A Walk Down the Aisle for T.R. Knight?



Is T.R. Knight planning on marrying his boyfriend, UCLA student Marc Cornelsen?

Perhaps the pair, who've been dating for less than six months, will tie the knot on June 4 when Knight hosts the Matthew Shepard Foundation’s group commitment ceremony for same-sex couples in West Hollywood.

About 50 couples will take part in the ceremony presided by West Hollywood Mayor Jeffrey Prang and witnessed by Shepard’s mom, Judy to mark the start of National Gay Pride Month. Couples will also be wearing Erase Hate pendants, from Love and Pride jewelry line designer Udi Behr.

The Matthew Shepard Foundation has a lot of meaning for Knight and Cornelsen. The two first met when Knight hosted the organization’s Los Angeles awards show last October.

Pete Wentz Facing Fallout from Alleged Blowup



Maybe Pete Wentz needs to ###### the emo down a notch.

The newly betrothed rocker was sued for assault and battery today by a Chicago man who claims he was beaten up by Wentz and his security team following a Fall Out Boy performance at a Chicago bar last June.

Andy Kallas claims Wentz and cohorts "without authorization and provocation, by physical force did strike, kick and beat" him for several minutes, leaving him with "serious injuries to his head, mouth and face," per the complaint filed in Cook County Circuit Court.

There was no immediate comment from Team Wentz.

Speaking exclusively to E! News, Kallas' attorney says don't be fooled by the rocker's diminutive stature—"even small people who get the first blow can still do some damage," said Stephan Zouras.

The lawyer suggested that Ashlee Simpson's fiancé apparently mistook his client for someone else.

"It was a performance by invite only," said Zouras. "Apparently, during the performance, there was a verbal exchange between Mr. Wentz and some other individuals. It would seem that Mr. Wentz mistook my client for the person that was engaging in that exchange.

"Following the performance as he was exiting the premises, he saw my client and decided to have a physical confrontation with him, and he assaulted him. It was initiated by Mr. Wentz, but then apparently members of his entourage became involved, at least three or four individuals.”

Kallas, who's asking for unspecified damages for pain and suffering, medical bills and lost wages, required hospitalization afterward and is still emotionally traumatized, Zouras said.

“All my client wants is for this individual to bear responsibility for his choices,” the attorney added. “We think celebrities should be held to a slightly higher standard.”

The lawsuit states that Wentz's conduct was "deliberate, willful, malicious and calculated to cause serious injury" to Kallas, who is also charging the possibly expectant dad with false imprisonment and negligence. Schuba's Tavern, the club where the alleged altercation took place, is named as a defendant as well.

Benji on Paris: "Wife Material"



Benji Madden is really loving Paris in the springtime.

Turns out the smitten Good Charlotte rocker has always thought of the platinum-haired hottie (of and the Nottie fame) to be a "great girl" and, as far as he's concerned, "wife material."

Or, at least, "serious girlfriend material," he told Yo on E!'s Michael Yo. And Madden couldn't even come up with one bad habit to peg on his newfound love.

So does that mean the couple will be engaged within six months?

"Wow, alright…Well, I'm not going to bet against you on that, but I don't know," Madden stammered, er, said. "We'll see. I'm very, very happy right now."

So we hear. With Good Charlotte releasing its first love song—"Where Would We Be Now," off the band's new album, Good Morning Revival—Madden thinks his relationship with Hilton has given the punk-pop group even more credibility because "people love Paris."

"[Our fan base] is like a big family," Madden said. "When someone comes in everyone's like, 'Welcome to the family.' And now our fans are even supporting her." (Which should come as good news to the makers of Repo! The Genetic Opera.)

"It's hard, because in my relationship, you just want to get on top of a mountain and go 'I'm in love!' but your fans would probably make fun of you. So you have to try to hold back as much as you can, but it's hard sometimes."

At least Madden has picked up a trick or two from brother Joel, who was supposed to be interviewed alongside his twin but had to report home for diaper duty, pronto.

"With Joel and Nicole, everybody wants to know, so I got a pretty good understanding on how to navigate interviews, and now I'm pretty relaxed and I'm not on edge, really."

And the bond built between the parents of Harlow Winter Kate Madden has also been good for Uncle Benji and would-be Aunt Paris.

"They're really rooting for us," Madden said. "Joel and Nicole have an amazing friendship. She is like a sister to me. So you have to be with someone who wants to be a part of the family. We¹re in probably the best situation anyone could ever be in right now."

Summer Movie Guide: Super & Speedy Edition!



Wow, is it going to be a weird summer. Harrison Ford's picked up his whip again, Will Smith finally got some superpowers, The Joker is back, The Hulk is back, Chim-Chim the racing monkey is back, and Angelina Jolie is teaching people how to bend space with bullets (or something).

The whole hot thing kicks off this week as Robert Downey Jr. straps on a flying bodysuit in Iron Man, so get the skinny on the biggest, speediest, most hero-packed flicks with our first preview gallery, Summer Movie Guide: Big 'n' Loud.

J.Lo and Marc's Twins Meet the Family



Not only are Jennifer Lopez's twins, Max and Emme, destined for a fabulous rock-star lifestyle, but the 2½-month-old tots will never be lonely—they have each other as well as two stepsiblings, Cristian and Ryan, courtesy of dad Marc Lopez's former wife, Dayanara Torres.

And all the kids have met and spent time together, she confirms. "Absolutely," Torres tells E! News, while promoting her upcoming book, Married to Me.

But she downplays any drama between the two families: "For whatever reason, people wanna make this whole drama...and it’s nothing, you know? They’re kids, they have siblings."

And now for the ah-ha moment: The book she's writing on divorce is not a tell-all, as previously believed, which could go a long way toward explaining the happy-family scenario.

Gisele: America and the World's Top (Earning) Model



She may not have booked too many gigs in the New England area, but Gisele Bündchen is still the most in demand model in the other corners of the world.

The 27-year-old Brazilian stunner topped Forbes.com's World's Top-Earning Models list, raking in an impressive estimated $35 million in 2007, more than doubling the amount banked by second-place entity Heidi Klum, who earned just $14 million for her Seal-lovin', clover-jewelry-designin', Project Runway-hostin' ways.

Kate Moss continued to keep her nose strictly to the grindstone last year, proving herself a viable No. 3 on the moneymaking list, thanks to her endless stream of endorsement and campaign deals, as well as her Topshop line.

Victoria's Secret leggy wonder Adriana Lima and Holland honey—and face of L'Oréal—Doutzen Kroes rounded out the top five, earning $7 million and $6 million, respectively.

Jessica Simpson Was Tony Romo's Celebrity Crush



How’s this for a cute how-did-they-meet story? Jessica Simpson tells Glamour magazine she first heard of Tony Romo when she and her family were watching a Cowboys game and an announcer said Romo’s celebrity dream crush was—da-da-da-dum!—Jessica Simpson.

One divorce and a year and a half later, Tony meets Papa Joe and gets Jess’ email address. The two click, and the rest is history (if history can be measured in increments of less than six months).

The Glamour piece makes us kinda root for Jessica and Tony—if for no other reason than that they’d make for great reality TV.

Michelle Trachtenberg Is Totally Gay for Blake Lively



Things are going well on the Gossip Girl set. Too well.

Apologizing for having nothing but “everything’s swell” news to report, Michelle Trachtenberg gives Yo on E!'s satellite radio show a juicy piece of girl gossip:

“I can officially say I am dating Blake Lively.”

Ha. Ha. Michelle’s coming out of the closet. Everyone has a good laugh over this bit of sarcasm. Until...

Perez reports there will be some girl-on-girl GG action on the upcoming show. And the lesbian lip-lockers are none other than (cue trumpets) Blake and Michelle!

OMG!

Will Nina Walk Runway to Harper's Bazaar?



Project Runway’s Nina Garcia is searching for the latest look—in employment. Word has it, Elle magazine's recently ousted fashion consultant might just be heading to Harper's Bazaar.

Will that mean Runway winners get a spread in Harper’s Bazaar instead of Elle? Could this be part of the show's potential move from Bravo to Lifetime? And can plaids be matched with other prints? Oh, the questions we have.

But back to Garcia. We don’t know if the sensibilities of Runway will mesh as well with HB as they do with Elle, but as Tim Gunn will undoubtedly say, they’ll just have to “make it work.”

Is Miley Cyrus Good for Sex and the City?



Not everyone has a problem with Miley Cyrus naming Sex and the City as her favorite show.

“It’s awesome,” hunky Sex star Jason Lewis said last night at Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills during a kickoff cocktail soiree for the upcoming Chrysalis Butterfly Ball. “A Miley Cyrus endorsement means everything...She seems like a pretty mature 15-year-old.”

And how.

But Cyrus wasn’t the only headline maker on people’s minds during the fete...

Grey’s Anatomy star Justin Chambers talked politics. “I’m pro-Obama,” Chambers said. “I’m a big fan of his...I think there’s something very sincere, intelligent and authentic about him.”

Meanwhile, former Beverly Hills, 90210 star Rebecca Gayheart said she’s looking forward to the new 90210: “I think it will be a big hit like it was the last time.”

Paula Abdul: "It Was So Confusing"



It was the gaffe heard round the country. Now Paula Abdul (with some serious assistance from American Idol host Ryan Seacrest) tries to explain exactly what went down last night:

Paula called in to Ryan's KIIS-FM radio show Wednesday morning to discuss how they got kind of blindsided when the show's executive producer, Nigel Lythgoe, changed things up on them at the last minute by asking for a quick recap midway through the show instead of at the end.
"It was so confusing," said Paula. "The whole thing is like, 'Hello?' It was crazy for us. In seven years, we've never had to do that."

"So, the kids are coming out, and I'm like 'Oh my God, what do we do?' " recalls Paula. "I just started looking at what I had written down and we've never had to do this before. I was reading the critique of what I had written for Jason Castro, and on the same page, I also wrote David. I got lost on my notes. And that's as simple as it was."

"So, you were talking about two different people, but accidentally, you said second song," confirms Ryan.

Nice save, Ry. But then that's probably why they pay you the big bucks.

Ugly Betty's Beauty of a Role



America Ferrera's next project is shaping up to be a simple numbers game.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Ugly Betty star has signed on to topline the feature adaptation of Aimee Bender's quirky novel An Invisible Sign of My Own, revolving around Mona Gray, a twentysomething loner who found solace in math and geometry as an obsessive-compulsive child after her father fell ill.

Later in life, the loner becomes a math teacher to a group of young children and uses the subject to help her students through crises of their own.

Mad Hot Ballroom helmer Marilyn Adrelo directs the coming-of-age flick.

Blaine Takes a Breather



It's no illusion. David Blaine has done it again.

The famed trickster broke the breath-holding world record during a live stunt today on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Divers retrieved a bluish-tinged Blaine, 35, from a water-filled sphere after 17 minutes and 4 seconds, surpassing the previous mark of 16 minutes, 14 seconds set on April 3 by German free diver Tom Sietas, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

Blaine, who trained with various free divers beforehand, inhaled pure oxygen through a mask before submerging himself, which, under Guinness rules, is allowed for up to 30 minutes to help clean out carbon dioxide from one's system.

The water chamber was the same the performance artist used when he performed his "Drowned Alive" stunt at New York's Lincoln Center in May 2006. For that feat, he immersed himself for one week (with breathing tubes) and then capped it off by trying unsuccessfully to snap the breath-holding record before he was pulled out on doctor's orders.

Ash Can't, Um, Bump Mariah, Leona or Conchords



A high-profile engagement, endless speculation about major uterine developments and plenty of face time on TV and magazines couldn't put Ashlee Simpson over the top.

As it were, Jessica's baby sister managed just a bittersweet No. 4 debut for Bittersweet World, failing to extend her run of chart-topping albums and looking up at Mariah Carey, Leona Lewis and even the New Zealand novelty act Flight of the Conchords.

Carey and Lewis pulled a Groundhog Day in the top spots. Despite a 61 percent sales drop, Carey's E=MC2 remained No. 1, selling another 182,000 copies for the week ended Sunday, per Nielsen SoundScan, while Lewis' Spirit held down the No. 2 spot, selling 96,000. Conchords, meanwhile, held off Simpson for the week's top debut.

The Kiwi comedy-music duo had only managed a No. 116 bow with last August's The Distant Future EP, but following a 2008 Grammy win and praise for their eponymous HBO series, Flight of the Conchords has officially taken off. The group's self-titled debut finished the week ended Sunday at No. 3 on 52,000, per Nielsen SoundScan numbers, ahead of Simpson's World, which spun 47,000 copies.

Simpson, who sources tell E! News is preggers with new Fall Out Boy fiancé Pete Wentz's spawn (the couple has been coy about whether there is a bun in the oven), had both her previous albums debut at No. 1, thanks to hit singles like "Pieces of Me" and "Boyfriend." But the beat-driven World—featuring production by star-makers Timbaland, the Neptunes' Chad Hugo and Kenna—has yet to have a track crack the Hot 100, going 0-2 so far with "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" and "Little Miss Obsessive."

Hip-hop duo Slug and Ant, better known as Atmosphere, sold 36,000 copies of When Life Gives You Lemons... to squeeze out a No. 5 bow. Phil Vassar—who penned hit songs for others before becoming a country star himself—followed at No. 10, selling nearly 27,000 copies of Prayer of a Common Man.

Outside the top 10, other notable debuts included Story of the Year's Black Swan at No. 18, the Weepies' Hideaway at No. 31 and Mobb Deep rapper Prodigy's H.N.I.C. Pt. 2 at No. 36.

Overall, the numbers were down 8 percent from last week's Mariah-powered sales, and down 11 percent compared to the same week in 2007.

A rundown of the top 10:

1. E=MC2, Mariah Carey
2. Spirit, Leona Lewis
3. Flight of the Conchords, Flight of the Conchords
4. Bittersweet World, Ashlee Simpson
5. When Life Gives You Lemons..., Atmosphere
6. Now That's What I Call Music! Vol. 27, various
7. Juno soundtrack, various
8. Troubadour, George Strait
9. Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift
10. Prayer of a Common Man, Phil Vassar

SATC Cast to Oprah: Everything You Think You Know Might Be a Lie



The cast of Sex and the City visits Oprah tomorrow, and though we prayed at our Birkin shrine that the gals would spill some secrets about the upcoming movie, their lips stayed tighter than a pair of half-size-too-small Manolo Blahniks (at least according to today's press release about the upcoming show).

In fact, the SATC cast tells Oprah the stuff we thought we did know might all be lies:

"We would go around and say this is some crazy dream sequence we're shooting today,” Sarah Jessica Parker tells Oprah. “We kept repeating this mantra to try and gaslight people a little bit."

Holy pratfall! Well, they don’t reveal any secrets, but at least the ladies are open about their private lives:

Kim Cattrall admits she likes her man flesh a little young and tender but confesses to Oprah that she does have some limits when it comes to dating younger men:

The guy has to have a driver’s license, she says: “I don’t want to pick him up.”

Think she cards her guys?

McKellen Confirms Hobbit Habit



Sir Ian McKellen is going there and back again.

The acclaimed British thespian, who, as the wizard Gandalf the Grey, helped shepherd Frodo Baggins through a perilous journey in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, has announced he will reprise his Academy Award-nominated role for the hugely anticipated Hobbit prequels.

"Yes, it's true," McKellen told Britain's Empire movie magazine. "It's not a part that you turn down. I love playing Gandalf."

The twin films will be based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, which of course he published before his epic Lord of the Rings cycle.

This time around, however, the 68-year-old McKellen will team up with Jackson's bespectacled stand-in, Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth), who announced last week that he was moving to New Zealand for four years to take the reins on the project.

Jackson and longtime partner Fran Walsh, who already have their hands full adapting the beloved Tintin to the big screen, among other films in the pipeline, will serve as executive producers on the Hobbit flicks and collaborate with del Toro to ensure proper continuity with their Oscar-winning LOTR.

The first Hobbit movie will follow the story of Frodo's uncle, Bilbo Baggins (played in the LOTR films by Sir Ian Holm), as he journeys with a group of dwarves to a dragon's lair to recover stolen treasure. The second will mine material from Tolkien's appendices about the 60 years between The Hobbit and the start of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

McKellen added that he was excited to be working with the Mexican-born helmer, who's beginning to work on the scripts.

"I spoke to Guillermo in the very room that Peter Jackson offered me the part, and he confirmed that I would be reprising the role," Sir Ian said. "As to how it's going to work over two films and what's going to happen onscreen, well, Guillermo has not got down to working out the major details yet—I can tell you it's going to be amazing though."

Talking to the fansite TheOneRing.net, del Toro confirmed McKellen's casting as well as that of Andy Serkis, who's once again aboard to play Gollum. Serkis, in fact, has added The Hobbit to his list of upcoming films on his official Website, just after Jackson's Tintin.

Filming on the Hobbit movies is set to get under way in 2009, with the films unspooling in 2010 and 2011.

Sorry, Miley, We've Gotta Change Our Vote



The shoulder that launched 1,000 blog posts has also been all the buzz in Hollywood. People as varied as Sally Field and Joe Jonas have come out to defend Miley Cyrus' decision to pose on the cover of Vanity Fair in nothing but a blanket.

Realizing that, c’mon, it’s a girl’s shoulder, the glitterati have tried to downplay the clamor over Hannah Montana’s supposed scandal.

And we completely agree. Or, at least, we did until Speidi joined the fray...

“I think she’s a young girl in Hollywood, and she’s just having fun,” Heidi Montag told Extra. “[She]’s exploring herself.”

Added beau Spencer Pratt, “I didn’t think it was that bad. Supposedly, she’s wearing a top underneath. It’s artistic.”


It’s not that we don’t agree with those sentiments, it’s just that we find it our moral duty as members of the human race to disagree with anything those two say. So, from now on: Sorry, Miley, but shame on you!

Miley Still Working for the Mouse



Miley Cyrus is ready for another, more age-appropriate close-up.

Just a few days after her Vanity Fair photo flap exploded to epic proportions—and a few days after rumors swirled that Disney would be keeping a closer watch over the Mouse House moneymaker—the tween queen is getting ready to return to the spotlight, prepping to make her first postscandal public appearance at a concert this weekend.

E! News has confirmed that the 15-year-old, who has been working in Nashville this week on her upcoming Hannah Montana movie, will go forward as planned with a special concert set to take place at (where else?) the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando on Saturday.

Cyrus was definitely not in a chatty mood when she was corned by a camera crew in a Target parking lot.

Asked how she was holding up, Cyrus simply said, "Good, thank you."

When the questions turned to her Annie Leibovitz snaps, however, Cyrus issued a "no comment."

Meanwhile, though the concert is getting filmed this weekend, the singing spot won't be televised until this summer, when it will air as part of the cable network's Disney Channel Games, a competition series which, in addition to Cyrus, will feature appearances from fellow homegrown network talent the Jonas Brothers, the Cheetah Girls' Sabrina Bryan, Adrienne Bailon and Kiely Williams and Dylan and Cole Sprouse.

As far as Cyrus' participation continuing as scheduled, Disney spokeswoman Brenda Kelly Grant told E! News that "nothing has changed on our production."

The weekend concert will also help to ease Cyrus back into a bigger spotlight, which she will no doubt feel when she returns to an even bigger stage May 10, when she is scheduled to perform at KIIS-FM's annual Wango Tango concert in Orange County.

Battle of the Hills' Duds



Forget about Heidi and L.C. for a sec. There's a new Hills rivalry brewing, as Spencer Pratt and Jason Wahler duke it out in the press over an alleged sex tape.

Spencer tells Tyra Banks on her show Tuesday, "I know for 100% fact [the sex tape between L.C. and Wahler] did exist—1000%!"

J-Wahl quickly responded via Usmagazine.com: ""I do not have a sex tape of Lauren Conrad, and one does not exist. Spencer Pratt is lying again to get attention."

But Spencer stands by his account...

He follows up with the mag, "Jason's statement couldn't be more transparent. Notice how he uses present tense, 'I do not have a sex tape...one does not exist.' We all know that it existed, that he tried to sell it and is now covering up to make himself look better."

So whom do you believe? Spencer, Jason—or none of the above?

Willie Nelson's Still Smokin'



Willie Nelson’s 75th birthday has arrived, and with it comes the usual good stuff: a retrospective CD set, One Hell of a Ride, a biography, Willie Nelson: An Epic Life, a spot on Billboard's Green 10 list.

So in honor of his accomplishments—the man wrote “Crazy,” "On the Road Again" and thousands of other songs, helped found Farm Aid and even has his own biofuel—we offer up this totally dope duet with old pal Snoop Dogg onstage in Amsterdam.

Radiohead In Rainbows, Not Insane



Radiohead is going to let good ol' capitalism figure it out next time.

Frontman Thom Yorke tells the Hollywood Reporter that his band's decision to let fans decide what to pay for a digital copy of In Rainbows was a "one-off response to a particular situation," referring to their split from longtime label EMI.

"It was one of those things where we were in the position of everyone asking us what we were going to do," he said. "I don't think it would have the same significance now anyway, if we chose to give something away again. It was a moment in time."

And because that moment has passed, Radiohead won't be offering up any more unpriced downloads. But Yorke seems encouraged by the increasing number of nontraditional routes becoming available to his group and other similarly successful acts to deliver their tunes and reach out to listeners.

"We are about that direct relationship, because we are big enough to establish that," he said.

Dina Lohan: Lindsay's Being "So Good"



"They have been friends forever. Charlotte is a dear friend, too. Her brother is a doll; they are just friends of the family."

—Dina Lohan reacting to reports suggesting that Lindsay Lohan has been partying too much with Samantha Ronson. "It is sad," she tells E! News. "Lindsay is being so good."

Idol Note-by-Note: Cook Shows Mettle to Diamond



Don't miss one song—or one note of British sarcasm—with our performance-show liveblog:

The five remaining American Idol aspirants will double dip into the prolific songbook of guest mentor Neil Diamond. Now that their numbers are dwindling, each finalist will take on two of the "Sweet Caroline" crooner's standards.

(Yes, we're mourning the premature departure of Carly Smithson—like her personality or not, the lass never sounded bad—but we're just going to have to press on.)

Anyway, we know Kristy Lee Cook would have gone with "America"—she was crafty, wasn't she?—but prepare to be reacquainted with some old favorites, as well as a whole host of tunes you had no idea belonged to Diamond and some tunes you probably never heard before but your mom just loves.

8:06 p.m.: Jason Castro is wielding his guitar again and, unlike last week, is not sounding ridiculous while singing "Forever in Blue Jeans." The judges won't comment until after his second number, but so far so good...

8:12 p.m.: Diamond got goose bumps listening to David Cook rehearse "All I Really Need Is You," which he'll sing...later. First up is "I'm Alive," and the perky, contemporary-ish tune complements Cook's rasp quite well. He could be the lead singer of Lifehouse, or Edwin McCain...

8:14 p.m.: Oh, Brooke White..."I'm a Believer" was meant for someone else, but not for you. (The Monkees' 1966 recording is the go-to version, but it was Diamond who penned it and recorded it first.)

8:22 p.m.: Leave it to the "prodigy" (Diamond's word not ours) to take on "Sweet Caroline."

OK, the guest mentors really need to stop gushing before the contestants hit the stage. David Archuleta was composed (did he flub the words early on? It was hard to tell because he didn't, um, start and stop or anything), but we doubt the Red Sox are going to be commanding a performance at Fenway anytime soon.

8:26 p.m.: "Hello Again," Syesha Mercado. That was beautiful. We hope you don't get rewarded for your second straight lovely performance with another trip to the bottom two.

8:27 p.m.: The judges are starting to weigh in. As far as Randy is concerned: Jason, just OK; David C., good; Brooke, better than last week; David A., "the bomb"; Syesha, very nice.

But it isn't just the contestants having a rough time of it—Paula thinks Castro has already performed twice.

8:34 p.m.: And on with the second go-round...Castro is up again, this time with "September Morn."

The song seems a little low for him, and his sweetness factor isn't really registering.

8:37 p.m. And Simon agrees, telling Castro he thinks the singer will look back at this performance and not "know who this person is."

8:39 p.m.: Whether he wants to or not, Cook is totally ready to join Daughtry on the adult-contemporary rock stations.

Hey, we just mean he could sell records, that's all. "Brilliant," Simon deems his heart-tugging take on "All I Really Need Is You."

8:45 p.m.: After her first song was called "a nightmare" by you-know-who, White's gonna try again, this time on piano, with "I Am...I Said."

After a few bars it's already so much better than her other song, but...why did Carly get kicked off again?

8:47 p.m.: "This is the Brooke we like," Simon says. (Could Ryan Seacrest be reciting those numbers any faster? And that, my friends, is how you cram 10 songs into 48 or so minutes.)

8:51 p.m.: Simon acknowledges how smart it is to choose a song like "America." The judges seem to like Archuleta's version, but as far as we're concerned...eh. And with that black and white-striped shirt, it looked as if he was "coming to America" after escaping from prison. The kind where you work on the railroad with a ball and chain around your ankle.

8:55 p.m.: "I Thank the Lord for the Night Time," and we thank the voters—some of them, anyway—for Mercado's continued presence, however slim a thread she clings to.

A cross "between Corinne Bailey Rae and Minnie Riperton," Paula says, apparently to really draw the youth vote into Neil Diamond night. Meanwhile, Simon thinks Mercado's a fine singer-actress, but fears (well, thinks, because Simon doesn't actually fear anything) she could be in trouble after tonight.

So, who sang it out of the park, and who should be tuning into Idol next week from the comfort of his/her own home?

Office Scoop on Finale and Spinoff (Yay, Mose!)



Wait a minute!

NBC has confirmed that the title of the supersecret season finale of The Office is...wait for it..."Goodbye, Toby." Gaaah! Could they really be letting our favorite mumbly, bumbly HR friend go? Is this the departing castmember Jenna Fischer has hinted at?

Well, according to our sources, writer-actor Paul Lieberstein is staying with The Office. Now, does that mean he's staying on as an actor, or as a writer? Truth told, I didn't ask because I got distracted by something shiny along the way...(Sorry, but you don't want the finale ruined anyway, do you?)

Now, you ask, what was said thing so shiny? I'm hearing from sources that writer-actor Mike Schur, best known to Office viewers as Mose Schrute, Dwight's possibly inbred and fully hilarious cousin, will be running The Office spinoff along with Greg Daniels next season. Woot!

NBC declined to comment on whether that's true.

Rumors that it's a Dwight spinoff have been denied—I suspect Ed Helms' Andy is the most likely candidate, 'cause come on, just look at him!—but Mose, I mean, Mike, would certainly have the right insight into life at Schrute Farms if such a series were to be made...

CSI Dourdan's Desert Drug Bust



Gary Dourdan should know better than anyone that crime doesn't pay.

Unfortunately, the soon-to-be former CSI star was arrested in Palm Springs early Monday for allegedly possessing a virtual pharmacy's worth of prescription and illegal drugs, among them heroin, cocaine and Ecstasy.

The Palm Springs PD said the 41-year-old actor was busted at approximately 5:12 a.m. when officers approached his vehicle, which was parked on the wrong side of the street at the time.

The officer who spotted the vehicle said the interior light of the car was on and that Dourdan appeared to be asleep behind the wheel.

According to the police report, the arresting officer described Dourdan (identified on his California driver's license as Robert Gary Durdin) as "disoriented" and appearing to be under the influence of either drugs or alcohol.

A search of the car turned up cocaine, heroin, Ecstasy, several as yet unidentified prescription drugs and drug paraphernalia, per the police.

The actor was taken into custody at the scene and booked at the Palm Springs jail for possession of narcotics and possession of dangerous drugs. He was held for several hours and ultimately released at 10:30 a.m. on $5,000 bail.

Earlier this month, CBS and Dourdan confirmed he would not be renewing his contract or returning as the pill-popping Warrick Brown on the smash crime procedural after the show's May 15 finale.

Hills Girls Spread It for Rolling Stone



How did Rolling Stone get sworn enemies L.C. and Heidi into the same room for this undie-tastic cover? We’re guessing it took ego soothing, cajoling and the mediation of several presidents—particularly the dead kind.

Or else some major Photoshop skills.

In any case, this Nair ad gone wrong features Whitney looking for her fallen contact lens, Lauren pretending to have fun, Audrina pretending she’s naked (she’s more comfortable that way) and Heidi suppressing the need to pee. Can I go now, Spencer?

It’ll probably sell wildly well. Or not at all. We’re kinda praying for the latter.

Mýa Hurts Foot, Misses Chance to Break a Leg



Chicago isn't Mýa's kind of town just yet.

The Grammy-winning R&B songstress had been scheduled to make her Broadway debut May 12, playing husband-offer Velma Kelly in the Bob Fosse production, but a broken left foot has forced her to lay her fishnets aside for the time being.

Mýa's run was set to last for nine weeks, but it's unclear when she'll end up joining the show. There's no word on who might take the stage in her absence.

"We are sometimes forced to deal with circumstances beyond our control," producer Barry Weissler said in a statement. "But speaking for the entire Chicago creative team, we all wish her a speedy recovery, and look forward to experiencing her portrayal of Velma Kelly as soon as possible."

The "Ghetto Supastar" harmonizer isn't completely new to the Chicago cellblock, however—she already sharpened her claws playing merry murderess Mona in Rob Marshall's 2003 Oscar-winning feature adaptation.

Gwyneth: Action Movies Make You a Better Mom!



It makes sense. No, really it does. Making a big, loud summer movie about an arms dealer-turned-superhero is good for new moms. Just listen to Gwyneth Paltrow.

The still-new mother of two made Iron Man her first major role since shooting Proof in 2004, when she was pregnant with her daughter, Apple.

"Why not?" she tells E! News this week, explaining her easy action-flick schedule. "It's great. They have you for this many hours, and you can go home and sleep."

When her son Moses was 1, the part of Pepper Potts, right-hand-gal to Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark (aka Iron Man), came along. Director Jon Favreau reeled her in.

"It was just the perfect job for me," Paltrow says. "I was back in California in the house that I grew up in when I was little. It was just before my mother sold it, and I was with my kids."

She worked two or three days a week—cake for an actress used to more serious roles. "I felt that I was with [Apple and Moses] more than I was at work," she says. "When I went to work, I had so much fun."

Jimi Hendrix's Greatest Bootleg?



Was Jimi Hendrix experienced? Let's go to the vaults, shall we?

Vivid Entertainment, the company that brought you the X-rated shenanigans of Pamela Anderson and Kim Kardashian, among others, announced it has acquired from a memorabilia collector a sex tape featuring the late guitar god and plans to release it.

According to a statement from Vivid, the Hendrix footage was filmed in a hotel room in the late 1960s, doesn't consist of any sound and has poor lighting. But it purportedly features the Axis: Bold as Love axman sporting a bandana over his Afro and getting it on with two foxy ladies.

The Los Angeles-based porn distributor is marketing the 11-minute footage as part of a 45-minute DVD, Jimi Hendrix the Sex Tape, which will also include flashbacks of the rock legend's stellar career and retail for $39.95 in stores and via download. (Vivid did not obtain music licenses so the video will not have a Hendrix soundtrack.)

As the New York Times reports, however, sources who've seen the grainy 8mm clip say Hendrix's face is only visible for a few seconds. Also casting doubts on the authenticity of Vivid's claims, several of the musician's ex gal-pals from the '60s have come forward saying the man in the film is not the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer.

Vivid claims it vetted the tape and was convinced the footage was the real deal after talking with the unidentified man who shot the explicit scene. The women in the film have yet to be identified.

Hendrix died in 1970 at the age of 27 from drug-related causes.

Mario Denies Karina Split: "It's All Good"



Karina Smirnoff and Mario Lopez aren't ready to end their pas de deux just yet.

Despite recent reports claiming the couple had called their relationship quits—and that she was moving out of his L.A. home—the Dancing With the Stars finalist tells E! News correspondent and DWTS cohost Samantha Harris, "Mario and I are fine. Everything's good."

That sentiment was echoed by a follow-up email from Lopez , who's in New York for his role in Broadway's Chorus Line: "It's all good."

The camera-friendly couple has been linked ever since meeting as partners during the third season of ABC's reality series.

And despite reports of cohabitation and snapshots of romantic vacations, the two have never publicly acknowledged their relationship—except to do damage control.

Lopez recently addressed rumors that Smirnoff was romantically linked to her current DWTS partner, R&B star Mario.

"He’s a great guy—really respectful, really cool, and I’m glad Karina got him as a partner. And I think they’re gonna go all the way and they’re gonna do great," he told E! News' Ryan Seacrest.

That's called keeping your eye on the prize at all costs.

American Idol 7 — Who Got Kicked Off?





BROOKE WHITE! BROOKE WHITE!

The other person in the bottom two: Syesha Mercado

Cease Fire


RollingStone.com posted an entire gallery of behind the scenes photos from the momentous cover photoshoot for the new issue of Rolling Stone magazine which features the 4 stars of the megahit MTV "reality show" The Hills. For one afternoon, Lauren LC Conrad and Heidi Montag laid down their arms and agreed to be photographed together in order to both be featured on the cover of RS magazine (I imagine that support players Audrina Patridge and Whitney Port were just happy to be included and offered no qualms about being photographed with LC and Heidi together ... Spencer Pratt, very smartly, was kept away from the shoot altogether). Here is the alternate RS cover photo, a few behind the scenes outtakes and a portion of the coverstory that accompanies the photographs:



"I wish I got to see what you saw today," Spencer says. He's referring to this afternoon's cover photo shoot attended by Heidi and her three Hills castmates: Audrina Patridge, 22, Whitney Port, 23, and the show's protagonist, Lauren Conrad, 22, with whom Heidi has been engaged in an ugly feud. Once best friends and roommates, the two women have spent the past year and a half bickering back and forth in celebrity weeklies — a rift that, depending on whom you talk to, stems from either a Lauren sex-tape story that Spencer and Heidi leaked to the press (Lauren's version; they deny it), or Lauren's jealousy of Spencer and Heidi (their version; Lauren denies it), or Spencer's overall control-freakiness, or a cabal of genius MTV executives secretly pulling ratings/goosing strings behind a curtain. Whatever the case, the shoot was the first time Heidi and Lauren had been photographed, and not Photoshopped (as MTV has been forced to do), together in more than a year. Heidi says that on her way to the shoot she thought it might be a scam. "I thought I was walking into Punk'd or getting killed or something," she says. "Heidi really wanted me there for backup," Spencer says. "She was like, 'This is a setup.'" But the shoot happened ... as MTV publicists and show creator Adam DiVello nervously looked on, the atmosphere was cordial but chilly. Hills Kremlinologists studied cast interactions, but over the course of a nine-hour day, Lauren and Heidi never spoke to each other. "You can feel it," Whitney, The Hills' doe-eyed Switzerland ("I'm neutral"), told me at a quiet moment. "There's a separation." Heidi is sanguine about the split. Lauren, after all, is why she's on The Hills — Heidi was just a spitfire from the small ski town of Crested Butte, Colorado ("A seven-block town with one main street," says Heidi's mom, Darlene Egelhoff), when she met Lauren at the Academy of Art in San Francisco. "We were the only blondes in the class," Heidi recalls. "We were such. Good. Friends," she says emphatically. "A part of me just wants to go up and be like, 'Hey, how are you?' But the other part of me is so mad ... It's like I'm the odd man out." However awkward the Heidi-Lauren squabbling may be, it has been juicy business for The Hills. This spring's season premiere earned the show a record 3.9 million viewers — the highest-rated cable telecast of the year so far — with an estimated 5 million more views online. Graden believes The Hills is now a bigger franchise than other generation-definers like The Osbournes, TRL or Jackass. "People love feuds," says Spencer, taking a chomp of quesadilla. "Who were Paris and Nicole before they weren't friends? That's when they became superstars. If Lauren and Heidi were friends, people wouldn't tune in." Every rivalry needs its black hat, however, and Heidi, through Spencer, has eagerly, and perhaps too ingeniously, complied ... "It's jealousy, man," Spencer says. "It's human. I'm jealous of Jay-Z, Bill Gates, Rupert Murdoch. I feel for these people who wish they could be on reality television and not in their cubicles. You got to thank your haters." "You have to understand, we have so many fans," Heidi says. "The haters are the ones who ask us for photos. The haters are the ones who are downloading songs." She looks out at the restaurant, which is packed. Don Antonio's has always been a popular joint, but since she and Spencer started eating here on The Hills, it's getting crazy, she says. "The world works on haters now."

All joking aside (about the apocalypse, etc.), I am not at all surprised that both ladies agreed to come together for this photoshoot for Rolling Stone magazine. They are both very smart, very savvy ladies (political preferences notwithstanding) and they deffo know how their bread is buttered -- making the cover of Rolling Stone magazine is a huge accomplishment. Whether they really hate each other isn't even the point ... the fact that we believe that they hate each other and still agreed to be shot together is entirely the point -- it fuels our desire to want more, more, more ... and it's absolutely brills. Regarding the "haters" that Speidi are referring to ... they are absolutely right in their assertion that the haters are what fuel the demand for the show. If Speidi weren't positioned as the foil to good-girl LC then there would be nothing to keep the audience ravenously coming back to the show for more year, after year, after year ... the interest would've waned mid-way thru second season -- in fact, interest was waning and it wasn't until Spencer stepped in to help Heidi forge her own identity on the show that popularity soared. Whether or not it was all part of the master-plan (I suspect Spencer would say that it deffo was part if his master-plan), the vilification of the "venomous Speidi" is what changed the ###### of the show and made it the huge success that it is. People love a fight ... whether it's real or not, we love to watch people go at it. That being said, I'm not sure that the separation formula between Team LC and Team Heidi will work for very much longer on The Hills. To me, it feels like it's just about run its course (the new scenes this season of Heidi and LC showing up in the same close quarters [by way of Audrina's intervention] is proof to me that MTV is trying to stir the pot a little to keep the audience interested ... but I fear that stuff won't work for very much longer). I fully expect Speidi to get their own show, maybe one based around their long-awaited wedding (that wedding will deffo happen one day and it will be televised ... I'm utterly and completely convinced) and The Hills phenomenon will come to an end -- perhaps that will be the real first signal of the end of the world. After all, what how will our existence carry on without our favorite guilty pleasure?

Crazy, Cool

Let me preface this post by stating that I do not watch American Idol, like, ever. I may catch portions of eps when David watches it or I may catch it on random public televisions but as a rule, I do not watch the show at all. That being said, I did catch a portion of last night's show while on route to NYC on my Jet Blue flight ... and, as luck would have it, I tuned in just in time to watch the part of the show when Paula Abdul got caught babbling in her classic nonsensical way about performances that had yet to occur in front of a live audience, on live TV. I had to laugh out loud right there on the plane ... is this the sort of amazing TV that I have been missing all along?



What the heck was going on last night? With the top five contestants -- Jason Castro, David Cook, Brooke White, David Archuleta and Syesha Mercado -- each singing two Neil Diamond tunes, Tuesday's altered American Idol format must have thrown Paula Abdul for a loop! After the contestants sang their first song, the judges had a chance to quickly give their first impressions before the contestants sang a second selection. At this point, a rushed and confused Paula started reading her notes and told Jason, "The second song, I felt like your usual charm was missing for me. It kind of left me a little empty and the two songs made me feel like you're not fighting hard enough to get into the top four." The only problem: Jason had only performed once! The crowd began to snicker while Ryan Seacrest and the contestants looked a little stunned. Awkward! Finally, Randy Jackson corrected Paula and she said, "Oh my God, I thought you sang twice ... You know what? This is hard!" Seacrest, trying not to laugh, did a little damage control, saying, "Paula, you’re seeing the future, baby. You're seeing the future."

Yeah, I don't think it's the future that Paula Abdul was seeing ... it's more like the bottom of a booze bottle that she's been seeing. Woot! I hope they never boot Paula from the show ... she is so fun to watch ... I might even start tuning in just to see her comments from here on out.

As usual, Paula was left to explain her gaffe so that folks wouldn't think she was boozed or anything like that:

Discussing the small slip of the tongue she experienced while assessing finalist JASON CASTRO's first performance, Paula explains: "It got very confusing ... the producers come up to us in the dark and said, 'We are not going to have you guys judge after each performer, we are going to have all the performers go once, then twice and at the end critique them.'" Surprised by the last minute switch in judging procedures, Paula recounts, "I am feverishly trying to write notes for every performance." And when host RYAN SEACREST asked the judges to quickly sum up the performances, Paula explains that she was trying organize her notes, saying, "I was trying to give my critique for Jason Castro, and scribbled Jason's name, and that was DAVID [COOK]'s! ... We all just screwed up everything." She adds with a laugh: "This is live television. This is fun!"

OMG, SOOOO FUN!!! Whatevs, we love you Paula ... whatever your damage is, we love you. Don't ever change a thing. [Source, Source]

PS: Based on what I saw last night (in my totally unqualified capacity as a one time viewer), I say Vote Syesha! She looked and sounded the strongest to me. I wouldn't mind if David Cook won but I'm on Team Syesha with this guy girl person who was rooting for her in the audience:



Go, Syesha, Go!

Deflated

Hmmm ... what do you suppose is going on with Victoria Beckham and her amazing disappearing boobies? It wasn't that long ago that Vicki B.'s breasts were inflated to pornographic proportions but lately she hasn't been lookin' quite so chesty. The Sun has picked up on the phenomenon and begs the question -- has VB had a procedure done to ensure that her fun bags gone for good?



VICTORIA BECKHAM's breasts don't know whether they are coming or going. Either she carries a small pump in her Gucci handbag or the SPICE GIRL'S bras are plagued with inconsistency. Her cleavage has caused many a debate over the years. Posh has always played down boob job rumours and looking at this recent pic, she might start to field suggestions of a possible reduction. Variety is the life of Spice, after all ...

My guess is that Vicki B. did not have breast reduction surgery done to her chest, I suspect that she has one of those inflatable beach ball nozzles fitted to her boobs so that they can be pumped up and deflated at will ... depending on how porno VB (and David Beckham, for that matter) is feeling at the time. My guess is that VB got her boob job done at the same place where Katie Holmes was outfitted with her expanding and reducing baby bump that allegedly carried Tom Cruise's baby (remember that thing? It was up and down and up and down every other week for the duration of her "pregnancy"). Isn't modern medical technology wondrous?

Miley Cyrus Surfaces

Miley Cyrus has been totally out of sight in the past few days since the huge (and, IMHO ridiculous) scandal broke out over her "inappropriate" Vanity Fair photo ... but no longer. Extra TV has new footage of Miley showing her shameful face as she made her way out of a Target store in Nashville, TN yesterday afternoon:


Photo credit: INFdaily

Miley was videoed gabbing on her cellphone while her little sister skipped around, seeming to love the attention from the paps (could she be a Jamie Lynn Spears in the making?). When asked by the photog what she has to say about the Vanity Fair photo, Miley gave a terse "No Comment", said a cheerful goodbye to the paparazzo and then hopped into her SUV. Whatta pro! This VF nonsense is going to shoot her into the fame stratosphere ... right on cue. Yeah, Team Miley knows perfectly well what they are doing. I suspect we'll be seeing tearful interviews on all the major outlets of Miley and her pappy Billy Ray apologizing and explaining how they were exploited very soon. They won't let this story die ... not just yet.

It's A Girl For Jamie Lynn Spears ...

... well, according to Life & Style magazine, that is. The magazine is reporting that Mama Lynne Spears tagged along with JL to find out the sex of the baby and it turn out that she's having a girl! Great! Another Spearsling to carry on the family traditions:


Photo credit: INFdaily

Lynne Spears isn't thrilled that her youngest daughter is pregnant at 17. But she was delighted to go along with Jamie Lynn to learn the baby's gender -- and discover she's finally going to have a granddaughter! And she wasn't the only one happy with the news. "I heard Lynne talking about Jamie Lynn's baby," says a witness. "She said Jamie Lynn and the baby's dad [Casey Aldridge] were so excited when they found out it’s a girl." Though the witness overheard Lynne, 52, say Casey, 19, is "a bit nervous about having a daughter," Jamie Lynn is eagerly prepping for the arrival of her mini-me. "She has been buying tons of clothes and is going to do the nursery in white, black and yellow," says a Spears family insider -- who also reveals that the baby is due on June 29. Of course, Jamie Lynn has much more on her mind than just decorating -- like figuring out what to call her baby girl. "Lynne said Jamie Lynn made a list of all the girl family names on both sides of the family and is trying to incorporate one of them as the middle name," says the witness, who also overheard that "Lynne's flattered to hear her name is being considered."

Yeah, I can just see it now ... Bobbi Lynne, Raylene Lynne, Miley Lynne ... anyone of these names is a deffo possibility. You know, daddy-to-be Casey should be nervous about having a daughter ... those Spears girls can be a handful. I must admit, I'm anxious for the little tyke's arrival -- I can't wait to see what Spears: The Next Generation will look like.

Why So Similar?

Jackie gave me the head's up of this side-by-side comparison of the Batman trailer (1989) and the Dark Knight trailer (2008) showing how similar they both are:



Er, actually, they're pretty damn identical. Are they serious?

Love Sucks

Amy Winehouse seems very proud of the new icky hickey that someone left on her neck ... I suppose it's possible that her incarcerated husband Blake Civil-Fielder is the one who gave her the love bite but who the hell really knows. Here are a few pics of Amy showing off her neck, pointing to the mark with her dirty fingernail:


Photo credit: Splash News

I'm sorry, y'all ... she's just gross. I hope whoever was dumb enough to put their mouth on her neck doesn't live to regret it (can you imagine the layers of dirt that had to be sucked off her neck in order to leave a mark like that? EW!) ... unless it's her jailbird hubby, who kinda deserves what he gets for entering into a marriage with this crazy mess. Blech.

Iman vs. Heidi: Supermodel Smackdown!



Is Iman dissing Heidi Klum, or just telling it like it is?

"I'm not belittling Heidi Klum, but I have been in fashion much more than she has. Not to toot my own horn, but I have been one of the best runway girls," the Somalian supermodel and wife of David Bowie was reportedly quoted as saying.

Iman currently hosts Project Runway: Canada, and tooted, er, talked more about her qualifications, perhaps hoping to make a move south of the fashion border?

"I know clothes, and I know about working hand in hand with designers—I mean, I've worked with Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, John Galliano. Yves Saint Laurent—he created a whole collection for me. Tom Ford, Valentino. Versace. Jean-Paul Gaultier. Thierry Mugler—I could go on and on."

Yes, she probably could—but as much as we love her, we are busy. So in the meantime, check out some other fabulous supermodels in our supermodel supergallery.

First Look: Jim Carrey Is Packing, Um, Something



We've seen Jim Carrey green. We've seen him edgy. We've seen him dumb (and dumber). But we've never seen him, um, packing.

We know very little about his role in the upcoming comedy I Love You Phillip Morris, except that he obviously plays a character with very large cojones. And an affinity for Italian designers.

James McAvoy: Sex Scenes Anything but Sexy



"It's sweaty and uncomfortable. My paranoia is, the girl I'm doing the sex scene with will think I'm getting off on her. I have nightmares about that."

—James McAvoy, who gets down 'n' dirty with Angelina Jolie in the summer action flick Wanted, tells the U.K.'s Daily Record about his fears of getting up close and personal on camera

Vanilla Ice Off the Hook for Wife-Spat Rap



The Iceman goeth free.

Prosecutors in Palm Beach, Fla., have dropped a charge of simple domestic battery against Vanilla Ice, citing lack of evidence, E! News has learned.

"There was no likelihood of conviction," said a spokeswoman for the state attorney in Palm Beach County.

According to the "no file" declaration, officials declined to press the battery charge against the 40-year-old "Ice Ice Baby" purveyor (real name: Robert Van Winkle) after wife Laura Van Winkle retracted allegations that he had hit and kicked her during a spat at home. (View the declaration.)

"There is insufficient credible evidence to prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt due to the victim recanting her original statement and lack of an independent witness," the document reads.

The county clerk and sheriff also rescinded a restraining order barring Ice from having contact with his missus and only allowing him monitored visitation with their two children, 8-year-old Dustee Rain and 10-year-old Keelee Breeze.

According to the police report, Laura told deputies responding to her 911 call that the incident occurred in front of one of their two kids after the couple got into a heated argument about the purchase of a bedroom set.

Officers tracked down the one-hit wonder riding his motorcycle two blocks from the house. By the time they returned to his residence, his wife, who was not injured, changed her tune and said Ice had only shoved her and she wasn't really in fear for her safety.

An arraignment that had originally been scheduled for May 5 is now off the calendar.

Vanilla Ice's attorney, Bradford Cohen, welcomed today's news, insisting it was always the family's contention that the incident "was a verbal argument and it wasn't physical."

"His wife from the get-go indicated she didn't want to press charges and it was a big misunderstanding, but police arrested him anyway," the lawyer tells E! News. "We provided the State Attorney's Office with statements that it was only verbal from witnesses and from his wife, who recanted on the scene what she told them."

As for the Van Winkles, Cohen said the family was "doing very well" and eager to put the mess behind them.

"Rob's excited that he gets to go back home, because all the restraining orders have been dropped. He can't wait to see his kids, and everyone's excited about it."

Move Over, Miley?



Is the onscreen competition between Miley Cyrus and fellow tween Disney sensation Selena Gomez about to get real?

I’m told Disney executives are so worried about Cyrus’ recent controversies that, more than ever, they want to make Gomez an even bigger star.

The 15-year-old Gomez now stars in the Disney Channel hit Wizards of Waverly Place, but last year she appeared on two episodes of Hannah Montana as Mikayla, one of Hannah’s pop star rivals.

“Selena sings and acts and is really young,” a source reports. “She is going to be the next Miley Cyrus. [Disney executives] really want this.”

Next up for Gomez is the Warner Bros. movie Another Cinderella Story, scheduled for a fall release. No surprise, but I’ve just learned that Gomez has recorded several new songs for the flick.

“The studio has high hopes for this,” says my source.

But a Disney rep insists there are no plans to try and replace Cyrus in any way with Gomez.

“We are fortunate to work with a host of young actors and actresses who are each unique and making their own trajectory based on their talent,” the rep said via email this morning. “However, Wizards of Waverly Place is a bona fide hit with kids and families, and licensees and retailers are indeed interested in the series. As for Selena, she deserves all the success that’s coming her way.”

Note to Gomez: If Vanity Fair comes calling, wait a few years before calling them back.

Lindsay Steps Out for Scarlet



Lindsay Lohan hit the red carpet last night and, for once, she wasn't with BFF (and constant companion) Samantha Ronson. Instead, Linds arrived with longtime pal Patrick Aufdenkamp (not pictured).

The occasion was the mock premiere for the new TV series Scarlet, which was actually the launch party for LG Electronics' Scarlet series LCD televisions.

But LiLo wasn't sticking around for her closeup. She quickly posed for a few pics before hightailing it past reporters and inside the theater.

L.L. must have been in a hurry, because she left before the presentation was over, even walking out while someone was still speaking on stage.

Also at the event were Emmy Rossum, Michelle Rodriguez, Milo Ventimiglia and Lauren Conrad, who had just returned from Washington, D.C., where she attended the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

And although L.C. hasn't endorsed a candidate (unlike her other Hills castmates), there's been speculation that she's a GOP supporter.

The Hills star pretty much confirmed it when I asked her about the D.C. dinner: "It was great," she gushed. "I got to see our president give a speech, so it's kind of a once in a lifetime experience."

She must be one of few people in Hollywood who actually wants to hear George W. Bush talk.

Avril Doesn't Care About Her Fans



As we were the first to tell you….

April Lavigne "postponed" her San Diego concert tonight.

Perezious reader Jeff tells us that excessive partying could be the main reason why she can't play in San Diego this evening.

He shares with us:

"Avril and Boys Like Girls (Avril's support band) played here (in Vegas) last night at the Palms…yesterday afternoon (at a private performance before the big show) the lead singer of Boys Like Girls Martin Johnson said, "We (he & Avril) got so wasted last night in her suite." He told us how she (Avril) had a bowling alley in her suite and that they "went shot (alcohol) for shot all night long." Even at the show last night, in front of her very young audience, she claimed that she was "hung-over" from drinking so much the night before. I think that is one of the many reasons she bucked the San Diego show…"

So responsible. Promoting drinking to the tweens in the audience.

April sucks!

Update: The concert is now officially "Cancelled."

Guess the promoters didn't think it'd be worth it to reschedule!

[Image via WENN.]

Naomi Campbell on Ugly Betty — FIRST PICTURES



Here are the very first pictures of supermodel Naomi Campbell looking like one sexy baseball player on the Los Angeles set of Ugly Betty on Wednesday.

Those red leggings are hot! This even beats Victoria Beckham’s baseball uniform!

Also spotted on set: America Ferrera as Betty in uniform, Becki Newton as Amanda Tanen, Michael Urie as Marc St. James. Check out Urie’s short shorts and shaved legs!!!!

It looks like it’s going to be a showdown between Mode magazine and Elle magazine! Where’s Nina Garcia in a baseball uniform???

Paula Was NOT Drunk Yesterday



Paula Abdul's publicist, Jeff Ballard, just sent us the following email.

This is what he has to say:

"Set the record straight…..Paula was NOT drunk yesterday, she did not have a martini yesterday at lunch. It was a sparkling water with lime….she DOES NOT drink……you are just repeating what TMZ had up for a few minutes earlier today and have since taken down completely since they didn't have the proof to back it up…and don't want to risk legal action. It also wasn't her assistant that was with her…it was the head of Talent for FOX.

Do the right thing and correct this erroneous reporting."

And there you have it!

[Image via WENN.]

Lohan + Snoop Dog = $$$$?



Lindsay Lohan is trying her hardest to make it big again.

And how does she plan to do so??????

She's going to partner up with Snoop Dogg for her third album!

Yes, unfortunately, she IS releasing another shiteous record.

LaLohan is now a part of Motown. Yes. Lohan is on Motown.

As for her track with Snoop Dogg, insiders are saying the song is "amazing." Those insiders are probably Lindsay and Dina!

Adding to the list of collaborators, Motown will be bringing in musicians like Pharrell and Timbaland to help try and make a good record.

That's not always guaranteed, though.

Look at what happened to Ashlee Simpson!

Also working on a record is Lindsay's little sister, Dina Ali, who's in the studio recording her own album for Jimmy Lovine’s Interscope via Maloof Music.

What's next? Mom Dina to release her own album?

We should be so lucky!

[Image via WENN.]

Lourdes Leon: Go, Speed Racer, Go!



Guy Ritchie, aka Mr. Madonna, takes his daughter Lourdes, 11, and son Rocco, 7, to the UK Premiere of Speed Racer held at London’s Empire Leicester Square on Tuesday.

Speed Racer zooms into theaters everywhere (including IMAX) on Friday, May 9.