Top Story: Aniston, Olsen Sisters are “Beautiful”
Well, duh! Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen and Jennifer Aniston, along with her hubby Brad Pitt, were among the lucky few to be featured in People magazine’s 15th annual “50 Most Beautiful People in the World 2004,” The Associated Press reports. Others on the list included Jessica Simpson and her hubby Nick Lachey, Halle Berry, New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, model sisters Alexandra and Theodora Richards (daughters of Rolling Stone Keith Richards), as well as The Apprentice‘s Kwame Jackson. The issue hits newsstands Friday.
Trump Gets Engaged, Hits Airwaves
Donald Trump has asked his longtime girlfriend, model Melania Knauss, to marry him, AP reports. The Donald, 57, gave the 33-year-old Slovenian native, who has been living with him for five years, a diamond engagement ring on Monday. No wedding date was set. Meanwhile, high off his Apprentice success, Trump has teamed with Clear Channel network to launch a national radio show Trumped!, Reuters reports, in which the real estate mogul will expound on business and non-business topics, including his thoughts on the media and entertainment world as well as politics. The show will start June 15.
Spears’ Stalker Caught
Daniel J. Lachance, a Canadian man who entered the property of pop princess Britney Spears‘ father Tuesday, was arrested the same day on charges of criminal trespassing and stalking, AP reports. Lachance, 25, was being held on $150,000 bond in the Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, jail on Wednesday, Sheriff’s spokeswoman Patti Giannoble told AP, adding that this was the man’s second arrest since April 12 for being on Spears family property.
Stunt Awards Fetes Reeves
Keanu Reeves is a stunt man extraordinaire–at least according to the World Stunt Awards, which will give the actor an honorary award for his work in action movies such as The Matrix trilogy, Speed and Chain Reaction, AP reports. The awards recognize the men and women who put their lives at risk to make stunts look real, with nominees competing in categories such as best fight, best fire stunt and best work with a vehicle. They were chosen from 19 films, including Kill Bill Vol. 1, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Bad Boys II, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and The Last Samurai. The show will broadcast on Spike TV May 26.
Spielberg Film Opens Venice Film Fest
Steven Spielberg‘s newest film The Terminal, starring Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones, will open the Venice Film Festival, which runs Sept. 1-11, AP reports. The film, which will be shown out of competition, tells the story of an Eastern European immigrant who finds himself stranded in an American airport terminal when war breaks out in his country. The rest of the festival’s slate is yet to come.
Famed Psychic Claims Reality Adoption Show was Stolen
Uri Geller, famed psychic to the stars, is waging battle against ABC’s 20/20, claiming it stole from him a segment concept in which five couples compete to adopt a baby, Reuters reports. Geller claims this Friday’s 20/20‘s segment “Be My Baby”–which follows a real-life pregnant 16-year-old girl as she goes through the adoption process, whittling down prospective candidates to five couples–is an exact rip-off of his yet-to-be published novel Nobody’s Child–which follows a reality TV game show on which five couples compete for a baby. He may take legal action to stop the program. Reuters reports 20/20‘s Barbara Walters said, “For the record, 20/20 simply reports what happened: we did not choose the participants nor exert any influence on what they did. This is not one of those scripted ‘reality shows’–it IS reality!”
Hilton Parents Get in on the Reality Act
Paris Hilton‘s parents, Kathy and Rick Hilton, are getting in on the act with their own reality TV show. Kathy Hilton will host The Good Life–featuring 10 young women from around the country who will be introduced to different fields such as publishing, fashion and cosmetics to find the area best suited for their talent–while courtesy of Paris‘ dad, contestants will stay at the Hilton-founded Waldorf-Astoria in New York. The winner will be determined through a process of elimination and land a job in her prospective field as well as a car and a one-year stay at the Waldorf-Astoria. Sources told The Hollywood Reporter NBC has given an eight-episode order to the project for a possible September launch.
Vokal Sue Rapper Nelly
Two members of a musical group called Vokal are suing rapper Nelly for trademark infringement and unfair competition, alleging the star wrongly took their name for his multimillion-dollar clothing line, The Associated Press reports. According to the lawsuit filed last February in U.S. District Court in Orlando, Fla., James Tyrone Wilson and Cameron Caines have written music, performed live, recorded songs and distributed clothing under the name Vokal since 1994, and in 1998 signed a recording and distribution contract with Universal Records–around the same time the label signed Nelly. The singers want an injunction to stop Nelly from using the name and millions of dollars in damages. Vokal Clothing Co., which makes Nelly‘s line of clothes, made more than $20 million in 2002.
Role Call: Sizemore To Portray Pete Rose, Tom Hanks Takes Risk
Scandal-plagued actor Tom Sizemore, who was sentenced to six months in jail last year for assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Hollywood Madam Heidi Fleiss, will portray scandal-plagued baseball star Pete Rose in ESPN’s TV movie Hustle. Directed by Peter Bogdanovich, the project will chronicle Rose’s gambling-related downfall in the 1980s. The movie will premiere Sept. 25, 2004 … Tom Hanks is set to star in Warner Bros.’ big-screen adaptation of Richard Russo’s novel The Risk Pool. T
