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HOLLYWOOD ... Tinseltown is slowly getting back to
normal after being ravished by the Writers Guild strike. Most of the
awards shows are over, but the partying goes on. Big gala at the Los
Angeles Museum of Art when that august institution added another branch.
Lotsa stars, like the Tom Cruises, the Dustin Hoffmans, Rita Wilson,
Tony Bennett, and umpteen others, showed to ooh and ahh and hug and
kiss. And interestingly, most of the men wore suits, shirts and ties.
Usually they don casual wear like T's and open-at-the-neck shirts. Very
casual. NOT here. REAL DRESSY!
Remember the name -- Brittany Snow. She's the pretty and talented blonde
in "Hairspray." Her cup is overflowing. She's now shooting "Vicious
Kind," about a gal who is targeted by the obsessed older brother of her
boyfriend. Two other credits already out there are "Finding Amanda" and
"Blackwater Train." More about her private life to come.
Aside to Orabeth G. of Columbus, Ga. Yup. Tom Cruise was named Thomas
Cruise Mapother IV. When he became an actor he figured Cruise would be
an easier name all the way around, so he merely dropped the Mapother IV.
So no, he really didn't CHANGE his name.
And to Bertha B. of Anaheim, Calif. Yes. I was lucky enough to know Walt
Disney. I was quite young and just starting out on a career with a radio
show in New Orleans. Walt came to town. I cannot remember what for. But
I had him on my show, and then we went to dinner. I began yearly visits
to Hollywood to tape interviews for that show, and several were done at
Disney with Walt in his office, with Walt and Mickey, with Walt in the
New Orleans area, etc. He was a lovely and talented man. They don't
hardly make them like that anymore. I was quite privileged to have known
him. An interesting sidelight is he would NEVER let anyone call him Mr.
Disney. Even to the lowliest employee, he was always "Walt."
"The Ruins" by Scott Smith (Vintage Books) is now on bookstore shelves.
It's the basis for the Dreamworks movie and called by many "the best
horror movie of the century." It's about a group of friends who travel
into a Mexican jungle and stumble upon a creepy horror. A scary scary
read, and a scary scary film. If you like this sort of thing, it's your
cup of blood.
Even though Oscars are over for now, there is always an interesting
tidbit from years gone by. For instance: actresses who have been
nominated in successive years. Ingrid Bergman tops them all. In 1943 she
was named for "For Whom the Bell Tolls," in '44 for "Gaslight" and '45
for "The Bells of St. Mary's."
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