LIAM NEESON HAS A GIRLFRIEND? Liam Neeson has reportedly found love again, more than a year after his wife Natasha Richardson died following a tragic ski accident. Britain's Daily Mail reports that the actor was spotted holding hands with British businesswoman Freya St Johnston in London. She refused to comment on the relationship, telling the paper, "I am not saying anything whatsoever."
HULK HOGAN HOSPITALIZED: Hulk Hogan was reportedly hospitalized in Florida on Monday with back pain. TMZ.com reports that paramedics were called after the wrestling legend was unable to get out of bed. Hogan has had several surgeries on his back throughout the years.
JENNIFER ANISTON HAS A NEW MAN? The latest Jennifer Aniston dating rumor links the star with Cougar Town actor Josh Hopkins. People magazine reports that Aniston -- who is guest starring on the show -- and Hopkins went to dinner in Beverly Hills last week. A source told People, "She seemed very excited about her date. She and Josh sat at a more private table and they seemed to get along great."
VENUS TURNS HEADS ONCE AGAIN AT U.S. OPEN: People are once again talking about tennis star Venus Williams' outfits on the court at this year's U.S. Open. According to The Daily News, this past weekend, Venus donned two sequined dresses. She said the bright lights of the big city inspired her. She said, "This outfit was supposed to be about New York. It's like bursts of fireworks." Venus' outfits on the court: http://tinyurl.com/25q8sy8
KHLOE KARDASHIAN CONFRONTS HER HATERS: Khloe Kardashian has blasted her haters -- saying that those who post negative messages about her on the web are cowards. On her own blog, Khloe wrote, "It's funny to me how these so called 'haters' can sit behind a computer screen and all of a sudden have courage. I most likely have seen many of you in person before and you have never said these things to my face." She continued, "This is because you are a coward. You don't have the guts. Thank you for the ratings you give me on BOTH of my TV shows . . . so thank you to my haters! You truly are making me better."
STARS COME OUT FOR JAMES VAN DER BEEK'S CELEBRATION: Dawson has some famous friends. Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher were among those who came out over the weekend to celebrate the recent wedding of James Van Der Beek and Kimberly Brook and the impending birth of their baby daughter. A source told People.com, "The party was very small and intimate. Ashton and Demi looked happy and totally unaffected by recent relationship rumors. James and Kim were glowing. Despite being about to burst, Kim looked amazing." James and Kim tied the knot in a private ceremony in Israel last month.
NICOLE RICHIE'S SON TURNS ONE: The stars -- and their kids -- came out to celebrate the first birthday of Nicole Richie and Joel Madden's son, Sparrow. People magazine reported that Ellen Pompeo and her daughter Stella Luna and Joel's brother Benji were among the guests who gathered at the Richie-Madden residence for the party. A source told People, "Nicole was keeping the party simple to not overwhelm Sparrow. Everyone seemed to have a great time."
ROBERT SCHIMMEL DEAD AT 60: Comedian Robert Schimmel died on Friday from injuries sustained in a recent car accident. Schimmel, 60, was riding with his 19-year-old daughter Aliyah on August 26th when she swerved to avoid another car and car rolled to the side of the freeway. Aliyah is reportedly hospitalized in stable condition. Schimmel battled non-Hodgkin's lymphoma over the past decade and wrote a memoir in 2008 titled, Cancer on $5 a Day.
'JERSEY SHORE' SETS MORE RECORDS: Jersey Shore will be sticking around for a while. The pop culture phenomenon rose to new heights last week, drawing 6.5 million viewers for last week's episode. The turnout made the episode MTV's highest-rated telecast in the 12-34 demo in eight years. The cast just wrapped filming on their third season.
TERESA GIUDICE ACCUSED OF HIDING BOOK DEAL: Teresa Giuduce's financial situation is getting even worse. A lawyer is asking that The Real Housewives' star's bankruptcy petition be rejected because Giudice and her husband lied about their assets. Roberta A. DeAngelis filed a complaint last week, accusing the couple of filing schedules and statements they knew were "not true and correct," making numerous false oaths, making "false sworn testimony," and not disclosing numerous substantial assets -- including the $250,000 advance for Teresa's Skinny Italian book.
George Clooney's latest offering, The American, was the top movie at the box office over the three-day Labor Day weekend, after debuting last Wednesday (September 1st). Clooney stars as a hitman who finds romance while trying to lay low in the Italian countryside before doing one last job.
Director Robert Rodriguez's action movie Machete opened in second place, just ahead of last week's top movie Takers. However, the two are close enough that their rankings could change once final numbers are released today. Danny Trejo stars in the title role as Machete, a former Mexican federal cop who roams Texas as a vigilante and sets out to get revenge when he's double-crossed after being hired to perform a hit. Robert DeNiro, Jessica Alba, Steven Seagal and Lindsay Lohan co-star.
Debuting at Number Five was the romantic comedy Going to Distance, starring Drew Barrymore and Justin Long as a couple trying to maintain a long-distance relationship.
THIS HOLIDAY WEEKEND'S TOP TEN MOVIES -- SEPTEMBER 3-6
The American, $16.4 million
Machete, $14 million
Takers, $13.5 million
The Last Exorcism, $8.8 million
Going the Distance, $8.6 million
The Expendables, $8.5 million
The Other Guys, $6.7 million
Eat Pray Love, $6.3 million
Inception, $5.9 million
Nanny McPhee Returns, $4.7 million
Now in theaters is the new action film Machete from director Robert Rodriguez. The film stars Danny Trejo, Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba and Steven Seagal. The film follows a man, after being badly injured, who roams Texas as a vigilante. But when he's been hired to perform a hit, Machete is double crossed and forced to go on the run before he decides to settle the score and get revenge.
Machete is rated R and has a running time of 1 hour and 45 minutes.
Robert De Niro on his character: "What I liked about it, was the character was it was a fun thing to do and it's a sense of irony and he's not taken seriously on one level so that frees you to have fun with it without being weighted down by certain requirements."
Danny Trejo on his character: "Machete is a man driven by vengeance, driven by the love for his wife, his daughter and the trauma that he went through just makes him just want (unintelligible)."
The following clips are from Machete:
Machete meets Luz: (Machete) "You're a fighter." (Luz) "Only when there's something worth fighting for." (Machete) "Is there?" (Luz) "Always. When the sun rises you should be good. Don't start what you can't finish. Machete." (Machete) "You know me?" (Luz) "I know the legend." (Machete) "Maybe the legend's better." (Luz) "I'll be the judge of that."
The Politician gets taken out: (Politician) "The jingle jangle of pennies in your pocket, because the scavengers, the leeches the parasites are walking away with your money while you're left with the change. So I'm gonna say one more thing, who you gonna vote for?" (Man) "There! Up there!"
Now in theaters is the new thriller The American, starring George Clooney, Paolo Bonacelli and Thelka Reuten. The film follows an assassin who's trying to get away from death and retires to the Italian countryside, taking one last job from a mysterious contact: to build a weapon. When he meets the woman of his dreams, he starts to become careless but doesn't realize that danger is catching up with him.
The American is rated R and has a running time of 1 hour and 45 minutes. It was directed by Anton Corbijn.
Violante Placido says her character wants a better life: "Clara, she is a prostitute, she lives in this small town and probably she does this job because she wants to get out of there. She wants to maybe dream of another life, and this man, who's so charming, and so in a way like -- well they meet each other so she dreams maybe of the possibility of running away with this challenging charming man and maybe starting a new life."
Thekla Reuten says she learned a lot from George Clooney on set: "He's very charming and a VERY KIND hearted man, he jokes, endless jokes, he's very funny, but he's such a professional and I was so intrigued and I learned from that as well about how on set he is a very good actor but has always has the eye of a director with him as well, I feel."
The following clips are from The American:
Jack must go into hiding: (Man) "She set you up." (Jack) "She has nothing to do with it." (Man) "Pity. Don't stay here. I've made arrangements for you to leave town while I sort this out. Make a right outside the bar, then second left, you'll find a dark blue Fienta Tempura with Picara plates. I've marked a small town on the map, Castel Vecchia, stay there. Lay low, until you get my call."
Jack asks Clara to run away with him: (Jack) "I was looking for you." (Clara) "I'm here." (Jack) "What are you doing tonight?" (Clara) "I work tonight." (Jack) "Don't. If I ask you to come away with me, would you?" (Clara) "Come away with you?" (Jack) "Why not." (Clara) "Together?" (Jack) "Together." (Clara) "Forever?" (Jack) "Forever."
It's official: Kara DioGuardi is out at American Idol. The former judge confirmed her long-rumored departure on Friday, releasing a statement that read: "I felt like I won the lottery when I joined American Idol two years ago, but I feel like now is the best time to leave Idol. I am very proud to have been associated with American Idol -- it has truly been an amazing experience."
Show creator Simon Fuller added, "I will miss having her on the show, but I look forward to working with her in music for many years to come."
RANDY'S RETURN REPORTEDLY A DONE DEAL
It appears as though Randy Jackson will be the sole returning judge when season ten of Idol premieres in January. A source told EOnline.com, "Randy's locked in and pumped about it. They'll officially announce with the other judges."
It's been widely reported that Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez will be rounding out the judges' panel.
All charges have been dropped against the two people accused of trying to extort money from John Travolta in the wake of his son's 2009 death.
Travolta and his family requested the cast be dismissed, saying it had caused them "unbelievable" stress and they wanted to put it behind them.
The news comes just as a retrial for ambulance driver Tarino Lightbourne and his attorney, politician Pleasant Bridgewater, was about to begin. The two were accused of attempting to extort $25 million from Travolta by threatening to release private information about the death of his 16-year-old son Jett.
A mistrial was declared last October after a Bahamian lawmaker suggested one of the defendants had been acquitted -- before the jury had even finished deliberating.
Travolta said in a statement, "The long-pending status of this matter continued to take a heavy emotional toll on my family, causing us to conclude that it was finally time to put this matter behind us. Therefore, after much reflection I concluded that it was in my family's best interest for me not to voluntarily return to The Bahamas to testify a second time at trial."
Travolta's wife Kelly Preston is expecting the couple's child, a boy, later this year.
Lindsay Lohan might be giving her first post-jail/rehab interview to the Today Show. TMZ.com reports that the NBC morning show is "actively" trying to sign the starlet and she is seriously considering their proposal.
It would be an odd place for Lindsay to go, considering that her mother Dina's recent interview there with Matt Lauer was not well received.
DID LINDSAY HIT A STROLLER?
In other news, there are reports that Lindsay struck a baby stroller while driving a Maserati in Beverly Hills last week. Sources told RadarOnline.com that Lindsay hit a woman pushing her child across the street, however it seems unlikely she'll face any legal action.
A witness told Radar, "There was a woman pushing a kid in the stroller, maybe a two or three-year-old, crossing the street. Lindsay took the red light and hit the stroller. It wasn't super hard, but she made impact and hit them. Lindsay pulled to the right, stopped for two seconds, and then just kept going."
Radar posted a video taken after the alleged incident in which a man asks the stroller-pushing woman if she is okay, to which she smiles and continues on.
The West Hollywood Sherriff's department told ABC News that no calls were received regarding the alleged incident and no police report was filed.
Playboy model Karissa Shannon is threatening to sue Spencer Pratt, who allegedly is in possession of a sex tape featuring Shannon and her boyfriend Sam Jones.
Shannon's lawyer reached out to Pratt last week, demanding he return the footage that "was taken from her possession" and "contains private materials." The lawyer wrote, "It had been reported in the press that you were attempting to publish, distribute, sell, license or otherwise exploit filmed footage of Ms. Shannon. According to press reports, you are no longer threatening to do that. This decision is wise. Were you to follow through with your initial threat, Ms. Shannon would file a lawsuit to enjoin the sale and/or distribution and seek monetary damages from you."
It was widely reported that Spencer was planning to sell a tape featuring Shannon with Heidi Montag, but he's since decided against selling the Heidi footage.