Hope everyone had a fun and festive 4th of July. Here’s a special Independence Day shout-out to our girl Sandra Bullock. Her divorce from he whose name shall not be spoken was finalized last week here in Austin and there have been quite a few Sandra sightings in the capital city lately – driving through for burgers at P. Terry’s, dinner at her restaurant Bess, and shopping at kids clothing boutique Izzy and Ash.

Welcome to Austin Louis! Let’s get you suited up in some Longhorn gear!

Rumor has it you know who is hot on her Louboutin heels, but not to worry Sandra. We in Austin won’t mistake “having your back” for stabbing you in it. Don’t mess with Texas.

And it’s movie premiere time…….Predators debuts Wednesday night at the Paramount! Adrien Brody fans get psyched! Maybe you’ll get a kiss like Halle Berry did at the Oscars. Okay….maybe not, but it’s something to aspire to!

Happy star gazing!

And in Malta, I stayed at the same hotel that Madonna stayed in while she was filming Swept Away. The staff told me they couldn’t believe how tiny she is in real life! Steven Spielberg also stayed there while filming scenes for Munich. His entrances/exits to and from the hotel were pretty elaborately planned out due to the throngs of press and fans who were staking out the place while he stayed there.
I even managed to visit a movie set while I was there….well sort of….we sailed by the set of the 1980 movie Popeye starring Robin Williams. It was built for the movie and then converted into a theme park called Popeye Village.
And just to squeeze in a little more celebrity news out of the tiny Mediterranean island, I had dinner at a restaurant called Assaggi- the owners and chef trained with Gordon Ramsay of “Hell’s Kitchen” fame.
So there you have it- I wasn’t TOTALLY slacking on my vacation. Managed to get at least a little local scoop.

But now back to Austin- there’s no place like home!
And there was no place like Austin Studios Friday night for the Make Watch Love Film event! It was a great night honoring Moody Anderson (proprietor of Texas Traders- supplier of props for many movies filmed in Texas) and also celebrating the release of the new book called Chainsaws, Slackers, and Spy Kids- Thirty Years of Filmmaking in Austin. The author, Alison Macor, was sweet enough to sign my copy and I can’t wait to read it!
Honorary hosts were Robert Rodriguez, Richard Linklater, and Elizabeth Avellan……Elizabeth is co-owner and VP of Troublemaker Studios (the artist formerly known as Los Hooligans which she founded with the artist formerly known as her hubby- Robert Rodriguez). What a sweet and gracious lady!
It was a great night celebrating 30 years of film-making in Austin. Can’t wait to see what the next 30 bring!
Hint……there’s a premiere coming up at the Paramount in a few weeks so more to come on that soon
Ciao y’all!

Dan Aykroyd was in town signing bottles of Crystal Head Vodka at the Twin Liquors in Hancock Center. Apparently Dan the man can still draw quite a crowd. There were even about a dozen people dressed up in full Ghostbustin’ gear.
I ain’t afraid of no ghost! Nor am I afraid of vodka in a skull!

Face of Cover Girl and Las Vegas star Molly Sims made an appearance at A Touch of Sass to promote her line of jewelry called Grayce. I really liked the bling and there was a particularly discofabulous necklace I was coveting. I should have just shelled out the dough already! Oh well. Here we are to the left……JUST in case there is any confusion, the tall gorgeous supermodel on the right is NOT me. Shocking, I know.

In retrospect, I am not sure I recommend having your picture taken with a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition cover model……hmmmm….but she was very sweet and friendly. Now where’s that bottle of Crystal Head vodka???

Sigh.

And speaking of babies…….Lance Armstrong is expecting his fifth child! He alluded to it last week when he started following CincoArmstrong on Twitter….”I got 2 arms, 2 legs, a nickname, and i’m 2 inches long. See y’all in October.” Lance has three kiddos with former wife Kristin, and this nino cinco will be his second with girlfriend Anna Hanson. Congrats Papa Lance! Your own personal peleton!

Nothing we can do but root for Sandra and show her some support. So I decided I would just show our girl some love by doing what I do best- -eating!!

And fortunately for me she has 2 establishments here in Austin where I can do just that and give her a shout-out and show my support.  There is Bess Bistro on Pecan, a charming place with a great atmosphere, yummy drinks, and a tempting menu , and Walton’s Fancy and Staple, right across the street. Walton’s is part deli, part bakery, part flower shop, and part general store all in one. I adore this place!  While I was there I picked up some of Aunt Luddy’s  White Trash Deep South Mix. YUM! Thanks for the sugar rush, Sandra. I like your style!

WE LOVE YOU SANDRA!!!!!

Go ahead…..just TRY to get that song outta your head! Haha!

Well, it’s that time of the year again. South by Southwest!

Get those cameras ready people…..and share your scoop with us! You can share your celebrity spotting here:

http://www.austinstarmap.com/celebrity_spotting/show

Let us know who you see…..and where…..and what they’re doing! And who they’re with! And what they’re wearing! Spill it!

So far there have been sightings of  Edward Norton (for Leaves of Grass), John C. Reilly and Jonah Hill (for Cyrus), Val Kilmer and Ryan Phillippe (for MacGruber),and …..wait….I think I need a moment to actually let that sink in….

 Okay….I am back……

And Quintin Tarantino was inducted into Austin Film Society’s Texas Hall of Fame.  Robert Rodriguez called him an “Honorary Texan.” High praise indeed! Also inducted were Lukas Haas, Catherine O’Hara (for Waiting for Guffman) and Monkee Mike Nesmith.

And Ashton Kutcher is rumored to be in town. OOHHHHHHH!! Maybe I will get PUNK’D! I really always wanted to have that happen. I SWEAR I would handle myself appropriately J

And don’t even get me started on all the musicians in town!

So kids…..keep your feet on the ground and keep gazing at the stars! And send those sightings in!

Have a great time!

And in closing….it wouldn’t be a blog post without a Sandra shout-out!

 Mad props to Sandra for her Oscar for The Blind Side and even for picking up a Razzie the day before the ceremony for All About Steve. Two awards in one weekend. Show-off! 

Oscar gold

And I must close with a rant about this……

 WTF leaving out Farrah Fawcett from the In Memoriam at the Oscars? Wrong move Academy! They have since apologized for the omission but to them I say only this….Don’t mess with Texas!

(Just in case you weren’t sure of the Austin connection, she attended the University of Texas here in Austin in 1966-67 and where her extra-curricular activities included being a member of Tri Delta sorority, and pretty much being the most beautiful woman on campus!!!  You go Charlie’s Angel! We will never forget you!!)

Super Bowl Victory for Austin’s Drew Brees………..CHECK!

(He graduated from Austin’s Westlake High School in 1996. He led his team to a 16-0 season and was named Texas Class A Most Valuable Player!  DAT’s WHO!!!!)

Another award nomination for Sandra Bullock…………CHECK

(She received an Oscar nod for her work in The Blind Side)

Celebrity spotting equipped and a shout-out for local business…….CHECK!  

(Jake Gyllenhaal visited Austin and was spotted at Jo’s Coffee Shop on South Congress…..later in the month he was spotted wearing a Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop cap at a Laker’s game. Mellow Johnny’s is Lance Armstrong’s store here in Austin)

Sounds like a great month!

My prediction for March…….Oscar gold for Sandra Bullock and an influx of celeb spotting in Austin during South by Southwest! Should be a great month!!! Stay tuned  J

Will there be an Oscar nod? We’ll find out Tuesday, February 2! Hmmmm….that is Groundhog Day. Wonder if the furry guy will tell us if there are going to be 6 more weeks of washed out, super pale, flesh-tone dresses and oodles of ruffles to carry us through to the Oscars, or if we’re done with that and everyone can look alive again? We shall see.  But Sandra didn’t disappoint. She rocked the purple….in the rain Prince would be proud!

Under Jesse

And……do you hear what I hear??

That would be wedding bells! Last week Minka Kelly of Friday Night Lights and Derek Jeter of the NY Yankees announced their engagement……as did UT Longhorn quarterback Colt McCoy and his girlfriend Rachel Glandorf…..on the football field of Darrell K. Royal- Texas Memorial Stadium no less. Touchdown! Homerun! And various and sundry other sports related references that otherwise say CONGRATS to the happy, athletically inclined couples!!

Looking forward to the nuptials…..and, no, I am still not ready to talk about the game

Till next time!

  Colt & Rachel                                          On the 50!!

My name is Heather Brady and I will be bringing you all of the Austin Celebrity Scoop!

It’s a new year, a new decade, and a new baby for our Matthew McConaughey. What a great way to ring in the new year, and to ring in the Austin Celebrity Confidential blog! Matthew and girlfriend Camila Alves welcomed daughter Vida Alves McConaughey on January 3, 2010 at 12:13 am. A few days later, dad was able to break away from diaper duty to attend the BCS National Championship Game in Pasadena to watch his beloved UT Longhorns. He ran into Reese Witherspoon at a tailgate- she was rooting for the Horns too! Atta girl Reese! I always knew we could be BFF’s!

And…..taking a bite out of  Austin was Jackson Rathbone who plays vampire Jasper Cullen in the Twilight series. He and his band 100 Monkeys were at Waterloo Music on Thursday to play some tunes, sign CD’s, and greet their fans. Super cool celebrity confidential scoop is that he got to meet his baby nephew for the first time at the appearance! Then they were off to play a gig in San Antonio. Normally sunny Austin, Texas isn’t an ideal place for a sparkly vampire, but with this weather lately, it wasn’t a problem!

(Jackson is in the middle)

Wishing you all a fun and fabulous 2010! Lots to look forward to in Austin over the coming months. I’ll be here to keep you informed of all the local celebrity happenings!

Till next time!