December 17, 2012

Singer and songwriter Mike Posner has unveiled a new touching song titled "Heaven". He especially dedicated it to the 20 children and 6 adults who were killed on December 14 at the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Conneticut. In the inspiring track, the Detroit singer and record producer sends out his love and thoughts to the victims and tries to remind everyone to remain positive amidst the tragedy.

In his heartfelt dedication for the families of Friday's shooting incident, the "Cooler Than Me" hitmaker said that the song was his way of doing something for the victims by using his gift of music and songwriting. The singer, who also penned the single "Boyfriend" by Justin Bieber, said, "I wanted to do SOMETHING for the victims' families. I wrote this song because I didn't know what else to do."

A representative for "Mad Men" cast member Ben Feldman has confirmed that the TV star proposed to his actress girlfriend Michelle Mulitz last Saturday, December 15. The couple was walking their dog when 32-year-old Feldman got down on one knee to execute the planned proposal which he wanted to look spontaneous.

"They are the best couple," a source told Us Weekly. "Very normal fun pair. Everyone is very happy for them."

National Football League star Hines Ward is facing some ugly parenthood controversy as a woman is claiming that he fathered her child. According to a report published by TMZ, a woman named Melanie Smith wants the former Pittsburgh Steelers player to admit that he is the biological father of her 1-year-old daughter. Ward has denied the accusation, which prompted Smith to file a lawsuit this month in her hometown, Georgia.

More details about Smith's claim revealed that she wanted the 36-year-old football star to assume his responsibilities over his daughter. Smith wants Ward to dish out the necessary cash for child support and admit that he is indeed the real father of the child. Ward, who already has one other child, Jaden, with his ex-wife Simone, has said that he is not the father of the kid. This statement apparently pushed Smith to file the lawsuit where she also demanded that Ward take a DNA blood test to clear the paternity claim.

Sporting a platinum blonde hairdo and wearing a skintight long-sleeved ensemble that revealed her toned abs, Miley Cyrus rocked the 2012 VH1 Divas stage from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles with her rendition of Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell". After an introduction by "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" star NeNe Leakes, Cyrus sang on the edge of the stage under a spotlight, before she dived backwards onto the audience and did some crowd-surfing.

In another highlight of the show, Jordin Sparks, Melanie Fiona and Ledisi performed Whitney Houston's greatest dance hits in honor of the late diva, who was found dead in a hotel room in February of this year. R'n'B artist Brandy kicked-off the special tribute by recalling how much she admired the legendary singer and that she once shared the VH1 Divas stage with her.

"The Big Bang Theory" and "Homeland" came home victorious from the 17th annual Satellite Awards. Both shows led the pack of TV winners in comedy and drama field respectively, bagging three gongs apiece.

"Big Bang" edged out such contenders as "Girls", "Modern Family" and "The Big Bang Theory" to claim the best comedy or musical title. It additionally paired the best actor (Johnny Galecki) and best actress (Kaley Cuoco) in comedy awards. For the coveted prize, Galecki defeated his own co-star Jim Parsons which was nominated in the same category.

The 17th annual Satellite Awards has unveiled its winners during a ceremony on Sunday evening, December 17 held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Beverly Hills. Becoming the top winner at the awards show was David O. Russell's dramedy "Silver Linings Playbook" with a total of five gongs.

The film about love and mental illness swept all the coveted categories, including Best Motion Picture, Best Director for Russell, Best Actor for Bradley Cooper, and Best Actress for Jennifer Lawrence. Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers also shared the Best Editing trophy for their work in the movie.

Lindsay Lohan is on the verge of getting sent back to jail due to probation violation, but she may know a way or two to avoid jail time. The troubled actress has reportedly enlisted the help of her spiritual advisor to convince the judge hearing her case that jail is not the best option for her.

Per TMZ, the "Labor Pains" star is asking her spiritual guru, friends and family to write letters to the judge. She reportedly believes that the letter from the spiritual guru will have the most impact and hopes that he will tell the judge she has benefited from counseling in the past.

Drawing a lot of controversies since the beginning of its production, Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty (2012)" was most recently labeled as a pro-torture for presenting some "enhanced interrogation methods" used by the CIA on al Qaeda detainees. Reacting to the swirling debate, Bigelow insisted that her work had been misinterpreted by some people.

"The point was to immerse the audience in this landscape, not to pretend to debate policy," Bigelow said to TheWrap, while admitting that featuring torture in the film was unavoidable since it was a part of history. "Was it difficult to shoot? Yes. Do I wish [torture] was not part of that history? Yes, but it was," she claimed.

Making up for the lost time when he was kept behind bars, T.I. quickly patched his way back to the limelight by announcing a new album. Preceded by a promotional single and several remixes featuring other famed hip-hop artists such as Jay-Z and Kanye West, the eighth studio installment is titled "Trouble Man: Heavy Is the Head" and set for a December 18 release.

At least 86 new tracks were recorded for the upcoming set, which the "Live Your Life" hitmaker described as "a lot more urban than 'Paper Trail', and less apologetic than 'No Mercy'." He further claimed, "It's got a lotta heart, it's got a lotta edge. It's a creative album. It's probably harder than most of the s**t that's coming out right now."

Fans of Shania Twain trooped to the Caesars Palace Colloseum this week to see the Canadian singer-songwriter in her "Shania: Still the One" concert, after eight years of being out of the spotlight. The 47-year-old singer had not performed onstage until early this month, as she went on vocal rehab after contracting the medical condition dysphonia, and it was apparent how much the crowd missed her as she was welcomed with a standing ovation.

Twain sang her hits throughout the almost 100-minute show, which featured her in a sequined bodysuit, as she kicked-off her concert with "I'm Gonna Getcha Good" while riding a flying motorcycle shaped like a horse. Aside from this, the horse-theme re-entered when two live horses, one black and one white, trotted onstage during her songs "Ain't No Quitter" and "You're Still the One."

After voting Abi-Maria off in a December 12 episode of "Survivor: Philippines", the remaining castaways began to think their next strategies to win the show. Mike was glad that they had removed a tumor (Abi) from the tribe, and reconsidered his alliance with Malcolm because Malcolm might be too hard to beat.

It wasn't long before the castaways got a tree mail announcing a challenge, but they didn't know whether it was a Reward Challenge or an Immunity Challenge until they met host Jeff Probst. It turned out they would play in a special Reward Challenge in which the winner would get a huge prize and an advantage in the last Immunity Challenge.

Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Patty Griffin was performing onstage at Austin's Continental Club on Saturday night, December 15, when she paused to introduce her husband, Led Zeppelin's frontman Robert Plant, as her "driver" to the amused crowd. The rock legend went up the stage, wearing a black chauffeur's cap which he laughingly took off before performing Griffin's new song "Ohio".

"Three years ago a guy with big hair and a British accent called me and said he needed help singing on their record," Griffin told the concertgoers during the first show of the two-night benefit. "I followed him on the road for 18 months and after it all he said he'd be my driver." The recently-married Plant and Griffin were scheduled to appear at both nights of the show staged for the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians medical assistance program, which included Griffin's longtime friend Michael Fracasso.

Plenty of gorgeous songstresses went high-fashion as they stepped on the purple carpet of the 2012 VH1 Divas on Sunday night, December 16. Stealing the show at the music event taking place at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles were former Disney darlings Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato. The two opted to go with all-black numbers but in very different styles.

As always, Miley looked outstanding with her edgy look. For the night, she donned a skintight long-sleeved midi dress with cutout details on one side that revealed much of her skin. The "Can't Be Tamed" singer, who's slated to sing "Rebel Yell" for the show, teamed her sexy Omo by Norma Kamali dress with matching Jean Michel Cazabat shoes, and Lorraine Schwartz jewels.

Kristen Stewart has recently been busy promoting her new film "On the Road" before it heads to selected U.S. theaters on December 21. Speaking about the Beat Generation drama with Collider, the "Twilight Saga" beauty recalled an "interesting" experience of watching her own very nude scenes in the film with her mother Jules Mann-Stewart.

"That was really an interesting experience," Kristen gushed. Of her intense sex scenes with both Sam Riley and Garrett Hedlund, the brunette beauty said that her mother "loved it" instead of criticizing her for doing it. "For me, I think everyone was really happy that it took a few years for the movie to get made," she said. "My mom came to Cannes. She loved it. She was really proud."

Controversial pop icon Madonna has added another feather on her cap by topping this year's list of highest-grossing concert tours. According to Billboard, her world tour brought in the most money this year, reaching an incredible $228 million in revenues, besting rock and roll legend Bruce Springsteen's total of $198 million from his "The Wrecking Ball" tour with The E Street Band.

Madonna handily beat her younger contemporary, the equally-controversial Lady GaGa, who only managed to secure the no. 6 spot with $124 million from her "Born This Way Ball" tour. The notorious Material Girl is consistently in the headlines by making controversial stunts in her shows, like brandishing a gun onstage in Denver only shortly after the Colorado shooting during "The Dark Knight Rises" movie premiere, and handing out pink anti-homophobia wristbands to Russian fans.

Despite revolving around the live of the First Family, "1600 Penn" is not a political show, so Josh Gad states. The co-creator, who also takes the role of the president's son on the upcoming NBC series, stresses, "It's absolutely, absolutely not a political show, and I can't emphasize that enough."

Explaining what the show is really about, he claims, "We never set out to make a political show... We wanted to make a show about a family that happens to live in a world where they are surrounded by politics." He adds, "We never wanted to do a goofball comedy about the White House."

Just a few weeks before the release of "Django Unchained", the United States was shocked by a devastating shooting tragedy at an elementary school in Connecticut. While some upcoming releases decided to pull back its press events following the tragedy, the Quentin Tarantino-helmed violent held its press junket on Saturday, December 15 in New York.

During the promotional event, lead actor Jamie Foxx weighed in on the ultra-violent tone of the spaghetti Western movie that could influence people in doing brutal actions. "We cannot turn our back and say that violence in films or anything that we do doesn't have a sort of influence. It does," the Django depicter acknowledged, as quoted by the Associated Press.

Rock and roll great Paul McCartney was a musical guest in "Saturday Night Live" holiday episode hosted by comedian Martin Short. Playing behind the piano, the legendary singer-songwriter, accompanied by The Eagles' guitarist Joe Walsh, sang "My Valentine" which was one of the two original compositions from his latest album "Kisses on the Bottom".

In another musical number, McCartney did a repeat of his 12-12-12 Sandy Relief collaboration with grunge band Nirvana, performing "Cut Me Some Slack" with drummer Dave Grohl, bassist Krist Noveselic and second guitarist Pat Smear. They first dished out the track in New York's Madison Square Garden during last week's star-studded, massively-successful benefit concert for the victims of hurricane Sandy.

Getting closer to Christmas Day, "Doctor Who" is promoting its Christmas special by unleashing another preview. The promo video has new scenes showing strange things that happen during a winter in 1892.

As Madame Vastra warns that snow can be a terrible weapon on the wrong hand, a voiceover says in the clip, "Winter is coming, the last winter of humankind." When a fairytale becomes a nightmare and a chilling menace threatens Earth, an unorthodox young governess, Clara, calls on the Doctor for help.

A significant scene in "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" has allegedly been unveiled. Bleeding Cool has received casting calls for the Marc Webb-directed Marvel movie, containing spoilerish tidbits about what scene the filmmakers would feature in the sequel to "The Amazing Spider-Man" and when the project would likely kick off shooting.

It seems that [SPOILER ALERT!] an important character is going to bite the dust in the upcoming film since the filmmakers are currently looking for mourners at a funeral and a priest who will conduct the ceremony. There is no further clue on who is the character that will meet his/her demise.

Gerard Depardieu shows no intention to return to France. The actor, who has left his home country to live in Belgium since December 7 possibly to pay lower taxes, says he plans to surrender his French passport after the prime minister called his move "pathetic."

In a letter to French Premier Jean-Marc Ayrault published in French weekly Le Journal du Dimanche, the Golden Globe winner slams French government. "I am leaving because you believe that success, creation, talent, anything different must be sanctioned," so he writes.

Kate Middleton looked stunningly elegant as usual as she made her first public appearance following her recent headline-grabbing pregnancy announcement. The beautiful Duchess of Cambridge was all smiles as she supported BBC's Sports Personality of the Year Awards in London on Sunday, December 16.

Though she had been reported to having a severe morning sickness these past few days, the wife of Prince William looked fresh and healthy when attending the event. Sporting her face-framing hairdo, the brunette beauty looked classy in a dark green dress by Alexander McQueen with bell sleeves and a plunging V neck. Still, it was too early to see her baby bump.

"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" sets the bar high on December box office with its record-breaking opening. The Middle Earth tale shatters this week's competition on the North American box office by scoring $84.6 million, which is the biggest three-day weekend gross ever for a December release.

Overseas, the first chapter of the Peter Jackson-directed fantasy trilogy has already raked in $223 million, beating Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" which collected $125.9 million in 2003. "The Hobbit" breaks the record previously held by Will Smith's "I Am Legend" which debuted to $77.2 million during the first weekend in December 2007.