Friday, September 14, 2007

George Clooney


George Clooney first shot to fame in 1994 as medical heartthrob Dr. Douglas Ross on ER. This ruggedly handsome bachelor has since made a seamless transition onto the big screen with starring roles in Three Kings (1999), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), Ocean’s Eleven (2001), and Syriana (2005) -- for which he was awarded a Best Supporting Actor Oscar and a Golden Globe.

But Clooney is much more than a handsome man with solid acting chops; he’s also an accomplished writer and director, and his talent for these crafts were acknowledged as 2005’s Good Night, and Good Luck -- which he directed and wrote -- received two Oscar nominations for Best Director and Best Screenplay. He made his mark in Oscar history as he became the first person to be nominated for directing one movie and acting in another in the same year.

“You have only a short period of time in your life to make your mark,” he says, “and I'm there now.”

Behind the scenesClooney has turned from playboy to pundit in recent years with films like Good Night, and Good Luck and Syriana, both of which actively question world policies while drawing controversial parallels to the President’s current administration. Not content to simply hide behind a camera lens, Clooney has also publicly called for America to help end the genocide in Sudan's Darfur region.

Despite his humanitarian interests, don’t expect this Lexington, Kentucky, native and self-described liberal to turn to politics full-time. "Run for office? No. I've slept with too many women, I've done too many drugs, and I've been to too many parties," he says.

A well-spoken, talented thespian with a humanitarian side… Just when you thought Clooney couldn’t possibly make you feel any more inept, it’s no surprise that he raises the bar by adding “accomplished ladies man” to the mix. Clooney has dated a string of beautiful women including Renée Zellweger and Kelly Preston, as well as a bevy of beauties outside of the industry.

It is for these reasons that People magazine chose Clooney as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 1996, as the Sexiest Man Alive in 1997 and as one of the Top 50 Bachelors in 2002.

On the horizonLook for Clooney to maintain his high profile in the year ahead as he stars in The Good German, Michael Clayton and Ocean’s Thirteen. He’ll also step behind the camera for the fourth time in his career to direct Leatherheads, a romantic comedy starring Renée Zellweger. "Directing is really exciting,” he admits. “In the end, it's more fun to be the painter than the paint

Monday, August 27, 2007

Jamie Denton Biography:


James Denton has made all of America wish for faulty pipes due to his role as the world's sexiest plumber, Mike Delfino, on ABC's smash hit, Desperate Housewives. Along with the rest of the cast, Denton was honored with the 2005 SAG Award for Best Ensemble in a Comedy.

A native of Nashville, Denton has been one of Hollywood's busiest actors since he hit town with a training background that has launched many performers into stardom -- a solid body of respected work in the Chicago theatre.

Originally attending college on a basketball scholarship, Denton wasn't bitten by the acting bug until he was 20. He landed the role of George Gibbs in a Nashville production of "Our Town," got fine reviews, but thought there was a more solid career in selling advertising. He did that in Tennessee and then in North Carolina for four years, before taking off for Chicago to risk everything to become a professional actor.

He was soon accepted as one of the town's brightest and busiest actors. After earning a key casting when the "Untouchables" series came to town to film, Denton was drawn to Los Angeles, where his strong theatre reputation had preceded him, and he was quickly locked in with choice turns in film, on TV and on stage.

He started building his big screen profile with performances in such films as "Primary Colors," "Face/Off" and "That Old Feeling," but soon off-beat roles in adventurous TV series were claiming his time. In 1997 he landed the role of the eerily sociopathic Mr. Lyle on NBC's hit drama show, "The Pretender." The NBC series' multi-year run was followed by "The Pretender" television films, "Pretender 2001" and "Pretender: The Island of the Haunted."

In 2001 Denton was cast by ABC to star opposite Kim Delaney in Steven Bochco's "Philly" series, which was critically acclaimed but short-lived. But his growing reputation soon led to a new series casting him as a top player in this nation's homeland security community, Special Agent Jon Kilmer on "Threat Matrix."

Acting obviously is serious work for the handsome and athletic star. Denton's first role in Chicago theatre was as Stanley Kowalski in "A Streetcar Named Desire," and his last was the terrorist on the French farce, "Lapin, Lapin." He was a company member of the Griffin Theatre and at the Strawdog Theatre Ensemble. He added a steady string of roles and accolades to his quickly growing list, including one of the leads in the world premiere of "Flesh and Blood," performing in and composing the music for "The Night Hank Williams Died," and his portrayal of Kentucky preacher C.C. Showers in "The Diviners," which gained him a coveted Joseph Jefferson Best Actor nomination. For these performances, Denton was listed as one of Chicago's hottest actors by Screen Magazine. In Los Angeles he appeared in the premieres of "Asylum" at the Court Theatre, "Locked Up Down Shorty's" at the Powerhouse Theatre and "In Walked Monk" at the Hudson Theatre.

In addition to his series-starring roles on TV, his guest appearances include "JAG," "Slider," "Dark Skies," "Two Guys and a Girl," "Ally McBeal" and "The West Wing."
(courtesy of ABC)
After bit parts in the John Woo martial arts extravaganza Face/Off (1997) and guest-starring appearances on the weekly series Ally McBeal and The Drew Carey Show, Jamie Denton (also billed under his formal prename, James Denton) achieved national recognition for his contribution to the darkly comic prime-time soap opera Desperate Housewives. In that program, Denton played Mike Delfino, the very eligible bachelor plumber, tossed like a volleyball in between sexy suburbanites Edie Britt (Nicollette Sheridan) and Susan Mayer (Teri Hatcher).

The eldest child of a Nashville, TN, dentist, Denton attended Goodlettsville High School and junior college prior to enrolling in the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. At that institution, he majored in television and journalism, and graduated with honors, a degree in advertising under his arm. Grassroots experience acting in a number of regional plays -- including a local production of Thornton Wilder's +Our Town -- imparted to Denton a permanent love of acting, and thus shifted his career path; he spent four years making a living by selling advertising to radio stations, but nothing could outshine the passion and drive he felt for acting. Thus, after a short theatrical stint in North Carolina, Denton set out for Chicago to pursue drama full-time. In the Windy City, Denton landed roles in such productions as +A Streetcar Named Desire and +Lapin, Lapin, and signed on as a semi-permanent member of the Griffin Theater and the Strawdog Theater Ensemble.

Denton subsequently scored the key role of Mr. Lyle in the NBC fantasy-adventure series The Pretender, and worked on a number of other small-screen programs, including The Untouchables, Sliders, and Dark Skies. Cinematically, he landed bit parts in not only Face/Off, but Primary Colors and That Old Feeling. Regular roles on the series Threat Matrix and Philly suggested great promise, but unfortunately, those series folded before they could snag a sizeable audience.

Not one easily daunted, Denton held out for a bigger break, and that arrived in the form of his Housewives role. Shortly after the series premiered in October 2004, it rocketed up to become one of the most popular and scintillating new dramas on television. Fans of cult horror could also catch Denton as miscreant Elmer Winslow in the comic slasher movie Undead or Alive: A Zombedy

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Jeremy Piven




Jeremy Piven


What he is known for? One of television’s most likable bad boys, Jeremy Piven shot to fame in 2004 as Entourage’s foul-mouthed super agent, Ari Gold. The dream role has since garnered this veteran stage actor a coveted Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Prior to hanging with Vince and his crew, Piven chewed up the scenery in dozens of big-screen hits including PCU (1994), Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), Black Hawk Down (2001), and Old School (2003).

Behind the scenesJeremy Piven is a firm believer that a man shouldn’t be defined by his job alone. "We all have so many different elements inside of us and we're not all one thing," he says. So when he isn’t in front of the camera this multitalented thespian enjoys letting loose on his extensive collection of drum kits, congas and bongos. "I love to play the drums,” he says. “I probably would have been a drummer if acting hadn't come along." A fan of Keith Moon, Piven hopes to one day combine his two passions by filming a biopic about the infamous Who drummer.

Aside from his rock-star aspirations, Piven is notorious for making headlines for rebellious antics. There was the rumored nightclub brawl he had with Stephen Dorff earlier this year, then there was the incident at the Chicago Cubs baseball game where Cubs executives had to issue a public apology after Piven yelled out "Let's hug it out, you little b**ches!" to the crowd. It’s this no-holds-barred, fun-loving attitude that skyrockets Piven to the top of the coolness ranks.

On the horizonLook for Piven to be positively everywhere in 2007. In addition to stealing scenes in Entourage, this native New Yorker is also set to star in the big-screen comedy Smokin’ Aces with Ben Affleck, and the intense thriller The Kingdom with Jamie Foxx and

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Alex Rodriguez


Alex Rodriguez is a two-time Major League Baseball MVP and is one of the top players in the league. He is a member of the 50 Home Run Club and is one of only four members in the 40-40 club (home runs and steals). He is well known for signing the most lucrative contract in sports history -- a 10-year, $252-million pact with the Texas Rangers was signed and sealed in 2000.

At one point in his career, he was frequently touted as a five-tool player and he was arguably one of the best in the sport. Unfortunately, like a number of players who have sported the pinstripes, A-Rod has seemingly shriveled under the bright lights in New York as a Yankee.

Behind the scenesRodriguez is a charismatic person and a generous athlete with strong community connections. 1998 marked the first year of the Alex Rodriguez Evening with the All Stars benefit, which has since raised more than $500,000 for The Boys and Girls Club of Miami. The club was vital in his growth when he was just 7 years old. Construction began in 2005 for the Alex Rodriguez Learning Center in Miami, which will focus on the advancement of literacy, computer study and math skills for children.

A-Rod has helped the organization out on a number of occasions, even playing Santa Claus in 2004 at a christmas party which treated kids to pizza, gifts and other treats. Rodriguez has also set up a scholarship fund with the University of Miami and participates in several fundraising evenings. In 2003, he also funded $3.9 million for the renovation of the University of Miami’s baseball field.

On the horizonAfter failing in the postseason with the Yankees in 2006, A-Rod has seemingly worn out his welcome in New York. His regular season statistics continue to sparkle, but they are overshadowed by his inability to make clutch hits in the playoffs. There have already been some preliminary rumors about the Yankees trading him, and although his lofty contract figures seem to be an impediment, there will be suitors waiting with open arms for this surefire hall of famer.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Sean Connery


Thomas Sean Connery was born in the Fountainbridge district of Edinburgh, Scotland on August 25, 1930. He grew up impoverished. The son of a truck-driver, he came from a background very different from that of his most famous screen alter-ego. After leaving school, he joined the Royal Navy, but was released due to ulcers. He had many jobs, including laborer, lifeguard and model for art classes. But it was his career as a bodybuilder that led to his representing Scotland in the 1953 Mr. Universe contest, in which he placed 3rd. This in turn led to a job in the chorus with the touring company of South Pacific. He appeared in several stage productions, and made his television debut in 1956. He signed a movie contract with MGM in the late 1950's, which led to a string of film roles.

He was cast as the first cinematic James Bond in Dr. No in 1962. He won the role over Cary Grant, Rex Harrison, Trevor Howard, Patrick McGoohan and Roger Moore, even though Ian Fleming was quoted as saying, "He [Connery] is not exactly what I envisioned" as the fictional British agent . However, the film was a success, which led to 3 more Bond films in the next 5 years.

Tired of being identified only as 007, Connery quit the role after You Only Live Twice, in order to devote more time to his family and to golf. The next Bond film starred George Lazenby, but Connery was persuaded to return as Bond in Diamonds are Forever. With that role, he said he was finished as Bond, but he returned in 1983's Never Say Never Again, which was not an "official" Bond film, as it was produced by Kevin McClory instead of Eon. This film did not help his relations with Bond producer Cubby Broccoli, with whom Connery was feuding

Connery has played many varied roles in films over the years, working with directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, John Huston and Brian De Palma. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor as well as the Golden Globe award in 1987, for his role as the Irish cop Malone in The Untouchables. He was also named People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" in 1989. He continues to work steadily, despite suffering from various throat ailments. In part due to this, widespread false rumors of his death circulated in 1993.

Connery is an avid golfer (he learned the game for 1964's Goldfinger) and in 1996 won the Lexus Challenge golf tournament with pro Hale Irwin.

In 1990, Connery received the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1995, he received the Cecil B. DeMille Award for "outstanding contribution to the entertainment field," given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. In 1997, he was honored with a Gala Tribute by the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York and in 1998, received a the British Academy Fellowship from BAFTA. He was honored by the Kennedy Center in 1999. He became Sir Sean Connery in July 2000, received a knighthood from the British government, despite being refused the honor 2 years previously for political reasons. He has also received awards in France, including the Legion d'Honeur, and the Commandeur des Arts and des Lettres

Sean Connery has been married twice. His first wife was actress Diane Cilento. In an ironic twist, their son, actor Jason Connery, portrayed James Bond creator Ian Fleming in the film Spymaker. Sean has been married to French artist Micheline Roquebrune since 1975.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Mel Gibson


Birth Name
Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson
Date of birth (location)
3 January 1956
Peekskill, New York, USA

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Though introduced to American audiences as Australian, the strikingly handsome, blue-eyed Mel Gibson was born on January 3, 1956, in Peekskill, New York, USA as the sixth of eleven children to parents Hutton Gibson, a railroad brakeman, and Ann Gibson, who was born in Australia and died in December of 1990. (He and his family had emigrated Down Under in 1968 at the height of the Vietnam War.) After a season onstage with Sydney's South Australian Theatre Company where he portrayed both Oedipus and Henry IV, he made his name as the leather-clad, post-apocalyptic action hero of George Miller's "Mad Max" and in the radically different "Tim" (both 1979), for which he picked up his first of two Australian Film Institute Awards as Best Actor, playing a retarded handyman in love with Piper Laurie. Peter Weir's World War I drama "Gallipoli" and "Mad Max 2" (both 1981), Miller's transcendent follow-up to "Mad Max" (released in the USA as "The Road Warrior" since American audiences knew nothing of the barely-released earlier movie), established Gibson as an international star. "The Year of Living Dangerously" (1982), Weir's film about the political upheavals of 1960s Indonesia, gave him his first romantic lead opposite Sigourney Weaver and launched him as a sex symbol.

After a turn as a reluctantly mutinous Fletcher Christian opposite Anthony Hopkins' Captain Bligh in "The Bounty", Gibson made an inauspicious American debut in "The River" (both 1984), playing a character so coldly stubborn that few could empathize. The well-made but gloomy "Mrs. Soffel" (also 1984) followed quickly before he returned to Australia to wrap up the "Mad Max" series with "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome" (1985), a cumbersome satire with less action, a bigger budget, Tina Turner and Max, mostly on foot, looking like a wandering prophet. Gibson then took two years off to concentrate on his family, returning to the screen in "Lethal Weapon" (1987), for which he created perhaps his most popular character, Martin Riggs, an explosive homicide cop paired with the long-suffering Danny Glover. The film propelled Gibson to superstardom, spawned three sequels (to date) and allowed him to incorporate his innate playfulness as part of an unusually rich characterization for a modern action hero. Called at various times "practical joker", "eternal adolescent" and "fun-loving fourth Stooge", Gibson has remained a "regular guy" who doesn't take himself or his work too seriously and consistently comes across as relaxed and natural.

Gibson sandwiched the meandering "Tequila Sunrise" (1988) and even more disappointing "Bird on a Wire" (1990) around a blockbuster "Lethal Weapon 2" (1989), and his patented swagger could not save the alleged action-comedy "Air America" (1990) from the inadequacy of its script. Next, in a surprising career move, he opted to take his shot at Shakespeare's Melancholy Dane in Franco Zeffirelli's "Hamlet" (1990). While the film was problematic, Gibson turned in a finely rendered portrait of the famed prince in the first project produced by his Icon Productions. He continued in a more sentimental vein with the sudsy "Forever Young" (1992), scored another huge hit with "Lethal Weapon 3" (1993), then made his directorial debut with "The Man Without a Face" (1993), a drama in which he hid his good looks behind the heavy makeup of a burn victim. After this mildly popular effort, Gibson returned to rowdy commercial fare with "Maverick" (1994), teaming for a fourth time with "Lethal Weapon" director Richard Donner for a 90s adaptation of the 60s TV Western-comedy series, which shrewdly parlayed his dashing rogue qualities into more box-office bliss.

Gibson returned to the director's chair for "Braveheart" (1995), a project far bigger than any with which he had been previously involved in any capacity. Clad in a kilt, sporting blue war paint and wielding a big sword, Gibson starred as Sir William Wallace, a 13th-century Scottish nobleman persecuted for his efforts to free Scotland from English rule. Wags dubbed the film "Mad Mac", but the Academy deemed it worthy, voting it five awards including Best Picture and honoring Gibson as Best Director. Later that same year, in addition to providing the speaking voice for John Smith in Disney's "Pocahontas", Gibson made his screen singing debut. His collaboration with Ron Howard, "Ransom" (1996), another box-office hit that earned $35 million its first week, preceded "Conspiracy Theory" (1997), his fifth film with Donner and a surprising commercial dud compared to their previous work, especially with Julia Roberts starring opposite Gibson. The actor-director pair rebounded with "Lethal Weapon 4" (1998), its healthy box office reaffirming Riggs-Murtaugh (in reportedly their last outing) as a bankable team.

Gibson next starred as a murderous thief bent on getting his "Payback" (1999), a loose reworking of the same Donald Westlake novel that had inspired John Boorman's 1967 classic thriller "Point Blank". Playing to Gibson's strengths, the urban Western veered problematically from dark and sinister to comic and whimsical but still managed a respectable box office. His star power could not make Wim Wenders' "The Million Dollar Hotel" (2000) a mainstream success, and though the director's visual skills were on display, the underdeveloped, not very interesting story made it a tough sell at the art-houses. Gibson then joined "popcorn" specialists Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich for Emmerich's Revolutionary War drama "The Patriot" (also 2000), scripted by Robert Rodat. Essentially a Western, "The Patriot" cast him as a retired "gunslinger", still spooked by his memories of the French and Indian War, who clings fast to his pacifism until his son falls into enemy hands, triggering his course of revenge. After voicing Rocky the Rooster in the animated "Chicken Run", a sort of feathered "Great Escape", he rounded out the busy year as star of Nancy Meyers' romantic comedy "What Women Want" (both 2000).

Aside from making Gibson vehicles, his Icon Productions has produced projects like the Beethoven biopic "Immortal Beloved" (1994, directed by Bernard Rose), the remake of "Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina" (1997, also helmed by Rose), the black comedy "Ordinary Decent Criminals" (a fictionalized version of the life of Irish thief Martin Cahill) and the ABC biopic "The Three Stooges" (both 2000).

In 2002, Gibson appeared in the war film "We Were Soldiers," directed by "Pearl Harbor"(2001) scribe Randall Wallace and in "Signs," the much anticipated M. Night Shyamalan movie about crop circles. In 2003, Gibson starred alongside Robert Downey Jr. and Robin Wright-Penn in a remake of The Singing Detective. 2004 saw Gibson return to the director's chair for The Passion of Christ. Funded by 25 million of Gibson's own dollars, the religious drama generated controversy amid cries of anti-semitism. Despite the debates surrounding the film -- and the fact that all of the dialogue was spoken in Latin and Aramaic -- it nearly recouped its budget in the first day of release.

Facts

Married to Robyn Moore since 1980 and father of 7 children 7 children: daughter, Hannah Gibson (born 1980); twin sons, Edward Gibson and Christian Gibson (born 1982); son, Willie Gibson (born 1985); daughter, Louis Gibson (born 1988); son, Milo Gibson (born 1990); son, Tommy Gibson (born 1999).

He took up acting only because his sister submitted an application behind his back. The night before an audition, he got into a fight, and his face was badly beaten, an accident that won him the role.

Roommates with Geoffrey Rush in college.

Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world in 1990, 1991, 1996.

Ranked #12 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list in October 1997.

Mel was awarded of the AO (Officer of the Order of Australia), Australia's highest honor, in mid-1997.

Ranked #15 in Premiere's 2003 annual Power 100 List. Had ranked #17 in 2002.

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Patrick Swayze


Full name Patrick Wayne Swayze
Date of birth 18th August 1954 (51) Full name Patrick Wayne Swayze
Date of birth 18th August 1954 (51)
Star Sign Leo
Hair Mousy Brown
Eyes Blue
Height 5'10" (178cm)
Dance Influence Mother, Choreographer
Born Houston, Texas




SEXIEST MOVIES

Dirty Dancing
The role that made him a mega star and every woman's ideal fantasy - to be swept off her feet like baby and taught to tango ... and horozontal mambo. Jennifer Grey stars as Frances Houseman, and the late Jerry Orbach as her father. The Dirty Dancing fad has sold millions of dvd's around the world and made the dance craze popular again, combining the raw energy of foreplay with the co-ordinated moves of dance.

Dirty Dancing has always ranked up there as one of the sexiest movies of all time, giving Patrick a permanent spot on the hottest hunks list proving you can still be sexy after 50!

Budget - $6 Million
Gross Earnings - $170 Million

Point Break
He grew his hair long and didn't shave for a while ... he hung out the beach more than usual and worked on his tan ... he played in a wetsuit in some waves for a few months ... he and Keanu Reeves said Woah to each other a few times ... and out came Point Break.

It wasn't much for its acting talent, but the boys sure sexed up the screen with shirtless hunks in scene after scene, and Patrick doesn't disappoint with several full body shots showing that buff chest and powerful arms.

Ghost
It brought back the Righteous Brothers and their song "oooooohhhhh Myyyyy looooooove ... my daaaaarliiiiiin ... I huuuuungeeeer fooooor yoooor touch. You know the one? And it also started up a whole new craze for clay sculpture.

The famous scene where Patrick and Demi fog up the screen and get dirty with some sloppy clay was burned onto the minds of millions when the flick first hit the screens in 1990. Patrick Swayze plays Sam Wheat, a character who is killed but has trouble leaving without saying goodbye to his one true love. *sob* Keep tissues handy