Entertaining Posts: 01/28/11

Friday, January 28, 2011

Charlie Sheen back in rehab, TV show on hold

By Jill Serjeant

LOS ANGELES | Fri Jan 28, 2011 8:18pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Two and A Half Men" actor Charlie Sheen checked into rehab again on Friday, causing production on his top-rated TV comedy to shut down for the second time in a year.

A day after being hospitalized following reports of a 36-hour drug and drink-fueled party at his home, Sheen, 45, "voluntarily entered an undisclosed rehabilitation center", his spokesman Stan Rosenfield said.

"He is most grateful to all who have expressed their concern," Rosenfield said, adding that Sheen had asked for privacy and that no additional information will be provided.

It is the actor's third stint in rehab in 12 months.

Broadcaster CBS, and Warner Bros. Television, which makes the show, said production on "Two and A Half Men" -- the No. 1-rated TV comedy in the United States -- was temporarily suspended as a result.

"We are profoundly concerned for his health and well-being, and support his decision," they said in a statement.

Sheen, the highest paid actor on U.S. television, was rushed to a hospital with severe abdominal pains on Thursday. He left that night and was earlier said to be planning a return to the set of his TV show next Tuesday. But those plans changed.

It was not clear on Friday how long Sheen would remain in rehab but a typical stay is 28 days. A Warner Bros. spokesman said 16 of the 24 scheduled episodes for the TV season ending in May 2011 had been taped, with 8 remaining to be filmed.

HOLLYWOOD BAD BOY

Sheen reportedly earns about $27.5 million a year for his role as a womanizing bachelor on "Two and A Half Men," which is seen by some 15 million viewers weekly.

The show is a huge source of revenue for Warner Bros. and CBS, the most-watched U.S. network, and it has remained popular despite the well-publicized incidents of increasingly bad behavior by Sheen.

Production on "Two and A Half Men" was suspended in February 2010 when Sheen checked into rehab in what was described as a "preventative measure".

The actor was again ordered to rehab last August after pleading guilty to attacking his wife in an alcohol-fueled argument the previous December. He also spent time in rehab in 1998 after being hospitalized for a drug overdose.

In October 2010, New York police found Sheen drunk in a trashed hotel room with a naked porn star. His spokesman said at the time he had an allergic reaction to medication.

In early January, media reports said he was partying hard in Las Vegas and came close to missing his show's set call.

Demi Lovato out of rehab, return to TV show uncertain

LOS ANGELES | Fri Jan 28, 2011 8:17pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Disney Channel teen star Demi Lovato has finished a three-month stay in rehab but has not yet decided when or whether to return work on her "Sonny With a Chance" TV show.

A source close to Lovato, 18, said the singer and actress returned to Los Angeles earlier this week.

Back in November, she had pulled out of a concert tour and entered a rehab facility to get treatment for what were described as "emotional and physical issues."

Lovato had fought eating disorders, was bullied at school, and had struggled with cutting in the past, her spokeswoman said at the time.

The future of her TV show "Sonny with a Chance", in which Lovato plays a comedy actress, was unclear on Friday.

For now she "will continue to focus first and foremost n her well-being," the source said.

A Disney Channel spokeswoman said that "Demi's management will inform us when she is able to return to work."

In Lovato's absence, writers on "Sonny with a Chance" have been working on sketches for "So Random" -- a show within a show on "Sonny". Disney Channel said that "So Random" was being developed as a full series and production started earlier this week.

Lovato got her break as the star of the 2008 Disney Channel movie "Camp Rock" and has since released two hit albums. She dated teen heart-throb Joe Jonas in 2010, and was on a Latin American tour with the Jonas Brothers before abruptly pulling out in November 2010.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Demi Lovato out of rehab, return to TV show uncertain

LOS ANGELES | Fri Jan 28, 2011 8:17pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Disney Channel teen star Demi Lovato has finished a three-month stay in rehab but has not yet decided when or whether to return work on her "Sonny With a Chance" TV show.

A source close to Lovato, 18, said the singer and actress returned to Los Angeles earlier this week.

Back in November, she had pulled out of a concert tour and entered a rehab facility to get treatment for what were described as "emotional and physical issues."

Lovato had fought eating disorders, was bullied at school, and had struggled with cutting in the past, her spokeswoman said at the time.

The future of her TV show "Sonny with a Chance", in which Lovato plays a comedy actress, was unclear on Friday.

For now she "will continue to focus first and foremost n her well-being," the source said.

A Disney Channel spokeswoman said that "Demi's management will inform us when she is able to return to work."

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Bruno Mars bounces Britney from No. 1 singles slot

By Gary Trust

Fri Jan 28, 2011 1:32am EST

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Bruno Mars returned to the No. 1 slot on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart Thursday, ending Britney Spears' one-week reign.

Mars' "Grenade" logged a third nonconsecutive week at the top, having alternated between Nos. 1 and 2 over the past six weeks. Spears' "Hold It Against Me" tumbled to No. 6, as a hefty 55% slide in download sales more than offset a gain in radio airplay.

Katy Perry's former No. 1 "Firework" rose one to No. 2, rapper Wiz Khalifa's "Black and Yellow" jumped two to No. 3, Enrique Iglesias' "Tonight (I'm Lovin' You)" rose two to No. 4, and Rihanna's "What's My Name?" slipped one to No. 5.

Kesha's "We R Who We R" held at No. 7, Pink's "Raise Your Glass" at No. 8, and the Black Eyed Peas' "The Time (Dirty Bit)" at No. 9. Singer/rapper Pitbull's "Hey Baby (Drop It to the Floor)" jumped 10 places to No. 10.

At No. 79, Zac Brown Band's "Colder Weather" led a list of three songs new to the Hot 100. James Blunt entered at No. 94 with "Stay the Night," and alternative/punk band Yellowcard took the last slot with "For You, and Your Denial."

Justin Bieber's "Never Say Never," featuring Jaden Smith, re-entered at No. 85 after peaking at No. 33 during the summer. The song is being reworked to radio as an accompanying single to Bieber's 3D documentary concert film of the same name opening in theaters February 11.

Charlie Sheen hospitalized after wild party

LOS ANGELES | Thu Jan 27, 2011 8:29pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Charlie Sheen, America's highest paid TV actor, was hospitalized with severe abdominal pains on Thursday after he reportedly laughed too hard at the television during a marathon party.

In the latest apparent instance of rabble-rousing that has threatened production of his CBS hit comedy "Two and A Half Men," Sheen was carried by stretcher to an ambulance early on Thursday morning.

Sheen's spokesman, Stan Rosenfield, told Reuters the actor has a long-standing hernia condition, although he was not sure if that was the direct cause of his latest hospitalization.

"All I know is, he was having severe abdominal pains and went to the hospital," he said.

But a friend of Sheen's told celebrity TV show "Extra" that the pains were the result of a hernia injury that worsened when the 45-year-old Hollywood bad boy laughed too hard at a television show. It was not known what the show was.

"I'm not dying", Sheen was said to have told his friend Steve Bordersen, according to "Extra."

Rosenfield said Sheen's father, "West Wing" actor Martin Sheen, and his mother, Janet Templeton, were at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Celebrity website TMZ.com said that actress Denise Richards, the second of Sheen's three former wives, was also at the hospital.

TMZ said emergency services were called to Sheen's Los Angeles-area house after a noisy party that had started late Tuesday.

TMZ said one of the guests claimed that a "briefcase full of cocaine" was delivered to the house at one point. Asked for comment, Rosenfield said, "I don't believe it." But he added he had no way of knowing since he was not present.

Sheen reportedly earns about $27.5 million for his starring role as a womanizing bachelor on "Two and a Half Men," the No. 1 comedy on U.S. television with some 15 million weekly viewers.

But his personal issues, including stints in rehab, an admitted penchant for porn stars and prostitutes, and a 2009 attack on his wife, have made as many headlines.

Sheen's "Two and A Half Men" co-star Jon Cryer told chat show host Conan O'Brien on Wednesday that he was never sure what to expect.

"It's always a little weird because ... the stuff you hear is just unbelievable. I mean like, I'm checking TMZ, as I do everyday, to know if I have to go to work at all," Cryer said.

Earlier this month, CBS executives said they were highly concerned about Sheen, but added that at work he behaved in a professional manner and that "Two and A Half Men" would continue.

Sheen was convicted in August for a Christmas Day 2009 attack on his third wife and was ordered to rehab.