Brad Pitt looking for new motorbike after LA crash
TOKYO (AP) - Brad Pitt says he is in the market for a new motorcycle.
The actor, in Tokyo to promote his latest movie, "Inglourious Basterds," said he trashed his favorite bike recently while trying to escape overzealous photographers.
"I had a little mishap," he said. "No injuries, except my ego. I was trying to get away from some paparazzi and instead gave them a good story. It was my favorite bike, so that is really sad."
Pitt, a well-known motorcycle buff, was involved in a minor accident in Los Angeles last month after a paparazzo reportedly cut him off in traffic. He said that while he is in Tokyo he will be looking for a replacement.
"I will definitely be looking at motorcycles," he said. "You've got some of the best builders right here."
"Inglourious Basterds," directed by Quentin Tarantino, premiered in Tokyo on Wednesday. As a promotion gimmick, Japanese movie viewers will be given a money-back offer if they are bored after watching the first 60 minutes of the revisionist World War II swashbuckler.
Pitt said he felt lucky to be chosen as the movie's leading man - Tarantino had initially planned to cast himself in that part.
"We had heard about this script for about eight years before it came my way, so it had taken on a mythical dimension," he said. "I was doubly flattered because Quentin originally wrote the part for himself."
"Inglourious Basterds" follows a band of Jewish American soldiers, led by Tennessean Lt. Aldo Raine (Pitt), who hunt Nazis with the goal of not just killing them but scalping them and sometimes carving swastikas into their foreheads.
"What made me want to make the film is simply that I like war movies," said Tarantino, who joined Pitt and other cast members at a news conference. "The initial idea sometimes is really as simple as wanting to make a war movie or a car chase movie. The rest goes from there."
TV host Mario Lopez to host Miss America
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Here comes Mario Lopez as the Miss America pageant host.
TLC and the Miss America Organization said Wednesday that the 36-year-old "Extra" host and former "Dancing with the Stars" contestant will again serve as master of ceremonies for the live Jan. 30 ceremony at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. Lopez previously hosted the Miss America pageant in 2007 and 2009.
Next year's pageant will feature 53 contestants, including Miss District of Columbia, Miss Virgin Islands and Miss Puerto Rico, who returns after a 50-year absence from the event. As always, the women will compete in interview, swimsuit, evening gown and talent competitions for the title of Miss America.
Katie Stam of Indiana is the current Miss America.
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On the Net:
www.missamerica.org
tlc.discovery.com
Rihanna: Brown's assault, aftermath 'humiliating'
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Rihanna says dealing with the media attention after being assaulted in February by ex-boyfriend Chris Brown was humiliating. But she now hopes to speak for young women who are afraid to talk openly about domestic violence.
The 21-year-old pop star told Glamour magazine in an interview posted online Tuesday that the police photo of her bruised face that was leaked to reporters added insult to injury.
After the assault, she awoke to find helicopters circling her house and reporters swarming her street. "I felt like I went to sleep as Rihanna and woke up as Britney Spears," she said.
Rihanna said she felt disappointed and taken advantage of, especially when she heard that the two officers under investigation for leaking her photo were women.
"I felt like people were making it into a fun topic on the Internet, and it's my life," she said.
Rihanna said she didn't realize how much her decisions affected people she didn't know, like her many fans. She feels stronger, wiser and more aware now, she added.
"Domestic violence is a big secret," Rihanna said. "The positive thing that has come out of my situation is that people can learn from that. I want to give as much insight as I can to young women, because I feel like I represent a voice that really isn't heard. Now I can help speak for those women."
Brown, 20, pleaded guilty to felony assault in June. He was sentenced to five years' probation, six months of community labor and a year of domestic violence counseling for the attack, in which he was accused of hitting, choking and biting Rihanna in a rented sports car.
TMZ published the photo of Rihanna's bruised face less than two weeks after the beating, and the LAPD immediately launched an internal investigation of the leak.
Sarah Palin promises more cities on book tour
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is promising to visit more cities than a conventional book tour when her memoir "Going Rogue" is published later this month.
Palin says the locations of her book tour will be announced later this week by her publisher, HarperCollins. But in a Facebook posting Tuesday, the former Alaska governor says she's decided to travel to cities outside of the typical book tour venues.
Her book hits stores Nov. 17. Palin will appear on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" the day before the book release.
Palin says she's also trying to line up other interviews with hosts such as Bill O'Reilly, Barbara Walters and Rush Limbaugh.