July 31st, 2010

Before their divorce came snake charming, book deals and even a swine flu scare

The town of Rhinebeck, N.Y., is abuzz with preparations and news outlets are clamoring for details, but what’s really going on when it comes to the Saturday wedding of former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton and fiancé Marc Mezvinsky?

tracked down some of the juiciest rumors and burning questions:



1. Could it really be costing $5 million?


Not even close. Sources close to the bride’s parents, who are paying for the wedding, cast recent tabloid “guesstimates” of a wedding budget between $3 million to $5 million as so grossly fabricated they are unworthy of comment. One longtime family friend said the wedding is not exceeding six figures – so in the hundreds-of-thousands dollar range, not millions.


 2. Any chance the Clintons are getting freebies for the wedding?

Absolutely not. As Secretary of State, the mother of the bride would be guided not only by what is appropriate, but by the strict ethics rules that prohibit all executive branch employees from accepting gifts of more than $20 in value. And no, there can be no parsing of the value. A single source can give no more than a total of $50 worth of gifts in each calendar year. 


3. Which celebs are going?

The White House says that President Obama will not be attending, and Obama himself says that he didn’t even get an invite. Ditto Al Gore’s office, where a spokesperson said that President Clinton’s former VP would not be attending and neither would Tipper Gore. But, added the spokesperson, “They both wish the couple well and they share in the family’s excitement.”

As for all that buzz about Oprah Winfrey being among the celebrity guests, a spokesperson for Winfrey’s production company, Harpo, told a HumanEvents.com blogger earlier this month: “Ms. Winfrey has not been invited to the wedding.” As Hillary Clinton put it last week, “It’s a family wedding and the people coming are friends and people who have been meaningful in her life, as it should be.” Our money is on longtime Clinton pals Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen.


4. What kinds of presents should the happy couple expect?
A toaster oven or latte maker just doesn’t seem appropriate. As for a bridal registry – it’s a Secret Service-style mission. The couple used a fake name under the gift registry, reports the Washington Post, so even the shopping locations are a mystery.

5. Could this all be a ruse to keep us away from the REAL wedding somewhere else?
According to Jim Langan, editor of the Hudson Valley News, “If it is, it’s worthy of the Manhattan Project and an appearance by Oliver Stone, and it would be the most expensive head fake in history.”

Chelsea Clinton will say “I Do” to her boyfriend of about five years, Marc Mezvinsky on Saturday evening in Rhinebeck, New York. What is said to be the wedding of the year, secrecy and buzz has caused hundreds to crowd into this small village hoping to catch of a glimpse of a former president, a secretary of state or their daughter. The 30-year-old daughter of Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton is expected to wed her beau at a ceremony at Astor Courts, the ultra-private Hudson riverfront estate, in front of 400 to 500 guests.

The couple were friends as teenagers in Washington, and both attended Stanford University. They now live in New York, where Mezvinsky works at G3 Capital, a Manhattan hedge fund. Mezvinsky worked previously at Goldman Sachs as an investment banker.

Clinton completed her master’s degree in public health earlier this year at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.

Mezvinsky is a son of former U.S. Reps. Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky of Pennsylvania and Ed Mezvinsky of Iowa, longtime friends of the Clintons. His parents are divorced.

Meanwhile, a longtime Clinton family friend denied that the wedding would cost more than $1 million. The friend, who spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with the family’s desire for privacy, said the cost will not exceed six figures. Wedding experts told The Associated Press the wedding could cost $2 million to $3 million, while other outlets said it could hit $5 million.

Several other of the 500 attendees will have a low-key arrival via bus. They’ll be picked up from local inns Saturday afternoon to be whisked away to the mansion, which is set back from the road with a long driveway protected by off-duty police officers.

Out-of-town attendees received a small box of chocolates from Samuel’s and wine from Clinton Vineyards.

“It’s white, it’s called Tribute and it’s a Seyval Blanc. It’s the 2009 vintage,” Rita Flood, who works at Clinton Vineyards, told Us Weekly. “It’s called Tribute for two reasons: one, initially, the owners called it Tribute to recognize the fact that they harvested their grapes on 9/11, and it was released in tribute of those who died in 9/11. And another tribute to honor the founder of Clinton Vineyards, Ben Feder.”

Mel Gibson’s ex-girlfriend says she’s the victim of a “smear campaign” and never tried to extort money from the Oscar-winning star.

In a video interview posted Friday on RadarOnline.com, Oksana Grigorieva says she’s been “victimized all over again” by speaking out about her troubles with Gibson. She accuses him of “trivializing domestic violence” and urges him to “tell the truth.”

The Russian singer and mother of Gibson’s youngest child says the now-infamous tapes allegedly of the filmmaker threatening Grigorieva were all recorded on one night, and that she recorded the calls because she feared for her life.

Gibson met with sheriff’s detectives last week to discuss his claims of extortion against his ex. The sheriff’s department is also investigating claims by Grigorieva that Gibson abused her during a January confrontation.

Skeptics, take notice: This breakup is for real.

Almost two months after Heidi Montag went to court seeking legal separation from husband Spencer Pratt, the reality starlet filed for divorce.

Montag, 23, cites the usual irreconcilable differences in the divorce petition filed in Santa Monica, Calif., Superior Court.

“Heidi has amended her petition for separation and today has filed a petition for dissolution of marriage from Spencer Pratt,” Montag’s lawyer Jodeane Farrell tells PEOPLE. “The couple has agreed they would like their divorce to be finalized in a timely manner in an out of court settlement. Both parties are amicable with each other and over the possibility of finalizing their divorce.”

The public and Montag’s own former costars from The Hills initially expressed doubts about whether the split was legitimate or another publicity stunt.

They were married last April at a church in Pasadena, Calif., and have been busy ever since.

Montag underwent 10 plastic surgery procedures in one day this year. She followed that by firing Pratt as her manager and beginning her quest to become a big screen actress, filming a role in Adam Sandler’s Just Go With It, and also working on her music career.

Just recently, Pratt, 26, admitted to choosing fame over his wife telling PEOPLE, “We love each other but I’m a fame whore and I’ll never grow out of it. knows that and doesn’t want that.”

Former Vice President Al Gore has been cleared of a massage therapist’s sexual abuse allegations due to “lack of credible evidence,” prosecutors in Portland, Ore., said Friday.

The Multnomah County District Attorney’s office said a “sustainable criminal case does not exist” after looking into claims by Molly Hagerty, who alleged Gore, 62, had made “unwanted sexual contact” with her during a massage at his hotel in 2006.

Prosecutors declined to pursue the case after interviewing witnesses who were at the hotel and since Hagerty failed a polygraph test. The D.A.’s office also said forensic testing disputed her accusations.

“Mr. Gore unequivocally and emphatically denied this accusation when he first learned of its existence three years ago,” Gore family spokeswoman Kalee Kreider tells PEOPLE. “He respects and appreciates the thorough and professional work of the Portland authorities and is pleased that this matter has now been resolved.”

After a day out with beau Zac Efron, a solo Vanessa Hudgens takes a walk on the wild side Friday, sporting leopard-print pants while running errands in Los Angeles.

Casey Affleck may not agree with the way his cinematographer is framing the scene.

A week after a producer accused him of sexual harassment, the actor and his production company have again been sued by a woman who worked on his Joaquin Phoenix documentary, this time for upward of $2.25 million.

This time it’s the director of photography who’s accusing him—or, the woman who would have been credited as the DP, she says, if she hadn’t quit out of frustration.

Read the lawsuit.

Magdalena Gorka, who was mentioned in the lawsuit filed by Amanda White last week, alleges that Affleck and other members of the crew instantly made her feel “uncomfortable” on the set by making lewd comments, talking about having sex with Gorka and suggesting she sleep with the camera assistant.

In mid-December 2008, her suit states, the crew stayed overnight at Phoenix and Affleck’s New York apartment while in town shooting scenes for I’m Still Here: The Lost Year of Joaquin Phoenix.

Because she was the only woman there at the time, Gorka says, Affleck told her she could sleep in his bedroom and he’d take the couch. She says that she woke up up in the middle of the night to find Affleck, wearing underwear and a t-shirt, curled up next to her.

His breath “reeked of alcohol,” she claims.

According to the lawsuit, when she told him to get out of bed, Affleck asked, “Why?” and she replied, “Because you are married and because you are my boss.”

Gorka quit after this incident, she says, but agreed to return to the film after White joined the crew and she figured having another woman around would help.

But she says that she was ultimately forced to resign again in April 2009 following the crew’s trip to Costa Rica (also mentioned in White’s lawsuit) after the innuendo and inappropriate conduct resumed upon her return.

Afterward, her complaint alleges, Affleck refused to pay her or give her credit for her work as director of photography.

Gorka has sued the actor and Flemmy Productions for intentional infliction of emotional distress, constructive discharge in violation of public policy, breach of oral contract, negligent infliction of emotional distress, unjust enrichment and negligence.

She wants compensatory and punitive damages for the “humiliation, embarassment and emotional distress” she suffered and “continues to suffer” since working with Affleck.

An attorney for Affleck and his company previously rejected White’s lawsuit as “preposterous and without merit,” and legal eagle Martin Singer filed a motion this week to compel arbitration.

Ex marks the breakup spot for Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston.

The 19-year-old mom called off her second engagement to her baby daddy last week following a fight over one of his ex-girlfriends, a source close to the couple tells E! News.

They must have been on pretty shaky footing already, because the thorn in Bristol’s side wasn’t even the ex who turned up pregnant this week, but some other girl!

While Lanesia Garcia was outed by the National Enquirer as Levi’s possible second baby mama, our source—along with Levi’s lawyer—insists that Garcia herself has admitted that the Playgirl poser is not the father of her unborn child.

“Lanesia and Levi have dated off and on over the past few years but he’s not the father of that baby,” says the source. “Lanesia’s other ex boyfriend is the father. She’s not the reason broke it off.”

Instead, it was Levi’s other ex, Briana Plum, who put a hitch in Bristol’s wedding plans.

“There was an interview with her and Bristol wasn’t happy about some of the things said,” the source tells E! News. “There was also some picture on Facebook of him and Briana and Bristol just said, ‘Let’s hold off on the engagement.’ ”

Neither Paln nor Johnston have publicly commented on their latest split.

The parents of 19-month-old Tripp landed on the cover of Us Weekly last month with news of their rekindled romance and there was even talk about shopping a reality show featuring their young family.

Well, all that was never well probably won’t end well the second time, either.

An unofficial shortlist has surfaced that lists Sony Pictures’ top candidates for who should nab the starring role in their adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s global megaseller The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. And guess who isn’t on the list?

Kristen Stewart, the lady who we think should have landed the role a long time ago, is still being looked over. And it’s all because those K.Stew haters can’t see past their ruddy little noses to recognize the talent that darling K. has been quietly showing off—everywhere but Twilight! Open your eyes, Hollywood!

Here’s the scoop on the Stewart-less situation:

EW reports that Sony set a release date for the flick, even though the movie’s lead role of Lisbeth Salander has yet to be cast. A rumored shortlist has made its way through the circuit, with a bevy of young up-and-comers from the recognizable to the obscure.

Arguably worthy actresses on the list include Ellen Page (Inception), Carey Mulligan (An Education), and Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland), as well as more low-key talent like Rooney Mara (Nightmare on Elm Street), Emily Browning (Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events), and…you know what? Don’t even care!

We feel so strongly about this one, dolls: this is the role that will transform Kristen from a tween favorite to a genuine Academy-recognized babe—as needs to happen. We know Kristen was mentioned as a possible candidate before, but it seems the tides have turned and she’s almost surely out.

Lisbeth is a struggling, angst-ridden, sexually combustible (and very take-charge) brilliant young girl, and we think Kristen has the perfect everything for it. Hell, we even picture her when we’re reading the books!