Their names are on everyone’s lips: Brad and Angelina. But will boatloads of magazine gossip translate into a titanic box-office debut for their movie “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”?
Gossip about what goes on between co-stars off the set generates plenty of free publicity. Still, talk is cheap: 20th Century Fox, the studio behind “Smith,” wants butts in movie theater seats, and it’s unclear whether buzz about Brad Pitt’s split with wife Jennifer Aniston–and insinuations that Angelina Jolie was somehow involved–will make more people see the movie, The Hollywood Reporter says.
One studio source told The Reporter, “This is like hitting the jackpot.”
But a rival studio source countered that gossip about Pitt and Jolie could drown out talk about the movie entirely. Take “Gigli,” for example, which became synonymous with Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez’s headline-grabbing (and ultimately doomed) romance.
A spokesman from the company marketing “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” says its promotional strategy hasn’t changed: “It’s all about the movie.”
HOLDING COURT: Pop star Kylie Minogue is suing the British record producer who helped launch her career.
The singer has claimed in the Victoria state Supreme Court in Australia that PAL Productions, run by famed pop producer Pete Waterman, underpaid royalties for her “Greatest Hits” album released in 1992 and rereleased in 2002, Australia’s Sunday Age newspaper reported.
An auditing firm hired by Minogue and her family found that Minogue was underpaid by more than 10 percent, or about $830,000. PAL has since paid nearly $500,000, but Minogue’s company lodged papers seeking unspecified damages, interest and costs, the paper said.
GAP GIRL: Actress Sarah Jessica Parker is falling into more Gap advertisements.
The former “Sex and the City” star has signed on to represent the clothing chain in its spring 2005 marketing campaign–the third straight she’s been involved. Her spots premiere in March.
“I think the Gap is terrifically creative and inspired,” Parker said in a statement. “Women will love the clothes for spring.”
Meanwhile, eonline.com reports that Parker’s ex-cast mate Kim Cattrall has expressed interest in a “Sex and the City” movie if the script is good and the money is right. Cattrall, you might remember, reportedly backed out of a planned “SATC” movie that HBO began developing after the show finished its six-season run.
ELEVATED EARNINGS? U2 formally announces its Vertigo Tour on Monday, and local U2 fans are no doubt eager to know when the band is coming to town.
The tour kicks off in San Diego, but other dates and venues won’t be revealed until Monday. In the meantime, Billboard magazine projects big bucks for Bono and the boys. The magazine says the tour could earn between $225 million and $250 million–and that’s the conservative estimate. Prince was 2004’s top touring act with $87.4 million, according to Pollstar.
U2 ticket prices are expected to average $90, with a low of $49.50 and a high of $165. They go on sale Jan. 29 for the band’s North America shows.
BABY ON BOARD: Former “Melrose Place” stars Laura Leighton and Doug Savant say they are expecting their second child in June, eonline.com reports.
The couple married in 1998 after meeting on the set of the Fox drama. (She played Sydney; he played her gay neighbor Matt.) They have a 4-year-old son, Jack, and Savant has two children from a previous marriage.
You can still catch Savant on prime-time TV–he appears as Felicity Huffman’s husband on “Desperate Housewives.”
LOVE MATCH? Longtime fans of TV’s “Gilmore Girls” are abuzz now that gruff coffee shop owner Luke (Scott Patterson) has finally started a romance with Lorelai (Lauren Graham).
Fans are curious about something more personal when they stop Patterson on the street. “They want to know primarily if we’re dating in real life,” Patterson recently told reporters, “and I always tell them we are.” Not true. The characters’ transition from friends to lovers has caused some changes on the set, however.
“Altoids,” Patterson said. “A lot more Altoids.”
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Compiled from news services and edited by Leo Ebersole (lebersole@tribune.com) and Kris Karnopp (kkarnopp@tribune.com)
