Britney Spears X-Factor Appearance November 29

Britney Spears X-Factor Appearance November 29 – Britney Spears is set to perform on the British hit show called X-Factor on November 29th. The singer is also confirmed to perform on Good Morning America on the 2nd of December, which is her birthday and the launch of her album entitled ‘Circus’.

By musicfun.vox.com

MEGAN FOX: the most hot girl of the year

Is she or isn’t she hot?

Author Michael Crichton Has ‘Died Unexpectedly’

Copyright 2008 Fredrick M. Brown / Getty Images

Prolific novelist and “ER” creator Michael Crichton has passed away. He was 66.

Perhaps best known for being the author of Jurassic Park and its sequel The Lost World, which were turned into a hugely successful movie franchise, his numerous books have sold over 150 million copies worldwide.

In what his family calls an unexpected death, it was revealed that he was waging a private battle against cancer.

“While the world knew him as a great storyteller that challenged our preconceived notions about the world around us — and entertained us all while doing so — his wife Sherri, daughter Taylor, family and friends knew Michael Crichton as a devoted husband, loving father and generous friend who inspired each of us to strive to see the wonders of our world through new eyes,” his family tells ET. “He did this with a wry sense of humor that those who were privileged to know him personally will never forget.”

By etonline.com

Top 10 Best Actors Working Today

A truly gifted actor is an amazing thing to see in action. The good ones have the ability to make you forget where you are and what you’re doing by drawing you in and convincing you you’re in a different place seeing a drama unfold before your eyes. The great ones go even further beyond that and make you believe you’re looking at a totally different person. They take on the essence of different characters seemingly at will. Actors are a dime a dozen. Good actors are hard to find. Great actors are extremely rare, and when you find one, enjoy their work as much as you can.

Just as film themselves are subjective, to some degree so are the performances of actors who play in them. One actor may give a performance that truly hits home with a viewer… while the exact same performance may not move another viewer in the least. Having conceded that point, there are a handful of actors TODAY that I believe stand out above the rest of the crowd. Some of them may be jerks in real life, some of them may have little or no box office success, but when it comes down to pure acting ability and talent, I hold that these following names represent the best working in Hollywood today.

And so, for your consideration, I now present to you The Movie Blog’s Top 10 Best Actor’s Working Today list:

#10 – DON CHEADLE Another Boogie Nights Alumni. You know what, even if Cheadle hadn’t done any other movie in his career I’d still be tempted to put him on this list just for his incredible work in Hotel Rwanda. One of the few actors who can smoothly transition from drama to comedy and back again effortlessly. Crash, Oceans, Reign Over Me, and his performance in Traitor is one of the best I’ve ever seen in a bad film. This guy is going to be around for a very long time.

#9 – RALPH FIENNES Considering the career this guy has had already it’s a bit surprising that he only has 2 Oscar nominations so far (The English Patient and Schindler’s List). I hope with all my being that he gets a best supporting nomination this year for his performance in In Bruges which was just ridiculously fantastic. He (and his brother for that matter) kicks all sorts of ass. Shame all the kiddies will just grow up knowing him a Voldemort

#8 – CHIWETEL EJIOFOR The most shocking thing to me about the movie Serenity wasn’t how badly it bombed at the box office, but rather the almost completely ignored villain in the movie “the operative”. Ejiofor gave us one of the absolute best screen villains in ages, and yet no one, even those who saw and liked Serenity, talked about him. Well I noticed him, and since then every single performance he’s given has been nothing short of exceptional. Talk To Me, Children Of Men, American Gangster and he’s just getting started.

#7 – BRAD PITT For years this guy got absolutely no respect as an actor because we were all sick of seeing his face all over the teen heart throb magazines in the grocery store. Well, as it turns out, the man just happens to be one of the best actors alive too. His defining role to me was in Twelve Monkeys, which is still one of the most incredible performances in a supporting role I’ve ever seen in a movie, but he’s also showed great diversity as well from action, to comedy to drama. Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Se7en, Fight Club, Seven Years In Tibet, Snatch, Assassination of Jesse James… and now people are already talking Oscar for his upcoming The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

#6 – SEAN PENN There are those out there who will disparage Sean Penn as an actor simply because they don’t like his politics and the fact that he’s so vocal about it. Fact of the matter is though that he’s a four time Oscar nominee (Dead Man Walking, Sweet And Lowdown, I Am Sam, Mystic River) and winning once for Mystic River. Clint Eastwood once said “There just isn’t anyone better”.

#5 – WILLIAM HURT I know he’s not the “cool” thing anymore, but for my money William Hurt is STILL one of the very best damn actors out there today. LIke Sean Penn, 4 Oscar nominations to his credit with one win (Kiss Of The Spider Woman *win*, Children of a Lesser God, Broadcast News, A History of Violence) and I personally thought he was totally robed of a nomination for his role in Mr. Brooks last year. This man, for decades now, just continues to bring it time after time after time. He doesn’t get the sexy high profile roles anymore, and that’s a damn shame because he continues to be one of the best in the business.

#4 – TOM HANKS Hanks is one of the only actors ever to win back to back Best Actor Oscars (Philadelphia, Forrest Gump), he was nominated 3 other time (Big, Saving Private Ryan, Cast Away) and arguably should have been nominated at least 5 other times (Road To Perdition, Catch Me If You Can, Charlie Wilson’s War, The Green Mile, Apollo 13). The man is an icon already and he’s only 52 years old.

#3 – LEONARDO DICAPRIO Much like Brad Pitt was, DiCaprio was a face most of us were sick of seeing plastered all over the little girls bedroom walls. His knock out performance in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape should have clued us into the fact that there was a remarkable developing talent behind the cover boy face. Now he’s sought after by all the top directors, has 3 Oscar Nominations under his belt (What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, The Aviator, Blood Diamond) and perhaps should have had a couple more for Catch Me If You Can and Gangs Of New York. Many many many more to come.

#2 – DANIEL DAY LEWIS Was there any doubt this guy would land in the top 3? Perhaps the most intense actor of our age and holder of the single best performance I think I’ve ever seen given by a male lead in a film with his portrayal of Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood last year. He’s also probably the most picky and selective actor in the business only choosing to do 1 film every few years (good for him, shame for us). 4 Oscar nominations with 2 wins (There Will Be Blood *win*, My Left Foot: The Story Of Christy Brown *win*, Gangs of New York, In The Name Of The Father) means he’s been nominated in about half of his last 9 films. Not a bad record don’t ya think?

#1 – RUSSELL CROWE He’s not the most bankable. He’s not the most likable. He’s not the most famous. He’s not the best looking. But hands down, no questions asked he is simply the single best actor in the world today. Don’t believe me? Name another actor who has played as many completely different types of characters and 100% knocked it out of the park each and every time? He’s never the same guy twice, always brings something totally unique to his roles and always does them near perfectly. There is simply no one better in the business. He is the cream of the crop and the best Hollywood has to offer. Gladiator, Mystery Alaska, L.A. Confidential, Cinderalla Man, Master and Commander, A Beautiful Mind, The Insider, 3:10 to Yuma, American Gangster. People get sick of him because he’s a jack ass, but jack ass or not, he’s the best of the best right now.

By themovieblog.com

The Top 10 Most Overrated Hot Girls

One of the great things about the world we live in is that it’s filled with beautiful women. Of course there are some women who are hotter than others…and then there are those girls who are hot, but totally overrated.

I’m talking about the ones the media goes crazy for: the ones who are photographed everywhere, talked about and who appear high on the “Top 100 Hottest” lists even though they’re mostly boring and not hugely talented. I’m not saying you wouldn’t hit it if you had the chance. Hey, you’d be crazy if you didn’t. What I’m saying is that we throw around the term hot way too much. These days it doesn’t take a lot for someone to be deemed hot.

Megan Fox is clearly someone who deserves the label “hot.” She has every right to be attached to that word, and it might as well be her middle name. She’s the type of girl who should be the litmus test for hotness. If you’re not at least as hot as Megan Fox, then you don’t deserve to be considered hot in the context of the celebrity world.

So here at the Top 10 Overrated Hot Girls (and how they compare to Megan Fox).

10. Amber Heard

Why People Think She’s Hot: Amber was the “it” girl over the summer. She played Seth Rogen’s girlfriend in Pineapple Express and was on the cover of Maxim magazine.

Why She’s Overrated: Yes the Maxim shots were hot, but there’s something generic and robotic about them. The girl looks like she’s been airbrushed within an inch of her life. She’s a decent actress but is she really one of the hottest female actresses of 2008. Maybe she is, or maybe she just has a great publicist. Plus, she reminds me of Heidi Montag.

Megan Fox Rating: 80% Megan Fox (Amber has a better rack)

9. Jennifer Garner

Why People Think She’s Hot: She kicked ass in Alias and was adorable in 13 Going On 30. She then started appearing on every magazine cover and hawking Neutrogena – a sure sign that people thought she was hot.

Why She’s Overrated: At best, Jennifer Garner is up there as the girl-next-door type. She is not a sex symbol. She’s always been a bit beefy looking, with broad shoulders and a square jaw. I’d be scared of her in a dark alley.

Megan Fox Rating: 70% Megan Fox

8. Mischa Barton

Why People Think She’s Hot: Teenaged boys and girls love Mischa because she used to be on The OC. Her mixed British and American accent is deemed classy and sophisticated. She started playing roles where she flashes some skin, hoping to become the next femme fatal.

Why She’s Overrated: Her accent is annoying. She’s annoying. She seems stuck-up and has bad posture. Bad posture is totally unsexy.

Megan Fox Rating: 60% Megan Fox (Mischa’s really not high on anyone’s radar lately)

The 10 Most Offensive Celebrity Racist Rants

Looking to ruin your career? Follow the misguided example of these 10 loose-lipped celebs.

10. Shaquille O’Neal – “Ching chong!”

In 2002, Shaq-Fu said, “Tell Yao Ming, ‘Ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-soh.’” Rough translation: “I’m insecure because you’ll be the center of attention in five years.”

9. John Wayne – “I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility.”

The Duke dropped this bomb in a 1971 interview with Playboy. Shocking considering that manifest destiny was a plot point in half of his films.

8. Ice Cube – “Stringy hair / no derrier / frontin’ and fakin’ with your silicone pair.”

Shocking words from the star of Are We There Yet?. Big Worm should’ve flattened Cube for his remarks about Korean-Americans (“Black Korea”) and white women (“Cave Bitch”).

7. Michael Jackson – “[Jewish people] suck…they’re like leeches.”

MJ took narcissistic conspiracy theories to another level when he accused Jewish people of plotting his financial downfall. Certainly, his ranch, legal bills and Invincible money pit had nothing to do with it.

6. Jimmy “the Greek” Snyder – “The black is a better athlete to begin with because he’s been bred to be that way.”

In January 1988, the sportscaster took a stab at genetics saying, “The black athlete was bred to be the better athlete.” As far as how many drinks he’d consumed that evening? We’ll take the over.

5. Jesse Jackson – “Hymietown.”

Rule #1 of politics: When you’re running for president, don’t insult an entire religion (Judaism) or a city of 7 million people (New York).

4. Fuzzy Zoeller – “Tell him not to serve fried chicken next year.”

Not sure if that “little boy” Tiger Woods served chicken and collards, or if he wore the green jacket at the Masters’ Champions Dinner. But it’s a safe bet that Zoeller rocked a white hood.

3. Axl Rose – “Immigrants and faggots / They make no sense to me.”

The lead singer of Guns N’ Roses won the Bigot Triple Crown with 1989’s “One in a Million”—xenophobia, homophobia and racism in less than four minutes.

2. Mel Gibson – “Fucking Jews… Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.”

Talk trash (about Jewish people), apologize, blame booze, seek “healing,” and go back to being one of Hollywood’s most sought after actor-directors.

1. Michael Richards – “Fifty years ago we’d have you upside down with a fucking fork up your ass!”

Talk trash (about African Americans), apologize, blame rage, seek “healing,” and go back to being a has-been.

Porn’s Pied Piper: Deep Throat Director Dies

Actress Linda Lovelace dressed as a nurse in the 1972 pornographic film Deep Throat.

Corbis

The movie had no-name stars — in fact, fake-name stars: Herb Streicher was going by Harry Reems, and Linda Boreman by Linda Lovelace. The writer-director, a Bronx hairdresser who’d never done a porno feature before, called himself Jerry Gerard. This was early 1972, and the people making hardcore sex movies considered themselves lucky to exhibit their wares legally, let alone have their real names on them. All “Gerard” had was a cute idea for a porno comedy, and a leading lady with a special talent. He also wanted to change the movie’s title, from The Sword Swallower. The producer objected that no one would understand the new title. “Don’t worry,” the director replied. “Deep Throat will become a household word.”

Every once in a while, an artist gets an inspiration that changes pop culture. Even if he’s a slop artist, and the inspiration is a movie about a woman with a clitoris in her throat. Such a one was Gerard Rocco Damiano, aka Jerry Gerard, who died this weekend in Fort Myers, Fla., at 80, from complications after a stroke. With Deep Throat and his second film, Devil in Miss Jones, Damiano launched the 1970s movie craze of porno chic.

Deep Throat — whose $25,000 budget was covered by Louis “Butchie” Peraino, the son of a made man in New York City’s Columbo mob family — went on to earn tens of millions of dollars. Maybe more: the 2005 documentary Inside Deep Throat puts the take at an extremely improbable $600 million. Anyway, it was quite a haul. One federal agent quoted a Peraino underling as saying of the Deep Throat take: “We’ve got so much money … we don’t even count it any more…. We weigh it.”

As important as the profits were to the Mafia boys, and to FBI sleuths tracking their loot, Deep Throat did more. Long before home video, it took the recently legalized porn films out of the gutter and into the mainstream. It was the Citizen Kane of porn. Because of Deep Throat, the hardcore movie became a must-see item for the glamorati, a topic for serious debate in newspapers and magazines (including TIME; see the 1973 article “Wonder Woman”) and a fun date for ordinary couples who’d never seen a sex movie.

For TV comics, Damiano’s film was a grail: a Buttofuoco- or Lewinsky-like solid laugh line. “This is kinda strange country, isn’t it?” asked Johnny Carson at the time when the movie was challenging Watergate as the topic du jour. “Judges can see Deep Throat but they can’t listen to those [Nixon] tapes.” Bob Hope said, “I went to see Deep Throat cause I’m fond of animal pictures. I thought it was about giraffes.” When Bob Hope makes a joke about your porno movie, you’ve arrived.

What was all the fuss about? An hour-long raunch fest that was part slapstick comedy, part carnal carnival: it’s a burlesque routine (Reems as a doctor, wisecracking like Groucho Marx) wrapped around a sideshow freak stunt (Lovelace’s bedroom trick of controlling her gag reflex so she could perform glottal fellatio — a glo-job). “You had to be there,” he said in Inside Deep Throat. “I’m thrilled that I was there. And I thank God I had a camera.” Damiano gave this movie the tone of a mildly bright comedy, with an underscoring full of broadly ironic pop music, including a version of Mickey and Sylvia’s “Love Is Strange” with naughtier lyrics. The movie, for which Lovelace was paid $1,200, and Reems $250, made both of them famous/notorious. Reems was found guilty of obscenity by a Memphis jury; the conviction was overturned on appeal.

Lovelace, who died at age 53 in 2002 after a car crash, later claimed she performed under duress, telling a 1986 Congressional committee that “virtually every time someone watches that movie, they’re watching me being raped.” (These claims were widely disputed.) But Damiano did his best to make his leading lady look good. He gave her an alliterative, movie-star name and devised costumes, lighting tricks and cagey camera angles to hide her abdominal scar, a memento from an earlier car wreck. Linda was no goddess, but neither was she your standard porno skank; she was slim and freckled, and her inexperience on screen played like freshness, innocence. Moreover, the movie itself had such an easygoing good nature that audiences could enjoy it without feeling dirty — more startled and amused.

The Deep Throat millions never got to Damiano — how does a director put muscle on the Mafia? — but it did allow him to pursue his dream of being a respected film auteur, though still in hardcore. Most directors with a left-field mega-hit would instantly crank out another picture in the same genre. Not Damiano. He used his cash, and cachet, from his silly porno comedy to make a super-serioso drama: Devil in Miss Jones. And this time under his own name. Reading the script, Reems told his friend: “Gerry, it’s a steal. This is No Exit in its thinnest disguise.” To which Damiano replied: “Well, what do you expect? I wrote it in a weekend.”

Georgina Spelvin (again, not her real name) plays Justine Jones, a lonely woman who slits her wrists in a bathtub. After dying a virgin, she tells a gatekeeper to eternity that she wants to live out her sexual urges, to be “filled, engulfed, consumed by lust.” She briefly gets that wish — which includes intimate contact with bananas and grapes, a snake and (Damiano’s favorite marital aid) a water tube. With plenty of boy/girl, girl/girl and orgy “action,” Devil still takes itself solemnly enough to risk being laughable. But heaven knows it’s intense, and an honorable attempt to blur the line between porn and “real” films. As for Spelvin, she isn’t a slut; she is a theater-trained actress giving her all for her art.

Damiano said that after the success of Deep Throat, “If people wanted to interview me because I was a porno filmmaker, I just was not interested in talking to them.” There had been gifted directors — Radley Metzger, Russ Meyer — making softcore in the ’60s, but Damiano had higher ambitions. He wanted to be Ingmar F—in’ Bergman.

He made a couple more ambitious porn films: the psychodrama ghost story Memories Within Miss Aggie (1974) and the dreamy, Marienbadesque The Story of Joanna (1975). But by then, porno was an industry, and it relied less on artistic pretension than on grinding out product. In the next 20 years, Damiano put his name on another three dozen or so hardcore movies, none of which made much of an impact. Like silent-film director D.W. Griffith in the talkie era, Damiano was a pioneer whom new trends left behind. According to the local News-Press, he “lived out his final years in Fort Myers quietly, enjoying theater, attending art openings, appearing at charitable events and reveling, especially, in the accomplishments of his two children….artist and filmmaker Gerard Jr., and performer, Christar, with whom he shared a vintage home.”

This maker of indecent films was, by all accounts, a decent man. “He was…always very charming and dapper and suave,” writes News-Press columnist Stephanie Davis, “always there with a kiss and a ‘Hello, Gorgeous.’” In a 2005 interview, Damiano described himself as “just a nice guy, which is why I think I did pretty well. I mean, I’d meet an actress and have to say, ‘Sit down, take your clothes off — I’m going to ask you to do some nasty things.’ You have to be pretty nice.” On his 80th birthday, adult-film stars flew in from around the country to surprise their old friend.

Sometimes it takes a smart softie to make a hardcore phenomenon.

By Richard Corliss

Michael Jackson upsets parents by moving opposite school

The star, 50, reportedly lives just metres from the school which takes pupils aged four to 13.

Jackson was cleared of child abuse in 2005 but, despite this, parents of the 600 children at the school have complained about his choice of residence.

One parent told The Sun newspaper: “Some parents say they don’t want their children near Jackson.

“They say he can see the kids getting on the school bus from his house.”

Jackson moved back to Las Vegas last year with his children Prince Michael, 11, Paris, ten, and Prince Michael II, six.

According to the newspaper, Jackson is being put up by casino owner Steve Wynn who is trying to persuade the shy star to appear in a comeback show.

Those who live in the area say that the superstar has not been to the school and keeps a low profile, surrounded by a team of bodyguards.

Since the star moved, fans have been congregating outside the gates of his Spanish-style villa.

A school spokesman refused to comment.

Jackson’s new compilation album King Of Pop has this week re-entered the top ten of the album chart, from 47.

The album climbed dramatically since contestants on Saturday night’s TV talent show X Factor were asked to sing some of the star’s hits.

King Of Pop is being released in celebration of Jackson’s 50th birthday.

By Charlotte Bailey

Busted: Facebook Pictures Show Married U2 Singer Bono’s Rendezvous With Sexy Teens

Facebook photos … Hannah Emerson and Andrea Feick cuddle up to Bono.

The curse of Facebook has now hit U2 lead singer Bono.

Pictures of the 48-year-old rocker with his arm around two bikini-clad teenagers in St Tropez were posted on the popular social site complete with diary details.

Bono was on holiday with long-time friend Simon Carmody, a musician and former member of Irish band Golden Horde.

The Irishmen met up with two 19-year-olds, American fashion student Andrea Feick and her British friend Hannah Emerson.

Ms Feick said their relationship had never crossed the line beyond friendship. “For somebody who’s much older than I am … no thank you,” she said.

The images show Bono wearing his trademark hat and sunglasses while drinking with the two girls at the Nikki Beach bar in St Tropez.

Later that evening, they took a stroll along the beach, then made their way to a luxury yacht, thought to be the Cyan, a $12 million, 140ft yacht with six cabins owned by U2 guitarist The Edge.

Bono, Carmody and the girls partied into the night on the yacht.

Ms Feick lists her occupation on Facebook as Jean Paul Gaultier party planner, while Ms Emerson says on the website she is a second-year Reading University student.

Bono’s 26-year marriage to wife Ali is famously strong.

By news.com.au

guys just want me for sex or money, says Paris Hilton

She’s the rich, daddy’s girl heiress who’s built a superstar career on living her private life in the spotlight.

But sexy Paris Hilton snuggled up to me and simpered that SHE’D been exploited by all the men in her life – hungry for fame and fortune.

Cooing that she has now found true love and Mr Right in rock star Benji Madden, the world’s most talked about blonde broke her silence to condemn that pesky string of exes.

Tearful multi-millionaire Paris fluttered her eyes and told the News of the World: “Every other guy I’ve been out with has used me for money or sex – but in most cases they just want fame. It made it hard to trust people.”

In an exclusive interview Paris also:

• VOWED she plans to marry her “best friend”—Good Charlotte singer Benji— and have kids.
• REVEALED Prince William made ALL the running in their nightclub encounter.
• CONFESSED she enjoys partying with pin-up Jordan.
• ATTACKED the fashion sense of Gordon Brown and David Cameron.

Top of Paris’s treachery hitlist is ex-boyfriend Rick Salomon, now 40. The small-time film producer made millions selling the infamous home-made sex tape of Paris, which was originally leaked on the internet.

In the UK to film her new reality ITV2 show, Paris Hilton’s British Best Friend, she told us: “I loved this guy for three years but he betrayed me. Rick’s a scumbag and I hate him.

“It was just the most horrible thing that’s ever happened to me. So humiliating and embarrassing. But at the end of the day, I didn’t do anything wrong.”

She also boosted the flagging careers of ex-Backstreet Boy Nick Carter and Greek shipping heirs Paris Latsis and Stavros Niarchos III, who ditched her after using their newfound celebrity to snare other women.

“After a while I had to start questioning exactly why somebody wanted to be with me,” said Paris, 27. “And that made things really difficult.

By Dan Wootton