2016-05-29



No-one is recognised as knowing more about Hollywood and celebrities than David Hartnell MNZM. He’s not only spent a lifetime reporting on Hollywood’s trivia, gossip and scandals, but he counts many celebrities among his personal friends. Every Monday morning David will give you an exclusive weekly update on the gossip, scandals and trivia of Hollywood’s elite.

David is an award winning broadcaster and columnist he’s also the patron of The Variety Artists Club of New Zealand Inc. Her Majesty The Queen, awarded David the Insignia of a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (formerly an MBE) in the Queen’s birthday Honours list 2011. In 2012 he was made an Ambassador St James Saviours, the trust formed to save the iconic Auckland theatre. In 2014 he was made an Ambassador to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand.

Visit David’s Website

Known by some as the ‘Godfather of gossip’, David Hartnell MNZM has amassed a fabulous resource of detail about Hollywood and television movies and stars throughout his long career interviewing celebrities and reporting on trivia, gossip and scandals. His knowledge ranges easily from the 1950s to the present day.

Now David has written this quiz book as a celebration of the rich variety that the movies and television have brought us over many decades, and the personalities who’ve been working in both industries. Presented in an entertaining but informative fashion, the more than 1,700 questions and answers are arranged in rounds of three, with answers close by. There are also specialty feature quizzes with questions related to a single subject, such as Oscar-winning films, Lord of the Rings, Sequels and Remakes, even TV pets.  Collected trivia about celebrities and stars also feature as interesting snippets through the book. People love to be an authority on celebrities – the celebrity pages are the most popular pages of any magazine.

Whether it is used for pub quiz nights, parties or even long car trips, David Hartnell’s Celebrity Quiz Book will highlight to a wide audience the important milestones in the development of this most popular of cultures, and test how well you really know the world of entertainment.

This book will appeal to everyone who watches television or film.This is his ninth book.

Available in all good books store’s and on line, published by New Holland $19.99.;

View David Hartnell

‘Written in the stars – David’s triple celebrations‘ in the NZ Woman’s Weekly.  View the article here on David’s website.

Be in to win monthly DVDs

…simply answer a question correctly, from this week’s column and you will be entered into the draw.

Question: Name two celebrities from this week’s column.  Answer by clicking  here.

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Monday May 30 2016

I’m not one to gossip but………. Wednesday night was the opening night of the Blue Man Group at Auckland’s mighty Civic theatre and Somboon and I were there. Now I have to be honest I didn’t quite know what to expect with this show.

WOW what can I say — what an experience, from art, music, comedy, magic, special lighting effects, tricks, this show has it all. Please don’t miss this amazing one of a kind theatrical experience!

The international entertainment phenomenon, BLUE MAN GROUP has arrived in New Zealand.

BLUE MAN GROUP is comedy, theatre, rock concert and dance party all rolled into one. The BLUE MAN GROUP theatrical tour showcases classic Blue Man favourites, along with brand new content. Celebrating their 25th year of creativity, this artistic group is continually updating and refreshing Blue Man shows with new music, fresh stories, custom instruments and state-of-the-art technology.

BLUE MAN GROUP creates experiences that defy categorisation, taking the audience on a journey that is funny, intelligent and visually stunning, culminating in the trademark Blue Man Group finale in a blissful party atmosphere.

BLUE MAN GROUP is accompanied by a live band whose tribal rhythms help drive the show to its unforgettable climax.

Having performed their first show 25 years ago, to date, over 35 million people across 15 countries have seen one of the various BLUE MAN GROUP productions.

BLUE MAN GROUP was founded by three close friends Chris Wink, Matt Goldman and Phil Stanton in New York in 1991, and has grown to include permanent shows in Las Vegas, New York, Orlando, Boston, Chicago and Berlin, as well as a touring production in North America.

In 2016, the BLUE MAN GROUP theatrical tour will embark on a World Tour. Beyond the stage show, BLUE MAN GROUP has toured the globe with the ‘Megastar World Tour’ rock concert parody, produced five albums, including the Grammy-nominated Audio, and contributed to numerous film and TV scores. They’ve also appeared in several commercials and hit TV shows.

Mr Cundall says, “With no spoken language BLUE MAN GROUP is perfect for all ages, languages and cultures. It gives everyone the freedom to reconnect with their inner child, to re-experience mischievousness and sheer joy, and see what fun three guys can have with 30 litres of paint and 55 mashed-up bananas in the space of an hour and a half!”

BLUE MAN GROUP is brought to New Zealand by Blue Man Productions Ltd, and Lunchbox Theatrical Productions Ltd.

BLUE MAN GROUP – it’s not just a show, it’s a state of mind.

www.blueman.com

TOUR INFORMATION

AUCKLAND

Venue: The Civic, Auckland

Dates: From NOW until 5 June

Times: Tuesday 7.30pm; Wednesday 7.30pm; Thursday 7.30pm

Friday 7.30pm

Saturday 2.30pm & 7.30pm; Sunday 1pm & 6pm

Bookings: Ticketmaster 09 970 9700 or ticketmaster.co.nz

WELLINGTON

Venue: St James, Wellington

Dates: From Tuesday 7 June 2016

Times: Tuesday 7.30pm; Wednesday 7.30pm; Thursday 7.30pm

Friday 7.30pm

Saturday 2.30pm & 7.30pm; Sunday 1pm & 6pm

Bookings: Ticketek

CHRISTCHURCH

Venue: Isaac Theatre Royal, Christchurch

Dates: From Tuesday 21 June 2016

Times: Tuesday 7.30pm; Wednesday 7.30pm; Thursday 7.30pm

Friday 7.30pm

Saturday 2.30pm & 7.30pm; Sunday 1pm & 6pm

Bookings: Ticketek

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Last week Sir Ian McKellen turned 77 – the same week as his It Got Better video was released by the It Gets Better Project. He talks about being closeted professionally for a big chunk of his career: ‘In the British theatre, individuality of course was celebrated. There were other gay people – all of them closeted, discreet. Nobody gave an interview and said they were gay. I thought if I were to talk about it in an interview – because there was opportunities – that it might affect my job prospects.

‘If people knew I was gay they wouldn’t want me to play Romeo for example. Nobody talked about being gay. I wasn’t living a lie – I was just avoiding talking about it in certain situations.

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This sound pretty good to me what a show this will be! David Hyde Pierce,

whose Broadway credits include a Tony winning role in Curtains and a

starring role in Spamalot, is returning to The Great White Way as a performer.

He will star opposite Bette Midler in next year’s revival of the classic musical Hello! Dolly.

Pierce, best known for his role as Niles Crane on the long-running TV sitcom
Frasier, was last on Broadway directing the romantic comedy musical It Shoulda Been You.

He will be Horace Vandergelder opposite Midler’s Dolly Gallagher Levi. The production will play the Shubert Theatre with previews beginning next March.

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Sue Johnston has opened up about her time on Coronation Street admitting it was “very tough.”

The TV veteran first played Mrs Chadwick back in 1982 but returned in 2012

as Stella Price’s mother Gloria.

She was a regular on the Weatherfield cobbles until 2014 when she left the

popular soap.

Caroline is battling throat cancer but Sue said they had been thinking about

reuniting the cast and admitted it would be good

Sue has reassured Royle Family fans that Caroline Aherne is doing well following her throat cancer battle. Sue said during a This Morning appearance: “She has been [poorly] but she’s pretty good now.”

Coronation Street star Sue even teased fans with a potential reunion of the Royle Family show where she first starred on screen with Caroline.

Talking of a Christmas special she said: “”I often wonder – and in fact I talked to Caroline last week and we both wondered a little ‘wouldn’t it be nice’.”

She added: “But who knows? Who knows. I know that everyone of us wouldn’t object to getting back together again.”

During the interview with Phillip and Holly the soap star also revealed that starring on Corrie was “hard” work.

“They work so hard on soap operas as they have so much material they have to get out.

“When I worked on Brookside we were only shooting two episodes a week at the time so it was pretty normal filming routine, Corrie was fast. but I loved being there and the people. I made really good friends.”

Sue also spoke of her joy at the verdict at the Hillsborough inquest: “[We] knew there was an injustice. You couldn’t just stand by and not support the families. And it was fantastic when they said… well it was mixed emotion.

“I felt so good for the families that this injustice had been repaired, but justice still hasn’t finished yet, the accountability.”

She added: “But I felt so glad for those families because they are so dignified and so. they’re inspirational too in a way. They’re just remarkable.”

Explaining how often she watched Liverpool FC play, Sue admitted: “I’m a season ticket holder so I go as much as possible. Am I vocal? I shout very loudly and very rudely – I have a potty mouth at the football!”

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The lovely Anne Hathaway flashes a smile during an interview with TV’s Good Morning America on in New York City.

The 33-year-old Alice Through The Looking Glass actress opened up about

being a new mom and why she never wanted to announce her pregnancy.

“I hadn’t planned on ever confirming it. And then I had seen a photographer

while I was on vacation taking a photo, and I just thought, it’s such a joyful and sacred experience carrying life. I don’t want the first version of this to be out there with me covering or scowling at someone. That’s not representative of the experience, so I chose a photo that I was happy with, and I put it out there,” she explained.

Anne also told a story about how she missed the first 20 minutes of the new
Alice movie because she had to feed her seven-week-old son Jonathan!

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Aspiring model Brooklyn Beckham is taking after his famous parents – and

they’re very proud of his latest achievement.

The teenage star – whose parents are David and Victoria – has taken after

his fashionista mum by gracing the cover of this month’s issue of China
Vogue.

It’s clear his dad is delighted at his eldest son’s success, and Becks couldn’t resist sharing the image on Instagram and gushing over his boy.

He wrote: “My boy looking handsome on the cover of China Vogue”

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It’s been said that were the Paramount theatre in San Francisco ( well it’s across the bay in Oakland really ) to require a new name, it might well be called the Paradox, for its history is studded with contradictions. Built in 1925 at the cost of $3,000,000 (US) it was one of American grandest motion-picture palaces seating 3,476, large, decorative and very exotic a

theatre designed especially for the “movies” and the stage pageantry which generally accompanied them.

The grand opening night was the 16th of December, 1931, which bought out a gaggle of San Francisco’s social elite’s along with the American actress Kay Francis who was the star of The False Madonna the movie which screened that night.

Then in June of 1932 disaster struck, Paramount closed its doors, unable to meet the weekly operating cost of around $27,000 (US).

In 1971 the Paramount was boarded up and rumours were, the wrecking ball was waiting in the wings to demolish this grand old Art Deco Lady to dust.

In 1972 the Oakland Symphony orchestra came to its rescue, and purchased the Paramount Theatre for $1 million (US) to use as their new home for the orchestra. The orchestra also set it up as a performing arts centre for the San Francisco Bay Area, and in 1973 a full and authentic restoration was completed. Two years later, the Oakland Symphony Orchestra went bankrupt and gave the Paramount to the City of Oakland for $1 (US), with the stipulation of guaranteed bookings for the next forty years.

In 1972 it was entered into the National Register of Historic Places, on the 14th August, 1973, it became a California Registered Historical Landmark. The Paramount Theatre reopened on September 22, 1973, in its original 1931 splendour.

On October, 1st, 1975, the City of Oakland received title to the Paramount and Paramount Theatre of the Arts, Inc., a non-profit corporation was organised to fully operate the theatre for the City. Since reopening they have installed the mighty Wurlitzer, thus really completing the restoration.

One of its unique features is the intriguing anachronism, which is located at the top of the stairs to the mezzanine foyer, is a seat annunciator, part of the “Tele-Chec’ system, a standard feature of Paramount theatres of the time. It enabled the theatre’s staff to keep track of seating availability.

Ushers would be stationed at the head of each aisle dialled the number of available seats in their sections on a dial inset in the wall. The numbers dialled were transmitted via telephone lines to the ornate seat annunciators in the foyers, and lighted corresponding numbers behind the vertical glass panels.

The usher stationed in the centre of each foyer – who was called a ‘splitter’ – could then greet entering customers with the news of exactly where they might find seats: “There are three seats on Aisle Five, to your left, Madam.”

‘Sir and Madam’ were requisite forms of address in the halcyon days of ushering. Believe it or not, but ushers of the day were taught speech, deportment and theatre-management skills.

Today the Oakland’s Paramount Theatre is one of the finest, if not the finest examples of Art Deco design in the United States. Now standing in all its original splendour, meticulously maintained, and completely upgraded to modern technical standards. It may have started out life as just a movie theatre, but in 2016 its one of the San Francisco Bay Area’s premier

performing arts facilities, hosting a schedule of year-round live concerts, variety shows, popular music concerts, live theatre, ballet and of course movies.

When you walk into the main lobby with its gold ornamentation along the walls, glowing light fixtures, bold rich carpet and wonderful curving staircases you are immediately transported back to the days of old Hollywood where glamour was king.

Public tours of the Paramount Theatre are given on the first and third Saturdays of each month, excluding holidays and holiday weekends trust me it’s the best $5 (US) you’ll ever spend.

*

………………….. Until next week my lis are sealed!
David H. W. Hartnell MNZM copyright 2016

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Monday 23rd May 2016.

I’m not one to gossip but………. As readers of my column will know, that late Phyllis Diller and I were great friends for some 43 years.

Recently I came across a book on the net called Beyond The Spotlight: On the Road With Phyllis Diller by Robin Skone-Palmer. Of course I got a copy right away and devoured every page within a couple of days. This book is a great read and a true inside look at one of the greatest stand up comedians of all time.

Robin has captured the essence of the stage and private Phyllis Diller – the smart savvy business woman, mother, grandmother, performer and one of

the kindness people in this business we call show. Check out Robin’s website
here.

I give this book four out of five stars, I would have given it five out of five stars if it had have had more than its 276 pages. On the last page turn I wanted more! This book is not just a memoir, it’s an inspirational book about a woman called Phyllis Ada Driver who came from nothing to be a world brand called Phyllis Diller!

Robin has captured a true and very fair account of Phyllis behind the scenes, trust me I know I’ve been there.

Once you were a friend of Phyllis Diller’s you were a friend for life, she was a loyal true friend who did not suffer fools lightly. I loved and valued our 43 year friendship, Phyllis Diller was one in a billion – I really miss not seeing her, or her being at the end of a phone line.

As Robin Skone-Palmer approached the mansion on Rockingham Avenue one hot September afternoon, she didn’t know what to expect. “Ask for Phyllis Diller,” the employment agent had said. Curious as much as nervous, she studied the beautiful house. Three-and-a-half hours later, she walked away wondering if she’d just stepped into Alice’s Wonderland.

Plane travel, foreign countries, celebrities, and television studios became part of everyday life – from “This is Tom Jones,” in London to the Glass Festival in Elwood, Indiana. They shared raucous laughter, mind-numbing boredom, and

occasionally absolute terror. The work relationship became a friendship that lasted to the day of Phyllis’s death at that same Rockingham mansion in Brentwood.

Join Robin beyond the spotlight, on the road with Phyllis Diller, as she recalls her days working as a personal secretary for the beloved, ground-breaking comedienne. After leaving Diller’s employment, Skone-Palmer became a “Diller Dustbiter,” a term Diller coined to affectionately describe her favorite former employees. The comedienne even endorsed the memoir (before she died), writing on one of those sticky notes she had used so often: “Robin Skone-Palmer has written a book – it is FABULOUS!”

Diller’s son Perry also endorsed the book, saying: “I laughed a lot. What a wonderful, insightful, bright observation of another time and place. You are kind and fair. Thank you for your service to my mother.”

*
Sara Ramirez announced on Thursday evening (May 19) that she’s leaving
Grey’s Anatomy after a ten-year run on the show.

The 40-year-old actress took to her Instagram to share a statement about her

decision to not return for season 13.

“I’m deeply grateful to have spent the last 10 years with my family at Grey’s Anatomy and ABC, but for now, I’m taking some welcome time off. Shonda’s been so incredible to work for and we will definitely continue our

conversations! I send my love to Ellen (Pompeo), the rest of the cast and

crew, and I look forward to always being a part of the Shondaland family!”

she wrote.

Show creator Shonda added, “Dr. Callie Torres came into our lives dancing it out in her underwear almost a decade ago and I could not be happier or more proud of her journey. Sara Ramirez’s performance inspired me as well as millions of fans each week. We wish her the best on her well-deserved time off. I will miss Callie tremendously, but am excited for what the future holds for Sara. She will always have a home at Shondaland.”

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The 33rd season of the TV series Survivor will officially be named Millennials vs Gen X!

The show’s host Jeff Probst revealed the theme during the season 32 finale.

“It will hook you quickly because you will identify with one group or the other. The differences between the two groups are quickly apparent and the Millennials often left me challenging my own way of looking at the world,”

he told EW’s Dalton Ross. “There is so much appealing energy from the

Millennials and yet often that energy leads to quick decisions that aren’t

always well thought out. With Gen X, you see a tendency to over think and

get stuck in one way of thinking, which can prevent mistakes but can also

hold you back from seizing opportunities. I feel really confident the

audience is going to enjoy the season very much.”

*
When it comes to the busy scrum of international airports, this is probably

the most unusual plane passenger you’d expect to see.

The mummified corpse isn’t a strange archaeological item, though – it’s a film prop.

The mummy came from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie and was going through security at Atlanta International Airport. The Transportation Security Administration shared the amusing shots on its Instagram account.

And it obviously captured the imagination of many, as it quickly ramped up

thousands of likes.

The caption read: “Talk about deadheading… This crusty ol’ chap is actually a prop from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie.

“He was brought through a checkpoint at the Atlanta International Airport, where as you can see, he was screened and sent on his jolly way.”

One hilarious commenter wrote: “Man those lines are getting out of control,” while another added: “Can you imagine seeing this!”

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Zac Efron has never look more ripped than on the May 2016 issue of Men’s
Fitness magazine.

The 28-year-old Baywatch star opened up to the glossy about how he stays in

shape – and stays grounded. Check it:

On his image: “I step back and look at myself and I still want to kick that guy’s ass sometimes. Like, f-ck that guy. He’s done some kind of cool things with some cool people – he did that one thing [Neighbours] that was funny – but, I mean, he’s still just that fucking kid from [High School Musical].”

On his body: “I want to be lean. When I put on a T-shirt, I don’t want people to go, ‘Oh, that guy’s a bodybuilder.'”

On his diet: “After a while your body stops craving junk food and you look forward to these meals. There’s this trigger that happens after two or three weeks of dieting and eating healthy food, where your body switches its

primary energy source from burning mainly carbohydrates to burning fat. And when it switches over, all your cravings change. You go, ‘Holy cow, I want kale and vinaigrette shredded with beets and a little bit of sweet potato!'”

For more on Zac, visit MensFitness.com.

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Celine Dion has given her first television interview since the tragic death of her husband Rene Angelil.

During the interview, the 48-year-old superstar entertainer described her final moments spent with her husband just before he passed away.

“You were worrying for my career. You were worrying for the children. You

were worrying for everything. It’s enough. Do you trust me? Please do. Trust

me,” Celine recalled saying to Rene Angelil on his deathbed. “The kids are

fine. I’m fine. I promise you we’re gonna be okay. Please leave in peace. I

don’t want you to worry.”

Celine also recalled how she told their children, five-year-old twins Nelson

and Eddy, and 15-year-old Rene-Charles, about their father’s death.

“Before I told them that their dad was not there, I talked about when we, everybody, gets sick. Then I said, ‘Do you remember the movie ‘Up,'” Celine said. “It’s one of our favourites. ‘Oh,’ they said, ‘Yes, Ellie went up. You know, she, with the balloons.’ And I said, ‘Well, yeah. You know, today Papa went up.’

“The only thing I wanted is for them to say up,” Celine continued. “Up is a good thing. Up is uplifting. Papa was very sick. He didn’t have a sore throat. He did not have a bellyache. He did not have an earache. Do you remember Papa had a tube in his belly? Do you have a tube in your belly? Do you? I don’t. That’s really, really, really, really, really sick.”

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Barbra Streisand will be heading back out on tour this year to promote her

new album, Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway!

The album will feature duets with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars singing

the classics of Broadway. It is expected that Star Wars actress Daisy Ridley

will be featured on the album after the duet was teased earlier this year.

Barbra will play ten shows in nine cities this August, including two shows

at her hometown arena in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Tickets for all shows go on sale on May 25 and the American Express. All ticket buyers will receive a CD copy of the new album!

August 2 Los Angeles Staples Centre

August 4 San Jose SAP Center at San Jose

August 6 Las Vegas T-Mobile Arena

August 9 Chicago United Centre

August 11, 13 Brooklyn Barclays Centre

August 16 Boston TD Garden

August 18 Washington D.C. Verizon Centre

August 20 Philadelphia Wells Fargo Centre

August 23 Toronto Air Canada Centre

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Patrick Schwarzenegger gets a kiss from his mom Maria Shriver in this picture from his college graduation.

The 22-year-old actor graduated from the Marshall School of Business at USC

and took to social media to celebrate.

“I went to college for four years. #Fighton,” he first shared with a pic of him and his friends.

Patrick added later to his parents Maria and Arnold “Wouldn’t be anywhere without these two. Thank you for everything and love yah both.”

*

Madeleine LeBeau, who played Humphrey Bogart’s jilted mistress Yvonne, in Casablanca, died May 1 in Spain after breaking her thigh bone.

She was 92 and was the last surviving credited cast member of the classic film. Her stepson Carlo Alberto Pinelli confirmed her death to Variety.

In Casablanca, LeBeau gets teary-eyed when La Marseillaise is played and

shouts “Viva la France!” She was among several cast members who were

actually refugees from the German occupation.

Her life echoed the film: After she made her screen debut in French film
Girls in Distress in 1939, LeBeau and her husband, actor Marcel Dalio, fled Paris for Portugal. They were said to have received transit visas that allowed them to enter Spain and then Portugal before continuing on towards Chile. They were stranded in Mexico when their visas turned out to be forgeries and were able to enter the United States with temporary Canadian passports.

She soon found work in Hollywood and appeared in Olivia de Havilland starrer Hold Back the Dawn and Gentleman Jim, starring Errol Flynn, before being cast in Casablanca. Her husband, who played Emil the croupier in Casablanca, filed for divorce during the production.

She starred in Paris After Dark and Music for Millions in Hollywood before returning to France after WWII.

Among her European films were The Royalists, Cage of Gold, Une Parisienne and Federico Fellini’s 8 1/2, as Madeleine, the French actress. She appeared in the French TV series ‘Allo Police before retiring from the screen in 1970.

She later married Italian screenwriter Tullio Pinelli, co-writer of 8 1/2 and La Dolce Vita, who died in 2009.

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Dylan Lee perfects his smoulder in this shot from the May 2016 issue of
Nylon magazine.

Here’s what the 18-year-old model son of Baywatch’s Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee had to share:

On never seeing Baywatch: “Honestly, the show Baywatch? I’ve never even seen one episode. One time we were in Europe somewhere, and they were still

running the show. My mom was like, ‘What? I didn’t even know that they still

did this.’ And I was like, ‘You know what? I’ve never watched it, and I’m

going to keep it that way.'”

On the importance of leaving L.A.: “I went to boarding school for five years. It’s in the middle of a forest – it totally looks like Hogwarts. My mom did that. When I left, I was kicking and screaming. I hid from her for three hours before my plane ride. Now I think it was so good for me to get out of L.A., because you can get lost. A lot of my friends have really successful parents, and they think they can bank on that for the rest of their lives, which they can’t. They’re like, ‘I don’t have to go to school.’ I ask them, ‘What do you do?’ and they’re like, ‘Uh, surf?’ You’ve got to step your game up.”

On his parents’ reaction to him turning to modelling: “I mean, they laugh [about it] to be honest with you. My dad, since I really like music, he likes that. My mom’s always been in the fashion-acting [world], and she thinks it’s so funny that it’s starting to happen to me.”

*
Colin Farrell is dapper in suit as he hit the stage to speak at the 2016

Adobe EMEA Summit held in London.

The 39-year-old actor, who is currently promoting his latest film The Lobster, recently spoke openly about love and relationships.

“I think each person’s purpose in life is far transcendent of finding someone,” Colin expressed. “I think that’s a huge thing, if you find somebody to share your days with. That’s so beautiful. I think that’s one of the most beautiful potentials that we have as human beings, and as individuals in this shared experience.

“I have friends who have met people on dating sites who have had really good

relationships, and that’s great. Fu-k anyone else who says that’s bullsh-t. Why is it a bastion of honesty and sharing of truth to chat someone up at 6 o’clock in the morning in a club, or 2 o’clock in the morning in a club, with a belly full of Jack Daniels? That’s not exactly the real you either, you know what I mean?,” Colin added. “I’ve always been pretty optimistic about those kinds of things, all my life, as long as I can remember being exposed to the concept of love or romance. I think the older you get, the more you can see pure romance as a trap and something that’s a cloak, as opposed to a veil falling, which it presents itself as initially.”

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Elizabeth Olsen shows off the perfect summer look on the June 2016 cover of Allure magazine.

The 27-year-old actress opens up about family comparisons, avoiding certain

places and more. Check it:

On being compared with older sisters Mary-Kate and Ashley: “You know you’re going to be compared [with them] for the rest of your life. You grow up and get over it, and you love your family regardless.”

On finding the right fit for red carpet looks: “The clothes we’re expected to fit into aren’t sizes; they’re samples. They’re not made for chicks with boobs, so I’m very self-conscious about having them. I have fun choosing an outfit for my best friend’s wedding, but not [something] I’m going to be judged in.”

On avoiding the paparazzi prone places: “Being a celebrity for not doing

anything, I don’t understand that. I won’t go to certain restaurants because

I don’t want to be photographed. I had to find a different kind of sauerkraut [because of the paparazzi at the farmer’s market].”

Jeremy Renner on Lizzie: “She’s constantly surprising me. [While filming,] we have dinners and wine and good chats. I’ve peeled a lot of layers of that onion, and every layer is interesting. She’s smart. She’s strong-willed. She has an old soul.”

*

Drew Barrymore is speaking candidly about her split from husband Will
Kopelman for the first time.

Barrymore, 41, opened up about the end of her nearly four-year marriage

while appearing on the premiere of Chelsea Handler’s new Netflix talk show, Chelsea. The actress admitted that she’s struggled to comes to terms with what she considers to be a “failure” in her life.

“I put in my statement about divorce the word ‘failure’ because it’s so honest,” Barrymore explained. “Like, when you get divorced, you break up with somebody and you’re like, ‘Yeah, that didn’t work,’ and you get divorced, [but] when you get divorced you’re like, ‘I’m the biggest failure. This is the biggest failure.’ It’s so shameful and hard to actually go through that, even privately.”

Barrymore said that while she’s putting “one foot in front of the other,” she is the first to admit that going through a divorce is painful.

“It’s a tough time. It’s a hard thing to go through,” she said. “It’s like you’re being put on a cheese grater and every second, going, ‘Ah! This wasn’t the plan!’ ”

Barrymore said she’s been thankful for the outpouring of support she’s received from her friends and fans throughout this difficult chapter in her life.

“There has been this really nice feeling of something very fluid and positive and the opposite of how I felt inside,” she said. “Everyone has just been so cool and chill and nice about everything that it quelled my own fears and demons about how we sort of have to go through things in life.”

But while Barrymore is doing her best to move on, she said she certainly doesn’t plan enter the dating world anytime soon. “What I do want is girlfriend time,” she said.

*
Emilia Clarke is opening up about stripping down and showing off her body in the latest episode of her hit show Game of Thrones.

SPOILER ALERT – Daenerys Targaryen escaped from the Dothraki captors and showed everyone who’s boss by emerging from an epic fire without wearing any clothes.

“It’s so exciting, very tingly-making. Every season I get at least one spine-chilling moment. I just stand up and I go, ‘I’m hearing what you’re all saying, but funny thing, I’m going to kill you all. I forgot that I have an ace in my back pocket and now I win,'” Emilia told the US magazine Entertainment Weekly about the scene.

“I’d like to remind people the last time I took my clothes off was season 3,” she said. “That was awhile ago. It’s now season 6. But this is all me, all proud, all strong. I’m just feeling genuinely happy I said ‘Yes.’ That ain’t nobody double!”

“Taking off my clothes is not the easiest thing, but with the magic of the effects, I don’t have to do a season 1 and go on a cliff and do it,” she added. “I’m in control of it.”

………………….. Until next week my lis are sealed!
David H. W. Hartnell MNZM copyright 2016

*

Monday 16th May 2016

I’m not one to gossip but………. A US tabloid gossip magazine has risked outrage by publishing staged photos of how Prince could have looked in his ‘final moments’.

The Purple Rain singer was found dead in the elevator of his Minneapolis

home on April 21. He was 57.

The National Enquirer’s front cover features grainy black and white photographs of a man with a walking stick slumped in a lift.

Pictures appear under the heading “Prince death overdose caught on video”

and “Security cameras capture final moments.”

However the pictures are not all they seem, with small writing close to the spine of the magazine revealing the chilling snaps have actually been posed

by an actor.

Prince was discovered in a lift at his Paisley Park mansion by staff.

Paramedics arrived on the scene within five minutes and pronounced him dead 19 minutes later. A cause of death has not yet been revealed.

Police in Minnesota are continuing to examine his death, focusing their investigation on Prince’s medical history after a number of prescription drugs were found at his home.

As the Mirror revealed, police immediately carried out a search of the property after obtaining a warrant to search for evidence. Police have refused to rule out criminal proceedings as they try to determine how the star was able to obtain highly addictive painkillers.

His death came five days after he suffered a suspected overdose on Percocet while abroad his private jet.

*
Emma Thompson and Michael Caine and attended a royal reception for British Academy Award winners last week in London, England, and made their thoughts known about actors getting cast due to large social media followings.

“We’re casting actors who have big [social media] followings so the studios

can use their followings to sell their movie. The actors are becoming attached in the sort of business way to their social media profiles, and I think that’s a disaster,” Emma said at the reception (via The UK Telegraph).

“These days, they just say, ‘I’m going to be an actor because I want to be rich and famous.’ And then they do a little part on television and everyone knows who they are. They can’t really act. I knew I wasn’t going to be rich, I knew I wasn’t going to be famous, I knew I wasn’t going to be a movie star, I just wanted to be a good actor, that’s all,” Michael said. “They’re very young now. I was 30 before I became well known. I’ve watched it ruin people. By the time they’re 30, they’re through.”

*

Selena Gomez is ready for her close-up on the June 2016 cover of Marie Claire magazine.

Here’s what the 23-year-old entertainer had to share with the mag:

On how she deals with agents and managers: “Authenticity is my life. They make great choices, but I make the decisions.”

On dating: “I’ve been dating. I’ve been having the best time. But I don’t trust anybody, so dating can only be fun if I know I’m going to have fun.”

On being known for who she dated with not who she is: “I would try to promote something that I loved, and the entire interview would be about my personal life. I would leave a room feeling defeated, feeling embarrassed, but I would always make sure to put that smile on my face because I wasn’t going to let them get to me.”

For more on Selena, visit MarieClaire.com.

*
According to my rough and probably not correct estimation, Victoria Beckham

has appeared on the cover of a type of Vogue magazine approximately a zillion times. I say “a type of Vogue“, because all her covers have been limited to the less-prestigious overseas versions of Vogue, like Vogue UK, Vogue Australia, Vogue India and most recently – and hilariously – Vogue China. There was talk of Posh’s intensely sculpted cheekbones gracing the cover of American Vogue back in 2011, but that never happened. And it won’t happen if Posh keeps thinking such pessimistic thoughts about how she’s getting too old to be not-smiling for the cameras.

According to The Sun (via The Daily Mail), Posh joked at the Vogue 100: A
Century of Style exhibit on Thursday that she’s got to be nearing Vogue’s cover girl age expiration date.

“When I hear another Vogue cover has come up, I always say, ‘This is the last one, because I’m a bit of an old bag now. Surely this is the last one? I’m 42, I’ve got four kids.'”

Shortly after Posh called herself an “old bag” who was wishing bon voyage to her future Vogue shoots, The Daily Mail says that her rep reached out to them to say that she was “clearly joking” about being too old for Vogue, adding that she’s got “plenty of cover shoots under discussion for the future, Vogue and otherwise.”

But back to that thing about Posh being an “old bag.” Posh has barely aged since her finger-pointing days, so I honestly have no idea where she got the idea that she’s too old. Frankly, I’m shocked that Posh is 42-years-old. Not that she’s 42, but that she even has an age. I just assumed she had all forms of government-issued ID replaced years ago with a price tag that reads: “$VeryExpensiveAndFancy.”

*
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has officially started working on his Jumanji

reboot, and took to Instagram to discuss the late Robin Williams, who starred in the original film.

“An important thing that I want to be honest and bring up is Robin Williams. The love and respect I have for this man is boundless. You have my word, we will honour his name and the character of ‘Alan Parrish’ will stand alone and be forever immortalised in the world of JUMANJI in an earnest and cool way. I have an idea of what to do and I think his family will be proud. I also think Robin is somewhere lookin’ down and laughing, remembering the first time we met backstage and I (for the first time ever) was a star struck bumbling idiot that couldn’t even get my words out. Idiot. He literally calmed me down with that smile and laugh. But that’s for another fun story down the road,” The Rock wrote on his Instagram account. “We got a great team assembled already over at our home base of SONY and now we build from here.”

Dwayne also added, “Here’s another fun part. in the original movie there were three big roles. In our new story there’s now FIVE. Been so damn cool to see all my actor buddies push their projects aside so hopefully they can come play in our world. Should have cool casting announcements this week.

*

Orlando Bloom smiles while playing with a young girl during a UNICEF trip in late April to a school in Veselka, Ukraine.

The 39-year-old actor was making the trip to raise awareness of the global

education crisis facing children experiencing humanitarian emergencies.

Orlando visited classrooms that were affected by bombings, all while children and teachers were in the school.

“I met children like 11-year-old Liana who hid in the basement of their school for almost two weeks, in freezing conditions, without lighting or heat, while shelling devastated the classrooms above. Now, after surviving some of the most terrifying experiences life could possibly throw at them, all they want is to get back to the safety and routine of school and plan for their futures,” he explained.

Orlando added, “Education is providing children in eastern Ukraine with the building blocks to rebuild their lives in a safe and supportive environment. Every child in humanitarian emergencies deserves a fair chance of a bright future.”

*
Ronan Farrow, the son of Woody Allen and Mia Farrow, has written a column for the site THR with regards to victims of sexual abuse and the media’s blind eye. In the column he also calls out various celebrities for working with his dad, despite the allegations against him.

Back in 2014, Ronan’s sister Dylan came forward and revealed Woody had

allegedly abused her sexually when she was a child. Ronan addresses the abuse in the piece, and calls out those who collaborate with Woody while

turning a blind-eye.

“But the old-school media’s slow evolution has helped to create a culture of

impunity and silence. Amazon paid millions to work with Woody Allen,

bankrolling a new series and film. Actors, including some I admire greatly,

continue to line up to star in his movies. ‘It’s not personal, one once told me. But it hurts my sister every time one of her heroes like Louis C.K., or a star her age, like Miley Cyrus, works with Woody Allen. Personal is exactly what it is – for my sister, and for women everywhere with allegations of sexual assault that have never been vindicated by a conviction,” Ronan wrote. “Tonight, the Cannes Film Festival kicks off with a new Woody Allen film. There will be press conferences and a red-carpet walk by my father and his wife (my sister). He’ll have his stars at his side – Kristen Stewart, Blake Lively, Steve Carell, Jesse Eisenberg. They can trust that the press won’t ask them the tough questions. It’s not the time, it’s not the place, it’s just not done.

‘We are witnessing a sea change in how we talk about sexual assault and abuse. But there is more work to do to build a culture where women like my sister are no longer treated as if they are invisible. It’s time to ask some hard questions,” he continued.

*
Rocker Gene Simmons has issued an apology after calling Prince’s sudden

death last month “pathetic” in an interview with Newsweek.

“But how pathetic that he killed himself,” the 66-year-old entertainer said. “Don’t kid yourself, that’s what he did. Slowly, I’ll grant you. But that’s what drugs and alcohol is: a slow death.”

Gene later took to Twitter to apologise.

“I just got such sh*t from my family for my big mouth again. I apologisze – I

have a long history of getting very angry at what drugs do to the families/friends of the addicts. I get angry at drug users because of my

experience being around them coming up in the rock scene. In my experience

they’ve made my life, and the lives of their loved ones, difficult. I was raised in a culture/crowd where drug addicts were written off as losers, and since that’s the narrative I grew up with, it’s been hard to change with the times.”

Needless to say, I didn’t express myself properly here – I don’t shy away from controversy, and angry critics really don’t bother me at all. If I think I’m right, I’ll throw up a finger and dig my heels in and laugh. But this time, I was not. So, my apologies.

PS: What I will say is that there is part of this that is journalists quote-mining things lve said in the past and applying it to new situations. This, too, happens often, and not just to me. So, quote mining, too, is wrong. It doesn’t make my past quotes any more tactful, but still – be wary of click bait. The uglier they can make it seem, the more views they will get.”

*

SOME DVDs TO LOOK OUT FOR.

The Irish R.M. – THE HIGHLY ACCLAIMED DRAMA. OVER 15 HOURS OF CLASSIC TELEVISION ON SIX DVDS!

Shot entirely on location in beautiful and dramatic County Kildare, The Irish R.M. is the tale of the monocled Major Sinclair Yeates. Sinclair Yeates is an army officer who resigns his commission to become a Resident Magistrate in the West of Ireland during the

turn-of-the-century. The Major finds himself living in a ramshackle old house surrounded by the local community’s colourful inhabitants, struggling to apply the law in a country where, in the words of a former Lord Chief Justice, ‘the inevitable never happens but the improbable frequently does.’

This DVD collection contains the entire three series of The Irish R.M.

Based on the works of Somerville and Ross.

*
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