May 16, 2007

ZZ Top's European Summer Tour has been cancelled due to bassist Dusty Hill's ear problem. The tour which was scheduled to kick off June 15 in Leipzig, Germany will have to be scrapped off.

Dusty has to go through a treatment for a growth in his ear which is affecting his hearing. It was reported on May 10 that Dusty was to undergo a chemotherapy but Dr Shawn Nasseri who is treating him said that the preliminary treatment will not include that or surgery. "In the near-term, we plan to stabilize Dusty's hearing and symptoms with medication and a conservative management strategy," he said.

Rock outfit Love that rose to prominence in late '60s will have two of their 'so-so' albums molded into one record. The fifth and sixth album that was recorded for Blue Thumb Records would be out on June 26 via Hip-O Select/Geffen Records under the name "The Blue Thumb Recordings".

The record will be made a triple disc package whereby one disc contain the tracks from the band's 1969 album "Out Here". In comparison to their 1967 album "Forever Changes", this record is no value that it barely reached the number 100 in Billboard 200 chart. Some said that the experimental and free-flowing sound featured in this album sounds like a rush and the B-side of "Four Sail" which was released in the same year.

Seemingly enthusiastic to gear up development on its "Laws of Motion", Plum Pictures has hired both Craig Lucas and Elyse Friedman to assume helming and writing duties on the project, respectively.

Already had Matthew Perry, Hilary Swank plus Justin Long in the cast, the comedy focuses on an uptight professor, played by Perry, who has to struggle with a repressive career and community, as well as headaches caused by his free-spirited brother and sister. Swank, in the meantime, is filling in a supporting role of his perfectionist neighbor.

Adding a handful of names into the cast of "First Sunday", Screen Gems has picked up Katt Williams, Tracy Morgan, Malinda Williams, Regina Hall, Chi McBride, and Loretta Devine to all join Ice Cube in the lineup, Variety has reported.

A joint production of Screen Gems and Cube's Cube Vision, the urban-themed comedy concerns two men who bungle an attempt to heist money from a church but later wind up taking hostage on its parishioners. Filming has just been commenced with first-time helmer David E. Talbert directing from his own script for an expected release on Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend next year.

She's grown up already. Avril Lavigne shows her mature side by posing topless for the June 2007 issue of Blender magazine. Well, yes many assumed she really goes topless, but the truth is that she doesn't.

The singer, as apparent on the magazine's cover, takes her top clothes off with more pictures inside show her drinking in one angle and smoking on the other. In fact, she's not topless on the cover and was instead wearing a tube top, on which the magazine put a banner on top of it.

Making Paris their first stop since reuniting, The Smashing Pumpkins extend the excitement to Asheville, NC and San Francisco. In these cities, the band will play in multiple days and allow attendance to bring their cameras to document the moment.

Orange Peel, Ashville will come first on June 23 to July 5 and then Fillmore, San Francisco follows two weeks after on July 22 to August 1. A source said that this concert would be Asheville's highlight of the year and the biggest in Orange Peel's history.

People have spotted her trying almost all fields in entertainment business, from singing to dancing as well as from writing to acting, and now, she is branching into the area her husband, Guy Ritchie, is staying in.

Yes, Madonna is making her foray into film directing through a short film feature apparently based on her own life experience, the pop superstar herself has officially revealed.

It's all in the timing. Carrie Underwood and footballer Tony Romo who have been reported dating but never come with official confirmation, finally showed up together. The pair stepped out at this year Academy of Country Music Awards on Tuesday May 15th.

The American Idol alumna and the Dallas Cowboys quarterback arrived for the award event together and took the red carpet hand-in-hand, thus publicly confirmed that they are couple.

Noticing the current heavy flow of big screen titles adapted from comic books, Rotten Tomatoes, website devoted to reviews, information, and news of movies, has ranked all the ninety-four movies of the kind and compiled Rotten Tomatoes' Comix Worst to Best, a list rating the worst adaptations to the best.

On the top of the chart, the site casts its choice on the 2004 blockbuster "Spider-Man 2", Sam Raimi's second installment of the web-slinger's hit tale, while picking up other 2000s releases of "American Splendor" (2003) and "Ghost World" (2001) as the first and second runner-up, respectively.

After shining in this year's Grammy Awards, it is only proper to award Mary J. Blige with one more honor. She will receive Voice of Music Award, which is issued by American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).

"Mary J. Blige is not only the `Queen of Hip-Hop Soul,' but also a guiding light," said ASCAP President Marilyn Bergman. "Through all of her struggles, she was determined to find and maintain her own musical voice." The award will be handed to the singer during ASCAP's 20th anniversary of Rhythm & Soul Awards on June 25 at Millennium Biltmore Hotel.

Jennifer Garner apparently learns the best way of mothering from daughter Violet. Has had more than enough experience taking care baby, the actress is pitching a show for mothers.

Working on the new talk show, described as "'The View for mothers," the actress teams up with Lauren Sanchez, former "So You Think You Can Dance" host.

The Frank Castle moviegoers saw back in 2004's "The Punisher" may not have the same face and figure when he returns for "The Punisher 2."

Yes, the actor portraying the hero, Thomas Jane, has dropped a shocking note to Ain't It Cool News telling he has pulled out of the sequel, which has already been scheduled for a November 2007 release under Lionsgate Films.

Preceded by CMT Music Awards last month, this year's Academy of Country Music Awards boast similar faces in the guest list. The May 15 night event has presented its performers and called the winners one by one.

Two times winner Kenny Chesney secured its third winning for the category Entertainer of the Year, beating this year's frontrunner George Strait. With the winning, he becomes one out of three artists to take the award three times in a row. The beaten Strait meanwhile, took other trophies in two categories, Single of the Year and Song of the Year both for "Give It Away".

She has double happiness to celebrate. Kate Walsh, in addition to having her own spin-off, also is engaged to boyfriend Alex Young.

The actress, famous for her role in the hit TV series "Grey's Anatomy" confirmed her engagement Tuesday May 15th, telling US Weekly, "It happened a few days ago. I'm on cloud nine."

Hollywood's most kept secret is no longer an unconfirmed speculation when Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds spotted together in West Hollywood.

The twosome who has been linked for a few months now was spotted catching The Damnwells' show at the Troubadour in West Hollywood on Monday night May 14th.

The layers covering filming locations on "Fourth Installment of the Indiana Jones Adventures" apparently has had the first one lifted by now.

The New Haven Register has claimed that it has obtained confirmation from a spokesman for director Steven Spielberg on Monday, May 13 informing that the highly anticipated project will get shot in New Haven, Connecticut at the city's Chapel Street next month.

Ready to illuminate the project together, Forest Whitaker and Jessica Biel have both given agreement to be cast in ensemble drama "Powder Blue", which Eleven Eleven Films is set to develop in association with Spirit Dance Entertainment and Grosvenor Park Media.

Film's plot sees four eclectic characters - a mortician, an ex-con, a suicidal ex-priest, and a stripper - brought together on Christmas Eve by a mixture of circumstances. Filming is due to begin late July this year in Los Angeles under the direction of Vietnamese filmmaker Timothy Linh Bui who will helm based on the script he wrote from a story by Stephane Gauger.

On board to generate spookiness among the audience, Virginia Madsen has signed on to star in supernatural thriller "A Haunting in Connecticut" which is being set up under Gold Circle Films banner for Mandate Pictures to handle its international sales.

Reportedly based on a true story, the project focuses on a family who gets forced to relocate near a clinic where their teenage son is being treated for cancer. Much to their surprise, the home they rent turns out to be a former mortuary with a dark history that might account for the extraordinary manifestations of the boy's illness and the supernatural events that threaten the family.

Submitting two more names in the cast lineup, filmmakers of "Tortured" have picked up James Denton and Jon Cryer to accompany Cole Hauser and Laurence Fishburne in the list, The Hollywood Reporter has revealed.

A psychological thriller of Insight Film Studios production in association with Proud Mary Entertainment, the picture will center on Hauser's character, an FBI agent who goes undercover as an organized crime enforcer. The man, however, begins to question his roles when he is ordered to undertake the weeklong torture of an accountant, played by Fishburne.

She has had almost everything, a successful modeling career to clothing line that proved to be a hit with shoppers. That's not all, she also once sings in one of boyfriend Pete Doherty's songs. After all, Kate Moss is now focusing to launch her own line of hair care.

The British catwalk star is teaming up with her celebrity hairdresser friend James Brown to produce the line of products, which will feature Moss' face on their packaging. Negotiation is still on its way with retailers for the new product.

Aiming to bring up a promising comedic flick, Rogue Pictures is on the move to make "Super Bad James Dynomite", a live action feature based on the Wayans Brothers comic book that they themselves are set to produce alongside Rick Alvarez.

Written by Marlon Wayans alongside his brothers Shawn Wayans and Keenen Ivory Wayans, the original concerns the story of Dynomite, an inner-city antihero reminiscent of blaxploitation staples Shaft, Dolemite and Black Belt Jones. Framed by a rival and sent away for a long prison stretch, he determines to regain his cool and try to take down the man who framed him.

Confirming Blackfilm's report last month about the director of "The Un-Dead", Variety has brought in news that Ernest Dickerson is indeed being given the position in the horror feature, the follow-up to the 1931 horror classic "Dracula" directed by Tod Browning.

Described as a new chapter to Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula" that has been endorsed by the author's family, the project is based on a novel written by Stoker's great grand-nephew Dacre Stoker which picks up twenty-five years after the original book the 1931 film was based on.

Cameron Diaz caught public's attention yet again when she was spotted stepping out with "Mindfreak" magician Criss Angel for dinner in Las Vegas, thus prompted rumors they are dating.

Such speculation came to the surface only hours after there were rumors Diaz dated Uma Thurman's ex Andre Balazs. Diaz and Angel reportedly have been spotted partying in Las Vegas together the past few days.

Sparking its next comedy project after "The Comebacks", Fox Atomic is setting up a flick entitled "I Love You, Beth Cooper" with Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan to produce through their 1492 Pictures, Variety has reported.

Based on Larry Doyle's debut novel of the same title, pic follows the adventures of geeky high school valedictorian who decides he has nothing to lose by making a play for a popular cheerleader, declaring his love during the graduation speech. Script will be penned by the author himself, who is also known as a magazine and TV writer.

Keeps putting priority on drama genre, Fox Searchlight Pictures is going to develop a film feature of the kind titled "The Ornate Anatomy of Living Things" from a script by new scribes Matthew Spicer and Max Winkler that the studio has successfully purchased.

Project revolves around a New York bookstore clerk who discovers a museum devoted to his life. No word yet on helmer and cast lineup, but it has been learned that Jason Reitman will produce through his Hard C production company with Peter Principato and Paul Young executive producing.

On the heels of the success of "Ugly Betty," which she executive producing, Salma Hayek has just signed a two-year deal with ABC Studios to develop new series projects for the studio.

Hayek, alongside her producing partner Jose Tamez, will develop the project through their company, Ventanarosa Prods. No words yet on what would it like and when it will start airing.

Coming off the Fox Atomic thriller "Turistas", John Stockwell has secured his next directorial stint in a bittersweet romantic comedy entitled "Middle of Nowhere" which tells about a clashing mother and daughter.

Project has already picked up Oscar winner Susan Sarandon and her daughter Eva Amurri to topline. The latter will portray a young woman named Grace whose irresponsible mother, played by Sarandon, blows her college fund on her younger sister's beauty pageant campaign.

Landing his first stint for Hollywood, Brazilian scribe Marcos Bernstein has come onboard to write for New Line Cinema's new big screen feature of "Eleven Minutes", The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

An adaptation of a novel of the same title by acclaimed author Paulo Coelho, the project will likely stay close to the original material which tells about a Brazilian woman who goes to Switzerland to seek her fortune only to find work in a gentleman's club.

Denise Richards and Richie Sambora are good at keeping secret. The pair split two months ago but kept it secret to avoid public scrutiny, it has been reported.

The actress' representative tells In Touch exclusively that "Denise and Richie broke up two months ago." A friend of her explained, "they didn't want to make it public because they lived through public divorces and it was very painful."

A hip hop musician and founding member of the popular music group Black Eyed Peas, will.i.am is jumping into fashion bandwagon.

The lyricist and music producer is teaming up with Blue Holdings, Inc., a designer, manufacturer and distributor of high-end fashion jeans, apparel and accessories, to launch a new denim line.

She's beautiful, rich, and most of all hot. Lindsay Lohan rules. The actress who has become the media darling concerning the many troubles she's caused has topped Maxim magazine's list of 100 Hot Hollywood Starlets.

"There is no other star in the world (who) causes more of a stir in the public eye than Lindsay," said Maxim Editor in Chief Jimmy Jellinek in a statement. "Her every move is watched and reported on."