Kristin dos Santos at E! has the first look at Hilary Duff on Gossip Girl. Hilary plays movie star Olivia Burke in the October 5 episode titled "Dan de Fleurette." Hilary's character will be Vanessa's (Jessica Szohr) roommate at NYU.
Drew Barrymore and Justin Long have split, her rep tells Usmagazine.com exclusively.
"They are still friends," a source close to Barrymore tells Us.
Barrymore, 33, and Long, 30, have been together since August 2007.
"I've been very fortunate," Long told Us in November. "I just feel very blessed and happy!"
The two knew each other for seven years before becoming serious.
This surprises us. They seemed so happy...we wonder what went wrong?
Heidi Montag Wants to Create Christian Music Album
The Hills star Heidi Montag already has both a fashion line called Heidiwood and a song called Fashion but she wants more. She told USA Today (via US magazine) that she also wants to release a Christian music album someday.
"I don't even want to talk about that," Montag says. "There were rumors about a sex tape, but I had nothing to do with that. God knows the truth in all of this, and at the end of the day, that is the only thing that matters. Jesus was persecuted, and I'm going to get persecuted, ya know? But it doesn't matter to me."
Little coverage in celebrity magazines, which seem to chronicle every movement of this reality troupe, is given to Montag's and Pratt's Christianity. Montag identifies herself as "kind of non-denominational Baptist" and hopes to release a Christian album one day. Both she and Pratt read the Bible conscientiously. Montag even planned on devoting her life to God as a missionary in Africa.
"I have been the most religious person since I was 2 years old. I always felt this crazy connection to God," says Montag, who grew up in Colorado with Holly, brother Sky, 15, and her since-divorced parents, Bill, a rancher, and Darlene, who runs a restaurant with Montag's stepfather.
This August, she and Pratt are headed to Africa to "feed children and help build things." Cameras will capture their trek, but not for The Hills. Pratt says it's possible they could adopt a baby while over there, but Montag laughs that idea off.
The USA Today article also says that Montag's boyfriend Spencer Pratt is saving up for a "multimillion-dollar bauble to show how much he adores her."
Victoria Secret has released their annual list of What is Sexy. Making the list this year are Scarlett Johansson, Ryan Seacrest, Kate Bosworth, Eric Bana and Josh Holloway. You can see the complete list below.
Victoria's Secret 2008 What Is Sexy? List
Sexiest Male Athlete: Tony Romo
Sexiest Couple: Fergie and Josh Duhamel
Sexiest Style: Scarlett Johansson
Sexiest Smile: Ryan Seacrest
Sexiest Eyes: Kate Bosworth
Sexiest Legs: Ali Larter
Sexiest Mom: Victoria Beckham
Sexiest Dad: Justin Chambers
Sexiest Funnyman: Dane Cook
Sexiest Beach Body: Josh Holloway
Sexiest Lips: Jessica Biel
Sexiest Actress: Eva Mendes
Sexiest Actor: Eric Bana
Sexiest Female Musician: Rihanna
Sexiest Male Musician: Chris Brown
Sexiest Cast: Dirty Sexy Money
Sexiest Newcomer: Blake Lively
Sexiest Newlyweds: Katherine Heigl and Josh Kelly
The Associated Press takes a closer look at the list in this video clip.
E! and Victoria Secret will also be running a one hour special on the What is Sexy? list on February 9th hosted by hosted by Adriana Lima.
We were absolutely devastated to learn the truth. Apparently, publicists actually plant stories in the gossip columns to get their celebrity clients in the news. A panel of colunists recently discussed how it all works. All panelists agreed that celebrities really need their names mentioned in the gossip columns in order to keep their public visibility high. And here we thought that all that news was generated by a team of hard-hitting, Edgar R. Murrow-style reporters who investigated celebrities' lives.
"A celebrity's stock is raised or lowered by the news they make," said Jo Piazza, columnist for the Daily News.
Michael Musto of the Village Voice said he actually prefers B-List celebrity news because it makes for 'good copy.'
Hosted by the Entertainment Publicists Professional Society, the panel was brought together to discuss PR's place in celebrity culture, explaining who gets media coverage and why.
Publicists are key to the advancement of celebrities, the group said. A surprising amount of celebrity news is generated by behind-the-scenes agents, and it's even common for publicists to leak information most would typically view as "scandalous" in order to raise awareness.
"We do get a lot of publicity plants about things – and that's fine – that's our dirty little secret," Piazza said. "Look at Paris Hilton. It's no secret that her famous sex tape came out around the same time as the debut of 'The Simple Life.' We get a lot of our leads from stars' friends. We get a lot from their enemies as well. A lot of them have agendas."
David Caplan, deputy NY bureau chief for Star Magazine, said the need for celebrity news works on a hierarchy of popularity. While A-list celebrities needn't do much to make headlines, B or C-list stars need to pique interest in the press. Reality TV show appearances or an affiliation with someone higher on the celebrity "food chain" always helps, Caplan said, but scandal is a sure way for a lesser-known to get print.
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"The best copy is gossip - we need someone to go on the record and say something scandalous. It doesn't have to be mean spirited, but it needs to go outside the box," Musto said.
"And that's why I love the B, C and D-list celebrities," Musto continued. "They make great copy. They'll say and do outrageous things because they want to become more famous."
Caplan agreed, adding that celebrities aren't always guaranteed print simply because they boast an A-list status.
"The celebrities that get written about are the ones that behave in a way that's out of the norm. Look at Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. Matt acts more like an ordinary kind of guy, while Ben Affleck dates celebrities and as a result, generally does more to get attention," Caplan said.
According to New York Magazine's Jada Yuan, cultural barriers often drive a wedge between celebrity publicists and columnists, resulting in shaky relationships and miscommunication.
The panelists also noted that their lawyers check the stories, which effectively means that anything that Page Six or the National Enquirer says is the absolute truth. Or something like that.
Those of you who feel guilty as you furtively check the Web to see what Philanderer Extraordinaire Jude Law has been up to or to obsessively check to see if Angelina Jolie has adoped yet another child can relax. Gossip is not only important: it's crucial for human society to function. The New York Times reports in an incredibly long article on a group of investigative researchers who have discovered the benefits of gossip.
Gossip has long been dismissed by researchers as little more than background noise, blather with no useful function. But some investigators now say that gossip should be central to any study of group interaction.
People find it irresistible for good reason: Gossip not only helps clarify and enforce the rules that keep people working well together, studies suggest, but it circulates crucial information about the behavior of others that cannot be published in an office manual. As often as it sullies reputations, psychologists say, gossip offers a foothold for newcomers in a group and a safety net for group members who feel in danger of falling out.
"There has been a tendency to denigrate gossip as sloppy and unreliable" and unworthy of serious study, said David Sloan Wilson, a professor of biology and anthropology at the State University of New York at Binghamton and the author of "Darwin's Cathedral," a book on evolution and group behavior. "But gossip appears to be a very sophisticated, multifunctional interaction which is important in policing behaviors in a group and defining group membership."
When two or more people huddle to share inside information about another person who is absent, they are often spreading important news, and enacting a mutually protective ritual that may have evolved from early grooming behaviors, some biologists argue.
We're performing a crucial societal function here, people.
Hilary Duff is Looking Good on Gossip Girl
The Hills star Heidi Montag already has both a fashion line called Heidiwood and a song called Fashion but she wants more. She told USA Today (via US magazine) that she also wants to release a Christian music album someday.
