August 2007 News Archive (Page 3)

Before they waltz down the aisle in September, Dancing with the Stars alumni Alec Mazo and Edyta Sliwinska took their love to Las Vegas for a joint bachelor and bachelorette party over the weekend.

Along for the celebration was Mazo's Dancing partner (and season one champ) Kelly Monaco, Cheryl Burke with boyfriend Matthew Lawrence, Kym Johnson and Karina Smirnoff.

According to People magazine, the group arrived Saturday, got settled into a suite in the Planet Hollywood Hotel and immediately parted ways.

The girls went off to the hotel's Heart Bar and later partied at Moon Nightclub at the Palms, while the guys took their party to a boat at nearby Lake Mead.

During the most recent season of Dancing with the Stars, Mazo was partnered with model Paulina Porizkova, while Sliwinska danced with former Cheers star John Ratzenberger.

The parties wrapped up on Sunday in true bachelor/bachelorette party style â€" relaxing at Bare, a top-optional pool at the Mirage, followed by some gambling.

We're down to the final six on So You Think You Can Dance. What do they think of their chances, good luck charms and hidden talents? Let's find out...

Lauren Gottlieb: "It's definitely been a roller coaster." Though she wears body makeup to cover up bruises on her legs and her feet are "all torn up," Gottlieb hasn't lost her sense of humor about the occupational hazards: "I always wanted a cool scar on my face."

Danny Tidwell: He knows he isn't great at ballroom and hip-hop, candidly admitting: "I'm not so good at that." Luckily, he has his brother Travis Wall, who was the show's season-two runner-up, to give him advice. He also has the following talent. You should see "how fast I can devour chocolate," he says.

Lacey Schwimmer: Who cares that her brother, Benji, was last year's victor? Give us a true, important talent, Lacey: "I can burp on command." Nice.

Neil Haskell: This dancer knows it takes other skills to make it in the entertainment business: "I need to work on my singing voice and my acting as well because that's where you can make a real living."

Pasha Kovalev: Hip hop is the biggest challenge to this ballroom instructor. But coming up with an idea for the future is not:  He wants "do something which is helpful to society, like teach kids how to dance."

Sabra Johnson: Look out fellow contestants - and future criminals. After dancing, Sabra has unique career aspirations: "Maybe I'll be a CIA agent," she says.

The Hills doesn't premiere until Monday - but the drama is already in full swing.

Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt were banned from attending the MTV show's post-premiere party Wednesday night in L.A. due to the couple's escalating feud with costars Lauren Conrad and Audrina Patridge.

While MTV allowed the gruesome twosome (Pratt and Montag) to walk on the red carpet, "they were not allowed to be at the party while Lauren was here," a source told Us Weekly, who added that extra security was also brought on.

Another source says that MTV "suspended" Spencer and Heidi from doing any more media to promote The Hills after their trash-talking interview on Monday with a Philadelphia radio station.

While chatting with talk show hosts on Q102 FM, Pratt called Conrad a "stupid girl" who is just using the couple to draw attention to herself. "She's the douche, the psycho," he said.

After that, Heidi Montag added: "I never could be friends with some lowlife like that."

The insider says that after the interview, MTV nearly canceled the couple's appearance on On the Air With Ryan Seacrest Wednesday morning, but allowed them to do one last interview with the KIIS FM show.

For now, however, "they are on a [celebrity gossip] blackout," says the source.

Another insider says that MTV has decided to gag all parties - including Conrad and Patridge - on the subject matter. "Tensions were so high, MTV decided to shut it all down," says the source.

"Spencer crossed a line with several things he said. And fans of the show take it all so seriously, people were starting to worry about security concerns on all sides."

ABC is nothing if not persistent.

Just because no Bachelor and his selected girlfriend have made it to the altar yet doesn't mean there's no hope for this reality show franchise. Moreover, give Andy Baldwin (pictured) and Tessa Horst a chance!

And while you're at it, meet the newest Bachelor, set to hit the screen on Monday, September 24: Brad Womack.

TV Guide says this man has "good looks that make him The Bachelor's own ‘McSteamy.'" Hubba. Hubba. That publication also reports the following on the latest hunk to enter the reality TV pantheon:

With his two brothers, Brad Womack owns four lucrative bars, and they are now in the early stages of developing a hotel. He is ready to find his soul mate, settle down and have the family life he has so long desired.

And we can't wait to watch him do so. Wonder if he'll find someone as cute as Amanda Salinas.

Congratulations are in order for Amanda Salinas and Mark Philippoussis.

The 31-year-old Australian professional tennis player chose Salinas, a 25-year-old financial planner's assistant from Nashville, TN, as the first-ever Age of Love winner during last night's finale broadcast of the NBC reality dating series.

Amanda Salinas has conquered all others on Age of Love.

Mark's choice of Amanda --the only remaining 20-something "Kitten" - meant Jennifer Braff, a 48-year-old Carson, CA-resident who has a son the same age as Salinas, was the seventh and final 40-something "Cougar" to leave the competition.

She wasn't happy about the diss.

"Until going into this experience, I thought about shows like this, and the emotions that the women and the guys develop for each other," said Jen. "I thought to myself it couldn't possibly be real. But I'm sitting here... and I know now for myself that my emotions are real.

This is real for me, and it makes me sad. I know that we had a connection. I know we had a very strong chemistry. But he got scared. I know that if I had been younger Mark would have chosen me. It hurts. It hurts a lot."

We feel bad for her - but happy for the new reality TV couple!

Jael Strauss, a former America's Next Top Model finalist, has filed an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit against two men, including her former talent agent, who allegedly published racy photographs of her without her permission.

According to the lawsuit, the pictures were taken when Strauss was 16 and ended up in a book called Beautiful: Nudes by Marc Baptiste. Some of the shots that originally ended up on the cutting room floor were posted on the Internet and their distribution was enhanced once Strauss made it onto the hit CW reality series, the suit alleges.

Baptiste, who is also responsible for the 2003 tome Intimate: Nudes by Marc Baptiste, photographed Strauss in 2000 at locales in Inglewood and at Malibu's Surf Rider Beach. The Detroit native was as naked in some of the shots as Heidi Klum nude in Arena magazine.

Strauss, who finished fifth earlier this year on Top Model's eighth cycle after Tyra Banks decided that her looks couldn't compensate for her brash personality, alleges that her ex-agent, Christopher Donahue, allowed fellow plaintiff Baptiste to take erotic photos of the then-teenager and then signed off on the book without asking for permission from Strauss' parents.

Also named in the suit are the Millennium Agency, where Donahue works, and Rizzoli/Universe. Strauss is seeking unspecified restitution, as well as punitive and compensatory damages.

In addition to invasion of privacy, Strauss claims that she wasn't paid for the use of her pictures and is also suing for theft of image and unjust enrichment. The aspiring catwalker also accuses Baptiste of trying to seduce her after a photo session.

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On the season finale of American Inventor 2, the three finalists Greg Chavez, Elaine Cato, and Ricky DeRennaux returned.

Chavez invented the Guardian Angel, which is a fire safety system for Christmas trees. Cato invented the 6-in-1 Convertible Brassiere, which is a traditional brassiere that converts into six configurations. DeRennaux invented Custom Build Racers, which is a kit to build remote controlled vehicles.

After a review segment on some other inventors, the three finalists stood on center stage waiting to learn who would be the first finalist eliminated.

Nick Smith announced that DeRennaux was history. When asked what he would remember most, he said:

"The inventors, great people, and these guys [acknowledging the judges] who pushed me just a little bit further than I wanted to be pushed. It's been a ride."

Benjamin Dermer, the Director of Inventor Relations from Spinmaster, invited Ricky DeRennaux to their headquarters to talk about putting HT Racers into toy stores.

Rejected American Inventor contestant Silvio DiSalvatore and the Black Cougar returned to energize the crowd. Before Smith announced which of the two remaining finalists had won, he introduced them to two special guests. Tom Russo, President & CEO of First Alert, told Chavez that they would like to work with him to make Guardian Angel a household product. Norah Alberto, Senior Style Director at Maidenform, told Cato that they would like to fly her and her family out to their headquarters to explore the possibility of bringing her backless bra to market.

After video messages from the families of the two finalists, Smith revealed that the winner of American Inventor 2007 was Chavez.

"It's amazing. It's amazing. A year ago I was sitting in the chair at the house and I was watching the show and I said to my wife I'm going to win next year," he said. She said ‘I know you are.'"

For three seasons fans have lived, loved and come of age with the teenagers of Laguna Beach.

This season, MTV is moving up the coast to Newport Harbor. Join a new circle of friends as they discover first loves, face new rivalries and suffer new heartbreaks as "Newport Harbor: The Real Orange County" premieres on Wednesday, August 15.

"It has been three years since the Stephen, [Lauren Conrad] and Kristin love triangle drew viewers to the real life drama of Laguna Beach," said Tony DiSanto, Executive Vice President, Series Development & Programming for MTV. "Now we are moving up the coast to a new town with new faces and a new high school, but with the same drama of dealing with relationships, cliques, family and friends.

The real OC is a beautiful backdrop to this universal story and this year we go back to the heart of the drama...that wistful last year of school."

And on the same day as the television premiere, fans will be able to hang out with the new cast, party, relax and shop in the same places they see on-air for themselves in Virtual Newport Harbor, available at www.vmtv.com.

Reality TV Magazine says you can check out the Main Street Surf Shop and run the store known as Etc. Etc. Etc. for the perfect outfit to wear; viewers will be able to virtually live the same story-lines they see on-air, including some of the biggest events of the year like the prom and graduation, and meet new cast member Chrissy on opening night.