Gossip/Celebrity News

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BERLIN (Reuters) - Hollywood actor Tom Cruise not only battles creatures from outer space in his latest film "War of the Worlds," he also believes aliens exist, he told a German newspaper on Wednesday.

Asked in an interview with the tabloid daily Bild if he believed in aliens, Cruise said: "Yes, of course. Are you really so arrogant as to believe we are alone in this universe?

"Millions of stars, and we're supposed to be the only living creatures? No, there are many things out there, we just don't know," Cruise, 42, said in the interview published in German.

Cruise is a follower of the Scientology church founded by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, and his recent willingness to discuss the faith has raised eyebrows in the media.

Most controversially, Cruise criticized actress Brooke Shields for revealing she had taken antidepressants. An official Scientology Web site argues that people should live drug-free.

Cruise also dismissed psychiatry as a "pseudo science," invoking the ire of the American Psychiatric Association that called the remarks "irresponsible."

But many scientologists feel they are unfairly criticized, arguing that although many believe in the concept of aliens, it is not such an unreasonable proposition, and that the side effects of some medication are not fully understood.

Cruise's new film "War of the Worlds" is based on British writer H.G. Wells' 1898 story of the invasion of Earth by Martians

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Angelina Jolie Adopting Ethiopian Girl

Angelina Jolie who has been romantically linked with her "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" co-star Brad Pitt, is adopting an orphaned Ethiopian baby girl.

Jolie visited the Horn of Africa nation last week to file her adoption request, accompanied by Pitt and her 3-year-old son, Maddox, whom she adopted in Cambodia, an official said Wednesday.

"The paperwork has gone through. Miss Angelina's request was accepted last week," Hadosh Halefom, head of the country's state-run adoption agency, told The Associated Press.

The child "is less than a year old," Hadosh said, refusing to elaborate. The actress filed her request through a private adoption agency.

"If people's paperwork is in order, it can take only two days to finalize everything," Hadosh said.

In a posting on People magazine's Web site, Jolie is quoted as saying the child's name is Zahara Marley Jolie and that she and Maddox are "very happy to have a new addition to our family."

The twice-divorced Jolie has often talked of adopting a second child.

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Pitt Hospitalized With Flu-Like Symptoms

Actor Brad Pitt has been hospitalized with a flu-like illness. Pitt, 41, checked himself into an undisclosed Los Angeles area hospital Monday night complaining of flu-like symptoms, his publicist Cindy Guagenti said Tuesday. There were no other details and the name of the hospital wasn't disclosed for security reasons.

Pitt was in Ethiopia last week with his "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" co-star Angelina Jolie to pick up the actress's newly adopted baby girl, the second child she has adopted. Guagenti said it wasn't known if the actor contracted the illness while in Africa.

"I think he has the flu," the spokeswoman said.

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Sandra Bullock & Jesse James Wedding Rumors

The wedding rumors are back! Are secretive sweethearts SANDRA BULLOCK and JESSE JAMES getting hitched this weekend?

The opposites-attract couple and their reps have previously denied buzz that they're planning to get married this summer, but sources say this weekend might include the special day!

The 40-year-old 'Miss Congeniality' star and her 35-year-old "Monster Garage" man have been dating for over a year, and reportedly met when Sandra took her young godson to the "Monster Garage" set in Long Beach, CA.

While this would be Sandra's first walk down the aisle, Jesse has been married twice before. The tattooed chopper enthusiast has two kids with his first wife, CARLA (a son named JESSE JAMES, JR. and a daughter named CHANDLER), and a daughter, SUNNY, with adult film star JANINE LINDEMULDER, whom he just recently divorced.

Sandra has been linked with a variety of artists and co-stars throughout her career, but has never previously said, "I Do." Some of her past romances have included actors RYAN GOSLING, with whom she acted in 'Murder by Numbers,' MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY, her co-star on 'A Time to Kill,' and TATE DONOVAN, whom she met while filming 'Love Potion No. 9.'

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Wonky-Tonk
Avowed Francophile Johnny Depp goes for the natty Marseille mobster look--slouchy jacket, euro-khakis, bright wingtips, saucy fedora and purple shades--at the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Hollywood premiere. And the remnants of his Pirate Jack Sparrow 'stache do make him look slightly villainous. But count your blessings. It could have been the Willy Wonka hat. Or worse, the teeth.

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Actress Sienna Miller has made a tearful return to the stage after her fiance, actor Jude Law, made a public apology for having an affair.
Miller, currently appearing in As You Like It in London's West End, arrived at Wyndham's Theatre and was not wearing her engagement ring.

The 23-year-old cried as she exited the stage after a standing ovation.

Law, 32, expressed his "sincere regret" for having a relationship with his children's nanny Daisy Wright.

Law issued a statement after reports of his affair with Ms Wright, 26, who cared for one of his three children.

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Jennifer Reveals Her 'Rumor'

JENNIFER ANISTON is making all-new "Friends" in her racy new movie with KEVIN COSTNER, 'Rumor Has It,' and ET has a sneak preview!

In 'Rumor,' opening in theaters this Christmas, Jennifer plays Sarah Huttinger, an engaged woman who needs to sort out a few family secrets before she takes the plunge. The aspiring journalist (who's stuck writing for the New York Times obituaries) heads back home to Pasadena, CA, for her sister's wedding, only to be reminded that she's still the black sheep of her tennis-obsessed family.

Unsure if marriage is what she truly wants, Sarah meets Internet millionaire Beau Burroughs (Costner), changing the course of her trip entirely. Soon she learns that the classic DUSTIN HOFFMAN/ANNE BANCROFT film, 'The Graduate,' might have been based on her kin -- and that her grandmother (SHIRLY MacLAINE) was the inspiration for Mrs. Robinson! Could history be repeating itself? And will Sarah finally discover who she really is? 'Rumor Has It' she'll find out in the end!

Also starring MENA SUVARI, KATHY BATES and MARK RUFFALO, 'Rumor Has It' has an all-star pedigree behind the camera, with ROB REINER ('Misery,' 'When Harry Met Sally') directing, TED GRIFFIN ('Ocean's Eleven,' 'Matchstick Men') writing and GEORGE CLOONEY and STEVEN SODERBERGH producing.

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LOS ANGELES - Rock singer Courtney Love was taken by ambulance to a Los Angeles hospital Thursday after complaining of feeling faint, but she was discharged soon after, her spokeswoman said.


Love, 41, was attending an entertainment industry gathering at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel Wednesday night when she felt ill, publicist Jill Fritzo said in an e-mail message.

"She was at a party, felt faint, went out for air, a friend called an ambulance for precaution, they took her to the hospital and she was released immediately," Fritzo said.

A Los Angeles Police Department spokeswoman said officers called to the Roosevelt shortly past midnight took a crime report under the name of "Courtney L," but she declined to give further details, saying the report was confidential.

A city fire department spokeswoman, Melissa Kelly, said fire personnel responded to a drug overdose call at the Roosevelt at one minute after midnight and transported someone to the hospital.

Kelly said her records did not indicate who the victim was. She added city police were routinely notified of any drug overdose reported to the fire department.

Word of the incident surfaced a day before a hearing was scheduled in Los Angeles Superior Court for a report on Love's status in a court-ordered drug treatment program.

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Michael Jackson went to hospital suffering from dehydration and weight loss after jurors acquitted the singer of child molestation last month, his lawyer said on Tuesday.


"Michael Jackson was ill from time to time. In fact, people didn't realize he actually entered the hospital after the verdict," Jackson's lawyer Tom Mesereau told BBC radio in an interview.

"He was dehydrated, he had lost a tremendous amount of weight, he was having trouble keeping food down, he was terrified about what was going happen to his children and he had a recurring back problem," he added.

The child star turned superstar, whose "Thriller" album made him one of the world's best known entertainers, was visibly weak at the end of his four-month trial and his family said he had gone to bed after the verdict.

Mesereau said he had not spoken to Jackson in the last few weeks although the two had been in touch after the trial.

Jackson was acquitted last month of molesting a 13-year-old boy in 2003 as well as plying him with alcohol and conspiring to abduct the boy.

The singer faced nearly 20 years in prison if convicted.

Although cleared, music industry experts have questioned how the formerly unstoppable superstar can rebuild his career and work his way out of deep debt.

Mesereau insisted Jackson would not settle out of court if further allegations were made against him.

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Man guilty in Diaz topless case

A photographer accused of forging the signature of actress Cameron Diaz to try to sell topless photos of her has been convicted in the US.


John Rutter, 42, could be jailed for up to six years after being found guilty in a Los Angeles court of forgery, attempted grand theft and perjury.

He took pictures of Ms Diaz when she was an unknown teenage model.

In 2003, he tried to sell the photos back to her for $3.5m (£2m), presenting her with a forged model release form.

Rutter told the actress he was giving her "first refusal" to buy the photos taken 11 years earlier. If she did not pay up, he said he would offer the photos for sale worldwide.

Ms Diaz told the court that the photographer told her the buyers were going to put the pictures in magazine spreads and on buses and advertising boards.

The actress contacted the authorities, who arrested Rutter after a sting operation.

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Aniston still loves Pitt, denies split over kids

NEW YORK - Actress Jennifer Aniston still loves estranged husband Brad Pitt and denies gossip column speculation that the pair split because she did not want to have children, according to a magazine interview.

"I love Brad; I really love him. I will love him for the rest of my life," Aniston told Vanity Fair in an interview in the magazine's September issue.

Tabloid speculation has swirled for months that Pitt, 41, the star of "Ocean's Eleven" and "Troy," and Angelina Jolie, 30, have been romantically involved since filming "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" last year. In May, Jolie denied those rumors.

Much of the tabloid coverage suggested that Aniston, 36, and Pitt broke up over disputes about starting a family.

"I've never in my life said I didn't want to have children," she said of those reports.

The actress best known as "Rachel" from the television sitcom "Friends" said she was upset over the pictures of Pitt and Jolie, which have dominated tabloids for months. "I would be a robot if I said I didn't feel moments of anger, of hurt, of embarrassment," she said.

Aniston filed for divorce in March from Pitt after separating earlier in the year. But Aniston said she has not lost faith in the notion of marriage.

"In five years I would hope to be married and have a kid. I still believe in marriage 100 percent," Aniston said.

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Jimi Hendrix played gay to leave Army -book

NEW YORK - Jimi Hendrix, regarded as one of the greatest electric guitar players and known as a prodigious womanizer, lied about being gay to get out of the U.S. Army and pursue his true love -- music, according to a new biography of the rock legend.


"Room Full of Mirrors," written by Charles Cross and published by Hyperion, recounts the life of Hendrix, from a troubled childhood in a black Seattle neighborhood, to brushes with the law and a fast climb to the top of the rock world with hits such as "Purple Haze," and "Hey Joe," and "The Wind Cries Mary."

"It's almost hard to believe what a big, colorful life he led," said Cross, who interviewed more than 300 people for the book, which goes on sale on Wednesday.

Hendrix did not begin playing guitar until he was 15. Three years later, Hendrix enlisted in the 101st Airborne Division in 1961 as a court-offered alternative to jail for riding in stolen cars.

He claimed he was discharged after 13 months after breaking his ankle in a parachuting drill, but military records showed he was discharged for "homosexual tendencies."

According to the records, he told the base psychiatrist he had sexual fantasies about his bunkmates, grew addicted to masturbating and was in love with a member of his squad, Cross writes.

"He wanted to get out," Cross said in an interview. "Music just had become his calling."

Hendrix's career picked up speed after he left Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He began touring the South with a band and played back-up for headliners like Otis Redding, the Isley Brothers and Little Richard on the so-called 'Chitlin' Circuit.'

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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Oscar-winning actress Holly Hunter is pregnant for the first time at age 47, her spokeswoman said on Friday.


"She is pregnant with twins and expecting this winter," the publicist said.

The father is longtime boyfriend, actor Gordon MacDonald, the publicist said.

They will be the first children for Hunter, who is divorced from cinematographer Janusz Kaminski.

Hunter, a native of Georgia, starred as a driven TV news producer in "Broadcast News" and won an Academy Award for playing a mute bride in the 1993 film "The Piano."

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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Marilyn Monroe adored fellow screen legend Clark Gable as a father figure, fretted over a relationship with then-Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and had a one-night stand with actress Joan Crawford that left her cold.

Monroe also thought sex with former spouse and playwright Arthur Miller was just "so-so" and maintained a deep affection for ex-husband Joe DiMaggio. But she credited her psychiatrist with teaching her how to achieve orgasm.

The Los Angeles Times revealed these and other glimpses into Monroe's mind on Friday in excerpts of tape recordings the sex symbol and actress is said to have secretly made for her psychiatrist in the days before she died at the age of 36 in 1962.

The Times said it obtained a written record of the tapes from the only person still alive who claims to have heard them -- former prosecutor John Miner, 86, who says the recordings support his belief Monroe was a victim of foul play.

Miner took "extensive" and "nearly verbatim" notes from the tapes when they were played for him by Monroe's therapist, Dr. Ralph Greenson, now deceased, while Miner was investigating her death.

Monroe's nude body was found on Aug. 5, 1962, in her Los Angeles home. An autopsy concluded she died of barbiturate poisoning, and the death was ruled a probable suicide.

Conspiracy theories abounded for decades suggesting Monroe was murdered. Prosecutors reexamined the case in 1982 but decided there was insufficient evidence to warrant a new criminal investigation.

The Times story was published as dozens of fans gathered, as they have for decades, near Monroe's burial site to mark the anniversary of her death and the unanswered questions surrounding it.

"She was enormously desirable and enormously vulnerable," said Stanley Rubin, who produced the 1954 film "River of No Return," starring Monroe and Robert Mitchum.

Miner told the Times he examined the tapes in a bid to determine Monroe's state of mind and came away believing the recordings showed the actress was anything but suicidal.

According to excerpts, Monroe started off the recording -- a kind of self-analysis through free association -- by thanking her doctor for helping her regain "control of myself, control of my life."

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Rapper 50 Cent's autobiography is a modern-day version of living the American Dream -- get your start by selling crack cocaine, make your escape through hip-hop music, and once you've made it big, peddle sneakers.


His book "From Pieces to Weight" hits the shelves on Tuesday, and fans were lining up at a New York record store for autographed copies from the 30-year-old whose 2003 debut album "Get Rich or Die Tryin"' has sold more than 12 million copies.

50 Cent's business empire encompasses a record label, vitamin water, clothing lines, a video game and a nonprofit organization called G-Unity that aims to improve the prospects of youth in neighborhoods like the one he grew up in, Southside Jamaica in Queens, New York.

"After I got shot nine times at close range and didn't die, I started to think I must have a purpose in life," 50 Cent writes, describing a 2000 run-in with drug-dealers in Queens that left him hospitalized for 13 days.