September 6th
Britney Spears: The comeback is on. MTV announced this afternoon that Spears will open the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, September 9 at 9PM ET. The singer will perform her new song “Gimme More,” which will create an interesting problem for the censors. She begins the song with the phrase “It’s Britney, Bitch.” One of the taboo words — think with an “F” in your mind — is also part of the tune. MTV Mobile will carry a live simulcast of the show, a first ever for an awards show. TVNow has heard “Gimme More” and thinks that the song will be a hit for the troubled star who keeps on making bad press for herself. Maybe Sunday, she will turn it all around with a real live performance, not lip-sync.Susan Sarandon: Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to be an Oscar-winning actress like Sarandon, or to walk in her shoes and work in the movies. I can help you do one of those three things today. The actress is one of the stars who autographed footwear that is being sold at the Spirit of Women Celebrity Red Shoe Auction that raises money to help the National Stroke Association and Peripheral Arterial Disease (P.A.D.) Coalition. Other celebrities who put their names in the mix to benefit the health organizations include Courteney Cox, boxing champion Laila Ali, Carlos Santana, and House star Jennifer Morrison. Visit the “The Red Shoe Initiative” web site for more information. It links to the eBay shoe auction. Bidding on the footwear will end September 14. The next day, shoes autographed by Samantha Harris (Dancing with the Stars) and Desperate Housewives stars Nicollette Sheridan, Brenda Strong, Teri Hatcher and Eva Longoria will be up for bids.
Sir Paul McCartney: This odd item about the former Beatles star belongs in the Rod Serling file. His album title “Memory Almost Full” is also an anagram that honors his late wife, Linda Louise McCartney. The letters in the title can be arranged so that they spell “For my soulmate LLM.” Linda McCartney died in 1998 on the McCartney family ranch in Tucson, Arizona with her family by her side. She suffered from breast cancer. Sir Paul did not know that his album title had the hidden message. One of his daughters pointed it out to him.
Luciano Pavarotti: By the time you read this, the most famous tenor in the world will be singing with the angels. On Wednesday evening, his spokesman told reporters in Italy that the singer is “in a very serious condition and receiving supportive treatment” at his home in Modena, northern Italy. The 71-year-old opera star suffered from pancreatic cancer. Early this morning, his manager told reporters that Pavarotti died at 5am with his wife, four daughters and other family members by his side. On Wednesday, Italy’s Ministry of Culture announced that the opera star will receive the Premio per l’Esccellenza nella Cultura Italiana (prize for outstanding achievements in Italian culture) sometime in the near future. They were too late with that deserved honor. You don’t replace a Pavarotti. It’s not possible. His funeral will be held Saturday at Modena’s cathedral.
Rosie O’Donnell: Well this ought to make Whoopi Goldberg feel better about her debut on The View this week that featured her trying to explain why Michael Vick liked dogfights. O’Donnell, the former viewmeister with the acid tongue, wrote on her blog that her replacement on The View “was good.” The short words of praise coming from the second big “O” might even make show star and producer Barbara Walters feel good this week. In other news related to the daytime gabfest, Sherri Shepherd was added to the mix as the fifth co-host.
Lenny Kravitz: The high-powered rock star has been mentioned as the mystery man who was engaged to Nicole Kidman after she divorced Tom Cruise. As of Wednesday night, the actress had not divulged the name of her former lover. As for Kravitz, he has moved on with his life since the Kidman relationship ended. NBC announced that he will headline NBC’s New Years Eve with Carson Daly when the special airs on Monday, December 31 at 11:35 p.m. (ET). He will perform two songs live from Times Square to welcome in the New Year. TVNow will be there.
