Celebrity Scoop
Actress Jennifer Garner, Ben Affleck's on-screen love interest in the action flick "Daredevil", has separated from her husband, actor Scott Foley. A statement released by the couple's publicist, Nicole King, said the two "have mutually decided to separate." Garner and Foley, both 30, met in 1998 while shooting the television drama "Felicity", and married in 2000. Foley is currently working on the television comedy "A.U.S.A.", while Garner plays a sexy spy on the critically acclaimed series, "Alias". Garner, a presenter at last month's Oscar ceremony, attracted media attention when she arrived at the awards show without Foley. People magazine reported that she instead spent the night partying "with a pal."
In the new film "A Man Apart," Vin Diesel plays a tough Drug Enforcement Agency agent who sets out to avenge the murder of his wife. The film follows on from his adrenalin-pumped hits "xXx" and "The Fast and the Furious." His dazzling ascent to stardom is all quite surreal says the action star. He says he remembers the days when he couldn't buy a bit part in Hollywood. So now to be called the heir apparent to such action heroes as Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger still catches Diesel off guard. "You know I'm flattered being compared to any actor that's been successful," Diesel says. "We all know how difficult it is to get a job as an actor. I just love the fact that I have the opportunity to be artistic and to play roles that are interesting and be involved in films that are interesting." "A Man Apart" was actually shot two years ago, before Vin Diesel became a household name, commanding millions of dollars per film. The former nightclub bouncer will earn an estimated $20,000,000 and share in the profits for "xXx 2," slated for release next year.
Sharon Osbourne is free of cancer after months of treatment, says her rock star husband, Ozzy Osbourne. Ozzy said he still feared his wife would become ill again, and added that he was emotionally overwhelmed last year when her illness coincided with the success of their MTV reality show. "She's got no cancer in her body now, they tell me, but there's always a chance of it coming back," Ozzy Osbourne told the music magazine Kerrang! "She's doing great, but I must confess that I'm still worried about her." Sharon Osbourne, 50, announced last year that she was undergoing treatment for colon cancer, which she allowed cameras from "The Osbournes" to document. The hit reality series follows the daily misadventures of the couple and two of their three children, Jack and Kelly. "With Sharon's cancer and the success of the TV show, I lost it last year, I just freaked out," the 54-year-old Osbourne said. "I think I had something like a nervous breakdown -- my nervous system just imploded. This is all too much for me sometimes."
The Marshall Tucker Band plan to play a May 1 concert organized as an alternative to the Dixie Chicks, who will be opening their United States tour at the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville that day. Radio talk show host Mike Gallagher proposed the concert as a way for fans to protest remarks that Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines made about President Bush during the European leg of the trio's tour. "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas," Maines told a London audience last month. The singer since has apologized, but the anti-Chicks sentiment has spread rapidly. Gallagher says people attending his concert who have Dixie Chicks tickets will sit in a special VIP section and attend a VIP reception. All proceeds from the Marshall Tucker Band concert will buy food for military families and military communities, he said.
The Rolling Stones have arrived in India, after canceling their first-ever concerts in China because of a mystery disease. The flu-like illness has infected more than 1,800 people worldwide, killing at least 75, mostly in Asia. The band arrived with an entourage of 150 in the southern city of Bangalore late Tuesday on its "40 Licks" tour. They'd been scheduled to perform Tuesday in Shanghai and Friday in Beijing, but changed their minds because of travel warnings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. These are just the latest shows the veteran rockers have canceled in their "40 Licks" tour because of the disease -- severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS. They performed in Singapore earlier this week, but scrapped two weekend concerts in Hong Kong.
Jason Mewes, who played a pot-smoking slacker in Kevin Smith films including "Clerks" and "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back," has been ordered to complete drug rehabilitation or face jail. Mewes, 28, who failed to report for a court hearing stemming from a 1999 heroin conviction, had a warrant issued for his arrest in December 2001. On Tuesday, he surrendered and pleaded guilty to probation violation charges. He admitted failing to report to his probation officer, take drug tests or undergo counseling. He also admitted leaving the state without permission and lying to his probation officer. Superior Court Judge Michael D. Farren ordered Mewes to begin treatment within 10 days at Discovery House, a rehabilitation center in Marlboro. Mewes, a Highlands native now living in Hollywood, Calif., must complete the program before he's allowed to leave New Jersey, Farren said. If he violates his parole again, he faces up to five years in prison. Mewes, who didn't speak during the hearing, declined comment afterward.
Singer Toni Braxton and her husband have another son. "They are doing great, both mother and baby are resting comfortably," her publicist, David Brokaw, said Tuesday. Diezel Ky Braxton Lewis was born Sunday at an Atlanta-area hospital. He's the second child of Braxton, 34, and her 32-year-old husband, Keri Lewis. They also have a 1-year-old son, Denim. The Grammy-winning singer met Lewis when his band, Mint Condition, accompanied her on a concert tour.