My So-Called Just Friendship
NEWYORK CITY, JUNE 17
Claire Danes gives Billy Crudup a heartfelt squeeze while strolling in Manhattan's SoHo district. Despite their public display of affection, neither of the actors' reps would comment on the pair's relationship. Last fall, Crudup split with actress Mary-Louise Parker, with whom he has a 5-month-old son.
Volley Girl
LONDON, JUNE 17
Keeping things on the down low, Serena Williams flaunts her flexibility at a pre-Wimbledon clinic for kids hosted by the defending champ and her older sis Venus. The siblings were promoting their book, How to Play Tennis, aimed at 8-to 14-year-old beginners. Three days later, the pair splurged on makeup at Pout, a trendy London cosmetics store, snatching up lip gloss and eyeshadow, as well as semipermanent lash extensions—perfect for smashing smudgefree Centre Court matches!
Brad Company
ROME, JUNE 16
Catherine Zeta-Jones cozies up to Brad Pitt during a playful scene for Ocean's Twelve in which she feeds him gelato before stealing a kiss. The actress plays Isabel Lahiri, an ex-girlfriend of Pitt's character who also happens to be a Europol agent specializing in hunting down master thieves.
How Do You Like Them Apples?
SANTA MONICA, JUNE 19
What else would hard-core Boston Red Sox fan Ben Affleck wear but a "[screw] the curse" T-shirt, referring to the Babe Ruth hex? Maybe it brought him luck: The next day, he won $356,400 at the Commerce Casino's California State Poker Championship, outbluffing 90 players, including Tobey Maguire.
Saving Private Clooney
ROME, JUNE 18
George Clooney, who cuts a debonair figure on the Ocean's Twelve set, has been pestered I by local fans. The privacy-seeking actor even got some help from Italian authorities. They posted signs reading, "Due to the presence of international VIPs, parking or standing around on the street adjacent to [Clooney's Laglio address] is strictly forbidden."
WOMEN FILM AWARDS
LOS ANGELES, JUNE 18
Apple's Corps
Gwyneth Paltrow mugs with mom Blythe Danner and brother Jake at the Crystal & Lucy Awards, where her clan was celebrated for their work in showbiz. The fete included a tribute to late dad Bruce. As for leaving her baby girl at home, says Gwyn: "[My mom and I] are looking at each other going, 'We want to go home and see Apple!' "
Yves Dropping
LOS ANGELES, JUNE 18
Before the awards ceremony, Dodgeball's Christine Taylor makes a curtsy call in a flirty frock by Yves Saint Laurent.
OLYMPICTORCH RELAY
LOS ANGELES, JUNE 16
Celebs like Ellen DeGeneres (below) become gleeful pyromaniacs as they run approximately 400 meters with the Olympic flame on the streets of L.A. as part of its 27-country journey en route to Athens, host of the XXVIII Olympiad. The Opening Ceremonies are Aug. 13.
Torchbearer Ryan Seacrest does his best as an American idol, albeit briefly, as he sprints through L.A.
"It was indescribable," said Tom Cruise, who circled the field at Dodger Stadium for his leg of the relay before passing the flame to Olympic swimming gold medalist Janet Evans.
and in New York...
Flameworthy
JUNE 19
Three days after the L.A. leg, Sean "P.Diddy" Combs gets fired up in Manhattan. The marathon man missed his scheduled torch time—he got stuck in traffic—but organizes quickly found him a new slot.
YOU Better, YOU Bette
NEW YORK CITY, JUNE 17
Pals Sarah Jessica Parker (left) and Bette Midler are all smiles at the opening of the Peter Jay Sharp Boathouse at Swindler Cove Park on the Harlem River. The event raised $560,000 for the New York Restoration Project, founded by Midler.
Christian Coalition
LOS ANGELES, JUNE 22
At the premiere of Spider-Man 2, Kirsten Dunst gets her frills in a custom-made Christian Lacroix dress. "I just love his clothes—they're like pieces of art," says the flick's star, who spent the day going to the dry cleaners, picking up cat food and getting a facial.
'N Sync or Swim?
SYDNEY, JUNE 17
Justin Timberlake races a pack of young Aussie lifesavers-in-training, known as the Nippers, on Manly Beach. "They were absolutely stoked," says the event organizer. "They were rapt when they met him." While in Australia on his solo tour, the singer and girlfriend Cameron Diaz also climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge and stopped by Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin's zoo to see the Animal Planet host's reptiles.
The Dog Gaze of Summer
HOLLYWOOD HILLS, JUNE 19
As Charlize Theron heads to her Range Rover, her trusty watchdog, mixed breed Tucker—one of the actress's four pet pooches—keeps close tabs.
Not Normally Reserved
NANTUCKET, MASS., JUNE 19
At a tribute to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, Jim Carrey puts on his joker face, sticking a sign from his chair onto his forehead. "It was such a complex script, it's like being Helen Keller with a Rubik's Cube," said Carrey of Kaufman's mind-bending screenplay. "I want to go to [his] planet sometime. Not for a long time—for lunch or dinner maybe."
Art and Craft
NEW YORK CITY, JUNE 16
Man in black and blue Will Smith (tries his band at power-steering as he rides a jet ski to shoot a scene for The Last first Kiss in Manhattan's North Cove Marina, Smith plays a professional matchmaker in the romantic comedy costarring Era Mendes.
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