‘Twilight’ Co-stars Dish on Rob and Kristen
Britney, Jason & The Boys: One Big Happy Family!
‘New Moon’ Fans: We Want Your Photo in OK!
Hollywood’s Hottest Howlers Revealed
PHOTOS: New Moon Fever Hits Manhattan
OK!’s Man Candy: New Moon’s Alex Meraz
Matt Damon Talks Family, Thanksgiving, Playdates With Ben
OK! Reviews: ‘The Twilight Saga: New Moon’
‘New Moon’ Fans: We Want Your Photo in OK!
• Amy Winehouse could be set to perform on the UK version of Dancing with the Stars (more)
• George Michael denies reports that he may have been drunk when his car smashed into a lorry (more)
• Kelly Osbourne is on course to appear on UK talent show (more)
• Cheryl Cole is gearing up to give Simon Cowell a run for his money in the judging stakes (more)
• Katie Price enjoys time with the family away from new lover Alex Reid (more)
• Girls Aloud singer Sarah Harding looks great after a night on the tiles (more)
• Peaches Geldof says she dyed her hair before Girls Aloud beauty Cheryl Cole (more)
• George Micheal is arrested after crashing his car into a lorry (more)
Nigel Barker charms during his Haiti: Hunger and Hope art exhibition held Thursday at NYC’s Milk Gallery.
While tunes such as SWV’s Right Here and Stevie Wonder’s Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours blare, the America’s Next Top Model judge and fashion photographer gamely entertains guests with kisses on the cheek and sparkling conversation.
Any budget beauty or fashion tips?
“I always say ‘keep it natural, keep it simple,’” he tells me. “People tend to overdo it. People ask ‘what can I do on the red carpet? I want to have a more relaxed look.’ Just be confident in yourself. Don’t think because of the makeup, because of the hair, because of the gown, you’re going to look fantastic. There’s enough fashion faux pas out there. You have to feel fantastic and the camera will pick it up.”
Nigel perks up when asked about his favorite body part.
“I’m more of a butt guy than I am a boob guy,” he laughs. “And legs as well. Legs and butt are very important — and feet. I’ve got a bit of a foot fetish. I’m all about the lower part of the body.”
Nice.
Despite pleas from the government to cancel his trip, Nigel traveled to Haiti to document the situation so that he could raise awareness about their desperate plight. (It’s just 45 minutes from the U.S.) His striking photographs adorn the walls tonight.
Giving back is key to the British-born father of two, 36, who is married to Cristen Chin.
“I think it’s fantastic that stars like Angelina Jolie get involved with charity,” he tells me. “The more people the better. We need to help out more in general, and on Top Model we always go on about our girls becoming role models. It’s not a joke. It’s important. If you’re in a position where people listen to you or you’re in the public eye, that celebrity should be used for something. It shouldn’t just be used to make your life better. I guess it’s an Asian thing, but the pleasure is in the giving in my family.”
He continues, “When you have children, it’s not when the kid gives you something, it’s when you give your son something and you see that smile on their face. We can all identify with that. Charity’s the same way. When you help people and they are physically moved by what you’ve done or you’ve changed their life, there’s nothing in the world that makes you feel better.”
I ask designer Zang Toi whether he’s spoken to Farrah Fawcett recently. (She was diagnosed with cancer of the intestine in 2006.) The Charlie’s Angels star has been his muse, and I once had time with her backstage after one of his shows.
“I haven’t talked to her for several months,” Zang tells me. “I try to leave a message every two weeks. I just left a message at Christmas, but the last time I called about six weeks ago, I spoke to the housekeeper and she said she’s fine, so I hope she’s OK.”
Any fashion advice?
“Create your own style, and don’t follow trends blindly. You have to understand yourself, and have your own individual look.”
He gives props to “glamorous” Sharon Stone, “original” Drew Barrymore and “youthful” Cameron Diaz for having the best style.
Um, Sharon?
“Anything I mention to my clients – if Sharon has it, they all want it.”
Someone really needs to tell George Michael to stay away from publich restrooms. Ten years ago, he was caught by Los Angeles police in a compromising position with another man inside a public toilet and then, only days ago, the pop star was arrested in a suburban London restroom for possession of crack cocaine and marijuana.
"I want to apologize to my fans for screwing up again, and to promise them I’ll sort myself out," said the singer, who had recently completed a sold-out U.S. tour, in a statement released on Sunday. "And to say sorry to everybody else, just for boring them."
This latest arrest for George comes two years after he was found unconscious and under the influence of drugs behind the wheel of his car in London. As part of his punishment for the infraction, he was sentenced to 100 hours of community service and banned from driving for two years.
British pop singer, George Michael, announced on Monday plans to launch his first tour of the United States and Canada in 17 years, beginning June 17 at the San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, Ca. Tickets go on sale April 6.
The 22-date arena tour will run through August 3. While his international appeal remains strong, Michael’s popularity in the US has weakened over the past decade, although his last album, 2004’s Patience, peaked at no.12 thanks to an appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show.
Michael, 44, rose to fame in the early 1980s as one half of the singing sensation Wham! and later released his solo debut album, 1987’s Faith, which sold an excess of 10 million copies in the US. Hit singles on that album included "Father Figure", "I Want Your Sex" and the title track, "Faith".
Michael’s career took a downward spiral in 1998, when he was arrested for lewd conduct in Beverly Hills, causing him to disclose that he was gay.
His upcoming North American tour will promote a double-disc hits set. "Twenty-Five" is scheduled for U.S. release on April 1.
MONDAY:I stayed home recovering from late flight back from LA. A few blocks from my house Scrubs star Zach Braff , Mario Lopez and a group of guys were drinking blood orange margaritas and eating oysters at Social Stantons Monday Social party.
TUESDAY: PR powerhouses Ken Sunshine and Shawn Sachs hosted their annual holiday party – aka the industry’s biggest annual schmoozefest. This year Sunshine, Sachs and Assoc. client John Mayer dropped by the soiree, the veritable who’s who of publicists and editors, as well as Ricki Lake – not a client, and not so sure why she was there actually. Although I witnessed John and Ricki standing a few feet from each other, I must admit I was as surprised as anyone to read in Page Six the next day that they exchanged numbers and text together all night after Ricki left for The Gramercy Park Hotel. I left before Ricki, or John, and also went to the Gramercy Park Hotel where Dolce and Gabbana were hosting a dinner to celebrate their new NYC boutique and Matthew McConauhey as the face of their new “One for Men” frangrance. The designers told me Matthew is perfect for the man for the campaign because, “He exudes sexiness, charm and allure that makes him the obvious choice.”
WEDNESDAY: Sarah and I went to a George Michael/Aretha Franklin concert/UNICEF benefit at Wall Street Cipriani so exclusive hardly a photo can be found – except those we took ourselves (the one with Sarah, Richie Sambora and I posted in a previous blog and the photo on the right of Matchbox 20’s Rob Thomas, his wife Marisol, James Patrick Herman and I). George Michael nearly brought Sarah and I to tears when he performed "Jesus to a Child" before brining us back up with “Faith” and I was happy to run into Richard Branson for the second time in 24 hours.
THURSDAY: I went to a benefit for the Lunchbox Fund and Food Bank for NYC. I attend the gala for this charity annually because it’s a cause I particularly care about - and they always do fun events that attract a bevy of A-listers. This event was a preview of lunchboxes that went up for auction at www.thelunchboxauction.org Dec. 7 and will remain up for auction online until Dec. 7. It was really amazing to see how creative stars could be with a lunchbox! Courtney Cox and David Arquette’s were as different as the two of them, Maggie Gyllenhaal told me turning hers into a music box was a family decision and Cameron’s Diaz’s was cute. Host Michael Stipe auctioned his lunchbox live and it went for $35,000! Don’t worry, the starting bid for the rest is $100. Check them out!
FRIDAY: Going for happy hour and then going home. It’s Tivo Friday.
SATURDAY: Stay tuned tomorrow when my colleague Laura Schreffler will guest blog for the Carribean!
Yesterday I was inspired, but tired- and I fell asleep before blogging. So here’s Wednesday’s inspirational blog a day late…
“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
Last night Sarah and I went to a rare and intimate George Michael/Aretha Franklin concert at Wall Street Cipriani to benefit UNICEF.
While we were at the party, right after Sarah asked me how many concerts like this I’d been to (quite a few) we talked about how lucky we are that our jobs lead us to do such amazing things. We’re both guilty of sometimes rolling our eyes after saying we have to go to (insert fabulous celebrity-laden event here) rather than sit on our couch with takeout and TV, but at the end of the day we both agreed that we’re extremely gracious for the opportunities to do, see and experience things that although normal to us, we appreciate aren’t really all that ‘normal.’
After reading a book that suggested it leads to a happier life, I began a practice where (nearly) every night I write down what I did and what I’m grateful for that day. Thinking of at least one thing per day that you’re grateful for helps keep things in perspective, good and bad, and things are often appreciated more in reflection. The message in this babble…be gracious and make the most of today, and everyday. Oh, and as George Michael sang (while I was already weepy, probably from too many of Ciprianis famous belliinis) “You’ve gotta have faith, faith faith…” ' class='wp-smiley' /> xo</p>
<p>PS: Last week I started this theme with Richard Branson, a man anyone who reads this blog with any regularity is aware inspires me almost daily. Ironically, or is it, coincidentally, I ran into Sir Branson twice in 24 hours! After the sliding doors moment of running into him Tuesday at Soho House, I was happy to also see him at the dinner last night- where Sarah Ferguson (who was auctioning off a Maserati to raise money for the charity) teased the airline owner about whether he even knows how to drive a car. </p>
</div>
<div class=){kind=icon}
Ever since actress Brooke Nevin was a little girl in Toronto, she was enamored with the idea of being onscreen, whether it was TV or movies. After years of begging her mother, Brooke’s persistence paid off when she scored a small part in a commercial for Honeycomb cereal.
“It didn’t matter that no one could actually see my face,” Brooke jokes to OK!. “Just that the commercial was going to be on TV and that I could say that somewhere in the indiscernible background, I was in it!”
Nowadays, you don’t have to squint to see this Toronto Blue Jay fan in her role as Michelle Fields in The Comebacks alongside Matthew Lawrence and David Koechner. Coincidentally, this marks Brooke’s second movie featuring the word “comeback” in the title! “It just keeps coming back,” the recent L.A. resident, who also starred in Comeback Season, giggles. Speaking of comebacks, the star whom Brooke would love to see make a career turnaround is George Michael. “I want to see him have another chart-topping hit,” she tells OK!.
With two more feature films set to be released and a guest role on Grey’s Anatomy, Brooke has certainly been keeping busy. “I play a Pom Squad Captain on Grey’s who is forced to ponder her future after a serious injury,” she reveals, but when asked for further details about the mystery ailment, she replies coyly, “You’ll have to watch the show!” As for hopes of being a regular on that hit series, she replies without any hesitation, “Hands down, yes!”
Well, perhaps that will be Brooke’s wish as she blows out the candles on her 25th birthday cake on Dec. 22. And while many late-December kids would think being born so close to Christmas is a negative, Brooke has no complaints. “It’s become a tradition that for every two Christmas carols sung, the family has to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ once,” she explains to OK!. “And my family is quite a caroling bunch!”
So, how will Brooke celebrate her first quarter century? “By renting a car from Alamo without paying the underage fee!”
The Comebacks is in theaters now.
By Alisandra Puliti
