LIAM NEESON & JOE CARNAHAN AT TIMES TALKS

Liam Neeson

David Carr With Liam Neeson And Joe Carnahan

Joe Carnahan

Liam Neeson and Joe Carnahan were interviewed by David Carr at Times Talks in the Times Center, New York City.


Photos By: Walter McBride / WM Photography / Retna Ltd.

RANTING AND RAVING WITH BRETT RATNER

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THE WEB GOSSIP
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Brett Ratner

RATNER OUT --- Director Brett Ratner (Tower Heist) was dramatically fired the other night as producer of the next Oscar's after making an amazing gay-slur, “Rehearsal is for fags,” during a Q&A session at L.A.'s ArcLight cinema last week. The same day, he went on Howard Stern and got carried away in a raunchy discussion about sex, saying he sends women he sleeps with to his doctor to be checked for diseases. His PR-team at Rubenstein said yesterday they were no longer working with him because of “artistic differences.” Ratner himself said yesterday, “I've gotten a well deserved earful from many of the people I admire most in this industry expressing their outrage and disappointment over the hurtful and stupid things I said.” This developments throws the next Oscar-ceremony into chaos, as Ratner has personally chosen Eddie Murphy, as the host; the comedian is in Tower Heist; which has had its own troubles at the box office. Exactly who is this Brett Ratner? A recent article on him said: “He appears to be a crass hustler who's spent his entire career in a Sammy Glick-like rush to get ahead.” Sure, he's done some excellent work, like the film Family Man and the entire Rush Hour series; but more often than not, he has seemed totally out of control on many occasions. Ratner lives in a house where Ingrid Bergman and Kim Novak once played. The last owner was Allan Carr. I've met him and he really does seem to fancy himself as the next Robert Evans … I knew Evans, and can say unequivocally … Ratner's not even close. He should be out as the Oscar-producer.


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Michael Douglas

REGIS' FINAL DAYS --- I know we posited several months back, that the powers that be at ABC would reconsider and keep Regis Philbin; but, alas they have not and as of this morning, there are 7 shows left with him. This final series of shows with him have been nothing but fabulous; especially this morning when he de-bunked a review by Marvin Kitman (in Newsday), some 28 years ago (September 5, 1988), when the current show was originally launched as The Morning Show. Kitman, always a hack, essentially skewered everything about the show and Philbin. Needless to say, said he was wrong. Reege is a national treasure and although he will get his fair share of praise and adulation in these final days, it's really a shame that ABC couldn't put it together. They had Robert DeNiro Monday, Michael Douglas yesterday, Liam Neeson today ... it's been really terrific. I hope they get Kathie Lee in there too! He'll be missed for sure. My prediction: He'll do some one-off things, but he really deserves to sit back ... and, he will for a bit. I've known him since his days in L.A. and though he's a handful ... he's a true original. Rest easy Reege!


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Adam Sandler

Monkee In The Middle --- Monkee-Micky Dolenz,was surprised at Adam Sandler's Jack And Jill premiere Sunday night in L.A., when three-quarters of the way through, Adam and Al Pacino, in the film, are dancing to his Monkee-hit"I'm A Believer." Also there, Neil Diamond, who wrote it." He'll be at the opening of Riverdance next week in L.A. too.


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Lizzie Grubman

LYONS IN THE DEN --- We got several strange reports from last weekend's Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Kids 4 Kids event in Manhattan. We spoke to several publicists who said that some of their clients, who were constant participants in years past, were not even invited this year. A quick glance, showed Lizzie Grubman and Kyle MacLachlan as the main stars. Where were Whoopi Goldberg; James Gandolfini; Robert Funaro; Debbie Gibson; and, Micky Dolenz? All supporters for years. We tried to get through to their reps Chip Lyons and Jake Glaser ...but, they haven't gotten back to us yet. There was a new celebrity wrangler this year, Bobby Yule … so, that's maybe the problem. A great event; a great cause … we hope to see everyone reunited next year. The kids would have loved Whoopi ... as they always do!


Photos By: Sara De Boer/Retna

LIAM NEESON OPENS UP TO ESQUIRE MAGAZINE

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In the March issue of Esquire, on stands
February 22nd, Liam Neeson opens up to
Tom Chiarella about Natasha.
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Liam Neeson

"I walked into the emergency — it's like seventy, eighty people, broken arms, black eyes, all that — and for the first time in years, nobody recognizes me. Not the nurses. The patients. No one. And I've come all this way, and they won't let me see her. And I'm looking past them, starting to push — I'm like, Fuck, I know my wife's back there someplace. I pull out a cell phone — and a security guard comes up, starts saying, 'Sorry, sir, you can't use that in here,' and I'm about to ask him if he knew me, when he disappears to answer a phone call or something. So I went outside. It's freezing cold, and I thought, What am I gonna do? How am I going to get past the security?


"And I see two nurses, ladies, having a cigarette. I walk up, and luckily one of them recognizes me. And I'll tell you, I was so fucking grateful — for the first time in I don't know how long — to be recognized. And this one, she says, 'Go in that back door there.' She points me to it. 'Make a left. She's in a room there.' So I get there, just in time. And all these young doctors, who look all of eighteen years of age, they tell me the worst." He purses his lips, mouth dry. "The worst."


"I think I survived by running away some. Running away to work. Listen, I know how old I am and that I'm just a shoulder injury from losing roles like the one in Taken. So I stay with the training, I stay with the work. It's easy enough to plan jobs, to plan a lot of work. That's effective. But that's the weird thing about grief. You can't prepare for it. You think you're gonna cry and get it over with. You make those plans, but they never work.

"It hits you in the middle of the night — well, it hits me in the middle of the night. I'm out walking. I'm feeling quite content. And it's like suddenly, boom. It's like you've just done that in your chest."

HARRY POTTER MANIA HITS NEW YORK CITY

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HOGWARTS COMES TO THE BIG APPLE
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Keri Russell

Joey Fatone

Ralph Fiennes

Melissa Joan Hart

Cody Horn

Billy Magnussen

Anthony Edwards

Johnny Weir

Rob And Marisol Thomas

Patrick Wilson

Gabourey Sidibe

Liam Neeson

Rose Hemingway

David Yates

Sandra Lee

Tom Felton

Viola Davis

Drew Roy

Lourdes Leon

Rupert Grint

Daniel Radcliffe

Sarah Jessica Parker

Emma Watson

Emma Watson along with Daniel Radcliffe, Tom Felton, Rupert Grint, Drew Roy, Lourdes Leon, Sarah Jessica Parker and many more stars attended the premiere of " Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1" at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center New York City. Harry potter mania is hitting the Big Apple.

Photos By: RD / Roe / Retna Digital