Here's your chance to own a piece of Hollywood history: Winona Ryder wants to auction off for charity the $5,500 worth of already-way-overpriced merchandise she stole from Saks Fifth Avenue in 2001. Ryder's attorney made the offer at today's progress report hearing in Beverly Hills, during which Judge Elden Fox praised the 31-year-old actress for completing her community service ahead of schedule. Fox postponed a decision on the whole charity auction idea.
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Russell Crowe is officially off the market. The Oscar winner married girlfriend Danielle Spencer at his country ranch in Australia earlier today. The lavish ceremony coincided with Crowe's 39th birthday and my friend Jill's baby shower.
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An aeronautics expert at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, Dave Johnson doesn't look like your typical science geek. His shirtless jungle hijinks on Survivor: The Amazon sure weren't hard on the eyes! Have his co-workers teased last week's castoff for turning into a fluffy reality TV hunk?
"I get teased more for dumb things I said, like the bad rocket science jokes, than for having my shirt off," he tells TV Guide Online. "I'm certainly not the only one walking around with my shirt off. It's hot out there."
And how! Any chance he'll model his beefcake like April's Cosmo centerfold, Evan Marriott of Joe Millionaire? "You know, some extra bucks in the back pocket isn't too shabby," he chuckles. "If the money's right, we'll start talkin'!"
Clearly, the Amazon ladies enjoyed his company, as he did theirs. "Are you talking about the reward challenge with Deena in the bath," h
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It's beauty tool time for Tim Allen. The Home Improvement alum has inked a deal to headline In the Pink, a big-screen comedy about a corporate playboy who loses his cushy job and turns to selling Mary Kay cosmetics. It's based on the book The Rise and Fall of Ted Turner. I kid.
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NBC newsman David Bloom, who was one of 600 journalists embedded with U.S. and British forces in Iraq, died over the weekend while covering the war. He was 39. Bloom's death was not combat-related; he died after suffering a blood clot possibly caused by immobility. Colleagues reported that Bloom had complained of leg pain from sitting in one position for hours in a tank. On Sunday's weekend edition of Today, where Bloom served as co-anchor opposite Soledad O'Brien, a solemn Matt Lauer and Katie Couric joined O'Brien in paying tribute to their fallen colleague. "He was a dedicated, tenacious and talented reporter," said O'Brien. "He died doing what he loved, and doing what he did best." Bloom is survived by his wife, Melanie, and three daughters.
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Broadway star Harvey Fierstein, who's earning raves for his gender-bending role as mom Edna Turnblad in the musical Hairspray, is taking his drag act to the small screen. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fierstein has signed a deal with Touchstone and ABC to play a Roseanne-esque matriarch in a new, untitled family sitcom. The project is being produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the duo behind Chicago.
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I'm going to refrain from overloading today's box office report with too many telephone puns and just report the fax: Colin Farrell's new thriller Phone Booth, which was put on hold as a result of last fall's real-life sniper crisis, got a ringing endorsement from moviegoers over the weekend, dialing up $15 million to debut at No. 1. Amanda Bynes's teen flick What a Girl Wants opened in second place with $12.1 million, followed by Vin Diesel's latest action saga A Man Apart (No. 3 with $11.2 million). Last weekend's top movie, Head of State, dropped to fourth place with $8.8 million.
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Madonna's April 24 guest shot on NBC's Will & Grace caps a two-year pursuit on the part of the sitcom's coexecutive producer Tim Kaiser — a mission that involved some wishful thinking, a little behind-the-scenes diplomacy and, perhaps most importantly, a bribe no material girl could resist. "I sent a lot of flowers," Kaiser laughs. "Madonna loves English roses, so I began to send these fantastic arrangements."
The floral fawning helped Kaiser penetrate Madonna's inner circle, although, "There wasn't much interest," he notes. "I was informed Madonna didn't own a television, or know Will & Grace existed." But, crazy for the pop icon, the scribe didn't give up. "I sent tapes of appearances by Matt Damon, Michael Douglas and whatnot, and... pitched how wonderful it would be for her to come on the show."
But it wasn't until last November — shortly after her late
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On April Fool's Day, Party Boy needed a breather from wartime worries. Fortunately, there were lotsa laughs at the silliest event of L.A.'s Fashion Week: The Frederick's of Hollywood runway show! Instead of being gawked at, celebs like David Duchovny and Tommy Lee did the ogling for a change, as pouty models stalked the catwalk clad in the finest of trashy lingerie.
Even in this sea of see-through undies, nothing was more transparent than the lustful male guests. "I'm a lingerie lover," enthused The Other Half co-host Dorian Gregory. "I'm here shopping for bras... for whatever occasion may come up. I have a couple of people I'm dating right now. I feel any gift that's wrapped right makes the gift that much more beautiful. The anticipation of unwrapping it is a phenomenal ride."
Ahem! Trying not to read too much into that, Party Boy blushingly moved on... At the bar, Bill Maher and Kato Kaelin chatted over Kahlua
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Extra has hired Bachelorette runner-up Charlie Maher to serve as a special correspondent... The third (and likely final) season of The Osbournes kicks off on June 10, MTV confirms.
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