May 30, 2008

A new unpleasant news about Michael Jackson surfaces, claiming that he was pulling out of an appearance at American Idol seventh season final due to stage fright. The report was revealed by The Sun newspaper, who stated that the singer canceled his performance at the last minute because he was too nervous.

Previously, the news about Michael's appearance at the Idol has been considered as a rumor and at the time was already denied by both the king of pop's representative and the American Idol's producer. Now it seems that the rumors could be true as it was reported by the newspaper that claimed that Michael was very scared to take the stage and kept saying, "I can't do it. Everyone will hate me."

Another baby is on the way for Babyface. The R&B and pop musician is about to become a father for one more time as his girlfriend Nikki Pattenburg is pregnant with their first child together.

The good news was first reported by In Touch Weekly, which already quoted an insider as saying, "Babyface is thrilled about the pending bundle of joy." The baby is due at the end of 2008, it has been claimed.

Zack and Miri are long-time friends. They have one big problem, debt. The only way out they can come up with is making an adult movie. The first R-rated teaser trailer of "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" which has just been released online by filmmaker Kevin Smith gives out the first step of how the two platonic friends are going to make their X-rated film, the casting.

Unlike other ordinary teaser trailers, this video footage is not compiled of clips from the movie as Smith has explained earlier stating, "...it's not a trailer; it's a teaser. There ain't a frame of footage in this puppy that's in the actual flick, so feel free to watch it without fear of 'spoilers'. This is just a little something to give you a bit of a feel for the flick." The teaser appears to be a set of improvised outtakes done by the two main characters played by Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks while auditioning the potential cast members for their movie.

Nas has just given a special treat for media people and journalists on Thursday, May 29 as he showed them a first look of his new music video for "Be A Nigger Too". The screening was held at the Tribecca Grand Hotel in New York City. Beside being attended by journalists, the event also saw the arrival of famous rappers such as Consequence and Fabolous. Before the premiere started, the attendants were being entertained by a DJ who played some classic track from Nas. The highly anticipated clip itself was being introduced by director of the video himself, Rick Cordero.

The clip, which supposedly will get an official premiere to public sometimes in June, said by Rick to be inspired by Spike Lee's movie titled "25th Hour". On the video beside featuring Nas, it is also being highlighted by appearances from John Cho. The video also shows lots of footages related to racism act.

Though several revealing and funny trailers of Steve Carell's new movie "Get Smart" already have made their way to the virtual world earlier, it doesn't mean that the studio have run out of clips to be shown to the potential audience. Through the online release of the comedy movie's third trailer, Warner Bros. Pictures have given one another chance to get sneak peek into the film.

Though most of the clips compiled within this trailer are mostly similar to the previous released video footages, the new trailer still offers several bits of unseen footages scattered throughout the two and a half minutes video. The trailer also presented Maxwell Smart in a more serious tone than those before although some footages still expose his clumsiness as an inexperienced superspy agent. It also gives out a closer look into the relationship between Smart and his partner Agent 99.

Shouting out your critics to others sometimes can do a good effect for you, that's exactly what just happened to Fall Out Boy bassist, Pete Wentz who earned himself a contract deal thanks to his critics. Pete who recently blasted out to MTV saying that the music channel hasn't played enough real music lately, got a special present over his words as the cable network signed him to produce and host a new music program.

The new show the channel gives to Pete, will be called F'N MTV which will be a weekly program that features live performance and video premieres. The show set to debut on June 13 at 8 P.M. and from then on will air regularly on Friday nights. The new program won't just be about musicians and their music, but it will also involve music lovers.

On Wednesday, May 28, rumor about the joining of "The Office" star Rainn Wilson to the cast of "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" has been confirmed. Less than a day from the outing of the news, a new report allegedly affirming the return of some "Transformers" thesps has come out online.

In their latest article discussing the Michael Bay's follow-up film, Latino Review suggested that Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel and John Turturro are indeed going to reprise their roles in the sequel of the hit action movie. If the story is true, the trio will be joining other original cast Shia LaBeouf and Tyrese Gibson who have justified their returns earlier.

Already made public her plans to wed actress girlfriend Portia de Rossi, Ellen DeGeneres reportedly is planning a pre-wedding trip to Australia to meet Portia's family. Is hoping to travel to Portia's native country, Ellen actually wants to pay a visit to her grandmother who won't be able to travel to the U.S. for their upcoming wedding.

"I've met Portia's mother and her cousins, and I mentioned last night that we should go (to Australia) for Christmas. I can't wait to get there," Ellen was quoted as saying. "I'd like to get the show there. I'm going to push hard to make that happen."

To mark her comeback to the musical scene, Whitney Houston prepares something special for her fans. Whitney reportedly is planning to do a duet with current pop sensation Leona Lewis as a bid to lift up her music career again.

According to reports, the collaboration idea actually comes from Whitney's boss, record producer, Clive Davis. Clive believes that teaming-up with Leona, would be a great stepping stone for the "I Will Always Love You" singer to take her back on top.

MTV are only days away from handing out their coveted golden popcorn statuettes and with the clock ticking closer and closer to the D-day, the music network adds up even more famous names to their list of presenters for the 17th Annual MTV Movie Awards. Among the newly announced celebrities chosen to deliver the awards are Tom Cruise, Charlize Theron and Will Smith.

Beside those three, Rainn Wilson, Anna Faris, Katharine McPhee, Liv Tyler and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson will also participate as the presenters at the special ceremony. All of them will join the previously announced presenters that include Will Ferrell, Sarah Jessica Parker, Lindsay Lohan, Steve Carell, Megan Fox and Jennifer Hudson. Regarding Cruise, he is no stranger to this awards. He has become the first-ever recipient of the MTV's Generation Award, which will be awarded to Adam Sandler this year.

Want a piece of one of Hollywood's hottest actors? Go visit eBay to bid on Shia LaBeouf's dirty undies he wore during the filming of the 2006 action-drama "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints" which someone has put on the auction giant with a current bid of $400.

Here's what the unidentified seller wrote about the items, which among others include some sweatpants and a pair of socks. "WN SCREEN WORN SHIA UNDERWEAR! PLEASE NOTE: COSTUME IS "AS IS" WHICH INCLUDES MAKEUP STAINS, DIRT; ETC! (Again, these items was worn and used for filming by Shia)"

Closing in on the release date for her "Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded", another new track from Rihanna has leaked on-line. The new leaked track which will be featured on the re-released album is "Disturbia".

The song is one of the four new tracks listed on her repackaged album, while the other three are "Take A Bow", "If I Never See Your Face Again" and "Hatin' On The Club". Beside those four new tracks, Rihanna's upcoming set will also feature all songs from the original LP plus a 75 minutes DVD of her live concert footage in Manchester, England in December 2007, documentary and special video of Rihanna's hit song "Umbrella" created by her band.

Opposite to what has been reported earlier by many online publications, the soundtrack of the highly anticipated superhero flick "The Dark Knight" will come out later than July 1. The claimed-to-be haunting score will be available in stores nationwide on July 15 which is three days prior to the theatrical debut of the follow-up to 2005's "Batman Begins".

The album will contain original scores from composers Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard, who have collaborated on producing the soundtrack of "Batman Begins". The orchestral soundtrack have been recorded in London in April 2008. Giving a unique experience, Warner Bros. Pictures will release the set in four distinct formats, that is a standard jewel case CD, a 2 LP set of heavy-weight 180 gram vinyl version, a special edition digipack, and a collector's edition with special artwork.

Having been married to Bill Murray for nearly 11 years, Jennifer Butler has on May 12 filed for divorce from him in a Charleston, S.C. family court. She alleged in the court documents, he physically abused her and is addicted to marijuana and alcohol. She, additionally, also accused him of abandoning and cheating on her.

Per the court documents, first obtained by the Charleston Post & Courier, Jennifer is asking a judge to issue a restraining order that will keep Bill away from her Sullivan's Island. It, moreover, was also stated in the documents that Jennifer and the couple's four children moved out of the family home in 2006.

After having some troubles with the law recently over drugs and weapons possession allegation, a new problem is about to be faced by Lil Wayne. This time the rapper is being sued for using another musician's music without an approval. The artist that filled the lawsuit on Wayne is a South African born singer named Karma-Ann Swanepoel.

Karma claims that her song "Once" has been sampled by Wayne for his track titled "I Feel Like Dying". Moreover, TMZ.com said that on the lawsuit filed in Louisiana, the singer also stated that she has actually been approached by the rapper's label to sign a deal for the right to use her song. The problem is before the agreement is done deal, the "Lollipop" rapper has been spreading and streaming his single on MySpace, Youtube and also playing it live at his concerts.

The Hansons are expanding their clan. The younger member of pop trio Hanson, Zac Hanson, has become a father for the first time. He and his model wife Kathryn Tucker welcomed their first child, son John Ira Shepherd Hanson, Tuesday, May 27 in Tulsa, Okla.

The baby weighed in at 8 lbs, 4 oz. Per People, he will go by the name Shepherd.

Despite the fact that their last movie "Speed Racer" has delivered a big disappointment at the box office chart, the Wachowski brothers refused to linger on the failure and apparently decided to move on with their next project "Ninja Assassin". On Thursday, May 29, Warner Bros. Pictures made an announcement over the production of the action adventure film produced by the famous brothers stating that the shooting of the movie has begun.

The studio didn't let out the exact date the film started to roll its camera. They merely stated that the principal photography is underway and it is taking place at Babelsberg Studios as well as on location in various parts of Berlin. The filming will be done under the direction of "V for Vendetta" helmer James McTeigue using a script written by Matthew Sand and J. Michael Straczynski.

Is keeping his alleged romance with Rihanna away from the media publication, Chris Brown apparently is never to shy away from showing his affection to the Barbadian singer. Always plays it coy when being asked about the status of their relationship, Brown has willingly dropped massive dough on expensive jewelry for RiRi.

Brown, according to OK! magazine, "dropped more than $100K on two ruby-and diamond necklaces from Jason of Beverly Hills for his gal while his 20-year-old Grammy-winning lady reciprocated with a bling blingin' cross." Designer Jason Arasheben revealed to the publication that "Rihanna gave specific instructions about Chris' gift. She was very particular about wanting the cross to match his other jewelry."

Though news coming from "The Hobbit" earlier have offered an upsetting reports suggesting that the production of the fantasy movie may perhaps end up to be shut down, the casting speculations still continue to resolve around the tidbit. Words are now circulating that rising star James McAvoy is the leading contender to portray the main hobbit character, Bilbo Baggins.

According to The Daily Express, the studio producing the J.R.R. Tolkien's novel adaptation have listed several possible candidates for the adventurous "Halflings", including also "Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe and comedian Jack Black. It is further said that the one that is most likely to be cast is McAvoy, though no reasoning on the preference is offered. "A number of names have privately been doing the rounds, including Daniel Radcliffe and Jack Black but James is the one the film's bosses really want," explained an insider. "They're expected to have talks with him soon so hopefully it could be confirmed in the not too distant future."

New TV programs are being set to be launched by MTV and on it the music channel will be working with famous names on the Hip-Hop scene. MTV is tapping P. Diddy and 50 Cent for two separate upcoming reality TV shows.

Following the success of his previous "Making the Band", Diddy is set for another reality music project with MTV. The new program won't be that much different from his first reality project, but this time the rapper will try his luck on an area outside his hip-hop background, by embarking on the rock scene.

Words come back to haunt Sharon Stone. In the wake of the controversial remarks she made about China's earthquake at the Cannes Film Festival last week, Chistian Dior said Thursday, May 29 it has dropped the actress from its Chinese ads.

Stone herself was quick to issue a public apology through the French fashion house, said she was "deeply sorry" for causing anguish and anger among Chinese people with her remarks, saying China's earthquake may have been bad karma for its treatment of Tibet, in an interview last week. The U.S. actress moreover also offered to help with the earthquake relief effort.

In the wake of their multiple awards-winning drama thriller "No Country for Old Men", Joel and Ethan Coen are about to present moviegoers with their yet other promising feature film. Before their latest drama comedy movie "Burn After Reading" hits the big screen though, they introduce it first by releasing a ludicrous restricted trailer online.

Timed at 2:10, the red band trailer pretty much gives out the plot line as well as the comedic situations the main characters faced. Opened with a shot of a gym, the video footage continues on with a clip showing the gym's employee Chad trying to convince Linda, his co-worker, that they can exploit their discovery, a disc containing CIA agent Osborne Cox's memoir. Inexperienced in blackmailing others but determined to do anything to gain some fortune from it, the two go on with their plan on selling the contents of the disc to the highest bidder and unknowingly put themselves in serious situations.

No joke, Clay Aiken is going to be a dad. The "American Idol" alum reportedly has inseminated his record producer Jaymes Foster, who has produced several of his CDs.

Citing what it called as "multiple sources," TMZ reported Jaymes who's also known as the sister of record mogul David Foster, is artificially inseminated by Clay and due to give birth in August. Clay himself, as claimed by the site, will have an active role in raising the child.

The third part of Kanye West's music video for his single "Flashing Lights" has just been premiered on May 29. The new clip, which is planned to be the final video for the single, is directed by Martin de Thurah.

The clip, which employs scenes of a dinner in an eerie mansion, presents Kanye chasing a woman whom he got curious at. One of the frames where the woman was running in the middle of the street has been unveiled in a still that Kanye posted on his blog before the first video was premiered.