July 31, 2008

Another coveted film festival, the 65th Venice International Film Festival, is about to be held. Bearing that in mind, it is announced that the Coen brothers' latest dark comedy "Burn After Reading" has been given the honor to open the fest on August 27 with two of its stars George Clooney and Brad Pitt are expected to make a red carpet appearance.

The drama comedy from Focus Features about two gym employees' attempt to blackmail a former CIA agent using his memoir is included in the 'Out of Competition' movie list which is the only American movie put into the category. The full list of the movie which is not included in the competition can be seen via LaBiennale.org.

The bidding war ends and the winner is People magazine. Amidst heavy speculation on which publication wins the rights to publish the first pictures of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's twins, JustJared confirms the magazine "has drummed up the winning bid for the first pictures of" Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline.

Word on the block is that People wins the bid for a rumored $10 million to $15 million cash. The magazine will publish the first pictures of the celebrity couple's twins in its future issue. The exact issue remains unknown.

Speculations of Batman's future villains apparently have moved on from which foes to be featured in the possible follow-up of "The Dark Knight" to who are going to portray them. Following reports that Angelina Jolie has been eyeing the Catwoman role, latest report claims that Johnny Depp and Philip Seymour Hoffman have also fallen into the filmmakers' list for the baddies in "Batman 3".

The two acclaimed actors allegedly have been considered to be starring as Batman's notable archnemeses, The Riddler who were depicted by Jim Carrey in "Batman Forever", and Penguin played by Danny DeVito in "Batman Returns". "(Producers) are convinced that the role of the Riddler is perfect for Depp," a source revealed the rumor to Enquirer. "Johnny's a pro. He'll be able to take direction from director Chris Nolan and still make the character his own. And what better Penguin is there than Philip Seymour Hoffman."

Copyright-infringement has become the major issues for lots of musicians lately including for rock band The Black Crowes who have just filed a lawsuit against a singer who they claimed have stolen parts of their song. The musician that is being sued by the rocker is country star Gretchen Wilson.

The rockers claimed that Gretchen has taken some parts of their old hit track "Jealous Again" and use it on her new song "Work Hard, Play Harder" without a permission. Not only suing the singer on their lawsuit, the band also addressed their allegation to the country singer's label Sony BMG, a publishing company J Money Music and TNT, that uses the track to advertise their TV series "Saving Grace".

No truth to reports of a feud between her and Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomes stated. The child actress and singer has dismissed the many persistent reports of them feuding. In an interview with Extra Gomez said, "It's just the media wanting something to talk about and wanting us to fight ... and there's nothing to talk about."

Reports of Gomez and Miley's feud have been mounting for sometime. The fight apparently takes its toll when Miley and her friend and back-up dancer Mandy Jiroux created a YouTube video recently to respond that of Selena and Demi Lovato's which was made several months ago and has become a big hit on the Internet, garnering a reported 3 million views to date.

Long time awaited, the trailer of "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" has finally arrived. Released by Walt Disney Pictures, the brand new video brings forth a real look into the forthcoming adventure comedy about the well-pampered chihuahua lost in the street of Mexico.

The trailer opens with an introduction to the pampered world of dogs displaying the white-colored chihuahua by the name of Chloe getting a rich and famous treatment from an exclusive pet's store and beauty salon. But, Chloe's perfect world is about to change as her owner has to entrust her to her nephew. Having to go along with the nephew to Mexico, Chloe suddenly finds that she is lost. Now, she has to rely on unlikely friends to get herself home.

Ludacris' attempts on sending his political view trough his songs lyrics failed to impress after the latest news stated that the words on his new song are being protested by many because it's considered too offensive. The new song "Politics as Usual" that the rapper penned to support Barack Obama received lots of critics including from Obama himself.

The controversial side from the rapper's lyrics is the part when he offended other politicians and presidential candidates, John McCain and Hillary Clinton and also current president George Bush. The rapper called Hillary "irrelevant", said that John doesn't belong in "any chair unless he's paralyzed" and that Bush is "mentally handicapped".

Could the many wedding rumors that hit Jamie Lynn Spears finally come to fruition now that she has given birth to daughter Maddie Briann? OK! magazine, which broke news of her pregnancy last year, reports that the teenage mother is planning to marry her baby's daddy Casey Aldridge before the year ends.

OK! is informed by a source who said the pair are expected to have the nuptials on their property, her new house in Liberty, Miss which takes just 30 minutes from mother Lynne Spears' house, Serenity, in Kentwood, La. "She loves everything about the area where she lives. She's not going to get married at some luxury resort in the Caribbean or a hotel in Beverly Hills," a friend told OK! "Her own backyard with just the people who matter most is more Jamie Lynn's style."

"Marvin the Martian", one of Looney Tunes' memorable character besides Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, is going to get his own feature film. The quiet and soft-spoken but dangerous alien has been picked up by Warner Bros. Pictures to be the center of a live-action/CGI film.

The movie project will be produced by Steve Crystal, Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove. Aiming to be a family-oriented movie, it has been prepared as a Christmas story in which Marvin has a mission to destroy the festive season, but before he does his job, he gets trapped in a gift box.

A new fact about Chris Brown's involvement on singing the jingle for Doublemint bubble gum has just surfaced revealing that the jingle is very similar to Chris' latest single "Forever". But the 60 second jingle is not entirely the same with the original song as it can be heard from the audio streamed on Aceshowbiz.com that there are some different parts.

The commercial track lyrics, that will be surfaced along with its TV ad next month, starts with the same line from "Forever"'s verse until the bridge. It gets different in the middle and the end of the lyrics where Chris started to advertise the gum singing "Double your pleasure/ double your fun/ It's the right one with Doublemint gum."

Months earlier, it has been rumored that one of Spider-Man's popular enemies, Venom, is most likely to get an own feature film. Now, an updated report on the spin-off possibility claimed that Sony Pictures are moving forward to bring the idea into fruition with them being in early stages of developing "Venom (2010)".

It is said that the production company have previously appointed Jacob Estes to write the draft of the script. However, they now opt to go on a different direction with the script and are looking for other writers. Furthermore, Hollywood Reporter stated that the studio are also considering to replace Venom's depicter in "Spider-Man 3", Topher Grace allegedly because they are unsure that the actor could carry a tentpole picture.

Macy's gets a special treatment from Christina Aguilera. The retail giant which is about to celebrate its 150 years in retail this October is celebrating in a big way with the help of a number of famous stars.

Is one to lend a helping hand to mark the occasion, the singer poses for Rolling Stone photographer Mark Seliger, lending her beautiful self for a commemorative photo. She's photographed before a wall of white roses, wearing a cream bodice and a stunning and flowing burgundy dress adorned with green leaves. She's pictured holding roses to match her outfit.

Ricardo Chavira is a father for the second time when his wife Marcea Dietzel gave birth to a baby girl Monday evening, July 28. The newborn infant is named Belen Elysabeth Chavira. She was born at 5:59 P.M. in San Antonio, TX, weighed in at 7lbs, 12 oz.

Belen is the second child for the 36-year-old "Desperate Housewives" star and his wife. She joined older brother Tomas Antonio Chavira, who was born in 2003.

Another day sees another celebrity being hit with another lawsuit. The latest that has a run-in with the law is hip-hop artist Wyclef Jean. He's sued by jewelry dealer, known in the hip-hop world as "Jacob the Jeweler," over $300K worth of bling.

The diamond dealer to the hip-hop stars filed a lawsuit in Manhattan court Tuesday, July 29 alleging that Jean bought several items between March 2002 and January 2006 worth a total of $765,100. The court papers stated that Jacob and Company Incorporated claimed the star to still owe them $319,680, despite "repeated demands for payment."

Since its theatrical release on July 18, "The Dark Knight" has broken one box office record after another grossing so far as much as $333.9 million. With that massive success, it is no wonder that people start talking about a follow-up movie, "Batman 3" and while many are still speculating on the next movie and its possible villain, an intriguing news came in linking Angelina Jolie to Batman's feline foe, Catwoman.

Words around suggested that the James McAvoy's co-star in "Wanted (2008)" has been making inquiries for the villainous role. What makes it even more interesting, the rumor is sparked by one of the supervillain's depicters in television series, Julie Newmar. To the New York Daily News, the 74-year-old revealed that the partner of Brad Pitt would be perfect for the role if director Christopher Nolan decided to put up the villain in "Batman 3".

Gearing up for the release of their fifth studio album "Big Bad World", rock band Plain White T's have just premiered their first single from the new LP via their MySpace page on July 30. Not only that, the new song titled "Natural Disaster" has also streamed via iMeem.

Beside dropping their new single, to promote their upcoming record the group also launched another project which is premiering 12 webisode series titled "Meet Me In California". The new project will be providing fans with footages of the process of the band's making the album such as, the creative process of the album's work, interviews, photo shoots and many more.

Are they or aren't they? Rachel McAdams has sparked rumors that she's back on with former boyfriend Ryan Gosling after she was spotted attending the actor's DJ debut at Green Door lounge in Hollywood on Tuesday night, July 29.

Gosling reportedly has scored himself a weekly gig at the lounge's Tuesday jazz night and McAdams was keen enough to attend the event, "supporting him." "They talked when he was away from the deejay stand," a friend of the actor told People. "They really looked like good pals. He seemed happy to see her."

Long without any new report, the video game adaptation movie "Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li" has brought in a treat for fans. Giving a glimpse into how the movie may look like, the Andrzej Bartkowiak-directed film has gotten a batch of behind-the-scene images from its production.

Revealed by Legend Films, the eleven pictures displayed what happens on the set of "Legend of Chun-Li" and one of them exposed for the first time Michael Clarke Duncan as Balrog who is originally named Mike Bison. While another one centers on Kristin Kreuk as the titular character, most of remaining photos highlight on the atmosphere of the shooting location and the military force.

It seems that Jennifer Garner wants the time to do the talking when it comes to the mounting talks of her second pregnancy. Despite the many speculations surrounding that matter, the actress stays calm and offers nothing to confirm them other than her belly, which apparently is getting bigger day by day. The latest rumor about her alleged pregnancy comes from E! Online which speculates her due date is March 2 next year.

The news media spotted Garner as she was leaving the doctor's office with what it cited as a "possibly be new evidence," which is a piece of paper on which her delivery date has been written. "Jen was spotted carrying a piece of paper, which had written on it-wait for it-a date! Yes, an actual date! March 2 to be exact! And it was circled?! Circled!!!" E! Online wrote on its site.

The anxious wait ends as Vanity Fair released on Tuesday, July 29 its annual International Best-Dressed List. Lead the pack of the magazine's list, which is the 69th this year, are individuals from a number of work fields, from politician to artist. Put on top of the list is Carla Bruni. Has made it to the prestigious list, the model and singer who became the First Lady of France in February is the covergirl for Vanity Fair's The Style Issue.

Also making the cut is Michelle Obama. The first lady hopeful is called by VF's editors Michelle "our commander in sheath." She's praised for "talking with women about work/family life balance" as her signature cause. It's her second consecutive year to be on the top ten of the list. Prince William's girlfriend Kate Middleton is the other non-celebs Best Dressed woman. Ivanka Trump is also on the list, because "she's the sorcerer's apprentice."

Though the 2008 San Diego Comic Con has wrapped up its event on Sunday, July 27, reports coming from the special occasion are still coming in. Providing an update to the previous "The Wolfman" report stating that Universal Pictures have screened the film's trailer at the exhibition, Trailer Addict have posted the bootlegged video footage.

Nearly two minutes and thirty seconds long, the compilation of clips opens with a scene where a man stands amidst the darkness in the middle of the woods. Turning his head to the camera and looking horrified, he drops his lantern and runs away while a beast walks to his left lantern. The video then continues to show a group of people finding a torn-off body of a man. They then decide to kill the beast, who did it, using bullet made from silverware. From that, the story of "Wolfman" begins showing the hunting of the full moon beast.

Preparing for the release of their new LP "Da Point of No Return", rap group Dem Franchize Boyz have just premiered a new music video on July 30. The new clip was filmed for the group's latest single "Mr. Feel Good" and it was directed by Picture Perfect.

On the new video the Boyz also featured the appearance of rapper and hip-hop producer Mannie Fresh. Beside Mannie's appearance the new clip also features some female models who were seen doing activities such as playing hula hoop, getting massage by one of the group's members and partying at a club.

It looks like that Alicia Keys is still enjoying her time on the road and won't be taking a break anytime soon as she has already added more dates for her tour in support of her latest LP "As I Am". On her official website, Alicia has announced 11 new dates for her tour with 10 of them are in the U.S.

The new dates for the U.S. concerts will be starting on September 12, at Foxwood Cassino in Manshantucket, CT and scheduled to end on September 28 at Anselmo Valencia Ampitheater in Tucson, AZ. Beside the 10 new schedule in the States, Alicia also added 1 other date which is a trip to Rotterdam, Holland on October 27.

Having had memorable characters from the eccentric man with dangerous shears and scissors for hands to cut-throat barber in Tim Burton's movies, acclaimed Hollywood actor Johnny Depp seems to haven't had enough of his collaborations with the director. Recent report regarding his future film project suggested that the 45-year-old is going to team up with Burton once again in "Alice in Wonderland".

In the upcoming adaptation of Lewis Carroll's classic tale, the Academy Award-nominated actor is said to be given the role of the erratic Mad Hatter. While most publications noted that the casting is still a rumor, especially with Disney have yet to confirm the report, MSN News Latin America via AICN has claimed that the star of "Pirates of the Caribbean" trilogy has become the second confirmed actor to work on the project.

Miley Cyrus has finally won the race against Sugarland to top the Billboard Hot 200 this week. The teen idol's new record "Breakout" take the #1 position on the albums chart after selling about 371,000 on its first week.

Meanwhile, Sugarland who was closing in on Miley have to settle for the runner-up position after their "Love on the Inside [Deluxe Fan Edition]" only managed to sell about 314,000. Following the top two position is the soundtrack of the movie "Mamma Mia!" that managed to keep its last week's spot at #3 with 168,000 copies sold.

For quite sometime now, the speculations over the development of "Austin Powers 4" have come back and forth. Few months back, actor Seth Green who played Dr. Evil's son in the "Austin Powers" film series put off the rumor stating that the fourth installment is merely a suggestion. Yet, contrary to his remark, now it is said that the script is being written.

Words are "Austin Powers" star Mike Myers is currently teaming up once again with "Baby Mama" scribbler Mike McCullers in penning down the idea for the fourth movie. Providing more information on the plot, Nikki Finke of Deadline Hollywood Daily revealed that the story will be very personal for Myers and it will highlight on the father and son relationship between Dr. Evil and his son Scott Evil.

Is a Monticello native and country music star, Trisha Yearwood gives Got Milk? campaign a whole new meaning with her donning its iconic milk mustache only to give the impression that milk and country just seem to go hand-in-hand. Making her debut in the "Got Milk" series, she's said to "sing milk's praises."

Yearwood's Got Milk? ad sees her wearing a sexy V neck brown dress. It is accompanied with the tagline that reads, "In tune. I grew up on a farm so I've been singing milk's praises my whole life. Studies suggest that nutrients in 3 glasses of lowfat or fat free milk a day can help you maintain a healthy weight. And the protein helps build muscle. Exercise, eat right, and drink milk to look your best. Sounds great, right?"

She might be the sauciest Desperate Housewife, but she did it best when she was honored with the task of throwing the first pitch at a Dodgers game. Nicollette Sheridan, who plays Edie Britt in the hit TV show "Desperate Housewives", threw out a first pitch at a Major League Baseball game in Los Angeles on Monday night, July 28 to promote her film "Fly Me to the Moon."

The actress took to the field in a white vest top that reads "I Love Joe Torre," a reference to Dodgers manager, for her duties throwing out the first pitch at the Major League clash which saw her team the Los Angeles Dodgers took on the San Francisco Giants. During her time at the game, she also took time to strike some poses with several Dodgers' players. The pics can be seen after this news.

Much details about "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen", the highly anticipated sequel of 2007 hit "Transformers", are highly guarded, but it seems it won't last long. Recently, it has been confirmed that the Fallen in the film's title is indeed the main villain and before the sequel rolls out to the theaters in 2009, IDW Publishing will provide fans with background story of this new enemy.

Anticipating on the fans' possible questions to the sequel, the company announced that they will publish "Transformers: Destiny", a five-part prequel miniseries. The comic book set to be outed in December is made to tell the origin story of the Fallen as well as to bridge the gap between 'Reign of Starscream' comic books, which picked up after the end of "Transformers", and "Revenge of the Fallen".

Getting closer to the release date of their new album "The Block", New Kids On The Block have just dropped a snippet of their new song from their upcoming LP on the group's official Imeem page. The new track is being titled "Single" and it also features New Kids' collaboration with famous singer/songwriter Ne-Yo.

It looks like the new track is being set as the second official single from the pop group following the release of "Summetime" on May 13. Moreover, the group have also confirmed that the full version of the new song will be spawned via iTunes on August 12.

Shocking news that Kate Hudson and Lance Armstrong have called it quits only a few months after exposing their high profile romance to public. The actress and cyclist ended their romance this weekend, according to reports.

"There was no drama or ugliness - they just decided to end things," a source close to the couple tells US Weekly which exclusively reports that matter on its site. "There is no hatred, just sadness." The pair were last seen together at Lance Armstrong Livestrong Summit in Columbus, Ohio, this past weekend. It was during that time they decided to go separate ways, a source revealed to US Weekly.

Beginning August 4, legendary band Foreigner will make stops in Los Angeles and New York to promote their national tour and new Greatest Hits album, No End in Sight: The Very Best of Foreigner, which was released by Rhino Records on July 15. The disc features 32 tracks, including all the band's #1 hits, in addition to new live recordings and "Too Late," their first new single in more than a decade.

Foreigner's first stop will be at the Key Club on Monday, August 4th, where 95.5 KLOS' "Mark and Brian in the Morning" show will host a live performance by the band. The "Mark and Brian in the Morning" show is also offering fans the opportunity to call in and win tickets to Foreigner's live performance. Fans who cannot attend in person can listen in to the show by tuning into 95.5 KLOS on August 4th from 8:30-10:00 am PST. The band will then head to Los Angeles' AOL/Spinner studios, where they will be interviewed for "The Music Insider," followed by an interview with IGN.com.