This Week In Hollywoodland
Posted by Tommy Garrett on Jul 19, 2009 - 2:52:09 PM
BEVERLY HILLS—This week in Hollywoodland seemed to be a never ending tale of Michael Jackson. Just when you think things are quieting down on the matter, the investigation into the singer’s death heats up, with word coming down that the investigation has turned from a death investigation to a homicide investigation. Doctors’ records are being subpoenaed and family members interviewed. Patriarch Joe Jackson came out with the latest by saying, he’d take the three kids out on the road next year and they could perform as the Jackson Three. Debbie Rowe’s attorneys are threatening a former Rowe friend who claims to have emails from the biological mother of Prince Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr. and Paris Katherine Jackson, which allegedly claim she’s not interested in raising her children now that their father is dead. Her attorneys quickly sent out a legal letter demanding the source of the story to retract the story that was printed in the New York Post.
If that wasn’t enough, the video of the infamous fire which caught which caused damage to Michael Jackson’s head during the 1984 filming of the Pepsi Cola commercial also has surfaced. US Weekly Magazine was the one who obtained this footage first and has the video posted on their Web site. This is not for every reader, but if you are interested in seeing the exclusive video images of the accident that caused second and third degree burns on Michael Jackson’s head go to: http://www.usmagazine.com/news/video-michael-jacksons-tragic-commercial-accident-2009157.
Forest Lawn Cemetery officials stated earlier in the week that there were armed guards at the cemetery where Jackson’s body is allegedly still unburied. There are mixed reports of Jackson being buried later at Neverland Ranch, but Santa Barbara officials state there has not been a filing for this to occur. Last thing on the Jackson investigation is that the DEA has joined LAPD and other State of California investigators in the matter and are desperately searching medical records to find the source of the heavy narcotic sedative that may have caused the singer’s death.
Leave it to Michael Logan to land the interview of the year with actress Melody Thomas Scott, who portrays Nikki Newman on CBS’s “The Young and the Restless.” Ms. Scott was obviously determined to stand up for herself during recent contract negations with the series, where she has starred in for the past two plus decades. Logan gets actors to talk when no one else can do so. His exclusive interview is a hum dinger and worth a read. Surprisingly CBS, Sony Pictures and “Y&R” was prepared to do away with the character and even wrote the character out in a shocking way, which viewers will see in three weeks. In part, the actress tells TV Guide, “I have been so knocked out, so impressed with the writing of the episodes that air the first week of August. Please put this in your article: That week is not to be missed. It’s an amazing ride—grueling but really satisfying—and the writers did terrific work. Not just with my story but the whole show that week. You cannot miss it,” stated Scott.
Tony Romo evidently didn’t get the memo that said, do not break up with your girlfriend a day before her birthday. The party invitations had gone out, it was a Barbie themed party for Jessica’s 29th birthday and the night before Tony Romo broke up with Jessica Simpson. A close friend of the singer’s says, “She is very sad right now. She doesn’t understand what occurred. But she’s ready to move on.”
Rumors have been swirling around Hollywood about the couple for weeks and tabloids have printed headlines that she was still talking to former flame John Mayer and he was seeing other women on the side. No one really knows, but chances are this is it. Breaking up with your girl before her birthday is a bit drastic. Here’s wishing them both good luck and good health.
Jon Gosselin returned home this week from beautiful Saint-Tropez with new girlfriend Hailey Glassman. The two are no longer denying being a couple and they enjoyed a quiet vacation just three weeks after Jon and Kate Gosselin filed for divorce. They vacationed on designer Christian Audigier’s yacht while in the Riviera. However in perfect Gosselin style, the reunion between Jon and his eight kids was seen in front of the prying eyes of the paparazzi. Here’s hoping the eight kids continue doing well and manage to handle their parents’ upcoming divorce without many scars.
Harry Potter returns. The newest sequel in the series “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince” was released last week and is raking in the money over the weekend box office count so far. But what is most telling is that Warner Bros. is rolling out much more than the red carpet to the newest hunk in the film, actor Freddie Stroma who plays Gryffindor wizard Cormac McLaggen in the film. After seeing this film I am sure Stroma will become a huge star. People Magazine and some fans on the red carpet in Hollywood last week proclaim that Robert Pattinson, fellow Brit had better look out for his hunkdom status is being threatened by the handsome blonde actor. Born in London and raised in the nearby town of Ascot, Stroma is one of three children in his family and joyfully refers to himself as the, “crazy one in my family.” I know how he feels. This film is my favorite “Harry Potter” film yet. You can see a sneak peak at the official site by going to:
And if Robert Pattinson doesn’t think Stroma is competition enough. He’s now going to have to compete with his own “New Moon” costar, fellow vampire Christopher Heyerdahl who portrays Marcus, leader of centuries-old vampire clan the Volturi. Heyerdahl is telling everyone in the press that he will play a vampire who once lost his true love and he will be involved in the Bella and Edward storyline in the film. This film is due out on November 11 and fans are clamoring for anything they can get their hands on that promotes the upcoming feature film.
But it’s not just a love fest in Hollywood. Superstar Brad Pitt takes a verbal swipe at actor Ashton Kutcher after the racy photos of Ashton’s wife showed up on Twitter. Seems Kutcher admits to being the photographer who put the racy photographs on the Net. In the August issue of Wired Magazine, Pitt is quoted as saying, “"Don't take a picture of your wife's butt. That's silly, Take pictures of other people's wives' butts."
It seems it was all said in good humor, but fans have been burning up the Internet lately commenting on the idea of Ashton and Demi could possibly be expressing and sharing too much of their private life with fans online. The talk touched off a recently when a photo of Demi was snapped while in the dentist’s chair missing a front tooth, which was quickly put on Twitter. Moore claims it was a good move and was meant to show women that even movie stars can have flaws.
Heartbreak has fallen on the single ladies in Hollywood when word came last week that actor Robert Redford married artist Sibylle Szaggars at the luxury Louis C. Jacob Hotel in Hamburg, Germany. Mr. Redford, who is 71, was previously married to Lola Redford. They were married for 27 years and were divorced in 1985.
Los Angeles resident and Oscar-winning actor Forest Whitacker turned 48 years old on Wednesday. The former USC student has been married to former model Keisha Whitaker since 1996 and the couple has three children. The actor is busy working on several projects which include “Repossession Mambo,” “Hurricane Season,” “Where the Wild Things Are,” “My Own Love Song,” “Lullaby for Pi,” “The Experiment,” “Family Wedding” and “Jekyll and Hyde,” which costars 50 Cent and is directed by Abel Ferrara. What a prolific actor.
Thank goodness for Megan Fox. The beautiful sexy actress recently spent a whopping $1,600 at Madison, a swanky boutique on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Store employees report she bought jewelry, jeans, headbands, camisoles and pumps while shopping for a few hours. The actress may single handedly do what the U.S. Government has been unable to do and turn our economy around at this rate. There’s no surprise the actress is swimming in extra money since “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” has taken in a whopping $340,000,000 since its June 24 release. The film is still at the number three spot and is expected to end the year at twice that amount even before DVD sales begin.
Send good thoughts to our friends John Travolta, his beautiful wife Kelly Preston and their adorable daughter Ella Blue who are still trying to deal with the death of Jett Travolta who died during the holiday season in the Bahamas last year. Travolta recently flew his jet into Miami where he was seen quietly having lunch alone. Hollywood stands solidly behind the Travolta family and pray that John can return one day to doing what he does best: making movies and making his fans smile. His next film “From Paris With Love” is in post production and is due out in February 2010. It also stars my friend Jonathan Rhys Meyers who is best known as King Henry VIII in the Showtime series “The Tudors.”
Here’s to a week that was filled with lots of exciting news, some sad news and most of all, no deaths to report.
