Olympic Skaters Get Engaged on Ice

Originally posted Monday January 28, 2008 12:35 PM EST

John Baldwin didn't win a gold medal at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships this weekend – but he did get the girl.

Moments after he and Rena Inoue, his skating partner of seven years, completed their silver-medal-winning pairs performance Saturday, Baldwin, 34, got down on one knee in the middle of the ice and proposed.

As the crowd of spectators at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., read Baldwin's lips on the jumbotron, they began chanting, "Yes! Yes!" But Inoue, for one, stood there dumbfounded.

"I was shocked!" Inoue, 31, tells PEOPLE. "I saw him on one knee and thought he was going to tell me how proud he was – and then he asked me to marry him. Then I started crying and I said yes."

The two began skating together in 2000, after completing the respective singles careers (he skated for the U.S., she for Japan). They competed together at the Torino Olympics (finishing 7th) and have won two national pairs titles.

On Saturday, they finished second to skaters Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker – but that hardly seemed to matter to the ecstatic bride-to-be.

"I always thought we would never get married," Inoue said. "He was always saying, 'You can propose to me.' He seemed serious."

What prompted the change of heart? "When I woke up [that] morning, I decided now was the time," Baldwin explained. "We have been together as a couple for five years and everything I have accomplished is because of her. I didn't want to let anyone else have the chance."

In all the rush, Baldwin didn't have time get his fiancée a ring. "Even if I had one, it would have been hard to find a place to hold it on my outfit," he pointed out, adding that he already has something in mind for their wedding bands. "She thinks of me as Snoopy and herself as Woodstock," he explained. "I'll probably do something with that."

You're a good man, Johnny Baldwin.

Show Will Go On for Heath's Last Movie, Says Costar

Originally posted Monday January 28, 2008 03:30 PM EST

Director Terry Gilliam is feverishly working to figure out how to keep Heath Ledger alive on film, according to one of the late actor's costars in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, which Ledger was still shooting when he died last week.

"Terry's throwing himself into the job of trying to salvage the picture," veteran actor Christopher Plummer told PEOPLE over the weekend.

Despite earlier reports that the director might shelve the $30 million production, Gilliam, whom Plummer describes as "terribly saddened" by Ledger’s death is "trying to work out at this moment how to continue on. Fortunately, because the film deals with magic, there is a way, perhaps, of turning Heath into other people and then, using stills and I think they call it CGI…

"Terry was a very good friend [of Heath's]," adds Plummer. "He very wants to go on with the movie, and I can very much understand why. Because he wants to dedicate it to Heath, of course."

Ledger and Plummer both left the London portion of the movie's shoot last weekend and were due to continue filming next week in Vancouver. Leaving England, says Plummer, "Heath was in very high spirits. He was just enjoying himself tremendously. It's a rather fanciful script, and he was wonderful in this role."

Confirming earlier reports that Ledger hadnt been feeling well on set, Plummer says, "we all caught colds because we were shooting outside on horrible, damp nights. But Heath's went on and I don't think he dealt with it immediately with the antibiotics.…I think what he did have was the walking pneumonia."

On top of that, "He was saying all the time, 'dammit, I can't sleep'…and he was taking all these pills [to help him]."

As well as the damp cold and lack of sleep, Plummer describes the shoot as rigorous. "We had to shoot every second we were out there…there was hardly any time to go into the tent or the car to keep warm. We just kept shooting…boom, boom, boom…there was no pause. It was very, very hard work."

Ledger would have appreciated the show-must-go-on mentality, says his co-star. "He was terribly likeable and obviously enormously talented…and the combination was terrific. It's such a shame these things have to happen to the good ones."

As for reports that Gilliam has approached Johnny Depp to step into Ledger's role, the actor's rep tells PEOPLE: "There have been no official talks, and he is currently working on Public Enemies for Michael Mann for Universal."

Survivor All Star Starting a Record Label

Originally posted Tuesday January 29, 2008 08:00 AM EST

The lovable Rupert Boneham – from Survivor: Pearl’s Island and Survivor: All Stars – has started a music label, PEOPLE has learned exclusively.

Boneham, who calls the label "I Saw You On TV," started the label to put the spotlight on unsigned artists. Specifically, he's tapping into the talent pool created by reality TV who have not only the skills but also the personality and familiar face to connect with the public.

He plans to release three volumes: Comedy, Video Game Composers, and Reality Stars, in May. The CDs will be supported by artist tours and more volumes will be announced throughout the year.

Boneham won $1 million when he was voted America’s Favorite Player during Survivor: All Stars.

Brad & Angelina Get Romantic at the Screen Actors Guild Awards

Pitt and Jolie only have eyes for each other at the star-studded show

Jan. 27, 2008 | 11:20 PM EST

They had everybody talking during their major red carpet entrance. But Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie seemed unable to keep their eyes off each other at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday.

Stealing kisses at their table or just romantic glances, the twosome stuck close, returning to their table together – hand in hand, no less! – after a brief break from the main ballroom at the Shrine Auditorium. But the lovebirds soaked up the affection from at least one other person. Mickey Rooney approached the two at their table before the show, gabbed for a bit and posed for a picture.

Dixie Chick Martie Maguire Is Expecting

Originally posted Sunday January 27, 2008 08:30 PM EST

Dixie Chick Martie Maguire is pregnant, she told PEOPLE on the red carpet for the Nobelity Artists & Filmmakers Dinner in Austin to benefit the Nobelity Project Sunday.

"I'm very excited," Maguire, 38, says, adding, "We know what it is – it's a girl."

Maguire, 38, is married to Gareth Maguire, a professor. Their first children together were twin daughters Eva Ruth and Kathleen Emilie, who were born in April 2004. "I'm feeling good now, although I wasn't!" Maguire jokes. "Carrying one instead of two will be much easier."

In regard to the growing brood between her and the rest of the Dixies – Natalie Maines and Emily Robison – Maguire says, "We'll have to move over and let the little chicks take over! We've got a new band!

Hayden Panettiere Creates Splash at Whale Rally

Originally posted Monday January 28, 2008 08:00 AM EST

Hayden Panettiere made a splash Sunday at a downtown Washington, D.C., demonstration that called for a stop to whale hunting.

The 18-year-old Heroes star, speaking without notes, told the crowd, "Not only are these animals being cruelly slaughtered, the meat is contaminated by huge levels of mercury," reports The Washington Post's Reliable Source column, which likened the Heroes star to a latter-day Jane Fonda – though less politically controversial.

Continued Panettiere at the rally: "And we're not taking a stand because Japan is one of our biggest allies in the war on terror, but Australia is an ally and they've told Japan what they think, and good on them!"

'Huge Animal Lover'

Panettiere told PEOPLE she's a "huge animal lover. I don't trust people who don't love animals. I've got two dogs at home, Penny Lane and Madison. They're both rescue [dogs], so they're mutts. And I have a cat, Raleigh. I pulled him out from behind the dryer when I was 12. He had his foot stuck in a pipe and I pulled him out."

As for her confronting Japanese fisherman last fall, to protest the killing of dolphins – the incident let to a warrant for her arrest – Panettiere told the crowd at the rally: "I was wearing a wetsuit and shoes. I was like if I'm going to jail I ain’t going to jail in a bikini."

Panettiere, spokesperson for the Save the Whales Again! Campaign, added: "At one point this baby [dolphin] popped its head up and looked at me. To know what was going to happen and to know that I couldn't stop it is just such a helpless feeling.

To Visit Embassies

Far from helpless, Panettiere is taking her campaign on Monday to the embassies of Iceland, Norway and Japan.

She also has Web site, Panettiere's Closet, that makes available the clothing and accessories from her show. "All the money goes to the Whaleman Foundation," she says. "Tons of cute clothes on there."

Sopranos, 30 Rock Win Screen Actors Awards

Plus, No Country for Old Men, Daniel Day-Lewis and Julie Christie are big winners

Jan. 27, 2008 | 08:30 PM EST

The Sopranos may be off the air but the Mob clan still rules with an iron fist – at least at Sunday's Screen Actors Guild Awards from Los Angeles's Shrine Auditorium.

"This was so not supposed to happen," quipped Sopranos leading lady Edie Falco, who was honored as outstanding female actor in a drama series.

Also picking up an award early in the ceremony was her costar James Gandolfini, the first winner of the night, as outstanding male actor in a drama series. Said Gandolfini as he accepted his "Actor" statuette: "This is the last official act as Sopranos, together," a nod to the fact that the HBO show wound down in June 2007 after six seasons.

The HBO series' luck also carried over to the outstanding ensemble in a drama series category – its second SAG victory as such. "We're all honored and we're all happy," said Tony Sirico during his acceptance speech.

NBC's Emmy-winning 30 Rock continued its upswing as lead actors Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin both picked up outstanding acting trophies for comedy. "I want to thank anyone in the Screen Actors Guild for considering me an actor at all," Fey wisecracked before thanking her cast – especially Baldwin.

But when it came to an ensemble in a comedy series, The Office topped 30 Rock.

Tom Cruise presented the cast of No Country for Old Men with the outstanding cast in a motion picture trophy, while Julie Christie (for Away from Her and Daniel Day-Lewis picked up leading actor awards. Day-Lewis, who won for his role in There Will Be Blood, dedicated it to Heath Ledger in a moving acceptance speech.

Other major winners included Javier Bardem, named outstanding male actor in a supporting role for his chilling role as a killer in the Coen Brothers' No Country for Old Men. In the supporting actress category, Ruby Dee won for American Gangster, beating out Cate Blanchett, who won a Golden Globe in the same category for I'm Not There. "This is my first time holding one of these boys," Dee said, beaming onstage.

Sunday's SAG show marked the first star-studded award show of the season thanks to a wavier from the Writers Guild of America, which did not picket the ceremony. Another silver lining: The stars walked the red carpet with ease after the threatened rain showers were held at bay.

Private Memorial for Heath Ledger Held in L.A.

Posted Sunday January 27, 2008 09:40 AM EST

An intimate memorial for Heath Ledger, attended by immediate family and close friends including former girlfriend Naomi Watts, was held in Los Angeles on Saturday night just hours after the actor's death was marked at a New York event.

A discreet 30-minute service was held at Westwood Village Memorial Park, Australia's Channel 7 reports, during which Watts was "visibly upset."

Around 8 p.m. that evening, a small gathering of black-dressed mourners, including the Australian actress, was seen in the lobby of the Beverly Hills Hotel for a private event, a source said. Ledger's rep had said that no public memorial was planned for Los Angeles.

Earlier, about 1,000 guests at an Australian event in New York heard a message from Ledger's father, Kim Ledger, read by Australia's consul-general.

"Heath did not become an actor for the fame or fortune. He loved his craft and he loved helping his friends. He loved chess and skateboarding too," said the letter read to guests at the G'Day USA Australia Day Ball at the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan. "My image of Heath in New York is him with his skateboard, a canvas bag and his beanie. That was Heath to me."

But mostly, Kim wrote, "Heath is and always will be an Australian."

Kim, Ledger's mother Sally and sister Kate were in Los Angeles on Saturday awaiting arrival of the actor's body from New York, The Age reports. Ledger was found dead in his New York apartment on Tuesday. A cause of death has not been determined.

According to several Australian news reports, a memorial and burial in Ledger's hometown of Perth are also expected.

The Los Angeles memorial was first reported by Entertainment Tonight.

Cate Blanchett Pays Tribute to Heath Ledger

Originally posted Sunday January 27, 2008 06:35 PM EST

Though she didn't get a chance to know Heath Ledger, Cate Blanchett acknowledged the late actor's thriving career while accepting the Modern Master Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

"I'd like to pay special tribute to Heath Ledger who I think was an extraordinary actor and was well on his way to being a master himself" she said as the audience erupted in applause. "We will all miss you enormously."

Both Blanchett and Ledger starred in I'm Not There, a film depicting different characters of musician Bob Dylan, and although the two never shot scenes together she recollects a cheerful Ledger during production.

"I didn't have the great fortune of working with him but the last image I have, just this strong image, would be him dancing the first day he arrived on set," she told PEOPLE at the award ceremony. "[He] was just so joyful and I just admire the way he kept evolving as an actor. I think it's a tragic, tragic loss and everyone is reeling."

Director Todd Haynes, who befriended and worked closely with Ledger on I'm Not There, also remembered the actor, adding that the past few days have been difficult.

"[Heath] was so special and so extraordinary and a really deep, amazing guy," Haynes said. "It's hard putting this in the past tense. I know everyone, even those who never knew or met him, is finding this really, really hard."

Fred Savage & Wife Expecting Second Child

Originally posted Sunday January 27, 2008 11:15 AM EST

Fred Savage wants the world to know about his newest project – another child!

"We've got number two cooking right now," Savage, 31, told PEOPLE at Saturday's 60th annual Directors Guild of America Awards in L.A., pointing to his wife Jennifer Stone's belly. The pair is already proud parents of a son.

"We're due in May," Savage revealed, but Stone said the baby's name and sex are going to be a surprise.

Savage and Stone, childhood sweethearts who married in Aug. 2004, welcomed their first child, son Oliver, in Aug. 2006.

Asked whether they're thinking more kids, Savage said with a smile, "That's a discussion."

Savage, who directed last year's comedy feature Daddy Day Camp, was nominated for his second Directors Guild award Saturday, for his work on the Disney Channel's Wizards of Waverly Place.