September 1st, 2005

 There have been lots of awards ceremonies, movie premieres, and after parties since we last reported to you. Among the debuting films are The Brothers Grimm, Red Eye, and Pretty Persuasion. First off, at Grimm’s after party, which followed its showing at the Directors Guild of America Theatre, we corralled stars Heath Ledger and Matt Damon—separately, of course—and learned that Heath is so excited about his impending fatherhood that he plans to take a few months off after his girlfriend Michelle Williams delivers his heir later this fall. “I’m truly looking forward to [fatherhood] and want to spend quality time bonding with my family,” Ledger told us. “I might do something in the middle of next year because I’ll have had a year off by then.” One thing that we may or may not expect from Heath is wedding bells. “Oh, I wouldn’t rule it out,” he interjected. “But it’s such a private, intimate thing.” (After we spoke to the Aussie hottie, we learned that Michelle and Heath are, in fact, engaged and will tie the knot after the birth of their child.)

Heath and Matt, on director Terry Gilliam’s orders, spent a lot of time together before filming got underway, and, in fact, bonded much as the real Grimm brothers. “Terry is very specific about what he wants,” Matt Damon said, and sometimes just wants to have fun —like the time he tossed a bunch of ravens at Ledger, perched precariously on a rooftop, trying to keep his balance, in one of the film’s lively scenes. But the somewhat outré Gilliam did not always get his way. For instance, when he decreed that Matt Damon’s handsome visage would be blemished by a bump on his perfect nose, in keeping with character’s appearance, the Brothers Weinstein said, “No, no, no!” Others on the set liked the broken schnozzola effect, saying Matt looked like a young Marlon Brando, but Harvey and Bob prevailed.
Matt told us that his work in film is what is really keeping him happy. That, and his girlfriend of two years, Luciana Barroso. The couple recently purchased a home in Miami, and her seven-year-old daughter will attend school there. Said Matt: “Things are really great right now. It’s been a terrific year for work. I’m really happy and I am with this woman and it’s just great.” Matt has Syriana opening in November. It co-stars George Clooney in the role for which he gained 35 pounds in 35 days. Matt also has roles upcoming in films directed by Martin Scorsese (The Departed), Robert DeNiro (The Good Shepherd), and Steven Soderbergh (The Informant). He told us he did not really regret having missed his best pal Ben Affleck’s wedding to Jennifer Garner. “[Ben] just wanted to get it done, which I really understand. They had to do it quickly and quietly. I mean, I got a phone call [telling me about the wedding],” Matt confided, adding that he too may someday opt for under the radar nuptials. “Getting it done privately and quietly is definitely the route to go. It’s clearly worked for a lot of people.”
Ben and Jennifer were at the Grimm party, but they left before we had a chance to talk with them. Matt, who’s had a personal and professional relationship with Ben for many years (they won Oscars for writing Good Will Hunting), predicts an end to his friend’s long career drought. “He just did Truth, Justice and the American Way. People tend to forget what a terrific actor Ben is, and maybe, through some fault of his own, he hasn’t made the best career choices over the last couple of years. When this movie hits the screens, it’ll be great and everyone will be like, ‘It’s a comeback.’”
Also at the party was Grimm co-star Monica Bellucci, with her husband, Vincent Cassel, who appears opposite Jennifer Aniston in Derailed. The couple recently had dinner with Jennifer and they report that she’s “doing just fine.” Also there was Casey Affleck, Ben’s brother, who told us that he will appear as Robert Ford in the Warner Bros. adaptation of Robert Hansen’s novel The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Brad Pitt co-stars as Jesse James. Casey told us that he and Brad have been practicing their quick-draw gun slinging together, and conceded that “Brad’s pretty fast.”
The post-Civil War’s outlaw’s namesake, by which we mean the motorcycle magnate that recently made 40-something Sandra Bullock his bride, is determined to make the “Jesse James” brand a name to be reckoned with, via his West Coast Choppers, founded more than a decade ago and now manufacturing the two-wheelers for women and kids, as well as men. Jesse recently appeared at the Magic Show in Las Vegas to promote his new Junior’s line of vintage-inspired, motorcycle-culture, screen-printed T-shirts and fleeces called Jesse Girl. And his real-life girl, the winsome Miss Bullock, was right by his side.
We ran into Sandra at the Fox TV Guide Teen Choice Awards at the Gibson Amphitheater at Universal’s City Walk and she told us how great married life is and showed off her vintage 1910 Tiffany & Co. wedding ring, which features two diamonds symbolizing the union of her and her spouse. She picked up a Surf Board Award for Miss Congeniality 2.
We also ran into another winner, Ashton Kutcher, there with his leading lady, Demi Moore, who reiterated that she and her boy-toy have no plans to get married. “It’s just a piece of paper. We are true soulmates. We enjoy doing everything together, like sharing a warm bath and watching TV.” She said the bathtub in their new Hollywood home is surrounded by Madonna’s Kabbalah candles from Slatkin & Co. Demi said that Ashton likes bubbles with his bath and they are using Statkin’s foaming bath gels until she has her own line of bath products on the market. She said she and Ashton want to expand their family, but wouldn’t confirm the rumors of her own pregnancy.

Also at the Teen Choice Awards were Paris Hilton, Female Hottie Award winner Rachel Bilson, Jim Carrey, Hilary Duff, Halle Berry, Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Fergie and the Black-Eyed Peas, and Gwen Stefani, who picked up the Visionary Award. We overheard Gwen tell an Extra reporter that the rumors that she’ll be playing Richie Berlin in Factory Girl are just that—rumors. The truth is that Richie thinks that Gwen is “too much of a femme de la la” to portray her. In current negotiations for the role of Richie is the lovely and very talented Amy Adams, who won a special Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance Film Fest for her role in Junebug. Gwen Stefani would not confirm the rumors that she’ll be singing on Madonna’s new CD, out in November, called Confessions on a Dance Floor.
The second premiere and after party we attended was for the Wes Craven-directed, airplane thrill-ride Red Eye. We caught up with the handsome Irish-born actor Cillian Murphy, looking quite dapper in his Prada suit, who portrays the film’s antagonist. Cillian is still riding the wave of his critically-acclaimed role as Dr. Jonathan Crane in Batman Begins, another villainous role. “I’m not out to corner the market on bad guys,” Murphy offered. “I never look at characters as good or bad, just whether they’re interesting.” And you don’t get any more interesting than his next role: as an alcoholic transvestite in Neil Jordan’s Breakfast on Pluto, co-starring one of our favorite actors, Liam Neeson. With Cillian Murphy’s career in high gear on this side of the pond, comparisons to his friend and fellow-countryman, the hard-partying, skirt-chasing, thoroughly irresistible Colin Farrell, are inevitable. “I cannot be ‘the next Colin Farrell,’” Cillian pleaded. “We are all individuals.” And he raises a pint to his fellow Irishman who has endured more than his share of tabloid scrutiny. “I have always lived a quiet life and I hope to keep it thus,” he said hopefully.
Co-star Rachel McAdams, lovely in Donna Karan, told us that despite Murphy’s psychotic attacks on her (in the movie), he kept the mood off-screen upbeat “by telling bad jokes.” She confessed to us that it only took 90 minutes for her to get ready for the evening’s premiere and party. But three hours had been set aside for her beautification, so by five o’clock she was reading a book and some fashion magazines. Did she find anything worthwhile? “Yes, Alice and Mary Temperley’s ultimate travel kit for Penhaligon, including bag, vanity case, clock and wallet,” she responded. The 28-year-old actress told us she had her first plane ride when she was 22, but does a lot of traveling now. Also at the film’s premiere and party were director Wes Craven, Dreamworks’ Mark Haimes, Adam Goodman, and Mark Sourian, and actors Colby Donaldson, Topher Grace, and Jessica Capshaw.
Hollywood’s current favorite guessing game is who’s going to be in Bill Condon’s film version of the hit Broadway musical Dreamgirls. Someone who professes to be in the know told us that the tonsorially turned-out singer Usher has backed out of negotiations to star as choreographer C.C. White. The same thing reportedly happened with Beyonce, once considered a shoo-in as one of the three “Dreamgirls.” However, we understand that Jamie Foxx and Eddie Murphy were still in negotiations for leading roles. Foxx, if he signs on, would portray Curtis Taylor Jr., the Svengali-like manager of the singing trio The Dreamettes, who rise to fame as The Dreams. His character is said to be based on Berry Gordy, of Motown Records fame, who guided The Supremes to superstardom 40 years ago. It is being talked around that the filmmakers are conducting a nationwide search for a singer-actress for the role that was created in the Tony-winning Broadway musical by the sensational Jennifer Holiday, Effie, the weight-challenged singer with the out-sized voice. Who could ever forget Holiday’s show-stopping I’m Telling You I’m Not Going? Not us! We must’ve seen the show maybe 20 times, and, in fact, along with diet and fitness expert Nikki Haskell, we hosted the opening-night party when the musical bowed on Broadway in December of 1981.
We’ve heard that American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino auditioned for the part for Bill Condon and that the search may be over before it’s really begun. We intend to get the scoop from Fantasia when we attend Gary Pudney’s World Music Awards at the Kodak Theatre. We’ll also ask Beyonce why she turned her back on a starring part in the film. And, of course, we’ll ask Diana Ross what she thinks about Dreamgirls coming to the big screen. Both Fantasia and Diana will be performing at the awards show, as will Mariah Carey, Santana, and others.

As to a report about the casting of Wonder Woman. A rumor as transparent as Wonder Woman’s invisible airplane had Cameron Diaz turning down the role without even bothering to read the script, reportedly because she is tired of playing in actioners and wants to appear in more serious and dramatic film fare. To quash the rumors, Diaz’s rep said that Cameron was not offered the part, and therefore could not have turned it down. The rep did say that Cameron will be at the Toronto Film Festival (September 8 to 15) for the premiere of her new film, In Her Shoes. In the Curtis Hanson film, she plays Maggie, a gorgeous screw-up who knows that when the going gets tough, the tough go shopping. (So much for Cameron’s quest for dramatic, serious roles.) All summer long, 20th Century-Fox has been holding screenings to create industry buzz about In Her Shoes.
We were lucky to receive an invite to one of them, and we guarantee that you will laugh and cry when you see this film, one of the best we’ve seen in recent memory. And the cast—Cameron, Toni Collette, and Shirley MacLaine—are sure to be factors in the run for the Oscars. When we last spoke to Cameron, she said she didn’t make the film for the money—although she’s just been revealed to be Hollywood’s biggest female money maker of the year. “I did it because I wanted to be part of a great story and to work with a great filmmaker [Hanson] and great actors I could learn from.”
Also premiering at the Toronto fest is Harsh Times, about two unemployed friends (Christian Bale and Freddy Rodrigues) who encounter trouble in South Central L.A. The movie’s femme lead, Eva Longoria, told us when we ran into her shopping at Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills that she’s attending the Toronto goings-on for the premiere. She said she then plans to catch her two Dynasty faves, Joan Collins and Linda Evans, who will be starring in Jimmy Kirkwood’s play, Legends, at the Royal Alexandra Theatre. The tale of dueling divas was written for Carol Channing and Mary Martin, and failed to make it to Broadway after receiving mainly negative reviews in its out-of-town tryout.
There’s a particularly prescient line in the play in which one of the ladies says to the other one: “You would sell your last bugle-beaded dress if you could appear on Dynasty.” Given its stars, the line is sure to elicit long and loud applause. After Toronto, Eva will enplane to Paris to be with her boyfriend, round-baller Tony Parker, using up her September hiatus from Desperate Housewives. The busy brunette beauty just shot an ad campaign for New York & Co. with Patrick Demarchelier, and also wrapped The Sentinel with Michael Douglas. Eva (who was purchasing Erno Laszlo products at Neiman) said, with Tony Parker throwing the basketball around, Teri Hatcher “will be my Emmy date.”
Verdura has never deigned to offer a piece in sterling silver, until now. As homage to the September centennial of Greta Garbo’s birth, the fine-jewelry firm has issued its curb-link bracelet, made famous (in yellow gold) by the Silent Swede, in both silver and gold. The silver bracelet will be issued in an edition limited to 100 numbered pieces and will be available for $1,950 at Neiman’s and at Verdura’s New York salon. The gold version favored by Garbo will go for $7,500. Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Aniston were said to have just purchased the bracelet in gold. The bracelet’s launch will coincide with the publication of Rizzoli’s Garbo: Portraits from Her Private Collections. The book was penned by Garbo’s nephew, Scott Reisfield, and film historian Robert Dance.
Jennifer Aniston was in New York to pay a visit to Calvin Klein’s creative director, Francisco Costa, picking up everything from the Calvin Klein fall collection, at least that’s what we were told. Jennifer’s wardrobe in The Break-up was designed by Costa for Calvin Klein. Aniston once gushed: I love that in [Costa’s clothes] it is the body that stands out, the person.” Our source said that Jen purchased some sexy pencil skirts to show off her great-looking legs.
Kevin Costner had a monster hit with The Bodyguard, the 1992 film that co-starred Whitney Houston. Now he wants to make a sequel and he knows who he wants to protect this time around. “Ideally, it would be great to get someone like Jessica Simpson on board to take the story to the next level,” says Costner. We happened upon Jessica and hubby Nick Lachey at a Mexican restaurant in Hollywood, where they were dining on arroz con pollo. She said she was quite flattered that Kevin Costner wants to work with her, but says she’s heard nothing about a sequel to The Bodyguard.

We told her that we witnessed the scary scene she created outside of the Valentino boutique in Beverly Hills, when 80 screaming fans mobbed her. “Oh, you saw that? The folks at Valentino were wonderful, pulling me in and locking the doors,” she said. She used the time waiting for things to calm down outside by shopping for clothes. Hoping to pooh-pooh the rumors that all is not well in her marriage, Jessica said that she and Nick are looking to purchase a home in BevHills or Bel-Air, even touring the home that was once the residence of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. Jessica, who professes to be a big Dolly Parton fan, says she would love to find a film like Nine to Five.
Leave it to the unpredictable James Woods to provide the requisite raunch to these meanderings: Speaking of his role in his current film Pretty Persuasion, the actor said, “I just loved this fat, 50-year-old guy sitting in his underwear playing video poker, doing blow, and whacking off to phone sex.” This was the third film premiere and after party we attended. The scene was Hollywood’s Cinerama Dome and the crowd was at over-flow levels. Woods assured those scouring for seats in the theatre, “Don’t worry, it’ll be just like summer camp.” Five minutes later, he joined the film’s director, Marcos Siega, and members of the cast and crew in doing the unthinkable—giving up their seats to guests still wandering the aisles of the theatre. Crowd control was not a factor at the party at the nearby Montmarte Lounge, where among the celebrants were the film’s stars, Evan Rachel Wood, Adi Schnall, Elizabeth Harnois, Selma Blair, and Ron Livingston.
You may recall that Ron was the rat on Sex and the City who dumped Carrie Bradshaw by Post-It note. In Persuasion, he plays a lecherous English teacher accused of sexual harassment by his conniving, spotlight-seeking student, played by Evan Rachel Wood. The film was produced by Samuel Goldwyn Jr., whom we saw chatting with Wood. She said that living in Woodland Hills has helped her maintain normalcy in her life. “I just go to my quiet, little suburban neighborhood and hang out. My mom would kill me if she heard about me going to the Tropicana Bar. I’d be as good as dead,” the not-yet-18-year-old cutie said. She’ll be filming in New York when she turns 18 next month and will have her own apartment, “something I’ve been craving for such a long time,” she said. Wood told us that her Running with Scissors co-star Gwyneth Paltrow has given her a list of favorite restaurants and boutiques in the Big Apple, for which she is grateful and thrilled, saying, “Gwyneth really does have the most exquisite taste in absolutely everything.”

We spotted Sharon Stone exiting the Beverly Hills Hotel recently, back from London where she’s been shooting Basic Instinct 2. She told us her Catherine Tramell character has “become more seasoned, more twisted, and the edges are a little sharper.” We complimented her on her performance in Jim Jarmusch’s Broken Flowers, to which she responded, “Thank you. I really enjoyed working with Jim and a really terrific cast.” She said she especially liked Bill Murray’s character. “He brings to mind Humphrey Bogart as Captain Queeg (The Caine Mutiny), fingering those infernal steel balls and coming apart on the witness stand.” She was off in a flash and someone told us that she was on her way to Camp—as in Camp Planet Hope, a charity she founded 14 years ago with her sister, Kelly Stone, that gives needy families four days of free makeovers, clothes, medical, dental, and vision care and self-esteem building workshops in the Santa Monica Mountains. It gives underprivileged children a chance to experience a summer camp with arts and crafts and stories by the campfire.
That same afternoon at the hotel’s Polo Lounge having lunch was the beautiful Carolyn Murphy, one of the new faces of Estee Lauder, who will be featured in the ad campaign for the company’s just-launched Amber Nude. The campaign was created by Tom Ford, and is said to be very sensual, and Carolyn is, or appears to be, nude. Ford, if you’ll remember, created the same kinds of sexy ads when he was at Gucci.
Sarah Jessica Parker was also having a “power lunch” at the Polo Lounge with some executives from HBO. The actress’s production company, Pretty Matches Productions, has just signed a deal with HBO to produce The Amy Sacco Story about the life of the nightlife queen responsible for some of New York’s hottest, trendiest spots—Bungalow 8, Lot 61, and Bette restaurant. The TV series will follow Sacco as she runs her hectic business, hobnobs with stars, and tries to maintain a personal life. The diminutive Parker will executive produce only, leaving another actress to portray the Amazonian Sacco. Parker always seems to have something going on. She’s Vogue’s September cover girl. She has two film projects in the works and is coming out with her own fragrance. It is aptly named “Lovely.”
We had never seen so many bold-facers as we did on this particular day at the Polo Lounge. Matt LeBlanc was there with producer John Goldstone, husband of Marin Hopper, daughter of Brooke Hayward and Dennis Hopper. Brooke is the daughter of legendary stage and film producer Leland Hayward and actress Margaret Sullavan. Her autobiography, Haywire, created a sensation a couple of decades ago and now she continues the show-biz saga with Haywire 2. LeBlanc and Goldstone have acquired the film rights to the books, and hope to star Natalie Portman as the young Brooke. Goldstone said that Natalie looks exactly like Brooke when she was a young Hollywood hopeful.