Top Story
First-time pregnancy isn’t exactly turning out to be a cherished experience for Liz Hurley. The 36-year-old actress is lashing out at former boyfriend/movie producer Steve Bing for publicly stating that he is not convinced he’s the father of her unborn child. Bing describes their 18-month relationship as not “exclusive,” which creates some doubt in his mind that he might be the proud pop. Hurley insists she was faithful to Bing. “This is the first I had heard of this and the implications are very painful, especially as I am shortly to give birth to his child,” Hurley said in a statement on Tuesday. “I’m deeply distraught.”
Honored
U2 front man and political activist Bono received the European of the Year award on Tuesday, an honor bestowed upon him by a panel of European journalists. According to Reuters, Bono was mainly recognized for his charitable work for the organization Drop the Debt, which provides financial relief to poor countries.
According to USA Today, the First Amendment Center will honor a handful of comedians for their advancement of free speech through humor at the upcoming U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colo. Among those honored will be Bill Maher, the Smothers Brothers, Lily Tomlin, Whoopi Goldberg and South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone.
In General
Orlando’s Walt Disney World will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Walt Disney on Wednesday with a massive parade, a fireworks show and a 25-foot-high portrait of the man–made entirely out of cakes.
Stars from all six major broadcast networks are shooting special promos for the holidays aimed at boosting the morale of U.S. troops overseas. Among those filming ads are Ray Romano, Drew Carey, Patricia Heaton and the casts of The West Wing, Third Watch, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Enterprise, according to People.
ABC‘s World News Tonight has emerged as November’s nightly news ratings champ, barely edging out NBC‘s Nightly News with Tom Brokaw. ABC averaged 11.54 million viewers while Brokaw‘s program took in an average of 11.42 million, according to Nielsen Media Research.
According to Variety, Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s paycheck for the upcoming Terminator sequel, T3, will be a cool $30 million. Comparatively, the movie’s director, Jonathan Mostow, will pull in just $5 million.
In other news of the “ridiculously overpaid,” actress Cameron Diaz will earn $20 million to star in a sequel to Charlie’s Angels, Variety reports. The only other actress to score that kind of loot for one film is Julia Roberts for Erin Brockovich.
After five months in rehab for alcohol addiction, Metallica‘s James Hetfield checked out of an undisclosed treatment facility on Tuesday, according to a spokesman for the singer. On Metallica‘s official Web site, Hetfield wrote to his fans, “My rough road has become smoother.”
According to the BBC, a legal battle is underway between a woman who donated Frank Sinatra‘s Jaguar to a New Jersey auction house and the man who eventually placed the winning bid for the car. The man bid $20,000 for Ol’ Blue Eyes‘ automobile but the woman who donated the Jaguar is now refusing to cough up the prize, complaining that the amount is too low for such an item.
