TODAY’S DIRT:

TMZ reports Charlie Sheen will be charged with felony menacing and misdemeanor assault. He allegedly assaulted his wife on Christmas day. Charlie is set to appear in court Monday, but he is not expected to enter a plea. In the meantime, the couple’s lawyers are working to relax the protective order prohibiting contact between the spouses.

Michael Jackson physician Conrad Murray will reportedly not be arraigned today on a charge of involuntary manslaughter, because the District Attorney and the LAPD are at odds over a plan to let Murray surrender. Apparently, the police do not approve of letting Murray avoid getting handcuffed.

DAVID LETTERMAN’S ACCUSED BLACKMAILER WAS SHOT DOWN IN COURT LAST WEEK WHEN HE TRIED TO HAVE HIS $2 MILLION DOLLAR EXTORTION CASE THROWN OUT OF COURT — CBS PRODUCER ROBERT HALDERMAN IS DUE BACK IN COURT MARCH 9th, AND THE TRIAL WILL START SOMETIME LATER

Brittany Murphy’s initial autopsy results indicate her death was “accidental” from “multiple drug intoxication,” and that Murphy’s pneumonia may have been the result of drug use.

A coroner’s report says Johnson & Johnson heiress Casey Johnson died from lack of insulin. Sources tell TMZ Johnson was not taking her insulin shots and other medications that she needed. They also say she did not follow her strict diet and was not exercising.

THERE ARE CONFLICTING REPORTS AS TO WHETHER OR NOT MILEY CYRUS’S 9-YEAR-OLD SISTER NOAH IS STARTING HER OWN LINE OF “SEXY FRENCH MAID” LINGERIE FOR CHILDREN — US WEEKLY SAYS SHE IS, BUT CNBC SAYS NOAH IS JUST “HELPING PROMOTE” THE LINE, WHICH ISN’T A WHOLE LOT BETTER

Tyler Perry is being taken to court by Johnny Tyrone Stringfield, alleging that Perry used one of his songs on his TBS sitcom “Meet The Browns.” Stringfield now wants Perry to pay him more than 100,000-dollars.

Kim Kardashian is being sued by her former maid for $29,000 in unpaid wages.

Jared Leto was singing with his band, 30 Seconds to Mars, when a man rushed the door of the building with a package in his hands. Witnesses say the man called out Jared by name, and then said something about having explosives. A member of the band and security tackled the man until police came and arrested him. Cops say there was no bomb in the box — just candy and a blender.

Another Idol contestant is facing a little heat over her past.  Nicci Nix, who impressed the judges with her helium sounding, Italian accented voice, has appeared on at least 4 other reality shows before she got to Idol, including Fear Factor, Next, Making the Band and Date My Mom. Apparently she doesn’t really have the accent which got her to the Hollywood round on Idol.  We’ll see what she sounds like now.

The Grammy Awards were last week’s most-watched show, pulling in nearly 26-million viewers.  The two American Idols were next, followed by NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles.

Week ending Jan. 31, 2010
Rank Program Name Net Day Time Viewers
1 GRAMMY AWARDS CBS Sun 8:00 PM 25,869,000
2 AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY FOX Wed 8:00 PM 25,710,000
3 AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY FOX Tue 8:00 PM 24,452,000
4 NCIS CBS Tue 8:00 PM 20,221,000
5 NCIS: LOS ANGELES CBS Tue 9:00 PM 16,942,000
6 HOUSE FOX Mon 8:00 PM 14,213,000
7 BONES FOX Thu 8:00 PM 12,331,000
8 60 MINUTES CBS Sun 7:00 PM 12,328,000
9 TWO AND A HALF MEN CBS Mon 9:00 PM 12,069,000
10 THE BIG BANG THEORY CBS Mon 9:30 PM 11,500,000
11 THE BACHELOR: ON THE WINGS OF LOVE ABC Mon 8:00 PM 11,470,000
12 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES ABC Sun 9:00 PM 11,437,000
13 THE MENTALIST CBS Thu 10:00 PM 11,068,000
14 24 FOX Mon 9:00 PM 10,814,000
15 CASTLE ABC Mon 10:00 PM 10,551,000
16 THE GOOD WIFE CBS Tue 10:00 PM 10,016,000
17 THE BIGGEST LOSER NBC Tue 8:00 PM 9,708,000
18 CSI: MIAMI CBS Mon 10:00 PM 9,548,000
19 HUMAN TARGET FOX Tue 9:01 PM 9,261,000
20 CSI CBS Thu 9:00 PM 9,145,000

New in theatres this weekend — a bald John Travolta has to stop a terrorist threat in the action drama, FROM PARIS WITH LOVE — and a soldier and a college student are separated by war in the romance DEAR JOHN — opening up at the movies this weekend.

Veteran soap actress Francis Reid passed away Wednesday. Alice was an original cast member of NBC’s “Days Of Our Lives,” playing Alice Horton on the show. She was 95.

Birthdays:
Saturday Night Live cast member Chris Parnell : 43
former Saturday Night Live cast member Tim Meadows had the character “The Ladies Man”: 49
Laura Linney starred in Love Actually and won an Emmy for a guest role on Frasier: 46
Single White Female and Rush star Jennifer Jason Leigh was also in Fast Times at Ridgemont High: 48
Christopher Guest played Nigel Tufnel in Spinal Tap and Count Tyrone Rugen, the six-fingered man, in The Princes Bride: 61
and David Selby was Quentin Collins on the 70s vampire soap opera, Dark Shadows: 69

Music Birthdays:
Spin Doctors singer Chris Barron is 42  
and Bobby Brown : 41

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THURSDAY’S DIRT:

Mel Gibson’s longtime rep said the expletive Gibson used to punctuate the end of his TV interview with a Chicago reporter yesterday was directed at him, not at WGN’s Dean Richards. Gibson was still facing the camera and uttered the “A-bomb” just seconds after giving a terse “bye-bye.” The rep says the remark was directed at him because he was making faces at Mel during the interview.

The L.A. County Coroner questioned Brittany Murphy’s husband, Simon Monjack and her mother, Sharon Murphy over the delivery of sealed, manila envelopes that were sent to the house weekly, filled with prescription medications in bottles. Sources say an ex-employee told the Coroner drugs were also mailed from Los Angeles to Louisiana, where Brittany was shooting a movie.

Dr. Conrad Murray will reportedly be arraigned Friday and charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson according to TMZ.

A judge ruled that the administrators of Michael Jackson’s estate, John Branca and John McClain will split 10 percent of the profits reaped by the estate.  However, their portion will not include 10 percent of the proceeds from the hit film This Is It or Jackson’s interest in Sony/ATV’s song catalog.

TIGER WOODS’ WIFE ELIN IS REPORTEDLY OVERJOYED THAT HE’S LEAVING SEX ADDICTION REHAB, AND PLANS TO MEET HIM WHEN HE GETS OUT, POSSIBLY BY THE END OF THIS WEEK — SHE’S FIRED HER HIGH-PRICED DIVORCE LAWYER, BUT STILL ISN’T WEARING HER WEDDING RING
 
Kim Kardashian has secured a permanent restraining order against Dennis Shaun Bowman. He is accused of stalking her and threatening her football star boyfriend Reggie Bush. Kardashian claims Bowman has, among other things, showed up at her appearances in the Los Angeles area and acted out in strange ways like wearing face paint resembling that of the comic book villain the Joker…Meanwhile, Kim arrived in Miami to cheer on Bush as his New Orleans Saints take on the Indianapolis Colts at Sunday’s Super Bowl.

RadarOnline says the District Attorney’s office has summoned Jon Gosselin star to answer questions related to a break-in at his apartment last December. They say police believe the break-in may have been staged.

One week after breaking the worldwide box office, Avatar is now the domestic box office champ. Avatar’s take increased to 601.1-Million-dollars, beating the 600.8-million-dollar record set by Cameron’s other blockbuster epic Titanic 12 years ago.

“PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN” STAR ORLANDO BLOOM HAS ANNOUNCED HE’S LEAVING THE SERIES

RadarOnline says Pamela Anderson will be joining Dancing with the Stars for the new season. A source
says that Anderson “is thrilled and so is the show.”

Lindsay Lohan has apparently let her clutter get out of control, and may be on the Style Network reality show Clean House. She showed host Niecy Nash of Reno 9-1-1 a spare bedroom that hosts a forest of shoe boxes and a living room full of junk.

Bill O’Reilly and Jon Stewart sat down last night for a little one-on-one on The O’Reilly Factor. Stewart mocked Glenn Beck and what he calls “the Fox narrative,” while O’Reilly alternately praised and belittled Stewart and his audience of stoned, Obama-loving slackers.

The two eldest sons in the Duggar family, Joshua and John came to the rescue of a little girl involved in a car accident outside Josh’s used-car dealership. No word on whether cameras were rolling to use the footage on a future episode of the Duggar’s reality show “18 Kids and Counting.”

The guy who owns the infamous party house used on the MTV show Jersey Shore claims he’s making big money from fans looking to rent the place out. The 6 bedroom, 3 bathroom house is currently going for $3,500 per night until May. After that, it skyrockets up to $6,500 per night. The owner says the legendary duck phone is still in the house, as well as most of the couches, beds, tables and artwork that you saw on the show, but assures us that everything has been thoroughly cleaned. Meanwhile, TMZ reports MTV crews are scouring the beaches of Miami for the perfect spots for Season 2

Wayne Newton claims he was ripped off by the people he hired to fix his private jet.  He says he blew more than $700,000 in repairs and it still doesn’t work.  Newton is reportedly under fire for allegedly abandoning the jet in a hanger at the Oakland County International Airport in Michigan nearly three years ago. The hanger claims Wayne owes more than $60,000 in storage fees.

Birthdays:
comedian David Brenner : 74
Night of the Living Dead director George Romero : 70
Conrad Bain was Philip Drummond on Diff’rent Strokes : 87
and Janet Waldo was the voice of Judy Jetson on The Jetsons: 86

Music Birthdays:
Natalie Imbruglia : 35
Alice Cooper : 62
and Gavin DeGraw wrote the theme for One Tree Hill: 33

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WEDNESDAY’S DIRT:

James Cameron’s blockbuster epic “Avatar” is going head-to-head with the low-budget war movie “The Hurt Locker,” directed by his ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow, in several Academy Award categories. Both films earned nine nominations each, including Best Movie and Best Director, to take the lead among this year’s Oscar contenders. Ten films are up for Best Motion Picture this year. Nominations for Best Actor went to Jeff Bridges, George Clooney, Colin Firth, Morgan Freeman and Jeremy Renner. In the Best Actress category, Sandra Bullock earned her first Oscar nomination for “The Blind Side,” while Meryl Streep set a new record with her 16th Oscar nomination. The 82nd Annual Academy Awards will be presented on March 7th.

BEST PICTURE
An Education
Avatar
The Blind Side
District Nine
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air

BEST ACTOR
Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart
George Clooney - Up in the Air
Colin Firth - A Single Man
Jeremy Renner - The Hurt Locker
Morgan Freeman — Invictus

BEST ACTRESS
Sandra Bullock - The Blind Side
Carey Mulligan - An Education
Gabourey Sidibe - Precious
Helen Mirren - The Last Station
Meryl Streep - Julie and Julia

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Matt Damon - Invictus
Christopher Plummer - The Last Station
Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds
Stanley Tucci - The Lovely Bones
Woody Harrelson - The Messenger

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Penelope Cruz — Nine
Vera Farmiga - Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal — Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick - Up in the Air
Mo’Nique - Precious

BEST DIRECTOR
Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker
James Cameron - Avatar
Lee Daniels - Precious
Jason Reitman - Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Coraline
Fantastic Mister Fox
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
Up

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
The Messenger
A Serious Man
Up

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
An Education
District Nine
In the Loop
Precious
Up in the Air

BEST SONG
“Almost There” - The Princess and the Frog
“Down in New Orleans” - The Princess and the Frog
“Loin de Paname” - Paris 36
“Take it All” — Nine
“The Weary Kind” - Crazy Heart

AN UPDATED VERSION OF “WE ARE THE WORLD” WAS RECORDED MONDAY BY MORE THAN A HUNDRED ARTISTS — PRODUCER QUINCY JONES SET IT UP IN THE SAME STUDIO THE ORIGINAL WAS DONE 25 YEARS AGO — The world premiere will air during the Olympics Opening Ceremony Friday, February 12th.

Sources tell TMZ the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office has a criminal complaint ready to file against Dr. Conrad Murray in the death of Michael Jackson.  They say the doctor will be charged with involuntary manslaughter, which could carry a 4-year prison sentence. Murray plans on surrendering today.

Brittany Murphy’s husband has suddenly called off the fundraising party he was throwing in her honor tomorrow night, but he’s not saying why. Simon Monjack had planned a huge launch party tomorrow night for his new Brittany Murphy Foundation, which was to be dedicated to arts education for children.

MEL GIBSON GOT UPSET OVER THE QUESTIONS INTERVIEWER DEAN RICHARDS ASKED ABOUT HIS D.U.I. ARREST, AND HIS ANTI-SEMITIC REMARKS – AT THE VERY END OF THE INTERVIEW, MEL SAID “GOODBYE” AND ASSUMING HE WAS OFF THE AIR CALLED THE HOST AN “A-HOLE”

Captain Phil Harris from “Deadliest Catch” woke up from a medically induced coma Tuesday, and immediately started barking commands from his Anchorage hospital bed. His fishing crew sons Jake and Josh Harris say their dad “showed some good signs of improvement” and squeezed their hands. The Cornelia Marie’s Captain Phil suffered a stroke on Friday.

A new lawsuit claims Idol judge Randy Jackson and MTV stole the show “America’s Best Dance Crew” from a guy named Dwight McGhee.  He says the pitched “International Breakerz League” to MTV back in 2004, and wants more than $2,000,000. No immediate comment from Jackson or MTV.

You can get a preview of this year’s Super Bowl commercials tonight on CBS. American Idol is on FOX.

TAYLOR SWIFT AND JOHN MAYER’S NEW ROMANCE HAS ALREADY HIT THE SKIDS — ANDREA SWIFT, TAYLOR’S OVERPROTECTIVE MANAGER/MOTHER REPORTEDLY TOLD HIM TO KEEP HIS HANDS OFF HER DAUGHTER LAST WEEK AT THE TAPING OF MAYER’S “CROSSROADS” SPECIAL IN NASHVILLE

The son of Ryan O’Neal and the late Farrah Fawcett, Redmond O’Neal will leave jail and enter a residential drug treatment program. He has been in jail since the holidays for an alleged probation violation.

The cast of MTV’s “Jersey Shore” will be part of the first week’s guest’s when Jay Leno takes back “The Tonight Show.” They’ll be on the show March 3rd. They are also said to be stopping by the “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” sometime this week.

Jennifer Aniston will host a screen of the Helen Mirren film “The Last Station” later in the month. Proceeds of the gathering will benefit AmeriCares, one of the three nonprofit organizations to which the superstar donated 500-thousand dollars recently for Haiti earthquake relief.

Justin Mentell, an actor who played Garrett Wells on the William Shatner legal drama “Boston Legal,” is dead following a car crash near Madison, Wisconsin. His Jeep hit two trees after going down a steep embankment in a rural area Monday morning. Mentell was reportedly not wearing a seat belt. Mentell was also a former member of the U.S. Junior National Speed Skating team.

Birthdays:
High School Musical star Ryne Sanborn : 21
Isla Fisher played the crazy redhead Gloria in Wedding Crashers: 34
Maura Tierney was Nurse Abby Lockhart on ER: 45
Morgan Fairchild played Chandler’s romance novel writing mom Nora Bing on Friends and Jordan on Falcon Crest: 60
Blythe Danner was Robert DeNiro’s wife Dina Byrnes on Meet the Parents : 67. She’s also the mother of actress Gwyneth Paltrow.
and The Birdcage star Nathan Lane : 54

Music birthdays:
reggae rapper Sean Kingston : 20
and the other half of Michelle Branch’s country duo, The Wreckers, Jessica Harp : 28

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TUESDAY’S DIRT:

NICK NOLTE WAS CAUGHT ON VIDEO, RUMMAGING THROUGH GARBAGE CANS ON THE VENICE BOARDWALK IN CALIFORNIA — WHAT WAS HE LOOKING FOR? — IN THE VIDEO, HE TELLS A PHOTOGRAPHER “SOMEBODY’S PROBABLY SWALLOWED MY BOTTLE OF XANAX BY NOW,” BUT HE COULD BARELY TALK

THE ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS WILL BE ANNOUNCED THIS MORNING — SANDRA BULLOCK IS CONSIDERED A FRONT RUNNER FOR A “BEST ACTRESS” NOMINATION FOR HER MOVIE “THE BLIND SIDE” — HOWEVER, SHE’S ALSO NOMINATED FOR A “WORST ACTRESS” RAZZIE AWARD FOR HER ATTEMPTED COMEDY “ALL ABOUT STEVE” — IF SHE WINS THEM BOTH, SHE’LL BE THE 1st STAR EVER TO PULL THAT OFF IN THE SAME YEAR — THE RAZZIES WILL BE HANDED OUT MARCH 6, THE NIGHT BEFORE THE OSCARS

SANDRA AND HER HUSBAND, TV MECHANIC JESSE JAMES WERE IN COURT MONDAY, BATTLING WITH HIS EX-WIFE, JANINE LINDEMULDER, OVER CUSTODY OF HIS 6-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER – THE EX IS IN A HALFWAY HOUSE AND HAS WON THE RIGHT TO MAKE DAILY PHONE CALLS, BUT JESSE TOLD THE JUDGE THAT “THEY DISCUSS A LOT OF THINGS THAT I DON’T THINK A 6-YEAR-OLD SHOULD HEAR” — THE CASE IS BEING CONTINUED.

One of the death-defying crab-boat captains of Deadliest Catch is fighting for his life. Phil Harris remains hospitalized in Alaska after suffering a stroke Friday while offloading his vessel, the Cornelia Marie. Harris underwent a 12-hour emergency surgery and was put in a medically induced coma.

Rihanna may have hit the Grammys carpet solo, but she met up on the sly with her baseball playing boyfriend Matt Kemp at an after-party. They both hit the bash at Guys & Dolls, where Jay-Z and Beyoncé also made a surprise appearance.

TMZ says the district attorney in the Michael Jackson case is ready to charge Dr. Conrad Murray with involuntary manslaughter and the case could be filed as early as this week.

Police say Men In Black star Rip Torn was shoeless, his zipper was undone, he had a loaded pistol in his pocket and a whole bunch of booze in his system when he was found roaming around a bank Friday night.  Rip posted bail and his lawyer says he’s going to enter an alcohol treatment facility.

Producers of MTV’s “Jersey Shore” are scouting cities all over the country and may even take the show out of the USA. Producers have called cast members to make sure they have valid passports. Meanwhile, the show’s Pauly D is being sent to the Super Bowl, thanks to a sweet deal from Reebok, and Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino is launching his own fragrance, called Sitch.

Conan O’Brien is shelling out his own cash to some ex-staffers who got shutout of the $7.5 million buyout from NBC. Conan’s stagehands were apparently not covered by the NBC severance plan. But Conan is reportedly promising to pay his nearly 50 person crew at least six weeks severance out of his own pocket.

Madonna has invested 1.5-million dollars in Vita Coco, a company that manufactures a trendy coconut water drink. Madonna invested when she found out that the New York company has turned down investments from big names like Coke and Pepsi.

Sunday night’s GRAMMY Awards was watched by 26-point-six-million viewers, their best ratings in more than five years.

Victoria Beckham rejoins the judges for tonight’s American Idol auditions in Denver.

The final chapter in the crash of Oceanic flight 815 begins tonight on the sixth and final season of Lost. Die-hard fans have been waiting for the answers behind the mysterious island and its inhabitants to finally be revealed, and the fate of the crash survivors known as the Oceanic Six will become known.

NEWSPAPERS IN LONDON REPORT THAT, AFTER 9 YEARS TOGETHER, IT’S ALL OVER FOR ACTRESS CHARLIZE THERON AND HER BOYFRIEND, A LITTLE-KNOWN IRISH ACTOR NAMED STUART TOWNSEND

New on DVD today — Hilary Swank delivers an unforgettable performance as Amelia Earhart in AMELIA — Jennifer Aniston stars in the romantic comedy, LOVE HAPPENS — Paul Giamatti plays an actor named Paul Giamatti in the surreal soul searching comedy COLD SOULS — the horror film THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL — Woody Harrelson battles the undead in the horror comedy ZOMBIELAND — an all-star cast perform romantic stories from The Big Apple in NEW YORK, I LOVE YOU — and the LeBron James biography MORE THAN A GAME — plus the 9th season of the original BEVERLY HILLS 90210 — all out today, wherever DVDs are sold.

Birthdays:
Model Christie Brinkley is the ex-wife of Billy Joel : 56
Dog the Bounty Hunter, Duane ‘Dog’ Chapman : 57
Brent Spiner was Lt. Commander Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation: 61
Smothers Brother Tom Smothers : 73
Robert Mandan played Chester Tate on Soap: 78
and Elizabeth Lackey is Janice Parkman on Heroes: 39

Music birthdays:
the Nash of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Graham Nash : 68
and Shakira : 33

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MONDAY’S DIRT:

BEYONCE WON IN SIX OF THE 10 CATEGORIES SHE WAS NOMINATED IN AT THE 52nd ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS LAST NIGHT – THAT SET A NEW RECORD FOR FEMALES — “ALBUM OF THE YEAR” WENT TO TAYLOR SWIFT, KINGS OF LEON WON “RECORD OF THE YEAR” FOR “USE SOMEBODY” — AND COUNTRY GROUP THE ZAC BROWN BAND GOT “BEST NEW ARTIST” – LADY GAGA DONNED ANOTHER WEIRD OUTFIT WHILE SHE SANG A DUET WITH ELTON JOHN — AND PINK REVEALED A BODYSUIT WHICH LOOKED LIKE IT WAS MADE OUT OF MASKING TAPE, AND THEN SPUN UPSIDE DOWN SOAKING WET FROM THE CEILING OF THE STAPLES CENTER GETTING $15,000 GOWNS BENEATH HER ALL WET — and Paris and Prince Jackson, Michael Jackson’s two oldest kids, delivered a touching speech when they accepted Michael’s lifetime achievement award.

Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones spent Grammy night stocking up on music stars to perform on their “We Are the World” remake to be recorded today in Los Angeles. Bono and Lady Gaga are among the latest on board for the Haiti-helping tune, joining the likes of Usher, Jason Mraz, Akon, Jennifer Hudson, Carlos Santana, Enrique Iglesias and Toni Braxton. There could be as many as 100 singers on the new rendition.

Joe Jackson has filed court papers demanding that UCLA Medical Center release Michael Jackson’s medical records, because he’s looking to sue whoever’s responsible for the death of his son.

Tito Jackson is accused of single handedly ruining a Michael Jackson tribute concert last year, and now concert promoter Roy Isaac wants a $7,500 deposit he paid to Tito back. Isaac says the whole thing fell apart because Tito refused to do any press for the show.

Actor Rip Torn was arrested after cops found him drunk inside a bank in Connecticut with a loaded revolver. No one was in the building at the time Torn allegedly broke in. Cops believe Torn thought he was in his own house. He was charged with carrying a pistol without a permit, carrying a firearm while intoxicated, first-degree burglary, first-degree criminal trespass and third-degree criminal mischief. He is due in court today.  He is best known as Agent Zed in Men in Black and was also Don Giese on 30 Rock.

IN A CLUMSY ATTEMPT TO PUT THE BREAKUP TALK BEHIND THEM, BRAD PITT AND ANGELINA JOLIE ATTENDED THE “DIRECTORS GUILD OF AMERICA” AWARDS SATURDAY NIGHT — BUT THEY REFUSED TO WALK THE RED CARPET OR EVEN BE PHOTOGRAPHED TOGETHER

After a weekend of rumors, the Mac guy Justin Long has apparently not popped the question to Drew Barrymore.  Her rep says Barrymore’s status update on Facebook reading, “I’m engaged,” means nothing.

When in Rome co-stars Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard are engaged. Her rep says the former co-star of Ashton Kutcher’s Punk’d proposed over the holidays.

Another weekend, another big win for James Cameron’s blockbuster epic “Avatar.” The big budget fantasy adventure is the top grossing movie for the seventh straight week. “Avatar” brought in another 30-million-dollars this weekend to bring its domestic totals to 594.5-million-dollars. The new Mel Gibson kidnap thriller “Edge Of Darkness” opened in 2nd, followed by the Kristen Bell-Josh Duhamel romantic comedy “When in Rome,” “The Tooth Fairy” and the Denzel Washington post-apocalyptic thriller “The Book Of Eli.”

Here is a list of the top ten films at the North American Movie Box Office:
1. “Avatar” (30-million-dollars)
2. “Edge of Darkness” (17-point-one-million-dollars)
3. “When in Rome” (12-point-one-million-dollars)
4. “The Tooth Fairy” (ten-million-dollars)
5. “The Book of Eli” (eight-point-eight-million-dollars)
6. “Legion” (six-point-eight-million-dollars)
7. “The Lovely Bones” (four-point-seven-million-dollars)
8. “Sherlock Holmes” (four-point-five-million-dollars)
9. “Alvin and the Chipmunks” (four-million-dollars)
10. “It’s Complicated” (three-point-seven-million-dollars)

The drama “Winter’s Bone” is among the top award winners at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The film, about a young woman trying to keep her family together, earned the Grand Jury Prize for Best Drama and the Screenwriting award for Debra Granik. The Afghanistan war documentary “Restrepo” also took top honors among the U.S. Documentaries in competition at this year’s festival.

The Amy Poehler comedy “Parks & Recreation” has been picked up for a third season on NBC.

Miss Virginia, Caressa Cameron, is the new Miss America. The 22-year-old broadcast journalism student outlasted 52 other competitors to clinch the Miss America title and a 50-thousand-dollar scholarship.

Birthdays:
Sherman Hemsley was George Jefferson on The Jeffersons: 72
Garrett Morris was one of the original Not Ready For Prime Time Players on Saturday Night Live: 73
Dexter star Michael C. Hall : 39
comedian Pauly Shore : 42
Sherilyn Fenn was Audrey on Twin Peaks: 45
Billy Mumy played Will Robinson on Lost In Space: 56
Regis Philbin’s wife and occasional fill-in on Live with Regis and Kelly, Joy Philbin : 69
Terry Jones of Monty Python’s Flying Circus is 68

Music birthdays:
Elvis and Priscilla Presley’s daughter, singer Lisa Marie Presley : 42
Everly Brother Don Everly : 73
and Outkast rapper Big Boi : 35