Four days after the tragic and sudden death of Oscar-nominated actor Heath Ledger, the star was remembered at a black tie gala for G’Day USA: Australia Week at Manhattan’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

Hundreds were gathered as John Olsen, consul-general in New York for Australia, read a message to the crowd, which included Jessica Alba and Nip/Tuck star Julian McMahon, from Heath’s father, Kim Ledger.

“Heath is, and always will be, an Australian. He adored his home,” read the statement, which had the audience teary-eyed. “His last two weeks with us over Christmas in Perth were just bliss. Heath did not become an actor for the fame or fortune. He loved his craft and he loved helping his friends. He loved chess and skateboarding too. My image of Heath in New York is him with his skateboard, a canvas bag and his beanie. That was Heath to me.”

On Friday, Kim had flown from Australia to New York to escort the body of his late son, who passed away on Jan. 22, from causes still yet to be determined, back to Australia. It is being reported out of Heath’s home country that he will be laid to rest in his hometown of Perth, Australia, early this week.

Source

Shrugging off ridiculous rumors that she and boyfriend Ryan Reynolds are engaged, Scarlett Johansson told the Associated Press that her intentions lie with another famous fella — presidential hopeful Barack Obama.

“I’m engaged to Barack Obama,” she joked in an interview following her return from Kuwait, where she’d been visiting U.S. troops stationed in the Middle East. “My heart belongs to Barack. That is who I am currently, finally, engaged to.”

Earlier this week, Scarlett’s rep spoke to OK! in an attempt to put a stop to the Ryan Reynolds rumors, saying there was “no truth” to a NY Daily News item claiming the couple were making plans to walk down the aisle.

Source

George Clooney didn’t know he lived near Britney Spears until the area was surrounded by helicopters, police and paparazzi during the “custodial dispute” on January 3 that resulted in her two-night hospital stay.

Huffington Post reports on Clooney’s recollection of the night:

“I’d gone upstairs, and I came out and I’m in a robe. All of the sudden I see all this s–t going on.

“I have a guest house where my assistant sometimes is, and I think, someone has broken out of prison and like escaped, because it’s a chase scene. It’s something out of Die Hard.

“I get my baseball bat, which is what you always get in every film – I actually think Clive Owen said, ‘Get a baseball bat’ – and I called up my assistant, who I thought was in the guest house, and I said, ‘Are you OK?’

“And she’s like, ‘Yes.’

“And I said, ‘Look, if there’s someone in the place, say the word stonehenge.’

“And she’s like, ‘What the f–k are you talking about? I’m in my apartment.’

“I go, ‘You’re not in the guesthouse?’

“‘No.’

“So I’m, like, ‘Well, then, what the f–k is going on?’ And I go out and I’m running around with a baseball bat in my robe.

“And it turns out it’s Britney Spears’ house is like, 300 yards from mine. So now I have to move.”

Tell Us: Would you want Britney as your neighbor?

Source

With all the buzz surrounding her custody case, Britney Spears’ other legal issues seem to have fallen by the wayside. But on Friday a lawyer for the embattled pop star appeared on another one of Spears’ cases — driving without a valid license.

According to the A.P., Spears’ attorney, Michael Flanagan and prosecutor Michael Amerian appeared before a judge and said they had been unable to agree on what the law applies. They asked for more time and were given until Feb. 20.

Superior Court Judge T.K. Herman said if the two parties could not agree after that, the case would go to trial.

The case stems from an August incident in which Britney was videotaped bumping a car with her Mercedes as she was trying to park. She left the scene after checking out the damage to her own fender.

The owner of the other car later filed a police report and Britney was charged in September with both a midemeanor hit-and-run, and driving without a valid license. The hit-and-run charges were dismissed in October after Britney paid an undisclosed sum to the owner.

At the time of the accident, Britney was driving with a valid Louisiana state license but did not have a California state license. According to the law, a person who is ”domiciled” in California is required to get a California license. Britney did so within a week after the charges were filed.

”There’s no dispute about the facts here,” Flanagan said Friday. ”The dispute is about what the law is that’s appropriate to the facts.”

Source

As young Hollywood continues to tread on a downward spiral — both actors Heath Ledger and Brad Renfro died tragically within the same week — a new generation of power girls are pledging not to wind up with the same sad fate.

In the new issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now, Us interviews the top 10 stars — from Hannah Montana’s Miley Cyrus to Gossip Girl’s Blake Lively — you need to know about. In addition to raking in the big bucks — Miley Cyrus earned $3.5 million last year — these young ladies tell Us they keep their heads on straight.

Says honoree Amanda Bynes, 21: “I don’t like to drink. I have definitely stayed out of the party scene. I’ve been offered to go to those parties, but I feel like I would be the one who would die if I did something.”

Of today’s out of control club-goers, she adds, “I don’t know how they think they’re gonna live forever.”

Echoes High School Musical star Ashley Tisdale, 22: “I don’t drink, and I don’t smoke. It’s a personal preference. My mom has never drunk or smoked. I look up to my mom.”

She tells Us she doesn’t get how her Hollywood counterparts can find time for clubbing.

“I don’t understand how people do it —I work non-stop! Then when I’m done working, I’m just so tired I just want to be home,” she says.

“Clubs are just not where I want to be photographed,” adds country singer Taylor Swift, 18.

She also says she realizes the impact her actions could have on her younger fans.

“For everything I do, I think about a 6-year-old girl and her mom that I saw at my concert last night,” she tells Us. “I think about what those two individuals would think if I were at a club last night.

“I never want to be arrested, and I never want to get a DUI,” Swift says. “Those are my moral values. I am an over-achiever, and I want to be known for the good things in my life.”

Childhood star-turned-teen queen Raven-Symone obeys a rule: “I like to be in by 1 or 2 a.m. because [you can get in more trouble] at night. Anytime really, but the night scares me sometimes.”

Miley Cyrus, 15 — Hollywood’s No. 1. power girl — offered this tip to today’s troubled young stars.

“The most important thing is really staying true to yourself,” she tells Us. “That’s what my mom taught me. She’s the most beautiful girl, not only on the outside but on the inside. She’s teaching me how to be a good person.”

For more on Hollywood’s new power girls, pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands today.

Source

After a handful of headline-making weeks together, the romance between Britney Spears and her photographer boyfriend Adnan Ghalib has ended, OK! can confirm. Also, contrary to reports on various Web sites, OK! has learned that the pop star did NOT file a restraining order against her former shutterbug sweetheart.

Los Angeles Police Department officer Mike Lopez tells OK! esclusively that Brit “has never filed a police report against Adnan Ghalib nor has she requested a restraining order against him.”

Without Adnan by her side for one of the first times since their romance began shortly before Christmas, Britney was out and about, seeming to enjoy herself as she stopped by an L.A. Petco store to purchase $100 worth of goodies for her growing menagerie of pets at home.

“She was smiling from ear-to-ear,” one witness, who spotted Brit shopping with pal Sam Lutfi, tells OK!. And if you don’t believe the witnesses, take Britney’s word for it: “Today’s a good day,” she told a group of photographers. “I feel great. I’m so happy right now.”

Sunday night, Brit was shaking her stuff at North Hollywood’s Millennium Dance Complex, her favorite studio to rehearse at.

This development is a big change for Britney, who only last week was talking to friends about her desire to have a baby with Adnan. The pair was even photographed looking at pregnancy tests together at a Rite-Aid drugstore on Jan. 14.

Source

The things people will do for publicity! Late last year, the producer of low-budget film Memoirs of a Medicated Child said that he had fired Lindsay Lohan from the production — a claim that was never substantiated — and that he was “in talks” with none other than Britney Spears, even though he’d never met the troubled star.

And now come further outrageous claims that this rookie filmmaker has actually tossed aside Britney from the film! However, says a friend of the singer, Britney has never been involved in any talks regarding this project. “She’s never heard of these guys before,” says the friend. “She gets offers all the time but isn’t interested in any at the moment. Everyone’s trying to make money off her name or by trying to be associated with her. It’s a false story.”

When reached for comment, the film’s producer Tommy S. Parker only served to muddy the waters further. “The rumors of Britney Spears not starring in the movie are false,” Parker tells OK! via e-mail. “We still are in negotiations and the possiblity of Britney still being in the movie remains the same.” As for the story — reportedly from his own publicist — that actress Samantha Falk had been cast to fill the role, Parker says, “Samatha Falk has been cast in the movie. Her involvement in the film does not affect the part we would like Britney to play.”

A Hollywood insider also tells OK! that firing Britney would actually be a stupid move for any filmmaker looking to make a splash. “She does nothing but make headlines right now,” the movie exec explains to OK!. “For some guy trying to garner whatever attention he can, she’d be worth putting up with whatever her problems are. At the very least, you’d make your money back on cable and DVD sales.”

A request for comment from Britney’s agent has not yet been answered.

Source

Kate Holmes is getting harsh reactions from critics in her first return to the big screen since wedding Tom Cruise and welcoming daughter Suri.

“And the cinematic comeback of the year award goes to…somebody other than Katie Holmes,” says a New York Post critic, who calls her new heist comedy Mad Money, co-starring Queen Latifah and Diane Keaton, “the most cringe-making return since Love Boat: The Next Wave.

“Holmes, with Alice Cooper hair and crazy Jim Carrey eyes, looks terrible and acts worse, unless this movie is unintentionally a lobotomy documentary,” the reviewer writes. “Whatever could have happened to her in the last couple of years to zap the talent out of her like this?”

The New York Times says Holmes is “the movie’s weakest link.”

Variety adds that throughout the film “Holmes is awkwardly upsetting the balance” between Latifah and Keaton.

“Their heist is only the pretext for jinks that range from medium high (as played out by Queen Latifah and Diane Keaton) to painfully low (as perpetrated by Katie Holmes, who pops her eyes, scrunches her nose and shakes her booty in lieu of acting),” writes the Wall Street Journal.

Holmes, who seems to have changed a lot since her early days based on her talk show appearances this week, also recently got flak for some questionable style moves in NYC.

Source

Fifteen- year- old singer and actress Miley Cyrus knows that fame comes with the inevitable pressures felt by former teen stars like Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan, but she says she’s doing her best to keep it all in perspective.

“I understand… the pressure is definitely hard,” the young star tells TV’s Extra at the premiere of her Hannah Montana movie, “but I think just keeping your head on your shoulders is easier than it looks. I think if you know who you are, then I think you’ll be fine for the rest of the way.”

When asked about the recent scandals involving Britney, Miley’s heart goes out to the troubled mother of two. “I think it’s so crazy and I think that she needs help. If I didn’t have my family, I’d probably be in the same position,” Miley explains, adding, “you’ve just got to know who your true friends are and I think for me, that’s my mom. If you have sisters, I mean any girls that are in your family, that can understand and relate to you, I think is the best.”

To check out the full interview for yourself, tune in to Extra on Friday.

Source

Britney’s bizarre behavior was in full gear this weekend.

A run-down:

SATURDAY
Spears donned the same lacy Monique Lhuillier dress she wore to her 2004 wedding reception to Kevin Federline as she and her paparazzo beau, Adnan Ghalib, 35, hit a Keyes Mercedes-Benz dealership in Van Nuys, California.

Carrying two puppies, she and Ghalib then went mattress shopping at Maison Luxe in Manhattan Beach.

SUNDAY
Wearing daisy dukes, a T-shirt and high-top boots, Spears and Ghalib went shopping at a Santa Monica Rite Aid and a Designer Shoe Warehouse.

(The pop star, 26, is a fan of the convenience store. She went Christmas shopping there last year.)

They then lunched at Gaucho Grill in Studio City, California. They ordered $35 worth of grub, including sautéed mushrooms, a caprese salad, two orders of the beef empanadas, two orders of the spinach empanadas and two Pepsi sodas. They walked out holding hands.

Their lovefest continued at the Westfield Fashion Square in Sherman Oaks, California, where a witness tells Usmagazine.com, they held hands.

They went into See’s Candies and Macy’s. When an employee accidentally bumped into her, Spears sniped, “F–k you, b-tch,” leaving the saleswoman “speechless,” onlooker Kevin Watson tells Us.

(According to x17online.com , Spears left the department store in a mid-riff baring maroon knit-top she had just purchased.)

Her bad temper continued as she left when she was barraged by photographers.

“I’m f–king over it!” she yelled at the shutterbugs as they snapped her picture. “Get out of my god—n face!” (See video here.)

Spears is expected to show today at the latest custody hearing. (She recently lost visitation rights to her sons, Sean Preston and Jayden James, after her bizarre hospital stint.) L.A. Court Commissioner Scott Gordon will hear from police and rescue personnel from that trip today.

“You can’t phone this one in,” Kevin Federline’s attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan told reporters of Spears. “She will have … to persuade the court that she can have some visitation.”

Source