Did you know? : Adam Brody; Leighton Meester have tied the knot

Wedding bells for the TV star couple.

Former The OC  star Adam Brody and the Gossip Girl Leighton Meestor are officially hitched. Multiple sources are said to have confirmed the couple’s super-secret wedding. According to E! News, the happy couple were spotted together at St. Regis Punta Mita Resort in Mexico from February 12 to February 15 — and a few weeks before that she headed to West Hollywood for her Bachelorette party. Following their return, Brody, 34, clicked a photo with a fan at LAX sporting a gold band on his left finger.

The private couple, who met on the set of their flick, The Oranges in 2011, got engaged last November, just nine months after it was revealed that they were dating. The two never publically confirmed they were together. No details of the wedding have been released as yet; however, we know that it must have been a lavish affair. It would be nice to hear that both Blake Lively and Benjamin Mckenzie attended their secret wedding ceremony.

The honeymoon won’t last too long for these two since they both have multiple projects lined up. Meester is set to make her Broadway debut in Of Mice and Men this spring, while Brody will star in the film Think Like a Man Too. The two will then team up on-screen once again for the appropriately titled Life Partners, due out this year.

The Simpsons get a Lego makeover

This animated household has become a staple in American culture. PHOTO: FILE

LOS ANGELES: 

The Fox network’s animated family The Simpsons is getting a plastic makeover on May 4, as the creators team up with toy company, Lego, for an entire episode created out of the plastic building blocks, Fox’s consumer products division said on Sunday.

The episode, entitled Brick Like Me, will see family patriarch Homer Simpson wake up in a Springfield where everyone and everything is made out of Legos, and he must figure his way out before he gets stuck in the plastic world forever.

Danish company The Lego Group first started producing the plastic construction building blocks in 1949, which have become a popular toy around the world.

The Simpsons, created by Matt Groening, is the longest-running animated series in the history of U.S. television, making the cartoon family and their catch phrases, such as Homer’s D’Oh!, a facet of American pop culture.

The series, which airs on 21st Century Fox’s Fox Television, entered its 25th season last year, and the Lego episode will be its 550th show.

So far, the 25th season has seen a special Halloween episode directed by Mexican filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro, while an upcoming show will cross over with another Groening animated series, Futurama.

The Simpsons has also been renewed for a 26th season, in which producers have teased that one longstanding character will die.

Lego, meanwhile, has become a hot commodity at the box office.

Last week’s release of The Lego Movie, featuring superheroes and villains in a world made entirely from Legos, raked in $69.1 million at U.S. and Canadian theaters in its opening weekend. The movie is expected to top the domestic box office again this weekend.

No one is a threat: Parineeti Chopra

This young starlet has a long, colourful career ahead of her. PHOTO: FILE

MUMBAI: 

Busy as a bee, Parineeti Chopra has a lot on her plate. She is enjoying her work and doesn’t feel threatened by her contemporaries.

“This is my fourth year in the industry and I’m doing work that I am really enjoying,” says the actor, who is rubbing shoulders with the likes of Anushka Sharma, Deepika Padukone and Sonakshi Sinha.

With seven films to her credit, Parineeti says she is far more alert and anxious.

“Initially, I had nothing to lose. But with every passing film, there are more expectations to live up to…Dreams expand and so do the anxieties. I want to be known for being versatile, so I’ll search for roles that take me to another level.”

The spirited scene-stealer says she doesn’t see any of her contemporaries as rivals.

“I don’t really see anyone as a threat. There is enough room for everybody. That’s how I feel right now. Maybe two years down the line, I’ll start peering anxiously over my shoulder, but at the moment I’m happy just doing the work that I am,” said the actor

Parineeti has no regrets about opting out of Shoojit Sircar’s next film Piku, in which she was to play Amitabh Bachchan’s daughter.

“The dates clashed with another film. I was so looking forward to it because it gave me a chance to work with two of the finest actors we have  — Bachchan saab and Irrfan,” she said and added: “Maybe it was too early for me to work with these stalwarts. I’d have probably forgotten my lines and just stared at them.”

As for losing out on the chance of doing a father-daughter film with the Big B, Parineeti said: “I have a very strong father-daughter bonding with Anupam Kher sir in Daawat-e-Ishq. As for Bachchan saab, I’m sure I’ll have other opportunities to work with him.”

“The audiences saw a new me in Hasee Toh Phasee. Now they’ll see me in an entirely new avatar in Shaad Ali’s Kill Dill,” says the versatile actor

“I’ve lots on my plate. Till the release of Hasee Toh Phasee, I was shooting two films, dubbing and promoting. There was no time for myself. And I can’t complain. Good scripts are coming my way. Obviously I can’t say yes to every film and endorsement that comes my way.”

About losing out on the popular awards this year, the pragmatic Parineeti said: “Deepika Padukone deserved them. It would have been odd if I or anyone else got them. But I was nominated. And I was very happy.”

Having worked with Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor, Sushant Singh Rajput, Siddharth Malhotra and Aditya Roy Kapoor, Parineeti says she’s close to all of them.

“But there is a special bonding with Arjun. We spent three months shooting together in Lucknow. Now I’ve spent a lot of time shooting with Aditya in Hyderabad. So these two are my favourites,” said the actor.

Born into Bollywood with a silver spoon

Are famous parents the only determinant of success in B-Town?.

Many Bollywood celebrities have been known to complain about how tough it’s for ‘outsiders’ to succeed in showbiz and what a cakewalk it is for star kids. Contrary to popular belief, however, famous kids too have to slog it out to win star status  — and it’s a journey where only a few succeed. The success to failure ratio of youngsters from film families just goes to prove that the legacy edge is nothing more than a myth.

Consider some of the actors who came riding on the shoulders of their family names: Abhishek Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, and Shahid Kapoor, to name a few.

Only a handful like Hrithik (son of actor-filmmaker Rakesh Roshan), Kareena (daughter of Randhir Kapoor and Babita, and granddaughter of the legendary Raj Kapoor) and Farhan (son of writer and poet Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani) have sparkled on the film firmament and attained star status. The rest have bitten the dust despite the often persistent backing of their illustrious families.

Take, for instance, Uday Chopra, the son of Yash Chopra, a filmmaker with a magic wand who founded the prestigious Yash Raj Films (YRF) banner and created several blockbusters and catapulted the likes of Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan to superstardom.

The master craftsman couldn’t write the same success saga for his son, however, with his production ventures Neal ‘n’ Nikki or Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai.

Even in YRF’s successful franchise Dhoom, lead actors like John Abraham, Hrithik Roshan and Aamir Khan were seen eclipsing Uday.

This is strange, considering YRF is the banner that successfully launched rank outsiders like Ranveer Singh, Parineeti Chopra and Anushka Sharma  — three stars who are currently making waves in filmdom.

It won’t be wrong to say that Abhishek too met the same fate as Uday. Even at 71, Amitabh sets standards for all and sundry, but son Abhishek, who proved his mettle in highly appreciated films like Yuva and Guru, is yet to enter in to the same league.

The actor recently appeared on Koffee with Karan, and was quizzed by the director and host as to whether it was easier for him to gain a foothold in the film industry based on his legacy.  Abhishek replied, “I am blessed to be my father’s son. It is not a choice made by me. I will never be able to repay the debt,” according to Yahoo! India.

Interestingly, Bollywood’s most popular and beloved stars are from outside the industry  — be it superstars Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar, or current reigning queens like Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif and Priyanka Chopra.

Yes, star kids do enjoy an advantage as they have easier access to the movers and shakers in Bollywood, but getting an easy entry into the industry and becoming a box office favourite are two different things  — the first clearly does not guarantee the second. Ultimately, audiences embrace talen

I want to be huge, on Mars’

Katy Perry, Kim Kardashioan, Madonna, Nicky Minaj. PHOTO: PUBLICITY

MILAN: 

Fausto Puglisi’s elaborately embroidered dresses have been worn by Madonna and will be featured alongside titans of Italian fashion at London’s Victoria & Albert museum this year, but his ambitions for his young brand are as grand as his designs.

Puglisi got his big break in 2010 when Dolce & Gabbana invited him to sell his clothes in their shop in Milan, and he opened his first monobrand store in Rome last year.

Now he wants to distribute his bejewelled bodices, printed blouses and flared skirts all over the world.

Katy Perry, Kim Kardashioan

“I want to be huge. I want to be on Mars,” the tattooed 37-year-old told Reuters as he waited for delivery of his autumn-winter collection ahead of his second catwalk show in Milan after a 2013 debut at the city’s biannual women’s fashion week.

Born in Sicily, Puglisi went to New York aged 18 and worked as a waiter before he met stylists Patti Wilson and Arianne Phillips, who introduced their clients Whitney Houston and Madonna to a capsule collection he had made in Italy.

When Madonna chose to wear Puglisi, fellow Sicilian designer Domenico Dolce and his partner Stefano Gabbana took notice.

“Puglisi is a typical Sicilian name…it’s like Smith in London,” Puglisi chuckled.

“Domenico Dolce kept asking: who is this Puglisi?”

Being chosen by the Milan-based duo to appear at a star-studded showcase for new designers eventually provided Puglisi with the two essentials for any fledgling fashion business: publicity and investment.

“The great thing about this project is that they really supported all the designers by buying the collection,” Puglisi said.

“It’s not just visibility, it’s money as well…to make beauty you need money.”

Proud of his Italian roots, Puglisi says Italian fashion buyers supported him from the beginning. But he bemoans the lack of organised promotion for an industry which Italy’s national chamber of fashion estimates will earn 65 billion euros ($89.07 billion) in 2014.

“It’s insane that in Italy we still don’t have a museum of fashion. We had to wait for the V&A (London’s Victoria & Albert Museum) to do the glamour of Italian fashion and here what we do? Nothing.”

Madonna, Nicky Minaj

Independent

The search for funds has led many fashion brands to sell stakes to private equity firms or industrial groups. Among the other names on show at “The Glamour of Italian Fashion” at the V&A from April 5, Gianfranco Ferre and Valentino have been bought by Dubai and Qatari investors respectively, while Gucci and Fendi are owned by French luxury groups Kering and LVMH respectively.

The brand founded by Gianni Versace, whom Puglisi describes as his “maestro”, is selling a minority stake. But Puglisi has no current plans to accept outside investment that would oblige him to give up some control of the business, which he estimates will make a profit of 10 million euros ($13.7 million) in 2014. “There are many people that would like to invest and at the moment I am just listening. I want to be independent.” This independence extends beyond creative control. “I supervise everything. It’s very important to have a creative vision, but also an entrepreneurial vision,” Puglisi said. “I’m the first one to say: What’s going on with the clothes? What’s the bestseller? What do women want?

NZ media hail ‘Captain Fantastic’, Dhoni endures wrath

Brendon McCullum scored 302 in the second Test against India at Wellington’s Basin Reserve. PHOTO AFP

WELLINGTON: New Zealand media dubbed triple centurion Brendon McCullum “Captain Fantastic” Wednesday, as Black Caps coach Mike Hesson said his unfancied team was finally reaching its potential. “Our greatest innings,” trumpeted the New Zealand Herald’s front page, accompanied by a picture of McCullum with his arms aloft after scoring 302 in the second Test against India at Wellington’s Basin Reserve.

“History maker,” splashed Wellington’s Dominion Post, highlighting some of the records McCullum shattered on his way to becoming the first New Zealander in 84 years of Test cricket to reach 300. They included the longest-ever innings by a New Zealand batsman at 775 minutes, facing the most balls (559) and contributing to a national record Test innings score of 680.

“No wonder he looked so shattered,” the Dominion Post said, adding that the tattooed 32-year-old had earned a place alongside the greats of New Zealand cricket. “It’s been a heck of a summer,” coach Mike Hesson told commercial radio, saying New Zealand had a depth of playing talent that combined experience and youth.

“We’ve got some nice players around New Zealand at the moment and it’s a matter of picking the right time to introduce them.” Hesson, who faced a huge public backlash after installing McCullum as captain ahead of the popular Ross Taylor in late 2012, said the fans were now behind the team.

New Zealand Cricket board member Martin Snedden said the Black Caps’ form provided a huge boost to the game as the country prepares to co-host the World Cup with Australia next year.

‘Obnoxious’ Dhoni under fire after new tour flop

While McCullum is over the moon beleaguered skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was put on notice by his predecessors Wednesday after India suffered yet another away series defeat, with one of them calling his leadership “obnoxious”.

The 1-0 loss to New Zealand on Tuesday was India’s fourth consecutive series defeat abroad and followed a 4-0 drubbing for the World Cup champions in the preceding one-dayers.

India have now lost 10 of their last 12 Tests abroad – the other two were drawn – a record that included two successive 4-0 whitewashes in England and Australia.

As the media trained its guns on the celebrated captain, former captain Sourav Ganguly said his Test captaincy was “obnoxious”, while Rahul Dravid hinted his strategy was too timid to win in the five-day format.

Both, however, wanted him to remain Test skipper until next year’s 50 over World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, while another ex-captain Sunil Gavaskar stressed that a leader was only as good as his team.

Pellegrini blames referee for Barca defeat

Barcelona and Paris-Saint Germain won their first-leg away games against Manchester City and Bayern Leverkusen with comfort in the Uefa Champions league on Wednesday. PHOTO : AFP

MANCHESTER: Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini risks a UEFA sanction after launching a scathing attack on the match referee after his side’s 2-0 loss to Barcelona in the Champions League.

Barcelona took charge of the last 16 tie thanks to a second-half penalty from Lionel Messi and a late Dani Alves strike at the Etihad Stadium in Tuesday’s first leg, and Pellegrini blamed match official Jonas Eriksson for his side’s defeat.

In a wide-ranging attack, Pellegrini accused Eriksson of making two mistakes over the penalty decision and even questioned why a Swedish official had been given control of the game.

He also said that Eriksson should not have been in charge because he had been criticised by Barcelona following his performance in their 0-0 draw at AC Milan in the quarter-finals of the 2011-12 competition.

Eriksson sent off City defender Martin Demichelis for bringing down Messi in the incident that yielded the 54th-minute penalty

“I think that the referee decided the game. Before the penalty there was the foul on (Jesus) Navas, when he (Eriksson) was three metres from the player, so he saw it without any problem,” he said.

“From the beginning I felt that the referee was not impartial to both teams. The penalty on Martin Demichelis was not a penalty, it was outside the box.”

“I think it was not a good idea to put a referee from Sweden in such an important match and a referee that made such important mistakes against Barcelona (in an earlier match).”

“This referee whistled the Barcelona-Milan game and he made an important error against Barcelona. Today he arranged (atoned for it).”

Martino not taking win for granted

Barcelona manager Gerardo Martino felt that the outcome of the game was “fair”, but he warned against complacency ahead of the second leg at Camp Nou on March 12.

“I’m not necessarily confident (about going through), but it’s true that we’ve done a good game in the away leg,” he said.

“We just have to repeat the same performance.”

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho described Martino’s side “as the worst Barcelona of many, many years” and Barca midfielder Cesc Fabregas said that he and his team-mates were pleased to have silenced their critics.

“We had a point to prove, and we did it very well,” he said.

“Some people were talking a bit too much before the game and now they have to shut up for a few days.”

Job still unfinished for PSG after victory

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has urged Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) to finish off Bayer Leverkusen after their 4-0 victory in Germany left them on the verge of the Champions League quarter-finals.

The Sweden star scored two goals in three first-half minutes as the French league leaders ran riot at Leverkusen’s BayArena in Tuesday’s last-16, first-leg clash.

Bayern were reduced to ten men for the final half an hour when Ibrahimovic’s marker Emir Spahic was sent off for a second yellow card.

This was a five-star performance from PSG, but Ibrahimovic was forthright when asked if this Parisian side was the best team he has played in.

“I’ve played in fantastic teams so difficult to say, you can have a great team, but not win trophies, we need to finish the job first,” said the 32-year-old Ibrahimovic.

Midfielder Blaise Matuidi put PSG ahead with barely two minutes gone before Ibrahimovic netted a penalty, then added a second when he unleashed a thunderbolt of a shot to make it 3-0 at the break. Replacement Yohan Cabaye then added PSG’s fourth just before the final whistle to complete the rout.

“I have an embarrassment of riches in my team at the moment,” said PSG’s contented coach Laurent Blanc. “We rediscovered the football we showed in the group stages, it was better than we played at the start of the year and I was pleased to see it.

“The players did really well and I have to praise them for the performance.