Musical Green Train to make National Whistle Stop Tour

Country music giant Merle Haggard and his friends are climbing aboard the environmental movement by organizing a sun and biofuel powered concert tour by rail through the United States next spring.

Carrying musicians, actors, athletes, scientists, environmental activists and media, The Green Train will visit 28 states, giving eight major concerts and performing dozens of smaller "acoustic whistle-stops" in cities and communities on the route, according to The Green Train website.

Among the artists supporting The Green Train are Cher, Collective Soul, Dave Matthews Band, Vince Gill, Jewel, The Indigo Girls, Kris Kristofferson, John Mayer and Willie Nelson.

Nelson is a big promoter of biodiesel, having learned about the fuel in 2004 from his wife Annie. The country music artist began producing his own mix of conventional diesel and biodiesel from Carl's Corner truck stop on Interstate 35 between Dallas and Waco in Texas.

Now WillieDiesel is sold at 12 outlets in six states.

The Green Train will run on biodiesel, and its stops will be powered by alternative energy. The train will carry at least 20 cars, plus two flat-bed acoustical stages. Participants will campaign on behalf of greener living.

Haggard is partnering with friend and fellow musician Bob Wolf to promote the tour. Wolf says on the website, "People do really want to make a difference - they just need to know how. The Hag and I came up with an old-fashioned way to deliver a new and simple message: A World's-Fair-themed train carrying exhibits and simple solutions to living green in a modern world."

Haggard and Wolf chose a train to highlight its importance as a form of alternative passenger transportation and carrier of goods. They also consider it a symbol of unity, because most countries of the world have trains, they say on the site.

While not many countries have trains that run on biodiesel, there are a few. A biodiesel train is now operating in the UK and a new one took its first test run in eastern Washington state at the end of June.

The Eastern Washington Gateway Railroad is conducting a three month test of biodiesel for its 109 mile rail line between Cheney and Coulee City. The line is used for grain harvest transportation. Soy, canola oil, grease and other undisclosed feedstocks will be tested in a 25 percent biodiesel blend.

The musicians' Green Train tour is scheduled to depart from Portland, Oregon in April 2009, The Green Train will pass through every geographic region in the United States during a six-week whistle stop tour finishing in Washington, DC.

A route map shows major concerts scheduled for Portland, Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, New Orleans, Charlotte, North Carolina, New York and Washington, DC. Acoustic whistle-stops are scheduled so far in Sacramento, Memphis, Atlanta and Boston.

The Green Train plans to reprise the tour in Europe in 2010, and run simultaneous tours of each continent of the world in 2011.

Tom Cruise in talks for M:I4

Sources close to Tom Cruise have told Access Hollywood the actor is in talks with Paramount about making Mission: Impossible 4. Paramount produced all of the prior Mission: Impossible films.

Cruise played super agent Ethan Hunt in the first Mission: Impossible film in 1996, and it grossed $467 million worldwide in the box office. 2000's Mission: Impossible 2 yielded $545 million at the global box office, and 2006's "Mission: Impossible 3 had $395 million in ticket sales.

Although Cruise and Sumner Redstone, the CEO of Paramount, had a public dispute in 2006 when the studio ended its relationship with Cruise's production company following the actor's fall from grace, the two have reportedly been seen in Los Angeles restaurants together.

In other Cruise news, 61-year-old singer Cher revealed to Oprah that she had a relationship with the actor earlier in his career. In the taped interview, to be aired on The Oprah Winfrey Show next week, Cher said she dated Cruise when he was 23-years-old and an emerging star.

She said Cruise was finding life in the spotlight difficult and that it could have been a "great big romance because I was crazy for him."

"He was shy," she said in an excerpt of the interview published by Sky News. "He said he felt like such a boob in school and nobody talked to him. We went on a date once for dinner in a New York restaurant and the waitress was from his old school."

"He told me she never talked to him back in school, but now he was recognized he got all her attention," Cher said.

Her fling with the now 45-year-old actor is believed to have ended when he met first wife Mimi Rogers.

Tom Cruise's appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show to commemorate the 25-year anniversary of his breakout film Risky Business have already been taped, a source close to production told the Associated Press Wednesday. The two-part interview includes a snowmobile ride, a frank discussion of his media image and candid talk about his personal life.

"In his 25 years in the business, Tom Cruise has become the epitome of a true Hollywood star," Warner Home Video senior vice president and general manager Jeff Baker said in a statement Wednesday. "We are very proud of this timeless classic and the film that became his breakthrough role."

Cher's Britney bomb

Cher has told Britney Spears to "blow up" the paparazzi.

The 'Believe' singer advised the troubled star to escape unwanted attention from photographers by planting a car bomb, as she was pursued by snappers herself.

When asked if she had a message for Britney, Cher said: "Yeah, she should blow you guys up with a car bomb!"

Cher, 61, isn't the only star to have words of advice for 'Toxic' star Britney.

Heidi Klum, Robin Williams, Ellen DeGeneres, Brooke Shields and Britney's ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake have all offered to help get Britney back on the straight and narrow.

The 26-year-old singer's erratic behaviour has included shaving her head, attacking a paparazzo's car with an umbrella and stealing underwear from an adult store.

In January, she refused to return her two children to ex-husband Kevin Federline and was taken to a local hospital for psychiatric treatment.


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Cher Wears Gerard for Grammys!!!

LOS ANGELES, CA – Feb., 11th – Luthier PR -- Since the inception of the Grammys, the award show has been a staple for the music industry and to the rest of the world by recognizing excellence in music performance, composition and the adjoining faculties that surround this global event. It goes without saying how important it is for the nominees to look their best. For the 50th annual Grammy Awards, Cher set a new standard for fashion Sunday evening by wearing Julia Gerard.

With multiple designers to choose her wardrobe from, Cher chose to wear a fitted piece from high-end designer Julia Gerard to accompany the rest of her evening collection. The match-up from top to bottom was flawless and Gerard's fitted skirt added an edgy rock n roll look to the overall classy and distinguishable pieces Cher had put together for the entire outfit.

Julia Gerard specializes in couture fashion centered on the peace movement. Gerard has managed to carve a niche in the Los Angeles fashion scene and has also captured the attention of the rest of the fashion world from Cher's appearance on the 50th annual Grammy Awards. The J Gerard Design Studio & Peace Gallery is located on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood, CA.