BYE BYE BLOGSPOT!

Exciting news! RedCarpetRoxy.com has a new server and format that I hope you will really love. Simply go to www.RedCarpetRoxy.com to see the new and improved site where you can still read all about the straight scoop from the stars, plus all of the other features you have grown to love including the Red Alert and the Look of the Week. Enjoy and I will see you on the Red Carpet!

Red Carpet Roxy
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L.A. FILM FESTIVAL PREMIERE OF "PUBLIC ENEMIES"

This has been a huge week for Hollywood with premieres at the LA Film Festival, and last night was no different. Universal Pictures' "Public Enemies" starring Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Billy Crudup, and Academy Award winner Marion Cotillard, made its Los Angeles debut to a packed house eager to see this Michael Mann directed crime drama. This true story centers around the notorious bank robber, John Dillinger and his group of crime misfits including Babyface Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd who terrorized the American banking industry during the Great Depression in the 1930's. Depp, the extrodinary and versatile actor that he is, nailed the role of Dillinger flawlessly, and look for a great performance from Crudup as a frustrated J. Edgar Hoover, who had a failing FBI task force but wanted to get ahold of the elusive Dillinger who was always one step ahead of the law with his many jail breakouts and disappearing acts. Marion Cotillard gave a fantastic performance as Billie Frechette, a downtrodden coat check girl who is swept off her feet by the ever so charming Dillinger, and fights to protect her man until the very end. If you like gunslinging and never ending shootouts, then you will love this flick.

The after party, held at the Hammer Museum in Westwood where Babyface Cocktails made with Rose's Cranberry Twist were served, drew the stars of the film as well as other on-screen talent. Actress Rosario Dawson in bright red lipstick and a 1960's dressed Marion Cotillard had fun gabbing and snapping pictures together in the courtyard. Stephen Dorff aka Homer Van Meter in the flick, spent most of the night chatting with family and close friends, and even escorted his proud grandmother around the soiree. Dapper Christian Bale entertained his several tables of supporters and made an early exit from the bash. A well guarded Johnny Depp, with several bodyguards in tow, remained ensconsed in the Universal Pictures' VIP area, but made time to converse with mega producer Jerry Bruckheimer. And yes, Depp looks just as good as ever!

Universal Pictures' "Public Enemies" opens in theaters July 1, 2009.

LA FILM FESTIVAL PREMIERE OF "TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN"

Optimus Prime is baaaaack! Last night was a big night in Los Angeles as Paramount Pictures' "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" premiered at the LA Film Festival in Westwood. This Michael Bay directed flick, which he also executive produced with Steven Spielberg, will not let action and Transformer-loving audiences down. Sam Witwicky (Shia LeBeouf) struggles with wanting to be a normal college freshman and heeding the call to help the Autobots. After finding a shard of AllSpark, Sam's head is filled with ancients symbols. Together with Jetfire, an old Decepticon who switches to the Autobots, as well as other cronies, they are lead on a journey around the world, including France and Egypt trying to rid the universe of the evil Decepticons. And in true Michael Bay fashion, look for tons of blowups, action sequences, and special effects. And don't forget-a fair amount of (daisy duke and tight shirt wearing) Megan Fox (Mikaela Banes) thrown in for good measure. A nice surprise was comedian Rainn Wilson assuming the role of an eccentric Professor Colan. Celebrities who rolled down the Red Carpet included: Shia Le Beouf, a Grecian goddess looking Megan Fox in a long white dress, an army jacket wearing Emile Hirsch, devilishly handsome Josh Duhamel (sans Fergie who might still be tied up in Toronto due to that Perez Hilton/Black Eyed Peas scuffle), a red tuxedo jacket wearing Tyrese Gibson, singer Ciara, Travis Barker with his 2 kids in tow, musician Deryck Whibley with no Avril Levine in sight, a pregnant Kendra Wilkinson with fiance Hank Baskett, couple Kim Kardashian and Reggie Bush, and filmmaker Michael Bay.

The after party was held on a couple of cordoned off city blocks in the middle of Westwood with Paramount Pictures sparing no expense, including a live performance from Linkin Park, who also wrote the music in the film, as well as elaborate food stations catered by Wolfgang Puck and several open bars pouring Rose's Mojito Cocktails. As I made my way to the VIP seating area, many of the stars chatted with one another including Shia LeBeouf, Megan Fox, and Oscar winner and "Tranformers" cast member Jon Voight. Josh Duhamel couldn't have been nicer as we chatted about his performance as Captain Lennox in the movie-does he look good in army fatigues! Tyrese was having a great time speaking with party goers and Emile Hirsch was very modest when given praise about his starring role in "Into the Wild." After the Linkin Park performance which got everybody excited, DJ Bizzy spun his tunes while guests posed for pictures with various Tranformers action figures sprinkled around the perimeter of the soiree. A blowout bash indeed!

"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" opens in North American theaters on June 24, 2009.

RED CARPET ROXY'S "RED ALERT" OF THE WEEK-JUNE 21, 2009

As if the city of San Diego, California doesn't have better things to spend millions of dollars on on than ridding a public beach of harbor seals. Back in the 1930's this particular beach was designed as a bathing pool, but after years of erosion, this wading area became a beach and seals eventually took it over and now call this beach home. Millions of tourists come to catch a glimpse of the seals in their natural habitat, and are happy to do so. Well, now a judge (Yuri Hoffman) in San Diego wants to reverse this and kick the seals out using extremely expensive ($700,000) dog barking devices to scare the seals away, then spend additional millions of dollars dredging up the sand and re-creating a wading area (and let's not forget attorney fees). Many locals find it absurd that this judge would use hard earned taxpayers dollars in such a frivolous way and want the seals to be left alone. Also, this is the last beach in the area that isn't populated by humans, so it is really the only place the seals can go.

Click here to watch the "Nightline" report detailing this issue.

Click here to find out how you can help the seals and try to prevent them from losing their home.

Image by Chronicle/Paul Chinn

"IT MIGHT GET LOUD" PREMIERE AT THE LA FILM FESTIVAL: GUITAR HEROES

The 3 rock 'n' roll subjects-Jack White, Jimmy Page, and The Edge

If you have ever been moved by music (who hasn't), you cannot miss Sony Pictures Classics "It Might Get Loud." Told through the eyes and voices of rock legends Jimmy Page and The Edge, as well as guitar virtuoso Jack White, this isn't your typical rock doc. Forget the commentary from rock historians and critics-this film goes straight to the source-the guitar heroes themselves. Watching the movie last night at the LA Film Festival premiere sitting by Page and White, I was endeared to them as they laughed at themselves and each other on the silver screen, particularly the opening scene where White fashions a home made guitar out of an empty glass Coke bottle, some wood, and old wire, then plugs it into an amplifier, strums, and declares, "Who says you need to buy a guitar?"

Director Davis Guggenheim ("An Inconvenient Truth") deposited these 3 musical greats onto a sound stage for 2 days of filming, making sure they didn't cross paths before, and just let the cameras roll, while surrounding them with their beloved 6 strings (and in Page's case-the addition of his legendary double neck 18 string.) What happens is some spectacular jamming and stories from band life, but also a lot of reflection and insight into their personal lives, which were sometimes exciting but other times mundane. Some highlights include: The Edge taking the audience back to his grade school in Ireland where he met a young Paul Hewson (Bono), Larry Mullen Jr., and Adam Clayton and where they played their first outdoor "concert" for schoolmates, Jimmy Page telling the story of how he contemplated quitting the music business when he became disillusioned with his work as a studio musician recording Muzak (background music), and Jack White talking about how he moved his bed out of his room when he was a youngster and slept on a piece of foam so he would have enough room for 2 drum sets! It is no secret that these men are where they are because of their undeniable talents, but also because of who they are as men.

Red Carpet Roxy (Vincent Sandoval/BEImages)

The after party at the Hotel Palomar in Westwood, drew several celebrity attendees including funnyman John C. Reilly, writer J.J. Abrams, producer of the film Leslie Chilcott who was anticipating her next documentary with Guggenheim about the sad state of the U.S. public school system, and Director Davis Guggenheim with his wife, actress Elizabeth Shue who admitted to me that this was her favorite piece of work so far by her husband.

Director Davis Guggenheim (Vincent Sandoval/BEImages)

Stars of the movie, Jimmy Page and Jack White arrived together sans The Edge who is knee deep in rehearsals for the U2 360 degree tour commencing in Barcelona at the end of this month (where you can catch Red Carpet Roxy as well!) Guitar playing icon Jimmy Page recounted the knowledge he gathered from The Edge and Jack while filming this production, "I thought I knew them through their music, but I learned so much more about them as people." The Raconteurs frontman Jack White laughed about his desire to become a priest before hitting it big on the billboard charts, saying, "It was very likely. It was only the fact that I didn't think I could bring the guitar to the seminary I got accepted to that I didn't go." Filmmaker Guggenheim was adamant about his direction and passion for the film, stating, "We didn't want to make the encyclopedia of the electric guitar or the 'accurate film.' It is very visceral and emotional." And so much more!

Sadly, the after party itself was anything but fit for rock 'n' royalty. With the energy from the premiere a real high, it's unfortunate that the after party was a real low. I would have hoped this type of fete would have at least had audible music or have even set the stage for an impromptu performance by these rock gods. However, this film is a must see, so go check it out!

Sony Pictures Classics "It Might Get Loud" opens in Los Angeles and New York on August 14th, 2009

RED CARPET ROXY'S "LOOK OF THE WEEK"-SASSY SELENA

Actress Selena Gomez is starting to grow up and embracing her teenage years with grace and style. You don't hear about her conveniently forgetting to wear her underwear while exiting a car! She scored big fashion points at the Toronto premiere of "Princess Protection Program," where she donned this sassy little Tadashi Shoji one-shouldered number, accented with silver satin Stuart Weitzman heels, bracelets by Ippolita and Stephen Webster, and Asha by ADM's earrings. Keep it coming, Selena!

WORLD PREMIERE OF "PAPER MAN" AT THE LA FILM FESTIVAL

Last night was the start of Film Independent's LA Film Festival in Westwood, kicking off with the world premiere of "Paper Man," starring Jeff Daniels, Lisa Kudrow, Ryan Reynolds and Emma Stone. The story centers around Daniels' character, Richard Dunne, a middle aged writer with writer's block in an unhappy marriage to Kudrow, a surgeon who would rather be 100 miles away from her husband. He befriends a teenager played by Emma Stone and learns about friendship and embracing maturity. Ryan Reynolds takes on the role of Captain Excellent (think ripped muscles in a blue leotard and short, spikey blonde hair-one of the few actors that could actually pull this look off while looking hot and not annoying), a superhero and possibly the only friend Richard Dunne has ever had, until Emma comes along. The acting was well above average, particularly that of Emma Stone whose complicated teenage character is dealing with her own inner demons and a very troubling, out of the ordinary past. A movie worth seeing. Some of the celebrities in attendance were, Christina Ricci, a leather jacket shrouded Christian Slater, Laura Dern, Robert Downey Jr. going low profile in a T-Shirt and shades, and Dermot Mulroney. From there, it was off to the premiere after party at the Napa Valley Grille, where vodka mojitos were served with Rose's Mojito Cocktail Mix and Marani vodka-the perfect drink for summer.