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Stephen Gately dies in Majorca
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Stephen Gately, member of the recently reformed Irish boyband Boyzone, died this weekend while holidaying in Majorca.
The 33-year-old singer and actor was found dead on Saturday afternoon in his home in the holiday destination. Police investigating the sudden death of the Irish star have said there are “no signs of suspicious circumstances.”
It has been claimed in The Sun that he spent up to 8 hours on a drinking binge while spending time away from the UK with his partner, Andrew Cowles. So far, it has been reported that he slept on the sofa in their home in Port d’Andratx after the couple met a 25-year-old Bulgarian man, who allegedly came back with them. When Cowles got up the following afternoon, he found his partner dead. The rumours so far are that he choked on his own vomit in his sleep.
His band mates and close friends, Ronan Keating, Shane Lynch, Mikey Graham and Keith Duffy, flew out to Majorca as soon as they heard the sad news on Sunday. Boyzone manager Louis Walsh failed to appear on Sunday night’s X Factor, and he was said to be "very shocked and exceptionally upset".
Matt Lucas’s ‘ex-husband’ hangs himself
The ex
-partner of Little Britain star Matt Lucas was found dead in his flat yesterday by police.
Kevin McGee, 32, a TV producer, had reportedly been battling drug addiction for a while, and posted a suicide note of sorts on his Facebook page shortly before he was found dead in his home. In his status on the social networking site, he wrote: ‘Kevin McGee thinks that death is much better than life.” Friends replied to the statement, but it was a shock to everyone when news broke out that he had hung himself.
The couple divorced last year, with Lucas claiming it was due to McGee’s drug use. However, a friend of the actor has said that “he always loved Kevin despite their differences and their difficult marriage".
According to The Sun, Lucas is “utterly destroyed” by the sad death of his former partner, who he married just three years ago in a panto-themed civil ceremony. He recently spoke to a gay newspaper and talked of the marriage and following break-up. He said, of the divorce; “Time is a great healer.” Let’s hope this is true, even in a sad case such as this.
Letterman admits affairs on live TV
David Letterman, host of US TV favourite The Late Show, admitted last night that he had sexual relations with several women, and that he was also the victim of bribery.
In a shocking revelation from the TV legend, he told the world that he had, in fact, been involved romantically with other women (he is married and has a child). In his own words: "The creepy stuff was that I have had sex with women who work for me on this show."
He also revealed that he was told to pay an alleged $2 million to prevent the details of his unsavoury activities being made public. Letterman, 62, also told the laughing audience that he even gave a fake cheque to the man who threatened him, in a meeting that had been set up by his lawyer.
His own admission of the whole series of events has seemingly helped to keep his reputation intact. It’s early days, but it seems that the much-loved presenter is still respected and admired, despite his actions.
Justin and Jessica: are they still together?
Some sources say they are, some say they aren’t – are one of Hollywood’s favourite young couples, still actually a couple?
It has been reported in American celebrity magazine Us Weekly that the hot pair have actually split, with a ‘pal’ also claiming that Justin was seen to be ‘on the hunt’ for a new woman at a recent event in New York.
However, another American site, People, have claimed that the pair are, in fact, still together. An insider has said; “They are still together. Any time they spend apart is because they’re working.”
The couple, who have been together for almost three years, have fallen prey to many rumours doing the rounds in the celeb world. It was reported a while back that Justin was going to propose, but it seemed clear that they were both just happy to be together, without an engagement.
Both of them have made solo public appearances recently, with Jessica turning up alone at the wrap party for her new film Valentine’s Day on September 22, and Justin partying without her in West Hollywood three days later. This has set tongues wagging that the pair are on their way to a break-up, or that it has already happened.
There are other rumours about Justin getting close to singer Rihanna, who he has worked with recently, but a source close to her has denied any romantic links.
So, are they still together? And if they are, will they last? They both have such hectic schedules and demanding jobs, and with the ‘honeymoon’ phase surely over, is it likely that they will make it into a third year together?
Robbie: ‘Drugs nearly killed me’
Robbie Williams has spoken publicly for the first time about his stint in rehab in 2007. Rob checked himself into a rehab clinic in Arizona on his 33rd birthday, but has only now revealed the extent of his three-year addiction to antidepressants.
Speaking in the third person, the singer told The Sun: “Robbie Williams does not go into rehab just if his life gets a bit out of control. It was damn serious. Death had to knock on my door to help me with my decision.
“I have a self-destructive character but does this hold me back from being happy? No.”
Thankfully, the addition of girlfriend Ayda Field into his life seems to have mellowed the singer somewhat.
“She didn’t try to change me and, just like that, she changed me for the better,” Robbie said. “I’m in love with someone who returns this love as strongly. I’ve never experienced that. That’s what makes me so careful in this relationship. I don’t want to hurt Ayda.”
Hooray for Blu-ray?
20th Century Fox is very excited about Blu-ray. And it wants all of us to be very excited about Blu-ray too. Why? Well, it doesn’t exactly hurt the studio’s bottom line when we all dash out and buy those players and lots of discs.
To help their cause Fox decided to invite MSN and a few other select outlets along to various locations in LA to preview some of their upcoming titles and bring out some of the creative types working on the various discs to sing their praises.
First up? X-Men franchise producer Lauren Shuler Donner and X-Men Origins: Wolverine director Gavin Hood, who showed off some of the shiny new features that the film’s Blu-ray package will offer.
Chief among them was the Live Lookup idea – basically, a way to access the IMDB – yes, they’re aiming for quality control to keep the number of errors the site often brings up in actors’ credits down – live from the disc as you watch the film so you can see what they’ve done and, more importantly, stay updated on what they’re doing. It’s perfect for that endlessly nagging relative who can help asking, “Who are they? What have I seen them in?” every time you watch a film with them. And that’s just the tip of the interactivity iceberg – there are scavenger hunts, indexes and all manner of games coming too on other titles.
Donner in particular was quick to praise the format as perfect for big movies like Wolverine. “In our heads we’re always geared for a movie theatre. And that’s why we like Blu-ray, because you get the same experience as in a cinema and we’re thrilled about that.”
But if you want the true champion of the format, you need to talk to Baz Luhrmann, who preached the gospel of the ‘ray to us. Bubbling over with energy at every moment, Luhrmann is a seemingly perfect fit for the audio-visual experience of the format, given his attention to detail on the look and sound of his movies.
He’ll be bringing us Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge on Blu-ray (“2010, though Fox is graciously giving me all the time I need to work on the films,” he laughs) and was only too happy to sing its praises.
“It’s absolutely the most perfect format right now for my films. The ability to change things and the look is ideal.”
Yes. Luhrmann fans will be able to enjoy his films next year, but Fight Club fans won’t have to wait as long – there’s a brand new, 10th anniversary release arriving by the end of the year, complete with all the features of the two-disc set and a host of new ones – including a sound studio that lets you play with several scenes to hear how the unique audio treatments worked on the movie.
It was certainly impressive, and it sounds like there are plenty of treats on their way down the pipeline…
The BFM Film Festival
If you’re swinging by London’s South Bank in November you might want to check out the BFM Film Festival. It’s the UK’s premier film festival dedicated to celebrating black world cinema.
The bfm International Film Festival, will provide audiences with abundant opportunities to view a diverse range of some of the most innovative films of either black content or directed and written by black filmmakers.
The five day festival will present over 60 films – dramatic and feature lengthdocumentaries – which will be screened across four venues in London. The program is divided into five distinct categories; Made in UK, Caribbean Tales, Contemporary, Africa Calling and Political Thought, and includes films from; the UK, USA, South Africa, Ethiopia, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, Tanzania,Congo, Canada and Senegal.
The festival opens on the 6th November with the European premiere of Good Hair (Dir: Jeff Stilson), the award-winning film co-written and produced by Chris Rock. Something is Killing Tate; (Dir: Leon Lozano); Good Day to be Black and Sexy (Dir: Dennis Dortch) and The Story of Lovers Rock; (Dir: Menelik Shabazz); are just a few of the acclaimed films which will also be showcased. Other festival highlights include; the opportunity to discuss and debate an array of issues addressed in the films in a selection of post-screening Q&A’s with filmmakers, industry seminars and workshops facilitated by the UK Film Council Channel 4 and Skillset, DJ evenings and the Shorts Awards on closing night.
The full line-up is at www.bfmmedia.com/.
Victoria looking thinner than ever
Victoria Beckham was a surprise guest at London Fashion Week yesterday, taking front row at the Burberry show. But it wasn’t her frock (from her own collection) that made headlines, it was her skinny frame.
The Daily Mail said Victoria “looked more gaunt than ever”, while the Daily Star went as far as saying the mum-of-three was “starving herself”. We don’t agree with that, but we do say that Posh is looking thinner than she has in years.
The fashionista sat next to newly-brunette Agyness Deyn in the front row at the Burberry show. Other celebs watching the action included Emma Watson, Gwyneth Paltrow and Liv Tyler, and Slumdog Millionaire couple Dev Patel and Frieda Pinto.
Afterwards, there was no doubt that Victoria was the guest of honour among all those A-listers, as stars including Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Pixie Geldof and Stella McCartney lined up to chat to her at the exclusive after-show dinner in Mayfair.
But one dinner Victoria didn’t make recently was a Spice Girls reunion dinner. The other four girls met in London recently to discuss the possibility of reforming for a second time, as Geri Halliwell revealed on ITV’s This Morning:
“Fundamentally we are friends first and foremost. We started out that way, that very strong friendship, and whatever happens afterwards is a bonus,” Geri said.
“We always talk about creative plans and possibilities, definitely. And yes, right now, we are gathering information and thinking about possibilities. But when you’re evolving a plan you don’t share it to the world until it’s concrete.”
Keisha Quits Sugababes
Keisha Buchanan has left the Sugababes to pursue a solo career. 
An announcement on the group’s website stated: “Heidi Range and Amelle Berrabah will continue as the Sugababes and will be joined by new member, Jade Ewen. They release their album Sweet 7 on November 23 through Island Records. Keisha Buchanan will continue to record for Island Records as a solo artist.”
But although Keisha has been signed as a solo artist, she took to her Twitter page last night to tell fans it wasn’t her decision to leave the Sugababes.
“Although it was not my choice to leave, it’s time to enter a new chapter in my life,” Keisha wrote. “Sometimes a breakdown in communication and lack of trust can result in many different things… I’ve been in this band for 11 years and I have achieved so much. Although I’m nervous, I’m still very excited on what lies ahead!!!!”
The last Sugababes performance featuring Keisha was filmed at the Movida nightclub on September 16 as part of the Xclusives event hosted by MSN Music. Watch the Xclusives performance
New member Jade represented the UK at this year’s Eurovision and came fifth overall. What do you think of the new Sugababes line-up? Is Jade a good replacement for Keisha? Leave a comment below.
Cheryl Cole’s solo success
Hi everyone, sorry for the lack of updates on the blog, I was away for three weeks due to a family illness. Back now and I’ve just seen Cheryl Cole’s new solo video. What do you make of it? Watch it here
The song is more slick R&B than bouncy Girls Aloud pop, and the lyrics seem to refer to the ups and downs of Cheryl’s relationship with Ashley Cole. When Cheryl sings lyrics such as: “Quitting is out of the question, when it gets tough we got to fight for more. We got to fight for this love,” she surely can’t help thinking of the tough time they went through in 2008 following accusations that Ashley was unfaithful.
Fight For This Love was written by a team of US/UK songwriters who penned Genie In A Bottle for Christina Aguilera, as well as hits for Natasha Bedingfield, Leona Lewis and Beyonce.
The track is released on October 19, just one week after Alexandra Burke’s new single, Bad Boys. Obviously Chezza mentored Alexandra to X Factor success, so I guess rumours that the pair will record a duet together were to be expected. According to Heat magazine, Simon Cowell supports the idea of a duet, probably because of all the money he knows he’ll make when the track goes to number one! If it happens, it won’t be until the middle of next year. But you won’t have to wait that long to see Cheryl perform solo – she’ll sing Fight For This Love on X Factor in mid-October.
