Hugh Jackman: Sexiest Man Alive

HUGH JACKMAN
He's a triple threat: a star who can sing, dance and wield a weapon. At 6 ft. 2 in., all scruff and biceps, Jackman, 40, looms large in the epic Australia, and left people stammering, "Oh ... my ... God," according to costar Nicole Kidman. Jackman's wife of 12 years, Deborra-Lee Furness, calls his perfect form "the Body of Doom – but I like what's inside": a romantic who sings ballads at home and makes pancakes for kids Oscar, 8, and Ava, 3.

Biography
Born: 12 October 1968
Birthplace: Sydney, Australia
Best Known As: Wolverine in the X-Men movies
Hugh Jackman starred in the 1995 Australian television drama Corelli and made his feature film debut in 1998. Early in his film career he got critical raves for his turn in Erskineville Kings (1999). Then he was cast as Logan/Wolverine in the big-budget movie X-Men (2000, also starring Ian McKellen). A stand-out in an ensemble cast, he got the hot-new-star treatment from the celebrity press and earned an international fan following.
Click on READ MORE to see more info...

Established as a star on the silver screen, in 2003 he began playing singer/songwriter Peter Allen in the Broadway production of the play The Boy From Oz and won the 2004 Tony Award as best actor in a musical. He has since appeared in Kate and Leopold (2001, with Meg Ryan), the X-Men sequels (2003 and 2006) and Van Helsing (2004, with Kate Beckinsale). In 2006 he appeared in Scoop (with Scarlett Johansson), The Prestige (with Christian Bale) and The Fountain (with Rachel Weisz, and did voice work for the animated comedy Flushed Away.
Hugh Jackman hosted the Tony Awards in 2003 and 2004

Early life
Jackman was born in Sydney, New South Wales, the youngest of five children of English-born parents Chris Jackman and Grace Watson. His mother left the family when he was eight years old, and he remained behind with his father, an accountant with a degree from Cambridge, and siblings.
Jackman attended Pymble Public School and Knox Grammar School, an all-boys school, where he starred in the musical My Fair Lady in 1985, directed by the headmaster, Dr. Ian Paterson. Jackman was School Captain in 1986 and his favourite subject was Ancient History. The following year he spent a gap year working at Uppingham School in England. Upon his return to Australia he worked at a Shell station in Wahroonga and worked as a part-time clown for children's parties while studying at the University of Technology, Sydney. In 1989, Jackman participated in a Christian workcamp on Haast's Bluff and Areyonga Aboriginal land in the Western Desert in Central Australia. He then graduated with a BA in Communications, having majored in journalism. He later used his inheritance from his grandmother to attend the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts of Edith Cowan University in Perth, Western Australia, from which he graduated in 1994.

Career
Australia
Jackman's early film work includes Erskineville Kings and Paperback Hero (1999), while his television work includes Correlli (where he met his wife Deborra-Lee Furness), Law of the Land, Halifax f.p., Blue Heelers, and Banjo Paterson's The Man from Snowy River (American title: Snowy River: The McGregor Saga).
On stage, Jackman played Gaston in the Melbourne production of Beauty and the Beast, and Joe Gillis in the same city's production of Sunset Boulevard. During his stage musical career in Melbourne, he starred in the 1998 Midsumma festival cabaret production Summa Cabaret. He also hosted both Melbourne's Carols by Candlelight and Sydney's Carols in the Domain.
In 2006, he was cast to replace Russell Crowe in Baz Luhrmann's Australia, starring opposite Nicole Kidman.

United Kingdom
He first became known outside of Australia when he played the leading role of Curly in the Royal National Theatre's acclaimed stage production of Oklahoma! in the West End during 1998. Jackman also appeared in a 1999 film version of the stage musical.

United States
In 2000, he was cast as Wolverine in Bryan Singer's X-Men, replacing Dougray Scott. According to a CBS interview in November 2006, Jackman's wife Deborra-Lee Furness told him not to take the role, a comment she later told him she was glad he ignored.
Jackman, at 6' 2 1/2", stands nearly a foot taller than Wolverine, who is said in the original comic book to be 5' 3". Hence, the filmmakers were frequently forced to shoot Jackman at unusual angles or only from the waist up to make him appear shorter than he actually was. In an interview with Men's Health magazine, he stated that he was also required to add a great deal of muscle for the role. An instant star upon the film's release, Jackman later reprised his role in 2003's X2: X-Men United, and 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand.
Jackman starred as Leopold in the 2001 romantic comedy film Kate & Leopold, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Jackman also starred in 2001 action/drama Swordfish, along with John Travolta, and Halle Berry. This would be the second time Jackman would work alongside with Berry, the two would work together twice again in the X-Men movies, making a total of four movies starring Jackman and Berry from 2000 to 2006.
Jackman sang the role of Billy Bigelow in Carousel in a special concert performance at Carnegie Hall in Manhattan, New York City in 2002. In 2004 he played the title role of vampire hunter Gabriel Van Helsing in Van Helsing. In 2004, Jackman won a Tony Award for his Broadway portrayal of Australian songwriter and performer Peter Allen in The Boy from Oz. He hosted the Tony Awards in 2003, 2004 and 2005, garnering very positive reviews. The televising of the 2004 awards earned him an Emmy Award win for Outstanding Individual Performer in a Variety, Musical or Comedy program in 2005.
In 2005 after his award-winning role in The Boy from Oz, Jackman began filming his most challenging role to date. Jackman played the part of three different characters in Darren Aronofsky's sci-fi experience The Fountain. As Tommy Creo a neuroscientist, Jackman played a man who was torn between his wife, Izzi (Rachel Weisz) who is dying of a brain tumor and his work at trying to cure her. As Captain Tomas Creo, a Spanish Conquistador in the year 1532, Savile, Spain who is seeking the mythical Tree of Life for his Queen, Isabel (also played by Weisz) in order to retain her throne. Tomas is a character in the book Izzi is writing called The Fountain, and finally, as the future space traveller Tom enclosed in a transparent treeship seeking to be reunited with Izzi within a dying star called Xibalba. Jackman has stated The Fountain was his most difficult role to date due to the physical and emotional demands his director asked of him in the part. In the end, The Fountain wasn't well received and Jackman went un-rewarded.
Not one to stop working, Jackman filmed The Prestige directed by Christopher Nolan and also starring Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, Andy Serkis, and musician David Bowie. As Robert Angier, Jackman portrayed a magician who built up a rivalry with contemporary Alfred Borden in attempt to 'one up' each other in the art of deception. Jackman stated his main reason for doing The Prestige was to work with David Bowie, who played scientist Nikola Tesla. He also starred in another 2006 film with Scarlett Johansson, Woody Allen's Scoop.
Jackman rounded out 2006 with two animated films: Happy Feet in which he voiced the part of Memphis, an Emperor Penguin and directed by George Miller, and Flushed Away where Jackman also supplied the voice of a rat named Roddy who ends up being flushed down his Kensington family's toilet into the London sewer system. Flushed Away also starred Kate Winslet, Ian McKellen (the fourth time Jackman has worked with him), Jean Reno, Andy Serkis and Bill Nighy.
Jackman has been mentioned several times in the extremely popular American sitcom "Scrubs". Throughout the series, Dr. Perry Cox, portrayed by John C. McGinley, signifies his seemingly irrational hatred of Jackman through his infamous rants.
In 2007, Jackman produced and guest starred in the unsuccessful television drama Viva Laughlin. Viva Laughlin was cancelled by CBS after only two episodes. A decision about the remaining episodes already filmed at the time of cancellation has yet to be made. Both Jackman and his wife Furness were shocked and saddened by this cancellation.
Jackman is also preparing a number of movies which he will both produce and star in, including Wolverine, estimated to begin filming in early 2008, and a remake of Carousel in which he will play Billy Bigelow.
Jackman was also one of the choices to play James Bond but eventually lost out to Daniel Craig He is also currently working on a new comic series, Nowhere Man, with US publisher Virgin Comics and writer Marc Guggenheim. Jackman was chosen as People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive of 2008.

Personal life
Jackman married Deborra-Lee Furness in April 1996. They met on the set of his first TV acting job in Correlli, an Australian television series. Furness had two miscarriages, after which she and Jackman adopted two children, Oscar Maximillian (b. May 15, 2000) and Ava Eliot (b. July 10, 2005). They currently live in Sydney. Jackman personally designed an engagement ring for Furness, and their wedding rings bore the Sanskrit inscription "Om paramar mainamar", translated by Furness as "we dedicate our union to a greater source". In 2005, Jackman joined with longtime assistant John Palermo to form a production company, Seed Productions, whose first project was Viva Laughlin in 2007. Furness is also involved in the company, and Palermo had three rings made with an inscription meaning "unity" for himself, Furness, and Jackman. About the trio's collaboration Jackman reports "I'm very lucky in the partners I work with in my life, Deb and John Palermo. It really works. We all have different strengths. I love it. It's very exciting". Jackman is a longtime supporter of Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, a NRL Rugby League club based in Sydney. He sang the national anthem at the 1999 NRL Grand Final. In an interview with Playboy Jackman mentioned that as a result of his hard training for X-Men Origins: Wolverine, he broke his personal best for bench-pressing which was 300 pounds.


2008 Finalist Film
Australia - The Drover
2009
X-Men Origins: Wolverine - Logan/Wolverine
post-production (Also Producer)

Awards and nominations
Awards
1998 Mo Award for Best Actor in a Musical - Sunset Boulevard
1999 Australian Movie Convention, Australian Star of the Year
2000 Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Actor in a Drama - Erskineville Kings
2001 Saturn Award for Best Actor - X-Men
2004 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical - The Boy from Oz
2004 Theatre World Award - The Boy from Oz
2004 Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical - The Boy from Oz
2005 Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program - 58th Annual Tony Awards Ceremonies
2008 People Magazines Sexiest Man Alive Award

Nominations
1997 Mo Award for Best Actor in a Musical - Beauty and the Beast
1998 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical - Oklahoma!
1999 Australian Film Industry Award for Best Actor - Erskineville Kings
2002 Golden Globe Award - Kate & Leopold
2006 Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program - 59th Annual Tony Awards Ceremonies

Read More...

Meet "The Mouth"

Get close with Mr. RED, Close Up's new image model.

He's your typical boy next door. He hangs out with friends after work and catches a movie on weekends. He enjoys just the regular stuff.

But for many of the people who's seen Mr. RED "The Mouth" on TV in Close Up's new commercial, typical doesn't mean ordinary. His energy, his good looks, and that oh-so-goofy, oh-so-appealing smile has made him famous. "I don't think being famous makes anyone a better person. Nothing has really changed for me...except, now my friends bug me for free Close-Up. Hehe!"

Now, Mr. RED never has to worry about his smile. He's got complete mouth fitness - fresh breath, white teeth and strong teeth and gums. That's why he's now not just Mr. RED but Mr. RED "The Mouth". "Hey, think about it most of our life's fun moments use the mouth! Singing, laughing, and my favorite...kissing! Hehe!"

Enjoying life is something that Mr. RED believes in, although unlike most people he doesn't equate that to having money. He quips, "I'd rather die than be super rich and spoiled. I'm sure having everything a person could want in life can bring out the dark side in anyone."

Read More...

Russel Crowe

Aside from Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio, Russel Crow been one of the top 3 hollywood actors I admire most!...

Born: 7 April 1964
Birthplace: New Zealand
Best Known As: The Oscar-winning star of Gladiator

Russell Crowe won an Oscar as best actor for playing the title role in the 2000 film Gladiator. Crowe began acting in his adopted home country of Australia, winning acclaim in films like The Crossing (1990) and Romper Stomper (1992). In the mid-1990s he became more prominent in America in films like Sharon Stone's The Quick and the Dead (1995, also starring Leonardo DiCaprio). He broke through as a heroic cop in the retro crime thriller L.A. Confidential (1997, with Kim Basinger) and won an Oscar nomination for his work as tobacco whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand in 1999's The Insider. The next year he made a huge splash playing the wronged Roman hero Maximus in Gladiator (directed by Ridley Scott). The film won the Academy Award for best picture of 2000, and Crowe himself was given the Oscar as best actor.


Rugged yet sensitive onscreen, Crowe has developed an offscreen reputation as a cheerfully unruly Aussie who on occasion enjoys a pint and a scuffle. His other roles include a kidnapper-chasing security consultant in Proof of Life (2000, with Meg Ryan), the mathematician John Nash in A Beautiful Mind (2001, with Jennifer Connelly), the dashing sea captain Jack Aubrey in Master and Commander (2003), real-life boxer Jim Braddock in Cinderella Man (2005, with Renee Zellweger), and as a cornered outlaw in 3:10 to Yuma (2007, with Christian Bale.
Crowe performed with his own rock band, Thirty Odd Foot of Grunts (also known as TOFOG), until the group disbanded in 2004... He had a much-publicized affair with Meg Ryan while both were filming the 2000 movie Proof of Life.

Read More...

Hugh Jackman

Jackman was born in Pymble, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, the youngest of five children of English-born Anglican parents Chris Jackman and Grace Watson. His mother left the family and went back to England when he was eight years old, and he remained behind with his father (an accountant with a degree from Cambridge), and his siblings. Jackman attended Pymble Public School and Knox Grammar School, an all-boys school in Wahroonga, where he was School Captain in 1986, and graduated from the University of Technology, Sydney with a BA in Communications, having majored in journalism. Jackman's introduction to acting was by accident, as he had to take an acting class as part of the requirements for a college diploma. He became interested in the craft and used some money inherited from a relative to attend the WAAPA of Edith Cowan University in Perth, from which he graduated in 1994.


Jackman married actress Deborra-Lee Furness in April 1996. They met on the set of his first TV acting job in Correlli, an Australian television program. Jackman played an angry prisoner who fell in love with his counsellor, played by Furness. The couple suffered through two miscarriages, after which they adopted two children, son Oscar Maximillian (b. May 15, 2000) and daughter Ava Eliot (b. July 10, 2005) They currently live in Melbourne.

Jackman personally designed an engagement ring for Furness, and their wedding rings bore the Sanskrit inscription "Om paramar mainamar," translated by Furness as "we dedicate our union to a greater source."

In 2005, Jackman joined with longtime assistant John Palermo to form a production company, Seed Productions, whose first project will be Wolverine in 2008. Furness is also involved in the company, and Palermo had three rings made with an inscription meaning "unity" for himself, Furness, and Jackman. About the trio's collaboration Jackman reports "I'm very lucky in the partners I work with in my life, Deb and John Palermo. It really works. We all have different strengths. I love it. It's very exciting."


Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in the X Men

According to NNDB, "Jackman has very poor vision, and is unable to even read a menu when he is not wearing his contact lenses. He is left-handed, loves windsurfing, plays the piano, guitar, and violin, and sushi is his favorite comfort food." He also knows how to juggle 5 balls in the air at the same time. He does not smoke in real life, and hates having to do so in films. In real life he is described as a very polite and friendly man, unlike the belligerent, anti-social Wolverine.

He sang the Australian National Anthem in front of 100,000 people at the Melbourne Cricket ground before the 1998 Bledisloe Cup. Also sang the National Anthem at the 1999 NRL Grand Final in front of 108,000 people at Stadium Australia.

On April 1, 2007, Jackman was awarded an honorary fellowship at WAAPA of Edith Cowan University in Perth.

Read More...

How to Get a Body Like David Beckham

David Beckham is best known around the world as a soccer/football player
though he also has a busy personal life.
In addition to being a husband and father he’s a spokesman,
model and sometime actor.



If you want to get a body like David Beckham, read on.

Step 1 - Follow a diet that’s low in carbs. Beckham cut out carbs and saw his body immediately start toning up.
Step 2 - Drinks as much water as possible every day, while also cutting out soda and coffee. The soccer star avoids drinks full of sugar like most sports drinks and instead sticks to water.
Step 3 - Head to the soccer field. Running up and down the soccer field can burn hundreds of calories quickly and Beckham has learned that it’s the best workout.
Step 4 - Hit the weight room. Push ups, chin ups and working out with free weights will get you the same ripped arms as David Beckham.


Tips & Warnings:
Involve the kids in a quick backyard game of soccer. The running around will be a quick workout that you’ll never forget.

Read More...

Madonna opens 'Sticky and Sweet' world tour in Britain

U.S. singer Madonna performs with a video of Kanye West behind on the opening night of her "Sticky & Sweet" tour at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff August 23, 2008. Madonna kicks off her "Sticky & Sweet" world tour at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on Saturday, the latest test of her enduring appeal just a week after her 50th birthday. The US star played hits including "Like A Prayer", "Into The Groove" and "Hung Up" at the giant Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales on the first night of the 49-date tour. The show, promoting her latest album "Hard Candy" which has hit number one in 27 countries, was watched by her British film director husband Guy Ritchie and three children and split into four sections. To screams from fans, Madonna took the stage in a one-piece black sequinned outfit by French fashion house Givenchy for the first part, known as "pimp", a homage to gangster chic from the 1920s to now. She then revisited New York in the early 1980s -- where she arrived aged 20 with just 35 dollars in her pocket before hitting the big time -- for the "old school" section of the show featuring songs including "Music" and a dance-off on stage.

Next came "gypsy", inspired by Romanian folk music and dance, and the finale, "rave", influenced by far eastern culture. The show featured eight costume changes, 16 dancers, a 12-piece band and a million pounds (1.3 million euros, 1.9 million dollars) worth of Swarovski crystals. The tour continues in Nice, southern France on August 26 before heading to the rest of Europe, the United States, Canada, Mexico and Brazil. It wraps up in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on December 18. Madonna's last tour, 2006's "Confessions", was reportedly the top earning show ever by a female artist, grossing nearly 200 million dollars. The star, who spends much of her time in Britain, celebrated her 50th birthday in low-key style on August 16.
Her eight-year marriage to Ritchie has come under heavy press scrutiny in recent months amid rumours they are about to split, denied by the singer's representatives.

Read More...

James Lavelle moves into film with "X-Files" credit, and new album

British DJ James Lavelle, creator of hit electro act UNKLE, has set his sights on silver screen success with a cinematically-inspired new album as well as a contribution to the just-released "X-Files"- the movie. Lavelle has worked with some of the top names in music, from Radiohead's Thom Yorke to The Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft, and is also known as creator of the seminal record label Mo'Wax.

Now the DJ is set to reach a new audience with his reworking of the theme for "X-Files", the hit TV-series turned into a film. The latest direction for the 33-year-old, whose commercial success has never matched the respect he commands among his peers, came after a personal request from "X-Files" creator Chris Carter.

"Film has always been quite influential for me but I won't work with a film just for the sake of doing it," the Oxford-born artist told AFP.

As a self-confessed sci-fi geek, Lavelle claims to have seen every episode of the show and was more than keen to provide the remixed theme and an old UNKLE track, "Broken," for the end credits. The film, which opened in Europe at the end of July, stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson in the roles of FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully as they continue their investigations into the paranormal.

Its release coincides with the release of Lavelle's new album "End Titles..Stories for Films," which features Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme, and includes tracks written for "Odyssey in Rome," a documentary about cult Hollywood director Abel Ferrera, who also appears on the album.

Lavelle says however that he has no plans to focus full-time on writing cinematic scores, but stresses he enjoys the challenge of composing.

Read More...

Brad Pitt joins Tarantino's 'bastards'

Brad Pitt has enlisted to play an American resistance fighter battling Nazis in German-occupied France in Quentin Tarantino's latest film "Inglorious Bastards," report said Friday.

Daily Variety and the Hollywood Reporter said Pitt's character is a Tennessee hillbilly who leads a group of Jewish-American soldiers in Tarantino's long-awaited WWII drama. The movie, which is being made by the Weinstein Co. and Universal, will begin filming in Germany in October.

It is the first time that Hollywood icon Pitt has worked with Tarantino, the acclaimed "Kill Bill" and "Pulp Fiction" director. Tarantino, whose last film was 2007's "Death Proof", has also acquired the services of German actress Natassja Kinski for "Inglorious Bastards" as well as British comedian Simon Pegg.
Courtesy of MSN News - Entertainment

Read More...

Men in dresses

Joe Sears and Jaston Williams pull out their womens' wear for a Tuna return
For 27 years, Joe Sears and Jaston Williams have been playing all the wacky folk of tiny Tuna, Texas - men and women, young and old. Yet it's their female characters - such as Sears' cantankerous, dog-poisoning Aunt Pearl and Williams' gravel-voiced, used-weapons entrepreneur Didi Snavely - who grab the most stage time, get the biggest laughs and have become the series' trademark figures.

"We didn't plan it that way," Sears says. "But from the first show (Greater Tuna, premiered in Austin in 1981), they've taken charge. Maybe it's that we both came from families with fairly dominating women. Maybe it's that every play needs some heart. While we can find it in a few of the men, like Petey Fisk (the town's meek but determined animal advocate), it usually arises more naturally from the women."

"I think it's a Texas thing," Williams says. "For instance, you can talk about all the colorful men there've been in Texas politics - but then you throw in Ann Richards and everyone else pales beside her. We've got a line about how Texas men may be scary but it's really the women who run the show."

Or maybe it's just that — as Milton Berle and Flip Wilson proved to TV audiences years ago — a guy in a dress is funny.

That dictum seems especially true for Sears and Williams. Offstage, in their street clothes, these down-to-earth guys probably wouldn't be pegged as actors. They look more like ranchers or truck drivers. However humorous, their male characters usually hew to that offstage reality, a look that's — well, kind of ordinary. By comparison, the Tuna women are outrageous, outlandish and outspoken, letting the actors paint the roles in bigger, brighter colors.

Williams says it's a blast when he and his co-star take on such bold, outspoken personas as sassy Tastee Kreme waitresses Helen Bedd and Inita Goodwin. "These two are not making enough money to be polite," he says.

"I'd have to admit they (the female characters) are more fun to play," Sears says. "It's the stretch they give us, the chance to exaggerate."

Tuna Does Vegas, the fourth and newest in the series, returns to Galveston's Grand 1894 Opera House tonight and plays through Aug. 24. The pair (who co-write the shows with director Ed Sears) report it has undergone considerable change since its premiere there one year ago.

Sears and Williams are continuing a long-standing theatrical tradition. In the early 20th century, Julian Eltinge's tasteful impersonations were seen as a tribute to womanhood. Stars from Ray Bolger in Where's Charley? to Harvey Fierstein in Torch Song Trilogy to George Hearn in La Cage Aux Folles won Tonys playing heroes/heroines who (either by choice or necessity) spent much of their stage time in women's garb. More recently, Fierstein won again playing a woman (not a man dressed as one) in Hairspray.

The device has long been a favorite in movie comedies, with such standout entries as Tootsie, Mrs. Doubtfire and the classic Some Like It Hot, the ne plus ultra of drag cinema.

Obviously, the Tuna guys appreciate the comic opportunities in such gender-bending.

"My role model is Flip Wilson as Geraldine," Williams says. "That character was so politically incorrect and absolutely brilliant."

With two actors playing some 20 roles between them, two key challenges of costuming the Tuna shows are keeping each character distinct and making the changes possible in just seconds.

Linda Fisher, the New York-based designer who has costumed the series from the start, says she uses a color code to help the audience keep the characters straight. Perpetually hassled homemaker Bertha Bumiller favors lime green (an "acid green" Fisher calls it.) Would-be social lioness and "smut snatcher" Vera Carp wears peach.

The identifying factor can also be a pattern rather than a color: Aunt Pearl in old-fashioned print dresses, OKKK radio host Arles Struvie in plaid shirts, and so forth.

"When I first did the show," Fisher says, "they'd done some work on their own, coming up with clothes that worked for the characters. The original lime green polyester pants suit for Bertha was something that Jaston had found in a thrift store — and he actually fought a woman to get it."

As to facilitating the quick changes, Fisher says "there's no one solution." The techniques vary, but she most often creates systems of layering, so that pieces of costume can be quickly removed to reveal the next change. Transitional passages often find one or both actors just offstage, morphing from one character to the next, while continuing to deliver overlapping dialogue.

Fisher agrees the series' women are the more flamboyant roles, but feels the team keep the menfolk in proper balance.

"What makes it work is that Joe and Jaston play them all sincerely, including the women. They're acting women characters, not men in drag, camping.

Because it's the first of the series to take the Tuna characters beyond their home turf, Vegas is the team's most elaborately costumed outing. There are new, non-Tuna characters, including dueling Elvis Presley impersonators and hotel manager Anna Conda (who, Williams reports, "favors snakeskin muumuus.) Even some Tuna folk get beyond their Texas-tacky fashion roots. Aunt Pearl wins some loot and gets dolled up. Helen and Inita get jobs as showgirls.

Wait till you see those costumes.

Courtesy of The Houston Chronicle

Read More...

Yao carrying China flag at Olympics opener again

Click IMAGE to enlarge:
BEIJING - Olympic host China has selected Houston Rockets star Yao Ming to be its flag-bearer at the opening ceremony. Again. Yao first carried the flag at the 2004 Games in Athens. As China's highest profile athlete, he had long been a front runner to receive the honor for a second time.

The criteria ... is that the bearer should be a skilled sportsman, with excellent sporting ethics and a positive public image," China's deputy chef de mission Cui Dalin said at a news conference on Thursday.
"There are many in the Chinese delegation who fill the bill. What to do? After careful consideration, the delegation decided that the flag bearer for the Chinese delegation should be Yao Ming," Cui said.

Since leaving for the NBA in 2002, Yao has loyally returned for national team duties, anchoring the team in major tournaments and taking China to eighth in the last Olympics. That has helped make him a household name in his homeland, earning him millions of dollars annually in endorsements and placing him consistently near the top on lists of the most popular and marketable celebrities. Exempted as hosts from qualifying, China is fielding its largest ever Olympic team; 639 athletes competing in all 28 sports. The team is slightly older than that of four years ago, with an average age of 24.4. Among them, 73 percent are Olympic first-timers, while 165 competed previously in Athens and 37 in Sydney. Three athletes: 10 meter diving champion Guo Jingjing, shooter Tan Zongliang and men's basketball veteran Li Nan, are three-time Olympians. While China is believed to be aiming to top the medal tallies for the first time, Cui said organizers had never set a target, although he noted Chinese athletes had been steadily improving their results.
"A lot of other countries have also been improving this Olympic cycle," Cui said.

Read More...

Party at 08/08/08!

We're not very superstitious, but something about Aug. 8, 2008 sounds lucky. After all, it's not everyday that we get to celebrate a day that spells out 08/08/08! And just in time for this day, Miika Eloranta and Janne Mansnerus, better known as Scandinavian trance team Super 8 & Tab, are playing the music for the 08/08/08 Bigfish party in Makati's A. Venue Events Hall.


Last year's Boracay party

Super 8 & Tab hail from Finland, and have hosted the Anjunabeats Worldwide Radio Show that reaches trance music fans in the US, Poland, Romania, and Turkey. In 2007, Super 8 & Tab broke into DJ Magazine’s annual Top 100 DJs poll—and anyone who knows anything at all about music would know that this is the be all and end all of dance music greatness. The pair came in at #127, an admirable feat for a new act that hasn’t even released a debut album yet.

So if you're planning to party on 08/08/08, head over to Super 8 & Tab's Manila debut!

For advanced tickets and reservations, contact 6327762 or 6348238. To find out more info about the event, check out www.bigfishmanila.com. Get to know Super 8 and Tab better by visiting www.super8andtab.com.

Courtesy of FemaleNetwork.com

Read More...

Bench Blackout

All roads led to Araneta Coliseum last July 25, as men and women alike (all above 18) promptly arrived for Blackout, the Bench Denim and Underwear Show. Nothing short of spectacular is expected whenever Bench holds its underwear and denim show which happens every two years. As always, the apparel giant did not disappoint the many lucky bearers of the hottest ticket in town.

True to its name, Blackout is dark and whimsical, drawing on the world of the arcane and the occult for its inspiration: models dressed as glamorous demons, interpretations of the underworld, masquerade-themed outfits, outer space concepts, and even a Japanese anime feel were the components of the night’s show. Yet despite the dark theme, Bench’s impressive lineup of celebrity endorsers still managed to shine their brightest that night. Some, however, shone more brightly than others.



It has been in the news since then that Annabel Rama has been complaining about her son Richard Gutierrez’ lack of introduction and extremely dark getup (he was sexily rugged, bearing a rough cape and wearing dark glasses), which she blames for the lack of response from the audience when he made his grand entrance. And this was in stark contrast to fellow GMA primetime idol Dingdong Dantes’ loud reception from the audience. As soon as Dingdong entered the stage, the audience started screaming, louder and louder with each piece of his outfit that he lets go of, until he eventually unzips his pants and lets them fall, as he basks in his underwear glory.



Other celebrities who made a statement in the show were PBB Teen Idols Gerald Anderson and Kim Chiu, who were among the first celebrities to make an entrance; JC de Vera, who wowed the crowd with his bare buffed torso; Jake Cuenca, who seemed really intense that night, with his raging entrances—at one point even kneeling as if in abandon and later showing off his buttocks in thongs; Sarah Geronimo, who gamely walked down the runway, smiling as she shakes her head; Rafael Rosell, who went “brief-less” behind a screen; Sam Milby, whose tanned lean body elicited screams from the crowd, which includes Anne Curtis; Diether Ocampo, whose body is still to die for; the ever-confident Alessandra de Rossi, who’s a natural in these underwear shows; hottie Marco Alcaraz, who removed one of the pairs of underwear he was wearing, which he threw to the crowd; Angelica Panganiban, who was glowing and glittering as she serenely walked down the stage; and a still-hot Jomari Yllana who quickly regained composure after slipping.



Some celebrities, however, blended into the background and did not shine as much as their fellow stars. The ever-pretty Shaina Magdayao, for one, seemed lost in her elaborate attire for the night; Rica Peralejo, was not so remarkable in her outfit and cropped do; FHM’s Precious Adona walked and posed awkwardly when she walked down the catwalk; and Ehra Madrigal, who elicited no reaction even as she strutted down the catwalk in bright yellow underwear. Conspicuously absent were Piolo Pascual and John Lloyd Cruz, whom a lot of women in the crowd anticipated that night.



Bench’s power couple Richard Gomez and Lucy Torres did not grace the ramp this year, except at the end of the show, with Bench mogul Ben Chan. Another big-time couple, Kris Aquino and James Yap, was spotted in the audience.

Which star shone the brightest in this Blackout? See for yourself in FemaleNetwork’s coverage of the show.











Click IMAGE to enlarge:

Courtesy of FemaleNetwork.com

Read More...

Three-peat for Dizzee Rascal atop British singles charts

London rapper Dizzee Rascal sat atop the British singles charts for a third week running Sunday, while McFly's latest song entered the rankings at number two.

"Dance Wiv Me" by Dizzee Rascal and Calvin Harris took the top spot, followed by McFly's "One For The Radio" and Kid Rock's "All Summer Long" in second and third respectively.

Basshunter's "All I Ever Wanted" and "No Air" by Jordin Sparks featuring Chris Brown rounded out the top five.

In the album charts, meanwhile, Coldplay was finally knocked out of the top spot after five weeks by Basshunter's "Now You're Gone", which entered the charts in the number one position.

Coldplay's "Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends" dropped to second, followed by Sharleen Spiteri's "Melody" in third.

Top Five
Download:
Dance Wiv Me - Dizzee Rascal and Calvin Harris
One For The Radio - McFly
All Summer Long - Kid Rock
All I Ever Wanted - Basshunter
No Air - Jordin Sparks featuring Chris Brown

• Files with no download hits on or before 16th of September will be automatically deleted!...
• Need help to initiate access to RapidShare? Please read here.

Read More...

Do I look sexy as Leonardo DiCaprio?

Somebody said that I am sexy as Leonardo... Hehe! It seems paranoid to think so. Who has been telling all these lies? If you are not a host of a showbiz talk show, then you have no license to make a living gossip and intrigue. Gossiping is a guilty pleasure, but just think what damage your bad-mouthing can do to yourself and to other people.
Back to the issue. Well, as I used to say. ...I'll go with the flow!...


Leonardo DiCaprio Biography
Is Leonardo Sexiest man in America?...

Born: 11 November 1974
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California
Best Known As: Heartthrob star of the 1997 film Titanic

Leonardo DiCaprio has been an international superstar since the box office megahit Titanic (1997, directed by James Cameron). In front of the camera since childhood, his first big role came in 1991, on the television series Growing Pains. As a young movie actor he won critical raves for his role in This Boy's Life (1993, with Robert DeNiro), and an Oscar nomination for What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993, with Johnny Depp). His performance in 1996's Romeo and Juliet proved his bankability as a leading man and heartthrob, and after the success of Titanic (with Kate Winslet), DiCaprio became a favorite of the tabloids, with a party-boy reputation. He kept on working, however, and has since grown into one of Hollywood's top movie actors. Along the way he appeared in Woody Allen's Celebrity (1998, with Gretchen Mol), starred in Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can (2002, with Christopher Walken) and made three movies with Martin Scorsese: Gangs of New York (2002, co-starring Cameron Diaz), The Aviator (he was nominated for an Oscar for playing eccentric innovator Howard Hughes) and The Departed (2006, starring Matt Damon). His performance in Blood Diamond (2006, with Djimon Hounsou) brought him another Oscar nomination. Off-screen DiCaprio is an advocate for environmental protection, an issue he became publicly involved with after he and the makers of The Beach (2000) were criticized for the environmental impact their filming had on locations in Thailand.

Read More...

Knox and Vivienne make 8 for Jolie-Pitt family

NICE, France - Brad Pitt was emotional but calm, Angelina Jolie laughed and chatted. The world's most famous celebrity couple were joined in emotion during the birth of their twins — a boy and a girl — and all "are doing marvelously well," the doctor who delivered the babies in a seaside hospital on the French Riviera.
The newborns — Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline, born one minute apart — are the ultimate million-dollar babies, with experts estimating their first photos will fetch a fortune. For now, mother, father and newborns are resting out of the public eye on the fifth floor of the Lenval hospital, behind blue mirrored windows that provide sweeping views of Nice's sun-drenched beaches, but specially treated to deflect the prying lenses of paparazzi.

Jolie's obstetrician, Dr. Michel Sussmann, said the 44-year-old Pitt was at Jolie's side during the delivery, looking on as the doctor performed a Caesarean section to deliver Knox, weighing in at slightly over 5 pounds, and Vivienne, who weighed 5 pounds. Jolie, 33, is expected to stay in the hospital for a few more days and that she now needs rest.
The four other Jolie-Pitt children — Maddox, 6; Pax, 4; Zahara, 3;
and Shiloh, 2.


The mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, center, holds the birth certificates of one of Angelina Jolie's twins, Knox Leon Jolie-Pitt, as he and Dr. Michel Sussmann, Jolie's obstetrician, left, pose for the media, at the Lenval Hospital in Nice, southern France, Sunday, July 13, 2008. U.S. actress Angelina Jolie has given birth to her twins, one boy Knox Leon and a girl Vivienne Marcheline. The obstetrician who delivered the twins, Dr. Michel Sussmann, told The Associated Press that the actress, the babies and Jolie's partner, actor Brad Pitt, "are doing marvelously well."


A view of the the Lenval hospital where U.S actress Angelina Jolie has been admitted in Nice, southern France July 4, 2008, and where she expects to give birth to twins.

Read More...

Mariah Carey

Born: 27 March 1970
Birthplace: Huntington, New York
Best Known As: Pop diva who sang "We Belong Together"

Mariah Carey's remarkable vocal range helped her gospel-influenced dance tunes reach the top of the pop charts in the early 1990s. Her hit albums included Mariah Carey (1990), Music Box (1993) and Butterfly (1997). Critics winked at Carey's 1993 marriage to Tommy Mottola, the head of Sony Music and Columbia Records (Carey's label), but her vocal abilities and babe-appeal kept her in good standing with fans and made her a favorite on MTV. (Carey and Mottola were divorced in 1998; she married actor Nick Cannon in 2008.) In 2001 Carey left Columbia to sign with EMI's Virgin Records for a reported $100 million; her first Virgin album, Glitter, the soundtrack to her semi-autobiographical 2001 movie, was widely considered a disappointment. In July of 2001 Carey was hospitalized for exhaustion, and the next month her publicists said that Carey was also receiving psychiatric treatment. The next year she split with EMI, which paid $28 million to buy out the remainder of her contract. By the end of 2005 she was at the top of the charts again, and her album, The Emancipation of Mimi, featuring the hit single, "We Belong Together," earned 8 Grammy nominations. She won three, including one for Best Contemporary R&B Album.
Carey's exact vocal range is a matter of some debate; some claim it was an astonishing seven octaves at the start of her career, while others suggest four or five octaves is more accurate... In 1998 Carey co-starred in a much-discussed VH1 special, Divas Live, along with Celine Dion, Aretha Franklin, Gloria Estefan and Shania Twain... Carey's ex-husband Tommy Mottola married Mexican pop star Thalia in December of 2000.

Read More...

Madonna

Birth Name: Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone
Born: 16 August 1958
Birthplace: Bay City, Michigan
Best Known As: Pop superstar singer of "Like a Virgin"
Genre: Rock
Active: '80s, '90s, 2000s
Instrument: Vocals

Madonna used a mixture of talent, pulchritude and relentless self-promotion to become one of the most famous recording artists of the 20th century. She released her self-titled first album in 1983 in the guise of a streetwise pop ragamuffin, and over time she kept one step ahead of the game by jumping from persona to persona: dance club queen, balladeer, cowgirl, channeler of the Mysterious East. Her other albums have included Like a Virgin (1984), Ray of Light (1998), Music (2000), American Life (2003) and Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005). She has also acted in over a dozen movies, including Dick Tracy (1990, with Warren Beatty) and A League of Their Own (1992, with Rosie O'Donnell). No stranger to controversy, Madonna has long been a favorite of the tabloids on topics ranging from her racy videos and TV appearances to her sometimes-mystical religious beliefs to her marriages to actor Sean Penn (1985-89) and filmmaker Guy Ritchie (2000-present). Her daughter Lourdes was born in October of 1996, fathered by Madonna's personal trainer, Carlos Leon. In August of 2000 Madonna and Ritchie had a son, Rocco. In October of 2006 they adopted a a motherless 13-month-old child, David Banda, from the African country of Malawi.
Madonna attended the University of Michigan on a dance scholarship... Her daughter Lourdes is named for the site where Bernadette Soubirous saw visions of the Virgin Mary... A fall from a horse in 2005 left the pop star with a broken collarbone and three cracked ribs.

Read More...

Enrique Iglesias

Download:
Bailamos (3.33 MB) - Enrique Iglesias
Could I Have This Kiss Forever (5.98 MB) - Enrique Iglesias & Witney Houston
Password: decesare27

Born in 1975, Enrique led the life of a typical teen while growing up in Miami. He started writing and recording songs without telling his parents about it. In fact, he shopped his first demo posing as a Central American unknown named Enrique Martínez. Only after landing a record contract with regional Mexican label Fonovisa, did Enrique decide to use his real name.

Recorded in Spanish, his self-titled debut sold more than a million copies in the first three months after it was released (to this day, it has sold over seven million). His second effort, 1997's "Vivir," broke into the U.S. Top 40 and was promoted with the first of many lavishly produced world tours.

Within three years, Enrique became the biggest-selling Spanish-language singer in the world. He has enjoyed 16 #1 Billboard Latin hits, more than any other artist in history.

Read More...

Sheryl Crow

Bolder and more free-spirited than ever, Sheryl Crow embarks on paths both deeply personal and grandly global on Detours (Interscope/A&M Records). Filled with songs about having and holding, changing and letting go, about beginnings, endings, and the roads between them, Detours was inspired by "how I feel things are going in the world and what's happened to me the last couple of years," says the nine-time Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter.

Crow's lyrical signposts range from the demise of a relationship, the adoption of a child (baby Wyatt, who guests on "Lullaby For Wyatt"), a public bout with breast cancer to the war in Iraq ("Peace Be Upon Us," featuring Arabic lyrics sung by Ahmed Al Hirmi), environmental disaster ("Gasoline" featuring Ben Harper), and the ravaged New Orleans of Hurricane Katrina ("Love Is Free").

Marking her reunion with Bill Bottrell, who produced her sensational 1993 debut, Tuesday Night Music Club, Detours winds its way across the pop musical landscape from the rockin' "Shine Over Babylon" and acoustic folk "God Bless This Mess" to the plaintive "Diamond Ring." An out-of-the-blue telephone call from Crow prompted a reconciliation with Bottrell and brought him to the studio at her farm near Nashville to produce her sixth studio album.

Each of her previous studio albums has charted Top 10 and earned at least platinum certification. The seven times platinum Tuesday Night Music Club hit #3 and earned three Grammys--Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for the classic "All I Wanna Do." The album also featured "Strong Enough," "Can't Cry Anymore," and "Leaving Las Vegas."

1996's triple platinum Sheryl Crow (#6) earned the Grammy for Best Rock Album and, for "If It Makes You Happy," Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. 1998's platinum The Globe Sessions (#5) also garnered the Best Rock Album Grammy, as its "Everyday Is A Winding Road" and "My Favorite Mistake" both reached the Pop Top 20.

The new millennium brought 2002's platinum C'mon C'mon (#2), whose gold "Soak Up The Sun" peaked in the Top 20 and "Steve McQueen" again nabbed her a Best Female Rock Vocal Performance Grammy. The 2003 greatest hits compilation, the four times platinum The Very Best Of Sheryl Crow, was also a #2 charter, featuring a new recording, a cover of Cat Stevens' "The First Cut Is The Deepest." 2005's platinum Wildflower (#2) featured the dues with Sting, "Always On Your Side."

On Detours, the fearlessly outspoken Sheryl Crow continues a journey of self-discovery that has increasingly appealed to both the head and the heart.

Courtesy of MSN News - Lifestyle

Read More...

Star In A Million 10 finalists (Music Videos)

Click IMAGE to enlarge:

Star In A Million is a singing contest on ABS-CBN in the Philippines. Started on 20003, the search has already produced some of the country's singing talents such as Erik Santos, Sheryn Regis, Christian Bautista, and Frenchie Dy. The grand champion will be given a contract with Star Records and a hosting stint on ASAP Mania.

Hosts:
Ryan Agoncillo
Agot Isidro
Edu Manzano
Zsa Zsa Padilla

Judges:
Dingdong Avanzado
Gerald Salonga
Ana Fegi
Vernie Varga
Cherrie Gil
Mel Villena
Nanette Inventor
Fritz Ynfante
Arnel Ignacio

Contestants (Season 1):
Erik Santos - Winner
Sheryn Regis - 1st Runner Up
Marinel Santos - 2nd Runner Up
Christian Bautista
Gayle Dizon
Michell San Miguel
Teresa Garcia
Jonathan Escañan
Dk Tijam
Czarina Rosales

Star In A Million 10 Finalist
Passwords: DeCesare
Featured MUSIC VIDEOS:
1) Christian Bautista - Say That You Love Me
2) Gayle Dizon - I Can't Tell You Why
3) Czarina Rosales - If I Didn't Love You
4) Marinel Santos - BuKas Na Lang Kita Mamahalin
5) DK Tijam - Run To You
6) Michell San Miguel - In My Life
7) Teresa Garcia - I Love You Goodbye
8) Johann Escaňan- You
9) Sheryn Regis(1st Runner-Up) - Come In Out Of The Rain
10) Erik Santos(Grand Champion) - I Believe I Can Fly

• Files with no download hits on or before 16th of September will be automatically deleted!...
• Need help to initiate access to RapidShare? Please read here.

• For more details, you can visit my website --- GuysAt40.ning.com
See you there!...

Read More...