December 06, 2012

Justin Bieber's manager Scooter Braun did not take it well when one of his artists was snubbed for this year's Grammy nominations. Braun thought Bieber should at least get one for his hard work on the album "Believe", which was released back in June.

Expressing his frustration on Twitter, Braun first congratulated his other artist Carly Rae Jepsen who earns two for the track "Call Me Maybe". He wrote, "First...congrats to @carlyraejepsen . thought u deserved a best new artist nom, but proud Call Me Maybe got u 2 noms. so proud of u. second....this time there wont be any wise words, no excuses, I just plain DISAGREE. The kid deserved it. Grammy board u blew it on this one."

Emile Hirsch was caught in the act. The titular character depicter in "Speed Racer" looked alarmed when a paparazzo snapped him urinating on a cactus in front of Bootsy Bellows nightclub on the famous Sunset Strip.

According to TMZ which obtained the photo, the 27-year-old actor was partying in the club when he opted to pee on a cactus in front of the club's door instead of going into a restroom, which was just a few feet away. The actor was surrounded by other party-goers.

The hunt for "Arrow" escalates in an upcoming episode when someone is murdering the people on Oliver's father's list with arrows. Dealing with copycat who holds hostage and urges the vigilante to surrender himself, Oliver faces his toughest adversary yet.

Dubbed an "unforgettable" midseason finale, "Year's End" will air Wednesday, December 12 at 8 P.M. on The CW. In it, Oliver also discovers that after he and his father went missing, Moira and Thea stopped celebrating Christmas. Determined to make up for lost time and restore a sense of normalcy to the Queen household, Oliver decides to throw the family a Christmas party.

Before things escalate and fans of Lady GaGa call out for blood, musician Jack White took the liberty to clarify his previous comments about the Mother Monster's music. He said that he was misquoted and denied that he ever meant to insult the eccentric pop diva. In a recent interview with Esquire U.K., White was quoted as saying, "I don't think she (Lady GaGa) lives it, because it's all artifice. It's all image with no meaning behind it. You can't sink your teeth into it. It's a sound bite. It's very of this age, because that's what people want."

The "Freedom at 21" hitmaker released a statement on Wednesday, December 5, claiming that he never criticized Lady GaGa's music and that the media had taken his comments out of context. He also said that the whole matter was nothing but "tabloidesque drama." White's denial was posted on his official website and contained quite a long explanation about the misquoted words.

Oprah Winfrey has chosen "The Twelve Tribes of Hattie" by Ayana Mathis for Oprah Book Club 2.0. Oprah explained why she picked the novel, "The opening pages of Ayana's debut took my breath away."

She gushed, "I can't remember when I read anything that moved me in quite this way, besides the work of Toni Morrison." Meanwhile, Ayana was surprised when she was told that her novel was chosen by the CEO of OWN.

Jay-Z and Beyonce Knowles put a united front in New York City on Wednesday, December 5. The powerhouse couple showed up at the 2012 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year Award presentation to help celebrate guest of honor LeBron James.

The rapper suited up for the event taking place at hotspot Escape, while his singer wife donned a cleavage-baring pantsuit and put her blonde hair in a high bun. They were all smiles as they posed with the Sportsman of the Year and his partner Savannah Brinson.

Finally, the highly-anticipated first teaser for "Star Trek Into Darkness" has been debuted online. Jam packed with high-octane scenes, the trailer boasts tons of stunning effects in what appears to be a climatic battle sequence.

The video opens with a narration from a deep-voiced man, who allegedly is the supervillain, saying, "You think your world is save... it is an illusion." It then rolls to plenty of intense fight scenes that escalate to massive attack by an evil force to the city. A clear look at Benedict Cumberbatch's villainous character is exposed in the video, but still, his identity has yet to be unveiled.

"Gangnam Style" has become a massive global hit, but for its creator, PSY, it is about time to come up with another new song before everyone gets tired of his "Op op op op oppan" tune. Fortunately, PSY has teamed up with rapper 2 Chainz and British DJ/producer diplo for his next music effort.

The colab may seem as one of the oddest and unexpected trio line-ups in modern pop world, but diplo has confirmed the news himself via his Twitter feed on Tuesday, December 4. The famed producer and songwriter said, "no lie i just finished something with @psy_oppa and @2chainz the mayan calendar predicted this." Not much detail followed the DJ's Tuesday night tweet, but fans are hoping that they will soon hear the next greatest novelty song to hit the charts in 2013.

Susan Luckey has just passed away. The actress, who's well known for playing Mayor Shinn's daughter Zaneeta in 1962 classic movie "The Music Man", died in her home in Los Angeles on early Thursday morning, November 26. She was 74.

According to her daughter Shayna Reynolds, Susan whose real name is Suzanne Douglas died due to "old age" and didn't battle any long-term disease. Per her request, her body was cremated and the remains were placed in a "decorative box" where other family members were laid to rest.

ABC has revealed the 25 girls who will be seen in "The Bachelor" season 17. Among those competing for Sean Lowe's attention are models Amanda, Ashley H. and Kristy, journalist Lauren, poker dealer Leslie H., substitute teacher Lindsay, as well as Jumbotron operator Paige.

There's a 26th woman who is also competing on the show, but her identity will not be revealed until the season premiere on Monday, January 7, 2013. Of what he's looking in a girl, Sean once said, "They have to be intelligent, funny, witty...I like sweet girls."

Holly Madison has opened up about her experience when she suffered from excessive morning sickness and had to be hospitalized. She admitted she was freaked out because morning sickness usually subsides after the first three months of pregnancy, while she's currently seven months pregnant.

"When [the morning sickness] started happening really late [in the pregnancy] and I was really vomiting a lot during the day, it freaked me out," she said. "I was told to go to the doctor and get an IV and everything," the former host of "Holly's World" went on. "So, that was kind of scary to me just because it seemed like something so unusual...but everything's O.K. so far, so that's good."

Kristen Wiig could end up being Steve Carell's love interest in a movie. The "Bridesmaids" actress is courted to star in the Adam McKay-directed anticipated sequel project "Anchorman: The Legend Continues", The Wrap reports.

The New York-born actress is reportedly expected to play the leading lady of Carell's iconic character Brick Tamland. How her character will fit into the plot is still unclear as the script is still being written and no cast beyond the principals has been set.

Kate Middleton gets visited by her siblings Wednesday, December 5. Sister Pippa Middleton and brother James Middleton were spotted leaving King Edward VII Hospital in Central London where the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge was treated for hyperemesis gravidarum.

Pippa was bundled up in a brown belted trench coat, black leggings and camel-colored knee-high boots. Meanwhile, younger brother James kept warm in a three-layer top and denims. "They arrived at the hospital at 3:50 P.M. in a black taxi," a source told Us Weekly. "They left at 5 P.M."

Wednesday's Grammy Nominations Concert had a long list of deserving nominees and great performers for the night. Rock band Maroon 5 made the audience at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville head bang to their hit singles "One more Night" and "Moves Like Jagger". However, one of the most entertaining parts of the evening was Taylor Swift's beatbox duet with co-host LL Cool J.

Maroon 5's Adam Levine led his band during their high-energy set on stage. In addition to the two hits, the band gave a rendition of their single "Payphone", which also got the nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

Scott Evans, who played a police officer on "One Life to Live", was taken into custody on Tuesday, December 4. The younger brother of "Captain America: The First Avenger" hunk Chris Evans was charged with felony for attempt to possess a controlled substance.

The 29-year-old actor was allegedly busted for trying to purchase drugs from an undercover cop. He was taken into jail at around 6:15 P.M. and was bailed out a few hours later. It's unclear what kind of drugs he's trying to buy from the police officer.

All genres of music were very well represented in the 2013 Grammy Awards list of nominees. Artists The Black Keys, Jay-Z, and Fun. were among those with multiple nominations at the prestigious awards show. Other musicians who got multiple nominations include Mumford & Sons, Kanye West, and Frank Ocean. The list of nominees was announced on Wednesday, December 5 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.

Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys was nominated for non-classical producer of the year, which became the sixth nod for the rock duo. The other five include Album of the Year and Best Rock Album for "El Camino", and Record of the Year, Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song for their single "Loney Boy". The nominations indeed prove the band's very strong musical career this year.

"The X Factor (US)" returned with the remaining 6 contestants on Wednesday, December 5. Each singing hopeful had to perform twice: one was an unplugged number and the other was viewers' choice.

Before CeCe Frey delivered a stripped-down version of Lady GaGa's "Edge of Glory", L.A. Reid commented, "I think Cece should have gone home a long time ago." He, however, changed his mind after watching her performance, saying, "That was really good."

There's a new rumor circulating on the web that Ariel Winter's estranged mother Chrisoula Workman attempted to leak nude pictures of Shanelle Gray. She is Chris' older daughter who's granted temporary guardianship of the "Modern Family" star.

A Hollywood publicist named Jonathan Hay testified to TMZ that he had been contacted by the mother in her effort to secretly release the pics which seemed to be taken years back. He refused her request because he felt she tried to "sell out her daughter" and make Shanelle look bad.

After being long in gestation, the third "Tron" movie is officially back on its saddle at Walt Disney Pictures. The Hollywood Reporter confirms that the studio decides to move forward with the project and is currently eyeing a new writer to provide the latest draft of the screenplay.

It is Jesse Wigutow, who is in negotiations with Disney to serve as the new scribe for the long-gestating project. He is expected to replace David DiGilio, who penned an earlier draft of the script. Plot details of the upcoming "Tron 3" are still kept secret until now.

ABC is prepping a new series that will likely lure "The X-Files" fans. The network has given a 13-episode straight-to-series order to paranormal investigation series "Weird Desk", which is slated for a summer premiere.

Coming from "Stargate" writer Carl Binder and "The Librarian" scribe David Titcher, the show revolves around a clandestine organization named "Weird Desk" which is tasked with investigating and solving occurrences of the paranormal, supernatural and sometimes extra-terrestrial. It operates above the levels of top secret and above the office of the President.

Fans of Katy Perry might remember her video "The One That Got Away" where she played both the young and old character of herself. Now, an extended version of the clip finds its way out on the web and presents longer opening and closing scenes.

The original Floria Sigismondi-directed video had a running time of five minutes while the new director's cut is seven-minute long. As with the original version, the clip starts off with old Perry arriving at her very posh abode. This time more clips of her wondering around the house, slowly arranging her stuff, and going into deep thought are shown.

Eminem's manager Paul Rosenberg denied that the rapper's daughter Hailie Mathers launched a Twitter attack against Taylor Swift. On Tuesday, December 4, he confirmed that the tweets using Hailie's name were fake.

Paul debunked the report as claiming that Hailie didn't have a Twitter account. He said, "......And this isn't real either: https://twitter.com/hailiejade_x never will be. Sorry."

Harrison Ford looks down on Asa Butterfield in a first look photo of "Ender's Game". The veteran actor looks fierce in his portrayal of Colonel Hyram Graff complete with his sleek military uniform. The picture is taken in what appears to be a mess in Battle School, where Butterfield's titular character and his fellow young recruits are standing up in white pajamas.

According to Entertainment Weekly, which publishes the pic, the scene in the image shows Ender facing off Graff over whether his emails to home are being blocked. The two characters are "clashing over communication," since they have "major communication issues with each other."

Lindsay Lohan put her troubles aside as she went to Philadelphia to have a fun night out with her alleged crush Max George. She watched him and his bandmates rocking the Wells Fargo Center for Q102's sold-out Jingle Ball on Wednesday night, December 5.

LiLo was spotted signing autograph for a fan backstage while on her way to a catering room with Max and the other members of The Wanted. Wearing a coat and a winter cap, she also hung out with another performer Ed Sheeran during the occasion.

Fans of U.K. boyband The Wanted were expecting a new album this Christmas. Unfortunately, the boys are just not ready to release it yet. The new album, which was originally set to hit the stores during the holidays, has now been pushed back to an early 2013 release.

According to the fivesome, they decided to delay the album launch so they can make a record that they are proud of. Tom Parker told the Daily Star that their label wanted the new set to be released in time for Christmas, but the boys were not happy with their material and asked for the release date to be moved.

It seems that "X-Men: Days of Future Past" will become a reunion project for director Bryan Singer and his original "X-Men" cast members. After nabbing Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen to return as Professor X and Magneto respectively, it is now said that the project will likely see the return of Halle Berry and James Marsden as Storm and Cyclops respectively.

It is MovieWeb which shares the words that Berry and Marsden are also being sought to come back to the mutant heroes film franchise. The two starred in the first three "X-Men" films along with Hugh Jackman, who's recently also asked to reprise his iconic role as Logan a.k.a Wolverine.

Former "Grease" stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John released a clip for their holiday track "I Think You Might Like It". The song is from their holiday-themed charity album titled "This Christmas" and has been compared to their 1978 duet, "You're the One That I Want."

The video directed by Rav Holly and Corey Molina starts off with quirky scenes that will immediately make viewers cringe. There are shots of Travolta and Newton-John dancing a wacky line dance side-by-side and then separate shots of them in a plane and driving a car respectively. Travolta arrives at what is ostensibly his hometown while Newton-John waves out to strangers in her car filled with Christmas presents.

Music world is mourning the loss of another legend, a pioneering jazz composer and pianist Dave Brubeck. The Concord native passed away on Wednesday, December 5 due to heart failure, one day before what would have been his 92nd birthday.

Dave died while on his way to a cardiology appointment with his son at Norwalk Hospital in Connecticut. He is survived by wife of 70 years, four sons, a daughter, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He had another son who died in 2009.

Kristin Chenoweth poked fun at Hugh Hefner's engagement to on-and-off girlfriend Crystal Harris when appearing on "Chelsea Lately" Tuesday night, December 4. Taking Chelsea Handler's spot at the roundtable, the Annabeth Schott of "The West Wing" gave a brief description of the couple's relationship history and inserted some quips.

"In 2001, Crystal who is 26 - no judgment, only love - called off their wedding day five days before she was to marry 86-year-old Hefner," she said and faked a cough when mentioning Hefner's age. "Sources say that Crystal is ready to give marriage with Hugh a try now and that she is taking time to become independent and stand on her own two feet."

A brand new trailer for DreamWorks Animation's "The Croods" has been debuted, boasting plenty of new adventurous scenes. Compared to the previously-released sneak peek, this new one features more exciting fresh scenes with more dialogs that give more clues to the storyline, and unveils a new major character called Guy (Ryan Reynolds).

The new trailer offers a longer look at Nicolas Cage as an overprotective father who leads his family to a journey across the continent. Emma Stone plays his daughter, a young girl with a huge thirst of freedom and is hungry for adventure. Beautiful landscapes are filling the scenes throughout the trailer as the family find a brand new world during their journey.

R&B songstress Alicia Keys lands atop the Billboard 200 chart this week with her newest release "Girl on Fire". The album sold 159, 000 copies, which marks the lowest opening week for Keys' records. However, it still earns her fifth No.1 on the album countdown chart according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Last week's queen, Rihanna, slips from the top spot and out of the top 5. Her first chart topper "Unapologetic" settles at No.6 with 72,000 copies sold in its second week. It had a very fiery debut last week with 238,000 copies.

Tom Hooper's "Les Miserables" has just thrown a star-studded premiere in the U.K. on December 5. Held at the Odeon Leicester Square in London, the special screening event was attended by the musical film's A-list cast members including leading ladies Anne Hathaway and Amanda Seyfried.

Hathaway became the event's center of attention with her fabulous look. Keeping her pixie hair sleek, the Fantine depicter dazzled in a pastel-colored mermaid gown with oversized arms that exposed her sexy collarbone. The elegant dress also had a backless detail that made the brunette beauty look even more gorgeous.

LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian fire back at Brandi Glanville after the Bravo reality TV star claimed the singer got her child "extremely ill" after they accidentally ate her laxatives. Both LeAnn and Eddie call Brandi's story a desperate attempt to keep her relevant in the public eye.

Brandi angered LeAnn and Eddie over her new interview with Us Weekly. "LeAnn has a severe eating disorder. She has [a laxative] in every purse. Mason found one on the floor and thought it was a Skittle! They don't keep sugar in the house. He thought he finally found candy! He gets extremely sick, and that freaks me the f**k out," Brandi claimed.

For the second time in less than a week, Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty (2012)" earns a Best Film of the year title at two different awards shows. Just a few days ago, the thriller about Osama bin Laden hunt received the honor from New York Film Critics Circle, and now it is given the same prestigious award by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures.

Of why the board chooses Bigelow's film as the winner of its highest prize, NBR President Annie Schulhof says, " 'Zero Dark Thirty' is a masterful film." She goes on, "Kathryn Bigelow takes the viewer inside a definitive moment of our time in a visceral and unique way. It is exciting, provocative and deeply emotional."

Vince Vaughn and Glenn Beck are teaming up for a new reality show. Vaughn's production company Wild West Productions along with Go Go Luckey, which is founded by Gary and Julie Auerbauch, will produce "Pursuit of the Truth" that will air through Beck's online network TheBlaze.

The show will see 20 filmmakers competing for the grand prize, which is financing and worldwide distribution for their feature documentary film idea. A team of experienced producers and executives will sit on the judging panel and judge the contestants based on the validity of their idea for a documentary as well as their filmmaking abilities.

Rihanna hinted on Tuesday, December 11 on Twitter that she had a big news to share. Turns out, the singer will be an executive producer and star of a fashion design reality competition series titled "Styled to Rock".

Per Deadline, the new show has been picked up by Style channel for a 10 half-hour episodes premiering sometime next year. Rihanna will personally hand pick 12 up-and-coming designers to compete for the chance of designing fashion items for A-list celebrities.

Afrojack is making use of the hype around "Gangnam Style". The DJ has acquired the approval of South Korean pop star PSY to remix the extremely popular song for his debut album, due April next year.

"I remixed him two weeks ago and it's getting released next week," Afrojack told Billboard at the backstage of KISS FM's Jingle Ball concert in Los Angeles on Monday, December 3. PSY was the one who contacted Afrojack for the remix, saying "You're going to be the only one to remix 'Gangnam Style'."

Frankie Muniz remembered every detail of his scary experience of suffering a mini-stroke last Friday, November 30. The 27-year-old actor recalled the time he was driving his motorcycle when his vision started to blur and his headache became worse each minute.

Talking to People, Muniz said he never thought he would have a stroke at such young age. "I consider myself to be very healthy. I'm home and trying to relax and get ready to get back to work. My biggest problem is I always want to be working, going non-stop. So it's a wakeup call to take a little time and relax a bit," he said.

Jay-Z released a 24-minute documentary that contains an adorable moment between him and an older lady who did not recognize him. Back in October, the rapper took subway to his final performance at Brooklyn, New York's Barclays Center and sat next to the lady, named Ellen.

Ellen saw the people screaming around Jay-Z and asked him, "Are you famous?" He humbly replied, "Not very famous, you don't know me, but I'll get there someday." He then introduced himself to her and she asked what his occupation is. "I make music," Jay-Z said, adding he was on his way to his last concert.

Jack White made it clear that he is not a fan of Lady GaGa. The rocker said in a new interview with Esquire that the Mother Monster is "all artifice" with no meaning in her music.

"I don't think she lives it because it's all artifice," White told the January issue of the magazine. "It's all image with no meaning behind it. You can't sink your teeth into it. It's a sound bite." However, White realized that GaGa is only feeding the demand. "It's very of this age, because that's what people want," he added.