FANCY LIVING MAGAZINE. NOV. 2005. P.100

THE WORLD OF STARS AND CELEBRITIES: WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM  THIS YEAR AND WHAT THEY GOSSIPED ABOUT

From the Desk of Jean-Luc Marchand, Bonie Caprese, Priscilla M. Oden and Sheila Sears

Disease May Kill Me Says Anderson . Anderson: “I think I've got a good 10 years left in me.”

Anderson is being treated with alternative medicine

Anderson, 36, told us: "I think I've got a good 10 years left in me, which is sad, too. Maybe 15, if I'm lucky." The former Baywatch actress and tabloid darling was diagnosed with the illness in 2001. It causes inflammation of the liver, which can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure. About 3.9 million Americans have the disease. Anti-viral drugs are a standard treatment, and therapy is successful about half the time. But Anderson is not taking interferon, the inject able drug hepatitis patients often use. Her homeopathic doctor, Wendy Hewland, told the magazine she had made a single remedy specifically for Anderson as an alternative form of medicine. Anderson, who is a vegetarian, said: "It's scary, but lately I've been feeling great. For some reason, my liver keeps getting healthier." She also revealed she was no longer planning to marry singer Kid Rock, to whom she became engaged in April last year. "Our relationship is not really something you put a label on," she said. Anderson was formerly married to ex-Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee, father of her children Dylan and Brandon. Pamela Anderson says hepatitis C, which she was diagnosed with in 2001, will probably kill her in a decade. "I think I've got a good 10 years left in me, which is sad, too. Maybe 15, if I'm lucky," Anderson tells Us Weekly magazine in an article for the Nov. 3 issue. "It's scary, but lately I've been feeling great. For some reason, my liver keeps getting healthier." Hepatitis C causes inflammation of the liver, which can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure. Anti-viral drugs are a standard treatment, and therapy is successful about half the time. But Anderson isn't taking interferon, the injectable drug hepatitis patients often use. Her homeopathic doctor, Wendy Hewland, tells the magazine she "made a single remedy specifically for Pam" that Anderson is using as an alternative form of medicine. The 36-year-old actress, who starred in Baywatch also says she's no longer planning to marry singer Kid Rock. They were engaged in April 2002. "We're not engaged anymore. Our relationship is not really something you put a label on," she says. "He wanted to buy me a house in Malibu, Calif., (in August), but the thing is, I really just need to be with my kids and work on their relationship with their father."  

Baywatch Star's Lettuce Advice . Actress Pamela Anderson has donned a lettuce leaf bikini to persuade fat Britons to become vegetarian.

The ex-Baywatch star launched the national campaign in Liverpool, which was recently named as one of the five fattest cities in the UK. Anderson will appear on a billboard poster across the city, wearing just a few strategically-placed lettuce leaves. The poster is also expected to go up in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stoke-on-Trent and Wolverhampton, the other four "fat" cities. Commissioned by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), the poster's slogan reads: "Turn over a new leaf - try vegetarian", and gives the GoVeg website address. Peta spokesman Sean Gifford said: "Pamela is a friend of the animals and a long-term vegetarian, so she was more than happy to help us with this campaign. "We hope she will appeal to the demographic of young men, who can be more resistant to vegetarianism. "This is a tantalizing image and we hope even the most die-hard carnivores may be tempted to go to the website and learn about what eating meat is doing to their bodies and to the animals who suffer. "We want to get the message across that Sunday roasts are sending animals to abattoirs and Liverpudlians into intensive care." The poster, which was put up in the Tuebrook area of Liverpool, received a warm reception from locals. Joiner Matt Riley, 22, said: "Pammie's looking good but I'm not sure if she would turn me into a vegetarian. "It might make me start having salad with my steak, though."

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  FANCY LIVING MAGAZINE. NOV. 2005. P.101

THE WORLD OF STARS AND CELEBRITIES: WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM  THIS YEAR AND WHAT THEY GOSSIPED ABOUT

From the Desk of Jean-Luc Marchand, Bonie Caprese, Priscilla M. Oden and Sheila Sears

Diaz sues to block topless pics

Hollywood star Cameron Diaz is suing to stop a photographer from releasing topless pictures of her taken before she became a well-known movie actress, court documents showed overnight. The blond star of films such as Charlie's Angels and Something About Mary filed suit in Los Angeles earlier this month to stop snapper John Rutter from selling the apparently compromising photographs. Diaz, 30, alleged in documents filed in Los Angeles Superior Court that a signature purporting to be hers that appears on a release form which Rutter produced as evidence of his right to sell the pictures had been forged. Her publicist, Brad Cafarelli, declined to characterise the photos, but according to Rutter, they include topless shots of a then-21-year-old Diaz who went on to become a hot Hollywood property. Cafarelli accused Rutter of attempted extortion, prompting Los Angeles County investigators to go to the photographer's apartment last month. No criminal charges have been filed against Rutter. But the photographer denied any attempt to extort money from the actress, telling the Inside Edition entertainment television show that he had offered to sell the pictures to her first as a courtesy.  "This was a negotiation for a right of first refusal with Cameron Diaz's lawyers," Rutter said. "A few hours after her lawyers offered to buy the photos my place was raided." A hearing on Diaz's request for an injunction blocking sale of the pictures will be held on August 18. Diaz has also appeared in films that include My Best Friend's Wedding, Vanilla Sky, and Gangs of New York.

Diaz cries extortion over topless photos

 "Charlie's Angels" babe Cameron Diaz is launching an extortion case against a photographer who took topless photos of her when she was a struggling model, reports IMDB.com. Photographer John Rutter reportedly told Diaz the pictures and a video will go public unless she buys them. The blond stunner subsequently informed police, who seized the raunchy material during a raid on Rutter's Los Angeles home. She's now allegedly ordered her lawyers to make an extortion case against Rutter. Rutter said: "The cops came in and tore up my place. They took all my work. They were here for five hours. They haven't arrested or charged me with anything. I don't know what is going on. "I own the copyright on the pictures," he continued. "My lawyer offered her a chance to buy the pictures, as I thought it was the right thing to do, since so many other people wanted to buy them." Rutter said a rep for Diaz offered to pay him $3.2 million for the pictures and videos hours before the police raided his home.-Knight Ridder Report.

Justin overtakes Becks to sexiest man title

Justin Timberlake is the world's sexiest man, according to a new poll. The former NSync singer overtook David Beckham to top Company magazine's annual 100 Sexiest Men survey. The 22-year-old, currently linked to Cameron Diaz, shot up 46 places to take the crown after enjoying an extraordinary year of success. Brad Pitt was in third place, followed by Duncan James from Blue and Robbie Williams. But there was bad news for Robbie as he also came seventh in the world's unsexiest man poll, narrowly beating Prime Minister Tony Blair. In the sexiest man list, Colin Farrell was the highest new entry at number six. And Shane Ritchie was named the 17th sexiest man on the planet after his role as EastEnders' Alfie Moon turned him into an unlikely heart-throb.  

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FANCY LIVING MAGAZINE. NOV. 2005. P.102

THE WORLD OF STARS AND CELEBRITIES: WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM  THIS YEAR AND WHAT THEY GOSSIPED ABOUT

From the Desk of Jean-Luc Marchand, Bonie Caprese, Priscilla M. Oden and Sheila Sears

Naomi Watts finally tasting success. Actress appears in four upcoming films. 

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Naomi Watts is making up for lost time -- and on her terms. The 33-year-old Australian actress has made nine movies in the past two years and has four films in the can, including 21 Grams opposite Sean Penn and Benicio Del Toro, David O. Russell's I Heart Huckabee's and The Assassination of Richard Nixon. The pace is a far cry from when she struggled in her 20s making small films of varying quality while Nicole Kidman, her best friend, ascended the ranks. Then came Mulholland Drive and last year's hit thriller The Ring. "I think I have better taste now than I did then," Watts told the San Francisco Chronicle on Sunday. "I've done movies almost back to back for the past year and a half, and I'm not getting talked into anything for anyone -- it has to be my decision. "That's one of the lucky things about getting the success later on. I know how I want to dress, I know what kind of house I want to live in, I just know more about myself, and that's true about the roles I want to play and what parts of myself I want to express. You're just more in touch with yourself."-Canadian Press. Photo Credit: AP/Kevork Djansezian.

Carly Simon Gives Away Who Is 'So Vain'

 Carly Simon will finally reveal who's so vain to a man with major connections in the media world -- should he ever decide to break his vow of secrecy. But Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC sports and NBC Olympics, said he'll never tell once Simon divulges to him the subject of her 1972 song "You're So Vain" after a private performance in about two weeks. Ebersol won the information with a $50,000 bid in a charity auction; he also gets a lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. "It won't be hard to keep a secret," he said on NBC's "Today" show Tuesday morning. Ebersol said Simon gave him one clue about the man's identity that she said he could reveal: He has the letter "e" in his name. That could be any of the chief suspects: actor Warren Beatty, whom Simon dated; Mick Jagger, who sang backup on the song; and her ex-husband, James Taylor. Ebersol said he was happy to put up the cash for a secret he can't tell. "It's a great cause and I wanted to make sure Carly didn't have to tell a total stranger," Ebersol said. The auction Monday raised $500,000 to benefit Martha's Vineyard Community Services, which provides child care, counseling, substance abuse treatment services and visiting nurses to the community. Other celebrities offered dinner, lunch or golf, including actors Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen; newswoman Diane Sawyer and her husband, director Mike Nichols; and veteran newsman Walter Cronkite. The annual event has raised nearly $4 million for Community Services since it began in 1979.

Sarai wants to be the female Eminem : White girls have traditionally had no impact in rap

NEW YORK- Eminem has disproved the notion that white boys can't rap. White girls, on the other hand, have had almost zero impact on the genre in its 30-year history. Remember Tairrie B? Probably not. Wait, there's . . . hmmmm. Actually, the most influential white woman in rap history may be punk princess Deborah Harry, whose rhymes in the 1980 hit Rapture helped take rap mainstream. But now a new face, Sarai, is raising hopes that there might be someone new -- a Feminem -- to go where none have gone before. "Eminem has definitely opened people's minds, that there could be a white artist actually mastering the skill," says Sarai, a 20-year-old, blue-eyed blonde from Kingston, N.Y., about two hours north of the city where rap was born. Her debut album, The Original, was released by Epic Records last week. The first single, the party song Ladies, has been getting airplay on hip-hop stations and MTV. One of Sarai's producers is Scott Storch, a founding member of the hip-hop band The Roots who's worked with artists ranging from Eminem to Christina Aguilera. Storch says when he first heard Sarai, "she was doing something different than I had ever heard before, sort of hip-hop with a white female, and actually bringing it off like a real sister. I was a little surprised and definitely a little intrigued."  Unlike Eminem, whose race is stamped all over his nasal delivery, Sarai's skin tone won't be readily apparent to listeners - she actually sounds a bit like one-time Jay-Z protege Amil.Until the superstar producer Dr. Dre ushered Eminem into the rap game in 1999, white people had a checkered history in rap. Unless they completely dissed their white heritage -- like the late 1980s group 3rd Bass -- or delivered comedy -- like the early Beastie Boys -- they were usually dismissed. And who could forget street poseur Vanilla Ice of Ice Ice Baby fame, who will go down in history as the Pat Boone of rap? Even considering Vanilla Ice, rap has been worse for white women. "I never came across a white female rapper who could rap," says Damon Dash, the Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder who helped put Jay-Z on the map. A few have made blips. Eazy-E had protege Tairrie B, described back then as the Madonna of rap (she's since gone metal). The trio Luscious Jackson has gotten attention, though more from the rock contingent than the rap community. Currently, the trio Northern State has gotten good reviews, and the group Fannypack, which had a minor hit this summer with the novelty song Cameltoe, has a white rapper. But for the most part, coming up with names of notable white female rappers seems like a challenging game of Trivial Pursuit. Dash says that's "probably because there hasn't been anyone good enough. I mean, Eminem was like the first real good white male rapper." "It's hard enough for any kind of female rapper to stay in the game and compete with the male rappers, so being white and being female makes it all that much harder," he said. Princess Superstar, a sexually frank white rapper sometimes called the white Lil' Kim, can attest to that. "We've got a lot of racial issues here, and sometimes it plays itself out in the music game," says the rapper, who puts out her music on her own label. "Any white female rapper is going to fight against being considered a novelty." In addition, since rap is as much or more so about the street life than black life, white acts are often rejected for not having street cred. Sarai's official bio makes it clear she wasn't a child of privilege, noting she's the daughter of a "single mother" and mentioning she took jobs to help support her family. She says she grew up in a multi-racial neighborhood with "all different kind of income levels." "Everybody thinks that I'm from a big white house and this white picket fence and my parents bought me a Mercedes on my 16th birthday," she says. Sarai says she grew up listening to Public Enemy, the Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur. She got her break when she met a producer in Atlanta during a vacation with a friend; she's lived in that music hotspot for the past four years. Sarai describes her sound as more mainstream than hardcore rap, and her personality seems to bear that out.

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FANCY LIVING MAGAZINE. NOV. 2005. P.103

THE WORLD OF STARS AND CELEBRITIES: WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM  THIS YEAR AND WHAT THEY GOSSIPED ABOUT

From the Desk of Jean-Luc Marchand, Bonie Caprese, Priscilla M. Oden and Sheila Sears

She describes herself as a "loving person" and doesn't pepper her talk with street slang (or even curses, catching herself before uttering a cuss during a recent interview). Whether Sarai will make it big remains to be seen. But Dash says if she has the skills, she'll be accepted. Record companies "are always looking to break a white rapper. They're always looking to break a white anything," laughs Dash. "If somebody is white and they can rap, that means MTV, that means middle America." But Sarai says she hopes people eventually look past her skin colour and see just another rapper. "It's always gonna be, 'Yo, it's a white girl,' " she says. "Eventually, they have to look past it."

Adams Had Affair with Di

Bryan Adams' former girlfriend claims the Canadian rock star had an affair with Diana after her divorce from Prince Charles. Adams reportedly called the claim conjecture. In an interview with a Danish magazine picked up Wednesday by British newspapers, Cecilie Thomsen said Adams cheated on her with Diana in 1996. Thomsen's allegations in Billed Bladet come after former royal butler Paul Burrell wrote in his recently released book that the Princess of Wales had nine secret lovers, leading to speculation that Adams was among them. "I knew Diana had an affair with Bryan," the Danish actress was quoted as saying in Britain's Daily Mail newspaper. "Bryan knew Paul Burrell very well and Paul was part of the inner circle around Bryan, and he also introduced him to Diana." Adams reportedly described Thomsen's claims as speculation. "Miss Thomsen doesn't know anything about my friendship with Diana, nor does anyone else," the Daily Mail quoted him as saying. "Anything you have read from these reports is pure conjecture and supposition." Thomsen, 28, is probably best known for her appearance in the Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies. The 12-year-relationship between Adams and Thomsen ended last year. In his book A Royal Duty, Burrell doesn't name Diana's suitors, but describes them as "a sporting legend, a leading musician, a novelist, a lawyer, an entrepreneur, a billionaire who ran his own empire and one extremely famous politician." One of Britain's Sunday tabloids, The People, recently claimed the musician was Adams.

Ballerina Sues Bolshoi Over Dismissal

The next act of ballerina Anastasia Volochkova's battle with the Bolshoi will take place in court. Volochkova, who was fired from the Bolshoi Theatre amid allegations that she was too heavy for male dancers to lift, filed a lawsuit in a Moscow court seeking back pay and other damages, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported on Wednesday. The Tverskoi district court scheduled the initial hearing for next Monday into Volochkova's suit against the Bolshoi administration. The Tverskoi district court scheduled the initial hearing for next Monday into Volochkova's suit against the Bolshoi administration. The Bolshoi fired the 27-year-old dancer last month over a contract dispute. It came amid allegations that her weight made it difficult for the Bolshoi to find roles for the star ballerina. Russia's Labor Ministry said her firing violated labor laws and called on the Bolshoi to reinstate her. But the ministry acknowledged that the final decision rested with the theatre, and the Bolshoi has refused to budge. "Unfortunately, I have to do it because I am seeking justice and want to assert my rights as well as the rights of other artists," Volochkova was quoted by ITAR-Tass as saying. "Being on the Bolshoi staff means so much to me, and I believe that my dismissal was illegal." The Bolshoi said it had no immediate comment. Volochkova, who is five-foot-six and weighs about 110 pounds, has called talk of her weight "humiliating and absurd."

 

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FANCY LIVING MAGAZINE. NOV. 2005. P.104

THE WORLD OF STARS AND CELEBRITIES: WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM  THIS YEAR AND WHAT THEY GOSSIPED ABOUT

From the Desk of Jean-Luc Marchand, Bonie Caprese, Priscilla M. Oden and Sheila Sears

Steven Paul Smith Kills Himself . "Nothing’s gonna drag me down to a death that’s not worth cheating" , said  Elliott Smith

With a seemingly self-inflicted knife wound to the chest, Steven Paul Smith, better known to his many fans as singer/songwriter Elliott Smith, revoked his own words from Baby Britain and, at 34, joined what Kurt Cobain’s mother referred to as "that stupid club" of rock musicians who let their world destroy them. Smith wasn’t an idolized rock star like Cobain, nor was he as revered as Jeff Buckley, who had already reached oracle status when he drowned in mysterious circumstances in 1997, but he did share his peers’ romance, honesty and vulnerability. Elliott Smith was a modern folk singer, composing stark, melodic laments influenced by pop and rock tradition, from the ballads of Neil Young to The Beatles at their most plaintive. His lyrics dealt obliquely with thorny topics - alcoholism, depression, drug addiction - on which he would rarely be drawn in interviews. He leaves a canon of five albums, each one more expansive than - yet as intimate as - the last. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1969, raised in Dallas, Texas, and adopted an itinerant lifestyle as an adult, enjoying spells in New York, Los Angeles and Massachusetts, where he went to college.

"I just like moving around because, you know, you only live once," he told Rolling Stone in 2000.
At the time of his death he was living in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, but Elliott Smith’s heartland was the Pacific North West and Portland Oregon’s fertile alternative rock scene. He enjoyed some domestic success with his band Heatmiser in the early to mid-1990s. His solo career dates from this period too, when he would record acoustically on a four-track in his basement, as an outlet for his more introspective material. He released two sparse but touching albums, Roman Candle and Elliott Smith in the States, but it was his third album Either/Or which brought him to the attention of UK audiences. He was Oscar-nominated for the haunting track Miss Misery after director Gus Van Sant used his music on the soundtrack of his film Good Will Hunting. In a moment as incongruous as Belle & Sebastian accepting a Brit Award, Smith performed at the ceremony. Uncomfortable with the limelight, he came to regard the track as a millstone and dropped it permanently from his live set. His evocative, wistful music also cropped up in American Beauty and, pointedly, soundtracked a suicide attempt in The Royal Tenenbaums. The circumstantial morbidity mounts up: Smith used to play a cover of Blue Oyster Cult’s Don’t Fear The Reaper as an encore, while the last track on his most recent album Figure 8, released in 2000, is called Bye. There is little point resisting the inevitable myth-making which goes with the premature death of any cherished artist, as fans and critics search for clues to this very private man’s state of mind. It is already known that he had battled heroin addiction and alcoholism; his ambivalent lyrics can only fuel speculation, as much as they provide solace for the listener. Ironically, he was reported to be "feeling better" in his most recent round of interviews. Eels frontman E, a musical kindred spirit, paid tribute on his website, writing: "Elliott was a really sweet guy who wasn’t equipped to deal with some of the cards that life dealt him." But Smith was anxious not to be painted as the suffering artist. "Depressing isn’t a word I would use to describe my music," he said. "But there is some sadness in it - there has to be, so that the happiness in it will matter." Thankfully, the ultimate winners here are his music and those who become acquainted or re-acquainted with it, as a result of the attention his early death will garner. A sixth album, From A Basement On The Hill, was slated for release next year and will surely see the light of day, providing some consolation for those, like me, who cannot get enough of Elliott Smith’s effortlessly affecting music. Tributes on fan message boards have ranged from the candid - "the world is a worse place without you, Elliott" - to the poetic - " I'm sorry your troubles overcame you; great misery often rides alongside great talent. Thank you for leaving all this for me, and for so many others out there in basements and attics, under bridges and in the backs of cars, who let you do the singing when they were just not able." His American label Dreamworks encapsulated Elliott Smith most simply and effectively: "He was his generation’s most gifted singer/songwriter. His enormous talent could change your life with a whisper. We will miss him."

Admits Positive Test

Photo: Dwain would never take drugs... he is always careful about what he is doing said Chambers's stepfather Lascell Golding.

The British Radio Broadcast reported that Chambers' lawyer said the sprinter had failed an out-of-competition test for the banned steroid THG on 1 August. A statement by Chambers said this was not "a willful or calculated attempt on his behalf to deceive the authorities". The statement added that in eight years in competition, Chambers has "never been tempted to succumb to illegal methods of performance enhancement."  Chambers faces a minimum two-year ban if the "B" test confirms the discovery in his urine sample of THG (tetrahydrogestrinone), a newly-discovered drug that is rocking the world of athletics. Chambers' lawyer, Graham Shear, added that "the IAAF (athletics' governing body) and UK Athletics' procedure is still to provide any conclusive decision". If found guilty, Chambers faces a minimum two-year ban from international competition. Under British Olympic Association rules, Chambers would also be barred from Olympic participation for life. Chambers' statement said that his trainer, Remi Korchemny, had instructed him to use as his nutritionist Victor Conte of Balco Laboratories - the company at the center of the THG scandal. It added that when Chambers heard of his positive test, he had challenged Conte, who had assured him "that all supplements given were within IAAF rules". Chambers' lawyer added: "I understand that Mr. Conte continues to deny that the supplements he prepared for my client and other athletes contain any illegal substances. This is a serious matter that the US authorities are investigating." Lyn Davies, the president of UK Athletics and a former Olympic long jump champion, declined to comment directly about the Chambers case. But he told the BBC: "UK Athletics is very vigilant and does everything possible to educate athletes and warn them about the consequences of using drugs.

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FANCY LIVING MAGAZINE. NOV. 2005. P.105

THE WORLD OF STARS AND CELEBRITIES: WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM  THIS YEAR AND WHAT THEY GOSSIPED ABOUT

From the Desk of Jean-Luc Marchand, Bonie Caprese, Priscilla M. Oden and Sheila Sears

"But if you become Olympic champion or world champion today, it means that you become a millionaire. "Obviously the motivations and the temptations are understandable - but it's very disappointing." Another former Olympic champion, Lord Coe, a member of the IAAF council and deputy chairman of London's 2012 Olympic bid, admitted: "Some people will always keep trying to cheat. "We have probably opened a can of worms but I would rather have that embarrassment than see the decline of the sport," he told BBC Radio Five Live. Chambers' step-father, Lascell Golding said: "Dwain would never take drugs. They are talking about someone else. "He is always careful about what he is doing. He wouldn't take anything for his cold unless he is 100% sure." THG came to the attention of the athletics authorities when an anonymous coach turned in a used syringe containing the substance. Until last week it was thought to be undetectable by normal dope tests. But is believed that up to 20 American athletes tested positive for the drug at June's US championships. Athletics' world governing body the IAAF has said that anyone found guilty would face serious consequences. Under American athletics' rules, the athletes in question have not been identified pending analysis of their B samples. Anabolic steroids can improve the body's capacity to train and compete at the highest level. They reduce the fatigue associated with training and the time required to recover after physical exertion. They also promote the development of muscle tissue in the body, with an associated increase in strength and power.

Four US Athletes Test Positive

The news follows the revelation that British 100m sprinter, Dwain Chambers, also tested positive for the previously undetectable drug. The unnamed quartet's "A" samples tested positive for tetrahydrogestrinone (THG), according to the chief executive of USA Track and Field, Craig Masback. Should "B" tests confirm the findings, the athletes face lifetime bans and US$100,000 fines as a result of a new Zero Tolerance initiative introduced by USATF. Three of the four competed at the recent World Championships in Paris, although none were medallists. Authorities in Germany, France and Greece have confirmed they will re-test samples taken at domestic and international events this year. USATF spokesperson, Jill Geer, said the tougher measures were necessary in the light of the recent developments. "Those of us charged with leading the organization have an opportunity and responsibility to take swift and comprehensive action to address this problem," she said. "The cost of creating and implementing an effective programme will be high. To the extent that we succeed by catching more cheaters, the short term pain will be significant. "But, there is no responsible choice other than to follow this course of action." The American athletics federation is just one of the many sporting bodies who have been handed instructions on how to detect the designer steroid. The test for THG, developed by Professor Don Catlin at the University of California, has been forwarded to the various associations by the World Anti-Doping Agency. "We commend the UCLA lab for moving quickly not only to identify this substance, but also for making sure the other laboratories have access to this test as quickly as possible," said Wada's director general David Howman. "This sends a strong message that there will be no delay in catching those who cheat or who believe they can stay one step ahead of the system." Howman also insisted international sports federations and anti-doping agencies re-test previous samples stored in laboratories for THG. The International Association of Athletic Federations have already made clear they plan to re-test all urine samples taken at the World Championships in Paris for the previously undetectable drug. Arne Ljungqvist, head of the International Olympic Committee's medical commission, said it was likely that more positive test results would emerge over the coming months. "It remains to be investigated but I would not be surprised if it has been going on for a year or more," said Ljungqvist. "Athletics is a sort of international community. There may also be some international ramifications. It would surprise me if there were not." The doping control laboratory at UCLA developed a test for THG after an anonymous coach turned in a used syringe containing the substance to the United States Anti-Doping Agency

Photos from L to R: #1 Meg Ryan. #2. Actor Tom Sizemore arrives at court in Los Angeles.  #3. Ms. Heidi Fleiss.

Ryan Says she's not the Adorable Blonde

Meg Ryan, known for sweetheart roles in Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail, plays a writing professor who becomes involved with a police detective in Jane Campion's new erotic thriller, In the Cut. The 41-year-old actress says although she's had a great run playing adorable blondes in comedies, she isn't really like those characters. "There's the idea of me, and then there's me, and there's a gap -- a huge gap," she tells Harper's Bazaar in its November issue. Ryan said in the year since production wrapped, she hadn't accepted any new film roles, mainly to keep the experience of making the movie close to her. "I feel really blessed that Jane trusted me and hired me," she tells the magazine. "I still think back, a year later, about what I learned from her." In the Cut, also starring Mark Ruffalo, Kevin Bacon and Jennifer Jason Leigh, is now in limited release.

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FANCY LIVING MAGAZINE. NOV. 2005. P.106

THE WORLD OF STARS AND CELEBRITIES: WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM  THIS YEAR AND WHAT THEY GOSSIPED ABOUT

From the Desk of Jean-Luc Marchand, Bonie Caprese, Priscilla M. Oden and Sheila Sears

Sizemore Sentenced to Jail for Abuse

Actor Tom Sizemore was sentenced Monday to six months in jail and three years probation for abusing his ex-girlfriend, former Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss. The actor first will go through drug rehabilitation. Judge Antonio Barreto Jr. said he would consider reducing the sentence to 90 days if Sizemore can show at a Jan. 30 hearing that his court-ordered counseling for drugs, anger and domestic violence are working. Prosecutors had requested a one-year sentence. Sizemore, who appeared in Black Hawk Down and Saving Private Ryan, apologized in a letter, saying "personal demons" had taken over his life. "I am very chastened by the trial and my convictions," he wrote. The judge said that drug abuse may have been a catalyst in the abuse but that trial testimony revealed a man with deep problems dealing with women. Messages left on Fleiss's answering machine were so vicious "it's almost impossible to perceive," Barreto said. He also ordered Sizemore to stay away from Fleiss. Fleiss, contacted by phone Monday, called Sizemore "a zero." The two were together for about two years. A TRIBUTE TO FLEISS?! Why not? Read this: Her fans created dozens of sites to honor Heidi Fleiss. We were intrigued and amused. A tribute to Fleiss? Why not? You can call fabulous Heidi Fleiss anything you wish, but you better not call her a two-bit whore. When Heidi got arrested in Beverly Hills in the early 1990s for pimping and pandering, the life she was living was far from that of a  cheap, two-bit whore! Besides living in elegant Beverly Hills surroundings and driving fast cars, Heidi operated a million dollar call girl ring the likes of which Hollywood had never seen before. No matter what type of drugs or kinky sex her customers were in to, just like Dominos, Heidi delivered... and she always made sure the menu was hot! In her heyday, Heidi was known world-wide as the "Hollywood Madam". During and after her lengthy, drawn-out trials, Heidi's cute, pixie-like smile appeared on every tabloid in every supermarket check out line in America. View The Videos To Find Out More About This Awesome Hollywood Legend...A few years ago the popular American TV show, American Justice, interviewed Heidi in prison while filming The Heidi Fleiss Story. Heidi's insight into the chain of events which led up to her receiving over 3 years in prison is oftentimes striking and revealing. Throughout the interview, Heidi offers an inside look at the seamy side of Hollywood. Heidi believes she was unfairly discriminated against because she's a woman. If she were a man, Heidi believes she never would have been busted in the first place. The law would have left her alone. At any rate, there are only a handful of women in Hollywood who are truly beautiful inside and out, and Heidi Fleiss most certainly is one of them... no questions asked!”

Madonna is Writing her Second Book

Madonna: “ My instructor in Kabbalah turned me on to the story, which aims to demonstrate the power of words.”

Less than two months after her debut as a children's author, Madonna has returned to publishing with Mr. Peabody's Apples. The book takes a more conventional approach to a picture book than Madonna's previous effort, The English Roses, which debuted atop the New York Times' list of children's bestsellers and remained there for five weeks. The story in Mr. Peabody's Apples is a little hokey. It begins: "In the town of Happville (which wasn't a very big town), Mr. Peabody was congratulating his Little League team on a great game. They had not won, but no one really cared, because they'd had such a good time playing." But when Billy Little ("who wasn't a very big boy"), Mr. Peabody's No. 1 fan, hears a rumor that Mr. Peabody is a shoplifter, Billy turns on his baseball mentor just like everyone else in town. Since it's a children's picture book, the good guys win and the rumor monger learns his lesson. The book's full-page illustrations by Loren Long are done in a Norman Rockwell-like style, and there's a moral learned at the end. Madonna followed tried-and-true formulas and that's why Mr. Peabody's Apples works and likely will entertain young readers. But it is also why the book seems a little stale. With The English Roses, she crafted a more original -- and complicated -- story of envy and friendship. But the highly stylized line-drawn portraits by fashion artist Jeffrey Fulvimari seem targeted more for adults' eyes than children's.  

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FANCY LIVING MAGAZINE. NOV. 2005. P.107

THE WORLD OF STARS AND CELEBRITIES: WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM  THIS YEAR AND WHAT THEY GOSSIPED ABOUT

From the Desk of Jean-Luc Marchand, Bonie Caprese, Priscilla M. Oden and Sheila Sears

A Practitioner of Buddhism, Reeves Carries the monkish Image of the Loner

From featherhead to virtual-reality savior of humanity. What an odd set of bookends to the career of Keanu Reeves. For more than a decade, no matter the far-ranging roles and genres he tried, Reeves was inescapably identified as the most-excellent but nitwitted dude Ted of 1989's Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and its sequel, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey. Now Reeves, 39, faces life after Neo, the most-solemn messiah of The Matrix trilogy, a demigod prophesied to lead the remnants of humanity to victory against Earth's machine conquerors. What does Reeves do for an encore? The same thing he's done all along: mix things up. "I love doing supporting roles, different genres, different scales of moviemaking," Reeves said. "It's important, it's a wish of mine to be able to do that." In December, Reeves plays second fiddle to Jack Nicholson in the romantic comedy Something's Gotta Give, as an emergency-room doctor wooing an older woman (Diane Keaton). Already completed is a role as an orthodontist in the low-budget comedy Thumbsucker, and Reeves now is shooting the occult comic-book adaptation Constantine. His history of mixing it up has fuelled Keanu-bashing among critics who pigeonholed him early as a screen simpleton and castigated him when he strayed from lunkhead parts. The criticism stings, but he rises above it. "It's terrible. It's a drag. But it's still just a review," Reeves says. "It sucks to have a bad review, but it's not like after I get a bad review, I run outside and start drinking and have a kind of catastrophic depression." The fact that Reeves has excelled at playing the lovable cretin (Bill & Ted) or the cookie-cutter action hero (Speed) has perpetuated the myth that Reeves is a meathead himself. "He plays parts and sometimes guys who were not that quick," says Joel Silver, producer of The Matrix films. "Sometimes a lot of journalists feel that Keanu is the people that he plays. It's really not fair to say that. I don't think (The Sopranos star) James Gandolfini is in the Mafia. But people think that Keanu is not bright. He is very bright. He's a very good actor. Keanu's very well read, he's very conscious of the world, politics, the economy." In conversation, Reeves is highly articulate, though he peppers his speech with dude-like "yeah, mans" and the occasional "most certainly." His demeanor is a mix of California casual and fidgety furtiveness. His co-stars say Reeves is gracious and easygoing, but closer in spirit to the guarded Neo than the goofball Ted. "I would never say he has the carefree Ted in him," said Carrie-Anne Moss, who plays Neo's soul mate, Trinity. "I would say he's so funny and has a great sense of humor. He's a very kind person." A practitioner of Buddhism, Reeves carries the monkish image of the loner, the cypher, a persona that nicely complements his Matrix character. Neo's appeal has as much to do with the gradual uncloaking of the character's humanity as his martial-arts mastery and superpowers, Reeves says. "It's the journey of self, I guess. You start with this kind of loner, outside guy, which a lot of people can relate to, and he goes out into the world," Reeves says. "He falls in love, he has self-doubt, he's questioning the truth, reality. He's got great bravery about him, I think. "He's his own person. He's not a fool. There's a strength about him, but a vulnerability about him at the same time. ... I like him. I really enjoyed playing him. He's a very honorable guy." Politely reticent, Reeves gushes about Matrix creators Andy and Larry Wachowski and the film work itself, but clams up when things stray to his private life, especially to hard times he has borne. His sister has been battling leukemia. Three years ago, Reeves and then-girlfriend Jennifer Syme had a stillborn baby. A year later, after the couple had split, Syme died in a car crash. Asked how he copes, Reeves turns stone-faced and glances away, muttering something about "work and friends and just trying to, uh, oh ...," before his voice trails off. When he looks back, Reeves has a pained look in his eye as he gives a slight nod for the next question. With wordless courtesy, he has managed to change the subject and make it tacitly clear that such matters are off limits. "He's very funny when he decides not to talk," says Laurence Fishburne, who co-stars as Morpheus in The Matrix movies. "I wish I knew how to do it. I've watched him and Clint Eastwood do it. It's amazing. They can just not talk, and that's that."Born in Lebanon, Reeves is the son of an English showgirl and a Chinese-Hawaiian father (Keanu means "cool breeze over the mountains" in Hawaiian). After his parents divorced, Reeves moved with his mother and sister to New York City and later Toronto, where he excelled at hockey and took up acting in his teens. Reeves appeared in acclaimed teen dramas such as River's Edge and Permanent Record before Dangerous Liaisons, Bill & Ted and Parenthood put him on Hollywood's rising-star list. But between Speed and The Matrix -- and in between the first and second Matrix movies -- Reeves played lead or supporting roles in a run of unremarkable studio and independent pictures, such as Johnny Mnemonic and The Replacements. While reviewers savaged many of those movies, Reeves often delivered better performances than he's credited for."I certainly think he's taken more than his share of unfair criticism," Fishburne says."One of the qualities that makes him infinitely lovable is he can take those kinds of hits and keep moving." The Matrix Revolutions leaves open the possibility of further sequels, but Reeves says the story of Neo is complete and his work is done. He looks forward to showcasing a cheerier side in Something's    Gotta Give and Thumbsucker, which should help break the perception that he gravitates toward dark, somber characters. So  Reeves is lightening up on screen. Has he lightened up in real life? "I'm older. I'm an older guy," Reeves says, again copping his no-personal-questions-please game face. "So to answer your question, I'll just say yes." M.G. Vassanji won the Giller Prize on Tuesday night at a gala where book lovers in gowns and tuxes raised their glasses to celebrate the 10th year of the event

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FANCY LIVING MAGAZINE. NOV. 2005. P.108

THE WORLD OF STARS AND CELEBRITIES: WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM  THIS YEAR AND WHAT THEY GOSSIPED ABOUT

From the Desk of Jean-Luc Marchand, Bonie Caprese, Priscilla M. Oden and Sheila Sears

Pink Says Freedom was Uninspiring. Artist found it difficult having control over her album

Photo: Pink poses for photographers with her award for Best Female Video for "Get The Party Started" during the MTV Video Music Awards at New York's Radio City Music Hall earlier this year.

Having complete control over an album may sound liberating for a musician, but Pink found it challenging.  "I've always had people telling me that I can't do something, and then I've proven them wrong, so it was a little uninspiring just to be completely free to do whatever I wanted," the pop singer told reporters in London. She also worried that she wouldn't have enough emotion left to put into the new album, called Try This. "I felt like I poured out my entire 23 years of life into Missundaztood and I figured I'd have to live 20 more years to have anything to talk about, but I was inspired," she said.  Try This hits stores Tuesday, and competition from new releases by Britney Spears and Alicia Keys isn't bothering her. "That's the beautiful thing about the music business, is everybody can win at the same time," she said.  As far as being a role model, Pink said she knows she's not traditional but hopes people appreciate her honesty.

"I would never advise anyone to follow the path that I followed. The only thing I hope they take from me that I will never sit up here and lie about the things I've done because I don't regret any of them," she said. "It's made me a wiser and stronger person."

Cox and Arquette Collaborate on Decor Show / Cox describes Mix It Up as the Osbournes meet Martha Stewart with a dash of Dr. Phil thrown in.

Courteney Cox likes her living space lean and clean. David Arquette revels in collecting everything from miniature pigs to large shoes to nesting dolls, which makes for a lot of clutter. No wonder Arquette felt more comfortable at Cox's house when they began dating. She had food in the refrigerator. He had old pizza boxes and people hanging out watching TV. "It was unbelievable," Cox said, describing Arquette's bachelor pad. "There were people on the couch that I don't even know if he knew. It was just stickers and posters and things. "Moving in together provided Cox with a challenge: how to blend her refined sensibilities with Arquette's outrageous taste and vast collection of tchotchkes. "You've got to get creative when you're married to David," Cox said. "I incorporated some things that my mother couldn't believe, like a woman in bondage with a glass table on her back. It made my house a lot more fun and happy and colorful." Their real-life decorating dilemma inspired the home design series Mix It Up, airing on the Women's Entertainment cable channel. Design and decorating are long-time passions for Cox, who's in her 10th and final season on NBC's Friends.   Cox, 39, and Arquette, 32, met when they co-starred in the Scream movies. They've been married four years. The couple are executive producers of the 30-minute show that follows two roommates -- couples, friends or siblings -- who are at odds stylistically. In each episode, an interior designer is given $2,500 US and three days to transform one room into a living space that is compatible for both individuals. Along for the upheaval are hosts Milos Milicevic and Thea Mann, movers, a painter and a carpenter. Friends and family of the roommates help decide which items get thrown in the "Gotta Go" bucket. Cox and Arquette work behind the scenes. She is the design consultant and he oversees the music, including helping create the show's funky theme song. "Hopefully, this show speaks for itself without me or David being on camera," Cox said. That doesn't mean Cox is opposed to getting dirty. "Courteney is on her hands and knees and she's rewiring people's stereos and she's wiping down walls and she's touching up with paint," Arquette said. "That's the most fun," said Cox, who would like to work as the designer on an episode. Cox describes Mix It Up as the Osbournes meet Martha Stewart with a dash of Dr. Phil thrown in.   "We really focus on the conflict in the show," Arquette said. "People come to us because they have a problem with their home and they don't feel comfortable in it, and they don't feel represented. We try to fix it, and we come in and try to sort of find the fun in it. "Mix It Up enters a cluttered landscape of home design shows, where rooms, backyards and gardens are being redone. "The appeal of this show is it's going to make you laugh, the music's great, we teach you how to accomplish the goal," Cox said. "I cry when the people come in. It's the most exciting thing to see their reactions." The actress has indulged her passions through buying and selling seven houses in 10 years. She's known to haunt flea markets at 6 a.m. in search of a particular furniture style. "Every time I move, I always say, 'This is it. This is so hard. I'm exhausted,' Cox said. "Then one week later, when everything's put away and I'm living there, I want to do it again. I love change." Arquette is used to Cox's penchant for out-with-the-old, in-with-the-new. He's used to coming home and seeing someone redoing curtains or replacing a piece of furniture. Cox donates the throwaways or gives them to family and friends. "Everything is ever-changing at our house," he said.

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FANCY LIVING MAGAZINE. NOV. 2005. P.109

THE WORLD OF STARS AND CELEBRITIES: WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM  THIS YEAR AND WHAT THEY GOSSIPED ABOUT

From the Desk of Jean-Luc Marchand, Bonie Caprese, Priscilla M. Oden and Sheila Sears

Average Joe Premiere: In the dramatic new unscripted relationship series, stunning former beauty queen and NFL cheerleader Melana Scantlin arrives in Palm Springs to live in a mansion, where she awaits the arrival of 16 Prince Charmings to win her heart. What she doesn't know is that the men she will meet are not handsome princes, but are actually "Average Joes"-guys with great hearts, but admittedly average looks, some even describing themselves as 'nerds' and 'geeks.' While Melana must decide how to proceed with the motley crew assembled before her, the guys form bonds and rivalries and experience a range of emotions as the concept of the series unfolds. Some see the chance of a lifetime when they size up their competition, while others face an ego-blow when they find themselves grouped among men they term as losers.

Britney is Sick

For most of us, burning the candle at both ends results in nothing more serious than a sniffle and the need for a good dose of shut-eye. However, the implications for Britney, who according to the Sun, has been regularly raving into the small hours, are a tad more serious. Following the news that Britney's pulled out of the MTV awards and European promotional appearances due to exhaustion, the official line from her record company is that she's recovering from a serious bout of 'flu. However, insiders say that Britney's continual partying has left her a little worse for wear and that the peaky popstrel's absence will have a serious effect on her career: "This is a disaster in commercial terms. Britney's record sales have nose-dived recently. She really needed to work hard to plug this album. She is absolutely exhausted and felt in her condition there was no option but to fly home. But there’s a feeling that her wild partying hasn’t helped things. You can only stumble home at 4am so many times before it catches up with you." Well, let's hope a good dose of mommy's cooking will help the sickly singer recover her health..

Beyonce Stage Drama: Beyonce Knowles fans were kept waiting for over an hour to see their fave booty-shakin' babe make her UK stage debut last night, when a stage manager was injured a after 50ft fall. The Destiny's star was just about to take to her position for the opening song when one of her technical team plunged from the lighting rig. Paramedics were called, and the show was halted until they could take him off to hospital, an hour later.

Being the showbiz trooper that she is (and hearing the sound of 30,000 fans baying for her butt will probably have helped) Beyonce elected for the show to go ahead. But her thoughts were still with her injured crew member, and having told the audience what had happened, she dedicated a medley of Destiny's Child hits to him. Let's hope one of those was 'Survivor', right?

Grizzly Misdemeanor

There's definitely one bear in the animal kingdom that is NOT smarter than average, if reports from the US are to be believed. It seems that a rogue grizzly has worked his way into one of the unsafest places for trespassers in the known universe - Missy Elliott's mum's garden. The foolish furry fiend had stumbled upon the country retreat Missy bought for her mum (who, by rights, should be called Mrs. 'Manners' Elliott, right?) in New Jersey and started to rifle through the bins. Missy told the Guardian: "He trailed garbage across the yard and then just lay there, taking it easy...She was, like, 'Shoot him!' which you can't do, of course." Luckily, the hapless furball soon realized his (cough) boo boo, and headed off to find another snack in a less hazardous place, like the local 'Bear-traps R Us'.

 

Dishing the Dirty

While Den Watts wouldn't eat a green salad, Leslie Grantham does. But Walford's hard man would be proud of the way the actor speaks his own mind about the corrosive power of soap.

The Corrosive Power of Soap Opera:  Apparently, most people who visit Albert Square bring a camera with them. I know this because Sharon, the EastEnders press officer, has just told me so. 'The guys from the tabloids are the worst,' she says, as we pass the historic Fowler fruit and veg stall. 'They get really excited. They tell us the pictures are for their wives, but we know better, don't we, Natalie?' Her colleague nods in agreement and the two of them look at me, smiley and expectant. Alas, I am a flash-free zone - though this is not to say that I am not agog because, somewhat to my amazement, I am. It's just so spooky here in Walford. Perfect in every physical detail but entirely devoid of human life, it's as though some terrible plague has been visited on the place. Alfie! Pauline! Is anybody out there? In half an hour's time, I will be having lunch with Leslie Grantham, aka Dirty Den, who recently returned to EastEnders after an absence of 14 years. At the moment, however, he is indoors, hard at work on a closed set - which means I get the chance to snoop out here. The Queen Vic, the Mini-Mart, the launderette: oddly, these places look more real up close than they do on television, for all that you cannot actually go inside them (the buildings are only fronts). At Walford station, tickets are strewn on a tiled floor; in the square, litter fills the bins. We pass the swings, where the soap's characters think their most mournful thoughts, and the war memorial, where they enjoy their most secret assignations (it is engraved with the names of long-serving EastEnders staff). Ooh, and here's a scoop, fans. Kate Mitchell's nail bar will soon be open, and it has bubblegum pink awnings over its windows. I would love to be able to give you more top insider gossip but, soaps being as leaky as old teapots, security at the BBC's Elstree studios, which are tucked away behind Borehamwood High Street, is very tight indeed. While I am waiting for my tour to begin, I spend 20 minutes sitting in a freezing cold gatehouse while five fluorescent-jacketed guards keep their beady eyes on me and, later, when I return to the lot with Dirty Den in tow, even he is required to stump up a laminated pass (he refuses, thrillingly, and tells the woman at the barrier that, if she doesn't let him in, it will be up to her to explain his absence to a waiting crew). 'So when is Barbara Windsor coming back?' I ask Sharon ever-so-casually, as we stand beside Arthur's bench contemplating the laurel bushes. She affects not to hear me.  

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FANCY LIVING MAGAZINE. NOV. 2005. P.110

THE WORLD OF STARS AND CELEBRITIES: WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM  THIS YEAR AND WHAT THEY GOSSIPED ABOUT

From the Desk of Jean-Luc Marchand, Bonie Caprese, Priscilla M. Oden and Sheila Sears

Cheryl Tweedy: Guilty of Drunken Attack

Photo: Tweedy outside the court said she was disappointed.

The pop star insisted last night she was not a racist, after she was found guilty of attacking a black nightclub attendant. The 20-year-old Girls Aloud singer said she was "stunned and disappointed" after a jury at Kingston Crown Court found her guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. But the singer said she was pleased that she had been cleared of another charge of racially aggravated assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Judge Richard Haworth sentenced Tweedy to 120 hours’ community service and ordered her to pay £500 compensation to victim Sophie Amogbokpa and £3,000 prosecution costs. The judge said it was an "unpleasant piece of drunken violence" and said that Tweedy, of Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne, had shown "no remorse whatsoever". After the sentencing, the pop star stood outside court with her mother and tour manager, while her solicitor, Paul Harris, read out a statement on her behalf. In it, she said she was "thankful that the jury had accepted that this incident has nothing to do with race". Tweedy punched Ms Amogbokpa, 39, a part-time law student, in a row over a handful of lollipops in the lavatory of The Drink nightclub in Guildford, Surrey, on 11 January. Ms. Amogbokpa was left with a black eye and bruising. Judge Haworth gave the community service sentence after receiving a probation report saying she was unlikely to re-offend and said he had taken into account her age and previous good character. The jury of seven men and five women convicted Tweedy by a majority of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Tweedy let out a gasp and covered her face with her hands when the jury foreman announced the verdict. The singer claimed she was acting in self-defense when she punched Miss Amogbokpa.

Warhol's Artwork Fails to Sell . A work by Andy Warhol has failed to reach its asking price at a London auction, having been expected to fetch up to £400,000.

Photo: Warhol is famed for his Pop Art works

Photo: Paul Gauguin's artwork fetched the highest price .

 

Photo: Three of Lichtenstein's works sold .

Other oil paintings which sold include Max Oppenheimer's Vienna String Quartet for £71,289, and Fausto Pirandello Bagnanti's Tetti di Roma, which fetched £54,970 - more than double its pre-sale estimate. And a limited edition etching by Pablo Picasso, Sculpteur et Trois Danseuses Sculptees, was bought for £5,531, while a ceramic ewer by the same artist fetched £2,704. Contemporary works under the hammer included a rare complete set of four prints by Op Art artist Bridget Riley, but they also did not attract buyers. A large selection of contemporary photography by Vanessa Beecroft, Wolfgang Tillmans, Candida Hofer, Andreas Gursky, Thomas Struth, Gunther Forg and Thomas Ruff also featured.  

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FANCY LIVING MAGAZINE. NOV. 2005. P.111

THE WORLD OF STARS AND CELEBRITIES: WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM  THIS YEAR AND WHAT THEY GOSSIPED ABOUT

From the Desk of Jean-Luc Marchand, Bonie Caprese, Priscilla M. Oden and Sheila Sears

Singer Elliott Smith dies

In an effort to quit drinking, Smith said he had undergone treatment which administers an intravenous solution meant to clear the bloodstream of toxins. Smith was born Steven Paul Smith in Nebraska; his mother was a singer and his father was a psychiatrist. He spent most of his childhood with his mother in the suburbs of Dallas and then moved to Portland, Ore., while in high school to live with his father. He studied piano and guitar and began composing songs when he was 13. He started calling himself Elliott in middle school because, he later said, Steve sounded too "jockish." A graduate of Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass., he later joined a Portland punk band called Heatmiser. On the side, he recorded several solo albums — Roman Candle (1994), Elliott Smith (1995) and Either/Or (1997), all on independent labels — that won him a devoted underground following. In 1997, he moved to New York, where Van Sant approached him with an offer to use several of his songs on the soundtrack to Good Will Hunting. The movie was a hit, bringing Smith's music to a mainstream audience. Smith subsequently signed with DreamWorks Records and recorded two albums, XO (1998) and Figure 8 (2000).  Elliott Smith, a singer-songwriter whose dark, introspective songs won him critical acclaim and an Academy Award nomination, has apparently committed suicide, his publicist and coroner's officials said on Wednesday. He was 34. Smith's body was found by his live-in girlfriend on Tuesday, said Marsha Grigsby of the Las Angeles county coroner's office. A single stab wound to the chest appeared to be self-inflicted, she said. His New York-based publicist also confirmed his death. Smith released five solo albums that received widespread acclaim from rock critics and garnered modest commercial success. Miss Misery, recorded for Gus Van Sant's Good Will Hunting, was nominated for an Oscar in 1998. Smith's songs were often compared with those of Alex Chilton, Nick Drake and the Beatles, his favorite band. Lyrically, they addressed dark subject matter such as drug addiction, troubled relationships and loneliness — though Smith tried to distance himself from the label of confessional songwriter. "I don't feel like my songs are particularly fragile or revealing," he said in 1998. "It's not like a diary, and they're not intended to be any sort of super intimate confessional singer-songwriterish thing." However, Smith had recently spoken about his struggles with alcoholism. "When I lived in New York I was really a bad alcoholic for a few years," he told Under the Radar magazine.

Rosamund Pike: Royal Academy's Exhibition is Dressed for Success

He has dressed some of the most beautiful women in the world and has supermodels queuing up to wear his outfits. Rosamund Pike is only one of the many international film stars who have paraded his creations on the red carpet at film premieres. But the fashion legend Giorgio Armani has admitted the woman he finds most alluring is neither a model nor a Hollywood star - but the 33-year-old mother-of-three, Queen Rania of Jordan. He said: "There is a certain type of woman and I suppose Queen Rania could embody that type. She is beautiful, she has the body of a model and she holds herself like the queen she is - what more could you want?" However, Armani, 69, speaking on the eve of the Royal Academy of Arts exhibition dedicated to his 30-year career, did admit that he had some Hollywood favorites. "Think of Michelle Pfeiffer in Scarface, when she comes down the stairs in that gold dress - I fell in love with her too at that particular moment. "There are also some younger actresses today like Mena Suvari. She is beautiful and the way she moves is so sensual. And Julia Roberts - well, just her smile is enough, really." The new show displays hundreds of his dresses and suits - with a room dedicated to clothes worn by some of the world’s most beautiful women - including the stunning silver gown worn by Pike to the premiere of the James Bond film, Die Another Day. And, although he is based in Milan, Armani revealed that he saw London as the "source" of fashion. He said: "I honestly believe that fashion starts in London - it is the stimulus, the source for creativity. "Just think of Carnaby Street in the Sixties - that had such a huge influence; the French, the Americans - everyone around the world picked it up. "The spirit that London has is exceptional. There is a great creative freedom here you find nowhere else, and a very sincere love for fashion." As for British designers, Armani said he particularly admired John Galliano, Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood. He laughed off former Clothes Show presenter Jeff Banks’s recent attack on Stella McCartney, saying: "She is starting to sell things now, so there you go. The real goal at the end of the day is to be creative and sell too." The Royal Academy’s new Burlington Gardens space may be dedicated to an Armani retrospective - but the designer insisted he had no plans to retire, adding: "I hope I have the passion to continue because this is my life and I do not wish to die early."

McLachlan Resurfaces With Afterglow

Singer has a new perspective on life.  When we last heard from Sarah McLachlan she had retired her prosperous Lilith Fair franchise and retreated to her Vancouver home to catch up on life after what seemed like a dozen straight years of work, work, work. The semi-retirement, begun in 1999, gave the chanteuse a chance to start a family and rekindle her creative spirit. "I've been pretty much just living a normal life," the 35-year-old singer explained from her Vancouver home as she prepared to leave for TV interviews in Toronto. "I was living a life different from what I was used to and it was very nice." Next week she returns with Afterglow, her fifth studio album and the first since 1997's Surfacing (a live album of hits followed in 1999). The first single Fallen, about not being able to come back from some mistakes, hit radio in early September and was an instant hit. Now McLachlan is hip deep in the promotional circus that comes with a new release, appearing on dozens of talk shows and radio stations. Fan sites have been abuzz in anticipation of the new album; message boards have been bustling with postings. "O.M.G. I am so excited. I love her. She is just about one of my favourites of all time," wrote Screaming Flower from Chicago. Meanwhile, the industry hopes the album will give a boost to CD sales as year-end nears. The Halifax-born singer, who's married to her drummer Ashwin Sood, admits she walked away from music for a while as she dealt with the changes in her life. The break included major life events including giving birth to her daughter India five months after the loss of her mother. "At a certain point, I put a lot of pressure on myself to get back into it," she starts, her voice soft and delicate. "That didn't actually work. It backfired so I just gave it up for a while. I was paralysed. I put so much pressure on myself to create, which is ridiculous. I was worried that I'd been gone so long, so much time elapsed between records. I had this idea in my head that I wanted to get it out as soon as I could, all this stuff for the wrong reasons other than for the joy of making music."

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FANCY LIVING MAGAZINE. NOV. 2005. P.112

THE WORLD OF STARS AND CELEBRITIES: WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM  THIS YEAR AND WHAT THEY GOSSIPED ABOUT

From the Desk of Jean-Luc Marchand, Bonie Caprese, Priscilla M. Oden and Sheila Sears

"Everybody will assume that the songs are going to be about love and about babies. They're not about my present situation. They're about my desire to get out of the past," says the brunette, who's grown out her pixie haircut. "I don't have any objectivity about situations that I'm going through at the time. It takes me five or six years to be able to write about something, have the time to process things to the level that I feel comfortable putting them out there." But she admits her head was in a different place while working, and it'll be a challenge to shift gears from being full-time mommy to full-time popstar. "Having a kid definitely made me, just everything, everything shifted so much. I used to go be in the woods for months to focus so I could write and now I'd have an hour or two max in the day where I could try to be creative," she says. "It was a really hard process because my focuses kept getting brought back to her." But the headstrong singer, who once demanded her song I Will Remember You be removed from a documentary about the Columbine High School shootings, is determined to balance her two lives.   "Definitely, the scariest element of it all is how to reconcile continuing to be the best a mother that I can be and a career. That's the quandary of so many working women," she says. But even a pro like McLachlan, who's earned three Grammy Awards, the Order of Canada and six Juno Awards, admits to feeling slightly nervous about returning to a transformed music industry. "It's a whole new ball game now. The things you have to do now are quite different from what you would have had to do five or six years ago," she says of an intense marketing tour in the post-downloading business culture which will take her through Canada, the U.S. and later Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. "I'm going to every single radio station across North America, it seems." She won't have a chance to start touring until at least next summer, she says adding, "I'm anxious to get back out there." The singer will also be heard on Run DMC's Darryl McDaniels' new album, Checks, Thugs and Rock 'n Roll. The pair, who met at a Grammy party several years ago, put a fresh spin on Harry Chapin's Cat's In the Cradle.

Frost Granted Petition for Divorce

Photo: Jude Law and Sadie Frost Actress.

 Sadie Frost was granted her petition for divorce from Oscar-nominated actor Jude Law by the High Court  Frost's petition was in a list of 30 cases that a district judge approved in a brief hearing at the London divorce courts. The decree nisi, or interim divorce, was granted 10 months after Frost and her 30-year-old former husband split up, on the grounds of his alleged unreasonable behavior. Law didn't contest the divorce proceedings. A decree nisi is not a final divorce order, but it is expected to be finalized within days. Frost, 35, and Law, who have three children, were married in September 1997. In court documents made public after the hearing, Frost said that Law's behavior after the birth of their third child, Rudy, in September "increased the effect of postnatal depression leading me to have to take treatment three times." In a question and answer-style affidavit in support of the divorce petition, Frost also replied "no" when asked if Law's behavior was continuing. She gave the date of the final incident of unreasonable behavior as January 2003. The couple's publicist announced in January that Frost had been admitted to a London clinic suffering from severe postnatal depression. In a statement issued at the time, Law said that his wife was "feeling very blue" after Rudy was born prematurely. The actor flew back to London from a film set in Los Angeles to look after the couple's two other children, son Rafferty and daughter Iris. The apparent tribulations of the couple were newspaper fodder for the next few months and in an August statement Frost said that she had "very reluctantly" decided her marriage was over. Law, 30, was nominated for an Oscar for his role in Anthony Minghella's film The Talented Mr. Ripley. He recently worked with the filmmaker on the as-yet-unreleased Cold Mountain, starring opposite Nicole Kidman.

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 FANCY LIVING MAGAZINE. NOV. 2005. P.113

THE WORLD OF STARS AND CELEBRITIES: WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM  THIS YEAR AND WHAT THEY GOSSIPED ABOUT

From the Desk of Jean-Luc Marchand, Bonie Caprese, Priscilla M. Oden and Sheila Sears

Music stores yank Stones in protest. Band's exclusive deal with Best Buy angers Music World, HMV

In retaliation for the Rolling Stones' decision to sell its much-anticipated Four Flicks DVD set exclusively through the Best Buy chain of stores, three of Canada's biggest retailers have pulled all Rolling Stone merchandise from their shelves. Executives at Pindoff -- which controls Music World's 93 stores across Canada -- ordered their outlet managers to begin removing all Rolling Stones CDs, DVDs and videotapes. HMV and Sunrise followed suit this week, though officials at HMV and Pindoff say there was no communication or discussion of the issue among the retailers. The Rolling Stones announced this month that, beginning on Nov. 11, their four-DVD set, Four Flicks, would be sold solely through Best Buy and that company's Future Shop chain for $39.99. The package includes three discs' worth of greatest hits and a fourth disc featuring two behind-the-scenes documentaries, including footage of the band's Toronto rehearsals. Customers may also pre-order the package exclusively through FutureShop.ca. "All of a sudden I'm being told I'm not good enough?" Dan Kuczkowski, general manager and vice-president of Music World, said yesterday. "There has come a time when I have to make a decision for the future of the company. What do I do the next time when it's Shania or Britney or Pink?" Michael Cohl, the Toronto CEO of TGA Entertainment, who helped co-ordinate the Rolling Stones' Best Buy deal, was unavailable for comment. Through a Rolling Stones' publicist, he issued a statement defending the deal.   The Rolling Stones and TGA Entertainment wanted to offer a fantastic product at an amazing price for the holidays for their fans," he said. "Best Buy made this possible with a four-DVD set for $29.99 in the U.S. and $39.99 in Canada. The other offers we received from alternative distributors would have had the product being sold for at least $20-$30 higher to the consumer, something which was unacceptable to the Stones and TGA." "If our customers aren't good enough to have access to [the Rolling Stones'] new release in our stores, then maybe [the Stones] aren't worthy of having any product in our stores," said Humphrey Kadaner, president of HMV Canada, which has 100 stores in Canada. HMV is vowing to take the same action should John Mellencamp go through with his promise to deliver his upcoming DVD, Trouble No More: The Making of a John Mellencamp Album, exclusively to the Best Buy chain of so-called "big box" stores. A spokesperson for EMI, the record label that will distribute the Four Flicks set, said that it had nothing to do with the band's deal with Best Buy -- that it was an agreement worked out between Stones' management and the retailer. EMI would be talking to retailers, though, to try to get the band's back catalogue back on shelves.

 Mr. Kadaner at HMV said  the retailer had no dispute with EMI and had explained its decision with officials there before pulling product. Many Rolling Stones albums were still available online yesterday through HMV. Obviously, I'm not in a position to comment on another company's strategy. This is the way it is. Others have done what others have done," Lori DeCou, the director of corporate communications for Best Buy/Future Shop, said yesterday from the company's offices in Burnaby, B.C. "How music is being brought to the fans is changing. We're supportive of any innovative idea." One industry official said yesterday the decision to pull Stones merchandise is indicative of a growing concern among traditional retailers that chains such as Best Buy might be gaining a greater foothold in the marketplace. "There's been a gradual buildup of frustration on the part of traditional retailers," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Stores such as Best Buy have demonstrated a great ability to appeal to a wide demographic and attract consumers who might not otherwise purchase music from HMV or Music World, the official noted. Mr. Kadaner said while multi-purpose big-box retailers are having a great impact in the United States, their influence is smaller in Canada. "The situation is very different in Canada," he said, noting HMV enjoys the greatest market share in the country. "To a certain degree, if other artists followed suit [and signed exclusive deals], it could present a problem."

 End of the article.