This Week: Great Expectations
The wedding of the year happens this weekend, and what a fantabulous build-up it's been.
The anticipation was palpable all week. With each passing day, more snippets of news came out of Italy; that it would take place at a castle overlooking Lake Bracciano, that Tom Cruise had arrived, and that Oprah wouldn't be there to see Katie Holmes walk down the aisle in her Giorgio Armani dress.
But Brooke Shields would? The eclectic guest list piqued our interested even more. With each passing hour, more celebs trickled in ... Jim Carrey, J.Lo, Marc Anthony, most of whom attended a Thursday dinner at the Roman restaurant Nino's.
Click here to see photos of the celebrity guests
Shields was there with her husband, TV writer Chris Henchy. Fellow Scientologist, Jenna Elfman, and her husband Bodhi were also in tow. So was "Top Gun" producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
The celebrity count is climbing with Will Smith and wife Jada, former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham and her footballer husband, David. CBS Newspath correspondent Charlie D'Agata reports that still to come are some of Hollywood's biggest stars, including John Travolta, George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
Ceremonial secrets are already leaking out. We can expect to see Tom in a grey suit, Katie in a cream-colored Armani gown with low heels, D'Agata reports. The heels are a gift for the groom, as she's 5-foot-9.
What about Baby Suri? She may be the ring-bearer at the Church of Scientology ceremony.
What can we expect in the wedding banquet? Typical Italian fare: Parma ham, fresh fish and meat, and homemade pasta. The cake is apparently a lemon-coconut creation, a little something sweet to top off a very rich affair.
Meanwhile this week, "Dancing With The Stars" fans have been waiting since September to see who would take home that cheesy trophy. It wasn't an easy race to predict and so 27.2 million viewers tuned in — first for endless recaps, then to watch the crowning of the winner.
A much smaller group of fans got what they were waiting for when Michael Jackson came out of seclusion for his first performance since being acquitted of child molestation charges in June 2005. His stage presence was certainly no thriller.
The purported "king of pop" whisper-sang as a youth choir belted out his hit "We Are The World" at the World Music Awards in London. He wore all black and swayed from side to side, clapping.
It appeared as though his microphone was not working or that he was just singing too softly and was letting the choir carry him along.
After much hoopla beforehand, the performance was lame at best. It was reported that Jackson would sing "Thriller" for the crowd, but instead Chris Brown took the stage with a slew of zombies.
When Jaime Pressly walked on Jay Leno's stage this week, she wasn't hiding the fact that she was sporting a baby bump. Though she and her reps had been denying it for months, the "My Name Is Earl Star" admitted on the talk show that she is infanticipating. Pressly, who is engaged to be married, said she's four months along and explained why she wanted to keep it a secret.
"(The press) started saying I was pregnant after I was only a month and a half pregnant. I lied and lied and lied. You have to," she told Leno. "As a woman and a first-time mother, it's very easy to miscarry in your first trimester … I didn't want to say, 'Yes I am (pregnant).' … that's a woman's right to not have to say anything."
Families of the victims immediately spoke out about it. Some suggested a boycott of the book, which is available Nov. 30; others scheduled their TiVo's to watch the two-part TV spectacle.
"I'm not surprised at anything that piece of garbage — that murderer — would do," Goldman's father, Fred Goldman, said of Simpson.
British actor Daniel Craig made his much-anticipated debut as James Bond in "Casino Royale" this week, and scores of 007 fans turned out to see if he fit the bill. So far Craig seems to have lived up to everyone's expectations ("Craig comes closer to the author's original conception of this exceptionally long-lived male fantasy figure than anyone since early Sean Connery," Variety said). One thing is for sure: The star-studded premiere at London Leicester Square was a royal affair, with Queen Elizabeth II in attendance.
Click here to see Bond & Co. meet the QueenAs Craig's face was launched onto a million movie screens, the world its collective breath as People magazine revealed its pick for Sexiest Man Alive 2006. This year they were right on target with George Clooney. He's single (therefore potentially attainable by single women everywhere), he's beautiful but doesn't take himself too seriously — and he's just so darn charming.
Brownie point No. 4, he's got a picturesque villa on another lake in Italy where he, too, could marry his princess if he chooses to take a cue from Sexy Man '90, Tom Cruise, and take the plunge.
By Amy Bonawitz