Film Articles

Spears Cleared in Mystery Child Services Probe
Cruise Attacks Psychiatric Drugs Again
Gyllenhaal and Sarsgaard Engaged and Expecting
Brown Faces Another 'Da Vinci Code' Plagiarism Claim
Stars Pay Tribute to Dana Reeve
More Details Emerge About Lopez Lawsuit
Abdul Makes Awkward TV Appearance
'The OC' Producers Dismiss Barton "Speculation"
Keaton Slams Baseball Owners
Martin and Christensen Visit Baby Moses

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WENN

12 April 2006

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Spears Cleared in Mystery Child Services Probe

Officials at Los Angeles' Department Of Children And Family Services (DCFS) have closed their investigation into the welfare of Britney Spears' child. Investigators joined a Los Angeles County Sheriff's official for a routine visit to the pop singer at her Malibu, California home last weekend. But a police official has confirmed the case was closed on the spot, at the house. US tabloid the Star speculates that the authorities were called to the house after Spears' baby Sean Preston fell out of his high chair and fractured his skull. Sources tell the tabloid that Spears and her husband Kevin Federline took their son to a Los Angeles hospital after noticing he was sleeping more than usual. The same sources claim Sean Preston had fallen out of his high chair earlier last week, while in the care of his nanny. The worried parents took the baby to his pediatrician, who gave the tot the all-clear, but when Spears and Federline noticed their son seemed lethargic and sleepy later in the week, they checked him into UCLA Medical Center, the hospital where he was born.

Cruise Attacks Psychiatric Drugs Again

Tom Cruise is attacking those who prescribe psychiatric drugs again in the May issue of men's style magazine GQ. The Mission: Impossible III actor, who embarked on an anti-drug tirade in TV interviews last summer on behalf of his Scientology beliefs, has launched a fresh attack on psychiatry, calling for prescription pill poppers to think carefully about the harms they're doing to their bodies. He tells the magazine, "I've always found the 'if it makes me feel better, it's OK' rationale a little suspect. I think it's appalling that people have to live a life of drug addiction when I have personally helped people get off drugs." In the interview, the actor claims he can get someone off heroin in three days through Scientology's detox programs.

Gyllenhaal and Sarsgaard Engaged and Expecting

Secretary star Maggie Gyllenhaal and Flightplan actor Peter Sarsgaard are engaged and expecting a baby. The couple have been together for over four years. They co-starred in 2003's In God's Hands, a low-budget feature produced by Steven Soderbergh that was never released. Sarsgaard recently starred in Jarhead, alongside his future brother-in-law, Jake Gyllenhaal. It will be the first marriage and first child for both actors. Sarsgaard will next be seen in indie drama Small Tragedy, while Gyllenhaal co-stars in World Trade Center, coming out this summer.

Brown Faces Another 'Da Vinci Code' Plagiarism Claim

Author Dan Brown has been accused of plagiarism in The Da Vinci Code just days after he was cleared in London's High Court of similar allegations. Russian art historian Dr. Mikhail Anikin, a Leonardo Da Vinci expert, wants Brown to apologize and hand over half the money made from his book within the next month. If his demand is not met, Anikin claims he'll sue Brown in both Russia and the US for all his Da Vinci Code earnings. Anikin says his 2000 book Leonardo Da Vinci: Theology In Paint argues that the Mona Lisa was an allegory for the Christian church. In 1998, Anikin alleges he discussed his ideas about the painting with some experts from Houston, Texas, one of whom asked if he could pass on the theory to Brown. The Russian says he agreed so long as he was credited in any book, but never heard back. He also claims to have called his theory The Da Vinci Code. Anikin says, "When I read the book, I was shocked at its poor quality and because it used my ideas. This book tells lies about the church which upset me morally." Last Friday, Brown was found not to have breached copyright and plagiarized The Da Vinci Code from the 1982 book The Holy Blood And The Holy Grail by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh. Director Ron Howard's movie adaptation of the best-seller, starring Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou, is due out next month.

Stars Pay Tribute to Dana Reeve

A host of stars paid tribute to Christopher Reeve's brave wife Dana Reeve at a special memorial service in New York City on Monday. The actress/singer lost her battle with lung cancer on March 6, but famous pals including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Hillary Clinton, Robin Williams and Lance Armstrong are keen for her memory to live on. New York senator Clinton said, "She was one of the most exceptional people I have ever known. She had a light within her that was captured by the way people talked about her today, especially her son and stepchildren." The private memorial was held at the New Amsterdam Theatre on 42nd Street in Times Square. The Reeve family has requested that donations in lieu of flowers be made in Dana's honor to the Christopher Reeve Foundation.

More Details Emerge About Lopez Lawsuit

Full details of Jennifer Lopez's lawsuit against her first ex-husband Ojani Noa have been released - she's suing him for breach of contract. Monster-in-Law star Lopez filed papers in Los Angeles on Monday, suggesting that Noa, her husband of a year, was trying to extort $5 million out of her in return for his silence. But now it seems Lopez is more concerned about her ex breaching a confidentiality agreement by shopping a new tell-all book around US publishers. In legal documents, Lopez has also requested a temporary restraining order be slapped on her ex, insisting that he stops trying to sell his manuscript, which threatens to reveal private details of the singer/actress' life.

Abdul Makes Awkward TV Appearance

American Idol judge Paula Abdul made an awkward appearance on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno on Monday night, criticizing the talk show host for making fun of her. The Straight Up singer walked onto the show wearing a party hat and carrying a Martini glass and party horn. Abdul then announced to the audience, "I don't understand why everyone is so obsessed over the fact that I have a drinking problem. Don't think I don't watch your show. Last week you had Ryan Seacrest on and you did this really crazy Paula Abdul impression." She had appeared on the show the week before, where Leno imitated Abdul by using a slurred voice. Abdul pretended to be angry with the late night host as he apologized profusely, to which she replied, "Keep going Conan" making a reference to rival late night talk show host Conan O'Brien. The singer then offered up an explanation for her actions saying, "You do know everything I said is not true, obviously I'm kidding. That's how I deal with things when I hear crazy rumors that usually start with late night talk show hosts. It hurts my feelings though and it's not true and it's humiliating and it's unfair." Leno then asked Abdul about the allegations that she was attacked at a private party on April 2 in the Hollywood Hills. She explained, "It is something very serious and I'm really not at liberty to talk about the details. I can say I was shoved down to the ground and I actually was knocked out unconscious, which means I saw stars, which therefore means I didn't see Simon Cowell anywhere. But that's all I can talk about."

'The OC' Producers Dismiss Barton "Speculation"

Producers of The OC have dismissed reports star Mischa Barton is going to quit the hit TV show as "rumor" and "speculation." The brunette beauty has allegedly been trying to get herself fired from the program by turning up late and phoning in sick, so she can get out of her contract and concentrate on bigger movie roles. A source told the New York Post, "She's flirting with leaving the show. The real problem now is she isn't taking work seriously." However, a representative for Warner Bros., the company behind the show, says, "We don't comment on rumor or speculation."

Keaton Slams Baseball Owners

Hollywood star Michael Keaton has angered bosses of the Pittsburgh Pirates, his local baseball team, by telling them how to run the club. The Batman Returns star, who was a guest of the struggling team at their match on Monday, hit out at owners for not spending enough money on top class players. The Pirates' payroll is currently the fourth lowest in the majors, and has been reflected in a string of defeats, prompting a Keaton backlash. He says, "Look, I'd do it, too, if I were a businessman. But, at some point, you've got to win. I think fans have been gracious. And maybe not vocal enough. Maybe not vociferous enough with their displeasure. That's my opinion. I fear they (club owners) will take advantage of the good will of the people who continue to show up. For my money, that's disrespectful. At some point, you either have to write the check or do something and not assume, well, we're OK."

Martin and Christensen Visit Baby Moses

Gwyneth Paltrow has received a stream of celebrity visitors, including husband Chris Martin and supermodel Helena Christensen, since giving birth to her second child in New York City over the weekend . The actress, 33, delivered baby son Moses in New York's Mount Sinai hospital over the weekend - a younger brother for the couple's 23-month-old daughter Apple. Delighted Coldplay frontman Martin arrived for a family visit with a nanny carrying their daughter Apple on Monday, saying, "Thank you," to the crowd of reporters and photographers waiting outside the hospital. Danish beauty Christensen, who also visited, tells the New York Post, "The baby's gorgeous."

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