Thursday, October 4, 2007
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Ali Larter was born in Cherry Hill, New Jersey to parents Margaret, a homemaker, and Danforth Larter, a trucking executive.[1][2] She attended Carusi Middle School and Cherry Hill High School West. She began modeling with Ford Models at the age of fourteen and traveled the world. At seventeen, Larter settled temporarily in Japan.[3] A year later, in 1995, she accompanied her boyfriend in his move to Los Angeles, California. Soon after, she began taking acting classes, at a friend's suggestion.
Larter is best friends with actress Amy Smart with whom she co-starred in Varsity Blues. The two had previously been roommates before pursuing acting careers. [1] Larter has also lived in Miami and then New York City after the spring of 2002. In January 2007, she moved to Los Angeles to take on the commitment of working on Heroes.[4]In November 1996, Larter portrayed the hoax model Allegra Coleman in Esquire magazine which told of the fictional model's relationship with David Schwimmer, how Quentin Tarantino broke up with Mira Sorvino to date her, and Woody Allen's overhaul of a film to have her star. Even after the hoax had been revealed, its effects lingered, and various talent agencies sought to represent the non-existent Coleman.[5]
Larter landed her first professional roles in 1997, in which she appeared for one episode in the Brooke Shields' television series, Suddenly Susan, and the short lived television series Chicago Sons. The roles were followed by a number of other appearances on Dawson's Creek with James Van Der Beek, Chicago Hope and Just Shoot Me!
In 1999, Larter began her film career with an appearance in Varsity Blues which re-united her with Dawson's Creek star Van Der Beek, and close friend Amy Smart. Varsity Blues drew a domestic box office gross of $53 million, making Larter's first film a commercial success. Afterwards, Larter appeared in teen comedies, Giving It Up and Drive Me Crazy. That year as well, Larter starred in the horror remake House on Haunted Hill. Made for around $20 million, the movie was panned by the critics but grossed $15 million on its opening weekend and went on to earn over $40 million.
In 2000, Larter starred in the teenage audience aimed horror film Final Destination as the "final girl" Clear Rivers. The following year in 2001, she appeared in the comedy Legally Blonde with Reese Witherspoon, western American Outlaws with Colin Farrell and the Kevin Smith film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. That year as well, Larter performed in the stage play The Vagina Monologues in New York City. The next year in 2002, Larter was ranked #40 in Stuff magazine's "102 Sexiest Women in the World". In 2003, Larter reprised her role as Clear Rivers in the sequel to Final Destination, Final Destination 2. The series went on for a third installment without Larter as her character was killed off in the second installment of the series. In 2005, Larter appeared in the independent film Confess and the romantic comedy A Lot Like Love alongside Amanda Peet and Ashton Kutcher.
2006 saw Larter in the biographical film Crazy based on guitarist Hank Garland. As of September 2006, Larter has been portraying Niki Sanders on the NBC Emmy Award-nominated [6] science fiction drama television series Heroes, created by Tim Kring. The show includes an ensemble cast including Hayden Panettiere, Milo Ventimiglia, Leonard Roberts, Masi Oka and Greg Grunberg. Larter's character Niki Sanders, who is a wife and mother, is a former internet stripper from Las Vegas who exhibits superhuman strength and an alternate personality who goes by the name of Jessica. After completing half its first season, Heroes had already collected an assortment of honors and accolades, and Larter had been nominated for "Best Supporting Actress" for the 33rd Saturn Awards.[7]
In 2007, Larter starred in the Bollywood Marigold as the title character along side Salman Khan, which was released in August. She also joined the cast of the popular film franchise Resident Evil: Extinction portraying the character Claire Redfield in the horror film with Milla Jovovich. Her role sent her to Mexicali, Mexico for filming from May to late July in which she also dyed her hair a light red for the film.[8] Larter explains on her character Claire, "She became the leader of this convoy. She's incredibly strong, patient. I think she serves a role for everyone within this convoy, let it be a mother to someone, a buddy, a best friend."[4] Larter also attended the 2007 Comic Con International, her second appearance at the event, to promote the film, which was released in theaters on September 21, 2007. This year as well, she will appear in the comedy Homo Erectus. Larter was also featured as #6 in Maxim's Hot 100 for 2007.[9]
In an interview for Resident Evil: Extinction, Larter had expressed interest in producing films in the future, saying, "I definitely have many ideas and different avenues that I want to take as my career goes on."[8]
Friday, September 14, 2007
Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Fuller Olsen
Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Fuller Olsen (born June 13, 1986) are American actresses, best known for playing the role of Michelle Tanner on the sitcom Full House. Though they appear to be identical twins and only have minor variations in appearance completely within the norm for people of identical genotypes, the twins themselves claim to be fraternal. Both have appeared in television and films since infancy. Since then, they have continued their celebrity through numerous television programs, films, interviews, as well as commercial endorsements.Shortly after the end of Full House, they began heavily merchandising their image. They established a company called Dualstar in 1993 and their brand has been sold in more than 3,000 stores in America and over 5,300 stores worldwide.Because of this, they have been on the Forbes' "The Celebrity 100 list" since 2002, and in 2007, Forbes ranked them, collectively, as the eleventh-richest women in entertainment, with an estimated net worth of $100 million.
Mary-Kate and Ashley were popular figures in the preteen market during the late '90s and early 2000s. Their names became a cottage industry, with their likeness seen in clothes, books, fragrances, magazines, movies and posters. There were even Mary-Kate and Ashley fashion dolls made by Mattel from 2000 - 2005.
They starred in the video series The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley and You're Invited To Mary-Kate and Ashley's..., the ABC show Two of a Kind, and ABC Family's So Little Time. However, So Little Time was panned by critics and disappointed fans. Despite this, they were ranked number three on the VH1 program 100 Greatest Child Stars
Their most recent theatrical venture was in the light-hearted romantic comedy, New York Minute, also starring Eugene Levy. The film was expected to launch the girls into more serious adult roles, but was a box office flop.
Mary-Kate's first acting appearance without Ashley was in the movie Factory Girl, released in December 2006. She was originaly in several scenes, but she only appeared in the background in the finished film. She has also a recurring guest role in the third season of the Showtime series Weeds., and she is also in the 2008 independent film The Wackness starring Ben Kingsley, with whom she shares a passionate kiss.
Ashley is also appearing alone in the 2008 film "The Informers" starring Billy Bob Thornton.Mary-Kate and Ashley have an older brother, Trent, and younger sister, Elizabeth, as well as two half-siblings, Taylor (b. 1996), and Jake (b. 1997). The twins' parents divorced in 1995, and Taylor and Jake are the children from their father's second marriage to Martha Mackenzie-Olsen.
Mary-Kate and Ashley announced in 2004 that they would be attending college after graduating high school. Most child and teenage actors usually choose to pursue acting full time after graduating from high school, with few, such as Brooke Shields, Jodie Foster, Julia Stiles, and Natalie Portman, choosing to further their education. In 2005, Mary-Kate moved back to California. She decided to stay on the West Coast and pursue more individualized work with their company, Dualstar. Ashley, still in New York, remains in close contact with her sister.
In 2004, Mary-Kate checked into rehab in Utah for six weeks because she was suffering from the eating disorder anorexia nervosa. It was rumoured that there was also a drug problem, but the Olsens' publicist said, "Mary-Kate was not admitted for drugs. Period."Mary-Kate put on about five to seven pounds immediately after her stint in rehab and pictures had shown that she may have gained more weight. However, Star magazine has, as of January 2007, released a cover story article on Mary Kate's, once again, very low weight. They claim she is at 80 pounds. She has been seen wearing baggy clothes and carrying vast purses. Her spokesperson has denied the weight loss claiming "Mary-Kate has not lost weight. She is taking good care of herself."
Mary-Kate, in 2005, ended her romance with Greek shipping heir Stavros Niarchos III. Niarchos then began dating hotel heiress and socialite Paris Hilton. Mary-Kate said that the breakup was one of the main factors in her leave of absence from New York University. "I miss him and I love him," Mary-Kate said, "It's a hurtful and a painful subject." When asked if there was a specific reason for her leaving NYU, she replied, "I think we can all guess."The breakup and Niarchos's pairing with Paris Hilton led to a rift between Hilton and Mary-Kate. "[Paris and I] always only had nice things to say about each other," Olsen said. "Now I guess you can tell we're not talking."
In addition, Ashley filed a $40 million lawsuit against tabloid magazine National Enquirer for printing a headline reading "Ashley Olsen Caught In Drug Scandal," with a story accompanied by an unflattering photo of Ashley with her eyes half-closed. The lawsuit stated that the photo was clearly used to create a misimpression that Olsen was under the influence of drugs. Ashley completely denies the accusations and said that she has not and does not use or sell illegal drugs. The suit consisted of $20 million in libel damages and $20 million in false light invasion of privacy damages. Per her suit, Ashley Olsen and her lawyers believe that "freedom of the press is a valuable right, but it is not a license for gossipy tabloids to tar and feather innocent celebrities and destroy their reputations and businesses for the rag's profits."
Thursday, September 13, 2007
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