November 27, 2012

Rumor has it, Ashlee Simpson called it quits with Vincent Piazza after dating for about a year. The "Bat for a Heart" singer and the "Boardwalk Empire" actor ended their relationship because they have busy schedules, which kept them apart.

"Vincent has been working a lot, so he hasn't been able to spend as much time with Ashlee, which has caused some problems," a source told Page Six of New York Post. "It was a mutual agreement to split, but things have been bumpy for a little while, so perhaps they might reconcile."

Actor Tim Allen's customized 1996 Chevy Impala SS was stolen from his Los Angeles home by a man claiming to be his adoptive son. Thirty-four-year-old Faustino Ibarra was caught by Denver police on Friday, November 23 after Ibarra's family reported finding the pimped-up ride parked at their Colorado home.

Upon his arrest, Ibarra insisted that he was driving the car with the actor's permission and added that he had told Allen about taking the Chevy to a cross-country drive all the way to Colorado. "I'm trying to make it simple for you to understand. I didn't break into (Allen's) garage. He left the door open and he left me the keys so I could get the car and take it to Denver," said Ibarra during his jailhouse interview with KDVR.

The fifth season of "Merlin" will be the last for the show. BBC One has announced that co-creators and executive producers Johnny Capps and Julian Murphy made the decision to bring the British fantasy-adventure series to its conclusion while it's still on a high note.

Claiming the latest season "is where the storylines truly reach their apex," Capps and Murphy write, "We always felt the story of the legend was best told across five series, leading to a spectacular finale that draws on the best known elements of this much-loved story and brings to a conclusion the battle for Camelot."

Music executive Steve Barnett has officially made the move from Columbia Records to his new family at Capitol Music Group. The announcement was made by Universal Music Group on Monday, November 26 and Barnett is expected to begin his work as chairman and CEO at Capitol's Hollywood tower a week from now.

The much-anticipated change of companies will see the music chief overseeing Capitol's big labels including Virgin Records, Harvest, Astralwerks, Blue Note, Capitol Christian Music Group, and Caroline. He will also handle the world-famous Capitol Studios.

Jennifer Lawrence got all wet when filming an outdoor scene for "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" in Hawaii on Monday, November 26. Channeling her Katniss Everdeen character, the Oscar nominee was photographed getting clad in a skin-tight black and gray diving suit when taking a free leap to the open shore.

Lawrence was seen repeatedly diving into the water to film the scene, which appeared to be the very first "Catching Fire" scene where the tributes were taken into the arena. Joining the actress on the beach set was Josh Hutcherson, who was seen struggling in the water during the filming. Finnick Odair depicter, Sam Claflin, was also spotted on the set.

Ke$ha has just made her full "Warrior" album available online for eager fans to lay their ears on. The "Die Young" singer tweeted about her new LP's free streaming on iTunes on Monday, November 26 and also has another new track online which features her collaboration with rock legend, Iggy Pop.

Though fans cannot have the new album in their hands until December 4, they can listen to their hearts' content and hear how the new effort boasts of more daring and heavy rock elements that Ke$ha seems to be really digging these days. Several tracks from the album have been leaked online and all point to a musical direction where one finds the 25-year-old Nashville native head banging, whistling, and just loving those synths more than one will ever hear on her 2010 debut set, "Animal".

Things will be very much different when "Revolution" returns in 2013. Following the winter finale where Monroe's got his hands on the power to arm his group, Miles, Charlie and Rachel have to run to save themselves from the attack launched by Monroe's army.

Realizing she has made a big mistake, Rachel regrets it and wants to fix it, but she needs Miles' help. She will come up with a plan to bring their position to the same level with Monroe's, saying, "Monroe has the power, let's get some of our own."

The tension on "The View" was a bit higher than usual when the hosts talked about Chris Brown's war of words on Twitter with Jenny Johnson. Elisabeth Hasselbeck looked emotional on the TV show, calling the R&B singer's tweets a verbal rape.

Sharing her opinion, she said, "I think it's disgusting, first of all. But also, it seems like verbal rape to me. And I think at some point there's gotta be a point where Twitter should ban anyone who writes anything forever on there and you should identify yourself."

Will Joseph Gordon-Levitt be Christian Bale's successor as Batman in DC's next film "Justice League"? In a latest report shared by HitFix, it is said that the actor playing John Blake a.k.a Robin in "The Dark Knight Rises" will "absolutely" be appearing in the "JLA" movie as the new Caped Crusader.

HitFix's report gets even more intriguing since it suggests that Gordon-Levitt may appear as Batman even before the "JLA" film itself. Rumor has it, Warner Bros. Pictures is "solidifying deals" for the Los Angeles-born actor and "at least one other actor" from Chris Nolan's Batman films.

Adam Lambert might just turn out to be the ultimate diva in this year's "VH1 Divas" TV special. The season eight runner-up of "American Idol" showed what his pipes are made of in a series of promo videos for the event he will be hosting on December 16.

The promo clips are short, but packed with a lot of power vocals from Lambert who also appears in an elegantly styled tapered black tuxedo. One of the videos sees the 30-year-old "Idol" alum trying to choose the perfect microphone for his vocal display in an empty theater. He goes through three mics until he finally takes a hold of the third one and suddenly belts out the signature high notes he is known for.

Brad Pitt stole the show at the premiere of "Killing Them Softly" in New York on Monday night, November 26. The fiance of Angelina Jolie brought his charm as he stepped out at the SVA Theater. He was not accompanied by his famous partner, but still managed to grab the limelight at the special screening event.

Pitt opted to go with a casual look instead of sporting dapper look in a traditional sleek suit. He went with a black leather jacket to cover his shirt and paired them with denim pants and leather shoes. He let his long hair loose and was all smiles when striking some poses with his co-stars for the cameramen.

A third man has come forward accusing Kevin Clash of doing an unlawful sex with him when he was a minor. Jeff Herman, who represents the second accuser Cecil Singleton, will file a lawsuit on behalf of the new guy in Manhattan federal court as soon as Tuesday, November 27.

The accuser identified as "John Doe" doesn't want to go public. He claims he met the puppeteer, now 52, on a gay chat line and was engaged in "some sexual activity" with the actor when he was invited to his Manhattan apartment in 2000. He was just 16 back then.

Lindsay Lohan has gotten support from Lady GaGa after "Liz & Dick" earned negative reviews. While many critics slammed the Elizabeth Taylor telepic, the outlandish singer praised the actress' performance in the TV movie.

"@lindsaylohan you did a beautiful job on Liz & Dick," so the "You and I" singer tweeted on Monday, November 26. "Let no one bring u down, Liz didnt, they always try to knock the greats down a few pegs."

Dolly Parton denied that she is a lesbian when she was recently interviewed on "Nightline". Clarifying the rumor that she has a romantic relationship with best pal Judy Ogle, she explained, "Judy and I have been best friends since we were like in the third and fourth grade."

"We still just have a great friendship and relationship and I love her as much as I love anybody in the whole world, but we're not romantically involved," Dolly stated. She then compared her relationship with Judy to Oprah Winfrey's relationship with Gayle King, saying, "Like Gayle. Her friend, Judy, my friend, they just think that you can't be that close to somebody."

Britney Spears has a new addition to her family. The new female judge of "The X Factor (US)" proudly shows off her new dog named Hannah on Twitter. "I want you all to meet my new little baby girl <3," she tweets. "How cute is she?!?!"

The pup has already had her own Twitter page with a short, yet appropriate bio "I'm Britney's B***h." Already having more than 9,000 followers and counting, she greets her fans, "Woof!" and exchanges "I Love You" notes with her famous mamma.

Fans, who went to see The Rolling Stones during their 50th anniversary kickoff concert at London's O2 Arena, did not quite get the full satisfaction they were hoping for. The band decided to drop their world-famous hit "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" in compliance with the city's strict live music curfew which starts at 11 P.M.

According to reports from The Telegraph, the Stones were scheduled to wrap up their set with the 1965 hit song but could not make it before the 11 P.M. deadline. Instead, the legendary blues band finished off their first anniversary concert with another classic "Jumpin' Jack Flash". The show was supposed to start at 8 P.M. but was delayed 30 minutes, resulting to the band dropping their "Satisfaction" encore.

Anna Nicole Smith's daughter follows up the footsteps of her late mother. Twenty years after her mom was named the face of the top brand in 1992, Dannielynn Birkhead strikes cute poses for the Guess Kids spring 2013 campaign.

The photoshoot took place in Malibu. "Dannielynn has the same playful spirit that her mother had on set," gushes Guess' creative director Paul Marciano about the 6-year-old adorable little girl. "She is a second-generation GUESS girl."

After playing fashion expert Chinna in "The Hunger Games", Lenny Kravitz is set to portray a real life figure in his next film. The rocker-turned-actor has officially been cast as Motown legend Marvin Gaye in a biopic to be directed by Julien Temple, Deadline reports.

The film reportedly will be titled "Midnight Love", and it marks Lenny's first lead role as an actor. The movie is expected to kick off shooting in 2013. The story, meanwhile, will focus on Gaye as he spent his time in Europe in early 1980s.

Hip-hop giant 50 Cent unveiled his latest collaboration with Detroit-born rapper Eminem and Maroon 5's frontman Adam Levine. The new track titled "My Life", which was released on Monday, November 26, has some hard-hitting lines where the rappers openly talk about the pitfalls of fame and the constant feeling of wanting to run away from oneself.

In the song's lyrics, Fif and Eminem exchange contemplative rhymes about their shoot to fame and the pressures that come along with it especially if an artist wants to stay in the game. At the start of the track, the "Get Rich or Die Tryin' " artist refers to his 2003 rise and former G-Unit artists The Game and Young Buck. He tells them to "suck a d**k," and makes it clear that they took advantage of his creative talents back when he still wrote songs for them.

Beyonce Knowles is taking double duty in an upcoming HBO documentary about her life. The wife of rap mogul Jay-Z will direct and executive produce the feature-length film, which is slated to premiere February 16, 2013 on the premium cable channel.

"Everybody knows Beyonce's music, but few know Beyonce the person," says Michael Lombardo, president, HBO Programming. "Along with electrifying footage of Beyonce onstage, this unique special looks beyond the glamour to reveal a vibrant, vulnerable, unforgettable woman."

Kicking off the movie awards season, the 22nd Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards revealed its winners on Monday night, November 26. Claiming the biggest award of Best Feature was none other than Wes Anderson's highly-praised vintage drama "Moonrise Kingdom", which defeated such contenders as "The Master", "Bernie", "Middle of Nowhere" and "The Loneliest Planet".

Meanwhile, Benh Zeitlin was awarded with Breakthrough Director prize thanks to his acclaimed work in "Beasts of the Southern Wild". "It feels like you're on the yellow brick road sometimes," Zeitlin said upon accepting his award.

The all three female finalists of "Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars" went all out on Monday night, November 26 before the final results are announced on Tuesday. Kelly Monaco, Melissa Rycroft and Shawn Johnson tried to give their best when delivering two numbers each, one was an encore performance from earlier in the season and the other was a "super-sized" freestyle.

Kelly and Val Chmerkovskiy recreated a paso doble for their encore performance, which Len Goodman called her "best dance to date." Bruno Tonioli compared her to a "fire angel ... driven by desire," but noted a "slight mishap" with her hand. Carrie Ann Inaba also said, "There was a little goof-up," but praised Kelly for her effort to get so far on the show. The soap opera star eaned 29.5 out of 30 points.

Speculations that "Iron Man 3" might feature appearance from other "The Avengers" members are not true after all. Marvel Studios producer Kevin Feige has confirmed that no other Avengers will show up in the third armored hero movie, though admitting that the events in the Earth's Mightiest Heroes flick somehow affect Tony Stark in the upcoming film.

"By the end of Avengers, when a portal is opened up in Manhattan and he's met Thor and The Hulk and the Chitauri are coming down on him, he realizes that he doesn't know everything; we think that has had an effect on his psyche, and then his world is blown out from underneath him," Feige tells Empire magazine.

"The Voice" mentor Cee-Lo Green has released another holiday video and this time some furry friends join in the fun. "All I Need Is Love" is the new upbeat and danceable track featuring Jim Henson's The Muppets and a cameo appearance from "The Office" star Craig Robinson as Santa Clause.

The Marc Klasfeld-directed video opens with Green arriving on his Rolls Royce convertible and gate crashing Kermit's Christmas party after getting lost in the middle of a snowstorm on his way to "Hotlanta". Little did the singer know that the complete cast of joyful and lovable Muppets, which all seem to be eager at opening their holiday presents, are there waiting to welcome him in the humble abode.

Simon Cowell is the latest victim of 911 hoax. A prank caller claimed that someone was held hostage in the British television personality's house, but the "American Idol" former judge told police that it was a false report.

A woman contacted 911 on Sunday, November 25 briefly before 1 P.M., and reported that a person was duct taped and tied up in Cowell's bathroom. His mansion is located in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.

The life and legacy of "Dallas" veteran actor Larry Hagman will be celebrated in both private and public memorial services. The actor well known for his villainous character of cunning oil baron J.R. Ewing died at 81 due to complications from his recent battle against cancer.

The late star will be remembered in invitation-only services in Dallas and Los Angeles, his personal manager John Castonia confirms without detailing the upcoming events. He is also going to be saluted on December 2 at the Southfork Ranch in Dallas.

Warner Bros. Pictures has renewed its movie finance deal with longtime partner Village Roadshow Pictures. It was confirmed on Monday, November 26 that the Burbank studio had extended the business deal with the company it worked with since 1997 through the end of 2017. The previous contract had been set to expire in 2014.

Per L.A. Times, Village Roadshow has secured debt financing of more than $1.1 billion to invest in such upcoming films as "The Great Gatsby", "Lego: The Piece of Resistance" and "Mad Max: Fury Road". The company's Chairman Bruce Berman said of the renewed deal, "This gives us the certainty we want and lets Warner Bros. know that over the next five years, its largest partners will remain at home."

Nicki Minaj gets tangled in another "American Idol" feud, but this time not with any of the current judges. She recently took to Twitter to fire back at former judge Steven Tyler, who criticized her behavior as a judge on the reality show.

"Steven Tyler said I would have sent Bob Dylan to a cornfield???" she took to Twitter to respond to the rocker's statement. "Steven, you haven't seen me judge one single solitary contestant yet."

Justin Bieber faced a tough audience on Sunday night, November 25 at the Canadian Football League's Grey Cup championship game. According to reports from The Associated Press, the teen pop singer got booed by football fans upon coming out on stage to perform a medley of his popular hits.

A not-so-welcoming Toronto crowd booed and jeered when they saw The Biebs on the Jumbotron screen on his way out to the halftime show stage to perform two of his hit singles "Boyfriend" and "Beauty and a Beat". Another round of scoffing took place when an announcer mentioned his name. Bieber, who recently won the Artist of the Year honor at the American Music Awards, seemed unaffected by his hecklers and continued to give his high-energy number.

There was no government's intervention behind the making of "Zero Dark Thirty (2012)", so director Kathryn Bigelow and scribe Mark Boal insisted. The duo behind Oscar-winning "The Hurt Locker" sat down with Martha Raddatz for an in-depth interview with ABC's "Nightline" to clarify swirling allegation that they both were given access to confidential information by the Obama administration.

"I certainly did a lot of homework, but I never asked for classified materials; to my knowledge, I never received any," said Boal during the Monday night, November 26 interview. "And I think as far as the controversy goes, you know, how can I put this - it was an election year."

Halle Berry's former beau Gabriel Aubry told his side of story of the dramatic Thanksgiving brawl with her fiance Olivier Martinez. Contrary to what Olivier said to the cops after the fight on November 22, 36-year-old Gabriel claimed he was not the initiator and accused his love rival of threatening to kill him in the melee.

In court filings on Monday, Gabriel sought restraining order against Olivier. The French model said Olivier approached him and said, "We need to talk," when he showed up on Halle's doorstep to drop off his daughter with the actress, 4-year-old Nahla. He was allegedly knocked to the ground by Olivier when he walked toward his car to close his door.

Angus T. Jones may have landed in hot water with "Two and a Half Men" bosses for his recent comment about the show. In a video interview for the Forerunner Chronicles, a Christian group, the young actor discusses a wide range of religious topics and trashes the long-running sitcom in the process.

"Jake from 'Two and a Half Men' means nothing. He is a non-existent character," he says of his character on the show. "If you watch 'Two and a Half Men', please stop watching 'Two and a Half Men'. I'm on 'Two and a Half Men' and I don't want to be on it."