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Parker, Broderick expecting twins by surrogate

2009-04-29T20:01:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES – Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick will be taking on new roles: parents of twin girls.

The "Sex and the City" star and her actor-husband are expecting twins through a surrogate pregnancy, representatives for the couple said Tuesday.

Parker, 44, and Broderick, 47, "are happily anticipating the birth of their twin daughters later this summer with the generous help of a surrogate. The entire family is overjoyed," said a statement from the publicists.

The couple has a 6-year-old son, James Wilkie Broderick, and will mark their 12th wedding anniversary next month.

Details about the surrogate or her pregnancy were unavailable, the publicists said.
Parker starred in the "Sex and the City" TV series and the hit movie of the same name. Broderick's credits include the films "Glory" and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and the Broadway musical "The Producers."

Brad Pitt blocks bodyguard book

2009-04-28T01:50:00.000-07:00

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have stopped their former bodyguard releasing a tell-all book.

The couple - who have been dating for four years and raise six children together - hired top US and UK lawyers to prevent Mickey Brett revealing details of their private lives in a novel and TV show.

The book proposal would have been based around Brett's first-person account of his years protecting a number of Hollywood stars, including Sandra Bullock, Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Sylvester Stallone and Richard Gere, according to the New York Daily News newspaper.

Marty Singer, Brad and Angelina's US litigator, says Brett was bound by a confidentiality agreement and is legally not allowed to comment.

He also claimed Brett is a "pathological liar" and revealed he has been convicted of 11 different crimes.

Brett has denied trying to sell stories.

He claims he had not given the project the all-clear, and says most of the tales were created by his ghost writer Robin McGibbon.

Brett's lawyers said: "Our client disputes what has apparently been said by Mr. Singer, but is not in a position to comment further at this stage."

However, McGibbon insists the bodyguard is lying.

He explained: "Mickey was definitely going to consider a book or TV deal if the offer was good enough. But at this point, there's not going to be any book."

Lindsay Lohan scared of gas

2009-04-23T20:19:00.000-07:00

Lindsay Lohan is scared of filling cars with gas.

The 'Mean Girls' actress - who has been involved in several car crashes and is currently serving three years probation after pleading guilty to driving under the influence (DUI) - insists she is a safe driver, but admits she hates stopping at petrol stations.

She said: "I'm really bad at pumping gas. I'm afraid I'm going to spill it. I get nervous and then I get really nervous that someone is going to pull up with a cigarette!"

Lindsay, 22 - who has been in rehab three times and whose turbulent relationship with 31-year-old DJ Samantha Ronson recently ended - insists she is not as much of a party animal as many people think, claiming she simply enjoys spending time with her friends.

Lindsay added she thinks she scares a lot of people because she always speaks her mind.

She explained to Britain's OK! magazine: "I am very honest and direct. That is not always a good thing because it intimidates people. But I'm not going to change myself for anyone."

Borderland beauty lifts visitors to the heights

2009-04-11T20:07:00.001-07:00

You had better not be prone to dizziness, if you cross the Himalayan-style suspension bridge at Holzarte in the French Pyrenees. Under your feet yawns a gorge some 150 m deep, clearly visible in gaps between the slats. And the bridge sways more violently the closer you come to the middle.

Italian carpenters built the structure in the 1920s, when villages in the Pyrenees were isolated. Today, it serves as a starting point for hikes in Basque country and the former French province of Bearn.

The Basque country is known for berets, and Bearn gives its name to bearnaise sauce. But neither attribution is what it seems. Berets actually originated in neighboring Bearn, where shepherds knitted the flat, round caps and then felted them. They became world famous thanks to the Basque people, though.

As for bearnaise sauce, it was created in Paris and named after Henry IV, king of France, who was born in the Bearn region.

Jean Soust, a hiking guide, narrated these and other anecdotes during our steady ascent. "There's hardly another mountain range in Europe where so much biodiversity has been preserved," he said, pointing to flowers along the trail.

Unlike the Alps, the Pyrenees have been spared mass tourism so far. Two long-distance hiking trails traverse the range, which forms the border between France and Spain.

Our trail led past a powerful waterfall and through a beech forest. Above the timberline, a path used by shepherds wound its way up a mountain pasture. A tolling of bells sounded like the church bells summoning you to a Catholic mass, but the noise came from hundreds of sheep, not a steeple. They gorge themselves on herbs that give Pyrenean cheese its flavor.

There was more ringing a little later, this time from sturdy horses with long, shaggy manes with bells around their necks so that their owners could find them more easily.

Numerous gites, guest houses where regional fare is served in the evening, offer travelers a place to spend the night.

The next morning, mist shrouded the valley, a condition typical of the northern, French side of the Pyrenees. It is often warmer and drier on the Spanish side. The murky weather in the mountains has its charm, however, as the landscape looks enchanted in soft light.

When a ray of sunlight managed to slip through the clouds, water droplets clinging to spiders' webs and blades of grass glittered like crystal glass. Vultures circled overhead.

Naomi Campbell set for Bollywood role

2009-04-07T20:16:00.000-07:00

Naomi Campbell is set to star in a Bollywood movie.

The British supermodel wowed casting directors during her appearance at the Fashion For Relief fundraiser in Mumbai last week and is now planning to return to India to audition for her first major film role.

A source said: "Naomi had never modelled in India before but she loved every minute. "At the end of the show, two well-known Bollywood producers approached her and asked if she'd be interested in screen testing. "

Naomi was incredibly flattered and plans to come back to Mumbai for more talks whenever she next has a break in her schedule." Although Naomi may be keen to launch a movie career, she admits her previous ventures away from modelling have not been as successful.

The 38-year-old-beauty tried to become a pop star in 1995, but her album 'Baby Woman' flopped.

She said: "I must say that I am not a great singer. I gave it a try but it didn't really work. I had a song 'La-La-La Love Song' which had a video heavily influenced by India. "Even where Indian fashion is concerned, I love the clothes - the sari.

Also, Indian women are very pretty and they carry themselves very well."

Pete Wentz's family festival plans

2009-04-06T01:39:00.001-07:00

Pete Wentz wants to take his son to a festival. The Fall Out Boy rocker is set to play the UK's Reading and Leeds music festivals this summer and admits he is considering taking four-month-old Bronx Mowgli - his first child with wife Ashlee Simpson - along to get his first taste of live music.Pete said: "Would I take my baby to a festival? We'll see. I wouldn't mind him seeing the headliners Radiohead at all." One reason why Pete may want his son to come with him to the event is to ensure he can keep clean. He explained: "Always take baby-wipes with you to a festival. You should be totally cool with taking a baby-wipe shower."Pete isn't the only celebrity rocker planning to take their son to work. Gavin Rossdale, who is married to Gwen Stefani, recently revealed his two-year-old son Kingston will experience life on the road when he tours with his dad next month.Gavin said: "You'd have to ask them if they want to be musicians, they both certainly have enough opinions to figure it out for themselves. "Kingston is coming to the first couple of shows with me and I'm really looking forward to that."

Jennifer Lopez loves motherhood

2009-04-06T01:28:00.000-07:00

Jennifer Lopez loves "everything" about being a mother.
The singer-and-actress - who has 13-month-old twins Max and Emme with her husband Marc Anthony - says she adores all aspects of motherhood and is forever gushing about her babies.
She explained to Us Weekly magazine: "What's the best thing about being a mom? Everything! Oh God, I could talk for a year about that!"
The 39-year-old beauty - who gave birth to the tots in February last year - likes nothing better than watching her "wonderful" babies.
She said: "They're walking, they're talking, they're babbling a lot - all that kind of stuff. It's wonderful to watch! They're very in tune with each other."
Jennifer - who gained almost 50lbs during her pregnancy - claims her now-slender figure is down to a good night's rest.
She added: "Sleep is key to staying in shape. It makes everything better."
The star recently revealed she wants to expand her brood in the future.
Jennifer said: "I definitely want to have more. I don't know if it's in the cards for us, but I would like to."