Turn On:
Might as well save your TV-watching energy for the Oscars on Sunday night. They'll be broadcast on ABC at 8 p.m. EST.
Morning Briefing:
After Gonzo was gone: Hunter S. Thompson's wife, Anita, has given an interview to the Rocky Mountain News detailing her husband's final hours and how his family coped with his suicide immediately after his death. She says they gathered to give him a fitting send-off: "The literary champ was sitting in his command post kitchen chair, a piece of blank paper in his favorite typewriter, dead of a self-inflicted gunshot through the mouth hours earlier," the paper reports. "But a small circle of family and friends gathered around with stories, as he wished, with glasses full of his favored elixir -- Chivas Regal on ice. 'It was very loving. It was not a panic, or ugly, or freaky,' Thompson's wife, Anita Thompson, said Thursday night in her first spoken comments since the icon's death Sunday. 'It was just like Hunter wanted. He was in control here.'" (Rocky Mountain News)
Lohan lowdown: The latest revelations seeping out of Lindsay Lohan's parents' messy divorce battle? 1) Lindsay's mother, Dina, claims that, thanks to a screwy business deal -- and possible forgery -- by her husband, Michael, she is in danger of losing the family home on Long Island. The N.Y. Daily News, however, points out that it wouldn't take much for Lindsay, who was paid $7.5 million for her last picture, to fork over the $165,000 it would take to prevent the bank from foreclosing on the mortgage. 2) Dina tried to take out a gag order to prevent Michael from going on ABC's "Primetime Live" last night to talk about his personal and family troubles. 3) She was apparently unsuccessful, because Michael appeared on the show and expressed his belief that the divorce coverage has not hurt his daughter's career. "She's got more offers than ever now. Don't they say any publicity is good publicity?" said Michael Lohan. "The nature of the beast is bad publicity. People don't write about good things. They write about bad things." 4) And Lindsay? "She's just staying busy" filming "Just My Luck" in New Orleans, a friend tells the press. "She has friends and family around her. She's with her mother and sisters and brother." (N.Y. Daily News, Page Six, ABC News)
Sizemore's drug/penis problem: A Los Angeles judge warned Tom Sizemore that if he didn't kick his meth addiction, he would die. The actor could get up to four years in the clink next month when he's sentenced on charges of drug possession and violation of the probation he received in connection with his conviction for domestic violence against ex-girlfriend Heidi Fleiss. Sizemore has failed mandatory drug tests seven times in February alone. But you have to give him credit for creativity: During one test, he was caught using a clean-urine-filled prosthetic penis -- called a "Whizzinator" and sewn into his boxers -- in an attempt to pass the test. (Reuters)
Also: The children of Ted and Joan Kennedy have assumed legal guardianship of their mother in order to ensure that she gets treated for alcohol addiction. (Associated Press) ... Three of the 20 jurors and alternates selected for the Michael Jackson trial have either visited or had family who've worked at his Neverland ranch. (Associated Press) ... Elton John, reportedly a big "Desperate Housewives" fan, has cast Teri Hatcher in his next music video. (Rush and Molloy) ... Sharon Stone has told "Access Hollywood" that the upcoming "Basic Instinct" sequel will have "lesbian love," though the actress who will play her love interest has yet to be cast. (Associated Press) ... Jennifer Lopez has confirmed that she and Marc Anthony got hitched in a secret ceremony at her Beverly Hills home last June, telling People magazine, "Yes, we're married. I mean, come on, everyone knows. It's not a secret." (Associated Press) ... Whitney Houston "was rushed to a hospital in Paris because of severe vomiting" on a flight to the City of Lights, according to her publicist. "She was sick on the aircraft. She is doing well. She has gastroenteritis." (Associated Press) ... "Downtown" Julie Brown has filed a $1.5 million-plus lawsuit against ABC and the producers of "Get Me Out of Here . . . I'm a Celebrity," claiming that she was scarred after they lured her into a stunt involving a tub of leeches, which they assured her would cause no lasting damage. (Page Six)
Money Quotes:
Producer and Oscar voter Peter Guber, laying out the cold, hard facts about Academy Awards viewership: "Why are people watching? Because of the noise of the film, the stars of the film, the media attention, what they're wearing. We in the academy like to think it's a cultural experience, but it's really a collection of stars and what they're wearing that gets the viewing audience." (N.Y. Times)
Oliver Stone upon being introduced to 'N Sync-er Joey Fatone at a Los Angeles party the other night: "Joey Ramone? This guy is Joey Ramone?" (Lloyd Grove's Lowdown)
-- Amy Reiter
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