Hollywood Beat
Celebrity Birthdays
Jerry Lewis-84 Jimmy DeGrasso-47
Patty Griffin-46 Lauren Graham (Parenthood: Sarah)-43
Judah Friedlander (30 Rock: Frank)-41
Tim Kang (The Mentalist: Kimball Cho)-37
Kate Nelligan-59 Blu Cantrell-34
Nancy Wilson (Heart)-56 Flavor Flav (Public Enemy)-51
Brooke Burns (Melrose Place: Vanessa)-32
Clifton Powell-54 Wolfgang Van Halen-19
Flavor Flav (Public Enemy)-51
Celebrity News
Charlie Sheen Pleads Not Guilty Charlie Sheen pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges of felony menacing, criminal mischief and third degree assault. The charges stem from an alleged Christmas day argument with his wife, Brooke Mueller. A trial date has been set for July 21st. Sheen will return to the set of “Two and a Half Men” on Friday – but still spend nights in rehab, his rep said.
Kate Winslet Splits From Husband Kate Winslet has separated from her husband, director Sam Mendes, after nearly seven years of marriage. The couple’s lawyers said the split was “entirely amicable and is by mutual agreement.” The pair married in a low-key ceremony in the Caribbean in May 2003. It was Winslet’s second marriage. Her first, to director Jim Threapleton, ended in divorce in 2001. Winslet has a 9-year-old daughter, Mia, from her marriage to Threapleton and a 6-year-old son with Mendes.
Rob Lowe Wants ‘Brothers And Sisters’ Exit Ideas Rob Lowe is asking his Twitter followers for ideas about how his character should exit “Brothers and Sisters.” Lowe throws a few ideas of his own out there like: “Divorce? Kidnapping? Slip on a banana and die?” Lowe’s character, Senator Robert McCallister, who’s married to Calista Flockhart’s character, Kitty, is leaving at the end of this season. Lowe has started filming his guest role on “Parks and Recreation.” He’ll be in the last two episodes of this season and into the next. Lowe is also reportedly in talks with ABC for his own show.
‘South Park’ Takes On Tiger Woods The Tiger Woods mess is just the sort of thing the creators of “South Park” live for. Co-creator Matt Stone says their animated version of Tiger Woods will face Stan, Kyle, Kenny and Cartman tomorrow for the 14th season premiere of “South Park.” Stone says “it’s such an important issue in America right now: the sex addiction outbreak. We’re all really concerned about him and hope he gets better.”
Bobby Flay Looking For ‘America’s Next Great Restaurant’ Bobby Flay will be in New York Friday and Saturday to lead the first of several open casting calls for potential contestants for a new reality show called “America’s Next Great Restaurant.” Contestants only need a good concept for a restaurant, no cooking or restaurant experience necessary. During the show, Flay will be on a panel with others in the restaurant world. Together, they’ll pick the show’s winner and invest their own money in the final restaurant chain. “America’s Next Great Restaurant” will premiere sometime next season.
Mike Tyson Lands TV Bird Racing Show Mike Tyson is set to make his debut as a reality TV star in a series about bird racing. The former heavyweight champion is also a pigeon keeper and will showcase his passion for birds in the new series “Take on Tyson.” The program will follow Tyson and his feathered friends as he pits them against the best racing-pigeon owners in New York. Filming is set to begin next month for Animal Planet. It will air in early 2011.
William Shatner Launches Science Fiction Web Site William Shatner is encouraging wannabe science fiction filmmakers to express their artistic talents on his new social networking site. Shatner has set up MyOuterSpace.com, which helps aspiring filmmakers, design and game artists who are fans of sci-fi, horror and fantasy to gain experience of the movie industry. Users choose a “planet” and then work with a virtual production company on film projects, known on the site as Starships.
Weight Loss Company Appealing To Gabourey Sidibe There’s been a big debate about whether Gabourey Sidibe’s weight will hamper her career. Now, one weight loss company has written a letter to the “Precious” star, telling her she needs to worry about her health not her image. AssaiSupply.com has offered the actress a one-year supply of their product to help her lose weight.
Music News Jackson Estate Record Deal Worth $250 Million The estate of Michael Jackson has landed the biggest recording deal in history: a $200 million guaranteed contract with Sony Music Entertainment for 10 projects over seven years. The record-breaking contract through 2017 could be worth up to $250 million if certain conditions are met. One of the albums will be of never-before-released Jackson recordings that will come out in November. Future projects may also include a video game, DVD compilation of videos and a re-release of “Off The Wall,” Jackson’s fifth studio album, which first came out in 1979.
Vote For The Worst Choices “American Idol” contestants Tim Urban and Paige Miles are the latest targets of the Vote For The Worst Web site. During each season of “Idol,” www.votefortheworst.com chooses who it believes is the weakest singers and encourages people to vote for them to keep the show amusing. The site claims it kept past contestants like Sanjaya Malakar, Megan Joy and Taylor Hicks around longer than they should have been.
Michael Jackson Furniture To Be Auctioned Off The furniture that Michael Jackson had made for his home in London is going up for auction. The 22 pieces of custom-made furniture definitely have a Jackson flavor to them. One piece is a $73,000 gilded red velvet sofa that seats nine. There’s also a leopard-print chair trimmed with ostrich feathers, and a pair of velvet armchairs embroidered with gold eagles. Julien’s Auctions will hold the auction in Las Vegas on June 25th.
Madonna Launching D&G Sunglasses Range Madonna is teaming up with Dolce & Gabbana to design a range of sunglasses. Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have sketched more than 50 styles of frames for the Material Mom to consider before picking her favorite six pairs for the collection. The sunglasses will each bear the logo MDG and are set for release in May. Madonna, who models the latest D&G collection in their spring ad campaign, recently announced plans for her own line of kids’ clothing under her new style venture, MG Icon.
Lady Gaga Taking ‘Monster Ball’ Back To North America Once she’s completed her trek though Australia, Asia and Europe, Lady Gaga will set out this summer on the second North American leg of her “Monster Ball” tour, beginning with a June 28th performance in Montreal. The outing is slated to hit arenas through a September 19th concert in Raleigh, North Carolina. More than 30 dates have been confirmed so far. Additional shows are expected. The trek supports Lady Gaga’s second studio set, “The Fame Monster.” Lady Gaga recently released the video for her latest single, “Telephone.” Fans can watch the video featuring Beyoncé at www.ladygaga.com/telephone.
Bret Michaels Defends Duet With Miley Cyrus Bret Michaels has defended his collaboration with Miley Cyrus after the song’s sexually-charged lyrics sparked outrage among some fans. Cyrus contributed vocals to “Nothin’ To Lose,” a track from Michaels’ upcoming record, “Custom Built.” Michaels says the lyrics are not a reference to 17-year-old Cyrus. He says, “It’s (been) blown out of proportion. The part where (it goes) ‘She slowly gets undressed’ has no reference to Miley and I. I just thought it was a beautiful song and everyone’s going nuts!”
Lady Gaga To Join ‘Glee’ Lady Gaga has signed up to join the cast of “Glee” following a request from the show’s creators. “Glee” creator Ryan Murphy says, “We reached out to Lady Gaga and she said, ‘Yes, I’d love to be a part of it.’ So we will be doing Lady Gaga this season.” Murphy has also praised Madonna for giving him permission to use 10 of her songs in an upcoming tribute episode to the Material Girl, saying she “cooperated in every way possible.”
Green Day Taps AFI For Summer Tour Green Day is planning a summer tour with special guests AFI. The Green Day/AFI trek kicks off August 3rd in Camden, New Jersey. The tour follows Green Day’s European outing, which will include stops in Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Austria, England, Ireland and France. Meanwhile, the band’s “American Idiot” musical opens on Broadway April 20th. Preview performances begin March 24th.
Backstreet Boys Reveal First Round Of Summer Concerts The Backstreet Boys have unveiled a handful of spring dates that will lead into a larger U.S. tour behind the group’s most recent Top 10 album, “This Is Us.” So far, the itinerary includes just four shows, beginning June 3rd in Atlanta and wrapping up June 26th in Universal City, California. According to the band’s Web site, this is just the first round of “many upcoming dates.” Last month, the band announced a Backstreet Boys cruise, slated to leave South Florida December 9th and return December 13th after visiting Key West and Cozumel.
Eddy Grant Accuses Gorillaz Of Copyright Infringement Eddy Grant is accusing Gorillaz’s co-creator Damon Albarn of copyright infringement, claiming similarities between the keyboard section of the Gorillaz’s new single “Stylo” and his 1983 hit “Time Warp.” Grant, 62, who shares the same music publisher as Gorillaz, wants the band to give him a full credit and apologize. The Gorillaz have yet to comment.
50 Cent’s Bodyguard Arrested For Assault A Danish photographer claims 50 Cent’s bodyguard assaulted him outside a Copenhagen hotel over the weekend. According to Nikolaj Vraa, the bodyguard choked him, cutting off his airway, took his camera and deleted his photos. Witnesses said the bodyguard charged Vraa. Danish police confirmed that the bodyguard works for Fiddy and said he was charged with assaulting two photographers. 50 Cent is currently touring Europe.
Kings Of Leon Set For Summer Tour Kings of Leon has announced they will be hitting the road this summer. The tour, which runs June 5th to September 23rd, begins in Atlantic City.
E-Mail
Print
