Did not or could not?

Russell Crowe is currently promoting his directorial debut The Water Diviner. He’s been extra generous with gossip during this press tour. I’m obsessed with the one about Michael Jackson prank calling him. You heard about this? Michael would just ring up Russell’s hotel …      

Here is Hilary Duff’s new Shape Magazine cover. Shape Mag is already being accused of Photoshopping Hilary’s abs, but they look legit enough for me. I appreciate the fact that the magazine didn’t ‘Shop her into oblivion and she looks like herself. In the interview, she talks about diet and exercise, of course. Some highlights:

She hates diets: ”I’d rather have someone pull my fingernails off than hunker down and go on an actual diet. ‘I work out with weighted balls, battle ropes, and big rubber bands. ‘I do this think with a sledge-hammer where I swing it and hit a rubber block, and it gets out all of my aggressions. Everyone is like, ‘Uh-oh, Hilary’s got the hammer – get out of the way!”’

Happiness: ”The key to a happy life is cheese.”

Body image: ”Some days I feel great, others I feel pretty normal, and that’s acceptable”.

[From Shape via Contact Music]

I like Hilary’s figure a lot – she looks realistic to me, like a woman who enjoys solid food and works hard at the gym. Now, can I feel Hilary’s THIRST from here? Always. But she’s pretty harmless.

Meanwhile, TMZ reports that Hilary’s ex-husband (estranged husband?) Mike Comrie is now fighting her for joint custody of their son Luca. Hilary and Mike split up a few years ago, but they genuinely seemed to be working on their marriage and on the cusp of reconciling when Comrie got drunk and offered to pay a random woman for sex. After that, Hilary and Mike split for good and Hilary filed for primary physical custody of Luca, with Comrie only getting “visitation.” TMZ says Comrie “responded to her divorce filing, and is demanding joint custody.” Apparently, they’ve worked out the financial part of their divorce per their prenup and the custody issue is the only sticking point. Hilary is allegedly “worried about Mike’s parenting due to his partying ways.”

Photos courtesy of WENN.

For years, Sia Furler enjoyed plenty of success in her native Australia. She really blew up in the United States after “Chandelier” became a mega hit. Sia has been very outspoken about how she prefers to operate behind the scenes, writing hits for other pop stars. So I don’t know why she chose to take her career to the next level, but I’m happy to hear her on the radio. Much moreso than, say, Ellie Goulding and her breathy lyrics (or most of the other current pop stars without personality). Sia songs have substance. She’s a complicated person, and it shows.

Sia has a few new interviews and appearances. She appeared on Australia’s Sunrise program and forgot her trademark wig, so she wore a tinsel headdress instead. (You can see that performance here.) Sometimes the wig feels stuntqueeny, although I understand the logic behind it. The wig has a new Billboard interview too:

On Kayne: “I think he’s a really interesting artist. This is the truth. I don’t really listen to music. I don’t. I watch television. I find him fascinating to talk to. I rate him as a person. He’s an ideas man. He’s fascinating to have a conversation with. Mostly you’re listening, but it’s fascinating.”

On writing Rihanna’s “Diamonds” in a few minutes: “It literally fell out.”

On her fame: “It’s kind of a disappointing because we can’t do anything. Because I’m a bit famous. I didn’t realize I was so famous. My friends were with me the other day when the paps were at the airport and it was like they all got diarrhoea and I had to explain … you go into fight or flight. You feel like prey and they’re the predator and you’re being hunted. Would you like to spend your life feeling like prey? Probably not.”

The wig: “It’s just like wanting to have a regular life just like a regular person and still be able to make music and sing … but without having to sacrifice just having a regular life, that’s all.”

[From Billboard & Daily Sunrise]

Sia seems to respect Kanye a lot, although it’s funny that she says a conversation with him involves mostly listening to the rapture of Yeezus. You know it’s true! I think Sia is genuinely befuddled by her fame level. She toiled away in the industry for awhile, and the stateside pop scene treats her like an overnight sensation. It must be a difficult adjustment. She’ll have to deal eventually though. There are shades of Shia LaBeouf at work here (he and Sia do collaborate together), but Sia doesn’t sound obnoxious like Shia does.

Photos courtesy of WENN

Now that Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow’s marriage is completely over, there are already rumors that Gwyneth might be thinking about jumping into another marriage, possibly with her jumpoff/boyfriend Brad Falchuk. Gwyneth engaged to yet another Brad? I could see it. Although it’s worth noting that Brad Falchuk is simply a peasant-y TV producer. Yes, he’s successful and yes, he’s attractive (to some people). And while Gwyneth wanted Brad so badly that both his and her marriages had to end, some doubt that Gwyneth is looking to remarry at all. Gwyneth’s friend Mario Batali explains:

Gwyneth Paltrow won’t be coupling again at the altar, consciously or otherwise, according to pal Mario Batali. As news broke that the “Iron Man” star and Coldplay’s Chris Martin finally filed for divorce a year after announcing their separation, the chef told Confidenti@l that he doesn’t think she will remarry.

“She’s tried marriage once and I think that’s it,” the Babbo owner told us at the Can Do Awards at Cipriani Wall Street on Tuesday. “She got everything she likes, and she and Chris still probably have a great relationship. I don’t know anything about the new guy,” Batali added, referring to Brad Falchuk, the TV producer whom Paltrow has been dating. But Batali did say his longtime pal is quite the catch. “She’s smart, she’s cute, she’s a really great cook, she’s fun,” he said.

[From NYDN]

I think Batali is probably on to something. As in, I believe Gwyneth “doesn’t want to remarry” right now. She doesn’t want to marry Brad Falchuk and she doesn’t want to be seen as marrying a TV producer and a guy who was also a married man when they first got together. That kind of drama is for peasants, not elitist Goops. But will Gwyneth remarry eventually? I think she might. But her second husband will have to be A) rich, B) incredibly well-connected, C) royalty or D) someone who is “the best” in their field. I don’t believe Gwyneth would feel the need to date or marry another celebrity or someone well known, but they would have to be rich or “the best” at something.

View image | gettyimages.com

View image | gettyimages.com

Photos courtesy of Getty, WENN.

Following the exodus of the creative team behind Fifty Shades of Grey, the producers were left with the task of hiring a new writer and director for the sequel, which they had to do while satisfying interfering novelist EL James—a tall order by all accounts. They’re still looking for a director, …      

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As we’ve heard, Sandra Bullock has been named People’s Most Beautiful of 2014, which is a great choice. You may not have noticed, but ever since last summer, when Sandra was the victim of a break-in to her home by a crazed fame, she’s laid low. As far as I can find, she hasn’t attended an event since that harrowing incident, and she’s rarely caught out by the paparazzi. She’s also beefed up security at her home and has a new, majestic German Shepherd dog for protection. So this People cover represents a return to the public of sorts for Sandra and she really delivers. I had the chance to read the full print article and she gives a lot of great quotes. My favorite part was where they revealed that she has two dogs who are each missing legs. (It’s not stated if they’re rescue pups, but I’m assuming they are.) Here’s more, and this is just a small segment of the interview that’s in the print edition of People:

You have a two and three-legged dog. What’s beautiful about them?
That they have no idea anything is missing! Ruby is missing her two front legs, but she walks upright like we do, and that’s exactly how she goes to the bathroom as well. It’s like watching a drunk sailor. Poppy, the three-legger, thinks she’s a pit bull. If a man gets within five feet of me, she goes after him. She has no idea she’s only 9 lbs.

What do you worry about now?
Am I the mother my son deserves? And am I living my authentic life, and I good enough, working hard enough, am I able to keep my son safe? Did I pick up all the dog poop in the yard before the playdate? Worrying used to be very paralyzing for me, and now I can talk myself off the ledge. Louis is the one who snapped me out of it… everything I’ve learned about love I’ve learned from Louis, and that is there is no such thing as being done loving. We have a lot of it.

What have you embraced over the years when it comes to your appearance?
I’ve never been a great beauty. I’ve never been the bombshell that was coveted. In an odd way, that made growing older a lot easier in this business. I guess I’m doing it on my own terms, and that is my wish for everyone.

You once said there’s something sexy about a belly. Do you still feel that way?
Oh yes, on both men and women. Do you really want to date someone that has a more ripped body than you, who has a smaller waist? I’m like, I don’t want someone with a 12-pack, I mean if it comes, okay. But I like a little bit of beef.

Last time I cried [note: this is from a sidebar]
Last night. Every night I cry. Literally at the end of the day, there are some tears. It’s mostly joy. It’s just a release.

[From People, print edition, May 4, 2015]

Where are the pictures of these dogs?! She needs to bring them out and carry them around, like Jessica Chastain does with her pup with the missing leg.

There’s so much more in the interview and People even has more online. She cracks jokes about the rumors that she’s going to adopt another child, saying “I’d appreciate a heads-up on the details so I can pick up some supplies” and she says that she doesn’t usually wear makeup unless she’s going out at night. Sandra also reveals that she kept the spacesuit from Gravity and pledges “one of these days it’s going to get worn in the carpool lane at school.”

As for when she feels most beautiful, Sandra says it’s in “the role of mother” because she doesn’t “feel beautiful in anything I’ve acted in” and prefers not to see herself on screen. It’s kind of nice to hear that even gorgeous celebrity women are insecure, but it’s also somewhat sad. This isn’t a Blake Lively type of humble brag, I buy that she really does feel this way.

View image | gettyimages.com

Photo credit: WENN.com, People Magazine and Getty Images

Can we start with Cristiano Ronaldo? Because I am not a believer. Like I can’t actually see it. I don’t want to see it. Apparently this means I’m crazy, as he’s known around the world as maybe the most beautiful man ever. He and Irina Shayk were together for a long time. They broke up earlier thi…      

During a Wednesday appearance on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live, actor Jerry O’Connell recalled a funny story about telling his daughters – 6-year-old twins Dolly and Charlie – that their mother, model-actress Rebecca Romijn, was once married to Uncle Jesse from Full House.

“Full House is on a continual loop,” he said. “Because they expressed, like, real feelings for the character of Uncle Jesse, I said, ‘You know girls, I gotta tell you something. This is gonna be crazy.’ “

The We Are Men actor, 41, went on to show the girls photos of mom with her ex-husband, actor John Stamos.

“You know, I showed them photos on the Internet of their wedding. And you were there,” he said to Lori Loughlin, who was also a guest on the show.

He added: “And it was a beautiful ceremony. And my kids really want to know why mom isn’t still with him. ‘That was a mistake, Mom.’ ”

Host Andy Cohen went on to ask O’Connell about Giuliana Rancic‘s claims that he cheated on her during their courtship.

“We dated, and then we didn’t date, and I was in the book. I didn’t think that much of it. She’s a very nice girl,” O’Connell said of Rancic.

He added: “I don’t want to say anything negative. She’s a very nice girl. We had a very fun time. It was decades ago. I don’t believe cell phones were used then. It was like horse and buggy! It was a while ago.”

Here are some more photos of Blake Lively’s fashion show through New York this week. I think all of these photos are from Tuesday, the day Blake literally changed outfits nine times. While some of you might side-eye the whole idea of going overboard on costume changes for one day of non-stop press, you’ve got to keep several things in mind. One, The Age of Adeline is Blake’s first film since 2012’s Savages. She’s been dying to do press for a film! Two, I’m sure all of these costume changes link back to Preserve in some way, or it’s all part of Blake’s scheme to become the New Martha Stewart-slash-Diane Von Furstenberg or something. Three… I think the costume changes are a psychic connection to The Age of Adeline. Like, the film is going to be BAD, but the costume p0rn will probably be pretty great. Just like the press tour for the film is boring as hell, but it’s fun to see all of Blake’s terrible clothing choices.

Meanwhile, we’ve reached the moment where a new mother starts fielding questions about how she “got her body back after baby.” As you would guess, Blake’s secret weight loss plan involves chocolate.

She only gave birth to daughter James three months ago, but Blake Lively is already showcasing her incredible post-baby body in all its glory. So what’s her secret? Long walks, yoga, hiking… and chocolate, it has been revealed. Speaking to YOU magazine, Blake said: ‘Losing weight is not something I have spent much time focusing on. With a new baby, it’s just about eating well for her, because everything I eat goes right into her system. Your body goes through a lot after pregnancy and birth, so small, gentle workouts feel better. I hate the gym. Who doesn’t? When I’m in the gym I feel like I am missing out. I would rather rent a bike or go for a hike.’

Despite her trim figure, the cooking fanatic, who has her own blog, admits that she ‘loves’ to eat chocolate. A source revealed that she had been eating plenty of lean proteins like turkey, chicken and venison to shed the baby weight. Despite her envy-inducing figure, Blake admitted that she has insecure days just like everyone else.

She admitted: ‘Some days I look in the mirror and think, “Oh my gosh. I look like a potato.” You think that I would never feel bad about myself? I’m a human being – everybody has their insecurities. Ask Gisele [Bündchen] or Beyoncé. They will tell you that some days, they don’t feel good about themselves.’

[From The Daily Mail]

When I’m NOT at the gym, I feel like I’m missing out. Like, I get antsy if I can’t zone out for a few hours every other day. But maybe I’m saying that because I don’t live in a very hiking-friendly area. Besides, I’d rather be on a treadmill, watching CNN in a climate-controlled environment rather than out there in nature. Different strokes, etc. As for Blake’s weight loss post-baby… I don’t know, I tend to believe that she hasn’t been making diet/exercise a priority and her body just naturally snapped back really quickly.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Pacific Coast News, Fame/Flynet.

“Happy Birthday M from your northern friend S , come visit.” (By request, here are shots of Tom Hardy at CinemaCon the other day. And Harry Potter’s rap skills.)

“Happy 31st birthday to V from B! Here’s to yet another year of you being the bestest of best friends! I can’t wait for you t…