Miley Cyrus has apologized in advance for her sexy pictures that will be coming out in the June issue of Vanity Fair. The picture shown above was taken by Annie Leibovitz during a photo shoot that Billy Ray Cyrus, Miley’s dad, claims was “supposed to be artistic”. According Billy Ray he was with Miley during the shoot and didn’t intend for the photos to come out that way but “now seeing the photographs and reading the story, I [Billy Ray] feel so embarrassed”.

This is a blow to Miley Cyrus’ squeaky clean Hannah Montana image that she has been cultivating really hard, especially since the father-daughter duo is known for being set against Miley going the way previous Disney stars such as Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan has.

Disney Channel of course stood for Miley saying that Vanity Fair “deliberately manipulated a 15-year-old”. Since her parents were on the set the whole day Vanity Fair of course rebuts this accusation by reminding the world that there were adults there whose job was to make sure that Miley wasn’t manipulated into anything.

How this will all pan out will depend on Hannah Montanas fans and their parents. Will this break their trust or will they stay loyal. One thing’s for sure Hannah Montana shouldn’t slip up in the near future if she wants to retain their confidence.

Wondering who the latest addition to the Walk of Fame is? No he isn’t an action star nor is he an even actor but he is indeed famous thanks to his previous stints as president and CEO of Paramount Pictures and then as the CEO of Disney. So who is he? Michael Eisner

As mentioned before he was the president and CEO of Paramount Pictures from 1976 to 1984 during which the studio churned out plenty of big hit movies and TV shows. According to Eisner though his golden charm during the Paramount days is really John Travolta because everything “John was associated with while I [Eisner] was at Paramount was a hit.” It is indeed true since it was during those days that the hits Grease and Saturday Night Fever came out.

Upon leaving Paramount Eisner then came to the aid of the then struggling Disney Productions and along with Frank Wells managed to revitalize the studio during the late 80s. During the 90s they then set out to expand the “Disney Kingdom” and established parks around the world (Hong Kong, Tokyo, etc) and took on plenty of new investments. However, in 2005 Eisner stepped down as CEO after shareholders went along with the revolt led by Roy Disney, son of Disney co-founder Roy O. Disney, and Stanley Gold.

Eisner kept himself busy after by founding the Torante Company, a private company that “invests in and incubates companies and opportunities in the media and entertainment space.” His charity foundation, the Eisner Foundation, is still very much active although it is his wife, Jane, that actually manages it as its president.

The Walk of Fame ceremony was attended by Mickey and Minnie mouse, John Travolta, and Bob Iger. It was held earlier this day.

Although I usually veer away from politics this year’s election is turning out to be an exciting one in terms of who’s supporting who. So far Barack Obama is proving to be the big Hollywood magnet with Hillary Clinton following and John McCain having just a few celebrity endorsers.

For those interested here are some of the endorsers for each candidate:

Big Names Behind Barack
Oprah Winfrey
Bruce Sprinsteen
George Clooney
Scarlett Johansson
Edward Norton
Larry David
Kal Penn
Jamie Foxx
Garry Shandling
Linda Ronstadt
Paul Newman
Will Smith
Geena Davis
Ellen Pompeo,
Isaiah Washington
Laurence Fishburne
Matt Damon
Emilio Esteves
Sharon Stone
Kareem Abdul Jabbar
Halle Berry
Charles Barkley
Ben Affleck
Sinbad (Yes this is the same Sinbad who blew open the lid when Sen Clinton “misspoke” about her Bosnia travel)
and so many more…

Celebrities for Clinton
Barbra Streisand
Ted Danson
America Ferrera
Magic Johnson
Tom Hanks
Billy Crystal
Bette Midler
Chevy Chase
Elizabeth Taylor
Martha Stewart
Michael Douglas
Heidi Fleiss
Melissa Etheridge
Janet Jackson
and of course hubby Bill Clinton

McCain Supporters
Heidi Montag
Sylvester Stallone
Andy Williams
Clint Eastwood
Jon Voight

Any serious Hollywood fan or student of film should watch this interview of pioneer internet author Don Wrege and Robert Carl Cohen. Cohen is the writer, producer, director, cameraman, and editor of MONDO HOLLYWOOD.

The Hollywood writers strike gets even more complicated as The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists breaks connections with its more powerful sister union, the Screen Actors Guild.

AFTRA’s board of directors voted Saturday to separately negotiate its upcoming prime-time television contract with the major studios — without SAG at the bargaining table.

While each group has its own list of grievances against each other — and agendas to pursue the big question is:

when will this strike be over, already???

One of Hollywood’s richest and most talented producer / managers is Brad Grey. A veteran in the biz (he’s been there for 23 years) he was responsible for the Sopranos and Just Shoot Me (he earned net profits of $262 million on that show — and an additional $50,000 fee per episode). He also handled A-list clients like Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt.

One industry insider said, “There are 20 people who basically run this town. Brad can get any of them on the phone immediately. They answer his call because they never know what he might say that will be vital for them to hear.”

Get into the brilliant (and some would say, twisted) mind of one of the greatest directors and writers that Hollywood has ever known, Woody Allen. The book
Conversations with Woody Allen: His FIlms, the Movies, and Moviemaking by Eric Lax is as entertaining as its subject, and is dotted with quotes that are, well, so Woody Allen.

Allen explains many of the nuances of his films, his decision to make a “mockumentary” (long before the phrase was coined, and the project became trendy) and how he handles the cut-throat competition and general cattiness of Hollywood.

Excellent buy.

What do Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, the Marx Brothers, Clara Bow, Tallulah Bankhead, and Humphrey Bogart have in common?

These Hollywood stars were all residents of the apartment called Garden of Allah, which stood on Sunset and Crescent Heights. This was right in front of Schwab’s Pharmacy, and due to the location and prestigious residents, was a Hollywood hub. Celebrities gathered here for parties, lunches, private and very exclusive get-togethers. Get an invitation to the Garden of Allah, and you know you’ve arrived.

Unfortunately the apartment was torn down, a tragedy that Joni Mitchell sung about in her song “Big Yellow Taxi”: paving paradise and putting up a parking lot.

Sam Goldwyn is one of the key players in Hollywood History. He established many of the major studios — including paramount, MGM, and United Artists. He produced several films, including classics like “Guys And Dolls” and “Wuthering HEights” and worked with directors like Billy Wilder, and Ford, and actors like Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin and Brando.

Goldwyn epitomized the success of the Hollywood dream, rising from poverty as an uneducated Jewish immigrant to one of the industry’s movers and shakers. He had a quirky sense of humor.
and is credited with phrases like, “Gentlemen, include me out” and “a verbal contract isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.”

In 1946, he also said: “Hollywood pays too much attention on star value and not enough on entertainment value.” So true!

Who are the smartest people in the entertainment world? EW magazine attempts to make a list, naming the showbiz industry’s brightest minds. The criteria? They had to be at the top of their game, consistently cited by their peers as the best in their line of work. It also looked at all aspects of entertainment, going behind the scenes to the technical team who put the movie together, and management team who make those important decisions based on sheer “instinct.” Of its 50 names, here are the top 10.

1. Judd Apatow, director/writer/producer
2. Steven Spielberg, director/producer
3. James Cameron, director/producer
4. Ari Emanuel, partner of the Endeavor Agency
5. Will Smith, actor/producer
6. Meryl Streep, actress
7. Peter Rice, president of Fox Searchlight
8. Tyler Perry, actor/director/writer/producer
9. David Heyman, producer
10. John Knoll, visual-effects supervisor of Industrial Light & Magic

People who benefitted others in their line of work were placed higher on the list than the loners. EW claimed that they did 3 months of research, live interviews and consideration before finalizing this list. To read the entire list of the Top 50 Smartest People in Hollywood, please visit the source.