- Title: VARIOUS: SHOWBIZ Review of the Year 2008 / YEARENDER Part 1
- Date: 17th December 2008
- Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, USA (FILE - JANUARY 22, 2008) (REUTERS) COVERED BODY OF HEATH LEDGER ON A STRETCHER BEING ROLLED OUT OF APARTMENT (SOUNDBITE) (English) PAUL BROWNE, NEW YORK CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT(NYPD) SPOKESMAN SAYING: "I don't know the cause of death we are awaiting the medical examiner's determination.
- Embargoed: 1st January 2009 12:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVAE0X9EUNR5C1F6YQNP8OIO8KKG
- Story Text: As well as movie music and art, the world of showbiz generated as much interest amongst the public with a year of celebrity marriages, bust-ups, break downs, comebacks and scandals for 2008.
Britney Spears pulled off the year's biggest comeback - one many didn't think was possible.
2007 had seen a string of incidents of bizarre behaviour as well as a disastrous comeback attempt at the MTV awards for the troubled pop princess, who seemed to be on a very public downward spiral.
2008 didn't look like it was going to be any better, as Spears found herself embroiled in child custody battles, hounded by paparazzi and briefly hospitalised twice.
At the beginning of the year, Spears was admitted to Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California for psychiatric assessment following a three hour stand off with police. Authorities were called after the 26-year old had refused to hand over her children Sean Preston, 2 and Jayden James, 1, into the custody of their father and her ex-husband, Kevin Federline.
Shortly afterwards a judge suspended Spears' visitation rights and gave temporary sole custody of the children to Federline.
Spears was released two days later, but within less than a month an order from her psychiatrist saw her rushed back to hospital, escorted by a convoy of police cars and helicopters, for another involuntary psychiatric hold.
This time, while she was hospitalized, a Los Angeles court granted her father, Jaimie Spears, control of her assets It was also then that a civil harassment restraining order was issued against Spears' self-styled manager and confidante, Sam Lutfi.
But the tide began to turn for Spears later in the year.
Her progress in getting her personal life under control was praised by the court, which granted the singer additional visitation time with her children.
Two guest star turns on the U.S. television sitcom, "How I Met Your Mother" garnered her favourable reviews. Her appearance also delivered the highest ever ratings for the show, which left the plot open ended for a possible return appearance.
After garnering several MTV awards, both in her home country and at the UK ceremony, Spears embarked on a promotional tour across Europe, performing at an awards ceremony in Germany and on the French television show Star Academy.
The pop singer also performed her single Womanizer on the UK singing talent show, X Factor, and announced two concerts in London next summer as part of her world tour.
Her latest album Circus debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 selling 505,000 copies in its first week, quickly becoming Spears' fifth number one album. It also debuted at number in 6 other countries.
Tragically the year also saw the shock death Australian actor Heath Ledger. The Oscar nominee was found dead in his New York apartment on January 22 from an accidental drug overdose of prescription drugs which were found near his body.
He was 28 years old.
Since his death Ledger has been awarded a posthumous Golden Globe nomination for his role as the Joker in the latest Batman instalment, Dark Knight, and is also tipped receive an Oscar nod for the performance.
He leaves behind a three-year old daughter, Matilda Rose, who he fathered with then-girlfriend Michelle Williams.
Dominating headlines - particularly in the British tabloid press - was the public and acrimonious divorce battle between founding Beatle Sir Paul McCartney and former model Heather Mills.
McCartney married MIlls in 2002 but they separated four years later, blaming media intrusion into their private lives. They have a daughter, Beatrice, aged four.
The settlement ended up costing the McCartney 48.7 million U.S.
dollars Mills, who gave several media interviews during and after the divorce proceedings, said that the figure that McCartney had offered was less than she thought fair.
McCartney has not publicly commented on the divorce.
But it wasn't all bad news for celebrity relationships.
Hollywood's most famous couple, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, became parents to boy and girl twins.
On July 12, Jolie delivered two twin babies, boy Knox and girl Vivienne, at a French Riviera hospital that had been staked out by paparazzi and traditional media in the days leading up to the births.
The infants were shown to the public for the first time via glossy magazine spreads for Hello! and People Magazine who allegedly paid Pitt and Jolie 7.5 million pounds (GBP) for the rights to the photos.
The money was donated to the couple's Jolie-Pitt Foundation, which helps disadvantaged and sick children around the world.
One celebrity split the media predicted was the lightening quick divorce between Madonna and Guy Ritchie.
The pop diva and her director husband ended nearly eight years of marriage in just a few minutes in a British court.
The split ended intense speculation media over their relationship.
Details of the terms of the divorce have not been made public, although several newspapers reported that Ritchie would not be seeking a share of Madonna's fortune.
Their combined wealth has been estimated at around 525 million U.S.dollars, but Madonna accounts for the bulk of it.
Potentially more difficult is how Madonna and Ritchie share custody of their children. Media reports have said that Madonna wants to live in the United States while Ritchie plans to remain in Britain.
The couple have a son, Rocco, who was several months old on their wedding day in December 2000.
And it's been a rough year for 24-year old British soul singer Amy Winehouse.
She began her year in the public eye with an English newspaper printed images of her allegedly smoking crack cocaine.
Her label Island Records issued a short statement saying it would support her.
She was arrested over the incident, but no charges were preferred due to lack of evidence .
In April, Winehouse was interviewed by police after a man said he had been assaulted by her in the early hours of the morning. She admitted common assault for slapping the with an open hand and accepted a caution.
In more serious trouble was her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, who prosecuted for attacking a pub landlord in 2006 and then trying to cover it up.
Winehouse regularly attended her husband's court appearances. He was eventually sentenced to 27 months in prison for attempting to pervert the course of justice and inflicting grievous bodily harm.
In July, Winehouse admitted to hospital diagnosed with having a mild case of emphysema.
Almost immediately after her release from hospital, she managed to fulfil her engagement at the Glastonbury music festival only to deliver a lacklustre set before lashing out at a member of the audience.
On one good note for the singer, she still scooped five Grammys in February, including best record and song of the year and best new artist which will put her in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most Grammys won by a British female act.
It was reported that Winehouse also pulled out of several concert gigs as well as the opportunity to produce the theme song for the latest James Bond film, "Quantum of Solace".
IN THE NEWS With all eyes of the Beijing Olympics, Oscar-winning film director Steven Spielberg withdrew his services as an artistic adviser to the 2008 summer games - only as a moral decision.
In a statement issued on a day when Nobel Peace laureates sent a letter to China's president urging a change in policies toward its ally Sudan, Spielberg said that his conscience would not allow him to continue.
He had written a letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao adding his voice to the chorus of people who have protested against China's involvement with the Sudanese government over the crisis in Darfur. At that time, Spielberg had asked to meet with Hu, but the president failed to respond.
One reunion that ended almost as quickly as it started was the much anticipated return of the Spice Girls.
After kicking off their comeback tour in Vancouver in December 2007, the "Girl Power" icons cited family obligations for cancelling concerts in China, South Africa, Australia and Argentina.
Denying rumours of bitter in-fighting, Emma, Geri, Mel B, Melanie C and Victoria cited "family and personal commitments" for the abrupt change of plan after completing a series of money-spinning concerts in Britain and the United States.
The re-split group posted a one-minute "apology video" to angry fans on their website.
The year witnessed one cultural watershed moment where music managed to - briefly - transcend politics, when United States' oldest symphony orchestra played a historic concert in hermit North Korea that both sides said they hope will bring a little harmony to relations between the bitter foes.
North Korea's solitary television station broadcast the entire concert live to a population taught to view all things foreign with deep suspicion -- especially if they come from the United States, officially their darkest enemy.
But any sign of the 60 years of enmity was kept well out of sight as the orchestra opened the performance with both national anthems - North Korea's followed by the United States'.
Miley Cyrus, the 16-year old television and music star and daughter of country music singer Billy Ray Cyrus, found herself in the middle of controversy when she posed semi nude for famed photographer Annie Leibovitz.
The photo shoot, for magazine Vanity Fair, involved the teenager posing draped in a sheet with her back exposed.
Cyrus who was made famous by her squeaky clean Disney persona, Hanna Montana, later apologised to her fans for the pictures, claiming they didn't come out the way she had intended.
Vanity Fair immediately responded by claiming that her father or minders had been present throughout the shoot and that she had not be pressured or manipulated into the pose.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie weren't the only celebrity couple to have children in 2008.
Oscar-winner Nicole Kidman gave birth to her first biological child, a daughter named Sunday, fathered by her husband and country music star Keith Urban.
The actress announced she was pregnant with their first child in January and was withdrawing from what would have been her latest film, "The Reader."
Kidman and former spouse Tom Cruise adopted two children during nearly ten years of marriage that ended in divorce in 2001. She had been pregnant once before with Cruise but suffered a miscarriage.
Singer/actress Jennifer Lopez also became a first time celebrity mother during the year, when she gave birth to boy and girl twins, Max and Emme.
Lopez's efforts to have a child have filled tabloid pages over past few years. Her husband and the children's father, salsa singer Marc Anthony, has a daughter and two sons from two previous relationships.
With all of the celebrity divorce in the news, one star couple tied the knot this year.
Mariah Carey and rapper/actor Nick Cannon married in the Bahamas after just one month of dating. Fresh from their honeymoon there, the newlyweds made their first overseas appearance as a married couple in Japan ahead of the MTV Japan awards.
Showing off her wedding ring, which American gossip magazine "In Touch Weekly" said Cannon had designed for 2.5 million U.S. dollars, Carey, 39, and Cannon, 27, signed autographs and cuddled together in front of fans and reporters.
Carey was married previously to record executive Tommy Mottola, but they divorced in 1998. It is Cannon's first marriage.
2008 was a good year for Gisele Bundchen. The Brazilian supermodel was named the world's top supermodel by Forbes magazine with estimated earnings of 35 million dollars (USD) over the past year.
The Forbes' list shows that Bundchen more than doubled the estimated 14 million earned by Heidi Klum, who came in at No. 2 on the list. Kate Moss rounded out the top three with 7.5 million.
A good year, too, for rap mogul and actor Sean "P. Diddy"
Combs, who took his place on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in May 02, complete with a media blitz hailing his arrival in Tinseltown.
Combs was honoured with a star on the famous sidewalk for his achievements as a recording artist as a ceremony near the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, praised the man who is responsible for setting trends with his glamourous lifestyle and mentoring of several recording stars.
Meanwhile Sharon Stone landed herself trouble by suggesting that the Sichuan earthquake that killed at least 68 thousand people was "bad karma" for Beijing's Tibet policies has brought The comments were posted on Youtube where she can be seen saying: "And then all this earthquake and all this stuff happened, and I thought, is that karma -- when you're not nice that the bad things happen to you?"
Luxury retailer Christian Dior, with whom Stone has a contract, immediately distanced themselves from the outspoken star, pulling her image from their Chinese advertising campaigns.
Stone later apologised for her comments.
The scene of so many staged blazes, a massive fire broke out for real at the Universal Studios film and TV studio in California, engulfing one soundstage and burning a New York City street set.
It took 400 fire-fighters from several Los Angeles-area fire departments to battle the blaze.
The fire started in the back-lot area depicting New York City, which was destroyed.
About three-quarters of a building housing a "King Kong"
exhibit was destroyed. A building that holds a video vault of original and master versions of classic movies had been destroyed and the vault itself had been "compromised."
Hollywood actress and recent Golden Globe nominee Anne Hathaway found herself in the middle of a federal criminal investigation and prosecution when her boyfriend Italian businessman Raffaello Follieri was accused - and eventually convicted - of fraudulently obtaining 2.4 million U.S. dollars by leading investors to believe he had Vatican connections that let him cheaply buy up unwanted Catholic Church properties in the United States.
It was reported Hathaway's personal diary was seized by the FBI over the course of it's investigation.
Follieri pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit wire fraud, eight counts of wire fraud and five counts of money laundering.
He was sentenced to four and half years prison and, in a plea agreement, also committed to forfeit the ill gotten 2.4 million dollars, 12 watches and nine pieces of jewellery. He will also be deported to Italy once he completes his sentence.
The year also saw an unexpected bid for the U.S. presidency from none other than Paris Hilton.
The celebrity socialite was featured in an anti-Obama ad by Republican candidate John McCain. In the commercial McCain stated that, like Paris Hilton, Obama was merely "famous for being famous."
Hilton shot back with her own spoof campaign ad in which she refers to McCain as "some white haired dude".
It was a close call for Oscar-winning U.S. actor Morgan Freeman when the car he was driving careened off a rural highway, flipped and rolled several times.
The 71-year old actor was hospitalized with a broken arm after being airlifted to a hospital in Memphis, Tennessee about 100 miles (160 km) from the accident scene, which is near a home he keeps in Charleston, Mississippi.
The actor has since made a full recovery.
Carla Bruni-Sarkozy made showbiz headline not as France's First Lady as wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, but for her continued pop singing career.
The model turned released her third album Comme Si de Rien N'Était (As If Nothing Happened) topped the charts in France Her natural beauty, grace and choice of fashion, well influenced by her modelling career, have also made her a celebrity.
She also topped the list of "Best Dressed People of The Year"
by U.S. magazine Vanity Fair along with Sarah Jessica Parker, Angelina Jolie and Michelle Obama. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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