No Romance For Woody In Barcelona
The citizens of Barcelona, Spain aren’t exactly thrilled that director Woody Allen has chosen their city as the location for his upcoming production, “Midnight In Barcelona.”
While scouting locations for the film along the city’s famed artery, Las Ramblas this past June, Allen was enthusiastically welcomed by the city’s adoring fans, the director returned the admiration by promising the movie would be “a love letter to Barcelona.”
Now that production is underway however, the romance between Barcelona and Allen has all but fizzled. Weeks of roadblocks and a dispute over subsidies have made the local residents regret that they ever agreed to let the 70-year-old film director use their city as a movie set.
To accommodate the shoot, the city’s Socialist government shut down part of Las Ramblas, obstructing the locals’ morning stroll and blocking access to many restaurants. With the taxpayers of Barcelona and its region Catalonia, paying for roughly 10% of the film’s budget, opposing political leaders and some of it’s citizens, notably local filmmakers who feel Allen is getting special treatment, are beginning to express their dissatisfaction with production.
For the time being however, Barcelona’s heated relationship with Woody Allen will get a chance to cool off a bit. This past Monday, the cast and crew began shooting in Oviedo, the less cosmopolitan capital of the region of Asturias.
Oviedo’s spokesperson, Pilar ??Övila, says she hasn’t received any complaints about Allen’s shoot so far, “Just the opposite” she says, “people are delighted.”
“Perhaps this is because Oviedo, unlike glamorous and popular Barcelona is happy to bask in a little international attention.” Or it could be, as ??Övila noted, because Oviedo’s investment in the film so far amounts to “not a single euro.”
“Midnight In Barcelona” stars Scarlett Johansson as an American tourist caught in a love triangle with a local painter (Javier Bardem) and his jealous ex-girlfriend (Pen?¬©lope Cruz). The film is scheduled for a September 2008 release.
Source: Time Magazine
The Trouble With Prince Harry
While we’re on the subject of Europe, the image above is the cover of the September issue of Radar Magazine.
The “cut-and-paste” Photoshop job shows England’s Prince Harry, sitting on the Royal Thrown wearing boxers and surrounded by beer cans.
Radar claims their cover story offers an inside look at the turbulent life of England’s 22-year-old prince, revealing details of Harry’s rowdy lifestyle and military career.
Source: Radar Online
Zac Efron Gets Rolling
Someone else who’s featured on a magazine cover this week is teen sensation and “High School Musical” star Zac Efron, who’s shown in this image from the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, revealing an impressive set of abs. Looks like Zac wants us to know he’s all grown up and working overtime to get rid of that Disney baby fat.
In the interview, Efron, 19, talks about his newfound fame, how his on-set relationship with “Musical” costar Vanessa Hudgens, turned into a true-life romance and how he handles the critics.
He told Rolling Stone, ‚Äö?Ñ??I can‚Äö?Ñ?¥t even go on IMDB because I know that so much of it would be negative. It‚Äö?Ñ?¥s just depressing. I know, for instance, at my cousin‚Äö?Ñ?¥s school, there‚Äö?Ñ?¥s a club called the I Hate Zac Efron Club. And I laughed hysterically when I heard that. I laughed because if there are people out there devoted enough to make a club that hates me, I‚Äö?Ñ?¥ve gotta be doing something right.‚Äö?Ñ??
Perhaps. Or maybe, just maybe, they really don’t like you Zac.
When it comes to the subject of fame, Efron said, “a lot of problems you see people having in this business is that it becomes about their personal lives and not about their work. Matthew McConaughey has single-handedly funded the tabloid magazines for the past two years now. If he would put on a shirt and just get away from the beach, maybe there would be a few less paparazzi around.‚Äö?Ñ??
Actually, if Matthew McConaughey put on a shirt and got away from the beach, his career would cease to exist. I think celebrities like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan have done a far better job of single-handedly keeping the tabloids in business for the past two years than McConaughey ever has.
But who am I to say anything, Zac’s the one with his own Hate Club at his cousin‚Äö?Ñ?¥s school, I’m just a mere celebutante with a blog.
“High School Musical 2″ premiers Friday, August 17th on the Disney Channel, the new issue of Rolling Stone is on news stands now.
Source: Rolling Stone
Is That Matthew McConaughey Or Someone’s Grandfather?
And speaking of my favorite surfer dude, here’s a picture of Matthew McConaughey “hanging” out somewhere only he knows. The fact that Matthew likes to go commando should come as no surprise, considering he barely ever wears anything at all…and that’s just fine with me.
Personally I’ve always liked Matthew’s attitude, I think more people should live life as carefree as he does. I’m adding him to my list of heroes, right next to Bear Grylls of “Man vs Wild.” Love that show.
