Entertainment Briefs Feb. 18, 2010
Phillips in rehab for anxiety0
NEW YORK - A representative for Chynna Phillips says the 42-year-old singer has entered an undisclosed treatment facility for anxiety.
A statement issued by her publicist, Lizzie Grubman, says Phillips checked herself into the facility "after much thoughtful deliberation."
Grubman says Phillips is "looking forward to her recovery." The statement asks that people respect Phillips' privacy and the privacy of her family.
Phillips, of the pop group Wilson Phillips, is married to actor William Baldwin. The couple have three children.
She is the half-sister of former child actress Mackenzie Phillips, who claimed in a 2009 memoir that she had a decade-long sexual relationship with their father, pop star John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas.
Critic Ebert still communicates
NEW YORK - Film critic Roger Ebert lost his ability to speak nearly four years ago, when he underwent a tracheostomy, a procedure that opens an airway through an incision in the windpipe, after surgery for cancer in his jaw.
In an interview in the new issue of Esquire magazine, the 67-year-old film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times uses pen and paper and text-to-speech computer software to communicate. He's developed a kind of rudimentary sign language, and he sometimes draws letters with his finger on the palm of his hand.
Ebert had surgery to remove his cancerous thyroid in 2002. He had surgery on his salivary glands in 2003 and on his jaw in 2006. Complications in 2006 led to more surgery and months of recuperation. He lost his ability to speak.
When asked about another operation to restore his voice, Ebert shakes his head.
Ebert has been a film critic for the Sun-Times since 1967. In 1975, he became the first journalist to win a Pulitzer Prize for movie criticism.
His thumb, pointing up or down, was the main logo of the televised movie review shows he co-hosted, first with Gene Siskel of the rival Chicago Tribune and - after Siskel's death in 1999 - with his Sun-Times colleague Richard Roeper.
The Esquire article describes a moment where Ebert begins to type on his computer. He presses a button and the speakers light up. "I've never said this before," the voice says, "but we were born to be Siskel and Ebert." The voice then says: "I just miss the guy so much."
Besides his film reviews, Ebert writes a blog and has published numerous books.
Richie confirms engagement
NEW YORK - Nicole Richie is engaged to longtime boyfriend Joel Madden.
The 28-year-old Richie confirmed the engagement Monday during a taping of CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman." The show will air Friday at 11:35 p.m. PST.
Letterman asked, "You're not married yet, is that correct?" Richie replied, "We're not married."
Letterman then asked if she and Madden planned to get married. Richie said, "We actually recently are engaged, yes."
The 30-year-old Madden fronts the band Good Charlotte.
The couple have a 2-year-old daughter, Harlow Winter Kate, and a 5-month-old son, Sparrow Midnight.
Richie has a new clothing line, Winter Kate, and shoe and accessories line, House of Harlow. She and Paris Hilton costarred on TV's "The Simple Life."
Olsen twins go serious with style
NEW YORK - Without the paparazzi in sight - and just a few fashion photographers perched at the end of a black wooden runway - Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen presented their collection The Row to a small group of fashion insiders on Tuesday.
The small show, held far away from the Bryant Park tents in a gallery space, seemed an indication they wanted the headlines to be about the clothes they designed instead of themselves. It's the same strategy employed by fellow camera-magnet Victoria Beckham earlier this week.
The Olsens, who already were inducted into the Council of Fashion Designers of America, appeared only briefly at the end to take a very quick bow in front of Carey Mulligan, Chloe Sevigny, Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour and her French Vogue counterpart, Carine Roitfeld.
The clothes were indeed quite serious - and sophisticated. The first model wore a simple black wrap coat that was belted and black trousers with flat gladiator sandals. Most of the collection was black, which has been the norm on many catwalks at New York Fashion Week.
Adding textural interest, though, has been a trick to making all the black more interesting - and the Olsens mastered it. An A-line carriage skirt in a croc pattern was worn with a slim shirt and a delicate spaghetti-strap camisole on top. Another look featured a buttery leather corset over a flowing, asymmetrical-hem dress.
The only other colors featured were a delicate winter white and an ocean blue.
The Olsens' personal style has been chronicled for many years, including a phase of kooky vintage combinations. In their recent collection, one certainly could imagine either one of them wearing the very long black "Valley" dress that was paired with a black tuxedo-style blazer.
Hope they'll pose for the cameras if they do.