Movies, Entertainment, Celebrities - News and Gossip

What was the biggest draw for Robert Pattinson to take on the role as the dreamy vampire Edward Cullen in ‘Twilight?’

Despite his new-found stature as a heartthrob, Robert was initially hesitant about playing the role of Edward until he found out his love interest and co-star would be Kristen Stewart, he tells Premiere.com.

“When I read the book, and there are these moony descriptions of Edward as this God-like figure, I thought there was no way I could play him, ... read more

Columbia Pictures is back in the dojo with a new version of the 1984 hit “The Karate Kid,” which has been refashioned as a star vehicle for Jaden Smith.

The film will be produced by Jerry Weintraub (who launched the original franchise) and Overbrook Entertainment’s James Lassiter, Will Smith and Ken Stovitz. Will Smith, who is the 10-year-old actor’s father, co-starred alongside Jaden in his feature debut, “The Pursuit of Happyness,” which Overbrook and Escape Artists produced for Columbia.

The script is being written by Chris Murphy, and the film will shoot next year ... read more

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A Hollywood who’s-who turned out for an annual fundraiser for Paul Newman’s children’s camp that doubled as a tribute to the late actor.

The lineup for a dramatic reading of “The World of Nick Adams” on Monday night at San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall already was set when the acting legend died of cancer Sept. 26 at the age of 83. The event benefited The Painted Turtle, a camp for children with life-threatening ... read more

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. prosecutors have told a judge that actress Anne Hathaway’s former boyfriend deserves no leniency for cheating investors in a church scam.

Prosecutors submitted court papers in Manhattan on Monday saying that Italian businessman Raffaello Follieri deserves more than the four years in prison he promised to serve when he pleaded guilty.

Follieri is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday for cheating investors of millions of dollars.

The ... read more

“Max Payne” star and “Entourage” executive producer Mark Wahlberg has put his 1.4-acre Beverly Hills estate on the market for $15.9 million, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The property’s 15,000-square-foot home features five bedrooms and 10-1/2 bathrooms, according to the Times’ real estate section.

In keeping with the former Calvin Klein underwear model’s efforts to stay in shape, the Mediterranean-style main house comes with a ... read more

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kevin Smith made a movie with such a bothersome title he cannot even place ads for it in some places.

Some newspaper, TV and outdoor ads for Smith’s comedy “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” have been rejected because of their content or the five-letter word that ends the title, said Gary Faber, head of marketing for the Weinstein Co., which is releasing the film.

Among those refusing to carry ads are about 15 newspapers and several TV stations and cable channels, Faber said. Commercials for the film during Los Angeles Dodgers games on Fox Sports were dropped at the ... read more

BERLIN (AP) — Angelina Jolie isn’t giving away who she’s backing in the U.S. presidential election, but she does have good things to say about Barack Obama.

The actress and activist tells the German edition of Vanity Fair that the Democratic contender for president comes down on the same side of several issues that she does.

Asked if she finds Obama and his background an example to her family, she replies, “Naturally that’s good, but it’s not ... read more

NEW YORK (AP) — The deadpan and depressed characters Bill Murray has specialized in portraying as an actor in recent years have always stood in contrast to the life-of-the-party guy he is in real life — whether on a golf course or shuttling people around downtown Stockholm in a golf cart, as he did last year.

But Murray said he identified anew with those characters — like the dour Herman Blume in “Rushmore” — when his wife of nearly 11 years filed for divorce in ... read more

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Screen Actors Guild’s negotiating committee voted Wednesday to support a strike authorization vote, a tactic meant to break stalled contract talks with Hollywood studios.

The recommendation, approved 11-2, now goes to the guild’s national board for review, and would ultimately need approval of 75 percent of the some 120,000 voting guild members.

“My personal opinion is, yes, we will achieve a strike authorization,” said Anne Marie Johnson, a spokeswoman for Membership First, a faction of actors that had controlled SAG’s national board until it ... read more

NEW YORK (AP) — A photographer is suing two others to force the return of seven nude and seminude pictures of Marilyn Monroe he says were stolen from him.

Bert Stern says the photos, taken on assignment for Vogue magazine in July 1962, are worth more than $100,000 each.

He says they were in a series of “unique and irreplaceable images” of the movie star taken at Los Angeles’ Bel Air Hotel six weeks before she was found dead from an overdose of drugs. ... read more