Though Ryan Phillippe went to the Cannes film festival with girlfriend Abbie Cornish (for whom he left Reese Witherspoon in 2006), he was spotted partying with some blondes at a VIP nightclub, then hitting up Nikki Beach at 3 a.m. with Ne-Yo. Paris Hilton’s reps asked all the event coordinators in Cannes to cough up $100,000 for Hilton to attend their parties. Shockingly, no one paid, so she just partied for free. Robert Pattinson remained “completely unfazed” when one of his bodyguards shoved an aggressive paparazzo into a trash can as he exited a film festival press junket. And as per usual, Brangelina caused a scene as Brad Pitt promoted his Tarantino flick, Inglourious Basterds. Chace Crawford is slated to play the new Kevin Bacon in a remake of Footloose after Zac Efron turned down the role.
The French are abuzz over a viral video of Nicolas Sarkozy getting “hot and sweaty” as he watches his wife, Carla Bruni, being interviewed by five female readers of the magazine Femme Actuelle. Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks just bought the rights to Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches, books, and images for use in a biopic about his life.
Brooklyn-born PR king Lee Solters, who repped Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, and Michael Jackson, has passed away. In her 2002 memoir, Manhattan district-attorney candidate Leslie Crocker Snyder says she was appalled by the “very realistic acts of anal sodomy” in Tony Kushner’s play, Angels in America, and now it’s a campaign issue; she’s having trouble garnering the gay vote.
In response to critics’ complaints of mediocre cuisine, Monkey Bar owners Graydon Carter and Jeff Klein have ousted chef Elliot Ketley (who was recently let go from Soho House) and replaced him with Larry Fiorgione. Jerry Seinfeld took his vintage Porsche for a spin around Amagansett. A burst pipe at Norwood sent Warner Music bigwig Lyor Cohen and his 85 guests running for cover at Buddakan. At an anti-human-trafficking event at the U.N. last week, Alec Baldwin chatted about updating his Netflix queue while flying.
Sean Penn griped about his divorce at Whiskey Park. No one wanted to hang out with Brandon Davis at L.A.’s Maxim 100 party, even the Kardashian sisters, whom he followed around all night. Not surprisingly, everyone cares more about Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez’s half-naked GQ photo spread than about his potential on the field.
Britney Spears is being sued by her former bodyguard, claiming he suffered physical injuries while working at her Beverly Hills home last year. Amy Winehouse was hospitalized. Again. Kate Moss’s boyfriend thinks she’s a slob. Rihanna’s rebounding from Chris Brown by drinking whiskey and making out with Canadian actor turned rapper Aubrey “Drake” Graham at Lucky Strike Lanes & Lounge. Vanessa Minnillo, who claims to still be with boyfriend Nick Lachey, spent most of Malin Ackerman’s Vegas birthday party on some guy’s lap, then gave a Michael Jackson impersonator a run for his money with stellar moves in a “Thriller” dance-off. Randy Jackson is looking into launching a women’s handbag line. John Mayer, who’s womanized Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Simpson, and Cameron Diaz, defends himself against Mayer-haters, tweeting, “I love how some dudes hate me for dating their fantasy girl, as if they were going to if I hadn’t.” Way to sympathize with the common man.
