“Muslim” title delays film
Sony Pictures had second thoughts about distributing Albert Brooks’ new movie, “Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World.” Sony didn’t find the title so funny, the New York Post reports, and told Brooks in a letter in June.
The movie’s release – by Warner Independent Pictures – has been delayed until December.
Brooks’ response? “I wish (Sony) had told me about their decision one minute after they had seen the movie in January. … Nobody wants a right hook to the face. Nobody makes posters and trailers and then tells you five months later, ‘No thank you.’ … If we live in a time where you can’t say the words ‘Muslim’ and ‘comedy’ in the same sentence, then we are in trouble.”
By the way, the film was accepted by the Dubai Film Festival in December.
Aniston, mom making up
There is a plus to the Jennifer Aniston-Brad Pitt divorce. Aniston has reconciled with her estranged mother of nine years.
“I’m thrilled. It’s so wonderful,” Aniston told Elle magazine. “And who knew (the divorce) would be the thing to initiate this? It’s like we get to reintroduce ourselves to each other.” Aniston’s mom, Nancy, discussed her famous daughter on a talk show in 1996 and three years later published a book, “Mother and Daughter to Friends,” leading to their rift.
Jennifer Lopez is hiring Thom Felicia of “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” to decorate her Long Island home, the New York Post’s Cindy Adams writes. No word if the rest of the “Queer Eye” Fab Five will be around to give Lopez or hubby Marc Anthony lifestyles, hairstyle or apparel tips.
Kathy Griffin filed for divorce from her husband, Matt Moline, but she hasn’t given up on her marriage of four-plus years.
“I have a one-nighter coming up in Colorado, and he’s going with me,” Griffin told the Post’s Adams. “We’re trying to work things out.”
Griffin was slated to appear at Lincoln Center in Fort Collins Friday night. We guess Fort Collins is a better place to save a marriage than Greeley, Kathy, but watch out for those CSU students. It is homecoming weekend, after all.
The latest rumors that Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson have separated may just be a battle between competing gossip tabloids.
A $200,000, two-year deal with OK! magazine, set up in August by Simpson’s father, Joe, may have prompted rival Us magazine to splash “SPLIT!” over the couple’s picture on this week’s cover. Life & Style weekly runs a similar story of the breakup, including an anecdote about Simpson breaking down in tears on an American Airlines flight.
A gossip industry insider told Radar Online, “When Joe sold her out to OK!, he gave up her chance to work with People, Us or anyone else, and now she’s paying for it.”
Madonna has turned down the queen’s request to sing at the Royal Variety Performance charity show. The event has been a tradition since 1912, featuring British stars performing for the royals. According to contactmusic.com, Madonna said the show scheduled for Cardiff, Wales, in November was “too old-fashioned.”
Britney Spears’ jewel-encrusted bra from the “Toxic” video was de-listed for an eBay charity auction because the website forbids listing used undergarments. The seller can relist the bra under a new category, an eBay spokesperson said. Bidding had topped $30,000.
A bargain on eBay were the press pass badges for the Michael Jackson and Scott Peterson trials. MSNBC host and NBC legal correspondent Dan Abrams put the passes up for bids – last at more than $3,000 – and plans to give the proceeds to Habitat for Humanity and the Court Appointed Special Advocate, a nonprofit legal assistance group for abused kids.
– Compiled by Greg Henry from wire and
Internet reports
