Penelope Cruz’s “Broken Embraces”

Penelope Cruz’s “Broken Embraces”

Accompanied by director Pedro Almodovar, Penelope Cruz was resonant in red as she made a Sunday afternoon arrival in Lanzarote, the easternmost of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean.

Penelope and Pedro are there to scout out locations and prepare for the filming of Pedro's new movie, Los Abrazos rotos (Broken Embraces).

With Penelope taking on the starring role, the director and actress are once again reunited on the set - as their last project together was much acclaimed film Volver.

The thriller/drama, which is slated for a March 2009 release, is scheduled to begin initial filming tomorrow, co-starring Ángela Molina and Rossy de Palma.

Enjoy the pictures of Penelope Cruz and Pedro Almodovar arriving in Lanzarote (May 25).

The famous Bhatt girls

The famous Bhatt girls

Alright folks, we are back to talking about butt girls, oops! the Bhatts' girls.

Yes, we are talking about some of the beautiful faces who made their debut in the B-Town through a Mahesh Bhatt, a Mukesh Bhatt or a Vikram Bhatt film and are still better known by and for that film because some of them unfortunately could not be seen in many more movies thereafter.


Pooja Bhatt

Talk about the Bhatt camp and the very first name that strikes the grey cell is Pooja Bhatt who made her debut at the age of 17, in 1989, with Mahesh Bhatt's 'Daddy'. She later did films like 'Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin' and went on to become a director. Although her films haven't done any good, she is presently directing Himesh in 'Kajraare'.


Sushmita Sen

Giving a strong 'Dastak', the Bhatts then gave a long-legged beauty to the industry in the name of Miss India Universe, Sushmita Sen. Sush then went on to work with all the bigwigs and gave some of the power-packed performances in the films like 'Aankhen', 'Biwi No 1', 'Samay' and 'Main Hoon Na' to name a few.


Bipasha Basu

The next comes the dusky damsel of the tinsel town, Bipasha Basu who entered Bollywood with 'Ajnabee' and later revealed all her secret intentions in 'Raaz' directed by Vikram Bhatt and won millions of hearts with her 'Jism' which was directed by Pooja Bhatt. Bipasha is currently dating John Abraham from whom she has lots of 'Aashayein'.


Mallika Sherawat

Gracing the list with her mythical presence is Mallika Sherawat whose debut film 'Khwahish' went unnoticed but her sensuous scenes and 17 kisses got her 'Murder' from the Bhatt clan. The voluptuous Mallika later on worked with Jackie Chan in Hollywood flick 'The Myth' and this 'Ugly Aur Pagli' girl will next be seen in 'Maan Gaye Mughall-E-Azam'.



Udita Goswami

Talk about actresses from the Bhatt camp and how can the sensuous Udita Goswami be left behind? Udita did 'Paap' to debut in the Show Ville and then worked in suspense thrillers and murder mysteries like 'Zeher', 'Aksar' and 'Aggar'. We hope this pretty damsel could be seen in many more movies and does not end up becoming another Anu Agarwal.


Lisa Ray

Then came in a ray of hope in the name of model turned actress Lisa Ray, who made her foray into the industry through Mukesh Bhatt's 'Kasoor' and was then seen in the controversial film 'Water' opposite John Abraham. However, this ray faded away soon from the Bollywood chart but appeared in some of the Hollywood flicks like 'Seeking Fear', 'The Flowerman' and 'All Hat' to name a few.


Kangana Ranaut

Moving ahead we have Kangana Ranaut who with her brilliant performance in her debut film 'Gangster' gave even the top actresses a run for their money. After having worked in 'Woh Lamhe', a film said to be based on real life story of Mahesh Bhatt and Parveen Babi, Kangana will now be seen in Mukesh Bhatt's 'Raaz 2' along with Emraan Hashmi and in Rakesh Roshan's 'Kites' opposite Hrithik Roshan.


Sonal Chauhan

And last and the latest entrant is the beautiful and talented Sonal Chauhan who recently stepped in the glam world through Mukesh Bhatt's 'Jannat'. Both, the film and Sonal, have been highly applauded and adored by the audiences. And with her heart-winning performance, Sonal has proved that she is here to stay for sure. -Hiten Trivedi/Sanskriti Media

NY women make "Sex and the City" opening-night scene

NY women make "Sex and the City" opening-night scene

NEW YORK (Reuters) - "Sex" moved from the city to the cinema on Friday as hordes of determined women descended upon Manhattan for the premiere of "Sex and the City" in the city where the hit television show-turned-film takes place"Is there a New York girl that isn't (a fan of the show)?" asked Nikki Lamarine, who stood outside a Times Square cinema as she and about 30 girlfriends clutched opening-night tickets they had secured several weeks in advance.

"If there is, she's weird," Lamarine added.

In honor of the premiere, the women sported bright dresses, high heels and dramatic hats that owed more than a little to the four style-savvy stars of the new film and the hit HBO television series on which it is based.

One of the very few men in the crowd was New Yorker Dennis Castillo, a longtime fan who had come with a group of female friends.

"I'm really excited to see Samantha and all her craziness," said Castillo, referring to one of the four women friends who in the film are portrayed living their lives four years after they left off when the TV show went off the air in 2004.

An online survey of more than 10,000 moviegoers buying tickets for "Sex and the City" found that 94 percent were women, and that 67 percent planned to attend the movie this weekend with a group of female friends.

Several Manhattan bars were serving free Cosmopolitans, a cocktail favored by the foursome on the TV show, to those who had attended opening night.

Sarah Jessica Parker, who stars as the fashion-conscious Manhattan columnist Carrie Bradshaw, said this week that fans expecting "the joy and the good times and the whimsy and the clothes and the cocktails and the salty language" would get their fill, but might be surprised to find "that the shank of the movie is pretty sad."

That could account for at least some of the grumbling on film-centered Web sites such as the Internet Movie Data Base, where more than 3,000 users had rated the film a paltry 3.7 of a possible 10 as of Friday night.

But the voting breakdown hinted at a healthy dose of sexism in the city, with men casting nearly three times as many votes as women, and rating the film a 3, while women gave it a 7.

(Additional reporting by Steve Gorman and Michelle Nichols; writing by Chris Michaud; editing by Patricia Zengerle)

Pamela Anderson’s Mystery Man

Pamela Anderson’s Mystery Man

She's had a pretty rough time with romance, having been divorced three times from ex-husbands Tommy Lee, Kid Rock, and Rick Salomon. But Pamela Anderson isn't giving up on love.

The former Baywatch babe was spotted out and about in Malibu, California yesterday enjoying the company of a mystery man. And they were looking mighty friendly together!

Pammie took her gentleman caller on a romantic stroll around her gated community before taking him back to her house. Both of them looked comfy in their workout gear as they made the most of the beautiful weather.

On a related note, it sounds like Miss Anderson's assets are getting other people in trouble. At least, that's the case for a 32-year-old woman who was just convicted of unlawful sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 17.

Apparently, the whole thing started back in January 2007 when Courtney Isabella Bailey substituted a picture of Pamela Anderson's breasts for her own in a text message conversation with her 15-year-old co-worker. The two ended up hooking up, with charges being filed later.

Enjoy the pictures of Pamela Anderson out with her new walking buddy (May 22).

Charlie Sheen Wishes Cancer on Denise Richards?

Charlie Sheen Wishes Cancer on Denise Richards?

She's been busying herself with trying to jump start a career in reality TV, and yesterday Denise Richards stopped by CW11's morning show to say hi.

The yummy mommy looked cute in a shiny wine red v-neckline blouse along with a pair of figure-flattering jeans and a pair of casual open-toe heels.

And just when we thought the feud was dying down between the "Wild Things" actress and her ex-husband Charlie Sheen, more harsh words were reportedly exchanged between the two via text message.

Richards told press, "Last week, I sent Charlie a text message asking him if he's going to Family Day [for daughter Sam's school] and letting him know Sam was sick with a cold."

And what came back was almost unbelievable. "His response was, 'I hope you and your worthless retarded father get cancer and join your stupid mom. Rot in hell you [bleeping] whore.' My mom died of cancer. This is what I deal with on a weekly basis. He missed Dad's day at the school, and my father had to go in his place. And this is how he talks to me?"

Enjoy the pictures of Denise Richards out for her CW11 appearance (May 22).

PMs to address business leaders

PMs to address business leaders

Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his Irish counterpart Brian Cowen are due to meet at Stormont later, to address a major investment conference.

The leaders will speak to more than 100 US executives who are in Northern Ireland for the two-day conference.

It will be the first joint engagement for the prime minister and the new taoiseach.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is also due to go on walkabout in Belfast city centre.

The guests will be greeted by the First and Deputy First Ministers, Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness.

Later on Thursday, a gala dinner will be held at Hillsborough Castle.

The investment conference which runs from 7-9 May is the fifth to persuade US firms to invest in NI, the first was after the 1994 IRA ceasefire.

Some 120 executives from 80 companies are attending the 36-hour event which includes a sales pitch from Invest Northern Ireland.

Invest NI hopes this showcase event will persuade at least some of those firms to invest - but as is the nature of these things it could be three years or more before its success can be judged.