Charlize gets laughs at LAFF

As a young girl, Oscar-winner Charlize Theron wanted to be a dancer, not an actor.

But at the Film Independent/Los Angeles Film Festival's "Spirit of Independence Award" dinner, she didn't dance around why she ditched her ballet slippers for a Hollywood film career.

"I think I loved to dance because it was telling stories without speaking. I wasn't the best dancer and I would never have made a good ballerina because I was too tall. But if you put me on a stage and told me I was a dying swan, I f More »

Get ready for the big "Blood Diamond " PR War between Team De Beers and Team Zwick.

Nelson Mandela will act as a spokesman for the international diamond cartel to  defuse any negative publicity caused by Ed Zwick's new film "The Blood Diamond," starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly and Djimoun Hounsou, due out in December.

The film, a fictional tale, is set during the all-too-real '90s decade of African civil wars when rebel armies seized control of diamond mines, traded conflict diamonds for arms and murdered, raped and mutilated thousands of innocent people.

The film's barely finished shooting but the World Diamond Council has already asked Zwick, the film's producer/co-writer/director to add a disclaimer at the end that puts the nasty rough diamond trade in the past and the current industry in a better light.

Honest, those creepy rebels with nasty amputation habits are gone. Today's mining conditions are way improved and diamonds are now carefully documented thanks to the Kimberly Process, a voluntary industry agreement made in 2000, which tracks and certifies the movement of rough diamonds.

Human rights groups such as Amnesty International don't buy it. But if you do, I've got some great New Orleans property near some lovely new levees you might also like. Zwick's response? He gave it to E! Online yesterday.

A bitter battle is clearly brewing. But how will Team De Beers, headed by Mandela, do against Team Zwick? Let's compare the players. Ready for their turn at bat are the "Blood" actors, all politically active and involved with a variety of humanitarian causes.

DiCaprio is outspoken about ecology and global warming issues. His website was redesigned and launched in 2004, the same year he joined the boards of NRDC and Global Green USA. Hounsou was born in Benin, near Niger. He participated in Amnesty International's Live for Darfur concert series last fall. It's safe to say that he has strong opinions on the illicit diamond trade's impact on Africa peoples. And Jennifer Connelly was just named Amnesty International USA's (AIUSA) Ambassador for Human Rights Education last winter.

But Zwick may also have a trump card, an actress who could give his team an unbeatable hand....

One of Oscar nominee Keira Knightley's fave British designers - Jenny Packham - will have a special fashion show in Los Angeles in October, just in time for  2007 award season shopping. The show will be sponsored by BAFTA/LA.

Packham, who usually parades her wears on London and Paris runways, has been dubbed "the first lady of partywear" by British Vogue, who certainly should know.

No doubt a few of her fervent fans like Nicole Kidman, Mandy Moore, Kate Moss, Mena Suvari, Brittany Murphy, Heidi Klum and Scarlett Johansson, who just wrapped the new Woody Allen film "Scoop" in London, will show up for Packham's show.

Knightley and Packham just worked together on a photo to aid Fresh2o, a campaign to promote WaterAid, which provides African and Asian communities safe domestic water supplies. In this eerie underwater shot by aquatic photographer Candice, Knightly (gulp) manages to hold her breath beautifully in a frothy cream Packham gown.

Just so you know, Knightley, who walked the red carpet wearing white Chanel at Saturday's premiere of "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" at Disneyland, flew back to jolly old England the very next day to keep filming Ian McEwan's "Atonement," which has, to say the least, an impressive female cast.

On the "Atonement" roster: Emily Watson, Brenda Blethyn, Vanessa Redgrave, Kristin Scott Thomas and... Betty White.

Yes, that Betty White, best known for playing sexually voracious Sue Ann Nivens on the '70s TV series "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and for her loveable ditzy Rose on the early '90s  hit series, "Golden Girls." Who knew?

Photo Credits: Keira is a bathing beauty for charity in a Jenny Packham gown.
Courtesy of WaterAid.

How does Jamie Foxx do it?

First he's a big winner at the 2006 Black Entertainment Television Awards at the Shrine, grabbing two major  awards, one for Best Duet/Collaboration and one for Best Video of the Year.

Then he scoots across town and shows up right after the show looking totally chill at Charlize Theron's big Africa Outreach fundraiser at the hot new venue, Social Hollywood.

Foxx partied along with Eve, Nicole Richie, Serena Williams, Russell Simmons and Lindsay Lohan, who apparently needed an event/excuse to wear this wrinkled white satin skirt suit, shiny silver expensive bag and bright red gooey lips.

We want the number for Foxx's limo service. Either they know the best El Lay backroads  or he's being beamed across town "Star Trek" style.
Jessica Alba, Leonardo DiCaprio and that wild "Lost" child, Michelle Rodriguez recently hit a big sale at the DKNY boutique in Las Vegas.

But according to WWD, only Leo rated the store's "special star treatment."

Some day, Jessica, you may receive such treatment. But you'll have to do more than wear a bikini in "Into the Blue," shimmy in "Sin City 2" or kill villains in the upcoming "Fantastic Four 2," to reach Leo's status.

We're talking two Oscar acting noms, three Golden Globe noms and one Globe win here. Hey, maybe it's not that far out of reach. As for Michelle, well, she's got her plate full just staying out of jail. Day at a time, darling. 

Here's a fashion news flash: from now on, Paris Hilton will not wear fur. Seriously. She will, however, continue to carry it. Sorry, Tinker Bell.

Photo Credits: Bet Jamie Foxx left his two  BET awards in the limo when he hit Charlize Theron's Africa Outreach fundraiser after the show.
WireImage/Steve Granitz

Photo Credits: Lindsay shows off her shiny new Manhattan hooker look at the Social Hollywood Africa Outreach bash.   
WireImage/Eric Charbonneau

Photo Credits: Forget wearing dead mink. Terrified Tinks wants Paris to stop carrying fur! Somebody please call PETA.
WireImage/Seth Browarnik

What they're talking about...
Why didn't the Lord our Father who art in heaven smite Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman - divorced from Tom Cruise - for getting rehitched in a Catholic Church?

Hint: she got off on a technicality.

Note to Britney and Paris: dying your hair black – or wearing a black wig – is not an effective disguise, okay?

Next thing you know these girls will be trying to outsmart the pesky paparazzi by using Superman's fool-proof ploy: Clark Kentish black nerd glasses.

Now, listen up...

To this astonishing comparison of Madonna's "Holiday" and Jessica Simpson's brand new single, "Public Affair." Then you decide.

Photo Credits: Nicole flees the scene of the crime after her church wedding to Keith Urban in Darling Point, Australia.
WireImage/Don Arnold

Photo Credits: Talk about a Sister Act. Paris is the mirror image of pal Caroline d'Amour at the 02 Wireless festival in Hyde Park, London. But forget the black wig. It's the matching tongue action that's really creepy.
WireImage/Don Arnold

Disney Studio's publicity department had a very full Monday morning, fielding questions about Saturday's "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" PR nightmare at Disneyland.

Disney's head of publicity Dennis Rice was busy making amends to disenchanted print, internet, radio and TV press who'd waited for five hours on the premiere red carpet and never got to interview the film's main star, Johnny Depp.

"I had a big fallout with the press and I'm prepared to deal with it today," Rice confirmed.

What Disney was simply not prepared for was the overwhelming number of fans who bought tickets to the park to see their favorite stars arrive for Saturday's premiere.

"We knew Johnny Depp had a huge fan base but we were simply not prepared for the number of fans who showed up," Rice admitted. "And for Johnny, it's all about the fans."
According to Disneyland sources, five thousand fans camped out Friday night outside the park in order to get in at 6:30 a.m. to stake out spots on the carpet so they could see – and possible shake hands with - the "Pirates" star.

"Unlike some stars, Johnny Depp is very appreciative of and loyal to his fans and he always makes time for them at his public appearances," says a Depp source. "They all know this and that's why they show up in droves. He started signing autographs for fans in the front of the park around 6:45 and spent two hours doing it. He didn't even do his first interview with ET until 8:45." 

Unfortunately, his two hours of devotion to his fans up front left scant time for the countless others lining the carpet further inside the park. Or the patiently waiting reporters further down the line who were not told until after 9 p.m. that Depp would not have time to talk.

But the tremendous turn-out is proof that Depp's popularity with fans of all ages and both genders has now hit superstar status. And he didn't even have to jump on Oprah's couch to get up there.

And it turns out that Depp had an even fuller plate on Saturday than most people knew. He arrived at the park at noon with his family to do press photos on the updated Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

Then, according to inside sources, he spent several hours more on a "personal obligation" that Disney has refused to confirm or comment on in order to respect the actor's privacy.

But a Hollywood Bytes investigation has uncovered that Depp's time-consuming "obligation" was actually an unpublicized lengthy lunch/meeting with several children with life-threatening illnesses whose dream was to meet the actor. Depp's publicist Robin Baum's office confirmed the  report. Depp has worked with the Make-A-Wish Foundation since his days on the late 80's TV series "21 Jump Street."

Well, this totally defuses any annoyance about Depp's subsequent truncated time on the red carpet. Choosing to make seriously ill kids happy over inane pointless press interviews? Hard to argue with that.

Photo Credits: Nice guy Johnny Depp arrives a little late to the Pirates premiere. But when you find out why, you'll understand why so many people love this guy.
WireImage/Eric Charbonneau

Whew. Some highlights from the Los Angeles Film Fest's first weekend:

Jason Alexander, Donald (You're Fired!) Trump, and Perry Reeves, who plays Ari Gold's wife on HBO's "Entourage,"  hung out at the "Ira and Abby" Los Angeles Film Festival's premiere after-party at the Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica Friday night.

The man himself, Leonard Cohen, looking trim and healthy, showed up for the premiere of "Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man" on Saturday June 24,  at the John Ford Amphitheatre in Hollywood. Also on hand, Robin Tunney, Lian Lunson, the film's tall statuesque blonde director and Kevin Beggs, president of Lionsgate Television.

Fest honorary co-chair Allison Janney, Catherine Bell, Amy Smart, Peter Horton, Kelly Rutherford, Lisa and Dean Devlin, Frances Fisher and Summer Glau, best known for her role on the cult hit series, "Firefly," kicked off LAFF's June 24th Green Day festivities at the screening of "Who Killed the Electric Car" along with the entire cast and crew.

Former Vice President Al Gore and former Second Lady Tipper Gore, Dawn Hudson and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa attended the Los Angeles Film Festival's biggest event yet, a special Green Day outdoor screening of "An Inconvenient Truth" Saturday at the California Plaza.

Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora rocked out, and Truth's director Davis Guggenheim spoke to the crowd of several thousand about the importance of taking environmental protection action. Like now.

Photo Credits: "Ira and Abby" screenwriter Jennifer Westfeldt with Jason Alexander from the film at the Viceroy Hotel.
WireImage/Arun Nevader

Photo Credits: Singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen with director Lian Lunson at the LAFF screening of "Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man."
WireImage/John Sciulli

Photo Credits: Film Independent's Dawn Hudson with Al and Tipper Gore at the screening of "An Inconvenient Truth" at the California Plaza.
WireImage/Amy Tierney

The most popular ride at Disneyland Saturday was the red carpet for the world premiere of "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest."

And the longest. The red carpet was over 1,000 ft. long, rolling down Main Street, snaking by Fantasyland and ending at Adventureland. But for hundreds of international TV, radio, internet and print reporters and thousands of fans who'd come to see "Pirates" stars Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom, the carpet ride became pretty disappointing by the end of the night.

Fans staked out coveted spots along the carpet when the park opened at 6:30 a.m. The press arrived at 3 p.m. to prepare for celebrity arrivals from 5-6. But by 6:30, only a few non-famous guests came wandering in.

Since the premiere invite stressed 'pirate garb,' there were more eye patches, head bandanas, gold earrings, skull 'n crossbones, puffy shirts, and pirate hats - not to mention dark sooty Jack Sparrow eyeliner - than you could shake a saber at.

Early on, the throng of fans – most wearing Disney's pirate mouse ears (gold hoop earring in one ear) – were hopeful and enthusiastic, shouting, screaming, holding up banners and photos of Depp and Bloom and 'We Love You Johnny!' posters. They were only too happy to jump and scream to create B-roll color for the camera crews and applaud the professional Disneyland pirates who were singing, playing accordions, juggling balls and knives and walking on stilts up and down the carpet.

There was a pre-party with grog and grub at the Blue Bayou and Café Orleans for  the premiere guests. They could also ride the new Pirates ride that features characters from the film (Jack Sparrow, his nemesis Captain Barbossa and the squid-faced Davy Jones) and then fill three huge red, yellow and green bleachers to view the film scheduled to be shown on an outdoor screen at around 9 p.m.

But by 7:30, the fans out on the carpet were getting hungry and hoarse, children began whimpering and even the seasoned press was turning surly.

"We've been standing here 5 hours and we've not seen a single lead actor from the film," groused a KTLA reporter. "This is insane. Why would they make us stand out here this long?" Even a befuddled German reporter asked, "Is this normal?"

"Is Johnny here?" reporters pestered the nervous Disney publicists. "Where's Keira?" "Has anyone seen Orlando?" "Will they talk to us?"

"They're here," one publicist promised. "Johnny's doing the new Pirates of the Caribbean ride and they're taking photographs. But he'll be here. Just be patient."

So reporters relaxed and chatted up non-Pirate people to kill time. "Entourage" star Kevin Dillon told press that his fans scream "Drama!" and "Viking Quest!" wherever he goes. Director James Cameron, who has a cameo on "Entourage," plugged his new film "Avatar," a sci-fi flick set on another planet that will be released next year in 3-D HD.  But he admitted he'd probably do better with a real "Aquaman" since it's gotten built-in buzz from the show.

Jon Voight stammered when a reporter asked if he'd seen his new grandchild. The answer was "No" but he's, um, "very proud of Angie and all the work she's doing." And he hasn't sent a baby gift. And he'd really rather not talk about it, if you don't mind.

Holly Robinson Peete was very popular with press because she actually knows Depp from his "21 Jump Street Days."  "Who would you like to have a pirate adventure with?" queried a TV reporter. "Well, not Johnny. He's a friend. Unlike every other woman in the world, I just don't feel that way about him," Robinson-Peete explained.

Marilyn Manson – dressed not like a pirate but like Marilyn Manson – was also a hot interview once word spread on the line that he actually knows Depp, who may star in a movie he's making about Lewis Carroll.  "I'm just here to see Johnny. He's my friend. He's a real pirate. I've got absinthe in my boots and I'm a pirate, too."

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed autographs, talked to a few TV reporters and tried to ignore the smattering of loud "boos" from the crowd. Inexplicably, his wife Maria Shriver wore a Dolce & Gabbana T-shirt emblazoned with Michelangelo's David wearing a sequin fig leaf.

Finally, around 8 p.m., a few actors who actually appear in "Pirates" made their way down the press line. Bill Nighy, who plays the octo-pussed Davy Jones, said it was  surreal having to play piano with his face tentacles. Vanessa Branch, who plays the wench Giselle, revealed how much fun she had slapping Depp in all three films.

All three? ...

Photo Credit: Keira Knightley faces what Disney called the longest red carpet in the world.
WireImage/Lester Cohen

Photo Credit:
Johnny Depp signs autographs for fans at the Disneyland premiere of "Pirates."
WireImage/Lester Cohen

Photo Credit: Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver walk the  "Pirates" plank.
Wire/Image/Gregg DeGuire