Jennifer Lopez may look the same as she always has, but the star says she’s been transformed since becoming a mother to her twins, 18-month-old Max and Emme.

“There’s nothing as huge as giving birth to another human being and having to be responsible for another life,” Lopez tells InStyle, for its September, 15th-Anniversary issue. “There’s you before kids, and there’s you after kids – and they’re not the same you.”

The singer-actress, who celebrated turning 40 with a blowout bash in July, says her outlook on all aspects of life – from her music to relationships and business ventures – has shifted gears.

“[Parenthood] totally changes your perspective on everything,” says Lopez. “You don’t come first anymore. There’s somebody else you care more about than yourself.”

For the active entrepreneur, that means cutting down on work and stepping down from the “hamster wheel,” a previous lifestyle that was all about deadlines – a whirl in which she “felt like I couldn’t say no.”

“I’m at a point in my life when I just don’t feel the need to put out anything unless I totally, absolutely feel it says what I want to say,” Lopez says about her music career. She has, however, received inspiration from her twins – especially Max, whose first few steps inspired the proud mom to write a song.

Marital Ups and Downs
When it comes to marriage, Lopez, who’s been wed to Marc Anthony for five years, admits she’s “still figuring it out as I go along,” and she’s had her share of “hard experiences and a lot of ups and downs and a lot of mistakes.”

One way she’s figuring it all out is by reading books about relationships. “It’s the never-ending question – what is the key to love?”

As for what she’s gleaned, “I believe that in life you learn through experience,” she says. “I’m old enough to know now that relationships take work. That it’s not an easy thing.”

Source, Bauer-Griffin

After a private Mediterranean cruise with 12 pals that sailed from Aug. 12 through 16 along the French Riviera, Leonardo DiCaprio got an early jump on Labor Day by going back to work Monday in Paris for his latest movie, Inception, directed by Dark Knight’s Christopher Nolan and which started shooting in London last month.

Trade reports have described Inception as a contemporary sci-fi action thriller set within “the architecture of the mind.” But for DiCaprio and his costars, La Vie En Rose Oscar winner Marion Cotillard and Juno Oscar nominee Ellen Page, the setting was one of the more recognizable bridges on the Seine.

The bridge itself – the Pont de Bir-Hakeim – is no stranger to the screen, having recently been seen in 2007′s National Treasure 2. Steven Spielberg also used it and its above-ground Metro line and distinctive view of the Eiffel Tower in his 2005 Munich, while Marlon Brando walked across it in the groundbreaking 1973 Last Tango in Paris. Now it’s DiCaprio’s turn.

After 7 a.m. makeup and wardrobe call, the star was on the Bir-Hakeim by 8:15 and worked until 12:15, as did Page. Cotillard was into makeup and wardrobe at 7:30 and at the bridge by noon.

Monday’s scene on the closed set utilized two giant mirrors, each the size of a storefront and slowly rotating and reflecting each other. The leading man – dressed in a grey-green Armani jacket, black trousers and looking very tanned and blond – stood between them, creating a funhouse-mirror effect of a thousand reflections before the mirrors pulled away to reveal him walking the bridge with Ellen Page amid a sea of extras.

An argument develops between them and Page turns violent, shoving him, knocking him down. What followed were shots of the extras, standing as still as statues, as though they were frozen in time.

Shooting will continue in Paris through Thursday.

Source, Bauer-Griffin

PCN Photos

Eva Longoria Parker is truly poised to take off.

The Desperate Housewives star – who besides filming the Emmy-winning ABC show is also national spokesperson for the Padres Contra El Cancer charity and one of the faces of L’Oreal – is opening her second restaurant on New Year’s Eve 2010 and has plans to branch out into airports across the country.

Describing herself as “so excited about opening Beso Vegas,” the actress, 34, tells People, “Vegas has the most energy in the world. It’s a foodie city, which is great for us because of our menu. Everything we offer is pretty unique. Nobody in Vegas has anything similar.”

Longoria Parker says the venue is still under construction but the design and menu – signature dishes include flatbread, tortilla soup and guacamole – will be similar to the look and offerings at her first restaurant, Hollywood’s Beso.

To distinguish between the two places, “There will be different specials and drinks – Vegas style,” she says. “Also upstairs we’ll have a lounge called Eve.”

Looks Forward to Traveling
Though she’ll have to jet to Sin City once a month to oversee the business, the hands-on restaurant owner says she’s not going to mind the extra travel and work.

“I’m a big fan of the art of cuisine. I love to cook and I love to entertain, so I feel like this is just an extension of me,” says Longoria Parker, who considers the restaurants “like my second home. [My husband] Tony would eat there morning, noon and night if it was open! His favorite dishes are the tortilla soup, the chili rub skirt steak and the Vera Cruz corn.”

Even with two restaurants, Longoria Parker has no plans to stop expanding – she’ll be opening “Besitos, which are little besos,” in airports, which will feature a limited menu. “We just signed the contract for the first airport and it’s in L.A.,” she says, “so we’re really excited!”

Source, Bauer-Griffin

With nature and family as themes, actress Alyssa Milano wed Hollywood agent David Bugliari at his family’s estate in New Jersey on Saturday, her rep confirms exclusively to People.

Milano, wearing a custom gown by Vera Wang and holding a bouquet of lily of the valley flowers, walked down an aisle strewn with cream-colored rose petals and natural grass to the tune of John Lennon’s “Imagine.”

The couple exchanged traditional vows under a wrought-iron gazebo decorated with willow, calla lilies and roses. Among the guests was actor Bradley Cooper, a friend of the groom.

“We wanted a wedding that was reflective of who we are as a couple” says Milano, who calls meeting her husband in 2006 “a lovely gift.”

Following the ceremony, wooden signs directed guests to the cocktail area, decorated with rattan furniture and hay bales serving as cocktail tables.

Dinner was served family style on rustic farmhouse tables in a tent with wood flooring and wrought iron chandeliers. Event planner Colin Cowie created just the right atmosphere for the family-oriented couple.

“My Italian family still eats Sunday dinner together every week,” says Milano. “We wanted to capture the same feeling with people passing around beautiful bowls of food and talking and laughing.”

Bugliari, an agent at the Creative Artists Agency, “proposed to Milano, 36, last December with a ring he designed and made by Jim Lavi at Daniel Jewelry in La Jolla, Calif.

Milano has most recently been in seen in NBC’s comedy My Name Is Earl. Up next for the actress is a role on the the ABC comedy Romantically Challenged.

Source, Bauer-Griffin

It’s going to be a crowded ballroom for Dancing with the Stars’ ninth season. Sixteen celebrities — including Donny Osmond, Melissa Joan Hart and Aaron Carter — have signed on to do the cha cha, the paso doble on the ABC show, which premieres Monday, Sept. 21.

“When we increase the cast we find it makes the competition more interesting,” DWTS executive producer Conrad Green tells People. “It was about trying to make it as big as possible and try to get that sense of fun and excitement and real character come through on the show.”

The sweet 16 lineup, which was announced live on Good Morning America Monday, also includes familiar faces like former Dallas Cowboy Michael Irvin, reality star Kelly Osbourne and supermodel-turned-billionaire businesswoman Kathy Ireland. Lesser-known celebrities, like snowboarder Louie Vito, Iron Chef’s Mark Dacascos and model Joanna Krupa join the cast as well. But by far the most eyebrow-raising contestant is former House of Representatives Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

“He’s a fairly divisive figure in as much as Democrats will probably be hoping he fails and Republicans will probably be melting down the phones to keep him in,” Green admits. “I love that kind of level of engagement.”

Adds Green: “Tom loves dancing. He dances with his wife. He watches Dancing with the Stars religiously. For him it was a no brainer, but for us it was an absolute shock.”

Professional dancer/celebrity pairings will be announced on August 24, Green says, “because of geography, people will be meeting their partners for the first time at various times throughout the week.”

The complete cast for Dancing Season Nine

Mya, singer
Melissa Joan Hart, actress
Michael Irvin, former Dallas Cowboy
Ashley Hamilton, actor, comedian, singer-songwriter
Aaron Carter, singer
Kathy Ireland, former supermodel-turned-businesswoman
Debi Mazar, actress
Natalie Coughlin, U.S. Olympic swimmer
Louie Vito, snowboarder
Chuck Liddell, ultimate fighting champ
Donny Osmond, singer
Tom DeLay, former Republican congressman
Macy Gray, singer
Joanna Krupa, model and actress
Mark Dacascos, Iron Chef personality
Kelly Osbourne, reality star

Source

Jerry O’Connell is hitting the books: The actor has enrolled at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles.

“I had always planned on continuing my education at some point,” said the star who is dad to twin girls with wife Rebecca Romijn and because my wife is working on Eastwick, which is on Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. this fall, and I’m home all day with the girls, I figured I would take a couple of classes at night. ”

As for how else he would have possibly passed the time? “It was either [law school] or play video games until 2 a.m.,” he joked

Leslie Steinberg, Assistant Dean of Public Affairs at the school, told E! Online that the actor is enrolled as a part-time student and began attending classes last week.

Source, Bauer-Griffin