HOLLYWOOD - Top Story: No Kutcher-Moore Wedding Planned
Ashton Kutcher has no plans to marry girlfriend Demi Moore in the immediate future, The Associated Press reports. Kutcher, who recently quit his successful MTV hidden-camera prank show, Punk'd, told Access Hollywood he and Moore are not planning a wedding. "I don't have any plans for it. I can check the datebook, but the last I looked, there wasn't anything in there like that." Kutcher currently stars on That '70's Show and will soon be seen in theaters in The Butterfly Effect.
Baldwin vs. Basinger Custody Case Set
Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin are heading back to court to decide custody of daughter Ireland, Associated Press reports. The exact matter to be decided regarding custody of the couple's 8-year-old daughter is not clear since the case file is not available to the public. The high-profile couple was married for eight years before Basinger filed for divorce and physical custody of Ireland in 2001. At the time of the divorce Basinger allowed joint custody and visitation rights for Baldwin.
Ross Agrees to Plea Bargain
Diana Ross, arrested for drunk driving after driving the wrong way on a Tucson, Arizona, street late last year, has accepted a plea bargain rather than allow her case to be heard before a judge and jury. How the 59-year-old former Supremes singer would plead was not disclosed, only that she would appear at the hearing next month "telephonically."
Backstreet Boy Foils Robbery Attempt
A.J. McLean of the boy band Backstreet Boys helped stop a jewel thief as the man attempted to make off with a $40,000 diamond bracelet, Launch Radio Networks reports. McLean was trying on watches at the Las Vegas Hard Rock Hotel's jewelry store Rocks when a man entered and asked to see several bracelets and rings. The man put on one of the rings and dashed for the exit. The counter clerk, in a panic, explained that she couldn't leave the store, so off McLean ran in hot pursuit. He and a hotel security guard apprehended the man in the hotel parking lot. McLean was in Las Vegas to appear at the Adult Entertainment Expo.
Spalding Gray Missing
Actor/writer Spalding Gray, who began his career as a teenager with a one-man show and starred in numerous Hollywood films over the years, has been reported missing, Reuters reports. His brother Rockwell described the 62-year-old Rhode Island native as being in "a fairly depressed condition for some time." Gray is perhaps best known for his 1987 one-man show Swimming to Cambodia, based on his experience working on the 1985 film, The Killing Fields. The New York Police Department is investigating the disappearance.
Fraiser To Sign Off After 11 Years
After 20 years of playing the fussy radio psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane, Kelsey Grammer looks ready to hang up his mic once and for all, Reuters reports. NBC executives revealed Monday that the show will end its 11-year run this May. It is unclear what exactly prompted the ending of the show, but concerns over slipping ratings and the cost of production due to the star's million-plus salary per episode are likely culprits. Grammer originated the character of Dr. Frasier Crane on the show Cheers which also ran for eleven seasons on NBC.
Disney Shuts Down Florida Studio
Walt Disney Studios, in a move towards phasing out hand-drawn animated films in favor of exclusively computer-generated features and shorts, is shutting down its studio at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., AP reports. Well over 200 jobs will be cut as the base of operations for the animation department of Disney moves to Burbank, Calif. Disney also recently shut down similar studios in Paris and Tokyo. Disney pioneered animation in its early days, producing the first sound cartoon Steamboat Willie, which also marked Mickey Mouse's debut.
Role Call: Lions Gate Likes What It Saw
Lions Gate has snatched up the serial killer flick Saw at this year's Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, according to The Hollywood Reporter/. The film stars Cary Elwes and newcomer Leigh Whannell as two men who become trapped in a room at the mercy of a serial killer. Whannell also wrote the screenplay, If all goes as planned, you can see Saw at theaters sometime this year.
