January 30, 2009

"Puss in Boots" has found its script writer in television writer Tom Wheeler. The scribe who is known for his work in mini-series "Empire" and TV movie "The World According to Barnes" has been tapped to tackle the "Shrek" spin-off's screenplay, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Wheeler will work on the animation's draft which has been written by Chris Miller, the co-director and co-writer of "Shrek the Third". Aside from this DreamWorks Animation project, he has recently written the fantasy pilot "Captain Cook's Extraordinary Atlas" for ABC, and is developing the screenplay of "Cutlass Island".

Another new material entitled "Rock Star" performed by Lil Wayne has come out. The track has Juelz Santana collaborating with him on the hook. It is still unclear whether the single will be included in either Wayne or Santana's new album but rumor in the media says that it will be included in their upcoming collaboration LP "I Can't Feel My Face".

Apart from the news of the leaked song, Lil Wayne himself will release his rock-inspired album "REBIRTH" in the U.S. market on April 7, according to his publicist. "Prom Queen", the first single off the effort, has been streamed on his MySpace since January 27 right after his concert at San Diego's Cox Arena.

As previously reported, Katie Couric secures an exclusive time with four artists who have been nominated for Grammys. Her segment with big nominee Lil Wayne will discuss among others, his love of bowling, his Hurricane Katrina-inspired song, his unknown father, as well as marijuana.

Declaring his amusement in bowling, the rapper revealed that he owns four custom-made balls while taking Katie to a NYC bowling alley. "If you talk to a professional bowler, he would explain or she'll explain how your own ball and your own shoes, and perfect lanes are important," Lil Wayne said.

Less than ten days away from the theatrical release of "Push" in the U.S., Summit Entertainment held a Los Angeles premiere for the sci-fi action thriller. The studio rolled down red carpet in front of Mann Village Theater in Westwood, California on Thursday, January 29, to welcome celebrities attending the special screening event.

Spotted coming to the premiere were most of the film's cast ensemble; they were Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning, Camilla Belle, Djimon Hounsou, Neil Jackson, Maggie Siff and Ming-Na. On the occasion, Evans, Fanning, Belle and Hounsou also joined director Paul McGuigan on the red carpet and posed for the press line.

Denise Van Outen has been engaged to marry her boyfriend Lee Mead, who reportedly proposed to her shortly after they moved into their new Kent home. The couple's engagement has been confirmed by a representative for the model who verified in a statement, they haven't set a wedding date just yet, "but it will probably be later this year."

And while further details of the engagement were not disclosed, it was claimed that after popping the question Lee immediately whisked Denise off to St. Lucia in the Caribbean for a vacation. "Denise and Lee are so happy," a friend of the couple told The Sun. "They are both traditional people and it was a traditional proposal as Lee went down on one knee and then took Denise to St. Lucia. Of course Denise said 'yes' straight away! Lee bought a ring that Denise says is beautiful."

Word on the block, Anne Hathaway will lend her voice to "The Simpsons" and even make fun of her past relationship with Italian businessman Raffaello Follieri. The "Rachel Getting Married" star is booked to voice the girlfriend of Krusty.

There has been no detail which episode will Hathaway appear, but Contact Music reported that her role will be the girlfriend who testifies in court in defense of Krusty the Clown who is wrongly-accused of committing a crime. This provides as a satirical story to Hathaway's real life where her ex-lover was sentenced to a four-and-a-half year prison term after pleading guilty to 14 counts of wire fraud, conspiracy and money laundering.

A new single called "Hatin' on the Club" from Rihanna has been found. Featuring The-Dream, the Tricky Stewart-produced track is believed to be pulled out from her album "Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded" for her next studio album.

In related news, Rihanna has got green light to hold a live concert in Malaysia despite protest from conservative Muslims, which claim her outfits are too sexy and would insult local values. She will be rocking the stage of Stadium Putra as planned on February 13 in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur.

Amidst speculation claiming John Mayer has split from actress girlfriend Jennifer Aniston, a new rumor has just surfaced that the singer has been spotted kissing an unidentified blonde lady during a dinner date at Marix Tex Mex restaurant in Santa Monica on Wednesday, January 28. "He gave her a long kiss before they left," an insider who happened to be on the scene told In Touch Weekly.

"They were obviously on a date," the insider went on revealing. "He came in with her another time too and I've seen them out together. John has been here six times in the last two weeks but never with Jen." In Touch Weekly hasn't had any picture or video of evidence though. Mayer and Aniston also haven't commented on the report.

Beyond Hollywood has put forth another set of "Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li" photos. Though most of the newly-outed pictures are a close-up look at Kristin Kreuk as female fatale Chun Li, one exhibits the interaction between Robin Shou's Gen and Chun-Li while the two sit across each other.

Coming from "Doom" and "Cradle 2 the Grave" helmer Andrzej Bartkowiak, "Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li" focuses its story on undercover Interpol agent Chun-Li. Devastated by the kidnapping of her father, Chun-Li takes to the streets of Hong Kong, embarking on an epic quest for justice and hurtling toward a confrontation with a seemingly unstoppable foe.

DAY26, the musical act handpicked by P. Diddy at the end of "Making the Band 4", reveal that they feel hurt when knowing Danity Kane have broken up. The band's member Qwanell Mosley a.k.a Que told MTV, "It hurt all of us, 'cause we were family."

Willie Taylor, another member of the band, meanwhile commented, "I think even with the Danity Kane situation, I think they kept things secret to the public." He then added, "So their breakup was a big surprise. That takes a lot to keep all that bottled up inside, and they exploded to the point they can never return."

Sam and Dean fall under the spell of Siren that takes form of a seductive woman, all new in "Supernatural". The Siren eventually puts Sam and Dean under their spell and pits the two brothers against each other in a fight to the death.

Sam and Dean enter a small town in Iowa, where three men have inexplicably beaten their wives to death. The guys realize that behind the murders is a Siren, a creature that can take different forms and desperately needs love and compels people to destroy themselves as a show of devotion.

Rumors are circulating that Emily Blunt may end up not playing Black Widow in "Iron Man 2" as she is being offered a role in "Gulliver's Travels". Variety reported that the 20th Century Fox hold an option on her that was part of her deal for co-starring in "The Devil Wears Prada" that may prevent the 25-year-old from starring as the villain in the superhero sequel.

It is explained that Fox may resolve to use the option to make sure Blunt takes the role of Lilliputian princess and Gulliver's love interest due to the scheduling conflicts of the two movies. "Gulliver's" will start lensing in late March in the U.K., whereas "Iron Man 2" is expected to start principal photography in early April in Manhattan Beach, California.

Ne-Yo and John Legend have been both appointed to sing at this year's Essence Music Festival celebrating black music and culture. They will entertain music fans at the gig to be held for three days starting from July 3.

Other singers lined up to make live performances at the event include Maxwell, Anita Baker, Al Green, Robin Thicke, Eric Benet, Jazmine Sullivan, Janelle Monae, Keri Hilson and Raphael Saadiq. More musical acts may be added in coming months, according to Michelle Ebanks, president of Essence Communications Inc.

Jessica Simpson spoke out for the very first time concerning the talks over her curvier figure while she was performing on-stage at the University of Virginia's John Paul Jones Arena on Thursday night, January 29. Not mentioning her weight gain jabs specifically, Jessica told the concertgoers, "I feel like in our world today we focus on so many things that are completely pointless."

She then added, "Please remember, no matter what you go through in life, somebody else might have it harder. So just appreciate" as if she was speaking to herself. At the end of her set, Jessica said, "Thank you for your support", before then went on stating, "Stay positive, and pray out loud! I love you guys, good night."

Between love and humanity, Clark is torn. In the next "Smallville", Clark must choose to protect Lana or to let her get a revenge against Lex. Also in the episode called "Requiem", there will come a new DC villain.

An explosion at LuthorCorp kills all the Board members and injures Oliver, who was there to announce the merger of his company with LutherCorp. Oliver believes that Lex is responsible for the blast, but Clark and Lana learn that the bomber is Winslow Schott (guest star Chris Gauthier), a toymaker and former Queen Industries employee with a grudge against Oliver.

Jonas Brothers's music video promoting their single "BB Good" will be premiered during Disney Channel's show "Night of Stars". Set to be debuted on February 16 at around 8:20 P.M. (local time), it is said to contain scenes from "Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience".

In addition to premiering Jonas Brothers' music video, the show will also become a place to get a first look into Miley Cyrus' music video for her track "The Climb", which will be included in "Hannah Montana: The Movie". Following Miley's video premiere, new Disney Channel Original Movie "Dapnapped", which stars Emily Osment, David Henrie, Jason Earles, Moises Arias and Phill Lewis, will also be aired for the first time.

Greg Marcks' action thriller "Echelon Conspiracy" has just got itself a full-length trailer. Teasing more of the film's plot as well as the actions than the previously released teaser, the trailer opens with surveillance footage of a woman standing in a subway platform. The footage then moves on suggesting that the woman is about to get hit by a fast moving train.

Following an explanation that every phone call, text message and even e-mail is being monitored, recorded and analyzed, the trailer continues to show that young engineer named Max Peterson received a state of the art cellular phone which can't be tracked down. Unaware that the phone is used for dangerous purposes, he follows the instruction sent to the phone via text message and soon finds himself fighting for his life.

The divorce of high profile couple, Kimora Lee Simmons and Russell Simmons, has been finalized. Entertainment Tonight puts that matter in an exclusive report on its site and at the same time also gives a peek of their divorce papers, which reveals that the dissolution of their marriage has been made official on Wednesday, January 28.

Kimora, who is a model and reality TV star, married music mogul Russell in December 1998. They have two daughters; Ming Lee and Aoki Lee. In March 2006, the pair publicly confirmed their separation and two years later Kimora officially filed for divorce from Russell, citing irreconcilable differences.

The CW have been generous in releasing two clips from the "Screenwriter's Blues" episode of "One Tree Hill". The first clip, which is rather short, is on Julian and Brooke post having sex and the second one is one Brooke visiting the casting set to meet the actress that will portray her.

"America's Next Top Model" finalist, Cassandra Jean, who famously walked out of the competition's second season, is cast as Missy who will play Brooke in Lucas' movie. Meanwhile, other actors who will play the other versions of Nathan, Haley, Lucas and Peyton have also been revealed by TV Guide. Chandler Massey and Alexandra Sgambati will play Lucas and Peyton respectively while Matthew Atkinson and Elizabeth Lynn Hingley will play Nathan and Haley.

Pete Wentz is defending his sister in-law, Jessica Simpson, over her weight gain which has become talk of the town in the past few days. "I think that the media puts too harsh of a spotlight on women in general, and I think it's a bummer," he told Extra from the NFL Pepsi Smash Super Bowl Bash in Tampa, Florida on Thursday, January 29.

The Fall Out Boy bassist, furthermore, said, "It's bad for young women. I see it affecting young girls who come to our shows, and that's a bummer." He added, "Real beauty is on the inside, man."

In the effort to promote "He's Just Not That Into You", a brand new featurette from the upcoming romantic comedy has been released. Featuring Justin Long, Kevin Connolly and Bradley Cooper, the nearly six minutes video basically serves as the three actors' platform to prove that "He's Just Not That Into You" is not a typical romantic comedy movie.

Presenting ten chick flick cliches that are not in the movie, Long, Connolly and Cooper provide comic illustrations to the cliches they are pointing out. Like when Cooper notes that there won't be makeover montages in their movie, they act up as if Long and Cooper are giving Connolly a makeover with him trying on different kinds of outfits.

U2, Kid Rock, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss have been added as musical acts for stars-studded show of 2009 Grammy Awards. They are joined by previously-revealed performers, which include T.I., Radiohead, Rihanna and Paul McCartney.

While U2 are not on the nominations list of the 51st Annual Grammy Awards, Kid Rock has been announced as one of the musicians receiving multiple nods at the event. He is up against John Mayer, Paul McCartney, Jason Mraz, Ne-Yo and James Taylor for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance title. He also competes for an award in Best Rock Album category with Coldplay, Kings of Leon, Metallica and The Raconteurs.

MTV has previewed the first look at Super Bowl TV spot for "Race to Witch Mountain". While relatively shorter than the trailers, the one-minute snippet brings more never-before-seen footage from the Disney's adventure fantasy, teasing more on the action sequences as well as the ticklish scenes to be expected.

The spot kicks off with a scene in which two clone troopers are jumping into Jack Bruno's cab to Bruno's surprise. While the two clone-costumed men take their seats, Bruno gets a notice from headquarter that UFO convention is in town. The spot then cuts to the footage where Bruno is asking two teenagers aboard his cab where they are heading to, from then on the action-packed adventure begins to unravel.

A snippet from the interview of Grammy-nominated singer Taylor Swift by Katie Couric has been given out. The one-on-one is part of CBS' "All Access Grammy Special" which will air February 4, four days away from the gala of 51st Annual Grammy Awards.

The 19-year-old sat down talking about why she was not popular back in school and her guest starring role in "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation". Her mother Andrea Swift was also present to provide the answer to what kind of child Taylor is, which Andrea answered "she has the potential to be exhausting."

Jennifer Hudson is scheduled to release a music video for "If This Isn't Love", the single coming off her self-titled debut album, on February 9, a day after she performs at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards. Shooting for the video has reportedly been completed, taking place in Los Angeles earlier this week.

Rumor on Jennifer Hudson filming "If This Isn't Love" has been circulating in the media since December 2008. At that time, she reportedly canceled the video shoot because she was not ready to get back to work after the murders of her family.

Emmy Award-winning actor Chad Lowe will become a first time father after it has been reported that his girlfriend Kim Painter is pregnant with his baby. According to reports, the couple is expected to welcome their upcoming baby in early summer.

A representative for Chad confirmed the pregnancy news, saying in a statement the twosome "is overjoyed and could not be happier." Chad himself said that Kim revealed her pregnancy to him "with a big grin."

Four more characters from "G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra" have been unearthed through the film's file cards. Brought into attention by HissTank, the file cards reveal the first look at G.I. Joe's communications specialist Breaker, Cobra's scientist The Doctor, Cobra Viper and master of disguise Zartan.

Aside from giving a sneak peek at how the characters will look like in the movie, the file cards also provide short description to each of the characters. In his card, Breaker is described as a digital wizard who never met a system he couldn't hack into or a firewall he couldn't break through, while The Doctor as can be seen in his file card is said to be a brilliant scientist who develops the latest technologies for James McCullen and MARS industries.

Rumors claiming Evan Rachel Wood dates her co-star in "The Wrestler", Mickey Rourke, are not true and the actress says she feels "disrespected" by the press which spread the false reports and also by Rourke himself. "Just because I'm single doesn't mean that you can take advantage of me. It's unfair that the performances might suffer because of all of these distractions," so she tells Rolling Stone.

And contrary to the mounting Internet reports which mention the two actors were spotted kissing during a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards after party on Sunday, January 25, Wood insists, she is not "attracted to" Rourke because "he's too old" for her. "Nothing ever happened and nothing ever will," she adds.

A music video, which is inspired by blockbuster movie "Watchmen" to support My Chemical Romance's song "Desolation Row", is available to peek through newly-outed snippet. Brought forward by MTV, it previews frontman Gerard Way sporting a mean shiner and a butterfly bandage over his eye.

"Desolation Row" is a song made famous by Bob Dylan in 1965 and has been exclusively covered by My Chemical Romance for the soundtrack of "Watchmen". While the LP is due for U.S. release on March 3, the Zack Snyder-directed film will arrive in U.S. theaters three days later on March 6. The music video, which was also helmed by Zack, meanwhile will come out in full on Friday, January 30.

A chunk of "Gossip Girl" upcoming episode is given out as a preview. Chuck seeks the assistance of Vanessa and Nate to help him recalling the evening that he lost memory of. Chuck wakes up half naked on the floor of a hotel room and doesn't remember what happened to him or who he was with.

Nate, and Vanessa try to help him fill in the missing pieces of what is turning out to be an increasingly intriguing mystery. In the previous released promo, Chuck said that he has a memory of "the most beautiful girl" he has ever seen during the mysterious night. This girl is presumably played by Kate French who was reported earlier to have secured a 3-episodes starring role.

Celebrity photographer Connor Mead has it all, success in his work and with women, but when it comes to love, he needs a little help. And the help comes from the ones he least expects, the ghosts of his former girlfriends who help him to figure out what turns him into an insensitive jerk with women and find whether he may still find his true love or it's already too late.

Through the newly-released trailer of "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past", it can be seen how the ghosts bring Connor on an odyssey through his failed relationships-past, present and future. Firstly introducing Connor as a ladies man who doesn't mind of breaking up with multiple women on a conference call, the video footage moves on showing his capability of ruining his brother's wedding and to whom his heart really goes.

Anna Faris and her actor boyfriend Chris Pratt are engaged, a representative for the movie beauty has confirmed. In a statement issued to People, the representative says the pair got engaged last year.

Other details of the engagement are not disclosed though. It is also not known if the celebrity lovers are planning to get married soon.