On the heels of his American Idol victory, Taylor Hicks has been named the Hottest Bachelor of 2006 by People magazine.

Tom Cruise is the most powerful star in the world. That’s what Forbes magazine says in its annual Celebrity 100 Power List. The MI:3 actor earned an estimated $67 million last year. The Rolling Stones and Oprah Winfrey round out the top three.

Eminem has signed on to portray a bounty hunter from Detroit in an updated version of the 50s western Have Gun Will Travel. Em is also expected to provide the film's soundtrack.

ABC and Fox are finally reaping the rewards of mega-hits Desperate Housewives and American Idol, pulling in higher prices for prime-time commercials after weeks of halting talks with advertisers.

A Madonna fan in Quebec City wants to go to court over the Material Mom's ticket prices. Papers were filed on Wednesday accusing promoters of unfairly imposing extra fees on the tickets in violation of consumer protection laws in the province. The suit seeks a return of the service charges plus $100 in damages for each ticket buyer.

Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn are getting set to tie the knot. Vaughn reportedly bought a nine and half carat diamond ring with a price tag estimated at US$500,000 for the actress. Meanwhile, Vince and Jen continue to refuse to talk about the rumours.
 

The Law & Order revolving door has brought in Alana De La Garza as the latest cast addition to the longrunning NBC drama.

More than a bell is needed to save Dustin Diamond this time around. Diamond, best known as geeky Screech Powers on the 1989-1993 teen comedy series Saved by the Bell, is selling T-shirts with his photo on them to try to raise $250,000 so he doesn't lose his house under a foreclosure order.

A New Jersey man pleaded guilty in the case of the stolen J.Lo wedding video. Tito Moses admitted to trying to sell a stolen wedding tape back to Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony for US$1 million. He faces up to three years in prison.

The White Stripes have prevailed in a lawsuit brought by a Detroit record producer who'd claimed he's owed royalties. A jury yesterday ruled in favor of the Stripes, saying the producer, Jim Diamond, has no rights to the group's first two albums and is owed nothing. Diamond had argued that he played a role in creating the band's sound.

Missy Elliott follows in the footsteps of Eminem and 50 Cent as the latest hip hop superstar to bring their own life story to the big screen. Missy will play herself in the biopic, which has some star power behind it. The flick will be produced by Robert De Niro.

Cristal, the champagne that has been name-checked in songs by rappers like Lil' Kim, Snoop Dogg, Sean "Diddy" Combs and 50 Cent, no longer has a place on Jay-Z's table. The Def Jam Records president has announced that he would be boycotting the beverage, both at home and at his chain of nightclubs, due to comments made by a Cristal executive that he found offensive.

Ozzfest organizers have announced the addition of the Brothers Grim Sideshow to this summer's tour. Dubbed "the world's greatest collection of human oddities," the sideshow will accompany only nine dates of the tour.

Gabba Gabba Hey! A Punk-Rock Musical will open in London on July 31st. The show was inspired by the songs of the Ramones.

OzzFest, scheduled to play on Friday, July 14, 2006 at Float Rite Park Amphitheatre in Somerset, WI. has cancelled that engagement. Poor advance ticket sales were given as the reason for cancellation and a new date is not planed at this time.

Brad Pitt has won the rights to a zombie horror film, a battle he was going against Leonardo DiCaprio for production rights. Pitt (for his Plan B Productions) and DiCaprio (for Appian Way productions) were fighting over the rights to World War Z, an upcoming zombie horror book written by Max Brooks.

Tom Petty is running down a deal. The singer has signed a new recording contract with renowned producer Rick Rubin's American Recordings.

Beyonce was taken by surprise when she dined with some people she believed were fans who had won a meal with her in an eBay auction, but were actually representatives from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which, unbeknownst to Knowles, had placed the winning bid on the dinner date.

Katherine Heigl is engaged to musician Josh Kelley. The Grey's Anatomy star and her fiance have not set a wedding date.