Entertaining Posts: 04/19/11

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Charlie Sheen loses custody battle for kids: reports

LOS ANGELES | Tue Apr 19, 2011 5:54pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former "Two and A Half Men" star Charlie Sheen on Tuesday lost a bid to win sole custody of his young sons from ex-wife Brooke Mueller, celebrity news website TMZ.com reported.

Sheen and Mueller spent about two hours in a closed-door Los Angeles court hearing on who was best suited to care for two year-old Max and Bob.

But the judge in the case ruled that the custody order should remain unchanged, leaving Mueller as the primary carer for the boys, TMZ reported.

Sheen, 45, who was fired from the hit CBS TV comedy in March, and his third wife have both made repeated trips to rehab for drug and alcohol addiction.

But lawyers for Sheen had argued on Tuesday that Mueller, 33, has recently relapsed and was no longer fit to take care of the boys.

Mueller declined to comment after the hearing but winked at reporters and gave the thumbs-up sign, E! Online reported. Sheen left without speaking to reporters and headed for Washington D.C., where he is due to appear in his one-man "Violent Torpedo of Truth" show on Tuesday night.

Sheen and Mueller divorced earlier this year after the actor was convicted of assaulting her in a drunken argument in December 2009.

Mueller was awarded primary physical custody of the twins in the divorce settlement. Last month, she won a temporary restraining order against Sheen, and the two children were removed by police from the actor's home.

Sheen was fired for insulting producers of "Two and a Half Men" in a series of erratic, rambling interviews in March shortly after completing treatment, unusually at his home, following a 36-hour cocaine fueled party.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant, Editing by Christine Kearney)

Actor Jeff Bridges to release album in summer

LOS ANGELES | Tue Apr 19, 2011 5:48pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "The Dude" is becoming a rock star.

Jeff Bridges, who won an Oscar last year for playing a washed-up country legend in "Crazy Heart," will release his major-label debut album in the summer, Blue Note Records said Tuesday.

The actor collaborated on the project with producer T-Bone Burnett, who won an Oscar himself for co-writing the "Crazy Heart" song "The Weary Kind."

Bridges wrote some of the material and also covered compositions by the likes of Tom Waits and late "Crazy Heart" songwriter Stephen Bruton. Guest vocalists on the album include Rosanne Cash and Burnett's ex-wife Sam Phillips.

A statement for Blue Note, a jazz specialist owned by EMI Group, did not disclose the album's title or the names of any songs. A spokesman did not reply to a request for more information.

Burnett, friends with Bridges for more than 30 years, also compiled the soundtrack for the 1998 film "The Big Lebowski," in which Bridges played his iconic slacker role "The Dude."

Bridges previously released an album in 2000, called "Be Here Soon," collaborating on the independent project with Michael McDonald.

(Reporting by Dean Goodman; Editing by Jill Serjeant)

Charlie Sheen, ex-wife, battle for custody of sons

LOS ANGELES | Tue Apr 19, 2011 1:40pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former "Two and A Half Men" star Charlie Sheen and his ex-wife Brooke Mueller went to a Los Angeles court on Tuesday to battle over custody of their twin sons.

Sheen, 45, who was fired from the hit CBS TV comedy in March, is seeking sole custody of two year-old sons Max and Bob. The judge at Tuesday's hearing closed the session to the media.

Sheen and Mueller, his third wife, divorced earlier this year after the actor was convicted of assaulting Mueller in a drunken argument in December 2009.

They have both made repeated trips to rehab for drug and alcohol addiction.

Lawyers for Sheen are expected to argue that Mueller, 33, has relapsed and is no longer fit to take care of the boys.

Sheen was fired for insulting producers of "Two and a Half Men" in a series of erratic, rambling interviews in March shortly after entering treatment, unusually at his home, following a 36-hour cocaine fueled party.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant, editing by Christine Kearney)

Demi Lovato quits Disney TV show, talks of bulimia

LOS ANGELES | Tue Apr 19, 2011 1:22pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Teen star Demi Lovato is leaving her Disney Channel hit show "Sonny With a Chance", saying that returning after treatment for bulimia and cutting herself would not be healthy for her recovery.

Lovato, 18, who already has two hit albums, told People magazine she would focus on her music in the future.

"It made sense for me to go ahead and leave the show to focus on my music," the actress told People on Tuesday. "It's kind of sad for me that a chapter of my life has ended but there couldn't be a better time for me to move on."

"I don't think going back to 'Sonny' would be healthy for my recovery. Being in front of a camera would make me nervous," she added.

Lovato played a Wisconsin teen in "Sonny With a Chance" who lands a main role on her favorite TV show. The Disney Channel series debuted in 2009, and helped make Lovato one of the family friendly cable network's biggest international teen stars.

But she abruptly quit a concert tour with the Jonas Brothers last November and entered a three-month treatment program for emotional and physical issues.

The young star says in an television interview to be broadcast later this week that she developed an eating disorder at the age of eight that led to compulsive over-eating and bulimia, and then started cutting herself secretly at age 11.

"I was compulsively overeating when I was eight years old," she said. "So, I guess, for the past 10 years I've had a really unhealthy relationship with food," Lovato told "Good Morning America", according to excerpts released on Tuesday.

Lovato said she hid her cutting from her family.

"It was a way of expressing my own shame, of myself, on my own body," she said of her self-mutilation from age 11.

Lovato said her efforts to keep her emotions under control reached a boiling point on the tour last year for the Disney Channel musical "Camp Rock 2", and she struck out physically at one of her backup dancers.

"I was performing concerts on an empty stomach," she told "Good Morning America". "I was losing my voice from purging. I was self-medicating. I was not taking medication for depression, and I literally was so emotionally whacked out that I took it out on someone that meant a lot to me."

The TV interview is to be broadcast on Friday.

Disney Channel said in a statement that it supported Lovato.

"We respect Demi's decision to focus full-time on her music and not immediately return to her acting career. She is a talented young woman and our hearts are with her as she continues to take action to improve her health and bounce back from adversity," it said.

Disney Channel revamped "Sonny with a Chance" in Lovato's absence last year to focus on other members of the cast. It will start airing new episodes under the "So Random" title in June.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant, editing by Christine Kearney)