Entertaining Posts

Monday, August 29, 2011

"Lost" star Matthew Fox accused of assaulting bus driver

By Kim Palmer

CLEVELAND | Mon Aug 29, 2011 7:13pm EDT

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Matthew Fox, the star of the TV shows "Lost" and "Party of Five," was detained here over the weekend by police investigating reports he had assaulted the female driver of a party bus.

Fox, who is in Cleveland filming an adaptation of the James Patterson novel "I, Alex Cross," allegedly attempted to board the bus early Sunday morning along with the members of the bachelor party that had rented the vehicle.

Heather Bormann, 29, was driving the bus and says she "confronted" Fox as he attempted to get on with the other passengers.

Bormann told Reuters she didn't recognize Fox, 45, as a member of the group or as a famous actor and warned him three times to get away from the door.

"I told him he was trespassing," she said. "He never once said anything. He just looked at me with his mouth open -- then he leaned in and started swinging on me."

Bormann told police Fox hit her in the chest and stomach before she hit him back to defend herself. She said it took three men to pull Fox away from her and that an off-duty police officer detained him until the police came.

Fox was put in a patrol car by police but was eventually released to "a friend" and took a taxi to his hotel, according to the police report.

Bormann said one of the officers asked her if she knew "who he is?" She said she responded, "Yeah, the guy who assaulted me."

Bormann, a single mother of three, said nothing like this has happened to her before, and that she has a strained wrist and plans to file assault charges on Tuesday.

"I don't care that he is a celebrity," Bormann said. "Assault is against the law."

Efforts to contact Fox at the hotel where he was believed to be staying were unsuccessful.

(Editing by James B. Kelleher and Jerry Norton)

Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter IV" falls short with critics

By Sabrina Ford

NEW YORK | Mon Aug 29, 2011 7:12pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Rapper Lil Wayne released his newest album, "Tha Carter IV," just after midnight on Monday to huge media hype following MTV's Video Music Awards, but early reactions show the record falling short of high expectations from fans and critics.

After several delays, "Tha Carter IV," hit digital music retailers at midnight, almost immediately following Lil Wayne's rowdy, rocked-out performance at VMAs.

The MTV honors show, where trophies are handed out in categories for best video among others, annually draws top stars in music and is a key promotional stop for singers trying to boost sales. Sunday's show drew a record 12.4 million viewers to the network, up from 11.4 million last year.

Fans watched Beyonce reveal she was pregnant with her first child, Lady Gaga dressed in male drag, Jay-Z and Kanye West perform a song from their new record "Watch the Throne," and the late singer Amy Winehouse remembered in a moving tribute.

Wayne closed out the show with his top 10 hit "How to Love," which with Weezy's crooning vocal, sounds as much R&B as hip-hop, and he performed "John," remixed over Black Sabbath's rock tune "Iron Man."

The crowd went crazy, and the show likely was a key factor in helping lift the album's 19-track deluxe edition, featuring an exclusive bonus track, to a fast start at No. 1 on iTunes.

Wayne's label mate and protege Nicki Minaj tweeted her support with a simple, "Buy the Carter IV."

Veteran rapper Busta Rhymes, who is featured on the album, was in a more celebratory mood tweeting that Wayne had "smashed the Vma's KRAZZZZYYYYYY!!!" Adding, "By the way CARTER 4

AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE RIGHT NOW!!!"

Critics, however, were not so enthusiastic.

HARD TO TOP 'CARTER III'

"Tha Carter IV" is the ninth studio album from the New Orleans rapper born Dwayne Carter, but the fourth in his career-defining Carter series.

Wayne, aka Weezy, released two albums last year, "I Am Not a Human Being" and his rock experiment, "Rebirth." Neither album came close to the first-week sales of 1 million copies for 2008's "Tha Carter III" whether due to a break from formula or to Wayne's being unavailable to promote the records while serving an 8-month stint for a weapons charge.

Billboard.com wrote that Wayne's most recent effort may have had unrealistically high expectations, saying in its review that "Tha Carter IV" "is not a bad album," but adding that it may be "may be more easily digested and supported by those largely unfamiliar with Weezy's antics and unaware of his previous highs (pun intended)."

Rollingstone.com gave the album a respectable 3-1/2 out of 5 stars but admitted, "Weezy doesn't have the same speed-demon intensity he had five years ago."

In its review, HiphopDX.com noted that more attention was being paid to a new lyrical jab Lil Wayne took at rap impresario and music mogul Jay-Z, who was a featured guest on "Tha Carter III," than on the album's music.

"The fact that most of us have spent a week debating what the fallout will be from Wayne's Jay-Z diss on "It's Good," instead of the album's wins, was probably a bad omen," HiphopDX.com wrote.

And a comical trending topic emerged on Twitter Monday with the hash tag, ThingsBetterThanTheCarterIV. The answers offered ranged from a colonoscopy to "Watch the Throne."

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Chaz Bono, Ryan O'Neal said to be among "Dancing" cast

LOS ANGELES | Mon Aug 29, 2011 4:06pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Chaz Bono, actor Ryan O'Neal, celebrity legal commentator Nancy Grace and one of the Kardashians are expected to be among the celebrities taking part in the new season of "Dancing with the Stars."

The cast for the new season of the ABC television show is due to be announced on Monday evening. But according to an apparent leak on Twitter, Rob Kardashian, 24 -- the brother of reality TV stars Kim, Kourtney and Khloe -- will be one of those putting on his dance shoes.

Kim Kardashian, the most famous of the siblings, competed on "Dancing with the Stars" in 2008 but disappointed with an 11th place finish.

Chaz Bono, the only child of singers Cher and Sonny Bono, recently underwent a female-to-male sex change which was chronicled in the TV documentary "Finding Chaz".

According to the tweet posted by DWTSGossip, the other contestants will include George Clooney's ex-girlfriend Elisabetta Canalis, actor David Arquette -- the estranged husband of Courteney Cox -- former "The Hills" cast member Kristin Cavallari, former talk show host Ricki Lake, singer and actress Chynna Phillips, Iraq war veteran and actor J.R. Martinez and basketball player Ron Artest.

The celebrity cast will be officially announced on Monday during the ABC reality show "Bachelor Pad." The new season begins on September19.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant: Editing by Alex Dobuzinskis)

Sunday, August 28, 2011

MTV video awards honor Britney Spears, Katy Perry

By Bob Tourtellotte

LOS ANGELES | Sun Aug 28, 2011 10:28pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pop star Lady Gaga opened the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday dressed in drag and singing her "You and I" while Britney Spears and Katy Perry took awards, but it may be Beyonce who stole the show.

The R&B singer whose hits include "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" appeared visibly pregnant as she showed up on the red carpet outside the show, posing for photographers and outlining a baby bump with her hands under her long gown.

Beyonce, who is married to rapper Jay-Z, avoided reporters waiting to ask whether she is pregnant. For years, her fans and the media have speculated whether and when the pair might have a baby.

Lady Gaga, who showed up last year at the MTV video awards in a dress made of raw meat, did an about face this year, opening the program in a man's dark suit and T-shirt as her male alter ego, Joe Calderon who gave the audience a lecture in just who Gaga is -- high heels, wild hair and crazy costumes.

"When she gets on stage, she holds nothing back," Calderon said.

Lady Gaga then launched into a version of "You and I," backed by a group of dancers and legendary rock guitarist Brian May of Queen. She danced on her piano and spewed beer from a bottle into the air in celebration.

The MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) annually give out honors for the top music videos and performances to singers and bands, and each year, audiences can count on at least one surprise.

Beyonce's picture-perfect baby news will likely be this year's unexpected event.

EARLY WINNERS

But awards are the focus of the night and the first winner was Spears for best pop music video "Till the World Ends."

The pop star took the stage and seemed surprised, saying she hadn't expected to win and thanking her family and fans.

Along with Spears, Foo Fighters picked up an early honor for best rock video with "Walk," and Nicki Minaj picked up the "Moonman" winner's statuette for her "Super Bass." Katy Perry and Kanye West were named best collaboration with "E.T."

Another major award still to come is best new artist, and Tyler, The Creator figures prominently in that race, too, alongside Wiz Khalifa with "Black and Yellow," Kreayshawn for "Gucci Gucci," Foster the People with "Pumped Up Kicks," and Big Sean (featuring Chris Brown) for "My Last."

British singer Adele with her chart-topping song "Rolling in the Deep" is vying for the top award, video of the year, against Katy Perry ("Firework"), Bruno Mars ("Grenade"), the Beastie Boys ("Make Some Noise") and Tyler, The Creator ("Yonkers").

Early performances included a duet by Jay-Z and Kanye West, singing a song from their new album, "Watch the Throne."

Other singers still to come include Lil Wayne, and there will be special tributes to Britney Spears and late soul singer Amy Winehouse.

(Additional reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Paul Simao)

Beyonce shows off baby bump at MTV video awards

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