February 03, 2006

The show creator of Soul Train Music Awards, Don Cornelius, has announced Thursday, February 2, the nominees of the award for this year and it's R. Kelly who turns out to lead the nomination this time. Obtaining a Best Male R&B-Soul Album nod for his "TP.3 Reloaded", the R&B crooner was also nominated in Best Male R&B-Soul Single and Best R&B-Soul or Rap Music Video categories for song "Trapped in the Closet (Chapter 1 of 5)" besides being the first recipient of the Stevie Wonder Award, given for his outstanding career achievements in song writing.

Joining Kelly in the line-up of Best Male R&B-Soul Single and Album nominations, John Legend nabbed the honor of being presented with the 2006 Sammy Davis Jr. Entertainer of the Year Award while chart-toppers Destiny's Child received another accolade for Outstanding Career Achievements from Quincy Jones.

Both were the box-office hits of 2005 and now they are also set to embark on production of their next installment. Two giant studios behind Harry Potter and Chronicles of Narnia series announced Thursday, February 2 that the sequels have been slated to start filming in this year. The fifth part of Harry Potter series, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", will begin its shooting process next week in England as confirmed by Warner Bros while Disney along with Walden Media stated that "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" are ready to roll cameras later this year and has already commenced the pre-production process.

Original cast of the previous Harry Potter movies will return with some new faces on board, namely Imelda Staunton as Ministry of Magic toadie Dolores Umbridge, George Harris as the auror Kingsley Shacklebolt, Helen McCrory as Bellatrix Lestrange, and a newcomer Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood. The film itself is scheduled for a 2007 release yet there is no confirmation whether it will be either a summer or holiday movie.

The 2nd Annual of Writers Guild of America Awards finally selected the writer of "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room", Alex Gibney, as the recipient of its Best Documentary Writing honor on Wednesday, February 1. Receiving the award during the ceremony in Hollywood, Gibney, who also produced and directed the feature, beat his other four competitors of "Cowboy del Amor", "The Fall of Fujimori", "March of the Penguins", and "Street Fight."

Barely celebrated her 11th wedding anniversary with Richie Sambora last December, Heather Lockear shockingly is reported to have placed a divorce file in Los Angeles court on Thursday, February 2. Citing irreconcilable differences as the cause which triggered her to take the decision, the actress asks for the celebrity couple's prenuptial agreement to be enforced while also requests actual physical and joint custody of Ava, her eight-year-old daughter with Sambora. Meanwhile, the actress has not yet given any other statement concerning her action. "This is a private matter, and there will be no further comment at this time," said Locklear publicist, CeCe York.

The show must go on, and that was exactly what the crews of "Casino Royale" have applied in mind. Despite the absence of the Bond girl also the villain, this latest installment of James Bond series has stepped on filming process last Friday, January 27 in the Czech capital of Prague with blond-haired Daniel Craig billed as 007.

Based on the report of the Hollywood Reporter, the filmmakers took this decision to stick with the plan of making a holiday release date and so, some crucial scenes involved the babe and bad guy are not to be taken for at least a month. Targeted to come up on theatres by November 17, the film will also be shot in Bahamas, Italy and Pinewood Studios near London.

After its success to score box-office last weekend around Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, "Fearless" will try its strength in U.S as Focus Features through its Rogue Pictures genre division has purchased domestic rights to this Chinese martial arts film, so the company has announced Wednesday.

Starred by Jet Li and helmed by Ronny Yu who previously has directed "Freddy vs Jason", the picture is tentatively scheduled for theatrical release later this year.

Choosing to give birth at home for her second child, Joely Fisher adds one new member in her family as she and husband Chris Duddy welcomed daughter True Harlow Fisher-Duddy on Thursday, February 2. "The baby is gorgeous and healthy," said Brit Reese, the actress' representation, as quoted by People Magazine. "Everybody is resting comfortably."

True, delivered at 1: 30 AM weighing 7 pounds and 12 ounces, is the couple's second child together after their four-year-old daughter, Skylar.

This year's Grammy Awards is sure an interesting event to see for it will be the one which unites the Material Girl and the virtual band in one stage for sure. That's true, Madonna will perform together with Gorillaz to open the 48th Annual Grammy Awards as stars gather at Staples Center in L.A next Wednesday. Also ready to perform after them are Mariah Carey, John Legend, Kanye West, Bruce Springsteen, U2 with Mary J. Blige, Coldplay, plus Paul McCartney who has just been added to the list as announced Thursday, February 2 by the Recording Academy.

In just a few months, fans of Pretenders will be able to find the rock band's long-awaited box set in stores. Yes, "Pirate Radio" ultimately comes to the surface this year, on March 14 to be exact. Released under Rhino Records, the package features a DVD of their performances from the year 1979 to 1995 along with four audio CDs containing not only selected tracks from their albums, but also rare songs and 15 previously unreleased tunes. The group itself will appear on an interview by March 17 at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas to then hold a show at Stubb's BBQ on the next day before heading for L.A to play a series of live gig on an eight-date West Coast swing that begins on March 21-22.