‘Idol Gives Back’ Raises Nearly $45 Million

This year’s “Idol Gives Back” special raised almost $45 million for child hunger and health charities in the United States and Africa, organizers said on Friday. Elton John, Alicia Keys and Carrie Underwood were among the stars who performed on last Wednesday’s live special. Two previous editions of “Idol Gives Back,” in 2007 and 2008, raised a total of around $140 million from donations. Some 18.3 million Americans watched the show last week, which was scaled down partly because of the recession. The $45 million is expected to rise when proceeds from iTunes sales are added, Fox said. The money raised will be shared between the Children’s Health Fund, Feeding America, Malaria No More, Save the Children and the United Nations Foundation.

Jesse James Vandalism Case Postponed

The investigation into Jesse James’ recent run-in with a paparazzo has been postponed because police can’t talk to James while he’s in rehab. Ulises Rios was embroiled in a dispute with Sandra Bullock’s estranged husband last month close to the star’s home in Long Beach, California. Both men made citizen’s arrests, with Rios accusing James of damaging his car in a scuffle. James was cited for vandalism, but no charges were made against him. Police raided Rios’ home earlier this month and confiscated several items including videotapes and photographs as part of their investigation. But officers decided to put any further inquiries on hold until James is released from rehab next month. James’ publicist issued a statement claiming James would spend April in treatment for an undisclosed issue following allegations he cheated on Bullock.

Actor Wants $50 Million For Being ‘Imprisoned’ At The Oscars

An actor denied entrance to the Oscars last month has sued the Academy for false imprisonment, claiming he and his wife were detained for hours without their consent. Michael Avmen, who appears in the upcoming films “Battle: Los Angeles” and “Straw Dogs,” claims he and his wife Mandy were unlawfully imprisoned outside the ceremony after a ticket mix-up. Avmen says his publicist arranged for him to attend the March 7th ceremony at the Kodak Theater and told him he could pick up his tickets once inside the venue. But when the couple arrived on the red carpet without tickets, they say they were “rushed away to an AMPAS detention center where they were held and questioned about how they had been able to get onto the red carpet.” Six hours later, they were transferred to the police station and released without charges. They want $50 million in damages from the Academy.

Lindsay Lohan Dropped From Movie

Lindsay Lohan has been dropped from her latest film, “The Other Side.” Sources close to the project, which stars Woody Harrelson, Giovanni Ribisi, Dave Matthews and Alanis Morissette, claim that people financing the film deemed her not “bankable.” Director David Michaels told TMZ, “Our team simply chose to move on from Lindsay.”

Contacting Aliens ‘A Bad Idea’ Warns Hawking

Aliens are very likely to be out there, according to eminent scientist Stephen Hawking – but we should keep quiet and hope they don’t notice us. The theoretical physicist says aliens may look to conquer and colonize. In a new documentary for the Discovery Channel, Hawking claims such space life would only abuse Earth’s resources and move on. “We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn’t want to meet,” he said. “I imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet.” He says if aliens visit us, the outcome would be similar to when Columbus landed in America, “which didn’t turn out well for the Native Americans.” The documentary, “Into the Universe,” took three years to complete and was spearheaded by Hawking, who suffers from neuro-muscular dystrophy.

ABC Planning Live ‘Lost’ Event

ABC has announced plans for an event called “Lost Live: The Final Celebration” at UCLA’s Royce Hall in Los Angeles. The May 13th show will feature appearances by “Lost” cast members including Nestor Carbonell, Michael Emerson and Jorge Garcia. Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino will conduct a live orchestral performance featuring the music of “Lost.” A special preview of the next–to-last episode will be screened immediately after the concert. The sixth and last season of “Lost” will wrap with a 2-hour finale on May 23rd. Preceding the finale will be a 2-hour recap special.

Spelling Mansion For Sale

Candy Spelling is selling her massive Los Angeles mega-mansion for $150 million. The Beverly Hills property is one of only five homes in the U.S. on the market for more than $100 million. It is reportedly the most expensive home for sale in the world. The widow of TV mogul Aaron Spelling says she’s selling the mansion, built in 1991, because it is “too big” for her. The Holmby Hills estate, known as The Manor, is 56,500 square feet. Reports suggest the estate has 100 rooms.

 

 

‘Survivor’ Villain Arrested In Louisiana

A contestant on “Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains” was arrested on charges of pushing a woman in Lafayette, Louisiana. Russell Hantz was taken into custody early Friday and released a few hours later. Jail records showed he was charged with battery. Police said officers received a call about a fight and were told by the 18-year-old victim and a witness that she and Hantz had gotten into an argument and he pushed her to the ground, causing minor injuries. Hantz, 37, a member of the Villains tribe on “Survivors,” believes the cops mistreated him during the incident and he’s considering taking legal action against the arresting officers.

Pamela Bach Jailed

David Hasselhoff’s ex-wife Pamela Bach has been sentenced to 90 days behind bars for DUI. A judge in Los Angeles sentenced Bach to 30 days in jail and another 60 were added because her November arrest constituted a parole violation. Bach will begin her jail time on May 3rd. She and Hasselhoff divorced in 2006.

 

Producer’s E-Mails Leaked To Gossip Site

A lawyer for a slain Los Angeles restaurant owner’s family is asking the person who has been selling sensitive e-mail messages to a celebrity gossip Web site to stop. Monica Beresford-Redman was killed earlier this month while on vacation with her husband, reality TV producer Bruce Beresford-Redman, in Cancun, Mexico. Bruce has been identified by police as a person of interest in the case and will not be allowed to leave the country until the investigation into his wife’s death is complete. CNN said someone described as a “very close friend” of Monica’s sold e-mail messages allegedly exchanged between Monica, Bruce and his alleged mistress to Radaronline.com, which published the messages online last Thursday. The Web site would not disclose who sold the messages or how much they were paid for them. An attorney told CNN the dead woman’s family is asking “the person who has obtained (the messages) to stop leaking information to the media that may be critical to the pursuit of justice.”

Bravo Casting For Songwriters Reality Show

A new reality series is looking for talented songwriters. The Bravo show “Hitmakers” will follow undiscovered songwriters as they go through different writing challenges. The winner will receive a cash prize and publishing deal. Casting calls will be held in the next few weeks in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Nashville and New York. No word on when the series will premiere.

‘Avatar’ On DVD, The Sequel

Even though there aren’t extras on the “Avatar” DVD that came out on Earth Day, James Cameron is working on them for the next home release, hoping to add deleted scenes. He says it’ll be “six minutes of cool stuff.” Cameron says the scenes were only partially done when the decision was made not to include them in the original movie. Now, he and his staff are working on finishing the scenes. As for “Avatar 2,” Cameron says he’s working some of the story points now.

Randy Quaid And Wife Suing Ex-Lawyer For Gossip Stories

Randy Quaid and his wife Evi are suing their former lawyer, accusing him of “gossip mongering” by allegedly running stories about them on his Web site. The couple claims they hired attorney Lloyd Braun to negotiate business deals. The Quaids say he became a close family friend but eventually betrayed them by posting photos and information about them on his entertainment Web site. A lawyer for Braun dismissed the accusations, telling TMZ, “The alleged facts are palpably untrue. Lloyd Braun hasn’t represented these people for more than a decade and the files were turned over to other entertainment lawyers when Lloyd left the practice of law.” Quaid and his wife are currently in the middle of a legal battle over an unpaid $10,000 hotel bill. They have been accused of burglary and defrauding an innkeeper. They’ve had a number of warrants issued for their arrest over past court no-shows.

Bret Michaels In Critical Condition

Poison frontman Bret Michaels was hospitalized at an undisclosed location with a brain hemorrhage on Thursday and is in critical condition. According to a post on Michaels’ Web site yesterday, doctors are trying to find the source of bleeding in his brain. This hospital stay comes after Michaels underwent an emergency appendectomy in San Antonio on April 12th. Michaels is currently a contestant on “The Celebrity Apprentice.”

No One Fired On ‘Celebrity Apprentice’

No one was booted from “Celebrity Apprentice” last night. Donald Trump thought both teams, Tenacity and RockSolid, did extremely well with their latest task, although Tenacity actually raised more money. After the departure of another male member last week, Trump had to shuffle the contestants so that it wouldn’t be five against two. Curtis Stone joined Tenacity with Summer Sanders and Cyndi Lauper, along with project manager Holly Robinson Peete. Sharon Osbourne took the lead for RockSolid, helped by Bret Michael and Maria Kanellis. Their task was to create a workout class for 24 Hour Fitness and to raise funds from it. The team with the most original workout was awarded $24,000 and the money went to RockSolid. However, Tenacity raised $206,090, while RockSolid got $131,803.

Sandra Bullock Asked To Give Razzie Back

Sandra Bullock is being asked to return the Razzie Award she received for her performance in “All About Steve.” When Bullock won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress in the comedy, she was inadvertently given the prototype trophy instead of a $4.79 replica the winners are normally given. The Razzies are now asking her to please return the very valuable trophy. “As Sandra was in such a rush after winning Worst Actress she ran off with the original handmade prototype which has been present at ceremonies since the 1980s,” Razzie Awards co-founder John Wilson said. He added, “It’s really about the sentiment of it. The one she has is the very first, the one I designed and handmade 30 years ago.” Bullock probably won’t have much of a problem parting with the Razzie trophy, as she won an Oscar for her performance in “The Blind Side” the very next day. 

Marie Osmond’s Son’s Death Ruled Suicide, No Drugs

The coroner has released the autopsy for Michael Bryan, Marie Osmond’s son, showing the cause of death was, “multiple blunt trauma” and “jumped from height.” According to the L.A. County Coroner’s Office, drugs were not found in Bryan’s system. Bryan died on February 26th in Los Angeles after jumping from his apartment building. His death was ruled a suicide. Michael had been suffering from depression due to “bad school grades and a recent visit from a former girlfriend,” according to witness statements in the coroner’s report. Ruthann Clawson, a close friend of Michael’s, said he also confided in her that he had three previous suicide attempts by hanging.

Warrant Issued For ‘Deadliest Catch’ Star

Jake Harris – one of the stars of “Deadliest Catch” – is officially a wanted man after blowing off a court appearance in his reckless driving case yesterday. A judge in King County, Washington, issued a bench warrant for the 24-year-old after he failed to appear for his pretrial hearing. Jake, the youngest son of the late Captain Phil Harris, was arrested in February after allegedly driving recklessly and causing a late-night car crash. In addition to reckless driving, Jake was originally charged with DUI and hit-and-run, but those two charges were eventually dropped.

 

Power Ranger Escapes DUI Charge

Former Mighty Morphin Power Rangers star Walter Jones has had DUI charges dismissed by an Alabama judge. The 39-year-old actor, who played the original Black Power Ranger, pleaded not guilty to the charges following his arrest in Huntsville, Alabama, in July 2009. A reason for yesterday’s dismissal has yet to be revealed but Jones was allowed to walk away a free man after handing over $200 to cover his court costs.

 

‘Men In Black’ Back, In 3D

Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are headed back to the big screen for a third “Men In Black” movie. The duo will reteam as Kay and Jay in a 3D sequel. So far, the hit franchise has made well over $1 billion globally.