At The Movies

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
At last the Hogwarts gang returns to theaters in the highly anticipated sixth installment of the Harry Potter movie franchise. In this dark, epic tale, Professor Dumbledore works with Harry (Daniel Radcliffe ) and with newcomer Professor Horace Slughorn to unravel the chilling mysteries behind Voldemort's immortality. All the while, the siren song of teenage romance works its magic on Harry and Ginny, as well as on Ron, who finds himself the unexpected object of more than one female's attentions.

On DVD

The Haunting in Connecticut
The astounding, well documented story of a family forced to relocate near a clinic where their son was being treated for cancer. Strained financially and emotionally, the family discovers their recently renovated home was a former mortuary with a dark history. After experiencing violent supernatural events both inside and out of the house, the family seeks the help of ghost hunters and the Catholic Church, which performs an exorcism.

The Buzz..

Jackie Chan has signed on to co-star opposite Jaden Smith in an upcoming remake of The Karate Kid. The action star will play the wise mentor role originated by Pat Morita in the 1984 film. In that movie, Morita's Mr. Miyagi made a young protege (Ralph Macchio) perform a series of seemingly mundane chores that subtly taught the kid karate. To reflect the movie's shift to a Chinese connection (as opposed to the original's Japanese), the movie has been retitled The Kung Fu Kid and the action moved from California to China.

The Simpsons is getting Super Sized to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its debut. Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) has been tapped to produce and direct a special about The Simpsons, which will air on Jan. 14, 20 years to the day after the show debuted as a weekly series. Spurlock will explore the cultural impact The Simpsons has had in its two decades on the air, both in the United States and around the world, and also examine how the Simpson family has seen the world in that time.

It appears that 32 year old Jon Gosselin has turned in 23 year old girlfriend Deanna Hummel for an even younger model, 22 year old Hailey Glassman. For those not completely up to speed on all the characters involved in the Jon and Kate Gosselin marital drama: Glassman is the daughter of the doctor who performed a charity tummy tuck on Kate following the birth of the couple's sextuplets. The Glassmans then became family friends of the Gosselins and apparently in Jon's case more than friends.

The Jackson Family was shot earlier this year to air in 2010. It follows Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Randy Jackson as they worked on a new album and planned a reunion tour; the plan was to air the pilot and see if ratings warranted additional episodes. Production wrapped well before Michael Jackson's death, and the network is now trying to figure out how to incorporate that fact into the show.

Neil Patrick Harris is now officially your host for the 61st annual Primetime Emmy Awards. Word that Harris was in talks to host the Emmys surfaced earlier this month, and CBS, which is airing the ceremony this year, and the Television Academy have now completed a deal with the How I Met Your Mother star.

Ryan Seacrest has inked a $45 million contract to continue with American Idol. 19 Entertainment will pay him $15 million per year for the next three seasons of American Idol, which triples his current salary. With Cowell and Seacrest secured, the producers can now focus on bringing back all three (or some combination) of the remaining judges.

Alex Zamm has come on board to direct a live action animated film based on the Hong Kong Phooey cartoon series. The 1970s cartoon series told of a police station janitor who is transformed into a dog with fighting abilities.

Ryan Reynolds, fresh off his success on X-Men Origins: Wolverine, has been cast as the Green Lantern in the upcoming Warner Bros. film adaptation of the DC comic book character. Reynolds reportedly beat out Bradley Cooper and Jared Leto for the coveted superhero role.

Lauren Conrad’s novel has landed #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list for the second week in a row. After leaving The Hills earlier this year, Conrad took many by surprise when she decided to abandon her starring post on the reality show to become an author of all things. Lauren’s success proves her fame wasn’t limited to just a role on The Hills. The novel, L.A. Candy, is the first in a trilogy that details the story of Jane Roberts, a young woman who moves to L.A. to become part of a reality show.

Jay-Z is the richest hip-hop artist, according to Forbes magazine. Hova earned $35 million between June ’08 and June ’09. The dough largely came from his world tour and his ownership stake in the basketball team the New Jersey Nets. Kanye West, Diddy and 50 Cent follow closely behind.

Star Wars co-star Natalie Portman is storming back into action films with a role in the comic book adaptation Thor. The 28 year old Portman has been cast as Jane Foster, who was a nurse and first love of the title character in the Marvel Comics. According to Marvel Studios, the character is being updated for the movie version of Thor, in which the Norse warrior is cast down to Earth to live among humans.