May 01, 2006

Catherine Zeta-Jones has topped a list of the highest-paid product endorsing celebrities, beating her many other celebrity pals. The actress comes top of the list, thanks to communications giant T-Mobile which pay her a staggering 16.2m EUR to promote their merchandise.

Angelina Jolie, in addition, also makes the list at No. 2 with 9.7m EUR earning from St John. Nicole Kidman is placed 3rd, with a sum of 9.7m EUR for advertising Chanel No 5. Jessica Simpson, who gets 6.1m EUR from Guthy-Renker, is ranked 4th, while Gwyneth Paltrow is at No. 5 with 4.9m EUR from Estee Lauder.

Not even once the thought to stop the "Power" crosses his mind. In fact, Jan De Bont is challenged to work on the "Stopping Power" and thus signs on to direct the flick.

Shooting is slated to begin in Germany next September, with casting is underway. Of action thriller genre, "Stopping Power" revolves around a test pilot in Berlin who is on vacation with his daughter and girlfriend when their RV is hijacked at a gas station, with the daughter inside.

As of this year, the animal rights organization PETA (The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is about to hold its 6th annual World's Sexiest Vegetarian contest.

Several popular names have been mentioned as the nominees to bring home the prize, they are among others include Joel Madden, Benji Madden, Fall Out Boy drummer Andy Hurley, Pamela Anderson and Joaquin Phoenix.

Bad news comes from The Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards who was hospitalized for a mild concussion he suffered as a result of falling from a coconut tree while vacationing in Fiji. Revealing on what happened, the band's spokeswoman Fran Curtis said that Richard was treated locally and then flown to a hospital outside of Fiji as a precaution.

While Fran admitted to know nothing about how the incident happened, the New Zealand Sunday Star Times reported that Richards, who had been on vacation at a luxury resort in Fiji, was being treated in a hospital in Auckland and that he was mobile and had not had surgery.

In the past few days, moviegoers have been treated with some new movies, but as usual there will only one winner on the chart. Apparently, in the week ended Sunday April 30th, 2006, the North America box office is dominated by the family-friendly road-trip comedy "R.V." which opens at No. 1 on the chart, scoring $16.4 million in ticket sales.

Meanwhile, the acclaimed Sept. 11 drama "United 93" debuts at 2nd place with $11.6 million, just one place ahead of "Stick It" which opens at No. 3 with $11.3 million. Last weekend's top movie, "Silent Hill" is at No. 4, taking in $9.3 million, followed after by "Scary Movie 4" at No. 5 with $7.8 million, and "The Sentinel" at No. 6 with $7.6 million.

Easy come and easy go. That expression does work for Pete Doherty. The British troubled rocker was on Saturday April 29th arrested following a police investigation over a tabloid photo which showed him injecting drugs into a female fan's arm as she lay unconscious.

In fact, as easy as he goes into the jail, it also is easy for him to walk out from there. Doherty has on Sunday April 30th, 2006 released on bail, so a police official said. The star is next scheduled to return for questioning in July later this year.

Not all, but some of the jam band Phish members are planning a reunion. They are bassist Mike Gordon, drummer Jon Fishman, and singer Grace Potter, all of whom will reunite for a political cause, which is Rep. Bernie Sanders' bid for the Senate replacing retiring Sen. James Jeffords.

They are all about to team up with other Vermont musicians on June 2 at a benefit for Sanders. About the gig, Gordon commented that Sanders move from the House to the Senate "would give him even more of a chance to shake things up that need to be shaken up."

Fellow actors Adrien Brody and Lindsay Lohan are about to land their feet on a new independent romantic comedy titled "Speechless". The flick, moreover, will have Brian Dannelly in hand directing with shooting scheduled to start later this year.

Based on a story by L. Sprague De Camp from 1952, "Speechless" tells about an introverted man (Brody) who is invited to give a speech at his childhood friend's wedding and turns to a service that allows someone (Lohan) to speak through him.

Two rock bands, namely The Allman Brothers Band and Cheap Trick, are suing Sony Music, claiming they are being shortchanged on royalties for songs downloaded legally over the Internet.

In their suit, filed April 27 in U.S. District Court in New York, both music acts alleged that Sony BMG has failed to live up to a contract requiring that it pay its musicians half of the net revenue it receives from licensing songs to download services like iTunes and Napster.

The 33rd Daytime Emmy Awards held Friday night April 28th, 2006 in Hollywood was dominated by Ellen DeGeneres who at the event won Best Talk Show Host for the second time and earned Talk Show honors for the third consecutive year.

"This means a lot to me...Thank you for never looking me directly in the eye," DeGeneres said during her acceptance speech as she thanked her crew and staff for their support that she could finally win.