Wedding or not, Ben Affleck is already shedding his bachelor ways
They sell rings at Cartier in Bal Harbour, Fla. So when Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck dropped by during a recent shopping spree, it's no surprise paparazzi sniffed around for nuptial details. What the couple actually picked up at the upscale jewelers isn't known—Lopez, Affleck and the folks at Cartier weren't talking—but J.Lo did tell a Brazilian paper recently, "We don't know when the wedding will be."
Rings or no rings, for all intents and purposes Affleck has already bid bye-bye to bachelorhood. For one thing, he's looking for a buyer for his L.A. stag pad. The actor had been negotiating for months to sell the place to his pal director Kevin Smith, but snags arose over repairs deemed necessary for the rooftop pool. The repairs are being made, and Affleck is more determined than ever to sell.
J.Lo's domesticating influence is apparent in other ways. On a recent trip to Las Vegas, according to a report in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Lopez, 33, cracked down on Affleck's legendary tipping practices, retrieving a $5,000 chip he had tossed to dealers as a gratuity and replacing it with three $100 chips.
Then there are the in-laws. Affleck, 30, spent the Thanksgiving holiday with his future mother-in-law. Not to mention New Year's Eve: The couple holed up at Lopez's Miami Beach estate with both sets of future in-laws. The whole gang enjoyed a quiet dinner at home prepared by J.Lo's personal chef. Says a neighbor: "It was laid-back and family-oriented."
Against Her Will?
Did Princess Diana's relatives cheat her 17 godchildren out of approximately $500,000 inheritance each—and instead give them kitschy trinkets? So speculates the British press, airing complaints by some of the children's parents that Diana's sister Lady Sarah McCorquodale and her mother, Frances Shand Kydd, ignored a 1993 letter in which the princess asks the executors to "divide my personal chattels between my sons and my godchildren" when settling her almost $35 million estate. At issue: the word "chattels." British inheritance-law attorney Richard Bark-Jones says the term refers to "things you can pick up and touch"—not money. Some parents say that was not Diana's intent.
The Tatler reports that Lady Sarah doled out the trinkets—a china rabbit, a decanter, a pen tray—to the children. Wrote a mother in The Sunday Telegraph: "A tatty brown box containing some pieces of Herend china ...is all [my daughter] was given to remember her godmother by." Lady Sarah defended her actions in a British court, where the letter was made public, saying of the 17 godchildren, "There were not many paupers there."
Pee-wee's Lowe Point
For those still wondering what, exactly, police carted away from Paul Reubens's L.A. home during a 2001 raid, a source close to Reubens offers a partial answer: century-old erotica and a copy of Rob Lowe's infamous 1988 sex video, in which Lowe is seen in flagrante with two females, one of whom was a minor. L.A. officials won't confirm or deny that, however, preferring to wait until a Feb. 10 court hearing, when Reubens, 50, the actor best known as Pee-wee Herman, will try to have a misdemeanor child-pornography charge dropped. He has pleaded not guilty.
MAGIC MEN
Who'll play Dumbledore? Harry Potter's producers have yet to announce a replacement for the late Richard Harris. Scoop offered candidates via people.com and let muggles vote.
Ian McKellen 41%
Patrick Stewart 33%
Sean Connery 22%
Michael Gambon 3%
Dame Edna 1%
They Said, She Says
Earlier this week, syndicated morning radio host Don Imus read a published report that Antonio Banderas has forbidden Melanie Griffith to have any more plastic surgery. Griffith had no immediate response, but judging from the way she has handled past rumors and innuendo, expect to see a posting on her Web site, www.melaniegrifflth.com any day now. Rather than simply roll her eyes or claim she doesn't pay attention to gossip, Griffith, 45, minces no words when dealing with scuttlebutt.
Herewith a sampling of her rejoinders.
Rumor: The 5'9" Banderas wore lifts in his shoes to measure up to a recent leading lady. Griffith's rebuttal: "Antonio is NOT wearing lifts to appear taller. He is perfectly comfortable with his height, and so am I."
Rumor: She had an affair with Gabriel Byrne. Griffith's rebuttal: "Gabriel is a very dear old friend."
Rumor: Banderas has an elaborate beauty regimen. Griffith's rebuttal: "My husband is a man's man.... He has never had a mud mask, pedicure or a body wrap. (The only body wrapped around him is mine!)"
Jam Master Jay's Last Rap
Fans of slain Run-DMC member Jam Master Jay (born Jason Mizell) can see the influential deejay perform one last time, in a Dr Pepper commercial that airs starting Jan. 19. Given the circumstances of Mizell's death—he was shot on Oct. 30—the ad seems sure to raise a few eyebrows. Dr Pepper's chief advertising officer John Clarke admits there were concerns about running the spot, which was filmed in August and also features Mizell's bandmates Darryl McDaniels and Joseph Simmons, but "because the commercial is structured as a tribute to the group, everyone thinks it's appropriate." McDaniels concurs: "This is something that should be seen. It shows Jason doing what he always did. It's one of his greatest performances."
[This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.]
THE SPIRIT OF 2004
Recently, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina announced his plans to seek the Democratic nomination for President in 2004. Which had some people wondering: How is a TV psychic qualified to be Chief Executive? Actually, that's Crossing Over's John Edward, but the confusion is understandable. Here, a guide to telling them apart.
Sen. John Edwards: Claims to speak for the people
Platform: taxes
Moderate
Psychic John Edward: Claims to speak to dead people
Platform: death
Medium
Haunted by specter of the amazingly randy Bill Clinton? Haunted by psychic fraud buster Amazing Randi?
POP QUIZ
with Avril Lavigne
How's this for the fast track? On Jan. 7, seven months after releasing her first CD, Let Go, Avril Lavigne picked up five Grammy nominations, including Best New Artist and Song of the Year for "Complicated." The 18-year-old rocker talked with Scoop about the show.
Comfortable with all this?
Awards really aren't that big of a deal to me. One person out of five wins, but everybody works really hard and everybody's talented. It's harsh to say, "This person's better." You just can't take it seriously.
But when you were growing up, didn't you get a kick out of the award shows?
Well, I always wanted to be a famous, successful singer, and when I'd watch those shows, I would go nuts. They would just pump me up.
Fretting about what to wear?
I have a laid-back style; I'm not like, "Oh, I need to wear a dress" or "I have to get all done up in diamonds or sequins." I'm not a fashion freak. I pretty much wear camouflage stuff, army stuff, jeans, T-shirts, tank tops.
What do you do when you're at a big fancy event and it gets boring?
I talk to the guys in my band. And stare.
Ever bring snacks?
No, but I brought tea with me to the MTV Video Music Awards.
Are you seeing anyone?
No.
Does it bug you to be asked about that?
Yeah. I don't really have much of a private life. But it's not really a problem. I'm having fun. I have my band and my friends. I don't feel like I'm missing anything.
How do you explain your rapid rise in the music biz?
I guess it was the right time, and I had the right people working with me and watching out for me. It was supposed to happen. I just really believe that I was meant to do this and that's why it all worked out.
ON THE BLOCK
HOLLYWOOD BY THE SEA
The right pedigree can do wonders in real estate. Take this Malibu house. An entertainment exec did—for $8 million, the day it went on the market last month—says listing agent Kurt Rappaport. Owned by the late Richard Harris in the '80s and Diana Ross in the '90s and within a clam toss of neighbors Courteney Cox Arquette and Ryan O'Neal, the 2,900-sq.-ft. oceanfront abode features a glassed-in patio and a hydrophiliac's dream: a bathtub with an ocean view.
- Contributors:
- Ting Yu,
- Jennifer Wren,
- Rachel Felder,
- Linda Marx,
- Michele Stueven,
- Frank Swertlow,
- Ellen Tumposky.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
