Naomi Watts & Liev Schreiber host party to save endangered turtles

  Aussie superstar Naomi Watts is currently gracing our TV screens as the face of online Presto in a campaign titled "Demand More", where she embraces the more 'demanding' side of her personality playing an over-the-top version of herself. Her runoured salary is said to be just over $2M

But in New York Naomi and husband Liev Schreiber are giving back to the community. They have just hosted their annual Turtle Ball to aid the Turtle Conservancy which protects threatened turtles and tortoises and their habitats worldwide.
left : Naomi & Liev
And they found support when a host of Hollywood & show biz greats turned up to help raise a whopping $800,000 as our exclusive pics from the event at the  Bowery Hotel show.
 Photographs : Patrick McMullan (c) www.patrickmcmullan.com

Ted Danson                    Helena Christensen                      Bruce Webber                           Richard Branson

Graydon Carter * Griffin Dunne          Shauna Robertson * Edward Norton              Susan Rockefeller *Anna Scott

Robert Kennedy Jnr                              Gina Gershon * Cheryl Hines                       Lynn Goldsmith * Patti Smith

 

Training Angelina

Luke & Scott with Sarah Wilson

My Kitchen Rules' stars Luke Hines and Scott Gooding have entered a crowded market with a new book : Luke & Scott : Clean Living. They promise to transform you into a healthy specimen in 3 weeks.
The pair launched their book at the Bondi restaurant, The Bucket List on a blustery evening and still managed to pull a sizable crowd including TV's Andrew O'Keefe and the lady who has herself transformed many lives, writer Sarah Wilson
whose bestseller about killer white sugar is still flying off the shelves.
Luke has another gig lined up: he'll be
training Angelina Jolie went she settles in for a few months to film the WW2 movie Unbroken .Hines also has to transform the film's star into a malnourished air crash survivor while still keeping him healthy.
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It's that season again : social writers flocking to Melbourne for the Spring Carnival and attempting to impress their readers that they are missing out on an amazing event. The Shuttle's attended more than we care to think about but in the past few years Melbourne's racing season has descended into a sort of bogan tragedy. Minor 'celebrities' are trotted out and placed in front of the dreaded photo wall that now plagues every event around the world. The days of being flown by private jet by interesting people are basically over (the Shuttle flew with Richard Branson once in a special Virgin flight and 3 times with the late Jim Fleming in his Lear jet.)
It's just very hard work and these days you cannot wander as you could in the past, from marquee to marquee. Needless to say the media will trill over this year's slebs : Hamish &Andy (spotted any day at Kings Cross), Kris Smith (male model) and the aging Naomi Campbell (yawn).                           

Sydney's Newest Cross-Dresser

There's something about Virgin boss Richard Branson- he loves to slip into a frock at the drop of a hat, or in this case, allegedly after losing a bet.
He seems to have taken quite a fancy to this dark-hued man who is promoted from by-stander to passenger being spoon fed by Richard. Just what is going on here? I think we should be told.

Sydney's drag queen set have been moaning recently about the dearth of young trannies coming through the ranks to entertain on the Golden Mile of Oxford Street. Perhaps Branson can lend a hand !


Right : a previous drag episode saw Branson impersonating the Bride of Frankenstein.

Packer or Branson for Byron Bay?

It's the talk of Byron Bay : the star's hide-away Rae's on Wategos has been put on the market by owner Vincent Rae and the word is that entrepreneur Richard Branson is interested in adding the boutique hotel to his chain of luxury inns that include a small palace in Morocco , two islands and the magnificent Roof Gardens atop a department store in London which features 1.5 acres of English countryside complete with flamingos.

Vincent Rae

James Packer

 Rae's is situated on Wategos Beach which is just around the corner from the main part of Byron Bay and features sweeping views of the ocean, lush gardens - part designed by Salvador Dali- 8 penthouses and a clientele to die for : Russell Crowe, Tom Cruise, Kate Winslet, Keith Richards and Elle McPherson all stay there.

Byron locals say a Virgin big-wig was spotted in town last week and Richard Branson is a regular guest. It's the sort of hotel that would fit in perfectly with the Branson stable and the local council has approved plans for an underground car park, new terrace, spa and cocktail bar. But does the Virgin boss have a rival?

Branson's Necker Island

Branson's Kasbah Tamadot in Morroco

Rae's is also one of billionaire James Packer's favourite holiday spots in Australia and a local in the know has told us that a Packer associate has made discreet enquiries about the sale. And the price?. Only very interested parties are being told but earlier this year a duplex opposite the beach and near Rae's went for $9M. A fraction of what Rae's would be worth.

Leveson, Murdoch, Zac Efron and Richard Branson

In February the Shuttle pondered as to why the most disliked paparazzi, both in Australia and the UK, the Big Picture agency lads had seemingly gone to ground.

Their boss, the tubby Darryn Lyons appears to have set up house in Geelong where he originally came from and has toned down his act even resorting to just one colour in his dated Mohawk hair cut.

We already knew some details of the scandal that eventually broke around ten days ago in the British media-that a Virgin Airline employee had been selling celebrity travel information to the agency.

 Our source says Virgin legal eagle's have gone into extended huddles to see if any other employees have engaged in similar behaviour. Word has come down from high-Sir Richard Branson that no stone is to be left unturned and that there are to be none of the debacles that have surrounded Rupert Murdoch's News Corp in the phone hacking scandal.

But is it just the tip of the iceberg?. The Shuttle hears that two more airlines have begun investigating staff after tip-offs that claim similar practises were underway. Closer to home, a local photographic agency may be in the frame for paying airport employees for confidential information.

A firm which supplies security personnel and drivers for visiting celebrities is conducting internal reviews over long time claims that employees would supply selected paparazzi with celebrity movement details in exchange for cash. One Sydney car hire business hires drivers who have held dual roles in the past-driving around celebrities like Rupert Murdoch and working in their spare time as paparazzi.

# Just to show we have no hard feelings towards the paps-here are some snaps supplied to us of movie heartthrob Zac Efron in Sydney yesterday.
There is (mostly) no truth to the rumour a publicist notified photo agencies that Zac would be breakfasting on the balcony of his Park Hyatt Hotel suite at a certain time.

Life Changing Moments On The Bridge

Just the other day we had David Hasslehoff proposing to his Welsh girlfriend Hayley Roberts at the summit of Sydney's famous Harbour Bridge.

James Cameron & wife Suzi last month on the Sydney Harbour Bridge

It's one of the all time great tourism successes-shackling together groups of eager climbers and leading them to the top to take in the awe inspiring sight over Sydney's magnificent harbour. The Shuttle did it once. By the time you get to the peak the oxygen levels kick in. It's an instant high and you feel like taking on the world. Hence The Hoff and his fiancee following in a long line of those making life changing decisions (one reader unkindly suggests it was a publcicit stunt..surely not ?). Marriage proposals are the norm for couples chained together in their bridge issue overalls.

Oprah Winfrey and gal pal Gail did it as our picture shows. Michael Caine and his gorgeous wife Shakira climbed as did Richard Branson and even the Vienna Boys Choir have all made been to the top.

Now a Christmas visitor who was spotted on the bridge, movie director James Cameron has announced that he will be leaving America and moving South of the Equator. The director who spent December and January in Sydney with his family checking out facilities at Fox Studios has bought a 1067 hectares farm in New Zealand and will be moving there to live.

Oprah

In April this year Cameron, who directed two of the all time most successful films, Titanic and Avatar will move to the property which is about 90 minutes from Wellington and the Weta Digital studios that won an Oscar for it's work on Avatar. He will spend the next twelve months working on the sequel to Avatar.

Your Melbourne Cup Form Guide

It's come a long way since Jean Shrimpton-The Shrimp- shocked and outraged and positively delighted the crowds at Flemington in Melbourne in 1965 and established once and for all time, The Mini Skirt was here to stay ( it looks so tame today).

Today as a few hundred thousand racegoers descend upon Flemington racecourse for the Melbourne Cup we've provided a handy form guide for the fillies and their jockeys to look out for in the Birdcage, Member's Stand and the private marquees (hover around the Emirates for the real action)

Starting with the richest :
Billionaire James Packer and wife Erica (be nice to them and they may invite you back to James' private bar at the Crown Casino for their karaoke night) and Richard Branson.
Celeb receiving the most for showing up (about 200 grand) Sarah Jessica Parker.

Lovebirds Shane Warne and Elizabeth Hurley. Burlesque queen Dita Von Teese, Kim Kardashian  Rebecca Judd and the real star of the day who should not missed (easy to do as she's so tiny) Joan Collins. And there is bound to be a few surprises like Leo DiCaprio and Tobey McGuire

Mumm champagne, Moet & Chandon, Bollinger will all be hosting marquees and in "Millionaire's Row", the Emirates marquee is styled on St Petersburg's Catherine Palace with the Zhivago restaurant and powder room for ladies, and a Jo Malone perfume stylist demonstrating how to "accessorise" with 23 fragrances.

 Myer's have their "Butterfly House" with Jennifer Hawkins complete with  fluttering laser-cut butterflies, as the PR sheet wittily says..'to show off the social butterflies". 

Garden guru Jamie Durie has flown back from the USA where he hosts a cable TV show to create a "vertical garden installation" in a three-level marquee and VIPs will  be chauffeured to and from the track in luxury Lexus vehicles.

Irreverent / Irrelevant Facts : The first Melbourne Cup in 1861 was filmed and this was the very first  movie to be screened commercially.

The first prize in 1861 for owners of the winning horse-a nice watch while today's prize purse will be $3.5M. The Shuttle's favourite horse name of all time : Whykickamoocow.

Transgender Airline Takes Off

 Where else but Thailand would an airline have a policy of hiring transgender trolley dollys ?.

Thanyarat Jiraphatpakorn

Known as kathoeys or ladyboys and called the 'third sex', transgender Thais are a common sight all over Thailand and they blend into the culture in every way. When a Thai boy tells his mum and dad he plans to change his sex, the discussion is most likely about whether the family can afford the operation rather than shocked exclamations.

Tiffanys

Now a new Thai airline called PC Air has hired three transgender flight attendants including the winner of the 2007 Miss Tiffany beauty pageant 23 year old Thanyarat Jiraphatpakorn . Tiffanys is a world famous cabaret theatre in the seaside resort of Pattaya near Bangkok and hundreds of tourists flock to the extravagant floor shows to see the beautiful ladyboy chorus lines every night of the week.

Joyce Maynge for Qantas ?

Just last week SBS television screened the popular and classic Thai film Beautiful Boxer, the true story of Parinya Jaroenphon, a young Buddhist monk who became a top Thai boxer while struggling with his sexual identity. Parinya eventually earned enough money in the tough boxing rings of Chonburi while wearing full make-up during bouts to pay for his sex reassignment surgery with the blessing of his parents.

Will the idea catch on ?. As our picture shows, Richard Branson with his world wide Virgin Blue Airlines may be flirting with the idea already and although Thailand has the largest number of transgenders in the world, Australia could give them a run for their money.

Prince Lorenzo

With the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras season hotting up perhaps Qantas could set out on an recruitment drive up Oxford Street.
Priscilla Queen of The Desert has already shown the world what we are made of, or were once made of. It's never quite made clear in the film if all the drag queens have had the 'snip'n'tuck' and Sydney's six foot drag queens delight in keeping it a secret as to whether they have 'gone all the way' down there !.

Qantas has form here for setting trends and hiring trolley dollys of all descriptions and they were the first airline to offer joint family benefits to same sex couples. And  in Aussie egalitarian culture social beginnings of any form have never been a barrier. Now retired but once famous for ditching his prospective bride in Venice for the best man, for years the Egyptian royal Prince Lorenzo Montesini Giustiniani   could be found serving passengers in the first class section at the pointy end of the plane.