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Showing posts with label celebreties. Show all posts
Showing posts with label celebreties. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 08, 2011

Original 'Hulk' actor turning 60

Lou Ferrigno
Lou Ferrigno
Lou Ferrigno
Lou Ferrigno
Don't make him angry: The body-builder turned actor most famous for his role as "The Incredible Hulk" turns 60 on November 9. The Brooklyn-born muscleman first appeared on TV as the mad green monster back in 1978, and he's been going strong ever since.

The larger-than-life figure (he's 6-foot-5) first came to notice in the 1977 documentary "Pumping Iron," which follows the Mr. Olympia competition. The quiet, partially hard-of-hearing upstart attempts to unseat the reigning champ: charismatic, outgoing, confident Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ferrigno does not succeed, placing third.

The docudrama did lead to Ferrigno's show-business start on the small screen, and made Ah-nold a star.The bodybuilding king went on to movies and finally into politics as governor of California. Ferrigno became famous playing himself.

The muscular actor could be found in guest appearances as himself on the show "The King of Queens." The "Incredible Hulk" alum also had a cameo as a security guard in Ang Lee's CGI version of "Hulk" in 2003, and played himself in the comedy "I Love You Man." The guy can't get away from that original role: The actor will be voicing the part of the Hulk in the 2012 movie "The Avengers."

Ferrigno knows he's tied to the green fellow because of the fans. He said in an interview at the 2010 New York Comic Con, "Everybody just loves 'The Hulk.' They keep telling me they liked the original series better [than] they all liked the movies [with] the CGI or that kind of stuff." Maybe so, but no actor could match the bodybuilder's workout: At the age of 25, Ferrigno benched-pressed 560 pounds. Even at 50, he was still lifting 400 pounds.

The still-fit sexagenarian even served as Michael Jackson's trainer in the 1990s, as well as for his comeback tour in 2009. And watch for Ferrigno competing for a different kind of victory on next season's "Celebrity Apprentice."

Even at 60, Ferrigno is still hulking out.

News by Yahoo

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Robert Pattinson: 'I Am Living a Life I Didn't Know Existed'

robert pattinson
Robert Pattinson

Anna Kendrick’s character (Jessica) makes a witty toast where she calls Edward Cullen, "The Hair."

Until the world fell in love with the 25-year-old actor, people used to talk a lot about Robert Pattinson’s hair. Now, they talk about his star quality and his jump-through-the-screen charisma.

Pattinson talked to Parade.com about the long-awaited next chapter in the Twilight Saga, his steamy scenes with Kristen Stewart, and embracing old-fashioned romance.

It's not as romantic as it looks.

"We show romance in the bedroom and also in a nice ocean setting. It was impossible in the waves. We were trying to kiss each other and we misjudged the strength of the tide and so it was absolutely one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do in my life. There were big waves and Kristen and I were standing on boxes tied down to the shore. God, it was absolutely impossible. One thing I have to say, we shot those scenes in the Caribbean, so the water was warm."

On Edward's sex appeal.

"I don’t think I’ve ever seen a vampire movie where I think the vampires are attractive. OK, girls are sometimes kind of sexy, but guys end up looking worse than they do in their real life with the pale make-up and the fangs. I’ve watched True Blood and all those guys are great looking, but you put vampire make-up on them and they look less handsome on the show than they do in reality."

On his steamy scenes with Kristen Stewart.

"I think the more comfortable you are with each other, the harder it gets to do any kind of really intense relationship scene. You’re kind of thinking, 'I don’t want to embarrass myself in front of this person,' 'I know what she’s thinking now,' so it becomes ridiculous after awhile. Watching other people have sex is never going to be that spectacular anyway. It’s a strange thing when there’s so much hype about it. You are like, 'God, I hope this lives up to it.' The toughest part was avoiding an R-rating. It’s funny when people talk about the sex scenes in the book because there are no sex scenes in the book. Go back and read. They always fade to black."

On his impressive six-pack.

"There are so many descriptions in the book of Edward’s statuesque body — it’s all made of marble, blah blah blah. I managed to get through the entire series without taking my shirt off the whole time. I was like, ‘Nah, I’m not taking it off ever, and I’m not working out!’ Then, when we did Breaking Dawn, I thought, ‘It’s the last one, I might as well.’ So I kind of worked out to bulk up a little for those scenes with my shirt off. I stopped literally the day afterwards. I find it very boring to work out."

The spotlight wasn't on him during the big wedding scene.

"The majority of guys who are getting married would have the same experience that I did, which is that you’re just standing there waiting at the altar. It’s not about you at all. Kristen has to do all the heavy lifting. She’s having to go through everything walking down the aisle, and I’m just standing there, ‘You look really good! Let’s get married! Cool!’ It was quite simple for me."

When it comes to love and marriage, just call him old-fashioned.

"I guess I must be because everyone is always telling me that Edward is kind of old-fashioned, but I always see him as fairly normal. I mean, he just knows what he wants. He’s in love with someone and he just likes the idea of getting married to them. I guess I kind of agree with that."

On becoming a daddy.

"Nobody really knows how to be a father, there’s no way to prepare for it. But it’s quite easy to play in a film when you are holding a baby. The little person is crying in your arms and you end up being very careful. When you portraying a father, you can kind of avoid all the annoying parts of having a kid because there’s someone else to take care of it."

On Twilight coming to an end.

"The one time we filmed in nice weather was literally the last day of production. Kristen and I were on the beach and just making out all night. That’s not too bad. It was just the two of us and it was really nice. Everybody stayed to watch the sunrise, which was really beautiful. It was a nice ending."

As for the future.

"I feel like I’ve kind of been in a whirlwind for so long, even though I’ve done other movies in between. Whenever you promote something, they always want you to talk about Twilight, so it’s kind of constant. I am living a life which I didn’t really know existed. You can kind of delay being an adult for quite a while."

News by Yahoo



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Monday, November 07, 2011

Taylor Swift Before She Was Famous: Not Too Different From The Girl You Know Today

taylor swift
Taylor Swift
It's hard to believe that Taylor Swift--the world-dominating superstar who's currently up for entertainer of the year at the Country Music Association Awards this week--wasn't always, well, Taylor Swift.

It's true, the 21-year-old singer has spent a mind-boggling third of her short life in the spotlight, so it's easy to forget that her fairy-tale story had to start somewhere. For Swift, we have to go all the way back to her preteen years to dig up the days before anyone knew who she was.

Swift's narrative tunes such as "Mean" hint at an outcast childhood growing up in Pennsylvania.  "I had a lot of trouble in school," she told us back in 2006. "I was different."

She managed to take control of her destiny with rapid efficiency, though, singing in public by the age of 11 and learning to play guitar at 12. From there she caught the eye of Britney Spears's manager while performing the National Anthem at the U.S. Open, signed a publishing deal at age 14, and followed that shortly after with a Nashville record deal. So, as one might imagine, not much pre-fame documentation exists of Swift--simply due to her early ascent to the spotlight.

What is out there, however, proves a startling fact. The Swift we know now really isn't too much different from the girl she was back then.

Here's a few points to consider:

1) Swift has kept a standard "look" which has not varied over the years--most notably (and unusually for a teenager) she seems to have never messed around with her hairstyle. Swift's signature towhead curls can be seen all the way back to her earlier days in vintage family footage. Whether pulled back or left loose about her face, long and blond rules year after year.

2) Swift's fashion sense has remained stable as well. Her frocks and shoes may now be on the high-end designer side--but flirty, feminine styles with a slight bohemian edge have consistently defined her style.

3) Although she's now legally an adult, Swift still has not seemed to grow out of her adolescent heart-on-the-sleeve personality that has fueled tens of millions of album sales in less than a decade. Back in 2004, she told Good Morning America, "When I go through something, I have to write a song about it, I have to write a poem about it. Writing is everything to me." Seven years later, she told In Style, "I'm always going to feel everything. It's my nature."

4) Finally, and probably most endearingly, Billboard's 2011 Woman of the Year has maintained the seemingly endless well of enthusiasm that's carried her upwards to her currently astronomical level of fame. Can you think of any star besides Swift who has remained relentlessly upbeat, out of trouble, and perpetually in love with her fans?

Swift has a simple explanation as to how she's done it, all these years. "It's continued to stay exciting, all of this," she told Good Morning America. "Everything feels new, all the time even though it's been happening since I was 14."

Here's a vintage interview with Swift circa 2006, back when she visited Yahoo! Music for the first time--and was just on the verge of becoming the Taylor Swift we all know today. Enjoy!
News by Yahoo


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Saturday, November 05, 2011

The Miss World contest back in London, where it was launched 60 years ago

miss world 2011
Miss World 2011
AFP - For its 60th anniversary, the Miss World contest returns to Britain where it was created in 1951 with 122 competitors including Miss Venezuela, the favorite for the title awarded Sunday evening at a final followed by about a billion viewers. The number of candidates is a record in the history of the competition to be held in a sold-out exhibition center in London. Young women, elected Miss of their respective countries, have spent the last two weeks traveling across Britain, fueling interest in this contest will be broadcast in 150 countries.

Step one in Scotland where they visited the Edinburgh Castle and Stirling, and were introduced to traditional Highland games, like throwing tree trunk, brought for the occasion at the size of logs, they have then returned to the prestigious University of Cambridge, eastern England, where they participated in a debate on "social responsibility" and a racing boat. In London, they played the tourists, with a cruise on the Thames, a city tour by bus to imperial passage by the Tower of London and a trip on the London Eye, where the view on the Capital is breathtaking.

In the final, scheduled for 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. (GMT), they perform national dances and parade before the announcement of the lucky winner. If beauty is in the heart of the event, the organizing committee also emphasizes the academic background of young women. This year, more than half are trained at university, one in four earned a university degree and more than half speak at least three languages. "All the beautiful women need a purpose. Make your time worthwhile," threw the chair of the Miss World, Julia Morley, the participants at the start of UK tour.

To mark the 60th anniversary of the competition, former Miss World is expected in London, the 2010 winner of the U.S. Alexandria Mills. The competition was launched under the name "bikini contest" in 1951, when Sweden's Kiki Haakansson was crowned at 25 other participants. Several former competitors have been shown in film, Halle Berry as the American, a finalist in 1986 and Oscar for Best Actress in 2009, and 1994 Miss World, Aishwarya Rai became the Indian Bollywood star. Twelve participants have also appeared in James Bond. Venezuela, India and the UK have distinguished themselves by winning five individual titles, and the chains of British paris expect a sixth crown for Venezuela this year.

"The favorite Ivian Sarcos, has it all," said Craig Hares Ladbrokes. "Miss Venezuela, a large family of 12 brothers and sisters, has a degree in human resources and currently works for a media company. It is seven against one." Until 1989, the final was held in London, before being relocated in the world, including Hong Kong, Atlanta USA, Sanya China, Warsaw or Johannesburg.

The last final held in London dates back to 2002 when the competition had to be repatriated at the last minute of Nigeria, after having given rise to inter-religious violence responsible for the deaths of more than 200 people. The disturbances broke out following an article suggesting the Prophet Muhammad would have taken one of the participants as a woman if he were alive. Miss World competition is older than its rival Miss Universe crowned in September that the Angolan Leila Lopes.

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