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Oprah in line for biggest book deal (Go To Top)

        London: Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey's coffers will be brimming to the rim soon, for she has signed a deal to tell the story of her battle against the bulge in the biggest non-fiction book deal ever. And, publishers Simon & Schuster are so certain that the book will be on every best-seller list in the world, that they have offered her a deal that will exceed even the 6.4million pound one made to former US President Bill Clinton for his autobiography 'My Life'. Oprah, who admits that her maintaining her weight has always been a struggle because she feels 'safer' and 'more protected' when overweight, will be revealing her battle to watch her weight that swings between 10(63kg) and 15 stone (90kg). "It's always a struggle. I've felt safer and more protected when I was heavy. Food has always been comforting," The Sun quoted her, as saying. In the book, Winfrey will be describing how working with a personal trainer helps her in the battle against the bulge.

Jolie's baby struck by mystery illness (Go To Top)

       London: Star couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are reportedly worried because baby Zahara has been struck down with what appears to be a mysterious illness, and are also said to be having differences over whether or not returning to the US would be a good idea. A source revealed that while Brad was in favour of taking Zahara to the US for proper medical care, Angelina was insisting on staying in Africa till their baby is born. "Brad is absolutely beside himself. He's desperate to take Zahara to the US for medical attention. But Angie insists on staying in Africa. It has caused a number of fights between them," The Sun quoted the source, as saying. The tiny tot has reportedly stopped sleeping properly, cries frequently and screams laid on her back. Zahara has also undergone a number of tests that have so far failed to give to any results, something that has Pitt and Jolie worried that it could be a genetic illness. "She's had so many tests, but no one knows what's wrong," the source added.

Timothy Dalton almost killed James Bond (Go To Top)

      Washington: Actor Timothy Dalton's role as the suave British super spy James Bond in the 1980's turned out to be so disastrous that studio bosses considered never making another Bond flick again. Bond's near demise was discovered when letters of the former vice-president of Columbia Pictures Kenneth Maidment were unearthed. In the letters, Maidment wrote that the prospect of making another Bond film after the dismal results of the Timothy Dalton starrers - 'The Living Daylights' (1987) and 'Licence To Kill' (1989). "The prospect of a further Bond film seems highly uncertain. I pointed out in my 1984 valuation that there was a big question mark over the future of James Bond films. The last two pictures have starred Timothy Dalton but sadly the results have, unfortunately not had the same box-office success," Contactmusic quoted Maidment, as writing in his letters.

Mel Gibson blasts 'Da Vinci Code' lies (Go To Top)

       Washington: Mel Gibson has hit out at the big screen adaptation of Dan Brown's best-selling novel 'The Da Vinci Code' saying that it will make people accept the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene as fact rather than fiction. Gibson, whose own film 'The Passion of the Christ' had been praised by the Vatican for its depiction of Christ's crucifixion, said that though he wasn't overly upset over the fact that the 'Da Vinci Code' 'refutes' everything he holds sacred, he thought that the movie blurred lines between fact and fiction. "What worries me is that people will take this as fact. I'm not angry, per se, that it refutes everything I hold sacred, the foundations of my beliefs. The Da Vinci Code is an admitted work of fiction but it cleverly weaves fact into maverick theories in a way that will appear plausible to some," Contactmusic quoted him, as saying.

Connery took LSD to cope with fame (Go To Top)

       London: Hollywood veteran Sean Connery's ex-wife has revealed that the actor took the mind-bending drug LSD to help deal with the pressure of fame. Diane Cilento, Connery's ex-wife, in her new book 'My Nine Lives' said that the former Bond actor's insecurity rose even as he became more successful when the third 007 film Goldfinger released in 1964, and that he took to taking LSD to deal with the insecurity and stress. "Goldfinger was the most successful Bond film yet. But the more successful Bond became, the more insecure Sean felt. He was convinced he would never feel safe until he had #1million in the bank," the Mirror quoted her, as saying.

Audrey Tautou is no 'Pretty Woman' (Go To Top)

      Washington: If there's one thing that 'The Da Vinci Code' star Audrey Tautou doesn't believe, it's all those people who compliment her on being a real 'beauty'. Toutou insists that she could never be described as a real beauty like 'Pretty Woman' Julia Roberts or 'The Passion of the Christ' star Monica Bellucci, and maintains that she sees herself falling in the 'cute' category. "I don't consider myself pretty. I consider Julia Roberts or Monica Bellucci, those kind of women, as beauties. But me, I'm cute," Contactmusic quoted her, as saying.

Moss beats Doherty into bloody pulp (Go To Top)

      Washington: Troubled rocker Pete Doherty had the 'crap' beaten out of him by supermodel girlfriend Kate Moss when she read how he sprayed blood at two MTV News cameramen after a gig in Berlin. Doherty revealed that Moss had gotten mad and had started 'punching and kicking' him for his stunt in the German capital. And though he hurt his finger, the Babyshambles rocker, who recently came under attack for injecting an unconscious female fan in his home, said that he refrained from retaliating in kind because Moss is a girl. "She was angry about the blood spraying thing. She beat the crap out of me. She layed into me punching and kicking. I'm alright, but she hurt my finger. I couldn't do anything back, because she's a girl," Contactmusic quoted him, as saying.

Da Vinci Code lords over box office (Go To Top)

        Washington: The "Da Vinci Code" has topped the US box office in its debut weekend, exceeding analysts' estimates after earning an impressive 77 million dollars in its opening week. Even critics and controversy couldn't stop fans from flocking to theatres to watch the film adaptation of Dan Brown's best-seller, which has been declared a worldwide hit after it raked in a huge 224 million dollars all across. "I think basically this was certainly a film that audiences were going to make up their own minds about. Having a lot of newscasters from TV and radio and from newspapers asking audiences what they thought, raised awareness. And certainly we had some very high profile critics who liked the film. And probably our most important critic of all is Dan Brown--and he loved it!" E!Online quoted Rory Bruer, president of distribution for Sony Pictures, as saying. The animated movie "Over The Hedge,'' opened as the second-most watched film with 37.2 million dollars, beating Tom Cruise starrer "Mission: Impossible III" with 11 million dollars. "Poseidon" with an earning of 9.2 million dollars in its second weekend came in fifth, while "RV" rounded off the top five after selling out tickets worth 501 million dollars.

     The estimated top 10 domestic grosses for this weekend are: 1. The Da Vinci Code, $77 million 2. Over the Hedge, $37.2 million 3. Mission: Impossible III, $11 million 4. Poseidon, $9.2 million 5. RV, $5.1 million 6. See No Evil, $4.3 million 7. Just My Luck, $3.3 million 8. An American Haunting, $1.6 million 9. United 93, $1.4 million 10. Akeelah and the Bee, $1 million.

Beyonce's water-diet sheds her pounds (Go To Top)

       Washington: Singer Beyonce Knowles admits she lived on a diet of water with cayenne pepper to bring a difference in the looks of her "Dreamgirls'" character, as she travels her journey from younger Deanne Jones to the older one. The 24-year-old star lost 20 pounds to play the super-svelte, the lead singer of The Dreamettes, - a 1960s style group, loosely based on Diana Ross And The Supremes. "At the beginning (of filming), I was my normal weight. I actually gained a little bit, but then I lost 20 lbs when I went from young Deena to old Deena. I wanted it to be something more than just make-up and hair. I wanted to see the change," Contactmusic quoted her, as saying. The star further confesses she tried to imitate the weight loss, that actor Tom Hanks endured for his film Cast Away. "I tried to do it Tom Hanks style, and I literally fasted because I had to drop it really fast in the film. It was a sacrifice. Definitely a sacrifice, and it was difficult on the set," said the young beauty. "Everyone was eating cookies and I'm drinking, literally, water and cayenne pepper. But it worked," she added. However, the singer's mother, Tina, was relieved her daughter put weight back on following the shoot. "I've actually consciously and purposely gained a little back because I was too thin," said Beyonce.

Becks ready to settle down in Spain (Go To Top)

       London: England soccer captain David Beckham has said that he has no immediate plans of returning to England with his family, saying that their life in Spain is ideal. "I want to settle down here (in Spain), my family's happy here, I'm happy playing football here," The MIrror quotes Beckham as saying in a television interview to be aired tomorrow. The 31-year-old player further said that he would like to end his career at Real Madrid, "because at the end of my career, I want to be known as a player that's played at a top level, for the best teams, and they don't come much better and bigger than Manchester United and Real Madrid." He said that his wife, Victoria, has also expressed a desire to stay on in Spain. "We've got a nice set of friends and the kids are happy," the football star was quoted, as saying.

Aguilera's stripping set to raise a 'storm' (Go To Top)

      Washington: Pop star Christina Aguilera is likely to play burlesque stripper Tempest Storm in a Hollywood biopic on the legendary dancer. Movie bosses are convinced the raunchy hitmaker is the perfect choice and would do total justice to Storm's character onscreen. "The role of Tempest has Christina's name written all over it. "She's got the looks - and the moves. People forget the singer has an acting background," Contactmusic quoted a source, as telling British newspaper the Daily Star. Storm, a legend in the world of burlesque for over five decades, set Hollywood alight in the 1950s with her topless dancing and alleged affairs with Elvis Presley and John F Kennedy.

Botox helping men to become hotshots (Go To Top)

       London: If you thought that botox was only popular among women determined to maintain their looks, well you better think again, for an increasing number of men are turning to it to erase not only the worry lines on their face, but also all signs of doubt and exhaustion. And, botox is proving to be such a hit among the male Homo sapiens that one in five people paying a visit to cosmetic surgery specialists such as the Transform Medical Group are now men, who include bankers, lawyers and sales executives. A spokesman for the Botonics clinic in London revealed that botox use among men, as a group, was growing faster than had in women. "As a group, they are growing much faster than women," The Independent quoted him, as saying. As to why botox and underarm injections to stop men sweating are becoming so popular, well it all comes down to wanting to look unfazed and cool in a stressful situation. "They want to give the impression that nothing fazes them," said one plastic surgeon.

Sony eyeing Da Vinci Code prequel (Go To Top)

       Washington: Hollywood bosses are reportedly so thrilled with the amount of money the big screen adaptation Dan Brown's best-selling novel 'The Da Vinci Code' is raking in, that they are already planning to turn another of his books, 'Angels and Demons', into a movie as well. Jeff Blake, the vice-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment said that the company was 'very interested' in filming 'Angels and Demons', which is a prequel to the 'Da Vinci Code'. "We are very interested in filming Angels and Demons. We hope that the relationship with Dan Brown will be a long one. That could be the next project," Contactmusic quoted him, as saying. 'Angels and Demons' is Brown's third novel and it centres around the secret society the Illuminati, the Vatican and a quest for the world's most powerful energy source.

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