{alltv} Celebs aren't immune to H1N1

 

HOLLYWOOD -- They may have their team of personal trainers, nutritionists and assorted other well-being practitioners on call 24/7, but the cold, hard fact of the matter is, celebrities get sick, too.

And some, much to the anguish of their publicists, will contract the dreaded swine flu.

It's already officially taken out a Weasley, a Backstreet Boy and a last-minute Bachelor reject.

But just as many seem to have been misdiagnosed, despite persistent Internet rumours to the contrary.

Or have they?

That's where those spin doctors come in.

For a while there, Miley Cyrus was looking to be on the H1N1 list, especially after her friend and former Hannah Montana co-star, Cody Linley, had said in interviews that Miley told him so herself.

Turns out both were mistaken, according to her rep, and that Miley's virus turned out to be a bad case of strep throat.

Assuming that's the case, it's still easy to see why personal publicists are anxious to stop swine flu rumours in their viral tracks, and not just because they're concerned about creating undue panic.

As one unnamed source tells us, "Anything in this business that makes you seem medically fragile affects your ability to get insurance. And without insurance you can't get hired. It makes producers wary of working with you."

Things are complicated enough when you are stricken in the middle of a gig.

Rupert Grint, Harry Potter's Ron Weasley, was among the first of the current crop of H1N1 victims, when he came down with what his handlers called a mild bout of the bug in July while shooting Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (damned drafty Hogwarts!)

Fortunately, he recovered in time to attend the rainy London premiere of Half-Blood Prince, looking admittedly anemic himself.

Last month, Backstreet Boy Brian Littrell found out he was among the infected the day before the release of the boy/man band's latest comeback album, This Is Us, forcing the cancellation of several planned high-profile performances.

Reality TV denizen Melissa Rycroft may have bounced back from being spurned by The Bachelor to more respectable runner-up status on Dancing with the Stars, but she was unable to sidestep the swine flu.

Miley aside, among those heading the growing list of false alarms are David Boreanaz and Susan Boyle.

When Boreanaz came down with flu-like symptoms, production of his Fox series Bones was shut down for an entire day, with the show's own creator citing H1N1 as the culprit on his Twitter account.

He subsequently recanted his Tweet when it turned out Boreanaz just had a touch of plain old influenza.

When Boyle was recently rushed to a Scottish hospital complaining of stomach pains, swine flu again raised its ugly head, but fears proved to be unfounded.

The truth is, despite frantically swapping Red Bulls for Tamiflu, celebs are prime candidates for contagion.

They work long hours on stuffy, enclosed sets with large crowds of people, travel long distances in planes and do a lot of handshaking.

Even the whole H1N1 moniker sounds like the stuff of Hollywood marketing makeovers, doesn't it?

"From the people who brought you TMNT2, X2, ID4, M:i:III and 2F2F comes ..."

Now that's really sick.

{alltv} Joss Stone looks the part

 

Young and friendly British singer Joss Stone got the feeling she was being patronized, so she politely told her assembled castmates from The Tudors not to bother.

"They're just trying to make me feel better," Stone said. "I know. It's all an opinion."

The issue at hand was Stone's portrayal of Anne of Cleves — the fourth wife of Henry VIII — in The Tudors, the third season of which currently is airing Wednesdays on CBC.

Anne of Cleves, of course, infamously was the one that Henry VIII didn't like. And that's really saying something for an English king who beheaded two of his six wives, isn't it?

Anne of Cleves wasn't one of them, by the way.

Anyway, Anne of Cleves makes her first appearance in this week's episode — kinda, sorta. She is seen in a heavy veil, and by the time next week's episode rolls around, the suspense leading up to the actual sight of her face is thick indeed, both for the audience and for Henry VIII, played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers.

Henry has been assured Anne of Cleves is a great beauty, but this is long before Google image search. When he sees her, let's just say he is less than impressed.

"Lack of makeup," said Stone with a smile.

Stone initially was up for a different role in an earlier season of The Tudors, but a concert tour overlapped with the shooting schedule.

"I was so gutted because I couldn't take it," said the 22-year-old Stone, whose new CD, Colour Me Free, came out recently. "Then it kind of came about the next time around. So I will do anything, really."

Stone's experience as an actress is limited, and the producers of The Tudors admitted their biggest concern was whether she could handle Anne of Cleves' German accent.

"Yeah, same here, man," Stone said. "I was worried but it was fine. We figured it out.

"I don't like just sticking my feet in a little bit. I get bored doing that. I'd rather do something that's just right there and then, you know? If it goes wrong, then hey, I give it a bash and I try my best."

As a musician-turned-actor, Stone has found similarities between the two disciplines. But when she's acting the last thing she wants to do is find a rhythm in the words.

"I try not to," she said. "Sometimes I do and that's not good. You can't talk with rhythm. That's rapping."

All things considered, Stone pulls off the role of Anne of Cleves jolly well. And despite the awkwardness of playing the woman reputed to be the least attractive of Henry's wives, Rhys Meyers, for one, has no problem with the way Joss Stone looks.

As he put it, "There are worse things you could do with yourself on a rainy Tuesday morning in Dublin than hop into bed with the likes of Charlotte Salt (who plays Lady Ursula Misseldon) or Natalie Dormer (who played Anne Boleyn) or, indeed, Joss Stone."

Right again, your majesty.

{alltv} Photos: Glee cast members

 

 

 

{alltv} "Glee" cast to get Hollywood diversity award

 

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The cast of the quirky Fox TV show "Glee" will be presented with a Hollywood diversity award in November for their portrayal of a group of teen oddballs with a passion for song and dance.

The Diversity Awards committee said on Saturday that the "Glee" cast had won the favorite new diverse ensemble cast award for 2009.

The musical comedy series features an array of students in an uncool high school glee club, including a boy in a wheelchair, a geeky girl, a gay student, an Asian and an overweight African-American girl.

"The bunch are determined to overcome the odds and make it to the big time both in high school and the world beyond," the Diversity Awards executive committee said in a statement.

"Twilight"'s Korean-American actor Justin Chon, Nigerian-English-American newcomer Hope Olaide Wilson and Taraji P. Henson -- both stars of the Tyler Perry movie "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" -- are also among those to be honored at the November 22 awards gala.

The Diversity Awards are presented annually by the Multicultural Motion Picture Association to promote story lines, characters and actors of all backgrounds in the Hollywood film and TV industry.

{alltv} Photos: Amy Robach, Lester Holt, Nick Cannon