Coventry Telegraph - Pass the Remote

New Star Wars character is for George Lucas's daughters

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:20:38 +0000

GEORGE LUCAS has revealed that the new female padawan character Ahsoka Tano in his animated Star Wars movie was for his two daughters Amanda and Katie.

"We made the padawan learner a girl because I have two girls and I know a lot about raising girls," he said of the new star of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
Ahsoka comes into the animated movie, which serves as a launch pad for the TV series of the same name, as Anakin Skywalker's Jedi apprentice.

"Anakin Skywalker has started to be his own person and I wanted to mature him," says George. "One of the ways of maturing him was to make him a parent or a teacher."

Watch the film's trailer here.

Madonna chases best video gong at MTV awards

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:12:51 +0000

MADONNA will be taking on the girl bands at this year's MTV Video Music Awards.

The Queen of Pop and her 4 Minutes video featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland have been nominated in the Best Dance In A Video category, along with Danity Kane's Damaged and the Pussycat Dolls' When I Grow Up.
Videos for Chris Brown's Forever and Ne-Yo's Closer also made the shortlist.

The nominees for the Best New Artist have also been announced, with current chart-topper Katy Perry and her video for I Kissed A Girl leading the way.

'Fat' Tom Cruise is inspired by Ben Stiller in Tropic Thunder movie

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 09:05:23 +0000

It's a regular love-in in Hollywood this week with stars coming out of the woodwork to praise each other.

First up is Tom Cruise who has been praising his Tropic Thunder co-star and director Ben Stiller, saying he is 'inspired' by him.

"Working with Ben has always been easy," Tom writes in Men's Vogue.
"I feel inspired around him. As a director, he both knows what he wants and is willing to embrace contributions from his actors and writers and producers - from his whole team - yet he never loses sight of what his story needs."

Tom is almost unrecognisable as he is bald and dons a fat suit to play a studio executive in the comedy about a group of self-absorbed actors shooting a war picture in Asia, but they are forced to become the soldiers they are portraying when they stumble on some real bad guys.

The film, which also stars Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr, is out in the UK on September 19.

Meanwhile director Woody Allen has declared his adoration of actress Scarlett Johansson.

Dark Knight star Morgan Freeman divorcing his wife after 24 years

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:06:09 +0000

He may have survived a nasty car crash at the weekend, which saw him cut out by resuce workers after the vehicle flipped, but there is no happy ending to Morgan Freeman's accident.

The actor is now said to be divorcing his wife of 24 years just days after the crash.

His lawyer told US TV programme Access Hollywood that the actor and wife Myrna Colley-Lee 'are involved in a divorce action'.

It's "chaos" in the Jolie-Pitt household

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:43:20 +0000

New mum Angelina Jolie has admitted "it's chaos" looking after newborn twins Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline.

In an exclusive interview and photo shoot with Hello magazine, Ange and partner Brad Pitt talk about looking after the twins, plus their other four children Maddox, six, Pax, four, Zahara, three, and Shiloh, two.

"It is chaos, but we are managing it and having a wonderful time," Angelina tells the mag, revealing that their four eldest children have been enjoying games of hide and seek in the sprawling grounds of Château Miraval in Provence, France, where the couple are currently living.

Singer Joss Stone to star in BBC show The Tudors

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:43:20 +0000

Joss Stone is set to appear in The Tudors as the fourth wife of Henry VIII, the BBC has confirmed.

The 21-year-old singer will play Anne of Cleves in the third season of the BBC drama.

Stone will deliberately look unattractive for the role, which was announced in the US.

Anne of Cleves, the daughter of a German nobleman, was betrothed to Henry after the King was shown a portrait of her.

Dark Knight actor Morgan Freeman cut free from car after crash

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 09:38:41 +0000

Seventysomething actor Morgan Freeman was airlifted to hospital on Sunday night after flipping the car he was driving in Mississippi.

According to The Mirror, the Oscar-winning actor was driving a friend's motor when it flew through the air, flipped over several times and landed in a ditch, trapping them in the wreckage.

Freeman and his friend had to be cut free from the car and were then airlifted by helicopter to a trauma hospital 100 miles away in Memphis. It is believed he may have fallen asleep at the wheel.

Angelina and Brad sell their baby photos to Hello magazine

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 12:33:00 +0000

They are set to be the most expensive baby photos of all time.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have apparently struck a deal with Hello! for world-wide exclusvie photos of their newborn twins Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline along with an interview with the megastar couple.

The glossy weekly has refused to reveal details of the agreement, but rumours around the net put the figure anywhere between £5.5 and £7.5 million.

Jade Goody can't spell the name of her new perfume

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 19:14:17 +0000

There was a whiff of disaster about the launch of Jade Goody's new scent on Tuesday night.

The former Big Brother contestant was promoting her new perfume Controversial (a fitting enough name) in London and looked very much the part in a chic black dress and a pair of Christian Louboutin heels.

But as the event wore on she managed to drop a bottle of the scent on the floor after throwing it in the air, flash her thighs when some random man hoisted her into his arms and then added to the hilarity by admitting she couldn't actually spell the name of her latest scent.

When asked by Heatworld to spell the name, she reportedly replied: "I can't... I would have no idea. I don't know. It's 'con' C-O-N and then I'm lost. Is that even right? I wouldn't have known."

You really couldn't make this stuff up!

Ugly Betty's baby bonanza

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 09:20:09 +0000

There must be something in the water backstage at the Ugly Betty set as actress Rebecca Romijn is not the only member of the cast to have caught baby fever.

Rebecca (who plays was-a-boy-now-a-girl Alexis in the show) has confirmed that she is expecting twins with husband Jerry O'Connell.

And now Eric Mabius, who plays playboy magazine boss Daniel Meade, has also announced he and his wife are expecting their second child in the autumn and Christopher Gorham (who plays Betty love interest Henry), his third.

Teaser trailer for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:31:21 +0000

It's time to start getting excited as Harry Potter 6 is heading our way.

Lord Voldemort is wreaking havoc and the pressure to defeat himm grows.
Harry uses an old Potions book ,which previously belonged to the 'Half-Blood Prince', to build his magical knowledge and prepare for battle.
But first, he must help Dumbledore discover the secret to Voldemort's quest for immortality and the location of his Horcruxes.

The movie is due to hit our screens on November 21.

EastEnders dog to be killed off

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:10:25 +0000

It's a sad day for celebrity dog lovers.

It has been reported that EastEnders dog Wellard is to be killed off.

The Belgium shepherd, a bitch called Kyte, is all set to retire from the BBC One show and viewers will see the final scenes later this year.

Wellard - close companion of Robbie Jackson (Dean Gaffney) - has, in fact, been played by three different dogs from the same family, Kyte, her mother and grandma.

Read all about Wellard's colourful years at Albert Square at the BBC website.

Lee McQueen wins The Apprentice 2008

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 22:05:19 +0000

And the winner is . . .

Tonight Sir Alan Sugar chose his new Apprentice in a gripping finale which saw four contenders battle it out for the top slot.

But it was the rough and ready Lee who won the day - and the job - in the end, beating off competition from Claire Young, Alex Wotherspoon and Helene Speight.

The final task was to create and market a new men's fragrance. Lee was teamed up with Claire and Alex with Helene.
And it all went wrong for the losing team - the lip biting Alex and expressionless Helene - right from the start. The pair just couldn't stop squabbling and running each other down.

I confess, I did worry about Lee and Claire's chances when they were considering the brand name Psst for the fragrance. Psst? Could you imagine ever going into a shop and asking for Psst? "Hmm, what's the scent you're wearing darling?" "Psst". Not a winner that one.

Former Apprentice finalist blasts this year's finalists

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:47:53 +0000

She's was never a shrinking violet when she appeared on the show, and former Apprentice contestant Ruth Badger isn't mincing her words now.

The 2006 loser (she lost out in the final to Michelle Dewberry) has called one of this year's candidates "miserable" and says she doesn't know what most of them can do.
She has said the ones already dismissed by Sir Alan are "the lip gloss and hair gel brigade".

The final will be a real nailbiter tonight as four candidates instead of the usual two are in the running to win a job with Sir Alan Sugar.
Caveman Lee McQueen, "gobby" Claire Young, pretty boy Alex Wotherspoon and corporate girl Helene Speight are all in the running.

Read the full story and find out who Ruth thinks will win at The Guardian.

Angelina Jolie says her adopted children are a 'gift'

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 08:12:57 +0000

A-LIST movie star Angelina Jolie has talked about her adoption of three children from developing countries, calling Maddox, Pax and Zahara, a "gift."

"When I was growing up I wanted to adopt, because I was aware there were kids that didn't have parents," she tells the July issue of Vanity Fair. "It's not a humanitarian thing, because I don't see it as a sacrifice. It's a gift. We're all lucky to have each other."

The heavily pregnant star (see the blog How Many Babies Are In There, Angelina?) said: "I look at Shiloh - because, obviously, physically, she is the one that looks like Brad and I when we were little - and say, 'If these were our brothers and sisters, how much would we have known by the time we were six that it took into our 30s and 40s to figure out?'
"I suppose I'm giving them the childhood I always wished I had."