..."Speaking of Al Pacino"

The South Africa-born actress who became an American citizen in 2007 initially outstayed her welcome in the US while her career was taking off after her breakthrough role in 'Two Days In The Valley'.

As her work visa expired, Theron landed a role opposite Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves in 'The Devil's Advocate' when immigration officials caught up with her, Contactmusic reported.

"I had to hold out for two years after playing the femme fatale in Two Days In The Valley because people wanted me to play that role. I think there was a conscious effort on my part to hold back and I didn't work for two years and I waited and really fought for roles in The Devil's Advocate and The Yards, Cider House Rules," the 34-year-old actress said.

The actress was in a bad state, literally fighting for roles in Hollywood and struggled to find work when she was kicked out.

"I went out on auditions and flew myself out (for movies) and almost went to prison and didn't wash my hair to break this idea of what people thought of me. I was deported when I was making Devil's Advocate, but that will be for my book one day," Theron added.

Last week, I watched one of my favorite movies “Carlito’s Way” starring Al Pacino. In the film, Pacino portrays a newly reformed and newly released gangster determined to abstain from the deadly influences of the ghetto streets. He was released from prison on some legal technicality. He viewed his release as a perfect opportunity to make a clean start.

How you are like the Al Pacino character, you ask? Patience, I’m getting there.

During one of my favorite scenes, Carlito stands on a rainy corner of a gloomy street watching his beloved Gail dance inside a studio. She is completely unaware that he is there – or out of prison for that matter. The camera zooms in on Pacino’s face. Pacino was captivated by this woman he has not seen in many years. Enormous raindrops pounced on him until he was dripping wet.

Then Carlito did something intriguing.

He noticed a few aluminum garbage cans lining the dark, lonely curb. Suddenly, he reaches over, swipes a lid and holds it over his head to shield him from the rain as he watched Gail’s flowing ballet movements. From a sociological perspective it was a fascinating action.

A garbage can lid is something that most people would not see as a resource for anything other than covering the stench of decaying trash. Nonetheless, it was right there - sitting, waiting and ready to serve a new and creative purpose for Carlito. Carlito was a gangster, a survivor in the most primal sense of the word. A survivor uses whatever is available to them to be okay, to survive and to succeed.

As a single mom, you are what Carlito is in the film – a survivor. When you are trying to survive, you grab whatever you can to ensure that your [and your children’s] needs are met. You take full advantage of every possible resource to stay strong. You become creatively practical.

What resources are you overlooking that may be of great benefit to you? Is it a small business idea that could render extra cash for your family? Is it a college degree that might increase your earning potential? How about your faith? Are you making the best possible use of your faith to encourage you during the hard times? Do you pray? Are you reading scripture for strength and reinforcement?

Your over-looked resource could also be people. People can be great resources. Communicate your needs and goals to trusted individuals. You never know, they may be able to help you. Don’t underestimate people’s knowledge areas, networking connections or wisdom. Quite possibly, your buddy at work may be related to the head of a human resources division. Perhaps, your cousin knows someone that could help you go back to college. Your quiet elderly neighbor may know of a great babysitter for your kids! The possibilities are endless. Just cast your bread upon the waters and see what happens.

I agreed to look into it. But instead of going to a therapist, I turned—where else?—to Facebook. On the Facebook site I found a test to determine whether I had what is known as Facebook Addiction Disorder (FAD). The test included 20 questions, to be rated on a scale of increasing addiction from 1 to 5. Among them: How often do you fear that life without Facebook would be boring, empty, and joyless? (I said 3) And: How often do others in your life complain to you about the amount of time you spend on Facebook? (5) I ended up with a score of 70 on a scale of 100. The diagnosis: "You are experiencing occasional or frequent problems because of Facebook."

Some people thought he was an impostor, because his profile disappeared without notice a week later. But his final post was a classic: "Al Pacino has become a friend of himself."

Whether it was coming from the real Al or not, the quip rang true. Was someone trying to send me a message?

Finally I cried uncle and turned to a therapist friend, Florence Falk, author of On My Own (Three Rivers, 2008), a groundbreaking book on solitude. She reminded me that there were no shortcuts to building strong friendships, digital or otherwise. "First, you need to look inside and figure out what's missing in your life—what hole are you trying to fill?" she said. "Then ask yourself: Is Facebook the right kind of place for you to make deep, intimate connections?"

By now the answer was obvious. No matter how many conquests I made, Facebook was never going to satisfy my need for intimacy and love. So I started easing myself away. I stopped doing Facebook at work, and I limited my exposure on nights and weekends. I felt blissfully liberated. It was a thrill to have private thoughts again—and the time and energy to "friend" myself.

I've started painting again. Next Sunday I'm planning to plant some peonies in the front yard and stock the fish pond with baby koi. Maybe I'll even read a book. As for Barbara, this summer we're planning to celebrate our 25th anniversary in the Adirondacks. I already know what my gift to her—and myself—will be: six nights, seven days, no Facebook.

Hugh Delehanty is the editor in chief and senior vice president for publications at AARP.

US president Barack Obama has been named the most stylish man in a recent poll, beating Brad Pitt to the top spot.

According to the Press Association, Jonathan Heilbron, President and CEO of Thomas Pink, which carried out the poll, said: "Barack Obama has a great sense of style, which no doubt adds to his popularity.

"World leaders and politicians are not known for their dress sense, so it's refreshing to have Obama who seems to genuinely care about his appearance."

Hollywood superstar Brad Pitt came second thanks to his ability to look stylish in a sharp suit and dressed down jeans.

Third place in the poll of 3,000 men went to footballer David Beckham, James Bond star

Daniel Craig is at number four, followed by Al Pacino.

When Robert Signoriello, owner of Agro Dolce restaurant in Brewster, began running radio ads this spring ostensibly featuring the voice of Oscar-winning actor Al Pacino, he was in effect channeling one of Pacino's most famous lines.

Signoriello seemed to be telling Cape residents, just as Pacino did in "Scarface," to "say hello to my little friend."

Actually, the 60-second ad that ran on 104.7 and 95.1 FM called Signoriello and Pacino good friends. After a brief musical introduction, a deep, raspy voice came on and said: "Hi, this is Al Pacino, and I want everybody to take my advice and go to a great restaurant called Agro Dolce. My good friend Bob Signoriello owns it; it's in Brewster, Massachusetts; and they serve the best Italian food you'll ever have."

There's just a couple problems: Pacino has never met Signoriello, Pacino has never had a meal at Agro Dolce, and the voice in the ads is not his.

In fact, the voice belongs to Ralph Nash, a comedian from Centerville who also impersonates everyone from Muhammad Ali to Pope John Paul II. Nash did not respond to multiple phone and e-mail messages requesting comment for this story.

Some listeners may have guessed that the ad featured an impersonator, but Signoriello did not help anybody come to that conclusion. Even the radio stations thought it was Pacino in the ads.

"To our knowledge, it is not an impersonator in the ad," said Stephen Colella, director of sales at Cape Cod Broadcasting, which operates 104.7. "But we cannot take every piece of commercial matter that comes through that has either licensed music or a celebrity voice and check them all out. We don't have a team of lawyers here."

Pacino, though, does have his own lawyer. Reached by phone, Martin Garbus, a partner at the New York law firm Eaton & Van Winkle who has represented Pacino in a variety of lawsuits, said he will write a letter to Signoriello expressing his frustration with the ad.

Garbus said he doubted Pacino would sue the restaurant, because the ad already has stopped running and it probably never reached that many people anyway.

But he said it remains important to defend Pacino's reputation. Otherwise, Garbus said, "People will think he's a money-grubber and that he'll put his name on anything."

The lawyer added that Pacino does not endorse any products or restaurants. Along with Robert De Niro, Pacino sued a watchmaker and movie distribution company in March for using pictures from a poster of the duo's recent film, "Righteous Kill," to advertise watches without permission.

Such suits are becoming more common.

Woody Allen received $5 million from American Apparel in May to settle a suit he had brought complaining that the company wrongfully used an image of him from the movie "Annie Hall" on billboard advertisements.

William Fisher, a professor at Harvard Law School, said the Agro Dolce ad is a "pretty clear violation of the so-called 'right of publicity,'" which protects the right of an individual to control the commercial use of his or her identity.

And Allen's lawyer, Michael Zweig of Loeb & Loeb, another New York firm, said the ad appears to be "precisely the type of conduct that both federal and state law are designed to prevent and to prohibit."

Signoriello, for his part, sees the whole situation differently. When first contacted by the Times, he stuck to his story, saying, "It's really Al Pacino. He did this for me."

By yesterday, though, Signoriello's story had changed, and he acknowledged that the voice in the ad was Nash's, not Pacino's.

"All I'm looking to do is grab people's attention," he said. "If everybody knows it's not Al Pacino, then it's nothing. It's the inquisitiveness that actually draws people's attention."

Signoriello said the ad has not brought him much new business. But a testimonial posted to Nash's Web site sounded a different note.

"The results I've had from the radio commercials Ralph did were unbelievable! Plus, Ralph is a lot cheaper than hiring Al Pacino!"