First Prototype of 2009 Porsche Panamera Caught Testing

Flush with cash from strong sales of its Cayenne SUV, Porsche is looking to expand beyond its sports car roots yet again with an all-new sedan. Revealed here in our exclusive spy video, this 2009 Porsche Panamera prototype was caught while undergoing early development tests prior to its launch in mid-2009.

It may be covered in heavy camouflage, but this prototype does give some hints to the overall shape of this front-engine, rear-wheel-drive sedan. Porsche is already calling the Panamera a four-door coupe much like Mercedes-Benz does with its sleek CLS sedan. This should assure a low, sloping roof for the Panamera and somewhat limited rear-seat passenger room compared to sedans of similar size.

Set for assembly at the same Leipzig factory as the Porsche Cayenne, the Panamera is expected to use the same lineup of V8 engines as the SUV. A top-of-the-line model could also utilize a retuned version of the V10 engine from the discontinued Carrera GT sports car. A dual-clutch setup similar to Audi's DSG system is expected to be the sole transmission.

Expect to see the production version of the 2009 Porsche Panamera debut at the Geneva auto show in the spring of 2009, with sales beginning later that year. more...

Angelina Jolie : The Year's Most Valuable Celebrity Faces

If America is falling into the recession economists fear it is, Angelina Jolie may prove more important than ever. If America is falling into the recession economists fear it is, Angelina Jolie may prove more important than ever. To the country's celebrity magazine editors, that is. Shrinking wallets could mean shrinking readership, and nobody moves magazines like Jolie, according to Forbes.com's second annual analysis of the top-selling celebrity faces. Jolie earned the top spot, thanks to strong performances in all three categories. Whether it's her humanitarian efforts or her ever-expanding brood, the globe-trotting A-lister has little trouble garnering interest at the checkout line.
Despite the paparazzi, pregnancy and peace activism, the owner of the world's poutiest lips still managed to play a lusty animated witch and the wife of a slain Wall Street Journal reporter in the same year. Photos of her twins should fetch the highest price ever for baby snaps. She'll probably give the money to charity.

People to pay $14 million for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's baby photos

Exclusive photos of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's newborn twins fetched $14 million, a person involved in the negotiations told The Associated Press, giving People magazine and a British tabloid joint rights to publish the most expensive celebrity pictures ever sold.

The person asked not to be named because he was not authorized to release the figure. People will feature twin babies Vivienne Marcheline and Knox Leon in an issue to hit newsstands Monday, spokeswoman Nancy Valentino said Friday.

The money - more than double the $6 million People paid for Jennifer Lopez' twins on a March cover, according to Forbes - will go to a foundation created by Pitt and Jolie that largely focuses on helping children around the world.

It's the second time the celebrity weekly won the North American rights to the couple's first-look baby pictures, and the third time they've worked with the two magazines in exchange for a hefty donation to charity.

"We're thrilled to be able to feature these pictures in People," managing editor Larry Hackett said in a statement.

People will split the bill with London-based Hello! magazine, which has worldwide rights; particulars of the division were not disclosed. People.com will unveil the first photo online Sunday evening.

Even before the babies were born July 12 in Nice, France, the speculation began over which celeb mag would come out on top of an inevitable bidding war. The couple ultimately chose to go a familiar route with its joint deal between People and Hello!, with Getty Images as the photographer and go-between.

People ponied up a reported $4 million donation for the U.S. rights to the first shots of their daughter Shiloh, now 2 years old, while Hello! obtained the British rights. And last year, the couple sold intimate shots of their son Pax, then 3 years old, to Hello! and People.

Getty Images, which was involved in the Shiloh deal, also took part this time around. In a statement, Getty co-founder and CEO Jonathan Klein said his company was "delighted that all proceeds from these stunning images will once again be donated entirely to charity."

When People the published six photos of Pitt, Jolie and baby Shiloh in June 2006, the issue moved 2.2 million copies, its biggest seller at the time going back to its 4 million-selling 9/11 special, Media Week reported at the time.

Jolie, 33, and Pitt, 44, established their foundation that year. They donated $1 million in June to The Education Partnership for Children of Conflict to help children affected by the war in Iraq. Last year, the Jolie-Pitt Foundation gave more than $300,000 to support the International Rescue Committee's relief program for Darfur refugees. more...

Salma Hayek teams up with Pampers and UNICEF for “One Pack = One Vaccine” global initiative

Salma Hayek isn’t taking her now role as a mom lightly! She’s so grateful for her daughter, Valentina Paloma’s health that she has teamed up with Pampers to help ensure mom’s all over the world can get access to life-saving vaccinations. The campaign, "One Pack = One Vaccine," is part of a global initiative with UNICEF that works to provide tetanus vaccinations for moms in developing nations worldwide. Salma serves as the North American ambassador for the Pampers/UNICEFpartnership in the U.S. and Canada to help raise awareness of thisprogram in TV commercials, print and online ads, as well as personal appearances. She will be paid an undisclosed honorarium for her participation.

Salma says,

In our own small way, this is an opportunity for moms like me here in North America to help other mothers on a global level. I’m honored to work with Pampers and UNICEF to help raise awareness of this important program.

Pamperslogo_2From April 1 through June 30, 2008, for every specially marked pack of Pampers product purchased in the U.S. and Canada, Pampers will provide UNICEF with funding for one tetanus vaccine for a mother in need worldwide. The participating products include the Pampers Stages diapers and wipes: Swaddlers, Swaddlers Sensitive, Cruisers and Easy Ups diapers, and Sensitive Wipes, Swipers and Clean n’ Go Wipes.

The immensely successful program, which launched in 2006 in the UK and expanded in 2007 to other countries in Western Europe, and debuts in the U.S. and Canada in spring 2008, has already helped provide UNICEF with funding for more than 25 million life-saving tetanus vaccines distributed throughout Africa and Asia. The goal for the North American campaign is to provide at least 27 million more vaccines, which would bring the total global donations to more than 50 million vaccines.

Caryl Stern, President and CEO of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, explains why providing access to the vaccine is so important,

Childhood immunization is routine in the United States, but each year 140,000 infants and 30,000 women in developing countries die from tetanus – a life threatening, but preventable disease which can be contracted during childbirth. While significant progress has been made – last year Egypt and Zambia marked the elimination of tetanus – the disease is still a threat to women and children in more than 45 countries. I applaud Salma and Pampers for joining UNICEF in the fight against tetanus and helping us to move closer to our goal of completely eliminating the disease. more...

Bandidas is a Western Spoof About Two Women

Bandidas is the film where the two most famous latina stars of Hollywood, Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek, team up as a dynamite cowgirl duo fighting evil in Mexico, 1888.
There has been a large negative buzz about this film which is a bit unfair. Bandidas is just not to be taken seriously and is just good old entertainment where you have to have your sense of humor switched on. If you are expecting a serious western-drama, you have to look someplace else.

The film, which was releashed in cinemas all over Europe in January and March 2006, wasn't a huge hit. The thing with people was that they were expecting something without so much humour but did get that, which dissapointed them. The humour is indeed a bit too much sometimes, but there are some hilarious moments in the film that are absolutely enjoyable.
The chemistry between Cruz and Hayek is delicious and you can see in the way they are acting that they had a fun time on the set making the film. Next to Cruz and Hayek there is Steve Zahn. Zahn does what he does best: playing a comedic sidekick. He is funny and plays his part well. Dwight Yoakam feels a bit miscast in the film but he does an okay job as the main villian.
There is some drama in the film that feels a bit outnumberd compairing it with the comedic moments which gives the film a kind of messy feeling sometimes. That is too bad, but overall doesn't bother you.

The film has been professionally made and looks good. The special effects, the lush Mexican locations and cameramovements are beautifully done which gives great cinematography. Also the music, composed by Eric Serra is very nice and gives some scenes a nice powerboost and a fun western flavour.

Still the best reason to buy the film are two elements: Cruz and Hayek. They are sexy, funny and make the film worth to take a look at. Some things are a bit over the top, but who cares: it entertains, and it is nice to kill 1 and a half hours of boredom and replace that with nice popcorn fun.
And most importantly: Bandidas leaves you with a smile on your face, and that is what entertainment is all about.

First screened in Europe and scheduled for limited release in the U.S., Bandidas can now be viewed by all fans of the visually stunning duo, Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek. Set in Mexico 1888, Bandidas is a Western spoof about two women, Maria Alvarez (Penelope Cruz) and Sara Sandoval (Salma Hayek), who seek to avenge the tragedies befallen both their fathers under robber baron, Tyler Jackson (Dwight Yoakam). Jackson, employed by the Bank of New York, is sent to Mexico to buy land and open banks to the detriment of local culture. Jackson kills Sara's corrupt father, Don Diego, while bandits burn down Maria's home. The two ladies band together for the community's cause. Under the tutelage of Bill Buck (Sam Sheperd), Sara and Maria develop bank robbery skills. When criminologist, Quentin Cooke (Steve Zahn), hunts them, they convert him with their strong moral sense and good looks. Like any Thelma and Louise-ish tale of women who take charge, Maria and Sara are foil characters who eventually become an invincible, sisterly team. This comedy is built around their bickering. For Sara, with European education and penchant of designer clothing, Maria is a hick who lacks refinement, yet Maria, horse whisperer, can fire a gun. The slapstick is overkill, for example when Sara wonders whether a bandana is Gucci or Prada. However, viewers will love Penelope Cruz on horseback and the two actresses practice-kissing their foe in a brothel. Bandidas is a light film with some laughs and mucho sex appeal. more...

Person of the Year 2008

Barack Obama


Time magazine has just released their end-of-the year issue that names their annual person of the year. Time says of their choice, “It's unlikely that you were surprised to see Obama's face on the cover. He has come to dominate the public sphere so completely that it beggars belief to recall that half the people in America had never heard of him two years ago — that even his campaign manager, at the outset, wasn't sure Obama had what it would take to win the election. He hit the American scene like a thunderclap, upended our politics, shattered decades of conventional wisdom and overcame centuries of the social pecking order.

Obama issue when his interview with Time :

On the economy:
"It is not clear that the economy's bottomed out. And so even if we take a whole host of the right steps in terms of the economy, two years from now it may not have fully recovered."

On Afghanistan:
"We're going to have to make a series of not just military but also diplomatic moves that fully enlist Pakistan as an ally in that region, that lessen tensions between India and Pakistan, and then get everybody focused on rooting out militancy in a terrain, a territory, that is very tough — and in an enormous country that is one of the poorest and least developed in the world. So that, I think, is going to be a very tough situation.

On climate:
"And then the third thing that keeps me up at night is the issue of nuclear proliferation. And then the final thing, just to round out my Happy List, is climate change. All the indicators are that this is happening faster than even the most pessimistic scientists were anticipating a couple of years ago."

Obama enjoys for cooking, basketball, spending time with his family, and dancing. Barack and Michelle Obama and children, living nearby to Michelle's mother, Marian Robinson. Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Michelle Obama, née Robinson, the wife of Barack Obama, was born on January 17, 1964 in Chicago, Illinois. She is a lawyer and was a University of Chicago Hospital Vice-President. Barack and Michelle Obama have two daughters, Malia Ann and Natasha. more...