Michael Sarrazin Dies at 70

Michael Sarrazin, whose late '60s and early '70s movies included the Oscar-nominated They Shoot Horses, Don't They with Jane Fonda, died of cancer in a Montreal hospital, his agent said. The Quebec City-born actor was 70. Among his other movies were The Flim-Flam Man with George C. Scott, The Sweet Ride with Jacqueline Bisset – with whom he had a long relationship – as well as Sometimes a Great Notion and The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, both with Paul Newman, and For Pete's Sake, with Barbra Streisand. Survivors, according to the Times, include two daughters, Michelle and Catherine, and a brother, Pierre, a producer.


Elisabeth Sladen, Dr Who actress dies at age 63
Elisabeth Sladen, a talented actress and strong character on the Dr Who Series has died. Sladen, who was 63, had been suffering from cancer. The actress was best known on the Doctor Who series as the assistant Sarah Jane Smith in the BBC television sci-fi series from 1973 and 1976. Sladen returned to the roll of the assistant on several occasions and was given a spin-off series on CBBC in 2007. The BBC said in a statement, Sladen was survived by a husband, actor Brian Miller, and a daughter, Sadie.

'The Dark Knight Rises' officially adds Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt to cast

Warner Bros. has announced the official casting of Oscar winner Marion Cotillard and Joseph-Gordon Levitt in Christopher Nolan’s third Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises. Cotillard will play Miranda Tate, described as “a Wayne Industries board member eager to help a still-grieving Bruce Wayne resume his father’s philanthropic endeavors for Gotham.” Gordon-Levitt will play John Blake, described as “a Gotham City beat cop assigned to special duty under the command of Commissioner Gordon .”

Black Eyed Peas to start music academy in New York

The Black Eyed Peas are opening a school where New York teens will be able to learn video and music production using professional-quality equipment. The six-time Grammy Award winners announced Tuesday that their Peapod Foundation, together with the Adobe Foundation, will open a Peapod Adobe Youth Voices music and multimedia academy in lower Manhattan.

'Happy Days' cast sue over merchandise sales

Members of the "Happy Days" cast is suing CBS Corp., alleging they're not getting a cut of the money made in sales of DVDs, lunch boxes, board games and other merchandises related to the television show. The plaintiffs named in the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court include Anson Williams, Marion Ross, Don Most, Erin Moran and Patricia Bosley, wife of the late Tom Bosley, who died last year. Two prominent members of the 1974 to 1984 sitcom, Henry Winkler and Ron Howard, are not party to the lawsuit. The suit alleged that CBS cheated the plaintiffs of out of more than $10 million in revenue from the sale of products featuring their images, including gambling machines, T-shirts, board games, greeting cards and drinking glasses. The actors claimed their contracts with the show's producer, Paramount Television, which has been folded into CBS, guaranteed 5 percent of 100 percent of net proceeds from merchandises that use their name, voice or likeness. However, they said CBS has not shown them revenue reports and even told Moran that no money was owed to her. "Despite this ongoing obligation, defendants adopted a 'don't ask, don't pay' policy," the suit said. "If you don't ask, then we don't pay." CBS said it intends to honor its obligation. "We agree that funds are owed to the actors and have been working with them for quite some time to resolve the issue," the company said in a statement.

Demi Lovato Exits Disney Series: 'I Don't Think It Would Be Healthy for My Recovery'

As speculated, given the seriousness of her recent personal ordeals, Demi Lovato has decided not to return to her starring role on the Disney Channel comedy Sonny With a Chance. “I don’t think going back to Sonny would be healthy for my recovery,” the actress/singer says, “Being in front of a camera would make me nervous.” Lovato, 18, dropped out of a tour with the Jonas Brothers last October to enter a treatment program to address “emotional and physical issues she has dealt with for some time,” her rep said at the time. The starlet has since revealed that she has battle an eating disorder since age 8, been a “cutter” since 11, and hit a backup dancer on the aforementioned tour, prompting her decision to seek treatment. “It’s kind of sad for me that a chapter of my life has ended,” Lovato says of leaving Sonny, “but there couldn’t be a better time for me to move on.” Disney Channel’s response is a nurturing one. “We respect Demi’s decision to focus full-time on her music and not immediately return to her acting career,” the cabler said in a statement. “She is a talented young woman and our hearts are with her as she continues to take action to improve her health and bounce back from adversity.” In Lovato’s absence, Sonny With a Chance — which starred the Disney teen queen as Midwest lass-gone-Hollywood Sonny Munroe — will be rejiggered as a sketch comedy program titled So Random!, to premiere in June.



Blink 182 Postpones Tour
Blink-182 fans in the U.K. will have to wait another year before the band tours Europe again. The band announced the news on their website Monday morning that they will be rescheduling their European Summer tour in order to complete their next album.

Uma Thurman and Jude Law join Robert De Niro's Cannes jury

The Cannes Film Festival has picked some international heavy-hitters for the jury this year. Oscar-winner Robert De Niro ("Raging Bull," "Meet the Parents") will act as jury president at the 64th annual Cannes Film Festival. "The Cannes Film Festival is a rare opportunity for me as it is one of the oldest and one of the best in the world," the actor said. De Niro has starred in eight films that were presented at the fest in the past.
 
TV NEWS
"Saturday Night Live" has set a host for this season's finale on May 21, and it's none other than Justin Timberlake.


The first advertiser to step forth and protest ABC Daytime’s decision to dispatch with both All My Children and One Life to Live, Hoover announced on Monday that it was pulling its advertising from ABC as a whole effective this Friday. In fact, “We’re making every attempt to pull our spots from these programs sooner,” reads the message from Brian Kirkendall, Hoover’s VP of Marketing, posted to the company’s Facebook page. Beyond not showing ABC the money, Hoover has set up the email address SaveTheSoaps@Hoover.com. The company will collect messages from soap fans and relay them to ABC through its own channels.


Film star Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler) is reportedly in talks to join Aaron Sorkin’s HBO pilot More as the Story Develops. Jeff Daniels (Dumb & Dumber) is set to star in the series as head anchor of a Fox News/MSNBC/CNN-esque program.


Mary Steenburgen (Curb Your Enthusiasm) will guest star on FX’s upcoming dramedy Wilfred, playing the mom of Elijah Wood’s character.


It’s Game day over at HBO. The cabler has renewed its acclaimed medieval soap Game of Thrones for a second season just two days after the show’s first season bowed to modest ratings. 


Judge Rules on Charlie and Brooke Custody Case
Charlie Sheen and Brooke Mueller showed up to court today, but the judge ruled that everything should stay the same. Brooke fell off the wagon last week and is currently in rehab, and Charlie has been a mess for months, so the judge refused to give Charlie full custody, like he hoped. Charlie's camp tried to argue that the twins would be better off with him, especially now that Brooke is in rehab, but the judge didn't go for it.