Believe it or not, there are people out there who don't get the appeal of Ryan Reynolds. Crazy, right? The great thing about the actor isn't just his insanely good looks — he has a personality and heart to match. His latest good deed will be taking place Nov. 2 in New York City, where he plans to run a marathon in honor of his father, who is suffering from Parkinson's. Here's an excerpt from his admittedly touching article in the Huffington Post, in which he reveals his hope to become "the first person in history to sob uncontrollably for 26.2 miles straight":
I've watched my father — a strong and proud person who successfully raised 4 arguably insane children - slowly, cruely stripped of his independence. His golden years robbed without explanation. It quite obviously sucks. Witnessing my Dad suffer over the years galvanized my need to step up. On November 2nd, I'll join thousands of other men and women to march in lockstep solidarity toward searing psychic pain and physical humilation.
So how many of you Hags like to run?
[Source]
TINA FEY'S CHARITABLE BOOK DEAL "… according to a source with firsthand knowledge of the deal, [Tina Fey] finalized [a book deal] with Little, Brown & Co. The book—which was reportedly pitched as a book of humorous essays in the style of Nora Ephron—will be edited by executive editor Reagan Arthur. According to our source, part of Ms. Fey's deal with the publishing house involves a gift to the foundation Books for Kids that will help sponsor the building of six libraries for schools in under-served neighborhoods in New York."
Taco Bell, bless its heart, hosted a "Reality Check Challenge" to help solve world hunger yesterday in LA. And who did the restaurant enlist to help? Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag, obviously the most charitable couple in Hollywood. Instead of bringing light to the world's food issues, the reality show duo made us vomit up our last meal.
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David Letterman recently took time from trouncing all over the mavericky reputation of noted liar John McCain to earnestly beatify his recently deceased friend, Paul Newman. According to Letterman, who raced cars with Newman for years, the actor lived life in the best way possible: "He took care of other people."
Uh oh! Will.I.am, he of crap.py quartet the Black Eyed Peas, got a big head in light of the success of his "Yes We Can" video. Prepare to be positive video-ed to death.
On Thursday in New York City, Will, his band mate apl.de.ap, musician Angelique Kidjo, actress Kristin Davis and model Elle Macpherson all helped launch a "new" campaign to halve global poverty by 2015. Neat, if not really new.
In fact, this campaign is an initiative to help revitalize a plan originally put into motion eight years ago by the United Nations. Many of the countries the UN had hoped would be well on their way to destroying poverty by now are nowhere near achieving their goals. Clearly, this is a job for apl.de.ap.
Paul Newman, one of the few Hollywood players who was loved and respected by everyone, died of cancer Friday at his Connecticut home. He was 83.
Robert Forrester, vice chairman of Newman's Own Foundation, summed Paul's life up most eloquently:
Paul took advantage of what life offered him, and while personally reluctant to acknowledge that he was doing anything special, he forever changed the lives of many with his generosity, humor, and humanness. His legacy lives on in the charities he supported … for which he cared so much.
He will be truly missed.
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Beyonce and Jay-Z, along with some other usual suspects (seriously, how is Joy Bryant everywhere at once?), attended the New Yorkers For Children Fall Gala last night. Apparently, Jay-Z judged it to be one of those sunglasses-are-appropriate-indoors events.
STARS EXERT ACTUAL EFFORT! "Jennifer Lopez completed the Nautica Malibu Triathlon in 2 hours, 23 minutes and 38.8 seconds on Sunday. The singer, 39, pumped her arms in the air and smiled broadly as she crossed the finish line of the swimming-running-biking event. 'Thank you guys so much,' she told the crowd. 'This is an amazing day. … I feel really great that we raised $127,000 for the Children's Hospital [of Los Angeles] and hopefully it'll go to good use,' Lopez added. … After finishing, Lopez joined her family and Matthew McConaughey, who came in before her, in the VIP area. McConaughey was accompanied by his girlfriend Camila Alves and their newborn son Levi. McConaughey's race time was 1 hour, 30 minutes and 44.7 seconds."
Julia Roberts and Dave Matthews hosted a Stand Up for a Cure concert last night at Madison Square Garden. The sold-out show, which hosted celebrities ranging from Lindsay Lohan to, erm, Dina Lohan, benefited lung cancer research.
To see who was in attendance, click through.
MOORE TAKES REVOLUTIONARY STEP IN FILM DISTRIBUTION "Michael Moore is bringing his latest film, 'Slacker Uprising,' to the masses via free online distribution. The film, which played last year’s Toronto Film Festival under the title 'Captain Mike Across America,' follows Moore’s 62-city tour during the 2004 election to rally young voters. … 'This is being done entirely as a gift to my fans,' Moore said. 'The only return any of us are hoping for is the largest turnout of young voters ever at the polls in November. I think 'Slacker Uprising' will inspire million to get off the couch and give voting a chance.' The $2 million doc will be promoted at the website slackeruprising.com but Moore said neither he nor [his production company] will profit from the release. … The 97-minute long 'Slacker Uprising' will be the first major film to be released in such a way."
It was only an amount of time until America's obsession with B-list celebs reduced the country to watching 'Til Death star Brad Garrett receive a prostate exam on national television.
LAW CALLS FOR 'DAY OF PEACE' IN AFGHANISTAN "Actor Jude Law has visited Afghanistan and called on all sides in the war-torn country to observe a day of peace. The Oscar nominee, who is an ambassador for the Peace One Day project, said his visit to Kabul was 'to remind all parties that it is happening'. Law said a pause in hostilities on 21 September would allow food deliveries and vaccinations to take place. Last year the film star visited eastern Afghanistan to appear in a documentary filmed on peace day. … Cold Mountain star Law told reporters in Kabul that it was "the most important film I have been part of."
Colin Farrell's bad boy shtick gets old very quickly these days – we get it, bud: you LOVE boozin' – but this story gets him some leeway with us from now on:
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BENEVOLENT PHILANDERING "Something good may come out of Madonna's liaison with Alex Rodriguez. The Yankee slugger is making a big donation to the icon's charity, Raising Malawi, a source tells us. 'They've asked him for a million dollars, and I hear he's agreed to give at least $500,000,' the source confided."
Why do people insist on dressing animals in these godawful outfits and forcing them to walk down a runway — all in the name of charity? Surely there's a better way of going about raising money for homeless pets.
• Liz Taylor is have health troubles. But can she still howl? [DListed]
• Britney Spears has a new man. [Yeeeah]
• Miley Cyrus wants her brother to stay out of Hollywood, presumably so he doesn't steal her spotlight. [ICYDK]
• Kendra Wilkinson wears a short skirt for charity. [HT]
• Casting rumors for the next Batman movie: Who's going to play The Riddler? [INO]
• Mary-Kate Olsen's bringing the 90s — and our desire to vomit — back. [PS]
The Matt Grant edition of The Bachelor wasn't any more entertaining than every other season, but the breakup is proving otherwise. Former fiance (and constant famewhore) Shayne Lamas told People magazine about her plans for the engagement ring, purchased by ABC: She's keeping it "safe and clean and in a glass box — like a glass slipper." Also? Matt is totally on board with the idea and even "wants to come over and look at it."
Naturally, the magazine then got a response from Matt, because this is middle school and two adults can't just decide what to do with a piece of jewelry without using the media as a go-between. And, of course, Matt says he never spoke with Shayne about the subject.
We never discussed this. I never said it was cool to just keep it. If she said we spoke about it, she just made it up. Sometimes she thinks she can say anything and I’ll go along with it.
It wasn’t a ‘gift’ so much. It’s not a television or a handbag. It’s a symbol of marriage that didn’t happen. … Let’s have something good come out of this. Why hold onto it? What’s the point?
Matt wants to auction off the ring, valued at $65,000, and give the proceeds to charity. This, of course, will never happen, because then the spotlight would no longer be on Shayne, and we can't have that, can we?
Britney Spears showed up to the Generation Rescue event hosted by Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy to make her first red carpet appearance since having her meltdown back in January. We have to hand it to her — she looks semi-decent and appears to have bathed and put a little thought into her outfit. The hair still needs some help, but Ken Paves will work his magic in due time. He is only one man, after all.
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