Delivering the commencement speech at his alma mater, best-selling author Stephen King told University of Maine graduates Saturday to be voracious readers, donate a tenth of their earnings to worthy causes and carve out their careers in Maine.
King rattled off a “top 10” list in which he urged students to hug and kiss whoever helped them get to this point, to read as much as they can and to give away a dime for every dollar they make.
“If you don’t, the government is just going to take it for you,” said King, who is known for his own generosity to the university. “You’re not an owner in this life; you’re just a steward.” The last four points of his list were the same: Stay in Maine.
Vampires are usually her passion, but Anne Rice is getting biblical in her next book, due out in November from publisher Random House. “Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt” will tell the story of Jesus’ early years in his own words.
Excerpts of a lengthy letter that will accompany advance review copies of the book this summer are published in the new issue of Entertainment Weekly magazine.
“For over 10 years I’ve wanted to do this book – Jesus in his own words,” Rice writes. “For five years, I’ve been obsessed with how to do it, and for the last three years I’ve been consumed with nothing else.”
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Time will tell if Big Pussy was really a wise guy.
Former “Sopranos” star Vincent Pastore has rejected a plea deal offered by New York City prosecutors that would’ve let him avoid jail and do a mere five days of community service for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend, reports E!Online.
The burly actor, who played goodfella Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero on HBO’s hit mob drama, turned up in Manhattan Criminal Court last week for a hearing on four misdemeanor charges of roughing up ex-fiancée Lisa Regina.
Pastore, 58, faces two counts of assault, another for attempted assault and one count of harassment.
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Watch out, Hillary Clinton – Jennifer Lopez could be in the running, too.
Apparently, J.Lo, who will soon be seen on the big screen with Jane Fonda in “Monster-in-Law,” says she wants to be the first female president, reports Agence France-Presse.
“If it were up to me, I’d love to be the first female president – it would be fascinating,” Lopez said. “The first thing I would do is redecorate the White House and make it more cozy and inviting.”
“I’m pretty scrawny,” Chris Rock says in the new issue of Rolling Stone magazine. “If I was playing (football), I’d definitely be on steroids. You know, most people in the world, if you told them they could take a pill and be better at their job, they’d take the pill.”
Rock co-stars with Adam Sandler in the upcoming “The Longest Yard,” a remake of the 1974 movie about prison inmates who challenge prison guards to a football game.
It is Rock’s first film since he hosted the Oscars in February.
“Doing the show got a bit of the chip off my shoulder,” he says. “When you’re a comedian that curses, you’re always a second-class citizen to the guys who don’t curse. They say, ‘You’re big, but so-and-so’s a family comedian.’ It’s almost like porn – nobody admits to liking it, but it’s a billion-dollar industry.”
