Ellen Leventry: February 2007 Archives

Maybe he feels a certain kinship with the late Anna Nicole Smith after donning drag for the upcoming film version of "Harispray," but John Travolta feels that Scientology could have saved the former Guess! model and reality star's life.

"The Pulp Fiction star has decided to use her death as a chance to promote Narconon--the controversial Church of Scientology drug rehab programme," reports Metro.co.uk. (Narconon is not to be confused with Narcanon, with an "A," which is the 12-step Narcotics Anonymous program.)

"It's so sad," the site reports the celebrity Scientologist as saying. "We could have helped her with Narconon but didn't get a chance to. I wish we had."

With the autopsy not yet finalized, the cause of Smith's death is still speculative. And whether or not she was simply taking prescription medication as her lawyer Howard Stern claims, Smith clearly had a problem, as the disturbing footage of Smith in clown face featured on Fox News clearly illustrated.

Travolta, who starred with Smith in "Be Cool" and has starred with Narconon spokesperson Kirstie Alley in the "Look Who's Talking" films, did not comment on the other strung-out starlettes of the moment, Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan.

According to one poster on gossip blog Perezhilton.com (warning: explicit language), Travolta made the statement while wending his way through the Oscar's press line, although MSNBC's Scoop puts it at a promtional event for his new flick "Wild Hogs." And while it's a questionable line of questioning--and Travolta's response seemed like an advertorial--in a way it gave the former Playboy Playmate and pop-cultural icon what she probably would have wanted, one last trip down the red carpet.

CNN reported yesterday that Kevin Federline, nee Mr. Britney Spears, planned on attending an emergency hearing today after learning that his former wife had left rehab for a second time after a brief 24 hour period, following months of bizarre behavior. While it is not known what issues were to be discussed, suspicions were that the backup dancer wanted to revisit the custody of sons Jayden James, 5-months-old, and Sean Preston, 17-months-old, which he and Spears are sharing until the end of this month.

However, TMZ.com reports that Britney has reported back to rehab and this time she has an ultimatum from Kevin: Get the help you need or I will file for full custody of the children. As a result, Kevin agreed to cancel today's emergency hearing.

More importantly, her mother, with whom she's had a strained relationship since her marriage to Federline, has reemerged. EXTRA reports that Mrs. Spears drove her daughter back to the Promises rehab facility, which led me to recall the "Wall of Britney" a co-worker and I had started many years ago. When Brit-Brit first came on the scene, she was cute, shiny and a real pop-cultural icon. We though Britney was brilliant in her seductive schmaltziness. But every once in a while we would question her sartorial selections by asking, "Where was her mother?" As in, how could she let her leave the house like that?

Unfortunately, that question was soon applicable to the popstress' life choices: My co-worker puts the pivotal moment at the nearly-nude Esquire magazine photo shoot; I place it sometime around the opening of NYLA, her lambasted Manhattan restaurant.

And while it's true that Britney is legally an adult, and her mother can't force her to do anything, it's also true that she is in the classic sense a little girl lost--that she needs to develop an identity and learn to love herself as much as we did. Right after they got married, Bit and K-Fed were voted by Beliefnet readers as the celebrity couple most in need of spiritual help. "If you asked me," I quipped, "this marriage isn't about spirituality, it's about sperm."

"What we have here is the making of a classic Ricki Lake episode. You know the ones, where a teen girl says she wants to have a baby because she wants something to love her? It happens to child stars all the time, they have the adoration of millions of fans, but crave real love, at least according to all those VH1 specials."

It's heart-breaking that I was seemingly so right and that Britney, who seemed to defy child star status, has become such a stereotype--turning to drugs and alcohol, behaving inappropriately and wondering why men she dates for five minutes don't love her enough and then betray her confidences to the tabloids. Even more tragic is the fact that Federline, whom tabloids lambasted for two years for going out and partying while Britney stayed home with the babies, is now being heralded by the same publications as father of the year.

This is not to say that Federline isn't and wasn't a good father, I am not intimately familiar with the situation and can't make a true judgement, although US weekly did a fairly good job of convincing me that he was quite a cad. However, Britney's downfall has provided a dramatically delightful redemption story for the failed rapper; he's even rubbing elbows, albeit briefly, with A-lister and former Britney flame, Justin Timberlake. No wonder Britney shaved her hair off; it saved her from pulling it all out!

Let's hope that the third time is the charm for Spears and she can reinvent herself, a la her idol, Madonna. Maybe minus the mysticism.

When "Heroes," the NBC hit about ordinary people who develop extraordinary powers, returned from winter break several weeks ago, we met a new citizen with supernatural abilities, Claude. Played by "Dr. Who's " Christopher Eccleston, Claude--whose full name is Claude Rains (a not-so-subtle homage to the actor who portrayed the invisible man)--is a dishelved loner who has the power of invisibility and takes full advantage of it by picking the pockets of fellow New Yorkers. But low-and-behold, Peter Petrelli, a nurse with the ability to replicate the powers of other "heroes" with whom he comes into contact, can see him as clear as one of Hiro's comics or Isaac's paintings.

From the get-go, Claude wants nothing to do with Peter. But having just come out of a coma induced by his body's inability to store and make sense of all the powers he's been absorbing (flight, self-healing, etc.), Peter is desperate to find someone to teach him how to control his ability, so he won't blow up from an overload of these powers, literally, and destroy the world. After some hemming and hawing, the misanthropic Claude agrees to mentor Peter, perhaps realizing that New York blowing up would eat into his purloined profits.

By last week's episode, Claude had not only turned into the character with the best one-liners on the show, but a real Zen master. Peter can't access his powers, control them and use them at will, says Claude, because of his attachments; a very Buddhist concept indeed, the idea that attachment brings about sufferring. In this case, according to Claude's theory, Peter's attachments are not only causing him to suffer, but are putting the world in danger. Besides, that's what works for Claude who apparently has even disentangled himself with an attachment to bathing.

"You worry a lot about your people, don't you?" Claude asks Peter. "Your friends, your mother, your brother. No wonder your head's all clogged. You're still sunk under."

"The people I love are not distractions!" Peter retorts.

"Then why can't you fly?" asks Claude. "You've done it. Your body remembers how. The only thing standing in your way is you."

And even more bad news for Peter, even the mere fact that he's on a quest to Save The Cheerleader, Save the World could be detrimental to his mission. Buddhanet.net sums it up quite well when describing the importance of non-attachment:

"Buddhism goes beyond doing good and being good. One must not be attached to good deeds or the idea of doing good; otherwise it is just another form of craving." Just can't win for losing.

And while Claude doesn't break into any real koans--traditional Zen riddles meant to break down logical thinking--he emphasizes breathing and engages in unconventional training often described in ancient Zen texts: slapping a student or yelling at them as a means of encouraging focus.

Of course, Claude takes is a little bit further and pushes Peter off a 30-foot building. Peter plummets to the ground like a bowling ball only to end up crumpled on top of a taxi cab with a metal bar protuding through torso. It looks like a failed experiment, unitl Peter says that not only did he not disengage from the people in his life, but the fact that he thought about them saved his life; admitting that thinking about the cute Texan cheerleader who could heal herself allowed himself to survive the mortal wound.

"You were wrong," Peter tells Claude. "I don't have to cut her out! I have to remember her! How she made me feel!" (Bringing to mind Harry Potter and his Patronus.) But, before Peter can elaborate his eyes white over and he starts screaming that he's losing it. At which point, Claude masters a very un-zenlike right hook, knocks Peter out cold and sagely declares, "Well, it's a start."

The auditions on "American Idol" can usually be counted on to make the audience cringe, but how often do they make the audience cry? Sure, "Baywatch" star David Hasselhoff and contestant Kathrine McPhee's father both teared upduring last year's finals, and judge Paula Abdul has a good cry at least once a season, but Los Angeles auditioner Sherman Pore poured his heart out and won the audience's.

At 64, Pore is far too old to qualify to audition for "Idol"--the age limit is 28--but on a whim he decided that he would start collecting signatures on a petition to allow him to try out. Sherman wasn't looking for the fame and glory that comes with the "Idol" title, though; he was attempting to buoy the spirits of his partner of 20 years, who was dying of cancer, giving her a bit of fun to focus on in her last days.

Coming in front of the judges--Paula, Randy, Simon, and guest judge Olivia Newton-John, herself a cancer survivor--Pore grapsed the petition and explained to the judges that his "lady love" had passed away two days prior to the audtion. When they offered their condolences, he said that he didn't want their sympathy, he just wanted to sing.

And sing he did. "You Belong To Me," to be precise. And on a night where such little talent was displayed, Pore demonstrated not only a better than passable singing voice, but the real power of song, the ability to express what cannot be said with words alone.

Every single one of those judges was touched when Sherman finished by saying that he thought the whole petition and audition process had "smoothed her passing and made it softer." And it brought out the softer side of notoriously nasty judge Simon Cowell, who stood up and asked to shake Pore's hand, saying, "You’re a class act, Sherman. Thank you very much."

A truly touching moment on a show known for terse words and tacky talent.