Archives for June 2009

Today long-shot mayoral candidate Tony Avella received a key endorsement on the steps of City Hall, where he held a press conference in support of the FIT Kids Act.

He brought along fitness expert Richard Simmons, who didn't know Avella, but said that when he got the call requesting his help, he said yes "because he always says yes," reports the Times. Simmons endorsed Avella for mayor, though his support was a little diluted when he also praised Mayor Bloomberg's efforts to get kids healthy. Still, he gave Avella lots of compliments:

Mr. Avella was no doubt thrilled — most of the time. At one point, Mr. Simmons gushed that Mr. Avella had “lips like Julia Roberts.”

You may still be able to [see] remnants of the blushing on Mr. Avella’s face.Can Mayor Bloomberg or Bill Thompson lay claim to celebrity body parts?

We don't think so! (And no, Bloomberg having the lithe ankles of a young Anjelica Huston does not count.)

Post the sweeping success of Slumdog Millionaire it seems that India is the most sought- after destination for Hollywood with latest reports saying that none other than superstar Julia Roberts will be visiting the country. Roberts and Oscar-winning actor Javier Bardem will be coming to India to shoot for their upcoming film Eat, Pray, Love.
No Country For Old Men actor Bardem and Roberts are set to star in the on-screen adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert’s best-selling novel of the same name. Bardem is negotiating with executives at Columbia Pictures to play Felipe, the man Roberts’ character falls in love after meeting him at an Indian ashram. The film is being produced by actor Brad Pitt and Dede Gardner through their production company Plan B, and actor Richard Jenkins will also be a part of the starcast. The shooting of the film is scheduled to begin in July and will take place in New York, Rome, India and Bali.

I recently wrote an article where I compared Julia Roberts' shoes to that of the songstress Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas.  In that article I stated that Fergie made the better choice in outfit to go along with her shoes, since the two seemingly shopped at the same shoe store before making an appearance on The Late Show.
I recently received a response to that article in which the reader wanted to know where to find Julia Roberts' shoes.  Apparently this reader has a keen eye because she could tell the difference in the style and chose Julia's style of shoe over Fergie's.  Well reader, I found a couple of look-alike shoes at http://www.shoebuy.com/.  All you have to do is put silver high heels into the search engine.  These may not be an exact replica, but they are a more reasonable copy.
There are also some similar at your local Nordstrom.  I usually shop at the one in Lynnwood's Alderwood Mall.  You can have some fun at this one because I hear it's built on rollers that you feel about every 30 minutes.  Its like a little earthquake, or a small adventure coaster for those thrill seekers.

The long awaited Fireflies in the Garden, starring Julia Roberts and Ryan Reynolds, will finally hit theaters this summer on June 26.As we all know, Roberts’ name is synonymous with chick flicks, but this film, along with her more recent films (Closer, Charlie Wilson’s War, Duplicity), may allow her to show off a different side of herself. Her onscreen presence is simply unique; she generates so much attention from the audience and gives a genuine performance every time, and this film won’t be an exception.
Fireflies explores the difficulties associated with love and commitment as one family comes face to face with tragedy. The film is inspired by a short poem of the same title by Robert Frost. It also stars Carrie-Anne Moss, Willem Dafoe and Emily Watson.

But that’s not all for Roberts. She is also working on a film adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert’s book Eat, Pray, Love  for Columbia Pictures, and Variety announced that Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men, Vicky Cristina Barcelona) is in talks to play her love interest, Felipe, in the film. Roberts will play the author, Gilbert, as she embarks on a journey of self-discovery and finds new love. Richard Jenkins (Burn After Reading) also stars in the film.

Eat, Pray, Love is directed by Ryan Murphy (Running with Scissors, Nip/Tuck creator) and is produced by Brad Pitt and Dede Gardner through their production company Plan B.Filming is scheduled to begin in July in New York, Rome, India and Bali, and it has been reported that Roberts has rented two apartments in the West Village this summer for the three months that the film will be shooting in NYC. One for her, her husband Danny Moder and their three kids Hazel, Phinnaeus and Henry. The other for their nanny and staff.

Hmmm. A certain theme is emerging on The Late Show with David Letterman. Earlier this week, Howard Stern went on a tear about how Letterman was "the host we want to watch" in late-night.

Then last night, Julia Roberts said, after a particuarly good Letterman ad-lib, "You are so much funnier than other people who talk at this time of the evening." Check it out:

Julia is a Dave loyalist, to be sure, and her comment could not be more pointed about the new Dave vs. Conan late-night competition. Last night on The Tonight Show, the scheduled Norm MacDonald seemed to have been bumped for a bigger star, Eddie Murphy. Are the booking wars heating up?

“I don’t know if I can look you in the eye anymore…Last time I saw you, you were single and then I, like, hypnotized you in my white suit or something and you went off and married Regina.”

She then hit him with several questions about his nuptials, including asking if Regina took Dave's name. Roberts asked, “So she’s Mrs. Letterman?” Letterman deadpanned, “No, she’s Dave.”

Roberts asked if there was any video of the wedding ceremony, but Letterman said there are some photos, and added that the service “was me, it was my son, it was Regina and the justice of the peace, and that was it.”

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The starlet is reaching out to children -- and keeping the dream of another beloved Hollywood star alive. On The Early Show Monday, Roberets discussed her involvement with Hole in the Wall Camps, a charity for ailing kids started by screen legend Paul Newman, who died last year.

Julia Roberts has a brand new role: philanthropist.

Roberts called Newman "a giant human being." She told Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith she began working with the charity 13 years ago, when she was looking for summer volunteer work. Her agent connected her with Newman, and since then, she said, the work has been "a joy" for her.

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Javier Bardem is negotiating to star in "Eat, Pray, Love," the Ryan Murphy-directed adaptation of the Elizabeth Gilbert memoir for Columbia Pictures.
Bardem joins Julia Roberts and Richard Jenkins in the cast.

Roberts plays the author, and Bardem will play Felipe, the man Gilbert meets and falls in love with on the final leg of a journey of self-discovery that began with the end of her marriage.

Richard Jenkins plays a Texan whom the heroine befriends at an Indian ashram.

Pic was adapted by Murphy, the "Nip/Tuck" creator who last helmed "Running With Scissors."

Brad Pitt and Dede Gardner are producing through Plan B.

Bardem, last seen in the Woody Allen-directed "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," most recently starred for director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu in "Biutiful" for Cha Cha Cha and Focus Features.

Duplicity: the title suggests something with two sides, but the film itself, the second (after Michael Clayton) written and directed by Tony Gilroy, has many more layers and facets. Its densely coiled plot and splintered chronology reveal a cascade of familiar genres and styles.

It’s a caper movie, a love story  with Clive Owen and Julia Roberts, no less  an extra-dry corporate satire. However you describe it, Duplicity is superior entertainment, the most elegantly pleasurable movie of its kind to come around in a very long time.

The kind of movie it seems most obviously to be  the jet-set spy thriller, decorated with eye-candy vistas of London, New York, Dubai and Rome (among other intrigue-ridden spots)  has suffered a bit of an identity crisis since the end of the cold war.

Yes, the James Bond franchise soldiers on, but even at the height of Soviet-American brinksmanship, 007 always conducted his tongue-in-cheek operations on the margins of the grand geopolitical chess game, facing down cartoon supervillains rather than KGB alter egos.

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Julia Roberts would be horrified if naked snaps of her were ever leaked to the press. The actress, who has three children with husband Danny Moder, is a very private person. ‘I can’t even imagine what it would be like if someone called me up and said, "There are nude pictures of you everywhere in the papers today,”’ says Julia.

‘I think I’d shit myself!’Julia, 41, prefers to stay out of the public eye. ‘I just feel sad now for all these younger people – actors and actresses who are just hounded day and night,’ she says.