LL Cool J Takes Down Intruder in His L.A. Home
LL Cool J – whose real name is James Todd Smith – took down an intruder who broke into his Los Angeles home early Wednesday morning. While sleeping upstairs, the NCIS: Los Angeles star heard suspicious noises downstairs around 2 a.m. Upon going down to investigate, the 44-year-old rapper-actor discovered his home had been broken into by an intruder. LL Cool J – who stars as Special Agent Sam Hanna on NCIS: Los Angeles – was able to apprehend the intruder and restrain him until authorities arrived on the scene. Police, who have yet to release the intruder's name, reported that while the suspect suffered a few bruises, no one was hurt and nothing was stolen from the home. "LL Cool J and his family are safe and thank everyone for their thoughts and concern. As a father, husband and citizen, he is committed to keeping his family safe and is cooperating with authorities on this private matter," his rep said.
 Ending weeks of speculation, Sam Claflin (Snow White and the Huntsman) has officially been cast as the dashing former Hunger Games champion Finnick Odair in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Lionsgate announced. The British-born Claflin, 24, had been the front-runner for the coveted role since mid-July. Of all the new characters in Catching Fire, Finnick looms largest. After he won his Hunger Games for District 4 when he was 14 thanks to his prowess with a trident, Finnick’s rakish good looks and louche charm helped him become something of a celebrity in the Capitol.  The role marks yet another remarkable step forward in the lightning-fast rise of Claflin’s career. He first appeared in a supporting role in the Starz miniseries The Pillars of the Earth. In 2011, he starred in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides as the young romantic lead (i.e. the Orlando Bloom role). And earlier this summer, Claflin vied for Kristen Stewart’s affections in Snow White and the Huntsman.


'Dragon Tattoo' sequel won't be released in 2013, still in the works
The Girl Who Played With Fire, the sequel to last year’s David Fincher-directed The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, will not be in theaters late next year as had originally been hoped, a source close to the production says. Dragon Tattoo screenwriter Steven Zaillian is still working on the script, and nothing will move forward until the screenplay is nailed down. While there’s still no director attached, Fincher remains the first choice and hasn’t ruled out returning. And despite the uncertain timetable, the film is still definitely moving forward, although the source says that they are not in a rush and at this point there is no information about when it might be released. In November, Sony Pictures Entertainment Co-Chairman Amy Pascal told us that stars Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig were both locked in for the sequel.
  Vivienne Jolie-Pitt is following in her parents' footsteps. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's daughter, 4, landed her first Hollywood gig, Walt Disney Studios confirmed. Jolie-Pitt will play the child version of Princess Aurora, opposite Jolie, in Maleficent, the live-action updated version of the classic fairy-tale Sleeping Beauty. Elle Fanning, who plays the grown version of Aurora, will take on the majority of Aurora's role, according to sources, who add that Jolie-Pitt's part is very minor.

Taylor Swift Crashes a Kennedy Wedding

Victoria Gifford Kennedy is claiming the 22-year-old Grammy award winner crashed her daughter Kyle's wedding in Boston on Saturday. The mother of the bride says Swift's beau, Conor, was invited to her daughter's nuptials to Liam Kerr, but failed to RSVP. "[Swift and Conor] texted me an hour before the wedding and asked if they could come. I responded with a very clear 'Please do not come.' They came anyway," she says. "I personally went up to Ms. Swift, whose entrance distracted the entire event, politely introduced myself to her and asked her as nicely as I could to leave," she adds. "It was like talking to a ghost. She seemed to look right past me." But Swift's rep, Paula Erickson, tells the paper that Gifford Kennedy's claims are totally bogus. "Taylor was invited to the wedding and the bride thanked her profusely for being there," she said. Prior to this incident, the Kennedy family has treated Swift warmly and welcomed her into the fold.

Viacom battling The Situation over who owns 'GTL,' 'Twinning'

A "Jersey Shore" catfight is brewing far from Seaside Heights. MTV owner Viacom has taken on Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino over trademarks to the catchphrases he utters on the hit show. Viacom is opposing the trademark registration of the word "twinning" by MPS Entertainment, the company that Sorrentino owns with his brother. In new papers filed at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, Viacom suggests that it own any catchphrases Sorrentino comes up with on the show. Before Sorrentino was a big reality star, he signed the kind of onerous deal that so many wannabe reality stars do in the interest of becoming famous. In his Participant Agreement with 495 Productions, producer of "Jersey Shore," he granted the rights in "all ideas, gags, suggestions, themes, plots, stories, characters, characterizations, dialogue, text, designs, graphics, titles, drawings, artwork, digital works, songs, music, photography, video, film and other material whether or not fixed or reduced to drawing or writing, at any time heretofore or hereafter created or contributed by me which in any way relate to ['Jersey Shore'] ..." The show hit it big, and Sorrentino signed an amended contract with a paragraph that stated, "The above language shall not in any way limit any previous grant of rights to the Producer." Nevertheless, Sorrentino's company with his brother has sought to capitalize on phrases from the show. The branding has been highly lucrative. MPS Entertainment has inked deals for a clothing line with Dilligaf, endorsements with Vitamin Water and Reebok and a "GTL" app on iTunes. Sorrentino made about $5 million in 2010 and became so protective of his sloganeering empire that in November, he sued Abercrombie & Fitch for selling T-shirts with the words "The Fitchuation" and "GTL ... You Know the Deal." But Viacom wants to put a stop to it. Last week, Viacom told the Trademark Board that the series has led to many "catchphrases" including "gym, tanning, laundry," "grenade" (an unattractive young woman), "creep" (picking up women at a bar), "robbery" (stealing a friend's date), "female backpack" (a clingy girlfriend), "lean cuisine" (a fit but slender man), "pounding it out" (sex) and "smush" (more sex).

TV News
Michelle Obama has a gig of her own during the Republican National Convention. The first lady is heading back to New York for David Letterman's show on Aug. 29, the third day of the GOP convention in Tampa, Fla. It will be the first lady's third appearance on the "Late Show With David Letterman." She sat down with Letterman last March and presented the Top Ten fun facts about gardening in June. Mrs. Obama will be in New York next week as part of a back-to-school tour, discussing ways that parents can help kids settle into classes and eat healthy school lunches.


The 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards will air live on NBC on Sunday, January 13, 2013.


The Killing isn’t dead yet. A month after AMC pulled the plug on the whodunit, two potential suitors with experience bringing axed TV series back to life — Netflix and DirecTV — are in early talks with Fox TV Studios to pick up a third season of the show, multiple sources have confirmed.


VH1 has renewed Single Ladies for a third season, to bow in late 2013.


Grimm is getting wild and woolly with its latest guest gig. Kristina Anapau, who appeared on True Blood as the fairy Maurella, will guest star in Episode 5 of the NBC series’s current season. In the installment — titled “Good Shepherd” and loosely based on the fable about the wolf in sheep’s clothing — Anapau will play Megan Marston, a quiet, sheepish secretary working at a Wesen church who is actually a sheep-like creature dubbed a Seelengut. Despite her reserved nature, Megan is in an intimate relationship with the church’s Blutbad reverend — a wolf in sheep’s clothing, indeed. Season 2 of Grimm currently airs Mondays at 10/9c. It’ll move to its regular timeslot on Friday, Sept. 21 at 9 pm.


Oscar nominee Terrence Howard will guest-star in a Season 3 episode of Hawaii Five-0. He’ll appear via flashbacks to Danny’s (Scott Caan) former life as a New Jersey cop. Kardashian kid Kendall Jenner will guest in the same installment.


Chloe Sevigny is moving to Portlandia. The Big Love alumna has joined Season 3 of the quirky IFC comedy as Fred and Carrie’s new roomie. Sevigny — who most recently appeared in the gritty British import Hit & Miss — will also co-star in this fall’s American Horror Story: Asylum playing a nymphomaniac.