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Sugar Bits - Kanye West's Mother Passes Away

PopSugar — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 09:33:31 -0800

Kanye West's mother passed away on Saturday after complications arose during cosmetic surgery. Our thoughts are with Kanye and his entire family as they grieve their sudden loss. - BellaSugar
Bee Movie took the top spot at the box office this weekend, beating last week's number one movie, American Gangster, while Fred Claus came in at number three. All of Jerry Seinfeld's promotion for his movie seems to have finally paid off. - BuzzSugar
The View co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck had a boy this weekend. She announced on the show this morning that his name is Taylor Thomas - normal and cute - we love it! - lilsugar
Chelsy Davy has apparently dumped Prince Harry after three years together, despite her recent move to the UK to be closer to him. While it's sad when couples break up, we're sure lots of girls are happy a prince is single. - News of the World
Did you catch The Next Iron Chef finale last night? And the winner is ... - YumSugar
Hollywood writers aren't the only people striking this week, as the union representing Broadway stagehands is on their third day of a strike over a hiring dispute that has closed 27 shows thus far. Our entertainment options are running low! - AP

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Sugar Bits - Conan O'Brien's Stalker Arrested

PopSugar — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 09:30:55 -0800

A priest who has been sending creepy letters to Conan O'Brien for over a year was arrested Friday and charged with harassment and stalking after attempting to attend a taping of Late Night. Maybe Conan can benefit from the writer's strike by hiding out for awhile. - The NY Times
Rosie O'Donnell will not be starting her own primetime talk show, as negotiations with MSNBC have fallen through. At least she'll always have her blog. - AP
Sales estimates of Jay-Z's latest album, American Gangster, project that the rapper with have his tenth #1 album next week. That probably means we'll be seeing an eleventh. - Reuters
Rumored couple Ashley Olsen and Lance Armstrong apparently checked into NYC's SoHo House last weekend, although they booked separate rooms. Sounds like it was a pretty, wait for it, Full House. - Us Weekly
Alec Baldwin has attracted attention for another set of rude comments that he directed towards his own NYC neighborhood, the Upper West Side, which he called dirty and crowded by too many midpriced restaurants. Apparently he was just expressing his views on "urban development," but he should probably learn to keep his mouth shut. - The Scoop

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Denzel & Russell: Happy to Be American Gangsters

Molly — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 00:15:36 -0700

One of the last movies I can't wait to see this year, American Gangster, premiered in Hollywood last night. The film's illustrious stars Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington, along with Mel Gibson and producer Brian Grazer, were all out to celebrate the epic in their finest suits. Both Russell and Denzel are no stranger to the Oscar nominations, so it will be interesting to see if these two can live up to their names and reputation together on screen. Recently the two sat down with EW to chat about working together, the big O and how awesome the title of their movie is. Here's highlights:

There have been so many great gangster movies over the years, right up to The Departed. Did either of you hesitate before stepping into those shoes?
RUSSELL CROWE: Yeah, but when was the last character like Frank Lucas? That's a gigantic thing. That's the Mount Rushmore of gangsters right there. What amazes me is that nobody has come up with this title before.
DENZEL WASHINGTON: It's a heck of a title.
CROWE: I reckon Martin Scorsese is sitting somewhere in an office in New York and he sees ''American Gangster'' and he's like, ''F---! And I went with Casino?'' [Laughs] It should be the title of a political film, really.

To read more quotes from the guys, including how it feels to already have Oscar buzz plus a whole lot more photos from the premiere just read more

There's already Oscar buzz around American Gangster and your performances. Is it hard not to get invested in it when you hear that?
WASHINGTON: What are you going to do? There's no Oscar gym you go to to get in Oscar shape. There's not much you can do about it. If you get invited to the show, you go. The work is done. You know what? It beats a sharp stick in the eye that people are talking about it. That's gravy.
CROWE: Let's not discourage people from going to see it, though.
WASHINGTON: By saying it's Oscar-worthy?
CROWE: I think it just gets into a ho-hum thing. Because how many people will run that flag up the pole when they're trying to make s--- look like chocolate ice cream? You know what I'm saying?

When you think back on the torturous road to get American Gangster onto the screen, does it say something larger about how difficult it is for Hollywood to make a big, grown-up drama these days?
CROWE: Pretty much every project has got some kind of torture in its history, if you want to examine it. I've had others that you persist with for eight years and suddenly you're at the premiere, shaking everyone's hand. I've always said, It's like surfing. Some days, for some reason, you jump up on the board and you stay balanced and you ride all the way to the beach and everybody's clapping. Other days, your drawers are full of sand, mate. I've been smacked on the beach many times.
WASHINGTON: [Nodding his head] And what do you do? You get back on.

As long as the process has been getting this one to the big screen, the buzz is so loud that I doubt there's any way it will fail. Plus, have you seen the trailers? There's no way not to get excited to see it. Denzel and Russell are both looking a little bit older (just a touch) these days, but that's only there to add to their movie titan charisma.

View 20 Photos ›

Images include Denzel Washington, Brian Grazer, Russell Crowe, Mel Gibson, Ben Foster, Julie Delpy, Michelle Williams, Niecy Nash, Lymari Nadal, Marc Streitenfeld.

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Denzel, Russell, Not-Retired Jay-Z's American Gangster

Molly — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 07:05:00 -0700

One of the most anticipated movies left this year, American Gangster had its big NYC premiere on Friday at the historic Apollo Theater in Harlem. Denzel and Russell had their wives on their arms as they showed off their awesome looking collaboration. Also on the red carpet was Jay-Z, who was so very excited about the film that he decided to write a whole album inspired by it. In case you missed it, the first track/video is already out. This certainly means he's not at all retired, and he recently talked to XXL Magazine about just that. He said:

I want to never say that again. Just make the albums, man. And if one day people wake up and it’s four years later, and you haven’t made another, they go, “Wait a minute, you’re retired!” I think that’s best for me. I think I pulled the retirement ripcord too many times. People looking at me like, “Please shut up.” I was looking at Fade to Black the other day. I was embarrassed. I couldn’t watch. I’m not playing with you. I had to turn it off. I was cringing. Like, I’m about to put out another album, man. Another one. Not only was that not my last, I put out another one, and I’m about to put out another one. I wasted a great film! I’m about to make another film, though. Not on retirement, just another film. I want to make a movie with this album. Like a short film, a better Streets Is Watching. I want to get the Hughes brothers to direct it. I’ll be doing a disservice if I didn’t deliver it [American Gangster] in a proper way.

I think it's safe to say that everyone has had more than enough of Jay-Z's retirement merry-go-round, so it's good to hear it's over. Now we can all just focus on his music...and that he seems like one of the cooler people ever. As for the movie, we have to wait two more weeks until the Nov. 2 release, but that's just more time to get excited.

To see more from the premiere including Common, Cuba, Barbara Walters, Method Man, Diane Lane, Diddy, and Al Sharpton just read more

View 21 Photos ›

Images include Barbara Walters, Common, Cuba Gooding Jr., Denzel Washington, Pauletta Pearson, Diane Lane, Jay-Z, Method Man, Russell Crowe, Danielle Spencer, Diddy, Reverend Al Sharpton, Josh Brolin, Ruby Dee

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Jay-Z Reminds Himself of the American Gangster

PopSugar — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 08:30:00 -0800

Jay-Z was happy to pop the champagne at a Velvet Room, Atlanta party he hosted on Sunday to celebrate the release of his album, American Gangster. The album came out yesterday and Buzz has another music video for one of the tracks to help get you excited. Jay talked to the LA Times about how the album was inspired by not only the film it's named after, but the way the movie reminded him of his own life. He said,

"The album is not about the film. It connected with me on an emotional level. It was so similar to the neighborhoods that I came up in, and things that happened there. And Denzel's character as well . . . you know, his laid-back persona, that's pretty much how I am. It's really about the emotions of that life. I would take an emotion that I felt was important, or things that resonated with me . . . and make a song."

We can't decide which American Gangster we're more excited about - the movie with Denzel and Russell on the big screen or Jay's new album.

More of Jay-Z partying with Jermaine Dupri so just read more

View 10 Photos ›

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Jay-Z Proves He's the #1 American Gangster

PopSugar — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 08:30:00 -0800

Jay-Z might have been flashing two fingers as he passed the photographers on his way to TRL on Monday, but as of yesterday he's #1. As projected last week, his album inspired by American Gangster took the No.1 spot on the Billboard charts last week, knocking the Eagles down a notch while Britney's Blackout dropped to a disappointing No. 7. We wish a big congratulations to Jay on his success - this marks his 10th #1 album to date!

More of Jay-Z in NYC so just read more

View 8 Photos ›

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Sugar Shout Out: American Gangster Music

PopSugar — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 00:37:25 -0700

Get a Taste of the American Gangster Soundtrack
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Jay-Z Is Just Part of the Music for American Gangster

PopSugar — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:31:30 -0700

Jay-Z made his way around NYC Monday, stopping by The Late Show with David Letterman before partying at Butter. As the cast of American Gangster is premiering their buzz-heavy movie around the country, Jay is promoting the new album he wrote inspired by the film. While I can't wait to hear that album in its entirety, Buzz has an awesome taste of the movie's official soundtrack including the catchy song from the previews.

View 5 Photos ›

Bauer-Griffin, Source

Sugar Shout Out: Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe in American Gangster

PopSugar — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 00:40:23 -0700

First Look: Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe in American Gangster
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Sugar Bits - Jonathan Rhys Meyers Arrested

PopSugar — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 09:31:53 -0800

Jonathan Rhys Meyers, who went to rehab earlier this year, was arrested at Dublin's airport for public drunkenness and breach of the peace. We have a feeling he may be paying rehab another visit. - AP
Beowulf took the top spot at the box office this weekend, followed by Bee Movie, and American Gangster. Guess people were more into seeing CGI Angelina than the boys and the bees. - BuzzSugar
Talks between striking Broadway stagehands and producers have broken down, meaning that shows will be canceled through Thanksgiving. Hopefully all these strikes will be resolved before the December holidays. - AP
Martha Stewart's mother, who is often given credit for teaching Martha everything she knows, passed away over the weekend at the age of 93. Our thoughts are with Martha and her family. - AP
Julianna Margulies, who is seven months pregnant, married lawyer Keith Lieberthal in Massachusetts over the weekend. Congrats to the happy couple! - People
Scott Baio's fiance Renee Sloan gave birth to a baby girl on Nov. 2. Despite the birth being five weeks premature, both mother and daughter are doing well - congrats to the family! - Life&Style

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