August 28, 2007

Getting a big job to do, TV writer John Ridley has been assigned to work on the screenplay of "Red Tails", a WWII action adventure about the Tuskegee Airmen that "Star Wars" creator George Lucas is set to executive produce and finance via his Lucasfilm shingle.

Story, obviously based on true events, revolves around a group of African-American fighter pilots who had to overcome racism and the color barrier to become the Tuskegee Airmen, the legendary first African-American pilots in U.S. military history. The planes the elite group rode were distinguished by their red-painted tails, from which the movie's title is derived.

In another dose of bad news for Toni Braxton following her being sued by her fashion designer for bounced check, the soul singer is battling breast cancer.

Braxton, who is currently wowing fans with her "Toni Braxton: Revealed" show at the Flamingo hotel and casino, was diagnosed with the disease two months ago and is secretly undergoing radiation treatment and chemotherapy, the National Enquirer reported.

Landing his next big screen stint after "Loaded" which is about to come up this November, Jesse Metcalfe has given his agreement to take part in a new romantic comedy flick titled "The Other End of the Line" which Ashok Amritraj's Hyde Park Entertainment has just greenlit to be made.

An India-America cross-cultural feature, project concerns an Indian call-center operative who travels to San Francisco to be with a man she has only met over the phone. James Dodson will direct from Tracey Jackson's script with production to begin in mid October in Mumbai before moving to USA.

It appears that Jennifer Lopez is getting quite busy these days. The multi-talented actress-singer is developing a new TV series while also being booked to mentor the "X Factor" finalists later this year.

The TV series, titled "The Amigas Sweet 15 Club," is based on an original idea by Jane Startz and being described as a half-hour comedy with dramatic undertones. Startz and Lopez will both executive produce the series and plan to develop the project into a series of young adult books, Latin music-inspired CDs and potentially other franchise properties targeting female tweens.

Jennifer Aniston found a new love in another Brad. The movie siren is dating actor Bradley Cooper, it has been reported.

Not without reason, but speculation on their romance is presumably prompted by their being seen enjoying romantic candlelit dinner shortly after they were being introduced to one another by friend Drew Barrymore.

Both popular actors of their generations, Bruce Willis and Channing Tatum will team up together as the stars of "Pinkville", a Vietnam War drama renowned filmmaker Oliver Stone is set to direct based on Mikko Alanne's script for MGM to distribute.

Stone reportedly is now closing a deal with United Artist to finance the project that could be finalized this week and so will put the picture into production by early next year, with a budget of roughly $40 million. Pic marks the fourth time the man has worked on a big screen feature set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War after "Platoon", "Heaven & Earth", and "Born on the Fourth of July."

Another love is in the air in "High School Musical." The hit TV movie star Ashley Tisdale is fallen in love with her back up dancer Jared Murillo.

Tisdale, 22, and Murillo, 19, are "hopelessly in love," Murillo's dad Alex told the press recently adding that they've been dating since early November last year.

Getting another Oscar-recognized talent following Jamie Foxx, DreamWorks Pictures has picked up Robert Downey Jr. to accompany the "Ray" actor as his co-lead in "The Soloist", Variety has informed.

Here Downey Jr., fresh from "Iron Man" filming, will assume the role of Steve Lopez, the L.A. Times columnist who discovered the abundant talent of Foxx's schizophrenic character Nathaniel Ayers as a violinist. The Lopez in real life has written a number of columns about the music prodigy as well as a book which is slated to hit stores next spring.

Kanye West is adding the momentum of his already hype buzz. After accepting a chart battle from 50 Cent and declaring himself the new Michael Jackson, now his highly-anticipated collaboration with Chris Martin has leaked online.

'Homecoming', a track taken from the September 11 release 'Graduation' presents original materials that he did with the Coldplay's frontman. It has the mid-tempo feel with Martin's signature piano-playing and additional sound of drum.

Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Esposito agree to divorce terms.

The former couple has signed dissolution of marriage papers Friday August 24th with their divorce going to be finalized November 10th later this year.

Bringing good news to those who wait in anticipation for "3:10 to Yuma", Lionsgate Films has revealed that it will push up the Western flick from the original release date of September 7, 2007 to the beginning of the week as a sneak peak.

While this means that the movie can be seen starting on Sunday, September 2, the studio, however, does not give details on how many theaters slated to play the flick, but moviegoers should expect it to come to a number of cities in the States during the day.

Done with the album work in The White Stripes, Jack White is putting a full gear on his other project, The Raconteurs aka The Saboteurs in Australia. The band announced that they have accumulated a number of songs ready to be molded into new CD.

A post on their official website read, "The 'teurs have a lot of new songs in the works people, the writing and structure of them has dissipated and reinvigorated many times over since we came home from our last shows."

Everything is getting even more complicated for Britney Spears. The troubled pop star who presumably failed to get her popularity back is being investigated for child abuse.

Preparing to battle her former husband Kevin Federline for custody of their two sons, Sean Preston and Jayden James, Britney had her lawyer Dennis Wasser appeared at an unscheduled hearing Monday morning August 27th in LA County Superior Court's dependency section, which handles child abuse claims.

Being open on what will occur at the world premiere for "Bryan Loves You", producers of the creepy horror movie have eagerly let out few details on the upcoming event which reportedly will be held this fall.

Apart from the expectations to see many of the cast members, two of the very last of the Masks of Bryan, pictured above left, are said to be given away to the opening night's audience. The most surprising one to happen at the premiere will probably be the appearance of Bryan himself, thanks to Landau Motion Pictures' successful attempt in obtaining the blessing of The Right Phoenix and other underground groups, which have been learned to have connections to the actual cult portrayed in the movie.

French electronic Daft Punk finally put their performance into a live album dubbed 'Punk Alive 2007' which is due November 20. The album contains footage taken from the June 14 show in Paris' Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, featuring the duo playing first hometown show in 10 years.

The live album that marks the band's second after 2001's 'Punk Alive 1997', will be released in two formats. A single CD edition and a two-disc set attached with a 50-page book are both offered via Virgin with the latter featuring five extra tracks from the show's encore.

The time has come and it would better for Madonna to have herself well prepared, or else she would lose the chance to obtain the permanent adoption of Malawian son David Banda. An official from Malawi has been given the go-ahead to visit the pop star and her husband Guy Ritchie on September 4th and stay with her family for two weeks to determine if she should finally and officially fully adopt the little boy.

"There has been a change of mind by my government minister and she has allowed me to leave for the UK on September 4 and I am expected to spend two weeks," social worker Penstone Kilembe said in a statement revealed that Madonna's attempts to adopt David hit a snag earlier this month when the Malawian minister of women and child development refused to grant him permission to travel to Britain to assess their suitability.

Wentworth Miller is gay and he's making it public. After his much denial, the hunk finally comes out of the closet with his sex orientation as he's been spotted out and about with his rumored gay partner Luke McFarlane over the weekend.

Miller and McFarlane have been together for quite a while, but are trying hard to keep their relationship away from public. In fact, the twosome was spotted getting together on Saturday August 25th walking down the streets of Los Angeles and guess what they looked more than just friends.

Look out for this summer's hottest release. The Last Goodnight's debut album 'Poison Kiss' is flying to the shelves today (August 28) via Virgin.

The rock band will also make their Canadian live performance at 99.9 MIX FM's 16th Annual Beachfest on Sunday, September 2 at Sunnyside Park - Beaches West in Toronto. And as previously reported, they will jump in a 31-city tour with American Idol's Elliott Yamin starting October 5 in Chicago, I.L.

Bring out again hopes to see "Justice League of America" as a live-action feature, folks for now comes an update from IESB.net that the project will remain so amid the heavy talks about it being made motion-capture CG.

Admitting that its previous scoop about a CGI "Justice League" was a major overstatement, the site has claimed that pic turns out to only set to use motion capture pretty much like every effect-laden movie do these days. The technique reportedly will be heavily applied for the OMACs, the underwater sequences and such.

FOX's new reality show, The Next Great American Band, has begun taking shape. Three judges and a host for the show have been appointed to be the other version of American Idol's Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Ryan Seacrest.

Goo Goo Dolls' frontman John Rzeznik joins percussionist Sheila E., who is notable being Prince's drummer, and TV personality Ian Dickson to sit at the judging panel for the show. Serving as the host is New Zealand Idol presenter, Dominic Bowen.

Those craving for plenty of blood and gore in the upcoming "Sweeney Todd" probably may not find what they wish to see in the flick when it hits theaters December 21 this year, three weeks earlier than its previously-slated release date of January 11, 2008.

According to U.K.'s Daily Mail, Warner Bros. Pictures as the studio producing the musical crime thriller has requested director Tim Burton to remove some R-rated sequences from the film so it can be released with a PG-13 MPAA tag. It appeared that the early footage from the movie was so extremely bloody that the studio execs have become a tad squeamish and wanted it to be re-cut instead.

It's official. Michael Vick was pleaded guilty Monday morning August 27th to a federal dogfighting charge and later apologized to the public, his football teammates and to "all the kids out there for my immature acts."

Vick entered his guilty plea before a U.S. District Court judge in Richmond, VA and is scheduled to be sentenced on December 10th later this year. Minutes after the court hearing, the Atlanta Falcons quarterback then faced the media, expressing his guilty feeling.

Hot off the huge commercial success of "Superbad", seems director Greg Mottola only takes a really short time to secure his next directorial stint after the comedy hit.

Variety has reported that the 43-year-old filmmaker has already secured deals to helm a new big screen feature titled "Adventureland" that Miramax Films is developing for Sidney Kimmel to produce.

Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey are BFF?! The two influential people are about getting together on screen as the former US president is heading for her TV talk show next Tuesday September 4th to promote his new book "Giving."

Clinton's planned appearance on the "Oprah Winfrey Show" was announced Monday August 27th in an e-mail sent to members of Oprah's book club, with the headline read "The first interview about his new passion!"

A mid-tempo track from R&B artist Keyshia Cole has leaked online. 'Shoulda Let You Go' which is expected to be the second single from her new album 'Just Like You' has been ripped from its radio premiere on August 26.

The song, that is produced by Rodney 'Darkchild' Jerkins, was played for the first time in Atlanta-based radio station V103 and has now circled file sharing sites. It was planned to be released digitally and physically in September, few days before the album's street date on September 25.

Stepping into the light, Beyonce Knowles' sister Solange Knowles is gearing the work of a new album which is slated for a 2008 release. The 21-year-old singer has just signed an exclusive deal with EMI that will entitle her to the worldwide publishing of her music.

Big Jon Platt, the Exec Vice President of Urban EMI said, "Solange first came to our attention four years ago when her father and manager, Mathew Knowles, pointed her out to me. Immediately I knew something was there, that special quality that's hard to define, but one that you can't miss."

Nick Hogan is not completely save from the deadly car accident, literally. The young man, who only suffered minor injuries and already discharged from the hospital on Monday August 27th, is due in a St. Petersburg court on September 10th later this year for the related incident.

Speaking on the accident, it appears that Nick has the tendencies of speeding. He is a professional driver and belongs to a drift team, a style of driving that features skidding and doing burnouts. Friends say he's devoted to the sport.

Common's video for his new single 'Drivin' Me Wild' has been completed. The clip was shot in Las Vegas earlier this month and features British import Lily Allen.

'Drivin' Me Wild' is the third official single off the rapper's seventh album 'Finding Forever'. It was produced by Kanye West and contains the samples from Rotary Connection's 'Love Has Fallen on Me'.

Nick Hogan, the son of Hulk Hogan, was discharged from a Florida hospital Monday August 27th, a day after a deadly car crash that critically injured his passenger.

Nick and one of his friends involved in a high speed car accident Sunday night August 26th at around 7:31 p.m. ET on Court Street, a main drag in downtown Clearwater. Authorities said Nick was driving a Toyota Supra at a very high rate of speed when it lost control and hit a raised median. The car was flipped around and the back ended up hitting a palm tree.

How is he doing following the much reported suicide attempt? Owen Wilson is said to be in "good condition" at Cedars Sinai Medical Centre in the Beverly Hills area.

The Oscar-nominated film actor was rushed to St. John's hospital in Santa Monica, California on Sunday August 26th by ambulance after police and paramedics responded to a 911 call from his home shortly after noon following a suicide attempt.