Jennifer Aniston was told to lose 30 pounds before 'Friends,' plus more news

Jennifer Aniston was told to lose 30 pounds if she wanted to 'make it in Hollywood'

Like countless other actresses, Jennifer Aniston recalls being advised that if she wanted a big role, she'd better lose weight. In a new book by Saul Austerlitz, "Generation Friends: An Inside Look at the Show That Defined a Television Era," the author writes that Jennifer's agent told her early on — when she was already slim — that she had to slim down even more or give up her dream: "She had to lose 30 pounds if she wanted to stay in Hollywood. Los Angeles was a tough place to be an actress — it was a tough place to be a woman — and Jennifer Aniston's agent was reluctantly leveling with her," one excerpt of the book reads (via People). The book goes on to detail how after getting a call-back for her "Friends" audition, Jennifer was told to wear a leotard, which she joked to her agent, "this'll blow it for me." He was reportedly serious when he agreed. "Aniston was hardly fat — everyone could see she was beautiful — but as the show she would one day become indelibly associated with later made a point of noting, the camera added ten pounds," the author writes. Jennifer would go on to land the part — and People would name her the World's Most Beautiful Woman in 2016. At the time, she admitted that despite her surprise at her agent's remark, she was not exactly eating healthily. "My diet was terrible," she told the magazine. "Milk shakes and French fries with gravy." Whatever she was eating clearly never detracted from her beauty, though — and maybe that's because of how she defines the term: "Inner confidence. Peace. Kindness. Honesty. A life well-lived," she told People in 2016. "Taking on challenges and not feeling shame for things that haven't gone the way you felt they should have. And not feeling like a failure or allowing people to critique your life and make you feel like you've failed at something. That's just toxic noise."

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Celine Dion says she's not ready to date after the death of Rene Angelil

As Celine Dion kicks off her "Courage" tour in support of the first English album she's released since the 2016 death of her husband Rene Angelil, she's focused on embracing her own strength, independence and confidence. That, along with the grief she's still working through, means romance is not a concern right now. "I don't date. I'm not ready to date," the five-time Grammy-winner said on "Today" this week. "I'm very lucky and happy to have so many people in my surrounding to make me — they make me laugh," she added. One of those people, Pepe Munoz, was rumored to have been her boyfriend. But the 51-year-old has maintained their relationship is platonic. "I miss to be touched. I miss to be hugged. I missed to be told, 'You're beautiful.' I miss what a boyfriend and I miss what a husband would do," she admitted on "Today." Asked if she'd consider dating again down the line, she said it's certainly a possibility. "I keep my soul and my heart open," she explained. "Because I am so much (about) love, you know — with my fans and my children and my family. And I feel that love, and it keeps me going. But love, love, love, love, love — the true love, the romance, the romantic love — is not present. But it's OK." Celine went on to say that her new album "Courage" is all about her experience losing Rene, who was also her manager and the father of her children, and how "to find the strength to keep going." She added: "I have to spread my wings. And I have to prove to myself, to my children, to my team, to my fans, that I'm fine. I'm strong and I feel great." "Courage is due out in November; Celine's tour begins Wednesday, Sept. 18, in Canada's Quebec City.

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The real-life inspiration for Jennifer Lopez's 'Hustlers' character 'wasn't that impressed' with the movie

Jennifer Lopez is already fielding awards buzz for her portrayal in "Hustlers" of Ramona, a stripper helms a conspiracy to drug men at clubs as a means of getting more cash out of them. The screenplay — including its characters — were based on a real-life story. So how does the woman who inspired J.Lo's character think J.Lo did? Meh. "I wasn't really that impressed," Samantha Barbash recently told Vanity Fair. "I was impressed with Jennifer. She was incredible. Her body looked incredible. She had it down to a T, but it wasn't factual." For one thing, Samantha said the "mannerisms" and some of the physical elements Jennifer had in the film were off. "I am nothing like that in person," she said, adding that Cardi B would have made a better Ramona. "Not taking away from Jennifer," Samantha said. "But just because Cardi was in the business." Samantha also took issue with some details about drug use in the screenplay, specifically, that Ramona and Constance Wu's character Destiny concoct the mix ("there are drug dealers for that"), that Ramona's daughter is present when they make the drugs ("I'm actually offended by that … that's attacking my character … I'm a mother," she says) and that Ramona and the strippers drugged the men. "The majority of the guys were drugging themselves," Samantha said. "Did I drug anyone? Never in my life. Did I know the girls were doing it? One hundred percent. That's why I got conspiracy charges."

RELATED: Jennifer Lopez romance retrospective

Renee Zellweger had real stage fright while filming 'Judy'

Renee Zellweger easily proved she can sing when she played Roxie Hart in "Chicago." With "Judy," which outlets like The Wrap are already calling the best performance of her career, she does all the singing as Judy Garland, but even her previous experience as a vocalist apparently failed to prepare her for the nerve-wracking experience of singing live in front of a crowd as the iconic "Wizard of Oz" star. "That stage fright scene, that was real," Renee told Ellen DeGeneres in the Wednesday, Sept. 18, edition of "Ellen" (via JustJared). "You know, it's a real audience where we filmed it. Rupert [Goold], the director was determined that this was going to be an authentic experience between a performer and an audience." Explaining the premise of the film, Renee continued: "It's the end of her life, maybe the last year of her life. She did a series of concerts in London. … A lot of people think it was the tragic part of her life but I think understanding the circumstances, in context, you can see how extraordinary she really was. Not just her god given talent but with the things she was able to overcome in order to continue to perform in that level. She is remarkable, one in a million." "Judy" hits theaters Sept. 27.

Jameela Jamil explains her problem with the Kardashians' habit of promoting diet products

In the past year, Jameela Jamil's slammed members of the Kardashian family repeatedly for promoting diet products on their social media pages. Now, as one of the cover stars for Glamour's TV issue, she takes time to explain her motivation in calling out Kim Kardashian West and her sisters. "I don't hate those girls," "The Good Place" star says. "I'm not trying to attack anyone. But if you have a lot of power and influence and money, and you're using yours irresponsibly, and other people aren't aware that they're being sold a lie, I'm gonna step on that d—."

Aaron Paul reveals the important lesson Bryan Cranston taught him on 'Breaking Bad'

Last month, Bryan Cranston joined his friend and longtime "Breaking Bad" costar in the Dominican Republic for an extravagant 40th birthday bash. But as Aaron tells The Hollywood Reporter in its new cover story, Bryan's been giving the younger actor gifts for most of the time they've known each other. "The first couple years [of 'Breaking Bad'] were really torturous for me ….," Aaron recalls in the feature, which is pegged to "El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie," which premieres Oct. 11 on Netflix and in select cities, then airs next year on AMC. "I just didn't want to mess it up, and so I stayed in that guy's skin, but I learned from Bryan it's OK to shake it off and wash up at the end of the night and just have time for yourself," Aaron said. The tip clearly worked, because after five seasons, Aaron says he was able to step away from his troubled character for good. "I really loved Jesse," he says of his drug-making alter ego. "I knew him better than anyone, but it was a big weight off of my shoulders to hang up the cleats and walk away. I thought it was goodbye, and I was OK with that."

Travis Scott buys extremely rare, $1.6M Mercedes G-Wagon

The Kardashian-Jenner krewe sure loves a Mercedes G-Wagon — and Kylie Jenner's boyfriend Travis Scott is the proud new owner of one of the most rare versions of the luxury off-road vehicles. According to TMZ, the rapper recently paid $1.6 million for a white 2018 Maybach G650 Landaulet, one of only 99 ever made. The car features amenities including a minifridge and reportedly came from Specialty Car Collection in Los Angeles. The store reportedly bought it from car renowned collector Obi Okeke. Last year, after Kanye West gifted a G-Wagon to Kim Kardashian West, she went to Kylie's to show it off and compare notes in the driveway next to the makeup mogul's version of the same ride.

Cary Elwes reacts to rumors of a 'Princess Bride' remake

Could "The Princess Bride" be the next pop culture gem to get a reboot? If so, at least two stars associated with the film will not be happy about it. Variety recently reported Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Tony Vinciquerra said there's an overload of people pitching remakes of all kinds of shows and films. "Very famous people whose names I won't use, but they want to redo 'The Princess Bride,'" the exec said (via JustJared). Cary Elwes, aka Westley from the 1987 original, caught Variety's report and promptly tweeted, "There's a shortage of perfect movies in this world. It would be a pity to damage this one." Jamie Lee Curtis, meanwhile, slammed the idea on behalf of her husband, Christopher Guest, who played Count Rugen. "Oh really?" she tweeted. "Well, I married the six fingered man, obviously why we have stayed together for 35 years and there is only ONE The Princess Bride and it's William Goldman and @robreiner's. 'Life is pain highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something!'"

Angela Bassett blew out a candle on a 'broccoli cake' for her birthday

Aha! If you were wondering what Angela Bassett's secret to looking so amazing is, look no further than her willpower. After celebrating her 60th birthday in 2018 with a mind-blowing bikini shot she shared on Instagram, the actress revealed on the Tuesday, Sept. 17, edition of "The Late Late Show" that she rang in her 61st birthday last month with what JustJared accurately describes as a "broccoli cake … a pile of broccoli with a candle in the middle." "I was at work shooting '9-1-1' and it was lunch break after six to 12 hours at 11 at night and I worked until two in the morning," she recalled. "I was just trying to do the right thing because we were right back from summer vacation and that polyester suit does not stretch." So was it delicious? "It was not the best ever," she noted.

Taylor Swift reveals backstory to Kanye West feud

There's more backstory to the feud between Taylor Swift and Kanye West than most people knew. That's according to Taylor, who gave Rolling Stone an in-depth interview about what went down between them from 2009, when Kanye interrupted her MTV VMA acceptance speech, through the phone call Kim Kardashian West would later make public that seemed to show Taylor was OK with a nasty line about her in Kanye's song "Famous." As she recalled to Rolling Stone, Kanye apologized for the 2009 VMA move but that seemingly kind treatment didn't last. "I started to feel like we reconnected, which felt great for me — because all I ever wanted my whole career after that thing happened in 2009 was for him to respect me," she explained. She said they occasionally dined together after that and when he "would say really nice things about my music … it just felt like I was healing some childhood rejection or something from when I was 19." Fast forward to the 2015 MTV VMAs: "… He called me up, maybe a week or so before the event, and we had maybe over an hour-long conversation, and he's like, 'I really, really would like for you to present this Vanguard Award to me, this would mean so much to me,' and went into all the reasons why it means so much, because he can be so sweet …," she said. "And so I wrote this speech up, and then we get to the VMAs and I make this speech and he screams, 'MTV got Taylor Swift up here to present me this award for ratings!' And I'm standing in the audience with my arm around his wife, and this chill ran through my body. … I realized he is so two-faced. That he wants to be nice to me behind the scenes, but then he wants to look cool, get up in front of everyone and talk s— And I was so upset." Finally, there was the "Famous" incident. The way Taylor recalled the story, she never approved Kanye using a line that said, "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that b—- famous." She told Rolling Stone Kanye sent flowers after the 2015 VMAs to apologize. Because she didn't "want to be on bad terms again," she decided to "move past" what he'd done. "So when he gets on the phone with me, and I was so touched that he would be respectful and, like, tell me about this one line in the song. And I was like, 'OK, good. We're back on good terms.'" Then she heard the song and she "was done," she said. "The world didn't understand the context and the events that led up to it … Some events took place to cause me to be pissed off when he called me a b—- … Basically, I got really sick of the dynamic between he and I," she said. "And that wasn't just based on what happened on that phone call and with that song — it was kind of a chain reaction of things."