HOLLYWOOD - Top Story: J.Lo Proclaims Her Faithfulness
Jennifer Lopez wants the world to know that she didn't sleep with fiancé Ben Affleck until she separated from her then-husband, dancer Cris Judd. Lopez told Reader's Digest in an interview released Thursday that she was, in fact, "a very faithful person." Lopez and Affleck, arguably Hollywood's most-talked-about couple, met in 2001 on the set of the upcoming comedy Gigli, but the 32-year-old singer/actress said she and Judd were already having problems at that point in their marriage. Lopez filed for divorce from Judd in July 2002--after less than a year of marriage--and became engaged to Affleck, 30, four months later. Lopez said that after two failed marriages, she was working hard at her new relationship. "We talk about everything (with) brutal honesty ... And when you do that nothing's left to chance," she said. Gigli opens nationwide Aug. 1.
OK! Says Zeta-Jones Photos Flopped
The former editor of celebrity rag OK! says sales of its issue covering the wedding of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas fell well short of expectations after rival magazine Hello! printed unauthorized photos of the nuptials, The Associated Press reports. Martin Townsend said OK!, which paid the couple $1.62 million for the exclusive pics, sold 836,000 copies of the edition--just a quarter of the July 1999 issue covering David and Victoria Beckham's wedding. A judge ruled in April that Hello! breached the couple's commercial confidence by printing photos of elaborate wedding at New York's Plaza Hotel in November 2000. Zeta-Jones and Douglas are seeking $800,000 from the magazine.
Jerry Lee Lewis and Sixth Wife Split
There's a whole lotta shakin' going on for Jerry Lee Lewis and his sixth wife, Kerrie McCarver Lewis. According to the AP, the two are suing each other for divorce. Lewis, 67, filed a divorce petition April 16 while the 40-year-old McCarver, president of Lewis' JKL Enterprises Inc. fan club, sued in May, asking for an injunction ordering Lewis to pay unspecified child support, temporary alimony and all medical bills. She also seeks to bar him from any transfer or disposing of assets until a full accounting is made. The two were married in 1984 and have a 16-year-old son, Jerry Lee Lewis III.
Asian-American Group Protests Fox's Banzai
Some 20 members of the Media Action Network for Asian Americans protested Thursday Fox's airing of Banzai, saying it demeans and stereotypes Asian people, Reuters reports. The show is a parody of a Japanese game show and features an off-screen announcer speaking in a spoofed Japanese accent,
phony Japanese language symbols, and a karate-chopping Asian host known as Mr. Banzai. "It's just all the backward images of Asian-American people," the group's co-founder, Guy Aoki, told Reuters. "This is like an Asian
minstrel show. Can you imagine the black version of Banzai?" The program, which first ran on Channel 4 in Britain, debuted to strong ratings last Sunday.
NBC Airs Racy Promos for Coupling
Threesomes and bisexuality? Over the weekend, NBC aired promos for the racy new sitcom Coupling, an Americanized version of the racy British show of the name set to bow Sept. 25 following Will & Grace. One of the five comedy-driven ads for the show--which revolves around the dating lives of six thirtysomethings--even featured the word (gasp) erection. But the show's racy content hasn't scared off advertisers. AdWeek.com reports that Procter & Gamble, Revlon, Pfizer, Pepsi, Pizza Hut, Johnson & Johnson, General Motors, Mazda and Unilever have commitments to the show.
Metallica Lawsuit Ruse Floods Web, Radio
Radio stations and Web sites were flooded yesterday with news that Metallica was supposedly suing a Canadian band called Unfaith for trademark infringement over the use of "Metallica-branded" chords E and F. The story, however, turned out to be a joke concocted by 29-year-old Erik Ashley. According to Courttv.com, the scam sent users to an MTV.com story about the suit, which included a link to a fictional response from the band. "We're not saying we own those two chords, individually," said drummer Lars Ulrich in Ashley's spoof. "We're just saying that in that specific order, people have grown to associate E, F with our music." Ashley told Courttv.com that he never expected the ruse to catch on. "Would people go so far as to believe that something this extraordinary, this outlandish, could conceivably be true?"
Role Call: Jimmy Fallon Takes Taxi With Queen Latifah
Saturday Night Live anchor Jimmy Fallon will make his starring debut in director Tim Story's Taxi for 20th Century Fox. The film, produced by Luc Besson, is remake of the French comedy a harried detective trying to thwart a group of bank robbers. Queen Latifah will costar as a cabbie who chauffeurs him around. Shooting is set to begin in New York in September.