I know those times when celebs actually say something quotable and GOOD are rare...so this thread will probably be much shorter than the Dumb-Ass quotes thread...but I thought we should also have a thread for celebrity quotes we actually like. (Quotes that are especially intelligent and/or funny, or quotes that support Truthiness According to ChitChat. )

I'll start off with this one from Sandra Oh.

"Half of Hollywood is gay - at least the people I run into!"
-Sandra Oh (from US Weekly this week)

-Reese Witherspoon

Amen, sistefriend. The first name that popped into my mind was Jessica Alba. Of course, she's not a legitimate actress, but it still applies to a certain extent.

I agree about the T&A magazines, but I don't think the kind of shots that she is talking about are limited to T&A magazines -- what about those recent shots of Jenna Elfman, et al for some european magazine or some of the shots that appear in Vanity Fair.

Are they any less T&A because they appear in more legitimate magazines.

Maxim doesn't have the market cornered.


*snark alert*

Maybe Reese just hasn't been asked.

I actually agree with you and what Reese said. I think objectifying women is a very deplorable thing that continues to be rampant.

::steps off soap box::

I'm actually pretty sick and tired of Reese. She comes off as those phony Southern bitches I've had to deal with every freaking day of my life. She seems constantly chipper and perky but then when your back is turned she'll say the most hateful things about you.

I definitely think she's just a hateful bitch that got a lucky break even though I loved her in Legally Blonde and Election. It's just something about her that irks the shit out of me.

Sounds like my in-laws -

"We really had fun together. I mean, she's not going to be having our child in Namibia, but we really enjoyed working with each other."
– Luke Wilson, on his relationship with My Super Ex-Girlfriend costar Uma Thurman, to David Letterman

"The person I feel saddest for is Britney."

~ Paula Abdul, after watching Kevin Federline perform his single "Lose Control" at the awards

God, how desperate does your life have to be when Paula Abdul feels bad and is embarassed for you.

Wow. I thought I was the only one who mistrusted Reese! I've heard that she can have lovely manners when she wants but is often just and icy witch who lets those around her know that she is NOT impressed by them, or anyone besides herself, for that matter.

MOVING TARGET
Page Six

August 24, 2006 -- MARGARET Cho isn't high on Atlanta these days. "Atlanta is not particularly a walking city, [but] when you do walk, you become a moving target of sorts . . . I got hit today with a classic, 'Me love you long time!' " the comic says on her Web blog. "I am often glad that I am not armed . . . even though it is the sorriest excuse of a sexual advance, and then they left without wanting to know if I had accepted the offer."

"My great triumph is not falling ass over tit as I came up those stairs."

~ Helen Mirren, accepting her Emmy for the HBO miniseries Elizabeth I

"Wolverine I could have lost to ... he has claws for hands."

~ Stephen Colbert, complaining that he lost the best variety performer Emmy, for which Hugh Jackman was also nominated, to Barry "The Copacabana" Manilow

Al Gore got a hearty chuckle out of the audience at the VMAs when he said, "I hear Justin Timberlake is bringing sexy back, so here I am."

Tab Fab, 9.8.06:

"[John Mark Karr is] the Paris Hilton of pedophiles. He was famous for doing nothing."

--Bill Maher on Larry King Live, quoted by Star.

Of course, looking at it another way, Maher is the Paris Hilton of TV comedians. He thrives on being stylishly nasty in public.

"I gave up trying to be cool at 16, and never looked back."
– The Office's Rainn Wilson, being unapologetic for sharing traits with his character, uber-dweeb Dwight Shrute, to Rolling Stone

"I went to Heath Ledger's house once (no, not because I "hang out with celebrities"; it was only because he lived, at the time, in my neighborhood and we had heard that there was a party nearby at "some dude's house") and when I met him someone called his phone. I asked, "Who was that", and his reply was, "My dealer". Yes, indeed, it was in fact "his dealer". The dude was on the phone with his cocaine dealer. I couldn't believe it, and being the (sometimes) bold person that I am, I then asked, "Oh, so you're into that sorta thing, huh?" He said, "Yeah", and I walked out. It was pathetic. I couldn't believe it. I had heard that "a lot of celebrities were doing 'coke'", but that pretty much sealed it for me."
- Jason Lee, on Heath Ledger

http://viewaskew.com/theboard/viewtopic.ph...ghlight=#968373

Reposted with thanks to Trizzie

Usmagazine.com
Scarlett Johansson Bravely Refuses to Starve Self

Don't count on Scarlett Johansson to turn into one of those Hollywood actresses that suddenly drops a bunch of "baby fat" (it's not baby fat if you are old enough to actually have a baby) and credits an impromptu boost in metabolism. The Black Dahlia star is speaking out against the Hollywood slim fast trend, calling it "unsexy," Starpulse blog reports.

"I try to stay fit and eat healthily, but I'm not anxious to starve myself and become unnaturally thin," she says. "I don't find that look attractive on women and I don't want to become part of that trend. It's unhealthy and it puts too much pressure on women in general who are being fed this image of the ideal, which it is not.

She continues: "I think America has become obsessed with dieting rather than focusing on eating well, exercising and living a healthy life. I also think that being ultra-thin is not sexy at all. Women shouldn't be forced to conform to unrealistic and unhealthy body images that the media promote. I don't need to be skinny to be sexy."

''In the West Bank, a group calling itself the Lions of Monotheism firebombed four churches, telling the Associated Press, 'The attacks...were carried out to protest the Pope's remarks linking Islam and violence.' The irony — and this is often the case, we find — was completely lost on them.''
JON STEWART, ON THE DAILY SHOW

"Mel has a new movie out. It's about the end of the Mayan civilization. And guess whose fault that was?"
– David Letterman

O'Toole Smuggled Vodka Into Oscars


Legendary hell-raiser Peter O'Toole nearly missed out on picking up his Honorary Oscar in 2003 after he threatened to leave the ceremony because of the award show's strict no-alcohol rules. It was only after a bottle of vodka was smuggled in to appease the Lawrence Of Arabia star, that he decided to stay and collect the award. He says, "I enjoyed it (The Oscars.) The only thing that wasn't enjoyable was in the green room. I said, 'Can I have a drink?' 'We have lemon juice, apple juice, still or sparkling.' I said, 'No, I want a drink. No drink?' I said, 'All right, I'm f**king off. I'll be back.' A man with earphones said, 'No! No!' Eventually this vodka was smuggled in."


Ok, I love some Peter O'toole....

These are both quotes from Bill Maher

Dick Cheney feels responsible for his daughter being a lesbian because growing up, she heard him say 'go f--k yourself' so many times, she finally tried it.


Bush gave an interview and he said people will vote for him because 'They've seen me weep, they’ve seen me laugh, and they’ve seen me hug.' These are the same qualifications for a Tickle Me Elmo.

Chicks aren't afraid to be heard

Natalie Maines — the Dixie Chick who made those controversial comments about George W. Bush — has kind words for another Bush basher.

“Some people call me brave, but I don’t think what I did was brave at all. Brave is Kanye West, after Hurricane Katrina, saying George Bush doesn’t care about black people,” Maines tells the December issue of Playboy magazine; the interview goes on-line on Friday. “That was one of the greatest television moments of all time. I would never have said that. I’m a coward compared with him. It was so honest and sincere, and he knew what he was going to say. I would have chickened out. That was just so brave. And true.”

Maines' bandmate Emily Robison believes that the backlash to the comments were so harsh because the Dixie Chicks are women. “Read the stuff on the Internet: ‘Just tell that [rhymes with ‘witch’] to shut up,’” Robison told Playboy. “They don’t want to hear mouthy women to begin with. A guy would have been an outlaw, the Johnny Cash or Merle Haggard of his generation.”

U.S. acting "needs some help," says veteran Burstyn
Mon Nov 20, 2006 9:25am ET

More Entertainment News... Email This Article | Print This Article | Reprints [-] Text [+] By Steve James

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Ellen Burstyn, winner of an Oscar and a Tony, nominee for numerous Golden Globes and Emmys, and co-president of the famed Actors Studio, is not very happy with the standard of American acting these days.

She's not naming names, but Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Wahlberg and Alec Baldwin can breathe easy. She loved their performances in Martin Scorsese's new movie, "The Departed."

But Burstyn does believe that the demands of television have lowered standards as actors rush from studio to studio with little time to hone their craft on stage.

"Acting? I think it needs some help," she told Reuters in a recent interview. "TV has lowered the bar. With quicker schedules everything is rushed, so the quality gets lowered."

Broadway, she said, is in terrible shape. "I am appalled. (I saw) a couple of things that were billed as good, but they were shockingly bad. I can't recommend anything on Broadway."

Burstyn, who has just published a memoir, "Lessons in Becoming Myself," has earned the right to criticize. In a 50-year career, she has appeared on Broadway, in Hollywood and on television. She won the Best Actress Academy Award for 1974's "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" and has a total of six Oscar nominations, seven Golden Globe nominations, a Tony award for "Same Time, Next Year" and an Emmy nomination.

That Emmy nomination was controversial because it came for a 14-second role, in which she spoke 38 words in the TV movie "Mrs. Harris." She did not win.

Burstyn was the first female president of Actors Equity and is co-president, with Harvey Keitel and Al Pacino, of the Actors Studio. That's where she studied with the legendary Lee Strasberg, founder of the technique known as "The Method," in which actors look inward to find the emotional truth of a scene, using their own feelings and empathy.

Long hailed as one of America's finest actresses, her film credits include "The Last Picture Show," "The Exorcist," "Providence," and "The King of Marvin Gardens." Her latest movie, "The Fountain," with Rachel Weisz and Hugh Jackman, is being released this month.

'NOT MY CENTURY'

Like Dirk Bogarde, her co-star in Alain Resnais' 1976 film, "Providence," and whose elegant autobiography is the gold standard in Hollywood, she wrote hers entirely herself.

"I wrote the whole thing in longhand," she said. "I am more comfortable with that than with a typewriter or a computer. This is not my century, if I had a choice I would ride around in a horse and buggy!"

The book chronicles how Edna Rae Gillooly, born in Detroit during the Depression, left her domineering mother and strict Catholic upbringing to become a big Hollywood star. She also writes about spiritual growth, traveling the world in search of enlightenment, before finally embracing Sufism, a mystical offshoot of traditional Islam.

"It is highly unusual for a celebrity to write their own book, but I would hate someone else to write my story, it's a very personal thing," said Burstyn. "I am agonizing now. Did I really have to be so candid? But you tell the story as it was. If you don't like it, sorry, but it was how it was."

A lifelong keeper of a daily journal, she had written down just about everything about her life, but it wasn't until she had a dream in 1980 about writing that she started the book.

She recalls working with Hollywood greats such as Scorsese, Nicholson, William Friedkin, Bob Rafelson and Jodie Foster.

But she also writes about raising her son, mostly on her own, and how that translated to her ground-breaking role as a single mother in "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore."

More than anything, though, the book is about a woman's journey to self-awareness after rejecting her family's religious background.

"I got to the point where I realized the Catholic Church would reject me. I did not play by their rules, so I went 10 years without any spiritual practice in my life, as Sartre said: 'There was a God-shaped hole.'

Sufism, she said, is inclusive and uses teachings from all great teachers, Jesus, Mohammed, Martin Luther King, Gandhi.

"If you want to know who you truly are, the answer won't be found in the outer world; you must go inside and see where your instincts lead you," Burstyn writes.


© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.

^^^

God, I her!

"Have you folks seen the new Mel Gibson movie, Apolcalypto? Well, it's apparently – the whole movie is in ancient Mayan, and I'm thinking to myself, 'If I want to see a movie that's incomprehensible in language, well, I'll just go see Rocky Balboa..' "
– David Letterman

Meanwhile, Spears’ ex, Kevin Federline, still has at least one fan: camp king John Waters. “You don’t see him out there getting out of limousines and flashing his shaved crotch,” the director of “Hairspray” told the Canadian Press. “He’s been the gentleman since they split up.” Waters is such a Federline fan that he made his assistant buy the rapper’s CD for him. “She was so mad, she almost quit,” Waters said. “She kept saying: ‘I’m not doing it. Please don’t make me buy it.’ But she finally did. I consider it a prized possession; I haven’t even taken it out of the wrapper.”

Bettie Page is a tough critic
(MSNBC.COM)

Bettie Page says that Gretchen Mol — the actress who played her in the 2005 movie “The Notorious Bettie Page” was “real pretty” but her figure wasn’t so hot.

“I thought she was real pretty, with those big eyes,” the reclusive 1950s pin-up tells the upcoming issue of Playboy magazine. “She was good-looking, but the way she would screw up her face and all, I never did that. I didn’t think her figure was too good. She was too tall, but she had a pretty face.”

Page also shared her theory that Marilyn Monroe was murdered: “I don’t think she killed herself at all,” Page told the mag. “I think it was some of the henchmen of old Kennedy.”


I believe Soho said those same words.

"A GOOD old-fashioned sex tape pretty much guarantees you a star on Hollywood Boulevard" - Aaron Eckhart to Fade In magazine .

LOL!! That is funny and I totally do agree! hee.
Now Bettie Page...she knows from good figures!

ENDQUOTE
Page Six

January 28, 2007 -- "I'M tired of all these women I meet asking me, 'Why do French women look so great?' I tell them, 'Go to a tailor. They do' " - Michael Kors to the Palm Beach Daily News . . .

Always Time

SHIRLEY MacLaine raised an eyebrow at p.r. exec Richard Laermer as he sipped a lunchhour martini in the Red Carpet Lounge at Los Angeles airport. When Laermer pointed out it was cocktail hour somewhere, MacLaine laughed, "OK - let's say Singapore." Then, raising her glass of ginger ale, she toasted, "Here's to all the ladies working at brothels in Singapore." MacLaine might have a soft spot for working girls, since she played one in "Irma la Douce" (1963).

Australian PM stands by Obama attack

CANBERRA, Australia (CNN) -- Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Monday stood by his comments from a day earlier when he said that terrorists should pray that Sen. Barack Obama and the Democrats take over the White House in 2008.

Both Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. were telling Howard to butt out of American politics.

Speaking to Australia's ABC News Radio, Howard said his comments were aimed at the Illinois Democrat's plan to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq in March 2008.

"What I have done is to criticize Sen. Obama's views on a particular issue, and I don't retreat in any way from that criticism," Howard said. "I think if America is defeated in Iraq that will be catastrophic for the West and it will have tremendously adverse consequences for Australia."

Howard, who trails the opposition Labor Party in his re-election bid this year, criticized his opponents as being hypocritical.

"Apparently it's all right for people in the Labor Party to regularly criticize the Bush administration's policy on Iraq -- and they do that almost on a daily basis," Howard said. "Yet my criticism of the policy position of somebody who is not president -- and is not even the Democratic candidate for the presidency -- that is interfering in American politics and is absolutely to be forbidden."

On Sunday, Howard told an Australian TV program that, "If I were running al Qaeda in Iraq, I would put a circle around March 2008, and pray, as many times as possible, for a victory not only for Obama, but also for the Democrats."

Obama, campaigning in Iowa, told reporters Sunday that he was flattered that one of Bush's allies "started attacking me the day after I announced [a presidential run] -- I take that as a compliment."

The Democratic presidential hopeful said if the Australian prime minister was "ginned up to fight the good fight in Iraq," he needs to send another 20,000 Australians to the war.

"Otherwise, it's just a bunch of empty rhetoric," Obama said.

Some of Howard's critics have suggested that the prime minister's close alliance with President Bush has distorted his judgment -- a criticism he brushed aside.

White House aides expressed surprise over Howard's criticism of Obama, but one senior administration official supported for the Australian leader: "Prime Minister Howard knows that setting a timeline for a withdrawal sends the wrong signal to our enemies."

Several Democrats and Republicans suggested Howard should butt out of the debate.

"I would prefer that Mr. Howard stay out of our domestic politics and we'll stay out of his domestic politics," Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, told CNN's "Late Edition." "But I think his point is that we're going to have to deal with terrorist organizations like al Qaeda. They're not giving up and we shouldn't give up in this battle of wills."

Speaking on the same program, Oregon Democrat Sen. Ron Wyden called Howard's comments "bizarre." "We'll make our own judgments in this country with respect to elections, and Barack Obama is a terrific public servant," Wyden said.

Obama declared his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination in a speech on Saturday in his home state. (Obama makes his announcement )

Like Bush, Howard has come under increased criticism at home for supporting the unpopular war.

Australia has more than 1,000 troops in and around Iraq, many in noncombat roles.

Obama dismissed Howard's suggestion that his election would help terrorist groups, noting that even the Bush administration's "own intelligence agencies have indicated that the threat of terrorism has increased as a consequence of our actions over there."

Mr. Howard, you are backing a lame horse, and you are the back end of one.

From Awful Truth, 3/2/07

ENDBLAB""We were doing a photo shoot in Australia for Men in Black. And the photographer was kinda pushing Tommy...and he's saying, 'Tommy, Tommy, I'm not feeling the hope—you're the actor, figure out what to hope for!' And Tommy calmly sits there and says, 'Okay, I got it. I hope you fall off that box and break your f--kin' neck.' " —Will Smith, on the brutal honesty of Tommy Lee Jones


I love Tommy Lee Jones!!

Endquote

"THE New York Post wrote that I was scantily clad and the Mets were horrified. What the [bleep] did I do? I wore a red dress. What do they care more about, a [bleep] dress or a world championship?" - Anna Benson, wife of ex-Met pitcher Kris Benson, in Penthouse.

Starpulse News Blog

Avril Lavigne Blames 'Weak' Spears For Her Meltdown

Britney Spears is to blame for her recent meltdown because she's too weak to handle her fame, according to pop rival Avril Lavigne. The star claims Spears can't point the finger at the media for her headline-grabbing spells in rehab and her bizarre hair-shaving episode - because all celebrities have to deal with the fame that comes with their success.

She says, "What's happened to Britney is all down to who she is as a person. If you want a piece of this business you have to be able to deal with it. You can't complain about the pressures, the paparazzi, the madness because that's the job."

Lavigne adds that she is able to live a relatively normal life - by concealing her private life from the press. She says, "No one really gets to know."

^Not to beat a dead horse (it's on its way) -

That's not really a smart quote in the least bit. Avril is clearly saying stupid shit (like she usually does) in order to get publicity for her new album. I mean, let's be honest - Avril and Britney are on two different levels, while one is a pseudo-punk rock chick that makes lame pop songs, Britney...is yeah.

I think the majority of people agree with me. Just because she's bashing Britney doesn't make her the automatic genius, she's a holier-than-thou, self-righteous jackass who needs to cool it with the black nail polish and take her has-been boyfriend back to Canada.

Dammit, "Girlfriend" is such an annoyingly catchy song though...

I agree with Babloo. Avril Lavigne wishes she had the fame and career of Britney Spears. No matter how bad Britney's stuffed up lately, she doesn't make bitchy comments in the media about other performers. I think that's the only way Avril can make herself look good by comparison. It's not working...

(Pagesix.com)

Blast At Cbs Nuts And Wimps

April 12, 2007 -- FORMER CBS News reporter Bernard Goldberg is biting the hand that once fed him in a new memoir, taking wicked shots at network CEO Les Moonves and anchor Katie Couric.

In "Crazies to the Left of Me, Wimps to the Right," from HarperCollins, Goldberg says Moonves made the "dopiest statement in memory" when he called Couric "the Jackie Robinson of network news" after hiring her as the first solo woman evening anchor.

"Sorry, Les, but comparing a woman who gets paid big bucks to read the news to Jackie Robinson, a genuine American hero, disrespects everything Robinson stands for in America," Goldberg writes. "The problem is that Leslie Moonves inhabits a shallow subculture in America, a long plastic hallway where liberals run free and say the dumbest things. It's a place where they abuse history for no other reason than to satisfy their short-term needs."

After detailing the bigotry Robinson put up with as Major League Baseball's first black player, Goldberg fumes: "Let's look at the indignities that Katie Couric must contend with. There's that pesky $15 million salary. And those nasty limousines that whisk her about town. And, when she's on the road, CBS actually makes her stay in the most luxurious suites at only the finest hotels. And don't forget those dreadful Park Avenue A-list parties where fawning guests hang on her every word."

Goldberg - who contributed to the "CBS Evening News" and "48 Hours" for nearly three decades, won seven Emmys and is now a Fox News commentator - also takes on Couric's predecessor, Dan Rather, for clinging to his job in the wake of the phony George W. Bush-Air National Guard story even after four of his colleagues got axed.

Riffing on "courage," Rather's nightly, one-word sign-off, Goldberg writes: "How could a man of courage, a man who puts loyalty above almost everything else, have let them leave without going right out the door with them . . . Real courage requires real risk, sometimes even sacrifice . . . Dan, like so many other elites on the left, talks a good game. They all stand for the 'right' things. As long as it doesn't cost them anything."

Flacks for CBS and Couric had no comment. Rather's rep didn't get back to us.

Sorry, gotta comment on this one. I think it's odd that Goldberg tries to imply that these people's status as left-wingers has anything to do with what's wrong with the picture. Power corrupts people of all belief systems, left, right, Republican, Democrat, Socialist, Communist, etc. You'd think he might be implying that maybe there's some extra hypocrisy present, since lefties are supposed to be the bleeding hearts. But how is it any worse than the God-fearing religious right condemning certain behaviors, then enacting those very same behaviors, sometimes secretly, sometimes openly? Hmmph.

It's worse in my opinion..because their news/ideas/principles are broadcasted on a daily basis and their voices at one time were the only voices out there...until the arrival of "fair and balanced" Faux News(basically a conservative slant in a overwhelmingly dominating liberal media). These are supposed to be the voices of reason, outside religion/politics.

I got a vibe from him that they are all tooting their horns as courageous individuals making accomplishments. I was pleased about a female anchorwoman being hired...but it isn't on the scale of Jackie Robinson as was made out to be.

But I'm with you on power corrupting in all circles.

I agree. But as we only see or hear about the "bad" people ~ and there are those in every social, racial or religious group ~ they are the ones that all others are judged and stereotyped by. It's not fair but that's the way our society is.

Lavigne attacks Brit again
(MSNBC.COM)

Avril Lavigne is blasting celebs who are tabloid targets.

The singer was quoted in a lengthy interview saying that celebrities who really want to avoid the press can do just that. And she says that Spears seems to be one of the few who isn’t able to pull that off.

Lavigne admits that she isn’t the focus of as much attention as her rival, but says that’s largely because she wants it that way.

“The press isn’t all over me like that,” Lavigne said in an interview published in the Scottish Daily Record. “She’s probably one of the people who can’t control it. But if you don’t want it, you could get away from it. I don’t want my picture taken all the time.” Lavigne recently denied making comments attributed to her that blamed the “Toxic” singer for her woes.

Lavigne added that she and her hubby, musician Deryck Whibley, aren’t tabloid targets because they avoid the press.

“If you want to be a tabloid couple, go around every red carpet in L.A., go to The Ivy for lunch,” she said. “We don’t do any of that. To us, it’s cheesy. It’s lame.”

Notes from all over

Perry Farrell is not a fan of “American Idol.” “If you hear garbage music on your radio station, you have only yourself to blame,” the Lollapalooza founder and Jane’s Addiction front man tells the upcoming issue of Spin. “If you don’t support the arts, that’s what you’re going to get. You’re going to get ‘American Idol.’ It’s fine if you want to hear that, but I don’t.”

Notes from all over

... Natalie Portman politely told a reporter it was none of his business if she was dating her “Goya’s Ghosts” co-star, Gael Garcia Bernal. The 25-year-old actress added she was always shocked when reporters asked her when she was in her late teens if she was a virgin. “Remember there was that time when Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson were proclaiming their virginity,” Portman told the London Guardian. “I was like, ‘Are you kidding?’”

this woman...

(Pagesix.com)

Dissing Justin

ACTRESS Sallie Toussaint is no fan of Justin Timberlake. Toussaint, who stars in "The Departed" and who used to date Prince Albert, told Smooth magazine, "I would definitely not date a guy like [Timberlake]! Bringing sexy back? Why doesn't he bring his b - - -s back? After the Janet [Jackson] thing where he didn't step up, I stopped liking him. He could have helped tremendously by just being a man, but he didn't. He ripped her top and ran. Timberwuss is quite the fairy. He needs to man up!"

(Pagesix.com)

Mel Eyes Broadway Solo

IS Mel Brooks Broadway-bound as a solo act? The man behind "The Producers" was overheard recently at a Hamptons eatery tossing around the idea of doing a one- man show on Broadway. He said he has no shortage of show-business anecdotes and could easily fill 90 or 120 minutes. Among the tales Brooks told was one about Richard Pryor, who was set to appear in Mel's "History of the World Part I." After setting himself on fire while freebasing cocaine in 1980, Pryor called Brooks to tell him he had to drop out of the movie because he'd been burned up and was lying in a hospital bed. Brooks laughed, thinking it was a joke. Then Pryor said, "I'm serious - my whole body was engulfed in flames. So unless I'm playing Joan of Arc, you got to get someone else!"

Rather most likely stayed on because quitting would have voided terms of his contract and he may not have been paid. Staying on until being fired probably was a better deal for him financially. Obviously, this all depends on the terms of his contract.

(Pagesix.com)

Don Imus In Context

CHARLES Barkley thinks Don Imus should have been suspended, but not fired, for insulting the Rutgers women's basketball team. On last night's "Boomer Esiason Show" on MSG, the NBA star said, "It was an insult to those young ladies. . . . He owed them an apology. I think a suspension was warranted." Barkley criticized civil rights leaders for ignoring Imus' insults against Jews, Asians and others. "Anytime something happens, you [media] guys have a magnet on Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, like they speak for all black people . . . which is unfortunate and unfair. Al and Jesse have said racist things before. I don't think you can have selective prosecution . . . that's not right, that's not fair."

Armstrong takes Hill, touts bill
By Jim Tankersley
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WASHINGTON -- Cycling champion Lance Armstrong brought a small army of about 200 cancer survivors to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, touting a bill to expand screening and research for the disease and, in an interview, implying Iraq war spending impedes cancer-fighting legislation.

Armstrong opposed the war before it began. In a phone interview after a news conference to unveil the cancer bill, whose sponsors include Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Armstrong said he would like to double current federal spending on the National Cancer Institute but called Washington's current fiscal situation "challenging" for that and other anti-cancer efforts.

"Unfortunately, when you spend money in other places, you have to rob Peter to pay Paul," Armstrong said. "We're sort of being left out here."

Asked if he was referring to Iraq, he replied: "War is expensive. It's not a political flap to say the war cost $500 billion. ... What could we have done with $500 billion in the war on cancer?"

Armstrong said he would like to expand federal efforts to fight the disease, from screening to treatment to end-of-life care.

The bill, which was introduced Wednesday, would authorize new state screening programs through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and cancer institute research to develop new screens, along with expanding services for cancer survivors.

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The Personals Page was compiled by Emily Rosenbaum from Tribune news services and staff reports.