Buzz Briefs: Snipes, Spielberg
Snipes Wants Out During Tax Convictions Appeal
Wesley Snipes must surrender to prison authorities June 3 if he isn't granted bail to appeal three federal tax convictions, defense lawyers said in a court filing.
Snipes' attorneys plan to argue before the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the trial judge erred in several ways before and after his February conviction. U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges last month sentenced Snipes to three years in prison.
To be granted freedom during the appeal, the 45-year-old actor must prove that he has a substantial issue to raise and isn't a flight risk. His attorneys argue that Hodges gave the jury bad instructions and should have granted them an expanded pretrial hearing on their request to move the proceedings.
Prosecutors said Snipes had no major issues to raise and has demonstrated he could flee. In a Monday filing, U.S. Attorney Robert O'Neill said Snipes told the probation office he had less than $10,000 in liquid assets, but the actor surprised the government by producing $5 million in payment for back taxes at his sentencing.
Photos: Stars Behind Bars
"His apparent lack of candor about his assets, combined with trial evidence that he has transferred millions of dollars offshore, show some risk of flight," O'Neill wrote.
Snipes, the star of the "Blade" trilogy, "White Men Can't Jump," "Jungle Fever" and other films, hasn't filed a tax return since 1998, the government alleged.
Spielberg Honored For Holocaust, Darfur Work
President Nicolas Sarkozy said the honor was prompted by the filmmaker's work documenting the Holocaust and his efforts to help the war-wracked Darfur region of Sudan.
Spielberg, 61, met with Sarkozy in the French presidential palace on Wednesday.
He was at the Cannes Film Festival last weekend for the world premiere of his new film, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."
The French Legion of Honor is one of the country's highest awards.
Bon Jovi To Be Piped In Postgame
The Soul play the Kansas City Brigade at 7:30 p.m. at the Wachovia Center, and the concert will follow the game, at approximately 11:15 p.m.
Jon Bon Jovi is co-majority owner of the Arena Football League team.
"Dog The Bounty Hunter's" Producers Sued
Boris Krutonog of Los Angeles says the A&E Television Networks and others have failed to pay him everything he's owed for creating and co-producing the show. Filming for the Honolulu-based reality show's fifth season recently began.
The 47-year-old Krutonog also complains that he has been the target of "abusive, violent and outrageous conduct" by the show's stars, Duane "Dog" Chapman and his wife Beth.
Krutonog says A&E, along with television producer David Houts and two companies he controls, breached their contract with him.
Houts referred questions about Krutonog's claims to A&E. The networks' spokesman, Dan Silberman, said Wednesday he could not comment on pending litigation.
Winehouse Last-Minute Add To Glastonbury Gig
Amy Winehouse will perform at this summer's Glastonbury Festival.
She will play the festival's main Pyramid Stage on June 28, just before headliner Jay-Z, it was announced Wednesday.
Organizers said the late addition of Winehouse to the lineup wasn't the result of issues in the singer's turbulent personal life.
Winehouse, 24, was arrested and questioned by police earlier this month about video footage that appeared to show her inhaling fumes from a crack pipe. Police later said she wouldn't be charged.
Photos: Celebrity Circuit
The Grammy-winning singer, best known for her breakthrough hit "Rehab," is also scheduled to play Britain's Bestival, T in the Park and V Festivals this summer.
Jessica Alba Is Officially Off The Market
Sorry, guys. Jessica Alba's "taken" status is legal.
The 27-year-old actress quietly wed producer Cash Warren on Monday, her publicist, Brad Cafarelli, said Tuesday in an e-mail to The Associated Press. Cafarelli didn't give further details.
The pair became engaged in late December following Alba's announcement that she's expecting a baby with Warren, 31. They met on the set of the 2005 film "The Fantastic Four," which costarred Alba and employed Warren as a director's assistant.
Her wedding, first reported Monday by People.com, was such a quiet affair that even her brother, Josh Alba, was apparently caught off-guard. When reached by Us Weekly magazine with the news, he responded: "My sister!? I'm going to have to call her!"
When asked if Warren was good husband material, Alba said: "Well, he's my brother-in-law now!"
Photos: Knots
Alba's recently appeared in "Awake," "Good Luck Chuck" and "The Ten." The sex symbol first gained fame as an action star on TV's "Dark Angel," then in films including "Fantastic Four" and "Sin City."
Besides a baby, Alba is also expecting two films this summer: "Meet Bill," in which she plays a lingerie saleswoman who helps turn life around for a loser, and "The Love Guru" with Mike Myers as a self-help weirdo trying to patch things up between a hockey star and his wife.
Alba charts high in men's magazines' lists of the "sexiest" women in the world. She was No. 1 to FHM readers last year, and dropped to No. 3 this year (with "Transformers" star Megan Fox claiming the top spot). Alba sued Playboy in 2006 for putting her picture on its cover without her consent, but dropped the action the following month when Playboy donated to two charities Alba supports and Hugh Hefner wrote a letter of apology.
"Harry" Is No Longer Hairy
Harrison Ford pulled a Steve Carell for a public service announcement: He gets his chest waxed.
The 65-year-old star winces in apparent pain as a strip of hair is yanked from between his pecs for a PSA for Conservation International to raise awareness about the effect of deforestation on global warming.
The actor, who doesn't typically appear in such TV spots, sits on the board of directors of the Washington-based environmental organization.
Conservation International CEO Peter Seligmann said Ford was game to do the 30-second spot, and approved of the waxing concept.
"I didn't have to talk him into anything," Seligmann said at a news conference Tuesday in Manhattan. "I was there when he filmed it. It really hurt. There's nothing about the expression on his face that was fake."
The classic scene from 2005's "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" - in which Carell screams out "Kelly Clarkson!" during his chest hair removal - was intentionally hilarious. Ford's message, however, is serious: "Every bit of rain forest that gets ripped out over there, really hurts us over here."
"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," starring Ford, Shia LaBeouf and Karen Allen, opens nationwide on Thursday.
Dylan McDermott Files For Divorce After 12 Years
Dylan McDermott has filed for divorce from wife Shiva Rose after more than 12 years of marriage, court records show.
McDermott, 46, filed a petition for dissolution of marriage last Friday citing irreconcilable differences, according to court records first obtained by CelebTV.com.
McDermott, the former star of TV's "The Practice," and Rose, an actress, have two daughters together.
They separated more than a year ago, according to court documents.
Photos: Splits
Property and custody arrangements will be determined at a later date, the documents state.
A message left Tuesday at the office of McDermott's publicist Cari Ross was not immediately returned.
Attempts to find contact information for Rose were not successful.