The movie industry must be getting desperate. Cinemas are trying to find new ways to get people to see movies in the theater rather than waiting for them to come out on DVD. These methods include selling “upscale food and beverages” including alcohol, and adding plush, comfy seats. All of this comes with a price to viewers, however: some of these luxury theaters are charging upwards of $35 per ticket.

Get ready for the $35 movie ticket.

That’s the estimated admission charge for a new deluxe cinema opening in October in South Barrington, one of 50 Gold Class Cinema multiplexes coming from a joint venture headed by Australian conglomerate Village Roadshow.

The theaters will boast boosted amenities, including plush reserved seating, digital projection and sound, and upscale food and beverage offerings with seat-side waiter service. No auditorium will have more than 40 seats.

”It’s an absolutely different environment than anything else that exists,” Village Roadshow CEO Graham Burke said.

[From The Chicago Sun Times]

I beg to differ. There is a place where I can watch a movie in high definition, with my favorite “upscale” foods and beverages, in an intimate setting. It’s called my living room. And I don’t have to pay 35 stinkin’ bucks to go there! Are you kidding me? Yeah, high-end movie theaters sound like a GREAT business to get into, with the economy in the dumper.

I am not the only one who has problems with this concept. State representatives from several areas where these theaters are taking off are saying that serving alcohol at movie theaters is a bad idea.

Movie theater owners from California to Massachusetts are increasingly giving patrons the option of sipping a beer or a glass of wine with an expanding array of snacks.

About 150 first-run theaters serving alcohol have opened within the past three years, bringing the total of such establishments from 14 in 1997 to more than 400 today, says Patrick Corcoran, director of media and research for the National Association of Theatre Owners.

The growth is happening, Corcoran says, despite concerns that those theaters could draw underage drinkers — concerns that have kept some theaters in Illinois, Idaho and California from selling alcohol.

“The boyfriend’s 21 and the girlfriend’s 19, and next thing you know, she’s already had three drinks underage,” says Alderman John Hanson, who voted against a proposal last year by a theater in Bloomington, Ill., to serve alcohol.

The increase in alcohol at the movies comes amid a decline in ticket sales in the USA and Canada. About 1.40 billion movie tickets were sold last year — up slightly from 1.395 billion in 2006 but lower than the 1.52 billion in 2003, according to the theater owners’ association.

[From USA Today]

These people are clueless! Here are some sure-fire ways to get people to go to the movies:
1) Make good movies. A couple of weekends ago, my daughters were bored and the only family-appropriate movie we had to choose from was that Raven Symone-Martin Lawrence atrocity, “College Road Trip.” It was painful, folks. I don’t know if alcohol and upscale food would have made the suffering less on that one.

2) Get rid of rude patrons who refuse to STFU during the movie! I’ll tell you this: if I paid $35 to see a movie and the people around me were blabbing nonstop- either with the people next to them or on their cell phones- I might choke someone. If the cinema management would kick out these morons, I might actually start going to the movies again.

3) Get rid of all those annoying commercials! I am willing to deal with 20 minutes of coming attractions, but not commercials. We see those at home on TV every night- we don’t want to sit through them at the movies too!

Photos from Cinemablend and USA Today.

Bradon Davis stayed at music producer Scott Storch’s mansion and Storch noticed that a watch worth $100k was missing right after Davis took off the next morning. Storch told Davis that he knew the item was stolen and that he caught it all on tape. Davis bawled his eyes out, begged Storch not to tell anyone, and returned the watch.

The other night, “Brandon and Scott went out and Brandon went back to Scott’s place and crashed on the couch,” a source said. “The next morning, when Scott got up, Brandon was already gone — and so was Scott’s $100,000 diamond encrusted watch that had been in the same room the night before. Scott called Brandon and told him the watch was missing but, ‘It’s OK — I just got a new security system, so everything’s on tape.’ ” After learning he’d be caught, Davis “started crying hysterically and saying, ‘Please don’t tell anyone — I’ll bring it back.’ Scott felt bad for him and got his watch back like an hour later, so he didn’t call the police.”

When Page Six asked Storch about the episode, he would only say, “I heard about this. Give peace a chance.” Davis couldn’t be reached.

[From Page Six]

Davis was recently robbed of a watch worth $49k in Barcelona, Spain in late February. The thieves also go away with $4,000 in cash and left him with a black eye.

Maybe Davis thought his richer friend wouldn’t miss an expensive watch like he did. Instead he got busted and is probably not welcome at another friend’s house. He has reportedly been couch surfing since his family cut him off last year for being a public douche. He got into a huge fight at his brother’s wedding last July and was said to be knocking over chairs and flower arrangements. Davis was crashing at Paris Hilton’s house for a while, but I think it’s safe to say he fell out with Paris after harassing Paula Abdul and Courtney Love at her birthday party.

Now Davis has alienated what may be one of his last remaining friends. And the guy showed him mercy and didn’t call the cops or make a statement against him. It seems that Davis does a good enough job sabotaging himself on his own.

Header image via Celebrity Mound.

In a 20/20 interview aired last week, Tori Spelling revealed that she had hundreds of thousands of dollars in credit card debt after 90210 went off the air and she was living on her own without her super-rich father’s support. Tori’s dad Aaron Spelling is the most prolific television producer ever, according to Wikipedia, and had 218 producer credits up until his death in June, 2006. He was worth nearly 1/2 a billion at the time of his death. Tori said she was close to bankruptcy due to “bad shopping habits” after she was on her own financially. She said she never had a conversation with her father asking him to bail her out, and that she didn’t want to do that because she didn’t want people to think she was living off her daddy’s money:

“I had a hit TV series, so I didn’t really need [my parents] for anything,” she said. All that changed when “90210″ went off the air. Spelling says that at one point she owed hundreds of thousands of dollars on her credit card and that she came close to bankruptcy, all because of her “bad shopping habits.”

“Bad shopping habits die hard,” she explained. “In all honesty, I grew up a certain way. I never had to worry about money … that was my reality.”

She says she was too proud to go to her father for help. “That means, in my mind, [that] I was what everyone thought I was, taking money from my dad, the rich little girl that he paid for everything. And I just refused to be that. [I would] rather be bankrupt.”

[From abcnews.go.com]

Tori was left less than a million from her father, which represents about 1/5 of one percent of his net worth. She said that she had lunch with her dad before he died, and that he told her “You’re gonna be OK. I made sure. You’re getting just under a million.” I guess we know where most of that money went if she had hundreds of thousands of dollars in credit card debt.

She’s doing these interviews to help promote her new memoir, “sTORI Telling,” which is getting positive reviews on Amazon. I skimmed through the excerpt available on ABCNews’ website, and it’s well written and interesting. Tori tells about all the excesses she experienced as a child, like her father having snow made in California for Christmas, and over-the-top birthday and graduation parties including the USC marching band showing up for her 6th grade graduation party. Tori’s favorite memories with her family are simple things like scooping dog poop with her dad and looking for seashells with her mom. She was dismayed to read in a magazine years later that her mom planted exotic seashells ahead of time for her to find on the beach.

Tori Spelling is still managing to make ends meet without her dad’s money. She has a reality show on the Oxygen Network with her husband called Tori & Dean: Inn Love, and a jewelry line available through the Home Shopping Network. You can’t say the girl isn’t trying.

Tori is due to give birth to her second child in July, and has a son, Liam, who turns one later this week.

Britney Spears spent more money than some nations are worth in just a year and a half and has only ratty extensions, a couple of mansions and a bunch of overpriced dented cars in her garage to show for it. The National Enquirer reports that she spent $22 freaking million dollars in the last 18 months and that her family is pouring over receipts to see how much of that was bled out without her knowledge by the evil Svengali-like creep who had her in his grip, Osama “Sam” Lutfi. The Enquirer also claims that Britney’s family has turned evidence over to the police to show that Lutfi was spending Britney’s money, although she also seems to do a great job of that on her own:

The singer has blow through $22 million in just months. And the family charges Lutfi knew she was suffering from a mental illness - and pounced like a vulture.

They say he had access to all of Britney’s credit cards, her ATM card and submitted bills to her business manager for his “services.” And her mother Lynne believes he gave her pills…

Her parents’ call for a criminal investigation was sparked by dad Jamie’s close look at Britney’s finances, says the insider. He was shocked to learn that his daughter had expended a whopping $22 million in the year and a half since her split from ex-husband Kevin Federline…

A one-month American Express card bill for a staggering $225,000 alerted her dad to the massive hemorrhaging of money, revealed the source.

“Several charges on the bill are thought to be Sam’s doing since Britney hasn’t had the card in her possession in months. Sam took control of her finances.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, March 3, 2008]

Among Britney’s expenditures noted in the article include rental cars, sometimes three at a time, and high-end hotel stays. Her house cost $7.2 million, and although she bought it furnished the Enquirer notes that she had it redecorated before Christmas, and that she spent $200,000 on chandeliers alone. She even has one in her garage.

There was a theft at Britney’s house right after she was committed for the second time. Chandeliers were reported missing by her parents as well as jewelry, a flat screen tv, and camera equipment. It is thought that Lutfi had a hand in it, as he had the keys to Britney’s place.

Lutfi’s spokesperson of course denies that he stole anything or wasted the pop star’s money while he was drugging and controlling her, but Britney’s family also has copies of “outrageous invoices and contracts” he sent to her business manager, according to The Enquirer.

Yesterday the court was finally able to serve Lutfi with the restraining order that states he is to have no contact with Britney. The period in which he was supposed to be served with papers before the order became had already run out a day before. A judge ruled that they’re still legally binding, and has extended the restraining order until March 17.

Lutfi’s spokesperson and the LAPD deny that there is any criminal investigation into his activities while he was Britney’s “manager,” but TMZ claims to have an insider source who says that the investigation is very much on.

While there are few things bloggers enjoy more than mocking Jessica Simpson, it seems her universally panned movie “Blonde Ambition” might not have been such a mistake after all. Once execs saw the final cut, they banished the film straight to DVD. However to save Jessica’s ego, they gave it a teeny, tiny limited run at a few theaters in Texas for one weekend. It grossed a (probably) record setting $2000 over the two days. That made Paris Hilton’s recent, disastrous turn in “The Hottie and the Nottie” look like a relatively good business venture in comparison – it brought in $26,000 it’s opening weekend. Still abysmal and embarrassing, though to be fair “The Hottie and the Nottie” opened on 111 screens, whereas “Blonde Ambition” opened on 5. In the competition for who could be the biggest loser, it seemed like Simpson was going to have to tuck her tail between her legs and take the title. BUT! At the last minute, she’s been spared - “Blonde Ambition” managed to take in a not-totally-mortifying $253,008. In the Ukraine. That’s right, Eastern Europe confusingly loves Jessica Simpson.

Is Jessica Simpson the David Hasselhoff of Ukraine? The blond starlet seems to be the toast of the Eastern European nation. Her latest film, Blonde Ambition, hit No. 1 in Ukraine, grossing $253,008 for the weekend of Feb. 14-17, Box Office Mojo reports.

How to explain the comedy’s success abroad? One word: escapism.

“The former Soviet nations have a sweet tooth for straight-up comedies,” Conor Bresnan, editor in chief of Box Office Mojo International, tells PEOPLE. “When these comedies have big name celebrities like Jessica Simpson’s, that’s all that’s needed to sell the movie. Russian and Ukrainian audiences have an even bigger urge for escapism than Americans. So, films like Blonde Ambition will gross more than No Country for Old Men.

And this may only be the beginning for Blonde Ambition. Next stop: Bulgaria.

[From People]

I understand escapism, but isn’t there a point at which it becomes so bad that you actually feel guilty for watching it? And isn’t pretty much anything starring Jessica Simpson well beyond that point? The film will likely still end up a loser. Generally studios recoup the film’s budget in America and make their profits overseas. Still, it’s a little less embarrassing overall. So if Jessica’s first “empty feel good” film made around $2000 in America and that translated to $253,008 in the Ukraine, and Paris Hilton’s “empty feel good” film made around $26,000 in America, that would translate to… what? I don’t do math. I’m just saying, Paris could still make a killing. Oh the horror. I can’t say why, but somehow I sense that Jessica Simpson is just smart enough to know she should be embarrassed by what happened with her movie, regardless of what the Ukrainian film-going public may think. Something tells me Paris Hilton isn’t that smart.

In case you accidentally didn’t totally hate Liz Hurley, have I got a story for you. Liz is apparently pretty darn cheap. And not in that cute, “I still buy my shoes at Payless” way, but in that “I buy the very best for myself and stiff the little people as brutally as I can” way. Last month, Helen reported that Liz and her husband Arun Nayer stiffed the church at which they were married. The couple had promised to buy the church a set of kneelers as payment. That was considered tacky enough, as the standard donation is $2000. And it’s generally customary to give more based on your wealth – but Liz gave less. And while that was ungracious enough, she and Arun still haven’t ponied up and actually supplied the kneelers. Heaven forbid they actually compensate the church for their services. Unfortunately, this hasn’t been some little oversight that can happen to anyone, it turns out it was very much indicative of Liz’s character.

Several UK papers are reporting that Liz Hurley and Arun Nayer have been accused of paying their maid as little as $2.50 an hour. At times she was forced to work from 7:30 in the morning all the way until 3 in the morning the next day.

Liz Hurley and husband Arun Nayar have been accused of paying their Indian maid as little as £1.20 an hour. Violet d’Souza, who is said to have been brought to Britain by Mr Nayar’s family, claims she was paid in rupees for working up to 70 hours a week at the couple’s Chelsea home.

Ms d’Souza, 31, says she worked several days a week at the Chelsea house, where she also lived. Her chores included cleaning, cooking and babysitting from 7.30am until, on occasions, 3am the next day. According to the Daily Mirror, the couple paid her 8,000 rupees a week - around £100. The equivalent hourly rate would be between £1.40 and £1.60, and sometimes as little as £1.20 if she worked long hours. The legal minimum wage is £5.52. Hurley, 42, is said to be worth £13 million from acting and modeling contracts while Mr Nayar, 43, comes from a wealthy Indian textiles family.

[From the Daily Mail]

The Daily Mirror says that d’Souza withdrew her claims after she was given a five-figure settlement. She was scheduled to have a hearing in front of the employment tribunal tomorrow. Ms. d’Souza was fired without warning by the couple, supposedly after getting into an argument with them. I’m guessing a person can get a little cranky after working for 20 hours in a row. Ms. d’Souza was then immediately kicked out of the residence, which was her only shelter. She took refuge at her aunt’s home, where she learned that she was being paid illegal wages. She was able to get an Oxford-educated lawyer to represent her for free from the Citizens Advice Bureau, so it sounds like she had a legitimate case. I’ve never been a big Liz Hurley fan. There’s something about her that I can’t put my finger on, but I find her distasteful. Now hearing that she’s stiffed a church and paid her maid $200 a week, I find her utterly contemptible and disgusting. Unfortunately she’s settled the claim, so there won’t be any penalty for her. Except for a bit of unkind press.

Here’s Elizabeth Hurley and Arun Nayar at the Women of the Future Awards at Grosvenor Marriott Square Hotel on November 8th. Images thanks to PR Photos.

It appears the nasty divorce settlement proceedings between Heather Mills and Paul McCartney are finally over. After two years of petty squabbling, the two have finally reached a settlement, according to several reputable news outlets. Heather will get $40 million in a lump sum up front, and an additional $5 million a year until the couple’s daughter Beatrice turns 18 in 14 years.

Power-dressed in a black-velvet three-piece pantsuit with a crimson blouse, the former model and social activist couldn’t hide her joy as she walked from London’s High Court yesterday, smiling broadly at everyone.

As part of the deal, Mills agreed to never speak publicly or write in detail about the breakdown of the marriage, according to the Daily Mail. The accord came after Mills and McCartney had gone nose to nose in court for five days last week.

Mills will have main custody of Beatrice, but McCartney, whose fortune is estimated at $1.2 billion, will have equal visitation rights. Beatrice’s 65-year-old dad also agreed to set up a $2 million trust fund that she can access when she turns 18, according to the Daily Mail. Mills plans to live with Beatrice in Britain and either Poland or the Czech Republic, where she hopes to buy a home.

A source told the Daily Mail a verbal agreement was reached just before lunch. “They have a settlement,” a source said. “They have agreed on all points. Nothing much has changed this week. There was a deal at the beginning, but it was a complex one. There have been a few tweaks to the agreements, but those have been mostly changes Heather wanted made.” A hearing, perhaps the final one, is scheduled for Monday.

[From the Daily News]

Now Heather can fade away into obscurity, just like she’s been threatening. Most of us hoped it was a promise instead of a threat. Unfortunately Poland and the Czech Republic are not Antarctica/Outer Space like the rest of the world was hoping, but it’s better than nothing. Poor Beatrice having to grow up with such a loon for a mother. Heather wore a bizarre velvet pinstriped suit to court on Friday. It had big lapels and a horrible red shirt underneath. It was very 1993 of her. I’m fairly certain Sir Paul agreed to the settlement just so he wouldn’t have to look at that ensemble anymore. And that “face” of Heather’s doesn’t help. I don’t think face is even the right word. Something more like, “run over cheese pizza” is a more accurate description for the combination of features stuck onto the front of Heather Mills’ head. On the off chance Ms Mills doesn’t fade away into obscurity as threatened, I’m sure she’ll be bitching and moaning with that hideously malformed mouth of hers in the next week or two.

Pics of Heather Mills and Paul McCartney arriving at court yesterday. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Since the news came out that singer Brandy’s mother, Sonja Norwood, has sued Kim Kardashian and her three siblings for stealing her credit card, I have been truly curious to learn the back-story behind this debacle. Kim apparently was Brandy’s stylist in 2004. I had no idea that Kim Kardashian ever had a job, besides supposedly giving or receiving golden showers (yes I forget the specifics of that rumor and am too afraid too look it up). But Kim did do something professional in her life besides going to parties and showing the world her ass cleavage. But I guess she didn’t do it that well - or at least that ethically - because she stole Sonja Norwood’s credit card, loaned it to her three siblings, and the group managed to run up over $120,000 in debt in 2005 - 2006.

“I did not want to commence litigation against the Kardashian family without conducting an exhaustive investigation into the charges and discussing all options, including criminal prosecution, with my family,” Norwood said in a statement Tuesday.

“After Ray J and Brandy urged me not to file criminal charges because of their prior friendship, I decided to afford the Kardashians an opportunity to resolve this matter without a lawsuit,” Norwood said. “When the fraudulent charges were brought to their attention, they apologized profusely, and advised us, through their attorneys, that they would pay the debt in full. However, they have since reneged on that promise.”

Norwood also said in her statement that her “investigation has revealed that the Kardashians used their two stores [Dash and Smooch] and other stores that I have never visited to take advantage of me. I very much look forward to having the Kardashians account for their misconduct in a court of law.”

[From In Touch]

Sonja Norwood’s statement clears up a few issues, but there are a lot of questions remaining. First off, the card was supposedly given to Kim when she worked for the Norwoods in 2004. Yet the charges occurred several years later. Did Sonja Norwood never get the card back, or did Kim steal the number? Secondly, how did the Kardashians sign for these purchases? Were they actually forging Sonja’s signature, or was Kim an authorized signer on the account? No matter what, how did the other three Kardashians use the card? Why did it take Sonja Norwood so long to notice and/or do anything about the fraudulent charges?

What I’m most eager to hear is the Kardashians’ defense. They have obviously denied any wrongdoing, and Kim has said she has documentation for all the purchases. It seems pretty unusual that Brandy’s mother would have Kim Kardashian - who is no longer her employee - use her credit card. It also seems odd that Norwood would randomly choose to sue the Kardashians if they hadn’t done anything wrong. Although considering their father is the late famed O.J. Simpson defense lawyer Robert Kardashian, I’m sure they’ll be able to come up with some sort of entertaining - if not plausible - defense.

Picture Note by JayBird: Header of Kim Kardashian, joined by her ass. Here are the Kardashian sisters (left to right) Kourtney, Kim and Khloe at Kim’s 27th birthday at JET Nightclub in Las Vegas on October 26th. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Kim Kardashian has never really done anything that’s made me say, “Wow, that girl’s good with money.” She’s done a lot of things that have made me say, “Wow, that girl’s got an ass that should be on her chest,” but that’s about it. And apparently Kim’s ass cleavage is the biggest thing she’s got going for her, because not only is the girl bad with money, but she’s criminally bad. And when you combine bad fiduciary judgment with a ridiculous love of shopping and access to someone else’s credit card, things can get out of hand. Not for a regular person, but apparently for a Kardashian. In 2004, Kim was singer Brandy’s stylist. Brandy’s mother Sonja Norwood, who is also her daughter’s manager, gave Kim her American Express card to make one purchase for Brandy. Although it remains unclear, somehow Kim kept the card and continued to make personal purchases on it - totaling over $120,000. Not only that, but she lent the card to her two sisters and brothers. They even wracked up purchases at the Kardashian family’s own stores!

R&B singer Brandy Norwood’s mother filed a lawsuit Monday against Kim Kardashian accusing her of running up more than $120,000 in credit card charges without permission.

The suit, which also names Kardashian’s siblings Khloe, Kourtney and Robert Jr., alleges they ran up the charges on the mother’s card in 2006 and 2007. It seeks the return of the money plus 10 percent interest.

Kim Kardashian denied the allegations, telling PEOPLE she and her siblings had Norwood’s permission to make the purchases.

“We have her signature on all items,” Kardashian says.

[From People]

I’m sure she does have signatures for all items. Pretty much all credit card companies require you to sign a receipt. But I’m also pretty sure those signatures aren’t really Sonja Norwood’s, or she wouldn’t be suing the Kardashians I’m assuming that Sonja Norwood didn’t keep close tabs on her credit card statements - and if the debt accrued slowly enough, I suppose it’s possible a wealthy enough person might not notice. Considering Kim hasn’t worked as Brandy’s stylist in several years, I can’t imagine any excuse she could give for using the Norwood’s credit card. It’s a little surprising that no one noticed, but I would imagine they probably figured it out a while ago and made other attempts to get their money back before going for a lawsuit.

Kim wasn’t just Brandy’s stylist - she was also Brandy’s brother Ray-J’s girlfriend. You’ll remember that the two had a very infamous sex tape that Ray-J sold (some say Kim was in on the deal too, though she denies it). Maybe Kim thought she was due an extended shopping spree on the Norwood’s dime. The Kardashians are famous due to their deceased father, O.J. Simpson lawyer Robert Kardashian. Considering their legal linerage, I’m surprised they haven’t paid up. I doubt they have a leg to stand on - and if nothing else, it makes an already tacky family look that much worse.

Picture Note by JayBird: Here are the lovely Kardashian sisters (left to right) Kourtney, Kim, and Khloe - at New Years Eve at Mansion. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Actor Wesley Snipes was acquitted on felony tax fraud charges but was convicted on three counts of misdemeanors in failing to file his taxes. Snipes’ defense rested without presenting any evidence, claiming the government had failed to prove their case. Most seemed to think that move doomed Snipes, but he was acquitted of the most serious charges. He still could face up to three years in prison on the misdemeanors.

Snipes is part of the tax denier movement, who believe that tax laws are unjust and that they shouldn’t have to pay them.

Tax deniers assert variously that the tax laws are valid but do not apply to them, that no law makes anyone liable for taxes and that the government tricks people into paying. Promoters of tax denial claim that people can legally stop paying income taxes by executing certain documents, or by not signing others, like tax returns. Courts have rejected all these arguments.

[From the New York Times]

The Supreme Court has said that tax deniers are not guilty of fraud if they can prove that they “sincerely believe” that they weren’t required to pay the taxes. They still have to pay back the taxes and fines, but they can escape criminal consequences.

Snipes became a tax denier in 1999, when he found out he’d have to pay $2 million in taxes. Which is what happens when you make a lot of money. It’s the downside of being rich. Though Snipes was acquitted of all his serious charges, his two co-defendants were both convicted on the fraud and conspiracy charges. Defendant Eddie Ray Kahn is a promoter of tax denial and has previously served time on tax convictions. Douglas Rosile is a former accountant. Both the defense and prosecution say that the fact that Snipes was let off while Rosile and Kahn were convicted shows that the jury agreed that the co-defendants were the criminals and Snipes was the victim who bought into their ideology.