Celebrity Scoop
George Clooney's bare-bottom shots in the science-fiction romance "Solaris" won't cost the movie its PG-13 rating. The Motion Picture Association of America has backed off its original R-rating without forcing director Steven Soderbergh to eliminate the nudity.
"Solaris" stars Clooney as a widowed astronaut forced to deal with his grief in space. In one shot, Clooney's character slow-dances partially naked in dim light with his wife, played by actress Natascha McElhone. In another, he and McElhone have a bedside discussion while undressed. Soderbergh told the MPA the scenes are no more extreme than some network TV shows and are necessary to illustrate the romantic relationship between the couple.
"We just thought that the material was handled in a very mature and tasteful manner and that any normal 13-year-old could more than wrap their mind around it," says Soderbergh. "The question was 'Are kids in danger of having their emotional lives turned upside down by these images?' As far as Jim G. (20th Century Fox film chairman Jim Gianopulous) and I were concerned, the answer was: 'Absolutely not.' "
Robert Blake has lost out again on a request for bail. The California Supreme Court shot down the actor's request on Wednesday. On Monday, Blake will have been in jail for seven months, since his arrest for the May 2001 murder of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley. The 69-year-old actor is awaiting a Dec. 11 preliminary hearing in his case.
Jeffrey Jones, best known for his role as the principal in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," is out on $20,000 bail after being arrested Thursday in Los Angeles. Jones, 56, is accused of having sex with a 17-year-old boy and possessing child pornography. Police say they began their investigation after receiving a complaint from a minor. A widely recognized character actor, Jones played the music-loving Emperor Joseph II in "Amadeus," the mentalist Criswell in "Ed Wood" and the father in "Beetlejuice."
A chain of bookstores owned by the Mormon Church has banned "The Last Promise," the new book by Richard Paul Evans, from its bookshelves. Evans, a practicing Mormon who traditionally begins all his book tours at Deseret Book, thought it was a joke when he first heard about it - until he noticed no one was laughing. Deseret says "Promise" doesn't meet the church's standards for "moral content." The book is about an American woman living in Italy who, in the face of an abusive relationship with her husband, turns to another man for emotional support in a relationship which never becomes physical. "The book is not about adultery," says Evans, explaining that the theme is love, not sex. "The book would be a PG-rated movie, at the most."
Rap mogul Russell Simmons and the Reverend Run of Run-DMC are among those who will be on hand for the first Hip-Hop Collegiate Empowerment Summit, on Nov. 21 at Morehouse College in Atlanta. Simmons says the idea is to encourage college students to address key social, economic and political issues. "This will be a great learning opportunity for anyone who is seriously considering hip-hop as a career path," says Dr. Benjamin Chavis, president of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network. "This will be our first Hip-Hop Summit to be convened on a college campus, and we in the hip-hop community take the issue of education very seriously."
Dennis Quaid, who's played Jerry Lee Lewis and baseball player Jim Morris onscreen, is stepping into the shoes of another legend. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Quaid has agreed to star in a movie about the life of seven-time NASCAR national champion Richard Petty.
Billy Guy, who sang baritone on the hits "Searchin"' and "Yakety Yak" as part of the 1950s vocal quartet The Coasters, has died of heart disease at his home in Las Vegas. He was 66. The Coasters combined doo-wop rhythm-and-blues with an upbeat rock sound and were best known for comedic, narrative songs such as "Charlie Brown," nearly all of them penned by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Guy wrote some songs himself, including 1960's "Wake Me, Shake Me." The group was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.