Thursday, March 11, 2010

Lady Antebellum is number 1



Six new albums entered the Billboard Top 10 this week, but none could best the two titles that have dominated the chart for the last five weeks. Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now” (Capitol Nashville), which was released in February and spent its first two weeks at No. 1, returned to the peak position with 126,000 copies sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Sade’s “Soldier of Love” (Epic), the top seller for the last three weeks, fell to No. 2 with 79,000. Landing in the No. 3 spot, with 71,000 copies sold, is “Hillbilly Bone” (Warner Brothers Nashville), the new album from Blake Shelton, above. “My Best Days” (RCA Nashville), the debut album by Danny Gokey, a finalist on “American Idol” last year, opened at fourth place with 65,000. “Almost Alice” (Buena Vista), a collection of new songs by Avril Lavigne, Owl City and others that were inspired by Tim Burton’s new film, “Alice in Wonderland,” is No. 5 with 58,000 copies sold.

Eastwood to Take on the FBI



Oscar-winning director Clint Eastwood has found his next subject: legendary FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Eastwood is teaming with Imagine Entertainment's Brian Grazer ('A Beautiful Mind') to develop a biopic about Hoover, who helped co-found the FBI in 1935 and served as its head until his death in 1972. Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black ('Milk') will pen the script.

The film, which was originally being developed at Universal Studios, will mark a speedy return to the non-fiction genre for Eastwood, who recently captured Morgan Freeman's Oscar-nominated portrayal of Nelson Mandela in 2009's 'Invictus.'

But while that film focused on a single event in Mandela's long life, the Hoover biopic would presumably cover the FBI head's long and storied career, which included mafia manhunts in the '30s, persecution of suspected left wingers during the McCarthy era and his seemingly paranoid targeting of pop stars such as Elvis, John Lennon and James Brown at the end of his tenure.

Considering that, like Hoover himself, Eastwood was a strong supporter of Nixon at that time, we think Hoover would have approved of the choice of the director to tell his story. Then again, Hoover never saw 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.'

Eastwood's next project, 'Hereafter,' starring Matt Damon, is tentatively set to debut later this year.

Betty White to host ‘SNL’ on May 8



It's official: Betty White will host NBC's "Saturday Night Live" on May 8, WNBC News announced Thursday morning.

Besides featuring the Golden Girl, who was the subject of a Facebook campaign to get her the gig, the special Mother's Day episode will also reunite six former female "SNL" cast members, most of whom happen to be moms: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Molly Shannon, Maya Rudolph, Ana Gasteyer and Rachel Dratch.

The show's creator-producer, Lorne Michaels, tells USA Today that the Facebook campaign, which kicked in after White's Super Bowl commercial for Snickers, "took on a groundswell. [White as the host] isn't something we would have said no to, [but the campaign] validated that, 'Oh, that'd be fun' ... It was the outpouring of affection from fans, and we feel the same way."

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Mario Lopez: I'm Going to Be a Dad!



Mario Lopez is now a frontrunner for a new title: sexiest father alive. The Extra host's girlfriend is expecting their first child in the fall.

"I'm really excited. I'm happy. I can't wait to be a dad," Lopez tells PEOPLE.

Lopez, 36, and his girlfriend, actress Courtney Mazza, 28, met in 2008 when Lopez starred in A Chorus Line on Broadway.

So is the former Dancing with the Stars competitor – and longtime playboy – ready for diaper duty?

"Of course," Lopez says. "I grew up in a large family. I'm fired up! I don't know what we're having. I'm going to wait to see [the baby's gender] so it will be a surprise."

Lopez is also the host of MTV's America's Best Dance Crew.

Eric Dane & Rebecca Gayheart's Baby Name Revealed!



Eric Dane and Rebecca Gayheart spent a bit of private time getting to know their newborn daughter before revealing the little one's name.

Now they tell PEOPLE exclusively their bundle of joy is Billie Beatrice.

The Grey's Anatomy star, 37, and Gayheart, 38, welcomed their daughter earlier this month.

Dane previously said his wife wanted to "wait to see [the baby]" before picking a name. "You want to make sure that the name sticks."

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Rapper DMX arrested for violating probation



Troubled rapper DMX was arrested in Arizona on Tuesday for violating his probation by regularly using illegal drugs during the last nine months, authorities said.

The rapper, whose real name is Earl Simmons, told a probation officer that he used cocaine and was not complying with the terms of his treatment plan, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio told Reuters.

He faces five counts of violating probation.

Rumor: Rihanna Meets Matt Kemp's Family



The relationship between Rihanna and Matt Kemp hasn't even been officially confirmed, but there's a rumor going around that the "Russian Roulette" singer flew back to the US from Germany this weekend, just to go to Matt’s Ante Up for Autism charity fundraiser. While there, she apparently met all of his friends and family. Hm.

A source told E! Online: "Matt was happy she came. It was an awesome show of support. Rihanna fit right in as if they all knew each other. It was comfortable."

The L.A. Dodgers baseball star, whose brother is autistic, recently surprised Rihanna by throwing her a 22nd birthday party. A source said: "It was so sweet and she was really surprised. She looked just beautiful."

Matt organised Caribbean food to be served to Barbados-born Rihanna and also reportedly bought her a custom-made diamond necklace. The party was extra-special for Rihanna as she cancelled her 21st birthday celebrations last year in the aftermath of her assault at the hands of then-boyfriend Chris Brown early in February 2009. The source added: "Matt really wanted to do something nice for Rihanna this year since she didn't have much of a 21st birthday last year. It was just her closest friends, good Jamaican food, a photo booth, dancing and a nice cake."

Matt, 25, has been linked to Rihanna since they were seen holidaying together in Mexico in January, but he has played down romance rumours. He said: "Rihanna is just a friend, a good friend of mine. We went down to Mexico and had fun together."