Celebrity Todays: February 2011

Monday, February 28, 2011

Oscar documentary nominees aren't afraid of Banksy

Lucy Walker is more worried about gussying up for the 83rd annual Academy Awards than worrying about whether Banksy will make his mark on Sunday's ceremony. The director of the transformative garbage dump chronicle "Waste Land" is among the nominees facing the infamously elusive street artist for the documentary feature Oscar.

"I'm a female documentary filmmaker," Walker said Saturday at a posh HBO reception honoring this year's documentary nominees at the Four Seasons hotel. "Nothing can scare me as much as standing on a red carpet next to movie stars."

Other nominees up against Walker's "Waste Land" and Banksy's is-it-real-or-not "Exit Through the Gift Shop" include the Afghanistan war account "Restrepo" by Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger and the financial meltdown tale "Inside Job" by Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs. Partygoers were buzzing that Oprah Winfrey would be presenting their awards.

"What's happening this year with documentary films is as exciting as what's happening with narrative films," said nominee Josh Fox, the director of environmental expose "Gasland," which a natural gas industry group sought to disqualify from awards consideration. "If there's controversy, whether that's the gas industry, Banksy or Oprah, it's all good."

Banksy, the mysterious graffiti star who intentionally keeps his identity a secret, apparently hasn't shown up to any of the week's events, including a Wednesday panel of the documentary filmmaker nominees at the Academy's Beverly Hills headquarters and the Independent Spirit Awards, where "Exit Through the Gift Shop" won the documentary award Saturday.

Thierry Guetta, the eccentric Frenchman and street-art fan who appears in Banksy's film, accepted the trophy on his behalf. He said backstage that he didn't know where the elusive director was or whether he would be attending Sunday's ceremony. Jaimie D'Cruz, the film's producer, offered the same teasing statement when he appeared at Wednesday's panel.

Several new pieces apparently erected by Banksy began appearing around Los Angeles last week, though no new handiwork has been posted to his web site since earlier this week when two murals by Banksy were spotted in East Los Angeles and a tank tagged with the phrase "It looks a bit like an elephant" was glimpsed off the Pacific Coast Highway in Santa Monica.

Other attendees at Saturday's documentary soiree included several short documentary contenders. Among them were "Poster Girl" star Robynn Murray with filmmakers Sara Nesson and Mitchell W. Block; and "Killing in the Name" director Jed Rothstein with Ashraf Daas, the film's subject who lost over a dozen family members in a 2005 terrorist attack in Jordan.

Kate Middleton "It's a Nice Day for a Black Wedding Dress?"

Back in early January, Kate Middleton caused a royal scandal by wearing black to a friend's wedding. She is not alone in creating a first faux pas as a newly engaged royal. Her late future mother-in-law, Princess Diana, was literally in the same shoes as Kate wearing black to an event.

The so-called shocking ensemble comprised of dark colors, with a velvet coat. Some British reporters wonder if she'll wear black on her wedding day. Once upon a time white was not the acceptable wedding color. The color black is now becoming more appreciated and fashionable as a wedding dress color. Black makes one look slimmer. Who knows what color Kate's dress will be on April 29?

It all started with her propensity for wearing dark colors to her royal friends, Harry Aubrey's and Louise Stourton's, wedding in Yorkshire, England, on Jan. 8. Prince William, Prince Harry and Princess Beatrice, the daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of West Yorksire, were also in attendance. This was a royal family outing as William was an usher.

Kate's wedding guest ensemble featured a black pillbox hat, black velvet Libelula topcoat and a black dress that was above the knee with a sheer neckline. Traditionally, the royals only wear black for funerals. Shortly after she was engaged to Prince Charles, Diana caused quite a stir by wearing a long black gown with a revealing neckline to an official event.

This is not a color one would think to have as a wedding dress, though it is gaining acceptance little by little. They now come in all types of styles for the average bride. The traditional white wedding gown is becoming more antiquated as it is meant to be for purity and a virgin.

One of the all-time classic fashion pieces is the little black dress. Black is a hugely popular color to wear in the evenings. Economically speaking, another reason more and more brides are going for black wedding dresses is they can wear it for other occasions. It is nearly impossible to find another way to wear a white wedding dress.

Wearing different colors, such as red, as a wedding dress is catching on. Some brides may want to wear their favorite color, which isn't surprising if Kate decides on this trend. Times have greatly changed when Charles and Diana got married in 1981. Not only that, Prince William is not in direct line to the throne yet. Hopefully, royal traditions will be a bit relaxed for William and Kate as this isn't a state occasion.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Elizabeth Taylor to Remain in Hospital for Several More Days

Elizabeth Taylor will remain at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for several more days to be treated for congestive heart failure, her publicist Sally Morrison said today.
It was confirmed earlier this week by Morrison that Taylor, 78, was admitted to the hospital after suffering symptoms from congestive heart failure.

Morrison did not offer details of the treatment and did not know exactly how long Taylor would be in the hospital.

"She had a pretty good day Saturday, and a good night," Morrison said today. "At this stage, with her history, they're going to want to keep her in for a while just to make sure they've fixed what they needed to fix."

Previously Morrison expressed appreciation for concern from Taylor's fans, but requested privacy for her client while she is being treated.

"Her family and close friends are appreciative of the warm support and interest of her loyal fans but have asked that people respect her privacy and allow her medical team the time and space to focus on restoring her back to health," Morrison said in a written statement.

Late Thursday evening, Morrison denied a tabloid report that the screen legend was rushed to the hospital with intense abdominal pain.

"Ms. Taylor was hoping to attend the 25th Anniversary event of AmFAR last night [Wednesday] where she was honored by the organization," read an e-mail to ABC News Thursday on behalf of Morrison.

"Unfortunately, the combination of the unstable weather conditions and the fact that she was feeling under the weather forced her to make the decision not to travel. A message from Elizabeth was released at the AmFAR event last night.

"It seems that the combination of her non attendance last night, combined with the fact she was photographed last week leaving her dentist's office in a wheelchair, has caused a lot of negative speculation," the statement added. "Thanks for your concern."

Friday, February 25, 2011

Summer Look book for Pull&Bear 2011

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Thursday, February 24, 2011

London Fashion Week with Oliver Spencer autumn/winter collections.

No one could blame the menswear designer Oliver Spencer of being at all misty-eyed about the past, going by his strong debut show on London Fashion Week's closing day.

Individually many of the pieces he showed could be said to hark back to gentler times. Yes, the tweedy, useful tailoring that his legions of fans so love was - thankfully - still there. But it was all teamed with outof place stuff like camouflage combat trousers and sportswear, so that the overall effect was hard-edged, manly and thoroughly don't-mess-with-me modern, rather than poetic or - heaven forbid - fey.

It helped that the models looked like they really meant business, almost to a man. In fact, a few were so muscular and squat they could have just stepped off the fairground or boxing ring.The standout pieces for me were the herringbone jackets and trousers, cut much closer to the body than Spencer has done to date, along with a fitted tan-colored shearling gilet.

But Spencer is so in tune with how modern men dress that everything he showed will sell and sell well. And I say that because I really mean it, not because his models spooked me.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

London Fashion Week eyed with Mulberry's fairy tale.

In a very stylish hotel, in a make believe forest, English comfort brand Mulberry got the third day of London�s Fashion Week off to storybook start with a show that was made from a dream.
The company�s imaginative director, Emma Hill, echoed the fairy-tale setting of Roald Dahl�s Fantastic Mr. Fox at London�s Claridges Hotel on Sunday, setting the scene for her Autumn Winter 2011 collection by making her fantasy come to life.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Rihanna rocks Celeb-Studded NBA All-Star game

With a celebrity-studded crowd looking on, Rihanna rocked the halftime show at the NBA All-Star game on her 23rd birthday.

She had other big names helping her sing her hits Sunday, with Drake joining in on "What's My Name?" and working "happy birthday" into the lyrics. Dripping in gold chains, a red-clad Kanye West came out for "All of the Lights," which is off his latest album but features Rihanna.

At halftime, the lights inside Staples Center went out and the video screens filled with water droplets, setting the stage for Rihanna to emerge from behind a wall singing "Umbrella."

The red-haired singer soon shed her short black suit jacket and white scarf to reveal a short black skirt and a rhinestone halter. She shimmied her way through "Only Girl (In the World)" and didn't flinch when her huge hoop earring fell off her left ear in mid-song.

While it was a working day for Rihanna, her fellow music stars relaxed in their seats while watching the 60th annual All-Star game. The West team, led by Kobe Bryant's 37 points, defeated the East 148-143.

Beyonce and hubby Jay-Z sat courtside, with Justin Bieber (MVP of Friday's All-Star celebrity game) two seats away. Sean "Diddy" Combs, Stevie Wonder (wearing headphones), Grammy winner Bruno Mars, Keri Hilson, Ne-Yo, Gene Simmons, and "American Idol" judge Steven Tyler were scattered around the arena. Rapper Nicki Minaj snacked on pink cotton candy.

Later, Rihanna sat courtside next to 16-year-old Bieber, making for a striking contrast between her flaming long hair and his famous shaggy 'do.

Benny, the Chicago Bulls mascot, jumped into the seat next to singer John Legend and his girlfriend-model Chrissy Teigen to joke around.

Canadian singer Melanie Fiona sang her country's national anthem, and Los Angeles native Josh Groban did the U.S. anthem. With plenty of fog swirling, Lenny Kravitz played during the pregame introductions.

Among the movie and TV stars in attendance were Dustin Hoffman, Spike Lee, Warren Beatty, Rick Fox and girlfriend-actress Eliza Dushku, and Nick Cannon (without wife Mariah Carey). CNN talk show host Piers Morgan furiously worked his cell phone during most of the action.

Snoop Dogg, Terrell Owens, Chris Tucker, tennis star Venus Williams, and actors Forest Whitaker, Noah Wyle and Ellen Pompeo took in the show, too. Los Angeles Lakers fan Jack Nicholson was bumped out of his usual courtside seat.

Actress Gabrielle Union walked the magenta carpet outside the arena before the game, dishing on her boyfriend, Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade. "His closet is way bigger than mine. He's way, way, way into clothes that his closet is like five times the size of mine," Union said.

Wade loves different scents, too. "He is a little bit obsessed with the smell of cocoa butter. He loves it for himself," she said. "He's got, I think, over 30 different colognes." If the fashion police had been on patrol, they might have cited former NBA great Darryl Dawkins.

Standing 6-foot-11, the man nicknamed "Chocolate Thunder" for his ferocious dunking ability made an even louder statement by wearing a lime-colored pinstriped suit. As soon as Orlando Magic forward Dwight Howard spotted Dawkins, he couldn't help but offer a critique.

"He looks like a big lizard. Aw-w-w, man," Howard said. "I thought last night's suit was terrible, but then he came out today looking like a highlighter? That's probably one of the worst suits I've ever seen in my life."

While Howard and many of the other arriving NBA players dressed up in suits and ties, Lakers star Bryant dressed down in jeans and a black leather jacket.