April 15, 2005

Actress Kim Cattrall has signed a deal with Caribbean alcohol giant "Bacardi," for which she will appear in both print and television advertisements of its new cocktail range Island Breeze. Explaining on her deal, Cattrall says she has always enjoyed cocktails socially, but been conscious of both the calories and drinking in moderation so that she agreed to endorse Island Breeze.

Hollywood star Ewan McGregor has signed to play gangster playboy Sky Masterson in the classic 1950s musical "Guys And Dolls," which will open at the West End's Piccadilly Theatre on June 1 this year. Detailing on it, the man says "I do find it daunting going back to live theatre after movies. I can't wait but I'll really have to work hard to master the stage fright."

"American Pie" actor Chris Klein will be arraigned in San Diego County later this month on two counts of drunken driving. The 26-year-old actor was arrested by San Diego County Sheriff's deputies on February 5, 2005, following his last month charges of two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs and driving with a blood-alcohol content of 0.20 and above, more than twice California's legal limit of 0.08.

Each charge carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail, along with a fine and suspension of license. According to the district attorney's office, Klein is scheduled to be arraigned on April 29, 2005, in the Vista branch of San Diego Superior Court.

R&B singer D'Angelo pleaded guilty Wednesday April 13, 2005, to charges of marijuana possession and driving under the influence of alcohol, stemming from a January traffic stop in Richmond, Virginia. The singer was fined $250 and ordered to a 90-day suspended jail term for the DUI conviction. He was also fined $50 on the marijuana charge and given a 10-day suspended jail term.

D’Angelo waived his preliminary hearing on another charge of cocaine possession, which is a felony. The singer’s driver’s license was suspended for a year for the DUI conviction and for an additional six months for the marijuana charge.

Recent days maybe a very difficult days for actor Wesley Snipes who has had quite many trobles in his life. Following his legal battle with an Indiana woman Lanise Pettis, who claims him as the father of his son, Israel, and demands him to take a DNA test, the actor is now facing a tax sting.

US news show Celebrity Justice mentions Snipes has his property near Orlando at risk. To specify his case, officials claim Snipes owes more than $23,000 in back taxes, interest and fines on the house. Thus, the property, assessed at $257,843, was scheduled to be auctioned off on Tuesday, but the sale has been rescheduled to June.

The breach between pals Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie has put the future of "Simple Life" reality show on rock. According to a report on Thursday's syndicated Insider, the show producers have considered to replace Nicole Richie with another star, which to be Rod Stewart's daughter Kimberly.

Hinting at the replacement, Hilton says "I love the show and I just want to freshen it up and make it funner, and bring new things in. Its gonna be a big surprise. And everyone is going to be very excited and happy about it."

Actor Bruce Willis was given one of France's highest cultural honors: the Order of Arts and Letters during a ceremony in Paris on Wednesday April 13, 2005. Presented the honor was France's culture minister, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, who at that time praised Willis for being "an actor who epitomizes the strength of American cinema, the power of the emotions that he invites people to share on the world's screens and the sturdy personalities of his legendary characters."

Willis joins other American actors such as Robert Redford, Meryl Streep and French icon Jerry Lewis as recipients of the award.

Hip hop star Sean P. Diddy Combs and record company Warner Music Group have signed a join fenture deal that gives Warner a 50 percent stake in the star's Bad Boy Records label. The deal announced Thursday April 14, 2005, mentioned the record company will market and handle digital and physical distribution of Bad Boy's new and catalog releases worldwide.

Financial details of the partnership were not revealed, but sources common with such deal mentioned Warner paid about $30 million for an agreement that will last at least three years. Under the deal, which also marked an early end to Combs' distribution deal with Universal Music Group, which had been set to expire in mid-2006, Combs himself will remain chief executive of New York-based Bad Boy Records.

Britney Spears and husband Kevin Federline's not yet titled reality show, which tells the story of the couple courtship, engagement and wedding through private home videos, will premiere later in May 17 this year. According to UPN, the premiere of the reality show, which scenes mostly shot by the couple with their own camera, will be a special one-hour episode starts from 9 p.m..

Following the report on their reality show, Spears' publicist has accidentally revealed the sex of the singer's baby, which is a girl. Responding to reports of the pregnant star's alleged weekend hospitalization, her publicist Leslie Sloan says "She's ok. Mother and daughter are doing fine." Is it really a girl for Spears?????