England: their cup of tea
Jay-Z, Beyonce shop for London home, country estate
Seems music mogul and superstar Jay-Z -- and his equally talented and successful wife Beyonce -- are quite taken with jolly old England. Word has it, the couple (aided by Madonna's own real estate agent) have been scouting for both a house in Mayfair (London's priciest 'hood) and an estate in the countryside near Oxford.
• Jay-Z, already an owner of the New Jersey Nets, has also become a big fan of soccer and is looking into becoming an investor in a top British football (soccer to us) clubs.
(AP)
• In London this week, Jay-Z also repeated his wish to record with Liam Gallagher of Oasis fame.
• Back on this side of the pond, Beyonce's papa and manager Matthew Knowles has been hard at work, looking to snare one of the biggest -- if not the biggest -- star contracts in the history of Las Vegas for his daughter.
Several sources report that Knowles is close to a deal making Beyonce the ''resident star'' at the glitzy Wynn Hotel & Casino -- a deal that could run into the hundreds of millions of buckeroos over five years.
CRUISIN' FOR TROUBLE: Tom Cruise can be a very litigious fellow -- as proved by a number of libel lawsuits he's filed (and won) against various publications. Now, I'm hearing, the actor is talking to his legal team about the In Touch cover story claiming Cruise and wife Katie Holmes are battling over daughter Suri's education, her upbringing, Scientology and other issues.
HAPPENING AGAIN? There are denials all around, but word has it, singer LeAnn Rimes is grilling Eddie Cibrian pretty closely about published reports he already has cheated on her! Rimes, of course, left husband Dean Sheremet for Cibrian, who also split with his wife Brandi Glanville for Rimes.
GOOD CAUSES: Funnyman Tommy Johnagin will be the featured comedian at tonight's fund-raiser at Zanies in Vernon Hills, organized by family and friends of Lee Stern to benefit the Northbrook hockey player, coach and referee, who has been battling the severely debilitating effects of a stroke he suffered at age 42, nearly six years ago.
• Chicago's own Jay Lavender, who wrote ''The Break-Up,'' directed a call-to-action video about the lack of H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine for a bipartisan congressional commission, which has been released online (fastervac cines.org) and sent to every member of Congress and the White House.
• A slew of past and present Chicago sports stars including A.J. Pierzynski, Jim Thome, Steve McMichael, Ryan Theriot, Moose Skowron, Denis Savard and Mike Fontenot are slated to be on hand for the ''Champions for Children's'' event at the Palmer House Hilton Nov. 19. Aiding Children's Memorial Hospital, it's chaired by Kerry and Sarah Wood, with Jim Belushi serving as the evening's emcee.
SEEN ON THE SCENE: Former Illinois first lady Patti Blagojevich had heads turning as she lunched at Ditka's Thursday, during Da Coach's show on ''Waddle & Silvy'' on WMVP-AM, while (separately) Connie Payton lunched nearby with Walter's mother, Alyne Payton.
TAKE NOTE: Fans of E. Faye Butler will want to catch the musical star and her orchestra in their ''Just in Time'' show Nov. 16 at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire.
ARTFUL TOUCH: Among the many talented creative folks at this weekend's big SOFA show at Navy Pier is Cherry Goldblatt, exhibiting her unusual beaded teapots with Thomas Riley Galleries. Each one took a month to complete, reports her proud son, Fox TV anchor Jeff Goldblatt.
HEADED HERE: Anthony Hopkins is planning to spend some time in our area next year -- not to film but just to do research on Oak Park native Ernest Hemingway. The Oscar winner has just been cast as the Nobel Prize winner in Andy Garcia's ''Hemingway & Fuentes,'' with Annette Bening playing Papa Hemingway's third wife, Mary, and Garcia playing the writer's Cuban friend and fishing buddy. Garcia will direct, based on a screenplay he penned with Hilary Hemingway, the author's granddaughter.