Pitt threatens legal action over family photos
Brad Pitt is threatening legal action against any publication which prints photos of his family at home in France.
The move comes after paparazzi photos of the movie star and his family relaxing at their summer retreat hit the internet earlier this week (beg21Jul08), and Pitt learned the bosses of the agency behind the shots were offering the images to tabloids.
Pitt's lawyer, Yael Holtkamp, has served the agency with a cease and desist order, and claims the photos were "surreptitiously" taken by photographers with "highly powerful telephoto lenses".
The shots feature Pitt with new mum Angelina Jolie, his parents and their children playing in the garden of their rented French chateau.
Pitt and Jolie chose to spend the summer (08) at Chateau Miraval in Provence because of the privacy and exclusivity the wine resort offered.
Holtkamp insists the publication of the photos violates the family's privacy rights.
The paparazzi agency behind the photos has already agreed to stop selling them and the images have been removed from its website.
Hawke and Shawhughes welcome baby daughter
Ethan Hawke and his new wife Ryan Shawhughes are celebrating the birth of their first child together.
Shawhughes delivered baby daughter Clementine Jane Hawke in a New York hospital on Friday (18Jul08).
The birth has been confirmed by Hawke's representative Mara Buxbaum.
Hawke first met Shawhughes when he hired her as the nanny to his two children with ex-wife Uma Thurman - Maya Ray, 10, and Levon Roan, six.
Hawke divorced Thurman in 2004 and married Shawhughes last month (Jun08).
No further information was available as WENN went to press.
50 Cent sues Taco Bell
50 Cent has taken Taco Bell to court over claims the fast food firm used his name in an advertising campaign without his permision.
In a lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday (23Jul08), the rapper, real name Curtis Jackson, accused the chain of "diluting the vaslue of his good name" by using it in conjunction with its 79-89-99 Cent Why Pay More campaign, thereby fooling customers into thinking he had endorsed the franchise.
In an open letter widely published in June (08), Taco Bell bosses offered to make a $10,000 donation to a charity of 50 Cent's choice if he agreed to change his name for one day. They stipulated he must stop by one of the chain's restaurants and rap his order at the drive-thru window - using a new moniker: 79 Cent, 89 Cent or 99 Cent.
50's court documents read: "Without seeking or obtaining Jackson's authorization, defendant Taco Bell made him the star and focus of its nation-wide advertising campaign by using his name, persona and trademark to promote Taco Bell's business and products.
"As Taco Bell intended, many customers believed that 50 Cent had agreed to endorse Taco Bell's products. Indeed, postings on numerous Internet 'blogs' castigated 50 Cent for 'selling out' by his apparent endorsement of Taco Bell."
A representative for Yum! Brands, which operates Taco Bell, was unavailable for comment as WENN went to press.
Carlos Leon: 'Lourdes is suffering from tabloid rumors'
Madonna's daughter Lourdes has been left traumatized by the lurid tabloid claims about the pop star's marriage to Guy Ritchie - according to the 11-year-old's father Carlos Leon.
Recent reports have suggested Madonna is splitting from director Ritchie and having an affair with baseball star Alex Rodriguez.
The Material Girl has been in the headlines every day, and it's having an adverse affect on Lourdes.
New York-based fitness trainer Leon has been spending extra time with his daughter, as Madonna prepares for her forthcoming world tour, and he is showering her with affection to compensate for her distress.
Leon tells People magazine, "She's (Lourdes) aware of it, and that's difficult. I just give her more love. Her mother is there for her, Guy is there for her."
And he insists there is no truth to the reports Madonna and Ritchie are splitting: "People have marital problems all the time."
Britney's mum haunted by car crash fatality
Britney Spears' mother is still haunted by a 30-year-old car crash that ended a young boy's life.
Lynne Spears was just 20 when she hit 12-year-old Anthony Winters, while taking her brother to hospital after he had suffered an injury.
Spears has been able to keep the sad story from the media until now, and her spokeswoman, Louise Taylor, has confirmed a new National Enquirer article is accurate.
Taylor insists the 53 year old is still scarred by the incident, which took place in her hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana.
The spokeswoman says, "Anthony Winters and his friends were in the road on a curve on a bicycle. As Lynne rounded the curve, she could not avoid the boy in the street, as there was oncoming traffic in the opposite lane.
"The boy died at the hospital as a result of his injuries. Lynn, to this day, is grieved by the Winters' loss of their son."
Hathaway's diaries seized by police?
Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have reportedly seized diaries belonging to actress Anne Hathaway in relation to her ex-boyfriend's fraud case.
The Devil Wears Prada star is said to have broken up with Italian Raffaello Follieri last month (Jun08), shortly before he was arrested on suspicion of unscrupulous business dealings.
Follieri has been charged with a dozen counts of federal wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering and will remain in jail until he can post $21 million bail.
Now FBI agents have reportedly raided Follieri's luxury New York apartment - in Donald Trump's Trump Tower - seizing a variety of his personal possessions, including Hathaway's private diaries, according to the New York Daily News.
Officers are also reported to have taken an assortment of documents, watches and personal photos of Follieri and Hathaway.
Affleck's mum confirms baby news at wedding
Ben Affleck's mother has become the latest person to let slip about her daughter-in-law Jennifer Garner's baby news, reportedly confirming Hollywood's worst-kept secret at a family wedding.
When her actor son and his wife failed to make it to the Cape Cod nuptials on 12 July (08), Chris Affleck told nosy guests that Garner "wasn't up for the trip".
And when guests pressed her for more information, grandma Chris left them with no doubt there is soon to be another family addition.
An eyewitness tells Life + Style magazine, "She put her hands on her tummy, patted it gently and gave a huge smile. Then she leaned in and said 'Baby number two!'"
Days later, the couple's close friend, actor Victor Garber, also let the baby news slip, but he has since insisted his comments were taken out of context and he has no idea if Garner, his former Alias co-star, is pregnant.
Smith tops highest earner poll
Will Smith has been crowned the highest earning actor in Hollywood, with a fortune of $80 million.
The Hancock star came first in the Forbes ranking to find the best paid actor of last year (07).
Cameron Diaz was Hollywood's highest earning actress with a fortune of $50 million, with Keira Knightley and Jennifer Aniston in second and third place with $32 million and $27 million respectively.
Coming in behind Smith was Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp who got paid a whopping $72 million.
The top five paid actors from June 07 to June 08 were rounded out by Eddie Murphy and Mike Myers who took home $55 million each and Leonardo DiCaprio who pulled in $45 million.
McConaughey a 'natural' dad
Matthew McConaughey is a "natural" at fatherhood - because he has dreamed of it since he was a child.
The actor's girlfriend Camila Alves gave birth to son Levi on 7 July (08) and McConaughey is in his element as a doting dad.
He tells OK! magazine, "I have it all chronicled. Becoming a dad is something I've dreamed of doing since I was 10. Becoming a father felt very, very natural."
Alba won't talk about weatherly romance
Jessica Alba refuses to discuss her previous engagement to actor Michael Weatherly - because she doesn't want to upset her new husband Cash Warren.
The Latina wed film producer Warren in May (08), just weeks before she gave birth to the couple's first child, baby daughter Honor.
But she hates divulging information about her relationship with former Dark Angel co-star Weatherly - who proposed on her birthday in 2001, when he was 32 and she had just turned 20. They split in 2003 after four years together.
She tells Britain's Cosmopolitan magazine, "That's all in the past and I think it would be disrespectful to my husband - I have to get used to calling him that - to talk about it."
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