Anthony Hopkins

Last night's final showdown between Adam Lambert and Kris Allen was exciting and entertaining. I can't remember the last season of American Idol where I really didn't care which person won because they were both so great in different ways. Cute Kris has such a sweet and talented voice, while Adam has showmanship like no other contestant we've seen on the Idol stage. It's bound to be a close race, and these two men seem to both be humbled and happy just to be a part of the action.

The judges said their praises throughout the evening with Simon giving Kris round one. Adam took round two, and without officially saying it, the judges basically crowned him this year's new worldwide star. Kris held his own, and at the end the judges were thrilled he made it to the finale but they made it seem like he was second choice. The exciting night brought out a few big stars like Katie and Suri and Anthony Hopkins. Buzz was also at the show and has more details of how the evening went down. She even met up with the contestants after their show, so click here to see what they had to say about last night's big finale.

Lots more from the exciting night so read more

After the big show in the Kodak Theater, the first stop for many of the attendees was the Governors Ball. Along with attending this year's Oscars via the red carpet and the press room, we were fortunate enough to have a ticket to the fancy affair. While on the inside we watched the celebrities feast on their Wolfgang Puck meal set in the Asian-themed room decor. Celebs made their way through additional television press, which included a lot of singing from the youngest of the Slumdog cast, who were some of the last to arrive. Anne Hathaway continued to make it a family affair posing with her brother. She was being greeted nonstop and barely found any time to eat her meal, which included a three-tiered chocolate dessert with an Oscar on the top. Robert Pattinson and fellow teen heartthrob Zac Efron chatted and toasted with Vanessa Hudgens before heading over to the VF afterparty. There was lots of casual mingling with peers in the ballroom and some took a few smoking breaks on the side. Heidi and Seal continued to make the rounds, but were they your favorite Oscar couple of the night?

For more pictures including Emile Hirsch, Anthony Hopkins, Amy Adams, Adrien Brody, and more, just read more

Men of all ages wore basic black and white last night at the Oscars. The biggest decision was bowtie or long tie, unless we're talking about Mickey Rourke who stood out in his bright white suit, proving once again he is doing things his way. Brad added more facial hair, upgrading his mustache to full-on goatee. Robert Downey Jr. was clean-shaven and looking adorably young.

The younger crowd mixed up their hairstyles where Zac slicked his back while Robert Pattinson went spiky. They both kept a straight face while James Franco and Dev Patel were all smiles. Many of these men had their beautiful girlfriends or wives by their side, which could explain some of their big grins. The ladies may steal the show year after year, but the Oscars wouldn't be the same without a little manjoyment out on the red carpet.

To see a TON of more photos including Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Seal, and more just read more

• The upcoming movie The Soloist is inspiring at least 174 orchestras in 46 states to participate in food drives. — AP
• Showtime has renewed United States of Tara for a second season. — Variety
• In other renewal news, Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers and Sisters are rumored to be getting early pickups from ABC. — TV.com
• Mark Valley will star in a Fox pilot called Human Target, while Kathryn Hahn and Kristen Johnston are officially cast in the Absolutely Fabulous remake. — TV Guide
• Woody Allen has set Josh Brolin and Anthony Hopkins to star in the film he wrote and will shoot in London this Summer. — ComingSoon
• Tom Cruise is in talks to star with Denzel Washington in the David Cronenberg-directed thriller The Matarese Circle. — Variety
• Brad Paisley leads the Academy of Country Music Awards nominations with six nods. — AP
• Sam Rockwell has joined Hilary Swank in the legal drama Betty Anne Waters. — The Hollywood Reporter

Photo courtesy of Paramount

Get ready for another Shakespearean film adaptation
Recent news coming out of the Cannes Film Festival (courtesy of the UK's Telegraph): there will be a new big-screen adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear, this time starring Sir Anthony Hopkins, Keira Knightley and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Daddy's Little Girls
Sir Anthony will naturally assume the role of King Lear, while Keira will portray his daughter Cordelia. According to the article, "Gwyneth Paltrow is tipped to take the role of Regan, Lear's treacherous middle daughter. His eldest daughter, Goneril, is yet to be cast." Could this be another Oscar-earning project for Gwyneth? According to the Academy she does well with Shakespeare stuff.

Competition already?
As the Telegraph points out, there have been tons of adaptations of Lear, and this newest film will be "judged against a Channel 4 adaptation, to be screened this Christmas, based on the recent and highly acclaimed Royal Shakespeare Company production starring Sir Ian McKellen as Lear and Romola Garai as Cordelia. The play made the headlines due to McKellen's nude scene, which will be retained for the television version." So the Channel 4 version has nudity, but does it have the "epic battle sequences" that this latest adaptation promises? Nudity and battles aside, I'm curious to see this version of Shakespeare's play.

Source and source

"I. Am. BEOWULF!" roars a computer-generated (and significantly enhanced) Ray Winstone over and over and over again. The animated epic story of Beowulf is impressive from a visual standpoint — it really is like living inside a video game — though story-wise it's empty and forgettable. But if nothing else, you will absolutely remember who. Is. Beowulf.

I managed to see Beowulf in an IMAX theater, donning some giant, goofy 3-D glasses. In this way, the movie is spectacular. You'll be splattered with blood, threatened with sharp spears, and nearly dropped into the sharp-toothed mouths of terrifying beasts. It is, quite simply, amazing. I completely understand Robert Zemeckis' desire to bring this story to life via animation. Using (and improving upon) the motion-capture technology he tried with The Polar Express, the humans look as real as possible (more or less) while still existing in a mystical land alongside monsters, mermaids and water serpents.

Overall, it's a cool idea. In execution, it's enjoyable enough, though I'm not sure I would have liked it half as much if I were not watching it on an IMAX screen in 3-D. However, having said that I agree with the complaint of a fellow reviewer that if you turn your face even the slightest bit, the 3-D image is skewed and unpleasant to look at. Sitting in the same position with my head frozen in place for two hours and watching a 3-D movie left me with neck pains as well as a headache. For more about the pros and cons of this movie, read more

Angelina Jolie channeled a little bit of her past self at a premiere of Beowulf last night in London. Only the outfit's a whole lot more new Angelina due to her poppy pin in honor of Remembrance Day. Seriously though, when was the last time she wore leather pants? Kinda expected to see Billy Bob on her arm. Instead, she was, of course, accompanied by a fairly grizzled looking Brad Pitt with his salt and pepper facial hair. Someday Brad will lose that hat....someday. Can't one of those kids hide it somewhere? Is that too much to ask?

To see more of the premiere and Angelina's leather pants just read more

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt looked typically wax figure-esque out at last night's LA premiere of Beowulf. Angelina may have been shy about watching her computer generated body on the big screen, but she was full of smiles on the red carpet keeping herself covered in her coat while Brad opted for his requisite hat. Elsewhere on the red carpet Anthony Hopkins did his best Jack Nicholson impersonation while John Malkovich was generally cool in his yellow/green coat. Robin Wright Penn was looking good, too, but kind of unrecognizable, right? The movie doesn't hit screens until November 16th and I still can't decide whether it'll be worth a visit to the theater. How about you, on the edge of your seat excited or not so much?

To see the rest of the premiere including an oddly unrecognizable Robin Wright Penn, Crispin Glover Nicollette Sheridan, plus a lot more Angelina and Brad and many others just read more