HOLLYWOOD - Top Story
Gillian Anderson, who played Agent Scully in the cult sci-fi series The X-Files, is getting a beating from critics for her debut performance on the London stage in Michael Weller's play What the Night Is For. In fact, it is being tagged the biggest roasting since Madonna's first curtain call in May in Up for Grabs, according to Reuters. "Sorry Scully, but you have lost your X-appeal," The Daily Mail said of Anderson's performance. "She is woefully uninvolving," said the Financial Times. "Does Anderson's voice have no capacity for heart-catching uplift, no sudden changes of volume?" it asked. Anderson is one of many Hollywood celebs accepting stage roles in Britain to boost their acting credentials, including Nicole Kidman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon and Woody Harrelson.
Celebs
Former Beatle George Harrison left more than $153 million in his will after his death from cancer in November 2001, Reuters reports. Details of the will were made public Friday before an all-star benefit concert in London, but court officials would not confirm local media reports that the money would be divided between Harrison's wife, Olivia, family members and charities.Courteney Cox's decision to take her maiden name again spurred rumors that her marriage to David Arquette might be in trouble, but not so, according to the Friends star. In the December issue of InStyle magazine, Cox says she started going by her maiden name out of her respect for her father, Richard Cox, who died of cancer last year.Rosie O'Donnell's longtime companion Kelli Carpenter gave birth Friday to her first child, Vivienne Rose, at an undisclosed New York hospital, The Associated Press reports. A spokeswoman for O'Donnell would not say whether the former talk show host was formally adopting the baby. O'Donnell has three adopted children, Parker, 7, Chelsea, 5, and Blake, 3.Movies
MGM and Rush Hour producer Arthur Sarkissian are set to remake the 1958 thriller The Defiant Ones, which starred Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier as escaped convicts bound at the wrist. According to Variety, Sarkissian signed a first-look deal with the Lion and Defiant is likely to be their first joint project.
Tube
The Osbournes season premiere on MTV Tuesday attracted 6.64 million viewers, placing first in its 10:30 p.m. slot among adults 18-34, Variety reports. Although the show reached almost 8 million viewers at its peak during the first season, the numbers remain impressive considering the episode was up against original programming on ABC, CBS and NBC. In a one-hour special, Mariah Carey: Shining Through the Rain, airing Tuesday at 9 p.m. on MTV, the 32-year-old songstress wonders why such a big deal was made over her striptease on MTV's Total Request Live in July 2001--less than a week before she checked into a hospital for an emotional breakdown. "The drama, the saga of TRL," Carey says. "It's TRL, I thought you were supposed to feel at home and do stupid stuff."Music
Oasis singer Liam Gallagher lost several teeth in a barroom brawl with five Italians at the Bayerischer Hof hotel in Munich, Germany, Reuters reports. According to German police, Gallagher also kicked an officer in the ribs when he was detained. With Gallagher spending much of the day in a dentist's chair, the group canceled Monday night's concert in Hamburg. The band's Web site said Gallagher and two other band members were innocent victims of an unprovoked attack by a group of youths. Brother Noel Gallagher was not involved in the melee.Folk duo Simon & Garfunkel and salsa king Tito Puente are among the five artists to be honored with lifetime achievement awards for 2003 from the Recording Academy on Wednesday, Variety reports. Others include blues singer Etta James, balladeer Johnny Mathis and bandleader Glen Miller. The honors will be formally acknowledged at the 45th annual Grammy Awards in New York on Feb. 23.