The Famous: Watching the Watched
  • The legendary critic and social media hound. - Stephen Lovekin/Getty ImagesRoger Ebert's response on Twitter to the tragic death of "Jackass" daredevil Ryan Dunn ("Friends don't let jackasses drink and drive") drew outrage online, resulting in the temporary shutdown of the critic's Facebook page. In a post on his blog, Ebert admits his mistake but stands by his statement: 

    "I don't know what happened in this case, and I was probably too quick to tweet. That was unseemly. I do know that nobody has any business driving on a public highway at 110 mph, as some estimated -- or fast enough, anyway, to leave a highway and fly through 40 yards of trees before crashing. That is especially true if the driver has had three shots and three beers. Two people were killed. What if the car had crashed into another car?"

    Ebert, who some psychologists who do not treat him diagnose as "hardened" to others' pain, says his comment was "not intended as cruel. It was intended as true." He cites a remark by April Margera -- the mother of Bam Margera, Dunn's best friend and

    Read More »from Roger Ebert On Ryan Dunn’s Death: I Tweeted Too Soon
  • Lady Gaga Goes Green in Japan

    It's not easy... - Jun Sato/WireImageLady Gaga appears to be working her way through the colors of the rainbow.

    After going all out turquoise on Sunday at the Much Music Video Awards in Toronto (even sporting turquoise armpit hair), the enigmatic superstar arrived in Japan today wearing an entirely green ensemble (hair included).

    "But is her armpit hair green, too?" asked nobody.

  • A rare, documented smile. - Charles Eshelman/FilmMagicDid you know Keanu Reeves writes books? About happiness? That's one way to defeat the Sad Keanu meme that swept the Internet, branding the actor's image as a depressed person who cannot even take pleasure in eating a cupcake. Turns out Reeves had an unexpected sense of humor about the fan art, calling it "good clean fun." And it turns out he's now the published author of an adult picture book entitled "Ode to Happiness." Reeves promoted it last weekend in London, and Just Jared has photos of the star grinning from ear to ear as he reads an excerpt.

    Here's his idea for a follow-up tome, via the Guardian:

    "I hope we get to do another book. I'm considering another idea I call Haikus of Hope. Basically like, 'I want to kill myself,' and go from there. Going into such a dark place that you can somehow surprisingly find the light at the end of the tunnel -- but a nice end of the tunnel. Not the end of the tunnel."

    "Haikus of Hope": coming soon to a therapist's office near you.

    Read More »from Keanu Reeves Combats Sadness By Writing Books
  • Nick and his soon-to-be missus. - WireImageHave you ever tried to get excited for a wedding between friends who have been together so long that the Big Event is basically moot? (Sorry, friends we're writing about.) On a celebrity scale, a good example of a Whatever Wedding might be the upcoming nuptials of Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo. Don't get us wrong: they seem like nice people who truly love one another, and are in it for the long haul. They've dated since 2006. Refreshing for fickle Hollywood! But also, kinda meh?

    Maybe Jessica Simpson will show up and crash it so as to inject some drama into her ex-husband's second trip down the aisle with a woman whose looks she once allegedly badmouthed as generically "pageant"! (We read about Simpson's dis in a past issue of Us Weekly, so clearly it must be true.)

    Anyway, we're always indifferent toward celebrity weddings, no matter who's at the altar. (The exception: William and Kate. We caught Royal Wedding fever, and have yet to delete Lifetime's "William & Kate" biopic from

    Read More »from Will You Watch Nick and Vanessa’s Televised Wedding?
  • "Seafood-based menu" for Brangelina. - Getty ImagesThe (mostly) imagined war between Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie is like the holy grail of the tabloids. If there's a way to work in a Angelina vs. Jen angle into their stories, you can be sure they'll do it.

    So, when Brad Pitt took Jolie to the same Malta restaurant last night that he took Aniston to in 2003, it should come as no surprise that Us Weekly had a field day ("Brad Takes Angelina to Same Spot He Romanced Jen Aniston in 2003," the headline shouted, along with a picture of Brangelina paired with an Aniston inset.)

    And we even get to compare the menu for the two different dates.

    In 2003, at de Mondion (located at the Xara Palace hotel in the city of Mdina), Aniston and Pitt dined on rabbit, fish, salad and steak with a raspberry-yogurt souffle for dessert.

    Jolie and Pitt -- who are staying at a $11 million rented estate while Pitt films "World War Z" -- enjoyed a "seafood-based menu" of crab salad, poached rockfish, risotto with seafood and fine cheese.

    Expect a whole

    Read More »from Brad Pitt Takes Angelina Jolie To Same Restaurant He Once Took Jennifer Aniston To
  • Neilson Barnard/Getty ImagesIan Gavan/Getty ImagesWhen Adele canceled her U.S. concerts tour dates to rest her voice, her fans were naturally bummed out. Count Lance Bass among them.

    "It's sad," Bass told The Famous in an interview. "Of course everyone wanted to see her come over here. But I think, first and foremost, you have to protect your gift. And that'sher voice. You mess that up, and it's so easy to destroy your voice. Especiallywhen you have such power vocals as an Adele. You look at people like Steven Tyler, Celine Dion. You have to getspecially trained to belt like that, and you have to protect it. Anything tomake sure that you can blast as long as you can in your career, you have totake that -- and the fans are going to understand."

    The beloved British soul singer, whose "21" album has soared to the top of the charts,   was ordered to quit singing -- and talking, and smoking -- for a month after a bout of laryngitis threatened to damage her pipes. Adele, the anti-Winehouse in terms of professionalism, apologized to fans.

    As

    Read More »from Lance Bass Defends Adele’s Voice Lockdown
  • Lohan takes home an undisclosed amount. - Getty ImagesLindsay Lohan is continuing to make the most of her time under house arrest.

    She's throwing parties on her roof, reading scripts, tweeting about Natalie Portman... And now she's actually working, as she filmed a new commercial inside her apartment last week.

    What company is Lohan shilling for? Louis Vuitton? SoBe Life Water? BMW?

    Uhhhh. In fact, Lohan filmed the spot for an "internet penny auction site" called Beezid.com.

    The actress (though, at this point, she probably should be referred to as a "personality") was initially offered $25,000 for the gig. She turned that figure down but the two parties eventually agreed on an undisclosed amount.

    Lohan was also given a $10,000 credit to spend on the site, according to TMZ.

    Online shopping seems like a smart call for Lohan considering her recent experience in stores.

    Read More »from Lindsay Lohan Films a Commercial During House Arrest
  • "But when she learned that the whipped cream was homemade, she added it to the second drink." - Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagicIt's been a while (in celebrity time, which is like real time but sped up by a factor of 10) since we last heard about Blake Lively and Leonardo DiCaprio, which led some to believe perhaps the nascent relationship was already kaput.

    But we can all breathe a sigh of relief, as People reports the two were spotted last week enjoying an "ultra-private getaway" in Carmel, California.

    The pair wandered around the seaside locale on Thursday, stopping for coffee (echoes of Gyllenhaal-Swift, another unlikely celebrity coupling!) at a local coffee shop.

    "Blake ordered two cappuccinos," an onlooker told the magazine. "One with whipped cream, and one without. But when she learned that the whipped cream was homemade, she added it to the second drink."

    The source -- presumably some dude who works at this coffee shop? -- said that Blake was "very sweet," and that DiCaprio waited outside for her with his baseball cap, as ever, "tucked low."

    The fact that there aren't any corresponding grainy

    Read More »from Blake Lively and Leonardo DiCaprio Still Going Strong
  • Roger Ebert is sending a stern message following the untimely death of "Jackass" daredevil Ryan Dunn:

    Roger Ebert/Twitter

    The legendary critic and social media hound suggests that Dunn had been drunk while behind the wheel of the Porsche that careened off a guardrail, leaving Dunn and an unidentified passenger dead and engulfed in flames. Hours before the crash, the 34-year-old stuntman had tweeted a photo of himself and two friends drinking at a Philly-area bar. That photo has since been yanked off his Twitter page but TMZ has a screengrab; a source tells the site that Dunn drank at least three beers and three shots before driving home in the wee hours of Monday morning.

    Police have not determined whether there was alcohol in his system, and said speeding might have been led to the incident. (Dunn's Porsche is capable of going 190 miles per hour.)

    Meanwhile, Ebert's candid tweet begs the question: too soon?

    Update: Margera fired back at Ebert on Twitter: "Millions of people are crying right now,

    Read More »from Roger Ebert Sounds Off On Ryan Dunn’s Death (Updates)
  • "He likes her." - Getty ImagesAshlee Simpson appears to have moved on.

    The pop singer -- who has been seen holding hands with estranged husband Pete Wentz since their divorce was announced, leading to speculation they might have reconciled -- was spotted kissing and strolling arm-in-arm with "Boardwalk Empire" star Vincent Piazza in New York last week.

    "They were laughing and chatting," a witness told Us Weekly. "She'd stop to kiss him; she couldn't take her eyes off him."

    Piazza is currently filming the HBO show in New York, and the magazine says Simpson is taking the long-distance relationship slowly.

    "Vincent's a chill guy, very artsy, the quiet type," says a pal. "He likes her."

    Somewhere Wentz is writing a very dark, emo ballad about this. "The Evil Empire"? "Vexing Vincent and the Leaning Toolbag of Piazza"?

    Read More »from Ashlee Simpson Spotted With ‘Boardwalk Empire’ Actor

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