Styles & Scenes

Keira Knightley's journey to Swag Land

Keira Knightley may not be nominated for an Emmy. But the young Oscar nominated actress is definitely hitting the Emmy swag circuit.

Yesterday the "Pride and Prejudice" star surprised everyone by showing up at the Silver Spoon Hollywood Buffet where she picked up a new pair of dangling diamond earrings by Arezzo (a mere $7,500) from the folks at the Diamond Journey booth.

The stones are arranged from the smallest to the largest to sympolize how love becomes more intense and meaningful over time.

Or not.

Keira told the diamond girls, "I love the concept of Journey because it symbolizes the exciting things that have happened in my life and how far I've come."

You have come pretty far, Keira.

But you've arrived at an Emmy pampering/shopping suite along with Tara Reid,  Ellen Barkin, Lacey Chabert, Caroline D'Amore, Jason Davis and Kathy Griffin.

Now run for your life. And save your ever-lasting soul.

Photo Credit: Keira loves her new diamond danglies from the Silver Spoon Hollywood Buffet. Wonder if she had to fight Ellen Barkin for them.
Photo by Paige Mycoskie

Jon Voight hasn't seen Shiloh

At Monday night’s "You, Me and Dupree” premiere, Jon Voight told a People reporter that he still hadn’t seen his six-week-old granddaughter, Shiloh. But he had seen the magazine photos.

Ouch.

But at least he seemed to have it more under control than he did at the June 24th “Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest” premiere. On the Disneyland press line, an Australian journalist ambushed Voight and asked what everyone was wondering but dared not ask, “Have you seen your granddaughter yet?”

“No, no, I haven’t seen her.. yet,”  Voight replied softly, stammering, his eyes slowly filling with tears. ”But I hope to soon and I’d really rather not talk about that if you don’t mind.”

But the reporter pressed on, asking Voight if he’d sent a baby gift and if so, what was it. “No, I haven’t sent a gift. And can we please change the subject?,” Voight asked, helplessly caught on camera as the embarrassing personal inquisition continued.

Next the reporter asked Voight how he felt about his daughter Angelina’s relationship with Brad Pitt and their new baby.

“I’m very proud of Angie and all the good work she's doing and I’d really rather not talk about it anymore,” Voight said as he moved away.

Voight was trying to be professional and polite but it was obvious he was upset abut not seeing his grandchild and the ongoing rift between the actor and his daughter, rumored to be over his infidelities while married to Jolie’s mother, Marcheline Bertrand.

On the carpet at the “Dupree” premiere, Voight was smart and escaped more personal probes by breaking off a press chat and grabbing one of the film's stars, Owen Wilson, to give him a big bear hug. “I love this guy! I’m a huge Owen Wilson fan!,” Voight said about his "Anaconda" and "Zoolander" co-star. “I go to all his premieres!”

“Yeah, you’re right,” a baffled Wilson replied, in mid-hug. “You really do come to all my premieres. Thanks, man.”

But enough about Shiloh. More importantly, I had to know if any of the "Dupree" stars had seen Baby Suri, the still MIA spawn of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. No one, including Seth Rogan, had.

"Who? Baby Suri? No, no I haven't. Have you?" 

But Rogan admitted  he was bummed by the recent bizarre Emmy nominations. "I'm really upset that my favorite show "Lost" didn't get more. I'm fanatical about that show to a maniacal degree and it deserved more."

All those in favor, say Aye!' And if anyone out there has seen Suri, please let me know, stat.

Photo Credits: Jon Voight is one sad lonely grandfather. Bet he was thrilled to see that Shiloh has his once-puffy lips. Okay, Angelina's got them in spades but they're from his genes.
WireImage/Steve Granitz

Keira Knightley takes the plunge

One of Oscar nominee Keira Knightley’s fave British designers - Jenny Packham - will have a special fashion show in Los Angeles in October, just in time for  2007 award season shopping. The show will be sponsored by BAFTA/LA.

Packham, who usually parades her wears on London and Paris runways, has been dubbed "the first lady of partywear" by British Vogue, who certainly should know.

No doubt a few of her fervent fans like Nicole Kidman, Mandy Moore, Kate Moss, Mena Suvari, Brittany Murphy, Heidi Klum and Scarlett Johansson, who just wrapped the new Woody Allen film "Scoop" in London, will show up for Packham's show.

Knightley and Packham just worked together on a photo to aid Fresh2o, a campaign to promote WaterAid, which provides African and Asian communities safe domestic water supplies. In this eerie underwater shot by aquatic photographer Candice, Knightly (gulp) manages to hold her breath beautifully in a frothy cream Packham gown.

Just so you know, Knightley, who walked the red carpet wearing white Chanel at Saturday's premiere of “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest" at Disneyland, flew back to jolly old England the very next day to keep filming Ian McEwan’s “Atonement,” which has, to say the least, an impressive female cast.

On the "Atonement" roster: Emily Watson, Brenda Blethyn, Vanessa Redgrave, Kristin Scott Thomas and... Betty White.

Yes, that Betty White, best known for playing sexually voracious Sue Ann Nivens on the '70s TV series “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and for her loveable ditzy Rose on the early ‘90s  hit series, “Golden Girls.” Who knew?

Photo Credits: Keira is a bathing beauty for charity in a Jenny Packham gown.
Courtesy of WaterAid.

Too many fans, too little time

Disney Studio's publicity department had a very full Monday morning, fielding questions about Saturday’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” PR nightmare at Disneyland.

Disney's head of publicity Dennis Rice was busy making amends to disenchanted print, internet, radio and TV press who’d waited for five hours on the premiere red carpet and never got to interview the film's main star, Johnny Depp.

“I had a big fallout with the press and I’m prepared to deal with it today,” Rice confirmed.

What Disney was simply not prepared for was the overwhelming number of fans who bought tickets to the park to see their favorite stars arrive for Saturday's premiere.

“We knew Johnny Depp had a huge fan base but we were simply not prepared for the number of fans who showed up,” Rice admitted. "And for Johnny, it’s all about the fans."
According to Disneyland sources, five thousand fans camped out Friday night outside the park in order to get in at 6:30 a.m. to stake out spots on the carpet so they could see – and possible shake hands with - the “Pirates” star.

“Unlike some stars, Johnny Depp is very appreciative of and loyal to his fans and he always makes time for them at his public appearances,” says a Depp source. “They all know this and that's why they show up in droves. He started signing autographs for fans in the front of the park around 6:45 and spent two hours doing it. He didn’t even do his first interview with ET until 8:45.” 

Unfortunately, his two hours of devotion to his fans up front left scant time for the countless others lining the carpet further inside the park. Or the patiently waiting reporters further down the line who were not told until after 9 p.m. that Depp would not have time to talk.

But the tremendous turn-out is proof that Depp’s popularity with fans of all ages and both genders has now hit superstar status. And he didn’t even have to jump on Oprah’s couch to get up there.

And it turns out that Depp had an even fuller plate on Saturday than most people knew. He arrived at the park at noon with his family to do press photos on the updated Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

Then, according to inside sources, he spent several hours more on a “personal obligation” that Disney has refused to confirm or comment on in order to respect the actor’s privacy.

But a Hollywood Bytes investigation has uncovered that Depp’s time-consuming “obligation” was actually an unpublicized lengthy lunch/meeting with several children with life-threatening illnesses whose dream was to meet the actor. Depp's publicist Robin Baum's office confirmed the  report. Depp has worked with the Make-A-Wish Foundation since his days on the late 80's TV series "21 Jump Street."

Well, this totally defuses any annoyance about Depp's subsequent truncated time on the red carpet. Choosing to make seriously ill kids happy over inane pointless press interviews? Hard to argue with that.

Photo Credits: Nice guy Johnny Depp arrives a little late to the Pirates premiere. But when you find out why, you'll understand why so many people love this guy.
WireImage/Eric Charbonneau

"Pirates" premiere is a wild carpet ride

The most popular ride at Disneyland Saturday was the red carpet for the world premiere of “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.”

And the longest. The red carpet was over 1,000 ft. long, rolling down Main Street, snaking by Fantasyland and ending at Adventureland. But for hundreds of international TV, radio, internet and print reporters and thousands of fans who'd come to see “Pirates” stars Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom, the carpet ride became pretty disappointing by the end of the night.

Fans staked out coveted spots along the carpet when the park opened at 6:30 a.m. The press arrived at 3 p.m. to prepare for celebrity arrivals from 5-6. But by 6:30, only a few non-famous guests came wandering in.

Since the premiere invite stressed ‘pirate garb,' there were more eye patches, head bandanas, gold earrings, skull 'n crossbones, puffy shirts, and pirate hats - not to mention dark sooty Jack Sparrow eyeliner - than you could shake a saber at.

Early on, the throng of fans – most wearing Disney's pirate mouse ears (gold hoop earring in one ear) – were hopeful and enthusiastic, shouting, screaming, holding up banners and photos of Depp and Bloom and ‘We Love You Johnny!’ posters. They were only too happy to jump and scream to create B-roll color for the camera crews and applaud the professional Disneyland pirates who were singing, playing accordions, juggling balls and knives and walking on stilts up and down the carpet.

There was a pre-party with grog and grub at the Blue Bayou and Café Orleans for  the premiere guests. They could also ride the new Pirates ride that features characters from the film (Jack Sparrow, his nemesis Captain Barbossa and the squid-faced Davy Jones) and then fill three huge red, yellow and green bleachers to view the film scheduled to be shown on an outdoor screen at around 9 p.m.

But by 7:30, the fans out on the carpet were getting hungry and hoarse, children began whimpering and even the seasoned press was turning surly.

“We’ve been standing here 5 hours and we’ve not seen a single lead actor from the film,” groused a KTLA reporter. “This is insane. Why would they make us stand out here this long?” Even a befuddled German reporter asked, “Is this normal?”

“Is Johnny here?” reporters pestered the nervous Disney publicists. “Where’s Keira?” "Has anyone seen Orlando?” "Will they talk to us?”

“They’re here,” one publicist promised. “Johnny’s doing the new Pirates of the Caribbean ride and they’re taking photographs. But he’ll be here. Just be patient.”

So reporters relaxed and chatted up non-Pirate people to kill time. “Entourage” star Kevin Dillon told press that his fans scream “Drama!” and “Viking Quest!” wherever he goes. Director James Cameron, who has a cameo on “Entourage,” plugged his new film “Avatar,” a sci-fi flick set on another planet that will be released next year in 3-D HD.  But he admitted he’d probably do better with a real “Aquaman” since it’s gotten built-in buzz from the show.

Jon Voight stammered when a reporter asked if he’d seen his new grandchild. The answer was “No” but he’s, um, “very proud of Angie and all the work she's doing.” And he hasn’t sent a baby gift. And he’d really rather not talk about it, if you don’t mind.

Holly Robinson Peete was very popular with press because she actually knows Depp from his “21 Jump Street Days.”  “Who would you like to have a pirate adventure with?” queried a TV reporter. “Well, not Johnny. He’s a friend. Unlike every other woman in the world, I just don’t feel that way about him,” Robinson-Peete explained.

Marilyn Manson – dressed not like a pirate but like Marilyn Manson – was also a hot interview once word spread on the line that he actually knows Depp, who may star in a movie he’s making about Lewis Carroll.  “I’m just here to see Johnny. He’s my friend. He’s a real pirate. I’ve got absinthe in my boots and I’m a pirate, too.”

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed autographs, talked to a few TV reporters and tried to ignore the smattering of loud “boos” from the crowd. Inexplicably, his wife Maria Shriver wore a Dolce & Gabbana T-shirt emblazoned with Michelangelo’s David wearing a sequin fig leaf.

Finally, around 8 p.m., a few actors who actually appear in “Pirates” made their way down the press line. Bill Nighy, who plays the octo-pussed Davy Jones, said it was  surreal having to play piano with his face tentacles. Vanessa Branch, who plays the wench Giselle, revealed how much fun she had slapping Depp in all three films.

All three? ...

Photo Credit: Keira Knightley faces what Disney called the longest red carpet in the world.
WireImage/Lester Cohen

Photo Credit:
Johnny Depp signs autographs for fans at the Disneyland premiere of "Pirates."
WireImage/Lester Cohen

Photo Credit: Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver walk the  "Pirates" plank.
Wire/Image/Gregg DeGuire