Tag Archives: London
Justin Bieber Attacks Paparazzi
Justin Bieber is having the worst week ever.
Hours after collapsing onstage and being taken to the hospital, Bieber attacked a photographer outside his London hotel – but the incident wasn’t completely unprovoked.
In a video obtained by TMZ , when the Biebs and his bodyguards rushed to their waiting SUV, he made contact with one of the paparazzi who immediately began claiming assault and started to curse at the singer.
At that point, Bieber was already in the car, but after hearing the photographer gripe, “f— off back to America” and “f—ing little moron” he leapt out to confront him. While his bodyguard held him back, Bieber screamed “I’ll f—ing beat the f— out of you” and attempted to swing at the photographer. The singer was eventually forced back into the car, which promptly left the scene.
“Ahhhhh! Rough morning. Trying to feel better for this show tonight but let the paps get the best of me,” Bieber tweeted . “Sometimes when people r shoving cameras in your face all day and yelling the worst thing possible at u…well I’m human. Rough week,” Bieber said , possibly referencing his previous Twitter meltdown and “worst birthday” last weekend.
But every cloud has a silver lining. “Not gonna let them get the best of me again. Gonna get focused on this show tonight. Adrenaline is high now. Gonna put it on stage,” he added . “Only way someone can break u if u let them.”
Way to stay positive, Biebs!
Olympic Sprinter Dubbed ‘Blade Runner’ Guns Down Model Girlfriend
The South African sprinter known as ‘Blade Runner’ for his prosthetic legs has been arrested for killing his model girlfriend, the MailOnline reports.
Paralympics star Oscar Pistorius was taken into custody and charged with murder after he allegedly shot his girlfriend, former FHM model Reeva Steenkamp, several times in the head, chest and arm. Paramedics treated Steenkamp, 30, but she died at the scene.
Pistorius told police he shot Steenkamp after mistaking her for a burglar at his luxury South Africa mansion in Pretoria. Police found no signs of forced entry.
The shooting occurred at 4 a.m. Thursday in Pistorius’ exclusive estate that is surrounded by high walls and armed guards.
In an interview with London’s MailOnline Pistorius said he feared for his safety. He told the Mail he slept “with a pistol next to his bed, a machine gun by a window with a cricket bat and baseball bat behind the door.”
“The problem is when the [armed] guards are in on the crime. It’s usually safe in guarded estates like this until that happens,” he said.
Pistorius told police he reacted violently after a Valentine’s Day surprise went horribly wrong. Pistorius and Steenkamp had been dating for only a few months. They met at a South African awards ceremony after he achieved worldwide fame in the London Olympics.
Steenkamp was excited about her upcoming Valentine’s Day plans. She tweeted the hashtags “#getexcited” and “#Valentinesday,” and asked her 3,000 followers to tweet their V-day plans on her Twitter page Wednesday.
But her famous boyfriend apparently had a history of violence against women. Pretoria police spokeswoman Denise Beukes said authorities had been called out to Pistorius’s mansion “on several occasions” for “allegations of a domestic nature.”
“Oscar is a humble person and a lovely guy,” his father Henke said. “I’m sure what happened has been a terrible mistake.”
The Johannesburg sprinter was the first double amputee to participate in the regular Olympics. He reached the semi-finals in the 400 meters race at the London 2012 Summer Olympics.
Pistorius’s blade style prosthetic legs was the talk of the London Olympics. The international media dubbed him “the fastest man on no legs.”
Other world class athletes competing in the 400 meter race complained that the prosthetic legs gave Pistorius an unfair advantage.
Pictures of Olympic Divers
One of the highlights of the 2012 Olympics will undoubtedly be diving. There’s been some stiff competition this year, especially in the preliminary rounds, and all the athletes have been killing themselves trying to look as graceful as possible while tumbling through the air. How do we know? There’s something on each diver’s face that just reads, “This stunt is kind of difficult to do.”
These competitors may look like elegant swans from a distance, but when the camera gets right up close for those slow-motion instant replays, not one of them is capable of hiding the pain in their faces.
If diving isn’t the one event you’re looking forward to watching during the 2012 Olympics, it will be after you’re done browsing through this gallery of all the best diver faces.
Hiphop on Trial: HipHop doesn’t enhance society, it degrades it
On Tuesday 26th June 2012, Hiphop was put on trial. The charge? That it degrades society rather than enhances it. An Intelligence Squared debate on rap, involving everyone from Jesse Jackson and Q-Tip to PJ O’Rourke and Emily Maitlis, was more baffling than anything else.
1,600 or so people descended on the Barbican in London for what was hailed as “the first-ever global debate on hip-hop”. Arranged by Google and Intelligence Squared – bespoke organisers of online conferences who recently staged something similar on the War on Drugs – it was like a cross between Question Time and a show trial, with advocates and speakers for and against the motion: “Hip-Hop Doesn’t Enhance Society, It Degrades It.”
There was even a live online vote, with statistics presented on giant screens and references to “swings” like a hip-hop version of Peter Snow on election night. To add to the gravitas of it all, we had BBC Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis chairing the debate, and speakers ranging from the Jesse Jackson and Shaun Bailey – a special adviser to David Cameron on youth, crime and welfare issues – to rapper KRS-One and poet Benjamin Zephaniah, as well as a host of academics. There were even satellite link-ups with, among others, Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest and satirist PJ O’Rourke. Mystifyingly, Jemima Khan was our web-host.
Check out the full debate below and let us know what you think
Lisa Vanderpump talks Housewives
As one of the breakout stars of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Lisa Vanderpump, 50, has become a fan favorite for her no-nonsense attitude and blunt quips.
But she’s also received negative feedback over her perceived unkindness of fellow cast member Taylor Armstrong, whose husband Russell committed suicide earlier this year.
The London-born reality star talked to Parade.com about the drama surrounding this season, the possibility of a spin-off, her beloved pup Giggy, and her new cookbook and entertaining guide: Simply Divine.
On the scrutiny surrounding this season of RHOBH.
“I’ve found this season a little bit more difficult, obviously in terms of the tragedy that started off the season with Russell’s suicide. I felt a bit under attack this season with people saying this and saying that, but I think if you stay true to yourself, people will make up their own minds. You just have to keep plowing ahead. You can film me 24 hours a day and you’ll get a very accurate picture of who I am. You see the funny side, I work hard, and I try to be honest and just call it how it is.”
On handling the negative side of fame.
“I don’t really care what others think of me. You’re not going to please everybody. I care what I think and what my children and my husband thinks. If I’m OK with them, I’m OK with myself. It’s a very good barometer. I just try to be honest.”
On confrontations with her fellow co-stars.
“Sometimes people don’t want to hear the truth. I’ve had issues with Taylor, like ‘Sorry, Taylor, you’re too thin. You’re not eating.’ It doesn’t matter what way you cut it, does she like it? No, but that’s what we are encouraged to do, to be honest. We’re not going to sit there and say nothing on the show, we’re encouraged to speak our mind and sometimes people don’t like it.”
On the possibility of her own reality show.
“It has been mentioned, but I can’t talk too much about that right now. This has been sort of a surprise. I knew what I was getting into, the franchise is so successful. I’ve had a lot of fun with it. I don’t know where it goes from here. It’s just great to be able to get a platform.”
On rumors that her dog Giggy has his own agent.
“Yes, he does. I know it’s ridiculous, but to be honest, he’s become such a popular character on the show and he does need somebody to bring ideas to him. He’s a popular dog right now!”
On life in America vs. England.
“I love the lifestyle here. I think living in London is similar to New York — it’s much harder. In Beverly Hills, it’s very spoiled in terms of the quality of life. I think the climate and the space and the quality of life in Beverly Hills is exceptional. I love America. America has really embraced us. I’ve spent quit a few years here. One of my children is American. He was adopted from foster care, which we talked openly about during the first season. I didn’t want to be guilty by omission, so we brought it up.”
On her secret to looking so great.
“Many, many, many things! I’m not a huge plastic surgery advocate. I think you can see that from my pictures. But you definitely can do so many things with Botox and filler and a little bit of laser — things that are non-invasive. I’d rather grow old gracefully and keep it looking real and natural. You see these overkill faces that don’t move and I just don’t want to look like that. It’s not something I want to sign up for.”
On the secret to a long and happy marriage in Beverly Hills.
“I married somebody that also allowed me to grow, and I think that’s very important. We’re very much equals. We have a lot of fun together and we also work together. Over the years, he’s allowed me to grow and encouraged me to take chances. I don’t think a man should try to suppress a woman just because he’s married to her. Certainly, my priorities are raising my children and him, but I’m at a time where my children have left home and my husband’s very supportive.”
On the inspiration behind her book.
“We have restaurants that I’ve designed and I’ve had many homes so I thought, why not? I wanted to put my passion to the page.”
Tom Cruise wants to make Beckham a movie star
While David Beckham is busy trying to figure out if his soccer career is going to resume in Los Angeles, Paris or London, his friend Tom Cruise is trying to find the right script to turn Beckham into an action movie star.
Speaking at the London premiere of his latest Mission Impossible movie Ghost Protocol on Tuesday, Cruise told The Daily Mirror, “I’d love to do action movies with Beckham. He would be great, he could kick ass.”
A source tells the Mirror that Beckham “has been linked with Hollywood a number of times but (Cruise) is the only one he’d ever take up, he thinks (Cruise is) a legend.”
Despite Cruise’s efforts and Beckham’s willingness to take a project on, the star soccer player apparently wants any movie he stars in to have sports involved. Cruise, in the mean time, wants to play the good guy, according to the Mirror.
“He’d still like to have a sporting element to it. Tom’s a sporty guy, too, so any collaboration would be about something competitive.” And friends or not, Tom still wants to be the hero. He previously said of Becks: “He would make a great baddie.”
Bond film called Skyfall
The title of the 23rd James Bond film has been confirmed as Skyfall.
The latest 007 adventure will star Daniel Craig for the third time. Leading ladies have been confirmed as French actress Berenice Marlohe and Naomie Harris.
Skyfall is being directed by Sam Mendes, who won an Oscar for 1999′s American Beauty.
Mendes said the storyline will take the secret agent to London, China, Turkey and Scotland.
It will see Bond’s loyalty tested to M, his superior, while espionage headquarters MI6 faces an attack.
The movie, which sees the return of Dame Judi Dench as spy boss M, will also star Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney and Javier Bardem as the villain of the piece.
It will be released in the UK on 26 October 2012.
Craig told reporters in London that the cast would start filming sequences for the new movie later on Thursday.
Much speculation about the new film has focused on what Mendes will bring to the franchise, with some suggesting he will tone down – or even abandon altogether – the action sequences.
But the director denied that this was the case. He told reporters in London that the “fantastic script” had “all the elements of a classic Bond movie, including – to quell any rumours – lots of action”.
When asked what fans could expect from the latest film, he added: “The movie will reveal everything, and there’s lots of surprises.”
Producer Barbara Broccoli said no-one had yet been chosen to write and perform the Bond theme tune.
Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the first Bond movie, 1962′s Dr No.
James Bond is one of the longest-running franchises in film history, but Bond 23 will mark the end of a four year gap.
Facebook preps social music with partners
NEW YORK — Facebook is putting finishing touches to new features on users’ home pages that deeply integrate music services from partners including Spotify, MOG, Rhapsody, Slacker and Rdio, according to people familiar with the plans.
The music platform is expected to be unveiled at Facebook’s developer conference, which kicks off on September 22.
Facebook was not immediately available for comment.
Though Facebook is the world’s most popular social networking services with more than 750 million users, its founder Mark Zuckerberg is keen to increase the amount of time users spend in the Facebook environment.
Music is said to be just one aspect of the strategy to improve Facebook’s ‘stickiness’ and it is also expected to partner with other media content owners like movie studios.
“They are working on a platform for music where the goal is to create a connective tissue for fans,” said one person familiar with the talks who asked not to be named as the plans are confidential.
Facebook has declined to comment on its new music platform before, but in July several technology blogs reported a software engineer had uncovered programing code for a Facebook product called ‘Vibes’ for music downloading.
Facebook could give an important boost to its fledgling music streaming partners as they try to compete in a digital music sector dominated by Apple Inc’s iTunes’s download store. Apple is also readying a streaming service called iTunes Match expected to launch this fall.
The largest music subscription service, Rhapsody, has about 800,000 paying users after nearly 10 years. The next largest in the United States is believed to be Slacker, which claims some 400,000 subscribers, while more recent start-ups like MOG and Rdio are estimated to have significantly less than that.
London-based Spotify, which launched in the United States in July, has more than 1 million paying subscribers and some 10 million users registered to its free access service across Europe. Spotify is believed to have partly benefited from its early integration into Facebook’s platform.
The most popular music app on Facebook is currently BandPage, a service from RootMusic that enables artists to market their songs, videos and tour dates. It has over 250,000 artists and 30 million active users monthly. Last month it raised $16 million in Series B funding.
While all the existing music services can already be used on Facebook, the deeper integration will enable Facebook users who are subscribers to a service to share songs and playlists seamlessly with each other and to see what friends are listening to, and more.
The digital music services hope Facebook users will sign up with them after seeing friends sharing playlists that require subscription.
Another senior executive close to the talks said social networking is important to help overcome one of the key challenges for digital music companies: how to help fans discover new music rather than just search for artists and songs they already know. “Your friends are engaging with you on Facebook, he said. “It’s the new form of radio or TV.”
Joss Stone murder plot foiled?
LONDON — Two men armed with swords have been arrested in connection with an alleged plot to rob and kill British singer Joss Stone, according to reports.
Citing sources, Sky News said the suspects were found with rope and a body bag when they were stopped near her home in Cullompton, southwest England, on Monday morning.
Devon and Cornwall Police Detective Inspector Steve Parker said: “The two men in custody had in their possession information relating to an individual in the Cullompton area and items which lead us to suspect that they may have intended to commit a criminal offence.”
Sky News reported that the suspects — aged 33 and 30 — were also carrying maps and aerial photos of Stone’s secluded property.
Stone said in a statement that she was “absolutely fine and getting on with life as normal” as police faced a deadline to charge or release the suspects.
‘Conspiracy to murder’
Police were notified after neighbors spotted two men acting suspiciously near the 24-year-old singer’s rural home, according to reports. Investigators confirmed Wednesday that the two men were being detained for “conspiracy to rob and conspiracy to murder.”
“We’re unable to say anymore at this time but I would like to thank the local residents for reporting the suspicious car,” Parker said in a statement. “It’s important to stress that no properties have been burgled and no individuals have been harmed.”
The Sun newspaper reported that the suspects had traveled about 200 miles from the Manchester area. However, police would not comment on reports that swords, rope and a body bag had been recovered.
The men were being questioned Wednesday at a police station and have not been charged.
Stone’s London publicists, DWL, said the singer was aware of the arrests and was being kept up to date by the police.
They would not say whether she was at home when the men were detained.
‘Game of Thrones’ Ed Stark aka Sean Bean Stabbed in London Pub Brawl
Ed Stark is having a terrible week. First he was beheaded on last Sunday’s episode of ‘Game of Thrones’ by the orders of King Joffrey Baratheon, then he gets stabbed in a London pub Brawl.
According to the Daily Mail, the incident went down when Bean and Playboy bunny April Summers went outside Camden’s Hill Bar and Brasserie for a smoke. Some random Dude recognized Ms. Summers and began making lewd comments. Known as the “King’s Hand” on HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones,’ Bean stepped in to defend his Bunny’s honor and that’s when the battle ensued.
Reports claimed the unidentified attacker cut the actor with a broken glass and punched him in the face before police were called to the scene.
Bean declined hospital treatment and went back inside the bar.
A staff member tells the Daily Mail, “Sean is a regular here and we’ve never had any problems before. He was with a very attractive woman, and an incident occurred outside the bar. He came in with a cut on his arm and a bruise on his eyebrow. We saw to his injuries with the first aid kit. He seemed OK and wanted to have another drink.”
