Susan Boyle Has UK’s Best-Selling Debut Album Ever

Susan Boyle, the shy 48-year-old Scottish spinster, has made history with the fastest-selling worldwide debut album for a female artist.


Miss Boyle captured hearts across the globe with her audition on Britain's Got Talent last year.

But even her greatest supporters may not have believed that the eccentric lady who still lives in her childhood home in Blackburn in the heart of West Lothian, would celebrate not just the number one album in Britain, but also Australia and Ireland.

The album, I Dreamed A Dream - named after the Les Miserables tune that Miss Boyle sang at her audition - was last night confirmed as the fastest selling UK debut ever, shifting 411,820 copies in its first week - beating the previous fastest-selling debut of all time, Leona Lewis's Spirit.

It is on course to top the charts in America, Canada and New Zealand. In the U.S., it has projected first-week sales of around one million.

But while sales of the album were soaring, one TV presenter was facing the sack for calling her 'retarded'.

Paul Henry has refused to apologise after saying on his New Zealand breakfast show that 'she is in fact retarded'.

Miss Boyle, who has a minor learning disability, recorded the album just weeks after suffering a breakdown, following the Britain's Got Talent final in May where she was named runner-up. She spent four days being treated for exhaustion at the Priory clinic.

Miss Boyle, who was yesterday rehearsing in London for her ITV Christmas special, released just a brief statement through her management: 'It's fantastic.'

Simon Cowell, who signed Miss Boyle to his Syco record label, admitted to the Mail that he had been 'incredibly judgmental' when he first saw the singer at her audition.

Cowell, 50, said: 'I think Susan Boyle was good for all of us. She was certainly good for me because I look at me in that first audition and I saw something which I didn't particularly like, which was incredibly judgmental.

'So I think Susan is going to help an awful lot of people who didn't have the confidence to do this and realise that actually if you are determined and talented and people like you, you don't have to conform to what the music business has previously said.'

He says she is 'a fly in the face of every talentless monster who's become famous for not actually doing anything, but of which there are thousands in the world today - just people who are famous for being useless'.

Tom Cruise Cameron Diaz “Knight & Day” Bull Run Shoot

Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz have arrived in the southern Spain village of Cadiz Sevilla to film scenes for the James Mangold-directed action comedy Knight & Day, Spanish media reported on Sunday.


The Hollywood stars have started shooting scenes that imitate the famous bull run held each year in northern Spain.

During The Pamplona Bull Run, crowds race ahead of a herd of thundering bulls, which can weigh up to 1,500 pounds each, along a 900 yard course of cobbled streets. The run is held in the city each July and was made famous by Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises.

Earlier this month, seven bulls escaped durng the film’s rehearsals, slightly injuring two women.

Knight & Day opens in North America in July 2010.


'Twitter' top word of 2009

Twitter has had quite a year. Not only has it attracted worldwide attention and millions of new users, "Twitter" has been named the top word in the English language for 2009.

According to the Global Language Monitor, which examines language usage across the world, "Twitter" beat out "Obama," "H1N1," "stimulus," and "vampire" to take the crown. Interestingly, "2.0" came in at sixth place.

"In a year dominated by world-shaking political events, a pandemic, the aftereffects of a financial tsunami, and the death of a revered pop icon, the word 'Twitter' stands above all the other words," Paul JJ Payack, president of Global Language Monitor, said Sunday in a statement. "Twitter represents a new form of social interaction, where all communication is reduced to 140 characters. Being limited to strict formats did wonders for the sonnet and haiku. One wonders where this highly impractical word-limit will lead as the future unfolds."

To compile its data, the Global Language Monitor uses its proprietary algorithm, called the Predictive Quantities Indicator. According to the company, the algorithm "tracks words and phrases in the media and on the Internet." It also monitors blogs and social media. Word frequency, contextual usage, and "appearance in global media outlets" contribute to a word's popularity.

Click here to see a full listing of the top words, phrases, and names of the year--and of the decade.

Bing’s 2009 Top Search Terms: Michael Jackson Beats Out Twitter

It’s that time of year again when we see each search engine roll out their top search queries for the year. Scrubbed for pornography and other NSFW stuff, of course. And also manipulated in other ways, like taking out old popular terms, to make sure the list is interesting, if not actually representative of anything, statistically speaking. Here are Bing’s top searches for 2009. I hope nothing important happens in December that will force a revision. Michael Jackson took the top spot, edging out Twitter:

Top 2009 Bing Trending Topics:

1. Michael Jackson
2. Twitter
3. Swine Flu
4. Stock Market
5. Farrah Fawcett
6. Patrick Swayze
7. Cash for Clunkers
8. Jon and Kate Gosselin
9. Billy Mays
10. Jaycee Dugard


After School’s “Because of You” MV Released!

The wait is finally over, After School fans! Despite their melodramatic tease, the MV for their comeback single Because of You has been released!


The ladies have brought a new sound with their comeback, and along with that sound, the ladies brought a new image. The MV revealed a darker, gloomier side of After School, but despite their teary eyes and disheartened faces, I guess it made for good publicity because these ladies have already grasped #1 on various online music charts already with their comeback single. Check out this whole other side of After School!

T-ara releases “Like the Beginning” & two “Bo Peep Bo Peep” MVs!

T-ara has released not one but three versions of the music video for their newest songs, Bo Peep Bo Peep and Like the Beginning from their first album. Usually when artistes release different versions of their music video it's because one is a dance version and the other is a drama version or one has a different setting. This time around for T-ara, it's a totally different story.


For Bo Peep Bo Peep, they released one music video for viewers of age 15 and up and another music video for viewers of age 19 and up. Wow, an idol group making a 19+ music video, pretty intense!

Though Bo Peep Bo Peep has a cute tune, I prefer their other song Like the Beginning which is number 1 right on Bugs chart of Korea.

Since they've just released music videos for 3 songs, they want everyone to decide which is the best. Which is worth promoting and which will win them something this time on a music show?

Check out the music video for Like the Beginning and sit tight while we wait for the rest of the videos!

Like the Beginning



Bo Peep Bo Peep (19+)

Apple May Be Live Testing Next Generation iPhone

An iPhone model that doesn't officially exist began appearing recently in one developer's application analytics, possibly indicating that Apple is field testing the next version of its combination iPod and smartphone. Apparently Pandav's iBart application has been showing usage from an iPhone model identifying itself as iPhone3,1, which is a higher number than any of the current shipping models, according to Mac Rumors.

iPhone2,1 identifies the current iPhone 3GS and began appearing in developer's logs several months ahead of its release, too. The iPhone3,1 identifier first appeared in the iPhone's firmware back in August, leading to speculation that it would be used with the fourth generation model.

Apple isn't saying what it plans to pack into the next generation iPhone, but that hasn't stopped the rumor mill from speculating that it will include a multi-core processor and compatibility with Verizon's cell service. Assuming Apple sticks with its established pattern, the next iPhone model should roll out sometime in July or August 2010.

Bobby Au Yeung bowed to new Film King Nick Cheung and referred him as "Emperor"

Just baked as the new Golden Horse Film King, Nick Cheung made a triumphant return, in a great mood with his new award! This year winning many awards, Nick was at the airport and bumped into good friend and on-screen partner Bobby Au Yeung, who got on his knees and bowed to Film King Nick. Bobby even loudly said: "Seeing Emperor" ("cham geen wong sheung"), making the scene hilarious.

The two have once worked on TVB series <The Legendary of Four Aces> and were both TV King and Film King. They have not kept in contact for some time now, but when they bumped into each other at the airport, they still had great chemistry, causing laughter everywhere.

The two "Emperors" embraced when they saw each other, Bobby even he called Nick "Emperor" while getting down to bow to him and said: "Wah! Another award for you? Now you even got the juice! Usually your not like this though? When will you treat me to a meal?" Nick then said: "This is what call friends!" Bobby replied: "Nah! If it wasn't for the re-runs of <The Legendary of Four Aces> recently, I wouldn't have recognized you! You were just standing near the entrance, blocking my way!" The two were going back and forth making it a hilarious scene. When Nick brought out his award for Bobby to "admire", Bobby was in opposition holding on to the award and laughed: "Wah! I envy you so much!"

Besides Bobby greeting Nick at the airport, EEG Motion Pictures sent out a representative to give him flowers and to pick him up from the airport. Also there were many fans who said: "Handsome Film King!" and a foreigner shouted: "Congratulations! I love you so much!"

Motorola MILESTONE gets video unboxing

Shipments of the Motorola MILESTONE began in Germany a few weeks ago, so it’s a little surprising that we’ve waited this long for an unboxing video. jkkmobile picked up one of the Android 2.0 handsets – known as the Motorola DROID in the US – and promptly opened it up on video.



No great surprises to be found inside, with Motorola’s by-now usual packaging for an Android handset (we’ve seen it before with the CLIQ/DEXT) and the same accessories as we’ve already seen. Still, if you want a slick Motorola for use on GSM/UMTS networks then the MILESTONE is certainly appealing; it’s available SIM-free in Germany priced at around €500 ($750).

Nokia to offer only one Maemo handset in 2010?

There have been a number of rumors flying around that have to do with Nokia and the Maemo operating system that is based on Linux. The rumors have Nokia moving to Maemo rather than Symbian for its high-end smartphones. Nokia has said that statement was premature in the past.



Reuters reports today that a source close to Nokia has said that next year Nokia will offer only one device running Maemo. Nokia has only said that it will not comment on future products. If this is accurate, it could mean one of two things. First, perhaps Nokia is simply not moving to Maemo and its devices will continue to run Symbian for the most part.

The other option is that perhaps Nokia is simply not planning to release many high-end devices. The company has already cut hundreds of R&D employees around the globe so a corresponding reduction in new products would be expected. Nokia has said that it remains firmly committed to Symbian.

TVXQ’s JaeChunSu trio to hold “secret” fanmeeting in Korea

Looks like the rift between TVXQ members may be widening - latest rumor has it that Jaejoong, Junsu & Yoochun (JaeChunSu) have been planning a secret fanmeeting with Cassiopeians without Yunho & Changmin (HoMin).

"Jaejoong, Junsu and Yoochun will hold a fanmeeting in Korea with their fans," an official from Best Hits Song Festival reportedly revealed. "The December event is still being planned, and the date and location have not been confirmed yet."

Although this may not be any indication of a personal dispute between the members, the disunity will undoubtedly be glaringly obvious at this event. Furthermore, what will SM Entertainment think of this "secretive" act of defiance?

Eita Wins Best Supporting Actor Award

At the recently held 34th Hochi Film Awards, actor Eita became the Best Supporting Actor. At 26 years old he has become the youngest actor to win in the category; the previous record holder was Asano Tadanobu, who won the award in 2000 when he was 27. Eita expressed his joy. "I'm really honored. I'm delighted I've become the youngest actor."

For this year Eita has appeared in a slew of movies. The 4 films he participated in are 'ガマの油 / Gama no Abura (Toad's Oil)', 'ディア・ドクター / Dear Doctor', '余命1ヶ月の花嫁 / Yomei 1-kagetsu no Hanayome [lit. 'Bride with One Month to Live']' and 'なくもんか / Nakumonka [lit. 'No Way I'll Cry']'. From serious to comedy films, Eita excelled in a wide variety of genres.

Eita quietly commented "Although I've become the Best Supporting Actor, I really don't think I was able to 'support' the lead actors. Instead I feel like I was the one who was 'supported'..." He was then asked how he succeeded in effectively portraying different kinds of roles. "When developing characters, I basically have the director and other people do the building for me. Sometimes it's better to stay put and just follow directions. Also, by repeatedly going over the script you make new discoveries about what the playwright was trying to express."

Box Office: New Moon Fall Down But Still Stay No1; Blind Side So Close

Okay, so what should we call them: B.S.-ers? Side-dishes? Bli-hards?

Devotees of The Blind Side are deserving of their own Twi-hard-esque nickname after the Sandra Bullock football drama gave New Moon a run for the holiday box office, and, in rare fashion, grossed more money in its second weekend than its first.

Blind Side's Friday-Sunday take was estimated at $40.1 million. New Moon held off Team Bullock, and stayed No. 1 with $42.5 million.

The race between the two movies was tight for one statistical reason: The Blind Side surged, with business up nearly 20 percent; New Moon cooled, with ticket sales plunging 70 percent.

What happened to New Moon? What's up with The Blind Side? And is the world ready for a grown-up Zac Efron? Let's find out:

• Plain and simple, New Moon fanatacism is not an unlimited resource. Twi-hards, who made the movie far bigger than expected last weekend, were tapped out this weekend. Relatively speaking.

• Of the five fastest movies to hit $200 million, of which New Moon, at $230.7 million and counting, is one, the Twilight sequel by far suffered the steepest second-weekend fall. The 70 percent drop was more Mallrats than Dark Knight or even Twilight (down 62 percent).

• It's worth noting that of the five fastest movies to hit $200 millon, New Moon is the only one that didn't cost at least $200 million. Or $150 million. Or $100 million. Or even $75 million.

• After two weekends, the $50 million wonder has made $473.7 million worldwide, its studio reported, so, no, ultimately not any sleep being lost in New Moon-land over Sandra Bullock.

• Residents of New Moon-land, however, would be excused for hearing Sandra Bullock's footsteps. The star's movie nearly matched its prized property at every turn over the long Thanksgiving holiday. From Wednesday-Sunday, New Moon grossed $66 million; The Blind Side was right there with $64.2 million.

• Not only did The Blind Side get bigger in its second weekend, its audience got younger, too. "The movie has taken on a life of its own," Warner Bros. exec Dan Fellman said today.

• After two weekends, The Blind Side, produced for only $29 million, has grossed an estimated $100.3 million domestically.

• The slicked-down Zac Efron played well on the art-house circuit, with Me and Orson Welles grossing $64,780 at four theaters. Penélope Cruz's Broken Embraces was even bigger ($117,005 at two theaters).

• Debuting at two theaters, Disney's old-school animated The Princess and the Frog was a phenom, with a $712,000 Friday-Sunday take. Since opening Wednesday, the film has made $1.1 million.

• John Travolta's Old Dogs ($16.8 million Friday-Sunday; $24.1 million Wednesday-Sunday) wasn't a dog, but it wasn't Wild Hogs, either.

• Thanksgiving was kind to Jim Carrey's A Christmas Carol ($16 million Friday-Sunday; $22.5 million Wednesday-Sunday), which was up 30 percent from last weekend.

• After breaking wide, Fantastic Mr. Fox ($7 million Friday-Sunday; $9.5 million Wednesday-Sunday) broke into the Top 10.

• The debuting The Road ($1.5 million Friday-Sunday; $2 million Wednesday-Sunday—at 111 theaters) did well for a flick that skips the exciting apocalypse, a la 2012, and goes straight to the depressing aftermath.

• Vince Vaughn's sturdy Couples Retreat exited the Top 10 after a seven-weekend stay, and a $106.7 million gross.

• Michael Jackson's This Is It took in $800,000 in its final weekend in theaters, and pushed its concert-movie record to $71.8 million.

Here's a look at the weekend's top-grossing films based on Friday-Sunday estimates as compiled by Exhibitor Relations:

1. The Twilight Saga: New Moon, $42.5 million
2. The Blind Side, $40.1 million
3. 2012, $18 million
4. Old Dogs, $16.8 million
5. Disney's A Christmas Carol, $16 million
6. Ninja Assassin, $13.1 million
7. Planet 51, $10.2 million
8. Precious, $7.1 million
9. Fantastic Mr. Fox, $7 million
10. The Men Who Stare at Goats, $1.5 million

'Nine' leads Press Academy nominations



The obscure International Press Academy is known within awards circles for releasing its nominations before actually seeing all of the big awards contenders, so it’s not always wise to put a lot of stock in its lists. But they’re still interesting to glance at, particularly when it nominates Precious but overlooks leading actress Gabourey Sidibe. Also missing are Invictus and The Lovely Bones. Nine led the nominations with ten, while An Education, Precious, Up in the Air, and The Hurt Locker scored five each. The IPA’s complete film nominations are below, with some commentary under several categories. If your favorites aren’t on here, don’t fret just yet—the IPA often lives in a world all its own.

Motion Picture, Drama
The Hurt Locker
Bright Star
An Education
The Messenger
Precious
The Stoning of Soraya M.

Soraya, a little-seen indie starring Shohreh Aghdashloo and Jim Caviezel, is the biggest surprise here.

Motion Picture, Comedy/Musical
Julie & Julia
The Informant!
A Serious Man
It’s Complicated
Up in the Air
Nine

Both of Meryl Streep’s 2009 comedies were recognized, while The Hangover was not.

Actress, Drama
Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria
Abbie Cornish, Bright Star
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Shohreh Aghdashloo, The Stoning of Soraya M.
Catalina Saavedra, The Maid
Penélope Cruz, Broken Embraces

It’s truly bizarre that Gabourey Sidibe isn’t here, considering the many nods for Precious. I’d also have expected Helen Mirren to make the cut for The Last Station.

Actor, Drama
Johnny Depp, Public Enemies
Hugh Dancy, Adam
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
Michael Sheen, The Damned United
Colin Firth, A Single Man

Firth’s nod is one of only two for Tom Ford’s lush A Single Man (the other is art direction).

Actress, Comedy/Musical
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
Zooey Deschanel, (500) Days of Summer
Katherine Heigl, The Ugly Truth
Sandra Bullock, The Proposal
Marion Cotillard, Nine

When The Ugly Truth gets nominated, you know it’s a weak category. Meanwhile, Cotillard is the only female cast member from Nine to be campaigned as lead actress this awards season.

Actor, Comedy/Musical
Daniel Day-Lewis, Nine
Bradley Cooper, The Hangover
Matt Damon, The Informant!
Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man
George Clooney, Up in the Air

Missing here? Sacha Baron Cohen for Bruno.

Supporting Actress
Emily Blunt, Sunshine Cleaning
Mozhan Marno, The Stoning of Soraya M.
Mo’Nique, Precious
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Penélope Cruz, Nine

Kendrick edged out her Up in the Air costar Vera Farmiga, while Cruz was singled out over her Nine castmates Nicole Kidman and Judi Dench. Meanwhile, Julianne Moore was left out for A Single Man.

Supporting Actor
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
Alfred Molina, An Education
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
James McAvoy, The Last Station
Timothy Spall, The Damned United

Though Christopher Plummer is considered the strongest male contender from The Last Station, the IPA chose the also impressive James McAvoy, who’s actually being campaigned for lead actor.

Director
Neill Blonkamp, District 9
Rob Marshall, Nine
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Lee Daniels, Precious
Jane Campion, Bright Star
Lone Scherfig, An Education

I’m sure all the District 9 fans out there are hoping Blonkamp can continue his momentum. I think it’s great that three of the six nominees here are women.

Original Screenplay
Jane Campion, Bright Star
Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker
Bob Peterson & Pete Docter, Up
Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber, (500) Days of Summer
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, A Serious Man

Adapted Screenplay
Nora Ephron, Julie & Julia
Nick Hornby, An Education
Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious
Neill Blonkamp & Terri Tatchell, District 9
Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air

Foreign Language Film
Red Cliff
The Maid
The White Ribbon
Broken Embraces
I Killed My Mother
Winter in Wartime

Animated or Mixed Media Film
Up
Where the Wild Things Are
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Princess and the Frog
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs

Several less-obvious choices, like Ponyo, Coraline, and 9, were left out.

Documentary
Every Little Step
The Cove
It Might Get Loud
The September Issue
The Beaches of Agnes
Valentino: The Last Emperor

It’s small consolation, but It Might Get Loud and The September Issue are noticed here after failing to make the Academy’s shortlist.

Score
Elliot Goldenthal, Public Enemies
Rolfe Kent, Up in the Air
Michael Giacchino, Up
Carter Burwell & Karen O, Where the Wild Things Are
Marvin Hamlisch, The Informant!
Gabriel Yared, Amelia

Song
“Almost There,” Randy Newman, The Princess and the Frog
“I Can See In Color,” Mary J. Blige, Precious
“Down in New Orleans,” Randy Newman, The Princess and the Frog
“Cinema Italiano,” Maury Yeston, Nine
“The Weary Kind,” Ryan Bingham & T-Bone Burnett, Crazy Heart
“We Are the Children of the World,” Terry Gilliam, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Cinematography
Nine
Public Enemies
It Might Get Loud
Red Cliff
A Serious Man
Inglourious Basterds

Visual Effects
Transformers: Rise of the Fallen
Red Cliff
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Fantastic Mr. Fox
District 9
2012

Editing
It Might Get Loud
Red Cliff
District 9
2012
The Hurt Locker
Nine

Sound
Terminator: Salvation
Transformers: Rise of the Fallen
It Might Get Loud
Red Cliff
2012
Nine

Art Direction
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Public Enemies
Red Cliff
The Road
2012
A Single Man

Costume Design
Red Cliff
Cheri
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
The Young Victoria
Nine

Kris Allen Sells 80,000 First Week, Earning Weakest Debut Of Any “American Idol” Winner

Kris Allen may be an American Idol, but his debut album sales are nothing to idolize.


The Season 8 champ’s debut album sold a disappointing 80,000 in its first week, landing at No. 11 and earning Kris the weakest debut of any Idol winner, Billboard has learned.

In fact, last season’s Idol runner-up, Adam Lambert, is expected to outsell Allen with his own debut. Lambert’s For Your Entertainment is reportedly on its way to a 225,000-selling release following the star’s controversial performance on last weekend’s American Music Awards.

Park Bom ‘You And I’ is the best online song for month of November

2NE1 member Park Bom’s solo debut song ‘You And I’ is the best hit song online for the month of November.


According to music portal site Dosirak on 29th November, the song is up #1 on the monthly chart for the month of November. In the cold late-Autumn winter, it seems that this song is just the right song for the mood and has received much love from music fans.

At #2 is Brown Eyed Girls with ‘Sign’, #3 Baek Ji Young with ‘Don’t Forget’ and #4 with Seo In Kook’s debut song ‘Calling You’. It seems ballad is doing well this month.

Rest of the chart results:

1. Park Bom ‘You And I’
2. Brown Eyed Girls ‘Sign’
3. Baek Ji Young ‘Don’t Forget’
4. Seo In Kook ‘Calling You’
5. SHINee ‘Ring Ding Dong’
6. OneTwo ‘Bad Girl’
7. 2PM ‘Tired of Waiting’
8. f(x) ‘Chu~♡’
9. Ivy ‘Goodbye Tears’
10. SS501 ‘Love Like This’

LeeSsang who won #1 on the monthly chart last month with the song ‘Who Can’t Break Up, A Man Who Can’t Leave’ has fallen out of the top 10 positions this month.

Droid does, iPhone doesn't: The porn app store

Oh, you knew someone was going to do this. So let's just get it over with. And though some might think of this as a battle between the Droid and the iPhone for the nation's morality, let's be open-source about it: someone's trying to make a lot of money from cell phone porn.


A company with the obtusely childlike name MiKandi has launched a mobile app store that will exclusively cater to adults whose brain food consists of content that reflects their age. Yes, the sort of stuff some prefer to refer to as porn.

MiKandi's publicity material naturally avoids this term, referring to the more PC phrase "adult only." However, there is a little kink in its offering. According to Android fanperson site, Phandroid, the MiKandi Market apps only work with Android phones and not with Apple's more morally minded handsets.

Cupertino steadfastly sticks to its policy of refusing to allow apps filled purely with adult content, though some might dispute whether its definition of "adult" isn't occasionally a little idiosyncratic.

Not for a moment would one suggest that Verizon or Motorola or the deities at Google are necessarily in favor of porn apps. However, MiKandi is attempting to take advantage of the fact that the Android system is more open than the iPhone's.



So while the Android Market itself doesn't offer porn, nothing on your Droid phone prevents you from using MiKandi's services. The wise people at Phandroid do, however, offer stern warnings about MiKandi's workings.

Despite attempting to use MiKandi's services, purely for scientific purposes, Phandroid failed to actually secure access to any mature content. Remember, children, this sort of thing will always be a somewhat risky business.

Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal Split

Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal have split, a source close to the actress tells PEOPLE.

No further details were given.

Witherspoon, 33, and Gyllenhaal, 28, costarred in the 2007 movie Rendition, after which rumors started flying about them as an off-screen couple.

By the summer of 2008, however, the rumors appeared to be confirmed, thanks, in part, to an extended Bastille Day holiday in Paris – followed, the next month, when they were seen in Marrakech, spending a Saturday strolling hand-in-hand, checking out bazaar stalls, before stepping into the shade for lunch, according to reports.

Come that Sunday, the couple reportedly stayed in their suites at the 5-star Amanjena Hotel, described as a beautiful, romantic getaway boasting a view of the Atlas Mountains.

'Very Supportive'

By that fall, Witherspoon was telling Vogue about Gyllenhall: "He's very supportive. Suffice it to say, I'm very happy in life, and I'm very lucky to have a lot of really supportive people around me who care very much for me, and, you know, that's all you can hope for in life. I am very blessed in that way."

This spring, in April, the two enjoyed a steamy escape to the Southern California desert, where they looked cozy together at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. "Reese looked cute in a hat and bikini," an eyewitness told PEOPLE. "She was in a great mood and kept chatting with Jake between sips of a piña colada."

And as recently as last month, things still appeared to be running smoothly between the two, with Witherspoon telling InStyle, "We spend the weekends outside L.A, in Ojai, where I have a farmhouse. We have chickens and we grow cucumbers and tomatoes. I love it. It reminds me of where I grew up in Tennessee."

Oscar Recognition

Witherspoon, the 2006 Oscar winner as Best Actress for her role as June Carter Cash in the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, was married for seven years to her Cruel Intentions costar Ryan Phillippe, until their 2006 divorce. They have two children, Ava, 10, and Deacon, 6.

Update: They "Have Not Split"

Despite reports, Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal are still very much a couple, according to their reps.

Although a source close to the couple says their relationship has ended, reps for both say, "it is not true." Nanci Ryder and Carrie Byalick, who rep Witherspoon and Gyllenhaal respectively, tell PEOPLE, "They are still together."

Developing story ...

Rain’s Hong Kong Concert

Rain sure is a busy man!


Rain was walking the red carpet for his Ninja Assassin premiere event in LA only a week ago, but the star managed to pull off a fantastic Hong Kong concert yesterday on November 28th.

Rain held his concert Legend of Rainism at the Asia-World Expo, and the stadium was reportedly filled with 10,000 Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Singaporean, and American fans. He performed a total of 25 songs during the 2 hours and 10 minutes.

For his opening show, Rain appeared on the second floor of his stage while the band performed and it was reported that his face expressed mixed emotions. Emotions ranging from excitement to nervousness from being in front of his fans on stage, rather than being projected onto a movie screen.


Rain was also reported to have been hyped up and running around the stage during his encore performance. Towards the end of the concert, his dancers and band players even sprayed water on him in celebration of the successful night.

The China part of his tour was a success and Rain left Hong Kong on the 29th in order to prepare for his next concert in Indonesia.


However, Rain's performance that night was not the only thing that turned heads, because China's top actor, Chow Yun-Fat, sat amongst the crowd. Apparently, Chow is a fan of Rain as he was even reported to have watched Ninja Assassin the day after it premiered.

Meanwhile, Rain's movie Ninja Assassin, is getting good reviews in both Hollywood and Korea. Congratulations to him on a successful concert and movie!

HTC Hero caught running Android 2.1?



HTC promised the world an Android 2.0-based firmware for its Hero line once it figured out the nitty gritty details of porting Sense to Google's latest code, leapfrogging Donut altogether -- but now, it looks like they're gonna do one better. Screenshots found today show a Hero running Android 2.1, which would dovetail nicely with the fact that Google had teased a "minor update" to 2.0 before the end of 2009 back when it announced Eclair last month. The interface looks largely untouched from 1.5, proof that HTC was able to bring Sense up to speed with minimum drama; it's unclear when this'll all be available, but considering that Sprint's version just got a super-minor update, some carrier-branded versions could be in for a wait.

T-ara to reveal 4 MVs on the 30th including 2 versions of ‘Bo Peep Bo Peep’ MV

T-ara will reveal 2 version of their new MV ‘Bo Peep Bo Peep’ – one for viewers above age of 15, and the other for those above age of 19.


They released MV teasers for 2 songs ‘Bo Peep Bo Peep’ and ‘Like The First Time’ for their 1st album previously on 27th November. And in particular, the responses for the MV teaser of ‘Bo Peep Bo Peep’ was overwhelming partly due to some revealing scenes of actress Jung JiAh in the tease.

With that, the full MV revealed on 30th November will include 2 versions – one for audience aged above 15 and the other one for above 19. The former will be for teenager fans, while the latter one will include a love scene.

There will be 4 MVs released at noon on 30th November including MVs for the songs ‘Like The First Time’ and ‘Apple is A’.

The teasers:

Privacy: How do you rate Google?

Alma Whitten, a Google employee, wrote an article for the Sacramento Bee explains that yes, Google really does take privacy seriously. Though I don’t personally have any reason to doubt her, I suspect there could be a lot of users that can think of reasons Google isn’t as diligent as they should be.

Google – like any other company that collects data – also has a responsibility to protect your information. We know your trust is the most valuable asset we have, and as a result we have built extensive safeguards to protect the data we hold and help ensure your continued privacy. Only select Google employees with a legitimate and pre-approved business need – needs like stopping spam or helping a user directly with his or her account – can ever even access your information.

On the other side of the coin, there are people who would trust their lives with Google. Is putting this amount of trust in a single company wise? Or is knowing exactly where your data is, versus spread think across several providers, a great way to minimize risk?

Stars turn out to pay tribute to Boyzone singer Stephen Gately at emotional memorial concert

Stars of stage and screen turned out to pay tribute to Stephen Gately at a concert in memory of the late Boyzone singer.


Stephen Gately's former Boyzone bandmate Ronan Keating arrives with his wife Yvonne for the memorial concert

As crowds of fans gathered in the pouring rain in London's West End, a string of celebrities showed their support for the event.


The Irishman's Boyzone band mates Ronan Keating, Mikey Graham, Keith Duffy and Shane Lynch looked solemn and did not stop to speak to waiting press as they went into the Palace Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue for the private evening of performances.

Among the celebrities on the red carpet were pop stars Duncan James and Lee Ryan from Blue, the actor Leslie Phillips, Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli and even Cherie Blair.
Gately's bandmates Keith Duffy and Mikey Graham


Mourning: Boyzone star Shane Lynch didn't stop to talk to the press

Cowles said he had lost his 'soulmate' during an emotional speech.

Chesney Hawkes sang his hit The one and Only and also performed a song he wrote with Boyzone Stephen.

Bobby Davro entertained the audience with Frank Sinatra hits and a sing-along of Beatles classic Hey Jude before dancers performed Riverdance.


Celebration: Christopher Biggins stands by as Gately's civil partner Andrew Cowles is comforted by singer Beverley Knight

Other acts in the first half included a ventriloquist as well as Austin from last years X-factor.

Shop worker Ramona Crofts, 42 from Kings Lynn in Norfolk said: 'Andrew made an emotional five minute speech about Stephen.

Old friends: Former Steps singer Lisa Scott Lee and Johnny Shantall arrive

'He said he hadn't realised he lost his soulmate until he was gone.

'He said Stephen was his baby, a man-boy who lit up the room whenever he was there.

'He made people laugh and cry and he cried a little towards the end.'

Admin workers Angela and David Ellis, 37 and 44 from Nottingham said the tragic star would have loved the tribute.

David said: 'Stephen would have enjoyed every minute of it, especially the Irish dancers. Bobby Davro was hilarious and the ventriloquist entertained everyone.'

His wife added: 'It's been just fantastic, very moving.

'Andrew keeps ducking his head, he sees to be enjoying it whilst trying to control his feelings.

'It's a perfect way to pay tribute to Stephen.'


Arrivals: Former Prime Minister's wife Cherie Blair

Kevin Cheng happy that both his series were the Top 3 Rated ; "Beyond" Ending Spoiler

TVB series "Beyond" will be broadcasting its finale tonight (11/29), the cast were arranged to watch the finale together with the audience under the night sky at Discovery Park in Tsuen Wan. Towards Concubine Lai ending up becoming crazy by the end of the series, Tavia expressed that it is reasonable: "Bad people will suffer consequences. This is my first villain role, now that it is over I do feel a lost."

Kevin has confidence for the finale ratings: "I am very happy that both of the series I've participate in ("Beyond" and "Burning Flames 3") are the top 3 highest rated series this year."

2PM’s Taecyeon receives bloody note sprinkled with pubes

A fan letter for 2PM's Taecyeon is receiving an enormously high amount of attention.


You might wondering why - how bad could a mere fan letter possibly be, right? After all, fan letters are nothing but a bunch of written messages about how much someone adores an object of his/her affections... Well, think again.

This particular fan letter was not written in the typical ink we use on a day-to-day basis. In fact, this special "ink" cannot be used every day, but only a few times every cycle of 28 days. Still clueless? It was written with the fangirl's own blood. But not a regular blood you get from a paper cut - this was blood from her period with a sprinkle of pubic hair.



I dedicate to Taecyeon my period blood letter
Ok Taecyeon, You cannot live without me
Sprinkled with a few strands of my pubes


Of course, Korean netizens never believe anything, so after this picture was posted on the web, it received a rush of comments all saying it was fake. I'm guessing that this insane little girl got offended, so she posted a picture of her bloody pad afterwards to prove her writing was truly "genuine."


Click here for uncensored photo

After the post, the enraged/disturbed netizens hunted down her minihompy and began to attack her with hateful comments. The fangirl quickly posted:

"I am sorry. I apologize for bothering Taecyeon as well as his fans. I didn't know it would get this big. I am not a SahSaeng fan, but just an obsessive girl."



Her minihompy is still being flooded with haters even after the apology, and the fangirl has now threatened to file a lawsuit against them.

After the admirable work that Hottests have done in devotion to 2PM, it must be frustrating for many members of the 2PM fanbase to see something extreme like this taint, so to speak, their name. How bloody disgusting...

Poor Taecyeon - first an eyebrow-raising comparison to designer Andre Kim and now this... today just isn't his day!

Nokia N900 glitch leads to useful portrait mode, caught on video



File this under "it's not a bug, it's a feature" if true. According to Guyver at the maemo.org forums, some glitch in the OS caused his Nokia N900 to switch into portrait mode for everything, not just dialer and photo apps as previously allowed. We'd love to eliminate the need for two hands to run our favorite chunks of mobile software, but so far we haven't been able to recreate his trick. Try it at home if you'd like by tilting the device to launch the phone app, then sliding up the screen and closing the app. Perhaps the gang at Espoo can turn this into a legit update -- if they're awesome people, of course.

Eita and Kimura Kaera Bought Wedding Rings

Japanese television program Sunday Japon reported yesterday that Nodame Cantabile actor Eita and singer-songwriter Kimura Kaera recently bought wedding rings. Although they have only been dating for four months, it appears that an imminent wedding might be in the works.



Speaking of Eita, his role in the movie Dear Doctor won him the Best Supporting Actor Award at the Hochi Film Awards. At yesterday's Tama Film Awards, the movie shared the Best Film Award with the movie Ultra Miracle Love Story (Bare Essence of Life), starring Matsuyama Kenichi. As for the Best New Director Award, it went to Kitagawa Eriko for her film Half way. As a first time director, Kitagawa is best known for her screenwriting in the drama Long Vacation.

On the music front, Kimura won the Best Melody Award for her song Butterfly from the awards show put together by all of Japan's 38 music stations. Ayaka won the award for best singer. 4-member rock group Radwimps were the biggest winners, taking both the Best Lyrics Award and the Best Album Award.

Kim Hyun Joong is popular in Taiwan

Kim Hyun Joong is currently leading a popularity poll on Yahoo! Taiwan. Yahoo! Taiwan and Yahoo! Hong Kong have come together for the Yahoo! Asia Buzz Awards 2009 and in the Taiwanese poll, Kim Hyun Joong is in first place for the Asia section with 401,235 votes.

Also, his group SS501 is in 2nd place with 60,396 votes which technically means he has almost 500,000 votes. It's been known that Boys Over Flowers started playing in Taiwan but the popularity of the show proved itself through this poll. Goo Hye Sun is in 6th place, Lee Min Ho in 11th, and Kim Bum in 22nd.

Guess it's Jihoo sunbae over Goo Jun Pyo in Taiwan.

Excluding the Boys Over Flowers cast, Super Junior is in 4th place with 22,448 votes, Lee Jun Ki is in 8th and Yoon Eun Hye is in 9th. Is this a poll for Asia or Korea?

A representative of Yahoo! Korea said, "This poll shows how big Hallyu is. I hope Korean stars bring in more votes in the days that are left for the poll."

These polls are for an actual awards show that is to be held in Hong Kong on December 14th. There's a few days left till the polls close but it doesn't seem like anyone will come close to Kim Hyun Joong.

iDroid App Rejected By Apple. Well, Duh.

Here’s a tip for all you iPhone app developers out there. If you want to make sure your app doesn’t join the long list of rejected iPhone apps out there, make sure it doesn’t advertise a competing product, especially if that product runs the Android operating system. Swavv Apps (creators of Beer Pong) learned that lesson recently when they tried to get their iDroid app past the App Store censors.

The iDroid didn’t do much. It didn’t replicate any Droid features or take over any functionality of the iPhone (that would have made it a worthwhile app). All it did was display the glowing red Droid eye. If you tapped on the eye, it then showed some marketing bullet points about the competing phone such as the fact that it can run simultaneous apps and has a slide-out keyboard (something the iPhone lacks). The second page also shows a picture of the Droid with its keyboard out.

Apple rejected the app because it was nothing more than an ad for a competitor. I kinda have to side with Apple on this one, although I think it would have been smarter for them to let the app through.

Sure, the iDroid was an ad for the Droid phone. But what’s the real message it would have sent? What it says is that the iPhone is a powerful marketing vehicle for anything mobile, perhaps even more powerful than Times Square billboards or Google’s homepage.

If you can get someone to download an app to their iPhone and show it to their friends that’s more likely to make a lasting impression than a glaring billboard. Now, why anyone would want to download the iDroid app other than to get the increasingly-familiar, if somewhat spooky, Droid eye on their iPhone as a lark is beyond me.

Intel's desktop roadmap leaked, with faster i5 and i7, introduction of i3



Just when you thought you had enough gigahertz in your life, along come the folks at Impress to blow the doors off Intel's upcoming crop of desktop processors. In the highly detailed charts there's wild talk of a low-powered "S" version of Core i5 that lowers the chip from 95W to 82W, a new Core i3 line that strips out the Turbo Boost technology and dips into budget-priced territory, and word that at the time of this roadmap at least the Core i9 "Gulftown" chip isn't slated for until Q2 of next year. We could probably bore you all day with the details, so hit up the source link for all the sordid details before we get ourselves too worked up.

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