VIDEO: HoundsTV What’s the fastest you’ve been driving? “About 280.”

(HoundsTV – Toronto) The annual Gumball 3000 Rally hit the streets of Toronto as the cars (and their eccentric drivers) rolled onto Yorkville ave. to a large gathering of auto enthusiasts and fans.

The Rally has become very popular with the rich and celebrity crowd. Participants in this years race include David Hasselhoff, actors Michael Madsen and Idris Elba. Rappers Xzibit and Eve. Besides having to have a top notch car, the entry fee for the Gumball 3000 is $30,000 per two-man team.

The Gumball is also starting to get a bit of a reputation from authorities. Highway police don’t really like unauthorized car races speeding through their towns. One Gumball 3000 racer was pulled off Highway 401 travelling east to Toronto from Quebec City. The driver immediately lost their license and was charged with excessive speeding, stunt driving and the Gumball car impounded.

The cars leave Toronto and make their way to the end of their 7 day destination, New York this weekend.

Yeah, that’s Stringer Bell from The Wire
All photos by Richard Budman courtesy shot7.com

The Hollywood stars are shining on New York’s Broadway for another season during 2010.

Catherine Zeta-Jones is exciting audiences with a long-awaited return to the theatre stage in “A Little Night Music.” After her perfermance (on a chilly New York evening) Zeta-Jones took a few minutes to greet fans and sign autographs outside the stage door.

Just down the street another Hollywood A-lister is also appearing.

Super-producer Stuart Thompson, who last year had a major Tony Award winning hit with “God of Carnage” that featured such A-list talent as James Gandolfini and Marcia Gay Harden brings to New York this year “A View From the Bridge,” which features the Broadway debut of Scarlett Johansson – a favorite on-screen muse of Woody Allen.

Hours before the Saturday night show, McCartney exited the stage door at Radio City after soundcheck and was greeted by hundreds of people who lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the Beatles legend.

While McCartney had been very good about signing most of the week in New York while preparing for the show – by Saturday he had started to notice some familiar faces continually asking him to sign (and it’s usually the collectors with the Beatles memorabilia.) One collector mentioned to HoundsTV that when he asked McCartney to sign a baseball Paul quipped, “but I’m not a baseball player.”

When McCartney exited Radio City after soundcheck and walked towards the autograph collectors who had waited hours for a chance at a signature, you could hear Paul remark, “Ok, now where’s the FANS I can sign for.” McCartney immediately labeled many in the front row as “professionals” but did manage to find some young kids with pieces of paper, a lady with a book, and someone with his recently released Electric Arguments solo works and happily signed them.

As for Ringo Starr. He just quickly entered and exited the building not stopping for fans or collectors. The autograph hounds who had been chasing Ringo all week (to no luck) truly believe that Ringo has signed his last autograph in this lifetime.