Avril Lavigne more 'emotional,' 'raw' on new album

Canadian singer Avril Lavigne says her fourth album "Goodbye Lullaby," released in the United States on Tuesday, shows a different side to the petulant pop-punkster image she has perfected in the past.

"It is a more emotional, more raw record," Lavigne told Reuters in a recent interview in London to discuss Goodbye Lullaby, released by Sony Music's RCA Records label.

"And I think it's good for me to kind of switch it up a bit and do that."

At 26, and recently divorced, the star who burst on to the scene as a teenager with "Let Go" aims to win over a new audience with the fresh approach while still holding on to her core fanbase.

"I think, if anything, this record ... may be able to gain more of a mature audience along with it, and I hope to keep the same kind of core younger group," Lavigne explained.

"It's different this record for me, but it's very me. It's my personality, it's my style. It's not like I went and did something totally different or anything like that. It just showcases a different side to me and more of that."

Whether the album succeeds will soon become clear when the pop charts are published in the United States, Britain and other key markets where Lavigne's fanbase is strong.

FALLEN BETWEEN TWO WORLDS?

But some critics are concerned that the artist whose total album sales are estimated at 30 million may have fallen between two worlds.

"Avril Too Serene" was the New York Post's headline.

"Right from her 'Sk8er Boi' breakthrough in 2002, punky spunk always separated Canadian rock chick Avril Lavigne from the pack," wrote Dan Aquilante in a two-star review.

"Four discs into her career and after a highly publicized split from her Sum 41 groom, Deryck Whibley, Lavigne's latest record smacks of maturity (that's bad) and is salted with self-blame and doubt (worse).

"Add to that a surprising lack of divorce venom, and the result is a milquetoast breakup album -- a 13-song pileup of easy rock."

Mike Doherty, writing for Canada's National Post, agreed, describing the new album as "a middle-of-the-road collection of mildly yearning, acoustic-guitar-based songs."

Rolling Stone magazine awarded the record three stars in a mixed review, and also noted an obvious change in direction.

"Avril Lavigne is a romantic," said Jody Rosen. "That's a hard concept to wrap your mind around."

Among the collaborators on the album was ex-husband Whibley, Evan Taubenfeld and Butch Walker and songwriter/producer Max Martin.

It includes the song "Darlin,'" which Lavigne wrote when she was 14 and living in Canada.

"So you know, bringing back old songs that I did when I was younger and starting new ones and doing it on my own and playing the piano more and just recording it at my house ... it was just a different approach," she said.

taken from : China Daily
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Kelly Osbourne ready for motherhood

Kelly Osbourne wants to have a baby with her gay best friend.

The 26-year-old beauty - who split with her last boyfriend Luke Worrall after he reportedly cheated on her with both men and women - confesses she is sick of straight men and would like to have a child with a homosexual pal, as her mother Sharon Osbourne would "love it".

She told Closer magazine: "I'm fed up with straight men - I'd love a baby with my gay best friend Nate. We'd be the perfect parents and my mum would love it!"

Kelly - who is the new face of Madonna and her daughter Lourdes' clothing line Material Girl - recently revealed she is dating 26-year-old musician Rob Damiani, but the pair are planning to take things slowly.

She said: "It's true, I'm having fun getting to know someone new. I met Rob over in the UK recently, and I want to take things slowly, so that means keeping some things private."

taken from : China Daily
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Film premiere of 'Red Riding Hood' at Mann's Chinese theatre in Hollywood

Cast member Amanda Seyfried poses at the premiere of "Red Riding Hood" at the Mann's Chinese theatre in Hollywood, California March 7, 2011.[Photo/Agencies]

Cast member Amanda Seyfried poses at the premiere of "Red Riding Hood" at the Mann's Chinese theatre in Hollywood, California March 7, 2011.[Photo/Agencies]

Cast member Amanda Seyfried poses at the premiere of "Red Riding Hood" at the Mann's Chinese theatre in Hollywood, California March 7, 2011.[Photo/Agencies]

Cast member Virginia Madsen poses at the premiere of "Red Riding Hood" at the Mann's Chinese theatre in Hollywood, California March 7, 2011.[Photo/Agencies]

Cast member Virginia Madsen poses at the premiere of "Red Riding Hood" at the Mann's Chinese theatre in Hollywood, California March 7, 2011.[Photo/Agencies]

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Pirates happy to rip off 'big movie companies'

LOS ANGELES - You've heard of Big Oil and Big Tobacco. Welcome to Big Movies.

In a survey released Monday, 36% of the people who engage in the piracy of films and TV shows over the Internet say one reason they do it is because they don't want to "contribute to the profits of big movie companies."

The data come from PricewaterhouseCoopers, which polled 202 people ages 18-59 who admit to online piracy.

Those who use the Internet to steal movies and TV shows are increasingly turning to their mobile devices to do the deed, and 81% who steal content say they will continue to do so in the future, the study shows.

The digital pirates say they might stop stealing such content if movies were priced at a maximum of $3 and TV shows at $1.

While some pirates say they have at least a modicum of sympathy for the studio investors and employees that they are ripping off, it's not enough to curb their illicit behavior. Only one-third say they even feel bad about driving up the cost of content for other consumers.

"Everyone does it" was one primary reason they gave for their piracy. PWC also opines that videos available free with ads have led to confusion about what's pirated and what's not.

Among the "concerns" of pirates, nothing frightens them more than the thought that they might infect their computers by engaging in piracy.

Also near the top of the list: the chance of getting into legal trouble; having to sit through a poor-quality stream or download; and the nagging feeling that they are "doing something wrong."

taken from : China Daily
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Britney's single "leaks," some predict a club hit

The second single from Britney Spears' upcoming album "Femme Fatale" was posted on the internet on Thursday, and the upbeat dance anthem "Till the World Ends" has some pundits predicting a club hit.

Tracks leaking online has long been a problem for musicians seeking to control the release of their records, although Spears quickly took to Twitter to promote the "formal premiere" of the track on Ryan Seacrest's radio show on Friday.

Her record label also brought forward the single's digital release, making it available on iTunes on Friday, several days earlier than originally planned.

Britney has announced the full track listing for Femme Fatale, which goes on sale on March 29 and will test the public's appetite for the latest Spears comeback.

The new album will feature 12 tracks, with four extra songs available on the deluxe edition.

"I think 'Femme Fatale' speaks for itself ... I wanted to make a fierce dance record where each song makes you want to get up and move," Spears said.

Early reaction to Till the World Ends, written by fellow popstar Ke$ha and produced by Dr. Luke and Max Martin, suggests that the 29-year-old's rollercoaster career is on the up again.

"Like its predecessor 'Hold It Against Me', Spears's main intention with her new single seems to be keeping the dance floor pulsating with sweaty bodies," wrote Gerrick D. Kennedy on the L.A. Times music blog "Pop & Hiss."

"And we don't blame her, as the catchy song does make you want to grab some glow sticks and hit the clubs."

Music channel MTV opined: "Britney Spears' new single ... sounds poised to be a club smash."

The electro-pop song's message is predictably simple, summed up in the refrain: "Keep on dancin' till the world ends."

And while critics agree that it could be the work of any number of pop stars, some say Spears, whose torrid personal life has often overshadowed her musical success, has the confidence and "breathy" vocals to pull it off.

The first track from the album, "Hold It Against Me," debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart in January, breaking digital download records on the way.

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Britney Spears and boyfriend are a 'normal couple'

Britney Spears and her boyfriend Jason Trawick are a "normal couple".

The 'Hold It Against Me' singer has been dating agent Jason since March 2009 and despite her high profile insisted the relationship is no different from that of any other couple.

She said: "We're really normal. We just like to watch movies. We work out a lot. We love to work out. We do stuff together like that. We take walks."

Britney, 29 - who has two children Sean Preston, five, and four-year-old Jayden James with ex-husband Kevin Federline - is currently preparing to release her new album 'Femme Fatale' and revealed she thinks it will be her best record yet.

She told Ryan Seacrest on his radio show: "It's, I think, my best work yet. I love the album. It's definitely something that you want to work out to. It's definitely upbeat. Will.i.am's on the record and I'm a dancer so it's definitely something I can work with. It's just really fun, it's a really really fun record.

"A lot of the people that I worked on this record with, Max Martin, I've worked with him on several of my albums and so I love working with him. I stick to a genre of people that I've worked with for a while. And then I actually experiment as well, so I experimented working with Will.i.am and stuff like that, so that's kind of how I work."

taken from : China Daily
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Love at first sight for Kristen Stewart and Robert

Kristen Stewart fell in "love at first sight" with Robert Pattinson.

The real life couple play Bella Swan and her vampire love Edward Cullen in the 'Twilight Saga' movie series and Catherine Harwicke - who directed the first 'Twilight' movie - said Kristen felt an instant attraction to her co-star.

Catherine said: "I looked at a couple pictures and was like, 'I'm not sure.' He had been fired from his last job, he was unemployed, he was in debt.

"I have footage of their first meeting at my dining-room table. Kristen was like, 'It's got to be Rob!' She felt connected to him from the first moment. That electricity, or love at first sight, or whatever it is."

While Kristen, 20, eventually managed to convince the director to hire Robert, Catherine revealed she made him promise not to get romantically involved with his co-star because she was only 17 at the time and he was four years older.

She explained to Newsweek: "I told him, 'You've got to realize that Kristen is 17 years old. She's underage. You've got to focus, dude, or you're going to be arrested.' I made him swear on a stack of Bibles."

taken from : China Daily
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Taylor Swift dating Glee star?

Taylor Swift is reportedly dating 'Glee' star Chord Overstreet.

The 'Love Story' hitmaker - whose most recent relationship was with 'Love & Other Drugs' star Jake Gyllenhaal from October to December last year - has been spotted enjoying dates with the actor and friends say the pair are enjoying getting to know each other.

After the couple were spotted at a hockey game last week, a friend told E! News: "They are dating. It's in the early stages so who knows, but they seem to be into each other."

The pair also attended Harvey Weinstein's pre-Oscar party at Soho House on Saturday (26.02.11) night where a source said: "They spent most of the night talking closely and giggling. He would playfully touch her arm, and she couldn't stop smiling. It was cute!!"

Meanwhile Taylor, 21, reportedly had an intense chat with former boyfriend Jake, 30, at the Vanity Fair post Oscars bash last night (27.02.11), where onlookers said they appeared to be "sorting something out".

A guest at the party told People: "They were outside near the restroom having a discussion. It seemed a bit more serious - it certainly wasn't a 'Hi, how are you?' talk. It seemed like they were catching up, sorting something out."

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U2 to play Glastonbury festival

Irish rockers U2 will perform at the Glastonbury music festival this year, joining Britain's Coldplay and U.S. singer Beyonce as the main headline acts.

The band had to cancel their scheduled appearance at one of the world's biggest outdoor music events last year when lead singer Bono injured his back.

U2 will play the Pyramid stage, which can be seen by tens of thousands of fans standing on a grassy slope, on Friday, June 24.

"After the disappointment of U2 being unable to play last year, we're now doubly excited at the prospect of the Friday night supergroup breaking the sound barrier," said Glastonbury organiser Michael Eavis.

U2 guitarist the Edge added: "It's more a way of life than a festival. I made it last year to the Friday show -- got to play with Muse, got to hang out, ate a veggie burger and fries, and got to play on the Pyramid Stage.

"I have to say there is something really special and iconic about that stage. So we're all looking forward to coming back to pick up where I left off. And we're so excited to get to play in front of the world's greatest festival audience."

Eavis, an English dairy farmer now in his 70s, has developed Glastonbury from a small, free music festival into a major event in the pop calendar attracting some of the biggest acts and around 150,000 paying fans living on site in tents.

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'King's Speech' and tradition triumph at Oscars

Hollywood found a new group of kings lording over movies on Monday, the makers of Oscar winner "The King's Speech," whose heartwarming tale triumphed over a flashy story of new technology in "The Social Network."

"King's Speech" claimed four Oscars -- best film, actor for Colin Firth, director and screenplay -- with a traditional story of a British monarch defeating personal demons. It featured World War Two-era costumes, sweeping sets and a royal tale that seemed bigger than life itself.

The British movie entered Sunday's Oscars, the world's top film honors, in a tight race for best film with "The Social Network," which chronicled the rise of Facebook from a website dreamed up in a college dormitory to an Internet sensation.

But the contemporary tale of the digital age -- and its stable of young actors such as Jesse Eisenberg -- failed to capture the fancy of Oscar voters as much as did the old-fashioned, sweeping saga "The King's Speech."

"What has struck me is the emotional response to (the movie), which seems to have been very, very personal and quite diverse," Firth told reporters after the awards show.

The veteran actor, age 50, won best actor over a group of others that included Eisenberg, 27, who portrayed Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. It was Firth's second nomination and Eisenberg's first.

Natalie Portman claimed the best actress Academy Award for her portrayal of a young ballerina who grows into womanhood in "Black Swan."

Portman called it "a dream" backstage to be a winner and despite the fact that she has starred in big-budget flicks such as the "Star Wars" movies, she instantly becomes an even more sought-after star.

COMEDY ONSTAGE

Similar to Firth, veterans Melissa Leo and Christian Bale won best supporting actress and actor, respectively, for roles in another straightforward movie, boxing drama "The Fighter."

Among other key winners were family comedy "Toy Story 3" for best animated feature, Wall Street meltdown movie "Inside Job" for top documentary and Denmark's "In a Better World" took the prize for foreign language film.

The world's top film honors from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences came packed with a lot of comedy onstage from show hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco.

Franco, 32, and Hathaway, 28 -- the first man and woman to co-host the program -- had been expected to bring a youthful edge to the show, but it seemed that some of the better sequences harkened back to the Hollywood of old.

Hathaway sang a beautiful number, after which Franco appeared in a dress and blonde wig, looking like Marilyn Monroe -- or, perhaps more closely like her co-stars Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon when they dressed in drag for "Some Like it Hot."

And even the more subtle fashion of recent years -- when women dressed down in a nod to the economic recession -- seemed turned on its ear. This year, some razzle and some dazzle returned to Oscar's red carpet with bright and colorful gowns.

In a year that was supposed to have been all about what was new and hip, it was what was the old that was new again.

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Franco, Hathaway fail to wow as Oscar hosts

LOS ANGELES – Oscar organizers tried something unprecedented in the awards' 83-year history on Sunday -- entrusting a young, attractive pair of Hollywood stars to host the film industry's highest honors.

But the efforts of James Franco and Anne Hathaway fell largely flat, according to early reviews of their first stint as Oscar hosts.

The New York Times said that "the prolonged effort to pander to younger viewers was downright painful" at times, while the Boston Herald remarked sourly that "references to the Internet, apps and Facebook do not make a show trendy, or alas, entertaining."

Entertainment Weekly, however, said that Hathaway, 28, and Franco, 32, were "marvelous Oscar hosts" calling them "funny, poised, relaxed, and smart."

Producers of the Oscar telecast had been hoping that the duo might lure younger viewers who have increasingly tuned out the Oscars in recent years.

"Anne, I must say, you look so beautiful and so hip," Franco deadpanned as show opened.

"Oh, thank you, James," said Hathaway, the youngest host in Oscar history. "You look very appealing to a younger demographic as well."

Early in the show, presenter Justin Timberlake, appeared to use a smart-phone app to illuminate a "Shrek" backdrop to introduce awards for animated films.

OLD HOLLYWOOD ALSO CELEBRATED

Two films wildly popular with young moviegoers this past year, "Twilight" sequel "Eclipse" and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1," figured prominently in a pre-taped comic lip-syncing sequence.

But the show hardly turned its back on Hollywood of yesteryear. Kirk Douglas, 94, his speech badly slurred from a stroke 15 years ago, shuffled on stage with a cane to present the Oscar for best supporting actress to Melissa Leo for "The Fighter."

Douglas alluded to the Oscar generation gap in complimenting Hathaway on her looks.

"She's gorgeous," he said as the young actress blew him kisses. "Where were you when I was making pictures?"

The night's Oscar winner for best original screenplay, David Seidler, 73, for "The King's Speech," said he was the oldest person ever to claim that award.

The program frequently conjured up images and music from Oscar-winning film blockbusters of yore, from "Gone with the Wind" to "Star Wars" and "Titanic."

In one of night's biggest nods to Hollywood's older set, actor-comedian Billy Crystal, an eight-time Academy Awards host widely hailed as one of the best, made a surprise appearance to introduce a salute to the first televised Oscars in 1953, and its master of ceremonies, the late Bob Hope.

Harkening back to an era that predated the birth of many of the stars who filled the Kodak Theater on Sunday, Crystal said he was just 5 years old then.

A clip of that historic telecast showed Hope -- who presided over more Oscars than anyone, 18 in all -- opening the show that year with the now-famous line, "Welcome to the Academy Awards, or as it's known at my house, Passover."

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Angelina Jolie gets love pendant for Brad

Angelina Jolie has commissioned a pendant engraved with a microscopic love message for Brad Pitt.

The stunning actress has asked London-based jeweller Robert Procop to prepare the necklace, based on Ancient Egyptian amulets, but the company will not let on what the secret intimate message reads.

Robert told the Daily Mail newspaper: "I can't tell you what it says, and you would need a microscope to read it. The technology is quite new. The hidden message is lasered on."

Angelina, 35, has worked with Robert, a former chief executive of upmarket jeweller Aspreys, for 10 years and the pair are even planning to go into business, designing a range called 'The Style Of Jolie' together.

Speaking about how the line will look, Robert has said: "Angelina has very classic style. These are pieces she wears herself."

Pieces from the collection will be sold privately through the designer's network of clients, with all proceeds going to charity the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict

Last year, Angelina teamed up with Brad to create a gold and silver collection for Asprey, with all profits donated to the same charity, which was co-founded by Angelina.

The capsule collection, entitled The Protector, included baby gifts such as egg cups and silver spoons, and was inspired by snakes.

Speaking about the charity, Angelina said: "These are the children who most need a safe place to learn, a place to heal, a place to learn reconciliation, a place to build a better future and a place - to just be children. Yet the education for these children is often forgotten. Tens of millions of children and adolescents in conflict are not in school."

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Workaholic Taylor Momsen

Taylor Momsen is a workaholic.

The singer-and-actress claims her closest friends are her Pretty Reckless bandmates - Ben Phillips, Mark Damon and Jamie Perkins - which she admits makes their working relationship much easier as she is always thinking about her career.

She said: "My best friends come on tour with me, I'm so close with my band so that's fantastic. It's the best job, you get to be with who you love and be with your friends all the time. There's no complaints. I'm working 24 hours a day and that's probably the one thing people don't know about me, that I'm a workaholic and I can't stop. But I love what I do so it's always fun."

The 17-year-old star admits she doesn't want to be a role model for young people in any way other than to inspire them to work hard and achieve their ambitions.

She exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "I don't want to consider myself to be a role model, that's too much pressure for anyone to take on. I didn't get into this industry to become a role model.

"I got into it very young and because I love music I still have that drive. I'm not happy if I'm not making music, it's a simple as that. It's a need. So if I inspire people who need to do what I do and want to have the same drive to work really hard then that's great but don't try to be me, be yourself. That's the only foundation in this industry because it's so critical and difficult."

The Pretty Reckless' album, 'Light Me Up', is available in the UK now and the US from Monday (07.02.11). They will embark on a US tour in support of the record from 11 February.

taken from : China Daily
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Angelina Jolie sneaks away from paparazzi

Angelina Jolie says she and her kids have to "sneak" out of their house to try and avoid the paparazzi.

The actress - who raises six children, Maddox, nine, Pax, seven, Zahara, five, Shiloh, four and two-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne, with her partner Brad Pitt - spends most of her time at home to avoid the throng of photographers who follow her wherever she goes.

But she has devised escape routes to escape attention.

The 35-year-old screen beauty told The Independent newspaper: "My real life is 90 per cent contained in my house with my kids, who just think I'm weird. When we are at our best, we are just nutty.

"And the kids want to go out shopping to the market, but you've got 20 people behind you so you just can't. But sometimes we try to sneak out - and sometimes for us the easiest thing to do is sneak out of the front door, because everybody is checking the back door! But you try not to live your life that way - it would drive you nuts."

Angelina - who stars opposite Johnny Depp in 'The Tourist' - also claims the public make wrong assumptions about her personality, often believing her to be a dark character, but she insists she has a soft side which she believes she inherited from her late mother Marcheline Bertrand.

She said: "Sometimes people think of me as being darker, but Johnny has seen me on set giggling; I think maybe a bit of my mom has rubbed off on me, and hopefully I'm a little softer and more female than I'm assumed to be."

taken from : China Daily
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Snow cancels Lady Gaga concert in Paris

PARIS – Lady Gaga isn't having much luck in Paris.

In October, the pop diva's concerts in Paris were postponed amid nationwide strikes over a government plan to raise the retirement age. One show was rescheduled for Sunday, but it was called off because of snow.

The weather led authorities to ban big trucks from driving through the Ile de France region that includes Paris. Lady Gaga's trucks couldn't get to the venue on time, concert venue Bercy stadium said on its Web site.

A concert Monday is expected to go forward as planned, and the canceled show is likely to be rescheduled for Tuesday, Bercy said.

The diva vented on Twitter, writing that "all 28" of the trucks carrying sets for her elaborate show had been detained. She said had wanted to do a show without the sets, but even sound and power equipment was blocked.

"I am furious and devastated," she wrote, adding that it was "unfair to my fans and to me."

Lady Gaga also wrote that two of her employees were "arrested trying to get into Paris so we could perform," without elaborating. French police, the singer's representatives and the concert venue did not immediately return calls and e-mails seeking comment on that claim.

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Nicollette Sheridan drops abuse claims in lawsuit

LOS ANGELES - Remember those bombshell allegations of physical and emotional abuse on the set of "Desperate Housewives" that Nicollette Sheridan lobbed at ABC and the show's creator Marc Cherry in April?

Well, now the actress has agreed to drop the most explosive claims in her $20 million lawsuit against the network and Cherry.

In a joint stipulation filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Sheridan drops her claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress and agrees she won't assert any claim for emotional or physical damages.

In exchange, she won't have to submit to a mental or physical examination.

So what's left in the lawsuit? Sheridan, who sued ABC, Cherry and Touchstone Television in response to her being kicked off the show, alleged assault and battery, wrongful termination and sex and gender discrimination, can still proceed with the case. But her damages could be severely limited. But at least she doesn't have to submit to a psychiatric evaluation.

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Angelina Jolie talks "Tourist" and Johnny Depp

NEW YORK - What attracted Angelina Jolie to star in "The Tourist?"

"Venice and Paris," the actress joked to The Hollywood Reporter at the NYC premiere of her new film Monday night. "And I've never played a lady really before -- I've played a version of a girl. I found it a real big challenge to play somebody that is extremely European, elegant and very pink with little bows and things that were very foreign to me."

Jolie, who attended the premiere with longtime boyfriend Brad Pitt (who avoided the press line on the red carpet, quipping to THR, "I'm off tonight!"), said her first introduction to co-star Johnny Depp was in this movie.

"We just got put together in the film and we both like each other's movies, but had never met," said Jolie, who donned a white angora Versace dress. "And we met and we talked about kids for the first hour and France for the second and had a good laugh. We really enjoyed working with each other in the film and I hope that comes across."

Depp, who lives in the French countryside with Vanessa Paradis and their children, had a tip for Jolie about the country: " lots of good wine!" Jolie joked.

Jolie says she hopes her film - due out in theaters Friday - "is a pleasure."

"I hope it's one of those movies that has a little bit of everything, that doesn't take itself so seriously, has a good time, and has a bit of romance and a bit of mystery, and a lot of fun, and a lot of different characters," she told THR.

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Final Harry Potter movie will be 'like a war film'

If "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" felt less frenetic than many fantasy blockbusters, then it was the calm before the storm.

Cast and crew of the hugely successful film franchise have described Deathly Hallows Part 2 -- the eighth and last installment in the boy wizard series due out next July -- as a war movie. And unlike Part 1, it will also be in 3-D.

"In Harry Potter 7 (Deathly Hallows Part 1) ... people keep talking about 'Oh it's an action movie' (but) ... this is so sedate compared to what the next one is going to be like," said British actor Daniel Radcliffe, who plays Harry Potter.

"The next film, because you've had all the plot set up already, you can just kind of enjoy the insanity of all the action," the 21-year-old told Reuters in an interview.

"The last movie is going to be really, really fast paced and a load of action in it and it is like a war film."

Rupert Grint, who plays Harry's best friend Ron, added:

"Some of the scenes where you've got all the hospital beds and piles of bodies everywhere -- it's really a whole new level for a Harry Potter film. It's going to be epic."

Hollywood studio Warner Bros. decided to divide the seventh and last Potter book by author J.K. Rowling into two films.

Part 1, released in cinemas on Friday but screened to critics and journalists already, follows Harry, Ron and Hermione on their mission to find and destroy the Horcruxes -- the keys to evil Lord Voldemort's immortality.

"CHAOS" ON SET

While there is still plenty of action in Part 1, the actors said they were given more time to explore their characters.

"If we had done this book in one film, the stuff that would have got cut is most of this film," said Radcliffe.

"For me that is the most interesting part of the story, because it's where the characters develop and change.

"My pitch (for Parts 1 and 2) was that it's a road movie that turns into a heist movie that turns into a war film."

But he added that in spite of the "silence and slower pacing" of Deathly Hallows Part 1, it was "the most chaotic to work on by quite a long way.

"It was mad. We all felt the pressure on this film to make it the best, because it's the last.

"Suddenly somebody might wake up one morning and go 'Oh I'm not sure about how my character is in this scene' or the writer would have an idea so we'd be getting re-writes for some scenes the day before they were shot.

"It was constantly moving and had a less settled feel than the other ones had had."

Now that filming is finished, the young actors who grew up on the set of Harry Potter and became A-list stars as well as millionaires as a result, finally have time to reflect.

"It's a really weird feeling," said Grint. "I don't quite know how to react to it. It feels like it's been my whole life and it has kind of taken over my whole life. Now it's finished there's a real sense of freedom.

"I'm excited. It's quite a daunting prospect. We've been in this sort of bubble for the last 10 years and to go out into the real world is really quite scary."

He, Radcliffe and central co-star Emma Watson all said they wanted to continue acting, although Watson is studying at Brown University in the United States and Grint is taking a break.

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Beatles climb iTunes charts after catalog debuts

The Beatles are shown in this undated publicity photo released to Reuters November 16, 2010.[Photo/Agencies]

The Beatles are shown in this undated publicity photo released to Reuters November 16, 2010.[Photo/Agencies]

The Beatles soared up the iTunes record charts on Tuesday, with five of their classic albums entering the Top 20 less than 24 hours after the band's catalog was released for the first time on the world's No.1 digital retailer.

"Abbey Road" was leading the pack on Tuesday evening, with "The White Album" and "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" also proving the most popular Beatles album downloads on Apple's iTunes store. The special digital "Beatles Box Set", priced at $149 was also climbing up Top 20 along with the "Blue Album" of greatest hits.

On the U.S. iTunes singles charts, "Here Comes the Sun", "Let it Be" and "Blackbird" were among six Beatles singles moving steadily up the top 100 downloads, according to real-time data on the iTunes website.

Detailed figures on the numbers of U.S. downloads will be available next week from chart tracker Nielsen Soundscan.

Apple's iTunes store on Tuesday released 13 of the albums made famous more than 40 years ago by the Fab Four, ending years of fruitless negotiations between Apple founder Steve Jobs, the Beatles management company Apple Corps, and record label EMI.

Paul McCartney said he it was "fantastic to see the songs we originally released on vinyl receive as much love in the digital world as they did the first time around."

Drummer Ringo Starr said he was "particularly glad to no longer be asked when the Beatles are coming to iTunes" and John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono said it was an appropriate move in what would have been Lennon's 70th birthday year.

In London, the Official Charts Company said it was certain that "their music will make a big impact" on the official UK singles charts, starting on Sunday when weekly sales and download figures are released.

According to Apple Corps, the band had sold more than 600 million records, tapes and CDs of its 1960s songs before Tuesday's iTunes releases.

taken from : China Daily
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Taylor Swift worries about her relationships

Taylor Swift worries about being in the wrong relationship.

The 20-year-old singer - who is rumoured to be dating actor Jake Gyllenhaal and whose ex-boyfriends include Taylor Lautner and Joe Jonas - is not prepared to be with someone she believes is wrong for her.

She said: "It's a little strange that I'm typically single a lot. I have a phobia about being in the wrong relationship. So as soon as I establish it's not the right one, I don't want to waste their time."

Despite her relationship worries, Taylor is still "fascinated" by love, though admits she has only recently realised there is no "strategy" to finding romantic happiness.

She added to Allure magazine: "Relationships are fascinating and riveting and completely unpredictable. For me, love is everything.

"I used to think there were all these rules for making people like you. I was filled with advice! I'd tell my friends things like, 'Don't accept that apology! That isn't sincere!' or 'He hung out with his ex-girlfriend? Get rid of him.'

"But love is never that simple. Now I'm finally getting the idea it's the one thing I don't need to have a strategy for."

taken from : China Daily
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