6 gennaio : News!

	Ascolti tv di mercoledì 28 dicembre - I programmi più visti della giornata. Su Rai 1 Affari tuoi conquista il 30,40% di share e 8.209.000 spettatori, Super Quark, 18,35%, 4.263.000. Su Canale 5 Striscia la notizia, 27,30%, 7.316.000, Randall, un'oca sotto l'albero, 20,75%, 5.233.000, su Italia 1 Il sesto giorno, 14,80%, 3.528.000, su Rete 4 Casa Vianello, 7,46%, 1.990.000. Su Rai 2 Padre Speranza, 14,08%, 3.550.000, su Rai 3 Medium, 11,50%, 3.054.000. Su La 7 Atlantide, 1,81%, 485.000. Ascolti in seconda serata. Su Rai 1 Accademia della Canzone Sanremo conquista il 9,55% di share e 857.000 spettatori. Su Canale 5 Biagio il concerto, 15,07%, 1.768.000, su Italia 1 Senza nome senza regole, 18,11%, 1.372.000, su Rete 4 The Blues Brothers, 10,16%, 1.041.000. Su Rai 2 Bella bionda e dice sempre sì, 8,79%, 867.000, su Rai 3 C'era una volta, 10,33%, 1.258.000. Su La 7 Markette greatest hits, 5,61%, 403.000.
	Miu Miu sheds girlie image - Miu Miu has always been perceived as the younger sister of the cult fashion brand Prada. Timeless elegance: Kim Basinger's mature beauty marks a shift towards a more grown-up look  Certainly, the gangly, teenage models who regularly step out on the Miu Miu catwalk twice a year at the Milan shows give the impression that this is a label for those whose Botox days are many years ahead. Now, Miu Miu's founder and the high priestess of modern femininty, Miuccia Prada, is set to change all that with a radical choice for the label's spring/summer 2006 "face".  Ms Prada has selected the Hollywood actress Kim Basinger to front the campaign, which will certainly shift the image of Miu Miu from girlie to grown-up. Basinger is 51. "I am always researching new ideas on beauty and femininity and the way it is perceived in contemporary culture," says Ms Prada, herself a funky 56. "And while watching the film 8 Mile (in which Basinger played rap star Eminem's mother), I was struck by her beauty and presence." Basinger - who began her career as a model - was photographed in the Mistinguette room of a Paris hotel by the avant-garde duo Ineez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. Her new role as a fashion face follows the trend set by several major designers to use celebrities rather than models to front campaigns. Versace has used Madonna, while Jennifer Lopez and Uma Thurman have both appeared for Louis Vuitton.  At 51, however, Basinger is the eldest of this new generation of models-turned-actresses-turned-models.
	BASINGER'S MUM SPEAKS OUT ABOUT CUSTODY BATTLE KIM BASINGER's mother has blasted her own daughter for wrecking relations between her ex-husband ALEC BALDWIN and the couple's daughter. Baldwin recently took Basinger to court in a bid to extend his custody terms after the actress allegedly violated a court imposed settlement, and now little IRELAND's grandmother is speaking out about the court battle, which has now been settled. ANN BASINGER admits she sides with Baldwin, who she calls "wonderful," adding, "My heart is sad for Ireland. She's the one that's suffering the most. All this is killing her. "I think Kim has tried to alienate Ireland from her father. Alec loves his daughter with all his heart. He really is a family man." And in the National Enquirer expose, Basinger's mother reveals she can understand what her former son-in-law is going through, because she too rarely sees her granddaughter. She adds, "Kim and I used to be close but now I don't see Ireland very often because Kim won't let me and that's because I won't take her side about everything. "She's my daughter and I love her, but I hate what she's doing, that she is being this way... I wish I could see more of Ireland. She's such a sweetheart."
	Winter Movies: A Mixed Bag Cold Weather Brings The Usual Oddball Lineup: Good, Bad And Stupid There's a dichotomy to the wintertime movie experience that doesn't exist at other times of the year, especially in secondary markets like Hartford. On the one hand, all those prestige pictures that were released in New York and Los Angeles in the last week of 2005, just in time for Oscar consideration, finally stagger into theaters here, with local release dates impossible to predict. On the other hand, studios fill the cinemas with silly, low-expectation movies - featherweight, escapist and often so bad they're good - which is just the thing many filmgoers seek who are tired of the serious stuff and want to forget the stresses of the holiday season and how cold it is outside. So, as in every year, you'll see a lot of high-profile thespians with a golden gleam in their eye battling for space at the cinema with sequels, prequels, low-budget slasher pix and goofy comedies. But to say that there's something for everyone is overstating it. There are no big-budget extravaganzas or butt-kicking action sequences. For that, you have to wait until summer, which in Hollywood starts earlier every year. This year it starts May 5 with "Mission: Impossible III." So until Tom Cruise rappels into the box office, we have a mixed bag of cinematic offerings. What follows is a partial list of films coming to the Hartford area in the next four months. Release dates are subject to change. Some movies have ratings to be determined (TBD). Jan. 6 BloodRayne - Blood-soaked action chick Kristanna Loken stars as a half-human, half-vampire. Uwe Boll directs an all-over-the-place cast: Udo Kier, Geraldine Chaplin, Meat Loaf and Ben Kingsley. R. Casanova - Heath Ledger stars in Lasse Hallström's comic romp about the legendary seducer. Sienna Miller co-stars. Rated R, of course. Grandma's Boy - The adorable Doris Roberts and Shirley Jones star in this story about an immature guy (Allen Covert) living with his grandmother. Nicholaus Goossen directs. R. Hostel - Two guys go to Slovakia for a hedonistic holiday, then remember that they're in Slovakia, whereupon things go downhill. Eli Roth directs Jay Hernandez, Derek Richardson and lots of Slavs. R. Jan. 13 Glory Road - A college basketball team wins the NCAA championship against all odds. This is sure to be box office gold in Storrs. James Gartner directs a cast that includes Josh Lucas. PG. Last Holiday - The second all-over-the-place cast of January matches Queen Latifah and LL Cool J with Gerard Depardieu and Timothy Hutton in this story of a dying woman on a tear. Wayne Wang directs. PG-13. The Libertine - Johnny Depp portrays a brilliant poet who drinks himself to an early grave, as brilliant poets often do. Samantha Morton also stars. Laurence Dunmore directs. R. Tristan & Isolde - In a Gen-Y take on the classic love story, James Franco and Sophia Myles moon and pine under the direction of Kevin Reynolds. PG-13. Jan. 20 Underworld: Evolution - Kate Beckinsale, not to be outdone by "BloodRayne" with Kristanna Loken, reprises her role as a tough, hot-looking vampire. Her hubby Len Wiseman directs. R. Jan. 27 Annapolis - For James Franco-holics, this is a good month. He, Tyrese Gibson and Donnie Wahlberg star in this up-from-poverty story set in the U.S. Naval Academy's boxing milieu. Justin Lin directs. PG-13. Big Momma's House 2 - Martin Lawrence stars in the sequel to his cross-dressing hit. John Whitesell directs. PG-13. Nanny McPhee - The last time Emma Thompson wrote a screenplay for herself, she won an Oscar (1995's "Sense and Sensibility"). She tries again in this children's story of an ugly but kind-hearted nanny. Kirk Jones directs a cast that also includes Colin Firth. PG. Feb. 3 Something New - An interracial love story starring the beautiful Simon Baker and the even more beautiful Sanaa Lathan. Her namesake Sanaa Hamri directs. PG-13. When a Stranger Calls - Camilla Belle fills in for Carol Kane in Simon West's '69-era remake of the classic suspense film. PG-13. Feb. 10 Cheating Death: Final Destination 3 - Theoretically, if you cheat death, this is not your final destination. But we digress. Third episode of the horrifyingly popular bloodbath. James Wong directs. R. Curious George - H.A. Rey created the little monkey by himself, but it took 10 writers to adapt the classic kids' books into an animated movie. Very curious. Matthew O'Callaghan directs. G. Failure to Launch - Sticking with that title is just asking for a critical mauling, à la "Derailed." But we can still hope. Matthew McConaughey plays a slacker who just won't leave home. Tom Dey directs. PG-13. Firewall - Paul Bettany and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau propped up the dead-on-arrival "Wimbledon," but still have faith in director Richard Loncraine, as they all team up again with this story about a bank heist. Harrison Ford, Virginia Madsen and Mary Lynn Rajskub also star. PG-13. The Pink Panther - A "saturation" release is planned, but critics' hopes are not high for this Steve Martin remake of the classic Peter Sellers comedy since it was bumped from last summer. Shawn Levy directs. PG. Feb. 17 Date Movie - The appealing Alyson Hannigan heads the cast in this spoof of romantic comedies. Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer direct. PG-13. Eight Below - Call it "March of the Dogs." Paul Walker, Jason Biggs and Bruce Greenwood are three explorers who have to leave their huskies behind in Antarctica. Frank Marshall directs. PG. Freedomland - A white suburbanite accuses a black urbanite of a heinous crime. In other words, business as usual. Or is it? Joe Roth directs Julianne Moore and Samuel L. Jackson. R. Feb. 24 Madea's Family Reunion - "Madea" and "family reunion" in the same sentence may seem perverse, but remember, the Greek tragedy spelled it "Medea." Tyler Perry is another cross-dressing black comic on the big screen, reprising his role as a pistol-packing grandma, and he directs the film, too. PG-13. Doogal - Directors Dave Borthwick, Jean Duval and Frank Passingham are taking a huge chance with this animated film, based on a time-honored British bedtime story that nobody in America has ever heard of. It's about an evil imperial wizard named ZeeBadee (Get it? The baddie?). TBD. Running Scared - Didn't get enough Paul Walker last weekend? He's back again as a guy who loves his job hiding mob-used guns, until a kid finds his stash and shoots someone. Wayne Kramer directs. R. March 3 16 Blocks - Bruce Willis and the under-appreciated Mos Def star in Richard Donner's movie about a cop and a smooth-talking witness he is charged with escorting to the courthouse. TBD. Aquamarine - Elizabeth Allen directs this adaptation of Alice Hoffman's story about a mermaid living in a swimming pool. So by the time "Lady in the Water," which has the same premise, opens in July, it'll seem redundant. Julia Roberts' niece Emma Roberts stars. TBD. Deep Sea 3D - Howard Hall directed this documentary about undersea creatures. With both IMAX and 3-D, this will either be visually glorious or a four-aspirin headache. TBD. Pulse - The latest entry in the Japanese-originated cyber-horror boomlet is a story about an e-mail that makes all readers suicidal. Jim Sonzero directs Kristen Bell and Christina Milian. TBD. March 10 The Hills Have Eyes -Frenchman Alexandre Aja, who worships American slasher films, remakes the classic Wes Craven flick - with one of the all-time great titles - about nice people stalked by bad people. The NC-17 rating is being challenged, and will probably move to an R. Idlewild - Andre 3000 and Big Boi of Outkast star in a musical set in the Prohibition-era South. Bryan Barber directs. R. The Shaggy Dog - Brian Robbins remakes the classic family film about a changeling pooch. PG. March 17 Killshot - Justin Timberlake improbably hooked up with a class-act director (John Madden, "Shakespeare in Love") in this story about a couple in the witness protection program. TBD. She's the Man - Lightweight teen starlet Amanda Bynes goes upscale, starring in an adaptation of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" as a girl who poses as her missing twin brother. Andy Fickman directs. PG-13. V For Vendetta - Expect a backlash against James McTeigue's adaptation of the graphic novel: The heroes of the story are terrorists (eek!). Natalie Portman, Stephen Rea and John Hurt star. R. March 24 Inside Man - An awesome cast - Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, Clive Owen, Willem Dafoe and Chiwetel Ejiofor - stars in this story about a tough cop, a clever robber and a hostage. TBD, but it's Spike Lee, so expect an R. R.V. - This is a comedy, so presumably Robin Williams will be clean-shaven for this story about a family on a long road trip falling in with a strange crowd. Barry Sonnenfeld directs. TBD. Take the Lead - This sounds like a fictional take on "Mad Hot Ballroom." Antonio Banderas is a dancer who takes a teaching job in New York City. Liz Friedlander directs. TBD. March 31 ATL - Chris Robinson directs a film that sounds like "Roll Bounce 2." TBD. Basic Instinct 2 - Sharon Stone is too big of a star to do that degrading leg-crossing thing now in Michael Caton-Jones' sequel to the 14-year-old hit. Charlotte Rampling and David Thewlis also star. TBD. Ice Age 2: The Meltdown - In which we find out what happened to that scrappy little rodent on the ice mountain. Carlos Saldanha directs the usual voice cast, joined by Drea de Matteo and Queen Latifah. G. Lucky Number Slevin - That's a goofy title for a thriller: A case of mistaken identity lands Josh Hartnett in trouble with mobster Ben Kingsley. Paul McGuigan directs. TBD. A Scanner Darkly - In the future, two out of every 10 people will be government spies keeping tabs on the other eight. That's the plot of this movie, too. Richard Linklater directs Keanu Reeves. Based on a Philip K. Dick novel. R. Slither - Zombies and mutants slither amok. James Gunn directs a no-star cast. R. April 7 The Benchwarmers - Adam Sandler heads the cast of this story about three grown-up losers who form a team and play against children. Dennis Dugan directs. TBD. Hoot - Two Florida institutions - Carl Hiaasen and Jimmy Buffett - work together in this adaptation of Hiaasen's story about endangered owls. Wil Shriner directs. TBD. Lucky You - Despite the title similarity, this isn't the second Hiaasen adaptation of the weekend. It's a story about a poker championship. Eric Bana, Drew Barrymore and Robert Duvall are directed by Curtis Hanson, the best actor's director in the biz. TBD. Phat Girlz - A chubby would-be fashion designer struggles for love and acceptance. Is it too much to hope that this ushers in a wave of chubby-girl-cinema-chic? Yes, it is too much to hope. Nnegest Likke directs Mo'Nique and Eric Roberts. TBD. April 14 American Dreamz - The contemporary way to make a movie seem edgy: Just replace the final "s" with a "z." (See "Phat Girlz.") Paul Weitz's satire of American society stars Shohreh Aghdashloo, Dennis Quaid and Marcia Gay Harden. PG-13. Scary Movie 4- Same old same old. David Zucker directs Anna Faris. TBD. The Wild - This sounds like a clone of "Madagascar," and is directed by a guy named Steve "Spaz" Williams. TBD. April 21 Accepted - Steve Pink directs this comedy about a lazy teen (Justin Long) who suddenly transforms into a relentless college applicant. TBD. The Cleaner - Cedric the Entertainer plays a janitor duped into thinking he's a secret agent. Lucy Liu brings the romance. Les Mayfield directs. TBD. The Sentinel - Kim Basinger plays the most unlikely first lady ever in Clark Johnson's story about a foiled assassination plot. Keifer Sutherland, who knows this turf well, also stars. TBD. Silent Hill - Radha Mitchell stars in Christophe Gans' thriller about a search for a little girl in a haunted ghost town. TBD. April 28 Akeelah and the Bee - "What's Love Got To Do With It" not-so-lovebirds Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne reunite in Doug Atchison's very own "Bee Season," about a little girl and a spelling bee. PG. Catch and Release - Will critics catch this or release it? (It'll be so easy to write the headline.) Cute-as-a-bug Jennifer Garner stars as a woman recovering from the death of her husband. Susannah Grant directs. TBD. Flight 93 - Paul Greengrass directs this fictionalized, real-time story about the plane passengers who died foiling a fourth terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001. TBD, but the terrifying subject matter will probably give it an R. Undated All The King's Men - Sean Penn tries to out-Broderick Crawford in this remake of the 1949 classic about political corruption, and Patricia Clarkson tries to zoom past Mercedes McCambridge. Steven Zaillian directs. TBD. Caché - Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche star in Michael Haneke's acclaimed thriller about an urbane couple beset by mysterious threats to their family. In French with subtitles. R. Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World - And Albert Brooks finds it, in his globe-trotting documentary that was spinelessly dropped by Sony Pictures Classics because the title made them nervous. So hooray for Warner Independent! PG-13. Manderlay - How will the child of squeaky-clean Ron Howard work with bad boy Lars von Trier? Find out here: Bryce Dallas Howard replaces Nicole Kidman in this sequel to "Dogville." Also starring Danny Glover and Lauren Bacall. TBD, but probably an R like "Dogville." Match Point - Woody Allen, firmly ensconced in England now, is rumored to be back in top form with this noir love triangle starring Scarlett Johansson. R. The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada - Tommy Lee Jones won best actor at Cannes, and Guillermo Arriaga won best screenplay, for this story about a Texan who avenges the murder of his best friend. R. The White Countess - This last collaboration between the estimable Ismail Merchant and James Ivory (Merchant died last year) stars Natasha Richardson and Ralph Fiennes in a mysterious romance set in 1930s Shanghai. PG-13.
	The uncivil war of Kim and Alec OSCAR winner Kim Basinger has recently sent a curt email to her ex-husband Alec Baldwin. It did not contain even the most perfunctory of festive greetings -- she refuses to write or speak his name. The subject of this terse missive was their daughter, Ireland, 10, who is spending New Year with her father in New York. The handover must be planned with almost military precision so that her warring parents do not have to talk to each other or meet. The child-share deal was thrashed out almost two weeks ago at the Los Angeles County Superior Court. In an apparent climb-down, Basinger agreed Baldwin could be allowed to spend part of the holidays with their only child. But the conditions demanded by Basinger, 52, seem draconian. Baldwin will collect his daughter at a pre-arranged drop-off away from the home she shares with her actor mother in LA. He has to allow a court-appointed female carer to be with his daughter at all times. And if Ireland falls ill he must use a special phone line, installed in Basinger's home for emergencies only. While she is with her father, Ireland -- Addie to her parents -- will be allowed phone calls from her mother, but they must not exceed limits imposed by the court. Ireland, say family members, hates leaving her home in exclusive Woodland Hills. And her relationship with her father has not been happy lately. She is said to be devastated that her parents' bitter divorce and custody battle has exploded publicly into a slanging match, in which Basinger has accused Baldwin of violence and he has countered with claims of her drinking and mental illness. In the latest instalment of their savage five-year battle, Baldwin, the 47-year-old star of The Aviator, submitted to court a "spiteful" note written to their daughter by Basinger on a chocolate wrapper. He claims it proves she wants to poison his daughter's mind. Ireland is now a cause celebre in this mesmerising tug of love. The latest court developments have prompted Basinger's father, Don, to speak out. Mr Basinger had refused to be drawn into the row, but he now fears for his granddaughter's emotional well-being. "I have a little granddaughter of 10 and from now on she will be very conscious of the situation between her parents," Mr Basinger said. 'This will affect her and as she grows into her teenage years, that's not good. The relationship between Kim and Alec should be improved to the point where they can at least respect each other, talk to each other and work together, as far as Ireland is concerned. This can't go on any more." The court hearing -- on December 13 -- offered little to suggest a truce. Baldwin's lawyers accused Basinger of abandoning their daughter to fly to Paris for a photo shoot. This comes after Baldwin was forced to obtain a court order to take Ireland trick-or-treating at Halloween. Court papers in the latest round of the battle are said to include claims Baldwin has been investigated by child welfare authorities. This followed a tip-off by Basinger that Ireland had witnessed a row between her father and his girlfriend, Nicole Seidel. Sources say Basinger claimed she feared for Ireland's safety and cancelled his fortnightly access. When he arrived to collect Ireland and found she was not there, Baldwin called the police. He was quick to hit back. In a 48-page document to the court, Baldwin claimed Basinger was "doing what she knows best -- making false allegations against me prior to a court appearance. She unnecessarily and wrongly involved my daughter in her scheme". He also accused Basinger of training their daughter as a spy. Basinger retaliated in a public statement: "Everyone knows about Alec Baldwin's behavioural problems -- his anger, his rages. They are, unfortunately, legendary. If his relationship with his daughter is fractured, there is only one person to blame and it is himself." It is all a far cry from their fairytale wedding in 1993. The couple fell in love on the set of The Marrying Man in 1990. Handsome Baldwin and the former model became Hollywood's hottest couple and, in October 1995, Basinger gave birth to Ireland. But there were already rumours of a turbulent relationship. In 2000, Basinger left their home and in 2002 they divorced. A series of court hearings, during which the couple refused to look at each other, led last year to Basinger being granted custody. Ireland's grandfather doesn't mince words on the matter: "It's a childish mess," Mr Basinger said. "There is no longer a relationship between Kim and Alec, but he can now have a good relationship with his daughter or one that's bad. It all depends on him."

15 gennaio - News!

Basinger, Baldwin finally will share precious assetKim Basinger and Alec Baldwin's epic two-year custody battle for their daughter apparently has come to an end. A hearing closed to the media earlier this week in Los Angeles has supposedly ended the battle, though any settlement terms haven't been announced. Well, come on and get on with it. I don't see how anyone expects us to get any holiday shopping done while we're worrying about this. The actors have battled in custody proceedings over their 10-year-old daughter, Ireland, since January of last year. Baldwin dragged his ex-wife back into court last month after claiming she had violated a court-imposed custody order this summer. The actor also accused Basinger of turning his daughter into a spy, which got the Department of Homeland Security to bug her fourth-grade class, tap her Barbie phone and send the school librarian to a detention center in Cuba. You know, just in case. Basinger's lawyer Neal Hersh said, "Kim is respectful of what the judge did. We're hopeful this will be the end of it." An attorney for Baldwin, who did not attend this week's hearing, said, "(Baldwin) has a right to parent his daughter. When he comes to court, it's because he feels it's an important issue that needs attention." And if that explains why he wasn't there, your skills of perception are much better than ours. AUTHOR TELLS TOM TO KNOCK IT OFF: Best-selling author Patricia Cornwell says Tom Cruise is putting lives at risk by attacking psychiatry. The crime novelist is convinced Cruise's outspoken support of Scientology could cause a catastrophe when one of his young fans decides to follow his advice and refuse to take their medication. Next thing you know, kids all over America will skip school to jump on sofas with their sonogram machines while watching Oprah. Scientology supposedly teaches that mental illness is imaginary and psychiatric drugs are unnecessary. Cornwell says, "There are misconceptions about psychology, especially when people out there like Tom Cruise say there's no evidence of chemical imbalance and psychiatric disorders. There's going to be some girl or boy who worships this megastar who decides, 'I'm not going to take my anti-depressants because Tom Cruise said I don't need drugs.'" Well, quitting worked for us -- even if we now cry during cartoons and believe our dogs speak French. Cruise, who actually bought a sonogram machine to use on pregnant fiancee Katie Holmes, became embroiled in a heated exchange with actress Brooke Shields earlier this year after he criticized her for taking anti-depressants when she was diagnosed with post-partum depression. SPEAKING OF POST-PARTUM: Jennifer Aniston has laughed at reports she is pregnant with Vince Vaughn's baby. It's actually Ben Stiller's baby. No, no, no. Despite declaring she wants to have children next year, Aniston says she's not preggers yet. But there's no telling, since she hasn't got the test results back from Tom Cruise. Having split with ex-husband Brad Pitt in January, Aniston has been dating Vaughn since August. Aniston says, "You know what? If all these (pregnancy rumors were true), I should have had 10 babies by now, married five times. I swear when it happens, you'll hear it." In an interview with In Style magazine, Aniston admits it took nearly a year of "hard work and soul-searching" before she was ready to date again. "You just wake up one day and you start to feel like, yeah, I think I'm open to that now." HERE'S SOMETHING TO KEEP YOU AWAKE: Because a day without Britney Spears is a day without ... something. Anyways, Spears is lashing out at reports her husband, Kevin Federline, is making damning comments about their marriage. In Touch Weekly quoted Federline saying, "I love her. But ask me now about life apart from Britney, and all I can say is, 'Can it be any worse than living with her?' I am doing what she wanted, getting out of the house and trying to find work, but I do that and she trashes my efforts. " A recent examination of Webster's definition of "work" reveals nothing about clubbing, drinking, hanging with the boys, etc. Maybe something gets lost in the translation between Webster's and Malibu. Anyways, Federline says, "She just wants me at her beck and call as a little house husband. Marriage is something you don't go into lightly," says the guy who dumped his last girlfriend while she was pregnant with their second child. "She has to learn she can't just pick me up and dump me off, like her first husband." Spears' spokeswoman Leslie Sloane says "the story is untrue and hurtful, and he didn't give them an interview. He and Britney are as normal as other couples (you know, except for all that money and fame). They fight and they make up. They are fine and happy." Amen.