March, 2009

Actor Vince Vaughn’s low-profile relationship with girlfriend Kayla Weber is hush-hush no more!

According to msnbc.com, Vaughan, 38, got down on one knee and popped the question with a four-carat, $125,000 ring on Valentine’s Day. 

Vaughn’s romance with Weber, a Calgary realtor, follows his previous high-profile relationship with actress Jennifer Aniston, which ended in 2006.

Hank Baskett’s search for the perfect engagement ring for fiancée Kendra Wilkinson was all on his own with no desires or clues from her on what she would like.

After several weeks of hunting, the Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver settled on a 2 1/4-carat princess-cut diamond surrounded by 60 diamonds on 18-carat white gold, designed by Bernie Robbins Fine Jewelers near his New Jersey home, reports People.com.

“I honestly felt this was the one. But there was still a lot of nerves,” he says. “Like my god, I hope she likes this.” 

Baskett will wed the Girls Next Door star on June 27 at the Playboy Mansion, according to UsMagazine.com.

The newly awarded Oscar statuettes have found homes on mantels and bookshelves, the gorgeous gowns and jewelry have been returned, and our favorite movie stars have all gone back to work. But don’t fret. There’ll be plenty more movies with “Slumdog Millionaire” stars, Mickey Rourke, and Anne Hathaway. Plus, even one more from Heath Ledger.

So what’s next for the winners and nominees? Here’s a Positively sneak peek: 

The once obscure stars from Best Picture winner “Slumdog Millionaire” are now household names and aren’t going anywhere. Dev Patel takes over Jesse McCartney’s role in M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Last Airbender” based on the popular Nickelodeon kids’ show.

His onscreen love, Freida Pinto, wins her version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” by co-starring in Woody Allen’s next untitled project alongside “Milk’s” Oscar nominee Josh Brolin and Naomi Watts.

Best Director of “Slumdog Millionaire” Danny Boyle has no upcoming projects, but he did tell Variety that he’s thinking of making a movie from a girl’s perspective after all the guys’ movies he’s done. He also may return to his “28 Days Later” horror movie series.

Best Actor Winner Sean Penn just finished “The Tree of Life” alongside fellow Best Actor nominee Brad Pitt. Penn is also in talks to play Valerie Plame’s husband in the biopic about the outed CIA agent.

Best Actress Kate Winslet has not announced any upcoming projects. When we do see her again, however, leave it to the proclaimed “Actress of our Generation” to come back strong.

Best Supporting Actor winner Heath Ledger still has one more movie credit despite his death in January of 2008. His role in “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus” will be completed by Jude Law, Johnny Depp and Colin Farrell who will each play his character as he passes into different worlds.

Best Supporting Actress winner Penelope Cruz will star with past Oscar winners Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench and Sophia Loren in the musical “Nine” directed by Rob Marshall.

As for our other favorite nominees…  

Best Actor nominees: Richard Jenkins will star in the adaptation of Nicolas Spark’s “Dear John” novel… Frank Langella co-stars with James Marsden and Cameron Diaz in the horror film “The Box”… Brad Pitt goes from fable to war starring in Quentin Taratino’s WWII movie “Inglorious Bastards” … Mickey Rourke’s comeback wasn’t just a fluke. He’s here to stay starring in “The Informers” with Winona Ryder and Billy Bob Thornton, which is scheduled to be released in April. He’s also currently filming “13,” and he is in talks to play a Russian bad guy in the “Iron Man” sequel.

Best Actress nominees: Anne Hathaway will play the White Queen in Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” adaptation… Angelina Jolie is preparing for her upcoming role as Catherine the Great… Melissa Leo is co-staring with Hilary Duff in “Greta” and with Sarah Michelle Gellar in “Veronika Decides to Die”… Meryl Streep will once again reunite with her “Doubt” co-star and fellow nominee Amy Adams in “Julie and Julia,” a movie about chef Julia Child and the wannabe who recreates her recipes.

Best Supporting Actor nominees: Besides that Woody Allen movie with Pinto, Josh Brolin will also star in the comic-book movie “Jonah Hex”… Before the much anticipated “Iron Man” sequel, Robert Downey  Jr. stars with Jamie Foxx in this spring’s “The Soloist” and then as Sherlock Holmes this fall in Guy Ritchie’s movie about the classic detective… Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s voice stars in the animated “Mary and Max,” and you can see him – and his “crazy” hair, which is reportedly to blame for the ski cap he wore to the Oscars – in “Jack Goes Boating,” which he’s also directing…

Rourke’s not the only nominee in “13”; Michael Shannon will be appearing in it as well.

Best Supporting Actress nominees: Before Amy Adams pairs with Streep in “Julie and Julia,” she’ll play Amelia Earhart in “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” this May…

You can currently see Viola Davis in Tyler Perry’s “Madea Goes to Jail,” and she’ll also soon be seen in “State of Play” alongside Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, and Rachel McAdams… Taraji P. Henson will co-star with former Oscar winner Forest Whitaker in “Hurricane Season,” a movie about the ramifications of Hurricane Katrina on a basketball team… Marisa Tomei will trade the heaviness of “The Wrestler” with the silly as-yet-untitled comedy with Jonah Hill and John C. Reilly about a single mother whose son doesn’t like the new guy she’s dating.

An added reason to be excited about Conan O’Brien taking over the Tonight Show in June: The reunion with Andy Richter. That’s right, the second half of late night’s dynamic duo of comedy, Andy Richter will be back with Conan as the show’s announcer. AP reports that he will also take part in comedy bits with Conan.

If you were ever at a time a fan of Conan’s, you most likely know that the show was at its strongest during the seven years that the two were together. Conan acknowledges Richter as being the funniest person he knows and that’s a prestigious honor. Conan, himself, is one of the funniest men in America.

Asked about their long anticipated reunion, O’Brien couldn’t resist a joke, saying he looks forward to having his pal back because Andy owes him $300.

After Tribal Council at Timbira camp Erinn launches into a speech about not trusting Candace from the beginning but hung around with her just to “see what she was up to.” Erinn’s tribe mates don’t buy her “save my butt” monologue. Coach says to the confessional cameras, “Not only did she align herself with the wrong person, but she has completely insulted all of our intelligences when we came back tonight…And she’s made her bed and she’s going to have to lay in it.”

Timbira – day seven – Erinn admits her association with Candace was a bit more than she wanted and now she feels like she’s “fighting for her life.”  At breakfast Jerry opts out of the bean meal because they’re irritating his stomach. He also didn’t eat dinner, which raises some red flags amongst his tribe. 

The first challenge – a reward challenge – has one person from each tribe calling directions to the other members to navigate them through a maze while tied together in twos and blind folded. The teams must find their designated buckets, fill them first with water then with corn then get back through the maze to a dumping station to empty their buckets into a container that, when full, will raise a flag. The first team to lift both the water and corn flags wins blankets, pillows, a tarp and other comfy items.  Joe is the caller for Jalapao and Debbie for Timbira. Timbira struggles throughout the entire challenge, never coming close to Jalapao’s lead.  Jalapao works extremely well together, taking it slow and steady and winning the race in the end. Jalapao chooses Brendan from Timbira to go to Exile and Brendan chooses a member from Jalapao to join him and again chooses Taj.

When Timbira returns to camp they discuss their failure.  Coach lectures on how they need to turn things around (without proposing any solutions). Next we see Coach and Tyson by the water.  Coach mentions that Erinn and Sierra panic during the challenges.  Tyson tells the camera his analysis of Coach, “He’s not always the best at what he’s coaching but he thinks he knows the most.”

At Exile, Taj chooses the urn with the clue this time and shows Brendan the next hint after reading it herself in private.  That night Taj and Brendan make a plan – realizing their alliance might becoming obvious, they decide that if Brendan is picked for Exile again he’ll choose a different Jalapao member to go with him and if Taj is chosen for Exile she’ll choose a different member of Timbira to go with her. This also creates a four-person alliance for the merge that no one else knows about. 

Challenge Two – Immunity challenge – has each team lifting and hauling large cubes that they have to align to spell out their tribe’s name. This also creates a large stair case that all team members must climb to win immunity.  Both teams are even in the beginning, but one thing is very clear, Jerry’s hurting.  Timbira gains a bit of a lead with Erinn directing her team where to place the blocks. Some team members hesitate which makes Erinn stop her directing.  Jalapao catches up. It’s neck and neck until the very end when…Jalapao climbs to the top of their blocks and claims their third victory in a row. Timbira is off to Tribal Council again. Jerry is overheard saying “I’m though. I’m finished.”

At Timbira camp it’s clear that Jerry’s struggling and Erinn grabs the opportunity to point it out to everyone to try and save herself from being voted out.  Some tribe mates are torn by the idea of voting Jerry out.  Tyson tries to give Jerry a pep talk. Jerry asks if anyone is talking about voting him out. Tyson replies, “No, but look as strong as you can and don’t say anything to anybody.”  Brendan goes to look for the Hidden Immunity Idol considering the new clue he and Taj received. He looks around the Tree Mail area, looking up and down, pushing the statue over, looking around its base, under its skirt and …voila – the Immunity Idol is there and is now in Brendan’s hands!  At dinner, Jerry doesn’t heed Tyson’s advice and discusses his health status with the group. 

At Tribal Council they discuss the issue of needing a leader. Jerry nominates Brendan as a possible leader. But host Jeff Probst, being oh so good at understanding group dynamics, calls on Coach to counter Brendan’s nomination. (I think Jeff knows exactly what he’s doing here, knowing that Coach will, of course, want to be the leader and create even more drama).  After Coach gives his “I should be leader” speech, Jeff calls on Erinn who says, “I think that’s a role that Coach is used to, it’s a role that he would love to be in but its something that Brendan does better.”  Then it’s time to vote.  And once they are counted…Jerry is the third person voted out of Survivor: Tocantins.  Jerry, I hope you’re doing well and that you went straight to the doctor after the votes were read.

The Belles of the Ball

Most improved: After her gypsy-inspired ensemble at the Golden Globes and peach bridesmaid dress at the SAG Awards, Oscar nominee Marisa Tomei finally got it right with her one-shoulder silver, pleated Versace gown.

5. Amy Adams: Sure the Oscar nominee’s Fred Leighton necklace was huge, but it was stunning with 39 carats of diamonds and 630 carats of sapphires, emeralds and rubies. While it could have matched a little better, it still didn’t take away from her red Carolina Herrera gown. The draping fabric in the front and black stitching across the bust and down her back made for some exquisite details.

4. Taraji P. Henson: The best actress nominee didn’t look anything like her frumpy alter ego in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” in her delicately pleated, fitted champagne gown. Her big diamond necklace and train added extra elegance to the Roberto Cavalli gown without overpowering her.

3. Reese Witherspoon: The rich blue and black colors of the former Oscar winner’s Rodarte gown made for a striking contrast. Adding to the beautiful ensemble are the sparkles on the bust area and the draping black fabric.

2. Alicia Keys: We’re not sure why the Grammy-winning singer was at the Oscars, but she sure showed those movie stars how it’s done with her elegant yet young fuchsia Giorgio Armani Prive gown.

1. Natalie Portman: This beautiful actress was a lovely fresh breath of air in her Rodarte orchid-colored gown, which set her far apart from the many other metallic and black gowns on the red carpet. It fit her perfectly, and her simple silver bracelet, rings, and earrings were just enough.

Better luck next year

Least Improved: The “Slumdog Millionaire” beauty turned heads on the red carpet at the Golden Globes with her strapless mustard slightly ruffled gown and at the SAG Awards with her purple whimsical gown (although she could have lost the draped scarf). Yet, her blue John Galliano gown at the Oscars didn’t look like a million bucks with the laced one sleeve.  

5. Melissa Leo.  The Oscar nominee hasn’t had a lot of practice on the red carpet, but she could have used some pointers when it came to her frumpy brown dress with the oddly placed brooches pinned to her cap sleeves. A vibrant gown color and a more polished hair style could have done wonders.

4. Miley Cyrus: The huge volcano-looking skirt on her Zuhair Murad silk tulle gown was just too overpowering for the petite 16-year-old.

3. Beyonce: Hugh Jackman’s dancing partner should have taken a cue from fellow singer, Alicia Keys when picking out a gown. The House of Dereon dress was yet another mermaid-style that we’ve come to see her wear again and again; but, the biggest crime was the gold leaf design. It’s one thing to want an Oscar, but you shouldn’t match it.

2. Sarah Jessica Parker: Her alter ego, Carrie Bradshaw, is a fashionista, but this Dior Couture gown would have been better off on Barbie with its belt and overly puffy skirt.

1. Jessica Biel: You’d think Justin Timberlake could give his girlfriend better fashion tips. It looked like she had some extra fabric left over, so she just tucked it right back into her champagne Prada gown. The stiff round bottom of the gown was no hit either, but at least it hid her black close-toed shoes.