In film clips on last night’s show, the six American Idol finalists got all gushy about their hometowns and families, and their families returned the favor. What are the local papers saying about their American Idol finalists? My bud Michael Heaton of the Cleveland Plain Dealer did a survey of …

As we await the potentially incendiary testimony of Debbie Rowe, Michael Jackson’s second ex-wife (’96-’99) and mother of his two eldest children (Prince, 8, and Paris, 7), as early as today, I have a few idle observations: Elton John, who likes most everyone in showbiz, especially those not unsympathetic to …

Opening May 19, the final and sixth film in George Lucas’s Star Wars saga, Star Wars: Episode 3 Revenge of the Sith — starring Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Ian McDiarmid and Samuel L. Jackson — is quickening the pulse of series fans worldwide who are thrilled, hopeful, nostalgic, …

Elton John, now 58, is one voluble and energetic individual, as he again proved in a glib and free-ranging interview with the U.K. tabloid The Mirror, touching upon famous friends, musical projects, and his impending civil marriage to partner David Furnish. Excerpts: On Rod Stewart – “Rod and Penny were …

As followers of the show know, American Idol finalist and pouty heartthrob Constantine Maroulis took a break from his hard rock band Pray For the Soul of Betty to pursue his solo dreams of pop idolatry on the show. Now that he is in the final six and appears to …

Those who are inclined to see Michael Jackson as an innocent lover of children using his hard-earned millions to create a dream world where they can roam free of the world’s stultifying rules and restrictions have had plenty of succor to cling to in trial testimony thus far. Ralph Chacon …

Mexican wrestling is in the air! We just mentioned that Jack Black will star in a forthcoming movie about an in cognito wrestling Mexican priest, and now this: SynthCleveland presents the 1971 classic Mexican Wrestling/Horror film Santo Contra la Hija de Frankenstein (Santo vs. Frankenstein’s Daughter) featuring a new live …

Jack Black, Mike White, and Jared Hess are teaming on an untitled secret-identity wrestling film as a starring vehicle for Black. Inspired by a real life story, Black will play a Mexican priest who moonlights as a masked Lucha Libre wrestler to raise money to save an orphanage destined for …

Pope Benedict XVI may be a doctrinal luddite, but he is down with the communicative abilities of cyberspace. “Let us go forth in the joy of the risen Lord and trusting in his permanent help,” proclaimed his first text message sent to all TIM cellphone users who subscribe to a …

These concert cruises are becoming all the rage — Jam Cruise, Rock Boat, Blues Cruise are a few of the more prominent — and now we have “Xingolati, (pronounced Zîng-gō-läh-ti) – Groove Cruise of the Pacific,” headlined by the tuneful and mysterious Flaming Lips, fresh off their piratical SpongeBob soundtrack …