Annette Bening appeared on the steps of the California State Capitol to make an appeal for increased funding for the arts in the state’s public schools.
“Education and art in our culture should not be treated as a luxury for some, but as an absolute necessity for every one of us and every one of our kids,” the actress said last week.
The two-time Oscar nominee is a member of the California Arts Council and was participating in California Arts Day. “I’m lucky. I come from the movie business, as the governor does. And my kids, because I can afford it, go to private school,” she said.
Lake Bell has a name that’s perfect for starring in a new underwater TV drama. If only she had the courage to match.
“I’m not a big fan of the ocean because I’m scared of what lies beneath,” Bell said recently during a break in filming of NBC’s “Surface.” Among her fears: undertow and man-of-war jellyfish.
“But as a pseudo-action star, I have to jump in … to literally jump in and go,” she said.
On “Surface,” Bell plays Laura Daughtery, who is an oceanographer who discovers mysterious sea monsters in the ocean.
The special effects are added in post-production, forcing the actors to interact with a piece of tape playing the part.
Talking up his new film about the good old days of television news, “Good Night, and Good Luck,” George Clooney took some shots at the current state of broadcast journalism. He said it was “very disturbing” how TV news is moving toward MTV-like presentations, according to the New York Daily News. “It’s a constant battle between entertainment and news,” he said.
Clooney’s movie is about news legend Edward R. Murrow, the only journalist who took on communist-hunting Sen. Joseph McCarthy. Clooney plays Murrow’s producer, Fred Friendly. At a recent event, Friendly’s widow, Ruth, couldn’t resist saying that Clooney is “much better looking than Fred.”
Mick Jagger and his mates had a bit of a scare Thursday night during a concert at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. A bomb threat targeting the stage area had been received by 911 operators, and the Rolling Stones quickly left the stage.
Cops and bomb-sniffing canines found nothing unusual, and the band went back on stage to complete the show. The Stones are promoting their latest album, “A Bigger Bang.”
Pushy paparazzi hit with battery charge
A photographer was charged with child endangerment and battery for allegedly striking a 5-year-old child with his camera and shoving another out of the way to take pictures of Reese Witherspoon and her children.
Todd K. Wallace, 44, was charged Friday in Anaheim, Calif., and was due back in court Wednesday, a city official said.
Wallace also is charged with battering the child’s mother, who is a friend of Witherspoon, and two employees at a Disney theme park.
He reportedly became angry when the “Legally Blonde” star and her friends declined to be photographed Sept. 2 at Disney’s California Adventure, and cursed them.