UTV Motion Pictures Sells German Rights for 'Dhobi Ghat'

Britney Spears' Official "Hold It Against Me" Video: Watch & React Now!

Anna Kendrick & Bryce Dallas Howard film “50/50″ gets release date #50/50

Summit Entertainment has announced a release date of September 30th for the film 50/50. The film originally titled I am with Cancer is described as a comedy and has a wonderful cast. Not only does the film feature Anna Kendrick and Bryce Dallas Howard but it also will star Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Angelica Huston and Phillip Baker Hall.

John Wayne Schulz Covers Landslide: Watch Now! #AmericanIdol

Cheap Package Holidays From Travel Agents A Turn Off

Leading holiday firms are watching in amazement as they see their customer base dwindle due to the amount of holidaymakers now turning to the Internet to book their family holidays.

Travel Agents have been harping on about their profits not being as big as they were two years ago but they do not seem to be doing anything about it according to our travel expert, Diane Walker.

Diane Walker said: “There has been lots of reports that travel agents will be reducing their package holiday prices but there is no sight of that happening yet and instead prices having staying put or even on occasions increasing in price, making it harder for families to have a holiday abroad.”

It has been reported that leading travel agents have been stuck with over 60,000 holidays that they are unable to sell and according to a recent news story, travel firms will be having a huge sale, but there does not seem to be any difference in price with high street travel agents making us believe that this is just a marketing ploy to try and off load the thousands of unsold holidays at the same price they have been selling them all along.

After our research, we have found that instead of the holidays being reduced, we have found holidays with leading travel agents staying at the same price and in some respects increasing in price, which includes holidays to Lanzarote in October of this year.

Travel Agents have been complaining for some time now that they are finding it hard to compete against online travel agents and companies offering cheap flights, but even though they have seen a decrease in the number of holidays being sold, it seems the travel agents are sticking to their guns and hoping they can still offload these holidays without giving to much of a discount.

Holiday makers have now become wise and are avoiding the high street travel agent to book their holidays online, where they are finding if they book a separate flight online and book a hotel direct, they can save hundreds on the overall package price.

We have found by comparing 20 holidays being offered by leading travel agents for a family of four in destinations that include Benidorm, Lanzarote and Turkey, that on average we could save £820 by booking the holiday separate and this including luggage allowance and transfers meaning the high street travel agent really needs to understand they are no longer the only point of contact when it comes to a family booking a holiday.

We spoke to a travel advisor for one of the biggest High Street travel agents who said: “I have noticed in our shop that we are not seeing the same faces that we see year in year out and I put this down to more people now using the internet to book their holiday. Even with my discount I have found that I can book holidays a lot cheaper on the Internet than what my company can offer and this does worry me.”

She continued: “With the large number of holidays being unsold and the huge decrease that I have seen with customers coming into our shop I am worried for the future of the High Street travel agent, unless we do something soon, I fear redundancies will be on the cards. We really need to start competing with online travel agents to get our customers back.”

We asked 100 people how they have booked there holiday this year and we were not surprised by the result.

57% said they have booked their holiday online with online travel agents

30% said they booked their holiday with high street travel agents

10% said they have booked direct with British Holiday parks

3% said they could not afford a holiday this year with rising prices

Our survey shows that the trend for booking holidays online is increasing with more and more people looking to save money by booking separate flights and hotels, which in turn is bad news for the High Street Travel Agents.

Unfortunately it does not seem likely that the High Street travel agents are going to start competing any time soon, which means it is good news for online travel agents and online flights agents who are seeing an increase in profits with more people avoid the high street travel agents.

NEW “Thor” Trailer – VIDEO

(Marvel)

Another trailer for Marvel’s Thor has been released.

The movie hits theaters May 6.

Directed by Kenneth Branagh, Thor stars Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Kat Dennings, and Anthony Hopkins.

Are you excited to see it?

Kobe Bryant's NBA Bash -- Not All VIPs Welcome

Kobe Bryant is hosting an ULTRA-exclusive Hollywood party during All-Star weekend -- but TMZ has learned everyone in the VIP section must pass a "screening process" before they'll be allowed near the NBA superstar Saturday night.



The party is supposed to be INSANE -- with organizers dropping roughly $50,000 to give Boulevard 3 nightclub an Asian-themed makeover in honor of Kobe enshrining his hands and feet at Grauman's Chinese Theater earlier that day. 

But not just any schmuck with a wad of cash will be allowed to get all schmoozy with Kobe -- party organizers tell us they will have a vigorous screening process for anyone who wants to purchase a VIP table near Kobe's private section.

And for the fans who can't cross the VIP rope ... we're told there will be plenty of other cool stuff at the party -- including a 15-foot custom made dragon. 

How Lindsay Could Go To Jail Without a Trial

Lindsay Lohan could go to jail for more than a year for allegedly stealing that necklace ... and it could happen without a jury, without a trial .... without grand theft charges even being pursued.



After doing some investigating, we discovered the D.A. could drop the felony grand theft case completely.  But that wouldn't end Lindsay's legal woes -- not by a long shot.

Prosecutor Danette Meyers could go back to court and ask the judge to violate Lindsay's DUI probation ... on grounds she stole the necklace.

The judge in the probation case could then hold a hearing -- without a jury -- to determine if Lindsay did indeed pilfer the jewelry. 

Now here's the big problem for Lindsay.  In a criminal case, the D.A. must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt -- in other words, convincing a jury that there's a 98 to 99% chance that she did the deed.

But in a probation violation case, all the judge has to decide is that it's more likely than not that she stole the jewelry -- in other words, that there's a 50.1% chance she did it.

Sources connected with the D.A.'s office tell us ... prosecutors believe they could ask for more than 1 year in jail if the judge decides Lindsay violated her probation.

And one final piece of bad news. It's very possible if the D.A. dismissed the grand theft case, the probation violation matter would go back to Judge Elden Fox in Beverly Hills, who has totally lost patience with Lindsay.

Tab Poops on Matt Damon

(GettyImages.com)

According to the National Enquirer, while Scarlett Johansson and Matt Damon playfully wrestled over a water bottle during a break from shooting We Bought a Zoo, ”an orangutan who’s co-starring with them suddenly went BANANAS!”

The tab goes on to claim that “the grouchy gorilla, who’s apparently taken quite a monkey-shine to Scarlett since filming began, got jealous and angry when Matt started grabbing at her,” and pelted the Oscar winner with “APE DOO-DOO!”

If the supermarket rag had simply spent as much time fact-checking as it did coming up with primate puns, it wouldn’t have printed this – to borrow a phrase – “poop.”

This monkey business never happened.

In addition to not even having an orangutan in the movie, a rep for the film tells Gossip Cop, “No such event occurred on the set of We BoughTweett A Zoo.”

These kind of fabricated stories makes us go ape s**t!

Appeals Court Allows No Doubt To Pursue 'Band Hero' Lawsuit Against Activision

Activision

This week is shaping up to be a big one in the ongoing struggle to figure out the difference between commercial and expressive speech, the times when entertainment companies can show public figures in the name of the First Amendment and the times when they can't due to violations of a celebrity's right to control their own publicity.

Just as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals was hearing an important case involving former NCAA athletes fighting Electronic Arts over use of their image in sports video games, the California Court of Appeals was weighing in on a similar dispute involving the band No Doubt and Activision Blizzard, makers of the game, "Band Hero." A panel of justices has given the go-ahead to the band to proceed with its lawsuit against Activision alleging publicity rights violations and breach of contract. 

No Doubt originally sued Activision in 2009 after it was shocked to learn that "Band Hero" allowed game-players to "unlock" special features of the game and manipulate avatars to engage in unapproved acts, from having a Gwen Stefani virtual character perform the Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Woman" in a male voice to making band members do unrealistic dance moves. No Doubt asserted that its agreement with Activision granting publicity rights didn't cover these unanticipated features.

Activision countersued with an anti-SLAPP motion that argued No Doubt's lawsuit amounted to a chill of free speech.

As usual in these sorts of disputes, the question becomes whether the speech -- in this case, the game -- amounted to a "transformative use" of the celebrity's image, in which case it falls under First Amendment protection. The California Appeals Court says that Activision's use of No Doubt isn't sufficiently transformative, finding that the images in the game were nothing "more than literal, fungible reproductions of their likenesses."

Here's the decision.

The case may proceed to trial unless it is appealed further, which very may well depend on the outcome of those former NCAA athletes fighting Electronic Arts.

Yesterday, the justices at the Ninth Circuit heard arguments from the attorneys.

Kelli Sager, who is representing Electronic Arts, told the Ninth Circuit that courts should focus on works as a whole, not just individual elements, when examining the issue of what's transformative. She argued that video games are constitutionally protected works of expression. 

"The First Amendment protects all kinds of expressive work," she said. "Video games, particularly one like this that have all these different elements, are also expressive work, and you're allowed to use names and people's likenesses in expressive work."

Steve Berman is representing the class of plaintiffs in the dispute and wants the Ninth Circuit to see video games as commercial items and focus on the nitty gritty when examining the exploitation of a celebrity in a video game.

"If you're using that person's identity to make money, that's not protected, that's theft of likeness," he told the panel. "If you're using the name Ghandi in an expressive film about the revolution there, that's protected, that's expressive...This game is not expressive. It's like the Wheaties box. They've taken the images from head to toe ...and put it in their game for commercial purposes."

Bruno Mars Cuts Deal in Coke Possession Case

Bruno Mars just formally pled guilty today to possession of a controlled substance.



Mars was in a Las Vegas courtroom with his lawyer, Blair Berk, when Mars pled guilty to felony cocaine possession, but if he stays out of trouble for 12 months, the charge will be dismissed -- as if it never happened.

Mars is also required to do 8 hours of private counseling and 200 hours of community service with a charitable organization.  He must also pay a $2,000 fine -- which he's paying today ... because he has Bruno Mars money.

Berk tells TMZ, "We are very pleased  that the prosecution has agreed to dismiss the charge."

As we previously reported, Bruno was arrested in September at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino after a bathroom attendant told security a man was doing coke in the bathroom.

Lindsay Lohan Letterman Appearance: Not Actually Happening, Booked By Impostor!