From imdb.com:

Donatella Versace in Rehab

Flamboyant fashion designer Donatella Versace has checked into a rehabilitation centre to be treated for addiction to cocaine. The 49-year-old head of Italian style giants Versace has quietly entered the undisclosed facility for treatment, her spokesman has confirmed.

The representative told American gossip site Pagesix.Com, “The family views this as a private matter. We hope the press will respect this as such.” Friends of the tanned style guru say Versace has been privately battling a drug problem for years.

Versace and her brother Santa took over the Versace empire after their brother Gianni Versace was tragically murdered on the steps of his Miami Beach, Florida mansion by Andrew Cunanan in July 1997.

Administrator’s note: Donatella a coke head?! Duh! I know it’s a bit early for Halloween, but I had to post a picture of Donatella to go with the story. Maybe she can room with fellow rehab gal pal Courtney Love. The two could have a field day redecorating the room in gaudy Versace furniture while discussing what types of bad plastic surgeries they have done next.

And finally, a follow up to the Kirsten Dunst story from a previous post:

Dunst Broke Gyllenhaal’s Heart, Say Pals

Hollywood babe Kirsten Dunst has broken Jake Gyllenhaal’s heart - according to the actor’s friends. Pals say the Donnie Darko star was devastated when Dunst’s representative confirmed the split - because he thought they were just on a break.

A source tells American gossip site Pagesix.Com, “Kirsten at first told Jake she just wanted a trial separation. She’s making some serious money thanks to Spider-Man 2, and she’s reached a level of success she never had before and she said she wanted to try doing it on her own. At first they had a two-week split, and Jake thought they would get back together. But once the press started calling and her representative confirmed the split, he knew it was over and she wasn’t coming back.”

Administrator’s note: Things could get pretty interesting on the set of “Bareback Mountain”, the film which Jake is currently filming and which co-stars recently split-up Heath Ledger ( who was also dumped by Naomi Watts just a short while ago ). You see, Jake and Heath play gay cowboy lovers in the flick and it sounds like they could be doing some serious male bonding right about now…discussing girl problems that is. “Bareback Mountain” is being directed by Ang Lee and is due out next year.

Kimora Lee Simmons Arrested
By Nolan Strong
Date: 7/28/2004 11:20 am

Kimora Lee Simmons, wife of mogul Russell Simmons was arrested in New Jersey and charged with a series of drug and traffic violations, after she was stopped and marijuana was allegedly found in her vehicle on Sunday (July 25).

According to reports, Kimora was driving near her home in Saddle Brook, New Jersey when officers attempted to pull her over.

Police allege Kimora made no attempt to stop and did not pull over until she reached her home.

Kimora was charged with eluding a police officer, possessing marijuana, careless driving, operating a vehicle while possessing a controlled substance, tail-gating and having a taillight out.

Seen this past weekend at a little lower east side after hours “soir’e” called Thirteen Little Devils, was troubled “Soprano” star Robert Iler aka “A.J. Soprano” and his friends ( who could easily have been mistaken for characters in the HBO series). When told by the door person that there was a cover “Tony jr”. exclaimed he “doesn’t pay to get into clubs”.

He did.

Celebrity status means nothing at 8am Monday mornings. I’m guessing production on the show must be off for the summer.

From today’s Page Six:

July 27, 2004

COME back, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez’s mother misses you!
Ever since her daughter and Affleck split up, Lopez’s mom, Guadalupe, has had to gamble alone.

Guadalupe was spotted Friday night at the Borgata in Atlantic City, playing the same slot machine that paid her $2.1 million several months ago. After she tired of the one-armed bandit, she went to the Old Homestead for a sirloin and a bit of wine.

One restaurant attendee said: “[Guadalupe] said she doesn’t like ( Lopez’s current husband ) Marc Anthony and said she far preferred Ben Affleck.” Lopez’s rep didn’t return calls.

MONICA Lewinsky celebrating her 31st birthday at Serendipity 3 with her aunt, Debra Finerman.

Monica ordered a foot-long hot dog and gasped, “Oh my God!” when the waiter placed the giant tube steak in front of her.

And finally from imdb.com comes our last “slow news” item of the day:

French Fling for Dunst?

Hollywood starlet Kirsten Dunst reportedly had a fling with an unknown French actor shortly after her split with The Day After Tomorrow heart- throb Jake Gyllenhaal.

Friends of the actress claim Dunst’s Parisian romance occurred during the European press tour for Spider-Man 2 earlier this month. The brief affair was uneventful, as Dunst, 22, is now single again and is back in America filming Cameron Crowe’s Elizabethtown in Kentucky alongside Orlando Bloom and Susan Sarandon, reports the Daily Dish website.

Administrator’s note:

Ben - Who?
Monica - Moo!
Kirsten - Ho.

In the tradition of Oprah’s Favorite Things comes this catagory, minus the million dollar free give aways and overly hyper, waspy, female audience.

I’ll kick things off with two of my favorite martini receipes which I love to make whenever I have one of my best friends in the whole world, Julia Roberts, come over to help me choose selections for my book club. Needless to say, after a few of these you’ll find books make great coasters:

Chocolate Martini:

Ingredients

100ml (4 floz) Grey Goose Vodka
50ml (2 floz) Godiva Chocolate Liqueur
Ice cubes
25ml (1 floz) Sugar Syrup

Four chocolate chunks. Two to garnish & two for the rim of the glass.

To serve:

Using two pieces of chocolate make two lollipops. Finely grate the remaining chunks. Dip the rim of the glasses into the sugar syrup then into the grated chocolate. Pour the vodka and liqueur into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake until very cold, pour into a cocktail glass and garnish with a lollipop. Serves two.

Watermelon Martini:

Ingridients

1/2 oz fresh Lemon Juice
1 oz Midori Melon Liqueur
1 oz Citrus Vodka
1 1/2 oz fresh Watermelon Juice

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a sprig of mint, and serve.

Hint: A properly shaken Martini will have a very thin layer of ice crystals floating on top after it is strained into the glass. Most people don’t shake long enough and with enough vigor. Of course at that late, late hour of the night, even a thin layer of dust on top of a drink will do just as well.

Source: Yahoo! News

Mon Jul 19, 9:18 AM ET

HONG KONG (AFP) - Two darlings of Hong Kong cinema, Maggie Cheung and former Bond girl Michelle Yeoh, have lost out on the lead role in Steven Spielberg’s next movie to China’s Zhang Ziyi, a report said. Spielberg is producing the adaptation of best-seller Memoirs of a Geisha in a long-awaited project that will start filming in September.

Malaysian-born action heroine Yeoh and Hong Kong’s Cheung, who won the Best Actress award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival (news - web sites), had both reportedly auditioned for the part. But Zhang, best known for her role in martial arts flick Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, was said to have won the part because she could “dance and sing well”.

According to Apple Daily newspaper paper, she had recently flown to Hollywood to audition with “Chicago” director Rob Marshall. She studied acting at the prestigious China Central Drama Academy in Beijing and has had six years of dance training.

Memoirs of a Geisha, by American writer Arthur Golden, tells the story of a young girl who rises to the top of Japan’s cut-throat hostess industry.

Administrator’s note:

This project has been egg-rolling around longer than anyone can remember. Production was supposed to commence as far back as 2000 when Steven Spielberg was attached to direct there were reports that he was planning to cast Rika Okamota, Maggie Cheung, Julyana Soelistyo and Lucy Liu in the leads. But then he decided to pass on the directing task and stay on as producer, opting instead to direct “A.I.”, “Minority Report”, “Catch Me If You Can” and just recently “Terminal”.

Judging from the latter film’s dismal box office and lackluster reviews, I believe Spielberg should have gone the Geisha route; he’s always had success with his more epic and dramatic productions, as is evident with films like “The Color Purple”, “Schindler’s List” and “Amistad”. Although I did enjoy “A.I.”, “Minority Report” and “Catch Me If You Can” greatly (I have yet to see “Terminal”), I can’t see where these projects were all that more profound that should’ve been placed first.

“A.I.” and “Minority Report” bare Spielberg’s flair for action and fantasy, but “Catch Me If You Can” could’ve filmed by anyone. In any case, this brings us to the present and Spielberg choosing to pass the directorial torch on to Rob Marshall, which I some reservations about. “Chicago” was a good film, but one success does not a great director make.

Considering Marshall is actually a choreographer, who’s only other directing credit was a TV version of the musical “Annie”, I think something as massive as “Geisha” might be too much for him to handle. Of course with Spielberg behind the scenes, we will most likely see his influence, much as he did with Toby Hooper during the production of “Poltergeist” (which he also served as producer on). For the moment however, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see how the fortune cookie crumbles.

Stone’s Basic Return
By Nick Papps
10,July 2004
Source: The Herald Sun:

SHARON Stone will star in a sequel to Basic Instinct after ending a bitter fight with the film’s producers.
And she may appear nude again in the follow-up. “I’m like, does anybody want to pay $12 to see me naked?”?, the 46-year-old said. “I’m like, I guess it’s OK.”

Basic Instinct was a blockbuster hit in 1992, making $486 million and launching Stone’s career with several controversial nude scenes, including that now famous leg-crossing scene. Michael Douglas will not appear in the sequel, and Stone said she would have a younger lover this time. “Somebody should be younger,” she said.

Stone was suing producers for $19 million over the collapse of the project, but said yesterday a settlement had been reached.

…and other tales of the city.