Get ready for a disco inferno
Madonna‘s new tour is the hottest ticket in show business these days – literally.
The singer has demanded that arenas run air conditioning only minimally during her disco-themed performances. That means arena temperatures are likely to reach the mid-80s – about 10 degrees above the targeted comfort zone of many venues.
“She requested to keep it at a warm temperature,” Staples Center executive Michael Roth said of Saturday’s concert in Los Angeles.
Madonna also asked for minimal air conditioning at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., and the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Glendale Arena near Phoenix hosts her “Confessions” tour on Thursday and Saturday. Thursday’s forecast calls for a high of 104.
Madonna’s management isn’t talking, but Mariann Ferrin, a Peoria, Ariz., vocal instructor, offers a possible explanation: Air conditioning dries the air, she says, and “can affect your vocal cords.”
More feminine companionship
It’s another girl for Woody Harrelson and his wife, Laura Louie.
“In this crazy patriarchal world we live in, we are doing our part to balance the energy,” says Harrelson, who co-stars as a singing cowboy in the movie “A Prairie Home Companion” opening Friday.
“We are proud to announce the completion of our goddess trilogy with the birth of our third daughter, Makani Ravello.”
Her older sisters are Deni Montana, 13, and Zoe Giordano, 9.
No mere summer romance
Casey Affleck and Summer Phoenix have tied the knot following a six-year relationship.
Affleck, 30, is Ben Affleck‘s younger brother. Phoenix, 28, is the sister of Joaquin Phoenix (“Walk the Line”) and the late River Phoenix (“Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”).
The couple, who became engaged in 2003, have a 2-year-old son, Indiana August.
Daughtry’s driving solo
“American Idol” contestant Chris Daughtry, who was eliminated in the second-to-last round of the Fox talent competition, has turned down an offer to become the lead singer of Fuel.
Fuel’s lead singer, Brett Scallions, quit the multi-platinum rock act in February.
Daughtry says he expects to announce his next career move after the “American Idol” concert tour ends this summer.
Hey, Fuel – how about him?
Former “Survivor” winner Chris Daugherty has been suspended from his job at the Ohio transportation department for taking an unauthorized leave of absence to go on a European promotional tour for the CBS show.
Daugherty won $1 million in 2004 for “Survivor: Vanuatu – Islands of Fire” but returned to his $34,000-a-year job working on roads in central Ohio.
The birthday bunch
Singer Tom Jones is 66. Actor Ken Osmond (“Leave It To Beaver”) is 63. Talk-show host Jenny Jones is 60. Actor Liam Neeson is 54. Actor William Forsythe is 51. Singer-guitarist Gordon Gano (Violent Femmes) is 43. Rock guitarist Dave Navarro is 39. Actress Larisa Oleynik (“3rd Rock From The Sun,” “Boy Meets World”) is 25. Actor Michael Cera (“Arrested Development”) is 18.