December 24, 2011

Demi Lovato blasted her former employer, Disney Channel, for including a joke about eating disorders on "Shake It Up". The actress who starred in the channel's "Sonny with a Chance" did not like the way they make light of the issue as a character on the show said, "I could just eat you up well, if I ate."

"I find it really funny how a company can lose one of their actress' from the pressures of an EATING DISORDER and yet still make joke about that very disease. #nice," Lovato tweeted on Friday, December 23. She added, "And is it just me or are the actress' [on Disney Channel] getting THINNER AND THINNER.... I miss the days of RAVEN, and LIZZIE MCGUIRE," referring to former Disney stars Raven Simone and Hilary Duff respectively.

What would a year in music industry be if there weren't any new acts adding sprinkle to the competition? Sure, the battle among the already-established artists would be interesting enough for music fans and critics alike to sit and watch since it gets tougher every year, but the addition of the newbies would undoubtedly make the game even more dynamics than it has already had. In honor of those budding artists, AceShowbiz compile 10 out of the many based on their achievements in the past twelve months.

2011 has its fair share of new music acts. The likes of J. Cole, Foster the People, Scotty McCreery, Jessie J and The band Perry are picked because they have proved themselves in their own unique ways. Those rising stars stole attention and stood out among the rest either by busting the charts, making history with their record-breaking music, or going viral with their genre-bending sound. If they keep up the good work, they won't be just one hit wonder and will continue to shine in the years to come.

When "Chuck" returns with a new episode next week, all eyes will be on Sarah as her past comes back to haunt her. A preview for the episode has been made available, revealing that Sarah is forced to confront a secret from her past. While Chuck urges her to let him help, she feels she must do so alone.

Several flashback scenes involving a baby and Sarah's mother, Emma, are included. Previously, executive producer Chris Fedak teased that "Sarah and her mother share a mystery that has forced them to be apart." On what to expect from the episode, he said, "After this, you will know Sarah as a different character."

What are the most pirated movies in 2011? "Fast Five" came out on top in the list of 2011's most-pirated movies on BitTorrent, according to data released by TorrentFreak on Friday, December 23. Illegally downloaded for 9.3 million times this year, it was followed by "The Hangover Part II" and "Thor".

The sequel of "The Hangover" landed #2 with 8.8 million downloads, while the Chris Hemsworth-starring movie ranked #3 with 7.9 million downloads. Oscar-winning film "The King's Speech" placed #9 with 6.3 million downloads, while "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II" rounds up the top ten with 6 million downloads.

Etta James' condition seemed to worsen since it was revealed that she is terminally ill with chronic leukemia. Lupe De-Leon, the legendary blues singer's manager of 30 years, told Reuters on Friday, December 23, that she has been placed on a breathing machine after experiencing difficulty breathing.

The "At Last" singer was admitted to a hospital near her Riverside, California home on Wednesday, December 21. "They took her to the hospital," Lupe said. "She was having trouble breathing, so they intubated her. She is on a breathing machine and is resting." The manager added, "It is really sad. She is like my sister."

Chevelle have unleashed a music video filmed to support their Hot Mainstream Rock No. 1 single "Face to the Floor". The alternative metal band from Grayslake, Illinois are seen rocking out the track on a platform stage with newsflash from stock market surrounding them.

"It's an angry song," Pete Loeffler said. "The lyrics are about all the people who have been taken advantage of. I reference Bernie Madoff and his Ponzi scheme. He raked people over the coals, stole and is a terrible person. One day, these people have everything, and the next day it's completely gone."

Warner Bros. Pictures' reboot of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" might be scrapped afterall. It is reported that the entire project "may have lost some steam" after the script submitted by screenwriter Whit Anderson this past summer was far from the expectations and was completely rejected. Anderson has now bowed out of the project and the producers are looking for a new scribe.

A source close to the project revealed to Los Angeles Times' Hero Complex, "If you're going to bring it back, you have to do it right." The insider added, "[Anderson] came in with some great ideas and she had reinvented some of the lore and it was pretty cool but in the end there just wasn't enough on the page."

Mel Gibson and his estranged wife, Robyn, are officially husband and wife no more. On Friday, December 23, the estranged couple's divorce was finalized in a Los Angeles courtroom after a judge approved a divorce settlement between the two, who have been married for 31 years and have seven children together.

As part of the settlement, Robyn will return to using her maiden name, Robyn Denise Moore. Other details were kept confidential, but PEOPLE reported that Mel's ex-wife is walking away with the actor's fortune, which was once estimated to be as high as $850 million, considering they didn't have a prenuptial agreement. The settlement will become effective on January 9.

Four brand new clips for "Once Upon a Time" midseason opener have been unleashed. One of the them, which is titled "Promotion Is Automatic", features Emma about to pin a sheriff badge on her jacket. Regina, however, was quick to interrupt her, "Oh I'm sorry, that's not for you."

In another clip called "That's the Thing About Children", Emma is wandering at Mr. Gold's shop and receiving a set of walkie-talkies from him. Meanwhile, the "Man Who Ran" sees Rumplestiltskin and his son being detained by guards in the fairytale world and being accused of treason.

Charlize Theron has recently opened up about her role in "Prometheus". While some people have been comparing her character in the film to Sigourney Weaver's Ripley in 1979's "Alien", the actress herself admitted to Total Film, "No, I actually don't play the heroine in it; that's Noomi Rapace. I play somewhat of a villain in it."

The Oscar-winning actress further elaborated that her character, Meredith Vickers, is "not believer, she's not a scientist, she is the red tape that everyone has to go through." She went on to explain, "She's working with the company that's sponsoring this whole thing and you can feel she definitely has an agenda, which we pick up in the third act. She's more quiet thunder."

Hilary Duff is getting into the holiday spirit in a creative way. On Thursday, December 22, the songstress wife of NHL star Mike Comrie wished her fans happy holidays by posting on Twitter a photo of her showing off her pregnant belly that is painted with a festive holiday design.

Along with the picture, the 24-year-old tweeted, "Happy holidays from the three of us!!" She also revealed that it was her older sister Haylie Duff who painted the gift-wrapped Christmas present with the words "Happy Holidays" on her baby bump. "@HaylieK what would I do without you and your artistic ways!" so she wrote.

Less than a month before it airs its first season finale, "Hell on Wheels" reels in good news for fans. The period drama that gave AMC its second-highest-rated series premiere behind "The Walking Dead" will come back for another season as Deadline reported that the network has renewed the series for a second season.

With the renewal, the series, which centers on the building of the Transcontinental Railroad after the Civil War, becomes the fifth AMC original series that make it past the first season. It follows the successful footsteps of "Mad Men", "Breaking Bad", "The Killing" and ''Walking Dead".

Natasha Bedingfield spreads holiday cheers in a music video for her festive song "Shake Up Christmas". The "Soulmate" hitmaker is seen jamming the track with her band on the balcony of her hotel in an acoustic set and also showcasing it on stage.

The song was initially popularized by Train, and it was specially re-recorded by Bedingfield for Coca Cola holiday campaign. For the project, it's recorded in six languages to "reflect the truly global tradition of coming together at this special time of year."

Peter Jackson has just given a special Christmas treat to fans of the "Hobbit". Taking to his official Facebook page, the Oscar-winning director posted a brand new production video for "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey", unleashing a look at how he and his crew move the whole production unit from the studio to an open field to recreate Middle Earth.

The 12-minute video also provides footage of the Hobbiton village, where plenty of extras dressing in Hobbit costumes are around. At one point, Elijah Wood shares his thought about returning to the set 11 years after filming "The Lord of the Rings". There's also a glimpse of Andy Serkis who is performing his duty as the second-unit director.

Rebecca Black is back to her root. The YouTube sensation confirms that she's going to include her claim-fame single "Friday" on her upcoming debut album, but instead of listing the old version which was released a year ago, she will revamp it in a "totally different" version.

"We re-recorded 'Friday' and it's totally different," 14-year-old Rebecca tells Hollywood Life before teasing further, "It's not like 'Friday'. It's the same lyrics. It's the same melody - but the style of the music behind it is very different."

Winning the very first season of "The X Factor (US)" on Thursday, December 22 night, Melanie Amaro took home $5 million recording contract and a Pepsi Super Bowl commercial. The morning after being crowned the champion, the singer from Tortola, British Virgin Islands revealed what she plans to do with her prize and it involves a foot massager.

The 19-year-old told reporters during the Friday conference call, "I'm definitely going to buy myself a foot massager and buy my mom a new house." Asked if she's going to use the money to help her family, she replied, "As of right now, what I can help my family with - my family has always been that support for me, and whatever I can help my family with, I will most definitely help my family with."

After easily winning the Wednesday national TV ratings through the first part of its finale show, "The X Factor (US)" once again pulled in the biggest number of audience among the competing shows the following night. The singing competition closed its inaugural season by enjoying a 25% boost on the result show. It drew 12.4 million viewers.

The episode, which featured Justin Bieber, Leona Lewis, Pitbull, Stevie Wonder and 50 Cent as musical guests, gave FOX a win not only in total viewership but also in the demo. Seeing Melanie Amaro taking home the crown, it took a 3.8 rating on Thursday in the adults 18-49 demographic, up 31% from the Wednesday show which got a 3.3 rating in the same demo.

"The Dark Knight Rises" hasn't opened in theaters yet, but it already breaks record. On Friday, December 23, Warner Bros. Pictures announced that the new trailer for the highly anticipated superhero film has made an iTunes history. Released on December 19 at 10 A.M. PT, it was viewed more than 12.5 million times in the first 24 hours.

The trailer broke the record for most combined downloads through the iTunes Movie Trailers site and the iTunes Trailers iOS app for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. It knocked down the one-day mark previously set by the first trailer for Joss Whedon's "The Avengers", which had more than 10 million iTunes views in the first 24 hours of its release in October.

Robert De Niro has one happy news to share just in time for Christmas. On Friday, December 23, the General Bill Sullivan of "The Good Shepherd" announced to the press through his representative that he and his wife, Grace Hightower, have become proud parents to a baby girl.

The new addition to the De Niro family was born via surrogate and named Helen Grace. A second child for the couple who have been married for almost 14 years, the baby weighed in at 7 lbs., 2 oz. at time of birth. She joins older brother, 13-year-old Elliot. No further details about the birth were provided.

It looks like it's getting serious between Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux. The couple, who has only been dating for seven months, sent out a joint Christmas card to family and friends.

The card reads, "We wish you and your family a holiday season full of happiness & joy. 'A donation has been made in your name to St Jude's Children's Research Hospital and Best Friends Animal Society. With warmth and love, Jen and Justin."

Pink splashed out as many as $5,000 to save a puppy. The singer, who is an advocate of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, paid for the emergency surgery of the puppy which has been tossed in the Los Angeles river and left for dead.

It was by accident that Pink discovered that a puppy is struggling for its life after tossed into the river. It suffered 3 broken legs and needed an immediate surgery. Pink happened to surf the Internet and found out about the story. She contacted Ace of Hearts animal rescue organization and offered to pay the dog's medical expense.

Leonardo DiCaprio was spotted with a new blonde. The actor who had a brief romance with Blake Lively earlier this year was seen in companion of a 22-year-old Victoria's Secret model, Erin Heatherton. He previously dated other "Angels" Gisele Bundchen and Bar Refaeli.

DiCaprio and Heatherton were walking together in Sydney, Australia where he is shooting Baz Lurhmann's "The Great Gatsby". They strolled through Vaucluse House but did not walk side by side. The model reportedly flew from New York just to spend time with the actor.

For vandalizing a venue's property, Tyler, the Creator was arrested on Thursday, December 22 night, right in front of his mother. The rapper was accused of trashing equipment belonging to Roxy Theater in West Hollywood in which he was performing.

Police came to the venue at around 11:30 P.M. after a call from Roxy staff who reported that Tyler had "just destroyed an electric soundboard belonging to the venue." According to TMZ, Tyler was then escorted out of the place to a nearby radio car and "the crowd exiting the venue became angry and rushed into the street, towards deputies."