Celebrity Scoop
It was the night millions of "Matrix" fans have been waiting for - the star-studded premiere for the hotly anticipated sequel "The Matrix Reloaded," held in Los Angeles on Wednesday night. Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Laurence Fishburne and other cast members made their way down a special black carpet to the joyous sounds of screaming sci-fi fans. Sandra Bullock, Fred Durst and Lance Bass were among top celebs taking the opportunity to grab an early peek at one of the year's most hyped films. The film's 'R' rating didn't stop Jada Pinkett-Smith and her husband Will Smith from bringing their brood of little Smiths to the gala event. Parental guidelines aside - film makers at Warner Brothers are confident "Matrix Reloaded" will be more successful than the first which banked $130 million dollars at the box office. "The Matrix," a sixty three million dollar science fiction film starring Keanu Reeves as Neo, a man who finds himself singled out to be "The One," blended philosophy, science fiction and action with ground-breaking special effects and went on to take took well over three hundred million worldwide. "The Matrix Reloaded" opens on May 15th.
According to a Canadian paper, British singer songwriter Elvis Costello and Canadian Jazz singer Diana Krall are engaged to be married. Krall's father Jim, an accountant from the town of Nanaimo, British Columbia, announced the engagement to The Victoria Times Colonist on Thursday. Jim Krall said he doesn't know any details about when or where the wedding might take place but said he's happy about the plan, the newspaper reports. Rumors of a romance between Krall, 38, and Costello, 48, spread after the two were spotted dining together at a New York restaurant in January. "It's a wonderful thing and it's special to me. I'm really happy," Krall said of her relationship with Costello earlier this year. The Times Colonist said a source at Sam Feldman & Associates, the Vancouver company that manages Krall, confirmed the engagement but declined to provide details.
Actress Penelope Cruz took a break from her busy film career to help launch the newest perfume from designer Ralph Lauren on Wednesday night. Fans lined up at Bloomingdale's in Manhattan to sample the new fragrance, "Glamorous Daylight" and to meet the star who is known for her work in films such as "All the Pretty Horses" and "Vanilla Sky," and for being the partner of superstar Tom Cruise. Audiences will see her next in "Fan Fan la Tulip," which will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. When asked about her personal definition of glamour, Cruz said, "I think it's to feel good with yourself and to allow yourself to be yourself which is sometimes not an easy thing."
Rosie O'Donnell is back in the magazine business. The comedian and former talk show host, whose Rosie magazine lasted for a year and a half, will be a regular contributor to the gay and lesbian magazine The Advocate. Her first column appears in the May 13 issue. O'Donnell came out as a lesbian in March 2002. Her girlfriend, Kelli Carpenter, gave birth in November to a daughter, who joins O'Donnell's three adopted children. In the column, titled "The Yellow," O'Donnell describes how fame robbed her of her "yellow," a metaphor she uses for energy and happiness. "It started to show on my face and body. And as I became bigger and sadder, starved for yellow," she writes. "I filled my craving with food, getting madder still with my expanding girth and with my inability to make more yellow." O'Donnell, 41, pulled out of Rosie magazine last year, saying the publisher was squelching her editorial voice. The publisher, Gruner + Jahr USA, sued her for leaving.
Hundreds of fans lined up in front of a London record store after it was announced that Madonna would perform on Friday. Her appearance at the HMV store on Oxford Street, London's main shopping thoroughfare, was announced by a disc jockey on British Broadcasting Corp. radio and on the pop singer's Web site. The first 500 people outside the store at closing Wednesday night were promised wristbands admitting them to Friday's show. Madonna will perform songs from her latest album, "American Life," her Web site said. The 44-year-old pop singer lives part-time in London with her husband, film director Guy Ritchie, and her two children.
Gerard Depardieu, star of the 1990 Hollywood romantic comedy "Green Card" and dozens of French films, injured his right leg in a motorcycle accident near Paris' old opera house, police said. The 54-year-old actor was able to walk away from the scene of the accident, the Paris police prefecture said Wednesday. Further details weren't immediately available. In 1998, Depardieu crashed his motorcycle when his blood-alcohol content was five times over the legal limit, escaping with leg and face injuries. His 32-year-old son, Guillaume, also an actor, fell off a motorcycle in 1996 and needed several operations, one of which led to a bacterial infection that never properly healed. The younger Depardieu recently announced that after years of pain in his right leg, he planned to have it amputated next month.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty got a ride in Jesse Ventura's new car, along with some advice from his predecessor. "Just don't watch the news or read newspapers at all," Ventura said with a laugh. The former wrestler-turned-governor, who had many a dust-up with the press during his term, swung by the Capitol grounds Tuesday to show off his new deep-blue Porsche Biturbo to his friends working in security. Pawlenty was standing nearby, and the two chatted for a bit before Pawlenty jumped in the passenger side for a ride. According to Pawlenty spokeswoman Leslie Kupchella, it was the first time the two had spoken at length since Pawlenty was elected in November. Ventura also said rumors on the Drudge Report that his planned MSNBC television show is in trouble are false. The Web site quoted an anonymous MSNBC source as saying that Ventura has been having "just a terrible time" and that "rehearsals have been extremely trying." Ventura said production planning is proceeding in the Twin Cities Public Television studio and that the show probably will be on the air on or about June 1.