December 24, 2010

A representative for British rapper Dizzee Rascal has been forced to deny rumors he is dating Australian singer Natalie Imbruglia, after the pair was spotted enjoying a shopping trip in London on Thursday, December 23. The "Bonkers" hitmaker sparked speculation he's romancing the Torn singer when they were snapped arm-in-arm while picking out gifts in the city's posh Mayfair area.

The pair reportedly became close after meeting on the private island resort owned by billionaire Richard Branson last year. A source tells Britain's The Sun, "Natalie and Dizzee hit it off and kept in contact. They were keen to see each other."

Justin Bieber urged fans to embrace the Christmas spirit as he wrapped up his U.S. tour on Thursday, December 23 - by parking a bus outside the Atlanta, Georgia venue so the audience could donate gifts for sick children. The "Baby" hitmaker ended his trek at the city's Philips Arena and teamed up with local radio station Q100 for the Stuff Bieber's Bus campaign, which called on the pop star's followers to hand over toys and games for ill kids at the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta centre.

Bieber visited the medical facility after the show to hand out the gifts - and the star insists he felt compelled to use his fame to give back at Christmas. He says, "I have such a big platform, it would be silly if I didn't do something positive with it. I got contacted by their radio station... (and they) asked us if we wanted to be involved ... and it was just something I thought would be really cool."

Hollywood actor Christian Bale is heading East - he's set to star in a new movie by Chinese director Zhang Yimou. "The Dark Knight" star has signed up to become the first big American actor to take on a lead role in a domestically-financed Chinese film.

"Thirteen Women of Nanjing" will feature Bale as a pious man "who attempts to save a group of young women forced into prostitution by the Japanese Army" during World War Two, Yimou announced in a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday, December 22.

Chicago's film critics have followed their fellow American experts and voted "The Social Network" the best film of 2010. David Fincher's movie, about the invention of Facebook.com, has already garnered favor from critics' groups in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Indiana, and Houston, Texas. The movie also landed six Golden Globe nominations when the contenders were announced earlier this month.

And the accolades continued when the winners were read out at the Chicago Film Critics Association's awards earlier this week - Fincher's acclaimed film was voted Best Picture yet again. Colin Firth, another big winner on the critics circuit, won the Best Actor trophy in Chicago for "The King's Speech", while fellow favorite Natalie Portman was voted Best Actress for thriller "Black Swan".

Danielle Staub dishes on the direction she takes for her forthcoming studio album. After releasing two love songs, "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" star is now ready to explore the dance floor with upbeat tunes.

"I'm going back in the recording studio to work on my own. I think that is where people are going to set me aside. And it won't be anymore slit your wrist music," she opens up to Radar Online. "I had to do it, but now it's all about having fun."

Kanye West's "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" has topped another important end-of-year albums poll after landing the honor from Spin magazine's editors. The acclaimed album was named the best of 2010 ahead of Deerhunter's "Halcyon Digest" and "The Suburbs" by Arcade Fire.

LCD Soundsystem's "This is Happening" and Jamey Johnson's "The Guitar Song" round out the Spin top five, while albums from M.I.A., Kid Cudi, Janelle Monae, Grinderman and Robyn make the top 10.

Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro's movie comedy "Little Fockers" looks set to celebrate Christmas at the top of the U.S. box office after scoring a $7.2 million opening day on Wednesday, December 22.

Studio bosses at Universal expect the sequel to debut on Sunday, December 26 with $60 million. But the Coen Brothers' "True Grit" remake and the "Tron" sequel are also performing well at cinemas with the newly-released western expected to be a big hit among moviegoers on Christmas Day.

Animal lover Ellen DeGeneres has given America's stray pets a Christmas boost by teaming up with bosses at dog food firm Halo to deliver one million meals to unwanted pooches. The comedienne and TV personality launched a campaign to raise awareness about pet adoption with Halo bosses earlier this year and now she's making sure dogs awaiting homes get a good meal this Christmas.

She says, "At Halo we want to promote healthy living for pets and good food is a big part of that. So, we agreed to donate one million meals of Halo to shelter pets. I mean, imagine, an animal in a shelter, in a cage, lonely - a good meal is kinda all they have to look forward to, until you adopt them!"

Lady GaGa has beaten Alicia Keys to lead the list of the most charitable celebrities of the year. The "Poker Face" hitmaker's outspoken support for gay rights and her tireless efforts in the campaign for the repeal of the U.S. military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy placed her at number one, just ahead of Keys, who led the charge against HIV and AIDS in 2010.

The ladies are at the top of the Celebs Gone Good countdown, compiled by teen charity DoSomething.org. Country sweetheart Taylor Swift, Hollywood couple Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, Matt Damon and Justin Bieber all feature in the top 10.

Katy Perry has clinched the Christmas number one single in America by scoring a third week at the top of the charts with "Firework". The newlywed has kept a surging Bruno Mars from the top of the Billboard charts - his "Grenade" moves up to two on the new countdown.

Mars and Rihanna both score top 10 doubles - Mars' "Just the Way You Are" moves up a spot to six, while Rihanna's "What's My Name?" drops to three and "Only Girl (In the World)" falls a spot to seven. Pink's "Raise Your Glass" and Ke$ha's "We R Who We R" round out the new top five.

Troubled singer/actress Demi Lovato has reached a financial settlement with a dancer who accused the Disney star of punching her in the face. Alex Welch threatened to sue Lovato earlier this month if she didn't apologize for reportedly lashing out at her during an incident on a plane in October.

The dancer claimed the altercation left her with a black eye and a bruised cheekbone, and the fight is rumored to have prompted Lovato to pull out of a world tour with the Jonas Brothers and check into rehab for undisclosed "emotional and physical issues".

New Kids On The Block star Joey McIntyre and his wife Barrett are celebrating after revealing they're about to become parents again. The singer has confirmed to website TooFab.com his third child is on the way.

The couple already has two sons - Griffin, three, and Rhys Edward, who celebrated his first birthday earlier this month. Joey McIntyre tied the knot with Barrett in 2003.

Gwyneth Paltrow is set to ring in 2011 by joining her rocker husband Chris Martin and his band Coldplay onstage at their New Year's Eve concert with Jay-Z in Las Vegas, according to a U.S. report. The Hollywood actress hits the high notes in her new movie "Country Strong", in which she plays an alcoholic singer battling to get her career back on track, and she recently wowed fans with an all-singing, all-dancing stint on hit TV series "Glee".

She also performed live at the Country Music Association Awards last month. Now the New York Post reports Paltrow will be hitting the stage as part of her New Year celebrations - rocking out with Martin and Jay-Z, who is also said to be teaming up with his superstar wife Beyonce Knowles to make the show at Sin City's Cosmopolitan one to remember.

Paris Hilton's ex-boyfriend Doug Reinhardt has shot down rumors the socialite has been caught up in another sex tape scandal, insisting the former couple never filmed themselves in the bedroom. The hotel heiress was left devastated in 2004 when ex-boyfriend film producer Rick Saloman released "1 Night in Paris" - a video featuring explicit footage of the pair having sex.

Rumors surfaced online earlier this week suggesting Hilton had become the star of another steamy home video while she was dating Reinhardt. But Amanda Ruisi, a representative for the former "The Hills" star, has dismissed the claims, telling TMZ.com, "Doug says a sex tape with Paris and him doesn't exist and never existed."

Comedian Steve Martin had his Twitter.com followers scratching their heads this week after appearing to "report from jury duty" with a series of controversial updates about his court sessions. The "Pink Panther" star began writing the court-inspired tweets on Monday, December 20, leading fans to believe he had been summoned to perform his civic duty.

But his microblog messages immediately prompted devotees to question whether he was actually sitting on a jury or if it was all a big ruse after raising concerns about his impartiality with his very first post. He wrote, "REPORT FROM JURY DUTY: defendant looks like a murderer. GUILTY. Waiting for opening remarks."

The riot happening on Wisteria Lane which led Paul Young getting shot during the December 12 episode of "Desperate Housewives" prompts police to come down to the neighborhood to investigate the crime. The officers will knock on the door and meet the housewives when the TV show returns from its long holiday break on January 2 with episode "Assassins".

Susan's life hangs in the balance after being trampled by the rioting mob on Wisteria Lane; the fate of Paul Young is revealed following the aftermath of the riot, but who shot him?; Keith moves in with Bree but is shocked when Orson pays a surprise visit; Gaby finds it difficult to purge all traces of Grace from her life in order to repair her relationship with Juanita; and Renee wrestles with telling Lynette the truth about her past with Tom.

Katy Perry and Russell Brand have decided against giving each other gifts this Christmas - because they want to focus on creating "an experience" for their first festive season as husband and wife. The "I Kissed a Girl" hitmaker married the comic in India in October after a year-long romance, but they're not marking their first holiday together as Mr. and Mrs. with presents.

Perry explains, "Honestly, we're not doing presents this year because we're going to do an experience instead. My whole life has been an experience, especially in these past few years and this year in particular."

Eminem and Rihanna's duet and Take That's latest album have dominated the U.K. charts this year - they've been named the best sellers of the last 12 months. "Love the Way You Lie" peaked at number two in the singles rundown over the summer, and it has been crowned the song of 2010 after selling a massive 820,000 copies since its release.

It was followed by Bruno Mars' "Just the Way You Are" on the list, while "OMG" by Usher featuring will.i.am rounded out the top three. On the albums list, Take That's "Progress" - which was released just last month - took the top spot with sales of 1.4 million in five weeks.

Damon Albarn has fuelled speculation his band Gorillaz won't return after a planned hiatus by bidding farewell to fans at the final gig of the group's world tour in New Zealand. The Blur rocker recently revealed the band will take a break so the various members can focus on other projects, while he's planning to use his time off to write a new stage show.

Gorillaz wrapped up their Escape To Plastic Beach tour in Auckland, New Zealand on Tuesday, December 21 and it was an emotional night for Albarn, who hinted the show might be the band's last. He told the crowd, "I'm really trying to censor my sentimentality tonight... For us, this is the last time... we all hope and pray on this stage, and (for) all the people that work with us, that we will get a chance to work together as a collective again."

Stephen Baldwin is suing Kevin Costner for allegedly duping him into selling his shares in a pioneering oil separating process. The "Dances With Wolves" star and his inventor brother were among the saviors of the BP oil spill disaster earlier this year, thanks to their oil-filtration system. The Costners sold 32 devices to BP bosses through their company Costner Industries Nevada Corporation.

The systems helped the oil experts minimize the damage caused by the massive slick, which started drifting ashore on America's Gulf Coast after a rig ruptured in April. But now the actor faces legal action from Baldwin, who claims he should have benefited from the Costners' success.

Kevin Smith's horror movie "Red State" has finally got its first teaser trailer via Smodcast. Featuring no dialogue, the clip is filled with random, disturbing scenes some of which are bloody and violent, including people held against their will and some children joining a gay protest.

The movie stars Melissa Leo, Kyle Gallner, Michael Angarano and many other actors. Having no release date just yet, the film is about religious fanaticism and follows outsiders who stumble into the "fundamentalism gone to the extreme" in Middle America.

Zac Efron who split from his girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens earlier this month has a new hair-do. The "High School Musical" actor shaved his head in a military haircut, and his fresh look was revealed when a picture of him wearing army outfit and posing with a female fan made its way out via TwitPic.

Efron reportedly cut his hair on the set of his new movie "The Lucky One". He also challenged crew members of the film to cut their hair. The deal was he would donate an undisclosed amount of cash to local charity Kingsley House for each crew who took the challenge.

Annie Lennox's plans for a festive TV special to celebrate her Christmas album had to be scrapped when the star's ideas for a small screen spectacular blew the budget. The former Eurythmics frontwoman, who turns 56 years old on Christmas Day, called on her childhood holiday musical memories to record new album "A Christmas Cornucopia".

Lennox was keen to record a TV special to promote the record - but she was forced to give up on her plans when her set exceeded the budget for the show. She tells Britain's Daily Record, "We were going to have one, but unfortunately it got slightly capsized, which is a shame."

Kelly Osbourne has called in police to find an Internet fraudster who targeted her private email address in a hack which left the TV star "heartbroken" and "literally devastated". The daughter of rocker Ozzy Osbourne was fuming to discover her personal mail account had been accessed by an online impostor and reported the offense to cops.

She's hopeful of a prosecution after the hacker allegedly forwarded her messages "to his email address", but Osbourne admits she's been left shaken by the incident. In a series of posts on her Twitter.com page, she writes, "Someone has hacked my mail account the police are now involved who ever did this is in big HUGE trouble!!"

Jake Gyllenhaal's representative has dismissed reports the actor bought rumored girlfriend Taylor Swift a stunning $100,000 white gold bracelet for her recent 21st birthday, branding the story "all false". The "Brokeback Mountain" star has been romantically linked to Swift since October, and they appeared to seal their romance by spending the Thanksgiving holiday together in November.

Swift celebrated the milestone age on December 13 and Gyllenhaal was said to have lavished a dazzling bracelet on the country singer. But the actor's rep has moved swiftly to brush off the speculation, telling GossipCop.com, "All aspects of this are false."

Paris Hilton has won the first round in her legal tussle with a hair extensions company - a judge has forced the firm to drop a number of claims against the socialite. Executives at Hairtech International Inc. filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the hotel heiress back in August alleging she failed to properly endorse their products after she was signed up as the face of their Dream Catchers range in 2007.

Company bosses accused Hilton of breaking the terms of her deal by wearing extensions made by another company and failing to attend a launch party in 2007 after she was jailed for driving on a suspended licence while on probation for drink-driving.

David Schwimmer has lost a battle to lower the restrictive age rating for his controversial new film "Trust". The former "Friends" star has stepped behind the camera to direct the harrowing movie about a teenager lured to a motel for sex by an online predator. The actor/director was incensed when movie regulators in America slapped the film with an R-rating, meaning viewers under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

Schwimmer appealed the decision and spoke out about the "double standard" of the rating system, insisting the "old" rules need updating. But officials at the Motion Picture Association ratings board have now rejected the star's appeal and maintained "Trust" 's R-rating, citing the movie's "disturbing material involving the rape of a teen, language, sexual content and some violence" for the decision, according to EW.com.

Sean Kingston has debuted a club-themed music video for his new single titled "Party All Night (Sleep All Day)". The reggae singer is breaking all the rules, hitting the club soon after the sun sets and going to bed when the morning arrives.

"We like to sleep all day and party all night/ This is how we like to live our life/ I got a feeling everything is gonna be alright," sings Kingston on the fist-pumping track. Last month, he surprised "Jersey Shore" star Snooki by performing the song on her birthday.

Around a week after announcing their split in a joint statement, Ryan Reynolds and Scarlett Johansson file for divorce. Reynolds filed the paperwork in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday, December 23, and Johansson entered her divorce response simultaneously.

The estranged celebrity couple cite December 14, the day when they revealed the separation to the media, as the date of their split. There reportedly was no pre-nuptial agreement, and neither of them is seeking spousal support.