Monaco's Prince Albert slams marriage 'rumours' (AFP)

MONACO (AFP) – Prince Albert II of Monaco has summoned journalists to castigate them for publishing "rumours" about his new marriage to Princess Charlene, saying someone in Monaco wants to cause trouble.

"We want to express our indignation at these rumours," Albert, 53, told journalists from three local newspapers he called to the palace over stories about his marriage to South African Charlene Wittstock, 33.

"It's unbearable," Nice-Matin's Thursday edition quoted the prince as saying.

"What's regrettable is that the media pick up these rumours without verifying the information," said the prince, who married the former swimming champion at a lavish ceremony in July amid swirling rumours of a rift.

"I find that unworthy on the part of your colleagues. I've always respected freedom of expression. But publishing false information is lamentable and subject to criminal penalties.

"Sometimes these rumours make us smile, for example when the media reported that the princess and I did not sleep in the same hotel in South Africa. That was for obvious practical reasons."

Albert said that the couple managed to "escape the paparazzi" by holidaying in Mozambique from July 9-20. It was "a marvellous stay. We weren't disturbed," he said.

"There's one or more people in Monaco who are trying to cause harm," the prince said, declining to give any names.

Yahoo! News

Monaco palace slams wedding strife 'rumours' (AFP)

MONACO, France (AFP) – Monaco's royal palace Tuesday angrily denied media rumours that princess-to-be Charlene Wittstock tried to leave the principality in a huff days before her marriage to Prince Albert II.

"A few days before the marriage of His Most Serene Highness Prince Albert with Miss Charlene Wittstock, the princely palace firmly denies the lying allegations," it said, responding to an online report by L'Express magazine.

The news weekly reported on its site lexpress.fr that Wittstock had interrupted preparations for Friday and Saturday's lavish celebrations and prepared to take a flight a week ago for her home country South Africa.

It cited "a tense atmosphere, rumours of discord and a clash between the two fiances" linked to unspecified revelations about Prince Albert's "private life".

It named no sources but said an unnamed newspaper "possesses all the details."

"These rumours have the sole aim of harming the image of the Sovereign and consequently that of Miss Wittstock, and cause serious damage to this happy event," the palace retorted.

Yahoo! News

Cannes: Diana film slams UK royals as 'gangsters' (AP)

CANNES, France – According to a provocative new documentary at the Cannes Film Festival, Britain's royals are racist "gangsters in tiaras" and Prince Philip is a womanizing psychopath.

The movie "Unlawful Killing" revives claims that Princess Diana — adored by millions as the "people's princess" but viewed in royal circles as an embarrassing loose cannon — was murdered by the British establishment. The film was screened Friday for the first time at the festival.

It bills itself as "the antidote to 'The King's Speech'" and depicts the royal family as feudal relics presiding over a network of official cronies at taxpayers' expense. Director Keith Allen says, however, it's "not an attack on the monarchy."

"I don't think it's anti-monarchy," he said. "I think it may be questioning capitalism."

The film takes its title from the verdict of an official British inquest into Diana's 1997 death in a Paris car crash. The jury ruled the princess was unlawfully killed, but deflated claims of a conspiracy, blaming "grossly negligent driving" by her drunk and speeding driver and pursuing vehicles.

But the movie by actor Allen — father of singer Lily Allen — revisits conspiracy theories put forward by Mohamed Al Fayed, whose son Dodi was Diana's boyfriend at the time and died in the same crash.

Fayed, the billionaire former owner of London's Harrods department store, funded the 2.5 million pound ($4 million) documentary. He has long maintained that his son and Diana were killed by the British secret service at the behest of an establishment horrified by her romance with a Muslim man.

The film begins with Diana's prediction in a 1995 letter to a friend that "my husband is planning an 'accident' in my car" and attempts to expose holes in the coroner's inquest.

It poses more questions than it answers. Who was in the white Fiat that witnesses saw in the Alma Tunnel just before the crash? Was driver Henri Paul really drunk or did someone tamper with his blood samples? Why did a French ambulance take so long to arrive?

"I didn't want to make a sensationalist film," Allen said, calling the documentary a "forensic account" of a legal process that "doesn't add up."

The film certainly doesn't pull punches. Critics would say it lashes out in all directions, scattering accusations of royal racism, judicial complicity and media laziness.

It includes an array of high-profile talking heads: talk show host Piers Morgan, actor Tony Curtis, celebrity biographer Kitty Kelley and psychologist Oliver James, who brands the husband of Queen Elizabeth II a psychopath.

Al Fayed spokesman Conor Nolan said the businessman had seen the film and was "absolutely delighted" with it.

Others remain decidedly unconvinced. Martin Gregory, author of "Diana, the Last Days," said the movie was "simply regurgitation of everything Mohamed Al Fayed has been saying since the year 2000."

"Nothing in the film is new," he said, taking Allen to task at the film's Cannes press conference.

The film was screened Friday for journalists and buyers. It's unlikely to find one in Britain, where it cannot be shown in its current form for legal reasons. Allen said he had declined to make any of the 87 cuts recommended by the film's lawyers before it can be shown there.

The documentary already has been criticized for including a picture of Diana after the crash that has never been shown before in Britain.

So does Allen agree with Al Fayed that Diana was murdered?

Not exactly. He said he thought her death was the result of an attempt to scare and discredit her that "went massively wrong."

"I do believe Diana was in a position to rock a lot of boats," he said. "You could argue it's a warning and any statements she made after the crash would be put down to 'She's had a nasty crack on the head.'"

"What I'm saying is, don't necessarily believe the hype," he added.

Yahoo! News

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Mickey Rourke Slams His Films and Megan Fox

Mickey Rourke has proven his talents as an actor in films like 'Sin City' and 'The Wrestler,' but there are still a number of life lessons he could stand to learn.

According to a recent interview with New York Magazine, the things that top that list are humility and tact.

When discussing his work on the 2010 thriller '13,' co-starring 50 Cent, Alexander Skarskard and Jason Statham, Rourke called the film, "A really bad movie ... so bad it can't get out."
Rourke also had some less than stellar things to say about his 'Passion Play' co-star Megan Fox. Of Fox, Rourke previously said, "

View the Original article

Cheryl Burke Slams Paparazzi, Talks Maks-Karina Breakup and Awful Relationships

On Cheryl Burke's first year with 'Dancing With the Stars,' she and partner Drew Lachey took home the mirror ball trophy. In that moment, America had discovered a new dancing queen and have adored her ever since. It turns out she's the only professional dancer to appear four times in the finals. However, bubbly Burke's private life has not been festooned with feathers and sequins. She has battled with her confidence and body issues, been involved in abusive relationships and was sexually molested as a child. She talks about all of it in her memoir, 'Dancing Lessons,' and spoke with PopEater about how being assaulted "ruined my self-esteem and confidence" for many years, and she gives her honest take on prying paparazzi.

"I think there's some really nice ones out there," she says. "But I do hate the ones that make it difficult for me, the ones that have criticized my weight, the ones who have called me a party girl and have made my parents worry about me."
Was it hard writing this book?
I just figured if I was going to write a book I needed to tell my story, and there was no way of going around it because what I dealt with is what my story is all about. And I feel like dancing has really shaped who I am today, and I feel like what I've gone through with dancing, it's helped me get through the dark stages of my life.

You never wanted to be on TV.
As a little girl when I started dancing at 4, it was never to be on TV, it was just for the pure love of dancing. I was in New York with my dance partner and things weren't going well between us, we were also romantically involved and that didn't help and things were going downhill. At the time the show was trying to recruit more dancers to be on the show, and they approached me. I'm very shy, and I was terrified to talk on camera. In the beginning I couldn't even put a complete sentence together, but I just thought, you know what? Why not just try it because things aren't working out for me in New York anyway and might as well try and start a new life, and that's how it happened.

You started going to clubs, and you were painted as a party girl.
I was shocked. I never experienced the life I guess you would normally when you're 18, 19, 20. I was just dancing, and that's all I cared about. I never drank a sip of alcohol in my life and then finally it hits and I'm not in a relationship, I go to LA, I'm by myself, and I'm forced to communicate and meet new people and make friends, and I'm having a good time. And what's wrong with that? It's what any other 21-year-old would do, except I had people following me.

Does that mean you can't stand the paparazzi?
Well, I love the nice ones. I think there's some really nice ones out there, but I do hate the ones that make it difficult for me, the ones that have criticized my weight, the ones who have called me a party girl and have made my parents worry about me. It's like I don't think they realize what they are really doing to someone's self-esteem and also to someone's family.



View the Original article