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New & Noteworthy: Elevation tour (Part II)

February 16, 2011

By Staff Reporter

The pop star, who was in Sin City to shoot a video with the other Westies, got a little freaked out when he discovered that the band was booked into accommodation on the 48th floor of the Four Seasons Hotel. Well, actually, that part was fine. What upset the taoiseach’s son-in-law was the discovery that the hotel’s elevators don’t come equipped with windows.
According to The Sun, the long ride from the lobby to the suite left the pop star feeling a bit claustrophobic. He grabbed his gear and bolted to the adjoining Mandelay Bay Hotel, which found him a space on the 10th floor, as well as an elevator with a view.
An insider told the newspaper: “Nicky was mortified. He can manage if it’s not too far, but 48 floors is full-on.”

Briefings
Former “EastEnders” star Sid Owen picked the wrong place to fly off the handle recently. The actor, who probably will always be known as “Rick-KAAAAY!” was arrested for arguing with terminal workers at England’s Stansted Airport. It seems that a disagreement over an extra piece of carry-on luggage caused all the carry-on . . .

Italian auto maker Fiat knows how to get the attention of women — even those who aren’t in the market for a new car. The company has signed Hollywood hottie George Clooney to star in its new ad campaign, which, unfortunately, will only air in Europe. (Darn it.) In the first ad, Clooney is seen being lured into a Fiat driven by a beautiful model. The tagline: George not included.

Two Irish films were awarded honors at the Toronto Film festival last week. “Omagh,” which deals with the tragedy of the 1998 RIRA bombing that left 29 people dead in Tyrone, won the Discovery Award. Also honored was “Hotel Rwanda,” written and directed by Belfast native Terry George.

“Two and a Half Men” star Charlie Sheen has been acting since he was in third grade, and after 31 years, he needs a break. The actor recently confided to talk show host Ellen DeGeneres (and a few million of her loyal viewers) that when his sitcom comes to an end, so might his performing career.
The elder son of “West Wing” president Martin Sheen wants to concentrate on spending time with his wife, actress Denise Richards, and on being a full-time parent to his daughter, Sam. And he wants to be in charge of his itinerary when he travels.
“Any place I was sent to location-wise was never a place I would choose vacation-wise,” he laughed. “So it would be nice to travel by choice.”

British actress Minnie Driver might be pulling in the big bucks in Hollywood, but that doesn’t mean she wastes her dough on fripperies like, say, housing. The “Circle of Friends” star, soon to appear in the big screen version of “Phantom of the Opera,” is proud to say that she lives in a trailer park.
Now, lest you get the wrong idea, Minnie says she’s not slumming it.
“It’s not like the trailer park that Eminem lived in,” she said, presumably with a delicate shudder. The daughter of a millionaire financier, Min’s got higher standards than that.
“I have a beach-side trailer,” she told www.femalefirst.com. “It’s a nice trailer, in a nice trailer park.” And it comes with its own silky tracksuit as well.

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Put on your ten-gallon hats and get ready to swill some Texas-sized cocktails while ogling Bobby in the shower, pardners. It’s time to head back to Southfork with the loveably dysfunctional Ewing clan as Hollywood gears up for a big-screen version of the TV soap “Dallas.” Producers are hoping to bag Brad Pitt for the role of good brother Bobby, Catherine Zeta Jones as his wife, Pam, and Melanie Griffith to play boozy ol’ Sue Ellen. No word yet on who’ll have a shot at playing J.R., though names like Mel Gibson, John Travolta and George Clooney have been bandied about.

If Colin Farrell looks uncomfortable in “A Home at the End of the World,” it’s not just because he’s worried about his deleted nude scene.
The actor has revealed that producers made him wear a particularly ugly hairpiece for his early scenes in the film — a hairy monstrosity so ugly that the mere sight of it drove the Dublin dreamboat half cracked.
“It was like they shaved a dog, poured glue on my head and put a blow dryer on it,” he huffed. “You have no idea how bad it was — it’s like going to church when I was 10.”
Colin was so mortified by his appearance that he couldn’t bear to cast his eyes upon it.
“Somebody asked me, ‘What was it like when you looked in a mirror?’ ” he recalled. “I said, ‘Are you kidding? Why would I look in a mirror?’ ”

Forget about seeing Gary Oldman in the next installment of the “Star Wars” film series. The “Dracula” star had agreed to provide the voice for the character General Grievous in “Revenge of the Sith” until he learned that the film was being made without members of his union, the Screen Actors Guild. Unfortunately, this is against the organization’s rules, and Gary is a strong union man. According to the actor’s spokesman, Oldman bowed out of the role “out of respect and solidarity” with the other members of SAG.
“He could not and would not consider violating the rules of his union,” the flack told the movie Web site www.imdb.com.

Soon, Sinead O’Connor will be known merely as the sister of that famous writer Joseph O’Connor. The Irish author has sold the movie rights to his Famine-themed book, “Star of the Sea,” and the big-screen adaptation will start shooting next year.
The book has been a big success for O’Connor, who also wrote the novel-turned-play-turned-film “Red Roses and Petrol.” The book was lauded by critics and sold an astonishing 625,000 copies to date – “Way beyond my wildest dreams,” said O’Connor.
The film version will be produced by Working Title Films, the company behind such hits as “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” and “Love Actually.” Which means that it shouldn’t surprise anyone if Hugh Grant pops up in a lead role . . .

Ex-Boyzone singer Ronan Keating has a suggestion for his former bandmates: Use Your Illusion, too.
In case you’re not up on your ’80s rock trivia, that was a reference to the late, great Guns ‘N’ Roses, another band that imploded when its fame reached critical mass — and the front man got too big for his boots. Ronan — who adamantly refuses to interrupt his solo career — invoked the example of GNR to explain how Shane, Keith, Mikey and Stephen could make a go of a Keating-less Boyzone reunion tour.
“Slash and the bassist and drummer from Guns ‘N’ Roses got back together and went on tour,” without former lead singer Axl Rose, Ronan told Ireland Online. What he forgot to mention was that Slash had the great idea of recruiting former Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland to front the new band, Velvet Revolver. The brilliance of this move is that it builds in plenty of vacation time for Slash and the rest of the guys when Weiland (inevitably) goes off the rails and heads for rehab.
Anyway, Ronan envisions something similar for the former ‘Zoners. Except, I’m sure, without the rehab.
“They won’t come back as Boyzone, as in singing and dancing,” he pointed out. “But maybe something else.” Like, maybe, Goth rockers (think Marilyn Manson) or maybe a ceili band. And while Ronan wishes them well — and wants them to stop nagging him already — it’s a safe bet that he doesn’t want to see a revamped Boyzone eclipse his own solo success. You know, like VR has done to Axl.

He used to believe that all you needed was love, but these days, Paul McCartney would probably say that you need love — and a bit of c_nas (quiet) wouldn’t hurt, either.
The former Beatle recently parted ways with his longtime publicist, Geoff Baker, after 15 years of loyal service. The facts are a bit murky, depending on who’s telling the story. According to McCartney’s camp, Geoff got his marching orders due to poor performance. Baker, on the other hand, said he decided to leave to pursue other interests, including writing.
Of course, the juiciest version of the story comes from inside sources, who whisper that the rift was caused by a personality conflict between the publicist and McCartney’s strong-willed missus, Heather Mills. It’s a safe bet that the pair butted heads, since the 30-something Mills is said to be a bit, er, abrasive.
For his part, Macca seems to confirm the Heather connection even as he denies it.
“It is particularly sad that he has chosen to . . . implicate my wife, Heather, in this business,” the singer told the press. “I can say now that she has had nothing to do with this.”

Translation, please
Not content with being the newest member of Hollywood royalty, actress Scarlett Johansson could be looking to snag herself a real-life peer — or peerage. The 19-year-old star of “Lost in Translation” is said to be dating one Lord Frederick Windsor, an Eton-educated chap who is 28th in line to the British throne.
Lord Fred is the son of Princess Michael of Kent, who knows a little bit about things getting lost in translation, if her racist rant in an NYC restaurant is anything to go by. For those of you who don’t read the gossip columns regularly, Princess Michael recently suggested that a table of African-American patrons “go back to the colonies.”

Would he work with Woody? (Would he!)
Irish actor James Nesbitt has joined the long and prestigious list of actors who have a Woody Allen movie on their resumes.
Allen, the former boyfriend (and current son-in-law) of actress Mia Farrow, is currently filming his new project in London. In addition to the “Bloody Sunday” star, the other players include Cork-born Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and “Lost in Translation” star Scarlett Johansson.
An insider told the Sunday World that this could lead to a Hollywood career for the actor.
“If he plays it right, this could lead to other offers,” the friend said. “Some of the U.S. critics were very impressed with him in ‘Bloody Sunday,’ but being in a Woody Allen film will open him up to a new market.”

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