April 22, 2005

BIG BOI’S CARS ARE HOMELESS: Rapper forced to build new crib to shelter fleet.

*Mo’ money, mo’ problems, indeed.  Big Boi of Outkast has too many cars, and not enough garage space to park them all in his current Atlanta-area home.   "I'm in the process now of building another house," he told “DuPont Registry Celebrity Car” magazine, upset that he currently has to scatter 11 of his 17 cars in different locations. The flotilla includes his $300,000-plus Rolls-Royce Phantom, and five vintage Chevrolet Impalas:  1960, 1961, 1962, 1963 and 1964.  "That's my favorite muscle-type car," Big Boi says in the magazine, which hits newsstands this week. "Living out here, there's a lot of older people that have cars that are garage kept, and on Sundays they put them on the side of the road with a for sale sign and I just go out there and get 'em."

*Beyonce beat out Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera to be crowned Best Pop Princess by voters in a poll conducted by Universal Music and teen Web site Kylie Klub for the album “Pop Princesses 2.” The Destiny’s Child singer got 31 percent of the votes. 

*A source told the “London Sun” that Jennifer Lopez now wants people to call her by her married name - Jennifer Anthony.  The source said: "Marc never liked the whole J-Lo thing. He thought it wasn't very classy."

*Justin Timberlake is reportedly being eyed to play Bruce Willis' son John McClane Jr. in the new “Die Hard” film, according to Moviehole.Net.  Willis was apparently impressed with the singer’s acting skills in the forthcoming film “Alpha Dog.” A source told the Web site: "John Jr, John McClane's son, was featured in the original “Die Hard.” In the next film, he'll be older - and, with his sister Lucy, he gets entangled in dad's latest adventure."

*DMC, a.k.a. Darryl McDaniels of Run DMC, is launching his first official fan club following an exclusive agreement with Paid, Inc.'s Celebrity Services division. Paid, Inc.'s creative team will collaborate with the old-school legend to develop fan club activities and exclusive fan experiences that will include contests, give-aways, online chats, limited-edition memorabilia, online celebrity interaction, contests and special events, as well as access to concert tickets and backstage passes.

MIJAC OVERKILL?: Heavy media coverage is met with lukewarm response from public.

Meanwhile, a woman testifies that in 1993 she was treated by Jackson to trips and lavish gifts of jewelry after she agreed to let the boy sleep in Jackson's room.

        *According to the “Los Angeles Times,” America has had enough media coverage of the Michael Jackson trial. “Times” writer Robin Abcarian says the deluge of attention focused on the Santa Barbara circus may have muted public interest in the details.

       Bill Bastone, co-founder and editor of the Smoking Gun Web site, has gotten negative feedback from readers regarding its numerous – and mostly lurid – Jackson trial scoops.

       "People never write to say, 'That was interesting, glad you got your hands on grand jury testimony.' It's 'Why are you writing about this case?' Our audience is tired of Michael Jackson."

       Television journalists, talk radio hosts and programmers agree with the overall dip in interest.

       "A lot of the celebrity media is based on this voyeuristic paradigm — who is Brad Pitt with and so on," said Ken Baker, West Coast executive editor of “Us Weekly” magazine. "But there's a line that is drawn, and that line is that people don't want to know what Michael Jackson did in that bedroom.

       "Even the dark, nasty tabloids are not going there," said Baker. "It's getting to be a very sad story, a sad story with no villain that you can love to hate … like Scott Peterson. With Michael, you just don't want to hear about the next kid he took a shower with."

       On the other end of the spectrum, Court TV, which has covered the trial heavily since the jury selection phase, has seen its rating increase 150% over the same period last year, which the cable network's executive vice president of daytime programming, Marlene Dann, attributes largely to interest in the Jackson case.      Meanwhile back at the trial, here's another reason why the case may freaking a lot of people out. The mother of a boy who received millions from Jackson in a lawsuit more than a decade ago told jurors Monday that the singer pleaded with her to allow her son to sleep with him during visits to his Neverland ranch and on trips to Las Vegas, Florida and Europe.

 The woman said that in 1993 she was treated by Jackson to trips and lavish gifts of jewelry after she agreed to let the boy sleep in Jackson's room. However, she never testified to seeing her son molested.

Her testimony set the stage for prosecutors to call the mother of the boy now accusing Jackson of molestation in a scenario that virtually duplicates the situation described by the mother Monday.

 Deputy District Attorney Ron Zonen told the court at day's end that prosecutors intended to call the current accuser's mother as early as today, after some legal matters regarding her testimony were resolved.

The woman said that after being flown to Las Vegas on resort mogul Steve Wynn's jet and treated to a weekend at the Mirage hotel, Jackson left to take her son to a performance of Cirque du Soleil but returned early and knocked on her door in a distressed state.

 "He was sobbing, shaking, trembling. He said, 'You don't trust me. We're a family. Why won't you allow him to be in my bedroom?" the woman testified.

 She said Jackson also told her there was "nothing going on" and again asked if she didn't trust him. She said she finally relented and the next day Jackson gave her a gold Cartier bracelet.

*Wearing something her “Desperate Housewife” character Gabrielle Solis would sport while stealing time with the gardener, Eva Longoria performed with LA’s famous Pussycat Dolls at Caesars Palace hotel-casino in Las Vegas for its grand opening. Cracking a horse whip, wearing knee-high leather boots and a zebra-striped mini skirt, the 30-year-old TV star introduced the song-and-dance group Saturday to a crowd that included Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige and married tennis stars Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf.  Busta Rhymes later jumped on stage to perform with the dancers. "I've always been desperate to be a pussycat," Longoria, 30, said during the act, which often features celebrity guest performers. "And here I am, a bona fide, show-stopping pussycat."

MATHEW KNOWLES JOINT VENTURES WITH JEREMY GEFFEN AND MAX GOUSSE: New Partnership Brings D12 To Santuary Urban Management.

New York, NY – Sanctuary Urban Management president Mathew Knowles has announced that music and film executives Max Gousse and Jeremy Geffen have brought the multi-faceted company, Arsenal Entertainment, to Sanctuary Urban.

The deal brings management clients including D12 (Shady/Aftermath), Youngbloodz (Jive), Czar-nok (Capitol); new artists Kobe, Demboyz, Traffik; producers Trackboyz, Sicknotes and PMG; and film and music video director D.A Bullock to the Sanctuary Urban roster.

Beginning his career as the original Urban Music Programmer for what is now known as MTV2, Max Gousse moved on to run Mecca Don Records through current Motown Chairman Sylvia Rhone’s East West Records. After seeing multi-platinum success there, Gousse moved on to a label deal and  the position of Vice President of A&R with Sony Music Entertainment, where he enjoyed massive success with multi-platinum, pop sensation B2K and subsequent #1 box office hit, You Got Served.

Prior to forming JGM (Jeremy Geffen Management), Jeremy Geffen did a stint with the famed William Morris Agency and later moved on to Lindsey Scott and Roger Davies management companies, respectively. Later working with many established Artists and Songwriters under the tutelage of Johnny Wright and Kenneth Crear, the USC Business graduate decided to strike out on his own and has been instrumental in advancing the careers of the Grammy nominated Trackboyz (Nelly’s Air Force Ones, J-Kwon’s Tipsy, Nappy Roots’ Po’ Folks), multi-platinum super group D-12 and Atlanta’s premier rap duo, the Youngbloodz.

“Max and Jeremy have great ears for music, a track record of working with groundbreaking talent and are sharp businessmen,” says Mathew Knowles.  “Their addition to the Sanctuary Urban Management family is exciting and continues our tradition of establishing partnerships with the best and the brightest managers in the business.”

Music World/Sanctuary Urban Management is a division of Music World/Sanctuary Urban Holding Group, Inc., a part of global independent music company The Sanctuary Group.  Music World and Sanctuary Urban Management together boasts a world-class roster of clients that include   Beyonce; D12; Bizarre (of D12); Jadakiss; Mary J. Blige; Sleepy Brown; Kelis; Destiny’s Child; Mario; EVE; Floetry; Freeway; RJ Helton; Darwin Hobbs; Iceberg; J Young; Shawn Mac; Mary Mary; Nelly; Kelly Rowland; Solange; Morgan Smith; Angie Stone; St. Lunatics; Styles P; Carl Thomas; Ted & Sheri; Trinitee 5:7; Michelle Williams and Xzibit.