As a mere reporter, it is not often I get to mix with the rich and famous on the red carpet. But I got a rare chance this week when the organisers of the annual amfAR AIDS charity bash asked me and a few other reporters along to cover their star-studded event just outside Cannes.
After waiting an hour in a traffic jam just outside Mougins, where the giant marquee for 700 dinner guests is put up, the short walk along the packed red carpet to the entrance felt almost as long. Rows of reporters, including several colleagues, shouted out to just about everyone except me, or so it seemed. When one cameraman I know did finally acknowledge my presence, it was not to take a picture of me but to ask if I would take a picture of him. With a sigh and a smile, I did.
Treading on the back of elaborate and doubtless expensive dresses was a major concern, as was getting hold of a cocktail or two before the dinner and charity auction began. No surprises for guessing that the organisers put me in the far corner from the stage and we even had different crockery from the rest of the tables. But that’s not a complaint. Most of the guests paid for their places at the charity event to see Sharon Stone, Madonna, Dennis Hopper, Sean Combs and others on stage. The food and wine was the same, at least.
”American Idol” runner-up David Archuleta, 17, might be the latest tween hearthrob. But sorry girls, he’s nowhere near ready to date.
“I just don’t want to deal with that (girlfriend) drama right now,” a giggly, embarrassed Archuleta told reporters on Friday.
“I just want to be able focus on music. When I feel like I’ve met a girl who has a great personality, and who is someone I can connect with, and who has good standards for themselves and who has respect for themselves, and who cares for others as well…It’s just something I will definitely want to focus on later in life when I’m ready. But I just feel like I’m so young,” he said.
Archuleta reassured his millions of disappointed young fans that he was okay about losing the title to rocker David Cook. “I want them to know I am feeling great. David Cook deserves to be the American Idol and he is such a great guy too. My priority was not to win the competition but to do my best.”
“We both gave it our all (on Tuesday) and we both feel really great about it. I don’t think I could have done anything better,” the former “chosen one” said.
The shy teen also tried to put to rest stories regarding his father. Archuleta said he had been shielded from the media during the show and found the stories about being bullied or made to cry by his father “weird.”
“I heard one thing that he refused to give me water. That is the weirdest thing. I am 17. If I want water, I am pretty sure I will just go get it.”
“He (my father) is a great guy. There isn’t anything that he has done that is bad… my whole family has been a great support. They are the ones that have kept me grounded,” Archuleta said.
Heading into the final weekend at the Cannes film festival, Sean “Diddy” Combs hits town, and writer Charlie Kaufman (”Adaptation”) has made his directorial debut with “Synechdoche, New York.” That’s prounounced sin-ek-duh-kee.
Jessica Alba has laid down a challenge — can you outstare her? Millions have tried to beat the actress since she joined a competition on video sharing Web site iBeat You (www.ibeatyou.com) about two weeks ago. She uploaded a video of herself staring into the camera without blinking for 1.5 minutes and submitted it to a “longest stare” competition. So far the video has received over 3.8 million views on YouTube. Why did she do it? Might have something to do with fact that the Web site was co-founded by her husband Cash Warren. The site is one of a number where people can compete against anyone in anything using photos, video and text.
From rafting in Oregon to biking in the White Mountains, a listing of great summer vacations that don?t require the terrifying conversion of dollars into euros.
The 35-story indoor ski mountain would soar over bucolic pine barrens and farms at the twin forks of Long Island.
Keeping Up with the Kardashians ’ second season ended last week, but that doesn’t mean Kim isn’t busy as a bee. She was recently spotted hosting the white party at the Hamptons, where she joked about being pregnant with boyfriend Reggie Bush’s baby. She quickly took back her word, saying, “It’s a joke.” However, there are some things she isn’t joking about, as she recently opened up an …
NEW YORK — Southampton Town board members who had drawn the line at hanging clothes outside to dry are cutting residents some slack: It’s OK for them to use clotheslines now. The board has lifted a ban on clotheslines that had stood since 2002, when some homeowners complained the laundry on their neighbors’ lawns was making the tony Hamptons town look shabby. But no one objected when the …
The 35-story indoor ski mountain would soar over bucolic pine barrens and farms at the twin forks of Long Island.
NEW YORK — Southampton Town board members who had drawn the line at hanging clothes outside to dry are cutting residents some slack: It’s OK for them to use clotheslines now. The board has lifted a ban on clotheslines that had stood since 2002, when some homeowners complained the laundry on their neighbors’ lawns was making the tony Hamptons town look shabby. But no one objected when the …
As a mere reporter, it is not often I get to mix with the rich and famous on the red carpet. But I got a rare chance this week when the organisers of the annual amfAR AIDS charity bash asked me and a few other reporters along to cover their star-studded event just outside Cannes.