Archive for July, 2008

Howard Stern is revisiting “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School.”

The shockjock is producing, along with Larry Levinson, a remake of the 1979 film. Alex Winter, best known for playing alongside Keanu Reeves in “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” has been hired to script it.

Pic was about a group of rebellious students who, with the help of punk rock band the Ramones, thwarted a repressive, rock-music-hating principal.

Stern, while busy hosting and programming two daily channels on Sirius Satellite Radio, is now partnered on two films with Levinson. They also are working on a remake of the raunchy Bob Clark-directed 1982 comedy “Porky’s” that could start production in the fall.

Stern got involved because he was a fan of both pics.

While Winter still acts, he spends most of his time as a writer and director. He has directed numerous musicvideos and commercials, created segments for Jimmy Kimmel’s latenight show and helmed “Ben 10: Race Against Time” for the Cartoon Network. Winter also scripted a feature about Napster and its creator, Shawn Fanning, for MTV Films.

“I’ve now done so much stuff in musicvideos, and the Napster movie, that the chance to bridge music and comedy was something that intrigued me,” Winter said. “This movie seemed so ripe for a remake.”

Development is being funded by Levinson’s Stonewerks Motion Picture Group, whose Dan Gross will also be involved as a producer.

(source)

Tom Cruise is named in a $250 million federal lawsuit that is using the RICO statute against the Church of Scientology. Ex-Scientologist Peter Letterese, a longtime critic of the church, filed suit in Southern District Court in Florida on July 15 alleging, among other things, that members of the church harassed him after he left.

In court papers provided to The News by investigator Paul Barresi, Letterese claims a member of the church phoned his lawyer at home, and when the lawyer’s wife answered, said he was her husband’s homosexual lover.

Barresi, who has done investigative work on behalf of Cruise, tells us: “[Letterese] is just including a celebrity name to get attention.”

Letterese calls the church a “crime syndicate” and wants it broken up under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization law, just as the feds have broken up Mafia families.

He singles out Cruise, who’s made no secret of his religion, saying that Scientology head David Miscavage is “aided and abetted by the actions of Tom Cruise, his right-hand man for foreign and domestic promotion, as well as for foreign and domestic lobbying. He has assisted the syndicate in acquiring funds and [made] his own donations of money believed to be in the multiple tens of millions of dollars.”

One of Letterese’s beefs is that the church allegedly uses a business book, “Effective Sales Closing Techniques,” as part of its teachings. He says this violates his intellectual property rights, since he bought the rights to the book from the widow of author Leslie Dane.

Cruise’s lawyer, Bert Fields, did not respond to an e-mail requesting comment.

Karin Pouw, a spokeswoman for the Church of Scientology, told us: “This is a frivolous suit based on falsehoods.”

As for the Dane book, Pouw said, “Earlier this month, the federal Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit already rejected similar claims and affirmed that the church’s use of the book in question was fair use. Mr. Letterese was penalized $266,000 by a California court for refusing to provide evidence to support many of the same allegations.”

(source)

Beth Ostrosky is so serious about training for the next New York City Marathon, she’s planning an 18-mile run the morning after her October wedding to Howard Stern. Her training for the Nov. 2 race is already under way with the shock jock joining her three times a week for runs in Central Park and the Hamptons. Ostrosky has been following the New York Road Runners training schedule and will run her first-ever marathon to raise awareness for the North Shore Animal League on Long Island.

(source)

JAMES Woods stayed calm, cool and witty during Tuesday’s earthquake in LA. The “Shark” star was getting into his red SUV outside restaurant Jones on Third when the big rumbler struck. “He held tight to his door handle as some Beverly Hills ladies lunching outside held onto the table,” our spy said. “When it was over, this gal with a pair of fake boobies the size of the Hollywood Hills blurted, ‘Oh my God! Did you feel the earth move? Did you feel that?’ Woods responded, ‘Ah, so it was good for you too, my dear?’ ”

(source)

“LIPSTICK Jungle” hunk Robert Buckley was spotted on a date with “Real Housewives of New York City” star Bethenny Frankel Tuesday night at the Empire Hotel rooftop. The duo turned heads as they strolled in together, Buckley looking hunky in a T-shirt and Frankel in a body-skimming white dress. The comely couple flirted and drank skinny-girl margaritas for a few hours before taking off together. Buckley was overheard saying they were “headed to dinner.”

(source)

Created by freshpair.com, it’s been a guerrilla-style event held in Times Square for the past six years. But designers have finally caught on, and Diesel, Natori, Nautica, Tommy Hilfiger and 2Xist underwear brands will have hotties strutting in their skivvies in a runway show at Espace on Aug. 5. “Lydia Hearst is hosting. Nick Adams [of “A Chorus Line”] will be walking in his underwear,” said our insider. “There will be 10 runway shows.”

(source)

STARRING on Broadway is working for Aubrey O’Day. Her role as Amber Von Tussle in “Hairspray” has earned her a huge gay following that went nuts when she showed up as the surprise performer at Chelsea club Barracuda’s Tuesday night karaoke party and belted out show tunes for more than an hour. “She was amazing - everyone went crazy for her. It was packed - she pulled people up on stage to dance with her,” said one fan. Next Tuesday, Lydia Hearst will try singing at the club.

(source)

Philip Morris International has pulled down billboards and posters promoting an Alicia Keys concert Thursday in Indonesia’s capital after the singer protested the cigarette company’s sponsorship.

The logo and slogans of A Mild cigarettes, produced by a Philip Morris affiliate, featured prominently in promotional materials for the concert.

The Washington-based Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids anti-smoking organization initially drew Keys’ attention to the company’s association with the show.

In a letter released by her record company, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, she said she had asked the company to stop the branding.

“I am an unyielding advocate for the well-being of children around the world and do not condone or endorse smoking,” she said.

Philip Morris International did not say whether it was demanding its money back, nor reveal how much it had paid to sponsor the event.

“Whether tobacco sponsorship of music events leads to youth smoking is a matter of serious debate,” the company said in a statement received Thursday. “Having considered the facts in this specific instance, we have decided to withdraw all branding associated with this concert.”

More than 30 percent of Indonesia’s 220 million people smoke, making it the fifth-largest tobacco market in the world, according to the World Health Organization.

In the United States, Philip Morris USA and other major tobacco companies are prohibited from sponsorships of concerts, but there are no such regulations in Indonesia. The affiliate, HM Sampoerna, regularly sponsors sports events and pop concerts in Indonesia.

Philip Morris was not the sole sponsor of the concert, but the event is billed as an “A Mild Live Production,” suggesting it is a major backer.

With health campaigns taking a toll on cigarette sales in the West, tobacco companies are focusing marketing campaigns on developing countries like Indonesia, behind China, the United States, Russia and Japan.