Movies
Oscars Moving Ahead
By Rose Quintiliano
Mar 2, 2008 - 12:37:49 PM

The writers’ strike is over, and the A-list star power is on for the 80th annual Academy Awards. Forest Whitaker, Helen Mire, Jennifer Hudson, Miley Cyrus, George Clooney, and Nicole Kidman will be among the many presenters at the February 24 ceremony at the Kodak Theatre, Oscar officials announced.

   Other presenters include Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Cate Blanchett, Martin Scorsese, Harrison Ford, and Cameron Diaz. Jon Stewart will host. I won’t be offering my predictions on how the Oscars will play out, since I didn’t put any hours of consideration and calculation to attempt to prove
that I have some level of prescience and not just guesswork. Years ago you’ve read my favorites, the potential upset, and my own preferences, trying to find some shred of compromise between them all that will produce the winner. This year, I’ll just sit back and relax.

   Don’t forget to buckle up Miley Cyrus for the Oscars. In a blog item posted a few weeks ago, Consumer Reports magazine says 15-year-old superstar Miley Cyrus, who plays Hannah Montana on television, is seen in her new flick riding without a seat belt in the back seat of a Range
Rover. Oh yes, so is her father Billy Ray Cyrus, the Yonkers-based magazine says. The movie is the 3-D Disney concert film “Hannah Montana &
Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert.” The magazine says 65 percent of the 13- to 15 year-olds killed in auto accidents in 2006 were not wearing seat belts.

   The Brit-bashing has been stopped because of her new status as a tragic
figure. Britney Spears will no longer be ridiculed in the hit Broadway musical “Spamalot.” The author Eric Idle has rewritten one of the show’s numbers, “Diva Lament,” which poked fun at Brit. Instead, the tune will now take potshots at Posh Spice. When asked why he decided to make the switch, Idle said, “Because we don’t laugh at sad people...Britney Spears is being tortured to death, and we don’t want to be on that side.”

   Finally, a kind-hearted soul that actually feels sorry for celebrities when they fall into the downward spiral. If you believe the old adage that any publicity is good publicity…well, then, we suppose Britney is doing just fine. Britney Spears is reportedly planning a world tour to promote her latest album "Blackout." It seems that an insider told the New York Post: “Britney will be leaving the country in the next few weeks, after training in privacy for a month. She is planning a global tour.”

   Speaking of Spice Girls, it seems that this group of older women have sadly run out of girl power. Well, the Spices recently announced that they are cutting their much-hyped world tour short. Why?  The Spice Girls claimed “family and personal commitments” were a factor for the cancellation of concerts in South Africa, China, Australia, and Argentina — as opposed to, let’s say low ticket sales or whatever. Guess it’s not a Spice World, after all.
   It looks like The Police will take one more victory lap through North America on their successful reunion tour before calling it quits for good,
sources close to the tour tell Billboard. The Police - Sting, Andy Summers,
and Stewart Copeland - will play another 30-odd dates in May and July in
North America, with 15 previously announced European concerts sandwiched between in June. Opening the North American dates will be Elvis Costello & the Imposters.

   Rose’s Scoop:  Would you ever pay $3,000 for a bra? Believe it or not, a fan forked over that amount for one of Shakira’s bra. Another die-hard fan forked over $14,000 for the privilege of meeting the star and receiving front-row seats at a future show in Toronto. The auction was to aid her Bare Feet Foundation, which is building a school for impoverished children in northern Columbia. This may start a trend.

   Finally, Good Luck to all the nominee’s, and don’t forget to set your TiVos.
   Rose may be reached at Rose@canyon-news.com
   Additional contributor: Kelly Olszuk

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