Judge brands Michael Douglas and his ex-wife Diandra ‘distant and immature parents’
Cameron Douglas has been sentenced to five years in prison for drug charges. The son of Oscar-winning actor Michael was told by a judge in New York that this was his “last chance to make it”.
Federal Judge Richard Berman announced the sentence Tuesday night after hearing Cameron apologise and admit that he had squandered a lot of opportunities to turn his life around. Cameron, 31, admitted to dealing methamphetamine and cocaine and had faced a ten-year term. After his sentencing, Michael, 65, looked deep in thought as he left the court with ex-wife Diandra by his side. He refused to talk to the waiting press as he and Diandra left the court and made their way to a car. Ahead of the sentencing, Michael had written a letter to the judge with a plea for leniency.
Cameron, a DJ and sometime-actor, was arrested last July after he was found in possession of $18,000 worth of crystal methamphetamine in a New York hotel room. Cameron pleaded guilty earlier this year to drug dealing and his lawyers claimed it was simply a way of funding his addiction and asked the judge to consider a 47-month term.
Douglas admitted his frequent absence during Cameron’s childhood and his ‘bad marriage’ to his first wife Diandra Douglas drove the teenager into gangs. Cameron developed a drug problem when he was 13 and Douglas said his current spell behind bars is his longest period of sobriety since. The actor said he cherished his weekly two-hour visits to Cameron at the Metropolitan Correctional Center.
He explained: “He’s sober. I get to witness the wonderful young man he can be. He maintains his spirit, blames no one but himself and recognises his criminal activity began with his heroin use.”
Douglas’s letter joined other handwritten pleas by his wife Catherine and father Kirk for mercy. Cameron’s stepmother Zeta-Jones, 40, wrote: “Never in my experience over the years has Cameron shown any signs of the disease that has tormented him, toward his siblings or has ever been abusive to us as a family at any time.”
Spartacus legend Kirk Douglas, 93, told the judge that it was his dying wish to see his grandson turn his life around.
Victoria Beckham plays the fashion designer snapping Eva Longoria as BFFs joke around for mobile phone advert
During her Spice Girl days, Victoria Beckham played up to her pop persona as she hawked everything from lollipops to cameras to scooters, but with her music days far behind her, it appears Posh’s bid to be taken seriously as a fashion designer has translated into her latest ad campaign. In the new US ad for LG Fashion Touch phones, Beckham plays up to her new role as serious fashionista who styles her friend Eva Longoria. In the cheesy ad, the pair are seen laughing and joking together while playing dress up. Beckham, 36, is seen talking into a red phone, before the Desperate Housewives actress, 35, bursts into laughter. The two women are seen wearing various designers outfits and are caked in heavy make-up before they prepare to sashay down the catwalk together.
The ad warns fans they will see the famous friends ‘like you’ve never seen them’. The commercial ends with a summing up of the phones as ‘Friends. Fashion. Fabulous’. The ad coincides with the launch of the two new LG fashion phones – the Lotus Elite (Beckham’s one) and the Rumor Touch (Longoria’s).
The ad was shot last March in Los Angeles and the pair were styled by Longoria’s hairdresser pal Ken Paves. The pair have been close friends since the Beckhams first moved to Los Angeles in 2007. Longoria said of her friend: ‘I admire her as a wife and mother. We have a lot in common. I really like to surround myself with women who place their family first. She is very devoted and dedicated to her kids and I really respect that. We hang out at each other’s houses. We don’t go out that much actually. We just do normal girl things when we’re along – we have a meal and a catch up.’ Describing their friendship, Beckham said: ‘Eva has been really sweet. When I first moved here, I didn’t know anybody. She went with me to get my nails done, my hair done…’ Beckham and Longoria are no strangers to celebrity hawking, having starred in many ad campaigns. While Longoria’s advertising past is relatively tame compared to Beckham’s huge list of companies, she is a high-profile face of L’Oréal and has appeared in ads for fashion ranges Bebe and London Fog. However, Beckham is practically a Goliath in terms of fronting campaigns and has starred in ads for Armani lingerie, Marc Jacobs, Rocawear, Daihatsu cars, Walkers Crisps.
–Daily Mail
Jennifer Lopez’s mini fashion marathon as she hits film comeback trail
Jennifer Lopez hasn’t been on the block much lately, but with a new film to promote, the mother of two made sure she was highly visible as she hit the comeback trail in New York. The singer and actress looked stunning as she showed off her finely honed legs in a black leather sixties style cropped coat underneath which she wore a brown silk minidress. A keen triathlete, fitness mad J-Lo, 40, showed off the results of all her hard work in a series of body hugging outfits. Jennifer, 40, was in the city to promote her upcoming film, romantic comedy The Back-Up Plan. She spoke about her new film which tells the story of Zoe, a single, successful woman played by Lopez who hasn’t found the right man so decides to have a baby. But after she conceives twins through artificial insemination, she then meets the man of her dreams on the very same day. Lopez says, ‘I love watching rom coms, I force Marc to watch them with me, both the good ones and the bad ones.’
Jennifer also said that having reached 40, she was very excited at this new stage of her career. ‘It is a great time to be an actress. It seems like you can work and do anything at any age … It’s a great time that people are just seeing people’s souls. It’s not so superficial anymore. Women have proven that they are viable in this business, as well, and it doesn’t matter if you’re not 21 years old. It just matters that you’re great at what you do. And that’s exciting.’ And she gushed about her two-year-old twins Max and Emme and how much she is enjoying motherhood. ‘It is good, I love it. The twins are two, they are walking and talking and telling me what to do. They are good, they are just into their twos, so I have a whole year of terrible twos to go.’
–Daily Mail