Brosnan to be Bond again
New
York: Pierce Brosnan will once again be seen in the
role of James Bond. Hollywood bosses were forced to offer
Pierce Brosnan the chance to play James Bond for a fifth
time after his fans threatened to boycott the films if Brosnan
was replaced. "We didn't realize what an army of supporters
Pierce has. We got the message Pierce stays," an unidentified
MGM executive was quoted as saying by imdb.com. Brosnan,
who last played 007 in 2002's "Die Another Day", was optioned
to reprice his role as the secret agent. In case he refused
to revise his price, the producers were considering recruiting
fellow Irishman Colin Farrell for the role. The Hollywood
bosses deliberately leaked their replacement plans to gauge
the response from the movie-going public. They were inundated
with appeals not to ditch Brosnan.
Harry
Potter's journey began from a 4000 pound loan (Go
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London:
A friend in need is a friend indeed. Well, this holds
true for the creator of Harry Potter, J K Rowling. Rowling
has revealed that a 4000 pound loan from a friend enabled
her to go on to write the Harry Potter books. A struggling
single mother, she was surviving on income support of 70
pound a week and needed the extra money as child care for
her daughter Jessica, so that she could continue her studies
to become a teacher. Rowling, who has since reputedly become
a billionaire, did not believe that she would ever be able
to pay back the money given to her when her life was at
its lowest ebb.
The
benefactor is speculated to be an office clerk named Fiona
Wilson, another single mother who lived near Rowling in
Leith, Edinburgh, 10 years ago but Rowling declined to identify
the friend. "I broke down and cried when my friend offered
it to me. At the time it was like half a million pounds
to me. It was this enormous sum of money. I think we both
thought I would never be able to pay it back. The friend
was saying in effect: 'Here is a gift to help you'," the
Telegraph quoted Rowling as saying. If Wilson was the source
of the 4,000 pounds, then it would explain why Rowling later
gave her a two-bedroom flat in the Merchiston district of
Edinburgh. Rowling reportedly bought a flat for 40,000 pounds
in 1998 when she received grant from the Scottish Arts Council
after publishing her first book. The grant, which was to
enable her to write Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,
went towards buying the flat.In August 2001 after selling
the film rights to her books, Rowling gave the flat, now
thought to be worth 200,000, pounds to Wilson.
Halle
Berry underwent therapy for suffering racial taunts (Go
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Washington:
Halle Berry underwent therapy at the age of 10 after
being tormented with racial taunts. The beautiful actress
was bullied because of her mixed race, but says the experience
helped her become a stronger person. According to Teen Hollywood,
Halle, the daughter of a white mother and black father,
confessed "Early on, I lived in a black neighbourhood where
I wasn't accepted because my mother was white. Then we moved
to a white neighbourhood where they didn't like me because
I was black." The star says she was able to draw from her
own experiences of therapy to play a prison psychiatrist
in her horror movie 'Gothika.' "My mom had me in therapy
when I was 10. I've always used it as an outlet to create
an objective opinion", the star was quoted as saying by
the report.
Kylie
is finally to marry (Go
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Sydney:
Amidst mounting speculation disco diva Kylie Minogue's
sister has revealed to friends that Kylie may finally tie
the knot. But it was she who had to pop the question to
boyfriend, French actor Olivier Martinez, reports News of
the World. Minogue's sister Dannii has blabbed to friends
that her elder sister will walk down the aisle as soon as
June. Dannii reportedly revealed the sensational news while
having drinks with friends last week. "They've been thinking
of Paris, Sydney and Barbados, but it's probably going to
be where it's the hottest," the younger Minogue reportedly
said to friends. "Kylie has told her friends in the US and
our family at home but that's it. This is the happiest I've
seen her - they really suit each other. Just last month
Kylie, 35, revealed she was still considering having children.
"It's not too late. But obviously a woman my age can't help
but think about those things," she said. Minogue, who has
been dating Olivier for a year, is noticeably making more
time for the actor.
Janet
Jackson thanks fans for standing by her (Go
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Washington:
Singer Janet Jackson paid tribute to her fans at Soul
Train Awards as she picked up this year's Quincy Jones Award
for Career Achievements in Los Angeles. Jones himself paid
tribute to the pop superstar via video message before the
sexy star took to the stage in a dazzling and revealing
white gown, reports rate the music.com. Jackson used her
acceptance speech to thank those who had stood by her and
supported her following her breast-baring Super Bowl controversy
last month, that stirred massive controversy in her native
America. "You've been there for me during the good times
and the bad. You've been a great source of comfort, especially
in the last few weeks," she was reportedly quoted as saying.
Jackson insisted her "heritage" had helped her cope with
the criticism she received after her accident at the Super
Bowl, explaining, "Endurance is my heritage, especially
as a black woman... it's that strength that allows us to
get down, get through and get over."
Kylie
Minogue is the latest US diva (Go
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New
York: Australian singing diva Kylie Minogue has won
a big break in the US. She has been booked to star in the
annual Divas concert in Las Vegas next month, a show seen
by 20 million TV viewers around the world. Kylie's "Body
Language" album has not made a big dent in the US charts,
but the producers know that she has a huge international
fan base. Ticket touts often rake in up to 800 pounds a
seat at the mega event, which raises money for musical instruments
and programmes in American schools, reports the Sun. Kylie
will perform two songs at the MGM Garden Arena on April
18 and then join the other divas, including Blondie, Cyndi
Lauper, Joss Stone and Jessica Simpson for the finale.
Dawn
of the Dead douses the Passion (Go
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Washington:
Horror seems to be the new flavour of the season in
Hollywoood these days. "Dawn of the Dead", a remade horror
flick about marauding hordes of people-eaters, has ended
the miraculous dominance of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of
the Christ" at the box office. According to E-Online, the
movie munched up an estimated 27.3 million dollars over
the weekend while "The Passion of the Christ" fell to second
place with 19.1 million dollars after remaining three weeks
at the top. The R-rated Universal movie is a remake of George
Romero's 1978 cult hit about a group of survivors trapped
in a shopping mall as the flesh-craving ghouls advance.
The cast includes Ving Rhames and Sarah Polley.
The
Passion of the Christ, Gibson's graphic depiction of the
last days of Jesus, has moved down to 18th on the all-time
domestic gross list with 295.2 million dollars since its
opening. In third place, Angelina Jolie's serial-killer
thriller, "Taking Lives" grabbed 11.4 million dollars. The
movie, an R-rated Warners release in which Jolie struts
her stuff as an FBI agent helping a bunch of French-Canadians
track an identity-shifting killer, didn't exactly win over
the critics. Even a heavyweight cast that included Ethan
Hawke, Kiefer Sutherland, Olivier Martinez and Gena Rowlands
didn't help much, as the film averaged a mediocre 4,218
dollars. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind averaged
a very sunny 6,334 dollars per 1,353 sites. The cast included
Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Tom
Wilkinson and Elijah Wood. Overall the top 12 movies grossed
an estimated 109.7 million dollars.
The
top 10 as compiled by Exhibitor Relations are: 1. Dawn of
the Dead, 27.3 million dollars 2. The Passion of the Christ,
19.1 million dollars 3. Taking Lives, 11.4 million dollars
4. Starsky & Hutch, 10.6 million dollars 5. Secret Window,
9.6 million dollars 6. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless
Mind, 8.56 million dollars 7. Hidalgo, 8.5 million dollars
8. Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London, 6 million dollars
9. 50 First Dates, 4.3 million dollars 10. Confessions of
a Teenage Drama Queen, 1.5 million dollars
Erection
that lasted six days sans Viagra (Go
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Washington:
A man has become a tourist attraction in the Dominican
Republic after being hospitalised with an erection that
lasted six days. Staff at the Jose Maria Cabral and Baez
Hospital in Villa Gonzalez said nurses, doctors and members
of the public had turned up to glimpse his predicament for
themselves, reports Annanova. Igancio Cabrera, 25, was advised
by doctors to go in for an urgent surgery because if untreated,
the condition could have left him impotent. The hospital's
director said that since Cabrera had denied taking sexual
stimulants, he could be suffering from a rare form of anaemia
that can give males erections for long periods of time.
