January 19, 2009

On Monday, January 19, Visual Effects Society have announced their nominees for the 7th annual Visual Effects Society Awards and "Iron Man" dominates the fields with five gongs. The superhero movie starring Robert Downey Jr. is up for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture and Best Single Visual Effect of the Year among other things.

In those two categories, the Jon Favreau-directed action movie will be facing strong competition from from "Cloverfield" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". Still, for the Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven title, it also has to overshadow "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" and "Hellboy II: The Golden Army", while for the Single Visual Effect of the Year prize, it has to go up against "The Day The Earth Stood Still" and "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull".

Ciara's new song entitled "I Don't Remember" has been available to stream. Reportedly coming from the writing hands of Ne-Yo, the ballad track is believed to be listed in her upcoming third major studio album "Fantasy Ride".

Ciara is expected to release "Fantasy Ride" on April 7 across U.S. For the effort, she teams up with Ludacris in single "High Price". She also joins forces with T-Pain in song "Go Girl" and Young Jeezy in track "Never Ever".

Screenwriter Rob Thomas has stayed true to his words on the big screen treatment for "Veronica Mars". Having claimed earlier that he will develop the series for a movie as soon as he has time, the "Cupid" creator confirmed to iF Magazine that he is working on the film project now that his new series order has been reduced.

"That means I have time to write the VERONICA MARS movie," he said explaining the advantage of the cut down of the series order. "But my writing the movie is half the battle. Someone else has to pay for it. Joel Silver does have a certain pile of money. He called on me saying 'Can we do this now?' Kristen [Bell] wants to do it. Joel wants to do it and I want to do it. For me, that's the next project."

Hip-Hop act N.E.R.D, comprising of rappers Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo and Shay Haley, will not head up to Auckland for a live concert because they have canceled the planned show. The group were supposed to perform at Auckland's Vector Arena on February 26 as part of an Australian tour.

Without further explanation, promoters Future Entertainment claim the cancellation happens "due to recording commitments." There hasn't been any statement from N.E.R.D's management team regarding the pulling-off though. Full ticket refunds for the New Zealand show are available at the point of purchase.

Dominic Monaghan could be seen once again as the intelligent yet innocent and well-meaning Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck. To MTV News at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, the 32-year-old actor reveals that "The Hobbit" producers want to bring "Lord of the Rings" hobbits back, saying "They really want us to come back, and I think there's a really strong chance that we might be back."

On the chance, Monaghan who will next be seen starring as Barnell Bohusk in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" gushes that he has met the writers, Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. "I've been chatting with Pete and [writers] Fran [Walsh] and Philippa [Boyens] about the chance of us coming back," he recalls. "I think the fans of the first three 'Lord of the Rings' films will be charmed by going back into the world."

Aubrey O'Day, the former member of Danity Kane, has opened up about what she has for her forthcoming solo studio effort, saying that she will stay true to the group roots. "With my solo album, I'm keeping true to the Danity Kane roots, with the R&B/pop roots," she tells MTV.

"I'm taking more of a rock-electronic edge to it, and I'm a little rocker in my heart," Aubrey explains more. "I think it's going to be fun, danceable music that is outside of the box and allows you to express yourself in any way possible, which is exactly who I am as a person."

One more promo has been released for the arrival of "Castle", a crime drama slash comedy series which is lined-up by ABC for the midseason. The new program starring Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic will premiere on Monday, March 9 at 10/9c.

Fillion plays Richard Castle, a wildly famous mystery novelist who is bored with his own success, but learns that a real-world copycat killer has started staging murder scenes depicted in his novels. Rick is soon questioned by NYPD Detective Kate Beckett, a very bright, aggressive detective who keeps her investigations under tight rein. Rick and Kate's styles instantly clash, yet sparks begin to fly, leading both to danger and a hint of romance as Castle steps in to help find the killer.

TV beauty AnnaLynne McCord has sparked rumors of her dating "Twilight" actor Kellan Lutz, yet again, after they were seen having a romantic dinner at Arnie Morton's Steakhouse in Burbank, California on Friday, January 16. The pair was making their way out of the eatery when a photographer noticed them, after which they quickly split apart.

McCord ignited rumors of her dating Lutz back in October last year as she struck a close and tight pose with the actor at Planet Funk's Fashion Week Kick-off Party at Kress Supper Club. They, moreover, were also seen together in Miami over New Year.

More are peeled on the spin-off of "Gossip Girl" which is baking in the oven. After the announcement of Lily van der Woodsen being the center of the story, questions are bubbling out on how the other characters will appeal to the show and whether any one has been cast yet.

Providing the answers is writer Josh Schwartz who emphasized that none of the roles in the story has been filled. He also revealed that the stage of the production is young, saying "I'm writing it right now with Stephanie [Savage] as we speak. We're being very, very careful that nothing we do will feel like we are biting off from the Gossip Girl original."

Video footage showing Beyonce Knowles and Mary J. Blige's live appearances during a welcoming party for Barack Obama's presidential ceremony has arrived. Beyonce delivered "America the Beautiful", while Mary sang Bill Withers' 1972 hit single "Lean on Me".

Other stars, whose performances at Lincoln Memorial have been available to watch, include will.i.am, who appeared on-stage with Sheryl Crow and Herbie Hancock singing Bob Marley's "One Love", Usher, who made a duet with Shakira and Stevie Wonder performing "Higher Ground", and John Legend, who teamed up with James Taylor on "Shower the People".

Responding to the recent report that "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" is getting extensive re-shoots treatment, the action fantasy movie star Hugh Jackman sent out an e-mail exposing a new image from the movie to Ain't It Cool News. The brand new picture exhibits Jackman's Wolverine as the center of attention. Behind him stands Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool, Taylor Kitsch's Gambit, Liev Schreiber's Sabretooth and Lynn Collins' Silver Fox.

Aside from bringing forth the photo, Jackman also explained about the re-shoots. "I wanted to reach out and let you know that due to scheduling conflicts with certain cast members and location/weather considerations, we had to wait until now to shoot a couple of scenes," part of the e-mail read. "Please rest assured that WOLVERINE will be badass and hopefully meet all of your expectations."

Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas took along their youngest brother, Frankie "Bonus" Jonas, on Sunday, January 18 to join them in a live chat with Jonas Brothers' fans. The bothers, additionally, also had newly-formed band Honor Society joining them to discuss about several issues.

In the beginning of their live chat, Frankie asked one fan from Canada the most recent name of his band. He then gave brief explanation to the fan about his band's name. Finishing his part, he eventually left as Kevin, Joe, and Nick introduced their guest, Honor Society.

Having had a graphic performance opposite Kimberley Nixon in "Cherrybomb" apparently doesn't get the jitters out of Rupert Grint for his next romantic scene in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". In an article posted by The Telegraph, the 20-year-old English actor reveals his "worries" on having to do a romantic scene with co-star Emma Watson for the next "Harry Potter" installment.

"As I've known Emma for so long, I reckon it will be 10 times worse," the actor who plays Harry Potter's best friend, Ron Weasley, shares on what he thinks of the kissing scene he reportedly is expected to film with the 18-year-old sometime in February. He then continues, "I really love the seventh book, but there is no way it will be tame with the Hermione stuff."

Another Disney star Corbin Bleu has been recruited to make a live performance at "Kids' Inaugural: We Are the Future", one of the 10 official inaugural balls celebrating Barack Obama's inauguration ceremony. He will be joined by other previously-confirmed musical acts such as Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato.

While Joe Jonas and his singer brothers are set to deliver two of their hit singles "Burnin' Up" and "Lovebug", Corbin will be taking the stage at Verizon Center singing "The Moment That Matter", which is taken from his sophomore studio album "Speed of Light". He will be performing the track with the Mt. Vernon High School choir.

While Kitty is swelling with her pregnancy, her mother Nora and sister Sarah plan to give her a surprise baby shower. In the next episode of "Brothers & Sisters" called "Owning It", Nora also gets a call from an important person in William's past.

Meanwhile, Rebecca's loyalties between Holly and the Walkers become more divided than ever when she discovers Tommy's plan to drive her mother out of the family business. Marc Wilson the president of Wexley University offers Kitty a job as a principle.

Celebrating the 1st birthday of son Max Liron Bratman, Christina Aguilera threw a party on Saturday, January 17 at the Beverly Hills home she shares with husband Jordan Bratman. The festivity, having the theme inspired by the classic children's book "Where the Wild Things Are," was attended by costumed mythical characters from the book.

Christina, as reported by People, had the trees surrounding her house being decorated in festive blue, green and pink balloons. She treated her guests to kid-friendly food, which included mini peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches, catered by Los Angeles-based caterer Along Came Mary.

To follow up his 2004 record "Kiss of Death", Jadakiss is scheduled to drop his third studio album "The Last Kiss" on March 10 across U.S. In the new effort, he taps Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy, Pharrell Williams, Ne-Yo and many others as his collaborators.

Jadakiss collaborates with Wayne in a song called "Death Wish" and teams up with Jeezy in another single entitled "Something Else". He meanwhile prefers to join forces with Williams in single "Two-Step" and for a duet with Ne-Yo, he chooses to share the mic in a song titled "By My Side".

Obnoxious Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson will be found once again in "Spider-Man 4" through actor J.K. Simmons. MTV Splash Page reported that the 54-year-old actor has unveiled the casting report during an interview with the entertainment site at 2009 Sundance Film Festival, hinting also that the fourth film will start filming in 2010.

Revealing his satisfaction to play the aggressive editor-in-chief, the actor who plays Mac MacGuff in "Juno" stated that he isn't looking for increased screen time, "We've definitely brainstormed ideas for Triple-J, but I have no desire to make Triple-J more of the focus of those movies." He added, "The amount that I did in 1, 2 and 3, is just exactly right. Like be the wolf. Come in, blow in, do a week, blow out, be the comic relief, and hit the road. And let Tobey and everybody else do the heavy lifting."

After the 100th episode, "Desperate Housewives" will take a three weeks break before returning on February 8 with "Mama Spent Money When She Had None". This time, Gaby and Carlos will be rich again, while others take the opposite route.

Bree reaps the success of her new book by treating herself to a new car, while Lynette and Tom resolve to sell his Mustang for some extra cash; and Susan is determined to send MJ to the best school, even though she and Mike can't afford it. Meanwhile, Gaby joins Edie's no nonsense boot camp to get herself back into shape, and Lee is conflicted over whether to tell Lynette and Tom some disturbing facts about Dave.

According to a report made public by the Daily Mail, Courtney Love's 16-year-old daughter Frances Bean Cobain is a huge fan of movie hottie Robert Pattinson and so her mother wants to set her up with the 22-year-old actor. "Courtney thinks he's charming and handsome and absolutely has to be Frances's first date," a source claims. "She's doing everything she can to engineer another meeting."

No words on what the things that Courtney have done to play a matchmaker for Frances and Robert. It is also not known if Robert knows that Frances is one of his fans.

The talks of George Clooney returning to "ER" have been bouncing up and down since co-stars Noah Wyle and Anthony Edwards decide to go back and suggest their pal to do similarly. This time, the demand has been risen particularly since "ER" is going to wrap up on April 2, and executive producer John Wells says that it is possible.

Wells told E! that should Clooney decides to show his face on the show, then it will be a last minute call because he "loves practical jokes". He said, "George is very busy, he's very handsome...(and) we've talked about (him coming back) a couple of times. It's George. We'll be shooting down there at the end, and if he comes by and says he wants to do something, he'll do it."

"500 Days of Summer" has just got its teaser trailer released. Opening the sneak peek with a voiceover of a narrator explaining that the movie is not a love story but rather a story about love, the video footage begins with a shot of the two main characters, Tom and Summer, sitting on a bench together.

This romantic comedy tells the story about a guy named Tom who loves a girl named Summer who doesn't love him back. It follows the hapless greeting card copywriter Tom as he recalls the highs and the lows of his relationship with Summer in order to figure out what went wrong in the period of their 500 days together.

U.S. president elect Barack Obama told the tens of thousands people attending the pre-inaugural concert at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday, January 18 that there is still hope for all Americans for a better future. The star-studded gala that featured performances by a number of music legends was held to kick off the four days of celebrations and festivities surrounding Barack's presidential inauguration.

"I stand here today as hopeful as ever that the United States of America will endure, that it will prevail - that the dream of our founders will live on in our time," the incoming American president said in a statement. "What gives me that hope is what I see when I look out across this mall. It is you - Americans of every race and region and station - who came here because you believe in what this country can be and because you want to help us get there."

Music fans in France have voted their particular favorites at this year's NRJ Music Awards. Britney Spears, Jonas Brothers, Katy Perry, Rihanna and The Pussycat Dolls among others were those receiving awards at the gala ceremony taking place on January 17 in Cannes.

Claiming double victory, Britney was named as International Female Artist of the Year, beating down Christina Aguilera, Pink, Rihanna and Beyonce Knowles. She also scooped another prize for Music Video of the Year, putting aside other music videos coming from Fall Out Boy, Martin Solveig, Zaho and Stanislas et Calogero.

Back in the middle of this month, Melissa George confirmed that she is leaving "Grey's Anatomy" and that she was bound to her last day of work that week. What she didn't go on details was her reason for the exit that she simply ruled as doing "something else". A scoop from Star Magazine revealed that she is actually clashing with one of the people behind the show.

Playing a bisexual character, she was supposed to have a "full-blown love affair" with Sara Ramirez's character, Callie, but the story line reportedly has been cut off and she blames it on the show's creator, Shonda Rhimes. "So many pages were being cut from my character every week," Melissa allegedly told a friend. "I was supposed to have a full-blown love affair with Callie, but Shonda said the network was making too many notes on the storyline."

The 81st Annual Academy Awards is still several weeks away, but Selena Gomez already has her pick for the much anticipated prestigious awards show, hoping drama-romance "Revolutionary Road" to win all the gongs. "I love Revolutionary Road. That is the movie I want to take all the awards. I can't even get over it," the Disney star tells US Weekly. She goes on gushing, "Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio just kill it."

Asked if in the days ahead she wants to take challenging roles in Hollywood film industry just like Winslet, she says with assurance, "Yes, absolutely. I love being challenged." About that she explains, "I love the Disney channel, and I always want to keep that relationship because they gave me my start, but I'd love to someday make a transition and do roles that are really challenging for me. I'd like to do comedy, romance, anything."

A welcoming party celebrating Barack Obama's presidential ceremony has been held on Sunday afternoon, February 18, featuring live appearances from Beyonce Knowles, Bruce Springsteen and other big names. The two-hour show was kicked off by Denzel Washington telling the crowd, "We are inspired by the man we've elected to be the 44th president."

Following Denzel's speech was Bruce's live performance. Accompanied by a full gospel choir who all dressed in red robes, he strummed his guitar and delivered post-9/11 anthem "The Rising" at Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

"Paul Blart: Mall Cop" has presented an impressive opening weekend at the North American box office. Knocking down Clint Eastwood's drama "Gran Torino" from the #1 position and exceeding expectations, the Kevin James' PG-rated comedy pulled in $31.8 million over the three-day weekend.

Having an even appeal to basically everybody, the movie about a bumbling security guard who takes on a gang of thieves were watched by those under and over the age 25 with the percentage of 56% to those under 25 and 44% to those over 25. Rory Bruer, president of worldwide distribution for Sony, also claimed that the movie is expected to reach $40 million over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday by the end of Monday, January 19.

Anne Heche is pregnant with a baby boy, her representative has confirmed to US Weekly. Though so, there's still no clue on her due date.

The baby that Anne is carrying is her first child with actor boyfriend James Tupper, whom she began dating following her separation from ex-husband Coleman 'Coley' Laffoon. In addition to the upcoming baby boy, Anne also has another son, Homer Heche, whom she has with Coleman.