Category: Magazines

‘Housewives’ Catfight on Vanity Fair Photo Shoot
The stars of Desperate Housewives turned into desperate divas on the set of their Vanity Fair cover shoot when Marcia Cross took offense at the star treatment lavished on Golden Globe-winner Teri Hatcher. According to writer Ned Zeman, who was present when the bust-up occurred, Cross “lost it” when Hatcher was moved into the center of the group shot, despite publicists’ demands that photographers treat cast members as equals. Zeman says, “ABC (TV) publicity demanded that, in all the different set-ups that the women would be posed for photographs, Teri Hatcher absolutely was not to be in the center of the women. There had been some tension on the set over who’s getting the awards and who’s getting most of the magazine covers – that would be Teri Hatcher.” And when Hatcher seemed to be taking over the shoot, through no fault of her own, Cross showed off her fiery side. Zeman adds, “She screamed (the publicist’s) name and said, in essence, ‘I want you to get over here and do your bleeping job…’ Then she launched into this profanity-laced tirade. Teri was most visibly upset and got very emotional and was tearing up and was on her cell phone seeking comfort from someone.” Hatcher insists the spat has been blown out of proportion: “However it comes off, I believe that everyone is as grateful to be on the show as I am.” Meanwhile, cast mate Eva Longoria claims the fight was sparked by over-the-top primping and preening: “They forget we just shot a 16-hour day the day before and when someone’s tweaking every little hair, it’s like, ‘Stop touching us, just shoot the picture.'”

Jolie sizzles atop ‘FHM’ sexiest list
Move over, Britney Spears!
Actress and activist Angelina Jolie, 29, has been voted the sexiest woman in the world by readers of FHM, a men’s magazine. Spears, who topped the “100 Sexiest Women” list last year, did not even make the cut for 2005.
FHM editor Scott Gramling blames the Spears snub on her marriage to Kevin Federline. “She was taken off the market. It broke the hearts of men 18 to 35.”
Jolie, who was No. 2 last year, “is mysterious, outspoken, outlandish, very smart.”
In the biggest comeback, Desperate Housewives star Teri Hatcher, 40, came in at No. 7; she last appeared at No. 55 in 2001.
Other ranked hotties: tennis star Maria Sharapova (No. 19); rocker Gwen Stefani (No. 30); the Olsen twins (jointly No. 32); Housewives’ Eva Longoria (No. 38); and actress Roselyn Sanchez (No. 100).
Here is the complete list
1. Angelina Jolie
2. Jennifer Garner
3. Paris Hilton
4. Charlize Theron
5. Halle Berry
6. Alyssa Milano
7. Teri Hatcher
8. Pamela Anderson
9. Scarlett Johansson
10. Lindsay Lohan
11. Keira Knightly
12. Salma Hayek
13. Cameron Diaz
14. Leeann Tweedon
15. Mariah Carey
16. Jessica Simpson
17. Beyonce Knowles
18. Carmen Electra
19. Maria Sharapova
20. Jennifer Love Hewitt
21. Jessica Biel
22. Jessica Alba
23. Brooke Burke
24. Jenna Jameson
25. Heidi Klum
26. Vida Guerra
27. Christina Aguilera
28. Kristin Kreuk
29. Faith Hill
30. Gwen Stefani
31. Jennifer Lopez
32. The Olsen Twins
33. Shania Twain
34. Beth Ostrocky
35. Many Moore
36. Josie Maran
37. Janet Jackson
38. Eva Longoria
39. Adriana Lima
40. Reese Witherspoon
41. Jennifer Aniston
42. Jamie-Lynn DiScala
43. Tara Reid
44. Maggie Grace
45. Elizabeth Hurley
46. Eliza Dushku
47. Kate Hudson
48. Anna Benson
49. Natalie Portman
50. LeAnn Rimes
51. Penelope Cruz
52. Mischa Barton
53. Eva Mendes
54. Jenny McCarthy
55. Katherine Heigl
56. Lucy Liu
57. Jennie Finch
58. Maggie Gyllenhaal
59. Amanda Righetti
60. Kate Bosworth
61. Estella Warren
62. Anna Kournikova
63. Landi Swanepoel
64. Sarah Michelle Geller
65. Gisele Bundchen
66. Neve Campbell
67. Uma Thurman
68. Catherine Zeta-Jones
69. Nicole Kidman
70. Emaa Bunton
71. Kate Beckinsale
72. Katie Holmes
73. Morgan Webb
74. Heather Graham
75. Evangeline Lilly
76. Shakira
77. Rachel Bilson
78. Kaley Cuoco
79. Amanda Beard
80. Sofia Vergara
81. Ashanti
82. Denise Richards
83. Molly Sims
84. Alessandra Ambrosio
85. Kelly Ripa
86. Mayra Veronica
87. Jamie Pressly
88. Jennifer Connelly
89. Monica Bellucci
90. Kristi Leskinen
91. Logan Tom
92. Kelly Clarkson
93. Jennifer Hanson
94. Courtney Hansen
95. Alicia Keys
96. Brande Roderick
97. Natalie Gulbis
98. Milla Jovovich
99. Rebecca Romijn Stamos
100. Roselyn Sanchez

Depp’s the Best, Spears the Worst Autographer
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) – Next time you want a celebrity autograph, step up to “Pirates of the Caribbean” star Johnny Depp, but steer clear of Britney Spears.
Depp, 41, tops the list of the best celebrity signers of 2004, according to Autograph Collector magazine.
“Johnny Depp has decided to be the undisputed most-accommodating autograph signer in Hollywood today,” says Steve Cyrkin, the magazine’s publisher and Editor-in-Chief. “One collector told us, ‘He’ll sign for everyone, and it doesn’t matter how many things you ask him to sign.'”
Depp’s fellow stars happy to take up a sharpie for their fans include “Bourne Supremacy” star Matt Damon in second place, followed by Tom Cruise, Mike Myers, Angelina Jolie, “Lord of the Rings” hobbit Elijah Wood, “Mean Girls” star Lindsay Lohan, Jessica Simpson, Hilary Duff and “Monster” Oscar winner Charlize Theron.
On the flip side of fame are the luminaries who’d rather not acknowledge their fans with a signature. Leading the list of the 10 worst celebrity signers is pop star Britney Spears because “no one is better at showing their fans how little they mean to them.”
“While we’re the first to defend any celebrity’s right not to sign, how do you defend rude, crude and downright unattractive behavior?” says Cyrkin. “As one collector told us, ‘Britney has done all she can to earn her nickname, ‘Bitchney Sneers.'”
Keeping Mrs. Federline company is “Charlie’s Angels” star Cameron Diaz, webslinger Tobey Maguire, Diaz’s beau Justin Timberlake, the Olsen twins, “Aviator” star Leonardo DiCaprio, rapper Eminem, the now split Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, Halle Berry and hotel heiress Paris Hilton.
The March issue of Autograph Collector is currently on newsstands.

People Names Jude Law ‘Sexiest Man Alive’
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – British actor Jude Law, currently starring as the irresistible cad in the remake of “Alfie,” was named this year’s “Sexiest Man Alive” by People magazine on Wednesday.
The chiseled-featured, 31-year-old actor was the top pick of the magazine’s editors to succeed their leading male sex symbol of 2003, Johnny Depp.
Law appears on the cover of People’s Nov. 19 issue, which hits newsstands on Friday.
“His warmth is what makes him sexy, and it radiates through his eyes,” actress Nicole Kidman, his “Cold Mountain” co-star, told the magazine. Rachel Weisz, who appeared with him in “Enemy at the Gates,” added: “He has the most beautiful eyes you’ve ever seen.”
Law has built a reputation as a serious actor with a list of credits ranging from the role of a robot gigolo in Steven Spielberg’s “Artificial Intelligence: AI” to a murderous photographer in “Road to Perdition.”
Law, who earned a Tony nomination on Broadway co-starring with Kathleen Turner in “Indiscretions,” first gained wide notice with movie audiences and an Oscar nomination playing a spoiled young playboy and the object of Matt Damon’s obsession in “The Talented Mr. Ripley.”
He earned a second Academy Award nomination for his role as a Confederate deserter in the popular Civil War drama “Cold Mountain.” But his most recent films — “I Heart Huckabees,” “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” and “Alfie” — have been commercial duds.
Law, who has three young children by his ex-wife, British fashion designer and actress Sadie Frost, will next been seen in Mike Nichols’ upcoming romantic drama “Closer.”
People bestowed its first “Sexiest Man Alive” honors in 1985 to Mel Gibson. Other winners have included John F. Kennedy Jr., Sean Connery, Denzel Washington, Richard Gere and Ben Affleck.

Angelina Jolie Named Sexiest Woman by Esquire
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Angelina Jolie, who manages to mesmerize men — and fight off robot invaders — with just one eye in her latest movie, has been named the “sexiest woman alive” in the latest edition of Esquire magazine.
Jolie, featured as the alluring, courageous fighter pilot with an eye patch in “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow,” was the top pick of the magazine’s editors and mostly male readers to grace the cover of Esquire’s annual “Women We Love” issue.
The 29-year-old Jolie, who also lends her voice and sexy persona to a vampish fish named Lola in the computer-animated undersea adventure “Shark Tale,” received 7 percent of all votes cast by readers.
Fellow Oscar winner and “Catwoman” star Halle Berry ran a close second with 6 percent. Newlywed pop princess Britney Spears made the cut this year at No. 3.
In an Esquire interview accompanying a cover photo of the actress, Jolie acknowledged her image as being “kind of wild or bad or weird or crazy.”
“The tattoos, the blood, cutting myself — it’s all very much who I am,” she said. “If you knew me privately, you might think I was even wilder than my reputation. But I’m also much softer. I’m a soft woman. Softer than people think.”
She also reveals that she recently bought an airplane and is taking flying lessons, a hobby she embraced because she and her 3-year-old adopted son share a fascination with planes.
“I have to concentrate on my son,” she said. “That’s why I have lovers right now and not a boyfriend. I don’t want my son to start calling somebody Daddy unless that person’s gonna stay.”
Jolie’s marriage to actor Billy Bob Thornton ended in divorce in May 2003. She will next be seen as Alexander the Great’s mom in Oliver Stone’s upcoming epic “Alexander.”
Rounding out the field of leading contenders for sexiest woman in the magazine’s November issue, which hits newsstands this week, were TV/pop personality Jessica Simpson, sultry R&B singer Beyonce, Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron and former “Friends” star Jennifer Aniston.

Forbes Names Mel Gibson Most Powerful Celebrity
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Mel Gibson, whose controversial film “The Passion of the Christ” paid off big at the box office, is the year’s most powerful celebrity, according to Forbes magazine’s Celebrity 100 power rankings.
Gibson, who directed, produced and co-wrote the violent movie about the last hours of Jesus, earned $210 million and tremendous media buzz from the project, according to Forbes magazine, which factors in media attention to compare the biggest money-makers from various fields of entertainment.
Magazine covers, press clippings, TV and radio coverage and Internet hits are all factored into the rankings formula. Money earned in the last 12 months was used to identify the finalists in each category.
Golf star Tiger Woods, the leading money-maker among athletes with $80 million, was second on the list, followed by talk-show host Oprah Winfrey, who matched Gibson in earnings.
Actor Tom Cruise ($45 million) was fourth, followed by venerable rock group Rolling Stones ($51 million). “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling was sixth on the list, boosted by her earnings of $147 million.
“Very broadly, it’s a combination of money and fame,” said Peter Kafka, who wrote the Forbes story on the rankings in the issue on newsstands on Friday. “We divide the celebrity world into categories and we find the top earners in each category. The power list compares them.”
Actress Jennifer Aniston, who topped the rankings last year, slipped to 17th place on the 2004 list.
Casualties from the previous list included singer/actress Jennifer Lopez, who ranked fifth last year, and her former fiancee and movie bomb “Gigli” co-star Ben Affleck, rated seventh in 2003. Both failed to make the 2004 list.
Other power-list dropouts were Eminem and Dr. Dre, the performer and record producer who shared last year’s No. 2 spot, and former reality show darlings The Osbournes (12th).
Former President Bill Clinton ranked 51st this year with an income of $6.3 million that qualified him in the “speakers” category. Despite his relatively low income, Clinton ranked first of all 100 contenders in TV/radio attention, press clippings and Internet hits.
“There is intense interest in him still,” said Kafka.
Clinton will likely climb higher in the power rankings next year when earnings and media attention from his hotly anticipated memoir, to be published next week, is factored in.

CARTOON COVERGIRL
Marge Simpson will be featured on a special limited-edition Maxim magazine covers for the April issue. The cartoon mom will be featured on one-third of the limited-edition covers; Paris Hilton will grace the remaining two-thirds.

Nirvana’s Cobain Considered Quitting Before Suicide
LONDON (Reuters) – In the months before he shot himself, American rock legend Kurt Cobain was considering quitting his band Nirvana to work with his wife, singer Courtney Love, according to a previously unpublished interview.
Nirvana’s tragic frontman said he had a stronger musical affinity with Love’s own band, Hole, than he had found with any other musicians, according to Britain’s “Uncut” magazine, which will publish the interview next Monday ahead of the 10th anniversary of his death.
“I’d like to (collaborate with Love),” he said in the interview eight months before his suicide. “But to tell you the truth, I would rather just quit my band and join Hole.
“When I have played music with them, there’s a level of connection that’s a little bit higher than with anyone else I ever played with,” he added.
Nirvana’s surviving founders, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, have had a turbulent relationship with Cobain’s widow, clashing with her in court over the band’s musical legacy.
Cobain, 27, killed himself with a shotgun in April 1994 in his Seattle home, where he was recovering from a drug and alcohol overdose.
With punk-influenced music and angst-ridden lyrics, Nirvana led the grunge movement that emerged from Seattle to become one of the most powerful forces in 1990s rock.
Cobain said in the interview, originally intended for French television, that he was thinking of moving away from his grunge roots toward acoustic music.
“It might be nice to start playing acoustic guitar and be thought of as a singer and a songwriter, rather than a grunge rocker,” he said. “I could sit down on a chair and play acoustic guitar like Johnny Cash or something, and it won’t be a big joke.”

Magazine Names Chris Rock As Funniest Man
NEW YORK – He’s not on television regularly anymore, but Entertainment Weekly has judged Chris Rock to be the funniest man in America.
The 38-year-old comedian is now on a stand-up concert tour, which will culminate in an HBO special.
“Watching Rock in 2004 ó 21 years into his comedy career ó is like watching a great prize-fighter in peak condition,” the magazine said.
Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart was second on Entertainment Weekly’s list of the 25 funniest Americans, and Will Ferrell came in third.
Larry David, Dave Chappelle, Ellen DeGeneres, Bill Murray, Jim Carrey and Jack Black also were praised by the magazine.
And here’s a Top 10 list David Letterman isn’t going to like: He was No. 11. Of course, it might make him feel better to know Jay Leno wasn’t mentioned at all.

Terri Clark turns down Playboy offer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Country singer Terri Clark is keeping her hat — and her clothes — on.
The Alberta-born Clark, whose hits include the No. 1 song I Just Want to Be Mad, said Tuesday that she has rejected an offer to appear on the cover of Playboy magazine for the May music issue.
“I’m mostly just a regular ol’ girl who likes to have fun, play her guitar, drink some tequila, hang out with my friends. Exotic beauties and total sex pots get asked to do the cover of Playboy, not girls like me,” Clark said in a statement.
The singer, who usually wears a cowboy hat while performing, said she was pleased that Playboy realized “I’m not typical and the experts evidently saw something in me that said a normal-size woman can be sexy.”
Ultimately she didn’t think the appearance was right for her image, she said.
“But for me, even as full-tilt as I am, there are just some things I can’t quite get comfortable with,” she said.