Rice: 'I was bullied at school'

Rice has revealed that she was bullied at school.

The 22-year-old Australian swimmer, who won three gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, said that she found school "hard" because she was not slim like the other girls in her class.

Rice told New Idea magazine: "School was hard for me. I was always quite chubby, never the popular girl. I experienced the chubby calls and people making remarks like 'loser'. I was so shy and not confident in myself.

"It was fortunate I had swimming and a great group of swimming friends, so I had something else to get me through. It was great to have an escape.

"As hard as it was to go through, it makes you aware of how you treat people and it humbles you. I'm glad I went through it as it turned me into the person I am today and helped me relate to people."

Lindsay Lohan 'has no pillow in jail'

Lindsay Lohan
WENN
Lindsay Lohan's mother Dina has revealed that she does not get preferential treatment in jail.

The 24-year-old Mean Girls actress, who has been in a California prison since July 20 after being convicted of violating her probation conditions, apparently does not even have a pillow in her cell.

Dina told Radar: "She doesn't have cell phone privileges, that's absurd. She doesn't even have a pillow to sleep on.

"I talk to her through glass. There's a phone and we put her on speaker but I can't even hug my daughter... She's treated like a common criminal.

"I have to say that the people inside have been pretty cool to her... the guards and the inmates."

Ryan Reynolds on 'Green Lantern's' CGI suit and the 'ultimate fanboy'

Ryan Reynolds is paying attention to what the "Green Lantern" fanboys and fangirls are saying on the forums, but he often finds a wealth of inspiration from the "ultimate fanboy" on the forthcoming film's set.

Speaking to HitFix at San Diego Comic-Con, the leading man said comic writer Geoff Johns has been on hand throughout production helping to form the one, two, three and more Green Lanterns to appear in the flick.

Johns has surely been a help, too, in construction the Green Lantern's all-CGI suit, for what Reynolds calls an "iconic" comic book character.

"[The suit] is a physical manifestation of the ring bearer's will and his biology," he says, admitting that while he may not have a costume to hang up in his closet at the end of the shoot, he's willing to sacrifice it for the fans.

Elton John working on 'Animal Farm' musical

Melbourne, July 24 : Legendary singer Elton John is working on a new show based on George Orwell's 'Animal Farm' alongside Lee Hall, who wrote the hit musical 'Billy Elliot'.

The Daily Mail reports Hall, who has won numerous awards for his book and lyrics for 'Billy Elliot,' believes the dystopian novella is perfectly suited for the stage.

Orwell''s story is about a piglet called Napoleon who destroys a rival and rides roughshod over other opponents in his bid to control the old Manor Farm.

"I''m deep into it, writing songs for pigs and other four-legged friends," the Herald Sun quoted Hall as saying.

"Having worked with him on Billy Elliot, I know that Elton likes to have the lyrics done and have them in front of him so I''ll work on a batch before I give him anything to look at.

"I would think it''s going to take about two years before it''s all ready to go," he added.

Hall and his associates have spent a long time to get various rights necessary to bring the 1945 classic to the stage.

"It''s taken about two years," he said.

"We almost gave up but there was always that one last licence to go after," Hall added.

'Salt' high on action, lacks other spices

By Satyen K. Bordoloi, Film: 'Salt'; Director: Phillip Noyce; Cast: Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Daniel Olbrychski; Rating:***

Action movies are easy. All it needs is a decent story, action and wit. An action-thriller is a different ball-game altogether. Not only do they have to get the action right, they also have to get the suspense and its delivery right. "Salt" scores on the action and the story, but fails in the convincing delivery of the suspense.

In the film, Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie) is a CIA operative in New York, married to a German. A Russian defector informs them that Russia has infiltrated many super soldiers in different defence agencies of the US who wait for the order to carry out subversive activities and Salt is one of them. He tells her that it would be her job to assassinate the Russian president who would be visiting the US soon.

When the needle of suspicion is directed towards her, she escapes but states that she has done so to save her husband. The rest of the film plays on who exactly is Salt, a Russian assassin or a US spy with some interesting twists and turns.

The plot and the suspense are not the film's drawbacks. Neither is the action as Jolie's antics keep the audience glued. The problem is the pace and timing at which the suspense unfolds.

Not much time is dwelt on the transformation of Salt due to her attachment to her loving husband, thus losing out on a stronger emotional connect for the audience.

Also, the Russian connect is a bit too late. Had it been in the Cold War, the topicality and believability of it would not have been so lost to an average viewer today.

Originally the script was written with a male lead in mind and Tom Cruise was approached to play the lead. However, he had problems with it being similar to his "Mission Impossible" franchisee after which the lead was turned to a female.

Indeed, the character of Salt borrows heavily from Ethan Hunt in "Mission Impossible" as well as Jason Bourne in the 'Bourne' series of films.

Kurt Wimmer, who has written the cult classic "Equilibrium", fails in getting the same tension and depth to the story in "Salt". Yet, if the film is a hit, room is left open for sequels to follow.

Ex-couple Price, Andre voted most boring public figures

A survey conducted by men's online magazine AskMen UK has voted Katie Price and her ex-husband Peter Andre as the most boring public figures that people are tired of hearing about.

Price topped with 51 percent of votes in the Great Male survey as being the female public figure people were most tired of hearing about, leaving behind eccentric singer Lady Gaga and Malaria-stricken Cheryl Cole at second and third positions, respectively.

"For many British guys, Katie Price represents everything they'd want to avoid in a partner. For a number of men, her apparent harsh treatment of ex-husband Peter Andre makes her bad relationship material and her constant craving for attention would seem to be a huge personality turn off," femalefirst.co.uk quoted Andrew Lubega, editor of AskMen UK - who commissioned the survey - as saying.

In the male category, the 7,000 people surveyed placed Katie's ex-husband Peter in the top spot, closely followed by "Twilight" actor Robert Pattinson.

Golfer Tiger Woods, music mogul Simon Cowell
and England soccer star John Terry filled the rest of the top five slots.

The Great Male survey quizzed respondents on a range of topics, including use of technology, political preferences, favourite television shows
and celebrity crushes.