Tom Cruise with Michael Caine celebrating Michael’s 90th Birthday

Sam Neill slams Lock Out Laws

Actor Sam Neill was at Parramatta to announce the move there of John Poulson's short film festival Tropfest, covered by Whispers so many times including the very first one years ago which had only 20 guests that included Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise (and moi).

The controversial lock out laws that now make nightclubs serve their last drinks at midnight have devastated Kings Cross and the Golden Gay Mile of Oxford Street. Sam had some pretty strong criticism of the laws. Will we be going to Parramatta to attend Tropfest? Hmmm, may have to think long and hard about that. It took 90 minutes to get to the presser but I suppose there is always the ferry.

Too hot for Tropfest

In 2013 we wrote "has Tropfest peaked?" after attending the first festival in it's new location at Centennial Park in December. Whispers had a feeling it's days were numbered and now founder John Polson has conformed that Tropfest is kaput and in serious financial difficulties.
Why the organisers moved to a hollow in a park away from the harbour in hot December is a mystery. The crowds seem to evaporate in the sweltering heat. If there was an international star in town they were only to eager to support Polson but they just aren't here in December. The Domain with it's cooling harbour breezes was a blessing in the evening of the festival.
Here are a few highlights with some of the local and international stars Poulson invited and who attended.

Vale the Queen of Comedy

 



Joan Rivers was in Sydney in 2009 to launch the (then) Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras at a small party at the Hilton Hotel, as seen in our snap here with drag queen Mitzi McIntosh.
A tiny lady, she took time to talk to every guest and was sweet as can be. And she gave an impromptu performance which mainly centered on superstar Tom Cruise. If only we could repeat the jokes- wicked, hilarious and totally unprintable ! That was Joan. Farewell dear lady.

Mother of All Balls

 The Sydney Town Hall was the venue for Saturday night's Mother Of All Balls, the brain child of actor Rachel Ward. The MoAB raises much needed funds for the YWCA's mentor program for kids from broken and troubled homes and it's become a must attend event pulling in big names from the Australian film industry. In the past drop-in guests have included Sam Neill, Cate Blanchett, Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe and Quentin Tarrantino.
In our lovely snaps : Rachel dances with husband, actor Bryan Brown (currently starring in the ABC's Old School on Sunday nights) and one of Sydney's brightest and cleverest publicists Sally Burleigh looks sensational with a very handsome Mathew Collett.

Went To A Garden Party

Pictured in our snap is TV personality Deborah Hutton attending the elegant garden party at Boomerang, that  much sought after mansion in Elizabeth Bay. The Shuttle has attended numerous parties there over the years with invites from at least 3 owners during it's long life. Guests can come from all areas of society. We've encountered Prince Frederick and Princess Mary of Denmark, Tom Cruise during the filming of Mission Impossible 2 and the recently released Guantanamo Bay inmate David Hicks chatting to the NSW Governor Marie Bashir.

The Governor also attended Friday's event, the launch of an expected yearly Mother’s Day garden party in support of the Murdoch Children's Research Institute which honours the Institutes founder, the late Dame Elisabeth Murdoch. Amongst those attending - Sarah Murdoch, Ros Packer, Alex Perry and Lady Primrose Potter with treats dished up by chef Darren Taylor.

Below is Ricky Nelson's wonderful 1985 hit "Went To A Garden Party".

 

Restaurant News

 Twitter, Facebook, the blogosphere is abuzz with news of a scathing review of top chef Neil Perry's Rockpool Bar & Grill in Perth.
Titled :  "your $326 dinner was the most disgusting thing I have ever eaten' our reviewer minces no words:
" From the moment I stepped through your ten-foot-high Japanese-influenced doors and into your airline hangar dining hall, the experience was the most joyless I have ever had involving food. I’m not just talking about the high end stuff. I’m talking about $8.50 kebabs ordered by the roadside at three in the morning after nights out with the lads. I’m talking about failed experiments cooking alone when too drunk to go to the shops. I’m talking about childhood stand-offs with parents ending with me blocking my nose, scarfing the turnip and running from the table crying. Your food was worse, Rockpool Bar and Grill Perth. And you charged me $326."
The blog is authored by someone called  scheissenbedauern ( pictured in his 'selfie')who apparently lives in Brisbane and even that fine city has rankled the poor chap as he explains:
"I recently visited Brisbane for the first time. I never wanted to see Brisbane but got sent for work. I spent the first hour walking around thinking, it’s true, Brisbane sucks. I even wrote some text messages to people. “In Brisbane. It’s everything I expected.”

Read  scheissenbedauern's jottings here. You may also like his other pieces including his lament about supermodel Megan Gale who apparently blocked him on Twitter.
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 In 2010 the Shuttle reported on a ripple of outrage that had run through the Bangkok establishment with the arrival of Australian chef David Thompson  ( pictured above second right) and his Nahm restaurant. "Coals to Newcastle" was the theme, but Thompson has succeeded brilliantly and won over his critics.
Nahm has been named not just in the Best 50 Asian restaurants in the world but is now Number One !
Well we told you so having eaten Thompson's supperb Thai food many times. But don't take our word for it : not only is Thompson Tom Cruise's favourite chef but he also creates banquets for the Thai Royal Family.

Has Tropfest Peaked?

It seemed appropriate : a Mars Rover rolled around the grounds of Centennial Park, the new home for John Polson's Tropfest. At first the venue looked little different than The Domain where the event has been hosted for the past 12 years but after an hour in the unrelenting hot December sun without the pleasant and cooling harbour breezes many in the audience were soon dozing off.

Tropfest founder John Polson and Legally Blonde director Robert Luketic

Noticeably lacking were sponsors. They were few and far between food & drink concessions with their exorbitantly priced produce, a 20c bottle of Supermarket water going for $5. And the main sponsor nearly caused a riot.  
SBS TV raised the hackles of a dozen photographers who had arrived a good three hours early to score a precious media spot which meant waiting in that hot sun without promised refreshments. Just as the event began suddenly two SBS film crews of about 20 positioned themselves directly in front of the angry snappers. Talk about frayed nerves.

Spot The Star

And where were the stars ?. John Polson has performed miracles in getting every Hollywood actor in town to the event but this year there were none. The only LA name of note was film director Robert Luketic of Legally Blonde & Paranoia fame. At the very first Tropfest in the Tropicana Cafe in Kings Cross 22 years ago the Shuttle was amongst the 40 guests that included Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise. This year it seemed to be television stars, mainly from Foxtel.
The jury is out- should Tropfest, a great idea in it's time, be put to bed ?

Paparazzi Wars

Things are not well in the world of the paparazzi.

 We've had Kayne West being arrested over an alleged assault an LA snapper while Russell Brand and Mike Tyson have both had their collars felt over scuffles with snappers . 30Rock star Alex Baldwin is renowned for his biffo bouts with New York photographers while and our National Treasure, actress Nicole Kidman was recently bowled over by an excited pap on a push bike in New York.

Now come a tale of a bust up in Kings Cross between Kidman's bête noire, the paparazzo Jamie Fawcett and another snapper named Max.  Apparently Fawcett was also placed under a  citizen's arrest by a former business partner Ben McDonald and there are claims of broken car mirrors and snaps appeared of Fawcett sporting a black eye before the local constabulary intervened. Fawcett has been the subject of attempted AVO orders in the past from Kidman and Mel B.  Nicole also appeared in court as a witness against him in a libel case against Fairfax Media which Fawcett won but was ordered to pay costs of $1M.

Now a new law has been enacted in California  that prohibits photographers from shooting pics of children without their parents permission. It's mainly aimed at the children of celebrities as swarms of snappers were hanging around school gates to get pics of celebs arriving to pick up their kids. Will such laws spread here?
Sadly gone are the days when the Shuttle and the late gentleman photographer Dave Morgan would be stopped by Tom Cruise , then living in Sydney with Kidman, who would politely ask us if we could leave him alone for a few days. Naturally being very well mannered, we obliged . Once we were rewarded with an invitation to join Tom for lunch and at a game of pool in the local pub.
Meanwhile former high flyer and now bust agency boss Darryn Lyons was last scene riding in a polo event at the Warwick Farm Polo two weeks ago. Rumours that he is reluctant to return to the UK because of the Leveson Inquiry are of course, malicious.

How Tom Cruise aided James Packer

Some remarkable revelations in the new book by Pamela Williams Killing Fairfax which is published today.
When James Packer feel into a slump in 2001 after some less that stellar business dealings, he came under the care of superstar Tom Cruise who helped boost James back to his old self. Cruise and Packer have been friends for years and Tom has holidayed on James' converted ice-breaker the Arctic P on the Mediterranean and attended James and Erica Baxter's wedding.
The association gave rise to the rumour that James had joined the Church of Scientology under Cruise's guidance.

Most of the Scientology reports appeared in Fairfax newspapers, now disliked by James. His father Kerry Packer was furious at the reports and sent Fairfax boss Fred Hilmer a copy of the United Nations Human Rights charter warning him  that he was violating the charter. The book also says James Packer rounded on Fred Hilmer at PM Julia Gillard's Christmas party last year at Kirribilli House telling him "Don't come up and try to be my friend...Fred. Fuck off."

James Packer is known for not suffering fools gladly. In 2009 it's reported he told  Nine Network  supremo David Leckie also to "fuck off' at a party for Sam Chisholm at the Sydney Opera House and then invited Leckie outside to ''sort this out".

James with Jodhi ...and wife Erica

At a Nine Network TV season launch at Garden Island when James with then wife Jodhi Meares, he spotted News Ltd gossip writer Ros Reines, called her aside and tore strips off her over reporting about his private life.

Bushells Tea, Murdochs, China & Ewan Mcgregor

Altona                                              Carthona                                                    Iona

The only news that really matters in this town is property prices. One week they are up, the next down according to our scribes on the tabloids totally uninfluenced by the massive amount of advertising dollars that stream in to the dead tree press.
Naturally news today that Sydney's "most expensive house" Altona has sold for a whopping $50M plus has pulses racing. It's been snapped up by a Chinese mega millionaire 75 year old Xiuzhen Ding who also owns a splendid bay side manor in  Melbourne.

As the Shuttle has reported before, Altona in Point Piper was once owned by Rupert Murdoch's nephew Matt Handbury and his then wife Fiona. They held superb parties attended by the likes of yours truly. Fiona copped Altona in a divorce settlement, promptly sold it for a reputed $29M to publisher Deke Miskin, and then nipped off to the UK  to join the British aristocracy as Lady Dartmouth when she married William Legge the grandson of legendary romance novelist Barbara Cartland and stepbrother to the late Princess Diana.

         The Handburys                            Chris & Tracey-Ann Oxley

Just around the corner from Altona in Darling Point is a complex of 3 houses owned by one family, the Oxleys who inherited the Bushells Tea fortune. Carthona sits in the middle, a magnificent Gothic pile which Tom Cruise once tried to buy for Nicole Kidman.  On one side is Beach House and on the other is the superb new modern abode built for Christopher Oxley with, as the other two houses have, the most commanding views of Sydney Harbour that sweep from the Opera House to The Heads.

It was an appropriate location for the launch of a new LG $16K television set  launched at great expense today by LG's "ambassador", movie star Ewan McGregor. Ewan reckons this TV makes him look sensational , or as he puts it more simply :"just say that they're fucking good tellys". The tellys go on sale around the world later this year. Ewan also had some nice words to say about Baz Luhrmann who directed him in Moulin Rouge, describing his  1996 flick Romeo & Juliet as one of the "great movies of all time". Luhrmann's own house Iona, the 1880's mansion in Darlinghurst is also on the market for $15M.

More On Jason Sullivan's Exploits

Top New York society photographer Patrick McMullan has supplied the Shuttle with the following photograph of Tom Cruise trespasser Jason Sullivan at McMullan's own Mumm Champagne party in 2005.

It seems Sullivan (far right) has been a close friend of top Hollywood agent Kevin Huvane (third right) for several years and stays with Huvane at his house next door to Cruise. Huvane is also Cruise's agent.

Although Sullivan has received a flood or media offers including from Australia, reports are now emerging that Huvane, who has been advising Sullivan on possible US media projects is not pleased with his house guest's foray into the Cruise garden.

Tom Cruise's Hunky Trespasser

Model, interior designer and budding actor Jason Sullivan has been living with friends a house owned by Cruise's agent Kevn Huvane in Beverley Hills  when he made a drunken foray into neighbour Tom Cruise's backyard only to be met by some taser wielding guards.

Jason who has been a regular around the Sydney scene has spent 9 months in LA pursuing a career in films and it looks like his hopes are about to be realised quicker than he anticipated. With news about his Cruise mis-hap sweeping around the world, a friend of Sullivan's tells us today that amongst the flood of telephone calls the actor has received were two very powerful Hollywood agents. Like a dream come true.

left : Sullivan exercises with Lara Bingle

Nicole : Looking Good

Nicole Kidman is on the cover of the latest Harpers Bazaar in a photo-shoot by uber  fashion snapper Terry Richardson.

Go to his Diary for heaps more unique celebrity pics.

And if you can believe it : according to Grazia former hubby Tom Cruise has been begging Nicole for forgiveness.

Back In The Big Smoke

Duncan & Sally

They are some of the Shuttle's fave people :
British born banker Duncan Mount and his glamorous wife ex-model  Sally. They hosted sensational parties at their Elizabeth Bay Spanish style, harbourside mansion Boomerang.

Once they let out Boomerang to Tom Cruise so he could film Mission Impossible 2 there. During the day we would see Duncan tooling about town in his black Rolls convertible, dropping the kids off at school or perhaps the video hire shop in Kings Cross.

Cedar Springs

Then they upped stakes and departed for Byron Bay and principally Paul Hogan's hinterland mansion Cedar Springs at Possum Creek which they bought off Hoges for $8.1M (after selling Boomerang for a whopping $29M). Hoges had built the 27 room mansion in 1990 for his marriage to Linda Kozkowski.

Boomerang

Paul & Linda

Duncan who made a fortune selling bicycles to the masses in Hong Kong parceled up Hoges extensive acres and sold them off for $2M a plot.
 Last week he unloaded Possum Creek for a reputed $6.5M. The last we saw of the Mounts they were back in Sydney living in a rented Bellevue Hill penthouse and contemplating the future. Hopefully they'll hit the scene again soon.  We need them !.
                                                    

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.

Brush With Fame

 

 The Shuttle was forced to decline an invite to meet Doug Pitt last night, the brother of movie star Bard Pitt. Doug was the guest of Virgin Mobile launching a new campaign with a 'gala' red carpet event.

We reckoned an invite to check out the opening of the Brooklyn Hotel's new Oyster Bar just couldn't be passed. I think we made the right choice. Product launches can be tame and once we reach the level of "associated " fame it all becomes a tad tiring.

Besides, we had already encountered Mr Pitt earlier that day in Double Bay. Movie stars in the know flock to the dentistry surgery of Dr David Carr and it seems. their siblings do as well. Our spy disguised as a helium tank says Doug arrived by gleaming limo to have a new crown fitted after Doug chipped his front tooth.
 Doug follows in the footsteps of numerous celebrities that make their way to Dr Carr when in town. Just a few of those who owe their wondrous gleaming Hollywood smiles to the celebrity dentist include Nicole Kidman, Madonna and Tom Cruise.

Hitched and Un-hitched

Married in Sicily yesterday: Luke Ricketson and Kate Waterhouse

Separated yesterday : Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise