January 29, 2013

Hugh Hefner is mourning the loss of his loyal secretary of more than 40 years, Mary O'Connor. She died Sunday afternoon, January 27 after a short illness at the age of 84 in Sherman Oaks, California. "Mary passed away today. We loved her more than words can say," the 86-year-old Playboy founder remembered his trusted confidant.

O'Connor was surrounded by her brother and close friends at the time of her death. She is survived by her brother James Feuchtinger, and sister-in-law Sheila, together with several nieces and nephews and an army of grateful friends and fans. Service arrangements will be announced on Tuesday, January 29 for her family and friends to pay their respects.

"Parks and Recreation" star Amy Poehler has signed a deal to write her first book. According to publisher It Books, the book will be "an illustrated, non-linear diary full of humor and honesty and brimming with true stories, fictional anecdotes and life lessons."

The 2013 Golden Globe Awards co-host's still untitled book will be published in 2014 by Harper Collins Publishers' It Books. Poehler's editor Carrie Thornton said she was "blown away by [Poehler's] creativity and her passion."

As if his "Sound City" efforts, directing the documentary and performing at gigs with his Sound City Players were not yet filling his crazy schedule, Foo Fighters' frontman Dave Grohl managed to find time to assist returning rock band Soundgarden. He directs their new music video "By Crooked Steps". It is the latest track to be released off their album "King Animal".

Showcasing his usual Foo Fighters-inspired humor, Grohl cast the band as Segway-riding bikers. Frontman Chris Cornell and other band members Kim Thayll, Matt Cameron and Ben Shepherd are seen rocking the crowd in the 4-minute clip. The quintet even goes on an exhilarating car chase, eventually surrendering by the end of the storyline.

Lindsey Knickerbocker, the daughter of former "The Real Housewives of Orange County" star Tammy Knickerbocker, had a run-in with the law in late 2012. The 23-year-old was arrested for DUI and several other charges on December 14, TMZ just broke the story.

Witnesses told police that drunk Lindsey rammed two parked cars on Balboa Island in O.C. before she fled to a friend's house nearby. Cops then followed her to the friend's house, where she was cited, but not before she punched one of the police officers in the stomach.

Fans are sure to be thrilled over the news that electronic music duo Daft Punk is set to release their fourth album in May of this year. German DJ and producer Boys Noize excitedly proclaimed, "No one sounds like Daft Punk and I'm very, very excited to hear their new stuff." He revealed to MTV News that Daft Punk worked with "some good friends" on the "amazing" new album, saying that "it will blow minds."

After signing up with Columbia Records, the French duo of Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo will end an eight-year recording drought with the release of their new album. The musical acts being eyed for the new project reportedly include Animal Collective's Panda Bear, disco icon Giorgio Moroder and Chilly Gonzales.

One of the biggest mysteries on "The Big Bang Theory" is about to be revealed in an upcoming episode. A promo for the next outing sees Penny asking Sheldon whether he will ever sleep with Amy or not.

Judging from Penny's reaction, Sheldon doesn't shy away from the personal topic and is likely giving an answer to the burning question. It's, however, seemingly still long before Sheldon gets very intimate with Amy since he's not comfortable when she hugs him tightly.

Having just named its new CEO, Warner Bros. Entertainment seems to be really careful when it comes to giving a green light to a new project. In an article about the company's new CEO Kevin Tsujihara and movie division chief Jeff Robinov, Variety highlights the studio's long-gestating "Justice League" project which apparently is in danger of not seeing the light of day unless the studio's upcoming DC film, "Man of Steel", is proven successful on box office.

Set on the order of rival movie Marvel's "The Avengers", the "JLA" project has long been developed but still hasn't found its director. Will Beall has been tapped to provide the script. In its article, Variety notes that Warners "has not been able to effectively exploit the DC library" other than Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" trilogy. Its previous DC project, "Green Lantern", was underperformed.

Haitian-American rapper Future was sued last year by a woman named Jessica Smith for child support. She claims he got her pregnant back in 2001 and as the father of her now 10-year-old son, should help with the finance.

To prove or disprove the claims made by Smith, the 29-year-old Future took a DNA test which turned out positive, meaning that he was indeed the father of the boy. The 99.9% accurate test confirmed with almost absolute certainty that the kid was his.

NBC is giving "Hatfields & McCoys" from Charlize Theron a try. The network has ordered a pilot to the modern-day adaptation of the famous family feud which is developed at ABC Studios.

The story is set in present day Pittsburgh, where "a startling death re-ignites the feud between these two legendary families. Unleashing decades of resentment, the blue collar McCoys will put the Hatfields' wealth and power at risk as they go to war for control of the city."

To support their much-anticipated self-titled album set to be released on April 9, Paramore will go on their first North American tour since 2010. The announcement by the rock band from Franklin, Tennessee comes on the heels of the recent release of their brand new song "Now".

The trio of lead vocalist Hayley Williams, bassist Jeremy Davis and guitarist Taylor York have revealed the first twelve dates of their concert tour which will kick off on April 25 in Houston, Texas. New York will host a May 16 leg, the last of the first dozen shows as the band assures more dates will be added.

Michael Angarano has found a new love in his co-star, acording to a report from Us Weekly. The 25-year-old actor, who previously dated Kristen Stewart before she's romancing Robert Pattinson, reportedly is in a relationship with British actress Juno Temple, 23.

The couple was spotted getting lovey dovey when attending 2013 Sundance Film Festival on January 21 in Utah, where his new movie "Afternoon Delight" was on the playlist. "They try keep it pretty quiet but very supportive of each other," a source claimed.

Which movies will drop their trailers during the Super Bowl XLVII telecast this Sunday, February 3? Words are, there will be at least six major studio films that will unveil their promos on the highly-anticipated CBS airing. One of them is a much-awaited movie which will reveal its very first sneak peek.

According to Deadline, Walt Disney, Universal and Paramount Pictures have all booked the $4 million ad space from CBS to promote their upcoming releases. Disney will boast a 63-second preview of "Oz: The Great and Powerful", a 60-second spot for "Iron Man 3", and a 90-second spot for "The Lone Ranger" during the big NFL game.

Taye Diggs had an uninvited guest when arriving home after attending Screen Actors Guild Awards Sunday night, January 27 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The actor found the intruder rummaging through their garage shortly after 11 P.M.

After caught red-handed "looking for items to steal" at Taye's outside Studio City, California home, the man identified as 20-year-old Hassan Juma tried to run. The "Private Practice" actor chased him down and held him until authorities came.

Chris Brown and Frank Ocean feud won't affect the scheduled performances for the 2013 Grammy Awards. It was confirmed by a source from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) who stages the annual Grammy Awards, and another at CBS who will handle the ceremony's telecast on February 10 from Los Angeles.

Although neither of the two Grammy nominees is confirmed to perform, Brown's lover Rihanna has been announced as part of the lineup of performers and any chance of a possible duet by the recently-reunited couple might have gone out due to Brown's latest controversy.

Tierra and Amanda played the sympathy card in the latest episode of "The Bachelor", but it only worked for one of them. Both girls took part in a group date in the January 28 outing of the dating show, joined by Lindsay, Robyn, Jackie, Catherine, AshLee and Sarah.

The date was set up to be a roller derby, but Sean Lowe canceled it and changed it into free skate party since most of the girls kept falling down. Sarah clearly didn't have a good balance and she was embarassed. "At moments like this I just want to be normal," the one-armed girl cried.

Nothing could slow Taylor Swift down, not even a heartbreak. The former girlfriend of Harry Styles just got a new job, a spokesmodel for Diet Coke. The 22-year-old country/pop singer, who's famous for her slim model-like figure, announced the partnership on her official website through a video message.

"I wanted to share some news with you because we're actually making it official with one of the great loves of my life...Diet Coke," the blonde beauty said. The partnership is "gonna include so many fun things having to do with the tour, having to do with Diet Coke in general, behind the scenes of the commercial shoot."

Almost unsurprisingly, Federico Alvarez's "Evil Dead" remake is granted an NC-17 rating by the MPAA. The horror flick, which recently stole people's attention due to its graphic violence and extremely gory scenes, receives the rating on first try, but the director is still struggling to secure an R rating.

Alvarez confirms the news himself on Twitter when a fan asks, "Did the film have to be cut at all to achieve the R rating? or is it all still there? or uncut copy later?" The helmer responds, "Was proud of scoring a NC17 when submitted! But we had to cut stuff out to get an R and get the film into theaters."

Barbara Walters' good friends gave another update on her condition on "The View". Host Whoopi Goldberg said, "You all know that she fell and cut her head 10 days ago, and then was running a temperature, but it turns out it is all the result of a delayed childhood."

The "Sister Act" actress continued, "Barbara has the chicken pox. She'd never had it as a child. So now she's been told to rest, she's not allowed any visitors. and we're telling you, Barbara, no scratching," before jokingly adding, "We love you. We miss you. We just don't want to hug you."

The first clips of Sundance-winning film "Fruitvale" have been dropped online. Presented in between Amy Goodman's interview with director Ryan Coogler for DemocracyNow.org, the clips are packed with touching scenes involving Michael B. Jordan's performance as real-life figure Oscar Grant.

The first sneak peek (comes at the 1:26 mark) sees a casual conversation between Jordan and Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer. While seemingly washing the dish, she asks him about what's his plan for New Year's Eve. Jordan replies to his on-screen mother that he has "nothing major" to do for the night, but just casually meet up with his "fellas" and "head out to the city."

"Boy Meets World" sequel, "Girl Meets World", has cast Cory and Topanga's daughter. Rowan Blanchard is tapped to tackle the role of Riley Matthews on the follow-up to the 1990s TV series. The eleven-year-old girl has previously starred in "The Back-Up Plan" and "Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World".

"As soon as Rowan walked into the room, I was reminded of why Ben Savage was loved as Cory Matthews," Michael Jacobs, executive producer of the "Girl Meets World" pilot, tells Entertainment Weekly. "Rowan is real and accessible and I am hopeful this girl is about to meet a world that will love growing up with her as well."

A day before his new "Believe Acoustic" album's scheduled release on January 29, Justin Bieber drums up the promo by dropping a clip of his "All Around the World" live acoustic rendition. The intimate performance is a stripped-down version of the hit featuring Ludacris which first appeared on his third studio album "Believe".

Backed up by a lone acoustic guitar player by his side, The Biebs thrilled a crowd of female fans during the no-frills performance in Australia, wherein an excited fan even threw a white towelette towards the teen heartthrob. Flashing his winning smile and showcasing his maturing voice, the pop superstar even got his audience singing the chorus with him towards the end.

Jamie-Lynn Sigler, 31, is taking her relationship with Cutter Dykstra, 23, to the next level. The Meadow Soprano of "The Sopranos" gets engaged to the son of former Mets star Lenny Dykstra and excitedly shares the happy news to her Twitter followers.

"So this just happened," so she wrote along with a picture of herself showing off her engagement ring as she puts her left hand up to her gasping face. Her beau also appears in the photo, grinning from ear to ear. "She said yes!!" he gushed on his own Twitter.

Screen Actors Guild Awards will continue airing on TNT and TBS in the next few years. The two cable channels have sealed a new three-year deal with SAG-AFTRA to carry its annual prize-giving event.

The extended contract came hot on the heels of ratings improvement of the SAG Awards. The Sunday, January 27 telecast on the two cable networks delivered a total of 5.2 million viewers and 2.1 million in the 18-49 demo. It's up 2% in total viewers and 5% in the demo compared to last year.

Another supervillain will likely be added to "The Amazing Spider-Man 2". After Jamie Foxx is confirmed as Electro, it is now said that Paul Giamatti is in talks to star as The Rhino. The villainous character is described as "famously one of Spider-Man's dimmest villains."

The Hollywood Reporter shares that Giamatti is courted to join "The Amazing Spider-Man" sequel along with Felicity Jones. However, it is unclear what role Jones is poised to tackle.

Stating that she's going to star in the new musical "Fela!", Michelle Williams (II) said the reported Destiny's Child onstage reunion at the Super Bowl halftime show was practically next to impossible. It has been three weeks already since reports that Williams and Kelly Rowland are going to join Beyonce Knowles in her Super Bowl halftime show on February 3 in New Orleans came out.

In an interview on a radio station during a recent event, Williams denied the trio would be performing together at the much-awaited Super Bowl weekend event. "That's not confirmed. It is rumored. I'm going to be in the musical Fela. I hate to disappoint the people and tell them that it's not true."

The Sunday, January 27 brawl between Frank Ocean and Chris Brown got even serious. A day after the "all-out" fight around a parking area at Westlake Studio in Los Angeles, authorities said that Ocean wanted Breezy to get prosecuted.

According to Reuters, sheriff's deputies received a call about a brawl involving six men in West Hollywood on Sunday. Witnesses said that they saw the "Kiss Kiss" hitmaker punching the "Thinkin Bout You" singer during the altercation.

After appearing on a number of E!'s reality shows, Kris Jenner lands a talk show from Fox Television Stations and Twentieth Television. The mother to Kim Kardashian will host and executive produce the new program which will have its premiere when it begins a six-week test run on select Fox-owned stations in major markets, including New York and Los Angeles, this summer.

Titled "Kris", the daily one-hour entertainment talk show will present "a daily jolt of celebrity guests, fashion & beauty trends; plus a mix of lifestyle topics - all through the distinctive and unpredictable perspective of Kris Jenner." The show will be filmed in Los Angeles.

Fans will not see the 3D re-release of "Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones" and "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" in the near future. Walt Disney Pictures/LucasFilm have decided to postpone the re-release plan in order to focus on the "Star Wars Episode 7" project.

The studio announced the news on Monday, January 28, stating, "Lucasfilm has decided to postpone this fall's scheduled release of Star Wars Episodes II and III in 3D. Given the recent development that we are moving forward with a new Star Wars trilogy, we will now focus 100 percent of our efforts on Star Wars: Episode VII in order to ensure the best possible experience for our fans. We will post further information about our 3D release plans at a later date."

In a new interview, Miley Cyrus reveals that her new album, her fourth one due to be released this year, will feature a contribution from rapper and record producer Tyler, The Creator. The alternative hip-hop collective Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All leader and co-founder will guest on a track written by Cyrus with Grammy Award-winning R'n'B/hip-hop diva Mary J. Blige.

"I wrote this song with Mary J. Blige, and Tyler, The Creator heard it and said, 'I am obsessed with this song, and I will guest on it if you promise me that you will keep it on the album.' And he killed it!" Cyrus exclaimed about the new collaboration. She then hinted that the new album would be a mixture of country and hip-hop and metal.

Rick Ross got an unpleasant surprise on his birthday. On Monday morning, January 28, the rapper crashed his Rolls Royce into a building after he heard multiple gunshots fired in his direction when driving by a Fort Lauderdale street in Florida.

Rozay was leaving Club LIV in Miami, where he celebrated his 37th birthday with his girlfriend Shateria L. Moragne-El, when someone shot multiple times in his car's direction. He tried to dodge the bullets, but ended up crashing his luxurious gray car into an apartment near 15th Avenue and Las Olas Boulevard.

Warner Bros. Entertainment has found its new CEO. On Monday, January 28, the giant movie and TV company announced that it had picked Kevin Tsujihara as its new leader, replacing Barry Meyer who will effectively retire per March 1 after tackling the top position since 1999.

The decision to pick Tsujihara as the new leader came as a surprise since he's considered the dark-horse candidate for the prestigious job. He was racing for the top position against TV group chief Bruce Rosenblum, who was dubbed the favorite candidate, and movie chief Jeff Robinov.