Today's Buzz stories
From staff and wire reports |
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J. Lo's close call
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- A recent close call with paparazzi at a traffic light in Beverly Hills gave Jennifer Lopez "goosepimples."
Lopez says she was almost involved in an accident when a car went "screeeech" right in front of her vehicle. "It was the paparazzi trying to beat the light on the same turn with us," she said.
"Sometimes they feel like it's a game; like they're playing cops and robbers," Lopez told reporters, according to AP Radio. "I got goosepimples."
Lopez said she didn't know she was being followed because "I try to block this stuff out a little bit 'cause it's the only way to kind of live."
"Nobody likes to hear somebody in the public eye who they feel makes a lot of money complain, so we don't, but it is a very strange thing," the singer-actress said.
"Nobody writes books about how to deal with it or anything like that," Lopez said. "Maybe I'll do that next. No. I'll make no money, it's not worth it."
Scorsese praises reality
DURHAM, North Carolina (AP) -- Martin Scorsese is known for his feature films, but classics such as "Goodfellas" and "Raging Bull" are rooted in the realism of documentaries, the director said during a visit to the Full Frame Film Festival.
Scorsese has been chairman of the festival's board since 1997. He came to Durham over the weekend for a tribute to Italian documentary filmmaker Vittorio De Seta. He also appeared at an event that featured clips from his most famous works and an audience-fueled question-and-answer session.
"The documentary is something that has fueled my work in a way that -- it's what we aspire to when we do the movies," the 62-year-old director said. "There's a truth and a beauty sometimes (in) people when they speak, when they move or when they remain silent. There's a power. That is something I'm always trying to achieve in my dramatic films."
He said echoes of the realism of De Seta's work can be seen in his own dramatic films. Scorsese also has tried his hand at documentaries, including "The Last Waltz" and "Italianamerican," a documentary about his parents.
Scorsese said he plans to make another documentary -- a film about Bob Dylan that explores the question of whether folk music can be electrified and commercialized.
In two weeks, he will begin production on his next feature movie, "The Departed," starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a Boston police officer who infiltrates Irish-American gangs.
"This is the first present-day film I've made in 20 years," Scorsese said.
Swank, Lowe play charades
LOS ANGELES, California (Hollywood Reporter) -- The AMC cable network said Monday that it has given the go-ahead for production of a new star-studded game show, "Celebrity Charades," the brainchild of Hollywood couple Hilary Swank and Chad Lowe.
Celebrities slated to participate on the show so far include Bebe Neuwirth, Hank Azaria, Ana Gasteyer, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rosie Perez, Peter Bogdanovich and fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi.
In each episode, two teams of 10 celebrities will compete against each other in a game of movie-themed charades, with each star playing to raise money for his or her chosen charity.
Each installment also features the celebrities having dinner and mingling between rounds to allow viewers to get to know them on a more personal level. Six half-hour episodes are set to air on five consecutive nights beginning June 20.
Lowe is executive producing the series with Swank (through their Accomplice Films venture) and with actor-friend Bob Balaban. He and Lowe will take turns hosting the show.
"Hilary and Bob and I have played (charades) on our own with friends, and we always end up having a bonding experience and learning something about the people who play," Lowe said. "We were talking about it at dinner one night and thought it would make for so much of the comedy and conflict that Hollywood writers are dying to capture."
"Charades" is shooting in New York, but Swank, a recent Oscar winner for her boxing role in "Million Dollar Baby," has been working on other projects and has been unable to make any taping so far, Lowe said. He added, however, that she has been very active in recruiting her celebrity friends.
Lithgow gets Harvard nod
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (AP) -- John Lithgow will deliver Harvard University's 2005 commencement speech, in a departure from the school's tradition of inviting world leaders and other dignitaries to address graduates.
Lithgow, a 1967 Harvard graduate, is the first professional artist to be Harvard's main commencement speaker since novelist Carlos Fuentes in 1983.
"Harvard's commencement platform is a very different kind of stage for me, but one I am very excited and honored to have the privilege to speak from," the 59-year-old actor said in a statement. He was announced as commencement speaker late last week.
Harvard President Lawrence Summers said Lithgow was selected to speak at the June 9 ceremony because he personifies Harvard's devotion to the creative arts.
"He is not only an immensely talented and versatile performer, but also someone who has given a great deal of himself to the university and especially to the vitality of the arts at Harvard," Summers said in a statement.
Lithgow's screen credits include "The World According to Garp" and "Terms of Endearment." He also starred in the NBC sitcom "Third Rock From the Sun."
He served on Harvard's Board of Overseers, one of its two governing bodies, from 1989 to 1995. In 1993, he helped create the school's Arts First weekend, an annual celebration of the arts.
Harvard's last two commencement speakers were United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo.
Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
