Hello Austin Celebrity Confidential fans!
Please excuse my absence….I was on vacation in Italy and Malta. It was dreamy….and NOT to worry- I got my share of celebrity scoop while I was there.
I went to a prayer service at the Vatican led by….you guessed it…..Pope Benedict XVI.
I’d say he’s pretty famous. Here he is driving through St. Peter’s Square before it started. I love a papal drive-by! It was a great experience.

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!

Are Big and Bright (clap clap clap clap) Deep in the Heart of Texas!!!!!!!

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!!)

Lance Armstrong finally opened up about the demise of his relationship with Sheryl Crow.   The reasons being that Sheryl wanted a baby and marriage, and he did not.  Sheryl’s biological clock was ticking and Lance ‘felt the pressure of that’ during their relationship.  Fast forward to present day where Lance is expecting a baby with his Girlfriend Anna Hansen in June.  INteresting…  And in other Random Lance news - if you happen to have 12 million dollars burning a hole in your pocket then do I have a house for you.  His 447 accre ranch on the Pedernales River is for sale.  I’m not sure how I feel about Lance cutting all his housing ties to Texas.

 Onwards;

You can all breathe a sigh of relief because Rose McGowan will not be starring in Robert Rodriguez’ Barbarella Remake.  In fact no one will.  According to the man himself the movie is dead. He sited numerous reasons for the shelving of the film like Universal backing out because the budget got too big (80 mill), and not wanting to accept the offer to shoot in Germany which would mean being away from his five children -  but we all know it’s because him and his ‘muse’ called it quits.

In closing;                                                  

Taylor Kitsch

Why do I mention him well:

A) He Lives in Austin

B) He’s Canadian

C) He’s a handsome devil

and more current and relevant;

D) He appeared in the new X-men movie which opened last weekend.  He took on the role of Gambit. My only complaint is that I wish he got more screen time.   I’m a huge fan of the X-Men series, I just love the characters coming to life on the big screen.  I don’t think there will ever by a time where I would hate an  X-Men movie.  They could have wolverine standing on screen for two hours playing with his claws and I’d still love it.