Living in Hollywood has really gone to Jack Osbourne’s head. Not in the traditional “I think I’m so hot” way – because let’s be honest, he’s Jack Osbourne, how hot could he think he is? But they guy is certainly jaded, and clearly has no concept of what the real world is like. After Mischa Barton’s recent DUI arrest, someone thought it would be a good idea to look up Jack Osbourne and ask what he thinks about the whole debacle.

Jack Osbourne has said he doesn’t think people should be so surprised when celebrities are arrested for drink-driving offences because they’re “not a big deal”.

Speaking in response to Mischa Barton’s arrest last week, Jack explained recently: “Everyone gets DUIs… but you only hear about it when celebrities get them. It is a big deal but it’s not a big deal, just a slap on the wrist.”

[From Fametastic]

You know it’s funny, because I have known a few people who got DUIs. And each and every one of them got their asses into rehab right away, and were guilt-ridden and humiliated. I remember one of them telling me he didn’t think he’d ever be able to find someone who’d be willing to marry him, because a DUI was that horrendous. And I have to tell you, I couldn’t help but agree with him. I mean I know he’ll probably find someone someday, but it sure shrinks the pool, doesn’t it? I would never date someone with any kind of record beyond your run-of-the-mill traffic tickets. Most people do not have DUIs. And those that do seem to inherently understand that they should feel a deep sense of shame. Unless they live in Hollywood. Then it’s a rite of passage, and a sure way to get your name in the papers when no one’s paying attention to you.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving CEO Chuck Hurley responded to Osbourne’s idiotic comments.

“Drunk driving is not a rite of passage but it does seem as though some high profile celebrities in Hollywood and in professional sports think it is…[it] kills about 13,500 people a year and injures thousands of others, even though it is completely preventable,” Hurley said.

[From Pagesix.com]

Given his own struggles with addiction, you would think Jack Osbourne would at least be smart enough to say something a little more responsible. His family members have all struggled with various forms of addiction, and acting like DUIs are commonplace shows that Osbourne doesn’t take his own sobriety very seriously.

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s Jack Osbourne at the CatHouse Grand Opening in Las Vegas on December 29th. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Matthew Fox Spills Lost Season 4 Secrets [Just Jared]
Paris Hilton gave Kelly Osbourne her first alcohol poisoning [Dlisted]
Halle Berry’s Swollen Belly [Bossip]
One Missed Call review. Still looks scary to me [Pajiba]
Bill Maher is a security threat [Celebslam]
More Britney updates [Yeeeah!]
Christina Aguilera looks like she’s about to pop [I’m Not Obsessed]
Breaking News!! Katherine McPhee Drops Credit Card @ Gas Pump! [The Bastardly]
George Clooney wants to make his girlfriend a star [In Case You Didn’t Know]
Sarah Jessica Parker Scary Bikini Pictures (Site NSFW) [Drunken Stepfather]
Paris Hilton is the Ultimate Party Machine [Hollywood Rag]
Why is Keith Urban hiding Nicole Kidman’s belly? [Seriously? OMG! WTF?]
Corey Feldman Is A Bad, Bad Vampire Slayer [Agent Bedhead]
‘Lil Jon made Avril Lavigne cry [The Blemish]
Hollywood Gets High [CityRag]
Children’s Program Host Arrested For Suspicion Of Murder [Crazy Days and Nights]
Fergie and Josh Party On in Cabo [Popsugar]
Lindsay Lohan’s Hot Spandexed Shopping Spree [The Grumpiest]
Poppy Montgomery Welcomes Baby with Ridiculously Hot Boyfriend [Evil Beet]
No Knut for Suri [CelebWarship]
You Can See Travolta’s Driveway From Space [Glitterati Gossip]
Gwen, Gavin & Kingston Are One Happy Family [Celebrity Baby Scoop]
Carson Kressley Loves You Naked, So Why Don’t You? [A Socialite’s Life]
Fergie Bikini Pictures. Blech. [Egotastic!]
Stephen Stills doing well after surgery [Lifeline Live]
Dane Cook Breaks World Record For “Wandering Around A Stage While Grabbing Your Crotch” [Best Week Ever]

Britney Spears has predictably lost visitation rights for her two children, Jayden James, 1, and Sean Preston, 2, after her very public breakdown that followed a hostage situation in which she locked herself in a bathroom for over three hours and refused to hand over her youngest child. She has temporarily lost all visitation by court order until another hearing can be held on January 14.

The issue of whether Britney should be held accountable for her actions is a contentious one, with many people claiming that Britney is insane and deserves our pity, not our condemnation.

How much of Britney’s behavior is she personally responsible for?
There’s a lot of debate in the Britney Spears case as to which behavior she’s personally responsible for and what can be chalked up to mental illness. This isn’t a new issue, and the answer isn’t black and white. She’s clearly mentally unstable, and might meet diagnostic criteria for a specific mental disorder, we’re not going to speculate too much but bipolar disorder, narcissistic personal disorder and even schizophrenia have been mentioned. Even if she is certifiably insane, how much of her behavior should she be held accountable for? I found some articles on the issue of mental illness and personal responsibility that were too technical for me to understand, but this question and answer from Yahoo! Canada Answers is interesting and food for thought:

Question from Desi Dani: If everything is due to chemical imbalances, where does personal responsibilities come into play? If man can use the excuse of being mentally ill or depressed, where does that leave personal responsibility? What about conscious choices? Is there an excuse for everything?

Why do people use the mental excuse when they have done something that is unbecoming; yet when they done something that is becoming it is a conscious choice, a personal decision?

Chosen Answer from Pete: Because personal responsibility doesn’t seem as common as it used to be. That’s not saying that mental illness shouldn’t be recognized, but people shouldn’t use it as an excuse for not being accountable for their actions.

[From Ca.Yahoo.com]

Andrea Yates drowned five of her children in the bathtub and she did it systematically, chasing them down until she caught and murdered all of them. She was declared clinically insane, and it seems you’d have to be to commit such a cruel act. Does that mean she shouldn’t spend the rest of her life in an institution because she was crazy and not responsible for her actions? Of course not. The criminal justice system sets it up so that she is not punished like a sane person who would have committed the same crime, but so that she is effectively removed from society and cannot harm others in the future.

Britney Spears took one of her children hostage and refused to hand him over by court order, even after police arrived at her home. Whether she was insane or not, she should have to face the consequences of her actions. If those consequences involve extended treatment for a mental illness instead of jail time then so be it. Either way, she’s not able to be around her children, even with supervision, and should possibly undergo treatment so that she doesn’t harm herself or others.

People are focused too much on criticism of Britney at what must be a very difficult time for her. There’s criticism of Britney because she committed a criminal act that endangered her child. If all crazy people who threatened and hurt others were pitied and coddled instead of ordered to undergo treatment and/or punished, society wouldn’t function. Did anyone really say “wow, I feel so sorry for Andrea Yates, being so crazy that the devil told her to drown her kids like that?” But some say they feel sorry for Britney for traumatizing her little boys by locking them with her in a bathroom. I feel sorry for her children, not so much for her.

Also it’s interesting to note that when Britney seemed sane and able to hold somewhat rational conversations, she never took responsibility for her actions.
1. She blamed her near-drop of Sean Preston in the street on the uneven road, not the fact that she was wearing too long pants and was carrying a highball glass at the same time.
2. She said after she was caught driving with Sean Preston on her lap that her dad did it too when she was growing up and that “we’re country like that.”
3. She didn’t even leave a note when she hit someone’s car and multiple people witnessed and taped it
4. She blamed her mother and manager for sending her to rehab
5. She has repeatedly flouted requirements and even basic demands in her custody battle

So is Britney a person who does whatever she wants and doesn’t take responsibility, or is she a person suffering from a mental illness that forces her to do these things? I think the answer is a lot of both with some major exhibitionism mixed in.

Here’s what JayBird has to say about the matter. She has a criminal justice degree and I like her very human approach to what happened. She wrote this to me in an e-mail, which is why it has a more conversational tone.

Commentary from JayBird: What I’m guessing happened with Britney last night is that one little thing got totally out of control. What probably started out as just an act of selfishness “No I don’t wanna” quickly escalated because she had someone involved with the criminal justice system (the monitor) there. She was probably behaving in a way that she has before, but she had someone there who wouldn’t react like the other people around her react. Then she probably got scared and didn’t know what to do. And when people start treating you like you’re REALLY crazy (not regular Britney crazy) you start to feel like you are, or feel like you have to act that way. Especially when you don’t have the maturity to know better. Also, people throw out things about killing themselves and things that sound like “self harm” to a professional, without necessarily meaning them in that way. But it’s hard to convince someone of that. Don’t get me wrong, I think Brit is crazy. But I don’t think there was enough evidence that she actually was asylum-worthy until last night. I’m really thinking she didn’t have any idea things would escalate the way they did, and thought people would just give in to her whims. The whole thing is so confusing, and oddly, it’s the only time I’ve ever had any sympathy for her.

The law of course varies greatly state by state, and all of my criminal justice knowledge is based on WA law. But in Washington, CPS would take her kids away for a one month period, during which time the burden would be on Britney to prove that she was a fit parent. Traditionally, the law does whatever it can to keep parents and kids together. However at this point, they’d be doing whatever they could to keep them apart.

I don’t know about you, but I think that she has an ethical personal responsibility to give up her kids, at least for now. Clearly she’s suffered a complete mental breakdown, and that can take a year or two to recover from. I almost think this might end up being a good thing for her. She wasn’t listening to anyone else before. But if the law gets involved not just in her parenting, but in her mental health, then she may be forced to get help.

Most of us have an ex or two that we’re not too fond of. Maybe it’s the guy you dated for years before you figured out what a loser he was, or maybe it was that jerk that you just went out with four times… before you figured out what a loser he was. Either way, we’ve all got a few exes that we’re not thrilled about. But generally we manage not to tie them up, bite them, and stick butcher knives in their ears. Don’t get all huffy, I said generally. I know a few of you probably have done the butcher knife thing. Unlike the rest of us, Miss Arizona contestant Kumari Fulbright, 25 or 27 (depending on which news report you read), did do all those things to her 24-year-old ex-boyfriend, whose name news outlets don’t seem to be releasing. We’ll call him Arnold. Fulbright - who is a second year law student at the University of Arizona – teamed up with another ex-boyfriend, his brother, and a third man, to kidnap and torture Arnold.

A law school student and former beauty queen who has posed for a racy calendar while brandishing a weapon has been accused of kidnapping, biting and threatening a former boyfriend with a handgun.

Kumari Fulbright, 25, who is midway through her second year in law school, faces a long prison term if convicted of kidnapping, armed robbery, aggravated robbery and two counts of aggravated assault.

In the Dec. 18 indictment, Fulbright is accused of holding and torturing her 24-year-old ex-boyfriend in early December with the help of three other men, including another man she had previously dated.

[From the Huffington Post]

Not only is she a law student and a former Miss Arizona contestant in 200 and 2006, but Fulbright also was a clerk for US District Judge Raner Collins. So we’re pretty sure she knows she’s not supposed to kidnap and torture people. The defendant lured Arnold to her home on December 8th, when she then claimed she had to take a shower. As soon as she disappeared, two men, ex-boyfriend Robert Ergonis, 46, and his brother Michael, 44, barged into the house with weapons and accused Arnold of stealing some of Fulbright’s jewelry. He was tied up and taken to another home where Larry Bruce Hammond, 40, also took part in the torture. After 10 hours, Arnold eventually got one of his hands free and grab Fulbright’s gun. It went off (apparently not injuring anyone) and he managed to escape.

Fulbright and Hammond were arrested and charged this past week, but the Ergonis brothers have fled, and authorities are looking for them in Columbia. Fulbright has a big year coming up – a kidnapping/torture trial AND she in Miss May in the 2008 calendar for Subguns.com, which features women in bathing suits holding guns. Fulbright holds a HK 51 while wearing a shiny black bikini. I bet that will really help her out in prison.

I can’t really blame Reese Witherspoon for not getting along with Vince Vaughn on the set of their new film “Four Christmases.” He just looks like a bloated sack of potatoes to me. Sure there’s all sorts of body types from slim to thick, but he just has that dirty, lazy, slothful look to him. Something tells me Vince considers showering more than once a week optional.

The pair (Reese especially) have been getting a lot of bad press for their fighting on the set. They definitely have two opposite personalities. Reese is very “Type A” (in fact that’s the name of her production company) whereas Vince is very… whatever type lay around and fart all day is. Now several media outlets are reporting that Reese won’t do a sex scene with Vince, and Vince (who is one of the film’s producers) is refusing to change the scene.

Reese Witherspoon is refusing to film a sex scene with Vince Vaughn. The pair have reportedly been clashing constantly on the set of romantic comedy ‘Four Christmases’ and now Reese is refusing to roll around naked with Vince.

An on-set source told the New York Post newspaper: “Reese has an issue with the scripted love scene. It is meant to be a funny, ‘American Pie’-style romp, full of bumps and laughs, but Reese is such a prude, she thinks it’s just too much.”

Despite being an Oscar winner and a more highly-paid Hollywood star, Reese is unlikely to win the argument as Vince is one of the film’s producers. The 37-year-old actor also oversaw much of the script writing, about a couple whose divorced parents do not get on, so they decide to celebrate Christmas separately with each of them. It has previously been reported Reese, 31, has been unhappy with Vince’s behavior on set. While she is keen to work hard and film on schedule, he allegedly turns up to work hung-over, forgets his lines and is constantly fooling about on set.

[From Hip Hop Elements]

I don’t think Reese is a prude, she’s probably just afraid of the food in Vince Vaughn’s teeth, the random twigs in his hair, and the bramble in his bellybutton. I wouldn’t be running towards that either. Considering Vince oversaw a lot of the script writing, you just know he was rooting for a sex scene. That was before he met Reese, and learned of her obvious distaste for him. Either he gets off on women hating him, or they’re locked in a power struggle. I’m guessing it’s a little bit of both. Maybe he should try a little of the old Vince Vaughn charm… you know, from back in the day when he had charm. “Swingers” style. Try a little showering. Maybe washing of the underwear. And then see where that gets him.

I had Natalie Imbruglia’s song “Torn” stuck in my head for most of 1998, which has led to an unfair dislike of her. Similar dislikes have been applied to George Harrison and MC Hammer for the same reason. Imbruglia, 32, hasn’t ever been able to reproduce her late-nineties success, but managed to get several mascara-based makeup contracts, thanks to her lovely eyelashes. I think that’s about all she’s had going for her in America, but she’s managed to stay on the radar in her native Australia. In 1999 she met Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns, 28, at the ARIA awards, and the two were married four years later on New Year’s Eve. Now the pair has announced they’ve split, much to the dismay of their friends and family.

Friends of Natalie Imbruglia and Daniel Johns are shocked by the couple’s split, days after the stars looked happy together on an Australian Christmas break. On Boxing Day, they were pictured holding hands and smiling after a dinner with friends at a restaurant in The Rocks. The next day, Imbruglia was seen outside her home, carrying a bottle of wine and wearing her wedding ring, with Johns, 28, by her side.

But only a week later, Australia’s hottest music pairing had called it quits. The marriage lasted four years. One friend said yesterday the speed of the breakdown in the relationship was still a shock.

“They always looked so great together,” the friend said.

[From the Herald Sun]

The pair released an official statement, which blamed the dissolution of their marriage on their career demands. It probably doesn’t help that they reside halfway around the world from each other, Imbruglia in England, and Johns in Australia.

“While we are very sad that our marriage has ended, we want to make it clear that our parting is amicable, and we remain friends,” they said. “This mutual decision has not been taken lightly or quickly.

“However, our career demands and our lives in different parts of the world have brought us to the point where unfortunately this difficult decision was necessary for both of us. We have simply grown apart through not being able to spend enough time together.”

[From E! News]

Daniel Johns made headlines in 1999 when he told Rolling Stone that he had anorexia. It was a rare admission for a male celebrity, but one that brought him a lot of positive support for sharing his struggle. He made the admission after he dropped to 110 lbs and rumors began to swirl that he had a drug problem. Johns also struggled with depression and has gone through reclusive periods where he’s barely left his home. It’s obviously not possible to say if any of his old issues resurfaced – few marriages could withstand living on different continents.

Picture note by Jaybird: Header image of Natalie Imbruglia and Daniel Johns talking a walk around London’s Covent Garden on August 26th, 2007. Images thanks to Splash Photos.

Britney Spears has once again managed to prove that the rules, no matter how rigid – apply to everyone but her. She’s managed to get herself released from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center mental ward, where she was placed on a 72-hour hold. According to most sources, Brit was admitted to the hospital sometime around midnight Friday morning, which means she should have been held until about midnight tomorrow night. But she’s managed to get herself released after only 31 hours – more or less. Brit was released this morning at 7am, after a visit from Dr. Phil. According to Page Six, Brit began acting out after Dr. Phil visited her, and then was released with him and her father Jamie Spears. That really doesn’t make any sense – she started misbehaving, so they released her? Regardless of what went down, Brit was definitely released this morning, and is now at home.

After being rushed to the hospital Thursday night and spending two nights there, Britney Spears has left the building. OK! can confirm that she was escorted out by four police officers at 7 am, but Brit Brit did not head to her lavish Beverly Hills pad. Instead she headed to her Studio City home.

Both Entertainment Tonight and The Insider were first to report that the mother of two left Saturday morning via an underground tunnel. A source told the television shows that there was no reason to keep her hospitalized despite reports she would stay for 72 hours.

Before she was released, Britney had an unexpected visitor. Dr. Phil was seen visiting the out of control singer and her father Jamie. Dr. Phil then walked Britney to her car.

[From OK!]

It seems like there’s a lot of confusing information out there – it’s hard to tell if it’s just because the stories are being written so fast. Britney left through an underground tunnel, but Dr. Phil also walked her to her car? She freaked out when Dr. Phil arrived at the hospital, but they also let her go because there was no reason to hold her? I have to say, the biggest reason to keep Britney Spears hospitalized is that her mood and behavior are super unstable and seem to change often, quickly, and unpredictably. Additional, a good reason to keep her for the full 72 hours is to teach her that there are consequences for bad behavior. Yeah I know that sounds like something you’d say to a child, but Britney has the intellect of a child, so that’s what works. Showing her time and time again that she is an exception to the rule will only reinforce her behavior. She needs as much structure and rigid toughness as possible. I’m really disappointed in the mental health system right now.

Lindsay Lohan just got the first rave review of her career - unfortunately it’s from one of the men she slept with in Italy rather than a movie critic. Another of her conquests has sold his story to a tabloid, and it’s gold. Or at least that’s what they paid him in.

Alessandro Di Nunzio met Lindsay on a boat travelling from Naples to Capri, where she introduced herself as Lindsay, although Alessandro didn’t realise she was Lilo until the end of the conversation. She invited him to dinner and then they went back to Thre Marriot hotel together.

Now Alessandro has sold his ‘exclusive’ to News Of The World, describing Lindsay as “flexible and adventurous”.

Alessandro said: “I never imagined in my wildest dreams we would end up in bed. We spent a long time talking, lying side by side on top of her bed.

“She told me about her problems with drugs and alcohol. She said she was trying to get over them and that she’d spent time in a rehab clinic but didn’t want to talk too much about that.

“She kept telling me she liked me because I was “a good boy”—I don’t smoke or take drugs. She said she was falling for me, she liked me.

“I liked her too. The thing that struck me most about her was her intelligence—I found her very lucid and bright.”

Suddenly, in mid-conversation, Lindsay jumped off the bed. Alessandro said: “She stripped off completely naked, without any embarrassment at all.

“She was wearing mismatched under-wear—a black bra with emerald green French knickers. But they came off too. Naked, she took my breath away. Lindsay is stunning. Her body is absolutely perfect. Flawless.

“She had an all-over golden tan and a few tattoos. On her right wrist was the word Breathe. She joked it was to remind her to keep breathing. That made me think she was pretty fragile.

“After boldly taking her clothes off she dived under the covers. I sensed she was insecure about her gorgeous body.

“I was shocked she had made the first move—it took a while for me to realise I was supposed to take my clothes too.

“To be honest I felt a bit intimidated. I was with Lindsay Lohan. But I took off my clothes and we started to make love. And then it was just like two ordinary people making love. It was very passionate and intense and lasted for 1 hours, maybe more.

“She adored kissing and never wanted to stop—no matter what we were doing. We had safe sex, and afterwards she cuddled up to me and we went to sleep.”

The next morning, Alessandro got up at 9am and got dressed. He said: “I had things to do. She told me, ‘Bye, I’ll call you.’

News Of The World

Lindsay and Alessandro then met a few more times before she left Italy, but he later learnt of the other men she was seen with at the time and says he doesn’t want to see her again. After he’s sold his story to a tabloid newspaper less then a fortnight after their encounter probably means that Lindsay’s not that keen to see him either. What’s next, a TV interview? Sex tape?

Alessandro says he’s not planning on seeing Lindsay again unless it’s on film, “I’m going to watch all of her films!”

At least someone is. Lindsay is in financial difficulties and is short on cash right now, which doesn’t surprise me as she doesn’t seem to work a great deal, but she does have a great dealer. Cocaine is expensive. So is rehab.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Here’s Lohan and her roommate/girlfriend shopping for groceries yesterday after she returned from Italy. Thanks to Splash News.

Tom Cruise is flaming. And by that, I mean the little bugger is flaming mad. Famous celebrity biographer Andrew Morton’s new, highly unauthorized biography of Cruise is hitting American bookshelves next Tuesday, despite attempts by both Cruise and the Church of Scientology to halt the publication. What could possibly get the Scientologists so riled up? The usually low-key, live-and-let-live followers of Xenu have got their panties in a bunch over the majority of the revelations in Morton’s book. As we had previously written, Morton actually had to go into hiding a few months ago due to threats from Scientologists. Then why am I writing this? Well I’m a horrible combination of highly principled and incredibly stupid, which just so happens to be the most successful personality combination for a celebrity blogger.

Scientology is one of those religions/cults (depending on your view) that’s so secretive it’s impossible to separate fact from fiction. And frankly, I think that if you’re going to keep so much of your “religion” private, you’ve got to expect that people are going to call it a cult and all sorts of urban legends are going to be invented. The problem with the secrecy is that it makes it hard for the rest of us non-cult members… I mean those of us who are not Scientologists… to make educated guesses about what’s fact and what’s fiction. And considering the whole legend of Scientology, I don’t think it’s ridiculous to believe a lot of the stories we hear about the inner workings of the cult/religion.

According to Andrew Morton, Tom Cruise has risen so high in the Scientology echelon that he’s effectively the number two in charge. This is one of many points in the book that’s being disputed by the church.

Tom Cruise has become the de-facto second in command of the Church of Scientology, according to a new biography - which makes an extraordinary attack on the star by comparing his 20-month-old daughter Suri to the Devil’s child in the film Rosemary’s Baby. Andrew Morton’s unauthorised biography claims Scientology has taken over the 45-year-old actor’s life, with its officials selecting many of the staff at his Hollywood mansion. The biographer of Princess Diana alleges Cruise is consulted by Scientology leader David Miscavige on “every aspect of planning and policy” and is tailoring his career to fit the aims of Scientology.

[From the Daily Mail]

Frankly, that’s one of the least salacious points in the book.

He [Tom Cruise’s lawyer Bert Fields]criticized a passage in which Morton claims some “fanatical” Scientologists believed Suri Cruise was actually the result of a sperm donation by Scientology’s dead founder, L. Ron Hubbard. Morton writes that Ms Holmes may feel she was in “the horror movie Rosemary’s Baby, in which an unsuspecting young woman is impregnated with the Devil’s child”.

[From the Daily Mail]

You’ll note that Andrew Morton doesn’t claim that Katie Holmes was impregnated with L. Ron Hubbard’s sperm, but simply that some fanatical Scientologists think she was. I’m going with ex-fiancé Chris Klein, but L. Ron Hubbard is a good second choice.

The book appears to portray Scientology leader David Miscavige as Tom Cruise’s biggest fan – to an almost creepy extent. Morton mentions a story that has been told for several years about Tom Cruise wanting to run through a field of wild flowers with Nicole Kidman before they were married. An earlier mention of this anecdote said it was a field of wheat, but the point remains the same.

Miscavige is said in the book to have gone to extraordinary lengths to charm Cruise, even ordering his staff to plant a field full of wild flowers at a Scientology base in California after Cruise had told him of his fantasy to run through a wildflower meadow with his then newlywed wife Nicole Kidman.

“A team of 20 Sea Org disciples was set to work digging, hoeing, and planting wheat grass and wildflower seed near the Cruises’ bungalow. Naturally the work was regularly inspected by David and Shelley Miscavige [his wife], who would ride over to the site on his motorbike. They were apparently unhappy with the finished appearance and had the area ploughed over and reseeded.”

Although Scientologists deny the wildflower planting ever happened, Morton claims to have legal affidavits from several witnesses.

[From the Daily Mail]

Much of the Daily Mail’s article about the book focuses on Scientology’s recruitment attempts. While they’ve always paid special attention to their celebrity followers (who many people claim are actually just paid celebrity endorsers), Scientology gets the bulk of their wealth from charging exorbitant fees to regular parishioners. Thus the more converts they have, the more money they get, and Morton accuses them of recently targeting the German people.

The author says Germany’s population of 80 million made it a perfect “new market” for Scientology, although the church is not recognized officially as a religion there.

“David Miscavige and his lieutenants were in Scientology’s war room at Hemet, planning the invasion of Germany. From time to time they were joined in their desert bunker by Tom, who these days is the organization’s second-in-command in all but name, involved in every aspect of planning and policy.”

[From the Daily Mail]

That’s interesting, considering how unwelcoming the Germans appeared to be towards Tom Cruise when he was filming Valkyrie around Germany. The film initially had trouble getting permission to do much of the necessary filming, though the German government eventually acquiesced. However it doesn’t appear that Tom Cruise – or Scientology – won over the hearts and minds of the German people during his tenure there.

Andrew Morton’s Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography comes out January 15th, and I’ll be in line to get it that day, and I hope I’ll see the rest of you at Barnes and Noble.

Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and all their kids were in Brad’s hometown of Spingfield, Missouri late last week according to the local paper. No one paid much attention to the news or tried to spin it into some standoff between Angelina and her mother in law after the holidays because we all had our hands full with Britney’s breakdown.

The famous family even dined at a pizza joint with Pitt’s family, and supposedly no one took their picture or asked for an autograph. I find that hard to believe. They get the gossip magazines in Missouri. They’ve got to know how much photos of the Jolie-Pitts are worth, and everyone has cellphone cameras. It sounds more like an advertisement for how great Springfield, Missouri is than a true account of how Angelina and Brad just hung out there totally ignored.

The entire Pitt clan — including oldest sibling Brad Pitt and his family — were out Wednesday night for food and camaraderie at Arris’ Pizza on Republic Road.

The group included Jane and Bill Pitt; their adult kids Brad, Doug and Julie Neal; Doug’s wife, Lisa; Julie’s husband, Rob; and Brad’s partner, Angelina Jolie; and the eldest Pitts’ brood of 11 grandkids.

Brian Keppy, Arris’ kitchen manager, was working when the family came in during the dinner rush.

“Yeah, we got a phone call. They just came in like anybody else. They pretty much took up the whole back section,” he said.

Other patrons left the family alone, and the Pitts didn’t seek attention, Keppy said. No one took photos or asked for autographs as far as he knows. That includes staff members who didn’t have to be told to treat their famous guests like everyone else.

“It was nice and low key. It just looked like one of those holiday (family) things,” Keppy said.

Lisa Pitt says the family enjoyed being able to go out together. It helped that one of Arris’ owners, Joe Kremer, is their neighbor, she said.

“Arris’ is awesome. Everybody was hungry, so it was great,” Lisa Pitt said.

“The kids had so much fun. They got to relax and eat out with their family.”

Though she’s sure people noticed them, especially because of all the kids, she confirmed that no one bothered them in the packed restaurant. That’s actually pretty typical when Brad and Angelina visit Springfield, Lisa Pitt said.

“We went to the movies last year when they came and people were just so cool. Even when we go shopping. I think everybody here is so used to the family,” she said.

Compared to other places Pitt and Jolie live and travel, Lisa Pitt said, “I think they really, really appreciate Springfield” as an escape from the spotlight.

[From the News-Leader.com]

Angelina and Brad might bring loads of tourism to Springfield, Missouri. They might not be there at the time, but people could flock to the place hoping to get a glimpse of these rare birds. After hearing how Brad and Angelina managed to escape the ever-present paparazzi other celebrities might try to claim Springfield as their own, essentially ruining the place, like Aspen.

Wherever the Jolie-Pitts visit they bring attention to the place. A struggling toy shop owner says that Brad and Angelina’s well-documented purchases helped bring his business back from the brink:

His store in North Hollywood is called The Blessing, but shop owner Arturo Jimenez was praying for a financial miracle to help him survive the holiday season. It arrived when Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt walked in the door in early December. The power couple purchased $70 worth of toys including a monster truck and two dolls and then told Arturo to keep the change from $200, reports Splash News. Since news of Angelina and Brad’s visit got around, new customers have been flocking to the family run store. “It’s a blessing, something I asked God for,” Arturo told tmz.com. “I prayed to God, send me a sign. She’s an angel!”

[From In Touch, print edition, January 14, 2007]

If it’s good enough for Brad and Angelina, it’s good enough for the rest of us. Our consumer choices are controlled by celebrity endorsements, and like sheep we flock wherever our saintly shepherds guide us. Watch as Arris’ Pizza in Springfield, Missouri is also hit with a sudden influx of customers. If only Britney didn’t ruin it for the struggling business by going crazy that week.

Brad and Angelina are shown at the Beowulf premiere in London on 11/11/07, because the management of Arris’ Pizza didn’t realize that they could get more money for pictures then they could manage in increased business.