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Gay Borat sequel to get big bucks
dpa German Press Agency
Published:
Monday October 30, 2006
Los Angeles- The advance buzz for the controversial movie Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, sparked a bidding war last week for the sequel. Now Universal Studios' has beaten out the competition with a bid of 42.5 million dollars for the worldwide distribution rights, Variety reported Monday.
The new film will feature British actor Sasha Baron Cohen as the gay fashion victim Bruno. A supposed Austrian TV reporter, Bruno gets people to say outrageous things about the fashion world, such as condemning the unstylish to concentration camps.
The high price came amid a wave of expectation over Cohen's current film, in which he plays Borat, a supremely politically- incorrect TV reporter from Kazakhstan whose primitive ways have hilarious and disturbing effects on Americans.
Cohen will also star in two movies scheduled to appear next year. In the comedy Curly Oxide and Vic Thrill, he plays a young Hasidic Jew who teams up with an ageing rocker to form a band.
Another film, Dinner for Schmucks, will see Cohen play an extraordinarily stupid man who brings chaos to the lives of anyone he encounters.
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Reese Witherspoon splits from Ryan Phillippe
Los Angeles- Oscar winning actress Reese Witherspoon has separated from her actor husband Ryan Phillipe after seven years of marriage, celebrity website TMZ.com reported Monday.
"We are saddened to announce that Reese and Ryan have decided to formally separate," a spokesman for the couple said in a statement to TMZ. "They remain committed to their family and we ask that you please respect their privacy and the safety of their children at this time."
Witherspoon, 30, and Phillippe, 32, have two children, daughter Ava, 7, and son Deacon, 3. They married in June 1999 and were a celebrated Hollywood glamour couple.
Witherspoon won an Oscar last year for her role as country singer June Cash Carter in the movie Walk The Line. Phillippe is currently starring in the WWII drama Flags of Our Fathers.
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Whitney Houston on the mend
Los Angeles- Former pop diva Whitney Houston appears to be on the mend after her well-documented battle with addiction and her recent split from equally troubled husband Bobby Brown.
According to reports Monday, Houston, 43, was the star of the show at a glamourous benefit in Beverly Hills that raised more than 70 million dollars for juvenile diabetes research. Her glamourous appearance was in sharp contrast to photos published earlier in the year, in which she looked unkempt and apparently withered by drug use.
Houston was escorted by legendary music impresario Clive Davis who is producing a new record for her that he predicted would be a "killer album."
"She's been through emotional trauma, and everybody's rooting for her," Davis told USA Today, while fellow music producer Quincy Jones said "She's looking at the light, instead of darkness."
Other stars in attendance at the event included Halle Berry, Jay Leno, Brooke Shields, Teri Hatcher, Hilary Duff, Kristin Davis, Sharon Stone, Minnie Driver, Sidney Poitier and couple Warren Beatty and Annette Bening.
The appearance came two weeks after Houston filed for divorce from Brown after 14 years of marriage.
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Brad Pitt sues TV station for trespassing
Los Angeles- Brad Pitt's legal team has filed trespassing charges against entertainment television cable network E!, after a producer and cameraman allegedly walked onto his Hollywood Hills property, People Magazine reported Monday.
The move came after E! sacked the producer and cameraman working on a programme about Pitt for reportedly ignoring a no trespassing sign and entering the actor's property.
"Yes, we have filed trespassing charges against E! and are exploring our legal options against both the crew that actually trespassed and the network itself," Pitt's representative told People.
A statement from E! Networks said it did not authorize "anyone working on its programme to improperly intrude onto private property".
"The individuals involved have been terminated," E! said.
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Clooney and Coens to reunite for spy pic
Los Angeles- George Clooney is reuniting with Oh Brother Where Art Thou? creators Joel and Ethan Coen for a tale of bungling inside the CIA.
The movie is based on the book "Burn Before Reading: Presidents, CIA Directors, and Secret Intelligence." Shortened to "Burn After Reading," the film will focus on a CIA agent who loses the disk containing the expose he's writing.
Clooney's next movie is the 1920s football feature "Leatherheads."
© 2006 dpa German Press Agency
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