The American Idol Grand Final was held live last night at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles and is the US version of the X Factor over here in the UK. Paul Abdul and Simon Cowell are among the judging panel and Paula Abdul grabs the headline as she looked glam on the red carpet.

Kris Allen with the boy next door look with the smooth vocals beat off the powerhouse theatrical singer Adam Lambert much to the surprise of everybody to win the american Idol title.

Huge turnout in celeb terms for this event with names sticking out on the list including The Black Eyed Peas including Fergie and Will.I.Am, Lionel Ritchie, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell, Carlos Santana, Cyndi Lauper, Christina Applegate, Rod Stewart  and Carrie Underwood.

Full guest list at the arrivals as follows:

Ace Young, Adam Lambert, Antonio Sabato Jr, Black Eyed Peas, Blake Lewis, Bo Bice, Brad Garrett, Brooke White, Carlos Pena, Carlos Santana,Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry, Chris Richardson, Christina Applegate, Cyndi Lauper, Daughtry, David Archuleta, David Cook, David Hernandez, Diana DeGarmo, Fergie, Heather Locklear, Janice Dickinson, Jason Castro, Jason Mraz, Jillian Reynolds, Joel McHale, Joely Fisher, Jon Peter Lewis, Justin Guarini, Kara DioGuardi, Katy Allan, Keith Urban, Kimberley Locke, Kimberly Caldwell, Kris Allen, Lionel Richie, Mandisa, Marisa Ramirez, Melinda Doolittle, Michael Johns, Michelle Kwan, Nicholas Gonzalez, Nigel Lythgoe, Nikki McKibbin, Paris Bennett, Paula Abdul, Rachel Smith, Randy Jackson, Rod Stewart, Ruben Studdard, Simon Cowell, Steve Martin, Syesha Mercado, Taboo, Terri Seymour, will.i.am

The American Idol Red Carpet

Fergie

Carrie Underwood

Marisa Ramirez

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 Inglourious Basterds premiered tonight 20 May 09 at the Cannes Film Festival. Angelina Jolie does not appear in this film but Brad Pitt does and direction is by non other than Quentin Tarantino. This was undoubtebly one of the highlights of the Cannes Film Festival and the crowds as can be imagined were out in force for this one. Jolie and Pitt lit up that red carpet like nothing else and Angelina Jolie was looking breathtakingly good as she always does! There was a photocall for this film earlier in the day and coverage of that also appears below. Film trailer link also below.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt at the Inglorious Basterds Premiere Cannes Film Festival 20 May 09

Inglourious Basterds is an upcoming epic  war film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino and narrated by Samuel L Jackson. The film has an all star line up including Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger and Mike Myers amongst many others. 

The plot:

Set in Nazi-occupied France during World War II, According to The Hollywood Reporter, “two story lines converge: One follows a group of Jewish-American soldiers whose mission is to take down a group of Nazis, and the other follows a young Jewish woman who seeks to avenge the death of her parents by this Nazi group”.

Inglorious Basterds Film Trailer

Quentin Tarantino is a renowned director with the trademark of his films being non linear storylines and often featuring brutal violence but essential to the films makeup and plot.

His films include Reservoir Dogs (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), Jackie Brown (1997), Kill Bill (Vol. 1 2003, Vol. 2 2004) and Death Proof (2007). He has been named as the 12th Greatest Director of All Time. His entry is up for the prestigious Cannes Film Festival Palm D’Or award and according to many sources he could just grab this prize again as he has won it before.

Full Cast

Brad Pitt, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Diane Kruger, Michael Fassbender, Daniel Brühl, B. J. Novak, Til Schweiger, Samm Levine, Julie Dreyfus, Maggie Cheung, August Diehl, Mike Myers, Rod Taylor, Christian Berkel, Eli Roth

The Verdict:

Provisionally from limited material this film has all the hallmarks of the makings of a good film, war and drama through the distinctly different eyes of a master director such as Tarantino with a no holds barred approach. Quality cast line up, quality direction, controversial subject matter, necessary violence, strong storyline, strong characters, all shapes up for a quality number. The film “Precious” in our opinion just has the edge for us here, it drew us in more and riveted us to the spot and it has the OMG factor going on. But this Inglorious Basterds looks a pretty strong challenger for the Palm D’Or award at Cannes.  Impressive! Rating 3 and half stars out of 5 ++++++++++++++

The film is due for release in the US on August 20th 2009

Inglorious Basterds Photocall Cannes Film Festival

Below: L-R Quentin Tarantino, Melanie Laurent, Brad Pitt and Diane Kruger attend the Inglourious Basterds Photocall held at the Palais Des Festivals during the 62nd International Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 2009 in Cannes, France.

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• May 20, 2009 — Wanida Termthanaporn and Nymph photocall Cannes Film Festival

Drew Barrymore and Justin Long are moving in together according to an unamed source quoted by Digital Spy.   The pair split last July but apparently they have reunited recently and they have been  spotted inspecting prospective properties with a real estate agent earlier this month, but as yet  the perfect house is eluding them..

Photo above: *Exclusive* Drew Barrymore meets up with Justin Long for lunch at the Palihouse Boutique Hotel restaurant ‘The Hall’ . Long was not photographed. Photo taken in West Hollywood 1 May 09.

Thats the media angle on Drew, but information coming from the lady herself says they are just ”good dear friends”.

Work wise after her recent appearance in the film Grey Gardens, she is busy at present working on her directorial debut and has a production company that is working on the film called “Whip It”.

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Nymph a 2009 Thai drama film directed by Pen-Ek Ratanaruang is the only Thai Film at the Cannes Film Festival and it looks to be one of the most exciting offerings from this country in years and is competing at the Un Certain Regard Section of the Cannes film competition and stars the highly smouldering Thai actress Wanida Termthanaporn.

Wanida Termthanaporn Portrait Session Cannes Film Festival

Wanida Termthanaporn who is not exactly short in the looks department attended the Nymph (Nang Mai) Photocall along with the director held at the Palais Des Festivals during the 62nd International Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 2009 in Cannes, France.

Extremely limited information on this film but basically its about a man that falls in love with a tree and this film has supernatural undertones. No trailer available at present but Wanida Termthanaporn makes up for this in more ways than one and had to appear here on this site for obvious reasons!. Film is unrated due to the lack of footage but the vibe is this looks to be a good and interesting film.

Wanida Termthanaporn Nymph Photo Call Cannes Film Festival

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• May 23, 2009 — Valeria Marini and Dolce and Gabbana Party at Cannes!
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• May 21, 2009 — Alison Lohman and “Drag Me to Hell” Premiere Cannes Film Festival
• May 20, 2009 — Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt at “Inglourious Basterds” Film Premiere, Cannes Film Festival
• May 26, 2009 — Charlotte Gainsbourg and Cannes Film Festival Palm D’Or Awards

‘Tormented’ the teen slasher movie had its UK Premiere at the Empire Leicester Square last night on  May 19, this was a smaller event compared to some recent premieres. This film is directed by John Wright and stars Alex Pettyfer, April Pearson, Dimitri Leonidas, Calvin Dean, Tuppence Middleton, Georgia King and Mary Nighy of which a large proportion were at the premiere which is good to see, and April Pearson grabs the headline.

April Pearson Tormented Premiere 19 May Red Carpet

Tormented Trailer at You Tube

The  Plot

An asthmatic, overweight school kid gets bullied at school to such a point  that he commits suicide. He then comes back as a zombie ghost and terrorises the gang that drove him to take his life.

The Verdict:
On what initially sounds a ridiculous plot/film and as far fetched as it can possibly get, you’ve got to hand it to this film for the “Zombie Ghosts” element. We’ve heard of Zombies and we’ve heard of ghosts but Zombie Ghosts, now there’s an original idea. In a lot of places this film has a B Movie feel about it, and also a slightly “home” made feel to it, ordinarily this would spell disaster, but thats strangely this films appeal and it seems to work, in an odd way!

Acting, plot/storyline and acting weight in terms of casting and any other technical film aspects are not this films strong point at all, and the critics we think will not be keen on this film for that reason, and we wouldn’t say its incredibly scary. But originality it has, its slasher, horror screamville with a modern day feel and twist, and although the story is far fetched, the bullying aspect in everyday school life is pretty real and we are talking globally.  This film has a message and you could say its sole purpose is to make bullies think twice about what they are doing, could become compulsory viewing in schools, you never know!

We quite like the look of this film for that reason, but 3 stars for this film would put it in the same league as the recent neutrally rated “Easy Virtue” starring Jessica Biel, different league film altogether therefore we think not! But its way better than 2 stars and marginally better than 2 and a half. Rating 2 and half stars out of 5++++++. Essential viewing for slasher fest lovers, but not for the sqeamish.

Tormented Red Carpet Highlights:
Sophie Wu Red Carpet:

Tuppence Middleton Red Carpet:

Kaya Scodelario Red Carpet

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Cameron Diaz is in the headlines all across the media lately with her recent split from British Model Paul Sculfor and there’s been a lot of interest in her, seeing how this eternal ray of sunshine would deal with this situation, and she’s dealt with it pretty well, by opting not to mope around and sulk, its not really her style, but instead get out there and get on with her life and move on right away….. and good for her!

Picture above is Cameron Diaz with Steven Spielberg at a recent LA Lakers Game  at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, CA.

This is a Goss post pure and simple but based on fact. We have been watching developments with this Paul Sculfor and Cameron Diaz over the last few weeks, and the headline news surrounding these two some time ago was Cameron Diaz was intending to move to Essex?,  which raised a chuckle here, it certainly raised a few eyebrows and created some serious head scratching here in the UK, with words muttered such as…….. WHY?

Visions of Cameron Diaz in the  “greasy spoon” and down the local “dog and duck” sampling the Essex tipple and heading off down to the “chippy” whilst learning the Essex lingo on a Bingo night out,  just didn’t seem to gel in the mind whatsoever, but would have made interesting viewing none the less. Having said that, out of all the Hollywood crowd, Cameron Diaz probably would be the best bet at cracking the Essex culture and life, there would be a few laughs on the way for sure, essential for survival in the Essex World, thats coming from somebody who knows just a few too many hardcore Essex types!

Latest news out on the gossip mags, she is now dating none other than US Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine, they’ve been spotted out together, and apparently he has met Diaz’s mum. You could say she has landed on her feet, but a move to Essex and that 2 eggs, bacon, beans, fried tomatoe with fried slice and plenty of ketchup still can’t be ruled out!

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Penelope Cruz attended the premiere of her latest film Broken Embraces directed by Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar at the Cannes Film Festival 2009 which is currently in full swing and running until the 24th May with the prestigious Palm D’Or award being awarded on the last day of the festival.

A post for serious film buffs as this film is more in the “art” mould and a bit heavy going for some. Penelope Cruz has been busy over the last year or so and has appeared in some critically acclaimed and award winning films with her best being “Vicki Christina Barcelona” where she this year won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, a Goya, and a BAFTA for her role in this Woody Allen directed superb production.

Penelope Cruz is a talented actress but shines best in Spanish productions or films set in that locale. Broken Embraces in Spanish is ‘Los abrazos rotos’ featuring the Spanish Director Pedro Almodóvar who Cruz has worked with before in such films as “Volver” and “Todo sobre mi madre” looks to be a combo that will bring the Cruz effect into full force.

The film is set in the 1990s and present day. The film centers on a four-way tale of dangerous love, and was shot in the style of a hard-boiled 1950s American film noir. Its soundtrack features acclaimed artists such as Cat Power, Uffie and Vitamin C. Limited footage available of this film.  Trailer very short 30 secs.

Critics are mixed on this film with some criticism being thrown at direction, with things being a bit too over complicated for the films good, distracting interest from the main characters, but all critics seem to agree that Cruz puts in a solid performance. 3 stars seems to be the order of the day for this film and our preliminary rating is also 3 stars out of 5 as there is some pedigree here.

Some On Set Video footage of Penelope Cruz on set of this film and interview. All in Spanish with Cruz also speaking her native tongue, but interesting viewing all the same!

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