Behind Hollywood's velvet ropes The Hilton tapes

It was a perfectly sunny L.A. afternoon, a charming curb-side restaurant right there in the sweet spot of the Sunset strip, lunch with a couple of members of an extremely exclusive club.

And one of them popped up and was across the place — and back — before I quite understood what was up.

“______,” she told me, sitting down again. “He was the guy in the Paris video...” THAT Paris video.

A friend of hers, apparently. Or was he? As we had been discovering, the tight little world inhabited by the people who show up week after week on the covers of tabloid magazines is not quite the bright wonderland lots of us like to imagine.

Behind those velvet ropes, our lunch companions told us, it's a sometimes dangerous world, inhabited not just by the famous or the wanna-be famous, but by dark characters, bottom feeders and bad boys intent on making use of those very faces you see on the tabloids.




Paris Hilton helps solve a crime. Sort of. Watch a preview of the Dateline Saturday report.


Our purpose, when we started, was to look into a terrifying home invasion robbery way up in the nosebleed section of Bel Air. I mean, way up. Nancy Reagan’s neighborhood. Homes so expensive you can’t even see them, in there behind their hand built gates, up their hedge-lined private driveways.

The victim of this robbery is a celebrity himself: Joe Francis, the man behind a ridiculously profitable moral quagmire called “Girls Gone Wild.” Joe has been flogging his videos - college girls lifting their tops for the camera, playing sex games with each other, etc, etc - long enough to have built a boy’s dream of a lifestyle.

Here is a partial list of Joe’s toys: private jets (2), Bentley, Ferrari, the really nice house, other big house across the country, a place in the Caribbean.... and... friendships with people who are famous.

Like Paris Hilton. Who says, the second Joe’s name comes up, “He’s NOT my ex-boyfriend.”

But did she know who got into his house one night, tied him up, threatened to kill him, forced him to make a video apparently aimed at making him look gay?

And thus, from our curiosity about a robbery, we found ourselves drawn into the bizarre world of Hollywood night life.

We listened to Paris call herself "like, not that smart." We heard her memory improve remarkably... after a sandwich.

Paris Hilton interview

• Paris Hilton: Amateur detective?


Listen to the excerpts from Paris Hilton's law enforcement interview that helped solve a crime. On Dateline NBC .com



What’s it like behind those Hollywood velvet ropes?

Next time you find yourself in a check-out line and your eye is drawn to some ultra-famous party girl — or boy — splashed on a tabloid cover and you wonder, just for a second, how cool it must be to live in that world... you might remember this simple definition of celebrity life, from an L.A. County prosecutor named Hoon Chun: “Its a jet-set version of high school.”

DETROIT - Kim Mathers, the ex-wife of Eminem, says her on-again, off-again relationship with the Grammy-winning rapper is over and done

"I never spoke up about it before because I always felt something for him," Mathers told Detroit radio station WKQI-FM in a live interview.

"Now I have vomit in my mouth if I'm around him or hear his name. There's nothing left in me for him. Nothing."

Mathers, who has generally avoided the spotlight in the past, said she wanted to tell her side of the story to her family and to Eminem's fans, who know her mostly from the rapper's unsympathetic depiction of her in his lyrics.

Asked the most surprising thing about her life with the Eight Mile star, Mathers said, "Sex was bad."

Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III, issued a statement urging his ex-wife to stop talking about their relationship in the media.

"It's a shame that I've moved on and Kim hasn't. Her ongoing press campaign is doing nothing but harm to the children, and for that I feel truly sorry. For their sake, I wish she would stop," he said.


The couple's first divorce, finalized in 2001, prompted both a custody battle over their daughter, Hailie, and Eminem's hit Kim - a graphic rap fantasy about his ex-wife's death.

His song Mockingbird from 2005 refers to her cocaine addiction in a rapped explanation of their split.

Mathers, who tried to commit suicide after watching Eminem perform Kim onstage in 2000, told the announcers on the Mojo in the Morning show she was still troubled by her portrayal in her ex-husband's songs.

"People hear them and praise him. It bothers me, because it's nothing like that in the real world," she said.

Eminem had used an earlier appearance on the same radio show to announce that he and Mathers had reconciled and would remarry.

Both Eminem and Mathers have battled addiction and legal problems in recent years.

Mathers pleaded guilty to cocaine possession in 2004, and said Friday she also was a recovering alcoholic

"I made a lot of mistakes, and I am sorry, but I have learned from them. I will never be that person again," she said.

The couple reconciled in 2005, remarried in a January wedding in a Detroit suburb, but then separated weeks later. In addition to their daughter, the couple also cares for Hailie's cousin, Alaina.

Britney Spears Bald/Shaves Her Head

She's f*cking losing it !!!!!!

Huet out indefinitely

Who had struggled in goal of late, is 19-15-3 this season
with a 2.74 goals-against average.






MONTREAL Goaltender Cristobal Huet will undergo surgery on a torn left hamstring and will be out of action indefinitely, the Montreal Canadiens announced Saturday.

The operation is to be performed on Sunday.

As he left the Bell Centre, Huet said he would have a better idea of how long he will be out of action after the surgery.

When asked if he expects to be back before the end of the season, he said: "I don't know, we'll see."

Huet, the team's top goaltender, was injured while stretching for a puck as Brian Rafalski scored during a 5-2 Montreal loss in New Jersey on Wednesday night.

The Canadiens called up Jaroslav Halak from AHL Hamilton on Friday to fill in as backup in goal to second goalie David Aebischer.

After a tepid performance by Aebischer in a 5-3 loss to Carolina on Saturday, coach Guy Carbonneau said the 21-year-old Halak will get his first NHL start Sunday night in Columbus.

Huet's teammates said they will have to soldier on.

"Obviously, it hurts," winger Mike Johnson said. "He was at the all-star game this year for a reason.

"But we have two No. 1 goalies here. David played well for us early and he'll have to the rest of the way, but he's done it before, in the regular season and into the playoffs. It's good that our organization has a lot of depth at that position."

Huet, who had struggled of late, is 19-15-3 this season with a 2.74 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage. He was outstanding in November and into December, when he had much to do with the Canadiens' strong first half of the season.

Now, Aebischer will likely see the lion's share of time in goal.

"I cherish a challenge," Aebischer said. "As an athlete, that's what you want.

"I spoke (to Huet) a bit. He feels OK, but it's tough for him to have surgery, especially down the stretch."






Halak ready for the challenge



Jaroslav Halak attracted attention during the Canadiens' training camp in the fall.
MONTREAL – Slovakian goaltenders haven’t exactly been breaking down the doors to the NHL. Called up from the Hamilton Bulldogs on Thursday, Jaroslav Halak could his open the door as early as this weekend.

While it remains to be seen how long Cristobal Huet will be out with a left hamstring injury suffered Wednesday, Halak isn’t just in Montreal as an observer.

“I don’t know much about him but [Hamilton Bulldogs head coach] Don Lever has told me good things about him,” said head coach Guy Carbonneau. “He’s not here as a tourist, that’s for sure. If he doesn’t play tomorrow [Saturday], then most likely on Sunday.”

Even if he’s only played in 41 Bulldogs games since February 2006, Halak has still found the time to add his name to the franchise record books with nine shutouts.

His call-up didn’t surprise Maxim Lapierre, who witnessed firsthand what the Canadiens’ No. 41 is all about during his time in Steeltown.

“He looks big in the net,” noted Lapierre, who was fortunate or unfortunate enough to face Halak during the goalie’s junior days with the Lewiston MAINEiacs. “He was really good when I was in Hamilton earlier this season and last year. He’s a big part of the Bulldogs’ success this season.”

a
Halak took his first step towards an NHL debut Friday morning when he took to the ice at the Denis Savard Arena for his first Canadiens practice since training camp.

“I’m really happy to be here and to have been called up,” said the smiling 21-year-old. “I felt really good out there. NHL players have the best and hardest shots and shoot more on the corners. That’s harder to stop but I’ll get used to it.”

While Halak isn’t sure when he’ll make his NHL debut, should it come this weekend he’ll have some help in front of him as the Canadiens’ clinic is relieved of a patient. Mike Johnson, who missed the last two games with the flu, is expected to be back in the lineup Saturday. Alex Kovalev skated on his own Friday and should be back in three weeks while Craig Rivet, who’s been out with pneumonia, is waiting for test results before he can lace up his skates and start practicing again.

Britney Spears Shaved Head Shock: Britney Bald Pictures Stun Fans

Britney Spears has shocked fans by shaving her head. She didn't just cut her hair, or change her hair color, she has gone completely bald. The once blonde pop princess stopped at a Tarzana salon and asked them to shave her head on Friday night. When the hairdresser refused, a source says Spears "grabbed the hair clipper and started doing it herself," reports Us Weekly Magazine.

Britney Bald Pictures Stun Fans
She was spotted by fans and paparazzi as a crowd gathered outside a Los Angeles tattoo parlor after the buzz cut and Britney was minus her trademark mane. A tattoo artist at the Body and Soul parlor told KABC television that Ms Spears' was tattooed with "cute little lips on her wrist".




is Britney headed for a breakdown?' That seems like the right question to ask and the website reports that employee Emily Wynne-Hughes at the tattoo parlor says the singer was agitated and a "nightmare" to deal with. When asked about her new 'do, an exasperated Britney told Hughes, "I don't want anyone touching me. I'm tired of everyone touching me."

Her two new tattoos - a black, white and pink cross on her hip and red and pink lips on her wrist - cost $80. During the one-hour visit, the employee noticed a stain on the singer's white handbag, and Brit explained she had "spilled Nyquil all over it."

The employee says it was clear that the fallen pop princess was "on the verge of a nervous breakdown."

Joanna Krupa

Is Joanna Krupa the sexist woman in the world?

Well, considering this is a Joanna Krupa fan site full of pics/ photos. I think you are going to get an biased opinion.

But hey, Joanna Kruppa was voted sexist woman in the world by magazines from Austria to USA. Asides from Playboy, her covers include GQ, Esquire, Maxium, FHM, Inside Sport, TV Media, TV Spielfilm, Fitness Rx, Trump World, Men's Fitness & featured model of the week at Askmen.com

I think Joanna Krupa pictures in the gallery should do the talking....










biography



Joanna Krupa was born April 23, 1981, in Warsaw, Poland. The daughter of prominent hotelier Steven Krupa, she and her family moved to Chicago's Westside -- a huge Polish community -- when she was only 5 years old. "I grew up with the Polish food and even went to a Polish school for six years," she recalls. "We followed our Polish traditions."

joanna krupa becomes a model

In addition to keeping in touch with her roots, Joanna also followed her showbiz aspirations, keeping busy with ballet and tap dancing classes. Following high school, Joanna enrolled at a local community college in nearby Lombard, Illinois. Despite her best intentions, she didn't stay there long. "I was miserable," she now admits in retrospect. "I wasn't that into school, because I always knew I wanted to go to work." Deciding higher education wasn't for her, Joanna left for the bright lights of L.A. to pursue a career in modeling.











Joanna's move proved to be an immediate success as she quickly began to build her portfolio with a number of high-profile modeling assignments. "The jobs started coming in and I got the right people around me," she says modestly. Lucrative contracts for brands such as Skechers, Izod and Le Coup soon followed as Joanna continued to assert herself on the scene. "I worked my butt off," she admits. She also showed it off -- repeatedly.

"The first time I did a sexy photo shoot, I was nervous that all the girls in America would hate me for it and think I was letting them down," she says. "It's really nice when a woman comes up to me and says, 'Oh, I loved your picture in such and such.'"

joanna krupa on son of the beach

Joanna's modeling work naturally led to film and television opportunities and, in 2000, she starred in an episode of the Baywatch parody, Son of the Beach. Additional appearances on The X Show and a small cameo in Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes followed in 2001.

In 2002, Joanna continued her transition to TV by accepting a year-long recurring role as a Juggy Dancer on Comedy Central's The Man Show. "I knew it wasn't me," she admits, "but they didn't make me feel degraded so it was actually kind of fun. I dressed up in costumes and danced around to music. But every job and every experience helps you get something else and has a reason. Even though it was stupid, it gave me a little bit of recognition."

joanna krupa wins star search

That recognition and additional television experience helped Joanna to advance to the semi-finals of Star Search's spokesmodel competition in 2003. As exciting as her showing may have been, it also proved to be somewhat disorienting. "That period when I first left Star Search was hard," she says. "I remember having to do a photoshoot with a really famous photographer and I didn't know if I was coming or going. Part of me still felt like a really young girl."

Nonetheless, that "young girl" was now jetting around the world and appearing on magazine covers with increasing regularity. Joanna became a familiar face to readers of publications like FHM, Stuff, Men's Fitness, Trump World, and many more.

Joanna built on her Star Search success in 2004 with an appearance in the hit television series Las Vegas, as well as a starring role in the David Carradine action film Max Havoc: Curse of the Dragon. "At first I was scared to do a major role," she admits, "but the scariest part was when I found out they were giving me a lead role! It gave me more confidence in my acting ability because I got good feedback and was comfortable with the role."

joanna krupa is model of the year

Joanna's greatest exposure was yet to come, however, as the Polish beauty appeared in the July 2005 issue of Play..boy. TV Media -- a prominent Austrian men's magazine -- also named her Model of the Year. Perhaps just as important, Joanna also fell in love as she began dating Smallville actor Jensen Ackles. "He's so not Hollywood and not into being a star," Joanna raves. "He's absolutely amazing. I've never been more attracted to anyone in my life."


Joanna was casted in major roles in the drama Ripple Effect (2006), the horror film Skinner Box (2006) and the offbeat comedy The Dog Problem (2006), starring Scott Caan and Don Cheadle.

joanna krupa talks career

"I want to be in this business as long as I can and I want to make smart decisions," she says. "Obviously right now I'm gonna concentrate on modeling and traveling, and doing the movies. I just want to be like a Brigitte Bardot, somebody who has been in the business for a long time, somebody that people will respect 20 years down the line, that would be my goal."

Vienna goes gaga over Paris Hilton

Advertisement Hundreds of shrieking, frenzied fans have welcomed hotel heiress and party girl Paris Hilton as she made an appearance at a mall in the Austrian capital to sign autographs.

"Hello everybody, it's so good to see you," Hilton, wearing a black and white dress, cooed as the crowd went crazy. "Happy late Valentine's Day!"


But not everyone ended up getting what they came for.

When several objects landed on a stage where Hilton was signing, the session was cut short and she was whisked away by security guards.

The flying objects included cigarette packs, tissues and lipsticks, said Richard Lugner, Hilton's Vienna host.

The Austria Press Agency reported that sheets of paper that floated onto the stage were flyers from a communist youth organisation.

Hilton was in Vienna to attend the city's prestigious Opera Ball as Lugner's special guest.























The 74-year-old married construction magnate takes a celebrity along to the lavish event each year.

Hilton ran into a problem in Munich, Germany, yesterday when it turned out her passport had expired.

Susan McCaw, US ambassador to Austria, had to vouch for Hilton to get her across the border, APA reported.

"Oh nothing, just my passport expired," Hilton said when asked to explain what happened.

Taking questions from some 100 reporters earlier, Hilton said she "loved" classical music and that she grew up listening to it.

"As a little girl, it really helped me fall asleep at night," she said, adding later that she "really loved" old Michael Jackson songs, Madonna and especially hip hop.

Hilton said there were "a lot of people who need help" in the world and that she planned to go to Africa sometime this year.

"As a celebrity, you can really make people aware of what's going on in the world," she said.

U.S heiress Paris Hilton, left, her host for tonight's opera ball Austrian businessman Richard Lugner, centre, his wife Christina, right, are seen Thursday, Feb. 15, 2007, at the Hilton hotel in Vienna.



U.S heiress Paris Hilton, left, her host for tonight's opera ball Austrian businessman Richard Lugner, centre, his wife Christina, right, are seen Thursday, Feb. 15, 2007, at the Hilton hotel in Vienna.

The Opera Ball draws about 4,500 well-heeled Austrian and foreign celebrities, dignitaries and socialites and tickets often sell out months in advance.

As in previous years, several hundred police officers were being dispatched to make sure demonstrators don't disrupt the festivities.

Hilton, whom Lugner compared to Marilyn Monroe and Princess Diana, acknowledged it was sometimes a little rough being a celebrity.

After attending the Opera Ball, Hilton, her parents in tow, is headed to the Tyrolean ski resort of Ischgl tomorrow for her 26th birthday bash.

McLaren F1

Specifications:

Make and Model: McLaren F1
Year: 1994
Engine Type: 6.1 Liter V12
Torque: 479.2lb-ft@5600rpm
Acceleration 0-60: 3.2 s
Suspension: Double Wishbones w/Light Alloy Dampers, Co-Axial Coil Springs
Wheel Base: 107.001 inches
List Price: $890,000
Horsepower: 627bhp@7400rpm
Top Speed: 231 mph
Brakes: ventilated
Transmission: 6 Speed Manual
Weight: 2509.3 lbs

Dr. Phil’s Son married to Triplet Playboy Playmate

Jay McGraw, 26, is married to former Playboy playmate Erica Dahm.

Erica, 27, one of the famous triplet sisters who posed for the December 1998 edition of Playboy, sports a 5-carat diamond, emerald and platinum engagement ring.


"I asked her father for her hand in marriage first. I finally told my parents and they are ecstatic.
She's the one I want to spend the rest of my life with", Jay McGraw told syndicated TV show "The Insider".

Dr. Phil’s son is a best-selling author of self-help books himself. His most famous titles are "Closing the Gap" and "The Ultimate Weight Solution for Teens."

After posing for Playboy with her sisters Nicole and Jaclyn, Erica made her cinema debut in the 1999 "Battle Dome" TV Series. Since then she starred in "Robocop: Prime Directives" (2000), Juwanna Mann (2002), “Pauly Shore Is Dead’ (2003) and appeared in “Nudity Required” (2003).




Her father-in-law, Dr. Phil McGraw, was named one of the "Most Intriguing People of 2002," while Barbara Walters included Dr. Phil in her 2002 "Ten Most Fascinating People" special. Newsweek has also dedicated a September 2002 cover story to Dr. Phil, which turned out to be the magazine's best-selling profile cover of the year.

Dr. Phil is author of five #1 New York Times bestsellers: Life Strategies: Doing What Works, Doing What Matters; Relationship Rescue: A Seven-Step Strategy for Reconnecting with Your Partner; Self Matters: Creating Your Life From the Inside Out; The Ultimate Weight Solution: The Seven Keys to Weight Loss Freedom, and his most recent book, Family First: Your Step-by-Step Plan for Creating a Phenomenal Family.He is also the author of the New York Times bestseller The Ultimate Weight Solution Coookbook: Recipes For Weight Loss Freedom as well as The Ultimate Weight Solution Food Guide. His books have been published in 37 languages with over 22 million copies in print.

Dr. Phil, an avid golfer, tennis player, and scuba diver, lives in Los Angeles with Robin, his wife of 28 years.

NIKKI HILTON SUED !

A Chicago development group is suing heiress Nicky Hilton for breach of contract over a delayed hotel renovation project just south of the city's downtown.

In a lawsuit filed Monday in federal court, Robert Falor Investments and Grand USA Hotel Supply & Restaurant allege Hilton hasn't kept up her end of an April 2006 agreement in which she promised to promote the redevelopment project known as Nicky O's Chicago, a Nicky Hilton Hotel.

Hilton also allegedly contracted out interior design work she was supposed to perform and tried to charge it back to the developer, the lawsuit alleges. The development group also claims Hilton misrepresented that she and her associates had experience in hotel design.

Paul Fisher, Hilton's agent, also is named in the lawsuit.

Elliot Mintz, a Los Angeles-based media consultant for Hilton, said neither Hilton nor Fisher had not seen the lawsuit as of late Monday night.

"Things are not always as they appear," he said. "When the facts surrounding this matter are known to the public I think you will find out that the person who has been most impacted by this action will be Nicky Hilton. … In the meantime, I don't think anybody should draw any conclusions based on the simple filing of a lawsuit."

The Nicky O hotel was set to replace the Blake Hotel in Printer's Row, located in the historic Morton Salt building. The project, along with a similar renovation along Miami's swank South Beach, were to serve as Hilton's foray into the family's signature business, although neither Nicky O hotel would be affiliated with Hilton Hotels.
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Both proposed hotels have been plagued by delays, and neither has opened yet.

Messages left for the plaintiff's attorneys weren't immediately returned Monday evening.

Hilton, 23, is the granddaughter of William Barron Hilton and the great granddaughter of Conrad Hilton, who founded Hilton Hotel Corp. in 1946. Her sister is Paris Hilton.