When Aussie Stars Arrive

Have you ever been to Cannes. Whispers has several times. During Summer the lovely town is the ideal French resort. Meanwhile the Cannes Film Festival is an experience everyone should have at least once. The whole town is in a party mood and every day is an adventure.

The Cannes Festival may not have invented publicity stunts but producers and publicists sure refined the art at this movie festival where just about anything no matter how outrageous will garner precious column inches throughout the world and in the hundreds of European glossy gossip mags. Here are a selection of two Aussie stars Miranda Kerr and Naomi Watts snapped at several events and this is just the beginning!. On the right is former Oz soapie star Simon Baker arriving at Cannes Airport.
(pics :AgenceFrancaisTele)

New Year Resolutions

Just a few we have made for other people :

a.The Daily Mail will hire extra sub-editors after this clanger in their headline about Soraya Kashoggi ( The Shuttle worked for Adnan Kashoggi for a few years)

 b. Columnists who should know better will finally abandoned their fantasy of an affair between James Packer and  Miranda Kerr which reached a fever pitch after the Shuttle's April Fool Joke that brought a dozen enquiries from local and international media when the phony snaps could easily be found via Google. We have said for ages : we know who James is dating and while we are sworn to secrecy she is not famous and leads a very private life.

c. Same columnists will abandon their love affair with the Ibraham family of entrepreneurs whose rise in Kings Cross has mirrored the downfall of the same with drunken yob filled streets and 'one-punch' killings.

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.

Hollywood : Where Dreams Come True

Pictured above at the Los Angeles premiere of Hercules is Bondi Battler James Packer, his film business partner Brett Ratner & star of Hercules Dwayne Johnson and his wife Simone Johnson.

Yesterday the movie premiered in New York with the same line-up. Our dear friends at the UK Daily Mail have indulged in the same fantasy that has gripped several local publications with this tale of Miranda Kerr & Packer supposedly meeting secretly in New York with Kerr going to great lengths to swap cars. Alas the tale is almost word for word for the April Fool's Joke we ran on April 1st this year. The fact the Mail excitedly contacted us for more details on the great non love affair of the year is entirely co-incidental. Below is a preview of the Packer Ratner flick.
                                                             

Miranda steps out

Miranda Kerr turned heads tonight at the Sydney Opera House party for Swarovski crystals wearing Prada!

Why are people so unkind...

We like to think we are a cynical bunch at the Shuttle, not easily fooled and on the ball.  But even the new office cat Eva was taken in the by the possibility of a scoop- the tale that casino baron James Packer was spotted with supermodel Miranda Kerr in New York last week.

Alas it was an April Fool's Joke but one played on the Shuttle by a long time New York pal, one of the USA's top photographers who had vowed revenge after we stung him similarly 5 years ago.
How were we taken in ?. By expert timing.  Sending us the story and snaps (old ones nicked from the web) with knowledge of our publishing timetable - that we wouldn't twig to the fact by receiving the tale on the 30th of March and being told we must wait 40 hours to coincide with another publication.

Exclusive : James Packer & Miranda Kerr Together in New York

The Shuttle has scoffed in the past at tales of the supposed love affair between billionaire James Packer and supermodel Miranda Kerr but the exclusive amateur photographs we have obtained means we may have to eat humble pie.
Our source, an ardent fan of Kerr followed her from the ritzy Pierre Hotel in New York at 2pm one afternoon last week to a luxury apartment block on 56th Street. She disappeared inside and emerged around 6pm as the sun was setting and he snapped Miranda on his IPhone looking very discreet as she headed for a waiting car.
 But it was half an hour later that our fan got just a little curious as the same limo returned to the building. He took a snap of the extremely tall and casually dressed gentleman who emerged from the same apartment
block and slipped into the same car. A further source has confirmed that the apartment block contains a Packer company owned flat that is used for business.
So there we are- the very first photographs, grainy as they are of what may have been a liaison between Australia's richest man and undoubtedly Australia's richest model.

Silly Season is No Excuse

When the esteemed Aussie publication Woman's Day burst into print with the claim from a "good friend" that billionaire James Packer "was dating" supermodel Miranda Kerr, Aussie social writers were out of their starting blocks claiming 'exclusive exclusive ! and presenting the tale as their own discovery.
By the day's end at least one notable scribe (who has made a habit of attacking the Shuttle) was

expressing reservations, oddly only hours after we poured scorn on the tale. We know who James is actually (occasionally)  dating but she isn't a 'name'. How do we know?. Directly from a Packer family source who confirmed the fact but asked us not to name the lady.
And just as one of New York's top society snappers confirmed 3 weeks ago that Miranda is also occasionally dating a handsome male model and because that model was a friend of the snapper's, he requested we not name him. Despite that, a New York newspaper has now confirmed that Miranda has been out on the town with the young chap after spending Christmas with Orlando Bloom and family.

Other bloopers of the season : the bizarre tale re-printed faithfully around the world by those who should know better : the claim begun by a satirical website and picked up by a dodgy Chinese 'news' outlet that a former North Korean politician had been "fed to the dogs".

Even more alarming is this tosh published by tabloids and noticeably many News Ltd outlets : a claim that British police "know who had kidnapped Maddie McCann" and that Portuguese police were preventing them from arresting the perps.
This is dangerous stuff and the fact that the sad case of the disappearance of Madelaine McCann should be used to flog newspapers is a disgrace.
The UK police merely identified some new "suspects" in the form of 3 burglars who were operating on the night the girl was taken. They join a growing list of suspects that number in the dozens. And the blatant racist attack upon the Portuguese police helps no-one : under EU laws British police can request the extradition of any suspect they believe may have committed a crime.

Smoke & Mirrors

Social media is rampant with the (alleged) news that billionaire James Packer is dating Victoria's Secret star model Miranda Kerr.
And that's all it is folks- a rumour. A carefully placed one? Who knows- but James has a girlfriend alright and it ain't Miranda.

Watch this space.......

Ooh La La !

If only Australian politics was this exciting. We've never had an MP as fascinating as the Hungarian porn star and singer Cicciolina, real name Ilona Staller, who became an MP in Italy. Now Miranda Kerr has channeled Cicciolina for a photo shoot by Sebastian Faena for V Magazine.

 It's been done before as our snaps below show but certainly not with a s much style. We even uncovered a Cicciolina clone who looks suspiciously like Arnie Schwarzenegger. And we found an Italian drag Cicciolina on Youtube. What fun!

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)

Flying With Miranda

She may no longer be spuiking for David Jones department stores or Victoria's Secret but supermodel Miranda Kerr joined forces with Qantas today to promote their snappy new Martin Grant designed uniforms.



                                                 

Martin Grant

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.

Wow ! Look at Miranda

 Miranda Kerr showed off some fabulous curves at the New York Victoria's Secret fashion show which has put the pizzaz back into fashion parades. See more pics at justjared.

Meanwhile there is more drama at the Royal Oaks day at the Melbourne races after Australian male model (left) Andre Pejic was prevented from wearing a hat tribute to Princess Beatrice by the Victorian Racing Club.

The top fashion blog frockwriter has the full story here.

Out Of Africa : Miranda Kerr

Miranda Kerr has posted some of her holiday snaps via Instagram from her African safari.
Aren't they cute?

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.

'Kerr Goes Kiwi'

The New York Times has a feature on Miranda Kerr and Orlando Bloom in New Zealand.
Read it here!

Miranda Kerr at David Jones

Miranda Kerr Nude!

THE SEASONAL fashion battle between the 2 Australian department store chains begins this evening with David Jones fashion parade in their city store and Myer at Fox Studios on Thursday.

DJ's star recruit Miranda Kerr struts the boards tonight. Here are some exclusive snaps of Miranda that will be published in the latest Harper's Bizarre. The pics are by the best and most unpretentious fashion snapper New Yorker Terry Richardson and if you haven't yet discovered his diary, go here. It's fun.


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So the closing ceremony of the London Olympics is receiving mixed reviews and Sydney 2000 still retains it's title of The Best Ever Olympics (according to then IOC boss Juan Samaranch). Indeed the Sydney opening and closing bashes were better co-ordinated but one Aussie is receiving rave reviews for his commentary on the BBC. Armani clad ("Giorgi is a friend") Ian Thorpe with the UK Daily Express and the News Statesman amongst others praising the 5 times Gold Medal winner.

The Thorpedo with artist Charles Billich in March this year