Celebs of varying degrees of fame and hotness were on hand at Voyeur in West Hollywood, CA last night to attend US Weekly’s Hot Hollywood 2009 event in order to see and be seen. Here are a few pics from the red carpet of who made the guest list at last night’s event:

For the most part, it was an event that managed to attract the folks who are squarely on the pop culture radar right now … Julie Benz (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dexter) and Eliza Dusku (BtVS, Angel, Dollhouse) represented the Buffyverse contingent while Mark Salling from Glee and Adam Lambert from American Idol repped the Man of the Hour contingent. Mya, who looks poised to become the next Dancing with the Stars champ, made sure to get her party on last night as did Ms. La Toya Jackson (who, I understand, was quite popular with party-goers last night). All in all it sounds like everyone had a great time last night … it appears that all the right “it” people of the moment came out to play … sounds pretty fun to me.

[Photo credit: Wireimage]

La Toya Jackson, who has become quite the social butterfly in recent weeks, was spotted on the streets of Beverly Hills, CA over the weekend. Actually, she was spotted on one Beverly Hills street in particular … Rodeo Drive. Here are pics of Toy wearing a very bedazzling outfit as she enjoyed a day of shopping on one of the world’s most expensive streets:

Whether she’s dining out with family members or just dining out alone, La Toya has been pretty vigilant about going out on a semi-nightly basis. Now that the spotlight of attention has been focused on her family, she seems happy to bask in its glow … which is prolly why she insists on wearing such sparkling outfits … to better catch the limelight. I would assume that Toy Toy picked up a few more sparkly things on this trip to Rodeo Drive … after all, she’ll need something shiny and new to wear when she goes out on the town again ;)

[Photo credit: Splash News]

Look out, y’all … there is a new diva on the scene 53 years in the making … La Toya Jackson has been making the rounds in the weeks since her younger brother Michael Jackson passed away in June ensuring that the Jackson name (nose and chin) is still fresh in people’s minds. While the Jackson brothers are hard at work behind the scenes (for now) putting together a reality TV series that will, in all likelihood, exploit the death of MJ to the fullest extent, La Toya is just basking in the glow of all of the attention. We saw Toy all dolled up for dinner with her mother Katherine Jackson earlier this week but last night she hit the town all by herself … sharing the spotlight with no one:

While this all may sound like I’m not a La Toya fan, I can assure you that I am. The Jackson men generally gross me out to the max and some of that disdain does seep over onto the other Jacksons but I generally do like La Toya. It’s just a shame that she’s enjoying all of this new found attention because of the sad and untimely death of her brother. But now that the genie is out of the bottle, there’s no putting it back in … I expect La Toya and the rest of the Jacksons will enjoy the attention for as long as it keeps getting heaped on them. I suppose they gotta make a living somehow.

[Photo credit: Splash News]

Here are a couple photos of mama Katherine Jackson and daughter La Toya Jackson making their grand exit from a Thai restaurant in Beverly Hills, CA last night:

I believe the lady Jacksons were in attendance at the Dancing with the Stars taping yesterday that paid tribute to the late Michael Jackson and it looks like they went straight from the studio to the restaurant. We rarely see Katherine out and about enjoying herself … so I think it’s nice that she stepped out. You can just tell that La Toya LOVES bathing in the flashbulbed attention of the paparazzi … oy! The Jacksons are more popular than ever before … it’s a shame all this attention had to be bought with a death in the family ;(

[Photo credit: Splash News]

The 25th Annual AIDS Walk Los Angeles took place here in SoCal Sunday kicking off with a rally in West Hollywood, CA yesterday morning. A bunch of celebs took part in the walk in order to help raise funds for AIDS research charities … including George Takei, Felicity Huffman, La Toya Jackson and my dear friend Pauley Perrette. Here are a few pics of some of the celebs who participated in yesterday’s event and some deets about the AIDS Walk itself:

More than 30,000 people took part in Sunday’s 25th annual AIDS Walk Los Angeles, which benefits AIDS Project Los Angeles and several other Los Angeles-area AIDS service organizations. The opening ceremony began at 9:15 a.m., and the 6.2-mile walk started at 10 a.m. at West Hollywood Park, 647 N. San Vicente Blvd. From there, walkers headed south on La Cienega Boulevard, east on Melrose Avenue, south on La Brea Avenue, west on Beverly Boulevard and north on San Vicente to return to the park. Among the celebrities who participated were Felicity Huffman, Aaron Carter, Mary Louise Parker, Darryl Stephens, George Takei and John Lloyd Young. A VIP post-walk reception hosted by actress Teri Hatcher began at noon. San Francisco Mayor and gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom attended, along with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and West Hollywood Mayor Abbe Land. Villaraigosa and Land spoke to the crowd about the HIV/AIDS crisis in Los Angeles and the work of AIDS Project Los Angeles. “Today in L.A., there are 60,000 people living with HIV, and as many as a quarter of them don’t even know they are infected. It’s so important that we get them into testing and get them into treatment and care early so that they can stay healthy,” Colin Weil of AODS Project Los Angeles said.

I understand that this year’s AIDS Walk LA raised $3.15 million for the cause! Woot!! My hat is off to any person who gives of their time in this manner … thank all y’all who walked the walk and put your time where your money is to help find a cure for this deadly disease. Kudos and thanks again for your hard work this year!

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source]

In October 2008 we got our first look at photos from the film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus which was the film that the last Heath Ledger was filming when he passed away in early ‘08. After some delay and story re-shoots and tweaks, the film was finally completed and enjoyed its UK premiere in Empire Leicester Square in London, England last night. Here are a few photos from the premiere’s red carpet arrivals:

When the actor Heath Ledger died unexpectedly in New York last year, he was midway through shooting a film with the director, Terry Gilliam. The death left Gilliam heartbroken and without his lead. Yet he managed to finish the film, using Ledger’s friends – Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law – to complete the unshot scenes. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus opens here next week … Director Terry Gilliam and members of the cast are in the UK to celebrate the film’s long awaited launch. Heath Ledger, the film’s leading actor, died suddenly of an accidental overdose in January 2008 forcing Gilliam back to the drawing board in order to save the film he was half way through shooting. The fantasy drama tells the tale of Doctor Parnassus and his “Imaginarium” – a travelling show where members of the audience get to live through their imaginations. But, after doing a deal with the devil to trade his immortality for youth dark forces begin to creep up with Doctor Parnassus and his travelling show. Ledger stars as an interloper with a keen interest in Parnassus’s daughter, played by model Lily Cole. Luckily for Gilliam most of Ledger’s ‘real world’ scenes were finished before his death and three actors, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law, were keen to step in and help finish the film. The actors now appear as three different aspects of the character’s personality.

It’s crazy that so much time has passed since Heath’s death … it doesn’t seem like that long ago. It was odd seeing Ledger on screen as The Joker in Batman: The Dark Knight last summer just a few months after he passed away … I imagine those same strange feelings will come into play when Parnassus opens in theaters this Fall. This film is THE last of Heath Ledger’s work … it’s kinda weird that there will be some sense of loss again when people see this film in theaters. I must admit, I’m anxious to see Heath on the big screen again … it’s just a real shame it will be for the last time ever.

[Photo credit: Splash News, Wireimage; Source]

200 of the late Michael Jackson’s family and closest friends convened at the Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, CA last night to pay their last respects to MJ at a small funeral/burial service exactly 70 days after he passed away on June 25. For the most part, the service was fairly quiet (even tho some of it was broadcast live on TV and all of it was filmed for possible inclusion in the upcoming A&E reality TV series The Jackson Family) and provided family and friends the opportunity to say their final farewells to the King of Pop:

Michael Jackson’s family and about 200 of their closest friends gathered on a hill Thursday evening for their final farewell to the pop singer, who died 10 weeks ago. Jackson’s burial may lay to rest some of the mystery and controversy that erupted with his sudden death on June 25. His large family was divided over where the superstar’s final resting place should be, but matriarch Katherine Jackson settled on a crypt inside the well-guarded and ornate Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn cemetery in Glendale, California. Thursday’s service began 90 minutes past the announced start time, leaving dozens of celebrities — including Elizabeth Taylor — waiting in their seats for the 26 cars carrying the Jackson clan to arrive. It began with Jackson’s five brothers — each wearing a single sequined glove — carrying his flower-covered bronze casket onto the outdoor stage among six large bouquets of white lilies and white roses, along with green topiaries. His three children, led by daughter, Paris, 11, placed a crown atop their father’s coffin, which a family spokesman said it was “to signify the final resting place of the King of Pop.” Jackson’s children, parents and siblings took their seats in the front row, while his nieces and nephews filled several rows of white chairs behind them.

After an opening prayer by Pastor Lucius Smith, soul music legend Gladys Knight sang the gospel hymn “His Eye Is on the Sparrow.” Clifton Davis sang “Never Can Say Goodbye,” a hit he wrote for The Jackson 5 — the group that featured a young Michael and his brothers. What was said by Jackson’s father, Joe Jackson, and others who took the lectern is not publicly known, because the family barred news cameras from the ceremony. A family statement issued afterward said close friends and family, including the Rev. Al Sharpton, spoke “spontaneously to celebrate Michael’s life.” News helicopters hovering above captured video from a distance, but without sound. Lisa Marie Presley, one of Jackson’s former wives and the daughter of Elvis, attended the service, according to the family statement. It did not mention Debbie Rowe, Jackson’s second wife and the mother of his two oldest children. Macaulay Culkin, the “Home Alone” actor who spent time with Jackson during his Neverland Ranch days, was there with his girlfriend, actress Mila Kunis. Actors Corey Feldman and Chris Tucker were also seen arriving for the service. Motown founder Berry Gordy, who gave Jackson and his brothers their first big record deal, and Quincy Jones, who produced Jackson’s “Thriller” album, were there. Music producer Teddy Riley, who helped with Jackson’s 1991 “Dangerous” album, attended. The guest list included TV executive Suzanne de Passe, who produced a miniseries about Jackson’s family, and Kenny Ortega, who was producing Jackson’s comeback show. Thomas Mesereau, the lawyer who successfully defended Jackson in a child molestation trial, sat just behind the Jackson family. When the hour-long service ended, his brothers lifted Jackson’s casket for a final time to carry him inside the Great Mausoleum, where he was placed in his crypt at 9:43 p.m. PT (12:34 a.m. ET Friday). The family statement said it was “his final resting place.” The family and friends then drove to an Italian restaurant eight miles away, in Pasadena, California, for “a time of celebration.”

I watched most of the service as it aired live on CNN last night and found it a much more pared down service compared to the lavish service that took place at the Staples Center last July. I have to admit, I found the placing of the crown on the casket a bit odd but, that seems pretty de rigeur for any service honoring the memory of Michael Jackson. After all these weeks and months, tho, Michael Jackson is finally laid to rest … where he belongs.

[Photo credit: Getty; Source]