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...

Avril Lavigne Show Canceled in Malaysia

Thanks to a youth wing of the fundamentalist Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, Avril Lavigne will not be able to perform in Malaysia on August 29, two days before the country's independence day. Kamarulzaman Mohamed, a youth party official, stated that Avril Lavigne's act is too sexy and that it would wrongly influence teenagers and other people. The Arts, Culture, and Heritage Ministry organization supported this decision.

However, Galaxy Group, the show's promoter, can reschedule the concert and have it approved by the ministry. Like Avril would need anyone's approval...

Madonna Turns 50!

Yes, I'm a little late in posting, but oh well. Happy belated big 5-0 to pop legend Madonna, who turned 50 on August 16.

In honor of Madonna's milestone birthday, music blog Video Ga Ga wrote the special Top 50 Madonna moments. Here is a list of Madonna's Top 50 Special Moments in descending order.

50. Duet with Gogol Bordello.
49. Adoption of the mysterious British accent.
48. Shaking her "bon-bon" with Ricky Martin.
47. Bond girl.
46. "Make my video" contest courtesy of Madonna and MTV.
45. Monkeying around at the Oscars.
44. Weird Al Yankovic's release of "Like a Surgeon," parody to "Like a Virgin."
43. Madonna launches fashion line for H&M.
42. Estranged brother Christopher writes a memoir.
41. Madonna & Missy Elliot Gap commercial.
40. 1982 "Everybody" debut.
39. Madonna & Ali G brought together courtesy of "Music" music video.
38. Meeting with the queen of England.
37. "Me Against the Music" duet with Britney Spears.
36. Plays blonde bombshell Breathless Maloney in Dick Tracy.
35. Undergoing multiple makeovers for subsequent music videos.
34. "Substitute for Love" video controversy.
33. Madonna experiments with electronica.
32. Departure from Warner Bros., record label of 25 years, to sign with LiveNation.
31. Madonna keeps her Malawian baby.
30. Live 8 performance.
29. Another Live 8 performance.
28. Discovery and popularity of Kabbalah.
27. Founding of record label Maverick Records.
26. Marriage to Sean Penn.
25. Madonna's fashionable Video Music Awards tribute.
24. Popularity of the "Vogue" dance craze courtesy of the "Vogue" music video.
23. Another makeover, courtesy of "Papa Don't Preach."
22. "Sooner or Later" wins Best Song at 1991 Academy Awards.
21. "Ray of Light" sweeps the VMA s.
20. Madonna "rocks the vote."
19. Coachella Festival performance.
18. Madonna on Wayne's World.
17. Plays herself in 1991 film Truth or Dare.
16. Golden Globe for role of Eva Peron in Evita.
15. Make-up with David Letterman after disastrous appearance on The David Letterman Show.
14. Use of four-letter words on David Letterman.
13. Marriage to Guy Ritchie.
12. Conversation with Kurt Loder gets interrupted, thanks to Courtney Love.
11. Performance collaboration with the Gorillaz at the Grammys.
10. Attempts to find a good post-Desperately Seeking Susan movie role.
9. Centerfolds in Playboy and Penthouse magazines.
8. "American Life" video deemed unpatriotic.
7. Hospital visit with Seymour Stein.
6. Induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
5. Pepsi challenge.
4. Negative publicity and accusations of sex-centered career after publication of Sex book.
3. "Justify my Love" video banned from MTV.
2. French-kiss session with Britney Spears at 2003 VMAs.

And the number 1 Madonna moment:

1. Kick-off performance at the first annual VMAs in 1984.

Happy birthday, Madonna.

Harry Potter and Friends Go to Summer School

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth installment in the famous Harry Potter franchise, which will be directed by David Yates, will be released in July 17, 2009 rather than its original November 21, 2008 release, according to Warner Brothers. Half-Blood Prince takes Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) back to his wizard classes to master the assignment of rooting out dark secrets concerning Lord Voldemort's early years.

Why the delay? Apparently it was to take advantage of an open weekend during Hollywood's summer season, said Alan Horn, president and chief operating officer of Warner Brothers. But Horn isn't too happy with the move, saying the film was completely on schedule, and that it could have been released in November, though the Writers Guild of America strike affected next summer's Hollywood lineup.

However, while the switch in release dates will mean a two-year wait between the film adaptations of books five and six of the fantasy series by J.K. Rowling, fans won't have to wait so long between Half-Blood Prince and the final two installments, which will be filmed simultaneously next year.

Miley & Jesse = Romeo & Juliet?

Star magazine has reported a possible Romeo & Juliet-esque love story in the wonderful world of Tinseltown.

15-year-old Miley Cyrus has been secretly texting and calling her longtime celebrity crush, 21-year-old Jesse McCartney. The two first met when Jesse guest-starred as himself on Miley's ever-popular tween show Hannah Montana and have been communicating behind Daddy Billy Ray's back ever since. And, from recent reports, there's a suspected romance going on between the two tween sensations.

So what did Jesse do to make Billy Ray not like him and let him date his daughter despite offering to bring along a chaperone to the beginning stages of the romance? A friend of Jesse's says perhaps it's the fact that he's been linked with many younger girls in Hollywood. But he has been linked with girls closer to his age, including fellow tween sensation Hilary Duff.

Best of luck to them as these would-be lovebirds attempt to hide their romance from Billy Ray.

Beyoncé Pale?

Accusations have rolled around L'Oreal, the world's largest cosmetic maker, of lightening Beyoncé's skin for a recent ad. But L'Oreal denies the accusations, stating the value of the relationship the company has with its celebrity client, who has been a celebrity spokeswoman for the company since 2001.

But, perhaps it isn't L'Oreal who lightened her skin for its Feria hair color campaign. It could be the caramel hair color she's sporting in the ad, featured in a current issue of Elle magazine, that's making her skin look lighter. After all, the caramel hair color does wash her out. Or she could have been sick when the pictures were taken.

A Case of Life and Death

The past two days brought about life and death in the world of Hollywood.

Yesterday was a case of life. American Idol Season 2 runner-up Clay Aiken became a father and welcomed a son, Parker Foster Aiken, at 8:08 a.m. with friend and record producer Jaymes Foster. He weighed 6 lbs. 2 oz. and was 19 inches long. "No hyphens. One first name. One middle name. One last name," Aiken wrote on his blog (OMG! Yahoo).

Today was a sad case of death. Actor and comedian Bernie Mac, whose roles included a recurring role in Moesha, his sitcom The Bernie Mac Show, and movies Ocean's 11 and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, died from complications of pneumonia at age 50. Fortunately, the pneumonia had nothing to do with a lung condition called sarcoidosis that he had, which had been in remission since 2005, but it's sad to see a respected actor and comedian go so young.

While one person is given life, the other has life taken from them. After all, from dust you came, to dust you shall return.

"I Kissed a Girl" Kissed the #1 Spot Goodbye...

...and probably didn't like it.

That's right. Rihanna's hit "Disturbia" takes the #1 spot, beating out Katy Perry's tongue-in-cheek experimentation hit "I Kissed a Girl." I imagine "I Kissed a Girl" enjoyed those six weeks it was #1 on the Digital Songs chart while they lasted. I also imagine it had a summer fling with the Jonas Brothers' song "Pushing Me Away" and a brief coffee date with "Burnin' Up," also by the Jonas Brothers. Next up will be a girlfight with "Disturbia," as it and "I Kissed a Girl" vie for the attention of digital music downloaders/listeners worldwide. Stay tuned, folks.

While "I Kissed a Girl" is a catchy tune, I figure the reason why it was #1 for six straight weeks was because so many people wanted to write parodies to it. One parody I saw (and watched) was "I Kissed a Dude" on Ebaumsworld. (I imagine it will be available on YouTube as well.) Another was the hilarious "I Kissed a Squirrel," courtesy of cabaret artist Jackie Beat and popular celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, who was kind enough to provide the laugh. (I have yet to join the entourage so I can post a comment.)

Perhaps I will give "Disturbia" a listen so I can post my vote within the coming days.

Heath Ledger Case Closed

Reporters decided to no longer look into the Heath Ledger case, which brought about concern on how the drugs that contributed to Ledger's drug overdose death were obtained. Apparently, the decision to close the case came after former child star Mary Kate Olsen requested immunity toward questions about the death of her "close friend and his drug use" (OMG! Yahoo). According to authorities, she was the first to discover his lifeless body lying in his Manhattan apartment.

One theory that seems to be running about is that Mary Kate could have helped to obtain the drugs that contributed to his overdose, but that has yet to be proven. After all, didn't Mary Kate use drugs at one point? Or at least experiment with them? Not saying she did. Just a possibility/rumor I heard.

Closing the case has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantages: Heath can rest in peace, and Mary Kate can go about her own business. Disadvantages: Slim to zero chance of closure for the Ledger family and friends unless they find another way to obtain it or move on (both of which could be difficult to do), not to mention the impact the news of Daddy's drug use could have on little Matilda's life and the fact that the only tangible memories she will have of her daddy would be photographs, news stories, and films. I feel bad for the little tyke.