Bonnie Carroll's Life Bites - Tinsletown Tidbits

ACTOR KIRK DOUGLAS PRESENTS SBIFF’S 2011 KIRK DOUGLAS AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN FILM TO SON MICHAEL DOUGLAS

SBIFF friends, supporters, industry friends and fans of the Douglas family filled the Coral Casino Ballroom of the Four Seasons Biltmore Hotel in Santa Barbara for the sixth annual Kirk Douglas Award of Excellence in Film dinner to see Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas present his namesake award to his son Michael Douglas, Academy Award-winning actor/producer.

It was a star studded evening that will go down in Hollywood history as a very special night to remember.

Among those attending and honoring Michael Douglas were Catherine Zeta-Jones, Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman, Annette Bening, Christopher Lloyd, Bo Derek, Dennis Miller, Alan Thicke, Andy Davis, along with family members, friends and gala guests.

The SBIFF fundraising black-tie Gala dinner included a look into Douglas’ prestigious career, as well as personal comments and congratulations from Danny DeVito, Annette Benning, Kirk Douglas and Roger Durling who all praised Michael Douglas as an outstanding actor and a stellar human being.

Roger Durling shared how much the SBIFF owed Kirk Douglas for lending his name and time to the festival through this annual award, now in its sixth year, and said “I am forever in his debt because Kirk Douglas gave our festival great credibility at a time when we were struggling financially, and his contribution helped make our festival grow and become financially solvent." Moet & Chandon was a sponsor for the Gala.

SBIFF will celebrate their 27^th annual in January 2011. For festival information visit:www.sbiff.org.

The Tiber would have trembled to hear the applause as Maya Angelou was presented a proclamation from Santa Barbara Mayor Helene Schneider just prior to her performance at the Arlington Theatre.

The brilliant Angelou held the packed theatre spellbound as she recanted many stories of her life, and filled in with recitations from her favorite poet Edgar Allen Poe, as well as many excerpts from her well read books. Her style is regal, but also as warm as butter. Her message of 'you are good enough just as you are' brought tears to many eyes in the audience. The story of her struggles and triumphs in life are beyond anyone's imagination and so very inspiring.

Every person in the audience left knowing they had been given a special gift from this wise and wonderful woman . . . the gift of knowing that hope, faith and hard work will take you over the rainbow. How grateful we all are to have our minds and hearts touched by this awe inspiring woman!

ELISABETTA CANALIS ON DANCING WITH THE STARS NO MORE

Stepping into sequins and lace, "Dancing with the Stars" frontrunner Elisabetta Canalis stopped by The Grove to chat with "Extra's" Mario Lopez about romance rumors with dancing partner Val Chmerkovskiy, her weight, and being stateside.

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The Italian bombshell set the record straight about Val, revealing, "No. He's my teacher and my friend."

Canalis opened up about her breakup with longtime boyfriend George Clooney, saying, "I'm happy now. Stories start and stories finish. I wish him the best and happiness and everything 'cause I'm happy. Life goes on."

Elisabetta admitted she was concerned about losing too much weight during her "Dancing" gig, telling Lopez, "I lose weight especially when I have a big show... it makes me nervous. I burn everything I eat."

When asked if she likes being in L.A., the actress replied, "Yes, I like it. I love Italy of course... that is my country. But I'm having so much fun here and I'm so happy to have this opportunity, I don't want to waste it."

Canalis, who recently stripped down for a PETA ad, said, "This is one of the most important campaigns I did in my life. I'm very proud and the campaign is coming out on the 15th of September and I hope you guys like it."

Elisabetta was eliminated 9/26/11 from ABC's "Dancing with the Stars," the premiere was on September 19. Too Bad -- I thought she was much better than many who remained BC

Clooney on Marriage: The Best Way Is on TV

George Clooney: director, producer, writer, actor, and of course, Hollywood's most famous bachelor, recently got hitched on a humorous foreign television commercial and said it would be the only way he will ever say "I do." "I think that's probably the best way... on TV," Clooney said to "Extra's" Renee Bargh.

Clooney, who arrived to the premiere of his new political thriller, "The Ides of March," with girlfriend Stacy Keibler, revealed he was "surprised" about all the hoopla the ad generated, adding, "You know, I hadn't done it in a while... I thought I'd give it a shot."

Working triple duty as the star, writer and director of the movie, which features Hollywood's "it" man Ryan Gosling, George joked that the completed project (in response to Renee's comment, "You nurtured this baby, and now you're giving birth to it") has "already given me stretch marks."

When asked what it was like having Clooney as director, Gosling answered, "At any given time he was the writer or the director or the producer... uh, the star. He still has satellites over Darfur that he's navigating on his phone," adding, "He's got practical jokes in the works."

The film, which debuted and was well-received in Venice, deals with a dirty political scandal, involving both Clooney and Gosling's characters. When Bargh pointed out the film could generate some Oscar buzz, along with George's pal Brad Pitt's "Moneyball," the jokester dished, "I'm gonna do whatever I can to spoil things for Brad. I'm already working on a little something for him. Oh yeah."

"The Ides of March" trails into theaters Oct. 7.