A number of folks across the pond are questioning why Prince William reportedly has chipped in a healthy chunk of the down payment on the $7.3 million estate being purchased by his in-laws, Carole and Michael Middleton, the parents of the future king’s wife, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.
“It’s not like there’s anything wrong with it,” one of my best royal sources told me. “But supposedly the Middletons are multi-millionaires from their mail-order party supply business. … Why do they need extra cash from William? Are they perhaps a bit over-extended financially — trying to keep up with their new royal relatives?”
According to the London press, the 18-acre estate in rural Berkshire is not far from the Middletons’ longtime home in Bucklebury. Dating to the 1500s, the fancy piece of real estate also reportedly long has had connections to the royal family — now clearly being expanded upon in the 21st century.
SIMMERS DOWN: After being initially enraged by the story he again had trashed a New York hotel room, Charlie Shee n now is laughing it off — somewhat. Calling the tale “malarkey,” Sheen is buoyed by the Ritz-Carlton Hotel’s denial of the story, which also claimed the ritzy chain had barred the actor from all of its properties. The hotel spokesman rebutted that as well, adding, “Mr. Sheen is very welcome at any time.”Sheen had been in New York — joined by his ex-wife
Denise Richards and their two children — promoting the launch of his “Anger Management” TV series, and a longtime Sheen associate said “there may have been some kind of weird connection between the show’s title and somebody cooking up that rumor out of thin air.”
MOVIE NEWS: Two films shot in our area are about to be released locally:
† “I ♥ Shakey,” a 3D family comedy from filmmakers DeAnna and Kevin Cooper, opens Friday at the Hollywood Palms Cinema in Naperville and stars Steve Lemme, Steve Guttenberg, Beverly D’Angelo, Alfonso Arau, newcomer Rylie Behr and rescue dog Ebony. It’s about a family that moves from the country into Chicago and faces the eviction of its pooch, who wreaks havoc on the family’s new apartment building.
† On the heels of a great reception for “Into the Wake” at the recent San Antonio Film Festival, Chicago filmmakers John Mossman and Tim Miller are bringing their psychological thriller to Our Town for its Chicago premiere July 21, 23 and 25 at the Gene Siskel Film Center. Described as “ ‘Winter’s Bone’ with more action,” the movie was shot in truck yards on the South Side and also in southwest Wisconsin.
TERRIFIC TRIBUTE: Not that she needed it, but Museum of Contemporary Art director Madeleine Grynsztejn got an outstanding vote of confidence this week as her contract with the museum was renewed. Grynsztejn joined the MCA in 2007, coming from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.Loyal MCA life trustee
Penny Pritzker and her husband Dr. Bryan Traubert, president of the Chicago Park District, announced they were giving an additional $5 million gift to the Streeterville-based institution — with trustee Sylvia Neil and her husband and former University of Chicago law school dean Dan Fischel adding $3.5 million more.
Bill Zwecker reports regularly on “Good Day Chicago” and “Fox Chicago News at 9” on WFLD-Channel 32.