jennifer aniston

In the spotlight

 

 

By SHARMILA NAIR

alltherage@thestar.com.my

 

CELEBRITIES really know how to keep busy and stay in the limelight. This week is no different.

Singer Justin Bieber performs at Z100's Jingle Ball 2012 presented by Aeropostale at Madison Square Garden on Friday Dec. 7, 2012 in New York.

 

Out of control

Justin Bieber is acting out, or so say the people around him. There have been several rumours that the big wigs at Bieber’s record label, Def Jam Records, are fed up with the 18-year-old

singer’s “bratty antics” and may even cut ties with the successful artist.

Sources claim that Bieber’s team has tried to keep the singer under a short leash but apparently, “Justin doesn’t seem to care and does whatever he wants. He doesn’t listen to anyone. He’s surrounded by hangers-on who say ‘yes’ to anything he wants. There’s no supervision.”

According to Forbes, Bieber made US$55mil (RM168mil) last year, and his supervisors are worried that his bratty act “could really damage his reputation if they don’t get it under control … Just look at Britney Spears.”

Sharm says: Let’s give him six months before he shaves his head and attacks the paparazzi with an umbrella.

 

Rihanna (R) and Chris Brown attend a game between the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers during the NBA game at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, on December 25, 2012.

Taking it public

Remember how Rihanna dissed her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown on Twitter last week? Well, you may remember it but we have photographic evidence that she has let bygones be bygones. The singer who cut short her vacation in Barbados after a stalker scare (he’s been arrested since), was last seen in Brown’s arm at a basketball game earlier this week.

They arrived at the L.A Lakers and New York Knicks game at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles together, and even sat court-side next to each other.

This is the couple’s first public appearance together since the infamous assault in 2009 and news has it that Brown even dumped his former girlfriend Karrueche Tran to be with the Bajan beauty. The R&B singer admitted that he was “in love with two women” in a short film he made few months ago and Rihanna had also confessed her love for Brown during an interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Sharm says: Once bitten, twice shy, RiRi. Remember that.

 

Jennifer would like to make an announcement: 'I'm not pregnant!'

She’s not preggers

For once and for all people, Jennifer Aniston is not pregnant. The singer who was rumoured to have a bun in the oven showed off her tight body in a pink bikini during a vacation in Mexico and there was no baby bump to be seen.

The actress has always been scrutinised for signs of pregnancy and just last week, rumours were swirling that 43-year-old Aniston and her fiance Justin Theroux were ready to receive a bundle of joy next year.

Sharm says: Maybe she’ll just surprise everyone and adopt a baby … like Angie did … three times.

 

Beyonce wants everyone to end gun-related violence.

No to gun violence

Some of Hollywood’s biggest celebrities and musicians took part in a new public service announcement to fight against gun violence. Beyonce, Reese Witherspoon, Jamie Foxx, Selena Gomez and Gwyneth Paltrow were just some of the stars who banded together for Demand A Plan – an initiative that demands US President Barack Obama to come up with a plan to end gun violence.

In the video, the stars ask: “How many more colleges? How many more classrooms? How many more movie theatres? How many more houses of faith?”

Sharm says: Violence is never the solution to any problem, people.

 

Jessica Simpson announces her pregnancy.

She’s preggers

So it is true. Jessica Simpson is about to put on more weight after successfully losing almost 23kg with her Weight Watchers campaign. The singer announced her pregnancy on Twitter, posting a cute photo of her eight month old daughter Maxwell with the words “Big Sis” written in the sand.

How creative.

She also captioned the photo with: “Merry Christmas from my family to yours!”

There were rumours that the people behind Weight Watchers were furious with the singer for getting pregnant again before reaching the target weight as signed in their contract, but the message they left for Simpson on their Twitter page sounded otherwise. They wrote: “Your WW family is so thrilled for you. What an amazing year you’ve had!”

Sharm says: How much weight is she going to gain this time around, and more importantly, how long will it take for her to lose them?

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Winners all the way

By SHARMILA NAIR

WE all know that the MTV Movie Awards is an event where celebrities get to let loose and go wild. Unlike the prim and proper Academy Awards, the MTV Movie Awards is all about having fun, dressing up wacky and simply enjoying the night without having to worry whether you’ll be taking home an Oscar or not.

Last weekend’s MTV Movie Awards was no different. Celebs came in their hordes, hand-in-hand with their loved ones; walking down the red carpet in their crazy outfits and giving us plenty to talk about.

Jennifer Aniston wore the tightest black leather dress known to mankind, Kristen Stewart rocked the night solo, and the boys of Magic Mike (Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey and Joe Manganiello) definitely set the stage on fire with their collective hotness.

But of course, the hottest celebrities of the night were those who took home the “Moonman” statues for their outstanding work in movies over the past year.

Movie of the year

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part One

This vampire movie sucked the living daylights out of its competitors – The Hunger Games, The Help, Bridesmaids and Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part Two.

The mega blockbuster featuring Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner has been a favourite at the MTV Movie Awards for years and the good thing is … there is only one movie left in the franchise, and then it’s finally out of our lives for good.

Sharm says: Seriously, I hate vampires … they suck.

Best kiss

Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart

The real life couple certainly did heat up the screen with their chemistry and romance in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part One. They showed passion for each other during their time on screen – something people don’t get to see in real life. They’re very private, these two.

Stewart and Pattinson

Pattinson and Stewart beat Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone for Crazy, Stupid, Love, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two, Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson for The Hunger Games and Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum for The Vow.

Sharm says: I still find it hard to believe that Rob and Kristen are in a happy relationship. They always look so sour when photographed together.

Best male performance

Josh Hutcherson

He played a sharp, courageous hunter in The Hunger Games … oh, no wait, that was Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen. Anyway, Hutcherson’s portrayal of Peeta Mellark won him the title of Best Male Performance in a movie, beating out Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part Two), Ryan Gosling (Drive), Channing Tatum (The Vow) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (50/50).

Sharm says: There is no way Josh is a better actor than Ryan Gosling. This awards show is rigged, I tell ya!

Best female performance

Jennifer Lawrence

Of course, it was Jennifer Lawrence who took the prize home for her awesome portrayal of Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games. Girlfriend was fierce … and hot.

Lawrence proved herself a worthy winner, especially when she was up against Kristin Wiig (Bridesmaids), Emma Stone (Crazy, Stupid, Love), Emma Watson (Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part Two) and Rooney Mara (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo).

Sharm says: Notice how Kristen Stewart is not even nominated in this category? Yeah … that’s how great an actress she is.

Breakthrough performance

Shailene Woodley

OMG. This girl is super talented and it’s evident in the movie The Descendants that won her this award. Woodley has been in the industry for some time but it was this movie that cemented her status as not just an actress, but a brilliant one at that. She definitely outshined Melissa McCarthy for her role in Bridesmaids, Rooney Mara in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Liam Hemsworth in The Hunger Games and Elle Fanning in Super 8.

Woodley in The Descendants

Sharm says: Erm, why is Liam Hemsworth in this category? Wasn’t he featured for like a good three minutes only in the movie. How can that be considered ‘Breakthrough performance’?

Best cast

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part Two

Everybody loves Harry Potter and his gang of friends, so it’s really fitting that they won in this category – which they will be nominated for the very last time (*sob*). Their magical camraderie and friendship beat out those in The Hunger Games, 21 Jump Street, The Help and Bridesmaids.

Sharm says: There will never be another gang of friends (and enemies) like those formed in Hogwarts … my alma mater.

Best on-screen dirtbag

Jennifer Aniston

Rachel Green’s innocent days are over. Aniston showed that she can play a horrible, terrible and sexually charged boss in Horrible Bosses, earning her this title (which was introduced for the first time this year). Aniston’s character deemed more evil than those played by Bryce Dallas Howard in The Help, Jon Hamm in Bridesmaids, Colin Farrell in Horrible Bosses and Oliver Cooper in Project X.

Jennifer Aniston in Horrible Bosses

Sharm says: Jennifer was really good (way too good actually) as an evil cow in this movie. She sure is a devil in disguise!

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Camera, roll, action!

If you haven’t heard the news already, the Queen of Pop Madonna has a new movie out and it sucks.

Hard.

According to some critics who saw the movie at the Venice Film Festival recently, Madonna’s W.E. is a real waste of time, effort and energy. It’s that bad.

And as surprising as this may sound to some, this is not the singer’s first foray into filmmaking. She has actually done this “mistake” before.

Madonna at the premiere of W.E.

In 2008, her directorial debut Filth And Wisdom premiered at the Berlin Film Festival to terrible reviews. No surprise there.

The Guardian’s movie critic Peter Bradshaw wrote of Filth And Wisdom: “Well, it had to happen. Madonna has been a terrible actor in many, many films and now – fiercely aspirational as ever – she has graduated to being a terrible director.” And he was being nice.

The movie, about a Ukrainian immigrant who supports his dream of being a rockstar by moonlighting as a cross-dressing dominatrix, only had a limited release (thankfully) in the United States.

Unfortunately for Madonna (and ardent cinemagoer), many critics claim that her second directorial effort is equally as bad, if not worse, as her first movie. Ouch!

W.E. is Madonna’s take on the story of Wallis Simpson – the American socialite for whom King Edward VIII abdicated the British throne prior to the Second World War. We have seen the other side of the story (not all, just some of it) in last year’s The King’s Speech. Heard of that movie? Well, that one won a couple of Oscar awards. Its director, Tom Hooper, even bagged a Best Director Oscar. No biggie.

Well, if Madonna had aspired to win any kind of award for this movie, we fear that the only one she could be in the running for is a Razzie (the award that “celebrates” the worst in film).

As to why she was interested in the project, Madonna said in a press conference that she was totally enamoured by King Edward VIII’s gesture.

* Material Girl *

“I was completely and utterly swept up the reason that this man King Edward VIII would give up his throne for the woman he loves. Why he would relinquish his great position of power for love? I wanted to get to the bottom of it, I wanted to investigate I wanted to find out why. That was my original attraction.”

Oh, if only she didn’t bother to find out. And to make matters worse, her two ex-husbands had pushed her to explore her curiousity and passion for this particular subject.

“I am and was attracted to very creative people which is why I married Sean Penn and Guy Ritchie, two very talented directors. They both encouraged me as a director and as a creative person to do what I did, and they were both very supportive,” she was quoted as saying.

Now that we know who to “blame”, let’s hope that they would not encourage her to pursue her (not-going-to-happen-in-a-big-way) directorial career by stating “third time’s the charm.”

While on the subject of being behind-the-scenes, Madonna is not the only singer/actress who has been trying her hand at directing movies.

Academy Award winner (and the sexiest humanitarian and mother in the world, IMHO) Angelina Jolie has also worn the director’s hat before.

*Mother, humanitarian, actress, (kinda) Mrs. Brad Pitt, gorgeous *

The actress is set to release her feature directorial debut In The Land Of Blood And Honey at the end of this year. The movie is set against the backdrop of the 1990s Bosnian Civil War and the actress has said that she “wanted to tell a story of how human relationships and behavior are deeply affected by living inside a war”.

Hopefully, the pouty-lipped actress tells the story well and doesn’t embarrass herself and her fans in the process.

While Angelina’s fate as a director is still yet to be determined, her “rival” Jennifer Aniston has fared pretty well in this department.

Jennifer co-directed Room 10, which is a film based on a true story by Glamour magazine reader Colleen Goldrick. The film was made for the magazine’s Short Film Series in 2006.

Jennifer worked with her friend Andrea Buchanan to tell the story of nurse Frannie (played by Robin Wright), who, while in a difficult time in her her marriage and life, encounters interesting patients at the hospital she works.

The short film received good reviews and Jennifer is now in the middle of directing Five – an anthology of five short films exploring the impact of breast cancer on people’s lives.

* Not a bad director, this gal *

Besides Jennifer, other female actresses like Drew Barrymore and Jodie Foster have also successfully crossed over to the directorial side and have proven that they don’t actually suck at it.

Erm, maybe that cannot be honestly said for Jodie’s recent flick The Beaver with Mel Gibson. Like its title (and Mel’s terrible attitude), the movie, too, was unfortunately horrible.

Sharm says: Oh well, everyone is allowed their one mistake. Well, except in Madonna’s case, it’s two.

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