DeGraw goes back to basics, becomes "Free"

Singer Gavin DeGraw (left, pouring alcohol for me) is set to release his third album, Free. Scheduled for release on March 31st, DeGraw told the USA Today that recording the album reminded him why he started playing music.

"It was a pleasure to make an album with understated production where the featured element was the content," the 32-year-old singer told the newspaper.

In support of the album, DeGraw will be touring in the Spring as part of the "Where it Began" tour. It kicks off in Portland, Oregon. For a complete list of tour dates check out his official website.

Lindsay will be having pleasant dreams

In one of the weirdest rumors to have gone around in awhile this week talk popped up that Lindsay Lohan had been cast in the new Nightmare on Elm Street remake (reboot?) that Platinum Dunes is currently developing.

Why is this so weird?

First, there has been almost no public discussion about what is going on with the development of the film. It was just recently announced that music video director Sam Bayer would be helming the film.

Other than this report from Reuters, nothing else has been leaked as the script is not fully complete. In the report however, it said this entry in the series will "feature a strong element from the first film."

Second, Lohan has created a predicament for herself where she is basically unemployable right now. As if the whole drug and rehab probably wasn't it bad enough, there were the string of bombs she had and the diva behavior last fall that resulted in her being booted early from a guest stint on Ugly Betty.

Granted, this would probably be a smart move for her. But the chances of them giving her a role are pretty minimal.

Devil Wears Prada star Emily Blunt (left) and Jason Segel have both been offered roles in a remake of Gulliver's Travels.

No word on whether either of the actors have signed on to the film yet. The film is going to be directed by Rob Letterman.

Let's just hope that the tall Segel doesn't play one of the little people. That could be bad...

Check Him out: Val Emmich

You may have seen Val Emmich on 30 Rock (in the amazing "Cougars" episode, where he was Jamie the 20something Liz dated) and Ugly Betty, but he has been making music for 7 years. I only got into him about a year and a half ago -- just before the 30 Rock episode.

Check on the short webisode for his last CD. "Too Far" is one of the best songs on the album.

Friday the 13th -- the long and short

The short of it: Friday the 13th is back in all of its 80s slasher flick glory. Filmmakers take an interesting approach by working it into the already existing series, but that creates problems because keeping with the old Jason makes Voorhees remain unscary. This leaves director Marcus Nispel with gotcha moments and a few gory scenes to tide fans over. On the plus side, Jason learns how to run for this outing. With a young, pretty cast and some cool moments, Friday is like a meal that fills you up but doesn't satisfy.

The long of it: to read my full review of the film, click here

Buzz Factor (out of 5): 2.5

Photo by: John P. Johnson. Courtesy of New Line Cinema and Paramount Pictures

Beat the Blogger...

With Valentine's Day and President's Day both falling on the same weekend expect to see movie theaters packed. That's good news for the three new movies opening, as well as hold over He's Just Not That Into You.

The biggest one coming out, and sure to dominate the competition, is the Friday the 13th reboot. Expect that to lock up the top spot with around $30 million. Second and third place will belong to the ladies. HJNTIY and Confessions of a Shopaholic will run neck and neck with both doing around $20 million. Me thinks Confessions should take numero dos though, if for nothing else it is younger skewing and the kiddies have off from school on Monday and not all professionals do.

Clive Owen and Naomi Watts will land in fourth as The International will do just under $15 million. This should take the steam out of Taken, which will round out the top five.

Agree? Disagree? Post your predictions in the comments section

Despite appearing in last night's American Idol show and being told that she would be moving onto the Top 36 next week, contestant Joanna Pacitti was disqualified from the competition last night.

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that the boot was given to "avoid the appearance of impropriety." The article goes on to talk about the reasons behind it saying, "In the past week, tabloids had been reporting on a private relationship between Pacitti and executives of 19 Management -- one of the companies which oversees Idol."

Blogs have also been abuzz with the fact that the Philadelphia native has previously had two record deals. Pacitti, 24, will be replaced by Felicia Burton.

Where is bikini girl when we need her???

Joaquin Phoenix does Letterman, doesn't promote much

Aspiring rapper Joaquin Phoenix appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman last night and things appear to only be getting stranger. The soon-to-be retired actor was on the show to promote his last film, Two Lovers, and gave one of the most peculiar interviews in recent memory. Phoenix spends most of the ten minute interview sitting quietly or giving short, simplistic answers. Things only get worse when Letterman asks the actor about "his time with the Unabomber."

Check out what could be Phoenix's last interview as an actor -- if his retirement sticks.

Rumors have been going around for weeks that one of the stars from Heroes had asked to be released from their contract at the end of the season. No confirmations had been given as it has not yet been approved, but it has been narrowed down to either Ali Larter or Hayden Panettiere.

Well, it seems like it has been parred down even further as Panettiere recently spoke to Access Hollywood and said she knew nothing about it.

"I know nothing about that, so you got me. They are rumors," the actress told the gossip show.

H2 Poster Revealed

They said there wouldn't be a sequel.

But we are talking about the Weinstein's here, so it has to be taken for what it's worth. And proving that they are going back on their word is the releasing of the poster for the sequel to Rob Zombie's Halloween remake.

The film, which is currently in production, is being released on August 28th. Picking up moments after the last one ended, like the original sequel did, it's assumed that this one might also involve some action taking place in the hospital as the aftermath from his rampage unfolds.

Returning for the sequel are Sheri Moon Zombie, Danielle Harris, Daeg Faerch and Scout Taylor-Compton. They are joined by Chris Hardwick and Matt Bush.

The trailer for Quentin Tarantino's new film, Inglorious Basterds, has hit the net. The film stars Brad Pitt, B.J. Novak (from The Office) and director Eli Roth. Check it out above and leave a comment with your thoughts on the mustache Pitt sports and what you think about the film.

One Housewive is Desperate for an exit

Looks like exits could be an epidemic over at ABC. Rumors are circulating at Grey's Anatomy about cast changes but nothing has been confirmed. ABC is much more forthcoming about the exit coming to Desperate Housewives.

E! Online's Awful Truth is exclusively reporting that resident bad girl Nicollette Sheridan is heading off of Wisteria Lane. The script with her exit has just been circulated and the details sound quite salacious. To find out check out below for the SPOILERS.

About leaving, Sheridan's rep told E!, "Nicollette had a great time on the show and is looking forward to her next project."

SPOILER ALERT
It looks like Sheridan's Edie could be joining the Desperate Housewives graveyard. From the report they say that Edie finds out her husband, the mysterious Dave, plans to kill her. He doesn't kill her -- she is able to escape -- but gets into an accident outside the house that sounds kind of gruesome.

Hoping to Make Some Green Today

Green Day has released the cover art for their new album, which is scheduled to be released in May. The album, entitled 21st Century Breakdown, is the band's first album since the hugely popular American Idiot was released five years ago.

The first single should be making its way to radio in the upcoming weeks.

Now Comes the Fallout

With reports now seeming to confirm that the altercation on Sunday was between Chris Brown and (presumably now ex-girlfriend) Rihanna, the last day and a half has begun to show what the impact has done for the singer's career.

Rihanna, who reports say may be heading out of Hollywood for the time being to be with family in Barbatos, has cancelled her 21st birthday party in New York and postponed both a Malaysian concert and one in Indonesia.

The long term ramifications of what this will do to Brown's career are unknown as of yet. In the short term, here is a list of consequences that have begun to happen:

• Advertisements with Wrigley's and Got Milk? have both been pulled
• Cleveland radio station, WAKS, has pulled Brown's music from rotation pending an outcome. The move came after listener feedback.
• A scheduled performance at the NBA All-Star game has been scrapped.
• His appearance the NAACP awards is also doubtful
  

Photo Credit

Variety is reporting that Saturday Night Live alums Adam Sandler, David Spade, Rob Schneider and Chris Rock will all be teaming up for a new comedy written by Sandler. Also joining in on the fun is Sandler's I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry co-star Kevin James.

The film marks the first time all four of the alumni have appeared in the same film, though many of them have previously shared the screen together in various projects.

Directed by Dennis Dugan (You Don't Mess with the Zohan), the film centers on five guys who go to their high school reunion.

Grey's Pair Scrubbing Out

It sounds a little hard to believe, but Us Weekly is reporting that both Katherine Heigl and T.R. Knight will be leaving the Grey's Anatomy this season. Both actors have been vocal about their wish to move on to other things (has Knight actually done anything else since Grey's has been on??)

The magazine's source is none other than the actor's co-star on the on show. James Pickens Jr. told the magazine that the real life friends will be leaving.

When asked whether the actress was leaving his response was, "Yes, she is. Wherever Katherine goes, I wish her nothing but the best."

The actor was then asked about Knight, to which he said, "He's going too. He just wanted to pursue other career paths."

Now I don't want to call b.s., but to let both of them go at one time seems a bit strange (unless contracts expire at the end of the season). Also if it is true and Pickens went and blabbed, he'll surely be the next to go as Mamma Shonda Rimes hates letting things out before she is good and ready.

So take this one with a grain of salt until confirmation is given. However, E!'s Kristin Dos Santos is reporting that it is likely, but nothing has been officially decided and the network has yet to sign off on their leaving.

Disney + Dreamworks = Unstoppable?

It's official, the House of Mouse has agreed to distribute all live action films produced by Steven Spielberg's Dreamworks (sorry, no Shrek and Mickey Mouse team ups are included in the deal).

In an announcement the deal about six films per year will be released and Disney will be handling all distribution and marketing for the films.

About the deal, Dick Cook, chairman of Walt Disney studios said, "We're both thrilled and honored to be marketing and distributing all of DreamWorks' signature upcoming live-action motion pictures, and to begin a new relationship with such respected colleagues as Steven, Stacey, and their creative team at DreamWorks. Steven has made some of the biggest and most loved films of all-time, and continues to be one of the great icons of our industry. Stacey has an impeccable reputation and a phenomenal track record for making a wide variety of quality films. Their motion pictures will be the perfect complement to the already robust slate of Disney and Touchstone films being made by Oren Aviv and his team."

For Dreamworks' part, Spielberg said, "Disney is the birthplace of imagination and has always been as close to the worldwide audience as any company ever has. I am so pleased that industry leaders like Bob Iger and Dick Cook reached out to become our distribution partner. This is a major step forward for us and Reliance."

Nick Cannon takes a break from following Mimi around, gets job

There was a time when Nick Cannon was actually taken seriously (ok, semi-seriously) as an entertainer. He was an actor and musician.

All of that changed when he became Mr. Mariah Carey last year. Now the former star of All That has been seen more as arm candy on Mimi.

That could be changing now that news has broke that he is hosting (and judging) the upcoming edition of America's Got Talent, replacing Jerry Springer on the NBC summer staple.

It's not exactly a prestige gig, but then again he is also known by Mr. Mariah Carey more than his own name anymore. So...

More on the Rihanna-Chris Brown Incident

Chris Brown is now free on bail. More and more outlets are making the assumptions that Rihanna was indeed the victim with "visible injuries." Still there has been nothing officially confirmed or denied. Her rep is saying that she is "well."

The weirdest part of the story is this comment from the an officer who was there when Brown turned himself in. E! reports Sgt. Bridget Pickett as saying, "He was very professional and didn't appear to have injuries. He's a good looking young man."

UPDATE: Additionally, it has been announced what people may have already suspected; the Wrigley's gum commercial featuring the R&B singer has been pulled from the air.

Best Quote in a long time.

It's one thing to butter up your co-stars but in this quote from Mark Strong, given to The Telegraph, he almsot sounds like he is bashing his recently departed would be co-stars.

About the possibility of Cate Blanchett joining the film Nottingham as Maid Marian (a role recently vacated by Sienna Miller, supposedly because she would make Russell Crowe look to fat and old), Strong said, "I think Cate Blanchett is set to take the Maid Marian part. She is a wonderful actress and it would make it a much classier film if she was in it."

The Ridley Scott directed film is set for release next year.

Blink Reuniting

It's official the band members announced on the Grammy's tonight that they were getting back together. Apparently they have worked out their problems.

Just a side note, was it just me or was their interaction on the Grammys a little forced and awkward?

CBS goes into deep freeze

An interesting item has come out thanks to EW's Michael Ausiello that CBS has asked all of their inhouse actors to accept a pay freeze. This is network wide for all shows being produced by the network. Shows that aren't produced by the network (like Ghost Whisperer and Without a Trace.

According to the report if actors don't accept the freeze supporting actors will be cut from the shows. In the article, "If our lead doesn't accept the freeze, we will have no choice but to let one of our supporting actors go," says the exec. "There's no question that it's the second-tier actors who are most vulnerable."

To read the full article, go here.

Something's up at the Grammy's

So does something seem a little off on the Grammy's tonight? (and we aren't talking about Miley Cyrus' singing) Does it seem like they are trying to fill time and stretch things out?

Well that could be due to the fact that neither Rihanna or Chris Brown, both scheduled to perform, are in attendance tonight. E! has reported that Brown is being investigated for a domestic assault incident that occurred last night at around 12:30 a.m.

There is no comment from reps of the singers or the police department whether the incident involved Rihanna or not. In a statement, obtained by E!, it said that Brown and a companion were arguing in a car before stopping and getting out. After getting out of the car the altercation only escalated.

By the time police got to the scene Brown was no longer there. The victim had visible injuries.

Rihanna's publicist would only confirm that she was involved in a traffic incident, but said she was "fine."

UPDATE: Chris Brown has reportedly turned himself into police and is being held on $50,000 bail. Rihanna, on the otherhand, has reportedly checked into a hospital. Still no confirmation if she was the victim in the altercation.

Gossip Girl Spin-off Begins Casting

Rumors of a Gossip Girl spin-off have been going around for months and month with many of the scenarios being shot down. Well, officially there is more than talk: A casting choice has been made!

Krysten Ritter (Gilmore Girls, What Happens in Vegas) has been cast as Carol, the older sister to Lily Van Der Woodsen (played by Kelly Rutherford in the current show). Carol is an actress who has made a lifelong career of making bad decisions.

The actress was informed of her casting shortly before attending the premiere of her new film Confessions of a Shopaholic.

The spin-off is set to center around the sister's back in Lily's teenage years when she moved out to the West Coast in the 80s. Your first glimpse of the pair will be as part of the May 11 episode of GG.

No fears, there is already talk that Rufus Humphrey will eventually turn up in the new show.

Beat the Blogger Results

This weekend's box office was a bit of a surprise. The date night flick He's Just Not That Into You was proposed to do around $20 million, but opened much bigger at number 1 with $27 million dollars. It was followed by former top spot holder Taken, which had almost no drop off (just 17% percent) from last weekend.

Steve Martin's sequel Pink Panther 2 fell short of many expectations with just $12 million, about $8 million less than the original a few years ago.

The other pair of newbies this weekend included Coraline, which exceeded predictions to gross $16 million and end up at number 3. Push (poor Chris Evans hasn't been able to find a hit movie that doesn't include superheroes, and the prospects of him finding one are becoming more bleek) opened at number 6 hitting the prediction bulls eye with $10 million.

Dragging for a PG-13 Rating

Spiderman director Sam Raimi is returning to his horror movie roots with the upcoming film Drag Me to Hell. It turns out that the film, which is releasing on May 29th, is still being tinkered with to let the distributor figure out which is better -- a PG-13 rating or an R.

Bloody Disgusting reports that Rogue Pictures is currently test screening both versions of the film trying to figure out which one to release.

The film centers on a woman (Alison Lohman) who is on the receiving end of a supernatural curse and must get the help of a seer to break the curse. Justin Long and Jessica Lucas also star in the film.