Main Page                                                 Archives

BOTTOMLINES

Natalie Portman to present Oscars (Go To Top)

     New York: Actress Natalie Portman will make her first appearance as a presenter at the 77th Academy awards. According to Zap2it, Portman who has been nominated for her supporting role as the woman-child Alice in the big-screen adaptation of Patrick Marber's play "Closer" will be on the stage as a presenter in this year's Oscars.

Bugs Bunny turns slick superhero (Go To Top)

     New York: The popular cartoon character Bugs Bunny is reportedly all set to make a comeback on the screen but in a completely different garb. According to the Daily Mail the carrot munching toon will make a comeback as a slick superhero. The extreme makeover also revamps Bugs' buddies Daffy Duck, Road Runner, Tasmanian Devil and Wile E. Coyote in an attempt to charm young audiences with old favourites. The new-look characters star in "Loonatics," slated to hit the WB television network on Saturday mornings this fall. Set in the year 2772, the heroes are descendants of the original favorites.

Jimi Hendrix guitar fetches big bucks at auction (Go To Top)

    London: A guitar belonging to the sixties legend Jimi Hendrix was sold for 190,000 dollars at an auction in London. According to Femalefirst, other items like instruments, signed records and posters were originally collected by Bob Terry, a former friend of Hendrix, before he sold it to another enthusiast. The sale, billed as the largest collection of Hendrix memorabilia to ever be auctioned, was held at London's Hard Rock Cafi.

Keira Knightley voted celebrity with best abs (Go To Top)

     London: Actress Keira Knightley has been voted as the female celebrity with the best abs. According to the Sun, the British beauties well toned abs got the maximum votes in a poll by American magazine In Touch. The Top Ten female celebs with the best abs are:

    1 Keira Knightley 2 Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie 3 Gwen Stefani 4 Kelly Ripa 5 Jennifer Lopez 6 Eva Longoria 7 Jennifer Garner 8 Serena Williams 9 Jessica Simpson 10 Beyonce.

Atkins diet may have helped human evolution (Go To Top)

      Washington: Early humans may have gained a competitive evolutionary advantage by taking on a primitive version of the Atkins Diet, according to new research. The researchers at Stanford of the University of Southern California said that studying our ancestors' lifestyles may not provide concrete diet tips for today's weight-conscious humans, but we may gain fundamental insights to our origins and our behaviors, by investigating the fossil record. Craig B of Stanford of the University of Southern California said, "Our earliest ancestors weren't buying cartons of eggs from the market, and probably ate many more raw vegetables, fruits and lean meats than today's heavy-protein advocates," Craig said that studies of 'gorillas in the mist' may have left many with the impression that gorillas are docile, cow-like creatures who favor leaves, while meaty foods are left to high- energy chimps. But, gorillas compete aggressively with chimps for available meat sources, and offer useful clues to the dietary adaptations of our early hominid ancestors.

     According the researchers, increased meat consumption triggered genetic changes that allowed early humans to eat more fatty foods without developing heart disease. Peter S. Ungar of the University of Arkansas also studied dental evidence to understand the evolution of the modern diet. "Tooth shape reflects diet. Think of carnivorous dinosaurs with their sharp, dagger-like teeth. We can infer the diets of fossil primates by comparing the lengths of shearing crests on unworn molars with those of living species with known diets," he said. Stanford says that early humans' meat consumption was limited to game they were able to chase down and kill, whereas modern humans in the developed world can stock up on nearly limitless amounts of protein. Bernard Wood of George Washington University, said, "We've evolved to eat mush! We're a pretty puny bunch, really, with small teeth and small jaws. If we can't get the foods we like, and we have to adapt quickly, we might be in a terrible mess because our teeth and jaws aren't equipped to cope with anything very substantial."

Potter's pals going potty over love (Go To Top)

     London: The latest Potter film "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", has a dash of romance in it. According to Zap2it, Harry Potter's pals Ron and Hermione hold hands at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as they enter their fourth year with Harry holding their friendship together. "I hadn't actually heard that ... Eventually, I think it would be nice if Hermione and Ron ended up together, because they ... it's just got to happen really -- that's my feeling anyway," Emma Watson, who plays Hermione in the films was quoted as saying.

Splitsville for Dolce and Gabana (Go To Top)

    London: Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, the most talked about gay couple in the fashion industry, have finally confirmed their break -up. The two Italian design icons have candidly confessed that their relationship is over but they shall continue to work together for the label they had jointly started. "On a professional level we are still together. We work together wonderfully well, we have a very strong understanding. What happened in the past is still there, it continues and will continue forever," the Hello magazine quoted Domenico as saying. Dolce and Gabbana are currently living in separate apartments in the same building in Milan. The two men are now seeing other people and they stress that jealousy shall not strain their working equation. "It's a question of sentimental education, of intelligence," Domenico. "It has not always been easy. We have lived together for 19 years. There is the passion of the body, the flesh, and then there is love, which is deeper", he added.

Brad and Jen to reunite for the Oscars (Go To Top)

     London: Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston are likely to attend the OscarAwards ceremony together on February 27, to avoid any sort of buzz regarding their break-off. "They see each other often and Jennifer has been staying at the marital home. Their romance might be over but they are still very close friends. They are even discussing going to the Oscars together, Female First quoted a source as saying. "They realise that if they go with anyone else, it will cause a fuss so they're going as friends..", added the source. Reportedly the Hollywood heartthrob and the former 'Friends' beauty, who announced their separation last month, have remained good friends since their split.

'Superman' Reeve could have died from drug reaction (Go To Top)

     London: Christopher Reeve's wife has revealed that her husband was very sensitive to drugs and could have died from an allergic reaction. "He was very sensitive to drugs that no-one else would have any sensitivity to. There was no autopsy so we don't know for sure. We'll never know absolutely," femalefirst quoted Reeve's widow Dana as saying on America's Oprah Winfrey Show. The 'Superman' star, who was immobilized from the neck following a 1995 horseback-riding accident, was thought to have died from heart failure triggered by an infected bedsore. Dana had turned down a post mortem at that time, saying that doctors had done everything possible.

Sam Mendes to be honoured with lifetime achievement award (Go To Top)

     London: Oscar-winning film-maker Sam Mendes will be honoured with a lifetime achievement award on March 20 at the second annual award ceremony of Directors Guild of Great Britain. Mendes, who is married to 'Titanic' fame Kate Winslet, is a highly acclaimed theatre director and has won the Oscar for best director for American Beauty in 2000. "I've decided to treat it as a large bank loan that I can pay off in installments over the next 30 years," BBC quoted him as saying. Simon McBurney, co-founder of theatre company Complicite, will get an award for outstanding directorial achievement in theatre. "The guild likes the idea of being bold enough to recognise formidable achievement in a body of work, no matter the age of the individual," a statement said.

Swaroop Group to sponsor 2005 Filmfare Awards (Go To Top)

    Mumbai: The Swarup Group of Industries has been selected as sponsors for the Golden Jubilee of the Filmfare Awards this year. The group, owned by Guru Swarup Srivastava, shot to fame with a Rs.100 crore deal to buy a number of Maqbool Fida Husain's paintings. Bennett Coleman and Company, the owners of Filmfare magazine, had decided to discontinue the sponsorship of Dhariwal Industries for the annual awards this year after Interpol issued Red Corner notices to Rasiklal Manikchand Dhariwal, owner of Manikchand brand gutkha, for his alleged links with the underworld. Dhariwal is wanted by the Mumbai police and a local court has issued non-bailable warrant against him.

---