March 25, 2008

Following an international casting search held throughout the United States, Canada and the U.K., it has been announced that the latest installment of the successful Disney's Original Movie series "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" has found its additional members for the famous Wildcats. According to Hollywood Reporter, the film has tapped three rising stars Matt Prokop, Justin Martin and Jemma McKenzie-Brown for the second sequel.

Further, Trend News claimed that a press release issued by Disney on Monday, March 24 stated that the three newcomers will be portraying sophomores in the HSM third film. Prokop, who is no stranger to Disney as he has appeared in Disney Channel's hit original series "Hannah Montana", is set to portray Jimmie "The Rocket" Soto, while McKenzie-Brown, whose credits include a supporting role in the BBC production of "The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard", will be playing Tiara. It is still unclear though what character will be played by Martin, who will be seen in Jamie Foxx's movie "The Soloist".

The drama film based on best-selling novel by Canadian poet Anne Michaels "Fugitive Pieces" has come out online with five new clips revealing bits of the film's first look aside from its earliertrailer. The clips were let out to give future audiences ideas what the film is all about.

Scheduled to be released on May 2, 2008, "Pieces" follows the story of Jakob Beer as he grew from a young boy whose parents were murdered and sister kidnapped by Nazi soldier during the World War II to a mature man whose life still haunted by his past. Directed and penned by "Nip/Tuck" helmer Jeremy Podeswa, the Samuel Goldwyn Films' pic is starred by Stephen Dillane, Rosamund Pike and Ayelet Zurer among others.

Is willing to follow in the footstep of her former Destiny's Child bandmate Michelle Williams (II) to invade the New York stage, Kelly Rowland slow but sure is making her way there. The R&B singer reportedly has instructed her manager, former bandmate Beyonce Knowles' father Mathew Knowles, and his team to help her land a role in a hit show.

Matthew, according to MediaTakeOut, has already contacted the producers of "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof" and "The Color Purple," with the producers of both stage-shows expressing interest in having Rowland join their casts. No decision has been made just yet.

Still on the heels of their 2007 album "It Won't Be Soon Before Long", Maroon 5 will tour across U.S. starting this Summer with the companion of Counting Crows. The two rock bands have teamed up for a headlining tour that begins July 25 in Virginia Beach, V.A..

"Love Song" crooner Sara Bareilles will open the dates up till August 26 and hand out the baton to fellow Epic Records artist Augustana for the rest of the dates that stretch up to October 4 in West Palm Beach, Fla.. Tickets for the environment-friendly tour will go on sale through Ticketmaster and Live Nation on Friday, April 4. Complete tour dates can be found here.

The object of Shia LaBeouf's love interest in "Transformers" Megan Fox will be stripping down in her latest feature film project "Jennifer's Body". MTV Movies Blog reported that the producer of the comedy horror thriller Jason Reitman revealed that the 21-year-old will be having a fight scene while wearing only underwear.

To MTV, the notable director for acclaimed drama comedy "Juno" let out, "Well, we've got Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried getting into a fight in their underwear. That'll be fun." On having to do the particular scene, Fox hasn't given out her comment. The fiancee of actor Brian Austin Green reportedly will start shooting for the film sometimes in April 2008.

The first trailer for the sci-fi comedy starring the comic man Eddie Murphy "Meet Dave" has been circulating in the Internet. The high resolution trailer runs a fraction more than two minutes and gives out much of the comical looks from the 20th Century Fox's flick.

The trailer begins with a pair of white shoes shot followed with a scene showing a man wearing a white suit, which happens to be Murphy, walking amidst the New Yorkers. A short while following that a narrator starts and simultaneously Murphy's character got a hard hit from a car passing the road. As the trailer goes on, it can be seen that the white suit Murphy is actually an alien spaceship controlled by a crew of miniature people led by Captain Murphy.

Have been planning to marry later this year, celebrity couple Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart reportedly are keen to book English celebrity chef Jamie Oliver to cater their wedding. Rumor has it that both Ford and Flockhart are a big fan of Jamie and come up with the idea after chatting with actress Jennifer Aniston.

Aniston herself is a close friend of Jamie and she once even flew him to L.A. to whip up a feast for ex-hubby Brad Pitt. She thus, as reported by The Sun, suggested that the pair enlist the famous chef for the event. "Harrison and Calista spoke to Jennifer about their plan," the publication quoted a source as saying. "Jennifer said Jamie had cooked some great dishes for her - and Calista asked how she could secure his culinary services."

Lloyd will release "Lesson in Love" as the third studio album that follows his 2007 album "Street Love". The album will be released this Summer on July 15 via The Inc/Motown Records with first single confirmed to be "How We Do It" featuring Ludacris.

Those sitting on the production panel for this album are The-Dream, Polow Da Don, J-Lack, Tricky Stewart, Eric Hudson, and Jasper and Big Reese. Rapper Lil Wayne will be featured in one of the not-yet-unveiled songs while Nelly will be assisting him on "Lose Control".

Less than a week prior to the limited theatrical release of "Priceless" which features "Amelie" star Audrey Tautou on March 28, 2008, four new clips from the comedy romantic film have been put out on the web. Some of the clips last up for more than a minute, while the others run less than that.

All four clips mostly focus on the relationship between Tautou's character, Irene, and Gad Elmaleh's Jean. In the first clip which is entitled "Seduce Me", it can be seen that Irene argues with Jean as she urges him to show her how he seduces woman. Further, the second clip let out the scene where semi-naked Irene together with Jean being in a hide-and-seek situation with another woman, while the third one gives out the 'gold-digging' training Irene gives to Jean. In the last clip, it can be seen Jean bragged about the expensive watch he got from the wealthy lady he is with.

Relatively new pop-rock act Forever The Sickest Kids will soon release their first full-length LP called "Underdog Alma Mater" via Universal Motown Records. The album has spawned one single "Whoa Oh (Me vs. Everyone)" that was put up on their MySpace page on March 19.

"Underdog" will be dropped in stores on April 29 but they have been touring in U.S. in support of it. They are scheduled to appear in Los Angeles tonight (March 25) as part of Alternative Press Tour that also sees stage acts from The Rocket Summer and All Time Low. They will wrap up the AP Tour on May 2 in Cleveland, O.H. and head to Bamboozle Festival two days after that. More dates can be found on the band's official site.

Has had a very full plate on her agenda, Katie Price has recently revealed at least three other big plans to do during the year. First she wants to renew her wedding vows to hubby Peter Andre and then she would like to adopt his surname before at last having another cosmetic surgery.

Speaking on the episode of the "The Paul O'Grady Show", set to air Monday evening, March 24, Katie explained she wants to renew her wedding vows because "I was a psycho the first time we got married. I had such bad post-natal depression." A summer ceremony has been planned.

The Game has set a release date for his third studio album, "L.A.X." that stands for "Los Angeles Times". The album which according to the rapper is his final before he leaves music industry will be dropped on June 24, the same date Plies and Nelly will also release theirs.

"I have a highly controversial album coming this summer and not the typical controversy you are used to in rap," The Game announced. "On L.A.X. I'm addressing real issues that other artists might be scared to talk about on record; issues that need to be heard."

Guy Richie, the director husband of pop legend Madonna, has been reported to be planning to make his latest action thriller "RocknRolla" a three set of feature films. MTV Movies Blog broke out the speculations following an interview with the film's lead actress Thandie Newton.

On the occasion, the co-star of Terrence Howard and Matt Dillon in "Crash" revealed that the action film penned, produced and helmed by Richie is the first of the trilogy set to be made by the "Revolver" director. "'RocknRolla' is one of three films and Guy's keen to get going on that straight away," explained the 35-year-old actress. "[The second and third films in the series] are going to be excellent. I can't wait."

Be Your Own Pet's sophomore set "Get Awkward" may have been released last week on March 18 but the album has to suffer a cut down after Universal Records that distribute the album Stateside deemed it "too violent". Three out of fifteen tracks have been chopped for its U.S. version.

According to the label, tracks like "Blow Yr Mind", "Becky" and "Black Hole" from the punk rock act include murder and violence content in their lyrics. The tracks were sought to be removed just weeks before its release date but are still available for listening on the band's MySpace page. They will also be included in the international version which will be distributed by XL Recordings.

The Hogans family keeps going from one low to another. Following their bitter divorce battle which involved a cheating accusation, Hulk Hogan and his wife Linda Hogan were sued by the family of the guy who was critically injured in the crash of a car driven by their teenage son, Nick Hogan.

The family of John Graziano, who has been hospitalized since the deadly car crash last August, has on Monday, March 24 filed suit in Pinellas County, Fla. Circuit Court against Hulk, Linda and Nick, alleged they were negligent and are directly liable for the wreck that seriously injured their son. According to court papers, which were filed by Graziano's court-appointed guardian Peter Musante, Hulk and Linda should be held legally responsible for their son's accident.

Employing similar approach to Jay-Z's "American Gangster", New York rapper Fabolous is set to record a concept album that is inspired by a certain movie which title is not yet revealed. Should the recording goes smoothly, the album can be expected to hit the street in August this year with the first single taking impact as early as May.

"I'mma put a theme together and just go off of that theme," Fab told MTV. "Sometimes producers get lost trying to figure out what they think is the best type of sh** for Fab. (They say,) 'I got this commercial joint for you.' So what I'm doing now, I seen a movie I want to theme the album after. Even take certain lines, different scenes out of the movie and make music behind that. At the same time, I can have the producer check the movie out, and he'll have something he can take away from the movie and come back with some joints. I wanted to try that this time."

As hip-hop artists Master P and Lil' Romeo had signed into a horror film "The Pig People", it is now reported that another notable rapper DMX has been tapped to star in another thriller project "The Bleeding". Variety reported that the East Coast rapper will be joining the eclectic cast for the vampire-genre film.

The "Touch It" hitmaker will be polishing his acting skills alongside Vinnie Jones, Michael Matthias, Michael Madsen and Armand Assante as well as William McNamara, Pittsburgh Slim, Rachelle Leah and tattoo artist Kat Von D. Still, it has yet to be known what character the 37-year-old will be portraying despite the signing-in reports.

Soul singer India.Arie has branched out to being a music mogul by launching a new label called SoulBird Music in partnership with Universal Republic Records. The first artist to release an album under the brand new label is Anthony David, a long time acquittance and former backup singer of Arie who will release his major debut album "Acey Deucey" on June 17.

"I'm excited that Tony will be the first artist to be released on SoulBird," said Arie, "Tony is a great talent and one of my oldest friends. I have so many memories with him. Not only did he encourage me to start performing professionally, but it was Tony who suggested I use my first and middle name as an artist. There was even a time when he spent his rent money for me to experiment in the studio."

Amid rumors of a fling between Owen Wilson and his "Marley & Me" co-star Jennifer Aniston, the movie actor has added fuel to the existing speculation that he has rekindled his romance with on-off girlfriend Kate Hudson after they were spotted on a date during Easter weekend in Miami. The celebrity couple were seen riding bikes with Hudson's son, Ryan, having coffee and picking up some holiday videos while holding hands.

Per People, "After getting in some sunbathing, Hudson (accompanied by Ryder on one bike) and Wilson (with another young boy) rode through the busy streets of South Beach on Saturday before stopping for Starbucks on the less-crazy Biscayne Bay side of town." Hudson and Ryan, still according to People, "even wandered into a drug store and a video store, where they picked up a new movie."

"The Invisible Line", the debut album from British electronic rock band Temposhark is officially released in U.S. and Canada today, March 25. The album had been released in their home country on March 3 and has since received rave reviews from British music magazines including NME.

"The Invisible Line" includes the track "Blame" that was announced last month as the finalist of Pop/Top 40 category of International Songwriting Competition which board of judges include Nelly Furtado, The Cure's Robert Smith, DJ Tiesto and The Strokes' Julian Casablancas. The song was also nominated in Best International category at the Ontario Independent Music Awards that took place in Canada on November 15 last year.

After 17 years being off the road in the States, British singer George Michael is back in support of his upcoming greatest hits album, "TwentyFive". On Monday, March 24 the former Wham! singer announced that he will tour in U.S. and Canada beginning June 17 in San Diego.

The jaunt has been scheduled up to 22 dates that runs through August 3 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Tickets for the tour dubbed "25 Live" will go on public sale on April 6 while those who register to his fan club can purchase it a week prior. For more information regarding the tour, visit GeorgeMichael.com.

Sara Evans is engaged to marry. The country music singer is engaged to boyfriend Jay Barker and they are planning to get hitched.

A representative for Evans confirmed the engagement to People, saying "The couple are enjoying their engagement and look forward to their upcoming nuptials." No wedding date and venue have been set though.

After much hype and no definite release date, Nelly's "Brass Knuckles" is finally getting a new street date. The fifth studio album from the rapper will be dropped in stores on June 24, the same day rappers like Plies, The Game and Three 6 Mafia are scheduled to release their new albums.

"Brass Knuckles" has spawn one single so far called "Wadsyaname" and will release another one called "Party People" on April 1. "Party" is featuring Stacy Ferguson aka Fergie of Black Eyed Peas. A music video has been shot in Los Angeles recently with director Marc Webb.

It appears that Justin Timberlake is in his best giving mood these days. In addition to giving his actress girlfriend Jessica Biel a $50,000 necklace from exclusive jeweler H Stern, the pop star has also made donation to organizations in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee.

Justin has on Thursday, March 20, made two separate donations of $100,000 each to the Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum and the Memphis Music Foundation. He said he donated the money because both music education and keeping Memphis' music legacy vibrant are important to him.

Once cleared from the breaking up speculations, Paramore move on with the promotion of their singles out of the 2007 "Riot!". The Grammy-nominated rock band have just premiered a new video for their third single in U.S., "That's What You Get".

The clip is directed by Marcos Siega and was shot in Nashville, Tennessee earlier this month. While addressing the breaking up issue, the band used this reason of shooting a new music video as a proof that they were indeed still together. Just a little more than a week after, they canceled a European tour to work on "personal issues".

It's official. Johnny Knoxville and his wife of twelve years Melanie Lynn Clapp are officially singles again in the eyes of the law. The couple had their divorce finalized on March 20, according to court documents obtained by E! News.

Several issues including spousal and child support, as well as custody of their 11-year-old daughter, Madison, were still being worked out. Though so, the documents stated that until the outstanding issues are dealt with, Knoxville must cover the family with health and medical insurance.

Pamela Anderson's marriage to Rick Salomon is officially over. The couple have their union as husband-and-wife officially annulled Monday, March 24. The documents listed fraud as the reason for the annulment, but did not include further details.

Pammy and Rick tied the knot in Las Vegas at the Mirage in between her performances with illusionist Hans Klock at Planet Hollywood Hotel on October 6, 2007. The former "Baywatch" babe initially filed for divorce from Rick on December 14, citing irreconcilable differences. But then, just days later, she posted a message on her blog saying that she and Rick were trying to work things out.