December 29, 2011

AceShowbiz's look-back at 2011 continues with this second part of Kaleidoscope. Many celebrities shared happy news about marriage, pregnancy or newborn babies, but there were also others who coped with personal woes like divorce, split and health scares. Among those receiving wide coverage, it was the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton which stole the most attention. Oprah Winfrey's star-studded farewell and the removal of Rebecca Black's "Friday" from YouTube also stole the headlines.

In movie business, big studios had already packed their big movies ready for summer releases, so they focused more on the promotions. Still, they got their hands full for fall and next year's projects. The casting departments were busy with securing high-profile actors, and the crew were occupied with production works. That's why casting reports and first-look or sneak-peek stories dominated the movie news during this second quarter of the year.

Caleb Followill is going to be busy with diaper duties in 2012. E! News has just brought out the news that the Kings of Leon frontman is expecting his first child with wife Lily Aldridge. It is said that the Victoria's Secret Angel is approximately three months along into the pregnancy.

The baby news came just a day after another Angel announced her pregnancy. On Tuesday, December 27, Alessandra Ambrosio revealed that she is expecting her second child with longtime fiance Jamie Mazur. "I'm fortunate to have a loving and supportive family. It's a blessing that it will soon be growing," so she said in a statement.

Steven Tyler has yet to comment on rumors of his engagement to Erin Brady, but his jeweler friend seemed to have confirmed it. In a statement to Us Weekly, Loree Rodkin said, "Having made Steven's jewelry for so many of the past years it was an honor to be part of his future... with all my love to Steven and Erin."

Words that the Aerosmith frontman might have gotten engaged to Erin spread after she was spotted wearing a diamond ring over the Christmas weekend. It is still unclear when the rocker proposed to his girlfriend of five years, but the magazine detailed that the engagement ring is a 5 carat brilliant cut diamond set on a micro pave diamond and platinum band.

"The Hunger Games" is the most anticipated movie in 2012, according to a poll conducted by MTV's NextMovie.com. The Jennifer Lawrence-starring action thriller comes atop the list with 51% of the total vote, followed by "The Twilight Saga's Breaking Dawn Part II" which gets 45% of the vote.

Other movie adaptations, "The Avengers", "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey", "The Dark Knight Rises" and "The Amazing Spider-Man", are also named as films which people are looking forward to next year. Together, they garner a combined 4% of the vote.

The working title and tracklisting for Madonna's upcoming studio album might have been revealed. An image which is claimed to be taken from a copy of the eagerly-awaited CD recently hit the web, revealing the rumored title and song selections.

The picture bearing the logos of Interscope Records and Live Nation is titled "Luv". It lists fourteen tracks with its lead single "Gimme All Your Luvin' " at No. 7. "Masterpiece", which was released earlier this year, as one of "W.E." soundtracks appears as track No. 11.

Michael Sheen is dropping a little tidbit on director Terrence Malick's top-secret drama. Coming as a guest star on Mark Kermode & Simon Mayo's BBC Film Review show, the actor known for his portrayal of David Frost on "Frost/Nixon" revealed that he will be seen sharing screen with Ben Affleck in the untitled Terrence Malick project.

Spilling the bean on what character he's playing, the 42-year-old actor gushed, "I got to be Ben Affleck's boss for a day." On how he got the small part, he recalled, "My girlfriend [Rachel McAdams] was in a film that Terrence Malick did so I went to visit her on set, and apparently, if you're an actor and you turn up on a Terrence Malick set, he asks you to be in his film."

Drake surprised a female fan of his at Saddle Ranch on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles on Tuesday night, December 27. The Canadian rapper helped the fan, named Dalal aka "Dee", perform Rihanna's single "What's My Name?". He got up to the mini stage of the karaoke bar and did the rapping, while she tackled the singing part.

The girl told E! News that she was having dinner with a friend at another place when another pal of hers, who worked as a DJ at the bar that night, texted that someone famous was there and that she should come by. "When I showed up I asked Jay who the celebrity was and he said he was not sure, and that I should go find out. I had no clue it was Drake," she said.

Details of "Star Trek" sequel are still scarce, but those reading the ongoing comics might get some tidbits of what to expect from the upcoming movie installment. Mike Johnson, writer of the "Star Trek" comics, has revealed that he and "Star Trek" co-scribe Roberto Orci have placed hints about the plotline of the next film in the comics.

"One of the great things about working with Bob [Orci] is that we are able to use the ongoing series to very subtly lay in clues to the next movie," Johnson gushed in the latest issue of Star Trek magazine. He additionally teased, "There might even be a tiny hint of a subplot in the first issue."

Debra Messing might have plunged herself back into the dating game. If the rumors are true, the 43-year-old actress is currently in a relationship with her "Smash" co-star Will Chase. One insider told Us Weekly that the rumored couple "have been together for about six weeks."

Words are, things are already getting serious between the Grace Adler of "Will & Grace" and the 41-year-old Broadway actor. The insider further claimed, "She is completely smitten with him." Another source, meanwhile, spoke to PEOPLE about the romance, saying that it "all happened very fast and it's a difficult situation."

Chris Brown is having discussions with producers of the upcoming 54th annual Grammy Awards about the possibility of him performing at the show, according to Radar Online. If the rumor is true and the deal is sealed, this will be his first return to the show since he canceled his scheduled visit to the prize-giving event two years ago following an altercation with his then-girlfriend Rihanna.

"Chris absolutely plans on attending the Grammys and is in talks with producers of the show to possibly perform," a source said. "Chris performed at the MTV Video Music Awards several months ago, and his performance was simply over the top as he was flying through the air like an acrobat. Chris' performance stole the show, and he would love to do something at the Grammys to top his VMA performance."

Lady GaGa isn't going to move closer to her boyfriend Taylor Kinney just yet. The "Born This Way" singer was reported to have laid eyes on a $1.7 million property in the gated community of Bent Cree when going house-hunting in Lilitz, Pennsylvania with the Mason Lockwood of "The Vampire Diaries", but the mansion's realtor insisted the otherwise.

Setting the record straight, Anne M. Lusk told E! News that the 25-year-old Grammy winner has never even seen the property. The realtor, who claimed to have received upward of 150 inquiries about the property since the rumors surfaced, additionally pointed out, "I haven't even had a showing of the house yet!"

Ryan Murphy has given another hint for those who are eager to find out more about "American Horror Story" season 2. After saying that a clue to the next chapter can be found in the last three episodes, he recently told Entertainment Weekly that the secret is hidden in the penultimate episode of season 1.

"Go through it frame by frame. I planted it in there," Murphy said, referring to "Birth" which saw Vivien going into labor before she passed away. The creator/executive producer additionally stated, "I will never reveal it."

Big Sean has not just one, but two major projects, under his sleeve for next year. In a recent interview with MTV News, the G.O.O.D Music rapper generously gave update on the status of the upcoming albums. He confirmed that he's going to kick off production for his sophomore set while closing up a compilation CD for his record label.

"So, me, Kanye, Cudi, CyHi [Da Prynce], John Legend, Common, Pusha T, everybody on G.O.O.D., Mr. Hudson: We're all working on a new project; it's almost done," the MC dished on. "We're going to London to finish it up and do the last part of it and working on my album at the same time with 'Ye and everybody."

Despite earlier claim that they celebrated Christmas together in Hawaii, Katy Perry and Russell Brand were reported to have spent time apart. On the possible reason why, Us Weekly claimed that the celebrity couple, who got married in October 2010, had "a massive fight" just before the holiday.

Of the fight, one insider said, "[Katy] was like, 'F**k you. I'm going to do my own thing.' Russell replied, 'Fine, f**k you too.' " It was further noted that because of the row, the "Firework" singer scrapped plans to take her family to visit her husband's London hometown for the holidays, and went to Hawaii with friends.

Zac Efron gets the spotlight in the first poster for "The Paperboy". The 24-year-old actor, who takes a role of Jack James in the movie, sports a retro look while sitting in a vintage car. Nicole Kidman, who channels her sexy side as Charlotte Bless, stares at him from the passenger seat.

Matthew McConaughey, who plays Jack's journalist brother Ward James, is seen standing in the background. Meanwhile, John Cusack's eyes, which give an impression that he is a cruel man, are featured below Zac's image.

Who have the most successful world tour this year? Twelve months ago, it were the guys from Bon Jovi who scored the feat, but now they have to give the title back to its 2009 champion, U2. Although the Bono-fronted band didn't release an album this year, they still got a lot of cash by pocketing a final global gross of $231.9 million from their 360 tour.

Through the extended leg of the traveling show which was launched in 2007 to promote their twelfth studio album "No Line on the Horizon", The Edge and his bandmates earned the huge bucks from a total of 2.3 million tickets sold at an average price of $97.15 each. Per show, the group sold around 91,000 tickets, according to Pollstar.

Despite previous attempt in dismissing their dating rumors, Bradley Cooper and Zoe Saldana still found themselves being romantically linked to each other. E! News recently brought up the claim that the co-stars in "The Words" have begun telling family and friend that they are in a relationship.

One source told E! that the Phil Wenneck of "The Hangover Part II" and the Neytiri of "Avatar" told friends as recently as last week that they had made plans to spend the holidays together in the Rocky Mountains. Words are, they planned to go skiing together. The source added, "They are totally dating."

"Revenge" will not return until January, but fans can get an extended look at the upcoming new episode. ABC has made available the first 10 minutes of the show's winter premiere for viewing pleasure via its official site.

It opens with a scene which has previously been teased, where Tyler ruins Daniel's low-key birthday party and points a gun at Emily. In the episode, Tyler is not only targeting Emily for he is also blackmailing Conrad.

The official poster for the 84th Academy Awards has been unveiled less than a month away from its nominations announcement. On Wednesday, December 28, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences brought forth a first look of the one-sheet that pays homage to eight notable motion pictures across eight decades.

Adorned with three words, "Life. Camera. Action," the artwork features the gold man next to images from "Gone with the Wind", "Casablanca", "Giant", "The Sound of Music", "The Godfather", "Driving Miss Daisy", "Forrest Gump" and "Gladiator". Seven of those movies won Best Picture, while one, namely "Giant", earned George Stevens a Best Director kudo.

The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) has announced the TV nominations of its 26th annual Outstanding Achievement Awards. HBO dominates the list with "Boardwalk Empire" scoring two nods in the one-hour episodic television series/pilot category.

The period drama series will compete with British series "Downton Abbey", ABC's newbie "Pan Am" and NBC's procedural drama "Chase" to take home the prize. Meanwhile, "Mildred Pierce", "Chicago Overcoat", "The Kennedys", "Page Eight" and "Any Human Heart" fight against each other for the television movie/miniseries kudo.

Michael Buble is unstoppable on Billboard Hot 200. The Canadian pop/jazz continues his reign by staying strong at the first position of the U.S. album list, marking his fifth consecutive week at the penthouse the chart. He holds the position firmly by selling additional 467,000 copies (up 4%) with his latest "Christmas" album.

The highest chart debut this week comes in at No. 3, and it belongs to Young Jeezy's "Thug Motivation 103: Hustlerz Ambition". The rapper enters the weekly rundown by selling 233,000 copies of the album. It gives him his fourth-straight top-5 set, yet becomes his lowest chart debut. He previously landed at No. 2 with his first CD, and took No. 1 with his two next efforts.

Contrary to the swirling rumors, Ashton Kutcher is nothing but just friends with Lorene Scafaria. Words ran rampant recently that the "New Year's Eve" actor has moved on from Demi Moore with the screenwriter, whom online reports claim bears a resemblance to his estranged wife, but his representative was quick to shoot down the speculations.

In a response to the dating rumors, Kutcher's rep told Gossip Cop, "They are not dating. They're friends." Also pouring cold water to the buzz was a source close to Kutcher, who claimed that the 33-year-old actor actually went to Italy with Scafaria to work together on a film project involving an Italian soccer team.