Travolta Jets Into Town

Our favourite Qantas pilot John Travolta has flown into town (piloting his own 727 jet) to celebrate the new union of Qantas and Emirates Airlines, the new Qantas uniforms and to christen a new hanger at Mascot.

Qantas laid on a dinner for 1000 guests at Sydney Airport in a massive hanger that houses the brand new A380 Airbus . Beef of chicken ?. We aren't saying.

 left : Miranda Kerr, John Travolta & Kelly Preston at the Qantas /Emirates dinner

Melissa Hoyer & Skye Leckie at the Qantas / Emirates dinner.   (pic : Melissa Hoyer)

Jack Vidgen Grows Up

Jack Vidgen at 16 has survived puberty and still has his voice and amazingly, can still hit those high notes. The then 14 year old whose success on Australia's Got Talent  was sealed with a kiss on the cheek from macho Irishman Brian McFadden is still capitalising on his win and has been working non-stop for the last 2 years,
He still has a little trouble with his hand movements though but he's well on the way to becoming an Oz version of Wayne Newton. Las Vegas beckons.

Here he is at the gala G'Day USA dinner in Los Angeles last week where he sang the Star Spangled Banner for an audience of top Aussies like Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban, Rose Byrne, Naomi Watts, Simon Baker, Paul Hogan, models Elle McPherson and Miranda Kerr , Hugh Jackman, our favourite Qantas pilot John Travolta.

Here's Jack singing in our exclusive video from the event :


 

Vale James Miller.
Popular publican and man about town James Miller has been found dead by friends from a suspected overdose at the young age of 38.
Miller owned some of Sydney's most popular inner-city pubs : The Norfolk in Surry Hills and The Santa Barbara in Kings Cross.
Handsome, outgoing and friendly, Miller was named last year in Fairfax Media's Sydney Magazine as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People.

Kitsch Week in LA

Those social scribes still holding down a job on a tabloid will be heading for Sydney Airport on Monday for one of the best freebies in town- the annual gala week in Los Angeles known as G'Day USA.
It's a government sponsored promotional week where everything Oz gets shown around LA- local fashion designers, wine tastings, tourism events and err, a discussion on the carbon pricing.

The big do of the week is the LA Black Tie Gala dinner where a few Aussies who have done well in the USA get inducted into some sort of Hall of Fame- this year it's Paul Hogan and Rose Byrne and Qantas pilot John Travolta. Guests include usually every actor in LA that week - Guy Pearce, Naomi Watts, Eric Bana, Toni Collette and it wouldn't be a party without Olivia Newton John. Chef for the night is Curtis Stone.

But wait-there's more : also flying to Los Angeles is the World's Richest Woman and the Aussie version of Christina Onassis, Gina Rinehart and her daughter Ginia Rinehart who is the apple of her mum's eye.

Ryan Johnson  * Gina Rinehart  * Ginia Rinehart

Ginia will wed her long time boyfriend in LA- Ryan Johnson who is the son of the legendary Beach Boys' Bruce Johnson.
On the wedding guest list :  Canadian hamburger king Jack Cowin, John Singleton and Barnaby Joyce MP.  Not invited : Gina's estranged children Hope, Bianca and John.

Marriages

 Danni Minogue's ex Kris Smith has linked up with glamorous model Maddy King and the pair were spotted over dinner last week in Kings Cross and partying afterwards at the Bondi beachside bar The Bucket List.










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 It was probably the worst kept secret. The Shuttle got wind of it at the David Jones' Spring/Summer fashion show a fortnight ago when we spotted Qantas CEO Allan Joyce sitting quietly amongst the guests.

Orlando & Miranda at the Qantas party last night

                                            Today Qantas announced a new partnership with Emirates Airlines and on Thursday evening at a party at the Park Hyatt to celebrate the marriage Miranda Kerr was named as the new Ambassador for Qantas.  Miranda checked into the Park Hyatt on Tuesday with baby Flynn and hubby Orlando Bloom with the couple attending the bash together.
Kerr now has three major sponsorships: Victoria's Secret, David Jones and Qantas where she joins John Travolta (who pilots his own Qantas jet) Cathy Freeman and Greg Norman.

Partying in Hollywood

Guy Pearce & Kate Mestitz (UPI)

Abbie Cornish

HOLLYWOOD'S GUM LEAF Mafia were out in force at the annual G'Day USA Ball in Hollywood. 

Miranda Kerr, Guy Pearce, Paul Hogan, Jackie Weaver, Abbie Cornish , Olivia Newton John and Rachel Taylor joined Priscilla Presley, John Travolta and Kate Winslet last night at the Hollywood & Highland Grand Ballroom

The menu was prepared by popular Australian chef Guy Grossi in collaboration with Wolfgang Puck. A selection of premium Aussie wines served and awards given to notable Australians who have made significant contributions to the entertainment industry including Air Supply and Guy Pearce-who is up for a Golden Globe at tomorrow's awards.
And the entertainment
 ..young Jack Vidgen of course. G'Day USA is an annual program designed to showcase Australian business capabilities in the USA - Australia's largest trading and investment partner.

Kate Winslet

Rachel Taylor

Knives Out After Oprah Winfrey Trip

She held the country in the palm of her hand for 10 days. (Or should that be the local media ?)
Oprah Winfrey's tour of Australia and the recording of what will be her final 2 shows at the Sydney Opera House was treated by the Aussie media like the second coming.

When the Social Shuttle reported that 12 of her security detail had been sacked without pay because one had the temerity to enter her hotel room to check that it was secure, only 2 tabloid reporters followed up the tale.

Despite us being unable to give our source (protected) we did hand them on to the local law firm acting for Winfrey's Harpo company. They denied the tale but within a day the 12 guards were told they would be paid after all. The Shuttle witnessed documents that confirmed the story.

Now an American who has been living in Cairns and operating two successful tour boats around the Great Barrier Reef is hopping mad.

John "The Yank" VandenHeuvel  says he approached Tourism Australia 6 years ago with an ambitious plan to bring Oprah Winfrey to Australia. And the outline of his plans were basically identical to Oprah's tour as it unfolded over her 10 day visit. VandenHeuval proposed tying in Oprah's visit with Qantas and their ambassador, actor John Travolta and rewarding a number of Oprah's regular audience members with the "trip of a lifetime"

Backing VandenHeuval's claim is the Opposition Immigration spokesman Scott Morrison who was the head of Tourism Australia at the time. Pilot Dennis Wallace says he flew Morrison to Cairns to discuss the project which was common knowledge amongst the majority of local tour operators.

 “Tourism Australia has done the wrong thing, it is very un-Australian,” says Mr Wallace.

“It is not about the money, this is about Tourism Australia blatantly lying,” says VandenHeuval

“They reneged on the deal, cut me out of it and cut Cairns out of it and Cairns ended up getting screwed as bad as I did.”

VandenHeuval says he spent $200,000 on the project and while Tourism Australia acknowledged to the Shuttle that they had met with him in 2004 they declined to discuss details.

VandenHeuval has instructed high powered solicitors Slater and Gordon to issue proceedings against the government body and is claiming  $2Million in damages.

Camilla Franks new model : Oprah Winfrey

Oprah at her Sydney party last night

Kaftan designer Camilla Franks goes from strength to strength. After opening a new store in Paddington just 3 months ago, an assistant for Oprah Winfrey waltzed in on Friday and snapped up a dozen gowns for Winfrey  to wear whilst in Sydney and for the holiday she plans to take in the Northern Territory after filming 2 shows at the Opera House this week.

Last night Oprah threw a bash for her 300 American guests at Mrs Macquaries' Chair. A huge fenced off marquee shielded out prying eyes (except the Social Shuttle of course).

Since arriving the Americans have been swept off their feet after the surprise trip was sprung on them during Oprah's US show 8 weeks ago. They've travelled to Ulhuru in Central Australia, Byron Bay, North Queensland and attended non-stop parties and harbour cruises and then laden with goody bags of products.

Camilla Franks (second from right).

 Frank's designs sell in 300 outlets around the world. She has a boutique on the luxury liner The World and is planning to open stores in St Tropez and Miami.

# One detail overlooked by the media salivating on every movement of the Big O is the absence of movie star John Travolta who was to pilot a new Qantas 787 transporting Oprah's US guests.

He was booked into the Hotel Intercontinental and 6 security guards had been hired to watch over him whilst in Oz. Now he's gone  MIA with nary a word of explanation from Camp Oprah.

The Oprah Bandwagon Arrives

They're streaming in from all over the country. The 7000 who have won tickets to attend the 2 Oprah Winfrey shows to be filmed at the Sydney Oprah House. Later today another few hundred arrive from the USA in a Qantas 747 piloted by movie star John Travolta.

On Wednesday Oprah herself and her personal staff arrive  in Cairns in QLD on Oprah's own jet.

When she finally arrives in Sydney on the 10th, a cavalcade of limos will speed her and the entourage to the Four Seasons Hotel near Circular Quay in an extraordinary move that is reminiscent of a US presidential visit. Accompanying Oprah is her great friend Gayle King who is also editor-at-large of O Magazine. Oprah and Gayle will share adjoining hotel suites.

Not only will police give Oprah an escort, traffic will be stopped along the motorway to ensure her trip, normally a 20 minute drive gets the US chat show host to her hotel in 10 minutes.

A dozen local security personnel (armed with pistols) have been hired to supplement Winfrey's own security guards and local and Federal police will be on hand. All locals who have been hired to work with Oprah have been required to sign confidentiality agreements. If anyone is found to disclose personal information and it's proved to have come from them, they are required to pay back twice what they are paid to work for her.

And the Sydney Harbour Bridge will be adorned with a giant O sign during her stay .Welcome to the Oprah roadshow.

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The historic Sydney Barrack's  Mint last night hosted the after party for the film  premier of Love and Other Drugs with the stars of the film  Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway on hand. They were a pretty friendly couple, chatting to guests and circulating at ease for about 15 minutes.

Naturally both love Sydney (when has any visiting celeb said differently ?...Eminen the only one who hated the place).

# actor Ryan Kwanten has returned to the USA after winning the GQ Magazine Man of The Year Award. Kwanten's star continues to rise in the States with the success of the vampire series True Blood. Oddly no Australian TV outlet has yet picked up the popular cult series.

And actor Firass Dirani who portrayed the 'colourful' Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim in the hugely successful series Underbelly 3 won the Actor of The Year Award. Dirani has just finished filming The Killer Elite with Robert de Niro.

exclusive- special guest for Oprah Winfrey's Sydney show

US talk show queen Oprah Winfrey is to record 2 shows at the Sydney Opera House in December, the first time she has filmed a show outside the USA.

Apart from 25o crew members and 300 guests who will travel with her, Oprah will have a host of Aussie guests like Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman and Cate Blanchett. Russell Crowe has said he will appear if he is in town.

Agents are already negotiating for a number of smaller stars to appear given the extraordinary showcase the opportunity presents with 40 million viewers world-wide.

The Social Shuttle can exclusively reveal one guest who has been signed to appear-Bondi Vet's Chris Brown. Apparently Oprah had already seen vision of Chris and has been secretly negotiating for the TV vet to appear. This is sure to catapult the 6'2"Brown into international stardom with his classic movie star looks and easy manner.


The credit for getting Oprah to Sydney goes to US born NSW state premier Kristina Keneally whose NSW Tourism department began negotiations with the US TV queen 9 months ago. And how will this mob get here ?. Simple. Qantas roving ambassador John Travolta will be piloting a 747 from LA to Sydney !.



Watch Oprah tell her audience they are off to Australia !