March 12, 2013

"The Great Gatsby" is set to open the 66th edition of Cannes Film Festival. Organizers said early Tuesday, March 12 local time that the romantic drama movie would screen in 3D on May 15 at the Grand Theatre Lumiere of the Palais des Festivals, out of competition as part of the Official Selection.

"It is a great honor for all those who have worked on 'The Great Gatsby' to open the Cannes Film Festival," said director Baz Luhrmann in a statement. "We are thrilled to return to a country, place and festival that has always been so close to our hearts."

Hyping up the upcoming MTV Movie Awards, Rebel Wilson stars in a new promo for the show. Tapping Channing Tatum as her partner in the video, the Brynn of "Bridesmaids" is involved in a weird action scene with the "Magic Mike" hunk in a car.

The husband of Jenna Dewan takes the wheel, asking Wilson to take a shot at their enemy who chases after them. "What are you doing?" the Duke Hauser of "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" asks her, as she moves from the passenger seat onto his lap.

Rapper and record producer Big K.R.I.T. previews his forthcoming mixtape "King Remembered in Time" via the artsy clip to the track "R.E.M.". The hip-hop recording artist posted the video on his YouTube account as the last leak in his upcoming mixtape project under his record label Cinematic Music Group.

In the Luke Choi KRSP visuals, the 26-year-old rapper appears to be in a dream state while trying to make sense of his life, specifically what he has been through in the past year, that saw the release of his Def Jam debut album "Live From the Underground". The black-and-white video shows him in all sorts of motion - falling, riding an elevator, going up and down on an escalator, in an apparent metaphor for the moves that he has been taking in his musical career.

Matt Lauer talks about Ann Curry's controversial departure from "Today" more than a half year after she left the show. Speaking to The Daily Beast, he claims, "It was a hard time for everybody. We were getting kicked around a lot. Some of it was self-inflicted and perhaps deserved."

Responding to the backlash the show received for firing Curry, the longtime "Today" host admits, "I don't think the show and the network handled the transition well. You don't have to be Einstein to know that." He adds, "It clearly did not help us. We were seen as a family, and we didn't handle a family matter well."

New pictures from the set of "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" hit the web as the movie continues filming in New York. One of the photos shows Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy meeting Shailene Woodley's Maty-Jane Watson for the first time. They are shaking each other's hands.

While blonde-haired Gwen dresses in a girly number consisting of a purple mini skirt with a matching top, fishnet stockings and knee-length boots, Mary-Jane is more like a tomboy. The redhead, wearing jeans and denim jacket with ponytailed hair, is seen holding a hammer in one image.

Scottish actor Gerard Butler, guesting on Howard Stern's radio show on Monday, March 11, finally cleared things up regarding his hook-up with model Brandi Glanville. The "Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera" leading man admitted to having slept with "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star, only that time he did not know her name, which made sense of his confused reply when a paparazzo confronted him with the hook-up revelation first made by Glanville.

Last year, 40-year-old model Glanville revealed to TV host Andy Cohen that Butler was the most famous guy she ever hooked up with. Subsequently, when a reporter approached Butler for comment, the 43-year-old thespian answered back with a baffled "Who's Brandi Glanville?" reply.

Despite people's concern about Justin Bieber after a dramatic episode in London, Scooter Braun insists there's nothing to worry about the singer. "There's nothing wrong with him," the manager tells E! News at the South by Southwest Festival. "He's in a great place."

When asked about the reason behind the cancellation for Bieber's Portugal concert, Braun claims the plan to scrap the gig happened a while ago due to technical issues. "It has nothing to do with anything other than that," Braun said. "Tell everyone Justin is good, really good."

"Star Wars: The Clone Wars" has met its end after five seasons. Lucasfilm has announced that the recently-concluded season of the animated series on the Cartoon Network is the last for the show.

"After five highly successful and critically acclaimed seasons of 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars', we feel the time has come to wind down the series," the company wrote in a statement posted on its website Monday, March 11.

Kelly Osbourne has been released from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, a few days after staying at the hospital following her seizure on the set of "Fashion Police". Her rep confirms to E! News, "After a five-day hospital stay, Kelly Osbourne has returned home and has been given a clean bill of health by her doctor."

The representative continues explaining her health condition, "Doctors ran numerous tests and determined that this was most likely a onetime episode of which there are no conclusive results. She is looking forward to returning to 'Fashion Police' this week and getting back to business and life as usual."

Although he stands by his word that "he never intended to defraud the government," actor Stephen Baldwin nonetheless has agreed to plead guilty to tax felony for failing to file his income tax returns for the years 2008, 2009 and 2010. By doing so, the youngest of the four Baldwin brothers avoids jail time, just by agreeing to make an admission in court and pay $350,000 in back taxes and penalties.

"He's happy that he's not going to jail. He's happy the District Attorney's office saw it was in Rockland County's best interest to have Steve remain a productive member of society," Baldwin's lawyer, Russell Yankwitt, says. "He's upset he got into this situation in the first place by depending on others...he simply was running around trying to make a living and relying on others," adds Yankwitt about his client's trust on an accountant and lawyer to handle this matter for him.

Hot on heels of the massive success of "Oz: The Great and Powerful", Disney is now reportedly looking to develop a new reimagining of another classic story "Beauty and the Beast". The studio giant is in talks with "Trance" scriptwriter Joe Ahearne for the project.

According to Deadline, Disney tentatively refers to the project simply as "The Beast". It's expected to be a live action 3D with dark story, considering the thrilling plot Ahearne penned for the Danny Boyle-directed drama starring James McAvoy and Rosario Dawson.

As "The Bachelor" wrapped up its 17th season, ABC announces the new star of "The Bachelorette". Chris Harrison revealed at the end of "The Bachelor: After the Final Rose" on Monday night, March 11 that Desiree Hartsock would be at the center of the "Bachelorette" season 9.

"I just can't even believe I'm here and with the support of everyone, it's just such a blessing. I just feel so thankful and so grateful...I am, because I could never have imagined," she said of being chosen as the new Bachelorette.

Reportedly due to a recent bout with double pneumonia, English rock singer and lyricist Morrissey was forced to postpone his Saturday concert at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco. The said show, which has been rescheduled for May 1, is the latest in a string of tour dates that have been affected by the 53-year-old artist's health problems.

"Due to Morrissey's medical condition, tonight's engagement at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco will need to be rescheduled and will now take place on May 1," according to a statement posted on a Morrissey fan site. "All tickets previously purchased for the Regency Ballroom show will be honored on the new date."

After facing a series of legal troubles stemming from numerous traffic violations, Amanda Bynes is apparently looking for a change. Now residing in New York, the former Nickelodeon actress shows off major makeover on Twitter and looks almost unrecognizable.

Bynes rocks long blonde curly hair, has a piercing on her cheek, and puts on a heavy eye makeup. Looking at a compact mirror, she seems to dress for chilly weather. She dons a red beanie, a white knitted shawl, and camouflaged tee underneath her jacket. She simply wrote, "Wink ;)"

While all main cast of "Oz: The Great and Powerful" will likely return to the sequel, Sam Raimi shows no interest in doing the second film. To Bleeding Cool, the director says, "I haven't planned on directing the sequel... I was attracted to this story but I don't think the second one would have the thing I would need to get me interested."

He, however, admits the end of "Oz" leaves a possibility for a sequel. "I did leave some loose ends for another director if they want to make the picture," he claims. "I tried to make it a complete ending, so that the audience would be fulfilled, but I also let Evenora and Theodora get away."

Brooklyn DJ Baauer is currently reaping the success of his viral "Harlem Shake" tune, which has spawned a global YouTube video-making dance craze. However, the trap and bass music producer has met a bump on the road, getting involved in a complaint for allegedly using two artists' samples on his current Billboard hit without their consent.

The 23-year-old artist is being slammed by former reggaeton artist Hector Delgado and rapper Jayson Musson for sampling their music without first obtaining the rights from them. The two are now seeking compensation from Baauer's record label, Mad Decent Records.

The young boy arrested last December in relation to swatting prank targeting Ashton Kutcher and Justin Bieber admits guilt, saying he's responsible for tricking police into believing there was an emergency situation at Kutcher's residence. The identity of the prankster who is reportedly from Riverside County is not divulged due to his minor age.

The boy, who allegedly will turn 13 in April, has been charged in a petition in a juvenile court. In addition to facing felony charges of making a false bomb threat and computer intrusion involving Kutcher's home, he is accused of placing fake distressed calls that lured SWAT team to Bieber's house and a Wells Fargo bank branch in Los Angeles in two separate incidents.

"The Bachelor" has revealed whom Sean Lowe picked between Catherine Giudici and Lindsay Yenter in the season 17 finale. They flew to Thailand, where Sean's family also came to meet the two ladies.

"They're both hilarious. Fun to be around," Sean told his mom Sherry about Catherine and Lindsay. Sherry guessed Sean had known which one of the girls was his favorite, but he said, "You'd think that, but I don't."

Beyonce Knowles and Jay-Z along with a series of other public figures become victims of hackers. Their financial details along with other sensitive information including addresses, social security number, phone numbers, credit cards and bank accounts were revealed online.

The other victims are Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton, Mel Gibson, Ashton Kutcher, Britney Spears, and Donald Trump. Joining them are LAPD chief Charlie Beck, Vice President Joe Biden, FBI Director Robert Mueller, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Justin Timberlake's much-anticipated "The 20/20 Experience" album is expected to debut on top of the Billboard 200 album charts when it gets finally released next week. Industry sources are projecting at least half a million copies in sales that could give the 32-year-old entertainer his second No. 1, the first one being his 2006's "FutureSex/LoveSounds" album which sold 684,000 copies in its first week.

If the album reaches the 500,000 threshold, it will also duplicate the feat achieved by One Direction's "Take Me Home" which debuted with a whopping 540,000 when it was first released back in November 2012. When that happens, it will be the best sales week for an album in the past four months, that saw a decline in sales following an upsurge during the past holiday season.

Fifty Shades Limited, which owns the right to E. L. James' "Fifty Shades" trilogy, and Universal Studios have reached a settlement with Smash Pictures which made a porn video of the steamy novel. The porn company, which was slapped with copyright and trademark infringement lawsuit by the Plaintiffs, has agreed to make a payment of a confidential sum to make the lawsuit go away.

Smash Pictures also consents to a permanent injunction that will prohibit the distribution of "Fifty Shades of Grey: A XXX Adaptation". This way, the lawsuit won't go further. The terms of the injunction will begin soon.

Kim Kardashian went to the extreme to stay beautiful and young. In the latest episode of "Kourtney and Kim Take Miami", the pregnant girlfriend of Kanye West visited a clinic specializing in the so-called "vampire" facial to try out the latest beauty technique.

The skincare treatment involved drawing blood from her arm. The plasma was then extracted from the blood and was injected back into her face using nine tiny little acupuncture-style needles. "It stings a little," the doctor warned her before starting the procedure.

Barbara Walters took it on "The View" Monday, March 11 to address speculation about Elisabeth Hasselbeck's alleged departure from the show. Squashing off the rumor, the veteran journalist said, "There is a particularly false story that keeps getting picked up about Elisabeth's alleged departure, saying that we don't approve of her conservative views. The truth is, we love Elisabeth. I like her personally, and she's just a wonderful person."

She added, "But beyond that, we value and appreciate her point of view...because Elisabeth helps give the show perspective and balance. And believe me, she's tougher than she looks. She has to be, to sit here for a decade and take the kind of guff we give her." Walters went on stressing, "So we have no plans for Elisabeth to leave the show."