June 25, 2008

With the release date of her second album "Identified" is coming close, three new songs from the Vanessa Hudgens upcoming LP has leaked. The songs that streamed were "Set It Off", "Committed" and "Vulnerable". Unfortunately, it seems that the leaked songs won't be available for the LP's U.S. release because they were designated as the bonus tracks for the album's Japan edition.

Vanessa's sophomore effort is being set to hit the stores on July 1 in the U.S., while in Japan the LP is being dropped today (June 25). The album itself has already been premiered on AOL's Music Listening Party on June 23.

This summer, many high profile studios are in race to bring bigger and badder Marvel's superheroes to life by adapting the comic books into the big screen. Nonetheless, Universal Pictures strive to be different by delivering another kind of action adaptation and molding Mark Millar's comic book miniseries for a silver screen material known as "Wanted (2008)". And with the high octane movie is nearing its theatrical debut on Friday, June 27, it seems that many have applauded the studio's effort.

Pretty bold in exposing the bloody and adrenaline pumping sequences, the movie starring James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie has been hailed by most of the critics to be an action movie moviegoers haven't seen before. In fact, Rotten Tomatoes has rated it to be 83% fresh with only 4 out of 23 movie critics giving it harsh reviews. Praising "Wanted", Joshua Tyler of CinemaBlend.com commented, "The action genre hasn't felt this fresh and alive since 1999 and the Wachowskis." On the same tone, Peter Canavese of Groucho Reviews stated that it "delivers slam-bang action entertainment" with a surprising twist at the end.

Janet Jackson is channeling her diverse inner creativity and finally comes up with a lingerie line. The singer-actress who's currently busy with her Rock With U World Tour has revealed that she's about to launch her own lingerie line before the end of the year.

Janet revealed her new business venture at the Versace menswear show on Saturday, June 21 during Milan Fashion Week in Italy. She didn't give much info about the line though, simply said that she's "working on it."

Is a singer, songwriter, and actress, Ciara sure has so many projects in the pipeline. But that won't stop her from adding another career into her resume. She reportedly has signed a contract with modeling agency Wilhelmina and even is planning to launch her own line of clothing.

Speaking about her latest venture into the fashion world, the R&B singer commented, "Modeling has always been one of my aspirations." Her deal with Wilhelmina will see her featured in its clothing and fragrance campaigns.

It's official, Jill Scott is engaged. The R&B singer, who's often addressed as soul diva, is engaged to Lil' John Roberts, the drummer in her band.

Jill was singing "He Loves Me (Lyzel In E Flat)" at a concert in Carnegie Hall, Scott on Friday, June 20 when Roberts suddenly presented her with a bouquet of flowers and a kiss. She then made public the news, telling their engagement to the crowd who then gave her wild cheers and applause.

It is no longer a secret that "Toy Story 3", the third installment of Disney's hit animated film "Toy Story", will be made into a 3-D movie and that in it, Woody and his toy-box friends will be left at a day-care center since Andy is heading for college. But, what's more can be shared about the upcoming movie? Apparently, fans can expect to see one particular character to be a hero in the movie, but it won't be Woody or Buzz Lightyear.

Talking about the one last adventure lays in front of the band of toys, John Ratzenberger, the actor filling the voice of Hamm the Piggy Bank revealed that in "Toy Story 3", a character other than Woody or Buzz Lightyear taking the center stage would be his character, Hamm. "Hammy is a villain in the beginning of the movie," gushed the 61-year-old. "[But then], Hammy becomes a superhero. You'll see."

After committing their future by signing a three albums marketing deal with Sony BMG, Oasis finally revealed the details about their new studio album. The English rockers have announced the title and release date for their new LP.

On their official website the band stated that their seventh studio set will be titled "Dig Out Your Soul" and it is being scheduled to hit the stores on October 6. Beside announcing their new set's title and release date, the rockers also confirm that "The Shock Of The Lightning" will be first single from the new record and it will be spawned on September 29.

Is no stranger to acting and singing, Amy Jo Johnson will soon add motherhood into her career resume. The actress, singer-songwriter, and musician is pregnant with her first child, People reports.

A representative for Johnson confirmed to the publication that the star is expecting her first child in late fall. The exact due date was not mentioned though. The baby's father is her fiance Oliver Giner.

In late May, buzzes have hyphened around the possibility of "The School of Rock" sequel with its leading actor Jack Black expressed his interest in going back for the follow-up movie. At the time, it was reported that whether screenwriter Mike White will be back for the sequel is yet unknown. But, on Sunday, June 22, White came out with a great news for fans.

While talking on a panel at the 2008 Los Angeles Film Festival, the scribbler revealed that he has finished the draft for the second "School of Rock" movie. "I actually just completed a draft of what's potentially the sequel," the writer of "The Good Girl" shared. "and I'm still, like, crying as I'm writing the script. I try to come at it from a personal place..." He further revealed that though he has turned in the draft, he doesn't have any idea whether the movie will be made or not.

Finally has the baby girl she's been dreaming for so long, Tori Spelling proudly debuts her newborn infant Stella Doreen McDermott on the latest issue of OK! magazine. The actress graces the cover of the publication with Stella in tow.

"Tori's Miracle Baby Girl," so read the headline. "The happy mom shows off the 'surprise of her life,' little Stella. 'I never thought I'd have a daughter!'"

Guns N' Roses are serious with their legal threat against the website that leaked 9 of their songs from the band's long awaited LP "Chinese Democracy" and proving it the band have even asked the help from the higher rank of the U.S. authorities. The band reportedly have called in the assistant of FBI to investigate the website, Antiquiet.com, that was leaking their songs.

According to the latest reports, the website owner Kevin Skwerl was being visited by two FBI agents on June 23, at lunch hour and on June 24, at 7:00 A.M. The agents were asking Kevin where he got the GNR's tracks from and asked him to hand over the original files of the songs. Unfortunately, he could only give them the copies since he has erased the original ones.

In summer of 2009, "2012 (2009)", another epic movie from the man who has delivered blockbusters movies, such as "Independence Day" and "The Day After Tomorrow", will be screened in various theaters across the country. Still, the movie is said earlier to only tell about a global catastrophe and heroic struggles of the survivors without any further elaboration. Now, a more detailed story containing major spoilers has leaked out.

Posted in an article by Latino Review, the story reportedly begins in the year of 2009 when an American scientist, Professor West, rushes to a research facility in India to meet his colleague, Satnam, who has found out that there have been severe storms on the surface of the sun which are affecting the Earth in a very dangerous way. With that in mind, the professor then contacts his friend Adrian Helmsley, who happens to be a young scientific advisor to U.S. President Wilson, to inform him of the findings. But, the attempt fails.

The status of "Camp Rock" sequel has moved from being in talks to be in pre-production. The musical TV movie starring popular boys band Jonas Brothers, has been confirmed by Disney Chanel to have its follow up next year after a warm reception from the audience.

"Camp Rock" that was premiered on June 20 by the mouse house's TV channel, absorbed as many as 8.9 million viewers and became Disney's second most-watched original movie after "High School Musical 2" that opened with 17.2 million viewers in 2007. The TV movie has since been re-run on ABC and ABC Family and add around 7 million more viewers.

A special stuff reportedly is being set by Jay-Z to treat his fans at his upcoming performance at the Glastonbury festival on June 28. The media stated that the rapper might be going to play a cover of Amy Winehouse's hit song "Rehab" at the festival.

The speculation occurs after Jay-Z performed the song on his warm-up gig, before heading to Glastonbury, at the Hove Festival in Arendal, Norway on June 23. Beside playing Amy's song, at the Hove festival the rapper also covered other songs, such as Rihanna's "Umbrella", The Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up" and Estelle's "American Boy".

Gained major popularity in entertainment industry as an R&B singer, India.Arie is the latest star to hit Broadway. She's set to make her Broadway debut, headlining a new production of Ntozake Shange's play, "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf."

Whoopi Goldberg, serves as producer, announced Tuesday, June 24 alongside DreamTeam Entertainment Group that the Grammy Award-winning artist is joining the cast of the play. Preview performances are to begin August 19 at Broadway's Circle in the Square Theatre. Opening night is scheduled for September 8 later this year.

Good news comes from Alison Sweeney. The soap opera actress is pregnant with her second child, People reports.

Sweeney, who is best known for her portrayal of Samantha "Sami" Gene Brady on the American soap opera "Days of Our Lives," revealed the news to the cast of the season 6 of NBC's reality TV show "Biggest Loser" Monday, June 23. "She told them that, in a season all about family, hers is about to get bigger," her representative confirmed in a statement.

On Tuesday, June 24, night, the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films celebrated the top works done in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in feature film by handing out statuettes for the 34th Saturn Awards at the Universal Hilton Hotel in Universal City. Coming out as the dominating champion was Walt Disney Pictures' musical film "Enchanted".

Though the movie that blends live-action, traditional animation and CGI technique was earlier outshone by "300" which earned ten Saturn nominations compared to its three gongs, the Kevin Lima-directed movie managed to nail all of its counts making it to be the movie which brought the most prizes home. On the special night, it was hailed to be the Best Fantasy Film and its leading actress Amy Adams as well as its composer Alan Menken were given each kudo for Best Actress and Best Music respectively.

ABC's TV drama series "Lost" was a big winner at the 34th annual Saturn Awards Tuesday, June 24. It won a total of four awards from the seven nominations it nabbed. Besides winning the Best Network Television Series category, the series also won its actor Matthew Fox the Best Actor on Television award. The rest two awards it won were Supporting Actor on Television for Michael Emerson and Supporting Actress on Television for Elizabeth Mitchell.

Jennifer Love Hewitt was the other award winner. The actress bested the likes of Anna Friel ("Pushing Daisies"), Lena Headey ("Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles"), Holly Hunter ("Saving Grace"), Evangeline Lilly ("Lost"), and Kyra Sedgwick ("The Closer"), winning the award for Best Actress on Television.

English rockers Coldplay are going all the way to promote their new album "Viva la Vida" in the U.S. by planning another project beside touring the North America. The latest project the band set to launch alongside their tour is a new radio program in the U.S.

The new radio show will be titled "30 Days of Coldplay" and will be aired on XM Radio's channel 51 starting from July 15 until August 15. The program will feature exclusive coverage of the band's live performances on their tour, interviews, rare import tracks and others from their catalog.

It appears that Melanie Brown is hard at work for a comeback to the spotlight. With so many projects already in the pipeline, she keeps adding at least one more duty into her resume, the host of this year Miss Universe pageant.

The Spice Girls singer has been tapped to host the event alongside British-born American television personality Jerry Springer. And she admits to be feeling "thrilled to be a co-host of the Miss Universe pageant." She said, "I believe the diversity and dedication that the pageant brings inspires and empowers young women across the globe."

Has obtained the license to wed, Ruben Studdard apparently won't wait any longer to make his union with longtime girlfriend Surata Zuri McCants official. The American Idol alum, as his representative has confirmed, is getting married this weekend in his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama.

An unidentified source confirmed Ruben will marry McCants on Saturday, June 28 at Canterbury United Methodist Church in the tony Mountainbrook neighborhood of Birmingham, Ala. Word on the block is that he will have at least 20 groomsmen at his side.

The full winners for the 2008 BET Awards music category have finally been announced on June 24. Among the winners for the category, Kanye West and UGK get home with the most as both artists grab two awards.

Kanye takes home the prizes for Best Male Hip Hop Artist, beating the likes of Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Common and Snoop Dogg and also for Best Collaboration category for his duet with T-Pain on "Good Life". Meanwhile, UGK grab the awards for Best Group and Video of the Year with their clip "International Player's Anthem" featuring Outkast.

On Tuesday, June 24, film crew shooting for "Transformers" sequel, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen", has been spotted on the campus of Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. And, with that comes a bunch of new on-the-set videos and pictures showing what happens during the shooting there.

One of the videos which can be seen below exposed the action film's star Shia LaBeouf when he is filming a scene for the sequel as well as goofing around to kill the time. In several different footages, the young actor can be seen acting as Sam Witwicky who is portrayed in the scene clutching to his books while talking on the phone. Other videos which chronicled a scene involving a Saturn Astra and a Persuit Go-Kart cruising down a street can be watched via Transformers Live Blog.

Want a piece of Angelina Jolie? Yes you can. The leather jacket the actress wore in the action, sci-fi flick "Wanted (2008)" is put on sale.

The jacket, which is described as "black leather, in extra small, with a diagonal front zipper and tassles on the zipper pulls," is on sale at CharityFolks.com. The bidding for the stuff starts Tuesday, June 24.

Contrary to what has been reported earlier about Quentin Tarantino's latest feature film project, "Inglourious Basterds" won't be a period film. Revealing that he has finished scripting for the action drama, the notable filmmaker rejected the idea that this movie will be a period film when talking to BBC News when he attended the Provincetown Film Festival to receive a special Filmmaker on the Edge award.

Commenting on the matter, the man behind the success of 1994's "Pulp Fiction" confessed that though the action drama will be set during the World War II event, he doesn't want it to have the feeling like a period film, instead he is looking forward to modernize it. "I don't want it to feel like a period film. I want it to feel current. I want it to feel right now," explained the 45-year-old. "One of the things I have to battle against is 30 years of Nazi-occupation TV movies where we've all seen the big streets and the vintage cars and the Swastikas, and we've just seen that ad nauseum. This is a modern, in-your-face movie. This is not a TV movie period piece."

Raffaello Follieri, an Italian businessman who's well known as the longtime boyfriend of Hollywood movie actress Anne Hathaway, was arrested on Tuesday, June 24 for fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The multimillionaire real estate developer appeared in court later that day and was placed under home detention, with an electronic monitoring device and may only leave his apartment for legal, medical or religious reasons. His bail is set for $21 million.

Follieri is accused of falsely telling an investor that he had been appointed as the chief financial officer of the Vatican with the intention to obtain properties of the Catholic church in the United States at a substantial discount to fair market value. Worse, he and other suspected investors were also accused to have spent up to $6 million from investors, much of it on a lavish lifestyle, including privately chartered jet travel with his then girlfriend Hathaway and others, expensive meals and clothing and a posh Manhattan apartment.

The annual BET Awards has announced its early winners this year that include among others, "With You" crooner Chris Brown who grabbed the first handed award, Best Male R 'n' B Artist. The 19-year-old who was seated next to his rumored girlfriend Rihanna stood up to take the prize and said on his acceptance speech, thanking "my mom, God, everybody. If I leave y'all out, I'm sorry."

Missy Elliott who was a no-show was given the Best Female Hip-Hop Artist, beating Lil Mama, Trina, Eve and Kid Sister along the way. Best New Artist was handed to The-Dream while Male Athlete of the Year belonged to basketball star Kobe Bryant. The list of winners are still halfway to be announced and the highly-anticipated performance of Lil Wayne on his smash hit "Lollipop" will close the night. Veteran musician Al Green will be given BET's Lifetime Achievement Award and Quincy Jones is slated to receive Humanitarian Award for his effort in Listen Up Foundation.

The new music video from Jennifer Hudson has been premiered on June 24 at the pre-gala of the 2008 BET Awards. The new clip was being directed by Chris Robinson and was shot for her first single "Spotlight".

The video starts with Jennifer making a phone call and started singing the song tunes on her room. After that the scenes continue with the singer dressing up in a black leather jacket and going straight to a club to meet her boyfriend.

What if one day you get a phone call from a person you don't know telling you what you should do? And everything she says "going to happen" happens, would you listen to her and follow her order? This is exactly what Jerry Shaw and Rachel Holloman experience in the fast-paced drama thriller "Eagle Eye" and the newly released trailer from Paramount/DreamWorks reveal how the two have no choice but to follow the order.

Giving a race-against-time compilation of clips, the brand new trailer helps viewers who have seen the earlier released teaser to get a deeper look into the movie and understand what the characters are going through. The intense video footage also lets out for the first time Michelle Monaghan's character, Rachel, and tells her part of the story. Additionally, viewers can learn how the two framed main characters meet each other and work together in dealing with the trouble they are in.

Heather Locklear is being treated for psychological issues, her publicist has confirmed. The actress, well known for her starring role as Amanda Woodward in TV series "Melrose Place", is treated at an undisclosed psychological treatment facility in Arizona for what is claimed as "anxiety and depression."

"She requested an in-depth evaluation of her medication and entered into a medical facility for proper diagnosis and treatment," Locklear's representative Cece Yorke said in a statement Tuesday, June 24. "This is a confidential medical matter and no further statement will be released."