Movies

Is Justin Guarini related to any celebrities? --Amy

Amy, get ready for a schooling in Justin Guarini! Justin's father, Eldrin Bell, has a first cousin named LaTanya Richardson, an actress who is married to Samuel L. Jackson. Guarini's mother, Kathy, was a CNN anchor and journalist with whom President Jimmy Carter was once acquainted. Carter called to congratulate Kathy on the birth of Justin -- direct from Air Force One! Guarini's godparents are Prince Faisel and his former wife, Princess Azia of Saudi Arabia. And just for the heck of it -- Justin was in the same choir as P!nk at Lenape Middle School in Bucks County, PA.

For more family biz, read this!

TMZ has obtained a copy of the release agreement signed by the ordinary people who appeared in the "Borat" movie, but even more significant than the release is the standard cover letter.

Two frat boys who appeared in the movie have sued the film's producers, claiming they were defrauded. They allege producers promised them that they were appearing in a Kazakhstani TV documentary that would never be shown in the U.S.

The release agreement that TMZ obtained is difficult to read, and the participant who supplied TMZ with the copy says his original is equally hard to read. Nevertheless, it is a comprehensive, standard release which basically signs away your first born.

The cover letter is interesting. It almost seems like it's written by Borat himself. It begins, "Dear Film Participant." The letter continues, "Thanks very much for your interest in appearing in our Film. We're glad that you want to appear in the film to share your views or insights with the public."

And it goes on: "Attached is our standard legal consent agreement. You'll see it explains that in addition to the chance to appear in the Film, you will get an appearance fee of $___., in return for your letting us have unrestricted rights to use your image and voice in our Film. As the agreement makes clear, you will be waiving all claims in relation to the Film."

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, attended a benefit premiere of "Casino Royale" in London tonight.

Other queens, like Elton John, were seen scrambling just before Her Royal Highness pulled up in a swank limo. The Queen, 80 (not Elton), dragged her consort, Prince Philip, to the shindig.

The queen looked noticeably excited to meet Daniel Craig (Elton that is).

There's a debate raging in Hollywood over the making of the "Borat" movie and whether producers deceived the people who appeared in the film. Well, if there was deceit, it could cost FOX plenty, but it's peanuts compared to the money the studio is raking in.

Two frat boys who appeared onscreen in a drunken, racial rant are now suing producers, claiming they were told the movie was a TV documentary authorized by the government of Kazakhstan and that it would never be shown in the U.S. A driving school owner also featured in the film told TMZ exactly the same story.

Here's the deal. If someone lies to you to get you to sign a legal document -- in this case, a release allowing producers to include you in a film -- whatever you subsequently sign may not be legally binding. It's called fraud in the inducement, meaning someone induces you to sign an otherwise binding contract under false pretenses.

TMZ has done some digging, and everyone we've spoken with, who was featured in the film, told us the same tale of woe -- that they were all led to believe their fellow "US and A" citizens would never know what they did on camera.

This could be a fascinating case if it makes it to court. On the one hand, you have producers who could look like greedy, double-dealing schmucks trying to bamboozle ordinary folk. On the other hand, how's a jury gonna feel about two racist frat boys who expected that their prejudices would be a secret protected by the Atlantic Ocean?

FOX has simply said the lawsuit is without merit. Here's the reality: The studio may end up paying off some of the featured "performers." Maybe they'll each get 25 grand. Compare that to a movie that could rake in hundreds of millions of dollars. If that's the cost of doing business, then sign everyone up.

You think you know what Matt Damon considers his most cringe-worthy moment? No, it wasn't his high profile romance with klepto-thesp Winona Ryder, it was having to utter the line, "I like the way we danced," in Robert Redford's "The Legend of Bagger Vance."

According to Details magazine, the cheeseball line he muttered to Charlize Theron is "still hacking away from inside Damon's skull with a five iron." Not a disaster of Gigli-sized proportion.

One thing he is proud of: convincing "Bourne Supremacy" director Paul Greengrass and Universal Studios to reshoot the ending of the film, using Matt's more spectacular ending, just three weeks before the film's release! The man's got balls!

Matt, known among his peers for avoiding the limelight, believes that too much exposure can turn an otherwise serious actor into a "personality" and lead to not being believable in different roles. Can you say "Bennifer?"

From his stellar reviews in "The Departed," it doesn't look like Matt has anything to worry about.

His wish was to become a world famous movie star, and he got it -- complete with screaming fans, red carpets ... even paparazzi.

Through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, 7-year-old Christian Pierce (who has a brain tumor), went face-to-face with TMZ's cameras. We spotted Hollywood's newest rising star after he finished a power lunch with superagents from the United Talent Agency at Prego in Beverly Hills.

Nicole Richie could take a few pointers from this spunky kid, who handled photogs and autograph seekers like a pro!

The new Bond Girls are giving Halle Berry a run for her money.

Every 007 flick comes with at least two hotties for the spy to love, and "Casino Royale" continues the tradition -- just don't expect names like 'Pussy Galore' or 'Dr. Christmas Jones.' Bond's leading ladies in the prequel are the smokin' hot 'Solange,' and his first love, 'Vesper Lynd,' played by the stunning Caterina Murino and Eva Green, respectively.

Green says the sex scenes were a breeze for her, "I think they're not the most difficult scenes for an actor, you don't really have to act, it's more physical and it is not really hot sex, it's pretty gentle so it's really easy." Yeah, not tough rolling around with Daniel Craig for a few hours. We get it.

Former (we hope) trainwreck Tara Reid appears to be back on track at the premiere of "The Fountain" in Los Angeles on Saturday.

Clad in a simple but elegant black strapless dress, Tara looked fresh-faced under her flowing golden locks, and seems to have vanquished all signs of her widely publicized trauma with botched plastic surgery.

We're hoping Tara's new A-list style helps her get into Hyde.

The ever-shirtless bongo player, hanging at an Australian beach while on a Sunday break from shooting "Fool's Gold," planted one on his body double's kid.

If Matthew's contemplating fatherhood, we know a few folks who wouldn't mind calling him "Daddy."

Schoolteacher ... Mexican cook-wrestler ... Monarch?

Soft-bellied funnyman Jack Black took to the streets of Hollywood with his loyal footmen, Kyle Gass and Andy Dick, for the premiere of his new film, "Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny." The ermine-robed and gold-crowned King Jack strolled though town with an unusually beatific look on his face, soaking up the adulation of his fawning acolytes.

Jack Palance, the gravel-voiced actor whose career spanned bad guy and, later, funny guy roles, died today at the age of 87. According to family members, Palance passed away at his Montecito, Calif. home of "natural causes."

Palance is best remembered for his Oscar-nominated role as the evil gunfighter Jack Wilson in "Shane" and such dark roles as Dracula and Attila the Hun. Younger audiences discovered him later from his hosting gig on "Ripley's Believe or Not," and, perhaps most popularly, his portrayal of the gruff cowboy Curly in "City Slickers."

At a screening of the upcoming Warner Bros. animated musical, "Happy Feet," a source told TMZ that the movie's director, George Miller, revealed how producers approached Prince to see if they could change two words in his song, "Kiss."

Miller said Prince's initial reaction was a resounding no, but WB insisted that the pop star see the film before deciding -- and sent a reel to Prince's Paisley Park digs. Prince was so moved by the film, he immediately picked up his guitar, started playing chords, and told WB they would have an original song.

"The Song of the Heart" appears on the "Happy Feet" soundtrack, alongside the Prince-approved and slightly altered version of "Kiss." The reworked track is mashed up with Elvis' "Heartbreak Hotel" and sung by Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, who voice characters in the toon.

In a scene just as confusing as "Mulholland Dr.," David Lynch was relaxing on Hollywood Blvd. with some cow.

Sitting in a chair next to the heifer, Lynch had a poster of actress Laura Dern, with the words "For Your Consideration." His explanation for the stunt -- "to support Laura Dern, Best Actress 2006, for her unbelievably great performance in Inland Empire."

"The Stanford Prison Experiment," a new film about the most notorious prison abuse experiment of the 20th century, hires its director on the very same week that the man responsible for the most egregious prison abuse scandal of the 21st century is fired.

Coincidences, it's been said, are "the puns of destiny." The British writer Arthur Koestler described them as when "two strings of events are knitted together by invisible hands."

String number one today is Donald Rumsfeld, whose departure today was announced with a front page banner headline in today's Los Angeles Times, along with a scathing editorial.

Viz,

"More than two years after Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld offered to resign in the aftermath of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, President Bush finally agreed to let Rumsfeld go...the political equivalent of bringing down the pinata once it's been battered beyond recognition."

String number two, of course, is the exciting news from earlier this week that "The Usual Suspects" writer Christopher McQuarrie has been hired by Madonna's Maverick Films to direct his script about the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment.

Per the AP,

"Maverick acquired rights to the story in 2002 from Philip G. Zimbardo, a psychology professor at Stanford University who conducted an experiment on obedience in 1971. He recruited 24 men to portray inmates and guards in a prison setting. Zimbardo planned to study the men for two weeks, but dangerous behavior among them prompted him to stop the experiment after six days."

It remains to be seen if the "Stanford Prison" movie will ever get made. Notwithstanding Daily Variety's story break about McQuarrie proceeding to shoot his script in April, there is also the messy matter of pending litigation over the rights to the material and a rival project about the same topic.

Two anonymous plaintiffs are suing 20th Century Fox and One America Productions, claiming members of their college fraternity were interviewed to become part of the smash "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" film.

The plaintiffs -- listed as John Doe 1 and John Doe 2 -- were allegedly assured the film would not be shown in the U.S. and their identities would not be revealed.

They were both selected to appear in the movie and, according to the suit, taken "to a drinking establishment 'to loosen up' and provided alcoholic beverages." They claim they signed the movie releases after "heavy drinking."

The suit claims both men were then taken to a motor home where they were filmed, all the while "encouraged to continue drinking."

The movie features a scene in a motor home where Cohen gets drunk with three frat boys who go on a racist rant about how they wished they had slaves and how minorities in the United States "have all the power."

According to the lawsuit, the frat boys only received $200 for the controversial appearance.

The plaintiffs claim they suffered "humiliation, mental anguish, and emotional and physical distress, loss of reputation, goodwill and standing in the community..." because the movie was indeed released in the U.S.

The suit asks for unspecified damages.

Sacha Baron Cohen, who wrestled a naked fat man in his big screen hit, "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," has taken a blade to his signature moustache.

The newly clean-cut comic enjoyed a nice, quiet lunch at Pat's in Los Angeles yesterday (not once trying to order a glass of fresh horse urine), proving that he can live a normal life despite his skyrocketing fame. Cohen was seen scooting around L.A. in his Mini Cooper on Tuesday.