August 07, 2008

In anticipation of their fifth studio album's release, Plain White T's will release a series of webisodes entitled "Meet Me in California", a name derived from the title of one of the album's tracks. The first out of planned 12 episodes has been released earlier this week through ABC Family.

The series are directed by Mike Venezia who also helmed the fivesome on their video for "Making a Memory" and live concert DVD. The first episode that runs for almost five minutes, chronicles the band during stage performance and in a Malibu studio recording for the album which will be titled "Big Bad World".

American pop singer Christina Aguilera has reportedly been invited by Billionaire Donald Trump later this month. The singer has been asked to perform in front of Donald's guests during an opening party for his new Trump International Hotel & Tower in Dubai.

The party won't take place in the Middle East where the new business is opened, but at Donald's private estate in Los Angeles. This has then made some claiming that Donald is on the way of struggling to get Hollywood rich people interested in his just-opened business in the United Arab Emirates region.

Following the outing of "College" red band trailer, a brand new restricted clip from the Deb Hagan-directed teenage comedy starring Drake Bell, Kevin Covais and Andrew Caldwell has been released. It displays how Caldwell's character trying hard to hit on two college girls they first meet at the Fieldmont University.

Highlighting on the reaction of the girls and the effort of Caldwell on hiding his high school identity, this less than a minute clip is an elaboration of the footage which has been included in the previously released trailer. The new clip can be seen via Worst Previews.

Becoming pop stars and everyone's idols, Jonas Brothers sure know how to make use their fame for good cause. The siblings are teaming up with Bayer to fight diabetes, which Nick Jonas has been diagnosed with recently.

Attempting to raise awareness on the disease, Nick in companion of brothers Kevin Jonas and Joe Jonas have all spent their time Wednesday, August 6 making an appearance before the crowd at New York City's W Hotel to help spread their words on the issue. The threesome are teaming up with the Bayer Diabetes Care organization to raise awareness among young people everywhere about proper diabetes care.

Having shot his forthcoming project in New Zealand since fall of 2007, James Cameron has finally completed the principal photography of "Avatar" and has moved onto the CG production. With that status being upheld, he comes out to discuss about his visionary on the highly anticipated 3-D sci-fi epic.

Confessing to the Hollywood Reporter that it is the most challenging movie he has ever made, the "Titanic" helmer stated that his goal with this project is to present a movie that is about CG animation and live action. During the filming in New Zealand, Cameron has taken the live-action part using the Fusion 3-D camera system. Now, he focuses on the CG part using a new performance capture production workflow.

Sarah Brightman is confirmed as sole international performer who will open 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. She will perform at the ceremony on August 8 with a Chinese singer Liu Huan.

The grand opening will subsequently be aired live on NBC's The Today Show. Unfortunately, the title and content of the theme song that the two singers will sing, still remain a mystery.

Those who attend the 2008 San Diego Comic Con may have been familiar with how Nite Owl's primary vehicle, the Nite Owl, is taking shape. But, the others missing out the event may still be curious about it. To give a shed of light on the talked-about ship, Warner Bros. Pictures have let out a new video journal of "Watchmen" highlighting its construction and the filming in it.

From Zack Snyder, the man who brought the epic story of "300" to the big screen, comes an Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' comic book adaptation about a group of superheroes in an alternate 1985 where the costumed superheroes are parts of the society. When a superhero is murdered, his former colleague runs an investigation and comes across a conspiracy to eliminate all superheroes.

Mothering one son and has since then withdrawn herself from the spotlight, Eva Herzigova is back, exposing her curvy body for a racy cover shoot for Italian GQ. Posing topless for the cover of the publication's August 2008 issue and some shots inside, the iconic Wonderbra beauty proves she still has what it takes.

GQ cover sees Eva posing in a field sans her bra, wearing only a pair of lace knickers with a strand of wheat seductively placed between her lips. Also baring her breasts for some shots inside the magazine, she is pictured in a number of seductive poses on the beach.

Bun B has released music video for second single "You're Everything" from his latest album "II Trill", which was released on May 20 under Rap-A-Lot Records. The video is directed by Mr. Boomtown and produced by Raging Nation Films.

The video displays the rapper with some friends in a room full of newspaper cuttings on its wall. As the video goes on, one by one the paper cuttings are shown transparently on the screen. The papers mainly speak about the achievement of Hollywood big stars, such as Three 6 Mafia winning Grammy Awards and Lil Wayne selling album with a total of one million copies in a week.

In courtesy of French Premiere, fans and movie lovers alike can now enjoy a series of clips from Mathieu Kassovitz's sci-fi thriller "Babylon A.D." which stars include Vin Diesel, Melanie Thierry, Michelle Yeoh and Gerard Depardieu. Featuring random scenes from the meeting of Toorop and Aurora to a fight sequence in a club, the clips display little violence materials.

Set in the near future, "Babylon A.D." centers its story on a mercenary by the name of Toorop who is hired to escort a woman, Aurora, from Eastern Europe to New York. What looks like to be a simple task soon turns to be a dangerous one when he discovers that Aurora is a host to an organism which maybe the next Messiah and everybody is racing to be the first to get it. Based on Maurice Georges Dantec's novel "Babylon Babies", the 20th Century Fox's film will hit theaters on August 29.

Having some movie projects in the pipeline while at the same time also waiting in anticipation for the birth of his third child, Mark Wahlberg won't waste time doing nothing. He's adding more task into his agenda, making a cameo appearance in the HBO's comedy series "Entourage."

Often starring in action movies and serving as the series' executive producer, the hunk will have his comedy skills being tested as he's been tapped to shoot a scene with the project's greatest treasure Jeremy Piven who plays as rambunctious Hollywood agent Ari Gold. "I did one other cameo in the ('Entourage') pilot but I didn't get to do a scene with Jeremy Piven," Wahlberg said about him making a cameo appearance on the series' fifth season. "This time it's me and Piven going at it, so it was fun."

Jonas Brothers had to delay their live performance at Saratoga Spring concert on August 2 following Nick's bad health condition. Nick Jonas left stage for medical assistance because his insulin level dropped and he felt weak.

Nick gave secret warning to his band mate brothers, Joe Jonas and Kevin Jonas, telling about his unwell condition. His brothers then kept reading all signs that audiences were holding up in front of the stage to distract people's attention and therefore gave time for Nick to get his diabetic treatment. Joe said, "I chatted with the audience and kept reading all the signs people were holding up." In line with his brothers' statement, Nick said in a further explanation, "I was only bad for, like, a minute, but Joe kept talking and talking for, like, five minutes."

Kanye West has continued his defense for Soulja Boy who often becomes the subject of ridicule due to his instant success through the "Crank That" phenomenon. In a concert at Madison Square Garden, New York on Tuesday, August 5, the rapper took time to deliver his thought regarding slur problems faced in the realm of hip-hop.

The concert which is part of his Glow in the Dark tour was wrapped with a speech where he addressed how harsh people has criticized the young rapper. "How is Soulja Boy killing hip-hop?" Kanye shouted out to the crowd. "He had one of the biggest songs of the summer. If anything, he's helping keep it alive. You don't have to be Lil Wayne in order for people to say your sh** is fresh." He also emphasized on the need to accept diversity, adding "Open y'all's f***in' minds. Be accepting of different people. Let people be who they are."

When talking about the direction to which he is going to bring "Hellboy III", director Guillermo del Toro stated that the third of the planned trilogy is about him being an adult and dealing with the consequences resulting from "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" hinting that the big red demon is most likely to meet his doom. However, that is the one idea that creator Mike Mignola wants to postpone.

When asked to clarify del Toro's statement, "The third one would be facing your destiny, if such a thing exists, and making the ultimate decision," Mignola shared his conflicting idea with the renowned director. "The problem is, what del Toro's talked about to me is that 'Hellboy III' would be the end of Hellboy," explained the comic book artist. "And here's where we have the big conflict."

Despite Danny Glover's earlier rejection on the idea of another "Lethal Weapon" movie, "Lethal Weapon 5" could have been put on the burner. A recent report claims that the writer of the first "Lethal Weapon" film, Shane Black, has written a spec script for the fifth installment of the cop action franchise.

According to Hollywood tracking board TrackingB.com via Coming Soon, the scribbler has shown the script to producer Joel Silver in hopes that the story is continued. Reportedly, the fifth film will follow homicidal Detective-Sergeant Martin Riggs and his partner, LAPD Detective Sergeant Roger Murtaugh, in solving their last case before retiring for good.

The case is closed. A law enforcement official said Wednesday, August 6 that the U.S. Attorney's Office has closed the investigation into Heath Ledger's accidental death by drug overdose early this year. Not only federal prosecutors have decided not to pursue a criminal case into how the late actor obtained the painkillers that contributed to his death, but also they file no charges in the case.

Ledger was found dead in his Soho apartment on Jan. 22. He was 28 years old. Following an autopsy, authorities determined the actor died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs for pain, anxiety and sleep. They have since then tracked down on who contributed the substances to him. Heath's former fiancee Michelle Williams and ex-girlfriend Helena Christensen are among the people who have been involved in the investigation.

The new cover art for Pink's new single "So What" has been unveiled on her official site and can be seen on the news' photo. Along with the single cover comes a leaked audio of the song which supposed to hit the airwaves on August 18 via American CHR.

"So What" will be the lead single of Pink's upcoming fifth studio album which is scheduled for an October 28 release. She has shot a music video for the single with Dave Meyers taking the director role. Meyers previously worked with her in the videos for "U + Ur Hand" and "Stupid Girls", the latter which won the Best Pop Video at 2006 MTV Video Music Awards.

R&B star Usher has rehired mother Jonnetta Patton as his manager after ending his contract with Benny Medina which works for W&W Public Relations. The decision is mutual where both parties still feel the utmost respect for each other. Usher's recording label LaFace/Zomba said, "Usher has dissolved his management arrangement with Benny Medina and has re-engaged Jonnetta Patton as his manager."

Usher has fired Benny allegedly due to a disappointing record sale of his "Here I Stand" album released on May 27, 2008. The album has also failed to hold on long enough at top ten in Billboard Hot 200. However, Benny has defended that the sale drop is caused by high expectation and steep competition among Hollywood singers that get stiff from time to time. In a statement, he said, "With an artist like Usher, the bar is set really high. Whether it was management, marketing or the music, we achieved a #1 single and a #1 album. It is a completely new day and time in music now. In four years, his audience, demographic and musical direction has changed. Records like Lil Wayne's 'Lollipop' are the type of phenomena that 'Yeah' was in 2004."

In a recent casting rumor hitting the media, it has been reported that Hollywood starlet Natalie Portman has been tapped to headline the remake of Dario Argento's 1977 horror, "Suspiria". The interesting tidbit about this news is that Portman's publicist has responded to the speculation by nixing it, but Bloody Disgusting, the site which came out with the confirmation on the casting, stands firm with their report.

Regardless whether the story is true or not, if the 27-year-old is indeed attached to the project, she will be playing the main character originally portrayed by Jessica Harper. It means that she will slip on ballet shoes and depict a young American ballet student going to Germany to attend a prestigious dance academy only to find the school to be a cover up for a coven.

Remaining silent on her much reported lesbian relationship with close pal DJ Samantha Ronson, it appears that Lindsay Lohan has her own way to express her love for her same-sex lover. Keeping mum on their romance despite the mounting evidence that shows they indeed are couple, E! News reported that the gal pals get matching tattoos.

According to E! Lindsay initially got a white-colored heart tattoo between her thumb and index finger back in July 2006 when she was still dating former boyfriend Harry Morton. She's said to have changed its color into black recently. As if to confirm their love for each other, Ronson reportedly also got one for herself on her left hand.

Introducing the star-studded drama movie based on Bret Easton Ellis' 1994 collection of short stories, Senator International present the R-rated trailer of "The Informers". Filled with foul language and nudity, the trailer takes more than 3 minutes to be fully watched and showcases a line of talented actors, including Winona Ryder, Billy Bob Thornton, Kim Basinger, Mickey Rourke and the late Brad Renfro.

Set in Los Angeles in 1983, the Gregor Jordan-directed movie follows seven interconnected stories of movie executives, rock stars, a vampire and other morally challenged characters in the course of a week. Though expected to open sometime in 2008, the exact release date of "Informers" has yet to be announced.

World's teen idol Miley Cyrus has to end her brief reign at number one in Billboard Hot 200 this week. Miley is beaten out by American country music duo Sugarland as their album "Love on the Inside" pushes its selling number with a total of 171,383 copies this week. Meanwhile, Miley's latest album "Breakout" can only move its selling point from 371,000 copies last week to 163,000 copies this week.

Furthermore, soundtrack of "Mamma Mia!" by pop music group ABBA still remains at number three in the chart with 18 percent decrease selling point from 168,000 to 138,000 copies. Kid Rock's sixth album "Rock N Roll Jesus" stays put at number four with 96,000 copies, thanks to his crossover success of single "All Summer Long".

Robert B. Weide-directed film "How to Lose Friends & Alienate People" apparently won't only present moviegoers with a typical comedy movie. In the same spirit as "Tropic Thunder", it will display movie-within-a-movie exposing Megan Fox in an NC-17 Mother Teresa biopic, "Mother Teresa: The Making of a Saint", and the fake movie has just revealed its trailer.

In the made-up film for "How to Lose Friends", Fox can be seen as Sophie Maes, an actress portraying a beautiful young Macedonian woman, Agnes. Upon receiving a message from God, Agnes joins a nunnery but her faith is put to the ultimate test when a handsome young priest tempts her and challenges her faith. While the trailer can be enjoyed below, more details about the meta-movie can be read at Teresa: The Making of A Saint website.

The life drama of Morgan Freeman continues. Just days after he was involved in a car accident in Mississippi that left him hospitalized, a new report has just surfaced that he and wife Myrna Colley-Lee are divorcing after 24 years of marriage.

One of the actor's business partners says "The Dark Knight" star and Myrna, who's a costume designer for theater, have filed for divorce. The friend, identified as Bill Luckett, who co-owns a restaurant and blues club in Clarksdale, Miss. with Freeman, claims the divorce has been in the works even before the accident occurred.

As promised, a new music video from T.I. is premiered in support of his latest single "Whatever You Like". The video gets a slot on BET's "Access Granted" yesterday (August 8) and will be personally delivered by the rapper again on the same network today via "New Joint".

The video that was shot in both Los Angeles and Malibu was directed by the famed Dave Meyers who won a Grammy in 2006 for "Best Short Form Music Video" for his work in Missy Elliott's "Lose Control". In the new video, T.I. gives a former diner cashier a huge treat by pampering her with all the money and luxury, a literal meaning to the song's title "Whatever You Like". A twist of story occurs when the girl discovers the truth in the end.

Rumor has it Britney Spears is going to make a comeback to the big screen and it looks like she will return as the lead character in Quentin Tarantino's remake of "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!". Before the story is blown out of its proportion though, her camp has come out with a denial.

To Access Hollywood, a representative for the "Gimme More" songstress rejected the idea stating, "Though she definitely intends to explore acting roles down the road, right now she's concentrating on recording her next album." Stressing on the slamming down of the speculation, an insider to Tarantino's also offered the same negative note insisting that it is fake by stating, "There is no truth to this."

Jenna Jameson's dream of having child of her own comes true, finally. Her long wait is paid off as it's been reported that she's pregnant with longtime partner Tito Ortiz's child. The New York Post's Page Six gossip column is the first to report that matter.

Revealing since longtime that she's willing to have baby with the mixed martial artist, Jenna is said to have "had a bunch of meetings and things planned for Fashion Week, including meetings for her own line, but she's postponed everything." That's because she's carrying, Page Six cited its source as saying.