Emmerdale star fighting mystery illness & other: June 2008

Thursday 19 June 2008

Billy Idol backs hits album with roadwork

Veteran pop-punk rocker Billy Idol [ tickets ] will hit the pavement later this month to tackle a busy summer tour schedule that supports his soon-to-be-released hits compilation, "The Very Best of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself."The blond-maned singer kicks things off June 22 in San Diego and plans to knock off a full slate of North American headlining dates in June and July before tackling a run on the European festival circuit. After that, it's back to North America for an August stint opening for Def Leppard, as well as additional headlining performances in August and September.Details for the North American dates are included below, and Idol's European tour schedule is available at his MySpace page.Due in stores June 24, "Idolize Yourself" is a career-spanning set featuring 18 tracks, including a pair of newly recorded songs titled "New Future Weapon" and "John Wayne.""When I'm singing ['John Wayne'], I'm thinking about the characters John Wayne played," Idol said in a press release. "They were usually men with a flaw in their character or something dark in their past they're trying to rise above before the end of the movie. So it's not about the kick-in-the-door John Wayne or the barroom fight John Wayne--it's more the man who overcomes." Of the collection's other new track, "New Future Weapon," Idol added, "I was reading about the new stealth fighter plane the Raptor, and I was struck by the ambivalence of the pilot talking about the enemy. Musically, it's got a bit of the Spaghetti Western about it. It's a sick song, as you might expect."Idol will mark the release of "Idolize Yourself" with a June 24 appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," during which he'll perform several songs on the show's outdoor stage.

Wednesday 11 June 2008

Anne Heche To Pay $275,000 To Ex-Husband

Actress Anne Heche has reached a settlement in her divorce from Coley Laffoon, agreeing to pay her ex-husband a $US275,000 lump sum and almost $US4,000 per month in child support for their son, according to court papers.

The agreement marks a sharp reduction in the monthly support payment of $US15,000 the 'Men in Trees' actress had been paying her ex, which she said she could no longer afford because she is currently out of work.

"I am continuing to look for work, but I have no offers pending and the impending strike by the Screen Actors Guild reduces my prospects for work even further," Heche, 38, wrote in court papers last month.

"Since January 18, 2008, I have been unemployed and had no income from employment except for one very short-term contract for a movie role for which I received a total of $65,000, approximately the amount I received for one episode of 'Men in Trees'."

She added, "I do receive some residuals from previous acting work. However, the amounts are nominal and are offset by recurring business expenses that must be paid whether or not I am working."

Under the settlement, Heche, 38, also will pay 75% of six year old son Homer's private school tuition, and 50% of "agreed-upon extracurricular activities" for the child, according to L.A. Superior Court papers.

Laffoon, 34, filed for divorce in February 2007, and the split became nasty when Heche accused her ex-husband of being a deadbeat who watches porn and frequents strip clubs, while Laffoon claimed Heche was mentally unstable.