Tyra Banks to set up fashion & beauty site

Former supermodel and talk-show host Tyra Banks is all set to create a fashion and beauty website to help fans look their best.

The 36-year-old beauty's company, Bankable, is partnering with Los Angeles-based Demand Media on ventures that will include creating an Internet site, producing online video segments and developing a series of apps for smartphones, reported New York Post.

In a statement, Banks said she's looking to create "an engine that would provide my audience with inspirational and instructional content to help them look and feel their best."

Since her modelling days, Banks has aspired to build a media empire in the mold of Oprah Winfrey and Martha Stewart - publishing books and hosting a talk show, in addition to the popular America's Next Top Model series.

Banks recently quit her five-year-old talk show to pursue the online venture.

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Fashion store files lawsuit against Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay Lohan is facing a lawsuit from the owners of a fashion store, who allege that the actress hasn't paid her bills and owes them thousands of dollars.

David Malvaney and Rodney Burns, owners of Church Boutique, filed papers against Lohan on Wednesday claiming she never paid for clothes, jewellery and accessories that she bought from their store.

The two claim Lohan has only paid $180 from a total amount of $17,060 which she has built up in shopping sprees between November 2009 and February this year.

However, the store owners now insist they wouldn't have let Lohan take the items if they would have known she had "no intention" of paying, reports contactmusic.com.

The documents read: "Plaintiff's reliance on Lohan's representations (that her business manager would take care of it) were justified due to Lohan's well-known status as a movie actress with substantial income.

"Filing suit was the last thing we wanted to do, but after six months of not being paid, my clients were left with no choice. They started this business from scratch, and that they have been successful in attracting an elite clientele does not mean they should be abused."

Malvaney and Burns have accused Lohan of committing premeditated fraud and are seeking to recoup the balance, plus interest and punitive damages.

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Oprah Winfrey tops celebrity power list

Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey
has beaten pop singer Beyonce Knowles to top the Forbes magazine's celebrity power list.

Winfrey earned $315 million from June 1, 2009 to June 1, 2010. But in deciphering celebrity "power", the publication not only takes earnings into account but also fame, which it measures by calculating the number of times a personality is mentioned in print, TV, radio and social media, says a report.

That is why popular singer and fashion magnate Beyonce Knowles is second on the list with earnings of $87 million, while Oscar winner James Cameron is third with $210 million.

Pop singer Lady Gaga also makes the top five for the first time with an estimated $62 million and is fourth on the list. Tiger Woods has been placed fifth for a second time. The ace golfer earned $105 million during the year.

Winfrey retains the top spot on the list from Angelina Jolie, who slips to 18th spot with earnings of $20 million on the new Forbes countdown.

Other celebrities who has made it to the top 10 are pop star Britney Spears ($64 million), U2 band ($130 million), actress Sandra Bullock ($56 million), actor Johnny Depp ($75 million) and pop queen Madonna ($58 million).

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Aamir Khan defeats Amitabh bachchan

 Today is 1st July and perfectionist Aamir Khan has kept his promise. No sooner, he posted his first mail as test mail in the social networking site ‘Twitter’, he has attracted more than 40,000 followers in a duration of 12 hours. His number is more than Amitabh Bachchan who actually inspired Aamir Khan to join Twitter. On the first day, Big B garnered 37,500 followers and Aamir 50,000.

Aamir Khan first thanked Mr. Bachchan. It goes as Bhala gardish falak ki chain deti hai kise Insha, ganimat hai ke hum suratyahan do-chaar baithey hain. Esp for you sir. Love.

Amitabh replied:

Thank you Aamir... You give more due than I deserve ... Happy Tweeting ....

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Eclipse already breaks release record

The latest "Twilight" movie already has one record under its belt as it opens with the widest domestic release in boxoffice history.

"The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" was booked in a record 4,416 theaters for its debut Wednesday. That beats the previous record of 4,380 theaters set less than two months ago by "Iron Man 2."

Along with midnight screenings, some theaters are scheduling showings at 3 a.m. to meet demand as fans line up for the movie.

The second installment in the vampire-romance franchise, last November's "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," leads the boxoffice charts for best opening day with $72.7 million. The movie's opening weekend of $142.8 million is No. 3 on the all-time chart.

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Mena Suvari and Simone Sestito Wedding Had Tradition, Romance and Fireworks

Mena Suvari and Simone Sestito had plenty of history around them as they started a new chapter with their wedding on Saturday.

The couple were married at Santo Stefano degli Abissini, an 8th-century church in Vatican City and held their reception at Castello Odescalchi, a 15th-century castle in nearby Bracciano – the same castle where Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes were married in 2006.

Rome "is the true city of romance, and to be able to wed in the Eternal City is all we could have asked for this occasion," the couple tell PEOPLE.

They described the wedding ceremony as "very traditional and romantic." A quartet, organist and soprano performed as Suvari, 31, walked down the aisle in an Alice + Olivia dress with Claudia Ciuti shoes and Nova Diamonds earrings. Sestito, 25, a concert producer, designed the couple's white-gold wedding bands himself.

The floral arrangements and decor, both at the church and the castle, were done by Adriano Ceccoti.

At the reception, guests enjoyed risotto, raviolini and veal carré dishes. The couple's first dance was to an original dedication by Mario Reyes, a.k.a. the Gipsy Man, performing with members of the Gipsy Kings. The evening also featured a fireworks display.

Suvari said the newlyweds are now spending a few more days with friends and family in Rome before enjoying a honeymoon traveling around Italy. After that, she added, they're looking forward to "a happy, fruitful life together."

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Megan Fox Marries with Brian Austin Green

It took two engagements, but Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green finally made it legal.

Reports the couple were married at the Four Seasons Hotel resort last weekend while vacationing on the big island of Hawaii were confirmed to PEOPLE early Tuesday. "Yes they are married," a rep for Fox says.

Fox, 24, and Green, 36, who met in 2004, initially got engaged in November 2006, only to call it off in February 2009. At the time, a source said the decision was "mutual."

Despite their split, the two were regularly spotted together and earlier this month, the actress's rep confirmed to PEOPLE they were engaged again.

In 2009, before they called off their first engagement, Green told PEOPLE his ideal wedding would be "small."

"Originally we were talking elopement and now we might have a few people there," he said.

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Kareena Kapoor Dropped for Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Kareena Kapoor's career keeps flourishing!  With one hit film after another plus the ongoing buzz about her life beyond her career, Kareena is definitely one of b-town's top stars.  So why would acclaimed film director Sanjay Leela Bhansali reconsider signing her for his next flick?  It just so happens that Bhansali is very close to Bollywood beauty Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.  Sources say that the director is worried about Ash dealing with her film, Raavan being a huge flop. 

Aishwarya and Abhishek  had big hopes for Raavan's success at the box office.  The project was promoted heatedly.   Ash and Abhishek even attended a party at the Cannes Film festival that was held to promote their film.  Sources say that Sanjay wants to build up her morale by signing Ash to his next project.  Bhansali and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan have a very strong friendship and have worked together on many successful projects such as  Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Devdas.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is already on Bhansali's film Guzaarish."  The actress is opposite Hrithik Roshan in the flick.  It looks like Sanjay thinks that Ash needs to work on more than Guzaarish to keep her morale up.  A source told a local Indian paper, "Sanjay felt that by bringing Kareena in his film at a time when Aishwarya had suffered such a debacle, he would be betraying her."

Although it is very sweet of Bhansali to worry about his friend it is a bit odd. Especially since Ash's career is going great.  It's going so well that she was recently in the news for turning down an opportunity to act alongside internationally acclaimed actor Brad Pitt. The actress assured media that she was not rejecting the film and it was just a time issue.  Ash discussed how her hectic B-town schedule doesn't leave her time to do justice to any Hollywood projects that come her way. 

It looks like Aishwarya has enough work to keep her going after Raavan.  However she has created magic with Sanjay Leela Bhansali before so it will be good to see another project that the two are working and.  And we are sure Bebo will be just fine!

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Bollywood loses $44 mil in first half of year

Bollywood has had a rough half-year,  with industry estimates pegging losses at about 2 billion rupees ($44 million) given a series of major failures with few hits making up for the deficit.

Among the approximately 70 films released in the first six months, the two much-hyped and big-budget titles of the year, “Kites” and “Raavan," performed below expectations, with analysts estimating that between them, both films lost about 1 billion rupees.

However, there was some cheer with the runaway success of UTV Motion Pictures' political drama “Raajneeti,” which grossed over 1 billion rupees in its first 10 days while confirming the boxoffice power of its lead actor Ranbir Kapoor.

But with about 125 releases lined up for the next six months, observers are clueless whether the losses can be made up.

“The film business is very volatile and heavily based on the sheer quality of content which is why it is difficult to forecast what will happen ahead,” said PricewaterhouseCoopers India entertainment analyst Smita Jha in an interview.

A recent PwC India report for the Motion Picture Association's India office estimated Indian domestic boxoffice collections in 2008-9 at $1.8 billion which are projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 10% by 2013 to reach $2.8 billion.

In addition to poor content, it has been a challenge for the industry to attract audiences away from major distractions like cricket's Indian Premier League in April, while in October, New Delhi will host the Commonwealth Games, which could also affect cinema attendances.Among the handful of films that are said to have recovered their investments are Fox Star Studios' “My Name Is Khan,” starring superstar Shah Rukh Khan which, according to FSS, grossed about $40 million worldwide.

While Hollywood and foreign titles command less than 10 percent of the Indian market, Sony Pictures' “The Karate Kid” was considered to be a good performer for a foreign title with its opening weekend India take of about $ 1 million.

Coupled with the after-effects of 2009's global slowdown, the industry has had a retake on production and acquisition costs. “While it seems that inflated star salaries of years past have sobered down, acquisition costs still depend on the potential box office prowess of a film, especially if it has major stars but there could be a correction in this area as well," Jha explained.

The ongoing summer holiday season will now see upcoming releases like romantic musical “I Hate Luv Storys” produced by Karan Johar, one of filmdom's most successful filmmakers, and starring upcoming actress Sonam Kapoor and actor Imran Khan. With the winter festive season considered a lucrative window, major titles include top star Akshay Kumar's two releases “Patiala House” and “Tees Maar Khan."

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Chunky Pandey Dines With Robert Downey

 Actor Chunky Pandey is not the superstar he once was in Bollywood but he manages to still live the high life.   The actor was recently staying at the upscale Beverly Wilshire hotel in Beverly Hills California with his wife, Bhavana.   The couple decided to attend a showcase by a famous artist.  The two were also set to dine at this event.  Little did they know that the GM of the hotel organized a dinner for them with a surprise Hollywood actor.   Chunky and his wife were shocked when they found out  Sherlock Holmes actor Robert Downey Jr.  was going to join them.

The buzz is that the two actors hit it off at dinner.   They discussed their mutual infatuation with shades and Robert even offered Chunky the pair he was wearing.  Bhavana didn't let Chunky accept of course.  She made sure that Pandey refused the sunglasses politely.

Robert Downey Jr.  also expressed his amazement with how his popularity has grown in India since the release of Sherlock Holmes  and Iron Man 2.  Sources say that Chunky reveled to Robert that several Indians felt that Sherlock Holmes was similar to a Bollywood film.   Robert was pleased hearing about how he is appreciated in India, and he said that "India was a land waiting to happen" for him.  He also said that he hopes to visit the country soon.  When asked by Pandey if he would ever act in a Bollywood film Robert replied by asking Chunky "Would you act in a Hollywood film?"  Neither of them answered the question.  So who knows maybe we will be seeing Robert Downey Jr. in a Bollywood flick soon!

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Gemma Arterton eyes Shah Rukh Khan

Meet this ardent fan of our Bollywood’s Badshah Shah Rukh Khan. She is none other than the Hollywood actress Gemma Arterton, of ‘Quantum Of Solace’ fame.

Birdies found out from sources that this phoren gal had a nurtured a secret crush on the actor when she was quite young. In fact, she has revealed that during her school days she used to write letters to the Indian star. She and her school friends were so obsessed with Shah Rukh Khan that they used to write the letters with a hope that he will visit their school.

The actress further added to say that she loves Bollywood movies and would love to work in one someday, especially opposite (of course) Shah Rukh Khan.

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Neha Dhupia wants Bollywood to be like an Angelina Jolie

When I first read this story, I was thinking that Dhupia, the former Miss India turned Bollywood actress, wanted to adopt a million kids. But that’s not the case at all. In fact, Dhupia is impressed with Jolie’s ability to do action roles, one of which being “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.”

Aside from “Tomb Raider” Jolie has seen action in the films “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” and “Wanted.” As for Dhupia, whose acting has been in a few Bollywood films, she says that Bollywood lacks action queens and would love for an action script to come her way. Unfortunately, Dhupia is in an industry that is filled with dancing and song in its movies. Not that Bollywood is that much behind the eight ball compared to Hollywood, there just isn’t any action in those types of movies.

What Dhupia should do is come to America full-time (she’s been in a couple of Hollywood movies – “Price of Beauty” and “Bollywood Hero”). She would be able to find work immediately but, unfortunately, with her beauty, she will have a difficult time trying to land such roles. Hollywood is a finicky group of people and like its actresses to stand for something. Unless you want to end up in a B-movie then you really have to prove yourself as an action star. Jolie is the rare exception when it comes to kicking ass and looking good. There really is nothing Dhupia can do but to admire Jolie.

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Aruna Shield Strips Naked for a Scene

Bollywood is fast catching up all the trends from Hollywood.

Taking the clue from Hollywood's superstar, Kate Winslet, who stripped nude for 'The Titanic', Bollywood newcomer, Aruna Shields has also joined the club.

Reports claim that, giving a bold new lift to Bollywood, Aruna Shields, who debuted in Prince opposite Vivek Oberoi has stripped naked in a scene for her upcoming project.

The forthcoming movie, Mr. Singh and Mrs. Mehta, which is being directed by Pravesh Bhardwaj and produced by Manu S Kumaran and Tutu Sharma, Aruna Shields, by shedding all her apprehensions and inhibitions, goes completely nude.

Aruna poses nude as the sequence in the film demands her to, since the male protagonist carves out her portrait.

Reports claim that Aruna Shields plays Neera Singh in the movie, who is being cheated by her husband.

The husband of Neera Singh is involved with Prashant Narayanan's wife.

Following the revelation of the affair, Aruna and Prashant find comfort in each other's company.

Besides Aruna, the film also stars Naved Aslam and the Brit Asian actress, Lucy Hassan.

Reports claim that the film is scheduled to hit the screens on June 25.

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Bollywood babes pose completely naked

Wearing a two piece bikini and smooching co-stars onscreen can take a back seat for posing nude is going to be the next bold thing to do in B town! It may not be the ‘IT’ thing to do in Hollywood for even their A grade stars don’t mind doing the strip tease for magazine covers or films. But it’s certainly raising eyebrows in Bollywood. We list some actresses who gained popularity when they posed completely nude...
Recently Aruna Shields made news for posing completely nude in a Hindi film. The actress of foreign origin who recently made her Bollywood debut opposite Vivek Oberoi in Prince is bold enough to pose completely nude in her second Hindi film  Mr Singh Mrs Mehta  . Apparently around 60 girls rejected the film before Aruna Shields green-lit the project because they were wary of posing nude.

Aruna plays the muse for a nude painting. For a girl who is trapped in middle class morality, to reach a point where she not only poses naked in front of a man who is not her husband but also doesn’t care what the world will think when the painting becomes public, it is a tough journey towards self-discovery.

Shields plays an agony aunt columnist who discovers her husband is cheating on her. The scene where she poses nude to be painted on canvas by costar Prashant Narayanan reminds of the scene where Leonardo DiCaprio painted a nude Kate Winslet on the canvas in Titanic .

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Shakira soon to make her debut in Bollywood

Shakira soon to make her debut in Bollywood: Columbian pop star Shakira will soon be seen debuting in Bollywood.

The 33 year old pop star in touch with music composer Salim-Suleiman and is wiling to sing for an untitled Bollywood film.

Salim Merchant stated “We are in talks with her management. She seems to be really willing to collaborate and we are hoping a positive response in 5-6 days.”

If everything goes right Shakira will be called for a recording within a month’s time. She will be recording a cabaret number which has a Latin touch in it.

Shakira will be the next Hollywood star to enter the Bollywood family following Barbara Mori in “Kites”.

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Danny Boyle Directing 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony

Danny Boyle's never been one for the conventional directing route.

So, after drug addled Scotsmen, zombies, sci-fi and Bollywood, we're impressed but not surprised to announce he's been gifted the role of directing the opening and closing ceremonies of the London 2012 Games.

Boyle, the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire director, was asked to take charge of the opening ceremony as artistic director while Stephen Daldry, director of big screen hits such as Billy Elliot and The Reader, will be one of the four key executive producers of the showpiece opening and closing ceremonies.

Danny, 53, who became hot property in Hollywood when his Mumbai-set film became an Oscar sensation, said: "I'm honoured to have been invited to be the artistic director for the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

"It's a completely unique opportunity to contribute to what I'm sure are going to be a fantastic Games, I'm really excited to be involved."

A billion people worldwide tuned in to watch the 2008 Beijing Olympic opening ceremony. The athletes' parade at the Olympic opening ceremony involves 10,000 athletes from 205 nations while 4,000 athletes from 162 nations take part in the Paralympic opening ceremony.

Whether Boyle's direction will be quite as - ah - enforced is questionable, but if it'll involve a pretty young girl miming along to Susan Boyle, we're definitely on board.

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Aishwarya Rai refuses Hollywood film offers

The latest buzz revealed that Bollywood stunning and gorgeous beauty Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has refused many promising offers from Hollywood that came her way.

Recently, Aishwarya said no to a Hollywood movie 'Troy', starring the most wanted Hollywood actor Brad Pitt, alleging that she has many other commitments in Bollywood and will be unable to do justice with both, Hollywood and Bollywood.

While justifying herself, Aishwarya told the sources, “It wasn't about an attitude I had, or any inverted ideas about working overseas, it was simply about scheduling. I just didn't have the time”.

Aishwarya's statements while refusing offer
Regarding the offer, the 36-year old actress said, “One of the reasons I declined Troy was that there were some very explicit lovemaking scenes in the script, and a lot of kisses. I was like, 'Oh my God! I'm not sure'. I couldn't imagine being comfortable with it.”

“Michael Douglas came to India and did a press conference where he confessed that he had brought a script my way. And Will Smith was generous enough to be persistent twice over, for 'Hancock' and 'Seven Pounds',” Aishwarya added.

Earlier Hollywood offers
Apart from getting offers from Brett Ratner, Aishwarya has also been offered roles in big flicks such as ‘Wolf Gang’ and ‘Rush Hour’.

Will Smith, the famous actor of Hollywood, had also offered her roles in ‘Hancock’, and ‘Seven Pounds’. But Aish rejected the offers due to busy schedule.

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Aishwarya Rai refused to work with Brad Pitt

Aishwarya, who became the brand ambassador for L’Oreal and is associated with films like The Pink Panther 2, the guardian of Spices and The Last Legion no stranger to Hollywood, said he could not a film in Hollywood because of prior commitments and Aishwarya Bachchan has dismissed a recent project with the famous Hollywood actor Brad Pitt has said she has no time for the project. “I know not show attitude or anything, just that I have less time. My good time to post all my plans for Bollywood, which you cannot do justice to the project through in Hollywood just now,” he said.

She was a film with the Hollywood actor, on another occasion also offered, but even then, Aishwarya had rejected the offer. The only difference between the two cases is that all this time, they are rejected due to lack of time and other commitments, the last time, it is not part of the project, because the film was much more bold scenes which are not very comfortable with Aishwarya .
brad pitt vs aiswarya raiSpeaking on the topic, said that although she is grateful Aishwarya to all filmmakers in the West who have proposed several plans for her, she now wants to go Hollywood and the film making in indigenous languages only. This is not the first time that Aishwarya was a Hollywood project that supposedly will start against Brad Pitt offered.

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