American Idol Reject Faces Legal Action

Legal woes hit American Idol, particularly American Idol reject Josiah Leming.

Leming, the homeless singer-former Idol contestant who got axed shortly before the top 24 round, is facing legal action, also from Idol, in the form of threats to block the release of his upcoming album due in January. The legal action against Leming cites violation to terms of agreement.

Like the other contestants, Leming signed a strict contract that only allowed him to sign with the Sony/BMG, the show's hand-picked label. Rather, he signed with Warner Bros. earlier this year. He cites his dream for his terminally-ill mother to hear his music while she is still alive, which is understandable.

While there are terms to agree to on a contract, I sincerely hope Leming gets to release his album while his mother is still alive to share the joy of it with him.

Joaquin Phoenix Retires

At the tender age of 34, Joaquin Phoenix of Walk the Line fame has decided to retire from movies and become a musician.

After filming Two Lovers, his final film co-starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Vinessa Shaw, Phoenix will be pursuing music, a passion of his since learning how to play guitar for the role of Johnny Cash in Walk the Line. "It's Casey [Affleck]'s time now," he stated when explaining his retirement.

Casey Affleck, brother-in-law of Phoenix, confirms the statement, saying that Phoenix is indeed working on an album.

Two Lovers is slated for release on February 13, 2009.

LiLo Cut from Ugly Betty

Lindsay Lohan's run on Ugly Betty has been cut from six episodes to four. According to a high-level insider, producers do not plan to have her back for future episodes, and she's getting cut out of the episodes she has already filmed.

The reason: diva behavior, perhaps, says many sources. (Diva behavior — or, rather, rumors of it — has gone around Hollywood like the common cold quite lately.) On set, LiLo would show up on set with a large entourage, smoke like a chimney, mess up her dressing room to the point where it had to be repainted, refuse to go on set until the series's leading lady America Ferrara showed, and cut pictures of herself out of tabloids to make herself a scrapbook — perhaps a souvenir chronicling her experience in Hollywood? One source also states that, when America switched roles and pulled down LiLo's pants rather than LiLo pulling down her pants as per the episode "Granny Pants," she didn't wear any underwear.

Another, and probably more likely, reason is creative differences. According to another source, LiLo seemed rather interested in playing herself than playing the character she was cast to play. Last I checked, when you take on a guest-star role, play the guest-star role unless you get approval to play yourself. But what do I know? I'm not a Hollywood insider or an actress... yet.

However, on the flip side, LiLo seemed to have a great time on set and managed to make at least a decent impression on Ferrara, as Ferrara's rep stated that she enjoyed having Lohan on the show. She also managed to get a gracious official statement from the producers of the series, stating that she did a good job and they enjoyed having her on the show.

Time and future updates will only tell...

School can really keep you busy.

I came upon here and saw that I hadn't posted anything in a month. Granted, I haven't gotten many visitors, but I've been so busy with school that I just kind of pushed this aside if you know what I mean.

I shall resume with hopefully a few posts.

Paul Newman Dead

Legendary actor Paul Newman has died after a long battle of cancer. He was 83.

Newman got his start in theatre and TV in the 1950s but then went on to become one of the most popular film stars of his time. He has been nominated for an Oscar 10 times and won one regular award and two honorary awards during the course of his career. He performed in over 100 Broadway, TV, and movie roles; his most noted roles included Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Hustler, and Cool Hand Luke.

However, Newman's life wasn't entirely centered around Hollywood. According to the Los Angeles Times, Newman also took up racing at 47 and became the oldest placing race car driver at 70 when he and his team placed third at the Le Mans endurance contest. He also had a food company known as Newman's Own. He enlisted in the Navy at 18, then obtained an English degree from Kenyon College. He eventually founded Newman's Own, a salad dressing brand.

Newman will be greatly missed.

90210 Stars Skin & Bones

One would think that weight would be a personal issue. Not in Hollywood, particularly on the set of CW's new hit show 90210.

While Entertainment Weekly reports none of the new 90210 stars weighing any more than 110 pounds (AnnaLynne McCord [Naomi] weighs in at 110 pounds for her 5'7" frame), two of its stars in particular (Shenae Grimes [Annie] at 5'3" and 90 pounds and Jessica Stroup [Silver] at 5'8" and no more than 105 pounds) are very underweight. While it is possible that these girls could be naturally thin, they could use a Super Size Meal or two along with some other weight-gain regimen. It's also possible that pressure to stay thin due to the common saying that the camera adds 10 pounds, long hours, and wardrobe sizes ranging from 00-2 are contributing to the extreme thinness. But, whatever the reason, get these girls a Super Size Meal. Seriously. Or, as Gossip Girl's Penn Badgley stated, "a double cheeseburger or something."

Perhaps laying off the cigarettes, if not quitting entirely, would help too. After all, cigarettes do act as an appetite suppressant. (What would I know though? I've never been a smoker, nor do I plan to become one!)

But there is good news. Rumor has it action may be taken to ensure the stars gain a few pounds. The boys of the show have considered an intervention to help the girls put on some weight. Let's hope it works, eh?

Pink Floyd Founder Richard Wright Dies

Richard Wright, keyboard player and founder of 1960s rock band Pink Floyd, died after a brief battle with cancer. He was 65.

Pink Floyd, which consisted of himself, songwriter/guitarist Syd Barrett, guitarist Roger Waters, and drummer Nick Mason, formed in the 1960s when they were students. The band went on to become one of the biggest names in rock music.

Wright cowrote 5 songs for Dark Side of the Moon but left the band after a falling-out with Roger Waters during The Wall production, though he rejoined the band in 1987.

Coco Chanel Review

In the movie Coco Chanel, Lifetime attempted to tell the story of French fashion designer Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel. Known for such classics as feminine-inspired menswear, quilted purses, and the little black dress, Chanel took the fashion world by storm. With Shirley MacLaine starring as Coco Chanel and Barbora Bobulova assisting as the young Coco Chanel, Lifetime told her story accurately, albeit slowly.

MacLaine and Bobulova looked similar enough to one another to have played mother and daughter, which made the transition from present-day Chanel to young Chanel seemless. However, at one point, for some reason, I thought the young woman playing young Chanel was Degrassi's Cassie Steele. Malcolm McDowell executed a very good performance as Chanel's business partner Marc; perhaps he could have played Karl Lagerfield, the designer who took over the Chanel empire after Chanel's death in 1971, had he been a major player in the movie.

However, the movie told more than just the story of her fashion empire. Like any biopic, it told the story of her life, her beginnings, her love stories. The movie beautifully portrayed her humble beginning as a budding designer, but in the love department, it portrayed her as a sadomasochist (not in a sexual way) with low self-esteem despite her independent, tenacious personality. Having been betrayed, lied to, and rejected, Chanel seemed to expect the men she dated to treat her badly and lie to her to the point that the men actually did lie to her by the time she developed faith in them. But perhaps it was the mere thought and fear of getting betrayed and lied to that made her unable to trust people.

Perhaps Lifetime will take on a Karl Lagerfield biopic should the network decide to make a sequel or series revolving around the Chanel fashion empire.

'Disturbia' Disturbed by a Lawsuit

According to a lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court on Monday, Stephen Spielberg and some major Hollywood players stole a plot from Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 film Rear Window to make last year's Disturbia. Film companies Dreamworks, parent company Viacom Inc., and Universal Studios, a unit of General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal were named as defendants in the copyright-infringement/breach of contract suit.

Both films tell the story of a man who witnesses strange behavior in a neighbor's home while peering through a rear window.

Perhaps The New York Times's review of Disturbia as "a kind of adolescent Rear Window" could have foreshadowed the lawsuit?

Gold Medalist Olympians Turned Entertainers

Several gold-medalist Olympians are hitting the small screen in some form this season.

Swimmer Michael Phelps is slated to host Saturday Night Live and has secured a cameo role on HBO's hit series Entourage. Misty May Treanor will be trying her hand at dancing on Dancing With the Stars. Gymnast Nastia Liukin will be guest-starring on Gossip Girl, one of her favorite shows.

However, along with television, Liukin will be having some other resume-building endorsements under her leotard. She is slated to appear in campaigns for Cover Girl and Vanilla Star Jeans, launch a denim line (Nastia Liukin Gold), and have her face printed on Wheaties boxes worldwide. Say, she sounds like the most successful Olympian-turned-entertainer case.

I read somewhere that Shawn Johnson has been rumored to make an appearance on television. Secret Life, perhaps? Maybe it's just a rumor... however, she is slated to do a Cover Girl ad campaign with Liukin.