Cinema & Movie & celebrity News And Rumors

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Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood has branded politicians "sell outs" after serving as a small-town mayor in the 1980s.

The Dirty Harry star, 78, governed Californian beach haven Carmel-by-the-sea from 1986 to 1988.

But the actor insists it was as high as his political ambitions go.

He says, "I enjoyed being Mayor of Carmel, but you do see that it is very difficult to get things done. You just have to lose your soul. You have to bulls**t people.

"You have to deal with people you don't care for and will never be friends with, so you kind of sell yourself out to be a politician. You have to kiss it up with the world. That ain't (sic) my style." l

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Talk-show queen Oprah Winfrey launched a last-minute bid to urge Americans to vote on Tuesday.

The host has rallied around Democratic candidate Barack Obama since publicly endorsing him in December, and she started out election day by encouraging her fellow citizens to ignore long lines at the polls.

In an election-day interview with New York radio station Power 105.1, Winfrey, who cast her vote for Obama last week (ends31Oct08), said, "Come with your book, bring your iPod. Get ready to sit and have a party with yourself. There is no better way to celebrate than standing in line. Take your families. For so many people who have kids, it's a wonderful thing for your kids to see.

"We're going to remember this forever. Your kids will be telling their kids that they were there in the booth with their parents."

The host stood in line for an hour and 10 minutes when she voted last week, taking advantage of early-voting laws in Illinois.

She remembers: "I was voting in a precinct that was across the street from a drug treatment centre. Thirty-seven women from the treatment centre - they had just detoxed - had come over and voted for the first time, and it was fantastic.

"It's a miracle that's happening, really. I can feel the shift in our country."

And Winfrey has already prepared for her candidate's victory, adding: "When Barack wins this evening, it's a victory for all of America, because black people and brown people and red people and yellow people all understand that he understands that all villages matter. That's what (former Secretary of State) Colin Powell said when gave that beautiful endorsement of him. That is why I loved and supported him from the beginning."

Winfrey's endorsement of the Democrat was the first time she has ever publicly backed a presidential candidate

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Hollywood actress Nicole Kidman has laid down a new rule forbidding her family to be apart for more than a week at a time.

Both Kidman and her singer husband, Keith Urban, vowed to prioritise their personal lives over their work following the birth of their first child together, daughter Sunday Rose, in July.

The Australian star admits that she used to be separated from her husband for long periods of time because of their busy schedules, but recently reduced the allowed time gap to two weeks.

But Kidman now can't bear to be apart from her family for any more than seven days.

She tells U.S. magazine Glamour, "We reduced it even more. I have reached a stage in my life when I want to be with the ones I love. I used to be willing to do two weeks. And that is too much now; my heart aches.

"I've given a lot to my work, and I'm not willing to give as much to that anymore. At this time in my life, I want to be giving to my relationships." l

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British actress Kate Winslet is convinced growing up as an overweight teenager has scarred her for life - because she still always feels like the "fat kid".

Winslet struggled with her weight throughout her youth and insists her battle with the bulge led to deep-rooted insecurities which have plagued her throughout her acting career.

She tells Vanity Fair magazine, "I was fat. I didn't know any fat famous actresses. I just did not see myself in that world at all.

"Once a fat kid, always a fat kid. Because you always think that you just look a little bit wrong or a little bit different from everyone else.

"And I still sort of have that. I often look at women who wear great jeans and high heels and nice little T-shirts wandering around the city and I think, I should make more of an effort. I should look like that." l

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Charlize Theron has settled a $20 million (GBP12.6 million) lawsuit with the luxury watchmaker that accused her of breach of contract.

Bosses at Swiss company Raymond Weil claimed they paid Theron the sum to wear its watches exclusively between October 2005 and December 2006.

According to court documents, Theron broke their agreement when she "was actually photographed wearing a watch from the Christian Dior line" at a press event in Austin, Texas on 14 March 2006.

The following month, Theron modelled a Montblanc watch on a billboard at a Swiss trade show.

Company executives added the violations "demonstrate a total disregard by (Theron) for any of her obligations under the agreement".

The settlement follows her lawyers' failed attempts to have the case dismissed.

New court documents filed in Manhattan Federal Court reveal the suit will be tossed when it is finalised within 30 days.

Terms of the settlement in the have not been disclosed

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Michael Douglas will be honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Producers Guild of America (PGA) for his work behind the camera.

Douglas will receive the award, named after Gone With The Wind producer David O. Selznick, at the annual ceremony at the Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles on 24 January.

The actor, best known for his starring roles in Wall Street and Fatal Attraction, is an acclaimed movie producer - winning the Best Picture Oscar for his role at the helm of 1975's One Flew Over The Cuckoo Nest.

In a statement, Douglas says he feels "privileged to be so honoured by my producing peers".

The PGA announced they had decided to present Douglas with the award for his "important statements about our life and times".

Previous producers who have received the award include Italian moviemaker Dino De Laurentiis and Spider-Man producer Laura Ziskin, according to the Hollywood Reporter

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Actress Jennifer Hudson blames herself for last month's tragic murders of her mother, brother and nephew in her native Chicago, Illinois - insisting she should have convinced her family to move out of the troubled neighbourhood.

Hudson's mother, Darnell Donerson, and brother, Jason, were found shot dead at their home in the city on 24 October. The singer/actress' seven-year-old nephew, Julian King, was also killed - his body was found in an abandoned car three days later.

And the Oscar-winning Dreamgirls star, 27, now feels wracked with guilt over the deaths, claiming she should have done more to move them away from the family home in Chicago's notorious South Side to live with her in Los Angeles.

Family friend Sharita Dickey says, "Jennifer grew up on Chicago's South Side, and knew all about the violence. She was able to get out, and wanted to take her mama with her, but Darnell said no."

Hudson's second cousin, Reverend Krista Alston, adds, "Jennifer is hurting and asking why this happened. She's asking why she didn't do more to persuade Darnell to move away.

"It was Darnell's decision to stay here in Chicago. This was her home and her family were here."

Police are currently quizzing William Balfour, the estranged husband of Hudson's sister Julia, over the slayings, but authorities have not filed any charges against him

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Supermodel Heidi Klum has been indulging in a little Risky Business for moviemaker Brett Ratner - performing Tom Cruise's famous film moves for a new Guitar Hero: World Tour commercial.

Dressed in a shirt, underpants and white socks, Klum dances and plays air guitar to Bob Seger's Old Time Rock And Roll - just like Cruise did in his 1983 breakthrough movie role.

And she admits that dancing for ad director Ratner wasn't quite as easy as it appears - and left her with bruises and burns all over her legs.

Klum says, "He (Ratner) really wanted to have it exactly like Tom Cruise did this... It was harder than I thought it was gonna be."l

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Hollywood actress Lindsay Lohan has made a last-ditch attempt to urge her fans to vote in Tuesday's U.S. presidential election, insisting every vote counts.

The Mean Girls star, 22, made the plea online in her MySpace.com blog on Monday.

She writes, "I cannot say how important it is for everyone to get out there and vote tomorrow...The future of our country depends on it.

"Just one vote can make such a difference... Vote - because your thoughts are worth it..Vote - because You can make this country a better place...Vote - because you can."

Lohan has previously slammed Republican John McCain's running mate Sarah Palin for her strict views on gay rights, branding the Alaska Governor a "narrow-minded, media-obsessed homophobe".

And she urged fans to reject two controversial Californian initiatives: Proposition 8, which bans gay marriage; and Proposition 4, which requires parents to get 48 hours' notice before doctors perform abortions on a minor.

Lohan also voiced her support for Democratic hopeful Barack Obama with a simple message, stating, "Obama for president ". l

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Horror moviemaker Darren Lynn Bousman's mother was so distraught when the director first cast Paris Hilton in his new movie Repo! The Genetic Opera she threatened to disown him.

Like many friends, fans and critics alike, Bousman's mum was more than surprised when he announced Hilton as his star.

And he admits he fought the idea of having the socialite in his film for the longest time: "I was adamantly opposed to casting Paris because the first thing people said to me was, 'Think of the press you'll get if you put Paris in it.' I thought, 'Whatever horror cred I have is about to go down the toilet.'

"My mother calls me crying from Kansas City - 'Why did you cast her, that charlatan?' She was very upset.

"My mother logged onto this website and read, 'Paris Hilton caught smoking dope in back alley.' That's not Paris Hilton. The paparazzi took pictures during a break while we were recording the soundtrack and she was drinking a water; the smoke was coming from the musicians smoking cigarettes.

"People spin these stories about her and that's how they know Paris Hilton. My idea of Paris, before I met her, was this really spoiled rich kid who is better than everyone else. As it turns out she was not the person I expected her to be. She was so charming.

"She stayed at the exact same hotel and ate at the same restaurants, and went to the same s**tty bar as all of us. I'm a dive bar kind of guy and she didn't come with an entourage or a single dog. She had just gotten out of her legal trouble so it was important for her to show that she wasn't this person. She really won me over." l