Court drama in the Southern Highlands

Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban's SH home Bunya Hill and local resident Miriam Margolyes

The gentle rolling pastures of the beautiful countryside of the Southern Highlands are abuzz as the latest court drama over a local newspaper and a property developer plays out in the local court. The Highlands are a weekend retreat for many well heeled Sydneysiders with their hobby farms and numerous celebrities like Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, Harry Potter actress Miriam Margolyes and the late British politician Lord McAlpine
Top Sydney barrister, Charles Waterstreet was at Moss Vale Local Court this morning  representing newspaper executive Cristian King .
The prosecution relates to an investigative editorial ran by the local newspaper, LattéLife Wingecarribee, last year entitled 'Yuill Be Right’.
The article revealed that local real estate agent Angus Yuill of Campbell-Jones Property in Bowral had been trading without a property certifcate or licence for nine months, resulting in enforcement action by NSW Fair Trading.

left : barrister Charles Waterstreet and Cristian King

Mr King has been charged with intimidation, offensive behaviour and obstructing a vehicle in a public place. He is pleading not guilty to all charges.

King arrives at Moss Vale court today

Evidence was given by Campbell-Jones Property principal,Angus Campbell-Jones and his receptionist,Ana Calvert on 20 March 2017.
However, the hearing was adjourned to 18 May 2017 due to an allegation by Ms Calvert that Mr King had intimidated her at McDonald's restaurant in Moss Vale following her testimony although Mr King says he was at the courthouse at that time.
Mr Waterstreet, a family friend of the King's, has taken a special interest in this case and said "It is an honour to represent a journalist."

 Below: Highlands' competing newspapers : LatteLife and the Fairfax newspaper Highland News

Gum Leaf Mafia invasion

WE JUST HAD the local ACCTA Awards in Sydney but this week it was also time for the International ACCTA Awards. Here are a few snaps from the event in Los Angeles. The Big Talk of the evening was the film Lion starring Nicole Kidman and David Wenham and based on the real life tale & book A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley with Larry Buttrose.

The film stars Dev Patel, Rooney Mara, David Wenham, Nicole Kidman, Abhishek Bharate, Divian Ladwa, Priyanka Bose, Deepti Naval, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Sunny Pawar.
In our top snap is pictured Nicole  with Dev Patel and Sunny Pawar.
 Below is a trailer for the film which is tipped at least for a Golden Globe and maybe an Oscar or two.

And any day now it will be time for G'Day Australia where all those slebs will turn up again for another star-studded bash in LA.



Top row : Sunny Pawar,Dev Patel & Nicole Kidman

Middle row: Zoe Ventiura, Mel Gibson, Kim Wilson and Isla Fisher

Bottom row : Emma Stone, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban 

Movie News

Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban at the US Country Music Awards

  While the Australian media has ignored the activities of former Sydney based private investigator Frank Monte , the US media shows no such timidity. Monte along with his partner Sharon Sargeant upped stakes and moved to Beverly Hills nearly a year ago where Monte has always maintained an office. He is licensed to practice as an investigator throughout the US and has some pretty high profile clients from Hollywood stars to New York business moguls. He also acts for a famed Las Vegas casino.
Whispers first met Monte at a New York party given by US presidential candidate Donald Trump. Our snap below shows Monte with Trump and also on the Larry King Show. In total Monte has appeared in 1000s of US publications and TV shows.
Cindy Adams the show biz columnist on the New York Post's famous Page Six has now published a snippet about Monte & Sargeant's reality TV show The Private Eye &The Madam now in production in LA. Whispers hears that numerous TV networks are negotiating with Monte for his series including the giant Redo Globo in Brazil and Silvio Berluscini's  Italian Mediaset (Monte was born in Egypt & his parents were Italian).
Word now reaches Whispers that a long term Frank Monte project has fired up one Hollywood's top producers : a biopic on the life of Michael Rockefeller (left) the explorer who disappeared in New Guinea in sensational circumstances that gripped the world's media in 1961. Monte was hired by the powerful US Rockefeller family and has never revealed the truth of what happened to their son & heir except to the family. Monte penned a script for the film two decades ago which was picked up the powerful William Morris Agency with superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger buying the rights. Complex legal negations with the Rockefeller family stalled the project but apparently a settlement has finally been reached.

Sharon Sargeant & Frank Monte are regulars on the social circuit

Gum Leaf Mafia step out in New York

Big name Aussies were amongst those at the gala Louis Vuitton Monogram party at New York's Museum of Modern Art including Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban with Miranda Kerr ( the model who is not having an affair with billionaire James Packer) and actress Melissa George.

Tom, Nicole, Keith,Swiss Pills & Prada

One guest at the Tom Keneally celebration was top show biz publicist Wendy Day (pictured with  husband publisher Mark Day.)
Wendy was having a cultural respite after collecting her most famous and steadfastly loyal client, superstar Nicole Kidman (in Prada) who arrived in Sydney that morning before heading to Melbourne to attend the Suisse Celebrate Life Ball with hubby Keith Urban to aid the Monash Children’s Hospital and Sydney’s Children’s Hospital. And doesn't she look fab!

AACTA Awards Announced

 The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) have announced the winners of the 2nd AACTA International Awards in Los Angeles, with actor Russell Crowe leading fellow Australians presenters Jacki Weaver and Scott Hicks.

Silver Linings Playbook won Best Film along with Best Direction for David O. Russell; and Best Lead Actress for Jennifer Lawrence.

Best Lead Actor went to Daniel Day-Lewis for his performance as Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg's historical drama Lincoln. 
Best Screenplay was won by writer and director Quentin Tarantino for Django Unchained while the two discretionary AACTA International Awards went to Robert De Niro for his role as an obsessive compulsive football-crazed father in Silver Linings Playbook, and to Jacki Weaver, for her role as De Niro's tolerant and forgiving wife in the film.

(But why no award yet for Samuel L.Jackson  (left) whose acting in Django Unchained is superb and worthy of an Oscar?)

On Wednesday the Social Shuttle will attend the local ACCTA Awards which will be hosted by Russell Crowe at Sydney's Star Casino.

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Nicole Kidman will fly into town on Monday to attend Wednesday's ACCTA Awards. Kidman and Keith Urban holidayed in Sydney and the NSW South Coast where they have a holiday home over the Christmas holidays, returning to the US on the 10th January. You can do these things when you have your own jet !
 
The Shuttle recalls speaking to Kidman's publicist Wendy Day at a luncheon is Sydney many years ago when Nicole was divorcing Tom Cruise.

Day was seriously worried that Nicole's career would slump, such was the power then of Cruise and the tendency for Hollywood bigwigs to line up in support of whoever they perceived as Hollywood royalty.
 Nicole of course has proved them all wrong and is the acknowledged most famous and powerful actress in the world today.

Featured on the cover of the latest Hollywood Reporter Nicole speaks about life with Tom and standing up to the Studios, Scientology and sex. 

A Sydney Pad for Ricky Martin (& kids)

He's due to arrive in late February with the family in tow : Ricky Martin is looking for somewhere to bed down in Sydney and live La Vida Loca with partner Carlos Gonzalez Abella and of course, their twin boy bubs and presumably a coterie of assistants and nannies.

Martin is replacing Keith Urban on The Voice for 2013 and is looking for digs near Fox Studios where the show will be filmed. The Shuttle's hears a Martin rep has been in town for 2 weeks checking out suitable  properties and several have taken his eye with details dispatched back to Martin who has just taken possession of a new New York apartment.

First up is the sensational Altona in Point Piper, once the home of Rupert Murdoch's nephew Matt Handbury and his wife Fiona. Fiona scored Altona as part of a divorce settlement and sold it for around $29M before fleeing to the UK and joining the aristocracy as the Countess of Dartmouth.

Altona is on the market for around $54M but it can rented for $40,000 a month. It comes with a harbor side swimming pool and a jetty with a boathouse (handy for security guards).

Altona                                                                                  The Astor                                Packer's Bondi beach house

 Another property looked at is the grand 1920's apartment block in Macquarie Street in the city :The Astor. The 2 storey 5 bedroom luxury apartment is being sold by Yellow Brick Road boss Mark Bouris who fronts the TV show The Apprentice as a local Donald Trump but with better hair. The Astor apartment is going for four grand a week and was once owned by Barry Humphries. It has superb harbour views.

And discreet inquiries have been made about James Packer's luxury Bondi pad that was recently put quietly on the market for $20M.
 Ricky can basically pick and choose from any number of Eastern Suburb mansions. Many have lingered on the market for years now while owners ask impossibly high prices.
As for Martin's spiritual health- he is a Buddhist -we also hear his rep made a visit to the Nan Tien Temple (right) in Woolongong.

A Night For Awards

the Emmy's kick off this morning in Los Angeles with two Australians up for awards : Nicole Kidman for her portrayal of Martha Gellhorn in the film Hemingway and Gellhorn while the reclusive Judy Davis ('best actress in the world' :Woody Allen) will be attending to see if she picks up the Best Supporting Actress gong in the political drama Page Eight.

Nicole Kidman as Martha Gellhorn with co-star Clive Owen

Trevor Ashley : Diamonds Are For Trevor

In the evening the stars of the Australian stage and local Hollywood types will gather at the Sydney Opera House for the Helpmann Awards. The Shuttle will be on hand to see if the brilliant rising drag star Trevor Ashley picks up an award for his superb show Diamonds Are For Trevor while Tim Minchin is nominated for Best Comedy performance.

Judy Davis' husband Colin Freils may get Best Actor in A Play for Red and no Sydney theatre event is worth it's salt without either Cate Blanchett in attendance or getting a Best Actress Award as she may for her role in Gross Und Klein. And Miranda Otto should be there along with the Otto clan including dad Barry Otto ('best actor in the world' : John Gielgud). Miranda has been nominated in the supporting role in The White Guard.

Bruce Beresford has been nominated for his direction of the opera Mice And Men.
Prince, Kylie Minogue, Foof Fighters, Sade and Keith Urban have all been nominated in various categories.
For the full list go to the Helpmann Awards website and check back at the social shuttle later tonight.

Celeb Sightings in Sydney

Olivia, hubby John Esterling, Delta Goodren at the Downs Syndrome fundraiser

An unusually busy Sydney wet weekend with a charity ball, the finale of the Sydney Film Festival at the State Theatre and new superstar Chris Hemsworth taking a day off to surf at Maroubra Beach before the launch of his film Snow White and The Huntsman this Tuesday at Westfield in Bondi Junction.

Our favourite Academy Award types were at the State Theatre including Oscar winner Emile Sherman (producer of The King's Speech), nominee Jackie Weaver and Hugo Weaving. 

Emile Sherman

Hugo Weaving

Still celebrating his 25 years on TV, celeb interviewer Richard Wilkins hosted the 25 Year Anniversary Fundraiser for Downs Syndrome at Fox Studios and that brought out Hollywood types like Nicole Kidman and Olivia Newton John plus the judges from The Voice-Seal, Delta Goodren, Keith Urban and Joel Madden (they sang for their supper). 
Meanwhile Lady GaGa jetted in from Melbourne and did a walk about outside the Park Hyatt Hotel greeting a few hundred excited Little Monsters and posed for snaps with them.

major Hollywood eye candy at Maroubra Beach yesterday

And that's just the weekend!

Gatsby Gaff #2, Rupert & Lord Leveson

It was a tremendous relief last month when Rupert Murdoch, after calling former British PM Gordon Brown "unbalanced', informed Robert Jay QC at the Leveson Enquiry in London that :
 "I take a particularly strong pride in the fact that we have never pushed our commercial interests in our newspapers".

far left-"Barry Otto" and centre Leo Di Caprio

It's certainly a mere co-incidence that Sydney's Daily Telegraph (prop: R.Murdoch) has been at the fore-front of some marvellous scoops about the 3D epic Great Gatsby, being filmed right now at Fox Studios (prop : R.Murdoch) and that the flick is largely funded by Fox Studios and former Fox Studios boss Kim Williams has just taken the helm as CEO of News Ltd.

"Barry Otto" & Leo Di Caprio

The Daily Terror has been able to obtain extraordinary access to filming and produced some fantastic picture essays on the 1920s epic through sheer ingenuity.

Jeff Duff

One that featured in our favourite show-biz pages Sydney Confidential scored this fine scoop in November last year with the headline:
Manly man Leonardo DiCaprio unmoved by decadence :"He came, he stood, stared and brooded as a little bit of Manly was transformed into a roaring 1920s Long Island party mansion early yesterday." referring to the magnificent St Paul's Catholic College on the headland at Manly that is standing in as a Long Island mansion.

the acting Ottos: Miranda, Barry & Gracie

So secure is the College that Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban chose it for their nuptials, knowing the paparazzi would be kept at bay. Not so the intrepid snappers from News Ltd who brought us a colourful spread of one of Gatsby's legendary parties with the words :

 "The Great Gatsby director Baz Luhrmann conducted the epically decadent scene - ironically in an old Catholic seminary - with a full-force cast including Tobey Maguire and Barry Otto, seen here resplendent in red jacket above Maguire...referring to the above photos.

Alas-actor Barry Otto (once described by Sir John Gielgud as the 'greatest actor in the world') features not. The man resplendent in red jacket is our dear friend singer Jeff Duff , as we exclusively reported in September 2011 who director Baz Luhrman lured to the production to play an eccentric friend of Gatsby's.

Wendi & Rupert at the launch of Fox Studios

They really should, as several London tabloids do, read the Shuttle every day.


## The Shuttle was in the opening crowd at the launch of Fox Studios many moons ago as Hollywood star after star walked the red carpet. When we spied the Greatest Ever Media Mogul Rupert Murdoch with wife Wendi amongst the celebrating guests we approached him for an interview.

"Certainly " said Rupert.."where are you from?". Informing him of our then employer, a rival tabloid amongst the 30% of Australian publications not owned by Murdoch, he said "well f*ck off then!"

Has Nicole Forgiven the Paparazzi ?

A portrait commissioned by Rupert Murdoch goes up for sale tomorrow at Southebys in London and is expected to fetch around $40,000 with the funds being donated to charity.

The painting, by Anthony Yeo was a study for a painting of Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban which was  presented by Murdoch and wife Wendi to the couple after their daughter Sunday Rose Kidman Urban was born in 2008. The Murdochs attended their wedding and Murdoch is a fan of Yeo having himself sat for a portrait as have many Hollywood movie stars as our pic of Arnold Shwarzeneggrr shows.

The word is that the painting now stands above the mantelpiece at Bunya Hill, the Southern Highlands cattle ranch where the Kidman/Urban family are now ensconced for summer.


# HAS NICOLE KIDMAN finally forgiven the paparazzo Jamie Fawcett after she gave evidence against him in a defamation  trial in the NSW Supreme Court in 2009 ?. 

 Nicole testified that she had been "really, really scared" of Fawcett. 

As the snap that appeared in Sydney Confidential yesterday shows, Nicole and Keith with Sunday Rose were all smiles for the camera as they arrived at Sydney Airport on Tuesday.

The by-line on the snap credits Oceanic which is Fawcett's new photo distribution agency.

Shining at The Golden Globes

Such glamour and they do it so well in Hollywood. Our exclusive pics from last night's Golden Globe Awards and an interview with Meryl Streep on the red carpet below :

Nicole Kidman's Gas Problem

Bill Ranken

Social Shuttle contributor  Bill Ranken brings news of a well-heeled protest group-the Hunter Valley Protection Alliance- opposing coal seam gas mining in the chic and exclusive Southern Highlands where Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have their country base, Bunya Hill.


Ranken , who with his sister Jean owns nearby Lockesley, regarded as one of the state's most glorious pastoral properties says they have been approached by mining companies wishing to set down gas exploration units on their land in return for a share of profits. Although the Ranken's have embraced windmills and solar power Bill says he would never contemplate gas plants on their property as they wreak destruction.

Bunya Hill

Gas mining corporations have been inundating the airwaves with friendly adverts depicting a small obscure gas unit surrounded by fluffy sheep and grazing cows on green hills.
Ranken says the adverts are misleading and gas mining sucks the life out of the earth.

Other residents of the beautiful Southern Highlands and the Hunter Valley with it's dozens of award winning vineyards are being approached says Ranken and the fear is that some will succumb to gas companies offers.

The protest group is hoping to encourage Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban along with other notables in the area including Harry Potter actress Miriam Margoyles , novelist Bryce Courtney, broadcaster Alan Jones, model agency boss Peter Chadwick, Federal Labor minister Peter Garrett and Nutremetic's founder Imelda Roche to join the protests.

Past Highland's residents have included Sir Donald Bradman and P.L.Travers the author of Mary Poppins. The protestors warn that just one gas mine in the area can drill under properties for miles, destroying nutrients in the earth above.

Don Bradman

Bowral resident Miriam Margolyes

 Yesterday came the news that the late Macquarie Bank boss, multi-millionaire and former Liberal party chairman David Clarke who passed away 6 months ago, had funded anti-gas campaigns with millions of dollars and spoke against the mining at local rallies.

Clarke owned the exclusive Poole's Rock vineyard in the Hunter and now his son has said that the executor of Clarke's estate BRI Ferrier has sold Poole's Rock to the gas company AGL without Clarke family knowledge and that AGL are trying to buy up vineyards and properties around the area.

A spokesman for the Hunter Valley Protection Alliance said Clarke, who had anti-mining posters throughout Poole's Rock would be "turning in his grave".