HOLLYWOOD … Now that Oscar has been presented, thank you’d and is standing proudly on the winners’ shelves, mantles and whatever, we can look at other happenings. Tinseltown is still talking about the octuplets born here. How the eight babies will be raised, etc., etc., etc. And without a shadow of a doubt, somewhere along the line there will be a documentary, docudrama or whatever based on the births.
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While looking for news recently, a bunch of us in the business started discussing age differences between the leads in some movies. For instance, Sean Connery was 39 years older than Catherine Zeta-Jones when they co-starred in “Entrapment“ in 1999. In “A Perfect Murder,” filmed in 1998, Michael Douglas was 28 years older than Gwyneth Paltrow, and in “The Fountainhead,“ Gary Cooper was 26 years older than Patricia Neal. During the filming, Cooper and Neal fell in love and had a long love life off-screen. Through the years there were many more, but that’s enough for now.
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Want to read a big, long and interesting book? Latch on to “Joseph Kennedy Presents His Hollywood Years“ by Cari Beauchamp (Knopf). You’ll learn all about the Kennedys, his many affairs and lots more really juicy stuff.
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Newcomer Amanda Seyfried gets her big break on the big screen, joining Annette Bening in “A Woman of No Importance.“ In this adaptation of the Oscar Wilde comedy, she plays a young woman who falls victim to the games of British society. You may have seen Amanda as the daughter with an unknown father in “Mamma Mia!“ And you can look for her in several more films due out this year: “Boogie Woogie,“ “Dear John“ and “Jennifer’s Body.“ Remember the name: Amanda Seyfried. You’ll be seeing it a great deal in years to come.
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Did you know that Elizabeth Taylor’s fifth husband, Richard Burton, gave her a 60-carat pear-shaped diamond that was originally 244 carats before it was cut down? It was named The Taylor-Burton diamond. After Burton died, Elizabeth auctioned off the stone, giving the proceeds to build a hospital in Botswana. Elizabeth loves jewels. Still has a great collection, but nothing like that big one.
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And while we’re on the subject of jewels. Did you know that when Halle Berry won the 2003 Best Actress Oscar she was wearing the $3 million, 5.54-carat Harry Winston diamond. On loan, of course. This the largest vivid-orange diamond in the world. Halle wore it on her left pinkie finger. Like Cinderella, she returned it when the ball was over.
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BITS ’N’ PIECES: Inhabitants of The Garden District area of New Orleans are still ecstatic over all the honors going to “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,“ which was filmed in the area. They are even claiming Brad and Angelina as one of their own, which of course, they ain’t. The Pitts have residences almost everywhere. … And from Reader’s Digest’s “Laughter, the Best Medicine“ book: “There was a fellow who always had bad luck. He found a Magic Lamp, rubbed it, and a genie appeared and gave him the Midas Touch. For the rest of his life, everything he touched turned into a muffler.
© 2009 King Features Synd., Inc.