'American Idol' creator Simon Fuller honored with star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

Simon Fuller's star continues to shine -- the "American Idol" creator received the 2,441st star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame just as the reality competition wraps its 10th season.

Fuller was presented with the star Monday in front of W Hollywood hotel on Hollywood Boulevard, flanked by "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest, judges Randy Jackson and Jennifer Lopez and the entire Season 10 cast -- whose finale kicks off Tuesday night.

"You deserve this more than anyone I know," said "Idol" winner Carrie Underwood, who presented him with the award. The 51-year-old British entrepreneur also created "So You Think You Can Dance."

"Whenever I see that star, I won't see my name, I'll see all names of the people I've worked [with] and all those amazing artists and people that have helped me achieve this stuff," Fuller said, specifically thanking former "Idol" judge and producer Simon Cowell. "What you did for 'American Idol,' I personally will never forget."

Lopez's hubby Marc Anthony and designer Victoria Beckham, whom Fuller managed when she was with the Spice Girls, also attended with son Brooklyn Beckham. "American Idol" alum Kris Allen and David Cook joined the festivities. Fuller's wife, Natalie Swanston, was on hand for the presentation too.

Singer Chaka Khan received the 2,440th star earlier this month at a ceremony that included Stevie Wonder and music producer Benny Medina.

Tony Danza, Sharon Stone, Berry Gordy Jr. and Jerry Weintraub attended the ceremony for Weintraub's wife Jane Morgan, who received the 2,439th star.

"Criminal Minds" star Joe Mantegna received the 2,438th star in April joined by Shemar Moore, Kirsten Vangsness,  A.J. Cook, Rachel Nichols, Andy Garcia, Jean Smart and Dennis Franz.

CBS news correspondent and author Bill Geist was joined by Lassie the dog when he received the 2,437th star in April.

Earlier that month, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Rob Marshall and actors Johnny Depp and Javier Bardem attended the 2,436th star ceremony for Bardem's wife Penélope Cruz.

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Top photo: Carrie Underwood, Simon Fuller and Ryan Seacrest. Credit: Matt Sayles / Associated Press. Left photo: Top, Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez. Bottom, Victoria and Brooklyn Beckham. Credits: Mike Nelson / European Pressphoto Agency

A new Times database puts readers on the sidewalks of Hollywood, using more than a century of archives to track the lives of the stars past and present.

'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides' premieres outdoors at Disneyland with Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz

A grown man cried after failing to nab Johnny Depp's autograph along the 2,700-foot-long black carpet that lined Main Street in Disneyland on Saturday, leading to the world premiere of "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stanger Tides," which also stars Penelope Cruz and Geoffrey Rush.

Nearly 25,000 rabid fans had waited, some for up to 10 hours, to catch sight of stars such as Depp, Cruz, Rush, Ian McShane, Kevin McNally, Sam Claflin, Jodie Foster, Martin Short, Teri Hatcher, Kirstie Alley, Joey Lawrence, Cat Cora and more as they arrived at the premiere over a period of two hours Saturday evening. (Click the pics to see more photos from the black-carpet premiere.)

Depp came last, wearing an oversized black and white suit and skipping the press line in favor of the fans. But as women screamed and little girls broke into tears, the scene became too intense and Depp's three large handlers pushed him down the carpet, away from the man whose lower lip first quivered, then gave way to hiccuping sobs of disappointment and frustration.

Such was the passion surrounding the screening — the world's first outdoor 3-D premiere — of the fourth installment of the popular "Pirates" franchise, where premiere attendees paid $1,000 a ticket to eat wild salmon and sit in an outdoor theater constructed in New Orleans Square facing a giant screen on Tom Sawyer Island. (Proceeds were donated to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.)

Also spotted: Cast members Astrid Berges-Frisbey and Keith Richards with his wife, Patti Hansen, plus Vanessa Hudgens, Steven Tyler, Eva Longoria, Natalie Maines, Chelsie Hightower, Ashley Tisdale, Cheryl Burke, Eliza Dushku and Emma Roberts.

With this latest film poised to reach summer audiences, talk of the "Pirates" team making one or two more has swirled, and McNally, who plays Gibbs, Depp's trusty first mate, said that that was indeed quite likely, "There's definitely a feeling that we've got some more to explore. I would say definitely one more," McNally said.

Meanwhile, McShane, who plays the fearsome Blackbeard in the film, joked that he is so good at playing villains because he is a really good guy. He also took time out to explain why, in the modern day, people don't use the word "villain" anymore. "We call them 'complicated people.' " he said.

And Claflin, who plays a missionary who falls in love with a mermaid (mermaids are one of the most compelling aspects of the new film), said he was just trying hard not to float away with all the excitement surrounding the film. "I can't quite believe that I'm here. I can't believe my feet are still on the floor. It's a real honor," he said, staring around the chaotic carpet in amazement.

Tensions ran high as the screening, which was supposed to start at 8:30 p.m,. didn't roll until 9:15, and parents, many dressed as pirates according to the invitation's mandate, smoothed the hair of fussy little ones. Then, before nearly 10,000 park lights were turned off for the show, it began to rain.

Disney, it seemed, could control everything but the weather. A low-grade sense of panic set in amongst the crowd as fans pulled the blankets on the backs of their seats fast around them. It would continue to mist throughout the screening, but it never became a downpour.

Besides, the watery night was appropriate for a film that takes place on the high seas in a swashbuckling plot about Captain Jack Sparrow's (Depp) mad dash to find the fabled Fountain of Youth. The adventure puts him in close quarters with his former nemesis, Captain Hector Barbossa (Rush), and a former lover, Angelica (Cruz), while pitting him against the heartless Blackbeard.

When the film concluded, fireworks burst in the rain-smudged sky above the screen and the park remained open until 1 a.m. so that grown men and women could play.

"Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" opens in theaters May 20.

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-- Jessica Gelt

Top photo: Before the Disneyland world premiere of "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," producer Jerry Bruckheimer, left, director Rob Marshall and actors Geoffrey Rush, Penelope Cruz, Johnny Depp, Ian McShane, Keith Richards, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey and Sam Claflin took the stage. Credit: Matt Sayles / Associated Press.

Right photo: Actresses who play mermaids arrive for the world premiere of "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" at Disneyland. Photo: Mike Nelson / European Pressphoto Agency.

Eva Longoria has a wardrobe malfunction on 'Letterman' [Video]

When Eva Longoria stopped by David Letterman's couch in a micro-tuxedo to talk about her new cookbook, the "Desperate Housewives" actress gave the host a bit more than he bargained for — a wardrobe malfunction, to be exact.

"I wore a tuxedo for you," Longoria said when she arrived onstage.

"Or part of one," Letterman quipped back.

Then the button on her teeny-tiny jacket gave way, prompting Letterman to say, "We're going to lose our liquor license, I know it." (Watch the malfunction above.)

Among the things they discussed: soapy cilantro, okra and Oprah.

Longoria, 36, has been promoting her cookbook, "Eva's Kitchen." She said the book, coupled with cooking, helped her get through her ugly divorce from Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs.

The actress, a longtime foodie, turned to the kitchen and helping out friends post-divorce. Since February, she's been linked to Eduardo Cruz, Penelope Cruz's little bro, but has been reluctant to get into the dating scene.

"I'm really domestic, so I had a really strong identity in being a wife," Longoria told Rachael Ray. "Finding myself again outside of somebody else has been not even challenging — it's been fun. It's been like, here we go!"

The complete opposite of her character Gabrielle Solis, no?

The "Beso" restaurateur said she wants to have a family, but in the meantime she's taken in two live-in friends at her house.

"I'm like the mother hen for a sorority house. It's all women, all the time. So, we're always cooking! I love it!"

Longoria, who married the basketball player in  an extravagant "7-7-07" ceremony, said the divorce, which was just as public, made it more difficult.

"It was hard," she said in promos for Thursday's episode of "Piers Morgan Tonight." "It was devastating to go through on its own, much less publicly."

Maybe it's a good thing her button popped off — to distract people from less pleasant issues?

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— Nardine Saad
twitter.com/NardineSaad

Photo: Actress Eva Longoria signs her new book, "Eva's Kitchen," at a Borders in New York. Credit: Astrid Stawiarz / Getty Images.

Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem have a baby boy, reports say

Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem welcomed a baby boy Saturday in Los Angeles, according to several reports.

The child, a boy, was born at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, El Pais reported, with Cruz's mother, Encarna, and brother and sister Eduardo and Monica flying in from Spain late last week, according to Hola magazine. 

Bardem, who was also spotted at the hospital, on Tuesday snagged a best actor Oscar nomination -- his third nod -- for his work in "Biutiful." He won the supporting actor Academy Award in 2008 for "No Country for Old Men."

Bardem's mother, Pilar Bardem, was spotted bound for L.A. from the Madrid-Barajas Airport on Monday, said Hola, which also had a shot of Bardem at the hospital.

Penelope and Javier, who met in 1992 but didn't date until 2007, got married in July in a small ceremony in the Bahamas. Reps for the notoriously private couple had yet to confirm the birth, name or more details on Wednesday.

In other Cruz couples news, Monica Cruz was accompanied to the hospital by her apparent boyfriend, Spanish television actor Alex Gonzalez.

RELATED:

Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem are married!

Penelope Cruz is pregnant — halfway done, as a matter of fact

Penelope Cruz stargazes on the Academy Awards red carpet [video]

-- Christie D'Zurilla

Photo: Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem watch the Los Angeles Lakers play the Miami Heat at Staples Center in L.A. on Dec. 25, 2010. Credit: Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press

Penelope Cruz is pregnant — halfway done, as a matter of fact

Yes, fans of beautiful babies, Penelope Cruz is indeed pregnant. Four and a half months along, actually, reps for the mother-to-be and her husband, Javier Bardem, have confirmed to People.

Rumors of a baby on board have been bubbling — and shot down — since around when the two got married at an intimate ceremony at a friend's home in Barbados in early July. However, new photos of Cruz working with Johnny Depp on "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" in Puerto Rico highlighted a tummy bump that begged to differ with those denials. Cruz's rep said in a statement Tuesday that the actress is on her way to London to finish work on the pirate picture.

"Eat Pray Love" star Bardem has been part of the acting mob up north, promoting his film "Biutiful" at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival.

— Christie D'Zurilla

Photo: Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem are seen on a screen during Spain's Film Goya Awards ceremony in Madrid on Feb. 14.  Credit: Dominique Faget /AFP/Getty Images.

Check out other new parents, and parents to be, in our celebrity kids archives.

 

 

Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem are married! [Updated]

Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem were married in early July at a friend's house in the Bahamas, with only family present, her rep confirmed on Tuesday to the Associated Press.

The two met in 1992 but didn't start dating until 2007, according to People, which in October 2009 reported that they were engaged.

[Updated, 2:05 p.m.: Along with the wedding news, there's non-news as well. Cruz is not pregnant, despite reports to the contrary, her rep tells E! Online.]

Audiences will see Oscar-winner Bardem (supporting actor, "No Country for Old Men") in August as a love interest to Julia Roberts in Ryan Murphy's "Eat Pray Love." Cruz, recently seen in "Sex and the City 2," won a 2009 supporting actress Oscar for "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," which also featured Bardem.

Blame it on the cosmos, Cupid, June's lunar eclipse, whatever -- June and July have been ...

Red carpet: Penelope Cruz stargazes at the Academy Awards

Even stars like to meet stars. And what better place than the Kodak Theatre on Academy Awards night? For supporting actress nominee Penelope Cruz, it's Meryl Steep who tops her list -- even though, Cruz admits, she's already met the "Julie & Julia" star.

Cruz, who is nominated for supporting actress for "Nine," chose a Donna Karan gown for the big night.

And her goal tonight? "To really enjoy the night."

--Amy Kaufman

Photo: Penelope Cruz in Donna Karan Credit: Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

A new Times database puts readers on the sidewalks of Hollywood, using more than a century of archives to track the lives of the stars, including current Oscar nominees Jeff Bridges, James Cameron, Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman, Sandra Bullock and Meryl Streep.

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Exclusive: First look at Architectural Digest's 2010 Oscars green room

Imagine a mythical room where Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner talk "Breaking Dawn" against mirrored walls, where Alec Baldwin schmoozes Penelope Cruz, and last year's acting winners Kate Winslet and Sean Penn make cash bets on this year's nominees. 

Some may call it heaven, or CAA's waiting room. It's actually this year's official Academy Awards green room at the Kodak Theatre, presented by Conde Nast's Architectural Digest for the eighth year in a row.

The rendering above is a first glimpse of the concept for March 7, a nod to Hollywood's golden era. The mag chose Roger Thomas, EVP of Wynn design and development, to create this year's space for nominees and presenters coming and going from stage and press.

PREACH IT! Actually, don’t preach it. Don’t say anything, ladies. It's not really sexy.

Attention, Hollywood babes: Stop talking, stay out of the spotlight and you just might find yourself one of the world’s most desirable women! Wouldn’t that be exciting?

Don’t answer that. That’s talking.

According to a spanking-new poll of the 99 most desirable women -- released by the website AskMen.com -- the world’s best girlfriend or wife material comes in the form of an actress named Emmanuelle Chriqui. No. 2 on the list is woman named Marisa Miller. No. 4? Alessandra Ambrosio. Haven’t heard of them? Exactly.

"[Chriqui] is not out there making a spectacle of herself, which could sully her image," AskMen.com editor in chief James Bassil told Reuters. "A lot of the behavior we see in the media is not the kind of behavior that you want to see in a girlfriend or wife. You can get over-saturation, and we don't want to see their real and sometimes stained and depressed sides of their lives."

There’s more.

“All the top women we see in this list are pretty well behaved and respectable women. We don't see a lot of them parading around in public unless it is in the framework of their careers," Bassil said.

Fact: Ambrosio and Miller are Victoria’s Secret models. So it’s perfectly OK for them to “parade around” in their underwear and gigantic angel wings. That doesn’t count as making a spectacle of oneself. It’s not OK, however, for these ladies to command much attention beyond that.

Nicole Kidman, Madonna, Fergie and friends light up New York's 'Nine' premiere

Nicole Kidman, Daniel Day-Lewis, Penelope Cruz, Kate Hudson, Marion Cotillard, Fergie and Judi Dench all hit the red carpet Tuesday night for the rollout of "Nine" in New York -- resulting in a virtual fame explosion at the Ziegfeld Theatre.

Now if only some stars would help promote the movie musical.

No film this year has a celeb-packed ensemble like Rob Marshall's new one does -- and nary a lunch, photo call or premiere (including the Dec. 9 event in L.A.) has taken place without obscenely A-list attendance from the "Nine" cast. The arrival photos are below, but even more delicious Tuesday night in New York were ...