I'm pretty sure that Niven's refusal to speak has a lot to do with legal reasons.  Here's something I dug up from an old May 11, 2000 Rolling Stone article by Peter Wilkinson:

"Lately, Axl has been using threats of legal action to limit what people say about him.  A few days after I talked with Alan Niven, G n' R's former manager, who was fired in 1991, Doug Goldstein called me, threatening to sue Niven for allegedly breaching a confidentiality agreement.  Niven later received a letter from Axl's personal lawyer in Los Angeles, demanding he contact ROLLING STONE and attempt to withdraw his comments.  Failure to do so Axl's lawyer warned would result in 'swift and sure legal action'." (Wilkinson, 75)

This is unfortunately true--he'll either change the subject or go into a long winded rant which at the end of you'll have no clue what he is speaking about.  He'll just go into the familiar victim mode where everyone's out to get him.  I just want concrete answers--he doesn't need to go into paragraphs of discussion.  Sometimes when he writes these long rambling sentences I just get confused and glaze over the material.  Can anyone explain the Oh my God press release from 1999?

Agreed.  A house is a major purchase and should be looked over before buying.  As far as his claim that the real estate agent misrepresented the house, don't all real estate agents do that?  Your usual defense against that is just go over and look at the house and bring up any issues that arise then.  Slash has purchased houses before so he knows the drill.

Last point, why does it seem that members/former members of this band seem to be in litigation so much?  This is not restricted to Axl as I think VR settled a plagurism suit brought on by some guy who claimed VR stole one of his songs.

Congratulations! Hope you have a great time! How much did the tickets costs for you?  I'll be watching this on monday and maybe they'll get a shot of you when they do the crowd shots.

I don't think she has any shot at winning.  Adams, Henson and Davis all outact her in the drama department and Penelope Cruz gets the slightly off center/quirky performance usually nominated by the academy.  Didn't Mira Sorvino win an Oscar for Mighty Aphrodite playing a similar role?  Although, Cruz' performance is more dramatic in nature and less reliant on comedy.

I saw this the other day and thought he was great in it.  However, I think they might give it to Langella.

Did anyone actually see this?  Does she deserve it?  I find it odd that Cate Blanchette didn't get one for Benjamin Button since she was just as central to the movie as Pitt's character.