Winona Ryder Stunned by The Outcry over A 'gay' Joke in 'The Dilemma'
Winona Ryder was stunned by the outcry over a 'gay' joke in new film "The Dilemma", insisting she would not "be part" of a movie she thought was "offensive". Officials at the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) organization demanded the axing of a scene from the upcoming movie after a preview clip showed Vince Vaughn's character tell a room of people, "Ladies and gentlemen, electric cars... are gay."
Ron Howard opted to keep the scene in the final cut of the film, and Ryder is glad the director refused to bow to the group's pressure as she can't understand the fuss surrounding the line. She tells Britain's Total Film magazine, "It's just crazy because I'm very sensitive to that issue and if I thought something was offensive I wouldn't want to be part of it."
"Plus all my gay friends use that word all the time so (protesters will) have to go and give them a hard time too. The line has, however, been pulled from the movie's trailer following complaints.
U.S. President Barack Obama is nursing a cut lip after he was injured in a basketball game on Friday, November 26 morning. The politician was taking part in a holiday game at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C. when another player elbowed him in the face.
Obama brushed off the mishap and finished the court session before seeking medical attention upon his return to the White House, where doctors gave him 12 stitches.
In a statement issued on Friday, White House Press Secretary Robin Gibbs says, "After being inadvertently hit with an opposing player's elbow in the lip while playing basketball with friends and family, the President received 12 stitches today administered by the White House Medical Unit."
The White House at first did not identify the person who gave Obama the injury. But later, administration officials released a statement from Rey Decerega, the director of programs for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. "I learned today the president is both a tough competitor and a good sport. I enjoyed playing basketball with him this morning," Decerega said. "I'm sure he'll be back out on the court again soon."
Rocker Bono has taken his philanthropy Down Under - the U2 frontman has met with Australian government officials to discuss how the country can help developing nations. The singer has long backed charity campaigns to help reduce HIV and poverty in impoverished countries, and flew to Australia last week to discuss how its government can aid the world's poor.
He met with Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd, Australia's former prime minister, and congratulated the country's leaders for pledging to spend 0.5 per cent of Australia's gross national income on foreign aid. Bono told reporters, "I usually have to twist the arms of political leaders to think more about the world's poor but I actually don't have to do that in Australia, there's bipartisan support for 0.5 per cent..."
"It just means lots of people will owe their lives to Australian taxpayers."
Butch Patrick 'Lucky to Be Alive' After Nearly Overdosing
Former child star Butch Patrick is "lucky to be alive" after almost overdosing on drugs days after walking out of a rehabilitation centre in New Jersey earlier this month. The 57 year old, who played Eddie Munster on "The Munsters", has long battled problems with cocaine, marijuana and alcohol, but he recently hit rock bottom after learning the velvet jacket he wore on the hit 1960s TV series had been stolen and put on sale online.
He voluntarily checked into a treatment center in New Jersey to conquer his demons, but quit the program shortly afterwards and embarked on a near-fatal drink and drugs binge on November 18. His representative Jodi Ritzen tells Eonline.com, "(Patrick) not only continued with drugs and alcohol but started to black out and make rash decisions while under the influence, causing him to nearly overdose last Thursday evening."
Patrick's family and friends staged an intervention after the actor flew to Los Angeles, and they convinced him to enroll in a new substance abuse course to deal with his issues. The troubled star agreed, and he will now stay at the Oasis centre in Orange County, California for "a minimum of 30 days with seven days in detox", according to Ritzen.
She adds, "With the amount of alcohol and drugs that Patrick was consuming, especially having only one kidney, he is lucky to be alive."
Jessica Simpson and Eric Johnson Burst into Tears for Proposal
Jessica Simpson burst into tears when her fiance Eric Johnson popped the question earlier this month because his marriage proposal came as "a total surprise". The sports star asked for Simpson's hand in marriage on November 11 after six months of dating, and the singer admits she had no idea what her partner was planning.
Simpson reveals Johnson requested her parents' permission before asking her to marry him, and she was so overwhelmed by the romantic gesture she couldn't stop crying. She tells America's "The Early Show", "(He) had a plan a long time ago. He had a (talk) with my mom and dad about it... He was a gentleman about it."
"(It was) a total surprise. I had to sit on his knee. I was shocked. To really get what was happening... I said 'Yes' and we both definitely were teary-eyed. I didn't even try the ring on until five minutes in. I just sat there and cried with him."
Simpson was delighted with Johnson's decision to buy her a ruby ring instead of a traditional diamond, because the gem symbolises her birth stone, and she also wants their wedding ceremony to be "different" because she has already walked down the aisle once before.
She adds, "I've already done the traditional thing. I wanted to do something that was different." Simpson was previously wed to Nick Lachey. They divorced in 2006 after three years of marriage.
After Saving Man on Mountain Prince William Named Hero
British royal Prince William has been hailed a real-life hero after helping to rescue a man stranded on a mountain in Wales, two days after announcing his engagement to Kate Middleton. The 28-year-old heir returned to work as a helicopter rescue pilot for the Royal Air Force immediately after revealing his plans to wed on Tuesday, November 16 - and one of his team's first call outs on Thursday saw them come to the aid of Greg Watkins, who had suffered a suspected heart attack on Mount Snowdon, the highest peak in Wales.
The Prince's four-man crew managed to lift Watkins to safety in wet and windy conditions and he has expressed his gratitude to the young royal and his colleagues. Watkins tells Britain's Sunday Mirror newspaper, "If it wasn't for him and the rest of his crew, I'd be dead."
"He'd probably say he was just doing his job but, to me, he and his crew are heroes. The weather was appalling up on that mountain. How he managed to get the helicopter so close defies belief. The fog was so thick at times, you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. The rain was lashing down and it was howling a gale."
And Watkins admits it took him a while to realize it had been the Prince at the controls of the chopper: "I didn't know Prince William was flying the helicopter until we landed at the hospital. Even then, I felt too unwell for it to register much."
"I'd only been watching him announce the engagement on television with Kate a few hours earlier - it was his first mission since going back to work. I feel lucky to be alive but even luckier to have been rescued by the future king."
Charlie Sheen refused to take no action after escort Capri Anderson, who was found with the actor during his October Plaza hotel meltdown, conducted a TV interview and claimed Sheen had threatened her life. On Monday, November 22, the "Two and a Half Men" actor hit back the allegation by filing a lawsuit against Anderson in Los Angeles County Superior Court, People reported.
In the lawsuit, Sheen stated that Capri tried to extort $1 million from him after their "consensual encounter" in the New York hotel room. "This case involves a shakedown and extortion of the internationally known actor and celebrity Charlie Sheen... by an opportunist pornographic film star and publicity-hungry scam artist," the lawsuit stated.
Anderson, whose real name is Christina Walsh, was said fabricating "a sensational tale about being assaulted, battered and held against will" and threatening "to embarrass him and attempt to damage his career by going to the media with her false tale."
And as Sheen "refused to succumb to Walsh's extortionate and illegal demands", Anderson's representative reportedly contacted Aspen authorities to get Sheen's probation violated and gave the ABC interview during which Anderson claimed Sheen put his hands around her neck.
The suit, however, mentioned that "at no time did Sheen assault, batter or threaten Walsh." And Anderson was said telling third parties following the hotel drama that she had not been battered and telling the NYPD Sheen acted "like a total gentleman."
Meanwhile, Anderson's attorney, Keith M Davidson, has released a response to Sheen's extortion allegation. "It's a blatant attempt by them to muddy the waters and confuse the situation," he told People. "They are throwing a bunch of mud at the wall and hoping something will stick."
On the suit mentioning Anderson told the NYPD that Sheen acted "like a total gentleman," Davidson explained, "At the beginning of the night he was acting as a gentleman, but not at the end when he was threatening to kill her."
After talking about female fans who are crazy about him and things that they did to attract him, Tom was challenged to break as many thing as he could using golf stick and balls in 21 seconds. While the Draco Malfoy of "Harry Potter" movie series could only break two things, host George managed to damage three things with his golf swing.
Having a wonderful time on the show, Tom wrote on his Twitter page, "Had a great time with @georgelopez thanks for having me, the crew and crowd were fantastic! i love my harry putter!! also met @NeYoCompound who was charming! loving the music!"
