At The Movies

Up
Carl Fredricksen (Ed Asner) spent his entire life dreaming of exploring the globe and experiencing life to its fullest. But at age 78, life seems to have passed him by, until a twist of fate (and a persistent 8 year old Junior Wilderness Explorer named Russell) gives him a new lease on life. With Monsters, Inc., director Pete Docter at the helm and Finding Nemo co-writer Bob Peterson contributing the script, this comic fantasy is a shoo-in to be Pixar's 10th straight hit.

On DVD

Powder Blue
A mosaic of people desperately search for redemption, human connection, and restored faith within the underbelly of Los Angeles. On the eve of Christmas, four lives will cross paths by past guilt, chance, coincidence, and divine intervention. And when morning shed's light, their lives will have been woven together by a miracle where death is the inevitable hope and love is why we choose to live. This movie with a strong all star cast saw only limited release.

The Buzz..

Kiefer Sutherland and the fashion designer he's accused of head butting at a Manhattan night club have resolved their differences, clearing the way for the charges to be dropped. Sutherland and Jack McCollough issued a brief joint statement to The Associated Press through Sutherland's attorney. "I am sorry about what happened that night and sincerely regret that Mr. McCollough was injured," Sutherland said in the statement.

Despite a Friday release that gave them only three sales days to qualify for their spot on the new Billboard album chart, Green Day still managed to land the top position. 21st Century Breakdown will debut at number one on sales of 215,000 copies. The accomplishment was made even more impressive by the fact that Wal-Mart stores are refusing to carry the album because it has a parental warning sticker, and the band refused to release an edited version that the chain would accept.

Zach Braff has signed to direct, rewrite and co-star in Swingles for Paramount Pictures. Braff's acting role will be a supporting one. Cameron Diaz is attached as the female lead; the male lead has yet to be cast. The film centers on a bachelor who is dumped by his wingman and teams up with a sharp tongued woman he can't stand in order to meet singles.

Hollywood mogul Robert Evans and ITV will be producing a feature film version of the 1970's British TV series UFO. Created by Gerry Anderson, the show was set in 1980 and revolves around Shado (Supreme Headquarters Alien Defense Organization), a covert military organization that thwarts an alien race that has been kidnapping and killing humans for decades, then using human body parts. Shado headquarters is hidden beneath a Hollywood studio, and the studio mogul is actually the Shado commander.

Gabrielle Union is going after the Atlanta based gossip site ezoox.com for posting an anonymous letter about her alleged sexual exploits. The site claims they received the letter from an NBA player's wife and decided to print it due to it's "realness." But Union is calling the entire letter a lie. Her lawyers have told the site to remove the letter, print a retraction, and issue an apology to Union.

Dreamworks and Steven Spielberg have gained full access to the rights of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. but Variety reports that legal action may stop the studio's access to Dr. King's life. Bernice King and Martin Luther King III have reportedly been battling brother Dexter King, who is chairman CEO of the King Estate, over who controls the personal papers of their late mother, Coretta Scott King. Dreamworks insiders stated that they do not believe the legal battle will hinder development on the project, which is currently out to writers.

As the line up to accuse Coldplay of plagiarism snakes around the block, the band’s frontman has come out and admitted that the accusations are actually helping him write better songs. On the Coldplay website, Chris Martin posted a note saying, "Some people are suing us at the moment and although it was initially a bit depressing, now it's become really inspiring." Following allegations by alt-rockers Creaky Boards, guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani and folk singer Yusuf Islam (formerly known as Cat Stevens), Martin feels the negative attention has helped make his songwriting stronger.

T.I. played his last show in Atlanta Sunday night before heading to prison for one year. The rap star told the crowd of about sixteen thousand that he hoped everyone learned from his mistakes. He also addressed his situation saying, "I'm going to stand up tall, head up high. Thank you for all of your support."

Nelly Furtado officially launched her new record label in Toronto over the weekend. Nelly was in the city to celebrate her new label Nelstar as well as the first act she signed, electro band Fritz Helder and the Phantoms.

Looking to get even darker and more brooding than his role as Jaspar Hale in the Twilight movies, Jackson Rathbone has signed on to star as one of black metal’s biggest villains. The quiet heartthrob will portray the infamous Varg Vikernes (nickname Count Grishnackh), the one-man leader of black metal outfit Burzum. Based on the non-fiction book by Michael Moynihan and Didrik Soderlind, Lords of Chaos will follow the Norwegian black metal scene’s infamous story and the gruesome murders and church burnings that occurred in Norway throughout the 1990s. Vikernes was just recently released from prison, where he served 16 years for murdering Mayhem guitarist Oystein Aarseth (aka Euronymous) and setting fire to three churches.

The impending divorce between Kelis and Nas is getting even uglier. Nas, one of the most influential and successful rappers in the game, has reportedly asked a court to deny his wife spousal support in their split. Kelis is pregnant with the rapper's baby, which is due in July. While no word has been given on what caused the break-up, Kelis cited "irreconcilable differences" when she filed for divorce. Rumours are circulating that she believes he was cheating on her.

According to AllHipHop.com, Swizz Beatz (aka Kasseem Dean) has requested a gag order on his wife, R&B singer Mashonda, as they go through divorce proceedings. The couple split last year after reports circulated that Swizz was involved in a steamy affair with Alicia Keys. Though he denied it at the time, the producer has since come out and confirmed that he and the R&B songstress are involved.

Twitter, the Web site that asks what everybody's doing, says it wants to be doing a TV series. The social networking service says it has teamed with Reveille productions and Brillstein Entertainment Partners to develop an unscripted series based on the site, which invites 140 character postings from members around the world. The show would harness Twitter to put players on the trail of celebrities in an interactive, competitive format.

A former drummer for Billy Joel claims the Grammy Award winning singer of hits including Uptown Girl and Movin' Out has stiffed him out of royalties for years. Liberty DeVitto has filed a lawsuit in Manhattan's state Supreme Court demanding Joel pay him overdue royalties. The 58 year old says he was Joel's drummer from 1975 to 2005 and helped the piano man craft some of his biggest albums.

A couple sued a writer for the CBS show CSI, claiming two shady characters on the show were named after them in revenge for a real estate deal gone bad. Real estate agents Melinda and Scott Tamkin sued writer and producer Sarah Goldfinger for defamation and invasion of privacy. They are seeking $6 million in damages, alleging the show hurt their real estate business.