Gossip Center

Shakira was smiling as she landed in LAX yesterday to prepare for her appearance on American Idol.

PRESS RELEASE:

The new advertising campaign for Dolce&Gabbana Underwear stars five of the most representative Italian football players. Antonio Di Natale, Vincenzo Iaquinta, Claudio Marchisio, Federico Marchetti and Domenico Criscito are the new faces and bodies of the Dolce&Gabbama Underwear advertising campaign. The players, photographed by Mariano Vivanco in a vintage style changing room, display healthy and athletic bodies sculpted through rigorous training sessions and discipline.
The protagonists

Antonio Di Natale is a forward player for Udinese football team. In 2009/2010 he became the top goal scorer ever in the team's history. He first wore the National team shirt at the age of 25 on November 20th 2002. On November 18th 2009, in occasion of his 30th game with the team, he wore the captain's band with the National team for the first time in the friendly match Italy- Sweden (1-0).

Vincenzo Iaquinta played his first match with the National team in March 2005. He scored his first goal for the team in the game against Ghana during the 2006 World Cup, which Italy went on to win. Since 2007 he is a forward player for Juventus football club.

Claudio Marchisio grew up in the youth black and white team and currently plays midfield for Juventus football club. At the young age of 24 he had already worn the captain's band for the black and white team during the Juventus- Fulham game of the Europa League this past March 11th (3-1). He made his debut with the National team August 12th 2009 at the age of 23 in the friendly match Switzerland-Italy (0-0).

Federico Marchetti was nominated best goal keeper for the 2008/2009 season on October 22nd 2009. Currently he defends Cagliari's goal and he is the second goal keeper for the National team with which he made his debut at the age of 26 on June 6th 2009 in the game Italy- Northern Ireland (3-0).

Domenico Criscito is a midfielder/defender for Genoa cfc with which he has played over 100 games. He has played in all the youth National teams and on August 12th 2009, at the young age of 22, he made his debut with the premier National team in the friendly match Switzerland-Italy.
The photographer

Internationally-famed fashion photographer Mariano Vivanco shot this advertising campaign in addition to four Dolce&Gabbana publications which highlight the privileged relationship of the brand with the sports world: the books Calcio (2003), Milan Dolce&Gabbana (2006), Milan Family (2007), 2006 Dolce&Gabbana Italia Campioni del Mondo (2006) and the calendar with AC Milan's football players as protagonists (2008).

In the wake of Nicollette Sheridan's lawsuit against Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry and ABC, former staffers on the show voice their own gripes to Nicole LaPorte—describing clashes on the set, Cherry's oft-spoken desire to kill off Sheridan's character, and Teri Hatcher's blueberry pancake meltdown.

Stories of diva behavior on and off the set of Desperate Housewives are by now legendary. Ever since the infamous Vanity Fair cover shoot that dissolved into a lady brawl during the show's first season, no one has ever imagined that working there is idyllic.

But in the days following the news that former Housewives co-star Nicollette Sheridan is suing the show's creator, Marc Cherry, and ABC Studios for assault, gender violence, and wrongful termination, among other things, it's emerging that it's not only the actresses' behavior that has caused waves. Regardless of what happened between Cherry and Sheridan, and the suit's eventual outcome, a number of sources who spoke to The Daily Beast said that Cherry does indeed create a difficult work environment in which clashes with actors and writers are routine.

"He will dress you down in front of the staff. He will assault an idea," said one former staffer. "He is very confrontational in this way. He has hissy fits."

Though the sources—all of whom were formerly on staff on Desperate Housewives—said that Cherry is not physically abusive and cannot imagine him hitting or slapping someone with an intent to hurt, as Sheridan is claiming that Cherry did, they unanimously say that to work for Cherry, especially if you are a woman, is to be marginalized and demeaned.

"He hates women," said one person who has worked on set. "It's apparent on set that he's a fan of cute, gay men, not women."

No one wanted to give more specific examples for fear of being identified by Cherry or ABC.

ABC would not comment beyond a statement that was issued earlier in the week. Ditto for Sheridan's attorney, whose original comment was forwarded to The Daily Beast via her publicist. (To read those click here.) A call to Cherry's agent at Paradigm was not returned; nor was an email to the Desperate Housewives publicists. The Daily Beast did talk to Cherry's personal publicity agency and described the contents of this piece, but received no official response.

A producer who has worked with Cherry defended him, however, saying that the portrait of Cherry as a volatile screamer was too severe and that he was just "extremely passionate."

"Like so many executive showrunners, there is a strength and leadership… Marc has a very clear vision of what he wants. He's not a saint, but he's not a monster."

But some former staffers tell a different story. They say that Cherry's most tumultuous relationships have been with Hatcher and Sheridan, who are the most outspoken members of the cast, which also includes Eva Longoria Parker, Marcia Cross, Felicity Huffman, and Dana Delany. The fights tend to break out when the actresses don't like what's been written for them, and Cherry, insulted, lashes out. "Nicollette is someone who very baldly says what she's thinking, and sometimes it might be insulting to the writing and it's something he'll take offense to," said one source.

Relations between Cherry and Sheridan became so bad that two sources claim that Cherry had long wanted to kill off her character, Edie Britt, before she was actually written off the show last year. "He would say it every week," said one source, "When can we kill her off? He really did not like working with her." (Though the decision was mainly driven by a desire to keep the show's plot interesting.)

Sheridan has been very vocal about her unhappiness over her termination and it is an issue in the lawsuit, which claims that in September of 2008, Cherry hit her across the face after she questioned something in the script. Cherry immediately went to her trailer to "beg her for forgiveness," and the complaint says that Sheridan reported the incident to ABC. She claims that Cherry's behavior continued until February of 2009, when Sheridan learned that her character was being killed off.

Reports have surfaced claiming that the incident occurred when Cherry was acting out a scene for Sheridan in which she was meant to be slapped by her husband.

Cherry has not officially commented or responded to the suit.

It's the more general charges in Sheridan's suit that are bringing out a chorus of "Amens" among some former staffers, who strongly echo the actress' claims of gender discrimination and a harsh work environment, saying the conditions are more severe than on other television shows.

Ironically, given the show's subject matter, female writers on the show get the worst of it, and are mostly kept out of the "polishing room," instead relegated to their "caves." This person said that the writing "posse" that Cherry surrounds himself with and most treasures, consists of mostly straight men.

This situation strikes some as illogical when characters' story lines involve such issues as menopause, aging, and pregnancy. These people say that while discussing these issues, Cherry listens primarily to his male writers, and that female writers get "a hostile face and a dismissive wave, and a 'You need to go shut up and sit over there, while I listen to this guy.'"

One source said that the bias became so apparent that some writers who felt discriminated against began referring to themselves as "the unwashed."

According to IMDb, of the 39 writer-producers who have worked on Desperate Housewives since it first aired in 2004, only 14 are women. And many of those were short-lived. Saturday Night Live alumnus Julia Sweeney left after half a season.

The allegations are in jarring contrast to Cherry's public image, which was cemented when Desperate Housewives became a surprise mega-hit. To the press, and most of Hollywood, Cherry was a schlumpy, jolly, and witty gay man who, until he struck gold at the age of 42, had been struggling for years, unable to find TV work and living with his mother. (Cherry's first major writing gig was for The Golden Girls.)

It was a true, Hollywood rags-to-riches story, and everyone loved it. Cherry himself became a star.

"When you hear him speak at the Writers Guild, he's super smart and charming, and you're like, 'No way is this guy a jerk,'" said one source. "But if you work for him…"

When Cherry was called away from the show to do publicity during Season 2, Desperate Housewives suffered. Ratings sank, and critics began wondering if the show wasn't just a flash in the pan success.

This apparently jolted Cherry badly, and, ever since, he's been back to being an intensely hands-on perfectionist, not just in the writers room, but on set, where he frequently acts out scenes for the actors, and in the editing bay.

But if he is a diva, he's not alone. Hatcher, said a former employee, once caused a morning-long crisis when she had to shoot a scene in which her then-pregnant character, Susan Mayer, wolfs down a stack of pancakes. Not wanting to stuff herself with carbs over numerous takes, Hatcher insisted that blueberries be put on the pancakes so that she could stuff herself with those, instead. Inevitably, there was a showdown with Cherry, who ultimately caved.

"It's constant drama," said one source.

Judging by Sheridan's suit, it's not going away any time soon.

SOURCE

Following his performance on American Idol this week, David Archuleta chatted exclusively with J-14 about his new hairdo, Aaron Kelly, and who he thinks will win this season.

J-14: What was it like being back on the Idol stage?
David: It really freaked me out! My mind left when I was talking to Ryan. I thought through what I was going to say, but then my mind totally went blank. It was pretty bad. And It was scary having the judges there — you feel like you’re going to be judged too. But I was so glad to get to sing “Imagine” again. I haven’t sung that song that much. I think I’ve performed it once out of all the tours I’ve ever done, and that’s it.

J-14: Our readers have been tweeting about how much they like the new hairdo you debuted last night. Why the change?
David: I’ve always had it generally the same, so I just wanted to do something different this time. I feel like people always associate me with the same haircut all the time — I want to show people that I’m in a new phase right now. It’s a new time for me!

J-14: What was it like meeting this season’s contestants?
David: They were all really cool people. Lee Dewyze was so friendly! My sister loves him, and I think he’s a really talented guy. I was really impressed with how cool he was and how he treated me.

J-14: What do you think about Aaron Kelly? Ryan has called him “David Archuleta” because of the similarities between the two of you.
David: I feel bad that he gets compared to me! No one wants to be compared to someone all the time. Aaron’s his own person, and I think he has a great voice!

J-14: Which performance stood out to you this week?
David: I really liked Katie Stevens’ performance Tuesday. It amazed me how much she connected to the song. People are always like ‘young people can’t connect to music,’ but I think she proved that wrong.

J-14: Do you have any predictions for who’s going to be season nine’s winner?
David: Crystal Bowersox has been pretty consistent every week. I know she’s been one that everyone’s been looking at. I like Siobhan’s awkwardness — she has a genuine sense to her that’s just cool. I can’t pick just one person!

A source close to Sandra Bullock's disgraced husband, Jesse James, tells Star that the West Coast Chopper hunk has left rehab after only one week, and is laying low at a male friend's house.

The source claims Jesse quietly checked out of Arizona's Sierra Tucson Treatment Center within the last couple of days. His exit coincides with a moving van being spotted outside the L.A.-area home he shares with Sandra on April 2.

"All of Jesse's pals have been talking about it," says the source. Though a rep stated that James had "realized that this time was crucial to help himself, help his family and help save his marriage" when he entered the facility on March 26, the source adds: "It seems Jesse just isn't that serious about rehab after all."


SOURCE: Star Magazine