star Michael Douglas and his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, has been put on hold. The film, which is based on the life of French magician Jean Robert-Houdin during the late 19th century, had been in development for years. According to Douglas, the project (and specifically the screenplay) will now have to be reworked to reflect cuts in the budget. Another film the actor was due to star in with Billy Crystal, Till Death Do Us Part, has indefinitely been shelved due to the recent terrorist attacks on New York City.