Lindsay Lohan is getting political. The 22-year-old actress took to her MySpace blog Tuesday to post her thoughts on Republican John McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, and the revelation that Palin's unmarried 17-year-old daughter is pregnant.
"I've been watching the news all morning, like everyone else — and (I) keep hearing about the issues related to `teen pregnancy.' ... Well, I think the real problem comes from the fact that we are taking the focus off of getting to know Sarah Palin and her political views, and what she can do to make our country a less destructive place," Lohan wrote.
Lohan suggested Palin "focus on delivering some words and policy with stronger impact like Joe Biden," Democrat Barack Obama's running mate.The actress, who will guest star on ABC's "Ugly Betty" this season, then put out a plea to parents.
"I think that parents need to recognize how important it is to talk to their children about the things that can result from being sexually active if they aren't protecting themselves (birth control, condoms, etc.)," she wrote.Lohan's blog has become a sounding board for her this summer. She lashed out at her father Michael on her blog last Thursday, calling him a "public embarrassment" after he said in an interview with E! that Lohan gal pal Samantha Ronson was "using" his daughter.
Try as she might, Britney Spears isn't driving away with a clean rap sheet just yet. The judge tasked with deciding whether the singer will need to stand trial on a a misdemeanor count of driving without a license has once again postponed the inevitable, delaying for the last time (fingers crossed) his ruling on whether Spears will be heading back to court.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James A. Steele was supposed to decide during a pretrial hearing today whether a trial was merited for Spears' August 2007 hit-and-split incident, but he rescheduled until Sept. 16—coincidentally, the same day mama Lynne Spears' memoir, Through the Storm: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World, is due out.Could be a banner day for the ladies Spears. Or not.
Britney Spears, who has been on her best behavior of late, seemed unconcerned with any court dates over the holiday weekend as she made the rounds in Las Vegas .Spears' attorney Michael Flanagan has long been a proponent of dismissing the case, and today's scrapped hearing was the latest in several postponements. Just last month the pretrial hearing was delayed while Spears worked on her mental-health fitness.
London's Victoria and Albert Museum announced that it bought the original artwork for The Rolling Stones' famous "lips" logo, inspired by the singer's mouth. The museum said it bought the work at an auction in the United States for $92,500.
The lips-and-tongue logo was designed by London art student John Pasche in 1970, and first used on the band's "Sticky Fingers" album the next year.The design "is one of the first examples of a group using branding, and it has become arguably the world's most famous rock logo," said Victoria Broakes, head of exhibitions for the museum's theater and performance collections.Pasche told The Guardian newspaper that the idea for the logo came "when I met Jagger for the first time at the Stones' offices.
"Face to face with him, the first thing you were aware of was the size of his lips and his mouth," Pasche was quoted as saying. He said he would use the money from the sale to send his 11-year-old son to private school.
Toronto film fest includes Spike Lee, Coens movies
The Toronto International Film Festival is about movies, from splashy studio releases and potential Oscar contenders to obscure foreign flicks and the latest avant-garde experiments.North America's largest cinema showcase, the Toronto festival opens Thursday with a lineup that includes the Coen brothers' dark spy comedy "Burn After Reading" with George Clooney and Brad Pitt; Keira Knightley's historical saga "The Duchess"; Edward Norton and Colin Farrell's cop drama "Pride and Glory"; and the supernatural romantic comedy "Ghost Town," with Ricky Gervais, Tea Leoni and Greg Kinnear.
While the Cannes and Sundance festivals cater more to industry crowds and entertainment reporters, Toronto plays out in theaters throughout the city, with everyday movie-lovers making up a large part of the audience.Spike Lee said he got a stirring reception at Toronto two years ago with his Hurricane Katrina documentary, "When the Levees Broke." He hopes for the same this time with the World War II drama "Miracle at St. Anna," which plays Toronto in advance of its Sept. 26 theatrical release.
Among other Toronto titles: The Iraq War homecoming drama "The Lucky Ones," with Tim Robbins, Rachel McAdams and Michael Pena; the journalism tale "Nothing but the Truth," starring Kate Beckinsale in a story inspired by the Valerie Plame case; "Rachel Getting Married," with Anne Hathaway as an addict on leave from rehab for her sister's wedding; the adultery drama "The Other Man," with Liam Neeson, Laura Linney and Antonio Banderas; and the Paris Hilton documentary "Paris, Not France," the directing debut of Adria Petty, Tom Petty's daughter.
With hundreds of critics and reporters on hand, the festival is a prime spot for filmmakers to get the word out about movies that lack a big studio marketing campaign, said Ed Harris, whose directing debut, "Pollock," played at Toronto in 2000, the film going on to win the supporting-actress Oscar for Marcia Gay Harden.
Those concerned over Hilary Swank's plummeting weight can rest easy—maybe. The two-time Oscar nabber is next set to pack on the pounds (and a lot of 'em) to play the lead in French Women Don't Get Fat, an adaptation of Mireille Guiliano's best-selling book, which Swank will also produce.
As we just reported, some of Swank's colleagues are more than concerned about her alarmingly thin frame, which is so tiny, some say Chad Lowe's former wife is looking downright frail. But anything for a meaty part, eh?While French Women is nonfiction, an early premise says Swank will play the manager of a champagne company dealing with French beauties who consume bread, wine and pastries yet never gain an ounce. And naturally, self discovery happens along the way.
Swank joins a slew of Hollywood peers gaining weight for work, such as Eva Longoria-Parker and her newly zaftig character Gabrielle on Desperate Housewives, as well as daddy-type Matt Damon, who packed on pounds for The Informant. Still, Hill-babe ain't too happy about the physical requirements, a fat little birdie told us, whatever—ain't a third Oscar worth it?
