In category News on  January 29, 2010 

Conan O’Brien scooped his highest-ever ratings in his Tonight Show swansong.

The NBC talkshow wars made O’Brien’s last show in the late-night spot a hot draw. Some 10.3 million viewers tuned in last Friday, according to reports.

The audience was his biggest since he moved into the Tonight Show previously occupied by Jay Leno, on June 1. In his first broadcast, O’Brien drew 9.2 million.

But the network’s decision to return Leno to his age-old spot and push O’Brien back along with the ensuing opposition from O’Brien and competition from former NBC king David Letterman over on CBS gave late-night TV a whole new edge.

The Tonight Show for the week averaged 5.3 million viewers over 3.9 million on Letterman’s Late Show.

Letterman’s season average, however, puts him ahead at 4...

In category News on  January 28, 2010 

The wife of Charlie Sheen has gone straight from a hospital to a “wellness centre” to make a supervised recovery from serious pneumonia, it was revealed.

Brooke Mueller is recuperating from double pneumonia at an undisclosed North Carolina wellness centre, her attorney Yale Galanter said.

Mueller, 32, has had a protective order that prevents contact with Sheen put back in place upon leaving the Los Angeles hospital where she spent the last week.

Despite her discharge, her doctors were reported this week being concerned about her slow recovery.

Galanter said Mueller was “mentally and physically exhausted” when she left hospital and her mother arranged for the wellness centre stay. Responding to rumours, he clarified: “She’s definitely not in a place for drug or alcohol rehabilitation...

In category News on  January 28, 2010 

Matt Damon has said he doesn’t believe he’s ‘done’ with the Bourne films.

Damon, 39, has played the role of Jason Bourne in three previous movies and said he is definitely open for a fourth flick – but not without director Paul Greengrass.

Greengrass, 54, directed the second two films in the trilogy – The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum.

Asked about a fourth Bourne flick, Damon said: “It is just that we would have to find a script and there’s no story right now.

“Paul’s open to doing another one and, if I am honest, I don’t think we are done with Bourne for a second. But I am not doing it without Paul. It’s as simple as that.

“We will figure it out down the road. That’s all I can really say on that right now.”

In category News on  January 27, 2010 

New dad Mel Gibson has shared one of the parenthood secrets he learned from his previous seven children – earplugs.

The film star, promoting his film Edge of Darkness on the Jay Leno Show on US television, joked that being a dad this time around is different.

“You’re more mellow,” said the 54-year-old, who has a three-month old daughter with girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva. “There’s shortcuts, I guess – earplugs, you know?”

Asked if he was ?doing the whole deal” in looking after the baby, Gibson joked: “I will be honest, I would say that her mother does the lion’s share of that work, but you know, I support her.”

But he said he has now given up his 45-year smoking habit...

In category News on  January 27, 2010 

Former Bond star Pierce Brosnan has said he still hasn’t watched either of the latest 007 flicks with Daniel Craig.

Brosnan, 56, played the smooth-talking spy in four James Bond films before handing the role over to Craig, 41, who has since appeared in Casino Royale and Quantum Of Solace.

He said: “I got the Academy screener for Quantum Of Solace, turned it on for my boys and left them to it. I didn’t go near it.”

Brosnan added: “I tried watching it on an aeroplane, but the DVD broke down. The attendant came and changed it and it broke down a second time, so I figured: ‘OK, the Gods must be saying something.’ So I never went near it. I just thought: ‘Let sleeping dogs lie.’”

In category News on  January 26, 2010 

Nicolas Cage has sold his Las Vegas mansion at a loss of nearly $3.5million compared to its 2006 purchase price, according to TMZ.

The property that Cage shelled out $8.5million for was in foreclosure – since November last year. Broker Kenneth Lowman said the six-bedroom, 7.5-bath and 16-car subterranean garaged property sold for $4.95million.

Cage is mired in a financial battle with his situation labelled “catastrophic”, TMZ claimed.

A swirl of lawsuits and liens surround the actor, who has put properties in Los Angeles and the UK up for sale. He owes the Internal Revenue Service an estimated $13million in back taxes.

In category News on  January 26, 2010 

Movie stars and celebrities can make the best of alumni.

Alec Baldwin donated $1million to his alma mater, the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. The 30 Rock star’s gift was intended to provide tuition assistance to students in the guise of the Alec Baldwin Drama Scholarship Fund.

Sara Davis of the TASC Group that oversees school philanthropy said: “Mr Baldwin’s generosity has set a wonderful example for his fellow colleagues and Tisch alumni.”

The late Paul Newman, whose charity-giving runs to the $200million mark, gave $10million out of his own pocket to start a scholarship fund for Kenyon College, his alma mater, Forbes reports...

In category News on  January 25, 2010 

Modest George Clooney got camera-shy as he was showered with praise at an awards show – then jumped back into the limelight by joking he had a secret affair with 88-year-old actress Betty White.

The movie hunk seemed desperate to avoid the TV cameras at the SAG Awards in LA, looking down at the floor or in the opposite direction each time they came to his table.

Clooney briefly glanced up as he was applauded by the star-packed audience for organising the Help For Haiti Telethon and again for his Outstanding Male Actor nomination.

But he was all smiles again as he took the stage to present the last award of the ceremony on Saturday night.

Veteran Golden Girls star White had earlier joked in her acceptance speech for her Life Achievement Award she had ?had a couple? of the celebrities i...

In category News on  January 25, 2010 

Roman Polanski must appear in a California court for sentencing on a 32-year-old alleged sex crime, a Los Angeles court has ruled.

But whether or not he is forced to go back to the US remains the decision of Swiss authorities, who are weighing an extradition request from the Americans. Roman Polanski remains confined to a chalet he owns in the ski resort town of Gstaadt under “house arrest.”

US authorities meanwhile reopened the case that led him to flee on the eve of sentencing after initially pleading guilty. Now 76, Polanski has lost the attempt for an in-absentia sentencing for the charges pertaining to alleged unlawful sex with a minor.

Superior Court judge Peter Espinoza ruled last Friday ruled Polanski must be present in court if he wants to resolve the case...

In category News on  January 25, 2010 

Mel Gibson has admitted he feels bad for golf ace Tiger Woods.

The Braveheart star – who said he felt “public humiliation” following his 2006 drink-drive arrest – said Woods should be given a break as he battles to save his marriage.

Gibson said: “I mean, he’s beat – they’re beating the hell out of him, you know? So you know, I love the guy. He’s full of flaws, like all the rest of us. And he’s getting a rough time. Ask any human being walking on the planet, ‘Have you ever done anything that you’re not too proud of?’ and I think most people will say ‘Yes. I’ve done a few things I’m not too proud of.’

“And a lot of times the most difficult thing about all of that is being able to forgive yourself.

“Geez, I want to watch him play golf.”

Gibson, 54, will next be seen on screen in Edge o...