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It was made immortal in the hit 1980 movie — and subsequent TV show — Fame and boasts A-List alums like Jennifer Aniston and Adrian Grenier.
Now, with a revamped version of the film slated to hit theaters this fall, the spotlight shines once again on NYC’s Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts — aka “Fame Academy.” But what was life really like?
Check out OK!’s gallery of big names who all attended this star-making high school!
Almost every movie star who is any movie star attends The Film Society’s Gala Tribute to Honor Tom Hanks held Monday at NYC’s Alice Tully Hall.
A dizzying array of A-listers including Julia Roberts, Charlize Theron, Adrien Brody, Glenn Close, Sally Field and Steven Spielberg are greeted with hoots and hollers when they enter the building.
“I feel like it’s my birthday,” Pretty Woman Julia says when she hears the cheers. The mom of three, 41, cuts a slim figure and is the essence of effortless glamour.
Why did the allure of Tom Hanks steal the Oscar winner from twins Hazel and Phinnaeus, 4, and Henry, 22 months, this evening?
“He’s a great, sort of quintessential actor,” Julia says. “He does campy comedies from Bosom Buddies, where I fell madly in love with him, to a movie like Castaway. Someone says ‘what is Tom like?’ and I say ‘oh, he’s what you’d want him to be.’”
Charlize Theron seconds that thought. “He’s just very sincere, and he lives a very truthful life,” the Oscar winner, 32, tells me. “He’s never kind of done anything that wasn’t authentic to him, and I so appreciate that about him.” The blond beauty, wearing steep heels, just returned from Salma Hayek’s weekend wedding in Venice. “It was beautiful,” she tells me. Favorite thing she did in Italy? “I ate lots of pasta.”
Adrien Brody is also adjusting from jet lag, but doesn’t let that stop him from honoring Mr. Hanks. “I just woke up from a flight,” the sleepy-headed Oscar winner, 36, tells me. “Tom’s obviously an incredible actor, and someone who has worked incredibly hard. I think his kindness and his spirit shines through in the performances, and it gives him a sense that I think everyone feels very familiar with him and a connection to him. I think he’s an impressive man.”
Here comes Tom Hanks, the self-deprecating man of the evening, cracking jokes and making punch lines every step of the way. “My joke is I think I’ve made about twenty-five movies, and I think four of them are pretty good,” the two-time Oscar winner, 52, says with wife Rita Wilson, 52, at his side. “Listen, I’m a lucky man. I’ll take a free dinner.”
What’s the best advice he’s given his son? “Always wear a fresh shirt, and don’t try to sweat in it too much,” Colin Hanks, 31, tells me.
Ron Howard, Saturday Night Live writer/producer Lorne Michaels, Christy Turlington and hubby Ed Burns, John Leguizamo and wife Justine dash to their seats just in time for the tribute to begin.
Turns out, Julia lets loose with a tirade of F-bombs all in good fun. Who knew?!
All eyes are on Beyonce during her Cadillac Records premiere held at AMC Loews 19 in NYC. It’s great to see the Destiny’s Child songbird in the musical drama about Chess Records, where Ralph Bass, the grandfather of OK!’s fabulous Shauna Bass, worked. (He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his accomplishments there.)
The Single Ladies sensation grants costars a peck on the cheek when she mingles pre-screening, but one VIP guest is noticeably missing. Hubby Jay-Z, donning nerd glasses, makes a separate entrance with Ne-Yo long before his leading lady hits the floor.
For Beyonce, one perk of playing Etta James is stepping into someone else’s shoes.
“I learned so much about myself,” Beyonce, who has a slight Southern accent, says. “The most fun thing was that I could use all the profanity I wanted, and I couldn’t get judged for it because I was playing Etta.”
For the role, Beyonce packed on 15 lbs. How did she lose it?
“Well, if you’ve seen the video Single Ladies, it has a lot of choreography. That helped!”
Stylist Ty Hunter says it took the singing sensation only 30 minutes to choose her dress and get ready tonight. What styling tips does he give her?
“For a woman to know her body and know what really works for her, I think that’s a plus,” he tells me. “Some people just throw things on and they’re not so sure what works for them.”
He says she lost the weight by working out and cutting back on food.
Hey, look! It’s the always-affable Diddy, and here’s the cuddling Kelly Ripa and hubby Mark Consuelos. Whoops! A reporter asks whether Rosie O’Donnell and Barbara Walters should bury the hatchet. “Oh my gosh, I’m not answering that,” the mom of three shoots back. Rrr. They’re rushing Adrien Brody through. No questions.
Emmanuelle Chriqui calls Beyonce’s performance “incredible.”
“She really tapped into her essence. She went for it and really transformed. It’s astonishing.”
But don’t expect the Entourage star to start wearing ‘50s fashion. “I’m not a very buttoned-up person, but it would be a fun look. It depends.”
What makes someone beautiful?
Gabrielle Union offers up a decent blind item.
“I’ve seen probably the world’s most attractive people — until they open their mouth,” Gab says. “You need to have what comes out of your mouth match the visage. You get so ugly if you talk smack, or say awful things. I prefer no double negatives, but that’s just me — not everyone has that hang up.”
The walls go up when it comes to the ultra-private Beyonce and Jay-Z.
“I know them both,” Mos Def, who plays Chuck Berry, says. “But I don’t want to talk about it.” He calls Beyonce “dedicated, professional and hard-working.”
Eamonn Walker doesn’t want to go there either. “I don’t know her husband, really. What husband? Where? No, I admire both of them very much. I don’t know. Flummoxed.”
Akon calls Jay-Z “a nice guy,” but admits, “No one knows too much about their personal life. Not even me.”
Luckily, Beyonce’s performance has the blessing of Etta James, 70, who attended the L.A. premiere.
“Etta was lovely, she was frail, but I could see that she had been captured,” Eamonn says. “She felt that her life had been captured and honored by this movie.”
Of Beyonce’s fuller figure in the film, he cautions, “You won’t notice her weight. You’ll notice how good of an actress she is, because at the end of the day, she throws down no matter what size she is. You’ve never seen Beyonce act better.”
PARTY TIME: OK!’s Oliver Coleman reports that Beyonce and Jay-Z couldn’t have been more different from Adrien and his girl Elsa Pataky during the afterparty held at Marquee. While Adrien and Elsa can’t keep their hands off each other, B&J keep it G-rated by dancing in their seats and chatting cheerfully. Psst! Leonardo DiCaprio makes an appearance. He chats with Kevin Connolly while Russell Simmons puts the moves on Marisa Miller.
Plug time: Why should we see this film?
“It’s going to introduce a whole new generation to this time and this music, and make people understand that this is the music that influenced Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Who – all these great bands you know and love,” Eamonn says. “They all got their inspiration from this. You should see this film because if you don’t know the beginning, you won’t know the end.”
Cadillac Records is in theaters now.
Call us cynical, or maybe just realistic, but it was easy to tell which star couple at recent party in New York had been married for a while, and which had still to tie the knot.
At the party after the premiere for her new movie Cadillac Records, Beyoncé sat with hubby Jay Z, on one side of the room — about two feet apart — cheerfully bopping along to the music and chatting with friends and family.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the room the movie’s other star, Adrien Brody, was entangled with his fiance Elsa Pataky – barely able to stop kissing long enough to acknowledge anyone else!
Adrien must have suffered a serious dead leg, because Elsa sat on his knee most of the night with her arms wrapped around him.
"When they weren’t making out they were kissing each others noses or whispering in each others ears," said one slightly queasy party-goer. "It really seemed like Elsa was making the most of being with the star of the night!"
Joining them to celebrate the release of the movie, which follows the rise of the legendary Chess Records, were Leo DiCaprio and his buddy, Entourage’s Kevin Connolly, as well as Russell Simmons — who seemed rapt in conversation with Sports Illustrated model Marisa Miller.
Leo had called in to the shindig at Marquee after a screening of his own new release, Revolutionary Road and chatted to Kevin — who flexed his star muscle, making the security turn a blind eye while he smoked a sneaky cigarette in the trendy club.
Adrien Brody makes a surprise appearance during the Blindness premiere held at the Elgin Theatre during the Toronto International Film Festival. He’s sporting a burly beard, and almost goes unnoticed.
Julianne Moore, Gael Garcia Bernal, Mark Ruffalo and director Fernando Mereilles are among the all-stars in the mystery drama that tells the story about what happens when a town is overcome by loss of sight.
“I love Toronto,” Julianne says. “My family likes it here, too. It’s a great city.”
And, what about the cast?
“There are tremendously talented people coming out of Latin America right now,” Julianne says. “It was a privilege to work with them.”
Here is Gael, who asks if we’d like him to speak in English or Spanish.
“This is the official premiere of the baby,” he says. “I feel all right. Everything’s good. Life is good. I’m dying to see the film because this is the new version. I saw the first version in Cannes, and I’m looking forward to it.”
Time for baby talk about the little one he’s expecting with girlfriend Dolores Fonzi.
What’s next?
“I don’t know!” Gael says. “I really want to know. I’m unemployed at the moment.”
Did Mark bring the family to Toronto?
“I took her as a date,” he says, pointing to wife Sunrise. “It’s going to be a six-day date.”
The three kids are at home.
Blindness is in theaters September 26.
Pick up the OK! on newsstands now for more coverage of the Toronto International Film Festival. “Brit Hits Back!” is the cover line. And, check back tomorrow for more from the Fest.
Katy Perry cuddling with boyfriend, Gym Class Hero front man Travis McCoy, at the SKYY Infusions sponsored Blender Magazine VMA party held in her honor at the newly renovated club Bardot in LA.
Maggie Gyllenhaal looking less than impressed with some boisterous fans dancing in front of her at a Silver Jews concert at the Williamsburg Music Hall, Brooklyn, on Saturday night.
Roberty Downey Jr. heading into an AA meeting in L.A. on Wednesday.
Christian Bale and his daughter grabbing an early morning starbucks in the pacific palisades.
Adrien Brody and Ed Norton at the Film Lounge during the Toronto Film Festival.
Jon Bon Jovi engrossed in conversation with his gorgeous wife Dorothea while walking on Houston Street in the Soho district of Manhattan last night.
David Schwimmer with a huge smile on his face watching bizarre, raunchy, anti-Republican cabaret act, The Citizen’s Band at the Speigelworld theater in Manhattan Tuesday night.
The Hills starlet Whitney Port at Bowlmor Lanes in NYC.
Adam Sandler eating New Zealand Natural Ice Cream on the set of his new film.
Thom Filicia of Queer Eye celebrating his redesign of W San Diego’s lounge spaces at the property-wide Surf.Sand.Chic. relaunch blowout event with Nicky Hilton and Carey Hart.
90210 stars Shenae Grimes, Annalynne McCord, Jessica Stroup, Michael Steger, Dustin Milligan, Jessica Lowndes, and Ryan Eggold at the Nylon magazine launch of their TV Issue on Sept. 4 at The Roosevelt Hotel’s Tropicana Bar. Additional partygoers including Paris Hilton, Ryan Phillipe, Lauren Conrad, Katy Perry, Bonnie Somerville and Eliza Dushku, among others, and all were treated to specialty cocktails by EFFEN Vodka and Venom Energy Drink.
(Fox Searchlight)
Starring: Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Adrien Brody
Three estranged American brothers try to reconnect in a bizarre trip to India. At first the dark comedy pulls you in, but half way through it gets quite stale.
