October 18, 2011

Harry Belafonte became popular on YouTube after a video of him falling asleep on live TV went viral. The songwriter and actor was waiting for an early-morning interview with KBAK in Bakersfield, California via satellite when he could not conquer his sleepiness.

"Hey, good morning Harry!" anchor Layla Santiago said, trying to alert the 84-year-old. "Wake up, wake up! This is your wake-up call! OK, I'll tell you what, he's meditating. He's taking a little nap." When the attempt failed, Santiago turned to her co-anchors who have been laughing.

Jay-Z and Kanye West's joint album meets another problem. Soul/blues icon Syl Johnson has filed a formal complaint against the duo for sampling one of his songs on their "Watch the Throne" album without permission.

Johnson claimed that his 1967 hit "Different Strokes" was used in Kanye and Jay-Z's deluxe-edition song "The Joy". Johnson, who filed the complaint in Illinois federal court on Friday, October 14, said his name was not mentioned in the album's liner notes.

Shia LaBeouf gets his ass kicked in a recent street fight. TMZ has just brought forth a footage of the "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" star being beaten to the ground by a shirtless man after a reported heated exchange inside a bar in Vancouver, Canada in the early hours of Friday, October 14 morning.

The video captures the moment when Shia was repeatedly punched in the head by another man, identified only as Mike, before a few bystanders came to his aid. One eyewitness told Radar Online that the 25-year-old actor "was obviously pretty intoxicated" and took at least three punches.

Chris Brown treats his devotees to an early Halloween gift by dropping his freestyle version of Kanye West and Jay-Z's "Niggas in Paris". The R&B singer teams up with T-Pain for the revamped song.

"You ain't no groupie girl and you know that I won't say s**t/ You got skeletons in your closet, I got aliens in my basement," Breezy spits his verses out. The Auto-Tune king backs him up by throwing a repeatedly high-pitched "yeah", "oh" and "woo".

Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner is likely to enjoy a whirlwind of romance on "Criminal Minds". Former "Dirty Sexy Money" star Bellamy Young, who recently made appearance in an episode of "Castle", has been tapped to guest star in an episode as Beth, a museum curator who meets Thomas Gibson's BAU agent character in the park while he's training for triathalon.

Hotch has been staying single after he and his wife Haley divorced in season 3 before she was killed in season 5. At a party in September to celebrate the premiere of season 7, showrunner Erica Messer has hinted at her desire to see a new beginning for the single working parent.

After shooting in Los Angeles for weeks, "The Dark Knight Rises" could soon occupy New York City. The production of Christopher Nolan's highly anticipated superhero movie will be heading to the Big Apple, where the "Occupy Wall Street" protests take place.

L.A. Times reported that cast and crew of the latest Batman reboot will arrive in New York on October 29 and will begin shooting in the city for 14 days under the code name of "Magnus Rex". According to an insider, the cast members have been informed that the filming could include some scenes that will be shot among the protesters.

Nicki Minaj introduced her alter ego as the female Lil Wayne when filming a music video for Birdman's single "Y.U. Mad" with Weezy recently. The femcee sported a blond-and-pink deadlock and wore a white wifebeater, camouflaged baggy pants, and diamond-studded bling-blings.

She crossed her arms on her chest and stood stoically next to her rapper pals who talked to MTV. "Nicki gave me that song. She called me one day like, 'Stunna, I got a record for you I think you would like," Birdman said. "I jumped on it and put my son on it. I liked it from the start. Working with Nicki is just special anyway and I felt good about it, so we rocked with it."

Having starred opposite gigantic robots in the "Transformers" film franchise, Shia LaBeouf will be a giant itself in his upcoming movie. The 25-year-old actor has been cast to play a 20-foot-tall man child in a movie project that goes under the working title of "A Giant".

According to Variety, the film project which is written by Gil Kenan tells the story of a girl who runs away from a series of bad relationships and moves back home to her brother. She then gets entangled in a quirky love story with a gigantic man, played by LaBeouf, who lives next to her brother's house.

Becoming a surprising hit in 2009, "Zombieland" is being developed as a TV series. New York Magazine's Vulture has learned that FOX Broadcasting and Sony Pictures Television are working to get the small screen version of the zombie-themed movie ready to air in 2012 or 2013.

Confirming the news, producer Gavin Polone said that "Zombieland" was initially conceived as a TV show before heading to the big screen. Back in 2005, CBS ordered a pilot script for the concept, but passed on it after taking "all the good stuff out," Polone revealed. Syfy was later interested in it, but financial issue prevented the network from giving a greenlight to the project.

George Clooney's drama comedy "The Descendants" gets its new trailer available for viewing pleasure via Apple. The brand new video, which has a Hawaiian song as its backsound, sees Clooney's Matt King complaining about his life in Hawaii. "Just because we live in paradise, people think we're somehow immune to life," so he says.

Directed by Oscar winner Alexander Payne, "The Descendants" is a sometime humorous, sometimes tragic journey for King. He is an indifferent father of two girls and is forced to re-examine his past and embrace his future with his daughters. At the same time, he has to wrestle with a decision to seel his family's land handed down from Hawaiian royalty and missionaries.

Nicole Scherzinger looks serene blending in with nature in a picture taken from the set of her next music video. The female judge of "The X Factor (US)" shot the clip for her single "Try With Me" in a lush Xilitla rainforest in a rural Mexican village.

The on-and-off girlfriend of F1 racer Lewis Hamilton wears a strapless white long dress and is covered with flower petals. The former member of The Pussycat Dolls sits on a mossy concrete with a frond adorning her long hair.

Details of two new characters on "True Blood" season 5 are unveiled while a casting call for these roles is being put out. According to Entertainment Weekly, one of the new faces is someone who is having a history with Eric.

Called Nora, she is a progeny of Godric and described as a beautiful and intelligent 25-to-35 something who plays a double agent within the Vampire Authority. Anyone cast on the role will join the regular cast ensemble and may appear in some scenes featuring a little nudity.

Britney Spears has finally premiered a music video for her latest single "Criminal". In it, she dumps her rude boyfriend for a criminal played by her real-life love Jason Trawick. She kicks the douche guy in the balls before leaving with her knight in shining armor.

Sparks instantly fly drawing Britney and Jason to a number of steamy love scenes including a hot-and-heavy one in the shower. Not only does she become a passionate partner in bed, but the southern belle also turns into an excellent sidekick in his crime spree.

Demi Moore still keeps a piece of her husband, Ashton Kutcher, with her amidst all the rumors about their marriage. On Monday, October 17, the 48-year-old actress made a red carpet appearance at the premiere of her latest film "Margin Call" in New York City. While going solo, she was spotted wearing her wedding ring.

The Madison Lee of "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" didn't only steal attention with the gold band, but also with her terribly thin figure. She came to the event held at the Landmark Sunshine Theater wearing a red sheath dress that hung loosely on her body and exposed her sinewy arms.

Lady GaGa has unwrapped the cover art for her latest single "Marry the Night". The artwork revelation is made just a few hours after the Mother Monster tweets, "If monsters make MARRY THE NIGHT SINGLE COVER the number one trending topic I will release it tonight. Early. SORRY INTERSCOPE! I LOVE THEM!"

The official cover art depicts an image of the "Edge of Glory" singer sitting on the hood of a car with fire blasting on the background. She's sporting a short blonde hair, a black gear, and tight-high boots. "New York is Not Just a Tan that You'll Never Lose," she writes an accompanying message for the picture.

Travelling away from "Jersey Shore", Vinny Guadagnino is still able to enjoy the sunlight on "90210". Entertainment Weekly has got its hand on a first look of his appearance on The CW's show which sees the 23-year-old guido relaxing on the poolside, next to bare-chested Matt Lanter.

In a November episode of the teen drama series, the reality star will portray a "young and gregarious" celebrity who "enjoys the fruits of fame." His character will be involved in a high-stake poker game with Lanter's Liam in Las Vegas.

Scarlett Johansson might be dubbed as one of the most shinning Hollywood beauties nowadays, but that doesn't help her win the coveted role of Lisbeth Salander in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)". Director David Fincher recently told Vogue magazine that he chose Rooney Mara over Johansson because he thought that the "Iron Man 2" star is too sexy to play Salander.

"Look, we saw some amazing people. Scarlett Johansson was great," the director told the magazine about casting Johansson. "It was a great audition, I'm telling you. But the thing that with Scarlett is, you can't wait for her to take her clothes off."

Zachary Quinto apparently has inspired another public figure to come out of the closet. While reporting on the "Star Trek" actor's decision to publicly acknowledge his sexuality, ABC's "World News Now" anchor Dan Kloeffler let it slip on early Monday, October 17 morning that he too is gay.

Keeping a light tone to his on-air revelation, Dan joked that the "Heroes" star's announcement makes him rethink his personal policy against dating actors. "He's 34, I'm 35 - I'm thinking, I can lose my distraction about dating actors for that one, maybe," the TV journalist quipped.

Adam Lambert dishes on what he's currently working on for his upcoming sophomore set. In an interview with The Advocate for a cover story in its latest issue, the former "American Idol" contestant says the second album will be more personal than the first one.

Lambert furthermore teases that the new effort is going to be driven by vocal singer-songwriter tracks, electrofunk, and synth-pop in a "Nine Inch Nails meets George Michael" sort of way. He says, "I know that's a weird mash-up, but that's what it feels like."

"Gossip Girl" is celebrating Yom Kippur in next week's episode, but Blair is not at ease at all. While mingling with relatives during the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews, the Queen B and her fiance Louis find themselves in a power struggle with his family.

Making it worse, Diana is launching a wicked plan to uncover a secret about Blair. As if knowing the danger that is lurking behind her, Blair is worried that she may lose everything she has.

New theatrical trailer for Steven Spielberg's "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn" has been debuted. Making its way out via Apple, the two-and-a-half-minute promo video is packed with more action scenes and stunning visual effects. This new trailer put its focus on Tintin's first adventure with his trusted pal Captain Haddock, with only a few footage featuring Thomson and Thompson.

Aside from releasing the new trailer, Paramount Pictures also unleashed a new poster for "The Adventures of Tintin". The fresh one-sheet sees the protagonist standing tall with a flashlight in his hand while his trusty dog Snowy accompanies him. He looks brave against the background of a stormy sea where an ancient ship is seen burning and nearly sinking.

Emma Watson has gone back to school. The Hermione Granger of the "Harry Potter" series took to her official blog last Sunday, October 16 to inform her fans that she will be kept busy with her studies since she has kicked off her junior year at Oxford University in Oxford, England.

The 21-year-old actress, who also shared a photo of herself heading to class in a plaid shirt and blue jeans, began her post by writing, "To Everyone who is starting a New School Year, (sorry those who have been at school for a while Oxford starts late)." She continued on, "Just to say have a great term and good luck with all your work."

"Dancing with the Stars" contestants embraced the 1980s style and music on this week's performance show. Hope Solo opened the Monday, October 17 episode with a tango she danced to Bon Jovi's "Livin' On a Prayer". Bruno Toli said, "You were strong, sexy and powerful!" Carrie Ann Inaba agreed, but added that "it's almost like you attacked it so hard that some of your lines got a little awkward. Sometimes you have to learn that less is more." Hope scored 24 out of 30.

Carson Kressley came out next, dancing the jive to "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" by Wham!. He still did not master the technique, but Len Goodman believed Carson will be back next week if he was judging with his heart. Bruno saw the performance "loopier than a looney tune", but praised Carson for being able to "squeeze so much wacky fun out of a minimal jive." He got 19 which marked the weakest performance of the night.

Oscar nominee James Franco is giving a dose of his hotness to Gucci's latest ad campaign. Being the first model for the Italian fashion label's made-to-measure service, the 33-year-old star of "127 Hours" looks dapper in two smartly tailored suits as he poses solo amidst smokey backdrop.

These two black-and-white photos featuring the leading man of "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" were shot by French photographer Nathaniel Goldberg for the fashion label's campaign called "All the World's a Stage". Giving a feel of 1940's cinema, they were taken at the huge Roman film studio, Cinecitta.

Justin Bieber is yet to premiere music video for his first holiday single "Mistletoe", but he has already prepared another clip. It's to support his rendition of the Christmas classic "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", so he says during an interview with Ryan Seacrest on KIIS FM radio show.

Bieber confirms the revamped tune serves as one of the soundtracks for Hugh Laurie-starring film "Arthur Christmas". The Canadian singing sensation additionally informs that its music video is going to be debuted before the family movie arrives in the U.S. theaters on November 23.

Susan Sarandon is getting herself in hot water with her recent comment about Pope Benedict XVI. The Catholic League and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) have slammed the "Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps" actress for referring to the current head of the Catholic Church as a "Nazi".

Bill Donohue, the president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, told E! News, "She's a despicable person to make these kinds of despicable remarks." Having said that "it is very hard to find someone dumber than [Sarandon]," he additionally explained, "[Pope] deserted the Hitler Youth at the first moment."

FX has given a greenlight for a fifth season of "Sons of Anarchy". The network announced on Monday, October 17 that it orders 13 episodes for the upcoming season of the drama series about an outlaw biker club.

"Everyone at FX is very grateful to Kurt Sutter, his many writing, directing and producing collaborators and his masterful cast for making such a compelling and beautifully crafted show," FX President Jon Landgraf says in a statement announcing the renewal.

Having a super successful "Tha Carter" album series, Lil Wayne is now eying to launch one or two more thriving franchises by prepping a sequel for "Rebirth" and "I'm Not a Human Being" each. The plan is revealed to MTV News by Young Money president Mack Maine on the heels of victorious "Tha Carter IV".

Talking about the follow-up to "I'm Not a Human Being", Maine says, "He's, like, 12 songs in, and he went crazy. He went left. He's in Martian land right now." Although the project is crafted back to back with rock-influenced "Rebirth 2", the 28-year-old label boss assures that the two efforts will be unlike one another.

Following the success of "Transformers: Dark of the Moon", Hasbro plans to make the fourth and fifth installments soon. In a statement during a third-quarter earnings conference call on Monday, October 17, Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner said that the toy giant is in "active discussion" with Paramount Pictures, Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg about the next "Transformers" movies.

Variety reported that Paramount, which has the licenses of the "Transformers" franchise from Hasbro, considers to shoot the fourth and fifth installments back-to-back. The plan is made to save the budget because the deals for cast and crew can only be negotiated once. As for the plot, screenwriter Ehren Kruger reportedly has already had an idea that the studio is interested to.

Having been talk of the town in its first season, "The Walking Dead" returns with more eager fans in its sophomore year. The zombie-themed series' second season debuted to 7.3 million viewers on Sunday, October 16, or up 38% from last season's premiere.

More fascinating, the new season's opener nabbed 4.8 million viewers among adults 18-49 and 4.2 million audience aged 25-54. According to AMC, this numbers represent a new record for a single drama telecast in basic cable history.

Selena Gomez is in "extreme fear" for her life, it has been reported. According to TMZ, the former star of Disney Channel's "Wizards of Waverly Place" has been a target of serious death threats after Thomas Brodnicki, a man with a criminal history of stalking, told his psychiatrist he was going to kill her.

Believing that Thomas will carry out his plan if he isn't stopped, the 19-year-old songstress has filed for and obtained a restraining order against him. In the declarations, she and her lawyer Blair Berk stated that the 46-year-old was picked up for mental evaluation after he allegedly made threat to "scratch people's eyes out on the street."

2011 MTV Europe Music Awards is just getting a lot more exciting with the addition of Lady GaGa, Bruno Mars and a number of other celebrities. Biggest nominee at this year's event, GaGa will perform before fans in Northern Ireland on November 6.

Mars, who is touring Europe, will close his jaunt with a performance at MTV EMA. Mars and GaGa join Coldplay, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Jessie J and LMFAO in the performers line-up. Selena Gomez is already signed to host.