Drew Barrymore News Blog @newzblogz.com

AMAZING GRACE (B) William Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffudd), a man of abiding Christian faith, led the fight against slavery in Great Britain, and this Michael Apted-directed picture carefully chronicles the political maneuvering that surrounded the struggle. A cast of British heavyweights (Michael Gambon, Albert Finney and Ciaran Hinds) adds weight to an overly earnest but still interesting movie about the way in which principle can inform a political life.

Rated: PG.

ASTRONAUT FARMER (B-) The Polish brothers (Mark and Michael) have made a movie encouraging people to go out and follow their dreams. A rancher (Billy Bob Thornton) builds a rocket in his barn in hopes of traveling in outer space. The movie's "realistic" elements sometimes undermine its fairy-tale aspirations. With Virginia Madsen as Thornton's wife and Bruce Willis in an extended cameo.

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Britney is bald, but not the first celeb to be so bold

For The Associated Press

We may never know why Britney Spears shaved her head.

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We may never know why Britney Spears shaved her head.But she's hardly the first female celebrity to go hair-free. The difference: Most of those women lost their locks for their art.Historically, shaved heads have had practical purposes. In ancient Egypt men and women shaved their heads and wore wigs to protect against lice, among other things.

Forcing a woman to shave her head also has been used as a means of control and humiliation: Thousands of women lost their hair in Nazi concentration camps.These days, a shaved head is often a sign that a person is undergoing chemotherapy or is making a some kind of political or militant statement, said David Shmagin, stylist and manager of Robert Kree salon in New York, where clients include Drew Barrymore and Sarah Jessica Parker."It's a strength thing and to show they don't have to care about...

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In this new special, seven riders and horses compete for a $50,000 prize in three phases that test their speed, strength and stamina. The hour also includes a peek behind the scenes with the riders, horses, owners and crews. Tim Ryan and Frank Madden host.

2. `Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'

8 p.m., WMAQ-Ch. 5

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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood actresses may have perfected the pout and the come-hither stare but when it comes to designing or styling the perfect outfit for Oscar night, they should defer to the fashion experts.

That, at least, is the lesson from the Academy Award's red carpet history, where some daring actresses' self-designed or self-styled creations have fallen flat with fans and fashionistas.

"Sometimes it works, mostly it doesn't," said Ryan Patterson, supervising producer for "Access Hollywood." "Mostly you should leave that stuff to the experts."

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It's fraternal twin girls for Marcia Cross. The Desperate Housewives actress, 44, gave birth to daughters Eden and Savannah in Los Angeles on Tuesday, her spokeswoman said Wednesday. The father is Ms. Cross' stockbroker husband, Tom Mahoney.

"Mother and babies are all doing well," publicist Heidi Slan said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

Ms. Cross, who was expecting the twins in April, was put on bed rest in January as a precaution.

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The Olympia Art League 2007 Capitol City Visual Arts Exhibit is set for June 2-30. Juried artwork by artists from Thurston, Mason, Lewis, Grays Harbor, Pierce, Clallam, Cowlitz, Jefferson, Kitsap, Pacific, Skamania and Wahkiakum counties will be displayed at the Minnaert Center for the Arts in Olympia. Fine art in any medium can be entered, including photos or 3-D, by April 18. Go to www.olympiaartleague.com or call 360-570-1959.

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Today is Thursday, February 22, the 53rd day of 2007. There are 312 days left in the year.

Todays Highlight in History:

On February 22nd, 1732, the first president of the United States, George Washington, was born at his parents plantation in the Virginia Colony.

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Today is Thursday, Feb. 22, the 53rd day of 2007. There are 312 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Feb. 22, 1732, the first president of the United States, George Washington, was born at his parents' plantation in the Virginia Colony.

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Writer-director Marc Lawrence is definitely aiming for a retro '40s feel, with his bustling New York setting and witty characters who repeatedly burst into song. But he's infused the movie with a forced contemporary flavoring, including a Britney Spears-style pop diva and references to performers like Shakira and Justin Timberlake, and he gets too bogged down with industry types and their business meetings.

The songs are catchy, though — especially "Way Back Into Love," the tune Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore's characters craft together, which will be stuck in your head like a psychotic episode for days if not weeks to come. (It's playing in this particular critic's mental jukebox during the writing of this review. Somebody please make it stop!)

And it's nice to see Grant aging gracefully. Yes, he's only 46, but he's learned to wear his years well. He's moved past the recent bad-boy era of the "Bridget Jones" movies and seems well aware that he's far removed from the charmingly befuddled persona on which he based his career. That's charming in itself.

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Satan's bounty hunter has looted the wallets of movie-goers. "Ghost Rider," Sony's comic-book adaptation starring Nicolas Cage as a motorcycle stunt driver moonlighting as a collector of evil souls for the devil, debuted as the top weekend movie with $44.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Debuting in second place with $22.1 million was Disney's "Bridge to Terabithia," based on the children's novel about a boy and girl who create an elaborate fantasy land to escape from the troubles of the real world.

The movies bumped off the previous weekend's No. 1 flick, DreamWorks' Eddie Murphy comedy "Norbit," which slipped to third place with $16.8 million, lifting its total to $58.9 million.

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LOS ANGELES - Satan's bounty hunter has looted the wallets of movie-goers.

"Ghost Rider," Sony's comic-book adaptation starring Nicolas Cage as a motorcycle stunt driver moonlighting as a collector of evil souls for the devil, debuted as the top weekend movie with $44.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Debuting in second place with $22.1 million was Disney's "Bridge to Terabithia," based on the children's novel about a boy and girl who create an elaborate fantasy land to escape from the troubles of the real world.

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LOS ANGELES - Satan's bounty hunter has looted the wallets of movie-goers. "Ghost Rider," Sony's comic-book adaptation starring Nicolas Cage as a motorcycle stunt driver moonlighting as a collector of evil souls for the devil, debuted as the top weekend movie with $44.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Debuting in second place with $22.1 million was Disney's "Bridge to Terabithia," based on the children's novel about a boy and girl who create an elaborate fantasy land to escape from the troubles of the real world.

The movies bumped off the previous weekend's No. 1 flick, DreamWorks' Eddie Murphy comedy "Norbit," which slipped to third place with $16.8 million, lifting its total to $58.9 million.

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LOS ANGELES Nicholas Cage has taken "Ghost Rider" to first place at the box office.Studio estimates show that Sony's film with Cage as a motorcycle stunt driver moonlighting as a collector of evil souls for the devil took in 44-point-five (m) million dollars.That more than doubled-up Disney's "Bridge to Terabithia," which took in 22-point-one (m) million dollars.Those two movies bumped off the previous weekend's top flick, Eddie Murphy's comedy "Norbit," which slipped to third place with 16-poin...

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Satan's bounty hunter has looted the wallets of movie-goers. "Ghost Rider," Sony's comic-book adaptation starring Nicolas Cage as a motorcycle stunt driver moonlighting as a collector of evil souls for the devil, debuted as the top weekend movie with $44.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Debuting in second place with $22.1 million was Disney's "Bridge to Terabithia," based on the children's novel about a boy and girl who create an elaborate fantasy land to escape from the troubles of the real world.

The movies bumped off the previous weekend's No. 1 flick, DreamWorks' Eddie Murphy comedy "Norbit," which slipped to third place with $16.8 million, lifting its total to $58.9 million.

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Rating: PG for thematic elements including bullying, some peril and mild language.

What it's about: Middle-school outsiders meet and bond and build a fantasy world they can escape into, any time they want.

The kid-attractor factor: Trolls and assorted other monsters are battled, as are schoolyard bullies.

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"Music and Lyrics" is Hugh Grant's first comedy in seven years after he threatened to end his days as a romantic comedy leading man.

The reason he chose to star in "Music and Lyrics" was simple: it was too funny to pass up.

"I get quite a lot of romantic comedies and they are very often charming but seldom truly funny, and this one was funny," he told The Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm.

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Feb. 18: Actor George Kennedy is 82. Author Toni Morrison is 76. Movie director Milos Forman is 75. Vocalist Yoko Ono is 74. Singer Herman Santiago of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers is 66. Singer Irma Thomas is 66. Singer Dennis DeYoung of Styx is 60. Actress Cybill Shepherd is 57. Singer Juice Newton is 55. Singer Randy Crawford is 55. Drummer Robbie Bachman of Bachman-Turner Overdrive is 54. Keyboardist Larry Rust of Iron Butterfly is 54. Actor John Travolta is 53. Game show hostess Vanna Whi...

Feb. 19: Actress Carlin Glynn is 67. Singer Smokey Robinson is 67. Singer Bobby Rogers of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles is 67. Singer Lou Christie is 64. Actor Michael Nader ("All My Children") is 62. Guitarist Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath is 59. Actor Jeff Daniels is 52. Singer-guitarist Dave Wakeling (General Public, English Beat) is 51. Talk show host Lorianne Crook is 50. Singer Seal is 44. Actress Justine Bateman is 41. Actor Benicio Del Toro ("Traffic") is 40. Drummer Daniel Adair of 3 Doors Down is 32. Singer-actress Haylie Duff is 22.

Feb. 20: Actor Sidney Poitier is 80. Actress Marj Dusay ("Guiding Light") is 71. Jazz and soul singer Nancy Wilson is 70. Singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie is 66. Actress Sandy Duncan is 61. Guitarist J. Geils of The J. Geils Band is 61. Actress Brenda Blethyn is 61. Actor Peter Strauss is 60. Singer-bassist Walter Becker of Steely Dan is 57. Country singer Kathie Baillie of Baillie and the Boys is 56. Actor Anthony Stewart Head ("Buffy The Vampire Slayer") is 53. Actor Ja...

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If "Music and Lyrics" were pieces of clothing, the movie would be that comfy pair of pajamas and slippers you wear on a lazy Sunday morning.There's nothing terribly original about the romantic comedy, but because "Music and Lyrics" is so darn soft and lovable you can't help but sink into its warm embrace and leave the theater with a big, dumb smile.Most of that credit goes to stars Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore, who both are at their most charming on-screen. They create such a winning chemistry,...

Barrymore, in particular, radiates a warmth and vulnerability in her role as Sophie, an unlucky-in-love recent graduate school refugee who falls for a 1980s has-been British pop musician named Alex (Grant), who is still living off his banal hit, "Pop Goes My Heart."Grant, who plays his usual foppish character here, gives his best performance since the wonderful "About A Boy" in 2002. Sure, we've seen this before - the boyish charm, the dry wit and the mischievous twinkle in his eye - but he do...

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NEW YORK ? David Letterman can't forget the night Drew Barrymore flashed him nearly 12 years ago. In a "Late Show" appearance in 1995, the actress famously danced on Letterman's desk for his birthday and briefly bared her breasts with her back to the camera.

Letterman reminded her of this when they chatted on Monday's CBS late-night talk show, saying, "You've got a birthday coming up. ... You know, I've got a birthday coming up as well."

"I remember celebrating your birthday one year," said Barrymore, who turns 32 on Feb. 22.

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"Music and Lyrics" is a weird little hybrid of a romantic comedy that's simultaneously too fluffy and not whimsical enough.

Writer-director Marc Lawrence is definitely aiming for a retro '40s feel, with his bustling New York setting and witty characters who repeatedly burst into song. But he's infused the movie with a forced contemporary flavoring, including a Britney Spears-style pop diva and references to performers like Shakira and Justin Timberlake, and he gets too bogged down with industry types and their business meetings.

The songs are catchy, though - especially "Way Back Into Love," the tune Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore's characters craft together, which will be stuck in your head like a psychotic episode for days if not weeks to come. (It's playing in this particular critic's mental jukebox during the writing of this review. Somebody please make it stop!)

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NEW YORK - David Letterman can't forget the night Drew Barrymore flashed him nearly 12 years ago. In a "Late Show" appearance in 1995, the actress famously danced on Letterman's desk for his birthday and briefly bared her breasts with her back to the camera.

Letterman reminded her of this when they chatted on Monday's CBS late-night talk show, saying, "You've got a birthday coming up. ... You know, I've got a birthday coming up as well."

"I remember celebrating your birthday one year," said Barrymore, who turns 32 on Feb. 22.

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New this week from DreamWorks, the "Flags" DVD comes without any extras — zippo, zero, none.

Granted, Eastwood's always been tight-lipped, but this is ridiculous.

As battle-scarred veterans of the DVD-buying wars have learned, the absence of commentaries and featurettes means an extras-laden "collector's set" is likely lurking around the corner.

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Talk about a "hearty" task -- picking my favorite romantic movies. It's like picking my favorite child. The truth is, I love so many that it's impossible to squeeze them all into a list of 10, so please don't be offended if your favorite didn't make the cut.

What I tried to accomplish with this he list is some scope, which explains why the list expands over several decades. Also, I don't rank them from 1 to 10, which to me suggests that one is better than the other. They're listed alphabetically instead, because each one is a winner in its own way. You can find all the titles on home video and/or DVD.

One movie you won't see on the list is "My Bloody Valentine," a grade-Z horror flick from the early 1980s. Yes, it's true, I did take my first girlfriend to this one, but I won't reveal her name so as to spare her the embarrassment (it did give us a good excuse to jump into each other's arms, though!).

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