Academy Award Winner Nicolas Cage Fianacially Strapped

Cash-crunched actor Nicolas Cage’s two homes in New Orleans were auctioned off this week, and movers carted away some of the “National Treasure” star’s treasured doodads.

Carpets and a stained-glass window were among the items removed from one house, according to TMZ.com.

The two Big Easy properties, in the French Quarter and Garden District, went under the hammer Thursday after a local lender foreclosed for unpaid mortgage debts, reported the New Orleans Times-Picayune’s site, Nola.com.

Cage, whose father died last month, did not attend the auction, the Web site said.
GOING, GONE: Movers empty a New Orleans home of star Nicolas Cage, who was forced to auction off two houses to pay debts.

The Oscar winner and extravagant shopper — he has owned at least two castles and two Bahamian islands — is currently mired in a money meltdown, with the IRS claiming he owes around $6 million in unpaid taxes.

There were reports yesterday that Johnny Depp would come to his pal Cage’s fiscal rescue. Cage had jump-started a young Depp’s career by directing him to his own agent.

“Johnny called Nic and basically told him not to worry, and he’d help him and sort everything out,” London’s Daily Express said, quoting an unnamed friend.

Cage’s rep, Annett Wolf, denied the claim. “This is 100 percent false,” she told The Post. “Mr. Cage is handling his own financial affairs.” Wolf declined to comment about Cage’s fiscal status.

Cage has blamed his business manager, insisting he sent him “down a path toward financial ruin.”

In a lawsuit filed in California, Cage claims that over a period of seven years, business manager Samuel Levin “placed Cage in numerous highly speculative and risky real-estate investments, resulting in Cage suffering catastrophic losses,” TMZ reported last month.

Levin yesterday did not return a call for comment.

Cage outbid actor Leo DiCaprio at an auction in 2007, shelling out $276,000 for a dinosaur skull, New York magazine said in a recent issue.

As of October 2009, “most of his dozen or so homes, 50 cars, two islands, two yachts and jet have been sold, foreclosed upon or are on the market,” the magazine said.

When it comes to overspending, Cage has said, “I find ways of spending money that mystify everybody around me.”

NY POST

Carrie Prejean’s lawsuit shut down as legs spread open

Foes Of Conservative Christian Carrie Prejean Saved By Her XXX Sex Tape But Prejean’s hopes to make some big dough were dashed when the pageant’s lawyer found a sex tape she had made.

Sorry Bitch, now you have to get a job like the rest of us.

Carrie Prejean Made a Solo Sex Tape

Carrie Prejean’s pastor isn’t willing to give up on his famous fallen beauty queen, after learning she made a graphic, solo sex tape.

Pastor Darren Carrington from The Rock Church in San Diego says, “Everyone is a work in progress,” adding everyone has “something we’re not proud of.”

The Pastor is reacting to the TMZ story that Carrie folded like a cheap suit during settlement negotiations with Miss California USA officials after they pulled out the ultimate Trump card — a solo sex tape.

We’re told it took about 15 seconds for Carrie to reduce her demand from more than $1 million to … just validate my parking, please.

Maybe now she’ll stop telling everyone else how to live!

TMZ

Kate Winslet wins lawsuit

Kate Winslet has followed up her Oscar-winning role in The Reader with a damages-winning role as the Litigator.

The A-lister has banked more than $40,000 in damages after winning a lawsuit against Britain’s Daily Mail for a story that falsely claiming she lied about her workout routine.

The article in question, headlined “Should Kate Winslet Win an Oscar for the World’s Most Irritating Actress,” was published in January alongside naked pics of Winslet.

The 34-year-old thesp was not in court for the verdict, but her solicitor read a statement on her behalf explaining how the story had offended her and caused her a “great deal of distress” not only because it was “simply not true,” but it also left people the wrong impression about her views on the female body.

Read Full Article HERE

TLC sues Jon for Breach of Contract

Public enemy Jon Gosselin is still holding tight to his title. Last Friday, it was reported that the Jon and Kate Plus 8 (minus the Jon) star has been sued by TLC for a breach of contract. That morning, the network filed the lawsuit in Maryland for several reasons.

According to E! Online, TLC didn’t sue because Jon tried to stop production for the show. It’s because the reality TV dad signed an exclusive contract with TLC and isn’t supposed to be whining about his life by giving unauthorized interviews . The thing is, the network hasn’t allowed him to blab on programs like The Insider or Entertainment Tonight, since they’re paying him to appear there.

Another reason why TLC has been on Jon Gosselin’s case (and who isn’t?) is that he’s ignoring obligations to shut up about his private life. For months now, the network has supposedly been trying “privately and patiently” to convince the dad of eight to honor his contract. Of course, we all know that Jon’s stupid stubbornness have made “those efforts [...] unsuccessful,” as TLC’s statement says.

More at Buddy TV

Jon Gosselin sued by TLC

The TLC network is suing Jon Gosselin for breaching his contract as star of the now-shelved Jon & Kate Plus 8.

The lawsuit, filed Friday in Maryland, alleges that the Father of the Year (just kidding) hasn’t met the obligations of his contract as an exclusive employee, has appeared on other programs for pay and made unauthorized disclosures about the show.

The network didn’t mention Jon’s various affairs with bartenders, nannies and college students.

MIAMI HERALD

David Letterman makes jokes about himself

In spite of his affairs and the scandal surrounding an attempted embezzling of hush money from him, David Letterman is handling the situation with the same approach and satire he would as if the event was happening to someone else. Here are some of his latest jokes about himself.

On Monday night’s show, Letterman opened with a reference to South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, whose own extramarital affair had made him a previous Letterman target.

“I mean, I’ll be honest with you folks — right now, I would give anything to be hiking on the Appalachian Trail,” he joked about Sanford’s infamous phony alibi.

“I got into the car this morning,” he continued, “and the navigation lady wasn’t speaking to me. Ouch.”

Read the Full Article about Letterman at ABC NEWS

Guns N’ Roses sued

Guns N’ Roses are being sued for $1m over claims they sampled two tracks by German musician Ulrich Schnauss on their Chinese Democracy CD.

Schnauss’s UK and US record labels claim the song Riad N’ the Bedouins borrowed from his compositions Wherever You Are and A Strangely Isolated Place.

Guns N’ Roses band members, producers and record label Interscope-Geffen are included in the lawsuit.

Chinese Democracy, released 2008, was Guns N’ Roses first album in 17 years.

Electronic musician Schnauss released his tracks in 2001 and 2003.

The lawsuit has been issued by lawyers representing Independiente and Domino Records USA.

After a 17 year wait, there was huge anticipation for Guns N’ Roses album Chinese Democracy, but it suffered from disappointing sales.

Singer Axl Rose is the only original member of the band but other current and former band members are named in the suit. They include guitarist Brian Carroll, bassist Tommy Stinson, and Robin Finck.

There has been no comment yet from the band or their label.

Read More at BBC

Dan Rather’s $70M lawsuit against CBS thrown out

A New York court on Tuesday dismissed Dan Rather’s $70 million breach of contract lawsuit against CBS Corp., noting that the network continued to pay the anchor $6 million a year even after he left the evening news broadcast.

Rather sued CBS and its top executives in 2007, claiming he had been removed from his “CBS Evening News” anchor post over a report that examined President George W. Bush’s military service.

The Appellate Division of the state Supreme Court — New York’s trial-level court — said the complaint “must be dismissed in its entirety.”

The five-judge panel ruled unanimously that a lower court “erred in declining to dismiss Rather’s breach of contract claim against CBS.”

The court said there was no breach of contract, because CBS still paid Rather his $6 million annual salary after the disputed 2004 broadcast under the “pay or play” provision of his contract.

Rather’s lawyer, Martin Gold, said he was “extremely disappointed” in the decision and would appeal it to the Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court.

CBS said in a statement it was pleased with Tuesday’s ruling.

“The lawsuit is now effectively over,” CBS said.

The dispute began with a piece Rather narrated for the now-defunct “60 Minutes II,” in which he reported that Bush got preferential treatment during his Vietnam War-era service in the Texas Air National Guard.

Rather cited new documents CBS had obtained, but the authenticity of the documents later came under attack.

Rather kept reporting for “60 Minutes” but was dumped by CBS in June 2006 after 44 years with the network.

His 2007 lawsuit claimed fraud and breach of fiduciary duty, as well as breach of contract. A court threw out the fraud claims in September 2008.

CBS said it expects Rather’s related lawsuit against CBS chief executive Leslie Moonves and Andrew Heyward, former head of CBS News, to be dismissed, as well.

General counsel Louis Briskman said that action “is technically still pending, but it’s hanging by a thread.”

Rather, 77, now produces an hourlong news program for cable channel HDNet.

GOOGLE

John Travolta Extortion Trial

John Travolta will be the first witness called today in the extortion trial over his son’s death. After John steps down from the stand, there will be a legal dogfight in the courtroom over what could be the smoking gun in the case.

Sources say Travolta will testify for about two hours. When he finishes, defense lawyers will mount an objection to the introduction of a secret videotape which allegedly shows the attempted extortion played out.

The video was shot by authorities in the Bahamas. It shows Travolta’s lawyers listening attentively as the alleged $25 million extortion demand is laid out on the table.

Prosecutors say former state senator Pleasant Bridgewater and paramedic Tarino Lightbourne threatened to release an essentially irrelevant document connected to Jett’s death unless Travolta anted up.

TMZ

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