These days it's clearer than ever: loyalty and Hollywood go together like boxing gloves and telephones.

Now that we in the Western world are eating fish skeletons out of the garbage like the Heathcliff of world powers, too poor to lavish celebrities with sufficient amounts of money and gifts, our disappointed stars are turning their rhinoplastied noses eastward, to the mysterious, exciting, oil-rich Orient. In Dubai, where oil barons mingle with Russian gangsters in $1,500 shoes, the money flows as plentifully as the region's largest export. And just like that, our celebrities are taking their balls and going to the UAE!

CONTINUED »

It's about time we all started flashing our money around a little bit more noticeably — it's not like it's going anywhere, right? Or at least, so the logic goes over in Dubai, that city on a cloud that's made out of sand, dreams and oil money.

Those kookie developers, not content to have merely a five-star hotel shaped like a sailboat or extra islands dredged up from the ocean floor, are trying to lure our most valuable resource, Paris Hilton, to their native lands by promising her a hotel named in her honor.

CONTINUED »

A group of investors in notoriously anti-drug Dubai has bought a 20 percent share of Canada's dazzling Cirque du Soleil, probably without the knowledge that many, many people find the circus franchise particularly fun to watch while so high they can barely stand.

Dubai government developer Nakheel hopes to sell a penthouse in Donald Trump's towers on Dubai's first artificial island for more than $30m, which would smash the emirate's record for its most expensive apartment.

The two towers of the Trump International Hotel & Tower, scheduled for completion in 2011, will form the gateway to Palm Jumeirah, the offshore development that will host a permanent residence for the Cirque du Soleil and the retired QE2 cruise liner, along with hotels, apartments and villas.
…
Mr Trump has reserved one of the development's 399 residences for himself. The project has already received bids as high as $3,270 a sq ft in pre-sales before yesterday's launch. The $1.1bn development, a joint venture with Nakheel, is the US magnate's first foray into the Middle East.

[Source]

BEST MAN FOR THE JOB OR FREE ADVERTISING? "[Brad Pitt] is part of a team of consultants designing an 800-room, five-star hotel in [Dubai], it was announced Monday by U.A.E.-based property developers Zabeel. L.A.-based architecture firm Graft, which worked with Pitt on developing 150 environmentally friendly homes for families in New Orleans displaced by Hurricane Katrina, is designing the hotel and leisure development. … 'While acting is my career, architecture is my passion,” said Pitt. “Selecting this development as my first major construction project has been a simple decision. You can expect something that is not only stunning to look at but will also be an incredible attraction to visit or stay at.'"

DUBAI BUYS AND BUYS AND BUYS "Dubai is getting a dose of superhero power following the announcement that Marvel Entertainment has inked a deal with U.A.E.-based real estate company Tatweer to build the first-ever Marvel Super Heroes Theme Park. The, attraction, which will be completed by 2012 and will span over 4.5 million square feet, will feature the likes of Iron Man, Spiderman and the X-Men across a series of themed rides. It will be based at Tatweer's three billion sq feet entertainment destination Dubailand, which has also inked mega bucks deals with Dreamworks Animation and Universal Studios to offer a plethora of branded rides using characters from their franchises."