The Welcome Matt

January 14, 2008

2009-01-14T15:58:00.004-06:00

American Idol Season 8 kicked off last night and it did not disappoint. In fact, it reminded me oh to well of why I missed it so much. I'm still trying to get over my break-up with Bikini Girl (when the show ended). And Ryan Seacrest tried to high-five a blind guy:

Are you kidding me?! Too awesome. I'm lovin' the new judge, Kara Dioguardi. It's a hard "a" Simon, try it out. Kara is sassy, funny, and she can sing! Oh, and she's engaged. Her boyfriend popped the question on the 8th. Congrats!

Patrick Swayze is "doing fine" after checking into a hospital last Friday for pneumonia, according to his mother. She told me that her son, who's battling pancreatic cancer, "sounds really upbeat and positive." She also added, "We don't talk about illness when I talk to him."

Speaking of hospital visits...
Howie Mandel, the host of Deal or No Deal, was released from a Toronto hospital yesterday after checking in the night before with an irregular heartbeat. His rep told me Howie is expected to return to work today. He's in Toronto, where he was born, to tape his new NBC comedy show, Howie Do It.

Ok...one MORE health scare...
Law & Order: SVU actress Mariska Hargitay is recovering from a partially collapsed lung. She is "feeling better," and Law & Order says "We are looking forward to her quick recovery and return to set."

Time has run its course on Fox's Prison Break. The network announced yesterday that it's pulling the plug on the drama this spring. The series' final four episodes will begin airing on April 17th, though there's a chance some additional episodes may be shot.

The trash-collecting robot WALL-E wouldn't mind rotten tomatoes. The animated film WALL-E won the award for best wide release in the 10th annual Golden Tomato Awards, based on the reviews of film critics compiled by the movie website RottenTomatoes.com. Here's the full list of award-winners:

Wide Release
WALL-E

Limited Release
Man on Wire

Action-Adventure
The Dark Knight

Animation
WALL-E

Comedy
Happy-Go-Lucky

Horror
Teeth

Kids/Family
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl

Romance
Ghost Town

Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Musical
High School Musical 3: Senior Year

Drama
The Wrestler

Thriller
Transsiberian

Documentary
Man on Wire

Foreign
The Band's Visit

Worst Reviewed Film
One Missed Call

Best Reviewed Australian Film
The Black Balloon

Best Reviewed UK Film
Man on Wire

January 12, 2008

2009-01-12T14:50:00.004-06:00

Hey, the Golden Globes actually weren't that bad last night. It was especially entertaining when I could feel the guy on the "Censor Button" flinch when Mickey Rourke got on stage. I was really happy Slumdog Millionaire won all those awards. That movie is the first in a long time that I left the theater thinking, "I loved that movie." If you haven't had a chance to see it - make a point to. Here's a link to showtimes for it around the area. It was also wonderful that Heath Ledger won for Best Supporting Actor in a Movie (Drama). Oh, and Kate Winslet's last acceptance speech had me almost shed a tear. Almost. In terms of the big categories, here are the winners:

FILM
Best Movie, Drama
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Movie, Musical or Comedy
Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Best Director
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

Best Actress, Drama
Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road

Best Actor, Drama
Mikey Rourke, The Wrestler

Best Actress, Musical Or Comedy
Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky

TELEVISION
Best TV Drama
Mad Men

Best Actor, TV Drama
Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment

Best Actress, TV Drama
Anna Paquin, True Blood

Best TV Series, Musical Or Comedy
30 Rock

Best Actress, TV Comedy
Tina Fey, 30 Rock

Best Actor, TV Comedy
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock

Best Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made For TV
John Adams

If you wanna see a complete list of winners, click here!

Here are the Top 10 Movies from the weekend:

1. Gran Torino, $29 million
2. Bride Wars, $21.5 million
3. The Unborn, $21.1 million
4. Marley & Me, $11.4 million
5. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, $9.4 million
6. Bedtime Stories, $8.6 million
7. Valkyrie, $6.7 million
8. Yes Man, $6.2 million
9. Not Easily Broken, $5.6 million
10. Seven Pounds, $3.9 million

January 2, 2009

2009-01-02T14:34:00.002-06:00

Resolutions of the Stars:

* STAR Artist Fergie says that every year, her New Year's Resolution is the same: to work out as much as possible. But in 2009, she especially wants to stick to her regimen, because she's planning to rejoin The Black Eyed Peas and hit the road for a big tour. She says, "I wanna make sure I [work out] on tour and I don't slack off."

* Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria Parker: "To give up meat."

* Actor Jamie Foxx: "I'm looking for the right woman. I need a magnifying glass. I'm trying to find that rare jewel."

* My Life on the D-List star Kathy Griffin: "To eat more carbs."

* Party animal Carmen Electra: "To have more fun."

* Actress Cameron Diaz: "I have always had the same New Year's resolutions: to stop smoking, to start wearing a bra and to stop shopping."

* Actor Brian Austin Green: "It seems to be to stop smoking every year. We'll see how it goes this time."

Speaking of Kathy Griffin...
In an odd-ish pairing for the New Year’s Eve countdown, CNN put Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin together. It led to…well…this:

CAUTION: LANGUAGE!
We haven't seen much of Mad About You star Paul Reiser in recent years, but not because he's dead. Get this: the Wikipedia page for Paul was recently updated with the false claim that his body was discovered last Saturday in the "Squallahassee River," where he, "reportedly enjoyed fly fishing." It was easy to figure out that the statement was just a hoax, since there is no river named “Squallahassee.” The statement has been removed from the Wikipedia page. Ok so Paul Reiser isn't dead. His career on the other hand...

Missed Marley & Me last weekend? Still haven't seen Tom Cruise wearing an eye patch in Valkyrie? Now's your chance to catch up on these films and more, since there are no movies opening in wide release this week. Marley & Me, starring Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson, is the reigning box office champ, having earned over $36 million last weekend. Bedtime Stories, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Valkyrie also did well after opening on Christmas Day.

There are only 11 more days until the debut of American Idol season eight, and viewers are curious about how the new judge, Kara Dioguardi, will fit in. Well, it turns out she'll fit in between Randy and Paula, literally, at the judges’ table. They tried her between Paula and Simon, but Kara tells me, "They kept trying to communicate and I didn't want to be in the middle of that." So how is Kara fitting in? "The other judges are like brothers and sisters...and I'm like the long-lost cousin who they're not sure they wanted to see, but now they're like, ‘Okay, you can stay for dinner.'" She reiterated she is NOT going to replace Paula, "We have a good vibe...I'm not of the thinking that women should drag each other down." Idol’s back January 13th!

Speaking of American Idol...
STAR Artist David Arculeta is singing at the inauguration! No, not Barack Obama’s inauguration. Archie will actually sing the national anthem at the inauguration of Jon Huntsman, the Governor of his home state of Utah.

It’s like she’s talented or something…STAR Artist Taylor Swift’s latest CD "Fearless" topped the Billboard charts for a 4th consecutive week to end 2008.

December 31,2008

2008-12-31T14:22:00.005-06:00

There will be no "Welcome Matt" update tomorrow. So...Happy New Year!!

Every network will be welcoming 2009 with their own special countdown show, most of the live from New York City. The good thing about all the shows is all the musical guests you can see. Check out a complete rundown of who is performing where and when:

--NBC's New Year's Eve with Carson Daly will feature performances by STAR Artist Katy Perry, T.I., Ludacris and the Ting Tings, as well as a performance by Elton John, live via satellite, from his concert at London's O2 arena.

--On Fox's New Year's Eve Live, STAR Artists David Cook & Daughtry plus Lynyrd Skynyrd and former Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland will all be seen performing in Las Vegas. There will also be a death-defying motorcycle jump by Robbie Knievel, son of the late Evel Knievel.

--MTV presents A Miley-Sized Surprise: New Year's Eve 2009, which features Miley Cyrus hosting the show from a fan's bedroom, as well as the gym of a California high school. Also look for performances from Metro Station, Kevin Rudolf, All Time Low and The Academy Is. The Veronicas host from MTV's Times Square studios.

--CNN's Live New Year's Eve, with hosts Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin, promises performances from Lil Wayne, STAR Artists 3 Doors Down, Hinder, Lynyrd Skynyrd and My Morning Jacket.

25 films are being added to the National Film Registry, which is a database designed to preserve movies of historical or cultural significance. Among the new additions: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator, 1967’s In Cold Blood and 1972’s Deliverance. Check out what other movies were deemed important, the full list of additions is here:

* The Asphalt Jungle, 1950
* Deliverance, 1972
* Disneyland Dream, 1956
* A Face in the Crowd, 1957
* Flower Drum Song, 1961
* Foolish Wives, 1922
* Free Radicals, 1979
* Hallelujah, 1929
* In Cold Blood, 1967
* The Invisible Man, 1933
* Johnny Guitar, 1954
* The Killers, 1946
* The March, 1964
* No Lies, 1973
* On the Bowery, 1957
* One Week, 1920
* The Pawnbroker, 1965
* The Perils of Pauline, 1914
* Sergeant York, 1941
* The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, 1958
* So's Your Old Man, 1926
* George Stevens WW2 Footage, 1943-46
* The Terminator, 1984
* Water and Power, 1989
* White Fawn's Devotion, 1910

How will STAR Artist Jordin Sparks be spending her New Year's Eve? Right next to my hometown actually, in Naperville, Illinois, serving as a bridesmaid in the wedding of Gina Glocksen, her fellow American Idol season six finalist. Another season six finalist, Haley Scarnato, will also be a bridesmaid at the ceremony. By the way, Jordin plans to sing at the wedding, and so does Gina.

From hospitalizations to #1 hits, 2008 was a year of ups and downs for Britney Spears, but it helped keep her in the news all year. As a result, she's now topped USA Today's annual Celebrity Heat Index, which measures celebrites' exposure in various entertainment news sources throughout the year. Britney was the #1 most-reported-on celebrity for 11 weeks this year, allowing her to pull ahead of Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt, who were numbers two, three and four, respectively.

What's the secret to STAR Artist Fergie's success? Would you believe...hypnosis? Fergie told me she regularly sees a therapist, and at least ten minutes of each session is devoted to hypnotherapy, so she can receive, quote, "the power of positive suggestion. If you're in a negative place, it helps you get out of that and empower yourself."

The suspect in the murders of Jennifer Judson’s mother, brother and nephew was formally indicted yesterday. 27-year-old William Balfour, who is Hudson's estranged brother-in-law, made a court appearance in Illinois but did not speak.

Charles Barkley, former NBA star, took a few too many…”shots” last night and was booked for DUI. The arresting officer told me, "He was cooperative and respectful during the entire incident," And speaking of celebrity arrests actor Matt Dillon felt the need for speed. The Vermont State Police felt the need to bust him for it. The Oscar-nominated, and apparently lead-footed, actor was arrested and cited for excessive speeding in Vermont last night after being clocked at 106 mph in a 65 mph zone.

December 30, 2008

2008-12-30T14:28:00.003-06:00

What do the two David’s (Cook and Archuleta) say was the best part of their incredible 2008? Can either David even begin to choose a highlight of the year? Well, yes. Both mention the American Idol tour as one of their greatest experiences of the past year -- especially Cook, who got off on the fact that he played two sold-out shows in his Kansas City hometown to an audience that included former girlfriends and people who said he'd never amount to anything. For Archie, actually being offered a record deal just hours after he lost the competition pretty much blew him away. He says, "It was just like, 'Whoah!'...it's really crazy to see how much has happened this year that I wasn't expecting to happen." I know, David Archuleta said “Whoah.” Shocking :)

Big news coming out late yesterday – Sarah Palin’s 18 year-old daughter Bristol has welcomed a baby son with her boyfriend Levi Johnston. The baby came into the world Saturday at 7 pounds, 4 ounces. It’s name? Yes, just as peculiar as Bristol, Piper, Willow or Trig. The new son’s name is Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston. According to a family member, "The baby is fine, and Bristol is doing well. Everyone is excited."

Speaking of babies...
Tom Cruise wants to have more kids with Katie Holmes. How many more? How about seven? He told me, "I want ten children. I love kids. I feel really fortunate to have the teenagers and a two-and-a-half-year-old. It's a great dynamic." He also told me he’s done talking publicly about Scientology. “That's it, no more - go to the Scientology website."

Speaking of even MORE babies...
Angelina Jolie has reportedly been told she should not have any more biological babies for health reasons. However, it's doubtful such a threat will deter the paparazzi from stalking her belly.

Woody Harrelson tied the knot with Laura Louie, his girlfriend of 20 years, in Maui on Sunday. Congrats you two!

Kate Winslet isn't afraid to show skin on the big screen, Titanic being one example. She currently appears nude in the drama The Reader, which is playing in limited release. Kate told me nudity sometimes is part of an actor's job description, but she adds that she's only naked in the first third of the movie. In the movie she plays a former SS officer who has an affair with a 15-year-old boy in 1950s Germany. Ralph Fiennes also stars in the movie.

STAR Artist Timbaland's new CD “Shock Value 2” will reportedly hit stores February 14th. According to sources, the first single, "Meltdown," features STAR Artists Gwen Stefani and Justin Timberlake, and will be released next week. The other guest stars who are reported to be included on the album are The Jonas Brothers, Usher, Keri Hilson, STAR Artist Jordin Sparks, Madonna, Rihanna, T.I., Linkin Park, Jay-Z and Akon.

I would imagine there’s not a lot of stuff that makes STAR Artist U2’s Bono nervous. He’s been lots of places, seen lots of terrible things, helped impoverished nations… But he recently told me he’s shaking in his boots about one specific thing in his life: U2’s new CD. The guys in U2 still worry whether or not people are going to like their music, "Sure, you're always nervous, but we've gone at it as if it was our first." Bono added that, with this new CD, U2 is, "going after the younger audience this time."

Amazon.com has released its year-end list of the best-selling products of 2008, and it's no surprise that STAR Artist Coldplay’s album "Viva La Vida" was the online retailer's top-selling music item of the year.

December 29, 2008

2008-12-29T12:54:00.005-06:00

Here's your Complete Box-Office Recap:

1. Marley & Me, $37 million
2. Bedtime Stories, $28.1 million
3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, $27 million
4. Valkyrie, $21.5 million
5. Yes Man, $16.5 million
6. Seven Pounds, $13.4 million
7. The Tale of Despereaux, $9.4 million
8. The Day the Earth Stood Still, $7.9 million
9. The Spirit, $6.5 million
10. Doubt, $5.7 million

STAR Artist Taylor Swift’s new CD “Fearless” is still number one on the charts. It has sold nearly 2 million copies in just 6 weeks. That’s all fine and dandy but Taylor elicited quite a scare last week. She was photographed with bangs and her hair pulled back. She got quite a few messages from friends and so she had to announce, “Please don’t panic. I didn’t cut my hair.”

Tina Fey was definitely all over the place in 2008 and AFI has voted her among their “Moments of Significance” thanks to her Sarah Palin impression and her work on 30 Rock. Here's the rest of the list:

*The release of the movie Slumdog Millionaire about an orphan competing on India’s version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

* "Age of Anxiety" as Business Models for the Arts Evolve, recognizing video website Hulu.com and Jay Leno's impending move to primetime on NBC.

* Dr. Horrible Operates in Explosion of Short Form, recognizing Joss Whedon's online musical starring Neil Patrick Harris.

* Film Critics Lose Voice, recognizing the decline of full-time film critics in the media.

* Television and New Technologies Provide a Global Oracle for America's Presidential Race

* NBC Coverage of Summer Olympics Brings the World Together

* Independent Film Artists Face Distribution Crisis

Another Hilton was hit by a burglar last week. Steve Hilton, philanthropist, heir, and uncle of Paris, called 911 reporting a break-in at his Malibu home. Unfortunately, while he made the call, the burglars got away. Fortunately they left empty handed.

Eartha Kitt, who played Catwoman in the TV version of Batman and sung the Christmas classic, “Santa Baby,” passed away on Christmas Day of colon cancer at the age of 81.

STAR Artist Ashlee Simpson and her husband, Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz, promised they wouldn’t sell pictures of their new baby boy, Bronx. And they stayed true to their word. They unveiled the first photo of Bronx over the weekend:

It’s rumored that American Idol finalist and Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson is planning a tribute to her late mother for the Grammy Awards in February. You remember Jennifer’s mother, brother and newphew were found murdered back in October – truly tragic. To honor them, a source tells me Jennifer will perform a new gospel song at the show.

She's a guru on screen, but Oprah is clueless on the road! She loves to drive her white Bentley convertible around California and has gone to the same 76 station for years. A friend tells me, "She usually tips the serviceman $100 to fill her up." But, one day, Oprah decided to try it out herself, but she couldn't find the tank! "She had to be shown how to use the pump too." At 54, she's still got a lot to learn!

STAR Artist OneRepublic plans to hit the studio in February to start working on their next album. The band tells me the three new songs they’ve written so far are more mature, “We're not so sad and desperate and frustrated about girls....we've grown up.”

STAR Artist Leona Lewis had an epic 2008 but what was the highlight for her? Performing in the closing ceremony for the 2008 Summer Olympics with Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page backing her up. “He's an absolute legend, and just the nicest, nicest guy...I was just in awe of him.”

December 23, 2008

2008-12-23T16:28:00.002-06:00

STAR Artist Gavin Rossdale is one of the many artists performing on CBS’s Home for the Holidays tonight which raises awareness of the importance of foster care and adoption. Melissa Etheridge, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw and Jamie Foxx will also be making appearances. That’s tonight at 7 p.m. on CBS.

It’s official: STAR Artist Madonna’s “Sticky & Sweet Tour” is now the highest grossing tour ever by a solo artist. When her show wrapped on Sunday, the tour had pulled in $280 million in ticket sales over 58 concerts. And though Madonna and Guy Ritchie are officially splitsville, they’ll be spending Christmas together with their kids and to celebrate the holidays, Madonna has spent some of her mega-millions on some very expensive drinks. She bought 25 bottles of wine laced with 24-karat silver. The bill on that? $7,400. And yes, real silver in the wine. And you thought passing a kidney stone was bad?...

Last week, Scarlett Johansson had a head cold when she was on with Jay Leno. She blew her nose into a Kleenex. They sold it on eBay…for $5,300! All the money went to charity. And I thought we were in a recession…

Paris Hilton tells me she's devastated about losing more than $2 million worth of jewelry after a break-in at her home I told you about yesterday. "I cannot believe someone broke into my home. They took items that had such sentimental value that no one will ever be able to replace. I'm just thankful that I wasn't there when it happened." An insider tells me the surveillance video shows a thief who appears to know where he was going, "like he's been there before." Paris has now increased her security team to three 24-hour bodyguards. Good luck finding the guy who broke into Paris' home. The thief looked "like he's been there before." Authorities need to trim the list of suspects down from the entire male population on Earth.

6 months from now, on a stage far, far away, George Lucas tried to milk the Star Wars franchise for another million and has given his approval for Star Wars: A Musical Journey. Producers in England are developing a stage production based on the Star Wars saga that will feature dancing storm troopers, singing wookies and the Royal Philharmonic. It debuts April 10th in England before heading to the rest of Europe. No word on any U.S. dates. Hey, I’m a hug Star Wars nerd and even here I say…God help us all.

What better way to celebrate your birthday than to dress up as a violent criminal? That's what STAR Artist Christina Aguilera did last Thursday night, when she threw a Clockwork Orange-themed party in Beverly Hills to mark her 28th birthday.

STAR Artist Jason Mraz has posted a hilarious video Christmas greet at his website where he also sings a deliberately-cheesy song called “Merry Holidays.” Check it out here!

December 22, 2008

2008-12-22T12:18:00.003-06:00

Here's your Complete Box-Office Recap:

1. Yes Man, $18.2 million
2. Seven Pounds, $16 million
3. The Tale of Despereaux, $10.5 million
4. The Day the Earth Stood Still, $10.2 million
5. Four Christmases, $7.7 million
6. Twilight, $5.2 million
7. Bolt, $4.3 million
8. Slumdog Millionaire, $3.2 million
9. Australia, $2.3 million
10. Quantum of Solace, $2.2 million

Rumors abound that STAR Artist Janet Jackson is pregnant. Her boyfriend Jermaine Dupri tells me, no, that’s not true at all. He also told me Janet is just a very private person which is why she herself has not made a statement. Well good. Janet isn’t pregnant. Which is actually a relief because we don’t need any more Jacksons…ever.

Police in Los Angeles continue to investigate the robbery of Paris Hilton’s home after it was broken into on Friday. It left her bedroom in shambles, not like it usually is, and resulted in about $2 million in missing jewelry. Now, there were witnesses to the break-in. A man in a dark hooded sweatshirt and gloves went in the house through an unlocked door. Neighbors didn’t call the cops because they see a man leave Paris’ house every 2 hours.

Lord Richard Attenborough, the British filmmaker who won an Academy Award for directing Gandhi and starred as the entrepreneur who creates a dinosaur attraction in the movie Jurassic Park, has awakened from a coma following a fall at his home last week. He remains in stable condition at a London hospital.

The adoption of another child was reportedly a sore subject in Madonna and Guy Ritchie's marriage, but with their divorce comes news that she's ready to add another kid to her family. I’m hearing reports Madonna has already signed papers to adopt a little girl from Malawi and hopes to bring the child home "early next year." Hey! Alex Rodriguez! Get out while you still can!

STAR Artist Daughtry will be performing with fellow American Idol alum, STAR Artist David Cook on Fox’s New Year’s Eve Live special. They’ll be performing “Home” but it’ll most likely be pre-recorded but hey, so is David Cook’s performance.

These days, artists make as much money endorsing products as they do selling albums or touring, but STAR Artist Colbie Caillat is one star who has, so far, turned down big-bucks offers to shill for various products, including Neutrogena. She told me, "It's tempting, but I'm not sure what direction I want to go in. If you pick one product, you're stuck with that." So what product would she like to sell if she had to, "I love Steve Madden shoes." Colbie did her final show of 2008 on Friday. Next up for her is a trip to Hawaii, where she'll work on material for her next album.

December 18, 2008

2008-12-18T10:59:00.005-06:00

American Idol season eight is about to start up in January, but what does Simon Cowell think about what the previous season's stars, STAR Artists David Cook and David Archuleta, have been up to? Simon tells me he’s happy about both Davids' chart success. "The whole point of American Idol is that you're giving talented people an opportunity. So when you see these guys selling records, it makes the whole process worthwhile." Simon says he's "optimistic" about both guys' careers, saying they're smart and seem to know in what direction they'd like to go.

Did you see Jennifer Aniston on the cover of GQ magazine this month? Look at it... Yep, that got some people’s attention (and by people I may mean me). It definitely caught eye of naked-girl expert Hugh Heffner who said “This looks like the cover of Playboy. I’m much impressed by Jennifer. Is it me or is Jennifer getting hotter?” Is it me or is Hugh Heffner just a dirty old man? And here's Jennifer on The Late Show with David Letterman last night. She even had a special present for him!

Most bands arrive at their concerts by limo, or at least in their tour bus. But not STAR Artist Coldplay’s Chris Martin. Chris took the subway to Coldplay's gig on Monday night. "I like getting to Tube sometimes...you get charged up from the atmosphere. No one recognized me. I just bought a paper and kept my head down and got off with everyone else." Unfortunately, Chris' attempt at going incognito worked too well. He added that when he got to the venue, quote, "Security stopped me at the door and I had to explain who I was. That was a bit embarrassing."

This is why I’ll always like Will Smith, no matter what crappy movies he does (*cough*Hancock*cough*). Will’s recently released tax returns show he donated more than $1.3 million to various religious and civic organizations in the last year.

STAR Artist Taylor Swift just reclaimed the top spot on the Billboard charts. Her album “Fearless” has now sold more than a million and a half copies.

Evidently STAR Artist Katy Perry is NOT engaged. Oh really? Who said that? Oh, she did? Ok. Never mind then.

December 17, 2008

2008-12-17T11:47:00.004-06:00

Last night, Tom Cruise took over the Top Ten list on The Late Show with David Letterman. The topic? The Top Ten Craziest Things Said About Tom Cruise on the Internet. Check out the video:

STAR Artist Madonna and Guy Ritchie have issued a joint-statement regarding the recently reported divorce settlement figures.

"We have tried to maintain a dignified silence regarding the details of our divorce for the last few months whilst accepting the obvious media interest. A misleading and inaccurate statement, specifically in relation to the sums of money involved, was wrongly issued this week. The financial details of the settlement will remain private, save to say that both of us are happy with our agreement. Our primary concern, like any co-parents, is the care and well-being of our children.”

The Muppets get into the Christmas spirit with a new special on NBC called A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa. In this one, Kermit and the gang set out for the North Pole to deliver misplaced letters to Santa. 30 Rock’s Jane Krakowski, Uma Thurman and Nathan Lane also star in what will be a great family must-watch. That’s tonight at 7 on NBC.

Is STAR Artist Katy Perry engaged? Rumor has it her boyfriend proposed to her in Paris by hiding a huge ring in his mouth. Wait…wha? Is that right?… Well, apparently so. When I asked her rep about it all I got was a “No comment,” so standby for a confirmation.

When you're a member of Hollywood's first family, you'd think Christmas would be a big spectacle, but you'd be wrong. Brad Pitt tells me the six kids he has with Angelina Jolie don't ask for fancy presents because they don't watch a lot of television and never get the chance to see commercials. Instead, Brad says, "We have gifts, but we try to keep the money spent to a minimum. The rule is that everyone's got to make something for someone else, you got to put time into it." Just wait ‘til the kids grow up and realize mommy and daddy make millions and all they got for Christmas was a hat made out of construction paper and glitter.

Well I’m super excited that STAR Artist No Doubt has decided to get back together for a new album and tour, but it looks like we’ll have to wait a while for that new CD. They’ll work on the new stuff while on tour in spring of 2009 and then it looks like the album won’t hit stores ‘til 2010.

STAR Artist Jason Mraz has found a good match. He’ll open for the Dave Matthews Band at their two shows in Las Vegas in May.

December 16, 2008

2008-12-16T13:16:00.002-06:00

As I mentioned yesterday on the air, don't believe those reports that Guy Ritchie is walking away from his marriage to STAR Artist Madonna without a penny. Madonna's spokesperson told me that the couple's divorce settlement will have Madonna paying Guy somewhere in the range of $76 to $92 million.

How did STAR Artist Taylor Swift celebrate her 19th birthday over the weekend? Not poppin’ bottles of Cristal and partying in a Vegas nightclub. She celebrated at her home in Tennessee with about 40 friends and a menu consisting of sushi, mini beef Wellingtons and bacon-wrapped scallops. For dessert: two ice cream cakes (one chocolate peppermint and one cookie dough) were served along with Taylor’s favorite dessert, s’mores. She actually didn’t sing at the party but showed off a home video she made of her and her friends. And then there was the wild, crazy and out of control…ping-pong tournament.

I’m always excited to bring you details on new CDs from STAR Artists, especially when it’s one of my favorites: The Fray. Their new CD is out February 3rd and lead singer Isaac tells me it’s “a little more extreme than the last album.” By that he means the quieter stuff is quieter and the harder stuff is harder. Here’s the track listing for the album:

"Syndicate"
"Absolute"
"You Found Me"
"Say When"
"Never Say Never"
"Where the Story Ends"
"Enough for Now"
"Ungodly Hour"
"We Build Then We Break"
"Happiness"

Mamma’s Boy, the new reality TV show kinda like the bachelor but with moms watching over their son’s choices, premieres tonight. Are you gonna be watching this? Thirty-two women will try to win over three bachelors...and their mothers. The show has already generated some buzz because of one of the mothers on the show, who has declared she doesn't want her son to date an African-American woman or a Jewish woman. Ryan Seacrest, a producer of the show, admits the show is controversial, "It is not a soft dating show. It is not a sweet, perfect dating show. It's loud and it should get people talking." Check it out. NBC at 9 p.m.

Actor Peter Falk, best known for his role as Columbo, is in need of day-to-day assistance, according to his daughter, who says he is suffering from Alzheimer's disease and dementia. She has filed legal documents in a Los Angeles court, requesting a conservatorship for her dad because he needs full-time care and can, "easily be deceived into transferring away property." A hearing is scheduled for next month.

It's safe to say that Freddie Prinze Jr. isn't a box office draw anymore. His animated fantasy film Delgo, which also features the voices of Jennifer Love Hewitt and Kelly Ripa and debuted last Friday, earned just $511,920 over the weekend. That's a new record for worst opening for a movie playing at over two thousand locations (average earnings of around $250 per theater). To put this into perspective, the Golden Globe-nominated drama Doubt was playing at only 15 locations, and made over 507 thousand dollars. So that’s pretty bad. Now, imagine how badly it would've done if Kevin Costner was in it.

December 15, 2008

2008-12-15T11:17:00.003-06:00

Tom Cruise came back to The Today Show to sit down with Matt Lauer, 3 years after a…not-so-pleasant interview where Tom called Matt “glib” and psychiatry “pseudo-science.” So, how did it go? See for yourself:

As I mentioned, I went and saw The Day The Earth Stood Still this weekend, the remake of the 50s classic, this time starring Keanu Reeves. And as I also mentioned, I did not like it. Which rarely happens. The only thing I did like in the movie was Keanu. And again, that rarely happens. But that obviously didn’t stop the movie from being number one at the box office. Here's your Box-Office Recap:

1. The Day the Earth Stood Still, $31 million
2. Four Christmases, $13.3 million
3. Twilight, $8 million
4. Bolt, $7.5 million
5. Australia, $4.3 million
6. Quantum of Solace, $3.8 million
7. Nothing Like the Holidays, $3.5 million
8. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, $3.3 million
9. Milk, $2.6 million
10. Transporter 3, $2.3 million

Amy Poehler made her farewell appearance on Saturday Night Live over the weekend, telling the cast and audience that she'd miss them. Amy had gone on hiatus after giving birth to a son in October, returned to SNL for the second time in as many weeks, co-anchoring "Weekend Update" with Seth Meyers. Watch Amy’s farewell:

Who was the hottest star of 2008? Well, if you go by which star Entertainment Tonight covered the most in the past year, it's none other than...Britney Spears. Britney tops ET's Hot List 2008, and it's no wonder, given her hospitlization, her custody battles, her driving-without-a-license case, and her musical success. Check out ET’s complete Hot List 2008:

1. Britney Spears
2. Oprah Winfrey
3. Brad Pitt
4. Barack Obama
5. Angelina Jolie
6. George Clooney
7. Tom Cruise
8. Donny Osmond
9. Jennifer Aniston
10. Julianne Hough
11. Hillary Clinton
12. Marie Osmond
13. Miley Cyrus
14. Madonna
15. Katie Holmes
16. John McCain
17. America Ferrera
18. Michelle Obama
19. Will Smith
20. Valerie Bertinelli

The American Film Institute has named the top television shows and movies of 2008. Check ‘em out:

AFI Movies Of The Year
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Frozen River
Gran Torino
Iron Man
Milk
WALL-E
Wendy And Lucy
The Wrestler

AFI TV Programs Of The Year
Breaking Bad
In Treatment
John Adams
Life
Lost
Mad Men
The Office
Recount
The Shield
The Wire

Nice, scrawny old guy Bob won Survivor: Gabon – hurray!

Stubhub.com has named Madonna the highest ticket price of 2008, a title I don’t think you’d want. According to Stubhub, her shows averaged $306 a ticket. Thanks Madonna!

STAR Artist Leona Lewis will be spending New Year’s Eve where everyone wants to spend NYE…the exotic and beautiful Poland! She’ll be ringin’ in 2009 performing for Krakow’s New Year’s Eve Party with thousands of party-goers and a huge fireworks display. Sure, that all sounds great but on the downside…Poland.

December 12, 2008

2008-12-12T11:18:00.003-06:00

New in theaters this weekend...

* The Day the Earth Stood Still -- Keanu Reeves fills the role of the alien Klaatu in this remake of the classic 1951 sci fi movie. He warns humans about their destructive behavior, then attempts to wipe them out for their own good with help from the giant robot Gort. Jennifer Connelly, Kathy Bates and Jon Hamm also star. Rated PG-13.

* Nothing Like the Holidays -- The members of the Rodriguez family get together in Chicago for a drama-filled Christmas. In the midst of the reunion, Debra Messing's Sarah, the wife of John Leguizamo's character, finds herself clashing with his mother. Rated PG-13.

* Delgo -- A reptile-like teen named Delgo befriends a winged princess. Sounds sweet, but they're members of rival races, who begin to feud. It's up to Delgo to broker peace between the groups. Freddie Prinze Jr., Jennifer Love Hewitt, Kelly Ripa and Chris Kattan lend their voices to this animated feature. Rated PG.

An Iraq war veteran, Edward Van Tassel who has repeatedly tried to hand-deliver a letter to Tom Cruise has been issued a restraining order that prevents him from approaching Cruise or his home. Edward also stopped traffic in Santa Barbara for hours last month when he stood on a Highway 101 overpass waving a gun and an American flag in a one-man protest. He was arrested at the time on weapons charges and placed in a veterans' hospital. According to Van Tassel's former attorney, the soldier left the facility and appeared at Cruise's Beverly Hills home three times with a letter that asks him to join the cause of helping veterans.

The Sexiest Man Alive is evidently a good enough credential to land you gig of hosting the Oscars. Hugh Jackman will host the 82nd Academy Awards on February 22nd. This is a slight departure for the Academy who usually grab comics like Ellen DeGeneres or Jon Stewart for the job, but not this year.

Isaac Slade, lead singer of STAR Artist The Fray tells me their new single, "You Found Me," is about, "watching a lot of people go through a lot of hard stuff, and good people having bad stuff happen to them." The song is currnetly being used as the soundtrack for ABC's promos for the new season of Lost, but the band says sadly, they haven't gotten to meet the cast, nor are there plans for them to appear on the show. Their new CD is still a few months off. Look for it in stores February 3rd.

STAR Artist Taylor Swift celebrates her 19th birthday tomorrow, and boy, does she have a lot to celebrate. She's beautiful and super-talented, her album “Fearless” is one of the top-selling CDs of the year, and she's currently plotting her first headlining tour. But despite Taylor's crazy schedule, she tells us she definitely sets aside time to have a love life, because she needs those experiences to help her write songs. She says, "I think love is my favorite thing to write about...there are millions of angles to relationships. It feels like it's never gotten boring for me to write songs about love."

Fox launched his career, so it's no wonder that American Idol champ STAR Artist David Cook is returning to the network to ring in the New Year. David will perform from Las Vegas on Fox's New Year's Eve Live.

STAR Artist Hoobastank who sing the hit song “The Reason” will return on January 27th with their fourth full-length album, "Fornever".

December 11, 2008

2008-12-11T11:12:00.008-06:00

Golden Globe nominations were just announced this morning in Hollywood and apparently the awards show missed having some big stars around last year because, well, there’s a bunch nominated for this year’s show. Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio, Angelina Jolie – yeah, they’re all nominated for something. And how’s this for a shocker? The second highest grossing movie of all-time only got one nomination. What in the world is up with that? The Dark Knight got one nom, for Heath Ledger as a supporting actor in a drama. And that's it. Are you kidding me? Heath's father, Kim, issued a statement after the nomination was announced:

"We thank the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for honoring Heath's performance in The Dark Knight. This nomination is deeply appreciated and is not lost on those of us who continue to love and miss him. We are so proud our boy's work is being recognized in this way."

Check out the complete list of Golden Globe nominations here.

Tom Cruise will make a (triumphant?) return to The Today Show, 3 years after he and Matt Lauer got into a heated spat about psychiatry and medication. In the interview Tom called psychiatry “pseudo-sciene” and Matt Lauer “glib.” So he’s coming back to make things right in a LIVE interview on Monday. Don’t miss that.

On January 20th, STAR Artist Mariah Carey will release a new best-of called “The Ballads” featuring all of her most popular softer tunes. Here’s the track listing:

"Hero"
"One Sweet Day" (Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men)
"Vision of Love"
"Without You"
"Can't Let Go"
"Love Takes Time"
"I'll Be There" (Featuring Trey Lorenz)
"Thank God I Found You" - Make It Last Remix (Featuring Nas & Joe)
"Endless Love" (Featuring Luther Vandross)
"I Still Believe"
"My All"
"The Roof"
"When You Believe" (Mariah Carey & Whitney Houston)
"Anytime You Need A Friend"
"Always Be My Baby"
"Dreamlover"
"How Much" (Featuring Usher)
"Reflections"

Some sad news to pass along, Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin's older sister, Dakota Culkin, 29, was struck by a car when she stepped off the curb and in front of a moving vehicle on the west side of LA on Tuesday evening. She was taken to UCLA Hospital with massive head trauma and died from her injuries yesterday afternoon.

STAR Artist Jesse McCartney has signed on for the sequel to the animated Alvin & the Chipmunks. The first one, released last year, grossed over $360 million.

STAR Artist Sara Bareilles has lined up some new tour dates that brings her as close as Chicago on March 2nd.

December 10, 2008

2008-12-10T10:48:00.009-06:00

I'm sorry I didn't update yesterday :( To make up for it, have a whole bunch of stuff!

Looks like Paula Abdul is now blaming the producers of American Idol for allowing Paula Goodspeed, that’s the woman who was found dead outside Paula’s home, to get close to her. Paula claims this woman had been stalking her for years and she begged producers not to allow her to tryout for season 5 of Idol but they refused. Paula says the producers thought the “entertainment value” of the situation outweighed Paula’s discomfort in the audition room. When asked why she continued to work for the show when her safety is threatened, Paula had a simple response, “I’m under contract.”

An American Idol fansite has claimed it’s gotten its hands on an internal Fox memo detailing what we can expect from the new season of American Idol. Here are some highlights from said memo:

* There will be only three weeks of auditions this year, down from four weeks the past few years.
* Instead of a top 24, there will be a top 36.
* The Wild Card Week, where the judges get to bring back someone who was previously cut, will return this season. You may recall that Clay Aiken was a wild card pick.
* Promotional spots for the auditions will focus on more "aspirational" singers, with fewer bad singers in the mix.
* There will be no Idol Gives Back this year.

American Idol season eight premieres January 13th.

Jay Leno is heading to primetime. NBC announced yesterday Jay will host a new show, The Jay Leno Show, when Conan O’Brien takes over The Tonight Show. The financial details of this new arrangement weren’t released but an insider tells me it could be worth at least $30 million a year. So what’s this new show all about? Well, it’ll have an opening monologue, comedy sketches similar to what he does now and interviews. Okay… So what’s DIFFERENT? Not much, except he’ll probably interview more news makers than celebs and it’ll be on your TV at a new time: 9 p.m. It starts in the fall of 2009.

It felt pretty obvious, but now it’s official: STAR Artist Leona Lewis is Billboard magazine’s Top New Artist of 2008. Yet another honor for Leona who picked up 3 Grammy nominations last week, and who’s song “Bleeding Love” was named the top single on iTunes the week before THAT. Oh, and her CD “Spirit” has sold 5 million copies.

STAR Artist Coldplay has issued a statement responding to allegations their Grammy-nominated smash hit “Viva La Vida” was a ripoff of a tune by guitarist Joe Satriani. "If there are any similarities between our two pieces of music, they are entirely coincidental and just as surprising to us as to him." If you haven’t heard what all the controversy is about, listen here:

Prepare to say goodbye to another cast member of Grey’s Anatomy. Reports out of Hollywood indicate T.R. Knight who plays Dr. George O’Malley has asked to be released from his contract and the show’s creator is granting his wish. So…like…what’s up with that?? According to one source T.R. just feels its time for him to go. Another source says T.R. isn’t happy with the direction of his character. But I bet the real reason is NBC is offering him his own primetime talk show too. *rim shot*

Here's eom more fuel for the "Mariah Carey is Pregnant" fire: Mariah was spotted coming out of a well-known OB-GYN office in LA and, according to a spy, was holding "what looked like a sonogram and was greeted by her entourage with cheers." Mariah has been honest with the press and said her and husband Nick Cannon do want kids, but according to her publicist, "As far as I'm told, she's not pregnant." Fair enough. But soon maybe, right?!

Is Washington, D.C. ready for a nasally New Yawwk actress in the Senate? A publicist for Fran Drescher says the former star of The Nanny is serious about succeeding Hillary Clinton as the next senator from New York. I’m all for this. A nanny in Congress to change the old people’s diapers.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are working on some more babies! Angelina is reportedly back on prenatal vitamins so she and Brad can have another set of twins – ‘cause if they do, they’ll have a baseball team.

Briefly:
Chris Daughtry can order himself a tux ‘cause it’s official: STAR Artist Daughtry will perform at Barack Obama’s inaugural ball on January 21st.

STAR Artist Elliot Yamin is aiming for March for the release of his 2nd CD.

December 8, 2008

2008-12-08T12:09:00.003-06:00

Here's the Box-Office recap from the weekend:

1. Four Christmases, $18.2 million
2. Twilight, $13.2 million
3. Bolt, $9.7 million
4. Australia, $7 million
5. Quantum of Solace, $6.6 million
6. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, $5.1 million
7. Transporter 3, $4.5 million
8. Punisher: War Zone, $4 million
9. Cadillac Records, $3.5 million
10. Role Models, $2.6 million

Here are the Top 10 Stupidest Christmas Gifts of 2008:

1. Screaming Rubber Chicken
2. Wealth Redistribution 2008 Holiday Ornament
3. Mini Guitar Hero
4. Potty Putter
5. Wasabi Flavored Gumballs
6. Men's Underwear Repair Kit
7. Obama "Yes We Can" Opener
8. "How To Tie A Tie" Tie
9. 2009 Dog Poop Calendar
10. Pole Dancer Alarm Clock

In an annual survey by Autograph magazine, Tonight Show host Jay Leno is the most accommodating celebrity when it comes to offering his John Hancock. Jay supposedly never not signs and he even signs for audience members at the Tonight Show during commercial breaks. Others who are happy to sign include George Clooney and his Ocean’s co-star Matt Damon. On the other end of the spectrum, stingy signers include Will Ferrell (which is very disappointing to hear) and his Step Brothers co-star John C. Reilly, plus Hollywood veteran William Shatner. Gwyneth Paltrow was named the snootiest of all, “she’ll try to ignore everyone as she walks by, or she'll just point-blank tell you in her condescending tone, 'I do not sign autographs.'" Paris Hilton would have made the list but they gave her a free pass ‘cause she doesn’t know how to spell her name.

You know times are tough when you can’t afford the 12 Days of Christmas. According to PNC Wealth Management, all of the items in the Christmas carol "The 12 Days of Christmas" costs a total of $86,609, up from the $78,100 they cost last year. Here's a look at how that breaks down:

* Partridge - $20 (last year - $15)
* Pear Tree - $200 (last year - $150)
* Two Turtle Doves - $55 (last year - $40)
* Three French Hens - $30 (last year - $45)
* Four Calling Birds (canaries) - $600 (last year - same)
* Five Gold Rings - $350 (last year - $395)
* Six Geese A-Laying - $240 (last year - $360)
* Seven Swans A-Swimming - $5,600 (last year - $4,200)
* Eight Maids a-Milking - $52 (last year - $47)
* Nine Ladies Dancing (per performance) - $4,759 (last year - same)
* 10 Lords A-Leaping (per performance) - $4,414 (last year - $4,285)
* 11 Pipers Piping (per performance) - $2,285 (last year - $2,213)
* 12 Drummers Drumming (per performance) - $2,475 (last year - $2,398)

Despite rumors to the contrary, Oprah Winfrey said she never considered leaving her current TV empire for a position in Barack Obama’s presidential administration. Speaking of Oprah, The Hollywood Reporter has just named her the most powerful woman in entertainment. Not a bad title to have.

Briefly:
You’ll see STAR Artists Taylor Swift, Fergie, Natasha Bedingfield and others on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.

Last week I told you it would happen, yesterday it officially did. David Gregory was confirmed as the new host Meet the Press on NBC. He starts his new gig next week.

What convenient timing. A month after an obsessed fan apparently committed suicide outside her home, Paula Abdul is looking to move.

BREAKING: OJ Simpson sentenced to 15 years

2008-12-05T12:44:00.004-06:00

OJ Simpson was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for his role in a confrontation in Las Vegas that brought about kidnapping and burglary charges. He'll serve at least 7 and a half years with no chance of parole and faces a maximum of 30 years in prison.

December 5, 2008

2008-12-05T11:23:00.003-06:00

Here's what's opening in theaters today. Not much to choose from...

* Punisher: War Zone – Dolph Lundgren and Thomas Jane played the Marvel Comics character on the big screen in the last two decades. Now, Rome actor Ray Stevenson takes over the role of Frank Castle, a.k.a. the vigilante known as The Punisher. A mobster, played by Dominic West, seeks revenge on The Punisher after the hero left him disfigured. Rated R.

* Cadillac Records -- The movie, set in Chicago during the 1950s, tells the story of Chess Records and its legendary artists. The cast includes Adrien Brody as label founder Leonard Chess, Beyonce as Etta James, Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters, and Mos Def as Chuck Berry. Rated R.

* Nobel Son -- The son of a Nobel Prize winner is kidnapped and held for ransom, but his dad isn't too eager to pay up. Bryan Greenberg, Alan Rickman and Mary Steenburgen star in this dark comedy. Rated R.

There's still some magic left in the Harry Potter phenomenon. The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a collection of five stories referenced in the Harry Potter book series, was released yesterday. While it hasn't drummed up nearly as much publicity as the seven Harry Potter books did, die-hard fans are excited to get their hands on it. J. K. Rowling celebrated its release by having a tea party with 200 schoolchildren.

The Dark Knight comes out on DVD this Tuesday, and while there's been no official announcement that another Batman movie will be made, fans aren't shy when it comes to letting their feelings known about who they'd like to see in it if a new one is made. Here are the most requested villains and casting choices for the next Batman movie:

Most Requested Villains
1. The Riddler
2. Harley Quinn
3. Cat Woman
4. The Penguin
5. Bane

Most Requested Casting Choices
1. Johnny Depp
2. Angelina Jolie
3. Natalie Portman
4. Edward Norton
5. Keira Knightley
6. Daniel Day-Lewis
7. Philip Seymour Hoffman
8. Viggo Mortensen
9. Kevin Spacey
10. Clive Owen

I asked STAR Artist Leona Lewis how she felt about her 3 Grammy nominations, “I'm so thrilled...I am totally floored. Wow! I am so lucky to have worked on this album with so many great people and it's such an honor to be recognized...it's been an incredible year!”

STAR Artist John Mayer will cap off a week that saw him pick up five Grammy nominations and jam with his idol, B.B. King, by helping those less fortunate. This Saturday night, John will host his 2nd annual Holiday Acoustic Review at LA's Nokia Theater, and joining him on the bill will be special guest Adele, who picked up four Grammy nods of her own on Wednesday night. Proceeds from the solo acoustic show will benefit Toys for Tots and the L.A. Food Bank.

December 4, 2008

2008-12-04T11:15:00.010-06:00

STAR Artist Coldplay landed 7 Grammy nominations last nigh including Album of the Year plus Record & Song of the Year for “Viva La Vida.” STAR Artist John Mayer grabbed 5 nods. Here are the Big 3 Categories and their nominees:

Record of the Year
* Adele, "Chasing Pavements"
* Coldplay, "Viva La Vida"
* Leona Lewis, "Bleeding Love"
* M.I.A., "Paper Planes"
* Alison Krauss & Robert Plant, "Please Read The Letter"

Song of the Year (award to songwriter)
* "American Boy," Estelle Featuring Kanye West, artists/William Adams, Keith Harris, Josh Lopez, Caleb Speir, John Stephens, Estelle Swaray & Kanye West, songwriters.
* "Chasing Pavements," Adele, artist/Adele Adkins & Eg White, songwriters.
* "I'm Yours," Jason Mraz/artist and songwriter.
* "Love Song," Sara Bareilles/artist and songwriter.
* "Viva La Vida," Coldplay/artist and songwriters.

Album of the Year
* Coldplay, "Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends"
* Radiohead, "In Rainbows"
* Alison Krauss & Robert Plant, "Raising Sand"
* Lil Wayne, "Tha Carter III"
* Ne-Yo, "Year Of The Gentleman"

Check out the full list of Grammy nominations here.

Barbara Walters is interviewing her 10 Most Fascinating People tonight on ABC at 9 p.m. On her list of fascination this year are some not so creative choices, but that’s ok right? Tom Cruise, Miley Cyrus, Tina Fey, Will Smith, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Phelps and pregnant “man”/not a man Thomas Beattie all made the cut plus a couple others. Who’s the most fascinating? Barbara won’t tell but rumor has it it’s Barack Obama.

The estranged brother-in-law of Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson was denied bond yesterday in Chicago after he was arrested and charged earlier this week in the murders of three of Jennifer's family members.

And in more legal news...
OJ Simpson's lawyers have asked for minimal prison time for the litany of robbery and kidnapping convictions that OJ faces in the wake of his memoribilia heist. They asked OJ recieve 6 years in prison rather than the recommended 18. His lawyers told the press, "Simpson has never previously been convicted of a crime thus, he now stands before the court as a first-time offender." As E! News put it, "In the court, yes. In the court of public opinion, not even close."

One of my favorite shows is Lost. Yeah I know season 3 was kind of weak but season 4 was AMAZING and it comes out on DVD on the 9th. Here's a sneak-peek at the blooper reel!

NBC announced yesterday that E.R. will officially end its 15 season run on March 12th with a 2-hour series finale. Until then the speculation on George Clooney making a return will continue. I still don’t understand why he wouldn’t. I know he’s busy but he owes a lot, and I do mean a LOT, to E.R. I would view it as a character flaw if he didn’t come back for a final cameo. Dare I say?...Yeah, he owes them.

Turns out Jennifer Aniston isn’t tired of pregnancy rumors yet, she’s actually amused by them. This week a tabloid reported her and STAR Artist John Mayer are expecting, so I asked her how she felt about it. “Oh my God, it's hysterical. It's almost going to take away the fun from actually being able to say one day, 'I'm pregnant!’”

There’s a rumor floating around that STAR Artist Daughtry will perform at one of the inauguration balls for Barack Obama. If you remember earlier this year Daughtry performed at both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. Ya know, to be nice and fair.

STAR Artist Taylor Swift may be a platinum-selling superstar, but she's got very down-to-earth tastes. She tells me for her birthday on December 13th, all she wants is simple gifts, like stationery and a new pair of glasses. "Mine broke and I need them to drive. I've been, like, taping them, which is not the best look for anyone.” Taylor says she'll have a party for her birthday, but it'll double as a holiday bash for her band and crew - or, as she decribes it, "A year-end, you-guys-are-awesome party."

December 3, 2008

2008-12-03T12:22:00.003-06:00

Patrick Swayze has been battling pancreatic cancer while working on his new A&E drama, The Beast but apparently he feels the real beast has been the tabloid media. He says they have been “consistently reporting lies and false information” like, that he’s on his death bed saying goodbye to family and friends. Which, he’s not. Not even close. "It's upsetting that the shoddy and reckless reporting from these publications cast a negative shadow on the positive and good fight I'm fighting. I knew I was in for the fight of my life. It's a battle, and so far, I've been winning. I'm one of the lucky few…”

Grammy nominations get announced tonight in a special on CBS in its first primetime television special. Usually this stuff happens in the early morning but the Grammy people got something special planned for you and I. STAR Artist Taylor Swift plus LL Cool J host The Grammy Nominations Concert Live with performances from Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, John Mayer, Christina Aguilera and The Foo Fighters. There’s over 100 Grammy Award categories – only 6 will be announced tonight at 8 p.m.

STAR Artist David Cook and a bunch of other big name artists are singing tonight not on the Grammy special. These others will be at Rockefeller Center for the annual lighting of their humongous Christmas Tree. David will be singing the John Lennon classic “Happy X-Mas (War is Over).” That’s 7 p.m. tonight on NBC.

Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie are international film stars and have tastebuds to match their global status. Brad says he and Jolie have sampled some of the most exotic foods in the world, including, "crickets in Cambodia, sea urchins in France, goat in Ethiopia and Rocky Mountain oysters (bull testicles) in Montana." Brad reveals that when they're not jetsetting around the globe for their meals, the couple's culinary options are limited to BBQ and cereal. So what does Brad Pitt do when entertaining A-list guests? The actor says he orders out.

The deal isn't final, but an NBC News executive says the network is close to naming chief White House correspondent David Gregory as the late Tim Russert’s replacement on Meet the Press.

Twilight actress Kristen Stewart will rock out in her new role. The Hollywood Reporter says Stewart will play Joan Jett in a movie about Jett's 1970s all-girl rock band The Runaways, whose hits included "Cherry Bomb." Jett will executive produce the project.

December 2, 2008

2008-12-02T12:14:00.010-06:00

The estranged brother-in-law of Jennifer Hudson was arrested yesterday in connection with the murders of her mother, brother, and nephew in October. 27-year-old William Balfour, who previously was described by authorities as a person of interest in the case, was transferred into police custody from an Illinois prison, where he was being held for an alleged parole violation. UPDATE: Balfour was formally charged this morning on 3 counts of first-degree murder and one count of home invasion.

Both STAR Artist Coldplay and Leona Lewis were inescapable in 2008, so it's no big shock that both acts top iTunes' year-end charts of the best-selling albums and singles of '08. Check out the top 10 iTunes albums and singles:

Albums
1. Coldplay, "Viva la Vida"
2. Jack Johnson, "Sleep Through the Static"
3. Various Artists, "Juno (Music from the Motion Picture)"
4. Lil Wayne, "Tha Carter III"
5. Sara Bareilles, "Little Voice"
6. Various Artists, "Once (Music from the Motion Picture)"
7. Jason Mraz, "We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things."
8. OneRepublic, "Dreaming Out Loud"
9. Various Artists, "Across the Universe (Music from the Motion Picture)"
10. Leona Lewis, "Spirit"

Singles
1. "Bleeding Love," Leona Lewis
2. "Viva la Vida," Coldplay
3. "Low (feat. T-Pain)," Flo Rida
4. "I Kissed a Girl," Katy Perry
5. "Disturbia," Rihanna
6. "Lollipop," Lil Wayne & Static Major
7. "No Air," Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown
8. "Pocketful of Sunshine," Natasha Bedingfield
9. "Love Song," Sara Bareilles
10. "Don't Stop the Music," Rihanna

We’ve got a list of the top nude scenes of 2008 thanks to MrSkin.com. Here they are from movies:

1. Mischa Barton, Closing the Ring
2. Sophie Monk, Sex and Death 101
3. Heather Graham, Adrift in Manhattan
4. Asia Argento, The Last Mistress
5. Neve Campbell, I Really Hate My Job
6. Anna Faris, The House Bunny
7. Amy Smart, Mirrors
8. Mena Suvari, Stuck
9. Laura Ramsey, The Ruins
10. Angelina Jolie, Wanted
11. Penélope Cruz, Elegy
12. Jessica Morris, Role Models
13. Willa Ford, Impulse
14. Carly Pope, YPF
15. Jenna Jameson, Zombie Strippers
16. Jess Weixler, Teeth
17 Moran Atias, Mother of Tears
18. Vera Farmiga, Never Forever
19. Maria Bello, Downloading Nancy
20. Amy Adams, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

And here they are from TV (premium channels obviously):

1. Lizzy Caplan, True Blood, HBO
2. Mary Louise Parker, Weeds, Showtime
3. Anna Paquin, True Blood, HBO
4. Arlene Tur, Crash, Starz
5. Jenaveve Jolie, Entourage, HBO
6. Caprice Benedetti, Brotherhood, Showtime
7. Hayley Marie Norman, Crash, Starz
8. Cerina Vincent, Manchild, Showtime
9. Alicia Leigh Willis, Katherine Moennig, The L Word, Showtime
10. Carla Gallo, Californication, Showtime

Where’s STAR Artist Kelly Clarkson at with her new CD? Well, pretty close to finished! She’s waiting for all the songs to be mixed and mastered. So we can expect it in the early part of 2009. To kill time while she waits she’s been hanging with friends. cooked her first-ever Thanksgiving dinner and watching the new Australia movie to which she says, "Wow, God did good when he made Hugh Jackman!"

Check out the cake STAR Artist John Mayer made to celebrate the kickoff of the Christmas season:
STAR Artists Natasha Bedingfield, Jesse McCartney plus Fall Out Boy, Ne-Yo plus more are all booked for Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest.

December 1, 2008

2008-12-01T11:01:00.003-06:00

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving and Happy December!

Here's your complete Box-Office Recap from this past holiday weekend:

1. Four Christmases, $31.7 million
2. Bolt, $26.6 million
3. Twilight, $26.4 million
4. Quantum of Solace, $19.5 million
5. Australia, $14.8 million
6. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, $14.5 million
7. Transporter 3, $12.3 million
8. Role Models, $5.3 million
9. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, $1.7 million
10. Milk, $1.4 million

Ever wanted to know how Tina Fey got that scar on her face? She doesn’t like to talk about it but she finally told the story.

Liz Lemon favors her right side. That’s because a faint scar runs across Tina Fey’s left cheek, the result of a violent cutting attack by a stranger when Fey was five. Her husband says, “It was in, like, the front yard of her house, and somebody who just came up, and she just thought somebody marked her with a pen.” You can hardly see the scar in person.

Actor Robert Downey Jr. got knocked out cold on the set of his new movie Sherlock Holmes. One of his costars punches accidentally landed and put Robert on his back unconscious and drooling blood. He need six stitches but his rep tells me “He’s fine.” Well yeah, because he’s a bad ass.

STAR Artist Madonna’s marriage may be over but perhaps some cold, hard cash will provide some good emotional support. Her current tour “Sticky & Sweet” (again, whatever that means) is on track to be the top-grossing tour by a solo artist ever. The North American leg alone has pulled in $91.5 million.

Briefly:
Congrats to STAR Artist Coldplay, only the second band of 2008 to have a CD go double platinum. The other artist was Lil Wayne.

U2’s new album’s working title is “No Line on the Horizon” and The Edge explains, “It’s like you’re moving forward, but you’re not exactly sure what you’re heading towards...It’s an image of infinity, I suppose.”

November 26, 2008

2008-11-26T10:24:00.004-06:00

Happy Day Before Thanksgiving!
Note: There will be no "Welcome Matt" updates Thursday or Friday.

Here are the movies opening today:

* Australia -- Aussie actors Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman team up for this World War Two epic. Kidman is a British aristocrat who inherits an Australian ranch she's in danger of losing to cattle barons. To save her land, she gets the help of a cattle driver, played by Jackman. Rated PG-13.

* Four Christmases -- Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon are a couple who's forced to visit each one of their four divorced parents, much to their dismay. Robert Duvall, Jon Favreau, Mary Steenburgen, and country music singers Dwight Yoakam and Tim McGraw also star. Rated PG-13.

* Transporter 3 -- The first Transporter movie in three years has Jason Staham reprising his role as Frank Martin, an ex-Special Forces operative. He has to transport the kidnapped daughter of a Ukrainian official across Europe. Rated PG-13.

Rosie O'Donnell comes to primetime TV tonight in her NBC variety special Rosie Live. If the former View co-host stays true to form, you can expect her to stir up some sort of controversy on the one-hour program, which will begin with a monologue from O'Donnell. She'll be joined during the show by guest stars Alec Baldwin and Jane Krakowski of 30 Rock, Rachel Ray, Liza Minnelli, Kathy Griffin, Harry Connicl Jr., Ne-Yo, Alanis Morrissette, Clay Aiken and Gloria Estefan. Rosie Live airs on NBC tonight at 7 p.m.

Brooke Burke won Dancing With the Stars...hurray! Okay, now bring on NBC's new show, Superstars of Dance.

Well this is...sucky. STAR Artist Daughtry has pushed back the release of their next CD to summer of 2009. It's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince all over again! The band members are headed home for the Thanksgiving holiday - which is a good thing because two of their wives are preggers!

STAR Artist David Cook hasn't had much time to get back home to Kansas City thanks to the whirlwind of activity with American Idol and putting out his first album. But for Thanksgiving he'll finally be able to make it back home. That leaves Idol runner-up David Archuleta the duty of riding and performing in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

STAR Artist Nickelback has just announced plans to tour in support of their new album, "Dark Horse." No, not concert in Green Bay, but they will be at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee on March 14th.

November 25, 2008

2008-11-25T12:38:00.003-06:00

If Lance Bass wins Dancing With the Stars tonight, it’ll be more than just his sweet feet that get him the Mirror Ball trophy. His partner, Lacey, tells me they have a pre-show routine. "He has this little tub of glitter. A fan gave it to him and it's supposed to be his good luck dust. So what he does is, he takes it, throws it in the air and stands under it. Ever since we started doing that, things have been looking up for us." His pre-show routine involves glitter. Shocker.

Tom Cruise’s daughter does not wear the pants in the family. He told me his two-year-old Suri refuses to wear pants. "Kate finally got her in jeans the other day. We put the pants on and walk away and the pants are off and the dress is on." So Tom Cruise is having cooperation problems with both of the women in his life. Suri refuses to wear pants and Katie Holmes refuses to wear leg irons.

STAR Artists OneRepublic and Sara Bareilles have teamed up to record a beautiful duet version of OneRepublic’s “Coming Home.” The version is specifically dedicated to our troops serving our country overseas. OneRepublic’s lead singer Ryan Tedder told me he wrote the song about a friend who got engaged and then shipped off to Iraq the next day. You can hear grab the whole song off iTunes right now.

She gave up her American Idol crown to STAR Artist David Cook, but now Jordin Sparks is carrying around a much more important title: role model. Ever since Jordin defended the notion of purity rings back in September, she's has been held up as an example of the kind of artist teens should look up to. She says being that role model isn’t something she takes lightly, “But it's difficult. I have to watch what I say, what I do, who I hang out with, where I go. I'm constantly having to watch myself."

Speaking of American Idol...
A few notable candidates have made their way into the new season of American Idol that kicks off in January. You’ll see David Osmond, nephew of Donnie and Marie, Michael Castro younger brother of the dreadlocked Jason from last season, Danielle Roundtree, a.k.a. Miss New York USA 2008 and Tom and Jennifer Korbee who will go down as the first husband and wife to both make it to Hollywood on Idol.

November 24, 2008

2008-11-24T11:02:00.003-06:00

Here's a complete Box-Office recap from this past Twilight - I mean weekend:

1. Twilight, $70.6 million
2. Quantum of Solace, $27.4 million
3. Bolt, $27 million
4. Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa, $16 million
5. Role Models, $7.2 million
6. Changeling, $2.6 million
7. High School Musical 3: Senior Year, $2 million
8. Zack and Miri Make a Porno, $1.7 million
9. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, $1.67 million
10. The Secret Life of Bees, $1.28 million

We may be forced to watch a sequel to the writers' strike that began last year and lasted for 100 days. This time, it's the Screen Actors Guild that's moving one step closer to calling a strike, after contract talks with Hollywood studios, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, broke down last week. Though a federal mediator was brought in to help negotiate a new labor agreement, SAG announced on Saturday that it will ask members to authorize a strike. The SAG national president said, "We really tried to meet the AMPTP more than halfway and they were immovable, so now were in a position where we have to go to our members for a strike authorization." In turn, the AMPTP blasted the actors union for the timing of their decision, saying, "SAG is bizarrely asking its members to bail out the failed negotiating strategy with a strike vote -- at a time of historic economic crisis." In order to authorize a strike, more than 75 percent of SAG members would need to vote their approval. The vote would take over a month to complete.

Three is the magic number on Dancing with the Stars this week. The three finalists, Brooke Burke, Lance Bass and Warren Sapp, will perform three dances over the next two nights, before the seventh-season champion is crowned. Tonight, the celebrities will take part in what's being billed as a "Samba Smackdown," and will also perform a freestyle routine. On tomorrow night's results show, they'll reprise one of their favorite routines from earlier in the season. So who's the favorite to win? It depends who you ask, but Las Vegas oddsmaker John Avello surprised a lot of people when he moved Brooke from his favorite to the longshot. He's had Brooke as his favorite since the first time he saw her dance, but that changed after last week's show, and she's now his five-to-two longshot because, "it looks like she might be losing steam." Avello believes Sapp is the favorite right now, at odds of eight-to-five, followed by Bass at nine-to-five. But he says Burke could easily regain her favorite status if she performs strongly tonight.

STAR Artist Madonna and Guy Ritchie are now on their way to officially becoming ex-spouses. On Friday, the couple were granted a preliminary "quickie divorce in the High Court of London, and it will become permanent in the next six weeks if there are no disputes. According to court documents, Madonna said in a sworn statement that she's divorcing Guy because of his, quote, "unreasonable behavior." The court proceedings took one minute -- neither the couple nor their attorneys were present. Madonna laments, "I'm sad about my personal life." Fortunately, she has her Sweet & Sticky tour: "It provides a distraction that keeps me going."

STAR Artist Leona Lewis has been with her boyfriend since they were kids, but despite reports of an impending wedding, she won't confirm the current status of their relationship. Leona tells me, "He's a great friend to me. The foundation of our relationship is friendship. He's been very supportive." It was Lou who pushed Leona to audition for Simon's British American Idol-like show X Factor. When she won, it launched her career. So what about her future with Lou? Leona says, "I'm a 'now' person. I think Lou's great. I'd love, in the future, to get married...but I don't know what's going to happen in the future. I don't know where I'm going to be."

Most artists whose album just debuted at #2 on the charts would be popping bottles of Cristal and partying all night. But STAR Artist David Archuleta, well, he's been busy trying to complete his Eagle Scout certification.

The release of Prospekt's March, the new EP from STAR Artist Coldplay, has been pushed forward a day - the eight-song disc arrives today instead of tomorrow.

STAR Artist No Doubt will start touring again in summer 2009, so get ready for that.

November 21. 2008

2008-11-21T11:43:00.004-06:00

‘Bout time it happened! STAR Artist Ashlee Simpson and her husband, Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz, welcomed a baby boy last night named…ready for it?...Bronx Mowgli Wentz. According to the couple’s spokesperson, mom, dad and baby are doing great. By the way, if you’re wondering where the name Mowgli came from, the only Mowgli I know is the main character from The Jungle Book. Bronx weighed in at 7 pounds 11½ ounces and 20½ inches long.

2 new movies hit theaters today and both are gonna pull in big bucks. Okay, one more so than the other.

* Bolt -- John Travolta voices the dog Bolt, a TV action star who's under the impression that he can pull off his on-screen stunts in real life. Bolt gets a dose of reality when he's accidentally shipped off to New York City and meets a cat named Mittens and a hamster trapped in a plastic ball named Rhino. Miley Cyrus lends her voice to Bolt's co-star and owner, Penny. Rated PG.
* Twilight -- The best-selling series of vampire books by author Stephanie Meyer comes to life on the big screen. British heartthrob Robert Pattinson, who's appeared in two Harry Potter films as Cedric Diggory, stars in the lead role of the vampire Edward. He strikes up a romance with Bella, a teenage girl played by Kristen Stewart. Rated PG-13.

Speaking of Twilight...
British actor Robert Pattinson who plays Edward in the new movie Twilight said it’s time to hide out a little. He told me at the U.S. premiere of Twilight he went completely deaf for a few minutes thanks to the adoring female fans. He plans to lay low in London for a while. Actress Kristen Stewart, Robert’s co-star in Twilight says she knows what all that screaming is for. “He's British. He's tall. He always looks like he's thinking about something. And he's quite witty. So he's pretty sexy.” So, does him being physically unattractive help him be sexier then? Just kidding girls…

Since the Packers don’t play ‘til Monday, hopefully you can fit the American Music Awards into your TV-watching schedule this Sunday. STAR Artist Alicia Keys leads the nomination tally with 5, STAR Artist Coldplay has 4. As for performances you’ll see STAR Artists Christina Aguilera, Natasha Bedingfield, Leona Lewis, Taylor Swift, Coldplay, Alicia Keys, The Fray, Pink and New Kids on the Block! Check out the AMAs Sunday at 7 p.m. on ABC.

Another one bites the dust. And another. And another. ABC has cancelled 3 shows: Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone and Dirty Sexy Money. Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller hadn’t spoken to ABC yet about the announcement but told me, “If we are indeed dead on ABC, we now have to convince DC Comics to let us tell the rest of the season's story lines out in comic book form and convince Warner Bros. features to let Pushing Daisies live again as a movie.” The CW can relate to ABC’s ratings woes – they had to cancel their entire Sunday-night line-up.

Forbes magazine has named Hollywood’s Most Powerful Couples. Would you believe it? Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie aren’t number one! Here's the list. The dollar amount is the couple combined earnings for the past year.

1. Jay-Z and Beyoncé, $162 million
2. Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, $85 million
3. David Beckham and Victoria Beckham, $58 million
4. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, $35 million
5. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, $34 million
6. Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann, $30 million
7. Gavin Rossdale and Gwen Stefani, $28 million
8. Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman, $25 million
9. Tony Parker and Eva Longoria, $22.5 million
10. Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart, $22 million

STAR Artist John Mayer and Jennifer Aniston turned another corner in their relationship on Wednesday night – John met Jen’s parents for the first time. So how did he do? He was definitely nervous. He told me he felt like he was on Dancing With the Stars. At one point Jennifer went to the ladies room and John blurted out, “How am I doing? I’m a wreck!” Despite the nervousness John, as you can imagine, was a big hit.

Today was supposed to be the day the new Harry Potter movie The Half Blood Prince opened nationwide. Instead, the movie was moved to July of 2009. WTF?! So to help ease the misery some of us are feeling here's the latest Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince trailer. It just came out a few days ago. Enjoy!
My favorite show of all-time is being made into a movie! Arrested Development, which had a short run of brillance on Fox, is becomming a major motion picture. A cast member who asked to remain nameless says, "Yes, it's a go. We're all very excited. And it will happen with or without the holdout." Wait, a holdout? Apparently one original cast member has not signed on...yet. But it's really happening. An Arrested Development movie! I'm so excited!!

STAR Artist Jordin Sparks will be on the AMAs on Sunday, the had back on tour with Alicia Keys and after that’s all done start working on her new CD, but she says she’s a little…confused. “I don't know what kind of sound I want for my album, or how many songs...I'm so confused. I don't know." Maybe she can hash some ideas out with Gina Glocksen, one of her fellow Top 10 finalists from season 6 of American Idol when she stands up in her wedding on New Year’s Eve.

Briefly:
STAR Artist Sarah McLachlan will receivethe Allan Waters Humanitarian Award at next year's Juno Awards, the Canadian equivalent of the Grammys, in honor of her charity work.

November 20, 2008

2008-11-20T11:08:00.007-06:00

Finally, Britney Spears is admitting what most of us have suspected all along: her marriage to Kevin Federline may have been a mistake. In the upcoming MTV documentary Britney: For The Record, Britney says, "I think I married for the wrong reasons. Instead of following my heart and doing something that made me really happy, I just did it for the idea of everything." K-Fed and Britney tied the knot in 2004; their divorce became final in 2007. In another gem from the documentary, Britney says she doesn't need therapy because for her, making music and dancing is just as good. As Britney says, "For me, art is therapy because it's like you're expressing yourself in such a spiritual way." If her music is therapy then why do I need to drink heavily after listening to it?

According to the British press, Madonna and Guy Ritchie have come to an agreement (yes, already!) in the terms of their divorce. So how much of Madonna's $500 million fortune does Guy get? He actully refused to take a single penny. Are yu kidding me?! Not even a mil or two? A source close to the settlement says the couple will share custody of their 2 kids, Rocco and David. The kids will split their time between mommy in New York City and daddy in London. So that went...quickly. And politely. What the hell is going on here?!

STAR Artist Chris Daughtry made his acting debut in CSI: New York last night but he’s still focused on his day job: that “music” thing. Unfortunately, Chris tells me the band’s new album is taking longer than they expected. “We will NOT be finished for a while, now...we just want to make sure it's right.” But to leave us feeling happy and hopeful, Chris also says, “I'm extremely proud of what we've done. It's, in my opinion, the best stuff I've ever had a part in writing. And hopefully, you'll all feel the same."

What NOT to do when you have a chance to talk to the celebrity you've been obsessed with for 17 years:

Jennifer Aniston is just like a lot of us: she watches re-runs of Friends. She says she still watches the show in re-runs and finds herself at times not remembering ever making a particular episode. Jennifer says she still finds the show funny and there are moments when she laughs her, quote, "rear end off." She watches re-runs? Shouldn’t she have nabbed some free DVDs along the way?

All the cool kids have been putting out deluxe editions of their hit albums, but STAR Artist OneRepublic doesn’t need to follow any stinkin’ trends. Instead of putting one of those together, they’re just gonna put out a brand new album. They’ll wrap up their tour in early January then move into a house together and get to work.

STAR Artist Jason Mraz has been given a huge honor: he’ll perform at this year’s Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo, Norway.

Sexiest Man Alive 2008

2008-11-19T11:47:00.005-06:00

It's official: the Sexiest Man Alive 2008 is Hugh Jackman! From People magazine:

He's a triple threat: a star who can sing, dance and wield a weapon.

At 6 ft. 2 in., all scruff and biceps, Hugh Jackman looms large in the epic Australia, which he says kept him "dirty 95 percent of the time" and left people stammering, "Oh ... my ... God," according to costar Nicole Kidman, who adds, "Women's jaws drop when Hugh walks into a room."

So what do you think? Agree? Disagree? Steve & Chelly in the Morning will take your calls tomorrow morning at 7:06 on STAR 98.

November 19, 2008

2008-11-19T10:12:00.002-06:00

Cody Linley may have had a hard time making friends on Dancing with the Stars before his elimination last night. According to one source he was "always whining about something or someone." Another insider claimed Cody is "very calculating, driven young man" who knew he was gaining more exposure on Dancing with the Stars than he has on the Disney Channel series. However, both my sources indicate he wasn't as out of control as other reports have suggested, "Cody has never been seen drinking on the set...I think some relatively innocent flirting with some of the women got blown out of proportion."

Forbes has put out a new list of Hollywood's Hottest Tots. That's "tots" not...never mind. Now don't worry, we're not actually judging how attractive these kids are, it's a measure of public interest. Check out the Top 10 and click each name to see why they're so "hot."

1. Suri Cruise - daughter of Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes
2. Shiloh Jolie-Pitt - daughter of Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie
3. Zahara Jolie-Pitt - adopted daughter of Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie
4. Pax Joli-Pitt - adopted daughter of Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie
5. Sam Alexis Woods - daughter of Tiger & Elin Woods
6. Cruz Beckham - son of David & Victoria Backham
7. Matilda Rose Ledger - daughter Michelle Williams and the late Heath Ledger
8. David Banda - adopted son of Madonna & Guy Ritchie
9. Sean Preston Federline - son of Britney Spears & Kevin Federline
10. Sam Sheen - daughter of Denise Richards & Charlie Sheen

The vampire movie Twilight opens nationwide this Friday, and bloodsuckers, I mean, movie executives, will be happy to hear late-night showings of the movie are selling out faster than you can say "bite me." The online ticket site Fandango reports it has already sold out almost 700 screenings for Twilight, including approximately 500 midnight showings. So I guess that’s why it’s so great I’ve got your tickets into Twilight all this week with the Birthday Stumper at 12:30!

STAR Artist Taylor Swift is full of surprises. Like many other singers, she’s thought about making the jump to acting, but only if she can play a…darker character. Taylor tells me, “I could be a crook on CSI. Hopefully, one that's really twisted that took, like, four episodes to figure out." As for Grey's Anatomy, she says, "I would play a corpse 'cause I love it that much. It is a deep true love, and it will never die.”

STAR Artist Leona Lewis may be a gorgeous & talented international superstar, but she still doesn't like people seeing her in a bathing suit. Leona tells me that it was a "nightmare" when pictures of her on vacation in Barbados last year appeared in print. She says, "I'm a normal-sized girl and it's embarrassing. Nobody in their right mind wants to see rough-looking bikini shots of themselves from every dodgy angle." To the right is one of the pictures in question. I'm not quite sure what she's so embarrassed about, she looks great!

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes celebrated something this week that rarely happens in Hollywood – a second wedding anniversary. Apparently they celebrated at home before Katie had to fly back to New York City where’s she starring on Broadway in All My Sons.

STAR Artist Chris Daughtry will make his acting debut tonight on the 100th episode of CSI: New York. Check that out tonight at 9 p.m. on CBS.

November 18, 2008

2008-11-18T12:08:00.001-06:00

Heather Locklear has been formally charged in connection with her September DUI when she was caught driving under the influence of prescription medication. We don’t know which pills she was popping on account of privacy laws. She’s scheduled for arraignment January 26th.

If you love that song “I’m Yours” by STAR Artist Jason Mraz but for some reason haven’t picked up the CD it’s on, today is the day you’ve been waiting for. Jason is releasing a deluxe edition of “We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things” today featuring all the normal songs plus 12 extra songs released on a series of fan-only EPs earlier this year, a DVD from a concert in New York City, a documentary and a 20-page booklet with full lyrics and artwork. Now that’s getting your money’s worth!

MORE CD RELEASES!
He’s been waiting for this day for 26 years – STAR Artist David Cook’s debut self-titled CD hits stores today. On the CD he’s co-written songs with the likes of the Goo Goo Dolls’ Johnny Rzeznik and amazingly was able to finish the CD in 2 and a half months. If you’re planning on buy it like I am, here’s something to keep in mind: if you buy the version off iTunes you’ll get a bonus song called “My Last Request,” and if you buy the Wal-Mart version, you’ll get a bonus track called “Breathe Tonight.” No matter which version you go for, hopefully you’ll be as pleased as David himself, “I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out."

AND...
STAR Artist Nickelback’s new CD is in stores today. It’s called “Dark Horse.”

STAR Artist The All-American Rejects are releasing their new CD today called "When the World Comes Down."

I know a lot of people who love the show Pushing Daisies on ABC. It’s all about a guy who can touch a dead body and bring it back to life – but it doesn’t seem like anyone will be able to bring the show back to life. One of the stars of Pushing Daisies Kristin Chenoweth who plays Olive says they just completed what may have been their final episode and “I think the state of television is...in dire straits, so we'll just keep our fingers crossed.”

STAR Artists Mariah Carey and Taylor Swift will take part in this year’s Grammy Nominations Concert Live. Mariah has signed on to perform, Taylor to perform and serve as co-host with rapper/actor LL Cool J. STAR Artist John Mayer and others are also slated to perform. The show airs December 3rd on CBS.

November 17, 2008

2008-11-17T10:30:00.016-06:00

Hope you had a great weekend!

Box-Office Recap for the weekend of November 15th and 16th:

1. Quantum of Solace, $70.4 million
2. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, $36.1 million
3. Role Models, $11.7 million
4. High School Musical 3: Senior Year, $5.9 million
5. Changeling, $4.2 million
6. Zack and Miri Make a Porno, $3.2 million
7. Soul Men, $2.43 million
8. The Secret Life of Bees, $2.4 million
9. Saw V, $1.8 million
10. The Haunting of Molly Hartley, $1.6 million

I saw Quantum of Solace and I'm glad I did. Lots of fun though I'm not sure what it was actually about...Oh well!

This is Entertainment Weekly’s list of the 25 Entertainers of the Year:

1. Robert Downey Jr.
2. Tina Fey
3. Cast and crew of The Dark Knight
4. The Gossip Girls
5. Stephanie Meyer ("Twilight" author)
6. Lil Wayne
7. Rock Band - the video game
8. The women of Sex & the City
9. The Jonas Brothers
10. The Talking Heads (pundits)
11. Meryl Streep
12. The stars of Bravo
13. James Franco
14. WALL-E
15. Coldplay
16. Elizabeth Banks
17. Yunjin Kim & Daniel Dae Kim
18. Kid Rock
19. John Hamm
20. Facebook.com
21. Katy Perry
22. Richard Jenkins
23. Michael Phelps
24. Leona Lewis
25. Neil Patrick Harris

One of my favorite comedic actors, Paul Rudd, hosted Saturday Night Live this weekend but it was a scene-stealing moment from a STAR Artist that had me laughing the hardest. Justin Timberlake appeared on the "Weekend Update" segment and proceeded to tell us exactly how it would happen if he were to be able to host next weekend. Check out the skit:

You will no longer hear the sounds of teens screaming at the top of their lungs on MTV's TRL. The show signed off after 10 years last night, featuring a roll call of pop stars who established themselves on TRL, including STAR Artist Justin Timberlake. There were appearances by Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Christina Aguilera and tons more.

What’s STAR Artist Bon Jovi up to right now? Working on a new live DVD shot during their most recent tour as well as a documentary and a new Greatest Hits collection. They’re actually writing some new material for that Greatest Hits package so that’ll be great to hear!

If George Clooney changes his mind and returns to ER this season, he will not be reunited with his on-screen love interest Julianna Marguiles. She says she turned down an offer by NBC to make a return cameo and, “I feel like I left Carol Hathaway in the best scenario possible."

American Idol winner and STAR Artist David Cook credits his girlfriend and fellow Idol alum Kimberly Caldwell for giving him peace and perspective in the midst of the reality show’s frenetic world of stardom. “I think she just gets that this is all nuts. She's a nice break from the chaos."

STAR Artist The Fray got their big break when their song “How to Save a Life” was in an episode of Grey’s Anatomy. Well this Thursday, they’ll try to recapture that magic. Their new single “You Found Me” will debut in a one-minute promo on Thursday that includes scenes from the upcoming season of Lost as well as music video footage.

November 14, 2008

2008-11-14T17:34:00.000-06:00

Tina Fey, Tom Cruise, Will Smith and Miley Cyrus have all fascinated Barbara Walters this year. Those celebrities and more will be featured in the 2008 edition of Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People special. Also making the cut are Olympic super-athlete Michael Phelps and conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh. Want to know the identity of the number-one most fascinating person in 2008? You'll have to watch the ABC special on December 4th to find out.

I’ve been excited about this ever since I saw the first trailer – the new James Bond movie opens today! Quantum of Solace has already stirred up plenty of interest elsewhere – it opened last weekend overseas and pulled in $160 million. My guess is it will dominate the box-office this weekend. I really liked Casino Royale and I think Daniel Craig plays a great James Bond. Quantum of Solace is in theaters today.

The latest Hollywood couples getting together for play dates with their kids are costars from Tropic Thunder. Ben Stiller’s wife Christine Taylor says their 6 year-old daughter Ella, has enjoyed a series of play dates with Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ 2 year-old daughter Suri. Christine tells me, "Suri's amazing, Tom and Katie are terrific. When little kids get together you just let them do their thing and there's no outside elements, you know what I mean." Cruise and Stiller don't allow their kids to have play dates with Angelina Jolie's children. They're afraid she'll keep them.

STAR Artist David Cook is going overseas to entertain the troops. After that he’ll head out on a U.S. tour and David has said he wants to play college campuses but no dates have been nailed down yet.

November 13, 2008

2008-11-13T11:13:00.002-06:00

Jennifer Aniston and Beyonce are on The Oprah Winfrey Show today and Oprah didn’t dance around anything with Aniston. She got right to it asking her about the recent interview she did with Vogue. Jennifer says “I basically just answered the reporter’s questions as honestly as I could.” If you want to check out the things she said check out yesterday’s Welcome Matt update. As for what she thinks of Brad now, Jennifer tells Oprah, “He’s done some amazing things in the past couple of years. So I just think he’s doing great.” Actually, she hopes he doesn't do too well on Christmas Day, when his film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and her movie Marley & Me both open in theaters. Aniston joked to Oprah, "We all want our movie to do well...Can we have a tie?"

TV Guide has named the Toughest TV Action Stars of all-time. Here they are!

1. MacGyver
2. Buffy The Vampire Slayer
3. Jack Bauer (24)
4. Sydney Bristow (Alias)
5. Magnum, P.I.
6. La Femme Nikita
7. Walker, Texas Ranger
8. Brandon Walsh (Beverly Hills, 90210)
9. Xena: Warrior Princess
10. Bionic Woman and Six Million Dollar Man

If you thought you’d seen the last of Sarah Palin, think again. Apparently Desperate Housewives is…desperate to get the Alaskan governor to appear on the show’s season finale. I’m sure Palin has agreed to do the show, if the rumor is true. I mean, the have an entire wardrobe department!

STAR Artist Kelly Clarkson’s last CD was called “My December” but her producer tells me that we could expect a new single from her as soon as this December. The title of the song doesn’t do much for my hopes at a better CD from her – it’s called “My Life Would Suck Without You.” Is she in 7th grade or something?

STAR Artist Taylor Swift is sure to be raking in the cash with the release of her new CD "Fearless", combined with the previous success of her hit “Teardrops On My Guitar,” but she tells me she spends her money wisely. “I only invest money back into my career...like I bought myself a new tour bus. I put every one on my team on salary." She did splurge on one thing: a silver Lexus SC 430 hardtop convertible.

Angelina Jolie can blame falling in love with Brad Pitt on the movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith. And apparently she can blame her recent pregnancy on another movie she did – Changeling. She told me she became pregnant because of the movie’s themes. “I got pregnant right in the middle of it and I think partially because of it. I was so emotional about children that I think something in me kicked into gear."

As I’ve told you , STAR Artists Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, Coldplay, Pink and The Fray are performing at this year’s American Music Awards. Meanwhile, the AMAs will have a one-hour pre-show for the first time ever which will feature a 2-song performance by STAR Artist David Cook. The AMAs are Sunday, November 23rd on ABC.

November 12, 2008

2008-11-12T10:15:00.001-06:00

The bad blood between Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie is apparently boiling over once more. Jennifer is interviewed in the December issue of Vogue and she actually had a lot to say. Heck, they couldn’t shut her up! Specifically on Brad and Angelina she said, “There was stuff printed there that was definitely from a time when I was unaware that it was happening. I felt those details were a little inappropriate to discuss. That stuff about how she couldn't wait to get to work every day? That was really uncool.” Here's more:

* On what it was like to go through such a high-profile divorce: "Well, it never was that bad. I mean, look, it's not like divorce is something that you go, 'Oooh, I can't wait to get divorced!'...But I've got to tell you, it's so vague at this point, it's so far away in my mind, I can't even remember the darkness. I mean, in the end, we really had an amicable split."

* On whether she still speaks to Pitt: "We have exchanged a few very kind hellos and wishing you wells and sending you love and congratulations on your babies. I have nothing but absolute admiration for him, and...I'm proud of him! I think he's really done some amazing things!"

* On dating her Break-Up co-star Vince Vaughn: "I call Vince my defibrillator. He literally brought me back to life. My first gasp of air was a big laugh! It was great. I love him....He was lovely and fun and perfect for the time we had together. And I needed that. And it sort of ran its course."

* On the media frenzy surrounding her on-again-off again relationship with John Mayer: "Love just shows up and you go, 'Oh, wow, this is going to be a hayride and a half...."He is a wonderful guy. We care about each other."

Yesterday I told you the Obama daughters were invited to appear on Hannah Montana and today it looks like Billy Ray Cyrus may have jumped the gun on that one. The all important mom, Michelle Obama, told me that they have received no such offer for the girls. So in that spirit, Disney officially invited them to be on the show. “We're pleased that Malia and Sasha are fans and, as long as their parents say it's OK, they are invited to the set of Hannah Montana and all Disney Channel shows, for a guest role or a visit, anytime.” Never forget about asking mom’s permission.

“So many tears! Everyone was crying when he left.” That’s how Lance Bass describes backstage after Dancing With the Stars when they had to say goodbye to Maurice Greene. Tears – expected. But what wasn’t expected was the small portion of the crowd who cheered – loudly – when he was booted. What was up with that? They were the hormonally charged teen girl fans who were thanking their maker the cute boy was spared.

Senator John McCain was on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno last night for his frist post-election television appearance. Wanna watch it?
Briefly:
STAR Artist got to serenade Hillary Clinton with her favorite song at an event honoring her. Actress Mary Steenburgen brought out David and he belted out “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.”

Shocking: a star who openly admits to gaining weight! STAR Artist Fergie told me she gained 13 pounds for her new role in the movie Nine. “I ate everything!...everything fried…things I don’t normally eat. Now she’s trying to lose the weight.

BREAKING: Desperate Housewives Star Hospitalized

2008-11-11T15:13:00.002-06:00

From E! Online:

Here's a cliffhanger Jesse Metcalfe could've done without.

Desperate Housewives' sexy gardener is recuperating in a hospital after surviving a 40-foot fall while partying in Monaco.

Metcalfe was attending an afterparty for the World Music Awards in Monaco Sunday night when he lost his balance and tumbled from a hotel balcony down several flights of stairs. [Jesse] was knocked unconscious, and emergency responders immediately transported him to a French hospital.

A precautionary MRI scan came up negative, and Metcalfe was given the all-clear to fly to England, where he remains hospitalized for additional tests and observation.

"He is a very, very lucky man. The accident could have been fatal," [said] a rep for Metcalfe.

November 11, 2008 - Happy Veterans Day!

2008-11-11T12:42:00.003-06:00

Isaiah Washington, former Grey’s Anatomy star who was canned for some anti-gay remarks, is speaking out against the recent firing of Brooke Smith who was let go because allegedly producers weren’t comfortable with the lesbian storyline that was developing., Isaiah says “It's unfortunate because it was probably, at the time, the most progressive show on television. Now I see it being systematically torn apart." Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes tells me Brooke was obviously not fired for playing a lesbian. They, “did not find that the magic and chemistry with Brooke's character would sustain in the long run."

President-Elect Barack Obama’s adorable daughters are already reaping the benefits of daddy’s recent election. Billy Ray Cyrus hinted yesterday that Malia and Sasha have been invited to appear on Hannah Montana. He even hinted it could happen around the same time the Hanna Montana movie hits theaters in April.

The nominations for the People's Choice Awards were announced. Click here to see all the categories and nominations. The People's Choice Awards air January 7th on CBS - vote for your favorites now at PCAVote.com.

STAR Artist Jordin Sparks has her hand in the fashion world now. Her new line of clothes will be sold by Wet Seal and you can start grabbin’ her stuff off the shelves on the 19th. The collection comes in sizes ranging from extra small to extra large and will start with holiday dresses then expand to casualwear and accessories.

I can’t believe we’re down to the final 5 already on Dancing With the Stars. Heck, I can’t believe I put my pants on right this morning but anyways… Here’s the Dancing With the Stars leader board after last night:

Brooke Burke & Derek Hough - 55 (28/27)
Warren Sapp & Kym Johnson - 54 (28/26)
Lance Bass & Lacey Shwimmer - 50 (26/24)
Maurice Greene & Cheryl Burke - 48 (24/24)
Cody Linley & Edyta Sliwinska - 48 (24/24)

The Results Show is tonight at 7 p.m. on ABC.

STAR Artist Madonna's reported 12 rules of child custody are pretty strict, and include fun-killers like no spiritually unsound toys, no introductions to Guy's lady friends and no newspapers, TV or DVDs. Check out all the super exciting rules by clicking here.

Briefly:
STAR Artist Christina Aguilera has a new "Greatest Hits" CD in stores today with a couple of new songs on it as well.

STAR Artist Jesse McCartney is guest starring on Law & Order: SVU.

November 10, 2008

2008-11-10T12:19:00.007-06:00

Here's your full Box-Office Recap:

1. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, $63.5 million
2. Role Models, $19.3 million
3. High School Musical 3: Senior Year, $9.3 million
4. Changeling, $7.3 million
5. Zack and Miri Make a Porno, $6.5 million
6. Soul Men, $5.6 million
7. Saw V, $4.2 million
8. The Haunting of Molly Hartley, $3.5 million
9. The Secret Life of Bees, $3.1 million
10. Eagle Eye, $2.6 million

The latest on the Jennifer Hudson family tragedy from
E! Online:

The "person of interest" in the slayings of Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother and nephew, William Balfour, has been ordered to remain in prison while police continue to investigate the murders. Balfour has been held at Illinois' Stateville Correctional Center since Oct. 26 on charges of parole violation stemming from a 1999 conviction on attempted murder. At a parole hearing this morning—which could potentially have seen Balfour walk free—the Illinois Prisoner Review Board ruled there was reason to believe he had violated his parole for transgressions unrelated to the Hudson killings, including appearing in places where drugs were sold and, according to his girlfriend, being in possession of a gun that matches the description of the Hudson murder weapon.

Britney Spears' son Jayden was hospitalized today - doctors concluded he had a bad reaction to something he ingested. Maybe he got into some of mom's "secret stash." He'll be discharged tomorrow - hope he's okay.

STAR Artist Ashlee Simpson and husband, Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz's baby seems way overdue, and the expectant grandpa says his daughter's getting restless. Joe Simpson says that Ashlee is "ready for this baby," and adds, "The day she found out she was pregnant, she became a woman." What does that mean? "She's concerned about what she eats, and how she prepares for the child, and is the baby's room 'green' enough. It's a transformation you never expect as a parent."

My girlfriend and I have a very honest relationship. I know some of her ex-boyfriends and she definitely knows some of my exes. But not everyone can handle info about their boyfriend or girlfriends’s past love-life. So how much of your past can your man handle, ladies? Check out things he does and doesn’t want to know.

Kung Fu Panda hit stores last week for you to grab it on DVD. It features the voices of Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman and Angelina Jolie and it’s beloved by adults and kids. So what do Angelina’s kids think of her being in the movie? "My kids do love it. They are very, very proud. They have mom dolls everywhere -- they have the Tigress. They love Tigress. They have a big Tigress doll that they keep putting diapers on!"

According to several reports, The Oprah Winfrey Show will be coming to an end, sooner rather than later – 2011. During a conference call on Friday touting Disney’s 3rd quarter earnings, some suit said Oprah would stay with ABC through September 2011, then move into syndication. A rep for the show told me it’s true their contract is only until 2011 but they hadn’t made any final decisions as to whether she’d continue her show after that.

STAR Artist Daughtry’s debut CD has sold 4 million copies, so the band is celebrating with a contest: they want you, a fan, to send in your design for the quadruple-platinum plaque they’ll receive to mark the occasion. Check out DaughtryOfficial.com for more.

Speaking of Daughtry...
You’ve heard of the crazy demands singers and bands make for their backstage room right? “3 pounds of M&Ms but only the purple M&Ms!” Well I found out what STAR Artist Daughtry wants when they get ready for a show: All they want is beer, Red Bull, clean towels, chips and snacks. They do get a little diva-ish when it comes to the water they drink – it can’t be the Dasani brand. As for cereal, they specifically ask for Lucky Charms, Coco Puffs and Honey Smacks. Good tastes!

I told you last week about STAR Artist Leona Lewis’ plans for a new CD next year and world tour in 2010, but it turns out she’s already met with songwriters about material. Those peeps include Maroon 5’s Adam Levine and OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder. Jordin Sparks and Justin Timberlake have also expressed interest in working with Leona on her new album.

Briefly:
The deluxe version of STAR Artist Colbie Caillat’s CD, "Coco", hits stores tomorrow with features all the original material and 7 additional songs, a few of them covers of songs by Bob Marley and Lauryn Hill.

Want a personal guitar lesson from STAR Artist David Cook? Check out his website right now – DavidCookOfficial.com.

Senator John McCain will be making his first post-election appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno tonight.

November 7, 2008

2008-11-07T13:26:00.002-06:00

Movies hitting theaters today:

* Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa -- Alex the lion and his animal friends from the Central Park Zoo were stranded in Madagascar in the 2005 original. They now find themselves on the African mainland, where they get to interact with their own species. Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer and Jada Pinkett Smith return as Alex, Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe and Gloria the hippo. Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Alec Baldwin and The View's Sherri Shepherd also lend their voices. Rated PG.

* Role Models -- Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott are arrested and forced into a mentorship program, with both men struggling with their big brother roles. Rudd's Danny is assigned to a nerdy 16-year-old, played by Superbad actor Christopher "McLovin" Mintz-Plasse, and Scott's hard-partying Wheeler has his hands full with an unruly fifth-grader. Rated R.

* Soul Men -- Samuel L. Jackson and the late Bernie Mac play estranged former members of a '70s soul music group who are forced to set aside their differences during a road trip to a tribute concert at the Apollo Theater for their frontman, who has passed away. Singer John Legend and the late Isaac Hayes, who died on the same weekend as Mac in August, make cameos. Rated R.

The economy may have been a big issue with voters, but Heidi Klum proved her finances are a-okay this Election Day. She reportedly dropped $6,000 on lingerie at a Victoria's Secret in Los Angeles on Tuesday. As if we needed a reminder that her husband, Seal, is a lucky guy.

If you're an attractive young female celebrity, chances are you're eventually going to have to deny that you're preggers. Well for STAR Artist Taylor Swift, that time has come. She wrote on her MySpace blog the other day, “I read a very creative rumor this morning saying I'm pregnant, which is the most impossible thing on the planet. Take my word for it: impossible." Okay, okay we get it!

STAR Artist David Cook only showed signs of nervousness after singing on Saturday Night Live when he gave a big exhale but apparently he was really nervous before he went on. Like really nervous. Dry-heave nervous. But he did tell me he had a “Blast” and he got to party with Ben Affleck afterwards, so that’s cool.

November 6, 2008

2008-11-06T10:06:00.006-06:00

While some celebrities are rejoicing over Barack Obama’s win on Election Day, others are feeling disappointed by the passage of a ban on same-sex marriage in California. Ellen DeGeneres married actress Portia De Rossi in August, a few months after the California Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage. Yesterday's passage of the state constitutional amendment Proposition 8 negates that decision. Ellen told me she is, "saddened beyond belief," and that she felt like we had taken "a giant step toward equality" with Obama being named president-elect, but the approval of Prop 8 represented, "a giant step away." She had donated $100,000 and filmed an ad to fight the measure.

Barack Obama’s historic election win has unified the cast of The View. Elisabeth Hasselbeck says she will support Obama because, "that is what as an American I believe we should do." When Elisabeth said she felt good about the election process, known Liberal Joy Behar replied, “So are you saying that I was right all along?”

We may not have seen the last of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin but we have definitely seen the last of Tina Fey’s impersonation of her. She tells me, “I have to retire just because I have to do my day job,” referring to her hit, Emmy-winning show 30 Rock. Tina thinks SNL-er Kristin Wiig will make a great Sarah Palin if they need her.

George Clooney has told us over and over and over again that he is not coming back to ER for its final season. So imagine by surprise when Noah Wyle said this, "From what I heard, George said, 'absolutely,' schedule permitting." Clooney's publicist had no comment. We can definitely expect a guest role from Eriq La Salle who played Dr. Benton. I haven't watched ER in like 8 years but I might now that all these classic, amazing characters are coming back for a reunion!

Someone has saved James Bond for a change. Daniel Craig was so desperate for bacon while shooting Quantum of Solace in Italy, it was shipped from England for him. Craig and the crew wanted English breakfasts, so a British company sent them four vanloads of food each day for the three months they were in Italy shooting the flick. Quantum of Solace, the second Craig-starring Bond film, opens November 14th.

Thankfully she still has her day-job. Susan Lucci had to swallow some humble pie last night on Dancing With the Stars as she became the 7th celeb to get the boot. Despite getting the axe, she was gushing afterwards, "I'm so glad I did it; it was a great experience!" Her costars were the ones disappointed. Lance Bass said, "It sucks! She was the one who was so positive, she had the hardest schedule to keep, and I respect everything that she did."

Guys, better start practicing your excuse for why you can't go see the Sex & the City movie sequel, because it's officially in the works. A rep for the movie studio said yes, the cast is in negotiations. Star Kim Cattrall appeared on a television show in England and told the audience the sequel will begin shooting next summer.

STAR Artist Pink has scored a personal best, chart-wise, with her new CD, Funhouse. It debuts on Billboard's album chart at #2 with first-week sales of 180,000 copies. The highest any of her previous albums have ever risen is #6.

American Idol is back!...in 2 months. Fox is officially bringing Ryan, Simon, Paula, Randy and new judge Kara back to TV for a two-night, 4-hour mega-premiere on January 13th and 14th. I can't wait to watch the 4 of them crush some dreams!... and I guess find a new, amazing superstar.

Some teeny-boppers are confirmed to be playing the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade – American Idol runner-up David Archuleta and Miley Cyrus.

BREAKING NOW: Author Michael Crichton Dead

2008-11-05T13:06:00.002-06:00

From E! Online:

The gone-haywire theme park of Jurassic Park. The breakneck medical battles of ER. The storm chasers of Twister.

All these and more came from the mind of Michael Crichton, the prolific best-selling novelist turned Hollywood titan, who died Tuesday of what was invariably described as a private battle against cancer. He was 66.

Crichton's 1990 novel Jurassic Park inspired the blockbuster Steven Spielberg franchise. The Andromeda Strain, Congo, Sphere and his Jurassic Park sequel, The Lost World, were among his other books that made the leap from the page to the big screen.

On television, Crichton was an executive producer of ER, the long-running NBC drama that launched George Clooney's star, and which is now in its 15th and final season.

November 5, 2008

2008-11-05T10:03:00.003-06:00

Last night was a big night for the United States of America – we elected our first African American president, and whether you voted for him or not I hope you can admit that that in itself says something wonderful about our country. I was glued to my TV for 5 straight hours and all I have one word for you: holograms. Did you see CNN’s coverage? They had people beamed into the set via hologram! Check out a video of the crazy technology. And if you missed Barack Obama’s acceptance speech from last night’s historic election, you can watch all 18 minutes of it right here:

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) remains optimistic about how gays will be portrayed in future episodes of ABC's Grey Anatomy, as the show moves on without the character of Dr. Erica Hahn, who recently came out as a lesbian. In a statement released yesterday, the GLAAD president said the group is "disheartened" that the Erica-Callie relationship has come to an end, but, "because there are so few lesbian characters on network television, we hope that ABC and Grey's Anatomy will commit to further developing Callie's character and her relationships." Check out a sneak peek of Erica’s final episode:

With all her success over the past year, STAR Artist Leona Lewis could probably buy herself a mansion in Los Angeles or a townhouse in New York, but she's still a London girl at heart. She tells me that she's buying her first ever apartment, but it's not in some swanky part of London - it's in Hackney, in East London, where she grew up and it’s the apartment she’s been renting for some time. Leona's buying the apartment with her boyfriend Lou, "When you're settled, it's hard to move -- I love the apartment, it's really private and the neighbors are cool, and it's very close to my mom and dad."

STAR Artist Chris Daughtry will join fellow STAR Artist Alicia Keys next week in New York City for her annual benefit, The Black Ball, which raises money for her charity Keep A Child Alive which works to help African children and families affected by HIV/AIDS. American Idol creator Simon Fuller is being honored at this year's event because of all the money that Idol Gives Back raised for that particular cause. Also on the bill: Justin Timberlake and hot new British STAR Artist Adele.

STAR Artist Janet Jackson’s Rock Witchu tour has come to sputtering halt. Janet had to cancel a slew of dates on the tour last month because she was suffering from serious migraines and vertigo, but it was just announced yesterday that none of those seven shows will be rescheduled, "due to conflicts in the singer's schedule."

November 4, 2008

2008-11-04T13:14:00.004-06:00

Most of the guys from STAR Artist The Plain White Ts are backing their hometown hero, Barack Obama (they’re from the suburbs of Chicago) but lead singer Tom says, “It doesn't matter to me really where he's from, I just think he's amazing and hopefully he's gonna pull it off." They’re also amused their hit song “Hey There Delilah” was turned into a parody song that’s lit up YouTube called “Hey Sarah Palin.” Please note this video does not reflect the views of myself or STAR 98.

STAR Artist Daughtry will rock Oprah’s two-day election event bringing together people of different viewpoints. In addition to Daughtry, today’s show features Whoopi Goldberg, Elisabeth Hasselbeck and political power couple Mary Matalin and James Carville. Oprah’s Election Special airs today at 4 p.m. on CBS.

As usual, the drama behind the scenes at Grey’s Anatomy is just as interesting as the on-screen storylines. Brooke Smith who plays Dr. Erica Hahn, has been unexpectedly fired from the show because of her character’s gay relationship with Sara Ramirez’s Callie. Apparently, ABC “had issues” with the relationship and Erica was told in mid-September after shooting the scene where her character realizes she’s gay that she was being let go. She told me, “It was the last thing I expected.” So, is it discrimination when you're fired from a job where you're told to be gay? No, I didn’t think so but something about this situation feels really unfair.

STAR Artist Leona Lewis plans on following in the footsteps of Angelina Jolie – she tells me, “I definitely want to adopt. My mom was a social worker and my dad was a juvenile offender officer, so I know that there are a lot of kids out there that need to be fostered and adopted.”

STAR Artist Coldplay’s latest CD is one of the top-sellers of the year and is in line to win a slew of Grammy’s but that doesn’t mean the guys are slowing down. By February they’ll be back in the studio recording a new album and hope to have it in stores by the end of 2009.

Briefly:
STAR Artist Hinder’s new CD “Take It to the Limit” is in stores today.

November 3, 2008

2008-11-03T10:14:00.005-06:00

There were some more great skits on Saturday Night Live:

Here's this weekend's Box-Office Recap:

1. High School Musical 3: Senior Year, $15 million
2. Zack and Miri Make a Porno, $10.7 million
3. Saw V, $10.1 million
4. Changeling, $9.4 million
5. The Haunting of Molly Hartley, $6 million
6. Beverly Hills Chihuahua, $4.7 million
7. The Secret Life of Bees, $4 million
8. Max Payne, $3.7 million
9. Eagle Eye, $3.4 million
10. Pride and Glory, $3.3 million

The 18 year-old STAR Artist Taylor Swift felt very patriotic this past Thursday – because she voted for the first time. Whether you’re voting for the first time or 20th time, make sure you know where to vote. Find your voting location on the Steve & Chelly page of star98.net!

A public memorial service was held yesterday afternoon in Chicago for Jennifer Hudson’s mother, brother and nephew, who were shot to death last month. Jennifer did not attend the service at Pleasant Gift Memorial Baptist Church, which the Oscar-winning actress attended as a child. Friends and relatives were on hand to share their memories and a private funeral services are scheduled for today.

STAR Artist Maroon 5 will be releasing an album I will be first in line to buy – a remix CD called “Call & Response.” It’ll feature the band’s biggest hits remixed by top producers and artists and lead singer Adam Levine has a really interesting take on why they’re doing this, “I've always found it really interesting that a group of people looking at a painting can all see different things. That was the idea behind this record....we were really blown away by what they came up with.” Look for it in stores December 6th.

What were Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore for Halloween? Boobs. Yeah, I know. How is that different from any other day? Here's Demi hiding from the cameras. She's burying her face in a nice, plush nipple...

STAR Artist Leona Lewis won’t be doing any more touring until 2010 but fans of hers can look forward to a new CD in 2009. She says the new album will have more of a “live feel” and she may be collaborating with fellow STAR Artist Justin Timberlake.

He's made a career out of rejecting people, but American Idol judge Simon Cowell is now the one being rejected. People magazine is reporting Cowell and his longtime girlfriend, Terri Seymour, have broken up. And get this - she dumped him.

October 31, 2008 - HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

2008-10-31T11:07:00.004-05:00

What have/are your favorite STAR Artists being for Halloween this year?

• STAR Artist Sara Bareilles had a great idea for a costume last year. She was gonna be Tippi Hedren, star of Hitchcock’s The Birds. She had a suit coat covered in blood with fake birds attached. Sadly she got so sick she couldn’t use it so maybe she’ll trot it out this year.
• Last year, STAR Artist Lifehouse showed their devotion to 80s movies and dressed up as characters in a scene from Karate Kid – the scene where member from the evil Cobra Kai beat up Ralph Macchio’s character on Halloween dressed as skeletons
• STAR Artist Taylor Swift plans to dress up as a “Hollywood celebrity” – much different than what she did last year: she and her friend dressed up as Chewbacca. “Nobody knew it was us. It was awesome.”
• The sax player from STAR Artist O.A.R. always dresses up as Kenny G. His bandmates tell me, “It’s a problem to deal with. Nothing’s wrong with Kenny G, but he’s really funny looking.”

Movies opening this Halloween Weekend:

* Zack and Miri Make a Porno -- The title pretty much sums it up. Two cash-strapped roommates -- Seth Rogen's Zack and Elizabeth Banks' Miri -- decide to film an amateur porn movie to raise money. Of course, they eventually realize they have feelings for one another. Kevin Smith directs this very raunchy comedy. Rated R.

* The Haunting of Molly Hartley -- The title character is a teenage girl who survived an attack by her mom and is now bothered by devilish visions. Haley Bennett and Gossip Girl actor Chace Crawford star. Rated PG-13.

And expanding into additional theaters:
* Changeling -- Inspired by a true story and set in the 1920s, Angelina Joli plays the mother of a young boy who is kidnapped. When a child is returned to her months later, she challenges the authorities by insisting that he's not her son. CLINT EASTWOOD directs the film, which also stars John Malkovich and Amy Ryan. Rated R.

* RockNRolla -- The action flick has received its fair share of publicity because of its director: Madonna's soon-to-be ex-husband, Guy Ritchie. The movie's complicated plot centers around a real estate scam and a painting given to a London crime boss by a Russian mobster. Rated R.

I mentioned this last week – Thursday a whole bunch of dancers got together in New York City to break the world record for most people doing the "Thriller" dance in one place. Well they did it. 73 fans performed the dance near Michael Jackson’s wax figure at Madame Tussauds in Times Square.

STAR Artists Gavin Rossdale and Gwen Stefani (are married) welcomed a second child into the world recently so what will the 2 kids be for Halloween? Gavin tells me Kingston will probably be a rhino and Zuma will be “a sandwich or something.” Gavin also mentioned he might not be around to take the kids trick-or-treating, something that has put him in the doghouse with Gwen.

One Halloween tradition will continue this Sunday: the annual Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror. In one segment Milhouse awaits the arrival of The Grand Pumpkin (a la Charlie Brown and The Great Pumpkin). The other segments include the invasion of Transformers-like creatures and Homer becoming a hit man who kills celebrities for profit. That’s Sunday at 7 p.m. on Fox (which we have again now on Time Warner Cable!)

A private memorial service for Jennifer Hudson's slain mother, brother and nephew will be held at Chicago's Apostolic Church of God on Monday morning. Today, the family is expected to announce whether there will be a public service. In lieu of flowers, the Hudson family has asked for contributions to the newly created Hudson-King Domestic Violence Protection Fund.

John McCain and Barack Obama are ready for some football. The presidential candidates will appear in separate one-on-one interviews with Chris Berman during halftime of Monday Night Football this Election Eve.

STAR Artist David Cook is performing on Saturday Night Live – his first ever post-Idol live performance with his new band. He’ll be doing two new songs from his upcoming self-titled album and you can bet one of them will be the first single, “Light On.”

Fox has finally called it quits on King of the Hill, the second longest-running animated primetime show. After this season, it's done.

October 30, 2008

2008-10-30T10:23:00.006-05:00

Jennifer Hudson Family Murders UPDATE:
Yesterday we learned that a gun had been found near the SUV where 7 year-old Julian, nephew of Jennifer Hudson, was found shot dead. Tuesday, STAR Artist and fellow American Idol alum Jordin Sparks offered words of support for Jennifer, “Jennifer, I don't even know what you're going through right now, but I love you. I am so, so sorry and I am praying for you, and something good is going to happen through this.”

Yesterday I gave you a paparazzi's first shot of STAR Artists Gavin Rossdale and Gwen Stefani's new son Zuma. Today I have the first official photo from the No Doubt web page. Ain't he beautiful? Click the picture for a larger version.

Thank goodness, one of the best comedies on television is back tonight. The 2-time Emmy-winner for Best Comedy 30 Rock premieres tonight on NBC. Will & Grace’s Megan Mullally guest stars as a woman observing whether Tina’s character Liz Lemon is fit to adopt a child. Guest stars this season include Oprah, Jennifer Aniston and Salma Hayek. 30 Rock – back tonight at 8:30 on NBC right after The Office. It’s gonna be a good night of television.

Another Dancing With the Stars…star has been diagnosed with the same condition that struck Julianne Hough. Lacey Schwimmer told me she also suffers from endometriosis. Lacey decided to get checked out after realizing she was suffering from some of the same symptoms as Julianne. She got checked out and it’s a good thing she did because they caught it in the early stages and can be treated with medication, not surgery like Julianne Hough needed. To read more about endometriosis click here.

STAR Artists Coldplay and Leona Lewis have joined the line-up of performers at this year’s American Music Awards coming up on November 23rd. They join STAR Artists Alicia Keys, Pink, Taylor Swift, The Fray and others.

STAR Artist Jason Mraz has plans for Halloween tomorrow night – he’ll be playing his first show in 3 years in his hometown of San Francisco. He says he feels a little pressure knowing he’ll be in front of his friends but, “I wanna deliver as good a night there as I do everywhere else.” Jason also told me he doesn’t have very fond memories of Halloween ‘cause it’s his sister’s birthday. “She always stole the limelight.” Not to mention she got the better costumes. Jason got the hand-me-downs.

Estelle Reiner, the mother of actor-director Rob Reiner died of natural causes on Saturday at her home. She’s famous for more than being the mother of a great director. Remember that line from When Harry Met Sally: "I'll have what she's having." Yep, that’s her. Estelle was 94.

Vote!...No, wait. Don't Vote! Uh...

2008-10-29T13:17:00.001-05:00

October 29, 2008

2008-10-29T10:06:00.006-05:00

Dancing With the Stars’ Julianne Hough had a successful appendectomy yesterday and will take 2 weeks off from the show. Cloris Leachman on the other hand, is taking a permanent vacation from the show. Cloris was voted off the show last night but immediately jokingly refused to leave, sitting down and then wasn’t able to get back up. Though she won’t be dancing, she’s not worried about how she’ll fill her days. Since she’s been getting so much exposure on the show, she’s been inundated with TV and movie offers.

I bet it’s actually kind of easy to be super-parents for six kids, especially when you have six nannies. Evidently Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie half half-a-dozen nannies to keep their brood in check. Their dining room table in Berlin can seat 16 people – 8 chairs for the family, 6 chairs for the nannies and a couple extra in case the couple adopts more – seriously. The nannies should have nannies!

Ellen DeGeneres has Zac Efron on her show tomorrow and I've got a glimpse of part of the interview. Here's the setup: Zac's beautiful hairdo + Ellen + a pair of clippers.
Last season on American Idol it was the "Battle of the 2 Davids," and evidently they wanted to keep up that “fight.” Sure David Cook won the singing competition, but David Archuleta is winning the race to release their first album. STAR Artist David Cook’s new CD comes out November 18th but Archuleta’s comes out November 11th and is now available for pre-sale on iTunes.

ABC will be Pushing Daisies tonight while the other major broadcast networks are airing a half-hour political ad that pushes Barack Obama. The ad from the Obama campaign is set to air at 7.p.m. on CBS, NBC and Fox. ABC has been struggling with viewership on Wednesday nights so it’s opting out of the ad. An Obama spokesperson told me the ad (which cost ‘em $1 million per network) will present the Democrats’ plan to “turn the economy around and get the country back on track.”

Hey check it out! It's one of our first looks at Gwen Stefani's new baby, Zuma! Awwwwwwww!

STAR Artist Natasha Bedingfield is British so she can’t vote next week, but that’s not stopping her from encouraging you to vote. She writes in her blog, “Make sure you put your vote in, all you Americans. As a non-U.S. citizen, obviously I can't vote, but I wish I could, because your decision on the next president will affect the world big-time.”

Robert Downey Jr. is going the distance as Iron Man. He's inked a deal for two more Iron Man movies and he's also signed on to be Tony Stark in the all-stars movie, The Avengers.

October 28, 2008

2008-10-28T12:55:00.005-05:00

It doesn't come as a surprise, but the death of 7 year-old Julian King, Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson's nephew, has been ruled a homicide. An official with the Chicago Police Department confirmed Julian died from multiple gunshots to the head. Although no arrests have been made, William Balfour, the estranged step-father of Julian remains in custody as a "person of interest."

In the wake of the success of High School Musical 3: Senior Year, movie studio Paramount has put the remake of the classic Footloose on the fast track. What does HSM3 have to do with a remake of Footloose? You guessed it. Zac Efron. They've reportedly offered him a "mid-seven-figure salary" and production starts in the spring.

STAR Artists Maroon 5, Sara Bareilles and others are offering you free music if you make a pledge to vote on November 4th. Just go to RockTheVote.com/pledge and fill out an online form pledging to vote next week and you’ll get a link to download free songs.

STAR Artist Pink’s new CD “Funhouse” and STAR Artist Sara Bareilles’ new live DVD are both in stores today.

More to come later...

October 27, 2008

2008-10-27T10:08:00.013-05:00

This has been all over the news but here’s a recap of the tragic news regarding Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson’s family. Friday, her 57 year-old mother and 29 year-old brother were found shot to death at their home on Chicago’s South Side. Her 7 year-old nephew Julian was reported missing as well, police issued an amber alert and over the weekend Jennifer and her sister, Julia, issued an emotional plea for the safe return of Julian and offered a $100,00 reward. 27 year-old William Balfour was then taken into custody, he’s the estranged husband of Julia. He has not been charged with anything.
4:10 P.M. UPDATE: Chicago police have just confirmed the body discovered this morning is that of 7 year-old Julian, nephew of Jennifer Hudson. According to E! News, "The announcement came shortly after Jennifer Hudson, accompanied by family members, viewed the remains—the second time the Oscar winner has had to make the grim trip to the morgue, having previously identified her slain mother and brother."

Son of a gun - I called it! From E! Online: "Julianne Hough's dancing feet are working just fine. Her appendix...well, that's another story." Evidently the stomach pain that Julianne was feeling last week was her little, useless organ wanting out. The day after the story broke I predicted she was gonna have the minor surgery, I just never expected to be right. She'll dance tonight then have her appendix excised tomorrow.

Here's a Box-Office Recap from this weekend at the movies:

1. High School Musical 3: Senior Year, $42 million
2. Saw V, $30.5 million
3. Max Payne, $7.6 million
4. Beverly Hills Chihuahua, $6.9 million
5. Pride and Glory, $6.3 million
6. The Secret Life of Bees, $5.9 million
7. W., $5.3 million
8. Eagle Eye, $5.1 million
9. Body of Lies, $4.1 million
10. Quarantine, $2.6 million

My girlfriend and I had a fun Fall day on Saturday. We went to Apple Valley Orchard in De Pere and picked some apples and bought a pumpkin to carve. The apples were delicious, as was the cider, and the pumpkin turned out pretty good. Here it is. His name is Count Chuck.

STAR Artist Nickelback’s last CD “All The Right Reasons” has sold 10 million copies and produced seven hit singles -- but the band still feels like they're the underdogs. Lead singer Chad Kroeger tells me they called their forthcoming record "Dark Horse" because, "I think we'll always be the dark horse. We never feel like we'll ever be done trying to prove ourselves, to ourselves and to the people who like our music." Look for it in stores November 18th.

STAR Artist Sara Bareilles recently launched a headlining tour in support of her current album "Little Voice" but she tells me she’s already itching to record her new one. She tells me it’ll be a little scary to follow in the success she’s had, “It's a blessing and a curse that there may be some set of expectations now. But it's a good problem to have." Tell that to Kelly Clarkson. Speaking of her...

STAR Artist Kelly Clarkson is completely finished recording her new album. She wrapper up her studio sessions on Friday night.

How ironic, actual news being announced during a fake news segment. On Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update segment, Seth Meyers announced his usual co-host, Amy Poehler, wasn’t there because she was having her baby. Her rep confirmed to me that mom, dad and new son Archie were healthy and resting comfortably.

Angelina Jolie had more important things to do Thursday night than attend the L.A. premiere of her new movie, Changeling. The actress and United Nations Goodwill Ambassador was in Afghanistan last week meeting with people who have been driven from their homes by the ongoing violence in the country.

Briefly:
STAR Artist Colbie Caillat was honored on Friday in New York City where she received Billboard’s Rising Star award given to a female artist who has had great success with her first or second album – all part of the Women in Music awards banquet.

Thursday, Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in New York City will attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the most people doing the “Thriller” dance. The current world record stands at 62.

October 24, 2008

2008-10-24T10:10:00.008-05:00

Here's a look at the new movies opening nationwide today:

* High School Musical 3: Senior Year -- The Disney Channel phenomenon makes its big-screen debut. Zac Efron's Troy and Vanessa Hudgens' Gabriella worry about the future of their relationship, as the crew puts on a spring musical to celebrate the end of their time in high school. Everyone else is back for the sequel. Rated G.

* Pride and Glory -- Edward Norton heads an investigation into the murders of four New York City police officers, only to discover that some family members, who are fellow cops, may be implicated in the case. Colin Farrell and Jon Voight also star. Rated R.

* Saw V -- The fifth edition of the horror series finds Hoffman in line to continue the killer Jigsaw's legacy, if he can keep it a secret. Tobin Bell and Scott Patterson star. Rated R.

There were some really funny skits last night on the Saturday Night Live - Election Special. Here are some highlights!

A new poll seems to indicate Harrison Ford leads the race for the presidency. Well, in this case the “race” is at Moviefone.com where they asked for people to vote for the best fictional president. Here's the Top 10:

1. Harrison Ford, Air Force One, 1997
2. Morgan Freeman, Deep Impact, 1998
3. Michael Douglas, The American President, 1995
4. Bill Pullman, Independence Day, 1996
5. Kevin Kline, Dave, 1993
6. Dennis Quaid, American Dreamz, 2006
7. Bruce Greenwood, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, 2003
8. James Cromwell, The Sum of All Fears, 2002
9. Jack Nicholson, Mars Attacks, 1996
10. Jeff Bridges, The Contender, 2000

Speaking of Top 10 lists…here’s TV Guide’s Top 10 Dogs on Television:

1. Snoopy - Peanuts
2. Lassie - Lassie
3. Eddie - Frasier
4. Triumph the insult comic dog - Late Night with Conan O'Brien
5. Doc - Grey's Anatomy
6. Vincent - Lost
7. Elizabeth Taylor - Sex and the City
8. Tinkerbell Hilton
9. Scooby-Doo - Scooby Doo
10. Paul Anka - Gilmore Girls

Talk about an American Idol fantasy come true – STAR Artists Kelly Clarkson and Chris Daughtry may have recorded a duet! Daughtry’s producer posted a photo on his MySpace page of him, Kelly and Chris in a recording studio and the caption reads, “Me, Kelly Clarkson and Chris Daughtry at recording session for duet.” So if there is a duet, will it be on Kelly or Daughtry’s new CD?

STAR Artist David Cook doesn’t want fans to just listen to his debut CD, he wants to put ‘em through the wringer. "I just want the songs to kick you in the teeth or make you want to cry -- or do something drastic, like jump off a building. I want somebody to be exhausted when they're done listening." The CD will be in stores November 18th. Please don't jump off a building.

To quote E! News: "If there's one thing STAR Artist U2's Bono needs, it's a platform for his world views. Oh wait..." As if Bono didn’t have enough to do, evidently next year he’ll add reporter to his resume. He’s going to start writing for the New York Times. And what kind of absurd salary is Bono charging? He’s actually doing it for free.

My Halloween Costume!

2008-10-23T13:49:00.005-05:00

Here's me in my Halloween costume. People at work think I'm super weird - mostly thanks to me walking around like this. I'm Buddy the Elf from the movie Elf! Woo!

My girlfriend is being Jovie (Buddy's love interest in the movie), except a much sexier version of Jovie (photo not available...yet.)

October 23, 2008

2008-10-23T10:24:00.005-05:00

Dancing With the Stars’ Julianne Hough was taken to the hospital Tuesday night after complaining about stomach pains but she assured me it’s nothing to worry about. “I'm definitely OK, and everything's just fine.” She’s back in action preparing for next week’s performance.

Fans of STAR Artist Daughtry will tell you that Chris Daughtry’s lack of hair doesn’t have a negative effect on his appeal – hence the reason he’s a finalist in the “Bald is Beautiful” contest. The other 3 finalists are sports commentator Tiki Barber, football legend Terry Bradshaw and NBA star Charlie Villanueva. Here’s the deal: go vote for Chris at EnjoyEagle.com – the winning most beautifully bald celebrity gets a trophy and $1,500 for their favorite charity.

The editors of Shine on Yahoo! have named the Top 10 TV Couples - and no, not all of them are dating. Here they are in no particular order along with their chances of survival:

* Jim & Pam - The Office - 70%
* Don & Betty - Mad Men 80%
* Vince and Ari - Entourage - 90%
* Chuck & Blair - Gossip Girl - 10%
* Liz Lemon & Jack - 30 Rock - 20%
* Kelly Taylor & Dylan McKay - 90210 - 0%
* Meredith & McDreamy - Grey's Anatomy - 60%
* LC & Doug - The Hills - 40%
* Ted & Stella - How I Met Your Mother - 30%
* Hank & Karen - Californication - 50%

Walmart.com is taking advance orders of STAR Artist Nickelback’s upcoming album "Dark Horse" which hits stores officially on November 18th. Yeah, I know that’s a ways off but if you do order now through them you’ll get the first single right away and a bonus soundcheck recording the day of the CD’s official release.

Just what Lindsay Lohan’s career needs: more bad press. I hear Lindsay will only appear on four episodes of Ugly Betty, instead of the six she agreed to do, because of her behavior on the set. Supposedly Lindsay showed up every day with a posse, smoked all the time and caused such a mess in her dressing room that it had to be re-painted. Lindsay’s friends say star America Ferrera is the reason for Lindsay’s departure.

Briefly:
STAR Artists John Mayer and Taylor Swift are among the artists who will sing at this year’s Grammy nomination announcement special on CBS December 3rd. Celine Dion and the Foo Fighters will join them.

David Duchovny is suing the British paper that ran the story implying he had an affair with a 28 year-old tennis instructor.

STAR Artist OneRepublic kicks off its first headlining tour today in Virginia. On November 2nd they’ll play at Carthage College down in Kenosha.

October 22, 2008

2008-10-22T10:44:00.002-05:00

You can bet STAR Artist Madonna and Guy Ritchie have been planning for this divorce for a while. Not even a week after they announced they’re officially splitsville and Guy already has been seen coupling around with a British actress named Kelly Reilly. Madonna, back in New York City, seems to be heating things up with New York Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez – like, for real. A source tells me he registered his car with her apartment building and gave the building manager his photo so he can come and go as he pleases. Evidently, A-Rod didn’t want the manager confusing him with someone who hits home runs in the post-season.

The High School Musical franchise has made stars out of Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale but they haven’t let that go to their heads. Okay, maybe a little. Ashely told me she can now fly first class and not pay for it but Vanessa said, “We've gotten to do some amazing things with High School Musical but at the end of the day, we're still ourselves." You can win tickets into High School Musical 3 today by donating to Coats for Kids. Just stop out to the PDQ Car Wash on S. Oneida St. in Green Bay from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. and you could win. Get more details here.

STAR Artist Gavin Rossdale who sings “Love Remains the Same,” is married to STAR Artist Gwen Stefani, has two adorable kids, used to sing in a big rock band and now has a thriving solo career. Gavin told me, at first going solo “weirded him out” but he’s adapting to it. When I asked him how his oldest son was adapting to the new bundle of joy they had a few months ago Gavin told me it’s, “Either the love or the kick. Nothing in between. Just love or less love.”

Last night on Dancing With the Stars we said “bye bye” to Toni Braxton but we also had to say farewell, temporarily, to Julianne Hough who had to be taken to a hospital after the show. She was complaining of stomach pains and now that I’ve had the minor surgery, I immediately think it’s her appendix asking to be taken out. Or Cloris Leachman punched her in the stomach – that crazy bird will do anything to win.

Grey’s Anatomy star Katherine Heigl says she definitely wants to be a mommy but she doesn’t want to get “knocked up” to do it. Sources tell me her and her husband, musician Josh Kelley, plan to adopt a baby from Korea. They’ve supposedly already begun filling out the paperwork.

Briefly:
Barack Obama is making a “surprise” appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show today (3 p.m.) And don’t worry, he dances.

Tina Fey is flattered with all the comparisons to Sarah Palin, mostly ‘cause she thinks Sarah is hotter (I don’t agree).

October 21, 2008

2008-10-21T10:27:00.005-05:00

The David Duchovny – Tea Leoni separation gets a little more interesting with each passing hour. The latest random allegation is David had an affair with his 28 year-old tennis instructor. She wouldn’t confirm or deny they’re relationship and apparently she told David’s lawyer the rumors were not true. Last week, a rep for Billy Bob Thornton had to deny rumors that David’s wife Tea was the one having an affair with Billy Bob. Can’t David and Tea just get separated in peace?!

Speaking of former X-Files stars…Gillian Anderson and her boyfriend welcomed their second child to the world last week, a boy named Felix.

So, why is the struggling economy good for your love life? Find out here. Hey, when you can't afford to go out and do anything...

Showtime has announced one of my favorite shows, Dexter has been renewed for not one, but two more seasons!

Who’s coming to Madonna’s rescue during this tough journey she’s taking towards a finalized divorce? Her gal pal, Gwyneth Paltrow. She told me recently, “She's a very good friend. I'm supporting her in all the ways that I can. I'm just there for her. I speak to her a lot." And with this divorce comes a change of scenery for Madonna. A source close to her tells me she’s a New Yorker though and through (though she was born and raised in the ‘burbs of Detroit) and will want to raise her kids in the Big Apple.

Tom Cruise has let Katie Holmes out of her cage as she’s going to be on Eli Stone tonight. She’ll play a lawyer Eli meets after he has a dream about her singing and dancing.

A year ago, no one in the U.S. had heard of STAR Artist Leona Lewis. A lot has changed. Leona’s CD “Spirit” is the 4th best-selling album in the world, right behind Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida.”

STAR Artist O.A.R. says they’re okay with being known as “the band who sings that song “Shattered.” If you do want to check out other songs by them, try “Love and Memories” and “Hey Girl.”

NBC seems willing to overlook the poor reviews for its Knight Rider update. According to E! Online, the network has picked up the new series for a full season.

October 20, 2008

2008-10-20T10:13:00.002-05:00

Here's a complete Box-Office Recap from this weekend:

1. Max Payne, $18 million
2. Beverly Hills Chihuahua, $11.2 million
3. The Secret Life of Bees, $11.1 million
4. W., $10.6 million
5. Eagle Eye, $7.3 million
6. Body of Lies, $6.9 million
7. Quarantine, $6.3 million
8. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, $3.9 million
9. Sex Drive, $3.6 million
10. Nights in Rodanthe, $2.7 million

14 million people watched Saturday Night Live this weekend, 17 million watched the first half hour. And what did they see? VP wanna-be Sarah Palin. Yep, all the rumors and what I told you last week were true. She actually didn't do THAT much performing, but whatever. What stole the show was something Palin was “supposed” to do but "opted not to". The rap by Amy Poehler. I actually squealed with laughter when I watched it. If you missed Palin’s performance on SNL, here it is:

Fashion critic Mr. Blackwell, whose annual "Worst-Dressed" lists slammed celebrities for their fashion faux pas, has died. Blackwell passed away yesterday of complications from an intestinal infection. He was 86 years old.

Barbara Walters can breathe a sigh of relief, she won’t have to replace another co-host. Elisabeth Hasselbeck reconfirmed on Friday’s The View she is not leaving the show for Fox News.

I was able to talk to STAR Artist Daughtry about their upcoming album and from what he told me it was a real group effort. For their debut album, Chris wrote all the songs, not so much for this new one. The group told me, “We've been very experimental in how the writing process works -- we do it as a band, we do it as these two people, we do it with outside writers, plus the guys in the band. It's been a learning experience for all EIGHT of us!” Mr. Daughtry himself told me he thinks he’s doing the best writing he’s ever done. Look for the new Daughtry album the first quarter of 2009.

I wasn’t expecting one so soon, but no, STAR Artist Madonna and Guy Ritchie have not reached a divorce settlement yet. Between the two off them, they’re worth nearly $600 million.

October 17. 2008

2008-10-17T10:22:00.009-05:00

Here are the movies hitting theaters today:

* Max Payne -- Based on the hit video game of the same name, Mark Wahlberg stars as a cop who seeks payback for the murders of his family and partner. Rated PG-13.

* W. -- Having already made films about former Presidents John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, director Oliver Stone tells the story -- as he sees it -- of current President George W. Bush, played by Josh Brolin. The cast also includes Elizabeth Banks as Laura Bush, Richard Dreyfuss as Vice President Dick Cheney and Thanide NEwton as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Rated PG-13.

* The Secret Life of Bees -- In this adaptation of the best-selling novel, three beekeeping sisters take in an emotionally-scarred 14-year-old girl and her caretaker in 1960s South Carolina. Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson and STAR Artist Alicia Keys star. Rated PG-13.

* Sex Drive -- An 18-year-old man is joined by his buddies on a road trip he hopes will end with him losing his virginity to a girl he met online. Rated R.

Music has lost a legendary voice - lead singer of the Four Tops, Levi Stubbs died in his sleep today at his home in Detroit. He had reportedly been battling cancer. Even if you don't know his name, you know the songs (you've probably karaoked to a few of them) and you know his voice. Levi Stubbs was 72.

Will Sarah Palin be on Saturday Night Live in the near future? You betcha. She'll be on tomorrow! Now we don't know if Tina Fey will be on as well, though that'd be pretty darn funny, but we do know that Josh Brolin will be the host and in the new movie W. he plays President George W. Bush so that could lead to an absolute perfect storm of political comedy.

Officials at Los Angeles County USC Medical Center said yesterday that Desperate Housewives actor Gale Harold is improving after Tuesday's motorcycle accident. Harold, who just began playing Teri Hatcher's boyfriend series, is still in the intensive care unit after suffering swelling on the brain and a fractured shoulder. However, hospital officials said he is expected to recover.

Hannah Montana's Miley Cyrus did nothing to hide her feelings toward "shouldn't this be illegal??" boyfriend and model Justin Gaston. On Wednesday at L.A. Fashion Week, while Gaston strutted the catwalk he blew kisses and winked at the 15-year-old, and she in turn, quote "licked her lips seductively." I just threw up a little in my mouth.

STAR Artist John Mayer and Jennifer Aniston broke up back up in August but recent shenanigans seem to indicate they're back together. They've been seen gettin' cutesy together three times in the last week. Most recently they were spotted being' all couple-y celebrating his birthday on Wednesday.

STAR Artist David Cook recently posted this video blog talking about his Saturday Night Live performance coming up November 1st.

I don't know how you keep a secret like this but STAR Artist Nelly Furtado revealed that she and her fiancee got secretly married...over the summer! That's like...3 months ago! How do you do that and not spill the beans? Why would you not want to tell people?! *throws up hands in surrender*

Briefly:
STAR Artist Taylor Swift will be going on her first headlining tour early next yera to promote her new album "Fearless."

Will Ferrel will take his hilarious President Bush impression to Broadway for a one-man show called You're Welcome America: A Final Night With George W. Bush. Sounds like he's right on with his career strategery.

October 16, 2008

2008-10-16T10:11:00.006-05:00

Angelina Jolie was on The Today Show today where she talked about her new movie Changeling which looks incredible and she also dished about her and Brad's plans to adopt MORE kids! Check it out:
There's actually a fun evolution story behind the hit song "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz. He actually wrote it about 4 years ago in about 15 minutes and then recorded a very low-tech version of it, put it online, only to take it down shortly thereafter. Even though it was only online for a little bit, fans quickly found it and fell in love with it, just like STAR listeners have. "I'm Yours" kept getting requested at Jason's concerts and finally he recorded a "normal" version of it - the one you know now. Now when he plays it at his shows, "I look out there, and people are singing it to each other. And that's the best feeling."

STAR Artist David Cook has been booked as the musical guest on the November 1st episode of Saturday Night Live. We've also got even more info on his debut self-titled album. Out of the 12 songs, David wrote or co-wrote on all of them except "Time of My Life" and his new single "Light On." Other co-writers on the album: STAR Artist Goo Goo Dolls' singer Johnny Rzeznik, Cathy Dennis (who wrote the American Idol theme and Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl"). David is also booking appearances on Live With Regis & Kelly, Good Morning America, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in the coming weeks.

Two STAR Artists have recently told John McCain to stop using their songs in conjunction with his Presidential campaign. Survivor told him recently to stop using "Eye of the Tiger" and now Jon Bon Jovi has told McCain-Palin to stop using "Who Says You Can't Go Home" at their rallies.

STAR Artist Kelly Clarkson started a new online blog and revealed she's almost done with her new album she just has to finish one last song with Ryan Tedder, the lead singer of STAR Artist OneRepublic. She says, "I love this record! I hope y'all like it." The album is due out in the early part of next year.

David Duchovny was apparently a single man when he checked into rehab earlier this year for sex addiction. He and his wife, Tea Leoni, confirmed yesterday they have separate and have been separated a while. They lept it private for the sake of their kids.

Heidi Klum's Project Runway crowned a winner on last night's season finale. Leanne Marshall out-sewed contenders Korto and Kenley. Marshall won $100,000 to put towards launching her own clothing line. The show's mentor, Tim Gunn, served as the guest judge after Jennifer Lopez backed out from the gig at last minute due to a foot injury. Project Runway will be relocating production next season from New York to Los Angeles.

October 15, 2008

2008-10-15T10:11:00.007-05:00

It's official. STAR Artist Madonna and her husband of 7 and a half years, Guy Ritchie, have agreed to divorce. Their rep issued a statement, "They have both requested that the media maintain respect for their family at this difficult time. A final settlement has not been agreed upon yet." Madonna and Guy have been dodging rumors about a troubled marriage since August when it was rumored Madonna had an affair with New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez.

Some more not-so-good news...
Hospital sources have confirmed to me Desperate Housewives star Gale Harold, who plays Susan's new man Jackson, is in the neurological inetnsive care unit at the LA County Medical Center and is in "stable condition." His rep confirmed to me Gale was involved in a motorcycle accident yesterday and fractured his shoulder is under supervision. Everyone I've talked to is hopeful he'll make a full recovery.

If you weren’t able to check out the American Music Award nominees yesterday, here are some of the main categories:

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
LIL WAYNE
CHRIS BROWN
ALICIA KEYS
EAGLES
COLDPLAY

FAVORITE POP/ROCK MALE ARTIST
CHRIS BROWN
KID ROCK
USHER

FAVORITE POP/ROCK FEMALE ARTIST
MARIAH CAREY
ALICIA KEYS
RIHANNA

FAVORITE POP/ROCK BAND DUO OR GROUP
COLDPLAY
EAGLES
DAUGHTRY

FAVORITE POP/ROCK ALBUM
COLDPLAY, Viva La Vida
ALICIA KEYS, As I Am
EAGLES, Long Road Out Of Eden

BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST
COLBIE CAILLAT
FLO RIDA
JONAS BROTHERS
PARAMORE
THE-DREAM

FAVORITE ADULT CONTEMPORARY ARTIST
DAUGHTRY
EAGLES
JORDIN SPARKS

We finally know why STAR Artist Janet Jackson had to cancel and postpone 9 concerts. Her rep told me, “After a thorough medical evaluation, it has been confirmed that Janet's symptoms are being caused by a rare form of migraine called vestibular migraine, or migraine-associated vertigo, for which she is currently receiving treatment." It looks like she will for sure return to the stage tonight. Good for her.

Rocco DiSpirito is out at Dancing With the Stars and he insists "It's all gravy! This was a wonderful experience and there’s nothing to complain about." His voting off was a asurprise to...well...no one. "I got to learn how to dance. I got to make friends with Karina. I even got Bruno to dance!"

4 big STAR Artists, Jason Mraz, Sara Bareilles, Colbie Caillat and Natasha Bedingfield, are among a group of celebrities who have recorded PSAs to help our schools. Check out their individual PSAs by clicking on their respective names. (Sara's and Natasha's elude me...)

Looks like “Time of My Life” will make the cut. STAR Artist David Cook has chosen to include the American Idol single on his debut album. Here’s the rest of the track listing. Look for it in stores November 18th.

"Declaration"
"Heroes"
"Light On"
"Come Back to Me"
"Life on the Moon"
"Bar-ba-sol"
"Mr. Sensitive"
"Lie"
"I Did It for You"
"Avalanche"
"Permanent"
"A Daily Anthem"
"The Time Of My Life" (bonus track)

She put the "fortune" in "Wheel of Fortune." Michelle Loewenstein can afford to buy more than a vowel after winning $1 million on Wheel of Fortune yesterday. The 24-year-old floral designer and newlywed from Santa Monica, California struck it rich in the show's new million-dollar bonus round, solving the puzzle "leaky faucet." Loewenstein says she might spend the cash on a new home or car, and also help out her family.

STAR Artist Avril Lavigne and her husband Deryck have had to officially deny they are having marital problems and that Deryck is cheating on her. Recently the National Enquirer ran a story claiming those things were true.

October 14, 2008

2008-10-14T12:09:00.003-05:00

The American Music Awards nominees were announced today. See if your favorite STAR Artist is up for an award. This year’s awards will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel on November 23rd. STAR Artist Pink is slated to perform.

Jennie Garth is 9021-Oh so happy Jason Priestly is coming back to America’s best-known zip code. Jason has signed on to direct an episode of the new 90210 on the CW. “I'm happy that he's there. Jason directed a couple of episodes of the original show and he was great. He's a hoot, so it'll be fun." Sure Jennie is excited to reunite with Jason but I’m guessing Jason’s just as happy to reunite with a paycheck.

If Sarah Palin becomes Vice-President, don’t expect to see Tina Fey on every Saturday Night Live. She told me “We’re gonna take it week by week. If she wins, I’m done. I can’t do that for four years. And by ‘I’m done,’ I mean I’m leaving Earth.” Tina did tell me she thinks Palin is fascinating, very likeable and fun to play.

STAR Artist Sara Bareilles kicked off her first-ever headlining tour last Thursday, and so far, she says she's finding it "stressful," to say the least. "I've noticed myself in the last day or so just really feeling the pressure of wanting to make the show amazing...I'm trying to relax a little bit. You might think that by this point, she'd be tired of playing those songs live, especially her hit "Love Song." But Sara tells me, "The energy of the crowd and people getting excited about hearing that song usually makes it really fun to sing,

Eli Stone is back for its second season premiere tonight at 9 p.m. on ABC. Sigourney Weaver will guest star as Eli’s psychiatrist.

Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria Parker is giving me the skinny on her weight gain. She says rumors she’s pregnant have just been blown out of proportion because she’s just put on some natural weight. “I never went up a size, I just got rounder. I’m still a size zero.” Oh I get it, Eva’s a mathematician. Zero is a round number.

Would ya believe it? Last night STAR Artist Janet Jackson postponed another concert. Doctor’s orders made her cancel the gig in New York. It's official: I now have absolutely no idea what’s going on with her.

Briefly:
If you waited to see Indiana Jones on DVD instead of paying $9 per person to see it in theaters, your wait is over. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull hits stores today.

STAR Artist The All-American Rejects have pushed back the release of their new album “When The World Comes Down” to December 16th.

STAR Artist David Cook revealed to me his debut CD will be self-titled. Look for it in stores November 18th.

STAR Artist Sara Bareilles, KT Tunstall, Colbie Caillat and others are all featured on a new collection of Christmas songs called "Hotel Café Presents: Winter Songs." Check it out in stores today.

Looks like Fall Out Boy won't be releasing their new CD on November 4th after all, because they're concerned about the fact that November 4th is also Election Day. Look for it (hopefully) December 16th.

October 13, 2008

2008-10-13T10:06:00.006-05:00

The Weekend's Box-Office Recap:

1. Beverly Hills Chihuahua, $17.5 million
2. Quarantine, $14.2 million
3. Body of Lies, $13.1 million
4. Eagle Eye, $11 million
5. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, $6.5 million
6. The Express, $4.7 million
7. Nights in Rodanthe, $4.6 million
8. Appaloosa, $3.34 million
9. The Duchess, $3.32 million
10. City of Ember, $3.2 million

Here are the Top 10 Tear-Jerker Movies of All-Time:

1. Bambi (1942)
2. Ghost (1990)
3. The Lion King (1994)
4. E.T. (1982)
5. Titanic (1997)
6. Beaches (1998)
7. Philadelphia (1993)
8. Watership Down (1978)
9. Boys Don't Cry (1999)
10. Steel Magnolias (1989)

Following a successful battle with breast cancer, Christina Applegate returns to the small screen in the ABC comedy Samantha Who? Check out its season 2 premiere at 8:30. Also tonight, NBC unveils its new action drama My Own Worst Enemy starring Christian Slater. He’s a suburban dad who unknowingly leads a double-life as a Jason Bourne-type spy. Check that out at 9 p.m.

Even though I told she was all good to go for her concert on Saturday night, STAR Artist Janet Jackson had to cancel that one too. That show was to mark her return to the road after a mystery illness had her sidelined for seven concerts. She’s expected to get back to performing tonight in Verona, New York.

Former American Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe knows how to stroke Simon Cowell’s ego. He says there's a good reason why Simon makes more money than fellow judges Randy and Paula for his work on the show. "There is always jealousy in every job. Why is he getting more than the other two judges? Because it is believed that he brings more to the table." Lythgoe says he thinks Simon now earns approximately $36 million per year from Fox.

STAR Artist Leona Lewis might be going to court in the near future. A record company wants to release an album she made before she was a superstar and Leona isn’t too keen on that. Speaking of lawsuits, STAR Artist Bon Jovi is being sued for $400 billion! Yeah, you heard me, BILLION. A guy claims Bon Jovi’s 2007 song “I Love This Town” is a blatant rip-off of his band’s song “(Man I Really) Love This Team.” How the heck did he get a number like $400 billion. Well copyright law allows for $100,000 per CD sold, and Lost Highway has sold 4 million copies.4 million x $100,000 = $4 billion

Following a good amount of drama on what should be a funny hour of television, Presidential wanna-be John McCain will appear on the Late Show with David Letterman on Thursday night. McCain actually announced his run for the presidency on Letterman’s show but after canceling an appearance, Letterman hasn’t exactly been happy with McCain. We’ll see if they can make amends Thursday night.

STAR Artist Maroon 5’s Adam Levine says he and the guys are already writing songs for a new album and much like their previous album’s title, it won’t be soon before long. He told me, “I think it's going to be a very spontaneous album-making process this time around....we're going to get back to the basic idea that made our band special...just kind of raw, simple, nothing too produced."

Briefly:
Congratulations to Lisa Marie Presley who gave birth to twin baby girls last week. We don’t know names yet but her publicist told me “...babies and mom are happy and healthy and resting at home."

STAR Artist Taylor Swift is already the face of L.E.I. Jeans but now sundresses are in her future. "They'll be really cute, but not that expensive, because I don't want my fans to ever feel like I wear the most expensive clothes and they can't relate to that."

October 10, 2008

2008-10-10T11:02:00.003-05:00

Here's what's hitting theaters today:

-- Body of Lies - Russell Crowe and Leonardo Dicaprio lend some serious star power to this drama about a CIA agent who's looking to bust up a terrorist group in Jordan. Rated R.

-- The Express - Based on the true story of Ernie Davis, the first black football player to win the Heisman Trophy. Rob Brown plays Davis. Dennis Quaid also stars. Rated PG.

-- Quarantine - In this horror flick, a TV news crew goes to an apartment building on a routine 911 call and finds themselves quarantined and cut off from the outside world. Jennifer Carpenter (from Dexter) stars. Rated R.

-- City of Ember - Billy Murray and Tim Robbins star in this movie based on the popular children's books. The great lamps that illuminate the city of Ember are starting to flicker and two teens must race against time to help the citizens. Rated PG.

Want a sneak-peek at Oprah on 30 Rock?
STAR Artist John Mayer recently took time from being mopey about his Jennifer Aniston break-up to cheer up some of our troops. John spent the day with Marines in North Carolina where he visited soldiers wounded in Iraq, fired a machine gun and sparred (fought) with soldiers in the Israeli martial art of Krav Maga. He told me over the phone, “Believe me when I say that the day was life-changing."

Apparently STAR Artist Madonna is an equal opportunity diva – she doesn’t just act like a diva to underlings, but to other musicians as well. Swedish pop star Robyn was asked to open for Madonna at a couple shows and she tells me her and her crew were told, “not to approach Madonna, not to speak to Madonna and, above all, no pictures.” Robyn told me her worst fear was she’d turn into a Madonna.

STAR Artist Janet Jackson recently scrapped a bunch of shows due to a mystery illness but now she’s back and raring to go. She’ll resume her Rock Witchu tour tomorrow night. Her publicist told me, “Janet, who has been under her doctor's care and recuperating over the last week, is excited about getting back on the road and again being able to share with her fans what she feels is one of her best stage shows ever.”

A lot of STAR Artist Lifehouse’s songs are inspired by the lead singer Jason’s personal life – but their latest hit, Broken, is inspired by the life of one of Jason’s best friends. This particular friend needs a kidney transplant and is living on a dialysis machine, which isn’t easy or pleasant. "It really was disturbing to see him in this place, but inspiring at the same time, just to see how he could continue to wake up in the morning and grin through his pain, I guess."

Angelina Jolie looks great, especially considering she just had twins. But what makes her beautiful figure even more amazing is the kind of food she eats. Apparently she LOVES junk food like pizza, French fries, ice cream and Hot Pockets and was eating so much her OB-GYN told her she had to start making better eating decisions. Angelina can eat as much junk as she wants. She loses all her weight chasing her 38 kids around the house.

Up until now, STAR Artist Colbie Caillat had been living with her parents. But that’s all changing because Colbie and her sister are buying a house together – so it’ll be Colbie, her sis and her sister’s fiancé all under one roof. She told me, “I didn't want to live by myself, so we're helping each other out -- it's perfect."

October 9, 2008

2008-10-09T10:50:00.008-05:00

Five shows make their fall appearances tonight – I know right? What took so long?!

7:30 p.m. - Kath & Kim - NBC – Molly Shannon and Selma Blair star in this sitcom about the bizarre relationship between a mother and her adult daughter.

8 p.m. - CSI - CBS - The ninth season of the procedural drama gets underway, as does the farewell to star William Petersen, who will depart the series later this year, to be replaced by Laurence Fishburne.

8:30 p.m. - SNL on Thursday Night - Saturday Night Live looks to capture more fans with this 30-minute weeknight episode that will feature an all-new "Weekend Update" segment. The show has been enjoying record ratings this political season.

9 p.m. - Life on Mars - ABC - Based on a popular British series, this drama revolves around a cop who winds up back in the 1970s after being involved in a car accident.

9 p.m. - Eleventh Hour - CBS - Also based on a hit British series that starred Patrick Stewart, this new drama follows a doctor who specializes in investigating scientific crimes.

A couple months ago, John McCain put out a campaign ad that said Obama was more like a Britney Spears or Paris Hilton than a trustworthy politician. Paris didn’t like that. She hit back with a hilarious campaign ad of her own. And now she’s back for more. Check out the latest campaign video from Paris:

ORIGINAL

It’s so hard to see a love like this disappear. Hugh Heffner has broken up with one of his 3 girlfriends, Holly. Hugh told me it’s because Holly wants marriage and kids, two things Heff isn’t really…keen on. One of the others, Kendra, also confirmed she’s moving out of the Playboy Mansion, so now Hugh needs two more girlfriends. What’s a man to do!?

Palin on SNL? With luck and time, you betcha! Saturday Night Live head honcho Lorne Michaels and cast member Seth Meyers made the rounds to the media this week playing up the possibility of Palin making a cameo on SNL. So will she or won't she??! "Of those specific rumors, there's no truth. We do have an open-door policy, but there's nothing specific yet, but our window of opportunity is before the election...Our doors are always open."

STAR Artist John Mayer is going back to school. He’s been hanging out at his alma mater, the Berklee College of Music, where he’s been dropping into classes and working on songwriting. He also did a private gig for the students – in between songs he talked about his work and his Berklee experience.

The numbers are in. America elected…to watch the Presidential debate on Tuesday. Over 63 million tuned in to watch Obama and McCain go at it. If you haven’t registered to vote you still can, the deadline is next Wednesday, the 15th. Sites like RockTheVote.com make it really easy. Just enter some basic information, print the sheets and throw on a stamp. I’ve made it easier on you - check out the "Rock the Vote Widget" to the right ---->

STAR Artist Leona Lewis knows how to stick to her guns. She recently turned down a $2 million paycheck because it would have compromised her values as a vegetarian. The gig was just to go to England’s big department store Harrod’s and posing for lots of pictures. The problem? Harrod’s sells fur products.

Briefly:
Wanna see Angelina Jolie breast feeding? I don't know why you would but I can't think of a reason why you wouldn't. Angelina posed for pictures for the cover of W magazine while breast feeding. It hits newsstands on October 21st. Here's a sneak peak.

The rumor that started yesterday that Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant again is being called “a bunch of made up crap.”

Neither Joe Jonas or STAR Artist Taylor Swift have confirmed that they've ever been more than friends, but an unnamed source tells me they've parted ways as a couple.

October 8, 2008

2008-10-08T10:51:00.005-05:00

There is NO confirmation this is true but I just wanna put it out there. The National Enquirer is reporting Britney Spears' 17 year-old sister Jamie Lynn is pregnant...again. I hate to say it but the last time she was rumored to be pregnant, she actually was...

Long before the Queen of Everything – Oprah – had her “Favorite Things,” Neiman Marcus released its annual Christmas Book. The 82nd edition is out announcing the list of “must haves” for the upper crust of society of 2008 and into 2009:

--Topping the list as the most expensive item is a $1.3 million wedding at The Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Beach, California.

--For vintage vinyl fans, a 45 RPM singles collection featuring every song on the Billboard Top 100 Rock and Pop charts from January 1, 1955 until December 31, 1990. This collection of 35 years of musical history, including many collectables, is yours for $275,000.

--Here's a perfect gift for the Dallas Cowboys football fan on your list: a Cowboys' Texas Stadium end zone to install in their backyard, priced at just $500,000.

--For golfers, how about a custom backyard golf course designed by greens legend Jack Nicklaus, yours for $1 million.

--In celebration of their 250th anniversary, Guinness is offering to custom-build an Irish pub in your home, plus throw in a trip to Dublin, Ireland. Cost: $250,000.

--In lieu of his and hers cologne this year, artist Nathan Sawaya is willing to sculpt you and yours using Lego bricks for the bargain price of $60,000.

What a surprise – no one got eliminated on Dancing With the Stars. This week’s scores will be combined with next week’s. In light of Misty May-Treanor’s injury I told you about, no one got the boot and surprisingly, no one will be replacing Misty when she leaves to have surgery.

If Nick Nolte wanted a tan he could just try and win STAR 98’s Break for the Beach. Instead, he set his house on fire. Okay, he didn’t really set his house ablaze but an electrical fire did start in his Malibu home. The fire department had the (not so) raging inferno out in 10 minutes and Nolte suffered only minor injuries. However the bar in his living room was completely destroyed – Nolte’s still in shock.

Here’s a match made in heaven for STAR listeners. STAR Artists Rob Thomas and Chris Daughtry are teaming up to play a benefit concert where all money raised will go to Pets Alive, a no-kill animal shelter in New York. Rob and Chris have known each other a while. Rob’s the one that told Chris to turn down the offer to be the lead singer of the band Fuel. They also wrote a song together but it didn’t make it onto Chris’ album.

Speaking of Daughtry...
A couple weeks ago STAR Artist Daughtry re-released their self-titled album, and now another STAR Artist is headin’ down that path. Colbie Caillat will re-release "Coco" with 3 brand new songs as well as live versions of songs by two of her biggest influences: Bob Marley and Lauryn Hill. Look for that in stores November 11th and then you can also hear Colbie on STAR Artist Taylor Swift’s new CD coming out November 11th as well. They duet on a song called “Breathe.”

Esquire magazine has named Halle Bery the Sexiest Woman Alive. She humbly accepted the award saying, “I share this title with every woman, because every woman is a nominee for it at any moment." Aww that’s so super nice and generic Halle. You obviously haven’t met Kathy Bates.

STAR Artist Avril Lavigne is all done touring for the time being. What’ll she do now? She’ll continue working on her clothing line, she’s got a fragrance coming out next year and she tells me she really wants to focus on acting. She had a couple of small roles but she’d like to pursue bigger and better things. As for a new record she tells me she doesn’t want to rush into anything, “If I feel like it, then it'll happen. If not, I'll just let it be natural.”

I’ve been telling you about that new EP from STAR Artist Coldplay slated to hit stores later this year – well now I can tell you exactly when later this year. "Prospekt’s March" will hit stores November 25th. Here's the track listing:

"Life in Technicolor ii"
"Postcards From Far Away"
"Glass of Water"
"Rainy Day"
"Prospekt's March/Poppyfields"
"Lost +" (Jay-Z remix)
"Lovers in Japan" (Osaka Sun mix)
"Now My Feet Won't Touch The Ground"

October 7, 2008

2008-10-07T13:01:00.005-05:00

There could be no lights…no camera…no action. That’s if the Screen Actors Guild elects to strike. Leaders of SAG told me they think members will give the green light to strike if the issue is put to a vote. Actors are basically looking for the same kind of compensation that the writers wanted when they struck back at the beginning of the year. I asked the head of the Screen Actors Guild if he thought it was wrong to strike during such a poor economic climate. He said, “I understand people are afraid the economy's bad, but we're talking about the future, we're talking about the future of actors." The Screen Actors Guild will talk about a possible strike on the 18th.

Republican Presidential nominee John McCain is reportedly in talks to appear on the Late Show with David Letterman around the 15th. Over the past 2 weeks Dave has been pretty unrelenting of his criticism of McCain ever since McCain cancelled his appearance on his show to instead talk to Katie Couric. At the time McCain claimed he was canceling to fly to D.C. to deal with the financial crisis. It has been good between them since.

Much like “the truth”, David Duchovny is “out there.” David is out of rehab which he checked into in August for sex addiction. He’s about to start work on a new movie and has already been photographed out and about walking the street. Not that he’s a street walker…though with his condition I wouldn’t put it past him…

Paris Hilton thinks she’s mommy material. And heck, judging by how little she’s been in the tabloids recently for doing bad things or not wearing underwear, I’m actually ok with that. She told me she wants 3 or 4 kids and wants to start working on that in the next year or two. I’m sure it won’t be a problem. She started practicing about 10 years ago.

STAR Artist Natasha Bedingfield has recorded a new video on YouTube all about her mom’s charity sky dive over Mount Everest I told you about last week. Her mom wants to make $2 million for the charity Global Angels and Natasha is basically just asking for your help it making the goal a reality. Check out the video and if yo'ure so inclined, click the link below the video to donate.Donate here.
Briefly:
STAR Artist Coldplay was named The Best Act in the World Today at the Q Awards yesterday, given out by British music magazine Q. If they were the best act in the world today yesterday, I wonder if they’ll still be the best act in the world today, tomorrow?...

Victoria Beckham fixed her problem skin with geisha facials and a face cream made of nightingale droppings.

STAR Artist Pink will perform at the American Music Awards, November 22nd on ABC.

October 6, 2008

2008-10-06T13:05:00.003-05:00

It wasn’t a good weekend to be OJ Simpson. Exactly 13 years after he was acquitted of the murdering his wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman, OJ was convicted of various charges including kidnapping and armed robbery. He and a co-defendant could face a minimum of 15 years in jail or the maximum of life behind bars. OJ’s lawyer has already promised an appeal.

Here's the Complete Box-Office Recap from this past weekend:

1. Beverly Hills Chihuahua, $29 million
2. Eagle Eye, $17.7 million
3. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, $12 million
4. Nights in Rodanthe, $7.4 million
5. Appaloosa, $5 million
6. Lakeview Terrace, $4.5 million
7. Burn After Reading, $4.08 million
8. Fireproof, $4.07 million
9. An American Carol, $3.8 million
10. Religulous, $3.5 million

Misty May-Treanor may be bowing out of Dancing With the Stars. Over the weekend producers told me she had been injured and received immediate medical attention. She didn’t break any bones but I hear she will have to have surgery on it – she may have injured her Achilles tendon. If she does have to leave Dancing With the Stars, there’s a chance the bootylicious Kim Kardashian might return to tango some more.

STAR Artist Janet Jackson has postponed 3 more shows after becoming suddenly ill before her concert a week ago. She checked into the hospital but was released the same day. We still don’t know what’s wrong with her but a local doctor in Greensboro, where she was supposed to do a show, told her to go home and recuperate.

What’s the new season of American Idol going to be like with the new judge Kara Dioguardi? The judges table will go Randy, Kara, Paula and Simon and in the case of a tie during the audition rounds, Simon will be the tie-breaker just like he was when guests judges came in. Meanwhile I got a glimpse of what the backdrop will look like behind auditioners. It has all 7 winners on it but David Cook, Carrie Underwood and Jordin Sparks have the best pictures and most central location, probably because they’re having the most success. The winner with the tiniest picture and worst location? Taylor Hicks. Whoops!

In the most recent issue of Marie Claire, Lindsay Lohan admits she wants to follow in Angelina Jolie’s footsteps and adopt a child in need or from another country. If she adopts a child in need, the only thing the child will need is a new mom.

HBO announced today one of my favorite shows, Entourage, has been picked up for another season. We're only 5 episodes into the 5th season but it's official - the gang will be back as early as Summer 2009.

October 3, 2008

2008-10-03T10:27:00.005-05:00

Here are ALL the movies opening this weekend:

* Beverly Hills Chihuahua -- A spoiled Chihuahua is stuck in Mexico and must find its way back to Beverly Hills, with the help of some doggy pals. Drew Barrymore, George Lopez and Andy Garcia lend their voices. Rated PG.

* Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist -- Superbad actor Michael Cera and The House Bunny actress Kat Dennings are the title characters, who connect one night while trying to locate a band's secret concert in New York. Rated PG-13.

* How to Lose Friends and Alienate People -- Simon Pegg is a British journalist in New York who seems to irritate everyone around him, including another writer played by Kirsten Dunst. Rated R.

* Blindness -- A city is overwhelmed by an epidemic that's causing its citizens to go blind. The victims are held in a mental asylum where one woman, played by Julianne Moore, pretends she's blind in order to assist her husband and lead a battle against the disease. Rated R.

* An American Carol -- The spoof of A Christmas Carol tells the story of a Michael Moore-like filmmaker who wants to rid the country of the Fourth of July holiday, until he's visited by three spirits from American history. Kelsey Grammer, Dennis Hopper, and Jon Voight star in this comedy, helmed by Airplane! and The Naked Gun director David Zucker. Rated PG-13.

* Flash of Genius -- Based on a true story, Greg Kinnear stars as the man who invented the intermittent windshield wiper and subsequently battled the auto industry in court over the idea. Rated PG-13.

Expanding into wide release:

* Appaloosa -- In this Western, set in 1882, a city marshal and his deputy hunt down a villainous rancher, but they're distracted by a widow, played by Renee Zellweger. Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen and Jeremy Irons also star. Rated R.

And now open in limited release:

* Rachel Getting Married -- Anne Hathaway stars as a recovering drug addict who leaves rehab and returns home for her sister's wedding, causing all sorts of problems in the process. Rated R.

* Religulous -- Bill Maher travels the world and offers his cynical view on organized religion. Rated R.

If you’re an artist that finally wants to break into the big times – all ya gotta do is get on one of five media outlets. A study found that an ad for iTunes is the best way to beef up your success. When STAR Artist Coldplay was in one recently personally playing their song “Viva La Vida,” downloads of the song soared from 295,000 to 950,000. Check out the other top 4 ways to gain immediate success as an artist:

- Appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show
- Have your song in a commercial during the Super Bowl
- Get your song chosen as the iTunes Free Single of the Week
- Have your song performed on American Idol

It’s a Daughtry Baby Boom! Bass player Josh and guitarist Brian just announced both their wives are expecting babies, right around the same time. I guess it’s officially no mystery now what they do on break from tour...

Two-time Indianapolis 500 champion and Dancing with the Stars winner Helio Castroneves has been indicted on federal tax evasion and fraud charges in connection with his alleged use of offshore accounts to hide millions of dollars from the IRS. He’s charged with one count of conspiracy and six counts of tax evasion for purportedly failing to report about 5.5 million dollars in income from 1999 through 2004. Hope he remembers the Cha-Cha because he’ll need some fancy footwork to get out of this mess.

Hustler publisher Larry FLynt has reportedly produced an X-rated movie with an adult film actress who resembles vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. I guess Tina Fey missed her chance to make an easy three grand.

Super fans of STAR Artist David Cook crashed his record company’s website the other day when over 1 million people logged on nearly simultaneously to stream his latest single called “Light On.” His debut album hits stores November 18th.

October 2, 2008

2008-10-02T10:46:00.006-05:00

There's a cast list floating around for the new Celebrity Apprentice. Wanna see it?

* Deal or No Deal briefcase model Claudia Jordan
* Singer Brian McKnight
* (Not-so) funnyman Tom Green
* Reality TV star Khloe Kardashian (what a great family)
* Former basketball star Dennis Rodman
* Mother-daughter tandem Joan and Melissa Rivers
* Foul-mouthed comic Andrew Dice Clay
* TLC singer Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins
* Ex-football player Herschel Walker
* Former ice skater Scott Hamilton
* Poker player Annie Duke
* Country singer/musician Clint Black
* LPGA golfer Natalie Gulbis
* Baywatch actress Brande Roderick
* Monster Garage star & Sandra Bullock hubby Jesse James.

The Celebrity Apprentice premieres in January on NBC. It's gonna be an epic disaster.

Former American Idol wanna-be David Archuleta is taking a break from working on his debut album to make his acting debut as himself on the Nickelodeon series iCarly. I hear he’ll be appearing on an American Idol-like show and gets a big spike in votes when he appears on one of Carly’s webcasts. That episode’s a way off - look for that next spring.

STAR Artist Taylor Swift and Camp Rock stars the Jonas Brothers certainly have a lot in common considering their age and what they do for a living. So when they hang out it’s not surprising they talk about music and the industry but Taylor tells me it’s not all about that, “We don't just sit there and geek out over guitar chords 24/7. It's really fun to be around people who do the same thing that I do, because you know when to turn it off.”

It’s been a while since we’ve talked about Leonardo DiCaprio, so let’s do it! He’s got a new movie coming out next week called Body of Lies and in doing the press tour from the movie he has manage to confuse many major entertainment publications. First he told the AP he has no plans to really settle down but then he turned around and told Parade magazine he wanted to “get married and have children.” He did acknowledge that contradicts everything he’s said in the past. His current girlfriend says she doesn’t believe in marriage, “A couple doesn’t need a contract.” Well good luck getting her to sign a prenup, Leo.

Ever since his break up with Jennifer Aniston, STAR Artist John Mayer just isn’t the same carnivorous ladies man he once was. One of his friends tells me he just “isn’t into anyone” and has been spending all his time with longtime friends, even some high school pals who John refers to as his “circle of trust.”

I’ve got some more details about STAR Artist Sara Bareilles’ new live DVD. It includes a full concert in San Francisco, plus behind-the-scene footage and exclusive acoustic performances. If you want to take that San Fran concert with you, they’ve also thrown in a regular CD with the DVD. Look for it in stores October 28th.

After leaving The View over a year ago, Rosie O’Donnell may be getting ready for a full-time return to TV. A source tells me Rosie will host a live primetime special, Rosie’s Variety Show (how creative…) on November 26th, Thanksgiving Eve. It’ll have sketches, musical acts, celebrity guests, and evidently entertainment value – we’ll see about that. The special could dovetail into a full-time job for Rosie starting in 2009.

October 1, 2009

2008-10-01T10:20:00.011-05:00

Oprah kicked off National Breast Cancer Awareness Month yesterday when Christina Applegate stopped by to talk about her very recent double mastectomy. In case you missed it, check out a clip here. Warning: your eyes may water a little.

So I guess no one was right about the Dancing With the Stars results show last night. The Vegas odds makers wanted you to bet on Cloris Leachman, I thought it would be Chef Rocco DiSpirito…but no. It turns out no one likes the bootylicious Kim Kardashian. I mean think about it. 2 couples scored less than Kim and America still wanted her off their TV. Guess she’s not as popular as she thinks she is. After the show Kim said, "This was a huge challenge for me. Every dance was a huge accomplishment for me, and I did the best I could. And this was the best experience of my life." Now she can get back to doin' what she does best – gold-diggin’.

The new fall TV season continues tonight with 3 premieres on ABC and one on DirecTV:

Pushing Daisies -- The second season premiere of the quirky hit features Chuck going undercover when a model at a cosmetics company dies from a bee sting. Meanwhile Lily takes Olive to a nunnery so she can't reveal Lily's deep, dark secret. ABC, 7 p.m.

Private Practice -- The adventures of former Grey's Anatomy character Addison Montgomery, played by Kate Walsh, continues. While two men are now competing for her affections, she learns that Naomi is hiding the practice's financial problems. Meanwhile Cooper must decide if he should reveal a medical secret to a patient. ABC, 8 p.m.

Dirty, Sexy Money -- Nick Darling is the guest of honor at a luxurious birthday party on a yacht. Movie actress Lucy Liu joins the cast this season to stir things up. ABC, 9 p.m.

Friday Night Lights -- Season three of the football drama begins an exclusive run on DirecTV tonight with uncut, commercial-free episodes months before they air on NBC in 2009.

A couple of weeks ago I told you about STAR Artist Alicia Keys singin’ the new James Bond movie theme song – now the video is here:
Apparently Jennifer Aniston is so obsessed with maintaining that perfect deep, dark tan, she shelled out $34,00 for two – count ‘em 2 – tanning beds. Supposedly the day before a big photo shoot her old one conked out so she had to go to a public tanning salon which freaked her out so much she bought the two new ones: one to use normally and one as a back-up. So then in about 20 years maybe Jennifer can hire TWO dermatologists to treat her skin cancer. Yeesh.

PBS newswoman Gwen Ifill says she still plans to moderate the first Vice Presidential debate on Thursday night even after breaking her ankle walking down the stair at her home. Maybe she should change her name from Gwen Ifill to Gwen I Fall. Sorry. That was bad.

I got more details on STAR Artist Maroon 5’s appearance on CSI: NY tonight – they’ll be performing their newest song on a rooftop in the city. Make sure you tune in early ‘cause it’s at the very beginning of the episode. 9 p.m. on CBS.

STAR Artist Sara Bareilles will be performing on Brooke Shields’ hit show Lipstick Jungle tonight – 9 p.m. on NBC.

September 30, 2008

2008-09-30T11:39:00.003-05:00

Who’s getting kicked off Dancing With the Stars tonight? The bookies in Vegas want you to think Cloris Leachman. But as Jimmy told you yesterday afternoon, I don’t think that’s the case. Sure Cloris had the lowest score but she’s funny, endearing and unpredictable – so I’m thinking Rocco DiSpirito will get the axe tonight. We’ll find out tonight at 8 p.m. on ABC. Jessica Simpson is stopping by plus some special celebrity dancers.

Remember when Clay Aiken came out on the cover of People magazine last week? Evidently they outbid Ok! magazine. People paid $500,000 for the rights to the story. A rep from Ok! told me, “We did bid on the Clay story, but thought it was all right, not phenomenal.” You know the economy is bad when tabloids don’t want to pay for the big stories, yikes!

STAR Artist Justin Timberlake and his girlfriend actress Jessica Biel bought a diamond ring together! But it’s not an engagement ring…I don’t think. They were in Rome and stopped into a vintage jewelry store where Jessica tried on practically everything in the store and ended up buying a diamond bracelet and ring. So I guess there’s nothing to indicate that ring isn’t an engagement ring.

STAR Artist Blink 182’s Travis Barker was released from the hospital yesterday after doctor’s dubbed him well enough. Travis was injured badly in plane crash back on September 20th which killed 4 people. A source tells me, “He’s on a bus headed to LA. Trust me, he will never fly again – ever.”

A man and a woman have been charged with regards to the car accident that badly injured Transformer's star Shia LaBeouf. Shia won’t be charged with drunk driving but he still may lose his license for not submitting to a breathalyzer test.

Briefly:
STAR Artist 3 Doors Down has scheduled their annual charity concert to benefit The Better Life Foundation which raises money for organizations and hospitals along the Gulf Coast which is where the band is originally from.

STAR Artist The Killers are on Saturday Night Live this weekend. STAR Artist Coldplay has just been booked for the October 25th show.

STAR Artist Jesse McCartney is joining the cast of ABC Family’s Greek as freshman jock Andy.

September 29, 2008

2008-09-29T10:25:00.005-05:00

Academy Award-winning actor Paul Newman is being remembered by movie fans and Hollywood stars after Paul passed away Friday – he had been suffering from cancer. Paul had been nominated for an Oscar 7 times and finally won for his role as pool shark Fast Eddie Felson opposite Tom Cruise in The Power of Money. Paul Newman was 83.

Shia LaBeouf dominated at the box-office. Here's a full recap:

1. Eagle Eye - $29.2 million
2. Nights in Rodanthe - $13.6 million
3. Lakeview Terrace - $7 million
4. Fireproof - $6.5 million
5. Burn After Reading - $6.2 million
6. Igor - $5.5 million
7. Righteous Kill - $3.803 million
8. My Best Friend's Girl - $3.8 million
9. Miracle at St. Anna - $3.5 million
10. Tyler Perry's the Family That Preys - $3.2 million

Speaking of Nights in Rodanthe, you couldn't get away from shows making fun of it this past week:

Two great shows are making their season premieres tonight, both on NBC. If you haven’t gotten into the show Chuck, maybe give it a shot. It’s about a computer geek who finds himself with a second career as a top secret government agent. It’s surprisingly great. And a show I got into over the summer, Life, starring Damian Lewis, is back tonight then also has another new episode Friday night. It’s about a cop who was put away in jail for a murder he didn’t commit. Now he’s back on the force with a new and very different perspective on life (pun intended). Chuck and Life air at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. respectively.

Heather Locklear was arrested over the weekend after a “concerned citizen” called police on her. Evidently she was driving back and forth over a pair of sunglasses in a parking lot and revving her engine loudly. Then she got on the road. When Heather was pulled over, police determined that alcohol wasn’t causing her disoriented behavior but some controlled substance. Heather actually went to rehab recently for anxiety and depression. Perhaps she was prescribed some pills to help her. Either way she should not have been behind the wheel.

Thank God election season is in full swing ‘cause that means Saturday Night Live is back into political skits which, let’s face it, are the funniest things they do. Tina Fey came back to SNL this weekend as Vice Presidential wanna-be Sarah Palin:
It was announced late this weekend that none other than STAR Artist Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will perform at half time at Super Bowl XLIII. That’s February 1st on NBC.

STAR Artist O.A.R. is teaming up with a group called Reverb which educates musicians and their fans about the environment for the 3rd annual Campus Consciousness Tour. They’ll actually be in the state at UW-Madison November 1st.

STAR Artist Elliot Yamin is re-releasing the Christmas album he put out last year, this time with some extra tracks. Last year Elliot admitted it was a little unusual for a Jewish guy to record a Christmas album but “I got in into the swing of things and it came out great.” Add this CD to your holiday collection (again) – it hits stores October 7th.

Congratulations to actors Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds who tied the knot over the weekend in an intimate ceremony outside Vancouver. The most refreshing part about this story? It’s the first marriage for both of them – maybe it’ll last!

Congratulations to Adam Sandler and his wife. He told me over the weekend he and his wife are expecting their second child, a girl, due this fall.

September 26, 2008

2008-09-26T11:19:00.007-05:00

Here's a breakdown of the movies opening today:

* Eagle Eye -- Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan play two strangers at the mercy of a mysterious woman who calls and threatens them. Billy Bob Thornton also stars. Rated PG-13.

* Nights in Rodanthe -- Based on the Nicholas Sparks novel, the romance story stars Diane Lane as a woman who escapes to Rodanthe, North Carolina to get away from her family problems. There, she works at an inn and strikes up a relationship with a guest, played by Richard Gere. Rated PG-13.

* Miracle at St. Anna -- Spike Lee directs this World War Two film about four African-American soldiers serving in Italy. Antwone Fisher actor Derek Luke stars. Rated R.

Opening in limited release:

* Fireproof -- Kirk Cameron stars as a firefighter who tries to save his marriage by taking something called "The Love Dare," which shows him how loving God can help him love his wife. Rated PG.

Here are all the new shows and premieres happening on Sunday night!

ABC
* Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, 6 p.m. -- Ty Pennington lends a hand to a single mom and her nieces and nephews. Jennifer Hudson makes a guest appearance.

* Desperate Housewives, 8 p.m. -- The show jumps ahead and catches up with the ladies of Wisteria Lane five years later. In the fifth-season premiere, Susan and Edie are both in new relationships and Gaby's packed on a few pounds.

* Brothers & Sisters, 9 p.m. -- The Walkers take a family trip that turns unpleasant.

CBS
* The Amazing Race, 7 p.m. -- Eleven teams will begin their worldwide journey at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Learn more about the 13th-season cast at CBS.com.

* Cold Case, 8 p.m. -- The 1973 murder of a college football star is revisited.

* The Unit, 9 p.m. -- The president-elect and vice president-elect are at the center of an assassination plot.

Fox
* The Simpsons, 7 p.m. -- Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie celebrate the start of their 20th season. Julia Louis-Dreyfus returns as a guest voice.

* King of the Hill, 7:30 p.m. -- Season 13 begins with Bill battling diabetes.

* Family Guy, 8 p.m. -- Baby Stewie gives Brian the dog love advice. Really.

* American Dad, 8:30 p.m. -- Roger the alien honors a very special birthday -- his 16 hundredth.

Showtime
* Dexter, 8 p.m. -- The blood splatter expert/murderer hunts down the person who killed two college women.

* Californication, 9 p.m. -- The show returns for a new season just one month after the announcement that its star, David Duchovny, entered rehab for a sex addiction. His character, an oversexed writer named Hank, has reconciled with Karen and is ready to head back to New York, but there are some obstacles along the way.

HBO
* Little Britain USA, 9:30 p.m. -- Popular British comedians Matt Lucas and David Williams introduce America to their wide range of characters in this sketch-comedy show.

The Emmy winning The Amazing Race kicks off its new season Sunday night and the route the world-travelling competition will take is finally out:
STAR Artist Jason Mraz will have a busy fall. Next month, to coincide with his North American Tour he’ll release a photography book called A Thousand Things and then he’ll re-release a deluxe edition of his current album “We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things” which will include 2 CDs and a DVD with a 30 minute documentary, different versions of his songs and a one hour live concert from New York City.

According to Travis Barker's friend Jermaine Dupri, STAR Artist Blink 182's Travis Barker is "doing good, he's gonna be all right. He's just got a lot of healing to do." Travis is recovering from a fatal airplane crash that took the lives of 4 and critically injured Travis and his friend DJ AM.

We’re getting more details about STAR Artist Nickelback’s new album. It’ll be called “Dark Horse”, in stores November 18th and starting Monday at 5 a.m. you’ll be able to download the first single “Gotta Be Somebody” for free from Nickelback.com. Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger did tell me this album is more of an “adult affair” saying, "There's a lot of truly filthy subject matter and adult themes."

Hugh Heffner thinks Vice President wanna-be Sarah Palin is qualified to hold a position – maybe not the one she had in mind but a bunch of famous women have held the position in the past. Okay yes I’m talking about a Playboy centerfold. “I don't know what it is, but there's something about a really sexy-looking woman wearing glasses. Imagine what she's like when the glasses come off!” I will say this, in this situation, Palin is a much better choice than Biden...

Ellen DeGeneres feels so strongly about breast cancer awareness, she's spreading the word with a series of customized phone messages. She’s been asked by vitamin producer One A Day to join their campaign, dubbed the One A Day Women's Wake-Up Call, as part of October's national Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The messages, which can be delivered through an online request, emphasize the importance of maintaining checkups for the disease. “Hi, this is Ellen DeGeneres and your sister told me to remind you that it's Breast Cancer Awareness Month.”

September 25, 2008

2008-09-25T10:52:00.005-05:00

Some BIG shows are back tonight including my favorite, The Office. Here's a complete rundown of what's new tonight:

ABC
* Ugly Betty, 7 p.m. -- Whose offer will Betty choose: Gio's or Henry's? Lindsay Lohan returns as Betty's rival, and Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa also guest star.

* Grey's Anatomy, 8 p.m. -- The fifth season begins with a two-hour premiere in which Meredith and Derek try to sort out their relationship. Meanwhile, Cristina falls for a military doctor.

CBS
* Survivor: Gabon - Earth's Last Eden, 7 p.m. -- The 17th season of Survivor finds 18 castaways in Gabon, Africa. Meet the cast at CBS.com.

NBC
* My Name Is Earl, 7 p.m. -- Earl gets back to work on his karma list, lending a hand to guest star Seth Green.

* The Office, 8 p.m. -- The employees of Dunder Mifflin collectively go on a diet as part of a weight-loss program. More importantly, Jim is separated from Pam, the woman to whom he almost proposed, who's attending a New York art school.

* ER, 9 p.m. -- The long-running drama will conclude with its 15th season. Tonight's episode follows up on the explosion of the ambulance and how it may have affected Nurse Samantha Taggart and Dr. Gregory Pratt. Angela Bassett and several former ER cast members -- not George Clooney, at least so far -- will make appearances this season.

The Queen of Daytime Television Oprah Winfrey will be lending her voice to a Disney hand-drawn animated movie, The Princess and the Frog. Her signing on probably has something to do with that movie featuring the first African-American princess who will be voiced by Dreamgirls actress Anika Noni Rose. In even more movie casting news, Johnny Depp has officially signed on for the live-action/CG combo Alice in Wonderland and he’ll be back as Captain Jack in a 4th Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

Vice Presidential hopeful Sarah Palin has Saturday Night fever. If you believe rumors, and I always do, Palin is considering making a guest appearance on Saturday Night Live and if that happens, I’d bet the farm Tina Fey is there too. Apparently Sarah is so serious about doing this she took a tour of the studios yesterday. Of course all this could be untrue if my source just happened to see Tina Fey in make-up.

STAR Artist Natasha Bedingfield is a role model to many young women, but she's got her own role model: her mom. And how inspiring is her mom? Well, yesterday, she arrived in Nepal, where she's now preparing to skydive from 29,500 feet over Mount Everest. Why? Well, the dive -- the highest ever charity skydive in the world -- is a fundraiser for her charity, Global Angels. Of her mom’s stunt, Natasha says, “It's crazy...She's someone who's doing crazy things to help kids.”

Everyone remember loud-mouthed Spike from this past season of Top Chef? Sure he can cook but he evidently can't read health code procedures and regulations. The Washington D.C. Department of Health flagged his new restaurant for "critical" missteps including storing beef in the alley behind his café. Spike didn't have anything nice to say about those allegations, "I know how to run a restaurant, and I know how to keep it clean. You can come right here and you can eat off the floor. I don't run anything unhealthy."

Last night America's Next Top Model said goodbye to two contestants: Hannah after some lackluster strutting and then Isis, who if you recall, is the show's first transgender contestant. Tyra called her performance "uninspired."

September 24, 2008

2008-09-24T10:10:00.003-05:00

More new TV is back tonight - hope that includes one of your favorite shows. Here's what's coming back and what's new & making its debut:

CBS
* The New Adventures of Old Christine, 7 p.m. -- Christine does her best to stop a possible deportation of Wanda Sykes’ Barb.

* Gary Unmarried, 7:30 p.m. – Jay Mohr is a divorced painting contractor getting a handle on his ex-wife, kids, and dating life all at once.

* Criminal Minds, 8 p.m. -- The FBI profilers are in search of some terrorists in the aftermath of a bombing.

* CSI: NY, 9 p.m. -- We learn the fallout from the robbery in which Mac Taylor was taken hostage.

NBC
* Knight Rider, 7 p.m. -- After returning as a TV movie earlier this year, the update of the classic 1980s series pulls into a weekly time slot.

* Lipstick Jungle, 9 p.m. – Mary Tyler Moore is introduced as Brooke Shields' mother in the second-season premiere.

You can remove the "rumored" tag from Lindsay Lohan’s "rumored girlfriend," Samantha Ronson. Lindsay has confirmed what pretty much everyone suspected when she admitted on a radio show she and Ronson are dating. When she was asked how long she and Ronson have been dating, Lindsay said, quote, "A very long time." Well great. Just what we need -- another reason for her father to release a statement.

Former American Idol finalist Clay Aiken is finally ready to tell the world that he's gay. Most of the world already knew his secret, but after refusing to discuss his sexuality for years, he's come clean to People magazine. Clay appears on the cover of the latest issue with his new son, with a headline that reads, "Yes, I'm Gay." The cover also features a quote from Clay stating, "I cannot raise a child to lie or hide things."

Last Friday night, STAR Artist Gavin DeGraw performed at a free concert with Blink 182’s Travis Barker and DJ AM, hours before they were in the plane crash that left them with severe burns and killed four people. And Gavin says his friends and family were terrified that he was on the plane as well. He told me, "My dad got on the phone and he goes, 'Just say hi.' And I said, 'Huh?' And he said, 'That's enough. I just wanted to hear your voice.'"

With the economy continuing to nose-dive, you may need to borrow some money. Aside from rubbing in our noses just how rich some people are, Forbes has put out the list of the richest Americans – also known as who I’ll hit up for cash.

1. Bill Gates (Microsoft chairman) - $57 billion
2. Warren Buffett (Financier) - $50 billion
3. Lawrence Ellison (Oracle CEO) - $27 billion
4. Jim Walton (son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton) - $23.4 billion
5. (tie) S. Robson Walton (son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton) - $23.3 billion
5. (tie) Alice Walton (daughter of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton) - $23.3 billion
7. Christy Walton and family (daughter-in-law of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton) - $23.2 billion
8. Michael Bloomberg (New York City mayor) - $20 billion
9. (tie) Charles Koch (CEO of Koch Industries) - $19 billion
9. (tie) David Koch (Executive vice president of Koch Industries, brother of Charles) - $19 billion

Every now and then a really random piece of information about Dr. McDreamy Patrick Dempsey makes it way into public – today is one of those days. Evidently, Dr. McDreamy Patrick Dempsey likes to spice things up in the bedroom. How? With a little smack on the keester. "Romance is an atmosphere, a feeling, a mood, a place, it's in the air. It is the little things - even a spanking every now and then." Well wouldn’t ya know it? There’s probably millions of women who would let you spank them, Patrick.

Sure, they just had twins this summer, but Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are already thinking about expanding their family some more. Sources tell me Angie and Brad made a pact when she got pregnant that they’d adopt one or two more kids as soon as possible after the twins were born. That’s very admirable – Brad and Angelina giving up their Hollywood lifestyle to open a daycare. I mean come on! They’ll have more kids than a Chuck E. Cheese on a Saturday afternoon.

Yet another musical act has booked a guest-starring role on CSI: NY. Following the news that STAR Artist Chris Daughtry will appear in the show's 100th episode in November, STAR Artist Maroon 5 has just announced that they'll appear in the show's October 1st episode, the second one of the season. No word yet on what the band will be doing in that episode.

Earlier this year, STAR Artist Leona Lewis was voted "World's Sexiest Vegetarian," and now she's designing a line of accessories that both vegetarians and vegans can wear.

September 23, 2008

2008-09-23T12:05:00.004-05:00

More new TV is on tonight! WOO! Here's what's coming back and what's making its debut:

ABC
* Opportunity Knocks, 7 p.m. -- Produced by Ashton Kutcher, this competition visits families across the country and surprises them with trivia questions about their personal lives for cash prizes. J.D. Roth hosts.

CBS
* NCIS, 7 p.m. -- The sixth-season premiere of the hit crime whodunnit centers around the murder of a Navy petty officer.

* The Mentalist, 8 p.m. -- A new drama starring Simon Baker as an alleged former psychic who helps out the California Bureau of Investigation.

* Without a Trace, 9 p.m. -- The drama's seventh season begins with STEVEN WEBER acting as a new boss to ANTHONY LAPAGLIA's Jack.

NBC
* Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, 9 p.m. -- Luke Perry, Julie Bowen and Sara Gilbert guest star in a 10th-season premiere centering around an abused foster child.

Friday we found out the name of STAR Artist David Cook’s first post-Idol single – "Light On". Now David has given us the ability to sing along to the song once it comes out because today he released the lyrics. The chorus goes:

Try to leave a light on when I'm gone
Something I rely on to get home
One I can feel at night
A naked light, a fire to keep me warm
Try to leave a light on when I'm gone
Even in the daylight, shine on
And when it's late at night you can look inside
You won't feel so alone

He also told me he’s not worried about the inevitable comparisons to STAR Artist Daughtry once the album comes out, "I look at it this way -- I've been called way worse." I wouldn't mind being compared to someone who's sold 4,220,000 albums either.

In the last James Bond movie - Casino Royale - filmmakers got rid of the gadget-creating Q and the flirty secretary Moneypenny. Now, in the new one - Quantum of Solace - they've gotten rid of even more classic Bond staples: the lines "Bond, James Bond" and "Shaken, not stirred." Say it ain't so!

I’m glad this rumor isn’t true. Miley Cyrus wants her fans to know that she's not leaving Hannah Montana any time soon. Over the weekend, rumors were flying that Miley had been causing trouble on the Hannah Montana set by coming to work late and speaking openly of wanting to be fired so she could concentrate on her music career. But Miley tells me, "I am fully committed to Hannah Montana. It's what gave me this amazing opportunity to reach out to so many people."

How cool would it be to have STAR Artist OneRepublic perform "Apologize" in your living room? The group is currently running a contest to make that scenario a reality. The first-prize winner will win a private acoustic performance by the band in his or her own house. Second-prize is an autographed guitar, while the third-prize winner gets to load up on OneRepublic merchandise. 30 runners-up get autographed copies of OneReublic's album, "Dreaming Out Loud". To enter, visit OneRepublic.com.

STAR Artist Taylor Swift has realized her life’s goal – to get a song on Grey’s Anatomy. Tune into the season premiere of Grey’s this Thursday night and you’ll hear one of Taylor’s song – “White Horse.” She told me, "You should've seen tears streaming down my face when I got the phone call that they were going to use that song. I have never been that excited." She’s so excited she’s hyperventilating. Someone get her a doctor! Or a ridiculously good-looking actor who plays a doctor!

Gwyneth Paltrow likes to play the part of a cook - the Oscar winner has refused to hire a personal chef because she enjoys cooking for her husband, STAR Artist Coldplay singer Chris Martin, and their two kids. Gwyneth told me, "I cook all the meals for my house. I really love to cook." Gwyneth uses her Oscar statue as a potato masher.

Briefly:
STAR Artist Bon Jovi has been snubbed from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for the first year of eligibility. Run-DMC, Metallica and a handful of other made it in.

STAR Artist The Plain White T’s have a new CD in stores today called “Big Bad World.”

September 22, 2008

2008-09-22T10:14:00.014-05:00

60th Annual Emmy Award Winners:

Drama Series
Mad Men, AMC

Comedy Series
30 Rock, NBC

Miniseries
John Adams, HBO

Made-for-TV Movie
Recount, HBO

Actor, Drama Series
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad, AMC

Actress, Drama Series
Glenn Close, Damages, FX

Actor, Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock, NBC

Actress, Comedy Series
Tina Fey, 30 Rock, NBC

Supporting Actor, Drama Series
Zelijko Ivanek, Damages, FX

Supporting Actress, Drama Series
Dianne Wiest, In Treatment, HBO

Supporting Actor, Comedy Series
Jeremy Piven, Entourage, HBO

Supporting Actress, Comedy Series
Jean Smart, Samantha Who?, ABC

Variety, Music or Comedy Series
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, Comedy Central

Reality-Competition Program
The Amazing Race, CBS

Reality or Reality-Competition Host
Jeff Probst, Survivor, CBS

Writing For A Drama Series
Mad Men

Writing For A Comedy Series
30 Rock

Here's the Top 10 Movies from this past weekend's box-office:

1. Lakeview Terrace, $15.6 million
2. Burn After Reading, $11.3 million
3. My Best Friend's Girl, $8.3 million
4. Igor, $8 million
5. Righteous Kill, $7.7 million
6. Tyler Perry's the Family That Preys, $7.5 million
7. The Women, $5.3 million
8. Ghost Town, $5.2 million
9. The Dark Knight, $3 million
10. The House Bunny, $2.8 million

Miley Cyrus isn't going to be Disney's Employee of the Month. Evidently Miley's been boasting she'll get fired from her Hannah Montana Disney Channel series. Apparently, Miley's father, Billy Ray Cyrus, wants her to focus on her singing career, so they've been wreaking havoc on-set in the hopes of getting canned. The father-daughter team have reportedly been showing up late, which has caused production delays and angered cast and crew. Sources tell me that Billy Ray has informed people on the set he and Miley plan to do 12 more episodes of Hannah Montana before quitting the show.

Speaking of Miley...
Back in June, Miley said she would like to star in a “younger, cleaner version of Sex & the City” and now, it looks like she could get her wish. The author of Sex & the City recently told me she’s going to write two “young adult” books about Carrie Bradshaw’s teenage years. When I asked her who would play the younger Carrie she said, “I don’t know…Miley Cyrus!”

STAR Artist Chris Daughtry is going to try his hand at acting. I hear he’ll be guest starring on the 100th episode of CSI: New York in November. He’ll play a guy whose life is in danger thanks to a serial killer.

Dancing With the Stars is back tonight on ABC for its 7th season and according to the Vegas oddsmakers, Cody Linley from Hannah Montana is the odds on favorite to win. We’ll see how he does in his debut tonight at 7 p.m.

The fall TV season really kicks off tonight! Here's a list or returning shows and new debuts:

ABC
* Boston Legal, 9 p.m. -- The fifth and final season kicks off after the return of Dancing with the Stars. In the episode, Alan takes on a case involving a tobacco company and Denny battles performance issues.

CBS
* The Big Bang Theory, 7 p.m. -- Penny has a bad date with Leonard and confides in Sheldon. Sara Gilbert joins the cast for its second season.

* How I Met Your Mother, 7:30 p.m. -- Scrubs star Sarah Chalke returns as Stella to give her answer to Ted's proposal.

* Two and a Half Men, 8 p.m. -- The sixth season begins with Charlie Sheen's character crossing paths with an ex whose son looks like him.

* Worst Week, 8:30 p.m. -- This new comedy stars Kyle Bornheimer as Sam, who's planning a wedding with his expectant girlfriend. Her strict parents aren't thrilled. That '70s Show dad Kurtwood Smith also stars.

* CSI: Miami, 9 p.m. -- Who shot Horatio? An investigation is underway in the seventh-season premiere.

NBC
* Heroes, 8 p.m. -- The third chapter is titled Villains, so you can probably expect yet another good-versus-evil struggle, especially since the evil Sylar regained his powers at the end of last season. The season premiere is preceded by a "countdown" special.

Over the weekend, STAR Artist Blink 182’s drummer Travis Barker was involved in a tragic airplane crash. 4 people, including the 2 flight crew members were killed – Travis and a friend were critically injured and are, thankfully, now in stable condition.

STAR Artist David Cook’s first non-Idol single will be called “Light On” and told me more details about the song will come out this week.

September 19, 2008

2008-09-19T10:33:00.006-05:00

Here are the movies hitting theaters today:

* Lakeview Terrace -- Samuel L. Jackson plays good cop-bad cop as an LAPD officer who causes major problems for his new neighbors, an interracial couple of whom he disapproves. Rated PG-13.

* My Best Friend's Girl -- Jason Biggs' Dustin has his heart broken by his girlfriend, played by Kate Hudson, but he refuses to give up on their relationship. He asks his best friend -- Dane Cook -- to take her on a bad date, hoping that she'll crawl back to Dustin afterward. Alec Baldwin also stars. Rated R.

* Ghost Town -- British comedian and Extras actor Ricky Gervais is a New York dentist named Bertram Pincus, whose brush with death leaves him with the ability to see dead people. Greg Kinnear plays one of those ghosts -- he wants to stop his widow from getting remarried, with Pincus' help. Tea Leoni also stars. Rated PG-13.

* Igor -- Igor's a lab assistant and budding mad scientist whose dream of creating a monster doesn't go according to plan. John Cusack, Molly Shannon, Jay Leno and Christian Slater lend their voices to the animated film. Rated PG.

A musician from a band named The Asphault is suing STAR Artist Daughtry over their hit song “Feels Like Tonight.” This guy claims the song was ripped off his song “Tonight” which he wrote in 2005 but didn’t copyright until this year. Daughtry, the record company, plus the 3 guys who actually wrote the song (because Daughtry actually didn’t) are all named in the suit. Apple is even being sued because they sold the song on iTunes. So does random dude’s song “Tonight” actually sound like “Feels Like Tonight?” Judge for yourself:

STAR Artist Alicia Keys is singing the new James Bond movie theme with Jack White from a group called the White Stripes. It’s called “Another Way to Die” and here's a clip of it:

The 60th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards are this Sunday night on ABC-TV, and this year, there's a brand-new category: Best Reality TV Show Host. In honor of that, all five nominees in the category – Ryan Seacrest of American Idol, Dancing With the Stars' Tom Bergeron, Jeff Probst of Survivor, Project Runway's Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel of Deal or No Deal -- will co-host the Emmys together. I thought Deal or No Deal was a game show but what do I know?

I’m guessing you’ve seen at least one of those epically boring Seinfeld-Bill Gates Microsoft ads? Thank God Microsoft announced today they’re pulling them off the air. But a senior vice president from Microsoft tells me the notion they’re doing some quick thing to cancel those ads is preposterous. They evidently were meant to capture our attention just in time for a new line of Windows commercials. But don’t they run the risk the ads will turn us off so much we won’t care about the newer, more normal ads? They were so bad…they were worse than the Seinfeld finale.

Briefly:
David Archuleta and STAR Artist David Cook will perform together at a Ford Motor Company event today. They probably want to say thank you for those free Ford Escapes they got too.

STAR Artiist The All American Rejects will release their new album "When The World Comes Down" on November 18th.

September 18, 2008

2008-09-18T10:21:00.004-05:00

People magazine's Best Dressed list is out! Here's the Top 10:

* Fergie, Refined Rocker
* Anne Hathaway, Young And Glam
* Kate Hudson, Effortless Taste
* Heidi Klum, Model Chic
* Eva Mendes, Pretty And Polished
* Michelle Obama, Classic And Confident
* Gwyneth Paltrow, Better Than Ever
* Sarah Jessica Parker, Expert Eclectic
* Rihanna, Sugar And Spice
* Charlize Theron, Bold And Beautiful

What does it take for Fergie to be on the list? TWO guest rooms converted to closets – one for casual wear and one for glamwear plus 100 pairs of shoes and a whole lot of purses.

Ellen Pompeo of Grey’s Anatomy tells me she feels her biological clock ticking. She and her husband just got married and are living a very carefree life – jetting off to Europe to sleep in, staying up ‘til 5 in the morning drinking champagne and…other things – but she says she really has to get on this whole pregnancy thing. All that sounds more like Spring Break, not marriage! She told me “It’s a huge lifestyle change and I take that very seriously.” Hey if you keep having those 5 a.m. champagne parties you’ll be making that change before you know it! Grey's Anatomy is back with a two hour premiere on the 25th on ABC.

Actress Hillary Swank’s latest role? Outpatient. Hillary is back home after undergoing a mystery medical procedure. Her manager told me she was “experiencing some discomfort and went to see her doctor, who prescribed an immediate course of action” which removed a small benign growth.

STAR Artist David Cook taped a very special message for the Stand Up To Cancer television special but it never made it to air. Producers tell me it was cut due to time restrictions. But the long-lost video is now online and as you may have figured, David does talk about his brother Adam who is battling brain cancer. Check out the video here.

Actor Shia LaBeouf is finally speaking out after being in a serious car accident back in July. He told me “The fact is, I'm very blessed, I'm just a fortunate human being to have walked away from that and, and I'm happy to be back on set." The set he’s on now is the Transformers sequel Revenge of the Fallen, which is due out June 2009.

STAR Artist Coldplay wrote so many new songs when they were working on their most recent release, they had enough leftover to release another CD in December. Lucky fans that are on the road could be in for a treat. Coldplay tells me they may perform one of those new songs at some upcoming shows.

September 17, 2008

2008-09-17T10:12:00.016-05:00

Here's a sneak-peek at a scene from the highly anticipated Heroes season premiere!

Get 5 more sneak-peeks here. Heroes is back on NBC Monday at 8 p.m.!

A couple months ago I told you STAR Artist Sheryl Crow would be releasing a Christmas album exclusively to Hallmark Gold Crown stores September 30th. I’ve got my hands on a sample of one of the songs. Here she is singing “I’ll Be Home For Christmas”:

The CD is called "Home For Christmas" - here's the track listing:

"Go Tell It on the Mountain"
"The Christmas Song"
"White Christmas"
"I'll Be Home for Christmas"
"Merry Christmas, Baby"
"The Bells of St. Mary's"
"Blue Christmas"
"O Holy Night"
"There is a Star That Shines Tonight" (new song)
"All Through the Night"

Tabloids may chronicle the ever-evolving love life of Kate Hudson, but the star insists it's not as juicy as the reports make it out to be. In fact, she’s had to experience a bad date or two just like the rest of us, “One date I just left before we even got any food or ordered food because it was just, the guy was so deeply boring that it was like, I'm gonna just save us from all of this and leave.”

After her highly publicized break-up with STAR Artist John Mayer, Jennifer Aniston may have already found the rebound she needs, Scottish hottie Gerard Butler – ladies, that’s the lead shirtless guy from the movie 300 your man made you watch. Hey if the Fed can rescue AIG, I think they can find Jennifer Aniston a stedy boyfriend.

Jon Stewart, Margaret Cho and Bill Maher will join an all-star lineup of entertainers on November 10th to honor the late comedian George Carlin, this year's recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

STAR Artist Bon Jovi has been nominated for induction into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. I’m guessing they’d join the Jersey Turnpike and The Sopranos.

September 16, 2008

2008-09-16T13:14:00.008-05:00

It’s the end of an era at MTV. They’ll no longer play music videos. Well, TRL has been canceled so that’s what that means right? On a still-to-be-determined Saturday afternoon in November, MTV will air the final Total Request Live, a show that launched everyone’s favorite way-too-tan late night host Carson Daly and helped to take over the streets of Times Square every weekday afternoon. Here's the actual footage of how MTV launched back in 1981:
Ugly Betty was in New York City for its premiere (yes, TV shows have premieres) and the paparrazi were out in full force snapping pics of America Ferrera, Vanessa Williams and, of course, Lindsay Lohan who returns for a guest role. The cast had nothing but good things to say about Lindsay and say her supposed girlfriend, Samantha, keeps her grounded. Ugly Betty is back on ABC on the 25th. Speaking of new TV, House is back tonight on Fox at 7 p.m.

What did the openly-gay Lance Bass think of all those rumors that he might be partnered with a male partner on Dancing With the Stars? He tells me “I think it would be so silly that it would just overshadow everything else going on. It would just be like making fun of something.” Lance will make his Dancing With the Stars debut next week.

Before STAR Artist Taylor Swift’s new album "Fearless" hits stores, it’ll hit iTunes. You can actually get a new song on their now and then throughout the month more songs will pop up. On November 11th you can just click “Complete My Album” and download the rest of the tracks.

I wonder what Billy Ray has to say about this. Seems 15 year-old Miley Cyrus is dating a 20 year-old underwear model. They were spotted over the weekend going to church together and then yesterday they went to the mall “holding hands the whole time.”

Actress Christina Applegate went back to work on Samantha Who yesterday for the first time since surgery to battle breast cancer. She’s now 100% cancer-free.

Briefly:
STAR Artist Jesse McCartney is coming to ShopKo Hall part of the Okobos Music Festival and he’s also making his way to the small screen. He’ll be on an episode of Law & Order: SVU as a murder suspect.

Amy Pohler will leave Saturday Night Live. UPDATE: NBC has announced that Amy won't be back after she leaves for maternity leave in a few weeks.

STAR Artist Lifehouse has hired Kiefer Sutherland to direct the video for their new hit “Broken.”

Thursday night STAR Artist Natasha Bedingfield will sing on the America’s Got Talent results show.

September 15, 2008

2008-09-15T10:15:00.006-05:00

Here's the Top 10 Box-Office recap from this past weekend:

1. Burn After Reading, $19.4 million
2. Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys, $18.0 million
3. Righteous Kill, $16.5 million
4. The Women, $10.1 million
5. The House Bunny, $4.3 million
6. Tropic Thunder, $4.2 million
7. The Dark Knight, $4.0 million
8. Bangkok Dangerous, $2.4 million
9. Traitor, $2.1 million
10. Death Race, $2.0 million

Did you see Tina Fey as Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live? SO funny! Check it out:Will Tina be back to reprise this role in future episodes? A source close to the network tells me it's unclear at the this time, "We are taking it day-by-day." Will she be back this Saturday? According to the same source they don't even have a script written yet.

Once again, Jennifer Aniston takes a backseat to Angelina Jolie. Jolie is named the most powerful actress in the world in the 2009 edition of the Guinness World Records, a title she previously shared with Aniston. Jolie's current partner and Aniston's ex-husband, Brad Pitt, is billed as the most powerful actor in the world, replacing Tom Cruise. The newest edition of Guiness also has some new categories:

Highest Grossing Movie Of a Music Tour
Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour

Highest Annual Earnings By A TV Talk Show Host
Oprah Winfrey, $225 million

Most Watched Current TV Show
American Idol, Fox

Most Downloaded TV Show
Heroes, NBC

STAR Aritst the Plain White Ts is teaming up with clothing retailer Aéropostale to promote their new CD, "Big Bad World". You'll be able to buy the new album in Aéropostale stores and at Aéropostale.com, and when you do, you'll get a free Plain White T's t-shirt. And right now, if you go to any Aérospostale store and try on a pair of jeans, you'll get a free exclusive download of a new song called "Love At 10th Sight." "Big Bad World" arrives in stores September 23rd.

STAR Artist Rob Thomas tells me he’s about 80% done with his second solo album which is tentatively titled "Cradle Songs" (no, it’s not a children’s album). Rob describes it as the “usual mish-mosh of styles.” Look for it in early 2009.

STAR Artist Madonna played a concert last Thursday in London that attracted 74,000 people, made $12 million and brought in celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, Fergie, Penelope Cruz, Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman and Naomi Campbell.

Former American Idol contestant Jennifer Hudson got engaged over the weekend to a former contestant on VH1’s I Love New York 2.

September 12, 2008

2008-09-12T13:15:00.004-05:00

On Drive at 5 McTrivia we talked aboout the most destructive dogs. Here's the list of the top 20 and how much havoc they wreak:

1. Great Dane - $1,200
2. Chihuahua - $1,145
3. Mastiff - $1,050
4. Basset Hound - $1,012
5. Whippet - $929
6. English Setter - $870
7. Bulldog - $800
8. Dachshund - $796
9. Boxer - $723
10. Beagle - $716
11. Greyhound - $703
12. Dalmatian - $694
13. Doberman Pinscher - $682
14. Rottweiler - $359
15. Border Collie - $319
16. Labrador - $306
17. Rhodesian Ridgeback - $305
18. Newfoundland - $290
19. Jack Russell - $287
20. Golden Retriever - $265

Sure, Chihuauas are cute and portable, but get ready to pay for ownin' one!

Here are the movies that hit theaters today!

* Burn After Reading -- Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand are two dull-witted gym employees who stumble upon a computer disc containing a former CIA analyst's memoirs, which they plan to exploit. Meanwhile, the analyst's wife is having an affair with a federal marshal, played by George Clooney. John Malkovich and Tilda Swinton co-star in the Coen Brothers' first movie since the Oscar-winning No Country For Old Men. Rated R.

* Righteous Kill -- Having appeared together in the 1995 film Heat -- they didn't share any scenes in the second Godfather movie -- Robert De Niro and Al Pacino now team up as New York City police detectives hunting down a killer. John Leguizamo, Donnie Wahlberg and rapper 50 Cent also star. Rated R.

* Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys -- Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard are two women whose families are riddled with affairs and other scandals brought by their children. Rated PG-13.

* The Women -- In this remake of the 1939 movie of the same name, MEG RYAN plays the well-to-do Mary Haines, whose friends come to her aid when she finds out about her husband's affair. The cast also includes Annette Bening, Debra Messing, Jada Punkett Smith, Eva Mendes, Candice Bergen and Bette Midler. Rated PG-13.

What’s your biggest fear if you’re STAR Artist Rob Thomas? Well think about this. Rob is married to a supermodel. So he actually takes longer to get ready than she does. He told me, “If I were more stylish, I would take less time. But I have no vision, so I have to try on everything at first if I want to wear it...I have to put on the pants, put on the shirt...put on seventeen other jackets.” Rob said he’s not vain, he’s just scared of looking like an idiot next to his super-hot wife.

Next month we’ll get a new album from STAR Artist Prince and it’ll come with its very own coaster, er…a coffee table book. It documents his 21-night stand at London’s O2 Arena last year. The CD itself is called "Indigo Nights" and is described as “a 15-track representation of what a Prince after-concert performance is like.” So is every song gonna be called “Sweaty Love”?...

Did you miss Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps? I know some girls who at least missed parts of him…This weekend Michael will host the season premiere of Saturday Night Live. Heck, he’s already been on Oprah and the MTV Video Music Awards, this should be a walk in the park.

Somewhere, someplace, someone petitioned for STAR Artist Mariah Carey to star in another movie. After seeing Glitter, who wouldn’t want that? She’s starring in a new drama called Tennessee. It’ll be in theaters in December. In the movie Mariah plays a waitress and, wait for it….an aspiring singer.

Matthew McConaughey is hoping to pass down his surfer genes to his new little baby boy. He told me recently his boy would be “getting salty soon.” I hope he does get the surfing gene. So long as he doesn’t get the “getting high while playing the bongos naked” genes.

September 11, 2008

2008-09-11T10:22:00.003-05:00

It's the 7-year anniversary of 9/11. I hope you take a minute to remember all those we lost and celebrate the heroes of the most devestating day in U.S. history.

Britney Spears' mom Lynne has a new tell-all book in stores now. Here are some excerpts.
What Lynne thought when she saw TV footage of Britney, from whom she was estranged at the time, cutting off her hair in 2007:

The look in her eyes was desperately forlorn, angry and belligerent, all at once. I wept, praying almost incoherently that God would safeguard my daughter.

How Lynne reacted to Britney's 2004 surprise Las Vegas marriage to her friend Jason:

I was not pleased, to put it mildly. 'What were you thinking?' I chastised her. 'That's the stupidest thing I have ever heard of.'

Why Lynne thinks Britney had a meltdown:

I believe she had postpartum depression, which added to the end of her marriage and the pressures of her career, brought her to the breaking point. So many things in her life hadn't turned out the way she wanted.

How Lynne found out that Britney's 16-year-old sister Jamie-Lynn was pregnant:

Jamie-Lynn handed me a note. I unfolded it and read the words, 'Mom, I'm pregnant. I am going to keep the baby and everything is going to be okay.'...'What about our talks?' I cried. 'You told me you were a virgin!'...I was shocked, angry, sad. I must be the most naive mother in the world, I thought.

What Lynne's relationship with Britney is like today:

It has undergone tremendous healing. We are back to four or five phone calls a day.

STAR Artist Taylor Swift is on a roll. She got to do red carpet reports at the MTV Video Music Awards and has a whole mess of Country Music Association Award nominations. But she’s obviously a pop girl too – she told me her favorite part of the VMAs was getting to meet STAR Artist Pink and a very pregnant Ashlee Simpson. She told me “I got to touch Ashlee Simpson’s baby!” We should all be so lucky…

Another day, another list from Forbes magazine. Here's the Top 10 most overpaid actors in Hollywood:

1. Nicole Kidman
2. Jennifer Garner
3. Tom Cruise
4. Cameron Diaz
5. Jennifer Lopez
6. Jim Carrey
7. Nicolas Cage
8. Drew Barrymore
9. Will Ferrell
10. Cate Blanchett

You can’t get enough of The Dark Knight right? Warner Brothers is banking on it. They’re re-releasing the movie in January. It’s not that $512 million isn’t enough, it’ll be just in time for a final Oscar-season push. A source inside the studio told me “It's just a matter of bringing it back as a reminder for people.” Maybe Heath Ledger will get the Oscar all the critics think he should.

Oprah is so nice. Ok, she’s more than nice. The people at Merriam-Webster should invent a new word to describe how nice and caring Oprah is. Last year she donated $50.2 million to charity. That’s nicer than nice. That’s…nice-tacular-tastic.

First it was Jesse “The Body” Ventura in Minnesota, then Arnold in California and now we could see another celebrity governor. Star of Batman Forever, Val Kilmer is considering running for Governor of New Mexico in 2010.

STAR Artist Lifehouse will be in New York City this weekend to serenade number 4 and his new team, the Jets.

September 10, 2008

2008-09-10T10:42:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow, Pamela Anderson will striptease on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. Wanna venture into the future and see tomorrow today? Here's the clip:
Sure he didn’t have to worry about it in England, but Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe now has to deal with full-frontal nude pictures of him on the internet. The photos came from one of the shows of Equus on Broadway. Only in America. Wanna see ‘em? Ok. You asked for it. Head to perezhilton.com.

Nobody tells Donald Trump what to do. The leg-less Heather Mills learned that the hard way. A source tells me NBC chose not to book Heather as a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice after she insisted to make the finals regardless of how she did on tasks. Wouldn’t that be nice? I want a raise regardless of how many encyclopedias I sell? Heather Mills isn’t clever enough to win Celebrity Apprentice and apparently isn’t clever enough to even get on Celebrity Apprentice.

I’m ok with celebrity rumors because most of the time they’re harmless. “Did you hear who’s pregnant?!” “Oh. My. God. Did you hear she got a tummy tuck?!” Yeah, I can deal with that. But rumors about someone’s death? Give me a break. A really nasty rumor started over the weekend that Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus was involved in a fatal traffic accident. The rumor is so NOT true. Miley’s alive and well and showed up at the MTV Video Music Awards very much alive. Don’t believe everything you hear on the internet. Especially that one thing about me and – well, never mind…

STAR Artist Janet Jackson is kickin’ off her first tour in seven years tonight. She’ll work in about 30 songs in two hours. Janet actually involves herself pretty heavily in the tour planning process. Why? She tells me, “I just feel that people have paid their hard-earned money and they want to see me and experience me and I want them to get a true feel of who I am."

STAR Artist Bon Jovi’s Richie Sambora has set a record – and it has nothing to do with music or a breathalyzer. Richie’s bought a condo in Philly for $3.32 million – the most ever paid for a condo in that city. It gets him 2,600 square-feet, 3 bedrooms and 3 and a half baths.

Did ya miss getting your favorite NBC shows on your iPod or iPhone? Yeah me too. Fret no longer! NBC and Apple have come to terms to bring back their shows to iTunes. Normal episodes will cost $1.99, high-def cost $2.99.

STAR Artist Ashlee Simpson’s husband Pete Wentz says they are 90% sure they’re having a boy and their due date is around Thanksgiving.

September 9, 2008

2008-09-09T13:40:00.003-05:00

STAR Artist Daughtry’s deluxe edition of their debut album hits stores today with all sorts of extra goodies like acoustic versions of their hit songs, plus a DVD with interviews, music videos and live performances. But what about a NEW CD from Daughtry?! The guys tell me they’ll actually start recording it this month. Chris Daughtry’s actually been writing material with OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder and Jason Wade from Lifehouse. As far as a release date, their thinking February or March.

Victoria Beckham is sporting a new hair style done by stylist to the stars Garren. He said, “It was clear we had to go short and create a new look that embraced her beauty, great personality and body.” What do you think? - check out the new do:

Tsk tsk Jerry O’Connell. Even if your wife IS pregnant, you don’t announce how BIG she is on national television. Jerry was recently on Conan where he called his wife Rebecca Romijn “huge”. Now he’s feeling some backlash. He says quote “I regret calling my wife 'huge' on Conan O'Brien. I meant to say that there are specific areas of my wife that are larger than normal and growing every day. All other portions of my wife are quite petite. I apologize to her and will be coming home with flowers.” Good boy.

Brad Pitt didn’t make George Clooney an offer he couldn’t refuse. Brad tells me, despite being best buds, George is not the godfather of the new Brangelina twins. According to Brad, George hates kids and “I love the twins too much to subject them to George.”

I can’t help it. One of my guilty pleasures is watching Project Runway. Last season Posh Spice was the guest judge on the season finale and this year rumors abound Jennifer Lopez will be watching and critiquing from the side of the runway.

STAR Artist Natasha Bedingfield is getting married. Her boyfriend recently proposed to her in New York but they haven’t set a date yet, they’re still in celebratory mode. Natasha called herself “the luckiest girl in the world.”

According to her sister Jessica, the rumors about STAR Artist Ashlee Simpson being pregnant with twins are…false. Sad.

September 8, 2008

2008-09-08T11:36:00.012-05:00

If there was any doubt the summer movie season has come to a close, this weekend proved it. Nicolas Cage’s new flick Bangkok Dangerous was the top-grossing movie in the slowest box office weekend in nearly seven years.
Here's a rundown of the complete Top 10:

1. Bangkok Dangerous, $7.8 million
2. Tropic Thunder, $7.5 million
3. The House Bunny, $5.9 million
4. The Dark Knight, $5.7 million
5. Traitor, $4.7 million
6. Babylon A.D., $4 million
7. Death Race, $3.6 million
8. Disaster Movie, $3.3 million
9. Mamma Mia, $2.7 million
10. Pineapple Express, $2.4 million

Former Diff’rent Strokes star Gary Cloeman is back in the news/police blotter. Why? Just a small matter of car versus human. Gary reportedly ran into a man outside a bowling alley because he was angry at the guy for taking pictures of him. Police say the matter is under investigation but neither man was cited for anything. But wait, Gary Coleman went bowling? Was he the ball?...

Even in a tough economy, you’ll open your wallet to give to a great cause. Organizers say Friday night’s historic star-studded Stand Up To Cancer helped push donations past $100 million. The money will go directly to funding research programs that will help defeat cancer.

What is wrong with the world when Britney Spears wins 3 Moonmen at the MTV Video Music Awards?!

Tobey Maguire is caught in a web of rumors online. Over the weekend a Hollywood insider recently told me Tobey and Spider-Man director Sam Rami are very close to signing on for Spider-Man 4 and 5 - but today another source says that kind of speculation is premature. Hey I don’t care, as long as they eventually make it happen, and it’s better than Spider-Man 3…

STAR Artist David Cook is on the season premiere of Oprah today where he’ll perform "Time of My Life" and he announced today his highly anticipated new album will hit stores November 18th.

Briefly:
STAR Artist KT Tunstall finally tied the knot with her drummer on Saturday in Scotland.

STAR Artist OneRepublic has announced their very first nationwide headlining tour. They’ll come as close as Carthage College in Kenosha on November 2nd.

Rumor has it STAR Artist Ashlee Simpson is pregnant. Oh we already know she is. Rumor has it she’s pregnant with twins!

September 5, 2008

2008-09-05T11:44:00.003-05:00

TV Guide has ranked the Top 10 Television Pilots (first episodes) of all-time. Here they are:

1. Lost (2004)
2. 24 (2001)
3. The Shield (2002)
4. The Sopranos (1999)
5. 30 Rock (2006)
6. Football Wives (2007)
7. Desperate Housewives (2004)
8. Saturday Night Live (1975)
9. ER (1994)
10. Alias (2001

If you haven't seen the Lost pilot, go to Blockbuster and rent the first disc of season 1 - it's like a mini-movie - SO good.

Pagng Dr. Greene…NBC announced yesterday that Anthony Edwards will be coming back to ER to reprise his role as Dr. Mark Greene. Don’t worry they won’t be resurrecting him from the brain tumor death that ended his storyline 6 years ago, he’ll just be in a flashback. And wouldn’t ya know it, that flashback will appear during November sweeps.

Nicolas Cage aims to take Tropic Thunder down a notch this weekend at the movie, his new one Bangkok Dangerous comes out today. He plays an assassin named Joe hired to kill a crime boss in Thailand. Bangkok Dangerous is the only new movie opening nationally this weekend.

Not a lot of people knew they were even working on it but STAR Artist Nickelback will drop a new album on us November 18th with a first single called “If Today Was Your Last Day.” This will be the follow-up to "All The Right Reasons" which has sold over 7 million copies and is still charting on the Billboard 100.

The sisterly duo known as STAR Artist Heart sent the McCain campaign a cease and desist letter when their song Barracuda was used twice without permission at the Republican National Convention.

On their website, STAR Artist Snow Patrol who sing the song “Chasing Cars” posted the track list for their new CD "A Hundred Million Songs" and everything looks normal until the final song “The Lightning Strike” which has 3 SUB-titles. Why? Because it’s 16 minutes long. Band members acknowledged to me “It’s by far the longest we’ve ever done. Don’t be frightened though, it’s great.” You’ll get to hear what that sounds like when the new album hits stores October 28th.

September 4, 2008

2008-09-04T10:33:00.004-05:00

As voted on by you, or someone you know who voted in this, MovieFone has put out the top movies of the summer. The best superhero movie? Sex & the City. Wait, no. The Dark Knight. Sorry. Best CHICK FLICK was Sex & the City. Funniest Comedy honors went to Tropic Thunder. Best Family Film was claimed by WALL-E, probably my favorite movie of the summer. The Dark Knight was voted the movie most worth your hard-earned cash, least worth it, not surprisingly, was Eddie Murphy’s Meet Dave. Looking ahead a year or so MovieFone asked which 2009 summer movie you’re most excited to see. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the top vote getter. Though I’d still rather see it in November. Stupid movie company…

Actor David Spade is taking the high road after a recent paternity test proved he IS the father of a child born to a Playboy Playmate last week. He had said in the past “If it is true that I am the father of her child, then I will accept responsibility.” Time to put your money where your mouth is bud.

First Harry Potter, now this. The new U2 album’s release date has been pushed back. On the band’s official website Bono wrote the new CD will be “nearly ready for the new year of 2009.”

Oprah’s back new on Monday and none other then American Idol winner and STAR Artist David Cook will be the special musical guest to serenade the 175 Olympians Oprah plans to salute. David actually flew to Chicago yesterday to tape the performance then rejoined the American Idols tour. Busy dude.

STAR Artist Christina Aguilera is puttin’ out her first greatest hits CD called "Keeps Gettin’ Better: A Decade of Hits". On the CD you’ll get 10 of her biggest songs, 2 of them re-recorded especially for the album AND two new songs. Look for the CD exclusively at Target on November 11th.

NBC won’t confirm anything but I hear Olympic figure skater Scott Hamilton is in talks to appear on next season’s Celebrity Apprentice. He's hoping he's tasked with selling triple axels.

STAR Artist Natasha Bedingfield met David Archuleta when she appeared on American Idol this past season and it looks like their paths will cross again. Rumor has it they’ll be getting together for a collaboration. Is that official? Natasha says "Not yet...we've talked about it, though. I definitely said I'd love to write something for him."

August 22, 2008

2008-08-22T20:14:00.003-05:00

STAR Artist Avril Lavigne's Malaysian show will go on. She tells me, "I have been approved by the government to play, I've already sold up to 10,000 tickets. I respect the country and their decisions but I've been approved by the government so I'm gonna go put on a show there and have a good time."

STAR Artist OneRepublic will join-up with fellow STAR Artist John Mayer on tour tonight. Lead singer Ryan Tedder says he's excited about touring with John because, "He's funny as hell. I'm excited to just sit and chat it up with him, and laugh." OneRepublic is also planning to launch a North American tour on their own, starting at the end of October.

What does it take to put on a tour with STAR Artist Madonna? Take a look:

-3,500 individual wardrobe elements
-250 tour personnel total
-200 makeup sponges
-120 powder puffs
-100 pairs of fishnet pantyhose
-100 pairs of kneepads
-69 guitars
-18 racks of clothing
-16 caterers
-10 flight cases of medical suppplies
-9 wardrobe people
-4 freezers full of icepacks for Madonna and her dancers
-2 stages
-1 chiropractor, personal trainer and masseuse

Is STAR Artist Coldplay planning to surprise the world by releasing the follow-up to "Viva La Vida" next year? Evidently the band's sessions on the last album were so productive they already have most of its follow-up in the can.

Now that they've married, will Ellen Degeneres and Portia de Rossi start a family? Even the newlyweds aren't sure. Portia tells me they've gone back and forth on the issue, "I don't know if it's our immediate future. It's something we talk about every few months."

The official cast list for the nest season of Dancing With the Stars gets announced Monday morning, but here it is (updated from my previous post)

* Socialite and reality TV star Kim Kardashian
* Former 'NSYNC member Lance Bass
* "Un-Break My Heart" singer Toni Braxton
* TV personality Brooke Burke
* Former sprinter Maurice Green
* Hannah Montana actor Cody Linley
* All My Children actress Susan Lucci
* Retired NFL star Warren Sapp
* Olympic beach volleyball player Misty May-Treanor
* Actor Ted McGinley
* TV personality and Sugar Ray singer Mark McGrath
* 82-year-old actress Cloris Leachman
* Comedian Jeff Ross

August 21, 2008

2008-08-21T19:40:00.005-05:00

Today STAR Artists Gwen Stefani and her husband Gavin Rossdale welcomed their second child into the world. They named their son Zuma Nesta Rock ROssdale. Actor Matt Damon’s got a new baby girl. Matt’s wife gave birth to Gia Zavala Damon yesterday. And speaking of babies, I think Jennifer Garner finally copped to being pregnant. In an interview she said this, “We’re so excited, obviously” but we don’t know what she was talking about!

Rumor has it Jennifer Aniston got some much needed sympathy for her recent John Mayer break-up from a very close personal friend – ex-husband Brad Pitt! Evidently Jen called Brad’s mom, who she talks to all the time, but then Brad walked into the room and was handed the phone. As you can imagine he didn’t know what to say initially but then relaxed and listened very intently. But then I’m sure Brad needed comfort and advice on how to deal with Angelina after she found out Brad talked to Jen. Awkard!

Olympic swimming champ Michael Phelps can’t win. Well I mean he can in the pool but not in the world of PR. Michael is taking some serious heat from health experts because of his choice to appear on Kellogg's Frosted Flakes boxes instead of the traditional athlete's choice of Wheaties. Frosted Flakes has three times the amount of sugar as Wheaties and 1/3rd the fiber. Nutritionists are worried about the message he'll be sending to children across America.

STAR Artist Sheryl Crow is joining Daughtry in a campaign to get you registered to vote. She’s offering free digital copies of her latest album Detours to the first 50,000 people who register 3 friends to vote. Head to rockthevote.com to learn more!

STAR Artist Janet Jackson is putting out her own line of lingerie called Pleasure Principle. The nice thing about the lingerie? It’s supposed to have wardrobe malfunctions...nightly.

Look for a Melorse Place reunion at next month’s Emmy Awards. It’s the awards show’s 60th anniversary so they’re putting together a whole bunch of these reunions. Producers might also be trying to pull off a Happy Days reunion. Who else would you want to see? I’m thinking Dynasty, Dallas, Knots Landing, and the original Beverly Hills 90210.

The Rocker already hit theaters yesterday but a few more flicks hit the big screen this weekend. Coming out tomorrow:

*Death Race about a prisoner in a deadly road race for his freedom.

*The House Bunny about a Playboy Playmate who starts a new life as a sorority house mom.

*The Longshots about the true story of a female quarterback who takes a high school team to the championship.

Briefly:
The owner of the car that plowed into actor Shia LaBeouf’s car last month has been cited for failure to stop at a red light but it’s still unclear if the guy was actually driving.

Rumor has it Oprah doesn’t want to be the cover girl of her own O magazine anymore. She’s reportedly given editors 6 months to figure out what to do.

STAR Artist Nickelback’s album "All the Right Reasons" is celebrating its 150th week on the charts. That’s just shy of 3 years! In fact, this week it moved up 11 places to #87!

STAR Artist Pink’s new CD has a name: "Funhouse". It hits stores October 28th.

August 20, 2008

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I’ve talked about this joint network telethon called Stand Up To Cancer. It’s coming up on September 5th and every day more and more celebrities sign up to be on the show and beg for your donations. Today I’m finding out a charity single will be put out, kind of like “We Are the World." STAR Artists Mariah Carey, Fergie, Natasha Bedingfield Sheryl Crow, Leona Lewis and more will record vocals for the song called “Just Stand Up.” You’ll be able to download the song September 2nd from iTunes (all proceeds go to the charity fund) and you’ll see it performed live on the telethon. As you may remember, Sheryl Crow is a breast cancer survivor and often hears from fellow survivors, “I’m humbled by the fact that I actually am in a position where I can inspire people and create some kind of comfort.” We'll have the song for you first on STAR 98.

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi tied the knot on Saturday, thanks to the California State Supreme Court, and even though the wedding photos gave us all the proof we need of who wears the pants in the relationship, now Ellen is settling that mystery once and for all, “Now she’ll cook and clean for me.” Portia chimed in “The love we felt from the people surrounding us, and the love we have for each other, made this the most beautiful and emotional day.” Check out their wedding picture:

STAR Artist Avril Lavigne is just too darn sexy…well for Malaysia…for the time being. Yesterday I was told the Malaysian Arts, Culture and Heritage Ministry deemed her show unsuitable for Malaysian culture but today they deny they ever said that, “We did not reject the concert. We asked them to find another date as the original date is so close to the independence day.” So the show will go on…eventually.

Though he absolutely should be, Michael Phelps won’t be appearing on your box of Wheaties! Corn Flakes and Frosted Flakes outbid the cereal of champions. Look for Michael’s mug as part of your breakfast around mid-September. Here's a sneak peak of the box of Corn Flakes:

STAR Artist Madonna turned 50 last weekend. The big question is what did she drink to celebrate. The answer? "Crack Baby" shots. That’s vodka and champagne. She probably wanted to adopt that “baby” too.

STAR Artist Lifehouse frontman Jason Wade says their current hit “Whatever It Takes” is really about him. It tells the story off a man who's been married for seven years and who spends a lot of time on the road, you know? Anyone who's been in a long-term relationship, I think, can relate."

Note to STAR Artists: Don’t play your unreleased songs too loud. U2’s Bono found this out the hard way. One of his neighbors recorded the sounds of 4 new U2 songs when Bono played them way too loud at his home in France. First of all: Oops. Second: How loud were those songs that they could be recorded sorta clearly from another person’s house?! Sure Bono wears sunglasses, but his house guests need to wear ear plugs.

Briefly:
STAR Artists Jesse McCartney and Cyndi Lauper will team up with Olympians Mary Lou Retton, Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin for Frosted Pink With a Twist, a TV special raising awareness about cancer affecting women. Look for that on ABC, October 12th.

STAR Artist Natasha Bedingfield has been added to the lineup of the NFL Kickoff Concert, a free show in New York City on September 4th. The show also features Usher and Keith Urban. Something for everyone, huh?

Remember Ricky Martin? He had twins today delivered via surrogate mother.

Dave Matthews Band member dies

2008-08-19T23:19:00.008-05:00

One of my favorite bands is the Dave Matthews Band. They make music that makes me happy. The wonderful thing about them? They're a true ensemble. Every member is important and contributes in spectacular fashion. Tonight the Dave Matthews Band lost one of its founding members, LeRoi Moore, the band's saxophonist. On June 30th he was in an ATV accident that punctured his lung and broke several ribs. He had just returned home to LA when sudden complications from the accident resulted in his death. It's never fun to lose a true musician and artist. LeRoi was only 46.