Obama calls Kanye West a jackass

President Barack Obama has labelled rap star Kanye West a “jackass” for interrupting Taylor Swift’s winning speech at the MTV Awards on Sunday.

West stormed the stage in New York to tell the crowd Beyonce should have won the prize for best female video.

Since then, he has called Swift personally to apologise.

Speaking before a TV interview, Mr Obama said: “I thought it was inappropriate, it’s like she’s getting an award, why are you butting in?”

He added: “The young lady seems like a perfectly nice person, she’s getting her award, what’s he doing up there?”
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Universal Orlando reveals details of new Harry Potter park

MIAMI — It sounds like a new book in the Harry Potter series, but “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey” will be a high-tech ride and the marquee attraction at the “Wizarding World of Harry Potter,” a new theme park area opening in spring 2010 at Universal Orlando Resort.

The “Forbidden Journey” ride was named by author J.K. Rowling and described Tuesday by Universal officials in a webcast revealing details of what the Potter park will look like.

The ride will takes guests through scenes and rooms from the blockbuster movies inside a richly detailed remake of Hogwarts Castle made to look 700 feet tall. Hogwarts is where Harry attends a boarding school for witches and wizards.
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Swift reaction at MTV Video Music Awards

Was it Kanye being Kanye, or was his outburst something more?

At least the shocker this year was related to music.

The MTV Video Music Awards are always willfully chaotic, keeping alive the myth of pop as the provenance of rebels by placing a bunch of moderately edgy celebrities within a festive environment and fueling the mood with sexy performances, off-color jokes and “incidents” that are often staged, but good for a thousand Twitter tweets. One of these mostly bogus controversies usually goes a bit deeper, hinting at real issues of identity, status, personal power and self-expression — the sticky stuff from which pop music is, in fact, made.

When Kanye West jumped up during Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for best female video Sunday night, put his hand over her microphone and declared that Beyoncé’s losing “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” clip was “one of the best videos of all time,” he did a stupid thing. He seemed like a bully inexplicably targeting an honors student, and he further damaged his rather unstable reputation without managing to make his point clear.
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Patrick Swayze dies after cancer battle

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) — Patrick Swayze, whose good looks and sympathetic performances in films such as “Dirty Dancing” and “Ghost” made him a romantic idol to millions, died Monday. He was 57.

Swayze died of pancreatic cancer, his publicist, Annett Wolf, told CNN.

Swayze’s doctor, Dr. George Fisher, revealed in early March 2008 that Swayze was suffering from the disease.

Most recently, Swayze starred in A&E Network’s “The Beast,” which debuted in January. He agreed to take the starring role of an undercover FBI agent before his diagnosis.

The network agreed to shoot an entire season of the show after Swayze responded well to his cancer treatment.

In an interview with ABC’s Barbara Walters in January, Swayze said his work on that show was exhausting, requiring 12-hour workdays in Chicago, Illinois, doing his own stunts. But he said the show’s character “just felt right for my soul.”
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Box Office Weekend: Tyler Perry’s Bad Does Good

The fall movie season has begun, and all we can say is: Bring back summer!

Like the guys who sweep up the elephant dung after the circus has paraded through town, the first autumn releases tiptoed into movie theaters. Rather, one of them sauntered — Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself, which ignored the critics and most of the caucasian movie audience to clean up with $24 million — while the rest staggered. It’s as if the longest possible summer stanza (from May 1 to Sept. 7) had finally collapsed from satiety. Hollywood would say it was a grand gorging: all-time box office records were broken both in North America and abroad.
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Kanye West Steals Taylor Swift’s Thunder…But Not for Long

The night was supposed to belong to Michael Jackson. The MTV Video Music Awards certainly started out that way.

But after Madonna’s heartfelt speech about the fallen star and Janet’s stunning performance, a new feud was born, dominated the evening and then petered out just as quickly.

Yes, we’re talking about Kanye West and Taylor Swift.

When sweet Swift won her award for Best Female Video, besting Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Pink, Kelly Clarkson and Katy Perry.
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Zeta-Jones latest star to test 40 in Hollywood

(CNN) — Happy birthday, Catherine Zeta-Jones. You are turning 40 this month, joining an exclusive club of women in show business who are marking the same milestone this year.

Think big names like Renee Zellweger, Jennifer Aniston, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez and Cate Blanchett.

It’s a birthday many actors — but especially female stars — in Hollywood would once dread, hide and agonize over.

At an age where men could comfortably play heroes and lovers in the prime of their life — and could do so for many years to come — women often found themselves starting to be cast in different roles.

(One example: “The Graduate,” where 36-year-old Anne Bancroft played a frustrated “older woman” trying to seduce Dustin Hoffman, who was just six years younger than she at the time.)
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Venice honour for Pixar directors

The animation directors of Pixar studios have won the Venice Film Festival’s lifetime achievement award – the first team to be given the honour.

Chief creative officer John Lasseter and its other directors are behind hits including Finding Nemo and Toy Story.

Pixar has made 10 films, four of which have won best animation Oscars.

Earlier, Lasseter said he hoped more animations would be put forward for the best picture Oscar now that 10 films will be eligible for the shortlist.
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Carrie Prejean Made a Pact With the Devil (or Perez)?!

Quick, who’s the reigning Miss America?

Don’t feel bad for being stumped. These days, pageant queens are anonymous. If they didn’t wear I.D. sashes, we’d mistake them for your average, everyday breast-implant model.

Except for Carrie Prejean. She’s famous.

Now how did that happen, you wonder? Yes, how did that happen?

Was it a quirk of the YouTube era? A miracle? Or perhaps something else—something else involving a contract, a drop of blood and a dark figure some call Beelzebub?! Or a blogger and a handshake. Same difference.
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Jackson Family, Liz Taylor, Macaulay Culkin, Lisa Marie Presley Gather for Final Goodbye

At long last, the King of Pop was laid to rest tonight within the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, Calif.

Macaulay Culkin and Mila Kunis, Elizabeth Taylor, Lisa Marie Presley, Quincy Jones, Berry Gordy, Gladys Knight, the Rev. Al Sharpton, Corey Feldman, Chris Tucker, Kenny Ortega, Marlon Brando’s son Miko and baseball star Barry Bonds were among those who braved the stifling San Fernando Valley heat to bid Michael Jackson a final goodbye, more than two months after his tragic death at the age of 50.

Rows of white chairs were set up for the mourners on the lawn right outside the mausoleum, which is not visible from the cemetery’s main gate.
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