January 09, 2009

British Academy of Film and Television Arts have revealed their shortlist for 2009 Orange Rising Star Award. Announced by 2008 winner Shia LaBeouf at Academy Headquarters, the nominees consist of five international actors and actresses, they are Michael Cera, Rebecca Hall, Toby Kebbell, Noel Clarke and Michael Fassbender.

Michael Cera is known for his role in "Juno", "Superbad" and "Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist", while Rebecca Hall made her breakthrough in "The Prestige" and has since starred in "Frost/Nixon" and "Vicky Cristina Barcelona". Toby Kebbell was seen in "Control" and "RocknRolla", Noel Clarke is known for "Kidulthood", and Michael Fassbender caught attention with his performance in "Hunger" and "Eden Lake".

Lady GaGa brought her three male backing dancers to NBC Studios on Thursday, January 8 for a live performance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno". Accompanied by a live band, she took the stage delivering hit single "Just Dance".

"Just Dance" itself is a self-written up-beat track coming off production hands of duo RedOne and Akon. Featuring Colby O'Donis, it appears as the lead single in her debut studio album "The Fame" and has an impressive chart performance by peaking at number one on Billboard Hot 100.

Contrary to rumors on the street claiming her relationship with fiance Casey Aldridge is on the rocks, Jamie Lynn Spears is said to be planning to marry him soon. MyPARK Magazine has been told by a source, "Jamie has her heart set on getting married to Casey, and wants her big day to be as special as possible."

There have yet words on the wedding date and venue, but "invitations have been ordered and a three-tiered chocolate cake arranged," MyPARK Magazine reports further. Greater than that, Jamie Lynn reportedly has opted to wear a wedding gown designed by Monique Lhuillier for her upcoming nuptials.

Four new stills of "Dragonball Evolution" have made their rounds. Showing similar scenes to the ones outed earlier, the fresh pictures coming from Dragonball the Movie take their focus on fighting Goku and the school scene. In the new pics, instead of involved in a fist fight with two bad guys, Goku only deals with one man.

On the new shot of the school scene, Chi Chi is pictured to be in awe amidst the scattering papers and other stuffs while standing in the hallway of the school. Another image exposes a car crashing into a motorcycle in a parking space.

Following the early arrival of new song "Bad Girl", which teams up Rihanna and Chris Brown, producer Polow Da Don provides a statement confirming that the track is indeed crafted for "Confessions of a Shopaholic" soundtrack. He also says that the single is recorded at the request of the film's producer Jerry Bruckheimer.

A night after having a meeting with Jerry, Polow recalls he headed up to studio and met Chris there. They then discussed the matter and were both excited about the project. He says, "So that night I went to the studio and I was telling Chris about (the meeting). And he was like, 'Let's get on it.' It was crazy, because Jerry Bruckheimer's dream was to have a song from Rihanna (for the movie), and I delivered Rihanna and Chris Brown in 24 hours. So they were like, 'Wow, that's crazy'."

"Private Practice" will present a heartbreaking episode on January 15 where a father cannot touch his little daughter for fear of contamination. Also in the episode called "Homeward Bound", Addison and Kevin struggle in their relationship, but she finds herself attracted to Wyatt, the cocky doctor from rival Pacific Wellcare.

On other development, Cooper grows closer to Charlotte when she experiences a family emergency, and Violet seeks a way to carry on relationships with both Pete and Sheldon. In a future episode synopsis of the show, it is revealed that Violet will be with a child but she is not sure of who the baby daddy is. Also, when Cooper encourages Violet to talk to Pete and Sheldon about her pregnancy, she's reluctant when she learns that neither of them wants children.

Total Film has got its hands on an exclusive look at a series of "Watchmen" fresh images. Some of the pictures give out Jeffrey Dean Morgan in his The Comedian role, while some others share another take on other characters which include Patrick Wilson's Nite Owl and Malin Akerman's Silk Spectre II.

One of the new photos shows The Comedian with cigar in his mouth, holding The New York Gazzette newspaper in his hands. Another one displays a shot of Nite Owl, while the other exposes Nite Owl and Silk Spectre II being inches away from kissing. All of the new pictures can be seen at Total Film's gallery.

The next "Ugly Betty" episode title "Sisters on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" literally speaks for itself. Betty who is torn between her professional work and personal life, experiences a jolt of life when Ignacio suffered a heart attack and she was not there. Hilda then confronts her about the fact that she was the only one who held their father's hand during the tragedy.

Still, while her father is in the hospital, Betty is occupied with her job after she cost Mode a business deal. Meanwhile, "secret" couples Daniel & Molly and Connor & Wilhelmina try to hide their escalating love connections. The episode will air January 15 on ABC.

After experiencing a huge success with sixth studio album "Tha Carter III", Lil Wayne will reportedly explore his singing talent by branching out into rock. In doing so, he will team up with Canadian actor/rapper Aubrey Drake Graham a.k.a Drake.

"Wayne's coming out with a new album, it's a rock album. A complete rock album. I have a song on there," Drake told MuchMusic. "It's something different in just that whole [Kanye West] '808's & Heartbreak', just throwing individuals off."

Despite his worldwide fame, Robert Pattinson admits he can't bear having his pictures taken. Opening up about that matter to TeenMix, the heartthrob says, "I don't really like getting my photo taken, which is probably not a great thing if you are going to be an actor." He continues stating, "I don't really cope with it. I mean, I guess I've stopped, I just try to avoid places where I get photographed."

Besides, Pattinson also reveals that he finds attending public events such as the Oscars very intimidating. "Um, yeah, I am still nervous still going to events. I don't really do much to deal with it, I just continue to freak out," so he tells TeenMix.

The opening scene of "Scrubs" episode 8.07 titled "My Nah Nah Nah" has been released. No synopsis yet for the January 27 episode but from the preview it looks like J.D. and Christopher are arguing on how the song is played at the sports center, which they hum with "nah nah nah".

There has been a speculation that the eight season will be the last for the show since Zach Braff who plays J.D. and creator Bill Lawrence are going to make their exit after this season ends. Regarding this, Lawrence told EW, "The reality is, Scrubs is incredibly reasonably priced. And without Zach's salary and my salary, it's probably cheaper to make then some new shows." He added, "I think if this show comes on and by February it's doing a 3 rating [in the 18-49 demo], it'll be on for another year. And if it's not, it won't. And if it's in the middle somewhere, they will wait and decide along with all their new pilots."

With the coming out of "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" new teaser poster via Yahoo! Movies, news of the movie's first trailer breaks out to the surface. In its reports related to this year's Super Bowl ads, Variety confirmed that the trailer to the action movie from director Michael Bay will be revealed during Super Bowl XLIII.

The first glimpse into the "Transformers" sequel will be aired on Sunday, February 1. It will make its debut alongside previews of several upcoming movies in 2009, including "G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra", "Star Trek", "Angels & Demons", "Monsters vs. Aliens", "Land of the Lost", "Fast and Furious", "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and "Up".

Holding a joint bachelor and bachelorette party at the Dakota Live Music lounge in Santa Monica, Calif. on Wednesday night, January 7, Stacy Ferguson and his groom-to-be Josh Duhamel reportedly "looked excited" at the festivity. The longtime lovers, who are claimed to be exchanging wedding vows this Saturday, January 10, were joined by 75 of their friends and family, including her Black Eyed Peas bandmate, will.i.am.

Fergie and Josh, arriving at the scene via limo and entered the club through the back, were greeted with cheers from their guests. Inside the festivity, partygoers were treated to Kobe beef sliders, tuna tartare, shrimp skewers, and champagne. They also danced to a deejayed mix of '80s songs and newer hits.

While Jay-Z, T.I., Young Jeezy and LL Cool J prefer to celebrate Barack Obama's inauguration on the night before the presidential ceremony takes place, Ludacris chooses to celebrate the moment by attending an urban party to be held on the same day Obama takes the Oath of Office. He will be hosting the ball in Washington, D.C.

As part of the American Music Inaugural Balls, the event will be conducted at Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. The gig lines up live performances from David Banner, Big Boi, Bobby Valentino, Lil Jon, T-Pain, Cedric the Entertainer, Fantasia Barrino and Monica.

In the next "Grey's Anatomy" episode, "Sympathy for the Devil", Seattle Grace Hospital will open up for a death row inmate named William (guest star Eric Stoltz) who creates a rift among Meredith, Derek and Christina. While Meredith thinks that the patient is still "human" after all, Derek puts his prejudice for the man who has taken others' lives when he decides to donate his organ to Bailey and Arizona's young patient.

Speaking about how much his character will affect the situation at the hospital, Stoltz spoke to TV Guide, "When someone on death row is brought to a hospital, doctors are confronted with their own ethical code. 'Is it right to save the life of someone who has done so much bad in the world?' 'What is a doctor's job and how should one respond to this situation?' It presents a lot of interesting, rich things for all these talented actors to play with." He added that he will create quite a stir in MerDer's relationship.

R. Kelly and his estranged wife Andrea Lee are officially singles in the eyes of law as their divorce has been finalized. Lawyers for both of them issued a joint statement on Thursday, January 8, confirming the dissolution of their marriage.

"The parties have reached an amicable resolution concerning all issues related to their marriage and will share joint custody of their three children," the lawyers said in a statement. "The details of this agreement will remain confidential and the family requests that their privacy be respected during this time."

The winners of the 14th annual Critics' Choice Awards have been announced by the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on Thursday, January 8, and "Slumdog Millionaire" has come out victorious. The rag-to-riches drama nailed five out of six prizes it was nominated for.

Hailed as the best picture of 2008, it won over strong contenders, including "Changeling", "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and "Milk". It also brought recognitions to its director Danny Boyle, writer Simon Beaufoy, actor Dev Patel and composer A.R. Rahman, who brought home Best Director, Best Writer, Best Young Actor/Actress and Best Composer award respectively.

Kelly Clarkson's forthcoming fourth studio album will not be dropped under the title of "Masquerade" as rumor said but it will be called "All I Ever Wanted". Along with it, the singer also reveals an official cover art for the LP.

First single from "All I Ever Wanted" is entitled "My Life Would Suck Without You". The track is written by duo Max Martin and Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald. Regardless the fact that it is scheduled to be released on January 19, the song has been available to listen through an audio stream snippet.

In a just-released casting scoop by EW's Michael Ausiello, it is revealed that Gram will be brought back to life in "True Blood". Not as a supernatural phenomenon, but the character which is played by Lois Smith, will appear in a series of flashback scenes in the second season.

Gram aka Adele Stackhouse, the grand mother of Sookie and Jason Stackhouse, was killed in season one while defending herself against a serial killer in Bon Temps who actually wanted to kill Sookie. The second season production meanwhile, will begin this week with the season premiere set for, reportedly, June. The first episode will be titled "Nothing But the Blood".

A number of relatives and close friends have been seen attending the private memorial service for John Travolta and Kelly Preston's young son, Jett Travolta, who died of seizure during a family vacation last week. The service was held Thursday, January 8 at the family's Ocala, Fla. estate.

People attending the proceedings, which remained closed to outsiders, were screened by security before being allowed to approach the Travoltas' house. "The family is doing an incredibly good job keeping this private. With all the media here, no one's been able to get much," Reuven Fenton, a reporter for The New York Post told the local Ocala Star-Banner.

Yahoo! Movies has premiered the first trailer of Fox 2000 Pictures comedy "All About Steve". Centering its attention on crossword puzzle constructor Mary Horowitz, the video footage gives a background introduction to the eccentric character. Then, it moves on to show that Mary's parents have set her up on a blind date with news cameraman Steve.

Instantly finding Steve as the love of her life, Mary decides to follow Steve as he and his team travel across the country covering breaking news stories to convince him that they are made for each other. While Steve becomes increasingly unhinged, Mary is caught in the news story of the year, leading Steve to see her differently.

Peter Mensch, manager for Led Zeppelin's guitarist Jimmy Page, has come out with a statement saying that reunion plan for the English rock band has been put off. "Led Zeppelin are over!" so Peter told MusicRadar. "If you didn't see them in 2007, you missed them. It's done. I can't be any clearer than that."

In further explanation, Peter has also busted rumor claiming that Led Zeppelin will have a semi-reunion with a new member. He says though Jimmy and John Paul Jones have indeed rehearsed with several new singers, they failed to find one that suited them.

The second class of "Celebrity Apprentice" has announced its contenders who will be playing for their favorite charities. Spotted among the stars who will compete to impress Donald Trump with their skill in management and business are the sister of Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, and NBA bad boy Dennis Rodman.

Also on the women's group are mother-daughter Joan Rivers and Melissa Rivers, "Deal or No Deal" model Claudia Jordan, poker pro Annie Duke, former TLC singer Tionne Watkins aka T-Boz, Playboy playmate Brande Roderick, and golfer Natalie Gulbis.

"The Dark Knight" has scored in another nod from the Guilds, this time from the 61st Annual DGA Awards. The announcement came in Thursday, January 8, when Directors Guild of America Third Vice President Taylor Hackford announced the five nominees for the awards.

The superhero film placed director Christopher Nolan on the run for the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2008 title. He will be competing against Danny Boyle of "Slumdog Millionaire", David Fincher of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", Ron Howard of "Frost/Nixon" and Gus Van Sant of "Milk".

Scooping three awards at the 2009 People's Choice Awards, Carrie Underwood rocked the annual event, held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Wednesday, January 7, in three different dresses. She heated up the red carpet, striking some poses for the throng of photographers in a strapless Naeem Khan gown.

Tapped as one of the opening acts at the awards show, the country music star then rocked the stage with a performance of her single "I Know You Won't", about which she previously told People, "It's a really emotional song about a guy who just wont call. We've all had that happen, right?" She delivered her performance wearing a neon green dress. For her awards acceptance, Carrie wore a neon orange dress designed by Jenny Packham.

Jermaine Dupri may not be a head of Def Jam Urban division anymore as he has reportedly been fired from the record company. Official announcement is expected to be issued shortly, so AllHipHop has reported.

Previously, Jermaine Dupri has also been rumored to be terminated from Island Def Jam Music Group. He was said to be responsible for Mariah Carey's "E=MC²", which was claimed of having problems with a follow-up single after "Touch My Body". At that time, Def Jam was quick to slam down the rumor, saying that "there is absolutely no truth" to the issue.

A brand new trailer of "Fighting" has made its way out along with a series of first pictures from the action drama. Sharing a look at the world of underground street fighting, the trailer posted by MySpace focuses on introducing Channing Tatum's character, Shawn MacArthur, who is given a chance to get something more than selling counterfeit goods on the streets of New York City.

For small-town boy Shawn MacArthur, everyday is a struggle. That is until he meets scam artist Harvey Boarden who sees that Shawn has a natural talent for street-fighting. As the two form a partnership with Harvey becoming Shawn's manager, Shawn is introduced to the corrupt bare-knuckle circuit, where he becomes a star brawler almost overnight. But if he ever hopes to escape the dark world in which he's found himself, he must face the toughest fight of his life.

Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo escaped injury after he totaled his Ferrari on Thursday morning, January 8, near Manchester airport. The soccer stud reportedly was on his way to training the morning after a disappointing defeat for his team, when he smashed his posh vehicle onto a barrier on the A538 Altrincham Road, between Wilmslow and Hale, Cheshire, at about 10:20 GMT.

Several pictures taken after the incident showed Ronaldo's red Ferrari's front end was smashed to pieces. The car "was badly damaged in the crash, with the front edge of the vehicle completely demolished. One of the wheels came off, ending up about 200 yards behind where the vehicle came to rest," BBC reported.

Dr. Dre is reportedly upset when knowing that his brand new song "Could Have Been You" was leaked on Wednesday, January 7. Since it hasn't been finalized, his management reached out to websites, which posted the song, and asked them to take it down, according to MTV.

"Could Have Been You" is one of the new tracks which is believed to be appearing in Dr. Dre's upcoming third major studio LP "Detox". While the unfinished version features collaboration between R. Kelly and 50 Cent, its final one will reportedly have Bishop Lamont lending his vocals to the song.

A clip taken from the upcoming episode of "Gossip Girl" has hit the net. It is a scene between Dan and Serena who overcome their problem once their parents resolve theirs. The episode called "Gone With the Will" is to air January 12 on The CW.

Rufus and Lily's relationship is strained as Rufus seeks details about the child he never knew he had. Noticing that his father has been acting strangely as of late, Dan does some investigating and uncovers Rufus and Lily's secret, putting him in the awkward situation of deciding what to do with this shocking revelation and who to share it with. Also, the reading of Bart's will has Chuck, Jack and Lily learning the fate of the Bass empire.

How far would you go to hurt back the people that hurt someone you love? That is the big question asked in the trailer of "The Last House on the Left". Courtesy of Apple, the trailer presents a sneak peek into the remake of Wes Craven's 1972 horror movie, displaying ordinary parents taking revenge on the sociopaths who harmed their daughter. Aside from the trailer, three first stills of the movie have also been let out.

Soon after arriving at the remote Collingwood lake house, Mari and her friend are kidnapped by a prison escapee and his crew. Terrified and left for dead, Mari's only hope is to make it back to her parents, John and Emma, who unknowingly give a place to stay to her attackers. When her parents learn the horrifying truth, they plot to make the three strangers curse the day they came to the house.

Jonas Brothers have admitted to feel nervous about attending the gala ceremony of the 51st Annual Grammy Awards in February. "I fear that day," Kevin Jonas told Radio Disney as quoted by People. "You should have seen how nervous we were just going to the announcement ceremony."

Recalling the night when they ran to the primetime Grammy nomination concert on December 3, 2008, Nick Jonas meanwhile hinted they were almost late for the ball. "We didn't think we were going to be on time! We literally ran to our seats and right when we got to our seats they [announced] Jonas Brothers!" he stated.

A representative for Kevin Costner has confirmed the actor is "feeling fine" after being hospitalized overnight Tuesday, January 6 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles over a dizzy spell. Spokesman Arnold Robinson tells People in a statement, the star "is back on his feet."

Explaining on Costner's brief hospitalization, Robinson reveals, "Kevin was driving in the Hollywood area Tuesday morning when he began to feel lightheaded. He called 911 and they kept him overnight in the hospital." However, Costner "was checked out at the hospital and released [the following day] after tests found that everything was normal," Robinson continues.