December 20, 2008

A 20-minute featurette of "The Reader" has come out. Focusing on the powerful story of the movie and the major characters, the featurette is entitled "Adapting a Timeless Masterpiece". It contains many never-before-seen footage from the drama film as well as commentary from its leading actors, Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes, and director Stephen Daldry.

While both Fiennes and Daldry discuss on what the movie is all about, Winslet talks about her experience reading the original book and describes her character, Hanna. In it, Fiennes explains that the story asks the viewers to understand Michael's journey trying to understand Hanna. Meanwhile, Daldry describes the movie as a "story of a profound important".

Following Taylor Lautner's comment on the possibility of him being replaced as Jacob Black in "New Moon", his "Twilight" co-star, Ashley Greene, comes to his support. Talking to MTV News, the 21-year-old who plays Alice Cullen in the hit vampire drama said that she hopes Lautner will maintain his role in the sequel, saying, "I hope so."

She further added, "We all love Taylor. He's the best kid. He's so adorable and so good-hearted, and he's a good actor too. He did a great job, so I'm hoping to see him come back." Sharing her thought on Summit's reason that Lautner doesn't have the appropriate physical shape needed, she argued if that is the reason then the studio should replace her as well. Knowing that her character is described as a 4-foot-10, she said, "Oh, neither am I! I mean, really? If that's the argument, then they should replace me."

Two new promos of Disney Channel's original series, "Sonny with a Chance", have been released. The footages contain scenes from the TV movie starring Demi Lovato, plus the introduction to the lead character, Sonny.

Sonny, a talented Midwestern girl, has won a nationwide talent search to move to Los Angeles and star in a popular television series. Sonny's home and work life is documented along with her adjustment to life in the spotlight.

Tyrese Gibson has opened up about "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen". When asked by Movie Web about his Sgt. Epps character in the "Transformers" sequel, he confessed that his character has got an upgrade. "Yes, my character has been upgraded to Master Sergeant Epps. I am the top dog in the air force. I am a master sergeant. I am bringing on way more air strikes," he claimed.

"Michael Bay really beefed up my presence in this sequel. I was really happy about that," the 29-year-old shared his excitement. "Just being on the set with all of my cast members really made me feel like we'd created a family union. I think we created something that is really special. The fans out there really showed up and made us feel appreciated for what we did. It felt good to be working on something that the world is waiting to see."

Rihanna appeared on-stage for a live performance at French TV singing contest "Star Academy". She delivered two of her songs from 2007 LP "Good Girl Gone Bad", "Umbrella" and "Rehab", on the season finale of the TV talent show on December 19.

Previously, Rihanna revealed to the media she wants to collaborate with Lily Allen, Duffy and Leona Lewis for her next effort. "Lily Allen is bad ass - I love her. I also really like Duffy and Leona Lewis, who is so beautiful, with an amazing voice. I would love to do a collaboration with those girls," she explained.

Carmen Electra paid Ellen DeGeneres a visit on her daily show "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" on Friday, December 19. The actress' name has been making rounds on the headlines lately due to her cover for Playboy, the adult magazine that catapulted her name to wider market.

Coming to the show, Carmen treated the audience with a sultry dance to Beyonce Knowles' "Naughty Girl" and was joined by Ellen who wanted a "spank" before she began with the interview. Carmen also talks about her engagement to Korn guitarist Rob Patterson and whether or not she wants to have kids. Upon that question Carmen said, "Yeah, soon. I've done everything except for this."

As its Christmas release date is lurking in the corner, "Bedtime Stories" gets a red carpet treatment in Hollywood. On Thursday, December 18, Walt Disney Pictures premiered this forthcoming family comedy at the El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles, where the red carpet was highlighted with the attendance of two U.S. marines who collect toys for their "Toys for Tots" program.

While glamor was brought to the red carpet by most of the film's female stars, including Courteney Cox, Keri Russell, Teresa Palmer, Lucy Lawless, Kathryn Joosten and Aisha Tyler, the male cast ensemble, Adam Sandler, Guy Pearce and Russell Brand, came in with their own casual looks. Also in attendance were two of the film's young stars, Jonathan Morgan Heit and Laura Ann Kesling.

45-year old actress Lisa Rinna has revealed that she won't say no to posing nude for Playboy. "I'm the worst liar on the planet, I can't lie, so ... I think that could be a yes," she tells Extra when asked if she has plan to bare her body for the men's publication.

Lisa Rinna, a mother of two daughters, is best known for her roles as Billie Reed on "Days of our Lives" and as Taylor McBride on "Melrose Place" just to name a few. Beside her acting career, she also joined the second season of "Dancing with the Stars", but was eliminated in round seven.

British girl group Sugababes will be teaming up with powerhouse producers behind Rihanna and Beyonce Knowles' hit singles, according band's member Keisha Buchanan. "We're going to be working with producers who've worked with Beyonce and Rihanna so we're really looking forward to next year," she said in an interview.

In mentioning whom the band want to work with for their new album, Keisha also puts Cee-Lo on her wish list. "We'd also love to work with Cee-Lo from Gnarls Barkley - we met him when we were working with [US record producer] Dallas Austin and we'd love to do something with him," Keisha stated.

A brand new featurette for "The Spirit" has been unraveled. Highlighting on the visual effects the movie has, the behind-the-scene video includes commentary from director Frank Miller, visual effect supervisor Stu Maschwitz and cast members, Samuel L. Jackson and Eva Mendes about how the movie comes to life with the help of the VFX.

While Miller and Maschwitz discuss on how the idea for the movie is materialized, Jackson and Mendes talk about their experiences shooting with the green screen. In it, Miller also explains on his vision of re-introducing color as an powerful element. The featurette also brings many footage, exposing the filming of some scenes and the final result of the scene after the visual effect is added.

Memorable moments from the recent Beijing Olympic will be highlighted in a two-hour special by NBC. The network will air "Beijing Olympic Opening Ceremony: TV Event of the Year" on a primetime slot (8/7c) on December 27 with hosts Bob Costas and Matt Lauer.

The two men, who also hosted the original telecast in August, will show the biggest moments in the sports event, including the performance of swimmer Michael Phelps that brought U.S.A. eight gold medallions. There will also be a brief look forward to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

A music video to support Demi Lovato's new single "La La Land" has been premiered. Aired for the first time on Disney Channel on December 19 at 8 P.M. ET, it starts with a scene where the Disney star sits down for an interview.

When in-video show's host asks Demi what it is like to be a star, the video switches into a look of satire scenes presenting her "young artist's life in Hollywood" with red carpet events, luxurious rides and bodyguards staying around her. Also, it features cameo appearances from her "Sonny With a Chance" castmates, Tiffany Thorton, Allisyn Arm, Doug Brochu, Brandon Smith and Sterling Knight.

Kanye West, a notable hip-hop artist who also has a career in fashion design, shares his fashion advice for Michelle Obama, the wife of U.S. president elect Barack Obama. As her husband's inauguration day is nearing, the soon-to-be First Lady is suggested to imitate Marge Simpson's hair style.

"Just go hardcore with it," Kanye says in a statement. He then adds, "She should do those Victor & Rolf superhero boots." As for Barack, Kanye claims, "I could design something for Obama to go to the club in. But I don't know if I'm ready for suits and stuff!"

More photos of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" are coming out from French magazine Cinelive. Posted by UniversHarryPotter, the three fresh pictures give another take on the three major characters in the sixth "Harry Potter" movie, Harry, Ron and Ginny. One of the pictures, which is the cover of the mag, focuses on Daniel Radcliffe's Harry with his lit-up wand.

The other two pictures came from the article inside the magazine. One presents Harry and Rupert Grint's Ron standing behind a wall and anxiously spying on Professor Slughorn, while the other displays a close-up look at Harry's love interest and Ron's little sister, Ginny, who is played by Bonnie Wright.

Attending the Los Angeles premiere of big screen flick "Bedtime Stories" on Thursday, December 18, Russell Brand wasn't one to shy away from making a statement that he wants Jonas Brothers to be his New Year's kiss. "I think all of the Jonas Brothers," the British comedian answered when asked on who he wants to kiss on New Year.

On wanting to kiss Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas, Russell added he wants to kiss them all "very gently and consensually." He, nevertheless, wouldn't disclose on why he wants the siblings.

Leighton Meester promises to release so-called "electropop" music for her debut studio album. She said during an interview, "The music is very fun. It's edgy, like electropop rather than bubblegum and you can dance to it."

Instead of revealing her upcoming album's concrete details further, the "Gossip Girl" star comments on her co-star in The CW's TV series Ed Westwick. "He's my favorite actor to work with. We have really good chemistry," so she claimed.

The chance for "Pushing Daisies" to get a revival is getting slimmer as its star, Kristin Chenoweth, has been hired for a new TV series created by David E. Kelley. The man who is also known as the creator of "Ally McBeal", is gearing up NBC's new project, "Legally Mad", by casting Chenoweth as one of the characters.

"I've wanted to work with her for a long time and can't wait to reveal her as someone who's completely mad," Kelley said. Chenoweth will take the role as Skippy Pylon, an apparently cheerful and brilliant attorney who still has psychotic sides in her. She is often mistaken as a teenager, but enjoys the compliment.

Another set of presenters for the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards has been uncovered. Through a press release outed on Friday, December 19, Golden Globes-nominee Jennifer Lopez and Academy Awards-nominee Salma Hayek are named among those who will give away the golden statuettes.

In addition to the two A-listers, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has also appointed comedians, Amy Poehler and Seth Rogen, to do the job as well. All four of them will be joining the previously-announced presenters that include Simon Baker, Drew Barrymore and Sacha Baron Cohen.

It was reported earlier this month that there will be a re-casting on "Samantha Who?" for the role of Sam's ex, Funk, and apparently execs have found the new guy. If the character was previously known to be played by Timothy Olyphant, the role now belongs to Billy Zane.

EW's Michael Ausiello revealed sources confirmed to him, that producers of the show starring Christina Applegate as Samantha, have replaced Olyphant with the "Titanic" star. This was reasoned as a scheduling conflict because when it was decided that Funk is brought back on the script, Olyphant had already committed himself to FX's "Damages".

Either one or a few "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" songs may appear on the nominations list of the 81st Annual Academy Awards. Four songs out of twelve tracks appearing on the movie's soundtrack album are reportedly eligible for "Best Original Song" contenders.

The soundtracks, considered to be put on the list, are "Just Getting Started", "The Boys Are Back", "Can I Have This Dance", and "A Night To Remember". On January 16, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will screen the clips from the Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens-starring film and then decide which songs should be nominated.

Adding into a previous report about Stacy Ferguson and Josh Duhamel's wedding date, the pair's wedding guests list has also been revealed. It reportedly will include Fergie's co-stars from the big screen musical adaptation of "Nine."

The likes of Kate Hudson, Marion Cotillard, and Judi Dench are among those mentioned to be invited to Fergie and Josh's nuptials, Access Hollywood exclusively reports. Still, neither Fergie nor Josh has commented on the report, which emerged just one day after the Black Eyed Peas singer wrapped the production of "Nine" in Europe.

The CW have started with the promo of their new reality TV series, "13: Fear is Real". After a clip previewing a scene from the show was released yesterday, the network have unleashed two more promos, an intro to the show and a title sequence.

Apt to its title, the promo gives introduction to how the game will be played, and where it will take place. 13 people are transported to a remote place in Louisiana Bayou which is deemed the most haunted place in the U.S. as well as the place where Voodoo is practiced largely. The contestants only know that they will be dropped into a dark wood to face their fears but they have no idea that they are being watched. The last person standing will be granted a cash price of $66,666.

MTV have got their hands on two exclusive photos from "Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience". Both of the newly-released pictures present a look at Jonas Brothers when performing in front of their fans. One is taken up, front and center when the musical trio stand next to each other at a corner of the stage, whilst the other one captures them from a distance.

Promoting the 3-D concert movie, Art Repola, one of the movie's producers claimed that it will be a great experience to see the brothers in the big screen. "I think if you went to the concert and you sat in the front row, your seats are not as good as it's going to be in the film," he said. "I think to really see what's going on beyond watching a music video of concert film, that'll be the best experience. It's surprising when you see the film and you see the size of the crowds."

Miley Cyrus will be singing live from a lucky fan's bedroom for new year's bash "FNMTV Presents: A Miley-Sized Surprise ... New Year's Eve 2009". Before performing, she will also be hanging out with the winning fan, visiting his/her friends and helping his/her favorite charity.

Broadcast from 08:00 P.M. until 09:30 P.M. ET, the bedroom show will also feature a live performance from Metro Station. Meanwhile, All Time Low, The Academy Is... and Kevin Rudolf will be making live appearances from Time Square and The Veronicas will be at MTV's studio, interviewing the event's performers and reveling in the night's festivity.

A baby boy was born on Thursday, December 18 for Mexican pop singer Luis Miguel and his wife, Mexican actress Aracely Arambula. A confirmation concerning the birth of the infant has been made on Luis' official site.

It is stated in the post that the baby boy, whose name isn't mentioned, weighed 7.7-pound at time of birth. No other description is given, except that he is healthy.

The first teaser trailer of "Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian" has been launched. Courtesy of McDonald's own HappyMeal.com, the sneak peek brings in a slew of old and new characters, including Owen Wilson's Jedediah, Robin Williams' Teddy Roosevelt, Hank Azaria's villainous Kahmunrah, Amy Adams' Amelia Earhart and Bill Hader's General George Custer.

Opened with a scene where museum night guard Larry Daley, played by Ben Stiller, is heading to the famous Washington Museum, the Smithsonian, the trailer moves to show that Daley inspects the tablet placed inside the museum. When he is about to touch the tablet, a Smithsonian guard, portrayed by Jonah Hill stops him and the two are involved in a heated argument. Then, it is shown when Daley gets a job at the museum, chaos takes over.

A video footage showing the making of T-Pain's music video for new single "Freeze", which features Chris Brown, has arrived. From the footage, the music video's director Syndrome unveils that the "kinda urban" video, due for release in early 2009, will have lots of dance moves with "a lot of cool energy" to bring in a "cool performance."

"Freeze" is the third single coming off T-Pain's third major studio album "Thr33 Ringz". The track has been available for purchase since October and it charted at number 62 on U.K. Singles chart and climbed to number 38 on Billboard Hot 100.

The home of celebrity socialite Paris Hilton, located in Sherman Oaks, Calif, was burglarized on Friday, December 19, it has been reported. An estimated $2 million worth of jewelry and other goods were taken.

"At around 5 A.M. Friday, officers received a call from a security guard who reported that Paris Hilton's residence had been broken into," People quoted LAPD spokeswoman Julie Sohn as informing. "According to detectives, a man wearing a hooded sweatshirt and gloves forced entry through the front door, ransacked her bedroom, took unknown property and fled."