Surfings on New Year's Eve ... Ewan McGregor, Robert Downey Jr. and the sexiest folks on the planet

An hour to spare on New Year's Eve is a good thing, so what do I do? Surf. Well, put the feet up, have a cup of coffee, and surf. And you'd be surprised what's sizzling...

Ewan McGregor: death threats on the set of his latest movie (!) and at last -- at long last -- I Love You, Philip Morris is getting an airing, starting at Christmas.

What's this about death threats against Ewan --? Seems a looney toon -- an American actor living in Thailand, playing extra parts -- would dearly like to put a knife into Ewan. But at least up till Christmas Eve he just wrote the desire into poems ... and was caught in Ewan's trailer, writing said iffy literature! Here's the rest of the story -- and it's bizarre, in a subtle kind of way. So off-key and under-played, you gotta remember the dialog given to Johnny Depp in his new one, when he's trying to convince the police of the importance of an attempted murder as opposed to, say, room service. Indulge yourself in a shiver.

Meanwhile, looks like the forgotten Phillip Morris gay romance is on the big screen at last and, surprise, surprise, it's getting good reviews. It opened right before Christmas, at last in some parts of the US, and here's the review from the Idaho Statesman. Better late than never ... and remember the old adage, "Success is the sweetest revenge."

Here's a really neat interview with Ewan ... you have to love the line, "You want coffee with that, Obiwan?"

Well, actually ... yes, ta.

So ... who's the sexiest human alive on the planet? I guess you'd have to allow for a he and a she in that category -- certainly Fandango.com did, and they came up with some very, very interesting results. Get this:

Guys voted Natalie Portman (currently pregnant) the sexiest lass on Earth this year ...

Gals voted Penelope Cruz the sexiest woman in the World. Which is a chalk mark for older women, because Cruz is 37. Oh yes, and also pregnant.

And meanwhile...

Guys voted Johnny Depp the sexiest man alive -- in praise of older fellas, yes? He's 47, and I was just saying the other day, he's delicious. But who did women vote for?

Gals also voted for Johnny Depp, with Robert Downey Jr., who's a debonair 45, behind him --




No Brad and Ange? No Orlie and, uh, so on? Nope. And no young-young folks. The youngest of the lot, here, is Natalie, who'll be 30 in six months.

Interesting that the consensus point, where both genders agreed, was Johnny. And the girls' choice of Robert Downey Jr. should be quite encouraging to guys who've actually learned to shave recently. Interestingly, Downey says he feels his age, and the limitations of it. Don't we all!


Now, that's worth writing home about. Or at least worth writing a blog post about, while I watch the countdown to the fireworks.

And you have to admit, this is nice:







Jack Sparrow at his tipsy best. The movie is going to be loads of fun. And for now --

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Brad Pitt: give the man some credit -- he's an actor!

There's a curious little piece running on The Times of India, and it just leaves you shaking your head. I've heard of some dumb things, but this just about takes the cake.

Pitt out of film for his good looks
Hollywood superstar Brad Pitt is out of upcoming movie State of Play as the director on hindsight felt he was too good-looking to play the role.

Pitt was originally to star in the big-screen thriller as a journalist but the actor quit during pre-production, citing concerns with the script, contactmusic.com reports. Gladiator star Russell Crowe was roped in as a late replacement for Brad to star opposite actor Ben Affleck's character of a Congressman in the film. Director Kevin McDonald is convinced that Crowe's rough features are more suited to the role. "In a way, I was lucky it didn't work out with Brad. The relationship between the journalist and the politician was meant to be between somebody who feels inferior, who's a bit of a schlump, who kind of can't get a girlfriend, and somebody he's looking up to and admires his polished politician friend," he said. "That is not the dynamic of a Brad Pitt. He's not looking up to anyone thinking 'Oh, I wish I could have your girlfriend'," he added.

Here's the rub, boys and girls: THE MAN IS AN ACTOR. He isn't actually Achilles. Nor doe she race about machine-gunning people. Nor was born at age 90 and grow younger throughout life. All these parts are ACTING.

And he's not supposed to be able to act the part of someone who looks up to others and envies their girl friends?!

I would venture to say that if Mr. Pitt decided to play the part of a blind leper, he'd do just fine. Being an ACTOR. Professionally. Meaning, "getting paid to do the job and being bloody good at it."

Anyway, Russell Crowe will also be just fine, but -- and Russ, we love you, man! --it's just the principle of the thing, you know?!

Okay, AG: off the soapbox and on with the eye candy. Here we go:

Viggo, Orlando -- and that other cute dude from TROY...

I've got some reading for you today -- good, meaty stuff ... if you're in a Viggo mood, and I am. There's a really good feature article you need to get your teeth into, so after you've grabbed the eye candy below, go over here:

Mr Good Bard

The feature is running on the Sydney Morning Herald -- the Australian paper, so you might not have seen it. And staying in Aus, and staying with things sorta-kinda Lord of the Rings -ish, here's another beaut:

Eric Bana and Orlando Bloom show their revhead side

...that one is on the Daily Telegraph, and allow me to give you the hook: "THEY'RE two of Hollywood's leading hoons and Orlando Bloom and Eric Bana hung out to talk the secret men's business of custom motorcycles in Sydney yesterday."

Can you imagine working at a bike shop in Sydney, and looking up over the keyboard, or out the window, and Eric Bana and Orlando Bloom just walked in??? You'd have to drop your Pepsi stright into the computer. I mean, you'd have no choice, would you?!

Anway -- there's some reading for you; also food for thought. And now the eye candy!

Nice one, Sean!

Here's a quotable quote -- one to remember (track it down here; http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25002484-5006023,00.html) ...


Sean Penn was named Best Actor for his role in ‘Milk’ - which tells the story of Harvey Milk, California's first openly gay elected official - and took the opportunity to talk about how important the movie is to him.

He said: “As actors, we don't play gay/straight, we play human beings. This is a story about equal rights for all human beings.”

Nicely said ... AG stands up and applauds.

And while we're here, has anyone else been around for long enough to remember...

There is something to be said for having been around for a while ...!

Pirates, pirates everywhere, and gallons of rum to drink!

The rumor circulating right now is that Disney is paying Johnny Depp about sixty million to return to the Caribbean, put on the hat and boots and, uh, do the whole Swishbuckler thing ... which is very nice of Disney, because Johnny had said months (years?) earlier that he wasn't done with the character of Jack and would be happy to play him a couple more times!


Same day ... more news: Keia Knightly came right out with it and said she won't do another one.


Same day ... no news: I was soooo expecting Orlando Bloom to be in the next one, and Disney didn't whisper his name in the press release where the movie was announced. Is that weird, or what? Okay, Elizabeth's story is done (she's going home pregnant: The End. It usually is, when you go home pregnant). But Will is out there as the skipper of The Flying Dutchman, and the way Jack flirts with death, you'd expect their paths to cross (and entangle) three times a week, and twice on Tuesday.

No wonder Orlie seems to have a headache. I guess we need to wait a while and see what develops. And while we're here, lets have a couple more photos, for the fun of it. Don't you hate it when people are stingy with the photos -- as if there's a national shortage of them! Enjoy ... I did!

Come to me arms, ya bundle o' charms, an' stick to me 'eart like chewie

It's the Return of the King premier in Wellington, end of 2003, right? Some cutie in the crowd throws a pair of underwear at either Orlando Bloom or Viggo, or both, and Viggo catches them, and the boys pose for a pic. Woah.

To which I will add this, and then shut up and leave the remainder to your fertile imagination (come on, everybody's got one, admit it, it't nothing to keep in your closet) :



I'm not going to say a word. Not even a syllable. I'm just going to smile a lot and enjoy one of those "squodgy moments" that make your day more and more bearable.