Monday, October 13, 2008

Taking Names

Mom again

Lisa Marie Presley, mother of a 19-year-old daughter and a 15-year-old son by a previous marriage, gave birth Tuesday to twin girls weighing 5 pounds, 15 ounces, and 5 pounds, 2 ounces, according to a publicist's statement released Saturday.

The births were by Caesarean section and took place somewhere on the West Coast, but the precise location was not divulged. Miss Presley lives in the Los Angeles area and the statment said the "babies and mom are happy and healthy and resting at home."

The girls' names were not released.

Miss Presley is married to music producer Michael Lockwood. Her older children, Danielle and Benjamin, are from her marriage to Danny Keough .

Dutek of Bollywood

Major Indian heart-throb and Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, 42, has been given Malaysia's equivalent of a knighthood, but not everyone is pleased. Now the world can call him "dutek" - like "sir," Agence France-Presse reports.

State officials said the award was for promoting the Malaysian state of Malacca after filming a movie there and for his contribution to the region's film industry, state officials said in weekend news reports. The new dutek's 2001 movie, "One 2 Ka 4" was filmed at a popular resort in Malacca. "This resulted in many people visiting Malacca. The award was given in recognition of this," said Malacca chief minister Mohamad Ali Rustam, according to the Star daily.

Opposition parliamentarian Lim Kit Siang said he was "astounded" that the governor would choose to honor the Indian actor. "I don't think the reason that has been given for making Shah Rukh Khan a Malacca datuk would impress or convince many that the Bollywood actor-dancer had 'contributed to our tourism industry,' " he said.

Indian films have a huge following among the ethnic Indians and the majority Muslim-Malays in Malaysia. However, Fatimah Tahir, a fan of the star, was stunned at the news. "I wonder whether Shah Rukh Khan even knows where Malacca is," she told the newspaper.

In the family

A thriller by Jennifer Lynch, daughter of legendary filmmaker David Lynch, won the top prize Saturday at the 41st International Film Festival of Catalonia.

The jury in the Spanish resort of Sitges, south of Barcelona, selected Miss Lynch's "Surveillance" as the best picture. It was a turnaround for Miss Lynch, whose "Boxing Helena" in 1993 was controversial as well as almost universally panned by the critics. It also was her first film since its predecessor.

The best director award went to South Korea's Kim Jee-woon for "The Good, The Bad, The Weird," set in 1930s Manchuria, according to the AFP report.

Scotland's Brian Cox won the best actor award for his role in the American film "Red," while Semra Turan was named best actress for playing a college student obsessed with kung-fu in the Danish film "Fighter".

The movie, on which Miss Lynch's father was executive producer, stars Bill Pullman and Julia Ormond as FBI agents investigating a massacre.

c Compiled from wire reports

Honoring reality

The "2008 Fox Reality Channel Really Awards" was the place to be as winners and losers of the only awards show dedicated to the most outrageous moments in reality television were revealed Saturday in Hollywood.

Highlights from the show included Jerry Springer winning Favorite Host for "America's Got Talent"; Antonio Sabato Jr. from "Celebrity Circus" winning Favorite Hottie, and DeAnna Pappas from "The Bachelorette" winning the Golden Realitini for Favorite Reality Performer.